Episode 4

Johnny Play Goode

It was Saturday morning and the crowd at the Shak was feeling the vibe. Teens relaxing for the weekend, gleefully ignoring their homework and papers as they rushed to the arcade corner that Bulk and Skull just had installed.

For the Rangers, it was finally a chance to unwind. School was done for the week, leaving two days to enjoy before returning to the daily grind. They'd gathered around their table, as usual, although Ray had told them he was going to be late. Something about his band and a need to revise the setlist before the next gig.

It was they sat around their table that morning Ben realized that, despite the weeks they'd now spent with him, they still knew very little about their newer teammate. Johnny worked well with them in battle, happily showed them some pointers as they taught themselves to fight, and never seemed to shy away when invited to hang out with the others. But at no point did he ever seem willing to talk about himself. Ever.

And Ben decided that it was well time that changed.

"So, Johnny, what do you like to do?" he asked, grinning with pride at his patented lack of subtlety. The Black Ranger's eyes widened at the sudden attention, causing Ben to earn a stern look from his sister. Ben just shrugged. It may have been direct, but at least it got the conversation going.

As all eyes focused on him, Johnny shrunk deep into his chair and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "What do you want to know?"

"You know, what do you do for fun?" Jake suggested, catching Ben's drift and joining in. "You're the only person on the team we don't really know anything about."

And then, with a final pointed look, Hilary relented in concession and agreed. "They're right. You're our friend, we want to get to know you."

Johnny stared at them, eyes flicking between as if deciding how best to respond. "Well," he said finally, "I do play the guitar sometimes."

"That's awesome," Hilary smiled. "You definitely need to talk to Ray some more. He loves guitars."

"It's kind of creepy, actually," Ben admitted. Sometimes I can hear him whispering to it when he thinks no one's listening."

"This coming from the guy who calls his car 'Baby?'" retorted Hilary.

Ben was about return fire back with an incredibly witty retort (he definitely had one, and it was devastating) when Jake cut in to head off the inevitable argument.

"What kind of music do you listen to?" he asked, returning the attention to Johnny.

"Mostly metal," Johnny admitted. "You know, heavy on the bass, high on the treble. Fast drums and guitars. Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica; that kind of stuff."

"Nice range."

The bell above the door chimed as Ray walked in with his bandmates, Gary and Travis, at his side. despite the sunny weather of the weekend, none of them looked happy, the dour solemnness looming over them as they approached. The last time Ben had seen Ray in that mood, it was because his favorite band had broken up.

"Hey guys," Ben greeted tentatively. "What's going on?"

"Brent just quit," Travis said gloomily, "Which means we're down a lead guitarist."

"That's crazy," Hilary scoffed. "You guys were doing so well! You've got your regular spot on Friday afternoons, and you're drawing bigger crowds with every gig. Why'd he up and quit?"

"He's got a lot on his plate right now," said Ray, slowly enough to make clear that his words were chosen carefully to convey an air of diplomacy. "He's got too much going on right now and he needs time to focus on that."

The other four shared a look. What would Ray know, really? He always had the time to play. It was just so easy time between school, martial arts training, and fighting monsters when the occasion arose. He really wouldn't have any idea what it was like to balance everything with band practice.

It was a shame there was no way Ray could ever actually use that as a rebuttal.

"I mean," Gary noted. "He did mention that he could do better than some small-town cover band."

"Yeah," Travis agreed. "Apparently, he was running his mouth off last week about being spotted by some big-time agent from LA and was going launch a solo career."

"Oh," said Hilary. "Can he… sing?"

"Like a canary," Travis replied.

"Yeah, in a coal mine," Gary added.

"He's got his reasons," Ray decided, "and we've got to respect them. But in the meantime, it does mean we've got to find another lead player."

"You know," said Ben slyly, already seeing Johnny's angry eyes glaring at him to stop. A murderous warning of consequence should Ben dare utter another syllable, a warning he gleefully ignored. "Johnny here plays guitar."

All three boys lit up at the news.

"Really?" Ray asked.

"You any good?" inquired Gary.

"He plays a lot of Maiden," said Jake

Johnny's eyes snapped and glared at the Blue and Green rangers, both boys grinning back as he began not so subtly plotting their grisly demises the moment they'd be free of witnesses. Travis and Gary seemed too elated to notice.

"That's awesome!" Travis exclaimed. "If you want to bring some gear down to my garage this afternoon, we can try some stuff out."

"Ah…" Johnny said hesitantly, looking back at the friends at his table who were nodding with extreme encouragement. "Yeah, sure."

"We'll see you then," Gary grinned before turning to Ray. "We're just going to head out back and double-check our gear, we left some stuff after the gig yesterday."

The two boys bid the rangers farewell as they moved out back, leaving Ray standing before the table.

"It's so great that you're trying out with us Johnny," said Ray. "I'm just going get another round of drinks, then I'll be right back. Two smoothies, a soda, and a ginger ale?"

"Actually," Johnny decided. "Leave me out of this one. I'm gonna go and make sure all my gear's up to scratch. I haven't really pulled any of it out since we moved."

Reading between the lines, Ben was pretty sure Johnny was also bolting before he and Jake could "volunteer" him for anything else.

As Ray turned to the counter, and Johnny moving so fast they could have sworn he was using his super-speed, Hilary turned to the other two at her table. "You're evil."

"What?" Ben asked. "He plays guitar, Ray needs a guitarist. It fits."

"He'll just need some adjusting time," Jake decided. "I mean Ray doesn't listen to any of that stuff that Johnny does, so it would be a bit of a shift for him but…"

"You've never seen Ray's iPod playlists have you?" Hilary asked, her lips shifting softly into a smile. "I think Johnny will fit in just fine."

They cast another look at their Red Ranger, standing patiently at the counter for his drinks. On the other side, Skull was dutifully serving, but every time he thought Ray was looking elsewhere, he narrowed his eyes as if closely examining the teenager. Beside him, Bulk was looking away, as if purposefully staring at anywhere other than the rangers.

Weird.

At last, Ray wandered back with the drinks, nodding over his shoulder at the two managers. "Do you guys have any idea why those two keep staring at us?"

"Nope," Ben replied, eyeing the smoothie that Ray had just placed on the table.

"Maybe they're just scared of another smoothie incident like Ben's the other week," Hilary laughed.

"Hey, there was ice on the floor!" Ben protested, "Anyone could have missed that!"

But before he could launch into a thorough takedown of Hilary's jibe (it would have been excellent, completely humiliating for her, he just knew it) their Morphers began beeping. Looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, the other three huddled around Ray as he opened the com-line.

"We're listening, Doc," said Ray.

"Hey guys, can you all come around to the warehouse if you've got the time?" the reply sounded, "There's something I need to show you."

"No problem," said Ray. "We're free now, we'll see you in a bit."

He put away the Morpher and four of them hurried out of the Shak.


As the teens left their table and wandered, the two managers stared at the table, and the four untouched drinks they'd left behind.

"All right Skull, there is definitely something weird about those kids."

"Yeah, that guy in the red didn't even give a tip."

"No, not that you moron!" Bulk groaned before leaning in closer to speak in a hushed whisper. "Those kids could be the Power Rangers!"

"Ooooohhh, yeah!" Skull agreed, only for his face to drop as he scanned the crowded cafe and pointed to another table. "But so could those guys."

Then he found another.

"Or those guys."

And another.

"Or those-"

"I get it Skull!"

The dynamic duo stared at each other in ponderous pontification.

"We'll find out who these Power Rangers are," Bulk declared. "After all, we are the world's greatest detectives: Bulk and Skull!"

"Yeah, good idea Bulk!" said Skull. "And then we can help them, just like we did with the other guys!"

"Yeah," Bulk said, nodding slowly as he thought back to "the good old days". "They'd have been completely lost without us."


"So, any idea Doc wants to see us for?" Ben pondered as they walked.

"No idea," Jake admitted.

Ray was quieter. He had to admit that losing Brent as a guitarist was not the stress he needed. He just hoped that Johnny would work out for them.

But his train of thought was broken by Hilary, "You doing okay?" Her smile was warm and comforting as if she'd been reading his mind to know something was bothering him. She always had a knack for that.

"Yeah, I'm all right," he said. "Just wish things would let up a little, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it."

But as if sensing his discontent, the universe decided to throw another spanner his way. The air flashed with emerald light, and standing before the four teens were Cyrax and his usual gang of Byte-Bots.

"Going somewhere, Rangers?"

"Can't you just say hello?" Ray demanded. "Like a normal person?"

"I'll consider it an option," Cyrax growled back. "Shame you won't be around to see my decision. Byte-Bots, attack!"

The four teens split, leaping into action to take on a group of the Byte-Bots on their own. Ray charged down the middle, heading off the central body as the rest of the bots were forced to scatter and take on his friends. He never gave them a chance, ducking down to sweep his leg, tripping the Bots from underneath and clanking them to the ground. Spinning upwards, he grabbed a striking arm and pulled it inwards, burying his foot into the stomach and cracking the Byte-Bot back before delivering another powerful elbow. Then he stepped back, cunningly allowing the bots to regroup. Just as they clustered, gathering into the perfectly sized target, Ray chuckled as his eyes ignited. The lasers flared from his gaze, unleashing a powerful barrage that blasted into them and reduce the robots to a pile of steaming parts.

The rest were up to the others.

Hilary cracked her neck as she engaged, smooth, liquid metal shifting over her skin as the first of the Byte-Bots lunged at her. Her fist cracked across the air, pummeling its chest and thundering it backward while another charged in behind her. It thought she was distracted; in truth, she just didn't care. Its weapon cracked against her head, harmlessly clanking against the steel of her skill. Then she turned, giving a momentary, unamused glare before snatching up her arm and reefing the robot upwards. Holding it high above her head, she hurled it into its friends and smashed them to the ground like bowling pins.

Ben and Jake meanwhile stood back-to-back, putting Ray's lessons to good use as they ducked and weaved to keep the Byte-Bots off them.

"Line them up for me!" Jake called as Ben nodded.

"On it!"

He bolted for the wall, looking back to make sure some Bots were following. Thinking he was backing into a corner, for Byte-Bots the bait was too tempting for them to ignore.

Just as he'd hoped. Keeping up his pace, Ben grinned as he reached the brickwork and leaped towards it, planting his feet on the wall as he bounded up the vertical surface. The foot soldiers paused and stared in amazement as Ben launched from the wall and backflipped back beside Jake.

"Looking like a strike?" he laughed as Jake summoned a mighty wave of force that barreled into the Byte-Bots. The blast knocked them flying, casting them in all directions as they flailed helplessly and crashed into the walls and concrete.

"Perfect ten," Jake agreed, high-fiving Ben as they rushed to regroup with Ray and Hilary. The Byte Bots that were still operating huddled together, standing before Cyrax. He didn't look even remotely impressed.

"Good to see that you're all still in shape." He taunted, the familiar purple glow of the sword shimmering from his hand. "But now it's my turn!"

"Looks like he wants to fire things up," Ray decided, turning to his teammates and reaching for Morpher. "You guys re-?"

But he never finished the sentence. Cyrax's pistols boomed, twin bolts of energy ripping from the barrels before blasting at their feet. The explosion flashed outward, expanding in a mighty ball of flame that picked up the four teens and hurled them across the street. They hit the ground, bruises swelling as they rolled along the rigid concrete and struggled to quickly rise to their feet.

Not fast enough. The Byte-Bots were already swarming, surging forward to smother the rangers before any could return to a fighting position. They lashed at their limbs, grabbing down and squeezing tight as the four kids struggled against them.

"You promised me some fire," Cyrax chuckled as he watched the Rangers writhe against their captor's iron grips. "I'm still waiting."


Johnny had exited the music shop, fresh guitar strings in his pocket. He had to admit, while it took all his self-control to not reach across to Ben and slap his hand over his mouth, the prospect of joining a band was starting to excite him.

He'd enjoyed it once, for the weeks he'd been in one in Reefside before his parents moved up the coast. And Ben was right, he hadn't really opened up to his new friends; let them know anything about himself.

Maybe he was just scared. In Reefside, he'd known people for so long as things changed slowly, they all rolled with it. But here it was everything all at once, and Johnny had no intention of letting people know facts about his time in Reefside until he was certain they were friends for him, and not who his family was. But hey, maybe this band was the first start to that.

The train of thought was broken as his Morpher began beeping.

"Hey Doc, what's going on?"

"Hey Johnny, can you come by the warehouse? I've got something I need to show you. The others are already on their way." Doc replied.

"Sure, I'll meet up with the others and make our way over."

So much for some maintenance time. Doubling back, we wandered the block in the direction he knew his friends would be taking. Not too far a walk, thankfully.

But as he approached, his ears picked out an eerily familiar whirring sound. The kind that accompanied the moving of Byte Bot's joints. Then, to truly sink his hopes, he heard the voice he'd desperately wasn't joining them.

"So simple," Cyrax scoffed, his voice curling up Johnny's spine. "All we had to do was not give you a chance to morph."

He snapped to the wall, daring a peek around without the Byte Bots seeing him. They had his friends, all of them grasped at the arms and held still as Cyrax lorded before them.

They needed help, and fast. He snapped his Morpher from his pocket and cried out. "Data Squad! Digitize!"

The light consumed him, black energy pouring through his body to suit formed around his limbs as the helmet encased his vision. Powered and ready, Johnny lunged into the fray, Modem Blaster opening fire on Byte Bots surrounding his friends. He somersaulted over, landing on a parked car and spinning around to taunt his enemies.

"Starting the party without me?"

"You didn't even get an invite," Cyrax growled.

"Well, that's just rude."

He lunged, flipping the pistol into a blade as he carved into the horde to give his friends a reprieve. Sparks burst from the Byte-Bots chests, each warrior tumbling away as more and more were forced to abandon their rank to hold him off.

Just what his friends needed. With the numbers culled and at last given some breathing room, Johnny watched as Ray snapped up his hand and tossed off the grabbing bot. Taking the cue, the others did the same, just as Johnny launched himself above the crowd and landed in the thick. Modem blade flashing, he knocked back the remaining bots and last gave his teammates the freedom they needed.

"Thanks for the save," Ben breathed as the four friends gathered together.

"Any time," Johnny replied. "Ray, think it's time we kicked things up a notch?"

The boy nodded, reaching for his Morpher in a signal for the others to do the same. "Couldn't agree more. Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Data Squad Digitize!"

The devise burst to life, the glow of red, blue, yellow, and green surrounding them as the Byte-Bots shield their faces from blindness. When the light faded, all five were gathered and ready for another round.

"Our turn again," Ray sneered to Cyrax.

And then they charged. The Power Weapons flashed to their hands, rearming the rangers as they clashed with the Byte-Bot forces. Now fully energized, the henchmen crumbled beneath the ranger's might, their line breaking like water on rock as sword, axe, sais, staff, and hammer crashed against them and forced them into retreat.

With the Byte-Bots withdrawing, the rangers upped their pressure, pushing to converge on Cyrax. Eager in his gloating, the cyborg had been too far away to assist his warriors, and now the Rangers had shifted the tide and surrounded him. Watching the Byte-Bots fall around him and counting the odds as five-to-one, the warrior was reconsidering his options.

"You may have won the battle Rangers,' he snarled, backing to the remnants of his foot soldiers. "But you haven't won the war!"

And in a flash of light, he vanished, leaving the rangers alone and morphed in the empty lot.

"We better get to the warehouse," Ray decided. "Figure out what's going on here, and fast."