Emma guided Z by the hand through the apartment block as she inspected the doors, looking for the right address. She had been right that they were close to Cat's apartment; she'd never actually had a chance to go there before they were forced to go on the run.
"OK, this is the right floor." Emma commented. "It should be around here somewhere."
"We should find it quick." Noah told her, looking around for any signs anyone was watching them.
"It's alright Noah, we're almost there." Emma assured him, rounding a corner. She smiled as she saw the door, and confirmed the number with the address she had. "Here it is."
Emma knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. Jack just crossed his arms, looking impatiently at the door.
"Well?" He demanded. "See, what did I tell you Z? This has been a waste of time!"
"She's probably just busy!" Z told him.
"Z, come on! Let's go!" He told her. "We went with these guys like you wanted. There's nothing of value here, now let's get back to the camp!"
"Jack, we haven't even given this a chance." Z told him. Jack just rolled his eyes.
"Z...are you just star-struck because these guys are Power Rangers?" He asked her. "What are they really going to do? Take us with them?"
Z just clutched Emma's hand and pulled in a little closer. Noah put a hand on Jack's shoulder.
"Hey, she's your friend. You should really lay off her." Noah told him. Before Jack could answer though, the door was answered. A girl around Emma's age, with long, unnaturally red hair, wearing a white shirt that was several sizes too large for her covered in paint splashes appeared.
"I'm just com..." She started to say, before looking up, seeing Emma and Noah standing there. Her face positively lit up as she saw them. She launched into a massive hug.
"Emma, hi!" She squealed excitedly. "It's great to see..."
"Yeah, it's great to see you too." Noah interrupted her. "Can we move this inside?"
"Oh...right." Cat said, looking around. "Okay, come in."
She guided them inside, at which they looked around. The apartment wasn't especially huge, not that they really expected it to be. Cat had moved out here with her brother Gerald when she had been offered a full scholarship to an art school. Cat had always been a talented artist, and genuinely hoped to pursue it. The room was sparsely decorated, and in the centre, she had set up an easel and a small work table with a bunch of paints and brushes.
"What are you doing here?" Cat asked them. "Is Gia with you?"
"Gia's in the city." Emma told her. "Cat, we need to ask you a huge favour."
She pushed Z into view.
"This is Z, and the grumpy looking one over there is Jack." Emma told her. "They're both kind of hungry, and we kind of left the others in the middle of a Zord battle..."
"Sure...I can find something." Cat told her. "I'll take care of them for a little while."
"Thanks." Emma replied, pulling in closer as Z and Jack, both of whom were looking around the place like it was some kind of palace, were distracted. "We're coming back; we just need you to take care of them for a little while."
"What's the story?" Cat asked her. Emma just whispered.
"We think they might know where we can find something really important." She told her. "We need to talk to them, but they're...well..."
"They're homeless." Noah told her. "If we lose sight of them, we might not be able to find them again."
"Jack's a bit reluctant." Emma told her. "If you manage to convince Z to hang around, he should stay though."
"I'll do what I can." Cat answered as she showed Noah and Emma out. As she closed the door over, she turned back to the two kids.
"Um...I have some pasta." Cat told them. "I shouldn't be long."
As she was about to pick up a bag, Jack yelled at her.
"HEY!" He yelled. "That stuff's ours!"
"Oh...I'm sorry, I was just going to move it out the way." Cat told him, backing off. "I'll just get that pasta."
As she left the room, Jack stood guard over their stolen goods, making sure she didn't try to take them. Z was sitting on the floor a little way off.
"There was no need to be rude." Z told him. "She seems nice, and the others should be back soon."
"Yeah, well, she shouldn't touch our stuff." Jack huffed. "By the looks of it, she's got plenty of stuff of her own."
Z though wasn't paying any attention. Just like Jack, she knew that finding stuff to take back to the camp was important, but that didn't mean she had to treat the rest of the world as an enemy. While she had only been on the streets a couple of years, Jack had been homeless his whole life. He had already grown to have something of a chip on his shoulder about the world. Z though still believed that there were good people in the world, people worth believing in.
As Jack started to grumble and moan, no doubt pointing out how much of the stuff in Cat's apartment would help people in the camp, she reached into her pocket, and pulled out something that always made her smile. Five little figurines she had found a few weeks ago, all of them depicting what looked like Power Rangers. She just started to play with them, imagining them saving the day, tuning out Jack and his constant grumbling.
Back at Venice Beach, Troy, Gia and Jake were struggling against Moltor. He was smashing into their Megazord with his swords, sending sparks flying everywhere.
"Damage report!" Troy called out.
"Energy's dropping out." Gia informed him. "My controls are seizing up!"
"We've lost our swords!" Jake screamed as Moltor moved far quicker than any of them anticipated. Sliding one of his swords inside their guard, he ripped the swords from them, sending them flying through the air. They were rocked as he blasted them with a jet of molten lava.
"We can't take much more of this!" Gia called out.
"Is there room for two more?" They heard someone call out. They looked around in time to see Emma and Noah running into view.
Troy launched the Megazord forward, through one of Moltor's attacks, slamming both hands into his chest in a desperate move to gain some space as they leapt into the Megazord. Noah and Emma rushed to get into their seats, taking up the controls.
"Sorry we're late." Noah told them. "We had to arrange a babysitter."
"Well, we've taken a beating, but we're not out yet." Troy answered, flicking open the Overdrive Red Key, which started glowing. "Now the two of you are here, let's make sure he STAYS down!"
They each inserted their Ranger keys, and turned them. A gigantic spade and pick-axe appeared before them, only to re-form together to create a huge sword. The Megazord grabbed it, and almost immediately the power levels started to rise.
"Got to love these Power Keys!" Jake commented as they brought the sword down, smashing through Moltor's swords, sending shards of them flying in all directions. The Megazord powered up their final attack, bringing the blade down and straight through Moltor. He pitched backwards, and fell to the sand, before exploding once again. As soon as he did, Gia reached across, clamping a hand over Jake's mouth piece.
"Don't say a word Jake!" She warned him. "Just...don't say a word!"
Up on The Armada's flagship, Prince Vekar stroked his chin thoughtfully as he watched the battle's end. He didn't say a word, seeming to just think about the battle he had seen as the Megazord reformed into The Galleon and left the scene.
"My Prince, do you not want us to attack?" Argus asked him. Prince Vekar just shook his head as he shifted in his seat, leaning back.
"Lavira, show me the energy readings from that battle again would you?" He asked. Lavira worked on her console, bringing up the readouts from the battle. She transferred it onto a huge screen for him to survey.
"My Prince, the ship..."
"There will be other battles Argus." Prince Vekar assured him. "This is what interests me."
He started to trace the power readings on the screen. As would be expected, there were peaks and troughs, but it was mostly a downward trend. As the battle progressed, and more and more of the power was exerted on defending the Megazord from harm, there was less overall power for it, and its power output started to wane. However, near the end, there was suddenly a massive spike. The power level shot right back up to dizzying heights.
"My Prince...how is this possible?" Lavira asked him. "How could they regain so much power so quickly? An energy source that would give them so much power so quickly...it is inconceivable!"
"Indeed." Prince Vekar stated with a smile. "Perhaps I was too dismissive of The Commodore's reports of amazing powers at their disposal."
"Scanners can no longer find their ship." Argus told him. "What would you like us to do?"
"There will be other battles." Prince Vekar reiterated. "Argus, would you leave us for a while? Lavira, we have matters to discuss."
Back at Cat's apartment, she watched as Z and Jack cheerfully slurped down leftover pasta. She had guessed that it had probably been a while since either of them had eaten a good meal. Z didn't even speak as she chewed her food frantically, almost like she was frightened it would be taken away if she let go of it for a minute. Jack just stared into the bottom of his bowl as he finished it.
"There's more on the stove." Cat assured him. "I can get you some if you'd like."
Jack held out the bowl, at which Cat took it, and went to Z, taking her bowl too. As Z forced down her last mouthful, she noticed the figurines on the floor.
"Those are interesting." Cat stated.
"I didn't steal them!" Z assured her. Cat just looked to her and knelt down, preparing to look at them, but when she saw Z watching her carefully, looking like she was ready to pounce, she figured they meant something to her and left them alone. "Those look like Power Ranger toys."
"Yeah, they are, they're stupid, useless, worthless Power Ranger toys." Jack said in an exasperated tone. "We found them a few weeks ago and now she takes them everywhere with her."
"You really like the Rangers don't you?" Cat asked. Z just nodded. "Well, I'll go and get that pasta. I'll be right back."
As she went, Z snatched up the figurines and held them closely.
"Why do you always give me a hard time over these?" She asked him. "You didn't want them, so what do you care?"
"Z, they're worthless!" Jack told her. "Toys are worthless! They don't feed you when you're hungry, they don't keep you warm at night..."
"I like them!" Z protested, clutching them defensively.
"Because they're Rangers?" Jack asked her. "Cat, the Rangers aren't these amazing saviours you make them out to be!"
"Yes they are!" Z yelled at him. "They save people all the time!"
"Z, wake up! The Rangers don't help people like us!" Jack told her bitterly. "You want to know who's a real hero? The guy that broke into the pharmacy when you got sick and got you the medicine you needed, THAT'S a hero!"
"Hey, hey that's enough!" Cat interrupted them as she came back into the room. "I could hear you from the kitchen! Jack, leave Z alone! She doesn't need to like everything you do!"
"It's easy to talk about what you like when you don't have to worry about where your meals come from." Jack answered, snatching the bowl of pasta from her. He stormed off to a corner and started eating. Cat looked to Z as she sat silently.
"He...He's right. I spend too much time with stupid dreams." Z grumbled.
"Dreams aren't stupid." Cat assured her. "I know things are tough out there, but that doesn't mean you can't dream of being part of something bigger."
She grabbed a sketch pad and opened it to a drawing. Z just looked at it.
"Is that...?"
"I know them from High School. This time last year, they were in my class." She told the younger girl. "Do you think they ever dreamed they'd be Power Rangers? If there's anything I've learned, it's that anything can happen."
There was a knock on the door, and Cat immediately started grinning brightly. Taking off the paint-covered shirt, and straightening her clothes and her hair out as much as she could.
"What is it?" Z asked.
"Oh...it's probably just the others." Cat pressed on, trying to fix her appearance. Z just furrowed her brows.
"Why are you...are you getting ready for one of the guys?" She asked, beginning to bounce on the spot excitedly. "Do you like one of the guys?"
"Uh...something like that." Cat answered, getting up and beginning to make her way towards the door. "Just eat your pasta."
She made her way towards the door. She stopped by a mirror in the hallway, checking out her appearance. As there was another knock on the door, she wished she had more time to prepare. She was painfully aware of the fact she still had water-colour paint on her hands.
"I'm coming!" She called out. She went to the door and opened it.
"Hey guys, great to..." Her words tailed off as all she saw was armour. She looked upwards, seeing a bright, red gorilla's face. "...see you?"
There was a large crash as Colo smashed a cymbal into her head, knocking Cat to the floor unconscious. Lafitte stepped over her as he made his way into the apartment.