“I told you. You don’t know what’s going to happen. Talking is the first step, okay? The outcome may not be what you ultimately want, but at least you’ll both know where you stand. It’s been way too long, Kim.” He continued to console her for a few more minutes before she finally pulled away from him, finally looking up.

She took a deep breath before speaking. “When did you get so wise?” she chirped.

“Eh . . . I’m growing up is all.” Jason responded bashfully. Kimberly gave him a quick peck on the cheek then dashed back to her apartment. She was gone for about five minutes before she returned, locking the door behind her and carrying her purse toward the car.

Jason made his way to the driver’s seat, reaching across the seats to open the passenger door for Kimberly from the inside. She hopped in buoyantly. Rejuvenated and much more cheerful than she had been 10 minutes ago.Lacie and Sarah snapped out of their arguments before going into serious gymnast mode. The trio grabbed duffle bags and were quickly out the door, locking it behind them. Forgotten were the dirty dishes on the table, the half-eaten grapefruit, and the hot coffee. Instead, three minds were focused on the upcoming day at the gym. Pan Globals were the most important thing and required most of the gymnasts lives spent at the gym. “As Sarah had put it the first day, “Welcome to Hell. To the right equipment, to the left bunk-beds.” Even though Sarah was sarcastic much of the time, she really was fun to be around. Her remarks could make people laugh at the strangest of time. Of course, their coach didn’t appreciate it too much when she did that during training, but Sarah never did care too much. Kimberly never did see how Sarah could be so sarcastic, but she didn’t question it too much either.   "Thirteen Rangers is a bit much to mobilize at one time, so we have teams. Shifts. White, Green, Black, Blue, Yellow, Pink, and Red are the day shift," Jareth said, ticking them off on his fingers. "Although Green and White tend to get paired off for seperate missions a lot. Not sure why."

         "Oh. And the others are night shift?"

         "Not all of us. Just Deacon, Myk and I."

         "Mike?"

         "Not Mike, Myk," Jareth corrected, somehow managing to convey the difference in spelling. "He's the Bronze Ranger. Goofy superhero armor, attitude to match. He even wears a cape."

         Tommy realized what color the superman-ranger from the portrait was supposed to be. "Gold, Silver, Bronze. Makes sense."

         "And the other three are relief. Purple, Camoflauge, and Gray."