I decided to update a little early this week, since Endwalker is out tomorrow I have a strong feeling that I'd forget over the weekend.
Let me know what you think!
Chapter 14: Gorilla Art
Walking into the lab, Ryne wanted nothing more than to work on her Beast Spinners, having been looking forward to doing so all morning.
"You really just want to work on your weapons?" Heckyl checked, sounding dubious as he walked in with her. After the destruction of the last of the Fury Cells, he'd stuck around to monitor Devon's recovery. While he hadn't been completely turned by the energy that had once come from the Dark Energem, Devon's DNA had been altered, and needed time for it to revert back to normal.
"Yup," Ryne nodded.
"Good morning," Nate smiled at them, already there and working on a project of his own. Without the Fury Cells, they couldn't power the Fury Armour that he'd created for Devon, and so he wanted to improve their arsenal. Evox had already demonstrated that he had dangerous tricks up his sleeve, and Nate wanted to be ready.
"Morning," Ryne greeted, and yawned widely, still sleepy.
"I got some samples from Devon already. They should be over there," Nate gestured to the table that was covered in all sorts of work, both paper and digital. "Wait, isn't today...your birthday?" Nate remembered as Ryne walked over to the table she'd claimed as her own.
"Yeah," she confirmed with a nod, lifting one of her Beast Spinners that she'd left there the previous night.
"Happy birthday," Nate couldn't help but laugh at her casual answer. He wasn't even surprised that she wasn't overly excited about her own birthday.
"Thanks," Ryne smiled back at him.
"And you're happy to spend it in here?" Scramble asked, having followed Ryne into the lab.
"Why not?" Ryne asked, glancing at her. Nate just shook his head, not blaming her. He was the same; there were very few places that he enjoyed being in as much as his lab.
"Just be grateful that Teddie's in the Magical Realm. You know what she's like," Heckyl commented, already falling into his own work. He'd insisted on getting scans from the other Rangers as well, to make sure that the close proximity hadn't affected them as well. They'd tried to dissuade him, but there were few things he took as seriously as he did the Dark Energem and anything created from it.
"What's mum doing in the Magical Realm?" Ryne asked, distracted from her work on her weapons. "I thought she was supposed to be in Pine Ridge finishing her tour," she said, remembering Teddie's schedule, where her last performance was supposed to have taken place the night before.
"I think she's helping the Mystics out with clearing out some of the monsters that spawned during Morgan's brief stint of terror," Heckyl answered, before pausing and sighing. "When did that stuff start being normal to say out loud?" he wondered, making Ryne laugh and Nate smile.
"Who's Morgan?" the Gold Ranger asked curiously.
"Morgan le Fey," Ryne answered simply, and Nate turned to her, recognising the name from story books from his childhood.
"Yes, she's real. No, she's not evil. Anymore," Heckyl amended, rolling his eyes at Ryne's vague answer. "Unfortunately however, when she was evil it caused darkness to spread in the Magical Realm, and the Mystics are usually the ones to handle that. But they had a particularly nasty entity and so recruited your mother and Morgan to assist," he explained, which made Ryne's smile fade, and her eyebrows furrow. She'd never liked her mother being called into fights, even with the powers that Ari had passed on to her. "She'll be okay," Heckyl said, confident.
"I know," Ryne muttered, grabbing her Beast Spinner and starting to work on it. Heckyl watched her for a moment, reminded of how much he threw himself into helping Mick and Redbot when Teddie was a Ninja Steel Ranger.
"I really am hopeless," he muttered only loud enough for himself to hear.
The quiet that had fallen while the three worked was interrupted by Nate and Ryne's Wristcoms beeping loudly. They glanced at each other, before Nate answered.
"What's wrong, Commander?" he greeted the woman contacting them.
'Get to the park immediately. Smash has left the vicinity alone,' her stern words took them by surprise.
"On our way," Nate nodded, ending the call. "Smash left Grid Battleforce? That's very strange. He knows that he's not supposed to go anywhere without Ravi," he said to Ryne, who turned to Scramble.
"Scramble, do you know what's going on?" she asked the pink Beast Bot.
"Not at all, I'm afraid. We all know not to leave here without you," Scramble said, sounding just as worried.
"Come on," Nate said as he threw his lab coat aside and hurried out with Ryne.
The Rangers found Smash by the community building in the middle of the park, and to their surprise, he'd found a ton of paint and was covering the yellow wall in art.
"Smash?" Ravi called as Smash dunked to paintbrushes into a tub of blue paint and turned back to the wall.
"What is he doing?" Zoey gasped.
"He's painting, right? Even I know that," Steel commented, shrugging.
"Yeah...but I don't think that wanting to paint was ever in his programming," Ryne argued, staring at the large blue Gorilla-like Beast Bot, who was coating the wall in blue paint.
"I think this is my favourite colour," Smash declared, running the brush along the wall clumsily. He'd gotten different colours of paint along his usually shiny chassis.
"What happened?" Ryne asked as Ben and Betty hurried back over, having been trying to chase people away from the scene so that it could be handled with little discussion.
"No idea," Ben sighed.
"He was like that when we got here," Betty said. The two had been on a walk in the park, enjoying the day, when they'd noticed Smash.
"Since when is Smash such an artist?" Zoey wondered.
"Never. Like Ryne said...it wasn't in his programming," Nate shrugged, just as confused about why Smash was suddenly acting strange. He'd only done maintenance on him a few days prior. As they all watched Smash, none of them noticed Ravi's sudden fearful look.
"Turbotron coming in for landing," they looked around as they heard a thud, and saw a rocket-like robot that had landed in the grass nearby. It was white and blue, with golden eyes that were locked onto them. "Bogeys in sight. Ready to engage," the Robotron declared loudly, and people ran from the area, screaming in fear.
"Ben, Betty, get out of here!" Devon shouted at the pair as he pushed them aside carefully.
"You don't have to tell us twice!" Ben cried out, grabbing his sister by the arm to pull her away to safety.
"Targets locked," Turbotron announced loudly.
"What's with this gundam-looking creep?" Ryne grumbled, before Blaze, Roxy and Asher all landed beside their Robotron.
"Oh look, it's Vincent Van Gogh-rilla," Blaze sneered, seeing Smash still painting as if nothing was wrong.
"How cute," Roxy laughed mockingly.
"I've seen toddlers with more talent," Asher sniffed, making her distaste clear.
"It's time to send these guys flying," Devon said, ignoring their comments about Smash. "It's Morphin' Time!" he shouted. The six called on their Morphers, grabbing their keys.
"ACTIVATE BEAST POWER, HA!"
"Unleash the beast!"
"Come on!" with loud shouts, the fighting broke out. As Devon took on Turbotron by himself, Steel and Zoey fought Blaze while Ravi and Nate focused on Roxy, leaving Asher and Ryne to fight.
"Oh, I remember what today is," Asher grinned, hidden under her helmet as she caught Ryne's punch. "It's your birthday, isn't it?" she asked. Ryne tugged her hand free, and kicked Asher backwards.
"I'm touched, you remember even when you're nothing but a crappy copy of the real Asher," Ryne bit back at her. Asher laughed.
"Well, I'll just have to make it a memorable day. Even if you aren't around for much longer!" she swung at Ryne with the daggers in her hands, and the Pink Ranger jumped away to dodge the attacks, regrouping with the others. However, Roxy was quick on the draw, firing multiple shots and hitting each Ranger with perfect aim. They cried out, falling to the ground as Roxy laughed.
"Too easy!" she taunted. "Turbotron. Capture that Beast Bot," Roxy ordered, and the Robotron ran off, cackling as he did.
"No!" Ravi shouted, horrified at the idea of losing Smash. They tried to give chase, but the three Avatars blocked their path, fighting them off.
"Down you go, tin-can," Asher tripped Steel and slammed her boot against his chest, making him flail on the ground. "You're going to regret not becoming Evox's vessel," she taunted him.
"Steel!" Ryne ran over to help, ramming Asher away from the Silver Ranger. She growled, before Zoey lashed out at her, forcing Asher back even further as Ryne pulled Steel back to his feet.
"Thanks," he nodded, before moving to help Zoey against Asher.
"Help! Ravi!" Smash's voice reached them, and they looked around to see Turbotron trying to pull him away.
"He's taking Smash!" Devon yelled, and used his superspeed to get past Blaze. While the Avatar was distracted, Ravi kicked him out of the way, running in to help.
"Not so fast!" Blaze tried to give chase, but Ryne blocked his path, throwing a punch and making him growl in irritation. While Ravi guided Smash to safety, Devon faced down Turbotron again, before he called on Tronics to distract the Red Ranger. Turbotron took to the air, following Ravi, while the others kept fighting off the three Avatars.
"You need to stop sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong, laundry-girl," Asher spat at Zoey as she stumbled backwards, barely managing to stop herself from falling.
"This is exactly where it belongs," the Yellow Ranger retorted, and gave a yell as she leapt high into the air. Asher gasped, looking up to try and defend herself, but Zoey's kick knocked her to the ground.
"Nice work," Steel praised her, making her smile.
"I'm looking forward to crushing you," Blaze hissed at Ryne as they grappled, and she grinned despite starting to be forced backwards.
"You'll need to get in line," she replied with a sweet smile back, suddenly jerking backwards. Blaze inhaled sharply as the force against him suddenly vanished, yanking him forwards. As he stumbled, Nate fired a quick shot that hit in the side, lifting the armoured Avatar off his feet. Roxy landed beside him and Asher, and the three quickly got back to their feet.
"Watch your backs," Blaze warned, and three disappeared in swirling red, yellow and pink lights.
"Why? Is there something on them?" Steel asked, trying to look over his shoulder and making the others laugh.
"Come on!" Devon shouted over, destroying the last of the Tronics that had tried to fight him off. "Turbotron went after Ravi and Smash," he warned, and they hurried in the direction that their Blue Ranger had gone in.
They found Ravi and Smash on the outskirts of the park nearby an abandoned warehouse that had been fenced off to stop kids from getting inside. Ravi was catching his breath, and all that remained of the Robotron was ash.
"Ravi!" Ryne called to him as he checked on Smash.
"We sent the Avatars packing. How'd you guys do?" Devon asked.
"We're fine," Ravi said, still breathing heavily from a hard fight. "The Robotron's toast," he reported. "We better get back to base," he said, before two jeeps pulled up nearby from Grid Battleforce, having been sent out to pick up Smash.
"Hey! Right on cute!" Steel exclaimed.
"Come on, Smash," Ravi guided his Beast Bot over to the car, and he nodded, grumbling about his art.
"Those Rangers get more and more irritating every day," Blaze complained as they returned to the Cyber Dimension, having lost their Robotron and failed to capture Smash in the process.
"It's a trait that all Rangers have, apparently," Asher sighed. As digital beings, they couldn't get tired, but mentally she was exhausted from the fight.
"Explains you, then," Roxy said, and Asher pulled a face at her.
"It's not my fault!" they heard Scrozzle's terrified shrieks from the part of the ruins that he'd designated as his lab space. When they walked in, they saw him pinned to his workbench, as another creature held him by the throat. "It was them!" Scrozzle immediately pointed at the three.
"Who's this?" Blaze asked as he studied the being that had been threatening Scrozzle. With black and red armour, he was a lot more imposing than the other resident of the Cyber Dimension, and bright blue lights emitted from the diamond shaped markings down the left of his face.
"So, you three worms wasted my Fury Cells," he snarled, approaching them as Scrozzle backed away, cowering in the corner.
"Your Fury Cells?" Blaze repeated, confused, before they were punched hard, and all three slammed against the wall behind them.
"Care to repeat that, kid?" he growled, chasing after them as they got up and backed away quickly, all of them easily able to tell that he was far stronger than them. "Such fools. I ought to crush you like the fleas you are!" he declared, before there was a flash of blue light.
"I do the crushing here," Evox warned as his snake form emerged from the computer.
"Master Evox...meet Vargoyle, an early creation of mine," Scrozzle introduced the imposing being, his voice still shaking. "You see, we found the Fury Cells, and he used them," he explained nervously.
"They made me powerful beyond measure," Vargoyle declared.
"And evil! He turned against me!" Scrozzle complained, still unhappy with how things had played out.
"Perfect," Evox ignored his complaints and kept his focus on Vargoyle. "I want you to work for me," he decided, and the three Avatars watched Vargoyle carefully, nervous that he would attack again.
"Why would I do that?" Vargoyle scoffed, unimpressed by Evox.
"Prove yourself, and I'll reward you with Scrozzle's data upgrade," Evox offered. Asher, Roxy and Blaze all immediately looked up at him, unable to believe what he had just said. "It'll give you the Beast Powers of our enemies, the Rangers!" Evox promised him.
"What?!" Blaze shouted, furious.
"Excuse me?" Asher demanded at the same time, just as outraged by the offer.
"It's a deal," Vargoyle accepted immediately. "So, we're partners again, eh Scrozzle?" Vargoyle threw an arm around Scrozzle, who flinched and tried to pull away, but his creation had a tight grip on him. Vargoyle laughed loudly, shoving him away before vanishing in a flash of blue lights. Scrozzle breathed heavily, suddenly exhausted, and he was then shoved aside with a shriek.
"You promised those powers would go to one of us," Roxy shouted up at Evox, just as furious as the other two.
"Wrong," Evox replied simply. "I promised to reward my strongest servant. And that is not you!" he shouted at them, and the three glared up at him, but didn't speak as none of them were happy with what had transpired.
The Rangers returned to Grid Battleforce, all of them curious about what was going on with Smash that would have led him to leave the base to paint a mural.
"Let's see how you're doing, Smash," Nate called as they walked into the lab, where Ravi and Smash were already waiting.
"Oh, sounds good," Smash nodded, eager.
"What are you gonna do?" Ravi asked, worried about his partner.
"We need to determine why Smash is obsessed with creating art," Commander Shaw said as she stood with them. "It's a waste of time for any member of Grid Battleforce, let alone one of the Beast Bots," she said sternly, missing Ravi's disappointed look.
"That's a little much, don't you think?" Heckyl murmured to Ryne, who nodded. While it wasn't outright stated in the Grid Battleforce handbook, Commander Shaw made her feelings on any kind of creative outlets very clear. Anything that wasn't a way to improve themselves in a way that benefited Grid Battleforce was a waste of time and not necessary.
"Mum would have been screwed," she whispered back, and he nodded. Even now, Teddie spent a chunk of whatever free time she could get writing more music.
"We can't have him run off again," Nate said to Ravi, worried about Smash as well. "It's too dangerous," he said.
"Yeah, of course," Ravi nodded, forcing a smile. Nate connected the wires to Smash's systems, going back to his computer to study his systems.
"So why is Smash suddenly painting murals?" Zoey asked as she stood beside Nate.
"Let's find out," Nate said as he accessed Smash's systems. "Enter Program Mode," he instructed, and there was a loud whirring sound as Smash powered down, leaning forwards to remain balanced. "Now, let's see," Nate hummed as he searched. "That's odd…Smash's Zord interface systems are corrupted," he realised.
"What? How is that possible?" Ryne was surprised at Nate's words. Their Beast Bots systems were well maintained. She folded her arms, thinking about it, before she noticed Ravi's face. He looked more scared than worried.
"Then we can't use the Wheeler Zord," Devon pointed out as he thought about it.
"Smash must be fixed before we need his Zord. Get to it," Commander Shaw ordered, turning and striding out, leaving Nate to fix Smash.
"Looks like someone tampered with Smash's programming," Nate realised as he dug deeper. Ravi stiffened when he realised that Ryne was watching him carefully, and his guilt intensified.
"Who would do that?" Zoey asked, confused.
"Guys...it was me," unable to bear it, Ravi confessed.
"You?" Nate frowned. "But why?" he asked, not understanding why Ravi would mess with his partner.
"Because...I'm the artist. Not Smash," Ravi admitted to them.
"Wait a second," Devon spoke up, trying to process what their friend was saying to them. "You paint? This is a joke, right?" he asked, smiling a little.
"No. I'm serious," Ravi replied, looking nervous but serious.
"He is," Ryne nodded, and everyone looked at her, surprised that she was backing him up. Even Ravi looked stunned. "Here," Going over to one of the small fridges where Nate stored some of his chemicals, Ryne crouched beside it. Ravi's eyes widened, and she pulled out a sketchpad and a box of paints. "These are yours, aren't they? I found them a while back and took a look, I didn't know they were yours," she said as she handed them over to Ravi. "You never said anything, and I figured if you were hiding them here, it was for a good reason, so I didn't say anything," she told him, and Ravi smiled thankfully at her, before opening the sketchpad to hand it over.
"Smash saw me painting, so I tried to erase his memory cache," Ravi explained as they looked at the beautiful painting of Roxy asleep in her pod. "But I might have pressed the wrong button...or two," he admitted, embarrassed.
"You painted this?" Zoey asked, stunned at the detail.
"Ironic that Commander's Shaw's own son is so talented in an area she doesn't care for," Heckyl considered, earning an exasperated look from Ryne.
"Ravi, this is good," Zoey couldn't help but laugh in disbelief, stunned that their friend was so talented.
"Really good," Devon agreed.
"You think?" Ravi was going red, but was happy for the praise. He'd never let anyone see his work before, so to have his closest friends complimenting him meant a lot.
"Phenomenal," Nate agreed.
"It's incredible," Ryne added honestly. She'd been blown away by it when she'd stumbled across it, never having expected Ravi to be so talented.
"Thanks guys, that means a lot," Ravi smiled bashfully at them. "I've been keeping it a secret because I don't want my mum to find out. You saw how she reacted to Smash's painting," he sighed as he took it back, looking down at the painting.
"Yeah...she's not really a fan of the arts," Zoey agreed.
"Your secret is safe with us Ravi," Ryne told him, smiling at their Blue Ranger. The others nodded in agreement.
"And I don't technically work here, so I don't have to say anything," Heckyl shrugged. Their wristcoms then beeped, and Devon lifted his wrist to answer quickly.
"Rangers, come in," they gathered around Devon. "Break-in reported at a Morph-X factory warehouse, in Sector Delta 1-3. Get there fast," the woman who led the team who monitored reports told them.
"Delta 1-3. Roger that," Devon replied.
"Go ahead. I'll restore Smash's systems," Nate told them as they looked around at Smash, worried.
"Be careful," Heckyl warned Ryne, who rolled her eyes at him.
"When do you leave again?" she asked, and he pushed her gently towards the door with a smirk. All but Nate and Ravi left, as Ravi hesitated, leaving his painting behind before following.
Reaching the old warehouse, the Rangers found that the workers had been chased away.
"Over there!" When they ran inside, Steel spotted a figure wearing a heavy black cloak, hiding himself from view.
"Hey you!" Devon shouted. " Step away from the Morph-X!" he shouted, and the figure jumped, backing away
"Rangers?! Oh no!" he yelped, shaking and raising his hands in defence. "I don't wanna hurt you, but…" he suddenly drew his weapon. "I will," his voice changed, becoming more sinister as his gun charged up, and they barely managed to duck and avoid his shot. He grumbled under his breath.
"You missed, but we won't," Devon vowed. "It's Morphin Time!" he shouted.
"ACTIVATE BEAST POWER!" they shouted, surrounded by lights in their respective colours as they Morphed. "Unleash the Beast!" with their loud declaration, the Rangers ran in to attack.
"Wait, no!" the figure pleaded, moving away to avoid each of their attacks. "Please, stop!" he cried out fearfully, before Steel kicked him backwards into nearby barrels. "This is all going wrong," he wailed. "Scrozzle, I need your help against these powerful Rangers," he cried, which made Ryne frown.
"Something is weird here," she muttered, unsure of what it was.
"Get them off my back, now!" the figure shouted into his communication device. He then dove out of the way of Zoey and Devon's attacks, before pushing Ryne backwards into Ravi.
"Devon, something's off about this guy," Ryne warned as she recovered and caught him when he was thrown away from the stranger. Before Devon could ask what she meant, his Morpher beeped, cutting into the chaos.
"Let me guess, incoming Gigadrone?" Devon asked with a heavy sigh.
"Roger that, and Nate's still working on Smash," Commander Shaw answered him, grim. "We're deploying the Racer Zord, and sending Cruise to pick you up," she told him. Devon hesitated, aware that they were already down a Ranger.
"Go, we can handle this lightweight," Zoey told Devon as she went to his side, confident they had it handled against their opponent. Devon looked at Ryne, aware that she was trying to warn him, but she sighed. They couldn't leave the city undefended against a Gigadrone.
"We've got this," she nodded.
"Thanks," Devon hurried off to the other fight, and both Ryne and Zoey ran back in to help Steel and Ravi. The still-cloaked figure lashed out, rarely landing a blow but also avoiding almost all of their own attacks.
"I'll destroy you!" he shouted, backing away as he raised a dagger, his voice stammering.
"Not if we tie you up!" Steel declared, grabbing his blaster. The other three followed suit.
"Cable Strike!" they fired out cables from their weapons that wrapped around their enemy, restraining him to keep his arms at his sides.
"Please!" he wailed, struggling. Ryne's bad feeling grew, before Zoey's Morpher beeped loudly.
"The Gigadrone is airborne. I could use a little air support," Devon told the Yellow Ranger, unable to hit the much larger Turbotron from the ground.
"I'm on my way!" Zoey nodded. "Take care of this creep, okay?" she said.
"Wait!" Ryne shouted, but Zoey was already sprinting out of the warehouse to help Devon. "Dammit, keep your guard up," she warned the Silver and Blue Rangers with her.
"What? Why?" Steel was confused. "He's weak, and already tied up!" he exclaimed, turning back, before they saw their opponent running off, trying to keep balanced with his top half restrained.
"Hey! Come back here!" Ravi shouted, and the three gave chase as Ryne groaned.
"Nate to all Rangers, Smash is fully operational and ready for action," Nate's voice came through on their communicators. Ravi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks Nate, I owe you one," Ravi answered him as they cornered the cloaked figure at the back of the warehouse.
"Darn!" he groaned as Ravi, Ryne and Steel blocked his path.
"He's trapped. I can take it from here," Steel said confidently.
"Great. I'll go help Devon," Ravi decided.
"I'll stay here," Ryne said, still uneasy by how weak the stranger caught stealing Morph-X was. "Call me if you need the Megazord," she told him, and he nodded.
"Good luck," Ravi ran off, calling over his shoulder as Steel took a few steps forward.
"Now then, you're gonna tell us Evox's plan," he called over.
"If it's just the three of us, then there's no need for this charade!" the figure's voice dropped several octaves and he suddenly stood straighter. With a grunt, he snapped his restraints, and pulled off his cloak.
"Huh?" Steel was taken aback as Vargoyle cackled, suddenly running at them.
"Oh no you don't!" Ryne threw her hand up, blasting Vargoyle with blue energy. He staggered back for just a moment, before his laughter grew.
"Is that all you've got?" he taunted, and Ryne's eyes widened in shock before Vargoyle was closing in again. He kicked the pair backwards, slashing both Steel and Ryne with his dagger, knocking them to the ground.
"What's going on?!" Steel groaned as he thrashed on the ground.
"He played weak to get us to lower our guards," Ryne realised as she pushed herself back to her feet, breathing heavily as the battle took a bad turn all of a sudden.
"You'll regret facing the mighty Vargoyle with only the two of you," he declared.
"Beast Spinners!" Ryne called on her weapons, throwing them at Vargoyle. He easily deflected them with his dagger, before Ryne was in close, throwing a punch at him. He grabbed her arm, yanking Ryne off balance, and she cried out as he slammed her against the side of a metal container.
"Nice try," Vargoyle laughed.
"Ryne!" Steel was up and lunging at Vargoyle in a moment, the two trying hard to land a hit on the powerful creature. He was fast and strong, able to keep up with both despite their constant attacks, and just continued to laugh as he knocked Steel against the metal container and blocked Ryne's weapons, hitting her away. Vargoyle then kicked Steel away and shoved Ryne backwards, cutting across her chest, causing her to fall backwards as her legs struggled to keep her up, and both demorphed as they groaned.
"I'm not giving up," Steel vowed as he tried to roll onto his side to get up.
"How amusing. A robotic Ranger! What's the matter, Tin-head?" Vargoyle taunted as he stood over Steel. He was then forced back a step when Ryne blasted him with her powers again, trying to get up. "Not bad, little girl. But you're no match for me," he taunted as she glared up at him. "Time to finish this," there was a flash of red energy, and his blaster appeared in his hand, starting to charge up.
"Hey!" to their relief, Nate's voice rang out. "Back off!" he yelled, and Vargoyle looked up just in time for Nate's boots to collide with his face. Vargoyle gave a yell as he was knocked away, and Nate landed in front of the two fallen Rangers. "You okay?" Nate asked, helping them back up.
"Now we are," Ryne nodded, thankful for his arrival.
"We just about had him," Steel said, shrugging as he got back to his feet. Nate smiled in exasperation, knowing that there was nothing wrong with his brother.
"Enough fun and games," Vargoyle growled, and they looked around as he got back to his feet. "I got what I needed. See you around, Pink and Silver Rangers," he disappeared in a flash of white light.
"Looks like you made an impression," Nate considered.
"Always," Steel nodded seriously as Ryne sighed. Just what they needed.
To say that Evox was impressed, was an understatement. After months of only having scraps of Morph-X brought to him along with reports of more failures, he was pleasantly surprised when Vargoyle returned with several barrels of the liquid energy.
"All this Morph-X! I'm impressed, Vargoyle!" he exclaimed as the three Avatars watched from the darkness. "You deserve this upgrade. Do it, Scrozzle," Evox ordered the robotic servant.
"Yes, Master," Scrozzle nodded, and turned to Vargoyle. "Careful, though. Too much fighting will make it run out of Morph-X," he warned.
"Yeah, yeah," Vargoyle held out his arm, impatient. "Do it already!" he ordered, and Scrozzle grumbled under his breath as he attached a small device to Vargoyle's arm that contained the now shrunken Data Chips.
"I can't believe this," Asher hissed, furious that the newcomer had claimed her hard work. As Scrozzle attached the four Data Chips, they lit up in red, blue, yellow and pink, before the energy pulsed all through Vargoyle's body, making him howl with laughter.
"I can feel it!" he yelled, and it echoed through the Cyber Dimension. "This power is immense! Thank you, Great Evox," Vargoyle laughed as he looked up at Evox. "I'll use the Beast Powers to destroy your enemies," he vowed.
"Serve me well, and I will let you share in my power when I take over the Morphin' Grid," Evox promised, and Vargoyle laughed with excitement as the new power thrummed through him.
"This is bullshit," Roxy hissed, standing up.
"So we do all the work, and he gets all the power?" Blaze was just as unimpressed.
"There's only one thing for it," they looked at Asher as she folded her arms. "We're going to have to work together, if we're going to get rid of him," she said, and they nodded. The fierce competition between the three had vanished.
"Oh, we will. Vargoyle's time on top won't last long," Roxy vowed.
After debriefing the Commander, the Rangers returned to the park to clean up the mess that Smash had made on the side of the community center.
"Sorry that you're stuck doing this on your birthday," Ravi apologised to Ryne as they painted the wall in the cream colour it had been before.
"I don't usually do a lot for my birthday," Ryne considered as she painted over what she assumed was supposed to be a house. "So hanging out with my friends, isn't too bad of a day," she smiled, and Ravi smiled back. It faded immediately, however, as she smirked and raised her paintbrush quickly, smearing paint across his cheek.
"Hey!" he protested, jumping back as the others laughed.
"Besides, I'm not the one you should apologise to," Ryne indicated to Smash, who'd been uncharacteristically quiet. Ravi was quiet, knowing that she was right, and nodded. She yelped when he suddenly used his own paintbrush to run it across her nose.
"Thanks, Ryne," he said, turning and walking away as Ryne grumbled about only being able to smell paint. As he talked quietly to Smash, the others kept painting. As they did, Ryne thought about the fight earlier that day. Vargoyle was a dangerous enemy, and she knew he'd be back.
"Ryne, can you pass me-" she jumped at Devon suddenly being beside her to get more paint, and his eyebrows shot up when her paintbrush hit his chest. She stared at it for a moment as he looked down, seeing the paint on his shirt.
"Oh no…" she gulped. Devon smirked.
"Now you're in for it!" Ryne gave a wail, trying to escape, which caused Nate and Zoey to gasp as Devon hit them in the process, and before long, a full fight had broken out with Ben and Betty getting involved, and Ryne couldn't help but laugh, quickly forgetting about Vargoyle, as she couldn't help but think that it was one of the best birthdays ever.
Hope you liked it! I'll be updating again on Friday next week, as I've to head to Belfast on Saturday.
Please review!
