While waiting for the rest of D-squad to get ready, Astrid sat on the bench also waiting for them. She took her last bite of the apple before tossing it into the trashcan a few feet away.
"Nice shot."
Astrid turned around to see Bridge. He walked over with a blond girl in pigtails. "When are you guys starting?" Astrid stood up and dusted her pants.
"In a second. We're waiting for Jack."
"Not surprised."
"But in the meantime, I want to introduce you to someone. Astrid, this is Sophie. She's a part of D-squad. I suggested her to Kat for our computer intern. And Sophie, this is Astrid. She's Kat's assistant technician."
"It's finally nice to meet you. I've heard quite a bit about you." Sophie smiled.
"You've heard about me?" Astrid questioned.
Sophie nodded. "I've heard a few things about you. And Bridge also told me a thing or two about you as well."
Astrid looked over at Bridge. He happily smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Well it's nice to meet you too."
Astrid stuck her hand out for Sophie. Sophie smiled and happily shook her hand. Just from the grip, Astrid already knew she wasn't like the others. But she didn't care.
Astrid let go of her hands and watched Sophie run to the rest of the group. "She seems nice."
"She's great. You might be seeing her a lot in the command center. You should watch her fight, she's awesome."
Astrid nodded. "I'm excited to watch."
"Alright guy, let's get the show on the road!" Jack shouted.
"Time for training." Bridge said.
He ran back to the rest of the group and lined up with the rest of the Rangers. Astrid sat back down on the bench to watch. But it wasn't long after that a random alien showed up. Thankfully Astrid was away from the blast. But she stood up in a panic and ran over to help them up.
"Cadet's, this is no test. This is the real deal!"Jack shouted.
Bridge turned to Iris. "You gotta get outta here."
"Yeah right. Like I-"
"You have something I want. And I'm here to get it."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"The series one processor hyper intelligent inceptor. Surrender it to me or pay the price!" He threatened.
"Okay... Still no clue what you're talking about. But we're not giving you anything."
"Except maybe twenty years in containment." Syd added.
"Out of my way."
"I don't think so."
Bridge turned back around to Astrid and pushed her towards where the rest of D-squad were standing. "How about you stay here away from the danger while we morph and try to kick this guys butt. Okay? Thanks."
Bridge turned around and morphed with the others, leaving Astrid glaring at him as he walked back over to them. It didn't even matter to push Astrid to the side. The Krybots didn't just go after the Rangers, they went after everyone.
One grabbed onto Astrid's arm. But Astrid was able to see their moves before they could do another to her. She grabbed it's other arm and kicked it to the floor. She could sense another coming from right behind her. She back kicked the bot, basically sending it flying in the air.
Astrid looked over to the others. It seemed like that Ranger's were doing okay. Not so much for Sophie. The Krybots sent her rolling across the floor, and she stood up in pain.
"There you are!" Valko shouted.
Sophie quickly stood up and started running away. But Valko grabbed his weapon and began shooting at the girl, causing her to fall right back to the floor. Astrid ran over and helped her sit back up. "Are you okay?"
"My arm." Sophie groaned.
"Stop!"
Astrid turned to Z, now realizing that Valko was running towards them with his weapon in hand. Astrid swiftly moved Sophie out of the way. Valko stopped in his tracks. He looked around confused. But when he finally spotted to two girls, Bridge had already jumped in to fight. Valko picked up his sword to fight, but Bridge was still stronger.
"It's getting a little to hairy here." Jack said.
Bridge kneeled down to Astrid. "Take the cadets into the base. We'll take it from here."
Sophie shook her head. "No, I'm-"
Before she could even finish her sentence, she was already right outside her room. Sophie held onto her arm and looked around confused. And in just seconds, Astrid was back. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small toolkit. Astrid then handed it to Sophie. "What's this for?"
"For your arm of course." Astrid answered.
Sophie shook her head nervously. "I don't know what you're talking about." Sophie denied.
Astrid rolled her eyes and smirked. "You don't need to hide it from me. I already know."
Sophie looked around nervously. She then grabbed Astrid's arm and pulled her inside her room. "Can I ask, how did you figure out that I was a cyborg?" She asked.
Astrid let out a slight breath. "When we shook hands. Your grip told me everything. It was either you were a cyborg or you have really strong muscles. But no one could have muscles that strong." Astrid joked.
Sophie frowned. "Is it that obvious?"
Astrid shrugged. "I grew up on the streets. I know the difference between someone who's human and someone who's not. It's not that hard for me. Keep clear of Jack and Z, they're also smart. As for the other three, I doubt it."
"I'm guessing you're off to tell Cruger?" Sophie dropped her head and frowned at the floor.
"Why would you think that? It's not like you did anything wrong." Astrid said. Sophie looked up confused. "Don't worry so much about it. I'm not so human myself. Can you really consider someone with powers human?" She joked.
The building began to shake. Both girls fell to the floor. "What's going on?" Sophie asked.
Astrid stood up and made her way to the window. She could see Valko's robot right outside. "We're under attack."
The shaking happened again, and Astrid fell back down. She turned around to Sophie and noticed her on the floor. Astrid ran over and helped her back on her feet. "Stay here for now. The Rangers will take care of it."
"What about you?"
The sirens began going off. Astrid turned to Sophie and patted her shoulder. "Worry about your arm for now. I'm off to go help Kat. But I'll come check up on you later."
Astrid left the room, trying to make her way to the command center. But it was quite hard when they were under attack. And the fact that the building was moving wasn't helping either.
"Astrid!"
She turned around and spotted Bridge running towards her. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be fighting with the others?"
"They're doing fine. I needed to check up on you guys. How is D-squad?"
"They're fine."
"And Sophie?"
"Uninjured."
Bridge grabbed her arm, turning her body around to face him. "And you? Are you okay?"
With the helmet on, Astrid wasn't sure what he looked like. It left her in confusion. "I've dealt with this before. Of course I'm fine."
"I know. It's just that this was pretty much your first time facing someone like that in person. Who knows what could've happened."
Astrid smiled. Other than Z and Jack, no one has ever worried about her this much before. She didn't have any other family besides her two friends. "I'm fine, Bridge. But thanks for looking out for me."
Despite not being able to see his face, he smiled. The moment was ruined when the siren began to go off. "Go to your room for now. I'll go check with Kat and Cruger."
"Be careful."
"Don't worry. I always am."
He gave her a thumbs up before disappearing with the rest of the crowd. Astrid didn't even realize that she was clenching her shirt or that she was slightly blushing.
Sorry for the late update today. But not to fear, there will be a part two coming tomorrow. See keep a lookout for that.
Hope you enjoyed!