Fractured Pink Ranger

Posted on Tue Sep 17th, 2024 @ 4:04pm by Kilena Keithron & Fraser Rehami & Damien McGinnis

2,273 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: The Secret of Corvus
Location: GPF Academy
Timeline: January 6 th 2051, 2100 Hours

The pain intensified, spreading like fire through her skull. She could hear her pulse pounding in her ears, drowning out everything else as she felt the jostling of Fraser carrying her to the medical bay. Flashes of light exploded behind her eyes, and with them came fragments of memory—disjointed, chaotic.

She saw herself and Fraser, laughing together on a beach, the waves crashing at their feet. She saw him meeting her parents which was chaos but they approved. She heard his voice, soft and comforting, whispering promises she couldn’t quite make out. And then, a darker memory—fear, urgency, the sound of alarms blaring in the distance. A mission gone wrong, Fraser's voice telling her to hold on, that everything would be okay.

“Kilena!” Frasers’s voice cut through the haze, but it sounded distant, muffled. She needed to focus as she heard another familiar voice.

"Hey Fras- uh, what are you doing with Kilena?' Damien asked.

"Move Mcginnis," Fraser commented as the man blocked his path.

"What's going on?" Damien asked again "What are you even doing here?"

"What does it look like I am doing?" The Press Secretary practically growled.

"Hey, cool it buddy. I just asked what you're doing with my team mate." Damien replied, narrowing his eyes as he growled back "Given she doesn't look too good, you'd best start explaining fast before I start making assumptions."

Fraser really did not have time to go through everything with the man. “All your time-changing shenanigans have affected my wife.” The man said lowly revealing that the man knew exactly who the man was despite pretending previously that he had not. “I do not know how it has affected you or how much you know of the previous timeline but Kilena needs medical because she did not report there when you all came back.”

"You peaked." Damien replied seriously, before remarking "I've got to say, I'm impressed she finally broke a rule. Really stupid rule to break but still, skipped medical, rule broken. Now, want to clarify the wife bit?"

“I have known for a while. You are not subtle.” Was this going to be how every ranger reacted to him until whatever happened to them settled down? “And yes wife… me her married. Surely you remember or are you going to end up like this?” He demanded awkwardly indicating the woman he want carrying.

"I didn't remember that..." Damien said, pausing "Sorry. A lot of new information recently. Head's still organising it. Now, are we going to keep measuring the size of our weapons or are we going to get her some medical attention? And before you give me some crap about having no standing here, I'm her CO and she's in this state due to something that happened in the line of duty. Far as I'm concerned, I've got every bit as much of a right to be here as you."

Fraser said nothing as he pushed passed the man and carried on down the corridor. He would deal with the man properly once Kilena was in the medical center. The medical center was a huge hub bathed in the soft, sterile as the door quietly opened, and a tall woman in a white coat over her uniform approach having gotten the alert. Dr. Alyssa Quinn approached with a calm, reassuring presence. She was middle-aged, with sharp features softened by a kind smile, her dark hair streaked with silver and pulled into a neat bun. Behind her followed a nurse, carrying a portable scanner and various medical supplies as well as another nurse pushing a bed.

"Oh good, I could use a nap." Damien quipped, quickly adding "Sorry, I relieve tension with humour."

The doctor surveyed the man with humour and looked at the other man carrying the woman. Just as the man was about to lie her on the bed her body convulsed, her eyes rolling back. The nurse beside them immediately started to scan her out, “Seizure activity! We need to stabilise her, now!”

“Get her on the bed!” Dr. Quinn ordered, her voice sharp and commanding. Fraser could feel his heart pounding in his chest, as he helped manoeuvre Kilena’s convulsing body onto the bed. The nurse quickly raised the bed’s side rails, ensuring she wouldn’t injure herself as they disappeared further into the medical bay with Kilena.

"She's in the right place." Damien said, putting a hand on Fraser's shoulder "Come on, let's take a walk."

The man looked very unsure about taking a walk but followed. He did not say anything but kept glancing back to medical and the communicator gripped in his hand.

They reached a vending machine. Damien tapped his wallet against the reader before ordering two cans of lemonade. He held one out to Fraser.

"Drink. You're stressed, sugar and salt levels need to be kept up." He said, nodding at the can "Now, spill. How long have you known?"

"Since you and Kilena got your abilities." The man said understanding how close the pink and red ranger were or had been once upon a time. "Plus I am the GPF Press Secretary I am very close to the Director and well my wife. How much of the other timeline do you remember? Because I am wondering how much you all need medical to adjust."

"Bits and pieces. It's like remembering a dream, but there are other... Considerations." Damien said, clearly choosing his words carefully "As for medical, I can assure you that so far, no one else needs it."

Fraser knew when something was not quite right but he opened the can of lemonade and took a sip. "Other considerations?" He wondered putting the communicator away in his suit jacket.

"I can't explain. Not yet." Damien said, pausing "I guess you'll just have to trust me to keep playing super hero."

Fraser frowned. He did not like it but he knew that he trusted them all. "I trust you. You have never let me down before despite everything that happened between us with Kilena." The man commented knowing it would be different now with them all thanks to them knowing another timeline.

"You're going to have to fill me in on that one." Damien said "More than one timeline total knocking around, along with being at the eye of the storm that caused it, means memories aren't quite solid, not yet."

“What?” Fraser wondered looking at the younger man trying to work out what was going on with him. They had never spoke like this other than to snipe or be something overly professional so it was concerning.

"Look, it's complicated." Damien said, pausing "I'm going to just ask you to fill me in on what went down, no questions asked."

“Okay? But if I can help I will.” He decided to try a new approach seeing this seemed to be a different Damien than he was used to. Maybe they could come to a new understanding. “We both liked her but I got the girl,” Fraser commented gently. It did leave him wondering what the other timeline was like as Kilena had hinted he was not involved in her life there to any degree apart from professional.

"Well, that tracks." Damien replied "In the original timeline, you weren't a factor. Hell, you've not been a factor in a few timelines. And I just said too much there. Aetherion's going to kill me..."

Fraser sighed and scrubbed at his face as the lighting around them went from daylight hours to the night mire mundane lighting. He knew that the lighting would be bright for the people who were working on Kilena. "Sounds like you need support?"

"No.... Well, yes." Damien replied "There's a lot to keep straight. Multiple timelines. Doesn't entirely track."

"So how many timelines are we talking about?" Frazer wondered softly. He could not blame the man but this was the one timeline he knew.

"I'm not totally sure. I know there were a lot but it's like remembering a dream." Damien lamented "I remember somethings clear as day and others are totally murky. All I know is I lived other timelines while I was in the grid. Kept trying to find the one where we win. This is the latest in a long line of tries, and if it ends up being another one where we lose, I'm sorry, but I will reset the timeline again."

Fraser looked at the man and for a moment took in what he said before his fist had a mind of his own and he hit out and connected with Damien’s nose. He was not a violent man, he used words but this felt different. “Did you stop for a moment to think it’s why she’s sick? Every time you reset her abilities try and rest too, to this new timeline. ” He demanded shaking his fist as pain spread through him and several officers came over to see that no more fist were threw.

"It's all good." Damien said as he wiped a trickle of blood from his nose "Just some horsing around getting out of hand."

"Is this true?" The lead security officer asked Fraser "Are we good here, sir?"

“We are good.” Fraser said as his anger sealed away as he saw how exhausted the younger man looked.

The security officer turned and walked away, his team flanking him. As he did, Damien narrowed his eyes.

"You get one because your wife is my friend. Next time, I hit you back." He noted "I have considered this fact. Unfortunately I've seen what happens in other timelines. I've seen every single member of my team die in some way or another. The worst bit is when your power is luck, it's rare you end up being the one who gets themselves killed. Irony of ironies, the timeline where that was meant to happen was the original one. All I know is the furthest in I got was six months out from this point in time. The problem is events don't happen the same every time meaning I just know warning cues to watch for. I need my team, and that means I need her, but they can't know. Believe me, the first time me and Aetherion reset the timeline, I kept trying to work out what to change. Temporal mechanics are a nightmare it's best not to burden people with."

The man growled but did not push the fact he’d do a lot more if the man carried on. “Lena has the power to see the future. Did you for a second think that the luck you have gave her that ability for a reason? You guys were rangers together for months before the others joined the team?” The man said trying to not sound annoyed at the connected that the pair had.

"I mean, my luck has nothing to do with her ability. They're unique to each crystal." Damien noted "I don't know. It took longer than I care to admit for the multiple timelines to be explained to me properly and I still don't get it entirely."

“I read a lot of books.” Fraser remarked quietly as he rubbed his fist annoyed. “Timelines are not hard. I understood enough to know you need help. If you don’t want a ranger then you are stuck with me.” How had they gone from nearly trading punches to forming an alliance? “But I do think you need to speak to Kilena when she is better it does not make sense that you the man who is changing timelines for paired with the person who can see the future.”

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Damien lamented "I tried telling her in three timelines. Spencer in two. Each time I did, someone ended up dead within 72 hours. Causality is a wonderful thing."

"Have you ever tried telling me?" Fraser counted gently. He could see the man was starting to come around and they could stabilise things.

"No." Damien admitted, "Frankly there's never been a need."

"That makes me feel better." The man said sarcastically. He knew the man did not mean to act so bluntly but it hurt either way that he was thought so little of. "Then let's hope this is the thing you need but you need to tell her. I am not keeping secrets from her."

"I'll talk to her in due course." Damien said "First I need to be sure it's safe to do so. Last thing we need is another timeline reset."

Fraser said nothing as she bit his lip. She better be okay, or he would flip his lid and show the red ranger exactly why he kept a facade of being so calm and composed. Fraser sat there in comfortable silence for a long time until a doctor appeared in front of him. "Lieutenant we will be monitoring her closely but she is out of the worst of it we believe," The man stood and let out the breath he had not realised he was holding. "We will be adjusting the treatment as needed. She’s in good hands.”

"There we go, she's going to be okay." Damien remarked "Now, grab yourself a coffee and grab a seat. It's going to be a long night."

"I can do the long night alone," Fraser said gently as he rose from the seat to follow the doctor wanting to be there when Kilena woke up. "You should get some rest too." He pointed out already walking away leaving the red ranger to his own thoughts.

 

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