Nicole was ready to get home after all the loops she had just been thrown through. It was nice that Julie hadn’t outed her or anything, but it was still disconcerting to know that her life could be upended so easily by a single picture taken by someone with malicious intent. It was a sobering experience.

  Grace was heading back to campus and the others each had their own plans for the remainder of the day. Nicole wanted nothing more than to head back as well and curl up with her girlfriend, but she also needed to have a chat with her best friend about springing surprises on her like that.

  “Sorry about that,” Becca said, settling back into the driver’s seat.

  “Why not just tell me?” Nicole asked, her fists balling in her jacket. “We could have easily met up with her discreetly, avoiding that whole fiasco.”

  “I didn’t know she still had the picture,” Becca said after a moment, then she put the car back in park and leaned back with a heavy sigh. “I wasn’t lying when I said I joined them to help protect your identity, but there was another reason I wanted to talk to you away from everything.”

  A chill ran down Nicole’s spine, because she recognized that tone. It was the same tone that Rebecca had whenever she was about to drop a major secret. The first time Nicole had heard it was when she came out to her. Rebecca hadn’t even told her parents yet, and she’d stood beside her best friend when she did.

  The next time had been when she was wanting to get physical with Colin and wanted advice that she couldn’t exactly ask her parents about without even more awkward questions arising. That had led to hours of searching forums and internet articles to filter through the bullshit and find the good advice mixed in with the trash.

  Nicole saw her the following day and only got an embarrassed thumbs up as her answer.

  “Well, lay it on me then,” Nicole said.

  Becca sucked in a deep breath. “I found out my research has been sidelined. They stopped working on your morpher two days ago in favor of a project I haven’t been read in on, but was apparently contributing to without realizing.”

  Things weren’t as bad as they could have been, but that was still a heavy blow to her faith in Sinclair’s sincerity. That they were still providing her with gear was a good thing, but they were deliberately keeping something important from her best friend. Yet, something about Becca’s posture told Nicole they weren’t even close to the end of the bad news.

  “More worrying,” Becca continued. “Sinclair’s morpher went missing nearest I can tell. I think they fixed it without telling me and decided to see how long they could string me along until I caught on. Given they sent Anita here to watch over me wasn’t a surprise, she’s been shadowing me for days.”

  That revelation was enough to turn Nicole’s blood to ice. Sure, she liked Anita well enough, but it was never a stretch to figure out that she was someone put in place to keep an eye on them. Given how she had latched onto Devon also suggested a few things that Nicole really didn’t want to be true.

  As much as she wanted to take the knee jerk response, Nicole knew that she needed to keep a cooler head about things. That and bring Grace in on things. Jeff and Kayla too for that matter. After that they could approach Devon without Anita around and hope that he was already suspicious of her and hadn’t fallen for the latest woman that winked at him.

  Then again, maybe he was the one changing her.

  No, best to keep her expectations reasonable and not assume he was magically better than he was when dating Tiffany of all people. Yes, he had dumped her when she made an ass of herself, but that didn’t change that he still thought she was worth something at the time.

  “I know she’s been spending a lot of time with Devon too,” Nicole added.

  Becca grimaced. “Wonderful. Okay, leave him out of any discussions, please. I don’t want to take any chances.”

  “What about Colin?” Nicole asked. “Is he safe?”

  Biting her lip, Becca looked away. “I’ve made sure he’s aware of the danger, but there’s only so much someone can do to be cautious these days.”

  Given the surveillance state, there really was no way to get around data collection without going completely off the grid. There was no doubt in Nicole’s mind that Sinclair had the resources to find anyone he wanted to, no matter where they tried to hide.

  Nicole reached out and took her best friend’s hand, offering a soft squeeze of support. She knew that Becca wouldn’t just quit a job like that, it offered her every opportunity she had wanted. It was also something she could do that would help Nicole by extension, and if there was one thing she could count on, it was that Becca would always do what she could to support her.

  “Just,” Becca’s voice hitched. “If I ever ask you to come somewhere, or do something, or if I’m in danger…”

  “Treat it with some healthy skepticism?” Nicole asked, putting a smile on her face that she didn’t quite feel.

  “Yeah,” Rebecca said. “The opportunity is immense, and I’m genuinely helping with the research, but I don’t think they would willingly let me leave.”

  “Because you’re leverage on me,” Nicole said, reaching over to pull her best friend into a hug. “Becca, if you ever feel in danger, or if shit hits the fan, grab Colin and find one of us. We’ll do our best to keep you safe.”

  “I will,” Becca whispered into Nicole’s ear. “I just don’t know how far any of us could get. These guys have more resources than you can imagine.”

  “We’ll figure something out,” Nicole said. “Even if I have to fight the world, I’ll keep you safe.”

  It was obvious that Sinclair had government backing, but how far that extended was a matter of debate. She didn’t doubt for a second that he was reporting everything back to those funding his research, but she also knew that he would happily throw them under the bus if it protected his ass.

  Would Nicole find herself fighting the government on top of the Sylan if they came after her family, or would she side against the world itself to keep them safe? The question was who might join her. Would her team stand with her if it came to that?

  A part of her toyed with the idea of appealing to Maraline for safety, but even with how strangely helpful the Sylan woman had been over her short time as a Ranger, she was still an enemy combatant set on conquering the Earth. Maybe if Bartran died of his injuries and she was left in charge of the invasion…

  Humanity was far from perfect, and Maraline certainly couldn’t do worse than many of the leaders of their world. It felt like treason against her people to even consider it, but at the same time, something told her that she couldn’t trust those in power to do the right thing if it meant risking said power.

  Nicole wasn’t sure what she would do, and would probably debate her options right up until shit hit the fan and she had no other choice but to act. They sat in silence for several moments, then Becca took a shuddering breath and put the car into gear and began the drive home. Nicole continued to ponder what it meant to be a Ranger, the responsibility that came with it, and the weight of the power she wielded.

  They were just getting back to the dorms when the car shook. Nicole threw the door open, uncaring of the car still being in motion or her now screaming friend as she watched a massive plume of smoke rise above the eastern horizon. What the hell had that been? Did the Sylan swap to bombing tactics, or was this something else? There wasn’t supposed to be another attack until the day after tomorrow at the earliest!

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  Rebecca parked the car not far from where Nicole had made a hasty decision and stormed out, but rather than the expected anger, there was only concern. Her eyes were also on the smoke, even as she muttered under her breath about distance and some sort of calculation.

  “That was sub lab three,” Becca whispered after a moment. “I was supposed to be there today until they canceled my experiment and gave me the afternoon off.”

  Well, that wasn’t at all concerning, and only two days after Sinclair’s morpher went missing? No, that stank like the horses from the other day. Nicole’s phone rang, startling her out of her swirling thoughts. The number was one well familiar to her and she answered it immediately knowing she would get some answers if nothing else.

  “Nicole,” she said, simple and to the point.

  “There was an explosion in the industrial sector,” the dispatcher said. “All hands on deck, if you can. I’m calling Grace in too and the fire is spreading fast. Think you can get your whole team for this one?”

  There was no hesitation as she sent the message on their group chat. “Can do. Send me the address you want us to meet and we’ll be there.”

  “Thanks,” the dispatcher said. “We’re calling in other departments, but we don’t know if it will be enough. The National Guard is also on the line as well, and there’s talk of needing to evacuate portions of the city given where this explosion happened.”

  “We’ll do what we can to help,” Nicole said.

  “That’s all we can ask.”

  He hung up before Nicole could answer and she was left with the weight of her responsibility and the knowledge of the challenge ahead of her. She turned and gave Becca a soft smile, trying to avoid thoughts of the lives no doubt already lost, and those she would hopefully save in the coming hours.

  Grace’s car flew into the parking lot a moment later and Nicole moved quickly to the trunk which had already popped open. She pulled out the case that held her gear and turned back to face her best friend.

  “Duty calls,” Nicole said. “Get Colin and go somewhere safe.”

  “I will,” Becca said with a smile. “Now go save lives, hero.”

  “Roll the Dice,” Grace said, a blinding flash of crimson followed and there stood the Red Ranger. “Come on, you can change on a rooftop nearby.”

  Much as she hated the idea, Nicole couldn’t argue. They had practiced for this moment and already had a place picked out ahead of time. Nicole handed the case over to Grace, then took off at a sprint towards the first rooftop. Two leaps later and Nicole was stripping off her clothes and swapping into the under suit of her makeshift Ranger attire.

  This would be her first time heading into a proper blaze without her morpher, and she could already feel her nerves acting up. Would she freeze when push came to shove, or would she manage to power on through despite her trepidation?

  At least Grace was there to help with the armor, having a partner cut down on the prep time by minutes and less than sixty seconds after touching down on the rooftop the pair were once again in motion.

  It was a familiar and well practiced routine, running to a blaze, but this time their whole team was coming to join them. She could see the fires, as well as the occasional explosion from something catching all at once. This was far beyond anything she normally dealt with as a firefighter, or a Ranger. It was a disaster in the making and they were one of the few that could hope to make a difference.

  Green, Silver, and Purple joined them enroute and Nicole made sure they landed among the emergency vehicles assembled on the perimeter of the blaze. Unfortunately landings were one thing that Nicole still struggled with, and despite practice at bleeding momentum in a long fall, she still landed hard enough to crack the concrete and rattle her whole skeleton.

  The rest of her team impacted around her. Grace fell to a three point stance, axe on her shoulder. Kayla had vines sprout from the ground and her staff to catch her. Jeff used his spear to twirl off the momentum. Devon shone with blinding light as he stood, his armor glinting in the early evening light.

  “We’re here,” Nicole said. “Direct us to where we’re needed.”

  Two men that Nicole didn’t recognize looked up in unison, apparently having missed their arrival. She wouldn’t have been surprised if they assumed the impacts were more explosions in the distance. As if to punctuate that, something burst just behind them. Nicole turned, glaring at the thick black smoke billowed into the sky and blotted out the sun.

  “Black, Red,” one of the men said. “I know you have the training, so I want the two of you in the thick of it. Work with the rescue teams to ensure all the employees are out, then join the suppression effort.”

  “What about us?” Devon asked.

  He considered them for a moment. “I can’t risk sending you into the fray without knowing how to avoid making things worse. Join the perimeter and evacuation teams, help us keep this shit situation from getting worse.”

  Devon nodded, but Nicole could tell he didn’t like being relegated to a side job. Unfortunately for him, Nicole didn’t have time to nurse his bruised ego. With a quick nod at Grace, the pair set off to do what they were trained to do.

  Nearing the fires was an experience, there was little else she could say to describe what she could only imagine a dive into hell itself to be like. She’d heard it described before, even experienced something like it in one of the worst blazes she had endured in her short time working with the department.

  This eclipsed everything she had experienced before.

  Nicole had endured fire, but for the first time she felt the heat of the blaze licking her suit. That alone gave her pause, but she would push through, she’d trained with the department in the same suits they did. Just because she put on a different suit when it came time to deploy didn’t change things.

  Heroes didn’t back down in the face of adversity.

  Landing alongside one of the frontline teams, Nicole wasted no time. “We have Rangers on the scene. What’s the situation on the ground?”

  “We’re trying to reach a building that wasn’t reported evacuated,” the man said, pointing towards a wrecked structure. “The surrounding blaze is too intense to approach, but they’re underground and might still be alive.”

  Turning, Grace gave her a sharp nod and the pair set off towards it. The fire somehow grew worse, and Nicole knew she was sweating inside the suit that was more or less a kitbashed knock off. Yes, it was doing an extremely admirable job of keeping her from experiencing the worst of the blaze, but it was still mundane tech in the end.

  “This is insane,” Grace said, stopping atop a concrete ramp as she looked around. Visibility was near zero, and it was only due to their helmets that they were able to keep breathing in the thick smoke. “I don’t think we’ll find anyone alive down here.”

  “We still need to check,” Nicole answered, shouting to be heard over the roaring flames. She reached for the mental switch that would allow her to phase, but as with every other time she attempted it, there was nothing to grasp. Rather than lament her lost powers for yet another time, Nicole spun, launching a harsh kick with her momentum. The reinforced steel crumpled under the force of my foot, flames rushed out in a torrent, washing over her. “Motherfuck!”

  Nicole fell back, rolling for a moment as Grace rushed to her side

  “You okay!?”

  “Peachy,” Nicole answered, patting herself down.

  “You’re not on fire,” Grace said. “Can’t tell if you’re scorched though.”

  Nicole grumbled about that, but pressed into the room, thankful that Sinclair’s suit was actually up to the task. Said room was full of canisters, many of which were ruptured, the contents spraying out as a rush of fire. She hissed at the intensity of it, but pressed on, looking for the signs that indicated which way to go for the exit and used them to find the way down.

  Another steel door stood in her way, and Nicole grabbed hold and pulled, straining her enhanced strength to its very limits. She was feeling the heat right to her core and knew there were limits to what she could endure, even with her enhancements. The steel groaned and warped, heated by the flames, but not anywhere close to actually melting the metal. Still, it gave her enough to work with, and slowly the door buckled, then she tore it free with a groaning shriek.

  Oh wait, that had been her screaming.

  Nicole shook her arms out, then turned to face her girlfriend who was standing stock still. Nicole glanced back at the newly opened door, and the wreck of steel she had left behind. Right, that probably looked pretty damn neat from an outsider’s view. Pity nobody would have been able to record it.

  “What?” Nicole asked.

  Grace chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. “Would it be a bad pun if I said that was really fucking hot?”

  Nicole’s jaw worked for a moment, then all she could do was sigh as her shoulders slumped. “Fine, you can have that one.”

  “Hell yeah!” Grace cheered.

  “Yeah, this is hell alright,” Nicole said, looking down the stairwell that extended past the door. “Let’s hope there’s people left to pull out of it.”

  Update on future release schedule

  Section Nine on Royal Road to see how one of my more popular fanfics does. Expect updates to come swiftly, with multiple chapters a day.

  Patreon where you can find advance chapters and more!