Chapter 3

Metal crashed against the floor. Sparks crackled the air. The stink of blown fuses burned her nose. Summer panted. She had crushed several more grinders, but they kept coming. She stood tall against them. She would not be defeated. "You want some more?" she shouted. "I can keep this up all day!"

She really couldn't. Tenaya 7's robot body felt stronger than anyone probably ever should, but it was clearly built with human physiology in mind. Fatigue weighed heavy on her arms and legs. She didn't know how much longer she could keep herself on her feet. Not with so many grinders still before her.

They had stopped advancing. They just stood there, raising their metal arms up and down. She panted, watching them as they stared at her, cocking their mechanical heads to the side, as they sometimes did. With only a large nut for an eye and two bolts in each face, their copper-wired faces were unreadable. She knew that as machines, they didn't weary or get demoralized, they just kept coming. At least, for now, they had stopped. She knew that it was only a momentary reprieve as they studied her. Her gaze darted past them, caught sight of the large opening to the corridor.

The way out was so close but with so many grinders blocking her way, it was hopelessly out of her reach.

She tried to steady her breathing, keep it level while she had the chance. Then they moved.

As the remaining grinders rushed her, she balled her fists tightly inside of her black gloves. This is it, she thought. This is the end.

"Enough!" boomed the monstrous voice of Venjix.

The grinders stopped. Her eyes scanned back and forth, waiting. Convinced the fight was finished, she turned and gazed up at the blood red orb that glared down at her.

"You have proven yourself, former ranger. Stand beside me and you will know victory and everlasting life."

Standing amongst the wreckage of broken grinders, she glared up at the orb. Summer lowered Tenaya 7's arms and shook her head of long, dark hair. "You must have blown a circuit if you think I would ever join you against my friends, Venjix." She glared up at the red orb. "Never."

The orb was silent. The room was still. "Very well," he said in a voice that seemed deadly calm with the ring of terrible finality.

A red energy blast shot down from the orb, slamming into her and shocking her off her feet, the glare turning the room blood red. The cold floor crashed against the side of her face and as the room swam in her vision, blurring images of her enemies dimmed to black.


Tenaya 7 smiled. Summer's black jeans and well-fitted yellow shirt made her feel comfortable, as if she could hide forever inside her. Not that she wanted to. As she gazed into the mirror, she blinked in surprise. Seeing Summer's blonde hair in her reflection was shocking, even now. She also found that Summer's green eyes staring back at her, so unfamiliar and so human, were somehow even more off-putting.

As she brushed Summer's long, golden hair, she supposed it didn't matter; it wouldn't be forever.

Setting down the hairbrush, she put such thoughts out of her mind.

She picked up Summer's Morpher and, clearing her throat, she resumed her training.

Once again, she rehearsed her lines: "RPM," she shouted as loud as she dared, "Get in gear!"

She didn't activate the Morpher; she just held it up to get the motion right. She had witnessed Ranger Yellow do it several times in real life and even more in the training videos she had studied prior to this mission. Now, she was sure she had it right. Enough to fool them anyway. She turned to the bed and picked up Summer's leather jacket. Raiding her closet hadn't provided as much as she hoped. For a former debutant, the girl didn't have much in the way of glamorous clothes. Aside from a tattered red dress in the back of her closet, the standard combination yellow shirt/black jeans were all she could find.

At least wearing the leather jacket made it bearable.

As she made her way out to The Garage, she mused on what she had been through. Waking up in someone else's body had been a thoroughly unique experience. She couldn't remember ever feeling so slow, so weak. The engine cell draped around her neck was a constant reminder of the power she could have. Her hand found it instinctively. It was a great comfort, always there, ready to be used. She wished Venjix would attack so she could morph again.

Her eyes roamed over her new home. She had seen The Garage before from her spy camera but to experience it through Summer's body was different. She could smell the oil and grease, hear the whirring of the tools and the conversations of the Power Rangers. Idly, she wondered what the place would look like in flames.

As she made her way down the stairs, she observed where everyone was and what they were doing. Not much action today. Everyone seemed busy, though. The blue one was working on his big blue truck, the red one was shooting pool with the green clown and the black one was…

"Hey."

Behind her.

She turned to face him. "Hey, yourself." She moved past him and started towards the kitchenette.

He followed. "You look good. Better since yesterday."

He seemed genuinely interested in her.

As she grabbed an apple off the counter, she suppressed a smile. Looking at him, she wanted to laugh at his sad, lost puppy eyes. She controlled herself instead. "Thanks," she told him. She hoped he wouldn't talk to her anymore. She had a job to do. Venjix was going to send their forces to attack the city and…

"So, you wanna play?" he asked, hands in his pockets.

She roused from her thoughts. "What?"

"Pool," he said gesturing back to the table on the other side of the room. "You wanna finish our game?"

She didn't have time for this. "I don't think so." She turned away and started towards the Ranger Room.

"Afraid you'll lose?" he called out.

She halted. Glaring back over the shoulder of Summer's stylish leather jacket, Tenaya 7 told him the truth. "I'm not afraid." She turned to face him. "And I don't lose."

He shrugged. "You almost did last time."

She found his half-smile infuriating. She supposed she had time to wipe it off his smug face. "One game," she icily agreed.

He smiled, and they headed over to the pool table.


Summer strained against her restraints. As strong as she now was, the metal cuffs wouldn't give. Not that she expected them to; she just wanted to try something. She gazed about the small room, the uniform metal walls and ceiling offering her no indication of where in the palace she might be. All she could see was what was before her: a metal door and a control panel nearby. With her wrists and ankles locked to the standing metal table, she didn't like her chances of using Tenaya 7's powerful body to destroy any more of Venjix's forces.

Or even warn her friends.

She was trapped. There was no way out. She sighed. Her thoughts drifted to her friends, her home, and her family. Despair washed over her. Even if she escaped Venjix's palace, she wasn't sure how she would convince them of her true identity. She could hardly convince herself of the truth. Every time she caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the polished chrome of the cell, she tensed up.

All she ever saw now was the face of her enemy: Tenaya 7.

She tried to think of what Tenaya 7 would do to escape. Probably not get caught in the first place. She thought of all the times they had fought, all the tricks she had seen her use. Suddenly, she remembered Tenaya 7's favorite trick. She craned her neck to look up at her Tenaya 7's right hand. The cuff restrained her at the wrist. She wondered…

She twisted her arm hard, first one way, and then the other. After a minute of rotating the arm, she felt a soft click. She carefully lowered her right arm, leaving the black-gloved hand in place. She smiled.

Staring at the stump of Tenaya 7's arm, she laughed. She could scarcely believe it worked! She glanced up at the hand and wiggled the fingers. They moved exactly as she made them move. Concentrating, she made the hand obediently waggle back and forth, finally toppling and falling to the floor. It landed on its fingertips. As she worked the fingers forward, she watched with satisfaction as the robot hand crawled across the metal floor toward the control panel. She flexed, and the hand hopped up onto the controls. It took a moment but eventually she crawled the black-gloved hand across the controls and found the buttons to press. Most of them didn't do anything but in time she found the right combination.

Suddenly, the shackles clacked open all at once, sending her falling to the floor.

She reattached the hand and grabbed the handle of her cell, surprised to find that it wasn't even locked.

As she opened it and slipped into the cavernous corridor, she wondered how on earth she was going to get home.


Tenaya 7 watched the ball rolling smoothly across the green felt, willing it to stop. She glared as it ignored her silent command and sank into the corner pocket.

"That's game," Dillon said.

She ground Summer's teeth. Her hands twisted around the cue stick. She couldn't believe it. She had lost three games in a row! It was impossible. He must have cheated. "Another game," she demanded.

He shrugged. "It's your funeral."

"I'm afraid the funeral will have to wait," Doctor K interrupted. "Ranger Yellow, may I see you in the Ranger Room?"

She put her cue stick down and followed the lab rat into the Ranger Room. The place seemed the same as the last time she had invaded. The Ranger uniforms were still in their protective cases against the wall. Doctor K sat at her desk behind the computer monitors, a safe cocoon from which she could direct the action and immediately began typing something.

"From what I can tell, that blast you were hit with didn't hurt you." She didn't look away from her computer screens. "But it doesn't seem like it was meant to." She stood and walked over to the computers on the wall. "This is the biofield." She indicated a green global image. "And this is the part that was affected…"

Tenaya 7 didn't know where exactly where this analysis was leading. She could guess though…

As Doctor K studied the screen, Tenaya 7 slowly approached her back. She would make it quick.

Alarms blared, startling her. She was just about to ask what the racket was when Doctor K answered her unspoken question. "Shield breach in sector nine." She tapped at the keyboard. "Sensors detect a small garrison heading for the main power grid." Doctor K didn't look away from the screen, just kept her focus on the images. "If they shut down power, it could mean catastrophic shield failure."

Tenaya 7 found that she couldn't keep a smile from ghosting across Summer's face. Her allies were inside the city. It was about time they showed up to begin phase two of their plan…