Author's Notes: Thanks to Ellen Brand for the use of various things in this story. I'd say what, but that'd spoil it...

Power Rangers: Hyper Strike

What has gone before…

Three down, Three to go. Kyle and Ann went to North Carolina to recruit the teams first female Ranger, Carter. Now they are headed to Arizona to pick up the Black Bat Ranger Of Darkness, Seth Turtle.

Meanwhile, Nitra has ressurected a monster that would be near lethal to the complete team, let alone one that is still at only partial strength.

Six Come Together, Part 3a: Shadow Of The Bat

"So these are the other morphers?" the girl known as Carter Tachikawa asked. The, currently, trio of Rangers had returned to the refurbished Zeo Power Chamber. Their purpose was fourfold; Introduce Carter to Ninjor, get her settled in, pick up the next morpher and lock in co-ordinates for their trip.

"Indeed," Ninjor confirmed. "A most efficient and elegant design too. I only wish I could say it was mine."

"It isn't yours?" Carter asked, surprised.

"No, my dear. These powers date from long before my time."

"How do they work?"

"Kinda like Wild Force," Kyle answered instead of Ninjor. "Our Zords are basically Ninjetti Spirits given robotic form. We draw power from them to form suits, weapons and so on." Carter frowned.

"So do we get animal crystals?"

"No." Ann said, looking up from where she was kneeling next to her Pikachu. Once Ninjor had confirmed that Tuono was nothing more then he seemed, a normal Pikachu, Ann had been more then willing to adopt her former toy as her new pet. "Ninjor explained it to Kyle and me yesterday. Our Zords aren't any relation to the Wild Zords of Animaria, though they're made in the same fashion. Our suits, however, were made with a completely different design and slightly different colour philosophy. Our morphers basically are our crystals. You must be feeling Butterfly's presence by now. I know I can feel Pegasus'."

"Yeah, I can," Carter agreed, looking down at her morpher. "If we need them, how do we call them?"

"You will know when the time comes," Ninjor said simply. "You should go Rangers. Your next team-mate awaits."

"I've found somewhere we can beam in," Kyle announced. "Everyone ready to go?"

"Ready when you are, brother," Ann replied.

"Carter?"

"Let's do it." The trio teleported to a deserted alley, then started to make their way to Seth's house. "So why are our suits partly white when yours is partly grey?" Carter asked Ann, mostly to make conversation in order to pass the time while they walked. Also, she was curious about the other girl, who had been mostly silent since the battle.

"Shade," Ann replied shortly, and moved away before she could press further, snatching the map from Kyle before continuing on.

"What's wrong with her?" Carter asked, offended. Kyle sighed.

"Don't take it personally," he told Carter. "She's had a hard life. Just give her time, she'll open up… eventually." Kyle shook his head when Carter opened her mouth to ask what he meant by a hard life. "I can't tell you anymore then that. It's not my place. Look, you were asking about the suits… You've read Ellen Brand's fics, right?"

"Who hasn't?"

"Including the essays on her website?"

Carter frowned. "Not recently."

"Ok... well, she was on to something. Basically, all of magic is divided into three shades: Light, Dark and Shadow, each represented by their own colour: White, Black and Grey." Carter grimaced.

"And our suits reveal which shade we draw from."

"Right. So you and me, we're whites, just as pure and good as Jason or Tommy, Kat or Kimberly. But Ann, she's a shadow. That puts her in a literal grey area in terms of morality."

"Ok, but why's that put her in such a bad mood?"

Kyle let out a slow breath, then explained, "I probably shouldn't tell you this… It's really Ann's business, but… Her father is abusive, currently emotionally but physically in the past. It's why Ann learnt to fight in the first place, and why she goes out of her way to deny any relationship to the basted. I'm no expert, but I think Ann feels that being a Shadow means that in some way she's failed to measure up, that she's not good enough to be a true Ranger."

"And that means a lot to her?" Carter asked.

"Well, yes and no… I think that being chosen as a Ranger, especially with her element being Light, allowed Ann to convince herself that she hasn't been influenced by her father… And to her, that meant everything. The idea that she has been influenced in some way by her upbringing, that she isn't as pure or good as you and I, well…" Carter nodded, understanding.

"Not a happy thought?" Kyle just shook his head.

After another half-an hour, they arrived at Seth's apartment. "Let me do the talking, okay?" Kyle requested the other two. Ann, still subdued, just nodded. Kyle walked up and rang the door-bell.

"Carter?" Ann asked quietly.

"Yeah?" Carter asked back.

"Sorry I was rude earlier."

"That's ok. We've all got a lot going on in our heads right now."

"Yeah, but still..." Ann looked down at his morpher, idly tracing the symbol of the Pegasus. 'The gods of irony must be laughing their heads off. The Ranger with the element of Light, a shadow. Wonder who thought up that lovely little plot twist?' she thought with a sigh.

"Hey, look at it this way." Carter said, getting his attention. "We're here now, so let's do our best, ok? Shade isn't everything." Ann's fist tightened and she nodded sharply. Just then the door was opened.

"Can I help you?" a man asked.

"Excuse me sir," Kyle said in his best 'talking to adults' voice. "Is Seth Turtle in please?" The man blinked for a moment.

"Seth? Oh, you must be some of Chris' online friends."

"Actually, they're his friends," Ann commented. "He and I barely know each other." There was a crash from within.

"Chris!" a female voice yelled indignantly. The man winced.

"Sorry. We were just sitting down to dinner."

"Oh, sorry," Kyle said. "We'll come back."

"No don't," a voice pleaded. Then a teenage boy who looked almost like a tall thin version of Kyle walked into view, staring at them.

"Kyle, Ann, Carter." Ann explained less then helpfully, pointing at each of them in turn. Kyle shot her a "don't start" look which earned him an impish grin in return.

"Ann, what happened to letting me do all the talking?" Kyle asked sharply.

Ann looked hurt at this. "Fine, be that way." he retorted, turning to go. "I'll just go and sulk in the Power Chamber..."

"Power Chamber?" Seth asked faintly.

Meanwhile, Carter grabbed Ann by the back of her t-shirt before she could make good on her threat.

"You'll stay here," she ordered.

"Yes, mum," Ann grumbled. That remark got her smacked across the back of the head for her trouble.

"And don't be cheeky!"

"Yes, mum." Ann repeated, grinning. Carter rolled her eyes and gave up.

"Kyle, your sister is impossible."

"I take that as a complement."

"Kyle?" Seth asked. Kyle sighed.

"Yeah, Seth?"

"What's going on?"

"This is weird." Mr. Crossman said. "There was something on the international news yesterday about people in a costal town near Dover seeing a battle between a giant Pokemon and a giant flying horse. Some even saw the fight between two Rangers and some aliens. But most of the media seems to have dismissed it as a mass hallucination."

"And their explanation for the ocean tide full of Pika-vomit?" Ann asked. She'd been responsible for making Pikalator spill his guts and the seas where really starting to stink when she and Kyle had left.

"There wasn't one." The boy who preferred to be known as Seth Turtle shrugged. "So it's all true?"

"Yeah, it's true," Kyle said. "Has there been anything on the news about our fight with Radster?" Mrs. Crossman nodded.

"There was a report just on the last news about three rangers battling strange creatures and a 'weird lobster thing'. But again, it's just being put down to mass hallucination." Ann shook her head in amused amazement.

"And people really believe that?" she asked. Rolling her eyes skyward Ann added, "How the he- er, heck, did we get to be top of the food chain?" Suddenly their communicators went off with the eerily familiar six tone beeping.

"Rangers," Ninjor's voice declared, "the Darkcrons are attacking the centre of town."

"Probably trying to draw us out," Ann noted.

"We need to get moving," Kyle said.

"So, will you join us?" Carter asked. Seth nodded.

"Give me the morpher." he said. Carter and Ann exchanged looks at this, something about it seemed… out of character for Seth, but Kyle was already trying to hand over the Bat morpher. He got about halfway before the morpher jerked in his hand... and flew straight to Carter.

"What the?" Kyle asked.

"Ok, that hasn't happened before," Ann commented. She kept her gaze firmly on Seth and shifted position slightly, suddenly certain something was very wrong.

"Could we have gotten it wrong?" Carter asked as Kyle came over to the other two.

"Maybe, but he fits the description Ninjor gave us." Kyle mused. "You try it." Carter took the morpher and walked towards Seth, but more slowly. This time, the Bat symbol lit up, and an image of the Bat appeared above it. It glared at Seth and shrieked.

"Hmm, he doesn't appear to like you very much," Ann noted, tensing.

"Give me the morpher," Seth repeated. The three friends looked at each other.

"No, I don't think we'll be doing that." Kyle said as he and Ann joined Carter.

"Son?" Mr. Crossman asked. "What's going on?"

"Be quiet, human," 'Seth' snapped, in a quite different voice. Mr .Crossman recoiled and when 'Seth' turned round, Kyle and the others could see his eyes glowing red.

"Who are you?" Ann growled, asking the question they all wanted to know. 'Seth' chuckled, the sound making them shiver.

"Ann, Ann, you're not nearly as smart as you pretend." he admonished.

"I know," Ann replied ruefully, then shook her head as if trying to snap herself out of something. "But this isn't the time to be discussing my IQ or lack of it."

"It isn't?" asked Carter in mock surprise.

"We repeat, who are you?" Kyle asked grimly, ignoring his companions attempt at humor in a crisis. Another chuckle.

"Can't you tell, Red Ranger?" Kyle frowned. The voice was familiar somehow. But it was Ann that reconised it first, well, not the voice but the stance and the manner of speech, her face paling instantly.

"No..." she whispered. 'Seth' nodded, smiling, enjoying his opponent's fear.

"Oh yes." Then he pointed a laser and shot Ann straight in the heart.

By rights, this should have resulted in one dead Australian. However, by the time 'Seth's' hand had finished squeezing the trigger, Ann was consumed in purple light. By the time it actually hit, she was automatically morphed, the Power's attempt to protect the girl from harm. However, at point blank range, the energy bolt still blasted her back into the wall. Ann struck it hard and then slumped to the floor, unmoving and with a large scorch mark across the front of her spandex-like amour.

"Ann!" Kyle and Carter chorused as the Crossman's shrieked. The two teens rushed to Purple Ranger's side.

"Are you alright?" Kyle asked. The only response they got was a faint glow before Purple Ranger reverted back to Ann. Besides a hole in her T-shirt she was unharmed and breathing. But her eyes stared blankly into space, as if her mind was still trying to catch up with the fact she wasn't dead.

"What have you done to her?" Kyle demanded, murder in his eyes. 'Seth' smiled an evil smile.

"Just terrified her half to death," he replied cruelly. "I'll be waiting, Rangers." Then he turned and walked into one of the shadows on the wall and was gone. At which point, the already terrified Crossman's freaked out completely. Kyle and Carter exchanged significant looks. They knew their foe now. The laser used to shoot Ann had been unmistakable. 'Seth's' method of exit merely confirmed it.

"Shadowborg..." Carter said grimly.

"Yeah," Kyle agreed. "And if it's the version I think it is, we're really in trouble."

After semi-successfully calming down the Crossman's, the trio returned to the Power Chamber, Kyle and Carter supporting Ann between them. The youngest Ranger was currently curled up against one of the consoles with Tuono on her lap, completely unresponsive.

"What's wrong with her?" Kyle asked, concerned by his sister's state.

"She's just been shot at point blank range," Ninjor pointed out. "This might be considered mildly traumatic, wouldn't you think?"

"The trial by fire," Carter commented. Ninjor nodded. "Is she going to be alright?" Ninjor sighed.

"I don't know."

"So what happens now?" Carter asked. "If that was Shadowborg, where the hell is Seth?"

"Good question." Kyle admitted. "How does a robotic insect warrior from the Second Dimension hide a Ranger to be?"

"Superbly." They looked down in surprise as Ann offered them a sheepish, somewhat pained smile. "Sorry, couldn't resist." Carter knelt down next to him.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Ann said, but she kept her gaze firmly on the top of her pet's head. Kyle and Ninjor exchanged irritated looks.

"Right, now you've gotten the brave lie out of the way, how are you really?" Kyle pressed.

"Kyle, you know me too well," Ann replied, shaking slightly as she got up. "And that's not good for either of us." Kyle scowled at his sister and Ann relented. "Let's just say that was not something I'd like to repeat." Just then the alarm went off.

"Now what?" Carter asked.

"Rangers, observe the viewing globe." Ninjor declared. Kyle and Carter turned to see the Darkcrons continuing to wreak havoc across town. "The Darkcrons must be stopped before they do any more damage."

"And Shadowborg?" Ann asked, making a poor attempt to hide the fear in her voice.

"I don't know," Ninjor admitted.

"Plus we still need to find out where Seth is," Carter pointed out.

"Alright, I'll go." Kyle decided. "Carter, you stay and see if you can locate Seth. Ann?" Ann hesitated, then nodded but Ninjor shook his head and put a hand on Ann's shoulder to prevent her joining Kyle.

"I believe you are in no condition to fight, young Pegasus," Ninjor advised the youngest Ranger. Ann flicked her gaze between Kyle and Ninjor. She didn't want to let her brother fight alone, but when she thought of facing Shadowborg again she wanted to be sick.

"And if we're facing the Shadowborg we all think we are," Carter added, "in your condition you wouldn't stand a chance, Ann. And what if he takes you over the way he did Drew?" Ann shuddered at that, and nodded slowly.

"They're right," she admitted slowly, fingering the hole in her shirt and shivering. "Sorry Kyle, but I don't think I can."

"Ok, then you stay here, help look for Seth." Kyle decided.

"Alright," Ann agree. "Good luck. Be careful, big brother."

"FLAME JAGUAR!" In a flash of light, Red Ranger teleported out. Ann stared off into space for a moment, hugging herself, then felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, Ann," Carter told the other girl gently. "We've got work to do." Ann looked up at her, then nodded. With that, the two girls turned their attention to the consoles. If Ann was glancing uncomfortably at the shadows, neither Ninjor nor Carter commented on it.

Red Ranger beamed in to a scene of chaos. In the absence of any defenders, the town had been ripped apart by the Darkcrons, better than any angry, drunken teenagers could ever manage. However, they stopped as soon as they caught sight of him.

"Excuse me!" Red Ranger called to them. "Any of you seen Shadowborg?" The Darkcrons, who wouldn't have told have told him even if they knew, or, for that matter, could speak English, simply attacked. Shrugging, Red Ranger drew his Strike Blade and attacked in turn.

"I've got something!" Carter cried out in triumph. Ann grinned at her.

"Bring it up on the Globe," she requested. Carter hesitated.

"How?" she asked. Since Ninjor hadn't had time to go over the consoles with the Rangers properly, the two humans present were pretty much learning the consoles as they went along. Ninjor started towards her, but she held up a hand. "Wait, never mind, I've got it." Ann and Ninjor stepped towards the Viewing Globe as it began to show images of what they assumed was the real Seth, tied up and surrounded by Darkcrons.

"It looks like they've got him in an abandoned warehouse," Carter commented. "No surprise there."

"It doesn't look like a very well lit warehouse though." Ninjor noted. The meaning was obvious to all of them and Ann couldn't suppress a violent shudder. A darkened warehouse with an overabundance of shadows gave their foe a home court advantage he most certainly did not need. "It looks like they've got a monster guarding him too." Ninjor added, as the Globe's screen showed what looked sort of like a living organ with a top hat and handlebar mustache.

"Is that Fortissimodo?" Carter asked in disbelief. Ann shrugged.

"Is it?" she asked. "I wouldn't know. Only PR episodes I've seen were on the four videos the local store had."

"Bet you never thought you'd be cast into an episode of the show," chuckled Carter. Ann grinned.

"You'd lose that bet," she shot back. "I was five years old and firmly determined I was going to be the Blue Ranger. Of course I was also going to be a Planeteer with the power of 'apple'," added Ann laughing.

"Apple?" repeated Carter, laughing.

"Hey, I was five," protested Ann. "The only ring I owned had an apple on it, so that was my power."

"Carter," Ninjor spoke up. "It looks like Fortissimodo is talking to someone. Is it possible to see who?"

"Hold on." The scanners view switched angles. Ann promptly stepped back from the screen, shaking in fear. For the other conservationist was none other than Shadowborg himself.

"Oh, no." Carter groaned. She turned to her companion. "Are you..." The question died on her lips. Ann was quite clearly not alright. "I'll see if I can get sound..." she said, sighing as turning back to the controls.

"No..." Ann replied. 'Wimp,' she spat at herself mentally, but it didn't stop the terror coursing through her.

"We need to know what they're talking about, Ann," Ninjor said gently. Ann shuddered violently, not wanting to hear Shadowborg's voice, her mind flashing back, reliving the moment of the shooting over and over.

Just then, as if her wish was being granted, the screen dissolved into snow. Not noticing, Carter triggered the sound... and a horrendous screeching filled the room. Everyone clapped their hands over their ears in agony, with Tuono fleeing the room with a howl of protest. The Pikachu's hearing was more sensitive then that of the humans after all.

"Fuck!" Carter wailed, stabbing the 'off' button. The noise mercifully cut out, though the screen remained snowed over. Both Carter and Ninjor sank to the floor, everyone rubbing their ears in pain.

"Well..." Ann said finally. "That'd get even me up in the morning."

"I needed a new alarm, but that was ridiculous," Ninjor complained.

"What the hell happened?" Carter asked as she staggered upright.

"I think we've just been jammed," Ninjor commented.

"Does that mean Shadowborg and Piano boy will know I'm coming?" Carter asked.

"I expect they'll guess that much anyway," Ninjor replied. "Rescuing the Black Ranger will not be easy."

"Hah!" Ann remarked. They stared at her. "Oh, sorry. I was thinking of something else."

"Like what?" Carter asked.

"Well, Kyle comes for me and they send Pikalator. We go after Seth and they send the greatest force of darkness known to Personality Conflicts. Is it just me, or does someone up there have a sense of humor?"

"What about Nyghtmayr?" Carter wondered.

"Come on," Ann snorted, grateful to have something other then Shadowborg to think about. "Compared to the redesigned Shadowborg, Nyghtmayr was a throwaway. We're talking about a robot that managed to hold his own against fifteen heroes at once and lasted several weeks, compared to an emotional leech that got blown up by a single love stick teenage clone."

"I think you might be underselling Nyghtmayr," Ninjor mused, finally getting up and switching off the globe.

"I don't," Ann countered. "The minor demons did most of the work and they didn't last all that long." Carter sighed. "What's up?" Ann asked her.

"I got Radster?" she complained. Ann and Ninjor exchanged glances. This was a point.

"Maybe Radster was sent by whoever's provided Fortissimodo," Ann suggested.

"That's plausible," Ninjor agreed. "That would mean that Dantai has two sources of monsters to draw upon, though."

"The show and Ellen's stories." Ann agreed. "If there'd only been the latter, we'd have probably ended up against Divatox's Air Dragon."

"If we're finished with the introspection." Ninjor reminded them, not unkindly.

"Right." Ann sighed. "We'd better get moving."

"You're not going anywhere," Carter replied sharply. "You stay here."

"I'm not letting you go up against Shadowborg alone." Ann retorted, though the very name gave her the shivers. Carter sighed.

"Look, it's nice that you want to help," she said, "but I can take care of myself." 'And you're shaking so hard you can barely stand, let alone fight."

"Not against him," Ann countered. "If we're right, this is the same guy who threw the Turbo Rangers around like they were nothing."

"Your current powers are actually quite a bit stronger then the Turbo powers," Ninjor remarked suddenly.

"Really?" the girls chorused. Ninjor nodded.

"The Hyperstrike power source is a mix of the Great Power and the Ninja level of the Morphin Grid blended together. They bloody well ought to be stronger."

"With the Great Power providing the animal spirits and powering the Zords," Ann mused, now recalling what Ninjor had told her and Kyle before.

"I'm not going to fight Shadowborg," Carter promised. "I'm just going to go in, get Seth and get out."

'And that,' Ann thought, 'is the kind of thing they had in mind when they coined the phrase 'easier said than done'.'

"Okay, but be careful," she finally said out loud. "We don't know exactly how good Shadowborg's senses are. And..." she continued, holding up a hand, "there are a lot of other eyes in there. You're not the Phantom Ranger. It'd be all too easy for someone to spot you."

"I'll be careful," Carter said. "I'll call if I need help."

"Ok."

"Can I teleport in through the jamming?" Carter asked Ninjor, who scrutinised the monitors.

"It looks like the jamming has dissipated." he reported. "I can beam you in just outside."

"Oh, great," Carter muttered. "As if that doesn't scream 'trap'"

"Carter," Ann said, suddenly remembering something she'd picked up from an old friend. "First Rule of Slaying," she told the other girl, her expression solemn. Carter looked at her in confusion for a moment, then nodded.

"Co-ordinates set." Ninjor said.

"Energise." Carter quipped. Ninjor chuckled, then pressed the appropriate buttons, causing Carter to dematerialize into a stream of pink light. Then, the Blue Morphin Master looked at Ann strangely.

"First Rule of Slaying?"

"Don't Die."

"Good rule."

"Yeah."

It took Carter only a few moments to find her way into the warehouse. She didn't morph, since that might show up on whatever energy senses Shadowborg had. 'Of course, if he has a life form scanner maybe he'll detect me anyway.' Carter shook her head. That kind of thinking would get her nowhere.

After a moments thought and a few minutes dodging Darkcrons, Carter found her way up near the top of a pile of boxes that overlooked the main bay. From her position, she could see Shadowborg, standing impassively as Fortissimodo paced back and forth, the Darkcrons milling aimlessly around as Seth struggled in his chair, his back to her. She was grateful for this; it was all too easy for him to look up and give her away by accident.

'Now what?' she thought to herself. She suddenly found she had a desperate urge to pee, but dismissed it as nerves. After 15 minutes, Fortissimodo threw his hands in the air, obviously frustrated.

"This is most unsatisfactory." he complained. "I'm a maestro, not a stand in. When is the performance due to begin?"

"Soon." Shadowborg said. "Red Ranger has almost destroyed the last batch of Darkcrons left for him to destroy. Then I will pay him a personal visit." Carter felt her stomach lurch at the thought of Kyle having to take on that abomination alone, no matter how strong their powers were supposed to be. The feeling got worse as Shadowborg continued. "My inbuilt jamming capabilities will prevent him from teleporting away. I don't think I'll block the Power Chamber's viewing system this time. I want Ninjor to witness every moment." The Dark Beetleborg glared at the other monster. "And do not forget who the star attraction here is, Fortissimodo. I direct this little production, not you. I am the one Nitra summoned to destroy these foolish writers who think they can play at being Power Rangers... not that being the real thing would help them. You are only here because Tyranus wanted someone guarding this piece of refuse," he indicted Seth, who managed to look indignant, "not, I will admit, a bad idea. Your task is to keep any visitors occupied while I deal with the rest."

"Of course it is," Fortissimodo said dismissively, as if anything else had not occurred to him, which surprised Carter. "I will play my part to my usual perfect standard. I am just anxious, impatient for the curtain call."

"Your 'usual perfect standard' got you destroyed by the Zeo Rangers," Shadowborg pointed out.

"A different Fortissimodo, I believe," the musical monster countered. Shadowborg ignored this.

"Your best?" he inquired. "Do better." This was meant as a threat; Fortissimodo took it as a challenge.

"It will be my pleasure," Shadowborg chuckled, a horrible sound.

"I like you," he decided. Fortissimodo bowed, obviously touched.

"It is an honor to meet the approval of one as powerful as you. I only wish the challenge were greater. The Zeo Rangers were said to be formidable and highly skilled foes. These are novices and less numerous at that."

"Indeed," Shadowborg agreed. "Though I fear the Purple Ranger may not be attending. I may have scared the poor child too badly on our first encounter."

"Was that not the idea?"

"True." The two villains shared an evil chuckle. Fortissimodo raised an eyebrow.

"That accounts for three of our performers, if you count the Harry Potter look-alike over here." That surprised Carter more than anything. An Evil Space Alien had read J.K. Rowling's stories? "But what of the fourth, the Pink Ranger?" In response, quicker than the eye could see, Shadowborg drew his Shadow Laser and fired at the crate Carter was standing on. It collapsed explosively, sending her tumbling to the warehouse floor.

"Never mind," Fortissimodo said dryly. Shaking her head to clear it, Carter stared at Shadowborg.

"How?" she asked.

"My dear, how do you think?" Shadowborg asked, in the tone of a parent addressing a stupid child. "You can try as hard as you like to minimise the sound of your footsteps, to control your breathing and your heart rate. And an excellent job you were doing, if I may say so. But you were unable to hide the one thing I, of all monsters, should be able to detect."

"My emotions..." Carter realised. 'Damn!'

"Correct," Shadowborg stated, seemingly amused. "Your fear, your nausea and you current state of shock are all child's play for me to sense." He turned to his associate. "I shall leave her in your capable hands, Fortissimodo. I have another matter to attend to." Fortissimodo nodded.

"May the Devil grant you victory." he said.

"I make my own victories." Shadowborg replied. "But I appreciate the sentiment." With that, he walked into one of the walls, and was gone.

"Shall we dance, my dear?" Fortissimodo asked, gesturing to the Darkcrons to wait. Carter got to her feet.

"Do I have a choice?"

"If you want to rescue your lover here, then no," Fortissimodo remarked. Seth, hearing this made an incoherent but somewhat loud squeal of protest.

"I've never met him before in my life." Carter retorted calmly. "Besides, I'm not that sort of girl." She gave the trussed up and gagged young man in the chair a once over. "He is kinda cute, though." she added, causing Seth to blush fiercely.

"Ah, young love," Fortissimodo commented wistfully. Carter raised an eyebrow at him.

"I didn't know you'd be that sentimental."

"Ah, but how can you blame me?" Fortissimodo asked. "Romance and music are so intertwined. Now, let us begin. I trust you can perform?"

"I suppose I'd better dress for the occasion," she said, bringing up her morpher. Fortissimodo made no move to stop her.

"WIND BUTTERFLY!" Seth's jaw hit the floor, which also loosened the gag.

"That was so cool!" he exclaimed, though his words were still somewhat muffled.

"Ah, now the stage is set," Fortissimodo declared, seemingly pleased by the Pink Ranger's new appearance. "But I'm a generous instrument and shall allow the lesser performers the honor of the first movement."

"Time to tune you out Fortissimodo!" Pink Ranger retorted.

"We'll see," the piano monster replied. "Darkcrons, it's show time!"

"Strike Blade!" Carter commanded, drawing her Blaster and switching it into short sword form. "Spiral Mode!" The Blade promptly grew much larger and deadlier, with a double serrated edge, but with the teeth offset at 90 degrees. The blade began to spin in the direction the teeth were pointing, creating a drill-like spiral effect.
"Star Sword, Ignite!" Red Ranger called. Fortissimodo wasn't the only monster from the show that had been sent down, but Pudgy Pig had barely lasted a minute even against one Ranger, though Kyle couldn't help but be insulted at Dantai's choice. He swung his sword and the flame wave bisected the porker, the two pieces falling to the ground before exploding very satisfactorily as Red Ranger posed on a background of flame.

A loud clapping echoed through the air. Red Ranger turned to see 'Seth', his back against one of the buildings, his glowing eyes making it clear who it really was.

"Shadowborg." Kyle growled.

"Very impressive, Red Ranger," 'Seth' said, his voice sending chills down Kyle's spine. He walked towards Kyle, his disguise melting away into his far too familiar armoured form. "But of course, that bottomless pit was just the warm-up act. Think you're good enough to deal with me?"

"Let's find out!" Red Ranger snapped. "Strike Blade, Spiral Mode!" Now with two long swords of roughly equal size, he did a quick kata, then posed. "Hyperstrike Red, Jaguar!" Shadowborg chuckled and dropped into combat stance. The two fighters circled each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. "Since when have you been a shapeshifter?" Red Ranger asked.

"My benefactor made some improvements," Shadowborg replied. "Added a few interesting powers to my design. I got that one from what was left of one of the Psycho Rangers. I am now much stronger than I was before. No boasting. Just fact. In my previous incarnation I held off fifteen heroes all at once. What makes you think you can compare?"

"As I recall," Kyle mused, "you were killed in the end by two of the Beetleborg's blasting you to smithereens."

"Indeed," Shadowborg admitted. "An incident I do not intend to repeat. But as you so kindly pointed out, there were two of them. But here you are, all alone. No allies. No friends. Just you. What can you do?"

"Whatever I can!" Red Ranger declared, doing his damnedest not to let the evil Beetleborg's words get to him.

"Very well, then." Shadowborg said, making a 'come hither' gesture. "Come on. Impress me." His next words, if you can, remained unspoken, but hung in the air nonetheless.

With a battle cry, Red Ranger flung himself at Shadowborg, blades twirling in a complicated, deadly dance. Shadowborg waited until the last moment, when the Red Ranger was almost within sword range, then pulled out his Shadow Laser and blasted his opponent in the chest, a near mirror of his attack on Ann. Red Ranger flew back and landed on his back, swords clattering away, terror flooding his being. Shadowborg hissed, savoring the emotion, then leapt in the air. The Irony Gods must have been watching, however, as the only thing that kept Kyle morphed and mobile was the sight of his enemy pouncing on him. He yelped and twisted aside, a microsecond before the Shadow Claw buried itself in the concrete exactly where the Red Ranger's neck had been. With a complicated maneuvered, Red Ranger spun and flipped to his feet, scooping up his Spiral Blade in the process.

"Return!" he commanded. The Star Saber promptly picked itself up and flew towards him... with Shadowborg directly in it's path! Shadowborg sensed it coming from behind him and dodged, spinning, trying to snatch it out of the air, but the sword jinked aside before his fingers could close on the hilt. To any onlookers, not that there were any, the sword would have almost seemed to slow slightly as it reached the Red Ranger, allowing Kyle to do what Shadowborg could not, repossessing the semi-magic blade and spinning both it and himself into battle position. Not to be outdone, Shadowborg reached behind his back and produced a black kantana. Behind his helmet, Kyle blanched, guessing that this was the weapon that had killed Katie Star. Shadowborg took the sword in a two handed gripped and hefted it into battle stance.

"Care to try again?" he asked. To Shadowborg's total surprise, Red Ranger chuckled, brandishing both of his weapons, the Spiral Blade with it's lethal spin and the Star Saber, the blade aflame and blazing hungrily.
"Let's rock."

To Be Continued

Authors Note: This is part one in a three part episode as I've taken too long in getting this out and hopefully you people will enjoy it.