Shelby was sitting in the cafe, her face buried in her hands, as her friends discussed their day. Tyler was practically causing the whole booth to shake with his enthusiasm as he bounced excitedly and threw his hands around carelessly while he talked. Chase came back to the table, carrying their order. One of the advantages of working in the museum, particularly in the 'special' side of things was access to pretty much an unlimited supply of free food and drinks. The cafe was actually closed, so there was no danger of anyone hearing them, which was just as well since they doubted Tyler could keep quiet if he wanted to right now!

"The way those things went flying when we hit them? I felt like I could smash mountains!" He exclaimed. "And did you get a load of Rexy? He was all like 'raaaaaawwwwrrrr' and ripped that thing apart like...BOOM!"

He slammed a hand on the table, causing it to shake. Chase and Koda just looked to him.

"Yeah...we get that you're excited mate, but do remember those gems do affect your strength." Chase reminded him. "That booth is set into the ground, and you're still almost ripping it out the floor."

"You're exaggerating." Tyler said with a grin.

"Actually...you are." Koda told him. "Must learn to control strength."

"Remember, not even 4 hours ago you flipped a car thirty feet in the air with your bare hands." Chase continued, putting down the tray once Tyler had pulled back from the table and he was sure the food wasn't going to go flying. Tyler hadn't thought much about the changes to his system since he found the Energem earlier in the day...he hadn't had much of a chance to think about anything. "Things that took a lot of effort before, you can do with about half as much effort now, maybe less."

Tyler reached out for his cup gingerly, trying not to crush it and spill it everywhere. Chase sat down, smiling as Koda reached for a burger. He just smiled.

"It's worth the effort, believe me." He assured the new Rangers. "Koda and I will help you wherever we can, but you should know...I've been bonded to my Energem for over a year. Koda...well...let's just say he's been around for a while. It'll take some getting used to. Of course...there are some fringe benefits."

"Like?" Tyler asked him.

"Well, I'll let Kendall fill you in on all the technical stuff I can never remember the words for, but for starters...neither of you will have a mark on you by the time you go to bed tonight."

"Really?" Tyler asked. "That cave-dive I did earlier...I should be feeling that for days, never mind all the rest of this...I was wondering if I WAS going to get out of bed in the morning!"

"Well...we heal pretty quick now." Chase assured him. "Not, like Wolverine or Barry Allen quick...but pretty quick. Which is just as well...believe me, there'll be plenty of bruises once the real work starts."

"Keeper seemed pretty freaked out about this Sledge guy didn't he?" Tyler asked. "Do you really think he's that tough?"

"Let me put it this way. Keeper ran across the entire galaxy to get away from him." Chase reminded them. "In all the time I've known him, I've never known him to be scared of anything...and the dude had a conversation with a T Rex within minutes of getting to Earth."

The table went quiet for a moment just thinking about that. As excited as they were about the adventure they had just been on, they had a feeling that this was just the tip of the iceberg. Chase looked to Shelby, who was still remarkably quiet.

"Hey, you haven't touched your food." He commented.

"I'm not hungry." She muttered. Chase got a little smirk on his face.

"Would it happen to have anything to do with a certain scientist?" He asked in an arrogant little tone. He'd known Anton for a while, given his time on the island, working with his team to develop his abilities. "Are you...always so articulate?"

"Shut up!" Shelby snapped, unable to hide her embarrassment. She still couldn't believe she had completely frozen up in front of the legend that was Anton Mercer. She had imagined what it would be like to meet him, to talk to him and to make him see her passion for his work. Instead...she couldn't even say her own name. Her brain short-circuited and she was barely able to move. She was just grateful she hadn't thrown up or fainted in front of him, two things that it felt like she might just do.

"Oh come on Shelby, it was adorable seeing you totally nerd out like that." Tyler teased her, nudging her gently and chuckling. "A...a...a...anton!"

"OK...I may have been a little nervous." She answered.

"I was a little nervous when I asked out a girl for the first time." Chase chipped in. "You...I'm just glad the room wasn't empty. God help Anton if we weren't there."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shelby asked. Chase just leaned in.

"Hero worship is a powerful thing." He stated. "Do you have a thing for older men?"

With that, Shleby threw her fries at him. Chase got up as he saw Shelby getting out of her chair and started running with the Pink Ranger in hot pursuit.

"You better run!" Shelby called after him. "When I catch you, we're going to find out just how fast you heal!"

Tyler just laughed and shook his head, turning his attention back to his food. He looked to Koda.

"So...what other benefits are there to all this?" He asked. Koda just held up his burger. "Well, I guess I can't argue with that."

Above the Earth, a huge ship made its descent into orbit, the final leg of its journey across the galaxy. It was far from the first time ships had come from beyond the reaches of our solar system, but this one was different. It hadn't come for any form of destruction. It wasn't moving in as part of an invasion. It was a single, massive ship, that came into an orbit, and held position.

Inside, the ship was dark, foreboding, and the very air was thick with misery. Pained and anguished cries echoed throughout the corridors from the many cell blocks. Sledge made his rounds, observing the viviks as they tended to his prisoners.

He was a massive creature, covered in thick, powered armour that gave him an appearance that was almost as terrifying as his reputation. Or...at least the reputation he once had. Sledge had a reputation as the greatest bounty hunter that ever lived. If someone wanted a person found, and they had the means to pay him, Sledge would find them and bring them back. He didn't care who paid his bounties, he worked for criminals, warlords and despots as regularly as he had worked for law enforcement back in the day. All he cared about was, once he took on a contract, he would see it through. It didn't matter how elusive, how powerful or how dangerous his target was, once he took the job, there was only one outcome. The cells filled with his quarry were a testament to that.

The sorrow and hopelessness was palpable in the cell blocks. No one ever escaped from Sledge once he got them onto his ship. He prided himself on always bringing his prey in alive for his employer to deal with as they saw fit. The secret to this was the same as the secret of how he had survived adrift in space for all this time. His bounties sometimes took years to fulfil, and so his ship incorporated a kind of stasis technology.

While it didn't stop him, or indeed anyone in his ship from functioning, so that they could work, it existed in a state where time was meaningless. No one aged aboard his ship. His cell blocks were kept in a strict quarantine to prevent disease from spreading. He ensured that his victims would be in decent condition when he turned them in. This created the hopelessness in his victims. Once Sledge had them, they would never escape, not even through sickness or aging...even death would not release them. Those on his ship now had been there for millions of years. Now, those that had hired Sledge, most of them were probably long since dead, and yet Sledge hadn't just released them. Those in his custody were there forever and they knew it.

As he watched the viviks going around, providing the prisoners with their meals, Poisandra came up behind him, putting her arm around him.

"Sledgeums, I was looking all over for you!" She said as she stared to stroke his hulking form. "You just stormed out of the bridge after..."

"I can't believe Ice Age failed me." He grumbled. "He was worth a fortune! His reputation as a killer was legendary! I suppose his reputation was all just bluster!"

"Sledgeums..."

"Still, I suppose it isn't all bad." He responded in a grumble. "I only sent that flash-frozen idiot because we weren't close enough to risk sending more than a single pod down. Now, I can exert all the resources at my disposal to recover the Energems."

"Oh poo to the Energems." She replied with a pout. "That's all I've heard for the last 65 million years. Energems this, Keeper cost me...blah, blah, blah! When are we finally going to talk about getting married?"

Sledge looked to her, and beneath his helmet he smiled. He had found Poisandra on one of his jobs millions of years ago on a distant planet. He observed her as he hunted another member of her species who had committed atrocities across several solar systems. Poisandra was everything he wasn't. She was bright, colourful and cheerful. She was also insanely powerful. Her people were capable of wielding powers that could bring down whole war ships with little effort. Indeed, she had managed to disable Keeper's ship by SINGING at it! She was also, as he well knew, completely insane.

Her species was known for having a very loose, close to non-existent relationship with sanity, the power in their forms seemed to warp their minds, their very perception of reality. Even among her own kind though, Poisandra was disturbed. The only thing that seemed to have any effect on her on any level, that captured her attention for more than a fleeting moment, was her concept of love and infatuation. She had been obsessed with another of her kind when Sledge found her, but seeing his power as he finally managed to bring down her former partner, she had grown infatuated, obsessed with him. She had fallen deeply, madly in love with him.

At first, the notion had disturbed Sledge, but he had seen first-hand her power. It occurred to him that having her on his crew he could use her as a useful weapon, and her insanity, her love for him was just a useful, simple way of controlling her and utilising her as a weapon. Over time however, things started to change. The ship didn't seem as gloomy, and his days didn't seem as dark with her around. Eventually, he had grown to love her in return. He had proposed to her on a distant world as a city burned to the ground around them after claiming another bounty. It stood as one of his fondest memories.

"Poisandra my sweet, I promised you, we will get married once we complete this job." He assured her.

"Where have I heard THAT before?" She said with a pout. "Oh, just after this bounty, just after I get these asteroids, just after we get these Energems..."

"This time, I promise you, upon everything I hold dear, on this ship, on my life, on the proceeds of every bounty we ever collect from this point on...once we have the Energems, I will have the power to make us invincible!"

Seeing that she still wasn't convinced, he held her closely.

"I'll even let you choose which one of them you want made into a wedding ring." He promised her. She just giggled and shrunk into his arms.

"Oh Sledegums, that is the sweetest thing!" She stated. "So, when will we get them?"

"Five have been found, we will have to take them from these Rangers. The others we will have to find." Sledge told her, before looking to the cell block. "It's just as well we have plenty of willing helpers."

Meanwhile, Riley was sitting in the back of a limo with Anton and Kendall, directing them. While they knew roughly where Riley lived, once they got into the country, the concept of roads was more than a little theoretical. When Riley had pointed out the last turn, it had been more than a mile since there had been anything remotely resembling tarmac on the road surface.

"Here it is, just up ahead." Riley told him, pointing up to the house. As they pulled up, Matt was in the yard, kneeling on the ground, working on the family tractor. He had opened it up, and most of the engine was lying in pieces on the ground around him. The tractor was on its last legs, the family already knew that much, but Matt was doing all he could to keep it going as long as he possibly could. Seeing the limo pull up, he stood up and started to make his way over. His mom, Mrs Griffin came out of the house at the sight of the new arrival as well. Seeing a limo out here was kind of like finding a camel in the middle of Antarctica.

Anton got out of the car, taking a look around, holding the door for Riley as he stepped out as well. Kendall opened the other door, stepping out. As she did, there was a squeltch, and she slipped, quickly ending up on her butt on the ground. She looked to her boot, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she saw what she had stepped in.

"Shit." She muttered.

"Well, yes, it is." Matt said as he got to her, offering her a hand to get to her feet. "Sorry, there's kind of a lot of it out here. We clean up most of it, but occasionally...well, we miss one."

Kendall looked up at the man standing over her, wordlessly accepting his hand. He effortlessly pulled her back to her feet, helping her steady herself.

"Riley?" Mrs Griffin asked. "Where have you been? Who are these...?"

"Your son had some mechanical trouble with his scooter. We decided to offer him a lift home." Anton told her, being somewhat loose and light with the truth. It was true his scooter broke down; they just hadn't told her that he had broken down before getting to the museum. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Anton Mercer; this is my colleague Kendall Morgan, the current general manager of Amber Beach museum."

"Kendall huh?" Matt asked, looking to her. "Nice name."

She didn't answer, just kind of smiling a little.

"Wait...Anton Mercer?" Matt asked. "THE Anton Mercer?"

Even out here, his name was known. One of the areas Anton's companies researched into was agriculture, and attempting to create better, more efficient methods of creating produce. While there was nothing like that in the area, they had at least heard the name since a lot of the local manufacturers of fertilizers and seeds saw him as competition.

"Well, thank you for bringing him home." Mrs Griffin answered, gesturing to Riley to come to her. "We'll collect the scooter..."

"I actually had a few things I wanted to discuss with you." He told her. "Would it be alright if we came inside?"

"Well...we're pretty busy right now." Mrs Griffin said hesitantly. "There's a lot to do after dinner and Riley..."

"It actually has a lot to do with Riley." Anton told her. "I promise you it will be worth your time. All I'm asking is a few minutes, maybe an hour of your time."

"You always make far too much food anyway." Riley interjected. "Maybe we can talk over dinner! Then they wouldn't be taking any time we don't normally take."

"I wouldn't like to impose..."

"Its fine, Riley's right." Matt interrupted, seeing the excitement in his brother. He had no idea what they wanted, but seeing his brother so happy, he got a feeling that it was worth at least hearing them out. "You always make way too much. There'll be plenty."

"Its rabbit stew." She said, knowing that when her boys ganged up on her, she was always going to lose. "I hope none of you are vegetarian. Oh, and please, leave your shoes by the door please Ms Morgan." Kendall just nodded, starting to remove her boots, understanding that Riley's mom probably didn't want her to trail animal dung all over her house.

"That would be lovely; I haven't had rabbit in years." Anton stated as she gestured them all inside. He paused for a moment, before turning to the driver who was standing by the limo. "We'll be back after dinner. You have some time until then."

As they all went inside, Kendall depositing her boots at the door, the limo driver took off his jacket, folding it neatly and putting it into the car, before unbuttoning her cuffs and rolling up his sleeves.