Episode15: Part 2
A cloud of earth erupted from the ground as the fully assembled Vanguard Megazord locked horns with the newest threat to the city. The demon who resembled a monstrous warthog gave a snort and charged forward, smashing its tusks into the Megazord, driving it backwards quickly.
"This is not exactly how I was planning on spending my afternoon," Claire muttered grimly from her console while Nick shouted a taunt to the monster and made a hard maneuver with his controls. The Megazord brought one of its legs up while it grappled the monster and kicked it in the tusk, breaking the tip of it off. Moving in concert with the Green Ranger, Danny pumped his own controls and had the Megazord bring its other arm around in a counter punch to drive the monster back.
To the Rangers' relief, they watched as the giant warthog was struck from the side and sent reeling by a charging headbutt from the Gold Ranger's giant Pegasus zord. "I am sorry for the delay," Kara called, "I had to get clear of the civilians."
"Better late than never," the Red Ranger called back to her with a grateful nod as the Megazord turned back to face the giant monster again. To their surprise, the recovered demon snorted again and began to laugh, "Foolish Rangers, you haven't even realized you've been tricked."
"What are you talking about Porkchop?" Nick called back defiantly.
The warthog demon squealed and gestured back toward the campus, "You've been so busy fighting me, you haven't even realized the platoon of Magogs we kept in reserve."
"Damn! A diversion tactic," Joe growled clenching a fist, "Everyone, we need to wrap this up fast and head back."
The others gave a grim nod while Kara felt her stomach drop. She had just been there and now, the lives of innocent students would be in danger from the fresh wave of Magogs.
"What are we going to do about that big pig?" Danny asked glancing back at the monster, "I don't think the Megazord has enough power to pin it down by itself."
The Rangers fell silent for a moment before Claire gave a thoughtful snap of the fingers and spoke up, "Could we maybe fuse with the Pegasus zord? I mean, if the rest of our zords can combine, then why not Kara's too, right?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Joe answered quickly before turning toward the Pegasus zord, "What do you say Kara? Let's give that combining sigil a try?"
The Gold Ranger gave a hesitant look for a moment, then surveyed the battlefield once more, "Very well."
She wasn't sure if it would even work, but to the Rangers' surprise, the Pegasus zord responded. As it dashed into place, the Vanguard Megazord fused with the Pegasus at its legs to form what almost resembled a mounted warrior. Reaching down, the Megazord detached the Pegasus's metallic wings into two curved swords.
"Nice!" Nick laughed in glee, "The Cavalry has literally arrived."
As it towered over the monster, the combined Megazords charged forward on the Pegasus's hooves. In one motion, the Megazord trampled the demon and delivered a powerful finishing slash of its swords to the shocked monster. While the Megazord circled back around, the warthog demon give a gurgling squeal as it collapsed and exploded into brimstone.
From her place in the cockpit, the Gold Ranger rose quickly, "Everyone, there's no time. Those Magogs were headed toward Professor Bishop's classroom. I will go ahead to help clear the way."
Without wasting any more time, the 6 Rangers hurried to disengage their zords and hurry back towards campus as fast as their wings would carry them.
Meanwhile, back at the university, Professor Bishop continued on with his lecture until he was interrupted by a several quick knocks at the lecture hall's locked doors. Hurrying over, Bishop unlocked the door and peered out the side only to find the familiar but panicked face of Dr. Feldman.
"Maggie? What's going on? Are you ok?" Bishop asked in concern as he let the Botany professor in and quickly locked the door behind her.
The young red headed woman caught her breath and put a hand on Bishop's shoulder to steady herself, "Thank God you're here Gabriel! Those monsters are crawling all over the campus! I almost thought they were going to spot me."
Bishop's heart began to race with growing fear. If the Rangers were already busy battling a monster, then what were a group of Magogs doing here? Something must have gone wrong.
"Are they nearby?" he asked quickly casting a protective glance toward his students in the room.
The Botany professor nodded fearfully, "A handful of them looked like they were coming this way."
Bishop looked about quickly and grimaced, trying to swallow his own fear. If it came down to it, he would protect these students. Even if he wasn't a Power Ranger himself, it was still his responsibility.
Turning to everyone in the room, he said, "Ok everyone, over in the corner, there's a rear door for the faculty out of this room. I want you all to gather by it and get ready to escape if you have to. Maggie, I'll leave it to you if things go badly. Take the students to the Union."
"But Gabe, what about you?" Feldman asked in sudden concern.
The History professor shook his head, "I'll stay here and try to buy you as much time as I can."
He grabbed a loose wooden chair and held it ready as an improvised weapon. For a moment, he couldn't help but wonder if he was feeling the same sort of anxiety his Rangers often did whenever they went charging off into battle.
Several tense minutes passed until the sound of murmurs and snarls came from behind the classroom's doors. Bishop tensed as the locked doorknob turned several times to no avail. While the sound of the Magogs grew more agitated, the doors began to rattle under the force of several heavy blows.
Waving the students and Dr. Feldman to escape, Bishop stood his ground as a group of Magogs burst through the doors and attacked. To their surprise, the lone professor was ready for them and smashed the chair over one of the soldier's heads. In a flash, Bishop grabbed the fallen Magog's spear to deflect a strike while kicking another nearby minion away. Turning the locked weapons aside, Bishop shoulder checked the demon backward and took off running for the door as more Magogs swarmed into the room.
Breathing heavily, Professor Bishop hurried out the rear door and dashed onto the main Quad. To his horror, his students and Dr. Feldman had already been cornered by another patrol of enemies, threatening them with their spears.
"Gabriel!" Dr. Feldman cried both in fear and relief. The professor rejoined the students and waved his own spear, feebly tying to ward off the advancing demon foot soldiers that encircled them. As Bishop took a lunging thrust at one, the Magog parried the blow aside while another followed up and sent the professor flying backwards with a hard kick to the shoulder.
The students gasped as Bishop grunted in pain, struggling to rise with a now sprained arm. While Dr. Feldman knelt down to help him to his knees, they were both blinded by a brilliant light. As the air rippled with static electricity, Bishop, Feldman, and the other students witnessed the morphed Gold Vanguard Ranger standing before them with her blades drawn. She took a ready stance to defend the civilians while the intimidated Magogs stepped back a few paces. Turning her head slightly to her friend and mentor, Kara spoke, "I will protect you Professor. I'm sure you have family members that still need you."
Bishop broke out into a slow relieved smile catching the reference to their recent talk and Kara's new identity as his foreign cousin. "Thank you, Gold Ranger."
Dr. Feldman gave a confused look as she helped prop Bishop up. "Gabe? What is she talking about?"
Moments later, a strong gust of wind blew across the lawn as the 5 Vanguard Rangers swooped in and arrived to help. The other students sat in awe of the 6 heroes as Nick turned to Dr. Feldman, "We'll take care of things here Miss. Just stand back and keep these kids safe."
The Botany Professor stammered in surprise before giving a nod and directing the students to get down. As they did, the Red Ranger drew his Feather Stinger pistol and handed it to Bishop, "Just in case we miss a couple."
The History professor took the pistol and grinned to his student with a nod. At that point, all the other Magogs who had been terrorizing campus broke off their attack and regrouped on the quad to confront the Rangers.
"All right Rangers," Joe said drawing his gladius, "I don't know about you, but I think it's time for a little Spring Cleaning."
The others responded by pulling out their own sidearms and giving a nod in agreement. From their spot on the quad, Bishop and his class watched as the 6 Rangers sprung into action causing a furious melee to erupt on the lawn. Despite their numerical advantage, none of the Magogs could land a blow or keep up with the speed and agility of the Vanguard Rangers. While his class continued to watch with wide eyes, Bishop noticed each of the Rangers were incorporating some new martial arts moves into their fighting styles. Each move, whether it was a grapple, reversal, or a counter punch, had a distinct grace about it and was likely a credit to the combat training Kara had begun teaching them.
Soon enough, the morale of the Magogs began to break as their numbers grew dangerously thin. While the other Rangers mowed down the minions with their pistols or short swords, Kara dispatched her last opponent, twisting the monster's arm and slashing it through the side. As the Gold Ranger tossed aside the enemy, she turned in surprise to find one more demon who had snuck up from behind and raised a mace over its head.
Just then, the Magog gave a cry and crumpled to the ground as a blaster shot rang out from behind. The Gold Ranger glanced over and caught sight of Professor Bishop holding a smoking blaster pistol, giving a quick thumbs up.
Her attention turned back to the others as she realized the battle was over and the rest of the Magogs had retreated.
"That's the last of them," Izzy smiled tapping the Gold Ranger on the shoulder.
Nearby, Bishop approached the Red Ranger and handed his pistol back, "Thanks again for everything Rangers," he said pretending not to look too familiar or casual with them.
"Just doing our job sir," Joe replied calmly as he holstered the weapon. "Are you hurt?"
Bishop waved him off and cradled his bad arm, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."
The Red Ranger nodded and gestured to the others, "Let's go!"
Bishop watched as the 6 Rangers called their wings and took off into the sky, almost as quickly as they had arrived. Looking back to the others, Bishop shared a relieved smile with Dr. Feldman while the rest of the class hurried over, asking him if he was ok and cheering about what a complete bad-ass they had for a teacher.
The next day, the 6 Rangers reconvened at the Rookery within Bishop's office for a visit. Despite the chaos of the surprise attack, the Rangers were in good spirits and relieved that no one was seriously hurt, especially their mentor who had gotten away with only a sprained shoulder. As he sat behind his desk, Bishop shifted to get comfortable with his arm sling before speaking again, "Thanks again for coming by to check up on me everyone. That's really thoughtful of you."
"Well, why wouldn't we?" Claire smiled, "You're our teacher, and an important part of the team too."
"She's right," Danny added, "Plus, if it wasn't for your heroics yesterday, those students could have been hurt…or worse."
"Thanks you two," Bishop said with a slight frown, "Though I couldn't help but think that the attack yesterday was a little different. It seemed a little more organized and methodical, which worries me."
Nearby, Joe gave a tired yawn, "But I think that's something we can worry about next time. Right now, I could use a nap because it's been a long week."
"So Izzy actually convinced you to play for her charity event tomorrow night, huh?" Nick chuckled.
"If by convince, you mean guilt trip? Then yes." The Red Ranger replied earning himself a playful jab in the side from Izzy.
"That reminds me Professor, the rest of us are going tomorrow," the Pink Ranger said hopefully, "Why don't you and Kara come along too! There will be music, food, and dancing. If anything, it'll be our way of making it up to Kara for not being able to hang out with her this week."
"Thank you for the offer Izzy. I will attend," the Gold Ranger answered first.
Unfortunately, Bishop was a little more reluctant, "Are you really sure?"
"Why not?" Nick replied, "I know some other teachers and faculty members will be there. Or why not ask Dr. Feldman to go with you? Isn't she an old friend and classmate of yours too?"
Bishop wrinkled his features, "Well, yes. But, I don't know…"
That's when Kara gave a serene glance toward him, "Professor, you had been encouraging me to adjust to my present surroundings and to… dive right in, as you put it. Perhaps adjusting to the present would be a good thing for you to try as well?"
The other Rangers exchanged curious looks before Bishop gave a light chuckle and nodded, "Ok then. I'll do it."
The next evening, the Rangers met in one of the Student Union's reception halls for the spring semi formal charity event hosted by Izzy's sorority. After a few quick announcements from the event sponsors, the six friends gathered around the piano where Joe sat, straightening his tie and stretching his fingers out beforehand. Sitting nearby, two fellow students from the music department who played the string bass and the drums went over their music one more time. They had also volunteered to be jazz musicians for the evening and did a last minute tuning of their instruments as well.
While they did, Nick gave Kara a friendly nudge in the shoulder, "It's good that you were able to make it out and do something fun with us Kara. It's just too bad the rest of us were a little too busy this week to spend time with you."
"No need to apologize," Kara replied calmly as she smoothed out her newest yellow casual dress, "Passing some time this week with Professor Bishop was still very insightful... and I learned a lot."
"Hey! Let's get this party started already," the Pink Ranger cut in with a cheerful smile, "I want to start dancing!"
"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't know the steps to any of your dances," the Gold Ranger said with a slight grimace.
"Don't sweat it Kara," Joe chuckled while scooting over on the piano bench, "You can sit here next to me and make me look good tonight."
As Kara took a seat beside the Red Ranger, he signaled the rest of the musicians and they began a jazzy rendition of Frank Sinatra's Way You Look Tonight.
Turning to look around, the Blue Ranger said, "Hey Iz, you wanna…"
He was cut off as Nick gave him a friendly wink and led the Pink Ranger out on the floor to dance first, "Sorry preppy. Guess you'll have to take a number."
Danny gave a bemused sigh and shook his head until he felt someone give him a light poke in the side.
"Don't worry Danny. Joe's a little busy, so you can still dance with me in the meantime," Claire laughed patting him on the shoulder.
Danny grinned to the White Ranger and gave a playful wink while leading her out on the floor, "Now Claire, you know you're like a little sister that I love to mess with, so don't go thinking this means anything, ok?"
Claire rolled her eyes with a gentle smile and took his arm, "Oh brother… I wouldn't dream of it."
While Joe continued to play the piano along with the other musicians, Kara watched the other Rangers out on the floor, smiling and laughing to each other while dancing in a slow swing step. As she glanced about the room, she caught sight of Professor Bishop sitting at a nearby table. While he couldn't dance due to his arm sling, he still sat enjoying the evening, chatting with Dr. Maggie Feldman over some drinks.
After having shared another laugh with Feldman, Bishop glanced over and spotted Kara sitting by the piano. Giving a warm smile to his ward, he raised his glass and gave a wink. Returning the gesture with a nod and a smile of her own, the Gold Ranger sat back and began to take in the music, the lights, and the easy atmosphere. This was actually very pleasant, she thought to herself quietly. Perhaps getting used to things here would be much easier and more enjoyable than she originally thought after all.