There was plenty to do around Grid Battleforce, the launch was now only a short time away. Everyone on the base had been working for this day for some time, some of them for years. While most of them always presumed there would be at least another few months before launch day, having been briefed as such for some time, certain recent events, most notably a leak from within, had spurred the decision to move up the launch date.
Everyone on the base was hard at work, from the highest-ranked officers to the custodial staff. Everyone had believed in the promises that Morph-X had made, believed completely in the brave new world they were offering and wanted to put forward the best face possible for their launch. While the promise of ending pointless, bloody wars over the few remaining drops of oil around the globe, ending the poverty caused by soaring energy costs and the environmental rejuvenation offered by an energy source with no hazardous by-products, they wanted to make sure that everything was perfect. Every uniform was clean and pressed, every floor polished and waxed and every inch of the building gleaming.
Zoey went about her duties, doing no less than her fourth run of the building to ensure there wasn't so much as a single rag in any of the laundry baskets. She sincerely doubted the base could generate terribly much laundry in about an hour, but in truth she just wanted to be out where the action was, to soak up some of the excitement of the spectacle.
"Psst." Someone whispered. She had to look around, trying to locate the source. Eventually, she found Ben and Betty a little way off. They were now back in their beige maintenance uniforms. She didn't know if Commander Shaw had them kicked off security detail over the embarrassing incident with Mayor Daniels, if she felt that their assistance would be better used to ensure the building was looking its best or if she just wanted them out from under her feet. Frankly, none of those options was out of the realms of possibility. Betty waved her over frantically. Zoey came over, finding them huddled around a tablet. "Zoey, get over here!"
"Hey guys, what's going on?" She asked.
"We managed to hijack a link to the telecommunications network." Ben told her. "We're tuning in to the local news networks. We wanted to see the launch up close!"
"Uh…you are aware it's just outside the front door, right?" Zoey asked them.
"Yeah, but Commander Shaw told us she didn't want us going to the launch." Betty told her. "She sent someone from security with the order, but she was pretty adamant on the point."
"I believe her exact words were 'If I see you within five hundred feet of the Mayor for the rest of the day, you'll both be spending a month in the stockade.' Can you believe that?"
Zoey managed to suppress a laugh for the sake of her friends, but she could definitely imagine the Commander being a little impatient with them following the incident at the gate. While Ben and Betty were strictly speaking doing their job, they'd been overzealous considering the fact that it was Mayor Daniels, one of the most recognisable faces in Coral Harbour. She could imagine she found the incident a little bit of an embarrassment on a day when they had a whole lot of other things to worry about.
"I still can't believe we're finally here." Betty said with a little squeal. "It's so exciting isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is." Zoey agreed. "I just wish Nate was able to be up here."
Betty nudged Ben a little and they exchanged a little smirk.
"I mean, he's been working for this for years and he's going to be in the lab and have to watch the re-run later in the day. That doesn't seem right somehow does it?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure he's really disappointed." Ben replied. "I mean, he's just creating Superheroes downstairs, but I'm sure he'd much rather be up here watching the Channel 6 news."
"Ch..ch…channel 6?" Zoey asked. "Um…I should probably be…"
"No, wait, stay with us!" Betty replied, grabbing her and pulling her in. "Come on Zoey, we're witnessing history here!"
Zoey reluctantly just looked around, before pulling in around the tablet. As much as she was reluctant to listen to one of her mom's reports, hoping that Ben and Betty wouldn't make the connection, she did want to be a part of the day in any way she could.
Down in the lab, Devon waited impatiently for his dad to leave. Commander Shaw and Nate showed him around all of the Rangers' equipment for what seemed like forever. He was starting to get cramp crouching down behind the equipment the way he was. What was taking them so long? Sure, the weapons were cool and all but how much could anyone say about a sword? He did have to think it was neat when he saw Nate apparently teleport one of them across the room, explaining that the Rangers would have instant access to their entire arsenal.
One of the longest-running jokes among video gamers was the phenomenon of the bottomless inventory. It was an area in game design where ease of gameplay gave way to some artistic licence to reality. Often video game characters would have access to every item and weapon they had ever picked up at all times regardless of whether or not it was feasible any person could actually carry so much. Some games were worse offenders than others, with literally any weapon or item being available at any time, but others did make a point of having a carrying limit meaning that players might have to choose what to take with them before embarking on a mission.
Still, it was rather amusing to think that even in some games that enforced this, some of the carrying limits could get quite ridiculous. After all, it wasn't uncommon for a videogame character to be able to carry about a hundred medical packs, thousands of rounds of ammunition, four or five full-size weapons and more currency than any sane person would ever carry on their person. With this system, the Rangers would literally carry their entire arsenal around at all times.
He breathed a sigh of relief as his dad's aide finally reminded him the ceremony was about to start and escorted him from the room. He decided to wait a little while, to make sure his dad was well on his way out of the building, before making his move. By now he had abandoned any thought of seeing the simulator and just wanted to get the hell out of the building before anyone saw him.
He took a moment to look around at the weapons and equipment they had, thinking that most of them looked a lot like they belonged in one of his beloved games. He did wonder what it would be like to get to use some of them, get to try them out. Unfortunately, he dawdled a little too long, because Nate and the Commander returned to collect the Rangers. He saw Nate and Commander Shaw approaching the pods, opening them up.
"Alright, don't move too quickly, you might still be a little woozy." Nate warned them, offering Roxy some water. "Here, take some of this." Devon knew he was now in some pretty deep trouble if he got discovered. Commander Shaw hadn't even let his dad know the identity of the Rangers. He wasn't too interested, but he doubted if they were this desperate to make sure the Rangers identities weren't known outside of Grid Battleforce, they'd be too happy to see someone skulking about. He was looking for a way to leave, when he saw their faces and memories of the encounter at the gym came flooding back to him.
"No way, them?" He asked, recognising the three Ranger candidates. Now he had a whole new problem. It wasn't just his dad that would recognise him. If he kept his distance the odds were Nate and Commander Shaw wouldn't know him from Adam, especially since he was still dressed as a lab assistant, but there was a possibility the Rangers would. He saw that they all did look a little wobbly and everyone was focused on them so it seemed like a good time to leave.
He was keeping to the edge of the room, trying not to attract attention when one of the monitors caught his attention. It looked at first like it was just running lines of code, but then that code started to swirl up and form into some kind of shape. He was drawn to it, curious. Just as he was almost face-to-face with the screen, he saw the face of a huge, hooded serpent seeming to leap out at him. It startled him so much he leapt back and slammed into some shelves, scattering things on the floor. Everyone suddenly stared straight at him, attracted by all the commotion.
"Who in the…?" Commander Shaw started to ask, looking to see someone in a lab outfit peeling himself off the floor. She didn't know what had caused the commotion, or the accident, but she was already on edge given the importance of the day. She stared straight at him and could only note the expression on his face looked like a deer caught in headlights, like he didn't belong. She couldn't see a clearance badge pinned to his lab coat. "Show me your clearance badge!"
"I…um…uh…" Devon started to stammer. Right now, he was really wishing real life had dialogue options presented on the screen. He'd played enough RPG's to know that when in a situation like this, there was often something a player could say to the guard to allay suspicion and get by without a fight, but it was quite different when he didn't have the option of a couple of selections, some of which were blatantly wrong. "I…have it in my pocket?"
He rolled his own eyes hearing that come out of his mouth. He didn't have anything of the kind, and it would only be seconds before he'd be discovered. Nate looked him up and down.
"Hey, why aren't you wearing safety shoes?" Nate asked him. "Trainers are strictly forbidden in the lab!"
Devon knew he was rumbled and made a dash for the door. Unfortunately, before he was anywhere near there, he was slammed against the wall, before being thrown to the ground. Ravi was now kneeling on top of him, twisting his arm up his back painfully.
"Let go of me!" Devon grunted.
"Hey, I know him, he doesn't work here!" Blaze called out, finally getting a good look at Devon. "That's the mayor's son!"
"Excuse me?" Commander Shaw asked, looking to him judgementally as a couple of security guards came in. Ravi turned him over to their custody, where they held him in place tightly. Devon realised that the situation was now completely hopeless. Even if he did somehow get out of their grip, even if he somehow escaped the room, there were going to be a whole lot of armed guards between him and the door, and even if by some miracle he did manage to get out, Blaze had now confirmed his identity. He wouldn't be able to go home because they would know where he lived. He figured now if anything was going to work, it was going to be the truth. Hell, it wasn't like he had any other dialogue options right now.
"I'm sorry, my dad said he had a meeting here and…and I just wanted to try out the simulator and…"
"We don't have time for this right now." Ravi reminded his mom. "We're about to go live any minute."
"Hold him in detention!" Commander Shaw ordered, pointing to the door. Right now, she didn't know what her options were either. She had everyone on the base well warned about what would happen to them if classified information was leaked. If it was anyone else, she'd have no issue whatsoever sending them to a stockade where they would likely be held for many years as a threat to the nation, but she'd just spent the whole afternoon trying to appease the mayor. If Blaze was right about this kid's identity then it would put her in a very difficult position to just throw him into a deep, dark hole with no trial. She needed time to think, to figure out how much he knew and more importantly, to get advice on what to do once she did know how much he had seen and heard. As they were dragging Devon away, he started to protest.
"WAIT!" He called out. "There's something in your computer network! A virus maybe!" He warned them. "I'm telling you; I saw an avatar; it was some totally creepy snake!"
Everyone just stared at him, completely confused. They didn't doubt he'd be willing to try just about anything to get away right now, but up until he panicked and bumped into the shelves, none of them had even noticed he was there. Something had startled him, otherwise he would have gotten away most likely.
"It moved in the system like it was alive!" Devon continued. "You have to believe me!"
"The firewall is up; nothing can get into the system." Nate assured him.
"But it's already IN the system, I saw it!" Devon reiterated.
"We don't have time for this. Take him away!" Commander Shaw ordered, before turning to Nate, who was by his computer. She approached him, making sure the Rangers couldn't hear. They were all still getting ready for the transformation and the last things he wanted was for them to worry about anything. "Nate, I want you to run a full system scan."
"But there's not much time…"
"Then do it quickly." She told him. "It's better to be safe than sorry." Nate looked between her and Devon, who was getting dragged out of the room. He just sighed.
"Agreed." He replied, beginning a scan. "It'll be tight, but I should have a full scan done before the download."
"Good." She answered. "Now, if you've all got this under control, I have to attend the ceremony."
She turned to the Rangers and smiled.
"By the time I return, you'll be our new Rangers." She reminded them. "May the Power protect you."
Outside the building, the ceremony was beginning. Commander Shaw got out just in time, quietly making her way to her seat as Mayor Daniels was announced to make his inaugural speech. She was glad that right now he didn't know his son was currently in a holding cell. She somehow doubted that he'd be too eager to begin the process when he found that out. She still had no idea what she was going to do about Devon, but she imagined she would have to involve General Burke as her direct superior, as well as Mayor Daniels at some point. She took a deep breath and tried to put it out of her mind for now while the ceremony got underway. Mayor Daniels was applauded as he took the podium.
"For too long, we've been reliant on fossil fuels, an energy source that was not only a finite resource, but also greatly damaged the Earth." He announced. He still had some reservations about the whole thing, but he was satisfied that Grid Battleforce had already prepared for the eventuality that threats would come to the city. It still felt a lot like tempting fate to have something so appealing right in their own back yard, but he also knew that sooner or later the system had to change. He had wrestled with the decision back and forth, but for now he was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. "Today, we tap into a new, infinite, affordable, clean source of energy that will revolutionise the world. And once our city proves it is safe, the rest of the world will follow in our footsteps. Citizens of Coral Harbour, the future has arrived, and the future is Morph-X!"
Down in the lab, Nate and his team were preparing for the first transformation. The systems started to kick in as Mayor Daniels threw the switch, activating the tower for the first time.
"Nate, the tower is active." Commander Shaw told him over the communicator. "All systems go."
"Morph-X entering the system." One of Nate's assistants confirmed. "It looks like everything is good to go."
"Activating the morphing sequence, now." Nate said as he punched a few keys on his keyboard. Blaze, Roxy and Ravi all stood, waiting on the system to begin their transformation. Morph-X flooded into the machinery above them, while a field came down, holding them in place. A warm, pleasant sensation started to flow through them, and they could already feel themselves becoming stronger, becoming something more than they already were.
"Phenomenal! It's working!" Nate said as he watched the display. "The process is already seventy percent comp…"
Unfortunately, he was interrupted as an alarm started to sound and warnings flashed up all over his screens. He started to tap keys trying to figure out what was going on.
Inside the pods, the three Rangers started to convulse, and tensed up. He could see pained expressions on their faces, like they were being tortured by whatever this was.
"Nate, what's going on down there?" Commander Shaw called out over the communicator.
"I don't know! The system just started…" He tailed off as he saw a hooded snake appearing on his screen, just like the one Devon had described. An evil laugh emanated from his computer. "Commander Shaw, something's in our system! Something's corrupting the sequence!"
"Shut it down!" She told him.
"I'm trying, but…but I'm locked out!" Nate told her. The serpent on the screen seemed to stare directly at Nate and the others as they looked on in horror.
"I am Evox!" It told them. "The time of humanity is at an end! The Morphing Grid will be mine!"
"Nate, what do we do?" One of the assistants yelled. Nate looked around in horror, trying to size up his options. He couldn't do anything with the computer, he was already locked out. The transformation had already begun. He could see on the display that the three Rangers were still being transformed, but into what he had no idea. Interrupting the transfer now would leave them only partially changed, and he had no clue what harm that could do to them.
"Nate, we need to do something!" One of his assistants called out. Nate just froze, unable to think of what to do next. Just then, sparks started to fly and energy arced to the other systems.
"Initiate a full evacuation!" Nate told them. "You go!"
"But…"
"GO!" Nate yelled at them. He didn't know what, if anything, he could do, but he wasn't about to risk the rest of his team. He knew that it was a long-standing tradition that the captain had to remain with the ship until everyone was safe, and for him…that meant he had to stay behind. The other lab assistants ran out as Nate activated the evacuation alarm.
By the holding cells, Devon could hear the alarm and see the staff beginning to flee the building. He was relieved when the doors opened up, allowing him to escape. Clearly Grid Battleforce valued lives over keeping prisoners. He had no doubt they'd look to round him up eventually but at least it meant he had a shot of getting out.
He left the cell and started to run around the corridors, until he hit on one problem.
"Where the hell's the way out?" He asked.
In another part of the base, Ben, Betty and Zoey were watching the ceremony on the tablet when they heard the evacuation sound.
"Come on, we've got to get out of here!" Ben yelled.
"Wait, what if there are others still down there?" Zoey asked. "I've not seen anyone pass us!"
"But…"
"Guys, I…I have to go!" Zoey yelled as she ran off. She could see others running the opposite way, and was satisfied people were leaving, but it didn't help that she didn't see Ravi, Roxy or Nate. Whatever was happening, it looked like they hadn't managed to leave yet. She wasn't going to leave without them!
Back in the lab, Nate tried everything he could think of in a desperate attempt to stop the morphing sequence, but everything he tried, it seemed like Evox had planned for well in advance. He saw the first of the neural aligners, the Cheetah pod, had registered a 100 percent completion. He looked up to it, watching as the energy started to surge down through Blaze.
Within moments, he saw Blaze slumping down, falling lifelessly to the floor, but standing in his place was another figure. It was dressed in what looked like a corrupted, warped form of the Ranger suit he had created for the Red Ranger, covered in angular armoured plates. The figure had Blaze's face, and was holding a helmet under its arm. It stepped out of the pod, flashing in and out of existence, glitching like a corrupted computer program. It just smirked at him.
"Whatever you are, stay back!" Nate warned him. The figure put on its helmet without a word, before rushing across the room, punching Nate and sending him flying into a wall, where he slid down and slumped to the floor unconscious.
"Thank you for creating me." The avatar stated, before turning back to the pods. "And soon, my team will join me!"
Outside the room, Zoey was running down the corridor, heading towards the lab. She almost bumped into someone she didn't recognise. He wasn't dressed like he belonged.
"Uh…are you security?" He asked her.
"Not exactly, I work in the laundry." She corrected him. "You?"
"Not exactly, just trespassing." He replied honestly. Zoey saw Nate lying on the floor and shoved Devon aside. As the door was coming down, she dove and rolled under it. Devon followed her, before finding himself trapped in the lab along with her.
"Ah, if it isn't the laundry girl and the mayor's brat!" Blaze said derisively as he turned to see them coming in the door. Zoey just saw Blaze's body lying on the floor, along with Ravi and Roxy still writing in agony in their own pods.
"Who are you?" Zoey asked. "What did you do to them?"
"If I were you, I'd be more worried about what's going to happen to you." He replied. Just then, there was another flash, and Zoey watched in horror as Roxy's body fell to the floor lifelessly. In her place, an avatar stood, carrying its helmet, she could see the face of her best friend as she strode out of the pod, coming towards her.
"Roxy?" She asked in horror.
"Something like that." She answered as she pulled on her helmet. "We avatars serve Evox now!"
"Evox?" Devon asked. "That must be what I saw in the computer!"
"Well, you're smarter than I thought." Blaze responded arrogantly, before pointing to the pod. "And one more will join us."
"Not if I can help it!" Devon called out, grabbing a blaster off one of the racks. He fired it at the pod, severing one of the cables that was transferring power into it. Ravi flopped to his knees, alive but clearly disorientated. Roxy pulled out a blaster and started firing, blasting the gun out of Devon's hand, before forcing Zoey and Devon to rush into cover.
"They interrupted the sequence!" She rushed out. "The third avatar…"
"We can rectify that soon enough." Blaze interrupted her, seeing the others hiding from them. He started to laugh. "What do you say Roxy? How about we have a little fun?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." She responded, putting her blaster away.