The doors of the elevator dinged behind Abbey as she entered the lab the next day, staring around for its occupants before finding them all huddled together. Lena and Zeke were standing above the machine, holding a strange, chrome device with spurting wires as Jessica intently watched screens for some kind of readings. Moving closer, Abbey spied Hilary's legs poking out from beneath that same machine.
"Okay, just a little to the left," she instructed, staring up as Zeke and Lena carefully guided in the part. With an awkward shift, Lena and Zeke tried to follow, both squirming in a vain attempt to move the part in place. "Now, back to the right. Jess, is everything holding stable on those readings?"
"Power output's remaining steady," Jess confirmed.
"Are you sure the whole system needs to be live while you install this?" Abbey asked, finally finding a window to announce her presence and all too aware of how little help she could offer.
"We could…" Zeke admitted nervously.
"But that would mean taking all of our Ranger powers offline for the installation," Lena concluded for him.
"Plus the reboot time that follows," Hilary added underneath. "And given that's not something any of us want, it means we're doing it the hard way. Just a little more!"
Abbey braced herself against the nearby bench, powerless to watch the clumsy but delicate dance her three teammates were enacting as they slowly lowered the part into the machine. Finally, Hilary gave the all-clear, and Zeke and Lena dropped the piece inside. Moments later, a less than-encouraging thunk sounded from inside.
"Well," Hilary admitted. "It's kind of in."
"What do you mean 'kind of'?" Jess asked nervously.
"We're going to have to massage it a bit."
"Brilliant."
Seeing the gap in their operation, Abbey meekly approached Zeke with the most hopeful smile that she could muster. "Great! So, now that it's in, I don't suppose I could borrow Zeke for a second?"
Hilary rolled out from beneath and looked up skeptically at the Blue Ranger. "We'll probably need him again. Will it take long?"
"Hopefully not," Abbey replied. "With any luck, what would have taken me hours would probably be thirty seconds in Zeke's hands. It's just some online digging. Although I totally understand if you still need him; this isn't anywhere near as important."
With a shrug, Hilary and Lena motioned for Zeke to go, the boy curiously following Abbey as the duo returned to the elevator.
Something had been bothering her ever since Brockman first arrived at the Hub two days before. A feeling Abbey couldn't' shake; a suspicion that refused to cease and gnawed even after Erika had gone to investigate herself. Finally sick of its lingering presence, Abbey knew of only a few people who could help settle it quickly. And she knew exactly who would be the fastest to say yes.
"I need a favor," Abbey admitted as the elevator closed behind them. "Hopefully it'll be pretty easy for you, and normally I would just come to so quickly but…"
"Abbey," Zeke smiled softly. "It's fine. What do you need?"
Breathing in deeply, Abbey finally surrendered to her suspicions and voiced them out loud. "I need you to run a background check for me…"
To their credit, Erika's company had been great about the whole ordeal, immediately rushing to her comfort after receiving the brunt of her friend's fury.
"They're just in shock."
"They'll come around."
"They're still processing after they lost their last lead singer. In the end, they want what's best for you."
But all the assurances in the world did nothing to assuage Erika's sinking guilt, the feeling of shame born from her betrayal. All her life, she'd been scared of people leaving her, abandoning her when she needed them most. And now that was exactly what Erika was doing to her bandmates.
She was exactly like her mother.
Contrary to popular opinion, sleeping on it did not help, and Erika had instead arisen with the sinking weight buried even deeper in her chest. Had it not been for a hopeful text from Val, she probably would have just smothered herself back beneath the covers and surrendered to wallowing in the darkness of her room.
And of course, it was finally Valerie's turn to be running late, leaving Erika to stand at the counter in sullen purgatory.
"Uh, he-llo?"
The vain and vapid voice snapped Erika from her sulking, looking up to see Whitney standing impatiently behind her. Her usual judgmental glare was scowling, unimpressed, and leaning back as if waiting for some sort of explanation. A moment later, Erika realized that she was actually in the way.
"Oh, sorry," she said hurriedly, stepping back to let the girl pass. Whitney however, clearly saw a good chance to get a stab in.
"What?" she scoffed. "No angry remark? No growl to back off? Wow, you must be losing your nerve."
"You know," Erika replied, snidely. "It's possible for someone to grow as a person. You should give it a try."
"Whatever." With a roll of her eyes, Whitney stormed past, straight to order her needlessly complicated coffee before turning back to Erika.
Great, so now she had to suffer through Whitney's wait time too. Valerie picked a hell of a day to be late.
"So, what's your deal today, anyway?" Whitney asked. "You're even more unpleasant than normal."
Having had enough, it was Erika's turn to roll her eyes and turn away. But Whitney seemed to only take this as encouragement.
"Don't tell me," she snickered. "Did your shot with the big-time producer fall through? Did he realize that you're actually just painfully average and not worth his time?"
For once, all evidence Erika had been given to the contrary meant she felt no need to snap back. Instead, she smirked to herself at the reality, only to feel a fresh pang of guilt in realization.
"Not that it matters," Whitney decided lazily. "Maybe now that he's done wasting his time with you, Brockman will have a chance to see what real talent is like."
Oh; her? Really?
Stifling a snort, Erika decided that Whitney's presence was a welcome distraction. If she seemed so keen to keep engaging, then it was probably worth the sacrifice of a little personal growth to get in an extra shot.
"Didn't my "painfully average" band decide you weren't good enough?" Erika suggested slyly.
In an instant, all bravado evaporated as Whitney squirmed rage, balling her tension tightly she forcing steam out her ears. "Your band doesn't even know what talent looks like!" she snapped. "Just wait, I'll show you!"
And then, spinning around only to snatch her low-fat, sugar-free, caramel macchiato, Whitney stormed off to leave Erika feeling much better than when she'd arrived. A moment later, Valerie finally made it and sighed in relief as she saw her girlfriend's smile.
"That looked like it went well," she grinned, noting the storming Whitney as the two of them grabbed a table.
"It helped," Erika admitted, although knowing that it was only a temporary distraction. Already, the sinking feeling was returning, and Erika started sinking into her seat as the memory of her fight with Melody and Jasmine returned just as quickly.
"What do I even do?" she finally asked. "This is the chance of a lifetime, but I don't want to lose Jas and Mel over it."
All Valerie could do was sit in silence, slowly nodding in acknowledgment without having anything to offer.
"Do you think there's anything you could say to Brockman?" she suggested, finally. "Maybe get him to give them a chance?"
Erika just shook her head. "He's all set on this "Battle of the Bands". He's set up this big supergroup that he wants me to be a part of. The bass and drum spots are already filled." With a groan, she threw her head back, completely at a loss for what to do. Things were finally blowing her way. But it just couldn't be simple, could it?
"What do you think I should do?" Erika asked finally. But Valerie's response was less than confidence-filling.
"You know I'm going to tell you, but you also know why," Valerie replied sadly. "I want what's best for you. And if this supergroup of Brockman's is that, then I want you to go for it. But also know that all of my reasons are selfish. Jas and Melody are my friends too, but I'm dating you. But I'm also not the one who has to make the call."
As she said it, Valerie's eyes slowly drifted over Erika's shoulder. As Erika turned to find out what had captured her girlfriend's attention, she saw Abbey with a laptop clutched to her chest. Zeke stood beside her, both nervously beside the table as if uncertain whether they should be waiting for an invitation.
"I think," Abbey said hesitantly. "I might be able to help with that."
"We did some digging," Zeke explained. "If you don't want to know, then we can walk away and pretend we never said anything."
There's something about their tone of voice, a nervousness that shook as Zeke mentioned their inquiry. It didn't sound good, but now that they'd incited Erika's curiosity, she couldn't let them walk away. After a glance at Val to make sure the interruption was okay, Erika motioned for them to sit as Abbey flipped open the laptop.
"Something about this Brockman guys did feel right to me," Abbey admitted. "Every search I made came up squeaky clean. Too clean. So, I called in the big guns."
"Hilary?" Erika asked jovially, watching as Zeke shot a hand to his chest in mock offense.
"Harsh, but fair," he replied. "Also, this probably was below Hilary's pay grade. Once we figured out what we were looking for, it was actually a piece of cake."
They spun around the screen for Erika and Val to take a look. Their jaws dropped almost immediately. Article after article, all naming court cases with young artists. All of them fighting for their fair share of royalties after a massive hit, almost all of which had been funneled to the man responsible for their record contracts All of them girls first signed under or around the age of eighteen.
"Oh my god," Valerie gasped. "That's awful."
Erika said nothing, her eyes scanning from case to case. All the same story, the only thing different was the names.
"None of them name him specifically," Abbey warned. "But he's been a part of every talent agency involved in these cases. That was why I couldn't find anything at first."
"But once we dug up his business records and searched those names instead," Zeke said with a smug hint of pride, "Well, here we are."
It was a pattern, plain as day. Show up, find a young girl with big dreams, and help her make it big before stealing all her money. And then vanish the second his company hit the papers before reappearing under a different label; ready to do it all over again.
"He's a snake," Val realized in disgust, as Erika slowly closed the laptop lid and sat back in quiet contemplation.
"A charming snake," Erika admitted. "I'm such an idiot. He knew exactly what to say and I was just putty in his hands."
"It's not your fault," Abbey comforted. "He's a professional grifter. He could probably sell a camel's own sand back to it for double the price. But I'm sorry I couldn't vet him earlier, I know this isn't how you'd have liked to find out."
"I might not be an idiot with Brockman," Erika acknowledged. "But I was with Jasmine and Mel. I need to find them and smooth things over. Hopefully, they'll maybe even forgive me after…"
But as she said it, the Hub's door chimed open, and her two bandmates walked in. They looked neither annoyed nor fired up. They looked sheepish and worried, and moments later, Erika found out why.
"We came as soon as we found out," Jasmine explained. "That Brockman guy's the worst."
"We're so sorry you got cornered by him," Melody agreed. "We overreacted, that wasn't fair of us."
Erika shot Abbey a knowing look, one that was as accusatory as it was grateful. But then she rose, looking both her bandmates square in the eye. Because while Brockman's past gave her an out, it didn't absolve her of anything.
"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing," Erika said. "I should have told you about Brockman, even just that I was hearing him out. It wasn't fair that you found out the way you did, and that's on me. I'm really sorry guys."
One look was all it took for Jasmine and Melody to start grinning from ear to ear. Without any other word needing to be said, the three embraced in a breath-stealing hug, holding each other tight in cathartic reconciliation. Finally, they pulled away, and Erika looked over to see both Val and Abbey smiling proudly. Zeke was still standing to the side in awkward discomfort.
But the shared tender moment was just as swiftly broken as three communicators beeped, all at once. Erika guessed the good news was that they no longer needed to come up with excuses. With a look of acknowledgment from Abbey and Zeke, everyone gathered around as Erika pulled up the communicator on her wrist and opened the line.
"You've got the whole band here," she announced. "What's the lineup?"
"You guys made up?" Ray's voice suddenly sounded with a trill of excitement. "That's so great!"
"Ray," Erika replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'm glad you're invested in my personal life, but I guess there's a monster attack you want to talk about?"
"There is," Hilary added dryly, although three Rangers knew her well enough to know she was equally chuckling. "Ender's latest failed science fair entry just showed up downtown with a whole fan club of Cyberdrones."
"We're on our way."
Closing the line, Abbey and Zeke moved to meet outside, Erika pausing only to farewell her company.
"We'll talk later," Jasmine decided.
"Yeah," Melody agreed, "Go get 'em, guys!"
Smiling wide, Erika then turned to her girlfriend, giving the only excuse she could think of. With a gravelly voice, she said, "I'm sorry. My city needs me."
"Oh," said Valerie with peaking interest. "We are so meeting up when you're done."
Then with a grin, Erika hurried out to follow her team, the duo waiting patiently for her in the Hub's back alley.
"The others are already en route," Abbey explained, before shooting a pointed look. "Things all good?"
"Things are good," Erika smiled back. "Thanks, Abbey."
"Any time."
Then it was time to get down to business. Game face on, Erika whipped out her keycard, Morpher flashing to her wrist as she stepped forward. "Now, are you guys ready?"
"Ready!" came the reply as Abbey and Zeke stepped beside her.
"Server Force! Login Access!"
The cards swiped through the Morphers, power bursting with blinding light as they unfurled from the devices. The energy consumed them, connecting them directly to the grid as it rippled through their bodies to empower them. As the primary-colored suits wrapped around the trio's bodies, the helmets formed, encasing their heads as they were spirited up across the city. The beam of light crashed down upon the scene, and the three Rangers emerged beside their comrades, morphed and ready for battle.
The downtown street was in utter chaos, Cyberdrones running wild everywhere as people fled in panic. The henchmen surged in all directions, trashing everything they could find as they came across with active malice. At the center of the group, an enormous mountain of a man lumbered on behind them, his body entirely stone from head to toe.
"Rangers!" he bellowed as he saw them with a sluggish glee. "I knew help would only be a stone's throw away!"
"There's so much to deal with," Miguel realized in horror. Erika couldn't help but grit her teeth in agreement. But while Xaviax's plan may have worked well once upon a time, back then there were fewer of them. Back when they were alone.
But now they had each other, a seven-strong team that was more ready for whatever chaos Xaviax was going to throw at them. Together, they were unstoppable.
"What's the plan, Erika?" Ray asked.
The Red Ranger didn't miss a beat. "Ray, Hilary; you guys pack the biggest punch, so you're hitting the biggest target. Hit the stack of blocks with everything you've got. Zeke, use your shield to keep civilians safe while Abbey can give you covering fire with her bow. Lena, and Miguel; you're with me. We're going to give the Cyberdrones something else to worry about. Everyone got it?"
"Got it!"
The seven Rangers split, lunging in all directions to contain the violent mob. Erika's hand snapped straight to her pistol, opening fire from midair to rain a torrent downpour of lasers upon the Cyberdrones. The barrages battered into them, crimson beams lancing their chests as the targets crumbled to the ground with smoke rising from their punctures. As Erika landed, her eyes narrowed to the rest, all abandoning their victims to begin skulking menacingly toward her.
At least now she had their attention.
They waited only a moment, priming to strike together before lunging at her on mass. But the time they'd taken to prepare was all that Erika had needed, summoning her Power Axe and charging her energy into the head. The twin-edged head glowed a searing scarlet as Erika wound back, smiling gleefully as she faced down the surging tide of drones. She swung in hard as they reached her, their entire front lines crashing apart like waves on rock, hurled in all directions as Erika's axe cleaved through them.
As the front lines broke, Erika ducked and rolled, twisting into a second swipe to cleave deeper through the horde. The axe-head carved through their limbs, hurling her targets into their comrades to send them crumbling to the ground.
"Boys, boys," she chuckled as the remnant horde scrambled over their fallen comrades to pile on. "Slow down, there's more than enough for all of you."
Just to emphasize her point, Erika brought the axe down again, flaring into the head of the closest bot before whipping out her pistol and unloading at point-blank range. The bolts blasted around them, tossing the remnants in all directions as Erika launched herself to find a second grouping.
Out in the rest of the horde, the other Rangers were faring just as well. While Miguel and Lena sheared at the sides of the horde, Abbey and Zeke held the middle. The Yellow Ranger vaulted overhead, slamming down his shield to block and blow and force himself between the menacing robots and the civilians.
"I've got you!" he urged. "Go, now!"
As if to punctuate, streaming bolts of blue soared overhead, peppering the next coming wave of Cyberdrones as the innocent people took their leave to run. With the way clear, Zeke followed behind, punching back at every turn to stop the horde from filing in too quickly. At last, he reached Abbey, the Blue Ranger standing high on a ruined car as she fired bolt after bolt.
"That's the last of them," Zeke confirmed as Abbey dropped down beside him. "Want to give these guys a real show?"
"Let's do it!"
With perfect precision, both Rangers twirled in opposite directions, drawing their Security Pistols to open fire. Beams of blue and yellow blasted into the horde, every shot dropping another as more bolts boomed into blazing explosions. Barrels smoking, the pistols spun in the duo's hands, holstering cleanly as the Ranger admired their handiwork. Seconds later, Erika hurried over, seeing the bulk of the Cyberdrones in retreat, with the few that remained posing little threat.
"Great going guys," Erika congratulated, tapping into the com to make sure that Lena and Miguel were keeping up. "Now let's go give the others a hand."
"Right!"
All five Rangers launched into the air, Black and White converging to join their primary colored compatriots as they arrived at a single point. At the far end of the street, a heavy stone fist quaked into the asphalt, Ray barely diving out of the way as a shock wave unleashed from the impact.
"Almost too slow there!" the monster, Blok-Head, chuckled malevolently as Ray bounded back up to his feet.
"I'm not the one with clay feet," Ray retorted. "I'm just keeping you occupied."
Right on cue, Hilary lunged from the monster's blind spot, Mainframe Defender unfurled into a mighty broadsword with a glowering blade. White hot, the silver sword sheared against the monster's back, carving into the stone with a shower of shrieking sparks.
While a glowing scar remained from the strike, Blok-Head merely turned and stared at the Silver Ranger with sinister glee.
"Not enough!"
His heavy arm swung into her at surprising speed, slamming Hilary into a wrecked car meters away.
But in his eagerness to attack the Silver Ranger, he'd left Gold unattended. And Ray was not going to let the window Hilary earned him go to waste. With all his might and a furious roar, he plunged his glowing broadsword into Blok-Head's chest, stabbing in with everything he had. The blade flashed on impact, almost bouncing off as Blok-Head with the same amusement he'd shown Hilary. But this time, Ray was ready, bounding back as he saw the others arrive.
As Miguel and Lena leaped to Ray's side, Erika made for Hilary with Abbey and Zeke, helping the Silver Ranger to her feet as they compared notes for a battle plan.
"Is that the best you've got?" Bulk-Head mocked. "You guys won't get anywhere when I'm stonewalling you!"
"He's tough," Hilary admitted. "But we left a mark."
"I'll say," Jessica's voice sounded through the coms. "Your hits didn't do much on their own, but I'm reading fractures in his body. One hit won't do it, but if you can hit him a few times in the same spot, it might just do the trick."
"Hammer and chisel," Erika realized, mind racing to a plan as she shot a look to the Yellow Ranger. "Zeke?"
"Guard duty; got it!"
"Abbey" Erika decided, "get ready to line up the hit. Everyone else, focus everything you've got on the mark Ray made on the chest."
"Got it!"
All together, they moved as one, charging in to strike the shatter-point with everything they had. Miguel took the lead, surging into a blur of black as he sliced into the singing point with a powerful Shadow Strike. Any other monster would have recoiled, but Blok-Head's sturdiness caused him to barely flinch as the Dark-Saber sliced against his body. On the other side, Miguel spun around, too exposed to defend against the coming retaliation. But Zeke wasn't. Anticipating the coming blow, the Yellow Ranger dropped into a skid, shield raised high as the stone fist sheared against the surface. With his own force rebounded against him, Blok-Head stumbled. And that's when the rest charged in.
Erika lunged in first, Axe glowing hot as she sliced against the ever-growing crevice, rolling aside as Ray and Hilary returned with a twin-pointed strike with swords. As Blok-Head rose above them in fury, that's when Abbey took her shot, hammering in a volley of arrows that cracked his wound wider and wider. Finally, with the monster on the recovery, Lena took up the rear, launching high with everything she had to plunge her spear into the shatter point.
The spear-tip flared as it impacted, blinding light blazing in all directions as the White Ranger bounded back. As she landed, Erika realized that the weapon was no longer in her hands, now stuck inside Blok-Head's chest.
"Hehe," he chuckled. "I'll take that."
With a heavy stomp, he towered over Lena, grinning menacingly at the disarmed White Ranger as he raised his fist to strike. But Erika could only grin; he was right where she wanted him.
"Zeke?"
"Already on it!"
As the monster exposed himself to strike, Zeke surged forward, lunging from behind as Lena stood dead still. But the White Ranger was neither frozen nor exposed, she was waiting. And Zeke wasn't rushing for a well-timed deflection. Lunging high, Zeke's boot hit Lena's shoulder to launch himself further, high enough for a downward approach on Blok-Head. High enough to slam his shield into the back of the spear and plunge it further.
The monster screamed as the spear hammered deeper into his chest, the Yellow Ranger flipped around to plant his boots on Blok-Head's chest and grab the perforating weapon. Gripping tight, Zeke bounded off, reefing the Power Spear free as Mega-Blok screamed again. The seven Rangers converged as he landed, tossing the spear back to Lena as Erika took the lead.
"Time to crack this rock," she decided. "Let's put it together!"
"Right!"
As Ray and Hilary refolded their Mainframe Defenders, swords sheathing as they returned to the double-barrel blasters, the other five moved together. Their weapons connected with seamless precision, all five gathered around as Rangers Gold and Silver stood on either side.
"DeFrag Blaster!" they called. "Hardwired!"
"Mainframe Blasters!" Ray and Hilary called in to join them. "Ready!"
Stumbling back, Blok-Head could only wheeze as the three large weapons aimed the molten fissure in his chest. "Talk about a rock and a hard place!"
"FIRE!"
The blaster hounded, joined by the piercing shots of the Mainframe Defenders as the rounds pummeled into their target. With perfect precision, the trio of bullseyes boomed into a blazing ball of fire, shattering Blok-Head into a hundred pieces as his smoking remains clattered along the ground.
But seconds later, a piercing green beam shot down from the sky. Like clockwork, Blok-Head was back, now towering above the city at sky-scraper size.
"Now you can smell what I'm cooking!" he laughed as an enormous stony foot quaked the ground beneath.
Down below, the Rangers readied, and Hilary dialed into the coms for confirmation.
"Jess?" she asked hopefully, "Where are we on the firmware update?"
"Hydraulic Over-Capacitor installed and ready," came the gleeful reply. "You are go for triple Megazords!"
Just the words she wanted to hear. Grinning from ear to ear, Erika nodded to her team before confirming the request with mission controls.
"Then send in the Zords," she declared. "And let's bring them together!"
Tires screeched, engines roaring overhead as all seven mighty vehicles thundered into view. Wasting no time, the Rangers launched themselves high, landing into their cockpits to immediately begin converging in combination. Joining together, the seven Zords merged with their partners, shifting and whirring to form three mechanized giants that rose above the city skyline. As Blok-Head glowered at them, the trio of Megazord stepped together, a unified front of grid-infused horsepower.
"Cyber Security Megazord!"
"Twilight Sever Megazord!"
"SigmaDrive Megazord!"
"ONLINE!"
For all his disadvantage in numbers, Blok-Head seemed far from impressed. "That all you've got? I guess I get to blow up three Zords with one stone!"
Erika ignored him, already hitting switches as she prepared the Cyber Security for a frontal assault. "Alright guys," she ordered. "We're going in hard. Wait for us to make the break and hit him with everything you've got!"
Their strategy worked before, there was no reason it wouldn't work again. Beside her, Abbey and Zeke nodded, her teammates with her all the way. Moments later, cheers of confirmation sounded through the coms.
"Take the lead, Erika!" Hilary affirmed.
"We've got your back!" Miguel agreed.
With the team in agreement, Erika turned to her co-pilots, both of them already cottoning on to her plan.
"Abbey, steady on that aim, we're only getting one shot," she ordered. "Zeke, get ready for the rebuttal."
"On it!" both declared.
"Alright, Rocky," Erika growled, her voice sounding out in a snarling taunt. "Want to see if you can go all the way?"
"I can take anything you throw at me!" Blok-Head insisted. "Just you watch!"
With a smile, Erika slammed the throttle, and the mighty sword materialized in the Cyber Security's hand with a lightning flash. The mechanical warrior surged ahead with the sword glowing hot, and the three-part Megazord thundered forward with break-neck speed. Blok-Head made no attempt to move, standing ready to take the blow with all the confident assurance.
His funeral.
"Cyber Power…" the team called together. "STRIKE!"
The Megazord rocketed past, all power flowing through the blade's tip as it plunged into Blok-Head's chest. The was a blinding flash, a screeching of metal on rock as the giant weapon carved against the stonework.
But for all their power, the monster was still there as the Megazord stopped on the otherwise.
"Shield!" Erika commanded. "NOW!"
Zeke was already a step ahead, dump tray swing to the arm to colliding with Blok-head's crashing fist as the Rangers braced for impact.
"Was that it?" Blok-Head cackled. "You're not much of a wrecking crew!"
But Erika could only smirk, sharing a knowing look with Abbey and Zeke behind their visors as at last she decided to let Blok-Head in on the joke.
"Gotcha!"
"WHAT?"
Spinning around, Blok-Head suddenly saw what he should have been afraid of all along. Two extra Megazord, standing with their weapons primed.
"Guess he shouldn't have left these stones unturned," Ray joked through the coms.
"Now we get to see just how much we can get out of one," Lena smirked eagerly.
The mighty canons erupted as the Cyber Security Megazord swerved out of the way, two converging bursts of energy slamming together as they hit Erika's mark, dead on target.
"Twilight Server… FLASH!"
"SigmaDrive Blasters! Aim…FIRE!"
Blok-Head vanished in a conflux of light, screaming as the blazing energy tore at his form and the inferno burst from within. As the light died and flames subsided, his scorched body remained. But it was only for a moment, and he was already toppling.
"It really was always written in stone!" he bemoaned as he fell.
And then, as his enormous body hit the ground, he exploded. Surging fire erupted from within, bursting from inside as the fragments of his form were incinerated. As the spiraling flames towered into the sky, the three Megazords converged, standing tall together as the city's mighty guardians. Standing united as a team.
Banded together.
"IT'S THE BEEEEEEESST OF BOTH WORLDS!"
Whitney's voice screeched into the microphone, the faces of the patrons squirming as they covered her ears and desperately tried to block out her piercing auditory assault. From her seat, Abbey obliged herself a smile of satisfaction. If Whitney was so determined to strut her stuff for Brockman, then why shouldn't she help out with the sound check? At Abbey's suggestion, no less.
Lena was less amused, insisting that she'd never been so angry that her ears had been programmed without an off-switch, but Abbey assured her that it would all be worth it. Turning to where Abbey had been subtly nodding, Lena quickly grinned as she too caught on. Slowly, all four Rangers and Valerie took note of Brad Brockman standing in wait by the counter of the Hub.
Finishing her song and clearly pleased with herself, Whitney strode off the stage, past a nervously grinning Deryck to make a forward run at Brockman. Still recovering from her banshee-like shrieking, Brockman appeared even more surprised in learning it had been for his benefit.
"Oh, Mr. Brockman?" Whitney purred as she casually leaned on the counter to give him her full attention. "I didn't even see you there."
"Sorry, miss, what was it again?"
"Whiting," Whitney replied eagerly. "Whitney Whiting. I guess, while you're here, I don't suppose you caught any of that soundcheck before?"
Brockman looked away, clearly looking for either an exit or a diplomatic answer before finally settling on, "I did. It was certainly… something."
"I know; it was, wasn't it?" Whiney agreed without really catching on. "I don't like to bust it out too much, it would make everyone else think there's no point in even trying. But I suppose it would be such a shame to keep my talents to myself. Wouldn't you agree?"
Cottoning on quickly to realize that Whitney was not going to take anything resembling a hint, Brockman shifted take, putting on his snake-oil smile to gently let her down.
"You know, you raise a good point," he decided. "I'll have my people call your people. But you'll have to give us a moment, there are contracts and things that would need rearranging first. So don't call us, we'll call you."
"That's fantastic!" Whitney shrilled. "You won't regret it, Mr Brockman!"
"Oh, I'm sure I won't…"
With a skip in her step, Whitney trotted off back to Deryck, standing there grinning with two thumbs up. As the other Rangers at the table sat there giggling, Abbey got up from the table.
"Alright," she decided, breathing in deeply. "My turn."
The others said nothing, save for Val who mouthed a nervous "good luck" as Abbey steeled herself the approach.
"Mr. Brockman?"
As if expecting another ambush from Whitney, Brockman released a heavy of relief as instead, he saw Abbey standing beside him.
"Oh, it's just you," he breathed. "I'll have a decaf soy vanilla mocha with a pair of sweeteners."
"Oh, you think…?" the comment took Abbey aback, but only a moment, lightly giggling as she recomposed herself and got to business. "Sorry, I'm not on the clock today; not for that anyway. Abbey Carmichael, I'm here representing Miss Nishimura."
At the word 'representing', Brockman suddenly took far greater interest.
"I'm sorry, there seems to have been a mistake," he noted. "I thought I was…"
"Sorry, I misspoke," Abbey smiled. "I'm not a talent manager, I'm her legal counsel. And I'm here to formally decline your offer on her behalf."
For what may have been the first time in his life, Brad Brockman looked absolutely gobsmacked, as if being turned down was something he'd never considered.
But Abbey went on, "Erika feels that her talents are best suited to her current group, and will not be requiring your services or support in the future. As her counsel, I should warn that any further communications should go through me and it would be ill-advised to bother Miss Nishimura with an attempt to change her mind."
"This is ridiculous…"
"And finally," Abbey warned sternly. "The School Faculty of Lakeview High would also like to caution you about approaching minors regarding business arrangements without either legal counsel or their guardians present. We wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong ideas, would we?"
Abbey practiced, sweet stoneface looked sternly as she watched Brockman attempt to maintain his own calm resolve, his jaw twitching as his eyes flared with fury.
"Very funny kid," he decided. "But you're no lawyer. If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to speak with Erika face to face."
Of course, he did; exactly what they'd been expecting.
"I'll have to confer with my client," Abbey said coolly. "Take a seat, she'll be right out."
And then, with the effort it took to hide her smirking, Abbey spun her heels and strutted backstage, ready to deliver the message and Erika's rebuttal.
There sure were a lot of people out there.
Letting out a shuddered breath, Erika pulled back from her peep behind the curtain, desperately trying to settle her nerves before heading to the stage. She shouldn't have been this worried, she'd been doing this for weeks now.
And yet, this time it felt different, like Erika was stepping out before a crowd for the first time all over again. But last time, she'd felt alone, nervously trying to impress people she barely knew. This time, her friends were beside her.
"Hey," Jas smiled earnestly, bass already in her hands like she was ready to leap out. "You've got this."
"Yeah," Melody insisted. "Brockman was a snake. You're better off without him."
"It's not that," Erika replied. "I guess I just… I want you to know that as much as I had a blast with those other musicians, the whole reason I went in the first place was because I wanted him to give you a shot as well."
"We know turning him down is a big deal," said Jasmine. "It's not like you're going to get another chance at Battle of the Bands."
But that was where Erika smiled, finally voicing a plan that had been forming in her head from the moment she'd learned Brockman's true nature. "Oh, I'm not giving up on that. In fact, I plan on winning the whole damn thing with the best band beside me."
It took Melody and Jasmine a moment, sharing a wide-eyed of astoundment before checking they heard right.
"Are you serious?" Jasmine asked. "You think we can win it?"
"But we won't get some VIP entry," Melody warned. "We'd have to get through the audition round."
"Come on," Erika assured them. "The way we work up a crowd? We've got that audition in the bag. The three of us together? We're unstoppable."
As Jasmine and Moldy came around to the idea, Abbey slid in from the front of house. "He's ready for your rebuttal," she smiled eagerly.
"Thanks, Abs," Erika replied before turning to her two bandmates. "You guys ready to bring down the house?"
"Oh yeah!"
"Let's do it!"
As Abbey beamed with excited satisfaction, the three-piece band took to the stage to the roar of the adoring crowd. There Brockman was, still standing at the counter and looking quietly disgruntled, catching Erika's eye with a serious, silent question. It only made Erika smile wider.
"What's up Lakeview?" she called out, earning an excited cheer in response. "This first one goes out to a very special person."
And then she hit the strings, the chords rebounding up and down as they bent along the neck and Jas hit the baseline to join her. As Melody's drumbeat upped the tempo, Erika's finger shifted down the frets, slamming a sharp trill of notes to build the tune. With the crowd bouncing and cheering she drew them into the song, Erika stepped up to the mic to sing:
"You say
you adore me,
But your eyes
tell a story I've heard before.
And damn boy you must think I'm dumb,
As if I didn't know about the things you've done.
Got a girl
in every city,
but somehow
you're still lonely. I'm not the one
to sit around waiting by my phone
While you're wasted telling other girls they're beautiful.
So why don't we just call it what it is?
We both know we're getting what we give.
You say you
really wanna change,
But all you do is talk, talk, talk,
then walk the same way.
I say
what you don't wanna say:
I think we better stop, stop, stop,
before it's too late.
Don't say you wanna stay forever.
We both know that I know you better.
You say
you really wanna change,
But all you do is talk, talk, talk...
Talk, talk, talk, talk!
Baby, you know all you do
Is keep talking me back to you.
Your words don't mean a thing,
'Cause I'm done listening!
The music slowed the chords, sharp distortion strumming as they built back from breakdown. Seizing her moment, Erika grabbed the mic to pull it close, locking her eyes with Brockman in a daring glare. A firm rebuttal to any offer he was giving.
"All you do is talk!
All you do is talk!
All you ever do is talk, talk, TALK, TALK!"
"You say
you really wanna change,
But all you do is talk, talk, talk,
then walk the same way.
I say
what you don't wanna say:
I think we better stop, stop, stop,
before it's too late.
Don't say you wanna stay forever.
We both know that I know you better.
You say
you really wanna change,
But all you do is talk, talk, talk...
Talk, talk, talk, talk!
The band hit the final notes, a victory lap of the tune as the patrons moved to the beat. Falling into the embrace of the tempo, Erika shot a look around the room. Whiney, sulking from an obvious rejection. Abbey, beaming with pride and an air of satisfaction. Valerie was wide-eyed and awestruck as Lena, Miguel, and Zeke continued grooving beside her. And Brockman, scowling at her words, storming out of the Hub having finally got the message.
"Talk, talk, talk, yeah…"
With fresh a smirk flickering on her lips, Erika plucked the final notes, ready for the battle ahead. A battle she'd face with her friends.
NEXT TIME:
In reviewing their information on Xaviax, Lena uncovers a name once found by Ray and Hilary, the name of the man responsible for her original programming. Wanting to learn more about her origins, Lena decides to meet him, but discovers that the concept of lineage is much more complicated than she thought. Meanwhile, Whitney puts her plan to discredit the Rangers into motion, and quickly puts the identities of the entire team at risk.
Is Lena prepared to learn who and what her father really is?
Will finding family be what finally makes her feel whole?
And how can the team stop Lakeview's queen bee from learning their identities, or will she expose them to the world?
Find out next time on:
POWER RANGERS
SERVER FORCE
Where the Heart is
Power Rangers: Server Force is a fan-made team of Rangers, and not explicitly based on any other existing Rangers or Sentai property, with artwork character models created through Hero Forge.
Power Rangers- Sever Force updates on Tuesdays and Fridays. If you like what you read, you can always drop a comment to let me know, and don't forget to subscribe/ follow to find out the second I update.
Thank you and Goodnight (2011)
Written and Performed by: Tonight Alive
Courtesy of: Sony Music Entertainment
One Hell of a Team (2020)
Written & Performed by: Amalee & Divide Music
Courtesy of: Leegion Creative
Talk (2015)
Written by: Chrissy Costanza, Dave Gow & Will Ferri
Performed By: Against the Current
Courtesy of: Pulse Publishing Administration