Power Rangers GPX, episode 25: Gargotron's Back
Col. Greene finished his paperwork and wiped his brow. The office was quiet. It was late in the day and the Pentagon was quiet, at least in the vicinity of his office. The white-colored walls presented a bland aesthetic that would drive even a military man crazy. Luckily, Col. Greene didn't think he was going to be in this office much longer.
He checked his watch, noting the 5 o'clock time. He sighed. He didn't think he could make it back home in time for dinner. He contemplated retirement on multiple occasions, but as they say, "duty calls".
With the swipe of a pen, he signed off on another Project Ranger report. The UN's Security Council and the DOD wanted updates. Well, they were getting them. Col. Greene didn't mind writing them. You have to do a job, after all. And this was certainly part of the job. "I just wish it didn't hurt as much," he muttered to himself.
It was then a staffer walked in, holding a plastic bag from the Pentagon's food court. "I thought you were hungry," he said.
"June's not going to like this," said Col. Greene.
"She's going to understand your job, right?" the staffer replied, handing Col. Greene a taco.
"A taco from a fake Mexican place," he said. "Delicious."
"It's the only thing I could get," said the staffer. "So what's this about?"
"Security Council and the DOD want to know Project Ranger's progress," said Col. Greene. "All I could say was, 'it's hard to tell'. They're down in Florida, and they rarely update me! How am I supposed to know?"
"Japan was so much easier," said the staffer. "Any other plans?"
"We sent them some new equipment," said Col. Greene. "But they haven't told me about it."
"You know how bad American Parcel Service is," said the staffer.
"I sent it through the post office," said Col. Greene. "I'll have to call them and find out what's going on."
"The worst part is that Ben Dreck fellow," said the staffer. "One of my friends says one of his friends is worried about the Rangers."
"That's not good," said Col. Greene. "It will only be a matter of time before Congress calls us up. I hate television."
"Dreck isn't that influential," said the staffer.
"Maybe I'm just paranoid," said Col. Greene. "But Republicans have been going all fiscal-libertarian lately. I feel we're going to hear about how we're costing taxpayers."
"There is a solution," said the staffer.
"Not yet," said Col. Greene, "Unless we're in real trouble." He really should have kept his mouth shut, since another staffer came in. "What is it?"
"Sir, Senator Evergreen has requested you testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee and we lost track of the Rangers' package."
"Me and my big mouth," said Col. Greene. "Find out what happened to that package and tell Senator Klein I'll show up."
"Yes, sir," said the staffer. He walked away and Col. Greene sighed in exasperation.
:-:-:-:We're the best chance, for humanity, Power Rangers G-P-X, let's go!:-:-:-:
"Come ON!" said Aaron (Mandla). "Pick a damn card!"
"I'm thinking!" Hitomi said, looking over the upside-down chore cards. "I don't want to pick something I'll regret."
"She's got a point," said Kevin. "I had to do Cassie's diapers, after all."
"I had to do the dishes after you let the food cake," said Aaron (Mandla). "You think doing her diaper's bad?"
Maria had to watch with interest. Taking a bite out of an orange slice, she watched as Hitomi thought of which card would be best. No—not that one. She chuckled to herself. This should be very interesting. Hitomi's hand floated over them, until—nope! Aaron (Mandla) groaned and Kevin chuckled. Maria also chuckled.
Eventually, Hitomi found one in the middle of this particular pile and slowly, tensely, pulled it out. She didn't look for a second, then she looked and… uh-oh, nervous face! "Dishes!" Aaron (Mandla) and Kevin burst into laughter while Maria shook her head. Hitomi slammed her head on the table.
"Now you have to deal with them!" said Aaron (Mandla).
"Zulu, be nice!" Maria said, hitting him on the arm. "I'll help you out, chica. "
"Thanks, Maria!" said Hitomi.
"You don't have to be so anxious about every—hey, where are you going?" Hitomi had gotten up and left much to Maria's surprise. The Venezuelan woman got up and followed her friend while Aaron (Mandla) and Kevin just wtched. "Chica, what's going on?" She asked as she caught up to the Japanese girl in the foyer.
"Why did you have to say that?" Hitomi asked, her accent getting just a tiny bit thicker. Although it was justified since she was getting a little choked up.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Maria moaned. "I forgot you don't like to talk about your anxieties. But you should talk about them!"
"Why?" Hitomi asked.
"If you don't talk about them with everyone, they'll just get worse," Maria replied. "I have anxieties myself and I talk about them."
"Like what?"
"Well… my friends in Venezuela," said Maria. "I'm very worried about them."
"I can understand," said Hitomi. "I wonder how my friends are doing."
"But we have the others," said Maria. "And you have me. You can tell me anything." Hitomi smiled and nodded. Then, she opened her mouth.
"Sometimes, I wonder if I'm even important here," she said forlornly. She and Maria had sat down on the stairs. "What if you just see me as a kid? What if I'm just a liability?"
"I have no idea who said that or why you're worried about that," said Maria. "But I certainly don't see you as a liability. You're my best friend. And I'll bet the others feel that way, too. You are a nice, sweet chica who is an important member of this team. And I think Bridge would agree that you did a great job with Cassie. You do, however, have a side none of us like to see."
"When we met…" Hitomi whispered.
"Exactly," said Maria. "But that's something you can control. And it also shows you're not perfect; no one is. But you are a great fighter and an important member of the team. Whatever anxieties you have going on are just in your head."
"Thanks, Maria," said Hitomi.
"And if anyone says anything else, I'll kick their face in."
"That wasn't necessary," said Hitomi.
"I just felt like it," said Maria. "Come on, we've got work to do."
Hitomi nodded and followed Maria into the kitchen where Kevin and Aaron (Mandla) were watching the news, this time with concern. Maria looked to see Col. Greene raising his right hand before a bunch of old men in suits. Being naïve when it comes to American politics, she and the others had no idea what in the world was going on. But one thing was certain; it didn't look good.
Col. Greene was being grilled by these men. They were asking him about Project Ranger and how much it was costing the taxpayers. Col. Greene was answering as best he could, but one man, named Evergreen, was not letting up on him. He looked stressed out and helpless.
But that's nothing compared to the helplessness the Rangers felt. All they could do was watch as the man who helped turn them from simple, ordinary young adults into the world's greatest superhero team getting verbally assaulted by old men who had no idea what this Project was about.
"Bastardos," said Maria. "What is this about?"
"It says, 'Project Ranger Senate hearing'," said Kevin. "What does that even mean?"
"If only Rob or Sean were here," said Maria. "They could—"
"Congress doesn't like what he's doing," a familiar voice interrupted. And it wasn't Sean.
"How did you show up here, Tommy?" Maria asked the hologram of Dr. Tommy Oliver.
"I activated the Morphing Grid's hologram generator from my universe," said Tommy. "Something must be going on in your universe that Congress doesn't like; Must be because of fiscal issues."
"So what should we do?" Hitomi asked.
"Ignore them," said Tommy. "You've got work to do. You can't let this distract you." The other Rangers didn't need to disagree. "I can't tell you what's going to happen next."
"Because it would ruin our mission?" Aaron (Mandla) asked.
"No, because even I don't know," said Tommy. "I'll keep in touch." His hologram faded, leaving the Rangers alone.
"I don't like this," said Kevin.
"What don't you like?" Maria asked. "Col. Greene in front of Congress or…"
"Yes," said Kevin. Maria did not even ask.
:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:
"I must commend you, Kalderon," said Rashon. "Your plan is working so far."
"I told you it would," Kalderon said with a light bow. "And now that Gargotron is repaired, we can attack the Rangers again."
"Excellent work!" said Rashon. "I might as well propose a toast." He raised his wine glass and Kalderon raised his. "To reclamation," he said.
"To reclamation," said Kalderon. The two took a sip of their wine. But the moment was short lived.
"Don't be too sure," a feminine voice said from behind. Kalderon turned around and glared at Tirna.
"Why?" he asked.
"Tirna, this is a private conversation," said Emperor Rashon. "Please dismiss yourself."
"As you wish," Tirna said as the general disappeared in a flurry of cherry petals. Kalderon glared at the empty space left by the feminine general.
"I do not like Tirna," he said. "I feel the general may be the end of me one day."
:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:
Kevin, Aaron (Mandla), Maria and Hitomi had decided to get out of the house and left for downtown Orlando. They took the bus into downtown and got off near Market Street and the library and went from there.
They really had no place to go, but when you go downtown in any city, that's part of the fun. They don't need a place to go. Instead, they just walked around, looking at the sites with interest. They noticed the construction site of the new basketball arena and a few other things.
Most of it was going up and down North Orange Avenue looking at the shops. Hitomi liked them because they were quaint little stores, unlike the massive Miyazawa department stores. While Kevin was getting tired of the heat and humidity, Maria told him to deal with it.
"I've been to the Amazon, and I'm from a humid area," he said. "I'm used to this, so deal with it!"
"Show-off," said Kevin.
"Is that anything to be proud off?" Aaron (Mandla) asked.
"Of course," said Maria. "But if you're hot, then we can stop and get something to eat."
"There's a sandwich place here," said Kevin. "Let's eat here."
"Fine," said Maria. "¡Hola!" Just for the hell of it.
"Hola," said the man behind the counter, much to Maria's delight.
"¿Habla usted español?" she asked, automatically excluding the others from the conversation. "Soy de Venezuela, ¿de donde es usted?"
"Soy de Mexico," said the man.
"Que te jodan," shesaid.
"What did you just say?" Kevin asked.
"She told me to fuck off, señor," said the man behind the counter.
"You… speak English…"
"Fluently, señorita," the man finished. Maria didn't need prompting and left. Everyone except Hitomi left.
"I'd like a chicken teriyaki on flatbread," she said.
"That was embarrassing," Maria gasped.
"Obviously," said Aaron (Mandla). "Now we know she can't get away with anything."
"Where's Hitomi?" Maria asked.
"I thought I saw her in the sub shop," said Kevin."Maybe she stayed there… Oh, here she werey ou?"
"I ordered a sandwich!" she said. "I wanted chicken teriyaki flat bread!"
"Please tell us if you're going to stay behind," said Aaron (Mandla).
"Gomen nasai," she said just to piss him off. It worked.
"Next time I'll tell people about your outburst in—" Maria elbowed him in the rib. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, Hitomi thinks she's a load," said Maria. Hitomi glared at Maria, but it didn't matter to her. "You're not!"
"What are you talking about?" Kevin asked.
"Didn't I tell you?" Maria asked as if it was obvious. "Hitomi's had anxieties and confidence issues since after the fight with the Zordonians."
"She does?" Kevin asked. "I don't remember talking about that."
"I didn't—"
"Chica, what did I say?" Maria interrupted. "You can't expect to get better if you don—hold on; I'm getting a call on the morpher. Hello?"
"Maria, hel—"
"What was that about?" Kevin asked.
"I don't know," said Maria. "I think—"
CRASH!!!
Dust and debris flew as the quartet dodged whatever crashed into the side of the building. Bystanders were running away and the sound of sirens was heard. The dazed quartet got up and looked to see red boots sticking out of the side of the building.
"Sean?" Kevin asked while Sean, in morphed form, struggled to get out. Then he froze.
"Get out of here!" he said.
"What?" Maria asked. "No way, we're not—" Sean pointed at something and the quartet only had enough time to just barely dodge the incoming missile. "Okay, now I see what you mean!"
"HELLO, RRRANGERS!" A familiar voice bellowed.
"It's Gargotron, isn't it?" Aaron (Mandla) asked.
"Bingo," Sean said as the others pulled him out of the damaged building.
"I was looking forward to meeting you again," he said.
"I kind of wasn't," said Maria.
"Too bad," said Sean.
"Now, let's get down to business," Gargotron said as he aimed his arm missiles at the Rangers. Sean grabbed his Octane Blaster and let off some covering fire, allowing the quartet to get to a safe spot. Now, there was only one thing left to do.
"Ready?" Kevin asked as they displayed their morphers.
"Ready! GPX, Start It Up!"
After the characteristic flash of light, the quartet emerged from the alley and quickly backed Sean up. "Are you ready?" Gargotron taunted.
"As ready as we'll ever be," Kevin said as he summoned the Touring Rifle.
"Then here I COME!" Gargotron charged the Rangers, but they jumped out of the way and ran into the street. The area had already been cordoned off by the Orlando Police. Sean and Kevin let off a couple of rounds at Gargotron. The big robot charged them again. Kevin discarded the Touring Rifle and bent down.
Gargotron crashed into Kevin. The Blue Ranger held his ground, his boots screeching. Gargotron threw his arms off and batted him away. Aaron (Mandla) kicked Gargotron. Gargotron blocked and punched back. Aaron ducked and gave him an upper cut.
The Rangers had Gargotron surrounded. Remembering the last fight, Maria grabbed her daggers. She stabbed at Gargotron. But Gargotron batted her hand away. She stabbed him again. But he shoved her backwards.
The robot knocked Aaron to the ground just as Hitomi leaped up. She kicked at Gargotron's head. But he ducked and she landed awkwardly. Sean and Kevin swung their GT Sword and Grand Prix Swords at Gargotron. Gargotron parried both strikes.
Sean unleashed a fury of aggressive strikes at Gargotron. It was hard to see just what was going on. But Gargotron was blocking and parrying every one of them. "I know all of your tricks!" he said. "You can't fool me!"
"I knew that!" said Aaron.
Maria tried to stab Gargotron in the back, but the robot spun his torso around and knocked her into one of the buildings. Gargotron advanced on her, but Aaron got in the way, punching the robot right in the chest. "Are you stupid?" Gargotron asked.
"It was worth the try," Aaron said before getting swatted into the street.
Hitomi pressed on her belt buckle and her Am Staff appeared. "What is this?" Gargotron asked.
"My name is Hitomi Miyazawa, descendent of one of the greatest Samurai of the Japanese feudal era," she said. "I am the Pink Ranger. I am your opponent and I will defeat you!"
"What is she doing?" Sean asked.
"She thinks she's a load," said Maria.
"Hitomi, stop!" said Sean.
But she didn't listen. Instead, she charged Gargotron, shouting at the top of her lungs. She jumped, prepared to swing, and—
… Was knocked to the side.
"Chica!" Maria shouted as she ran over to Hitomi. The guys regrouped and went back to fighting Gargotron. "Hitomi, Hitomi!" She shook the Pink Ranger as frantically as she could. The guys ran over and gathered around Hitomi just as she was waking up.
"What's going on?" she asked. She couldn't see her face, but Maria was nearly crying. She wrapped the Pink Ranger in a tight hug. Hitomi couldn't help but feel a warm feeling in her chest.
"Hitomi, you're not a load," said Sean. "You're a valued member of the team, we can't fight without you, and you're the nicest one here. I wish I could go on longer and make this more heart-felt, but we have bigger things to worry about."
"How touching!" said Gargotron. "But I'm done playing games. Time to—Huh?"
Orlando's Finest had begun to put up a fight, letting of some rounds of pistol and shotgun fire. But it didn't matter. Gargotron held up his arm and fired a missile that blew up several squad cars.
"Ow," said Hitomi.
"Chica, what hurts?" Maria asked while the guys let off some blaster fire.
"Everything," she groaned.
"Does anything feel broken?" Maria asked.
"My HUD says nothing's broken," she said. Maria sighed in relief.
"Please don't be an idiot like that," said Maria.
"But I want to be strong—"
"Do we have to go over this?" Maria asked. "You have a fighting style, stick to it! Or, try to get better during off-time."
"I'll try that," said Hitomi.
"Hitomi, stand up, we've got trouble!" Sean said as Gargotron rushed the Rangers. "SCATTER! !"
They scattered just in time. The big robot missed them and they regrouped around Hitomi. But Sean wasn't happy about it. "I really don't like this. Now she is becoming a load!" He said.
"I'm sorry," she said as she struggled to stand. I just wanted to prove myself."
"You've proven yourself before," said Sean. "I just hope those confi—AW, FUCK!" Gargotron had fired a missile at them again. The resulting explosion sent them flying in multiple directions. The Orlando Police could only watch helplessly as the Rangers landed in the street.
Hitomi struggled to stand, feeling some excruciating physical pain. Her HUD said she didn't have any major injuries. But that didn't stop the pain. She watched as Gargotron walked around, looking for her fri—is that a boot?
"Gargotron!" said the person in front of Sean. "It's time for you to die!"
"Flashman? Damn!" said Gargotron.
"Choushinsei!"
"FLASHMAN!"
"I did not expect them," said Sean.
"It looks like you need help," said the Red Ranger.
"It'd be better if it wasn't you," said Sean.
"Too bad," said the Red Ranger. "My name is Jon."
"Name's Sean," He stood up, holding his shoulder. "What do you plan to do?"
"Attack," said Jon. "Prism Sword! Fire Thunder!" He leapt and attacked Gargotron, his attack actually hitting.
"Bastard," Sean said as he grabbed his sword.
The Flash Rangers had summoned their weapons and surrounded Gargotron. They had at him, quickly gaining an upper hand. It was the Pink Ranger who actually impressed the GPX Rangers. It was that jumping she did. The craziness of the attacks is what really got them.
"What are we standing around for?" asked Kevin.
"GET 'IM! !" Sean shouted.
Now the GPX Rangers rejoined the fight, much to the Flash Rangers' displeasure. But now, working as a team, they actually started to gain the upper hand. Sean and Jon combined their swordsmanship, Sean with his aggressive style and Jon's skillful. Sean attacked Gargotron, keeping the robot on its feet. Jon thrust like a champion fencer.
Kevin and Bon (Flash Blue) took on Gargotron without their weapons. Kevin tackled Gargotron as Bon flew in, kicking Gargotron in the head. The two actually complemented each other, despite having different fighting styles. But strength and agility can work together and it worked her.
On the other hand, Aaron and Kai (Flash Green) had the same, brutal fighting style. Their sheer brute strength was a lot for Gargotron. While Kai used his prism boxing gloves, Aaron did not. Gargotron threw a hard punch at Aaron. Aaron ducked. Kai retaliated and punched. They stepped back for Maria and Sara.
But the good will (if you could call it that) between GPX and Flash didn't work with Sara and Maria… from Sara's side. Maria was thrusting her daggers at Gargotron. He blocked and dodged the attacks. Sara punched Gargotron and then shoved Maria out of the way. Maria kicked Gargotron in the backside.
On the other hand, Hitomi and Lu were getting along great. Lu's crystal boots provided the damage, while Hitomi spun the Am Staff around and thrust it at Gargotron. Lu jumped in the air and tried to land on Gargotron. Hitomi bound out of the way. Then she thrust the blade at Gargotron. It was blocked, but Lu's boots finished the job.
Gargotron staggered backwards while both Ranger teams regrouped. The two teams wondered what was going to happen next.
"You little bastards," he said. "But you got lucky. I know how you fight now!"
"SHUT UP!" said Sean. "You're outnumbered ten to one! Let's see you beat us now!"
"We cannot be defeated!" said Jon. "We will defeat you and we will send your Zordonian scum back to Zordon!"
"A touching story!" said Gargotron. "But it's not good enough!" He pulled up his arms and opened up several panels in his body.
"Oh crap!" said Sean. "SCAT—"
Ka-BOOM! ! Gargotron fired his missiles before they could do anything. The resulting explosion sent the two Ranger teams flying. Orlando's Finest and citizens could only watch helplessly as the two teams flew through the air, their screams providing a chilling soundtrack
They landed hard.
The sound of their pained groaning and Gargotron's laughter filled the air. The bystanders only watched in shock. They couldn't do anything about it; that helplessness is the worst feeling one can feel.
Hitomi almost felt her spine shatter. Although her suit was telling her there were no major or life-threatening injuries, it felt like every bone in her body was broken. Across from her, Flash Blue was also writhing in pain. "Oi," she said weakly. "Get up!"
"I can't," he said. "So much pain…"
Underneath his helmet, Sean's face was contorted in pain. Just like the others, his helmet was saying he had no major injuries. It was probably about as bad as when Pheados beat the crap out of him; but this time, he wasn't going into some major mental-
"Hold it right there!" All ten Rangers turned to see someone step into the intersection of North Orange and Central Blvd. He was wearing a brown trenchcoat and his face was covered with two white bandanas and a pair of sunglasses.
"Who is he?" asked Jon.
"Never seen 'im before," said Sean.
"Who are you?" Gargotron asked.
"I'm here to beat you!" said the figure.
"Ugh!" said Sean. "Where'd he learn to say that, some dumb comic? HEY! Get out of here, now!"
"You'd better listen to him!" said Gargotron. "I won't be merciful!"
"We shall see," said the figure. Then, he reached into his jacket and pulled something out. It was a phone-like device and one Sean and the GPX Rangers recognized. "GPX, Start It Up!" All eleven watched in shock as a silver light engulfed him.
He was dressed in a silver suit much like the GPX Rangers', albeit with differences. His torso was solid silver with black road stripes going down the arms. His pants were black and instead of the black armbands the GPX Rangers had, he had gold arm and boot bands with a gold belt. The gloves were white and the boots were silver. His chest symbol was a "6" over the typical tire. The other difference were the black shoulder pads.
"What. The. Fuck." Sean said, unable to find anything to say.
"Who are you? !" Gargotron shouted.
"I'm the new Ranger, GPX Silver, Ai-YAAAHHH!"
Back at the Pentagon, the staffers scrambled at the appearance of this new Ranger. "Where did he come from?" asked Captain Granger, Col. Greene's second-in-command. "What about the Silver Morpher?"
"We don't have a lock on him!" said one of the control members.
"What! ?"
"We can't get a lock on the tracking device! We can't even get a DNA sample!"
"Oh my god," Capt. Granger said, coming to the obvious realization. "You sent them an incomplete morpher? And you lost it? Col. Greene's going to have my head!"
"Captain, do we have anything on this guy?" Sean's voice came through the intercom.
"No, we don't!" said Capt. Granger.
"WHAT! ?"
"We sent you an incomplete Silver morpher! We can't get anything on him!"
"And you're telling this to us NOW! ?" Sean screamed. "You didn't even tell us you were sending a new morpher!"
"A new Ranger?" said Kalderon. "Do we have any information on him?" The Swabot shook its head. Kalderon could feel Rashon's eyes glaring at him. Only they weren't; they were staring at the screen in utter shock.
"Bring it!" said Gargotron.
"You got it!" said the Silver Ranger. He pulled out his weapon, a short sword-gun hybrid. "Silver Blaster!" he said as he took a couple of shots at Gargotron. Sparks erupted from the robot. Gargotron opened up his arm missile panel. He fired a shot. The Silver Ranger jumped and dodged. But it exploded near Kevin.
"Watch it!" he shouted.
"Sorry!" the Silver Ranger said as he converted the blaster to a sword. He jumped, tumbling over and engaged Gargotron.
Gargotron threw the first punch. Silver dodged. He swung the Silver Sword. Gargotron blocked it. He tumbled out of the way and slashed at the legs. Gargotron howled. Silver got back up. He slashed at Gargotron again. Gargotron spun around, blocking his strike. He knocked the Ranger's sword out of his hands.
But the Silver Ranger punched him. Gargotron blocked. Then, Silver spun around and tried a reverse roundhouse kick. His form was sloppy, though, and it was easy for the other Rangers to see. Silver punched Gargotron twice. Gargotron blocked. Gargotron countered with a right hook. Silver ducked and tried to sweep kick him. Again, sloppy technique.
"He can't be a Project Ranger member," said Sean. "He's too sloppy."
"But he's got good fundamentals," said Kevin. "You have to give him that.
"I think we should be worrying about something else," said Maria.
Silver grabbed his sword again. Then, he backhanded the Zordonian robot. Gargotron blocked. Silver roundhouse kicked; it was a good kick, well-executed. Gargotron staggered backwards and Silver unleashed a barrage of punches. Gargotron tried to block all of them, but he couldn't
He opened up the panel on his arm and fired a missile. Silver jumped and dodged it just in time. "Time to finish this!" he said. "Electro Strike!" The Silver Sword began to charge up with electricity. Silver swung the sword, striking Gargotron. The electric attack fried many of Gargotron's circuits and he was teleported away.
"That was fast," said Hitomi. But the sound of a roar said something else.
"We're not out of the woods yet," said Sean. He got up and called the Pentagon. "We need the Grand Prix Zords NOW!"
"On their way," said Capt. Granger.
"We'd love to stay and chat," said Sean. "But we've got a Godzilla look-a-like to care of." A Kel Monster, which looked like the aforementioned kaiju but with a horn and hair, stood over downtown Orlando. "LET'S GO!" He and the GPX Rangers jumped into their zords.
"GT Racer!" He said.
"Touring Racer!" said Kevin.
"Mountain Hauler!" said Aaron.
"Haz Runner!" said Maria.
"Am Chaser!" said Hitomi.
Sean pulled out his AcceleKey. "Ready?"
"Ready!" They jammed the keys into the dashboard, turning them and lighting them up.
"Grand Prix Megazord sequence, engage!" Rockets fired some wires and kept the Kel monster restrained in the wooded area at I-4.
The Touring Racer split up and joined with the Mountain Hauler, forming arms. The front of the Mountain Hauler opened up, allowing it to combine with the Haz Runner and Am Chaser. Then, the tailgate of the Mountain Hauler opened and the GT Racer rolled up onto the truck bed to join with the Hauler. Rockets fired and the whole thing stood up. The head was unveiled with its black visor and mouth less mouth plate.
"Grand Prix Megazord, online!" they said.
The Megazord made a 'bring it' gesture to the Godzilla rip-off. It charged the megazord and it countered with a right straight. The Megazord kicked the monster and it staggered backwards.
It was then the Flash King joined the fray. It socked the Kel monster right in the jaw. It retaliated, but Flash King blocked it. The Grand Prix Megazord shoved Flash King to the side and knocked the Kel monster down. So much for teamwork.
"Time to finish this!" said Sean, not wanting to keep things going. "Grand Prix Megazord Saber!" The sword materialized in its hands. The Flash King also produced its own sword. "Turbo jets!"
"Super Cosmo Flash!" The Flash Rangers shouted as the Flash King jumped, spun and struck the Kel monster. Then, the Grand Prix Megazord launched itself at the Kel monster and delivered the killing blow. The monster erupted into sparks and fell to the ground in a massive explosion.
:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:
"Who the hell was that?" Sean asked as the Rangers got back to their house. "Was it Rich Boy?"
"That was not Daisuke," said Hitomi. "He does not talk like that and he is not a sloppy fighter."
"Chica's right," said Maria. "If it was him, he would have been beaten, too."
"Good point," said Kevin. "But how did he get his hands on that morpher?"
"Captain Granger said they sent us a new, incomplete morpher," said Sean. "First time I heard of it."
"I'm just glad we beat the Kel monster and survived," said Aaron.
"But that Silver guy is going to be trouble," said Sean. "By the way, Hitomi, are you okay?"
"I am okay," she said.
"Please don't worry us like that again," he said. "If you think you're a load, you should try and make yourself better. Or stop thinking you're one."
"You're bad at heartfelt speeches, aren't you?" asked Maria.
"This Silver guy has got my attention," said Sean. "We need to find out who he is."
"One thing's for sure, he's not a Project Ranger candidate," said Kevin. "But there's more like him than us."
"And that makes things harder," said Sean.
:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:
"I GET BACK FROM CONGRESS TO LEARN YOU SENT THEM AN INCOMPLETE MORPHER AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL THEM! ?" the sound of Col. Greene's angry voice came from behind one of the doors. A sergeant stood outside, feeling sorry for the people inside being blasted by their commanding officer. "WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH YOU! ?"
"What's wrong with him?" another voice asked right next to him.
"Some members of Pro—I'm sorry, I can't say anything to non-personnel," he said.
"Don't worry," said the figure. "I'm here to see Col. Greene."
"GET OUT! ! !" the officers and NCOs rushed out and the figure slipped inside. Col. Greene was sitting at his desk with his hands on his head.
"Have troubles?" the figure asked. Col. Greene looked up.
"Tom Maelstrom," he said. "How long has it been?"
"Too long," said the Samuel L. Jackson look-a-like. "West Point?"
"I guess so," said Col. Greene.
"I heard about your little incident," Maelstrom said as he sat down at Col. Greene's desk.
"They're dedicated, but they can be so frustrating," said Col. Greene. "And the Senate called me in. Senator Evergreen seems to hate me."
"I saw that," said Maelstrom. "That's why I'm here."
"What do you want?" Col. Greene asked.
"I'm here on behalf of S.W.O.R.D.," said Fury. "I'd like to discuss a joint resolution." Col. Greene stayed silent, a look of thought on his face. He stayed like that for a few moments before leaning forward.
"I'm listening."
:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:
End chapter