The battle was fierce, and the sheer number of people that had crowded into the street in front of the mall for the signing complicated matters. The Rangers were always keenly aware that they couldn't morph while there were still civilians in the area. Even in the confusion and the panic, there was always a chance that someone would catch enough of a good look at them as they morphed to be able to identify them later. It somewhat defeated the point being a ninja if people knew who you were, in fact as Troy had put it himself, if you were a famous ninja then you were really not doing it right.

"The street's blocked!" Calvin called out. "Everyone into the mall!"

"We...we can't get in!" Someone screamed out. "They've locked the doors!"

"Stand back!" They heard someone call. Sarah looked around in time to see Victor throwing off half of a horse costume. She presumed that Monty was inside the other half.

"Victor?" She called out. "What are you...?"

Before she could finish, Victor broke into a run and launched himself full-tilt straight at one of the store windows, going straight through it. She stood, unable to believe what she had just seen. Victor lay in a heap on the ground, unmoving. By regulation any window that was low enough for people to reach it had to be made of safety glass. Victor had to have hit it pretty hard to be able to break it. Monty rushed to the side of the window, waving wildly.

"Come on everyone, get in!" He screamed. "Someone help Victor; barricade the window when you're done!"

"Wow...talk about using your head." Calvin stated, rousing Sarah's attention. The Pink Ranger just nodded, unable to answer. She had seen Victor put himself on the line once before when he took on Spinferno, and now he had used himself as a battering ram to create an escape route for the citizens. As thoughtless and idiotic as Victor could be, even he had to know that running headlong into a store window would not end well for him.

"I...I can't believe he did that." She gasped as she saw people filing inside. Monty started waving them in.

"Come on guys, you can..."

"We'll hold these guys here!" Sarah called back. "The Rangers should be here any minute! Barricade the window!"

Monty looked reluctant to do this. She knew that to him, it had to seem like Sarah had told him to block them outside the store, effectively sealing them out in harm's way.

"Monty, just do it!" Sarah told him. He still didn't seem to be moving. However a moment later he seemed to fly into the store, before a whole display came crashing down, blocking the way in and more importantly, blocking the view from the inside. She looked over to where Preston was grappling with one of the Kudabots, his hand still glowing following his spell. He looked to her and nodded to confirm he had just taken the decision out of Monty's hands.

"Alright guys, now we can..."

"Uh, we've overlooked one thing!" Hayley interrupted Brody, pointing to the signing table. Levi and Tom were still there, having not seen the escape into the store. Brody just groaned.

"Alright, we need to get them out of here first!" Brody told them, putting his morpher away.

Up on the stage, Tom and Levi were fending off Kudabots when Ripcon arrived. Levi had seen these things before, but they had never gotten the drop on him before now. He was about to reach for his Power Star when he realised he had a problem. He didn't have it on him!

He looked to Tom, who was singing his briefcase around as a weapon. Before the signing, he had asked Tom to keep it safe for him. He hadn't foreseen actually needing his Power Star at a signing. He could see that more Kudabots and a particularly nasty looking alien were coming into the area. He was about to go and ask Tom for his Power Star back when the alien, who looked like a kind of striped, horned pig spoke.

"The Gold Ranger better appear or I'll destroy everyone!" He called out. Levi could see the kids fighting for all they were worth, no doubt trying to find a way out themselves now that the mall was barricaded shut. He looked once more to Tom, who was moving further away, no doubt trying to secure a route for Levi. Although Levi knew that changing form in front of witnesses was only likely to lead to trouble down the road, he figured that he could buy them off, probably bribe them with some backstage passes or an exclusive appearance or something. Tom...well...Tom he'd have to talk to, explain why he hadn't told him about any of the things that were happening to him that he still didn't fully understand. Unfortunately Tom was now well out of reach. He looked back as Ripcon fixed his gaze on him. "I'll start with this cowboy!"

Levi could only watch as he cast energy waves his way. Before they hit home though, something hit him fast and hard, taking him clean off his feet. He looked up from the ground, seeing a kid in a red jersey on top of him.

"Get up!" Brody told him, dragging Levi to his feet as he looked around. He saw an alleyway leading to some dumpsters. "This way!"

Levi didn't get much choice in the matter as Brody dragged him down the street, signalling to his friends that they could now safely morph. They quickly complied as he took Levi out of sight. Now they could bring their full power to bear, the tide started to turn. Calvin was in the middle of taking down some Kudabots when Ripcon grabbed him, threatening him with a sword.

"The Gold Ranger, where is he?" Ripcon demanded. Calvin didn't have much to be happy about in this situation, but Ripcon in his upfront way had inadvertently confirmed two facts that the Rangers had suspected. The first was that they were searching for the Gold Ranger, and that he was no friend to them, and he had also confirmed that they also had no idea who the Gold Ranger was! If they did, they wouldn't be attacking random civilians in the mall.

"Even if I knew I wouldn't tell you!" Calvin shot back as he broke free and shoved Ripcon away.

Ripcon felt himself bumping into someone as he stumbled. He looked back, seeing Tom falling to the ground. As he dropped his briefcase, it broke open, revealing a shining object that he recognised immediately.

"The Gold Power Star!" Ripcon called out, looking to the terrified manager. "You're the Gold Ranger!"

Tom was far too terrified to have any idea what Ripcon was talking about. He was about to try and run, only for his path to be blocked by a sword.

"You're not going anywhere!" He warned Tom. Before he could strike however, he was hit by four power blasts, taking him down. Tom looked around; unable to see Levi anywhere, and hoping that he had found somewhere safe to hide, took the opportunity to run for his life, taking the contents of his briefcase with him.

Ripcon watched Tom disappear down the street, and knew that he had missed his opportunity. Now that he knew what he looked like, he was sure he could track him down later. In the meantime, he got up, his frustrations boiling over as he confronted the Rangers.

"You cost me the Gold Ranger!" He screamed at them, drawing his second sword. "You'll pay for this!"

"Ha, send us a bill!" Calvin responded as the Rangers finished the last of the Kudabots, and rounded on Ripcon, rushing into battle.

A little way off, Brody finally got far enough down the alley, finding a spot behind some dumpsters for Levi to hide. He grabbed a couple and started to move them; creating cover for him should any of the fight spill into the alley. Levi felt badly that a stranger had saved him. He still didn't understand what the powers the star lent him were for, but he knew enough to know that they were intended for him to help others, not for others to end up having to help him. He looked to Brody as the Red Ranger finished.

"Thanks. I would have been road kill back there if it wasn't for you." Levi said gratefully. He could see that Brody was starting to look antsy, like he was just waiting for Levi to shut up and let him go, likely to go back and help his friends. He saw that Brody was in the red sweatshirt and jeans and a smile crossed his face as he recalled the incident in the line. He realised who Brody was. "Hey, I remember you; you're that kid from before, the one who isn't a fan."

Levi could see the blank expression on Brody's face. He doubted many people could get why this was unusual to him. Not people doing pretty much anything for him, he had seen fans get pretty crazy at times, even going so far as to risk their lives! He had once found a fan dangling from the balcony of his hotel room in Dallas, having climbed out the window of his own room to try and get to him...Levi's room was on the 27th floor! A fan had literally risked pretty much certain death in order to get close to him for what would likely only have been a few seconds before security dragged him away. Brody just furrowed his brows, almost like he looked offended.

"Listen, I didn't save you because you're Levi Weston, I don't give a shit who you are!" Brody told him. "You were someone that needed help and that's all that mattered. I'd have done the same thing if you were a street cleaner!"

"Whoa, don't...don't get what I'm saying wrong, I'm grateful. I just...you don't know...I'm sorry if..."

"Hey, whatever, apology accepted." Brody responded, looking to Levi judgementally. "I'll see you..."

"Hey, wait!" Levi called out, stopping Brody from leaving. The Red Ranger just looked annoyed, like he was losing patience with Levi. He didn't get why Brody would risk himself like he did, and he was even more impressed knowing that he was rushing back out into danger, probably to save more people. He wanted to know more people like Brody, more people who were genuinely good people, who he knew would do the right thing even when they didn't care what Levi could do for them in return. He had to think quickly. "Would you...like a job?"

He cringed almost as soon as he said it. He wanted to show Brody that he wanted him around even if Brody didn't actually want anything from him, and yet his first go-to thought was to offer him something to bribe him. Brody stared at him in confusion and anger.

"A job?" He asked. "You want to give me a job?"

"Well...after what just happened, it looks like it might be smart to hire a bodyguard." Levi said, internally screaming at himself for doubling down on this approach. "Just while I'm in town for the concert."

"Me? Work for YOU?" Brody asked, his impatience starting to build. Was this guy for real? His friends were fighting, trying to save others, and he was trying to bribe Brody into sticking with him? Levi nodded, which only seemed to irritate him more. All he wanted was to leave this guy behind now he was safe and go and help his friends. "Thanks but..."

Brody's words tailed off as a thought occurred to him. He still didn't understand the fascination with Levi Weston, so far all he saw was a privileged guy who was used to getting his own way by throwing money and favours at people. However, he couldn't help thinking about how excited all his friends had been to see him, even just for the brief time they'd have been at the signing tables, and the discussion about the backstage passes. He knew that strictly speaking he wasn't meant to be doing the Ranger thing for rewards, but...it wasn't like he used his POWERS to gain anything, and since strictly speaking it would be for his friends and not him, would it really be so bad if...?

"I'll do it on two conditions." Brody told him. "The first is you give backstage passes to me and all of my friends, the ones who were out there fighting to save your butt."

"Done." Levi said with a smile. As far as prices went, this was him getting off very lightly. A backstage pass, while having HUGE value to fans, who would give or pay virtually anything for them, really only meant a few minutes of his time before the concert. Before his concerts, there was a lot of hanging around anyway while equipment was set up and the venue was cleaned and made ready...it was pretty boring and was a lot of hanging around with not much to do. Having a little company would make that time a little less tedious for him anyway.

"Second, I'm not following all your silly little rules." Brody insisted. "I'm going to treat you exactly as I'd expect you to treat me, like an ordinary person."

Levi smiled hearing this. Treated like an ordinary person? That was something he wasn't sure he remembered, even without the effects of Madame Odious' mind-altering technology. People would fall all over themselves to fulfil any of his requests, even going to some insane lengths. One time he had asked for a bottle of water, and a guy had returned with literally every single brand available in the nearest store just because Levi hadn't specified which TYPE of water he wanted! To him it was all just water; he still used to drink water direct from the well on his family ranch.

"That sounds good to me." Levi told him. "What's your name kid?"

"Brody Romero." Brody told him.

"I'll leave a message with reception to expect you." Levi told him. "Come to the hotel when you're done."

"I'll be there." Brody assured him before running off. Levi tried to follow him, but by the time he got to the alley, Brody had disappeared, almost as though by magic. There was no sign of any of the others, and the only thing left was the wreckage of the Kudabots. Levi looked around for any sign of them as Tom returned.

"Levi, you're alright?" He called out as he appeared from hiding. Levi just nodded.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine Tom." Levi replied. "Where is everyone?"

"No idea, but they're not here and that's good enough for me!" Tom told him. "Now come on, we need to get you back to the hotel."

"But the fans..."

"Hey, I think the fans will understand." Tom told him, gesturing to the limo. Levi just sighed and tipped his hat.

"Whatever you say mom." He teased him. "I just hope you're not this short with my new bodyguard."

"New...new what?" Tom asked as he got in. "What's this about a new bodyguard?"

Levi just smirked as the Limo pulled off, taking him back to the hotel.

Meanwhile, Brody headed for the beach, having been told by Redbot that the others had taken the battle out there to get Ripcon away from the mall and all the potential victims there. When he arrived, he found the battle still raging.

Ripcon was determined to make sure that this venture into the city hadn't been a complete loss. Even if the Gold Ranger had been too much of a coward to face him, perhaps he could take out one or two of the others. Even four on one the Rangers were finding him a tough opponent.

"Alright Mick, time to try out that new move you set me up with." Brody commented, putting a new Power Star into his sword. "I hope this works. Ninja Star Morph! Final Attack!"

Sarah and Preston were battling with Ripcon, their blades locked with his as Hayley and Calvin regrouped. Sarah heard something odd a little way off.

"Preston, do you hear that?" She asked. "I think it sounds a little like a saw..."

"LOOK OUT!" Preston screamed as he turned in time to see a red, glowing star speeding towards them. Sarah and Preston threw themselves aside just as it slammed into Ripcon. He was thrown a significant distance away, and they could see one of his horns had broken off. The star stopped spinning, turning back into Brody.

"Whoa, Mick, that new Ninja Star Morph was EPIC!" Brody said as the others gathered around him.

"Yeah, it was." Sarah told him. "But um...maybe a little warning next time would be good?"

"Like...telling us you had access to a whole other Ranger team?" Brody teased her.

"Shutting up now." Sarah said, returning her focus to the task at hand. Ripcon was just getting to his feet, feeling the top of his head.

"MY HORN!" He screamed as he realised that it had broken off in the attack. "IMPOSSIBLE!"

"Not so tough now are you?" Brody teased him. Madame Odious appeared and picked up Ripcon's horn, approaching him.

"Poor little Ripcon, are they getting stronger or are you getting weaker?" She said in a dismissive tone.

"I'm just toying with them until..."

"ENOUGH!" Madame Odious said, putting her arm across his chest to stop him. "Galvinax says you must capture the Gold Ranger!"

"But..."

"He's obsessed with discovering the traitor!" Madame Odious interrupted him. "Your little grudge match with the Red Ranger can wait."

With that, they disappeared. The Rangers were grateful that he had been summoned back to the ship, but they also knew all that meant was he would have time to recover and come back.

"Ripcon's after the Gold Ranger." Brody stated.

"How do we warn him?" Sarah asked. "We don't even know who he is!"

"Well, the good news is that neither does Ripcon." Calvin told them, remembering what he had overheard Ripcon say earlier. "All we can hope is we get to him first."