H-07 led his following across the city while the artificial sun rose behind them. The sky was beautiful and the birds were singing, but the people themselves were enraged.
"You would think with the fall of Venjix we would find peace," a man muttered, jogging ahead of the group to catch up to H-07 and Vanessa. Just like with everyone else, his eyes were spinning counter-clockwise, "But all we've seen is... chaos! I've been out of a job for months now because of Kaylee and her team of Rangers, and I've yet to see anyone give a damn."
"What do you do?" Vanessa asked the man.
"I used to farm," the man answered as he looked to the sky, "but ever since the Food Boomer appeared and the crops all died, I've been unable to find work."
"That doesn't sound right," H-07 smirked, turning his gaze on the farmer while still marching forward, "This city should be looking out for you. If it took your job away, it should help you out until you're back on your feet."
"I realise that now," the farmer nodded. "Ever since you walked into the city we've been able to finally voice our thoughts. It's nice to have a leader who actually cares about what happens in Corinth."
"Oh," H-07 nodded, stopping once the control tower was in sight, "I care..."
Towards the end of the pack, Scott was slowly making his way through, trying to find Vanessa. He checked every woman he could as he passed by them.
"C'mon," he grumbled, slipping between a couple, quickly eyeing the woman. He felt like a disgusting pervert, and he was sure that if the men weren't hypnotised they would beat him for looking at their women. "Vanessa... where the hell are you?"
"Vanessa?" a small child asked, turning to Scott, "Why do you want Vanessa?"
Scott followed the young boy, trying not to draw too much attention to himself, "I need to talk to her."
He looked down at the kid, noticing his eyes weren't spinning like everyone else's. Of course, this child was too small to look directly in the busboy's eyes and therefore couldn't be hypnotised. But by the way the boy was clinging onto his father's arm; Scott figured he was scared and sticking close to his father, no matter what, for protection.
"Then make an announcement," the kid shrugged, "Everyone listens to you."
Scott frowned for a moment before remembering he wasn't in his own body. He looked exactly like the busboy leading the pack.
"I can't do that," he said, "It's a secret talk."
"Ohh," the boy nodded, "Well, you were walking with a girl who you called Vanessa..."
"Yes, that's her! Where did you last see us?"
"You're showing us where to go," the boy pointed to the front of the large group, "See, mister, you're right there."
Scott ruffled the boy's head as she spotted the busboy and Vanessa, "Thanks, kid."
"You're welcome," the boy smiled.
Scott pushed through to the front of the group and grabbed Vanessa's arm. He yanked her back into the crowd and spun her around so she wouldn't know what was going on. Finally, he grabbed her arms and steadied her.
"Careful," he smiled, "You don't wanna hurt yourself."
Vanessa held her hand with one hand, trying to get her vision to stop dancing, "What the hell?"
"C'mon," Scott grinned, winking at Vanessa, making her heart flutter, "These chumps can figure out the rest of the way. How about you and I get some alone time?"
"But we're supposed to take the control tower hostage," Vanessa frowned, pointing over her shoulder to the giant building. "You can't leave your people."
"They'll be fine," Scott grinned, "Just for a few seconds. After the control tower I've got other plans. I want to show you what we're going after next."
"You have other plans?" Vanessa frowned, "Won't your master be angry?"
"Trust me," Scott said. The plan wasn't running as smoothly as he hopped. He thought it would be easier to manipulate Vanessa. He quickly looked down to make sure he was still in the busboy's body.
"You know I do," Vanessa giggled, lightly tracing her fingers over Scott's chest. He had to try very hard not to pull away, "I just... I don't understand why you're doing this now."
"C'mon," Scott said, grabbing her hand, removing it from his chest, and pulling her in the direction of the Garage, "You're going to love what you see, I promise."
-----RPM-----
Dillon never thought he could be this tired. His eyes were slowly drooping shut before they would snap open again and he was fully alert. After only a few seconds, they would slowly begin to fall again.
He was responsible for watching the room while Leanne and Summer slept soundly. No one was getting inside unless they wanted to deal with him. Summer was afraid something bad would happen to Leanne, and didn't want to leave her unguarded. Dillon noticed Summer needed some rest, so he offered to be look out.
Suddenly, Dillon was wide awake again as he heard a screaming coming from the window. He got up from his chair, letting go of Summer's hand, to check it out.
He peeked through the curtains but didn't see anything. He frowned before hearing something drop outside the room. He crept over to the door, pressed his ear against the large metal frame and listened closely.
"Doctor, did you hear the news?" a woman asked. She must have been a nurse.
"Just did," a male voice replied. He was the doctor the nurse was talking too.
"Corinth city is rebelling," the nurse said, "Citizens have taken control of the control tower."
"The control tower?" Dillon frowned, keeping his voice low. The doors were thick, but if he could hear the people outside with no problem, they could definitely hear him if he spoke too loudly. "How the hell do you take that over? It's one of the most guarded buildings in the city! Hell, the military works there!"
"I can't imagine how they got inside," the doctor said, "But, that no longer matters. They're passing along a message."
"I heard. They want to overthrow the Rangers. You know, this whole mess started because of that new doctor."
"The one in that room..."
Dillon pulled his ear away from the door for a moment and looked over to Leanne and his girlfriend. Summer was right. Leanne was in danger. He pressed his ear back against the door.
"If we take her out, we can show Kaylee and the Rangers that the city means business," the doctor said.
"It sounds like a great plan," the nurse answered.
"I'll go call the control tower. Let the others know we have a plan."
Dillon slid the door opened slightly to look at the doctor and the nurse as the doctor retreated. He couldn't see the doctor's eyes, because he was walking away, but the nurse turned, facing the door. Dillon could see her green eyes spinning.
"Stupid hypnotism," he grumbled. He shut the door before running to the bed.
"Summer," he hushed, shaking his girlfriend, "Summer, wake up."
Summer stirred, stretching her arms, "What's wrong?"
"We gotta get going," Dillon snapped, gently shaking Leanne awake, "There's a revolution."
"Yeah, us," Summer frowned, "Against Venjix and his robot empire... we won... goodnight..."
"No! Summer, you were right!" Dillon cried, "Think we can fit in that air vent?"
"Think I can reach it?" Leanne asked, pushing herself up, careful not to move her arm. Summer quickly grabbed a piece of cloth from the tray a nurse left behind and wrapped it as a sling so Leanne wouldn't have to worry too much about her shoulder.
Dillon moved his chair just under the air vent. He hopped up and removed the grate. He got off the chair and helped Summer up.
"Now get on my shoulders," he told her. Summer was about to ask but Dillon managed to get her to sit on his shoulders. She grabbed his head (finding nothing else to grab in her panic) as he got back up on the chair.
"Whoa, Dillon!" Summer yelped just before her head hit the roof, "Ow..."
"Watch her head," Leanne groaned, biting her index finger nervously as Dillon tried to balance Summer.
"Sorry, Sunshine," Dillon winced. He pointed up to the vent, "You can reach. Climb in and wait to help Leanne up."
"What?" Summer asked, looking down at her psychotic boyfriend, "I can't..."
"There's the hole," Dillon said, shifting his position so Summer could easily climb into the hole.
"This is going to be so dirty," Summer groaned, lifting herself into the vent. Dillon pushed her up gently, causing Leanne to chuckle.
"You're proving her point," she pointed to where Dillon's hand was placed, just under Summer's butt to push her up. Normally Dillon wouldn't mind, but that fact that Leanne was Summer's aunt embarrassed him and he pulled his hand away.
Summer was using Dillon's strength to help herself into the vent, so when he pulled away, she lost her grounding and slipped slightly, catching herself before she fell out of the vent completely.
"Dillon!" she growled, kicking her feet, "Now you're a chicken shit!"
"Sorry," Dillon grabbed her legs, letting her know he was still there and carefully lifted her up, getting her into the vent.
"One up," Leanne said, looking up at the roof as Dillon smirked. She realised she was next and frowned. "Aw... no. C'mon, I can't make it up there! And you're not touching my ass!"
"I won't," Dillon laughed, "I promise."
Leanne looked back up at the vent as Summer poked her head out, "What are my options?"
"Well," Dillon started, "You could go up there and escape with us... or you could stay here and take your chances with the doctors who are probably trying to kill you."
"The doctor's don't sound so..."
"Aunt Leah," Summer frowned, "C'mon!"
Dillon lifted Leanne on the chair then put her on his shoulders. He got up on the chair as well and shifted his body to try and get Leanne into the vent.
"Where is the hole?" he asked. Summer shook her head slowly and sighed.
"Almost there," she said, "Aunt Leah, keep your head down until I tell you to come up... I'm so regretting this."
"How about now? Is that good?"
"A little over," Summer reached her hand down, touching her Aunt's shoulder. Leanne reached up with her good hand, catching Summer's. The yellow Ranger pulled her Aunt up while Dillon helped. He pushed on her legs, with all his strength, trying to stay away from the butt area.
"C'mon, Dillon, harder!" Summer called. Leanne chuckled, trying to hide it. Summer glared at her Aunt but ignored it for now, "She's only got one arm!"
"I'm trying!" Dillon frowned, "God, this would be easier with the enhancements."
"Oh God," Summer let go of her Aunt's hand for a moment, putting all Leanne's weight back on Dillon, "You know what, we're shutting up."
Dillon agreed, pushing the older woman up into the vent with a strong shove. Leanne crawled in, hurting her shoulder and heart slightly, but nothing she couldn't bear.
When Leanne was up Dillon hopped down from the chair, putting it back in its place. He stood under the vent and jumped as high as he could. Summer and Leanne reached down, each grabbing on hand, helping him up. When Dillon reached the vent he pulled himself up and closed the grate.
Summer looked around. The vent was huge for a hospital. Normally it was just a tiny little air vent. This one could easily hold three people inside, making travel easier.
"It's huge," she commented.
"Yeah, in case Venjix did take over," Leanne whispered, motioning for the others to keep their voices low, "In NewTech it's the same. It's the emergency route for patients."
"So, these vents are made for travel?" Dillon asked.
"Yep," Leanne nodded, "It's big enough to move around it, and doesn't creak as much as it should."
"But it still does?" Summer frowned.
"A little. We should be careful."
"Okay, so the way I see it," Dillon started as he and the two women began crawling through the vents, "We follow these until we reach the exit, then we book it to the Garage. I think Doc's the only doctor we can trust right now."
Summer nodded, "I told you guys this was bad! We should have left earlier."
Leanne was already starting to trail behind. It was hard enough crawling on two knees and one hand, but her injured shoulder was killing her so she needed to stop to massage it every few feet.
"Guys, slow down," she whispered, "I'm hobbling over here!"
Summer stopped, waiting for her aunt to catch up before crawling beside her, "Try and go as fast as you can, Aunt Leah. You're the one everyone's after."
"What the hell did I do?" Leanne frowned, "I'm the most hated woman in Corinth, and I haven't officially moved here yet."
"I blame spinning eyes," Dillon said, "C'mon girls."
-----RPM-----
Greg and Ronny gently placed Dani in her bed as David finished taking some blood from her to analyse just how bad her condition was. As he walked to the bathroom to check it Ronny sat on the bed beside her daughter.
"What the hell were you thinking?" she asked, "Daniela Marks, you could have killed yourself back there!"
"I know," Dani frowned, "That's why I did it!"
"But I want to know why!" Ronny cried as the tears started to spill. She took her daughter's hand, "You scared me to death, Dan... why would you do that?"
"I don't know..."
"Yes you do," Greg said, standing at the end of the bed with his arms crossed, "Dani, your mind is clear enough to think..."
"Get out of my head!" Dani yelled. Greg shook his head.
"Not until you tell us all the truth," he frowned, "I'm not letting you get away with this! You tried suicide, Dani! You need help! Unfortunately we can't offer it until we know what we're dealing with... what you're dealing with! Spill!"
"I don't want to talk about it!" Dani screamed.
"We gave you time," Ronny argued, grabbing her daughter's wrists and forcing Dani to look at her, "And you made an attempt at your own life! Now we're doing things this way!"
"I'm not talking," Dani growled. Suddenly she felt Greg inside her mind, creeping around for information. "GET OUT!"
"Then tell us!" Greg pleaded. He walked around the bed and sat beside Dani, "C'mon, Speedster... no matter what, you can tell us."
Dani's body began to shake. She pulled away from her mother and sunk into her bed, holding a pillow to her chest.
"I failed," she whispered, "There's no point."
"Daniela..." Ronny caressed her daughter's cheek gently, moving in closer, "What's bugging you? You haven't been yourself since you disappeared?"
"Where did you go?" Greg asked, hoping a more specific question would get the ball rolling.
"I was in the future," Dani's eyes moved up so she was looking at her mother, boyfriend and her father, who was walking back into the room.
-----RPM-----
Ziggy was crouched down in front of Scott's car as the red Ranger and Vanessa walked into the base. As soon as he saw their shadows he jumped out, grabbing Vanessa to keep her from running off.
"Hey... what the hell?" Vanessa screamed, struggling to pull free from Ziggy, but his super strength gave him the advantage and she found that she couldn't move.
Kaylee placed her hand on Ziggy's shoulder as she looked to Vanessa, "We want answers."
"Aunt K... answers now? I thought you were going to snap her out of the trance..."
"I've been thinking about it," Kaylee said calmly. She understood Mike was eager to have his girlfriend back to normal, "But there's a chance that she won't remember what the hell she's been doing. If she's part of whatever plan, I need to make sure we at least get something from her."
Kaylee motioned to Dr. K as the genius wheeled out the chair from her lab. Ziggy dragged Vanessa to it, strapping her down so she couldn't move and he didn't have to hold her against her will (not that the chair was doing any different).
Mike turned away, followed closely by Hayden. He couldn't bear to see his girlfriend being held prisoner by his family.
Kaylee looked to Kira, rubbing her temples. Her older sister gave her a weak, yet encouraging smile.
"It's for the best," she said, "Let's just get this done with."
Kaylee nodded and leaned over Vanessa, "We'll let you go as soon as we get some answers," she said, "What do you know about the shooting?"
Vanessa looked at Kaylee with a smug smirk, "Like I'm going to tell you."
"Well, I think it's safe to assume she's hiding something," Dawn sighed. She touched Kaylee's arm, pulling her aunt away as she glared at Vanessa, "Talk."
"Make me," Vanessa grinned confidently. She noticed Dawn looked a lot like H-07's master, T15, but there were some differences. T15 was a little more robot on the outside, with a chip placed above her artificial flesh, just by her right eye. Dawn was all human.
"I wish I could," Dawn sighed, "But I'm not letting you go anywhere until you answer these questions."
Vanessa turned to Scott, who was still disguised as H-07. Scott grinned, dropping the disguise.
"Surprise," he said, "There's no one to help you. In fact, I'm pretty sure your little 'boyfriend' doesn't even know you're missing."
"H-07 will notice!" Vanessa screamed, "And he'll storm in here and murder you all for tricking me!"
"Vanessa..." Kaylee sighed, "This H-07 kid's the one who fooled you. You're in a trance."
"H-07?" Flynn frowned, "Wouldn't that be a Venjix bot?"
Dawn's eyes widened, "A T15 bot! As far as I know Venjix completed all his D series infiltrators. Not many of them survived... H-07 would be the name of one of the next ones!"
"So the busboy's the robot Kaylee was picking up," Ziggy nodded, fitting the pieces together.
"Dawn," Kira called, "Is there any way you can find out any information on H-07? What he can do?"
Dawn pointed to Vanessa's eyes, "I remember there being a blueprint for a bot that could do that. I guess my clone just added a little extra... power. Vanessa seems to be in love... that wasn't on the original model."
"Well, love makes you do crazy things," Kaylee sighed, "So, if the city's eyes are spinning in the other direction, what does that mean?"
"They aren't under a love spell," Dawn furrowed her brow as she tried to think back, "The blueprint for Venjix' original design were for simple hypnotism. He could control anyone under his spell. I guess when my clone created H-07, she didn't remove that feature."
Kaylee grinned, "Aha, now we know what's going on!"
"Slow down, there Danger," Kira frowned, "What does this have to do with Leanne?"
"Well," Dr. K started, "Though hypnotism could be effective for rallying people together for a common cause, they would still need that common cause. T15 and H-07 wouldn't be aware of how society functions. If H-07's been living with us in the city for a few days, since Dani's return at least, then they would have heard the news of Leanne coming to town with a new medical system. Hypnotism could help the population escalate their anger until it's exaggerated and, bam, Leanne's shot, people are angry and we as a team have no idea what's going on."
Kaylee nodded, "Becca, You can work on reversing the hypnosis for Vanessa. We got what we needed from her. I'm going to call everyone who's missing and get them back here. That includes getting Leanne out of the hospital."
