POWER RANGERS: SPACE PATROL DELTA
YEAR TWO

"TEMPORARY"

Inside the main science laboratory of Earth's S.P.D. Headquarters, three pairs of eyes peered at the exposed circuitry of the black Patrol Morpher, as they leaned over the table, watching closely. In the middle of a fourth scan, the female in the middle winced a little, as she received results that didn't please her. They hadn't pleased her in almost two weeks, since she had started this emergency project. Kat never gave up on anything and she wasn't willing to give up on this. New options, however, were not coming to her.

To her right, the cadet in the blue uniform looked away from the morpher. Bridge glanced around Kat's lab and was surprised. It wasn't usual for the place to be in disarray. He knew Kat was under a lot of pressure since Omallix's escape from containment. The Rangers needed to be in top form, but without some of the biggest pieces of their arsenal, they were vulnerable. Although none of them would admit it, Bridge was worried that without the battilizer, the Delta Squad Megazord, Omega Ranger, and now the Shadow Ranger powers, they might not be strong enough to fight their enemy.

Frustrated, Kat ended her scan and dropped the scanner on the table, next to the cracked open morpher. On her left, Quinn sighed.

"Still nothing?" Quinn said, aloud.

"It's working fine, except not for Doggie," Kat said. "I'm officially out of ideas."

"That's a bad sign," Bridge said, as he walked away from the table and began fiddling with some of the gadgets lying around Kat's lab.

"So Kat, are you saying that if you gave this morpher to someone else, it would work?" Quinn asked.

"Not really. It's designed to work with Sirian DNA. So, unless Isinia is looking to Ranger up, it's pretty much useless," Kat stated.

"That sucks," Quinn said, as he walked over near Bridge, who was playing with a small mechanical arm.

Quinn grabbed another one and the two began using them, pretending to fight one another. Kat sighed, as she watched.

"Guys!" Kat said. "You're not helping."

"Sorry, Kat," Quinn said, as they both looked embarrassed. Quinn waved the robot arm at her. "So, how has the Ferick research being going?"

"That's one thing I am proud of. From studying the busted Ferick parts that you guys have brought in, I've been able to upgrade your Delta Enforcers to be even more effective against them," Kat explained.

"That's cool," Quinn said. "I mean, I know it doesn't help with Commander Cruger's morpher, but it's something."

"Yeah," Kat said, as she stared at the Shadow morpher on her table.

"Hey!" Bridge said, as an idea popped into his head. "What about a disposable morpher? Wouldn't that allow Doggie to morph?"

"The thing about disposable morphers, Bridge, is that they aren't a permanent solution to the problem. It would only allow Doggie to morph for a limited amount of time. We can't schedule the lengths of battles. If time were to run out on Doggie while he was morphed, he'd be in serious trouble," Kat said.

Bridge nodded. Standing next to him, Quinn looked confused.

"Wait. Disposable morphers?"

"Yeah. It came in handy for Kat when her old school rival, Mooney, hooked up with Broodwing and they tried to detonate this mega bomb in the city. Kat really saved the day," Bridge explained to Quinn.

"I didn't do that much," Kat said.

"I'm sure you were great," Quinn said, as he shook his head, surprised. "So, you were a Ranger?"

"For a little while," Kat explained. "But, it was only a prototype. The morpher only had enough energy to keep me morphed for an hour."

"So, you used it all up?" Quinn asked.

"Well, I was actually only morphed for about 20 minutes."

"So, it still works?" Quinn asked, looking really interested.

"It probably does, but me being a Ranger isn't really an option. That was an emergency situation. I knew about Mooney and the Helios Generator. That's the only reason I could stop him," Kat said.

"Don't be modest, Kat. You held your own out there," Bridge said.

"I'm not trained like you guys are and I'm not a cadet or an officer. I'm here to keep things running. Right now, I'd settle for getting Doggie's morpher to work," Kat said.

"So, where is this temporary morpher?" Quinn asked.

"Quinn, let it go. It's around here somewhere in all this mess. Without Boom around, I guess I've had some trouble maintaining order," Kat said, disappointed.

"I don't blame you," Bridge said, with a smile. "With all the projects you've got going, who has time to clean?"

"That's no excuse for you," Quinn said, glaring at Bridge. "Your side of our room is still a mess."

Bridge was at a loss for words, as the doors to Kat's lab opened and Commander Cruger strolled in, followed by Sky Tate, Syd Drew and Z Delgado.

"Just in time, Commander," Bridge said, loudly, evading Quinn.

Bridge walked over and patted Cruger on the back, as he shook his hand, guiding him further into the room. The other cadets all gave him confused looks.

"So, Commander Cruger, what brings you down here?" Bridge said happily. Quinn smirked. Doggie gave Bridge a strange look.

"Actually, Carson, I have an announcement that I wanted to tell all of you," Doggie said. "I spoke with Supreme Commander Birdy this morning. The Galactic Council is meeting to discuss the Omallix situation and he wants me to be there to make a report on our efforts, in person."

"So, you're leaving?" Syd said, looking surprised.

"Commander, we need you," Z added.

"I know that my absence will be difficult, but Birdy thinks that a personal plea from someone who's been on the front lines could help us convince the Council to send more S.P.D. reinforcements to Earth," Doggie explained.

"How long will you be gone?" Kat asked.

"A few days, a week at the most," Doggie answered.

"That's a long time, sir," Sky admitted.

"You can handle things while I'm gone. I know you can. I have faith in all of you," Doggie stated. "And besides, there's not much I can do to help the fight around here without my morpher."

"Sir, that's not true," Kat said, feeling frustrated that she couldn't fix his morpher. "Your contribution around here is not just about being Shadow Ranger."

"I know that, but right now my duties as Commander are calling me. I'm the best person to tell our story to the Council."

"Well, I hope you can make them understand what's going on. We could use the help," Bridge said.

"That's true," Syd chimed in.

"It's still gonna be hard without you, Commander," Z said.

"Well, you'll still have Kat. While I'm gone, she'll be in charge. Supreme Commander Birdy wanted to send an officer to take charge in my absence, but I convinced him that the person who knows you Rangers and our capabilities the best was already here with us," Doggie said, as he glanced at Kat.

She nodded. "I'll do my best, sir."

"We all will," Sky spoke up.

"I know it. Be strong, Rangers. We've had some impressive victories over Omallix's forces in the last few weeks," Doggie said. "We have to hold tight to our strength and our confidence. We can beat this."

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement with him. Underneath her confidence, though, Kat was worried. She knew that keeping control of everything in the Command Center, in Cruger's absence, would take away from her time in the lab. In her mind, the longer she wasn't there, the longer the Rangers would be vulnerable to attacks from Omallix and his goons.

Aboard Omallix's base, inside the laboratory assigned to him, Felix sat on the examination bed, thinking of the prison he found himself in. He was trapped, locked inside this room and he had no way to get out. He was at the mercy of psychos. He didn't want to help them, but he knew if he didn't they would destroy him. He had to hold out for as long as he could, until someone could rescue him. Unfortunately for Felix, he wasn't sure that anyone was even looking for him.

As he sat on the bed, he heard a commotion next door. There had been a lot of movement in the other laboratory in the last few days. This time, it was only light movement. Once he thought he heard a grunt, but he wasn't sure. Felix was curious, but he didn't go near the window anymore. The last time Charlie caught him wasn't very pretty.

Then there was Charlie herself. At times, Felix had observed her being crueler than any person he'd ever come across in his life. At other times, there were glimmers of possibility that she might not be completely onboard for Omallix's plans of destruction. Felix had tried to exploit that. It was his only possible option for getting out of here. Unfortunately, Charlie never crossed the boundary that Felix needed her to. She still took too much pleasure in the attacks on S.P.D., he thought to himself.

As if on cue, the doors to his laboratory opened and Charlie walked in. Felix hopped off the bed and stared at her. She dropped a tray on a nearby table. Felix's keen sense of smell told him it was the same slop that she delivered to him every day.

"Enjoy," Charlie said.

Felix walked over to the bowl and swirled his spoon in it for a minute, before turning back to Charlie.

"I'm not hungry."

"Well, you need to conserve your strength. You will be needed soon," Charlie said.

"For what?"

"All will be explained soon enough," Charlie said, cryptically.

"I'm not eating this," Felix said.

"Are you going to try a hunger strike, Doctor? Trust me, it will only make Omallix angrier. You know what happens when he gets angry," she said.

"I'm not helping you anymore, none of you," Felix said, sternly.

"Fine. Don't help. I don't care anymore. Omallix will just make you. Besides, we don't need your help for much. Most of what Omallix needs for his secret weapon is technical anyway. We just need you to make sure it stays alive. The technology specs that we downloaded from S.P.D. will do the rest," Charlie said.

Felix's mind was racing. Charlie noticed his eyes moving, as he thought over what she said. She sighed, realizing she may have said too much. She headed for the doors when they opened and the green alien scientist, Jintari, walked in. His short stature meant Charlie had to lower her head to look at him. He didn't look happy, either.

"We have a major problem," Jintari said.

"What is it?" Charlie asked.

"The data we took from S.P.D...it's corrupted," Jintari stated.

Charlie winced. Felix listened intently. He wanted to smile, but he didn't dare in the company of the villains.

"I don't know how this happened," Jintari spoke.

"Kat Manx happened," Charlie surmised. "She must have rigged all of the downloads to corrupt after a certain period of time. I told Omallix we should have sprung the secret weapon weeks ago."

"Then, you can be the one to tell Omallix about the data. I'm sure he won't be happy about this development. This Kat Manx is smart," Jintari said. "Having the data become useless after a month was a very good plan of action. Wish I'd thought of it."

"Sounds like you've got trouble," Felix said, as he folded his arms.

"Our trouble is your trouble, Doctor," Charlie said, as she left the lab with Jintari following behind her.

With the doors to Felix's lab secured, she turned to face Jintari.

"I hope we can salvage something from all of this. After all, we still have that," Charlie said, as she pointed to the doorway to the other lab.

Charlie walked off. A few meters behind, Jintari worried about telling Omallix about their loss of the data. He had known Omallix for almost twenty years. Of course, they had spent most of that time in containment, but the five years before that was quite telling. Jintari had learned a lot about his master. He had saved his life. If it hadn't been for Jintari, Omallix would have died on the streets of Newtech City.

On the lower level of Space Patrol Delta Headquarters, Doggie Cruger stood in front of his shuttle, which was prepared for departure. He looked inside the cockpit window and nodded to Officer Poripu who was seated at the controls. The Aquitian officer would be the only one accompanying Doggie, to act as his pilot. Doggie turned back to the two females who had escorted him to the shuttle bay. They were two of the most important people in his life.

"Take care, Doggie," Kat said, with a smile.

"Keep everything in one piece until I get back," Doggie said. His tone was light-hearted, though they both knew of the danger lurking around every corner these days.

"I'll try," Kat said, still smiling.

Doggie turned to his wife, who didn't look happy at all.

"I'm still not sure about this, Anubis. Omallix is up there, lurking in space," Isinia said.

"It'll be all right. We're taking the long way. The shuttle will enter orbit from the other side of the planet. We'll be out of range of Omallix's weapons systems. It'll take a few extra hours to get to Galaxy Command," Cruger said.

"At least you'll get there in one piece," Isinia said, as she hugged her husband.

Doggie sighed and nodded to both. "Take care and don't hesitate to contact me if there's trouble."

Kat nodded to him, as he disappeared inside the shuttle. A minute or two later, the shuttle was gone. Kat sighed, as she turned and headed for the twin escalators, with Isinia at her side.

"It's going to be tough," Isinia said.

"Yes, it is. This is the first time in a while that you two have been this far apart, isn't it?" Kat responded.

"Yes. Although, I was referring to you," Isinia said, as they stepped off the escalator and headed into the interior of the Command Base.

"What do you mean?"

"Taking over for Doggie will be a tough job, with all the extra work, won't it?" Isinia asked.

"I can handle it, I hope. It's going to take some time away from my duties in the lab, but it won't be for too long. I just hope I don't let anyone down. It's a big job," Kat said.

"The Rangers have faith in you and so does Doggie, or he wouldn't have left you in command," Isinia explained. "I know we aren't very close, Kat, but you are close to my husband and if you need to talk, you just let me know."

Kat smiled. "Thank you, Isinia. I'll keep that in mind."

Kat reached the end of their journey together, as she stopped in front of the doors to the Command Center. Isinia gave her a gentle pat on the back, before walking off. Kat took a deep breath and stepped forward, causing the doors to slide open. Inside, she heard commotion. The cadets of E-Squad were on-duty there. Kat walked in on them yelling and looking around on the floor for something.

"What's going on?" Kat asked, as she glanced at Boom.

"Cadet Worley lost a contact lens," Boom said, pointing to one of his E-Squad comrades.

She had one eye closed tightly, while the other was looking at Kat. S.P.D.'s technical expert glanced around on the floor and found the lens almost immediately. She picked it up and handed it to Cadet Worley.

"Why don't you take a minute or two to go put that back in?" Kat said to her, with a smile.

"Thank you, Dr. Manx," Cadet Worley said, as she exited. The other four members of E-Squad went back to their duty stations.

Kat glanced at Commander Cruger's station. She was reluctant to sit in his chair when Boom walked up behind her.

"I don't think it's gonna bite," he said.

Kat smiled. "I know, Boom."

"I was really happy to hear Commander Cruger's announcement. Especially since I knew E-Squad was gonna be on Command Center duty this week. Sometimes Cruger can make us a little nervous. But with you here, I think things will run smoothly," Boom explained.

"I hope they run smoother than when I walked in here," Kat said, as she glanced at him.

"They will. I promise," Boom said, before going back to his station.

Kat took a deep breath and sat down in Commander Cruger's chair. She leaned back and took a deep breath. She glanced around the room and it felt strange for Kat to be sitting there and not working at one of the other stations.

"How could you have let this happen, Jintari?" Omallix yelled in anger.

"I did not plan for this, my lord. I was unaware that such technology existed," Jintari said, trying to explain to his master why their plans were quickly going up in smoke.

"It was an unforeseen mistake, lord Omallix," Charlie said.

Omallix fumed, as he stood up from his self-appointed throne and began pacing around the main room of his base. He glanced out the glassed wall in front of him. He saw Earth in his sights. He knew they were down there and he wanted to crush all of S.P.D.

"You should have foreseen any problems," Omallix said to Charlie and Jintari.

"I will try my best to salvage the situation, my lord," Jintari spoke honestly. He knew he could make something happen so that their specimen in the lab would be useful against the Rangers, even without S.P.D.'s technology.

"I don't want to salvage anything. I want my plan to work as it was originally intended," Omallix stated.

"That might have been an option before, Omallix," Charlie said. "If we had not waited so long to employ your secret weapon, the data might not have been corrupted."

"Yes, that's true, but irrelevant now, Charlie," Jintari said. "We have to come up with a contingency plan."

"No!" Omallix shouted at both of them. "The original plan will work. We will just have to get the data back from S.P.D."

"How are we going to accomplish that?" Jintari said.

"It's time for a little field trip," Omallix said.

Jintari could feel the anger in Omallix's tone as he walked out of the main throne room. Jintari sighed. Omallix was determined, indeed. But Jintari knew that. Twenty years ago, he was a visitor to Earth. Jintari had hoped to make it a long stay. He clearly remembered the day that he arrived at the S.P.D. Science Academy, only to discover that his application for entrance had been rejected. His experiments were deemed too controversial. Jintari never understood how an organization committed to law enforcement could be effective without the proper artillery. His cloaked detonator grenades were a brilliant creation, he thought. No criminal would see them coming.

The day he was rejected Jintari was furious. He couldn't return home. Those on his home planet of Shimitar had also ostracized him for his creations. They didn't complain when his laser weapon warded off an attack by the Machine Empire decades before, but when his robot destroyed a building, they all blamed him. Jintari was without a place in the world and that's when he came upon the helpless, dying creature. He helped Omallix to his feet and carried him underground. In the depths of the sewers, Jintari used every resource that he could find to bring Omallix back to life. That was a day he would never forget. That meeting bonded them for life.

Now, he knew Omallix had faith in his abilities, but he wasn't sure those abilities would be enough to get this latest project off the ground, especially with S.P.D. science snobs like Kat Manx around.

Kat studied the schematics on the monitor in front of her, as she sat at Doggie's station in the Command Center. Kat had looked at the scans and the schematics of four different Patrol Morphers. She still couldn't pinpoint the problem with them, but she couldn't give up either. The Rangers needed Shadow Ranger and they needed her to get him back.

Seeing Kat deep in thought, Boom walked over. "Are you busy?"

"What's up, Boom?" Kat asked, as she sighed.

"Well, I just wondered if you had any luck with Commander Cruger's morpher. We all heard about what happened. It's been kinda hard for me staying out of things. I never realized how much I enjoyed being in the loop before I got reinstated at the Academy," Boom explained.

"No luck, yet. Thanks for asking," Kat said, as she returned her gaze to the research on the monitor.

Boom looked a little nervous, as he looked around. He couldn't help himself, as he started looking over Kat's shoulder at the monitor.

"Boom, do you mind?" Kat said, as she looked annoyed.

"I'm sorry," Boom said. He began to walk away, looking sad.

Kat noticed and she sighed. "Boom, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm trying to concentrate here."

"I know. It's my fault. Too bad I'm not a gadget tester anymore. It would be kinda cool to test out the Shadow morpher for you," Boom said, with a smile.

"You know you couldn't do that, Boom. If you tried to use a morpher outfitted for Doggie, you'd go boom, literally!"

"Now that you mention it, that wouldn't be very good," Boom said.

"No, it wouldn't," Kat said, with a smirk, as Boom walked back to the main control console in the center of the room.

Then, an alarm sounded.

"Uh oh," Boom said.

Kat jumped from Doggie's chair and joined Boom at his side, checking out the source of the disturbance.

"Oh no. It's Cartiron. He's appeared on the north side of Newtech City," Kat revealed.

"This can't be a good thing," Boom said.

"That's an understatement. The last time Cartiron showed up in a populated area of this city, he reduced it to rubble," Kat said, as she activated the base's communications systems. "Rangers, report to the Command Center, immediately."

The B-Squad cadets, however, had heard the earlier security alarm and were already racing to the Command Center. Upon their arrival, Boom pulled up a large visual of Cartiron on the north side of Newtech City. The Dark Hellion was using his fire powers to toss balls of flames into parked cars and buildings. The Rangers all looked worried.

"It's Cartiron," Syd said, angrily.

"You don't think he's back to...do what he did before, do you?" Bridge asked aloud.

"I hope not," Quinn said, thinking back to the fire wave.

"It doesn't matter what he's back for. We have to stop him," Z said, furiously, as she thought back to how his fire wave killed her best friend, Jack.

"Agreed," Sky remarked.

"Rangers, we have to think about this," Kat said. "The last time you faced off against Cartiron, you were no match for him."

"We can't sit back and do nothing," Quinn said.

"Exactly," Z added.

"We'll go in S.W.A.T. mode. He's never faced that side of us before," Sky said. "It's all we have, unless you can think of some other alternative, Kat?"

Kat thought long and hard, wondering what Doggie would do in this situation. Would he let the Rangers go into a battle where they knew they were outmatched? Kat couldn't think of any other way. They had to protect the city. It was their job.

"I'll monitor the battle," Kat said. "I'll see if I can pick up any weaknesses that might help you."

"Thanks," Syd said.

"Ready?" Sky shouted.

"Ready!" the others responded, as they pulled their morphers.

"S.P.D. S.W.A.T. mode!" They called out.

"Good luck, Rangers," Kat said, but the Rangers were already gone.

Elsewhere in S.P.D. Headquarters, two figures were lurking in the shadows. Charlie peeked her head around a corner. She was dressed in her black and red catsuit and had her blaster drawn. She spotted two armed S.P.D. security officers patrolling the area. She moved the blaster behind her back and stepped around the corner and was now in full sight.

"Hello, boys," Charlie said, loudly.

"Hold it right there," one of them yelled.

"I don't think so," Charlie said, as she whipped the blaster around, scoring laser strikes on both officers before they could fire back.

They slumped to the floor and Charlie walked forward a bit, before stopping. It was then she realized that her companion wasn't behind her. She looked back around the corner and gestured for him to come out. Jintari scurried around the corner.

"I didn't know you were just going to charge in here," Jintari whispered, as the two kept walking.

"If you've got a better plan, let's here it," Charlie said, as they arrived at a door leading into the interior of the Command Base.

The S.P.D. Academy wasn't hard to infiltrate, but the Delta Command Base's security protocols were in place. Charlie had one hope. She tapped in a few commands and her security code, which caused several alarms to start blaring.

"Now, look what you've done," Jintari yelled. "Let's get out of here."

She should have known S.P.D. would have changed her codes. Charlie stepped away from the door, then switched her blaster from laser mode to its first setting. She fired the weapon, causing several fireballs to discharge from it. The doorway was incinerated. She walked through.

"Who cares about alarms? The Rangers are busy with Cartiron. Who's going to stop us from taking what we came for? Them?" She said, as she pointed to the two officers down in the hallway.

Jintari followed her through the doorway and they headed towards their destination. Charlie switched her weapon back to laser mode, knowing any security that got in their way would be firing lasers at them. It was the best way to combat their attacks.

Inside the Command Center, Kat wondered what triggered the Command Base's internal security alarms. She was not happy when Boom informed her.

"We've got intruders, Kat. What do we do?" Boom yelled.

Kat sighed, as her day had just gone from bad to worse.

Panic reigned on the streets of northern Newtech City. Residents, who didn't know who Cartiron was, soon got a crash course. Fires were burning everywhere. The menacing villain tossed another fireball, created by his own power, into a car. It ignited upon reaching the sports car's fuel line and exploded.

A terrified couple exited their own car in the street and ran into a nearby building. Cartiron chuckled to himself, as he raised his palm, preparing to collapse the brick structure. It was at that moment that Cartiron heard something speeding towards him. He turned, just as the S.W.A.T. Command Truck came roaring at him. He swiftly launched into the air and threw two fireballs at the vehicle.

Inside the truck, the Blue Ranger was seated at the controls.

"Hold on!" Bridge yelled.

Behind him, the Yellow, Pink & Green Rangers braced themselves. The S.W.A.T. Command Truck swerved to miss the fireballs. Bridge spun the wheel, causing the truck to make a 180-degree turn. On top of it, the Red Ranger was strapped into the laser cannon control seat. After surviving the quick swerve, he locked onto Cartiron in the air and he fired.

Cartiron levitated higher and higher, evading the blasts. He tossed two more fireballs at the S.W.A.T. Command Truck. They landed near the wheels of the vehicle, which began to swerve out of control.

"Bridge, hold her steady!" the Yellow Ranger yelled from his side.

"He's out of range," they heard the Red Ranger yell from atop the vehicle.

Cartiron kept on rising, until he was on top of a tall brick building. He looked down over the side and took pleasure in the panicked people running around below. He watched as the S.P.D. Rangers exited their truck and began directing people where to flee. Cartiron chuckled.

Inside the Delta Command Base, Charlie walked with confidence. Her blaster was positioned firmly in front of her and she didn't hesitate to blast at the first object she saw moving. Scurrying behind her, Jintari peeked behind them, to make sure no one was attempting to sneak up on them.

Charlie spotted a break in the hallway up ahead. There were two possible turns. She knew which one she wanted to take. Then, she spotted six laser pistols come around those corners, three on each side. They fired. Charlie backed Jintari up against a wall and fired. Her laser mode struck one of the pistols, causing it to fall from the hands of its owner. Two of the security guards peeked around, giving her clear shots. She blasted them, causing them to fall to the ground, but four more guards had joined them.

"Looks like we're going to have to take the long way around," Charlie said to her green companion, as she fiddled with her blaster, switching to fire stream mode.

She aimed the blaster at one of the sprinkler triggers and fired. The guards were instantly sprayed with water, impairing their vision. Charlie grabbed Jintari by the collar and dragged him around another corner.

In the Command Center, Boom was monitoring the situation.

"Two individuals have infiltrated the base. They were trying to use Charlie's access code," Boom announced.

Behind him, standing at Commander Cruger's station, Kat's mind was racing. Charlie's back, she thought to herself. She couldn't call the Rangers. Security wasn't working. They needed some stronger reinforcements. What would Doggie do? She thought long and hard and then it came to her. Kat took a deep breath and walked over to Boom.

"Boom, I'm going after Charlie," Kat said, surprising him.

"What?"

"Someone has to stop them. I'm going," Kat said, as she turned her attentions to the rest of E-Squad. "I want you to stand your ground and secure the Command Center after I leave. Boom, you're with me."

Boom headed for the doorway, as Kat ran some last minute scans in the computer. She took another deep breath and walked out of the Command Center, hearing the doors lock tightly behind them. Kat looked at Boom.

"I don't know what they're after. They must have lured the Rangers out of here for some reason. I'm going after them, but I may need some help," Kat said to Boom.

"Anything," Boom said.

"I need you to get something from my lab," Kat said. She gave him a look and Boom instantly knew what Kat needed.

Boom went running, after handing Kat his laser pistol. She got a good grip on it and sprinted off in the opposite direction, heading straight into the eye of the storm.

Cartiron stood on the rooftop and extended his arms. It was an all too familiar move. He did it as slow as possible. He was waiting for something. Then, the five S.P.D. Rangers came running onto the roof with their Delta Enforcers drawn. Cartiron's back was to them. The five all fired at him, but he was ready and waiting. He took flight, flipping over the blasts. He created fireballs in each hand, tossing one that nailed the Green Ranger and another that sent the Blue Ranger flying.

Bridge was struck off his feet and as his body tried to land, he discovered that he was out of solid ground. The Blue Ranger fell off the rooftop.

"Bridge!" Z yelled.

The Red, Pink & Yellow Rangers all opened fire on the beast, hitting him with their Delta Enforcer blasts. Cartiron fell to the ground, but wasn't down long. As he began to pull himself back up, Sky looked at Z.

"Go," he told her.

The Yellow Ranger nodded as she ran over to the edge and peered down, scared of what she might see left of her teammate. Bridge, however, was there, hanging from a fire escape, two floors below.

"Bridge, are you okay?" she yelled to him.

"Fine. Just hanging around," Bridge said, beneath his helmet.

Behind them, the Green Ranger had gotten to his feet and joined his two comrades. They closed in on Cartiron, firing blasts, trying to prevent him from getting to his feet, but he engulfed his entire body in flames. Using a spinning motion, he swatted all three Rangers to the ground, pushed back by the flames from his body.

"Hold on," Z said, before grabbing a device from her S.W.A.T. vest. She fired the tiny grappler down at the Blue Ranger and it wrapped around his arm that he was using to hang onto the fire escape railing.

She activated the grappler and it retracted, pulling all of the Blue Ranger's weight straight up. Using his momentum, Bridge flew up over the ledge of the rooftop and fired his Delta Enforcer with his free hand, scoring a few shots on Cartiron. The dark beast turned his sights to the Blue & Yellow Rangers. He didn't charge at them, though.

'Strange,' Bridge thought to himself.

Cartiron simply stood and began raising his arms.

"He's going to try to trigger another wave," Z yelled.

She and Bridge went charging at the enemy.

Back inside the Delta Command Base, Boom raced until he got to his destination. The doors to Kat's laboratory opened and Boom rushed in. He wasn't very happy to see the large mess inside. He immediately began checking in every drawer he could see. He didn't see what he was looking for.

"Sorry about this Kat," Boom said.

He started searching through everything, tossing spare parts into the air to get them out of his way quickly. He knew he didn't have much time. Kat was heading straight into danger and she needed his help in order to survive her fight. He moved as fast as he could, tossing things all over, as he searched every inch of the laboratory.

Corridors away, Charlie and Jintari were marching towards their destination. They passed two more security officers that Charlie had blasted. Jintari looked at them, then at her. She was as ruthless as Omallix was. Jintari remembered the first time Omallix had awakened in his presence. He was disoriented and Jintari informed him of just how he had saved his life.

Jintari thought Omallix was about to thank him, but just then, two construction workers entered that area of the sewer. They flashed their lights at the two creatures. Jintari remembered their scared looks, just before Omallix opened fire on them. He used the laser beams from his eyes to kill both of the men. Jintari never asked him for that thank you. In one moment, Omallix had shown him that he wasn't one for giving thanks. Destruction was in his nature and Jintari now realized it was in Charlie's nature as well.

The two pressed forward. They turned a corner and Charlie sighed.

"We're almost there," she said. She had the room in her sights.

The two marched forward, just as another figure came running around the corner, behind them.

"Stop."

Charlie & Jintari turned quickly to see Kat Manx, with her laser pistol drawn. Charlie fired. Kat ducked back around the corner.

"Charlie, you're not going to get away with this," Kat yelled.

"I already have," Charlie said. "We're just where we want to be and there's nothing that can stop us.

Charlie turned her back on Kat and switched her blaster to its fireball mode. She blasted it into the air in front of her, past the doorway to the room they were looking for. A piece of the upper level crumbled to the ground, blocking that direction. She knew that now there was only one way out and it was back, past Kat. She also knew that no more S.P.D. security could surround them. She just had to make sure this didn't become a dead-end.

"Stay behind me," Charlie spoke to Jintari.

"Don't you worry," Jintari whispered.

"Doctor Manx, you're not a soldier. Why don't you just give it up?" Charlie yelled.

Around the corner, Kat sighed deeply.

"Charlie, I'm not letting you out of here," Kat said, unsure if she could make good on that promise.

Kat wondered where Boom was. Her mind started to think about the layout of the Delta Command Base, then it came to her. Kat silently cursed to herself, realizing exactly where she had chased Charlie. This was not good.

Boom thrashed through the lab, but still found nothing. He turned and took a deep breath, feeling frustrated and disappointed. Kat was counting on him and he couldn't find it. Then, his eyes veered towards a bookcase on the wall. There were papers and a certificate, honoring Kat. It was then that on the top shelf, he saw it. Boom grabbed a chair and climbed on top of it. He reached, but it was too far away. Kat really didn't plan on using it, he could tell. Boom stood on his tiptoes and reached as far as he could and he could feel it in his grasp.

Then, he fell off the chair. Boom got to his feet and opened the silver box. He smiled. Boom closed it and raced towards the doors to Kat's lab. When they opened he was met with a slight hint of smoke. He walked out and turned to see that the direction he came from was totally blocked by rubble. He turned to his right and saw Charlie and Jintari staring at him.

"Oh crap," Boom said.

He dove back into the lab, as Charlie opened fire on him. Boom got the doors closed and locked them. What was going on? Were they trying to get inside Kat's lab?

A few corners away, Kat heard Boom's voice and the blasts. She crawled to the floor and rolled around the corner, firing in Charlie's direction, hoping she had been diverted by Boom. The lasers from Kat's pistol landed on the wall next to Charlie. She ducked and took cover, backing herself and Jintari against the wall, next to the door to the lab. Kat fired again, before rolling away from a laser blast sent by Charlie.

"Get inside," Charlie told Jintari.

"I can't. It's locked," Jintari responded.

"Boom! Get out here, or we'll destroy Manx," Charlie yelled, knowing Boom could hear her inside the lab.

Sitting on the floor, with his back to the locked doors, Boom had his eyes closed. He looked extremely scared. He didn't know what to do. Kat needed his help. She might be able to take down Charlie, but she would need the item in that box to complete the task. The only way he could get it to her was by going out there and that meant unlocking the doors and possibly giving Charlie and her alien buddy what they wanted. Boom sighed.

On the north side of Newtech City, the five S.P.D. Rangers were surrounding Cartiron. His fire form had died down, since they were all too far away for him to do any damage with it. Cartiron fired a blast at the Yellow and Blue Rangers, causing them to dive away, just as the Pink & Red Rangers fired on him from another direction. Cartiron jumped away from the attack and dove on top of the Green Ranger.

The two rolled around on the rooftop, until the Green Ranger was on top. He drew his Delta Enforcer, charging it up.

"Freeze," Quinn yelled at him.

Cartiron didn't obey. He grabbed at the Delta Enforcer, causing them to wrestle for it. Cartiron realized the teenager wasn't going to release the weapon, so he used all of his strength to swing him into the air. He got to his feet, as the Yellow and Blue Rangers were advancing on him. He charged. He got too close for them to get clear shots. They both went for kicks, but he blocked them away. He punched the Blue Ranger in the gut, sending Bridge falling to the ground. Z swung her Enforcer at him, but he blocked the shot, kicking her. The Yellow Ranger went rolling to the floor of the roof.

While the Pink Ranger checked on them, the Red Ranger attacked out of the air. It was raining lasers on top of Cartiron, but as Sky came closer to landing, Cartiron sent a fire ball from his palm straight up at him, sending him crashing down, in a smoke of sparks and flames. Cartiron chuckled, as he realized that everything was going according to plan.

Inside the Command Base, Kat was once again taking refuge around the corner. She had heard Charlie's threat.

"Boom!" Kat yelled. "Don't open those doors."

"I have to, Kat!" Boom said, as he unlocked them and set them to lock behind him.

Boom rolled out of the doors, surprising Charlie & Jintari for a minute. Charlie fired at him; Boom ducked the blast. He watched as the doors were sliding closed, then something blocked them. It was Jintari's foot. The green creature hopped inside, before the doors could close all the way.

"No!" Boom winced.

Then, he rolled away from another one of Charlie's blasts. He dove at her and the two started wrestling on the floor. Hearing their grunts, Kat came around the corner, with her pistol drawn. She couldn't get a clear shot at Charlie.

"Jintari," Boom managed to get out, as Charlie was trying to push him off her by jabbing her palm into his chin.

Kat ran to the lab doors, but they were locked. She wondered what the little green being was doing inside her lab. It was then that she saw the box on the ground. It had fallen from Boom's grasp. Kat picked it up and opened it. She took a deep breath as she grabbed the white square-shaped device.

"S.P.D. Emergency!"

Within seconds, Kat had morphed. Charlie was caught off guard for just a second. Then, she looked furious. She flipped Boom over her head, forcing him off of her. Boom landed hard on his back. Charlie got to her feet, with her laser drawn.

"You!" Charlie was fuming. "You can morph?"

"Surprise, surprise," Kat said, from beneath her helmet.

"It's official. S.P.D. sucks," Charlie said, as she lifted her blaster to Kat and fired a stream of lasers at her.

Fully morphed, Kat used her catlike quickness and scaled the walls of the corridor, evading Charlie's laser attacks. When she got to the top of the wall, Kat pushed off, launching at Charlie. She dove at her, grabbing her by the shoulders and twisting her onto the ground.

"Boom, get back to the Command Center!" Kat yelled to him.

Boom managed to get to his feet.

"I can't leave you," he yelled.

Kat had gotten the upper hand, momentarily, as she had Charlie down.

"You have to. Jintari's locked himself in the lab. Who knows what he's doing in there? You have to go to the Command Center and flood that room with knockout gas to incapacitate him. Go!" Kat yelled.

Reluctantly, Boom ran back around the corner and sprinted off towards the Command Center.

Inside Kat's laboratory, Jintari had made himself at home. He gained access to the computer systems at Kat's terminal and immediately started pulling up the data that he needed. The schematics appeared on the screen in front of him. As they light up, Jintari smiled. It was perfect. He could feel S.P.D. crumbling before his very eyes and it would be their own technology that would do them in.

On the rooftop on the north side, the Green & Pink Rangers had their sights on Cartiron.

"Cover me," Syd yelled to Quinn.

The Green Ranger nodded, as he began firing his Delta Enforcer at Cartiron. The Pink Ranger launched into the air, pulling off the same attack that Sky launched minutes ago. She thought she'd have better luck if Quinn distracted Cartiron. She was right. But, as she landed on the ground, Cartiron ignited himself once again. Engulfed in flames, he spun at her, causing the Pink Ranger be thrown backwards by the thrust of flames. She was caught by the Red Ranger several feet away. Both fell down.

"You okay?" Sky asked.

"Yeah. I guess you're attack plan kinda sucked," Syd said, beneath her helmet.

"We've got to keep fighting," Sky told her, as they got to their feet, seeing that Cartiron was attacking Quinn. They rushed off to help him.

Inside the Command Center, an alert sounded. The E-Squad cadet on duty at the main station checked the readings and then unlocked the Command Center's doors. Boom rushed in.

"We have to flood Kat's lab with gas. Jintari got inside," Boom yelled. One of the cadets from his team was at the aft duty station and began keying in the information. Boom joined the cadet at the main station in the middle of the room. He glanced at Worley, his squad leader.

"How are the Rangers doing?" he asked.

"Not very good," she responded.

"Oh no. We may need them," Boom said, as he thought back to leaving Kat behind.

In the corridor outside Kat's lab, Charlie had gotten to her feet, but her blaster was still on the floor. She launched an assault at the morphed Kat. The two traded kicks and punches, but Charlie was unable to get the upper hand. Kat grabbed hold of her arm, twisting it around, behind her. She pulled Charlie close to her helmet.

"What is he doing in there?"

"I'll never tell," Charlie said, with a smile.

Kat pushed her away, causing Charlie to spin into the air, but she landed on her feet. She smirked.

"You're not the only one who knows how to land on her feet," Charlie sneered at her.

"But I do it so much better," Kat said as she let out her hissing feline battle cry.

She launched over Charlie's head, landing behind her. Charlie turned quickly, but Kat was ready. She scored a side kick that sent Charlie flying into the rubble of debris that blocked the opposite end of the hallway. Charlie was knocked out.

Still morphed, Kat ran over to the doorway and started manually trying to override the controls on the door locks. Inside, however, Jintari was finished. He held the disc in his hand and chuckled. He scurried towards the doorway and he didn't hear any commotion. He didn't have time to waste, since he didn't know how long the data would remain active on the disc. He activated the doors and they slid open.

He was shocked to see Kat morphed in front of him.

"What?" Jintari was shocked.

"I'll be taking that," Kat grabbed at the disc, but she was hit from behind.

The Ranger fell to the floor of the corridor. She managed to turn over to see Charlie standing with her blaster smoking. She had blasted Kat with a fireball from her weapon. Kat could tell Charlie was smiling, even through the darkened visor of her helmet. Charlie chuckled a bit as she ran off. Jintari wasn't far behind. He got to the end of the hallway and looked back at Kat.

"You're not as smart as I thought," Jintari sneered at her. "Better luck next time, kitty."

Kat held her back, knowing that if she wasn't morphed, she'd probably be dead right now. She screamed in anger.

On the rooftop, the battle still raged for the Rangers. They had tried every sequence of attack. This time, Cartiron seemed to be toying with them, hitting them with several fireballs every time their feet came into range.

Again, Bridge thought it was very strange. Why wasn't he trying to destroy the city like before?

Bridge was about to deduce his answer. The stern, metallic voice of Omallix came booming through on a device that was pinned to Cartiron's arm. He raised it to hear his master.

"Mission accomplished," Omallix said.

Cartiron chuckled to himself.

"What?" Sky yelled, in bewilderment.

"Bye bye, Rangers," Cartiron said, before disappearing, teleporting himself away.

The Rangers ran to the position were Cartiron had just been standing.

"I don't get it," Z said.

"Mission accomplished?" Syd repeated, confused.

Then, they received a communication on their morphers. Sky whipped his out and activated it.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's Boom," the E-Squad cadet's voice came through. "You guys have to get back here, now. We were attacked."

"Oh no," Quinn said.

"It was a trap," Bridge put the pieces together. "They wanted us away from the base."

"Let's go," Sky said, as the five Rangers sprinted away.

It didn't take long for the cadets to get back to the Delta Command Base. They raced to Kat's laboratory and found her there with Boom. Kat was seated on a stool, slightly hunched over. They immediately noticed the rubble outside of the lab and the mess inside.

"What happened?" Quinn asked.

"Charlie and Jintari," Boom said.

"Kat, are you all right?" Syd asked, noticing her strained look.

"I'll be okay, thanks to my morpher," Kat responded, as she held up the white morpher in her hand.

"You morphed?" Sky asked.

"It was the only option," Kat said. "Still, they got away with some major data from our computer systems."

"Oh no," Bridge said. "I knew it was a trap. That explains why Cartiron didn't try to destroy the other side of the city."

"What did they take?" Sky asked Kat.

Kat walked over to her computer terminal and accessed the systems, checking to see which ones had been breached. She sighed, in frustration and anger.

"Jintari got his hands on schematics and data for Ranger-level artillery and powers. It was all prototype stuff that I was working on. They stole the same data when they first escaped," Kat explained.

"That doesn't sound good," Syd said.

"It's not. It's bad," Kat said. "Very bad."

Aboard Omallix's base, the metallic creature was once again reveling in a victory over S.P.D.

"This is perfect. Now, my plans can commence without any interruptions," Omallix said. His voice was stern and strong, showing his confidence and determination.

He looked at his three closest allies. He nodded to each of them.

"You all did good today. The Rangers didn't know what hit them," Omallix said.

"They still don't," Charlie added.

"She is right," Jintari said. "With your new weapon, Space Patrol Delta will finally fall within your grasp."

"They are not powerful enough," Cartiron spoke. "I believe I proved that today as well."

"Yes," Omallix said. "It's time for their downfall. Jintari, begin working on my secret weapon immediately. I cannot wait to unleash it on S.P.D. Charlie, make sure that Dr. Felix is ready."

"He has no idea what's coming. As a matter of fact, I can't wait to see the look on his face when we show him," Charlie said, with a devious smile.

"Well," Omallix said. "There's no time like the present."

Inside Commander Cruger's office, Kat sat at his desk, speaking into the communications monitor.

"I'm truly sorry, Commander. This is all my fault," Kat said to the Sirian staring back at her.

"You did what you could, Kat," he responded. "From what you told me, there wasn't much else that could be done. Were there casualties?"

"No, thankfully," Kat said. "But, we've got enough bruises to go around and not just on our bodies. I think my ego took a major blow too. Why did I think I could stop them myself?"

"Because you were thinking of protecting the base," Cruger said. "You knew that you might be the only thing that could stand in their way. You risked your life trying to prevent them from stealing precious data from us. I commend you."

"I don't feel very commendable, sir. They still got away with that information," Kat said. "I don't know how they're going to use it, but I know they will. It was very important to them."

"We'll have to deal with that when the time arises. For now, we can only prepare ourselves," Cruger said. "I will be leaving here tomorrow. I know you'll be relieved to have me back."

"Everyone will, sir," Kat said, trying to muster a smile.

"For what it's worth, you did just what I would have done if I were there," Cruger said. "And I wouldn't have had a morpher to back me up."

"I know that sir and I'm sorry I still haven't fixed your morpher," Kat said, sincerely.

"I know you're doing your best, Kat. I always know that. So, how did it feel being Kat Ranger again?" Cruger asked.

"Honestly, it felt...hard. I prefer being plain old Kat Manx, the scientist, not the soldier," Kat said, with a somber smile.

"I understand. So, that's the end of Kat Ranger?"

"Well, by my calculations there's still twenty minutes left on the morpher. But, I'm hoping we never have to use them," Kat said.

"I hope you're right," Cruger said, before signing off.

Kat was about to leave his office when the door chime sounded. Kat was a bit surprised.

"Come in," she called out.

The doors opened to reveal the wife of the Sirian she was just talking to.

"Isinia, this is a surprise," Kat said. "I just spoke to Doggie."

"Everything all right?"

"Yes. He should be back tomorrow," Kat told her.

"Actually, I was referring to you. I heard you had a rough day," Isinia said. "Actually, everyone heard those alarms blaring this afternoon. I thought you might want to talk."

"I'm okay," Kat said. "I'm a little sore, but I'll be fine."

"Good," Isinia said.

"Feeling kinda useless, if you want to know the truth," Kat said, before slumping back into Doggie's chair.

"Well, I'm sure that's just temporary," Isinia said.

"I hope so," Kat said. "I really hope so."

High above, in the darkness of space, Omallix, Charlie and Jintari walked towards the twin laboratories on the second floor of his base of operations. The trio stopped briefly at the first laboratory door. Jintari unsealed the door and stepped inside the darkened room. After the doors closed and locked behind him, Omallix nodded to Charlie. She stepped forward, using her code to unlock the second laboratory. The doors slid open and Felix's head whipped around, staring at the entrants.

Charlie paused at the food tray she had left for Felix. He hadn't touched it. Charlie simply nodded at him.

"Too bad, Doctor. I told you that you would need your strength," Charlie told him.

"Yes," Omallix agreed. "Doctor Felix, your next project will require around-the-clock attention."

"What are you talking about?" Felix asked.

Omallix walked slowly over to the large picture window that led into the other laboratory, next door. It was dark. Omallix let out a heavy, grizzly chuckle.

"I think it's time we gave you an answer," Omallix said.

"Yes," Charlie agreed.

She sneered, as she walked over and grabbed Felix by the arm. She guided him over to the large picture window, forcing him to stand between her and Omallix. Felix felt a strange feeling come over him. He peered into the darkened window, as Omallix lifted his arm and spoke into the communications device attached there.

"It's time to shed some light on this situation, Jintari," Omallix spoke.

Within seconds the lights in the other laboratory came on. Felix got the shock of a lifetime when he saw what was laying on the examination bed in that laboratory. A cold shiver ran up his spine. One of his worst fears was coming true.

"Oh no. No," was all he could muster to say, through his shocked gaze.

"I thought you'd like it," Charlie said. "Just wait until he's all ready. He's quite a fighter."

"This is the beginning of the end for S.P.D., wouldn't you agree, Doctor?" Omallix spoke in his dark, metallic tone.