Nicole had an hour until Grace’s last class let out, which gave her plenty of time to cut loose on the jogging trails. She would need to rein herself in enough that people didn’t look too closely, but she also knew that a lot of people just weren’t that observant. Sure, some of the people she ran past probably looked at her a little funny, but most would shrug and forget about it other than an idle curiosity. That held true for what felt like her entire route, sometimes she would spot a double take from those she passed, not that she bothered to look back at those she left in the dust.

  Confidence was key in getting people to just roll with something.

  If only she had learned that lesson in high school she might have been able to shrug off the comments from those that bullied her and Becca more. Shaking her head, she made her way back into the dorm and got showered and changed. She once again picked something that showed off her figure, having bought a few outfits that deviated from her old high school baggy normal.

  She was wearing it for Grace, even if she couldn’t quite see the appeal herself. Yes, that was a bit hypocritical of her, Nicole would drool over muscle girls all the time, but being one of those girls wasn’t quite the same.

  Her shirt fell a few inches shy of covering her stomach, and had strings for straps to keep it on. It barely qualified as a shirt, and it was a summer yellow. She’d also picked out a pair of cloth shorts to go with it that definitely showed off her assets. Looking in the mirror and trying to imagine her body on anyone else, Nicole could almost see it.

  Shaking her head, she went out into the living room and found Becca, dressed to the nines in an absolutely amazing deep blue dress that tied off around her neck and swept all the way down to her ankles with a split that ran all the way up to her thighs. To say that Nicole was a bit jealous of Colin at the moment was an understatement.

  “In my humble, lesbian opinion, damn,” Nicole said with a grin.

  Becca looked up from her phone, and snorted. “Talk about pandering to our dates.”

  “You got that right,” Nicole said, striking a bit of a pose. “Think Grace will like it?”

  “Well, as a straight girl, I can’t comment too much,” Becca said wryly, “but I do believe this is a ‘doy’ moment if I ever saw one.”

  Now that was an idea for a Halloween costume, if she had ever thought of one, the only problem would be convincing Grace to dress up as little Miss Go… Eh, they still had another month to go, she could make it happen.

  “Don’t make me get a spray bottle,” Becca said, smacking Nicole’s shoulder. “I can see the gears turning already. Now, are we going to keep our dates waiting?”

  Nicole shook her head. “I just wish we could get someone to take pictures of the looks on their faces.”

  “Way ahead of you,” Becca said with a smirk. “I got in touch with Kayla, she agreed to snap a few pictures.”

  Nicole was impressed at the forethought, and a bit disappointed in herself for not thinking of it first. Then again, she wasn’t thinking of much beyond Grace at the moment. The date had been an idea to spend some time together after Nicole’s extended hospital stay, and well, she wanted to tell Colin so that Becca wouldn’t have to keep a major secret from him if something happened again.

  She hadn’t outright said it, but Nicole knew her friend well enough. Keeping that secret was eating at her, especially during Nicole’s time in a coma when she couldn’t explain anything. Well, that was going to end, and hopefully remove a burden that her friend was carrying. She had enough worries in life as it was without adding some of Nicole’s own on top.

  They left together, drawing more than a few eyes as they did. Nicole was grateful that almost nobody from their old school ended up in their college, most opting for the larger universities closer to downtown. That was half the reason they decided to go to Anoka instead, getting away from the assholes.

  Getting out onto the grounds, Nicole was stopped in her tracks as she took in the vision of pure lesbian thirst before her. Grace had opted to wear a sleeveless black tanktop with a fucking red flannel bandanna around her neck. She’d paired that with loose jeans that still managed to hug her thighs in all the right places, and a beanie on top of it.

  She had actually…

  “Lesbian lumberjack much?” Becca muttered, not that Nicole really heard her, transfixed as she was. “Colin, you look dashing.”

  Nicole snapped out of her reverie as Becca closed the distance and kissed her suit clad boyfriend. The pair started to coo over one another in hushed whispers much to Nicole’s own amusement. Then Nicole found herself staring again at her own date for the evening. Grace was biting her lip and looking Nicole up and down in a way that was very much inappropriate. Not that she was any better, of course.

  “Hey,” Nicole said, finding only the one word.

  Grace’s mouth worked for a few seconds, her eyes kept wanting to drift down and that alone sent a thrill through Nicole, because she knew that her girlfriend was only looking because she liked what she saw.

  “Damn,” Grace finally got out. “Are you trying to give me an anime gusher of a nose bleed?”

  Smirking, Nicole reached up, running a finger under Grace’s nose and inspected it. “Hmm, clearly I need to try harder.”

  “You can try-hard her all night after we get back,” Becca shouted. “Come on, we have reservations and I don’t want to lose out.”

  “Oh, let them be useless,” Kayla chimed in from right behind Nicole, getting a startled ‘eep’ out of her. “I think it’s cute.”

  “You would,” Grace muttered. “I swear, if you send that to—”

  A gentle chime from Nicole’s phone was all she needed, because the damage was done.

  “Too late,” Kayla said with a coy smile before pushing Nicole along. “Now go have fun. You both need it.”

  Being pushed towards the car, Nicole and Grace found themselves laughing as Kayla grinned wide. Colin was driving, and Becca claimed shotgun as was her right, which left the back seat to the pair as they both got buckled in. The engine fired up, but they didn’t immediately pull away.

  “Are you sure that you’re up to this?” Colin asked, turning in his seat. “You only got out of the hospital yesterday.”

  “I’m fine, Colin,” Nicole said. “I heal pretty fast these days.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Nicole, I remember you crying with an ice pack on a sprained ankle that took two weeks before you could walk again.”

  “I got better,” Nicole said, pulling up a video of her afternoon acrobatics. “Literally.”

  He watched the video as it played out, showing her moving with knives in hand, and she caught the moment when the recognition flashed across his face. His eyes ever so slowly widened, pupils dilating as they trailed up from her phone to look back at her smirking face.

  “Holy shit,” he said after a moment. “You saved my life… Oh god, that was you screaming on the news! Becca did you— No, of course you knew, that’s why you were— Fuck I was such an ass. I’m—”

  Becca cut him off with a quick kiss, chaste but enough to accomplish what was needed.

  “Yes yes, all is forgiven,” Becca said. “Now get driving before we miss our reservation and they give the table away.”

  His eyes flicked back to Nicole again, then to Grace before he let out an explosive sigh.

  “As you wish.”

  Becca had picked a rather upscale Italian place in the Maple Grove shopping plaza, which was set up to resemble a small town main street in what could only be described as an overly elaborate open air mall. It was one of the oddities of the city, which shouldn't come as a surprise that it was in one of the more affluent areas of the Minneapolis suburbs.

  The restaurant was on the edge of the false main street, and was considered a bit of a local treasure. Nicole had eaten there a handful of times with her parents, and once with Becca’s, but she hadn’t been back in over a year. It wasn’t that it was terribly expensive, no worse than a chain steakhouse really, but it was enough out of their way to make it inconvenient to travel to.

  Given they were on a double date, that made the drive less of an ordeal especially since it was a special occasion and all. Colin seemed to be processing the revelation that he had a Ranger in the car rather well, and if he happened to figure out that Grace was also a Ranger, well, he hadn’t said anything about it.

  So, once parked, it was only natural that Nicole and Grace got into an argument over who would get the door for the other. Nicole stared at her equally stubborn girlfriend, neither willing to yield. Nicole wished she could just phase through the door, but that would require morphing to accomplish, something she could no longer do.

  “The dangers of lesbian relationships,” Colin muttered as he got the door for Becca. “Come on you two, we’re already cutting it close. You can figure out who tops on your own time.”

  Nicole choked on her own spit.

  “And that answers that,” Grace said, though she was just as red as Nicole no doubt was. Opening the door, Grace got out and circled around, getting Nicole’s door with a flourished bow. “M’lady.”

  Blush deepening, Nicole held out a hand and let Grace lift her from the car, only to be promptly pulled into a tight embrace. She almost expected to be pulled into an equally deep kiss, but Grace barely pecked her on the lips before wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her along towards the restaurant and out of the autumn chill.

  It almost felt wrong, doing something so mundane as a date after such a major battle that nearly claimed her life, but at the same time, that defiance spoke just as loudly. Knowing that she could keep living her life despite everything, it helped ground her, keep things in perspective. Nicole wouldn’t forget who she fought for, friends and family alike, even if they were the family she chose.

  There had to be fifty people waiting to get a table, and a rather lengthy line to see someone at the podium. They had scarcely been in line for thirty seconds before a commotion at the front of the line was drawing every eye to it. Nicole, being naturally curious, pulled herself from Grace’s arm for a moment to get a better look ahead.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  It was a young blonde woman, yelling irately at the dark skinned server who was clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Instantly, anger flooded Nicole at the sight. There were few things that ignited her fury quite like seeing such things play out in front of her. Hell, it was that very response that led to her befriending Becca back when they were freshmen.

  Without much thought, Nicole stepped out of the line and stomped up to them, wishing she could reach down for the now missing watch and make a proper show of it. That didn’t mean that she couldn’t use her enhanced strength and speed to great effect even without her morpher. She needed to resist the temptation, because abusing her own power like that wouldn’t send a good message. Just like an old wizard using his power to try to demonstrate that bullying was wrong, by being the bigger bully, it would send the opposite message.

  Just because you had the bigger stick did not give you any reason to flaunt it.

  Once she was on top of them, she realized that the woman was with another dark skinned man with a close trimmed beard. A young man she immediately recognized and one she hadn’t seen in the flesh for several days.

  “Devon?” Nicole asked in surprise.

  Both turned abruptly, and that was when Nicole realized her mistake. She hadn’t taken the time to see if she recognized the woman as well. She knew her, alright. Though it had been many months since she last saw her. Tiffany ‘call me Nia’ Hall. One of the many bitches within their high school that had taken to treating Rebecca like she wasn’t even a person. One of the women that had lumped her in with her best friend and made sure that she didn’t see anything of worth in her own life. A woman with so little empathy that she saw nothing wrong with degrading someone who was mourning the loss of their parents.

  Eyes locked, Nicole found herself unmoved. A year ago she would have looked away, wilted under the woman’s gaze, but now? She had stared down the Commander of the Sylan forces while bleeding from her eyes under her helmet. What power did the girl actually hold that could possibly compare?

  Then her brain caught up with her and she made another connection. This was the girlfriend that he spoke of, and suddenly so many small details made sense. Given how she was in line with Devon, Nicole couldn’t help but wonder if she knew he was a Ranger. If so, that meant she was in for a rather interesting confrontation.

  “Well, if it isn’t the tranny filth,” Tiffany said with a sneer. “They let trash like you in here?”

  “Still not trans,” Nicole said, smirking. “I get being jealous of my abs, but you’re taking it a bit far there.”

  “I am not jealous of you, freak,” Tiffany exclaimed.

  She inhaled, clearly ready to let something else out of her repugnant lips, but that was when Grace stepped up beside Nicole, wrapping a protective arm around her. Becca and Colin weren’t far behind, taking up her other flank.

  “Well, if it isn’t the whore of Central High,” Becca said cheerfully. “I’m glad you seem to have gotten that infection cleared up.” She eyed Devon for a moment. “At least, I hope she did, for your sake.”

  Colin couldn’t help but snort.

  “I want these freaks removed,” Tiffany said with her nose in the air.

  “Reservations for Hopwood,” Colin said.

  The woman behind the podium, who had been frozen in mortified panic at their exchange, blinked at the statement. She then realized it had been directed at her. She skimmed the list, her finger trailing down the page when she paused.

  “Yes, I have you right here,” she said, sounding relieved to have something to act on. “Kevin can show you to your seats.”

  “Unacceptable!” Tiffany screeched, stepping forward. “These disgusting vermin insulted me. I demand they be removed!”

  “The only one being a rude ass here is you,” Becca snapped. “Even your boyfriend is slinking away.”

  Tiffany’s eyes shot wide and she spun on Devon, and sure enough, he had taken several steps away from her. Nicole watched the trembling anger sweep over Tiffany, like a steam cooker straining for release.

  “Don’t just stand there, do something!” she yelled. “This was supposed to be a celebration. For you!”

  There wasn’t much to be celebrating, other than the recent battle, unless Devon had done something else of note in the last few days. One look into his eyes told Nicole all she needed to know. So, Nicole decided to be a bit brazen, one look at her girlfriend was enough to communicate her intent and Grace grinned in a way that sent chills down Nicole’s spine.

  “What a coincidence,” Grace said, her smile anything but kind. “We’re also here to celebrate.”

  Tiffany whipped around, only to find Grace holding up her left arm, the watch on it plain to see, and a perfect match for Devon’s own aside from the accent lining. While Devon’s had a silver trim, Grace’s bore a thin strip of crimson instead.

  It took a moment for the recognition to settle in, but it eventually did. Then Tiffany looked first at Becca, then at Colin. Neither let their arms be seen, leaving that a mystery, and that was when Nicole leaned in to land the killing blow.

  “Mine might be in for repair after fighting two of the Sylan leaders, but I’m far from helpless. Just ask your knight, if you don’t believe me.”

  Tiffany whipped her head around, and Devon for his part nodded firmly, crossing his arms as he did. “Was it necessary to insult my team like that, Nia”

  “For someone so transphobic, she sure loves to use a chosen name,” Colin whispered.

  “No fucking way,” Tiffany muttered, still looking between Devon’s confirmation and Nicole’s own harsh expression. “You can’t be…”

  “Be what?” Becca asked. “Someone who sticks up for those who can’t stand on their own two feet? That sure as hell sounds like Nicole to me.”

  Before the bitch could retort, someone in a nice suit had come over, asking Tiffany to come with him. Devon seemed torn for a moment before he took a deep breath and didn’t move to follow his girlfriend, much to Nicole’s surprise. She wasn’t used to guys actually turning their back on their source of regular sex. Maybe Kayla would give him a shot after all, if he actually managed to clean up his views. Only time would tell if he could learn and grow.

  “Sorry about that,” he said, rubbing the back of his head as they all stepped to the side and away from prying ears. “I’m guessing you have a history with her?”

  “You could say that,” Becca said, almost spitting out the words. “Please tell me that’s the first time you’ve seen that side of her.”

  He grimaced. “No, but I’m hopeful it will be the last. I just— She was there with me at the Renfaire, she was going to die right then and there when the power came to me. It felt almost ordained, you know?”

  “What, like some god picked you?” Colin muttered.

  Nicole thought back to her own experience, then to the voice that had called out to her. She knew he hadn’t experienced that part, that he wasn’t one to hear the voices that transcended time itself. Yet, there did seem to be some sort of intelligence that selected Rangers from those in the crowd. For all his failings, he was still someone who had jumped in to defend others.

  He was still a Ranger.

  “Devon’s not far off,” Nicole said, throwing him a lifeline as she addressed Colin and Becca. “There is some higher thinking to how most Rangers are chosen. We just don’t know what it is. Sinclair had some theories but it’s hard to tell how much of it was actually true.”

  Devon grimaced, no doubt recalling that conversation. The idea that the Sylan were the ones making the Rangers was something that she was struggling to accept, no matter how much sense it seemed to make. Next time she saw Maraline, she would ask the woman directly. It wasn’t like it would change much, not with how Bartran had marked her for death.

  “On that cheery note,” Grace said. “I do believe that is our waiter over there.”

  Looking over, a man was indeed waiting patiently for them to finish their conversation. All eyes turned to Colin and the man grumbled before heading over and being directed to follow. Becca was right on his heels, leaving the Rangers alone for just a moment.

  “Thanks for sticking with us,” Nicole said softly. “I know that couldn’t have been easy for you to watch her walk away like that.”

  Devon shut his eyes, taking a deep breath as he did. “You’re right, it wasn’t easy, but when has doing the right thing ever been easy?”

  Nicole smiled, fighting back the memories of her body tearing itself apart. “Never. Yet we continue to do it anyway.”

  “Rangers should be the example to follow,” Devon said, returning her smile with something that might not be entirely faked. “Sorry again about all of this. I know I wasn’t the best either, so thanks for giving me a chance.”

  “You’re trying,” Nicole said, offering her hand. “We’re a team, and as long as I know you’ll have my back, that’s good enough for me. The rest will come with time.”

  Devon took it, squeezing tight. “Yeah, you don’t have to worry about me. Rangers lead the way, and you sure as hell gave us an example to follow.”

  “We hold the line,” she answered with a smile. “Maybe give Kayla a call, fill her in on what happened tonight. She could probably use the laugh.”

  Nicole had to elbow her girlfriend when she started to giggle. Devon departed with a smile and nod, and she did not envy him dealing with Tiffany’s bitch ass after getting thrown out of the restaurant. Nicole was just glad that the situation hadn’t gotten so far out of hand that the police had to get involved. At least on their end.

  “Well, that happened,” Grace said, pulling her into a hug. “Was that really the bitch from high school you told me about?”

  “Unfortunately that was one of them,” Nicole said with a grimace. “Small world indeed.”

  Grace pulled back, but kept one arm around her. “Come on, let’s go enjoy the rest of our night. Put that shit behind us.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Nicole said, reaching up to feather a kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek.

  A smile was back on her face as they made their way to the booth that Colin had requested. Already, a large plate of assorted breads had been set out for them, the bread still steaming hot.

  Colin was being an adorable little shit, feeding a piece to Becca as they both struggled not to laugh. Their waiter was returning with another plate of the bread just as they took their seat. Nicole smiled and thanked him, then gave her drink order for a lemonade, because she had never had better at any other establishment in all her years.

  Taking up a piece of focaccia, Nicole and Grace proceeded to attempt to out cute Colin and Becca. To middling success seeing as those two had been a couple for almost four years. They had more practice at the craft. It was fun and silly, and proceeded even after their main courses arrived.

  “Oh,” Becca said, before the waiter could duck away. “Can you add a small plate of spaghetti tossed in garlic butter for each of us?”

  He raised an eyebrow, but noted it down.

  “What are you up to?” Colin asked with a wry smirk.

  She looked away, trying to hide her smile and blush. “Just a silly idea, but save some room for the pasta.”

  Grace snorted. “This ought to be good.”

  “The garlic pasta is pretty good,” Becca said.

  Her deflection was a bit obvious, but Nicole wasn’t going to spoil her fun.

  They ate, sharing funny or embarrassing stories as they did, right up until the pasta arrived. Once the dishes were in place, Becca smacked Grace’s hand before she could dig in.

  “Not yet,” Becca said smugly, which was never a good sign. “First, we must establish the rules of this noodle slurping contest.”

  “You’re challenging two lesbians to a contest involving noodles?” Grace asked with the flattest deadpan that Nicole had ever heard. “I think we’re a bit inexperienced at this.”

  Nicole couldn’t help but giggle. “Grace, think about it for a moment, she’s not the one we have to worry about here.”

  Her girlfriend blinked, then her face creased in an adorable frown as she fell into far deeper thought than was strictly necessary, as the answer was fairly obvious, if a bit abstract. Nicole spotted the exact moment it clicked, laughing as Grace’s eyes shot wide open and she turned a glare upon Colin.

  “Bingo,” he said with a wry smirk. “Ready to lose?”

  And lose they did, hilariously so at that. He ate the pasta at a pace that Nicole could scarcely believe, clearing his plate in less than fifteen seconds. Grace by comparison hadn’t even finished her second forkful by then. Becca came in second, to little surprise. Becca was far too open when talking about her sex life after a few drinks, so Nicole didn’t need to imagine much.

  She finished third, but it was a near thing. Grace had taken the other’s swift finishes as a challenge and tried her damnedest to not finish last. Valiant efforts aside, it led to much laughter and a few inappropriate comments that had some old lady at the table across the way glaring at them, which resulted in four tongues being stuck out at her.

  Sitting back, snuggling into Grace’s side with a full stomach, Nicole knew for certain that this was what life was all about, and made it worth living. She had people worth fighting for, and she was a soldier in the war for survival. Tonight might have been a night for relaxing and celebrating, but tomorrow, they would prepare for the battles to come.

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