Episode 3:
The Importance of Being Ray
"All right guys, listen up," Ray announced, and all three faces looked with eager anxiety.
It had been a week since Gideon had attacked the Warehouse, and Benson, or "Doc" as they were starting to call him, wanted them to be ready. The Pulse had enhanced their strength and their reflexes, and their Ranger power made them formidable already, but Doc warned there would be times when they alone would not be enough. Gideon was cunning and was no doubt scheming to counteract the abilities he'd seen.
And while Ray and Johnny were well trained in martial arts, Hilary, Ben, and Jake had been operating more or less on instinct. On survival.
Which left it to Ray to give them some pointers. They lined up in front of the mats, dressed in casual gym gear and watching him with nervous uncertainty. For years the three had watched him train from the sidelines, all of them insisting they wouldn't be able to do what he could. But now they'd have to.
"Feet apart, slightly bent," he explained, demonstrating his stance. "The key is always balance, no matter what you do. If you can get that right, then you can generate more power than you ever thought possible."
As he tried to explain, the three in front all made their attempts, all to various degrees of success. Ben was too wide, Hilary too short, and Jake was bending his knees way too much. They had a long way to go.
It was going to be harder than he thought.
"How about I try making some corrections," Ray offered, stepping stepped closer to where his friends were standing. "Remember, with your ready stance you're aiming for shoulder width."
First off the rank was Hilary, and as she saw him approach she smiled. The parting of her lips sent a flutter through his veins, and she looked away almost an instant later as Ray tried to refocus. Instead, he stepped around, standing behind her to look down at her feet.
"I'm just going to push your foot into the right spot," he explained. "If that's okay."
Hilary nodded, complete trust in Ray as she stepped in just a little bit closer. Hoping to balance himself, he gently touched her shoulders, feeling the softness of her skin beneath his palm, and sending another quiver through his heart. Steeling himself, he shuffled his foot beside hers and carefully began to push. Hilary shifted slightly in response, leaning backward to rebalance, allowing her back to rest upon his chest.
It was only then, as the beating of his pulse thumped against his breast that Ray realized just how close they were. And if realizing it too, Hilary slowly turned to look at him. Their eyes met, Ray's heart slowing to a purposeful beat as in turning Hilary had closed the distance between them to merely a breath. It completely threw his concentration.
His foot slipped, pushing Hilary's too far. Her eyes nearly popped as her footing crumbled and she tumbled to the ground. On instinct, Ray's arms snatched out, scooping her up before she hit the concrete. Their breathing seized, the blonde Ranger taking a moment to realize she was hanging before looking up at her savior.
"Wow…" Hilary breathed, a hint of a smile parting between her lips in awe and gratitude. "Thanks for the save."
"Ah…" Ray smiled back nervously, "don't mention it."
Behind them, Ben and Jake merely rolled their eyes.
"Think he'd catch us if we tumbled like that?" Ben snickered.
"Oh, Ray!" Jake laughed in a mocking, high-pitched voice. "Catch me, I'm falling!"
But as Ray and Hilary turned to look at them, both boys snapped up straight and pretended they'd said nothing. Back to business.
"Maybe we should take this to the crash pads," Ray suggested, looking at the layout behind them. "Extra bit of safety probably couldn't hurt."
And if Jake and Ben happened to 'trip' when he was correcting them, obviously he wanted them to have a safe landing.
Down at the city pier, Johnny was enjoying the moment to himself. The open-air, and the sea breeze; it the closest reminder of his old home. A small comfort, looking down the coast, knowing Reefside was just a few miles away. Close enough to visit, but too far to commute.
He wasn't thrilled when his parents told him they were moving, packing up the childhood home, and moving upstate. A great opportunity for them, but for Johnny, it meant starting over.
He probably should have been happy he'd made new friends as quickly as he did, even if it was only a freak accident and superpowers that had brought them together. But every time he hung out with them, there was an immediate, stark reminder of how long the other four had known each other. Their memories, their in-jokes, their traditions that they didn't think were anything.
All a reminder to Johnny of how on the outside he truly was.
"I think you'll like it here," his mom had told him. "You just need to give it some time."
Give it time; he guessed being on the Ranger team would mean plenty of that.
But his melancholic mood was broken by the sound of rumbling feet, people rushing at a quick place along the pier. The screaming soon followed.
Not good.
Hurrying to the source, hoping desperately to be wrong, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw a gang of Byte-Bots running amok. They were running in all directions, flailing in people's faces, knocking over stands, and making a mess. Instilling fear.
Then he heard a scream, his head whipping around to see a woman running fast as she could, movement hindered as she clutched the hand of a small child that was waddling to keep up. And the Byte-Bots were almost upon her.
Johnny moved without thinking, rushing forward to throw himself between the robots and a fleeing woman. His heel spun out, cracking into a robot's face to send it spinning to the ground. The henchman clattered, rolling back as its ruffian comrades were already running in to join them.
"Are you okay?" Johnny asked the frightened woman with their brief moment of respite. When she nodded hurriedly, he ordered, "Good, get out of here. I'll keep them off you."
She didn't need telling twice, sweeping her child in her arms and bolting as Johnny spun around. They bunched together, intimidatingly emphasizing their numbers as the teenager took a fighter stance.
Here goes…
"Come on fellas," he reasoned. "You know we don't have to this-"
The robot's ignored him, leaping right for him as Johnny gracefully sidestepped. The Byte-Bot fumbled, flailing to punch the empty and gliding past as Johnny snatched it by the shoulders. Yanking it back into a spin, he snapped into a perfect kick to send it careening into the wall. Then he turned to face the others, stance ready and much more aggressive
"Okay," he deiced. "I guess we're doing this."
The rest weren't polite enough to come one at a time. Keeping up his guard, Jonny stepped between them, playing the defense to try and get a better position. Leading them to a pile of crates, he weaved behind and smacked, crashing it into the pile of wooden splinters.
One down, but another was coming.
Summoning his speed, the Byte-Bot hit only empty air, and johnny was already focusing his attention on the one behind. It swung wide, chest so exposed it was begging for a hefty punch. Johnny eagerly complied.
Then he leaped, pirouetting to deliver a devastating kick to the face and return to the one he'd dodged. His leg snapped up as the robot came in. His body twisted, all his force concentrating on the ball of his foot as it plunged into the stomach and sent it flying.
Not half bad, if he said so himself. But his confidence was short-lived.
"Hey, Ranger!"
Johnny turned just in time to see a large creature, a bizarre cross between a dinosaur and a turtle standing in front of him. And with him were a whole new batch of Byte-Bots.
"Want some more?" the creature cackled.
Not good.
The bots whipped up their blasters and fired, Johnny barely diving in time as the round exploded behind him.
So, maybe taking them alone was a bad idea. Lesson learned. Time to call for backup.
Leaping to his feet, Johnny took off, leaving the Byte-bots behind to weave between the buildings. Safe, if only for a moment, he pressed against the wall with heavy breathing as he reached for Morpher.
And then he dialed for distress.
They were still struggling to find their balance a problem that became only more apparent when they started sparing. Paring up, the three were wobbly, struggling to stay upright as they tried to land daring strikes against each other.
None of them seemed to be picking it up. If anything they looked like they were getting worse
They just need time, Ray reminded himself, trying to dissuade his falling confidence. I had the same problems when I started.
But Ray had been at this for years, almost since he could walk. The other three didn't have that kind of time. Jake had just hit the mat for the third time when the alarm started blaring.
Saved by the bell, the four teens huddled around the console as Doc flicked open the com channel, monitors lighting up with different views of the city.
"We've got you, Johnny," he said. "What's going on?"
"Youguysneedtogetdowntothepier,there'ssomeseriousByte-Botactiongoingondownhere!"
Doc turned his attention to the view screen only to immediately hiss in worry.
"Not good," he told them as pointed to the strange creature chasing Johnny. "See that guy? That's Kelgar, the one Gideon used as a test subject. He's probably the one behind the virus you fought the other night."
"We can handle it," Ray insisted. "Don't worry."
The others may not have been as proficient as he was, but their Ranger powers would more than make up for it. At least he hoped they would.
"Johnny, we're on our way. Try to hold them off till we get there."
"That's what I'm doing!"
The other three nodded, and Morphers in hand followed Ray toward the exit. Breathing in for luck, they stood in a line together.
"Time to shine guys," said Ray. "Ready?"
"Ready!"
"Data Squad, Digitize!"
The light surrounded them, imbuing them with power as they surged into action. What felt like moments later they arrived at the pier, leaping into the writhing horde of Byte-Bots. Just as the other night, their bodies moved with ease, clattering more robots to the ground with every strike.
I'm getting the hang of this, Ray realized as he struck down yet another Byte Bot. Time to try some trash-talk?
"Have a nice trip!" Johnny had morphed as they arrived, and now was sweeping his staff from underneath the Byte-Bots.
Yeah, trash-talk's a go.
"Want to hear a joke?" He laughed while slashing at the bots with his sword. "It's side-splitting!"
Okay, maybe it was something to work on.
The others seemed to be doing as well as he was, shattering the Byte-Bot's forms left, right, and center. Already they were in retreat, scampering into a huddle with some of them randomly jolting with stray electricity, and others missing limbs entirely. Kelgar did not look pleased.
He shrieked and scampered backward as the Rangers formed ranks and began to zero in on them. But before they could so much as utter an insult or taunt, a familiar green flashed by Kelgar's side.
Cyrax had joined the fray.
"Jealous of the attention?" Ray jeered. Much better.
But Cyrax merely laughed. "Not at all, I'm merely dropping off a friend."
Another flash of light, and then standing beside him was what looked like a giant car battery with limbs.
"Enjoy your little play date, Rangers." Cyrax laughed, snatching Kelgar by the shoulder as the pair teleported away.
"Your powers are pathetic!" yelled the battery, "Here, let me give you some." Chattering filled their ears, ad cracking as arcs of electricity jolted from its body before blasting in all directions. The forks rained down upon them, blasts striking the ground with a flash and exploding on impact. But the Rangers were ready, charging forward as the bolts exploded behind them and the five closed the distance to engage.
But it was ready too.
"Big mistake," laughed the battery as More electricity fired from its hands. This close, there was nowhere to didge, the lightning forking through the air hitting all but Ray and Hilary square in the chest. Undeterred as the other three were hurled backward, the red and yellow range continued their charge. Ray swung his sword, the large blade slashing across the surface, and as the monster stumbled backward Hilary took her opening and closed in for a flurry of swipes with her daggers.
But for all their strikes, the monster seemed unfazed. It swiped wide, a powerful strike that nearly slammed Hilary from her feed. Needing to shift gear, the pair leaped back to regroup with the others.
"You guys, okay?" asked Hillary
"We'll be fine," Johnny replied. "How'd you go with the tin can?"
Ray looked back over at the monster; the metallic casing around the body barely scratched.
"Not as well as I'd hoped."
"Just try blasting it then?" asked Jake
"Good idea, let's put it together."
They spun around, the other three finding their second wind as the team moved into position, weapons slotting into place as the cannon aimed.
"Oh no!" laughed the Batteryman. "Not the big scary cannon!"
"Data Blaster!" They cried. "Fire!"
Once again, the Rangers supported the cannon as it boomed, the shot spiraling and flashing on impact. But as the smoke cleared, all that met instead was the dashing of their hopes. Instead of a pile of smoking monster bits, it was surrounded by an electric blue shield. Sparks kicked off it as it flicked and pulsed and the virus stood behind it, cackling.
"Okay, I did not see that coming," Ben groaned.
"Are you all done?" screamed the monster. "Because now it's my turn!"
The shield receded, energy-sucking backward into the unit on the creature's as it unleashed another storm of lighting. And this time it didn't miss. The arcs struck them across the chest, and even with the suit taking most of the impact, Ray felt the energy burn through his body. The remaining bolts slammed into the ground, erupting into a ball of fire that hurled the Rangers downward.
His body was shaking, limbs tingling. And to Ray's horror, each was surrounded by a flashing light as their Ranger suits suddenly disappeared. Lying in the ground, they were now completely exposed.
"Cyrax told me you'd be a challenge," the virus snorted, "But this was too easy. Shame there won't be a next time!"
Ray cast a panicked glance at his friends, who bruised and battered were struggling to rise. Another blast like that and it would be all over.
He had to do something.
Anything.
His eye desperately scanned the pier, hoping for anything that help. Then he saw it, a hydrant!
It wasn't much, but maybe it was the edge they needed, something to help them pull away and regroup before the Batteryman could finish them for good. He narrowed his eyes and summoned the power, feeling the familiar burn as two red beams burst from his gaze and blasted into the hydrant.
The structure burst apart, a plume of water erupting from the ground, slashing all over the place and completely drenching Batteryman.
And he did not like that.
"What!?" he demanded. "No! What have you done!"
Sparks were starting to fly from the unit on his back, his body flailing in pain and with no discernable direction. Steam was rising, cackling sounding every greater intensity. Horrified, the monster stumbled back.
"I've gotta get out here!" he screamed.
Then he turned and run, fleeing from the Rangers before as his body was considered in emerald light. One flash later, he was gone.
Ray finally allowed himself a gasp of relief, as he looked over to his friends. They were rising, staggering as they clutched at their bruised bodies and helped each other to their feet. While they were safe for now, with the monster and robots gone Ray knew it would only be moments before the crowds returned. Which meant they needed to get out of there.
But others were more concerned with other matters, staring at their forms to realize their Ranger suits were completely gone.
"Okay," Hilary demanded. "Can anyone tell me what just happened?"
