Sinclair Industries had rebounded quite well since Nicole’s first visit, which wasn’t saying much given the building had been on fire at the time. Some experiment was being demonstrated for a group of shareholders and suffered a catastrophic failure, or at least that was the story that Kelly Rivers had given when asked.

  Nicole knew better than to trust the Chief Researcher at her word, cover ups were the name of the game when it came to clandestine organizations fighting a shadow war against alien invaders. They would absolutely lie to keep a powerful player friendly with them, and despite Nicole having lost her morpher to her own actions, she could still contribute despite that.

  Regardless of how they felt about one another, it was in humanity’s best interest that she remained fighting fit. Even thinking it felt incredibly arrogant, yet it was a simple truth. She had been the one responsible for a two month reprieve, all because she crippled the Sylan leadership in battle.

  Yes, it seemed to be a temporary thing, the healing stick currently being waved over her back was simply derived from something that the Sylan used in their own medical treatments. Bartran was awake, and Guiana wasn’t likely to be far behind. The invasion resumed as if it had never stopped, and people were dead because of it.

  At the same time, how many people would see tomorrow because Nicole had brought things to a halt for a short time? How many might have died if that mutant was allowed to rampage? Such questions would always invade Nicole’s mind while she sat idle, even if it was for the purpose of recovery.

  “The armor saved your life,” a man said.

  Franklin Fredrick, a fake name if she ever heard one, was inspecting his work, a frown on his brow as he examined the cracked backplate. Nicole couldn’t hear his mutterings as he moved on to the rest of the gear, mostly because Nicole hissed as Kelly switched to a different device, one that brought a bone deep ache to her ribs.

  “That’s what I was afraid of,” Kelly said with a sigh. “Your spine was bruised, which is easy enough to treat, but you also cracked a few ribs. Yes, a Ranger’s innate healing will help, but you’re going to be sore for a few days.”

  “What, the magic wand doesn’t work on bones?” Grace asked snidely.

  Nicole was thankful that Grace had come with her into the medical bay. Devon was somewhere else with Anita, and she really didn’t want to know if there was something more going on between them. Grace was in the same gear she had worn during the celebratory dinner before Maraline attacked, and was not happy about the situation.

  Kelly snorted. “Xavier actually vetoed that as a name for the device, much to my disappointment. Your assumption wasn’t completely accurate, given it does affect bone recovery. The difference maker is that flesh is more malleable than bone, and as such, bone takes longer to recover.”

  It sounded like an excuse for a lack of understanding, but Nicole accepted it readily enough. If it was an outright lie Rebecca would have called them on it. Instead, she was looking over the readings being taken from their fancy scanner that could detect how much Source energy was being given off by a person.

  “What’s the prognosis?” Nicole asked instead.

  Becca hummed, swiping through a screen that hung in the air as if it was the most familiar thing to her. The level of technology on display was more than a step above anything on the consumer market, and it was no wonder how Sinclair Industries was staying afloat. Marketing even a single one of their many ‘innovations’ would catapult them onto the global stage in ways that few companies could manage.

  “Your levels have nearly doubled since your last checkup,” Becca said, a scowl across her face. “What’s unusual is that it doesn’t seem to be dissipating at all.”

  “Really?” Kelly asked, her hand waving through the air. A display appeared where she had gestured and she quickly brought up the same screen Becca was viewing. “Now that is interesting… Clearly something has changed, but what?”

  The two women turned expectant eyes upon Nicole, she was still laid out on the examination bed as a device ran the healing stick over her back in slow circles. Each pass brought goosebumps with it, the tingle feeling absurdly pleasant as it dulled the aches within.

  “I don’t know,” Nicole answered, unsure if it was safe to voice what she had experienced. Did Sinclair also have such a connection to the Source? Carlos didn’t seem to, so what made her so special? Was it all an accident that she stumbled upon something so dangerous? Guiana knew of others, but it didn’t sound like they were human, not with how she mentioned humanity being for lack of a better term, squishy.

  Maraline hadn’t mentioned much, but there was the promise of more information in the future. She just wasn’t sure when it would be, just that when they next met it would be another fight, this time over something important that Nicole would need to secure. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the Sylan General needed plausible deniability to pass it along.

  “Any unusual sensations during the fight?” Kelly asked.

  “Like that heat you mentioned two months ago,” Becca added.

  Nicole frowned. “I did feel a warmth, but any attempts to control it meant it slipped away.”

  “I see,” Kelly said. “Have you tried to just let it happen?”

  Nicole nodded hesitantly. “It’s what I did during the fight.”

  “Finally,” Kelly said, her voice barely the ghost of a whisper. “That’s a lead we can explore. Do you still feel the warmth now?”

  Nicole paused, trying to look inward, but she couldn’t feel anything other than the soft pulse of the healing stick as it worked on her. It was distracting enough that even if the warmth was still there, she wouldn’t be able to feel it.

  “No,” Nicole answered, glancing at Becca as she did.

  Her friend’s lips pursed, then she nodded. “Unfortunate. Maybe it will return in the next attack. We’ll be taking further readings following that regardless.”

  Because there would be a next time, and within the next week at that. Nicole’s career as a Ranger was anything but typical. Hell, she only had her powers for two fucking weeks before she nearly blew herself up. That was two months ago now. Things happened so quickly that she’d barely gotten her head around it, then nothing.

  When the giant worm appeared, Nicole had stared it down without fear. The latest mutant wasn’t anything in comparison, yet it had scared her. Getting certified with the fire department had served as a decent enough distraction, but now the weight of responsibility was back upon her in full force.

  “I’ll bring the magic stick by each night for a while,” Becca continued, going over something on a display. “You will tell me everything you feel, because I can’t help you if you aren’t honest.”

  Nicole could only nod in agreement at that as the tingling faded and the table released her. She sat up stretching, the soreness was still there, but largely diminished. Of more importance, she could still feel the warmth that gently pulsed through her in time with her breath and heart. It was almost comforting rather than the harsh reminder of when she had nearly died.

  “Feeling something?” Grace asked in a whisper.

  Nicole paused for a moment, then sighed. “There is a hint of warmth, but nothing like that night.”

  “That matches the readings,” Becca said with a nod. “Fredrick, how long until her gear is repaired?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The man looked up, her scuffed helmet in his hands. He spun it about to show where it had been chipped, likely either a tentacle or the damn wall she had hit during the battle.

  “Repaired? Oh heavens no, this is nothing but scrap now. Modern armor doesn’t work like that, even Sylan enhanced stuff. I can clean up the intact pieces, but this plate served its purpose.”

  “So how long?” Becca asked with a huff.

  Fredrick laughed. “Please, as if we don’t have a small armory full of the stuff. I’ll have a set delivered tomorrow morning to your dorm.”

  “Please be discreet,” Becca added absently. “There’s going to be enough speculation on the fan sites as it is after today and something like that could attract attention.”

  Fan sites… It was bad enough when Becca first brought those up, and worse when she learned that her best friend was a member of one of the bigger ones. She’d joined shortly after Colin’s close encounter with the Sylan machines, but before Nicole had come out as a Ranger to her. Rather than simply disappear from the ‘fandom’ she opted to dive in and keep an eye on things, which was how the truth of the battle against Bartran and Guiana hit the net proper.

  “Fine, you’re getting a new fridge then,” Fredrick said, waving a hand flippantly. “The armor will be packed inside. I’ll have Anita’s team handle the delivery.”

  Becca sighed. “That works, I suppose.”

  “That means I need to be home for it?” Nicole asked.

  “Nah, I’ll make sure to be home tonight, so you and Grace can have some alone time. I’ve been getting plenty with Colin lately regardless.”

  Becca punctuated that with a wink, getting a laugh out of Nicole that instantly lightened the mood. The truth was, Grace was staying with her at the dorm more often than not at this point, especially with Becca having all but moved in with Colin. The rent was still covered, and Nicole wasn’t dropping her classes like Becca had, so it made sense.

  Grace’s roommate also appreciated the extra space.

  “It will be just like old times,” Nicole said. “I’ve sort of missed having you around.”

  “But not enough to invite me back,” Becca said with a chuckle. “Has Grace fully moved in yet, or are you two still pretending you aren’t living together?”

  “Eh, we’re keeping a pretense,” Grace said with a shrug. “The faculty frown upon people in relationships living together on site and all that.”

  Becca snorted. “Only for liability reasons.”

  Nicole didn’t understand that, but she didn’t really socialize outside of her team and Becca, so there was probably something there she didn’t know about that happened to cause a policy like that to be enacted.

  A chime pulled Nicole out of those thoughts as she checked her phone, finding a message in the group chat. “Looks like Kayla and Jeff ditched the media and are ready to hit up the diner.”

  “You still eat there?” Kelly asked with a raised eyebrow. “We give you a stipend, you don’t need to eat at a grease trap.”

  “I like the people,” Nicole said defiantly. “Plus, they’ve been good to us.”

  It was the same reason she didn’t just ditch the fire department following her recovery. Yes, her money problems were effectively over, but Nicole didn’t trust Sinclair Industries to not screw her over. That money was tainted by their influence, and something told Nicole that it could all be gone in a blink. She withdrew a couple grand from it and stashed it in her bugout bag just to be safe, but otherwise she hadn’t touched it.

  Kelly shook her head as she dismissed most of the floating displays and Fredrick packed away her armor in a case. It seemed they were done there, though Becca made no attempt to pack up with them. Instead, she stood off to the side, biting her lip.

  “Would it be imposing of me to invite myself?” Becca asked.

  Nicole smiled. “I’m pretty sure you know who everyone is, but let me check with them first?”

  Becca nodded timidly, which was a strange expression on her usually confident face. Even with all the discrimination in the world, Becca never once let anyone look down on her. She always stood proud, wanting to be a beacon for others to share in that confidence. So, Nicole sent off the message and got three confirmations in short order.

  Then a fourth message came in from Anita’s number and Nicole could only roll her eyes. “Apparently the always late Ranger wants to invite herself.”

  “Can we tell her no?” Becca asked.

  Nicole snorted before she could help it, a sharp stab from her rib reminded her laughing was a poor idea at the moment as she gripped the point that now dully throbbed. Grace was at her side, a gentle hand hovering over Nicole’s own. Nicole smiled back at the look of concern her girlfriend had for her, then gently shook her head.

  “She won’t be coming,” Kelly said. Nicole started slightly, having forgotten the woman was still in the room with them. “I just sent her an assignment, pity.”

  The smirk on her face instantly elevated Kelly in Nicole’s eyes and she gave the woman a curt nod of acknowledgment. Kelly chuckled and stepped out with her tablet, leaving them alone. There was a beat of silence in the room and Nicole didn’t know how to process what had just happened.

  “Well, that’s a first,” Becca said with a soft laugh. “I’ve never seen her play interference with Anita like that. Usually she enjoys the chaos that woman brings.”

  “Devon will probably be disappointed,” Grace said.

  “He also has terrible taste in women,” Nicole countered. She hadn’t forgotten how he was dating one of the women that tormented her all through high school.

  Grace sighed. “He’s trying, but yeah.”

  Nicole could almost understand it. When she had been in school, she latched onto anyone that showed her even a modicum of decency. Pity most of those people drifted away after bitches like Tiffany got their hooks in them. Those years had left their mark on her in deep grooves that defined her life for so long. Nicole was all but certain she would be dead by now, that she would have finally found the excuse she needed to bring her story to a close.

  The day of the Renaissance Faire was meant to be exactly that.

  Nicole’s fingers drifted down to the knives still strapped to her belt in a scout carry. Grace had spent nearly a year making them, not that Nicole knew it was her at the time. She commissioned them the year before, knowing the complicated design would take forever to finish, then arranged for more stuff to be added to the order all to have an excuse to keep going from day to day.

  Nicole spent a rather large percentage of her savings on those knives, with only the vague notion that the investment would be worth it. Her therapist had mentioned keeping a list of things to look forward to, a reason to reach for tomorrow. In the days leading up to the Renfaire, she had sought more reasons, but aside from a book here or movie there, Nicole hadn’t found anything nearly as substantive.

  It was why she broke down after getting the knives, she knew that she had reached the end of her journey. She hadn’t even registered that the person on the other end of the emails was Grace, the same cute girl that flirted with her when picking them up. The same woman that had been chatting with her for nearly a year over email.

  Then Maraline found her crying.

  If there was a single defining moment that explained why she couldn’t hold a grudge with the Sylan General, it was that. How she had comforted Nicole at her lowest moment, how she had asked her to leave before the coming slaughter. Nicole hadn’t, and as a result, she became the Black Ranger, setting the pair on a collision course.

  It felt like a lifetime ago, but in reality it was only two months and some change. With a heavy sigh, Nicole put those thoughts back into the box she tried to keep them in. She was doing better, she didn’t wonder when she would run out of reasons to keep reaching for tomorrow. Grace was one of her reasons, the first of many now, but Nicole knew how she would die.

  In battle with the Sylan invaders, a fate that would be shared by everyone that took up the mantle. Knowing that the Sylan saw all Rangers as an experiment didn’t change her determination. Just because the invaders gave them the tools to resist didn’t mean they would refrain from using them. That was why they worked with Sinclair despite how obviously shady it all was. He recognized the danger and was taking steps to mitigate it, and for that reason she would tolerate a great many things in the name of humanity’s future.

  A firm hand grasped her shoulder and Nicole found herself pulled into strong arms. She snapped back into the moment, Grace’s arms constricting her in a loving grip. It was almost enough for her to come undone, only the location prevented it. Becca joined the hug a moment later and Nicole nearly broke on the spot.

  “Hey,” Grace said gently. “I’m planning to meet up with my mentor tomorrow and I was wondering if you wanted to join me?”

  Nicole blinked. Grace hadn’t mentioned him since the Renfaire attack, and Nicole had never brought it up for fear that the worst had happened to him. Touching a sore subject was something Nicole tried to avoid, but if Grace was bringing it up…

  “He’s okay?” Nicole asked, snuggling closer.

  Grace shrugged as she looked off to the side. “He’s alive, yes, but he was injured in the attack. He didn’t want me to see him all banged up, but now he can’t really keep up with all the orders on his own. Being down a leg makes running the forge difficult.”

  Nicole screwed her eyes shut, sucking in a deep breath as she processed that. Another life irreparably damaged by the war, one close to the person that was the light of her life. It hurt, and made her want to fight all the harder, but there was nothing she could do right then except wait for Maraline to make her next move.

  So, Nicole did the only thing she could think of. “I’d love to.”

  She would live in the moment and treasure each and every bit of time that she could steal away from the coming doom. Because what better defiance was there in the face of extinction than living?

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