The first and only thing Rachel felt for several minutes after waking up was pain. It felt like someone was pounding a drum inside her head and the small amount of sunlight peeking through hurt her eyes. Once she summoned the strength to open her eyes fully, the white ranger realised she was in her bedroom. She tried to think back to the previous night but there were patches missing. She remembered being at Duality, vaguely recalled getting on stage and performing a horrible version of Piano Man but most of all she remembered Harley, specifically his offer to take her home.

Shock filled her system and she kicked off her covers, "Still wearing my clothes," she croaked, "that's good, I didn't do anything really stupid." Her body reacted negatively to the sudden movement and she was almost overcome by a wave of nausea. That's when she spotted a couple of tablets and a full glass of water beside her bed. There was a post-it note attached to the glass, "Take these and drink all the water," she mumbled. With nothing to lose she did as instructed and downed the water before flopping back onto the bed.

Several minutes later and with her headache muted, Rachel rolled to the floor and took the brave decision to stand up. After wobbling for a few seconds, she inched towards the hall, "He could've laid me on the sofa," she muttered ungratefully.

Tackling the stairs took longer than expected but Rachel finally made it to the kitchen where she found an annoying fresh looking Harley, "Well look what the cat dragged in," he said smugly, "I did make breakfast but that was hours ago."

"Hours ago?" Rachel replied with confusion, "what time is it?"

Harley checked his watch in an exaggerated fashion, "Well the big hand is nearly on the twelve and the little hand is on the one," he looked outside briefly, "and since the sun's up, I make that 1PM."

"One in the afternoon," Rachel exclaimed, "why didn't you wake me, we've got Mark's birthday thing in an hour."

"I tried believe me," Harley said, "got the bruises to prove it, gave up after the third attempt." The white ranger groaned and let her head drop to the kitchen counter, "I'll give you credit, you kept up with me for longer than I thought."

Rachel mumbled something but it took a couple of attempts to form a sentence, "Please tell me I didn't do anything too embarrassing," she pleaded.

"Other than butchering a song or two, nothing that'll make the National Enquirer if that's what you're worried about," Harley shrugged. He poured the white ranger a drink into a mug, "Get that in you," he continued, "the blackest, bitterest coffee I could find in your cupboards."

The blonde took the mug, she wasn't sure what coffee Harley had found but it definitely smelt strong. A couple of sips later was all it took for her to begin to feel human again, "I thought our powers would stop us getting hangovers," she grumbled between sips, "if you drank more than me, why aren't you suffering?"

"This weren't my first bender, shocking I know" the black ranger shrugged.

Silence fell between the pair as Rachel nursed her coffee, eventually finding enough energy to sit up straight, "Thank you," she said to break the silence, "for making sure I got home, you didn't have to do that."

"I'm many things sweetheart, one of them is a gentleman," Harley replied his southern accent thicker than usual, "plus your sofa is more comfortable than some beds I've slept in."

Rachel let out a small chuckle and quickly finished her coffee. She hopped down from her stool and leaned over to Harley, placing a quick kiss on his cheek, "Well once again, thank you for looking after me, now I really need a shower and a change of clothes before Mark's party," she shuffled back towards the stairs before adding, "good thing we're heading back to Duality for it, hopefully my car is still there," she disappeared from view, not noticing Harley's vacant gaze as he rubbed his cheek.

An hour and a quick fast food stop later, the black and white ranger's were back outside Duality, "Ah it's still here," Rachel cried with relief when she spotted her car. She gave the vehicle a quick once over, "Doesn't look like anything's missing either, must be my lucky day."

"I might've given Horace a few extra dollars to keep a close eye on it," Harley shrugged, "looks like he earned it."

Rachel gave him a playful nudge, "Maybe I should give you something as a reward for being so thoughtful."

Before Harley could respond they were interrupted by distance but loud rumbling, "The hell is that?" the black ranger commented.

"No idea, almost sounds like an engine," Rachel answered as the noise drew closer, "seems a little soon for another Vyglass attack."

"Better be ready for anything," the black ranger replied and the two rangers prepared for battle. Moments later an old light blue hatchback trundled into the alley. It wasn't the source of the noise but it did contain a couple of familiar faces, "Well isn't that a coincidence," Harley commented as Stevie and Ricky stepped out the car, "We thought that heap of scrap was making that noise," he called out to the pair.

"Don't be mean about Betsy," Stevie sniffed and patted the hood of her car, "it's OK, he's just being a big meanie," she whispered to the car.

Ignoring the blue ranger's overly affectionate display towards her car, Rachel asked Ricky, "If it's not you, what's making that terrible racket?"

"Oh you're in for a treat," Ricky grinned as the rumbling engine grew even louder, "we've been working on this solidly for the last couple of weeks."

Any further conversation was drowned out as the offending vehicle turned into the alley. It was a cross between a hot rod and a dune buggy, consisting mostly of red tubing, white panels and four massive tyres. The exposed engine spat fire from the cylinders as the driver revved the engine before mercifully switching it off. A helmeted figure pulled themselves out between two red pipes that acted as a roll cage for the vehicle and stood on the single seat, "What do you think?" a familiar yet muffled voice called out. They removed the helmet, revealing their resident technical expert, "Is Mark gonna love it or what," Jazz beamed whilst trying to flatten her hair.

"Its certainly loud," Rachel commented as she walked around the vehicle, "not really something you could take to the store."

"Its not meant to be," Jazz leaned closer and added with a whisper, "this is more for Ranger business."

"We've been working on the designs in our spare time," Ricky added, "only just been able to find a suitable car to use."

"Someone sold you this?" Harley snorted, "they definitely saw you two coming."

Jazz spun and frowned at the black ranger, "Hey I know how to buy a used car mate," she snapped.

"Oh yeah," Harley grinned, "shouldn't that," he pointed at a small puddle of oil forming underneath the engine, "be in the car?"

The Scot gaped for a moment before trying to shrug it off, "It's a work in progress,"

Harley chuckled, "Yeah whatever you say," he clapped his hands together, "now, I could do with an afternoon pick-me-up." Rachel groaned and reluctantly following the black ranger with the others following closely behind.

They weren't waiting long for the birthday boy to arrive. Mark was almost forced down the steps into Duality by a casually dressed Major Earhardt where he was greeted with a small cake decorated with 'Happy 26th Birthday'. He politely accepted the gifts, which included a balloon with 'Happy Retirement' from Stevie but there was something off with the red ranger.

After the pleasantries Harley dragged Mark over to the pool tables with Stevie and Ricky calling the next game. That left Rachel, nursing a glass of water, alone at a table with Jazz, "Heavy night?" the Scot asked.

"What gave me away?" Rachel chuckled.

"Lets see, sitting in the quietest corner of a bar with a pint of water was my first clue," Jazz began, "plus your face might look fresh but your eyes say I've just got out of bed after about four hours sleep. It's a look I've seen the mirror more than once."

"Not bad," the white ranger laughed, "any tips for curing a hangover?"

"In Scotland we usually keep drinking," Jazz shrugged, "what can I say, stereotypes come from somewhere." She took a swig from her bottle before continuing, "So what was the big occasion, movie premiere or launch party?"

A sad smile crossed Rachel's face, "More like a pity party, I just couldn't get my mind off Daniel."

"So you drank yourself into oblivion? That sounds really healthy," Jazz said sarcastically.

"That was my plan," the white ranger sighed, "but then I bumped into Harley, we talked it through and we ended up having a really good night, that I can remember anyway." She glanced over at the black ranger, who was swaggering around the pool table, "There's more to him than you see on the surface you know."

"Sounds like someone's smitten," Jazz teased but Rachel didn't immediately respond, "you're not are you?"

"No," Rachel said quickly, "no absolutely not."

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much," Jazz teased. Just then Taylor wandered over to their table, "Oh hey Major, Rachel was just telling me she has the hots for Harley."

Taylor raised an eyebrow towards the white ranger, "I do not," Rachel shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the bar. Her face flushed red with embarrassment, "Just because we had a fun night doesn't mean we're a thing."

"That would explain why you're hungover," Taylor responded dryly before holding up her hands to fend off Rachel's protest, "I'm off duty today so whatever happened in your free time is none of my concern. In fact its been a while since I engaged in some girl talk," she sat herself down at the table, "So, did you two knock boots or what?"

"Oh God, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Rachel cringed, "we had a few drinks last night, did a bit of karaoke then he got me home safe. I slept in my bed and he slept downstairs on the sofa, end of story."

Taylor grinned, "But you're not denying he's good looking?" Jazz snorted and accidentally spat some of her drink onto the table.

Rachel meanwhile was going redder by the second, "I mean he's not hideous but I've never thought about him that way before."

"Before?" Jazz leaned in, "so you might be thinking about him that way now?"

"Now you're just twisting my words," Rachel countered, "what about you two then? Don't tell me you've never looked at the guys."

Taylor shook her head, "I'm off duty but I'm not that off duty."

"I'll answer then, Ricky is a no," Jazz began, "no offence to him but he's more like a brother plus he's taken by Sabrina."

"Even if he doesn't know it yet," Taylor chuckled between drinks.

"Exactly," Jazz said, "now as for the other two, I reckon you'd have more fun with Harley but Mark would be your long term kinda guy." She looked over towards the red ranger, "But he's still hung up over Adrienne, like now he's smiling but its not reaching his eyes."

There was silence at the table for a couple of moments, "Wow, that killed the buzz," Taylor groaned, quickly finishing her drink to distract her from the awkward silence.

On the other side of the bar Harley stalked his way around the pool table, occasionally sneaking glances at the table where Rachel was sitting, "They keep looking over here," Ricky commented from his bar stool, "do I have something in my teeth?"

"Don't be so paranoid," Stevie chuckled, "what's going on over there is something very few men get to witness," she paused for a moment before adding, "girl talk."

Harley took his shot, trying to act as casually as possible. To his frustration the ball bounced off the pocket and back onto the table, "It's distracting whatever it is," the black ranger grunted, "why aren't you over there gossiping then?" he directed towards the blue ranger.

Stevie shrugged, "Not my thing, they're probably discussing which one of you is hotter anyway."

"Stevie they're mature women, not eighth graders at a slumber party," Ricky shook his head. He fiddled with the label on his beer bottle before asking, "Who do you reckon they're talking about then?"

Harley snorted, "Real mature there buddy, if you have to ask then its probably not you." The black ranger grabbed his whiskey from the table and took a quick sip, "Let's turn the tables then," he continued, "Stevie, as an honorary guy, who floats your boat?"

Stevie grabbed her soda and replied with a whisper, "Tough choice, I mean Rachel has the looks and more importantly the money," Ricky rolled his eyes at the comment, "Jazz has the accent going for her but there is something about the Major, so commanding," her voice trailed off, leading to an awkward silence around the pool table.

Harley broke the moment with a loud chuckle, "Knew there was something I like about you," he turned to Mark who was quietly going about his game, "what about you hotshot, care to join in?"

"I'm not playing this childish game," the red ranger replied without taking his eyes off the pool table.

"Come on I'm not looking for a commitment," Harley goaded, "just a quick preference ranking will do."

Mark took a deep breath and took his shot, one ball was potted easily as the cue ball rocketed across the table, nudging two more ball into the pockets in the process. As Harley stood dumfounded at the shot, Mark calmly stated, "Firstly I don't want to play this game because it's demeaning." He crouched down and potted the 8-ball into the pocket with a resounding thunk, "Secondly it might've slipped your mind but I did lose my fiancée a few weeks ago so forgive me for not being in a playful mood." He dropped the cue on the table and grabbed his jacket, "Thanks for the party but I'm not in a celebrating mood," and with that he climbed the stairs towards the exit.

As the group around the pool table stood in stunned silence, Rachel left her seat, "What did you say to him?" the white ranger asked the black ranger.

"Me?" Harley sounded offended, "what makes you think it I had something to do with this?"

"Because if there's trouble, you're normally at the center of it," Rachel fired back and stomped off after the red ranger. Harley grumpily shook his head and finished his drink in response.

Mark was halfway to the main street before Rachel caught up with him, "Hey Mark, I'm sure whatever Harley said he didn't mean it," she called out

The red ranger paused and let out a sigh, "Harley very rarely does," he turned around to face the white ranger, "look I meant what I said, I'm not in the mood to celebrate my birthday but I appreciate the thought. Honestly I'd rather be on my own at the moment."

"That's not healthy for you," Rachel stated before adding with a resigned sigh, "but if that's really what you want." Mark nodded and slowly walked out of the alley, Rachel watched him depart before slowly making her way back to the bar. What neither of them knew was that they were being watched, from the shadows Princess Lena stepped forward and let out a dry laugh before disappearing into a portal.

Reemerging on the Vyglass ship, the Princess immediately ran into Kane, "I fail to understand your fascination with the red ranger," the cyborg commented, "you spend more time following him around than any other ranger."

"He is their most skilled warrior," Lena commented haughtily, "I'm merely trying to learn more about our enemy." The Princess stomped through the grimy corridor until it opened out to larger, well lit room. To her surprise, sitting in the middle of the space was a piano, "What is this junk doing here?" she asked Kane.

"One of Count Trivium experiments I believe," the cyborg shrugged, "left it here earlier and disappeared into his laboratory." Lena slowly walked around the instrument, her fingers gently caressing the keys, "Apparently this device makes noise by striking metal strings with a small hammer, the clanking noise is not to my personal taste."

"Your clanking footsteps are not to my personal taste," Lena scoffed, "and you have never heard the piano played properly." She carefully removed her headdress, allowing her red hair to flow free. She took a seat and the piano and began to play a slow, mournful tune.

Kane stood transfixed by Lena's graceful movements across the keys, there was a faraway look in her eyes as she barely glanced down during her performance. After a couple of minutes, she stopped and carefully lowered the piano's lid, "Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata," she quietly whispered whilst staring at her hands.

"I did not know you could play this contraption," Kane asked the Princess.

She didn't answer the question, standing up so quickly from the piano that the seat hit the ground with a clang, "Tell Kodeck to report to me immediately," she snapped, snatching her headdress from the piano, "and tell the Count if this is still here when I get back, I'll toss it out into space." Lena huffed away, leaving a very confused Kane behind. Neither of them noticed Count Trivium, smirking to himself in the shadows.

Back on Earth, Mark was walking slowly through Aaronsdale Cemetery with a bunch of white lilies in his hand. He pushed open the metal gate which led to the dedicated military section, it didn't take long to find the grave he was looking for. Crouching down he carefully touched the inscription on the tombstone;

LT. ADRIENNE BECTON

1993 – 2018

He slowly placed the lilies on the ground and took a step back, bowing his head for a moment. The quiet peace of the cemetery was broken when the iron gate creaked open. He took a sideways glance, knowing who it was immediately from the white and pink clothing, "Did you follow me?" he asked.

"No," Rachel replied, "I guessed this is where you'd be."

"I thought I made it clear that I wanted to be alone," Mark huffed.

"You did," Rachel shrugged, "I also made it clear that being alone right now wasn't healthy," the white ranger countered. She stood a respectful distance apart from the red ranger, allowing him a moment of quiet, "You never really talk about her," she continued, "she was clearly very important to you but we know nothing about her."

"Does it matter," Mark shook his head, "didn't know her and you never will."

"Because I'm interested," Rachel replied, "we've been team mates for weeks now and we still barely know anything about you, other than you're a terrible pool player," she added to try and lighten the mood.

"I beat Harley today didn't I?" a small smirk crossed Mark's face before it disappeared.

"See that's exactly what I mean," Rachel began, "just as quickly as you let us in, you slam the door shut again." The white ranger shook her head before heading for the exit, "It was a stupid idea coming here, this isn't the time or place."

As she approached the gate, the white ranger heard a small laugh from the red ranger, "Adrienne used to say things like that," he began, "she had a way of dragging me out of my shell." He paused to run his hand through his close cropped hair, "Feels like a part of me is missing," he confessed with a sigh.

"Maybe we can help to fill that gap," the white ranger said, "you have four friends, well three friends and Harley," the red ranger snorted with laughter, "plus you have Jazz and Major Earhardt. We'll always be there if you need us," she added, giving his arm a squeeze, "how about you come back to the party?"

Before Mark could answer their communicators sounded, "Can't even have my birthday off," the red ranger grumbled, "Mark here, what's the situation?"

"Trouble near the abandoned mine," Jazz stated, "the Vyglass send down a birthday gift for you."

"Hopefully they kept the receipt," Mark sighed, "alright we're on our way," he added and shut down his communicator, "the old mine is miles of out of town, what could they want there?" he said to Rachel.

"No idea, probably nothing good," the white ranger flashed her morpher, "shall we?"

Mark nodded, "Jet Force, Take Flight," he called and the pair quickly morphed into their suits. They spread their wings and shot off into the sky.

It didn't take long to reach their destination, the ruins of the old mine standing out vividly against the dusty desert. Down below they could see the other three Rangers doing battle against a Vyglass monster, "Does that thing have a camera for a head?" Rachel asked incredulously.

"No one ever accused the Vyglass of being subtle," Mark replied, "although that model looks very early 90's, they could've picked something more up to date." Rachel shook her head and let out a laugh in response.

The red and white rangers drew their swords, slashing against the monsters dark body and striking it across the orange vertical strip that went up his body. Looping around, they landed gracefully next to the others, "Show offs," Harley muttered under his breath.

"Careful with this one," Ricky said to the red ranger, "apparently there were a dozen security guards but they're nowhere to be seen."

"A dozen guards for an old mine?" Mark looked around, there didn't appear to be anything special about the place, "did the Major say anything about this place?"

Stevie shook her head, "No," she replied hesitantly, "but she seemed really off when she spotted where is was." There was a pause before Stevie continued, "Look, about earlier at the bar-"

"Don't worry about it," Mark shook his head, "I've talked it through with Rachel and maybe I overreacted," he added whilst patting Rachel's shoulder. No one noticed Harley's gloved hand clenching tightly.

Their conversation was interrupted by a burst of steam from the monster, the heat from the blast sent the group scattering. As they skidded to a stop on the desert floor, Mark called out to his team, "Jet Gauntlet everyone," his chosen weapon appeared on his arm, "if we attack at the same time-" his command was interrupted by Harley charging at the monster alone, "Harley, wait for my signal," he snapped.

Harley's swung his Jet Gauntlet but the monster fired a cable from over his right shoulder which wrapped around the black ranger's right arm, "Say cheese," the beast chuckled. A rectangular flash appeared from the top of its head and exploded direct in front of Harley. The black ranger flew, crashing against a rock before landing in a heap. There was a flash and his suit disappeared from his body, "Alright, that hurt," Harley groaned, holding his ribs tightly.

"Harley," Rachell called out and ran towards the fallen Ranger. The monster's lens suddenly extended and there was another bright flash aimed towards the white ranger. There was no explosion though, instead Rachel simply disappeared into thin air.

"What the hell?" Stevie cried, "where did she go?"

"I don't know," Mark said slowly, "but we need to fall back and regroup, we've lost the initiative."

Ricky suddenly saw the monster aiming its lens in Stevie's direction, "I don't think it's going let us go that easily," the yellow ranger called in his blaster and began firing wildly. Most missed the mark but a couple of lucky shots bounced directly off the lens. The monster instantly recoiled and tried to protect itself, "Maybe that's our chance," the yellow ranger called and backed away towards the prone black ranger.

Ricky's attack hadn't distracted the monster for long and it immediately set its sights on a retreating yellow ranger. Once again its lens extended and Ricky was firmly in its sights, "Hey, watch out," Stevie cried, pushing the yellow ranger just as the monster fired its capture beam. Unfortunately the blue ranger's actions placed her in the line of fire and just like Rachel, she disappeared into thin air.

Ricky stumbled and rolled across the dirt, landing near Harley, "This is not going to plan," he commented.

"Way to state the obvious," Harley coughed out.

Mark had to agree with the others, two Rangers were missing and a third was injured. He quickly moved into a defensive position in front of Harley and Ricky and pulled out his communicator, "Jazz we could really do with an emergency evac right," he said urgently.

"Already on it, I'm just sorry it was too late," the Scot replied through the device. Suddenly giant boulders flew overhead, smashing down near the monster who had to take evasive action, "The Owl Zord is the only one big enough to carry all of you, I put it on auto pilot to your location," as Jazz finished speaking, the aforementioned zord flew into view.

"Thanks Jazz," Mark turned to the yellow ranger, "get yourself in the cockpit, I've got Harley." The yellow ranger did as instructed as Mark tried to gather Harley in his arms, something the black ranger greatly objected to, "I'm about as happy with this has you are," the red ranger sniped. With a laboured jump, the pair flew towards the Owl Zord.

Down on the ground, the monster wanted to go after the Rangers but it was stopped by an arm across its chest, "No Kodeck, the real prize is in there," Lena grinned beneath her mask and pointed towards the mine, "time to put your talents to use."

Back at base, there was a solemn atmosphere in Ranger control. Ricky was slumped in a chair whilst Jazz tapped away furiously on her keyboard. Mark meanwhile was pacing in front of Major Earhardt's desk, "I don't understand what's so important about that location," he mused to himself, "its just an old silver mine that closed over eighty years ago."

"That's the official story and for many years that was true," Taylor sighed, "what I'm about to tell you is highly classified, very few people in the Air Force people know this and if General Harkness finds out I told you he'll have me court-marshalled and demoted in a heartbeat."

This made Ricky sit up in his chair and even Jazz stopped typing, "It's no secret that since the Power Ranger first appeared, there's been interest about their secrets and technology."

"Yeah, the internet is full of rumours," Ricky nodded, "the Powers Rangers are probably the second most searched topic on the web."

"Just the second?" Mark asked, "what's the first?" a sheepish look crossed the yellow ranger's face coupled with a shake of the head from Jazz. It took a few moments but the red ranger eventually caught on, "Oh," he shifted uncomfortably, "let's quickly move on."

"Indeed," an unimpressed Taylor said, "despite the efforts of some politicians to form a regulating body, Ranger business has largely been looked after by the respective Ranger teams." Taylor let out a disgusted sigh, "But that doesn't mean groups haven't tried to profit off Ranger and alien technology. In 2009 a combined Army and Air Force task force shut down a group known as Alphabet Soup. They acquired the brightest children, sometimes illegally and put them to work on their projects. We only found out about it because one of the children escaped."

"Holy crap," Ricky exclaimed, "an internet conspiracy theory that was correct, I read something about that but thought it was too ridiculous to be true."

"We should count ourselves lucky," Taylor continued, "the young woman who escaped used an intelligent virus to breach Alphabet Soup's security. Fortunately she managed to install a firewall to prevent it accessing the wider internet."

"The Venjix virus," Ricky filled in the gaps, "that's what the forums called it, had the potential to be a real life Skynet."

"Should we look into your security clearance?" Taylor asked the yellow ranger, "where did you get this information?"

"It's the internet," Jazz stated, "it's mostly full of crap but even a broken clock is right twice a day."

"So do we think this is what the Vyglass is after?" Mark tried to steer the conversation back on track, "some kind of advanced computer virus?"

Taylor shook her head, "No, the virus has been thoroughly purged from existence in our world but after Alphabet Soup was cleared out, the Air Force was supposed to clear out the dangerous technology," Taylor's hesitated and her sentence drifted away.

"Lemme guess, they kept it for themselves?" Jazz completed the Major's thoughts, "how dangerous are we talking?"

"Put it this way, there's another universe out there where the Venjix virus escaped. The same woman responsible for the virus harnessed the morphing grid to create the technology and weapons to defeat Venjix." Taylor said to the group. A stunned silence fell over the room until the Major added, "Of course in this universe, what was left behind wasn't near operational but it isn't hard to imagine that the Vyglass have the ability to finish what was started."

Ricky waved his hands, "OK putting aside the fact you've casually confirmed the multiverse theory, we've potentially let the Vyglass have access to Ranger technology?" Taylor nodded slowly, "Great and just when we're three Rangers down too," the yellow ranger slumped back in his chair again.

"How did they find out about this?" Mark asked the Major, "it sounds like the only people in the know are high ranking officers." He paused and looked at the Major, "Did they give you special clearance to know this? Something like this should be far above a Major's rank, no offence of course."

Taylor smiled tightly, "I was on the task force that found Alphabet Soup, let's leave it at that." She stood from her chair and walked into the center of the room, "We have to focus on what we can control, Ricky and Jazz I suggest you two finish working on the Nitro Blaster, we'll need all the firepower we can get."

"The program's ready but it still needs a few mechanical tweaks," Ricky replied before turning to Jazz, "I know engineering isn't your strong point-"

"I know how to use a screwdriver and spanner," Jazz almost sounded offended, "just tell me what to do and I'm sure I'll manage."

"Great, Mark and I will start searching the city," Taylor added, "if the Vyglass get something working they won't wait around to use it."

Mark looked at the others before hesitantly asking, "Are you sure Major, wouldn't you be better co-ordinating from here?"

"I'm not totally useless in the field," Taylor snorted, grabbing a black and gold phone from her drawer and slamming it shut, "I've kicked all your asses enough times now so you know I'm not helpless." She grabbed her discarded leather jacket from a chair, shrugging it on without looking back, "Don't force me to make it an order," she barked as the door opened.

Mark shrugged towards the others and reluctantly followed the Major out the door. They didn't get too far before they were stopped by a frantic nurse, "Major," the nurse greeted, "we have a situation with the patient, he's gone."

"Gone?" Mark asked, "how can he be dead, he was fine half an hour ago?"

"Oh sorry, poor choice of words," the nurse apologized, "he's gone missing. The bed's empty and his clothes are gone, tore out his IV and everything."

"Great, just what we need," Taylor ran her fingers through her hair, sweeping it firmly over her shoulders, "thank you, we'll take it from here," the nurse saluted and stepped aside.

"He can't have gotten far," Mark stated, "he could barely stand when we brought him in, maybe he's gone back to the bar."

"Maybe but we're not looking for him," Taylor huffed, "Harley's a grown up and made the decision to leave, he'll need to deal with the consequences for now." She pushed a door in the corridor open with a bang, "Plus, something tells me he's out looking for the Vyglass too, if we find the monster we'll probably find him too." Reluctantly Mark agreed with the Major, whilst Harley's health was important, stopping the Vyglass from using stolen Ranger technology was more important.

A/N - Sorry for the long wait, hectic few weeks but I hope the RPM reference makes up for it. I won't make you wait too long for the concluding part of this arc.