[[ DISCLAIMER: Due to real-life obligations, this series was put on hold. This chapter is in its 2nd phase, and thus lacking prose-wise in some areas. Nevertheless, my writing partner Anish and I agreed to upload it, in hopes of eventually returning to the final draft. ]]
CHAPTER 8 — The Egg-nition
|| Planet Xybria, Gwenga
The lights flashed open.
Bound by Plasma Restraints, Kolverox sat in the middle of a perfectly square, dingy chamber. The walls that boxed the avian creature, housing nothing but a table and chair, were made of a thick, anaclastic material. Whichever way Kolverox turned its beak, two pairs of eyes, similar to its own, stared back at the monster.
"The room service is terrible, ka-ka-ka!" Kolverox cawed. "You Power Rangers can't treat your guests for squawk!"
The wall opposite of Kolverox parted and the Red Supersonic Ranger stepped in. A seat phased on the other end of the table. Supersonic Red took it.
"Fess up," he said with laconic conviction, "and speak quickly."
"Ka-ka-ka! Why, I have no idea what you're talking about!" Kolverox replied.
Where Kolverox treated the situation merrily, Ace expressed no such sentiment. His voice, resonating from the seamless grill of his featureless helmet, was coated by a certain grimness that was unlike the Red Supersonic Ranger.
"There's no point hiding it," Ace continued. "We know what your plan is. Now, tell us how to save those kids."
"You figured it out?!" Kolverox faked surprise. The facade didn't last long before the avian monstrosity broke into laughter. "Oo-ka-ka-ka! Then there's nothing to say!"
Supersonic Red's fist slammed on the table and brought Kolverox's carefree mockery to a sudden stop.
Ace leaned closer. "Listen to me," he growled. "I don't think you understand your situation. If you think Vaxian reinforcements are coming for you, you had best reconsider. There's no escape. Unless you talk, in which case we'll hand you over to the authorities. Then those childrens' parents can decide your fate themselves."
Kolverox huffed. "Like I care what they think. I'm not swayed, ranger." The monster sat back and averted its four-eyed gaze from Supersonic Red. "I'm bored. You got Galaxy Broadcast?"
Behind his helmet, Ace's strong features tensed. His brows dipped, burying his deep-set eyes in harsh shadow. As the squad leader, he had been known for his patience, but this hideous bird was pushing Ace to the brink.
His fists, already bunched into tight fists, clenched harder.
"I'd love to have a few words with that guy," Pyre muttered. "I'd make him spill everything."
Outside the cell and atop a sloped staircase were the rest of the Supersonic Power Rangers. They gazed past the room's two-way mirror-walls, experiencing the interrogation from a distance.
"Alas, force cannot grant answers to this riddle, lady Pyre," Gent replied.
"But, Gent, he-"
"We know, Pyre," Star cut Pyre off. "That's the exact reason we're not sending you in there. If Ace left you alone for a few seconds with this bird there'd be nothing left. Like Gent said, we want him alive so he can chirp."
Pyre crossed her arms. Star could tell she was angry at the monster, there was no hiding that fact. A peak at Supersonic Yellow's aura revealed she was more so frustrated at her inability to have acted faster.
I understand perfectly well, rookie, Star thought to herself. Hang in there.
"Time is of the essence, dames," Gent spoke up, his tender voice helping alleviate the ever-rising tension. "Let us forget not that sir Brute's task is of equal importance."
"Can you go and check on him Gent? For us?" Star requested.
Gent's thin lips tugged back, broadening his subtle smile. "Certainly."
He made off with a regal stride. Pyre watched him go. How can he be so calm about this? The thought crossed her mind and left with equal suddenness upon the recollection of their talk while on their way to Purazi.
Though it be forever part of every Xybrian soul, Gent had mused, this power need not define us. Tis what our actions are for.
"Star?" Pyre started. Supersonic Pink turned to face her. "Gent's pretty strong, isn't he?"
"Well, yeah," she replied. "He's the oldest among us. Why do you ask?"
Pyre shook her head. "It's nice to have so many people you can depend on, I guess."
To that, Star couldn't help but smile.
From Thocozuno pint-sized antelopes, to eight-legged Deihines moles, to Meridian spiders, a plethora of exotic animals behind glass cases watched in silent concern as Brute worked feverishly on uncovering the secret behind the oversized egg's cryptic structure.
"Where is your robot friend?" asked the father. "Shouldn't he be helping you?"
"You mean Tensou?" Brute answered, his eyes staying pressed on the ocular lenses. He turned the diopter adjustment before continuing. "Don't worry about him, mister Sekuru. He's outside, trying to calm down the parental crowds. He didn't want to disturb my work, is all."
"I wasn't the first?"
Surprise coated mister Sekuru's voice. Brute smirked. "It's via telecom. You were the first to come here."
"I see." Mister Sekuru nodded. Supersonic Blue didn't notice.
"Sir Brute!" rang Gent's voice after the hydraulic gate's characteristic hiss. The knight approached, making sure he bowed to whichever animal he passed by. "Sir," he repeated the gesture for mister Sekuru before turning his attention towards Brute.
"How's progress, chap?" he asked.
Brute pulled back to meet his fellow ranger's eyes. "I'm not quite sure," he answered. "I've run this egg through Infrared, X-Rays, Gamma Rays, Alpha Rays, Ultraviolet— Everything and the kitchen sink. Nada. All I got so far is that it's showing life signatures."
"Gamma rays?!" mister Sekuru gasped. "You used radiation on my son..?!"
Brute faked a goofy smile. "A healthy dose?" he shrugged. The lack of conviction in his statement was obvious.
"So the younglings are still very much alive?" Gent commented.
Brute nodded. "No pocket dimensions or obliterations here. What I'm missing is everything else, and I can't wrap my brain around it. How can a mammalian species be converted into birds? How do they return into this primal stage? And what does this mean for their growth cycle?"
Brute slumped inside his seating. "This is twisted, man," he went on. Frustration made his voice crack. "It breaks the natural cycle in the most ruthless, cruel way I've seen. And what's worse? I don't have the slightest clue as to how I can fix it."
Gent allowed for a moment of silence to pass between them.
"Though I sympathize with thine desperation, dear fellow," he started, smiling as he did, "I am also of the knowledge you're part of Xybria's brightest. There exists no problem that you cannot solve, sir Simba."
Gent's last pair of words managed to force a chuckle out of Brute. "I've told you not to call me that, bud." He wiped his nose before adding: "And thanks."
Suddenly, a flash!
The fourteen screens scattered across the lab scrambled. Brute blinked, then he tapped at the pitch black screen before him. He raised his wrist morpher, entered a sequence and checked around him as the back-up generator fed power back to the system.
When the image flickered into life again, a sinister pair of eyes bore through Supersonic Blue.
Brute pulled back in horror. Were it not for Gent grabbing hold of the armchair behind him, he would've toppled backwards and crashed to the floor.
The footage blurred and buzzed before refocusing on a mysterious figure. Lithe and shadowy, a faint gleam radiated from tight-fit, carapace-like armor. The menacing pair of eyes were the most striking feature about this adversary.
"Fifteen seconds to break through," sounded a female's voice, sweet like honey. "Impressive. It has never taken me this long before."
"Who is she?" mister Sekuru whispered to the Power Rangers. "A friend?"
Gent shook his head. "Sir Brute?"
"I…" Brute paused in order to think. "I think I've got a clue." Louder now, he addressed the intruder. "You're Faustus Bathory, aren't you?"
The alluring lady tsk-tsked. "That's mistress Faustus Bathory to you, Blue Supersonic Ranger, but I'm willing to look past your ignorance. I appreciate smart boys like you. In fact, I'm astonished you choose to waste your youth playing make-believe."
Her clawed fingers clicked as she mocked him. Brute said nothing. He simply stared at her.
Mistress Faustus continued. "What I'm not surprised by is your inability to solve this elementary task. So here I am," she sneered with raised hands, "to solve it for you."
"Brute!" Star called out as she, along with Pyre, stormed into the room. "She's hacked into the grid's frame system." Her head craned to meet their adversary. "Every screen in the base belongs to her."
"There's been time aplenty to figure out a solution," mistress Faustus said as if the rangers had never interrupted her. "Which you haven't done. I can see you have imprisoned my beloved Kolverox as well, in some pointless, desperate act of acquiring a confession."
Each of her statements was a lethal arrow, knocked against her cupid's bow and flung directly at Brute's scientific pride. Still, he didn't flinch. Seated on his wide armchair, he listened intently to Faustus' taunts.
The Mistress of Pain went on. "Why, it's simple. The egg you've run all those scans on?" She pointed with a clawed finger. Pyre's eyes instinctively drifted to the upper left wall, where a camera lens stared silently at them. The surveillance system, she considered. She's got control over that too.
"Kolverox's energy beam disconnected and reconstituted the Xybrian biostructure. At the same time it formed a hard exterior to encapsulate their new, volatile life form. The shell's unique weave-work effectively prevents any life energy signature detection."
"You turned them into yolk," Brute mused, horror washing over his voice. "Their cellular composition undergoes biological reprogramming in the span of hours. Not only that, the offspring are conscious of the state they are in. It's a cycle of constant pain and suffering."
At that moment, mistress Faustus' lips split, revealing rows of perfectly aligned and lethally filed teeth.
"And what a lovely sound they make!" she cooed, relishing the addictive sweetness of her remark.
Gent's usual, subtle smile left his face. "Dastardly witch," he whispered under his breath. Brute could feel the knight's grip tighten on his armchair.
"I know exactly what's in your fickle little mind, ranger," mistress Faustus pressed. "Why did I bother hiding the energy signatures when I half-expected you'd find out anyway? Here's the hilarious bit: The 'eggs' are not some cave dweller's idea of a prison. After a fifteen-hour lapse, the transmogrification will be irreversible, and a new species of Condorians will hatch. A species that, if I may be so humble to add, will obey my every command."
"What?!" mister Sekuru exclaimed. "No! You can't! You monster!"
"The joke's on you, Faustus," Star retorted. "There's still hope. If we know what happened to the children, we can reverse the effects! Right, Brute?"
She turned to him, but Brute didn't answer. He remained fixated on their adversary.
"Foolish young lady," mistress Faustus huffed. "Good looks alone are not enough these days."
With a fingersnap, the dark filter that previously coated the Mistress of Pain's visage parted, giving the Power Rangers some insight as to her location.
Brute's eyes shut open upon the realization that mistress Faustus Bathory was standing right in front of the Magma Base's entrance, escorted by a one-hundred strong honor guard of orange and green-helmeted Silencers.
"Let me make myself clear: You lot are nothing more than an open book to me. There is no such foolish concept as hope when my calculations are absolute. Every road leads to my victory, blue boy," she announced, then smiled. "Or yours, should you accept my offer. I wouldn't wish for your talent to be wasted, like the rest of this wretched planet soon will."
With one, final snap of her fingers, mistress Faustus disappeared from the screens, and the laboratory began quaking violently.
Carriers opened fire from mounted barrels. Searing hot energy assaulted the Volcanic Base's reinforced plating.
The relentless crashing of concentrated blasts shook the rangers' home to its foundations, but the impact volume lessened the deeper into the earth it travelled. By the time it reached the interrogation room in the lower decks, Ace could barely register the disturbance.
He'd tapped his communicator, located on the left side of his helmet, but the signal had been disrupted. It wasn't unusual, Ace had considered. During turbulent weather phenomena, for instance, Gwenga's subtly radioactive terrain would cause occasional instances of interference.
Opting to preserve his 'bad cop' act, Ace didn't transmit a status inquiry. If anything serious popped up, he was confident the rangers would be able to handle it. At worst they'd send Tensou to retrieve him.
"Hey," Kolverox said and Ace snapped out of his stupor. "Do you hear that?"
Ace tilted his head. "There's nothing to hear, bird."
"Wrong!" Kolverox cawed.
The avian monstrosity shook the Plasma Restraints until a bleeping commenced. Though surprised, Ace was quick to pinpoint the sound's source; it was inside one of Kolverox's skull-shaped hands. Swiftly, he made to reach for the creature, but before he could the cuffs exploded in a shower of sparks, blinding the Red Supersonic Ranger.
Ace got up and was immediately greeted by Kolverox's fist. The strike hurled him from his seat and he slammed against the glass wall. He hit the floor with a dull thud, leaving behind him a crater of sunken glass.
"It's time for me to migrate to a warmer environment, oo-ka-ka-ka!" Kolverox cried victoriously. "Be a dear and hand over the keys, Red Ranger, unless you wanna do me the favor and open it with your head?!"
Ace rose and readied his fists in a defensive stance. "I'll be honest, I didn't foresee this, but it doesn't matter. So long as I draw breath, you're not leaving this room, Kolverox."
"Ka-ka-ka! Then I just need to take your breath away! Forever!"
Glass casings rattled to the sounds of projectiles thumping menacingly close to Brute's quarters. The animal inhabitants roared, chirped and skittered about as manically as their owner. Pyre and Star stormed to their rescue. They helped restrain certain frames in place, but the threat of overhead casings remained.
"My babies!" Brute cried.
"The support beams will snap!" mister Sekuru shrieked.
"Sires and dames," Gent warned, "brace for hunkering."
Supersonic Black stood upright and raised a single palm.
The room froze. Any animal that had previously thrashed within its confines calmed down and repositioned itself in its new, suspended state. All around the room, casings hovered in a strangely organized array of angles. Brute watched with mouth agape, both amazed and assured that none of his pets' lives would be endangered for the remainder of the attack.
"Wow," was all Pyre could say to Gent's display of telekinetic expertise.
"Good thinking, Gent," Star said.
Gent bowed. "Carry one, lady Star."
Star immediately changed the subject. "Okay, guys, listen up. Faustus mentioned a fifteen-hour gap, right? That means there's only six hours left. She can't have shown up just to taunt us."
"I get it!" Pyre spoke up. "She wants to buy time!"
"Corrent," Star replied, "and I have a sneaking suspicion Kolverox is somehow involved in all of this, too."
"So Ace is in trouble?" Brute said. He rubbed his forehead. "Man, she's good…"
"She's spreading us thin," Star agreed, "but I trust Ace to handle it, and I trust you too, Brute. I know you can figure something out. That's why you'll stay here while me, Pyre and Gent drive her away."
"But she's got Carriers out there," Brute protested. "The Zords alone won't cut it. We'll need the Megazord."
"I, for one, don't wanna pilot it with less than all five of us ever again," Pyre said with crossed arms.
"I concur," Gent nodded reluctantly.
Star smirked. "Don't forget guys, we're not the only ones who can control the Megazord."
The orange color so commonly attributed to the Silencers' carapace armor and helmets was due to a resin-like substance that secreted from the alien race's pores during the early stages of growth. With their limbs developed in such a manner as to form a mould for the aforementioned resin, the sap comfortably adjusted around the kneecaps, wrists, waist and head, the coarse texture of which allowed for immediate hardening.
The green pattern was therefore an abnormality.
This unique breed of Silencers, classified as Hushers, was mistress Faustus Bathory's way of appeasing the Syndicate. Contrary to the swordsman Cain, or Arnolf the Magnificent, the Mistress of Evil volunteered to join the organization, and her gesture was enough to convince the Traitor King, Hanoi, to accept her.
The Hushers now joined their pilot allies, providing additional ground fire with their twin pincer cannons. The barrage against the Volcanic Base carried on relentlessly for over ten minutes, with no signs of stopping.
The colossal gates suddenly started to rumble.
Mistress Faustus raised a finger and every barrel pointed towards the Power Rangers' base ceased fire. Her thin lips stretched back upon the sight of the Pink Supersonic Ranger, accompanied by the Yellow and Black rangers.
The ceasefire prevailed as the rangers closed the distance gap. The weapons mounted on every Carrier, Silencer and Husher followed them closely.
Star's smooth, featureless helmet met with the Mistress of Evil's cold, unblinking gaze. She fought the urge to suppress her forehead gem from activating. Someplace deep down, Star knew exactly what she'd discover, were she to scan Faustus.
Rapture.
Mistress Faustus broke the ice. "Three," she said, her gaze moving from ranger to ranger. She tilted her head. "Disappointing. If you wanted to be a dear and give me exactly what I wished for, you should have simply allowed me entrance."
Pyre was the only one to visibly tense.
"Too bad," Star retorted, "because you're leaving empty-handed today. No Condorian warriors, nothing."
"False," the mistress said with absolute certainty. "A foolish girl, indeed. I won't even remember you when I'm through with this pitiful planet."
Mistress Faustus raised her hand and prepared to snap her fingers. Immediately, all cannons trained on the Supersonic Power Rangers began glowing with compressed energy, ready to fire and atomize them.
"Now!" Star cried.
Faustus snapped her fingers and the surrounding Carriers burst into colorful plumes of fire and shrapnel.
Pyre ran to Star's side. The two phased their Sonar Blasters and quickly dispatched the Silencers on either side of mistress Faustus. Gent brought forth his Supersonic Saber and covered their rear.
"Better reconsider before you make a fool of yourself," Star addressed Faustus, her voice emboldened by the appearance of the Supersonic Megazord from behind the Volcanic Base, its wrist cannons trailing smoke.
Pyre waved to the Megazord. "Great job, Tensou!"
"Hey-yo, rangers!" the stumpy white robot relayed into their helmets' internal speakers. "Go wild! I got your backs, hey-yo!"
With the battle's odds tipping, the three Supersonic Rangers struck dynamic poses and cried out:
"Hearts united! Pink Supersonic Ranger!"
"Burning bright! Yellow Supersonic Ranger!"
"Inspiring chivalry! Black Supersonic Ranger!"
Syncing their movements in ways only hours upon hours of team training could achieve, the rangers split the battlefield into three, even parts and slowly, methodically, thinned the Silencer ranks.
Brute banged his fist on the desk. Mister Sekuru jolted in his seat.
"I can't think like this!" Brute groaned and rose from his massive armchair. "There's no recorded data about this in the Interstellar Science Archive even! Zilch! Duh, right? No chance there'd ever be, considering genetic tinkering's taboo."
He dialed a sequence on his Sonic Morpher and a holographic screen phased before him. Footage from outside the Volcanic Base, as well as from within Kolverox's cell, played out side by side. Mister Sekuru noticed that Brute was tapping his foot.
"What am I even doing?" Brute sighed. "I don't got a chance at solving this stupid riddle. Meanwhile these guys are out there, doing their best to buy time for a guy that doesn't even have a head start."
"Don't say that," mister Sekuru protested. He got up, walked in front of Brute and placed both hands on the young man's shoulders. "Supersonic Blue, look at me. If you're your team's brain, then that makes your teammates the life essence."
"Life essence?" Brute echoed.
Mister Sekuru nodded. "Exactly. They flow in order to provide you with oxygen; for the necessary room to stop, take a deep breath and really think."
Brute looked into mister Sekuru's eyes. The determination to save his son and the unwavering faith he held in Supersonic Blue's intellect to achieve just that were captivated in a bright twinkle that made the horn inside Brain's head toot.
His train of thought had kicked into gear.
"I get it now," Brute muttered. "I get it!" he repeated, louder this time. He gripped mister Sekuru's arms and laughed as he hopped in joy, such was the excitement Brute felt at that moment of clarity.
Mister Sekuru gave Brute the brightest smile. "I knew you would, Supersonic Blue!"
"Right! Please, stand back, mister, because it's hero time!"
Mister Sekuru complied. He took two steps back, allowing Brute to spread his legs to shoulder-width and raise his arms. He hurled his upper body to the side, cried out 'Supersonic!' and then pumped his wrist-mounted morpher in the air.
Blue light washed over his figure, energy tapped directly from the Morphin Grid coating his body in the Supersonic fibre-bundle armor. With a final arm swish, Brute materialized his helmet and instantly went for the communicator.
"Chief, can you hear me?"
There was a delayed click. "Loud and clear, Blue," Ace answered.
"I won't take long. I know you're fighting Kolverox. He doesn't have anything to offer us. If you ask me, the best course of action is to get rid of him. He's not part of my 'egg restoration' equation."
Ace huffed. Brute recognized the gesture's good-spirited nature. "Is that a theory?" Ace asked.
Brute couldn't help but grin. "No, chief. I'm two-hundred percent certain on this one."
"I was certain. Commence operation, Blue. Over and out."
"Right-o!" Brute exclaimed and switched channels. "Tensou, buddy, are you bringing the thunder?"
"Brute! Hey-yo, you sound-"
"That's right, bud," Brute interrupted him, unable to withhold his excitement. "I've cracked the case!"
"That's great! Do you need my help? I'll preface that my hands are kind of full at the moment, hey-yo."
"No issue there, you're helping out anyway, but not with that new super-secret protocol of ours," Brute said. His gaze hovered over mister Sekuru. The latter gulped.
Behind the helmet, Brute had the biggest, most mischievous grin on his face. "Say, Tensou, have you ever thought of taking on a Megazord apprentice?"
The V-Sonic Sword came down. A beaked skull reached out and grasped it tightly.
Ace doubled down, bringing the entirety of his weight forward, but Kolverox didn't budge. The avian creature pulled its arm back, breaking the deuce. As Ace stumbled forward, Kolverox socked him with its damaged arm. The force behind the strike was enough to sever Ace's grip on the weapon. Kolverox exploited his staggered state and assaulted Supersonic Red with a short laser burst.
"Ka-ka-ka! I expected more from the leader!" Kolverox laughed as it discarded the Supersonic Sword.
Ace stumbled, but he didn't fall. With a hand pressed to his chest, he made out a second figure behind the avian monstrosity. Standing at the edge of his vision, Ace recognized it as the robed silhouette he'd encountered on Illumise's streets the day before; a silent, distant observer.
You're not real, Ace thought to himself. But you do give me an idea.
Uncurling his fists into open palms, Ace assumed a crouched stance and stretched his arms out and before him. Underneath his helmet, Ace's forehead gem lit up with a pale, red glow.
"Nothing you do will work against me!" Kolverox taunted and readied the skull-fist to shoot once more. "Now be a good ranger and perish!"
The gem's light flashed.
Time had slowed to a crawl. To the untrained eye, it seemed frozen. Either way, Ace could see them clearly. Four bright red shots of concentrated laser blasts, headed his direction. He used his breathing to measure time as he waited for them to approach, to come close enough for him to reposition his hands. One after another, he pushed the energy masses aside with circular motions, successfully altering their direction.
"I see everything," Ace exhaled and time resumed.
Kolverox couldn't believe its bulbous eyes. The Red Supersonic Ranger moved exceedingly fast, deflecting the energy shots at unimaginable speeds. The blasts that subsequently erupted behind Ace accentuated the sturdiness of his form.
"Impossible!" the bird creature cried.
"Nothing is impossible for the Power Rangers, Kolverox," Ace retorted.
"I'll get you! I'm the superior breed!" Kolverox squawked and charged at the ranger.
Once more, Ace witnessed time decelerate.
Kolverox's movements appeared sluggish and delayed, while Ace's vision was crystal clear and intensely focused. Every strike Kolverox was to deliver to him, Ace saw before the monster executed it; afterimages projected before the actual motion. As a result, Ace could ready his blocks and at the same time spot the monstrosity's vulnerable spots.
Ace didn't stop there. He projected an afterimage of his own, a second self that swayed around Kolverox. The effigy blocked, then punched, jumped, spun in the air and kicked. Its boot slammed into Kolverox before it fated, signalling the end of Ace's rapid assessment of their fight.
The red gem on Ace's forehead stopped glowing.
"I've seen everything."
Kolverox's skulled fist flew at him. Ace immediately bent his elbow and stopped its momentum. The bird creature's right followed suit, which was also thwarted by Ace's spare arm. Putting the brunt of his might on his shoulders, Ace spread his back and swept Kolverox's monstrous arms outward. He exploited the momentum surge and brought his fists around, slamming his knuckles on Kolverox's head like cymbals.
The avian resorted to instinct, forcing a third attempt at Ace's life. The Red Supersonic Ranger leapt over the oversized skull, turned in mid-air and unleashed a steady barrage of kicks squarely at Kolverox's chest. Each slam ignited sparks, building such powerful accumulated force that Ace's final kick, daubed in fire, came through.
Ace skidded to a halt behind his adversary. "The future doesn't belong to you, Kolverox. It's ours!" he declared and struck a victorious pose.
"A brighter tomorrow! Red Supersonic Ranger!"
Behind him, Kolverox burst into an explosive cascade of sparks.
"Gentlemen," Gent greeted his adversaries.
Silencers circled him, their pincer blades itching to lash out. Behind them and in a loose outer ring, Hushers kept their cannon-hands trained at Supersonic Black.
Gent's heels clicked. "En garde!"
The Silencers advanced with lethal rapidity. Gent wouldn't be swayed. Combining discipline and finesse, the knight took control of the battle through a series of timed parries and deflections, which in turn led to precise counterattacks that dispatched the rabid aliens.
A Silencer pair came at him; one head to head, the other from the back. Gent met the frontal swing, pincer blade grinding against his Supersonic Saber. Meanwhile the second assailant crashed against an invisible wall and fell to the ground.
"I cannot allow underhanded tactics," Gent addressed over his shoulder. He resumed to the opponent opposite of himself. "Apologies," he said and bowed his head. "Let us resume."
An upward swing of his forearm, to an outward turn of his wrist, and Gent had successfully broken the deuce and redirected the Silencer's attack to the side. The alien's footwork faltered. Gent allowed for his own leg to sweep the Silencer, then cleaved the airborne creature with the Supersonic Saber.
Sparks burst from the Silencer's carapace armor as Gent pivoted in place. "Next," he declared with his sword raised in challenge.
The head Husher garbled a command and the rest willed their cannon arms to unleash bursts of fresh plasma. Star's Supersonic Baton swept past them in a flash, overloading them with pink, cosmic energy. The combined forces imploded upon themselves and sent the Hushers flying.
"Spiffing aiming, lady Star," Gent turned to face her.
Star ran towards Gent with her arm outstretched, ready to get her weapon back. The Supersonic Baton ran its course, rotating in the air and promptly returning to its owner.
"Rookie's got her eyes on the prize again! She can't face Faustus alone! We need to assist her! "
"An admirable endeavor," Gent noted, "and an even better suggestion. Let us go!"
On the other end of the chaotic battlefield, the Supersonic Megazord wrestled against Carriers and gigantified Silencers alike, tackling the situation with a combination of punches and timed flurries of cannon fire. All around the giant robot, detonations from fallen aircraft hurled panicked Silencers to the ground.
Despite everything, Pyre kept her Sonar Blaster trained at the Mistress of Evil. Between them, there existed a disturbing silence. It's her eyes, Pyre realized. She isn't blinking. She keeps staring at me.
"Your body," mistress Faustus spoke. Her words amplified Pyre's tensity. "You don't think. No, your body acts on its own. You're reckless. Shortsighted." She ran a clawed finger along her cupid's bow as she whispered: "Deliciously delectable."
Pyre's grip on the Sonar Blaster tightened. "Yeah, well," she stammered, "You can say whatever you want. It doesn't change the fact I got you on the ropes."
To that, mistress Faustus chuckled. "How adorable of you to assume you have any notion of control over me, child. A puppet can never notice the strings, or so they say."
The mistress pinched her thumb and index. Forked lightning crackled and popped between her fingers. Upon opening them again, a tiny, golden cube hovered at her grasp. Her unblinking eyes watched it float before they resumed staring at Pyre.
"You'll make my greatest puppet yet," mistress Faustus said and caused Pyre to freeze.
The small cube darted like a projectile, blazing a crackling streak squarely directed at Pyre's heart. Struggling as she might, Supersonic Yellow couldn't will her legs to move.
"Tracer shot!" called out a voice from far away.
A laser blast whizzed past Pyre, intercepting the cube-shot a split second before it made contact with the ranger. At the same time, Star and Gent ran to her aid, the Supersonic Baton and Sonic Saber raised as defensive parameters.
The smoke cleared. Mistress Faustus' grin broadened. The Blue Supersonic Ranger stood between her and the rest of the Power Rangers.
"Everyone, listen to me," Brute said, addressing his fellow rangers from a private channel. "We'll attack her from all fronts. We don't need to outright defeat her, just keep her occupied long enough so I can tap into her thoughts."
"Are you sure about this, Brute?" Star asked. "I think I get what your plan is, but what if she's anticipated this as well?"
"Not a chance she knows I'm a possessor. I'll give it away now, but it'll be too little, too late for her to do anything about it."
"I concur," Gent added.
Star nodded. "Alright, that leaves us…" She turned to Pyre. "Rookie? Are you up for it?"
Pyre allowed for a long exhale to exit her lungs. Her shoulders, previously raised and bunched to her torso, had slackened. No, Star realized, they'd relaxed.
"I can do it," Pyre said. "I got you guys here."
"I'm glad we're on the same page," Ace's voice sounded. Their leader landed before them, granting each Supersonic Power Ranger a refreshing boost in morale. "No more cold feet. Brute," Ace turned to him. "Will you do the honors?"
"You got it, chief!" Ace stepped aside and allowed him to move forward. The rest of the rangers lined up behind Brute as he pointed his finger at the Mistress of Evil. "Prepare yourself, lady! The cure's as good as mine!
"Knowledge shared! Blue Supersonic Ranger!"
His allies coordinated a team pose and shared in Brute's next declaration:
"Supersonic! Supercharged!"
The dynamism in the ranger's pose overflowed with energy from the Morphin Grade. Such was the over-abundance that the energy poured out of their suits and ignited a multi-colored, V-shaped explosion behind them.
Without a moment to waste, all five of the Supersonic Power Rangers leapt as one, leading a charge against mistress Faustus from all fronts.
Ace landed first, forcing mistress Faustus to dodge as he chopped down with his V-Sonic Sword. Brute followed suit, vaulting over Ace and shooting the Sonar Blaster point blank at the Mistress of Evil. A protective veil, worn over her figure like silk, crackled on contact, temporarily blinding her. Brute immediately extended his will outward, cramming it inside Faustus' subconscious.
Scientific information was forcibly fed into Brute's brain, but the connection lasted for a split second before Faustus realized what was happening, and proceeded to sever it by force of will.
The Supersonic Power Rangers didn't falter in their assault. Ace and Brute hopped back, prompting Gent and Star to replace them. Swinging her Supersonic Baton in a broad arc, Star used the cosmic energy to bypass Faustus' barrier. Gent then dashed forward and thrust his Supersonic Saber. The tip, honed to a fine degree, struck Faustus in the midsection, where her golden armor overlapped. Sparks flew from her staggered figure, providing Brute with the chance to once again assault her with his will.
"It's working, guys!" Brute shouted, knocked on his behind by mistress Faustus' forceful expelling. Still, he didn't allow himself a moment's rest. "Go again! Keep it up!"
"Insolent fools!" Faustus retorted.
The Mistress of Evil extended her arm and summoned a hunting crop, as gold and pristine as her armor. She cracked it on her palm, generating waves of forked lightning that travelled outward and struck at the rangers with ferocious might.
Brute and Pyre wouldn't relent. They came at Faustus as one, firing a series of Sonar blasts from opposite ends. Faustus spun in place, each deflection from her crop causing an explosion that kicked off large cones of dirt.
Greased lightning, bright like the first in a storm, danced around the youngest Supersonic Rangers as they cartwheeled around the Mistress of Evil, creating new blind spots with each trigger squeeze.
"There!" Brute cried out and unleashed his concentrated will at Faustus for a third and final time. The mistress rocked back as if struck. Her helmet, ornate in design and fashioned after a spider, dropped to the ground as Brute mined for as much information as he could muster.
"Eureka!" Brute exclaimed triumphantly and, along with Pyre, backflipped to Ace and the other rangers, leaving behind them an explosive series of Sonar Blaster salvoes.
Despite everything, Mistress Faustus stood tall. Had Brute not bore witness to her previous moments of short-lived vulnerability, she was seemingly unscathed; not a single scratch on her perfect features.
"I will admit," she said with a mischievous grin, "I'm almost impressed, Supersonic Blue." The crop dematerialized, allowing for mistress Faustus to cross her arms. "Your theatrics made for decent entertainment. Though it also saddens me to admit you've insulted me greatly with this last stand. Well," she huffed, "no matter. At best, I've made a fond memory besides my victory."
"Wrong, missus," Brute retorted. "You're not winning squat today. Take a good gander around you, because your sortie's down for the count."
The Mistress of Evil cocked an eyebrow. "And water is wet, foolish boy. Silencers cannot measure to Condorians."
Brute shook his head. He mimicked a 'false' blaring sound, like in the live shows he'd binge late at night. "The jig is up, Faustus," he announced and typed a sequence in his wrist morpher. A two-dimensional screen popped up before him.
"Tensou, buddy," Brute spoke to the screen. "How's progress going?"
"Great, Brute!" the robot answered. He was holding a test tube on each metal hand. "Those formulas you relayed were incredible! Hey-yo, who would've thought the solution was so simple?!"
"Wait," Pyre whispered to herself. "Wasn't Tensou 5.0 piloting the Supersonic Megazord?"
For a split second, mistress Faustus' perfect features creased. Brute had managed to notice the twinkle in her eyes when she realized what had transpired. He smiled behind his helmet.
"Checkmate."
Mistress Faustus' lips split as she flashed her filed teeth at Brute. "You naive, impertinent parasyte," she sneered. "To think I'd allowed you the honor of joining my research party."
"I'd decline either way," Brute countered. "In your eyes, nobody's your equal. We'll never be."
A calm breeze swept past them. Mistress Faustus huffed. She proceeded to chuckle. It went on as she reached down to pick up her spider-shaped helmet and lasted for several seconds more.
With a cold, unblinking stare, she made a final declaration before vanishing in a pillar of pale light:
"I will relish tearing apart everything you've sworn to protect."
"Dad! Daddy!"
"Xizi! It's me! Come here, Xizi!"
The young child ran toward his father and fell into his embrace.
"Xizi!" mister Sekuru sobbed. He held onto his son tight. "Daddy will never leave you again!" He broke the hug to meet his son's tear-filled eyes. "I promise," he sniffed, "to come running whenever there's trouble. I'll even bring the Megazord!"
Young Xizi's eyes lit up. "The Megazord?" he echoed. "You can pilot the Megazord, daddy?!"
"So that's why," Pyre said aloud. She turned to Tensou with a judgemental look on her face.
Tensou 5.0 raised his hands in protest. "Hey-yo, don't look at me like that! It was Brute's idea! Besides, what matters most is that the plan worked, hey-yo!"
"Indeed," Ace intervened, placing one hand on Pyre and Tensou's shoulders respectively. "Through teamwork, we managed to come out victorious."
"There you are!" Star called out as she entered the room. Both Pyre and Tensou 5.0 spotted a look of worry sweeping past their leader's usually calm and collected stature.
"You shouldn't prance about, Ace. Your wounds will open again," Star tapped the bandage wrapped around his forehead. "I'm starting to think it's not a coincidence that you spend the most time in the infirmary out of all of us," she sighed.
Ace rubbed the back of his neck. "I suppose you're right," he smiled. "However, this is a time of celebration. The calm after a storm."
"Calm's the right word," Star pouted, "and you, sir, had better go to the infirmary and calm down."
Behind the bickering duo, Pyre and Tensou 5.0 struggled to hold back their childish giggling. All the while Brute watched them, along with mister Sekuru and his son, from a distance.
"Sir Brute," Gent approached and bowed respectfully.
"Hey, man," Brute replied with his own, unique politeness.
"You've claimed victory, chap. There wasn't a speck of doubt clouding my mind. And what bold determination you displayed against this valiant new foe."
Brute let out a nervous chuckle. "You're kidding? I was scared so much my teeth were rattling!"
"You don't say?" Gent asked. There was genuine surprise in his inquiry.
"Oh yeah," Brute admitted. "So scared, I was afraid to move my legs for fear of collapsing on the spot. You know, that kind of fright."
"Perfectly understandable," Gent said. The knight met his fellow's gaze, a warm hazel to Brute's cyan. "Yet, through snappy decisiveness, you persevered and triumphed. I regard thine stance as the core principle of donning the mantle of Power Ranger."
"So I'm worthy, huh?" Brute echoed in much simpler terms. His eyes hovered over the Sonic Morpher. "Yeah," he nodded, "I guess so."
"If you'd allow me to quote mine liege: Is that a theory, sir Brute?"
To that, Brute flashed a confident grin. "No," he humored Gent. "It's a certainty."