a_to_z_prompts fic: "Impressions", Sky, Bridge & Syd friendship, G
Title: Impressions
Author: Mary (shurimon & shurifanstuffs on Livejournal)
Fandom: Power Rangers S.P.D.
Letter: R for Rich
Rating: G
Summary: A pre-series fic. After Dru's departure, Sky and Bridge meet their new teammate, Sydney Drew, and Sky learns that first impressions aren't always the right ones.
Disclaimer/Author's Notes/Spoiler Warning: Takes place in the same universe as Tested, Compatability and Grief. I don't own the characters and make no claim to. Syd's reasoning for joining S.P.D. was information gleaned from Greg Aronowitz' Rangercast interview.
For KK because I luff her so. ♥ Happy birthday!
Sky and Bridge weren't sure what they were in for when they were called for a private audience with Commander Cruger.
Usually, as Sky kept reminding Bridge as they walked to his office, that meant one of two things: either they'd done something very good and were about to get praised or even promoted, or they'd done something very bad and were about to be sent to clean the fountains with a toothbrush.
Seeing as how they'd both moved up to C-Squad two weeks ago, they were guessing it was the latter, though neither could come up with anything they'd done to deserve a punishment, as much as they racked their brains.
"Ah... Tate and Carson." The two saluted him and stood at attention, Sky rather more stiffly than usual and both visibly nervous. Cruger must have noticed, because he gave them a smile and said, "Do not worry, neither of you are in trouble. I wanted to talk to you about and introduce you to a new member who is going to be joining your squad shortly." Sky didn't miss the questioning glance Bridge shot him but chose to ignore it, keeping his eyes on the Commander. "Since Cadet Harrington has departed from the academy-" Sky's stance faltered just slightly- "I've decided to promote another person to C-Squad. Whether or not you can get along will be a test of your ability to adapt to change and work together as a team. Any questions?"
"Ah, ah, just one, sir," Bridge said, raising his hand and stepping forward, and Sky had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Who is it?"
"Her name is Sydney Drew," said the Commander, "and she-"
"Sydney Drew?" Bridge repeated.
"She?" Sky asked at the same time, both shocked. Cruger frowned at their reactions.
"Do you have a problem with this, cadets?"
"No," Sky said quickly, though for some reason feeling a little uneasy about his choice. He knew that Dru's empty spot on their team had to be filled eventually, but that didn't make him feel any better about the prospect.
"I don't either, sir, I'm just wondering... Sydney Drew? As in THE Sydney Drew? As in that model and singer and fencer? My mama LOVES her! And you mean to tell me she's here, like here at S.P.D. and has been training and we never notice- OW," Bridge cried, giving Sky a sour, hurt look when he stepped on his foot. Cruger waited patiently until they'd both quieted down and straightened up again before answering.
"Yes, Cadet Carson, the Sydney Drew," he said, sounding amused for some reason. "However, her celebrity status does NOT mean that she has been treated any differently than either of you have been here at S.P.D. I expect the two of you to treat her equally, as well- that goes both for giving her special treatment AND being too hard on her for... other reasons. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir," Bridge and Sky chorused, saluting him. He then indicated that they should follow him out of the office, and they did so. Bridge looked ready to leap up and down with excitement, ignoring the glares Sky kept giving him in the hopes of reminding him to conduct himself better in their Commander's presence. Sky himself was unimpressed with the idea of a practical celebrity being on their squad; he just hoped that she would be able to keep up with them as well as Dru had been able to. They stood back when Cruger led them to the door of a dorm room right next to their own new and more spacious quarters and knocked.
"Cadet Drew, I'm here to introduce you to your new teammates," he said.
"Just a moment, sir!" a female voice answered. The door slid open, and Sydney Drew stepped out. "Hi," she said, smiling at them. Sky couldn't help his jaw dropping a little when he got a good look at her. She was a good foot or so shorter than he, with long curly blonde hair. She wore a C-Squad uniform, but it seemed oddly out-of-place on her; indeed, a glance inside her dorm room showed that she had a blown-up magazine cover with a photo of herself in a beautiful dress and heels on it on display, and a room full of material possessions of every sort, indicating that she had money and plenty of it. He also noticed with interest that, for some reason, her uniform had straps sewn onto it holding what looked like small bars of iron and gold and a vial containing a piece of stone in place. He then glanced over at Bridge and had to once more hold himself back from rolling his eyes and even groaning this time, as his friend was obviously a little starstruck.
"Miss Drew, these are your teammates," Cruger said, stepping back and allowing her to get a good look at Sky and Bridge.
"I'm Bridge!" said Bridge, practically bouncing forward to shake her hand. "Bridge Carson!"
"Schuyler Tate. Call me Sky," said Sky a little stiffly, also shaking her hand.
"I'll leave the three of you to get to know each other better," said Cruger, still looking amused as he turned and left. As soon as he was gone, the three looked at each other, all seeming to be lost for words at once.
"Come in for a minute," Sydney finally offered, smiling slightly and turning to go into her room, and Sky and Bridge followed, both unable to resist staring at the contents of it. Sky felt as though he were overdosing on pink- her curtains, bedspread, slippers, bathrobe, even her computer and mouse were all colored pink. In addition, she had a variety of stuffed animals on her bed, and her shelves contained several small trophies, plaques and medals. "Fencing," Sydney grinned. "I was world fencing champion for the past three years. And a few awards for modeling, too. You guys can sit down if you want," she offered, indicating the two S.P.D.-issue chairs sitting behind the second, empty computer desk. "I don't have a roommate- I'm paying extra for a private room- so no worries about invading somebody else's space." They did so, and there was a long, awkward silence before Sydney said abruptly, "Yes, Bridge, you can have my autograph if you want. Free of charge, since we're teammates now. And yes, Sky, I can tell that you're already looking down on me because I'm a girl, specifically because I'm the famous rich girl, and because I'm the new member of your team." She smirked when Sky's jaw dropped. "I've dealt with plenty of different kinds of people in my lifetime. I'm pretty good at telling what they're thinking by their first reaction to me." Sky and Bridge stared at each other, before Bridge laughed aloud.
"I appreciate it- but actually, my mama would like an autograph more than I would. She LOVES YOU," he said. Sky swallowed hard, knowing how rude he was being, and said,
"...I'm sorry. It's wrong of me to act like this when I've just met you, Miss Drew."
"It's Syd," she corrected him. "And believe me, you're not the first person here to act like that and I doubt you'll be the last. I'll just have to prove myself to you, won't I?" Sky nodded agreement, though on the inside he was still doubtful. Syd was so small she looked as though a strong wind would blow her over... and yet, he reminded himself, she'd still made it through D-Squad to be promoted. That had to mean she was just as good as they were.
Perhaps even better.
* * *
"So... I've been replaced by a tiny blonde girl?" Sky heard Dru chuckle on the other end of the line. "Can she kick butt, at least?"
"I'll find that out tomorrow," said Sky, who lay on his bed, staring at a silver photo frame containing a picture of himself and his father, his cell phone held in place over his right ear with his shoulder. "We're having our first training exercise on the simulator together first thing in the morning."
"And if I know you, you've already decided that you're not going to accept her no matter how well she does." Dru's tone held no indication of joking or sarcasm now; Sky could picture his best friend's frown.
"Hey, that's unfair," said Sky defensively. "She's replacing you. I just want to make sure she measures up, that's all."
"And you're being unfair, too," Dru pointed out. "She's not 'replacing' me in your life, she's taking my place on your squad. There's a difference." Sky sighed loudly. "Give her a chance, alright? She might surprise you." Sky grumbled under his breath. "I can tell I'm right and you think I have a point because you're mad now."
"... shut up, Dru."
"Shut up, Dru," his friend mocked. "Sky, I'm serious. You can't go through the rest of your life and career at S.P.D. being miserable that I'm gone and rejecting everyone else you work with, or it will start to make you look bad. Don't decide that you don't like somebody before you even see them in action, or else you're never going to find a suitable member of your squad. Besides, you put up with Bridge just fine, right?"
"I know, I know. ... I still miss you."
"I miss you, too." A pause. "Well, sorry, Sky, but I have to jet. Got a meeting to go to, then training... all that fun stuff. Be well, my friend."
"You, too. See you later, Dru." Sky hung up, tossed his phone aside, and stared up at the ceiling, the conversation leaving him with something to think about.
* * *
Sky and Bridge arrived early at the simulator the next morning to find Syd and Dr. Kat Manx, S.P.D.'s chief science officer, waiting for them. Syd smiled at them; Bridge returned it fully, Sky with some lingering reluctance. Despite Dru's warning, he decided he still wanted to see Syd in action before he made a judgment about her either way.
"Target practice today, guys," Kat said, pressing a few buttons on the tablet PC she carried. "We'll make it the mountain simulation, level 4, twenty-minute cycles; targets to shoot down, lasers that are shooting at you, you know the drill. If you do well the first three cycles, we'll add a low-level monster simulation in."
"Yes," Bridge hissed, pumping a fist, and Syd looked excited, too. Sky actually found himself looking forward to it, as well; fighting against a monster, even a computer-simulated one, meant that their training was progressing well and they were considered ready to take on tougher and tougher tasks.
"Good luck," Kat told them as they stepped inside the simulator room-
-and all at once, the blank blue walls were replaced with craggy mountain terrain. Sky nodded to Bridge, who took off his right glove at once, waving his arm back and forth.
"What're you doing, Bridge?" Syd asked curiously.
"Just watch," said Sky cockily.
"3, 6, 10, then return from 7 and 2," said Bridge, and Sky sprang into action, rolling forward and drawing his blaster, shooting down the three targets that appeared, then immediately stood up, his right arm glowing with blue energy before he waved it in a circle, making a force field that deflected incoming laser fire from two other directions.
"Perfect," he said, and he and Bridge high-fived each other.
"... You guys have powers?" Syd asked slowly.
"Yeah. Didn't Cruger tell you?" Bridge wanted to know.
"No," said Syd. "He didn't." Then, before Sky and Bridge could reply, she herself took the lead.
"Wait, Syd, let me-" Bridge began, but she held up her hand.
"Just watch," she mocked Sky, then turned her attention back to the simulation. Taking a running start, she took out her own blaster and hit the four targets that came up dead center. Sky and Bridge watched, then they were surprised when Syd suddenly reached to her belt, pulling something from the straps on her belt. "Fist of Iron!" she cried out- and much to their astonishment, her whole fist turned into iron. She swung it in a wide arc, her body seeming to move and swing with it to compensate for the extra weight at the end of her arm, knocking aside more return fire, and even managing to destroy one of the lasers.
"...Now are you going to admit that you might have been wrong about her?" Bridge murmured in Sky's ear.
* * *
"... and I have to wear these to control them," Bridge finished, indicating the ever-present leather gloves on his hands. "I can take them off to shower and stuff, but otherwise I keep 'em on when I'm not using them."
"That's got to be hard," Syd said in a low voice.
"I'm used to it," Bridge said with his usual easy smile. It was now lunchtime, and Syd, Bridge and Sky sat together, talking about themselves and explaining their strange genetic powers to one another. Sky had been floored to find a third person at S.P.D. who'd had them; it was unusual enough to find that Bridge had them, as he, Sky, had been told his own powers were very unusual for a human being to possess. "I've had these ever since I was born, so I've had years and years to learn how to use and control them."
"Sounds interesting," said Syd, then prodded Sky's arm. "You next, big guy." Sky gave her a glare at being called 'big guy', but she was unfazed.
"Well, you saw what I can do," he said, shrugging. "I make force fields with my mind. If I don't concentrate enough they're not very strong, but otherwise, I've never been hit hard enough for them to be broken or shattered." Syd nodded, then said,
"I can absorb stuff into my hands," she said. "That's why I keep my piece of iron and stuff close to hand. And before you ask, no, I've never tried absorbing food, I don't want to try, no, I really don't, and I've not found out what happens should my hand get destroyed, either." Sky, caught off guard, actually laughed. "Oh, he laughs?" she said to Bridge, winking at Sky when he glared at her.
"Yeah," said Bridge around a mouthful of sandwich. "It's a very rare sound, so don't get used to it." Sky snorted and looked down at his plate. "Also, don't tell him to lighten up, because he will not listen. You can try, but it's like trying to tell a river to flow in the opposite direction." Sky lightly punched his friend in the shoulder.
"I'll keep that in mind, then. ... You know, if you guys don't mind me asking, as long as we're talking about ourselves so openly... why did you come to S.P.D.?"
"Because my dad was the Red Ranger," said Sky at once, drawing himself up with pride. "And I want nothing more than to be Red, just like he was. He's my hero, and I want to make him proud of me." Syd looked impressed, then turned her head to Bridge.
"Part of it was so I could maybe get help learning to utilize my powers. But more than that... I wanted to find where I belong," he murmured, looking embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head. "I've been an outcast pretty much my entire life- I got bullied a lot in grade school, so I thought, well, here at S.P.D., we have telepathic aliens, I'll fit right in. And I'm glad I did come." Sky patted Bridge on the shoulder, and Syd looked sympathetic.
"I wanted to come here to fit in a little, too," she admitted. "I know, right, you guys are probably thinking- 'she's famous, she doesn't NEED to fit in'. And it's true I've got a lot of advantages- I have people who admire me, I have wealth, I have looks, I have some athletic skill. Now..." She leaned in, and the boys did, as well. "I'm going to tell you guys something I don't tell too many people. All my life, I've had things- but they've always been handed to me. I wanted to do something I couldn't buy. I wanted to earn my place in the world through hard work for once. You know?"
"Yeah," said Bridge, nodding slowly.
When the three went back to training that afternoon, even though they got clobbered by the first-level monster simulator, Sky felt much more at ease with the prospect of Sydney Drew being on their team than he had that morning.
(Crossposted to a_to_z_prompts)
Author: Mary (shurimon & shurifanstuffs on Livejournal)
Fandom: Power Rangers S.P.D.
Letter: R for Rich
Rating: G
Summary: A pre-series fic. After Dru's departure, Sky and Bridge meet their new teammate, Sydney Drew, and Sky learns that first impressions aren't always the right ones.
Disclaimer/Author's Notes/Spoiler Warning: Takes place in the same universe as Tested, Compatability and Grief. I don't own the characters and make no claim to. Syd's reasoning for joining S.P.D. was information gleaned from Greg Aronowitz' Rangercast interview.
For KK because I luff her so. ♥ Happy birthday!
Sky and Bridge weren't sure what they were in for when they were called for a private audience with Commander Cruger.
Usually, as Sky kept reminding Bridge as they walked to his office, that meant one of two things: either they'd done something very good and were about to get praised or even promoted, or they'd done something very bad and were about to be sent to clean the fountains with a toothbrush.
Seeing as how they'd both moved up to C-Squad two weeks ago, they were guessing it was the latter, though neither could come up with anything they'd done to deserve a punishment, as much as they racked their brains.
"Ah... Tate and Carson." The two saluted him and stood at attention, Sky rather more stiffly than usual and both visibly nervous. Cruger must have noticed, because he gave them a smile and said, "Do not worry, neither of you are in trouble. I wanted to talk to you about and introduce you to a new member who is going to be joining your squad shortly." Sky didn't miss the questioning glance Bridge shot him but chose to ignore it, keeping his eyes on the Commander. "Since Cadet Harrington has departed from the academy-" Sky's stance faltered just slightly- "I've decided to promote another person to C-Squad. Whether or not you can get along will be a test of your ability to adapt to change and work together as a team. Any questions?"
"Ah, ah, just one, sir," Bridge said, raising his hand and stepping forward, and Sky had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Who is it?"
"Her name is Sydney Drew," said the Commander, "and she-"
"Sydney Drew?" Bridge repeated.
"She?" Sky asked at the same time, both shocked. Cruger frowned at their reactions.
"Do you have a problem with this, cadets?"
"No," Sky said quickly, though for some reason feeling a little uneasy about his choice. He knew that Dru's empty spot on their team had to be filled eventually, but that didn't make him feel any better about the prospect.
"I don't either, sir, I'm just wondering... Sydney Drew? As in THE Sydney Drew? As in that model and singer and fencer? My mama LOVES her! And you mean to tell me she's here, like here at S.P.D. and has been training and we never notice- OW," Bridge cried, giving Sky a sour, hurt look when he stepped on his foot. Cruger waited patiently until they'd both quieted down and straightened up again before answering.
"Yes, Cadet Carson, the Sydney Drew," he said, sounding amused for some reason. "However, her celebrity status does NOT mean that she has been treated any differently than either of you have been here at S.P.D. I expect the two of you to treat her equally, as well- that goes both for giving her special treatment AND being too hard on her for... other reasons. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir," Bridge and Sky chorused, saluting him. He then indicated that they should follow him out of the office, and they did so. Bridge looked ready to leap up and down with excitement, ignoring the glares Sky kept giving him in the hopes of reminding him to conduct himself better in their Commander's presence. Sky himself was unimpressed with the idea of a practical celebrity being on their squad; he just hoped that she would be able to keep up with them as well as Dru had been able to. They stood back when Cruger led them to the door of a dorm room right next to their own new and more spacious quarters and knocked.
"Cadet Drew, I'm here to introduce you to your new teammates," he said.
"Just a moment, sir!" a female voice answered. The door slid open, and Sydney Drew stepped out. "Hi," she said, smiling at them. Sky couldn't help his jaw dropping a little when he got a good look at her. She was a good foot or so shorter than he, with long curly blonde hair. She wore a C-Squad uniform, but it seemed oddly out-of-place on her; indeed, a glance inside her dorm room showed that she had a blown-up magazine cover with a photo of herself in a beautiful dress and heels on it on display, and a room full of material possessions of every sort, indicating that she had money and plenty of it. He also noticed with interest that, for some reason, her uniform had straps sewn onto it holding what looked like small bars of iron and gold and a vial containing a piece of stone in place. He then glanced over at Bridge and had to once more hold himself back from rolling his eyes and even groaning this time, as his friend was obviously a little starstruck.
"Miss Drew, these are your teammates," Cruger said, stepping back and allowing her to get a good look at Sky and Bridge.
"I'm Bridge!" said Bridge, practically bouncing forward to shake her hand. "Bridge Carson!"
"Schuyler Tate. Call me Sky," said Sky a little stiffly, also shaking her hand.
"I'll leave the three of you to get to know each other better," said Cruger, still looking amused as he turned and left. As soon as he was gone, the three looked at each other, all seeming to be lost for words at once.
"Come in for a minute," Sydney finally offered, smiling slightly and turning to go into her room, and Sky and Bridge followed, both unable to resist staring at the contents of it. Sky felt as though he were overdosing on pink- her curtains, bedspread, slippers, bathrobe, even her computer and mouse were all colored pink. In addition, she had a variety of stuffed animals on her bed, and her shelves contained several small trophies, plaques and medals. "Fencing," Sydney grinned. "I was world fencing champion for the past three years. And a few awards for modeling, too. You guys can sit down if you want," she offered, indicating the two S.P.D.-issue chairs sitting behind the second, empty computer desk. "I don't have a roommate- I'm paying extra for a private room- so no worries about invading somebody else's space." They did so, and there was a long, awkward silence before Sydney said abruptly, "Yes, Bridge, you can have my autograph if you want. Free of charge, since we're teammates now. And yes, Sky, I can tell that you're already looking down on me because I'm a girl, specifically because I'm the famous rich girl, and because I'm the new member of your team." She smirked when Sky's jaw dropped. "I've dealt with plenty of different kinds of people in my lifetime. I'm pretty good at telling what they're thinking by their first reaction to me." Sky and Bridge stared at each other, before Bridge laughed aloud.
"I appreciate it- but actually, my mama would like an autograph more than I would. She LOVES YOU," he said. Sky swallowed hard, knowing how rude he was being, and said,
"...I'm sorry. It's wrong of me to act like this when I've just met you, Miss Drew."
"It's Syd," she corrected him. "And believe me, you're not the first person here to act like that and I doubt you'll be the last. I'll just have to prove myself to you, won't I?" Sky nodded agreement, though on the inside he was still doubtful. Syd was so small she looked as though a strong wind would blow her over... and yet, he reminded himself, she'd still made it through D-Squad to be promoted. That had to mean she was just as good as they were.
Perhaps even better.
* * *
"So... I've been replaced by a tiny blonde girl?" Sky heard Dru chuckle on the other end of the line. "Can she kick butt, at least?"
"I'll find that out tomorrow," said Sky, who lay on his bed, staring at a silver photo frame containing a picture of himself and his father, his cell phone held in place over his right ear with his shoulder. "We're having our first training exercise on the simulator together first thing in the morning."
"And if I know you, you've already decided that you're not going to accept her no matter how well she does." Dru's tone held no indication of joking or sarcasm now; Sky could picture his best friend's frown.
"Hey, that's unfair," said Sky defensively. "She's replacing you. I just want to make sure she measures up, that's all."
"And you're being unfair, too," Dru pointed out. "She's not 'replacing' me in your life, she's taking my place on your squad. There's a difference." Sky sighed loudly. "Give her a chance, alright? She might surprise you." Sky grumbled under his breath. "I can tell I'm right and you think I have a point because you're mad now."
"... shut up, Dru."
"Shut up, Dru," his friend mocked. "Sky, I'm serious. You can't go through the rest of your life and career at S.P.D. being miserable that I'm gone and rejecting everyone else you work with, or it will start to make you look bad. Don't decide that you don't like somebody before you even see them in action, or else you're never going to find a suitable member of your squad. Besides, you put up with Bridge just fine, right?"
"I know, I know. ... I still miss you."
"I miss you, too." A pause. "Well, sorry, Sky, but I have to jet. Got a meeting to go to, then training... all that fun stuff. Be well, my friend."
"You, too. See you later, Dru." Sky hung up, tossed his phone aside, and stared up at the ceiling, the conversation leaving him with something to think about.
* * *
Sky and Bridge arrived early at the simulator the next morning to find Syd and Dr. Kat Manx, S.P.D.'s chief science officer, waiting for them. Syd smiled at them; Bridge returned it fully, Sky with some lingering reluctance. Despite Dru's warning, he decided he still wanted to see Syd in action before he made a judgment about her either way.
"Target practice today, guys," Kat said, pressing a few buttons on the tablet PC she carried. "We'll make it the mountain simulation, level 4, twenty-minute cycles; targets to shoot down, lasers that are shooting at you, you know the drill. If you do well the first three cycles, we'll add a low-level monster simulation in."
"Yes," Bridge hissed, pumping a fist, and Syd looked excited, too. Sky actually found himself looking forward to it, as well; fighting against a monster, even a computer-simulated one, meant that their training was progressing well and they were considered ready to take on tougher and tougher tasks.
"Good luck," Kat told them as they stepped inside the simulator room-
-and all at once, the blank blue walls were replaced with craggy mountain terrain. Sky nodded to Bridge, who took off his right glove at once, waving his arm back and forth.
"What're you doing, Bridge?" Syd asked curiously.
"Just watch," said Sky cockily.
"3, 6, 10, then return from 7 and 2," said Bridge, and Sky sprang into action, rolling forward and drawing his blaster, shooting down the three targets that appeared, then immediately stood up, his right arm glowing with blue energy before he waved it in a circle, making a force field that deflected incoming laser fire from two other directions.
"Perfect," he said, and he and Bridge high-fived each other.
"... You guys have powers?" Syd asked slowly.
"Yeah. Didn't Cruger tell you?" Bridge wanted to know.
"No," said Syd. "He didn't." Then, before Sky and Bridge could reply, she herself took the lead.
"Wait, Syd, let me-" Bridge began, but she held up her hand.
"Just watch," she mocked Sky, then turned her attention back to the simulation. Taking a running start, she took out her own blaster and hit the four targets that came up dead center. Sky and Bridge watched, then they were surprised when Syd suddenly reached to her belt, pulling something from the straps on her belt. "Fist of Iron!" she cried out- and much to their astonishment, her whole fist turned into iron. She swung it in a wide arc, her body seeming to move and swing with it to compensate for the extra weight at the end of her arm, knocking aside more return fire, and even managing to destroy one of the lasers.
"...Now are you going to admit that you might have been wrong about her?" Bridge murmured in Sky's ear.
* * *
"... and I have to wear these to control them," Bridge finished, indicating the ever-present leather gloves on his hands. "I can take them off to shower and stuff, but otherwise I keep 'em on when I'm not using them."
"That's got to be hard," Syd said in a low voice.
"I'm used to it," Bridge said with his usual easy smile. It was now lunchtime, and Syd, Bridge and Sky sat together, talking about themselves and explaining their strange genetic powers to one another. Sky had been floored to find a third person at S.P.D. who'd had them; it was unusual enough to find that Bridge had them, as he, Sky, had been told his own powers were very unusual for a human being to possess. "I've had these ever since I was born, so I've had years and years to learn how to use and control them."
"Sounds interesting," said Syd, then prodded Sky's arm. "You next, big guy." Sky gave her a glare at being called 'big guy', but she was unfazed.
"Well, you saw what I can do," he said, shrugging. "I make force fields with my mind. If I don't concentrate enough they're not very strong, but otherwise, I've never been hit hard enough for them to be broken or shattered." Syd nodded, then said,
"I can absorb stuff into my hands," she said. "That's why I keep my piece of iron and stuff close to hand. And before you ask, no, I've never tried absorbing food, I don't want to try, no, I really don't, and I've not found out what happens should my hand get destroyed, either." Sky, caught off guard, actually laughed. "Oh, he laughs?" she said to Bridge, winking at Sky when he glared at her.
"Yeah," said Bridge around a mouthful of sandwich. "It's a very rare sound, so don't get used to it." Sky snorted and looked down at his plate. "Also, don't tell him to lighten up, because he will not listen. You can try, but it's like trying to tell a river to flow in the opposite direction." Sky lightly punched his friend in the shoulder.
"I'll keep that in mind, then. ... You know, if you guys don't mind me asking, as long as we're talking about ourselves so openly... why did you come to S.P.D.?"
"Because my dad was the Red Ranger," said Sky at once, drawing himself up with pride. "And I want nothing more than to be Red, just like he was. He's my hero, and I want to make him proud of me." Syd looked impressed, then turned her head to Bridge.
"Part of it was so I could maybe get help learning to utilize my powers. But more than that... I wanted to find where I belong," he murmured, looking embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head. "I've been an outcast pretty much my entire life- I got bullied a lot in grade school, so I thought, well, here at S.P.D., we have telepathic aliens, I'll fit right in. And I'm glad I did come." Sky patted Bridge on the shoulder, and Syd looked sympathetic.
"I wanted to come here to fit in a little, too," she admitted. "I know, right, you guys are probably thinking- 'she's famous, she doesn't NEED to fit in'. And it's true I've got a lot of advantages- I have people who admire me, I have wealth, I have looks, I have some athletic skill. Now..." She leaned in, and the boys did, as well. "I'm going to tell you guys something I don't tell too many people. All my life, I've had things- but they've always been handed to me. I wanted to do something I couldn't buy. I wanted to earn my place in the world through hard work for once. You know?"
"Yeah," said Bridge, nodding slowly.
When the three went back to training that afternoon, even though they got clobbered by the first-level monster simulator, Sky felt much more at ease with the prospect of Sydney Drew being on their team than he had that morning.
(Crossposted to a_to_z_prompts)