"Let's get out of here!"

"Don't need to tell us twice!"

From his seat at the console, Benson could only watch in avid helplessness as the Ranger made their hasty retreat. He didn't dare pull his eyes from the central screen, not even as the others surrounding were flashing with readings and warnings. He just wanted them to get out, anything else he could deal with later.

Come on guys, you can make it!

The blasters on the Cycles flashed booming up the central road of the quarry as they plowed through Byte-Bot numbers, tossing them aside as the vehicles impacted at full speed.

And then they were in the clear, breaking through the line and rocketing off into the town.

"We made it out, Doc!" Ray confirmed through the com.

"Good job guys. Just come back here. We'll figure things out from there."

He just had to hope that his voice wasn't betraying his uncertainty. With rangers rocketing away and leaving their enemies took one last look at the feed. At Cyrax, his metallic orange staring out after them.

At Kyle's body, a helpless vessel for a psychotic virus.

He was beating the team senseless, and Benson still had no way of stopping him. The kids were getting better, coming into their own with their Rangers powers. Just the day before Hilary and Ben had been able to get the drop on him. But Cyrax wasn't letting up, and Benson just knew that the day would come when he wouldn't back down. Maybe by then, the Rangers would improve enough to take him, but Benson knew that when that day came there could only be one of two outcomes.

Either Kyle would be destroyed along with Cyrax or the Rangers would be instead.

And at that chilling thought, the roller door began to crunch as it ascended, and the way opened for the rangers to roll in. He could worry about Cyrax later, his priority now had to be that pig. He punched at the keys to run a scan on that mineral Kelgar had been playing with as the bikes came skidding to a stop.

The tires screeched, blackened rubber burning against the concrete as if they'd gunned top speed the whole way in fear of Cyrax catching them. Benson couldn't say he blamed them either. Only when they'd climbed from the saddles did they finally power down, all of them collapsing from exhaustion as their suits flashed away. Bruised and battered, the poor kids almost collapsed as they powered down and slumped into the seats Benson had managed to scrounge before beginning to wallow in their defeat.

"I don't think we've ever had our buts kicked that badly before." Ben groaned.

"Sorry guys," Benson admitted coming back from the small freezer in the corner to hand out small bags of frozen peas. "I should have seen that coming. If they were willing to make that much noise, I should have guessed they'd be ready for you."

It was putting it lightly. The truth was he'd been so nervous after Gideon had captured Murphy the day before and been cavalier with that same hostage mere hours later, that he was worried that whatever the villain had been planning was already in motion. And instead of checking the scene first, he'd sent the rangers right into a trap.

"I guess we now know what they were doing at the quarry," Ray reasoned.

"Well, whatever it was that they dug up," Hilary agreed. "It took us out, big time."

"I'm not looking forward to seeing that thing again," said Jake. "It was good you had that remote mode on the bikes, Doc."

But to their side, Johnny's mood was fowler, brow narrowing into a scowl as he looked directly at Benson. "Just one more thing we didn't know about, I guess."

There was something about his tone that prickled at him, niggling notion that the bitterness carried in his voice was about more than their defeat. The air around him changed; as if a sealing pressure had dropped upon them, trapping all the air as one by one the teens around him shared nervous looks.

A surefire sign that as much as Johnny's words were a hint of feelings buried deep below, they were also shared by the others. Shared and discussed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, his brow narrowing.

The Black Ranger shrunk back as he realized he'd been caught out, perhaps learning he was less subtly than he'd intended as one by one the whole turned and looked at Ray. As if all they were waiting on was the word from their ever-dependable leader before presenting a united front. Although the look on Ray's face said plain as day that he had no idea what to say either.

Benson was about to offer encouragement, after being certain that his impatient annoyance was bleeding into his tone when suddenly the Red Ranger uttered a question that stopped him dead.

"Who's Kyle?" Ray asked quietly.

It was like had reached into his chest a squeezed his heart, shock stabbing him as the world stopped spinning; like Gideon himself had stormed into the warehouse the very moment the name passed Ray's lips. Doc's eyes widened as one by one he looked across the team, seeing their pleading eyes, swirling with questions of betrayal. Of their trust.

They knew, somehow they knew. And now they wanted answers. They wanted to know why he'd kept it back; something that even he wasn't sure of. But first, he had a question of his own.

"How do you know about that?" he asked.

"Hilary went snooping in the computer!" Ben blurted, almost panicked as he pointed at his sister and earned a scornful look in reply. Benson almost chuckled in amused disbelief; no way would that have been Hilary's idea. Then Ben added sheepishly, "I kind of helped."

"We didn't mean to see it," Hilary apologized, ignoring her brother with an eye-roll and looking at Benson with considerably more sincerity. "We just kind of… stumbled across it when we were locking the shields last night."

For a moment he felt his anger rising, the strong desire to scold them for such a gross invasion of privacy. But they knew, clear as day, that what they did was still wrong. That delving around in his personal files could never be justified. And still, it did nothing to absolve him of his sins. Ray, ever the protector, was already moving, stepping as slyly as he could between him and Hilary, ready to defend her from any angry rebuke coming her way.

Ready to argue down any moral high ground Benson thought he'd be able to claim. But instead, all he could was slowly nod in resignation, loudly exhaling into a heavy sight, and bury his face in his hands.

Because he truly had no ground to stand on.

What could he even say? How would they even be able to trust any justification he could give? But he needed to say something. But he did know one thing; even having only just found out and already they were second guessing. Chomping at the bit as mistrust began to wear away. And if he didn't assuage them now, that tension would only build until there'd be to nothing do but burst.

Dangerous at the best of times, disastrous in battle. And he'd have no one to blame but himself.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Jake asked.

"Yeah," said Johnny. "Why wouldn't you tell us that Cyrax is actually one of your best buddies?"

They were hurt by his secret, shocked and uncertain, and he wouldn't even be there were it not them. The night he'd given them their powers, they'd marched out into danger with nothing but the assurance of his word. He would always owe them for that, a debt that he'd never be able to repay. And the little that he had, had been with secrecy. They deserved better than that, whether he truly had answers or not.

With a deep breath of courage, he slowly emerged from the sanctuary of his hand to the waiting gaze of the team. None of them were angry, more confused. They wanted to understand, so long as he gave them that chance.

"You're right," Benson admitted. "I should have told you. You guys risk your lives every day, it wasn't fair to keep you in the dark. I guess, I didn't think it matter, that learning about it would just be a distraction. At least until I found some sort of solution, there wouldn't be anything you could do, and I didn't want to burden you all with it. I was wrong."

"Doc," said Ray. "Whatever's going on, we can help you."

"Try to, at least," Ben added cautiously.

Benson took a deep breath. "Okay," he agreed. "Then here goes. Cyrax isn't my friend, but the body he's occupying is."

"WHAT?"

All five teens blurted the exclamation in unison like the truth had knocked the wind right out of them. Whatever they'd expected as a response, that wasn't it.

"You guys remember what I told you about Project Digitizer?" he asked them. "About what happened to it?"

"You said they shut it down after Gideon attacked it," said Hilary. "They abandoned the project and cut you loose."

"Yeah," Jake remembered. "You took the only remaining Digitizer to keep it out of evil hands."

Benson nodded. "I also said that I had some help me keep it hidden from Gideon."

"And that's who Kyle was?" Ray concluded.

"Yeah. Yeah, it was." Benson shut his eyes, breathing growing heavy, thinking back to the night that would be forever burned into his memory. The moments that would remain when he shut his eyes to sleep, well after he'd finally managed it. Of the base, of what had been his home for years, burning as he watched from the back of a car as it shrank into the distance.

Of the remnants of his life's work, tossed into the back of a van like pieces of trash.

"Take your time," Ray suggested softly.

And he did. For a long while, they all say in the silence of the warehouse, waiting for him to find the strength and words to tell them the tragic tale. But at last, he found them.

"Kyle was the reason I got out of there at all," Doc finally told them. "He'd been head of the security team attached to my research division. When Gideon attacked and unleashed the Byte-Bots on the base, Kyle was the one to keep them off my back. And when I said needed to get the second prototype, before Gideon could get his hands on it, Kyle didn't question it. We raced into the lab to grab the second Digitizer, loaded it into the back of a van, and burned rubber until the base was long gone behind us. It was Kyle's idea to split up; let me get the software online while he found a good place for the hardware."

Then he looked back up at his team Rangers.

"Kyle was the one to hide the Digitizer in the factory. He's the reason you guys found it in the first place."

If there was anyone Benson owed more than the Rangers, it was Kyle. Without him, there would be no Power Rangers at all. And by now Cranston City would likely be nothing but a smoking crater. The revelation hit the rest of them like a ton of bricks, standing there, jaws hanging in dumbfounded silence. As all of them slowly began to understand what it truly meant.

"You told us that night that they'd got to your partner…" Hilary realized before trailing off, eyes bulging and stifling a gasp in horror as she put the rest together herself.

"And until a few weeks ago, I'd thought that that was the last of him," said Benson. "Honestly, that video first sign I'd had that he was even still alive. I thought when Gideon had got to him, that was it. I'd never imagined that he would have done… done that to him."

"But you told us he'd already made one person his slave," said Johnny. "You didn't think it was possible that he'd do the same to Kyle?"

But Benson just shook his head.

"It probably wasn't exactly correct to call Kelgar a slave," he clarified. "Kelgar willingly allowed himself to be transformed, but Gideon still has all the power. Truth is, Kelgar has to obey Gideon, he's got nowhere else to go. And once he saw the process could work, Gideon made himself far stronger. But what they've done to Kyle… it's like they brainwashed him. Like someone else is living inside his head, in complete control of his body."

All of them sat in silence, the full gravity of Cyrax's situation settling upon them. A weight falling upon their shoulders, joining the collective mass of everything else.

"It almost makes you feel sorry for him," said Ben.

"Almost," Johnny corrected.

"Listen, guys," Benson said sincerely. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. To be honest, at first, I didn't know how. And after a while, I realized that I didn't want that on your mind when you had to fight him. You guys have enough trouble with him as it is, and I didn't want you hesitating if you got the chance to stop him."

"But isn't that our choice to make?" Ray asked him.

A simple truth, and one that the one he'd been most clueless in considering. Or perhaps he simply hadn't wanted to. Whatever was to happen with Kyle, when it came to the field of battle it was their choice. And withholding information, he'd practically tried to make it for them.

The same mistake he seemed to make time and time again. They may have been kids, but they'd also proven time and time again that they were so much more capable than he'd ever given them credit. That night, when he'd reluctantly pulled the Morphers from their case, he'd been desperate, pleading almost. Hoping that those five teenagers would just help him pull through the night. And it turned out to be the best decision he'd ever made. Probably the only good one since making that damned Digitizer.

"It is," he agreed. "And you're right, I should have trusted you all earlier. I'm sorry guys."

Taking a glance at his teammates, Ray could see that all of them had softened their opinion. They weren't out of the woods yet, but it was a start.

"Well," he said warmly. "I guess we better figure out a way free your friend."

"Yeah," Hilary agreed. "I mean, we're Rangers, right? Isn't helping people what we're meant to be about?"

Through all his solemn demeanor, Benson couldn't help be feel a smile begin to spread between his lips, watching as the team's posture straightened standing side by side in solidarity. Now longer against him, but for him.

They were right, he really should have told them from the start. But as much as he'd have loved to dive into theories and brainstorming, there was another problem at hand.

"Freeing Cyrax is a long-term problem," he decided. "Right now, we need to figure out a way to deal with that pig."

"Actually, I might have something for that," said Hilary. "Is it okay if I use the terminal to look at the Data Cannon? I think there's a small upgrade I can make."

Benson was about to disagree, mouth already opening to deny when he caught himself. No, he was done underestimating them. Time to see what they could do. Instead, he punched in the key and booted up the data, the full display of the Data Cannon enlarging on the screen before gesturing to the terminal. "It's all yours."

The yellow Ranger leaped into the wheelie chair and rolled to where Benson had gestured to begin frantically tapping away.

"In the meantime," Ray decided, "What can you tell us about that crystal?"

Straight to business, Doc wheeled around his screen to show the analysis that he'd been running in the background.

"The scans haven't finished yet," he explained, "but here's what I've got so far; it's old. Like, really old."

"Like my grandma?" asked Jake.

"Like prehistoric," Benson clarified. "It looks like it's acting as some sort of energy amplifier. Here, take a look."

The screen changed, now showing a silhouette of Porkchop with arrows moving across its body. "This shows the flow of power across the virus' body, both before and after the crystal. Now you look at the small scan I did when it arrived and after Kelgar rammed that thing into its head and…"

"The power's coming directly from the crystal," Ray finished.

"Exactly. Destroy the crystal, destroy the monster."

"That's easier said than done," Johnny pointed out. "That thing's the size of a pin-head."

"And that's what I've been working on," Hilary announced. "Our Data Blaster should be able to hit the crystal, no problem."

Really? That fast? But as Benson wheeled over looking at modifications she'd made, he couldn't help but be impressed by the young programmer's handiwork. Her coding was clean, its insertion precise. He really should have had her looking at all the files ages ago.

"Good job," he smiled as Hilary shied away and blushed.

Just in time for the alarm to sound across the warehouse.

"Speak and they shall appear," Ray noted.

The screen flashed up with the monitoring feeds, which now showed Porkchop raging among the public downtown.

"Looks like he's become bored with the Quarry," said Jake.

"I guess your upgrade's getting road-tested," Ben told his sister as they moved to the exit.

Benson looked back at the yellow ranger, color draining from her face as she suddenly realized her programming was about to sink or swim.

"It'll work," he assured her. "You guys have got this. And when you get back, you can maybe point out a few other areas for improvement."

Slowly she nodded, psyching herself as she rose from the chair and hurried to join the team by the door. It was as good a plan as they were going to get it, but they had this. They always did.

"He's in the main square!" Doc called out to them as they marched. "I'll keep an eye on the skies, and give you a heads up if they pull anything."

"No worries, Doc," Ray grinned, spinning around with his Morpher in hand. "We trust you."

Then he looked to the team and delivered the command. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Data Squad, Digitize!"

And then, with a blinding burst of technicolor, they were gone.

"Good luck Rangers," Doc said, more to himself than them. "May the Power protect you."


The Rangers soared into action, arriving on the scene and forming ranks to face Porkchop down. The gi-clothed pig spun around as they landed, moving into an almost mocking fighting stance as their face twisted into a sinister grin. "Back for more, I see!"

"Hilary," Doc warned. "I need to run an update through your power weapons before I can get that upgrade online. You guys will have to hold them off until it's ready."

Right, Ray decided, then time make Piggy run all the way home.

"We're back for Round Two," he taunted. "And this time we're taking you down."

"Now, now!" laughed virus, as a horde of Byte-Bots appeared behind him. "No porkies! My friends here felt left out last time! Get them!"

The Byte-Bots charged on command, racing into the ready wall of Rangers. They waited just long enough for the forces to fully commit, and then they scattered. The Byte-Bots rushed into their single formation, unable to react in time as the team dived for the sides and repositioned. And they began carving through the numbers at all ends.

The Power Sword flashed into Ray's hands, cleaving through the first rank of soldiers before falling back and letting them file after him. Last time the robots had kept them contained, but they weren't about fall for the same mistake. Determined to not give Porkchop an easy target, Ray raced to the edge of the street, leading his group toward a nearby back alley. Now it was his turf, where he could use the narrow walls to his advantage. Where he could the Byte-Bots were forced to cluster into a bottleneck. All too easy.

Sword in hand, he bounced around the walls, flipping between them to slash them behind. In the tight confines, they were too clumped together, and the Ranger made short work of their feeble defense. At last, there was only one remaining, charging at Ray in desperate hope of taking him out. But as it moved, Ray eyed the garbage can just off to the alley's side.

"I'd love to stay and talk," he laughed. "But I've got to take out the trash!"

He kicked up the lid, batting it with his sword to send it spinning into the Byte-Bot, the sharp metal disk embedding into his stomach as it slammed into the wall.

With his own numbers clear, he rushed back to the square as his teammates regrouped alongside him.

"Now," Jake taunted at the giant swine, "about returning that favor."

"I'd like to see you try!" they cried.

"Guy's, it has some sort of martial arts skills," Doc reminded them,"use your blasters and stay long range."

"Got it!"

They whipped out their modem blasters and opened fire, laser singing its skin and bursting into a shower of sparks over the body.

"Are forgetting my Karate Chop Action?" the cried out, swinging his arms to summon the giant X of energy. "Hi-yah!"

This time the Rangers were ready, launching into the air as attack soared beneath, colliding with concrete below before exploding into a harmless ball of flames. But as they landed on the other side of the square, they knew time was running short.

"So much for that plan," said Ben sarcastically.

"Doc," Hilary asked sharply, "Where are we on that update?".

"Done!" came the reply. "Targeting mode is good to go!"

And the timing couldn't be better. Frustrated that they'd dodged his mighty attack, Porkchop was charging across the square, barrel full tilt at the Rangers. The perfect target

"All right, guys," Ray decided with a laugh. "Let's put it together!"

"Right!"

The Rangers fluidly moved as one, snapping their weapons in place ease before leveling the cannon at Porkchop. The monster skidded to a halt, trotters skidding on the concrete as they stared the barrel down. To sweep in their pride, they beat their chest in raucous machismo.

"Data Blaster!"

"That thing can't stop me!" the pig roared. "Come on!" Give me your best shot!"

"Well," Hilary giggled. "If you insist…"

"Targeting mode!" they called together, "Activate!"

A large square emerged from the top of the cannon, a tinted pane of glass that was intersected with a pair of crosshairs. Across the screen, the view zoomed in, closing on the pig before pushing further and the target lined up the crystal embedded in their forehead. Slowly they began to flash before turning red, and Ray grinned as his finger curled in the trigger.

"Target Acquired! Fire!"

The cannon erupted with a large ball of energy, surging with pinpoint accuracy as impacted Porkchop's head. The round exploded on collision, shattering the crystal in a blazing flash of light. The virus barely had a chance to scream. With their power source gone, rendered to dust but the power of the canon, nothing was left to protect their body as the explosion surged outward and through them. Porkchop vanished in the flames, bursting into steaming, chunky fragments the shards of the crystal littered around them.

And then, right on time, the sky turned emerald as the monster reformed and grew to colossal size.

"Wow!" Porkchop exclaimed as it suddenly towered above them. "That beam really saved my bacon!"

"Doc?" Ray asked into the communication system.

"Let me guess, the monster you just destroyed came back to life and is now eighty feet tall?"

"How did ever you guess?"

"Zord Powers! Digitize!"

The mecha soared to life, emerging from the beams of light emitted from their Morphers. As Ranger lunged in their cockpits, the machines began to merge, shifting their shapes to lock into their combined form. As the lion made its share, Ray's chair slid into the front of the cockpit to join his friends as the docking sequence completed.

"Server Patrol Megazord! Online!"

Ray immediately turned his attention to the controls, running through the configurations.

"Doc, I think that thing's ready, for our sword. We're going to need to Bison Zord."

"Are you sure?" came the reply. "You're going to have to stand still while it charges."

"Can we fire it separately from the main Megazord?" Hilary suggested. "That might let us buy the time we need while guns fire up."

"Sure can," Doc confirmed. "But you'll need to put someone in the driver's seat. The auto targeting's not going to keep up with that thing's movement."

"Did someone say 'driver'?" Ben offered with a knowing, cheeky tone.

Ray looked to Blue Ranger and nodded emphatically. "Get on it," he ordered. "We'll keep it busy!"

Ben's chair lurched back, vanishing into the Megazord elevator as prepared to jump across and the Rangers summoned the main weapon.

"Terabyte Sabre!"

Then, with the Blue Ranger clear and in position, they charged directly at the karate-swinging pig.

"Ready for more are you? Well, take this!"

Porkchop met the sluggish Megazord with a punch to the chest, denting the front plate as the whole machine thudded backward. The team replied with a swing of their own, but Porkchop effortlessly ducked beneath and responded with another quick jab.

"Is that all you've got?" he cackled as the Megazord's feet cracked the concrete in its stumble.

"Oh us?" Ray replied. "We're just the distraction. You ready Ben?"

"Primed and ready!"

Porkchop spun around to see the barrels of the Bison Zord glowing in its direction.

"Bison Canon! Activate!

The cannons burst to life, showing the sky with gold as the shots zeroed in a powerful carronade.

"Time to go home little piggy!" Ray called out as the Ranger guided the Megazord to swing the blade into the monster's back. As it connected, it hurled the monster forward, slamming it directly into the path of the soaring energy. Porkchop could only scream as his body was completely consumed by the blast.

As Ben killed the guns and light faded, Porkchop was barely standing. And then they fell, tumbling backward with a final cry, body disintegrating in a ball of flame as Ben steered the Bison Zord to stand by the accompanying Zord. Together, they stood triumphant among the buildings, content with the knowledge the city was once again safe, for now.


All the teens could do was watch, waiting as Doc typed furiously on his computer. After the battle, they'd managed to collect some of the gem fragments left behind from Porkchop's first destruction. For the last hour, Doc had been studying them intently. So far, he'd come up with nothing. Eventually, Hilary offered her assistance, adding another brain to the trust. But she hadn't found anything either. Until at last, Doc leaped from his chair.

"I've got it!"

His outburst was so sudden that it caught them off guard, and Ben nearly toppled off his swinging chair in surprise. They rushed to the desk, huddling around to see what he'd uncovered.

"It's a fragment of a meteorite,' Doc explained. "The one that crashed into earth millions of years ago and killed the dinosaurs. I'd always heard that if found those fragments could have Zetawatts of potential energy stored inside them, but I just didn't believe it until now."

"Zeta-what now?" Ben asked.

"Power," Hilary explained. "Lots of power."

All five of the teens stared blankly at him.

"It looks like Porkchop drained most of the energy already," Doc realized. "But if this was an energy amplifier then…"

"Zetawatts…" Hilary gasped. "Even with just these shards, you could power something simple for fifteen lifetimes."

"Or something really powerful for fifteen seconds," Doc concluded. "Something that powerful could break even the strongest hold on something else."

"Doc?" asked Johnny. "Are you saying what we think you're saying?"

Benson nodded.

"I think I can use the remaining power in the gem to neutralize Cyrax's power," he declared. "And bring Kyle back for good. The only question is, how?"

Looking at the team, resolute after their victory, Ray stepped forward. "However, you do it," he said, "we've got your backs."

"Together," agreed Hilary.

"Whatever it takes," said Johnny.

"I don't know what a Zetawatt is," Ben admitted, "but I know there's no way we're letting you do this on your own."

"Gideon messes with our friends, then we make him regret it," Jake finished.

They all looked at Benson, tears filling his eyes as the teens so staunchly announced their support.

"So, tell us, Doc," said Ray. "What do we need to do?"


High above the city, bellow the blades of the fortress's rotors, Cyrax stood watching.

Waiting.

Another failure, but not a total loss. He had to admit, Kelgar had been wise to give up some of the crystal fragments. Putting it into the monster would no doubt fool the Rangers into believing it was destroyed. Leaving them completely unaware of the full stock they had taken.

Combined with the information they'd extracted from Murphy, Gideon's weapon would very soon come to completion.

Then, he smiled to himself as he looked down upon the unsuspecting city below, then they would bring about the end of the Power Rangers, once and for all.

To be Continued…


NEXT TIME-

The Rangers race to find a way free Kyle Mason from Gideon's control, while Cyrax makes it his personal mission to bring about their complete and utter destruction. Will they find a solution in time, or will they be forced to make a sacrifice in the name of the greater good? But when the chips are down, could the team really destroy the person responsible for making them in Ranger in the first place?

Find out next time on:

POWER RANGERS- DATA SQUAD

The Rescue- Part 2


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.