Their blasters blazed, light shooting from the motorbikes as they blasted down upon the horde. The rounds shattered into balls of fire against the ground, sending the foot soldiers flying. Desperate to launch a counterattack, the Cyberdrones raised their weapons, unleashing a torrent of return fire to light up the sky. But the Rangers were well ahead of them.

Unconcerned with landing zones, the Server Cycles dropped, all rocketing from their peak to land on top of any henchman in their way. The renewed roaring of engines drowned the sound of crunching metal, the Rangers spinning and firing point-blank as took off through the freshly cleared space.

Surprise had got them through the front ranks, but it wasn't going to work for long. Already the Cyberdrones were rushing to close them in and block their path. They needed to be smarter, to remain steps ahead to keep the Cyberdrones on the backfoot. They had horsepower on their side, and they needed to use it.

"Split up!" Erika commanded, revving the throttle to pick up speed as her teammates peeled off to splice the horde into groups. It might not have been much, but it was a start.

But already, the henchmen were starting to organize. A group in reserve was forming ranks ahead of her, preparing a firing line with Erika in their sights. With nowhere to go, Erika thought fast, hand snapping to her holster as she swerved.

The whole bike dipped, dropping into a skid as the pistol ripped from her belt and fired over the top. Unprepared for the sudden movement, the Cyberdrones' fire bounced off the armored body, shielding Erika from the ricochets as her shots hit home. The red beams of energy exploded as they hit, scattering the Cyberdrones in all directions as Erika corrected balance and took off again.

One target, one destination. Get to the tower; stop the transmission. Then they could handle the goons sent to deal with them.

Explosions lit up her peripherals, the other Rangers equally giving all they had to carve a path through robot ranks. All of them equally fixed on the same mission. Thinking fast, Erika snapped the pistol into the saber, a flashing blade in hand that started striking any robot coming close. Through bursts of sparks, the footmen fell to the swipe of Erika's blade, a fresh path carving behind her as the numbers desperately filled in to plug the gap.

But not fast enough. She'd found the gap in their defense, but Erika knew it would be only moments before they sealed it. And she needed every moment to count.

"On me!" she commanded, "I've found a path!"

Her coms ignited with spirited confirmation, all four of her teammates swerving in their tracks to take off after. And they didn't follow her path without giving back.

As Erika gunned it for the tower, more Cyberdrones were filing in to clog their path, hurling their robotic bodies in her way to slow her down. But the Rangers had other ideas. Beams of blue, yellow, black, and white all seared past her, flaring with surging energy as they splashed against the robots and exploded. As the henchmen fell, Erika heaved the bike, launching it into the air to dive through the flames as the four other Rangers jumped after her.

Finally, on the other side of the horde, the Rangers didn't dare waste a second. The bikes had barely finished moving when the five of them vaulted from the saddles, somersaulting in tight formation. Their pistols flared, searing beams shooting down to blast apart the guarding skeleton crew of Cyberdrones as the Rangers landed on the roof.

"Okay," Erika decided. "The transmitter's got to be around here somewhere. Miguel, what were they doing last time?"

"They had some kind of machine," Miguel recalled. "It was attached around the other side of the tower!"

"Then lead the way!"

The Dark Ranger took off into a run, the rest of the team following close behind as they raced to find the epicenter. They didn't have long, likely needing a reckless solution to destroy the source before the Cyberdrones climbed up to-.

But there was nothing there. Whipping around the corner, the Ranger stared at the girders of the tower, scorch marks from Miguel's last visit still stained against the metal.

"I don't understand!" Miguel exclaimed. "It was right here last time! If they're transmitting something, it'd have to be here!"

"Looking for someone?"

All helmets whipped to the source of the disturbance, an all too enthusiastic call-out that echoed with disturbing familiarity. Erika's jaw clenched in recognition as she realized just how much trouble they were in. They'd known Ender was expecting them, they'd known it was a trap. Only they hadn't realized how right they were.

All of them spun, glaring at the blue-skinned monster maker grinning back at them.

"Here for a spot of vandalism, eh?" he decided. "Honestly, kids today. Take away their devices and they become nothing but a pack of ungrateful deviants."

A fresh flash of emerald light burst behind him, more Cyberdrones dropping onto the roof as ArcKnight appeared beside his comrade.

"Today marks your end, Power Rangers," he growled. "No longer will you stand in the way of our master's plans."

Erika held back a snarl, all her teammates instinctively huddling closer as they shifted to a defensive formation. But they no longer had time for defense, not when the haywire frequency had been broadcasting for so long. Every second spent was another in Ender's favor. They needed to turn to tables, now.

"Tell us how to stop the code, Ender," she snarled as she readied her axe. "Then things won't have to get messy. I'll even ask nicely."

ArcKnight was about to lunge at the threat, but Ender smiled as he lifted his hand.

"I love that idea!" he decided gleefully. "Maybe we can talk about it when we come back from the break. But right now, we've got someone making a comeback, and I've been waiting a long time for his talkback section. Radiowave, we're live!"

The air echoed with the sound of clanking feet, metal against concrete in a steady motion as the Rangers spun to face the source. From the corner of the tower, a new figure appeared from behind; one of Ender's monsters, and one that they'd fought before.

"Looks like I'm back on the air!" cackled Radiowave. "This DJ Radiowave, uncanceled and takin' you through the afternoon! We're about to cut a few people short before heading to a break, but we've got time for one more call!"

They were surrounded, Radiowave's speakers already rumbling and the circling Cyberdrones all prepared to cut off their mistake. Cursing herself for being over-eager, Erika readied for the battle as she realized that this could be how it all ended. Not with a bang, but with a terrible drive-home DJ. And then probably a bang.

"Radiowave!" Ender chuckled. "How're doing? Glad you're back! Long-time listener; first-time caller. Say, I've got some problems with pesky kids, got any advice for me?"

"What can I tell you? Kids these days have no respect. What you got to do is give them a firm hand!" Radiowave replied, "Got to show them you mean business, or they keep thinking they can mess with you!"

His smile widening, Ender's brow darkened, voice falling to a low rumble as he replied, "I couldn't agree more."

"At last," ArcKnight concurred. "Something we agree on."

"Get ready guys," Erika warned her team.

But there was no preparing for what was coming. With a gleeful howl, Radiowave raised his hands, the speakers on his shoulders rumbling before unleashing a blast. From the other side, Ender and ArcKnight unloaded with attacks of their own, supported from all sides by the dutiful ranks of Cyberdrones. Erika had barely had the time to call out to her team before the attacks exploded around them and sent them flying from the roof.

This was bad, and with every passing second things were only getting worse. Hilary had done all she could, opened every program, and disabled every local security protocol in place before her second arm surrendered to the hardening metal. Now her hands were frozen, curled pieces of iron as the liquid covering her body continued to freeze.

She didn't know what was worse, the fact that she was losing her body at such an agonizing pace or that it was giving her just enough hope to keep fighting, stripping her of agency bit by bit.

With Hilary's hands hardened like an industrial mannequin, she was all but useless in front of a computer. The one thing she'd always been good at, and now it was outside her reach. She just had to hope that she'd given Jessica enough freedom on the terminal to work out a solution.

To find one before it was too late.

"What's happening?" Ray asked, still stranded in his seat with no way of knowing what was going on around him. With the blindfold still firmly wrapped around his head, all he'd heard for the last few minutes was Hilary frantically mumbling to her assistant, coupled with the sound of the Rangers engaging Xaviax's forces in battle. It was a hell of a time for the monster to be giving out radio-style commentary.

"They've found the source of the signal," Hilary explained.

"I'm guessing there's some bad news?" Ray noted glibly.

"It's a monster."

"Because why would it be anything else?"

"Welcome back listeners! Radiowave taking you through the P-M as we continue to deal with the miscreants running rampant in the studio. It's crazy down here! Crazy!"

"This guy's it's almost as bad as the morning guy," Jessica grumbled from the terminal. "Any other time and I'd be changing the channel."

Hilary had to hand it to her. Despite her initial shock, Jess was taking it all in her stride. All business, she'd kicked off her impractical heels and pulled back her hair into a messy bun. Hilary had no doubt that almost all of it was adrenaline, that Hilary and Ray's increasing disability was thrusting Jessica into the deep end and forcing her to swim. But at that moment, Hilary had never been more thankful for her choice of personal assistant. Because she was swimming laps.

"Hey," Ray suddenly asked her. "Are you doing okay?"

That was her husband; losing his vision and yet still more worried about her. "Me?" Hilary asked. "You're the one who's stuck without a sense."

Any other day and the shrink Hilary married would have let that falsehood slide, allowing her to continue masking her terror as she focused on the job. Save it for a debrief later. But deep down, both of them knew that this time there might not be a later. And that for all of the danger of Ray's out-of-control eyebeams, the fate that Hilary faced was something out of a nightmare.

She had no idea what would happen once the metal around her body finished hardening; when the power that had once given strength became a prison. And neither option was one she wanted to consider for long.

"We're going to get through this," Hilary insisted. "We have to."

The team needed her to. She just had to hope they could hold out without her.

From the monitoring station, more explosions flared on the screens, and Hilary watched as the five Rangers battled it out against Xaviax's overwhelming forces. Ender and ArcKnight had played it well, using the Cyberdrone numbers to divide and conquer and stop the Rangers from uniting.

She and Ray weren't the only ones running out of time.

"The code's finished uploading," Jessica confirmed from the terminal. "Plugging into local audio network now."

Please work, Hilary begged silently, please work.

Jessica hit the command, a piercing ringing shrieking through the labs as the jamming frequency flushed through every speaker. The sound was almost maddening, like nails on a chalkboard, condensed into a single pitch that plunged into her eardrums like a needle. Hilary could only grit her teeth, arms unable to snap to her ears as Jessica and Ray both buckled from the noise. And still, she couldn't move! Jamming the frequency wasn't going to be enough.

"TURN IT OFF!" Hilary demanded as she stepped instinctively toward the computer station. But the best she could do was stumble. Her foot clunked to the ground, her leg now hard and rigid as it refused her commands. With a frightened gasp, Hilary leaned on the table, harshly bracing against the edge before she toppled. No arm movements to balance, one leg completely stiff, and the other soon to follow.

It was nearly finished, and the process was speeding up.

Any minute now, and all she'd be was a lead weight; a statue frozen in time.

"Hilary?" Ray was crawling toward her, voice shaking as he carefully followed the edge of the workbench in a desperate bid to reach her. He knew what that sound meant, and he knew he couldn't stop it. Hilary's heart was racing, panic seizing her chest as Jess heaved herself to the desk and slammed her hand on the kill switch. The ringing stopped, and an unnerving silence fell upon the lab.

"Dr. Hawkins?" Jessica asked as she slowly turned around, seeing her boss frozen in place as her husband reached her side.

"It's okay," Hilary replied, although now the quivering in her voice was undeniable. "It's going to be okay."

Something pushed against her, a light press as Ray reached her and grabbed hold. With a shuddered breath, Hilary realized that she hadn't felt it, just the sensation of being moved. She could no longer feel her husband's touch. If the skin around her jaw wasn't already stiffening, it would have been shaking uncontrollably.

"I'm here," Ray told her, his quivering hands following the length of her arm as he held her tight.

She wanted to see him, look at him once more time, but even the strength she could no longer control was not enough to turn her head.

"Hilary," Ray pleaded. "It's okay, stay with me. Just stay with me okay!"

He couldn't see her, but somehow he knew, he knew she couldn't look at him, and carefully bracing against her, Ray stepped around to make sure she could see his face. The blindfold was drenched with steaming tears.

This was it. Any second now, the metal around her face would harden, and the last of her would be consumed. And then there would be nothing she could do.

"I love you," Hilary shuddered as a tear escaped her metallic eyelids to trickle down her chrome-covered cheeks.

"I love you too," Ray pleaded back, "but we're not done here. We're not out. There's got to be something. Anything!"

She could hear the begging in his voice, the desperation that called to her screaming heart that longed to tell him it would be fine. That longed to feel his touch against her skin one last time. That longed…

What was she doing? Why was she giving up? That wasn't her, that wasn't what she did! She might be nearly trapped but her mouth could still move, and she was wasting precious seconds when she could be finding an answer. Something. Anything!

Think, Hilary! Think!

The signal was hitting them differently, throwing their powers into haywire in a way that it hadn't done to Lena. Jamming the signal wasn't enough, meaning it was more than just the signal's interference, but she knew that the other exposed Rangers weren't affected.

So, it was reacting to large quantities of Digital Energies, but it wasn't the field itself that was fueling their lack of control.

A chain reaction! It was self-fueling, the Bio-Digital Fields around their bodies had gone into overload, and that was what was causing their powers to run rampant! But that meant stopping the signal wouldn't be enough. What they needed was to lessen the energy pulsing around their bodies.

Only it was impossible to eliminate it entirely.

But maybe they could reduce it….

That was it!

But already, Hilary was out of time, the rigid metal setting over her face, the last of her malleability vanishing as the liquid turned solid. She had mere moments at best, and she needed to make them count.

With all her effort, Hilary's eyes shot to Ray, a pair of mirrored orbs focusing intently as she forced her jaw to move.

Come on… Come… ON!

"Ray…!" she gasped. "proto…type…bio…field… syphon…"

But that was all she could manage to get out before the hardening finally settled. As the steel around her body tempered into place, Hilary's world stood still as the liquid metal solidified and encased her in full. As Ray cried out in desperate denial, all she could do was stand like a chromatic statue, hoping that her husband and assistant could decipher her final desperate message.

Before any hope of unfreezing her vanished for good.

Another blast flashed beneath Erika's feet, sending her, Zeke, and Abbey flying as Radiowave cackled with malicious enjoyment.

"Whoa!" the monster hooted. "Looks like we got three lucky winners for today's call-in contest! This afternoon's prize? More pain!"

Erika hissed out a snarl as she flipped up from the dirt, Abbey, and Zeke pulling beside her in tight defense as the Cyberdrones swarmed around them. Her eyes snapped between the volumes of footsoldiers and their foe, trying to track a path to victory with their limited options available.

Ender and ArcKnight had played them like fiddles, luring them in with false confidence before shattering the team like glass beneath a hammer. Erika had managed to stay close enough to Abbey and Zeke, but the three of them weren't going to be enough to take down Radiowave. They'd barely managed it last time, and that was before he'd got whatever upgrades Ender's sick mind had thought of adding. And this time he'd brought a lot more Cyberdrones.

"He's just a one-man show," Erika said, shooting a look at the Blue and Yellow Rangers. "If we can keep away from him and deal with the Cyberdrones, that should give us the room we need to move."

"Right!"

But it was easier said and done. While Erika's plan was solid, staying among the thick of the footsoldiers to outmaneuver Radiowave's sluggish and bulky body, the robot numbers weren't exactly a slouch either. The henchmen were grouping tightly together, supporting each other to bounce back against her strikes, and pushing suffocatingly close to prevent Erika's axe from swinging.

She needed room, she needed firepower. She needed a way to turn the tables so they could focus their attention on the monster.

Before he found his focus on them.

Finding it useless in the tight confines, Erika stowed the axe, snatching the Security Pistol from her belt to open fire at point-blank range. The light flared as it seared the drone's chest, dropping with rising smoke as Erika lunged to take its place. Her leg kicked out, throwing into a spin as she unfolded the weapon in the same motion, and the saber sliced from the handle to carve through another of her attackers.

Don't fight the horde, fight them one at a time. Just like eating a cake.

A really big cake.

Another dropped in a spray of sparks, And Erika lunged at its falling body to kick off it like a springboard. With some air beneath her, she flipped the weapon back into a pistol and unloaded everything she had. A scarlet rain of fire seared down upon the footsoldiers, shots booming into balls of flame to send them flying.

It was a start, and Erika just had to hope it would be enough. And that the others were making the same headway she was.

If only they'd been so lucky.

On the outer edge, Lena was doing all she could to keep the Cyberdrones off her back. Her spear was giving her the distance she needed, but it was still an uphill battle. On the edges, she was safer, but it was keeping her from the team. And in range of someone else.

"Surprise!"

Lena twisted back, spinning to avoid Ender's unsubtle attack as the monster maker cackled past her. He didn't even seem to mind, twirling around with a flourish as the two of them stared each other down.

"Missing me that badly, Ender?" Lena snarled. "Or are you just that lonely?"

"Now, now, Mileena, don't be like that," said Ender. "I just thought we'd catch up, have a few laughs for old time's sakes. I've even got a few new jokes to tell you; they're absolute killers."

"With cringe, maybe!"

But Lena was so fixed on Ender that she dropped her attention on the Cyberdrones, barely diving aside as a pair of them lunged from the flank. The spear swung low, tripping the first while jabbing to lance the second. But as the henchmen, fell, Lena realized they'd done their job.

Now she was open, and Ender was already lunging for her.

Lena snapped up the haft, held in both hands as the cane collided and bounced off the pole. Ender was undeterred, already recovering as Lena stumbled back to spin a kick right into her torso. The overly polished poot smashed into her chest, sending her reeling into the horde that was all too eager to receive her.

"As nice as it is to have some alone time," Ender smiled. "I have some friends that have just been dying to meet you."

Fighting back the panic, Lena swung wide, forcing the Cyberdrones in a desperate bid to earn some space. But it wasn't enough, and more were already filing to fill the gaps as Ender gleefully lunged to join them.

And the far-end flank was faring just as badly.

Miguel had managed to clear some numbers early, bursting into a Shadow Strike that stampeded through the horde and sent the henchmen flying. But in his eagerness for a faster victory, Miguel had realized his mistake. He'd cleared some numbers, sure, but a strike like that was an enormous drain on his energy reserves, and more henchmen were already rushing to replace their fallen comrades.

And his breathing stopped as he heard Abbey cry above the horde.

"Get away from me!"

Miguel whipped around, watching as ArcKnight lunged into the center to make a B-line for the Blue Ranger. Her bow was in her hand, but at that distance, there was no time to fire a return shot before the armored warrior reached her.

Not fast enough. In a desperate defense, Abbey swung with the bow, her weapon battered aside as ArcKnight let loose a sinister chuckle and returned with a strike of his own. Abbey cried again as sparks burst from the surface of her suit, tumbling along the ground as ArcKnight menacingly followed for a second bout.

"Oh no, you don't!"

Miguel lunged before he thought, readying the Dark Saber to strike Arc-Knight down before he could reach his teammate. He didn't realize his mistake until it was too late.

ArcKnight reached Abbey first, and if he had lips, he'd have been smiling with satisfaction.

"All too easy."

Kicking Abbey while she was down, he booted her into the horde, eager Cyberdrones swarming to get a piece of her as the warrior spun to the lunging Ranger. High in the air with his weapon wound back, Miguel was overexposed, an easy target as ArcKnight swung his sword and sliced it across the Dark Ranger's suits. Searing pain burned across his chest as Miguel went flying, hot sparks raining across the battlefield as he hit the ground, smoldering. Staggering to his feet, ArcKnight swaggered toward him, sword leaning on his shoulder as more Cyberdrones flanked in support.

"We still have a score to settle, Dark Ranger," he snarled. "I have not forgotten your insult from last time."

"Oh yeah?" Miguel grunted as he rose to his feet. "Why don't I add some injury to go with it?"

As the Cyberdrones formed a circle, the two of them lunged, swords clashing with a calamitous blast as they locked into fierce combat. But even if Miguel could hold his own, he knew that the battling ArcKnight was just a distraction.

The longer he continued fighting Xaviax's top general, the longer the other Rangers were without his support.

Support that one of them needed now.

With the others trying to desperately reduce the numbers, Zeke tried to hold to the fort, bracing against his shield as he rammed through the Cyberdrone lines. He couldn't hit as hard as the rest of them, but he could keep a space clear, creating a landing zone for a regroup when the opportunity arose.

But he wasn't the only one with that idea.

"What do we have here?" Radiowave chuckled. "A fresh caller, just in time for our latest contest!"

With the Yellow Ranger pinned, the monster charged through the masses, heavy fist swinging down as Zeke battered it back with his shield. Breathing to calm himself, he shot a look around, desperately hoping a teammate was nearby to help him even the odds.

But there were none.

"Welcome to a game we like to call: GUESS! THAT! SOUND!" Radiowave declared. "The rules are simple. I make a sound, and you guess what it is! Guess right, and you win a prize! Let's go ahead and play sound number one!"

The speakers on his shoulders began booming, dropping a heavy base that sent shockwaves rippling through the air. Every beat crashed against the shield like a heavy tidal surge, slamming Zeke back and back as he desperately braced to hold on. With the blasts keeping him pinned, there was nowhere for him to move, making him the perfect target.

"Ohhh, and we're out of time!" Radiowave laughed. "The answer you were looking for was "one hand clapping"! Like this!"

Blasts still booming, Radiowave's fist crashed into the shield, the force of a thousand trucks thundering into the surface. It was just too much for Zeke to hold on, and the combined might of the shockwaves and punch sent him flying.

"Looks like our contestant's hung up in frustration!" Radiowave decided. "But let's see what our other callers have in store!"

Almost skipping with glee, he launched himself back into the horde, eager to find the isolated Rangers and pick on them. All of them were pinned; either locked in combat or swerving on the defense in a desperate bid to stay standing.

From where she fought, Erika could see the emerging picture was, the strategy Xaviax had concocted to take them down. Keep them busy, keep them separated. Stop them from forming a united front and take them down while they were alone.

And if Erika didn't come up with a solution soon, that plan was going to work.

"DAMMIT!"

Ray howled as he threw himself on Hilary's stationary body, now nothing more than a metallic statue that braced against his weight. Her body didn't budge, an immovable object rooted in place by the steel that completely coated her.

Trapped.

Gone.

All Ray could do was hold her, his body trembling as he struggled to stay standing, breathing turning to choking, turning to sobs. Because there was nothing he could do. Hilary was the brains, not him. He could tell someone what they were thinking or talk them down to calm them, but there was no world in which he was going to figure out the signal on his own.

Not without her.

Around him, Ray could still hear the sounds of the battle between the Rangers and Xaviax's forces; he didn't need to see to know how badly it was going. He'd been in their place enough times to be intimately familiar with the sound of a losing battle.

The city was in chaos.

The Rangers were on their last legs.

Now Hilary was gone.

And there was nothing he could do.

Behind him, Ray could hear Jessica shaking, every breath a frightful shudder as she presumably stared at her now-frozen boss. "She…" she stammered. "She's…"

For all his grief, Ray couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Jessica had gone from assuming normality to learning that her boss was running a secret team of Power Rangers beneath her workplace, only to then watch that same employer slowly freeze beneath a hardening cocoon of liquid metal. All in the span of an hour; that would be enough to break anyone.

Ray knew that he needed to say something, to find the comfort that would help Jessica process the insanity she'd been dragged into. He needed to do what he did best.

And then his head snapped up in realization.

Do what he did best, and for once he needed to listen to his own advice. To think about what he'd tell anyone else.

"It's not over," Ray said decidedly, listening as Jessica hissed a stifled breath and recognition. "Not yet."

Once, back when he and Hilary had last been Rangers, he'd watched her vanish in a puff of smoke when she was hit by a monster's attack. He'd thought her gone then, too, and all consumed with rage as he'd turned on their enemy with a fury he'd never known until then. But back then, Ray had also been wrong. Hilary had been fine, just shrunk down to miniature size.

And that meant he could be wrong now.

"Wha… what do you mean?' Jess asked.

"Hilary had spent her final words trying to tell me something," said Ray. "And she wouldn't have done that if she didn't think I could figure it out."

Which meant she'd thought of a solution, and it was down to Ray to implement it.

Think!

Biofield. Syphon. Prototype.

"She said something," said Jessica. "But I don't have any idea what that means."

"Biofield…" Ray repeated. "Second exposure must have imprinted more of it on our bodies, adding to be Bio-Digital fields that were already there."

"Hilary said you can't get rid of it. That she already tried."

She was right; she couldn't. But that didn't mean…

"But maybe we can siphon it," he said. "Shrink it back down to a healthy size."

And Hilary wouldn't have thought that if there wasn't already a method at hand.

"What did mean by "prototypes"?" Jess asked.

"I don't know," Ray admitted. "She can't mean our original morphers. Those are locked away in a military black site, there's no way we could get to those. Certainly not now."

"Wait, your what?"

But Ray ignored her, adding more to the "explain later" list as his mind whirred as fast as it could. If Hilary didn't mean the prototype Data Morphers, what could she have been thinking of? What could she have possibly wanted to use for siphoning off the digital energy wracking havoc around his body?

And then it hit him.

"Hilary wasn't talking about our original Morphers," he gasped. "She was talking about hers."

Barely a heartbeat later, Jessica's confusion sounded from the darkness of Ray's vision. "But that doesn't make any sense. You just said-."

"Not the first morpher she used," Ray clarified. "The first ones she built. The Alpha Server Morphers; Gold and Silver."