A/N: Before I go further, I just wanted to address a point that was made about my last chapter by a reader. I mistakenly referred to Professor Cog's henchmen as "Cogs", which a reader pointed out were the footsoldiers of the Machine Empire, not Venjix. The correct term is "Grinders." As I have said before, I don't mind if someone points out a genuine mistake with my writing. Having watched the show since the beginning, and getting older, I will admit that sometimes my memory isn't what it was, and I can get mixed up on some details on occasion. As such, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the reader for bringing this to my attention. So special thanks to Earthbird for pointing out the slight failing in my memory on that count.
Professor Cog and his army of Grinders marched on Harwood, coming to the edge of the city. The freeway was already clearing as people abandoned their cars to run. Harwood, by now, was intimately familiar with monster attacks, and so the citizens knew what was likely to come. Grinders laid down a hail of fire, wrecking vehicles as Professor Cog overturned a van that was blocking his path.
"Now this...this is more like it!" He said, a note of delight in his voice. "This city is rich with energy and building materials!"
He looked around, seeing a billboard hanging over the freeway, depicting the Corsair Rangers, bearing the message "Earth Fights Back". As the home of the Corsair Rangers, Harwood had become the unofficial capital of the resistance to The Armada's rule. Professor Cog levelled his weapon, blasting it into smithereens and laughed.
"Where are your saviours now?" He asked. "No one is coming to save you! This world is..."
As he declared his victory, there were some explosions and some debris from ruined Grinders flew past him. One, which was little more than a torso and a head just stared up at him, unable to move or do anything. He stomped on its head, destroying it as he turned to see where the attack had come from.
He looked on in confusion as Prince Vekar started to stride towards him. He was flanked by Lavira on his right, whose shoulder-mounted rocket launchers were still smoking, and Argus on his left. Damaras was a little behind him, being followed by some bruisers, and backed up by a legion of X-borgs. Professor Cog searched his databases, but he could find no mention of this creature. In his dimension, The Armada had never arrived on Earth, and so he had no data on them.
"You dare to attack my army?" Professor Cog declared.
"Professor Cog I presume?" Prince Vekar greeted him. "I thought you were destroyed. Weren't you defeated by...what was it again...a man with a paintbrush?"
There was a laugh from his Commanders as he said this. Professor Cog just glared at him. It was a humiliating defeat. When he had attacked the Earth before, he had almost succeeded in his plan to destroy the Rangers, fulfilling his end of his bargain to Master Xandred. Unfortunately, the timely arrival of the new Black Samurai Ranger had led to a speedy defeat. With his mastery over Metal Symbol Power, Professor Cog's army was poorly matched against him. He had quite literally just willed Professor Cog's body apart. It was only sheer luck that he managed to transmit his consciousness back through his dimensional portal and download it into another body.
"This is my planet! I'm taking it over, not you!" Prince Vekar called out regally. "Now, push off and find somewhere else to go!"
"I don't think so." Professor Cog answered. He didn't want to admit it, but coming to this dimension was something of a desperate move. The resources of the Earth in his dimension were dwindling, and would in no way support a whole empire once he finally managed to destroy Corinth. By the time he managed to break through their shields and destroy the city, he would be left virtually alone on a barren wasteland; waiting on the day he would no longer be able to power his fuel cells. He couldn't go back; this dimension was his best hope. "My army is all-powerful!"
"We all have robots." Prince Vekar declared, drawing his sword as he gestured to the X-borgs. "One last chance, go back to whatever scrap heap you came from and I'll spare you!"
"NEVER!" Professor Cog yelled. With that, his army charged. Argus drew his sword as The Armada Army charged into battle.
"Turn them to tinfoil, but Cog is mine!" Prince Vekar declared as he powered up his blade.
Meanwhile, back in Corinth, the Red Galleon was flying over the freeway in search of the Turbo Falcon. Gia looked a little dejected as they looked out for the errant Zord on the deserted freeway.
"Something on your mind?" Summer asked her.
"I'm just wondering how hard it can be to find a fifty foot long racing car on a deserted freeway." She grumbled. "Where is it?"
"The Turbo Falcon definitely has its own timetable." Summer answered. "Don't let its size fool you; it really burns up that tarmac."
Gia looked to the rest of the team assembled. Jordan had stayed behind, but Scott, Summer, Dillon and Ziggy had gone with them to help them look. They knew the city better than the Corsairs, and so they figured they would help the search, while Dr K tried to find a way to send them home. She knew that had to be playing on Gia's mind.
"Look, you can't blame yourself for trying to help." Summer assured her. "We've all been played at one time or another."
"I'm the Captain. It was my call to come here." She told Summer. "Now we're trapped here! Now Professor Cog, Vrak and Vekar have the world and no one to defend it! I might be single-handedly responsible for leaving the Earth completely defenceless!"
"Hey, we all mess up. We do." Summer assured her. "You see Ziggy there? He used to be in the Scorpion Cartel. My husband? He's a hybrid, a Venjix infiltrator unit that almost tried to destroy us more than once."
"I guess no Ranger team gets to have normal lives." Gia stated. She looked to Summer. "You're not like your counterpart back home."
"Spoiled, rich princess?" Summer asked. Gia just nodded. "Oh, believe me, I was like that here at one time. It just took the end of the world to show me that there was more to the world than just me and what I want."
"Husband eh?" Gia asked, looking to Dillon. Summer just nodded.
"We have a girl too." She added. "Rose. She's almost two. I couldn't be happier. So...any of the guys on your team...?"
"Uh...that really isn't an option for me." Gia told her. Summer just smiled.
"Oh, right. You're gay?" She asked. Gia just looked at her a little curiously. "It's really not a huge deal here."
"It isn't?" Gia asked. Summer just shook her head.
"When the world ends, people's priorities change." Summer told her. "When you're fighting for your life, no one really cares if the guy fighting next to him is gay, black, Muslim, Atheist...whatever. They're just grateful that someone is fighting with them."
"I...never thought something good could come out of something like that." Gia commented. Just then, a shout went up from the Crow's Nest.
"The Turbo Falcon..."
"...Is right ahead!" Gemma declared excitedly, bouncing with excitement, pointing over the bow. Emma and the others ran to the bow of the ship, assembling by the rail.
"There he is!" Emma declared.
"Wow, that thing is really cooking!" Jake stated, seeing the Turbo Falcon burning up the road at incredible speed.
"Hit the afterburners!" Gia declared. The Red Galleon started to accelerate, catching up to it. The Turbo Falcon was indeed massive, and flying around the Freeway so quickly, there was no doubt that it was risky. It was only the fact that no one else used the Freeway, fearing getting in the path of the Turbo Falcon that meant they could work with little fear of harming anyone else.
"Alright, now we've caught up to it, what do we do?" Gia asked. "We don't want to open fire if we don't need to. Someone could get hurt."
"The Zords have DNA that runs their core systems." Scott explained. "They're partially sentient, that's how we managed to keep it contained. We directed the Turbo Falcon somewhere it could be happy."
"If it has a brain...maybe we can talk to it." Noah suggested. Jake took a loud hailer and smiled.
"I have an idea." He declared. He leant over the edge. "Hey, Turbo Falcon, pull over! You're breaking the speed limit!"
Dillon just face-palmed as they got absolutely no response from the Zord.
"He's not serious right?" He grumbled. "That was his plan?"
"Sadly, yes." Gia stated as Noah took the loud hailer next. He thought about what he was going to say.
"Don't be afraid!" Noah called out. "We're your friends!"
The Turbo Falcon turned towards them, facing them, reversing at speed. It seemed like it recognised the Ranger energy coming from the ship, like it knew that they were connected to it, but it still seemed unsure.
"I think its working. We just need to be nicer, to convince it." Emma said, taking the loud hailer next. "Come on, it's OK, come on."
The Zord just continued to look at her. It was a lot like an animal. It could tell that they were connected to it, but it didn't seem sure that it could trust them. Gia remembered what her mom had said about the time she owned a dog.
"You have to let it know who's boss, make it respect you. Here." She responded, taking the loud hailer from her. "HEY! Car! Pull over!"
The Turbo Falcon just turned around, starting to race away.
"Did that Zord just..." Before she could answer though, the exhaust unit at the back turned around, so the four upper exhausts were at the bottom. They all watched as the middle exhaust rose up vertically. Gia just looked enraged. "Oh hell no!"
"Did the Zord just flip Gia off?" Jake chuckled as it blasted away. Gia just turned to him, glaring.
As the exhaust ports returned to their original position, they aimed at the ship. Everyone dived for cover as it started launching power blasts at them. The whole ship shuddered under the abuse.
"He's going to blow the ship apart!" Summer complained.
"Alright, we tried the diplomatic approach." Gia stated, looking to the RPM Rangers. "Man the guns, the rest of you, come with me. We need to shut this thing down, now!"
With that, they all retreated below deck, preparing for a fight.
Back in Harwood, news helicopters hovered over the battle site, taking footage as Prince Vekar's forces and Professor Cog's army of robots fell upon each other in an orgy of destruction. Power blasts and missiles flew back and forth, while the close combat raged in the centre of the highway. One of the helicopter crew could hardly believe what he was seeing.
"Those monsters, they're all fighting each other!" He commented.
"You mean there's more than just The Armada out there?" The cameraman asked.
"That's what it looks like!" He responded. "Where the hell are the Power Rangers?"
"They've always shown up before." The cameraman stated. "There has to be a good reason."
"So what do we do?" The pilot asked.
"What else can we do? Keep shooting!" The other guy responded. "If we're lucky, maybe they'll take each other out."
Back in Corinth, the Red Galleon came down closer to the Freeway, continuing its pursuit of the Turbo Falcon. Summer and Dillon manned the guns, creating some covering fire as the Zord ports opened. Gia, Jake and Noah brought out their Zords, following it along the road.
"We need to shut this thing down!" Gia stated, ramming into the Turbo Falcon with her truck. "Come on! Try and hem him in!"
"I'll try and cut him off!" Jake answered, racing ahead in his racer. He slammed on the brakes as soon as he was in front of it, but as he did so, the Turbo Falcon launched into the air. As it went over him, he could see the wheels turning into thrusters and launching it into the sky.
"Oh, come on!" He complained. "It can fly too?"
"I'm on it!" Noah yelled as he opened fire. Unfortunately, it manoeuvred out of the way expertly, and his shots simply flew harmlessly into the side of the dome. "Damn it, it's too unpredictable to land a shot on! No wonder Dr K kept this thing locked up!"
"It's like a wild animal!" Gemma stated. Just as she said this, Gia suddenly got an idea.
"Gemma, you're a genius!" She called through the communicator. "Guys, it's a wild animal, we need to tame it!"
"As much as I hate breaking wild animals, this time I'm making an exception." Emma stated. "The Turbo Falcon is too dangerous in the wild."
"Well, first thing's first, let's bring it down!" Dillon called out. They steered the ship into the Turbo Falcon, slamming it downwards. The Red Galleon's greater weight was a deciding factor, forcing it back down onto the freeway.
"Activate the Megazord sequence!" Gia called out. Quickly forming up the Megazord, they flew after it. Gia had the Megazord pull out its anchor, wielding it like a grappling hook.
"Alright, we might only get one shot at this!" She stated. "Get in nice and close...and...NOW!"
Throwing the anchor, it slammed into the Turbo Falcon, giving them a grip on it, and allowing them to pull themselves on top of it, mounting it. They quickly worked with the chain, creating a set of reins for themselves.
"Alright, we've got a good grip!" Gia stated. "Now it's just time to show it who's boss!"
They struggled with the controls, the Turbo Falcon swaying dangerously across the freeway as it tried to throw them off.
"Come on, come on!" Gia yelled. They yanked hard on the reins, guiding the Zord as they tried to get it under control. After some time, the Turbo Falcon suddenly spun completely around, before coming to a complete stop. They heard it revving its engine.
"Is...is that it?" Jake asked. "Is it under control?"
"I think...I think it is." Gia said with a smile. "It's accepting us as its masters."
"Wait, how do you...?"
"I don't know, I just...feel it." Gia answered. The Turbo Falcon rose up in a wheelie, and roared its engine, before settling down. The Rangers dismounted it cautiously, keeping a hold of the reins, but it didn't try and pull away. They all breathed a sigh of relief. Scott just smiled.
"Well, nice job guys." He complimented them. He got on the communicator. "Dr K, good news. We managed to get the Turbo Falcon under control. Corinth officially has its freeway back."
"Well that's good news, but unfortunately I'm having a lot less luck." Dr K told them. "I've found a weakness in the dimensional barrier where the Rangers came through...unfortunately it's going to take a lot of energy to create a portal."
"How much energy?" Gia asked.
"More than we have access to, that's for sure." Flynn replied sadly. "If we still had access to the Paeleomax Megazord, we could send you on the train, but we can't get it to work. We've tried everything we can think of..."
Just then, the Turbo Falcon roared its engines. Gia looked to it.
"Guys, I think the Turbo Falcon is trying to tell us something." Gia stated. She listened to it. She couldn't understand how, but somehow it was speaking to her. "Dr K, the Turbo Falcon is made with the same technology as the Paeleomax right?"
"That is affirmative." Dr K told her.
"I think he's trying to tell us...he wants to help!" Gia stated. "We're bringing him in."
She hung up her communicator and looked to the Turbo Falcon.
"We're taking you to some friends." She said in a soothing voice. "Will you follow us?"
The Turbo Falcon roared its engines again. Gia just smiled.
"Take off the reins." She told them. "He'll follow us."
Since when did Gia learn to speak car?" Jake asked. Emma just looked to him.
"Is that really the strangest thing you've seen since we became Rangers?" She asked. He just shook his head.
"I guess not." He responded as they all boarded the Red Galleon, heading back towards The Garage.