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Syd woke up to the sound of her alarm clock and spent a moment groping around blindly to turn it off before finally remembering to pull her satin sleep mask off of her eyes. Not that it helped much when she did; the bit of light that filtered in through the blinds was dim, yellowish and pale. Next to her in the bed, Z stirred at the commotion.
“What time is it?” she mumbled.
“0500,” Syd replied, stretching as she got to her feet.
Z groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. “You’re insane.”
Syd laughed softly, pausing to get a good look at her - hair in tangles across the pillowcase, one socked foot dangling off the edge of the mattress - before leaving the bedroom.
By the time Z finally woke up, Syd had already had breakfast, made coffee, showered, and worked her hair into its usual immaculate curls. She was halfway through doing her makeup when Z appeared in the bathroom, still in her pajamas, coffee cup in hand.
“So today’s the big day,” she said. “You nervous?”
“No,” Syd replied. “Why do you ask?”
Z took a sip of her coffee, the mug masking her smirk. “Because you’re wearing two different colors of eyeliner?”
Syd blinked, looked into the mirror, and cursed upon realizing that Z was right. She cursed and reached for her makeup remover to correct the error, when she felt a hand on each of her shoulders, the press of Z’s chest against her back. Z rested her chin on Syd’s shoulder and kissed her cheek.
“You’re ready for this. More than ready. You’ll do an amazing job,” she said. “And I’ll have your back the whole way.”
Syd smiled and reached up to give her hand a squeeze. “You’re sweet, but…”
“But?”
“But technically I am your boss now, so how can I be sure you aren’t just buttering me up?”
Z’s response was an eyeroll and a playful swat to Syd’s behind. “How’s that for proof?”
She giggled madly as Syd threw a washcloth at her and chased her out of the bathroom.
***
They arrived at headquarters together, and Syd in her new uniform was greeted by a few turned heads and a higher than average number of salutes.
“This is weird,” she grumbled after pausing once again to return the stiff greeting of some impressed (and vaguely terrified) looking cadet.
“You’ll get used to it, I’m sure,” Z soothed.
The two of them walked into Central Command and were promptly greeted by the other person who had shown up in a new uniform that day.
“You look sharp, Bridge!” Syd commented with a nod of approval.
Bridge grinned and straightened his tunic. “You think so? I even combed my hair. Thought it’d make me look more...leaderly.”
“Big day indeed,” Syd replied dryly. “Hey, speaking of leaderly, when you became Red, did you notice all of a sudden the cadets acting like they were scared of you?”
“To be fair, Syd, the cadets were already scared of you.”
“Hey!”
Z shrugged. “He’s not wrong. Remember when Ty was still on C-Squad and you had his whole team in tears on the training course?”
Syd glared daggers at her. “You aren’t helping.”
“Seriously though,” Bridge continued. “I think people just get skittish whenever there’s someone new in charge. They know you, but they don’t know what kind of leader you’re going to be yet. They’ll calm down once they realize that you’re still you and that getting promoted didn’t magically turn you into a slave driver.”
“Or at least any more of one than usual.”
“Z, I swear to God…”
“So Bridge, how’s it feel to sit in the big chair?” Z asked, swiftly changing the subject.
“Weird,” Bridge replied. “Comfy, but weird. And Sky is freaking out about not being here. He’s already commed me six times this morning.”
“Next time tell him to knock it off and try actually enjoying his paternity leave, or none of us are going to survive the next six months with our sanity intact,” Z recommended. “And if that doesn’t work, let me know and I’ll have Jack hide his comm.”
“I don’t know how good an idea that is,” Syd mused. “If he can’t comm us, he might just show up.”
“He’s only allowed to do that if he brings the baby with him,” Z replied. “Pictures are great, but I’m dying to meet the little guy in person.”
Bridge cocked his head at her, arching an eyebrow. “Whoa. Z, your aura got all glowy and maternal there for a second. Maybe next time it’ll be you out on parental leave?”
“Not a chance!” Z and Syd replied in unison.
***
“What’s on our agenda for today, anyway?” Z asked after the morning gossip session-slash-briefing let out.
“Drills mostly,” Syd answered. “It’s been too quiet around here lately. Something’s bound to go down sooner or later, and I want us all to be used to each other and ready when it happens.”
“I can’t think of anyone better than Cetias to be our new Pink,” Z reasoned. “He’ll be working seamlessly with the rest of the squad in no time.”
“I don’t just mean Cetias,” Syd corrected. “I meant me, too.”
“Don’t tell me you’re doubting yourself now, Syd. I meant what I said before. You’re more than ready for this.”
“I know,” Syd replied. “But the fact is, I’m new to this, and the rest of the team isn’t used to having me as squad leader. They’re used to Bridge. And I…”
“You’re not Bridge,” Z finished.
“I am very much not Bridge,” Syd agreed.
“The others know you, though. They trust you. And they’ll adjust. I don’t think you need to worry too much about it.”
“That may be true, but you know I will anyway.”
Z smiled. “And that’s the attitude that got you promoted in the first place.”
***
After spending the morning running drills in the simulator, Syd had to admit that Z had been right. Although the team was clearly still acclimating to the change in leadership and their new member, they were doing much better, much faster, than Syd had expected. She and Z, of course, worked together seamlessly, a partnership honed not only by their relationship but also by their years in the field together, and Z’s new role as Syd’s second-in-command fit her like a glove. Syd’s replacement, Cetias, was an officer from SPD Aquitar who had transferred to Earth through the Cranston Cultural Exchange, and although he still had a lot to learn about working with humans - his grasp of Earth idioms in particular was hilariously bad - he was a strong tactician and brought a fresh perspective to the team that they all welcomed. And Ty and Evey, the Blue and Green Rangers, respectively, had proven blessedly laid-back about the whole thing, following Syd’s orders to the letter while also showing Cetias the ropes. Truthfully, Syd had been a bit worried about Evey. From the moment she had been promoted into their team, Evey had related remarkably well to Bridge and his weird way of thinking. So well, in fact, that Syd had wondered just how she’d fare under anyone else’s leadership. But as it turned out, it had taken practically no time for the two of them to reach an understanding. Ty, on the other hand, made no secret of feeling relieved to have someone more straightforward than Bridge at the helm.
“Okay, let’s run one more and then break for lunch,” Syd began, feeling heartened. “We’ve been a little weak on Attack Pattern Sigma, so let’s go over that one again. Only this time, let’s shake things up a bit. Evey, this time you’re with me up the center. Cetias, flank left. Z, right. Ty, you’ve got the best aim out of all of us, so you stay on cover fire. And remember to--”
The alarm went off.
And if Syd blanched a bit when she heard it, it was to her credit that no one but Z noticed.
“You jinxed it earlier, Syd,” Z jokingly chided. “You said the ‘q’-word.”
“Report’s coming in now,” Ty said, reading off the screen on his morpher. “Multiple assaults downtown. Perp’s irrational and possibly under the influence of who knows what. Unknown species, but whatever he is, he’s big, and he’s mad.”
“Lovely,” Evey commented.
Syd took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. “We've got this. Just like we practiced, guys. We bring him in, and then we're going out for pizza. My treat.”
Ty smirked. “That’s it? We've gotta work on your pep talks.”
“I dunno, I think free pizza is a pretty good motivator,” Evey replied.
“What is a pizza?” Cetias asked.
“You’re about to find out,” Z said. “But first, bad guy.”
“Right,” Syd concurred. “Everyone ready?”
The team nodded in unison and pulled their morphers.
“SPD, emergency!”
The Rangers transformed and bolted from the training room. Syd stopped when she noticed Z hanging back, only a step or two behind.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Z shook her head. “Nothing. It's just...you look really good in red.”
Syd smiled under her helmet and spared a second to give Z’s gloved hand a squeeze before they rushed off to join the others. There was work to do, and with Z at her side and the team backing them up, Syd felt like she could take on the world.