CHAPTER 8 — Day of the Condorian

|| Aquila Hyperion Galaxy, Planet Xybria

First, there was darkness, silent and all-encompassing. Then white light flooded Kolverox's sight. As the avian monster's bulbous eyes adjusted and it regained sensory functionality, Kolverox realized its skull-topped hands and wings were still shackled in the Plasma Restraints. The beast looked around. It sat in the middle of a perfectly square, dingy chamber, boxed in with nothing but a table. The walls were made of a thick, reflective material. Whichever way Kolverox turned its beak, two pairs of eyes stared back.

'The room service is terrible, ka-ka-ka!' Kolverox cawed. 'You Power Rangers can't treat your guests for squawk!'

The wall across Kolverox parted and the Red Supersonic Ranger stepped inside. A seat phased on the other end of the table. Supersonic Red took it.

'Fess up. Speak quickly,' he said with laconic directness.

'Ka-ka-ka! I have no idea what you're talking about!' Kolverox replied. The monster was treating the situation merrily. The Power Ranger expressed no such sentiment.

'There's no point hiding it,' Ace continued. 'We know what your plan is. Now, tell us how to save those kids.' His voice, resonating from the seamless grill of his featureless helmet, was coated by a certain grimness.

'You figured it out?!' Kolverox faked surprise. The facade quickly turned into mocking laughter. 'Oo-ka-ka-ka! It seems you did, so there's nothing left to say!'

Kolverox's good humor vanished as Ace's fist slammed on the table. 'Listen to me.' He leaned closer, his voice a low growl. 'I don't think you understand your situation. If you think Syndicate 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 afterwards. Then those children's parents can decide your fate themselves.'

Kolverox scoffed. 'Like I care what they think. I'm not swayed, ranger.' The monster sat back and averted its four-eyed gaze. 'I'm bored. You got Galaxy Broadcast?'

Behind his helmet, Ace tensed. His brows dipped, burying deep-set eyes in harsh shadow. Patience was a necessary virtue for any squad leader, but this hideous creature was pushing Ace to the brink. At the back of his subconscious, he sensed an encroaching inevitability.

His fingers, already bunched into tight fists, clenched harder.

'I'd love to have a few words with that creep,' Pyre muttered. 'I'd make it spill everything.'

Beyond the cell's two-way mirror-walls, the rest of the Supersonic Power Rangers watched from atop a sloped staircase. Though the room was soundproof, the team's private communications network allowed them to experience the interrogation from a distance. But for their helmets, the rangers were still morphed. A creeping tension had hung over their heads since their return to the Volcanic Base.

'Alas, force cannot grant answers to this riddle, lady Pyre,' Gent replied. Pyre sneaked a look at Supersonic Black. Though his expression was a sea of calm, Pyre could sense the cogs in Gent's mind turning rapidly, racing for a solution.

'Gent,' Pyre began, 'he—'

'We know,' Star cut her off. 'That's the exact reason we're not sending you in there. If Ace left you alone with that bird, even for a few seconds, there'd be nothing left. Like Gent said, we want it alive so it can chirp.'

Pyre crossed her arms. Star did not need her telepathic power to understand Pyre had nothing but scorn for the monster. There was no hiding that fact. However, a peak at Supersonic Yellow's mental aura revealed a hidden layer beyond the rage; frustration at her inability. Pyre was aware she could have acted faster, and that thought was eating away at her morale. I understand perfectly well, rookie, Star thought to herself. She considered sending her that message in hopes of soothing Pyre, but stopped herself. Stress hovered over their heads like a rumbling cloud, ready to burst with thunder. Sudden action could tip this balance and spiral their fickle composure into panic. Hang in there, Star swallowed, unsure whether she was saying so for Pyre or herself.

'Time is of the essence, dames,' Gent spoke up. The tenderness in his voice warmed his teammates' hearts and helped alleviate the mental stranglehold. 'Let us forget not that sir Brute's task is of equal importance.'

'Can you please check on him, Gent? For us?' Star requested. Gent's thin lips tugged back and his subtle smile broadened.

'Certainly,' Gent said. He then pivoted, clicked his heels and 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 during their journey across Purazi. Though it may forever be a part of every Xybrian soul, Gent had mused, this power need not define us. That is what our actions are for.

'Star?' Supersonic Pink rounded on Pyre. 'Gent's pretty strong, isn't he?'

'Well, yeah,' she replied nonchalantly. '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 could not help but smile.

From Thocozuno pint-sized antelopes, to eight-legged Deihines moles and 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? Shouldn't he be helping you?' Reki asked.

Reki was a civilian and the egg's father. Brute's brow twitched. Kolverox's beam had caused an unassuming Xybrian child to regress into a zygote, and he was referring to it as an "egg". It was the mark of exhaustion leaving its unwanted print on him. Small talk, he decided, would prevent his thoughts from straying that far.

'You mean Tensou?' Brute answered as he turned the diopter adjustment of the optical lenses. 'Don't worry about him, Reki. He's outside, trying to calm down the parental crowd. He didn't want to disturb my work, is all.'

'I wasn't the first?' Surprise coated Reki's voice.

Brute smirked. 'It's via telecom,' he said. 'You were the first to come here.'

'I see…'

'Sir Brute!' Gent's voice rang 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 Reki before turning his attention towards Brute. 'How is progress, chap?' he asked.

'I'm not quite sure,' Brute sighed. He pulled back to face Gent. 'I've run this egg — no, sorry, this boy — through everything: Infrared, x-rays, gamma rays, alpha rays, ultraviolet. Nothing. All I got so far is that he's showing life signatures.'

'Gamma rays?!' Reki 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. Reki was not sure if Brute was joking or not.

'So the other 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 therian mammal be converted into a vertebrate? How did they return to this primal stage? And what does this mean for their growth cycle?' Brute slumped in his seat. 'This is twisted, man,' he went on. Frustration made his voice crack. 'It breaks the natural cycle in the cruelest 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. Then, he said with a smile: 'I sympathize with your desperation, dear fellow. I am also of the knowledge you are a member of Xybria's brightest. There exists no problem that you cannot solve, sir Yaka.'

Gent's last pair of words forced a chuckle out of Brute. 'I've told you not to call me that, bud. Too formal for my tastes. But thanks,' he added and wiped his nose.

There came a sudden flash of electricity and the fourteen screens scattered across the lab scrambled. The lights overhead followed shortly after, first dimming before shutting down completely. Brute's pets scrambled within their glass casings, wings flapping, teeth chattering and yelps echoing across the walls. Brute tapped at the pitch black screen before him. He raised his Sonic Morpher, entered a sequence and checked around him as the back-up generator fed power back into the system. Before him, the image flickered into life again, and 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 have toppled backwards and crashed to the floor. The footage in Brute's monitor blurred and buzzed before refocusing on a mysterious figure. Lithe and shadowy, a beam of light gleamed from tight-fit armor. A menacing pair of eyes stared intently from under a mask of darkness.

'Fifteen seconds to entry,' a female voice sounded like a fine melody. 'Impressive. It has never taken me this long before.'

'Who is she? A friend?' Reki whispered to the Power Rangers. He was shaking down to his boots.

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 huffed. 'That is mistress Faustus Bathory to you, Blue Supersonic Ranger, but I am willing to overlook your ignorance. I appreciate smart boys like you. In fact, I am 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 am 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 and Pyre stormed into the room. 'She's hacked into the grid's frame system. Every screen in the base belongs to her.'

Pyre's eyes instinctively drifted to the upper left wall, where a camera lens was focused on them. The surveillance system, she considered. She's got control over that too.

'The estimated time for a solution was favorable,' mistress Faustus pressed. 'Despite this, you struggle with a simple diagnosis. I understand you have also imprisoned my beloved Kolverox in some desperate act of acquiring additional information.' Each of her statements was shaped like an arrow, knocked against her cupid's bow to be fired at Brute's scientific pride. For all that, he did not flinch. Seated on his wide armchair, Brute listened intently to Faustus' taunts.

The Mistress of Pain carried on. 'Why, it is simple. The egg you have run all those scans on?' she pointed with a clawed finger. 'Kolverox's particle beam disconnected and reconstituted the Xybrian biostructure. At the same time it formed a hard exterior to encapsulate this new, volatile life form. The shell's unique weave-work effectively prevents any life energy signature detection. Need I spell it out for you?'

'You turned them into yolk,' Brute mused, horror washing over his face. '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.'

'And what a lovely sound they make,' the Mistress of Pain cooed, relishing the venomous sweetness of her remark.

'Dastardly witch,' Gent whispered under his breath, the subtle smile leaving his face. Brute could feel the knight's grip on his armchair tighten.

'I know exactly what lingers in your fickle little mind, ranger,' mistress Faustus said. 'Why did I bother hiding the energy signatures when I half-expected you would find out anyway? I present the following, hilarious irony: 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?!' Reki exclaimed, who up until that moment had been paralyzed by fear. 'No! You can't! You monster!'

'Not if we have anything to say about it,' 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 did not answer. He remained fixated on his scientific adversary.

'Foolish young lady,' mistress Faustus huffed. 'Good looks do not make up for lack of intellect.'

Snapping her clawed fingers, 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 snapped open upon the realization that mistress Faustus Bathory was standing right in front of the Volcanic Base's entrance, escorted by a hundred-strong honor guard of orange and green 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, boy. Or yours,' the mistress suggested, 'should you plead allegiance. I would not wish for your talent to be wasted, like the rest of this wretched planet soon will.'

With one, final snap, mistress Faustus disappeared from the screens, and the laboratory began quaking violently.

Attack-pattern Carriers fixed their mounted barrels on the Volcanic Base and opened fire. Concentrated bursts of blazing energy slammed into reinforced plating. The outer tungsten layer sizzled as it cooked, black smoke rising from the impact points. The assault was relentless, projectiles crashing into the rangers' base of operations with coordinated consistency, shaking the structure to its foundations.

The impact volume, however, lessened the deeper into the earth it traveled. Underneath its many layers, at the very bottom of the Volcanic Base, Ace could barely register the disturbance from within the interrogation room. He had blinked at a rune on the left side of his helmet to activate the communicator, but the signal was hazy with interference. It was not unusual, Ace considered. During turbulent weather phenomena, Gwenga's radioactive terrain could occasionally cause reception mishaps. He decided to not inquire for status, opting to preserve his "bad Power Ranger" facade. If anything were to occur, or was currently occurring for that matter, Ace was confident the team would be able to respond.

'Hey,' Kolverox snapped Ace out of his stupor. 'Do you hear that?'

Ace tilted his head, feigning ignorance. 'There's nothing to hear, bird.'

'Wrong!' Kolverox cawed. The avian monstrosity struggled with its bindings, shaking the Plasma Restraints until a bleeping commenced.

Surprised, Ace rose from the chair, eyes and ears syncing through psychic discipline to pinpoint its source. It was sounding from inside one of Kolverox's skull-shaped pincers. Ace made to reach for the monster. The cuffs suddenly imploded and the Red Supersonic Ranger was lost in a shower of sparks. Still disoriented, something struck Ace in the solar plexus and hurled him away from the table. He slammed against the mirror-wall, then hit the floor with a dull thud, a crater of sunken glass drooling loose shards on his back.

'It's time for me to migrate, 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 struggled to find his footing. 'I'll be honest, I didn't see this coming, but it doesn't matter.' He readied his fists in a defensive stance and glared at the creature from behind a cracked visor lens. '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 whims of energy missiles hammering the Volcanic Base, the shockwaves menacingly close to Brute's quarters. Rings were starting to slip from fasteners. Alien animals croaked, chirped and skittered about as they tumbled inside their housings. Pyre and Star stormed to their rescue. They caught falling casings and dragged heavier ones away from the walls.

'My babies!' Brute cried, unsure what to do first.

'The support beams will snap!' Reki shrieked.

'Sires and dames, brace for hunkering,' Gent warned, his composure still intact, and raised a single palm.

The room froze. Creatures that were previously thrashing settled down. All around the room, glass boxes hovered in psychic suspension. Brute watched with mouth agape, amazed at their symmetric alignment, but also 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.

Star let out a relieved sigh. 'Good thinking, Gent.' The knight bowed in response. Star cleared her throat. '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 at our doorstep just to taunt us.'

'I get it!' Pyre spoke up. 'She wants to buy time!'

'Correct,' Star said, 'and I have a sneaking suspicion Kolverox is somehow involved in all of this.'

Brute was massaging his temples. 'So Ace is in trouble? 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 land Zords won't cut it. We'll need the Megazord at full output.'

'I, for one, don't wanna pilot the big guy 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.'

Everyone's brows lifted collectively, Reki's included.

The orange color attributed to the Silencers' carapace armor and helmets was due to a resin-like substance that was secreted from the alien race's pores during the early stages of growth. With their bodies developing in such a manner as to form molds in certain areas, the sap adjusted itself around the kneecaps, wrists, waist and head, the coarse texture of which allowed for immediate hardening when it came into contact with air particles.

The green pattern was therefore an abnormality. This breed of Silencers, classified as Hushers, was mistress Faustus Bathory's manner of appeasing the Syndicate. Contrary to the swordsman Cain or Arnolf the Magnificent, the Mistress of Evil had volunteered to join the organization, and her contribution to the Syndicate's arsenal was enough to appease the Traitor King.

Alongside common Silencer operators inside the Carriers, the Hushers directed twin pincer cannons towards the Power Rangers' base, assisting the assault with ghoulish mortar fire. In essence, Husher spewage was a discharge of substances too harmful to the host. Having implemented several toxin generators into the baseline Silencer DNA, mistress Faustus had altered the species' expelling function, which had in turn shaped their waste into an acidic missile that could reduce the hardest steels in the galaxy to slag.

The structure's colossal gates started to rumble. Up until that point, the onslaught on the Volcanic Base had been going on for over ten minutes, relentlessly persistent and with no signs of letting up. Mistress Faustus raised a finger and every barrel pointed towards the base ceased firing. Her thin lips stretched back at the sight of the Pink Supersonic Ranger, accompanied by the Yellow and Black Rangers. The ceasefire prevailed as the rangers neared. Weapons mounted on every Carrier, Silencer and Husher followed them closely.

Star's gem was reacting against her will. She fought to keep her composure as her featureless helmet met with the Mistress of Evil's cold, unblinking gaze. According to Brute, Faustus Bathory was an unparalleled genius that specialized in many scientific fields, meaning she had most likely studied Xybrian heritage and had prepared accordingly. It made sense then that the hints of thoughts that lingered — vivid ideas hinting at torture — were purposeful on Faustus' end. Somewhere deep down, Star knew that if she were somehow capable of unraveling the Mistress of Pain's mind, she would only discover a sadistic rapture.

'Three,' mistress Faustus said, her eyes darting from one ranger to the next. 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.'

A heavy silence lingered between the two parties. Pyre was the only ranger to visibly tense. In the stillness, Mistress Faustus was quick to notice the movement, no matter how subtle. Her stare bore through Pyre and her smile broadened.

'Too bad,' Star retorted belatedly, 'because you're leaving empty-handed today. No destroyed base, no Condorian warriors, nothing.'

The mistress looked over to Supersonic Pink. 'False,' she said with absolute certainty. 'A foolish girl, indeed. I will not even remember you when I am 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 started to glow with compressed energy, ready to atomize them.

'Now!' Star cried.

Faustus snapped her fingers. The surrounding Carriers burst into colorful plumes of fire and shrapnel. Pyre dashed towards Star. The two rangers phased their Sonar Blasters and 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, Faustus,' Star said.

The Mistress of Pain looked up, tracing the energy residues that had destroyed the Carriers. Gwenga's scorched earth started to quake. All around mistress Faustus, Silencers were losing their footing. A deep shadow washed over her army as the Supersonic Megazord trudged into view from behind the Volcanic Base, its wrist cannons trailing smoke.

'Great job, Tensou!' Pyre waved to the Megazord.

'Rangers!' the robot companion said over the shared communications channel. 'Go wild! I've got your backs, hey-yo!'

With the odds tipped to their favor, the three Supersonic Power Rangers struck dynamic poses and cried out:

'Hearts united! Pink Supersonic Ranger!'

'Burning bright! Yellow Supersonic Ranger!'

'Inspiring chivalry! Black Supersonic Ranger!'

Under Star's direct command, the rangers split the battlefield into three, even parts and slowly, methodically, began to thin the Silencer ranks.

Brute banged his fist on the desk. Reki jolted in his seat.

'I can't think like this!' Brute groaned and rose from his armchair. 'There's not even recorded data about this in the Interstellar Science Archive! Zero! Duh, right? No chance there'd ever be, considering genetic tinkering's taboo.'

He dialed a sequence on his Sonic Morpher and a holographic display phased before him. The screen was divided between surveillance footage from outside the Volcanic Base and within Kolverox's cell. Playback was choppy, with his fellow Power Rangers stuttering from place to place. A crack traced the lens on Ace's end. Near the left side, it split into smaller branches, like a naked tree during autumn.

'What am I doing here?' Brute sighed. Reki noticed the Blue Ranger was tapping his foot. '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 dude that hasn't gotten started yet.'

'Don't say that,' Reki protested. He rose on shaky legs, walked in front of Brute and placed both hands on the young man's shoulders. 'Please, lower that screen and look at me. If you're the team's brain, then that makes your teammates the essence of life.'

'Essence of life?' Brute echoed.

Reki 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 Reki's eyes. The determination to save his son and the unwavering faith he held in Supersonic Blue's intellect to achieve just that were captured in a twinkle, bright as a shooting star. At that moment, something clicked in Brute's head, kicking his train of thought into gear.

'I get it now,' Brute muttered. 'I get it!' he repeated, louder this time. He gripped Reki's arms and laughed as he hopped in joy, for such was the excitement Brute felt during that moment of clarity.

'I knew you would, Supersonic Blue!' Reki beamed. Then he added: 'What did you get, exactly?'

'Right! Please, stand back, Reki, because it's hero time!'

The man complied and took two steps back. Brute spread his legs to shoulder-width, put one foot forward and pumped his wrist-mounted arm in the air. The Sonic Morpher flashed as he cried, Supersonic! Blue light washed over his figure shortly after, energy siphoned directly from the Morphin Grid coating his body in the Supersonic fiber-bundle armor. With a final arm swish, Brute phased his helmet and instantly went for the communicator.

'Chief, can you hear me?' Brute said. Static answered back. He tried again, repeating the inquiry.

There was a delayed click. 'Loud and clear, Blue,' Ace answered.

'I won't take long. I know you're fighting Kolverox. There's nothing the bird can offer. If you ask me, the best course of action is to get rid of it. It's no longer part of my "egg restoration equation".'

Ace huffed. Brute recognized its good-spirited nature. 'Is that a theory?' Ace asked.

Brute could not help but grin. 'No, chief. I'm two-hundred percent certain on this one.'

'I expected nothing less. Commence operation, Blue. Over and out.'

'Right-o!' Brute exclaimed and switched channels. 'Tensou, buddy, love what I'm seeing with the Megazord. Are you bringing the thunder?'

'Brute! Hey-yo, you sound—'

'That's right, bud,' Brute interrupted the bot. 'I've cracked the case!'

'That's great! Do you need my help? I will preface that my hands are kind of full at the moment, hey-yo.'

'No issue there, you're helping out either way. But not with that new super-secret protocol of ours, sadly,' Brute said. His gaze hovered over Reki. 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 rose to meet it.

Metal ground against bone. Ace pressed harder, bringing the entirety of his weight forward. At that moment Kolverox pulled back to break the deuce. Ace stumbled forward, unable to regain his balance and block the avian creature's incoming punch in time. The force behind the strike knocked the wind out of his lungs, forcing Ace to let go of his weapon. Kolverox exploited the ranger's staggered state and followed with a laser burst. Scintilla erupted from Ace's sternum, staining the V-shaped crest black.

'Ka-ka-ka! I expected more from the Power Rangers leader!' Kolverox laughed as it tossed aside the V-Sonic Sword.

Ace's legs were trembling, but he refused to give in to exertion. With a hand pressed to his chest, he made out a second figure behind the avian monstrosity, a presence his retinal scanner — or whatever remained of it — had not previously identified. Floating at the edge of sight, Ace recognized the robed silhouette he had encountered on Illumise's streets the day before; a silent omen for impending desolation.

You're not real, Ace thought to himself, somehow thinking the phantasm could hear him. But you do give me an idea. Loosening balled fists into open palms, Ace assumed a crouched stance and spread his arms. Behind his shattered helmet, Ace's forehead gem lit up with a pale, red glow.

'Nothing you do will work against me!' Kolverox taunted and readied its skull-fist to fire once more. 'Now be a good ranger and perish!'

The gem flashed. Time slowed to a crawl. To the untrained eye it appeared frozen, but Ace knew better. He could see them coming with perfect clarity. Four shots of concentrated laser blasts, corkscrewing towards him. Ace steadied his breathing, spacing out inhales and exhales so as to measure time, and waited for the projectiles to approach. Once they had entered his effective range, he repositioned his hands. One after another, Ace pushed the bundled energies aside with steady, circular motions, successfully altering their direction.

I see everything. Ace exhaled. Time resumed.

An elevated mental state allowed for Ace to do many things. One of them was heightened environmental awareness, meaning he could detect the most minute shifts in Kolverox's movements. From the way the creature's bulbous eyes rocked in their sockets, Ace knew it was watching him in stunned silence. Mirrored in their reflection, Ace's arms had moved exceedingly fast, and had deflected the energy shots with extraordinary reflex timing.

'Impossible!' Kolverox cried.

'Nothing is impossible for the Power Rangers, Kolverox,' Ace retorted, the blasts that had subsequently erupted behind Supersonic Red now accentuating the sturdiness of his form.

'I'll get you! I'm the superior breed!' Kolverox squawked and charged at the ranger.

Ace breathed in. Once more, he witnessed time decelerate. Kolverox's movements became sluggish, while Ace's vision turned crystal clear and razor-sharp. Every strike Kolverox intended to deliver, Ace had witnessed as afterimages, projected before the actual motion. Ace readied his blocks, all the while searching for the monstrosity's vulnerable spots, but he did not stop there. He created 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 as it faded.

I've seen everything. Ace's gem stopped glowing. He breathed out.

Kolverox's skull-fist sprang forward. Ace brought his elbow up and stopped its momentum. The bird creature's right punch followed. It, too, was thwarted by Ace's spare arm. Supersonic Red then tensed his shoulders, rolled them back and spread his chest, sweeping Kolverox's monstrous arms outward. Exploiting the momentum surge, Ace brought his fists around and slammed his knuckles on Kolverox's head like cymbals. Dazed, the avian monster resorted to a third, desperate attempt at Ace's life. The ranger leapt over the oversized skull, rolled in mid-air and unleashed a barrage of kicks squarely at Kolverox's chest, each slam igniting sparks. With a final kick, stronger than the rest, he bounced off Kolverox and landed a short distance away.

'The future doesn't belong to you, Kolverox. It's ours!' Ace declared as he turned his back on the monster and struck a victorious pose. 'A brighter tomorrow! Red Supersonic Ranger!'

Behind him, Kolverox burst into an explosive cascade of scintilla.

'Gentlemen,' Gent greeted his adversaries. Silencers circled him, their pincer blades itching to lash out. Behind them, Hushers kept their cannon-hands trained at Supersonic Black. Gent's heels clicked. 'En garde!'

The Silencers advanced with lethal rapidity. Gent would not be swayed. Combining discipline and finesse, the knight took control of the battle through a series of timed parries and deflections, weaving them into precise counter-attacks that dispatched the rabid aliens.

A Silencer pair came at him; one from the front, the other from the rear. Gent met the frontal swing. The pincer blade ground against his Supersonic Saber as the second assailant crashed into an invisible wall and collapsed to the ground.

'I cannot allow underhanded tactics,' Gent glanced over his shoulder. 'Sincerest apologies,' he bowed his head to the Silencer before him. 'Let us resume.'

With an upward forearm swing, to an outward turn of his wrist, Gent broke the deuce and redirected the Silencer's attack to the side. The alien's footwork faltered. Gent kicked low, sweeping the Silencer and 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, blade raised in challenge.

The head Husher garbled a command and the aliens willed their cannon-arms to unleash bursts of fresh plasma. Star's Supersonic Baton swept past them in a flash, overloading them with cosmic energy. The combined forces imploded upon themselves and sent the Hushers flying.

'Spiffing aim, lady Star,' Gent rounded on his teammate. She ran towards the knight with her arm outstretched. The Supersonic Baton ran its course, rotated in the air and promptly returned to its owner.

'Rookie's got her eyes on the prize again!' Star said, her breathing raggedy. 'She can't face Faustus alone. We need to assist her.'

'An admirable endeavor,' Gent noted, 'and an even better suggestion. Let us go!'

Reki had traveled from Illumise to distant Gwenga in hopes that the Supersonic Power Rangers could help him. Fortune, he had considered, favored him, but Reki had never expected the circumstances to shift around so that it was he who assisted Xybria's protectors in the end.

In retrospect, his life motto had been wishful thinking.

The Supersonic Megazord's piloting interface was divided into five compartments. Though every console had a pair of twin control sticks, the gridwork on each one was different in subtle ways, specifically in button and switch layouts. Several colored lights strobed throughout the team cockpit. Large, square reticles moved frantically across the viewport monitor. A monotonous beat was pressing at Reki's ears, the origin of which he could not pinpoint.

'Try to relax, mister Reki! I would not entrust a civilian with piloting the Megazord, hey-yo!' Tensou's voice echoed from the projector. Reki was uncertain whether the bot was genuinely concerned or unknowingly condescending. 'The reason I phased you inside the Megazord was to improve the accuracy of its attacks. The reticle lock-in functions automatically, but the firing command is optional. And since I am piloting the Megazord remotely—'

'You want me to press the triggers,' Reki finished for Tensou. He nodded to himself. 'Okay, I think I get it. This isn't any different from military service, only this time I don't need to manually take aim first.'

'Exactly! Are you ready, mister Reki? We have contact from behind. I suggest you buckle up!'

The Supersonic Megazord's frame veered, the sudden momentum caused by the rotation almost sweeping the floor from underneath Reki's feet. He rushed to the central piloting seat and held onto the control columns as the hulking machine locked in on an approaching ship formation. They were not like the others, Reki noted; they did not have mounted artillery. At that moment, an alarm went off.

'These Carriers are transmitting suspicious signals. Hey-yo, homing beacons!' Tensou exclaimed. 'Quickly, mister Reki, we have to dispatch these Carriers!'

Between the blaring alarm, the flashing !DANGER! text taking over half of the screen and that tiresome background beeping, Reki could barely hear Tensou's warnings. He wrestled with the sticks, hoping the window would miraculously close so that he may stir the reticles over the Carriers, but nothing was working. He skimmed the console in search of anything that may help. Only with the blueprints would he be able to make sense of anything. Maybe, he considered, if he pressed—

'Oh, no, we're too late! Mister Reki, brace for impact!'

A deafening boom, followed by a rush of air, scrambled the Megazord's interface for a split second. Upon a soft reboot, the screen cleared and Reki watched in stunned horror as three robots that rivaled the Megazord's height stretched their bloated, milky-white appendages. Crevices in areas that would otherwise have mouths slid open, tractor beams shooting out to engulf the Silencers at their feet. The puny aliens were sucked in, their DNA promptly assimilated by the faceless giants to transform them into colossal Silencers.

The giant creatures bound towards the Megazord unhesitatingly, pincer blades spinning overhead. The robot raised its fists. A Silencer's weapon collided with the Megazord's forearm and the cockpit rocked violently in response. Panic-stricken, Reki flayed the sticks around but the reticles were still scrambling for a target, despite the newly-appeared foes' sizes. The alarms had stopped since the reboot, the screen was clear like the midday sky, but the repetitious squeal persisted.

And then an idea came to Reki. 'Tensou, something's wrong,' he said. 'I can't hone in on them. I think there's a problem with the Megazord's optical registration system.'

'Hey-yo, a problem?! Now, of all times?!'

'Yeah. Can you direct me to the panel? I'm an engineer, I can fix it.' Compared to Tensou's simulated distress, Reki sounded surprisingly calm. If he could trust himself with anything, it was troubleshooting electrical systems, no matter their complexity.

'They're right under the consoles, hey-yo! You'll see the handle if you duck. Hang tight, I'm going to do my best and buy you time!'

Hurriedly, Reki fell to his knees, fished for a flashlight in his pocket and concentrated. Letting the stick hover with a mind pulse, he unclasped the protective layer and unveiled a maze of cabling. Reki found the tranquil spot in his subconscious, tempered his thoughts and split a wave of force into isolated nudges that coursed along the colored cords, checking for severed bits while he scanned the circuit breakers. There was a response from the second-to-last pulse; a backstabbed connection.

A crushing impact hurled Reki away from the panel. Beyond the viewport, the Megazord had just deflected a pincer blade and had answered back with a backhanded mass of sturdy iron. Reki dragged himself back, swaying along with the robot as it fought. He neared the panel again, proceeded to remove the switch from the outlet box, then he released the wires and attached them to the appropriate screw terminals on the receptacle. Every action was executed by concise thinking, controlled bursts of telekinetic force handling the components with a delicacy that came to Reki after years of engineering experience.

'We're good to go, Tensou!' Reki had to shout to be heard over the clash of titans. He took his place back in the compartment and grabbed hold of the control columns. One Silencer had been struck down, having exploded soon as Reki had reclaimed his seat. The other two were charging at the Megazord. The reticles were already locked on to them. 'Operator Reki,' he breathed, tightening his grip, 'firing!'

Wrist-mounted barrels on the Megazord's arms blossomed with condensed light. Twin pairs of phosphorous beams erupted shortly after, piercing the Silencers squarely on the chest. Sparks cascaded from the wounds as the aliens reeled.

'You got them, mister Reki! Do it again! The power output will suffice!' Tensou cheered.

The targeting reticles were working perfectly. The Megazord steadied. Reki licked his lips. An image of his son, Xizi, appeared in his mind's eye. Alongside the Power Rangers, he was fighting to protect him and every other Xybrian child currently suffering in their egg forms. Pride and adrenaline caused Reki's heart to thud against his chest. He locked on to the unsuspecting Silencers.

'Operator Reki!' he cried and squeezed the triggers. 'Firing!'

Gwenga was shaking under the Supersonic Megazord's weight, its kilometer-long strides coming down in powerful aftershocks. Chained detonations followed wherever the mechanical colossus turned. Fallen aircraft, reduced to burning shrapnel, were dashed against the barren landscape. A deafening cacophony pervaded the battlefield, the rumble of cannon fire, howling Carrier engines and frantic Silencers meshing into a whirlpool of noise.

A rune at the corner of Pyre's visor indicated external noise suppression was active, though she was unsure how long it had been since she had given the command. Sonar Blaster held tightly in her hands, Supersonic Yellow kept her gaze trained at Faustus Bathory. The Mistress of Pain had not moved throughout the confrontation. Something disturbed Pyre, a creeping realization that she was trapped in a moment of stillness.

It's her eyes, Pyre realized. She isn't blinking. She keeps staring at me.

A striking magenta, Faustus' irises were commanding rings around hollow pupils that spiraled to the deepest reaches of her soul. Pyre managed to look away and was suddenly stranded in a porcelain sea. Blinking, she found herself trudging across reddish purple-sand. Then she was standing before a bottomless well. Pyre knelt to scoop a handful of water, but lost her balance and fell. Now tumbling through a star-lit darkness, she let out a drowned scream as the distant light of a million supernovas signaled the end of the universe.

'Yellow Ranger.' Mistress Faustus' voice, tender like the radiant dawn, snapped Pyre back to reality. The battle was still raging around them, but Pyre could hear nothing except for Faustus' voice. Had she hacked into her helmet and tinkered with the settings? Was Pyre reading her lips? Her mind raced for an answer.

'Your body acts faster than your cognition,' the mistress said. 'Reckless. Shortsighted. Deliciously delectable.' The mistress ran a clawed finger along her cupid's bow and whispered with amorous amusement: 'Tell me your name.'

Pyre's grip on the Sonar Blaster tightened. Her body felt rigid. 'You can say whatever you want,' she stammered. '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 the saying states.'

The mistress pinched her thumb and index. Forked lightning crackled and popped between her fingers. She distanced them to reveal a tiny, golden cube hovering at her grasp. Unblinking eyes watched it float before they stared at Pyre again.

'You shall make my greatest puppet yet,' mistress Faustus said and the words stung Pyre like ice.

The small cube shot out, a projectile blazing a crackling streak directed at Pyre's heart. Struggling as she might, however, Supersonic Yellow could not will her legs to move.

'Tracer shot!' a voice cried out. A laser blast promptly whizzed past Pyre, intercepting the cube a split second before it made contact. As the smoke cleared, Mistress Faustus' grin broadened. The Blue Supersonic Ranger was standing between her and Pyre, accompanied by the Pink and Black Rangers.

'Okay guys, listen up, I got a plan,' Brute said from the private team channel. 'Tensou and Reki are covering us, so we'll attack Faustus from all fronts. We don't need to defeat her outright, just keep her occupied long enough so I search for the necessary data.'

'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,' Brute countered. 'Even if she did, I can still force my way inside. It'll be too little, too late for her to do anything about it, either way.'

'I concur,' Gent nodded.

Star mimicked the gesture. 'Alright, that leaves us…' She turned to Pyre. 'Rookie? Are you up for this?'

Pyre allowed for a long exhale to empty her lungs. Her shoulders, at the time raised and bunched to her torso, slackened. 'I can do it,' she said. 'I got you guys here.'

'I'm glad we're on the same page,' Ace's voice sounded. Supersonic Red landed behind them, his appearance boosting the rangers' morale. He rounded on Brute and extended his hand. 'No more cold feet. Blue. Will you do the honors?'

'You got it, chief!' Ace stepped to the side so that Brute may step up. The rest of the rangers lined up behind the Blue Ranger as he pointed at the Mistress of Evil. 'Prepare yourself, lady! The cure's as good as mine! Knowledge shared! Blue Supersonic Ranger!' Together, the Power Rangers coordinated a team pose and shared in Brute's final declaration: 'Supersonic! Supercharged!'

The dynamism in the rangers' pose overflowed with energy from the Morphin Grid, pouring out to ignite into a multi-colored, V-shaped explosion behind them. Then they all leapt as one and attacked mistress Faustus from all fronts.

Ace landed first, forcing the mistress to sidestep as he chopped down with the V-Sonic Sword. Brute followed behind him. He vaulted over Ace, steadied his Supersonic Shooter and fired a tracer shot at the Mistress of Evil. A protective veil crackled on contact. The mistress wore it over her figure like silk, the flash temporarily stunning her. Without delay, Brute pushed his will outward and crammed it inside Faustus' subconscious. Snippets of scientific information formed in Brute's head, but the connection lasted only for a split second. Faustus was quick to realize what was happening, and had severed the connection before Brute could finish the formula.

The Supersonic Power Rangers did not let up. Ace and Brute flipped backward, prompting Gent and Star to replace them. Star swung the Supersonic Baton in a broad arc, the dispersal of cosmic energy particles dense enough to bypass Faustus' barrier. Gent then skipped and lunged with his Supersonic Saber. Honed to a fine degree, the tip struck Faustus in the midsection, where her golden armor overlapped. She staggered, sparks flying. Brute spotted another chance to assault the mistress with his will. He was forcefully expelled shortly after.

'It's working, guys!' Brute shouted as he hit the ground, dazed. Still, he would not allow himself a moment's rest. 'Go again! Keep it up!'

'Insolent fools!' the Mistress of Evil retorted. Extending her arm, she summoned a hunting crop, golden and pristine like her armor. Immediately she cracked it on her palm and tongues of azure energy lashed out from the aftershock. They traveled outward, striking at the rangers with electrifying ferocity.

Brute and Pyre did not relent. Greased lightning, bright like the first in a storm, danced along with the youngest Supersonic Rangers as they maneuvered around the Mistress of Evil's attacks. They came at her from opposite ends, their blaster salvo in coordinated unison. The mistress spun in place, every deflection from her crop producing an explosion that kicked off large cones of dirt, but also blind spots.

'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 the Blue Ranger mined for the necessary information.

'Eureka!' Brute exclaimed triumphantly. Together with Pyre, they vaulted towards the other Power Rangers, the area behind them covered with an explosive series of blaster salvos.

Something foul stung his back. Brute rounded on mistress Faustus. She was staring directly at him from beyond the smoke and fire, large, round eyes boring into him. Despite her short-lived moment of vulnerability, the mistress appeared to be unscathed from their combined attacks. Freed from the restrictions of her helmet, long locks of jet-colored hair flowed down to her waist. Her face was smooth porcelain, devoid of sharp edges or curves. Identical, bright red birthmarks branched out from the outer corners of her eyes, twin claws trailing opposite directions; along her temples and cheekbones respectively. Brute could not deny that Faustus Bathory was — and, perhaps, will forever be — the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

'I will admit,' the mistress said, a mischievous grin on her lips, 'I am almost impressed, Blue Ranger.' The crop dematerialized so she may cross her arms. 'Your theatrics provided me with decent entertainment. Though it also saddens me to admit you have insulted me greatly with this last stand. Well,' she huffed, 'no matter. At best, I have made a fond memory to accompany this victory.'

'Wrong, missus,' Brute retorted. 'You're not winning squat today. Why don't you take a look around. Your sortie's down for the count.'

The Mistress of Evil tilted her head. 'And water is wet, foolish boy. Silencers cannot measure up to Condorians.'

Brute shook his head. He mimicked a False! blaring sound, reminiscent of the game-shows he would binge late into the night. 'The jig is up, Faustus,' he announced and typed a sequence into his morpher. A two-dimensional video feed popped up. 'Tensou, buddy, how's progress going?'

'Great, Brute!' the robot answered, a test tube on each metallic hand. 'Those formulas you relayed were incredible! Hey-yo, who would've thought the solution was so simple?!'

'Wait,' Pyre whispered to the others. 'Wasn't Tensou 5.0 piloting the Supersonic Megazord?'

Brute noticed the twinkle in the mistress' eyes. He smiled behind his helmet. 'Checkmate.'

Mistress Faustus' lips split, the thin line that made up her smile stretching back to her lower jaw. Porcelain skin parted to reveal a flash of fangs, filed to a predatory sharpness. 'You naive, impertinent parasite,' the mistress accentuated every word, the sounds scraping against her teeth. 'To think I would allow you the honor to join my research party.'

'I'd decline either way,' Brute countered. His blood ran cold at the sight of her sneer. The depth of her bulbous stare threatened to swallow him whole. And yet somehow, something within was stirring him on. 'In your eyes, nobody's your equal,' Brute swallowed resolutely, 'and never will be.'

In the silence, a calm breeze swept past them. Mistress Faustus huffed, then chuckled. Her soft laughter continued as she reached down to pick up her spider-shaped helmet and lasted for several seconds more, carried over by the wind. If the Mistress of Pain was scary before, she was terrifying now.

'I will relish tearing apart everything you have sworn to protect.'

And with that final declaration, she vanished in a pillar of pale light.

Fortune favored Reki, though there had come a time when his belief in that idea had been tested. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, however, Reki chose to seize control of his destiny and fight for his hopes. So when Brute had opened the door to his chamber, and Reki had watched his son stand before him after everything they had gone through, no words could form in his mouth that could properly articulate his gratitude.

'Daddy,' the young boy said, at first uncertain of its capacity to speak. Then, more excitedly, it repeated: 'Daddy!'

'Xizi!' Reki managed. 'Yes, it's me! Come here, my boy!' His son ran towards him and gladly fell into Reki's embrace. 'Oh, Xizi!' he sobbed, holding onto his young boy. 'Daddy will never leave you again,' he sniffed through tear-filled eyes. 'I promise, I will always come running whenever there's trouble. I'll even bring the Megazord!'

'The Megazord?' Xizi echoed as he broke the hug. The boy's eyes lit up. '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 is that the plan worked, hey-yo!'

'Indeed,' Ace intervened, placing his hands on Pyre and Tensou's shoulders. 'Through teamwork, we managed to come out victorious.'

'There you are!' Star called out as she entered the room. Both Pyre and the bot noticed a look of worry replacing 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.'

Ace rubbed the back of his neck. 'I suppose you're right. However,' he smiled, 'this is a time for celebration. The calm after a storm.'

Star pouted. '"Calm" is the right word 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. Brute watched them from a distance, along with Reki and his son.

'Sir Brute,' Gent approached and bowed respectfully.

'Hey, man,' Brute replied with his own, unique politeness.

'You have claimed victory, chap. There was not 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 so scared my teeth were rattling!'

'So you 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 nodded. The knight met his fellow's gaze, a warm hazel to Brute's cyan. 'Yet, through snappy decisiveness, you persevered and triumphed. I regard your stance as the core principle of donning the mantle of Power Ranger.'

'So I'm worthy, huh?' Brute echoed in simpler terms. His eyes hovered over the Sonic Morpher. 'Yeah, I guess so,' he said and nodded to himself.

'If you would allow me to quote our liege: Is that a theory, sir Brute?'

To that, Brute flashed a confident grin. 'No,' he humored Gent. 'It's a certainty.'