Sarah, Calvin and Hayley were all heading out of the school, hoping that all they would need is a day at home to get over whatever was making them ill.
They felt sluggish, and lacked energy. It was just as well Calvin had managed to park Nitro close to the school. None of them felt much like walking home like this. As thoughts of a nice warm bed were starting to sound appealing to Sarah, he looked around at people who were running around, screaming, panicking.
"Great." She thought. "That's all we need, an attack now."
However, as someone brushed past her, she noticed something incredibly odd. As he hit her, nudging her on his way past, by the time she reacted, he was already at the end of the street! Sure, it was no surprise people started moving pretty quickly when they thought they were under threat, but moving that quickly would put Barry Allen to shame!
She looked around and saw people running, and they were all moving so quickly it was all a blur.
"How is everyone moving so fast?" She asked. Hayley and Calvin turned towards her, looking at her.
"I can barely see them." Calvin agreed.
"Hey, watch it!" Hayley called out as she got bumped by another kid running away. However, by the time she had even said it, the kid had disappeared. Calvin checked his watch and looked to the girls, showing it to them.
"Guys...it's taken us almost fifteen minutes to walk from the school door to the gate." He told them. The pieces started to finally fall into place. The distance from the school to the gate was only a couple of dozen feet, even at a leisurely pace and not concentrating on the task at hand, it should only take them about a minute or two. Looking around, Hayley noticed that everyone else was blurring around them and realised what was going on.
"Guys, they've not sped up, we've been slowed down." Hayley surmised.
"The mist!" Sarah stated. "It must have been that mist the big turtle sprayed us with!"
"Hello Rangers!" Slowgre called out, appearing almost exactly on cue. Sarah knew they were in trouble, even Slowgre, who wasn't the fastest of creatures to begin with, by their perception seemed to be sped up to the point that his voice now sounded like one of the characters from Alvin and the Chipmunks. "Feeling a little sluggish?"
They decided not to answer, not with words anyway. They all immediately went for their power stars. They watched as Slowgre crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently waiting for them.
"Oh...are we doing this sometime today?" He taunted them, before rushing over so quickly they could hardly see him. He was now right in all their faces, and before they knew what had happened, he had just plucked the Power Stars out of their grip without a care in the world.
Inside the school, the teachers were locking the place down, all because of reports of a panther in the hallways. The school nurse was just about to bar her door when Preston and Brody arrived, carrying an unconscious Monty.
"What are you two still doing here?" She asked, ushering them in quickly. "Do you want to end up as an entree for a panther?"
"We...um...found Monty lying in the hall." Brody told her. "We didn't want to leave him there. You know...with the panther and everything."
"Bring him to the table." She told them, before starting to examine him. "He appears to be fine, there's no signs of external injury...I'd say he probably fainted when he heard about the panther."
"Oh, he did more than hear about it." Brody said. Preston just looked guilty. He still couldn't understand why his spell hadn't worked. He had asked specifically for a kitten, which was about as far in the feline community from a full-grown adult panther as you could get as far as he was concerned. Why had he been able to conjure a dragon, which as far as he was concerned should have been infinitely more difficult, then failed to conjure a kitten.
"He'll be fine, once he wakes up...and gets a change of underwear." The nurse told them. "But you two, as brave as that was, you shouldn't ignore an instruction to evacuate. You have no idea where that panther is now; you could have ended up on the menu too!"
Brody and Preston both just nodded, even though they both knew that the panther was now gone, having been taken back into the hat. The school corridors now were as safe as they ever were...safer even now there were no students there acting out.
"Now, take a seat and make yourselves comfortable." She told them. "Animal Control should be here soon, and once they tell us the school is all clear, you should be fine to leave."
Just then, Brody's Ninja-Comm sounded. He answered it, seeing Hayley's face in the display.
"Hayley, she's in trouble!" Preston rushed out. "And...why is she talking so slowly?"
"We need to go..."
"NOT so fast!" The nurse called out, barring their way. "Do you think that after having this job for 23 years without losing a single student that I'm going to lose my first one by letting them go out and get eaten by a panther?"
"But we need to..."
"I'm not going to hear another word about it!" She snapped. "You will go as soon as a nice gentleman with a dart gun tells me that thing is safely asleep and in the back of a locked van and no sooner!"
Just then, they heard a knock on the door. Preston and Brody were wondering if this could be the most opportune timing in history and this would be someone from Animal Control to confirm there wasn't a panther. As they opened the door though, it was Mick on the other side.
"What the hell are you doing man? Get in here right now!" She demanded, dragging Mick inside. "Don't you know how dangerous it is out there? Wait...who are you again?"
"Hi, I'm Mick." He responded, waving enthusiastically. "Oh, I just came to tell you that it's completely safe to go out."
"Have Animal Control..."
"No, Animal Control hasn't even arrived yet." Mick told her.
"Then the panther..."
"Oh, there's no panther, there never was." Mick told her, tossing Preston his top hat. "You dropped this by the way."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" The nurse asked him. "People saw a panther! There's footage on the school security cameras...kids are posting images online..."
"Hmm...yes, tell me...how exactly did the panther get INTO the school again?" Mick asked.
"Well, I..." Preston started to say. "It...came out of my hat."
"I see." Mick answered. "Well, the hat wasn't the only thing I found near your magic show. I also found this."
He pulled out a device that looked a lot like a torch, showing it to them, just as Monty was starting to stir and wake up. As Mick clicked the button, a panther appeared in the corner of the room. Monty just let out a high-pitched scream and fainted again, this time falling off the table. Preston and Brody just stared at Mick as he turned it off and the panther disappeared.
"I'm guessing...this was a part of your act?" Mick suggested, raising his eyebrows to let Preston know this was when he was meant to jump in and confirm this part of the story. He started nodding furiously.
"I've never heard of something so reckless in all my years!" The nurse stated, wrenching the hologram projector from Preston's hand and glaring at him, waving it in his face. "Do you not see what your little prank has done? You've caused an emergency evacuation of the whole school! Animal Control are on the way thinking some 500 pound killing machine is stalking the halls of this school only to find out it was some teenager's idea of a joke!"
"B...b...but...I didn't mean..."
"Don't think for one minute the Principal won't hear about this!" She snapped, putting the projector away. "If I were you, I'd be keeping my calendar after school clear for the foreseeable future!"
"He's very sorry, I'm sure he is." Brody said, dragging Preston from the room. "Um...now...we REALLY have to go! See you around!"
As they ran off, Mick just pointed to Monty lying on the floor.
"Should we...um...?"
"Oh, just leave him." She muttered. "That kid's in my office more than the rest of the student body combined. He'll be fine in about twenty minutes."
Preston and Brody arrived pretty quickly, considering the fact that thanks to Slowgre's mist the others had only made it as far as the school gates. As they ran into view, Hayley, Preston and Sarah were only just starting to react to realising their Power Stars had been taken.
"Hold it right there Slowgre." Brody warned him. "You have something that belongs to us!"
"You know that possession is nine tenths of the law right?" He chuckled.
"Hand over the Power Stars, now!" Preston demanded. Slowgre didn't look impressed in the slightest.
"Funny, that's exactly what I was about to say!" He answered. Brody saw the hoses attached to Slowgre's arms and remembered the mist that he had sprayed his friends with. He was painfully aware of the fact that was probably why they were moving as quickly as a tax man on a refund. He tried to think of ways to take the risk of the mist out of the equation.
"Preston, use your magic." Brody told him. "Target those hoses."
"What?" Preston asked, starting to panic. "It's not working right! You saw what happened..."
"Just try it!" Brody called out as he saw Slowgre aiming their way. Preston reached into his hat, pulling out some flags. "Observe! An ordinary scarf! Just...an ordinary scarf.
Slowgre stopped in his tracks, just looking completely puzzled.
"What's that going to...?"
"Until I do THIS!" Preston called out, throwing the string of scarves at him. They wrapped around the monster, binding him in place, and more importantly, crushing the hoses, preventing him from releasing any more mist. Preston held onto the other end, straining against Slowgre as he tried to break free.
"Nice one Preston!" Brody called out as he ran over to Slowgre, snatching the Power Stars from him. "Those don't belong to you! I'll be taking those back I think!"
"Hey, I stole them fair and square!" Slowgre protested.
"Preston, just hold him a little longer!" Brody told him as he morphed. "Ninja Steel Slash, Final STRIKE!"
With that, he sliced through Slowgre, destroying him. He turned to the nearest Buzz-Cam and struck a pose.
"This time, slow and steady DIDN'T win the race!" He stated. "Show's over, Ninjas WIN!"
"Guys...I think I'm speeding back up!" Calvin said as the spell started to dissipate. Sarah smiled as they all started to return to normal.
"Good thing too, I'd like to get home before it's time to retire." She responded as Preston and Brody came into view. "Guys, you did it! You destroyed Slowgre and broke the spell!"
"We did...but...I don't get it." Preston stated. "My magic worked fine there, when I was fighting Slowgre, but...it all went wrong in the school!"
"Pres...you only just got your magic. Maybe you just need to practice with it a little." Calvin suggested. The first time I took apart a carburettor it took me three weeks to figure out how to put it back together. Now I can do it in about half an hour."
"But I did practice! I was fine when I stopped that drink!" Preston continued.
A drink you then let hit me; I'm still pissed at that by the way!" Calvin reminded him.
"Um...maybe we should discuss this later?" Sarah suggested. "Like...once we're sure..."
A beam hit the ground where Slowgre had fallen.
"You know...that isn't going to happen." Sarah continued.
"Alright guys, let's call the Zords." Brody said, slamming his Zord star into place. "Ninja Zords, out of the shadows!"
Meanwhile, up on the ship, Wrench was overseeing the broadcast, watching as Slowgre was grown and given a second chance.
"Why do they always use spells that end when they're destroyed?" Wrench said dismissively. "If it were up to me, I'd use something like a bomb that was completely unconnected to the monster. Let the Rangers think the threats gone and boom! Job done!"
As he was directing the interns to ensure they got the best shots, he noticed Madame Odious acting a little strangely, looking around like she was making sure that no one was watching, before disappearing around a corner.
Wrench followed her, but by the time he got there, she was already gone. It was like she had vanished into thin air! All he could see was a full-size poster of Galvanax on one of the walls, but other than that, the whole corridor was completely empty.
"What are you up to?" Wrench asked himself. Just then, an intern came out.
"Excuse me, Mr Wrench?" He asked. "We're having a little trouble on Buzz-Cam four."
"I swear, I wish you were getting paid so I could dock you!" Wrench said as he stormed back into the control room to help.
Back at the site of the battle, Slowgre raised an arm as he avoided a blow from the Megazord's sword.
"How about some MIST-ery?" He asked as he started to spray them.
"Dragon shield!" Preston called out has he pulled their shield in the way. "We can't afford to let him get us with that mist! If he does, we'll be sitting ducks!"
"So, you countered my mist huh?" He asked. "Never mind, I have more up my shell!"
Jets came out the bottom of his shell, and Slowgre blasted off into the air.
"Since when can turtles fly?" Calvin asked.
"He's too high up!" Sarah complained as they jumped into the air, swinging their sword around harmlessly beneath him. "We can't reach!"
"Yeah, and only Preston's Zord has wings!" Hayley commented.
"Wait, I think I have an idea." Preston stated. "Brody, move over a second!"
"Um...OK!" Brody said, giving up the middle podium. Preston took his place.
"Megazord Dragon Formation!" Preston called out. The Robo Red Zord detatched and took the place of the Dragon Zord as the Megazord's left arm. The Dragon Zord's body and head took the Robo Red Zord's place in the centre, while its wings and the sword became wings and a tail on the Zord. It let out a roar as he completed the transformation. "Wow, it worked!"
"Nicely done Magic Boy!" Sarah congratulated him. "Now let's see if those wings are just for show!"
The Megazord leapt into the air and took flight, allowing it to catch up to Slowgre. Preston raked past him a couple of times, lashing out with claw attack. One of them ripped the jets off his shell, bringing Slowgre down to the ground.
"Alright Preston, this is your show. You finish it!" Brody told him, throwing Preston the Ninja Master Blade. Preston smiled as he snatched it out of the air.
"Oh man, I have just been DYING to get a chance to use this thing!" He called out. "Ninja Master Blade, Power up!"
He pulled the rip cord, powering up the saw blades, before taking the weapon in both hands, lifting it overhead.
"Dragon Lightning, Final STRIKE!" They all called out, unleashing a lightning breath attack that hit Slowgre dead on. In a massive explosion, the creature was finally destroyed.
"Go ahead Preston, you earned it." Brody told him.
"Show's over, Ninjas WIN!" He called out.
Later in the day, by the time Sarah got back to her house, news had already broken about the hoax of the panther on the loose at Summer Cove High. When she came in the door, she was almost taken completely off her feet as her mom and dad immediately grabbed her and hugged her tightly.
"Whoa, um...easy there, I'm fine, really." Sarah assured them. "It was all just a massive misunderstanding I assure you."
"Sarah, sweetheart you must have been terrified!" Her mom said sympathetically.
"Yeah, well...it was all just a hoax so..."
"I have a good mind to call Mr Tien and give him a piece of my mind about that boy of his!" Sarah's mom snapped angrily.
"Um...try to remember he IS my boss!" Sarah's dad reminded her.
"I don't care if he's the Prince of Zandar!" She yelled at him. "I don't care if that boy thinks he's Paul Daniels or not, what was he thinking making people think he had really brought a live panther into a school!"
"Mom, it was just a trick, it was a hologram, there was never any real danger!" Sarah said, parroting the story that Mick had given them to try and cover for Preston. There wasn't much they could do to get him out of trouble, that ship had already sailed; he was due in the Principal's office before school the following morning. However, what they could do was avoid people asking too many questions how he had managed to smuggle a panther into a school, never mind fit it inside a standard top hat! "Preston's tricks can go...a little awry, but he never puts anyone other than himself in any danger."
"Well, just don't go volunteering to let him saw you in half or anything." She grumbled.
"OK, um...I'm just going to make a quick call before dinner." She told them. "Can you excuse me?"
As she ran upstairs, her dad just looked to her mom.
"Claire, I'm being serious, PLEASE don't call my boss to tell him off about his son." He begged her. Mrs Thompson just rolled her eyes as they both headed back to the kitchen.
Up in her room, Sarah got out her laptop and set it up, opening up a skype link. She was happy to see Kendall was available to talk.
"Hey there Dr Morgan, how are things over in Amber Beach?"
"Oh, they're starting to steady out now, the museum is back in order. Now we don't have the lab downstairs we've managed to turn the caves into a recreation of Koda's cave back in Alaska." She told her.
"Really? That sounds amazing!" Sarah told her. "Please tell me you have pictures!"
"Not yet, but I should be sending you something soon." Kendall told her. "But nothing as exciting as a panther roaming your school I'd imagine."
"You...you heard about that?" Sarah asked.
"Sarah, you were pretty much a danger magnet BEFORE you became a Ranger, of course I'm keeping an eye on you." Kendall assured her. "I'm guessing that was one of your guys?"
"Preston just discovered he can do real magic now thanks to the Ninja Steel." Sarah told her. "I think after this though, it'll be a while before he's taking any chances on it."
"Well that's good to hear." Kendall told her. "We have that 'no powers for personal gain' rule for a reason."
"Yeah, I figured as much." Sarah answered. "Well, we were hit by our first spell today."
"What happened?" Kendall asked.
"We were made slow, like...REALLY slow!" Sarah told her. "The monster managed to just walk up and take our Power Stars! Thankfully Preston was able to free us from the spell."
"Spells are definitely the worst. You're talking to a woman who was once shrunk to the size of a Barbie doll! Riley still has pictures of me in that wedding dress!" Kendall told her. "Oh, speaking of weddings, I have some great news! Margaret got the all clear from her oncologist! She's finally off the chemotherapy!"
"That's amazing news!" Sarah squealed in delight. "It's great that she's over that before the wedding!"
"Oh, you better believe she's stoked." Kendall told her. "And...she might not be the only one walking up the aisle soon."
"You're...you're kidding!" Sarah screamed. "Congratulations!"
"Yeah, I'm pretty happy about it." Kendall said with a smile. "It won't be for a while or anything, but Matt asked and I just...couldn't say no."
"Dr Kendall Griffin..."
"Oh no, I'm keeping my last name." Kendall told her. "Matt didn't get a PhD did he? Why should he get his surname attached to my PhD?"
"Well, whatever makes you happy." Sarah answered. "So, how are the plans going for the Royal Wedding?"