Pink Ranger Problems

"What am I supposed to do, Summer?"  Two days after the Wizzo incident, Ernie decided that, screw it, I'm opening up the courtyard. Which is awesome for me. It means I can meet up with Summer as Filia, because I also decided fuck it.

"You are freaking out way too much over this."

"I know I like him now! I called him 'Mr Knight in Shining Armour,"

"And? You're pretending to be someone else?" I adjust my dress. Talking to Summer as Filia is easier. There is so much less guilt when we are both girls.

"I mean sure but!"

"But what?" I'm not sure how the rest of the sentence is meant to go.

"But what if my feelings leak into his?"

"Come on Fi, it's obvious you like him in either body."

"I guess but I feel gross when I look at him as a guy. Like I'm jealous or something."

My phone vibrates in my backpack. Who's calling me? I'm having a crisis here. I unzip the top of my bag, and shit.

"I'll be back, Summer."

"Don't do anything stupid."

"I'm just answering a phone call."

I send Scott a quick 'call you in a second' and rush into a neutral disabled toilet in the building. Ernie says it's safe and the plumbing still works. It should be fine. I pull my morpher off of the spandex's belt.

"Release." I whisper and my body unravels. Revealing my usual form. I shiver a bit. Imagine if I'd forgotten to bring the spandex or something. My dress sits in my bag. I've come to love that dress. Definitely not a manly thing to think. Then again neither is panicking about hanging out with a guy friend. A deep breath and I plug his number in and hit call. 

"Sup, Scott. Sorry I was just getting changed." 

"No problem! I was just calling to ask if you wanted to come to the youth centre?" 

"Sorry, bro. I'm pretty busy right now, dude." I'm technically not lying but it still doesn't feel good.

"Oh." The disappointment in his voice is palpable. I wish this could just be easy. "Well, I'll be heading down there soon if you get some free time. It was good seeing you before the bots showed up."

"It was good seeing you too, mate." I was hoping to stay mostly as Filia today. Plans change I guess. "I'll see what I can do."

"Great, let me know what's up!" The way he sounds when he's excited is enough to make anyone smile. If Ryan shows up will he be happy? Will it be worth it? I mean he thinks Fi is cute and I’d like a little more time pretending, I guess I’ll see. I don't have to decide just yet.

"Talk to you late, duderino!"

"Please never say that again." he chuckles. "Hopefully I'll see you soon."

Now I have to break the news to Summer that he's coming here. And that I might be Ryan again soon. And I'll deal with her glaring. And the silence. And the… Ugh.

This would be so much easier if I was just two different people. Or if Ryan didn't exist. Or if I didn't turn into a girl. Or even if the girl transformation was permanent.

"Galah Power transform." 

I strip down to my underwear and slip my dress back over my head, checking the mirror to make sure I still look okay. A quick spin to confirm that I'm cute and my dress is still fluffy, and done. I stride out of the bathroom, trying to seem cool and collected, like I didn't just turn into a guy for a few minutes and that I wasn't going to do it again.

"Let me guess, Scott?" Summer raises an eyebrow.

"How'd you know?"

"He let me know he's coming to the youth centre today."

"Oh."

"I'm assuming you're staying as Fi?"

"Well, I'd like to, but Scott might want to see Ryan…" The idea of going back is dancing around in my head. It wouldn’t be that bad. I was a guy this morning and the call with him wasn’t too bad either. And I don't have to apologise for my behaviour if I turn back into Ryan.

"Wait, did you just turn back and forth?"

"Yeah, I can't answer the phone as Fi."

"What about your energy?"

"It's just one transformation"

"It better be!" A pang of guilt about both drunk Filia and woozy Filia hits me.

"It’ll be fine. I told him Ryan probably wouldn't be able to come."

"You said that last time and you ended up transforming.

"That was last time!"

"And?"

I keep fidgeting with the hem of my dress. It’s a really nice dress. Comfortable, goes spinny, has pretty birds on it. It would be a shame to take it off.

"Sup?" Ziggy asks as they stride over. Looking up from your feet or hands is a weird thing. You notice a lot. For example Ziggy is amazingly gender fucky. Their outfit today consists of a yellow blouse and high waisted mom jeans with their facial hair being accented by mascara. At least that's what I'm assuming. 

"Not much. Me and Fi were having lunch. Care to join us?"

"Don't mind if I do. So has she cracked yet?" Ziggy asks Summer

"Nope."

"What do you mean?" I'm confused, are they talking about me?

"Don't worry about it, Fi." Summer says. It feels patronizing but I don't know enough to call them out on it.

"So how is the princess going?" Ziggy is cool in one of the most annoying ways possible. They slip words through so casually that it feels awkward to call it out.

"I'm fine. Just dealing with some stuff." I respond. They aren't getting any more than that.

"What sort of stuff?"

"Just girls stuff."

"Oh. Fair enough. Doesn't have anything to do with a certain guy does it?"

"Go to hell." My face is burning up. I'm probably glowing enough to guide an airplane. Summer snorts. Not helping my case at all.

"Gladly. Though before Satan claims my mortal soul, can you answer the question?"

"Yes."

"Oh good at least one cat is out of the bag. I'll stop teasing for now."

"Where's your boyfriend Ziggy?" I ask. This should be enough to tick them off.

"He should be here soon. We made Scott a little lonely the other night. Maybe you can cheer him up?" 

"Ziggy!" Summer exclaims. "What the hell?" The gender fucker starts cackling as I try ans catch my breath.

"I'm just teasing her." 

"She's going to explode!" Summer is right. Maybe my dress is too tight. 

"Alright. I'll leave her alone." Summer glares at them "I'm serious!" They put their hands up like Summer is threatening them with her eyes.

"Good."

"Yeah. Anyway, on a totally unrelated note. Scott seems to think Ryan might be here today. You heard anything about that?"

"Nope nothing." Summer responds.

"I wouldn't know. I've never met him."

"Really? You look kind of similar, I'd assume you were cousins." 

"What's he like?" Ziggy is trying something. I'm not sure what. But something.

"He's kinda quiet, kinda cute, and doesn't talk much." Cute. Yeah right? Ryan ain't cute.

"Cool."

"Hopefully you'll meet him today."

"I guess. Though I am meant to be going shopping soon." I lie. To avoid teasing and awkward conversations and apologies it might be best to quiet and boring Ryan. Scott wants him here anyway, so it's not just avoiding the issue. Ryan is also less emotional. While I seem to be on the brink of blowing up whenever someone points out my obvious crush. 

It's decided. 

"What? Fi don't you need to talk about stuff?" Summer asks. She knows I'll be back so why does she care?

"I might be back later."

"See ya, Fi." Ziggy waves.

I walk as fast as I can manage out of the courtyard and down the street. I need to find an alley. Somewhere to transform back into Ryan.

Almost a block away, I find the alley where I rescued Will. Between swapping back and forth between Fi and Ryan, the kidnapping and the weird feeling I'd almost forgotten this body isn’t just for me. This body is a tool to help people. It’s been tempting to think about becoming a girl full time. Or quitting and going back to being just Ryan, but neither is really an option. I need both to help people and face reality.

My transformation fades along with my strength draining. That strength comes with an overwhelming amount of feeling. This is a dumb reason to transform back. Avoiding emotions, but it does make things easier and as a bonus Scott will be happy. Now I can just walk back to the Youth Centre after I regain my balance and be the annoying quiet kid at the end of the table.

“Hey Ryan!” I’m on my way back to the youth center when I run into Scott. I swear he must have bought an entirely new wardrobe. That or Kepler was making him clothes and trying to kill Filia with his outfits, because damn. Under shirts and suits you could see he was strong. If you hugged him you could feel how dense his muscles were. In a tank top though, it is all on display. It’s not even that warm of a day and he is showing off. 

“Hey man!” I casually walk the tightrope over to him. A careful balancing act to make sure my body doesn’t drop. I should stabilize soon. 

“Are you doing okay?”

“Just a little dizzy.” We approach the entrance to the courtyard and I see Summer’s smile fade slightly. I get that I’m exhausting to be around but she doesn’t have to make it so obvious. 

“I was asking more in general. After the other day. Dang I still haven’t apologised."

“Apologised for what?

“For carrying you out of the building and stuff.” He scratches his head. As a guy it would be weird if I hugged him right? Ugh screw it. Maybe I should make like Filia and pull him aside to talk about this. If he’s worried about our friendship it might calm him down.

I grab him by the wrist and drag him past the courtyard, out of view of Summer and Ziggy. I do not need Ziggy or Leo seeing this and getting the wrong idea. 

“It’s fine. It means a lot that you were worried, man.”

“Can I hug you?” Fucking mind reader I swear. 

“Of course.” He pulls me and I have never felt so comfortable in this body. I can almost forget that he’s hugging me and not her with how tall and soft he is. Wait? Soft? His chest is kind of soft. “Hey Scott? Are you okay?”

“Better now that I know you are.”

“That’s not what I mean. Like your chest? Did something happen with the Clownfish Orange?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s soft,” I mumble. Still kinda hugging him. I don’t want to let go. Especially if something weird is happening. It might not have been like this before. I don’t know. 

“Oh! Nah, nothing’s wrong. I just kept a little bit of chest fat. It never really bothered me that much so I guess I kept some. Besides, I can pass them off as pecs. I mean I guess they are.”

“As long as you're comfortable.” I say. It is a little confusing. I’m pretty sure his ranger form is completely solid in that department. At least it was when Fi hugged him. Maybe I just hadn’t noticed before. Maybe I was too busy thinking about everything else.

“Thanks for understanding. My mum almost had a fit.”

“Yeah I can imagine she would.” 

“Should we get going? There's someone I’d like you to meet.” I pull myself away. He’s still handsome. Fuck. I want to be like him. His face is red? We should probably get undercover before we burn.

We turn the corner and Leo has finally arrived. The gang's all here. Except Filia. Guess we won’t be talking about any ranger business. We shouldn’t do that in public anyway. 

“I thought Filia was here?” Scott asks Summer. 

“She just left.” She’s boring a hole in my skull with her glare. 

“Sorry, Ryan.”

“Why are you apologising?”

“I was hoping to introduce you two.”

“Why?”

“You seem like you’d get along.” Ziggy snorts and I want to push them. 

I sit down at the table. In my backpack is my dress and leggings and boots. If he wants to see Filia I can just transform. It shouldn’t be too hard right. Just sneak into the bathroom. Go around the block and then appear as Filia. Voila. Girl solved.

“So were you hoping to see Fi today?” Leo asks with a dumb smirk. 

“Shut up.” Scott snaps. His face is red. I need to be more careful as Fi, or he’s gonna start liking me. Like seriously liking me. 

“Oh come on, you can hardly speak around her.” Ziggy helpfully adds.

“Lay off him.” I say.

“Come on, Ryan. Look at him blushing.” Leo’s right. He is definitely blushing. Fuck.

“That’s why you should lay off. What if she comes back?” 

“That’s not gonna happen, she said she’s shopping.” Ziggy looks at me. Do they have a problem with me? “Besides, can’t we tease our new resident straight boy.”

“Shut it, Ziggy.” Summer steps in. And thank god for that. Scott looks like he wants to hide. It’s not as bad as it was with that girl at school but it still makes me want to slap them. 

“Fair. Sorry that was a little too far.”

“She said she might be back later.” Summer explains. I can’t tell if that’s meant to be a prompt to change. Maybe I just want to. Maybe I can make him less blushy.

“Maybe.” Oh he wants to see her.

-----------

“Fins I need a new monster.” The devilish fish watches the ranger team fumble over their social obligations, their food, their identities. None the wiser that things are about to change. 

“All of our resources have gone into making Dysphorus a new body.” The shark's insubordination is becoming frustrating. If Loch was not short staffed he would have fired Fin’s. Relocated him to another galaxy or planet.

“Are there any failures?” The failed clones, while disappointing, may be his best bet. Their resources need to yield something. Even if it is little more than a distraction. 

“Of course. We are unable to find the proper technology to get a perfect replica.”

“Are any of them sentient enough to be used in an attack?”

“What are you suggesting?”

“We need to get rid of the rangers so our work can progress smoothly. These failures could be just the distraction we need.”

“I understand. But just sending a hulking monster after them won’t be enough. You’ve seen what they can do.” Fins is rolling his eyes again. He does not have Loch’s vision. Having such unimaginative subordinates is tiring. 

“Search the scalvage. There has to be something useful from one of the planets we conquered.”

“There’s a hypnosis ray. I can try molding the clone into it.”

“Excellent Fins. As soon as you're done, send it after the pink ranger.”