Mega Morphing Power Rangers

[Flightless Man]

Episode 22.5: Harmony and Discord​

When he gets the last wire attached between Alpha and his new body, Noah can only hope the few hours early will not have a noticeable effect on the android. "Now I just need to hook this back up to the power." Noah grins in excitement at being so close to finishing.

"Just tell me when to flip the switch," Bulk waves them off, just glad the heavy lifting is finally over. "First time in years I actually want to go to one of these things." A glimmer of something conniving is in Farkas' eye for a brief moment, but it's gone when Noah blinks.

He gives Hayley a hesitant look and taps his fingers nervously against his legs. "You're sure you actually want to go with me?"

"I had my eye on you for a while," She admits with a playful smirk. "When you came in with confidence and pride flowing from you for the first time, I made my move before someone else did."

"When did you make a move?" Noah shakes his head as the ride the elevator down to the basement of the Command Center. "I'm pretty sure even I'm not dense enough to miss that."

Her laugh comes out light and airy like one of Tinkerbell's. "I made sure my intent was clear and monopolized all your time, love is just attraction and proximity after all."

"I thought you might have just been using me to get at Alpha's body," He admits with a heavy blush.

"It's really the flying car that has me sold," She remarks with a teasing smirk. Hearing you talk about the science with such passion and then help you actually accomplish what should have been impossible… yeah, you're a way bigger catch than you know.

Slidding behind the massive generator, Noah grabs the dangling cord and connects it to the Command Center's power. "Alright Farkas, everything's ready on our end." He doesn't get a response for a few seconds and almost speaks into his wrist to repeat himself before he finally does get a shocked answer.

"Why'd you call me that?" Bulk frowns and looks up to Zordon for guidance. "No one but Ma does anymore."

Knowing he needs to hear that people are in his corner, Noah honestly explains his reasoning. "Zach says you aren't putting on a mask anymore and I think the best way to acknowledge that… is to stop calling you by the nickname a bunch of punks gave you."

"...Oh" Farkas goes silent for again for a few moments, only to call out in excitement. "He's starting to move, better get back up here for the final look."


…


Four beams of light return to the Ziktor residence on the hill, revealing three humans and the android Alpha. "It's not quite the same as when I was Troy but that's okay, all those sensations really got distracting."

"Let's show everyone how you look and get ready," Hayley grabs Alpha by the hand and starts leading him into the house. "Dana is going to be your 'date'. It was the only way we could actually make her come tonight, so make sure you compliment her dress and pay attention to her when she talks."

They guide the android into the living room, where everyone else has already gotten ready and is waiting with varying degrees of patience. Jake's expression changes from relief to a wince when he sees Alpha. Now how do I say this nicely?

"Did you have a stroke or something?" Orion blurts out for him, saving Jake from being the one to say something dumb. "Your face looks kind of… off?" He points towards his own mouth and traces how Alpha's left cheek is drooping. "The left eye is kind of looking off to the side and the eyebrow is sagging."

"It was my first try making an android look like a life like person," Noah gets a little defensive on Alpha's behalf.

Kicking at the blunt teens shin, Dana doesn't seem to mind. "I think he looks great, better than some I've seen anyway." She leads Alpha off to get ready.

"You guys better head down now, the Radbug will probably still beat you all." Noah chuckles smugly at his finally finished flying car.

"We'll take Emma," Declares an actually eager Gia. "Orion you can take the rest of the guys and we'll meet you at the school."


…


"Wasn't expecting any Guardians to be on campus," She growls as soon as she exits the truck, at the six pairs of Silver Guardians doing sweeps of the parking lot.

One of the other new kids Jordan gets out of his mom's van with an explanation and a very shy smile. "After the whole pop quiz monster thing... the parents insisted on a visible source of protection."

"But it was the Power Rangers who saved everyone, not these guys." She scowls at the nearest Guardians, one of whom happens to be Mike Corbett.

"You still on that train?" He recognizes her from the mall, even with her new hairstyle. "Haven't you heard what the did to Anton Mercer's house in broad daylight?" He snorts at the kids who raise issue with his words and continues uncaring. "Makes sense why they let that menace the green one join up, they're all rotten to the core and finally showing it."

Not backing down, Gia gets right in Mike's face and hisses. "And what about the people rescued from the moon, the ones who are still locked up in your base?"

"Baseless accusations," He growls back in denial, but a bead of sweat begins to trickle down his brow.

"Well when you actually stop a monster, or the Rangers actually go after someone not working for you… maybe I'll be willing to listen to such a 'baseless' joke." Gia makes sure to place extra emphasis on his own word in her retort.

Mike goes red, but his partner manages to calm him down and finish the sweep of the school. "Ignore her Corbett, she has no idea how soon things are going to change."

"Nice job keeping a low profile," Kicking Gia in the heel, Emma hisses with crossed arms and gives Jake instructions. "Can you go get us some drinks, I need to talk with your girlfriend about her attitude."

"Uh..." His eyes dart between them awkwardly until Gia concedes with a nod.

"Just go," she waves him inside. "Otherwise she'll be watching me all night with those judgemental eyes of hers."

When he finally does go inside with a half dozen backwards glances, Emma gives her best friend the riot act. "You came up with the whole throw them off our trail plan, so you could at least not break character the first time you see a Guardian."

"He just gets under my skin and it makes me want to break his nose."Admits Gia with a sigh. "Sorry, I'll play nice for the rest of night."

"Good." Emma glares at the redhead who looks rather awkward in a yellow strapless dress." because you and Jake may have been running of on all these little dates and Noah has that whole thing with Hayley..." She trails off to take a deep breath.

"But I've had a crappy love life for a few years now and when Eugene finally goes back to being a nice guy… he goes on a journey of self discovery around the world and hasn't even sent a letter!" Jabbing a stern finger under Gia's nose, Emma is finally releasing all her pent up frustration. "I need this night to be good, Troy and Dana definitly do, and this is Alpha's first day out in his new body."

Watching Emma deflate after her tirade is over, Gia quirks a single eyebrow and smiles. "Impressive and about time."

"What?" Her anger spent, now Emma can only feel confusion at that remark.

"If you can't stand up to me who will support you in anything you ever do, how will you ever be ready for the rest of the jerks?" Gia smiles and takes her confused friend's hand. "If Eugene couldn't handle me, no way he could last through the hard parts with you." She shrugs at this. "Took him a while, but he finally did get his head back on straight."

This makes Emma giggle in realization. "So that's why you're spending so much time with Jake, it's not just all making out when we're all gone?"

"I like that he wants me to be myself, all the other guys just tell me I need to smile more." Explains Gia with a shrug. "Jake's whole personality is wrapped up in not being his dad, which is a good thing. But when he forgets and just lets go… that's when I really have a great time with him."

"You really do like him, don't you?"

Gia nods slowly and stops before the duo enters the noisy gym. "He doesn't just put up with my flaws, he actually seems to like them. I didn't think I'd be able to trust someone like this for a long time, but..."

"Fighting for our lives has really proven we can trust all three of them." Agrees Emma warmly, before teasing her friend with a smirk. "Didn't think I'd ever see you in a dress."

"You've implied I'm going to have a really good night… as long as he keeps up this newfound confidence that is." Smirking back, Gia shares a laugh with her oldest friend. "Figured I should give him some incentive to do so." Besides, I actually like it when he looks.

"Well go have fun, but make sure you two are ready when Bulk gives the signal." Emma shoves her inside and waits for Orion's carload to arrive. I can't believe it was all his idea, I guess he's even working his way up to being trustworthy.

She grins back with excitement. "We get to screw with everyone and do something nice for Troy, no way we're missing out on Bulk's first good idea."

Emma watches her strut towards Jake, the crowd parting before her aura of confidence and checks who's already here. The sight of a hard rocking Mr Burley makes her laugh, while Angela slow dancing by the far wall with Zach is something she never expected to see.

She gets so caught up in the people watching, Emma doesn't hear her friends calling out from behind her. It takes an over excited Al Pha pretending to be one of her cousins for the night, to startle Emma and alert her to the fact that Noah did indeed beat the slow driving Orion.

"Isn't this amazing Emma?" He gazes into the gym with awe filled eyes. "So many people having fun in the same place… it's like being in one of the plays Zordon and I watch on the viewing globe."

"And you say we're going to surprise Troy, how are we going to do that?" Eagerly he asks, desperate to squeeze all the fun possible into a single night.

"Farkas is going to to make a scene and you just need to play along," Noah explains, making a few people blink at the name used.

"Don't worry Al, I'll fill you in will I show you how to dance." Laughing genuinely for the first time in days, Dana pulls Alpha and his awkward body onto the dance floor.

Hayley joins the good humor and drags Noah out after them. "Don't wander too far, we saw my brother should only be another five or so minutes away."

When the others arrive with the unaware Troy, Farkas heads past her with a discreet nod. He heads straight for Jake and causes a very vocal scene.

"You all should know I've been a jerk for a few years now," He yells the second Noah's signal makes the music cut out for a minute. "Either firsthand or by word of everyone's mouth." Farkas gets a bunch of jeers, but he continues his speech.

"What you may not be aware of, is why I was such a bully." His hands are shaking at his side, but Farkas stills them and points to Emma. "I screwed Emma's life up pretty bad because I was being picked on. I thought her boyfriend would be a great henchman and got him to dump her."

Now hes getting full on boos, but this seems to only invigorate Farkas like a cleansing torrent. "You all know how incredible Emma is," The crowd confirms this with a unanimous cheer. "She's willing to forgive me, but Gia's more reasonable and is making me prove I actually want to change."

He grabs Jake's surprised hand and gives Emma the wink letting her know to move. "I need to make a public fool of myself, so here it is." He breaks into an exaggerated waltz with a smirking Jake, leading him right down the middle of a laughing crowd.

"I didn't say embarrass my boyfriend while doing it!" Gia pretends to complain and allows Emma to grab her own hand.

"Well lets give everyone else something to look at," Playing along, Emma leads Gia in the duo's own ridiculous tango.

Al and Noah break off for an impressive double robot, while Dana and Hayley stick with a more sedate two step. Orion and Nate are next to begin mashing the potato, which gives Troy and Jordan a chance to sneak a few slow dances in once the music resumes.

After a few songs, Farkas' plan is put on hold by the scowling vice principal. He waves on the band to resume the normal set and stomps out of the room.

At first the duo's music is only strangely melodic, but soon the entire gym finds itself caught in a trance. The woman singing shifts from a pleasant tune, to a tone that causes agony to all who hear.


Notes: Based on the votes, Season 2 is Mythical Spirits and Season 3 is Dino Ninjetti (Kakuranger suits, Abaranger helmets/suit pattern of white teeth and Dino-Ninja symbol on chest/zords). Tanya is so far SV's winner on season 2's new ranger.

Orange and Purple are coming in about 2 episodes(4-5 days), so if anyone wants the Zords to be something besides a Megalocerous(purple) and a Glyptodon(orange), tell me now.

 

[Flightless Man]

Episode 23: From Out of Nowhere

Can't detect Rita's presence on the moon anymore, so I need a back up plan. Baboo stomps through his lab and attaches the nodes to his head. The process of having his thoughts copied and transferred into the future robot is painful, but oh so necessary.


He endures the sensation of his brain being electrocuted and watches with a confidant smirk as the Blue Senturian's lights begin glowing. When the agony ends, Baboo jumps to his feet impatiently. He dashes to his double and runs a hand over the metal face.


"How do we feel?"


As the memories of Baboo integrate with the wiring, something unexpected happens. It may have been caused by a side effect of Vile's magic, Something done by Frax as a way to spite him, or even a a normal virus, but the Blue Senturian's eyes glow a dark red.


"I find myself in need of a way to identify myself," The bundle of memories finally speaks, his voice coming out as a stilted stutter as he grows used to having a speaker in his throat. "If you are to keep the name Baboo, I will become Venjix."


"I find it appropriate, since I created you to bring your vengeance on those who oppose us." Cackling madly, Baboo fails to see his corrupted double glare at him.


Venjix watches the display of the solar system and neglects to inform Baboo of the ship entering orbit. He expands his awareness into the newly constructed base and takes over. It's a shame you have Cyclopsis and the Borgs on a magically protected system, it seems I can't get rid of you quite just yet.


…




Jerked backwards by the sudden insistence of her legs, Emma struggles futile against her own body. All around the gym it's the same for everyone, no one is able to resist the call of the music.


Locking eyes with Gia is an effort at first. But as long as she lets her body dance, she can move her head just fine and tries to let everyone know. The music is too loud however and drowns out her voice... along with the screams.


One by one the teens form a pair of rings and start to dance like a maypole is in the middle of the crowd. Faster and faster the move and Emma doesn't know how long the students can keep this up.


The windows burst inwards and nearly thirty Tengu crash to the gym floor. The rise with menacing caws and move towards the helpless Silver Guardians first.


The music drops in volume so the bands singer can shriek at the crowd. "What do you three think this is?" The singer distorts into a red haired gnome with a massive hammer. "This isn't freestyle, now get back in line!" The Gnarly Gnome roars at the crowd, drawing Emma's gaze towards the ones who managed to resist.


Noah is surprisingly able to fight back against the Tengu using his new skills. Even blind, Zach is showing everyone why he is the kind of dance. Able to tell the people from the birds based on the sound of talons on hardwood, he moves like a hurricane. Less energetic than Zach, Jake cuts a path straight for the stage.


"How are you fighting?" Gia growls at the trio, getting a cocky smirk from the Zachman.


"Fighting is just dancing without music, just think of a kata as a routine and kick some ass!" He does exactly that and cracks the toe of his dress shoes into a Tengu's knee.


Agreeing with the guy no one will ever believe is actually blind after tonight, Jake makes his own witty remark. "Nothing's changed except the tune's not all in my head." He leaps onto the stage and yanks the wires from the control box.


The music cuts out and everyone is free to move, which sends the exhausted Guardians charging for the Tengu. Outnumbered but willing to defend the students anyway, the dozen Guardians show not all in the organization are corrupt.


Mike Corbett takes out two of the birds by himself, while his men work together to occupy half of the flock. He fails to see the pair coming at his unguarded back, his partner having been taken out by a single strike to the throat.


Emma and Gia lock eyes intent on saving the stubborn man. Gia grabs her wrist and spins and once she has enough momentum, Gia throws her friend through the air over the Tengu.


Slamming into the two right before the ambush on Corbett can be carried out, Emma drops them both to the ground in a boneless heap. Mike's eyes widen in surprise when he turns and realizes what he missed.


"Uh… thanks."


Emma just smiles and darts after the Tengu chasing some students. She joins with Noah and Zach, with the trio forming a circle of safety on the dance floor.


Unable to morph, Jake does little more than distract the Gnarly Gnome. Neither of his kicks did more than hurt his feet, which only makes the monster grow in confidence.


"I thought the rangers would have been here, it seems I only have children to toy with!" He connects with Jake and sends him sailing off the stage.


Troy and Gia rush to the groaning Jake, helping him to his feet before he gets mobbed by any of the birds. "A few of us need to get away and morph, do yo-"


Whatever he was going to ask is cut off by five unknown figures in color coded uniforms leaping through the already busted windows. The silence caused by the arrival of the Space Rangers doesn't last long, with them filling the gymnasium with the sounds of combat.


In only a matter of a few elegant seconds, the Tengu are defeated and only the band remains as a threat. Gnarly Gnome roars and his band melts into a single female monster, revealing the violet crystalline body of Dischordia.


"Space Rangers on Earth?" She screams and sends a wave of force from her mouth. "Impossible!" It slams into the rangers first and the students next, with another shock wave coming with the second scream.


"You'll find nothing is impossible for a Power Ranger." Andros rises with clenched fists that suddenly have his Spiral Drill Saber in them.


"Kruger, want to show the new kids how the Quadro Blaster handles a monster?" Kat Manx call out and summons her Satellite Stunner in one hand.


He gives a howl of agreement and summons his Lunar Lance. "Good idea Manx, can't let them think Andros does all the heavy lifting."


He leads the yellow, pink, and blue rangers in the combination and before Troy can warn them, fire at the Gnarly Gnome. The energy whistles through the air and strikes the monster, but to the Earth ranger's relief he is cleansed.


"Not our first battle with Vile's forces, he's been busy." Andros calls out to Dischordia and makes his drill glow red. "So let's make this quick and let the kids go back to having fun."


Andros dashes forward and drives his charged weapon into Dischordia's chest, sending an explosion of sparks into the air. Once he's sure the monster is indeed vanquished, he turns his back and shields the nude woman from the crowd.


"Didn't expect Earth to have an active defense force," Andros commends Mike Corbett and hands over the school's security to the remaining Silver Guardians.


Shaking the offered hand, Mike smirks back at Andros. "Didn't expect names to actually be coming from any of your mouths, easier to trust someone with one."


Troy ignores the comment and drags Gia from the gym. "It's your uncle right?" He hands Gia off to Emma and Jake, directing his words to the Ziktor twins instead. "And his team?"


"Yeah, so we should probably get home..." Orion confirms with a sigh. "Sorry for cutting the night short."


"Wasn't like the dance was actually going to continue anyway, so at least we still get something cool to do tonight." Grunts Farkas as he worms his way out of his suit jacket. "It's off, so I'm not going back in either way."


Jake hops into the drivers seat of his truck and whistles for attention. "We should beat the rush."


"As soon as they're done talking with the Guardians, everyone will be rushing out to watch that thing fly away." Agrees Gia as she climbs in beside him and points to the floating blue space ship above all the vehicles.


"Can we just park at my house and teleport?" Trembling with excitement, Noah fumbles with the keys to the Radbug. "I don't want to wait almost an hour for Orion."




…




The beams of color arrive at the Ziktor house before the Astro Megaship, but only barely. Andros is first one of the ship and calls out the crowd with a cheery smile.


"Based on the light show I'm assuming six of you are rangers and the rest are just in the know?" He ruffles Orion's hair and pulls his sister into a welcome hug. "Now Hayley mentioned her boy in blue, so does he need a talk with Uncle Andros?"


Laughing at the mostly teasing remark, Karone pushes Noah forward for an introduction. "No need Andy, this one's alright."


"Hello, I'm Ship." Noah blurts out when Andros takes his sweaty hand. "Can I see inside your noah?"


He goes silent when he realizes what he just said, but this just makes Andros chuckle. "Ask Manx. It may be my ship, but DECA is her baby."


"I'll give everyone a tour in the morning, I need food an a good six hours of shut eye." The brunette with feline features agrees with a tired groan. "Don't bug me until the sun is up at the earliest."


Nate misses most of the introductions. The second he hears Maya giggle, he swivels on the spot and falls in love.


"So what was the rush, you normally only come for Christmas?" Smiling at her brother, Karone knows something is up.


"It's Master Vile and his new unified front of evil." Andros runs a shaking hand through his two tone hair. "We need the Silver Ranger."


She frowns and shakes her head side to side fiercely. "But Zhane might still wake up."


"We both know he would have a long time ago." Her brother sighs tiredly, having already gone through this choice a hundred times on the way to Earth. "Zhane's body is never going to wake up, his body is trapped and I brought him here so you can say goodbye."


"Excuse me." Al interrupts and nearly backs out when everyone turns to stare. "If I understand this right… this Zhane is in need of a body?" His artificial tear ducts begin to pump clear fluid down his cheeks. At least I got one day as a person.


Andros is missing a few key facts, which leads to his initial denial of the offer. "I could never give him someone's body and even if it was somehow possible… Zhane would never accept that kind of sacrifice."


"I believe we have had a miscommunication," Holding up a hand to stall any further argument, Alpha decides it will be easier to show them. Activating the signal in his old body remotely, he summons the now empty shell.


"I am an android and until a few hours ago… this was me." He shrugs when his friends try and argue. "Noah here has fine tuned a body swapping machine and I am willing to wait another few months to dance again."




…




Rubbing at his flaking skin caused by so much exposure to the Morph-X fumes, Mercer grabs Andrew Hartford's cat. He extracts a single hair from a vial and drops it into the mixture. After the fizzing stops he fills a syringe and injects the feline.


His new boss Mesogog growls, reminding him to leave the animal as a means of… disposing of the bodies. Tossing the cat to the floor, Mercer watches it hiss and scamper away into the shadows.


"What else do the new... lab assistants need to bring?" Hisses the reptilian teen once known as Tommy. He motions the rhino boy over and slaps the newly named Rocksteady on the back. "Make sure he doesn't take much longer."


Mercer mutters, but all of the transformed can clearly hear the words. "You better be worth my rhino horn being ground up, I had… uses for it."


"Got it boss," Grunts the mutated Ben. "Meet you in the sub." He slams an elbow into the sickly looking scientist and starts gathering what remains in the lab.


Pointing with one of his razor sharp claws, he directs the girl once called Betty in her task. "Make yourself useful and set the charges." Striding past the girl mutated with a pack of bacon, he knows Beebop will follow his command.


Grabbing Angela's gurney, Mesogog hisses what he believes to be words of comfort. "Calm down my dear, we're just taking the emergency sub down to the Amazon."






Notes: TMNT Next Mutation has the canon crossover during In-Space, so I was always going to reveal Beebop and Rocksteady now. Of course it was one of the things I was going to surprise my ranger ideas discussing person with, but while I was 200 words into the chapter, they mention the two TMNT crossovers in a message. I kind of think they have magic powers now.

 

[Flightless Man]

Episode 23.5: Chase into Space​

Andros watches with disbelief as Noah flips the switch and his oldest friend's mind is transferred into the android. "I thought you said this was nearly instant?" He frowns when the new body fails to move.


"The transfer went through, I'm already getting more mental activity." Noah assures him as he looks over the monitors with a relieved grin. "It's just taking him a while to remember how to wake up."


Letting out a sigh of relief, Trip nods slowly. "I can feel him dreaming."


"He should wake up around familiar faces, not such a strange place." Andros gives an apologetic glance to the amused Zordon. "No offense meant of course, everything you are doing for us… I have no idea how I can ever pay you back for this."


"None taken, I am all to aware of how sterile this place feels." Reassuring the leader of the Space Rangers, Zordon is not done. "It is good you are finally here, I finished your Zords millennia ago and have been waiting for your team to come get them."


Trip freezes in his examination of Zhane's mind and blurts out his shock. "You mean we're finally getting our own?"


"The tales of your foresight, really failed in preparing me for this." Admits Andros, shock filling his voice when five key cards emerge from a console.


Alpha hands them to Andros, while Zordon gives his instructions to both team leaders. "One of my students was behind the settling of KO35, nearly twenty thousand years ago." He smiles at the memory and needs to shake his head to get back on track. "I told Dimitria I would have her Zords ready, but she never sent her rangers to claim them."


"You just have a whole extra set of Zords in this place, just ready to hand over to another team?" Shocked at the turn of events, Andros considers the holes in the story. His timeline is way off, because Dimitria the First only colonized our world ten thousand years ago.


"I had them constructed by Alpha Three on the moon of Saturn called Ganymede." With a concerned expression growing on his face, Zordon fills in some more of his history on Earth. "She must be so lonely."


Alpha perks up in surprise. "My sister is still online?" He turns anxiously to Andros and pleads with him.


"Don't worry Alpha, you gave Zhane a chance at life." smiling warmly at the robot, Andros reassures him quickly. "I owe you the most and if you want to see your sister… I'm not going to say no." Can't imagine never having met Karone, so I'm glad I already have a chance to start paying you back.


"The Mega Voyagers are sealed and will need all five original power coins to open the facility." Explains the ancient head with gravitas filling his tone. "The key cards will then give you access to your personal Zords."

Noah darts his eyes back and forth between the red rangers. "Are we going to space? In an actual ship this time!"




…




"I'm in charge while you're gone?" Farkas swallows his nerves and nods.


Patting him on the shoulder in apology, Troy confirms the instructions. "We can't leave Angel Grove defenseless, so we're counting on you and the Dragonzord."


"Zhane should be up soon, so he can back you up." Andros reminds the worried Green Ranger.


"I'm kind of surprised Nate isn't begging to come." Admits Emma with a chuckle. Snorting at that, Gia reminds her that he went off to sulk after his third rejection.


Jake grins at Farkas and jinxes everything. "It's basically a parcel pickup. We'll be back by dinner and everything will be fine."


"I guess cockiness is a black ranger trait after all." Purrs Kat Manx, as her companion glowers at her side.


"Confidence." Both Jake and Doggie defend at the same time, making then share a look of understanding.


Alpha starts to let his impatience show and urges everyone to hurry. "The longer we take saying goodbye, the longer it takes for us to get back."


"Sorry Alpha," Apologizing for everyone, Emma waves her own farewell to those staying on Earth.


"You kids have fun and don't believe Andros when he says a strange noise means DECA is going to explode." Karone hugs her brother goodbye and follows her children inside to wait for Zhane's awakening.




…




Exhausted by his divorce battle, Lord Zedd emerges from his now personal chambers. He strides into his thrown room and frowns at the sight of his remaining generals. Madame Woe and the Terror Toad gaze from his balcony, pointing at something heading away from Earth.


"What are you two blabbering on about?" Rubbing at one of his slowly healing wounds courtesy of Rita, Zedd hisses in anger.


"The Power Rangers are leaving Earth and going to Saturn," Madame Woe is the one who answers with a deferential voice. "Earth is defenseless."


"And not my concern right now." His rage boils over and it takes all of Lord Zedd's restraint to leave her unharmed. "My late wife and her minions had the time limit, by sending that witch to the darkest pit of Hell… I'm free to conquer this rock at my leisure."


With a second team of rangers already on Earth, it would be best for me to make use of the other potential overlords. Zedd glares at Japan and the oozing boil of evil that taunts him. "We're waiting until Serpenterra is ready and only once it is, will we take Earth."


"But I want it now!" Koh whines, making Zedd wish he had banished the brat as well as the mother.


Blurting out information that actually interests him, Terror Toad explains why the rangers are going to Ganymede. "They're going to get some more machines from one of Zordon's bases, wouldn't that make Doomwing's work go faster?"


Zedd pauses and considers this for barely a second. "Go after them now, I want those Zords!" His roar sends the two generals scampering off to obey.




…




Hiding inside one of the Megaship's vents, Nate watches the rangers train on the Simu-Deck. At first he tried to give all five pairs equal attention, but soon his gaze is locked on Maya.


Her and Gia are in a recreation of a swampy environment, with barely any dry ground for the pair to face off against the Craterite holograms. Gia does a good job keeping her island clear of any threats, but Maya is moving like Tarzan.


She uses every inch of her home world's landscape to her advantage. Swinging from vines, she moves from island to island like a wild animal.


"And you say all of Mirinoi was like this?" Grunting from exertion, Gia grins when another hologram fades into nonexistence.


"It doesn't really have continents like Earth does, it's almost entirely a single ocean covered with pockets of land." Maya swings into a trio of Craterites and drives all four of them into the murky water.


Before Gia can worry for her fellow Yellow, Maya emerges with a triumphant roar. Her now filthy hair sends mud flying in every direction when she shakes her head from side to side.


"The poles aren't even frozen, and really everything is either a swamp, marsh, or lowland jungles." She tells of her home with a proud grin and cracks her elbow into another holograms face.


"I'm sorry about what happened to Mirinoi," Gia softly whispers when the hologram fades away, leaving both only dirtied by sweat.


Accepting the surprise hug, Maya explains her current mindset. "I may not have saved my home, but we're going to Aquitar once we're done on Earth. We will save Aquitar from Flurious and many more worlds after that."




…




Rolling away from his attackers, Jake focuses on his hearing and kicks. The flash of a Craterite's defeat shows him a brief flash of the pitch black cavern. Doggie Kruger is handling the terrain better and carves through a squadron, his nose and ears giving him a clear advantage.


"Triforia actually managed to defeat the attackers?" He does his best to focus on both blind fighting and a conversation of what's going on in space. "It's not all a wave of Master Vile's victories?


"You need not feel guilt for your sister releasing him," Barks out Kruger sharply. "You are doing all in your power to stop her."


"But-"


Doggie interrupts with a fierce growl. "No butts! They really stink with a nose this good." The comedic comment from such a serious ranger has Jake snort in surprise. "You are doing great and we're proud to call you fellow rangers."




…




Emma puts her foot in Manx's cupped hands, allowing herself to be tossed into the air. The height gives her a clear view of the plateau and she calls out her findings.


"We got a few dozen more climbing the cliff."


"So let's show them what's waiting for them!" Hisses the feline woman, right before throwing two of her foes off the ledge.


Emma tries to stay positive, but the things she's learned don't sit well in her stomach. "The entire Flash system is being attacked?"


"All five inhabited moons at least, none of the gas giants have life." Agrees Kat with a grim nod. "It seems to be mostly a stalemate, but hopefully we can send the Aquitians... once we relieve them that is."


"Is it really so bad everywhere?" Emma sends a few of her own holograms tumbling of the edge with a leg sweep.


"Vile's forces have taken a few dozen worlds, but he also took out many of his own leaders." Smirking at the way evil will always turn on itself, Kat shows her teeth are all pointed like a cat. "It's left some armies lacking any real power and allowed almost as many worlds to firmly repel the invaders."


Relived by that, Emma watches Kat kick the last Craterite off and the simulation end. "And we really can't do anymore to help?"


"Once you handle your own threats, we may have some stuff for you."



...



Noah watches the chest high blue grass blow in the wind, with the lighter cyan trees bending along with it. "Xybria was conquered?"


"Yeah, but we knew it was coming and got almost all of our children evacuated first." Confirming the sad news, Trip blocks the Craterite's surprise attack. "It's the fifth time Vile's come back as far as I know."


"It almost seems like he's an eventuality, maybe even a collection of the universe's evil." Frowning at the idea, Noah bobs around his own hologram.


Tackling a new enemy to the dirt, Trip saves Noah from a black eye. "Maybe Earth has the right idea, just hiding from the universe has left you pretty prepared."


"No one else has tried?" That confuses Noah. Isn't Zordon known across the galaxy, or at least his students?


"A few places just disappeared, but I have no idea if it was on purpose or from destruction." Shrugs the blue haired Trip, a very zen grin on his face. "But seeing you guys thriving, gives me hope for the places like Phaedoes."




…




Instead of finishing the final foe, Troy and Andros start sparring with each other. Troy grins every time one of his kick are block and vows to get him with the next punch.


He knows he's about to connect and take down to older man, but suddenly the simulation ends. Red warning lights flood the room and end the training at once. DECA's voice informing them of the cause.


"Incoming alert from Edenoi, patching it through now." Her soothing voice is a stark contrast to the angry red glow.


A teen's voice cries out desperately. "Space Rangers, this is Prince Dex of Edenoi." His voice isn't very clear, the sound of a war nearly drowns him out. "Our capital is soon to fall, we need help or we shall not see tomorrow as free people!"


The transmission ends suddenly and Troy can feel his own rage rising alongside Andros'. "So we get the Mega Voyagers and go save them right?" Zordon said he can beam us back if things get to bad for Farkas, but this invasion is because Jason freed Master Vile. If Jason can't fix it himself anymore, I need to.

 

[Flightless Man]

Episode 24: To The Tenth Power​

DECA cuts her speed to a reentry level and cruises towards the hidden facility. A massive crater carves a lake sized chunk out of the moon, revealing five color coded doors resting in the rock face.

Leaving the Megaship in a hover position midway across the bowl, Andros stands and gives a last second reminder to the Earth team. "We may have breathable air in the crater, but it's best if you all stay morphed once we leave the ship."

"How are we going to reach those doors?" Emma doesn't seem to be looking forward to mountain climbing on Ganymede. "This crater is nearly two miles across and several deep."

"Yeah, I thought we had an emergency call." Agrees Gia with a confused frown. "Shouldn't we be picking up the pace?"

Smirking at the teens, Kat explains another difference in the two teams arsenal. "You have Mega Cycles, we have Galaxy Gliders."

"We've never morphed with another team and I'm suddenly feeling self conscious about our call sign." Troy adds with an embarrassed voice, which makes his team shuffle uncomfortably.

"Don't worry, all Ranger morphs are embarrassing." The Space Rangers chuckle at Doggie's answer. "If you aren't brave enough to embarrass yourself, you won't be able to face real evils effectively."

Noah catches on first and gives an understanding 'ah'. "So it's like a secret first evaluation?"

"Exactly." Nods Andros, sharing a sympathetic look with his fellow Red Ranger. "It took me a few tries to find one I was uneasy doing in front of people, but could still do with false confidence."

"I thought it was strange at first, but when people see us do the morph… it actually fills them with hope." Chimes in the Xybrian Trip. "It's tangible for my people and morphing visibly really fills a crowd."

"The simpler the message we fight for, the stronger we are." Andros agrees, his lips quirked in a smile. "It's why the most powerful monsters seem like they belong on one of those kids shows Hayley and Orion used to watch."

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Gia steps up to the yellow tube in the wall. "Are we going to do this or what?"

"Let's Rocket!" Andros calls out with a smirk, prompting Troy to lead his own team in the morph.

"It's Morphing Time!"

Ten rangers exit the Astro Megaship in color coded pairs, with most of the Earth rangers looking very uneasy on the rocket boards. The five Galaxy Gliders streak towards the doors with a tail of glowing light and lose sight of each other quickly.

Trying not to allow his nerves to overcome him, Noah carefully stands on the blue board. "I think I need to slide my morpher into the middle of the door, that indent is the only sign of a difference I can see."

"I'm so excited, Andros never lets me drive when we change the ship." Trip steers them close and leaves the pair hovering before the impression in the metal.

The moment Noah's Power Coin touches the door, it begins to glow a brilliant sapphire. "Huh, black wasn't last one this time." Bathed in the glow of the door, the two Blue Rangers can see four similar auras in the distance.

"Open it up," An impatient Trip pleads behind Noah. "I want to see what I got!"

As Trip guides them inside the hangar a large white and blue rocket is revealed. The words Mega V3 are clearly displayed on the white portion and Noah is forced to resume a kneeling position when Trip darts towards his Zord.

"Rangers, you have company." DECA warns them all suddenly, making Noah whirl his gaze to the open door.

Two monsters are already giant sized and trying to swat the Megaship out of the sky. One is an enormous horned toad, with a bright and bulging yellow belly. His companion is a female with a porcelain mask concealing her face, with flowing white robes covering her body.

Troy's voice speaks next, but is not directed at anyone on Ganymede. "You said we could teleport to Earth Zordon, does that mean you can send us the Pleisto-Zords?"

"I am sending them now," Confirms the earthbound mentor. "Try not to crash it this time, Alpha would like to work on his own projects and not just handle the repairs we force on him."

"Keep those two busy, I'll try and figure out the controls as quick as I can." Trip commands, before leaping from the Galaxy Glider towards V3.

"Hey!" Yelling in shock, Noah tries to stabilize the now unsteady board. "How do I fly this thing?" When his team start to call out their own ability to reach the Zords, Noah lays down and manages to angle the Galaxy Glider out the door.

It doesn't go even half the speed Trip managed effortlessly, but Noah finds that's fine by him. His wolf is racing towards him in the bowl of the crater, while the other four Zords engage the monsters in the middle.

When the Jake sends his mastodon charging forward, Noah's surge of hope is dashed. The green and yellow amphibian shoots out a glowing tongue.

"I can't get free!" The panicked shout of Jake is soon followed by his entire Zord being transformed into a ball of black light.

As the mastodon is swallowed by the massive Terror Toad, Noah and Gia call out in shared worry. "Jake!"

Blinded by rage, Gia sends her tiger racing around the horned toad. She avoids the first few lashes of his energized tongue, but the yellow machine is caught around the waist when it leaps for the monster.


…


Sliding into the cockpit of the Mega Voyager V1, Andros sends the red and white space man into action. "V1 online and ready to combine."

Taking advantage of the low gravity, Andros make his Zord leap upwards and starts the transformation. The spaceman's body shifts and forms the waist and upper legs, with Trip splitting his fuselage into the lower legs.

"V3 in position, let's stomp some evil!" Trip cries out with unbridled exuberance.

The black and yellow flying saucer V4 is next to join, with it becoming the torso and arms. "V4 is active and ready to strike." Maya's login is somewhere in between the two levels of passion.

The pink and white lunar rover splits in half and becomes the feet. "V5 is ready to turn this spacewalk into a face stomp."

"V2 attaching now, all systems are coming online now." Doggie's black and white space shuttle connects to the neck, forming the Mega Voyager

All five cockpits arrive in the chest's shared control room, with Andros activating the booster rockets immediately. The Mega Voyager streaks towards the battle, all four torso cannons unleashing a barrage of lasers against Madame Woe.

"If you get back in your ship and fly away, Lord Zedd might allow you to live." She offers coldly, extending her nails to saber length when all five rangers firmly reject it.

"Counter offer," Andros replies with a growl, his voice being broadcast from the Mega Voyager's speakers. "Make your friend spit our allies out and we might not destroy you."

"You can't do that!" Gasps Madame Woe, legitimate shock in her eyes. "You're the good guys, you have to try and 'save' us."

"We have planets to save and sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the many." Doggie admits with sadness filling his voice. "It's something the Earthlings will need to learn one day, but today we can spare them from that fate."

DECA reveals herself by sending the Astro Saber from her cargo hold, which Andros doesn't even try to catch. He lets it impale the ground in front of them and instead draws it free from the rock while charging past.

The Space Rangers are forced to ignore the sight of the pink falcon being eaten behind them and focus on their own battle with the sorceress. Shocked by the ferocity on display, Madame Woe is forced back step by step.

"That wasn't part of Lord Zedd's deal!" She shrieks in horror, the shock making her movements sluggish.
"So what's it going to be," Roars Andros as he charges the Astro Saber. "Purification or destruction?"

Raising her hands in surrender, Madame Woe begs for her life. "I don't want to die!"

"Good choice." The grim voice of Andros agrees, as he slashes through the Vile magic behind the transformation. Before anyone can be concerned about the naked woman on Ganyemede's surface, she vanishes in grey light and heads for Earth.

"That was supposed to happen, right?" Eyes wide in shock, Trip watches the beam vanish.

Andros give a snort and puts his Blue at ease. "Don't worry, Hayley said it's so no one knows who was transformed. And I guess in cases like this… keep them safe from freezing"

"If you're done celebrating," Calls out Troy, as a ball of blue light is swallowed. "I could really use some help over here!" His ape is swatted aside when he tries to interfere in the meal and is blasted with lightning from the Terror Toads horn.

"How are we getting the others out of this guy?" Maya hisses with concern.

Sighing to himself, Troy can only think of one thing. "I'm going to have to use plan Jake." Why is it always something stupid that works?

Allowing himself to be eaten, Troy's body tingles when he becomes crimson energy. Inside the Terror Toad's gullet, the scarlet ape reforms waist deep in stomach acid. Relief fills him at the sight of the other four zords, the wolf and tiger standing on the back of Jake's mastodon to avoid the churning bile.

"Gia, what did you tell Jake about toads?" Growling as his sensors alert him that his shields are half depleted already. "How do they throw up?"

She realizes immediately what Troy means and smirks. "Lots of them basically turn inside out if they eat something poisonous."

"You ever consider being a teacher?" Jokes Jake with a proud chuckle. "Because this is the most in depth lesson I've ever had. I actually see what what you meant about the mucus replacing the salivary glands and it's even grosser than I imagined."

"I don't think I'll be allowed to feed the students to a toad," She snorts back, but allows a smile to grace her lips. Although I know a few teachers who would be first in line to teach that class.

"You got me my first A in science, so I bet you could convince the school board it's worth a few missing students."

She denies the praise with a firm shake of her head. "No, you earned that yourself." Gia gives him heartfelt praise for his recent efforts. "All I did was read the textbook so you could learn the information the right way."

"Do we actually have a way to make ourselves toxic, or was that just a cute anecdote?" Emma hisses, her falcon narrowly avoid what looks like geysers of stomach acid.

"Time to finally try out Guardian mode." Explains Troy with a confidant grin, prompting the slow but heavily armored combination.

"We release some spare oil and ignite the whole belly." Doing as he just detailed, Troy smirks as the stomach acid becomes a black slurry.

Blasting the oil with a single laser ignites it he entire mess, sending flames licking up the Terror Toad's throat. "Hang on!" Hisses Troy, as the entire stomach is thrown out the monsters mouth.

They spill onto the rocky surface of Ganymede and the flames go out with no oxygen. The helpless state of the inside out toad leaves him open for a cleansing strike from the Mega Voyager.

"Am I glad you guys found a way out, I didn't know how much longer we could have stuck to evasion only." Exhaling in shocked relief, Andros brings the Astro Saber down on the Terror Toad.

 

[Flightless Man]

Episode 24.5: Missing Green​

Gazing up at his floating rocket, Trip uses his most pitiful voice on Andros. "Come on, please let me fly in the V3. I promise I won't take any shortcuts."

"I would advise against that, the Mega Voyagers lack any form of hibernation system." A nearly identical version of Alpha explains in a distinctly female Irish accent.

She has silver instead of gold like her younger brother, which really does make her look older. The red making up her frame is a deep purple instead of red and the blue material is likewise changed to a vibrant orange. The yellow bolt of lightning on her chest is also changed, with a bright blue one in it's place.

"I highly recommend leaving them linked to the Astro Megaship's controls for interstellar travel." Turning towards Andros, her voice takes on a hesitant tone. "Am I to remain here, or will you perhaps require my services for onsite repairs?"

Emma snaps her last picture of Ganymede's surface and feels a pang of guilt go through her. "Of course we're bringing you, it's inhumane to leave you here alone."

"But I am not human?" The silver robot responds with confusion filling her voice.

"We treat Alpha Five like he's one of us, so you're just as much a person to as he is." Gia can also hear the worry in Alpha Four's voice and the idea of how long she's been alone here twists her gut uncomfortably.

Chiming in with his own words of support, Jake throws Troy a teasing smirk. "We let your brother switch bodies with Troy for a few days." This shocks the female Alpha. "He even got to morph and drive the Megazord."

"We didn't let him have my body, unless you and Emma swapped on purpose." Snorts Troy in response. "But I agree with the rest of that. So if Andros doesn't want you on his crew, you're more than welcome coming back to Earth with us."

"After we save Edenoi." Not willing to relax for a moment, Doggie growls with impatience. "We already have a four day trip, let's not make it any longer."

Agreeing with his Black Ranger, Andros starts waving everyone onto DECA. "We should probably get that Nate kid out of the vents."

Hissing with laughter, Kat needs a moment to catch her breath. "It was funny leaving him inside for a two hour trip to Saturn, but I'll go get him down now."

"We sleep in shifts on the ship, so can you split your team in half? We only have six hibernation pods on board and I don't really want you six flying DECA by yourselves." Andros directs his question to his fellow red, who does just that.

"Gia and Emma. You two can go first with Jake and I'll take the other one with Nate and Noah, I know they have questions for Trip and Kat about space." He shakes his head from side to side once on board and he can cancel his morph. "I know I have some of my own, so unless any of you want to switch..." He trails off and gives everyone a chance to complain.

They have none and follow Trip and Andros to the sleeping chamber. Climbing into the tubes, Gia remembers something.

"You guys think Bulk can handle things while we're gone?"

"Worst comes to worst, Farkas he can call Eugene for backup." Jake makes sure to emphasize the Green Ranger's name.

Blinking as her sedative mist fills the tube, Emma needs to clarify what she just heard. "Wait a minute… he has Eugene's phone number?"

"… Yes." After a moment of self flagellation, Jake admits the truth. "I wasn't supposed to tell you Emma, he wanted to comeback at Christmas and show you how far he's come. At least that's what Farkas said."

"Four days to Edenoi, maybe a day or two with emergency efforts, and four days back." Gia counts off the days on her fingers and freezes. "Maybe this wasn't the greatest idea..." She trails off as sleep claims her and the others.


…


"Wait a second, you guys fought someone called Turbanshell?" Farkas can't contain himself and bursts out laughing. "How is a turban harder than a real shell?"

On the other side of the phone, Eugene returns his own playful jab. "What's a Pineoctopuss and how did you guys let it turn everyone into fruit?"

"Have any of the others figured out your 'secret' talking weapon technique, or have you told them it was all a joke yet?" Enjoying this moment with his friend, Farkas pries for more gossip.

"Maddison and Nick have and Vida is getting a really faint whisper from hers." Shares Eugene, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes by the time he finishes. "Xander just can't sit still long enough… without falling asleep of course." Changing the subject, he asks about the current mission. "Alpha really let this Zhane guy have his body?"

"Yeah, but he wont be able to continue as the Silver Ranger." Farkas wanders around the Ziktor's yard, enjoying the smell of nature this far from Angel Grove. "Androids kind of lack DNA and the Astro morpher needs some to bond with."

He hears the garage door slam open, but doesn't react until he hears Karone screaming. "Zhane stop, it's me Karone!"

"Lies!" The voice Alpha selected barks out in anger. "You stole my body and did something to my morpher, I'll be back once I tell Andros who you're pretending to be!"

Farkas turns in time to watch Zhane dash into the treeline and start charging down the mountain to the city. His robot limbs have him bounding along as fast as a dirt bike, which only makes Farkas groan at this turn of events.

"What are you doing, go get him!" Karone turns her ire on him next, which prompts Farkas into action. He morphs and races after the confused android, barely seeing Orion and the girls drive away in his car. For once he's going above the speed limit, he might even beat me down. Not going to let that to happen, Farkas picks up the pace and is very glad he's been working out again.

"Hello?" From the phone dropped in the dirt, Eugene's confused voice can be heard by no one.


…


Following his mother's frantic directions, Orion wheels around the corner and finally catches sight of Zhane. The android is freaking out and leaving a trail of unintentional destruction in his wake. A squadron of Silver Guardians is on the scene, but they have weapons drawn on the Green Ranger instead.

"Get away from the kid, we'll take care of things from here." Mike Corbett growls and gives the signal for his medic to check on Zhane. "Everyone you guys 'save', ends up scattered around the world."

"We're making sure you don't disappear any more people," Throwing the accusation back in his face, Farkas gets some of the watching civilians to murmur agreements.

"We have legal authority," Mike shakes his head no and steps between Farkas and Zhane. "You're either leaving, or we're bringing you with us."

Making a fast decision, Farkas denies the claim. "We built his body, you aren't taking him anywhere."

This isn't taken well, leading Mike and his Guardians to open fire on the Green Ranger. Unable to just leap away because of the civilians behind him, Farkas forces himself in front of each laser beam.

Running in terror from the sudden battle, the crowd rapidly clears the street. Orion emerges from his car, despite his mother's angry protests and carefully avoids getting seen by the Guardians. Locking eyes with a Zhane shocked by the sudden violent turn, Orion motions to his wrist.

He does look a lot like Karone and Andros, maybe that woman really was telling the truth? Zhane glances down to his wrist and widens his eyes at the sight of his scratches. Instead of bloody wounds covering his flesh, Zhane nearly freezes when he sees metal peaking out from beneath his skin.

The boy claiming to be Karone's son rolls behind the car he's hiding behind and hisses desperately. "You need to morph Zhane, Green can't leave until he knows you wont get nabbed by those psychos."

"I've tried, the Astro Morpher doesn't recognize my genes." Zhane finally understands why, his several hour dash from the house having been long enough for his memories to mostly sort themselves out. I really did spend almost thirty years in a coma… that sucks.

A high tech police car screeches onto the street and unleashes a barrage of energy blasts on Farkas. He's sent flying in the air from the force of the explosion and crashes down hard in the back of a nearby truck.

The door opens and the repainted Blue Senturian emerges from the vehicle. Now a brilliant silver with glowing red eyes, Venjix draws his handheld blaster. He doesn't give the Green Ranger a chance to stand, making a dozen shots on center mass.

The bolts of silver slam into Farkas and throw him back onto his back by the third impact. His roars of pain continue as long as the Silver Senturian unleashes his attack.

"You want to get locked up and reprogrammed into something like that?" Orion hisses, which makes Zhane realize the only way out of this situation.

"No." Sliding of his morpher, Zhane presses it firmly into Orion's hand. "Do you?"

"Same code as Uncle Andros'?" Eyes shining in a combination of shock and awe, Orion straps the silver device to his wrist.

"You're mom's birthday, by the KO35 calendar." This makes Zhane chuckle, confidant he made the right choice in trusting the teen. "If you can morph without me telling you, that's more than enough proof you're Karone's kid."

"Hayley's going to be so jealous," Smirking at his sister's reaction, Orion flips open the morpher and enters the code.

"Two five eight zero," The monotone voice of the device calls out with each button.

"Let's Rocket!"

As soon as the silver light fades, Orion is already charging at Venjix from behind. He tackles the robot of Farkas and draws his Super Silverizer, flicking it to blade mode immediately.

"Sorry Earthlings, but we had the Rangers on this planet finish that body for one of ours." Orion calls out to the Silver Guardians watching. "Can't let you steal our friends body, hope you understand."

While Venjix and his misguided troops are distracted, Karone sneaks up to Zhane and hands him a spare communicator. "Slide this on and press these two buttons, it'll send us back to the Ranger's base and we can explain everything with Zordon."

"You actually found him?" Zhane gasps in shocked awe. "But he's just a legend."

She smiles at this and answers with some audible smugness in her voice. "Turns out he's more like a secluded hermit, Earth is almost completely separated from the rest of the galaxy. Now hurry up, we can tell you the rest once we're off the street."

After they vanish in two beams of grey light, a silver and green are able to follow. Venjix doesn't rant and rave over the escape, instead he hacks into NASADA's systems. He examines all satellite date from the last week and knows where to find the robot.

"You all heard the Silver Ranger, they're aliens." His words trigger the activation of the behavioral control chip in his soldiers and the all fall in line with a salute. "I have determined the home being used as the main base. Once we have detained them, we shall move on the rest of the homes in use by known contacts."

"Should we call in the three active agents?" Mike struggles against his body, but his mouth follows the orders immediately.

"It will be the perfect test for them and success will secure funding for the rest." Nods Venjix slowly, his mind considering every contingency. "Call in sick for them at school, we have a greater need for them in the field today."




Notes: I go hit by a car on Saturday. Didn't look and turned into the bike lane from parking lot and rolled over hood of a 75ish year old woman's car. I scared the hell out of her, but hurt my shoulder really bad. I haven't been able to write very much, but should be getting back to my normal schedule now.

 

[Flightless Man]

Episode 25: The Rangers' Mega Voyage​

The Astro Megaship hovers low above the smoking rocks behind the capital city, "We're just supposed to wait here for them?" Nate hisses in annoyance as he watches the action on the display.

"Hydro Hog's forces hold most of the city, my shields will not endure a concentrated effort if we attempt to fly over." Explains the serene voice of DECA. "The Space Rangers will distract the aerial forces, while the Earthlings sneak in to extract the royal family."

"I know the plan, but I want to do more than watch." He grumbles back, which makes Alpha Five nod in agreement.

"When Ivan Ooze first formed from the darkness of mankind, one of the species to evolve was the Edenonites." His sister chimes in immediately, in what seems to be an attempt to show off.

"The precursor to the Insectoids in Japan currently."

Visibily annoyed, Alpha Five does his best to ignore the commentary. "The first ruler helped Zordon and Barza face of against Ivan, sealing him inside the volcano and leaving Earth for a new home."

Nate doesn't really have a response, to shocked by how far Zordon's reach really extends. It seems like half the galaxy is from Earth. While DECA and the two Alphas bicker, Nate keeps switching his eyes between the screens.

The five Space Rangers have met the flying blue pigs the size of an elephant in midair. The strange creature's are a vibrant blueberry color and are sending out a barrage of pressurized water. Each time a Ranger avoids a blast, the ground is left gouged by a crater.

Even with how hectic the fight is, Nate knows the real success of the mission rests on his friends success. Let's see if any of you made it inside? He glances at Noah and Emma's camera, to see both still cruising through an alley.

Checking Gia and Jake's camera next, shows the two have managed to find a way inside the network of tunnels beneath the city. Gia's ability to see in the dark allows them to slip underneath the entire army.

Knowing he had no chance of getting more than a single person out on his Mega Cycle, Troy has instead initiated Battlizer mode. In what remains of the market district, he dances around the snarling Hydro Hog.

Balls of flame and water collide between the two as they clash, slowly filling the street with a thick mist of scalding steam. Nate clenches his fists when a whip of liquid wraps around Troy's throat and gets really worried when he starts to be repeatedly slammed against the road.

Hissing with each impact, Nate cheers when a pink form slams into Hydro Hog. Emma sends the alien commander bouncing along the rocks and gives Noah a chance to help Troy back to his feet.

This causes a surge of energy in the defenders, who spring forth and meet Hydro Hog's forces for another test of mettle. When bodies on both side begin dropping, Nate looks to Jake and Gia's screen instead.

The Jake is no longer visible, his seat now claimed by a woman wearing a crown and her two children. The princess is fine if terrified, but the Prince is bleeding profusely from a gut wound.

"Where is Gia going to come out?" He hisses in panic, scanning the dozens of caves emerging from the mountain. Glancing back at the screen shows Gia is being pursued and outnumbered four to one.

"Arm weapons and get us in front of that tunnel!" Barks Nate, which sends both Alphas rushing to obey. "DECA. Fire the second Gia is out of the cave."

"Where are you going?" She demands as Nate dashes towards to docking bay.

He grabs a blaster when he rushes past the armory and pants out and answer. "Need to cover them."

"I'm informing the Space Rangers."

"Doesn't matter, they can't get here in time!" He swallows his remaining fear and slams open the door. The air has an ever present odor of sulfur, which makes Nate slide a clear visor over his face.

Leaping from the ship, he plummets faster than expected under the slightly higher gravity of Edenoi. The ground cracks around his feet, with a hiss of some kind of green gas escaping. He can hear the sound of Gia's Mega Cycle roaring out of the cave and aims his weapon.

As soon as Gia and her passengers are clear, Nate unleashes every bolt of energy in his blaster. He roars in a combination of terror and rage at the atrocities already seen and watches a third of the pursuers explode in balls of fire.

"Well damn..." Gia exclaims in impressed shock and helps the Queen from the sidecar. "Didn't think you had that in you."

"Pretty sure that was every drop of hero I had," Snorts Nate, who takes over for Gia. "I'll get them on board, you go save the day."

She nods and whirls on her heel. The sidecar explodes into pieces, leaving Gia in her Mastodon themed Battlizer. A cloud of freezing mist seals the entrance, only to shatter as soon as the pursuers slam into it.

"You better hope Jake catches up, or you wont be getting any mercy from me." Snarling at the hog riders, Gia leaps into action. Her Power Daggers sing through the air as she keeps all attention on herself.

"You came to save my people?" The Prince gasps out and shocks Nate when he grabs his hand weakly.

"We came to try." Nate admits sadly. We aren't doing a very good job.

Smiling with bloodstained lips, the very pale Prince Dex closes his eyes. "Thank you."

"The Space Rangers!" The Princess cries out in relief, making Nate glance skyward with his own hope.

He doesn't see Andros and the Mega Voyager, but Maya is rocketing towards them. "One of them at least." We might live through this after all.

Maya angles her board at the last second and sears a pigman in the face. While he screams in pain, the most graceful Space Ranger leaps into the air and fires her Star Slinger into the crowd.

The two yellow rangers do very well at first, but the stream of forces emerging from the tunnel soon turn the tide against the duo. Nate can only watch in horror as Gia has her legs sweeped out from under her and Maya is grabbed from behind.

"Let's save them together." Dex whispers to Nate and with his last breath explains what to do.

The young Prince's eyes glaze over and Nate's heart clenches tightly at his families sobs. The crystal in Dex's forehead shines bright and shoots towards Nate, slamming into his own skull painfully.

<Are you ready Nate?> The voice of Prince Dex echoes in his mind.

"I don't have to do this alone?" The constant fear that fills Nate vanishes.

<Never again will either of us be alone." Promises the voice firmly. <No more worlds will be in need of a friend.>

Nate straps on his Ecto Belt and charges back into the fray. "Ectophase Activate!" He screams as one with Dex's voice in his head. Shining with a brilliant aura of light, Nate lands on the rocks and blurs into motion.

"Rider Kick!" His leg glows with black energy and carries him through the swarming hogs. Face contorted in amazement, Nate sends more of the energy to his right arm.

"Warrior Punch!" He drives his fist into the rock, causing it to cave in the entrance of the tunnel with a resounding boom.

Gia and Maya manage to free themselves with the aid of his distraction, with Gia approaching him first. "Nate? Is that you?" Her voice is friendly if cautious of his sudden appearance.

"Tell Jake to meet up with the others in the plaza, we'll join them and finish of Hydro Hog." He doesn't answer her question, but his voice is not too muffled for her to recognize him.

"You got kind of bossy," Gia snorts but does as asked and hops onto DECA.

…

It takes most of the night, but finally they manage to defeat the Hydro Hog. His end sends the remaining forces into the sky for an easier world to claim.

Cheers from the surviving defenders come from across the city, with Troy sagging to his knees in relief. "That was intense."

"Has anyone seen Jake?" Groans Gia, her sprained wrist clutched to her chest.

"Check the alley, I saw him take a blast before he got his Battlizer activated." Noah waves a hand across the street and refuses to get of his aching back. "He went flying, but I've heard him whining a few times. He should still be alive."

"Noah!" Hissing at the callousness, Emma darts across the street in a worried sprint.

Chuckling on the ground, Noah explains to a scowling Troy. "He land in some kind of dumpster and cant find his morpher, so I'm keeping my nose over here."

"Oh..." Troy finds that acceptable and joins Noah on the shockingly comfortable rock. The gas running so close to the surface makes it warm and constantly vibrate. "Yeah... the girls can go fish him out."

"You think I can get Andros to make a pit stop on the way home?"

Confused by Noah's question, Troy has to remind him Farkas is all alone. "We don't really have time for sight seeing."

"I know, but Hayley's Comet should be pretty close by now." Explains Noah with an embarresed blush on his cheeks. "I thought it would be really cool to collect some of it for Hayley."

"Well if you tell him that, he'll probably stop giving you the stink eye." Troy agrees with another chuckle, which becomes a smirk when he hears the complaints coming from the alley.

Jake is kept at arms length, with Gia giving him strict instructions. "The second we get on the ship you're having three showers and sorry, but you need to change sleeping shifts with someone for the trip home."

"Hey!" He looks to Emma for support, but she swiftly sides with her best friend.

"Or maybe even have his own room."

Nate interupts the banter with a concerned question towards Maya. "This is happening all over the galaxy, isn't it?"

"And most places don't have people like us to defend them." She agrees sadly. "Mine didn't."

"I can't go back to Earth..." He admits to his friends firmly. "It has you and the others in Japan, Dex and I are needed out here still."

This makes Maya give him a grateful smile. "I'm sure Andros can have some space set aside for you."


…


On Earth Karone works late at the observatory, flicking though different signals until a strange one makes her freeze. She filters out the static and enhances the signal now clearly coming from Angel Grove, to frown when she deciphers it.

A call for help is being pulsed out from beneath the suburbs on a ten second loop. The message 'Help me Andrew Hartford." is all the information given and she sighs.

"Probably a good idea to tell Orion and Farkas about this," Karone growls to herself and reaches for the phone. "Ernie, have you actually kept Orion in his room this time?" Or did you go soft and let him watch Wheel of Fortune?

"Really?" She finds his claim doubtful, but the signal is already growing weaker. "Doesn't matter. Tell him to check the suburbs for an SOS and he better be careful." Not losing anyone else to being a Ranger.

She listens as Ernie calms her down like always and takes a deep breath. "I'm not really mad at Orion, but Zhane missed his whole life. I don't really want a cyborg son if I can help it, but we both know how impulsive he is."

"He's a lot like his mother," Her husband reminds her gently. "And you being like that is the only reason we met. Because I seem to recall Andros being mad you stole his ship."

"He wasn't using it, he had DECA." She defends herself, which only makes Ernie chuckle warmly. "I'll make sure he brings Farkas for back up… boy I never thought I'd be saying that."

 

[Flightless Man]

Episode 25.5: Silver Lining​

Meeting the Green Ranger outside the random shed in a suburban meadow, Orion makes sure no one is watching. "I think we're good."

"What do you think we're going to find?" Farkas keeps one hand near his morpher and reaches for the well oiled latch on the door.

"Mole people," Instantly Orion replies, no hesitation or doubt in his mind. "You guys are kind of running out of possible enemies, so my money's on mole people."

"Who would actually bet on that?" Growing curious, Farkas waits for an answer before opening the door.

Snorting at the expression of confusion, Orion fills him in. "Zach... he made a killing off me when you guys took on Pineoctopuss."

"How did he guess that?" Finding that hard the believe, Farkas finally pries open the door. The interior looks exactly like one would expect, a bare concrete room with a ladder.

Peering down into the darkness, Orion frowns when he sees a shadow move. "He said we hadn't taken on a plant monster yet. I think I saw something move at the bottom."

"You scared of the dark?" Farkas doesn't see anything, but does proceed down the later with caution.

"I swear I saw something move," Growling defiantly, Orion starts to follow him down. "Don't blame me when we get swarmed by moles."

Farkas tries to ignore the words, but as they descend a strange scratching sound is heard. It grows louder, but never comes from the same area twice. Whatever he saw is moving fast.

"Looks like a few of the emergency lights are on, we shouldn't be totally in the dark."

"I'm not scared of the dark!"

Grinning at the Silver Ranger's frustration, Farkas focuses on ignoring his own growing uneasiness. "If you say so."

"Just keep a look out.," Orion hisses down at him and changes the subject. "Wait… Do you smell that?"

Taking a whiff of the air, Farkas is forced to agree. "Smells just like Tommy's room did when we forgot to air it out."

The duo reach the bottom and find deep gouges carved into the concrete. They aren't limited to the floor either, it looks like the creature has been using the walls and ceilings just as easily as a floor.

A pair of glowing yellow eyes greet them from the darkness, slit like a cat or snake's. "Are you here to play with me?"
The voice purrs out the question in a very thick Australian accent and is revealed to come from a cat woman. Katastrophe is more like a feline version of a werewolf and not just the slight differences of Kat Manx.

"Or are do you know how to make the others wake up?" Her voice is completely devoid of any anger, only a childlike curiosity can be heard.

"Others?" Orion shares a look with his fellow ranger and worries. More monsters ready to wake up?

She nods eagerly and smiles, exposing her very sharp fangs. "The ones on the bed look and smell like you two, but the boy on the ground doesn't smell like anything." Her expression grows worried. "I think he might be broken, but I can't get any of them to wake up. Can you help?"

Katastrophe leads them through the dimly lit silo, with only every third light still working. She stop beside the body of Trent, which makes Farkas yelp in shock.

"Sorry..." He admits with a bashful sigh. "Was not expecting that."

"He won't wake up and is very cold, but I can hear his insides still working." The monster prods the still body with a claw. "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

Orion carefully steps closer and kneels beside Trent's body. "He's got the same kind of skin Zhane does, so I think he's an android."

"Oh..." Relief flashes through Katastrophe's eyes at this explanation. "What does that mean?"

"He probably just needs some new batteries," Explains Farkas with a chuckle. "What about the others, can you bring me to them?"

"Of course," She grins excitably and dashes off towards a side room. "Follow me!"

Sharing a look of amusement with Orion, the Green Ranger does indeed follow after the monster. She waits by five gurneys, her tail flicking back and forth impatiently.

"How long have they been here?" Farkas hisses in shock at the sight of five malnourished teens, all in medically induced comas.

"Always."

"What do you mean always?" He tries to find any files or a computer to explain what happened, but finds the room nearly bare.

She shrugs and shows more interest in chasing his shadow across the floor. "When I woke up... all of them were already sleeping."

"Orion!" Farkas calls for the Silver Ranger with resigned frustration.

He doesn't get an answer, which has Farkas glancing over to the feline monster with a frown. "Is anyone else down here with us?"

She nods with a distinct lack of interest. "Yeah, but none of them smell like anything and they don't want to play either." Shrugging at Farkas' shock, she points behind him with her tail.

"Hello Rangers." A cold robotic voice greets them from the far side of the room. The silver body of Venjix steps from the shadows and has the red, yellow, and green lights on his body glow. "I didn't think it would take you this long." Maybe I should have just gone after you at home after all.

A trio of figures light up behind him, showing off Venjix's new allies. One is a female in ruby red beetle armor, while the men flanking her are in emerald and sapphire shades instead.

"Only two of them?" The snarling voice of Adam Park comes from the green Beetle Borg.

"Why'd you call us in for this?" The menacing voice of Aisha Campbell is next to hiss out. "You should be able to handle two Rangers."

The one in blue speaks last, revealing himself to be a barely restrained Rocky DeSantos. "I almost had my target ready to join us willingly, now I'm going to have to nab TJ from his house."

"If we capture these two, we have access to both sets of powers." Explains Venjix without even a backwards glance at his followers. "Consider this the final test to see if you're worth the massive investment."

"Are we going to play now?" Katastrophe perks up eagerly.

Thinking fast Farkas agrees. "Yeah and you're on our team."

Her eyes flash dangerously, with a set of wicked claws growing from her hand. "Finally!" She leaps at a startled Venjix, giving the two rangers time to morph.

"It's Morphing Time, Megalania!"

"Let's Rocket!"


…


Hayley jerks in shock when Dana rushes into her workshop. A panic look is plastered across her face and she frantically changes the TV to the news.

Immediatly the problem is apparent, with the Dragonzord currently being overwhelmed by a trio of giant machines. Each one is the size of a Zord and themed like three different insects.

"Where's Orion?" Hayley looks over the battle for any sign of her brother.

"Apently he and Farkas have gone evil again and teamed up with a monster," Hisses the younger girl. "Orion and the cat monster are fighting the Silver Senturian, but the Dragonzord isn't going to last much longer."

Her blood starts to boil when the footage switches to an overhead view of the ground battle. With the new robotic officer thrashing Orion and his feline ally. Sorry Alpha, but I really don't think we can afford to wait for you to finish a new body.

"You have your communicator, right?" Hayley brings her own up and presses the gold button saved for emergencies.

"Yeah," Confirms Dana with a worried look, which grows when Hayley shushes her.

"Zordon." She waits a second for the ageless mentor to answer and cuts him off. "I know what you and Alpha are working on."

Dana blinks in confusion and wracks her mind for an answer. She gets one almost immediately, when Hayley interrupts Zordon again. "You finished both Power Coins already?"

"I finished the second one only yesterday and intended to give them out upon the Rangers return from Edenoi."

"I know Alpha wanted to use one of the new Power Coins, but it's too late for that now." Not letting the Ranger's mentor have even a moment to speak, Hayley presses on firmly. "You have a list of potential Rangers, so pick two and call them!"

"You both feel this way?" Both her and Dana's wrists speak at once with Zordon's calm and reassuring voice.

"If you have Coins and Rangers to choose from, why haven't you?" Dana starts to grow resentful of her brother's abduction.

"It is a great responsibility and I have to be sure of those I entrust such a responsibility with." Explains Zordon, seeming to find Hayley's attitude amusing. "But if you both insist..."

Dana and Hayley speak as one, both steel lined voices. "We do."

"Welcome to the fight Rangers," Zordon's proud smile can be heard he sends twin bolts of crackling energy towards the girls.

The orange beam slams into Dana's shocked hands. "You are the Orange Glyptodon Ranger, able to endure the world's hardships and stand strong against the darkness."

"And you Hayley are the Purple Megalocerous." He adds when the purple bolt crashes into Hayley's palms beside her. "Magnificent in mind and graceful in body, I know you will defend the Earth with your all."

Dana examines her morpher and the golden Power Coin set inside. It has the design of a creature almost like a mammalian tortoise, but with a club tail dragging behind it.

Looking at her own, Hayley smiles at the deer and it's incredible rack of antlers etched in the metal. "Ready?" She grins in excitement, able to feel the energy contained between her fingers.

Smirking back, Dana is just as desperate to extract some payback of her own. "You know it."

"It's Morphing Time!" They yell as one, hands raised before them like they have seen the others do dozens of times. A flash of orange and purple light floods the garage for a few seconds, leaving the two girls ready to help.

"The Dragonzord is in immediate need of aid, so call your own Pleisto-Zords and combine with Farkas." Commands Zordon, his voice still kind but now firm with the need to give orders.

"Oh..." Grinning in excitement, Dana begins bouncing on her heels. "This is going to be amazing!"

Hayley tries to keep her own enthusiasm more restrained outwardly, but does allow a smile to escape. "I really can't find anything about that to disagree with."

They call the new Zords and grin when the machines arrive. The two mechanical animals race towards the city, but come close enough to the mountain for a strange pulling sensation to be felt by both girls.

"Noah said the Zords help them with the jump, almost like he's magnetized." Explains Hayley as she bends her knees and leaps int the sky.

"Wait for me!" Dana follows with her own powerful jump, being caught in the energy field Hayley described.

They settle into the Zord's cockpits and take over for the autopilot, Hayley calling out their arrival to Farkas. "Hey Green, looks like you could use a hand!" She lowers the violet stag's head and rams into the green beetle clinging to the Dragonzord.

"Or two," Snorts Dana as she aims her Zord's tail mounted Gatling gun. It unleashes a barrage of orange lasers that are absorbed by the Dragonzord with each miss.

The storm of energy is imprecise, but is all that is needed to tear both beetles from the Dragonzord. "Hayley?" Farkas can't believe his eyes, as just seconds ago he thought self-destruct was one of his only remaining options. "Dana?"

"It is and Zordon said we get our own combination warrior mode, he called it the Superzord." Hayleys eager grin is shared by a very relieved Farkas.

"Are you serious!"

"Oh yeah," Dana confirms the question with a feral grin.

When no one initiates the combination, Farkas slaps himself in the forehead. "I don't actually know how to combine, so um… ladies first?"

 

[Flightless Man]

Episode 26: Something to Fight For​

The moment the Astro Megaship descends into Earth's atmosphere, klaxons begin blaring at the Silver Guardians base. Unbeknownst to the returning Rangers, things have changed in Angel Grove and the nearby cities.

Guardians scramble into position at the airbase, with the Yellow Eagle leading her squadron on an intercept course. The new Mirage Fighters are shaped like lawn darts, and almost entirely black. Only two yellow stripes on the trio of wings and the silver cannon break up the solid ebony of the aircraft.

"I want these aliens surrounded before they make it over Angel Grove," Taylor hisses to her squadron, but Joel Rawlings in particular. "So no showing off... unless you're breaking an airspeed record."


...


"I am receiving a transmission," DECA informs the crew calmly. "We are being instructed to land in the desert and await processing."

"Not going to happen." Snorting at the idea, Andros slides into the pilots seat. "Hang on everyone, I'm going to have to use some evasive maneuvers."

The Space Rangers are already strapping in to restraints along the walls, while the Earth Rangers are only left with time to grab on tightly. Andros spins the ship like a top and shoots backwards between the seven pursuers.

"How are they keeping up with us?" Grunts Gia when she slams against the wall painfully. "This thing can do lightspeed!" She hisses in pain and prepares herself for the sudden dive Andros takes towards the ocean.

"Can't do that in the atmosphere without screwing with basically everything," Noah explains as Emma and Jake pull the yellow ranger into a harness. "Can't really even do it in the solar system."

DECA pulls up right before the water and skates forward only feet above the waves. Three of the Mirage Fighters are not as capable and smash to pieces against the water.

"Stop screwing around and turn on the cloak!" Snarls Kat, her slit eyes locked on the back of Andros' head in a fierce glare.

He just chuckles back darkly and makes everyone worry more. "I did as soon as we went through the asteroid belt."

"Beam us down to the Command Center and we'll send Zhane to you in orbit." Grunts a grim faced Troy. "We're only going to get more innocent people killed."

"Don't know how innocent anyone wearing that symbol is..." Gia comments snidely, finally managing to get herself into a harness.

Andros grins in relief as he accelerates towards the sky, the pursuers steadily falling behind by the second. Once he reaches the stratosphere, the remaining fighters are unable to follow and he brings the Megaship back to cruising speed.

Breathing out in relief, Andros settles DECA into a stable orbit. "We're going to need to figure something new out for Christmas, wont be able to just park at Karone's anymore." He grumbles and joins the five Earth Rangers by the exit tubes.

"Any last words you want us to bring back to Nate?" Trip jogs over to give each of the Earthlings a hug, with Maya only a few steps behind him.

"Don't say it like that, you make it sound like someone will die before they meet again." She chides him with an elbow in the ribs and takes over the goodbye hugs.

Andros pats Noah on the arm and hands over the piece of comet encased in a glass pendant.. "Just keep up this kind of charm and I won't have to come back and kick your ass." Six beams of light leave the ship and shoot back down to the planet below.


…


The Rangers materialize to several unexpected faces, one of which nearly has Troy launch into violence. A heavily bandaged Ernie nearly falls over in shock, when a startled Katastrophe rushes to his defense.

"It's alright Kat," Bulk hurries to stop any fight, his hands raised to separate the returning Rangers from the friendly monster. "These are our friends, remember? I told you they would be here soon."

"That wasn't soon, that was now." Her tail flicks back and forth, a clear sign of her continued agitation.

Hayley darts forward wearing dark blue jeans and a violet turtle neck, wrapping Noah in a tight hug. When she does, her shirt rides up her back and exposes a nasty looking bruise.

Lacking her usual tact, Gia just bluntly demands an answer. "What the heck happened to you?"

"Things went from good to horrible." Orion enters the room and his scowl only lessens at the sight of the others.

Putting a calming hand on his son's shoulder, Ernie tries to explain. "Zhane went a little crazy and the Guardians sent some robot cop after him." Those words have the recently returned sharing concerned looks. "Orion used his Astro Morpher and they handled things, but then Karone..." He trails off suddenly, his face going pale.

"Mom found a signal coming from under the city, so me and Farkas checked it out." Orion resumes the explanation for with a rage filled face. "We found Katastrophe sealed away in a missile silo, with five missing kids from school."

"Don't forget the nearly ruined remains of the android we copied Zhane's skin from." Adds Dana, using this as an outlet for her own missing family. "And the whole being ambushed by the Senturian and his bug themed Robo-Rangers thing."

Zordon somehow clears his missing throat and draws all attention to himself. "I'm sorry Alpha, but I was forced to give Dana and Hayley the new Power Coins."

The five who had no idea all begin sharing shocked looks. Emma is the one who realizes the source first and snaps her fingers.

"That's what you did with the power we drained from Farkas' shield!"

"Correct Emma." Zordon smiles down at her proud face. "It was not something I had had ever considered before, but something inspired Alpha to try. I was simply going to give you all a metallic upgrade."

Smiling gratefully at the two new Rangers, Farkas continues the explanation. "They saved my bacon and our Zords combined, which made the Beetle Borgs skedaddle before we even took a single step."

"Was a major letdown," Adds Dana, her scowl becoming a full on snarl.

"Silver Guardians declared martial law over California." Orion spits out angrily. "Named all of us as conspirators of Zedd and Rita… before coming for us all right at home!"

"They took Karone, Zhane, and then left me to die in the burning house." Explains Ernie, doing his best to manage his own rage.

Zordon tries to reassure the bandaged father. "Only because you sent the teens here with your own communicators." These words make Ernie shuffle in embarrassment. "You gave up everything to save six teens, all of whom you have yet to speak with."

"Couldn't let the Guardians take them back," He grunts back awkwardly. "Who knows what they wanted to do with them."

"I can't tell Andros until we reach Aquitar, or he'll insist on staying." Orion adds with a sigh.

Snorting at this, Jake brings up how Andros was pacing like an impatient cat. "You should probably head up before Andros gets worried and comes down himself."

"Alright," Agrees Orion, who grabs his dad in a firm embrace. "Love you both and make sure you tell me when yo get Mom back."

"Of course, don't do anything impulsive out in space." Hayley grabs him for a hug of her own. "I'm not going to be on board, can't save you when you screw up anymore."


…


"Our families got taken in for questioning!" Exclaims Emma in shock, when Hayley explains exactly what's changed in the last week.

"School's been taken over by the Guardians and anyone with any kind talent gets enlisted." She slams a fist against the wall in frustration. "And we've now got eight of these Beetle Borgs running around… I'm just glad you guys are back." Hayley admits, her scowl shifting into terror for her mother's fate.

Noah pulls her closer and sighs in guilt. "I'm sorry we left. We shouldn't have just assumed everything was quiet for a good reason."

"How are we getting everyone back?" Dana checks the vitals on Kira, while Jake does the same to Ethan.

"We made sure to leave a tracker inside his body, just in case Alpha ever got kidnapped." Noah explains, while her untangles himself from Hayley and resumes work on fixing Trent. "We've already found the new base."

He goes over the details of it being a structure just offshore from Angel Grove and a couple hundred feet below the surface. Once he finishes, Troy takes over and outlines his plan of attack.

Each Ranger will make an appearance and defeat one of the Beetle Borgs who arrives. Once all are dealt with, a stealthy dive will be required.

"What do we do if the Silver Senturian shows his face?" Farkas reminds everyone that none of them can really face the robotic cop solo.

"Keep on evasion until someone else can back you up," Orders Troy with a grim smirk. "We're going to need everyone to storm the Aquabase, so no Plan Jakes from anyone."

"Oh come on!" A scowling Jake whines. "I haven't done anything stupid in like a month, Nate's whole stowaway idea has anything I've ever done beat anyway."

Gia smiles and agrees. "It's true, Jake's actually gotten pretty reliable."

"So what… Plan Jake is being boring now?" Face aghast at the idea, Jake starts to divert attention from himself. "No way, Troy is a way bigger stick in the mud." He glances over and shrugs. "No offense."

"Well if it's up for debate, I think Plan Jake is falling into the self sacrificial category." Noah considers his best friend's changes. "You've taken the most injuries out of all of us."

This is something Jake can live with and concedes with a playful smirk. "But that means Plan Noah is over thinking it and coming up with the most complicated solution imaginable."

"If Plan Troy is the boring one, what's my worst trait?" Emma notices the trend in the Plan names, but misses Troy's grumbled retort.

"You mean simple," Which makes him frown on hearing his defense out loud and cover his face with his palm in embarrassment.

"You think everyone can be redeemed and even if it's worked out so far..." Gia trails of and shrugs.

Finishing for her, Farkas smiles sadly. "Eventually it'll be a trick."

"And not just one to get in your pants," Chimes in Jake, the knowing smirk getting flicked off his face by Gia.

"Have we been able to get in contact with Andrew Hartford?" Troy ends that line of discussion by quickly changing the subject. "You said his name was part of the emergency broadcast."

Shrugging at the question, Hayley shares exactly how little even Zordon could find. "He went off the grid nearly seven years ago, but hasn't been reported dead or missing."

"Mercer was the last one who knew his location and we know what kind of guy he turned out to be." Dana clarifies when Hayley slams a hammer against her thumb due to distraction. "We checked the few known addresses and all had been empty for years."

"So he's either dead, really good at hiding, or..." Realizing what she's getting at, Troy closes his eyes with an angry hiss.

"Or the Guardians have him too." Gia growls in agreement.
Scratching Katastrophe behind the ear, Farkas gives Emma a hesitant look. "Skull and his team can be here if we need any help."

"Good to know, but I'd rather have them ready in case we fail." Explains Troy with ironclad resolve. "We let this happen by leaving you all alone, don't want the same thing happening in Japan."

"Alright, so a little bit of Plan Jake." Emma teases with a playful smirk. "And a lot of Plan Gia on this mission."

Blinking in confusion, Dana interrupts. "Wait a second, we never decided what Plan Gia was."

"Direct and likely filled with violence." A prepared Jake avoids his girlfriend's swat this time.

 

[Flightless Man]

Episode 26.5: And… Action!​

Baboo drills the last screw into the titanium plate and ensures it remains firmly in place on Karen Astronema's face. Once the electricity in her body makes the connection, the device begins overriding her mind with a new personality.

While his patient is still sedated, the oily furred mastermind grabs a scalpel and carefully prepares to make an incision. "Oh the things you will tell me about the galaxy." He begins to whistle, slicing into the alien's scalp just above the left ear.

"She's been on Earth for years, what do you really think she knows?" Frax hisses in confusion, but keeps his focus on his own procedure.

The android body of Zhane is offline on the table before the yellow cyborg, the extremely realistic skin having been removed slowly from the captive. Several acid etched plates have already been attached to his metal skeleton, with dozens more made of the black and green material ready to go.

"Which worlds are farthest from Vile's influence," Admits a scowling Baboo as he inserts an antenna into the woman's head. "I need to either have this planet ready to give him, or I need to be long gone when he returns." I've gotten used to being in charge, I'm not going back to being a servant.

Once the flashing red light begins coming from the final implant, Baboo stitches his patient back up with a callous grin. Now who should I start working on next? When he remembers the report of his half sister's boyfriend, the decision is suprisingly easy. He reaches with a clawed finger and taps the wall intercom on.

"Venjix. Go grab me Holling from the cells, I'm ready for my next test subject."


…


In his small cubical cell, Zach shivers in the chilly air and scowls. He may not be able to see, but he can still recognize the voices of his friends parents bickering. Even his normally reserved mother is ranting and raving about how this is all a misunderstanding.

No wonder Zordon chose teenagers. Kim's dad is screaming at Jason's and Zach can clearly picture the vein on his neck bulging with each word. Adding to the cacophony, Billy's dad is blaming everyone but his own kids for this mess.

Entire world would have been Rita's in the first week if he chose adults, they can't actually agree on anything. He brings his hand to his mouth and let's out a sharp whistle, cutting through the back and forth that's going nowhere.

"Let me save us all a lot of time and cut right to the chase!" Snarling at the parents, Zach paces back and forth in his cell. He keeps his voice at a normal volume for the rest of his speech, forcing the adults to remain silent or learn nothing.

"Yeah, the Silver Guardians are right," He growls in disappointment. "Your kids are the Power Rangers and have been saving the world for months. Deal with it, because when they come to save us… you better keep your traps shut until we're out of this place."

Of course Kim's dad is the first one to argue with a teenager. He endures the rant for a few seconds, before slamming his fist against the wall.

"Haven't you realized the Guardians are the bad guys?" Zach hisses in disappointment. "Me and your kids that you think are missing… we're the ones who started everything."

"Zach, what are you trying to say?" His mom asks with a concerned tone, shushing anyone who tries to interrupt.

He takes a deep breath and admits his greatest shame. "Jason dropped this ancient canister and we all got possessed. I was turned into the blue warty guy, I tried blowing the city up."

"But they found Jason's body!" Mrs Scott gasps in denial.

"And Trini was recovered near him." Mr Kwan isn't outright denying the claim, but he does sound doubtful.

"Jason was the winged lion in gold armor, he was killed in the first battle the Rangers won." It hurts having to admit this, but that's nothing to the anguish about to be revealed. "Rita had plans to use his body in some kind of ritual… we should probably make sure he's still in the ground."

He's not done with the bad news and has to crush Mr Kwan's hope. "Trini is the golden scorpion woman, she's the one behind Japan's attacks."

"Oh my..."

"Doesn't explain how you know the Silver guardians are bad news," Retorts Mr Holling with a very audible snort of derision.

"Well Kim got turned into Rita and she sent Billy – who's a blue vampire baboon thing by the way – to infiltrate this base months ago." Zach allows himself a moment to revel in the stunned silence and then hammers his point home.

"We know one of my teachers was transformed by the Guardians specifically and they had another one of my classmates held captive here."

The doors whoosh open and in strolls the Silver Senturian, flanked by two of the soldiers. Both are wearing the new silver and black armor, that actually looks like it can hold up to a few hits from a monster.

"Grab the whiny one, it's time for his checkup." The cold voice orders, with a struggling Mr Holling soon dragged from the room.


…


Noah swallows his nerves and follows Rocky, making sure to stay out of sight. He sniffs the air and finds it shockingly easy to single out the strange order. Kind of smells like Alpha.

When his target cuts through a park, Noah decides to make his move. A flash of blue light is all the warning he gives Rocky, before charging at him from the darkness.

"Finally!" He roars with a feral smirk and a light show of his own. "Was wondering if I really scared you that bad." The blue Beetle Borg mocks Noah and meets him with his own blade in hand.

"Just making sure I had room to go all out." Noah barks back with far more confidence in himself than he ever expected to have.

This just makes Rocky scoff and draw his sidearm. "So the puppy thinks it has some teeth, time to show you some proper obedience!" He lets loose with a salvo of energized bullets, tearing messy gouges all throughout the grassy field.

Flipping over the barrage, Noah doesn't waste time and calls on his Battlizer. The metal upgrade is fully assembled by the time he lands, allowing him to unleash his own steady stream of pressurized water.

It carves through trees and dirt alike, sending Rocky flying backwards when the blast finally connects. Noah grits his teeth and cancels his stream, charging forward to bring it back into close range combat.


...


Catch the red Beetle Borgs pincer claw by the wrist, Emma activates her Battlizer's air intake. Once it takes in enough for liftoff, Emma surges into the sky with her foe. Aisha's roars of frustration are music to her ears.

"Sorry but you're going to have to find your own way back down," Emma taunts down playfully and lets go of Aisha's wrist.

She tumbles several hundred feet through the air and slams into the finally reopened beach below… hard. A plume of sand shoots up when she lands, with Emma racing right after her with a scowl plastered on her face.

I really don't want to hurt her, but I can't think of any other way to stop her. Emma lands beside her target and watches the red insect themed warrior rise on shaking legs.

"Stay down please," Emma begs to no avail, as Aisha continues to step towards her. "I really don't like having to hurt someone innocent." She has to be under some form of mind control, no one who loves animals as much as she did can just change like this overnight.

"Neither do I," She responds flippantly. "Good thing I know you're working with the aliens, playing both sides of the invasion angle."

Wait… what? Emma nearly loses focus for a second, but steadies her aim when she catches herself. "What are you talking about, we're trying to stop Rita and Zedd! You're the ones keeping people locked up and experimenting on them."

"I'll admit the lie is creative, but I've heard all of Rocky's excuses. You need to work on the delivery if you actually want someone to believe you."

Not mind control then, so maybe some kind of behavior modification combined with a heavy helping of lies. Emma realizes with a groan and knows she won't be ending this with words.

"Alright, I gave you a chance to end this peacefully." Unleashing a barrage of air pellets, Emma smirks as each dent appears in the crimson armor.


...


"Dude, I've played against your team for years!" Jake roars at his foe, one of the newer Beetle Borgs Carlos. "You know I'm not some kind of psycho working with aliens."

"I thought I did, but that girlfriend has really changed you." Carlos declares sadly, his face concealed by the black insect themed armor. "I hope once I get you away from her that you'll start thinking clearly again."

This make Jake growl quietly and send all of his Battlizer's energy to his fist. It starts to crackle as electricity swirls around his arm and he drives it hard into his opponent's gut.

"She didn't change me, but she sure did show me the kind of man I want to be." He admits when Carlos wheezes on his knees. "I did all of this changing on my own and I'm not even close to being done!"

Every time I take someone on solo, I'm only been able to buy time for the team. Jake clenches his fists and narrows his eyes on his rising opponent. "You're about to see exactly how far I've already come, so I really hope you can handle the real me."


...


Dana grins as she slams her armored knee into Ashley's elbow, causing the white Beetle Borg to roar in pain. I didn't know I had such a vicious streak in me. She blinks in surprise when she realizes she's enjoying this for all the wrong reasons.

This isn't about hurting them, it's about saving them. Dana lets the wave of guilt crash against her and flow away, refocusing on the real goal. This is only step one in saving a lot of people, can't lose my head in a cat fight.

Bringing out her spiked shield as a deterrent, Dana lets Ashley make the next move. "We can end this anytime, you're just as much a victim as my dad is."

"So I have the honor of bringing you home to the Aquabase?" Ashley mocks cruelly. "Daddies going to be so pleased with me."

She charges at Dana, who's forced to resort to a serious of rapid blocks. Noticing a pattern in the attacks, Dana grits her teeth and rolls under the third punch in the combo. Slamming her shield into the Beetle Borgs leg, Dana breathes out in relief when Ashley falls hard on her back.

"You're only going to have to honor of getting hurt, so please… continue resisting." Dana charges the shoulder cannon of her Battlizer and unleashes a single massive sphere of orange energy. It screams through the air and crashes into Ashley, sending a shower of metal into the air.


…


Koh has to endure his father's lessons in begrudging silence and is barely able to restrain the urge to stab him. When Lord Zedd finally grows bored and leaves to torture some Tengu, Koh is finally able to sneak inside the grandiose ritual room.

He ignores the beautiful designs made with the blood of those sacrificed and heads straight for the flowing fountain of crimson fluid. Pulling back his sleeve, Koh scratches his arm with a clawed finger.

He allows a single drop of blood to fall into the black stone basin and begin bubbling. The screams that echo from the fountain make the boy smile when he can finally here his mother's voice.

 

[Flightless Man]

Episode 27: Doomsday Part 1​

Panting for breath, Troy watches with relief as his foe finally falls. The missing TJ is revealed groaning on the dirt, pieces of armor scattered around his body. Once he's confident the fight is over, he raises his wrist to his lips.

"Finished with mine, anyone need a hand?"

It takes a few minutes but eventually he gets confirmation of a successful strike from everyone. Sirens are soon heard approaching, with Troy gritting his teeth.

"Stage two's about to begin, who else has incoming?" He attaches a beacon to the fallen teen and activates it, sending him to a secure room at the Command Center in a beam of crackling pale blue light.

Standing firm in the middle of the quarry, Troy watches several of the new armored vans surround him. Over twenty of them emerge, each wearing the imposing Quantron Armor and wielding what looks like a Klingon Batleth.

It's unexpected when the leader still attempts to bring him in peacefully, her voice firm but not cruel. "You're coming with us quietly, you do get however get to decide if you're awake."

"You have no idea what's really going on, do you?" Returning the respectful tone, Troy keeps his head on a swivel.

"I know you've already infiltrated our base and attacked the city," She retorts derisively and signals to her men behind Troy. "So this is your final chance to come in conscious."

About to resist, Troy barely stops himself at last second. They'll bring me to one group of captives, why don't I go with them? He nods and holsters his Blade Blaster, sending his Power Sword back to the storage void with a thought.

"May as well get this all straightened out." Making sure his radio is transmitting everything, Troy does the celebrating Guardian's job and walks towards the back of one van. "Well, what are we waiting for?"


…


"What the hell is he thinking?" Dana hisses the second she materializes on the cliff with the others. "How is getting captured a part of the plan!"

Not happy with the decision either but willing to trust in Troy's choice, Gia stops anymore bickering with her firm words. "He's giving us a clear path to either he captives or one of the bosses."

"Agreed," Emma chimes in with nearly concealed worry. "We only have maybe fifteen minutes until Troy's at the base, so lets get swimming."

"Farkas, you're with me and Emma until we reach Troy." Stepping towards the edge of the towering cliff, Gia gives some last minute adjustments to the plan. Noah and Hayley need to deal with Cyclopsis and-"

Dana interrupts with a growl. "And we're going for my dad." Behind her, Jake signals his intention of keeping an eye on her. "We've gone over this already, no more stalling." She throws herself of the cliff and ends the tense waiting by diving gracefully towards the waves.

"She's like a combination of our worst qualities," Sighs Jake as he charges off the cliff next, Noah right behind him.

"But balanced with Emma and Troy's better ones." He goes for a cannonball and enters the water with a mighty splash.

"The radio's still on remember..." Hayley snorts at the complainers and starts swimming towards the light coming from the ocean floor. "Which means she can hear you."

Ignoring the commentary, Dana keeps all of her focus on the task at hand. She can see several places that look like some kind of submarine access and one that looks like it's designed for divers to come in and out.

"Prisoners aren't swimming in," She points to one of the ways in. "We can leave that entrance to another group, I want to try that one." Dana points to the largest opening and somehow knows it's the right one.

Having no better idea since the Aquabase is really just a square without any defining features, Jake follows her with little complaint. Once they break off from the group, Hayley and Noah head towards a different entrance.

"Alright, guess we get the diver's hatch." Gia leads her own group to the entrance and peers inside. When she doesn't see anyone standing, Gia carefully hauls herself up and gives Emma a hand.

Bringing up the rear, Farkas peers around the room impressed in spite of himself. "How'd they get this place built so fast?"

"You'd think someone would have noticed." Agrees Emma with a curious glint in her eyes.

"We can ask when we take a captive," Gia instructs and allows Troy's beacon to show on her visor. "Looks like he's on the side closest to the shore, near the top of the base."

This makes Farkas pause. "Wouldn't it be faster to find a sea access on that side?"

"We're only a floor or two below him, this should mostly be a straight shot to Troy." Gia explains as she begins spinning the steel wheel on the door. When she pulls it open alarms begin sounding in the base, with all of the lights changing the an angry orange.

A squadron of Silver Guardians stampede towards them in Quantron armor, not even slowing down to command they surrender. Instead they go straight for the attack and only the narrow corridor hampers the greater numbers.

Emma jumps nearly to the roof and catches herself from falling with a perfectly executed set of splits. Her feet press firm against the walls and leave her suspended above her friends, giving her a perfect view of the Guardians.

While Farkas and Gia charge into melee combat, she takes out the rear guard with Arrows that explode in a magnetic pulse. Each one that strikes leaves her targets immobilized in their power armor and in no further need of injury. You're the best Alpha, so going to find out when your buildday is.

"Even the armor looks evil, how can they actually still think they're the good guys?" Gia kicks her final foe into the one struck by an arrow, causing both Guardians to collapse on the floor.

"You're the ones working for the aliens and attacking an Earth military base!" One of the immobilized guards snarls in defiance.

She almost kicks him in frustration, but Gia manages to restrain herself with a last second sigh. "You should watch the news once this is all over. Everything really going on down here… will be clear soon."

She doesn't waste anymore time explaining to a fanatic, leading her allies towards Troy. They ignore the curses and mockery coming from the Guardians and march down the corridor. Even Emma barely looks out the windows they pass.

"Going to have to get a waterproof camera," Her voice is tinged with barely restrained eagerness. "Never even considered how amazing the view is from down here."

"I thought we weren't supposed to morph for personal gain?" Gia teases her oldest friend as she carefully checks the next intersection for an ambush, only leading them on when she is sure it's safe.

Laughing despite the tense mood, Emma manages to keep a tense smile on her face. "Well I guess they'll only be for my personal collection."

"Ready?" Gia stops in front of a door made of a darker metal than the others passed, the signal for Troy coming from the other side.

"No, but let's do this anyway." Swallowing his nerves, Farkas grabs the door for her and yanks it open. He has time to see Troy still morphed but restrained on a chair, before the Silver Senturian opens fire on him.

Half a dozen bolts of energy slam into his chest and throw him into the far side of the corridor. The metal wall groans and bends from the force of the impact. A couple screws snap inside the wall, with water beginning to drip into the Aquabase unnoticed for now.

"You got here faster than I expected," Admits Troy with an audible grin and snaps his handcuffs with ease. "I knew I could leave it in your hands." He calls out to Gia and summons his sword, before driving it through Venjix's back and back out his left hip.

It doesn't kill the robot or even disable him, but it does make it nearly impossible for him to bend his waist in any direction. Troy repeats the same technique used on the Beetle Borgs and uses his sword as a beacon for Alpha to lock on to.

"One for transport and make sure you have the force field on high for this one." He smiles when the silver light vanishes and leaves him alone with his friends.

"Alright, you two double back and start looking for anything or anyone who shouldn't be down here," Gia starts to give orders and only realizes by the end that Troy should be doing so. "Emma and I will continue forward and let everyone know what we find."


…


As they finish of a fourth squadron of Guardians, Noah and Hayley pant from the effort. "Heavy resistance should mean we're heading for something worth guarding, Everyone should probably come back us up if we don't say anything in ten minutes."

"Understood, be careful you two." Jake is the one to reply, his and Dana's route strangely free of enemies. "I'm starting to get paranoid over here, haven't seen anyone yet."

"Rub it in why don't you," Snorting in annoyance, Noah ends the call.

Hayley follows him cautiously, her Power Staff at the ready. It has what resembles an antler shaped scythe on the top and bottom, leaving her with a very unconventional weapon.

"That's far enough!" A steel shutter crashes down and they heave themselves foreward in the nick of time. The metal barrier seals the corridor behind them, leaving the two trapped with only a single doorway to go through.

Noah slams one of his mace against the locked door, letting it swing open and reveal the missing family members. The lone technician goes pale and cowers on the floor, begging for mercy.

"I surrender!" He goes right past fear and is approaching blind terror. "Don't dissect me!"

"Um… what?" Noah snorts out and tries not to laugh. "We're here for the families you kidnapped, so just unlock them."

"Noah!" His mom shrieks in glee when she recognizes his voice, with his brother bragging to the other parents.

"Told you it was them." Even locked in a cell he sounds as confident as ever. "If they could get to the moon, they can get to the bottom of the bay."

"We went a whole lot farther than the moon." Noah smirks under his helmet, excited to be able to share this all with his mom finally.

Laughing at the comment, Zach nods knowingly. "Oh yeah. You guys went to Saturn or something, right?"

"One of it's moons, but then we-"

Oh course he should have known his mother wouldn't be pleased hearing this. "Noah Carver Taylor! When did I say you could go to space?"

"...You didn't." Sighing at his mom's worry, he makes sure the technician only unlocks the doors.

"Where's my mom?" Hayley interupts with concern, which makes Noah realize a few others are also missing.

"Jake's dad isn't here either, or Farkas' mom."

Zach is the one who explains to Hayley, the other parents all still in various stages of shock. "They took Zhane and your mom right away. Took Roger a few days later and then Alice yesterday."

"Okay, we're going to send you to our base." Hissing in frustration, Hayley starts handing each parent a beacon. "Don't touch anything with lights and do not bother Zordon or Alpha. We need them ready to respond, so wait until we finish for any more explanation."

"Wait just a min-" His mom tries to argue, but Noah is spared when they all vanish in crackling grey light. I don't know if taking the technician was the right call, but it's too late to change my mind now now.

He grabs Hayley in a firm hug and lets her scream in pent up frustration. "It's not fair!" She's nearly sobbing now, barely able to keep her tears at bay. "Where else could they be?"

"Found most of the parents, but a few got taken away for some kind of experiment." He informs the others a rescue isn't needed, but that the mission isn't over either.

"While we found Cyclopsis and it's lighting up!" Emma shrieks, her voice raw with worry over the radio.




......

Notes: And so begins the Season Finale it should be 4-5 parts (8-10 chapters). Sorry it took longer than normal, I had a hard time making sure I didn't leave anything out while planning the finale arc.