Bridge tried fixing his uniform and his hair as he made his way to Astrid's room. It was difficult to tell without a mirror in front of him. But if something were out of place, he was sure that Astrid would tell him.
On his way to her room, he past by the Z and Syd. "How's she doing?" Bridge asked.
"We just did her hair. She's super tired to do anything else. She'll probably fall asleep on me if I were to do her makeup." Syd frowned.
"I'm sure she looks great either way." Bridge smiled.
Z smirked as she grabbed Syd's arm. "Come on, Syd. We should leave the lover boy alone for a bit. We'll meet you downstairs." She said, striking even more when she saw Bridge's red face.
He ignored her comment and walked over to Astrid's door. He knocked on the door and waited for a response. When he heard her voice, he opened up the doors and walked in. "Kat asked me to come get you. Are you ready?" He asked.
Astrid stood up and fixed up her uniform. She looked tired and uncomfortable. But she looked cute with her hair up in a ponytail, once again, topped off with a cute bow. "Why do we have to do this? Why can't I just stay and sleep in a little longer?" She groaned.
"It's not that bad. Plus, you look quite cute." Bridge complimented.
"I appreciate the compliment, but it won't change how I feel about today. Do you guys do this for him all the time?" She asked.
Bridge nodded his head. "Unfortunately, yes."
Astrid groaned in disappointment. "Alright, let's go." She sighed.
~
Astrid adjusted her posture as they waited for Birdie to get out of the ship. Bridge glanced at her, throwing her a slight smile. Astrid looked down at the floor and smiled to herself. When they heard the doors opening up, she lifted her head and turned to the doors.
"Welcome to S.P.D. Earth Station, supreme commander Birdie, sir." Cruger greeted.
Birdie judged the Rangers, then walked right past them and closer to Kat and Astrid. She felt nervous, but that quickly changed when he turned around to face Cruger. "Commander, where is this S.P.D. squad you brag so much about?" Birdie asked.
Astrid glared right at the back of his head. Kat nudged her side, motioning her to stop. Astrid rolled her eyes.
"These are my S.P.D. Power Rangers, sir." Cruger said while pointing to the Rangers.
"Really? These are the Power Rangers? I expected different. How proud you must be commander."
Astrid could hear how sarcastic he was. She already hated him. If she could, she would just leave in annoyance right there, but she didn't want to disappoint Kat.
"Shall we continue this in the command center?"
No one said a thing as the two left up the stairs. When they were finally gone, Astrid let out a sigh of relief. "I hate him already."
"You looked quite angry right there." Sky commented. "You didn't like the way he was talking about us, did you?"
"Of course not. I so badly wanted to say something."
Bridge smiled and stood next to her, placing a hand to her shoulder. "Don't worry, he won't be here for much longer. I say we give it an hour or so before he leaves."
"Thank god."
"Astrid." Everyone turned to the top of the stairs. Kat was waving her over. "We're heading to the command center."
Astrid let out a groan. "Do I have to?"
"Yes. Now fix your posture."
They all laughed and sent a taunting wave to Astrid as she left. She glared at all five of them as she walked up the stairs. They all just continued laughed.
~
"The technology you see here was built my Dr.Manx here." Cruger said, pointing to Kat.
"Well, well. I'll have to see about getting your Dr.Manx up to supreme command." Birdie said.
"I'm quite happy here, sir." Kat said.
Birdie sighed, then then turned to Astrid. Her body stiffened and she felt way more nervous. "And who is this?" He said, an annoyed tone in his voice. Astrid tried her best not to roll her eyes.
"This is Astrid Queen, Kat's technical assistant. And the daughter of the former Blue Ranger." Cruger said.
"Hello, sir." Astrid greeted.
"So this is the little girl that went missing twenty years ago. And we still have no clues as to what her father hid and where it is?" Birdie asked.
He made it seem like it was her fault. Like she was to blame for what happened. With him around, it was getting harder to control her anger.
"No sir." Cruger answered.
Birdie let out an annoyed sigh, then turned to Kat. "How proud you bust be, Dr. Manx." Birdie commented. Astrid could hear how sarcastic he was being again.
"Very." Kat said. Astrid looked down at the floor and smiled to herself.
The alarms started blaring around the command center. Kat turned to Astrid and nodded her head. Astrid pressed the button to the mic and called for the Rangers.
"You two leave to the laboratory. I'll stay here and keep a watch on the Rangers." Cruger said.
Astrid and Kat nodded their heads and started making their way back to the lab. "I hate that stupid bird." Astrid commented.
"Believe me, no one else is happy that he's here. Just give it some time and then he'll leave. Most likely after this battle is over."
"Thank god."
~
"Birdie's stay was a little too long for me." Kat said.
"I heard that. Make seven of us." Jack said.
"Uh, eight." Boom spoke.
"I really wish to have slept through the whole day." Astrid wined.
"Don't worry. You'll get your nap soon enough." Bridge smiled.
"He's coming." Syd said.
"Attention!" Sky shouted.
Jack stepped forward when both Cruger and Birdie reached the bottom of the stairs. "Commander Birdie, speaking for the entire S.P.D. Earth Station, we hope that you've enjoyed your visit, sir."
"Thank you, Sky." Birdie said.
"It's Jack, sir." Jack corrected.
Astrid so badly wanted to laugh. Bridge looked over and saw her covering her mouth with her hands. She was looking down at the floor, and her hair covered her face. He wanted to laugh with her.
"And now commander Cruger has an announcement." Birdie said. Everyone turned to Cruger and waited for him to speak.
"To all personnel, and to my Rangers, I want to thank you for your loyalty. It's been my privileged to lead the S.P.D. forces and my honor to have served with you all. As of today, I am relieved of duty."
The Rangers all turned to each other confused. Astrid clenched her fist, angry by the sudden information. She couldn't hide her anger and annoyance this time.
"You are under the leadership of supreme commander Birdie."
~
"You look angry." Kat commented.
"Cruger has done nothing wrong. He's a great commander. The bird has no idea what he's getting himself into and is gonna put us all in more danger."
"Calm down. I'm sure things will take a turn for the better. And I'll somehow convince him to bring Cruger back. Or maybe he'll realize what a mistake he made."
"I hope that's soon. I want him gone as soon as possible." Astrid rolled her eyes.
The two walked into the command center. "Scan the computer for anything weird around the city. That fear the what happened earlier isn't going to be the only thing happening today." Kat said.
"On it." Astrid ran straight to the computer and started scanning for anything.
"Dr.Manx, I was just about to call for you." Birdie spoke. The both flinched in fear, surprise by the sudden voice. They turned around and spotted him sitting down on a chair. "I wanted to install another monitor. And make a note to add silent alerts to the Ranger's uniforms. And let's start thinking about replacing these Rangers."
Astrid had the urge to go up to him and tell him off. But she knew she'd be fired if she did so.
The alarms started blaring around the command center. Astrid ran to the center computer with Kat and scanned the city. "Report?"
"It's an energy alert, sir. It indicated any unusual surge."
"Kat, this reading is off the scope. We've never seen anything like it before." Astrid said.
"Well call the Rangers." Birdie commanded. Astrid went to reach for the bottom. But she was apparently too slow, so Birdie shoved her out of the way and called the Rangers himself.
Astrid stepped back awkwardly. Kat gave her an apologetic smile. Astrid wanted to leave, but she knew she needed to help.
The Rangers were quick to get here. "Ranger's reporting, sir." Jack said.
"We had a report about an unusually energy surge. Red, blue, and green Rangers, I want you to investigate."
"Yes, sir."
"Just red, blue, and green." Z complained
Birdie turned around angrily. "Is there a problem Ranger?"
Z's body stiffened. "No, sir."
~
"Found anything on the computer?" Kat asked.
"Nothing. The energy surge is still there, but nothings happening. Maybe it's a trap. It wants the Rangers to go after it. They have to turn back." Astrid said.
"No. Whether it's a trap or not, they must continue."
"Even if it costs them their lives? They're our last hope for earth. What we need is to keep them safe. We can't have them coming back to us injured."
"Silence, girl. You don't know how things are around here now that I'm in control. Now keep quiet and do as I say." Birdie commanded.
Astrid glared at him, but she turned away in annoyance and did as told. If he annoyed her any longer, she'd just end up quitting.
They could see the Rangers arrive to their destination. But the energy surge started to get stronger to second they arrived.
Astrid turned to Kat in a panic. "Somethings wrong, we have to get them out of there. It's too dangerous."
"I'm sure the Rangers are strong enough to take care of it. Whatever it is, they are not aloud to come back here unless told so. Now turn around and leave this room before you end up causing more trouble."
Astrid dropped everything she was doing and left the room. She ended up at the laboratory and started pacing around the room for a bit. She hoped that they were doing okay out there. She begged that whatever was out there wasn't as dangerous as what the computer showed.
~
"That energy surge, it was Gruumm." Jack said.
The three had just come back from their battle with him, and they were all completely burnt out and tired.
"He's here? And you let him defeat you?" Birdie asked angrily.
"Sir, that may not be a fair-"
"Anything further to report, Rangers?" Birdie asked angrily, completely ignoring whatever Kat had to say."
Bridge looked around awkwardly. "Yeah...uh-"
"No, sir. We were lucky to get away when we did." Sky interrupted.
"Dismissed."
The three turned around and left the command center. Kat walked out and went after them. "Gruumm did say something, didn't he?" She questioned.
Jack turned around and sighed. "It was a message for Cruger." He said.
"It was a personal message. He wants to meet Cruger on the battlefield." Sky explained.
"You didn't hear this from me, but I think Commander Cruger would like to know about this." Kat said. "Only one of you should go. If all of you are gone, it'll arouse suspicion."
"I'll go." Jack volunteered.
"Then the two of you stay here in the base." Kat said. She then turned to bridge. "And Bridge, Astrid is in the lab if you wanted to go check on her."
Bridge vigorously nodded his head and started running his way over there. He smiled at the thought of her. But the smile quickly dropped when he saw her walking out the lab while holding her bloody hand. "Astrid?" He questioned.
Astrid lifted her head in confusion. She awkwardly lifted her hand to him as he walked over to her. "I cut my hand. I was just making my way to get this bandaged." She explained.
"Come on, I'll take you." Bridge said.
He held her bloody hand and helped her walk to the the common room. They walked behind the counter and he rinsed her hand in the sink. "Care to tell me how this happened?" He asked.
Astrid awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. "I kinda got a bit angry." She muttered.
"What happened while I was gone?" Bridge asked.
Astrid let out a sigh. "Birdie basically made me angry, so I left to the lab. I tried to calm myself down by working on the engine I was building, but I just couldn't stop thinking of what he was saying. So I slammed my hand on a table and didn't realize all the tools that were sitting there."
Bridge sighed in disappointment. "And I thought I was clumsy. Looks like you're the same as me." He laughed.
Bridge went under the counter to find a bandage. While he did that, Astrid decided to take a seat on the counter. The blood made it seem worse than it originally was. Thankfully it wasn't too deep of a cut.
Bridge found a bandage and stood back up. He began to wrap it around her hand. Astrid watched him as he tried his best to help her. "I'm glad you guys made it back safely."
"It was a tough fight. Gruumm is a lot stronger than us." Bridge said.
"You fought against Gruumm?" Astrid questioned in a panic. Bridge nodded his head. "I knew something was wrong. Yet that stupid bird didn't listen to me."
She began to clenched her fist, but Bridge stopped her. "Calm down for a sec. This will only make your cuts worse." He said.
"Sorry." Astrid apologized. "That bird just makes me so angry. I hate him. If he sticks around any longer, I might just quit."
"Like I'm gonna let that happen. You're sticking with us no matter what. Not even someone higher up is gonna change that."
Astrid smiled at Bridge. She noticed how focused and gently he was being with her hand. He took his time tying it up, as if he were afraid to hurt her somehow. She liked how gentle he was being.
Bridge tied up the bandage and smiled at Astrid. "All done."
Astrid smiled while looking down at her bandaged hand. "Thanks."
"It's nothing. I'm always here to take care of you if you need me to. I'll always be by your side."
Astrid looked down at the floor and frowned. She started nervously playing with her fingers. "Are you alright?" Bridge asked.
Astrid took a deep breath, then nervously looked at Bridge. "Why do you like me?" She questioned.
Bridge was taken aback by the sudden question. He was prepared to answer, but Astrid spoke up again. "I just don't understand what's so special about me that you ended up falling for me. I can't seem to think of anything. I lied to you. I told you you so many things that are just hurtful. I can't even forgive myself for what I had said. And yet, you're still being so nice. So I want to know, why do you like me?"
Bridge smiled at Astrid. He grabbed her hands and held them gently, rubbing the back with his thumbs. "You definitely made a first impression on me when I first met you. I was curious about you the second I bumped into you. Something about you was just so exciting that it constantly brought me closer to you."
Bridge looked at her eyes and smiled again. He remembered when he first saw them. "And those eyes, I could stare at them all day. I mean I can't really do that because then my eyes would get dry and I can't really go ten seconds without blinking. But you get what I mean."
Astrid looked down at her lap and laughed. Bridge loved the sound of her laughter. He liked everything about her. His eyes dropped to her lips. He could still feel them on his cheeks.
"I really like you, Astrid."
Her smiled dropped when she looked back at Bridge.
"I'm confessing to you again. I've liked you for a long time. And not having you around me these past few weeks was really hard. I missed you during those times. I missed talking to you. I missed joking with you. I missed everything about you."
Her eyes dropped down to his. He was clearly shy about looking at her that he instead looked at anything else. Astrid could see his cheeks were slightly flushed red. Her eyes then moved to his lips.
"I want you to take your time to think about it this time. And if you do end up rejecting me, I want a proper rejection. So please, take your time."
He finally looked up. And her eyes were clearly not focused on his. Astrid nervously bit her lip, contemplating if she was about to make the right decision.
"Are you okay?" Bridge asked.
They weren't sure as to how, but they were suddenly very close to each other. Astrid wrapped her arms around Bridge and pulled him closer. He was caught by surprise by her sudden actions, thinking he was being pulled into a hug. But he wasn't prepared for Astrid to lean in and kiss him.
Astrid nervously gripped his jacket. But that feeling went away when Bridge started kiss back. His arms wrapped around her waist and helped keep her up on the counter.
He then placed his hands on the counter to help lift himself up as Astrid pulled him closer. Astrid wasn't even sure if she what she was doing. But she was too much in the moment to care. It felt so perfect to her. She was so happy in that moment. But that quickly switched around when she felt herself starting to cry.
Astrid pushed him away, covering her lips with her hands. She quickly wiped away the tears, but they wouldn't stop. "Are you okay? Astrid?" Bridge asked.
"I can't believe I just did that." She mumbled.
"Astrid?" Bridge questioned.
"I shouldn't have done that to you. Just forget that ever happened."
Astrid jumped off the counter and started walking away. Bridge grabbed her arm and turned her back around. "What do you mean by that?" He asked.
"I just keep making things worse for you."
She pulled her arm away from Bridge and wiped away the rest of the tears. "I'm just gonna leave."
She quickly ran off, not giving Bridge any time to run after her. He was left alone in the room, the feeling of her lips still lingered. He couldn't lie, he was quite happy, but he was also kinda confused. He wanted to run after Astrid and comfort her. But most likely he'd have trouble finding her. She'd just end up going anywhere else that he wasn't at. And if she did see him at some point, she'd just run off.
Well that happened....
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