Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, places, characters, events etc. Anything not covered by these rights should be considered purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – may be some adult themes, including language and violence.
On Heckyl's ship, in the galley, one of the monsters, Half-Bake was preparing another meal for the inmates and the crew. Part of Heckyl's new regime was that he wanted "the inhabitants of the ship to know they were guests, not prisoners", and so he insisted that they eat actual food as opposed to any kind of slop that Sledge usually had processed out of whatever was left over once the crew had eaten.
It was a thankless task, with so many creatures on board from such wildly different cultures and backgrounds, it was literally impossible to make everyone happy. There were constant complaints about his food, and yet all he heard all day were more and more demands for food. His own restaurant back home had some renown, but that had all changed when a powerful mobster had eaten there and gotten serious food poisoning. At least, that was what he told everyone, Half-Bake didn't know about his food allergies and had ended up hospitalising him. It was a blessing in disguise when the mobster put a bounty on him and Sledge had simply taken him off the planet. He was sure that when the mobster got out of hospital, he'd have ended up an ingredient in one of his own dishes.
The situation was compounded further by his working conditions. The kitchen in Sledge's ship were incredibly cramped, more built out of necessity than for any serious culinary work. He had heard Heckyl's promise that anyone that helped him get an Energem would rule the Universe at his side. That sounded like a whole lot of work to Half-Bake, but with the ruler of the universe beside him, he could open the greatest restaurant imaginable, with the kind of kitchen and ingredients that would put Half-Bake on the A-list, the TOP of the A-list throughout the universe.
Wrench came in, carrying a toolbox. Half-Bake had complained about the ovens being broken, and so he was here to see if he could fix them. The cyborg came in to him wielding a massive mallet in two hands, pounding out some dough like he was driving in railway spikes. Wrench just shook his head.
"What the blazes are you doing?" He asked.
"I'm pounding out dough." Half-Bake answered him, pointing to the oven. "That thing's been on the fritz. If I don't get it up to temperature in the next half hour, all the ship's meals will be late and Master Heckyl will be furious!"
"Pies AGAIN?" Wrench grumbled as he started to get to work. "Don't you know how to make anything else? And why exactly do you need a sledgehammer to make dough? Haven't you heard of a rolling pin?"
"Maybe if I had a kitchen with appliances that worked I would be able to work better!" Half-Bake moaned as he continued to work. "My utensils are a joke, my appliances keep breaking down, my ingredients are running out..."
"Your ingredients are running out?" Wrench asked him. "What kind of ingredients?"
"You know, condiments, spices, herbs, meat, vegetables..." Half-Bake started to rhyme off.
"Wait, meat and vegetables?" Wrench asked, before going to the fridge. Pulling it open, he found it looking very sparse indeed. Sparse was being polite about it, he had seen black holes with more matter inside them. He turned to look at Half-Bake. "How long have the stores been like this?"
"Um...a few days." Half-Bake said nervously. "Hunter used to go for all the ingredients! With him gone..."
"A few days?" Wrench yelled at him. "So what have you been serving?"
"Um..." He started to say, before Wrench started to look around. He found pelts in a nearby trash container, ready to be incinerated. This wasn't too unusual, but as he pulled out one, it was a little small and alarmingly familiar.
"RATS?" Wrench screamed at him. "You've been serving RATS?"
"I didn't have anything to work with! You try feeding this many mouths with no one going for groceries!" Half-Bake protested. Wrench looked to the pastry and realised that Half-Bake had been serving pies and pasties for days...a perfect way to hide his creative 'substitutions'.
"So what have you been doing for vegetables?" Wrench asked him. As he was about to answer though, Wrench held up a hand. "On second thought...I think I'd prefer not to know. I'll send out some Spike Balls to source some ingredients for you. Have you at least made the cinnamon rolls Heckyl asked for?"
"Um...well...I can make ROLLS." Half-Bake told him. "We ran out of cinnamon a week ago!"
"Well, just...make them as best you can...but NO SUBSTITUTIONS!" Wrench warned him as he got back to work on the oven. "I've never been so grateful that I don't have a stomach anymore."
A week was a short time for the team, despite the restaurant being ready to re-open a while past, in order to draw business back, Kendall had arranged a massive event for the museum. The press was going to be there to cover the re-opening, and for one day only, they had opted to throw open their doors for free. They had even managed to convince Phillipe to take some time out of his schedule to cut the ribbon on the new and improved museum.
The place was packed. It was easily the busiest the museum had ever been. They knew that free food and entry was going to be a massive loss leader, and were thankful that Anton really didn't care if the museum made any money at all, but given the number of people there, they were certain that a lot of people were going to come back.
The team, were gathered around a table, having a good time. With the exception of Shelby, they all had the day off. Kendall had insisted it was because they had worked so hard to help get the museum ready for the day, but Chase had suspected that she just wanted them out of the way. Shelby was on shift, ready to lead any tours she was called on, but with most people happy enough to just let their curiosity lead them, she was taking a little time to hang out with them. Though they weren't the only ones at the table, Shelby had invited along her friend Erin to finally meet her friends. Given the laughter from the table, it seemed that she needn't have worried. Erin was always good at making a first impression.
"...so I was like, 'Obviously, its a donkey!'" Erin concluded her story eliciting another huge laugh from the table. With her dad being in the military, she was used to making new friends quickly, and she had a number of stories to tell from the numerous places she had been while her dad was stationed all around the world.
"Shelby, Erin is awesome!" Tyler laughed, wiping away some tears. Shelby was happy to see Tyler so happy. It hadn't been long since James had left, just under a week ago he had only just got his father back, only for him to have to pack up and leave again on his mission for Keeper to find the Silver Energem. He made sure to keep in contact this time, but Tyler had been understandably rather down since he had left. Shelby was happy to see that Erin could make him laugh. She was even happier knowing that since she had invited Erin here, all she had asked her all week was if she was sure Ivan would be there.
"Yup, that's why we've been besties since kindergarten." Shelby said proudly. She hadn't had many friends growing up; Erin had been one of the few that actually found her obsession with dinosaurs in any way cool. It was heartbreaking when Erin had to leave, but they always kept in touch, even long after most friendships at that age fizzled out and vanished.
"Aw, Shelbster." Erin replied, looking to her. "I was just telling your friends about that dinosaur song from school, remember? What a riot!"
"Oh, you really, really shouldn't have..."
"Yeah, Erin was saying you used to sing it all the time, even at your school's talent show." Chase teased her, seeing Shelby becoming a little uncomfortable, imagining that it was embarrassing for her.
"Yeah, how about you sing it for us?" Riley continued.
"Oh, I don't...I'm not even sure I remember it." Shelby said, trying to extract herself from the situation. Erin though seemed to have absolutely no shame at all, something of a personal trait that Shelby admired and also hated in equal measure. She wasn't sure Erin even knew what it was to be embarrassed.
"Oh, of course you do Shelbster; we sang it all the time!" Erin told her. "Come on, I'll even sing it with you, like we used to." Realising that she was never going to get out of this situation now, Shelby finally figured that the best way out of it was just to get on with it and hope the attention passed quickly."
"Life is like a triceratops." Shelby began.
"And you know I love you tricera-lots." Erin completed the line. The guys gave them both a polite applause, but were thinking more of a young Shelby walking around singing that song all the time. "You know, right after I wrote that song, we sang it in the school talent show and won first place. We were like rock stars, right Shelby?"
Shelby's face told a whole story all by itself. She loved Erin completely, she had done ever since they first met way back in kindergarten, but this was just something that Erin did that she had always noticed, that no one else seemed to. She had a habit of tweaking stories and altering them just a little to put herself in the best light, often claiming that she was responsible for things she had never actually done. It wasn't like Shelby was going to make a huge deal out of the fact that she was the author of her Kindergarten creation "Tricera Rocks", but it was always the same. No matter what happened, somehow she was involved, or had outright been the one behind the whole thing.
"Yeah, it's a great song." Shelby replied, just trying to brush it all aside. "One minute until my shift is over, how about we go out and find some fun, huh?"
There was a roar of approval from the table as the guys all started gathering their empties and putting them on a tray. Even though she was on tours that day, Shelby bussed the table, seeing the cafe staff were busy. Erin shifted around in the booth, closer to Ivan.
"So, Ivan isn't it?" She asked the Gold Ranger. "So Shelby tells me you're from Zandar. That has to be one of the few places in Europe I've never been. Tell me, what's it like there?"
"Well, it's been quite some time since I was last in my home land." Ivan assured her. "I understand quite a bit has changed since I left."
"Well, how about you tell me what it was like when you were there?" Erin answered, fluttering her eyelashes at him a little. Ivan adjusted himself on his seat a little.
Shelby put her tray down on the counter, just as Chase came over with the remaining empties.
"So, a triceratops song." He put down, looking to Shelby as he leaned on the counter. "Erin's into dinosaurs too?"
"Well, yeah and..." Shelby just paused as Chase just looked at her with a knowing smile. Chase was a bit of a blowhard himself back in the day. He knew all about bragging and exaggerating his stories. Once, he had tried to tell the team about a jump he had performed on his skateboard, up until Kendall pulled up a computer simulation of the trick he had described, showing at least five different ways what he was describing was impossible...not least because the height he claimed he had jumped from would have generated an impact that would have completely destroyed his skateboard. "OK, actually...it's my triceratops song."
"Really? I would never have guessed!" Chase responded sarcastically, feigning complete surprise, putting a hand on his chest like he was about to have a heart attack. Shelby just smacked him in the chest.
"We sang it in the talent contest and won first place." Shelby told him, confirming that part of the story at least. "But then she went around telling everyone she wrote it, even though she knew I wrote every word."
They both turned to look at the table as there was another huge roar of laughter.
"Yup, she takes credit for EVERYTHING. Everything good anyway, if anything bad happens, she was never there or knew nothing about it." Shelby sighed. "But, she's still my bestie. Come on."
With that, they went back to the table to gather the others and head out to find something else to do.
Back on Heckyl's ship, Half-Bake was in the control room with Wrench, holding a tray of 'cinnamon' rolls that Heckyl had ordered. Both of them looked to the psychotic alien as he took a large bite of one, and started chewing. Given the expression on his face, they were both starting to get a little worried. Wrench was thankful at least when Heckyl merely leaned over in his chair and spat out the mouthful onto the floor. At least Half-Bake had only made something he didn't like, rather than trying to make any substitutions with potentially lethal results.
"Aw fiddlesticks." Half-Bake muttered, seeing his hard work being treated with such disdain. Heckyl just glared at him.
"Half-Bake, why don't I taste cinnamon?" He asked him, looking annoyed. He had been hoping for a treat to lift his mood following the latest defeats at the hands of the Rangers. Singe's plan had brought them closer to victory than he could ever remember them being, but it had all fallen through their fingers at the last moment. Half-Bake just looked nervous as he tried to stammer out an explanation.
"It's not my fault, we're all out!" Half-Bake protested. "Wrench sent out some Spike Balls to get some ingredients, but we haven't heard back from any of them yet!"
"We need more ingredients?" Heckyl asked.
"Well, Hunter DID source most of them." Half-Bake reminded him. "Um...Master Heckyl, I've been meaning to speak to you about my job."
"Would it be about how you're lucky to have one since you don't deign to tell me when I'm running out of FOOD?" Heckyl asked him.
"No, um...it's actually...I want a shot at defeating the Rangers." Half-Bake told him. Heckyl just blinked at him for a moment, before everyone on the bridge burst out laughing.
"You didn't tell me you were a comedian as well as a chef." Heckyl responded.
"I don't even think we can call him a chef." Wrench guffawed as he fell to his knees. "I'd say don't give up the day job, but you suck at that too!"
"Give me a chance!" Half-Bake whined as he tried to get them to take him seriously. Heckyl just looked to him.
"So tell me, what exactly is your plan?" He asked.
"Maybe he plans to throw his rock cakes at them." Wrench suggested through his laughs. "You could use those things to build a house!"
"I'll just um..." Half-Bake said as he tried to think of something. "I'll just...destroy them! That's what I'll do!"
He started to shrink away in embarrassment as they continued laughing at him.
"Please, please stop, I'll wet myself!" Heckyl begged him as they continued to laugh. They were all delighted that at least Heckyl wasn't threatening to destroy anyone, being far too amused at the thought of Half-Bake trying to destroy anything other than his recipes. Half-Bake left the room, muttering all the way.
"Soon you'll all be eating humble pie." He grumbled. "You'll see!"
Over in the park, the Rangers were having a great day with Erin. The park was very quiet today, likely because people were taking advantage of the event at the museum, meaning they had ample opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a beautiful day out.
"This Erin is a delight." Ivan said as they were sitting around, waiting on Erin and Chase returning from the ice-cream van. They'd played a spirited game of touch football, and were now taking the time to relax afterwards.
"Yeah, and the stories she tells...who knew that one person could do so many great things." Riley commented. Shelby just glared at him.
"Erin's pretty amazing, and it's not like you don't have a bunch of trophies." Shelby said defensively, knowing that Riley, like Chase must have picked up that Erin's tales were rather grandiose and doubting their factual accuracy. "Ms Morgan told me all about that shrine your mom calls your bedroom."
"Hey guys, my treat!" Erin declared with a bright smile as she came back with some ice-cream cones, handing them out. The guys were more than delighted with the thought of that as she started to hand them out. "Let's see, raspberry ripple for Tyler, mint chip for Riley, chocolate for Koda and Ivan...I got you something a little special."
She shifted Tyler aside, pushing in to sit next to Ivan, handing him a cone.
"A double scoop of chocolate with raspberry sauce." She told him.
"You my lady have fine taste." Ivan said as he started to eat it. Shelby went to take a cone from Chase, who just looked confused.
"Her treat?" He whispered. "I paid for those, did she just...?"
"Told ya." Shelby said through a forced smile. Just then, they heard a scream from a little way off. There, they saw a Spike Ball attacking an old lady, but something seemed odd about the attack. He had dropped his weapon and seemed to be grabbing the old lady's bag, trying to pull it away from her.
"Give me those groceries lady!" The creature yelled at the top of his voice, making his intentions clear. The Rangers all looked around each other, clearly confused and all thinking the same thing. The monster was here to steal the old lady's groceries?
"It's a Spike Ba..." Shelby had to stop herself as she remembered Erin was there. "...m...Monster. Come on guys, let's get out of here!"
"Good idea, let's um...meet up, back at the cafe!" Tyler suggested as they all made a show of splitting up and running in all directions.
"Oh...um...OK." Erin said as they ran off, beginning to run herself, but getting confused as to where she was and what direction she was meant to be going. She instead looked for a place to hide until the danger had passed. Finding a spot in some bushes, she hid there, keeping a close eye on the Spike Ball, hoping he wouldn't come looking for her. Fortunately, he seemed more interested in the bag than anything else.