Mushverse- Enter the SPD boys [open to all]

[spd_blue]

After the incident with being drugged by an alien that caused Sky to act very out of character, he'd been taking every opportunity to be off base. It was all he could to sleep in the same room as Bridge without hurting them both with his nerves and overall discomfort. It's not that he hadn't meant any of the things he'd said while under the influence...it's that he had, very much so, and now didn't know how to deal with the consequences. Especially when it came to Bridge and Jack.

So when Cruger offered up this mission to check out this possible doorway to another dimension, Sky jumped on it. Anything to get away from overly concerned team members and feelings he didn't want to deal with.

As he stepped of the train, he was a bit unsettled to realize he'd stepped out of a what looked like a Japanese Hallmark store. Whatever joke the universe was playing, Sky really didn't think it was funny. But he pushed it out his mind, straightened his blue SPD uniform and set out to investigate.

Comments

[spd_red]

Oh, seriously.

Seriously.

I know he was embarrassed, and I've had my moments of being all avoidy, too. I ain't proud. But running away won't make things easier, Sky, you asshole.

I stomp back to my room, and toss a bag on my bed. Travel's not so much of an issue. With the zords I can get back here when I'm needed. But I'm thinking I'm needed in Japan, too, whether or not Sky likes it.

Wonder if Bridge'll come with me. I need to talk to him, too.

[spd_blue]

It wasn't running away. It was going on a mission for SPD. At a time that happened to coincide with Sky's need for a little space from his teammates.

A little space so he could get a hold on his feelings and properly swallow down the fear of loosing them, like his dad.

He hitched his backpack up a little more as he walked, a scanner held out in front of him. He was getting some interesting readings, but nothing too unusual yet.

[takoaka]

I'm up a tree, attempting to eat my damn lunch, but there's a guy in blue walking along the path below me.

I sigh, and drop down in front of him. "You need to be careful around here," I tell him bluntly, then I take a bite of the carrot in my hand and crunch it loudly.

[spd_blue]

Sky blinked and took a step back into a ready position when someone dropped down in front of him, but instantly relaxed when he didn't immediately sense a threat. He pulled out his morpher from his belt and opened it so it could be used as a translator, thankfully catching must of what the guy said.

"More careful?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Of what exactly?"

[takoaka]

The guy takes out a device from his belt, speaks into it in English, then I hear words in Japanese. My eyebrows shoot up and I crunch noisily on my carrot.

"Crazyass energy readings," I say cheerfully. "You really should stay away. I'm -- my team and I are handling it. You could get BLOWN UP."

[spd_blue]

The emphasis on 'blown up' only got raised eyebrows from Sky.

"The energy readings are why I'm here. We could read them all the way in New Tech City so SPD sent me to investigate." He said this like it was supposed to mean something to the other.

[takoaka]

Huh, wonder where this guy's from. He looks a little uptight.

I like uptight, sometimes. More fun to poke at.

"Well, whoever this SPD is, you should tell him or her to keep you out of this," I say decisively. "The Boukengers will handle it!"

[spd_blue]

There's uptight...and then there is Sky.

Sky is almost wondering the same thing. Except he is wondering if this guy is for real or just crazy. Considering the people he works with on a daily basis...it could be either.

"SPD isn't keeping out of this. It's our duty to keep this planet safe." He was vague, since with the dimensional rifts, he didn't want to give out too much information. "That's why they sent an SPD Power Ranger to investigate."

[takoaka]

I pfft at him cheerfully enough. "It's the Boukengers' duty to find Precious," I rattle off dutifully. I'm still getting adjusted to that whole treasure hunting thing. I prefer hunting Ashu. "We'll take care of it. Really."

[spd_blue]

"Boukengers?" Sky asked, completely disregarding what the guy had said about taking care of it. If Sky trusted other people to take care of things, nothing would get done.

Except his team of course but that was another story.

He didn't recognize the name and he'd about memorized SPD's database on friendly organizations operating on Earth. "Who are the Boukengers? You?"

[bouken_blue]

Well well, looks like Eiji's found someone to poke at.

Too bad I don't have my laptop with me or I'd be running recognition systems on that uniform he's wearing because I don't recognise it at all.

[takoaka]

I think this guy's innocent enough. But I don't draw attention to Souta -- Blue's presence overlooking us, anyway, just in case.

[bouken_blue]

I flip my accellular with my thumb, running it over the other guy just in case.

[handstandsfortruth]

Jack doesn't even need to ask if Bridge is going to come with him. For one thing, Bridge loves Japan, and for another, obviously more important thing, he loves Sky like the brother he never had. Or, he did always have, but wasn't actually a brother. And Sky running away to a country clear on the other side of the planet, not to mention the whole 'possible dimensional rift' aspect of it, is definitely not something that Bridge is going to let slide.

Jack's still packing when Bridge shows up in the doorway of his room with two bags slung over his shoulders. "When do we leave?"

[spd_red]

My head whips around, and I grin. "Bridge. I take it I don't need to catch you up on the whole 'international trip to spank some sense into Sky' thing."

I toss in my toiletries, and zip up my half-full bag. I've got a change of uniform, two civilian outfits (including a new shirt from Syd, who I have to admit has good taste), a couple books, some ration packs, couple other small things. With my morpher and Bridge, I don't need anything else.

[handstandsfortruth]

"I know, right?" Bridge has quite a bit more in his bags than Jack does, but approximately the same amount of clothes. Most of the space is taken up by bread, and a small cooler at the bottom of one bag filled with assorted butters.

Just in case.

"I don't know why he'd just leave without telling us. We're a team, aren't we?"

[spd_red]

"I are," I agree ruefully. "It'll be okay, Bridge. He's just embarrassed, and we may have to tie him up to get him to listen to us."

I heft my bag, then sling it over a shoulder. "What'd he say to you when he was affected by that stuff, anyway?"

[handstandsfortruth]

Jack likes to talk tough and be all street-wise and generally awesome, but Bridge knows that inside Jack's just as weird as he himself is. That's why they get along. They're supposed to.

"I'd rather not do that." He purses his lips, considering the connotations. "No, not at all. Because even if we did tie him up, he probably still wouldn't listen and then he'd be mad at us as well as embarrassed."

Bridge falls into step beside Jack as they head out. "Nothing too shocking or ridiculous, except of course that it was Sky saying things that are normally not said. Stuff I already knew, like that we're best friends, but I'd never really heard him say them."

[spd_red]

I'm always kinda impressed by how Bridge and I come at the same thing from different directions. We have different backgrounds. He's much more smart, and loopy, and generally fluffy in person than I am.

But we meet in the middle. We overlap, somehow, with competence, teamwork, and caring about the others in our team.

And yeah, teamwork with him and Sky wasn't an easy thing to learn. Liking him was easy enough, and liking Sky wasn't much harder. But Syd was easier overall. I was used to working with Z, but expanding that to working with the other three was... interesting. Learning to rely on their skills in areas where I'm completely clueless, learning that it doesn't make me a crap leader to give them things to do that I can't do myself, learning that I can still toss myself in danger ahead of them anyway.

Interesting times.

"It'd be satisfying, though," I say wistfully to Bridge, but yeah, he's right.

I take half a step sideways as we walk, and bump shoulders with him. "Gotcha. Same here. He's not really communicative normally, but it's not too hard to tell what he's thinking underneath, huh."

[handstandsfortruth]

"You're being awfully pensive today." Bridge points out as they traverse the hallways side-by-side, maybe taking up too much room, but almost everyone steps aside for them respectfully. A perk to technically holding some of the highest rank in the building, being Power Rangers. "Not that you're not always sometimes often quiet and contemplative, but I just happened to notice it this time."

He grins at Jack and shakes his head. "You don't know the half of it. I've known him almost as long as I've known myself, and I still think I might know him better."

[spd_red]

"You're right. My sive is penned," I deadpan back at him. "And hey, you're way more observant than I am."

I can't help being pensive. Too much going on, both on the ground and in my head. Because... if I admit to myself that I like Sky that way, then I kiiiinda also have to admit that I like Bridge that way, too.

That makes me pause for a moment, and blink at him, befuddled. I start walking again. "You know Sky better'n you know yourself?"

[handstandsfortruth]

Bridge rolls his eyes a little at Jack's apparent confusion. "Jack. Come on. It's me. How well do you think I know myself?"

Bridge might be a little... obtuse, but he's aware of his oddness, has well embraced it, and has no problem making sure everyone else knows he's weird too.

"I've lived with Sky for a long time." He clarifies finally. "Shared a room and everything. He's been through everything with me. I didn't start figuring out how to control, well..." He wiggles his gloved fingers at Jack. "Everything, until Sky was already in my life. I've seen inside his head, like, literally. And he's a lot easier to understand than me, isn't he?"

[spd_red]

...ah, he's talking about abilities as well as personality, which I guess for him is tied up all together maybe more than the rest of us. Well, not so much for Sky, who's damn good at shutting people out both personally and through his power.

"I don't know about that, Bridge," I say easily. "he's more complicated than I think he realises, sometimes. Yeah, with your powers, you're different from most people. But you're not that different. And it's a good different."

[handstandsfortruth]

"I don't think Sky's complicated at all." Bridge protests, not angrily or even frustrated, just sheer point of fact. This is the truth of the matter, it's really not Jack's fault he doesn't know yet. "I just mean that I am generally accepted as being, ah, a little odd. Sky, pretty much everyone knows where they stand with him, even if it's not necessarily where we want to be standing with him, or whether he wants to be standing there with us, or... Sitting."

[spd_red]

"He's very direct," I agree easily. "But sometimes he doesn't say what he wants. Because he doesn't know."

I clap Bridge on the shoulder. "Good thing he's got us to point out when he really needs us, even if he thinks he doesn't."

[handstandsfortruth]

"He's always going to think he doesn't need us." Bridge agrees cheerfully, returning Jack's pat on the shoulder. "But we're here to set him straight, right? Plus, hey, Japan. Always nice to get out of the city sometimes."

[spd_red]

"Japan's pretty! Okay, Bridge, you got everything you need? I'll signal Kat that we're taking the SWAT flyers and going."

Z and Syd can handle the fort for the time being. Not like we're going that far. We can be back within a few minutes if they need us.

[handstandsfortruth]

"And incredibly interesting, from a cultural and sociological standpoint." Bridge points out with a smirk. He means it, too. Japan's a great country, and Bridge has already done some preliminary research into heroes in the country, and some prototype work on a theoretical instant translator to facilitate whatever work they might have to do there.

He's pretty sure Jack doesn't know Japanese, after all. Sky either, for that matter, which is why it's ridiculous that he wasn't asked to go outright, or why they'd send Sky alone.

"Ready!" Bridge has full confidence in the Commander, Syd and Z being able to handle anything that should crop up in their absence.