In his private quarters Admiral Telan surveyed the holographic representation of the fleet disposition. Once more he mentally ran through the projected shipyard production numbers for the Galactic League of Light, subtracting the output from those facilities located in the fourth of the League territory which had fallen to the UAE during this most recent offensive. Then he totaled up all of the figures to come up with the final number of new ships which would be commissioned during the next year. This was the fourth time he had worked everything out in his head, always accounting for a range of possible variations, and though the ultimate figure arrived at differed, his conclusion remained the same.
It wasn't going to be enough.
They'd lost too many ships and crews, too many shipyards, while the United Alliance of Evil's productions centers remained untouched. Add in the manufacturing capability of that tinpot despot Gasket's little kingdom and the eventual outcome was bleakly and inevitably clear.
When his comm sounded, the Admiral's first reaction was fear that the attack had been renewed. Instead Vice-Admiral Takerus, his second in command, reported to him in brief, clipped sentences what the Rangers' mentor had done.
The news added an extra heartache to his contemplation of the coming destruction of all he held dear. Over the years he had grown to respect Billy Cranston a great deal. The human had done much for them during the course of the war, helping to keep the Light Rangers alive against the Psycho Rangers, even while his own home planet languished under the bootheel of the Alliance. It was tragic to see Billy's life thrown away on the hopeless gamble he had embarked upon, and Telan couldn't help wondering if the Rangers' leader had reached same conclusion as he had regarding the future. The boy was intelligent and insightful enough that Telan wouldn't put such perceptiveness past him. Perhaps the knowledge had been too much for him, leading him to take on this mad mission to try to change things.
Whatever the reason, nothing could be done to alter the human's course. He had taken the Phantom Ranger's ship and even if he weren't already behind enemy lines, which he surely was, there was simply no way to detect the cloaked vessel.
With the hope that his ally would find some peace in death, Admiral Telan turned his attention to locating possible refuge worlds and facilitating the logistics of as many evacuations on a planetary scale as was possible.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
The speed of the Phantom Ranger's ship was such that their arrival at the Dark Fortress was, objectively, among the shorter interstellar trips Billy had taken.
Subjectively it seemed to him to be by far the longest.
He couldn't help questioning his decision, to risk his and Justin's lives on such a reckless, spur of the moment plan. It wasn't like him, not at all! He was logical, methodical, a chess player rather than a poker player. Yet here he was, risking all he had on the outcome of a single hand.
That the potential reward was worth the risk was the only aspect of the present situation about which he had no doubts whatsoever. If they could return the original Justin Stewart and Fred Kelman to the side of the Light, as they had done for Adam, then the benefits to the GLL would be truly immense. The complete destruction of the Psycho Rangers, access to all of the technical and strategic data Justin doubtless possessed, and a morale boost which would be sorely needed in the wake of so much loss.
Not to mention the rescue of two people he was confident would rather die than continue to serve evil, if only they were in their right minds to voice their desire.
No, the goal was more than worthy; it was the method which was madness. There was so much which could go wrong! What if the two Psycho Rangers left didn't remain at the Dark Fortress to rest? What if they were immediately sent elsewhere? What if Justin was able to devise a way to pierce the cloaking shield en route and put it into effect when he arrived? What if they simply decided to keep the Dark Fortress' forcefield up as a matter of security to prevent any cloaked incursions?
These and a thousand other doubt assailed Billy as their ship traversed the void of space. He gave voice to none of them, wishing to undermine neither his own shaky confidence nor that of his passenger.
Justin was equally silent, a marked contrast from the cheerful chatter Billy had come to appreciate over the years, whether they were working on new piece of technology or just spending time together.
Again Billy cursed himself for allowing Justin to be dragged into this. He should have moved more quickly, should have been able to think up a more convincing argument to persuade the other Blue Ranger to remain behind. With the loss of the storage unit which had kept copies of the psyches of the Robot Light Rangers, Justin was taking every bit as big a risk as he was on this mission.
More than once Billy seriously considered turning the ship around, returning to face the angry, hurt recriminations of his team and his wife. It wasn't too late; he could still go home.
Except he would do so knowing that he was sacrificing their best and perhaps only opportunity to wipe out the Psycho Rangers. No matter how slim the chance of success might be, he couldn't bring himself to turn away from this mission. Not after years of intra-galactic war, not after millions of deaths, not after the conquest of Earth, and not after losing six Rangers.
He had to go through with this, come what may.
He could only hope Cestria would understand that. He thought she would. She'd been a Ranger.
Over a year and a half ago Billy had installed a few experimental upgrades on the drive of this ship, to help the Phantom Ranger get where he needed to be more quickly. Because of that they actually arrived at the Dark Fortress well before the Envenomed Blade did, even with the cruiser's considerable headstart.
Though he'd seen countless video feeds of the Dark Fortress, until now Billy had never looked upon the structure with his own eyes. Here was the enemy capital, rotating in space before him.
As well as the enemy ruler.
Dark Specter was truly massive and Billy had to consciously keep himself from flinching at the sight. His hands on the controls slickened with sweat, even though he knew there was nothing to worry about. The Phantom Ranger had taken up position and teleported in under the Emperor of Evil's nose any number of times. Whatever terrible powers he possessed apparently didn't give him the ability to pierce the cloaking shield.
At least, not without conscious effort. If the Blue Psycho Ranger were to tell him of the possibility of a cloaked ship, though, would he then be able to detect it? If he were actively trying to?
With that disquieting thought in mind Billy maneuvered to put the space station between them and UAE's leader, taking care also to avoid the two UAE cruisers circling the station.
"We're here," Justin said, the first words he had spoken since they broke orbit.
"Yes, we are," Billy breathed, sighing in the sudden release of tension. "Now we wait."
ΩΩΩΩΩ
"Sirs, we have arrived at the Dark Fortress," one of the Quantrons on the bridge informed the Psycho Rangers over the comm.
A feeling of nervous nausea abruptly afflicted the brown-haired seventeen year-old. He and Fred had spent the past few hours in the wardroom devising and going over various contingency plans for the meeting with Dark Specter. They were as ready and prepared as they could reasonably expect to be. Yet knowing that it was about to happen still put the sour taste of fear in Justin's mouth.
The loss of Tommy would have led to a debriefing encounter of this nature, but the death of a single Psycho Ranger, even the leader, would have been a far less serious situation than losing four of his teammates and being driven from the field by the surviving Light Rangers. In spite of the unquestioned progress they'd made in defeating the Galactic League of Light, the advance which had been intended go all the way to Aquitar had still been checked and stalled well short of that. Dark Specter would not be pleased.
"Ready?" the Gold Psycho Ranger asked. Justin answered with a firm nod, and together they teleported into the Dark Fortress' command center.
The duo reappeared under the glowing red gaze of Dark Specter, who was peering into the chamber through the transparent window set in the outer wall. Nor were they alone in the room; Princess Astronema stood by the door, smirking confidently and flanked by a pair of Quantrons. Ignoring her Justin turned to face absolute ruler of the United Alliance of Evil.
"Explain your failure, Blue Psycho Ranger," the black-rock being hissed.
"We conquered world after world in the vanguard of your forces before the Light Rangers finally deigned to face us," Justin began, pleased by the steadiness of his voice. "Our leader let his Rangers get lured away one by one, but the Gold Psycho Ranger and I stayed with him. The three of us fought four of the Light Rangers and we found they'd grown much more powerful than before. Their uniforms were like those of the Earth Rangers who won the Great Power and their mentor Billy was among them. He killed Tommy while the Gold Psycho Ranger killed the Phantom Ranger. Then the remaining three Light Rangers teleported in and we fell back, on my initiative. Pink and Red Psycho's morphers and corpses came with us, but not Green or Yellow's. Then we returned to you, my Lord."
"You ran away, and let all of the other Psycho Rangers die," Astronema put in sneeringly.
Justin didn't bother responding to her. There was nothing to be gained by arguing against her gibes.
Failing to get a rise out of him, the Princess of Evil instead turned to the viewport. "After being captured and taking days to escape, the Blue Psycho Ranger participated in a disastrous defeat which cost the lives of virtually all of his fellow Rangers before he fled! And this was after they had failed to destroy the Light Rangers for years!" she finished with a snarl.
Fred shifted at his side, and Justin gave a minute shake of his helmet. Much as he longed to strike out at Astronema himself, that wouldn't be advantageous, not right now.
"You can't let this incompetent fool continue in his role! Give me the Psycho Morphers and I'll pick a team that will finish the Light Rangers! I won't fail you, Dark Specter; I never have."
She finished her impassioned plea and Dark Specter scrutinized them thoughtfully. Justin held his breath as he waited for UAE's leader to respond.
He turned first to regard the Gold Psycho Ranger.
"You will continue in your role," he pronounced, and Justin grinned within his helmet at the frustrated look on Astronema's face.
Then Dark Specter turned to him.
"You have served me well," he began, "but your failures cannot be wholly excused. You will surrender your Morpher and the other unattached Morphers to Astronema, and I will consider your new role."
As he stood there, condemned by Dark Specter, master of the United Alliance of Evil and the most powerful being in the galaxy, Justin's overriding emotion was not fear or shame, but indignant fury! After everything he'd done to secure victory for the United Alliance of Evil, to be cast aside like this at Astronema's urging was more than merely unjust; it was insane!
Without him they would have lost Earth! Without him they never would have had Fred to serve at the Gold Psycho Warrior! Without him they wouldn't have been able to bring Prince Gasket and his armada into the UAE fold and wouldn't have just conquered roughly a fourth of the GLL! He should have been replacing Astronema as Dark Specter's right hand, not being demoted!
Switching his helmet over to radio communication Justin gave a brief order, then switched off his comm.
"My lord," he said respectfully, "I will NOT obey! Omega!"
Fred reacted to the code word at once, speeding over to the console Justin had told him of while they were on the ship and activating the Dark Fortress' force-field.
"Restrain her!" the Blue Psycho Ranger shouted at the Quantrons. The one on her left immediately complied, grabbing her by the arm. After a second's delay the one on her right did likewise. Justin finished by summoning his Psycho Axe and brandishing it in Astronema's direction.
"You dare to defy ME?" Dark Specter roared, his entire form suddenly blazing with pure, crackling power. "I have absorbed the life force of Zordon! I could raze an entire planet if I wished! Do you truly think that this energy field can protect you from my wrath, you foolish traitor?"
"No, I know it can't," Justin admitted calmly. "I just need it to protect me from the explosion."
Confusion gave way to realization in the Emperor of Evil's eyes a split-second before the Envenomed Blade, its Quantron crew obeying Justin's broadcast order, drove itself down into Dark Specter's chest.
The resultant detonation did indeed take down the forcefield and shook the entire Fortress, but the structural integrity of the space station held.
Wreckage, debris and remains were propelled in all directions and a rocklike chunk of the formerly mightiest being in the galaxy flew on a perfect arc to impact with the cloaked vessel on the far side of the Dark Fortress.
This superheated piece of Dark Specter struck and slashed open the surface of the Phantom Ranger's ship, sending it spinning and bringing down the cloaking field.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
Flung from his chair and into the nearest bulkhead, Billy struggled and failed to regain his footing and bearings. What on Earth had just happened?! In a mere instant they'd somehow gone from safely hidden to exposed and out of control!
The hiss of escaping air pierced through his fog of disorientation, warning Billy that the ship's environment had been compromised and he quickly moved to seal off his helmet.
Meanwhile Justin had succeeded in dragging himself to the console, his gloved fingers sinking slightly into the metal of the floor as he fought against the centrifugal force being generated by the violent motion.
"The cloaking shield is down!" he shouted to Billy. "Two of the cruisers are coming around to target us!"
Billy's mind spun faster than the vessel as he fought to come up with a way to salvage his wild, spur of the moment plan and their lives.
Even as their time ran inexorably out.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
Justin took only a moment to appreciate the sight of Dark Specter's explosive demise, of the fall of a being no one thought could ever be defeated. Then he raised his Psycho Axe, charged forward, and brought it down-not on Astronema, but on the Quantron to her right.
Releasing Astronema it dodged with inhuman speed, the stylized blade of the weapon missing its head and coming down on the shoulder. With a curse Darkonda resumed his natural form as Justin wrenched his axe free from the alien mercenary's organic armor.
Fred appeared at Justin's side as Astronema took her spear-scepter in her right hand and blasted apart the real Quantron.
"I'll take Darkonda," Fred asserted, and Justin didn't have time to answer before the Gold Psycho Ranger sped toward the Mephistian and staff clashed with sword.
In the next instant, a blast of energy took Justin in the chest, knocking him backward.
Rolling to the side he dodged her next shot and whipped his Psycho Axe through the air at her, slicing off the Princess of Evil's left hand at the forearm.
Immediately hard pressed by his black and gold clad assailant, Darkonda's left hand went to the chain on his shoulder, whipping it toward his foe. The end of the metal links wrapped itself around the staff and channeled the electricity through it. The Psycho Ranger sunk to his knees and Darkonda grinned.
Kill this one, finish off whoever won the fight between Astronema and the irritating Blue Psycho Ranger, and the UAE's throne would be his for the taking! He thrust his sword forward, visions of absolute power and glory already dancing in his mind, but the blade was knocked aside by sudden a twirl of the staff!
Then the Gold Psycho Ranger seized his chain with one gloved hand and snarled, "My turn!".
The Mephistian felt his muscles suddenly lock up as electricity flowed back up the chain and into his hand. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, and the pain he was experiencing was swiftly ascending into agony. A terrible burning stench filled the air and to his horror Darkonda realized the smell was coming from him, from the electrical burns he was experiencing as he literally cooked inside of his organic armor! He tried again and again to release the chain, and failed. He couldn't strike with his sword, couldn't teleport, couldn't do anything except stare in burning hatred at his killer until his eyes burst forth from their sockets.
Only when he was certain the treacherous, scheming monster who had helped kidnap Justin was thoroughly dead did Fred at last release the chain and let the charred corpse collapse to the floor plating. Glancing over he saw the fight between Justin and Astronema already finished, the Princess of Evil's body lying slumped at the Blue Psycho Ranger's feet, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
"You know I wanted to kill him," Justin complained, and Fred grinned beneath his helmet.
"I know, but do you really think you could have made him suffer like this?" he challenged, gesturing towards the still-smoking heap of alien remains.
Justin seemed set to argue the point, but instead what he said was, "Fred . . . we did it!"
And they had! This had been the worst of all of the possibilities they'd discussed, yet they had emerged triumphant! They'd won, carrying out their lightning coup and taking out Astronema, Darkonda and Dark Specter himself in a matter of moments! Fred would be the leader of the new Psycho Rangers, and Justin would head the United Alliance of Evil!
It was a literally historic victory, one worthy of days of celebration. Yet the two remaining Psycho Rangers' time of joyous, triumphant elation was almost instantly interrupted by a comm transmission to the station from the Quantron captain of the Unstoppable.
"Dark Fortress, we have detected and destroyed a previously cloaked enemy ship in the wake of the explosion."
They had to mean the Phantom Ranger's ship, Justin realized. The Phantom Ranger had died with the other Psychos, but his ship had remained, and the Rangers must have taken it here. Why, though? What were they hoping to accomplish?
"Scan the wreckage thoroughly for a Morphin energy signature!" Justin told the captain.
If the Rangers had made it off the ship before it was destroyed, then he and Fred were in danger of being struck down at the very moment of their triumph!
He commed the captains of both cruisers, telling them teleport all troops to the Dark Fortress and then broadcasting orders to every Quantron in the station, directing the new arrivals to fan out and search for intruders.
"Report at once if you sight any intruders!" Justin finished vehemently.
"And what do we do?" Fred asked tersely as Justin straightened.
"First we stay here and protect the command center," the seventeen year-old began. "If our Quantrons confirm that the Rangers are here, then we retreat." He raised his voice to cut off Fred's inevitable protest. "We're not going to be idiots and risk everything in a fight where the odds are against us, not when we can fall back instead!"
"So we run again?" the Gold Psycho Ranger growled, his posture making Justin think of a chained tiger.
"We retreat," he repeated firmly. "Right after I order the Unstoppable and Hell's Fury to destroy the entire station."
"Wait, what?"
"I'd prefer to keep the Dark Fortress," Justin admitted, "but sacrificing it to wipe out the rest of the Light Rangers is a more than even trade."
His answer was a laugh and a powerful, left-handed clap on the shoulder. "You're gonna make a great Emperor of Evil, Justin," Fred observed admiringly.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
The room they'd appeared in was empty, with a bed, a bureau, what looked like a closet door and three larger closed doors in the north, west, and south walls.
Billy let out a breath as he collected himself.
"Where are we?" he asked, already suspecting the answer.
"We're in Justin's bedroom," his Justin said. "They were about to destroy the ship! I had to do something and you already had these coordinates on the screen, so I teleported us here."
"You did the right thing; you saved both of our lives," Billy told him truthfully. Now it was a question of how much longer they would be able to keep those lives.
They were trapped in the Dark Fortress, without their ship or a teleporter. For a single lunatic moment, Billy thought that perhaps the two of them could hide in Justin's closet and still carry out the original plan. Then he shook off the idiocy of that idea and looked at the situation rationally. The presence of their ship had certainly been reported, and even if Dark Specter wasn't able to somehow actively detect them, it would be madness to hide and hope no one would find them. They needed to find a way to escape, and the needed to do it now.
Two immediate options presented themselves: the hangar bay and the command center. There were plenty of fighters in the former, but trying to get home in a fighter past the capital ships waiting outside, much less Dark Specter, would be suicide.
The command center held a teleporter and though it would likely be the most heavily guarded, it offered them their only real prospect for survival.
"We're going to the teleporter in the command room and getting off this station."
"We're giving up?" Justin cried.
"Justin, we don't have a choice. Neither the probe nor my pulse device is going to make it through the Psycho Ranger armor. We have to save ourselves."
Getting a tight, unhappy nod of acknowledgement, Billy called forth his Power Lance and again split it into two sais, the small weapons being far more suited to the close quarters of the space station than the full-sized lance. Then he proceeded Justin out into the living room and into the hall.
One of the few advantages they had was that they knew exactly where they were going. The Phantom Ranger's first assignment had been to make a complete and highly detailed map of the Dark Fortress. Billy had memorized it and Justin had needed only a glance to commit the layout to his own processor.
They were actually in a relatively good position, with a straight shot to the command room, Billy reassured himself. Perhaps they could sprint down there, strike before anyone realized what was happening, and be gone and safe.
That's when what looked like at least a squad of Quantrons turned the corner behind them.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
"We've got something!"
"What?" Fred demanded.
"The two Blue Rangers, they're in the corridor right outside my room!" Justin explained.
"None of the others?"
"No, not yet."
Why would the Light Ranger be separated? If they'd teleported out of the ship before it was destroyed, wouldn't they have all teleported to the same location? Time and safety considerations suggested the answer was yes.
Had they teleported the others onboard earlier, before the forcefield first went up? That was possible, but none of them had the Phantom Ranger's personal cloaking ability; their presence would inevitably be discovered, and sooner rather than later. Had Billy really thought to fight a battle to the finish in the middle of the Dark Fortress, in the heart of the UAE's territory and under the eyes of Dark Specter himself? Surely such a spectacularly stupid plan could not have sprung from the mind of a Blue Ranger!
Or did he have a different plan altogether?
Two Rangers found here, two Psycho Rangers left, and they'd teleported into the area where the Psycho Rangers' living quarters were . . . where they slept . . .
"Fred, I don't think the other Light Rangers are here! I think these two came to kill us in our sleep!"
"You're kidding me! But then I guess that is the only way they could beat us. I take it you're ready to go finish them now, then?"
"No!" Justin snapped. "This isn't a threat anymore; it's an opportunity! The first two of our new Psycho Rangers have delivered themselves right to us!"
ΩΩΩΩΩ
With the Great Power infusing them both, taking down the entire squad of Quantrons took little effort, but it did take time, and that was by far the more precious factor in their current predicament.
Billy was in the lead when they came within sight of the command door. He saw it slide open and beheld what looked to him like a black and gold fireball blazing down the corridor towards them.
He and Justin were both sent skidding back down the hall by the impact, each feeling like he'd been hit by a falling fighter. Scrambling to his feet as quickly as he could Billy saw the Gold Psycho Ranger, staff held in his right hand, blocking the way forward. Behind him stood his Blue partner, Psycho Axe at the ready.
Two on two, an ostensibly even fight which could go either way-except one of the two they were facing was the Gold Psycho Ranger.
They wouldn't be making it to those teleporter controls.
Billy knew this intellectually, knew it as well as he knew any scientific fact. Still, he raised his sais and assumed his battle stance, because what else could he do? There was no other option.
Or at least that's what he thought. His Light Ranger, his Justin Stewart, proved him wrong when the android whirled around and bolted back up the corridor the way they'd come, leaving Billy behind.
Pure shock paralyzed the Rangers' mentor as he struggled to comprehend what was going on. He would never have imagined that Justin would abandon him like this, not in a thousand years, especially when there was nowhere else to go!
"Get to the teleportation controls! I have a plan!" the Light Ranger called back over his shoulder as he sprinted out of sight.
Turning his attention back to his enemies, Billy saw the Blue Ranger vanish in a stream of light while his remaining enemy stalked confidently toward him.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
Even as he left his leader behind, Justin wanted nothing more than to turn around and race back to Billy's side. That was exactly what he'd have to do, if this didn't work, if one of them didn't come after him. There was no way he could leave Billy to face both Psycho Rangers alone, but he could potentially do a lot more good by drawing one of them off.
When the Blue Psycho Ranger, the human he was taken from, teleported into the corridor a dozen feet in front of him, Justin felt surge of dismay. The Gold Psycho Ranger had been in front; he had hoped that would be the one to come after him, to give Billy the best possible chance of escaping.
But no, it was Justin, and in some sense it was fitting and inevitable that it be Justin. Billy had been right; he wasn't responsible for what Justin had done as a Psycho Ranger. Like all of the other Light Rangers, though, he was responsible for stopping Justin, and perhaps him more than the others, given all that they shared.
He summoned up his hammer, the two facing each other. A long moment passed as neither one made a move. The Light Ranger took a step forward, hefting his hammer, and to his surprise his opponent took several steps backward.
"Are you afraid to face me?" he challenged.
"You're the one who ran," his biological model laughed. "I'm not afraid; I'm just waiting."
Waiting for what, Justin began to ask, when he heard the hiss of doors opening on both sides. A horde of Quantrons poured into the corridor from the adjacent rooms and even as he chopped the head from one and smashed another with a side kick, Justin knew that he never should have taken his eyes off the true enemy.
The Psycho Axe smashed directly into his chest, knocking him to the floor as the surrounding Quantrons engulfed him.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
Billy remembered concluding less than five minutes ago that his Power Lance was too long and unwieldly to be an effective weapon in this environment. The Gold Psycho Ranger's staff was of an equal size, yet he appeared to have no problem whatsoever using it effectively.
That was only errant thought Billy allowed to cross his mind, as the whole of his attention was focused on battling his foe. He took blow after blow, yet landed few return strikes and even those his enemy seemed to shrug off.
Then the booted foot slammed into his stomach like an asteroid impact, and he folded in half, putting himself in a perfect position for the downward blow of the staff to his helmet.
He literally collapsed at the Gold Psycho Ranger's feet, his morph falling away from him in a shower of sparks.
"You're lucky Justin wants you alive," his opponent remarked.
"Alive?" he coughed, raising his head to take in the figure towering over him. "Why?"
"You and the android are going to help replenish the ranks of the Psycho Rangers."
Billy had felt real fear more times than he could count during his career as a Ranger, so he knew that what he felt at these words was not that. No, what he felt was instead raw, animal terror! He'd come here prepared to die, but not to suffer a fate worse than death! He had too much on his conscience as it was; he could not bear the idea of being turned into a living weapon for evil, as Tommy had been, as the original Justin had been.
A steely hand closed around his neck, lifting his whole body up by the throat with casual ease before brutally slamming him into the wall. He stared at the impassive helmet facing him, hating it more than he would have thought possible for an inanimate object. If not for that barrier, he could win this battle!
Instead all he could do was hope that the Light Ranger he'd brought with him on this suicide mission could somehow find a way to escape.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
The Robot Ranger was wrenched up and into a position reminiscent of someone being crucified, with two Quantrons on each arm and two wrapped around his legs.
Looking upon his captive robot double Justin Stewart could not suppress a feeling of almost giddy glee. Once both Blue Rangers were properly reprogrammed and on his side, the new Psycho Rangers might well not even have to fight again personally in order win this war! The information in both of theirs heads, put to proper use, would likely be enough to topple the Galactic League of Light without the need for another campaign of planetary conquest.
"Justin, listen to me!" his captive insisted, the desperation clear and sweet in his tone.
"I don't think you have anything to say that I need to hear," the seventeen year-old countered as he pondered the best way to permanent incapacitate the android until reprogramming could take place. Perhaps the easiest route would be to simply sever his head with the Psycho Axe and reattach it afterwards.
"Billy can deactivate the machinery that's controlling you! He did it to Adam!"
"Adam's alive?" That was an oversight which would need to be remedied.
"Yes, and he's in control of himself again! You can be too! I am who you were and I know you don't want to be like this! You don't want to be evil!"
"That's where you're wrong! I'm not just going to be evil; I'm going to RULE evil! The explosion that disabled your ship? That was Dark Specter dying! The UAE throne is vacant, just waiting for me to take my rightful place upon it. And you're going to help me."
ΩΩΩΩΩ
Fred was taken by surprise when Billy spat out, "If you're going to brainwash me, at least tell me who you really are first!"
"What are you talking about? Justin told me who I was when you had him prisoner! Which is something else I should take you apart for," he noted meaningfully.
"Justin told us you were Fred Kelman, but that's impossible."
"Why is that impossible?" he asked, actually curious now. He in no way expected the answer he got.
"Because I knew Fred Kelman, and he was a weakling."
"We could all tell that he'd never be good enough at the martial arts, or be good enough at anything, to be a Power Ranger!" the insect in his grasp went on remorselessly, infuriatingly! "Aisha told him he was in line to be one once, but that was only out of pity."
The urge to crush his larynx, hell, to go ahead and rip his whole head off, was such that the teenager had difficulty resisting it. Maybe that was what Billy wanted, though; maybe he was trying to get Fred to kill him.
"Fred could never have done all of this, even with the Gold Psycho Ranger powers! So who is it that's actually under that helmet?"
In the grip of his fury, Fred hit the clasp releases and removed his helmet, face to face with his captive.
"It's just me, Billy," he snarled, and in response Billy said, "Activate".
The tiny EMP pulse device he'd built into his morpher, a precaution in case his target woke up and resisted before he could use the handheld probe to deactivate the neural net, went off at the same time the shockwave of an explosion sent both men tumbling down the hall like leaves in a tornado.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
"I'm trying to help you!" the Robot Ranger insisted. "I'm trying to help you come back to who you are, who you should be!"
"Thanks, but I like who I am now, and soon you will too," Justin reassured him, drawing back the Psycho Axe for a decisive, decapitating swing, the blade glowing with a wicked red aura.
Everything happened so fast after that.
The Axe whistled through empty air, the robotic Justin having demorphed at the last second and thus having resumed Justin's thirteen year-old stature. The Axe carved through Quantrons who had already lost their grip when the arm they were clutching shrank down to about half its previous size.
The hand attached to that arm darted toward the bare-chested android's inner workings, openly exposed because the synth-flesh hiding it had been crudely and jaggedly cut away everywhere except at the waist, flopping forward in a long, wide strip.
Familiar with schematics of the Robot Rangers, the new, self-proclaimed leader of the United Alliance of Evil had enough time to see and comprehend that the hand was closing around an unfamiliar metal orb which had been inserted and attached to the android's power supply.
The explosion which followed wiped Justin Stewart, all of him, from the galaxy.
ΩΩΩΩΩ
Author's Notes-Again, my apologies for taking so long to get this up. I really hope you enjoyed the story! There's only the Epilogue left now, and I'll do my best to finish that and get it posted before the new year dawns.