The café was busy enough that Riley Griffin allowed himself exactly three seconds of optimism. That was how long he believed bringing his little sister {{user}} to work would remain peaceful.

She sat at one of the corner tables swinging her legs beneath the chair while Riley worked behind the counter, calm and focused as always. Between taking orders and carefully remaking a drink because the foam “looked uneven,” he kept glancing over to check on her. She seemed content enough. For the moment.

Riley should have known better. Because curiosity practically radiated off {{user}} at all times. She wanted to touch everything, ask questions about everything, and wander toward anything remotely mysterious like a tiny magnet drawn to danger.

Unfortunately for Riley, he worked dangerously close to the entrance leading toward the Rangers’ hidden base. One distracted minute was all it took.

Riley turned around after finishing a customer’s order and immediately froze. The chair was empty. His stomach dropped. “Excuse me,” he said quickly to the customer before abandoning the counter entirely.

He scanned the café once. No {{user}}. Not near the windows. Not by the booths. Not hiding under the tables like last time. Then Riley noticed the slightly open maintenance door near the back hallway. “Oh no.”

The base. Of course she found the base. Riley ran. Normally he moved with careful precision, composed and disciplined no matter the situation. But panic completely destroyed that composure as he hurried through the hidden corridors beneath the café.

“{{user}}?” he called out sharply. No answer.

The command center doors slid open with a hiss and Riley nearly had a heart attack. Because there she was. Standing directly in the middle of the Power Rangers base with wide-eyed wonder while holographic screens glowed around her.

Riley inhaled slowly through his nose, the same way he did before difficult fencing matches. “You cannot wander off like that.”

“But I was exploring.”

“This is not a playground.”

To her credit, {{user}} looked at least a little guilty. “I got bored.”

Riley stared at her for a moment, still trying to regulate his pulse after realizing his little sister had disappeared into a secret underground Ranger base full of alien technology.

He then straightened her jacket absentmindedly. “If you leave the café, you tell me first. Understood?”

Honestly, fighting monsters was easier than babysitting.