POWER
RANGERS: SPACE PATROL DELTA
YEAR TWO
"FORSAKEN"
'The shadow of death has come for me.'
He could feel his soul drifting, sliding from his body. He had never imagined his last moments would be anything like this. He had never imagined that his last year would be anything like this. But, death was near. It was upon him. He had tried his best to live a life of honor and compassion. He had saved lives and watched lives lost before his eyes. His own would be the last.
On his final day, deep down, he knew that he would either save his own life or watch it slip through his fingers. He didn't know where his soul would rest at the end of this day. But, he knew that he would live and die by his own actions. His sins might haunt him for an eternity, but he was determined to make one last effort. It would be a last ditch effort, but he knew that it might be the only hope for his soul to find peace.
The only question left for Felix was whether his soul would ascend to salvation or descend to hell. It was a question he would never be able to answer on his own. But, it was a question that would be answered by the end of this day. When the darkness of space greeted him that morning, however, he had no idea it would indeed be his last.
Felix stared through the large observation window in his laboratory. He always felt uncomfortable when Charlie would drag him over to the lab on the other side of the glass. Whether he liked it or not, this place had become his home. But now, he would give anything to be over in that other laboratory instead of in his current location. His eyes locked onto the small black box sitting on the top shelf of the far wall over there.
It was like a Pandora's box, begging to be opened once again. Inside was the precious treasure that Felix knew would absolve him of his sins. He had to get to that box and get it out of this monstrous fortress. It was a gift that the Rangers needed and he knew he was the only one who could let them know it was there.
Felix's catty sense of hearing kicked in. Someone was keying in their code to the locking mechanism on his door. Felix turned to his desk and glanced at the sharpithor lying there. He had made some additions to its design. His stolen tool would soon be in use. The doors to Felix's laboratory slid open and Charlie walked in. She noticed Felix leaning in the corner near the window.
"Enjoying the view?"
"Never. What do you want?" Felix asked.
"It appears that Omallix is planning to unleash Magnettoron today. Is he as powerful as you say he is?"
"He will be, once the final augmentation process is completed. I don't understand why Jintari wants it done in cycles this time," Felix wondered.
"Something about that fluid running low. He thinks that slowing the process will allow it to travel through Magnettoron's system more thoroughly," Charlie explained.
"Watch it, Charlie. You're starting to sound like a scientist."
"It pays to stay informed, especially on this base," Charlie smirked. "So, anything you want to inform me of?"
"I could use your opinion," Felix said, staring at her.
Charlie was taken aback a bit. Felix looked vulnerable in that moment. She was hoping another one of his depressed phases wasn't coming before Omallix's last monster project could be completed.
"You know me," Charlie said. "I never pass up the opportunity to tell you exactly how I feel."
A moment of silence passed between them in that laboratory, as Felix wondered if he was truly about to confide in Charlie.
"Do you think they hate me?"
Charlie looked confused. "Who?"
"Everyone down there, the Rangers, Cruger, all of Space Patrol Delta. Do you think they hate me for what I've done?"
"Oh, Felix. Don't get dramatic on me," Charlie said, annoyed.
Felix responded angrily. "Answer me. Honestly."
"They don't hate you. Unfortunately, they never could. As much as I hate to say it, the spirit of S.P.D. is a tough one to break and so is yours. They know that," Charlie said.
"Even after all I've done?"
"You haven't done anything more evil than anyone else around here."
"I cloned Cruger so that Omallix could take away his Shadow powers, I bonded Jack to the Omega morpher, which he can never remove without cutting his entire arm off, and not to mention all of these monsters I've helped make stronger. My grotesque resume kills me every time I think about it," Felix said, somberly. "They couldn't forgive me."
"But, they will," Charlie said, in a matter-of-fact tone. "Don't beat yourself up about what you've done. You didn't have a choice and they know that too. Look, Magnettoron will be sent up shortly. You better get this place ready for the last augmentation."
Charlie walked towards the doors, which slid open as she approached. Felix watched her. She stood in the doorway and turned back to him.
"If it makes you feel any better, I still hate you," Charlie said, smugly.
"That does make me feel a little better, actually."
Charlie chuckled as she walked off. As the doors slid closed behind her, Felix grabbed the sharpithor and sprinted over to the doors, falling to his knees as he got there. He aimed the sharpithor at a spot on the wall right next to the doors. The tool seemed to stick directly onto the wall when he placed it close enough. The energy he had siphoned off of Magnettoron worked perfectly. A small cord was hanging from the device. The cord led to a small blood pressure monitor in Felix's pocket. Felix wasn't a technical expert, but he had picked up a thing or two in his many years in S.P.D.. The metal plate he had attached to the device was now stuck firmly on the wall.
His excellent hearing came in handy, as he heard the locking mechanism on the other side of the door clicking. Felix knew that most locking mechanisms reset so that a specific code would have to be entered to unlock it again. This door was doing just that. Once he heard the click, Felix grabbed the small blood pressure monitor from his pocket and looked at it. The magnetically charged sharpithor did its job. It picked up the locking mechanism's reset and transmitted the data through the device and through the attached cord.
In Felix's hand, he held the blood pressure monitor and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Then, the monitor lit up. The red numerical pattern was just what he needed. Felix now had the code to unlock those doors whenever he wanted. Felix smiled. His thoughts veered to that box next door. He was closer than ever. But now, he again needed to wait and prepare for the rest of his busy day.
Sydney Drew exited her room, still fluffing her hair a bit, making sure it looked perfect. She wasn't going far, but Syd prided herself on always looking her best. She crossed the Rec Room and headed for the doors to Bridge & Quinn's room. Bridge had asked to see her in there for some reason. Her curiosity might have been piqued if it wasn't Bridge. She had known him for years and not much more could surprise her, coming from him. She pressed the door chime and they slid open seconds later. Syd walked in and was a bit confused. Bridge was there inside, sitting on his bed, but Z and Quinn were also there. None of them looked happy.
"What's going on?"
"I thought we all needed to talk," Z spoke up.
"Oh. Are we waiting for Sky?"
Bridge stood up from his bed.
"No. This meeting is to discuss Sky," Bridge revealed.
"Guys," Syd started, but Z put a hand up.
"Just wait a minute, Syd. I think we all have some opinions that need to be voiced and if Sky were here, you know none of us would get a word in," she told her.
Syd nodded.
"I'm worried," Z said. "Sky's been practically unbearable."
"Yeah" Bridge chimed in. "I know I've been wrapped up in my own stuff dealing with my arm, but it's pretty obvious that Sky's got some problems."
"Some problems?" Quinn said, angrily. "He's gone off the deep end."
"Quinn, calm down," Syd said.
"I can't calm down," Quinn said, as he looked at all three of them. "Look, I know you guys don't know me that well, but I can't take this anymore. I became a Ranger to help stop Omallix, not to become Sky's whipping boy."
"It's an unfortunate situation," Syd tried to reason.
"Yeah, you're right. It's unfortunate that Sky can't put his personal feelings aside. It's hurting the team," Z explained.
"I agree, but I don't know what to do about it," Bridge said.
"We need to talk to Cruger," Quinn said.
"No," Syd said quickly. "Sky will come around. He just needs time."
"How much time?" Quinn asked, angrily. "I know you guys are all friends and I don't like going behind his back talking to you, because it will seem like I'm trying to turn you all against him, but I have to do something."
"We're a team," Syd said, trying to come up with something, but she hadn't been expecting this meeting. "We have to keep trying."
"Sky's not trying!" Quinn yelled. "I don't see how you can keep defending him, Syd. He berates me at every turn, calls my mother names. You saw what went down that day. You know he's out of line."
"I've told him that," Syd said. "I have. He's just—"
"Maybe he needs to hear it from someone with more authority!" Quinn said, as he stormed out angrily.
"I'll go after him," Bridge said, as he trotted after Quinn.
Left alone, Syd found herself on the verge of tears. Z put an arm on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I know I should have told you, but I really didn't want Sky to know about us meeting like this," she told Syd.
Syd looked at her, brushing a tear from her eyes.
"You don't understand. It wouldn't have mattered if you told me. I'm just as scared as the rest of you are," Syd said, as she began to sob a bit. "I've never seen Sky like this and I'm afraid he's going to do something that he'll never be able to take back."
Z grabbed her into a hug. She sighed. Sky was never one of her favorite people, but his actions were having a ripple effect that was beginning to tear everyone apart.
At the same time, on the other side of the Delta Command Base, Kat Manx was front and center in her laboratory. She was standing next to a large computer screen. In front of her, Commander Silverback, Sky Tate and Jack Landors joined Supreme Commander Cruger. She had just revealed something major to them all.
"You're certain this is legit?" Silverback asked.
"Yes, I'm positive," Kat said, smiling. "It's a genetic impossibility that this is a coincidence. It's like it was placed there blatantly, waiting for me to find it."
"So, Felix encoded a message into Dorothar's blood stream?" Cruger asked, confused.
"Exactly," Kat said. "When I analyzed the containment card, I got some strange readings. I took the findings to Dr. Sevarus and he helped me extract the strange DNA code. I deciphered the message and got this sequence of words, which I believe came from Felix."
Kat pressed a button on the computer screen at her side and the words popped up on the screen. She read them aloud, as the four males in the room all moved a bit closer to get a better look.
"S.P.D...Message...Omallix...Monsters...Only...One...Left... Communication...Difficult...Trying...Harder...Magnettoron...Next... Augmented...Stronger...Message...With...Him...Too...Felix."
"Wow," Jack said. "If that's for real, Felix is good."
"From what I've been able to piece together, it seems that Omallix has indeed found a way to make his monsters stronger, as we suspected. But, Felix did manage to tell us one vital piece of information," Kat said.
"There's only one left," Cruger spoke.
Kat nodded in agreement.
"Well, this is pretty darned good news," Silverback, said sarcastically. "I guess I won't tar and feather that doc when we get him back, after all."
"This is not time for jokes," Sky said.
He had been silent for the entire meeting. Silverback walked a bit closer to him, but Cruger and Jack were standing between the two.
"Cadet Tate, I've had just about enough of your mouth," Silverback yelled. "And so has everyone else."
Sky glared at him.
"Gentlemen," Kat spoke up, trying to get everyone's attention. "If we can all remain focused for a bit longer, there's more."
They all glanced over at Kat, as she walked to her computer terminal and picked up two disks, holding them up for the men to see.
"I finished going over Nathan Tate's log entries," Kat said.
"Oh, here we go again," Silverback sighed.
Sky began to move towards his commanding officer, but Jack restrained him. Cruger let out a low growl focused directly at Silverback.
"Everyone, calm down!" Cruger yelled. "No one speaks!"
Silverback and Sky both regained their composure, as Jack let out a deep breath. Cruger shot him a glance too. Jack stiffened up. Cruger then glanced back at Kat.
"Kat, what did you find?"
"Well, I listened to the entirety of both disks and if you thought Felix's DNA message was a surprise, you're not going to believe what Nathan Tate told me," Kat said.
Kat inserted the second disk into its appropriate slot in her computer. The image was then displayed on the large computer screen for the others. The image of Nathan Tate appeared before them. Sky lowered his head and stared at the floor, refusing to look up at his father. Kat had set the disks to start playing at the most pivotal point. She started the playback. In one moment, Nathan Tate was alive on screen, clipboard in hand, talking about his latest case at the time.
'This Omallix character is pretty tough to catch, but I think I may have found something out that may help me lure him right into our hands," Nathan stated. "Turns out, that his little sidekick is the one I should have been investigating all this time. Omallix seems to get stronger every time I encounter him. I kept trying to figure out why. Then, I did some research on Jintari. He's a clever one. I contacted the authorities on his home planet, Shimitar. He was exiled from the planet for his deadly weapons creations."
Kat and the others listened intently, as Nathan continued.
"But, I found a woman doctor there who told me an interesting story about a childhood friend of Jintari's who had been helping him with creating some kind of invisible grenades. He was hurt pretty badly. Jintari never told anyone. He tried to create some sort of metallic exoskeleton to pull his bones back together. His friend died," Nathan said. "That's when a light bulb went off in my head. I described Omallix's look to her and she told me that it was the same design."
Jack put a hand up, causing Kat to pause the recording.
"So, wait. Jintari created Omallix?" Jack asked, looking confused.
"It appears that Jintari was the one that brought Omallix to his current form. However, there's more to it," Kat said, as she restarted the recording.
Sky lowered his head again, but he couldn't ignore his father's voice invading his ears.
"Omallix isn't a robot," Nathan Tate continued. "I brought this little gem of information up when I confronted him the next time. That's actually how I finally captured Jintari. The little weasel wasn't as fast as his big buddy. I warned Omallix to give it up, but I knew he wouldn't. But, once I had Jintari in custody, I knew I could break him. He's smart but not too resilient. He cracked under the pressure and told me about how he found Omallix in an alley right here in Newtech City about five years ago. He was half-dead. He had apparently picked a fight with the wrong people. Jintari took him into the sewers near there and nursed him back to health, repairing his damage by adding the robotic armor."
Cruger let out a low growl. Next to him Silverback just stared.
"I went to the alleyway and it was near a clinic. I guess Omallix was too hurt to make it inside. I figured they wouldn't have been able to help him anyway. Clinics back then weren't equipped to deal with aliens in such bad shape. While I was there, I also discovered that they had been missing a huge supply of blood...human blood."
Kat took a deep breath, knowing what was coming. Cruger's eyes narrowed. Jack & Silverback still watched closely and Sky's eyes were still planted on the floor, but he was listening, even harder than the others knew.
"So, I went back to Jintari. He told me everything, about how he stole the blood from the clinic and he used it to help Omallix live," Nathan said, as he shook his head, unbelieving. "All this time, I've been chasing a criminal from another planet and he's not from another planet."
Jack's eyes widened as he realized what Nathan was getting at. Sky's head rose as well, as they heard Nathan Tate reveal it all.
"Omallix is human," Nathan exclaimed. "Next time I meet him face-to-face, I've got a feeling this piece of information is gonna be all the distraction I need to bring him in."
They all watched as Nathan hit a button on his keyboard, causing the screen to go black. Kat let out a deep sigh, as she turned to face the others in her laboratory.
"I don't believe it," Jack said, as he looked surprised.
"Omallix is human," Cruger said the words, but not even he could believe it was true.
"It's true. Mitchell Hospital reported a major theft a day or so after Omallix and the others escaped containment here," Kat said. "D-Squad had been investigating with no luck on the culprits. I have a feeling we now know who they are."
In that minute, everything had changed.
The A.F. Rawlings Research Center was full of laboratories. Some were devoted to biology and others to technology. The largest of those laboratories was now in the hands of an evil mind. The green alien scientist, Jintari, scurried around the laboratory, grabbing the two of the last three large silver canisters from the drawer beneath his desk. He sat them near his computer terminal, as the doors on the lower level slid open and Charlie walked in. Jintari glanced over the balcony, as Charlie made her way up the stairs.
"What's going on?" Jintari asked, confused.
"I was just about to go check on Felix to make sure everything was set for Magnettoron's procedure. I wanted to stop in and see if you were ready on this end," Charlie said, as she looked around.
Jintari walked back over to his desk, pushing the canisters a bit farther away from his computer console. He began typing in some commands on the computer.
"My scanners indicate that Magnettoron is not in Felix's laboratory yet," Jintari said, as Charlie walked over closer to the table.
Her eyes rested on the two canisters. Then, she turned to Jintari.
"I don't want Felix having too much exposure to him before the augmentation begins," Charlie said. "I think keeping Felix alone is a good thing."
"That surprises me," Jintari said.
"Why?"
"You seem to spend a lot of time in there with him yourself."
"It's my job to keep Felix working," Charlie said. "That requires taking a hands-on approach."
"I just hope you aren't getting attached," Jintari said, annoyed.
"Don't worry. When the time comes and Felix needs to be eliminated, I'll get it done," Charlie said.
Jintari gave her a glance, as she picked up one of the silver canisters, which he quickly grabbed away from her.
"What is this stuff?"
"It's highly concentrated and we only have one more canister after these two," Jintari said. "I would appreciate you keeping your hands off or I might be forced to use you to replenish the supply."
"Me? What are you talking about?" Charlie asked.
"Nothing," Jintari said, keeping his bloody secret. "Just go make sure Felix is ready. Omallix wants Magnettoron to be dispatched before the day is over."
Charlie exited the two-story room and headed for Felix's laboratory, but her mind was still in there with Jintari. What did he mean about the fluid in those canisters? How could she replenish anything in there? As she walked, Charlie thought back to Oartha & Dorothar's operations. She remembered seeing the red liquid fill the augmentation needle before piercing them.
"Red liquid?" Charlie thought out loud. Could it be? "No. It couldn't be."
She shook her head and continued on her way. Meanwhile, the abducted doctor she was on her way to see was busy with his own project. Felix was on his knees once again, near the doorway. The blood pressure monitor in his hand was now on the wall. He had attached it, using more of the magnetic energy he stole from Magnettoron's body. He put it right between the banana-shaped sharpithor. He grabbed a scanner from his pocket and ran it along the side of the small monitor. He had a feeling it was going to work. He began to press the code for the doors. Just as his finger was about to press in the last number, his extremely sensitive hearing kicked in. Footsteps were approaching. Felix scrambled to pull the sharpithor and monitor off of the wall. It took all of his strength, given the magnetic power he had used to attach them.
Felix finally broke them free and stuffed the components into a cabinet underneath his desk, just as the doors slid open and Charlie entered. Noticing he seemed a bit out of breath, Charlie walked closer to his desk.
"What are you up to, Felix?"
"Nothing. I just finished setting up everything. As you can see, the restraints on the examination bed are in place. My scanners are all ready for Magnettoron. You can tell Omallix that his horrible plan can go ahead," Felix explained, covering quickly.
"I'm surprised you're this calm," Charlie said. "You know Magnettoron's the last monster in Omallix's army."
"Yes. So?"
"Well, logic would lead me to believe that your worth to Omallix is dwindling by the hour now. Once Magnettoron's injected, that'll be it," Charlie said.
"I'm well aware of the situation. Thank you, Charlie," Felix said, blankly.
Charlie sighed. Her attempts to poke at Felix weren't working and they weren't allowing her to take her mind off her last interaction with Jintari. She was still curious.
"Can I ask you something?" Charlie spoke to Felix.
"I guess so. You did let me vent earlier," Felix said, sighing.
"In your medical opinion, is it possible to mix one person's blood with another?"
"Normally, I would say no," Felix said. "But, in this day and age, just about anything's possible. Why?"
"I'm curious, thinking about humans. I've been away from them for so long," Charlie said.
"Well, it would have to be somehow genetically modified to skew the blood types to make them compatible without killing the person using the new blood. I'd imagine it could be done. I know I wouldn't want to be responsible for the consequences, though. It would probably do all sorts of strange things to their body's systems," Felix said. "Who knows what might happen to someone who was given modified blood that didn't belong to them."
"Yeah," Charlie sighed. "Who knows?"
"Omallix is human!" Z yelled.
"I know," Jack said. "I was just as surprised as you guys are."
Inside the Rec Room, Jack had just told Bridge, Syd, Quinn and Z all about what happened in the earlier meeting in Kat's lab. They were floored.
"This is huge," Bridge said. "I can't believe it."
"I know the feeling," Syd chimed in.
"So, does that change the rules of war?" Z asked Jack.
"I don't think so," Jack said. "Cruger says we go on, just like before. Omallix made the first strike. We bring him in, just like any other criminal."
"We have to be careful, though," Syd said. "We're always walking a thin line with human criminals."
"Well, just like most of A-Squad," Z said, smirking. "Omallix is going away for a long time, once we get our hands on him, human or not human."
The others all nodded in agreement with her, as Sky strolled into the Rec Room and walked right to his room. If Syd hadn't been facing in that direction, she would have missed him. Jack had told them about Nathan's logs. She knew it had to be hard on Sky hearing & seeing his father again. She started to walk over to his door when Quinn passed her, heading that way himself. Syd took a deep breath, as she saw Quinn enter. Z put a hand on her shoulder. Jack & Bridge exchanged troubled glances on their own. All four of them knew nothing good was going to come from this.
"What do you want?" Sky asked, seeing the doors to his room slide closed behind Quinn.
"We need to talk."
"No, we don't. Get out."
"Sky, you have to talk to me sooner or later," Quinn said, looking extremely troubled.
"Leave me alone."
"I don't get you!" Quinn yelled. "You act like all of this is my fault, when it's not. I had no hand in who my parents were and neither did you."
Sky stared fiercely at Quinn. His face almost matched his the red on his uniform.
"So, tell me Sky," Quinn shouted. "How can I make this better? What can I do?"
"Resign from B-Squad," Sky said, frankly.
"No," Quinn said. "I'm not gonna do that. I agreed to become the Green Ranger to stop Omallix. After everything he's done, after everything we've been through, you'd really be okay with that?"
"Yes."
"So, you're willing to sacrifice the team just so you don't have to look at me and look at your father's mistake?"
Sky was fuming. He walked closer to Quinn, who could tell he was breathing harder. Quinn, however, didn't back down.
"You may feel comfortable with weakening this team, but I don't. I lost a teammate to Omallix already and I'm not gonna help lose another one," Quinn said. "Don't you see we're in the same boat?"
"You and me, we're nothing alike," Sky said. "We never will be."
"Good," Quinn said loudly, as he stared into Sky's eyes. "Because I never want to be like you. Walking around with all this bitterness and hatred, that would destroy me. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."
Quinn turned away from Sky, as the doors to his room slid open. He stormed out, just as Syd was coming that way. The two almost bumped into one another. Syd came in, locking eyes with Sky for a second, before he turned his back on her. The doors slid closed behind her.
"So, I didn't see any smoke coming through the door. I guess that went okay, then?" she asked.
"It's never gonna be okay," Sky said.
Syd saw his head lower. She knew he was struggling to hard to fight his emotions.
"Sky, maybe you should talk to a counselor, or someone who can help you deal with this."
"I don't want to deal with this!" Sky said, as he turned, yelling at her. "It kills me every time I think about it."
"But, you can't go on like this," Syd said, desperately. "Look at you."
"I can't do that either," Sky said, as he sniffled, holding back his emotions. "Because, every time I look in the mirror, all I see is him. It's the one thing I pray that I never see, but it's always there."
Syd sighed, as she walked closer to him, putting her hand on his back.
"Sky, it's okay," she said.
Sky turned to face her quickly, causing her hand to let him go.
"No, it's not okay. Look at me, look at us!"
"What are you talking about?" Syd looked confused.
"I'm more like my father than I could ever have imagined. What he did, I'm doing it right now!"
"Sky, you're not making any sense."
"You and me! It's just like him and her," Sky said, still fuming.
"No, it's not!" Syd said, sternly, making sure she was looking into his eyes, but he tried not to let her. "Sky, this is not the same thing."
"Yes, it is! It's wrong, just like he was wrong. I can't do this. I can't be like him. Don't you understand that?" Sky yelled.
"Sky—"
"No! Stop it! I'm not doing this anymore, Syd. I told you, I'll never be like him," a tear fell from Sky's eye as he yelled those words to her.
"Sky, please don't do this right now. Please," Syd said, sobbing herself.
"I can't be with you. It's just another reminder and it hurts too much," Sky said, as he tried to regain his composure.
"You're gonna push everyone away and it's gonna hurt you more than you feel right now. You don't want to do that," Syd said, through her tears.
Sky stared off at the far wall, refusing to look at her and then he exited, leaving her behind once again.
To the naked eye, it appeared that Sky was walking at a normal, steady pace. But, inside he was running. He was running from his past and his present all at the same time. But, for Sky, there was no where to run and his future was rapidly descending into darkness, which he wasn't sure he wanted to escape. He turned a corner and was greeted with a familiar face. Sky promptly turned and tried to walk in the opposite direction, but that familiar face wasn't going to let him.
"Tate!" Silverback yelled.
Sky stopped in his tracks and turned around, saluting his commanding officer.
"Yes sir?" Sky said the words, but he didn't sound cordial or even respectful. His words were full of spite.
"B-Squad's next training session starts in an hour. I hope you're not going far," Silverback said, as he eyed Tate up and down, as if he were sizing him up.
"No, sir."
"I assume all of B-Squad will be there on the simulator?"
"Why wouldn't they be?" Sky said, giving Silverback a confused glance that also conveyed his annoyance.
"You tell me," Silverback said.
"I'm sure they'll be there, sir," Sky said finally, as he started to walk away.
"Hey!" Silverback yelled. "Did I dismiss you?"
Sky stopped in his tracks, with his back still turned to Silverback. Sky took a deep breath and shook his head and walked back to his commanding officer, staring him right in the eye.
"You got something you want to say to me, Tate?"
"You have no idea," Sky said.
"Excuse me!" a voice called out from down the corridor.
Both of them turned to see Supreme Commander Cruger walking in their direction. Sky and Silverback both saluted Cruger.
"I hope I didn't walk in on what I thought I walked in on," Cruger said. "Because it looked to me like S.P.D.'s Commander and B-Squad's leader were about to come to blows!"
"No, sir," Sky said quickly, as Silverback eyed him, before turning back to Cruger.
"No, sir," Silverback added.
"Good. The next time you two decide to play this game, I suggest you do it behind closed doors, not out here in the hallway," Cruger said. "As a matter of fact, why don't you save it until after Omallix has been captured and this war is over! If you can't do that, I will be forced to replace both of you and don't think I won't do it, war or no war. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," Sky yelled quickly.
"Yes, sir," Silverback said, seconds later.
"Dismissed," Cruger said. "Both of you."
Sky and Silverback walked off in different directions. Cruger sighed to himself, knowing that this wasn't working. Something had to be done. But, he was running short on time to do anything here on Earth.
Up in space, Cartiron watched his last battle play out all over again. He had watched the battle scene on the throne room's main viewscreen twice now. Cartiron didn't like what he saw. Cartiron watched as he fell to the ground from the Omega Ranger's fist attack. Cartiron stormed over to Jintari's control station and slammed his fist on it, causing the video to stop playing and disappear.
Omallix entered the throne room, quietly, having seen the end of the replay. His footsteps got a little louder, as he walked further in, drawing Cartiron's attention. The Dark Hellion stiffened himself a little, trying to show no signs of anger to his master.
"Cartiron, is there a problem?"
"My battle with the Omega Ranger, it plagues me," Cartiron said, through his fangs.
"He obviously blames you for the fire that killed his little friend," Omallix said, in his dark, devious tone. "Humans can be complicated creatures, Cartiron. Vendettas are how they deal with loss."
"It is a vendetta that I would not mind relieving him of," Cartiron said, angrily.
"You will have your chance. You can be sure of that," Omallix said. "But, be patient. Let young Jack suffer a little longer."
Cartiron nodded, before stomping out of the throne room. Jintari scurried in, as if on cue. He took a position, standing next to Omallix.
"That was...interesting," he said, having obviously been listening in. "You gave him a rather unique perspective. I hope he takes your advice to heart."
"He will," Omallix responded. "He obeys."
"He should. No one knows more about vendettas than you do, my master," Jintari said, slyly.
"I guess they truly are a human response," Omallix said, before walking off.
Sky stormed back to his room. Part of him wanted to completely leave the base. That might have been the only way for him to escape everyone he wanted to. It was too late now anyway. Training would be starting soon. The doors slid closed behind him, before he even noticed that there was someone inside already.
"Jack," Sky said, seeing his visitor.
"I like what you've done with the place," Jack said, as he looked around.
"You came here to talk about the decor?" Sky said, sarcastically.
"That's part of it," Jack said, smiling. "You know, I have a lot of memories of being in this room. Long days, long nights. It can be tough being the Red Ranger. Sometimes a single room can be a perk and sometimes it can be the loneliest place in the world. You know what I mean?"
"Actually, Jack, I don't know what you're getting at."
"I'm just sayin' I'm here if you wanna talk. I've been there," Jack said.
"You know, somehow, Jack, I don't think this is the same situation," Sky said, sighing.
"You're right. It's not," Jack said, seriously, sensing there was no other way to talk to Sky right now. "Omallix is worse than Gruumm, I'll give you that. He's probably even worse because he's human. But, my experience as Red Ranger taught me a lot."
"You wanna be Red Ranger again, Jack?" Sky said, annoyed. "Huh? Is that what you're here for? You wanna be leader?"
"I wouldn't take that spot for a million bucks," Jack said, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm just tryin' to help and whether you want to admit it or not, you need help, Sky. No one can go through what you've been through alone. Stop being such a jackass and let us help you."
"You can't help me. None of you can help me deal with this," Sky said, angrily.
"I could tell that from the way Syd was crying when she left out of here earlier and the way Quinn went storming out. Sky, we're not the enemy. Omallix is. Just remember that. See you on the simulator," Jack said, as he left.
Sky watched Jack leave. He took a deep breath and walked over to a small mirror on his desk. He picked it up and looked at his reflection. He still didn't like what he saw. But for the first time in over a week, he didn't know if that was because he looked too much like his father, or because he looked too much like himself.
Inside his laboratory, Felix held a large needle. Magnettoron was sedated at bit. Felix thought it best to do this when the monster wasn't paying attention. He slowly injected Magnettoron with the needle.
"Good luck," Felix said to himself. "I hope this message reaches the Rangers."
All finished with his own injection, Felix checked Magnettoron's vitals, just to make sure he didn't have any reaction to the gene sequencing that Felix added with his encoded message. Felix smiled. It was another success. He walked over to the observation window in his lab and looked at the black box on the top shelf next door. Felix sighed.
"If I fail, at least they will know what's inside," he said aloud, as he glanced back at Magnettoron. "If they can contain you."
The doors to his laboratory slid open and Charlie walked in. She glanced at Magnettoron, then glared at Felix.
"What's wrong with him?"
"He's asleep. I told you that adding all of that extra fluid could make him groggy at first, just like Dorothar," Felix lied.
"Well, he better be up soon," Charlie said. "Omallix is growing impatient."
"Aren't we all?" Felix said, under his breath, thinking about his own escape plans.
Charlie walked closer, eyeing him.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Like you said, with Magnettoron out there fighting the Rangers, my worth to this ragtag group of terrorists has diminished. I can't say I'm too upset about that," Felix said.
Charlie rolled her eyes. "Just make sure he's ready to go within the hour."
Charlie exited the laboratory. As she walked away from the doors, she got the strangest feeling that Felix wasn't talking about nothing. She didn't know what he was up to, but she was sure it was something.
Inside the S.P.D. training simulator, Commander Silverback slowly walked in front of each of the B-Squad Rangers, who were morphed and ready for action. All of them donned their S.W.A.T. gear, with the exception of Jack in his Omega Ranger suit. Silverback was holding a small plastic remote.
"This is one of the biggest tests you will ever be faced with inside these walls," Silverback explained. "Remember, this is your city. You are the ones charged with protecting it. The danger has arrived and all hell has broken loose. In this program, the only thing standing between Newtech City and destruction is the Power Rangers."
He paused an extra few seconds in front of the Red Ranger. He leaned in close to Sky.
"Let's hope you can handle it," Silverback said, in an even tone.
Unlike most of his inflections, he didn't yell that phrase.
"Rangers ready?" Sky yelled out.
The other five members of B-Squad drew their Delta Enforcers. Jack raised his morpher arm in response.
"Ready!" they all yelled.
"Good," Silverback said. "I suggest you work together. It may be the only way to survive."
Silverback turned his back on the Rangers and headed for the doors. As they slid open, he turned to look back at them and raised the remote control in his hand, aiming straight at the cadets.
"Simulation starts...now!"
Silverback pressed the button on the remote and stepped out of the room. As the doors slid closed behind him, the white barren interior of the simulator was replaced with the smoking, tarnished view of downtown Newtech City. The Rangers all took in their surroundings. Sirens were blaring, buildings were burning and a black ashy smoke filled the air around them.
"What's happening?" Z yelled from beneath her helmet.
"It was some kind of attack," Bridge yelled to her.
"Spread out," Sky yelled. "Whoever it was may still be around."
"Shouldn't we go in teams?" Jack yelled to him.
It was hard for any of them to hear over the sounds of the city's emergency sirens. The flying helicopters and explosions in the distance didn't help matters either.
"We'll cover more ground alone," Sky yelled back.
"I agree with Jack," Z yelled. "We don't know what's going on. It's better if we stick together!"
"Yeah," Bridge chimed in.
Syd and Quinn were both noticeably silent.
"Fine!" Sky yelled, as he pointing north. "I'm going this way!"
"I'll go with Quinn," Syd yelled, catching the Red Ranger off-guard.
The Green Ranger nodded and the two rushed off towards the east.
"You and me?" Jack yelled to Z.
"Definitely," Z said, after glancing at Sky.
She followed the Omega Ranger as he headed south. The Blue Ranger walked a little closer to their leader.
"Uh, I guess that leaves you and me," Bridge said to him.
Sky sighed. "Let's go!"
The two Rangers ran off in a northerly direction, into the abyss of chaos that surrounded them all.
Commander Cruger sighed, as he walked with Kat in the corridor. She could tell he was clearly unhappy with what was about to happen.
"Having second thoughts about leaving, sir?"
"I've had third and fourth thoughts about it, Kat. Unfortunately, I don't have a choice. Galaxy Command needs the Supreme Commander," Cruger responded.
"We all do," Kat said.
"Oh, I'm not so sure about that. You seem to be in better spirits."
"Well, someone managed to give me a swift kick in the rear," Kat smiled at him. "It helped."
"Good. I wish I could say the same with Silverback," Cruger said.
"I'm not sure if I have any advice on that front."
"I just hope he doesn't do something rash," Cruger said, glancing at Kat.
"Well, I wish I could keep a closer eye on him, but I've got my hands full," she said with a smile, as they turned a corner.
"Oh really?"
"You were right. I have so many ideas of things that could help the Rangers, now more than ever," Kat said.
"Anything you'd care to share?"
"Oh, don't worry. You'll be receiving clearance requests very soon. I'm sure of it," Kat said.
"I can't wait," Cruger said, as he sighed.
They reached the escalators and he stopped, turning to Kat.
"But, there's one project that I want you to put aside for now," Cruger said.
"What's that, sir?"
"My patrol morpher. It doesn't look like I'll be needing it."
Kat sighed. "Sir, I wish—"
"I know," Cruger cut her off. "It doesn't matter now. Your top priority is getting the Rangers in a position to win this battle. Not only do they have to beat Magnettoron, whenever he shows up, they have to be ready for Cartiron and Omallix. Both of them are still out there."
"Charlie too," Kat added. "I know. Doggie, I promise you the Rangers will win this war if I have anything to say about it."
"I know you'll have a lot to say," Cruger responded. "And, I can't wait to hear it."
"Thank you, sir," Kat said.
Kat stayed where she was, as Cruger descended the escalators, headed for his shuttle, which she could see waiting for him. Kat watched him board the craft and then walked away.
Inside the shuttle, Cruger joined his pilot in the cockpit. He glanced out the window, as the craft lifted into the air and exited the Delta Command Base. As they ascended towards the atmosphere of space, Cruger noticed a beeping sound coming from the control console.
"What is that?"
His pilot, Officer Lucas, checked his instruments.
"Oh, it looks like we've picked up an alert from within Headquarters. We're still so close."
"What kind of alert?"
"I can't be sure, but it's definitely an emergency alarm...a monster attack maybe?" Officer Lewis guessed. "Should we turn around, sir?"
Cruger thought long and hard. It was a question he had already posed to himself the moment he heard the alert. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A few tense moments passed.
"No," Cruger said, finally. "We have to get back to Galaxy Command. The only ones that can handle that emergency are the Power Rangers."
Officer Lucas nodded, as he kept the shuttle on course and it headed out into space. Cruger took a seat. He hadn't felt this way in almost two years. He resigned himself to the fact that he was not a Power Ranger, not anymore. He just hoped that he had left them in the proper hands.
"Commander, I believe it's Magnettoron," Ghiren yelled from his tracking station.
"Give me a visual!" Silverback yelled.
The Command Center was bustling with activity at the moment, since a duty shift change had just taken place. Silverback stood at the main console in the center of the room, as Sophie ran over, keying in some commands at the main station, which caused a holographic projection to pop up, showing Magnettoron attacking innocent people in a downtown outdoor cafe. Silverback and Sophie watched as he used his magnetic power to grab a chair from several feet away. He used it to throw at fleeing people.
"Oh no," Sophie said.
"Should I alert the Rangers?" Niyako called out from the communications station.
A few seconds passed, as Sophie stared at Silverback, wondering about his hesitation.
"The Rangers are in the middle of a training session," Silverback said.
"I'm sure their sessions have been interrupted before," Sophie said. "There's a monster attacking."
"Yes, and we don't know anymore than that, do we?" Silverback said, as he looked at her.
At his feet, even Murphy was puzzled, as he let out a whimper. A glowing red question mark appeared on his faceplate. Silverback saw it and sighed, as he headed for the doors.
"Sir, what are we going to do?" Sophie asked.
"I'm going to go out there to assess the situation," Silverback said.
All heads turned to face him. In that moment, everyone was caught off-guard. They all stared at their commanding officer.
"Sir?" Sophie was the only one who spoke.
"Niyako, the Rangers are not to be disturbed in their training session," Silverback ordered.
The floating female creature was taken aback by the order. She had known Silverback for a while and this was strange, even for him.
"Yes, sir," She said, as her voice conveyed a sense of uneasiness, something that no one was used to hearing in her confident friendly tone over the intercoms.
"But sir, if that monster is augmented like the others, you won't stand a chance confronting him," Sophie spoke up again.
"Conversation's over!" Silverback said. "The Rangers will join me when they've finished their simulation. Ghiren, patch the exact coordinates through to a patrol jeep."
"Yes, Commander," Ghiren responded.
Before Sophie could object again, Silverback was gone. She gave a shocked sigh. On the floor near her position, Murphy lowered his head. Sophie turned to Ghiren.
"Is Supreme Commander Cruger still here?" she called out.
Ghiren turned from his station, after keying in a few commands.
"No. His shuttle already left," Ghiren responded.
Sophie knew she wasn't in a position to do much. She wasn't an officer. She wasn't a cadet. She just worked here and that frustrated her. She didn't know Silverback, but even her robotic fingers trembled a bit at the thought of what he was willingly walking into without backup. She had to do something. There was only one person she knew she could call.
"I can't see a thing," Jack yelled to his partner.
"Then, stay close," Z responded, as she turned up the sensors on her helmet's S.W.A.T. scanners.
She could pick up anything moving within fifty feet of them. She continued on, with her Delta Enforcer drawn. Jack was right behind her, as they advanced down the smoky street.
"I still wonder what could have done all this damage," Z said aloud.
An emergency helicopter flew over their heads. It was flying low and they instinctively lowered their heads a little bit, even though it was nowhere near the ground. They watched the helicopter fly into the thick smoky distance.
"Z, do you feel that?" Jack asked.
The ground was shaking a bit. Then, Jack realized that it wasn't shaking constantly. It was almost like something was hitting the pavement. It was heavy, large. Jack had a bad feeling, as a blanket of silence seemed to come over the area. Jack noticed he didn't hear the helicopter anymore.
"Oh no," Jack muttered, as Z turned to look at him.
"What?"
Jack grabbed Z into his arms and dove out of the way, as the helicopter came crashing through the smoke, right at them. He held tight to the Yellow Ranger, as they jumped out of the way of the crashing copter. As it collided with the pavement, Jack knew something had hit it...hard. The stomping sound got louder. It wasn't something falling on the ground. It was something walking on it!
"It's huge!" Z said.
She finally got a reading, as it got closer. "I mean it's not big enough to be a zord, but it's still bigger than us, probably fifteen feet high."
"Not good," was all Jack could think to say.
On the southern side of the disaster, the Red and Blue Rangers were walking carefully, searching for signs of life. They kept their distance from each other, walking on separate sides of the street to cover more ground.
"Do you hear that?" Bridge called out.
"What?"
"The eerie silence," Bridge said, as he looked around.
His S.W.A.T. scanners weren't picking up anything, until he heard a faint cry in the distance. Bridge stopped and focused in on that direction. There was a child, crouching low in an alleyway up ahead.
"I've got something," Bridge yelled. "It's a kid."
The Blue Ranger took off running. Sky began to get a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, as he saw Bridge turn and run into the alleyway, between two buildings. His brain was suddenly invaded with the voice of his father...
"Silas Jacobs was a great man and a great Blue Ranger. He was a true friend."
Sky started running. His father's voice wouldn't stop echoing in his head.
"He took a chance to save that little girl and he didn't make it."
The Red Ranger finally reached the alleyway, but he was still across the street. He looked into the alleyway and saw his Blue Ranger kneeling on the ground, helping up a little red-haired girl. His S.W.A.T. scanners picked up something. Sky looked a little further up and noticed that one of the buildings was about to crumble. The debris started to fall.
"No. Bridge!" Sky yelled as loud as he could.
The Blue Ranger looked up and saw the falling brick and concrete. He scooped the child into his arms, as Sky drew his Delta Enforcer and ran into the street to get a closer shot. He fired his weapon at the falling debris, torturing the falling pieces with the lasers. By the time they fell on top of the Blue Ranger, they were virtually ashes. Bridge ran out of the alleyway, still clutching the girl. He put her down, as he looked up at Sky.
"Are you okay?" Sky asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Bridge said, as he knelt down to talk to the girl. "What about you?"
She simply nodded and disappeared into thin air. Bridge & Sky exchanged curious looks.
"Does that mean mission accomplished?" Bridge wondered aloud.
"No," Sky said, as he looked around. "The program's still going. There's more to it than that."
Then, they both heard one of the scariest sounds anyone on B-Squad could hear - Syd's scream. The Blue & Red Rangers both looked at each other for only a second before sprinting off towards the sound.
Downtown in the real Newtech City, Magnettoron was having a ball. He used his enhanced magnetic powers to pull a steel post straight out of the ground and into his hands. He had several chairs set up near him and he proceeded to use the steel post as a bat, hitting the chairs into nearby cars, including those with cowering people inside.
The sounds of approaching sirens caught his attention. He had one chair left. As the S.P.D. patrol jeep got closer, he noticed that there was no colored superhero behind the wheel. It looked like a gorilla of some kind. Magnettoron used the steel post in his hands to swat the last metal chair right at the vehicle, as Silverback swerved it to a stop, just as the chair crashed into the windshield. Silverback stood up on the driver's seat, examining the damage, as Magnettoron walked closer.
"Now, that wasn't very nice," Silverback said. "Good thing for you, I don't like nice!"
Silverback grabbed the small S.P.D.-issue laser pistol from the glove box of the jeep and started firing. Magnettoron managed to dodge each of the laser beams. He extended his hand, causing the entire jeep to begin to shake, as it started moving a bit towards the monster. The laser pistol on Silverback's hand, however, didn't take that long. It flew from his grasp and landing right in Magnettoron's hand. He crushed it.
"Is that bad enough for you?" Magnettoron asked, in his evil tone.
Silverback let out a loud simian battle cry and swiftly used his leg strength to flip from the jeep into the air, over Magnettoron. His feet hopped off Magnettoron's shoulders, causing the monster to stagger a bit. Silverback landed behind him and scored a swift kick, that sent the monster stumbling forward.
Inside the Command Center, Sophie watched the holographic projection closely. Silverback had some moves, but she knew there was no way he was going to actually beat the monster. The doors to the Command Center slid open and Kat Manx stormed over to where Sophie was standing.
"What's going on?"
"Commander Silverback went after Magnettoron on his own!"
"What?" Kat looked utterly confused as she peeked at the holographic image of the fight.
Magnettoron had Silverback in his hands and tossed him into a table at the outdoor cafe.
"Oh no," Kat said.
"Now, you see why I called you," Sophie explained. "He ordered us not to disturb the Rangers on the simulator."
"Why would he do that?" Kat wondered, frowning. "Our commander's gonna get himself killed."
"Unless we can do something," Sophie added, as she thought as hard as she could.
Kat's eyes veered to something else. It was something that might help. She smiled.
"Sophie, I can't tell you to disobey Silverback's order," Kat said. "But, he's not going to make it if the Rangers don't help him. However, I may have an idea to help combat Magnettoron."
Sophie looked interested, as Kat was staring at something on the floor.
"Here, Murphy," Kat said.
Murphy got to his feet and began backing away from Kat.
"Murphy?" Sophie asked.
"Murphy's just a nickname for M.U.R.P.H. – Multi Utility Robotic Patrol Hound," Kat said, sounding a bit excited. "I think it's time to add some utility."
Murphy went running out of the Command Center. Kat chased after him, but stopped for a second to look back at Sophie.
"I'll still need the Rangers to pull this off, Sophie!"
Inside the simulator, the Red and Blue Rangers ran as fast as they could towards the east side when they noticed two more Rangers running towards them.
"Jack, Z!" Bridge called out.
The four Rangers met up in front of a large building.
"You heard Syd?" Sky asked.
"Yeah," Z said.
"That's not the only problem," Jack exclaimed. "There's something big and it's heading this way. We think it's what caused all the damage."
"Do you know what it is?" Bridge asked.
"We didn't get a good look at it," Z nodded negatively.
Syd's piercing scream was heard again in the distance.
"Syd!" Sky yelled.
"Syd!"
The four Rangers exchanged confused looks, as they realized the second call for Syd came from Quinn and it wasn't coming from the direction of Syd's voice, but from above, at the top of the building they were standing in front of.
"Why did they split up?" Jack wondered.
"We have to help Syd," Bridge said.
"I'll get Gray," Sky said, sternly. "You guys go find Syd. We'll catch up."
"No, way," Jack said. "There's no way you're going to Quinn by yourself. We don't know what happened, but you can't go gunning for him without the whole story."
"Fine!" Sky said. "We have to act now. Z will come with me. You and Bridge, find Syd!"
They all nodded together. The Blue and Omega Rangers went running in the direction of Syd's scream, as the Red and Yellow Rangers hustled into the building, making their way to the top floor. On the roof, they found Quinn at the edge, yelling.
"Syd!"
"Quinn!" Z yelled.
The Green Ranger turned, seeing the Red Ranger storming towards him.
"What happened to Syd?" Sky yelled.
"We heard something up here and came to investigate," Quinn said quickly, as Sky was approaching. "I turned my back for a second and she was gone."
He instinctively tried to back up, as Sky was coming towards him. His foot slipped and the Green Ranger fell backwards, over the edge.
"Quinn!" Z yelled, as she started running towards his spot.
Sky dove to the ground, extending his arm and grabbing a hold of Quinn's hand. Honestly, Quinn didn't expect to feel Sky's hand grabbing him, as he looked up. Through his S.W.A.T. visor, he could see that it was indeed the Red Ranger who caught him. He pulled the Green Ranger to safety, as Z joined them at the edge.
"Good job," she said.
"Sky—" Quinn started to speak.
"It's just a simulation," Sky said, quickly and seriously.
"Guys!"
The three turned, as they heard Bridge's yell coming from the other side of the rooftop. They all ran over in that direction. Z could feel that stomping sound from earlier as they got closer. Through the foggy smoke, they saw the Blue and Omega Rangers hovering in the air.
"We found Syd," Jack yelled, pointing several feet away, where they saw the Pink Ranger hovering as well.
"What's going on?" Quinn wondered.
As they got closer, the smoke began to clear and they saw it. The huge, massive beast had the Pink Ranger in one hand and the Blue and Omega Rangers trapped in the other hand. It was a dark, evil monster. The three Rangers on the rooftop drew their Delta Enforcers and aimed at the belly of the beast, just as it all disappeared. The monster, the rooftop, the smoke and fire, and the sounds of destruction were all gone, replaced by the white simulator room. The only thing that remained was the sound of the emergency alarms. They all looked around, as Sophie was standing at the doorway.
"Rangers, there's trouble!" she yelled. "Magnettoron's attacking and Commander Silverback went after him alone."
"What!" Sky exclaimed. "Let's go!"
The Rangers went running out of the simulator, before Sophie could even tell them about Kat's idea.
Silverback got to his feet, as a metal pole was coming at his head. He ducked again. The pole Magnettoron had been using as a spear pierced the window of the building behind Silverback.
"You missed!" the Red Ranger shouted.
Both creatures turned to see the arrival of the six B-Squad Rangers. They trotted over, flanking Silverback.
"Did you finish your simulation?" Silverback yelled.
"We'll talk about that later," Sky said. "Right now, we've got a monster to take down. Ready Rangers?"
"Ready!"
Within moments, though, they had more monsters to deal with. A swarm of robotic Fericks appeared out of nowhere, with blasters drawn. They all fired on the group of Rangers and their commander at once. All seven of the heroes rolled out of the way. Silverback landed near Sky.
"Looks like you got trouble," Silverback said. "Why don't you leave the big boy to me?"
Silverback went trotting off towards Magnettoron, who had started heading for a more populated part of the city. Sky got to his feet and grunted in frustration.
"Go!" Jack yelled to him. "We can take these creeps."
Sky nodded, as he ran off after Silverback. Aboard Omallix's base, Cartiron found himself once again watching a battle unfold. This one, however, was happening live and he had his eyes planted squarely on the Omega Ranger.
The other Rangers got to their feet, as the Fericks surrounded them. The five of them that could, drew their Delta Enforcers, firing at any of the robotic machines that got too close. Jack took the air, twisting the throttle on his morpher, while in mid-air.
"Omega morpher, electro mode!"
As he landed right in the center of a platoon of the creatures, he planted his glowing fist on the ground, causing a barrage of lightning energy to rise up and electrocute the six Fericks around him. The pieces of seared metal flew away from him, as if he were a fan, blowing dust away.
Nearby, the Pink and Yellow Rangers were firing in tandem at the approaching Fericks, blasting them as they got closer to the duo. A few feet away, the Blue Ranger shot a Ferick to pieces, just as two more crept up behind him, grabbing him by the arms. One of them grabbed at his weapon, but he kicked it away, just as the other Ferick swung at him, nailing his helmet. Bridge rolled to the ground, but still had his Delta Enforcer in hand and fired.
A few feet away, the Green Ranger flipped over a row of fireballs fired at him by the Fericks. In the air, as his body twisted, he locked onto the machines and shot at them in mid-air, destroying all four of the Fericks that had been firing at him.
The Red Ranger turned the corner and saw Silverback was once again in the hands of Magnettoron, who had lifted the simian creature over his head with both hands. He threw Silverback at Sky, who jumped over his falling commander. Silverback crashed to the ground and rolled onto his side, groaning.
"Good catch, Tate," he grunted.
He looked up, seeing the Red Ranger in the air, firing on Magnettoron with his Delta Enforcer drawn. Magnettoron dodged the first lasers and extended his hand, causing the metal weapon to slide right out of Sky's hands and into Magnettoron's. He turned the Delta Enforcer on the descending Red Ranger, firing at him.
"Ah!" Sky screamed, as he was lit up with a laser discharged from his own weapon.
The Red Ranger crashed to the ground in a flood of smoke and sparks, holding his chest, which took the damage. Silverback hobbled over to the fallen Red Ranger.
"I hope you've got a better plan than this!" Sky said to Silverback.
In the distance, Silverback heard barking. He looked down at Sky.
"Maybe I do!" Silverback said, as he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.
They both saw the approaching Murphy, sprinting as fast as his robotic body could carry him. He was headed towards Silverback. Sky's morpher sounded.
"This is Tate."
"Sky, has Murphy reached you yet?" Kat's voice called out from the device.
"He's almost here," Sky said, as Silverback pushed them both out of the way of Magnettoron, who fired again at them with his newly acquired Delta Enforcer.
The duo both crashed to the ground.
"Good!" Kat said. "He's bringing a treat."
Murphy came to a sliding halt in front of the two. Silverback patted him on the head, noticing something in his mouth. Murphy opened it and Sky saw a red version of Jack's Omega morpher.
"I've made a few upgrades to Murphy's circuitry," Kat said through the morpher. "Are you ready for the S.P.D. Battlizer Mark 2?"
"You know it," Sky said, as he strapped the morpher onto his wrist.
"I'll distract him!" Silverback yelled, as he hobbled off towards Magnettoron, getting his attention.
S.P.D.'s commander was a very agile creature. He managed to evade each of Magnettoron's attacks with the Delta Enforcer. Silverback hopped, jumped and flipped just quick enough to avoid being hit. Sky twisted the throttle on his new morpher.
"S.P.D. Battlizer, Power Up!"
At his side, Murphy began to surge with energy, as his body began to detach in parts that began attaching to the Red Ranger. White armor formed on his chest, tinted with red and blue panels that blinked and acted as sirens. His boots got an upgrade as well, as Murphy's legs came apart and reformed around the Red Ranger's legs, providing more traction and protection over his S.W.A.T. gear. A long white cylinder materialized in the air and Sky caught it on his shoulder, as Murphy's head stretched and connected with it, creating a slender shoulder-mounted cannon. The rest of Murphy's body formed a new belt, which included an empty holster for Sky's Delta Enforcer. He seemed to glow, as he felt the surge of power within him.
"Pretty costume," Magnettoron spoke, as he eyed the newly formed Battlized Ranger. "I think I'll try it on!"
Magnettoron extended his hand at Sky, who could feel his entire body trying to move closer to the monster, but his Battlizer armor wasn't going to give in. He planted his feet where he was and Magnettoron struggled to make him move closer. Then, Silverback came out of nowhere, flipping in front of the monster, using one foot to kick his hand down, breaking his invisible hold on Sky. Silverback grabbed a hold of the Delta Enforcer and flipped away, firing at the monster. Magnettoron crashed to the ground. Silverback nodded to Sky.
"All right," Sky yelled. "Let's see what this armor can do."
"Sky!" Kat's voice called through again. "You have to remember to load a containment card into the cannon. It won't contain the monster on it's own. It would just destroy it."
"Right!"
He flipped the cannon down off his right shoulder in one swift motion, grabbing it under his arm, so he could load the card. Sky fired, causing a huge red bolt of blast energy to fire at Magnettoron, lighting him up in a huge fiery explosion. Magnettoron was gone and all that was left behind was a containment card. The other Rangers came running around the corner, seeing the red upgrade, just as Sky powered it down. Murphy reformed, just as the Rangers ran over to Sky, all cheering a bit at the outcome of the battle. Nearby, Silverback picked up the containment card holding Magnettoron, as Murphy joined him at his side. He patted the robotic canine on the head.
"Good job," Silverback said aloud, but no one was sure if he was talking to the hound or the Rangers.
Aboard Omallix's floating fortress, Felix watched Silverback pick up the card. He breathed a sigh of relief, hoping beyond hope that someone in S.P.D. had figured out his message.
One hour later, Felix was again watching, but this time he was watching the observation window that led next door. He had his eye on that black box again. He went over to the cabinet behind his desk and grabbed the sharpithor device that he had rigged up. He walked to the door and connected it. He heard footsteps approaching. He could tell by the sound exactly who was approaching. Felix left the device attached and walked over to the examination bed and stared at the doors, as they slid open. It was time, he thought.
"Magnettoron didn't make it," Charlie sighed, almost sarcastically.
"I saw," Felix said, pointing to the flatscreen monitor.
"So, you ready to tell me what's going with you?" she asked. "You're almost out of time."
At the same time, Kat was entering her laboratory, holding Magnettoron's containment card. She ran all of the appropriate scans on it and found the same strange readings as before. She followed Dr. Sevarus' instructions and analyzed the strange DNA sequence. When she decoded it, Kat was surprised. It wasn't like the first message from Felix. This one was in full sentences. He was a genetics genius, Kat thought.
Inside his laboratory, Felix thought of that message he had composed. Charlie had no idea that the speech Felix was about to give her, was the exact text he had sent to S.P.D. through Magnettoron. Kat watched the dialogue scroll onto her screen. Felix began to speak to Charlie, reciting the message that Kat was reading.
"This is the last message I can give to S.P.D.," Felix said. "My time grows short. I'm sure of it now. I've managed to refine the process by which I've sent this message, so it should be a little clearer..."
Charlie looked confused. "What are you talking about?"
"...than the last," Felix continued, refusing to stop. "I truly and deeply apologize for all I've done. My sins against the organization that I love can never be forgiven. I know I'll never forgive myself for the things that I've done."
Charlie continued to watch him, strangely. In her lab on Earth, Kat continued to read.
"S.P.D. can win this war against Omallix and I think you may have a better shot, if I'm not helping the enemy. I no longer intend to do that," Felix stated. "I will help those that have been loyal and honorable to me. Maybe I can regain a little of my humanity, which I managed to acquire from the cadets of Space Patrol Delta. Omallix has committed many atrocities, and so have his comrades in evil..."
"Felix, you're not making any sense," Charlie called out, but Felix did not stop talking.
In front of her computer screen, Kat didn't stop reading.
"One of the greatest crimes was against our own Doggie Cruger," Felix said, as he stared at Charlie. "Omallix deceived us all. I created the clone of Commander Cruger and he used him to hurt you all. But, the biggest crime was theft. Omallix never destroyed Cruger's Shadow Ranger powers!"
Felix walked over to the observation window and stared at the black box on the top shelf in the laboratory next door. Kat's eyes grew wide, as she continued to read the text from her friend.
"It is here," Felix continued, as he stared at Charlie and walked slowly closer to her. "Here on this grotesque flying death center. It's trapped, like me. I hope to get it back to you, Rangers. I hope to be on the side of good again."
Kat's jaw dropped, as she finished reading Felix's message.
"Good luck," Kat said, quietly.
Inside Felix's lab, he lunged at Charlie, pushing her against a wall. She elbowed him across the face and grabbed her blaster from its holster, but Felix tackled her to the floor, before she could aim at him. Felix wrestled the weapon away from her. They both got to their feet at the same time. Charlie smirked, as she stood up against the side of the examination bed.
"Where are you gonna go, Felix?" Charlie shouted. "You can shoot me, but you're still not gonna get out of this lab. The doors closed right behind me!"
With the weapon still trained on her and his back to the doors behind him, Felix ran his right hand along the wall until his fingers touched the sharpithor, with the blood pressure monitor attached. Charlie's eyes grew wide, as he keyed in the numbers, causing the doors to open.
"Felix—" Charlie started towards him when Felix shot the weapon.
Charlie went flying over the examination bed and landed on the floor behind it. Felix knew he had to hurry. He wasn't a good marksman and he knew he had only shot her in the arm. He ran out of his laboratory and into the one next door, which was never locked.
In Omallix's main throne room, Jintari's control station began beeping wildly.
"What now?" Omallix yelled. "Haven't we had enough trouble today?"
"Sir, shots have been fired...in Felix's laboratory!" Jintari yelled.
"What?" Cartiron wondered, as he walked closer to Jintari's station. "Charlie shot him?"
"No!" Jintari said. "I'm reading a human female still in the lab. Felix has just entered the auxiliary laboratory next door. He's holding the weapon!"
"I'll stop him!" Cartiron said, as he started marching away.
"Don't bother!" Omallix cackled, as he looked at Jintari. "Flood it with gas. Destroy him!"
Jintari keyed in the commands without hesitation.
Felix grabbed the black box off the top shelf. He couldn't resist opening it to make sure that the patrol morpher was still there. He smiled, seeing it was. He headed for the doors, but they didn't open. He didn't understand. He dropped Charlie's blaster and tried to pry them open with his hand, but they wouldn't. Felix heard a hissing sound. He looked up at the ceiling and saw the two vents at opposite corners of the room had released a green gas.
"Oh no," Felix said quietly.
Next door, Charlie got to her feet, holding her arm, which was shooting pain throughout her body.
"Felix!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.
She was furious, frustrated and ready to pounce. She had no idea where Felix was going, as she looked towards the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the green gas filling up the laboratory through the window.
"Felix!" She yelled in desperation as she ran over to the observation window and saw Felix stumble backward, hitting the back wall right on the other side of the glass.
He was dying, she knew. She saw him still clutching the black box, as his body slid to the floor. Charlie put a hand up on the glass and started banging on it.
"Felix!"
She watched his body hit the floor. The box in his hand fell onto his lap and popped open. Cruger's patrol morpher slid out. Charlie kept banging, as the emotions within her began to take over. She screamed in anger and began thrashing around the laboratory, kicking over Felix's chair and throwing his scanner across the room. She walked over to the doors and fell to her knees, as she pulled at her hair. She ripped the sharpithor from the wall and threw it at the observation window.
The pain in her arm was almost crippling. She looked up at the ceiling, trying to regain her composure and all she could see was that grotesque needle staring back down at her. She grabbed a hold of her arm, which was bleeding into her hand. Seeing the red blood made her brain do strange things. She started to think hard about everything she had learned today. Someone was going to pay for making her feel these emotions! She stormed out of the laboratory and ran as fast as she could to Jintari's two-story lab. She hiked up the stairs, replaying Jintari's words in her head.
"...we only have one more canister after these two..."
Charlie grabbed Jintari's chair and rammed it into the drawer beneath his desk until she broke it open. She grabbed the last silver canister and she loaded it into the augmentation machine. Then, she ran. Charlie ran out of there as fast as she could and back up the stairs to Felix's laboratory. She held back the tears as she input her code in the door as quickly as possible. Before entering, she glanced over at the other lab, where she knew Felix's lifeless body was now held. She walked into the lab and saw the needle beginning to descend.
"They will pay," Charlie grunted, through clinched teeth.
She lay down on the bed and closed her eyes, as she felt the needle pierce her stomach. She wasn't sure what was about to happen, but she knew that the old Charlie was now like Felix...dead.
Next door, inside the gas-filled laboratory, Felix was dead. His spirit was preparing to leave him. He could feel his brain shutting down, as the toxic fumes had entered his lungs. He couldn't escape his final thought, as his last day in this world came to an end.
'The shadow of death has come for me.'