Jordan arrived in the lobby of the police station, making his way to the desk. The sergeant there looked up at him as he arrived.
"I'm Jordan Edwards." He announced, looking a little agitated. It was absolutely dreadful timing that they called him now of all times. They'd had well over a week to analyse his home for clues, and yet they only called him just as he was finally getting a chance to get into action. He had been aching for this ever since he had seen his father lying on the floor, bleeding to death before his eyes. He didn't need the police; he didn't even need the other Rangers. He already knew what he needed. He just needed to end this war, to get his hands on Metal Alice, and tear her apart piece by piece. He didn't care who he needed to go through to do it, after all, by now the only thing that mattered was ending the war before anyone else had to die, and the best way to do that...to annihilate everyone and everything that stood before them. Only when there were no more aliens or robots or mutants or...whatever, that was when the Earth would truly be safe. This was just a distraction he could do without. "I'm here to see Detective Barnes."
"Certainly, come right this way, she's waiting for you." He told Jordan. Just then, his morpher bleeped to alert him to the danger. He already knew about the battle, but there wasn't really much he could do about it. "Sorry, there are no cell phones back here. I'm going to have to take that."
Jordan reluctantly turned off his Robo Morpher, handing it over. The officer furrowed his brows as he saw it.
"Weird cell phone." He commented. "Kind of big isn't it?"
"Yeah, but you know...I like it." Jordan replied, turning off his cell phone and handing it over too. The officer just looked to him, holding up the second phone.
"Lots of people have more than one phone." He reminded him. The desk sergeant just shrugged, putting both phones in a plastic bag and placing them behind the desk, before pulling out a ledger, taking down the number from the bag. He presented it to Jordan.
"Just sign here to say we took them." He stated, pointing to the ledger. "You'll get them back when you leave; it just keeps us covered and proves you got them back."
Jordan just sighed and signed them in. He didn't want to give up his morpher, he just wanted to get this over with so he could go and destroy whatever Vrak had sent after them this time and be done with it. Returning the ledger, the desk sergeant gestured Jordan to follow him.
"Alright, it's just this way." He stated, leading Jordan down the hall. Jordan followed, finding himself in an office behind the main reception area.
"Detective Barnes, Jordan Edwards is here." He announced. A detective got up from her desk, making her way towards Jordan, inspecting him thoughtfully. She was a little shorter than him, with a light build. She seemed quite pale, with long, blonde hair tied back into a ponytail, and light blue eyes. She was wearing a t-shirt, with a Maine logo across the chest, and tight blue denims. On her hip, she had a holster, keeping her automatic pistol.
"Jordan, you're a bit sooner than I expected." She told him. "Did you bring...?"
"I didn't have a chance to stop at home." He told her. She looked to the desk sergeant.
"Can you call child services and ask them to send a social worker?" She asked. As the desk sergeant left, Jordan just looked to her.
"Why do you need...?"
"It's just procedure." She assured him. "There's some stuff I need to go over with you. We think we may have some leads, but we'll need your help. Would you like a soda or something while you wait?"
"I'll be good thanks." Jordan answered. She pulled out a chair and offered it to him.
"Well, it shouldn't be long until the social worker gets here." She told him. "Make yourself comfortable. I just have a few things to check on."
As she left, Jordan just sat, staring out the window, hoping that whatever they wanted him for, they would let him go soon. There were better things he could be doing. He would get justice much more quickly and efficiently than the police ever could. He looked down to his fist, and his armour encased it as he thought about the battle going on without him. The sooner everyone left him alone to do what needed to be done, the better.
Back at the Warehouse district, the Rangers were being sent sprawling this way and that with every attack. Rotox was obviously a strong opponent, easily as strong as any foe they had ever faced. What made him all the more dangerous though was the fact that as a machine, there was no let up in his attacks. Every blow was just as hard as the one that came before it.
It wasn't as though they weren't dangerous, but generally the Warstar and the Mutants could be relied upon to space out their attacks, and for their attacks and even their defences to get weaker as time went on. Regardless of their different physiology, the fact was under all the bizarre powers and exotic weaponry, their opponents up until now had all been flesh and blood. They got tired, they got sloppy, they made bad choices...Rotox had none of those difficulties.
As Emma landed in some junk, having taken another assault from Rotox's shield. Noah pulled her into cover, just before an energy blast scorched the ground right where she had been lying.
"Thanks, that was close." Emma told him, feeling the strain of the battle. Their suits had taken a pounding, and so their power levels were already depleted. They had also been softened up quite a bit from all the attacks. "He doesn't let up with that shield; he's like a demented Captain America! Doesn't he ever stop?"
"He's a robot Emma, he doesn't get tired." Noah reminded her. "Presuming his power cell doesn't run out, every attack will be just as powerful and he can attack all day without stopping."
"Well, doesn't he need to stop and think or something?" She asked.
"His brain's a computer." Noah reminded her. "It can process information a lot faster than humans. Presuming he's got the right tactical software, he can think of hundreds of strategies in seconds."
"Great, that's just perfect!" Gia stated as she ducked down behind some girders, narrowly avoiding being beheaded by another shield throw attack. "At least tell us we can injure..."
"No pain receptors." Noah interrupted her. "That's why he doesn't back off when he gets hit. Unless we cause disabling damage, you know...enough harm to completely stop something working, all the damage we do will be purely cosmetic."
"Sometimes I hate how smart you are." Emma Jake grumbled as he was thrown into the wall, his Snake Axe clattering to the floor a little way from him. "What about the good news?"
"He isn't alive, so there's no ethical quandary about destroying him like there was with the mutants." Noah pointed out. "He wasn't coerced into this against his will because...he doesn't have any will. He isn't a victim, just a fancy weapon, and he doesn't suffer no matter what we do, so that pretty much rules out any options of making him submit or appealing to his sense of self-preservation."
"And that helps us...how?" Gia asked him.
"It means we don't have to treat him with kid gloves." Troy announced. "It's like Noah said, he won't quit unless he's told to. The only way to defeat him is to destroy him, so we throw out the usual play book. Ignore any thoughts of reasoning with him and go straight for taking him out."
"Alright, let's rush him, all at once!" Jake suggested. "If we go from different sides, one of us should be able to get him."
With the lack of a better plan, the Rangers all left their hiding spots, running towards him. Unfortunately, unlike their other opponents, it seemed that Rotox didn't have to see opponents in front of him to know where they were. Cannons on his body launched chains which wrapped around each of the Rangers, binding them tightly.
"Did you really think that would work?" He taunted them. "Magna Beam!"
With that, the Rangers all found themselves flying outside. Troy struggled against his bonds, but they were held in place too tightly.
"Guys, is everyone still in the fight?" He asked. Unfortunately, Rotox was the first thing he saw. He stomped on Troy's chest, knocking the wind out him. He could tell that it was only the suit that stopped him shattering his ribcage.
"Concern for your friends? Another human weakness!" He called out.
"Troy!" Jake screamed as he struggled to get free. Gia managed to summon her Tiger Claw.
"Jake, hold still." She told him. She didn't get much power behind it because her arms were bound; stopping her getting a full swing, but she managed to cut the chains just enough that Jake could power out of them with all his strength. He ran up, snatching up his Snake Axe as Rotox held Troy up with one arm, staring straight at him. With a huge yell, he brought his Snake Axe down across the elbow joint, completely severing the lower half of Rotox's right arm, letting Troy fall to his feet. Troy immediately leapt straight up, slamming both feet straight into Rotox's...well...what could loosely be called his chest given his body shape, landing on his back as Rotox was shoved back. Jake just watched as Rotox looked to the stump of his right arm, before turning back to the fight, giving it no more thought than he gave most of the bruises he suffered.
"Jake!" Gia called out as she joined him, swinging her Tiger Claw. Jake snapped back into the fight, joining her in battling Rotox, only to find that again his shield blunted all of their attacks. He swiped back at them with the shield, sending them flying. They took advantage though, using the distance to buy them time to release Emma and Noah.
Troy bought them all the time he could with a series of kicks. He used Rotox's physical build against him, seeing he no longer had a right arm below the elbow. His body stopped him swinging the left arm too far to the right, so he concentrated his attacks there. By the time Rotox had devised a plan to get rid of Troy by slamming into him in a shoulder-charge of sorts, the others were already by his side, Jake cutting him free.
"That was a sound strategy, but you will not get so lucky again!" Rotox warned him. "I've already anticipated..."
"You know, Noah's one thing, you really are relentless." Jake commented. "Do you ever shut up? Or do you just keep going and going like the Energiser Bunny?"
"Alright, let's send his tin butt to the recycling bin." Emma announced. "Ultra Mode!"
As they all powered up into Ultra Mode, Rotox immediately performed another scan. Their power level increased dramatically, so much so that he could tell that the battle from here would be pointless, even at his maximum power output. With no orders to retreat though, he could only observe his original programme and keep fighting for as long as he was capable.
"You're an impressive machine." Noah complimented him, slashing at him with his Ultra Sword. "Too bad I have to turn you into scrap metal."
Jake quickly took over, each blow shredding off more and more of Rotox's body. His display screen started flickering, as it warned him of his imminent destruction. He flailed around; trying to hit Jake with his one remaining arm, but it was quickly sliced off.
"You picked the wrong planet to mess with!" Gia told him as she and Emma rushed towards him. He launched more chains, but this time they were ready for him, smashing them aside as they rushed in, slicing off his legs. Rotox fell to the ground, and onto his side.
"Alright guys, just because he can't hurt us anymore doesn't mean he can't hurt anyone else." Troy reminded them. "We need to be sure those guns are silenced for good!"
"Ultra Gosei Dynamic!" They all called out together as they assembled, placing their Gold Hedders into their Ultra Swords. Rotox could do nothing as he saw the blast coming towards him. In a massive explosion, he was obliterated, leaving the Rangers victorious against their first robotic opponent.
"So much for being indestructible." Jake said breathlessly as they de-morphed, resting his hands on his knees as he hunched over.
"Yeah, but he was definitely tough." Noah reminded him.
"I think that's a taste of things to come." Troy told them. "OK, Quinn and Allison are waiting for us at the Brainfreeze."
"Besides, I think we deserve some fro-yo after that." Emma commented. "That was definitely something else."
"Well, maybe we should take some of this stuff to the Command Centre." Noah suggested, picking up Rotox's left arm. "I mean, maybe analysing this tech..."
Before he could finish though, the piece disappeared from his hand. Looking around, all the other pieces of Rotox disappeared too. Jake just looked to him.
"Uh...what was that?" He asked. "Why would they want pieces of a busted up robot?"
"If I was to hazard a guess, to repair him." Noah answered. "One more advantage of machines is that if they're damaged, they can be repaired. They don't just die like monsters."
"You know...I really should know better than to ask you questions." Jake sighed. "I never like the answer."
"Come on guys." Troy stated. "We don't want to leave the girls waiting too long and come up with another lie."
"Yeah, it's already bad enough we have to build a Thanksgiving float!" Jake grumbled as he and Emma glared at Noah. He just threw up his hands.
"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" He asked them.
"I can think of a better idea." Gia told him with a smile. "You pay for the sundaes."
Noah just nodded his head as they left, knowing that this was one battle he would never win.
Meanwhile, over at the police station, Jordan was with Detective Barnes in an interview room, looking at an assortment of paperwork spread out on the desk. There were documents, layouts of the room, photographs of the scene...those were the hardest to look at. Seeing what had, until that night, been his home for most of the year, covered in his father's blood was bringing back all his memories of that night.
Jordan was trying hard to keep up with what was going on, almost completely tuning out Detective Barnes. He knew he had to keep up with the story the police had, and needed to concentrate on making sure he didn't slip up.
"Mr Edwards." She stated, bringing his attention back to her. He just stared at her blankly.
"What?" He asked her.
"The weapon your father's attackers used?" She asked. "The lab work came up with some very strange results from their analysis. According to their work, the blade was a high grade titanium steel. That's a pretty exotic weapon."
"I guess so." Jordan replied with a shrug.
"Mr Edwards, we have a mock up of the dimensions of the blade based on the wound to your father and to yourself." She informed him, showing him a sketch. It was a narrow blade, and quite thin, but long with it. He could only think about Metal Alice's sword, remembering how in their first battle it had penetrated his armour, something no other weapon had managed to do. Her strength was incredible, and it seemed her technology matched that. He didn't doubt it. The only thing he knew for sure was that she had made one major mistake. She had declared a personal war on him. That was a mistake that he would make sure would be her last. "Does this trigger your memory at all? Do you remember any details...?"
"If I remembered anything, don't you think I'd tell you?" Jordan asked her. "I got there, found my dad being attacked, struggled with the attacker, and then they ran. That's it."
"OK." She answered, sliding the picture away. "There's something else interesting we found. General Edward's blood type..."
"Yeah, he wasn't my father." Jordan interrupted her. "I found out about that at the hospital. They told me I couldn't give him the blood he needed."
"That must have been terrible, I can't imagine how that must feel." She said to him. "You only found out that your dad wasn't your dad at the one time he needed you to save him...that..."
"Yeah, it sucked!" Jordan snapped at her. "Is there anything else?"
"I think that should be all for now." She told him. "You can sign your stuff out from the desk sergeant on your way out."
Jordan just sighed and turned, heading out, past the social worker who was acting as his appropriate adult.
"Oh, and Mr Edwards?" She called after him. "You're still staying with the Burrows' aren't you? Your number's still good?"
"Yeah." He answered.
"Good. We might need to contact you again." She replied. "Just...let us know if you're planning on leaving town."
"Am I a suspect?" Jordan asked her, feeling his temper flaring up. He started to approach her, but she just stood her ground.
"It's just procedure. We like to keep track of our witnesses." She told him. "Have a good day Mr Edwards."
As Jordan left, he could tell that she wasn't telling him the truth, but there wasn't much he could do about that. It wasn't like he could tell anyone the truth about what really happened, and that meant he had to accept the fact that right now, he doubted she was the only one who might think that way. Signing for his phone and his morpher, he stormed out of the police station, slamming the door shut on his way out.