After much preparation, the opening day of Rachel's new had arrived. A steady stream of potential customers arrived throughout the day, most were curious to see Aaronsdale's resident celebrity's latest venture. A decent number had signed up for a membership, including the latest couple that Jazz was currently talking to, "Alright that's you all set up," the Scot handed over two plastic cards to the latest recruits, "I hope you enjoy your membership at Swanfield Gym," she added with a smile.
The taller of the men looked over to the weight section where Mark was working out, "So, when is his first training session?" he asked with a small grin and a glint in his eye.
"Hey," the other man slapped him on the arm, "can you wait until I'm not around to mentally undress our new trainer."
"Like you haven't snuck a look," his boyfriend countered.
"Don't worry gents, Mark's first classes start tomorrow," Jazz stated, "now why don't you get yourself acclimatised to our machines." The men grumbled, at each other rather than Jazz before heading towards the locker rooms. Stevie had witnessed the entire exchange and dropped her pale blue bag on the counter, "Hey you," Jazz greeted with a smile, "can I sign you up for a membership?"
"Nah I've already got mine," the blue ranger flashed her card, "Rachel hooked the school athletics team up with a special rate." She nodded towards the red ranger lying on the bench press, "Was it your idea to put the sweaty, muscular guy in direct eyeline of the counter?"
"He's been amazing for business," Jazz replied with a sly grin, "his classes are almost fully booked for the rest of the week."
Stevie shrugged, "Can't see it personally then again he's not really my type." Before she could continue, she spotted Harley in a black workout vest taking a seat at the bench next to the red ranger, "This won't end well," the blue ranger sighed, "I'd better stop them before their wand measuring contest gets out of hand."
The blue ranger bounced up the steps leading to the free weights section and stood behind the black ranger, "Need someone to spot for you?" she asked.
"Think I can handle it," Harley grunted, taking the strain of the bar, "this is set to two twenty right?"
"Five kilos more than mine," Mark hissed between repartitions, "which you would know after spending all that time checking my bar."
"Dunno what you mean," Harley countered, lifting his bar to match Mark's pace, "this is the weight I usually press."
"We could all lift more than this without trying," to prove her point, Stevie pulled the bar out of Harley's hand, rotated it around and handed it back, "you just wanted to show off."
Some footsteps on the floor drew Stevie's attention, "Don't bother they've been doing that all day," Rachel commented, "I'm going to have the strongest janitor in the county though," she teased the black ranger.
Harley dropped his bar back into place with a loud clang, "I never said I was taking that job," he grumbled, "don't you have a handy man already," he pointed at Ricky, dressed in blue overalls on top of his yellow checked shirt, "he's better at that stuff than me."
"Ricky's just helping out between his classes," Rachel countered, "he's more of my technical support, I wouldn't expect him to clean out the toilets or clean the sweaty machines."
Harley snorted, "Sounds like hard work to me," and returned to his position under the bar.
"I let you live upstairs rent free," Rachel crossed her arms, "we're all pulling our weight where we can, if you want to keep living here you'll do the same."
Mark let out a loud sigh and stopped his repartitions, "Let's not have an argument, you'll drive away potential customers." He wiped the sweat from his brow with a red towel, "This might be Rachel's business but remember, it's mainly a front for our true jobs as Rangers."
"Whatever you say, Mr Leader," Harley said sarcastically, "tell me though, will all your new students get a laminated workout card," he snatched the aforementioned item off the floor, "we don't really need to work out."
Mark grabbed the card back from the black ranger, "I'm trying to keep my cover," he began, "people could ask questions if they never saw me working out." He stood up with a thump and began walking to a refreshments area at the rear of the gym.
"Always the perfect leader and soldier aren't you," Harley wasn't finished arguing and began following the red ranger.
As their argument continued, Rachel rubbed her face with her hand, "Something tells me I'm making a massive mistake," neither Ricky or Stevie disagreed with her statement, "come on, we probably should stop them," she added and set off after their bickering team mates.
Mark and Harley eventually stopped at a vending machine where the red ranger was pushing a dollar bill into the money slot. A bright orange bottle tumbled down the chute where it was retrieved by Mark, "Are you sure you should be drink that rubbish," Harley snatched the bottle away whilst Mark was mid-drink, "probably affects your perfectly planned diet."
The red ranger pointed angrily at Harley, "Look I get it, you don't like me but you should respect me as the team's leader." Suddenly the red ranger's eyes became unfocused and he wobbled on his feet. The arriving Ricky and Rachel had to steady him for a moment but once he regained his balance, they were in for a surprise, "Actually you know what, leading is such hard work, why don't you do it." The red ranger promptly found the nearest chair and sat down with a heavy thud and a loud sigh.
Harley looked at the other Rangers, frowning as he approached Mark, "Careful what you wish for buddy," he grabbed the orange drink from the red rangers head, "the hell is in this stuff," he gave the bottle a sniff before taking a sip.
"Harley you idiot," Ricky groaned, "why would you drink something when you don't know what harm it could do?"
"Eh wouldn't be the first time," the black ranger shrugged before suddenly standing up straight, "but it will certainly be the last." He inspected the bottle closely before handing it over to Jazz, "You should take this back to base for analysis Jasminder," he stated.
"Maybe you should come with me," Jazz frowned at the use of her full name, "are you feeling alright, you're really not acting like yourself?"
"Absolutely fine but if it puts your mind at ease, I'll come back to base," Harley replied with a clipped tone, "but maybe look at Mark first," he nodded towards the red ranger.
Stevie approached the red ranger who by now had slumped in his seat with his head resting to one side, "Is he unconscious?" Ricky asked nervously.
A small snore came from Mark's lips, "Nope, he's fallen asleep," the blue ranger stood up and kicked the red ranger in the leg, "not the time for a nap," she snapped. Mark groaned loudly in protested, "I'll kick the other leg if you don't hurry up," Stevie pulled him to his feet.
"Alright, alright," Mark grumbled, "don't be such a hard ass."
"Says the person who called us in for 6am drills yesterday," Rachel shook her head, "he seems much more relaxed and Harley is acting like a decent human being, are we sure that we want to find out what's wrong?"
There was a long pause before Jazz finally spoke up, "Maybe we'll let Major Earhardt decide," she carefully sealed the cap on the bottle, "come on let's head over to the base," Harley almost marched towards the exit but Mark had to be practically dragged out the door.
Fed up of Mark dragging his feet, Rachel grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the exit, "Watch the place guys," the white ranger called to the rest of her employees, "and get used to us running out at short notice," she muttered under her breath.
Unbeknown to the Rangers, their misadventures were being watched on the Vyglass ship. Kane was staring impassively at a screen, barely noticing the presence of the other Vyglass leaders around him, "I must say, this plan seems very similar to Lena's," Count Trivium cast a cold glance at the mask wearing general, "placing an enchantment on a Ranger didn't help then, what makes you think it will now?"
"Simple, the wrong person was targeted," Kane replied, "the red ranger is their leader and the only one trained to use their Ranger powers. By limiting his ability to lead and to fight, the remaining Rangers will be easy to pick off."
"I do hope you are right," Trivium rose from his seat and began to leave the room, "it would be a shame to see you turned into scrap metal Kane," he shot one final barb before exiting with Prince Reise close behind.
"This better work," Lena hissed towards the mechanoid, "the Count has been in a terrible mood for days."
"I have been studying the Rangers for a while, building a database to study their weaknesses. Sometimes to win a battle you need to have patience, something you meat bags wouldn't understand," Kane replied imperiously.
The mechanoid paused, raising a glass to his mouth opening, "I didn't know you could drink," Lena leaned closer and took a sniff of the liquid, "is that whiskey?" a surprised Princess asked.
"In my efforts to study the humans, I decided to investigate the vices of the black ranger," Kane swirled the drink in his glass, "this is the one I have found to be the most enjoyable, my circuits have never run smoother."
Lena scoffed and walked away, "I think you've been watching too many cartoons personally," she spat, leaving the mechanoid alone with his drink.
At the Air Base, Jazz was finishing her analysis of the energy drink. She leaned back in her chair, slowing shaking her head, "I'm never drinking another energy drink again," she whistled, "there's nothing natural in this at all."
"Says the person who drinking this luminous orange crap," Ricky chuckled, wiggling Jazz's bottle of Irn-Bru between his fingers.
"Don't mock my heritage," she sniffed, "at least I can identify the ingredients in this, whatever the guys drank, it wasn't manufactured on Earth." She pointed at a string of numbers on her screen, "None of these compounds exist, I'm almost certain the Vyglass are behind this."
"That would match up with the report from the lab on Mark and Harley's blood work," Major Earhardt added as she entered the room, "there's an unidentified compound in their system." She turned towards Rachel, "Where did you order your drinks from?" she asked the white ranger.
The blonde Ranger swiped through her tablet, a frown slowly appearing, "This can't be right, according to our inventory we haven't received our delivery yet." She paused whilst she continued to swipe, "In fact, there's no record that a vending machine was delivered," she added.
"Sounds like we've found our culprit," Harley made the group jump, "perhaps we should return to the gym and take a closer look."
"Shouldn't you be in bed Harley?" Taylor said to the black ranger, "we don't know what the long term effects this could have on your body"
"Trust me Major, this is the least toxic thing I've put into my body," Harley replied before his cigarette supply from his jeans, "these things for example, as long as I'm a Power Ranger my body will be a temple."
"I can't believe I'm saying this but we need to change him back and quickly," Stevie shook her head, "this isn't natural."
"At least they're haven't entered berserk mode yet, unlike someone I know," Ricky said with a small smile, to which Stevie responded by sticking her tongue out, "where is Mark, is he still in the infirmary?"
Jazz tapped into her keyboard until security footage of the red ranger appeared on screen, "He's in the recreation room," she replied with a frown, "and it looks like he's playing pool." Suddenly a warning alarm sounded throughout the base, "Great, just what we need," the Scot grumbled, "locating the source of the attack."
The monitors were filled with the Vyglass' latest monster, "Well there's your new vending machine," Stevie commented. The beast's body was shaped like a vending machine with reptilian arms and legs poking out the sides. Sprouting from the top were bat-like ears and the top of a lizard's head complete with red eyes, "I swear these things get weirder every day."
"This beast won't stop itself," Harley commented, "we need to protect the citizens of Aaronsdale, let's move out."
When no-one followed Harley's lead, Taylor added firmly, "Didn't you hear him, move out." As the Rangers departed, she noticed that Mark hadn't left the pool table, shrugging off the monster warning and going back to his frame, "Keep a close eye on the battle Jazz, I'm all for Harley taking the lead but I'm worried the others won't follow his orders."
"Will do boss, do you have a plan?" the Scotswoman asked.
Unseen by Jazz, Taylor fumbled a black and gold cell phone in her hand, "Maybe, but I would like the team to solve this one without outside assistance." Jazz shrugged at the Major's cryptic words but kept a close eye on the monster.
The four Rangers eventually caught up to the Vyglass attacker in the South Side of Aaronsdale. They battled against the tide of fleeing civilians until they were able to block his movement up the street, "That's far enough," Harley called, "your reign of terror stops here."
"Dude, no one outside a comic talks like that," Stevie whispered to the black ranger.
Ignoring the blue ranger, Harley summoned his morpher, "Everyone ready?" the remaining three rangers shrugged and also called on their morphers, "Jet Force, Take Flight," he called. Once the light of their morph was complete, Harley pulled his Jet Blaster from its holster, "Cover me, I'm going in".
From a vantage point high above the street, Kane and Lena watched the battle unfold, "Was infecting the black ranger part of your plan?" the Princess asked. The mechanoid didn't answer and remained strangely passive, "I'll take that as a no then," Lena grinned behind her mask. She slowly walked to the ledge, placing a boot on the edge and leaned over. She observed the blue, yellow and white rangers hesitate after each order from the black ranger. As a result, their attacks were out of sync with each other and the Vendor monster was able to repel them with ease. "His commands are sound but they're reluctant to follow his instructions," Lena commented.
"I never pegged the black ranger as a tactical mastermind, that was a miscalculation on my part," Kane replied carefully, "but it seems neither do his team."
"You might be the first person to defeat a team of Power Rangers completely by accident," Lena chuckled, "don't worry, if anyone asks I'll tell them this was exactly how you planned it." Kane tilted his head slightly towards the Princess but said nothing in response.
On street level, the Rangers were being forced back by a barrage from Vendrix who was firing explosive cans from the dispensing flap of his vending machine body, "That's it, I'm never using the school vending machines again," Stevie cried before leaping behind a parked car. The projectile exploded on contact with the car, forcing the blue ranger from her hiding place.
"We're just lulling it into a false sense of security," Harley said confidently, "Ricky and Rachel, use the cover over there," he pointed towards debris that had fallen from a building, "Stephanie and I will attack from the front, our distraction will allow you to flank the beast."
"Nuh, no way," Stevie shook her head, "I dunno who appointed you leader but I'm not taking part in your suicide attack."
When the white and yellow ranger's didn't outwardly support his plan, the black ranger merely combined his blaster and sword together into the Jet Cannon, "You're apprehensive, understandable but I wouldn't ask you to do something that I wouldn't do myself," He took a breath before charging towards Vendrix, "Jet Cannon, full power," he cried.
Vendrix merely chuckled deeply before shouting, "Coin Shot," and hundreds of golden projectiles flew towards the black ranger, most of which impacted against his suit. The onslaught soon became too much for Harley, his weapon slipping slowly from his grasp before collapsing to his knees.
Back at base, Jazz and Taylor were watching the battle unfold, "Harley's suit is holding but it won't take much more," Jazz commented, "they need Mark to help them."
Taylor stared impassively at the screen, her hand still tightly grasping her old Growl Phone morpher, "Did the lab say how long this foreign substance would be in their systems?" she asked.
"They couldn't say," Jazz winced as the Rangers dodged another can attack from Vendrix, "their Avian power should clear it away quicker than usual but it could be several hours before we see a change."
Taylor let out a deep sigh before stuffing her old morpher into her uniform pocket, "Jazz I need two things from you, no questions asked."
The Scot paused before slowly replying, "Should I be worried about what you're planning?"
"That sounded like a question," Taylor sniped back, "firstly, I need you to patch this footage to every television and monitor in the recreation room." A few taps and a nod from Jazz confirmed that this had been completed, "I also need a helicopter, ready to fly as soon as possible."
Jazz frowned but checked the base's inventory, "There's one fully fuelled on Pad B, where shall I tell the pilot you're going."
"No pilot needed," Taylor stated as she headed for the exit, "tell the ground crew I'll be taking off in five minutes," she left before Jazz could voice her objections.
Stomping down the corridor, Taylor reached the recreation room and opened the door with a loud bang. To her surprise Mark wasn't looking at the battle footage, he was still playing pool, "Your team is out there risking their lives," the Major snapped, "and you can't bring yourself to look up from your game."
The red ranger didn't answer, waiting until he had taken his shot, "Man, I lined that up perfectly," he grumbled as the ball bounced off the cushion. Taylor also wasn't impressed, she snatched the pool cue from Mark's hand and snapped it over her knee, "Hey I was using that," he cried.
"Take a look around," Taylor forcibly spun him around to face a screen which showed the Rangers under fire from another Vendrix coin attack, "I don't know what the Vyglass used on you but I really hope the real Mark is in there somewhere."
For a moment there was a look of concern from the red ranger but he quickly shoot it off, "I'd like to get back to pool now," he stated and turned towards the spare cues.
The former yellow ranger grunted in frustration, grabbing the red ranger between his neck and shoulder. Mark cried in pain and instantly collapsed to one knee, "I'll let you go on the sole condition that you come with me, immediately," she put extra emphasis on the last word.
"OK, OK," Mark tapped Taylor's hand in an attempt to escape her nerve hold, "whatever you say, just let me go." Taylor let go of the hold but wasn't taking any chances, pulling the red ranger by the wrist, "Oww," he groaned as the Major dragged him from the room, "where are we going?"
Taylor didn't answer until they completed the short journey to the waiting helicopter. She pointed towards the open door, "If you won't go to the battle willingly, I'm going to take you there," she said whilst climbing into the pilot seat.
"Do you know how to fly a helicopter?" Mark asked nervously.
Taylor secured her helmet and began the start up sequence, "I flew F-16's before you left Kindergarten, I'm sure I can manage," she replied dismissively. The rotor's started and with a gentle tug on the yoke, the helicopter slowly rose into the sky.
Taylor deliberately kept a low altitude and soon the desert surrounding the Air Base gave way to the outskirts of Aaronsdale, "Soaring Eagle to Base," Taylor called through the radio, "Jazz are you receiving on this frequency?"
"Loud and clear or whatever the proper term is," the Scot replied, "can I get a cool radio handle like yours Major?"
"Learn the proper aviation communication terminology, then we'll talk," Taylor replied, "are the Rangers still in the same location and what's their current status?"
"Yup still in the South Side and not brilliant, whatever you're planning I hope you do it soon."
"Hear that", Taylor said to Mark, "your team is struggling without you," she paused as they began to close in on the battle site, "in fact there they are," she pointed out.
The Major manoeuvred the helicopter into position just above the top of the tallest building. The pair watched as Vendrix launched another half dozen Can Bombs towards the Rangers. Debris from the street was thrown in all directions and the shockwave threatened to knock the helicopter out of position. It took Taylor a few moments to spot the Rangers until she finally noticed their brightly coloured suits amongst the rubble, "They need help," Taylor pleaded with Mark, "I'm going to lower the chopper and let you out."
"I'm not going down there," Mark shook his head, "there's nothing you can say that will convince me."
Taylor cursed under her breath, this spell, potions or poison was stronger than anything she had encountered before. She was going to have to get drastic, "I never had you pegged as a coward Lieutenant," she snapped, "what would Adrienne say if she could see you now?" This got the reaction she hoped for as Mark's head snapped in her direction. She reached over and opened the side door next to Mark, "Take a good look at the people you're letting down."
Mark leaned out the door and this was the opportunity Taylor was looking for. Fortunately for her plan, Mark had neglected to fasten his seatbelts. Once he was leaning over sufficiently, Taylor seized her chance and gave him a firm push out the helicopter. She watched as Mark's arms flailed wildly, it couldn't have been for more than a second but to Taylor it felt like a lifetime. Finally there was a flash of red light and she spotted the distinctive figure of the Red Jet Force Ranger gliding safely through the sky towards his team mates. She breathed a sigh of relief before moving the helicopter away from the battle.
Down on the ground Mark landed softly and immediately rushed to the others, "Guys are you alright?"
"Nothing a long ice bath won't cure," Stevie grumbled, "you're back to normal then, how did they come up with a cure?"
Mark paused, just realising that he felt his usual self, "I don't know, I don't think they did," he looked up and saw Major Earhardt circling overhead, "the Major might have pushed me out a helicopter", he added.
The Rangers looked up and the Major gave him all a small salute before flying away, "I have never been more scared of anyone in my life," Ricky visibly shuddered.
"Well, now you're back, what's the plan?" Rachel asked.
"What's wrong with Harley's plans?" Mark countered, "my mind is a little foggy but from what I briefly heard and saw, he was proving to be an excellent leader." He stepped back behind the black ranger, "What are your orders boss?" he asked.
"You do realise he's under the influence of something right?" Stevie whispered to the red ranger, to which Mark shrugged in response.
"Stevie, Ricky, covering fire," the black ranger began, "everyone else Jet Swords at the ready," The white, blue and yellow rangers glanced briefly at Mark who offered a small nod of agreement. Stevie and Ricky began laying down several rounds from their blasters whilst Harley pointed towards the right side of the monster. With Vendrix distracted by the hail of laser fire, he was unable to block the slashes of Mark, Harley and Rachel.
The beast flew back in the air with several cans dropping out the dispensing chute, "Looks like you're all out of ammunition," Mark commented with a chuckle.
"This is our opening, everyone prepare their Jet Cannon's," Harley ordered as Vendrix struggled back to its feet, "fire," he cried and five beams of light streaked towards the monster. The blasts impacted to main body and Vendrix tumbled backwards in a fiery blaze.
Everyone waited a moment but to their surprise, the monster didn't grow into a giant. High up in his observation point Kane clenched his fist, his arm visibly shaking, "You're not activating the Dimension Bug's enlargement program?" Lena asked, barely keeping the glee at the mechanoid's failure.
"It seems a little redundant," Kane tried to shrug off his defeat, "if they can beat a monster at normal size, why would it have more success as a giant?" Lena offered a small shrug in response, "This will keep the Rangers on their toes, not knowing when we will enlarge our creations."
"You just don't want to see him blown up again," Lena almost broke out in laughter, "I will admit, that does get tiresome after a while."
"You shouldn't sound so smug, especially after your string of failures," Kane bit back, silencing the Princess, "my plan was working tactically until the red ranger somehow found a way to overcome the potion."
"And in the process you showed the Rangers that their black ranger can ably lead the team," Lena turned on her heels and walked away, "good job you walking tin can," she added before teleporting away. Kane offered one final glare at the retreating Rangers before also leaving the city.
A couple of hours later at the Air Base, Harley returned from getting a final check over from the medical team. He walked into central command where the other Rangers, Major Earhardt and Jazz were waiting, "Good news," the black ranger began, "got a clean bill of health,"
"Does that mean you're back to your old self?" Ricky said with a small groan.
Harley grinned and snatched his previous discarded packet of cigarettes from the desk, "You better believe it, whatever hex they put on me is gone."
"Seems strange that their potion turned Mark lazy and Harley into Mr Responsibility," Stevie began, "did they like, switch personalities or something?"
"More like brought out a latent personality trait," Taylor stated, "or it at least inhibited your dominant trait to let another one take control."
"So there's a responsible adult inside Harley, who knew," Rachel grinned, "and Mark does know how to have fun."
"I must admit, I enjoyed playing pool," Mark shrugged, "but I definitely won't be doing it when on duty again." He looked over to Major Earhardt, "I really don't want to get pushed out a helicopter again."
"Yeah how did you know that an adrenaline rush would purge the potion out his system?" Jazz asked the Major.
Taylor shrugged, "I didn't, Mark was just getting on my nerves," her train of thought was interrupted by Rachel's buzzing phone, "do you need to get that?" she asked the white ranger.
Rachel sheepishly pulled her phone from her pocket but let out an audible groan when checking the notification, "Sorry Major, I thought I'd turned it off."
"It's not the same weirdo as the other day is it?" Harley asked, to which the white ranger glared in response, "I know you said you were dealing with it-"
"And I am so drop it," Rachel snapped in response, "sorry Major, won't happen again."
"Actually that was it, I was going to say you were dismissed for the day," Taylor stated, "just keep your communicators on."
"Maybe we can go to the bar and shoot a few frames," Harley said to the others, "don't worry Stevie, I'll let them know you're with me."
"Very generous," Stevie deadpanned, "you can pay for my soda too," she looked over her shoulder, "you want to join us Major?"
Taylor offered the youngest member of the team a small smile, "That's very kind but I'm catching up with an old friend, maybe another time." She waited the Rangers along with Jazz leave the room before taking another look at her Growl Phone. Pocketing the device in her jacket, she shut down any non-essential equipment, grabbed her bag and keys and left soon afterwards.
Later in the evening Taylor was back at home sitting in front of a computer screen with a bottle of beer in hand. On the screen was a woman of similar age with long black hair and a white blouse, "I can't believe you pushed your red ranger out a helicopter," the woman chuckled between sips of red wine, "I'm still trying to work out how you haven't been court-marshalled yet."
Taylor let out a low laugh, "I'm just as surprised as you Alyssa, believe me," she took a quick drink, "are you telling me you never wanted to push any of our team from a great height."
"No," Alyssa sounded almost offended, "I mean, Max and Danny's perky attitude got on my nerves occasionally but I never wished them bodily harm."
"Ah but Mark's suit has wings," Taylor said defensively, "I've never seen a shark fly, except in a few terrible movies."
The two former team mates laughed together until Alyssa spoke, "Have you told them?" she asked, "about being a former Power Ranger?"
"Is there such a thing as a former Power Ranger?" Taylor countered, "after the Armada a few years ago, I've seen other older teams getting back in the saddle. In our day, we did our year of service and quietly went back to our former lives."
Alyssa took another sip of wine, "You're dodging the question," she interjected.
"That might work on your third graders but not on me," the white Wild Force Ranger countered with a firm glare, "urgh the teacher face," Taylor took a long gulp of her beer, "no, I haven't told them and I don't plan to unless I have to."
There was a long pause before Alyssa simply asked, "Why? What harm would it do if you told them?"
"I don't know," Taylor sighed, "maybe I want to succeed as a mentor without having to suit back up again."
"So ego then," Alyssa grinned, "remind me again why you and Eric didn't work out."
"Because we both have massive and extremely fragile egos, I'm not afraid to admit that," Taylor shrugged. She finished her drink before continuing, "OK I want an honest answer, if Princess Shayla revealed she was a former Power Ranger and started joining us in the field, how would you have felt?"
Alyssa thought about the question for a few moments, "Depends when she joined the battles I guess, on one hand it would've been good to fight alongside our mentor-"
"And it might've felt like she didn't trust us to do the job on the other?" Taylor interrupted the former white ranger. Alyssa paused and offered a small nod in response, "See, stuck between a rock and a hard place," Taylor reached over and grabbed her old morpher, "I nearly use it today though," she wiggled the Growl Phone in front of the camera, "good thing I came up with another solution."
"Need I remind you that your alternate solution was pushing the red ranger out a helicopter," Alyssa laughed in response. Once she regained control, she continued, "Just think about telling them, they're bound to find out one day."
Taylor sighed, "Fine, when the time is right or if the situation call for it, I will tell my team, are you satisfied?"
"For now," Alyssa put her wine glass down and leaned forward, "let's change the subject, I heard that you called your ex-husband for help before me."
"How did you find out?" Taylor paused and groaned in realisation, "curse that red ranger Whatsapp group."
"So, did you get to catch up?" Alyssa suddenly spotted Taylor's cheeks going red, "something happened didn't it? I want full details and I want them now."
Taylor threw her head towards the ceiling, "I think I need another beer before telling that story," she jumped from her chair and stomped towards her kitchen with only the echoes of Alyssa's chuckling for company.
A/N - When I watched Commander Aya push Ryuu out a helicopter in the corresponding Jetman episode, that seems like something Taylor would totally do. Hope you liked the former Ranger cameo towards the end. Bit "action-lite" this one, struggled to get into the swing of writing for some reason.