Chapter 37: Danger and Destiny Part 1
Neither Teddie nor Ziggy moved for a moment, not wanting to set Dillon off as his eyes flashed red.
"Dillon..." Ziggy hissed after a moment too long. Dillon groaned, shaking his head and clamping his eyes shut. He then opened them, and they were back to their normal brown.
"I'm okay," he told the pair, but his voice was strained as he spoke, and sweat was running down his pale face.
"Uh, is it me?" Flynn started as they all climbed from the cars and looked around. "Or is it really quiet?" he asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"It's not just you," Spencer muttered. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end at the eerie silence, before they spotted the crowd of people walking towards them in sync. Their eyes flashed red, and they stared with passive expressions.
"Please tell me they're not…" Arianna whispered in horror.
"Venjix...he must have activated the hybrids!" Scott realised.
"Us finding out about them must have pushed his plan forwards," Teddie breathed as the crowd approached.
"We can't hurt them! They're just people!" Summer shouted as the others prepared to defend themselves. Scott hesitated, before nodding.
"You're right. Follow me," he spotted a side street nearby, and led the team away. When images projected onto the side of some of the larger buildings, they stopped, wondering what was going on.
"Are you okay?" Summer asked, seeing how unwell Dillon looked.
"It's in my head…" he muttered back, and her eyes went wide.
"The city of Corinth now belongs to me!" Venjix declared as he was shown on screen in the command centre, with Hicks and Vasquez on either side of him. "If you resist, you will be destroyed," he warned. Scott's fists clenched when he saw his father being restrained in the back, along with Kayden and other soldiers. "No-one can help you. Not your guards, and soon, not even the Power Rangers!" with that, the video ended.
"He's going after the base," Teddie realised, and took off with Ziggy right behind her.
"Ziggy! Teddie!" Summer shouted as the others followed, but the White and Green Rangers had always been the fastest of the team. Before long, the two had vanished from their sights, and an Attackbot appeared from its hiding place, blocking their path.
"Perfect," Scott hissed.
"Trust your sister to run off without thinking," Annie sighed.
"Family trait," Spencer offered as they moved into fighting positions.
"Let's get this over with, and fast," Scott told them, but as they stepped towards the Attackbot, Dillon let out a groan and doubled over in pain.
"Ready?"
"Ready!" the rest grabbed their Morphers.
"RPM, GET IN GEAR!" the six grabbed their swords and started fighting, and Dillon turned, running off.
"Doc, I think we all heard that announcement," Nora called as Cassie struggled in the grip of Heckyl's power. "I think it's safe to say that Venjix is coming here," she warned as Dr. K stood in the doorway, watching with concern. Gem and Gemma were tending to their injuries, having been too close to Cassie to try and stop her from using her vocal enhancements.
"You can seal those doors, yes?" Heckyl asked, making her frown.
"Correct, but-"
"Lock yourself in there with the twins. You can't let them get what they're after," he told her.
"What? No! I'm not leaving you two out here!" Dr. K was outraged at the suggestion. "If Venjix does come here, he will kill you both," she pointed out.
"We're not so easily killed," Nora shrugged, but her heart was pounding as internally she wasn't as calm about everything happening.
"I am not doing it," Dr. K growled, adamant. "I-"
"Since when did you grow a heart?" she stopped, and both twins looked up in shock as a woman stepped in, looking amused. "The Dr. K I knew would have happily locked herself in and sent others to do her dirty work," she laughed. She was a tall woman in her twenties, with black hair tucked into a neat bun, wearing a black jacket and skirt.
"No," Dr. K's voice quivered, and she took a step back.
"At least you still know your place," the woman smiled cruelly, before Gem and Gemma walked over to stand with Dr. K with grim expressions. "And the brain-sharing twins! I figured you'd die out in the waste," she laughed.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Nora growled, finally earning her attention. The woman looked her up and down, and her smile faded as she looked a little disdainful of the shorter girl in a leather jacket and jeans.
"I'm someone you don't want to cross, little girl," she warned, and snapped her fingers. A group of men, all wielding weapons, stepped in, accompanied by a familiar face.
"You've got to be kidding me," Nora hissed, as Fresno Bob smiled pleasantly at her.
"That's the one I told you about," he told the woman. Her smile returned.
"Perfect."
"That wasn't good," Chase commented as he ducked down behind the window of the store he and Olivia were hiding in. As he did, more of the hybrids walked by, eyes flashing as they moved together.
"What's going on?" Olivia whispered, holding her Dino Com just in case.
"Your guess is as good as mine. Reminds me of those two creeps who controlled everyone with music," he murmured as they peeked out again. "We need to get somewhere safe," Chase muttered, grabbing her hand and pulling her outside when it was clear.
"The city is under Venjix' control. Where is safe anymore?" Olivia wondered as they looked around, keeping to the side streets and out of sight as best they could.
"Good question," Chase muttered as they hid from more of the hybrids. "We should at least find-"
"Chase!" Olivia cried out, making him look around quickly. His eyes widened as he saw Jim approaching the two of them, his eyes flashing red, as unlike the others, he walked with purpose.
"You've got to be kidding me," Chase hissed.
"Where's Dillon?" Summer shouted as the Sawbot revved and blocked their attacks.
"He'll have to take care of himself!" Scott shook his head when they found no sign of the Black Ranger.
"But he needs us!" Summer protested.
"Right now Summer, we need you to be focused on taking down this Attackbot!" to her surprise, Arianna was the one to snap at her as Scott was knocked away.
"She's right," Spencer agreed as he shoved back against the Attackbot with his Claw Hatchet. His head still hurt from Hicks' attack, and he'd drained energy healing Bridge, meaning he couldn't risk using Omni's power for his own. Summer kicked out at the Attackbot and jumped back, but it followed, slashing down with a powerful bladed arm. She landed with a cry beside Flynn, wincing in pain.
'Antidote at 80%,' the computer announced from the lab, and the woman's eyebrow raised.
"Antidote? Oh, sweet K. Are you really making an antidote for the virus? You have changed," she laughed mockingly, but it stopped when Nora slammed the end of her sword against the hard ground.
"Who are you?" she demanded impatiently, and the woman sighed.
"Such a flawed creature. I am Isabella, old friend of Dr. K and these fools," she introduced herself, waving a dismissive hand towards Gem and Gemma.
"I wouldn't…"
"Call us friends," the twins said cautiously, which only made Nora more anxious. Anyone who the twins treated with concern was someone to be concerned about.
"You wouldn't? I'm wounded. And here I am to save you from the oncoming storm. Even as we speak, your greatest creation is on his way here," Isabella announced with a feral smile.
"Venjix is far from my greatest creation," Dr. K spat at her.
"Oh? Because if memory serves correctly, and it always does," Isabella smirked. "It's because of Venjix that the plague of humanity was culled to a much more acceptable level," she shrugged, and Dr. K's eyes narrowed. "I have to admit, your precious Ranger project was entertaining to watch, but it's over now. Venjix is in the city, your pet Black Ranger is sure to fall under his control soon, and once he gets here, Venjix will have the last part of the puzzle he needs to completely destroy them," she listed. "So we're leaving this cage of a city and moving on. We'll set up anew, and with your mind, we'll flourish and start again to take out Venjix," she continues.
"You talk a lot," Nora growled, and flames began to surround her sword.
"What makes you think that we'd just let you take them?" Heckyl asked, and Isabella tilted her head.
"Them? Why, I'm here for you both too," she said simply. Heckyl frowned, before realising what she meant.
"You're the one who's been pulling their strings," he accused, glancing briefly to the Cartel members behind her. Pleased, Isabella smiled and pressed her fingertips together.
"That's right! I've been very eager to meet you, and see just what makes you…" she paused, looking at the blue lights dancing around his fingers. "Tick," she finished. "And even the flawed little girl. A Mystic, I believe you called yourself, Nora Russell," Nora jerked at the use of her name. "And you're from Briarwood too! Meaning you have connections to the mysteries that go on there. I have to know what that's like," she laughed, excited.
"We aren't going anywhere with you," Dr. K warned her as Nora took a breath. Her stomach churned as she tried to process what the woman was saying.
"And you're going to stop us, how?" Isabella asked innocently, her eyes moving to the still struggling Hybrid. Her smile grew. "We'll take her too. I have to see how Venjix implants hardware and takes control with minimal stress on the body," she laughed.
"She said we weren't going with you," Nora hissed, and Isabella rolled her eyes. She snapped her fingers, and the Cartel members raised their weapons.
"You heard the ladies," Heckyl raised his free hand and blue lights shimmered around the weapons, yanking them away from the people holding them. Isabella gave a delighted laugh, clapping her hands together as she watched.
"Fascinating. You can focus on multiple items at once, all while keeping her from attacking!" she deduced, before her smile turned cruel again, her eyes sharp. "But it drains you," her words were low, and he glared at her, unable to deny his heavier breathing as keeping it ongoing slowly sapped his energy.
"What?" they looked around to see Ziggy stagger in, breathing heavily and soaked in sweat from racing back to the garage.
"Ziggy, no!" Nora gasped as he yelped, surrounded by Cartel Members in an instant.
"Let him go, boys," Fresno Bob ordered.
"No, don't," Isabella cut across. The Cartel leader raised an eyebrow at her.
"Ziggy here ain't part of this, and his debt-"
"I don't care about his debt, you fool!" Isabella snapped at him. "He is a Power Ranger, and-"
"We don't take kindly to you intruding on our base," Teddie snarled as she arrived. "I don't know who you are, but if you're with the cartels, then I don't want to know. Get out," she growled, standing with Ziggy as the cartel members backed away.
"Oh, for the love of-" in an instant, Isabella had drawn a gun of her own and fired it, hitting Teddie's shoulder. The girl screamed, falling to her knees.
"Teddie!"
"I wouldn't!" she snapped as Heckyl's eyes darkened and he made to attack her. He stopped in his tracks as the blaster remained level with Teddie's head. "Your powers take a second to activate. This is faster. I might be dead, but so will she," any trace of entertainment was gone. "Grab them, or I'll leave you to Venjix," Isabella ordered, and Fresno Bob glared at her, but nodded to his men. Once they were restrained, Isabella took a breath.
"Ziggy Grover, Ranger Green. And Teddie Bly, Ranger White. Perfect. We'll take them too," she decided.
"What?" Ziggy frowned as he struggled in the tight grip of two large men. Nearby, Cassie was restrained by three men, who barely kept her in their grip.
"Well the Bly girl is a perfect candidate as the younger sister to one of the former SPD B-Squad. She has powers, and even her Ranger suit power is an exciting thing to get to research. And you," Isabella turned and gripped his face with tight fingers, making him wince as her nails dug in. "You can withstand teleportation. I have to know what else you can survive," his eyes widened at her words. "Let's go," she ordered, leading the group out. As they left, Venjix, accompanied by Tenaya and a large group of Grinders, approached.
Out in the city, the Attackbot suddenly grew much larger, and the speakers on its non-bladed arm pulsed with noise, causing shockwaves that cracked through the ground and forced the Rangers back.
"PaleoMax, online!" Arianna shouted.
"Mach Megazord!"
"HighOctane Megazord!" the team called on their Megazords.
"I'm moving in!" Flynn shouted as they grabbed their Super Sabre and lashed out. The Attackbot blocked with his chainsaw arm, and struck them multiple times.
"My turn!" Arianna moved the PaleoMax Megazord to fight back. As she struck it, it splattered oil out, covering both the PaleoMax and the HighOctane Megazords. "Gross!" she complained.
"I'm losing traction!"
"Me too!" they struggled to keep still as the oil made everything slippery. "Hold on!" Flynn tried to keep his controls straight, but the harder he pushed, the more they slipped.
"The weapons are all down!" Scott shouted.
"We need to be careful, this dude's fast," Annie considered. "And he has way too many weapons," she complained as Spencer hummed his agreement. The Attackbot looked up at them, but as it blasted at them, they split their Megazord apart.
"The Whale Zord can take care of the others, let's do this!" Spencer shouted.
"You got it," Annie grinned. The pair flew in circles around the Attackbot, firing rapid blasts and avoiding its strikes. Nearby, the Whale Zord sprayed water into the air over the other two Megazords, cleaning the oil off.
"We owe you one, guys!" Scott shouted to the pair, who combined their Zords again.
"Weapons are back up!" Arianna called as the Mach Megazord restrained the Attackbot.
"Hold him still," Scott called to them. Both the PaleoMax and HighOctane Megazords slashed down with powerful blades, and the Mach Megazord released it at the last second to jump back.
"Let's end this!" they fired an arrow of energy that ripped through the Attackbot, destroying it.
"Impressive!" they heard a deep voice echo. "But you will soon be destroyed!" they looked down to see Venjix approach.
"Venjix!" Scott growled, leaping from his Megazord. Arianna followed him down, both calling on their weapons. "We'll destroy you, just like we did all your bots!" the Red Ranger vowed.
"You'll pay for all this harm you've caused," Arianna told him, and they ran at Venjix.
"You're just a flawed human!" Venjix growled as he knocked Scott away. "You have no chance," he taunted.
"I'm not human!" Arianna declared, punching him from behind. He growled, and slammed her in the stomach with his double-edged weapon. She choked as he lifted her into the air using it, and threw her aside. Scott slammed his Street Sabre against the powerful metal armour, and Venjix laughed, goading him to hit harder, before tossing him aside too.
"You two amuse me," Venjix admitted as he turned to the pair, and blasted them with a powerful burst of energy.
"No!" the others shouted from above.
"I can access your Biofield!" the virus announced, turning to look up at the others.
"No!" Scott tried to get up, but fell back down, staring in horror.
"Don't!"
"Not even you can stop me now!" Venjix declared. His eyes flashed, and the pistons on his head started moving quickly. With a yell, he shot a blast of golden energy that slammed into the immobile PaleoMax Megazord. A moment later, it split apart, and the Zords faded.
"No!" Arianna screamed as the lights of her Zords faded.
"So, one down, two to go. Who will be next?" Venjix wondered.
"You leave them alone!" Scott got up and grabbed Venjix, who punched him in the chest. Scott staggered back, winded, but refused to give up.
"Stop it!" Arianna leapt in, and Venjix growled, bashing her repeatedly before she fell back down, demorphing. Scott threw a punch, but Venjix was too strong. Scott's blow bounced off harmlessly, and Venjix grunted with the force he put behind his swing. Scott's suit sparked with the attempt to protect him, but the force threw him into the rubble nearby, and his suit faded too.
"It is useless to resist. You will all be destroyed," Venjix vowed, his eyes lighting up. He fired a blast towards Summer and Flynn in the High Octane Megazord, but as they raised their arms to try and defend themselves, they felt their Megazord shoved aside.
Spencer and Annie screamed in pain as their Zords were ripped apart.
"Guys!" Flynn roared as he and Summer looked up at them.
"No! What did you do?!" Summer demanded as the Mach Megazord split apart. Spencer and Annie landed on the ground nearby, and their Zords vanished into fading lights.
"That hurt…" Annie groaned as they looked up at Venjix. His eyes flashed red, before he hummed.
"I need more energy…" he murmured, turning and walking away.
"Something's wrong...with the Morphin' Grid," Spencer commented as they stood, demorphing.
"Spencer? Annie?" Arianna couldn't move from her kneeling position on the ground, staring at the pair as gold and silver lights surrounded the pair. Summer and Flynn raced towards them, and stopped in their tracks when they saw.
"Damn," Annie fell to her knees with a weak laugh. "I can't exactly call you reckless now, can I?" she glanced to Spencer, who grinned back at her.
"I'll hold you to that. You were just as quick to push the Megazord to save them," he teased, and they looked up at the others who stared at them.
"No...it can't be," Flynn shook his head.
"Don't give up guys," Spencer grinned, but it faded quickly. "And tell Ted I'm sorry," he sighed.
"You can do this. For what's left of the world. My kid…" Annie shook her head to fight back her tears. "You've got this," she told them, before the two vanished in fading lights like the Zords.
"No…" Arianna choked as the tears ran down her face. Flynn had his arms around Summer as she cried into his shoulder, and Scott stared at where the two had been.
The four weren't sure how long they'd been standing in the industrial park, still trying to process what they'd just seen, when Scott's Morpher beeped.
"Where are you guys?" Dillon called them.
"We're in the industrial park...or what's left of it anyways," Scott's voice shook as he spoke quietly. He then took a deep breath. "Dillon...we just lost Spencer and Annie," he managed to say.
"Lost? What do you mean, lost?" Dillon asked, confused. Summer took Scott's Morpher, eyes red from crying.
"They're gone…" she said quietly. There was a long pause before Dillon spoke.
"I'm sorry," his voice was gentle as he could be. "But we don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves," he said. Flynn grabbed the Morpher before Summer could try and think of what to say.
"Have you no heart, man?" Flynn snarled. "Spencer and Annie are gone!" tears clung to his lashes as he forced himself to take a breath. "I still can't believe it…" he murmured.
"Then believe this. Dr. K, Ziggy, Teddie and the others are about to be next," Dillon warned.
"Where are you?" Scott demanded, snapping back to his leader attitude.
"Get moving!" Isabella ordered as the men pushed the struggling group into a truck and slammed the door shut.
"Teddie, are you okay?" Dr. K asked as she turned to the White Ranger beside her, who was breathing heavily.
"Gimme a second," she closed her eyes, and she lit up with golden energy. The burn that had ripped through her shirt faded, and she took a deep breath. "That's better. But something feels...wrong," Teddie murmured.
"Yeah," Ziggy agreed.
"You mean, other than us being captive in here while Venjix destroys the city?" Nora asked dryly.
"We're not going to be captive for long," Teddie shook her head, and dropped the cuffs that had been keeping her wrists bound.
"Took you long enough," Ziggy grinned, already free of his own.
"Oh, I'm getting rusty," Teddie considered as Nora put a hand to her face and the twins giggled. Dr. K rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Why is it that Rangers can never stay serious for longer than five seconds?" Heckyl wondered. His hands lit up with energy that moved into his cuffs, opening them with a click. He did the same for the others, freeing them all of their bindings.
"So who exactly is that woman?" Teddie asked as Heckyl moved to check on her.
"Isabella was part of…"
"Alphabet Soup," Gem and Gemma explained, looking worried. "She was always very…"
"Ruthless," Gemma finished with a small smile.
"Is this the person you told me about before?" Teddie asked Dr. K, remembering what she'd said before. Dr. K gave a small nod.
"I didn't think she'd survived the attacks. Alphabet Soup, and any affiliated projects, were some of the first targets Venjix had before he moved to SPD and anything that threatened him," she told them, drumming her fingers on her knee. "Now she's leaving Corinth to try and set up a new base where she can research whatever interests her," she summed up.
"Us," Nora muttered, and Ziggy took her hand, squeezing it.
"Not happening. We're getting out of here," he told her confidently.
"That's all well and good, but now what?" Dr. K asked.
"We'll need a plan," Ziggy whispered, and Nora shot him an exasperated look.
"You don't have a plan?" she demanded.
"Hey, we ran all the way back to the garage to make sure you guys were okay, got ambushed, Teddie got shot, and now we're here. When was I supposed to come up with a plan?" Ziggy hissed back at her, and Teddie rolled her eyes.
"Perhaps these will be of some use?" she asked, jingling the keys to the truck. The pair looked at her quickly.
"How did you…"
"Get those?" Gem and Gemma asked, and Teddie winked.
"I've given up trying to get an answer out of her when it comes to her sticky fingers," Heckyl sighed as Dr. K took the keys from Teddie.
"Then let's get out of here," she told them.
"Don't forget we need to get Cassie," Teddie reminded them, having seen them move the hybrid towards another truck after knocking her out. They slipped out of the truck, and immediately ducked out of sight as the Cartel members suddenly scattered.
"Where are you going?" Isabella demanded, before looking around to see Tenaya storming into the building.
"Well this isn't good," Ziggy whispered as they kept out of sight.
"Surrender the Doctor and Rangers," Tenaya ordered, aiming her blaster at the woman. Isabella gave a quiet laugh.
"And what, you'll let me live? I heard about your deal with Fresno Bob," she said, scrutinising the hybrid. "They are my subjects, and I'm not letting you take them," Isabella snarled, drawing her own blaster and firing. It hit Tenaya in the leg, but she didn't react.
"Very well," Isabella's eyes widened, and she was shoved aside by Fresno Bob. He grunted as the blast burned his chest, but he grabbed Isabella's arm and yanked her away as she fought against him, cursing. The man glanced to where the others were hiding, his gaze locking onto Ziggy's, and he dropped a bag before running off.
"That was weird," Nora murmured, before they ducked out of view again, seeing Kilobyte arrive.
"You're late," even when under complete control of Venjix, Tenaya's dislike of Kilobyte was obvious as she snapped at him.
"The plan has changed," Kilobyte adjusted the lens over the smaller of the two glowing red lights of his eyes. "I've come to say goodbye," he announced, and Tenaya's head tilted.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Nowhere," Kilobyte laughed, shaking his head, and ran a hand along the pipes on his head. "You're the one who is leaving," he declared, grabbing his blaster. Tenaya raised her own, but it vanished into shattered lights, making her eyes widen. Her eyes widened as Kilobyte laughed.
"Grinders!" she shouted, snapping her fingers. Kilobyte cut through the footsoldiers with his sword easily, and turned to her.
"Your turn, come on," he goaded. Tenaya attacked him, fighting back where she could, before the doors to one of the other trucks burst open.
"Oh, you?" Kilobyte drawled as he shoved Tenaya aside, and Cassie jumped down. "Care to join in too?" Cassie scowled, her eyes flashing red, and she ran in to join Tenaya against Kilobyte.
"Good to see that even when totally brainwashed, nobody likes him," Nora hissed.
"We should get in there," Teddie breathed, but Heckyl grabbed her arm before she could move.
"Your Morphers are over there," he pointed to the bag that was out in the open and too close to the fight. "And Tenaya and Cassie are not on your side. Going out there will get you killed," Heckyl warned her as Teddie tried to argue.
"He's right," Ziggy nodded.
"Is that all you've got?" Kilobyte mocked as Tenaya fell backwards. Cassie let out a scream, and Kilobyte staggered backwards, but kept laughing. "A hybrid could never destroy me!" he taunted, swapping his sword for his blaster as he grabbed Cassie, slamming her into some shelves, before throwing Tenaya to the ground. "You overestimate yourself!" he took aim at Tenaya.
"How about a third Hybrid?" Dillon's shout echoed through the warehouse, and Kilobyte looked around to see Dillon leaping towards him. He kicked Kilobyte away, and the general jerked, firing a blast that almost took out the others there. Dillon fought off Kilobyte with fury, shaking off any blows he managed to land, until one knocked the needle from his free hand.
"What is that?" Teddie hissed as it skidded to a stop near them.
"The antidote!" Dr. K breathed.
"Okay, now I have a plan," Ziggy grinned.
"Still protecting your little sister?" Kilobyte laughed as Dillon stood in front of Tenaya protectively.
"Some things never change!" Dillon declared, before Tenaya grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. Dillon grunted as Tenaya kept him in an arm lock, ducking behind him and using his blaster to aim at Kilobyte.
"He comes to save you, and in return you use him as a shield. Such a dreadfully dysfunctional family!" Kilobyte laughed.
"Hey!" Dr. K's shout distracted them all, and they looked around to see her standing with Gem and Gemma, who threw things at the general. As he raised an arm to defend himself, Kilobyte felt his legs get knocked out from under him, and he fell to the ground with a growl.
"Dillon!" Ziggy shouted, throwing the needle over to him as Teddie tackled Tenaya, freeing Dillon.
"Trust me!" Dillon knelt down beside the thrashing hybrid, and injected the antidote. Tenaya screamed, but her thrashing died down.
"Behind you!" Nora shouted as Kilobyte grabbed his blaster and fired.
"Shield!" Dillon raised a shield to protect Teddie and Tenaya.
"Stop!" Nora swung her sword at Kilobyte, but Dillon's shield faded before she hit, and he was slammed into a wall as Kilobyte grabbed Nora, ignoring the sword that cut into his arm. Dillon demorphed, groaning before lying still.
"As I've always said. You put a human against a machine, the machine will win every time!" he took aim at Tenaya to finish her off.
"Enough!" he looked at Nora as her armour surrounded her again, and flames started to melt the metal around him.
"No!" he shrieked, releasing her and aiming his blaster at her, but she cut through it. It burst apart, and Kilobyte snarled.
"A machine will win every time?" she demanded.
"Then check out this machine!" Scott's shout earned Kilobyte's attention. "Fire!" Scott, Summer and Flynn fired their powerful combined weapon, and Kilobyte raised his damaged arms to block it. Nora swung her sword, sending a streak of fire at Kilobyte, and he screamed before exploding.
"I told you, serious power," Teddie grinned as Nora let her armour shatter.
"Don't you bring up the 'protective trait' again," she warned Heckyl, glowering at him. He glanced at her innocently, passing Teddie the bag that Fresno Bob had dropped, containing their Morphers.
"Didn't say a word," he gave a pleasant smile that made Teddie giggle. Nearby, Dr. K, Gem and Gemma were administering another antidote to Cassie, who groaned.
"Dillon!" they looked around as Summer ran over to the fallen Black Ranger, who hadn't moved. The others hurried to his side, but Dillon didn't wake.
"Is he alive?" Tenaya's uncertain voice reached them as she and Cassie approached carefully.
"Yes," Dr. K nodded, and Teddie looked around.
"Guys, there's a patrol coming," she warned, seeing the Grinders in the distance.
"We gotta get him outta here," Scott told them. He and Flynn hoisted Dillon up, and they hurried away.
"Come with us," Summer told Tenaya, who nodded slowly and followed.
"Teddie?" Arianna approached the White Ranger when they'd returned to the lab, but she barely responded. She hadn't, not since Scott had broken the news to the rest of them about Spencer and Annie. Teddie looked impassive, legs pulled in close. She glanced to Heckyl, who sighed, shaking his head. Even he hadn't managed to get anything out of the young woman.
"Are you crazy?" they looked around at Flynn's shout. "Venjix has already destroyed two Megazords, and two Rangers without breaking a sweat!"
"Well we can't just do nothing!" Scott shouted back at him, just as frustrated and scared as the Blue Ranger. "We have to fight!" he argued.
"We'll fight, yes, but be destroyed? No thank you!" Ziggy spoke up.
"There are still six of us, okay? We're not exactly helpless!" Summer included.
"But you won't be able to Morph!" Dr. K spoke up as she approached them.
"Why not?" Summer demanded angrily.
"When we were taken from the lab, Venjix had full access. He downloaded the Biofield matrix. That's why you all felt off. When you Morph, your molecular structure is aligned with the field. That's when he deleted Spencer and Annie," she explained. "That's when he'll delete you," she warned.
"Okay, well, how about a magnetic field? Maybe we could erase his hard drive?" Flynn suggested.
"Intriguing hypothesis, but the size required would make it practically impossible," Dr. K denied. Flynn bit back his next words, and turned. He put his hands to his head and walked away.
"Look, we know how we can't beat Venjix. Do you have any ideas how we can?" Scott demanded. Nobody spoke, and Teddie suddenly moved.
"Teddie?" Arianna called the White Ranger, but without a word, she turned and ran out of the garage.
"Not again!" Flynn growled.
"I'll go after her," Heckyl volunteered, already on his way out after her.
"We need to think of something," Nora approached them. "We can't just sit here until then," she told the team.
"Venjix is a computer virus. So the best way to fight a virus…" Dr. K's eyes lit up, "Is with another virus," she theorised.
"Yes, okay," Scott nodded. "One problem. We can't get to Venjix' computers. How do we download the virus?" he asked.
"We walk right in. That's how," he frowned at Summer's idea.
"I don't think I can do it," Tenaya shook her head, looking sick at the idea.
"You're the only one who can do it," Summer pushed. "Venjix still thinks you're Tenaya 15. His loyal servant," she reminded as Tenaya didn't look away from Dillon.
"But I'm not Tenaya, am I?" she finally looked up, tears in her eyes. "I don't know who I am," she looked back at Dillon. "He never gave up on me. He always believed I was worth saving. I can't leave him," Tenaya denied, shaking her head. Summer sighed, and turned back to the others.
"We have to find another way," she told them.
"There is no other way," Flynn growled, storming over to Tenaya. "Look. If you want to save Dillon, we have to destroy Venjix. If you want to help him, you've got to help us!" he shouted. Tenaya stared at him, wordlessly, and the others remained quiet.
Just one chapter left to go! What's gonna happen next? Hehe~
If I can tear myself away from Animal Crossing long enough tomorrow to finish writing the first chapter of Super Ninja Steel, then I'll update, but I make no promises.
Let me know what you think!
Please review!
