Bolts of electricity shot through the air, and lines of ones and zeros hung in the sky. The female figure's body swayed gracefully as she strode along the futuristic pathway, her sleek, form-fitting top laced with circuitry that seemed to disappear into her skirt, which was constantly glitching like a hologram.
"Who dares disturb Lord Zero?" The dark, imposing figure on the throne looked up through the T-shaped visor in his helmet, an eerie yet futuristic bluish glow emanating from within. The female figure said nothing and just smirked up at him from behind her cybernetic right eye. "Oh, it's you, Hexa," Lord Zero sighed dismissively. "What do you want?"
"My lord," Hexa cooed, caressing the dark figure's helmet. "Look around, and tell me what you see."
Lord Zero did, his eyes scanning the digital world around them. "I see an entire empire under my reign," he finally replied. "An army of warriors under my command, should any dare oppose me."
"Well…" Hexa continued, nuzzling against Lord Zero's armor. "I think it's about time you put them to use. The Digiverse is impressive, but it is rather small, when you think about it…"
"What are you suggesting, Hexa?"
"I believe," she purred, "that we have found a way to access the human world." With that, she extended her right hand, the circuitry emitting a faint glow. Moments later, a pixelated rift appeared before her, showing a quiet city by a beach on the other side.
Lord Zero looked on, his body language giving away his amazement, even though his face remained hidden behind his visor. "How is that possible?"
Hexa dodged the question. "The humans can't see it yet," she went on, "but I believe, if we send a few Digidrones through, the humans will cower and submit without a fight."
Lord Zero peered through the rift at the city. It looked so different to everything he had known: the architecture, the beach, the clear, blue sky.
"Wouldn't you like another world to call your own?" Hexa asked slyly, turning to look at him.
The Digiverse's ruler hesitated for a moment, Hexa's words echoing in his artificial mind. "Another world to call your own…" "Very well," he said finally. "Send some Digidrones through and make sure it's safe to traverse."
"That's just what I wanted to hear," Hexa grinned wickedly as she wrapped her hand around his forearm, slowly sliding it down before letting go at his wrist.
Kyron Matthews hurdled over the ventilation unit, judging the gap between the roof he was on and the one ahead. The stakes were too high, and there was no turning back now. He leaped across the gap, landing on a window ledge on the other side, before hopping across to a metal drainpipe. From there, he jumped up, his fingers grabbing the roof above him, and used the rest of his momentum to swing himself up. He quickly rolled back up onto his feet, taking a flying leap across another alley. His destination was just up ahead. He sprinted across the rooftop, taking one last leap and landing with a roll, before immediately getting himself up and sprinting to the roof access doors, slamming his hand against the wall, his breathing raspy and his chest heaving. Moments later, Mason Grant burst through the doors, panting. "How do you always do it?" the well-built, messy-haired teenager asked his friend.
Kyron, his blond hair swept up out of his face, just smiled, still catching his breath. "Doesn't matter," he panted. "It's settled, Mason. You owe me your soda at lunch tomorrow." Kyron had a tall, athletic build, but Mason had more visible muscle and could undoubtedly lift more at the gym. The two friends headed to the edge of the building and looked out at the beach far below.
Mason followed Kyron's gaze directly to the lifeguard post. "Dude, just go up and say hi to her," he said.
Kyron just laughed lightly, feeling his cheeks flush slightly. "Easy for you to say, Bruce Banner."
"Hey," Mason replied. "Maybe she likes taller guys. You'll never know until you talk to her."
"She's, like, the hottest girl in our class, and a part-time lifeguard," Kyron said, shaking his head. "What makes you think she'll go for a guy like me?"
"Alright then," Mason shrugged. "Have fun getting married to your own insecurity."
"Wh– Hey!" called Kyron as his muscular friend walked off. "What are you–?"
"Well?" Mason interrupted, opening the doors leading to the stairs back down the building they were on. "You coming or not?"
"Mason Grant, I am going to end you for this," Kyron joked as he hurried after his friend towards the beach.
The sun hung high above the beach, casting golden light over the shimmering sand and crystal-blue waters. Selena Vega, with her caramel skin glowing in the sun, scanned the coastline from the lifeguard post, her sharp, focused eyes hidden behind mirrored sunglasses. Her long black hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, and she wore the familiar red-and-yellow lifeguard swimsuit, the whistle dangling around her neck catching the light.
Kyron's gaze was locked onto her as he and Mason approached the beach. "Dude, I don't know about this," Kyron muttered, his heart pounding in his chest—not from the rooftop race, but from the prospect of talking to her. "She's way out of my league."
"She's a lifeguard, man, not an alien queen," Mason teased, shoving Kyron's shoulder lightly as they walked across the sand. "Besides, she's in our class. What's the worst that could happen? She'll know your name after this, for better or worse."
Kyron sighed, knowing Mason wouldn't let up until he at least tried. He rubbed the back of his neck, taking a deep breath as they closed the gap between them and Selena's post. He tried to push back the nervousness that made his throat dry. You've jumped across rooftops, he tried to tell himself. This is nothing.
Selena, unaware of their approach, stood with her arms folded, watching the waves crash in gentle rhythm. A group of kids played in the distance, laughing as they kicked a beach ball back and forth. Everything seemed calm, like it always did on a summer day.
"Hey," Mason said suddenly, clapping Kyron on the back. "There's your chance. She's not busy. Just go say hi."
"Easy for you to say…" Kyron muttered, his voice low, glancing nervously at Selena.
But before Mason could offer another retort, a strange sound echoed across the beach—a low hum, like static crackling in the distance. It was faint at first, barely noticeable, but it quickly grew louder, buzzing like an electric storm. The hair on Kyron's arms stood on end.
"What the…?" Selena mumbled, pulling off her sunglasses and squinting down the beach. The children stopped playing, confused looks crossing their faces.
The air near the source of the noise seemed to distort, almost as if smoke from a fire was altering the view behind it. Out of the blue, tiny ones and zeros appeared, grouping together to form the shape of a humanoid figure, as if stepping out from behind an invisible wall.
The figure's armor glowed with a cold metallic sheen, its body covered in what looked like pieces of circuitry it wore as armor. Pulsing blue lights ran down its arms and legs, and its face seemed to resemble a circuit board.
People screamed, dropping towels and beach gear as they scrambled to run in every direction. Parents grabbed their kids, retreating toward the boardwalk. But the three teenagers—Kyron, Mason, and Selena—stood frozen in place, staring at the figure with wide eyes.
Selena immediately snapped into action, instinct taking over. She sprinted forward, sliding down the ladder from the lifeguard post and landing smoothly on the sand. "Everyone, clear the beach!" she shouted, waving her arms to direct the panicked crowd.
Kyron's feet refused to move. He'd seen strange things before, but this…this was something else. "Mason…" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
"I see it," Mason replied, his eyes locked on the armored figure. "That's not normal."
The armored figure tilted its head slightly, as if scanning the area. It raised one arm, and the blue lights along its gauntlet began to flicker. A high-pitched whine filled the air, building to a crescendo as energy crackled in its hand.
"Kyron, we gotta move!" Mason urged, grabbing his friend by the arm and pulling him toward the edge of the beach. But Kyron's gaze was fixed on Selena, who had taken charge of the situation, ushering people away while keeping her eyes locked on the intruder.
Selena glanced over her shoulder at the boys. "Get out of here!" she shouted, but there was no fear in her voice—just determination. She reached into the lifeguard post and pulled out a metal baton, not knowing what good it would do against the armored figure, but she wasn't one to back down.
Just as Kyron was about to respond, the armored figure's weapon glowed a brilliant blue. It pointed its arm toward a nearby lifeguard stand, and a bolt of energy shot out, vaporizing the structure in an instant.
BOOM!
The explosion rocked the beach, sending sand and debris flying everywhere. The crowd's screams intensified, but Kyron didn't move. He looked between the wreckage and Selena, who was standing her ground, eyes narrowed.
"Mason, we can't leave her!" Kyron shouted over the chaos. "She's going to get herself killed!"
Mason hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, man, but just so you know, you're crazy!"
Together, they ran toward Selena, who was glaring up at the armored figure, defiant and unafraid.
"Selena!" Kyron yelled as they closed in. "Get out of here! It's not safe!"
She didn't turn around. Instead, she gripped her baton tighter, staring the armored figure down.
"I'm not leaving until I know what this thing is."
And then, as if on cue, the figure's voice boomed across the beach, cold and mechanical: "The Digiverse has declared war on the human realm. Surrender, or face extinction."
Kyron's heart skipped a beat. He exchanged a quick look with Mason, his mind racing. This was way bigger than any of them realized.
Little did the teenagers know, a man in his mid-30s or 40s was watching the scene unfold from across the street. "The Digiverse?" He mused to himself. "No, it can't be. How did they…" Then, he spotted the teenagers standing their ground against the invader.
"We're with you, Selena," Kyron called through the chaos. "Let's do this!" With that, he rushed forward, directly towards this unfamiliar threat.
"No!" Selena shouted. "Get–" but he was already closing the distance. Kyron leaped into the air, throwing a flying kick against the enemy. It stumbled backward, but quickly recovered. Just then, a blade slid out of its hand, glowing with that same otherworldly energy that seemed to pulse throughout its entire body.
"Oh, I think I messed up," was all Kyron could say as he fell back onto the sand in a heap, preparing himself for the worst.
Selena's baton met the intruder's blade with a metallic clank, mitigating its blow. The lifeguard met the alien's gaze with a steely glare. She knew she didn't have this kind of strength and was running on pure adrenaline, but she wasn't about to let up. Thankfully, she didn't have to hold her position long, as Mason jumped up onto the attacker's back, pulling its arm away from Selena and Kyron. "Get away from my friends!" He yelled, leaping off the invader's back as it turned to face him. Mason dodged its swings and managed to land a few punches before Selena diverted its attention with her baton.
The older man had seen enough and pulled out his phone, opening an app he had programmed himself. Tapping furiously, he sped through several layers of encryption, and soon had access to the teens' smart devices. He swiped up and watched the scene unfold, waiting for what was coming next. "I hope this works…" he said to himself.
Mason reached a hand down to Kyron. "Hey, come on man, get up."
Kyron was still a little dazed. "She… she saved my life…"
"Yeah? Well, now we need to save hers. Fight now, crush later!"
Kyron watched as Selena continued to spar against the otherworldly assailant, and quickly took his friend's hand as he helped him to his feet. Just then, their phones started vibrating. It wasn't an incoming message notification or anything, just a constant buzz. They pulled them out of their pockets. Kyron's was showing red ones and zeros raining down his screen from top to bottom, and Mason had a similar graphic, only his was yellow. The two friends exchanged a look, then tapped their screens.
Glowing lines of binary code ran down the boys' arms, spreading throughout their bodies. In flashes of red and yellow light, both found themselves wearing what looked like well-made spandex in their respective colors, with breathable mesh fabric inserts. The left sleeve and side of their torso was mainly black with a design mimicking that of the strange code that had just surged through them. A shiny, silver belt clung to their waists, and twin sashes hung over their shoulders, resembling a fighter jet's seatbelts. Their black mesh gloves also had highlights in a similar silver color.
In another bright flash, both found themselves wearing armored, full-face helmets, their black visors imitating the open mouths of different creatures, with Kyron's being more reptilian and Mason's appearing more bovine. The two friends looked at each other, feeling a rush of power like nothing they'd ever felt before. They charged forward, attacking the invading monster with perfectly-synchronized strikes.
Selena looked at them in shock. "How did you–?"
"Check your phone," Kyron replied quickly from behind his red helmet, before dealing another blow.
Selena was confused, but quickly ran back over to the remains of the lifeguard stand, where her bag had, miraculously, remained intact. Sure enough, a faint, blue glow emanated from within. She pulled out her phone, which showed blue lines of binary code running down her screen, and gave it a tap.
Within moments, her appearance was transformed to one similar to the boys', wearing a light blue spandex suit and helmet with a serpentine design on the visor, only she had the addition of a mini-skirt around her waist. "Whoa…" She gasped, looking at her hands, before charging back into the battle.
"Yes!" The older spectator pulled his fist down from the air, watching the fight unfold.
"Oh, man, this is epic!" Mason shouted. "I feel stronger than ever!"
"Hey, guys!" Selena called, running up to them.
Kyron gave her a double-take, trying to stay focused.
"Yo, lover-boy!" Mason called. "Heads up!"
Kyron ducked as their enemy swung its blade over his head, then jumped up and kicked its forearm, forcing the blade into its wielder.
"AGH!" the alien let out a scream as sparks flew from its armor.
"So you can feel pain?" Kyron mused. "Alright, guys, let's finish this, on three. One, two…"
All three heroes leaped forward, landing blows to the attacker's head from all directions. Dazed, the alien stumbled backward, falling back through the invisible rift it had come through, its body disappearing into flakes of black, blue and purple binary code, which soon dissolved into thin air.
Mason, still in the yellow armor that had materialized on his body, looked to Kyron. "What just happened?"
"Did we just fight an alien?" asked Selena.
"Did we just become superheroes?" Kyron countered.
"Uh, guys?" asked Mason. "How do we power down?" Just then, his suit disappeared into fragments of code.
"Power down," Kyron and Selena repeated in unison, their suits likewise disappearing.
"Okay, now that was crazy," said Mason.
"Rangers!" The three teenagers turned to the source of the voice as the older man, his brown beard cut short around his face, ran up to them.
"Dr. Lorne?" Kyron asked, his expression mirroring the surprise of his friends.
Dr. Lorne held up his phone, which showed the unique app, displaying red, yellow, and blue humanoid silhouettes. "Follow me."
"You failed?" Hexa repeated, an exaggerated, pouty frown on her face.
"The humans are not docile," the Digidrone answered in a mechanical drone. "They showed resilience."
Hexa slapped the machine across its face. "Gather as many of you as you can find," she ordered coldly, her eyebrows narrowing.
The Digidrone limped away, still suffering from the injury it had sustained from its own blade.
"I love ordering those things around," Hexa sighed with a wicked grin. "Now, to talk to Lord Zero…" She took a deep breath, then put on a pleasant and alluring expression as she walked towards the throne room with a seductive gait. "Hello, my Lord," she said chipperly as she approached the throne. "So… it seems the humans are a little bit stronger than I gave them credit for. But, we might still be able to conquer their realm for you, if I could perhaps… borrow one of your soldiers…?" She purred, nuzzling his shoulder as her hand crawled up his chest.
"Wait, slow down," said Mason, still trying to wrap his head around the situation as Dr. Lorne led the trio into an abandoned warehouse near the harbor. "You turned us into superheroes, Aiden?"
"Not superheroes," the professor replied. "Power Rangers. And, please, Mason, I know we're not at school, but I'd appreciate it if you still called me Dr. Lorne."
"Yes, Sir," Mason replied meekly as Aiden fiddled with an unassuming padlock on a shipping container in the back of the warehouse.
"Can you explain to me what we're doing here again, Doctor?" Selena asked, looking around awkwardly. "This place gives me the creeps."
Aiden heaved open the container doors, revealing a hidden staircase leading underneath the warehouse, a faint, white glow emanating from the bottom. "Like I said, I found out about the Digiverse long ago, so I created the Delta Code to link up with the Morphin' Grid," he explained. "I can control it from my phone, but if Hexa's found a way to cross the divide, you're gonna need something more… convenient." He began descending the staircase. "Well, don't just stand there. Don't you want to see your new base?"
Kyron, Mason and Selena followed their enigmatic science teacher down the secret passageway, which opened up into a vast, underground chamber, brightly lit and covered in all kinds of computers and machinery. Their eyes widened as they took it all in. All the while, Kyron was wondering if it was all a dream. After all, what were the chances his best friend and his crush were now his superhero partners?
"Welcome to my secret lab," Aiden smiled. "I trust you know our tech support agent?"
A somewhat beefy boy with glasses and short, dark hair spun around in an office chair to look at the newcomers. "Oh," he smiled. "Hey, guys."
"Tony?" Kyron asked, shocked.
"So, you really are the teacher's pet, then!" Mason joked.
"Rangers," Aiden's voice echoed through the lab. "Over here." He led them to a table, where three small devices had been laid out. "These," he announced proudly, "are your Delta Morphers. They'll help you access the Delta Code, and your Ranger powers, whenever you need them. The activation phrase is, 'Delta Code, Download.'"
The two boys both picked up their respective colored Morphers, strapping them to their left wrists. Selena, meanwhile, seemed hesitant. "It's okay, Selena," Aiden smiled. "They're fully waterproof."
That was all Selena needed to hear. She picked up her Morpher and strapped it to her wrist.
"Not exactly discreet, though…" Mason mused half-sarcastically, looking at the strange piece of tech now attached to his wrist.
"Sure they are," called Tony, getting up from his chair and walking over. He waved his hand above Mason's arm in a downward motion from his elbow to his hand, and the device disappeared as if it were a hologram, leaving behind a sleek, round face resembling a quality smartwatch. The others mimicked Tony's action, their Morphers likewise disappearing.
"The watches are fully functional," Aiden continued, "and can link up to your phones via Bluetooth. They also have a built-in radio transceiver and distress beacon, so you can stay in contact even without service or your phones." He nodded to Tony, who went back to his desk and tapped a few keys, bringing up an image displaying likenesses of Lord Zero and Hexa on a large screen behind the professor.
"This is your enemy," Dr. Lorne explained. "Lord Zero, on the left, is a ruthless tyrant who rules the Digiverse with an iron fist. If they've managed to get into our world, then I'd guess his right-hand maiden, Hexa, is responsible. This would allow Digidrones and other Glitches to cross over into our reality."
"Digidrones?" Kyron asked, confused.
"Foot soldiers," Aiden elaborated, "like the one you fought earlier on the beach."
"That was just a foot soldier?" Selena was shocked. They'd barely escaped that fight.
Aiden nodded. "And you're going to have to fight a lot more of them – and worse – if you want to defeat Lord Zero. Fortunately…" He waved his hand over the screen, which turned off and tilted down in segments, revealing hidden shelves with specialized weapons on them. "You'll have these next time you go into battle."
"Any idea when that'll be?" Kyron asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"If I had to guess–" Aiden was cut off by an alarm, which blared through the lab. Tony started tapping furiously on the keyboards, bringing up CCTV footage showing dozens of Digidrones swarming the beach. "... Hexa's already making her next move," the doctor finished. The teens looked at each other, a mix of worry, concern, and determination in their eyes. "Briefing's over, Rangers; it's time to defend our reality."
To be continued…