The following day, more than a few students were more than a little distracted. Mr Burley's simple experiment in his morning had a few more disasters than normal. Only Noah managed to complete his experiment without any ill events, since he was normally highly focused on science anyway, while Jake and Jordan somehow managed to start a small fire. Exactly how they managed it still baffled Mr Burley, but after one of the other students ended up with no eyebrows, he called time on the experiments and had the class pull out their books and copy down the experiment from a textbook for the sake of their safety.
By the time Phys Ed. Came around, the last class of the day before the drama students would be called to start filming scenes, the soccer team was preparing for their next match against the Stone Canyon Cavemen. They had to change up their strategy for this one. Unlike Silver Hills, who had a more refined game, Stone Canyon had a very physical and rugged style. They had a reputation for having more yellow cards and warnings than any other team in the league, but they got away with a lot more than they were called on. Most times that Harwood played them; their players had left with more than a few lumps and bruises. Whatever happened, win or lose, Stone Canyon left their opponents knowing they had been in a tough match.
Jordan had gotten to work right away, working to prove he had earned his captain's armband. He generally always had a more physical approach to the game than most of the players. He was a strong kid, and didn't get fazed at all when arms started flying at chest and face height. He was also no angel when it came to figuring out ways to return the favour in ways the referee was unlikely to catch.
As Frank, one of the other midfielders, fought his way past Jordan, flicking the ball into position, Jake slammed it into the net. Jordan just patted his shoulder.
"That's excellent Frank, really good work." Jordan told him. "Remember; don't get worried about getting roughed up out there. Stone Canyon's game relies on intimidation. They can't hurt you too badly."
"Even still, the coach will have extra first aid supplies just to be on the safe side." Jake chuckled. "I remember last time the goalie tried to take my head off!"
"The goalie?" Jordan asked him. Jake just nodded. "Is it the same goalie?"
"He was only a junior last year." Jake informed him. "It's probably the same guy."
"Great, then we know he can be drawn off the line." Jordan stated, looking to the sidelines. "Kid, throw me another ball!"
"It's going to have to wait Edwards." The coach told him. "Principal Kwann's just texted me to remind me that you and Holling are due on set."
"Come on coach, it'll just take..."
"I appreciate the enthusiasm Edwards, but Principal Kwann reminded me that you need to shower. Somehow I think the rest of the cast would appreciate it if you and Holling didn't smell like my old gym socks." The coach interrupted him. Jake noticed that he was saying it a little grudgingly. He hadn't actually told Jordan that the coach had tried to bribe him into using his position as Senior Class President to secure a better budget for the team by offering him the Captain's armband. He especially hadn't told him that he had ended up threatening to tell the principal about his offer unless Jordan got the armband instead. It wasn't as though Jordan hadn't earned it, he was easily the best playmaker on the team, but he didn't feel like Jordan needed to feel like he only got the job through blackmail.
"Alright, we'll pick this up again next time." Jordan told the others. "I guess we're due in make up!"
"We promise not to let the success go to our heads." Jake added as they left. "We'll catch you guys tomorrow for practice!"
A little while later, Dax was on the set, more accurately the food court at the Harwood mall. Jordan and Jake got there, having just gotten out of make-up, taking the positions they had been shown by the stage hands.
"Alright, thank you all for coming, welcome to the magical world of movies!" Dax began, getting a small cheer from the extras on set. "Now, this scene is really simple. All you have to do is sit there, eat and chat."
"Really?" Emma asked. "That's it?"
"That's it." Dax told them. "These guys behind me are all stunt performers."
At that point, the kids all looked decidedly less happy about this. The stunt men were all dressed up like loogies, and the costumes were a little convincing for comfort.
"They'll come in and start messing the place up." He informed them. "All we want you to do is react in whatever way feels natural."
"Yeah...maybe not too natural." Jordan whispered to Troy under his breath. "I think that might ruin the movie a little."
"Wait...isn't that a little...unsafe?" Quinn asked, sounding a little nervous.
"Don't worry; they know what they're doing." Dax assured her. "They'll get close, but they won't actually touch any of you. I know some of you have done some stage combat and stunt training, and we might ask you to do some later, but for this scene, just run."
"So, sit, chat, then scream and run." Gia concluded. "Sounds simple enough."
"Trust me, it wouldn't be the first time I've heard someone say that." Dax assured her. "Then Xavier and the others will do their thing. Just clear the way and leave them to it."
"I think we can handle that." Noah stated. Dax just smiled and shook his head.
"I appreciate the confidence, but trust me; these things hardly ever go down in one take." He assured them. "Alright, start acting natural. Just...do what you normally do."
"So...I guess we just pretend we're in the Brainfreeze." Jake commented to the others. Allison just looked to them.
"Yeah, that's something I wanted to ask." She stated. "I know it's a great place and all that kind of thing, but why do you guys ALWAYS hang out there?"
"It's probably got something to do with all the free and discounted stuff Ernie gives them." Quinn answered. "Noah still hasn't explained why they get all that special treatment though. No matter how many times I've asked.
The Rangers looked around each other, trying to think of something to tell them. Troy didn't really have this issue with Emma, since she was on the team. Gia, on the other hand, didn't have this problem with Cat. Although a lot of people didn't exactly see her as the sharpest tool in the shed, she had actually figured out who they were all by herself some time ago. It meant Gia had someone outside of the group she could talk to about the Ranger stuff, as long as she was careful to maintain the code over the phone or her e-mails or texts. Eventually Gia leant forwards.
"You know what happened with my dad right?" She asked them. They both nodded. It was a pretty huge story at the time. Even in Harwood it wasn't like kidnapping was an everyday occurrence. "Well, at the beginning, when he first found out I was gay he kicked me out of the house. That was before...you know."
"Yeah, so...you moved in with Emma." Quinn stated. Gia just looked to them and smiled.
"Not at first. I still wasn't sure how Emma had taken the news." She admitted.
Allison hadn't actually heard the full story; she only got the abridged version months afterwards. Quinn eventually realised what she meant.
"You and Emma..."
"Yeah...I was into Emma for a long time." Gia admitted. "Fortunately she didn't hold it against me."
"I guess I should just look at it as a compliment." Emma told the others, chuckling a little at the memory. It had been a big deal at the time. Emma and Gia hadn't spoken for a good couple of days over it, Emma especially needing a little while to figure out how she felt about the revelation. Still, now that they both knew where they stood, and both of them had moved on, they could actually talk and sometimes even laugh about it.
"Well, that still left me with the issue of being homeless." Gia told them. "Ernie was kind enough to put me up for a few days."
"Wow...I didn't realise you were that close." Allison commented. Gia just smiled. Before she could say anything else, they heard a loud crash, and some screaming. Troy snapped to his feet, seeing the Loogies flooding into the area.
"Damn it, we must have missed Dax calling action!" Troy told them. "Some on guys, let's move!"
As a table overturned in their path, Jake gestured to Allison to grab onto him. She was only too happy to oblige as he picked her up out of her wheelchair and they all started to run.
"Interesting change of pace huh?" Jordan asked Gia. "You know...running AWAY from..."
"Microphones." Gia hissed quietly. Jordan just looked a little sheepish as he continued to run.
As they came near some Loogies, they had to quickly change direction. Noah was grabbed by one, being just a little too slow, and thrown into some furniture.
"Wait...that isn't in the script." Dax stated, furrowing his brow. He looked across to where another student took an impromptu flight into some trash cans. "Guys, those are extras! Not stunt..."
"Those aren't your guys." Someone stated behind him. Dax just turned slowly, seeing a guy dressed in a Loogie outfit, without the mask. He seemed to be nursing his ribs and had the starts of a black eye. "Someone jumped us and locked us in the..."
"Guys, this isn't cardboard cut-out!" Dax screamed out. "Those things are real! RUN!"
No one needed to be told twice. The extras on set started screaming like mad and ran as fast as they could. As the Rangers assembled, Quinn a little way behind them, and Allison still in Jake's arms, they looked around for somewhere to go and hide. It was a little embarrassing that there wasn't really anything they could do right now. Not without morphing on camera anyway.
"Where can we go that's safe?" Jake asked.
"Anywhere's safer than here." Allison commented.
"So much for an easy A." Noah grumbled.
"Guys, where's Jordan?" Quinn asked. It was only then that they realised she had a point. Jordan must have headed off in a different direction.
"He must have gotten split off from us." Troy answered. As the Robo Knight arrived, he knew that Jordan had to have found somewhere to hide while he changed. At least...he hoped he had, with all these cameras around. "Come on, let's get somewhere safe."
Jordan got to work quickly, taking down the Loogies. He didn't know how or why the Loogies had been sent onto the set, but all that mattered now was making sure everyone got out of the way safely. Dax grabbed one of the cameras and started tracking his battle.
"Dax, what are you doing?" One of the cameramen yelled at him. "We should..."
"Are you kidding? This footage is immense!" Dax called back. "You get to safety; I couldn't create anything like this if I had the entire budget of California!"
Robo Knight was making quick work of the Loogies. He knew that he likely had to deal with this alone, since the others would probably have to ensure everyone got away safely, but somehow he doubted it would be a problem. In his last battle, he had taken down Bluefur almost single handed before he used the Aurora Box. If he could handle him, then he doubted a few Loogies would be much of a problem.
Suddenly, there was a loud crack and a lightning burst ripped through the mall. His systems compensated for the power surge, while Jordan struggled to remain on his feet. He saw that the Loogies weren't so lucky though, quickly falling to the ground and melting away. He didn't know what had caused it, but as he looked up, he had a feeling he was about to find out.
Before him, standing a little way off was a man in black armour, which came into peaks at the helmet and shoulders. He was holding a long spear, which split into two points a little like a stylised pitchfork.
He looked to his right as another came into view. He looked like the first, but his armour had some blue accents, and he was carrying an axe. Around to his left, two more arrived. They appeared to be female, and had accents in yellow and pink. The Yellow one had a weapon fashioned after a slingshot, while the Pink one had a bow.
"OK, nice entrance, I'll give you that." Jordan stated as he faced them. "But...I don't remember seeing your figurines in the Command Centre."
"We're limited edition." He heard a voice behind him say in a slightly tinny, mechanical tone. He turned to see one trimmed in red, carrying a sword. "And there are definitely too many Rangers in this city."
The Pink Ranger fired her bow, knocking Jordan clean off his feet. He got up again, preparing his Robo Blade.
"Alright, I guess we're not going to hug this one out." He stated. So tell me, what do you call yourselves? I find it better to know the names of whoever I'm beating senseless."
"We're the new and improved Psycho Rangers!" The Red Psycho Ranger informed him as they all rushed him.
From their hiding place, the Rangers could only watch in horror as Jordan took on seemingly impossible odds. Although he was good, it didn't take long for it to become apparent he was overmatched.
"Come on, we need to get out of here." Gia announced.
"Dax!" Troy stated, seeing the former Blue Ranger still trying to film the action. "Uh...I'll catch up!"
"Troy!"
"I'll be fine, just go!" Troy told them. With that, they had no option but to flee, leaving Troy to try and convince Dax to drop the camera and run.
Jordan found himself introduced to the concrete harshly as Psycho Black flipped him with his spear. He held him in place as Psycho Blue smashed into his chest with the axe. Jordan didn't need his heads' up display to know that his armour wouldn't take much more of this. Pink and Yellow helped Black hold him down as Psycho Red started to approach him, twirling his sword.
"This is disappointing." He stated. "I thought you Rangers were meant to be tough."
"Says the poser that only took me on with four of his friends." Jordan fired back. Psycho Red just snapped his fingers, at which the others let him go. He waved Jordan forward.
"Think you have what it takes?" He asked. Jordan picked up his Robo Blade and lunged for him. Psycho Red dodged aside and kicked his legs out from under him, flicking his sword away with one deft move. As Jordan started to try and get up, he was met with a harsh kick to the face, which brought him to the ground.
"Wow, that was impressive." Psycho Red taunted him, picking up the Robo Blade. He tossed it back to Jordan. "Perhaps you train differently. I was always taught it was best NOT to get your ass handed to you."
Jordan roared as he rushed Psycho Red again, lunging for his exposed back. His swing caught nothing but air as Psycho Red moved impossibly quickly. He was cut down savagely, hitting the ground yet again. Psycho Red pinned him to the ground with his boot.
"I have a message for the other Rangers." Psycho Red told him as the others closed in. Blue and Black held him down while Psycho Red launched himself into the air. Coming down hard, Jordan disappeared just before both of his feet shattered the concrete right under where his skull would have been.
"Damn it." Psycho Pink grunted. "He got away."
"His cowardly mentor saved his worthless hide." Psycho Red corrected her. "The message will be just as effective. The Rangers have been put on notice.
Later, after the kids had made their way home, the Rangers all teleported to the Command Centre to find out what was happening. Jordan was lying on a bench, while Tensou ran some scans.
"How is he?" Troy asked.
"I'll be fine." Jordan replied. Tensou just looked to him.
"You and I have very different definitions of 'fine'." Tensou stated. "His armour saved him, but only barely. Much longer, and he'd have been finished for sure."
"What gives?" Noah asked. He looked to Jordan. "You're the Ranger nerd, who are they?"
"I don't know, I've never seen them before." Jordan told them. "They called themselves the Psycho Rangers."
"Well by the looks of things, that might be a pretty accurate description." Gia replied. "Gosei, what do you know about them?"
"I am afraid they are an enemy I have never encountered." He told them honestly.
"Troy, your dreams..."
"I've never seen them either." He replied.
"Whoever they are, they're definitely strong." Jordan stated. "And they don't like us much."
"Do you think this is Vrak's doing?" Jake asked.
"I'm not sure." Emma replied. "But I don't think we can rule it out."
"Great, a team of evil Power Rangers." Noah grumbled. "What else can he throw at us?"
"I don't know, but let's deal with one issue at a time." Troy answered. "I have a feeling it won't be too long before we're seeing them again."