Devon was in the city, battling with the Cyclodrone, trying to keep it from the nearby Morph-X tower. He didn't claim to have read much about Morph-X. He was kind of passingly aware of it because his dad kept mentioning it on the phone to a lot of his colleagues and because there was a lot of buzz about the release date, but he wasn't one normally to worry too much about the news. He did have some catching up to do on the others understanding in full the benefits of Morph-X, but he did know two things about it that were all he really needed to know right now. One was that it provided energy, the energy that powered all of his weapons and equipment and even his Ranger powers, and that it provided so much power that Blaze taking even a few barrels was considered cause for great concern on the base.
The other thing he knew was that the bad guys wanted it, and in his experience, when the bad guys he spent most of his time destroying in his video games wanted something, it was always a wise strategy to prevent them getting it. If a few barrels was enough to have the Commander worried about what kind of attacks they could power, the amount of Morph-X held in a whole tower, which stood as one of the tallest buildings in the entire city, was likely going to be the kind of bad news that didn't bear thinking about.
The other Rangers were already on the way. Zoey tugged on the controls, Jax's ears, trying to navigate her Zord towards the battle. Being able to fly, she could get to the battle a lot faster than Ravi could. It wasn't particularly hard to spot a couple of giant robots slugging it out back and forth in the middle of the city. So far, Devon seemed to be doing rather well. Some of the nearby buildings were damaged by stray shots and occasionally when one of them staggered into it, but none of them had collapsed yet, which was the best that anyone could hope for right now.
"I have eyes on the giant bot. Devon, I'm going to try and get you some room." Zoey told him as she locked on her weapons system. "Ravi, how far out are you?"
"I should be with you in seconds." He told her as she opened fire, forcing the Cyclodrone to fall back. It did give Devon some time to reassess his situation.
"Cruise, we're needing to up the ante." He stated. "Sabre."
"On it." Cruise told him. "Teleporting now."
"Zoey, keep him off me just a few seconds more." Devon told her.
"I'll do all I can." She replied, before the Cyclodrone managed to hit her guidance system with a stray shot.
"We're goin' down!" Jax called out. "Zoey, you should bail out!"
"Not just yet." Ravi said as he pulled his Zord into view. "Zoey, I'm coming underneath you."
"Ravi, my landings are not that great when I have…"
"I'll help!" Jax assured her. Zoey grabbed the controls and struggled with them, trying to steady her Zord's decent. It came down onto the back of Ravi's zord, right on the landing pad on its back. As it swung around, the two Zords fired on Cyclotron, knocking him clear.
"Nice save." Zoey said gratefully. "Thanks Ravi."
"Hey, hope this makes up for going bananas on you earlier." He replied wryly. Zoey had to do a double-take.
"Wait, was that…did you just tell a joke?" She asked. "In the middle of a battle!"
"Uh…"
"No…no, it's fine." She assured him. "I'd work on it, but it's fine."
Devon rushed in smashing his sabre into Cyclotron, letting them get clear. He could see the damage starting to appear on it and figured they were close.
"Guys, I think I have an idea, but I need a couple of seconds." Devon told them. "Think you can keep him busy?"
"The stabilizers are out, but we don't need them for Jackrabbit mode." Jax reminded Zoey.
"Hey, you're the expert." She said, punching the commands. Her Zord shifted form, leaping off the back of Ravi's. She leapt at it repeatedly, hammering into it with hard kicks.
"Mind if we cut in for a bit?" Ravi asked as his Zord converted into ape mode. It rushed Cyclotron, smashing into it repeatedly with its fists. As Ravi knocked the Cyclotron to the ground, Devon hit the communicator.
"Guys, I'm going to try that awesome blaster Nate made." He told them. "I'm in position, hold him!"
"Got his arms!" Smash said, coming above the Cyclotron's head and grabbing its arms, pulling them out to the side and pinning him down. The Jackrabbit Zord leapt onto its legs, landing on them.
"OK, we've got him pinned, but I don't know for how long!" Zoey told him. "Whatever you're doing, now would be the time!"
The Cheetah Zord launched itself into the air off the top of a skyscraper.
"Cheetah Beast Blaster!" He yelled as he powered it up. It appeared in his hands, and a targeting matrix activated in his helmet. He locked onto the damaged area of the Cyclotron, before channelling the power of the blaster. "Hyper STRIKE!"
He came down, the power of his blaster channelling through the blade. It came down in a double-handed thrust, piercing the Cyclotron's chest. It exploded beneath them, the bodies of their zords shielding the nearby buildings from the worst of the flying debris. As they all backed off, Devon looked to the scorched ground where the Cyclotron had been, before turning around, twirling his sword and standing in a dynamic pose. Ravi and Zoey just kind of watched him.
"Virus eliminated!" He declared.
"Uh…what was that?" Ravi asked.
"What?" He asked. "It's tradition, when you take down the bad guy you do a victory pose. It's in every beat-em-up since Street Fighter."
Zoey and Ravi just looked to each other on their monitors, before shrugging and joining in.
"Virus eliminated!" They chorused.
In the Cyber Dimension, Blaze, Roxy and Scrozzle all watched as the Rangers destroyed Cyclotron. They had been able to keep track of the battle on Scrozzle's computer network. They both turned towards Scrozzle as the robot exploded.
"Well, so much for the master weapons designer." Blaze said sarcastically. "Your creation FAILED!"
"I have a feeling Master Evox isn't going to be too happy to know that your Gigadrone just got turned into scrap metal." Roxy added. Scrozzle just tapped some keys, looking through the footage.
"You're just lacking in forward thinking." Scrozzle replied. "I've compiled a lot of data on your Rangers…"
"We don't want data; we want them DESTROYED!" Blaze snapped. Scrozzle just turned to glare at him.
"As I was saying, I've compiled a lot of data that will prove useful in future battles." Scrozzle carried on. "Now that we have more Morph-X, we can power much more deadly weapons. Once we've stockpiled some more Morph-X, we can see about launching a full-on assault. It's a little thing called strategy, not that I'm sure you know what that is."
"Careful." Blaze warned him.
"Boys, why don't you settle down?" Roxy asked them, looking to the supply of Morph-X they'd managed to steal. "We've got some Morph-X, and lost very little into the bargain. All we need is a fresh target, and perhaps, dare I say, a woman's touch?"
Back at Grid Battleforce Headquarters, Zoey was in her room taking a shower. They had returned to the base, but since Commander Shaw now had a lot of calls to field from the press regarding the whole incident, she had dismissed them until the following morning for debriefing.
The city still had a lot of questions, between the incident at Grid Battleforce Headquarters, the details of which they'd still never clarified on beyond saying it was an 'incident in the lab', and now having robots attacking the city and the first public sightings of the Power Rangers, there were a lot of people who had a lot of questions.
Zoey couldn't face the news right now. She had been unable to avoid it growing up, since her mom was still trying to catch her big break, she'd been around the business a lot more than many people who actually wanted to become journalists. Still, it was a different matter when she actually was the news, and while she had a feeling, she would have to face it sooner or later, right now she just couldn't bring herself to listen to the television.
After getting cleaned up, she headed for the medical bay. When she got there, she found that Ravi was already there. For a moment, she considered leaving, but he happened to turn and notice her. He had a book in his hand, which he hurriedly tucked away.
"Zoey." He said as he noticed her. "You came to check on them too?"
"In a way." She replied, gesturing to Roxy's pod. She had so far avoided the subject, but seeing the way he was looking at her, she figured now was the time to explain to him at least some of the situation. "She's my roomie."
"You're Roxy's roommate?" He asked her. Zoey just nodded. "I knew she had a roommate, but I was so wrapped up in my own stuff that…I'm sorry, you probably want to be alone with her. I'll just go."
"You don't have to." Zoey assured him. Ravi though didn't look like he was swayed. He was gathering up his things to go, leaving Zoey knowing there was only one thing she could say to him that would make him stay. "Ravi, I know."
"You know what?" He asked her. Zoey just gestured between him and the pod.
"I know that you two were together." She told him. He just looked back to the pod as Zoey sat with him.
"I can't believe she's not here." He told her. "She should be here. I'm the one that messed up, I'm the one that should be in…"
"Ravi, that isn't going to help anyone." Zoey told him. "And it's not what she'd want either. She was the absolute best."
"Yeah, she really was." Ravi agreed. Zoey put a hand on his shoulder sadly.
"Ravi, I just want you to know, it was nothing personal when I said I wanted to be the leader." Zoey assured him. "In fact, if I'm honest, I never really wanted it that much."
"I don't understand." He said in response.
"I know how much Roxy loved you. She used to talk about you all the time, and frankly, I could tell how much you meant to her." Zoey assured him. "She meant a lot to me too. She was the one that did the most to try and help me become a Ranger. She gave me books, she helped me train. I almost felt like I let her down most of all when I washed out."
She then looked straight to Ravi.
"I know what she meant to you, and the way you've been since she was put in this thing, I guess in my own, really not well-thought-out way, I thought that I'd be helping you if I took that responsibility off your hands." Zoey explained to him. "I thought if I helped you then, in a way, it'd be something I could do for Roxy."
She took another deep breath.
"But, after today, I'm not so sure I'd be such a great choice." Zoey told him. "I kind of screwed up."
"You weren't the only one who screwed up." Ravi reminded her. "But thanks. I appreciate what you were trying to do."
He looked to the pod, seeing Roxy lying under the glass, looking like she was lost in some blissful dream.
"If I'm honest, I guess I was a little distracted." He agreed. "I just…I just can't stop thinking about her, about what happened between us. The last thing I said to her was that we couldn't be together. I just can't get out of my head the fact that she might still think…that I might never get to tell her how much I love her."
"She knew." Zoey assured him. Ravi turned towards her.
"Zoey, I think you might have been right." Ravi told her. "While I'm like this, I don't know if I'm the best choice to lead the team."
"Ravi…"
"I mean, I know I've got the training, but right now my head and my heart are all messed up. All I'm thinking about is Roxy, and while that's the case, until I can straighten that out, I think I'd be a liability as the leader." He concluded. Zoey just took his hands in her own.
"So, if you don't want to be the leader…?" She asked. Ravi just nodded.
"He did come up with that strategy to beat the giant robot." Ravi reminded her. "And he was the one that held it together in that battle when our weaknesses messed us up."
"He did kind of kick our asses about the whole bickering thing too." Zoey agreed. "And we kind of deserved it too."
"He might not be up to speed as a Ranger, but that we can teach him." Ravi stated. "But those kinds of instincts? You can't teach that."
"So, we're agreed?" Zoey asked him. Ravi just nodded.
"I think so." He answered, before turning his attention back to Roxy. "So, you knew the whole time?"
"Yeah, I just…didn't feel like there was a good time to let you know." Zoey answered. "Besides, you made my best friend really happy and that's always good by me."
Ravi furrowed his brows as a thought came to him.
"I could sometimes hear the shower in the other room in the dorm." He said, before his tone became rather panicked. "Oh God! Does that mean you heard…?"
"Uh…yeah, let's just…not talk about that again." Zoey answered.
In another part of the city, Mayor Daniels was on the phone, pacing in his living room when Devon got home. As he pulled up in the driveway on Cruise, Mayor Daniels saw him dismounting and came out of the front door, storming towards him. Devon could already see he wasn't happy.
"Dad…"
"Devon!" He barked at him. "Where the devil have you been? I've been calling all the police stations, all the hospitals looking for you!"
"Dad, I'm fine." Devon assured him.
"You're fine? What happened to you? Where have you been? Don't you know the city was attacked?" He asked him. "I was worried sick and…wait…where did you get this motorcycle?"
"Dad, it's fine, really." Devon said to him. "I was…out getting this bike. Some guy gave me a really great deal and I needed to go pick it up today."
"A motorcycle?" Mayor Daniels asked him. "I've been going out of my mind worrying if you were injured or worse and you were out buying a motorcycle!"
He just shook his head in disbelief and headed into the house, dialling his phone. Devon knew that as Mayor he probably had a lot of people wanting to speak to him. In the short time since the launch of Morph-X, the city had been attacked, and the public debut of the Rangers no doubt was going to have to be addressed. He didn't mean to make his dad worry, there wasn't anything he could do about the fact he was caught up in the battle. If his dad had been calling all the hospitals and police stations looking for him, he had to have been putting off a lot of his constituents who would have a lot of questions for their mayor.
He just shook his head and went inside. The only saving grace was that his dad likely had way too much on his plate right now to give him a lecture on how he could have been hurt or worse. Devon had his battle earlier in the day, and right now, his dad had his own battle to fight.
The next day, the Rangers assembled in the Command Centre. Commander Shaw came into the room, interrupting them as they were talking about the battle. Ravi and Zoey both immediately stood to attention, while it took a moment for Devon to realise his mistake and do likewise.
"At ease." Commander Shaw stated. "Rangers, I'm very concerned. It now looks as though not only are Blaze and Roxy able to come back, but they now have powerful new allies to help them."
The Rangers all nodded in agreement.
"We also have the issue of keeping ahead of the press." She said as she slapped a newspaper down in front of them. It had pictures from the Zord battle. "I'm going to be spending rather a lot of time in the next few days in press conferences to brief them about the new team of Rangers, but as for overall performance, the mission was successful."
They were a little relieved to hear her say that, but at the same time, they also knew themselves that there was a lot to make up. When it came to missions, there were successes and there were successes. Just because they had managed to keep the city safe didn't mean that they hadn't been caught very under-prepared. There was a lot of damage within the cities, and a lot of hospital admissions, not to mention the fact that Blaze had gotten away with so much Morph-X. They'd kept the city safe for now, but there was still a lot to worry about.
"Now, we were hoping that we would get to introduce the city to the Rangers and the technology that would be defending them in a much less…practical…way, but we don't really have much of a choice in the matter." Commander Shaw told them. "Now, there is one final thing we have to discuss. The issue of who should lead the team."
"Actually, before you do, there's something I'd like to say." Zoey interrupted her. Commander Shaw just paused, looking a little interested in what Zoey had to say. "Ravi and I have been talking and Devon did a great job."
"Yeah, he really helped out when our weaknesses kicked in." Ravi agreed. "And he was pretty quick to rattle our heads together when we needed it."
"Guys, what are you saying?" Devon asked.
"You were also the one that came up with the strategy to beat that giant robot thing." Zoey told him, before looking to Ravi and nodding. "So, we talked about it and…we think Devon should lead the team."
Commander Shaw just looked to them without saying a word.
"Guys, I don't know what to say." Devon stammered as he heard them. Zoey leaned in.
"Say, I'd love to guys." She recommended. He had never wanted the leadership position, but to hear both of his team mates telling him they wanted him to lead, he was a little taken aback.
"I'd love to guys!" He agreed. Commander Shaw just smiled. She had seen all the events of the previous day and had many of the same thoughts. She too believed if it wasn't for his mind being distracted by the situation with Roxy, Ravi would likely be her top choice for leader, but Devon had shown some pretty remarkable skills, and more importantly he had the backing of his team, something that many other leaders took a lot longer to foster.
"Then it's settled." Commander Shaw said. "You're dismissed."
"Hey, Devon, you want to hit the gym?" Ravi asked. "Some of those moves of yours are pretty sick, want to put them to the test?"
"Yeah, sure." Devon answered. "Zoey, you coming?"
"I'm afraid not, I have something I really want to work on." She told them. "I'll be along later OK?"
Later, after checking on the laundry to make sure things were running smoothly, Zoey headed to the lab. Nate was working on something while Ben and Betty had a project they were working on in the corner.
"Nate, can I talk to you about something?" Zoey asked him. Ben and Betty's heads jerked up, hearing this. Nate just looked to her.
"Sure, what can I help you with?" He asked her.
"Well, you know…" She started to say, before Ben and Betty scurried out of the lab. She and Nate looked around in time to see only a chair spinning around and their experiment left lying.
"What was that about?" Nate asked.
"Beats me." Zoey replied, before looking to him. "Um, can we…do you have a minute to sit down?"
"I guess so." Nate answered as he gestured over to the side of the lab. He went to go and get another chair while Zoey went to sit down on the one Ben had been using moments before. She put down her bag, fetching out a book as Nate came to her.
"OK, what's on your mind?" He asked her.
"Well, you know how we worked together on those invisible fences?" She asked him.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"Well, I heard through the grapevine that even though they're working, traffic in the city's getting really bad." Zoey told him. "I've heard there's rumours that Mayor Daniels is considering bulldozing the woods."
"What?" Nate asked. "That's awful!"
"Yeah, I was trying to think of ways they could reduce traffic in the city." Zoey told him. "I know a lot of cities have communal bike schemes, but I thought maybe more people would be inclined to use them if we could make them motorised to make it easier to go long distances."
She opened up her book to a very rough design she was working on.
"I don't know how it'd work really, but I thought that's where you could help out." Zoey suggested. "And with Morph-X, we wouldn't even need to worry about the carbon output of charging electrical motors."
"Morph-X bikes?" He asked, starting to look over the designs. "Interesting, you've been thinking about this for a while?"
"Well, the neighbourhood I come from not a lot of people have cars." She said nervously. "The public transport system isn't that great, so I always thought some kind of transport system that would let people travel the city for little cost would be really helpful."
"Yeah…yeah, I think I could make something work with this." Nate told her, getting a pencil and looking at the design. "Do you mind?"
Zoey just shook her head. She was nervous enough to bring the idea to Nate in the first place. He was incredibly busy with all the tech he had to work on, but she did love working with him before, and if she could get his help to make her idea work, it could possibly save the woods and also solve a lot of the city's transport problems. Nate was making a few notes and a couple of alterations to her sketch.
Nate was amazed to see Zoey bringing him another of her ideas. She cared about the world every bit as much as he did, something that was pretty rare to find in the world. Even with her responsibilities on the base and as a Ranger, she was still trying to find ways to improve the city.
"I think if we alter this here, and maybe do this…" He said, making alterations to the design. Zoey was fascinated by what he was doing. She had vague ideas of what she wanted her designs to do, but she just didn't have the know-how or the skills to turn them into a reality. In a lot of ways, she was a little surprised that Nate even gave them a second thought. She had worried if he'd think of them in the same way an adult would look at a kid's macaroni picture or basic Lego building. She was elated that he was even giving it any thought. Without thinking about it, she leant in to get a closer look, bringing herself closer to him.
"That looks really nice." She commented.
"Functional too, if we fit it this way it'll make the structure stronger without adding weight." He explained. "It's just basic…"
He looked up, only to find her eyes almost directly locked with his own. They both stared at each other for a moment, before snapping back.
"This could work…"
"Thanks, I can…" Zoey started to say, before her hand caught a sealed beaker, knocking it off the table. It smashed on the floor by her feet. "I'm sorry, I'll clean…"
Just then an alarm sounded, and red lights flashed.
"What's going on?" She asked. There was a kind of mist shooting out the ceiling and glass doors slammed shut, sealing the lab. "Nate?"
"Nate, I'm seeing reports of an alarm from the lab." Commander Shaw said over the communicator. Nate answered it nervously.
"That's an affirmative." He told her. "Um…something was knocked over in the lab and…it triggered the contamination protocols."
"Contamination?" Zoey asked. That didn't sound good.
"How many of you are in there?" She asked.
"Uh…just me and Zoey." Nate answered.
"Then I'll have a hazmat team come to deliver supplies through an air-lock." She informed him. "In the meantime, we'll monitor the situation. Medical will be updated."
"Nate…I'm really freaking out here!" Zoey said in a panic. "What just happened?"
"Whatever was in that beaker, it's triggered the lab's contamination protocols." Nate explained to her. "It's possibly nothing, but until a thorough scan of the atmosphere can be done to ensure what's been released isn't harmful and we can be tested…we're in quarantine."
"Quarantine?" She gulped. Nate just nodded nervously.