The villainess's lips curved into a smirk and her eyes narrowed. Chris, now closer to the female villain, got a better look at her. She was slender, her figure reminding Chris of something he'd see in a Sports Illustrated magazine. Her long, black hair came down past her waist and her bangs hung down from the brim of her cowboy hat. She twirled the whips in her hand and began circling. Chris circled as well, the two of them staring each other down. As she walks, she asks "What's your name, Blue? Is it "Hopelessly Captured"?" The villainess laughed at her own bad joke. Chris smirked and said, "It's Chris. Lemme guess. Yours is "Chains and Whips excite me?" The villainess narrowed her eyes and said, "You've got guts, Blue. My name is Milano. I am one of Exos's seven bandits and I'm here to pick you up. The intergalactic council wants to have a word with you and your team." Chris shakes his head and says, "Man. You alien freaks can't take a hint, can you? We don't want to talk with your stupid council. They're murderers, and we DON'T affiliate with murderer's." She smiles and slashes the ground with one of her whips in one, quick movement. "You're cute when you get defensive." Chris reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his Delta Morpher. His blue eyes fix on Milano, saying, "Well then. Guess it's time I go offensive! It's High Noon!" Chris splits the two cylinders of his Delta Morpher apart and draws his circle in the air. The blue numbers appear around the circle, going all the way up to twelve. He steps through the circle and his blue jumpsuit and cowboy boots materialize on his body. The circle came up and around his face, forming his mask and cowboy hat. Chris flexes his muscles before punching the ground. Striking a pose with his hands on his sides like he's holding his belt, he says, "Strength of a Ranger! Delta Force, Blue!" Chris smiled under his mask, looking at Milano. However, he noticed something different on his costume. Around his waist was a belt, the color dark blue just like his hat and boots. At his side was a holster, strapped to his belt. Inside the holster was a revolver-like gun. It was the Delta Blaster that Satchel and Wick were telling them about. Chris looks at it and gets a feel for it in his hand.
Milano cackled, drawing Chris's attention to her. "Well, look at you! I will say, Blue really IS your color!" Chris smiled and said, "Oh really? I bet it looks great on you too! Here, as a matter of fact, try some blue!" Chris aims the gun at Milano, pulling the trigger three times. Three blue laser beams shot out of the barrel, zooming towards the villainess. She smirked and brought one whip in a diagonal pattern down her body, blocking the first shot. She did the same with the other whip, blocking the second shot. She jumped in the air and spun around, dodging the third shot. As she spun around, she lashed out with one of her whips. The whip shot through the air, wrapping around Chris's ankle. Once Milano landed, she gave the whip a good pull. Chris's feet were taken out from underneath him, sending him thudding to the ground. When he did, he lost grip of his Delta Blaster. Milano started pulling the blue ranger towards her, a wicked smile on her face. Chris scrambled to try and get his Blaster, but he was pulled away too quickly. The villainess shot her other whip towards him and this one wrapped around his neck. She smiled and said, "This is about to get a bit… SHOCKING!" Letting out a cackle, her eyes flashed a bright purple. She flicked the handle of the whip, sparks going down the length of the weapon to Chris's body. The electricity made his muscles spasm for only a split second before doing something remarkable. As the sparks floated across his body, his muscles started pumping. Energy filled his body and he could feel his body getting stronger and stronger. He slowly stood up, the electricity doing nothing but making him more powerful.
Milano's eyes widened as Chris stood up. Chris smirks under his helmet, knowing that this battle was his. He lifted a leg and brought it down on the whip around his ankle. This motion yanked Milano forward. The other one that was around his neck, he grabbed with his hand. Wrapping it around his wrist, he pulled her forward. The villainess struggled, but the electricity had only made Chris stronger. Chris, who now had the majority of the whip in his hand, began spinning in a circle. Milano, trying to keep the whip in her grasp, started spinning with Chris. Chris gained speed, causing the Bandit to lose her footing. He spun and spun until finally he released the whip. Once he let go, Milano went flying through the air, leaving her whips behind. Chris was about to rip the weapons from his neck and ankle, but the whips both seemed to come alive. They uncoiled around Chris's body and snaked their way back to Milano. She stood up, wincing in pain, the whips coiled around her arms and she stared Chris down with a piercing gaze. "Alright, punk! I don't care how cute you are! I'm going to murder you!" Chris was about to say a smart comment back, but then he heard a voice come from behind him. "What? Chris isn't the cute one! I am!" Chris turns around and looks up the hill, seeing four figures. Milano lets out a frustrated grunt, saying "Oh great. And who are YOU?!" The boy in red, followed by the girl in yellow, the boy in green and the girl in pink, steps next to Chris. "I'M the cute one. But you can call me the Delta Force Red Ranger!" Chris rolls his eyes and takes a step forward. "Thanks, but no thanks. I have this covered." Alex put a hand on Chris's shoulder. The boy in the glasses says, "Well, you DID text me. You wanted help, so here is your team." Chris turns and points at Seth. "I will NOT be on a team that HE is on. It's not worth the injuries caused by his poor judgement." Stephanie walks up to Chris, a soft look in her eyes. The same soft look she always gave Chris… The same one that always seemed to calm him down. "Listen. Alistar was right. You can hate him all you want. But as long as you are Rangers, you can't be fighting." Seth walks up and says, "Not only that, but I'm the leader of the Rangers. Alistar told me himself." Chris taps Seth on the chest in a threatening manner. "Oh yah? And who was there to see that? Not me. Not Alex or Stephanie. Lisa had already quit. So how am I supposed to believe you?" Alex, who was standing next to Chris, taps the blue ranger on the shoulder. "Uhh, Chris?" Chris turns to Alex and says, "Not now." Seth grabs Chris by the wrist and throws his hand off of his chest. "You have no authority to challenge my title!" Chris gets eyes to eye with Seth, saying "You have no authority over me!" Alex shakes Chris's shoulder, saying "Chris. You ought to see this." Chris shrugged off Alex's touch, saying "Just shut up for a second." Seth narrows his eyes and says, "Demorph, now. THAT is an order." The blue ranger lets out a scoff and says, "Oh, right. And who's going to make me. You?" Alex finally yells out, "GUYS, SHE'S GONE!" Chris whips his head around, to see that Milano had vanished.
Chris's heart began to beat, his blue suit vanishing in a bright blue flash. He looks down, his anger building. Stephanie takes a step forward, holding out a hand. "Chris… It's okay. We'll find her." Chris's head snaps to his side, shooting a gaze at Seth. He points out a rigid finger, a snarl in his voice. "You're going to get us all killed. Not only did you almost get us murdered by Exos, but now one of his henchmen is on the loose. You don't deserve the title of red ranger! You don't even deserve to be a Ranger!" Seth opened his mouth to say something, but Chris cut him off. "No. Shut up. Listen up, punk. Cross me again and It'll be the last thing you do." Chris raises a foot and slams it on the ground, bounding into the air and out of the sight of the other rangers.
Once he landed, he found himself in the middle of the forest that lead to the Beacon. He walked back and forth, huffing with anger. "Stupid Seth. Going to get the only friends I ever had killed. I'll kill him if he does. He doesn't deserve to be leader. I do! Why was I stuck with blue?" Chris pulls out his Morpher and looks at it, holding it out in front of him. He hated the fact that it wasn't red. Why did it have to be blue? He didn't even want to see it. He rears back and throws the blue object into the woods. It flew through the air and landed in a bush somewhere. With an angry huff, he plopped himself down on a rock, his head in his hands. He sat there for a few minutes in silence, the only sound being the chirping of the birds. Suddenly, he felt something tap against his hand. Moving his head up, his heart began beating faster once he saw his Morpher. It was floating in the air, inches from his face. Chris tilts his head and reaches out to touch it. Once he did, his mind went into a rush. Once his head cleared, he was sitting in a completely white area. Out of the blankness, a man in a white robe appeared. Alistar. He smiles and says, "Hello Chris. Glad you could make it." Chris scrambled backwards, looking left and right. "What? Where? Where the hell am I," the boy in blue asks, looking left and right frantically. Alistar holds up two hands, motioning at Chris in a calming manner, saying "Woah, woah. Calm down Chris. You are in the confines of your mind. I just felt a disturbance in the Morphing Grid and decided to check it out. Apparently, that disturbance is you." Chris rolls his eyes. "Of course! This is MY fault. Not Seth's. Perfect." Alistar puts a hand to his chin, thinking about something. "Ah. So THAT'S what this is about, is it? You are questioning the leadership qualities of the Red Ranger." Chris stands up, pointing a finger at Alistar. "You're damn right I am! Not only did he almost get us all killed by Exos, but he let one of his Bandits get away! I had her right where I wanted her, but he intervened and screwed it up for me!" Alistar nods in understanding, saying "Ah yes. He has made many mistakes." Chris throws his hands up in the air, continuing his rant. "And not only that, but the other three actually FOLLOW the screw-up! What? They can't see that he's nothing but a danger to the team?!" Alistar smirks and says, "Ah yes. I understand. And you think that YOU could do better as the leader of the Ranger's?" Chris leans in and sternly says, "Oh. I KNOW I could do better. The morphing grid should have picked the best ranger to be red!" Alistar folds his arms and raises an eyebrow. "You think it didn't?" Chris begins pacing back and forth. "Well, SETH sure as hell isn't the best choice. Stephanie is too nice, Lisa quits too easy and Alex couldn't hold his own against Wick! So, it's obvious that I am the best choice." Alistar simply shakes his head, letting out a sigh. Chris looks over to his mentor, an eyebrow raised. "What? You think I'm wrong?" Alistar puts a hand to his forehead, rubbing it in frustration. "Christopher. Do you even HEAR yourself? I didn't see it before, but now I know exactly why the Grid picked you to be the Blue Ranger." Chris lets out a scoff before saying, "Oh please. Enlighten me, "Mentor". I'm ecstatic to hear your big revelation." Alistar removes the hand from his forehead, motioning to Chris. "You're a loaded gun, Christopher! You are a loaded gun with an un-hitched trigger. Yes, you are correct when it comes to the other Rangers, INCLUDING Seth. But you are no better yourself! Your temper, your uncontrollable anger, will explode on anyone you see! Yes, this may be good in a fight against an enemy. But for god's sake, you attacked one of your own teammates today! As far as the other rangers know, you are more dangerous than Exos! At least they KNOW they can't trust HIM. But you have their trust. You're part of their team! You need to learn your place… Before something goes wrong." Chris was furious at this. However, something came over him. It was a feeling that balled up in his throat, making his heart ache. Guilt. His knees began to slowly get weaker, everything he's done to the rangers coming back through his mind. He fell to his knees, a tear running down his cheek. "Y… You're right. I'm a horrible Ranger." Alistar walked up and got on one knee, putting a hand on the blue ranger's shoulder. "No Chris. You are a great ranger. You're just learning. And do you know who else is still learning?" Chris's eyes open wide, watery upon this realization. "Seth…" Alistar nods his head. "Exactly. He's made mistakes, but so have you. So has Alex, Lisa and Stephanie. You are all still learning and it will be a while until you all become legendary rangers. Keep that in mind, Chris." Chris's mind began to rush again, sending him back to reality. As he sat there on the rock, the real world coming into focus, he took a deep breath. Running his hands through his hair, he says, "What have I done?"
Chris made his way home, Alistar's words echoing through his head. His dad was off at the bar again and his mom was gone too. She was probably working late tonight. Chris walked into his trailer, his brother already asleep. He looked at the time. 11:00? How long did Alistar have me under? He decided that he needed some rest. He had school tomorrow and he knew that if he didn't get at least semi-decent grades, he would end up like his dad. As he got ready for bed, his phone buzzed with a news update. He read the article which talked about a robbery at the Belvidere Science laboratory. About fifty milligrams of something called… "Isopropyl". It said that, according to a scientists account, the assailant "Showed up with two whips and destroyed everything, only taking the aforementioned compound". One word ran through his mind as he read that. Milano. He knew that he needed to find her, no matter the cost. Until then, he couldn't rest. He hopped up out of bed, no longer fearing the lack of sleep. He grabbed his Delta Morpher and ran out of his trailer. As the moon shone on the town of Belvidere, the Blue Ranger was on a mission to finish things before they begin.