"What do you mean, 'not cut out for it'?" Kyron Matthews couldn't believe his ears. He had just been given this awesome new power, and now, his science teacher-turned-mentor was trying to take it back.
"I'm sorry, Kyron," Dr. Aiden Lorne replied. "I thought I made the right choice when I saw you go up against that Digidrone; but honestly, you're just too… reckless. Too impulsive. Your team needs a Red Ranger they can rely on, not one that's always charging into battle without a plan."
Kyron was shocked. "So, that's it, then?" he asked. "I'm just supposed to hand over my Morpher and pretend like none of this ever happened?"
"I'm afraid so," replied Aiden, extending his hand. "That's exactly what I'm asking you to do."
A mix of emotions stirred within Kyron. Who was Aiden to call him impulsive? But the Delta Code was Dr. Lorne's invention, and he had the final say. Reluctantly, Kyron handed over his Morpher and stormed out of the lab.
Later, Kyron ran into Mason on the football field at Copper Harbor High. He hadn't planned on talking to anyone, but Mason stopped him in his tracks. "Kyron, wait up!"
Kyron turned to him, his expression hardening.
"Look, man," said Mason. "I just wanted to say–"
"Say what?" Kyron snapped. "That Dr. Lorne was right? That I'm too reckless to be a hero?"
"What? No," his friend replied. "Just that we all mess up sometimes. But you're still our friend."
Kyron softened ever so slightly, the frustration still evident in his eyes, but there was a new emotion there now too. "It doesn't matter," he said finally. "Being a Ranger was my one chance to get closer to Selena. And I blew it. Big time."
"Hey," Mason shrugged. "At least she knows your name now."
Kyron looked at him, and the two friends couldn't help but let out a laugh.
Hexa walked into the throne room of Lord Zero's citadel. The digital overlord was sitting on his throne, and didn't seem too phased by Hexa's surprise appearance. "My lord," she said sweetly. "I've found a general from your army who's promised me he can defeat the Power Rangers!"
"Have you, now?" Lord Zero asked coldly, showing little interest. "And who exactly might this general be?"
A Glitch, who appeared to be a humanoid shark-like creature with circuitry running across his body, pushed past Hexa. "Shockbait at your service, my Lord," he announced.
Lord Zero groaned disapprovingly. "Shockbait, everyone knows you're nothing but an overconfident liar. What makes you so sure you can destroy the Rangers?"
Shockbait flexed his mouth-shaped left hand. "One bite of their morphers," he declared, "and their circuits will be fried!"
"Oh, fine," Lord Zero sighed reluctantly. "But if you fail me, Shockbait, I will destroy you myself."
"Ooh, goody!" Shockbait chuckled as he and Hexa turned around and headed out of the throne room.
"I am going to regret this…" Lord Zero muttered.
"Watch where you're going, punk!" Jordan Reese grunted, shoving into Kyron as the two lined up at the school cafeteria.
"What are you on about?" Kyron snapped. "You hit me!"
"You callin' me a liar?"
"No," Kyron retorted. "I'm calling you an insecure bully who feels the need to push others down in order to feel good about himself."
"Why, you little–!"
"Move along!" shouted the lunch lady from across the buffet. "You're holding up the line!"
"I've got my eye on you, punk!" Jordan whispered hoarsely as the two boys moved up the counter.
Just then, Kyron noticed Tony, Selena and Mason hurrying out of the cafeteria. He thought for only a moment, then set down his tray and followed them.
"Where are you goin' now?" Jordan demanded, following him.
Sure enough, Tony, Selena and Mason met up with Dr. Lorne in the hallway leading to the staff lounge. "There's trouble downtown," Aiden said in a low voice. "Let's go." Then, he noticed Kyron and Jordan, his gaze shifting between the two. "You two should be back in the cafeteria," he said finally.
Kyron, feeling dejected and confused, turned and headed back, but Jordan had other ideas. "Not until I figure out what's goin' on," he muttered to himself, before discreetly following his other classmates.
Meanwhile, cars screeched to a halt in downtown Copper Harbor as Shockbait walked down the street, terrorizing civilians. Then, he spotted some power lines. "Those look tasty!" he cackled, reaching up for them with his left hand. The cables sparked furiously until finally, one of the power poles exploded, toppling over in a ball of fire. "Once I do the same to the Rangers' Morphers, they'll be shark food!"
"We'll cut through the alleyway," Aiden suggested as Selena and Mason followed him out. "It'll be quicker than driving around in the car." Tony, meanwhile, split off from the rest of the group after exchanging a quick nod with the teacher.
Little did the team know that Jordan had followed them out, shadowing them as they ran between the buildings.
"Hey, fishbreath!" called Selena as they approached the scene of Shockbait's rampage. "Dinner's off! Ready?"
"Ready!" replied Mason.
"Delta Code, download!" the pair called in unison, transforming into their blue and yellow Ranger uniforms.
"Digidrones, get them!" Shockbait commanded.
"Let's go!" said Selena.
"Right behind you!" replied Mason.
Jordan, meanwhile, could hardly believe what he was witnessing. He watched from the shadows as the Rangers summoned their Delta Sabers and fought off the Digidrones, blinking several times to make sure he wasn't imagining things. Nope, his classmates were still there, dressed as superheroes and destroying robots with swords.
The messy-haired bully was so distracted, he didn't notice Dr. Lorne backing into him. "Jordan?"
"Man, I wish Kyron were here," Selena remarked as she and Mason sparred against the last of the Digidrones.
"I'll make sure to tell him that next time I see him," joked Mason.
Jordan stood facing his science teacher, unsure of what he was going to say to him. But to Jordan's surprise, Dr. Lorne wasn't saying anything to him. Instead, Aiden was nodding slightly, as if studying him. "What kind of teacher are you?" Jordan asked finally.
"Let's start with a better question," Aiden replied. "What kind of student are you?"
"Wha…?"
"Jordan Reece," the doctor went on. "Sixteen years old, tough, strong, infamous high school bully. But perhaps, beneath his tough persona, there's an insecure little kid who feels like he has something to prove."
Jordan looked away with a lot on his mind. Since when did his science teacher know him like he was a therapist or a psychic?
Aiden pulled something strange out of his pocket: a sleek, red device with a wrist strap on the bottom. "Why don't you prove to the world what you're really made of?"
Jordan wasn't sure. He couldn't tell if Aiden was joking or not. What teacher would be crazy enough to offer, in their own words, "the infamous school bully" the opportunity to become a superhero? But the look in Dr. Lorne's eyes was sincere.
"The team needs a Red Ranger to lead them, Jordan," Aiden went on. "The fact that you doubt yourself shows me you have what it takes."
Just then, Mason began sparring with the big, ugly shark-robot-creature-thing, which grabbed his left arm with its right.
"Time for a snack," Shockbait cackled, biting Mason's Morpher with his left hand. The Yellow Ranger's Morpher shot out sparks, and in a flash, Mason's Ranger uniform disappeared. "One down!" declared Shockbait. "Once I've taken Blue down, we can take your Morphers back to the Digiverse and reverse-engineer them!"
Jordan yanked the Morpher out of Aiden's hand, his eyes narrowing. "Hey!" he called out, catching Shockbait's attention. "No one bullies my classmates but me!" With that, he strapped the Morpher to his left wrist and mimicked the movements he'd seen Selena and Mason do. "Delta Code, download!"
Red ones and zeros rained from the sky and down Jordan's left arm, swiftly transforming him into a red and black spandex suit with mesh insets. A red helmet with a black visor resembling a bird's open beak surrounded his head. The surge of power flowing through Jordan's body was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. "Alright, I could get used to this!"
Mason picked himself up and looked back, confusion written on his face. "Kyron?"
"Guess again," replied Jordan, smiling behind his helmet as he helped him up. "Sorry about everything I've done." With that, he ran over to Selena's side. "Alright, let's turn this guy into fish chow!"
"Who…?" Selena began. "I'm not even gonna ask. Tidal Spear, download!"
Tony's voice crackled in Jordan's ear. "Whoever just morphed into Delta Code Red, this is your tech guy. Follow Selena's lead and call on your Phoenix Saber."
Jordan did as instructed, pulling one of the miniaturized USB drives from his utility belt and plugging it into his Morpher. "Phoenix Saber, download!" he called.
A magnificent sword with a bird-like design integrated into the hilt appeared before him, first as a floating mass of ones and zeros, then solid metal.
"Oh, goody!" exclaimed Shockbait. "Another Ranger!"
"Open wide!" quipped Jordan, swinging his sword across Shockbait's ugly, sharklike face.
"Ow! I just got that one filled!" the Glitch moaned.
"He's weakened!" came Tony's voice again. "Do your thing, Red!"
"Let's fry this fish!" Jordan said to Selena.
"Right!"
"You think you can take me?" Shockbait asked, trying to sound brave. "I'm just getting warmed up!"
"Then, let me help you out!" Jordan quipped. "Phoenix Saber, Blazing Slash!"
"Uh-oh!"
"Final Strike!"
"YEOWWW!" exclaimed Shockbait, but he had little time to recover.
"Looks like I've caught a big one!" Selena yelled, leaping forward and thrusting her spear into the Glitch. Both Rangers turned away and struck a pose.
"Ahh! I'm FIN-ished!" cried Shockbait as he fell to the ground in a fiery explosion behind them.
"Glitch removed!" Selena declared impressively.
"Well, well, what a surprise," Lord Zero huffed sarcastically. "Shockbait failed. I had promised that I was going to destroy him myself, so your next plan had better work, Hexa!"
"Of course it will, my lord, of course!" Hexa cooed, trying to soothe Lord Zero's attitude. As she turned away and headed back out of the throne room, a mix of fear and determination spread across her face. As she exited the throne room, she needed to vent somehow, so she knocked over one of the Digidrones standing guard outside.
"Wait, so you're telling me the guy who's been beating us up since 9th grade is on our side now?" Mason could hardly believe what he was hearing as the Rangers made their way back into the underground lab.
"Believe me," chuckled Jordan. "I surprised myself as well. But Doc's right, I was just insecure and felt like I needed to prove myself. I guess becoming a Ranger just gave me the purpose I was missing."
"So, when do we tell Kyron?" asked Mason.
"Do we tell him?" Selena countered. "I mean, our identities are supposed to be secret, right?"
The lab fell silent. Selena looked to Jordan, who looked to Tony, who looked to Dr. Lorne. None of them could think of how to answer. Finally, the awkward silence got the better of Mason, who burst out laughing, prompting the others to do likewise.