Chapter 25: SWAT Part 2

The Rangers backed away slowly as the alien approached them, growling and snarling at them. It suddenly fired blasts that hit the rocks behind them and exploded, knocking the Rangers off their feet.

"Brutal!"

"No doubt..."

"Come on guys!"

"Easier said that done," the Rangers groaned, trying to get back to their feet as the monster continued its approach.

"Watch out!" it suddenly leapt into the air and flashed green, before changing forms, revealing itself to be Silverback. He let out a yell of laughter as they lowered their stances. "What?!" Jack gasped in alarm.

"Rangers! Ten-huh!" they quickly stood to attention. "What just happened here Cadets?" he asked.

"We were preparing to battle that monster!" Jack told him.

"Preparing?" Silverback repeated, sounding disgusted. "You prepare to go on a date!" he yelled as he approached them. "You prepare dinner! You'd prepare to go on vacation! You do not prepare to battle!" he shouted at them. "You are already prepared! You do not wait for the enemy to come to you! You go to the enemy! Do you understand me?!" he yelled.

"Yes sir..." they sighed.

"What was that?!" Silverback demanded at the lackluster response. "You are the sorriest squad of Rangers Kruger has ever sent me! You have come to me full of yourselves, but at the first sign of disappointment, you hang your heads! You're a disgrace to your uniform! You are a disgrace to those who fought for you! You are a disgrace to SPD!" Silverback's words made their heads drop as they realised he was right. "You've lost your colour," he pressed the button on a device, and their suits shattered. "Hand over your Morphers!" he ordered.

"Wait just a-"

"You want to question my orders blue-boy?" Silverback got in Sky's face. Sky didn't speak, and they reluctantly handed over their Morphers. "D-Level Cadets!" they are bristled at his words. "Welcome to SPD!"

Kruger let out a furious yell, slamming his fist on the console as they watched Thresher and Stench rob another jewellery store, laughing loudly.

"This is all my fault...I should never have gone to Piggy," Kat sighed, filled with guilt.

"I will not disagree with that. However Kat, I have not known you to feel sorry for yourself," Kruger told her.

"The Commander's right," she glanced to Kayden as he offered a smile. "You're the one usually telling us off for it," he pointed out.

"I've never messed up this badly," Kat shook her head.

"Then I suggest you forgive yourself," Kruger told her firmly. "Get over it, and get on with your work," he ordered.

"I can't," she shook her head again. "The holographic virus has rendered the Quantum Enhancer useless," Kat explained.

"Well I know you can do it. As far as I know, you can't fix it in here," he pointed out.

"Yes sir," motivated, Kat headed off.

"Cadet Bradley, I believe your services right now are best suited to helping Kat resolve this," Kruger told Kayden, who nodded and grinned.

"Yes sir," he saluted, and hurried after her.

The sun beat down on the Rangers as they ran across the desert, carrying heavy rucksacks on their backs as they reached the forest and kept running. The entire time, Silverback barked orders at them as they ran drills, going through the obstacle course set up.

"D-Level cadets," Sky breathed heavily as he undid the buckle on his helmet. "This is my worst nightmare," he declared as Bridge and Syd sank to the ground, exhausted.

"You and me both," Annie muttered.

"Rangers! Ten-huh!" they quickly stood together at Silverback's yell. "I didn't say you could have a break! Grumm is not going to give you a break!" he pointed out.

"We did your course, we played your game," Sky said, letting his helmet fall to the ground. Silverback darted over to him.

"Drop and give me 100!" he ordered. "All of you!" he yelled as he passed them all.

"I might just have to slaughter Sky in his sleep after this," Annie hissed as they all dropped.

"On my count!" Silverback began to count their pushups.

"Enough!" Silverback finally barked after what felt like eternity. They slowly got to their feet, limbs burning. "You seven cannot do anything together! I'm sending you all back to Earth with the recommendation for dismissal from the Academy," his declaration incited an uproar as they all began yelling at him, unable to believe it.

"This is my life!"

"We can't just give up on this!"

"I won't just quit and leave!"

"Sir, you've gotta give us another chance!"

"Another chance?!" Silverback repeated. "You've had plenty of chances!" he scoffed.

"Please?" Bridge pleaded with him. Silverback was silent for a moment, studying his earnest expression, before casting his gaze across the group to see similar expressions. He then glanced to the bulldog RIC, who nodded.

"I will think about it," he decided. "In the meantime, go for a little run on the short course. It's only twenty miles," he ordered, turning away.

"Well I know one thing," Sky turned away. "He didn't say we had to run this thing together," he took off before they could stop him. The rest looked to each other, and shrugged. None were in much mood to converse.

"Fine," they agreed, grabbing their things and taking off in different directions.

Kayden ran a hand through his hair, working on trying to fix what had been damaged when the original Quantum Enhancer had fried. Sam had returned from his own investigation, having gone to see Piggy, and found he and Broodwing attempting to steal back the stolen technology. However, he was overwhelmed by Thresher and Stench, and had retreated.

"You were wise to retreat," Kruger told him as they stood in Kat's lab. "We're overpowered at this time," he admitted.

"Oh this, this isn't over yet," Sam shook his head. "I can't wait to get my hands on them again," he clenched his fist, and Kayden gave a small chuckle.

"Careful Sam, it sounds like you've been spending too much time with the rest of the team," he grinned, glancing up as Sam looked over at him. "Getting a little emotional," he teased.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sam turned away, and with a laugh, Kayden returned his attention to his work.

Spencer took a breath, shaking his head.

"Okay, nowhere near as bad as that trip to the Cimmerian Forest when I got mouthy with Gramps," he breathed, but it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself. Pulling off his glasses, he tried to clean them on his jacket, but it didn't do much to help them. He just sighed. "Seriously, how do Tyzonn and Arianna live here?" he grumbled, thinking of the Mercurian who was one of Ari's closest friends. Wiping the sweat from his face, he took another breath and began jogging again.

"Spencer!" he didn't get very far before he heard Annie's yell echo through the forest. "Spencer, help!" her plea made him whirl around, trying to determine where it had come from.

"Annie?!" he yelled, but didn't hear anything more. "Hold on, I'm coming!" Spencer yelled, taking off to find his friend. Before long, as he ran through the forest, he almost collided with Sky. "Sky!" the two grabbed onto each other, breathing heavily.

"Spencer! Have you seen Bridge?" he asked quickly, sweat pouring from his face. "He's in trouble!" the taller man heaved.

"Bridge? No, I haven't, have you seen Annie? I heard her calling for help!" Spencer explained as he tried to catch his breath.

"Bridge and Annie? They might be together!" Sky realised, and the two took off again to try and find their friends.

Slumping back in the sand, Annie tilted her head back as she gasped for breath. She grabbed her flask, taking a swig and returning it to her side, trying to ration it.

"Man, when we get home I am sleeping for a week," she decided, pushing herself back up. Her jacket was discarded long ago, leaving her in a black vest, and her rucksack stuck to her uncomfortably.

"Annie!" her ears twitched and she looked around sharply. "Help me!" her eyes widened as she heard Spencer's cry.

"Spence! I'm on my way!" the young woman shot off in a crack of Thunder, racing in the direction she'd heard it, reaching the trees. Before she realised it, she was colliding with someone, rolling along the ground with a cry. When they slowed to a stop, Annie groaned, pushing herself up.

"You know, you could just say hi," Bridge commented from under her.

"But this way is so much more painful," Annie replied in a bright voice, getting to her feet. "Sorry," she apologised, helping him up. "Have you seen Spencer? He's in trouble," she said, worried.

"So's Syd," she glanced around at Jack as he reached them. Bridge pulled off his glove, waving his hand through the air.

"Good news, I've got their trail," Bridge told them, glancing to Annie and Jack, before worry showed in his expression. "Bad news, so do the group of Krybots following them," their eyes widened.

"Come on," Annie took off, and the two followed her quickly. They ran through the trees, calling out for Syd and Spencer, before hearing a loud groan and looking up. Their eyes widened as they saw a large tree falling right for them, before the three were suddenly tackled out of the way. The tree landed with a massive crash.

"Spencer!" Annie gasped.

"Nice save," Bridge said to Sky.

"Thanks," the group got to their feet.

"Spencer, are you alright?" Annie asked as she checked him over. Other than the layer of grime they all now had, he seemed unharmed.

"I'm fine. Are you?" he asked her, doing the same.

"I heard you call for help, so I came running," Sky told Bridge, making both frown.

"I didn't call for help," Bridge shook his head.

"I heard Annie call," Spencer said.

"And I heard Spence," the two gestured to one another.

"It's Syd," Sky's eyes widened. "She's in trouble," Jack told him.

"We've gotta find her!" Sky spoke, before they heard more footsteps.

"Hey! Has anyone seen Z?" Syd reached them. "I heard her call for help!" she told them.

"Syd!" Jack's eyes widened as Sky reached out to her, his brief panic calmed to see her unharmed.

"I'm fine," she frowned, not understanding why they were so worried.

"Hey, I didn't call!" Z reached them. "Sky called for help," the young woman told them.

"Hey, I don't call for help," Sky shook his head quickly at the idea.

"So...we all came running her because we all called for help but...we never called for help?" Bridge summed up, looking confused.

"Guys," realisation dawned on Jack's face. "This has gotta be one of Silverback's plans," he told them. "He wanted us to all be together," he smiled.

"You know what?" Sky caught his breath slowly. "When I was running, I realised, so do I," he admitted. Syd smiled as he took her hand. "I want us to be together as Power Rangers. And as friends," he told them.

"And the fact we all came running, I think it's safe to say we all do," Spencer nodded with a smile of his own.

"I wanna apologise," Sky spoke up again as they all nodded.

"I'm sorry," Syd and Z chimed.

"Me too," Jack nodded.

"Me three," Bridge grinned.

"I guess I was kind of a jerk. Sorry guys," Annie shrugged.

"Just 'kind of'?" Spencer grinned, and laughed when she punched him. "Kidding. I was too. Sorry," he put his arm around Annie, who elbowed him with a smile.

"Urgh, let's not make this into a group hug, shall we?" she asked, making them laugh. The Rangers were suddenly blasted off their feet, landing hard on the tough ground. Pillars rose from the ground, firing blasts at the Rangers, and they managed to get to their feet.

"Run!" Jack yelled, leading them through the forest as they dodged the blasts. "We need to do something!" he shouted as they ducked behind the trees.

"On it!" Syd grabbed Z's necklace, and her hand turned to gold. She leapt into view, deflecting the blasts and destroying the pillars.

"Careful Syd!" Spencer was up beside her, raising a shield to block multiple blasts coming at her from behind. They were deflected, and the pillars exploded when their attacks were turned on them.

"Thanks Spence," Syd smiled at him.

"No problem," he winked at her, lighting up an energy-ball and blasting the last one.

"Nice one Syd," Z smiled as the others ran up to them.

"Can't beat 24-carat gold," Syd grinned back, giving back Z's necklace. Hearing the tell-tale beeps of Krybots, they looked around to see more running at them. "Let's go!" the group turned and sprinted in the other direction, only to find themselves surrounded by even more.

"We're surrounded," Bridge looked around to see their exit cut off.

"Okay, simulation or not, this can't be good," Jack frowned.

"Come on Jack, we've taken on this many Krybots before!" Sky pointed out.

"Yeah, but we used to have our Morphers!" Syd reminded him.

"And we used to be a team!" Z added.

"We still are!" Bridge told them. "At least, I still are," he shrugged.

"I are too," Jack nodded.

"Damn right we're still a team!" Annie cracked her knuckles.

"Remember what Silverback said!" Spencer took a step forwards, glowing golden with his aura. "We don't wait for the fight to come to us, we go to the fight!"

"Altogether!" Jack shouted, and the others nodded. The others linked together as Sky formed a shield, and they began running.

"Call to the beast inside! Let loose the Bull!" Spencer released his animal spirit before running after his team, letting the Bull take out any Krybots that got too close to them.

Running through the desert again, the Rangers spotted Silverback's van, and raced towards it together.

"Woo!" Silverback leapt from the back and lopped over to the group as they stood to attention. "So, what do you have to say for yourselves?" he asked, taking in the appearance of each one.

"Sir! We thank you for giving us this opportunity, and we apologise for not seeing it sooner, Sir!" Jack shouted as he stepped forwards.

"And?" Silverback asked.

"We are Rangers, Sir! Our strength is in our team, not as individuals, Sir!" Sky stepped forwards. Silverback turned and got in his face, but Sky didn't blink.

"Excellent! Congratulations!" Silverback nodded as Sky allowed himself a small smile. "You have graduated from SWAT training," their relief was obvious as they all sagged. "Kruger!" Silverback grabbed his communicator. "Your team is ready to come home," he declared as they smiled.

'Sergeant, Kruger's not here. He's in trouble. We need the Rangers now,' their smiles were short lived at Kat's words.

"You heard her!" Silverback lifted the case that contained their Morphers. "Everything you need is on the SWAT truck! The truck is yours to defend Earth. Dismissed!"

"Sir yes Sir!" the Rangers yelled, saluting.

Sam and Kruger struggled in their prisons as Thresher and Stench mocked them, drunk on the power they had stolen from SPD. They'd managed to wrangle together a group of Krybots, ordering them to surround the building. However, a blast suddenly burst through the side of the building, throwing Stench to the ground as he shrieked in alarm.

"Hey! You have something that belongs to us!" Jack's voice echoed.

"And we're taking it back!" the Rangers ran into the building.

"No, SPD?!" Stench gasped from the ground, seeing the Rangers. They now wore more equipment, including black vests, headsets, and carried massive blasters.

"Special Weapons And Tactics!"

"They can't be!" Stench got to his feet as he shrieked. "They have our gear!" he cried in horror.

"You mean our gear," Spencer replied.

"And it's not just any gear!" Jack grinned. "SWAT Mode Red!"

"SWAT Mode Blue!"

"SWAT Mode Green!"

"SWAT Mode Yellow!"

"SWAT Mode Pink!"

"SWAT Mode Gold!"

"SWAT Mode Silver!"

"SPD SWAT!"

"Krybots, get them!" Stench yelled fearfully. They blasted the Rangers, who dodged easily.

"If that's the way you want it," Jack smirked. "Delta Enforcers! Fire!" they aimed their blasters and fired, destroying the Krybots easily. "That did it!" the Red Ranger nodded with a laugh.

"You can't catch what you can't see!" Stench vanished.

"Alright team, let's sweep the area!" Jack ordered.

"Yes sir!" the Rangers ran through the building, looking for any sign of Stench of the others.

"Let's split up into three groups. Radio if you find anything," Jack ordered.

"Rodger!"

"Go!" Jack barked. Sky and Z turned down one way, while Syd and Z went another, and Jack, Spencer and Annie kept moving forwards.

"Behind us!" Annie called without looking around, and the three whirled around, taking out the Krybots attempting to sneak up on them.

"Area clear," Spencer grinned.

"Man, this power," Annie practically bounced as they kept moving.

'Jack, I found Thresher,' Bridge spoke over the communication line. 'He's in the lab at the top of the building,' he told them.

"Roger that Bridge!" Jack called, and he, Spencer and Annie ran through the building, reaching the top floor and kicking the door down.

"Rangers!" Sam smiled with relief at the sight.

"Who invited you?" Thresher demanded with a snarl.

"We crashed!" the three began to fight him, and easily tossed Thresher to the ground. "I order you to remove that armour at once! It's the property of SPD!" Jack shouted at the shark as the three aimed their weapons at them.

"Who's gonna make me?" Thresher snapped.

"Uh, the three of us?" Annie tilted her head.

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be!" Jack warned. Spencer's head lifted suddenly, and he spun around, firing a blast. Stench cried out as he was shoved back, becoming visible again. He yelled out, but before he could attack, he was blasted again by Sky and Z.

"No!" Thresher got back to his feet in the distraction and attacked Jack, but was no match for their SWAT mode. "Time for a quick getaway!" he pressed a button and vanished.

"Nice try! Thermal detector!" Sky activated the visor in his helmet, spotting the two aliens. He blasted the pair and the others followed suit, and the pair of criminals reappeared, collapsing to the ground.

"Run!" Thresher yelled. However, as they rushed to the window, they stopped in their tracks, seeing Bridge and Syd descend and smash through the windows.

"Sorry guys, didn't mean to drop in," Bridge grinned.

"Yeah, just thought we'd swing by," Syd nodded.

"Good grief, Syd, I thought you were above the puns," Spencer rolled his eyes, turning to the machine keeping Kruger and Sam captive. "Huh. Not that difficult a passcode," he smirked, blasting it with his Enforcer.

"And you are as bad as Annie," Z told him.

"Am not!" Spencer exclaimed, insulted.

"Good work Spencer," Kruger clapped a hand to his shoulder.

"Not a problem," the Gold Ranger grinned.

"You haven't finished with us yet!" Thresher yelled as he got back to his feet.

"Yeah!" Stench nodded. The two attacked again, but were easily thrown back. Stench was knocked through a wall, and Thresher followed in his escape.

"Come on team! Let's finish the job," Jack led his team outside, following the two criminals.

"Get up Stench!" Thresher yanked his partner to his feet.

"You have nowhere to run!" Jack called as the Rangers reached them.

"Oh, we're not running!" Thresher fired a blast that the Rangers rolled to avoid, and they blasted the two with their enforcers, throwing them to the ground.

"You're being charged with hacking SPD computers, breaking and entering, and theft of top secret technology," Jack told the pair as they stood in front of the fallen aliens.

"But it wasn't our idea!" Thresher cried as he got back to his feet.

"You pay the price for the choices you make," Jack told him.

"We'll give it back!" Thresher pleaded, but the Red Ranger grabbed his Morpher.

"Judgement!" the light flashed as the two cried out in alarm. "Guilty! Delta Enforcer, Confinement Mode!" the Rangers aimed their blasters as their suits flashed. "Power up!"

"Ready!"

"Activate!" they blasted the two criminals, who were caught up in the explosions and trapped within the confinement cards.

"Perfect!"

"Rangers! That's what teamwork is all about!" Jack told his team, and they clapped their hands together.

"Man, I never thought I'd be clean again," Spencer sighed happily as he walked into the rec room.

"You definitely smelled that way," Annie grinned to him from across the room.

"You didn't smell much better, oh stormy one," Spencer retorted as he grabbed a peach from the machine and bit into it.

"Hah. Wrong. I always smell great," she told him with a flick of her hair.

"Guys, come on," Syd laughed at their banter. "Be nice," she scolded.

"Yes mum," Spencer grinned at her as he passed, and she swatted at him. He lifted a tablet and began flicking through reports, making Z's eyebrow arch.

"More work? You serious right now Spencer?" she asked, and he laughed, shaking his head.

"Nah, this is different," he told her, and when he saw her confused look, his smile turned a little sad. "About 8 years ago, Mack Hartford disappeared while on an excavation," he told her.

"I heard about that. The billionaire guy," Sky remembered.

"Also the Red Overdrive Ranger," Spencer snapped his fingers and pointed to Jack. "See? I do my homework," he grinned proudly.

"My family, all the Overdrive Rangers' families, they've worked on locating him for years. No luck. The Commander gave me permission to use SPD systems to search for him, assuming it didn't interfere with my own work," Spencer explained as the others laughed at Jack.

"That's why you're always working," Z realised.

"Just trying to find Mack," Spencer nodded.

"Send me some," Jack told him, and Spencer arched his eyebrow. "I'm just sitting here allowing Syd to capture my magnificence on canvas, I may as well do something in the meantime," Syd rolled her eyes at his arrogance.

"Sure," Spencer grinned, sending the files across to his tablet.

"Oh sure, make the rest of us look bad," Annie complained, having been playing a game with Bridge.

"You've already been doing that yourself," Sky commented. "Next time leave your make-out sessions for a place I won't see you?" he requested.

"And you and Syd were disappearing there why exactly?" Bridge tilted his head with a pleasant smile. Sky's face coloured red as Syd disappeared behind her canvas, and the Blue Ranger pushed his friend off the sofa playfully.

"You're all gross," Spencer determined.

"Just because you're mentally five years old," Annie retorted.

"Still gross," Jack and Z chorused, exchanging grins.

"I'm glad to see you all finally getting along," Kruger commented as he walked in with Kat.

"Yeah," Jack smiled lazily up at him. "You know, I think we just needed some fresh air to clear our heads. Good call Commander," he grinned.

"I'm just glad we pulled it together before it was too late," Sky shrugged.

"Sky's right," Annie turned to the rest of the team properly. "We have no idea how much of our tech Grumm got his bony hands on. We have a massive fight still on our hands," Annie determined.

Meant to upload this last night but got caught up playing Civ 6 till 3am, so posting this now as I'm off to Dublin shortly!

Hope you liked it!

Please review!