Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of updates! December was a long month – filled with exams and crazy holiday plans. I’ll try my best to update this fic more often! I think this was possibly the hardest chapter I had to write yet – hope everyone thinks it’s alright and that it’s enough to satisfy. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated and if people have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

To that one person who sent me a review and didn’t bother leaving an email for me to reply to, know this: I’m sorry that I don’t update my stories often enough for your liking, but life happens. I’ve got school and other things to worry about. If you have a problem with me, please contact me directly through email or a PM and not leave me a flame that had no point to it. Thank you.

Have a Happy New Year everyone!

Disclaimer: I don’t own Power Rangers – if I did, Sky and Syd would’ve gotten together officially a long time ago :)

xxx

The city was still and dark as the people of New Tech City slept through the night. It was the first week of November and hours earlier, the first snowfall of the season had coated the city in a blanket of white frost. A gust of wind swept through the empty streets, making little white snow clouds dance about in a semi-magical manner. The moon was bright and round, giving the city a glistening glow with its beautiful light.

The SPD Academy was quiet as Kat Manx wandered through the hallways. Sleep would not come to her tonight. As she walked, she marveled at the silence - she never got to see the Academy like this, as it was always filled with noise. Most of the cadets and staff were in bed and asleep, the only people that were awake were the ones assigned to night duty.

She was worried. Over the past month, there had been a long list of names – names of people that had been murdered recently - the list was getting longer and longer each passing day. Without a doubt, Kat could only think of one person that would be capable of killing all these innocent people just for fun.

The feline doctor continued along the hallway, stopping once she entered the command center. Most of the lights were off and the only sounds came from the console. "Computer," her voice commanded evenly. "Turn all systems on."

Immediately, all the machinery came to life. She waited. A minute later, everything was running smoothly. "All systems activated," the computer responded in a robotic monotone.

She tapped a few buttons. "Computer, please search all files for Giovanni Deveraux."

"Searching..."

Within minutes, several files were listed. She downloaded all the files to her computer before sitting down at her desk. "Alright," the feline muttered to herself. "Time to find out all we can about you, Giovanni." Kat double clicked on the first file and waited for the document to open.

When she read the first headline, what she found shouldn't have shocked her, but nonetheless shocked her anyway. She opened more files.

Robbery. Drugs. Murder. Rape.

Giovanni had done all these things and more for eight years straight before getting caught. They were dealing with a dangerous criminal. How in the world had Z, Jack and their friends gotten mixed up with a man like that? Even without asking, Kat knew the answer - Giovanni had somehow manipulated them.

She turned her attention back to her computer and clicked on the fifth file, finding it to be another newspaper article. Scanning the headline, she found that it was another murder that Giovanni had committed. Kat shook her head slightly and prepared to open another document when something in the article caught her eye. Her eyes widened as she read the name.

Danny Delgado.

Kat stared at the screen. Could it be?

Danny Delgado, the man that had worked on that awful experiment over a decade ago? The man that had been the black wild force power ranger? That Danny?

She continued to stare at the screen. Her eyes lingering on the last name.

Delgado. Danny Delgado. Could Z possibly be his daughter?

Kat had known Danny had had a daughter, but the feline had believed said daughter to be dead. After all, there had been that disastrous earthquake that hit New Tech City a few years ago…

Quickly, she read through the article.

The doors to the command center opened and in walked the Commander. Cruger looked mildly surprised to see her sitting there. "Miss Manx, I thought you had gone to bed early tonight."

"I couldn't sleep, sir," Kat responded, not taking her eyes off the computer screen. "So I decided to do some research on Giovanni."

Cruger nodded. "Always working, aren't you? Have you found anything?”

“Doggie, do you remember those experiments that we did back in 2001? Do you remember Danny Delgado?”

Cruger paused. “Of course I remember Danny Delgado. What of him?”

“According to these articles, Giovanni had murdered Danny. And if I remember correctly, Danny also had a daughter that went missing or was presumed dead.”

There was silence in the Command Center as Cruger went over the facts in his head. Finally, the big blue dog sighed. “Kat, I think we better do some more research.”

xxx

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Ian’s eyes stared at the machine as it continued to monitor Larissa’s heart rate. At the moment, her heart beat was steady, but that could change any time. They had already had a scare yesterday morning when Larissa’s heart just suddenly stopped.

Since his arrival at SPD (which had only been two days ago), Ian had made it a priority to visit Larissa everyday, spending hours talking about trivial things. The poor girl was still in a coma – her injuries were slowly healing and the color in her cheeks had returned. But everyone had all but given up on Larissa’s chance of awakening, especially when her heart gave up yesterday and they had only just managed to revive her.

What was it with these people anyway? Never having any proper medical care when he was growing up, Ian believed that these people had the means to help Larissa. They have all this fancy equipment, why haven’t they been able to wake her up yet? He gazed at Larissa’s limp form. Life just wasn’t fair.

The door to Larissa’s hospital room opened and his sister stepped in, looking bright and cheerful. He felt a surge of anger flow through him. He didn’t understand how his sister could be so happy at a time like this… Larissa, one of her best friends, was in a coma for crying out loud!

Kathleen sat down in one of the chairs next to him. “How is she?” she asked.

“Like you care,” he mumbled.

She looked at him, shocked. He felt a bit guilty for saying those words to his sister but held his ground. Tears welled up in Kathleen’s eyes, making him feel even guiltier. “Of course I care!” she said, indignantly. “You think I like seeing Larissa like this?”

“You have a funny way of showing it!” he sneered, letting his anger take over him. “Ever since we’ve arrived here, you’ve been starry eyed about every little thing! What is it going to take for you to realize that SPD can’t help us? They never helped us before when we were living out on the streets!”

“But they are helping us!” Kathleen protested. “We’re being protected by staying here! We’re safe!”

Ian leapt to his feet and regarded his sister’s comment with a snort. “Stop being so naïve, Kathleen. Nowhere is safe! Giovanni won’t care that we’re under SPD protection; he’s going to come after us anyway!” He then gestured towards Larissa, lying limp in her bed. “They have all this machinery, but they can’t even help Larissa! She isn’t even awake yet!”

“They aren’t miracle workers, Ian! If it wasn’t for all this machinery, Larissa would already be dead! Don’t you see how blessed we are, Ian? We may not be completely safe here at the Academy, but at least it’s better than being out there!” The tears that had welled up in Kathleen’s eyes spilled over onto her cheeks. “If we were still out on the streets we wouldn’t even have a chance!”

His right hand clenched into a fist. He cast one more glance at his sister before turning to leave the room. “I’ll be back later.”

“Where are you going?” Kathleen’s voice held a hint of worry.

Ian didn’t reply as he slammed the door behind him.

xxx

“This isn’t working, you guys!” Sweat dripped down the side of his face as he slammed a fist into a table. Bridge sighed and closed his eyes as he slumped over and leaned against the wall. Next to him, Sky slumped down looking defeated. Syd sat across from them, staring at the pages of notes in her hands, looking utterly frustrated.

“I don’t understand,” the pink ranger muttered to herself as she flipped through her notebook. “This should be working!”

“Maybe you aren’t concentrating hard enough,” Sky suggested, looking over at him.

Bridge closed his eyes, letting out another sigh as he did so. His friends meant well, he knew, but it was hopeless. He would never be free of his powers. Still, he amended, he appreciated the fact that his friends had gone to such great lengths to try and help. It meant so much.

Syd was still staring at the notes in front of her, something nagging in the back of her mind. Bridge was psychometric, which meant that he could touch things and see human emotions from them. He was also telepathic, which meant he could open his mind and dive into other people’s minds. And he could also pick up people’s thoughts without probing into their minds. The wheels in the back of her mind began churning. He can pick up emotions without trying – how do you block something like that?

The three of them had been trying for two days now to help Bridge create a barrier around himself and so far it wasn’t working – most of their theories had failed. Sydney bit her lip, wracking her brains, trying to figure out another possibility. She flipped through her notebook, skimming through what she had written. She flipped to the last page of her notes and read through it, pausing at the very last bullet she had made.

When she had written the point down, at the time she had deemed it useless because it had seemed so trivial. Even Sky had scoffed at it, also thinking it was useless but she had written the information down in her notebook anyway just because something inside her told her too.

Sometimes the simplest action causes the greatest effect.

She stared at Bridge and Sky from where she sat. The three of them had been through so much… had known each other for years… they had become close… a family… Bridge was her best friend and she considered him her little brother… and she knew how he felt about Z… how many times had she seen Bridge watching couples holding hands and wishing that he could do the same? How many times had she witness Bridge’s expression going sad whenever people were touching and hugging around him? Too many times to count…

She glanced at the last bullet in her notes again. Well, it was worth a shot… she looked up at Bridge. “Hey Bridgey?”

The green ranger gave her a weary smile. “Yeah?”

“Think you’re up for one more try? I’ve got an idea.”

“Syd,” Sky interrupted, looking at his girlfriend with a stern expression. “I think he’s had enough. Look at him, he’s exhausted.”

“I know, but there’s one thing we haven’t tried – “

“Syd!”

“But – “

“Guys!” Bridge yelled. Sky and Syd’s emotions were mixing in with his own, giving him a bigger headache. “Stop. Let’s try out your idea, Syd. I’m sure this one won’t make a difference.”

“Bridge – “ Sky started to say, but stopped when the green ranger gave him a look.

“I’ll be fine, Sky. I can handle it,” the green ranger paused and looked at Syd, “But after this, can I please go take a shower? I feel dirty.”

“Okay,” the pink ranger nodded. There was a silence as she tried to figure out how this scenario was possibly going to work. “Ready?”

Bridge nodded and prepared to stand up when Syd stopped him. “No Bridgey, you can sit down for this one – I think.”

The green ranger sat down with a puzzled expression on his face. What was Syd up to this time?

“Okay. Close your eyes and try to imagine –“

He exchanged a puzzled glance with Sky – had Syd lost it? Close your eyes and imagine? What kind of theory was that? Sky shrugged, indicating that he didn’t have a clue to what his girlfriend was up too – in fact, Sky’s confusion added to his own. Nonetheless, he trusted Syd – he had no reason not to. Bridge closed his eyes and waited for more instructions from his best friend.

“Draw a circle in your mind – make it as dark and make it as heavy color as you can.”

There was blackness all around him and he listened to Sydney’s words. In the background, he could distinctly hear Sky muttering about how ridiculous this idea was. The green ranger inwardly shrugged – it didn't matter, he had nothing to lose.

“Imagine walking into the middle of that circle and then making that circle shape to your body.”

Both Sky and Syd both stared open-mouthed at their friend as a green outline began to form around Bridge. The pink ranger felt her heart begin to thud loudly in anticipation. Was it actually working? She began inching towards where Sky and Bridge were sitting.

The room was completely silent as the blue and pink rangers gawked at Bridge. After a minute or two, the green that surrounded Bridge faded. Syd and Sky exchanged glances and the pink ranger leaned forward slightly. “Bridgey?” she whispered, afraid to break the silence.

There was no response. Bridge was still sitting with his eyes closed.

The blue and pink rangers exchanged panicked glances.

“Bridge?” Sky ventured, sounding a little more than worried. “Are you okay?”

For Bridge, it seemed like a miracle. He felt… different. He didn’t know how else to describe it. Slowly, feeling a little bit more than afraid, he opened his eyes to see Syd and Sky staring at him with worried expressions. His brain immediately jumped on to the fact that the room was brighter and more colorful. It was the strangest thing he had ever experienced.

“Well?” Syd asked, looking apprehensive. “Did it work?”

Bridge stared back at his friends. “I… I can’t see your auras anymore,” he replied slowly. “I can’t feel your emotions…”

Syd stood up and quickly reached for a random object and placed it on the floor in front of him. Bridge stared at it for a moment before taking off one of his gloves. This was almost too much to hope for… He reached for the pen with his leather-free hand and held it tight against his palm and waited.

Nothing.

No images flashed through his mind.

If someone had asked him where the pen had been, he wouldn’t be able to tell them the answer.

His powers weren’t acting up.

“Well?” Sky asked anxiously.

Bridge stared at the pen in his hand. “Nothing,” he replied.

Syd stood up and retrieved another random object. She threw it towards Bridge, which he caught with ease, and he flipped through the book. The green ranger stared down at the pages, feeling an overwhelming emotion rise within him. He couldn’t tell who had read this book before hand. He couldn’t see the image of Syd handing him the book. He laid the book aside and stood up, touching a random chair. The same thing happened – he couldn’t see who had sat in the chair before he had touched it.

He looked at Sky and Syd. “Nothing,” he repeated again.

Sky and Syd exchanged glances again.

“Guess there’s only one way to find out if it really works,” Sky said, standing up and offering his left hand.

With a little bit of hesitation, Bridge reached out and accepted Sky’s hand with his right. The blue ranger’s hand felt warm against his own and he was surprised when he didn’t receive Sky’s thoughts. Brown eyes met blue with confusion and another silence ensued.

“Nothing,” Bridge said finally.

Syd let out a delighted squeal. “You mean it actually worked?”

“It seems so,” Sky replied, seeing that the green ranger to overwhelmed to talk. “I can’t believe that the most simplest, yet most stupid sounding, theory actually turned out to be the one that worked,” Sky paused, “Hey Bridge? Think you can let go of my hand now?”

“What? Oh – sorry!” Bridge quickly let the blue ranger’s hand go, blushing as he did so. Suddenly, the green ranger was full of energy and was itching to go out into the world with his new found power. Finally, he could blend into society as a normal human being for periods at a time. He glanced at his friends. “I’ve got to go out… I want to see…” he trailed off, not knowing how to explain.

Sky grinned and wrapped an arm around Sydney, as the pink ranger leaned into his shoulder. “Go Bridge, we understand – go explore the world.”

“But don’t forget to let out your psychic senses from time to time,” Syd added. “It would be bad if your powers were overloading in your body.”

“Yeah,” Bridge paused, making a mental note to remember that tiny detail. His powers weren't gone - they were just cooped up inside his body and needed to be released every so often.“I’ll see you guys later!” And in his normal, spastic fashion, the green ranger zoomed out of the room, leaving behind a well-worn pair of leather gloves.

“Was all those sleepless nights and huge amounts of research worth it?”

Syd grinned as she looked up at her boyfriend. “Every moment.”

Sky smiled down at her. “How about going out to dinner tonight?”

“It’s a date!”

xxx

She was not happy and she didn’t know why.

Correction.

Z Delgado knew exactly why she was unhappy and the idea of it doesn’t make her much happier.

The yellow ranger stomped towards her room, feeling quite disturbed. Ten minutes ago, she had seen Bridge rushing down the corridor, passing by her without even stopping to even exchange a greeting. For the last two days, she had seen Bridge less and less and whenever she did see him – he was always accompanied by the pink ranger.

Just what was it, Z wondered, about Syd that everyone seemed to find so special? Sky was so in love with her, Bridge used to have a crush on her – even Jack had flirted with her during their earliest days at the Academy.

“Jealous much?”

Startled, Z looked up and realized that she had passed her room and had ended up in the common room. Jack was standing next to her with his usual teasing grin and that knowing look in his eyes. She hated that look.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she grumbled, feeling more cranky and crabby by the minute.

“Oh come on,” the red ranger paused. “I saw your little run in with Bridge and how he just rushed out of the Academy – and I know you way too well, Z. I can tell what’s going on in that little head of yours – you’re jealous of Syd for some strange reason.”

“I’m not jealous! What’s there to be jealous of?”

Jack shrugged. “You tell me.”

“Seriously – I’m not jealous!”

“You know who you’re talking to right? I know you better than anyone – I know you’re not happy with the fact that Bridge has been spending all of his free time lately with Syd.”

The yellow ranger flinched. Had she been that obvious?”

“And to answer what you’re thinking – no you haven’t been that obvious. At least not to people around you. I, however, have noticed. And you, my favorite person in the whole world, are jealous.”

“I’m not!” She hissed, absolutely hating the smug look that now adorned Jack’s face.

“Sure, denial isn’t just a river in Egypt, anyway,” Jack hurries to finish once he noticed the look on Z’s face. “I’ve gotta go – I promised I’d show Keegan around the Academy. Bye Z!”

The red ranger hurried away, leaving Z to stare after him. Fuming, she began making her way back to her room. She wasn’t jealous – it just wasn’t possible. Okay, so maybe her roommate was drop dead gorgeous. Z wasn’t that bad looking either – she liked to think that she had cleaned up nicely since her street days. And so what if everyone at the Academy thought Syd was a sweetheart – she was a nice person as well.

She headed into her room, only to run into Sydney and all rational thought was gone. The pink ranger looked entirely too cheerful and happy – it was as if something big had just happened. That made her all the more irritated. Syd was wearing a beautiful pink dress that looked brand new and looking stunning as usual.

“Why are you so happy?”

“Everything is just perfect!” Syd squealed as she looked in the mirror and fluffing out her hair. “No more spending long hours in that stuffy library, Bridge is happy beyond belief and Sky’s taking me out to dinner tonight! Life is just wonderful!”

Anger at the thought of the pink ranger spending the last two days with Bridge and hearing how happy the green ranger was, Z knew she wasn’t making much sense as she exploded. “What about Sky, huh?”

Sydney turned from the mirror and gave her roommate a questioning glance. “What about Sky?”

“How can you hurt him like that? I thought you loved him!”

“I do – Z, what are you talking about?”

“I hate how everyone thinks you’re perfect and how you’re constantly at the center of everyone’s attention. You just had to go and lure Bridge into your web too, huh?”

“Z – “

“You know, you should stop taking the best two for yourself!”

“Z – “

“Well, guess what? I’m pretty and just as smart as you! And I have a lot of personality – I don’t need to rely on my looks like you do!” Having run out of things to say, the yellow ranger turned and fled from their room, leaving the pink ranger speechless.

Sky popped into the room a few minutes later. “Wow, you look gorgeous.” He then took a good look at her expression. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” she replied honestly. “I may be wrong, but I think Z is jealous.”

“Jealous? You mean, your little plan actually worked?”

“I don’t know, it looks like it – she just ran out of here after blowing up at me about something. She mentioned Bridge’s name,” Sydney looked at her boyfriend, grinning. “I think she has a bit of a crush on Bridge.”

“So she blew up at you, huh?”

“Yeah,” she grinned mischievously. “She knew that I’ve been with Bridge every free moment for the last two days – and I conveniently forgot to mention that you were with us the entire time. Trust me, she’s jealous.”

And with those words, the pink ranger reached for her jacket and walked out of her room, feeling triumphant and already thinking of ways to get Bridge and Z together.

xxx

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