Cyrax's feet slammed into the viewing deck as he rematerialized, and already he could tell his master was far from pleased. The withering glare bore into him from his seat on the throne, the warrior rose to his feet, and he braced himself for a mood even more terrifying than when his lord was angry.
He was calm.
"I didn't go well then, I take it?" Gideon inquired, lip curling with disapproval.
"I apologies, my lord," Cyrax professed. "But the plan was working smoothly until that pesky fifth Ranger showed up."
"Good to know that your plan to eliminate the Power Rangers went swimmingly without all of them there," said Gideon. "Perhaps next you would like to cook me a meal with only half the ingredients? Or maybe wash only half the windows of the fortress?"
"My lord, I can only-"
But Gideon had already moved on, returning his attention to Kelgar and his console.
"Do you have a new virus ready?"
"Of course, my lord!" said Kelgar, shooting Cyrax a pleased, sneaky grin. "I whipped him up for just the occasion!"
'In the event of Cyrax's failure', were the words the monster maker had gleefully left unspoken. The warrior's fists clenched at his side, at the thought of the sniveling little reptile gaining their master's favor once more.
"Excellent," Gideon replied. "At least someone has brought me some good news and demonstrated some forward thinking. Prepare to send it down at once. We may yet catch the Rangers off guard they're regrouping.
"At once, my lord!"
Kelgar gleefully started tapping at the dials and Cyrax again prepared to depart for the teleportation chamber. Only then did Gideon stop him.
"No, Cyrax," he said coldly. "You can stay and watch. I think you've done more than enough for one day."
"So, are you guys okay?"
Fresh from their battle with Cyrax, the Rangers had rushed to the warehouse, hoping to least recover within the safety of the firewall.
"Yeah, we're fine," Ray affirmed. "Thanks to Johnny."
The Black Ranger looked away, feeling the warmth tingle across his face at the sudden attention and affirmation.
"Good," said Doc, with a heavy sigh of relief, "I think it's safe to say that next time you're confronted by Cyrax, don't waste time on the goons. Go straight to morph."
"No need to tell us twice," Ben agreed, holding a bag of peas to his neck.
"They really can jump us at any time, huh?" Hilary realized.
Doc nodded.
"Gideon's positioned himself somewhere above the skies of the city," he explained. "From there he can use his Digitizer to transport his goons and monsters to wherever he wants."
"Next time we'll be ready," said Ray, "he's not going to get a chance to catch us off guard a second time."
The others all nodded in agreement before returning their attention to Doc.
"So, what was it that you wanted to show us?" Ray asked him.
"Oh yeah," added Jake. "That thing you called us about in the first place."
Doc sat down in his chair and wheeled back over to his row of monitors. Tapping on a couple of keys, he spun around a screen to show them what he'd been working on. "This," he said proudly, pressing a button to pull up a fresh 3D render. It was a black bison, similar in design to their current Zords, hulking forearms giving it a sturdy look with its back peppered with hundreds of canons.
"That's so cool!" Hilary gasped. "You able to put this together so quickly?"
"Well, it took a little time," Doc admitted sheepishly, "I used the baseline code of your existing Zords, and designed it to work with your current Megazord configuration. Now you'll be able to fight something at range if you can't reach it with your sword."
"That's awesome, thanks Doc," said Ray. "Which one are you giving it to control?"
"Actually," Doc replied. "I've been able to set it up so that any of you can summon it when needed."
"Wait," Jake cut in. "You can do that?"
Doc nodded.
"All your powers are linked through a central server," he explained. "If need be, I can transfer control of nearly all of your weapons and equipment to other Rangers. It also means if you're a team-mate down you'll still be able to form the Megazord."
While the rest of the team gushed over their new equipment, Johnny was sitting on his own. Ray meanwhile had noticed and broken away from the others.
"Sorry if you felt ambushed back at Shak," he said. "If you don't think joining the band's going to be your thing, that's okay."
Johnny looked up, surprised at Ray's sudden interest.
"What?"
"Ben kind of pushed you in front of the bus back there," Ray admitted. "He really put you on the spot. I guess I want you to know that you don't have to sign up with you don't want to."
"Actually, I'd love to have a shot," Johnny admitted. "Thanks for giving me the opening."
"If you don't mind me asking," said Ray. "Why didn't you say anything before? It seems like we've got lots of shared interests, but you never want to talk about them."
Johnny paused for a moment, uncertain what to say. A conversation he'd always known was coming from the moment he'd moved. And still, despite how much he'd thought he'd prepared, he couldn't find the words.
"I've got an older sister," he explained, hoping it was the right place to start. "And she's really into music. Like, a lot. And she's really good too. She's amazing, really, and we get on great. But being her younger sibling, I think everyone thought I was just riding her coattails whenever I'd talk about my music, you know? Or else they'd ignore what I was doing and push me into her shadow."
"That must have sucked," Ray admitted.
"Don't get me wrong," said Johnny. "I love my sister. But I always guessed that Cranston City would be a fresh start. And then when I got here, I realized that people would still know who my sister was, and if they wanted to jam with me, it might just be in hopes of meeting her. I guess I kept people back because of that."
Ray slowly nodded. "I get it," he said. "And I don't want you to feel pushed. But you're a cool guy, and I know we like hanging out with you. To us, it doesn't matter who your sister is. If you want to try out with the band, you're more than welcome. You'll get a fair shot."
"Thanks, Ray, I really appreciate it."
Ray moved to return to his other friends, only to stop and turn back to Johnny. "I really hope you come and try out," he said. "It'd be cool to see what you can do."
But before Johnny could reply, an alarm started blaring.
"But it might have to wait," Ray admitted as the two rushed back over to the desk.
"Looks like there's a virus attacking the main square." Said Doc as they came over, pulling up the display to see a large two-legged bat running rampant in the city.
"Can't they just call it a day?" Jake groaned.
"Gideon must love the attention," Ray decided before pulling out his Morpher.
"Just be careful," Doc warned them. "They hit you pretty hard last time, it could just as easily be a trap."
"Don't worry Doc, they're not going to get away with the same trick twice," Ray agreed before turning to the team. "You guys ready?"
"Ready!"
"Data Squad! Digitize!"
They moved as one as the Morphers burst to life, light consumed them as the suits reformed around their body and imbued them with the power of the grid. Then, recharged and ready, the team sprung into action, arriving at the scene in what felt like a pest.
"Oh, Rangers!" the bat laughed as they arrived. "I thought I heard a pest!"
"I've got an idea," Ray told them. "Try to block its sight. It can't attack us if it can't see."
"Got it!"
They charged on Ray's command, lunging high with their Modem Blasters ready. Squeezing the triggers, the blasters hounded, unleashing a synchronous torrent of blaster fire. The pistols hounded a devastating barrage, rounds searing against blasting into the monster's face and flashing against their eyes. As the lasers burst into a rain of sparks, the monster screamed, clutching its smoldering face as the Rangers landed and readied to mount up the pressure.
"It worked!" Jake exclaimed triumphantly.
But then the bat snapped its head. "Guess again!"
It snapped its palms, balls of flame hurling outwards and blasting the Rangers. It detonated on impact, tossing them into the air with a devastating explosion. "I can still see you! It'll take more than that to stop the mighty Bat-Wing!"
"You forgot about sonar, didn't you?" Hilary groaned as they climbed back to their feet.
"Just a little."
The Rangers dived aside as Bat-Wing unleashed another onslaught scattering in all directions as the attacks exploded where they'd gathered.
"You can't run from me!" he laughed. "I can tell wherever you go with the pitter-patter of your feet!"
Johnny lunged as soon as he'd landed, another scorching ball blasting behind him as Bat-Wing began hurling fire in all directions. They needed a plan, but Bat-Wing was keeping them on the back foot. His blasts were strong enough to make getting close risky, but they were also too frequent for them to regroup and form the Data Blaster. They needed a way to stop it, or at least hold it still long enough to form up. Ray's plan to blind it had been good, if only they had some way of disabling its hearing as well…
Then it hit him. The Shak was nearby, along with Ray's band's equipment…
Bounding to avoid another explosion, Johnny opened up the com-line. "Doc?"
"I'm here."
"You said you can transfer equipment between Rangers. Can do that with my staff?"
"Sure, why?"
"I've got an idea," Johnny said hurriedly. "But it'll stop me from helping put the blaster together. But if they can do it without me…"
"I'm following," Doc's agreement was swiftly followed by the sound of tapping keys. "Done."
"Awesome! Ray, catch!"
Without wasting a second, a tossed the staff over the Red Ranger and immediately rushed the Shak's back doors.
"Just keep holding him off, I'll be back!"
He didn't even wait to see if they'd registered, instead skidding around the corner in desperate hope he was right.
Please be there, please be there.
He skidded to a halt as he reached the rear roller door. There were Travis and Gary, loading their band equipment into the back of a pick-up.
"Ah… you there!" Johnny called, putting on his best "super-hero" voice. "Ah… fine… citizens!"
The faces of both boys dropped as they stared at the Black Power Ranger.
"M… Mister Ranger… Sir…" Gary stammered.
"Young Man!" Johnny declared. "I need to borrow some equipment."
The two boys looked at each other with wide eyes before snapping their heads back and nodding furiously.
"There's a monster attacking the city and you have exactly what I need," Johnny explained. "I need the amplifier, a generator, and…"
His eyes scanned the back dock until landed on a long black case.
"That guitar!"
Travis and Gary's jaws dropped.
"You want our… stuff?" Travis asked.
Johnny had already rushed to the case and cracked it open. Ray's red Stratocaster lay safely inside.
Time to give it a good workout.
"You, there!" he commanded to Gary. "Tie down that amp and hook it up to the generator. Then grab those knobs and crank them to eleven!"
As the bass player hurried to comply with the command, Johnny focused his attention on Travis.
"And you," he said. "How's your driving?"
"Johnny you better get back here!" Ray yelled in the com. "I don't know how much more of this I can take!"
The Rangers leaped again to dodge another barrage as Bat-Wing continued their excessive cackling.
"Dance, little Rangers, dance!"
"Way ahead of you!"
Then the sound of tires screeching against the asphalt pierced the air. Travis' pick-up burst from around the corner, wheels skidding as it whipped around and gunned forward. Bat-Wing shrieked at the sound, spinning hurl balls of fire at the vehicle in a desperate bid to stop. But too distracted by the noise, his aim was way off, and his attack exploded behind the vehicle as it rushed onto the scene.
The pick-up came screaming to a halt, Johnny jumping down from the back and racing to the driver's side door. Travis was at the wheel, knuckles white as he stared at the windshield, shaking.
"That was awesome, Travis," Johnny assured him. "You can get out here. I've got the next bit covered."
Travis didn't need to be told twice. He nodded weakly as he relinquished the wheel and climbed from the cab, rushing to safety as Johnny leaped onto the back of the truck and lifted Ray's guitar.
"Johnny, what're you doing with my-?"
"Just get ready!" Johnny instructed. "I'm going to give this guy a show! You guys might want to block your ears because this baby goes up to eleven!"
He strummed down hard and reefed the volume, spinning the dial to the max as the vehicle rumbled against the blaring, distorted chords. Bat-Wing shrieked, hands slapping to their giant ears as Johnny grinned beneath his helm.
Nothing like good old Eruption to take down a giant bat.
His pick hit the string, the amp blasting the chord so loud that the whole truck shuddered to the vibrations. Bat-Wing continued to howl, every note an assault on their delicate senses as Johnny's fingers danced down the neck to make notes go higher and higher. Picking up speed, he abandoned the plectrum to start tapping both fingers on the frets, sharp notes rising in pitch and blasting at high tensity as the monster dropped to the ground and writhed in agony, helpless to fight.
Giving Ray and the others the perfect opening.
"Great work, Johnny!" Ray cheered, flipping around the borrowed Power Staff and turning to his team. "Okay guys, let's put it together!"
The Rangers snapped to him, weapons ready as they slotted them in place and aimed the giant cannon at the kneeling bat. They leveled at the felled and rolling monster, taking extra time to brace and account for the missing Ranger.
"Data Blaster!" they called together as Johnny's trilling sounded around them. "Ready! Fire!"
The cannon fired, recoil rocking back the team as they round boomed from the barrel. Still rolling from Johnny's rocking assault, Bat-Wing was an easy target, and with the final strum of the guitar's tirade, Bat-Wing erupted into a great ball of fire.
"All right!" he cheered as he watched the monster explode.
"Nice playing Johnny!" Ben congratulated.
"Yeah," Jake agreed. "Talk about the power of rock!"
Johnny leaped down from the truck to join his cheering teammates, only for the familiar emerald glow to light up the sky. Once again, a beam of light shot down from above, covering the lifeless body of the monster and drawing the scattered, smoldering pieces together. The formed began to glow, surging in size to tower above, and the light disappeared, and Bat-Wing lived again at skyscraper size.
"Second verse," Johnny grumbled. "Same as the first."
"Don't these guys try anything new?" Jake scoffed
"Apparently not," Ray conceded. "Johnny, you with us?"
"Wouldn't miss this for the world."
"Zord Power, Digitize!"
The Zords materialized, flashing from their wrists as the Rangers leaped into the cockpits. Armed and ready, they immediately began the sequences, mighty mechanical beasts launching into the air and locking into place. Moments later, they took a thunderous step forward, facing Bat-Wing down in a daring challenge.
"Server Patrol Megazord!" they declared. "Online!"
"If you think you can pull that trick again," Bat-Wing warned as he stared down the Megazord, "Then you must be as blind as a bat!"
"Doc," Ray suggested. "I think it's time for that upgrade you were talking about."
"Coming your way! Deploying Bison Zord!"
The circle at the Megazord's chest began to glow, projecting outwards as tiny cubes burst out and began assembling a new shape. To their very eyes, the enormous bison formed in front of them, unleashing a mighty roar as its feet slammed onto the road and stared Bat-Wing down.
"Let's see what this Baby can do!" Ray cheered, slamming a leaver as the Bison. "Bison Zord, engage!"
The Zord leaped into the air, its body splitting in half as it soared downwards to mold itself to the Megazord's shoulders. With a hiss of steam and a loud, heavy thunk, the console lit up to confirm the successful connection. Checking down at the display, Johnny saw that the Megazord now had a row of cannons protruding out from the back.
"Bison Canon." The team called. "Online!"
His eyes restored, Bat-Wing could only stare at the new configuration in horror.
"You wouldn't?"
"We would!" retorted Ray. "Begin charging sequence!"
The barrels on the Megazord began to glow, and clamps at the mecha's feet slammed into the ground to hold it steady. Before him, Johnny watched as the lights on the panel blinked on, one at a time, as each of the guns primed.
"Bison Cannon!" the team roared. "Fire!"
The carronade of cannons erupted, beams of light surging into the air and raining down on Bat-Wing. Each one sliced across their form, booming into a shower of sparks and exploding at their feet. A cacophonous, torrential downpour engulfed the monster with light.
"No fair!" it cried. "It didn't see that coming!"
As the barrage halted, Bat-Wing fell, arms flailing as their form gave out and gravity pulled them to the ground. As the explosion boomed from within, shredding the virus down to their atoms, the Megazord spun around. With the flames of victory spiraling into the air, the final explosion lit up the Server Patrol's back, standing again before the city in triumph.
"That was amazing!" Jake congratulated that afternoon. "Seriously those were some mad skills."
"Thanks," Johnny replied. "But I wouldn't have been able to pull it off without your help."
Not to mention Gary and Travis, who he suddenly noticed wandering to the table with Ray their side.
"The heroes of the hour!" Hilary declared. "We heard you guys displayed quite the act of bravery today."
"It was nothing," said Gary shyly.
"But you know what they say," added Travis with an air of confidence. "When danger calls, the call must be answered."
"And it gives your band an awesome new selling point," Jake pointed. The drummer and bass player stared at him for a moment before he clarified. "' The Band that Saved the City?'"
Their faces lit up with the realization. "We should totally tell people that!" Gary realized.
"Yeah, then everyone's going to want to come and see us play," Travis agreed.
"Speaking of…" said Ray beside them, in an attempt to steer back the conversation. "Johnny, we wanted to officially offer you a place in the Argonauts."
Johnny's jaw dropped, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Are… are you sure?" he stammered. "But I didn't even get a chance to audition."
"Don't worry about it," replied Gary, "Ray said he got a chance to hear you play earlier, and apparently you can shred up some sweet licks."
"Yeah," Travis agreed, as he outstretched his hand. "We'll be tearing up the stage if we've got you by our side.
Slowly, Johnny rose to his feet and accepted the handshake.
"I… I'll do it," he agreed. "I don't really what else to say."
"Rehearsals are on Tuesdays after school," Gary explained.
"Now," Travis decided. "We better go finish checking our gear. Saving the city from monster attacks doesn't leave time for pack-up."
The two boys waved goodbye as they returned the Shak's dock. Looking pleased, Ray sat down at the table with the others.
"Dude," Johnny told him. "You didn't need to do that."
"No, I really did," Ray insisted. "When you tear it up that good, we'd be the ones losing out if I didn't ask. Besides, we really needed a new guitarist; it's an easy fit."
"That's what I said," Ben whispered, at a volume that he assumed only Hilary and Jake could hear. But before Johnny could hiss at him for meddling, the Blue Ranger's hand snapped up as he pointed to the door. "Dude, check that out!"
In strode Bulk and Skull, each wearing tan trench coats and fedoras. Skull's eyes were almost scrunched as they scanned across the crowd, suspiciously eying everyone as he clutched a crumbled note-pad in his hands. Beside him, Bulk was raising his hands to attract the attention of everyone in the Shak.
"Citizens of Cranston City," he announced. "Have no fear! We know that these monster attacks are a cause for concern!"
"Very concerning!" Skull agreed.
"But not to worry! We will get to the bottom of these monster attacks and will put a stop to them. Or my name isn't Bulk!"
Then Skull paused, spinning around to stare at his comrade. "Hang on Bulky, I thought your name was Farkas."
"Fine! I will get to the bottom of this, or my name isn't Farkas! And not only will we uncover the true source of these monster attacks, but we will also uncover the true identities of the Power Rangers!"
The five teens froze, neither daring to look at each in realizing what that meant.
"That's why they were staring…" Ray gasped.
"Do you think…?" Hilary whispered, unwilling to finish the sentence
Back at the door, Bulk was more determined than ever to prove to the patrons their skill and determination.
"Over our years," he announced. "Skull and I have developed a particular set of skills. As junior officers of the Angel Grove Police department, we developed ninja reflexes, and nun-chuck skills, and serve it all with the honor of a samurai!"
With that, he swung a mighty karate chop in emphasis of his point. But in stepping forward to address the crowd, they'd veered too close to the counter, ignorant of the cake sitting perilously close to the edge. The chop slammed on the edge of the tray, catapulting the cake into the air to send it soaring. It flipped as it flew, reaching the peak of its flight before dropping like a sinking stone. Right on top of the duo. All around them, the crowd winced, watching as the cake shattered into gooey crumbs and splattered all over the two amateur detectives.
And like the crack of thunder, raucous laughter boomed throughout the room.
As Bulk's face dropped, he turned to see that Skull had joined hysterics, keeling over and pointing at his disgruntled partner. He reached upwards, scooping the icing off a peeved Bulk, and licked the edge of his finger, only to recoil from the withing glare he received in response.
But over at the table, the five of them felt their relief take hold, infectious laughter overtaking them as grinned at the show in front of them.
"Well then," said Johnny as he joined in on their chuckles, "I think our secrets are safe for now."
NEXT TIME-
Hilary and Ben have always been at odds, never seeming to agree on anything and always devolving into an argument. But when their bickering erupts in a battle, Cyrax is quick to pounce and put an ally of the Rangers in grave danger. Will the two be able to set aside their differences and work together? Will they be able to save the citizen in time? And what plans does Gideon have for his latest captive?
Find out next time on:
POWER RANGER- DATA SQUAD
Sibling Rivalry
A/N:
Power Rangers: Data Squad is a fan-made team of Rangers that is not explicitly based on any other existing Rangers or Sentai property and updates twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you like what you read, you can always drop a comment to let me know, and don't forget to subscribe, follow or bookmark to get updated the second I post.
So, until next time, may the power protect you all.
