The air was still as their engines pierced the silence, Data Cycles and ATV crawling between the winding walls of the warehouses toward their stolen sanctum. Ray's heart jumped with every turn of the wheel, his hand gripping tighter on the handlebars as the team turned the corner and slowed. His jaw clenched, hissing out a breath beneath his helmet to stifle the growl at what greeted him.

Byte-Bots.

Rows and rows of them, standing in perfect symmetry with each other, identical in menacing pose and posture. Around their command center. It was wrong, twisted; churning at his stomach to see the very henchmen they'd been fighting now standing around the place they held most dear. Their refuge.

Their home.

Now they were crawling all over it, and worse, Gideon was inside it, crawling around his stolen stronghold, violating its walls with his presence.

As the Cycles pulled to a halt the Byte-Bots snapped to attention, all glowing eyes whipping to focus on the six arriving Rangers. Then, in sharp, precise motion, their feet stamped the ground as they moved to form a path, a direct corridor to the warehouse.

An invitation.

And standing in their way was a single, lone foot-soldier, a silver box held forward in its hands; their condition of entry. For a moment, the temptation rose to summon their weapons and lunge into the fray. They'd fought greater numbers; they'd knock them down like skittles and easily clear a run for the entry. But while noble, such a brash and brazen maneuver would do nothing to help their captured friend.

Their mentor.

No, they needed to stick to the plan, no matter how fowl a taste it was leaving in his mouth. Their only move was surrender. Gulping down his trepidation and summoning every ounce of his courage, Ray nodded to the others.

"All right, guys," he said. "You know what to do."

They moved in swift agreement, dismounting the cycles and stepping forward. Crossing their arms above their chests, they dismissed the power flowing through them. "Power Down!"

The light flashed around them, drawing their suits back into their Morphers and revealing the formalwear beneath. As the suits vanished, the bot stepped forward and offered to box, lid already open and empty space calling for its contents. It was not a request.

Here goes…

Following Ray's lead, the Rangers place their Morphers inside the box before stepping back and waiting. It was the most dangerous part of their plan; hoping Gideon would keep his word. Here they were vulnerable, outnumbered, and surrounded. But Gideon would far too proud to let them be defeated by mere Byte-Bots, not if he at least wasn't present to watch.

And if he were present, then Doc would have to be within arm's reach…

The Byte-Bots snapped the lid closed and spun on its heel, joints whirring as it began to walk to the open door. The other Byte-Bots lining the way didn't move, and taking their cue, the Rangers followed.

As they entered, the churning in Ray's stomach threatened a full revolt as he laid his eyes on their company. The entire warehouse was swarming with bots, standing at attention, surrounding the central console in patient pending of their arrival. But still no sign of Doc.

"Ahh, Rangers," chuckled a voice high above, echoing around the walls like a malevolent phantom. Jaw clenched, their heads snapped up to see Gideon standing at the foot of the loft. "At last, you're here, ready to witness my greatest triumph. How fortunate that you're even dressed for the occasion."

But there was something different about him, changed from their battle above the school. A bright lilac radiance flicked from his eyes, so intense that his pupils and iris' were completely obscured. He seemed… bigger now; his arms bulging beneath his clothes, rising tall even from his vantage. As he shifted, the faint spark of energy crackled across the surface of his skin, emanating a faint, illuminating aura around his body.

As he looked down at the Rangers, his lips split into a sinister smile. "How nice of you to join us."

"Where's Doc?" Ray demanded.

But Gideon did not seem in the mood for business. In fact, he barely seemed interested at all.

"The youth of today, so impatient," he tutted with a shake of his head. "Always with the demands. Would it hurt you to ask politely once and a while?"

And then he reached behind the wall to yank Doc into full view. The villain couldn't help but let loose a sinister chuckle as Doc gasped at the drop below him, dangled before the fall and held only by Gideon's bemused grip. Ray clenched his teeth, shooting a warning for his team not to react.

Not yet.

"We gave you our Morphers!" Ben called up, "So let him go!"

"I don't recall that being part of the deal," Gideon replied with a laugh. "All I said was that I would not harm him further, but I never agreed to his release."

And with that, he leaped from the loft, cloak billowing as he plunged with grandeur. The ground quaked as he landed, casting Doc aside as a pair of bots closed in to hold him. But Gideon made no motion for the Rangers also to be restrained as he rose. He had no need; not when he had their precious mentor hostage.

Through clenched teeth, Ray watched the villain saunter closer, arms wide in celebration. Around him, his team members tensed, their unease growing as they waited for Ray's sign. But not here; not yet. They'd have one shot, one they couldn't afford to miss. And if Gideon was ready for them, then the fleeting hope they had was toast.

Ray had to be absolutely sure, completely certain before he made his move.

"How I have waited for this day!" Gideon gloated. "All the plans you have ruined, all the viruses you've destroyed! All leading to this very moment. And I have to say, it was all worth it."

"Fortress in ruins, strongest minions gone, and your biggest claim to fame is ruining your enemies' prom night," Hilary sneered venomously. "Yeah, you're sure living the high life."

"You see, that's the problem the youth these days," Gideon chuckled. "No perspective. You see all that I've lost, all you think you've taken. Whereas I see potential; everything I need to rebuild. And now there is no one to stop me."

"It's not yours yet," Johnny growled.

"Ah, but it is, Black Ranger" Gideon corrected. "Who is left to stop me? You have surrendered your Morphers, Benson is completely at my mercy. And we have long established that Freeman's men pale when compared to my Byte-Bots. No, Rangers, there is no one left in my way."

"If you're so cocky and confident," said Ben. "Why are you even keeping us around?"

At last, Gideon turned to them, smile broadening and eyes igniting as if Ben had touched upon the very question he'd be dying to hear.

"Believe me, I considered it," he mused. "But I decided a swift end was too just, too merciful. I want you to suffer, I want you to see my reign in all its glory, knowing there is nothing you can do to bring its end. Only then, when you're all consumed with hopelessness and despair, only then will I allow you to be destroyed."

And then he shot a look at Kyle, and Ray heard the man hiss out a breath in surprise.

"And I think, my Judas," Gideon snarled, grin twisting with sadism. "I'll save you for last. Make you watch those you betrayed me for writhing in sufferance before I finally send you to oblivion."

Almost on instinct, the Rangers tensed, snapping closer together, forming rank between their ally and their nemesis. With the nerve flicked, Gideon returned to his ponderous pacing, and the Byte-Bots snapped in closer step.

"Of course," Gideon admitted. "All of this can be avoided, very simply in fact. There is only one thing I would need you to do."

Ray rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Here it comes…".

"Join me."

And there it was, the reveling, the hubris. The Rangers had given Gideon the audience he craved, and now he was unable to resist. Not just to take the power he held, but to lord it over them. To crow and parade, force them to admit their complete and utter defeat.

So certain of his victory to become blind to his own vulnerability…

Almost there…

"Wow," Hilary whistled. "What an offer."

"Does that come with dental, or health insurance?" Ben offered.

"Been there before," Kyle confirmed. "No benefits and work hours are killer."

If Gideon was annoyed by their response, he showed no hint. Instead, his reply was mere condescending scolding. "Think carefully, now Rangers," he tutted. "Because once the offer is off the table, it's not coming back."

"Thanks," said Ray. "But we've seen how well you treat your 'staff'."

"Really," Jake agreed. "If it's a choice between die now, or die later…"

"Then we'll take die now," Johnny concluded.

Then their laughter stopped, fading to stern faces as their ranks reaffirmed and they stood defiant in Gideon's face. Again, Gideon was unsurprised, not even disappointed. But their point was made, nonetheless.

"Laugh all you want," he warned them. "But you cannot claim that I did not first offer peace. That when I hold true to my promise to break each and every one of you, you will only have yourselves to blame. I will have you endure the agony of a thousand lifetimes, writhing with desperate pleas for an ending. And only once I have you groveling at my feet, begging me for mercy, only then will I destroy you, and reduce you to even less than mere memory."

"If this speech is a plan to torture us to death," Hilary sneered, "it's off to a great start."

Gideon walked toward the Byte-Bot holding the silver box and opened the lid. His eyes shone as looked upon the Morphers inside, his ultimate prize. Then he took the box from the henchman and placed it on the desk.

"Once I have destroyed you," he chuckled, back turned from the rangers, "I will use these very Morphers to create my own Power Rangers. Ones with that share my desire for conquest and destruction. Ones that will be far superior to you in every way, completely devoid of emotional attachment and morality. Absent of all that makes you weak and pathetic."

There it was, the turn, the sign that Gideon saw no threat that they could pose. Their sliver of a window to strike.

"If you're so big a mighty," Ray suggested darkly. "How about looking us in the eyes and saying it?"

Gideon's back straightened, head snapping as Ray's taunt cut in.

"It's cute," he snarled. "That you still think you're worthy of attention…"

And then he moved like lightning splitting across the sky as his hand snapped to Ray's neck. The teenager barely had time to gasp as the grip sealed tight and reefed him from the ground, squeezing with his legs dangly before Gideon's hulking form.

Hilary cried out, Johnny and Jake winding to lunge as the Byte-Bots pounced and grabbed them. Ray's hands flailed, slapping helplessly against Gideon's grip as his team thrashed against their captors. As the boy's jaw clenched, eyes seething at his nemesis, Gideon held him aloft and stared upwards.

"And how's this Red Ranger?" he laughed. "To stare into your own demise, knowing this will be the last you'll ever see? You know, I promised that I would destroy you all later, but I think with you I'll make an exception. I cannot think of a better way to begin breaking your team's spirit than making them watch their dear leader ripped apart before their eyes."

But between the squeezing vice that choked his airway and the horrific impending threat, Ray could only smile. It started as a twitch, the corner of his lip refusing to obey and hold the deception. Then the rest of his face followed, splitting a widening grin as at last Ray surrendered and broke into a howling laughter. Soon his voice was bellowing, a haunting echo bounding off the walls as his teammates' own composure broke and joined him.

Gideon's face shifted, from snarling menace to confusion as he stared at the hooting Rangers and glared at their leader in his grip.

"You broke faster than I expected," he admitted before curling his lips into a returning snarl. "Pathetic."

But Ray's writhing had stopped, his body now loose and relaxed in Gideon's grip. Instead, he reached up, patting Gideon's hand in condescension before lifting himself just enough to meet the villain's gaze.

"Not quite," he grinned. "Made you look!"

And then the lasers burst from his eyes.

Gideon howled as the red beams flashed, heat searing into his shoulder as he relinquished his grip on Ray. The others didn't miss a beat, seizing on the signal to make their move.

The metal flushed across Hilary's skin, imbuing her with the strength of steel as she hurled off the bots. Beside her, Jake slammed downward, concussive force erupting outward casting the Byte-Bots off. And with the rest off balance, Kyle, Ben, and Johnny took their opening, hands snatching to the grips and throwing them off before leaping into action.

The boys split, Ben lunging from the far wall as Johnny's speed kicked to high gear and he lunged straight for Doc. The black blur flashed across the room, slamming into the robot captors before grabbing hold and spiriting Benson away.

The teen skidded to a stop by his teammates, and Hilary grabbed hold. "Sorry about this!"

Doc barely had time to question as the metallic teen whisked him off the ground and sent him flying toward the loft; right into Ben's awaiting hands above the door. Perfectly braced, Ben grabbed hold and heaved, pulling Doc from a crash landing before dropping him safely into the loft.

"Thank you for flying Hawkins Air," he chuckled. "We hope you enjoyed your flight."

But they weren't out of the woods yet; They may have got Doc to safety but they were still without their Morphers. A situation Gideon had no intention of seeing reversed. Having recovered from Ray's barrage, he whipped around to the table, snatching up the box and nestling it under his arm.

"Your resistance will only make your demise more painful," he snarled. "Byte-Bots, get them!"

The foot soldiers lunged on command, descending on the team as the teens pressed back-to-back. But the kids were ready, and with a mighty battle cry, they snapped into fighting stances and engaged.

Kyle, Jake, and Johnny lunged to the edges as Ray and Hilary held the center, each spinning around the other to strike down the engulfing horde. With her seam freed up, Hilary had gone full mobile, bare leg slicing the air like a mighty tornado as the golden folds of her dress gracefully trailed behind. She spun into Ray's arms, letting him brace her balance before guiding her into another leaping strike. Pirouette complete, she twirled back into her boyfriend's embrace.

"Ready for something more upbeat?" he offered.

"Thought you'd never ask."

A flipped her back into a drip, her leg soaring to crack her heel into to faceplate before whipping her back up into a spin. Hilary's arms opened wide to clothesline another pair as Ray surged forward, foot stamping into a chest before grabbing another and slamming it down. Their eyes met; a perfect, silent agreement as Hilary vaulted forward.

Her legs snapped up, full horizontal splits as kicked another bot and Ray's arms whipped out to catch her.

"Now, this is your best kind of dancing," she smiled.

As the numbers dripping into the center dwindled, Johnny and Kyle struck at the sides. They kept Jake covered, holding the flanks while Jake finished the stragglers coming down the middle. But all they were doing was holding them off, and already they could see Gideon making his way to the loftward stairs. The stairs Ben was valiantly holding against a wave of Byte-Bots.

"Get me up there!" Kyle ordered.

Jake didn't waste time arguing, spinning around to deliver a powerful wave of force to Kyle's back. The blast sent him skyward, soaring across the warehouse and roaring as he crashed into the front of the rising horde.

"Elegant landing," Ben congratulated.

Kyle rolled, a metal fist clanging into the stairs as he snapped to his feet and kicked back another Bot.

"Julian!" he suggested, "The lockers?"

"Right!"

Doc darted deeper into the loft, running to the makeshift bedrooms and throwing open a compartment. Inside were a pair of hand blasters. Without waiting a second he snatched them up and tossed them to the soldier.

"Now we're talking," Kyle grinned. "Say hello to my little friends!"

Ben leaped into a tornado kick, slamming the Bots back as Kyle opened fire on the stairs. The barrage of lasers peppered against them sparks bursting from their chests as they stumbled back and knocked over the others.

But now they had a new problem: Gideon. Having reached the stairwell, he snarled as he kicked the fallen minions aside. Glaring as he lumbered towards Ben and Kyle.

"No, you don't!"

Twin red beams bounded off his shoulder, and Gideon's head whipped around to see Ray and Hilary standing together and readying for a fight.

"Volunteers for the first to fall," he chuckled. "So be it."

Abandoning to stairs and still gripping the box beneath his arm, he shifted stance as the pair engaged. The liquid flushed across Hilary's skin, the teen swinging wide as Gideon rolled beneath the blow to kick her backward. He'd barely turned when Ray closed in, the team leader launching on the full offensive with a flurry of kicks and punches. The plan had been to force Gideon on the backfoot. But it was only a plan.

Gideon's arm flashed up with a laugh, a solitary palm swatting the air to parry every one of Ray's strikes. As Ray's fist swiped past his head, Gideon straightened his hand to a knife and jabbed. The boy's eyes widened, stumbling back to avoid the lightning strike as Gideon lunged on the offense. With his balance thrown, Ray dived to recover, hitting the ground and rolling to narrowly avoid Gideon's stamping foot.

"Run all you like, Red Ranger," Gideon laughed. "But without your Ranger powers, you're merely forestalling the inevitable."

"Who, me?" Ray laughed as he leaped to his feet. "I'm just the distraction."

Then a loud crash thundered through the warehouse. As Ray had drawn the villain away, Hilary and Jake had descended on the stairs. Having cleared off the final byte-bots, Hilary's strength and Jake's concussive force had smashed the wooden frame entirely. With a growl Gideon whipped around, eyes seething as he watched the stairs shatter into splinters along with his immediate hope of reaching Doc.

The two teens spun, the metal receding into Hilary's skin as Johnny shot to Ray's side and the four teens moved to circle their nemesis.

"So, you have saved your precious mentor from my torment," Gideon snarled. "No matter; it is only a brief reprieve. You may destroy as many Byte-bots as you wish, but it will still lead you back to me. And while I hold your Morphers, you stand no chance at all."

"Well then," Ray decided eyes flicking a knowing look to his teammates. "I guess we'll have to do something about that."

Johnny bolted.

Black blur trailing in his steps, the teen rushed to Gideon, hands aimed right at the guarded box. But the man was more than ready. He whipped around the moment Ray's eyes flicked, swiping his spare arm to force Johnny to dodge. But speed wasn't the issue now, direction was. So focused on the oncoming blow, Johnny hadn't caught Gideon's sweeping leg, the hazard tripping his feet and sending him sprawling.

But with the speedster down, Gideon wasn't out of the woods.

Ray and Jake hammered in, crimson beams searing his chest before being followed by a slamming wave of force. Gideon stumbled, but he didn't let go, keeping the box clutched tight as he shifted closer to the wall. Then it was Hilary's turn.

With the metal silking its way up her skin, she struck in hard, strength surging through her limbs as she forced Gideon on the defensive. With only one arm free and her blows too strong to merely block, he shifted back; feet stepping to regain balance and reassert control. Back to the corner, his balance tipped back, and Hilary seized her chance for a powerful strike.

Big mistake.

Overcommitted, the punch swung wide, pummeling through empty air as Gideon side-stepped and swiped. His blow caught her cheek, strong enough to send her sprawling even in her metallic form. Gideon didn't miss a beat, lunging to follow up before she could renew the assault.

"Oh no, you don't!"

A rain of laser fire descended from above, forcing Gideon backward as the rounds scattered before his feet. His head whipped up, jaw clenching to see Kyle soaring down with twin pistols flaring in his grip. Eyes narrowing, Gideon whipped back his hand as sparks of purple lighting curled in his grasp.

Still dropping, Kyle was an open target.

Ray's eyes flashed again, twin beams slicing Gideon's shoulder as he unleashed the blast. Knocked at the last second, the lightning thundered wide, cracking across the air and slicing through the metal to the warehouse wall. They had barely a second before he recovered, and they took it, both Jake and Ray lunging for the box as Kyle did the same from the sky.

Not fast enough.

With the trio making for the box, Gideon clutched it tighter, spinning in place as Kyle hit the ground and the boys soared past. But none gave up, whipping around and launching another offensive as Gideon was forced to parry from all directions. Ray launched into another kicking flurry, both feet swatted back as Kyle swung a punch that forced him to dodge. With Gideon's eyes on the two, Jake wound from behind, soaring with a flying sidekick that cracked square into his back.

Gideon snarled into an angry stumble, whipping around to deal with the problem as Jake's hand thrust upwards. Gideon moved to block, but Jake wasn't moving for a punch. As the arm snapped in his way, Jake's palm flashed open, releasing all his contained concussive force. At such close range, Gideon had nowhere to, and the blast slammed his head and forced him to stumble.

Giving Hilary the perfect opening.

Having recovered from Gideon's counter, she rushed back in, now on full attack as Ray, Jake, and Kyle surged to join her. Now attacked from all sides and still down an arm in his determined defense of the box, Gideon was losing ground. Every blow forced him deeper into the corner, and every strike they made reached closer and closer to their Morphers' prison.

"ENOUGH!" Lighting burst from Gideon's hand, purple light crackling as he slammed it down. None of the four were ready.

The energy exploded as it collided with the ground, bounding in all directions as it caught the four and flung them backward. All of them hit the concrete, tumbling across the hardened floor as Gideon spun towards them with his hands still sparking.

"I gave you the offer of survival," he roared. "And yet, you spit it back. If you're so insistent on your won destruction, SO BE IT!"

His arm thrust towards them, a violent cascade of purple light erupting from his palm. Ray didn't even think, just moved.

He dived, arms outstretched to grab Hilary and drop from harm as Kyle and Jake hit the ground beside them, all huddled low as the overwhelming onslaught torrented above. With nothing to stop it, the energy collided with the wall, consuming the room with a violent flash as the entire warehouse rocked from the impact. As the lighting died down, the angles of the room began to groan, and as Ray dared to peek behind him, his heart stopped in horror.

The entire rear wall of the warehouse had vanished, replaced now with the singed and glowing outlines of the structure's remnants. On instinct, his sheltering hold on Hilary squeezed tighter, unwilling to think of what would have happened had it hit them.

But as the four groaned and rose to their feet, Gideon raised a glowing hand in threat.

"I tried to warn you," Gideon sneered at them. "I even offered you mercy. But you're so content with defying me, that even the threat of certain destruction is not enough to bring you to heel. I suppose I should congratulate you; you've proved yourself too troublesome to be kept alive. But your prize will only be an expedited end."

Ray shot a look at Hilary and then back to the side at Kyle and Jake. With a defiant grimace, all nodded to the others before resuming fighting stances and prepared to go again.

"As you wish," Gideon decided, tone shifting to disappointed boredom. "Goodbye, Power Rangers."

But in all his gloating, all his triumph, Gideon had been too focused on his downed opponents. So consumed with his anger, his wounded pride, that he'd been unable to see the broader plan; the corner they'd been leading him to.

And now, with his back full turned and eyes focused ahead, he was unable to see what was coming up behind him. Ben, pelting full speed along the wall.

With Gideon's free arm pointed right at the four gathered Rangers, his chest was too exposed, the clutched box within easy reach. Seeing the chance, Ben lunged, feet springing from the wall as he reached for the container.

"Nice try!" Gideon spun, hand whipped around to snatch Ben by the neck from mid-air. The strike shook him, legs kicking helplessly as Gideon cackled and lifted Ben higher. The blonde teen's face was tightening, gasping for what air little air was afforded beneath Gideon's iron grip.

"No laser eyes to save you," he chuckled, before turning to the fallen four. "Gaze upon your comrade, Rangers. Let him be a lesson; the consequence of your hubris."

Seething, Ben swung out, a desperate flail to make a final bid for the morphers. Gideon merely pulled them from reach.

"Uh, uh, ahhh," he tutted. "These aren't for you."

And then the box was gone.

No sooner had Gideon moved it from his clutched chest, than a black blur flashed across his hand. Gideon's eyes widened, fury rising as he stared at his now empty palm as Ben's hand snapped to the grip support and heaved himself up to kick.

The teen's shoe smacked into Gideon's face, throwing his balance as Ray took the opening and unleashed a crimson barrage. Gideon let go, spinning to defend against the attack as Ben dropped and bolted, rushing to rejoin his friends.

As the five of them stood together, Johnny skidded to a stop beside them, the metal box now held firmly in his grasp. The rest rushed to him as the lid opened, eagerly freeing their Morphers and standing ready.

"All we said was that we'd give you our Morphers," Ben smirked. "We said we'd let you keep them."

Gideon hissed, angry breaths seething from his clenching teeth.

"All that effort for a single box," he snarled. "But it will not be enough to save you from the end. Byte-Bots!"

The air was filled with stamping feet, hundreds of pairs hitting the ground as they rushed to converge. Before their eyes, the Rangers watched as every single Bot that had been waiting outside rushed to fill the gap, hurrying to surround them as their fallen comrades pulled themselves to their feet. They were everywhere.

"Morphers or none," Gideon sneered at them. "This is the end for you, Rangers."

"We'll just see about that," Ray retorted as he turned to his friends. "You guys ready?"

"READY!"

They stood together; battered, bruised, but determined; their Morphers gripped tight and held high.

"All right guys," Ray announced, "It's Morphin' Time!"