Scrozzle and Blaze teleported into the city, a couple of blocks away from a Morph-X tower. There were around a dozen or so all around the city. Although Morph-X was extremely efficient and the entire city could likely run for years on only a barrel or so, they were already planning ahead for the day the rest of the world would join in. Coral Harbour had not exactly been a poor city, having plenty of business and commerce, but one of the real appeals of signing on to be the staging point of the Morph-X revolution was getting in on the ground floor of the energy source that would soon make all fossil fuels completely obsolete. Gas was now averaging around twenty dollars a gallon when at one time people would complain if it rose as high as four or five. Once word got out about how safe, clean, and more importantly cheap Morph-X was, every city on the planet would soon want their own production, but that would take time. In the meantime, people would need Morph-X ready to go, and that meant stockpiling.
"Alright, one of the towers is nearby." Blaze told him. "There's a distribution centre on the grounds. The security in the tower will be tight, but the trucks in the yard will be comparatively easy to hit."
He looked to Scrozzle.
"OK, how much do we need?" He asked.
"For now, we should aim to take a couple of barrels." Scrozzle told him. "Once we have that, we should be able to power some of our more powerful weapons. Future incursions will be a lot easier then."
"You said you have a device for extracting the Morph-X?" Blaze responded.
"Just you worry about getting us in." Scrozzle replied. "You'll get the device then."
"Alright." Blaze responded, curling his lip in derision. He didn't like how guarded his new ally was being with the details of his plan. He might not have cared too much about the Ranger program beyond the prestige it would give him being able to say he was the Red Ranger in his memoirs when he inherited the Winchester fortune, but that didn't mean he didn't know that executing a plan generally required some information. "I'll get us in."
"Now, I had a quick look at the schematics and I think there's a weak entry point at…" Scrozzle started to say before he realised Blaze was already walking towards the plant. "Wait…where are you going? THAT'S THE FRONT GATE!"
Blaze strode straight up to the guard, who snapped to attention as he recognised him.
"Mr Winchester!" He rushed out. Blaze just smiled.
"Yeah, that's me." He responded. "Mind if I come in?"
"Uh…sir, I need to verify this with the Commander…"
"You already know who I am right?" Blaze asked. "One day I'm going to…you know…own this. So, how about you go get me a coffee and let me in?"
The guard turned to the guard station and started to pour a coffee when his partner noticed him.
"What are you doing? That's your third cup today!" The other guard responded.
"It's not for me, it's for Blaze Winchester!" He rushed in a panic. "He's here and he wants to see the site!"
"Blaze?" The other guard said in confusion. He could have sworn he saw something about that in the morning briefing. Before he could pull it up on the computer though, Blaze came into the guard station. Within moments, he'd knocked them both out cold. He reached to the control unit and pulled the lever, opening the gate, allowing Scrozzle in. Heading back out front, he saw Scrozzle approaching him.
"I had a plan!" Scrozzle screeched. Blaze just shrugged.
"Mine was quicker." Blaze said, gesturing to his face. "I figured best to make use of this before word gets out. You coming?"
With that, they both headed inside.
Over at Grid Battleforce headquarters, the team were taken down to the lab area. Repairs and redecoration were taking place as a result of the battle the previous day. They always suspected there was a chance that someone would come for Morph-X. It was inevitable. Whenever there was power, there were always going to be those that desired it and were willing to do anything to get it. Of course, no one expected it to happen so soon, and certainly not inside their own house!
"Alright, we're heading down here." Commander Shaw told them, leading to another lab. There were always numerous projects going on at any one time and of varying levels of clearance. When they got to one of the doors, Commander Shaw pulled out three lanyards and handed them to the Rangers.
"As the new Rangers, you now have increased access. Your security clearance will be second only to mine and Nate's. These are your new passes. I don't think I need to reiterate the importance for discretion." She sighed as Devon held up his hand.
"Uh…new guy remember?" He asked. "I haven't heard any of these briefings."
"Well, we're short on time so I'll give you the quick version." Commander Shaw responded. "If you reveal anything about the Morph-X production methods, the technology you use or the identities of your team you will be arrested for espionage and locked up in a Government Black Site for the remainder of your natural life." Devon just laughed.
"Good one Commander." He chuckled, before seeing the stern look she gave him and the fact she wasn't laughing. He looked to the others. "She's joking, right? Right?"
Commander Shaw just cocked an eyebrow before turning to the door.
"Seriously, I can't even tell my dad or my friend Mike?" Devon asked.
"They take security pretty seriously around here." Zoey told him.
"What you've done already would probably have earned you an extended stay in an off-the-books prison if it wasn't for the fact you saved us." Ravi confirmed. Devon just slinked back a little. After opening the door, Commander Shaw gestured them all inside.
"Rangers, it's time for you to meet your new tactical companions." She said, leading them inside and panning her hand across three robots. They were, conveniently, colour coded so it made it pretty simple for them to figure out which one was which.
"Wow, we get our own robots?" Devon said excitedly as he saw them. Nate headed over and stood proudly beside his creations.
"I prefer the term Beast Bots." He told them. "Like each of you, they have been infused with animal DNA."
"Animal DNA?" Devon asked.
"It's how you all have your unique enhanced abilities." Nate told him. "Devon, as the recipient of cheetah DNA, you have the ability to move at incredible speeds over a short distance in explosive bursts. Ravi's gorilla DNA allows him to flood his muscles with incredible power, increasing his strength far beyond that of even a morphed Ranger, while Zoey's jackrabbit DNA increases the strength of her legs to a massive degree meaning she can jump huge distances and heights."
"OK, so that explains that." Devon replied. "So, the robots?"
"Beast Bots." Nate corrected him wearily. "They are far more than just robots. They are sentient, even having their own personalities. They have been programmed with all the vital functions that will help you in your day-to-day duties, not to mention they can also transform to become the control units for your Zords."
"Robots with personalities?" Devon asked. "You know, two days ago that would have sounded crazy to me but now…not so much."
"You built these as well?" Zoey asked, looking at them open-mouthed in awe. "You're…uh…that's amazing!"
"This one is yours." He said, turning on the yellow one. It looked mostly cylindrical, with a couple of legs and a dome-shaped head. It seemed as though it was inspired largely by R2D2 from the Star Wars franchise, though it did have a couple of long ear-like antennae coming from the top of its head, and large dials for eyes. Its circuits lit up and it started to move, before locking on to Zoey and heading towards her.
"Ah, Zoey! I'm Jax!" It introduced itself in a Brooklyn accent. "I'm here to make sure you're fast and efficient!"
"Great! Thanks!" She said excitedly, before reaching out a hand and rubbing its head. "Oh, you're so cute!"
"I hate when people call me cute!" Jax responded curtly. Zoey just pulled back a little.
"Oh…sorry." She replied. Nate looked to her apologetically.
"They're sentient which means they form their own personalities." He told her. "Jax, she was just paying you a compliment, that wasn't very nice."
"Yeah? Well how would you like it if she called YOU cute?" He asked. Both Zoey and Nate looked to each other, before Nate turned away sharply, coughing a little.
"Yes, well…um…" He stammered, turning on the blue one. It was much larger, standing over everyone in the room. It had a steering wheel for a face. It started grunting like the gorilla that inspired its appearance and opened its arms, heading towards Ravi.
"Ravi! My name's Smash!" It said in a gravelly tone as it walked towards him with its arms out. "Bring it in!"
"Uh…not really the hugging type." Ravi responded. Smash slumped down, looking disappointed.
"Aw, but I like hugs!" He protested.
"Go on Ravi, give him a hug." Devon pressed on.
"I don't hug." Ravi responded.
"Aw, go on, you can see he wants one." Zoey joined in, enjoying the teasing of her new team mate. "It's just his personality. Look at him, he looks so sad."
"Just because he has a personality doesn't mean I need to change mine." Ravi replied. "I'm sorry Smash, but I don't hug."
"I don't see why; you did a lot more than that with Roxy." Zoey whispered under her breath, recalling all the sleepless nights caused by the paper-thin walls of her shared dorm room. Ravi looked to her.
"What was that?" He asked, completely missing what she said. Zoey just shook her head.
"Never mind." She replied. Right now, she wasn't even sure if he knew that she had been Roxy's roommate, never mind that she had known all about their relationship. She made a mental note not to bring it up again. She didn't want to upset him any more than he likely was already.
Nate finally went to the last Beast Bot. It was red, and the most human-like of the three. It had a vaguely triangular head with what looked like handlebars coming out of the sides.
"Hi Devon! My name is Cruise." It introduced itself. "I'm here for all your needs."
"As well as being an assistant and your zords control panel, it'll also be a personal transport for you." Nate told him. Cruise just looked to him.
"I will?" Cruise asked. Nate just face-palmed.
"Yes, Cruise, look up your schematics." Nate stated. "He's a little forgetful unfortunately. I think I may need to give him some tune-ups when I get some time."
"Oh…OH right!" Cruise said, before jumping backwards and turning into a motorcycle. Devon just marvelled at it. While he did have a licence, he had never owned a car or a bike. His dad had been the Mayor of Coral Harbour now for so long he'd never had any reason to. If he wanted to go anywhere that wasn't within walking distance or within easy access of a subway station or bus stop, his dad's driver was only too happy to take him.
"This is so awesome!" Devon called out. Ravi and Zoey just looked to each other, then to the Commander.
"Uh, mom?" Ravi asked. "I mean, Commander…not that we're complaining or anything but…"
"Yes?" She asked.
"Well, the thing is I think we were just wondering…why don't our Beast Bots become vehicles?" She asked. "Not that we mind, I mean Jax is great and so…"
She tailed off, looking to Jax who was glowering at her.
"Really…intimidating." She said as she stopped herself. "But it would be helpful."
"You have access to the full fleet of Grid Battleforce vehicles in the garage." She replied, handing each of them a key. "Those are all-access keys that will operate any of the vehicles."
She could see them both smiling, but could see the question wasn't really answered. She just sighed.
"It's a perk of being Red Ranger." She told them. "I think it's no secret things didn't turn out exactly as we planned, and as I'm sure you all know, traditionally the Red Ranger is the leader of the team."
"Wait…I am?" Devon asked. "Whoa, I…I'm flattered but…"
"Since the equipment is already made there's nothing, we can do about that, but I think it's also clear to say that since we've already thrown the original plans out the window, we can afford to do so with the traditional roles too." She interrupted him. "Since none of this was planned, I think it's only fair to say that it would be best to let merit and ability decide who should be the leader as opposed to some arbitrary rule of chromatic superiority."
They all just looked to her a little confused.
"Since your lives are going to be the ones in danger, I think it is for the best that you decide between yourselves who you think should lead the team." Commander Shaw told them.
"I like that plan!" Devon said, almost sounding relieved to hear that he would not be thrust into the position of leading the team.
"I'm glad you approve." Commander Shaw responded. "I'll expect your answer by the end of the week. Now, if you'll follow me, we're going to the simulators to let you practice on your Zords."
"The simulator?" Devon shrieked, punching the air. "YES! FINALLY!"
Meanwhile, over at the plant, Blaze dragged an unconscious guard, putting him on a pile with a bunch of others, binding him with cables. He looked to where Scrozzle was working on the computers.
"OK, that's the last of the guards." Blaze told him. "You got the alarms?"
"They're down." He assured him. "Now we can start extracting the Morph-X!"
"OK, cool." Blaze replied. "So, let's see the device." Blaze said. Scrozzle reached behind his back, before pulling something out. Blaze looked to it, and then back to him in derision.
"You're kidding, right?" Blaze asked.
"What?" Scrozzle asked.
"You're supposed to be some kind of mechanical and engineering genius and your idea is a HAND PUMP?" Blaze snapped.
"We want to preserve the Morph-X we have in case we need to call reinforcements." Scrozzle protested. Blaze just glared at him. "Just…get to work!"
Blaze snatched the pump from him and headed off towards one of the trucks.
"These weapons better be worth it." Blaze muttered.
Back at Grid Battleforce, the Rangers had spent a while on the simulators getting used to their Zords. Ravi had the most experience, having already gone through the Zord training, but the others were learning quickly.
Zoey had the most to make up, flying a helicopter wasn't exactly something most people just picked up. Still, she was always a quick learner, and even if she was a little rough on the finer controls, and was yet to perform a take-off and landing that didn't rattle her bones a little, she was more or less able to handle things once the Zord was in the air. Jax being sentient helped matters tremendously because it cut down on a lot of the things she had to worry about. If she was honest, he was doing about 80 percent of the flying, but she was nothing if not determined to make it up.
Devon was having the time of his life, whooping and letting out shrieks of delight as he ran through the simulations. It was everything he had hoped for and more, the ultimate video game! The Racer Zord was fast as lightning, and it was a real challenge to throw it through the courses. Still, he had more PlayStation Platinum Trophies than anyone else he knew and was always keen to try out a brand-new challenge to his skills. They all got off their simulators as Commander Shaw came to them.
"So, how was your first run on the simulators?" She asked.
"It was such a blast!" Devon rushed out without thinking, before seeing the look on her face. "And…um…you know…really serious and educational."
"Good, because now you're going to see the real thing." She told them, gesturing to them to follow her. The team all went with her down to the main Zord Hangar. Huge security doors opened up, letting them see the Zords in all their glory.
"Your Beast Bots will help you in controlling them, but I have to warn you, those are some of the most advanced and dangerous weapons ever created. You will be responsible for anything that happens when you use them." She told them. "In addition to your other duties, you will be expected to train on the simulators. Far too many lives are at risk if you aren't up to the task of piloting them."
"Other duties?" Devon asked.
"Officially, on paper at least, the Rangers don't exist." Ravi informed him. "We're seconded to Ranger duties from our own departments. Officially I'm a physical training officer."
"And I'm the laundry supervisor." Zoey told them. Ravi looked to her.
"You got a promotion?" He asked. She just shrugged.
"It's more like dead-man's boots." She told him. "A lot of the officers resigned after the attack and…I know the most, and it will free up some of my time if I'm running the department instead of working in it so…now I run the department."
"Yeah, I'm sure you will work SO hard in those jobs!" Devon chuckled.
"So, I was wondering if you'd given any thought to the other issue." Commander Shaw asked them.
"Other issue?" Zoey asked.
"About leading the team." She replied. Devon just looked around and started whistling. He had no desire whatsoever to lead the team. It sounded like a whole lot of hassle and responsibility. He loved the idea of being a superhero, but why did he need to be Batman, or Captain America? He would be happy enough being Robin. Robin got all the cool toys and all the same adventures, but the people of Gotham weren't debating whether or not Robin would ever 'cross the line' or whether he was 'causing more trouble than he fixed'. "With all this new hardware, it's critical the team have the right leader."
"I'd be happy to accept this responsibility, Commander!" Ravi said as he stepped forward. Commander Shaw did see a lot of sense in having Ravi lead the team. He was the most highly trained and experienced. Of the three, he was the only one that was actually meant to even be on the team in the first place. Still, the part of her that worried for her son did worry if it would be too much to ask him to bear. He was already carrying the responsibility of a Ranger, and she was sure he had to be blaming himself for what happened to Blaze and Roxy, even though he could not realistically have done anything to stop it.
Zoey saw him step forward, and she did think that having the one member of the team that had been through the full training as the leader made a lot of sense, but she had some training too. Sure, she'd been cut weeks before the end, and she might have to let Jax give her a few more lessons in how to land the Zord without risking compressing her spine but she could get there, and…and there was something else worrying her too.
She knew about Ravi's relationship with Roxy. She knew he'd spent most of the night sitting by her pod. It tore her apart knowing that her best friend was lying in the pod in a coma instead of pissing her off by throwing laundry all over the floor and leaving pop tarts to go stale. She had failed in her attempt to become a Ranger largely because she took on too much. More than any of them, she knew that everyone, no matter how strong, had their limit before they would break. She did something that almost surprised her just as much as it did Ravi and stepped forward.
"Excuse me, I don't think you're the only one up for consideration." She told him. He just looked to her.
"I have the most experience." He reminded her. "I was the only one that was meant to be a Ranger."
Zoey felt herself wavering. He had a point, a good one, but the more she thought about Roxy, the more she thought that she couldn't do anything for her friend right now. She wasn't smart like Nate; she couldn't think of a way to wake her up. If she could, she would, but since Nate wasn't able to do so, there was no way she'd ever be able to.
She could already see the weariness in Ravi's eyes and she felt like there was one thing she could do for Roxy. She could keep the man she loved safe, even if it meant protecting him from himself and his own self-flagellation.
"I have experience too." She told him. "Not to mention, I have leadership skills. I reorganised the entire Grid Battleforce laundry department."
Ravi snorted in the kind of way that Zoey had heard all too often in her life. She felt herself tensing up. She could protect Ravi from killing himself under the weight of taking too much responsibility…but that didn't necessarily mean Roxy would mind if she bruised him up a little first right?
"Yeah, like that's hard." He said dismissively. Commander Shaw stepped in.
"How would you know? You've never done a piece of laundry in your life." It was now Zoey's turn to snigger and snort. Devon was far less subtle, openly laughing.
"Dude, you just got mommed so hard!" He chuckled. Commander Shaw looked to him.
"You seem remarkably quiet on the subject." She stated. "Who do you think should lead?"
"Uh…" He said, feeling well and truly put on the spot. He had only known both of them for a day, he had barely any idea who they even were never mind who would be a good leader. They both kind of seemed like they knew what they were doing, more than he did anyway. He didn't know how to answer, and knew that no matter which one of them he chose, the other would be pissed. A couple of assistants were wheeling a blaster past him at that point.
"I think that is one cool blaster!" He rushed out, hoping that changing the subject would get him out of the situation.
"That's the Cheetah Beast Blaster." Nate informed him. "It interfaces with the Red Rangers' Zord, hyper charging its attacks."
"I get a BFG 9000?" Devon screeched. "I love this job!"
Just then, the alarm sounded. Ben and Betty ran into the room.
"Commander, we just got a glitch in the system, the alarm system at a Morph-X distribution centre has been disabled for half an hour!" Betty informed her. It was always known that there could be glitches in the system, but a failsafe was that the central command would be alerted if any tower's security system was inactive for longer than 30 minutes. It would allow them to contact the tower in question and check to see if everything was alright.
"We didn't get an answer when we called, but we pulled up some security footage." Ben told her. "Facial recognition…"
"Isn't exactly necessary." She sighed, seeing the image. "That's Blaze."
"I'm on it!" Both Ravi and Zoey called out. They looked to each other and stared for a moment, before running out of the Zord hangar. Devon followed on afterwards.
"They might need backup." Betty told her. "We'll go too."
As they all left, Commander Shaw just sighed.
"Nate, I'm heading to the Command Centre." She told him. "I want constant updates on the Rangers."
"Roger that." Nate replied.