A few days after the incident with Reflector, Mark had fully recovered from his capture and was able to join the others at Rachel's new gym. Renovations were coming along well, the walls had been painted and deliveries of the equipment were beginning to arrive. All being well, the white ranger hoped to have the establishment open in a couple of weeks.
One delivery already completed was the entertainment systems, namely a dozen flat-screen televisions dotted around the walls. Every one needed to be mounted and wired into the electrics, a job which Rachel assigned to Ricky, "Just because I'm completing a Master's in Engineering, it doesn't mean I'm good at this," the yellow ranger grumbled whilst climbing a ladder.
"Quit your whining," Stevie countered, "otherwise you'll be dragging in the treadmills." With a shake of his head, Ricky sighed loudly and gestured for the blue ranger to pass him a monitor. The screen looked comically large in Stevie's arms but her Avian powers allowed her to lift it above her head without trouble, "How much do you think Rachel spent on all this?" she asked.
"No idea," Ricky replied, jiggling the screen to make it fit into the bracket, "these things aren't cheap though, I tried to buy one for my simulator rig but I couldn't get credit."
"How the other half live," Stevie grumbled quietly, "speaking of which where's Jazz? How did she get out of the manual labor?"
"By not having superpowers," Ricky said simply, "basically we can do the job quickly and won't work for much," he added whilst screwing the screen into place
Stevie snorted, "Speak for yourself, I'm asking for double my usual rate."
Ricky chuckled but their conversation was interrupted by the door opening, "Sorry we're not open yet, unless you have a delivery then head around the back," he called out.
"Even for an old friend," a voice called in response. Ricky's head snapped towards the door so quickly that he nearly fell off the ladder, walking slowly towards him was a young, dark haired woman pulling a suitcase, "When your roommate said you were at the gym I burst out laughing," she added with a warm smile.
The yellow ranger stumbled on the first rung of the ladder, dropping his screwdriver with a loud clang and an indignant cry from Stevie, "Sabrina," he began, "I wasn't expecting you until later."
"Caught an earlier flight, thought I would surprise you," Sabrina replied, "so what's with this gym, an extra credit project?"
"Just helping out a friend," Ricky took a couple of steps towards his best friend, "you've cut your hair?"
Sabrina smiled and pushed a hand through her shoulder length hair, "Yeah, like six months ago," she laughed, "the highlights are new though, felt like something a little different."
"And you look amazing," Stevie suddenly blurted out, "not just the hair, the top and the shorts, really amazing," Ricky and Sabrina looked at the blue ranger strangely, "much different than your pictures but not in a bad way," Stevie continued to babble.
"Stevie, why don't you grab the next screen," Ricky took pity on the lovestruck teenager. The blue ranger babbled incoherently before shuffling away looking mournful, "I'm sorry about her, she likes to speak before engaging her brain sometimes," he continued, "she's right though, you're not even wearing your glasses."
"Like I said, trying something different," Sabrina answered defensively, "shouldn't you help your friend, TV screens are really heavy." Across the room, Stevie grabbed an unopened box and hoisted it onto her shoulders with ease, "Wow, she is stronger than she looks," Sabrina commented.
"Track athlete," Ricky replied quickly, "works out a lot."
Just then Mark and Harley entered from the back room, each carrying a large box in one hand, "Must be a thing in this town," Sabrina stated, "does it even need a gym if everyone is this strong."
"Well you know these South Westerners," Ricky tried his best to cover for his team mates, "guys my friend Sabrina has arrived earlier," he called.
Almost immediately Mark and Harley dropped their boxes, "Hello, call me Harley," the black ranger greeted, "now what is a beauty like you doin' being friends with this guy."
Sabrina blushed, Ricky too turned red but for a different reason, "And this is Mark," the yellow ranger tried to turn the conversation away from Harley, "he's a Lieutenant with the Air Force," the red ranger offered a small wave in response.
"What an interesting group of friends you have," Sabrina commented. The rear door opened again and the proprietor entered carrying a clipboard, "No way," Sabrina gasped, "you're Rachel Zane," she elbowed Ricky hard in the ribs, "you never told me you were working for Rachel Zane."
"More like paying back his pizza tab," Rachel replied with a small smile, "maybe next time he offers to pay, he'll make sure to check his account first."
"Is pizza night with Rachel Zane a regular thing," Sabrina asked the yellow ranger how offered an uncomfortable shrug in response, "you're friends with a celebrity and didn't tell me," she added with a small slap around the back of the head.
"Celebrity is a little bit of a stretch," Rachel stated with a slightly dismissive tone.
"You were on the Forbes thirty under thirty list last year," Sabrina countered, "a millionaire before leaving High School, that's a big deal."
"If you like that kinda thing," Stevie interrupted the exchange, "so, how long are you in town for," she asked eagerly.
"Just a few days and whilst visiting my best friend," Sabrina replied, giving an uncomfortable Ricky a one armed hug, "I was hoping to catch the Aaronsdale Comic Con that's starting tomorrow."
Ricky slowly began to reach into the back pocket of his jeans but his moment was stopped by Rachel, "Funny you should say that," the white ranger opened her clipboard and pulled out some tickets, "one of my sponsors is also sponsoring the event and gave me six tickets." She looked over the pieces of paper, "They're platinum passes if that means anything to you."
"Are you kidding me," Sabrina bounces with excitement, "these are access all areas tickets, they must be worth hundreds of dollars each." Ricky gave her a tight grin, quickly stuffing the tickets he purchased to the event back into his pocket.
"I assume Jazz will want to go but they couldn't give me an extra ticket," Rachel continued, "doesn't matter, I'll buy one for her later today."
"Actually why don't you give her my ticket," Stevie says quickly, "completely forgot, coach wants me for extra practice." She makes an exaggerated gesture of checking her watch, "In fact I have to be at the track in ten minutes," without turning around, she grabbed her bag and quickly exits the gym.
"The hell was that about?" Harley comments, drawing blank looks and shrugs from the others, "I'll give it a pass too, hangin' around a bunch of sweaty nerds isn't my idea of a good time."
"Then you won't get to see my entry for the Cosplay contest," Sabrina pouts, "its going to blow everyone away, trust me."
Harley gives her a lopsided grin, "Darlin' you've just done something no one has done before," not to subtly, he nudges Ricky out the way and puts an arm around Sabrina, "you've changed my mind." Ricky takes a few uncomfortable steps away, something which doesn't go unnoticed by Mark and Rachel.
The following morning, Jazz, Rachel and Mark were waiting in the lobby of Sabrina's hotel, "You could've made more of an effort with your costume," Jazz said towards Mark who was dressed in a flight suit with a helmet under his arm, "that's basically everyday wear for you."
"Ah but there is a subtle difference," the red ranger pointed at the 'Maverick' name tag on the suit, "plus Top Gun is about Navy pilots and I'm Air Force, completely different." He pointed towards Jazz ensemble of brown boots, blue trousers held up with suspenders, a top with a rainbow stripe across the middle and long grey coat, "Who are you meant to be then?" he asked defensively,
"Really, I'm appalled you have to ask that," she twirled dramatically and pulled out a plastic tube that blinked with a yellow light, "I'm the Doctor," she said in a poor attempt at a Yorkshire accent that came out still sounding like her natural accent, "from the TV series Doctor Who?" Mark looked back blankly, "British institution that's been around for nearly sixty years," still no reaction from the red ranger, "utter philistine," she spat.
Rachel chuckled, adjusting the black vest that she wore over her white bodysuit, "Don't worry I got the reference." She pulled one of the sticks off her back and twirled it dramatically, "Our training means I can use these now so at least I won't make a terrible Yelena Belova." Without warning she crouched on to the floor and whipped her hair back in an exaggerated manner, "Such a poser," she says with a Russian accent.
Jazz laughs, "Yeah maybe we should forget about doing the accents," she pauses as Harley enters the lobby, "where's your costume?" she asks the black ranger.
He opens his black check shirt to reveal a white vest and fake dog tags, "I'm wearing it," he pulled a cigar from his back pocket, "I'm Hugh Jackman," he adds whilst chomping on the cigar.
"You mean Wolverine?" Jazz shakes her head, "you could've at least got some fake claws."
"Gimme a break," Harley replied, "I'm only here to see whatsername's outfit, told yer this wasn't my scene."
"You know Ricky really likes her," Mark states, "maybe back away from Sabrina."
Harley snorted with laughter, "Not my fault if she likes what she sees."
"Maybe let him have a chance before going all charming Southern Gent on her," Jazz pleaded, "he's been talking about her visit for weeks."
"Fine, whatever you say Doctor," Harley raises his hands defensively but his observation on Jazz's costume draws strange looks from the others, "what, I've caught the odd episode, not a crime is it?" he added defensively, "where is our Casanova anyway?" Almost on cue, Ricky appeared from the bathroom sporting a brown pair of jeans and red leather jacket, "Never have I seen an outfit suit anyone less," Harley snorts, "and y'all criticised my choice."
"It wasn't really my choice," Ricky pouted, "Sabrina chose this for me, said it would match her costume." He pulled at the Walkman attached to his belt which was dangerously close to falling off, "Has she come down yet?" he asked the others.
"Trust me Star Lord, everyone would've noticed if she had," Rachel countered before checking her phone, "maybe we should head over to the Convention Center before we miss the first talk."
"You go," Ricky sighed, "I'll head upstairs and see if Sabrina will be much longer." The yellow ranger decided not to wait for the lift, choosing to climb the three flights of stairs to Sabrina's room. The visit of his best friend wasn't going as he envisioned, he queued for hours to get tickets to this convention and spent even longer preparing his costume for the day. His plans had been completely undone by his rich and well connected teammate and a surprisingly well prepared Sabrina. He never talked about this event but somehow she managed to sort costumes for both of them in an afternoon.
He knocked on Sabrina door and waited for her to answer. The moment he spotted the Peter Quill outfit he immediately guessed what matching outfit his friend would choose. That still didn't prepare him for the vision in black leather and painted green skin that greeted him when Sabrina opened the door, "Ricky," she greeted, the wig to her Gamora costume in her hand, "or should I say, Star Lord, you're just in time to help."
Ricky's mouth flapped but no sound came out, the blood definitely wasn't rushing to his brain right now. Numbly he stepped into the room, "I'm terrible with wigs," Sabrina continued, trying to adjust the head piece in the mirror, "how does this look?"
"Yeah," the yellow ranger wheezed, "pretty good."
"I'd hope so, the amount I paid for this," Sabrina flashed him a smile and his knees nearly buckled, "has everyone else gone?" He nodded stiffly, "Well come on then, don't want to keep everyone waiting,"
As she swung a knee length leather coat over her shoulders and disappeared out the room, Ricky mumbled, "I'm in big trouble," to himself.
An hour later, the convention was in full swing but Ricky wasn't enjoying himself. He hoped today would be a great chance to catch up with Sabrina but instead, he was pushed to the sidelines as people asked for photos with his friend. At first he got into the part but after fifteen minutes, the excitement wore off and he relegated himself to the background. Another fifteen minutes after that, he gave up entirely and found a quiet corner of the Convention Center to sit down where he remained until Jazz found him, "So this is where you're hiding," the Scot greeted, "what's the pout all about? You've easily got the hottest date here and you're sulking in the corner."
"I'm not sulking," Ricky snapped, "I just fancied a sit down and she's not my date."
Jazz sighed, "Scoot over," she lowered herself to the ground, "firstly she got you matching costumes so keep telling yourself its not a date," Ricky snorted and shook his head, "if my date ran off and hid, I'd be pretty pissed."
"I thought this would be our day," the yellow ranger sighed, "I wasn't expecting to have to share it with half of Aaronsdale."
"You sound like such a child," Jazz shook her head, "you really like her, don't you?"
There was a pause before Ricky answered, "High School wasn't easy for us, we looked out for each other, shared pretty much everything together," he let out a loud sigh, "but I never had the confidence to ask her out."
"Then she left and travelled halfway across the country," Jazz filled in the gap.
"She's changed too," Ricky indicated at his friend posing with other Marvel costumed heroes, "the Sabrina I knew wouldn't have done that."
"Is that a bad thing?" Jazz asked, "people change over time, we can't live in the past."
"Says the one dressed as a time travelling alien," Ricky teased his roommate.
Jazz nudged his leg, "You know what I mean," she smiled, "you've changed too, the Ricky I moved in with all those months ago wouldn't have the stones to fight monsters on a daily basis."
"I didn't really get a choice," Ricky replied, "the Avian Waves found me, million to one chance."
"Everyone has a choice in life," Jazz jumped to her feet and offered her hand, "now stop sulking and go talk to her," Ricky sighed reluctantly, "don't make me unleash the Oncoming Storm on you," she added firmly. As Ricky took her hand, the sound of screaming rang out through the Convention Center. A stampede of people rushed towards the exit dragging everything and everyone in their path, "I think they're playing our song," the Scot said.
Mark, Harley and Rachel pushed their way out the crowd toward the pair, "The Vylgass are here," Mark stated.
"And so is that little runt Reise," Harley sneered, "we lost them in the crowd."
"I'll contact Stevie," Jazz reached into her jacket and to everyone's surprise, pulled out a laptop, "I'll find somewhere safe and try to help if I can."
As the Scot jogged away, Harley said to the others, "Am I the only one wondering where she was keeping that?"
"I do have pockets in this," Jazz shouted as she retreated, "they're bigger on the inside," Ricky snorted at the joke but he was the only one.
The yellow ranger scanned the room, trying desperately to find Sabrina amongst the stampeding crowd. Occasionally he spotted a flash of green but he couldn't tell if it was Sabrina or another cosplayer. Eventually he spotted Sabrina standing stiffly against the flow of people, "There she is," he pointed to the others.
"And there's Reise," Mark added, indicating towards the smallest member of the Vyglass standing a few paces away from Sabrina, "we need to get her away from him."
Suddenly Sabrina locked eyes with Ricky, fixing him with a cold stare. Moments later she began to forcefully push her way through the crowd, "Something's not right," Ricky frowned. His suspicions were confirmed when Sabrina grabbed someone by the shirt and throw them high into the air, almost halfway across the floor, "Please tell me there's a sixth Avian power," the yellow ranger asked hopefully.
"Definitely not," Mark replied, "so either your girlfriend has been working out or the Vyglass have done something to her."
Ricky slowly backed away from the approaching Sabrina, "She's not my girlfriend," he said defensively. A green skinned hand suddenly grabbed him tightly by the throat and lifted Ricky several inches off the ground, "But I'm willing to talk about it," he managed to gurgle out.
"Hey lady, not everyone likes it rough," Harley tugged hard on Sabrina's hair, expecting the wig to come away but to his surprise, she cried in pain and dropped Ricky hard to the ground. A murderous look flashed across Sabrina's eyes, "I really don't want to hit a woman," Harley held up his hands defensively.
"I have no objections," Rachel swung hard and connected firmly with Sabrina's jaw. To everyone's surprise she barely flinched, instead she grabbed the white ranger and tossed her across the floor like she was a rag doll.
Immediately Sabrina turned her attention back to Ricky, aiming a blaster towards the yellow ranger and pulling the trigger. Ricky yelped in surprise and rolled away, just as the bolt blew a hole in the building, "I thought that was a prop weapon," Ricky cried in surprise.
"Not even our weapons are that powerful," Mark muttered and leapt protectively in front of Ricky, "look Sabrina we don't want to hurt you."
"You won't," Sabrina said coldly, "now get out of my way, I'm only interested in Quill."
Ricky frowned, "Quill?" he looked down at his jacket, "she thinks I'm Star Lord so she must think she's Gamora," he exclaimed. Sabrina lunged for Ricky who barely got his arms up in time to block the attack. A flurry of kicks backed the yellow ranger towards a concrete pillar where he ducked a haymaker from Sabrina that knocked a hole in the structure.
"More than thinks," Rachel added whilst groggily rising to her feet, "she's ridiculously strong and a lightning quick fighter. I think the Vyglass have turned her into a real Gamora."
"One that wants to kill Ricky for some reason," Mark added.
"Hey, little help here," the yellow ranger pleaded, "my best friend is now a psycho killer, suggestions would be helpful."
"Yeah working on it," Mark watched as Ricky dodged several attacks from Sabrina, unfortunately in the process, it was causing damage to the building, "our priority has to be making sure the civilians are safely evacuated," the red ranger added.
Ricky dodged another blaster shot that flattened a merchandise stall, "What about me?" he cried.
"Lead her away from the building, preferably somewhere quiet," Mark ordered the yellow ranger.
"Sorry lover boy, you're on your own for now," Harley replied, sounding not in the least bit sorry for the yellow ranger's current predicament.
"Remember, she thinks she's the real Gamora," Rachel added, "use that to your advantage."
Rolling away from another blaster shot, Ricky spotted something rolling away from the demolished stall, "An Infinity Gauntlet, really overpriced too," he shook his head, "priorities Ricky," he admonished himself. Grabbing pieces of a broken wooden chair, he took off running, "Sorry for this Sabrina," he muttered and threw the pointed debris towards his friend.
Ricky wasn't too surprised that Sabrina caught the projectiles, all versions of Gamora were known for their superhuman reflexes. They did succeed in distracting her long enough for Ricky to dive into the remains of the stall. Plucking the replica power stone from the toy Infinity Gauntlet, he quickly looked around for something to contain it. The only thing he could find in the stall was a box of empty Poke balls, "If my Twitch followers find out about this," he sighed and stuffed the gem into the Poke Ball.
Taking a breath, he channelled his inner Star Lord and stood up, "Wait, just wait a second," he opened the ball and showed the contents to Sabrina, "I take it you know what this is."
To his surprise and relief, Sabrina stepped back in surprise, "Where did you get that?" he cried in disbelief.
"Doesn't matter," Ricky continued, "what I do know is that your father is looking for this."
Sabrina immediately aimed her weapon at Ricky, "I no longer work for my father," she hissed.
"I'd be careful," Ricky continued, "do you know what would happen if this was accidentally shot?" After a few seconds, Sabrina slowly lowered her blaster, "There we go, now we can talk like civilised people."
"I have my orders," Sabrina replied, "you are just delaying the inevitable Quill."
Ricky slowly back away until he spotted an emergency exit, "There's an Earth saying, the chase is better than the catch," he shut the Poke Ball, took aim at Sabrina and threw the ball as hard as he could. Sabrina cried in shock and dropped to the floor, allowing Ricky to jump through the exit and out into the parking lot
Sprinting as hard as he could, Ricky finally found himself far away enough away from the Convention Center to stop for a rest. He brought his communicator up to his mouth, "Jazz, please tell me you have something that can help?"
"Working on it", the Scot replied, "the others found a pair of scissors near Sabrina's location before the attack."
"Scissors, that's random," Ricky thought for a moment until a thought came into his head, "Have you ever watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" he asked Jazz.
"Nah, I missed the boat on that one," Jazz replied, "is now really the time to be asking about old TV shows though?"
"It's not that old," Ricky protested, "no, not the time for that argument," he shook his head, "there was an episode where everyone got turned into their Halloween costumes. What if the Vyglass have done something similar?"
"It's not the most ridiculous idea I've heard," Jazz paused for a moment, "Sabrina told me the website she ordered the costume from, two seconds." Ricky looked around to see if Sabrina was on his trail but so far, the coast was clear, "Get this, the website no longer exists," Jazz continued, "I think you might be onto something."
"That does open up another can of worms," Ricky began, "somehow the Vyglass knew Sabrina and I were friends and that she was coming to Aaronsdale."
"One problem at a time," Jazz replied, "I have movement in your area, I think Sabrina is on your trail."
Ricky looked around, the Convention Center was on the edge of town and surrounded on three sides by hills and the desert. He didn't dare lead Sabrina towards the city, the risk of collateral damage was too great. That only left him with one choice, "I'm heading towards the hills, can you send a map to my communicator?" he asked.
After a short pause Jazz replied, "Done, follow the route on screen that looks like the best route. I'll let the other know where you've gone."
Several laser blast flashed overhead and Ricky didn't need to look to know it was Sabrina. He took a deep breath and used his enhanced agility to clamber over the wall surrounding the parking lot. That was one small blessing, without his Avian power Sabrina would've caught him almost instantly. Checking Jazz's GPS instructions, the yellow ranger immediately dashed between a boulder formation and out into the rocky desert.
Minutes passed and there was still no sign of Sabrina but Ricky kept going. Scrambling up a rocky hillside, the yellow ranger paused near the edge of a cliff face. Resting his hands on his knees, he checked in with Jazz again, "Any update on the others?"
"They cleared the Convention Center out, no sign that anyone else has been affected like Sabrina," the Scot answered.
"So she was targeted, brilliant," Ricky groaned in frustration.
"Looks that way," Jazz replied, "the others briefly encountered the monster that could be responsible, they're going to try and head your way."
Ricky sighed in acknowledgement, "Any sign of Sabrina?" but before Jazz could replied, a firm green skinned arm grabbed him tightly around the neck from behind, "never mind, found her," he choked out.
"No more tricks Quill," Sabrina tightened her grip, "I have you right where I want you."
"Please Sabrina," the yellow ranger tried to reach his friend, "we're friends, don't you remember in High School freshman year, when you spent half an hour trying to pull me out of a locker."
He couldn't see her reaction he could feel Sabrina's grip loosen slightly, enough to allow him to grab her arm and Judo throw his friend over his shoulder. Sabrina quickly nipped up to feet and had her blaster aimed in his direction within the blink of an eye. He opened his mouth to speak but to his relief, there was a flash of red, black, white and blue as his fellow ranger's flew overhead, "Let's not do anything rash," Mark said immediately after landing, his Jet Blaster pointed towards Sabrina.
"Yeah let the nerd go, he's no danger to anyone," Harley added, a little too gleefully for Ricky's taste.
"It's my mission," Sabrina replied coldly, "and I will not be stopped by four human's in spandex."
"It's not spandex," Stevie snapped before hesitating, "I think," she shook her head, getting back to the point, "don't Quill and Gamora fall in love in the films, can't you turn on the charm or something Ricky?"
"I know Quill's reputation," Sabrina replied, "I'm not some doe-eyed girl who will fall for his pelvic sorcery."
Her comment drew a loud snort of laughter from Harley, "That ain't a phrase ever used about Rickster," the black ranger continued to laugh, "that rock has more charm, no offence buddy."
"Some offence taken," Ricky said indignantly, "come on Gamora," he used her encoded identity to grab her attention, "there must be a way we can solve this civilly."
"Isn't this sweet," spinning in the direction of the voice, the Rangers spotted the monster responsible. Bizarrely, its head was vaguely in the shape of a sewing machine with open end made to look like a set of jaws with razor sharp teeth. It was wearing a frilly white shirt with bejewelled waistcoat, wielding an oversized pair of scissors in one hand and a giant pin cushion attached to it's left waist, "My greatest creation, my masterpiece in action."
"Something that can't be said about your design," Stevie mocked the monster, "did the Vyglass dig you out the reject bin?"
The monster scoffed, "No one understands fashion, not like Savage Row."
Sabrina turned her blaster towards the monster, "Don't interrupt, we're in the middle of something."
The monster merely sighed, "My own creation, turning against me, perhaps I created you a little too well," a flick of his left wrist caused half a dozen giant pins to fly towards Sabrina, "back to the drawing board."
The pins impacted Sabrina in the chest and the resulting explosions threw her off the cliff face, "No!" Ricky cried as he watched his best friend fall towards certain doom. Without a moment's hesitation he jumped after her, morphing in the process.
Even with his wings, it was taking longer than he liked to catch up to Sabrina's falling body. He managed to get underneath her with just enough time to slow her momentum and cushion the impact with the ground. He rolled Sabrina to one side, quickly checking her pulse, "Still alive, that's a start," he breathed a sigh of relief.
The blast had torn her costume and Sabrina was bleeding in places. As Ricky tried to apply pressure he noticed something, "Her skin isn't green," rubbed part of Sabrina's exposed arm and some green paint came off on his glove. To confirm his theory, he carefully pulled off her wig, "The monster broke his own spell," the yellow ranger was relieved but at the same time, Sabrina was completely human again, stuck in desert and bleeding steadily. Fumbling for his communicator, he quickly contacted Jazz, "Mayday, man down or woman down, whatever the code is," he blurted into the device.
"Ricky, calm down," to his surprise it was Major Earhardt who answered, "Jazz has been tracking everything and an air evac will arrive shortly for your friend." Ricky breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down, "We'll take care of her, will you be able to take care of the Vyglass monster."
For the first time in a while, Ricky was completely calm and confident, "That fashion disaster won't know what hit him."
The yellow ranger spread his arms, activating his suits built in wings, soaring back up the cliff with ease. Landing gracefully on the dusty surface, he observed the monster knocking down the other Rangers with the same pin attack that knocked Sabrina over the edge. Clenching his fist tightly, Ricky spotted a nearby boulder and lifted it off the ground with next to no resistance. The monster hadn't registered his presence which was the opening the yellow ranger needed. Sidearm throwing the giant rock, it impacted Savage Row on the side of his head, "That's for my friend," Ricky growled.
"Geez Ricky, remind me to never get on your bad side," Mark nodded in appreciation towards the yellow ranger, "we do have weapons for a reason though."
Ignoring the red ranger's comment, Ricky spotted something on the ground, "What do you think this is?" he asked, holding up something that could best be described as a palm sized purple scorpion.
"Broken I would say," Rachel commented, pointed out the twisted legs on the object, "and mechanical if those wires are anything to go by," she added.
The Rangers were distracted from the robotic insect by movement from Savage Row. Ricky's boulder attack had dented its sewing machine head severely, "Why don't you take point on this one," Mark nodded towards the yellow ranger, ushering Ricky towards the front of their formation.
"With pleasure," Ricky stepped forward, jointing his blaster and sword together, "Jet Cannon," he called as the monster staggered around. The other Rangers quickly followed their team mate's instruction, "Fire," the yellow ranger called. A multi-coloured beam of light struck the monster, sending it flying across the cliff top before it promptly exploded with a moderate sized fireball.
The Rangers stood back and waited for the monster to grow, seconds passed but nothing rose out of the crater, "Come on," Stevie called impatiently, "don't tell me I've put in hours on the simulator for nothing."
Suddenly the scorpion in Ricky's hand sparked, forcing the yellow ranger to drop it, "Holy crap," he swore, "that scared the life out of me."
More seconds passed until it became clear that the monster wasn't going to grow, "Well, that was a let-down," Harley grumbled, "I feel like I've been stood up on Prom night."
"Speaking from personal experience," Rachel teased the black ranger, "maybe that robot insect thing has to do with how the Vyglass grow their monsters."
"In that case," Mark bent down and picked the scorpion off the desert floor, "we should take this to Major Earhardt and Jazz for analysis." Just then, the sound of an approaching helicopter grabbed their attention, "We'll take it from here," the red ranger grasped Ricky on the shoulder, "go and be with your friend." The yellow ranger nodded his thanks and flew off to help guide the air rescue team to Sabrina.
Later that day, Ricky was walking through the hospital corridors with a stuffed toy in his hand. He paused outside Sabrina and was surprised to see his friend sitting up in bed, "Hey," he greeted her with a smile, "the doctor didn't think you'd be awake for hours."
"You know me," she replied, sounding a little hoarse, "never liked sitting around doing nothing." She tried to reach for a glass of water but winced in pain. Immediately Ricky was at her side handing her the glass, "Thanks," she smiled, "is that for me?" she nodded towards the stuffed animal.
"Yeah, I thought Gamora could do with her own Rocket Raccoon," he shook the toy animal a few times, "except the actual Rocket's were destroyed in the monster attack so I had to settle for an ordinary raccoon from the hospital shop."
Sabrina smiled and took the toy, "I think this whole experience has put me off Guardians of the Galaxy for a while but thank you, its much appreciated."
"Have the doctors said when you'll be released?" Ricky asked.
"Might be a few days yet," Sabrina began, "and a couple of weeks of rest after that. They've also advised me against long distance travelling for a few weeks so it looks like you're stuck with me for a bit."
Ricky suppressed his urge of break out into a broad grin, "You can take my bed, I'll sleep on the sofa if you want," he said, trying to sound calm.
"Thank you," Sabrina smiled warmly, "for everything you've done for me today, I hear you were found with me in the desert.
Ricky frowned briefly, "Just trying to be a good friend," he paused for a moment before asking, "how much do you remember from today?"
Sabrina shifted uncomfortably on her bed, "I remember leaving my hotel then not too much after that. I've been told some things, like how I was turned into a psychotic Gamora until I was rescued by the Power Rangers, apparently the yellow one saved me personally." She licked her dry lips before adding, "If you ever see the yellow ranger, thank him for me."
Ricky shuffled uncomfortably, "What makes you think I know the yellow ranger?"
Before Sabrina could answer, Jazz poked her head around the door, "Hey you ready to go?" she asked Ricky before noticing Sabrina, "Oh you're awake, that's fantastic."
"Yeah still feeling a little rough though, I should probably get some rest. But before you go Ricky," she beckoned the yellow ranger closer, placing her hand on his cheek and tenderly kissed the other cheek, "seriously, thank you for saving me." Ricky nodded dumbly at the show of affection, "Good to meet you Jazz, I'll see you around," Sabrina added towards the Scot.
Slowly Ricky shuffled out the room, carefully rubbing the spot where Sabrina kissed him, "What was that about?" Jazz asked quietly, "did you tell her you were a Power Ranger?"
"Course not," Ricky replied, "but she's not an idiot, I think that was her way of telling me our secret is safe."
"Still, the Major will probably want to know," Jazz began, "she's the one paying Sabrina's medical bills."
"I don't want some men in suits stuffing her into an underground bunker," Ricky countered as they entered the empty main waiting area of the ward, "she won't tell anyone, the Major will have to trust me on that."
"Oh I will," the pair spun around and spotted Taylor leaning against a wall, "yellow ranger's are always trustworthy, I can vouch for that."
"Do they teach you how to be scare people in the Air Force or is it just a natural talent?" Ricky said as he tried to lower his heart rate.
Taylor shrugged, "I was sorted out Sabrina's paperwork when I heard you coming, it was an opportunity too good to miss." She pushed herself off the wall and slowly approached the pair, "I mean it though, I do trust your judgement with Sabrina and it wouldn't be the first time someone figured out the identity of a Ranger. You must understand though, if the Vyglass find out about her-"
"They already know, we think," Jazz interrupted the Major, "Sabrina brought her costume from a fake website, can't be a coincidence that she happened to be the friend of a Ranger."
Taylor paused in thought for a couple of moments before answering, "That is concerning, I'll have to think about how to handle that information," she said with a deep frown, "didn't she get your costume from the same website?"
"Yeah I haven't figured out why I wasn't affected yet," Ricky sighed, "maybe my Avian power protected me. We did see Prince Reise nearby before her change, maybe he did something to activate the monster's special ability."
Taylor nodded in agreement, "At least we know how the Vyglass monster operate, thanks to you," she added towards Ricky, "together with Doctor Neuer's notes, our analysists determined that the scorpion things bring inanimate objects to life."
"They also activate to grow the monster when its taken enough damage," Jazz added, "ingenious if you ask me."
"Better than using some seeds and magic words," Taylor mumbled to herself, "but that's enough praising our inter-dimensional enemies for one day, go home and get some rest," the Major added, "something tells me the Vyglass won't take this defeat lightly." Ricky nodded, not needing a second invitation to go home. At least Sabrina was still in the city, there would be plenty of time for them to talk another day.
A/N - Been a while, sorry about that. Illness, work and Christmas got in the way for the last few months.