The beast snarled, saliva dripping to the ground in thick strings. Nicole stood stock still, watching as muscles coiled and the beast leaned forward, the tails twitching much like a feline’s. She didn’t dare move, not when it was clear the mutant was just waiting for a reason to pounce. It was the first time Nicole would be fighting something remotely like it without her morphing capabilities, and for the first time since becoming a Ranger she felt genuine fear at the sight of a mutant staring her down.

  It was something Nicole hadn’t truly anticipated, though she was certainly coming to understand just how much confidence the Ranger uniform granted. Knowing that a single bad hit wasn’t enough to end you brought a reassurance with it that was hard to match. No such safety net awaited her this time. For all the good that Sinclair Industries armor had done against Maraline, Nicole held no illusions about its effectiveness against a mutant that stood twice her height at the shoulder.

  Six tails snapped, cracking the pavement, then the beast lunged. Nicole dove to the side, rolling with the landing to spring back to her feet. She spun and jumped back and just in the nick of time as claws tore through the space she had just occupied. The world sharpened as Nicole’s focus narrowed, everything else falling away in the face of the danger before her.

  Warmth blossomed as Nicole kicked off the moment her feet hit the ground and her blades flashed, cutting deep into a tentacle as she leapt past only for a second tail to slam across her back as she passed. One of the six limbs fell limp as Nicole hit the ground hard, rolling for several moments before she managed to right herself and skid to a halt even as the pain of the hit caught up with her.

  The beast thrashed, attempting to bite at the agony that Nicole had inflicted upon it. Finally teeth found the limp limb and it bit down, and ripped it free with a screeching howl that sent shivers down her spine. Slitted eyes fell upon her and Nicole barely suppressed a shudder at the raw loathing contained within. She was bruised and aching, but that wouldn’t stop the beast from ripping her throat out if given the opportunity.

  “Well, come on then,” Nicole said, her voice carrying despite the helmet.

  A howl answered her challenge, then thundering footfalls rang out, the asphalt crumbling under the weight of the Sylan monster. Nicole stood firm, blades at the ready as it moved to pounce. The moment it was in the air for the strike, Nicole ducked forward, letting her blades cut along the extended paws.

  The skin was tough, and it resisted her blades, but she still managed to draw blood. The monster stumbled as it landed, a clawed foot barely missing Nicole even as she deflected the lashes from the spiked tails. The thing was strong, far more than she was at that moment. One wrong move would be the death of her.

  Not that Nicole would let that stop her from fighting.

  Claws blurred as the mutant spun, Nicole ducked as she felt the torrent of air passing in the wake of the massive appendage. She didn’t dare attempt another strike, and instead dodged the tails that were waiting for exactly that. Mutants were always strangely aware of combat in a way that suggested higher thought.

  Knowing they were genetic experiments didn’t help, and she really didn’t want to explore the ethics of what might have been done to make them so smart. Instead, she blocked more tail strikes, scoring thin trails of blood from a few of the hits. Something hit her stomach hard, a tentacle slipping through her guard to hit her chest piece full on. Nicole was launched across the parking lot with tremendous force only to impact the side of the fire station.

  Thankfully Nicole bounced off the side rather than getting stuck, though her back would have appreciated the break. She landed in a crouch, panting heavily even as the warmth surged with each breath. The mutant glared at her from across the parking lot and Nicole knew it was getting irritated with her.

  Guttural snarls rumbled as the beast began to glow. Nicole’s eyes had just enough time to widen as the beast exploded into motion, shattering the asphalt underneath its claws with cataclysmic force. The distance was closed in a blink and Nicole found her mind working faster than her body which would not follow the directions of her mind fast enough to dodge.

  “Draconic Dive!”

  A streak of purple blurred as Jeff’s spear slammed into the neck of the beast. The Purple Ranger came with it, planting feet against flesh as he rode the toppling beast over. Nicole let out a heavy breath and the shiver hit her in full as the warmth that had been building rushed through her, dissipating through her whole body.

  “You seemed to be in a tight spot,” Jeff said and she could almost see his smile as he struck a bit of a pose. “We’ve got things from here.”

  As if in answer to his words, vines burst forth, covering the beast to hold it down as silver and red converged upon it from both sides, each hacking into one of the whip-tails, severing them as though they were nothing. The disparity of power was something that turned Nicole’s stomach, but if this was the consequence of fighting so desperately to save her friends, she would own it.

  Nicole pushed herself to her feet just as the beast flexed and the vines tore. Kayla twirled her staff, then slammed it, green vines rushed towards the mutant, but it lashed out with the three remaining whip-tails, cutting through the vines before they reached it. Nicole grit her teeth as the beast once again came for her, knowing she was the weak link in the team, the only unpowered Ranger present.

  Nicole didn’t care.

  Despite her weaknesses, Nicole had worked with her team so that she could still help even without the titanic might that a Ranger transformation brought with it, and now it was time to show the results.

  A deep breath followed as she let the warmth flow through her, doing her best to let it happen as it would. Whatever the Source happened to be, whatever connection that she held with it, it wasn’t responding to her desires, but instead to the need that she experienced in the moment. And wasn’t that a dangerous thing?

  Her body shifted even as the world slowed around her, the breath slipping free as she moved. The ache of her injury faded into the background even as claws impacted the ground where she had stood but an instant prior. Despite that sudden burst of momentum, Nicole’s arms were up, blades held tight as her feet planted themselves, then she took a breath. The rush of power that followed was almost enough to break her focus, but Nicole kept herself from tensing, and let herself react.

  Steel carved through flesh, spraying green blood through the air. Nicole’s blades didn’t bite nearly as deep as she would have hoped, but they still cut as much as she needed. Her feet continued to carry her away, the motions well practiced from her time on the mat. Blood poured from the wound, having hit an arterial vein. She held few illusions that a mutant would go down so easily, but Nicole also understood a simple truth.

  She wasn’t alone.

  Devon rushed between them, shield catching the monster as it lunged, and before it finished impacting the braced Ranger, Grace slammed into its side in a blur of red. Flesh impacted asphalt, shattering it as the monster crashed into a car and crumpled it like a beer can at a frat party.

  “Fuck!” Grace yelled out, staring at the wreckage of a familiar car.

  Nicole had to suppress a wince as the monster pried itself from the wreck of her girlfriend’s car, bending some of the last recognizable bits of metal as it shook itself off, slinging green blood all about. Then Jeff crashed into it, driving the beast down once again with a spear to the back of the neck, demolishing what little remained of the vehicle. Well, hopefully her insurance covered acts of Rangers, because Grace was going to need it after that.

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  The mutant let out a warbling groan before it finally collapsed, limbs falling still. The collective tension hung in the air as Jeff pulled his spear free, slinging it over his shoulder as everyone watched the beast with mounting anticipation as he hopped off and stepped away.

  Just because the last two months had been peaceful didn’t mean that the Rangers remained idle. Between Carlos and Sinclair Industries, they had studied hundreds of mutant attacks, and one thing they all knew to be careful of was a beast playing dead. It was rare, but had ended in a Ranger casualty more than once.

  Grace approached with heavy steps, heaved her axe to the sky, then brought it down, severing the remaining tails in a single cleave. The mutant didn’t so much as twitch.

  “I think it’s dead,” Grace said, then sighed. “I can’t believe I wrecked my own fucking car like that.”

  “You needed a new one,” Kayla said casually. “Let me know if the insurance company gives you any grief, I know a few tricks thanks to my shitbag parents and their incessant bitching.”

  Grace huffed out a mirthless laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Well, so much for the celebration,” Devon said with a sigh, his eyes drifting down the street. “Oh goodie, the press is here.”

  Nicole followed his gaze and sure enough, there was a line of press at the cordon set up about two blocks down the road. That half of the people managing it were with the fire department went without saying. There was little doubt that the coming inquisition would be a pain in the ass, especially with how Nicole couldn’t disappear as easily as the rest of her team.

  “Damn, I missed the fun.”

  Everyone turned at the projected voice, looking up at the rooftop of the station. The Yellow Ranger was perched on the edge, looking down at them. She gave a cheeky wave, then jumped, doing a quick flip before she hit the ground without a sound. The sunburst symbol on her chest offset the military style that her uniform carried.

  Which was a stark contrast to how irreverent she could be, at least when Anita was up front. Maria was the professional one, with a dry wit that could cut deep when she felt like it. Nicole didn’t have much experience dealing with plural individuals, but she was certainly getting a crash course in it by having to put up with the sporadic woman.

  “You certainly did,” Kayla snapped. “What the hell?”

  Anita shrugged, then leaned against one of the intact cars. “I was at Sinclair Industries when the call came in, and apparently you guys worked pretty damn fast.”

  She kicked at a chunk of debris at her feet for emphasis.

  “I had my bodycam on, assuming it survived,” Nicole said, then winced as the implications of that hit her in full. “Maraline was here and brought an announcement with her.”

  “That the invasion is back on?” Anita asked. “Yeah, that’s pretty obvious at this point given we were getting reports across the states about fresh attacks all synchronized. Given the Sylan bitch chose this place, it looks like she’s still obsessed with her little pet.”

  A flash of anger struck Nicole at the animosity being shown towards Maraline, even if she couldn’t quite fault Anita for her own feelings. Maraline and Guiana had fought Anita’s team once before, and injured the elder general enough that she hadn’t been seen until Nicole’s own battle with the enemy leadership. Not that she ever managed to get the full story out of them, given that whatever Anita had been up to was likely hella illegal based on the broad strokes version she had been given.

  “She also wanted to feel me out,” Nicole said, making a mental note not to mention the whole exchange they had with whispered breaths at this moment. She would tell Grace later, but something told her that needed to be kept as secret as possible. Nicole could only hope that they hadn’t been picked up by the device. “She sent three orange bands after me, then fought me herself.”

  Anita whistled, which sounded weird when filtered through a Ranger’s helmet. “I’m surprised you could manage one, let alone three of those in your current state. We might need you to come in for some fresh readings.”

  “I’ll pass,” Nicole said with a huff. “The last four times showed no change.”

  “You hadn’t just fought a pitched battle for your life either,” Ani—no—Maria said. “The last time you did that you managed a morph without channeling it through that fancy bit of alien tech and nearly tore yourself apart at a subatomic level.”

  Before Nicole could protest further a firm hand fell upon her shoulder. Nicole turned just enough to take in the sight of her girlfriend’s helmet as she shook her head.

  “Unfortunately, she’s probably right,” Grace said. “That’s not even going into how banged up your armor is after that fight. Plus, we can make sure Rebecca is there if you’re worried about something not entirely on the level.”

  Damn her and that little thing called logic.

  “Fine, I’ll get checked out,” Nicole said through grit teeth.

  “Don’t worry,” Jeff said cheerfully, hooking a thumb back to where the press were waiting behind the police lines. “We’ll go handle the hounds at the gates.”

  Kayla nodded. “Yeah, we can meet up for dinner at the diner after we’re all done.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Grace said with what Nicole could tell was a weak smile.

  The Yellow Ranger clapped once. “Wonderful, that means I don’t have to drag you back with me. Red, you’re a given, but what about you, Silver? Care to join us back at our little super-villain lair?”

  And Anita was back out front, so much for a reprieve from her exuberance.

  “Not like I have anything else going on,” Devon said.

  The way he’d said it brought about a wince from Nicole. He’d been through a fairly strong upheaval in his life and was genuinely attempting to adjust his worldview in light of recent events. She knew that he was spending time with Anita off the clock, but was there something more there, or was she using him for some other means?

  Hell, was he letting himself be used?

  Those were thoughts that Nicole didn’t want to entertain, as there was nothing productive down that road, so she let them go and focused on her own predicament. Namely that she was once more walking into the nest of vipers that was Sinclair Industries.

  Sure, they were helpful, providing her with the armor that had saved her life just minutes earlier, but it was clear there was far more to them than they initially let on. Despite that, they were also the best shot she had of staying in the fight, as well as getting her morpher back.

  “Then we had best be off,” Anita said, then paused. “Can you still jump like a Ranger, or do you need someone to carry you?”

  Scarlet heat creeped up Nicole’s face. “I don’t need to be fucking carried.”

  The Yellow Ranger held up her hands in mock surrender. “Whoa there, princess. I was just offering you an excuse to have your girlfriend there carry you. No need to bite off my pretty little head over it.”

  In response, Nicole flipped her off. Anita just laughed, shaking her head before she jumped back, clearing thirty feet vertically to land atop the building across the street from the station. Nicole sighed, then started to follow even as Devon jumped after her.

  “Are you sure you’re up for it?” Grace asked softly.

  “Not really,” Nicole admitted. “My back plate feels cracked. Not sure if it was the tentacle across the back or bouncing off the station walls that did it though.”

  “Good thing we’re getting you looked at, then,” Grace said. “Now, no bravado. Do you need a hand getting there?”

  She probably could use it, given how everything ached, but the press would catch onto that and she needed to present a strong image to keep morale high within the city. Especially if the attacks were going to resume their weekly cadence. So, Nicole broke into a sprint, and jumped towards the rooftop with everything she had.

  She landed with a roll, some of the natural grace that a Ranger possessed having been lost to her, but her time as a gymnast meant she could still fake it rather well. Grace joined them a moment later and Yellow took that as permission to continue on.

  “That pride is going to cost you one day,” Grace muttered.

  Nicole sighed. “I know.”

  Devon looked back for a moment, his thoughts unknown to her, before he followed after Yellow, keeping the pace set by the enigmatic Ranger. Nicole sighed, then took off to follow, hoping that Kelly had that weird glow stick that helped injuries at the ready. Something told her that she would need it once they got a look at her throbbing back.

  That lecture was going to suck, but something told her it wouldn’t be the worst part of the day. No, that would be the interrogation after they viewed her body cam, which hopefully didn’t pick up on their whispered conversations. She wasn’t sure what would be worse, explaining it, or attempting to lie about it. Pity she knew her luck wouldn’t be good enough for the device to have been destroyed in the fighting.

  Nicole was never that fortunate.

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