Episode 5 – Here To Be Ronny
The lights come on in the cockpit of zord 7. The Overdrive Tracker is placed into the Control Driver.
"Shovel Driver, online," the Pink Ranger calls out as she powers up her new zord. The light blue zord races through the city. A vehicle, similar in size to that of the Shovel Driver, with a razor saw on top, charges at the new zord.
They ram into each other, the claws of the Shovel Driver trying to take hold of the razer saw.
"Increasing power now," Rose calls, pressing down onto her Control Driver. The two continue to clash, the attacking vehicle takes the advantage. The Shovel Driver is sent flying back, leaning on the edge on top of a parking structure. Rose struggles in the cockpit as the zord falls of the edge.
She manages to get control of the zord, holding itself onto the side of the structure.
"Come on," the Pink Ranger relents. "You can do this." Rose pulls it together, pushing down onto her Control Driver once more. The Shovel Driver grabs onto the top of the structure, pulling itself back onto level ground.
The zord races forward once again, its claw extended. It rams into the vehicle, knocking the razer saw off of the top of it. The zord regroups back.
"It's over now," she declares. The claw takes the vehicle hole, lifting it into the air. The zord spins round, taking the vehicle with it. It spins around, gaining speed and momentum. It finally releases it, sending it through the air. It falls to the ground and explodes.
"Simulation Complete," the Pink Rangers hears an automated voice in the cockpit.
Rose walks back into the lab at The Vault to meet the rest of her team, Mr Hartford and General Montgomery. She remains morphed, carrying her helmet under her arm.
"Well?" the Pink Ranger begins. "How did I do?"
"Very well Rose," Hartford declares. "That was the final test of the individual zord. The next test will be combining it with the DriveMax Megazord. That won't be in the zord bay though. We'll take the zords to the outskirts of town and get you to form the Megazord."
"What are we waiting for then?" Rose asks impatiently.
"Aren't you tired?" Mack asks. "The Drill Driver nearly wiped me out."
"Well I guess I have more stamina than you," she replies sharply. "Come on guys."
She turns to head back to the zord bay, the other Rangers moving to reluctantly follow.
"Hold it," Montgomery commands the team, the Rangers stopping in their tracks. "Testing is done for today. Take the rest of the day to recuperate. We'll complete the analysis of the Shovel Driver and make sure it is up to scratch." Rose sighs, but she doesn't argue. She power down.
"Fine," she laments. Ronny approaches the Pink Ranger.
"We could always head to the race track if you're desperate to go at it?" Ronny smiles at the Pink Ranger.
"No thank you," Rose replies coldly, walking past everyone and leaving the lab without a further word. The team is shocked by the response.
"I'm sure she's just realised how tired she is," Dax states, trying to make the Yellow Ranger feel better.
"Yeah, that'll be it," she replies, faking a smile.
In their underground lair, Glacia and Moltor discuss their next move.
"We gave to do something to defeat those annoying Rangers," Moltor calls out. "They should have fallen already."
"Maybe if you hadn't failed with the weather machine," she responds, her chilling tone piercing through the fiery monster.
"I didn't fail," Moltor shouts back, angry at her statement. "You changed my plan without even telling me."
"It does not matter," she cuts him off before he continues. "I learned something during the encounter. When the Ranger's zord were enclosed in the ice, their power levels dropped. If I can capture a few of the Rangers in that ice before they morph, they'll be trapped forever."
"And what about the other Rangers?" he asks.
"I have a plan for them as well."
Ronny and Will walk out of The Vault together, Ronny still smarting from her interaction with Rose.
"Do you think Rose will ever accept us?" the Yellow Ranger asks glumly.
"You still don't get it do you?" Will responds. Ronny stops walking.
"Get what?" she replies, confusion covering her face and filling her voice. Will stops too.
"We're on the outside here," Will explains as he turns to face her. "Rose is one of the original Rangers. Mack is Hartford's son. And Dax is an actual martial artist. If anything goes wrong, we'll the first ones out."
"Well that's a bit pessimistic, isn't it?"
"Trust me Yellow. When all is said and done, we'll be left out in the cold." He turns away from the Yellow Ranger. "Rose will never accept us, because she never has too." The Black Rangers walks away, leaving Ronny dumbfounded.
The Rangers assemble at the Hartford Mansion the following day, Will notably absent.
"I've got a mission for the team," Mr Hartford declares.
"What about Will?" Ronny asks. "Shouldn't we wait for him?" Hartford sighs.
"I'll send him once he gets here," he replies. "I'm detecting some strange readings from with the forest and at the rock quarry. You'll need to split up."
"Is that wise?" Rose asks. "Are they ready to go out on their own?" Her words echo the concerns she raised around Travis and Sophia on their first solo mission.
"Only one way to find out," Hartford declares. "Mack, you and Dax will head to the forest. Rose, you and Ronny will go to the quarry." Rose folds her arms, clearly unhappy at the pairing.
"Well, we should get going then," Rose declares. "We'll drop you off on the way."
"Let's do this," Mack and Dax high five each other as head towards the garage.
"I'm sure we'll make a good team as well," Ronny tries to gee up the Pink Ranger.
"We better join then," Rose states, walking past the Yellow Ranger. Hartford watches the interaction, Ronny maintaining a fake smile.
"Don't worry about her," he states as he approaches. "You how she gets.
"Sure," her smile continues. "We'll be great." She walks out of the parlour, following the rest of the team. Spencer approaches from the back of the room.
"Do you think they'll be able to work together?" Spencer asks Hartford.
"We won't know until they try," Hartford laments. "Let's go to the lab and send them the co-ordinates."
"Very good sir," Spencer responds.
The female Rangers drop the male ones off at the forest and speed off. The two take out their Overdrive Trackers, flipping it into scan mode.
"Picking up something," Mack states. "No idea what though." They proceed to walk through the forest area.
"Where do you think Will is?" Dax asks the Red Ranger.
"I don't know. Montgomery pulled him in for another meeting and he's been acting weird since."
"That's just what we need. More disfunction."
"Right?"
Ronny and Rose arrive at the quarry and exit the jeep. Rose takes out her Overdrive Tracker and begins scanning the area. She walks forward, the Yellow Ranger following sheepishly behind.
"Any idea what we're up against?" Ronny asks Rose as she walks behind her.
"We'll know when we find something," she replies sharply. The come across a rockface, finding chillers in the quarry below. "Glacia must be up to something."
"Are they looking for something,?" the Yellow Ranger observes, seeing them walk around looking at the ground.
"I don't know," Rose replies, her eyes transfixed on the foot soldiers. Ronny sees her chance.
"Well, let's find out," the Yellow Ranger declares.
"Wait, no," Rose tries to stop her, but Ronny is too quick. She jumps into the quarry and starts to take on the Chillers. Ronny spins and kicks the foot soldiers back. "We should have waited for the others. Eugh." The Pink Ranger follows her down to support her.
Glacia teleports in, taking place behind the rocks where the Rangers jumped from.
"And so it begins," Glacia declares, out of sight from the female Rangers.
The two Rangers beat the Chillers back with ease, not even having to morph. Together, they finish off the final foot soldiers, the weak Chillers breaking apart.
"That was too easy," Rose asserts, suspicion filling her voice.
"I have been training you know," the Yellow Ranger snaps, assuming that Rose was referring to her. "You know what…"
"Shut up," Rose silences her frustrated teammate. "Did it just get cold around here?" Ronny looks around, suddenly noticing that she can see her breathe.
Suddenly, the two Rangers hear a cracking noise. They look at each other, before turning their attention to the ground. The dirt beneath them has turned to ice, the two dropping through the ice and into a dark cavern.
Ronny and Rose get themselves up and pat the dirt off of their uniforms.
"Are you okay?" Rose asks the Yellow Ranger.
"I think so," she responds. They look up at the holes they fell from. "You think we can use the zip-line in the morphers to get back up?"
"I don't know. But we have to try."
"You be going anywhere," Glacia reveals herself to the two Rangers.
"I knew it was cold in here," Rose declares. "What do you want Glacia?"
"I didn't expect you to fall for my trap so easily. I thought you were smarter than that."
"If you wanted a fight, you should have just asked," Ronny blurts out. She is ready to take out her frustration on the icy queen.
"Dial it back Ronny," Rose warns. The two take out their Overdrive Trackers. Glacia reacts quickly, holding up her ice staff. They flip their morphers open.
"Overdrive…" the Rangers begin their morphing call. Glacia releases an ice blast from her staff. "Accelerate." The icy blast encircles the area around Rose and Ronny as they roll their morphers down their sleeves. Morphing energy begins to cover them. The blast moves up, trapping the two in a massive icy cavern. They morph for an instant, their suits quickly fading from them.
"What happened?" Ronny utters, looking stunned as she looks at herself after the failed morph.
"The morph failed," Rose responds. "Let's try again." The two line up and hold up their morphers again.
"Overdrive Accelerate," the two call, rolling their morphers down their arms once again. But, still nothing happens.
"We can't morph," Rose murmurs. "We're trapped in here."
Outside of the icy hold, Glacia begins to laugh at the trapped Rangers.
"Now for part two of my plan," the monster declares, before teleporting away.
Mack and Dax continue to make their way through the forest.
"I hope the girls are having better luck than we are," Mack declares.
"I know," Dax responds. "I just want to get this over and done with."
A cloud of smoke appears in the distance. As it a clears, a stone monster, shaped with samurai armour, appears before the team.
"You were saying?" Mack says sarcastically. Dax rolls his eyes. The two take out their Overdrive Trackers.
"Overdrive Accelerate," the two call, rolling their morphers down their sleeves.
"Drive Blaster," the two fire their blasters at the monster. It has little effect on the rocky monster, the monster charging forward at the Rangers.
"It did nothing," Dax states. Mack quickly transforms his blaster into his Drive Sabre. They move to engage the monster. Dax strikes first, the monster knocking the Blue Ranger aside. Mack tries to attack as well, but he is also batted away. The monster slams his arm into Dax before moving onto Mack. The Red Ranger blocks with the Drive Sabre, but it grabs the Sabre.
"This things way too strong," Mack declares. The Red Ranger spins to free himself, striking the Sabre against its chest. It again does nothing. "What the? I can't even scratch it." The monster punches the Red Ranger back, knocking him back and into a tree.
"Mack," Dax calls out. He runs forward, leaping over the monster. It strikes from behind, Dax putting his Sabre back to block a punch. The monster stumbles back as it loses its footing, Dax flipping over the monster once again. The monster finally takes hold of Dax, throwing him into another branch and knocking him to the ground.
"Dax," Mack runs in to support the Blue Ranger. The monster releases an energy blast from his eyes. A puff of smoke conceals the Rangers. As it clears, they appear to have vanished. It runs forward into the smoke.
"Drive Lance." The Red Ranger comes down from above the monster, who looks up. He lands on top of the monster, slamming the Drive Lance into its shoulder. Mack tries to keep the weapon in place. The rock monster takes hold of the weapon and throws the Red Ranger off of its shoulders.
Dax comes in to help the Red Ranger. He notices the monster has finally sustained damage.
"Drive Blaster," the Blue Ranger calls as he fires his weapon. He fires into a stone face above the monster, the rocks falling and hitting the monster. "Come on." Dax helps Mack up and the two Rangers run off from the master to regroup.
Rose tries to scan the ice, but she doesn't get many readings. She outs her Overdrive Tracker in its holster.
"Should we try calling the guys again?" Ronny asks.
"It's no use," she replies. "I think this might be the same type of ice that trapped the zords. It must prevent the morphers from connecting to our powers. You shouldn't have jumped down without assessing the situation first." Ronny sighs, exasperated by the ongoing commentary. Rose turns to face her. "Do you have something to say to me?"
"Why do you treat me like this?" Ronny blurts out. Rose looks stunned by the emotional outburst. "What? You don't even realise?"
"Treat you like what? You've never said anything?"
"You're short with me all the time. You act like I'm nothing on this team. You dismiss me at every opportunity." Ronny pauses, this clearly taking its toll on her. "I'm not used to this. I can't win a race if my team aren't behind me. And I just don't think you have my back." Rose looks deeply into the Yellow Ranger.
"I'm sorry," Rose utters. This takes Ronny by surprise. "I didn't even realise what I was doing." The Pink Rangers begins to laugh. "Let me try to explain. I did decide to keep the team at an arm's length, you in particular." She pauses again. "You remind me of Sophia." Ronny looks confused.
"Who is Sophia?"
"Sophia was the original Yellow Ranger." Rose tries to cleat a lump in her throat. "She was also my best friend." Ronny can see how difficult this is for the Pink Ranger. "You're a lot like her. She was rash, impulsive. If I didn't know any better, I'd think Hartford had picked a replacement for her and not the Yellow Ranger."
"That makes sense," Ronny laments. "But, what you need to recognise is that I'm here to be Sophia. I'm here to be Ronny. Nothing more, nothing less." Rose smiles. "Now – let's find a way out of here."
Will arrives in the forest, finding an injured Dax being held up by Mack, the two having demorphed from the battle.
"What happened to you two?" the Black Ranger asks the two.
"We were attacked by a monster," Dax responds, releasing himself from Mack's support and holding himself up. "We barely made it out in one piece. Where have you been?"
"I had some things to take care of," Will snaps back. "It's my business."
Before Mack and Dax can ask any follow up questions, Mack's morpher begins to sound. He takes it out and flips it open.
"Go ahead," the Red Ranger answers the call.
"Mack, are you two alright?" Hartford's voice is heard over the morpher.
"We're fine," Mack replies. "We barely made a dent in that thing though. You'll need to send Ronny and Rose." Silence is the only response from Hartford. "Dad? Are Rose and Ronny okay?"
"I don't know son. I lost their signals a short while ago and I haven't been able to raise them since." The three look at each other with concern.
"Where were they last located?" Mack asks.
"At the quarry. You'll have to look for them. Be careful Rangers." Mack closes his morpher.
"Come on guys," Mack calls. The three Rangers run towards the rocky quarry.
Before they can reach the female Rangers, they are confronted by the rock monster again.
"Not this thing again," Dax laments. The team take out their morphers, flipping them open.
"Overdrive Accelerate," they call, rolling their morphers down their arms.
"What do we about the girls?" Dax asks.
"Mack, why don't you go and find them and we'll keep this thing busy," Will suggests.
"You don't know how strong he is," Mack responds.
"Don't worry," Will declares. "We just have to keep him busy." Mack takes a second, but he reluctantly agrees. He runs off, leaving the two to it.
"This out the be fun," Dax states.
"Just don't get in my way," the Black Ranger responds. The headlights on the Rangers helmets light up.
"Drive Slammer," the Black Ranger takes hold of his weapon.
"Drive Vortex," the Blue Ranger follows suit. The two charge at the monster.
Mack comes across the team's jeep, making his way to the quarry where the girls were searching. He takes out his morpher and scans the area.
"Were are they?" he asks in frustration.
"Overdrive Accelerate," Ronny calls, rolling their morphers on the ice.
"You want to run this by me one more time?" Rose asks.
"I have a theory," she explains again. "When Mack broker into the ice, the zords powered up again. So if we can make a small dent in the ice while we are morphing, it just might allow to access our powers. Then we can use the Drive Blasters to break through the rest." Rose actually looks impressed, taking out her morpher.
"Two is better than one," she states. Ronny nodes as the two line up.
"Overdrive Accelerate," the two call, slamming their morphers into the ice.
The monster slashes its word into the Black Ranger, sending Will flying. The battle has moved back into the forest, Dax jumping in to support his teammate. He kicks the monster back, allowing will to get back to his feet. The monster slashes his sword through Dax, the Blue Ranger being knocked to the ground. It turns around, Will charging and wrapping his arm around it. The monster frees itself, the Black Ranger trying to land a blow with the Drive Slammer. The monster turns around and it's slams its sword through Will. It turns back to Dax, who jumps over the sword.
"Are you alright?" Dax says, leaning down to help Will. Before he has a chance to respond, the monster shoots blacks from its eyes again, knocking the Rangers back again.
"This guy's tougher than I thought," Will laments. "He has to have a weak spot. Will suddenly notices the damage Mack caused with the Drive Lance. "We need to aim for that wound."
"Right," Dax responds, the two getting up. "Follow my lead." The two charge forward. Dax going ahead, he aims the Gyro Driver at the ground, flying up into the air. The monster looks up.
"Over here," Will tries to keep the monster's attention. He takes his Drive Slammer over the ground, sending the leaves below and sending them over the monster. The Black Ranger looks up.
"Drive Sabre," Dax comes down, slamming his weapon into the monster's shoulder. "Get him Will." Dax flips away from the monster, leaving his Sabre in the shoulder.
"Drive Slammer, full power," Will jumps up, holding his weapon behind his head. The Black Ranger slams his weapon into the Drive Sabre. Their plan comes together, sparks coming the attack site. The two Rangers comes back together, watching the monster break apart.
"Good job Will," Dax declares, putting his hand up for a fist bump. Will does not reciprocate.
"We better find the others," Will responds.
Glacia watches in the distance as the Rangers run off to find the rest of the team.
"Time for Plan B then," she states.
Mack comes across the quarry, seeing the holes in the ground where the female Ranger's fell.
"That doesn't look good," the Red Ranger declares. He jumps into the quarry and down the holes. Finding the ice block, he hears the girls carrying out their plan and crashing their morphers into the ice. "Oh no, they must be trapped." Mack takes out his morpher. Once complete, he takes out his Drive Blaster.
"Overdrive Accelerate." With one final hit, the Rangers execute their plan and breaking a hole in the ice. Power returns and their morphing energy returns. Mack looks on in shock, not firing his blaster. Ronny and Rose pull their own Drive Blasters, firing them. The rest of the ice breaks apart, seeing Mack standing before them.
"Took you long enough," Rose declares to the Red Ranger, all three holstering their weapons.
"We didn't need his help anyway," Ronny chuckles. Two high five each other.
"I have so many questions," Mack replies in shock. "But, that'll have to wait. We need to go and help Will and Dax. They're going up against a powerful monster."
They take out their zip devices, aiming them up at the holes they came through. They fire and pull them themselves out of the cavern. They jump out, falling into the edge of the forest area. Dax and Will join them. Ronny hits the ground and falls over, Rose and Mack having a much more controlled landing.
"Ronny are you okay?" Rose helps the Yellow Ranger up.
"Can't keep a good Ranger down," she jokes as she gets up.
"Where's the monster?" Mack asks Will and Dax.
"We took care of it," Dax states happily.
"I guess no-one needs my help today," Mack jokes.
But before the team can relax, the ground shakes below them. They look up, seeing the monster grown giant and looming over them.
"You were saying?" Mack declares smugly to the Blue Ranger. He takes out his Overdrive Tracker and flips it open. "Dad, send the zords."
The zords race towards the battle scene. The zords line up. The Dozer Driver puts its shovel into the ground as the zord opens up and straightens out. The back of the Sub Driver moves up, revealing a fist. They move in and attack to the Dump Driver. The top of the Dump Driver moves up. They flip over, coming down to the ground, forming the Megapod's legs. The Speed Drives races towards the Megazord, driving up it as it ascends from the ground. It tops at the top of the Megazord, forming the Megapod's chest plate. It opens up and connects to the top of the Megazord, the head popping up. The Gyro Driver flies in, the helmet piece separating from the back. The wings fold up and the front of the zord connects to the back of the Megazord. The helmet attaches to the head. Mack's control Driver detaches from his cockpit, the Red Ranger taking his morpher. He descends from his cockpit.
He ascends into the team's cockpit, the other Rangers joining him.
"DriveMax Megazord, online," the Rangers call, setting their Control Driver's into their new home. They push their controls forward, placing their Overdrive Trackers in place. "DriveMax Sabre."
The monster charges forward, bringing its sword down. The Megazord blocks with its own Sabre, striking on the monster's chest. It following up with a strike to the shoulder, where the team had previously damaged it.
"We can't even scratch it," Will blurts out.
The monster strikes back at the Megazord, it stumbling backwards, rocking the team in the cockpit.
"We're going to need the Drill Driver and the Shovel Driver," the Red Ranger declares.
"We haven't tested the Shovel Driver in the field yet," Hartford raises his concerns, watching the battle unfold from his lab. "It could overwhelm the Megazord."
The DriveMax Megazord takes a critical blow.
"If we don't do something, we'll lose the Megazord anyway," Mack argues back. Hartford laments the desperate situation.
"Okay, I'm sending them now," he replies, his voice heavy. He inputs the commands.
The zords power up in the zord bay, making their way out and speeding towards the battle site.
The Drill Driver races up a dirt ramp, launching into the air and smacking into the monster. The Shovel Driver follows up the attack, sweeping its legs with its shovel arm. The monster falls to the ground.
The Rangers get the Megazord back to its feet.
"Now's your chance," Mack declares. He puts the code into his morpher, spinning the base. The Dozer Driver and Sub Driver detach from the Megazord, the Drill Driver and Shovel Driver taking their place. The detaches zords tuck into the Megapod's legs.
"DriveMax Megazord, Drill and Shovel Formation," the team call as they ready themselves. The master charges in to attack again. It brings its sword down on the team. But, the shovel arm absorbs the impact of the attack. The Megazord strikes back with the drill arm, the monster stumbling back.
"Let's do this while we still can," Ronny declares.
"Sounds like a plan," Dax agrees.
"Shovel Driver," Rose presses down on her controls. The Megapod's hand takes hold of the monster. It lifts the monster off the ground, spinning it round and throwing it up into the air.
"Drill Driver, full power," the team calls. They put the drill arm into the air as it spins and powers up. The monster falls from the sky, slamming into the drill and shattering it apart. The team have won the day.
Glacia walks back into her underground, finding an almost giddy Moltor.
"And how did the great and mighty Glacia fair against the Rangers?" Moltor taunts his icy counterpart.
"Silence Moltor," she snaps, he demeaner defrosting. "We need to go after them together next time."
The team are resting in the parlour at the Hartford Mansion following the battle. Hartford comes up from his lab, handing Mack's morpher back to him.
"How are you all feeling?" Hartford asks.
"I think we're all still feeling the effects of the zords," Ronny declares. "Two zords definitely take it out of you."
"I feel alright actually," Mack laughs. "You guys just need to work harder." The team laughs, Will remaining quiet.
"I've downloaded the data from Mack's morpher," Hartford explains. "I should be able to develop a defence against the ice to stop it impacting your powers again."
"Good job," Rose answers for the team. "Now if you guys aren't too tired, I'm going to take us out for dinner."
"That sounds like an offer I can't refuse," Ronny states and she gets up. The team follow suit and get up.
"Have fun guys," Hartford says his farewells, Rose turning to him.
"Come on, you can come as well," she smiles, a small olive branch offered.
"Let's do it then," he says. They all begin to make their way out of the Mansion, Will not moving. They turn back.
"Are you coming?" Ronny asks.
"I'm wiped. I'm just going to chill here for a bit, until I head come. If that's okay with you?" Hartford looks uneasy, but doesn't want to rock the boat.
"Sure," he replies. "Take care of yourself – and look up when you leave." The team walks towards the door.
"I'll be there in a second guys," Ronny states as the others leave. "You should come. Rose and I had a bit of a breakthrough today. I think you're wrong about us being outsiders. Unless you make yourself one."
"Maybe I was wrong about you then, but I know when I'm on the outs." Ronny doesn't like the response. "I'll be fine. I'm just going to chill and rest up before I head home. You go on."
"Fine," Ronny laments. "If you're sure." She walks out of the parlour.
With the coast clear, Will goes down to the lab. He takes out a USB drive and puts it into Hartford's computer. He quickly downloads some files, taking the USB drive out when the download is complete.
"I hope this works," the Black Ranger declares.
Later that evening, Will walks into an alleyway. He stops, looking around.
A blue teleportation beam appear, revealing Miratrix.
"I didn't think I'd hear from you so soon," she declares. "What do you have for me?" Will takes out the USB drive and hands it over. She examines it. "What's on here?"
"All the data we've collected on Moltor and Glacia so far," he explains. "Including how to defend against her power draining ice."
"And what good is that to me?"
"You said they would be coming after your master. Now he can defend himself. Besides, I found a way into the Overdrive database. It won't be long until we find out the location of the Crown." The villainess smiles.
"Perhaps this arrangement is going to work out after all."
To Be Continued