Chapter 3

"RPM! Get in gear!" Ziggy yelled as he ran towards his teammates. He felt his suit conform around him, and his hair blew around his head as the explosion died away.

"Ziggy!" Summer called out, relief clear in her voice, as Ziggy ran past her. She kicked the nearest grinder with newfound strength and dug into the battle ahead.

"Oh good, the entertainment has arrived." Tenaya smirked, relaxing further into her chair.

"I never thought I would say this, but I'm glad to see you, Zigg." Scott noted as he punched a grinder to the ground. Ziggy smiled faintly beneath his helmet then grabbed the nearest robot and began to kick and punch furiously.

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Dillon spun the steering wheel and punched the gas pedal with his foot. He grimaced as gravity and the wind tried to push his car in one direction while he tried to keep it in place.

The turn straightened out just as Dillon found himself losing the fight with gravity. His hand found the gearshift and slammed it into the next gear before accelerating down the home stretch.

How he had ended up at the racetrack, Dillon wasn't totally sure. It had taken him a few blocks before he was able to stop thinking about K and focus on his driving. Then he had taken turns at random, and somehow came to a stop in front of the track.

Showing his ranger badge, Dillon told the guard that he had to test out something that might prove helpful for the Rangers in the future and didn't want anyone interfering. The track had been cleared, and soon Dillon was doing laps around the track, hitting each turn faster than before.

He knew he was pushing it when he questioned Dr. K. He had just been so sick of all the long terms and unfeeling comments. He hadn't expected the doctor to snap back at him.

If she wanted to push them all away, then fine. Every time one of them tried to be nice, she would return it with some fancy term and a blank face. He knew perfectly well that she didn't want them around.

He didn't need her; none of them really did. He was perfectly capable of fighting as a ranger without her.

With a lurch, the car began to quiver and shake, then smoke started coil out of the top of the hood.

"Damn," Dillon muttered. He slowly pressed the brake, down-shifting as the speed dropped, before finally coming to a stop just in front of the finish line.

Dillon climbed out of his car and went to pop the hood, hoping there was something he could do to fix his car.

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"Is it just me, or are there more grinders than when we first got here?" Summer asked loudly as a new pack of robots swarmed around her.

"Definitely more," Ziggy confirmed. He swung his axe through the air, attempting to hit the line of grinders in front of him. He made contact with three, and then heard an aggravated yell as Flynn ducked to avoid being hit in the back of the head. "Sorry!"

Tenaya let out a dry laugh.

Scott felt all the air rush out of his lungs as he fell hard to the ground. The Generation 13 attack bot, as Tenaya had called it, was proving that it had been given complicated upgrades. He had barely been able to damage the outside, while the bot had done plenty of damage to him.

"You okay, man?" Flynn asked, briefly kneeling down to his team leader. Scott nodded, and the blue ranger ran to try and damage the robot.

Scott slowed his breathing down so he could get a full breath of air, then jumped up and took Flynn's spot dealing with the grinders.

"Nitro blaster!" Summer called, getting fed up with how little effect her boxing seemed to be having. She blasted a line of grinders, then doubled back and shot them again. She would lose it if one of them caught her off guard.

"Nitro blaster," Ziggy mimicked. His finger pumped the trigger, but nothing happened. Ziggy groaned and continued to pull back his finger, not paying attention to where he was aiming. Suddenly the gun shot, and came within an inch of Scott's helmet.

"Ziggy!" Scott groaned.

"It was stuck!" Ziggy squeaked, blushing beneath the protection of his helmet.

"You need to work on your aim." Tenaya called out to him.

"And you need to work on your manners," Dillon barked as he stepped up behind Tenaya's chair.

The other rangers paused momentarily, hoping to welcome him back, but it seemed that Dillon only had eyes for the female robot.

"Ah, Ranger Black. I was hoping you would join us soon." Tenaya slid the shield down over her eyes and sat patiently.

"What are you waiting for?" Dillon groveled.

"For an invitation to continue our little dance," Tenaya told him. She continued to stay in her chair, knowing that the black ranger was getting impatient. Just as she heard a disgruntled noise rise out of his throat, she jumped up and aimed a punch directly into Dillon's stomach.

At first, it looked like Dillon had been taken completely off guard. But as Tenaya opened her mouth to make some kind of sarcastic comment, Dillon sped forward, fists already flying, and caught Tenaya square in the jaw.

"So that's how it's going to be." Tenaya snapped.

Soon both of them were wrapped up in the fight, matching either other point for point, punching and blocking and punching and blocking. Neither was about to give up and admit defeat.

The last remaining grinders were shot down, and the three rangers turned to help Flynn, who seemed to be struggling with the attack bot.

"We need Dr. K." Summer muttered to herself. She knew that without the woman's readouts of the bots defenses and attacks, it would take a lot of energy to defeat this robot.

"No one defeats me, Power Rangers!" The bot squawked, as if it had read Summer's mind. "I am a Generation 13!"

Each ranger charged up to the bot, throwing the best they had at it. But the bot was always ready, and threw all of the rangers back to the ground.

"A little help, Dillon?" Summer called out, hoping that he would be able to give them all an added boost.

"A little busy, Summer." Dillon replied, blocking a punch to his ribs.

"You stand no chance against me. Venjix has equipped me to handle anything that you manage to do."

"And I've equipped myself with a will to beat you once and for all."

Clenching his hand to Tenaya's shoulder, Dillon flipped his body over hers and threw out a kick to her legs, catching the robot off guard for the first time. Tenaya turned, enraged, and moved to grab at any part of the black ranger's body.

But at the same time, Dillon's fist made contact with the shield covering Tenaya's face, and with a sickening crack, part of the shield shattered and fell to the ground.

Dillon stumbled back, holding tightly to a wound on his side, but intently watching the eye that was visible just beyond the cracked shield.

"Do I…know you?"