Chapter 27 – Dino Supercharge
Dino Mansion
In the back yard of the Dino Mansion, Tyler was dressed for battle and grasped his Dinovolver tightly in his hand. At the opposite end of the yard Koda was also morphed and had his Stego Shield ready. The red ranger had an Energem in his hand but it was different in design to the others. This gem was bright red and had the symbol '1+' printed on it. From the safe distance of the paved area of the yard, Kiera sat at a table with her laptop, "Alright Tyler, try it again", she called out.
Tyler nodded and inserted the Energem into the barrel of his morpher. He snapped it shut and pointed it in the direction of the blue ranger, who moved his shield in front of his body. Tyler braced himself and pulled the trigger on his Dinovolver. Electricity began to pour through his weapon and then into body of the red ranger. He sank to his knees and began to convulse due to the energy seeping through his pores. "Kiera shut it down", Koda cried as he raced towards the stricken red ranger. He kicked the Dinovolver out of his hand as Kiera forcibly demorphed Tyler using the remote access program on her laptop. Tyler's Dinovolver spat out the new Energem and it lay on the grass, still sparking and smoking away.
"Tyler are you alight", Kiera asked as she crouched down next to the red ranger.
He took a few moments to compose himself before responding, "Yeah, I think so", he glanced down at his body, "everything still appears to be attached".
The purple ranger placed a couple of fingers on Tyler's neck to check his pulse, "Well your heart's not racing but I think we should take a break".
"That's fine", Tyler replied as he stood up, "I've got a shift at the diner soon anyway, I'll catch you guys later", he picked up his hooded jacket and left the yard through the back gate.
Kiera picked up the discarded Energem and sighed, "Don't worry Kier, you'll get it working", Koda said as he placed his hands on the shorter girl's shoulders.
"It's a ranger tradition", she replied, "a special mode for the red ranger. I just wanted to carry on that tradition".
"And I'm sure you will", the blue ranger moved towards her laptop, "come on I'll take a look with you. Perhaps I can finally put my college degree to good use", Kiera gave him a small smile and followed the blue ranger.
City Center
After leaving the Dino Mansion, Tyler decided to walk into town. It was an half an hour walk but it was give him time to shake off some of the stiffness from the backlash caused by the new Energem. Things had been pretty good for him and the team for the last few weeks. The team had put the business of Tyler running off into a Deboss trap in search of his father behind them. In return for their support, Tyler was trying to be a more responsible leader. Initially he trying to emulate Jason but the original red ranger pulled in to one side and explained that he needed to develop his own style. It was difficult as there were so many different personalities, Riley and Ivan were quiet and reserved, Chase was a bit more in your face and Koda and Shelby didn't mind taking a back seat but could be forceful if necessary.
In the end he decided the best way to get the team to work together was for them to play to their strengths. The green, gold and to an extent the pink ranger were the best pure fighters so he usually let them lead the attacks. The blue ranger was probably the smartest of all the main team members so he was left to come up with creative solutions to the problems thrown up by the Deboss. The black ranger was a great strategist so he usually came up with their battle plans.
That left Tyler with a bit of a problem, other than being the leader, what was his role? Jason told him that sometimes being a good leader is to know when to let someone else lead but he felt like he was doing that quite a lot recently, probably since the incident with the Deboss at the beach. It had knocked his confidence and he didn't know how to get it back. The failure with the power-up today was just another personal failure for the red ranger in recent weeks.
As he walked across the overpass that traversed the freeway, he bumped into someone. He apologised and initially he didn't give the man a second glance. It was only after taking a few more paces that he stopped. Something triggered a memory somewhere in his head. He turned around slowly and as it turned out, so had the man. Tyler couldn't believe it, for the first time in nearly ten years his Dad was standing right in front of him.
Or was he? Tyler remembered the trap he had fallen into previously, "I want to believe that you're my Dad", he called out, "but I need to be sure. What did you give me for my tenth birthday?"
"An amber fragment with a dinosaur tooth inside", Bastian Navarro replied without missing a beat.
Tyler reached under his shirt and pulled out the aforementioned amber fragment. He had attached it to a leather necklace so he could keep a piece of his Dad close to him at all times, "It really is you". He started to run towards his Dad but his path was blocked by General Sorrow.
"How touching", he mimicked wiping a tear from his metal face, "this is an added bonus".
"Stay away from my Dad", Tyler growled.
"Your father, now this is interesting", Sorrow chuckled, "unfortunately I don't have time to play with you today". He snapped his fingers and another monster teleported in beside him. The monster's body was mostly bright orange with a few yellow and black accents. His head was stylised to look like a falling meteor, "Allow me to introduce the second of the great plagues, Disciple Astro". Tyler remembered Andreas telling them about the great plagues, they were extremely strong compared to other monsters.
"Think I'm scared of him", Tyler pulled out his Dinovolver and inserted an Energem, "Dino Spirits, Dino Charge", he called. Once he had finished morphing, he called on his Dino Blade and charged at the monster. The blade didn't make much impact on Astro's rocky skin and it only served to enrage the monster even more. The creature kicked the red ranger in the stomach and pulled a small rock from a belt around his waist. He threw it at the red ranger and it landed at Tyler's feet, sending him flying into the air.
"Remember what I taught you Tyler", Bastian called out.
The red ranger nodded, he had learned most of his martial arts from his Dad, one technique in particular. Pulling out his Dinovolver he rolled it down his arm and entered Armour Mode. His Tyranno Fang appeared on his fist and he began to charge towards the monster. He jumped into the air and energy began to gather around his fist. He punched the monster in the stomach with his charged weapon, knocking it into the guardrail protecting the road below.
Tyler didn't get the chance to celebrate as he was attacked from behind by General Sorrow. The metal man slashed him across the back twice, forcing him to his knees, "Stop, we had a deal", Bastian called out to the general.
"I know but I couldn't resist an opportunity like that", Sorrow replied. Initially Tyler thought he had misheard his Dad but as the Deboss general slowly made his way towards his Dad he noticed that his Dad wasn't showing any fear or indication that he was going to fight back. "You'll find what you are looking for here", Sorrow gave Bastian a map, "we would get it ourselves but only the chosen one can approach it".
"Dad what are you doing", Tyler whispered.
Sorrow kept hold of the map, "Now you're not thinking of betraying us are you?"
Bastian shook his head and handed over a small cloth bag, "It won't work without this. That should ensure my loyalty". Without giving Tyler a second glance, Bastian turned and began to walk away.
"Why are you helping the Deboss Dad?" Tyler cried.
Bastian paused and replied without turning around, "You'll understand one day son", and he continued walking.
Tyler was so focused on his Dad that he had completely forgotten about Disciple Astro. The monster blasted him from behind with a massive fireball, propelling Tyler into a metal post. He struck it head first and crumpled to the ground. He barely registered the other rangers arriving to help him with Disciple Astro and for a few minutes he laid on the ground.
Slowly regaining his senses, he saw the one of the plagues of the Deboss throwing his friends around like they were rag dolls. He blasted Riley and Ivan with one of his fireballs, sending them to the ground. He grabbed Kiera and Chase and threw them into the other rangers who were laying on the floor. Even Koda's Stego Shield wasn't strong enough to repel Astro's attacks. Another fireball attack slammed into the blue ranger's shield and pushed him and Shelby towards the guardrail. The blue ranger hit the metal structure and bounced back but Shelby was knocked over the top, "Shelby", Tyler cried. Ignoring the pain in his body, he sprinted over towards the pink ranger's last position. Looking over the top, he saw that she was clinging onto the edge of the structure. There was a significant drop below, even with the aid of their suits it would be debatable if she would survive that fall.
Ignoring the continuing blasts from Astro, he reached down and grasped Shelby's hand. A sharp stabbing pain went through his ribs and he nearly dropped her but with a strong heave, he dragged her to safety. "And then there was one", Astro chuckled, "time to say goodbye red ranger", he fired another ball of fire but Tyler was able to avoid it, pulling Shelby out the way in the process.
"What would we do without you Tyler?" the pink ranger gasped. Suddenly it hit him, he realised what his role in the team was, he was the glue that held them all together. Disciple Astro was testing that bond but he wasn't going down without a fight. He wouldn't let his team down like that.
"Tyler I figured out how his Energem works", Kiera threw the gem to Tyler, "it's not meant to be used by you but by the Tyranno Zord".
Behind his visor Tyler frowned, it didn't make sense but then again the purple ranger usually knew what she was talking about. Throwing the gem into the air, the Tyranno Zord appeared and swallowed it. The zord began to shrink in size until he was a similar size to his Dinovolver. The Tyranno Zord cried out happily when Tyler caught him, "I'm having a very bad day Astro", Tyler began, "and you're going to feel my wrath".
The red ranger found a trigger on the tiny Tyranno and deciding there was nothing else to lose, he gave it a pull. There was a bright flash of colour and Tyler's suit changed. The body was now mostly white but with a red diamond pattern down the legs. Protecting his chest was a red shield in the shape of the Tyranno Zord's head. Tyler's helmet now had small yellow spikes, just like his zord, "Dino Charge Red Ranger", Tyler called, "Supercharged".
Disciple Astro looked genuinely scared of the red ranger's new form and began to back away. Tyler wasn't going to give him a chance and fired several blasts from his Tyranno Blaster. The attacks were much more powerful than his normal Dinovolver and tore into the skin of Astro. Tyler was pouring all of his emotions into each blast with devastating effect. The attacks destroyed all of the rocky balls attached to the Disciple, effectively making him powerless. The Tyranno Zord chirped and Tyler nodded in understanding, "Koda, Shelby I need an Energem from you", he called out.
The pink and blue ranger pulled out a spare gem from their belt buckles and passed them over to Tyler. He placed each of them into the Tyranno Zord in turn and after a few seconds, Tyler's boots changed, one was now blue and the other was pink. He put his arms down by his side and miniature versions of the Stego and Tricera Zords appeared. "Woah", Chase gasped, "he's like a human version of the Megazord".
"I had no idea it could do that", Kiera added.
Tyler cracked Disciple Astro in the face with the Stego Shield before jamming the Tricera Drill into his ribs. Drawing the energy from the Tyranno Zord as well, he unleashed a powerful blast at the monster. It cried out in pain before falling to the ground and exploding. Tyler though wasn't in the mood to celebrate the defeat of the Disciple. He ejected his personal Energem and powered down before walking away, leaving the rest of his team very confused.
Dino Cafe
Later that day Tyler was hiding outside the back door to the Dino Cafe. He still had his Dad betrayal on his mind. He just couldn't understand why he would make a deal with the Deboss, especially at the expense of his son. He had been in a mood all throughout his shift and barely left the kitchen, which for Tyler was unusual. "Hey", he heard a soft voice say from beside him, "Finchey's about to have an aneurysm, the orders are stacking up".
"Sorry Shel, I guess I lost track of time", he replied.
Tyler and Shelby stood in an awkward silence for a few moments, "Thanks again for saving me", she stated.
"No problem", Tyler pulled out a pink Energem, "I forgot that I still had this", he handed it back to its rightful owner.
The pink ranger twirled it around her fingers a few times, "Tyler you can talk to me".
"About what, that my Dad's a traitor", Tyler spat, "I probably have the worst Dad in history".
"I dunno I think mine's up there", the pink ranger replied, "he did practically kick me out the house".
"At least you weren't abandoned on a sparsely populated island", Tyler laughed but there wasn't any mirth behind the laughter, "I guess we make a right pair down we". Shelby gave him a sad smile and opened up her arms, pulling Tyler into a hug. The red ranger rested his head on the slightly shorter pink ranger and lost himself in the embrace. He didn't want to let go but eventually they separated but remained extremely close.
Shelby gave him a warm smile and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Remember what I said, if you want to talk I'm there for you".
"How about tonight", Tyler replied quickly, "I hear the sunset's nice this time of year". Shelby blushed and nodded her acceptance, "Great it's a date".
"Yes it is", Shelby began, "but first we need to finish our shift without getting fired".
"I'll be there in a second", the pink ranger nodded and left Tyler alone outside again. He reached under his shirt and pulled off the necklace with the amber stone his Dad had given him. His Dad had betrayed him and by extension his friends. He didn't want anything to do with people like that and there were no exceptions. Opening up a nearby dumpster, he threw the stone in the trash and slammed the lid shut. He walked back into the kitchen without giving it a second glance.
A/N - Poor Tyler, I give with one hand and take with the other don't I? I liked Kyoryu Red's Carnival Mode, probably the most unique red ranger power up in any series so far (I think). I assume that the writers of Dino Charge will introduce their version it in the first episode of Dino Supercharge, hence the title of today's chapter