Legal: I do not own Power Rangers, or the associated names, characters, events, places etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be assumed to purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – May be some adult themes, including language and violence.
It was morning at the museum, and Chase was there amazingly early for him. It was so early that Shelby hadn't yet arrived to wait outside for the others to come and open up. All the lights were still off, and everything was still locked up. Anyone would be forgiven for thinking that he had woken up early and just had an uncharacteristic charitable streak, that he was going there to set up so that everyone could get straight to work when they got in. It was only as he quietly unlocked the door, locking it behind him, and sneaking through the museum like a cat-burglar that would put anyone's mind at ease that his true intent was some form of mischief.
It wasn't easy to slide down the slide into the lab without making a sound, but he had learned that if he put his shirt over his hands and removed his shoes, and then pushed himself up off his backside, then he didn't make the distinctive squeaking sound as he went down. Landing at the end, he got an evil smirk on his face. The lights were off meaning that no one was here yet, at least, no one awake.
There, lying on the floor, where they had left him last night, was the Green Ranger, Riley! Ordinarily, he'd have gone home to his apartment like every other night, but the night before, something incredible had happened to him. He and Ivan had been taken away to compete in a tourney, one attended by some of the most powerful mystical warriors in all the realms. If that was all that had happened, Riley would have been on cloud nine for weeks, no doubt boring them with every minute detail of his time there. However, something more had happened. Somehow, he had actually won one of the events! He was now the champion of combat on foot for all the realms! Of course after the tourney came the feast, and Riley...well...he'd ended up more than a little worse for wear! In the end, for his own sake, Kendall had figured it was best just to let him sleep it off in the lab rather than risk trying to take him home.
Chase crept up towards him, seeing the Green Ranger sleeping, snoring, and occasionally twitching. In his arms, he was still clutching the golden statue he had been presented as a token of his victory, and a turquoise scarf. He had a smile on his face, and was muttering, no doubt dreaming about his time at the tournament. Chase got a wicked smile on his face as he pulled in close, and reached into the front pocket of his hoodie, pulling out an air-horn. He heard a low growl behind him. He paused in his tracks.
"Leave alone." Koda warned him. Chase just looked to him, the look on his face screaming 'busted'. He knew Koda lived in the museum, which meant that if his plan had succeeded, then he'd probably have woken him too, but the thought of forcefully startling a hung-over Riley with an ear and no doubt in his condition head-splitting air-horn was just too good to pass up.
"Oh, come on big guy, this is too..." Koda silenced him with a little growl. "It's self-inflicted! It's not like..."
Koda just snatched the air-horn from him. He was sympathetic to Riley, even though his condition was self-inflicted. It wasn't like he was in the habit of such things. He wasn't even in the habit of eating unhealthily, such was his obsession with training. To the best of anyone's knowledge, this was the first time he'd ever had alcohol. No doubt in his excitement over the tourney and the festivities he'd gotten a little carried away.
"You here early, you help set up." Koda told him. Chase just sighed as he got up, heading away.
"Spoilsport." He muttered as Koda frog-marched him back to the museum to leave Riley in peace. No doubt he would suffer more than enough when he woke up on his own.
Up on Sledge's prison ship, Wrench muttered uncontrollably as he attended to menial tasks, basic cleaning that any of the many viviks could do. He was reduced to such things ever since the disastrous failure of his attempt to wipe out the Rangers and Amber Beach in one fell swoop with a massive explosive. It was a good plan, a plan he was certain was fool-proof. Unfortunately he had not banked on one thing...Kendall Morgan!
He knew that the Rangers had a friend, the curator of the museum, that helped them with their technical support. He was aware that a lot of their technology was her creation. While their weapons were powerful, he had never imagined that she would ever defeat one of his own creations. After all, he was a brilliant engineer, one that had the knowledge of technology from many star systems under his command. What could a woman who had spent her life studying large lizards that died millions of years ago know that would be close to comparable to his technology?
Now though he knew he had greatly underestimated her. She had defused his bomb, something that should have been impossible for a mere human mind. That was when his own fatal error had caused his undoing...his arrogance! It was such a simple thing to put a remote detonator into the bomb, to allow him to activate it in the event that the timer was somehow stopped. The first rule of any device was to create a back-up, but he hadn't even considered the possibility that anyone could defuse it. He could still remember Sledge screaming at him to detonate the bomb, and having to explain why all they could do was watch helplessly as the Megazord soared straight towards them, launching his own bomb straight back at them!
Now...he was hiding on the ship, or at least what was left of it! They were fortunate that the ship wasn't destroyed, but in the aftermath it was devastatingly damaged. Six whole levels of cell blocks had ended up being blasted into space! He had always teased Fury about how much his schemes cost Sledge and how many of his monsters, how many bounties he'd lost. In one day though, his lack of foresight had cost him hundreds of his prisoners, and a significant portion of his ship! He didn't even want to think about how much it had cost him in Bullion! Instead he focused all his attention on staying away from Sledge, who was no doubt looking to destroying him, and imagining the revenge he would visit on that accursed Kendall Morgan!
"You missed a spot!" Fury chuckled as he mopped up, taking nothing but delight in Wrench's current predicament. While Fury was currently helping him keep out of Sledge's way, hidden in the ship until he cooled down enough to reason with, he also delighted in seeing Wrench humbled like this. Currently, he was scrubbing a rust-mark on some piping with wire-wool. Wrench just threw the wire-wool to the floor in frustration.
"This is so HUMILIATING!" He exclaimed as he crossed his arms defiantly and leant against a wall. "I didn't build myself from the finest technology in four galaxies to do the work of a cleaning droid!"
"No, you just built yourself to do more damage to Sledge in one day than the Rangers have managed to do in almost a year." Fury chuckled. Wrench just glared at him.
"You promised you'd help me get back at the Rangers!" Wrench stated angrily. "We've been at this for..."
"Shut up." Fury stated, holding up a hand and looking around.
"DON'T YOU TELL ME TO...!"
"I said SHUT UP!" Fury responded, clamping a hand against his mouth and ramming him against the wall. He held Wrench there as he tried to struggle, but eventually Wrench stopped struggling. He noticed Wrench wasn't even looking at him.
"Come, this way." Fury told him. Fury told him. Wrench started to creep along the corridor. Wrench looked around, before following him as quietly as he could.
He saw Fury crouching down by a corner, and signalling him to stop. Wrench came close to him.
"What is it?" Wrench asked. Fury pointed down the hall. A couple of Spikeballs were heading through the cell block, towards a block designed to hold creatures with powerful energy attacks. "How did you..?"
"I'd trust my nose over any of your scanners any day." Fury told him.
"So, if the guards are here, why are we?" Wrench asked him. "Let's go?"
"I wanted to see why they were here, and now I think this may be our chance. How often do the guards carry keys?" Fury asked him with a smile. It was then that Wrench saw that Fury was right; one of them was carrying a large collection of keys! Ordinarily, the guards would only bring keys into the cell blocks if they intended to release a prisoner for some reason. Bringing them in otherwise only courted the possibility one of the creatures would somehow get their hands on them! Only Poisandra ever brought the keys in at any other time, one of her favourite games was to taunt the prisoners with the possibility of escape but she was powerful enough to take care of herself.
"They're releasing one of the prisoners?" Wrench asked him. "Sledge must have another plan! He must be on his way down here! We need to...!"
"Calm down before your wiring overheats, if Sledge was anywhere near here I'd have smelled him ages ago." Fury assured him. "It's probably scheduled maintenance...of course since you don't have access to your schedule anymore, I suppose you forgot."
Wrench hated that Fury delighted in rubbing his face in his position so much, but he was powerless against him. Fury would quite literally take him apart if he let his frustrations erupt into violence. Fury indicated to him to keep quiet, and then pointed down the hall as the Spikeballs found the cell they were looking for.
Opening the cell, they dragged one of the prisoners out of his cell. They bundled him roughly into the hall.
"Gold Digger, you're going to Solitary!" One of them growled.
"Solitary, but I didn't do anything!" He protested.
"We need to re-house you for essential maintenance on the energy dampener!" The other told him. "With Wrench missing, lord knows how long it'll take? We need somewhere to keep you safely until then!"
Gold Digger reached under the chest that was lodged in his...well...his chest! Damn he was a bizarre looking creature, Wrench thought. He watched as he got something in his hand.
"But I'll behave if you let me wait here, just please, anything but Solitary!" He begged. The Spikeballs though didn't seem interested in his pleading. He pulled away from them, facing them. "Alright then, if you won't listen to my begging, how would you feel about a little wager?"
They watched as he held up a coin. Fury looked to Wrench and smirked. They both remembered when Sledge picked him up. Gold Digger had been involved with a terrorist movement in his home planet that sought to de-stablise the planet's economy. His particular party trick was to charge simple coins with explosive energy! A few of his coins slipped into people's bank accounts, and the change spent in shops and restaurants caused untold carnage on his home world! The citizens were more than happy to pay Sledge's fee to be rid of him!
"Heads, you let me wait here while you do the repairs. Tails, I walk to Solitary without so much as a word." Gold Digger proposed. The two Spike Balls looked to each other, before looking back to him.
"Either way, we keep the coin!" One of them said greedily. Gold Digger just smiled.
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" He replied, flicking the coin into the air. One of the Spikeballs caught it, and opened his hand, looking at it.
"HA! TAILS!" He roared. "We win!"
"Actually...I'd say you just lost." Gold Digger said, taking a couple of steps back. The coin started to glow, before exploding devastatingly, completely destroying both of the Spikeballs. "All of your limbs...and pretty much everything else as well! Thanks for the parole suckers!"
He started to run down the corridor, looking for a way out. He doubted an explosion anywhere on the ship would go unnoticed. He had only a small window of opportunity to get off the ship! He looked around frantically for an escape pod. As he got to the corner though, Fury grabbed him, throwing him against the opposite wall and pinning him there. He held a blade to his throat.
"F...F...Fury!" He stammered in panic, seeing Sledge's old partner before him. He had been there, helping when Sledge took him down. He was more than aware of what he was capable of. "I...I'm sorry..."
"Come with me!" Fury growled, interrupting him.
"P...p...please, not solitary!" He begged him. "I promise I won't misbehave again...!"
"Do I LOOK like I give a rat's ass about what you did to a couple of Spikeballs?" He asked him. "If you want off this ship, come with us."
"What?" He asked, completely confused. Fury was Sledge's partner...at least, as far as he knew he was. Being locked up, he couldn't claim to be privy to everything that happened on the ship out with his own corridor. "You're helping me escape?"
"We will, for a price." Fury told him as he and Wrench started to walk away. "Unless you'd rather stay here and plead your case with Sledge of course."
It didn't take long to make a decision; it was a no-brainer. Gold Digger ran after them to catch up, taking his chances with Fury.
Back at the Dino Bite cafe, Tyler, Chase, Koda and Ivan were all waiting for the last members of their team to join them before heading out to train. Kendall had hired some more staff, a necessary move to free them up for their responsibilities. Given the way Sledge had been upping his game lately, it was no longer practical to have them as the only staff. It still wasn't ideal, they were leaving less staff than Kendall would like to run the place, but hiring was a long process.
Tyler was turning over the air horn in his hands, staring at it. While they were waiting, Koda had told them the story of what happened in the lab that morning.
"So that's why you left so early?" Tyler asked. "Not cool man."
"Come on! Will everyone lighten up?" He asked, a huge grin on his face, failing to understand why it was a big deal. "It was meant as a joke!"
"I must agree with Tyler." Ivan said, his arms crossed as he glared at Chase. He was somewhat responsible for Riley's current condition, having dragged him to the tourney in the first place. However, even though Riley had been declared a knight, in the same way as he had once been Ivan's squire and had a responsibility to him, Ivan did feel a level of responsibility for Riley's wellbeing...even if strictly speaking his condition was self-inflicted. "Mocking the afflicted is not noble behaviour!"
"Afflicted? He has a hangover! He'll live! By this afternoon he'll be running laps in the track like always!" Chase told them. "Besides, it's not like you don't mind making jokes when I do something stupid."
"It's kind of hard not to when you do stupid things so often." Tyler replied as Kendall arrived, with a slightly pale-looking Riley.
"How are you feeling Sir Riley?" Tyler asked him. Riley just muttered something under his breath.
"He'll be fine." Kendall sighed, looking to him. "He's got a clean enough bill of health to train, the benefits of being young I suppose."
She looked around; noticing one of them was missing.
"Where's Shelby?" She asked. It wasn't like the Pink Ranger to be late. Only Koda, the one that literally LIVED in the museum was there any earlier! Kendall would always arrive each morning to find her waiting outside, nine-times-out-of-ten with a blow-by-blow account of the latest papers she had found online from the field. Kendall admired her enthusiasm, but was exhausted by it at the same time. She didn't have the heart to remind her that she read the exact same journals!
"Sorry I'm late Ms Morgan!" She called out as she came running into the cafe, struggling with her training bag and a stereo. She stumbled into the place, trying to straighten herself out. "I totally lost track of time."
"Lost track of time doing what?" Kendall asked.
"I was online." Shelby told her. "It won't happen again, I swear!"
"Were you trying to get those tickets?" Tyler asked her. Kendall looked to Tyler.
"Tickets?" She asked, before switching her gaze back to Shelby.
"I was online, looking for tickets for..." Her words tailed off for a moment. Kendall snapped her fingers.
"Was it the lecture from Dr Oliver about the migration of the Brachiosaur?" She asked her. "Shelby, why didn't you say something, I can get you tickets for that no problem! He owes me a favour!"
"That's great!" Shelby replied with a smile, thankful not only for the tickets, which she genuinely wanted to get anyway, but also the get-out. She doubted after all the concessions Kendall had made recently for her, helping her towards her goal of ending up in palaeontology, that she would be too impressed to find out she was late because she was looking for information on where to get tickets to a concert! "Thanks Ms Morgan, and I meant it. It won't happen again!"
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time I lost track of time studying." Kendall told her with a little smile. She then looked to the others. "Alright, I hope you're all ready for training. I have a special surprise today."
"Surprise?" Tyler asked her.
"I've been working on a new weapon." She informed them.
"New toys! I am always up for that!" Chase said with a look of glee on his face.
"I'm glad you feel that way." Kendall told him. "Because you're the test pilot!"
"YES!" Chase yelled excitedly, throwing his hands up in the air as they all got up, heading for the vehicles to head out somewhere they wouldn't be disturbed.