Chapter 18: Stakeout

"Man, I'm bored..."

Jake leaned back on the stone wall, casually kicking his soccer ball to keep focused. Currently, his team was keeping an eye out for Cybax, but so far everything was quiet. No significant energy readings, no X-Borgs, no alien interference of any kind. Normally, Jake would appreciate the peace, but right now he would kill for some excitement.

"I'm beginning to think this is a trap or something. Maybe Sky is just a monster in disguise, and he's leading us into a trap..."

Just then, a strange beeping came from the tracker, a new dot glowing brightly to indicate it was important.

"...Then again, maybe not."

Cautiously, Jake followed the tracker to an abandoned warehouse. Although he couldn't make anything out from where he was, he could see some weird machinery that wasn't there before.

"This doesn't look good. Better contact the others..."

Making sure whoever was inside couldn't hear him, Jake brought his morpher up to his mouth.

"Guys, this is Jake. I'm getting a huge reading coming from the abandoned Acme warehouse. I don't know what it is, but it can't be good."

"Copy that, Jake. We're on our way. But whatever you do, do not engage until we get there."

"Roger that."

Jake was just about to leave for a better vantage point, when he heard voices coming from inside the building.

"Yes, sire, everything is going according to plan..."

"Huh?"

Realizing that was definitely a sign, Jake doubled back to check it out. Stealthily, he snuck behind barrels and empty boxes, making his way to the center. Bingo. There, standing in front of a large screen, was Cybax and a large squadron of X-Borgs. At the moment, they were in a call with Prince Vekar.

"Excellent. Those missiles will launch at sunset, correct?"

"Yes, my liege. At their speeds, Those pitiful humans will be destroyed without even knowing it! Then your armies can sweep in and take over what's left."

"Very good. I look forward to your success, so DON'T FAIL."

With that, the transmission cut out, leaving the Armada's forces to their own devices. Cybax turned to the footsoldiers.

"Start getting the weapons ready. Everything must be perfect!"

The X-Borgs beeped in confirmation before scattering. In a far corner of the room sat the weapons, already loaded into the launcher with the timer counting down. Only 2 hours were left until total annihilation.

"That's not good. I need to get out of here and contact the other, and fast!"

Jake turned around and sprinted as fast as he could. But in his haste, he didn't watch where he was going and crashed into a large stack of boxes, sending him tumbling to the ground. He wasn't badly hurt, but that did alert unwanted attention to his presence.

"Who goes there? You lot, find the intruder and bring him to me at once!"

"Uh oh."

By the time Jake had gotten to his feet, he was swarmed on all sides by X-Borgs. Sighing, he got into a fighting stance.

"So much for a clean getaway."

Acting quickly, he started to go at the X-Borgs. Although he was still having trouble, Troy's lessons had helped them all improve their unmorphed fighting prowess. Ducking underneath one staff, he dealt a quick kick to the legs of one before backflipping to knock the staff out of the arms of another. Two quick kicks to the head and they were both down for the count, but more soon took their place. Realizing he wouldn't be able to take them all out without more power, h takes out his morpher.

"Alright, you jerks are asking for it. It's Morphin Ti-"

But the footsoldiers were fast, bashing him in the gut with their weapon. Jake reeled in pain, dropping the morpher in surprise. He tried to grab it, but the X-Borgs were quick to kick it away before dragging him to the main area. Cybax laughed at Jake's folly.

"This is one of those Power Rangers giving the Prince so much trouble? Oh, this is rich."

"You won't get away with this. My teammates are on the way, they'll..."

"Oh, I'm sure they are. In fact, I'm counting on it, but it won't matter. By sunset, you five will be destroyed and your planet will belong to The Armada!"

Cybax laughed and walked off to make final preparations while the X-Borgs tied Jake to a support beam. With no way of morphing or fighting back, Jake could only hope his team could get there in time.