Seven Steps from Humanity- Chapter 8
Author: dream-edge
Title: Seven Steps from Humanity
Summary: AU VENJIX’s army wasn’t just machines. We could have handled machines. No. Someone had given VENJIX magic.
Rating: M
Pairings: Dillon/Ziggy, Scott/Summer, Gem/Flynn/Gemma, K/Tenaya
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the franchise.
Status: In Progress
Notes: Please see my journal here for background information, common terms, warnings, and further disclaimers.
Part One: The Beginning Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3
Part Two: The Pack Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
NOTICE: I am participating in the deancasbigbang this year. I will only be working on this story if I'm ahead of schedule on that one. So, just know that I have not abandoned it. I'm busy this something else.
7 Steps from Humanity
Part Two: The Pack
Chapter 5
If one had been paying attention, they would know Scott was not a morning person. Asking him to be active before 9:00 was inviting disaster; besides, no matter what time he rose, he was never fully functioning without a cup of coffee. It was why his success in the military had always mystified his family.
Yet, his clock definitely said 7:27.
Scott stared at it with a frown, pressing his palms against his eyes until he saw stars. He could do little more than gap when the numbers settled again. 7:18. He groaned, so tempted to flop back and sleep for another two hours. However, he knew that he'd already moved too much to just fall back asleep. So, instead, he stood up, shivering when his bare feet landed on the cold floor, and grumpily wandered downstairs. Once on the bottom floor, he became aware of a sweet scent curling within the building. He perked up when he also noticed the smell of coffee and hurried towards the kitchen.
It actually took a minute to recognize the figure leaning against the counter, frowning as he tried to pin down a psychic scent that kept slipping away from him. In the end, it was the sensuality, the way it hooked behind his navel and yanked, that reminded him. "Ziggy?" he asked.
Ziggy turned with a smile. The sight of the bruise, yellow-green against his pale skin, made Scott grimace in sympathy. Ziggy had looked so shaken yesterday that Scott had had no choice but to give him a room. Not doing so had never even crossed his mind. Once Ziggy had left, Dillon had stopped leashing his temper; and, oh, had he been pissed. It had taken all of Summer's considerable empathic abilities to keep him on the warm side of angry. But it had been that temper that had restrained Dr K to a mere disapproving glare for giving away Ranger Green's room.
"Good morning!" Ziggy chirped happily.
Scott blinked slowly, not prepared to deal with that much enthusiasm this early in the morning. As he stood there, unwilling to contemplate that a morning person had joined the team, he noticed the source of the sweet smell. "Are those pancakes?" he asked in surprise.
"Yep. They're chocolate chip." Ziggy smiled a little at the way Scott was eying them. "Want some?"
Scott nodded eagerly and sat down as Ziggy pulled three onto a plate for Scott before moving away. Scott nearly moaned pathetically when he popped a piece into his mouth. "This is really good." He said once he swallowed. Ziggy smiled a touch smugly and pressed a cup of coffee into his hands. Scott beamed. "I love you." He said earnestly, making Ziggy laugh.
"Whatever you say, fearless leader." Ziggy commented lightly.
The sound of shuffling feet made him turn. Summer was blinking at them tiredly as she swayed closer; the smell had apparently woken her as well because her hair was still a mess and her makeup was undone. Her eyes inevitably fell on Scott's plate. "Are those chocolate chip?" she asked greedily. Scott actually snarled at her as he hunched protectively over his plate. She frowned at him and turned towards Ziggy. "You can cook?" Scott wished she didn't sound so desperately hopeful; it wasn't like they all sucked at cooking, it was just that none of them were very good at it. In answer, Ziggy merely gave her her own plate.
Halfway through his second pancake, the coffee already doing wonders to convince his body now was an acceptable time to be up, he noticed Dillon slip into the kitchen. "Morning." He greeted before returning to his food.
The sexual heat in the room racketed up a notch.
He paused and looked up at Ziggy. The heat was still slight enough that after the initial gut punch, it was easy enough to brush off. Yet, it felt rather like a previously tight leash had loosened just a little; a scary thought, that what he had noticed before was the heat leashed. It wasn't his imagination either; the way Ziggy stared at Dillon was more heated challenge than friendly warmth. Scott didn't think the way his head was tilted, baring the naked arch of his throat, was incidental either. "Dillon." Ziggy greeted, the way he said it making Scott want to squirm uncomfortably.
"Ziggy." Dillon returned, seemingly unaffected by the way Ziggy had bent all his attention towards him. Dillon crossed the space between them in three large strides and bet to examine his bruise. "How's this doing?" he asked quietly, making Scott feel abruptly like he was intruding on something.
"It's fine." Ziggy assured. "Want breakfast?"
Dillon nodded, stepped back, and sat down next to him. "Thank you for taking him in." Dillon said quietly, voice pitched low so Ziggy didn't hear him. "I know this is going to make things awkward with the Ranger Green situation."
Scott shrugged but before he could say anything, Summer leaned around him. "He can cook." She told Dillon sternly. "He's not leaving. Ever." Dillon chuckled at her words, gifting Ziggy with a smile when he was given breakfast.
K shuffled in next, looking around the lively kitchen in surprise. Scott couldn't blame her; this was an unusual amount of activity for 7:30 in the morning. That, of course, was when Ziggy shuffled over and all but shoved a cup of coffee into her hands and placed a piece of toast atop it. "Thank you." She said, surprised into an uncharacteristic politeness.
"Tell me I don't have to meet anymore candidates today." Dillon requested, standing to refill his coffee. Scott really hoped he didn't; he'd had the feeling Dillon was going to punch someone too many times yesterday.
Thankfully K shook her head. "No, I have more files to go through before selecting the next group. However, once you return from your shopping trip, I'll need to see Grover."
"Me?" Ziggy asked, at the same time Dillon raised his head with an expression of dread. "Shopping trip?"
Scott had to bite back a laugh at how horrified Dillon sounded. "You need more clothes." Summer informed calmly. To Dillon's credit, though he paled noticeably, he didn't protest.
At the same time, Dr K was informing Ziggy that, "If you're going to be staying with us, you'll need to undergo basic training."
"Why?" Ziggy asked in confusion.
Scott stepped in before she could respond, because K had a habit of wording things in just the way most likely to set off tempers. "It's uncommon," Scott said, "But sometimes VENJIX drones do find their way here while we're out fighting. The base has defenses, of course, but if you're staying here, it's best if you can fight them off."
"I undergo the same training every month." Dr K added.
Ziggy frowned briefly then shrugged. "Okay." He said.
Scott was left blinking. "Wait, just like that?"
"I dislike having nothing to do. That's why I did all of this." Ziggy waved a hand at the rest of the room, making Scott realize abruptly that the kitchen was looking much neater then it had when Scott went to bed yesterday.
While he looked around in surprise, Flynn's heavy brogue suddenly asked from behind him, "Wha' time is i'?" he looked over to see Flynn staring at them, running a hand through his hair in bemusement.
"Nearly 8." Ziggy informed.
Flynn stared at Scott with burly eyes. "Ye're up." He finally muttered in surprise.
Scott shrugged. "There's pancakes and coffee. I never stood a chance." He paused then added as Flynn stumbled into an empty chair. "Nice hickey."
Flynn scowled at him. "Shu' up, Scott." H muttered half-heartedly, but he didn't bother to adjust his collar to hide the bruise. He did perk up noticeably when he was given breakfast.
-0-0-
Ziggy liked it here.
The Garage was comfortable. The room he'd been given was free from psychic echoes, though the rest of the building was soaked through with the scents of the others; it gave the place a quiet, warm feeling that was easy to relax into. It also helped that Summer's plants were well on their way to taking over, so the place always smelled nice.
The company wasn't bad either. The team didn't seem to mind him being here and he did get along rather well with Dillon, whatever the older man said about being Pack. And the big plus was they didn't have any problems dealing with and shrugging off the bits of Allure he couldn't leash without giving himself a headache.
He walked over to the passenger side of Dillon's car. Dillon himself was standing in front of the driver's door, tapping anxiously on the hood as he waited for the others. One would think he was going to his death for all the enthusiasm he had. "It's just a shopping trip. Why do you look like you're about to faint?"
Dillon stopped tapping and gave him an irritated look. "I have a sister. I know what shopping trip means."
Don't laugh, he told himself firmly. But even biting his cheek, he couldn't stop his wide grin. "I thought your sister was blind."
"Blind, yes. Friendless, no."
He couldn't help but snort at Dillon's hopeless tone because the image that conjured was too much. Dillon glared at him but the look was ruined by how pleased he seemed with Ziggy's amusement. And, wow, but wasn't that new. Ziggy had never had a friend he could make happy just by being happy himself. Then again, the only real Pack he'd had was his mother, and she'd died when he was ten.
Being Predator Pack made sure he thought about not having a Pack all the damn time; also being Passive NonPack made the thoughts bearable.
He became aware abruptly of people staring at him. He didn't move, instead shifting his attention from Dillon to the rest of the Garage, and found Scott, Summer, and Flynn descending the stairs. He held in his sigh and shifted his body away from the in-between towards Dea al Mon. Not fully, just enough so he registered as Woodland Kin instead of Demon Kind, enough that his eyes burned with the change, enough that his senses sharpened to Predator levels. Dillon looked at him in surprise when he noticed the change but Ziggy paid him little mind. He knew Dillon suspected him of being Dea al Mon and he didn't really care if the man knew about that part of his bloodline.
He just needed to know if the others had noticed his slip-up that morning.
"…only one who noticed it?" Scott was asking.
"I noticed." Summer said. "The heat definitely increased when Dillon came in."
He tensed. They'd noticed. He hadn't meant to, but he felt safe here and, unfathomably, he trusted Dillon; combined, that made his control half-assed at best and not responding to the attraction in Dillon's eyes impossible.
Still, the last thing he wanted was to give the others enough clues to figure out what his Demon Kind bloodline was. Not that he thought they'd do anything about it. This wasn't the Cartel, this wasn't the streets; what he was didn't control what he did here. But they would tell Dillon. He liked Dillon; He didn't want the man's opinion of him to change.
"Ziggy? What's wrong?" Dillon was asking, drawing his attention away from the conversation.
"Nothing." He said quickly.
On the bottom floor now, Flynn had finished saying something he hadn't caught. There was a moment of silence from the three that made him briefly edgy. Then Scott said jovially, "20 buck says they're courting within two months."
Wait, what?
"Ye know bettah than to be' with me." Flynn said while Summer agreed, "Deal."
Ziggy took a deep breath, let it out in a relieved rush. If they focused on the tension between Dillon and him, they might ignore everything that happened because of it. He could work with that. He shifted back to his usual in-between state as the others reached them; he gave Dillon a reassuring smile as Scott clapped the older man on the shoulder. "Ready for this?" Scott asked. It was just what was needed to drag Dillon's attention away from Ziggy.
"Define ready." Dillon answered moodily.
Ziggy smiled at the tone and hopped into the car. He liked Dillon's car; the man's scent had soaked into the leather; it was a scent he'd come to associate with safety this past week. At this point, he didn't even notice the VENJIX taint anymore. "Ready?" he asked.
Dillon looked over with dark eyes. There was friendliness there, but also a very physical appreciation. "Ready." Dillon agreed; and you know what else Ziggy liked? Dillon's voice. It was very deep, in a way that settled heavy and warm in his blood. It made him wonder what would happen if he kissed the other man.
Ack, no, stop that! Bad thoughts! He thought sharply, even as he smiled winningly at Dillon and settled further into the seat. Dillon was a Berserker; Berserker's were monogamous; thus, no sex with Dillon. In his opinion, no sex was worth dealing with the consequences of a Mate Claim.
It was a shame too. Dillon really was quite cute.
-0-0-
"What are those?" Dr K demanded the minute Marcus entered the lab. Since Marcus had spent the last year working with her, he didn't even flinch at her harsh, demanding tone and instead continued striding forward like nothing had happened. Besides, it wasn't like she didn't already have a theory about the files he had tucked under one arm.
"Files from Father for your consideration for candidacy." Marcus finally answered, setting them on her desk with a flourish. She glared at the files like they were some sort of parasite waiting to devour her. Now that she could see the insignia on the files, she knew exactly what they were. Her theory had been right. They were the military men the Colonel had worked with the past year and thought could handle the Ranger gear. "I don't need more military. I already have one and he's handful enough."
"Scott resigned from the military." Marcus pointed out, though he seemed amused. They'd all at some point told her this, even Scott himself, mostly because she had to keep reminding them that she already had a military man giving her his opinion. Why they thought she was always refering to Scott she had no idea.
"Who said I was talking about Scott?" K demanded. Marcus paused and blinked rapidly, obviously thrown, then grinned, bright-eyed.
"Oh Doc, I didn't know you cared."
Before she could say something in response, the sound of the Rangers returning filled the Garage. She nearly sighed in relief.
Marcus took a few steps back and peered through the doorway to the rest of the Garage. Whatever he saw made him grin. Probably some antic by Scott and Summer. "Father said Grover's moved in." Marcus commented and looked back at her. "Are you considering him for Ranger candidacy?"
She looked over at him, frowning intensely. "No. Why would I?"
Marcus rolled his eyes like she was being dumb. She took offense to that; that was her look. "Well, let's see. He's already Kane's Pack. He doesn't mind Flynn. The others like him. He already lives here."
"He makes the twins nervous." She interceded.
Marcus nodded and kept going. "That means that from what they've seen of him, they think he's strong enough to pose a challenge."
"We don't know what he is." She snapped.
Marcus did have a comeback for that, she could see it in his face, but whatever it was got interrupted by Scott's entrance. "Marcus!" the younger brother greeted gleefully and enveloped Marcus n a hug.
"Scott," she called over their greetings. "Please tell Grover to change into proper exercising attire and meet me in the training room." she stood up and made to leave before pausing and adding, "Marcus, please inform the Colonel I appreciate the help but at this time I do not require his assistance." That said, she moved calmly out of the room.
A few minutes later, Ziggy joined her. As if to once again prove her theory that the world was always on Marcus's side in their arguments, Ziggy was wearing a green shirt. Admittedly, it wasn't very green; it looked like it had been through the wash too many times and thus had lost most of its color. However, it was still undeniably green. That, when combined with Kane's seeming unwillingness to work with the candidates she'd selected, caused her to throw her metaphorical hands up and started the tests she'd originally used a year ago to test candidate physical qualification.
"Where are we starting?" Ziggy asked, looking around. "You should know I'm wicked good with a knife."
"I'll be the judge of that." She snapped. "I need to establish a baseline from which to train you. We'll start with endurance."
Ziggy was watching her uneasily now. "I don't think I'm going to like this." Dr K glared at him.
Scott joined them roughly half an hour later. His eyes had the over bright look they got when he was getting along with his family. "How are things going?" he asked, stepping up next to her.
"His strength needs work." She informed.
Scott hummed, watching Ziggy work his way through another task. "He's not built for strength. Best just work on his speed." Scott advised after a moment.
She sighed. "Are you going to hover for the rest of this?"
"Would you prefer Dillon hover?"
"I'd prefer it if no one hovered."
"Yeah, not happening." She bit back another sigh and returned her attention to the tests. Scott smiled triumphantly. If Ziggy had noticed the exchange, he wisely didn't mention it.
Two more tests later, she looked over and noticed Scott was watching Ziggy with a frown. It was no surprise, he probably recognized the tests; these were the same tests he had undergone a year ago. She managed to finish one more test before Scott stepped forward and told Ziggy to take a break. Ziggy paused and looked over at them with a confused expression. He had a faint flush and was breathing heavily; there were hints of sweat at his brow but otherwise he had been managing rather well. Scott smiled, "I need to talk to K about something. Go take a walk." Ziggy watched them with a frown but nodded and slowly walked out.
Scott waited another few seconds before walking over and closing the door. "I might be wrong, after all it's been a while, my memory might be a bit fuzzy," Scott told the door. "But, you know, I could have sworn those were the Ranger tests."
"I needed to establish a baseline."
Scott turned to her at last, looking baffled and disbelieving. "Rather difficult tests just to establish a baseline." He pointed out. "Just tell me: are we considering Ziggy for Ranger Green?"
She crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "It was your brother's idea." She grumbled.
"So, yes?" he waited until she nodded. "You were planning to mention this when?"
"I was going to mention it if he met the physical qualifications."
"Did he?" Scott asked curiously.
She raised an eyebrow. "I don't know; you interrupted my tests." Scott grinned sheepishly. "However, if he continues his current scores, he'll rank in the lower percentile."
"He'll make it?"
Isn't that what she'd said? "Barely." She clarified. "He's going to need a lot of training."
"We can work with that." Scott said and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"Need to talk to the rest of the team about this."
-0-0-
Summer watched Scott shuffle the twins into the lab and close the doors. Her and Flynn were already there; while Dr K's absence wasn't notable since she was still working with Ziggy, someone else was noticeably missing. "Where's Dillon?" she asked.
"We need to talk but I think Dillon might punch me." Scott answered, which didn't tell her anything.
"Scott, pretend for a second that we don't know what you're talking about. In fact, don't pretend."
Scott blinked at her in confusion for a second before replying, "What do you think about Ziggy being Ranger Green?"
She glanced over at the others to see if that really was as random as she thought it was. If their expression were anything to go by, then that had come even more left-field than was normal for Scott. "Ziggy? As Ranger Green? Since when were we considering that?"
"Since about two minutes ago." Scott answered. "It's Marcus's idea." Of course it was.
Scott turned towards the twins. "You two are the most uncomfortable with him. What do you think?"
The two glanced at each other. "He's…"
"…Nice?" The two said uncertainly. When Scott just stared, Gemma sighed and told them. "It's just that, there's the small chance we've agreed he might be… Dea al Mon."
"What?" Scott almost shouted and his expression would be funny if she wasn't sure she had the same one. "Are you sure? I thought we'd agreed he was Demon Kind."
The twins shook their heads as one. "He's only half Demon Kind." They said. "We are sure. He felt like-"
"Woodland Kin this morning, and his ears are-"
"Pointed, and he carries a-"
"lot of knives. Also, like tends to-"
"Calls to like." Gem paused then added, "Or at least that's the short version."
Scott scrubbed a hand over his face. "I wish I could say that explains things, but really, it doesn't. At all." He shook his head. "Ranger or not?"
"We get his training if he is." Gemma spoke before anyone else could. Like they wouldn't haveif they agreed. Scott nodded and looked at the others, taking that as their round-about approval.
"He's sweet." Summer said with a shrug. "If he can fight, I don't see why not."
"Hey," Flynn said, raising his hands. "Aye was onboard the minu' Aye learned he was Dillon's Pack. Honestly, wha' are the chances of tha' happening with another so quickly?"
"So, we're agreed." Scott said, sounding pleased.
"Yep." Summer agreed and took a bit too much glee when she next said, "Now who tells Dillon?"
Scott paused, looking a bit nervous. "Let's… talk to Ziggy first?" He suggested, making them laugh.
-0-0-
"Ziggy!"
Ziggy paused as he came down the stairs from his shower after his session with K when someone hissed out his name and looked around. Scott was standing in the doorway to the lab, making exaggerated, slow-motion 'come here' gesturers with his hands. Yeah, Scott was weird like that. He sighed and walked closer. "What is it?" he asked, just before Scott reached out lightning quick and grabbed his arm. Ziggy yelped as he was abruptly pulled into the lab. And, yes, his muscles hurt and his body protested every movement due to the training, but that didn't stop him from yanking out of Scott's grip, spinning away, and pulling out his knife, all within a few seconds. Some lessons learned on the streets you never forgot, like paranoia.
"Wow." Scott shouted, throwing both hands up.
"Nice reflexes." He heard from behind him, making him spin around again. The twins stared back, woodland eyes too sharp for his comfort. In fact, all the Rangers minus Dillon were there. Well, fuck.
"It's okay, Ziggy. We just want to help." Summer told him, calm creeping over him. He resisted the urge to push back against it, because that would give him away quicker than anything.
"Where's Dillon?" He demanded.
"We wanted to talk to you." Summer said. "But there's the small fact that Dillon won't like it and might punch us." Ziggy stared at Summer, wondering if that was supposed to make him feel comforted.
"We have a proposition for you." Scott added. And, oh, wrong word, boyo.
He turned back to Scott, raising his knife to point at the older man despite how it made the twins tense. "Pick a different word." He ordered. "And do it quickly."
"You're taking offense to my word choice." Scott said, incredulous.
"Quite a bit, yes."
"How would you like to be Ranger Green?" Summer asked quickly from behind him.
He paused and looked over his shoulder at her. "Seriously?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and lowering the knife. Summer nodded. He looked back at Scott. "Seriously?" he asked again, even more incredulous.
"Yeah. If you put down the knife."
Ziggy slipped the knife away. "Why me?"
"Because Dillon likes you. And from what I saw yesterday with the other candidates, that's a very rare thing." Scott answered calmly. "And it's not like you can't fight. You just proved you've got the instincts for it."
"Okay. Why should I?"
Scott actually paused at that, frowning at Ziggy's amused look. He was pretty sure the man thought they were joking. He frowned in thought before smirking, "You dislike having nothing to do." He said.
Ziggy frowned at him as he recognized his own words. "I think I hate you." He said, though it was plenty obvious he didn't mean it.
Scott grinned. "You are going to fit right in."
"I didn't say yes." Ziggy snapped, but Scott merely raised an eyebrow. "Why should I?" he asked again, "And seriously this time." It wasn't that he really had any objections to it. He just wanted to know what they'd think of. Really, he'd probably take anything that wasn't he owed them.
"Because there's no reason you shouldn't." Scott answered sincerely. "And because we need your help."
Ziggy stared back then nodded. "Now, I'm saying yes." He muttered.
Scott visibly brightened and grinned. "Great. First order of business. You get to tell Dillon."
Title: Seven Steps from Humanity
Summary: AU VENJIX’s army wasn’t just machines. We could have handled machines. No. Someone had given VENJIX magic.
Rating: M
Pairings: Dillon/Ziggy, Scott/Summer, Gem/Flynn/Gemma, K/Tenaya
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the franchise.
Status: In Progress
Notes: Please see my journal here for background information, common terms, warnings, and further disclaimers.
Part One: The Beginning Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3
Part Two: The Pack Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
NOTICE: I am participating in the deancasbigbang this year. I will only be working on this story if I'm ahead of schedule on that one. So, just know that I have not abandoned it. I'm busy this something else.
7 Steps from Humanity
Part Two: The Pack
Chapter 5
If one had been paying attention, they would know Scott was not a morning person. Asking him to be active before 9:00 was inviting disaster; besides, no matter what time he rose, he was never fully functioning without a cup of coffee. It was why his success in the military had always mystified his family.
Yet, his clock definitely said 7:27.
Scott stared at it with a frown, pressing his palms against his eyes until he saw stars. He could do little more than gap when the numbers settled again. 7:18. He groaned, so tempted to flop back and sleep for another two hours. However, he knew that he'd already moved too much to just fall back asleep. So, instead, he stood up, shivering when his bare feet landed on the cold floor, and grumpily wandered downstairs. Once on the bottom floor, he became aware of a sweet scent curling within the building. He perked up when he also noticed the smell of coffee and hurried towards the kitchen.
It actually took a minute to recognize the figure leaning against the counter, frowning as he tried to pin down a psychic scent that kept slipping away from him. In the end, it was the sensuality, the way it hooked behind his navel and yanked, that reminded him. "Ziggy?" he asked.
Ziggy turned with a smile. The sight of the bruise, yellow-green against his pale skin, made Scott grimace in sympathy. Ziggy had looked so shaken yesterday that Scott had had no choice but to give him a room. Not doing so had never even crossed his mind. Once Ziggy had left, Dillon had stopped leashing his temper; and, oh, had he been pissed. It had taken all of Summer's considerable empathic abilities to keep him on the warm side of angry. But it had been that temper that had restrained Dr K to a mere disapproving glare for giving away Ranger Green's room.
"Good morning!" Ziggy chirped happily.
Scott blinked slowly, not prepared to deal with that much enthusiasm this early in the morning. As he stood there, unwilling to contemplate that a morning person had joined the team, he noticed the source of the sweet smell. "Are those pancakes?" he asked in surprise.
"Yep. They're chocolate chip." Ziggy smiled a little at the way Scott was eying them. "Want some?"
Scott nodded eagerly and sat down as Ziggy pulled three onto a plate for Scott before moving away. Scott nearly moaned pathetically when he popped a piece into his mouth. "This is really good." He said once he swallowed. Ziggy smiled a touch smugly and pressed a cup of coffee into his hands. Scott beamed. "I love you." He said earnestly, making Ziggy laugh.
"Whatever you say, fearless leader." Ziggy commented lightly.
The sound of shuffling feet made him turn. Summer was blinking at them tiredly as she swayed closer; the smell had apparently woken her as well because her hair was still a mess and her makeup was undone. Her eyes inevitably fell on Scott's plate. "Are those chocolate chip?" she asked greedily. Scott actually snarled at her as he hunched protectively over his plate. She frowned at him and turned towards Ziggy. "You can cook?" Scott wished she didn't sound so desperately hopeful; it wasn't like they all sucked at cooking, it was just that none of them were very good at it. In answer, Ziggy merely gave her her own plate.
Halfway through his second pancake, the coffee already doing wonders to convince his body now was an acceptable time to be up, he noticed Dillon slip into the kitchen. "Morning." He greeted before returning to his food.
The sexual heat in the room racketed up a notch.
He paused and looked up at Ziggy. The heat was still slight enough that after the initial gut punch, it was easy enough to brush off. Yet, it felt rather like a previously tight leash had loosened just a little; a scary thought, that what he had noticed before was the heat leashed. It wasn't his imagination either; the way Ziggy stared at Dillon was more heated challenge than friendly warmth. Scott didn't think the way his head was tilted, baring the naked arch of his throat, was incidental either. "Dillon." Ziggy greeted, the way he said it making Scott want to squirm uncomfortably.
"Ziggy." Dillon returned, seemingly unaffected by the way Ziggy had bent all his attention towards him. Dillon crossed the space between them in three large strides and bet to examine his bruise. "How's this doing?" he asked quietly, making Scott feel abruptly like he was intruding on something.
"It's fine." Ziggy assured. "Want breakfast?"
Dillon nodded, stepped back, and sat down next to him. "Thank you for taking him in." Dillon said quietly, voice pitched low so Ziggy didn't hear him. "I know this is going to make things awkward with the Ranger Green situation."
Scott shrugged but before he could say anything, Summer leaned around him. "He can cook." She told Dillon sternly. "He's not leaving. Ever." Dillon chuckled at her words, gifting Ziggy with a smile when he was given breakfast.
K shuffled in next, looking around the lively kitchen in surprise. Scott couldn't blame her; this was an unusual amount of activity for 7:30 in the morning. That, of course, was when Ziggy shuffled over and all but shoved a cup of coffee into her hands and placed a piece of toast atop it. "Thank you." She said, surprised into an uncharacteristic politeness.
"Tell me I don't have to meet anymore candidates today." Dillon requested, standing to refill his coffee. Scott really hoped he didn't; he'd had the feeling Dillon was going to punch someone too many times yesterday.
Thankfully K shook her head. "No, I have more files to go through before selecting the next group. However, once you return from your shopping trip, I'll need to see Grover."
"Me?" Ziggy asked, at the same time Dillon raised his head with an expression of dread. "Shopping trip?"
Scott had to bite back a laugh at how horrified Dillon sounded. "You need more clothes." Summer informed calmly. To Dillon's credit, though he paled noticeably, he didn't protest.
At the same time, Dr K was informing Ziggy that, "If you're going to be staying with us, you'll need to undergo basic training."
"Why?" Ziggy asked in confusion.
Scott stepped in before she could respond, because K had a habit of wording things in just the way most likely to set off tempers. "It's uncommon," Scott said, "But sometimes VENJIX drones do find their way here while we're out fighting. The base has defenses, of course, but if you're staying here, it's best if you can fight them off."
"I undergo the same training every month." Dr K added.
Ziggy frowned briefly then shrugged. "Okay." He said.
Scott was left blinking. "Wait, just like that?"
"I dislike having nothing to do. That's why I did all of this." Ziggy waved a hand at the rest of the room, making Scott realize abruptly that the kitchen was looking much neater then it had when Scott went to bed yesterday.
While he looked around in surprise, Flynn's heavy brogue suddenly asked from behind him, "Wha' time is i'?" he looked over to see Flynn staring at them, running a hand through his hair in bemusement.
"Nearly 8." Ziggy informed.
Flynn stared at Scott with burly eyes. "Ye're up." He finally muttered in surprise.
Scott shrugged. "There's pancakes and coffee. I never stood a chance." He paused then added as Flynn stumbled into an empty chair. "Nice hickey."
Flynn scowled at him. "Shu' up, Scott." H muttered half-heartedly, but he didn't bother to adjust his collar to hide the bruise. He did perk up noticeably when he was given breakfast.
-0-0-
Ziggy liked it here.
The Garage was comfortable. The room he'd been given was free from psychic echoes, though the rest of the building was soaked through with the scents of the others; it gave the place a quiet, warm feeling that was easy to relax into. It also helped that Summer's plants were well on their way to taking over, so the place always smelled nice.
The company wasn't bad either. The team didn't seem to mind him being here and he did get along rather well with Dillon, whatever the older man said about being Pack. And the big plus was they didn't have any problems dealing with and shrugging off the bits of Allure he couldn't leash without giving himself a headache.
He walked over to the passenger side of Dillon's car. Dillon himself was standing in front of the driver's door, tapping anxiously on the hood as he waited for the others. One would think he was going to his death for all the enthusiasm he had. "It's just a shopping trip. Why do you look like you're about to faint?"
Dillon stopped tapping and gave him an irritated look. "I have a sister. I know what shopping trip means."
Don't laugh, he told himself firmly. But even biting his cheek, he couldn't stop his wide grin. "I thought your sister was blind."
"Blind, yes. Friendless, no."
He couldn't help but snort at Dillon's hopeless tone because the image that conjured was too much. Dillon glared at him but the look was ruined by how pleased he seemed with Ziggy's amusement. And, wow, but wasn't that new. Ziggy had never had a friend he could make happy just by being happy himself. Then again, the only real Pack he'd had was his mother, and she'd died when he was ten.
Being Predator Pack made sure he thought about not having a Pack all the damn time; also being Passive NonPack made the thoughts bearable.
He became aware abruptly of people staring at him. He didn't move, instead shifting his attention from Dillon to the rest of the Garage, and found Scott, Summer, and Flynn descending the stairs. He held in his sigh and shifted his body away from the in-between towards Dea al Mon. Not fully, just enough so he registered as Woodland Kin instead of Demon Kind, enough that his eyes burned with the change, enough that his senses sharpened to Predator levels. Dillon looked at him in surprise when he noticed the change but Ziggy paid him little mind. He knew Dillon suspected him of being Dea al Mon and he didn't really care if the man knew about that part of his bloodline.
He just needed to know if the others had noticed his slip-up that morning.
"…only one who noticed it?" Scott was asking.
"I noticed." Summer said. "The heat definitely increased when Dillon came in."
He tensed. They'd noticed. He hadn't meant to, but he felt safe here and, unfathomably, he trusted Dillon; combined, that made his control half-assed at best and not responding to the attraction in Dillon's eyes impossible.
Still, the last thing he wanted was to give the others enough clues to figure out what his Demon Kind bloodline was. Not that he thought they'd do anything about it. This wasn't the Cartel, this wasn't the streets; what he was didn't control what he did here. But they would tell Dillon. He liked Dillon; He didn't want the man's opinion of him to change.
"Ziggy? What's wrong?" Dillon was asking, drawing his attention away from the conversation.
"Nothing." He said quickly.
On the bottom floor now, Flynn had finished saying something he hadn't caught. There was a moment of silence from the three that made him briefly edgy. Then Scott said jovially, "20 buck says they're courting within two months."
Wait, what?
"Ye know bettah than to be' with me." Flynn said while Summer agreed, "Deal."
Ziggy took a deep breath, let it out in a relieved rush. If they focused on the tension between Dillon and him, they might ignore everything that happened because of it. He could work with that. He shifted back to his usual in-between state as the others reached them; he gave Dillon a reassuring smile as Scott clapped the older man on the shoulder. "Ready for this?" Scott asked. It was just what was needed to drag Dillon's attention away from Ziggy.
"Define ready." Dillon answered moodily.
Ziggy smiled at the tone and hopped into the car. He liked Dillon's car; the man's scent had soaked into the leather; it was a scent he'd come to associate with safety this past week. At this point, he didn't even notice the VENJIX taint anymore. "Ready?" he asked.
Dillon looked over with dark eyes. There was friendliness there, but also a very physical appreciation. "Ready." Dillon agreed; and you know what else Ziggy liked? Dillon's voice. It was very deep, in a way that settled heavy and warm in his blood. It made him wonder what would happen if he kissed the other man.
Ack, no, stop that! Bad thoughts! He thought sharply, even as he smiled winningly at Dillon and settled further into the seat. Dillon was a Berserker; Berserker's were monogamous; thus, no sex with Dillon. In his opinion, no sex was worth dealing with the consequences of a Mate Claim.
It was a shame too. Dillon really was quite cute.
-0-0-
"What are those?" Dr K demanded the minute Marcus entered the lab. Since Marcus had spent the last year working with her, he didn't even flinch at her harsh, demanding tone and instead continued striding forward like nothing had happened. Besides, it wasn't like she didn't already have a theory about the files he had tucked under one arm.
"Files from Father for your consideration for candidacy." Marcus finally answered, setting them on her desk with a flourish. She glared at the files like they were some sort of parasite waiting to devour her. Now that she could see the insignia on the files, she knew exactly what they were. Her theory had been right. They were the military men the Colonel had worked with the past year and thought could handle the Ranger gear. "I don't need more military. I already have one and he's handful enough."
"Scott resigned from the military." Marcus pointed out, though he seemed amused. They'd all at some point told her this, even Scott himself, mostly because she had to keep reminding them that she already had a military man giving her his opinion. Why they thought she was always refering to Scott she had no idea.
"Who said I was talking about Scott?" K demanded. Marcus paused and blinked rapidly, obviously thrown, then grinned, bright-eyed.
"Oh Doc, I didn't know you cared."
Before she could say something in response, the sound of the Rangers returning filled the Garage. She nearly sighed in relief.
Marcus took a few steps back and peered through the doorway to the rest of the Garage. Whatever he saw made him grin. Probably some antic by Scott and Summer. "Father said Grover's moved in." Marcus commented and looked back at her. "Are you considering him for Ranger candidacy?"
She looked over at him, frowning intensely. "No. Why would I?"
Marcus rolled his eyes like she was being dumb. She took offense to that; that was her look. "Well, let's see. He's already Kane's Pack. He doesn't mind Flynn. The others like him. He already lives here."
"He makes the twins nervous." She interceded.
Marcus nodded and kept going. "That means that from what they've seen of him, they think he's strong enough to pose a challenge."
"We don't know what he is." She snapped.
Marcus did have a comeback for that, she could see it in his face, but whatever it was got interrupted by Scott's entrance. "Marcus!" the younger brother greeted gleefully and enveloped Marcus n a hug.
"Scott," she called over their greetings. "Please tell Grover to change into proper exercising attire and meet me in the training room." she stood up and made to leave before pausing and adding, "Marcus, please inform the Colonel I appreciate the help but at this time I do not require his assistance." That said, she moved calmly out of the room.
A few minutes later, Ziggy joined her. As if to once again prove her theory that the world was always on Marcus's side in their arguments, Ziggy was wearing a green shirt. Admittedly, it wasn't very green; it looked like it had been through the wash too many times and thus had lost most of its color. However, it was still undeniably green. That, when combined with Kane's seeming unwillingness to work with the candidates she'd selected, caused her to throw her metaphorical hands up and started the tests she'd originally used a year ago to test candidate physical qualification.
"Where are we starting?" Ziggy asked, looking around. "You should know I'm wicked good with a knife."
"I'll be the judge of that." She snapped. "I need to establish a baseline from which to train you. We'll start with endurance."
Ziggy was watching her uneasily now. "I don't think I'm going to like this." Dr K glared at him.
Scott joined them roughly half an hour later. His eyes had the over bright look they got when he was getting along with his family. "How are things going?" he asked, stepping up next to her.
"His strength needs work." She informed.
Scott hummed, watching Ziggy work his way through another task. "He's not built for strength. Best just work on his speed." Scott advised after a moment.
She sighed. "Are you going to hover for the rest of this?"
"Would you prefer Dillon hover?"
"I'd prefer it if no one hovered."
"Yeah, not happening." She bit back another sigh and returned her attention to the tests. Scott smiled triumphantly. If Ziggy had noticed the exchange, he wisely didn't mention it.
Two more tests later, she looked over and noticed Scott was watching Ziggy with a frown. It was no surprise, he probably recognized the tests; these were the same tests he had undergone a year ago. She managed to finish one more test before Scott stepped forward and told Ziggy to take a break. Ziggy paused and looked over at them with a confused expression. He had a faint flush and was breathing heavily; there were hints of sweat at his brow but otherwise he had been managing rather well. Scott smiled, "I need to talk to K about something. Go take a walk." Ziggy watched them with a frown but nodded and slowly walked out.
Scott waited another few seconds before walking over and closing the door. "I might be wrong, after all it's been a while, my memory might be a bit fuzzy," Scott told the door. "But, you know, I could have sworn those were the Ranger tests."
"I needed to establish a baseline."
Scott turned to her at last, looking baffled and disbelieving. "Rather difficult tests just to establish a baseline." He pointed out. "Just tell me: are we considering Ziggy for Ranger Green?"
She crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "It was your brother's idea." She grumbled.
"So, yes?" he waited until she nodded. "You were planning to mention this when?"
"I was going to mention it if he met the physical qualifications."
"Did he?" Scott asked curiously.
She raised an eyebrow. "I don't know; you interrupted my tests." Scott grinned sheepishly. "However, if he continues his current scores, he'll rank in the lower percentile."
"He'll make it?"
Isn't that what she'd said? "Barely." She clarified. "He's going to need a lot of training."
"We can work with that." Scott said and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"Need to talk to the rest of the team about this."
-0-0-
Summer watched Scott shuffle the twins into the lab and close the doors. Her and Flynn were already there; while Dr K's absence wasn't notable since she was still working with Ziggy, someone else was noticeably missing. "Where's Dillon?" she asked.
"We need to talk but I think Dillon might punch me." Scott answered, which didn't tell her anything.
"Scott, pretend for a second that we don't know what you're talking about. In fact, don't pretend."
Scott blinked at her in confusion for a second before replying, "What do you think about Ziggy being Ranger Green?"
She glanced over at the others to see if that really was as random as she thought it was. If their expression were anything to go by, then that had come even more left-field than was normal for Scott. "Ziggy? As Ranger Green? Since when were we considering that?"
"Since about two minutes ago." Scott answered. "It's Marcus's idea." Of course it was.
Scott turned towards the twins. "You two are the most uncomfortable with him. What do you think?"
The two glanced at each other. "He's…"
"…Nice?" The two said uncertainly. When Scott just stared, Gemma sighed and told them. "It's just that, there's the small chance we've agreed he might be… Dea al Mon."
"What?" Scott almost shouted and his expression would be funny if she wasn't sure she had the same one. "Are you sure? I thought we'd agreed he was Demon Kind."
The twins shook their heads as one. "He's only half Demon Kind." They said. "We are sure. He felt like-"
"Woodland Kin this morning, and his ears are-"
"Pointed, and he carries a-"
"lot of knives. Also, like tends to-"
"Calls to like." Gem paused then added, "Or at least that's the short version."
Scott scrubbed a hand over his face. "I wish I could say that explains things, but really, it doesn't. At all." He shook his head. "Ranger or not?"
"We get his training if he is." Gemma spoke before anyone else could. Like they wouldn't haveif they agreed. Scott nodded and looked at the others, taking that as their round-about approval.
"He's sweet." Summer said with a shrug. "If he can fight, I don't see why not."
"Hey," Flynn said, raising his hands. "Aye was onboard the minu' Aye learned he was Dillon's Pack. Honestly, wha' are the chances of tha' happening with another so quickly?"
"So, we're agreed." Scott said, sounding pleased.
"Yep." Summer agreed and took a bit too much glee when she next said, "Now who tells Dillon?"
Scott paused, looking a bit nervous. "Let's… talk to Ziggy first?" He suggested, making them laugh.
-0-0-
"Ziggy!"
Ziggy paused as he came down the stairs from his shower after his session with K when someone hissed out his name and looked around. Scott was standing in the doorway to the lab, making exaggerated, slow-motion 'come here' gesturers with his hands. Yeah, Scott was weird like that. He sighed and walked closer. "What is it?" he asked, just before Scott reached out lightning quick and grabbed his arm. Ziggy yelped as he was abruptly pulled into the lab. And, yes, his muscles hurt and his body protested every movement due to the training, but that didn't stop him from yanking out of Scott's grip, spinning away, and pulling out his knife, all within a few seconds. Some lessons learned on the streets you never forgot, like paranoia.
"Wow." Scott shouted, throwing both hands up.
"Nice reflexes." He heard from behind him, making him spin around again. The twins stared back, woodland eyes too sharp for his comfort. In fact, all the Rangers minus Dillon were there. Well, fuck.
"It's okay, Ziggy. We just want to help." Summer told him, calm creeping over him. He resisted the urge to push back against it, because that would give him away quicker than anything.
"Where's Dillon?" He demanded.
"We wanted to talk to you." Summer said. "But there's the small fact that Dillon won't like it and might punch us." Ziggy stared at Summer, wondering if that was supposed to make him feel comforted.
"We have a proposition for you." Scott added. And, oh, wrong word, boyo.
He turned back to Scott, raising his knife to point at the older man despite how it made the twins tense. "Pick a different word." He ordered. "And do it quickly."
"You're taking offense to my word choice." Scott said, incredulous.
"Quite a bit, yes."
"How would you like to be Ranger Green?" Summer asked quickly from behind him.
He paused and looked over his shoulder at her. "Seriously?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and lowering the knife. Summer nodded. He looked back at Scott. "Seriously?" he asked again, even more incredulous.
"Yeah. If you put down the knife."
Ziggy slipped the knife away. "Why me?"
"Because Dillon likes you. And from what I saw yesterday with the other candidates, that's a very rare thing." Scott answered calmly. "And it's not like you can't fight. You just proved you've got the instincts for it."
"Okay. Why should I?"
Scott actually paused at that, frowning at Ziggy's amused look. He was pretty sure the man thought they were joking. He frowned in thought before smirking, "You dislike having nothing to do." He said.
Ziggy frowned at him as he recognized his own words. "I think I hate you." He said, though it was plenty obvious he didn't mean it.
Scott grinned. "You are going to fit right in."
"I didn't say yes." Ziggy snapped, but Scott merely raised an eyebrow. "Why should I?" he asked again, "And seriously this time." It wasn't that he really had any objections to it. He just wanted to know what they'd think of. Really, he'd probably take anything that wasn't he owed them.
"Because there's no reason you shouldn't." Scott answered sincerely. "And because we need your help."
Ziggy stared back then nodded. "Now, I'm saying yes." He muttered.
Scott visibly brightened and grinned. "Great. First order of business. You get to tell Dillon."