POWER RANGERS MEGAFORCE REVAMPED

by MORPHINTOKUSOCIETY

The 20th anniversary of power rangers was presented to be one of the greatest but instead what we as fans were given, failed to meet the expectation. In this story we will attempt to answer the questions we were left wondering and portray a better and stronger narrative. The characters have all been reimagined into something greater.

12. Chapter 11

(After 10,000 years another chapter is free! Sorry about the delay, it's getting a little difficult to handle this story plus our animation series, but we don't wanna quit. Some of you guys probably see us mentioning rangers that aren't part of the actual show. That is because this Megaforce story takes place in our own Alternative universe.)

STRANGER RANGER PART 1

The army of rangers surged forward with Troy at the helm, beside him were his teammates and an unknown silver figure. His dragon sword slashed through the unusual enemy while his friends with their weapons cleared a path. In another section of the battlefield, the Rangers of Aquitar, along with the wind and thunder teams dash about in whooshes of color.

The legendary mighty morphin red ranger sent another minion flying with a prehistoric punch. Everywhere Troy looked different combinations of rangers fought with all of their might.

Many nodded their approval of his leadership but before Troy could say anything he was roused awake.

"Why do I keep having these dreams?" Troy massaged his brow line. This dream was like a reoccurring nightmare. He reasoned it had to be an Equilizer thing but Gosei didn't seem so sure. It all felt so real almost eminent but there was no telling what it all meant.

"What dreams? You're having dreams too?" The figure of a young boy stood at the edge of Troy's bed with a pillow beneath one arm. It was Randy, Troy's 8-year-old cousin looking to share the room.

"Randy. What are you doing up?" Troy asked.

"I can't sleep."

"Well count sheep," Troy said, rolling on his side, and pulling his blanket up to his chest.

"I can't count sheep when the thunder is—" There was the pitter-patter of rain on the window, the soothing sound Troy had drowned out. A surge of lightning illuminated the skies followed by a large boom of thunder. Randy scurried to hide his face beneath Troy's sheets

Troy sat up, "Go to your mom's room."

"She's tired." Randy's voice muffled.

"Go to Isaac's," Troy suggested.

"He locked the door."

"Well, what do you expect me to do? Put a pillow over your head."

"I'll suffocate!" That's when Randy lifted his head.

"Shh!" Troy sighs, "Okay, you can sleep here." Troy pointed to a spot on the floor and threw down one of his extra blankets. Randy pouted as he took his place. Breathed a sigh of relief once more trying to enter the dream world. The floor creaked as Randy tried to get comfortable but the rain and thunder made it impossible.

The red ranger peaked at the young boy who squirmed and fidgeted. Although his bed could easily sleep the both of them, Troy doubted Randy would appreciate the damp moisture from sweat in the sheets. Taking another glance at the boy who was no more asleep than Troy was, the elder cousin relented.

"Hey, come here." Troy offers Randy a spot.

"This bed is sweaty."

"You wanna stay on the floor?"

"No.." Randy pleaded as he got on the bed, making himself comfortable. "Thank you, Troy."

"Yeah."

"Can you move over?" Troy was hogging all the room and Randy was barely holding on. Though asking caused Troy to scoot over but not without grunting. Now that Troy had given the 8-year-old room Troy had all the covers.

"Troy, I'm cold-"

"Randy.." Troy almost snapped but eventually threw over the remaining covers to his little cousin.

"Goodnight, Troy."

"Mhmm."

---

Aboard the Warstar ship, Admiral Malkor gazed upon the earth. He had been at this conquest for weeks and yet he was no closer to raising an army than when he started. Each time he or one of his soldiers made a motion against the earth, they were always stopped by the planet's defenders. Each scheme concocted only seemed to dwindle his limited resources.

"Creepox! Vrak! Our subjugation of this world has been minimal at best. Our numbers decline every day and it's only a matter of time before the Armada finds us again. If we hope to topple the empire we will need soldiers and reinforcements. This planet was supposed to be ripe for sacking, yet we have not seen any results!"

"I assure you, my lord, we were right to take refuge here. Although our losses are considerable, I do believe that ultimately the odds are in our favor." Vrak said bowing respectfully.

"How so?! The Rangers have made a laughingstock of us!"

"But their folly is the key to our victory." Creepox said sharpening his blades, "Vrak has had his pick of which clone to send and now it is my turn."

The bridge doors open as a dragonfly mutant races in as a blur.

"My service is yours to command, Admiral. I am Dragongflay from the planet, Hidou."

"His speed will make him practically undetectable, he could round up batches of humans in an instant and have more than enough time to eliminate the rangers while he's at it. He will be the perfect pawn to solve all of our problems." Creepox boasted.

"I have built this clone with even greater speed than the original, if we send him down I doubt even the rangers will be able to track him," Vrak confirmed.

"Very well, do it!" Admiral Malkor commanded.

---

The rubber mats crunched under Troy's feet as he listened intently. He exhaled in controlled breaths as he slowly paced in a circle. Beyond him, the Karate instructor, Jason, moved slowly with a bamboo sword in hand. Younger students including Randy watched in silence as Jason and Troy, demonstrated their advanced skills. Troy was the subject of observation, a treat of sorts for the younger students to watch. He was blindfolded and thus Troy had to rely solely on his ears and other senses in order to avoid Jason's sword strikes.

Jason lunged with a swipe of the sword Troy dodged just in the nick of time narrowly missing a stinging slap. Randy and a few of the other students chuckled, they were silently hoping to see Troy get hit once. The key to this exercise was for Troy to rely on his other senses. Troy jumped hearing that Jason swung low again, it was another narrow miss.

"Good, you're adapting very very well. Let's see how you handle when things aren't so easy."

Jason looked at Randy and his friend Chris. The boys smiled as they led the other students into beating on the mats. Troy's senses were now all mixed as he could not focus and suddenly Thwack, his shoulder was lit with stinging pain.

"I thought you said you weren't going to hit me," Troy said

"And I thought you were going to avoid it," Jason corrected

Troy shook out his arm as he once again took his ready stance. Randy and Chris started up the younger students with their rumblings. Troy centered himself trying to block them out. Jason swung again which Troy managed to weave under, but Jason thrust forward the tip of his blade aimed at Troy's chest. The limber young Mr. Burrows leaned back and quickly sprung to his feet which succeeded in winning approval from the kids.

"Nice move there," Jason commented.

Jason swiped his sword a few more times to which Troy ducked, dodged, and rolled. The younger students cheered in approval of their older counterparts.

"High! Go High!" Jason's son, Chris yelled.

Troy jumped expecting Jason to execute another sweeping maneuver, to his surprise another lash struck his shoulder.

The two resumed their dance with narrow avoidances and stylish flare. The younger students all cheered watching this truly amazing display of talent and skill. Parents began the file into the dojo, some of them looking in on the excitement.

"Go high!" Chris called again.

Troy stood his ground and ducked anticipating another deceitful tactic, to his surprise the edge of Jason's sword caught Troy in the legs taking him down. The tip of the sword now rested on Troy's chest.

"And with that, class is dismissed," Jason said.

Troy took off the blindfold and peaked over to Chris and Randy who were laughing hysterically. Randy kept pointing at Chris saying that he was the one calling out the wrong information as Jason helped Troy to his feet.

"You did really well, I thought I had you on a few of those. Your senses are pretty sharp be sure to really hone in on that. Listen for your opponent, and try to anticipate every step. Think about what's needed for them to execute a move and then target those areas to stop them from enacting it. The better you can do that, the better you will be."

Troy massaged the areas Jason tagged. One of these days he would have to get that little, brat, Chris back. Those were some wise words Jason shared that resonated deeply with what Troy felt. He needed to be better and more precise about everything. He often felt that his moves and actions lacked conviction and purpose, but now he was going to change all of that.

He was fortunate that this scenario was in a safe environment, had he been on the battlefield Troy might not have been so lucky. In a matter of minutes, both he and Randy were changed and headed out the door.

---

Vrak paces over an observation table, various segments and chunks of defeated monsters exposed before him. Zombats squeak and flutter as they move about in the chambers above Vrak's head. The doors slide apart as Creepox enters scowling as always.

"Have you any solution to the unique problem I told you about?" Creepox demanded.

"What you ask is no easy task. One cannot hope to challenge the Equalizer without first knowing what they are faced with. I'm sure you can relate," Vrak snickered as he peeled a piece of flesh away.

"I have told you all I know, he's yet to awaken to his full abilities, our best bet is to strike him while he's still weak." Creepox insisted.

"As strong as you are Creepox, I see patience is not one of your virtues. Are you too dense to realize that constant battle will only make him stronger? If we hope to triumph we must limit what he can do and that monster you dispatched will do just that."

"What is your plan?"

"Without a sample of his DNA, there's not much I could do that will produce a permanent solution, however, I may have just the thing that will give you an edge."

Vrak made his way to a shelf where he kept a number of different solutions. He carefully measured and mixed the substances combing them in another small vile. With just a pinch of another component, Vrak's ultimate concoction was done.

"This colloid is potent enough to terminate a monster 10 times your strength. Relatively effective on the surface of the skin but get it inside and you'll be a husk in a matter of minutes. I'm sure you can manage at least one scratch, that shouldn't be too hard." Vrak returned to his workstation as a genetic analyzer he had been running had successfully produced a piece of armor.

"You should provide me with more of this stuff, I could use it to destroy all of the rangers at once," Creepox said.

"I suppose you could, however why waste such a valuable composition on pests we could stomp in an instant? I'm sure your mysterious ally would not appreciate you wasting time on the likes of them."

Creepox turned and left Vrak to his work scowling silently.

---

The mall itself was surprisingly light for this time of day. It was only half past 11 and Troy would have expected to of bumped into more people. Randy was ahead of Troy still filled to the brim with boundless energy. The young boy pointed to the small ice cream store, beckoning Troy to keep up.

"I can't believe you got your butt whooped by Jason." A brilliant smile still teemed on Randy's face, he skipped passed Troy laughing with a devilish Cheshire grin. Troy was still smoldering in reflection on the lesson Jason imparted to him, he had to be more observant and aware.

"Can we go to Bernie's? I'm hungry."

Troy squinted his eyes, utterly confused, "What's Bernies?"

Randy points at the juice bar across the hall.

"You mean Ernies? Right after your martial arts training? That's not good for you." Troy shook his head.

"Yes it is, it gives me ENERGY after training." Randy flexed his biceps which were no more than goosebumps and bone pretending to be muscle. "You should have had some before sparring with Jason."

Troy rolled his eyes, feigning being impressed. "...If that's the case don't expect me to pay for it."

Randy shrugged,"...That's okay. I got money, I'll pay for it."

"Money, since when?"

"For cleaning my room, I wanted to clean your room for more money but Mom said no."

Troy took a deep breath, he looked over at Randy, taking note of the boy's trembling legs and obvious yearning to visit this particular ice cream store. Troy looked at the sign, something about the name seemed familiar. He's passed this store on numerous occasions but never ventured in. It then dawned on him that this place must be the same location his teammates often frequent.

"Come on, come on!" Randy tugged on Troy's wrist, beckoning him to enter the frozen treat emporium. Troy gritted his teeth and hoped not to run into a familiar face.

The ice cream shop was largely empty, the floors were still nicely polished which hinted at the lack of recent foot traffic. Randy was amazed by it. The vibrant colors and the self-serve toppings. The menu offered so many unique options nothing seemed to catch his eye.

"Go ahead and order." Troy insisted.

Randy was hesitating, "...This is my first time..."

Troy sighed, "What kind of ice cream do you want?"

"Yes."

Troy tensed at his cousin's query, his 8-year-old attention span mixed with the presence of so many unique flavors caused an auditory deficiency. Troy needed to recenter himself, the longer he was present in the store the higher the likely hood that one of his compatriots would encounter him. "...okay, mint chocolate it is."

"No! That's nasty."

"Then vanilla?" Troy suggested.

"No."

"Chocolate."

"No."

"Strawberry?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"I told you I want ice cream."

"AND I asked you what flavor."

"..Oh, chocolate."

"...Forget it, you're getting water." One of the earliest lessons Troy learned in martial arts was patience and it was situations like this that life decided to test him on it. Troy couldn't blame Randy though, the kid had been working hard and so he deserved to have a bit of fun. Troy just wished he wasn't the one to have to spoil him.

"Nooo, chocolate, chocolate. Wait no no, oooooh I want the power ranger ice cream." Randy pointed at the poster, representing the Mighty Morphin Rangers.

"Alright, for one, that has too much sugar, and two you don't have enough."

"Spot me change? I'll clean your room." Randy gleamed up to his cousin with his most compelling eyes often while out with his mom. Randy would hear people mention how adorable he looked. No one could seem to resist Randy's boyish charm, not even Troy.

"...Fat chance."

Randy's expression changed, his innate cuteness bore no effect on his cousin. It was as if Troy was completely immune.

Having given the newcomers some time, the shop owner, Ernie, was ready to serve with a smile. "Hello, how are you?"

"Good," Randy said.

"And how about you young man, you're new around here. What could I get for you?"

"POWER RANGER ICE CREAM!" Randy slammed his hand on the bar stool, preventing Troy from answering.

"Oh!" Ernie smiled, "that's one of my best sellers, but I'm afraid it'll be too much for you," Ernie said.

"Seeeee!" Troy said leaning over the counter.

"Okay, fine. Get me chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, blueberry, and watermelon ice cream in a cone."

Randy counted off the assortment of flavors on his fingers yet Troy's expression did not change. "...you think you're slick huh?" Troy then looked to Ernie, "Get him some water, please. He's hyper enough."

"Okay, right away, and what about you sir?"

"Oh no, I'm good," Troy responded.

"Are you sure? I have many healthy drinks. I think you would enjoy my green burst extreme. I'll give you a small cup, free of charge." Ernie retreated to the kitchen in order to begin chopping and gathering some of the fresh produce.

"No wait um..." Troy sank into one of the bar chairs having failed to dissuade the nice man. Randy began amusing himself with the self-serve toppings possibly plotting how to sneak some for free.

Emma entered the shop toting with her a bin marked with the recycling logo. To her interest and curiosity, a familiar figure in a black leather jacket was seated at the counter. Emma could not believe her eyes, never before has she heard Troy ever mention wanting to visit this place.

As a member of the city green thumb initiative, Emma was going around the various stores in the mall to encourage the owners and managers to recycle. Some were more willing than others, nevertheless, Ernie was always an ally. Seeing Troy at the counter almost made Emma want to retreat, she really did not want to deal with his sarcasm today. Yet Emma also concluded that it would be best for the both of them to at least try and find some level ground.

Randy squirmed over to his older cousin who was lost in thought.

"I'm telling Mom on you," he said with a devilish smile.

Troy smirked at the threat, "Good luck."

Emma reasoned that she'd be nice to Troy another day but as she turned to leave Ernie returned from the kitchen. He offered Troy an olive green smoothie and Randy a few orange slices and a bottle of water.

"What do you think? I invented it last night," Ernie smiled as Troy sipped. An explosion of different flavors raced down Troy's gullet as he drank. His mind was considerably blown.

Ernie's grin broadened as Troy seemed to like his blend his joy only seemed to grow more when he noticed Emma standing with her recycling bin in hand.

"Oh hello, there Emma."

"Hi Ernie," Emma smiled sweetly at the kind shop owner as she walked into the juice bar. She tried to hide her scowl from Troy, "...Hi Troy."

Troy scrunched his face, he had hoped to of been gone by now but nonetheless, he was caught. Troy opted to remain cordial, since he and Emma were teammates they should at least pretend to get along.

"It's always great to see you, Emma, I love all the work you have been doing. Because of people like you, the city is looking more and more beautiful." Ernie said.

"We try Ernie, I'm glad we can count on people like you to help out, others are not as willing." The shopkeep returned with a plastic bag full of empty bottles and cans. Emma placed the items in her crate as Troy watched still sipping his drink.

"I understand completely. I have some recyclables in the back let me get the for you. Could I offer you anything to drink? I could always whip up your usual."

"Mhm, thank you, Ernie."

"...Let me know what you think." Ernie backed into the kitchen firing finger guns at Troy. The red ranger glanced over to his cousin who was still lost in his own world, his attention went to every other place before eventually falling onto Emma. The pink ranger was doing her best to ignore Troy, but when he finally glanced at her there was no looking away.

"...I take it you're a frequent customer," Troy said.

Emma cleared her throat before answering, she wasn't expecting Troy to be the one to break the ice. There had to be a greater reason behind him being there. What were the odds that today would be the day their paths crossed in this store? Troy had wanted to stay quiet but things were already awkward enough.

"...Yeah, Gia and I like to come here and do our homework."

He nods.

"...did you uh, come here alone?" She asked.

"Nuh-uh, he's with me," Troy's eyes remained locked on the fruit display in front of him while he gestured to Randy who had a tight chokehold on his bottle of water as the gulped it down. Emma waved politely to the young boy who returned her kind gesture, the neatly sliced pieces of orange sat untouched in front of him.

If only she could get him to peel back the layers, throughout their interactions her whole understanding of who Troy actually is was far deeper than all the various rumors she read. Thoughts of drafting an expose under a pseudonym filled Emma's mind. Maybe she could be the one to help others see Troy for who he really is, maybe then people would not attribute him entirely to the devil's figure they have of him now. As good as that would be for Emma, she realized that Troy might not be entirely game for that.

Troy himself was intrigued by the fact that he had been lowering his walls ever so slightly. Under normal circumstances, he would not have dared to be so vulnerable let alone allow others to get this close to him yet when interacting with his teammates he could not help but embrace the new horizon.

Suddenly, Ernie's brain freeze came alive as a large crowd entered, the rambunctious audience caught both Emma and Troy's attention. Cellphone cameras flashed as people all fought for the attention of a new celebrity.

"We love you!"

"You're my favorite!"

The person leading the pack was no older than Troy but twice as arrogant. His very walk radiated pride and ego. "No more flash photography people, okay, maybe like one more."

Ernie presented himself hearing the massive crowd.

"Scuse me," the stranger said weaving between Troy and Emma. " Hero, coming through."

"Ernie, I need a power ranger popsicle please." Jordan squeezed between Emma and Troy, leaning up against the serving counter. As always, Ernie was pleased to have such a local legend in his midst, he handed the frozen treat over and watched as Jordan retreated to the vacant corner of the store.

"Oh here you go, did you save the day again?" Ernie questioned.

"All day every day," The boy was fit for his age, the shape of his build pressing through his tight gray polo shirt and jeans. Soon after, the boy went to engage with the crowd that he brought with him into the shop.

"So, it was a hundred and fifty, a 150 against one, and I hit him over the head with a toaster and I'm like your toast man your toast."

"Excuse me, Emma, we're out of hot fudge you want to substitute it with something else," Ernie told Emma.

"Um no thank you Ernie I be fine with it the way it is. Um Ernie, what is with that guy?"

"Oh, that guy over there he's saying that he is the red power ranger."

Emma looked at Troy who almost choked on his drink. Troy watched, fairly recalling seeing this guy's face. Randy was completely enamored as he overheard the conversation of the crowd. He drew steadily closer listening to the epic legend unfold.

Emma and Troy could not believe their ears, after Jake's attempt to gain fame, the rest of the team had aimed to be extra careful. Tensou and Gosei succeeded in scrubbing Jake's egotistical and self-promoting image from the web. The people of the town have collectively kept their distance regarding the battles. It was obvious that this guy was merely trying to acquire a degree of fame he never had. Troy groaned overhearing the toaster comment, this imposter may have wanted to be like Troy but had the comedic talents of Jake.

Emma shook her head, "Wow, could you believe that faker?"

"I can't, but I could believe he's never fought a day in his life," Troy said.

"...Should we do something about it?" Emma asked.

"...No," Troy said nonchalantly as he began to gather his bookbag. "It's better to just ignore it. He's not going to listen anyways. Come on Randy!"

The young boy was completely magnetized he remembered when the Red Ranger came to his rescue and let him out of a broom closet. Randy had to get a picture of one of his greatest heroes. "Look it's your friend.

Troy, on the other hand, wasn't having it, he tugged at the young boy practically having to drag him out of the restaurant. "But Troy he's Gosei Red,"

"No he's not, come on."

---

Creepox stared intently at a screen that depicted footage from the ranger's recent battles. A zombat was resting in his grasp as the scientist stroked it lovingly. These little buggers were perfect for reconnaissance as they were quite difficult to spot unless specifically sought after.

Creepox also had the benefit of the data collected by the monster Cerebralpede. As much of the data he collected, it was perfectly preserved thanks to the fact that he was intelligent enough to save some of his findings for later evaluation. Vrak watched taking in every ounce of observable information he could decipher.

A number of different approaches came to his mind but without a control specimen, there was no way for Vrak to deduce a perfect solution.

---

Emma still had not left the ice cream parlor where she came to collect Ernie's recyclables but stayed for the "red ranger". His cult of followers clung to his every word as Jordan engaged in another story. Ernie was kind enough to serve Emma a second helping of her usual drink which she sipped gingerly. It wasn't long before Gia, Noah, and Jake entered the shop, they could not help but see the people swarm around Jordan.

"What's going on?" Jake asked as he sat down along with the other rangers.

"That guy over there, he's saying that he is the red power ranger," Emma responded.

"What?" Noah was shocked.

"We all chose our colors through a lottery and of course, they chose well. I mean the other rangers aren't bad, but I could defeat those monsters all by myself." Jordan told his followers while autographing their notepads.

"Aw, you have got to be kidding me." Jake was getting annoyed, it was like witnessing his mistakes all over again.

"It's just some guy looking for attention, you can relate right?" Gia spat causing Emma to chuckle. Jake slid deep into his seat feeling completely embarrassed but Noah was not amused.

"Did I ever tell you the time I saved the blue ranger?" Jordan continued on.

"I don't think Troy would like that," Noah said.

"Troy was actually here not too long ago," Emma said.

"Troy was here? And he didn't say anything?" Jake said.

"He just said not to bother, whatever we do or say he probably won't listen," Emma said.

Gia knew her friend well enough to know that there was more she had to say yet with Jake and Noah present she would not be able to get it off her chest.

"Umm, Jake can you order me a shake." Gia dug into her pocket and handed Jake a 10-dollar bill.

"Uh, sure no need to ask. You keep that, I got you. Noah, come with me." Jake said as he and Noah both headed toward the bar.

Once they were alone Gia smiled a knowing smile at Emma, "Hmm that's progress, Emma."

"What is?" Emma wondered.

"You're opening up to him more, it shows on the battlefield."

"That's not opening up, the battlefield's different. I have to think about the world other than my dislike for, Troy." Emma said.

"It's still a stepping stone. Hopefully, you two can finally get over your difference and be friends."

Emma sighed. "...I'm trying okay, though I was actually surprised to find him here, he even bought a drink. It was only weird because he never wants to come with us to Ernie's when we invited him many times, not to mention he was the first one to start talking to me."

"Ooooh, what did he ask?" Gia wanted to hear the gossip.

"Nothing really to gush over, Gia. Just if it was my first time here...it was very awkward."

"See Emma another stepping stone," Gia said.

"I guess..." Emma said, "I still don't trust him."

Gia smacked her lips, "At least he's not Jake. I don't know why he can't get the hint."

Gia then looked towards Jordan, "Just like those people thinking that guy over there is the red ranger."

Emma also peered at Jordan and his fans.

"Well, I could see he has passion even if a little egotistical, but so does Jake. He brings a different light to you." Emma tried to change the subject.

Gia scoffed, "All he does is bring out the mother in me."

"Hmmm, Mother Gia isn't that bad." Emma smiled.

"Nooooo," Gia shook her head. "Are you trying to hook us up?"

Emma smacked her lips, "you know I would never do that."

Gia gave Emma a stare as Jake and Noah then return.

"That guy is seriously getting on my nerves," Jake returned to the table with a 32oz cup dripping with whipped cream and Carib chips, he was absolutely thrilled. He knew Gia's usual order by heart and reveled in anticipation of the look on her face.

"I don't know but he sure looks familiar... wasn't he that guy Troy saved?" Noah wondered.

"Uh, Jake this is too much for me.." Gia said. Although Jake tried not to overdo himself, he sometimes could not help himself.

"...Oh my bad. I'll get you another one." Jake was already to his feet when Gia called for him to stop. In order to not be hypocritical, Gia had to be an example for Emma so that she can get along with Troy. Not to mention Ernie seemed to have his hands full serving the red ranger and his entourage. there was no telling when he'd finally get around to making her drink again.

---

Explosions erupt all across Harwood County as a number of buildings collapse simultaneously. Citizens run in terror from an unseen enemy.

"You're too slow!" A monstrous voice laughed with an acute whoosh as another building collapsed. "First I'll take out the buildings then I'll decimate the rangers!"

The mutant Dragonfly Alien from Hidou was on the scene wreaking havoc in the blink of an eye.

---

In the confines of the Megaforce base, the assistant droid, Tensou, wheeled on high alert.

"Gosei Gosei!" He wailed all of the cylinders firing off.

"I know Tensou, summon the rangers immediately." The wise sage responded.

---

Meanwhile, Randy and Troy step off the bus, the former still enamored having once again seen one of the town's heroes in person. The red Megaforce ranger was still rather annoyed that the imposter had no idea how much danger he was potentially putting himself in.

Troy knew how quickly a reputation could change. This guy Jordan may be in the spotlight now but once people find out he's a fraud, he can never show his face anywhere. Troy grasped that not everyone is built to handle that particular level of despair, he needed to do something to dissuade Jordan.

"Man I can't believe the red ranger was there, I know his identity."

"You really think that was the red ranger," Troy asked Randy.

"Yeah! He's waaaaaay better than you."

"Mhm." Troy pursed his lips.

"Watch! You think I'm short but when Im tall I'm going to be a red ranger. The ranger of the sun!" Randy's eyes seemed to shine brighter as he crossed the threshold of his family house. Troy could not help but shake his head in disbelief and doubt, his cousin sure had a pretty active imagination. Little did he know just how stressful being a ranger truly is.

"Keep dreaming, Randy."

Without warning, Troy had just started to remove his shoes when the chirp of his communicator sounded. The tone was even detected by Randy who looked around curiously.

"What was that?"

"...My phone, hey get inside I gotta meet with someone."

Troy re-fastened his laces as he prepared to head out the door of all the times for an attack to come at least Randy was somewhere safe.

Troy brought the collar flap of his jacket closer to his face. Always one for the theatrics Tensou's voice whined through the com with great urgency and fear.

"Alien attack I'm sending you the coordinates!"

"Call the others!"

---

"Ah, I could have been blue but uh...Next question?"Jordan reclined against the chair as he finished off another popsicle, his birdcage of narratives had his audience eating out of the palm of his hand. Emma and her friends still watched on curiously. Jake especially was feeling duped as he was the one seeking the limelight not too long ago. Had it not been for his friends, Jake would have ended up no different than how Jordan was acting now.

Gia was busy tearing through all the different social media handles trying to get a feel of what Jordan stood for and where he came from. All she could find on his normal profile were just some images taken after battles. People must have seen them and thought he was the red Ranger. His whole existence was obviously built on a lie.

Noah could not help but consider the sizeable target Jordan was obviously placing on himself. Not only would the Warstar revel at the chance to eliminate one of their greatest enemies, but there could be others who are also not as friendly toward rangers.

Emma reached the bottom of her usual treat, she still couldn't believe this guy story after story her respect for him diminished. Emma had very little, to begin with, but his twisting of narratives and the blatant abstractions only infuriated her more. She almost sorta wished that his empire of lies would crumble, at least then he'd know just how much harm he was actually causing.

A familiar chime rang in the ranger's ears, luckily Jordan and his guests were too distracted to notice. Emma and her friends sprung up from their seats and made their way toward the nearest exit. Just as they were all leaving someone else came running into the shop.

"Someone help, help! There's a monster attacking the city."

"What's wrong, Jake?" Emma and the others had stopped in their tracks when Jake halted as he was curious to see what Jordan's response was going to be. It was one thing to claim something but entirely different when you needed to prove it.

Jordan was put in the hot seat he had never fought a day in his life. In truth, he didn't even know how he got famous people just started calling him the red ranger and he went with it.

"He's not going to do something foolish, is he?" Emma said.

Jordan had hoped that he would never have to actually fight or if anything somehow find a way to bluff his way out of it.

"You bet." Jordan stormed out of the ice cream shop to the sound of applause and cheers, no one could see his face but there was an obvious look of fear in his eyes.

Jordan's popularity was a slap in the face for Jake, it was not too long ago that he was in Jordan's place. The key difference between them was that Jake at least had the means to support what he said Jordan on the other hand was likely to get himself severely injured. Jake now realized why his friends were so adamant to slap him out of the arrogant cloud he was in. If left unchecked Jake's pursuit of fame would have led to a lot more people getting hurt.

"We're losing time, come on." Gia and the others slipped out of a side exit, that spilled out into an alley. With a casual press of their pins, their morphers materialized into their grasps.

"Go Go Megaforce!" They exclaim just as the power washes over them.

---

Towering skyscrapers erupt in flames sending debris onto the streets below. The speedster Dragonflay cheered triumphantly as his destruction had gone unchallenged.

"Hahaha, Creepox was right! We're on the fast track to victory!"

"Stop monster!..." Standing before Dragonflay, his legs quivering was none other than Jordan, the massive entourage that always seemed to follow him was nowhere in sight.

Dragonflay was excited he had hoped the sole human in front of him was a ranger in disguise. "HA! Who the heck are you? A scary cat I guess. Well whoever you are, I'll cut you down quickly!"

To test Jordan's mettle Dragonflay fired stinging rays from his eyes powerful enough to blast holes in buildings. "Oh, you got lucky! You won't dodge the next one!"

"Hey Stop!"

Dragonflay turned in the direction of the new voices, it seems that this ranger's allies had finally arrived to help.

"Why don't you deal with someone who can actually fight back," Gia said.

"Ughhh! Rangers!"

"Cool." A feeling of relief came over Jordan as the town's heroes came racing out to defend him. His surprise was only matched when the true red ranger presented himself.

"You need to get it out of here. We'll take it from here. Come on." Troy lead Jordan out of the way.

The rangers looked to see if they were in the clear.

"Okay, we're clear," Noah said but before the rangers could even brace themselves, Dragonflay raced past them in a blur. Every time the rangers had an inkling as to where he might be, the reality was much different. The onslaught ended with Dragonflay standing and four rangers on the ground.

"Strike! One hit from Dragonplay and you're all down! Guess you guys are not up to speed! We insects are taking over this entire world. None of your little ranger tricks can stop me. I'll take you down, fast a furious!" Dragon play then speeds off again.

The rangers all stand back to back with their eyes peeled it was going to take their complete concentration in order to nail this guy.

Troy came racing to support his team the monster was nowhere in sight.

"Where is he?" Gia said.

"He's so fast we can't see him," Jake said.

Troy came racing to support his team the monster was nowhere in sight.

"Troy careful, this guy is so fast he's invisible," Noah warned his leader.

"Can't stop what you can see, losers! And I'm not even trying hard enough!" Dragonplay then zoomed off again but this time he caught the red Megaforce ranger off guard, instantly knocked off his feet by a seemingly malicious wind. It all happened so fast he could not even perceive what was happening.

"Troy! Are you okay?" Gia asked.

"I'm fine, stay at your positions. I have an idea." Troy readied his blade, the fact that he could no longer see his opponent brought him back to the morning's training. He had to be more observant and focus on the things he could see.

"What? What are you doing? Pay attention." Emma said.

"That's exactly what I'm doing, paying attention to the wind."

"The wind?" Emma thought Troy was out of his mind.

"We can't see him but we can feel the wind he creates and use it to tell where he is," Troy listened he could hear the rapid footsteps Dragonflay made as he raced around the rangers. Troy knew what he needed to do, it would be hard to run on one leg.

"There!" The red ranger felt the breeze coming moments before Dragonflay himself rushed passed. With his blade in hand, Troy dashed in the path of the wind striking low. He felt his blade make contact with something.

"Hey! How'd he do that?" Dragonplay complained, holding onto his scarred leg.

"Oh, man! Okay! That was awesome! I'm not going to lie!" Jake was even more impressed than ever.

"Nice one, Troy!" Gia cheered.

Emma was too shocked to say anything.

"Smart move, now let's finish this," Noah said, not taking his focus off of the monster who laid in front of them.

From a distance Creepox looked on impressed with Troy's reaction, he would need to be faster if he hoped to strike Troy with the poison.

Jordan as well had not left the battlefield, seeing the dramatic strike of the red ranger caused him to erupt in cheers. "Woohoo! Yeah! you guys rock!"

"What is he doing? It's not safe." Emma was worried.

Dragonplay forced himself to his feet at the sight of Jordan, "UGH, you again! This time ill make sure to finish the job." Dragonplay then shoots at Jordan again.

"Watch out!" Emma yelled.

"Twist tornado!" Troy exclaimed, pushing Jordan out of the way. Troy was now on to Dragonflay's schemes, with his Morpher in hand Troy had already dispensed the red cyclone. The gale scooped Jordan and moved him out of Dragonflay's line of fire.

"Perfect time to say hello!" Creepox's claw glittered as the lethal fluid coated it, he only had enough for one attack and he had to make it count. Vrak warned that the toxin was potent enough to even destroy him should he injure it. Creepox was wary not to even breathe in around his claw.

He darted toward Troy and Creepox was very meticulous with his assault. For the other four rangers, his normal claw was enough, but for Troy, he specifically used his poisoned blade. He was targeting the only unprotected part of Troy's body. Creepox directed his blade and put as much might as he could muster behind his blow.

Creepox charged at Troy moving faster than even Dragonflay.

The sickle bit deep into the red ranger's side cutting deep beyond what the ranger suit itself can defend. Creepox's sudden arrival disrupted Troy's concentration, preventing him from moving Jordan totally to safety. Dragonflay noticed the human and darted for him moving as fast as his injured leg could tolerate.

"Come here you little twit!" Dragonplay grabbed Jordan, holding him hostage behind Creepox.

"Let me go!" Jordan shouts.

"Creepox!" Troy grunted to himself.

"Oh no!" Emma yelled.

"We have a score to settle, Red," Creepox said.

"Whoever you are! Let him go." Jake grunted, going to his feet.

"Why? He wanted to be famous. So he's going to have to deal with the consequences!" Dragonplay said.

For Jake this felt personal, he was going to make these monsters pay. He drew his side arms and fired aiming for Dragonflay's face.

"Jake!" Noah went after him.

"Jake No!" Gia yelled.

"Help Jake, I'll take care of this guy!" Troy gave the order.

The beam from the black ranger's weapon found its mark. Dragonflay released Jordan sputtering backward. He darted forward toward the other four rangers in order to enact his revenge. Troy and Creepox steadied themselves to resume the duel that started long ago, but this time something was off. It felt like ants were running up and down Troy's skin but he couldn't seem to shake the feeling.

"What's wrong, Red? Feeling a bit unbalanced?" Creepox then looks at his wrist blade, " Hmm Vrak wasn't kidding, that poison works fast."

Troy glanced back at his teammates who were continuously getting blitzed by Dragonflay. They had not yet realized how to counter this speedy foe, Troy needed to end things with Creepox fast. He dashed forward using the same move that allowed him to scar Creepox during their first duel. The mantis warrior chuckled as he could tell Troy was not as swift as he was then.

The right side of Troy's body began to feel extremely heavy, and his vision began to blur. The ground felt like it was continually shifting under Troy's feet and just as he began to constitute some degree of equilibrium, his perception shifted drastically. His body worked overtime to fend off whatever negative feelings he was suffering with. It was so critical that it felt like even his ranger powers were suffering. His mind was a scrambled mess, he could not seem to constitute which card he needed at the moment and as a result, his power card which was the one to morph seemed to manifest out his sight and knowledge.

He stumbled to one knee, panting and heaving it wasn't long before his suit gave out.

"Some red ranger you are," Creepox said walking close to the demorphed red ranger.

Beads of sweat dotted Troy's forehead, he could barely stand. Creepox chuckled at the unsightly appearance of the red ranger, relishing in his advantage the mantis insectoid kicked the red ranger over.

Troy was defenseless as Creepox beat down on him, the curve of one of his sickles opened a new line of flesh across Troy's cheek.

"Just the opening I needed." Creepox gloated over his triumph.

Cries of pain reached Jordan's ears as he turned to see monstrous Creepox standing over the demorphed red ranger. Jordan could just make out a pair of jeans and a leather jacket but he could not see the face. Jordan felt perplexed by his decision, part of him wanted to live up to the ranger persona he crafted for himself but another told him to run. It became painfully clear to everyone present that he was no ranger, nor was he ranger material. Even though he was instructed to flee, Jordan knew he had to do something, maybe then the rangers will actually look favorably on him.

"Leave him alone!" Jordan said as Creepox turned.

"Live why you still can, human!" Creepox swiped his blade sending a concussed sliver of air near Jordan's feet. The intent of the move was to strike fear in the heart of the worthless human.

Suddenly, laser fire peppers Creepox's skin as the four remaining rangers stumble toward him with their side arms drawn. It appears that Dragonflay got tired of playing with his food. "Ugh, we're done here. Come on, Dragonplay!"

The four rangers coral around Troy shielding his demorphed state with their bodies. Jake's frustration quickly got the better of him, what was meant to be a light-hearted gesture, telling the civilian to stop, came across as an aggressive shove. Thankfully Emma managed to keep Jordan from falling.

"No, you need to get out of here," Emma said.

"But is he okay?"

The pink ranger drew the closest, quickly taking note of the nasty cuts on Troy's side and cheek. Jordan ventured closer feeling somewhat responsible for the altercation but the black ranger stopped him.

"Dude! Didn't you hear her? Get lost already!" Jake exploded. "Do you realize what you have done? You put yourself and the rest of us in big-time danger!"

Gia interjected herself between Jake and Jordan keeping the distance between them.

"I didn't think it was going to get this bad," Jordan said in a guilty tone.

"Exactly, you weren't thinking!" Jake yelled.

"Hey, stop it already," Gia said softly to Jake.

Jake's whole body seemed to tremble with fury, the leather of his gloves crunched as he clenched his fist tighter and tighter. He had to remain in control of his emotions. Through gritted teeth, Jake relayed a scathing message which could also be interpreted as a thinly veiled threat.

"If I see you ever again, we're going to have some real problems!" Jake retaliated.

The Black ranger's bravado bounced harmlessly off Jordan's ego armor. In truth, the black ranger had no real moral grounds to stand on. While most of the town has seemingly forgotten about this arrogant ranger's attempt to claim fame, Jordan had not.

"Oh yeah, I don't remember you having a problem last week." Jordan shot back. The comeback hit Jake right between the eyes, he blanked out for a second forgetting who he was talking to. Before Jake could even stop himself, his fist was already drawn back. If it hadn't been for Gia who forced Jake back, Jordan would have had a blackened eye and a few broken ribs.

"Stop it alright! We need to get him out of here." Gia said.

The rangers crowded around Troy and vanished instantly as their teleportation activated.

Jordan stood looking up into the sky, trying to trace the path of the ranger's travels but to one's surprise, they were gone. As he turned to leave something on the ground caught Jordan's eye. It was a greyed-out card looking at him and it was on the pavement where the red ranger was. Jordan looked around and saw that there was no one in sight, he placed the card into his pocket and quickly left the area.

However, Perched atop a building watching everything unfold through a spyglass, Creepox's secret ally was far from impressed or satisfied. He collapsed the viewing scope and approached a long cord hanging down near him. He would need to reprimand the stupid insectoid before he ruined everything the figure reasoned and in an instant, he was taken up aboard his red vessel.

---

The explosive emotions from the conclusion of the battle had not left Jake. He continually pounded the wall to the rear of the base, trying to squeeze the last of his feelings. Troy was positioned on a cot bandages placed on his cheek and side, at least he was responsive and his vitals appeared to be strong.

Much like Jake, the other rangers all carried their own degrees of mixed emotions, everything was just so complicated and convoluted. Noah approached Jake whose anger was really starting to concern him.

"What is wrong with that guy? Like, why?.. I know, I know, dumb question. I'm the reason people think it's okay just to rush into danger." Jake was so angry.

"Jake, calm down," Noah said.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Noah. Karma has already come to get me and that's because I inspired him last week. So it's my fault that Troy got hurt."

Gia sympathized with Jake's enraged expression, the place from which his pain originated was valid.

"Troy would not have been the only one severely injured. Your impulse to charge in could have caused you to take some serious damage. Did you even think of that?" Gia said.

"What else was I supposed to do?" While facing Gia, the despair and desperation finally bubbled to the surface. With only a bit more prodding, Jake would collapse into a puddle of tears

Gia wanted to add her voice to echo Jake's frustration but she was wary that Noah would be a counter. The blue ranger was much too soft for Gia's liking, he always had something smart or clever to say.

"Look, Jake, your heart was in the right place, and we can't blame you for what you did. I would have done the same thing. We're still new at this and-"

Jake's temper was leveling out as he started to return to Earth. He was in no mood to hear Noah's self-righteous and condescending advice. "I know, I know, I have a lot to learn." Jake then shifted his attention to his injured leader, "How are you feeling, man?"

Troy was propped in a seated position, his eyes gave a contradictory message. On one hand, he looked alright and on the other, he was in pain. "Feeling a little woozy, but I think I'll be alright."

"Who was that monster?" Jake asked the others.

"Oh! That was none other than Creepox!" Tensou answered.

"Creepox? You guys did tell us about him. Did you encounter him before? He said he had a score to settle with you." Noah asked.

Troy shifted his glance as the memory of that initial encounter played before his eyes. However, Jake was through feeling mad about himself, and there was no more room for questioning what had already been completed. Now was the time to reshift his focus on the things he could control and to prepare for what came next. As has always been Jake's motto, laughter does good like medicine.

"Let me guess when you guys first met, you were jogging through the park. You stopped when you heard a growl in the trees. Suddenly you came upon this new guy, Creepox, and then said." Jake then began to change his voice.

"Who are you? What do you what?" Jake began intimidating Troy's voice, Jake then quickly shifted sides taking on a persona and demeanor similar to that of the warstar, "My name is Creepox, remember It."

Jake could see the smiles appear on the faces of his friends as they each tried to mask their laughter.

"Alright Creepox, you still haven't told me what you're doing here," Jake announced back in his Troy persona. Emma snickered at her partner's caricature expressed by the black ranger.

"I've come to see what sort of creature dare challenges my insectoids. So very soft, with a single stroke you'll be trashed." Jake continued once more as Creepox, this time it was Noah whose chortles caught everyone's attention.

"Humans are a lot tougher than we look but I won't fight you just to prove it-" Jake tried his best to imitate Troy's smolder looking at each of the faces in the room. Noah and Emma chuckled again where as Gia rolled her eyes. Troy however was completely over this farce.

"Yeaaaah, not quite. Hopefully, you don't get nominated for that performance." Troy said, shutting Jake's little act down.

"I bumped into him the day we became rangers," Troy admitted.

"You mean he was around here?" Gia asked.

"Pretty much. Luckily he doesn't know where I came from." Troy said.

"We'll did he say what he wanted?" Jake asked.

Troy was at a loss for words, he stammered trying to string a sentence together, fortunately, Gosei interjected. "Creepox is known to meddle in affairs that he shouldn't belong in. He was probably trying to show his worth to the Admiral."

"This latest adversary is very quick footed, we can likely assume that his perception is significantly swifter than the average human, which will make surprise attacks even more difficult..." As Gosei continued his speech, Troy, peeled the bandage off of his cheek, the laceration inflicted by Creepox had almost completely healed with only a faint red line to show that it ever existed. Troy then began to pick at the bandages on his side, but this one was still a bit tender. Emma could not help but notice Troy's discomfort though he tried his best to hide it.

"Um, do you need help with that?" Emma asked in a hesitant manner.

Troy tensed, hearing Emma's voice. As much as he would appreciate her assistance he did not want her to see his wound miraculously healed. He tried to rebuff her as kindly as he could.

"Uh no thanks, it's fine, I got it."

Emma was perplexed, it was obvious that Troy was still bothered by the cut to his side not to mention the wound might still be open in some place which could lead to an infection. In Emma's eyes, Troy had no reason to be so hard-headed, all she was trying to do was look out for him.

"No need to be so difficult, it doesn't hurt to ask for help. You never know when you might need it."

"I know, I'm just...not comfortable.

Emma sighed, "...Alright.."

The sound of Tensou's motorized wheels drew close to Emma and Troy, the little guy was eager to perform another survey of Troy's injuries. "Hi Troy, I'll need to examine your wounds. Emma, mind helping me."

"Robot..." Anger flashed briefly behind Troy's eyes as Tensou very nearly exposed his extra-terrestrial origins, yet Troy was able to get a handle on his emotions quickly.

"Um, I don't think I should." Emma shook her head.

"Nonsense, this is a team effort." Tensou insisted.

"What do you need me to do?" Emma asked.

"I need to get a full scan of Troy's wound but he's ticklish you see and his arm keeps getting in the way."

"You got to be kidding me..." Troy mumbled, he was completely annoyed but more so embarrassed.

"Troy ticklish? I find that hard to believe," Emma thought was an understatement.

"Would you mind helping him hold up his shirt, just so I could get a full scope?"

"This is ridiculous Tensou, what can she do that I can't do myself," Troy heaved a sigh.

"Huh? Did you say something, Troy? Speak up, I could barely hear you." Tensou was oblivious.

"...Nothing."

"Alrighty! I'm going to do a quick biometric scan with infrared light. Just yelp if you feel any pain." Tensou says jokingly as he analyzes Troy's body. Emma rolled up his shirt revealing the ugly cut. The pink ranger was appalled to see such a jagged tear. After returning Troy to the base, Tensou sprayed a rejuvenation ointment which could have healed everything nicely, but Emma could see what looked to be early signs of infection.

Troy's face brightened at the thought of Emma looking at his lesion, instead what she was actually focused on was in fact two of six perfectly toned abs that she never took the time to notice before. She always knew that Troy was ruggedly handsome, but his attitude was what kept her from seeing the true beauty of his body. However, as the harmless light passed over Troy's body he could not help but jerk and twitch as if a thousand little ants were crawling across his skin

"Troy, if you can, don't move," Tensou said.

Troy tried to steady himself, but the moment the light touched the fullness of his gash, Troy couldn't help but pull away. "I thought you said this wasn't going to hurt? For a second it felt like you poked me with a hot needle."

"It shouldn't, infrared light is harmless on humans you should not have felt anything," Tensou said.

"Hmm, maybe you pulled a muscle or something. Let me take a look?"

Emma wanted to take another glance, curious to see if there was any sign of deeper damage but Troy quickly covered himself. He was healing and that was all that mattered. "Um, I think we're done for now...You got what you needed Tensou?"

"Huh...Oh yes! Going to put in the data now." Tensou wheeled to the nearest computer while Troy distanced himself from Emma, refraining from looking at her.

"Gosei, I've been trying to come up with a plan to beat that Dragonflay guy, but he's just too fast. He'll probably blitz everything we throw at him." Noah questioned, the thoughts firing off in his head.

"This latest challenger is most certainly quick-footed but nonetheless he will fall like the rest. Keep thinking Noah, reflect on all that you have observed." Gosei said.

"Shooting him worked, it's hard to beat a laser coming at you," Gia pointed out.

"That is an excellent notion Gia, yet we can not neglect the adverse possibility of someone getting caught in the crossfire." Gosei countered.

Noah replayed the day's battle in his mind, and a key moment clicked in place, "Wait...Troy, you managed to hit him. How did you know where he was going to be?"

"I felt it," Troy said, "I just listened to the wind and had a pretty strong guess based on his movement pattern."

Jake snickered, this had to be Troy's way of getting back at him for earlier, "Okay but now, how can one listen to the wind? And I mean no disrespect, you're the expert of course."

Troy looked to the Megaforce rangers, but none of them were getting the picture."We represent three of the earth's greatest forces, land, sea, and sky. By tapping into those powers there's probably a bunch more we can do."

Gia listened intently, it all made perfect sense, "I think you might be on to something, Troy. When we fought that ice freak, I was able to tell where he was because I was connected to the Earth. I thought it was just a fluke, I never thought of it much after."

"Troy is indeed correct, the powers I've bestowed to you grant you dominion over the earth in a number of different ways. Your very connection to it goes deeper than any normal human. Your powers allow you to negotiate the balance of the world around you in order to regulate or shift it as needed." Gosei explained.

"So how do we tap more into this mystical well of power?" Jake added, playfulness leading his voice.

"We can start by mastering our power cards," Troy began patting each of his pockets in search of one of his power cards, they usually spawn just as he thought of one.

"You lost something?" Gia asked.

"Uh," Troy winced as he raised his right arm, the wound flared sending rivets of pain through Troy's body, and his right side started to go partially numb.

"What are you looking for, dude?" Jake asked.

"Dang, it!" Troy spat, realizing the truth of the matter.

"Troy, what is it?!" Gosei questioned.

"My power card. It's gone." Troy said.

"Wait what?" Jake was surprised, this was something he'd expect from Emma, or Noah, or heck even himself but never Troy.

"How?" Noah pondered, absolutely dumbfounded.

"I'm wondering the same thing, Noah." Troy sighed feeling frustrated.

"Gosei, Rangers! You might want to hear this." Tensou wheeled in having completed Troy's scan.

"What is it Tensou?" Gosei asked.

"After analyzing Troy, my sensors have picked up some sort of neutralizing element coursing through his veins."

"Neutralizing Element? So Troy was poisoned? How potent are the effects?" Noah inquired.

"His body appears to be doing its best to fight off the effects, but I don't know how long his immune system will hold out," Tensou said.

"Tensou, begin immediate cross-examination on some of the elements within the poison. We must begin testing for an antidote. In the meantime, Troy, you must refrain from battle, we must limit the rate by which this toxin is spreading."

"But what about my power card?" Troy asked.

"I will begin searching immediately. As for the rest of you, take the time now to hone in on your elemental abilities."

---

Troy perched on a sandy slope ruminating in the shock of his own irresponsibility. Out of everyone on the team, he was always the voice of reason, he pulled no punches when it came to the realities of their situation. Between the five of them, Troy was the only one who understood the depth and gravity.

The heat of battle was still fresh and behind the empty stare, Troy was still morphed. He was in the process of dissecting every minor detail trying to discover when the card slipped from his possession. The instance when the card slipped from his possession was still a mystery. The wound at his side ached ever so slightly but the discomfort quickly dissipated.

The other four rangers situated themselves further down the beach closer to the water, they were all determined to unlock their latent powers and connect deeper to their elements.

Tired of watching no progress be made, Troy rose to his feet indignantly. "You guys aren't going to see results just by guessing. In order to pull this off you need to not rely on what you know or expect."

"What do you mean?" Noah asked.

"Close your eyes, all of you." The red ranger instructed.

"You're not gonna punch us in the stomach or anything right?" Jake joked.

"Just be quiet and listen," Gia said, silencing Jake.

The four rangers stood in a circle, their eyes completely shut. Troy paced around them much like Jason had earlier in the day.

"Think of the earth as a living thing, it's more than just a rock floating through the cosmos, it's like a brain with tons of connections. The earth speaks in a number of different ways, we just need to know how to hear it."

Troy paced around the team, each of them in deep meditation. He drew his Morpher and placed it in the twist tornado card. The crimson cyclone darted forward toward the rangers they each snapped their eyes open and dove out of the way.

"Are you crazy?!" Jake yelled, "What did you expect us to do?!"

"React." Troy said sternly, "You guys need to hear the voice of the earth within your elements and respond accordingly."

"Yeah right man, you just tried to kill us."

There was an acute tingling almost as if a pleasant breeze was blowing on Emma's face. The sensation spread rapidly throughout her body like an even higher fight or flight response.

"No.." Emma cut in, "He's right. I mean... I sorta felt something.."

"Me too, it was like I knew where Troy was and what he was doing, even though I couldn't see him," Noah added.

"You're saying there's a method to this madness?" Jake asked.

"You just got to listen and feel it," Noah said.

"Let's run it again," Gia said and this time no chickening out. Gia handed everyone a blindfold. The Rangers were all spaced out on the beach. Troy once more readied his twist tornado attack card.

The cyclone whirled and headed straight for Noah, a calming sensation passed over him. His thoughts were concentrated on the water in all of its forms. He felt it, the feeling of condensation or dew on his face. Noah reacted, digging out of the path of the cyclone.

The twister circled back toward Emma who had her back turned. This was her element, she could feel the winds just as Troy had which allowed her to move out of the way just in time. Gia was next, it didn't take much for her to feel the rumbling of the ground beneath her. Her dodge was flawless as with everything else she does.

The last to test was Jake.

The whirlwind came gunning for him having missed his three other compatriots. When it first passed he dodged based solely on where he expected it to be. However, he quickly found himself pancaked in the dirt, it doubled back but this time he too felt the groaning of the Earth. His body moved almost automatically, the twister just narrowly tagging him a second time.

"Looks like you guys got the hang of it." A prideful smirk crept across Troy's face. He applauded slowly, drawing near to his compatriots. The four of them exceeded Troy's expectations.

Emma was the first to notice the strange figure approaching them, sure the guy looked like Troy but there was something off about his face.

"Look at you smiling there." As quickly as Gia said it Troy's smile vanished as if it never had occurred. Gia cursed herself silently, wishing she never brought mentioned it.

"Focus on your training, please." Troy cleared his throat, and for a second he lowered his guard completely. He didn't want the others to think he was now going to go soft on them, he quickly raised his walls again.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted huh?" Jake said to the other rangers when Tensou wheeled out on the beach.

"Troy, Troy, we found it! Your power card!"

"Great, can we teleport it here?" Noah asked.

"Our teleporting system is not designed to warp something so specific. If we tried there's a high probability that we'll bring him along too." Tensou made it clear.

"How convenient..." Jake said.

"Where is it?" Troy asked.

"The boy you all saved has it," Tensou replied.

"What how?" Gia wondered.

No matter what, this civilian always seemed to weave his way into a conversation he shouldn't be. Of all the people to end up in possession of Troy's property, it had to be him.

"We think the wound Creepox inflicted on Troy may have something to do with it. The poison he used had some pretty nasty stuff from what Gosei and I could tell, it managed to bypass the protections your ranger suit gives you and even cause your power cards to spawn without you asking for them specifically." Tensou explained.

Noah couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had once overheard Gosei and Troy talking about how different he was but now it seems like their enemies have also caught on. The poison Creepox used was intended for Troy especially, there's no telling what would happen if anyone else was hit with it.

"Troy, the war star must really have a vendetta against you if Creepox was sent to assassinate you," Jake slightly joked.

"...You know that wasn't funny right?" Gia said.

"...You're right it wasn't...But I think I thought of a way to get Troy's power card back. Going back to the assassin thing, minus the killing, we might as well steal it. Or is that not what rangers do?" Jake said.

"Well from my knowledge, according to some of my historical readings, there was once a group of rangers who were stealthy like assassins. Maybe you can imitate them?" Tensou suggested.

"Oooooohh Assassins Rangers? Now that would be an awesome ranger to be." Noah beamed.

"Oh, you don't like being a Megaforce ranger?" Tensou added.

"Oh no, a ranger's a ranger. I love who I am." Noah said.

Jake rolled his eyes, "Nerd!"

As ridiculous as Jake was, there was something to his plan. If force wasn't an option, maybe coercion would be the best card to play. Too strong of an approach may raise suspicions so Troy would need to do this on his own.

"Continue with the drills, and make sure you connect with your elements." Troy then walked away.

Troy's mind was clearly set and the other rangers knew there was no chance of swaying him. They returned to their training deciding that it would be better to perfect their new-found skills. Although she couldn't quite place her finger on it Emma had a feeling Troy was up to something diabolical.

"Whoa! Where are you going?" Tensou followed after.

"To get my power card."

Emma watched as Troy walked away and Tensou attempt to halt him. The little guy has been on Troy's hit list ever since they first met. Emma should try to at least get between them and at least possibly stop Troy from fulfilling his promise of punting the robot.

Troy's leather jacket was still on the beach from where he sat. Acting without hesitation Emma scooped it into her arms brushing off the sand. She hurried toward Troy and Tensou hoping to get a sneak at their conversation.

"HUH! Troy, that's not a good idea. We could just have one of the other rangers retrieve it. Gosei said you shouldn't be active too much because of the poison." Tensou argued, stopping Troy in his tracks.

"...Did you forget that I'm supposed to be this.." Troy lowered his voice, "Equalizer, I feel fine now."

Tensou began to whisper, "That's the thing, Troy, I think it's fair enough to believe you were targeted specifically because of that. The composure of your body is greatly different than the rest of the team. That poison must have somehow disrupted your own internal equilibrium which could ultimately affect how your powers operate. I don't think it was normal for your morph card to be distant from you, it probably manifested somewhere else after you were struck."

"Yeah but, I need to hold myself accountable. If I can't let Jake or Gia off the hook, I can't do that for myself either." Troy said not knowing that Emma was right behind him.

"Hmm you sure are stubborn, but what are you going to do when you get there? Just steal it as Jake said?"

"Um, Troy you forgot your jacket." Emma startled Troy and Tensou.

"AH! You scared me, Emma!" Tensou shouted.

"Oh sorry." Emma apologized.

"That's okay, well I'll leave you all to train and I'll continue to track down this monster." Tensou wheeled away. Emma handed Troy his jacket.

"...Thanks.."

Troy could see that Emma was a bit willing to budge.

"..You need something?" Troy enquired.

Emma thought for a sec, "No...Well maybe like one thing. What if your wound flares up again while you're talking to him?"

"Um, I guess...I guess it's just something I'm going to have to deal with it."

"Well you don't have to, one of us can go. Not all of us have to train." Emma was proving herself to be quite irritating but also very astute. Her journalistic intent was nothing to scoff at. It was a relief for Troy to be woke to the fact that Emma was all caught up.

Troy also realized that he would need to try harder if he wanted his secrets to remain as such.

"...This is my problem, Emma. You guys need to prepare yourself since you are one man down. You guys need to be together if this monster shows up again, and that could be anytime now."

"Yeah, and I understand that... it's just the bad guys know that your hurt. They may try to attack you again."

The sudden expression of kindness took Troy by surprise, all throughout the day Emma has just been spitting venom. Perhaps Gosei was wrong assigning Jake to be the black ranger, Emma at times seemed to be more viper than phoenix. There were other times such as this when the gentleness of the phoenix shone through.

"...I appreciate the concern, but I doubt Creepox would be keen on attacking me again so suddenly. I peg him as somewhat of a coward. If any other insect wants to pick a fight I know you guys would be there."

"So what are you going do?" Emma wondered.

"...I don't know..." Troy shrugged. "I'm just going to wing it for now. I could either steal or just confront him. Either or is risky."

"You're not going to do anything stupid right?" Emma asked Troy.

Troy blanched when he heard Emma speak again, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"...Nothing..I-just- I just don't want anybody else getting hurt.."

"...Anybody else, huh..."

Emma needn't say anything more, the insinuation of her words was pretty clear. There could be only one thing she could have been alluding to when she mentioned people getting hurt. Has she not known him long enough to grasp that he isn't who those online articles made him out to be?

Troy was tired of hearing all the pleasantries, behind every kind smile was another lie or false belief about him waiting to be expressed.

Troy exited the beach the voice of Gosei echoed from the communication pin, and without answering, Troy flung the pin aside as he walked away leaving behind his Jacket.

---

Jordan kept glancing over his shoulder as he looked at the grayed-out card in his possession. This very item was what afforded the rangers access to their unique and wonderful powers. If only Jordan knew how to activate the card, then maybe just maybe he would feel less like a fraud.

"O.M.G, it's the red ranger!" Jordan shot to his feet, thinking that the actual red ranger had arrived in search of the card, however, it was just some fans passing by.

"H-hey!" Jordan waved with a smile as they kept walking. Others came by asking for a picture which Jordan gladly took.

Jordan slipped the mystery card into his back pocket in order to shield it from the prying eyes of the crowd.

"You want an autograph? Sure!" Jordan said responding to a young fan's desire. Jordan reached into his pocket expecting to find a pen but instead, he drew the card. Troy was not far from the front of the line when he notice Jordan try to stash the card again. Troy's deepest fear had indeed come true.

As more and more people took notice of his fame, the more fraudulent he was starting to feel.

The crowd kept pressing Jordan asking for more and more of his attention. Sooner or later the truth of his situation will slip. He needed to do something in order to get out of this.

"..Hey everybody! I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the other rangers and I are planning to meet up on the other side of town. We're actually planning to announce something huge so I recommend you head over as soon as possible."

The crowds quickly began to dissipate, each one looking at one other before departing. This was the perfect opportunity for Jordan to disappear.

Instead, Jordan sat at a bench, seeing if there was some way to activate the card he just found.

"So you're the red ranger huh?"

Jordan looked up to see Troy standing right before him.

"Oh hey, another fan of mine huh? I don't know if you heard but the rangers and I are going to meet up at -"

"At the other side of town, yeah," Troy said.

"There's going to be a long line, you better get there before it gets busy," Jordan nodded nervously.

Troy paused giving Jordan an intense stare, this guy couldn't be serious. The wannabe red ranger hopped his poker face was holding up, this stranger was no lemming. There was something about his gaze that hinted he knew more

"You know if I were an enemy, I would have a field day knowing the exact location of my biggest rivals. Not only that but to know that there will be thousands of innocent civilians which I could use to exploit my target's weaknesses."

Troy could tell that Jordan was shaking in his boots but he really wanted to see how he would act under pressure. If he really wanted to play Ranger, he should know about the risks involved.

"Let's both be glad I'm not an enemy," Troy concluded.

Jordan swallowed hard the realization of what he has done hit him all at once. Just who does this guy think he is? Jordan wasn't sure if he should run or continue to feel the situation. "Okkkkaaay, have we met before?"

"Oh I don't think so, but now it's official."

"Soooooo what can I help you with? Hopefully, no one's in danger right?" Jordan said arrogantly.

Troy narrowed his eyebrows before asking, "What's your name?"

"Jordan...why? What's your name?" Jordan said.

Troy was not in the mood to play nice it was strictly business. "I'm going to cut to the chase, you were at Ernie's brain freeze earlier. Telling everybody that you're the red ranger? I'm only going to ask you once...return the power card."

This guy was deadly serious but there was no way Jordan was going to relinquish a treasure he found, especially not to some random wayward fan. If this guy wanted to act tough Jordan could match his energy. "Okay, for one I don't know what you're talking about. 2, if I had anything that belonged to the red ranger I would return it to him, not you. And 3, you're messing with the wrong guy."

"So whatever you're looking for, that's not my problem," Jordan said, trying to hide the fear in his eyes with pride.

Troy tried the gentle approach and it failed miserably, now it was time for plan B. He gripped Jordan by the wrist and forced his arm behind him. The teen struggled but Troy's grip was strong the more he moved, the more he felt his shoulder at risk of popping. Troy patted Jordan's pockets in search of his card, the teen winced with each and every jostle.

Troy breathed a sigh of relief having the card back in his possession. Behind Jordan's back the card awoken to display the proud visage of the red ranger.

"Hey!" Jordan yelled, struggling to retrieve the red rangers power card back from Troy.

"You don't have it huh? Listen, this is not something to play around with." Troy made to stash the card in the internal pocket of his jacket but he had forgotten it back at base.

"What is your problem? Give it back! That belongs to the red ranger!" Jordan shouted.

Troy breathed a sigh of relief having the card back in his possession. Behind Jordan's back the card awoken to display the proud visage of the red ranger. Although Troy wasn't trying hard a sharp pain ignited from his side, he grits his teeth trying to ignore it but the pain was too severe.

Jordan felt the stranger's grip loosen just enough for him to make his escape. As an added bonus Jordan swiped back the card which was rudely taken from him. As quickly as the card came to life in Troy's possession it instantly grayed out once Jordan took hold of it.

---

Back on the Megaforce beach, the ranger's training has been kicked up a notch with the help of Gosei. Laser droids flew around the battlefield firing stun blasts which the rangers had to dodge while blindfolded. The way the four of them moved around the battlefield was as if they were dancing, the lasers just narrowly missing them with each successful movement.

Jake, Gia, and Noah were so enraptured in their training that they failed to notice their foursome was now reduced to three. Emma's blindfold now lay cast aside as she silently snuck away from the beach in pursuit of Troy.

---

The pain Troy felt was like a hot stick of iron pressed against his side, his nerves felt like they were on fire and he couldn't seem to catch his breath. Never before had Troy felt so disadvantaged, even his first wound from Creepox healed within a matter of hours.

Jordan sprinted as far and as fast as he could only daring one glance back. Troy seemed bothered by something, he was down to one knee clutching his side. Whatever pain he was experiencing must have been really severe.

The red ranger's body seemingly locked up, his eyes were watering and small beads of sweat dotted his forehead. He could see Jordan getting further and further away. Had Troy been at full strength there would not be much of a chase, the thing that really caught his eye was a cloaked figure walking in the path of Jordan.

The cloaked figure appeared so suddenly like a walking shadow, Jordan didn't see him until after the collision.

"Whoa, I'm sorry I wasn't—"

The tip of a blade was angled inches from Jordan's face, he scrambled back slowly though the blade remained trained on him.

Jordan couldn't see the full face of the figure but he noticed a crass smile mere moments before the blade erupted in brilliant light. Jordan found himself several feet away from where he was. His body ached and his clothes were peppered with holes.

The figure laughed as he prepared another swing, Jordan scampered back terrified.

"You okay, Jordan?!" Troy rushed in.

"Yeah.." He responded as Troy stood in front of him.

"W-what are you doing?" Jordan asked.

It took all the energy Troy could muster but he got to his feet and stood in opposition to the mysterious attacker. His body still ached but now adrenaline was coursing through his veins. Jordan was amazed by this stranger who confronted him and tried to steal the power card. If anyone was red ranger material it was most certainly, Troy.

Jordan didn't realize it then but the power card he had tried to make off with was no longer in his possession.

Although Troy couldn't see his face he could tell this figure was bad news.

The cloaked figure rests his blade on his shoulder, his gaze locked on Troy who was nowhere near fighting condition. The figure beckoned for Troy to bring it. Talk was cheap, it was all about action.

Troy swung a right hook, and the figure dodged, striking Troy with the flat edge of his blade. Not willing to quit, Troy attempted a backhand only to again strike empty air, the figure was playing and Troy knew it.

Troy panted heavily, he reached calling for his morpher to manifest but the being was too swift. Just as the device transferred to his hand the cloaked nightmare knocked it away.

His body wouldn't move the way he wanted and needed. Controlling his breathing, Troy stood once again. This guy was too fast and too unpredictable.

Troy closed his eyes and allowed himself to focus. The rushing wind came to his left and he weaved narrowly dodging a fatal strike.

While Troy kept the attacker busy, Jordan managed to recover the lost power card and to his left, he was astonished to find the very morpher the rangers used.

Troy steadied himself anticipating more dangers to come. He moved right and bobbed left again, his body acting entirely instinctual. He was doing it, he was winning. That was until the pain in his side fired up again. His body slowed just enough for his adversary to strike him laterally.

Once more Troy was on his knees, his whole body inflamed.

"My my my, what have they done to you, my friend?" At that moment, the mysterious being finally spoke. "Here I thought Creepox was just a waste of space, but to actually cripple you. I have to say that I'm impressed...or I would be if he acted alone."

"W-who are you?!" Troy eked out.

"Such trivial questions shouldn't be answered so swiftly," the being said.

"HEY!" Jordan called out, regaining his strength.

"...What is it, wanna be?" The being scoffed.

"Leave him alone or else you're going to have to deal with me." Jordan felt powerless watching Troy engage this mysterious enemy alone. This guy apparently targeted the both of them for a reason, Troy had already proved his worth now it was Jordan's turn. He held the grayed-out object in front of him hoping and praying it would activate.

"Is that a threat.. legitimately?" The being said sarcastically.

"I mean it!" Jordan stood with trembling hands as he opened the mouth of the Morpher and placed the grayed-out card in.

The being looks at Troy, "You've come to retrieve something right? Let's see if I can assist you with that." The figure drew an estranged side arm and pointed in the direction of Jordan. The civilian was barely in sight when the weapon fired.

"No!" Troy yelled.

Of all the places, Emma had to drop anchor in the middle of the woods. Emma had a sole mission in mind; find Troy and get out. She had some faith to know that Troy does not go looking for trouble, but she also knows that trouble has a unique way of finding him.

The malevolent sensation she felt warned her that something dangerous was present but Emma couldn't tell what. Often when dealing with Troy Emma has learned to abandon absolutes with him. He may come off as an arrogant jerk but there were also some sweet spots to him.

Troy was pretty bothered when he departed. The most she could offer now was an apology and hope that Troy didn't take his rage out on an innocent civilian. However when he left, Troy seemed normal but how could any guess from a guy who showed no emotion other than anger. Fearful that his wound would cause him to act irrationally even to the point he might hurt someone as he did back then.

There was a noticeable shift in the air as the sense of danger returned to Emma. The ground erupted in tremors followed by what sounded like an explosion.

---

Emma raced in the direction her instincts seemed to be guiding her, she had to hope that it wasn't too late. She arrived to see Jordan with Troy's morpher in hand terrified as he moved to close the mouth of Gosei. The thing that shocked her the most however was Troy pouncing on Jordan knocking both of them to the ground as another explosive flash of light shrouded the area.

---

"That should make things easier for you to go and retrieve your prize, you should know that the next time we meet I won't be so friendly." The cloaked figure raised his hand, taking hold of a leather cord dropped from high above.

Troy limped his way toward Jordan who was unconscious on the ground.

"I will have to have a word with Creepox about your condition, it's very unbecoming of you. I will not have my prize injured, rather I would prefer if he was at least competent."

"TROY!" Emma called sprinting in the direction of the explosion.

"Mysteries are best when they are hidden, til we meet again, sir Equalizer!" As quickly as the stranger came he was gone. He ascended rapidly as if he were levitating all the way until he was gone from sight.

Troy stood over Jordan and listened close and could still see that he was breathing. Still battling his own pain Troy extended his hands hoping to direct some healing energy into Jordan.

The deafening ringing took a moment to completely clear from Emma's ears. She found herself clinging to a tree in an attempt to regain her balance. So many thoughts were racing through her head at the top of her list was the source of all this chaos.

Her body was still rattled from the blast but she remembered the reason she was in this wood; Troy. His name brought clarity as she forced herself to look for him.

The pain Troy felt had finally started to subside, the center of his back stung where the laser bolt struck him. Jordan on the other hand wasn't looking so hot. Troy took the brunt of the attack but even still Jordan wasn't spared. The young man was crumbled on the ground coated in char and dirt.

Emma couldn't believe her eyes all of the rumors she heard about Troy were true. Her vision cleared the sight of the red ranger peering down on his latest victim, his hands still in the act.

For the first time, Troy took note of Emma's presence and he instantly realized how bad things looked.

"Troy?"

"I...I didn't do anything, I swear." Troy shook his head.

Emma quickly pulled her collar to her lips, contacting the other rangers through her pin communicator. "Guys, you need to get over here quick."

"Troy, what happened? What did you do?"

"Emma," Troy quickly rose to his feet in which Emma took a step back once he stepped closer. "It wasn't me. There was this-"

"There was what? I saw a big glow of light and the only one standing is you!" Emma became angry.

"Just-just let me explain, alright! Some guy in a black cloak attacked us. My Morpher got out of my hand and then he tried to put the card in and-"

"..Troy?" Emma's voice cracked as fatigue washed over Troy's body like a tidal wave. It was as if he had been running at full sprint nonstop for several hours. His body swayed and although he fought to keep his composure there was no stopping him. Emma reached to slow Troy but he was already on the ground.

Sparkles of light manifested instantly as Gia, Jake, and Noah arrived in response to Emma's summons. Their eyes were aghast at the travesty before them.

"Emma!" Gia raced to her friend who was on the borders of tears, the chaos and confusion left her utterly shaken. Emma could barely speak in between sobs, her emotional relays were pushed into overdrive.

"Oh my god, what happened?"

"Um, I caught him-I mean-" Emma's voice became lodged in her throat, she couldn't seem to push anymore out. There was so much confusion and disaster that Emma's heart couldn't seem to take it. Jake and Noah positioned themselves around Troy, inspecting his body for injuries.

Noah analyzed the area using a scanner Tensou granted him, he was receiving a number of strange readings with no traceable source. Troy was a hotspot of energy most likely as a result of the poison attacking his system.

Jake was busy trying to process the timeline of what went wrong, it was obvious that Troy was in a fight but the question was against who and how many. Unfortunately, the only witnesses to what happened were out of commission.

"We should get them out of here first before anybody sees them," Noah suggested. With the results of the scanner remaining inconclusive, the next logical course of action would be to get the victims away from the scene. Both Troy and Jordan were rather banged up and the ruckus from their conflict may draw unwanted attention.

No sooner did the words come from Noah's mouth did Troy start to stir. The red ranger started to rise wincing as his muscles tensed.

"Troy, Troy you alright?" Jake asked Troy who was barely able to get a word out.

"...Is Jordan okay?" It was all Troy cared about at that moment.

Without a moment's hesitation, Noah was on it. Once more the scanner was in his hand inspecting and probing Jordan for any and all internal and external injuries. The readings Noah received surprised him. Evidently, Jordan should be suffering from extreme external and internal trauma. Not only that but the scan results say that he's the perfect picture of health.

"Hey, hey take it easy." Troy rose to his full height against the wishes of Jake, but the mindset of the red ranger was still deadlocked on the civilian he had tried to save.

"I'm alright, thanks."

Clenched tight in Jordan's grasp the red Gosei Morpher was still partially open. Expanding the jaw, Troy couldn't believe his eyes.

"...Looks like you got your wish, Noah."

Troy flipped the Morpher around to show that the grayed-out card Jordan inserted was now flickering between the active and de-active states.

Before Noah could say anything Gosei's voice ran through the communication devices.

"Bring him here."

---

(See you in the next 10,000 years! XD)