Down in holding, Cole did his rounds, quickly checking his area, bored out of his skull. He only had one inmate, and it was pretty clear he was in his cell, he'd put him there himself. As he did his obligatory hourly walk from one end of the corridor to the other, he went back to the desk, heading around to the other side and typed in the log to say he had done his sweep.
He flopped down on a chair, spinning lazily, letting out a long, bored sigh, before glancing at the door to the cell once more. It was still closed.
He turned away, picking up a magazine, and started reading.
"No…no…no…" He rhymed off as he flicked through articles, he had either read multiple times or simply didn't care about, before finally finding the puzzles page. He found a crossword that hadn't been done and pulled out a pen, clicking the button.
In his cell, Eli kept an eye on him, and once he was occupied, he got to work. There was a service panel in the lock on the cell. For safety reasons, there was a way for anyone locked in by accident to open the door, presuming they had an over-ride code, but he didn't have time to figure that out. Of course, he'd spent so long on special ops he had a few skills of his own.
It took a while, but he finally managed to work free the screws, opening up the panel. Taking the wire, he'd fashioned from the spring to Commander Shaw's pen, he connected up a couple of connection points, causing it to spark. He gritted his teeth, getting a painful shock from it, but as he reached for the door, he found it moved. It had worked, he'd shorted the lock, now all he needed to do was open the cell.
He slid the door quietly, and kept low as he moved out into the hall, before vaulting over the desk, landing silently behind Cole, who was busy with his crossword. He reached to the holster on his belt, gently sliding his tazer out of it. Cole chewed the end of his pen as he stared at the crossword.
"Six down is 'screwed'." Eli whispered in his ear. Cole reached for his holster, finding it empty. Eli wrapped his arm around his neck, pulling him down to the floor, before shocking him with his own tazer, knocking him out. He rummaged through his pockets, looking for some keys and taking his key card off his neck. He checked around to make sure no one was coming, before starting to pull off his pants.
"You better not be sweaty kid." He warned him.
Back at the warehouse, the Rangers were outside, fighting through an army of Tronics, trying to make their way inside. Blaze, Roxy, Scrozzle and the Robotronic were inside, preparing for the Cyber Gate to be activated. Steel had already been placed under the Neural Aligner, which Roxy couldn't keep her eyes off. He was already in an energy field, holding him in place, unable to escape. Scrozzle worked quickly with the controls, knowing the Rangers could break through at any moment. He let out a maniacal cackle as he started it up.
"Hurry up, Scrozzle!" Blaze told him. "Those Tronics aren't going to hold them for long!"
"The body's in position and the portal's cranking up!" He told them as it lit up, forming a shimmering energy portal at one end. They could now see into the Cyber Dimension, where Evox was waiting, projecting out of the Super Computer that was his prison. He started to slither his way through as Roxy let out an excited yelp.
"It's working!" Blaze commented. "I can't believe it's actually working!"
"Here he comes!" Scrozzle said excitedly as they saw Evox moving through each of the rings of the Cyber Gate, breaking down into code and preparing to flood into the Neural Aligner.
"Finally, the robot body will be mine!" Evox cackled. They saw his data transferring to the Neural Aligner, but as it started to feed down into Steel, his hands tensed up into fists. They saw him starting to thrash around within the energy field, bracing himself as Evox tried to flood his system. They saw the data transfer doing something odd, kind of getting stuck between Steel and the Neural Aligner as he started to growl.
"What's happening?" Roxy asked. "Is that supposed to be happening?"
"He's trying to resist!" Scrozzle said derisively as Steel fell to one knee, and then to both as the code continued to try to force its way in. "Don't worry, no machine can resist Evox for long."
They heard a loud blast and the doors came crashing in, heralding the arrival of the Rangers. They all looked in horror towards the Cyber Gate, seeing Steel being bombarded by Evox's code.
"You're too late, Rangers!" Scrozzle told them. "Your robot friend will soon be ours!"
"I'm…" He grunted, getting up onto one knee. "…Not…" He was now on his feet, and starting to push up. Sparks started flying from the Cyber Gate. "…A…" He was now back up almost to his full height, his arms and legs trembling as he pushed upwards. "…ROBOT!"
With that, he threw his arms out wide. They all watched as Evox's code was forced back into the machine, and more sparks flew from it. Evox let out a cry of defeat as he had to reform. The energy field dissipated, and with smoke wafting around him, Steel strode out.
"I don't understand!" Scrozzle shrieked. "What happened master?"
"I couldn't interface with him!" Evox growled. "That body is not just a robot! It's also part human!"
"And the human resisted and kicked your ass out!" Steel declared proudly as the Rangers formed up around him. "Because no human should be forced to do anything! Especially against their family!"
Steel summoned up his Striker Sabre, and ran for the controls, slicing through them, smashing them into pieces. Evox screamed as he was forced to retreat through the Cyber Gate before it collapsed completely. Roxy, Blaze, the Robotron and Scrozzle all started to get to their feet. Roxy grabbed Scrozzle.
"Get going!" She barked at him. "It's not too late to crush the Rangers with a Gigatronic!"
"No need to yell!" Scrozzle chastised her has he teleported out, leaving her, Blaze and the Robotron to face the Rangers. Blaze stood before them.
"TRONICS!" He called out, summoning more of his minions. He looked to the Robotron. "Destroy the Rangers. Let's see this city burn!"
Blaze teleported out, and the Rangers faced off against the Robotron and the Tronics.
"They left the Cyber Gate!" Devon reminded them. "As long as it's around, they can try this again!"
There was an explosion, at which the Cyber Gate was blown to pieces. Devon just shrugged.
"Well, that's one worry down." He commented. "Good work! Now we only have…"
"Devon!" Joanne called through the communicator. "A Gigadrone's just appeared in the city! It's heading for a tower!"
"Well, that complicates things." He said.
"Maybe not." Nate said, looking to Steel. "Do you feel up to it?"
"I am just itching to try this!" Steel told him. "Well…I would be if I had nerve endings."
"Joanne, deploy the Jet and Wrecker Zords!" Nate told her, before looking to Devon. "You guys handle this, we've got the Gigadrone."
"Sounds like a plan." Devon replied as they ran off. "Alright guys, let's take this guy off the air!"
Back at Grid Battleforce, Eli was walking through the base, tugging at his clothes, with a trash bag slung over his shoulder carelessly as he swaggered down the hall. It had been a long time since he'd worn a uniform, and he was not at all comfortable in it. The only saving grace was that it was a temporary situation. He'd gotten his belongings out of the storage locker in holding, and was carrying them in a trash bag he'd pulled from the can behind the desk. He could change back later, but for now, he just needed a way to get out the base before Cole could wake up and raise the alarm or someone found him behind the desk in his boxer shorts.
He had his cap pulled down as low as it could go without raising suspicion, and was looking for the parking garage. He saw the sign and was heading there through the lobby when he heard someone calling out.
"HEY! You there! STOP!" He stood still, considering his options. He turned slowly as a rather irate looking man came towards him. He took a look at his uniform, quickly seeing the markings denoting his rank. He willed himself into attention, saluting him.
"Sergeant." He greeted him.
"What the blazes do you think you're doing?" The Sergeant asked him. "You're bringing trash through the lobby? Trash goes to RECYCLING!"
"Oh…right." Eli said to him. "I'm sorry, sir."
The Sergeant started looking to him rather too closely for comfort for Eli's liking. He reached out, seizing Eli's face.
"What is this? Stubble? And that haircut is not regulation!" The Sergeant barked at him. "If I see you walking around looking like that again, I'm going to have you on report! Go and get shaved and get a haircut before your next shift!"
"Yeah…sorry about that, sir." Eli said in response. "I'll get right on that. Don't worry, you won't see me like this again."
As he saluted and the Sergeant walked away, Eli just shook his head and smiled.
"Asshole." He said under his breath as he found the door to the parking lot. He made his way down, finding his Harley, sitting there waiting for him. He went to it, running his hand over it lovingly.
"There, baby, did you miss me?" He asked. He looked around to make sure he wasn't being watched. He mounted the bike, turning the key in the ignition, and started it up, riding it up to the gate. Scanning Cole's security card, the gate opened up. He just tossed it over his shoulder and roared out of the base.
Back at the site of the battle, Nate and Steel headed towards the Gigadrone in their Zords, Steel's Jet Zord still mounted on the back of the Wrecker Zord. Nate was doing some scans.
"The Gigadrone's not gotten through the tower's security yet." He told Steel. "We need to shut it down fast."
"Just as well fast is what we do!" Steel replied. "Scarab Zord, Scarab mode!"
"Wrecker Zord, Mantis Mode!"
They both transformed into their animal forms, approaching the Gigadrone quickly. It seemed to turn towards them, anticipating the threat even before they started firing, but they hit it with a few blasts anyway to alter its priority from the tower onto them.
Two Gigatronics had formed up out of the Gigadrone, coming towards them, while it turned its attention back to the tower. They would need to get through them first. Nate knew Scrozzle well enough to know that he would also be updating his strategies, just like him. They both launched their Zords onto the Gigatronics.
"Morph-X Hyper Drain!" Nate called out.
"You read my mind, bro!" Steel said proudly. They drained the Morph-X out of the Gigatronics, leaving them lifeless husks, and super-charging their weapons. A couple of quick attacks later and they were nothing but scrap metal.
"What do you say we take this one out together Bro?" Steel asked as the Gigadrone turned back to them, abandoning the tower as it realised it was on its own. Nate just nodded.
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" He agreed. "Striker Megazord sequence, activated!"
Down on the ground, Devon, Ravi and Zoey were all finishing off with their own opponents. After the last Tronic fell, they each formed up their Beast X-Cannon, firing off their final strike.
"Well, that's one radio station I will not be sorry to see off the air!" Devon said. "Virus, eliminated!"
"Guys, check it out!" Zoey rushed out, pointing upwards. They all watched as the new Striker Megazord battled with the Gigadrone, blasting it repeatedly with powerful weapons.
"Those new Zords are amazing!" Ravi declared.
"I tell you this much, Evox can keep Scrozzle!" Devon said, sounding impressed. "I for one am glad Nate's on our side!"
"Nate, AND his brother!" Zoey corrected him. Devon just nodded to accept the correction.
"Yeah, that's true." He answered. "We got some pretty great new team mates there."
The Striker Megazord hit its Striker Hyper Blast, all its weapons powering up to the max and firing at once, blowing the Gigadrone to pieces. Devon got onto his communicator.
"Go ahead guys, you know you want to." Devon willed them. "You earned it."
The Striker Megazord struck a pose.
"Virus Eliminated!" They declared together. Ravi and Zoey each put a hand on Devon's shoulder.
"Well, I guess it's official." Zoey said in a congratulatory tone. "They're definitely part of the team."
"For sure!" Ravi added. "Now, come on, let's go gather up the pieces of that Cyber Gate and call a team to clean up. We do NOT want to give Scrozzle a chance to try this again."
Some way from Grid Battleforce headquarters, Eli was in an alley, finally getting changed back into his own clothes, dumping Cole's uniform in a trash can. It felt good to finally be back in his own skin. He smoothed out his kutte. He was now out of the base, but that still left him with a couple of problems. First of all, he needed to get his hands on a weapon. He had a lot of people that were looking for him, and a lot of people he needed answers from, and most of them were not going to be too quick to talk willingly.
He looked to a tag on a nearby wall, and sighed.
"Blue Crew." He sighed. "Well, we sell them enough hardware, maybe I can convince them to extend some credit."
With that, he got back on his bike, riding around for the tell-tale signs of a dealer.
Elsewhere, the Rangers had returned to the base, after a team had loaded up everything they found at the warehouse. Commander Shaw and General Burke came to watch them loading the pieces into the secure vault.
"Mom, are you alright?" Ravi asked, noting some bruising around her right eye and cheekbone. Eli's headbutt had not left her unmarked, even if she had quickly subdued him afterwards. She just brushed him off.
"It was just a little accident." She assured him. "It's nothing serious."
"It looks like an impressive haul." General Burke said as he watched them load all the pieces inside. "Quite an impressive feat. And of course, now we have this thing, I suppose there's no danger in allowing our latest Ranger to resume his duties."
"Turns out there wasn't much danger anyway." Ravi informed him. "We all saw it. He resisted Evox's programming all on his own."
"He did?" General Burke asked him. "How?"
"Because when his sick code was trying to push into my brain, I could tell it was trying to make me do bad things. It was trying to make me act against my family." Steel told them. "And that is something no one will be able to make me do!"
"You just…didn't listen to him?" General Burke asked.
"That's right." Steel told him. "Because sometimes orders are wrong. Sometimes you need to go with what you know is right, and face the consequences afterwards."
"Something I know someone not too far from here has done a few times." Commander Shaw chipped in, looking to General Burke. "It sounds very human to me."
General Burke just smiled at her. He could always trust Commander Shaw to call him on his failings. They'd worked together very well for a number of years because they trusted each other implicitly to correct the other when they made a wrong turn.
"I owe you an apology." He admitted, flicking a thumb towards the vault. "If I'd had my way, that vault would have been your permanent home. But after what you did for my family, for your family. You truly are a crucial member of this team. I only hope you can find it in you to forgive an old, set-in-his-ways man his mistake."
"Hey, we're all human, right?" Steel asked. "Even I'm bound to make a mistake some time!"
The others just started laughing at this assertion.
"Wow, Steel, whatever you do, do not change!" Devon complimented him. With that, General Burke saluted them.
"Now, I just need to go to the infirmary and check on my children." He told them. "As you were."
As he left, the Rangers all gathered around Steel.
"I just want to thank you all for standing up for me." Steel told them. "I know how much trouble you could have got in."
"Hey, it was nothing." Devon assured him. "You're one of us. We'd have done it for any of us."
"And you were pretty impressive out there today." Zoey told him, looking to Nate. "You've got a pretty cool brother there."
"I'll say, the way you turned back Evox, that's no joke!" Ravi told them. They all looked to him. "I've been in that Neural Aligner twice now. I've personally experienced the way Evox tries to get in your head. He was playing all my fears, all my insecurities, telling me all this stuff about how I was losing so much that mattered to me by working for GB and promising me what I wanted to join him. I have to say, as much as I resisted, there was a part of me that considered giving in. It was all pretty tempting. It's no easy thing to turn that down. Good job man."
"And into the bargain, we finally destroyed the Cyber Gate and got it and the Neural Aligner back." Devon said with a smile. "There's no way they can try this again anyway! Good job destroying that Cyber Gate Ravi."
"Me?" Ravi asked. "I didn't do it."
Devon looked to Zoey, who shook her head. Nate and Steel both shook their heads too.
"Wait, so if none of us destroyed the Cyber Gate…who did?" Zoey asked.
Just then, a security guard ran in, with Cole who was still in his boxer shorts.
"Commander!" The guard called out, saluting her. Cole did likewise, while also trying to cover himself as much as he could with his other hand.
"What in the world…?" Commander Shaw asked.
"The prisoner escaped!" The security guard told her. "I went to relieve Cole and found him like this locked in a cell."
"He somehow managed to get out of his cell and jump me!" Cole told her. "I…I don't know how he did it…!"
"Son of a bitch." Zoey muttered, rolling her eyes. Commander Shaw looked to her apologetically, before turning back to them.
"Put out an APB. I want Eli Reeves found, and I want him returned to us, right now!" She declared.