Chapter 3: Altering colours

As the former blue mystic force ranger walked away, Bridge removed the glove from his right hand and made a circular movement with it behind the her back. The colours swirled and interlaced.

"Oh, that went well," Z said sarcastically, turning in her chair by the table behind Bridge where she and Sydney had been listening to his conversation with Madison while pretending to be occupied discussing the latest fashion over milkshakes. "Now she's not freaked out at all."

"Don't be like that," Syd said. "Bridge did the best he could. We all knew it was not very likely she would believe us the first time. We just have to try again."

"Yeah, and maybe let me do the talking this." Z snorted and turned to Bridge. "Did you really have to bring up you being red, blue and green ranger? Now she's gonna think you're the rainbow ranger, or something."

Bridge ignored the irony coming from Z and instead pondered over what a certain blend of colours trailing in the far edges of Madison's aura meant. It couldn't be possible, could it?

"We had a vote and you lost, Z. Get over it," Sydney snarled. "Besides, if Bridge is a rainbow ranger than it should be calming for Madison since rainbows consists of water. It says here that Madison always found great consolation being near her element."

Sydney tapped on the biography she had been hiding underneath the table. Bridge wasn't sure Sydney devotion to the tales of the Mermaid was healthy but it had been helpful so far. On the ride to this decade, Sydney had become an expert on the mystic force era, the city of Briarwood and of course everything known about the Mermaid. It was amazing how much the mystic force team had gone through, but then they had been stuck in another universe where time went by much faster than in their own. In just one night, they had experienced a whole lifetime. The long night, as some called it, the start of the Imperial War that had led to Nick's death . . .

Strange, Bridge didn't see any of those events unfolding in Madison's aura. He didn't see grief in her future even though he knew grief had taken her life. In fact, he didn't see an early death in her future either. Had Sentinel Baska's kidnapping of Nick already impacted the future that much? The colours were so bright, though. Like engraved in stone, not the foggy, half see-through tone of a destiny that recently changed course.

Behind him, Z rolled her eyes.

"At least tell me you got a good reading out of her? I saw you waving your hand."

"I did," Bridge admitted, "but I don't understand some of it. You were right, Syd, about her powers. They have started to return. And she is still our best option to find Sky, although I don't think the bond has started to form yet."

"But? I'm sensing a but here," Syd added quickly when Z gave her a quizzical look.

Bridge shook his head and turned to his teammates as the colours Madison had left behind her finally dissolved.

"I don't understand it. I can't see anything of what that biography says in her future."

Z frowned.

"You mean the future has changed?"

Bridge shook his head. "No, that's not it. It's like it wasn't even there to begin with."

Z and Syd exchanged puzzled looks and then looked down on the biography.

"But it's all here," Syd said. "This was written by her own sister."

"I know, I know. That's why I don't get it."

They sat quiet for a while. Around them the citizens of Briarwood walked by buzzing about their bargains with no clue their future was in danger. Bridge envied them. Life had been so much easier if he had been born without his powers. Then he would have been one of them instead of being a ranger fighting to save the universe.

"What do we do next?" Z asked at last. Her gaze locked on him with the same hope for guidance as she had used to look at Sky with, and Jack before that. The morpher in Bridge's jeans pocket suddenly weighted a tone.

He was the red ranger now. The decision rested on his shoulders now.

"I think . . ." he said after some hesitation, "that we should acquaint ourselves with the rest of the team. Syd, how far is it to Rock Porium from here?"