POWER RANGERS: SPACE PATROL DELTA
YEAR THREE
"ENTRAPMENT"
Lies. Duplicity. Abandonment. Deceit. Manipulation.
They are all methods of entrapment, used to defeat, to ruin, to conquer. Within the walls of S.P.D. these things have become commonplace. Darkness has fallen upon the legacy of peace brought about by the dedicated. It has invaded every crack in their armor, creating a massive hole of corruption. The vulnerable fall inside the darkness, lost in the shadows and the strong have become the victims of this immorality.
But the victims do not fall. Their refusal to give in to the corruption has become their mandate. The power to go on breeds strength within their souls. They now rebel against the darkness, against the rules that have been used to trap them. To patch the holes of corruption, there is only one course of action. They stand. They stand to recapture the glory of Space Patrol Delta. They stand to restore the honor of the past. They stand to end the corruption. They stand...
...And they fight.
Amidst the red haze of Fenix Prime, S.P.D. Earth's Red Ranger came into view, glancing up towards the sky, looking for some sign of light, smoke, anything that would signal that a shuttle had been there. He sighed, as he looked to his right, where the Blue Ranger was standing, with one hand clutching the side of his helmet.
"Sophie?" Bridge said quietly to himself, as he shook his head in disbelief. "Where is she?"
He turned to Sky, grabbing the Red Ranger by the shoulders.
"She was here waiting! She's supposed to be right here!" Bridge said emphatically.
Before Sky could find the right response, the sound of another teammate's voice could be heard behind them.
"We've got company," Quinn Gray shouted beneath the Green Ranger helmet.
The two turned to see him pointing at the rooftop entrance to the Myers Detention Facility, as Giganus and Wootox came storming out, both running at top speed, with Morgana not far behind.
"We'll debate your travel plans later," Sky said, as he ducked a punch from Wootox.
Bridge ducked at exactly the same time, avoiding a strike from Giganus. The two Rangers fought their foes with their backs to one another, blocking each kick and punch that came from the two monsters.
"I'm sorry," Bridge said, between grunts.
"I've stayed on Fenix Prime this long. What's a few more hours?" Sky said, as he landed an elbow strike on the side of Wootox's head. "Besides, we've still got these guys to take care of."
Bridge wanted to say more, to tell Sky that he had failed. As he pushed the negative thoughts from his head, he refocused on the task ahead, still unable to avoid the fact that they were all now trapped on the prison planet.
A few meters away, the Yellow Ranger founds herself again embroiled in a fight with Morgana. As the villainous alien brought her sharp knife down for a slash, Z blocked the blow with her Deltamax Striker in sword mode. Morgana forced Z back a few paces, bringing her face close to the Yellow Ranger's helmet.
"I heard you were dead," Morgana said.
"Sorry to disappoint. I can tell you missed me," Z said, sarcastically.
The Yellow Ranger used her heightened power to push Morgana away from her, sending her flying backwards, and a few inches off the ground. As she crashed to the rooftop, Z smirked beneath her helmet. Cash Donovan ran up next to her.
"Good shot," he said. "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Cash Donovan."
He extended his hand to shake hers, winking.
"Give it a rest," Z said, annoyed.
At that moment, another hand grabbed Cash's shoulder, whipping him around. It was Morgana, who punched him in the face, sending him spiraling to the concrete below. She turned back to Z, with a big smile on her face.
"You're welcome!" she sneered.
Z nodded to Morgana before punching her in the jaw, knocking her down as well.
Back on Earth, B-Squad found themselves in grave danger. They had managed to keep Prax's forces from venturing into the center of Newtech City. They were technically still on the East Side. However, any fight they had put up against the monsters had no come to a halt, as S.P.D.'s own Delta X Series robots surrounded them. Dubbed X-Squad, the robots had turned on them and Boom was beginning to understand why, as he stared into the black visor of the Pink Ranger's helmet.
"Sophie, what's going on?" Boom said, curiously, ignoring the robot blasters pointed directly at him and his comrades. "What's happened to you?"
"Can't you tell?" Prax yelled from several feet away. His army had all gotten to their feet and now watched in pleasure at B-Squad's trouble. "She's one of us?"
"Actually," Blaze interjected. "She's more like me."
"Evil, you mean," B-Squad's Yellow Ranger, Duc Sato said, glaring at his parents' killer.
"More or less," Blaze said, smirking.
"Cyborgs," Casey muttered at Boom's side.
Boom's mind raced as he realized Sophie's circuitry must have been tampered with, given her apparent control of the Delta X robots. There was no way she could be evil. He grabbed tight to her arms.
"Sophie, listen to me!" Boom yelled. "If you can hear me, it's Boom. We're not the enemy! You have to fight whatever it is that's telling you to do this. X-Squad, you, you're supposed to fight with us, not against us!"
Prax took a few steps forward, a bit worried. Then, Sophie's helmet began to show movement. Her head moved slowly, from side to side. Then, it stared forward, directly at Boom. B-Squad's Blue Ranger tried his best to see inside, to see her eyes. Had he gotten through to her?
Then, Sophie broke free of his grasp quickly, catching him and B-Squad off-guard. With one swift motion she struck his chest with the palm of her hand. As his chest lit up in sparks and smoke, Boom went flying backwards several feet into a tailspin that ended when he collided with a lightpost on the corner of the street.
Disregarding the blasters trained on them, the other members of B-Squad rushed to Boom's side, trying to help him up. As they glanced back at their attackers, they saw them coming towards them once again. Prax was in front with Sophie and Blaze keeping pace right behind him. The three escaped monsters, Rubexa, Relliott and Huragi were behind them and the dozen X-Squad robots pulled up the rear, with their weapons still focused on B-Squad.
"What do we do now?" B-Squad's Green Ranger asked, finally out of ideas.
Prax came to a stop, causing all of them to do the same. He let out a small chuckle.
"Now, I think it's time to surrender!" Prax said, loudly.
"What are you talking about?" Kat muttered angrily.
Inside the Vanguard X towers, she and Pryce Jensen stood amongst the ransacked office of Dr. Lee Jiang, whom they had discovered was not only responsible for running the company for Barrett Van Tigue, but had also just used some kind of remote to attack B-Squad.
"It doesn't matter now," the elderly Asian man said, his voice low.
"Yes it does!" Kat yelled. "You said you ensured B-Squad would lose. Lose what? Tell us!"
"Maybe he doesn't have to," Pryce said, as he saw a computer monitoring station in the corner of the office.
He handed Kat the remote device and walked over to it, activating the terminal. With a few quick keystrokes, he accessed the S.P.D. satellite system that orbited Earth and allowed them to pick up disturbances all over the city. After a few quick scans, he pinpointed B-Squad's location and pulled up a visual of the group on the East Side of Newtech City.
"Uh oh," Pryce said, as he looked surprised once again. "Look at this."
Kat walked over to him, dragging Dr. Jiang along. She looked over Pryce's shoulder and her jaw dropped.
"What is going on?"
"It looks like B-Squad's down," Pryce explained. "Prax looks to be leading a group of former containment cards...and X-Squad!"
Kat turned her fury back on Dr. Jiang once again.
"You did this! You turned X-Squad against us," Kat said, angrily. "I knew it. I knew those robots would be trouble. How did you do it?"
"I didn't do anything to the robots," Dr. Jiang said, scared but defiant.
"Sophie?"Kat heard Pryce's shock as he said the Pink Ranger's name. Kat glanced back over at the monitor, seeing Sophie standing with Prax and his army.
"That can't be," Kat said, as she looked to Pryce. "What's Sophie doing?"
Pryce racked his brain trying to find an answer to her question. His eyes searched the room, almost as if they were helping his brain waves move faster. Then, his gaze rested on Kat's hand and the remote device he had just given to her.
"The trigger!" Pryce said, as if he had just had an epiphany.
Pryce took the device from Kat's hand and glanced at Jiang who seemed more nervous after hearing Pryce's revelation.
"He created Sophie," Pryce said to Kat, while still staring at Jiang. "He must have changed her programming with this. She's the trigger!"
Now, with both hands free, Kat grabbed tight to Jiang's collar and pulled him close.
"You made this mess and now you're going to tell us how to fix it!"
Her eyes pierced his, allowing Jiang to see that S.P.D. Earth's commander was looking for any excuse to pounce on him.
Inside the Galactic Council President's office, Ottomus Cali's body was being held in a position it wasn't meant to. Anubis "Doggie" Cruger had him by the throat. He was a tall creature, but even now, his body was forced up against his desk in Cruger's grip.
"You'd better start talking," Cruger growled in his face.
"Or what? You're going to kill me? Come now, Cruger. You don't have it in you," Cali sneered. "In fact, that's one of the reasons I hate you!"
Cruger grabbed hold of Cali's neck a little tighter, which only seemed to make the President more defiant.
"You don't know how to do what's necessary!" Cali fumed. "You can't take the steps that this galaxy needs to move forward. You're too stuck in the past. That's how I know you won't make good on your threats. You may attack me and that will be all I need to force your resignation and remove you from S.P.D. forever."
Cali let out a small chuckle.
"In fact, that may be even better than your assassination. To see you walk through those doors and face the press and your family in disgrace might be one of my greatest achievements," Cali said. "So go ahead, do it! Strike me! I dare you!"
"That won't be necessary."
The sound of the new voice in the room surprised both of the males. This voice was in stark contrast to theirs. The female walked in further. Cruger released Cali from his grip so that he could turn to see Earth's Representative Alaina Doherty and the president's assistant Tawke had entered.
"Thank goodness you're here," Cali said. "You saw him! Commander Cruger tried to attack me."
"And with good reason I'm sure," Doherty said, casting her serious gaze down on Cali. "Are you all right, Commander? We hadn't been able to reach you on Sirius."
"I'm fine," Cruger said, his gaze never leaving Cali.
"That's more than I can say for our President," Alaina spoke.
"What are you talking about?" Cali said, troubled.
"I'm here to arrest you," Alaina said confidently. "It's you who's about to be dethroned and tossed out with today's trash, Mr. President."
Cruger finally released Cali from his gaze and looked upon Doherty with surprise.
"The truth has come to light," Alaina said. "And I'm afraid it won't be setting you free."
Cali's eyes grew wide, as he was shocked by the representative's words.
Inside of the abandoned factory owned by Barrett Van Tigue on the East Side of Newtech City, Sydney Drew hung. She continued to try to find a way out of the ropes that restrained her wrists, but she was out of ideas and the pain had spread throughout her upper body. She was losing strength and getting more hopeless by the minute. She looked down on Barrett Van Tigue, who was standing next to the giant metal grinder that would seal her fate forever. She noticed the large smile on his face, as she was being slowly lowered.
"Time's up," Barrett said loudly, trying to project his voice above the sound of the metal grinder. "It's truly a waste to see such a beauty perish."
"But revenge is still sweet," Lady Vishus, his cybernetic bodyguard yelled from afar, with a sneer directed at Syd.
She stood with her hand on the switch, lowering the S.P.D. operative to her fate. She was almost bursting with excitement. In fact, she was so distracted that she never noticed Piggy peeking around the doorway only a few meters away from her. His gaze went from Syd to the grinder to Vishus' hand on the switch to her cane resting on the wall next to her.
Piggy turned away from the doorway once again, letting out a silent sigh.
"What am I getting myself into?" he whispered to himself.
"Vishus, stop!"
Piggy heard Barrett's voice shout and the grinder halted. He peeked back around the doorway just in time to see Vishus walking towards Barrett. Both of them had their eyes trained on the small monitor that hung in the air above, attached to a pole which extended from the ceiling.
"It's working," Barrett said to Vishus. "The Pink Ranger's been turned."
Upon hearing this, Syd looked at the monitor, shocked to see Sophie standing with Barrett's forces. Her worries over her own fate diminished a bit, as she wondered what was to come for B-Squad.
Blocks away from the factory, Boom was still clutching his chest, as he made it to his knees. His B-Squad comrades were kneeling at his sides, watching their attackers getting a bit closer.
"So, B-Squad, what's it going to be?" Prax said loudly. "Will you surrender or face imminent destruction?"
All eyes fell on Boom. As he felt his anxiety and pain grow, Boom didn't truly know the answer their plight. Boom's next breath was a bit easier to let out, as he flipped open his morpher, ignoring the threat in front of him.
"B-Squad here," he grunted through the pain in his chest. "We could really use some backup, Headquarters."
"B-Squad, this is Command Central," Niyako's light, almost cheerful voice spoke. "I'm sorry...we've been unable to contact Commander Manx or the other Rangers."
B-Squad's Pink Ranger, Meg Thurman looked off in the distance, where she spied the Blast Buggy.
"I have a feeling wherever they are, they can't get back," she deduced.
Beneath his helmet, Boom closed his eyes in defeat.
"However," Niyako continued. "Supreme Commander Cruger has contacted us."
Boom breathed another sigh of relief.
"And?"
"He says you should stand your ground," Niyako said, a bit deflated, as she could sense the desperate need for hope in Boom's voice. "Do not give up."
Even as the words escaped her mouth, she knew that it was easy to say given her safety within the walls of S.P.D. Earth's auxiliary command station. Back on the battlefield, Boom closed his morpher and forced himself to his feet. B-Squad joined him on their feet.
"Guys," Boom said, looking to his friends. "I'm sorry."
Sensing B-Squad's defeat, Prax began to chuckle once again.
"Yes, I can feel Space Patrol Delta's demise," Prax said, as he raised his arms in celebration.
"But," Boom continued, as he stared straight at Prax and his army. "We can't just give up! You heard our orders! We stand our ground!"
"What?" Prax said, surprised for a moment. "Destroy them!"
As the criminal monsters, X-Squad, Blaze and the Pink Ranger swarmed B-Squad, Prax joined them. But in one instant they were all left in shock, as with one swift rise of their hands to the sky, B-Squad jetted into the air above the fray, catching their opponents off-guard. They all looked around to see where B-Squad had disappeared. As they all looked to the sky, a barrage of laser fire rained down upon them, sending robots, monsters, criminals and cyborgs diving to the ground.
In a circle-formation, B-Squad descended towards the street, firing in unison and not stopping until they reached the ground as one. Once there, they had their rifles drawn again, with their eyes on their enemies.
"We're not giving up that easily," Boom grunted, as B-Squad rushed back into their mass of foes.
"Keep trying," Quinn Gray spoke to the robotic patrol hound, Murphy, as he knelt by his side.
The two were in a corner of the rooftop, where the Green Ranger had Murphy scanning for some sign of the Blast Buggy. He had come up empty, however.
"See if you can detect any other shuttles on the planet. They have to have some kind of emergency transports," Quinn said, thinking back to the emergency warnings he heard inside the prison.
As if on cue, the released prisoners had also made their way to the rooftop, which was now more crowded than ever.
"Holler if you find anything," Quinn said to Murphy before running into the fray.
Some of the prisoners seemed to be trying to climb down the side of the building, many falling to the mountainous caverns below. Quinn saw Bridge in the distance, fighting with Giganus, while Z was still busy with Morgana.
As Quinn pushed past several of the prisoners who seemed to be fighting amongst themselves, he spotted the Red Ranger fighting closely with Wootox. He hopped onto the shoulders of a few prisoners, launching himself into the air, as he pulled his Deltamax Striker, firing down on Wootox.
The alien criminal collapsed to the ground, as Quinn took a position at Sky's side.
"Thought you could use a little help," he said to his half-brother.
"From you...anytime," Sky said, as Wootox jumped back to his feet and swung at him, while kicking at Quinn.
Wootox's kick caught the Green Ranger, but Sky managed to duck the swiping blow and elbowed Wootox in the back, causing him to stagger forward. On the rooftop concrete, Quinn sent a leg upwards, catching Wootox on the chin with a powerful strike. The monster was once again on his back, as Sky helped Quinn to his feet.
"Ready to say goodbye to this guy?" Quinn asked.
"You know it," Sky said, as he pulled his morpher from its holster.
"Wait! No!" Wootox yelled.
It was too late. Sky had already pressed the containment button on his morpher, causing the monster to shrink, contained for good, just as a barrage of prisoners stomped over the card, in a frenzy. Sky moved forward to grab it, but it was too late. He was sure the prisoners would have trampled him as well. The two watched almost in awe at the mass of male prisoners that had ascended to the rooftop, all clamoring for some way to escape, even if it meant destroying their brethren to do it.
"Tawke! How could you let these people in here?" Cali said, angrily looking at his assistant.
"I had no choice," Tawke said.
"You've betrayed me. I trusted you," Cali said, attempting to look hurt.
"You betrayed us all!" Tawke yelled. "My loyalty was wasted on you."
"She's right," Alaina chimed in. "That goes for everyone on the Council. We've all been made aware of your plot to destroy the foundation for which the Galactic Council was built."
"You're all insane," Cali said. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't play games, Cali," Cruger said. "Can't you see all of your lies are unraveling around you. It's time to come clean."
"The Council has uncovered evidence that you had plans to disband the Council, getting rid of representative government in the process. You conspired with several dishonored members of this organization including Shivan Sevarus and Trixx of Triforia to make your plans come true," Doherty explained.
"What?" Cruger said, shocked. "You were behind the treachery on Triforia?"
Cali simply stared, like a deer in the headlights.
"It's true," Tawke said. "I heard him speaking with Commander Trixx."
"Then, you proceeded to go behind the back of Representative Pheon to influence the votes of the Barconians, whom you betrayed by orchestrating the attack on their convoy near Triforia," Doherty continued. "But that became old hat to you, didn't it? After all, you also preyed on Representative Urgundii's vulnerabilities when it came to his votes because of the terrorism on Fernovia."
"You set this all up," Cruger said. "I thought you had a grudge against me, but you've been out to undermine us all!"
"You all know nothing!" Cali said, filled with anger.
"The Council knows that you are no longer worthy of this position," Alaina spoke. "I have formal charges here. You can resign if you wish to save face, but it will do you no good, as we have already alerted all authorities and the media to your crimes."
Doherty walked over to face Cruger.
"We are truly sorry, Commander Cruger," Doherty said. "The Council regrets the sanctions against S.P.D. Earth and the incarceration of Sky Tate. He's hereby exonerated. Representative Delphine is contacting Fenix Prime right now to secure his release."
"It will do you no good," Cali said, under his breath.
Doherty & Cruger both looked at him.
"Tate should be dead by now."
Cruger took a few angry steps towards Cali's desk, causing the alien man to step away from him.
"What have you done?"
"I sent some old friends of his...and yours to destroy him, for good!" Cali said, angrily.
Doherty placed an arm on Cruger's, trying to prevent him from attacking Cali. She wanted to hear what he had to say.
"You just don't get it!" Cali shouted. "None of you do. All of Galaxy Command is a farce and it's thanks to S.P.D. Earth! All of the planets, all of the representatives, you all think you have some mighty power. You make selfish decisions and you cast down your values on everyone else. It all stems from Earth. Cruger and his Rangers! Galaxy Command cannot survive with so many voices in control! There needs to be a singular voice. I should be that voice!"
"With you in control, the Galactic Alliance would crumble," Cruger growled.
"But it won't," Doherty said. "The other representatives have all contacted their planets. The threat has been contained."
"You can't contain me!" Cali said. "I'm the president."
Cali headed for the doorway to his office, almost pushing Tawke to the side. But before he could call for the doors to open, they slid aside revealing several S.P.D. officers, with laser pistols drawn and cuffs in hand. Cali's eyes grew wide again, as he was grabbed by the officers and arrested.
"You can't do this to me!" Cali yelled.
"I could think of no better way to end this," Cruger said, watching intently.
"At least your precious Earth will fall!" Cali shouted in anger. "It's too late for them! Barrett Van Tigue will see to that!"
"What do you know about Barrett Van Tigue?" Cruger asked, curiously.
"He shares my ideals for a singular voice to control the masses," Cali revealed. "Barrett Van Tigue has plans for Earth that will cause the final elimination of S.P.D. there. I helped him get just what he needed! I may be headed for prison, but I will laugh in your faces as you watch your precious Rangers fall and die, just like Sky Tate!"
"You've been in league with Van Tigue this entire time," Cruger said, disgusted. "Get him out of here!"
The officers dragged Cali from the office, a Cruger slammed his fists down on Cali's desk.
"He's ruined us all," Cruger growled.
"Maybe not completely," Doherty said to him, giving Cruger hope.
"No!" Barrett yelled at the monitor hovering in the air inside the factory. "Why won't they just give up?"
"Because S.P.D. doesn't give up," Syd said from above. "You still haven't learned that."
Barrett let out an angry yell at her, as his cellphone rang. He picked up the device and recognized the caller. He nodded to Vishus.
"Finish her off!" he said, as he left the room and stepped outside of the factory, answering his cell. "Prax, what the hell is going on over there?"
"Sir, we're trying!" Prax yelled through the explosions happening behind him.
The green insectoid alien had taken refuge behind a parked car, which too was smoking.
"They are fighting back," Prax revealed.
"I can see that from here, you moron!" Barrett yelled. "Get them to surrender, now! If that doesn't work, just kill them all!"
Back inside the factory, Vishus happily skipped towards the lever that would lower Syd to her grizzly fate.
"I have to say, I've dreamed of this moment," Vishus said as she put her hand on the lever and activated it. She turned back to face Syd smiling as she continued her descent.
Just then, Piggy came through the doorway and pushed Vishus from behind, knocking the cyborg into the metal grinder.
"Sweet dreams," Piggy muttered.
Her exposed cheek hit the machine, as she fell to the ground. Piggy ran over to the lever. With his black cane in one hand, he raised the lever, stopping Syd's descent. Then, Piggy cut off the grinder below her.
"Piggy!" Syd said, shocked. "I can't believe it's you."
"Hold on," Piggy said, as he tried to push the heavy machine out from under Syd.
The machine barely moved, proving to be too heavy for his small, lanky frame to move. As he tried, Syd began to shift her weight on the ropes, getting into a swinging motion. When she glanced back down at Piggy, she saw Lady Vishus was back on her feet, grabbing her own cane on the floor near the doorway.
"Look out!" Syd yelled.
Piggy ducked, as Vishus' cane collided with the metal grinder. She continued to swipe at the alien creature, who ducked every one of her blows, until he tripped and fell. As his butt hit the floor, Piggy gasped. Vishus sneered at him.
"This is gonna feel so good," Vishus said.
She grabbed the head of her cane to release the sword that she kept hidden inside. But, as she pulled, the cane's head didn't budge. She continued to try, as she looked puzzled. On the ground, Piggy smiled.
"Looking for this?" he said, as he pulled the head of his cane, revealing the sword.
"Ahhhh," Vishus yelled in anger.
Piggy swiped the blade at her, cutting his own cane, which he had switched with hers. The wooden stick broke in two in Vishus hands. Using them as weapons, she plunged both of them down at Piggy, who rolled out of her way, getting to his feet. He continued to go at Vishus with the sword, but had no luck in making contact. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Syd had worked up a great swinging motion with the rope and was swinging so far across the room that she swung past the grinder.
Piggy ducked another swiping attack from Vishus and used the head of the sword to strike her across the face. As she staggered, Piggy tossed the sword into the air, sending it straight towards the ropes that tied Syd's hands. In an instant, the ropes were cut and Syd went swinging into the air. She flipped herself over to the pole that held the hovering monitor, using it to swing closer to the ground. Launching herself off of it, she flipped down to the floor near the doorway.
"Nice trick," Vishus yelled, as Syd turned to see she was now holding Piggy by the throat. "But this party's over."
"Piggy," Syd said in a low voice.
"Just go," Piggy said, as he gestured towards the hanging, broken monitor. "They need you more than I do."
"But, I can't leave you here."
"Yes, you can," Piggy said. "I didn't save you so I could be free."
Despite every fiber of her being telling her not to, Syd rushed through the back doorway of the factory, exiting.
"That is a mistake you're going to regret for about five minutes," Vishus whispered into his ear.
"Oh? That long?"
"That's just the amount of time it'll take to destroy you," Vishus sneered.
"Impossible."
Dr. Jiang's answer to Kat's request was simple. She wanted him to tell her how to stop the battle raging in Newtech City.
"I refuse to believe a brilliant mind like yours didn't have a backup in place to stop all of this," Kat said.
Pryce studied the remote device in his hand.
"Maybe we can reprogram it," he said, anxiously, as he looked back at the battle scene, seeing Sophie fighting against B-Squad's Pink Ranger.
"There's no way to stop them," Jiang said. "The Delta X robots will not disobey Sophie's internal commands. She's the true remote. That was only an activation device. It only works one way."
"There has to be a way," Kat said, as she stared into Jiang's eyes. "Think!"
Jiang rolled his eyes.
"Not every scientific problem has a suitable solution," Jiang said. "The only way to stop the robots is to wipe out their connection to Sophie and the only way to accomplish that is by wiping her mainframe clean. You would destroy the very essence of her, leaving behind only an empty shell. Is that impossible enough for you?"
Kat released Jiang from her grip, with a bit of a nudge that caused him to fall to the floor amongst the clutter of his office. As she turned to face Pryce, he could see that sadness had replaced anger in her.
"What?" he asked.
"You heard him," Kat said somberly. "I know what we have to do."
Inside the Galactic Council President's office, Anubis Cruger remained standing in front of the vacant desk. He stood there waiting, wondering what Alaina Doherty meant.
"I don't understand how I could have missed all of this," Cruger said. "I'm the Supreme Commander, I should have saw his treachery."
"We were all misled by him," Doherty said. "But it is not too late to set things right."
Cruger took a heavy breath.
"I must go to help my Rangers. They need me."
"I agree," Doherty said. "But Sky Tate may need you more. If Cali's threat was accurate, then Sky is in mortal danger. You must rescue him."
"Earth is under attack," Cruger said.
"Don't worry," Doherty said. "If you trust me, then believe me when I say that Earth will be saved. I have it taken care of. You must go to Fenix Prime. If Sky Tate is killed, the honor of this Council will die with him. We cannot let that happen."
Cruger had spent so many years avoiding her trust. Even now he questioned every thought that would lead him away from Earth. But as he gazed into her eyes, truly for the first time, he knew that Alaina Doherty felt the same way he did about Earth.
"Okay," Cruger said. "But I have one request."
"Anything."
"My wife and children," Cruger said. "I don't know the extent of what Sevarus did to them. They need to be checked out by someone we can trust."
"I'll see to it personally," Alaina said, with a smile.
"Thank you," Cruger said, sincerely before rushing out of the office.
Back on Earth, the battle nearing the center of Newtech City was getting fiercer. The Pink Ranger scored a swift kick on her B-Squad counterpart, sending Meg Thurman falling the ground, just as Boom showed up, taking on Sophie. He swung at her with his rifle.
"Sophie, I don't wanna hurt you!" Boom said, as he fought close enough for her to hear him.
With a swift swipe, she knocked the rifle away, scoring a side kick on Boom, which sent the Blue Ranger flying into the car, where Prax had been hiding.
"That's too bad, because I'm looking forward to your destruction," Sophie said, her voice dark and ominous, scaring Boom.
She had her Deltamax Striker pointed directly at him, then she raised the weapon. Boom sighed. She wasn't going to shoot him. Then she lowered her arm completely.
"Fire!" she shouted.
At that moment, three Delta X robots appeared in front of Boom, firing on him and the car, sending his body flying up into the air in front of the car, which was turned into a virtual bomb after being fired upon. The blast had B-Squad's Blue Ranger enveloped in flames and sparks.
Prax went running into a nearby alley to escape the blaze.
"Barrett?" he talked into his large cellphone. "Barrett, are you there? I think you're going to like this."
Nearby, Meg was getting to her feet, as she saw Boom's assistance had led him to be hurt.
"Boom!" she shouted, as she began running towards him, only to be blocked by the large criminal, Rubexa.
"Hold it," Rubexa yelled.
The ruby red armor worn by Rubexa barely had any scratches on it, as she faced down the Pink Ranger, with her own laser rifle drawn. She fired on Meg, who didn't stop running. At full speed, she avoided each laser strike as it hit the ground near her feet. She vaulted into the air, flipping behind Rubexa. As the much-larger alien turned, Meg met her with a swift kick. The alien staggered backwards, allowing Meg to get her own rifle ready for fire.
"You're going down!" Meg shouted.
But before she could fire on the criminal, she found herself enveloped in sparks and smoke coming from the laser blasts of three more Delta X robots, who had fired on her from afar. B-Squad's Pink Ranger collapsed onto the ground.
Several feet away, Duc Sato was battling Blaze, who had been unable to use his explosives against B-Squad's Yellow Ranger. Duc knew he had to keep Blaze on his toes and on the move. In the distance behind Blaze, Duc could see Huragi aiming towards them. With his rifle strapped across his shoulder, Duc grabbed both of Blaze's hands as they went for karate chops on him. He restrained him and glanced at Huragi, just as the monster was about to fire on him.
The small explosive seemed to move in slow motion towards B-Squad's Yellow Ranger.
"Not this time," Duc mumbled, as he pushed off the ground, taking to the air, with Blaze still in his arms.
As he saw the detonator heading for a van parked on the street, he kicked Blaze in the chest in midair, causing the cyborg to fly towards the van just as it ignited from Huragi's bomb. The cyborg went flying straight into the flaming wreckage, screaming. Duc came to a halt behind Huragi, who was watching in shock.
Duc fired on the monster with his blaster rifle, sending him flying into the air in a barrage of laser energy. Duc watched closely as he saw Blaze emerge from the wreckage of the burning van. Most of the cyborg's skin had been burned off, but he was still standing. As he glanced down at his exposed circuitry, he screamed in anger.
"No!" Blaze yelled.
Duc came towards him with his rifle raised.
"That was for my parents," Duc said. "Now it's time for you to be contained!"
At that moment, he heard the cocking of several blasters behind him. Duc's eyes closed for a second, as he turned and saw three of the Delta X robots with weapons trained on him. They fired, sending him collapsing to the ground. His suit smoking, he could barely move, but as he opened his eyes, he saw Blaze standing above him. The cyborg's chuckle haunted his soul.
On the other side of the street, Casey Parker was getting the better of Relliott, despite his use of his super speed. She fired her laser rifle in a straight line, quickly after him, until he paused for only a second, causing her to catch him. Relliott was knocked off his feet. B-Squad's Green Ranger ran over to him, placing a foot on his chest to prevent him from getting up. She pulled her weapon on him again.
"Not so fast," she said, with an unseen smile.
Just then, a barrage of lasers struck her, sending the Green Ranger flying into the air and collapsing to the ground. The Delta X robots had struck again. As the other Rangers staggered towards her, she clutched her chest. None of them were walking for long, as another barrage of laser pistols struck them, sending them all collapsing to the ground.
In the middle of the four, Casey Parker groaned in pain.
"Surrender might not have been a bad idea," she grunted.
"V, we may not have long," Barrett said, as he walked back into the factory the same way he had exited. "Is it done?"
Barrett stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Vishus standing over Piggy, with her foot planted at the base of his throat. She looked over at Barrett.
"There's been a change of plans," Vishus sneered.
"You're telling me!" Barrett said, as he looked up and saw the ropes that had held Syd had been cut. "What happened?"
"Your associate, Piggy returned. He freed her!"
"Dammit," Barrett said. "It's all falling apart."
"Your plans are salvageable," Vishus said, before she cast her steely gaze back down on Piggy. "Which is more than I can say for this worthless piece of trash."
"He can wait," Barrett said, as he appeared almost in a panic. "If Syren's gotten away, she can tell someone everything we said to her."
"Who's she going to tell?" Vishus said, annoyed. "S.P.D. is falling."
"No! They're fighting back," Barrett said. "We don't have time for this. Come on. It's time for my contingency plan."
"Can't I kill Piggy first?" Vishus whined.
"No," Barrett said. "He can wait. Tie him up. He won't be going anywhere. I'll only need you for a few minutes. Now, move it!"
Barrett walked towards the back of the factory, walking through a pair of double doors. Vishus let out a scream of anger, before she looked back down at Piggy.
"Once Barrett's equalizer is activated, you're butt is mine," Vishus sneered at him.
"Great," Piggy mumbled.
Commander Kat Manx and Dr. Pryce Jensen ran at top speed out of Vanguard X towers, heading for the patrol jeep they had driven there.
"You sure we should have left Jiang like that?" Pryce asked, as they ran.
"Trust me. He won't be able to get out of those cuffs. I'll send someone back to arrest him, soon," Kat said. "For now, we've got bigger problems."
As she hopped into the driver's seat, Kat felt she was sitting on something. It was her handheld communicator. She had left it inside the jeep the entire time she was inside. She activated it.
"Command Central, do you read me?" she called out.
"Commander Manx, what's your status?" Niyako wondered. "We've been trying to contact you."
"I know. I'm sorry," Kat said.
"B-Squad is in terrible trouble against an army of—"
"Yes, I know," Kat said, cutting her off. "The Officers...where are they?"
"We're not sure, but Sophie has appeared on the battlefield. Sir, she's working for the enemy," Ghiren spoke from the tracking station.
"I'm aware," Kat said, as she glanced over at Pryce. "Keep trying to contact the other Rangers. Dr. Jensen and I are heading to the East Side."
"Yes ma'am," Niyako spoke. "Also, we've gotten word from Commander Cruger. He's safe."
Kat closed her eyes, sighing in relief.
"Thank you, Niyako. You and Ghiren hold down the fort until I get back there," Kat ordered, before signing off.
She threw the communicator into her pocket and started the jeep.
"You still haven't told me what you intend to do to stop this," Pryce said.
"You heard Dr. Jiang," Kat said, as she looked over at him. "The only way to bring those robots down is to cut off their connection to Sophie."
"But that would mean wiping Sophie's mainframe," Pryce said, troubled at the prospect.
Kat took a deep breath and looked deep into his eyes.
"We have to do whatever it takes to stop them," Kat said. "No matter what."
She pressed her foot on the gas pedal and the jeep sped into motion.
"It's time to get our hands dirty," Kat said, as she focused her eyes on their destination.
"I love a good Blue Ranger bashing!" Giganus yelled, as he held tight to Bridge's leg, swinging him into a crowd of prisoners, sending them all falling to the rooftop.
"Well, get used to red!" a voice called out from behind him.
Giganus turned quickly to see the Red Ranger. Sky punched Giganus across the face, causing his entire body to twist around. The Green Ranger was waiting there with a swift kick to the face, which sent Giganus falling backwards into the crowd of prisoners.
The crowd was quickly becoming an unending pit. The Rangers could barely see one another, as the rooftop was overflowing with prisoners, causing several to be accidentally, and some purposely, to be pushed off the ledge, falling to their demise.
Quinn reached out a gloved hand through the crowd, reaching for Sky. Once their hands met, they pulled themselves together through the mass of bodies.
"Where's Bridge?" Sky wondered.
"Uh...up here!" Bridge called out.
The two Rangers looked above the crowd, seeing the Blue Ranger wading through them as if he was on top of a mosh pit. They pulled him down.
"We gotta find Z!" Bridge said, as they began making their way through the crowd.
"And Giganus!" Sky seethed.
Several meters away, Quinn heard the load bark of Murphy, mixed with a siren call. He had found something.
"Wait!" Quinn said. "It's Murphy. He must have found a way out of here."
"So did I!" Bridge yelled, as he pointed up to the sky.
The trio of Rangers looked above, as an S.P.D. shuttle was descending into view. A grappling cord was beginning to descend towards them.
"Murphy!" Quinn yelled. "Here, boy!"
Several prisoners seemed to collapse to the ground in the crowd, as the Rangers watched. Soon, they saw that it was Murphy barreling through them, knocking them all over. He stopped at Sky's feet, wagging his tail excitedly.
"Good job," Sky said, patting him on the head.
He attached the grappler to Murphy and yanked on it causing it to retract to the shuttle.
"All right," Sky said to his teammates. "Let's find the rest of our team."
They waded through the crowd looking for the Yellow Ranger. On the other side of the rooftop, she was fighting feverishly with Morgana and knocked her to the ground with a fierce kick. Morgana screamed out when she hit the concrete.
"There she is!" one of the prisoners yelled. "Get her!"
"Hands off, boys!" Cash yelled at Z's side, until he realized the prisoners had their sights on Morgana. "Oh...nevermind."
Z grabbed Cash's arm and began pulling him through the crowd, just as she bumped into Bridge.
"There you are," Bridge said. "You ready to get out of here?"
"Sure," Z said.
The grappling line was lowering towards them once again, as the search light from the shuttle had located the pack of Rangers amidst the crowd of fighting prisoners. Sky grabbed Cash with one arm and the cord with the other. Quinn grabbed a piece next, followed by Bridge and then Z. As the cord began to ascend away from the rooftop, they could hear the screams for escape and for help from the other prisoners. In the middle of them all was Morgana.
"Wait!" she yelled. "You can't just leave me here!"
The Rangers watched in silence as the prisoners began pulling at her arms, ripping at her security guard uniform.
"Ahhhh," Morgana said, as she pushed them away. "Get off me, you buffoons! Giganus! Giganus, help me!"
It was at that moment that she was pushed to the ground from behind. As she turned over she saw the person who had pushed her was Giganus, in his human form of Dru Harrington. He smiled.
As the prisoners swarmed her, he tilted his head.
"Sorry," Dru said, as he retreated into the crowd of prisoners, leaving Morgana behind.
Her piercing screams were all the Rangers heard, as they all loaded into the shuttle, which sped out into the atmosphere of space, leaving Fenix Prime behind.
Now demorphed, the four Rangers, Murphy and Cash Donovan all breathed easier inside the back compartment of the small shuttle. Just then, the doors to the cockpit slid open and Sam Hastings appeared. From across the room, Z Delgado saw him.
"Sam!" she said, with a smile, which quickly faded as she remembered his last words of anger to her.
The teenager's face was still filled with anger...but only for a moment before he smiled. Sam rushed over, hugging Z.
"I guess we have you to thank for this," she said.
"Are you kidding?" Sam said, still in her embrace. "I didn't come alone."
The group looked to the doorway again, when they heard a familiar Sirian grumble. Cruger walked straight up to Bridge.
"Carson!" he yelled. "Would you mind telling me what you were doing on Fenix Prime?"
"Uh, sir," Bridge started. "It's a long story. But, let's just say that—"
"I needed him, sir," Sky spoke. "I was in danger and they saved my life."
"Look, Commander," Bridge looked at Cruger somberly as he spoke. "I know I broke the rules, but if I hadn't come Sky would have been—"
"Killed," Cruger finished his sentence. "I know. President Cali is responsible for this. In fact, he's responsible for it all, even your sentencing."
"I don't understand," Sky said, troubled. "Why?"
"It was all part of his attempt to shut down S.P.D. Earth and the Galactic Council. But we don't have time to get into it right now. I'll explain it all later," Cruger explained. "We need to get back to Earth as quick as we can. B-Squad is in a fight for their lives."
Cruger returned to the cockpit. As silence filled the rear compartment, they all began to digest what Cruger had told them. A conspiracy had sent Sky to prison? President Cali was the enemy? It all took a while to sink in.
Cash Donovan, however, was detached from that situation and instead chose to focus on more positive things. He walked closer to Z.
"Now that we're out of danger, I'd love to know the name of my savior," he said, with a wink.
Z smirked at him, just as Sky walked up behind her.
"I didn't know you were into ghosts, Donovan," Sky said.
Z sighed, as she turned to Sky.
"I'm sorry," Z said. "It was an undercover thing."
"Figures," Sky said. "I'm just glad you're not dead."
"Thanks."
A few feet away, Quinn saw Bridge staring out a window at the stars whizzing by the speeding shuttle.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I can't stop thinking about her," Bridge said sadly. "What happened to Sophie? Why would she just leave us like that?"
"Maybe she went back to Earth," Quinn surmised. "I mean if B-Squad's in trouble, they had to have sent out a call for help. She's probably there."
"I don't know, Quinn. I just have this bad feeling that something's happened to Sophie," Bridge answered.
"For what it's worth, I hope you wrong," Quinn said.
Over Quinn's shoulder, Bridge saw Sam sitting in one of the seats, staring at the Omega morpher. Bridge looked curious and walked over to him.
"What's up?"
"It won't work," Sam said, with a sigh. "Every time I try to use it, the morpher just cuts off and I get this intense pain. Commander Cruger should have left me on Andruss III."
"Hmm," Bridge said, as he took a seat next to Sam. "Let me take a look."
Sam handed Bridge the morpher and after a few quick examinations, he popped open the morpher's power cell. By then, Quinn and Murphy had joined them.
"So, can you tell what's wrong with it?" Sam wondered.
"Well, there's good news and bad news," Bridge announced.
"Better start with the bad news," Quinn said.
"Sam's DNA was used to activate the morpher, but from there it was Jack's DNA that powered it," Bridge explained. "Without the steady flow of energy from Jack's blood, it's shutting off and I don't know how to fix it."
Sam frowned.
"What's the good news?" he asked Bridge.
"Kat would know how to fix it easily and we're heading to Earth now so problem solved," Bridge said, with a smile.
Sam's frown disappeared. He just hoped Kat would have time to fix it for him.
Back on Earth, the four members of B-Squad were all down on the ground, hurt and beaten badly. Duc, Boom, Casey and Meg. Given the intense pain each of them felt, they forgot they were still morphed.
Prax and his army all stood above them. They had backed themselves up to the concrete wall of a large building, but there was no where for B-Squad to run, as the villainous army blocked their way.
"It's all over!" Prax said, in anger. "There's no need to continue on this track. This planet isn't worthy of your heroic antics. Just give it up! If you do so willingly, we may spare your lives."
Boom looked up at the robots, the three escaped aliens, and even the two cyborgs. As his eyes rested on the Pink Ranger among them, he could not see any other alternative. The other members of B-Squad watched as their Blue Ranger's helmet dropped slowly towards the ground. As if on cue, their own helmets dropped a bit. They knew what he was about to do.
Boom raised his head to face Prax once again. He couldn't even get to his feet, which he wanted so desperately. If he was going to surrender, it seemed more honorable to do it on his feet.
The pain, however, was too much for him to stand at that moment. He let out a loud sigh that he was sure even the robots could hear. A tear fell from Boom's cheek as he opened his mouth to speak.
Sydney Drew had never run so much in her entire life. She had been on a dead run for almost twenty minutes in her trek towards S.P.D. Earth Headquarters. Once it came into view, she stopped dead in her tracks. It wasn't how she had left it. The Delta Command Base was gone. Syd looked over at the small structure that was a shack compared to the Delta Command Base. She shook her head.
Z had tried to prepare her for it, but seeing the Delta Command Base gone still struck Syd hard. It was at that moment that she remembered not seeing Z or Bridge on the monitor of the battle. Where were they?
As Syd approached the auxiliary station, she grabbed her cellphone dialed Z. When she got no answer she ended the call. It was then that she saw a message from Z on the phone. She activated it, as she entered the auxiliary station and began wandering around, wondering what she was looking for.
She knew she had to help B-Squad. She just didn't know how. Sophie had her powers and she was using them against the cadets. Syd listened closely as Z's message played...
"Hey, it's me," Z's voice sounded rushed. "I hope everything's safe. Look, I've got to go help Bridge with some Ranger stuff. Call me when you can...and if you need some help while I'm gone, just make your way home, okay."
Syd continued to look down the small corridors of the auxiliary station. This didn't look like home. In her ear, Z's message continued.
"In Dr. Jensen's lab, on the back wall under the S.P.D. symbol, there's a hatch. Look inside. You'll have to use your security clearance code. I think there's something there you should see. It's room 6 in the new base. Be safe."
Syd found the room Z referenced in her message and she walked inside. Following Z's directions to the letter, she removed the silver briefcase from the hatch and placed it on Dr. Jensen's desk. Syd took a deep breath before opening the case. As she lifted the lid, she knew exactly what Z was referring to. Syd took the gold morpher into her hand and brought it up to her eyes so she could get a good look at it.
As her thoughts veered to Anna and Mia, Syd closed her eyes a bit. When she opened them, she grasped the Nova Ranger morpher a bit tighter. Then, she noticed something else on Dr. Jensen's desk. His monitor was showing the readings on a project he had been working on before his speedy departure.
Syd glanced close at the layout of the Delta Squad Megazord Mark 2 and another smaller vehicle that she didn't immediately recognize. She shook her head, trying to shake that curiosity from her mind. She turned away from the desk and took a deep breath.
Syd strapped the Nova morpher to her wrist and pressed the activation button.
"Back to action," she said to herself, as she went running out of the laboratory.
TO BE CONCLUDED IN...
"Justice"
S.P.D. Earth gets reinforcements they never expected. Sky,
Cruger and the other Rangers arrive back in Newtech City,
looking to end the battle. Everyone is shocked by the sudden
appearance of Nova Ranger, who sets her sights on stopping
Van Tigue. Piggy gets an unlikely rescuer. Bridge is forced
to make a touch decision in the heat of battle. Barrett
Van Tigue unveils his equalizer, which threatens to put
Newtech City in even more danger.