Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

Chapter 43 – Rescue Ready

Kira and Connor did not pre-emptively head to Mariner Bay, deciding instead to return home and await the call. It was a good thing too, for the call didn't come for nearly an entire month. January came to an end and February brought on the Valentine's Day preparations as well as Kim's birthday. With everything going on, the Original Pink's thirty-fifth birthday was a very quiet affair with only the Dino Rangers in attendance. As her birthday fell right on Valentine's Day the celebration was in the afternoon before Tommy and Connor whisked their respective mates off for a night of romance while Trent and Ethan got stuck watching Eric, Hayley taking the excuse of having to open the Cyberspace the next morning to be able to escape; though it was widely suspected that she had a hot date she wasn't telling them about.

A week after Valentine's Day was when the call came from Lightspeed. The comm system in the Dino Lab went off, signalling someone was trying to video chat them over the Ranger wide communication system Alpha had set up for each team of Rangers. It was essentially Skype, but a hyper secure Skype meaning they could talk about Ranger stuff without worry. Kira was the one who heard the chime from the comm unit and went down to investigate, opening the communication channel to reveal Joel and Chad, both of whom were smiling very brightly, and were obviously completely faking it.

"Hey guys…" Kira greeted hesitantly, knowing the identical grins on their faces didn't bode well for her or Connor.

"Kira." Joel said in a sickly sweet voice. "Beautiful, wonderful, darling Kira. You grow more beautiful every time I see you, I was just telling Chad that, wasn't I Chad?"

"Oh he was." Chad was quick to agree.

"Ok, cut the crap. What do you want?" Kira asked with a raised eyebrow. Being called on it had the two dropping all pretence and Kira could then see exactly how pissed off they were. She knew just from the look in their eyes that they were pissed about something, but their smiles hid just how pissed they really were.

"We want you and your mate to get down here and talk some sense into his uncle." Chad said.

"What?" Kira was completely confused. Suddenly a crash sounded and Joel and Chad winced while looking over their shoulders.

"One more word McKnight and I'll-" Kira heard Dana growl.

"Get in line he's mine!" Came Kelsey's voice followed by their husbands.

"Dana calm down!"

"Kels you can't kill him!" Chad and Joel turned back to the screen, this time wearing slightly desperate looks.

"Preferably before Dana and Kelsey kill him." Said Chad.

"Now hold on a minute." Joel said, getting a serious look on his face. "We sure that wouldn't be a good thing?"

"What are you talking about?" Kira asked. "No, wait, hold that thought. Connor!" She yelled over her shoulder and up the stairs, though this was strictly speaking not necessary. "Get your cute butt down here!"

"Really?!" Came Tommy's voice, sounding quite upset and disturbed. "Was that really necessary?!" Kira sniggered, which basically told Chad and Joel it was necessary, though they had no idea why.

"Every year mom and dad get all lovey dovey right after Valentine's Day, it's sickening." She explained as she waited on Connor to pause his game he was playing with Eric and make his way downstairs. "So this year Connor and I thought we'd do something about it. Our own lovey doveyness seems to temper theirs. We keep it PG of course, but any little comment like that really annoys dad." Chad and Joel rolled their eyes and refrained from commenting. Not a few seconds later did Connor make his appearance and the two Lightspeed Rangers explained fully.

"Your uncle," Joel said to Connor. "General McKnight, you know the one responsible for the whole Cyborg Ranger incident fourteen years ago?"

"Yeah I know him." Connor muttered, slightly uncomfortable. He hadn't spoken to his uncle in years. Granted, he'd never been close to his father's brother, hell his father wasn't close to his own brother, so it wasn't that big of a shock, but he was his uncle; something Connor lamented greatly. Whenever he had seen his uncle growing up he'd always been kind of a pompous ass who thought he knew best and looked down on everyone, so it wasn't a stretch to believe that his uncle was responsible for the Cyborg Rangers; his family just didn't like to broadcast that fact. "What about him?"

"He's back." Said Chad plainly. "Back at Lightspeed, back trying to interfere in Ranger business, back to being the major idiot he was in 2000."

"Wait, can't he legally not do that?" Connor asked. "What with the Power Ranger Act of 2000?"

"You really think he cares about that?" Chad asked.

"We think it's about time that you revealed your identity as a Ranger to him." Joel said, as if it was that easy.

"Hopefully you as his family can talk some sense into him before Dana and Kels kill him."

"Again I ask, is that really a bad thing?" Joel asked. "No offense." He added to Connor.

"None taken." Connor assured him, knowing full well that Joel was truthfully joking, even if a part of him was serious. "I don't know what you think I'll be able to do though. I haven't spoken to him in years, and he always rode me off as a dumb kid."

"While that's not really a surprise, can you still try? And bring your mate with you. Between your familial connection, Kira's quick temper and 'take no shit' attitude, and the two of you together being…well you, we're hoping you can do something." This wasn't the call they'd been expecting, they had thought it would be Queen Bansheera they would call for help with, not Connor's uncle, but what could they do? Of course they said yes, Kira secretly hoping the General made things difficult so she could go off on him, something Connor pretended not to see through their bond as he had no desire to stop her, so they packed up, basically ensuring they had both their Morphers and communicators, and teleported off to Mariner Bay. They arrived directly in Rescue Ops and barely got a second glance from the Lightspeed personnel; after all these years, Kira and Connor, and most of the Power Rangers, were well known to all of Lightspeed Rescue, and the Silver Guardians, once they and Lightspeed began to work together. The sight that greeted them was one they expected based on the comm call from Joel and Chad. Kelsey and Dana were glaring daggers at an upper middle-aged man with greying hair who wore a military dress uniform with many service ribbons, badges, and even medals; Connor wondered if any were more recent then 2000, and also if those years of excellent service, for given how decorated a soldier he was no one could deny that he'd served his country well, was what had allowed him to keep his high ranking position after he'd caused the destruction of the majority of the most highly populated state in the country.

"Thank god!" Both Carter and Ryan said upon laying eyes on them; holding back their wives on this occasion was certainly a challenge. The two female Lightspeed Rangers allowed their gazes to moved passed the General to Kira and Connor, both of them smirking when their eyes came to rest on Kira, knowing her feelings about her mate's uncle. The General turned to see what had drawn the Rangers' attention and his gasp of surprise at seeing his nephew, a relatively older version then the one he remembered for it had been years since he'd seen either Connor or Eric, was nearly audible. Although Connor registered his uncle's reaction it was Kira's that he was truly concerned about, for he knew her feelings regarding this particular member of his family. Looking down at her, he saw that her face was indiscernible, her emotions through their bond following suit, so Connor had no idea if this was a good thing or bad thing, but he settled on tentatively good when she didn't immediately let the General have it and in fact stepped aside so Connor could speak to his uncle.

"It's been awhile Uncle Albert." Connor started, not really knowing what to say.

"Eric or Connor?" Albert asked and Connor let out a chuckle.

"Connor. You never could tell us apart, not even when mom forced us to get different haircuts so she could tell us apart."

"Yes…well, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school or something?"

"I'm almost twenty-seven. I've been out of school for awhile. I play soccer for the L.A. Galaxy now."

"Hmm." His uncle said noncommittally, though he obviously disapproved of Connor's occupation.

"Right…" Connor muttered, the pleasantries and small talk obviously over, and he couldn't be more thankful. "Look, Uncle Al, you need to leave the Power Rangers alone. I don't know what you're trying to do here but if Dana and Kelsey were ready to kill you it can't be good. Didn't you learn anything from the last time you tried to interfere?"

"Where you levelled the state of California and were pretty much directly responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent people." Kira couldn't help but add in, drawing the General's attention.

"And who are you?" He asked with no little bit of hostility.

"Kira Oliver. I'm Connor's girlfriend. Wish I could say it was nice to meet you."

"Kira…" Connor scolded gently, knowing her anger was validated, but that it was not helping their current objective.

"And what could you possibly know-"

"A lot more then you know." She said forcefully before telling Connor to pick it up again, and to speed things up as well.

"What are you trying to accomplish here?" Connor asked his uncle, regaining his attention and taking it away from Kira.

"Not that it's any of your business," He made sure to say. "But the Power Rangers have been getting lax. All these past villains returning and they're not doing a thing to prevent it. I don't even think they know what's going on. They certainly won't tell anyone. Given their secretiveness and lack of action, I think it's time the Power Ranger Act of 2000," He spat out. "Was revoked and they be brought under the command of the United States Government."

"Yeah, that's never gonna happen." Connor said, beating Kira to it, and surprising even himself. He'd been pretty calm until his uncle once again shot his mouth off and pretended to know what he was talking about when he really didn't. "If the Cyborg Ranger catastrophe taught you anything it should be that you really don't know what you're talking about when it comes to Ranger business and it not only makes you look stupid to try, it also sees far too many innocent people pay the price for your arrogance."

"How dare you-"

"I dare," Connor said, stepping forwards and activating his Dino Morpher. "Because I'm a Power Ranger." Whatever his uncle had been expecting, it hadn't been this. "The Red Dino Thunder Ranger, and the Jungle Fury Lion Ranger. Kira's a Ranger too. Has been since she was ten years old." Kira too stepped forward and activated her own Dino Morpher. "A ten year old protected this planet far better then a highly decorated officer."

"I-" Whatever he was about to say was cut off as the red alert sounded throughout the base. Sharing a look, Kira and Connor went over to the monitor alongside the others.

"Look who else is back." Kira muttered as she stared at Vypra and her swarm of Batlings.

"They're not the only ones." Connor said, pointing to the very edge of the screen where you could just make out a Tyrannodrone.

"What, are they teaming up now?!" Kira growled. "Let's go." With a Tyrannodrone in the picture, and they assumed there were more off screen, this was now officially their battle.

"Where are you going?" The General asked as the two made to run out the door, following behind the Lightspeed Rangers.

"We're Power Rangers," Kira said slowly. "And there's monsters attacking the city. Where do you think we're going?"

"Stay here and watch. You might learn something." Connor added as the two bolted towards the loading dock where the Rescue Rover was kept. They made it just in time to hitch a ride with the Lightspeed Rangers, telling them what they saw along the way, for Lightspeed hadn't hesitated upon seeing Vypra and so hadn't seen the Tyrannodrone. Sure enough, when they arrived there were a bunch of Tyrannodrones being led by none other then Elsa herself.

"You're a long way from Reefside!" Connor called.

"You didn't show up for the battle earlier." She responded, making Kira and Connor wonder if they'd really been there long enough for a battle to take place and also why Tommy, Ethan and Trent hadn't called them. "We wondered why and when my master learned you had gone off on your own, well…it was just too good an opportunity to pass up. I also happened to make a friend along the way." Vypra smiled an evil smirk, as if they needed any help to determine who that 'friend' was.

"We got the Tyrannodrones." Kira said.

"Vypra's ours." Carter agreed and the eight Rangers fell into fighting stances, ready for the combined cries of "Attack!" that came from both Elsa and Vypra. The Batlings and Tyrannodrones were the easy part, as foot soldiers always were, but the two head minions put up more of a fight. Vypra seemed to have something to prove and took the Lightspeed Rangers on all by herself once her Batlings were gone, and making six on one an easy battle, or at least easy in the sense that they didn't get their asses handed to them, even if they didn't gain much headway either. Elsa, on the other hand, wasn't content to waste time taking Kira and Connor on herself and so called on a monster, forcing the two to morph.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up!"

"Ptera Power!"

"Tyranno Power!"

The two fought well together, as they always did, and the added strength given to them from their morphs didn't keep the battle going for too long. Once the monster was destroyed, Elsa sneered at them and disappeared, going to lick her wounds. Vypra didn't stay long after, though swore she'd be back.

"Well that was pretty much a waste of time." Joel said when they all regrouped, Kira and Connor de-morphing, the Lightspeed Rangers not having morphed in the first place.

"Tell us about it." Connor muttered.

"Come on, we better get back." Dana said and the eight piled back into the Rescue Rover and headed back to the Aquabase. Both Captain Mitchell and General McKnight awaited them in Rescue Ops, the General having a brief look of approval appear when his eyes landed on his nephew, though he didn't let it show for long.

"That was…well fought…" The General sounded pained to give that praise to his nephew, though Connor wondered if it was because he was giving praise to a Power Ranger, or giving praise in the first place.

"What did you two say to him?" Carter asked in a staged whisper at the General's lack of criticism, though of course he knew exactly what they'd said having been there the entire time.

"Basically to fuck off and leave us alone." Kira whispered back.

"Kira said a bad word!" A voice called from behind them and everyone turned to see Syd and Bridge, the younger ones who belonged in 2014. The cry had come from Bridge and Kira could tell he was dying to tell Eric what she'd said; nine-year-old boys found things like this far too amusing.

"And don't you ever repeat it or your mother will kill me."

"Don't you mean your mom will kill you?" He returned, knowing Kim well.

"That too." Kira couldn't help but agree.

"Hi Grandpa." Syd said as she came over to give her grandfather a hug, which he happily reciprocated. Syd then sent a questioning look to the General, but was told to ignore him.

"How was school?"

"Awesome! The principal had to let us go early when the attack happened." She gushed.

"Speaking of which," Carter looked to his daughter with a raised eyebrow. "How did you two get here?" He knew only too well the cousins' penchant to walk home on their own, which had only been allowed starting this year, and only so long as they stayed together, but certainly not during a monster attack, and not to come as far as the Aquabase which was a fair bit further from school then their houses.

"Don't worry Carter, we picked them up." Angela Rawlings said as she entered Ops leading her four-year-old daughter by the hand while carrying her second daughter who was almost two on her hip. Angela and Joel had been married for just over twelve years and it was only just over four years ago that they'd succeeded in getting pregnant. A few years after they'd married, the two had decided to start a family, only to have no luck and for tests, run by Angela's own inventions, to determine that they couldn't have kids. Even though nothing had ever been said on the subject, they knew they had Kira and Connor to thank for finally having kids, for it was only after they'd restored Earth after Venjix's take over that Angela had gotten pregnant, the subsequent tests that had before revealed no pregnancy was possible, coming up completely normal.

"And how are my girls today?" Joel asked happily, coming over and taking them both into his arms.

"Look what I made in school today daddy." Said the four-year-old Shauna. The kindergartener held up a piece of paper which was coloured brightly with all the colours of the rainbow in no particular order but mixed together at every turn.

"Would you look at that!" Joel gushed. "That has to be the best piece of art I've ever seen! Better then the Mona Lisa."

"What's the Mona Lisa?" She asked.

"It's a painting honey." He answered, leaving it at that. "You know where this is gonna go? This is gonna go right on the fridge once we get home." Shauna smiled brightly and gave her dad a kiss.

"And how are my girls?" Chad asked, coming up beside his wife Marina who held their baby daughter who was sound asleep.

"We're good." Marina answered. Chad smiled before then looking down at his three-year-old son. "And how was day care buddy?"

"Good!" Richard answered happily. "Me and Tyler built a city out of blocks!"

"That's awesome!" Chad returned just as happily. He and Marina had fallen in love during his time as an active Ranger, but with her being a mermaid, and a princess and future queen at that, them being together seemed impossible. For years they tried to move on and forget each other with no luck. Eventually, Marina's father, King Neptune, had seen how miserable his daughter was and used his powers to turn her into a human, sending her ashore to be with Chad. Marina missed her life under the sea at times, but being with Chad, and having their two wonderful children, made it all worthwhile. It was all very Little Mermaid-esque, a reference that was lost on Marina until after much begging Chad finally sat her down and showed her the Disney movie, but no matter how unreal and fairy-tale like it all seemed, neither could discount that weirder things had happened, and being a Ranger, and a mermaid turned human, they knew their fair share of weird.

"You allow children in the Aquabase?" The General asked Captain Mitchell, his usual attitude having returned.

"Our children yes." Dana said with narrowed eyes. "Especially when there's a monster attack."

"Isn't it about time you left?" Kelsey muttered, pulling her son into a hug, and showering him with kisses, much to his chagrin.

"Mom!" Bridge complained, shrugging her off. Kira smiled at the scene, used to seeing it be played out by her mother and younger brother.

"Kelsey's right." Kira said, turning to the General. "It's about time you go."

"Thank you for coming." Captain Mitchell said, a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Come on Uncle Al, we'll see you out." Said Connor. "By the way, you might want to give dad a call. Ever since we told my parents about me being a Ranger, dad's been worried about his brother. At least now I can honestly tell him that you're doing fine."

"And that you're doing what you apparently do best by trying to get the human race killed." Kira added with a sardonic smile.

"You know, funnily enough, I think I'm gonna leave that part out." Connor said. The two said goodbye and prepared to teleport home, teleporting the General out as well, completely ignoring his protests, when a voice stopped them.

"Hold it!" Kira and Connor turned, recognizing that voice, and gained confused expressions upon seeing their little brother.

"Eric? What are you doing here?" Connor asked.

"Bridge and I were supposed to hang out after school." He answered. "I teleported to his place but no one was there. I got worried, so I got Alpha to teleport me to his energy signature, and here I am."

"Sorry Eric, there-"

"Hold up." Kira said, her confused expression being replaced by a peeved one. "You were worried that something had happened, and given its us, that 'something' probably has to do with evil beings, and instead of calling one of us for help you teleported into an unknown situation? Are you kidding me?!"

"Oh come on, it's not that big a deal!" He countered. "Alpha knew were I was going, if something bad happened he would have sounded the alarm."

"That's not the point." Kira growled. "The point is that you teleported directly into an unknown situation, quite possibly right into danger, and didn't think to call us!"

"You guys teleport into unknown danger all the time."

"We're Power Rangers, Eric, and you are not! You need to get that through your head. You can't go around acting as if you are a Ranger when you're not, it's too dangerous! What if Bridge had been captured by Queen Bansheera or Thrax? You could have teleported right to them!"

"What your sister is trying to say," Connor butted in before she could truly get worked up. "Is that you're far too important to us for anything to happen to you. And according to Jack, you're far too important to future of the Power Rangers as well. We just don't want to see you get hurt."

"They're right, Eric." Captain Mitchell said. "You can't just go running into the unknown right now."

"Alright I'm sorry."

"You will be once mom and dad are through with you."

"You're gonna tattle?!"

"Yes." She said simply. "This is too important, and too dangerous, for them not to know. It also isn't your first time doing this."

"And we gotta cover our own butts." Connor added. "If your parents found out later and we kept it from them, we'd be toast."

"And you will be too if we ever hear of you doing anything like running into unknown danger." Ryan told his son sternly.

"That goes for you too Sydney Alice." Carter added, both fathers staring their children down until they bowed their heads in submission.

"Only your children?" The General shot at Dana, though once again he was completely ignored, which was starting to get to him.

"So glad we don't have to worry about anything like that yet." Chad muttered.

"I hear ya." Joel agreed.

"Lucky you." Kira muttered back. "Right, well Connor and I are gonna head home now. Eric, I'll give you a bit of a reprieve. You can stay and hang with Bridge for a bit before facing mom and dad, if that's ok with Ryan and Kelsey." The two in question nodded and Eric breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, see you guys." Connor said, grabbing his uncle's arm to teleport him as well. "Good luck with the Demons."

"Thanks." Carter said. Kira and Connor then raised their wrists and hit the teleportation buttons on their communicators, only for nothing to happen. Sharing a look the two tried again before deciding on a different tactic.

"Alpha come in." If anyone would know why their communicators weren't working it'd be Alpha, so long as they could reach him of course.

"Or maybe we're not going anywhere just yet." Mrs. Rawlings shifted her younger daughter to get a tighter grip and immediately went over to the control panels, hitting a few buttons and not liking the readings she received.

"There's a powerful shield surrounding all of Mariner Bay." She said, turning to look at the Captain. "It has Demon energy all over it."

"At least we know why we can't teleport." Said Kira.

"Is it a threat to the city?" the Captain asked.

"Only if we need to evacuate." She answered. "The shield doesn't appear to do anything but keep everyone in."

"It means we're sitting ducks though if they're planning a city wide attack." Said Carter, he and the other Lightspeed Rangers falling into their standard mode of operations when dealing with Demons and other monsters.

"And why else would they go to all this trouble of caging us in if they were only going to attack one part of the city at a time?" Ryan asked, though it wasn't really a question.

"Are all our communications blocked as well?" Asked Chad.

"If we're trying to contact outside the city, yes."

"We can't even contact Alpha. If we can't contact the Command Centre you can bet we can't contact anyone else." Said Kira.

"Meaning Kira and I are gonna be the only help you're gonna get until that shield is destroyed." Surmised Connor.

"Sir!" a Lightspeed official cried, running up to the Captain. "We're getting reports from all corners of the city of pile ups on the freeways. Right on the city's edge people are being met with an invisible barrier, though it appears to only be keeping people in for it's only the outbound freeways having problems. Injuries are extensive sir, both in severity and quantity."

"Right, go to red alert!"

"Yes sir!" Next thing anyone knew the alarm sounded throughout the base and Rescue Ops became a hive of activity.

"Get out there and help those people." The Captain ordered the Rangers. "We'll keep an eye on the shield and for any Demons."

"Right!" The Lightspeed Rangers cried and ran out to do just that. The General was about to say something, but Kira elbowed him in the gut.

"We'll take the kids and head to the mess hall." Kira said. She and Connor, who forced his uncle to go with them, along with Marina, did just that, allowing the Captain and Mrs. Rawlings the freedom to do what they do best. Knowing they needed to split up to help the most people, the Rangers left the Rescue Rover behind and took their Rescue Cycles, each heading to a different part of the city's limits and directing the Lightspeed response teams that showed up moments after them. The official hadn't been kidding about pile-ups; the mass of cars, some of which were crushed pretty badly, being more destruction then Mariner Bay had seen in a long time. After all these years, Lightspeed was certainly a well-oiled machine, everyone working efficiently to help people. Triage centres were set up for those who weren't too badly injured but still required treatment, while every ambulance in the city was called in to take those more seriously injured to the hospital, especially those they had to pull out of the wrecks. Dana was in her element, the head of the worlds' medical corps heading to the largest pile up, and having to make use of her Rescue Injector, its serum needed to keep some people alive until they could get them to the hospital.

"It just goes to show you how dangerous cars can be." One paramedic muttered to Dana as the two worked to keep a little girl, who'd been pulled from the first car to hit the shield and then be subsequently hit by dozens of cars from behind, alive. "I get more calls to car crashes then to anything else."

"You obviously weren't a paramedic the last time the Demons were free." Dana returned, knowing the young man could not be more then twenty-five, making him a kid back in 2000. "Be prepared for more calls to attack sites." At this moment other paramedics returned with a gurney and they began moving the girl to an ambulance. "You're going to see more death and destruction in the next few months then you'd normally ever seen in several lifetimes." She finished as the paramedic climbed into the ambulance with the girl and Dana shut the doors behind him, loudly tapping the closed doors and sending the ambulance on its way. Similar situations were playing out all across the city, the carnage caused by one invisible barrier bringing back all kinds of memories to the people of Mariner Bay, especially since they knew who was responsible. A couple hours later, thankfully after everyone had been pulled from the rubble and were either treated or being treated, was when Queen Bansheera made her next move. The monarch of all Demons herself appeared with Vypra, Loki, Diabolico, and her son Olympius, directly in the centre of the city. Those at the Lightspeed Aquabase watched as she held a crystal high above her, its power radiating outwards at some words she spoke, and the sun eclipsing as its power was released.

"Rangers!" The Captain cried through their comm system. "She's at the city centre! You have to stop her!"

"Right!" They all responded, and leaving the wreckage sites in good hands, they jumped back on their Rescue Cycles and sped towards the city's centre, arriving within moments of each other and each falling into line behind Carter.

"Bansheera!" Carter cried, facing her straight on. "That's far enough!"

"Rangers." She taunted with that one single word. "So glad you could join us. You're a little late to stop us though!"

"We'll see about that. Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Lightspeed Rescue!"

"Titanium Power!"

"Pyro Rescue 1!"

"Aqua Rescue 2"

"Aero Rescue 3!"

"Haz Rescue 4"

"Med Rescue 5!"

"Solar Rescue 6!"

The Rangers' powers had been upgraded over the years, Mrs. Rawlings always keeping them up to date with the latest technology. They all pretty much looked the same, their suits, Morphers, and weapons having only minute differences, if any, from their original Ranger powers, but the interior had been completely re-worked; the power held inside them being significantly increased. Along with this increase of power, came a slightly different morphing call, starting off the same way, but having added their individual Ranger designations, much like the first three teams of Rangers; why this addition had been necessary no one exactly knew, Mrs. Rawlings merely shrugging her shoulders when asked, basically saying it was just one of those things that was.

"Red Ranger Rescue Ready!"

"Blue Ranger Rescue Ready!"

"Green Ranger Rescue Ready!"

"Yellow Ranger Rescue Ready!"

"Pink Ranger Rescue Ready!"

"Titanium Ranger Rescue Ready!"

"Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue!"

A group of Batlings appeared once they were morphed to take the Rangers on. They were joined by each of the Demons under Bansheera, the Queen herself being the only one not joining in the battle, choosing instead to continue doing whatever it was she was doing. 'It' became apparent a few minutes into the battle. The crystal Bansheera had caused the eclipse, which in turn caused a section of the ground not far from where they fought to glow. Seeing it, Bansheera went over and placed the crystal on top of the glowing ground. Saying a few more words, a spell of some sort, the light of the crystal and the glow of the ground grew brighter and merged together, causing the ground to split apart. The crystal sank into the hole and its light disappeared, the eclipse too leaving without the crystals power holding it in place. Neither Ranger nor Demon moved, wondering what has to happen. Their wait wasn't long for a giant arm appeared from inside the ground, a giant body following as a Demon raised itself up.

"Quarganon, arise and destroy Mariner Bay!" Bansheera shrieked with an evil laugh.

"Whoa!" The Rangers cried, dodging a giant foot as a kick came their way.

"Not him again!" Carter added, remembering this Super Demon from their very first joint venture with Time Force.

"You may have defeated Quarganon once, but you won't defeat him again!" Vypra laughed happily.

"We'll see about that!" Kelsey said. "Rail Rescues on track!" The Train Bay had been raised once the Rangers morphed in anticipation of being needed.

"Max Solarzord launch!" Ryan summoned his own Zord. Not knowing how strong Quarganon would be this time around, the Rangers decided to play it safe, and once the Rail Rescues arrived they summoned the Rescues Zords from within.

"Rescue Zords mobilize!" Dana ordered. She, Chad and Kelsey entered their Rescue Zords and operated the other two by remote while Joel and Carter did the same with the Rail Rescues.

"Let's form the Megazords!" Carter ordered once they were all in position.

"Lightspeed!" The Lightspeed Megazord, Super Train Megazord and Max Solarzord in its warrior mode each took on the giant Quarganon. While the Super Train, as the most powerful of the three Megazords, held up well enough, the other two didn't and so they combined them into the Lightpseed Solarzord. Ryan's Zord became like armour for the Lightspeed Megazord and absorbed the sun's rays powering up the weapons.

"Weapons charged!" Ryan informed them.

"Right! Turbines!" Carter called, punching in the command into the Megazord.

"Fire!" All six Rangers cried together, unleashing all the power of two of their Megazords, hoping it would be enough. Their hope wasn't misplaced and Quarganon fell under their combined attack. Not knowing what Queen Bansheera would do next, the Rangers then turned their Megazords towards her and the other Demons, visibly powering up their attacks once more. Queen Bansheera did the only smart thing she could do when a small monster, even the Queen of Demons, was faced with two Megazords and retreated. Once she was gone the Rangers breathed a sigh of relief at having gotten through their first true battle against the resurrected Demons, the fight against Vypra and Batlings earlier that day didn't count as far as they were concerned for they hadn't even had to morph. They returned to the Aquabase after checking in on the crash sites and seeing that anyone who was injured was well taken care of at the hospitals and the only ones still at the sites were the clean-up crews. Once there, they came into Rescue Ops to a heated argument between Connor and his uncle.

"No, you don't get to talk! For almost ten years, ever since I became a Ranger, I've been ashamed that you were my uncle. I couldn't believe that anyone, let alone a member of my own family, could be responsible for all those deaths, all those pointless deaths. And now you're trying to do it all over again? No. I don't think so."

"What's going on right now, with all these former villains returning," Kira said, knowing Connor needed a breather, and certainly not going to leave her mate to face his guy alone. "Is far bigger then anything you could have dreamed of. We are at war General, a being known as Thrax has declared war on Earth, on the Power Rangers, and he's used his power to bring back our enemies to help him destroy us. Not too long from now there will come the final battle where the fate of the entire universe is decided. If we fail, General, it's all over. Thrax won't let anyone live. The human race will be obliterated from Earth and the planet itself might be destroyed just because it's the place that's caused Thrax so many problems. Then once Earth is dealt with, he'll move on to the rest of the universe, conquering or destroying everything, and everyone, in his path."

"And it's our job to stop him." Connor said. "We're the only ones who can. Modern warfare won't make a dent in his forces. You could drop an atomic bomb on Thrax's head and all it will do is destroy the surrounding area, least of all because Thrax, like all our enemies, has the ability to appear and disappear at will. Guns wouldn't do jack all, any kind of chemical weapon made with humans in mind won't work against beings that are quite literally physical manifestations of pure negative energy. Then there's the fact that many of our enemies are intergalactic beings. They have the capability to wage war in space and from space, something the humans of Earth can't do yet. All they'd have to do is huddle on their space ship and use it to attack the planet and you're sitting ducks. And to top it all off our enemies have the capability to create weapons of such mass destruction that they can destroy the entire planet in one shot."

"Think Star Wars, and the Death Star." Kira cleared up as if there was room for misunderstanding.

"Do you get it now?" Connor asked. "Do you get what we're up against? And all you're doing is getting in our way and making our job that much harder." Albert didn't know what to say. What could you say to that? His plan to redeem himself by bringing Lightspeed under his command and commanding the force that saw to the end of this crisis was being shot down by his own nephew. And the part that really got to him, was that he really couldn't find fault with what Connor and his girlfriend said.

"I need to be getting back to the Pentagon." He said, placing his hat on his head and ending the discussion before it could go further against him. "You…continue doing…what you're doing." He sounded even more pained saying that then he had praising Connor and so couldn't help but add. "But I will be watching! The first sign that anything isn't as it should be and I'll be back. With the support of the President himself!"

"You know we can-" Joel started to say, but was cut off as Kelsey elbowed him in the cut as Chad clamped a hand over his mouth.

"It was really nice seeing you again General." Kelsey said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. The General merely scoffed quietly and turned to go, stopping only momentarily to look his nephew in the eye and give him a quick nod before he headed out.

"What a nice uncle you've got there Connor." Ryan said. "I can definitely feel the love."

"Alright I think that's enough sarcasm." Said Captain Mitchell. "That was good work today guys. You dealt a blow to Queen Bansheera, and I've had word that there were no fatalities."

"How-" Joel started but once again had a hand clamped over his mouth.

"Don't say anything, just go with it and be thankful." Said his wife. "You'll also be pleased to know that the shield is gone." She added. "It appears that it was tied to Bansheera and once she disappeared, so did the shield."

"We can head home then?" Kira clarified. "Not that it hasn't been awesome seeing you guys…but I could really go for punching something after dealing with Connor's uncle."

"Yeah I won't fight you on that one." Connor said.

"Unless there's something else blocking teleportation, then yes, you can go home." Mrs. Rawlings said.

"Awesome." Then, raising her communicator to her lips. "Eric get your butt down to Rescue Ops. We're going home."

"You said I could hang with Bridge!" Came his reply.

"And you have. And now we're going home."

"You're not my mother you know. I don't have to listen to you."

"Fine. Connor and I are heading home. Expect a visit from mom and dad in a few minutes."

"Alright I'm coming!" He grumbled. Kira sighed and turned to the parents of the future S.P.D. Rangers.

"If you guys are thinking of having more kids I'd do it soon if you value Bridge and Syd's sanity." She advised. "A ten year age difference is bad enough, don't let it get any worse." Kira didn't, and had never, viewed Eric as anything but her brother, but even so she couldn't deny that there were times being ten years older sucked and she felt like a third parent.

"We'll take that into consideration." Ryan said with an amused smile.

"She isn't joking about the sanity part dude." Connor corroborated, knowing exactly what Kira was feeling, there being a seventeen-year age gap between him and Eric. Anything else anyone might have said was cut off by the arrival of an irate Eric, followed by his friends and the other Lightspeed children led by Marina.

"You brought this on yourself bro." Connor said when Eric stomped over to them.

"Let's get this over with." He grumbled. The three said goodbye to Lightspeed, knowing that with only five Ranger teams' villains to go, it wouldn't be long at all before they saw them once again.

A/N - Connor's uncle is really just an unlikeable guy. Given he's responsible for the Cyborg Rangers I had no intention of him ever being anything else then an unlikeable, arrogant, self-serving ass.

We are down to the last five Ranger teams and then only a couple chapters after that till the end!

Review please!