Fresno Bob sat at his usual table in the celebrity box at the race track, eating his favourite breakfast of eggs Benedict. Life had been relatively good to him lately, other than the embarrassing incident with the truckload of medical supplies; he was still easily the most powerful and influential crime lord in the city. In truth, only Colonel Truman had any more genuine power than he did, anyone that didn't answer to him wasn't really worth his concern. Ronan and The Blue Crew had tried to muscle their way into dominance for a while after word got out that Ziggy had stolen the shipment, but they didn't have the man-power to win a decisive victory. Now, the city was in no doubt that Fresno Bob was the main man in town.

"Where's the paper?" He asked through a mouthful of his chosen breakfast. "Normally it's here by now."

"I thought it might ruin your appetite." Benny replied a little sheepishly before handing over the paper. He and Bob had been firm friends long before the formation of the Cartel. At one time, Fresno Bob had been plain old Bob Taylor, and a well-known fight promoter, while Benny was known as "Gentle Ben" as an ironic joke to his size and strength on the fight circuit. Benny used to be a boxer, one that rarely lost a match. He had met Bob one time in a bingo hall after what seemed like his 1000th win over another faceless journeyman that the boxing authority didn't seem to acknowledge as a reason to give him a title shot. Bob had the connections though, and he knew there was something special in Benny.

Fresno Bob spat what was in his mouth onto the plate in shock as he read the headline.

"Scorpion Cartel Jumps Red Ranger?" He roared in his anger, flashing so read he looked like he was seconds away from a heart attack. "Benny?"

He trusted Benny the most of all his henchmen, largely out of guilt. Back when Benny was still a legitimate fighter, Fresno Bob was still working his way up in the Cartel. He used Benny a few times in illegal bare-knuckle fights to earn money and position. He knew Benny hated that side of their partnership, but he was so intent on taking over from his old boss that he just had to secure his position. One night though, things hadn't gone so well. While Benny won the fight, his injuries were so extensive, it was clear that his professional boxing career was over. He was left with only 10 per cent vision in his left eye. His tunnel vision in the left side was so bad that there was no way he could hope to stand against any real competitors. When The Icepick, Fresno Bob's predecessor was killed in a drive-by, and he ended up in control of the Cartel, he felt duty-bound to keep Benny on as his right-hand man. More than just his best friend and confidante, he knew that Benny had given everything for him. A man his age without a high school diploma and almost no sight in one eye had very few employment opportunities.

"It says that some Diamond Dust was found near him after the attack." Benny replied. He wasn't overly comfortable lying to his boss and long-time friend, but he was more than aware of his evil temper. That was why he had suggested this plan to Ziggy.

"When was he attacked?" Fresno Bob asked, not bothering to look up from the paper.

"The 14th." Benny replied.

"Get everyone on the payroll in here, and I do mean EVERYONE!" He snarled, throwing the paper in the bin. "I want to know who thinks they can mess around off the books and completely ignore my orders and get away with it!"

"Bob..."

"Benny, this is going to cause a massive shit storm to fall right on my head!" He interrupted him angrily. "Colonel Truman's going to want to know what happened to his son, and when he finds out I want to be sure he knows it isn't down to me or our business isn't going to be worth shit by the time he's finished!"

"I'll get everyone in here." Benny replied, making his way out the door. He got a small smile as left. Ziggy's gambit had paid off; Fresno Bob was going to find out who attacked Scott, one way or another.

Back at the Garage, Colonel Truman and Corporal Hicks had come to talk to the Rangers about the situation they were in. Colonel Truman stroked the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"We're pretty sure that The White Rose has her." He began. "She's a valuable tool to them."

"She isn't a tool, she's a person!!" Scott snapped instinctively without realising it. He looked around nervously at the others as they stared at him and sat back down wordlessly.

"She isn't to them." Corporal Hicks chipped in. "Their only agenda is to create a single race by any means necessary. To them, anyone's expendable."

"This is horrifying." Summer commented. "How could anyone think like that?"

"Believe me, I know all about racism." Colonel Truman assured her. "I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't kick open a few doors that were closed to me."

"I'm still waiting to hear from Benny about the attack on Scott." Ziggy told them. "I doubt it'll take Fresno Bob long to find whoever did that if they are in the Cartel. He doesn't let anyone threaten his business."

"Until we know what's happening, we have to continue like nothing's wrong." Colonel Truman ordered them. "If the public finds out that the woman we've been relying on for our safety is in the hands of a cult, all hell will break loose."

"So we just pretend nothing's wrong?" Flynn asked him.

"Until we know where she is yes." Colonel Truman replied. "That means no one talks to the press, no one talks to anyone outside this room, and most importantly, the ceremony is on regardless!"

"The ceremony?" Scott asked incredulously. "Dad, I couldn't care less about that God damned medal right now!"

"You aren't the only one that cares about her." Colonel Truman snapped at his son. "I was the one that found her, barely alive in the wastes. She's never told me the full story, but I'm the only government figure she trusts. I know how important she is to the city, hell we'd all have been wiped out long ago if it wasn't for her."

He got up, crossing over to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"If we change our lives because those who don't like us threaten violence, then they've won." He reminded him. "That's how terrorism works."

"I know that dad." Scott replied. "But I think..."

"If nothing else, that day isn't just for you and me." He interrupted him. "It's for Marcus."

"I know that dad." Scott whispered, slumping down a little in his chair in defeat. "I'll be there."

"We all will." Summer chipped in, patting his shoulder.

"So how are we going to filter the crowd?" Flynn asked. "Sorry to rain on the parade, but there are going to be thousands of people there, and we can't be sure every single one of them will be checked for weapons."

"I have a solution to that." Ziggy piped up. "Tenaya told me her eyes have been modified. She doesn't know why, but they have. The point is, they can do a weapons scan. We just need to take her."

"Ziggy, why would she help us?" Dillon asked him.

"Is it such a great idea to take her out of here?" Flynn asked. "I mean, she is Venjix's right-hand robot."

"She's not a robot!" Ziggy barked before he could stop himself. "Besides, we all know how she was treated by it. She's in no hurry to go back to that life."

"Well it isn't like it's much of an issue." Scott stated. "She's still paraplegic remember? We can't exactly wheel her through the crowd when everyone in the city's going to be there."

"We could always remove the other implant." Ziggy suggested. "Dr. K was going to do it anyway."

"Ziggy, there's no way we could do that." Summer reminded him. "Dr. K has surgical experience, none of us do."

"None of us do." He agreed, before pointing at Flynn. "But his girlfriend does."

"Sam isn't a surgeon, she's a forensic scientist." Flynn reminded him. "None of the people she opens up are alive."

"She has to take the same care as a surgeon." Ziggy replied. "It's not like she hacks the bodies open with a meat cleaver, she'd destroy evidence."

"Ziggy, this is insane." Scott told him. "We can't..."

"Does anyone else have a better idea?" He asked them. None of the Rangers could answer. "She's wearing the restraining bracelet. She can't take it off, so we'll be able to find her even if she does run. Besides, she isn't going back to Venjix."

"Ziggy, the implant's in her spinal cord." Flynn reminded him. "We can't risk removing it, if we do it wrong then she'll be crippled for life anyway."

"Just hope Sam doesn't do it wrong then." Ziggy replied, getting up from his chair.

"As much as I hate to say it, I can't come up with a better plan." Colonel Truman sighed. "Flynn, call Sam and tell her what's happening. Summer, set up the lab for the operation."

He got up with Corporal Hicks and started to leave. He stopped momentarily as he thought of something.

"Scott, rest up." He told him. "You need to be ready in time for the ceremony."

Scott just nodded in response. As they left, he stormed into his room, leaving the others alone.

"I guess I better call the better half." Flynn stated, making his way to the phone.

"I'll just go and prepare the lab." Summer stated, leaving the room. Dillon got up and left the room, leaving Ziggy alone with his thought. He was terrified about the outcome of the procedure, but so far the only person he was certain could carry it out was nowhere to be found. He got up and made his way to the secure holding area, accessing the retinal scan and stepping inside. He found Tenaya there in her chair as always. She was still restrained with heavy shackles, despite her disability, a little evidence of Dr. K's paranoia. He made his way towards her.

"Ziggy!" She greeted him as he approached from behind her. She smiled as she realised it was him. Apart from him, the only person that came to this part of the lab was Dr. K and she usually only came to check on her vitals or run some experiments on her.

"How'd you know it was me?" He asked her, coming round in front of her.

"I smelled your aftershave." She told him. "You always put on a little too much."

"I'll keep that in mind." He replied.

"No, I like it." She said quickly as she realised she had unintentionally said something that could be taken as an insult. "It means I know when you're coming. I like it when you come to see me."

Ziggy laughed a little nervously, hiding his blush. Girls just didn't get him; he was always a little odd. For the first time, there was a girl that actually seemed to be interested in what he had to say. It was a little disappointing that it was a girl who just happened to be their prisoner and relied on them for her survival, but it was a nice change for a girl to compliment him.

"Tenaya, we're going to remove the other implant." He told her. Her eyes grew wider in fear as she heard this. As much as she wanted the use of her legs back, she was pointedly aware of the potential consequences if things went wrong.

"Is Dr. K sure I'm ready?" She asked, her voice quivering.

"Dr. K isn't here." Ziggy replied, feeling her panic growing by the second. "Sam will be doing the operation."

"The one the Blue Ranger cares for?" She asked. "What happened to Dr. K?"

"We don't know, that's why Sam will do the operation." Ziggy told her. He took her hand gently and smiled at her. "Everything will be fine."

"She must hate me." Tenaya stated, remembering the time she injured Sam in her battle with Flynn.

"She doesn't hate you." Ziggy replied warmly, kneeling in front of her. "She's grateful for what you did. She's walking now because of the transfusion you gave her."

"Ziggy, I'm scared." She told him. "I'm really scared, will you stay with me?"

He just smiled at her and squeezed her hand a little.

"I'll be there holding your hand through the whole thing." He assured her.

Back in the holding cell, Dr. K was lying on the bed, contemplating her position, trying to figure out an escape plan, but she just couldn't think of one. Even if she managed to remove the shackle from her ankle, even if she somehow opened the door, she was certain Gates would have several armed guards watching her.

Worse still, even if she managed to escape them, she knew what would happen. Gates would tell everyone what she had done. There would be nowhere she could hide, everyone would hate her.

She could see the anger and hatred in the eyes of the people now as she thought about it. Corinth didn't have the death penalty, but she was sure that Gates was right when he said they'd make an exception in her case. She had single-handedly destroyed the world. She had always been alone, and she had taken to using formal address instead of using people's names as a way of distancing herself. Even when Colonel Truman, one of the few people she trusted without question had invited her to call him Mason, she still reverted to Colonel Truman. The only people she had addressed by their first names, dared to form any form of attachment to, were Gem and Gemma, and they had died in the invasion.

Now though, despite her best efforts, despite everything she had done to distance herself, she had finally dared to care about the Rangers, and she was certain she was going to lose that.

Ziggy was annoying, but she had to admit that when she was alone in her bedroom, recalling all of the day's events, finding him amusing. Sure, he was a screw up, and he hadn't been chosen as a Ranger, it just kind of happened that way. She'd have loved it if she had another dependable team member like Scott or Flynn as Ranger Green, but in many ways he was easily the most eager. He worked harder than any of them to improve since he knew that he was the weakest team member. He also had a certain childish quality that in many ways she envied. She could remember the time that they seemed to be on the verge of losing the war and the only thing Ziggy asked her, the only thing he needed to know was that they were "The Good Guys" to give him faith that they would win. Having been a slave to logic all of her life, she sometimes wished she could have that level of faith again.

Dillon had annoyed her too, but mainly because he constantly questioned her. Where the others were content to trust her judgement and go along with whatever she had said, he stood up to her almost as a force of habit.

She could remember the feeling as she told him the terrible truth about the growth of his implants, and that eventually he would be nothing more than a machine. It was a horrifying sensation, one she wished she'd never feel again. The only thing worse was the feeling in her heart as she saw the look on Summer's face when she heard. She knew Summer cared for him, even before she was prepared to admit it herself. She knew that Dillon was her "10" on the cuteness scale; she just wished she could do more for him. Of course she also knew that he would be the first to exact his vengeance. Not only had he lost all his memories, he was also going to lose his consciousness to Venjix eventually. He had lost literally everything to Venjix, and so he had lost it all because of her.

Summer had told her a little about her life before the invasion, and she spoke very fondly of Andrews. She knew that Summer was having her problems, problems she was certain would not be helped when she realised why exactly the world had gone to hell in a hand basket. If it wasn't for her, she was sure that by now Summer would be married to Chas with a couple of kids and living in a huge house. As much as she didn't like Chas, she had to think that life was probably better than what Summer was going through now. Even if she did get through her therapy sessions, Dr. K knew she'd be heartbroken when she lost Dillon to the virus in his implants. She had as much reason as anyone to hate her.

Flynn had never really spoken much about his life before Corinth, but from what little he had said she had surmised he hadn't really lost any relatives to Venjix. His father had raised him alone for most of his life, and he had made it into the dome during the invasion. In truth, she didn't really know if Flynn had lost anyone during the invasion, but that was almost worse. She didn't know because she had never asked, she had never found out. He had trusted her completely and in return, she knew little, if anything, about him. She didn't even know where he had learned to be a mechanic, the one time she asked, he just walked off without answering. As kind-hearted as he was, she was certain he would turn on her.

Finally there was Scott, her Red Ranger. She had admired him for as long as she had known him. Even before they met in person, she admired him. He was always strong and confident, things she could never hope to be.

He was the first one she had tested for the Ranger technology, and she had been breath taken at his results. More than just passing the tests, there was something about him that gave her confidence he would lead Project Ranger to victory over her hellish creation.

She also had to admit having feelings for him she hadn't experienced before. Other than her guards and Gem, who she had never considered in that way, she had never really been around men before. She was more than aware of the effects of hormones and human reproduction, and through the occasional trashy novel she got her hands on in Alphabet Soup she even had a basic understanding of romance. Of course, none of that had prepared her for what she felt for Scott. She had watched the footage of his training sessions so many times that she had almost burned out hard drive of her main computer. Actually dealing with the Rangers face-to-face only made it harder. She had to find a way to look him in the face and talk to him with the authority she knew he expected, while she was suppressing the fantasies of what would happen if she could let her guard down and tell him that she loved him.

Of course, she knew that didn't matter. Even if Gates didn't tell him, Scott would find out somehow, and he had more reason than anyone to despise her. He had lost Marcus, the brother he had idolised and liven in the shadow of his whole life. Marcus was killed in the invasion, and as much as she now knew the truth, that he was murdered by Gates out of jealousy, it was still down to her. The invasion was her fault, she had created Venjix, if she hadn't done that, Scott would still have his brother. More than the others, it pained her to know that Scott would turn on her. He would hurt her; perhaps even kill her for what she had done. In many ways, not only wouldn't she blame him, she would welcome the release.

The door to her cell opened and Gates came in, carrying a disc. The door closed behind him.

"You want me to create a weapon." Dr. K began. "Perhaps it would be prudent to tell me what kind of weapon. After all, telepathy isn't one of my talents."

"I thought I'd give you a while to consider my offer first." He told her, sitting on the bed next to her and stroking her hair. "Are you ready to begin?"

"What do you want me to build?" She asked him in an exasperated tone. Gates crossed to a console and loaded the disk, showing her the main screen.

"Project Strychnine?" She asked him in horror.

"It was one of the little ideas I had back at the Soup." He told her.

"But it was scrapped because it was dangerous!" She reminded him. "It's inhumane it's..."

"It's a weapon." He interrupted her, grabbing her shirt and throwing her over to the work station. "Get to work."