A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back with episode eleven. I don't really have much to say, so let's dive right in, shall we? I'll see you all in the second author's note, so until then, enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers or Super Sentai, or any of the related trademarks. This is a fanmade, non-profit adaptation of the 2012 Sentai series, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, and is being made purely for my enjoyment, and the enjoyment of any readers I may have along the way. Please do not get mad and sue me.
Claimer: I do, however, own any OCs that appear. I also own any original plot elements not seen in Go-Busters or any other Sentai or Ranger season. Thank you.
It had been a couple of days since the battle with Reviveloid. Now it was Monday, and the Rangers were at school, where it was currently 7th period. Eventually, the bell rang, effectively signifying the end of both said period and the school day as a whole.
Standing up from his seat in the school's band room, Graham carefully disassembled his clarinet before packing it back into its case. Closing and locking the case, he placed it on the floor temporarily while he slung his messenger bag over his shoulder, after which he scooped the former back up, carrying it in his right hand as he exited the band room and entered into the hallway. Colleen and Nate were quick to follow, walking alongside the boy before splitting up in order to stop at their respective lockers.
"Well, that's one more school day in the bag," Graham said as he opened his locker, depositing his clarinet case inside along with all the other books he no longer needed. Making sure he had the ones he would need, he shut the locker door and locked it back up before turning to Colleen, who had already finishing putting her extra books and flute case away. "It's almost time for afternoon patrol. Where are Colin and Shawn?"
"Hey guys…" Colin grumbled as he approached the two, the grin that he usually wore at the end of a school day having been replaced by a deep scowl. "I'm not gonna be able to make patrol today."
"And why is that?" Colleen asked, as her and Graham turned to face their blue counterpart.
"I…kinda have detention…" Colin told him, rubbing the back of his head somewhat awkwardly. "Turns out Mr. Pritchett doesn't take too kindly to people who crack jokes during choir practice."
"Well, that's kind of a funny coincidence." Nate replied from behind him, putting away his trombone case and extraneous books before shutting and locking his locker. "I heard Shawn got detention today, too."
"Well, guess you guys'll just have to check in at HQ later." Graham replied, turning to follow Colleen and Nate as they walked towards the exit. "See ya later, man."
"Yeah, see ya," Colin mumbled, watching the three leave as Shawn walked up beside him. Turning to the newcomer, he spoke, saying, "So, you have detention, too?"
"Yep. I got caught doing the 'earbuds through the sleeve' trick in Biology." Shawn said with a laugh, flashing his blue counterpart a proud grin. "What about you? What're you in for?"
"I made fun of this guy in Choir when his voice cracked during his big solo." Colin said with a laugh. This laugh went on for a few seconds, before slowing to a halt. The Blue Ranger then let out a sigh, before finishing with, "Everyone thought it was pretty funny…except for the Choir Director, anyway. Turns out he's not very fond of comedians."
"Go figure," Shawn said with a shrug, as the two turned and walked to the other end of the hall, where the detention room was. Opening the door and holding it open for his blue counterpart, Shawn teased him by saying, "Ladies first?"
"In that case, you should go first," Colin joked right back, lightly shoving Shawn inside in a move that elicited a laugh from the Silver Ranger. Seeing this, the woman who ran detention gave him a glare, prompting both boys to awkwardly chuckle. "H-Hey Mrs. Clarke…h-happy to see me…?"
Receiving no response, Colin reached into his pocket and procured his detention slip, which he set on the teacher's desk before walking towards the back, where he took a seat.
"Guess not…" The boy muttered, as Shawn took a seat right next to him. "This is gonna be a lonnng two hours…"
"Eh, could be worse," Shawn whispered, gesturing over to a few desks ahead of him, where Matthew Holmes had a younger boy in a headlock. "You could be THAT guy."
"True that," Colin said, stifling a laugh as he watched the spectacle. "This still blows, though."
"Well, thank god that's over," Colin said as he and Shawn practically burst out the front doors of the school, having served their two hours of detention.
"I know, right?" Shawn said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder while Colin reached up to adjust his glasses with his thumb. "Now we can finally get ready for patrol!"
"Yeah, if there's even any sectors left to patrol," Colin scoffed, furrowing his eyebrows as they crossed the street and made their way into the downtown area. "I'll bet Graham and the other two have already covered everything."
"You're being a little negative, don't you think? After all, if they've patrolled everywhere already, that just means we can go home sooner!" Shawn pointed out. "Now c'mon, let's hit the nearest teleporter and wrap things up for the day, my new videogame is calling my name."
With that, the two quickened their pace, ducking into a nearby alley where a large dumpster and old phone booth sat. Opening the door to the phone booth, Shawn repeated the joke from earlier, saying, "Ladies first?"
Rolling his eyes, Colin replied with, "Yeah yeah, whatever. I'll go first."
Stepping into the phone booth, Colin stood still as a scanner popped out of nowhere and began scanning him, breaking down his molecular structure and turning it into data which it then sent through the teleportation network. Seeing the Blue Ranger disappear, Shawn made sure no one else was watching before stepping in after him, standing perfectly still as the teleporter essentially repeated the process.
Unbeknownst to Shawn, the second before he vanished the scanning mechanism of the teleporter sparked, and a small electronic voice said the word, "Error", indicating some kind of malfunction.
Sure enough, the second Shawn re-materialized on the other side of the teleporter, he noticed something was wrong. For starters, he wasn't at HQ.
Come to think of it…I'm not ANYWHERE. Shawn thought to himself as he surveyed his surroundings, or lack thereof-he seemed to be standing in a blank, white void of nothingness. Focusing harder, he could see a faint hint of a blue sky overhead, accompanied by the tiniest glare from the sun. This disproved his earlier theory that he wasn't anywhere, as he was clearly still on Earth, somewhere.
Hearing the sound of fierce wind and feeling a wave of shivering cold all over his body, Shawn determined he was somewhere cold, and filled with snow.
Spotting Colin crouched down on the ice with his arms wrapped around his body, he managed to speak, stammering out the words, "C-C-C-CV...? Are you o-o-okay…?"
"Y-Y-Y-Yeah, but not for l-l-long…" Colin shivered. "Where the h-h-hell are we…?"
"I d-d-don't know…"Shawn told him, as the cold winds continued to howl. "But it's c-cold…"
*Cue Opening Theme: "Firing Squad" by Arrows to Athens*
(*As the music of the song begins to play in the background, establishing shots of Starview Heights are shown. A sweeping shot of the city quickly transitions to a shot of Psycho in Hyperspace, with Enter bowing in front of him. Following this, the camera speedily pans upward towards the show's logo as the vocals begin*)
~This is our manifesto, we've given all the best to you,
Like it was the least that we could ever do.~
(*Shots of all five Rangers flash on-screen, showing them doing everyday activities. Graham is reading a manga, Colin is typing on his laptop, Colleen is riding a bike, Nate is writing something in a journal, and Shawn is playing a handheld videogame console. One by one, they turn to the camera and smile, as translucent images of their helmets flash over-top of their faces for a few moments before disappearing.*)
~We're soaked in gasoline, while you watched as everything just burned,
Letting your lighter do the dirty work.~
(*The camera flashes to show Enter watching a recording of the day Psycho went rampant, with younger versions of Graham, Colin, and Colleen standing near their respective mothers' dead bodies, tears streaming down their faces. As a Metaloid points his weapon at the three and fires, Enter laughs, a sadistic smile on his face as he turns around, the hologram playing the video vanishing into thin air.*)
~You'd better hold your ground, the end is starting now,
So load your gun, a war is coming!~
(*A now teenaged Graham runs towards the camera, his morpher on his left wrist as the others follow closely behind. Looking down at the destruction being caused by the Vaglass, he morphs, with the other four quickly following his lead. Now in their Ranger Suits, the five spring into action, using their respective special-abilities to amplify their powers as they engage the Buglars.*)
~We are all against the wall, won't be the ones that time forgot,
(Oh oh, oh oh)~
(*A shot of the five Rangers piloting their Zords into battle against a giant robot is shown. Gripping the controls, they each perform a series of button-presses, forming their Megazord in time to block an incoming attack from their foe. They immediately retaliate with an attack of their own, knocking the Metaloid's robot onto its back*)
~If it's our fate, we're not afraid, yeah, we can face the firing squad!
(Oh oh, oh oh)~
(*The scene transitions to show Graham and the others standing side by side, all five of them lined up as Enter fires a blast of energy out of his hand, the energy hurtling towards them like a bullet. Raising their arms, the five instantly morph into their Ranger Suits, deflecting the attack as Enter watches in awe. Gripping their weapons tightly, they all rush towards their opponents, as the logo flashes on-screen once more and the opening ends.*)
*End Opening Theme: "Firing Squad" by Arrows to Athens*
Episode 11: Malfunction
Meanwhile, back in Starview Heights…
"Well, that takes care of this sector." Graham remarked to himself as he drove his Cheetah Zord down the streets of the city, searching for any signs of Vaglass activity. Activing his Transpod in order to access the comm-link, he addressed the others, saying, "Colleen, Nate, what about you guys?"
"Everything seems normal in my sector," Colleen told him as she flew her Rabbit Zord around on the other side of town. "Nothing out of the ordinary, here."
"Same goes for my sector, Graham." Nate added as he patrolled the outskirts of the city in the Beetle Striker I. "The Vaglass are nowhere to be seen."
"Guess we're in the clear, then." Graham replied, turning off his Transpod before shifting his gaze towards Cheetah Nick, who was naturally in his Console Mode. "Ready to go home, Nick?"
"You bet," The Buddy-Roid said, his face lighting up on the console as Graham turned the Cheetah Zord around in order to head back to base. Driving towards an abandoned parking garage a few miles away, the Red Ranger pressed a couple of buttons overhead, causing the ground in front of the Zord to open up to reveal a secret GPU hangar of sorts. Driving the Cheetah Zord inside, he detached Cheetah Nick from the main console before hopping out, demorphing as he landed in front of a group of GPU Cadets.
"Try not to scratch the paint," He joked as he passed the soldiers, heading to a teleporter in the corner of the room. Once he reached it, he stepped inside, causing it to scan him before warping him to HQ.
"Recognized: Graham, B-06." The digital voice of the AI that controlled the GPU's computer network announced, as Graham materialized inside of the Common Area of their headquarters.
Stepping out of the teleporter, Graham turned around just as Colleen warped in behind him, being quickly followed by Nate. Coming over the intercom once more, the digital voice announced their arrival, as the two strode over to join their friend.
"Recognized: Colleen, B-05."
"Recognized: Nate, B-07."
Seeing this, Graham turned back around and began walking towards the Command Room, with his two friends quickly joining him.
"That's weird…" Colleen observed as she looked around, searching for signs of her twin. "Colin doesn't seem to be anywhere around here."
"Shawn isn't here, either." Nate said. "Maybe they're both on patrol?"
"No, Captain Shields probably would've told us if they'd checked in already." Graham pointed out. "At the very least, one of them would've shot us a text."
"True…" Nate agreed, stroking his chin. "Do you think maybe they skipped patrol and just headed home, instead?"
"No, that can't be right." Colleen disagreed, shaking her head. "Colin's a slacker, but he'd never skip something as important as patrol. As far as Shawn goes, I haven't known him very long, but I know for a fact he'd never skip, either. Neither of them are like that."
"They're probably just taking a while to get here, that's all." Graham suggested. "After all, it is a pretty busy day. They're probably having trouble finding a teleporter that doesn't have a bunch of potential witnesses surrounding it."
"Good point," Nate told him. "Anyway, we should hurry up and report to the Command Room. Captain Shields doesn't appreciate tardiness."
"He also doesn't appreciate Rangers with misplaced priorities," Lieutenant Rose chimed in as she walked up to them, a concerned look on her face. "We have a situation."
"What kind of situation?" Colleen questioned.
"I think it'll be easier if I just show you…" Lieutenant Rose replied rather vaguely, causing Graham and Colleen to exchange confused looks as she turned around and started walking towards the Command Room.
"Ah, there you are." Captain Shields said in acknowledgement as Graham and the others stepped inside the Command Room, being accompanied by Lieutenant Rose. "I know you just got back from patrol, but your debriefing will have to wait. We have a situation on our hands."
"So we've been told," Graham replied with a nod. "What exactly is going on?"
"We're not exactly sure what caused it," Captain Shields began, pausing in order to bring up a holographic image of what appeared to be a map of Starview Heights. On it, all of the GPU's hidden teleporters were marked-the majority of them were colored green, while a dozen or so were colored red. "But about a half hour ago, there was some kind of system error in our teleportation network. We ran a full scan of the city, and only the ones marked in red have been affected. Several cadets have experienced strange side effects as a result of using these teleporters, such as delayed arrivals, motion sickness, and temporary loss of vision."
"Weird…" Nate said quietly, furrowing his eyebrows in intrigue.
"Just to be safe, we've ordered all GPU personnel not to use the teleporters until we've fixed the problem." Captain Shields told them. "Anyway, I just wanted to inform you of the situation. If the problem isn't fixed by the time curfew rolls around, I'll escort you three home via the emergency exit. We wouldn't want you to experience any of the symptoms."
"Sir, you might wanna take a look at this," Lieutenant Woods said out of nowhere, his tone carrying a hint of urgency.
"What is it?" The Captain asked, stepping out of his own chair and walking over to the Lieutenant's station in order to look at his computer screen. Studying the readout on the terminal, he spoke again, saying, "Colin and Shawn used one of the malfunctioning teleporters? What're their side effects, then?"
"It's…not quite that simple, sir." The Lieutenant said slowly, seeming rather reluctant. "The teleporter…it didn't send them here."
"What do you mean, it didn't send them here?" Captain Shields questioned, raising his voice slightly. "Where are they, Martin?!"
"I…don't know," Lieutenant Woods admitted.
"Well, figure it out!" Captain Shields ordered, growing frantic and somewhat angry. "Two of my Rangers are out there somewhere, and one of them happens to be my son! Find them!"
"Calm down, Captain. We won't find them anytime soon if we panic." Lieutenant Rose pointed out, sticking up for her fellow Lieutenant by attempting to calm their commanding officer down.
"Lieutenant Rose is right, Logan." Colleen told her surrogate father, patting him on the shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "Panicking won't solve anything."
"I…I know. I'm sorry, Colleen." The Captain apologized, giving his surrogate daughter a small smile despite himself. Looking to Lieutenant Woods, he spoke up, saying, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Martin. Just please help me find my son."
"Don't worry, I will."
"We all will." Graham chimed in, giving the Captain a reassuring smile. "Colin is our teammate, and Colleen's brother. We'll do anything to find him."
"Yeah, what Graham said." Colleen agreed, giving her red counterpart an appreciative grin.
"I'll help, too." Nate added. "After all, Colleen isn't the only one whose brother is missing right now."
"Thank you, Rangers." Captain Shields said, taking a deep breath before sitting back down in his chair. "That means a lot to me."
"Don't worry about it," Lieutenant Woods replied, typing in a series of commands on his computer terminal in order to bring up a holographic map of the Earth. "Now…let's figure out how to find them."
"I t-think…we're gonna…f-freeze to d-death…" Colin managed to say through grit teeth, his arms wrapped tightly around his body in a vain attempt to warm himself up.
"D-Don't g-give up y-yet…" Shawn told him. "I have an i-i-idea…"
Reaching into his backpack, the Silver Ranger procured his Morphin' Brace, struggling to keep ahold of it with his numb fingers. Realizing what Shawn was thinking, Colin brandished his own Morpher, and together, the two activated them while speaking in unison.
"I-Install: S-Spy-B-B-Busters!"
Back at HQ, Lieutenant Woods was in the middle of an extensive scan of the planet when he suddenly snapped his head up, startling Captain Shields. Looking to his subordinate with a look of concern on his face, the Captain said, "Is something wrong, Lieutenant?"
"No, nothing's wrong. In fact, it's quite the opposite-we just received a signal from the Morphing Grid!"
"Morphing Grid?" Graham and Nate asked in unison, both looking equally confused.
"The Morphing Grid. It's the source of every Ranger's power." Colleen explained, pausing for a moment before elaborating. "It's a sort of parallel dimension that houses limitless amounts of energy. When someone with a link to the Grid morphs, they're transported there for a split second and their body absorbs some of that energy in order to turn it into armor. Before you even realize you're gone, you show back up on the battlefield morphed and ready to fight. Captain Shields established a link to the Grid in order to initiate Project: Buster, so whenever one of us morphs the Grid sends a signal to HQ."
"So that means…Colin and Shawn just morphed!" Nate realized. "We can trace their location using their Morpher signals!"
"Exactly." Lieutenant Woods replied, as he continued to type away at his station. "Except…they're too far out of range. The only information I can gather is that they're somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere…"
"Southern Hemisphere? There's like, six continents down there; it'll take forever to narrow it down!" Graham exclaimed.
"Well, we'd better start narrowing it down," Nate replied, pulling out his laptop and using his hacking abilities to access the GPU's mainframe.
"Well, that takes care of that problem," Colin said as he and Shawn instantly morphed. The Blue Ranger let out a sigh of relief as his suit's heating system began the process of warming him up before saying, "Still doesn't explain where the hell we are, though…"
"Well, we do know one thing for sure!" Shawn said rather enthusiastically. "Wherever we are, it's cold!"
"Gee, I didn't notice." Colin said sarcastically, rolling his eyes inside his helmet. Waving his silver counterpart over, he continued, saying, "C'mon, let's get to higher ground. Try to make some sense of all this."
"Sir, yes, sir!" Shawn said in a chipper tone, giving his blue counterpart a mock-salute as he trudged his way over to him. Once they linked up, the two pushed their way towards a nearby hill, which they proceeded to climb their way up to the top of before stopping to survey their surroundings.
"It looks…cold. White, and cold…" Colin observed, somewhat frustrated at the lack of landmarks around him.
"Maybe we're in Alaska?" Shawn suggested.
"Nah, there aren't any igloos," Colin joked, causing his friend to snicker slightly. "In all seriousness, though, if this were Alaska, we'd at least see some sign of civilization, like some back roads, a small town, something like that."
"True…" Shawn replied in agreement, as he picked up on sound of some sort in the distance. Tapping Colin on the shoulder, he said, "CV, do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Colin questioned, focusing until he picked on the noise. "Yeah, it kinda sounds like some kind of…animal."
"That's weird…it's like below freezing, here. What animal could survive in this type of climate?"
Turning his head just in time to see a polar bear barreling towards them, Colin looked to Shawn and screamed, "RUN!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Shawn said as he hopped off the ridge and dashed forward, being cut off by Colin as he hopped down and stretched his arm out in front of him.
"Not that way, you idiot! You're heading right for the ice!" Colin reprimanded, grabbing his silver counterpart by the arm and dragging him off in the opposite direction, towards a large, wooden building of some sort. "We'll hide in there!"
"What?!" Shawn screeched as he and Colin burst through the front door, the latter stopping to slam and lock it closed. "What if the bear breaks the door down?!"
"It's better than drowning!" Colin pointed out, using his superstrength to grab a couch on the other side of the room and drag it in front of the door in order to barricade it. Pointing to Shawn's Transpod, he said, "We need to get out of here, now! Call HQ!"
"I'm on it!" Shawn told him, pressing a button on his Transpod in order to activate it. He then proceeded to speak into it, saying, "Captain Shields, this is Shawn! Colin and I tried to teleport to HQ but ended up somewhere else entirely! We're stranded somewhere cold and snowy, and there's a polar bear trying to eat us! Do you read me?"
Hearing nothing but static, Shawn turned to Colin and shook his head, causing the Blue Ranger to sigh in frustration.
"Looks like we're screwed," Colin lamented, before spotting a running heater on the other side of the room. "On the bright side, we can demorph, now."
"Good idea." Shawn replied, and the two pressed a button on their respective morphers, demorphing in a matter of moments. "Hey, look!"
Watching Shawn as he walked to the other side of the room, Colin folded his arms as the Silver Ranger reached his destination, a coat rack in the corner where several fur coats were hung up.
"These'll come in really handy when we go back outside," Shawn said as he grabbed one of the coats, tossing it to Colin before taking one for himself. Putting it on, he continued, saying, "How lucky is that?"
Crossing the room in order to join him, Colin slipped on his coat and said, "I gotta admit, that is pretty lucky. Seems weird that no one else is here, though."
"Yeah that is a little weird, isn't it?" Shawn agreed, before something else caught his eye. "Hey, look at that!"
This guy has the attention span of a small child… Colin thought to himself, as Shawn stepped over to a nearby bookshelf and began looking at the books.
"Hey CV, come check these books out! Some of them look really interesting…like this one!" The Silver Ranger said with child-like enthusiasm, reaching out to grab one of the books before trying to pull it out. Hearing a strange metal click as the book tilted diagonally forward, he spoke again, saying, "Oh, wait a minute, this isn't a book at all…"
"What did you just do…?" Colin asked, as the room began to rumble and the floor beneath them began to lower. Watching as the makeshift elevator began to descend down into the earth, the Blue Ranger folded his arms before saying, "You just had to pull it…"
"How was Isupposed to know it would do that?"
"I don't know! I just know that this situation just keeps getting worse and worse!" Colin shouted, taking a deep breath before continuing with, "This is the worst day of my life…"
"Yeah, this definitely isn't an ideal after-school activity…" Shawn said rather awkwardly, prompting Colin to roll his eyes.
Looking up from his desk, Lieutenant Woods spoke, saying, "Well, I've contacted GPU agents in South America, Africa, and Asia. None of them can locate Colin and Shawn on their radars."
"I just got off the phone with Captain Donovan in Australia. He can't find any sign of them, either." Lieutenant Rose replied. "He ordered his men to form search parties, but their efforts can only go so far. Especially with the teleportation grid on the fritz."
"That just leaves New Zealand and Antarctica." Colleen chimed in, looking around before speaking again. "Has anyone seen Graham?"
"I saw him duck into another room a few minutes ago," Nate told her, adjusting his glasses with his thumb. "Think he's in there praying or something."
"Aw, that's a really good idea." Colleen replied. "Maybe we should join him."
"No thanks. I…don't like to pray in front of other people." Nate admitted, rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh. Okay then," Colleen said with a shrug, leaving the room in order to join Graham in prayer.
Looking up from his desk, Captain Shields was just in time to see Nate perform a silent version of the "Hail Mary" prayer, which prompted the commanding officer to grin slightly despite himself. Reaching for a picture of himself, Colin, Colleen, and Sonia, the Captain grabbed it and examined it closely, a worried look forming on his face.
I'm gonna find you guys… The Captain thought to himself, determined to find the Blue Ranger and his silver counterpart. I promise…
As the elevator continued to make its way underground, Colin and Shawn waited in silence, staring at the icy walls surrounding them as they descended deeper and deeper into the earth. Eventually, the ice was replaced by glass, and they started to spot several corridors, stairwells, and rooms below, making up some sort of complex.
"What…is it this place?" Shawn questioned, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion as the elevator continued downward. "It looks like a lab…"
"Judging by that sign, it probably is," Colin replied, gesturing over to a sign on the glass wall that read 'Laboratory 5'. "Question is, who built it?"
Waiting until the elevator reached the bottom of the shaft, Colin and Shawn watched as a set of metal doors slid open, granting them access to the lab's lobby. Stepping out into the cold, metal room, the Blue and Silver Rangers' eyes were drawn to one thing, and one thing only.
"We did…" Shawn realized, staring at a worn GPU logo on the front desk.
"Strange…I don't see any GPU personnel here." Colin observed, quickly reassessing their surroundings in order to confirm this fact. "And this place looks like it's falling apart."
"Maybe it's abandoned?" Shawn suggested, prompting Colin to shrug his shoulders somewhat. "That would explain why no one's here, and why it's so-"
"Quiet," Colin said out of nowhere, shushing the boy. Listening in closely, the two heard the faint sound of metallic footsteps, which seemed to be getting closer and closer. His eyes widening in realization, Colin spoke again, saying, "We aren't alone!"
Grabbing Shawn by the wrist and dragging the boy behind him, Colin ran through a door to their left, which led into a long corridor. Making their way through said corridor, the two boys stopped in their tracks when they heard more noise coming from the end of the hall. Realizing they were in danger of being found, Colin ducked into a nearby alcove, pulling his silver counterpart in with him and placing his hand over his mouth in order to keep him quiet as the noise got louder and louder.
Making their way down the corridor, a squadron of Buglars scanned every inch of the hall, searching for signs of intruders. Sweat trickled from Colin's forehead as one of the Buglars stopped right in front of the alcove, taking a quick peek at the other side of the room as the others continued on without him.
Looking as if it knew it was being watched, the Buglar started to turn around, causing Colin to reach up and grab the robotic footsoldier. Dragging it down to the ground as quietly as he could, Colin used his superstrength to silently dispatch the Buglar, before pulling its deactivated corpse into the alcove with him as the rest of the squadron moved on. Seeing that the coast was clear, Colin quietly exhaled, wiping the sweat from his brow as the door to the corridor slid shut behind them.
"That was a close one…" Shawn whispered, his heart beating a mile a minute as a result of the encounter "What are they doing here, anyway?"
"It's like you said, this place is abandoned." Colin replied, studying both sides of the corridor intently in order to make sure the coast was really clear. Once he was sure, he emerged from the alcove, motioning for Shawn to follow as he continued with, "The Vaglass must've found it and decided to use it to conduct their own experiments or something."
"That makes sense. After all, the GPU would never think to look in an old lab they don't even use anymore." Shawn agreed, following Colin as he walked to the other side of the corridor. Together, the two waited for the metal door at the end to slide open, before sneaking through it into the next room. "I wonder what they're making here…"
Carefully peeking his head over a nearby railing in order to get a good look at a Metaloid on the level below, Colin said, "I don't know…but we're in waaay over our head right now."
Looking up and spotting the two, the Metaloid signaled to a nearby Buglar, who proceeded to press a button on a nearby wall in order to sound the alarm. Seeing that their cover was blown, Colin grabbed Shawn by the arm and dashed towards the end of the room they were in, lifting his Morphin' Brace to his mouth while he ran.
"Captain Shields, this is Colin!" The Blue Ranger shouted into the comm-link, as he desperately tried to reach headquarters. "Come in, Captain!"
Back at HQ, Graham and Colleen had just re-entered the Command Room, having finished their prayer. Nate was fully absorbed in his laptop, which he was using in an attempt to pinpoint Colin and Shawn, and the two Lieutenants were using their connections to search New Zealand for any signs of the missing rangers. All the while, Captain Shields sat in his station, staring at his monitor with a look of sheer determination on his face.
This continued on for about five minutes, with none of them experiencing any real luck. Then, out of nowhere, a crackling sound could be heard, as an incredibly faint transmission began emitting itself from the comm-link.
"Captain…come in…Captain…" A voice that the Captain immediately recognized as Colin's could be heard saying, with bits of static and white noise making it hard to make out exactly what he was saying. "Shawn and I…bit of a…situation…"
Grabbing his mouthpiece as tightly as he could, Captain Shields practically yelled into it, saying, "Colin, is that you? Speak up!"
"I'm…trying…but…signal's…weak. There was…a glitch…teleporter…sent us-"
"-to a completely different place, I know. The entire teleportation grid is on the fritz right now." Captain Shields said, cutting him off. "Listen, we've been trying to find you for the better part of two hours, now. Do you have any idea where you are?"
"No…but I might…have a lead…" Colin told him. "We found an elevator…took us down to some sort of abandoned…GPU lab…crawling with…Vaglass…"
"Vaglass? In an abandoned GPU facility? Clever bastards…" Captain Shields said, muttering the last bit under his breath. "Is that your only lead?"
"No sir. We saw something…on the way down. There was a sign that…said something about…Laboratory Five."
"Lab Five?" Captain Shields questioned. "Isn't that in-"
"Antarctica," Lieutenant Rose confirmed, looking up from her station in order to give the Captain a nod.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Lieutenant Woods asked. "Let's bring 'em home!"
"You heard 'em, Graham. I want you, Colleen and Nate loaded up and ready to go in ten minutes. Take the Rabbit Zord." Captain Shields ordered the Red Ranger, who gave him a salute before leaving with his yellow and gold counterparts. Turning his attention back to the comm-link, Captain Shields addressed Colin once more, saying, "Alright, Colin, we've figured out where you are, and help is on the way. I've sent Graham and the others to come get you, but in order for that to happen you need to find a way to the surface. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Colin replied from the other end of the comm-link, before the signal abruptly cut off.
"Good." Captain Shields said, seemingly to himself. "Let's hope this works…"
"You heard the man, Shawn. We gotta get back above-ground." Colin said before glancing over at his silver counterpart, who was being oddly quiet. "What's wrong?"
"Look," Shawn replied quietly, pointing to the other side of the room. Following the Silver Ranger's gaze, Colin spotted the Metaloid from earlier, who had now made his way up to their level.
"Well…shit." Colin muttered under his breath, clenching both fists as he adopted a fighting stance.
"So, you two are the intruders, huh? I should've guessed as much," The Metaloid, who appeared to have somewhat of an ice motif, remarked, folding his arms as he addressed the two. "Judging by those things you're wearing, you're probably both Rangers."
"Excellent observation," Colin said sarcastically, as Buglars began to surround him and Shawn. "And you are?"
"I'm not incredibly keen on divulging that information, but I suppose it'd be rude to eliminate you without introducing myself, first. I am Freezerloid." The Metaloid said with a slight bow, feigning politeness. Gesturing over to one of the Buglars, he continued, saying, "Dispose of the vermin,"
"Vermin? That's not very nice, now is it?" Colin quipped. Turning to Shawn, he proceeded to ask, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I don't know. What are you thinking?"
"Never mind, just follow my lead,"
With that, Colin took a step towards a nearby Buglar, faking like he was going to attack it before pulling back at the last second. This action confused said Buglar, who stood and waited as Colin repeated this maneuver, confusing it even further. After a third time, the Buglar finally got fed up, raising its weapon and swinging it down towards the Blue Ranger in an attempt to strike.
Seeing this, Colin grabbed ahold of the robotic footsoldier's wrist, before using his superstrength to lift the Buglar over his head and throw it at the others, bowling them all over in one fell swoop. Giving a Shawn a quick nod, he turned and ran in the other direction, with the Silver Ranger following closely behind him.
Now enraged, Freezerloid yelled at the downed robots, saying, "Get up, you idiots! Now, after them! They cannot be allowed to leave this facility alive!"
Meanwhile, Colin and Shawn were barreling down the hallway, running as fast as they could in an effort to get away.
Using his hyper-detection to avoid a blast from Freezerloid's ice cannon, Shawn turned to Colin and said, "We gotta get out of here!"
"Actually, what we really need to do is hide for a minute and figure out where we're going!" Colin countered, grabbing Shawn by the arm and dragging him over to a nearby door. "In here!"
With that, he opened the door and dove inside, waiting until Shawn entered in behind him before standing back up and slamming the door. After Shawn searched the room to make sure it was clear, Colin used his superstrength to knock over a bookshelf and set it in front of the door, effectively barricading the two inside.
Taking a deep breath, the Silver Ranger spoke up, saying, "Where are we going, anyway?"
"I don't know…but this should tell us." Colin told him, gesturing over to a nearby computer terminal. Taking a seat in the chair in front of it before typing a series of commands into it via the keyboard, he continued by saying, "Give me a second, I'll pull up a map of the lab."
Searching through the different files on the computer, Colin was about to pull up the map, when a certain icon caught his eye.
"Project: FORTIFY…? What's that…?" He mumbled to himself, clicking on the folder in order to open up. When a new window appeared asking him for a password, he took a deep breath before saying, "Guess we'll never know."
"Not necessarily," Shawn said as he looked over Colin's shoulder, an idea forming in his head. "Stand up for a sec."
"Sure," Colin said somewhat awkwardly, scooting the chair away from the desk before standing up and allowing Shawn to take his place. Watching as the Silver Ranger scooted back closer to the desk and began typing in a series of seemingly random commands into the keyboard, he spoke again, saying, "What exactly are you doing?"
"Hacking," Shawn told him nonchalantly, continuing to type away as the Blue Ranger looked on.
"Oh…wait, isn't that more or less Nate's thing?"
"Yes and no. He's a lot better at it, but he's spent a lot more time practicing and reading up on it. I know the basics, that's pretty much it." Shawn explained, as a digital clicking sound emitted itself from the computer. "Thankfully, the security system on this computer wasn't very advanced. This lab must run on pretty outdated tech…anyway, we're in."
"What're you waiting for, then?" Colin questioned. "Open the folder."
"Oh. Right." Shawn said, rubbing the back of his head before clicking on the folder in order to open it. Closely examining the documents inside, he spoke again, saying, "Well that's interesting…they're experimenting with different kinds of materials for robots. I wonder why they're doing that."
"It's because they're trying to strengthen the Buglars and Metaloids, you dolt." Colin pointed out, flicking the Silver Ranger on the forehead. "We have to inform Captain Shields."
"We should probably download the files, then." Shawn suggested. "You got a flash drive?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Colin told him, reaching into the pocket of his jeans and pulling out a memory stick, which he then handed to Shawn. "Work your magic, dude."
"Already on it," Shawn replied, grabbing the flash drive from Colin and proceeding to insert it into one of the terminal's USB ports. Right-clicking on the files, he told the computer to copy them onto the flash drive, which caused a loading bar to appear on screen. "Downloading now."
"How long will it take?" Colin questioned, as a group of Buglars began banging on the door from the other side. "We kinda have company."
"I'm going as fast as I can. I already told you, this computer's pretty crappy."
"You're telling me! If it was going any slower, I'd think it was loading up AOL!" Colin said with a hint of panic in his voice. Rushing to the other side of the room, he continued, saying, "Just tell me when it's done. I'm gonna find us another way out of here."
Spotting an air vent towards the top of the back wall, Colin used his superstrength to grab onto a nearby filing cabinet, which he proceeded to slam on the ground in front of said vent. Using his powers to tear the cover off of the vent, he turned to Shawn, who was finishing up the process of transferring the files.
"Alright, it's done!" Shawn exclaimed as the download completed, reaching for the flash drive in order to remove it from the terminal before grabbing ahold of the mouse again. "Now to delete the files from the mainframe so the Vaglass can't use the data…"
"There's no time!" Colin told him, prompting Shawn to reluctantly stand up and rush over towards the vent.
Climbing up after the Blue Ranger as the Buglars continued to beat down the door, Shawn pocketed the flash drive just as the footsoldiers managed to break inside.
"We never got to download that map," Shawn realized as they crawled through the vents, trying to find their way back to the surface.
"We'll find another way to get topside." Colin told him, even though deep down he still wasn't sure if they were gonna make it. "I know we will."
"But what if we don't?" Shawn asked him, prompting Colin to stop dead in his tracks. "What if we die here?"
Taking a moment to think of his friends, his family, and then finally, Sonia, Colin clenched his fist, before saying, "We've got too much to live for to think like that now! Now let's get a move on!"
"Yes sir!" Shawn replied, feeling inspired by the Blue Ranger's words as they continued to crawl through the vents.
"We're approaching the coordinates now," Colleen informed Graham and Nate, as she flew the Rabbit Zord closer and closer towards the site where Lab 5 was located. Turning around to look at them, she continued, saying, "You guys ready to roll?"
"As ready as we'll ever be," Graham said from the front seat of Cheetah Nick's motorcycle mode, using his Morphin' Brace to instantly transform into Buster Red. Looking behind him where Nate was sitting on the back of the motorcycle, he said, "What about you?"
Using his Morphin' Blaster to instantly morph into Buster Gold, Nate grabbed onto Graham's shoulders, before saying, "Let's go save our friends!"
With that, Colleen lowered the Rabbit Zord, and Graham proceeded to drive out the back hatch with Nate riding along. The rescue was underway.
Back in Laboratory Five, Colin and Shawn had made their way through the air ducts and had now come up on the end. Squinting his eyes in order to peek through the grates of the vent cover in front of him, Colin watched as a large group of Buglars scrambled around, seemingly in a panic as they searched for the two missing intruders.
"I just checked out database-they made a copy of Project: FORTIFY and downloaded it onto a flash drive!" Freezerloid informed the Buglars as he stepped into the room, anger evident in his voice. "I want them found, and I want them found now!"
"Well that ain't good…" Shawn mumbled.
"You've got that right," Colin agreed, as Freezerloid continued to order the footsoldiers.
"I want every inch of this place turned inside out! Rip out the walls and ceiling if you have to!"
"There's no way we're getting out of this vent without them seeing us," Colin told his silver counterpart. "We're gonna have to fight our way outta here."
"Lead the way, CV." Shawn said with a nod.
Kicking the vent cover open, the Blue Ranger rolled out of the air duct before hopping up to his feet, wasting no time as he began throwing punches at the nearest Buglar.
Following his lead, Shawn slid out of the air duct before leaping into action, using his hyper-detection to dodge incoming swings from the Buglars and subsequently causing the robotic footsoldiers to accidentally destroy one another.
Colin used his superstrength to weed through the others, and soon the room was cleared of all Buglars, leaving only them and Freezerloid. Seeing this, the Metaloid roared in anger, seeming absolutely flabbergasted.
"I can't believe this!" Freezerloid shouted. "How are you two still alive?!"
"Duh," Shawn said, as if it were obvious. "We're Power Rangers!"
"You won't be for much longer!" The Metaloid roared, aiming his freezer-arm at them before firing a blast of ice their way.
"Shawn, get behind me!" Colin urged the Silver Ranger, who wasted no time in following these instructions. Once he had done so, Shawn watched as Colin used his superstrength to rip out a huge chunk of the floor, which he then used as a makeshift shield to block the ice beam from hitting them.
"Good idea," Shawn told him. "Thanks."
"Don't…thank me just yet!" Colin grunted, holding onto the shield with all of his might. "This…may not hold for much…longer!"
Hearing this, Freezerloid let out an evil laugh, before concentrating more of his energy on the ice-blast.
"Alright, we should be getting pretty close to the facility now!" Graham said to Nate, as he drove through the snow on Cheetah Nick's motorcycle mode. Pressing a button on his Transpod in order to access the comm-link, he addressed Colleen, saying, "Colleen, how do we get inside?"
"According to the data Captain Shields managed to dig up, there are multiple entrances and exits. Most of them hidden." Colleen said from up in the air, where she was hovering above the Lab inside the Rabbit Zord. "There should be one close to your position that sticks out like a sore thumb, though. Look for something in the snow that doesn't belong."
"Like that?" Nate suggested, gesturing a few feet to the right where a large metal plate of some sort could be seen lying in the snow.
"Well it certainly looks out of place," Graham agreed, veering off to the right before stopping right in front of it. Hopping off of the bike and stepping closer to the plate in order to get a better look at it, he spotted the letters 'LFIVE' engraved on it, confirming Nate's suspicions. Speaking into his Transpod again, he informed Colleen by saying, "It looks like we found a way in, Colleen. Now we just gotta figure out how to activate it…"
"Well, usually I'd suggest trying to hack our way in, but that's obviously not going to work here," Nate said as he hopped off of Cheetah Nick, who proceeded to transform into robot mode as the Gold Ranger joined Graham by the plate. "Maybe there's a hidden switch or lever?"
"Most likely. I just wonder where it could be…"
"That's a tough one…I mean, this snow goes on for miles and miles." Cheetah Nick chimed in, sitting down on top of the plate in order to contemplate the situation a bit. "Hmm…I wonder…"
"Um, Nick?" Graham questioned, his voice somewhat muffled by a sudden rumbling sound.
"Yeah?" The Buddy-Roid replied, completely oblivious as to what was going on as the plate beneath him began to open up, eventually causing him to fall down into a tunnel below. "WOAH!"
Before the robot could plummet to what would surely be his death, Graham reached out and grabbed him by the arm, saying, "Gotcha! Nate, gimme a hand!"
"I'll do you one better!" Nate countered, pressing his fingers to his temple and concentrating all of his energy. Using his telekinesis, he grabbed ahold of Cheetah Nick, lifting him up a couple of inches and making it easier for Graham to finish pulling him out of the hole. As Graham fell onto his back in exhaustion, he dusted off his hands, saying, "Piece of cake."
"Yeah, for you, maybe." Graham replied, a hint of sarcasm in his tone as he stood back up to his feet. Looking down the hole to see that there was no ladder in place to help them get down, Graham turned his Transpod back on before saying, "Colleen, we found a way in, but we can't get down there alone. We need to use ropes, and possible your superagility."
"I'm on my way," Colleen informed him, turning the Rabbit Zord around and lowering it closer to their position. "Just hang tight."
Hearing this, Nate looked out into the distance and clenched his fist before saying, "Hold on just a little longer, guys. We're almost there…"
"And…there goes our shield." Colin said awkwardly, as the makeshift shield finally cracked due to the force of the ice-blasts Freezerloid was firing at them. Tossing it aside, he continued, saying, "We may or may not be screwed right now…"
"You've got that right, four eyes!" Freezerloid hollered, ceasing fire in order to fold his arms in arrogance. "You two never should have come here!"
"It's not like we did it on purpose!" Shawn replied. Looking to Colin, he then added, "We should morph, right?"
"What do you think?" Colin asked sarcastically, to which Shawn shrugged before brandishing his Morphin' Blaster. Whipping out his Morphin' Brace, the Blue Ranger continued with, "It's Morphin'-"
"I don't think so!" Freezerloid yelled, cutting him off before firing an ice-blast right at them.
"WOAH!" Colin and Shawn shouted in unison as the blast hit them head-on, launching them backward and sending their respective morphers flying out of their hands.
"There, I put you in your place! That's what you get for standing there like a moron and shouting little catchphrases!" Freezerloid said, howling in laughter before continuing. "I mean, seriously, did you think I was just gonna stand there are let you transform? How stupid do you think I am?!"
"That's…actually a good point." Shawn said, to which Colin shot him a look.
"Why are you agreeing with him?" Colin questioned, to which Shawn simply shrugged. Rolling his eyes, the Blue Ranger continued, saying, "You really are something else…"
"ENOUGH! I'm growing tired of your incessant chatter!" Freezerloid boomed, stepping over to them before aiming his freezer-arm directly at Colin's face. "It's time I iced you-permanently!"
"Not gonna happen!" A voice said out of nowhere, before a bolt of energy flew through the air and struck the Metaloid in the shoulder, sending him staggering backward.
"What the-?!" Freezerloid sputtered, as Graham, Colleen, Nate, and Cheetah Nick burst into the room; Graham was holding his Spy-Blaster, which had visible smoke rising up from the barrel. "More rangers?! Where in the world did you come from?!"
"The surface. Duh." Colleen said, before kneeling down next to Colin and Shawn in order to check on them. "Are you guys alright?"
"More or less…" Shawn replied.
"Good." Graham told him, continuing to aim his Spy-Blaster at Freezerloid. "We're getting you out of here."
"Not without dealing with this guy, you're not." Colin countered, standing back up to his feet. "Fair warning-he's a bit of a pain in the ass."
"Yeah, well so are you, but you don't see me complaining." Nate joked, using his telekinesis to scoop Colin and Shawn's morphers off the floor and hand them back to them. "Now would be a good time to morph, by the way."
"If you had been here a few minutes ago, you'd know we already tried that." Colin said with a smirk. Turning to Shawn, he then said, "Let's try this again, Shawn. It's Morphin' Time!"
"Install: Spy-Busters!"
~Colin and Shawn Morphing Sequence~
"Alright, you all know the drill!" Graham hollered, rallying his team together. "Savannah Hunter! Buster Red!"
"Jungle Warrior! Buster Blue!"
"Field Jumper! Buster Yellow!"
"Rhinoceros Power! Buster Gold!"
"Stag Power! Buster Silver!"
"Power Rangers: Spy-Busters!" The five shouted in unison.
"Plus me, Cheetah Nick!" The Buddy-Roid added rather awkwardly, feeling left out as the Rangers finished their roll call.
Rolling his eyes inside his helmet, Nate muttered under his breath, saying, "Well that was cringeworthy,"
"Let's stay focused, everyone!" Graham said. "Objective: Take out…whatever this Metaloid is called, and then get back home where we belong! Ready…?"
"My NAME IS FREEZERLOID!" The Metaloid angrily interjected, waving his arms in the air like a madman.
"GO!" The five rangers said all at once, charging towards Freezerloid as he watched in pure anger and disdain.
"Buglars, attack!" He commanded, only for nothing to happen. Looking around, he grew frustrated, saying, "Where are they?!"
"Looks like you're all alone!" Graham said as he supersped past, slashing the Metaloid with his Spy-Saber as he did. "And that means-"
"-There's no one here to bail you out!" Colleen finished, leaping into the air with a superagility-charged jump before firing on the robotic monster with her Spy-Blaster, causing him to grow even more angry.
"Why, you…YOU'LL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!"
"I beg to differ!" Nate countered, using his telekinesis to lift a crate into the air before slashing at it with his Drive Blade, causing the heavy box to crash into Freezerloid and knock him onto his back. Seeing the Metaloid attempt to pick the crate back up and throw it back in retaliation, Cheetah Nick ran over and grabbed it out of his hands in order to prevent this.
"Un un uh," The Buddy-Roid teased, as the angry Metaloid stood back up and let out a growl.
"You little brats are about to get it!" Freezerloid roared, charging a large amount of energy into his freezer-arm as he aimed it at the five. "Prepare for freezer burn!"
"Not today!" Colin replied, tackling the Metaloid to the ground and delivering a superstrength-powered punch to his abdomen.
"You little prick!" Freezerloid screamed angrily, reaching out to grab the boy by the ankle.
"CV, look out!" Shawn warned the Blue Ranger as he predicted the move using his hyper-detection, moving in in order to blast the Metaloid in the face with his Morphin' Blaster.
Sweeping the Silver Ranger's legs out from underneath of him before struggling back up to his feet, Freezerloid roared once more in anger, saying, "I've had just about enough of you little piss-ants! You break into my factory, steal my data, and then you have the audacity to think you can just walk away?! I'll kill every last one of you with my bare hands!"
"Hey man, just take a chill pill," Shawn joked, as he and the others reassembled and took a stance. Pulling out their Spy-Sabers, Graham, Colin, and Colleen pressed the buttons on them, while Nate and Shawn brandished their Morphin' Blasters and spoke into them, in order to activate their finishers.
"Spy-Saber: Stakeout…SLASH!" Graham and the twins hollered in unison as their Spy-Sabers charged up with golden energy, the three of them dashing towards Freezerloid and slashing him in the side as they ran past him.
"Morphin' Blaster: Finale…FINISH!" Nate and Shawn shouted, aiming at Freezerloid and firing two golden beams of energy that pierced through his armor like a hot knife through butter.
"Enter is going to kill meeeeeee!" Freezerloid shrieked as he began to spark uncontrollably. Falling down to the ground, he exploded and died, leaving a cloud of smoke as Graham and the others demorphed.
Standing in place, they waited for a few minutes in total silence, which Shawn eventually broke.
"So…is he gonna like, revive?" The Silver Ranger asked somewhat awkwardly.
"Doesn't look like it. I guess Enter's pre-occupied at the moment." Graham replied. "Even if he does revive and board a robot, it doesn't really matter. This area's pretty much a wasteland so we don't really have anyone to protect. Now let's go home."
"Amen to that!" Colin hollered, sighing in exhaustion as he and the others headed for the nearest elevator.
"I call shotgun!" Shawn chirped.
"You realize her Zord's cockpit doesn't have a front passenger seat, right?" Cheetah Nick asked, causing the others to laugh at Shawn's expense.
Back to HQ…
About an hour or so later, the Rangers arrived back at headquarters. Landing her Rabbit Zord inside the Zord bay, Colleen opened the back hatch before joining the others as they exited the vehicle. Together, the five rangers and Cheetah Nick walked out of the hangar and into the Barracks, which they proceeded to walk through in order to make it to the Command Room.
As soon as they stepped inside, Captain Shields ran over to Colin, saying, "Thank God, I was so worried!"
With that, he gave the Blue Ranger a gigantic hug, causing the latter's face to glow red with embarrassment.
Releasing the teen from his grip, the Captain took a deep breath, before saying, "Colin…I know I'm not your father, but…I've raised you for so long and I just…I want to know that I think of you as a son. I uh…I hope that wasn't too-"
"-Please. You don't have to explain yourself." Colin said, cutting him off. "Dad."
Hearing this, the Captain smiled, before giving his surrogate son another hug. Seeing this, Colleen grinned, as Nate looked on, slightly surprised.
"What? Isn't anyone happy to see Shawn?"
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I for one am glad to see that he made it back," Lieutenant Woods said, standing up from his post and walking over to Shawn before giving him a hug. "We were really worried about you, man."
"T-Thanks, I guess…" Shawn said somewhat awkwardly, as Lieutenant Rose walked over to them.
"I usually don't like to show a lot of emotion, but I have to admit that I've grown somewhat attached to you five in the brief time that we've worked together." The Lieutenant admitted, somewhat surprising her cohort as she reached in and gave Shawn a (slightly awkward) hug of her own. "Welcome back, Shawn."
"It's good to be back, Lieutenant." Shawn said, again somewhat awkwardly as the older girl released him from the hug.
"I didn't know you had a heart," Lieutenant Woods joked, earning a slug on the arm from Lieutenant Rose.
"Of course I do, Martin. I just prefer to remain professional." Lieutenant Rose replied, as a playful smile formed on her face. "Unlike you."
"Hey! Now c'mon, that was a cheap shot!" Lieutenant Woods squelched, eliciting a fit of giggles from Lieutenant Rose.
Clearing his throat in order to get everyone's attention, Shawn looked to Captain Shields and said, "Sir, I hate to break up the party, but while we were there, CV and I found some enemy intel we think you might wanna see."
Hearing this, Captain Shields swapped his smile for a serious look before saying, "You have my attention."
Reaching into his pocket and procuring the flash drive, Colin handed it to his surrogate father, saying, "It's called 'Project: FORTIFY'. The Vaglass were using that base to try and upgrade the armor the Buglars and Metaloids use."
"Clever…I'll have the RnD department take a look at this," Captain Shields replied, pocketing the flash drive before continuing. "The longer this war goes on, the more the Vaglass are going to advance in technology. We've got to stay at least one step ahead of them at all times."
Hearing this, Lieutenant Woods nodded in agreement, saying, "My thoughts exactly, sir."
"Don't be a brown-noser, Martin." Lieutenant Rose teased, causing the others to laugh at her cohort's expense.
~Epilogue~
"So…they stumbled upon our work in Lab Five?"
"Yes, Monsieur." Enter said with a bow, as Psycho addressed him via the video uplink inside the factory he resided in. "Busters Blue and Silver somehow managed to sneak inside and infiltrate the facility. They then proceeded to hack into our network, download the files for Project: FORTIFY, and copy them to a flash drive, and then Busters Red, Yellow, and Gold came to assist them in escaping before decommissioning Freezerloid. I apologize on his behalf for the failure."
"I have no need for your petty apology…that is, if you still have the data?"
"Yes, Monsieur." Enter replied, holding up a flash drive of his own. "I made back-ups a few hours before they infiltrated the lab. Even if they send agents to delete the files, the project will still go right on schedule."
"Good…" Psycho replied, seemingly having calmed down upon hearing this. "I want you to begin work on the next phase immediately, Enter."
"Your wish is my command, Monsieur," Enter said with a bow. "They may have stolen our spare key…but we're still going to win this war."
*Cue Ending Theme: "Used to Be" by Arrows to Athens*
(*As the music of the song begins to play in the background, Graham, Colin, and Colleen can be seen in a large, gray expanse, all three of them watching a recording of their mothers' deaths with solemn looks on their faces. Out of nowhere, raindrops begin to fall, filling the screen with color as the vocals start.*)
~Take a breath, take a long look around before you step,
Cuz the tide is coming, swallowing the ground.~
(*Graham whips his head around desperately as water begins to fill the room, threatening to drown the three teens. Beating on the walls, he tries to break free, to no avail*)
~And there's no way to tell if we will drown tonight,
Or we'll be found tonight.~
(*An image of Graham, Colin, and Colleen's dead bodies drifting along in the water can be seen, only to disappear a moment later, the whole thing being revealed as a nightmare as Graham sits up in bed, screaming.*)
~So come in close, if the current gets us, then it get us both,
We can't wait here anymore.~
(*As Graham walks down the sidewalk, he spots Colleen off in the distance. Gazing at her longingly, he rushes over to her, only for a wall of solid energy to separate them, causing him to frown. The Vaglass come out of nowhere, storming the area and firing at them both. The two look up, realizing they have no choice but to fight.*)
~So if the waves come, let 'em take us,
As they cover you and me, and they pull us underneath.~
(*Graham, Colin, and Colleen rush to fight the Buglars, instantly morphing as they punch and kick the footsoldiers into submission. Seeing Enter, Graham charges him, slashing wildly. However, he is thrown onto his back by the Avatar, who walks up to him, pointing a laser pistol at his head. Demorphing, Graham grimaces, accepting his defeat.*)
~I hope that fate will forgive us, for tempting the sea,
I hope that they won't forget us!~
(*Graham turns to Colin and Colleen as the three are dragged into Hyperspace by Enter. No doubt, the three are to be executed for opposing the Vaglass. Bowing his head, Graham prays a desperate prayer, as Colleen looks at him, a single tear running down her cheek.*)
~No, we can't go back,
To the way it used to be.~
(*Waking up on the grass, Graham stands up, realizing it was all another dream. Looking to his right, he sees Colin and Colleen, the latter of the two waving him over with a smile. Taking a quick look at a picture of his mother in his pocket, Graham puts it away before joining his friends, a smile on his face despite himself. Seeing this, Colin pats him on the back, and Colleen reaches for his hand. Graham nervously takes it, squeezing it lightly as the three friends walk towards the sunset, the song ending as the camera pans away.*)
*End Ending Theme: "Used to Be" by Arrows to Athens*
A/N: Well, what do ya know? Another episode, done and dusted. Woot woot! It may not have gotten done as quickly as I would've liked, but hey, that's just life. I've been a little busy lately with job-hunting (I had to quit my first job due to a lack of hours, and it took awhile to find another one. I just got hired by my local Dollar Tree, though, so I'm now officially employed again. Praise the Lord lol), and I've been hanging out with a real life friend of mine every chance I've got, so yeah, I've had a lot of distractions lately. Hopefully the next one will be done a lot faster so I can get back on track. Anyway, that's pretty much it for now. Here's a preview for the next one!
Next Time, on Power Rangers Spy-Busters: The GPU finishes work on a major upgrade to the Rangers' arsenal, just in time for them to take on a new, extremely powerful Metaloid. However, Graham fails to utilize it properly, resulting in Cheetah Nick being turned into data and absorbed. Can the Red Ranger get his head on straight in order to save his best friend? Find out, in Episode 12: Upgrade!