Slowly but surely making my way through this story. Just 10 more chapters to write!
I hope you like it!
Chapter 29: The Dome Dolls
"Alright, show me what she's got," Flynn sounded reluctant as Spencer lifted the hood of his jeep. Unfortunately for the Scotsman, their last battle had gotten too close to his jeep, leaving it in bad shape. Dillon climbed inside, starting the engine as the two mechanics peered inside. As soon as he revved it, oil exploded out and splattered the pair, leaving Summer to giggle from the sidelines.
"Alright, shut it off!" Flynn stumbled backwards from the force, spitting out the oil as Spencer groaned.
"Why do I help you?" Spencer sighed as some dripped through his hair. Summer passed them a few rags, still laughing as Dillon grinned.
"I've seen less holes in a screen door," Flynn complained as he pulled the oil-covered goggles he'd wisely worn up.
"Oh come on! You just need to re-gasket the entire engine, change the filters, and probably switch out a fuel pump," Summer listed in an encouraging voice.
"I'll get the tools," Spencer sighed. "And how about you two members of the audience leave us be?" he asked, looking from Summer to Dillon, as the Black Ranger climbed out.
"We're just trying to help," Dillon said innocently.
"You're spending too much time with Teddie," Spencer rolled his eyes, wiping the dripping oil from his hair as he approached the tools.
"Well that's rude," Teddie muttered, having been headed to the lab with her hammer in hand.
"True though," Nora pointed out as she walked with her, pausing as she watched Ziggy trying to teach Dr. K about cooking.
"Well that's just a disaster waiting to happen," Teddie determined.
"No kidding," Nora snorted, following her into the lab for training.
Siren let out a yawn as Tenaya worked rapidly, and earned a glare from the other Attackbot as she waited.
"What? I'm bored. You've been muttering to yourself for hours. What's this amazing idea you even have?" Siren pushed off the wall and approached.
"The Generation 3 ChemicalBot. It's armed with toxins that can knock out everyone in Corinth City," Tenaya smirked with pride as her new design was lifted from the pit.
"Knock them out you say? Okay," she draped herself over Tenaya's shoulders. "That does sound rather fun," she purred.
"Get off," Tenaya shoved her away, glowering. "That mask gives me the creeps," she added, and Siren ran her fingers lightly over the blank white mask she wore. She then pouted.
"So cruel," she complained, and Tenaya rolled her eyes. They looked around as both Shifter and Crunch suddenly let out scared noises.
"I-it's K-K-Kilobyte!" Crunch yelped. The two turned, and found a massive Attackbot approaching slowly, chucking low. His chassis was almost completely black, with a black cape hanging from his shoulders. Silver pipes ran from the top of his head, almost like a quiff, and glowing red eyes burned eerily.
"Indeed, it is," he ran both hands across the pipes as he spoke with a smooth, deep voice. Tenaya scowled, as Siren's mouth twisted, not liking the looks of the stranger.
"Kilobyte. My most feared general," Venjix commented, earning their attention. "I thought I'd lost you," he mused.
"I thought I'd lost myself a few times, Commander, particularly after that nasty factory fire. 4,319.2 miles I've walked," he twisted his head suddenly. "Well, no wonder I've had such a headache," Kilobyte complained as he pulled his head off and let sand and dust pour out.
"Whoa…" Shifter and Crunch kept back, alarmed.
"Sweetheart, would you mind cleaning up this mess?" Kilobyte requested, gesturing to Tenaya.
"Uh oh…" Siren hummed, immediately moving away from Tenaya as her face twisted into a scowl.
"'Sweetheart'?!" she repeated, storming over to him. "I am Tenaya, Generation 7, Venjix Human Infiltration Attackbot," she growled at him. Kilobyte leaned in close, using a cold metal finger to tilt her head up.
"Just 7?" he sounded amused as Tenaya snarled and yanked back. "Well, even that should be enough to know how to use a broom," he laughed. When she lashed out to punch him, Siren grabbed her wrist.
"Let go of me!" she shouted as Siren pulled her away from Kilobyte.
"As entertaining as it would be to let you get yourself reduced to scrap, you've something more important to do," Siren reminded her, earning another glare.
"Tanaya 7, take your ChemicalBot and attack the city as planned," Venjix ordered. Tenaya didn't speak, before yanking her arm free.
"Hmph," with a half-hearted flick of her hand, Tenaya gestured for the Attackbot to follow her, and stormed out.
"Hmm...a robot with attitude. How charming," Kilobyte murmured, chuckling to himself. Siren watched him silently, chewing on her lip.
Alerted to the force of Venjix troops that had broken into the city, the Rangers headed out to stop them. They arrived just in time to hear Tenaya shout, and blast a Grinder.
"Well, I guess that's one less for us to beat up," Teddie shrugged as the team stood together, already Morphed.
"Perfectly predictable," Tenaya sneered as she turned to them, visor already down. "Attack!" she ordered. The Grinders ran past her, rushing at the Rangers.
"Someone's especially cranky today," Teddie mused as she kicked a Grinder back, letting it fall into another. Dodging a blow from the next, she took out each with little effort, too used to their predictable fighting patterns.
'Rangers, as expected I'm picking up another Venjix Attackbot across the city. Break off,' Dr. K ordered. 'Transmitting coordinates,' she added.
"Spencer, Annie, you stay here with Arianna. We're gonna go after the other guy," Scott shouted across as he twisted the arm of a Grinder and disarmed it.
"You got it!" Spencer nodded, kicking one away.
"We can take these losers," Annie called as she knocked another aside. Arianna glanced over and nodded, returning her attention to Tenaya.
"Alright guys, let's split," Scott turned to the rest of the team as they regrouped.
"I'll show Kilobyte who's sweet," Tenaya hissed under her breath, and with a yell she flipped, kicking Arianna in the chest. The Mercury Ranger cried out, staggering backwards before falling.
"'Anna, you okay?" Annie and Spencer helped her back up as Tenaya straightened, standing with the Grinders as more seemed to appear.
"She really is cranky today," Arianna muttered.
"Hey! You lost?" Scott called as the Rangers reached the location Dr. K had given, and found a bot that seemed to be made of giant bendy straws wandering. The noise it made was almost like a slurping noise as it turned and lashed out at the team. Scott, Flynn and Summer grabbed it, holding it place as the other three landed kicks at the same time, knocking it back.
"Nice," Summer laughed as she high-fived Teddie.
"You'll stay down if you know what's good for you," Scott warned the Attackbot, and Teddie snorted.
"Look at it. It definitely doesn't know," she commented as it started to push itself back up.
"Nitro Blaster! Engine Cell, Activate!" Flynn shouted as they called on their blasters and fired. The six coloured attacks hit it in the chest, causing it's armour to crack. It staggered, but stayed on its feet as one of the bottles it carried fell to the ground. It grabbed another filled with purple liquid, and stuck a straw into it. Immediately the liquid drained, and purple smoke flowed from its pipes, allowing it to vanish before the Rangers could strike again.
"Hey, that's my trick," Teddie complained as she looked around.
"He got away…" Summer frowned when they found no sign of the Attackbot.
"Not completely unscathed," Teddie commented, lifting the bottle of red liquid.
"What did he drop?" Scott wondered as the others walked over. Teddie studied the bottle curiously, before handing it over to Scott.
"No idea, but my guess that it's nothing good," she sighed.
Tenaya let out a frustrated yell as she was forced to leap back to avoid attacks from the three Rangers who fought her and the Grinders.
"Jet Fists!" the metal covers over Arianna's gloves spat fire to accelerate the punch, slamming it into Tenaya's chest. She let out a shriek and crashed into the side of a nearby car, before pushing herself up and flipping over it to avoid Annie's hit. She landed beside the rest of the Grinders, raising her hand as it began to glow with energy.
"Claw Hatchet, on!" Annie and Spencer called on their weapons.
"Flash Mode!" Spencer swung his in an arc in front of him, allowing a jet of fire to stream out. Tenaya barely dodged, rolling along the ground as some of the Grinders were destroyed instantly.
"Ice Mode!" Annie's own weapon fired a jet of ice that froze the rest, leaving them open to attacks from the three that shattered the Grinders. They looked around for Tenaya, but she was already gone, making them frown.
"Guess she wasn't too pissed to stick around," Annie muttered, resting her hands on her hips.
"Bravo, bravo, Tenaya 7," Kilobyte turned and gave a mocking clap as Tenaya returned to Venjix' palace. "You managed to accomplish absolutely nothing," he drawled.
"And the Rangers got some of that chemical mixture you 's not good," Siren giggled. Tenaya glared at her, wondering whose side the sadist Attackbot was on.
"It's not over yet," she snarled at the pair, walking around Kilobyte as he laughed, watching her leave.
Dr. K worked quickly to analyse the liquid the Rangers had brought back from their fight, with Nora assisting in whatever way she could. Spencer sat nearby, trying to locate the Attackbot so Dr. K could focus entirely on what she was doing.
"Any luck?" Arianna asked as she approached the Gold Ranger, who ran a hand through his hair. Ziggy peeked over, watching curiously.
"From what I can tell, the fog that it used to escape also served to block its signals from us. It might still be in the city, it might have run off with Tenaya, it's hard to tell," he complained, and Arianna patted his arm in a reassuring manner.
"You'll find it," she encouraged, and he gave a small, wry laugh.
"Yeah, when it attacks again," he muttered, and winced as she tugged at his ear. "Ow, sorry," he apologised, laughing quietly again.
"No point in thinking negatively," she reminded him. Spencer nodded, rubbing his ear and smiling a little in amusement. "Be more like Teddie," Arianna told him, hearing Teddie's giggles nearby. Immediately Spencer sighed, leaning back in his seat and looking over to his sister.
"She's supposed to be sparring," he complained as he watched her facing Heckyl. "Suggesting he spar with her wasn't your best idea," Spencer shook his head, going back to the search.
"He's one person that Teddie's never beaten," Arianna reminded him, and he huffed, not responding. She smiled, finding it funny that he'd warmed to Heckyl, but not quite to the idea of Teddie being in love with him. "It'll change things up for her. We should all be changing up our sparring partners, or we'll become as repetitive as the Grinders," she pointed out. Spencer sighed, looking up at her with a tired smile.
"Do you ever get tired of being right?" he asked, making her giggle and blush.
"Not so far," she smiled, leaving him to it. As she left, Spencer chuckled to himself before pushing his glasses up to rub his eyes, suddenly sleepy.
"Really, I know you Rangers are supposed to be stubborn but really," Heckyl's eyes gleamed as he watched Teddie struggle in his grasp. "You can admit defeat here," he pointed out, not letting her break free.
"Admitting defeat here is a...slippery slope to admitting defeat out there," the White Ranger replied, squirming as he held her by the wrists, keeping them over her head.
"Very poetic, but…" Heckyl paused as he yawned widely. "Not very striking when I have you at my mercy," he said, and yawned again.
"Am I boring you?" Teddie arched an eyebrow up at him. She tried to wriggle free again, but even as he yawned his grip didn't lessen.
"A little," he smiled back at her, and Teddie blushed. She started to struggle more, not seeing as his eyelids grew heavier.
"We have a problem!" Annie called as she, Arianna, Summer and Gemma ran in.
"The guys have all collapsed," Gemma said, and Ziggy curiously rushed over to the doors and found the rest of the team fast asleep on the ground around the pool table, having been watching Summer make an impossible shot.
"They're fast asleep!" Summer told Dr. K, who frowned, confused.
'Dr. K,' Vasquez came through on the communication line. 'Every man in the city is asleep, even the Colonel,' she moved to show the Colonel fast asleep at his desk. 'Who's gonna watch the shields? What are we gonna do?' Vasquez asked, panicked.
"Calm down Vasquez," Summer tried to soothe her.
"Then why aren't we asleep?" Ziggy asked, still in the doorway.
"The air filtered in here…" Spencer yawned. "It's…" he slumped, falling off his chair as he started to snore. A moment later, Teddie shrieked, followed by a thud, and the others looked around to see her struggling to push Heckyl off her on the ground as he slept just as deeply. Ziggy then dropped as well, and his own snores started up as Nora shook her head with a sigh.
"Why aren't we affected?" Arianna asked as she helped Teddie up.
"As I suspected, it's chromosomal," Dr. K explained as she finished decrypting the chemical compounds in the liquid. "That toxin you brought back is chemically linked to the XX chromosomes," she looked up at the girls as they gathered around.
"The Chromosome linked to females," Gemma nodded in understanding.
"That means that the XY toxin must have been released into the atmosphere," Dr. K deduced.
"Knocking out all the men," Summer figured out.
"Spencer said that the ChemicalBot had hidden its signal from us. It must have gone to where they filter the air through the city," Arianna realised.
'I don't know what to do,' Vasquez spoke up, voice quivering.
"Hey, snap out of it Vasquez. We're far from helpless," Summer scolded her.
"Just completely outnumbered!" Gemma smiled brightly, earning several exasperated looks.
"We've always been outnumbered," Teddie cracked her neck. "Keep it together Vasquez. We'll come up with something," she said confidently. The woman nodded slowly, but didn't look any less scared.
"Do you think she's going to keep it together?" Gemma whispered as they watched her try and wake the Colonel.
"Zero probability," Dr. K sighed.
"I'll call Z and Syd. They can keep an eye on the base," Annie had her phone out and was dialling Syd's number.
"Good. I'll handle Vasquez. Gemma, keep working on the modifications you and Flynn had started on the Road Attack Zord," Summer instructed. Gemma nodded and hurried out to get working. "Ted, you and Arianna start a search around the city. The Attackbot might be able to hide from our searches here, but not out there," the Yellow Ranger told the other two Rangers.
"I'll start working on an antidote," Dr. K decided. "Nora, I'll need help," she said to the fire witch, who looked a little surprised, but nodded.
"Let's get to work," Teddie clapped her hands together with a smile.
"Yes!" Tenaya smirked, and with a laugh, turned to Kilobyte. "Read it and weep, chump. All the men inside Corinth are out cold, thanks to me," she bragged.
"Not the women as well?" Kilobyte barely reacted past that, looking at the image on screen of the city as men everywhere collapsed from breathing in the chemicals that the Attackbot had pumped into the air filters. He then gave a small shrug. "I suppose they are useless anyway," he drawled, making Tenaya's brow twitch.
"Oh I get it. You think because I look like a human girl, I can't bring it?" she challenged, letting herself get riled up. Siren, watching from the side, just shook her head.
"As easy to bait as a fish," she murmured.
"Not at all," Kilobyte looked down at her, before stepping away. "I think because you are programmed like a human girl, you cannot 'bring it', as you say," he turned his back on her as bored. Tenaya snarled and lashed out, but Kilobyte reacted much faster than her. Grabbing her by the arm, he hauled her into the air. "Nobody likes a cheap shot!" he warned as he held her high in the air.
"Okay, okay, things are getting a little too heated in here for my tastes," Siren pushed off the wall and approached.
"Oh? Do you wish to challenge me too?" Kilobyte's red eyes glowed brightly.
"I'm not that dumb," Siren gave a cheery laugh as Tenaya struggled in his grasp.
"Kilobyte, release her," Venjix ordered, finally speaking up.
"As you wish," Kilobyte sighed, sounding almost tired, and tossed Tenaya. She hit the ground hard, rolling along and glaring up at the General. He then cleared his throat. "Do be careful out there," he warned, almost taunting.
"Come on," Siren hauled Tenaya back to her feet.
"Get off me!" Tenaya snapped, and Siren gave another sigh as she followed the furious Attackbot away.
"You really do have some circuits missing, don't you?" Siren commented, earning another glare. "General Kilobyte is not to be messed with. He's Master Venjix' top general for a reason. He's dangerous and rising to his taunts will only see you turned into scrap," she pointed out, and Tenaya whirled around.
"What, are you concerned about me now?" she sneered. Siren scoffed.
"Please. Like that sort of emotion was programmed into me. You're the infiltration Attackbot, I'm your followup. And I'd rather not follow up getting destroyed by someone wielding a lot more power, not to mention Venjix' respect," Siren shook her head and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Just a friendly warning. Be careful out there," she warned, walking away. Tenaya glared after her, before storming off.
"Over here," Vasquez groaned as she and Summer hauled the unconscious Hicks over to the wall beside the others.
"Can't say that this is familiar," Z commented as Annie and Syd checked on Bridge and Sky, who were now propped against each other. "I didn't think Sky was capable of sleeping," she smirked, and Syd rolled her eyes at her.
"You're not funny," she said, and glowered at Teddie when she heard the White Ranger giggle.
"Well at least nobody got hurt when they collapsed," Teddie grinned as she straightened up from leaning Kayden against the wall. She then walked back over to where Z was checking the city for any issues.
"So what's the plan?" Syd asked she and Annie joined them as well.
"Doc K and Nora are working on an antidote. Arianna's searching the city for the Attackbot and I'm going to join her soon," Teddie listed, using one of the free screens to search through the cameras in the city. "And I don't think Venjix is just going to wait around for us to get the guys back to action," she murmured, twisting the ring on her finger idly.
"Sounds about right," Z agreed. "We'll keep monitoring from here and help Vasquez," she gave the nervous young woman a sideways look, showing as much confidence in her as Dr. K had.
"It'll be fine," Teddie said confidently as she changed to another camera, and Z glanced to Annie, smiling a little. Annie grinned back at her, giving a small shrug.
"Oh wow!" Teddie jumped when Syd suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand up. "Spence told us, but wow, it's so pretty!" she admired the ring Teddie had been playing with. The younger woman blushed, avoiding her eyes as she tried to look back at the camera footage.
"And hey, unlike her dad, he thought to talk to her best friend before asking," Annie smirked, and Teddie rolled her eyes at her.
"Don't start sounding like your mum now," she warned. "Besides, he said that it's their tradition to tell the oldest family member their intentions, and then have their closest friend help with picking out something appropriate," Teddie shrugged, still a little embarrassed.
"Aren't your grandparents in the Magical Realm?" Syd asked, a little confused, and Teddie's embarrassment lessened as she couldn't help but laugh.
"They are. Lucky for Heckyl that they're not my oldest family members," she said.
"I always forget Ivan's your many-great grandfather," Annie admitted, folding her arms.
"He looks younger than me!" Syd complained. "He needs to tell me his secret," she muttered to herself.
"Be bonded to an Energem for 600 years," Teddie shrugged casually. "After having two kids," she added.
"What is it about Rangers getting married so young?" Z wondered.
"I'm technically 24, you know," Teddie grumbled.
"Biologically you're 22, thanks to those two years you were bonded to an Energem," Annie supplied helpfully. When Teddie turned to her, she continued. "Hey, my mum was like, 23 when she got married. And so was your mum," she chuckled.
"Still young," Z muttered.
"Rangers aren't exactly normal. Especially when they fall in love with another Ranger. Or uh...someone connected to that life," Syd cleared her throat, seeing Teddie's blush grow. Syd finally released her hold on her, patting her shoulder with a smile. "It puts things in perspective," she glanced to Sky, her smile softening.
"Perspective huh? I still think you hit your head," Z teased, and Syd gave an exasperated sigh.
"They used to be a lot worse," Annie told Teddie, who giggled.
"I'm gonna head back out there. I'll probably cover more ground than these cameras," she decided, stepping away. Summer made to follow, and Vasquez gave a squeak.
"You're not going to leave me here are you?" she rushed after Summer, who frowned at her.
"What's it called when a chick sees the first thing after it hatches?" Syd wondered quietly.
"Imprinting," Annie snorted.
"We have to protect the city. You're in charge of the biosphere now," Summer told her firmly, seeing Vasquez pale.
"M-me? But I don't want to be in charge," she shook her head quickly and looked to the three former SPD cadets.
"Sorry, I've got stuff to do with the Rangers," Annie shrugged. Z and Syd exchanged looks.
"And we've to make sure the rest of the city doesn't fall apart," Syd explained. As Vasquez grew more panicked, Teddie sighed.
"Look, we're five Rangers down. We all have our duties, and we need you to do this. The city needs you," she told the young woman, and smiled confidently at her. "You can do this," she said, and Vasquez visibly relaxed.
"Okay," she agreed.
"As charismatic as her brother," Z whispered to Annie and Syd. Both nodded.
"What's the plan?" Vasquez asked, already looking more confident. Summer glanced to her team-mates, and down at the console nearby.
"Teddie, you join Arianna searching the city," she told the White Ranger. Teddie nodded, and as she headed out, Summer moved towards the consoles. "What exactly can this stuff do?" she asked.
"Here," when the readings on her tablet popped up, Nora handed it over to Dr. K. To her relief, 'helping' the genius mainly consisted of doing the menial checks to allow Dr. K more time to work on the base for the antidote. Dr. K took it without looking up, comparing it to her notes, and Nora sighed, looking over to where she and Gemma had dragged the sleeping members of the team in. Most were slumped against each other, while Ziggy, Spencer and Heckyl were still lying where they'd fallen.
"Modifications to Road Attack Zord complete," Gemma announced as she ran in, holding the small but powerful device in her hand. "But right now it can only be energised using Scott's Engine Cell," she explained. Nora arched an eyebrow, finding the idea very familiar.
"Right," Dr. K nodded. "Antidote version one," she then got up and walked over to where the antidotes had been bubbling. "Computer simulation calculates a 52% probability of success," filling a tube, she connected it to a spray bottle. "Now, who should we test it on?" she questioned. Nora cleared her throat, and the two looked up at her. She gestured over her shoulder with a smirk, and the pair exchanged glances. Gemma grinned, and they all approached Ziggy as he snored. "Here goes…" Dr. K sprayed it in his face, and the Green Ranger snorted. His eyes flew open, and he blinked rapidly at them.
"Uh, Ziggy?" Nora tried slowly as his dark eyes settled on her. A goofy smile spread across his face.
"I was dreaming…" she jumped as his hand suddenly covered one of hers. "We were on a date," Nora was sure that her face had suddenly erupted into flames at his words. Very aware that both Dr. K and Gemma were staring at her now, she yanked her hand free.
"That sounds like a nightmare," she muttered as his head slumped to the side and his snores returned even louder than before. "I think that can be deemed a failure," Nora said flatly as Gemma giggled.
"No luck?" Summer asked as she and Annie returned, hearing Nora's words.
"Luck is an abstract concept that ignores skill," Dr. K told her. Annie glanced at Gemma and Nora with a raised eyebrow, and they shrugged. "But since you asked...no," she continued as they got to their feet. Summer sighed, before the alarm suddenly blared.
"As expected," Nora rolled her eyes.
"The guards at the Eastern Quadrants must be asleep," Dr. K realised as she returned to her computer. "The shields have been breached," she warned.
"Sounds about right," Annie sighed. "Let's go," Summer nodded, and the pair headed out.
"I'm coming too," Nora volunteered, hurrying after them.
"No, you need to stay here. If anything happens to us, you need to keep the others safe until the antidote is made," Summer denied, and Nora frowned.
"Ominous, but she's right. You're a better asset here," Annie agreed as Nora went to argue. "There's four of us, and with the Doc and Gemma working together, they'll get that antidote working. We'll be okay," the Silver Ranger soothed.
"Fine," Nora huffed, folding her arms.
"Thanks, Nora," Summer smiled at her, and Nora shrugged wordlessly. She then moved to her bike, and paused as Dillon's car caught her attention. "Hey, it's an emergency, right?" she glanced to Annie, who smirked.
"I like the way you think," the Silver Ranger laughed, and they ran over to the beat up black car. Nora put a hand to her face.
"She's so lucky Dillon's into her," she muttered, watching as they tore out of the garage. Shaking her head, she then returned to the lab, hoping things would get better soon.
"Let's show 'em who's boss," Tenaya stormed through the city with the Chemical Bot, as well as a much larger collection of Grinders than usual. Not reduced to keeping their forces small enough to get into the city, Tenaya had taken the liberty of taking as many Grinders as she could.
"You really don't think that's you, do you?" she stopped at Teddie's voice, looking around for the Ranger. "I mean, you're a robot, you can't even think for yourself. Venjix does that for you," she taunted, and Tenaya finally spotted her sitting on a lamppost. Her legs swung in the air, and she smiled sweetly. Tenaya let out a shriek and fired a blast, but Teddie swung backwards off the lamppost and flipped through the air, throwing an energy ball that clipped the Chemical Bot and made it stumble backwards as she landed easily. "Wow, you're even easier to annoy than usual!" Teddie laughed.
"Siren back there, this brat here. I can never get any peace!" Tenaya snarled, but as she fired another shot at Teddie, Arianna ran in and blocked it with a shield of mercury.
"Maybe you should stop goading her. She's been moody all day," Arianna warned nervously. Teddie shrugged, not worried. The sound of a loud engine reached the pair, and both frowned. "Isn't that…" they looked around to see Dillon's car screech to stop nearby, and Summer and Annie climbed out.
"Well that's not going to go down well," Teddie couldn't help but laugh as she and Arianna ran over to them.
"You ready?" Summer asked the three.
"Always," Annie slammed her fist into her open palm.
"Do we have a plan?" Arianna asked, eyeing the large group of Grinders. Summer smiled, and flipped open her Morpher.
"Vasquez?" she called. "Are you ready?" she asked the woman.
'Not quite,' the response wasn't what Summer had hoped for, and her confidence faded a little. She met Annie's eye, and returned her Morpher to her side.
"Just follow my lead," she told them, which made Tenaya smirk.
"You can't possibly win. You're completely outnumbered," she pointed out.
"We're always outnumbered," Annie shrugged, but her smirk was almost feral as she eyed Tenaya. "Doesn't always mean we're outmatched," she pointed out.
"Let's make history. Charge!" Tenaya ordered the Grinders forward. The four Rangers leapt into action, splitting up and fighting off the footsoldiers. Even with predictable attacks, their large numbers made it harder to dodge, and the four were soon knocked off their feet by Tenaya.
"Hmph. Pesky little Princesses," Tenaya mocked.
"Princess, huh?" Annie repeated as she got to her feet. "Not normally a word used to describe me," she said as she cracked her knuckles.
"Ready?" Summer called as the four activated their Morphers.
"Ready!"
"RPM, GET IN GEAR!" they Morphed, and immediately began cutting through the Grinders with more ease.
"Energy Burst!" Summer fired a blast that caused the Grinders around it to explode. As more surrounded Teddie, the lights on her helmet flashed, and she threw out her arms. Energy exploded from her, shattering the Grinders near her. "What are your energy readings?" Summer called to the team.
"70% and falling fast!" Annie shouted back, using her Claw Hatchet to slice through another robot.
"Mine isn't much better," Arianna admitted as she jumped back.
"Same," Teddie could feel her powers fading quickly. Despite their earlier words, taking on so many Grinders at once was draining them, and they hadn't even faced Tenaya or the ChemicalBot. "We need to hope Dr. K is able to make an antidote soon," she punched a Grinder out of Summer's way.
"I have a plan. We just need to keep going," the Yellow Ranger insisted, before the ChemicalBot rammed into her. Arianna caught Summer before she could fall, and the four faced off against the Attackbot, who continued to make slurping noises.
"I really hate this guy," Teddie complained.
"You and me both!" Annie shouted as she grabbed one of the straws as it latched onto Summer.
"Get off me!" Summer shouted, shoving it backwards, but it lashed out, hitting all four and tossed them to the ground. "My suit's at 52%," she groaned from the ground.
"I'm at 48!" Annie struggled to try and get back to her feet.
"I'm not much better," Arianna spoke up as Summer grabbed her Morpher.
"Vasquez!" her plea was loud as she called for the woman in the tower above.
'I'm ready!' to Summer's relief, Vasquez gave a confident reply.
"Initiate Operation City Storm," Summer instructed.
'Roger that,' Vasquez confirmed.
"Operation what?" Arianna blinked rapidly, before the winds started to pick up around them. They grew stronger, buffeting everyone. Thunder boomed as lightning struck, hitting the Grinders. They were flung to the ground, circuits fried, as thunder continued to boom.
"Now this is my kinda weather," Annie raised a hand to the sky. "Sky of Wonder," lightning slammed down into her hand, and she smirked under her helmet as she felt her energy levels return. "Power of Thunder!" she then waved her hand, and a shockwave of energy arched out in front of her as thunder boomed again. It slammed into the ChemicalBot and Tenaya, knocking them away and destroying the last of the Grinders. "Good to know it works with fake weather," Annie considered as the wind grew stronger, howling.
"Grab onto something!" Summer shouted as they struggled to stay standing.
"Hold onto these!" Teddie summoned vines from beneath the ground, using them to wrap around her wrists and ankles as the others held onto the ones she conjured for them. Stumbling, Tenaya looked up, and spotted the tower hanging from the top of the dome. She aimed up with the blaster attached to her hand, and fired. The energy collided with the tower, and exploded. A moment later, the winds started to lessen.
'We have a problem!' Syd came through on the communication line. 'That hit took the climate control offline. Vasquez is trying to get it back up, but it's not going to be any time soon,' she warned. The winds died out completely, and the four fell, with Summer, Arianna and Teddie demorphing. Nearby, the ChemicalBot hit the ground, and got back up quickly, running off.
"My suit's out of power," Summer groaned.
"Same here," Teddie rolled onto her back, aching all over.
"Me too," Arianna tried to get back to her feet, but her legs gave out from under her and she fell back down.
"Dammit," Annie hissed, glaring at Tenaya.
"I have the antidote!" Dr. K's words made Nora whirl around. She got up quickly, rushing over to where it was bubbling, and poured it into the bottle again. She grabbed a second one, and passed it to Nora before the two started to spray the sleeping men.
"What happened?" Scott groaned, voice thick with sleep.
"You were infected with a gender-specific airborne toxin that increased your levels of serotonin, rendering you useless," Dr. K told them.
"Knockout gas," Nora called as she sprayed Ziggy and moved onto Spencer.
"There's no time to explain," Dr. K returned to her desk and lifted the small wheel. "Gemma calibrated you for the Road Attack Zord. You shouldn't have any more problems," she told Scott as she handed it over to him. He blinked rapidly, still disorientated. "Now get out there, the rest of your team need you. I'll downmorph the coordinates in transit," she told them.
"R...right," still confused, Scott hurried out with Flynn and Dillon.
"Uh…" Ziggy was slow to get to his feet, looking at Nora. To her frustration, her face warmed as she thought about his delirious comment.
"Go!" she growled, turning away from him. Now confused by her behaviour as well, Ziggy followed his team out with Spencer, who was yawning as he fixed his glasses.
"Knockout gas?" Heckyl repeated as he approached Nora. She sighed, suddenly exhausted.
"How sweet," Tenaya sneered as she stood over the four Rangers. Annie was on one knee, as her boosted energy faded quickly. "Your last memory will be of me," she mocked, aiming her blaster at them. Before she could fire, she was suddenly hit from the side, and was tossed away with a scream. She looked up, seeing Kilobyte laughing before he disappeared.
"What happened?" Teddie wondered, looking around for an attacker as Tenaya snarled.
"That backstabbing little-"
"Summer! Teddie!"
"Arianna, Annie!" the four looked up with relief to see the rest of their team running towards them already Morphed.
"Easy now," Flynn soothed as they helped the fallen Rangers to their feet.
"Now you realise where you went wrong, right?" Spencer turned to Tenaya as she scowled at them. "We're not the ones in charge here. They are," he grinned, gesturing to the beaten girls.
"Damn right," Annie laughed, leaning on his shoulder.
"Now who's outnumbered?" Summer taunted. With a growl, Tenaya ran off.
"Where's Scott?" Arianna asked, noticing they were still missing a member of the team.
"He's across town with the Road Attack Zord, chasing that Bot," Dillon explained.
"Let's go," Summer told them, leading the way.
By the time they reached Scott, he had made quick work of the ChemicalBot. With one powerful strike from the Road Attack Zord, he finished it off.
"Nice!" Summer cheered as he patted the wheel happily.
"Don't relax just yet," Teddie called, pointing up as the Attackbot returned, growing and towering over them.
"My energy's low…" Scott said as the Road Attack Zord shrank.
"Don't worry about it. We got this, right?" Spencer clapped a hand to his shoulder.
"Yeah! We'll take care of this gas face," Ziggy laughed. Scott and Arianna watched as the rest of the team called on their Zords. Coming at the Attackbot from different directions, they each bombarded the ChemicalBot with attacks.
"Let's get this done! I'm ready for sleep," Teddie complained.
"I'm pretty refreshed," Spencer supplied.
"Oh shut up," Annie rolled her eyes as she angled her Zord away to avoid a retaliating attack. They then formed the Zenith and Mach Megazords, finishing it off with one final strike.
"Awesome!"
"Yeah! Way to go guys!" Arianna and Scott cheered from below.
Dillon paced around his car, staring at it with wide eyes.
"My hood," he said for the fifth time as he assessed the damage done. Annie was leaning against the wall with her arms folded, grinning unapologetically. "Where's my hood?" he asked, stopping in front of his car and staring at his exposed engine.
"We found it," Summer announced as she and Arianna carried a twisted piece of black metal in. They dropped it in front of Dillon with a loud thud that woke Teddie, who had dozed off again.
"I keep telling you not to fall asleep there," Heckyl looked down at her, and she stuck out her tongue. Dillon stared at the wreckage of his hood as Scott, Flynn and Nora giggled. Ziggy whistled as he stood beside Summer.
"Ouch…" he looked up at Dillon, who was now burning holes into Summer with his gaze.
"Wow! That must have been one really really cool fight!" Gem laughed as he approached with his sister.
"That's one way of putting it," Teddie rubbed at her eyes as she approached as well, wincing at the sight. "Ouch is right," she laughed.
"That's...wow," Arianna bit her lip in an attempt to hide her smile.
"Don't worry," Flynn managed to stop his giggling. "We'll take the dents out of it, give it a, um, fresh coat of paint, and uh...it'll be good as new," he managed to tell Dillon. Scott snorted, turning away. Nora put her hands to her face as her shoulders shook.
"I don't want it like new. I want it how it was," Dillon stressed, his tone as tense as his body.
"All in the line of duty," Spencer laughed.
"He understands," Summer smiled sweetly at Dillon. He cleared his throat, stepping closer to her.
"Don't ever drive my car. Ever," he hissed, smiling dangerously at her. Summer stepped even closer.
"Don't fall asleep on the job, and I won't have to," she smiled. She then kissed his cheek, and walked off as he tried to speak again.
"Spencer was right. The women do rule the roost around here," Ziggy commented as most of them walked away. He caught Nora's eye, and she quickly looked away as her heart jolted. She then cleared her throat, and forced a smirk at him.
"Well duh," she answered simply.
"Come on, buck up Dillon," Scott patted the Black Ranger's shoulder as Spencer and Flynn started to inspect the damage. "It was an emergency. They needed a ride, so they did the right thing," he told the furious young man.
"How was driving my car into a tornado, the right thing to do?" Dillon demanded as he followed the three.
"Probably because they didn't take mine," Scott's answer made Flynn and Spencer start laughing.
"Or mine. Definitely the right choice," Flynn giggled. Dillon scowled, and looked to Spencer, who shrugged.
"Don't look at me, I have a bike," he raised his hands in defence, but continued to laugh with the other two as Dillon turned back to his car.
Tenaya walked down the corridor towards Venjix' main room, clenching and unclenching her fists in anger. She wanted to fight Kilobyte, and if Venjix hadn't already warned both against it, she would have.
"What happened out there?" Siren asked, leaning against the wall as Tenaya passed her.
"Nothing," Tenaya snapped.
"That wasn't nothing. You had them, and then you lost it," Siren accused, following the taller Attackbot along.
"I said it was nothing," Tenaya whirled around to glare at her. She wasn't about to tell Siren that Kilobyte had stopped her from finishing off four of the Rangers with a sneak attack of his own. While they'd been created around the same time, she didn't have any ties to the Generation 8 Attackbot, nor did she trust her as far as she could throw her.
"Tenaya failed again, Master," Kilobyte's voice reached the pair, who quickly moved out of sight. "It was the most embarrassing thing to watch," he drawled, studying the dirt caked into the metal of his hands.
"Her programming may need an upgrade," Venjix considered. "Siren 8 as well," he mused, and Siren's fist clenched at her own ability being called into question.
"They don't know the truth about...you know, do they?" Kilobyte's bizarre question took both by surprise as he sounded curious.
"No, and I want to keep it that way," Venjix instructed.
"Oh, you are ruthless. I mean, just rotten to the core," Kilobyte laughed, seeming to take great delight in his master's response.
"I built you, didn't I?" Venjix asked, making Kilobyte laugh again.
"Indeed you did, and you did an excellent job, thank you," he said as he admired his hand again.
"I'll show Kilobyte who's ruthless," Tenaya growled, storming away. Siren stayed for a moment longer, wondering just what he'd meant. Shaking her head, she turned and headed off, ideas in mind on what to do next.
One of my favourite episodes, and it was a lot of fun to write as well.
Let me know what you think!
Please review.
