Happy new year! I hope that 2020 brings happiness!


Chapter 26: Not So Simple

Drumming her fingers together, Olivia was deep in thought as she stared out at the water.

The ocean was as still as ever, blocked by the shield that encompassed the city. While she wasn't able to surf because of it, she still liked to come out to the water to think.

And hell, she really had a lot to think about.

Her father. The man who had abandoned her, given up their house to the Cartels because of gambling debts, who she had long assumed dead, maybe not even due to Venjix, was alive and wanting to see her, after being imprisoned in a Venjix camp and rescued by Teddie and the other Rangers. And now he wanted to see her.

A stubborn part of Olivia told her not to bother with him. He'd run off without her, leaving her to fend for herself, or worse, what if the Cartels had decided she was worth taking an interest in? He hadn't cared, and Olivia had found a much better family for herself.

But he was still her father. The only tie to her past, to her mother, that she had left. Her extended family were either dead or had severed ties after her mother had died. And while she had a much better family now, he was still...family.

"Oli!" as she tangled her fingers into her blonde hair and tugged in frustration, Teddie's voice reached her. She looked up, and realised tears were running down her face. The White Ranger barrelled into her as she fell to her knees, almost knocking them both down into the sand.

"Can you ever greet anyone normally?" Olivia complained with a shaky laugh as Teddie released her. She looked around instead.

"Where's Chase?" she asked, having thought that her brother had gone with the former Forest Ranger.

"Getting something to drink," Olivia answered, turning back to the sea as Teddie settled down beside her.

"How are you holding up?" Teddie asked as gently as she could, seeing Olivia's mouth twist in reaction to the question.

"I have no idea," Olivia said honestly, her blue eyes stormy. "I've known he's been alive for a few weeks, but when he didn't make any contact, I guess it just stopped feeling real. And now he wants to see me?" she shook her head. "I don't know," she muttered. Heart hurting for her friend, Teddie edged in closer and leaned against her. "Could you make the decision for me?" Olivia asked, voice small. Teddie laughed a little.

"Sorry, even I know I can't do everything myself," she apologised, and Olivia sighed, leaning her head to Teddie's. "But whatever you decide to do, we all support you," she said quietly.

"Thanks," the blonde managed a smile, although it didn't feel entirely genuine.

"Hey guys," Chase called as he made his way down to them. "Thanks for coming, Ted," he said to his sister as he took a seat, handing Olivia a drink of water.

"Anytime," Teddie said softly.

"That's right, don't you have rehearsals?" Olivia lifted her head, looking worried. "The concert's in a few days, shouldn't-"

"Don't worry about it," Teddie soothed her quickly, flashing a confident smile. "I'm gonna kick butt," she said, before softening her smile. "I'm here for you," she told Olivia, who relaxed a little and tears returned to her eyes.

"Thanks," she muttered, sniffing. Teddie patted her shoulder, and Chase put his arm around her.

"Hey, if you want to see him, it doesn't mean you have to forgive him or anything," he pointed out. "You can see what he wants, and if you want to see him again, you can. If you don't, well, you're not one I want to challenge when you make up your mind," Chase teased her. Olivia arched an eyebrow at him.

"Then why do you enjoy doing it so much?" she asked, making both twins laugh. "Thanks, both of you," she managed a more genuine smile this time, and Teddie winked to her brother.

"Now that you're feeling less at a crisis," Chase nudged her lightly, and turned his attention to Teddie. "Heckyl was looking Ivan this morning. Seemed to be acting kinda weird. Any clue what's going on with him?" he asked, and Teddie tilted her head.

"Not a clue. Half the time I've no idea what he's thinking," she admitted, thinking about it. "He was talking about Flynn last night about some new invention Flynn was working on, and he went out early this morning," Teddie shrugged. "But I mean, it's Heckyl, he's usually acting kinda weird," she pointed out, not seeming too concerned.

"She's got a point," Olivia grinned, and Chase had to agree.

"Besides, they do get on, being older than they look. He might just be wanting out of the garage for a bit. I know I'm going crazy being cooped up in there on alert," Teddie shrugged, and no sooner had she said that, did her Morpher beep. She groaned, falling back into the sand. "What's up, Doctor K?" she answered.

'Shield breach in Zone 9 in the forest. The rest of the team are already on their way,' she warned, and Teddie frowned.

"I'll meet them there," she answered, getting to her feet. "I'll see you guys later, okay?" she looked to the couple, who nodded.

"Be careful out there," Chase grinned, and Teddie winked as Olivia scoffed.

"See you later," the blonde rolled her eyes, and Teddie rushed off to help her team.


"Go for Megazord!" once together, the team called on their Megazords to face the giant Attackbot now towering over the woods.

"Is that a knight?" Scott wondered as he took in the appearance of the Attackbot facing them, wielding a lance and shield.

"What a poser," Teddie rolled her eyes. The Attackbot lashed out at them, and blasts flew from the tip of the lance, hitting the three Megazords hard.

"We're hit!" Scott shouted as their Megazord barely stayed standing.

'Those are no ordinary lasers. They're negatively fused electrical discharges. You must avoid any further hits at all costs!' Dr. K instructed quickly as she analysed their opponent.

"Easier said than done Doc!" Scott shouted as they were hit again.

"These Zords weren't exactly built for maneuverability!" Annie reminded as the Mach and ValveMax Megazords grabbed the Attackbot, freeing the others from the bombardment. It shrieked; a grating noise that made them all flinch, and its face began to glow.

'Rangers, disengage! The bot is charging up for-' whatever Dr. K had been about to say, it was cut off as its entire body flashed brightly and sparked, sending dangerous amounts of electricity and power through the two Megazords holding it.

"Too late! Doc, can you tap into our auxiliary power reserves?" Dillon shouted as their cockpits sparked and smoked.

'Negative. The charge has short-circuited the Megazord Power Grid,' she warned as the five couldn't even attempt to move, too busy trying to protect themselves from their damaged consoles. 'Standby while I bypass the Grid to access the bio-energy fields directly,' she said.

"I don't know how long we can standby!" Spencer warned as the Attackbot broke free of their grip and lashed out, striking them with its lance. Before long, both were on the ground.

'I need more time!' Dr. K shouted.

"Come on you heap! Get up!" Teddie pushed at her console, and yelped when a spark nipped her through her suit.

"Just a simple mechanic, eh?" before they realised it, Flynn was standing on the shoulder of the HighOctane Megazord. "Take a look at this!" he lifted his blaster. "Gold and Black, hold still and thank me later," he took aim, making them frown.

"What is he…"

"I'm afraid to ask," Dillon muttered.

"It's an engine cell I rewired to charge the Zord's combustion system. Think of it as wireless jumper cables," Flynn explained proudly, loading it into his blaster.

"I really don't like the sound of this," Teddie groaned, bracing herself.

'Ranger Blue, hold your fire!' Dr. K ordered, sounding furious. 'That device is unsanctioned and most likely incompatible with my operating system,' she warned.

"Yeah, I don't like the sound of this either," Ziggy muttered.

"Ah, for the love of champit taties, have a little faith, would you?" Flynn complained.

'Negative. If the electrical current interchanges polarities it will result in-' before she could finish her sentence, Flynn fired two shots, hitting both Megazords. They flashed, before the lights faded entirely.

"Doc...systems have lost power," Dillon reported with a sigh.

'Complete system failure,' Dr. K finished. Flynn went pale, staring at the fallen Megazords.

"Great…" Teddie sighed, slumping back. "At least it didn't blow up on us," she muttered, arms folded.

"Please don't tempt fate," Annie pleaded with her, her head in her hands.

'Rangers, standby for bio-energy flow reconfiguration,' Dr. K was quick to react, and a moment later, the Megazords flashed as they gained power.

"It worked! We're back online!" Ziggy cheered as they managed to get back up.

"Thanks, Dr. K!" Annie grinned as the Mach Megazord stood as well. "Now let's take this sad excuse for a Knight out!" she called. It blasted at them again, only for the Mach Megazord to fly over the smoke.

"How about we show it how an attack really looks?" Spencer grinned, as they threw their spinning blade at it. However, the Attackbot used its lance as a bat, knocking it away.

"He deflected it!" Dillon growled as the spinning blades flew straight for the Zenith Megazord.

"Two can play that game," Teddie called as they knocked it back at the Attackbot again, but it deflected again and shot at the HighOctane Megazord.

"Right back at you!" Scott shouted. Using the Super Sabre, they slammed the blade and hurled it back at the Attackbot with even greater power, destroying it in one hit. "That was too close," the Red Ranger muttered, slumping back in his seat from exhaustion.

"I know, we were almost destroyed," Summer spoke up as Flynn stayed silent, staring at the wheel of his cockpit.


"I'm sorry, to all of you!" Flynn apologised to the team as they stood in the lab after the battle. Despite the battle having taken place in their Megazords, they all had bruises and burns from the damage done. "The engine cell should have worked! I honestly don't know what happened," he insisted, frustrated from his failure.

"Then allow me to explain!" Dr. K was furious. Gem and Gemma looked worried. "You completely obliterated the bioenergy channels required to fuel the Megazord combining sequence," she pulled one of her screens around to show Flynn the damage done. Spencer whistled as he saw the damage.

"I'll go out on a limb and say that's a bad thing?" Flynn said weakly.

"Until I can repair the channels, none of you will have enough power to achieve Megazord status," Dr. K explained in a more simple way.

"So if the next Attackbot supersizes before you can fix it…"

"Then we're done for," Scott finished for Dillon.

"Alright, well maybe if I can go back into the engine cell configurations, I-"

"You are not to pull another stunt like this ever again!" Dr. K's voice rose as she took an angry step towards Flynn. His eyes widened as hurt flickered across his face.

"Stunt?" he repeated under his breath. "Upgrading and improving mechanical devices is what I do, it's my profession!" he argued. A cold smile settled on the small doctor's face.

"I cut my own hair with lefty scissors, and yet I'm smart enough to know that, as a barber, I'd be an abject failure," she snarled at him. "Funny how that works," she said mockingly.

"Doc-" Teddie started, but Flynn turned and stormed off. Dr. K turned and walked back to her computer. "So much for being warmer towards the team," she stopped at Teddie's words, before the White Ranger left too. The rest of the team exchanged looks, before doing the same.


"Flynn, you don't need to do this," Arianna insisted as Flynn tossed everything from his workbench into the bin.

"You heard the Doc," he said quietly, lacking his usual spirit as he examined the automatic car washer he'd built for Dillon and Scott after another of their races had left both cars caked in dirt. He then dumped it into the bin too.

"She's just upset and worried. You worked so hard on this stuff, you were so proud of it," Arianna lifted the small wheel that was sitting with circuitry poking out.

"And look where that pride got us. We almost lost that fight, and if Dr. K doesn't fix my mistake in time, we may as well have been," Flynn took it from her and dumped it. "I'm sorry 'Anna, but I'm done," he told her, walking away as she watched sadly.

"I hope he can get over this," Teddie commented softly as she approached, looking around the scattered workbench, where the only things left were either his tools, or schematics he'd missed.

"Me too. He always looks so happy working on these things," Arianna sighed sadly. "He was only trying to help out," she shook her head, having been watching the fight from the lab.

"And some of it is quite advanced," Heckyl spoke up, looking at one of the schematics. Teddie peeked at it, but the scribbles and comments went over her head. "They would have made good additions to your arsenal, assuming Dr. K approved it," he considered.

"You helped with some of it, right?" Teddie asked, and he gave a small shrug.

"Advice here and there. Somehow he found out that I helped Kayden with one or two things at SPD," he looked at Teddie, who shrugged.

"Don't look at me. He never asked, so I never said. Besides, it looked like you were having fun with it," she poked him, and he swatted her away as she grinned.

"Come on. Not much we can do right now. Let's get some food," Arianna told them. She'd been worried for all of them, wishing that she could join them out in the fight. But while the Gold and Silver Morphers were designed with Zords, the Mercury Morpher had been even more of a prototype.

"I guess so," Teddie sighed, before her phone buzzed. Checking the message, she bit her lip. "Olivia is gonna see her dad tonight. I'm gonna go see her. Sorry," she looked to the pair.

"It's okay, she needs people around her," Arianna smiled slightly as Heckyl ruffled Teddie's hair. The White Ranger smiled slightly.

"Right," she agreed. "I'll see you later," she grabbed her jacket and hurried out. Heckyl and Arianna then looked to each other, and he gave a small shrug.

"Well, it's as good a time as any," the Mercury Ranger smiled. As they left, they didn't see Gemma approach the bin filled with the abandoned devices.


Olivia couldn't stop her pacing as her stomach churned. She felt like she was going to be sick.

"You sure you'll be okay to do this?" Chase asked, seeing how pale she was.

"I have to be," she replied softly, trying to steel herself.

"Funny, isn't it? How you can face down monsters, but stuff like this is far scarier?" Ari smiled softly at her, and Olivia gave a quiet laugh.

"Wish I had my Energem," she said, and Ari put a hand on her shoulder.

"You'll be fine," she soothed, and some of the churning lessened as Olivia believed the confident woman who'd taken her in. "We'll be just in the kitchen if you need us. Not that you will, with your protector there," Ari looked to Nerida, who was snoozing across Chase's lap.

"Yeah, she's very vigilant," he laughed.

"Just say the word and I'll go all RPM Ranger on him," Teddie grinned, making Olivia smile a little more.

"Thanks, but I think that might be abusing your powers a bit," she replied. Teddie gave a shrug.

"I'm permanently bonded to this thing," Teddie waved the Morpher strapped to her wrist. "Considering our Megazords are down for repairs, I don't think they'll be willing to suspend me," she smirked, and winced as Xander pressed his knuckles lightly to her head.

"That doesn't mean you should be tempted," he warned her, winking to Ari. She rolled her eyes at him, before there was a knock on the door. Immediately the churning grew in Olivia's stomach, as Nerida woke and immediately scrambled over to her owner.

"Come on," Ari shooed her family out of the room. "Kitchen, remember," Ari whispered to her, and the young woman nodded. A moment later, Ari returned with Jim in tow, and disappeared just as quickly.

Olivia didn't speak as she stared at the man who vaguely resembled her father. He was gaunt; his skin a sickly colour, and his clothes were hanging off him. His face, which had always been lined with stubble since his wife died, was now coated in a full beard.

"'Livi," he breathed, taking a step closer to her. "You're okay," a moment later, he had his arms around her. Olivia didn't move to embrace him, but tears stung at her eyes. She gave him a moment, collecting herself at the same time, before she pushed him back.

"Hi, dad," she said quietly. Nerida nosed at him with a confused whine, and he gave a quiet laugh, crouching to pet her.

"Good to see you're doing okay too pup. You've gotten big," he told her, and the retriever gave a tentative lick before pulling away as well. "And you look like you're doing well for yourself too 'Livi. I'm sorry I didn't reach out when I got to the city," Jim straightened up, looking down at his daughter with a warm smile. "I wanted to get set up with a place and get settled. It was hard, after being in that camp for god knows how long," he rubbed the back of his head.

Got to the city. The words repeated in Olivia's head, and she didn't speak. No mention of before Venjix attacked, like he'd been a loving father right till then. "It's a nice place," Jim kept talking, seeming oblivious to how her nails dug into the palms of her hands. "The military were pretty good like that, sorting all us prisoners with a place. Wouldn't have seen that before Venjix hit," he chuckled. "It's got plenty of space, two bedrooms and allows pets, so-"

"Wait," Olivia took another step back as alarms started to blare. "You want me to move in?" she demanded, staring up with big blue eyes filled with incredulity. Jim nodded slowly.

"Of course. You're my kid. We're the only family we have left, 'Livi. And who knows how long this city will last. We should be together," he told her earnestly, and frowned when she gave a disbelieving laugh.

"You've got to be kidding," Olivia shook her head. "After all this time, you come in here and want to be a family again?" she demanded. "What about before? You didn't seem to care much about being a family when you ran off and left me to fend for myself," she pointed out, her anger slipping free. Jim's frown grew as Nerida nudged closer to Olivia, picking up on her anger and hurt.

"I had no choice, Olivia. I called and called, and you wouldn't answer," he reminded her. "The Cartels were going to lynch me if I didn't ditch town. They were closing in and you weren't there. But there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about you," Jim reached out towards her, but Olivia backed away, pulling her hands out of his reach. Her father stopped, not following. "Come on. It's not like you were stuck or anything. You've gotten pretty well settled here," he commented, seeing a photo on the mantelpiece with her and Chase together. More anger bubbled up.

"Ari and Xander were kind enough to take me in, how dare you treat that like it was okay for you to just abandon me? I lost almost everything because you just left," she hissed at him.

"Olivia, I'm still your dad," Jim's voice was warning. "You won't talk to me like that," he said firmly, and a hysterical laugh escaped her before she could stop it. "I told you, I didn't have a choice," he said lowly.

"Did you regret it though?" he paused as Olivia asked the simple question. He met her gaze, seeing her steely resolve. "Because you haven't once apologised for it," she said calmly, hiding the hurt well.

"I…I did what I had to. To keep you safe," Jim said weakly, as if even he knew it was a bad defence.

"If you were keeping me safe, you wouldn't have borrowed from the Cartels. You wouldn't have run off and let me walk into my own home to find their boss had taken it after you'd signed it over to him," Olivia was struggling to keep calm. She was used to shouting and raving, but some part of her wanted him to see that she was better than that. Especially with him. "I had nowhere to go. It's only because Ari found me that night that I didn't do something stupid," Jim's eyes were wide as he stared at her. "But of course, I was fine. I had a place to live with people who actually cared for me. Why should it matter than my own dad cared more about gambling, than about me?" Olivia rolled her eyes.

"'Livi…" he murmured, which only made her dig her nails harder into her palms. "That was a whole other lifetime ago now. The world is a mess, this is the only place still standing. Can't we just have a fresh start? As a family?" he pleaded with her. Olivia took a breath.

"When you said you wanted to talk, it took me a long time to decide on if I even wanted to see you," she admitted to him, and drew herself taller. "And I sure as hell am not going to move in with you. Please get out," Olivia requested. Her father stared at her for a long moment, before anger started to fill his pale eyes.

"Get out? Not bleedin' likely, Olivia," he grabbed her wrist so tightly that she flinched. Nerida immediately started growling a warning at the man. "Shut it, mutt," Jim snarled at her, and she whimpered as he kicked out at her.

"Nerida!" Olivia gasped, and stumbled as he yanked her.

"We're going. Now," he ordered, and fear started to fill the young woman, who froze up.

She was freed from the tight grip, and Chase caught her as she stumbled, and Jim whirled around to punch whoever had grabbed him, but stopped when he saw Ari, who had knocked his grasp on Olivia.

"I believe she told you to get out," she said, more calmly than she felt. The hairs on the back of Olivia's neck stood on end as she felt Ari's power slipping free as a reflexive threat, but Jim, with no training in that area whatsoever, just sneered, not seeing anything but a slight woman with her arms folded.

"And what are you going to do to stop me? She's my daughter, and I sure as hell doubt you're her legal guardians. So either get out of my way, or I'll have to call up some people about that," he threatened.

"As a matter of fact," Ari suddenly smiled, a clear danger to most. "My brother took that role on, a year after you left. Since they couldn't reach you, the appropriate people approved it. But more than that. Olivia is an adult now, and therefore you have zero claim on her," she pointed out. Jim's eyes widened, and he looked to his daughter, who glared up at him from the arms of the young man standing protectively by her.

"Don't make her ask you to leave again," Xander spoke up, leaning against the wall. Jim glanced to him, anger growing. He was no stranger to a fight, but almost a year in a Venjix camp had made him weak, and while he'd convinced himself that he could take on the woman, both her husband and son looked like they'd give him a hard time. Not forgetting the Power Ranger standing on Olivia's other side, watching him with a disgusted look. She'd already punched him once, so he had zero doubt she'd escalate if he caused trouble.

A Power Ranger. They were going to be trouble. He remembered Ziggy, the incompetent newbie that Fresno Bob had taken under his wing in an attempt to prove something. And now he was a Ranger too, meaning the Cartels had reach with those who were supposed to use their powers to keep the city safe.

"This isn't over," Jim warned, storming out. A moment passed, and the door slammed shut.

"Oli, how are you holding up?" Teddie immediately turned to her friend, who started laughing, taking her by surprise.

"I guess that's where I get my temper," Olivia couldn't help but say. "Thank you, for stepping in," she said, and Ari pulled her into her arms in a tight hug.

"You don't need to thank us," she said as Olivia's laughter faded and her shoulders shook. Teddie ran a hand through her hair, looking to Chase, who looked as worried as she felt. One more thing to add to the list of concerns.


By the time Teddie got back to the Garage, she was exhausted. Between worrying about Olivia and Flynn, and the threat of not having Megazords to fight the next threat Venjix sent in, she'd not had a chance to rest after their fight. At least Ari had insisted on making food before she'd left.

Walking in, she was both relieved and surprised, to see Flynn sitting at his workbench with Gemma, no Gem in sight. The pair were talking animatedly about something, with the wheel-shaped device that Flynn had thrown away sitting on the bench with a variety of cables and circuit boards. Curious, Teddie was tempted to see what the pair were talking about, but decided to give them some space and find out later.

Instead, she slipped past them, and they didn't even seem to notice her, to caught up in what they were working on. To her surprise, she found Heckyl sitting on the couch, deep in thought.

"Hey," she greeted, and saw him jump almost a foot in the air, looking up sharply.

"Teddie," he stood quickly, smoothing down his jacket and making her tilt her head.

"You okay?" she asked as he relaxed, taking a breath. He then smiled at her, as if nothing had happened. "Heckyl?" she pressed, remembering what Chase had said before about him acting weird.

"I'm fine," he answered, approaching her. When her concerned look didn't lessen, he took her hand. "How was Olivia?" he asked, and saw her gaze darken. "Ah. About as well as you expected?" Heckyl guessed.

"Her dad is as mad as a meat axe," she complained, and saw his blank look. "He's crazy. I'm tired," Teddie complained.

"So I can tell. You make less sense when you need sleep," he teased, and she glowered at him. "Come on. It's been a long day," he pulled her along, and she followed, but watched him carefully, wondering just what it was that he was hiding.


Sleep was abruptly interrupted, when a tremor rocked the entire city, and Teddie jerked awake. A moment later, the alarm started to blare, and she cursed, jumping up and swapping her pyjamas for her shorts, t-shirt and jacket, before running downstairs with the others.

"That was not a natural tremor," she yawned widely, trying to stop her hair from standing on end. Gemma and Flynn, who'd fallen asleep after working through the night at the workbench, joined them at a slower pace, tugging on their jackets.

"Teddie is correct," Dr. K warned as they reached her. "Venjix Attackbot, City Square," she warned.

"Look at these energy readings. This one's off the charts!" Summer exclaimed as she saw the analysis on Dr. K's screen, before another tremor made the building shake.

"And our Megazord Power Cells?" Dillon asked the question on everyone's minds as they righted themselves.

"Still inoperable," Dr. K shook her head. "I'm sorry Rangers, I've got no choice but to send you completely unarmed," she turned to them, worried.

'Megazords or not, I'll meet you there,' Annie, contacting over their communications link, told them.

"Annie's right. We still have other tools," Spencer said, and another tremor made the lights flicker.

"Okay, I'm getting annoyed now," Teddie grumbled.

"Come on guys. Let's get to work," most, except for Flynn, rushed out, as he looked to Gemma.


Morphed, the team spotted the HammerBot with Shifter, and immediately went on the attack. It was strong, knocking Scott and Spencer aside before lifting Ziggy into the air with one hammer-arm. Using the other to knock back Summer and Dillon, it then flung Ziggy into Teddie, and the two landed in a heap.

"Come on!" Arianna shouted, running in with her Jet Fists ready.

"Right behind you!" Dillon followed with Summer, but each of their attacks bounced off harmlessly.

"Who else would like a turn, hmm?" Shifter taunted from the sidelines as he watched the Rangers being thrown about easily. "Step right up!" he taunted.

"Don't mind if I do!" Dillon was first back on his feet, but even the hybrid wasn't able to stay up against the HammerBot.


Racing towards the city square on her bike, Annie spotted Flynn on his way too in his jeep, and the two sped up. She skidded to a stop, however, as a blast almost caught her. The brakes of Flynn's jeep squealed as he was forced to stop, and he clambered out as Annie tossed her helmet aside.

"Tenaya," Flynn muttered as he caught the Attackbot's punch. "Almost didn't recognise you without your entourage of Grinders," he taunted, before she punched him, knocking the Blue Ranger away.

"Oh, the infiltration bot's mad," Annie cracked her knuckles. "Bug in your circuitry?" she mocked, and Tenaya ran at her with a screech. Flynn recovered and joined in, with the pair fighting her off. She didn't speak, giving angry shouts as she fought them with a vengeance.

"Wonder what's gotten her all worked up," Flynn muttered as he caught Annie.

"Thanks," she straightened up and turned back to Tenaya.


Nearby, the Rangers weren't having any luck against the Hammerbot, with each blow it made tossing at least one Ranger to the ground. Their suits sparked, with their energy fast depleting as they struggled to block the blows.

"It's too strong!" Scott groaned as he got back to his feet again.

'Doctor, I'll dispatch my men to their location,' Colonel Truman could be heard over their comms.

"Negative Colonel, there's no time!" Scott refused, knowing that in the time it would take backup to arrive, it would be too late.

"There!" Teddie spotted some weeds nearby, and called on her magic. "Uthed Methud Florus!" she cast a spell, and the weeds started to grow at an accelerated rate, wrapping around the HammerBot. However, it was strong, starting to rip through them. "We don't have much time!" she warned.

'Doctor, downmorph the Wheel!' Flynn pleaded, on the ground from another blow. 'It'll work! If there's anyone who knows their way around a tyre, it's me!' he insisted. The only response was silence. 'For pity's sake woman! Would you just trust me for once?!' Flynn shouted, losing his temper.

"Doc please, we need something," Scott joined in as the team recovered, getting back to their feet as the Attackbot slowly ripped itself free. Shifter tried to help speed it up, and yelped as the weeds spread to wrap around him instead.

'Standby for Road-Attack Zord downmorph,' after another moment of silence, Dr. K finally spoke. A moment later, they heard a low rumble, and dove aside as a massive wheel sped towards them.

"Move!" Arianna shouted, and they dove aside as it slammed into the HammerBot just as it broke free of Teddie's magic.

"Push it back!" Shifter shouted as it fought against the Wheel, but it only lasted a moment before its strength failed as the Attackbot was thrown into a building.

"Heads up! It's coming straight for us!" Summer warned.

"Get out of the way!" they once again dove out of the way, watching as it sped by.

"It's completely uncontrollable!" Teddie groaned.

'Take evasive action!' Dr. K ordered, and the team were forced to dodge each time the Wheel rushed by at a rapid speed.

"Enough!" Spencer raised a shield, pushing back against the Wheel as he started to glow to feed more power into the defensive barrier. However, even that wasn't enough, and the Wheel shattered the shield and slammed into him.

"Spencer!" Arianna shouted as he crashed to the ground. The Wheel sped for him again, but the rest of the team blocked it.

"We need help!" Summer shouted as the six pushed back against it.

"We got it, hold on!" Scott insisted as they put all their power into stopping the Wheel.

'Guys, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened,' Flynn groaned, confidence gone as he was knocked down by Tenaya again in their own fight.

'I do…' Gemma suddenly spoke up, unhappy. 'And it's all my fault,' she sighed.

"We can't hold it for much longer!" Arianna warned.

'Alright listen. I installed a built-in shutoff. Just give it a good whack right in the middle,' Flynn instructed as Annie finally knocked Tenaya aside with a solid blow.

"Now that I can do," Spencer got to his feet, and slammed his shoulder against the wheel. It immediately stopped rolling, shrinking down. A slot popped open, releasing smoke.

"It worked! Road-Attack Zord is offline!" Summer reported.


"What did you mean, your fault?" Flynn asked as he climbed back into his jeep. Annie pulled her helmet back on and started her bike, and the two hurried to join the fight.

'My upgrade. It gave it too much power. Flynn, I'm so sorry,' Gemma apologised.

"Don't be. Power is exactly what we need," Flynn's smile returned as an idea came to mind. "Dr. K, you need to listen to me very carefully," he grinned, before speeding towards the others.


"How could something so small, hit so hard?" Arianna wondered as they approached the small wheel.

"Good question," Teddie poked it.

"Uh, don't make it mad," Ziggy pleaded, before they looked up as the HammerBot staggered towards them.

"Prepare the download!" Shifter growled. A moment later, the Attackbot grew to tower over the city. "Now that the Rangers are done playing with their toys, destroy them once and for all!" he shouted, and the HammerBot raised one arm to slam down on the team.

"Get back!" Scott shouted, before blasts hit it and forced it away.

"Somebody call for a mechanic?" Flynn grinned as his Zord raced towards them.

"Flynn!" they grinned with relief.

"And Annie. We're cleared to go for Megazord," Flynn reported as Annie blasted the Attackbot and knocked it down. Furious, Shifter let out a snarl, and ran off.

"Whoa! How did you do that?" Spencer asked, baffled at the strength behind their attacks.

'I diverted the Wheel's excess energy. It was Flynn's idea,' Dr. K explained.

"Aye! Let's do this thing!" Flynn cheered. Arianna nodded to the team, and ran off to make sure any civilians were clear.

"Right!" the team called on the SkyRev Megazord, facing the Attackbot.

'Ranger Blue, you're go to redeploy your Road-Attack Zord,' Dr. K sounded strangely upbeat as she called through again.

"But we need a new Engine Cell. The last one was toasted," Spencer remembered.

"Lucky a good mechanic never travels without his tools," Flynn smirked, holding a fresh Engine Cell that he tossed to Spencer. The Gold Ranger caught it with a laugh.

"Engine Cell, activate!" he inserted it into the Wheel he'd been carrying, and tossed it out. The wheel grew much larger, and landed in front of the Megazord. It was still for a moment, before transforming into a smaller Zord.

"Whoa Flynn! That's amazing!" Scott was unable to keep his excitement down as the team cheered with excitement. While unmanned, it was fast and nimble, rushing the Attackbot and dodging its hammer. It spun and slammed into the Attackbot, before bombarding it with kick after kick. It then tossed the Attackbot to the ground, and leapt into the air, colliding with the Attackbot and making it spark dangerously.

"I'd say it's about time we finished the lad off," Flynn decided as the Road-Attack Zord changed back into a wheel. It landed in front of the team on a small ramp, ready for an attack.

"Fire!" they used their power to send the Zord into the Attackbot, destroying it completely.


"Ran-Flynn," Dr. K corrected herself, still learning to call the team by their real names. "I owe you an apology," she said as he turned to her, a little surprised. "I shouldn't have been as harsh on you as I was," Dr. K told him, feeling guilty for her mocking words. "You are...good...at what you do," she managed to say, blushing as he grinned proudly.

"Thanks, Doctor," he said, and she gave a short nod.

"Just, don't go into my configurations again without clearing it with me," she instructed, and Flynn laughed, nodding.

"Aye, sure thing," he agreed, and bounced off.

"I guess I was a little too harsh on you too," Dr. K looked around to see Teddie approach, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm sorry," she said, and Dr. K quickly shook her head.

"Not at all. It was your words that made me realise that I was being too hard on him. The Road-Attack Zord was...good work," she managed, making Teddie giggle. She quickly sobered, however, and tilted her head.

"How come you were so hard on him? He was only trying to help," she probed, and the younger woman looked away.

"He reminded me of someone. Back in Alphabet Soup," Teddie was quiet as Dr. K opened up a little about her past. "She was just as eager to show off what she could do, but a lot of the time it caused more harm than good, and she didn't care about it. They moved her somewhere else, about a year before…" she trailed off, and Teddie didn't need her to finish her sentence. Before she'd made Venjix. "I don't want anyone else to be like that, especially when we have no room for such errors," Dr. K steeled herself, and was surprised when Teddie smiled.

"I get you. But Flynn's definitely not like that," they looked up to where he was speaking hopefully with Gemma. Gem then peeked out the door of the bedroom he shared with his sister, looking less happy to see Flynn. The Blue Ranger deflated, as they spoke, before Gem and Gemma went into their room.

"So I see…" Dr. K arched an eyebrow, and Teddie giggled.

"Interesting," she commented, and Dr. K rolled her eyes before returning to her lab. She was opening up to the team, but that was far too much to deal with.


I hope you liked it!

Please review!