The Reluctant Ranger

Nicole shot awake, sweat dripping from her as she gasped for breath.  Images of glowing mechanical eyes and blood-soaked severed limbs lingered as the last vestiges of her nightmare retreated back into her subconscious.  The nightmare wasn’t new, but was amplified by the day’s events and made all the more real for it.  Looking around, she was on the couch, in her night shirt and a blanket was tangled around her.  

Right, she was back in her dorm safe and sound.  She’d curled up on the couch with Becca and watched some fluffy comedian on streaming to try and blunt the worst of the trauma.  She must have passed out at some point and Becca let her sleep it off. 

Nicole glanced at the clock and groaned, it was only three in the morning. 

She knew that sleep wasn’t coming again, not with how amped on adrenaline she was.  At least her phone was fully charged and she could zone out while doom scrolling.  There were multiple alerts from the attack that she continued to ignore, some new messages from what seemed to be a new group chat set up between her fellow Rangers, and several solo messages from some of them.  She skipped those and checked the alert from the college.  A breath of relief rushed from her lungs.

Classes were canceled for the next week, that was one of the few good things to come from the prior day.  Nicole wiped the clammy sweat from her face and got up, heading for the restroom.  She skimmed the group chat, finding most of it was just everyone checking in and a few links to some articles about their debut. 

Not wanting to deal with that mess, she instead flicked to the solo messages.  One was from Kayla, and it was half a dozen pictures of kittens.  That brought a smile to her face, even if she didn’t quite feel it, the gesture was appreciated. 

The second message was from Grace, and wasn’t nearly as pleasant. 

Grace:  Hey Nicole, can’t sleep right now and was wondering if you were up. 

It had been sent less than an hour ago, so she got to typing, letting the other girl know that she was indeed up thanks to some rather vivid nightmares.  

Nicole:  Unfortunately.  I think I’ll be seeing severed limbs and glowing eyes for a while.

Even if classes were canceled, there was no reason to wake Becca, that girl had already done enough by wasting her evening consoling Nicole.  She’d feel even worse if she accidently woke the poor girl up just because she was feeling restless. 

Grace:  You too? 

Grace:  Well, at least we aren’t alone in the bad dream camp. 

Nicole chuckled and kept typing after washing her hands and face.  She felt a bit bad about reaching out to someone she barely knew, but Grace at least had some sense about her.  She’d been the one to take charge in a way that wasn’t completely asinine, unlike Devon’s showboating attempt at giving orders.  She seemed to care about what actually mattered, and for that reason alone Nicole was willing to step out of her comfort zone. 

Flopping on the couch, Nicole flicked on the TV, grimacing at the late night news playing footage of their fight against the mutant machine.  Watching it from the perspective of whatever idiot had recorded them, it really did look far more impressive than she had thought in the moment.  They looked terrifying, displaying speed and power that would make a mockery of any actual human efforts. 

Shaking her head, Nicole started typing. 

Nicole:  I wish the news wasn’t so obsessed with the idea of new Rangers.  Thousands died and all they care about is a new set of ‘heroes’ to obsess over. 

Grace:  Thank you!  It’s a fucking disgrace.  Let people mourn, honor the fallen.  We aren’t anything special, no matter how shiny we look on camera.  We’re just people.

“Just people.”  Nicole smiled, leaning back on the couch as she shut off the TV, not caring to watch more footage of what they’d done hours earlier.  She’d no doubt see plenty of combat in the months to come, and she didn’t need to see more of it so soon. 

Nicole:  I ended up just laying down on my couch.  Classes are out for the week so at least I can sleep in or take a nap later. 

Grace:  Which college you go to?  I’m studying at Anoka. 

Nicole sat up straight, staring at her phone.  Grace went to her school?  She’d just assumed the woman had already graduated, or just hadn’t gone to college at all.  With shaky fingers, Nicole began to type again. 

Nicole:  Same.  I’m living in the dorms. 

Grace:  Oh shit.  We could actually meet up easily if that’s the case.  Jeff attends too.  He and I have a class together.

Biting her lip, she wasn’t sure about inviting Jeff along, but Nicole?

Nicole:  Pretty sure there’s a diner open, we could get an early breakfast. 

Grace:  You know what, let’s do it.  Meet me in the parking lot in 20? 

Trepidation flooded her system, she’d just gone along with it, but it had quickly turned from something digital into a very real thing, and she wasn’t sure if she was actually up for it.  Nicole wasn’t much of a people person, which was going to be fun the first time the reporters cornered them in their Ranger suits. 

She really hoped that day was far into the future and it was a miracle they avoided it at all while making their escape from the Renfaire. 

Before she could second guess herself, Nicole sent off an affirmative and got back to her feet, padding slowly into her room.  She gave her gear a passing glance, it hadn’t been stored away yet.  It was tossed haphazardly off to the side before she had showered and curled back up with Becca for movie night.  She didn’t need it anymore, not with how her morpher worked. 

Power at the push of a button, enough to stand against the might of another world.

She was still wearing the watch, which didn’t seem to need charging, likely working off her body heat or whatever science mambo jumbo fueled the Ranger transformation.  She grabbed a basic pair of jeans and a black shirt with some band logo on it that was almost too faded to recognize.  It had been her mother’s and she didn’t have the heart to get rid of it despite the wear. 

She did however grab the belt she’d worn, sans knives.  It was essentially her everyday carry and had been for years.  Her phone slipped into its pouch and she double checked that her keys were on the carabiner.  Before heading out the door she stopped at the fridge and left a note on the dry erase board, letting Becca know she hadn’t been kidnapped or slipped away to do something stupid.  It was a house rule to make sure that they knew where each other were in the event of an emergency.  

Odds were that she would be back long before the girl woke up, without classes she tended to sleep to noon most days.  From there, it was just a case of navigating the halls and finding Grace.  She wasn’t surprised to see the girl already waiting, leaning against a tree while frowning at her phone.  She’d also gone with simple jeans and a red shirt. 

Nicole had to laugh at that, the joke that Rangers dressed in their colors seemed alive and well.  She picked up the pace, and when Grace saw her, a smile blossomed across her face. 

“I think I found a diner that won’t be a roach fest,” Grace said, holding up her phone. 

“Good.  Last thing we need is some extra crunch in our eggs,” Nicole said. 

Grace snorted.  “Damn, I had you down as the shy and silent type, but you keep surprising me.” 

“I usually am,” Nicole admitted, reaching up to fiddle with her glasses only to remember she hadn’t needed them since the transformation.  “Dealing with idiots drains my spoons incredibly fast.  It’s better to just fade into the background most times, but dealing with people I can tolerate is easier.” 

“Oh, you can tolerate me?” Grace asked, leaning forward with a wide grin on her face.  Nicole pulled back a bit, her cheeks warming even as she looked away.  “I’m honored, truly.”

“Please don’t,” Nicole muttered. 

“I reserve the right to be a brat at my whim,” Grace said haughtily, pulling her keys out as she stepped over to an older silver car.  “So, ready to hit up the grease trap?” 

Chuckling nervously, as if Grace hadn’t just flustered her to hell and back, Nicole stepped around the car.  She had no idea what might have prompted that, as Nicole knew she wasn’t attractive, what with her bulging muscles from years of gymnastics.  Muscles that were as prominent as ever thanks to whatever the Ranger transformation had done to her body.  Just when she thought she might get a slimmer, more feminine, figure too.  She seemed to be cursed with a masculine build.

She’d been reminded of that fact each and every day through her entire high school run.  It was something she had just come to accept, and it made her wary of Grace, even if she was a bit of a natural flirt, it didn’t make sense.  Sure, they were both Rangers now, but that didn’t really explain it.  The girl was probably straight anyway. 

Shaking off those thoughts, Nicole opened the passenger side door only to stare down at the cluttered seat.  Grace glanced up as she turned the key, her cheeks darkening in the dim light of the car. 

“Sorry,” she said, hastily reaching over to knock the clutter into the floorboard.  “I don’t usually have passengers.” 

“I can tell,” Nicole said wryly. 

Grace rolled her eyes, turning the key as she did, only for the engine to feebly protest the efforts to start it. 

“Come on you little bastard, not now,” Grace muttered, the engine whining as it struggled to turn over.  “You started just fine after a fucking alien incursion, why are you embarrassing me now?”

Nicole snorted, earning her a sharp glare from the blonde before the car finally started, and promptly backfired, startling both of them.  Nicole’s fingers were already on her watch, the reflex somehow already ingrained in her.  It was with shaking hands and unsteady breaths that she pulled away and tried to relax. 

Grace set the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot, the radio silent as the GPS called out the directions in a robotic voice.  Nicole wanted to pull out her phone and bury her nose in a book, but she didn’t, because that would be rude.  Not that she was making much small talk either.  Why was she so bad at just interacting with someone? 

“You bought those at Artemis Leather?” Grace asked as they drove through the deserted streets.  Nicole cringed a bit, because of course her new friend would be better than her at small talk, hell it was in her name! 

“Yeah, all of my pouches are from them,” she confirmed, rubbing a hand along the aging leather.  “I pretty much turned it into my everyday carry, much nicer than a purse and far more secure.”

“You packing?” Grace asked, taking a turn. 

Nicole’s mind hitched for a moment, then it clicked what Grace actually meant and she had to look away to hide her embarrassment. 

“No, I don’t trust myself with a gun,” she said softly. 

The truth was, she wouldn’t be alive if she had such an easy out.  Point and click what is basically an off button?  Too easy, both in execution (heh) and practice.  She knew that in one of those darker moments she would have taken it if she could.  And knowing Grace was the one to craft her new blades, Nicole wasn’t about to mention that one of the options she had considered was using them to end her life. 

Any thoughts or plans to follow through were on hold now that she was a Ranger.  She had a responsibility to humanity, one she couldn’t just walk away from.  She’d dedicate the remainder of her time on earth to fighting the invaders, until they were repelled or she fell in battle.  Either way, there would be meaning to what came of her.  That was more than Nicole ever expected, and she was happy for it. 

Thankfully Grace took the hint and dropped the subject.  People were often all too eager to pry into someone’s life when sensitive topics were implied.  The silence lingered all the way to the diner, which was thankfully open.  She was a bit surprised that the city hadn’t been placed under Martial Law like it had following the previous attacks.  Did the advent of a Ranger team change how they handled an area? 

Nicole made a mental note to look into that when she didn’t have to be social with someone.  Grace was going out of her way to be there for her, and she wasn’t going to risk squandering that, even if she had managed to sour the mood already.  Stupid brain, stupid mouth.  She just couldn’t do anything right when it came to people. 

Hell, how was it that she hadn’t run Becca off yet?  Sure, they’d known each other for years, but she just refused to give up on Nicole when everyone else had already done so.  It was too much, and she just wanted it to all go away. 

“Keep a pot going for us, I think we’re gonna be here a while,” Grace said to the woman behind the counter, placing a twenty in the tip jar as she did. 

“Of course, hon,” she said, her scowl swapping to a bright grin at the sight of the cash.  Two cups were produced and handed directly to them.  “Take whatever table you want, I’ll be with you in just a moment.” 

“Thanks,” Grace said with a bright smile. 

The diner was currently vacant aside from the waitress and a single line cook.  That was just fine if Nicole were to be honest.  They took seats at a corner booth, which let them technically sit next to each other, even if they took opposite sides of the bench.  It also offered a good view of the TV playing one of the national news channels.

For once it wasn’t showing their own debut and the slaughter that preceded it.  Instead, it was showing footage of the first Rangers, their leader shining in white and silver as he single handedly held off a wave of automata so his team could evacuate the civilians in danger.  He set the literal standard for what it meant to be a Ranger, including what it meant to stand strong until the end.  The Commander of the Sylan fleet, Bartran, had come down to ensure his team was defeated, and though rumors persisted that the White Ranger hadn’t truly fallen, nobody was ever able to find proof that he was still out there. 

“At least it isn’t us plastered on screen this time,” Grace whispered. 

“Give it time,” Nicole said as the waitress walked over with a fresh pot of coffee and a tray of cream and sugar.  “Thanks.” 

“No problem,” the woman said, pulling out a pad and pen.  Nicole was more than a little amused that she had another five pens ready and waiting in her apron pocket, two of which were really nice fountain pens.  “Can I get you anything to eat?” 

“Biscuits and gravy,” Grace said, “and bacon, double order.” 

A quick scratching of the pen and the woman turned to Nicole.  “Umm, can I get French toast?” 

“Sure thing, sugar,” the woman said.  “I’ll get that going for you all.” 

“I heard them, Gertie,” the cook hollered. 

“Oh don’t be so dramatic,” Gertie said, walking back to the counter where she began having a heated, yet seemingly good natured argument with the man. 

Nicole smiled, watching the two bicker as the man cooked.  It was people like them that she would be protecting when the time came.  Just normal people living their lives.  Her attention flicked back to Grace, who was watching her with worried eyes while biting her lip.  Taking a sip of her coffee, Nicole could only hope that her fellow Ranger would just let things lie, but at the same time, she knew she wouldn’t. 

It was the whole reason they decided to get away from the dorms after all, to find someplace low key and unwind after the day they had, and the burden thrust upon them.  In theory that was all well and good, but it also meant dealing with her heavy social anxieties. 

Was it bad that she almost wished some Automatons would attack just to get her out of the awkwardness of it all?

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