Onboard the ship, Algrin was being shown a new robot by Fwelf and Galvahex. The robot was short, with asymmetrical eyes, yellow armour only broken up by the silver faceplate and a padded body. "What exactly am I looking at?", the new leader of the Dominion asked.

"This is our new creation.", Fwelf answered him. "Thanks to the information we extracted from the mind of that man from the future, we were able to build a new, super-advanced scout unit. I call him 'Beta-Drone'."

"We intend for him to help us locate leftover salvage from the destruction of Orpheus.", Galvahex continued. "After all, there are only three of us now. We need to make sure the ship is kept up to date and we only have finite resources as it is now."

Algrin thought for a moment, then replied. "Very well then. I'll allow you to find whatever parts we need. Just leave me to my own devices." With that said, he departed the room, heading for his own hidden chamber.

Fwelf was confused, but quickly let it pass. He then turned to Beta-Drone. "Well, you know what to do. Get out there."

"Yes sir.", the robot obeyed. "Now proceeding with directive." It teleported down to the planet before continuing its process of thought. "Find… Halatia.", Beta-Drone declared as it set off with the mission it's robotic creator had imprinted within it.

Speaking of Halatia, Mary James had by now staggered out of the cave she had found herself in following her interrupted escape from Orpheus. "I need to get home.", she said before collapsing again on the rocks.

In the city, a military group was overseeing the last dispatch of civilians. Following the recent battle with Orpheus, the President had declared Winter Valley a disaster zone and ordered the residents evacuated to prevent loss of life. "You can't do this.", a middle-aged woman complained. "This city is our home. We belong here."

"That may be ma'am," replied their consultant on communicating with regular people, Lulu Goodman from the Flying Ranger team. Captain Rolfe had selected her for her youthful looks and appealing face. "But Winter Valley is no longer safe for you people to stay here. Until the crisis passes, we're sending you somewhere where you can't be caught in the crossfire. Please cooperate and we'll be sure to bring word when the peace returns." The woman seemed to take this speech to heart. As did the rest of the deportees, who kept quiet as their truck was driven away. After it was far into the distance, Lulu wiped the sweat off her brow. "Thank god, that's over. Now we don't have to worry about casualties the next time something like this happens."

"Except for anyone stupid enough to be a looter.", a soldier commented. He then pointed to a building. "Like the one in that museum there."

"What?", Lulu said, shocked. "Well come on then." The two went running into the museum, which Lulu recognised as the one where she had been turned into a bratty punk by a diamond monster. The diamond exhibit was now locked down, she noticed. Presumably for such a case as this where somebody did try to steal it again. When she and the soldier entered the room that had been indicated, she looked around and saw nothing. "Are you sure there's someone looting here? I don't see -."

She was the knocked out by the soldier, who had transformed his arm into a large hammer. "I'm surprised you took so long, little girl. Guess you're not as smart as I thought." He then transformed himself completely into a replica of Lulu, even down to the voice. "I guess this will make destroying your friends a lot easier.", the double said as she walked off.

Out in the badlands, Beta-Drone had located its target lying down in the dirt. "Orders dictate that I relocate the female to safety.", the robot declared. So it picked up the unconscious body that was Mary and began carrying her out of the canyon. However, it didn't get very far before collapsing under the weight. "Human female is beyond my capability to carry. Formulating alternative carrying method."

But before Beta-Drone could think of anything, it was attacked by a new variable. Namely, the by-now former Emperor Tann, now sporting a scratch on his gauntlet and scarring upon his face that was not in the robot's information banks. "What are you, you mechanical creature?", Tann asked. "It doesn't matter. If you're helping that human, then you are my enemy in combat." And so, the robot found itself being attacked by the former Emperor. However, it did manage to notice that the Emperor's gloved hand seemed to be causing him pain. But Beta-Drone could not act upon this, as he was thrown over the cliff by Tann, managing to pick up the statement of "As for you Princess, you won't survive unless someone helps you soon. So I'll just leave you here to rot."

At the bottom of the cliffside, Beta-Drone sent a signal to its creator. "Emergency! Sever damage has been inflicted to this unit. Please arrive to insist." And so the robot was left to wait, for the help of its creator, that might never come.

At the air base, technic Lefee was familiarising herself with the controls of the main console. Then, Pilot… no, Flying Officer, she mentally corrected herself… Goodman's sister entered the room, a blank expression on her face. "Can I help you with something. Miss Goodman?"

"Oh not much.", came the young girl's reply. "I'm just interested in knowing what this machine does."

Lefee shook her head at this. "I'm afraid I know about as much of this machine's workings as you. You'll have to ask Caldwell or Ratcliffe, Miss."

"Ok. And who would they be?"

Lefee was confused by this question. But before she could voice her suspicions, Dr. Burley came in. "Lulu, what are you doing here?", he asked. "I told you to meet me in the hotel base for your report."

Lulu stumbled for a response. "Well, there was something I wanted to check out in the city, and I needed the main console to do so."

But before the girl in front of them could finish her story, another Lulu walked in. "Look Wayne, I know I might have been slightly late, but that's no excuse to stand me…" she stopped when she saw her lookalike "…up."

Both Lefee and Wayne were confused by this. "Two Lulus? But which is "our" Lulu?", asked Wayne.

"Maybe we can identify her from information only the original would know.", Lefee suggested. She then went over to the communications array. "Rangers, father in the main control room in the air base. We have a situation."

Out in the badlands, Galvahex combed the scenery for the location of Beta-Drone and Halatia. But the weather had turned very cloudy at a fast pace, interfering with his sensors. "The last transmission from the Beta-Drone indicated the presence of Tann within the area. If he survived the destruction of Orpheus, he'd likely still be after Halatia to get revenge on her for her betrayal. What if he actually managed to do so?"

"He didn't." Galvahex looked down to see Beta-Drone, very weak and reaching out. His voice was starting to deepen from energy loss. "Energy levels low. Will soon be unable to function."

Galvahex exhaled air from his mouthpiece. "You're lucky I don't need my recharger at this point." He removed the recharger, a small, battery-like component, from his chest and bent down to Beta-Drone's level. He opened the other robot's chest compartment and replaced its burnt-out recharger with his own. "Now then, you said that Halatia was alive and well?"

"Yes.", Beta-Drone wheezed. Tann left her lying nearby, he said to ensure that she would not survive. She's not far."

Sure enough, Galvahex's scanners detected her presence at the top of the cliff. He used a short-range teleportation circuit to move the two to the top of the cliff. "She's still breathing.", Galvahex said, a slight hint of relief in his voice. Then the rain began to pour down. Galvahex picked her up and began carrying her away.

"Are we going to take her back to the ship, father?", Beta-Drone asked.

"No.", came the answer, as Galvahex pushed his creation back. "My teleporter isn't going to be able to function accurately in this weather. I need to take her to shelter. You stay here."

As it watched its "father" walk off, Beta-Drone ran a check and realised something. "But my teleporter works just fine."

Back at the air base, the 5 Rangers had gathered in the control room, along with the fake Lulu. "Well, this is gonna be a tricky one.", Steven said upon viewing the situation. "How do we find the real Lulu among the fake?"

"I think I have an idea.", Mark suggested. He then turned to the two of them. "Now the , tell me your best joke." He figured that the fake wouldn't know that most people considered Lulu's jokes terrible.

The one on the right was first to tell her joke. "Why are animals in space tastier than animals on Earth? Because they're MEAT-eor!"

The second one then told her own joke. "Why did the zombie go to the doctor? He had a COFFIN problem!"

Wayne folded his arms. "Well that accomplished nothing. Both of their jokes are equally terrible."

"I've got an idea.", Steven suggested. "Only the real Lulu will be able to do this." He pressed his bracelet and morphed. The two Lulus did the same, with the fake using her shape shifting to accomplish the effect of transforming. "Or our fake is very good at impersonating people."

Carrie stepped forward. "Man, this is getting me nostalgic. Remember that time you were brainwashed and you beat me down in your Ranger form, Lulu?"

"How could I forget?", the one who had told the meteor joke declared, only to receive a shot to the face from an AviAttacker. "What was that for?"

"The real Lulu never beat me down in Ranger form.", Carrie said in response. "I was owning her in that fight, before I tricked her into morphing to break the brainwashing."

The fake growled before transforming into a humanoid lizard with a hammerhead for a right hand and a claw for a left. "I should've guessed this would be too good to last. But at least now I can take my revenge against you."

Everyone was confused by this statement. "Do we know you?", Mark asked.

"Oh don't pretend you've forgotten me already.", the creature declared. "Before I was Replakor, I was blown up by you guys and had my bug put on ice before I could grow."

Everyone thought for a moment, before remembering. "So that's it.", Wayne said. "You're looking pretty well, considering you were a popsicle the last time I saw you."

"I managed to get free when that meteor freak wrecked your base.", Replakor explained. "Then I found a leftover hammer and assumed this new body. I found that you also had a supply of remains left over from my brothers and sisters that you destroyed. My new body can take on the appearance of anything it touches, which I used to pose as a soldier and bide my time until I was ready."

"So that's why you knocked me out.", Lulu realised. "But what did you want here?"

"I thought that if I was able to access your files to find a way to transmit my location, then I could lure the other Dominion members here to finish the job that the meteor guy started. But now, I'm gonna have to face you myself." With that said, Replakor transformed into an exact replica of Dogfight, the jet monster that was the first Mutasect Mark and Wayne had taken down. Only much smaller. "Let's see how my copied powers fare against you."

Replakor-as-Dogfight engaged the 5 in battle, with all of them getting hit, before moving back and hitting him just as hard. He then jumped up and crashed through the ceiling, flying away. "Oh no you don't.", Lulu declared. "I'm not letting you get away with knocking me out." She then leapt up into the air after him, gliding along the same route.

"We'd better follow them.", Mark suggested. The others nodded and followed him in morphing to go after them.

In a cave, Galvahex placed the unconscious body of Mary down on the ground. "It's okay now, you're out of the elements. You'll recover.", he said, expecting a response. But still, the woman did not stir, so Galvahex scanned her again. "You still need medical attention, even out of that environment. But I don't know enough about human physiology to help you." He calculated a response in a few seconds. "But perhaps, they will."

In a nearby field, Replakor was knocked to the ground (and his true form) by Lulu. "Alright, you overgrown Chamelion. Time to make you disappear." She ran forward, brandishing her Wing Saber.

But before she could land a hit, the Hybrasect transformed into a new form, that of her former teddy bear Mr. Fuzzy, or rather, the monster that Halatia had turned him into. "You wouldn't hurt me, would you Mama?" Lulu hesitated, now reluctant to strike her foe.

"I would.", Replakor looked up to see Mark shooting him with his Beak Blaster, knocking him back into his base form. "That's a pretty low move, pal. Exploiting my sister's feelings for that bear."

"How about we make this quick?", Steven suggested, jumping forward to hit the Hybrasect with his Sky Enforcer, successfully knocking it back.

"I like your idea, Yellow.", Replakor commented. He transformed into Stickroach and began running away at high speed. "Let's see you try to catch me now."

"We don't need to.", Carrie said. "Care to join me, Wayne?"

"I thought you'd never ask.", came the answer. The two pulled out their AviAttackers, and aimed them at the runaway Hybrasect. They then pointed upwards and fired, with the beams redirecting until they found their target and knocked him down.

Reverting to his base form, Replakor stood up. "I needed that shot. After all, your little deep freeze stunt drained my energy so I couldn't just grow giant when I found a body. But that just gave me the last jolt of energy I needed to recharge." With that said, he immediately enlarged into his giant state. "Now I can really drop the hammer."

"His jokes really are bad.", Mark said. "Let's just call the Falcon Corde and end this guy."

F-F-F-Falcon! Transfalcon!

The Falcon Megazord engaged the giant Replakor in combat. "Prepare for a smack down.", the Hybrasect declared as he locked arms with his enemy, only to be knocked backwards by scratches fro his enemy's claws. It then punched Replakor to the ground, at which point he decided to make himself invisible.

"Where'd he go?", Steven asked.

"I don't know.", Mark replied. "The scanner's having some difficulty."

Before they could get a lock, the Chameleon creature made his hammer arm appear and attack the Falcon's legs, knocking the robot down. It then proceeded to attack the enemy. Then Replakor made the mistake of leaping into the air to attack, while turning visible. Predictably, the Falcon was able to deliver a punch, knocking the Hybrasect back into the air, where it turned invisible once more.

"I've managed to find it now.", Mark noted. "Avion Maser!" The Falcon fired its chest beam at the opponent's location, making it visible once more. "Now, let's finish this. Scratch Break!"

The Falcon leapt into the air, using its usual attack to finish off the Hybrasect. "I'm exposed.", Replakor yelled as he was destroyed again, this time for good.

But before the Rangers could celebrate, Carrie noticed something. "We're receiving a message specifically on this thing's frequency."

"That's not normal.", Mark commented. "What does the message say?"

"'Come to the Badlands.'"

Sometime later, the 5 arrived in the Badlands. "So who the heck would call us out here instead of just coming to us?", Wayne asked.

It was at this that the 5 were knocked back by a blast. A blast that came from Galvahex's Gatling Laser. "That would be me.", the robot responded.

"Galvahex.", Steven declared. "What do you want?"

"Battle me.", was the answer. "Do you need a reason? I am your enemy. I took someone precious to Mark away and turned her into my masters' puppet. Will you face me?"

"You know we will.", Wayne responded. "I still owe you for my last few defeats."

And thus, a fight ensued. Wayne and Carrie jumped up into the air and shot at the robot. Steven and Lulu tried slashing at Galvahex, only to be deflected and knocked back. "You fools seem to be forgetting my purpose.", he said. "For every weapon you turn on me, I respond by improving myself."

"Maybe.", Lulu commented. "But I don't think we've used this one yet." She pulled out her AviAttacker and shot at the robot, knocking him back.

Mark then ran forward to engage the robot in hand to hand combat. As they clashed, Galvahex whispered. "Look in the cave." Mark was confused by this, which allowed Galvahex to throw him down, "fortunately" in the direction of the cave.

"Time to pull out the big guns.", Wayne said. "Rover Launcher!"

Cannon Mode!

The weapon flew down into the arms of the 4, who pointed it at the weakened robot. "Time we finished you once and for all.", Wayne declared.

But as this happened, Beta-Drone managed to pull itself out of the canyon in time to see the situation. "Father is in trouble.", it declared. "I must save him." Beta-Drone fired its beam at the Rangers, causing them to be distracted while aiming, but not actually deter them from firing.

Cubic Firebird Impact!

The blast sent Galvahex reeling, while causing Beta-Drone to fall down once more, this time being crushed by rocks. "Help me.", the robot declared as its systems shut down from the extensive damage. With a last declaration of "Fahter!", the Beta-Drone exploded.

But Galvahex neither noticed nor cared for this. "We'll finish this next time, Rangers.", he declared before teleporting out. "Especially with you, Wayne."

"Well, That wasn't a hard fight.", Steven commented. "Hey, where's Mark?"

As he asked this, the man himself exited the cave, now unmorphed and carrying the body of a woman. Nobody recognised her at a glance, but Wayne figured it out from the panicked look on his friend's face. "It's that…?"

"Help me!", Mark cried out, with desperation in his voice. "She's hurt."

The others immediately came closer, trying to see if they could help in any way.

Back on the ship, Galvahex was greeted by a smiling Fwelf. "Did I miss something funny again?", he asked.

"Not really.", came Fwelf's response. "Just the fact that I've discovered your little secret."

"What are you talking about?", asked the confused Galvahex. Then he realised. "You had my mind bugged, didn't you?"

"Exactly. And it was through that I discovered that you fell in love with the human Mary James. So much that you were willing to let the Rangers take her back and sabotage our own robot in its mission." Fwelf pulled out a file, labelled "Galvahex memory copy". "Wait 'til Algrin gets his hands on this."

Galvahex shot the file with his arm cannon, shattering it. "And don't even think of hacking my memories again. "I've already found and eliminated that bug you planted."

Fwelf tutted. "Touché, mr. Galvahex. But one day, I will reveal your duplicity. But only when it suits me." With that said, he walked off, leaving his robotic ally fuming.