Ripcon was down on Earth, having adopted a disguise. He loathed any kind of subterfuge or secrecy. To him, anything other than directly facing an opponent, one blade to another, was the act of a coward, but with Odious outwitting him at every turn, he didn't have much choice. Taking one of his own hoodies from the merchandise stall, some jeans and an overcoat, he had left the Warrior Dome to search for Odious.
He had been following the broadcast, and he knew that she had fled the battle, but since the ship's sensors hadn't picked her up onboard, it seemed likely that she was still somewhere in the city.
He saw her appear in the middle of a street, right at the location Wrench's tracker told him she would. In her panic, she had only activated a short-distance jump to remove her from the Ranger battle. People started screaming as they saw a monster appear, but from her singed and battered exterior, it was clear that she wasn't gearing up for an attack. She looked around to make sure that she hadn't been followed, to be sure that the Rangers hadn't been able to pursue her, but as Ripcon watched, she didn't seem to key in another jump to take her back to the ship. Instead, she looked to the street signs, like she was figuring out where she was, and then turned and ran down the street.
"What?" He asked himself. "Where's she going?" It was a good question. Other than the ship, he didn't know anything about where Odious would be likely to go. Certainly here on Earth he couldn't think of anything of value for her now that the Rangers had beaten her at her own game. The only thing he could think of was that she had to have some kind of hideout, some safehouse in the city. For what purpose he didn't know, but since he didn't know about it, he could only imagine that no one else on the ship knew about it either, and that meant wherever her safehouse was, it was hiding something that likely held the key to her whole twisted agenda.
He followed her, breaking into a run as she seemed to speed up, before rounding a corner into a gated cul-de-sac. The gates were just closing as he got there, but he could see no sign of her. There were people, most of whom looked like pretty well-to-do, professional types just going about their business. Kids playing in the street without a care in the world since the gated neighbourhood meant they only had to worry about the few cars in their street and most of them looked like they were already here. People were arriving home, being greeted by their families, but most of all, he could see absolutely no signs of any panic. No one looked like they had seen an alien monster approaching.
"Where did you go Odious?" He asked as he went up to the gates, looking around, but still finding no sign of her. He raised his nose into the air and sniffed. He could still smell burnt fur, so he knew she couldn't be far, but how she managed to go into a gated community that as far as he could see only had one way in or out he had no idea. He knew that she was here, but if there was any evidence of her treachery, it was likely here, and if he just barged in then she would undoubtedly destroy it before he could bring it to Galvanax's attention. He just growled in frustration. He looked up to the sign above the gates, declaring this cul-de-sac "Haim Crescent", and committed it to memory.
"You've gotten away this time." Ripcon told her. "But the net is closing!"
Back at the site of the battle, Cosmo had seen fit to send down some basher bots to help out Toxitea, though the Rangers didn't seem to be having too many problems fending them off. Levi was locked in battle with Toxitea, fighting with an anger he couldn't quite explain. He didn't like it when people hurt his friends, but to think that Toxitea had brought Brody to moments from death, all he could think about was destroying her utterly. His instincts almost screamed at him to throw away his weapon so he could tear her apart piece by piece with his bare hands. Toxitea defended herself, grabbing his weapon and holding it in place while she kicked him hard in the side.
"Isn't this a kick?" She asked him as she finished kicking him repeatedly, before throwing him aside. Levi landed in a heap a little way off.
"Well, I guess at least the tea puns are over." He muttered as the others finished with their opponents and lined up across from her. She threw out her hands for an attack, but it just fizzled out a little way from her fingertips.
"Rangers!" She screeched as she ran for them. "You're just lucky my next batch of poison is still brewing!"
"You heard that, she's out of poison!" Brody called out as they all attacked. "Let's not give her a chance to poison anyone else!"
"Get her!" Calvin added as they all swung for her, but she threw up her hands, throwing them all off as they connected. They hit the ground, but Levi hit her with some blasts before she could take advantage.
"Stay on her!" Levi called out. "Don't give her a chance to come to the boil!"
"Really?" Sarah asked him as she and her friends all resumed the attack.
"You're looking a little steamed!" Preston stated, hitting her in the side, causing a crack to appear in her teapot 'armour'.
"Guys, can we not...?"
"You're about to get CREAMED!" Calvin chuckled as he leapt into the air with his morpher in claw mode, smashing it into her face. Sarah just face-palmed.
"Really Cal?"
"Yeah, don't MILK it!" Hayley said as she fired a few energy arrows from her Hyper Bow. Sarah just rammed her sword into the ground and stood with her arms crossed.
"How many LUMPS do you like?" Levi asked as he hit a twister attack, sending her spinning through the trees, colliding with a few of them. "I go for about a dozen!"
"Nice move Levi!" Preston complimented the Gold Ranger. Levi joined him, levelling his weapon over his shoulder.
"What can I say? I just wanted her to COOL OFF." He smirked. "Let's go ICE THIS TEA!"
"I swear I cannot wait until this is over!" Sarah grumbled as Levi and Preston stepped up.
"So how do you like your tea Levi?" Preston asked.
"I swear to God, if this is another tea pun." Sarah warned them.
"With tornadoes and lightning!" Levi answered as Preston loaded the Element Star into his sword, while he put the Storm Star into his, switching it to lightning mode.
"Tornado Attack!" Preston called out, powering up his attack as winds started to howl around his blade.
"Lightning attack!" Levi added as his blade crackled with energy. Preston spun wildly, surging towards Toxitea as Levi hit them both with lightning. She was consumed in a column of electricity and high winds that drowned out her screams as he returned to Levi's side. Levi pulled out his camera.
"Great work Preston!" He complimented him as they both posed for a selfie. "Say Cheeseburger!"
"Cheeseburger!" They both called out as Toxitea exploded. Sarah just looked to the spot where she fell and got down on her knees as if praying.
"Please be a Skullgator, please be a Skullgator!" She started to chant in rapid succession. Hayley just looked at her curiously. Sarah noticed this and sighed. "I cannot do with any more tea puns!"
Up on the Warrior Dome, Cosmo was standing in front of the audience, who were a lot more subdued than normal at this point in the show. He could tell that his fears of a show with so little action were well founded.
"So, should we give Toxitea another chance?" Cosmo asked. The audience started screaming, but this time he could tell that there was little in the way of positive opinion. While drama did sell, it didn't make for the most exciting fight. The audience quickly made their feelings known and the scale never passed the third bar. A huge buzzer sounded and a large, red X flashed up on screen. He just smiled.
"Oh well, I guess tea time is over!" He commented. "I suppose the Rangers will just have to make do with a SKULLGATOR!"
With that, he smacked the button, sending down one of his Skullgators, a sure crowd pleaser. If he couldn't do anything about the rest of the show, then at least he could give them an ending that guaranteed some excitement. At least he could pull out some middle-of-the-road ratings with that.
Down on Earth, Aiden had left the battle site as his brother instructed, but he wasn't going back to the school. He walked down an unfamiliar street, before finding what he was looking for. He looked up at a sign and smiled.
"Haim Crescent." He read aloud. He looked around to ensure he wasn't being followed, before launching himself at the gate, quickly scrambling over it and flipping nimbly to the bottom. He walked into the cul-de-sac, and made his way through, looking for his objective.
It was a nice neighbourhood, one that people paid a lot to get into, and more importantly one they did so to keep others out and keep the street quiet. Aiden took one look at the houses and the immaculate streets and knew that these were people that liked to keep to themselves...it was a perfect place for a hideout. He looked to the letter boxes and found the one with the name he was looking for. He headed for the house, and knocked on the door, only for the door to swing open.
He went inside the house and closed the door, locking it behind him. Inside, the house was just as immaculate and just as high-end as the street outside. The furniture looked fresh, new, and everything was set up with a sense of pride. It was minimalistic, with an emphasis on function rather than clutter, suggesting that whoever owned the house had a deep sense of order that was more vital to them than flamboyant excess.
He heard a sound coming from a door and went towards it, opening it and finding a stairwell down into a basement. He turned on a light, and started to make his way down into the basement. When he got down there, he found mostly what anyone would expect to find in a basement. Boxes, chests, assorted storage items...the one thing that was most definitely out of place was a woman in the corner, chained to the wall.
She was dressed in running pants and a t-shirt that were covered in grime that looked like she had been here for weeks. Her matted, unwashed hair suggested the same. She was barefoot, and she had a length of chain wrapped around her ankles, binding them together with very little room for movement, and padlocked shut. Her wrists were similarly bound, but there was also a length of chain running to a bracket in the wall that was bolted in place. There were a couple of buckets next to her, and even from this distance, the smell could clue him in as to their purpose. She rushed towards him until the chains went taught, snapping her back.
"Oh thank God someone came!" She rushed out, the desperation obvious in her voice. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked up at him. "Please, she's crazy; she's kept me here for weeks! She's sick! You wouldn't believe the things she's done to me! I was convinced I'd die down here! Please, you have to..."
"I'm sorry; you seem to misunderstand why I'm here." Aiden said as he approached her. He swept the hair from her face, looking into her eyes. "It's not you I'm here to see Principal Hastings."
"I'm sorry to hear that." He heard a voice say as someone stepped out of the shadows. It was Principal Hastings, looking a lot more like people were used to seeing her. She shifted form as her holographic disguise faded, revealing her to be Madame Odious.
"Now THAT'S who I'm here to see!" Aiden told the real Principal Hastings. She just broke down and sobbed as she saw her vain hopes of a rescue fading away before her eyes.
"Please, quieten down while the adults are talking or I'll leave it ANOTHER three days before I empty your buckets!" Madame Odious warned her. Principal Hastings just sniffed and nodded her head in understanding, shuffling back into the corner onto her blanket in a defeated manner. "Good. Now, how is the new job?"
"Oh, it's fine." Aiden told her. "It keeps me nice and close to the Rangers. They've now shown me where their base is. Now all I need is a little time to find out where they keep the Ninja Steel."
"Excellent!" She complimented him. "Toxitea's failure did bring one benefit. The Rangers now trust you completely!"
"Rangers?" Principal Hastings whimpered. "You...you think the Rangers are in my school?"
"We KNOW the Rangers are in your school! Why else do you think I'd take your place?" Madame Odious told her. "And I think you meant to say...MY school! Just for that, you can say goodbye to your meals for the next two days!"
She turned her attention back to Aiden.
"The Rangers now trust you completely! It'll only be a matter of time before they show you where they hide the Ninja Steel." She taunted him. Aiden smiled.
"And that will be their ultimate downfall!" Aiden answered with a laugh.
Back at the school, the Rangers had gotten back after disposing of the Skullgator to find the chocolate auction well underway. Kids had been brought in from all around the city to enjoy the festivities. The students had been taking it in turns all week to prepare chocolate treats for sale, with simple items being available in large quantities for simple purchases, while larger and more complex sculptures were being kept for auction all to raise money for play parks and youth centres for the kids of Summer Cove.
The kids weren't the only ones having a good time. With pocketfuls of cash the students were buying back much of the chocolate they had been making all week and filling collection tins to overflowing.
"Man I love chocolate!" Brody said as he wolfed down the last pieces of an egg the size of a rugby ball. The others just stared at him. "Don't judge me; I've hardly eaten all week thanks to that poison!"
"Oh man, this is so good!" Sarah gushed as she tried some. Hayley just sighed.
"I just wish some of our sculptures made it into the auction." She said regretfully. "We just never figured out the melting problem."
"Hey, you can't be good at everything." Levi told them. "Singing is one thing, but ask me to draw and you'll see what a crime against art looks like!"
"Alright students, now is the moment you've all been waiting for, the contest for the best sculpture!" Mrs Finch announced. "In third place, we have Melanie with her unicorn!"
There was applause as one of the students came up to collect a medal. She smiled and waved as a few pictures were taken of her with her sculpture which would soon go to whoever had bid on it.
"In second place, Ryan with his pyramid!" She announced. Another student came up to collect his medal and have his picture taken as the students applauded. Mrs Finch just looked to the crow.
"Now, the one you've all been waiting for, the first place goes to..." She paused for effect, while the students drummed their feet and hands to create the drum roll. "VICTOR VINCENT!"
"Victor?" Sarah asked. "I...I thought he WAS his sculpture!"
"Yeah, I thought he had to break out of his sculpture!" Levi agreed. Victor came up onto the stage to applause as Mrs Finch grabbed a cloth.
"After an early setback, Victor stayed after school every day this week to make this." Mrs Finch told them, whipping off the cloth. The team all stared in disbelief as they saw what was under the cloth.
"In tribute to the heroes of this city, I recreated the Power Rangers in delicious milk chocolate!" Victor declared proudly as he pointed to his sculpture.
"Wow...that's um..."
"That's some tribute!" Brody said, smiling.
"You do know that means someone is going to eat us right?" Calvin asked.
"I don't know. I kind of like it." Sarah remarked as she thought about it and smiled. "Nice going Victor!"
"Now, as first place winner, Victor wins five hundred dollars and this..."
"No need for the money." Victor told Mrs Finch. "This whole day is for charity, consider it a donation."
The students applauded the gesture, while Victor looked to the table.
"Now for me, all that matters is this." He said, grabbing a trophy by the handles. "This makes number..."
"Victor, no!" Mrs Finch called out, but it was too late. The handles snapped off, and the trophy fell to the ground, shattering into a thousand pieces. Victor just stared at it.
"That...that was my fiftieth..."
"Um...the awards were all chocolate." Melanie, the third-place winner told him, unwrapping the foil on her medal and taking a bite.
"My trophy!" Victor gasped, sinking to his knees. "I thought...my fiftieth trophy!"
"Well, look on the bright side. The new janitor keeps these floors clean enough to eat off of." Sarah said, picking up a piece of chocolate and putting it in Victor's mouth, before patting him on the back. "Isn't that much better than any trophy?"
With that, everyone went back to the auction with only one thought in mind. There was only one thing better than all the chocolate they could eat, and that was when every penny they spent on it went to charity meaning every bite was a hundred percent guilt free!