Author's Note: I always intended to come back to this, but I was having so much trouble continuing. Thankfully, a good friend of mine was a big help in developing some new plots and whatnot (but don't tell him I said that, he'll get a big head).

Chapter 7
Cars Attacks

Location: Angel Grove Park

"Nonononono-!" Jake cried out as he watched the events unfold on his little screen. But his pleas were unheard as Bryan's enemy Swordmaster sliced through his Lord, routing his army and ending their little game. Jake slumped in his chair as he set his game down on the table in front of him. It was a beautiful day with singing birds, the sun was bright but hidden behind the trees of the park, and a light breeze that ruffled Jake's hair. It was calm and pleasant.

At least on that side of the table. Bryan, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically whooping and hollering over his defeat of Jake. He wasn't trash talking or insulting, but laughing and pounding the table, much to the surprise of his opponent. "You okay over there? Don't pop a blood vessel; it's just a game," Jake reminded him.

Bryan kept giggling. "Sorry, sorry. Just excited."

A nearby chair shifted on the ground, and the two Rangers turned to see Thuy joining them. "Whatcha playing?"

"Fire Emblem," Jake responded. "It's turn-based tactics. Like chess, but with more rules and statistics involved. And Bryan keeps beating me even though I can beat Aiden of all people."

Thuy turned to Bryan with a bit of concern in her face. "You okay, Bryan? You look manic almost."

Bryan giggled a bit more before leaning back and sighing. "Yeah, sorry, I'm good. It's just..."

"...just what?" Jake asked.

Bryan leaned in. "So my birthday's next week. And my dad told me this morning that once he gets home from work, he's taking me shopping for my gift!"

Thuy folded her arms. "That's cool," she said, not really getting why this was so exciting for him. "Where's he taking you? Best Buy? GameStop?"

"Antiquing?" Jake added with a grin.

Bryan's face looked like it couldn't contain the joy anymore, as if it was going to crack and explode. "He's taking me to the dealership by our house."

The Yellow and Red Rangers' eyes widened as the implication set in. "Your dad is buying you a car?!" Jake finally said, his face beginning to reflect Bryan's exuberance. "That's awesome!"

"No kidding," Thuy added. "All those late hours of studying must have paid off."

"Yeah, my parents have been planning it for months. They say I've earned it because my grades have been great."

"If they only knew," Jake mused. "'Yeah, Mom and Dad, I've got straight A's, I never get in trouble, I always go to bed on time, and oh yeah, I don spandex and a helmet to fight aliens on a weekly basis and still have time for breakfast every morning.'"

Bryan cocked an eyebrow. "You know, it's not actually spandex. The material is a self-assembling nano-"

BEEP BEEP BEEP-BEEP BEEP BEEP!

All three instinctively looked down at their Communicators, then looked around. The park was mostly empty, save for a few passers-by and the couple in the bushes making out where they thought no one could see them. The three leaned in and Jake pressed the button. "This is Jake, Thuy, and Bryan."

Zordon's deep voice always added a certain gravity to his statements. "Rangers, we've detected some activity on the moon. Teleport to the Command Center at once."

The three nodded to each other as they grabbed their backpacks and looked for a bathroom.

Location: The Command Center

This time Aiden was the last to arrive, appearing in a burst of black energy. "You know, if I keep ditching my mother like this, I'm going to give her abandonment issues," he quipped as he approached the others. Zordon, Alpha, and Billy were there, more of a skeleton crew than usual for the Command Center. "What's going on, guys?"

"Rangers," Zordon began. "We've been having concerns about Lord Zedd's recent patterns, and believe we've hit upon a possible explanation."

"Back when we were Rangers, Zedd attacked two or three times a week," Billy explained. "But recently he's been attacking once a week at most, and the monster's he's been sending..."

"...are complete pushovers?" Ty suggested.

"More or less," Billy responded. "We think Zedd is... saving up for something."

Alpha chimed in at this point. "Despite what it looks like, magic is not an infinite resource. Zedd has a limit to how much power he can expend at one time. Creating monsters requires a certain amount of energy, and the more energy he can pour into it, the more powerful the monster is. Additionally, monsters created from pre-existing objects require less power than those created from scratch."

"Which is part of why we think he's been saving up his power," Billy continued. "Between his recent monsters being based on objects like candles and whatnot, and his increased reliance on Goldar and Cyrus for launching attacks, we think he's saving his power for a really big, long-term spell. And this pretty much confirms it." Billy tapped a few holographic buttons and brought up a brightly colored image on the screen. It was a view of the Moon, close enough to barely see Zedd's palace on it.

"What's with all the tie-dye?" Bryan asked, referring to the various colors in the image.

"Those are energy concentrations, Bryan!" Alpha said enthusiastically. "The closer to red, the more energy is being gathered in that specific area." Zedd's palace was a deep shade of red, with the colors expanding out to yellow, green, and eventually blue at the edges of the image.

"Whatever Zedd is doing, it's big, and it may be happening soon," Billy warned.

Zordon spoke once more. "Rangers, it is imperative that you remain prepared and alert. This attack by Zedd, whenever it happens, is likely to be highly destructive and difficult to predict. It may happen at a moment's notice. Please be mentally and physically prepared."

"That's all we got," Billy said. "Nothing's going on yet, but we wanted you to be ready. We could be facing a danger unlike anything we've seen so far."

Location: Angel Grove Juice Bar - Hidden Theater Room

"Well that was ominous," Ty quipped as the six appeared in the secret Ranger Room. It was a nice room, and the group had gotten together to watch movies there once on the big screen, like a private theater. They were watching a suspenseful movie, and the tension was building as the woman approached the door and placed her hand on the knob. She slowly opened the door and... unfortunately, Zordon had cut in, his voice in stereo and his face taking up the whole screen, to alert them of an impending danger. The group was caught so off-guard, popcorn and candy went flying as the team leapt from their seats. Jake nearly punched a hole in the screen.

Needless to say, movie night wasn't a thing anymore.

"This job is giving me anxiety," Kerri expressed. "I was already worried about random attacks, but now we have to worry about him creating some kind of death beam to blow a hole in the Earth or something?"

"Don't jump to conclusions," Aiden said. "For all we know he's just baking a batch of really evil cookies."

The group stared at him.

"Okay, so quips aren't my thing. Sue me."

Bryan pulled his phone from his pocket, checking the time. "Oh man, I have to go. Kerri, can you give me a lift? Is your car here? I can't be late to this!"

"Late to what?" she asked.

"Bryan's parents are buying him a car for his birthday," Thuy summarized.

Kerri smiled and grabbed Bryan in a hug. "Congratulations! And happy birthday!" They hugged for a few moments before she let go of him. "Yeah, my car's here, I can take you to your place. Let's go." Bryan and Kerri left the room.

Jake turned to the others. "You guys have plans? I was going to hit the gym. I could use a spotter or three."

"Sure," Aiden agreed as Thuy nodded silently. "I've got a few hours."

"I'm in," Ty said. "Besides, we need to be mentally and physically prepared." He ended the sentence with his best Zordon impersonation.

"Let's go, then," Jake said as he headed to one of the lockers that lined their secret room. Everyone grabbed their spare gym bags as Thuy headed into the women's restroom to change. The male Rangers changed in the movie room.

"Rangers, a source of Great Power is headed to Angel Grove. Teleport to the Command Center."

Jake shook his head at Ty. "That's... not even a very good impression," he scoffed.

Ty was not discouraged. "I am Zordon, and interdimensional being with a very large head and precious few other features. I require a lawnmower to trim my nose hair."

"I wonder if he can hear us in here," Aiden mused. "He probably has sensors everywhere, right?"

That got Ty's attention as he stood up from putting his shoes on and looked around. "Wait, you think... really? I didn't mean it Zordon! Just a joke! Love you lots! You can borrow my lawnmower anytime!"

Aiden and Jake chuckled as they left through the men's room exit.

Location: Delgado Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge

Bryan just kept silently asking, is this real? as his father brought him to the dealership. "Take a look around before a salesman spots us," his father said. "If one hasn't already."

Bryan knew the price point he'd been given, and it only took two seconds to find what he wanted. "There!" he said as he pointed to his chosen vehicle: a cobalt blue Jeep. It was rugged, could go off-road, and was probably more likely to survive a monster attack than most of the other vehicles on the lot. Bryan's father was taken aback by his son's decisive speed at choosing a car, but he shrugged and followed the excited Bryan to the vehicle. He checked the window, spotting the ticket for $18,000. It was a used Jeep, and the odometer read a little over 50,000 miles. Overall, it wasn't a bad-

"Ah, an excellent choice." The voice was... dripping with excess. Bryan could smell the obsequious tone. He and his father turned their attention to the salesman. He was a handsome blond man in a casual suit. No tie, nice pale blue dress shirt with top two buttons undone, black slacks, and shined dress shoes. But everything about his voice was just... grating. Definitely had that stereotypical salesman vibe. "This Jeep is in excellent condition. But if you're looking for Jeeps, I've got a model that's even newer, has less miles, and is a better value, dollar-for-dollar..."

Bryan's father started shaking his head. "We're just looking around, we'll let you know if..." He was stopped when a large man walked up behind the salesman. And he was large. Like a bodybuilder. He was a Latino man, well over 6 feet tall, made entirely of muscle. The only reason he didn't look completely intimidating was the soft expression on his bespectacled face.

"I got this, Pryce," he said simply. Pryce shrugged and walked away. "Hi, my name's Danny. I'm the owner of this dealership. It's nice to meet you. Looks like your son is rather excited about this Jeep here," he observed. Bryan's father turned to look at his son, sitting in the driver's seat and just touching everything in the vehicle like he'd just discovered a lost civilization beneath the sands of Egypt or something. He should have told Bryan to tone down the enthusiasm, but it hadn't crossed his mind.

"Yes, well we're still looking around. We've got several cars to go through and-"

"How does $12,000 sound? No APR for the first year."

Bryan's father was shocked for a moment. "That's $6,000 off the list price..." he blurted without thinking. He really shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but 6K off the price and no haggling required? And no interest for the first year was nice. Honestly, he could probably pay it off before the interest even kicked in...

Danny nodded. "Well, it's a good vehicle, and I think your son will treasure it. And it's a really safe model, which I know must be important to you. I'll be in my office over there. If you make your decision, let me know and I'll get you set up." He pulled out a gold flip phone and opened it, reading something on it for a moment. He chuckled, closed the phone and pocketed it, walking away.

Location: The Moon

Cyrus' footsteps echoed through the otherwise silent palace. Putties stood at attention wherever he went. Zedd's palace was not a place full of life. It was order incarnate. Aside from himself and of course Lord Zedd, all the creatures that lived within were constructs - products of Zedd's dark magic. There wasn't much activity - Putties never moved unless told to do so. Goldar was likely in his chamber, meditating as he often did. Only Cyrus kept constant watch over the planet. And something had pinged his sensors.

As per usual, Zedd's throne was turned away from the entrance, facing toward the wall. Lord Zedd preferred to sit this way. He could hear anyone who approached, but by facing the wall, his concentration wouldn't be broken as he worked on whatever spell he was planning to cast.

As Cyrus took the obligatory knee, the throne slowly began to turn until Lord Zedd was staring him down. "Cyrus. I trust this disturbance means you've found something?"

"Yes, my Emperor," Cyrus replied in his usual supplicating tone. "I've detected a charge of Morph Energy on the planet's surface. It's odd because newer Morphers are shielded so that these readings would be impossible. I'm not entirely certain who we're detecting. The location is in Angel Grove at a small vehicle shop."

Zedd stood, gesturing for Cyrus to do the same as he walked to the balcony. Using his far-range vision, he peered down to the Earth's surface, scanning for the location as Cyrus provided directions. "Hm. I don't see anyone that looks like a Power Ranger. But we can't let this opportunity go to waste. Zordon needs to know that every slip up he makes will be met with retribution." He thought for a moment. "I need to conserve power, but I do have an idea. The Rangers will never know what hit them!" He erupted into laughter as he twirled his staff and fired a bolt of lightning at the planet.

Location: Delgado Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge

Bryan's father and Danny shook hands once the final form was signed. Bryan's eyes were as wide as saucers as his father dangled the keys in front of him. "Here you go, Bryan. You earned it." It took every ounce of willpower not to screech as he gently took the keys from his father's hand. He held them in his palm, staring at them, eyes sparkling.

Dreams come true. Life is worth living. Hard work begets rewards.

"Is this normal?" Bryan's father asked. "He's been staring at those keys for over a minute."

"It's a teenager's-first-car thing. He'll be alright."

"I guess you see this a lot. Seriously, I managed to get the car insured in the time he-"

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Bryan hugged his father very abruptly and with a little too much force before racing out to his new Jeep. Once his father caught his breath again, he smiled and followed.

"You be careful in there," he said as Bryan started the car. "Follow all the traffic laws. Don't go too crazy out there. If anything happens, you call me."

Bryan nodded excitedly, and his father stepped out of the way with a welcoming gesture toward the gate. Bryan shifted into Drive and carefully left the lot.

Location: Angel Grove Juice Bar - Gym

"Come on, you weakling! I've seen maggots with more upper body strength than you! Push! Push like you're giving birth you sad sack of waste!"

Aiden put the weight bar back on the bench press and sat up, giving Thuy a very confused look. "Is any of that necessary?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"What, you didn't think that was motivational?" Thuy asked innocently.

Jake shrugged. "I'm feeling motivated."

"If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you," Aiden said with a joking/mocking tone to his voice.

BEEP BEEP BEEP-BEEP BEEP BEEP!

The group was up and heading up the stairs, into the bathroom, through the special door, and into the Theater. They braced themselves for what was coming next.

"Rangers!" Zordon's large face and unnecessarily loud booming voice still surprised them even though they were prepared for it. "Lord Zedd has released a monster on Angel Grove. Morph, and Alpha will teleport you to its location." The screen went dark.

"You heard him," Aiden said, brandishing his buckler. "It's Morphin' Time!"

Location: Angel Grove North Suburban District

"Rangers, you're here!" shouted the monster. It was a hideous one, too. Bright blue, and seemed to be patterned after some kind of car, but warped and twisted in places. It had arms and feet that could be retracted into alcoves on its body, presumably to make it more car-like. "I'm MegaVan, and I hope you're ready to roll!" The creature, while bipedal, fell on its face and began to drive forward at high speeds. The team vaulted out of the way just barely. MegaVan swerved and spun 180 degrees, then stood back up.

"Where's Ranger Blue?!" Aiden demanded quietly over their comm link.

"Ai yai yai! I can't get him on the communicator!" Alpha yelled in their helmets.

"Can you get his location?" Ty asked.

"His signal is being muffled somehow, but the computer says he's in your area somewhere."

Aiden grit his teeth. "Red, Pink, spread out, see if you can find him somewhere around here. Don't go too far in case we need you."

"Right!" they both said before running off.

"Green and Pink, try to stick to close-range attacks. Don't give him a chance to pick up speed."

"What's wrong, Rangers? Lost your drive to win?" the monster taunted.

"Why is it okay for him to make puns, but not me?" Ty complained as they rushed forward.

"Less talking, more slicing!" Thuy cried out as she took the first slash at MegaVan. It did considerable damage, but not enough to stop it from grabbing her arm and tossing her in the air. Aiden followed up with a slash from his Power Ax, but it jumped back before he could make contact. While it was distracted, Ty came up from behind and began launching a barrage of kicks at its back which knocked it off balance. It rolled with a grunt, then fired energy beams from its headlights. Ty took the hit and rolled to the ground amid a shower of sparks, groaning.

"Man, this minivan is rough..." Ty said as he tried to push himself up.

Aiden launched an attack from the side as MegaVan was powering down from its laser attack. He leapt into the air and aimed his Power Ax at the headlights, but the monster turned and fired. "My name is MEGAVan!" it shouted with disdain. Aiden tried to use the blade of his Ax to block the damage, but being in the air, he had no traction and was sent flying into a nearby tree. He struck one of the higher branches and just barely managed to grab onto it before he fell, only for the branch to snap and send Aiden to the ground anyway. While he recovered, Thuy launched her Power Daggers from energy chains to strike the monster. When the daggers embedded in the monster's armor, it turned to her. "Looks like you could use a jump start!" Electricity traveled through the daggers into the energy cable, and finally into Thuy herself, who screamed as she was shocked for a few seconds before falling to the ground, the daggers and chain disappearing.

MegaVan charged its headlight lasers and fired at Aiden once more, who was still recovering at the base of the tree. He threw up a hand in an instinctive attempt to protect his face, but Jake leapt in from nowhere and deflected the blast with an expertly-placed slice of his Power Sword. The energy was drawn into the blade, then deflected as he sliced outward, sending the energy off to the side harmlessly. "We can't find him anywhere," Jake reported as he took a defensive stance against the monster, who found itself pelted with arrows from Kerri's Bow. "We didn't find his Morpher or Communicator either."

"We'll have to worry about that later," Aiden said, managing to stand to his feet. Thuy and Ty were up and moving, too. "Thanks for the save. We're going to have to attack him from every angle we can. Hopefully we find Bryan soon. Let's go."

Bryan couldn't move. His throat was scratchy from screaming where no one could hear him. His car had suddenly closed up on him, and it was dark and cramped. He couldn't get the torque to turn the steering wheel anymore, and he couldn't see anything outside. There was movement and shifting, and a stomping noise, too. He had no idea what was going on, and he couldn't reach his communicator even though it kept going off.

"Rangers, you're here!"

...what?

"I'm MegaVan, and I hope you're ready to roll!"

The voice was loud and close. It took only a moment for Bryan to put it together. Zedd... turned his Jeep into a monster?! That's low! Then the panic set in. He was inside a monster. Was he... being digested?

No, that was silly. He was just trapped in the cab. But he felt immensely grossed out being inside a monster and began screaming again. "HELP! HELP ME!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Nothing.

"No..." Jake said quietly as he pressed his blade against the monster. It pushed back hard, but they were at a stalemate for a moment. "Everyone, be quiet!" he hissed in his helmet comm. The others were confused, but they'd learned to listen to each other without asking too many questions in combat. "Alpha, call Bryan again! Now!"

There it was. The faint sound coming from the monster. "What is that noise?!" it demanded. "I've been hearing it all day!" It finally punched through Jake's attack, sending him skidding back several feet.

"Guys, Bryan is inside the monster," Jake whispered. "We need to get him out."

"Oh god," Ty said, sounding like he was going to throw up. "Is he... okay?"

"I heard him screaming, and the Communicator confirms it," he said as Kerri distracted the monster with another barrage of arrows from a nearby treetop. "He's trapped in there. I think Zedd turned his new car into a monster while he was still in it."

"Oh no, Bryan..." Thuy said. "Alpha, can you teleport him out?"

"Ai yai yai, Rangers! The monster's body is obfuscating his Morpher and Communicator signals! Without a clear reading of one or the other, his molecules could get scattered by a teleportation attempt!"

"Then how do we get him out?" Thuy demanded.

Aiden thought for a moment. "I realize this isn't much of a plan, but we need to attack even more intensely. Give it everything we have."

"What if we hurt Bryan in the process?" Kerri asked as she loosed more arrows.

"We have to try and keep our attacks away from the cab of the minivan," he said. "Aim for the wheels, and... taillights."

"That's a roundabout way to say 'butt,'" Ty interjected.

Kerri, still firing at the monster, wasn't impressed with the idea. "That's your plan? Beat it up until it breaks?"

"No," Aiden said, brandishing his Power Ax. "Beat it up until it gets stronger."

The Rangers, not spending any more time on discussion, began to strike MegaVan with a barrage of ranged attacks, close-up strikes, and minivan puns from Ty. They were knocked around a lot by the monster, but still managed to maintain the upper hand between the speed of their attacks, and the occasional creative move. At one point, MegaVan got on its wheels and tried to run Ty over after a particularly bad pun ("Shoot me, MiniVan Solo!"), but a blast of ice to the ground from the Power Ax sent it skidding into a fire hydrant.

"I hope we're not hurting him," Thuy said as she brought down another slice of a dagger onto the monster.

"The monster or Bryan?" Ty asked. Jake responded by giving Ty a shove as he walked over to MegaVan and jammed his Sword into the space between his undercarriage and an axle. He began to pry with the monster shouting all the while. "Hey, she wasn't clear. Antecedents go with pronouns, you know."

"Shut up, Ty," Kerri said as she fired at the back "windows" of the monster. They were reinforced, but after the fifth arrow struck, a crack formed. "When is this plan of yours going to work, Ranger Black?" she asked sounding very tired. "I don't know how much longer we can keep this up."

"We don't have to. Clear out now!" Aiden shouted.

"Was that an explosion?!" Bryan blurted out when he heard what sounded like a bomb go off outside. It was still too dark to see and too cramped to move, but that was about to change. Suddenly, the walls that had been confining him started to move away as he felt the sensation of being in an elevator traveling to the top floor of a skyscraper. He yelped as the movement came to an abrupt stop, and his ears popped. Was he... in the air?

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he moved for the door. He felt for the window control and pressed the button, relieved that the window actually opened. The sense of relief was short-lived, however, as he looked out into low-hanging clouds and the faded gray view of Angel Grove well in the distance below him. "Oh crap!" he yelped. His hand went instinctively for his Morpher, but he stopped himself. If he morphed inside the monster, he'd be giving away his identity. Did the monster even know he was in here? It never said anything to indicate that.

Meanwhile, his beautiful new Jeep was stomping around, trying to smash his friends. He peered out, trying to figure out what to do next when a face appeared in the window... except it was a helmet.

"Aah!" Bryan yelped at the unexpected visitor. He shuffled into the passenger seat as the visitor jumped in. He was a Power Ranger! But Bryan couldn't tell what team he was from. He wasn't terribly familiar with all the Rangers that had appeared over the years. He was obviously a Black Ranger, with a gold sash design across his chest. There was a golden patch of a bison on his chest, and the outfit was completed by white gloves, gold cuffs on his boots and gloves, and a bison-themed helmet.

Bryan had the sneaking suspicion that his powers were based on a bison.

He was larger than most Rangers he'd seen. Including his team, the majority of Rangers had lean muscular builds. This guy was buff. Like a bodybuilder. "How ya doing?" he asked, putting a hand on Bryan's shoulder.

"I-I've been better?" he said tentatively, taken aback by the Ranger's casual tone.

"Time to get you out of here and back to your friends," he said. Bryan intended to question what he knew of his friends, only to be grabbed and tossed out the window. He felt the wind blowing on him as he screamed his way toward the ground. But immediately after being thrown, the Ranger leapt out, catching him, and tumbling into the nearby sea of trees in the park. Bryan came out without a scratch. "Okay, I think you need to get out there and help your team."

Bryan's eyes widened. "Wait, you-"

The Bison Ranger nodded. "Yeah. And you have a job to do." Bryan hesitated. The Black Ranger saw this and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know. Your first car. The bad guys have a bad habit of destroying things we love." Bryan looked shocked again. How much did this guy know about him? "But when you picked up that Morpher, you swore a duty to Angel Grove, and the Earth, and all her people. We have to sacrifice a lot to be Rangers, but remember that the Spirits of the Earth are guiding us. And remember that you have to do what needs to be done. You're a guardian of the Earth, like me. You have the power. Good luck, Blue Ranger." With that, he leapt into the air, arcing over the tall trees and out of sight. Bryan was still shocked, confused, and upset, but he knew what he had to do. Even if it hurt.

"It's Morphin' Time!"

Bryan raced out of the trees to meet up with the other Rangers. MegaVan had lost interest in the Rangers and was starting to head downtown. "About time you got here!" Ty said. "We were going to start without you."

"Hey, are you okay?" Aiden asked.

"Were you actually inside that thing?" Thuy asked.

"I'm so sorry about your car, Bryan," Kerry sympathized.

Bryan shook his head. "What's the plan?"

The Rangers looked at each other, then back to Bryan. "We have to destroy it before it destroys the city. I'm sorry, Bryan."

Bryan turned away from the others and stretched his hand to the sky, a grim look of determination under his helmet. "We need Dinozord power now!"

"Triceratops! All systems go!" Bryan shouted as he placed his hands on the controls. Driving the Zords was like second-nature now, though he wasn't sure how much of this was the suit driving, and how much was him. And for all his training, and for all the work he'd put in, he was still annoyed that the combining sequence he'd practiced at least 50 times was actually an automatic function. All the practice was just a contingency in case of some kind of catastrophic failure.

The tank-like Triceratops raced through the desert into the outskirts of town, arming its missiles when it got in range of MegaVan. "Triceramissiles, Fire!" he shouted, as the monster shrieked and stumbled backwards from the assault. Every missile hit its mark with brutal accuracy.

"Bryan," Aiden said over a private channel.

Bryan didn't let him finish. "I'm fine," he said quickly. "Earth first, now and always." Bryan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The communication line opened to all the Rangers. "Let's do it, Rangers. We need some Megazord power now!" Aiden's order rang out, and the team began the transformation sequence. The Triceratops' tail folded. The Tiger's tail did as well while it flattened down to match the height of the Triceratops. The T-Rex folded its legs as the Mastodon broke apart, the four Zords combining, then raising to stand. As the Pterodactyl made its approach, the T-Rex head folded down into its chest, and the two crests on the side of the head folded out.

"MEGAZORD ACTIVATED."

All the Rangers sat in the cockpit, adjusting their various systems. Each of them could feel the presence of the others, not just physically, but mentally. They were in full sync, and knew what to do and when to do it.

The Power Sword erupted from the sky, the Megazord catching it with ease. MegaVan began a charge in full vehicle mode, rolling straight down the highway, crushing vehicles in its path, straight for Megazord. In response, the Rangers thrust the Power Sword into the ground at an angle. When MegaVan hit it, Aiden shouted "NOW!" and the Megazord pressed on the sword. Acting like a ramp, and then a crowbar, the monster was lifted up and flipped upside down like a turtle, helpless and struggling to right itself.

"It's time to teach Zedd that destroying people's stuff isn't going to win him any battles!" Bryan shouted, taking control of the right arm. "Power Sword, Final Strike!" The Megazord arced the blade through the air in a circle, drawing energy from the Earth itself. Once the blade reached the zenith of its path, it slashed down hard on MegaVan's exposed undercarriage. The monster screamed as it began to explode.

"You guys have some serious road rage!" he shouted as he vaporized in a massive explosion. Megazord lowered its sword, victory achieved.

"Truck you!" Ty shouted. The other Rangers groaned loudly as they flopped back into their seats. "Seriously? You only groan when I do it?"

Location: Angel Grove Park, 20 minutes later

The debrief from Zordon was quick. Congratulatory, but with no words of condolence for Bryan, who stood quietly through it. He now sat in the same seat at the park, staring at his Fire Emblem game, not making a move against the computer. Jake found him and sat down across from him, sitting silently for a few moments. Bryan finally spoke. "It's fine, you know. I get it, Zedd's going to keep coming for us. For Earth. And he'll use whatever he can to destroy us. And sometimes he'll get lucky and deal a more painful blow than even he realizes."

Jake looked at Bryan sympathetically but said nothing. There wasn't much he could say. Bryan was handling this about as well as anyone could be expected to.

"I just have no idea how I'll explain this to Dad," Bryan continued.

"I think I can help with that," a familiar voice said. The two jerked their heads to see Danny, the car salesman from before. Had he overheard their conversation? Were they careless? No, Bryan thought. He began putting the pieces together as the man continued. "I spoke with your father. Told him about this terrible oversight we made about your vehicle. A recall. Had to take it back. But I replaced it with a higher-value Jeep. Less mileage, better gas consumption. He faxed the paperwork over and I told him I'd contact you to return the old Jeep." Bryan and Jake's faces were frozen in confusion. "It's not quite the same model. A bit newer, but the color's more 'sky' than 'cobalt,' but I figured you wouldn't mind."

Bryan stood up and walked over to the man, giving him a big hug. Danny returned the hug, careful not to squeeze him too tight before they separated. "It's in the parking lot," he said, tossing a set of keys to the young man. "Drive safely. And keep fighting the good fight, Blue Ranger." His voice lowered to almost a whisper as he finished speaking. He turned and walked away.

Bryan stared at the keys in his hands with a tear in his eye. He was so relieved. So happy. This was the best-

"Who the hell was that?!" Jake demanded.

Bryan smiled. "A friend. A... guardian of the Earth. I'll tell you about it later. C'mon, let's take a test drive."