Arthur Winchester was having a terrible day. He was used to people making claims against him. He was used to the press occasionally throwing the odd unfavourable story his way as clickbait. Thanks to his press department, his reputation among the people as a result of the jobs he created with his many, various businesses and his part in rolling out Morph-X, he enjoyed a lot of leeway and praise from the public at large, but whenever someone was on top, it was only natural every now and then someone would take a shot at him.

Normally, it was merely an irritation. If it was someone who had a claim that might bring him unfavourable press, they would be encouraged to settle out of court. If it was someone that was writing unfavourable reviews of him or his businesses, he'd leave it to his press office to discredit them. Unfortunately, on this occasion though, it was something that didn't look like it would blow over by tomorrow lunchtime.

Muriel Reeves was like a gnat. An irritation. Most in the press were more like rabbits. They could be controlled; they could be tamed. Throw them the odd story, stroke some egos, throw a little money around and usually he could have them eating out the palm of his hand once they were done with their clickbait to make them look like they were trying to "hold the man to account." However, every now and then, there was a reporter that just wouldn't play the game. Reeves had been sniffing around him and his business for a while, just looking to use him to propel her career to the next level. Right now, she was one of those people that would throw out stories that people either didn't care about enough to take note of, or was so wild no one believed it anyway, but this one had everything. It had some times, it had some dates, and it had some documents. He knew that, because he was staring at them right in front of him.

"That's what she sent me." Vernon, Muriel's editor told him. "It's pretty damning…"

"I don't care what it looks like, I pay you to make things like this go away!" Winchester snapped at him.

"It's compelling, I have to put it out there before anyone else gets their hands on it." Vernon responded as he took a sip of his drink. "If I didn't take it and use it, Muriel would give it to someone else."

"Well, it's nice to know that I should be grateful I'm paying you to hang me in public." Arthur said sarcastically. "I've already heard whispers the Feds might be looking into this. I need this to be gone!"

"Muriel is…well…she's Muriel. If we go too hard, we make it look like there's something to what she's saying." Vernon advised him. "But if we get some people that can assure us that these documents are forgeries, and that she lied about her source…"

"She said her source was my son!" Arthur snapped. He knew what that meant. He had access to Grid Battleforce's classified files, which meant he knew his son was actually in a statis pod within the base. The one that was out and about in the world, the one that had attacked his fundraiser was some kind of digital copy working for Evox. If it was Blaze, it wasn't his Blaze, but that likely wouldn't matter to people. Vernon just shrugged.

"Your son hasn't been in the papers for months." He reminded him. "I'm sure I could find someone that swears blind he was on one of his extended vacations. Bora Bora is nice this time of year. Besides, I think I have an alternative source for her information."

He slid an arrest record across the table to him. Arthur looked to it.

"Eli Reeves?" He asked. "Her kid was arrested at the scene?"

"He didn't have anything on him. Doesn't mean he couldn't have slipped it somewhere for her to find." Vernon suggested. "He's got a pretty long record. It wouldn't be too hard to convince people that Muriel put him up to it."

"So, what can we use against Eli?" He asked him. "With a record this long, there has to be something."

"Well, he did have some rather less than savoury associates." Vernon responded. "Have you heard of the Bastards of Kronus?"

"No." Arthur said, leaning on the table. "Tell me more."

In the woods on the edge of town, the Rangers were with Nate while he looked for some samples. He was looking for just the right thing he needed for his new project. Finding a Preying Mantis clinging to the side of a tree, he started scanning it.

"Bugs?" Devon asked. "You're looking for bug DNA?"

"I always look for helpful genetic traits, rather than just picking the coolest predators." Nate told him as he was scanning it. He could almost picture his creation now. He looked across, seeing Zoey looking wordlessly through some rocks nearby for something else for him. He'd already said he was looking for two creature's DNA. She was still rather quiet following the whole Eli thing. He felt a little badly about how much he had gone on about wanting a brother. It seemed that she did have one, but that in her case he was more of a disappointment than someone to look out for her. "Just hold still, I'm nearly done."

"You know, I saw your brother's bike in the parking garage." Devon called over to Zoey. "Have to say, it looks kind of cool."

She just shrugged, but didn't answer him. Sure, the bike probably did look nice, she really wouldn't have been surprised. He'd been riding now for a couple of years. She couldn't really find herself getting too enthusiastic about it though. Not when she knew that he'd probably paid for most of the customisations through some form of criminal activity or another.

"Thanks buddy. Preying Mantis DNA is just what I need." Nate remarked as he removed a sample from his scanner, putting it away in his pocket. "Now, what other insects are there around here?"

"I think I have something." Zoey called out, coming over to him with something in her hands. She opened them, letting Nate see what she was holding. "It's not an insect, but it's an arachnid…"

Nate let out a surprisingly shrill yell and jumped back several feet, causing them all to stare at him. He just started breathing rapidly, holding out his hands defensively. He could see the way they were staring at him. He couldn't help the fact he was scared of spiders. It was a phobia he'd had since he was a child. He knew his fear was irrational, how unlikely it was that the spider in Zoey's hand could harm him, but that didn't stop his body reacting like he was in imminent danger of death any time he saw one. First, he needed a babysitter to be allowed outside, now he was reacting like a spider was carrying a Gatling Gun? He wouldn't blame the Rangers for not being able to take him seriously.

"I love pretty much all living creatures, but not spiders!" He rushed out. "Thanks though!"

Zoey closed her hands to get the spider away from him. She felt badly for Nate. She didn't mean to frighten him; he had never told her that he had a fear of spiders. She didn't imagine he had much reason to. More often than not, he spent most of his day in a sterile laboratory where even the air was very carefully monitored, as she found out when the lockdown had sealed them both in the lab together overnight.

It wasn't his fault that he was scared of spiders, any more than Devon could help the fact he was scared of dogs. It was just part of who they were. She went to another area to carefully release the spider somewhere Nate wasn't likely to run across it again.

Nate tried to calm himself down, to get his mind back on the task, when he noticed something crawling across a nearby rock. He moved in, getting a closer look at it.

"A Scarab Beetle." He remarked with a smile. "That could definitely work!"

The Rangers all looked to their communicators as they bleeped. Ravi was the first to answer.

"Rangers. A Robotron has been seen stealing Morph-X in sector Lima 83." Commander Shaw told them.

"Roger that." Ravi responded. Devon just looked over to Nate.

"Nate, go back to base where you'll be safe." He instructed him. Nate just looked annoyed.

"But I'm not done yet!" He complained. "I just found this Scarab Beetle!"

"Nate…"

"I know, it's the rules!" Nate groaned as he saw them looking at him in that way that made him feel like one of them was about to ask if he wanted a pacifier and his diaper changed. One of the drawbacks to all his friends being superheroes was the fact that anyone else just seemed helpless in their eyes. He didn't want to spend his life having to ask one of them any time he wanted to leave the base to go and see a movie or look for samples. He wanted his friends to respect him, to know that he wasn't someone they needed to constantly fuss over. "OK, I'll go."

"Thanks Nate." Zoey answered, touching his arm, before they ran off. Nate just shook his head as they disappeared, before going back to his task. He didn't like going back on his word, but once he was finished here, once he had what he needed to complete his project, they were bound to look at him differently.

"I wish just one person didn't treat me like a little kid." He grumbled as he scanned the Scarab Beetle, imagining the look on everyone's face once he had his new design up and running. "Scarab DNA, and Preying Mantis DNA. Phenomenal!"

He felt a presence just over his shoulder, as someone leaned in, whispering in his ear.

"What do you have there, Nate?" Roxy whispered, causing him to jump in alarm. He snatched away the samples, putting them in his pocket. "Aw, what is it? A widdle secret?"

"Stay back!" Nate warned them as he saw Roxy wasn't alone. Blaze was just a couple of paces behind her.

"Or what?" Blaze scoffed as he saw him backing away. "You remember what happened last time, and that was only me you were facing."

"Nate…sweetie…we all know what a sensitive soul you are." Roxy mocked him. "We were friends once. Surely you don't want to make me have to hurt you."

Nate was about to run when she launched a cable strike. Instantly, his hands were bound to his sides. He heard a loud cracking sound as he struggled to get free and looked down. To his horror, he saw that his communicator was damaged as he tried to get out of the cables. Blaze came up to him, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck.

"Come on." He told him. "We need to pick your brain, tech boy."

Elsewhere in the city, the Rangers arrived on the scene, finding a Robotron and some Tronics going after some of the cars parked in the street. Devon held back a little as they got there, wanting to take a look to see what was going on.

"Is that a vacuum cleaner?" Zoey asked.

"They're attacking cars." Ravi pointed out. They watched as the Tronics took a cannister from the Robotron, replacing it with another and heading to a truck, where they were filling up drums of Morph-X. "They're stealing the Morph-X."

"Good, so we figured out what they want." Devon replied. "I don't see Blaze or Roxy anywhere, so let's make this a quick one."

They ran out, confronting the Robotron.

"Hold it right there!" Devon warned him.

The Robotron changed the head on his weapon, before turning it on the Rangers, firing at them, causing them to scatter. Devon looked to the others, indicating that it was time to make their move. They all broke cover, morphing as they ran towards their enemies. The Robotron allowed the Tronics to swarm them, heading towards the truck.

"Scrozzle said getting this Morph-X was the top priority." He mused as he climbed onto the bed of the truck, slamming his hand on the roof. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

"Hey, stop that truck!" Devon called out. Unfortunately, there were way more Tronics than they had anticipated. Although they tried to pursue, they were quickly cut off and left with no option but to take care of the Tronics first. It wasn't a particularly tough fight, and it didn't take long, but it was long enough. By the time the wreckage of the last Tronic hit the ground, Devon just gestured down the road the truck had taken.

"He got away!" Devon complained. "That…"

"Please don't…"

"…that sucks!" Devon concluded. Both Ravi and Zoey just face-palmed.

"Really?" Zoey groaned. "You HAD to go there?"

A couple of streets away, Ben and Betty were still testing their tracker tag. They'd already taken turns, and found each other about a dozen or so times in various spots around the base, but they were now trying to see if the tracker could be used to keep track of someone at a longer range. Betty was currently in search of Ben, walking around the street, occasionally bumping into people as she kept her eyes glued to the monitor.

"Sorry." She said apologetically, before checking. "Hm…according to this, Ben should be around here…"

She stepped off the pavement, looking up to the awning over the sidewalk. She smiled as she saw Ben on top of the awning.

"Hey, got you again bro!" She said cheerfully. "Looks like that's 25 for 25! This thing works great!"

"Yeah, but are you sure Commander Shaw is going to go with this?" Ben asked.

"We can always ask." Betty replied, gesturing to him to come down. "Now, come on. It's my turn to hide…"

"BETTY! LOOK OUT!" Ben screamed. Betty turned, hearing tyres squealing and an engine accelerating. There was a truck racing down the street right for her like a bat out of Hell! There were a couple of Tronics in the cab, while there was what looked like a Robotron in the back, clinging on to the frame. She had to dive off the road, moments before she was hit. Ben saw the truck heading away, and using all the strength he could, he threw his tracker tag onto the back of the truck. He rolled off the edge of the awning, dropping to the ground rather quickly. He limped over to Betty, who was rolling around on the ground, clutching her wrist.

"Betty, are you OK?" He asked her.

"No…I almost became a hood ornament." She told him as he took her hand, beginning to look at it. "OW! Ow ow ow ow ow owwwww!"

"It looks like it could be broken." He sighed, helping her up. "Come on sis, we need to get back to the base and tell the others what we saw."

"But they're getting away." Betty whined. Ben just smiled at her.

"Not exactly." He told her, picking up the handset. "Now the Rangers get to give our tracker a real field test!"

"You got the tracker on the truck?" She asked, excitedly throwing up her hand for a high-five. "Nice one little bro! OWWWW!"

"Oh…right…sorry." Ben replied, as she cradled her hand to her chest. "Let's get you to the med bay and have that wrist looked at."

"Hey, I've got another one." Betty reminded him, activating her communicator with a pained expression on her face. "Rangers…"

"What is it Betty?" Devon asked.

"Are you guys looking for a truck driven by a couple of Tronics and an overgrown vacuum cleaner?" She asked.

"Yeah?" Zoey asked.

"Well, we've just seen them." She told them. "And we can tell you how to find them."

Back at the warehouse, Blaze and Roxy dragged Nate back, shoving him ahead of them.

"Whatever you want from me, you won't get it." Nate declared, trying to muster up all of his courage. He was able to take care of himself, but seeing a room full of Tronics, along with Blaze, Roxy and Scrozzle, while he wasn't armed in any way and bound like he was, he was realistic about how that fight would end. It would be very quick and very pointless.

"Oh, you're so brave." Blaze said dismissively, slapping him across the back of the head. "Hey, Scrozzle! Look what we have for you!"

"Ah, a fellow genius! Greetings Nate, welcome to your new laboratory!" Scrozzle greeted him. Roxy cut him free of his bonds as Blaze shoved him forwards. "And they say that robots don't have manners. I introduced myself young man. Aren't you going to do the same?"

"What is that thing?" Nate asked, completely ignoring Scrozzle's comment. His eyes were fixed on the Cyber Gate.

"Well, even if you are lacking in respect, I suppose I can answer that, scientist to scientist." He told him. "I used your tech to create my masterpiece, the Cyber Gate!"

"What do you want with me?" Nate demanded. Blaze clamped his hands down on Nate's shoulders roughly and started to squeeze them, getting uncomfortably close to him.

"You are going to build us a very special robot." Blaze told him.

"You'll be pleased to here; we have everything you need right here." Scrozzle continued, showing him a work bench full of tools and parts. Nate recognised them; they had been stolen from the Black Site too. "We have everything you need, but YOU need to put it together, just like you did with your Beastbots! Any questions?"

Nate looked to the Cyber Gate. It looked like a transfer device, but it didn't look like it could transport anything solid, only data. He noticed the Neural Aligner at the end of it, and then looked to the robot parts. The pieces were coming together for him. He gulped as he realised what they wanted.

"You're trying to bring Evox back!" He screamed.

"Bingo." Scrozzle replied as he patted the robot head. "Now, get to work!"

"I would NEVER help you!" Nate rushed out. He wasn't stupid, he knew what would likely happen to him if he refused to do what they wanted, but Evox was far too great of a threat. If he came back, he wasn't sure if they had anything that would be able to stop him, especially in a strong enough body. Roxy summoned one of her blasters.

"Oh, yes you will." She threatened him, lifting it up to face height and starting to caress it. Her hand came to the bayonet. "Oh…remember what this did to Zoey? I'm sure you remember ALL about that."

Nate froze as she said this, glaring right into his eyes. Roxy had known how he felt about Zoey. She had been trying to encourage him to get to know her better, trying to push them together before she became an avatar.

"I'm sure you've considered just how much agony she must have been in." Roxy continued to taunt him. "Oh, she screamed like I've never heard…but you know…I think I could get used to it."

Nate knew that Roxy likely wouldn't hesitate to carry out her threat. She'd tortured Zoey with that bayonet. She was only bringing up Zoey to torture him even further, to remind him that she was willing to do that to her best friend. He tried to consider his options. He turned back towards the work bench, looking at the parts, wondering if there was some way, he could fashion himself a weapon. His eyes came to rest on his damaged communicator. He had parts that he could use to repair it here, and if he could link it up to the transport network, he could summon himself a weapon. The odds would be against him but…

Then another thought came to him. He looked up at the Neural Aligner above the Cyber Gate. A plan started to form in his head, a very desperate one. He turned towards them.

"Alright, you win. I know what I have to do." Nate whimpered. "Please, don't hurt me! Please!"

"See, I told you he was pathetic." Roxy laughed as she looked to him. "Get to work."