Episode 17

The Ghost in the Machine

There was something electric about the air within the lair, and Ender was certainly enjoying it. It didn't matter that the Rangers had blown up his last monster; it had been a draft design anyway, a throwaway for such an occasion. Not only did they now know about the Ranger's new Megazord, but more importantly, they could see that their plan was beginning to work. The Rangers were beginning to crack, the constant pressure causing them to make mistakes and scramble for desperate solutions. Which meant sooner or later, one of them would turn on the rest in frustration.

Maybe it was already happening? That whole clone situation had been unexpected, but boy, had it been fun! He should have kicked back with the popcorn, or at the very least saved the tapes for rerun viewing.

Of course, not all were enjoying the situation.

"You know," Ender said his brooding comrade behind him. "If you pace any more, I'll have to assume there's a glitch in your programming."

"We should start by looking at yours," ArcKnight growled back. "I have always said there was something wrong with you."

"Will you relax?" Ender replied. "The Rangers are rattled, they're far too occupied by their problems to be thinking about us. Or are you still bitter about having to retreat?"

"It is an insult. A warrior of my esteem should never be forced to run from a victory!"

"And yet…" said a whispered voice from the darkened corner of the room, "victory was not assured."

Both Ender and ArcKnight spun on the spot, kneeling as they realized the presence of their master.

"My Lord Xaviax!" ArcKnight spluttered. "I did not wish to cast aspersions on your plan! I merely…"

"I understand, ArcKnight," Xaviax mused. "It is not your nature to dwell on the broader tactics. Your role is to fight, and you do so admirably. But this is not a war that can be won with brute force alone, and as such, we must keep you in reserve until the time is right."

At that, Ender couldn't help but smile in amusement. For all his strength, ArcKnight was little more than a blunt instrument; a hammer in eternal search of a nail.

"Mileena's defection was an unfortunate setback," said Xaviax. "And in increasing their numbers the Rangers now pose a greater threat."

"Oh, ArcKnight," Ender snickered. "I'm sure even you can do basic math, to know that five is worse for us than three."

"I would hold that smirk, Ender," Xaviax warned. "Do not forget that it was your creation that failed and then betrayed us. Reaching as far as you did with the Dark Ranger and bringing back Gideon's old henchmen has also cost us dearly."

Ender's jaw grimaced, the smile dropping to a scowl as his master reminded him of past failure. Setbacks, yes, ones he should have foreseen and circumvented. But they were not insurmountable. Not when they brought new opportunities.

"But you see, oh Grand Duplicitousness," Ender assured. "Why see it as a failure, when it has the potential to gain us so much more?"

"Fool," ArcKnight scoffed. "Mileena has betrayed us, and she has no incentive to return."

"The Mileena we knew is a traitor, yes," Ender agreed. "But at the moment she may still be of use to us."

Xaviax turned, lounging back on his throne to let his dark cloak fold around the edges. Mask lowered, the monster could tell that beneath the concealing iron mask, his master's interest was piqued.

"Well then, Ender," he inquired amusedly. "Tell me what you have in mind…"

"All right," Erika decided as the five of them strode into the station. "Hilary hit a bust with the cameras. This place is so old school they're still on analog tapes. But start asking around, maybe someone saw something."

It wasn't a great plan, but it was the only one they had, the only lead on a rapidly vanishing trail. Abbey's renegade duplicate, Gail, had so far managed to give them the slip, and bearing the exact face as their own Blue Ranger made facial recognition software all but useless. So far, their only lead had been a hit on a nearby ATM, one withdrawal at max allowance before Abbey had a chance to cancel her card.

The closest deduction they'd drawn was that the duplicate had made for the bus station, the fastest way out of town for someone hoping to stay unnoticed. Even then, the hit had been from the night before, when Abbey had been too distraught to think any further on the matter. To Lena, that meant their search was only going to prove one thing; that the clone was long gone, and at best, they could only learn where she was headed.

As Zeke and Erika made for the ticket booth, armed with Abbey's picture in hopes of jogging someone's memory, the other three made for the pick-up bay. So far, they'd come up short, and Lena was quickly growing tired of the teen's self-pity and wallowing.

"Nothing here," said Miguel. "I don't think we're going to find her like this; not without something else to go on."

"Well maybe we do have something else," Lena decided with a pointed look at Abbey. "What would you do?"

Abbey's face fell, the surprise betraying an underlying hurt at the mere suggestion. A hurt that hinted at the girl's denial. "What? How would I know?"

"Because she's you," said Lena. "Who else would have a better idea of what she might do?"

"But I don't know!" Abbey bemoaned. "If I knew that, we wouldn't even be in this mess. If I'd known what Gail was capable of, I never would have created her!"

But she had. She had snuck into the lab to use the Digitizer and created another her for personal gain. And she'd thought nothing of it until everyone else expressed their horror.

"You knew," said Lena. "You just didn't want to admit it."

Between them, Miguel visibly tensed, his gaze flickering between them as Abbey's fearful expression shimmered with swelling tears.

"You think I wanted this?" she asked. "How could I possibly have expected any of this? She's meant to be me."

"Exactly," Lena retorted. "And you're honestly going to tell me that you never thought about doing anything that Gail did? That you never thought about humiliating Whitney? About screwing someone over to get ahead?"

Abbey didn't reply, a soft fury steaming beneath her shimmering eyes, betraying that she had no true rebuttal. Betraying that she had considered all of those things, even if she'd never gone through with it.

"What about the people on the bridge?" she insisted. "Do you think I'd ever put people in danger like that? Just to get away?"

Lena shrugged. "It doesn't matter what I think, it's about how honest you're being with yourself. Everything about Gail came from you, whether you want to admit it or not. If she's capable of it, then that means you are too."

All the Blue Ranger could do was stand there, slacked-jawed, and horrified at Lena's assertions. Lena knew what would be coming next, a denial and the expectation of an apology. Because how could anybody ever say something so mean to poor, innocent Abbey?

But before Abbey could dismiss it, Zeke and Erika returned from their inquiries.

"No dice," said Erika. "No one at the desk was working last night."

"Even they were," Zeke admitted, "it's a pretty slim chance they'll remember seeing her."

"She might not even have paid for a ticket," Lena reasoned. "If she can phase just like Abbey can, she might have slipped onto a bus without anyone noticing."

"Oh, so I'm a thief now too?" Abbey hissed. "Maybe she's holding up some train carriages, or maybe robbing a few banks?"

Lena just rolled her eyes, "You're being ridiculous."

"Maybe I'm just trying to figure out what else I'm capable of," Abbey said bitterly. "Get in on your idea."

She spun around and stormed off in a huff, leaving the rest of the team to stare in amazement.

"I'll go talk to her," Zeke offered as Lena also turned and walked away.

"Hey!" Miguel called out to her. "What's your problem?"

"My problem," Lena growled, "is that everybody's treating Abbey with kid gloves when she knows exactly what she did."

"She screwed up," said Miguel. "And she feels terrible about it. But being on her case about isn't going to make things any better."

"Yeah," Lena said dryly. "I'm sure she felt real terrible when she was Frankensteining together an easy solution to her problems. You don't get it, do you? Gail isn't just some tool, some copy. Abbey brought someone into existence, whose only purpose was to live out someone else's life. She's got no records, no rights. She just… exists. And now she's on her own."

For a moment there was silence between them, a heaviness that slowly folded away as Miguel began to slowly understand what was going on.

"This isn't about Abbey at all, is it?" Miguel asked quietly. "This is about you."

"This has nothing to do with me," Lena insisted. "This about Abbey, and what she made."

"So, you don't see any similarities?" Miguel pressed. "You don't feel any sympathy for a program created for another's purpose? One who was then abandoned when it no longer suited that need?"

Lena's jaw clenched, fresh fury pranging in her chest as the truth she'd tried to mask was thrown back at her. She'd been right, there was nothing Gail was capable of that didn't come from Abbey. Because it was exactly the same with Lena.

Because once upon a time, she's been a program designed for one thing, and one thing only: the complete destruction of the Power Rangers. And there was nothing Lena could do to ever escape that. It was always a part of her, whether she wanted it to be or not, and no amount of denial would ever change it.

No matter how much Lena wished it otherwise, longed for something different, deep down she knew the truth. There was no changing what she was, and in turning her back on Xaviax she'd lost the one place where she belonged. There were no people like her, there was no place to call her own.

Lena was alone, and she simply had to come to terms with that.

"You know we don't think any less of you, right?" Miguel asked softly. "You're one of us. You got a little lost along the way, but you're just the same as the rest of us."

"But I'm not," Lena replied. "Pretend all you want, but I'm not human. I never will be. You get to go back to your homes, you've got futures ahead of you. All I've got is a fake Social Security and a spare room loaned by the people I was built to destroy. I can play pretend, but it'll never be real. I'm not doing myself any favors by saying otherwise, and somewhere out there is a clone of Abbey who's dealing with the same thing. But sure, let Abbey feel bad about all the things it showed her about herself."

She turned away in a huff before Miguel could say anything more; before he could offer false platitudes that he knew nothing about, or give some inane defense for his precious Abbey because he still hadn't figured out where he stood with her.

Humans!

There were times when Lena sat back and watched them with envy, wishing nothing more than to be just like them in every way. Wishing to have a home to call her own, a family. A past. Wishing that nothing separated them and that she wasn't just some tool created by a madman to do his bidding. Twice.

Because what else was she then? Lena's body had been granted, an object to help fulfill a function. It had been chosen specifically and crafted for a singular purpose. And even in trying to reclaim it, to steer her life in a direction she chose, the life Lena had been given was not her own. Not when parts of her mind remained locked away from her. Memories she knew she possessed but had no way of accessing. Even in rebellion, Xaviax had found a way of keeping his hold on her.

And all Lena could hope was that only memories were being locked away inside her mind.

But for all her lamenting about what she was, about what it meant she didn't have, there'd also be times when Lena watched her friends have awkward conversations. Where she'd witness them dance around each other as their emotions took control and made them act stupid and irrationally. Erika and her outbursts of anger that caused more problems than they solved, Zeke and his doomed longing for his childhood friend. Abbey and Miguel and their foolish denial of what was right in front of them for reasons that Lena didn't want to even begin comprehending.

No, there were times when Lena was glad she wasn't like them, grateful as she was for their acceptance. Because were it not for that acceptance, was there anything left for her at all?

She supposed she should apologize. Just because Abbey needed to hear it, that didn't mean that it was the time. And Miguel was right, Abbey was sorry, even if she had no idea the true scale of what she'd done.

She'd just been scared. Foolish, but scarred, and Lena could hardly blame anyone for acting on that feeling.

As mad as she was, Lena knew that overall, she should be grateful. Miguel had always been her champion, believing in her even when she refused to see the good in herself. Ray too had spoken with her enough to know her sincerity when at last she succumbed to her conscience. But it was Abbey that had welcomed her with open arms, that had held her she'd cried, that had clothed her and given company, all without a single second doubt. And Lena had repaid her with bitterness.

Some friend; maybe she was the one undeserving. Or it was exactly what the old Mileena would have done, sought to wound at the first opportunity. Maybe there really was no separating herself from the past.

Lena was just about to turn around and find her way back to the others when a flicker of movement caught her eye, barely more than a skitter that vanished behind the rows of parked buses. Eyes narrowing, Lena brought up her communicator and opened the line before skulking closer in pursuit.

"Guys," she warned with a hiss. "I might have something down by the bays."

She shut it off before they could reply, lest the sound of affirmation warn her quarry. Reaching the edge of the bus, Lena pressed fat against the surface and carefully peered around.

There she was; Gail. Dressed in a black jumper with the hood pulled up, her tell-tale red hair betrayed her identity to the lurking onlooker. She must have doubled back or rested nearby before looking for a bus to take.

From the safety of her hiding place, Lena watched as Gail approached the towering warehouse on the other side of the motor pool, nervously glancing over her shoulder before phasing right through the wall.

Dammit.

The others were on their way, but that meant nothing if Lena lost track of her. The girl could walk through walls, and could just as easily slip out the other side before help arrived. Breathing in deeper, Lena slunk to the warehouse door, checking around for any other lurking eyes before carefully turning the handle and creeping in. The wall of cold hit her as the door slyly closed behind her, sealing Lena in the shadowy confines of the building.

She hurried to a mound of crates and peered around. Gail was alone, standing in the empty room, surrounded by shelves and crates but otherwise motionless. In front of her was a strange device, some sort of projector on a tripod, hooked up to a table covered in a dusty sheet.

What was she there for? Was this where she'd hauled up for the night, but why come back? And what the hell was that thing she was staring at?

But as Lena's mind spun with the possibilities, the clone began to move. She turned, head tilting just enough to peer around, right to where Lena was lurking. But while the teen was sure she was well hidden, Gail's face nonetheless changed as her eyes flicked to the crates where Lena was hiding, lips twisting into a satisfied smile that sent chills down Lena's spine.

Then a hand clamped down on Lena's shoulder.

Her heart seized, gasping as she struck the grasping hand on reflex and leaped away. A Cyberdrone went clattering across the floor as Lena spun into a fighting stance, her breathing only tightening further as she saw who had snuck up on her.

"Oh, oh, oh," laughed the monster as its Cyberdrone cronies swarmed around it. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

It may well have been the most grotesque creation Lena had ever had the misfortune to witness. Its body was unbalanced, narrower at its feet with a bulging body at the top, its shape like a grey puffy pillow that had been beaten into mishape. Its face was a twisted smile of mangled teeth, too big to fit in its mouth, with its eyes a pair of bulging yellow orbs with small black pupils looking in two directions. Atop its head, a large metal rectangle protruded from the mess, small yellow squares along its surface.

The eyes were glowing, faint cones of flight flickering from the surface, and as Lena turned to see where they were reaching, her eyes widened as she realized it was Gail. All of a sudden, the girl vanished.

Dammit! She should have morphed, and now there was no time with the Cyberdrones so close and ready to pounce. The monster's buckled grin widened further, and Lena's jaw clenched as she kicked herself for the obvious trap.

"Ender sure has been given me a lot of attention recently," she snarled, eyes flicking to the communicator in hopes that the others were nearby. "He still that mad because I ghosted him?"

"He seems to like your fighting spirit," it cackled as it pointed in command. "Get her!"

Old fashion way it was.

The first came straight at her, stumbling as Lena swerved past the strike and kicked to send it sprawling as she ducked beneath another. By then the rest of them had her surrounded. One of them snatched to grab her, Lena's eyes narrowing into a judgmental scowl as she leaned away from the hand and lashed. As the overcommitted drone hit empty air and stumbled, Lena grabbed the wrist, yanking the robot into a painful lock as she pivoted between the henchmen and their comrades. The rest were too slow to stop, a flurry of punches flurrying into their teammate as Lena dropped low and kicked. Braced against the ground, her sole slammed into the robot's back, clattering it into the clustered teammates to send them sprawling across the ground.

"Lena?" Hilary's voice buzzed through the communicator. "Lena, where are you?"

"We're at the site of your signal," Miguel's voice added. "Where'd you go?"

The Cyberdrones were already getting up, and Ghost-Remote had used Lena's distraction to start making his way over to the machine. She needed the Rangers to find her, fast.

Good thing she already had an idea for that.

"Hang on!" Lena called into her wrist, lunging as the Cyberdrones recovered and charged in her direction. The first one swung in low, aiming to throw her balance as its buddied caught up. Lena was ready, pouncing into a spinning kick that brought her heel crashing into the one behind. The robot crumpled, blocking the path of the others as Lena dropped low and swept with her leg. Rushing to join their friend, the Cyberdrones were helpless as she smacked their feet from beneath them, sending them sprawling once more as the one she'd flipped over at last cottoned to what was going on.

Lena didn't waste a second. With the Cyberdrone turning, she leaped up high, pedaling a kicking barrage as the Cyberdrone desperately staggered to get away. Now on the back foot, it was helpless against her assault, and as Lena landed, she spun into a thundering kick that sent the robot flying. Right into the faded and webbed-up window paned into the wall.

The frosted glass shattered as the robot went soaring through it, reams of daylight bursting in as Lena's hapless victim thumped down on the other side.

"Found you!" Miguel's voice chuckled through the speaker.

But Lena's problems had finally caught up with her. While focusing her attention on the Cyberdrone by the window, the remainder had organized. They lunged at once, leaping from behind to snatch her limbs before she had a chance to react.

"Hey!" Lena yelped as she writhed against their grasp. "Get off of me!"

But it was no use. The Cyberdrones clamped on tight, pressuring her joints to stop her moving, squeezing with iron grips to eliminate any hope of escape. With Lena furiously struggling the whole way, they dragged her toward the row of tables, where the bug-eyed ghost monster had been eagerly punching away at the keys.

"That's the spirit!" he chuckled. "Now, let's see what ghosts we can dig up here!"

"If ghosts are what you want to see," Lena snarled, "I'll happily help you meet some."

"Oh, don't worry," Ghost-Remote replied. "Your ghost is the one I want to see the most!"

Laughing maniacally at his own humor, the monster turned and slammed his fist on the keys to light up the lens of the strange projector set up beside the room. The projector that now aimed right at Lena.

The lens began to glow, the machine whirring as Lena's eyes bulged, all of sudden realizing exactly what the machine was for. What Ghost-Remote meant by 'her ghost'.

No! No that. Anything but that!

Panic seized her, heart screaming as Lena desperately writhed against the Cyberdrones' grip in a vain attempt at freedom. But it was no use, the sheer number of them had her locked down tight, and Lena could only look on helplessly as Ghost-Remote finished powering up the machine.

"Buh-bye!" he cackled, "Or should I say 'welcome back'?"

"What you should do is watch out below!"

The monster's head whipped up, crossed eyes bulging as Miguel rocketed right for him with a thundering downward punch. The monster gasped, staggering out of harm as Miguel landed and launched onto the offense.

Lena didn't need long to break free of her captors. A moment later, the one beside her whipped back, yanked from its friends as Abbey leaped up and launched herself at the four of them holding Lena. Forced to choose between defending themselves and releasing their captors, the robots chose selfishly. Which made them ripe for Lena's picking.

With her arms free, Lena lashed and grabbed, flipping them over her shoulder before kicking the second in the stomach. Abbey spun one around, hurling it into its comrade before planting her shoe in its behind to send both of them clattering to the ground.

"Catching up with old friends?" Abbey smirked.

"Yeah," Lena grumbled, "And they're big on reminiscing. Where are the others?"

"Met a welcome party out front," Abbey explained. "Zeke and Erika are keeping them busy."

Both girls turned toward Miguel, swinging wildly as Ghost-Remote finally found the courage to fight back.

"If that's the best you can do, then you don't stand a ghost of a chance!"

With a powerful swing, the monster landed one right in the chest, sending the boy flying as the two girls rushed to his side.

"He packs a punch," Miguel admitted as they helped him to his feet.

"Then how about we liven things up a bit?" Lena suggested.

"Good idea," Abbey nodded. Their wrists flashed, morphers appearing with their screens lit up in waiting as Abbey produced her keycard and stepped forward. "You guys ready?"

"Ready!"

"Server Force! Login Access!"

Light flared out, the power surging from the grid as it consumed the three teens while the Cyberdrones shielded themselves from the blinding. The white suit wrapped around her, power swelling from within as Lena's head was encased within the helm and her hand curled around the spear. As the visor flashed before her vision, the light vanished, and all three Rangers stood ready to get back in the action.

"All right," said Lena, flourishing her weapon to point the sharpened tip. "Time to show this guy what it's really like to be a ghost."

The three Rangers lunged without wasting a second, launching themselves at the monster as the Cyberdrones scrambled to intercept. The first locked in place, sealing the gap as the Rangers closed in, but Lena was done playing around. She flipped around the spear, planting the haft into the ground with all her might before flinging herself high into the air. The White Ranger soared overhead, somersaulting well past the Cyberdrones to land beside the monster.

Ghost-Remote almost shrieked at her current arrival, staggering back as Lena stabbed in the spear, a flurry of swift strikes that scratched against him as he squealed in retreat.

"Running already?" Lena smirked.

"Don't get too cocky!" the monster replied. "I'm not giving up the ghost just yet!"

His arms flailed as his eyes began to glow, pupils vanishing into the yellow light. The same thing that Lana had seen earlier with the vanishing false Gail.

Then she heard a cry for help.

Miguel!

Lena spun around, watching the Dark Ranger stagger back as the Cyberdrones battered him from all sides.

No, not Miguel. A mirage.

Her head cocked sideways, seeing the Black Ranger separated from Abbey and cleaving through the last of the impeding foot-soldiers. But off to the side, Abbey hadn't realized, crying out at the image of Miguel in danger.

"Abbey, wait!"

But Lena wasn't fast enough. Abbey sliced through the surrounding Cyberdrones before launching herself at the image, blade ready to cleave the robots apart as she landed. But her sword hit empty air, the image of the Cyberdrones and fellow Ranger flickering before vanishing and leaving the Blue Ranger to stare in utter confusion.

"Huh?"

But now Lena saw a new problem, one that nearly stopped her heart as she realized where Abbey had been led to.

The projector!

Abbey was right in its path, the Cyberdrones were busying themselves to power up.

Lena's body began to move, Ghost-Remote and the Cyberdrones long forgotten as automatic instinct launched her at her teammate. The Rangers collided, Lena throwing out her hands to send Abbey flying as impacting force slammed her to stop.

Just as the projector activated.

A sickly green burst from the lens, searing into Lena's suit as the light consumed her completely. Lena could only scream, feeling the energy flush through her body, sinking into her Ranger suit to crawl inside her skin. Her vision was flashing, head spinning and stomach-churning as heavy vertigo overcame her and sent her stumbling.

She knew what it was doing, sinking into her, flooding into her programming to shut her down. And if she didn't stop it, her friends would have a whole new set of problems to deal with. With all the might Lena could muster, her hand slapped to her side, heaving the pistol from the holster before waving it in the direction of the device.

"No!" screamed Ghost-Remote. "Wait!"

Lena treated the pleading as confirmation, far too dizzy to aim as she squeezed the trigger, again and again, wildly firing shots at the table. The rounds flared in Lena's vision, further disorienting her as they blossomed into blurry balls of sparks that shattered the equipment to bits.

The green light vanished, and moments later, Lena stumbled back groggily as her Ranger suit disappeared as well.

Abbey stared at her, the black visor looking at her with intent worry as Miguel smashed the last of the Cyberdrones to the floor.

"Uh-Oh!" Ghost-Remote cackled. "Looks like someone's got one foot in the grave!"

Her head was still heavy, her body barely able to stand, her flesh on fire with the rest of her body too big for her skin. But as Abbey took a step to help her, Lena could only scream in desperation.

"NO!"

It had already started. Her suit had protected her, with any luck her destruction of the device had prevented the completed transmission. But the damage was already done; she was already infected with whatever had managed to get through. The virus had been uploaded to Lena's system, and already she could feel it worming around inside her, corrupting her code.

Rewriting her.

"Stay back!" she pleaded, stumbling further from the Rangers as both her teammates abandoned the monster to race to her side.

"Looks like a good time to spirit way!" cackled Ghost-Remote as he vanished in a flash of green. "See ya!"

"Lena, it's okay," Abbey insisted, already reaching for her wrist to power down. "You're going to be okay.

"Don't demorph!" Lena screamed, pushing out her hand in a desperate bid to keep her distance. "You're in danger! You're-!"

But then her hand moved, curling from an open palm to a clenched fist as she felt her jaw begin to sinisterly twitch.

Rangers… enemies… must… destroy…

No!

Her body took a step, wild and lurching as she twisted to throw a harmless punch at Abbey. The Blue Ranger stepped back, frightened by Lena's erratic behavior, and as Lena stumbled, her body slowly straightened. Her mouth moved into a twisted smile. And as it moved, it spoke with a voice that was her own, but words that were not.

"It's good to be back," she snickered as she looked at Abbey from head to toe. "My, have times not changed; although it seems standards certainly have."

"…Lena?"

No! Abbey!

Her mind was spinning, feeling her thoughts sinking further and further as blackness began to take hold. Pulling her into shadows, melding her into what she was becoming. She had to stop it, she had to find a way to shut her out!

Seizing control, Lena's eyes whipped to the table of ruined electronics, spying the sparking wires on the ground.

It was her only shot.

The being in her body took another step, head tilting in amusement at the Abbey's confusion. It was the only window Lena was getting. With all her might, Lena surged out with the mental command, seizing control of her limbs before the other being could stop her. With the second that she had, Lena lunged, diving for the frayed electrics and grabbing hold.

"Lena!" Abbey screamed. "No!"

The palm clamped tight, flushing power through her body as the burning electricity sizzled in her hand. Her body started seizing, convulsing at the overload, and inside her mind, Lena heard a howling scream as her synapses fried from the surge.

Then, with her body still twitching, Lena collapsed, only able to stare at the ceiling as a fading Abbey and Miguel hurried raced to her side.

And then Lena's world went black, vanishing in a darkening shadow as her limbs went numb. But while all sensation and awareness of the outside was gone, Lena's mind remained active. The world around her vanished, snapping from existence as Lena fell inwards, drawn into the recesses of her mind, body dropped like a puppet whose strings had been cut. In the space of a nanosecond, feeling returned to her, the semblance of a body responding to her mental commands as Lena gazed upon her new surroundings.

She was standing in a void, a dark, endless room where mist wisped out to the edge of her vision, strange fractals shifting in evermoving intersections across her peripherals. It was like she was floating, and yet walking on solid ground at the same time. But for all she could see and feel, Lena knew that it wasn't real; that it was just some manifestation within her programming.

Her mind.

It didn't feel new or unknown; it was a place that had always been a part of her, somewhere she hadn't looked too closely until now.

And yet it was new, all the same, an unknown void in constant motion that was all the while threatening to consume her. But Lena wasn't entirely there either, not when she was everywhere else at once. Not when she was also in every other inch of her programming, hard at work staving off the damage.

That's how she knew she wasn't alone; she could feel the intruder crawling around inside her. Looking around with all the curiosity of a predator in search of prey. Walking around like she belonged. Like it was her home.

But then in a sense, Lena supposed it was. Or it had been.

A footstep creaked behind her, less of the actual physical sensation and more a subtle declaration. Both knew that Lena was aware that the intruder was there. She just wanted it announced.

"I've got to admit," the voice curled, feminine and mocking with a strange evocation of familiarity. "I hate what you've done with the place."

Jaw clenching, Lena slowly turned, at last acknowledging the presence within her code. What stood before her was a woman, tall, proud, and clad in olive-green armor. Her dark brown hair was tied back, her face twisted into a permanent, judgmental scowl.

A face that, save for the acceleration of age, was identical to Lena's.

Because once upon a time, it had been.

And then at last, as her face steeled into a cold and disdainful glare, Lena addressed the intruder. "It's been too long, Mileena."

All Abbey could do was stare, watching as their teammate writhing lay on the table, hooked up to a million different machines. Lena's body had stopped twitching almost the second she'd relinquished the cable, and Abbey and Miguel had dived to her side in desperate hope.

She was breathing, but burning up, radiating heat as she groggily moaned something inaudible as they swept her in their arms. Abbey had never spoken to Miguel as desperately as she had when she demanded he Wisp Lena back to the lab immediately.

The cavalry had arrived mere seconds later, leaving Abbey to explain to Zeke and Erika what had transpired. As if she somehow had any idea herself. And now here they were, watching as Hilary raced between different monitors in the hope that their friend would pull through.

"I've given her a sedative," Hilary confirmed. "Hopefully that'll help her lie still while we figure out what's wrong. She's got a fever too, but until I know what's causing it, I'm hesitant to give her anything. I'll be honest, we're dealing with a lot of unknowns here."

"She's going to be okay, right?" Abbey asked as the quiver in her voice betrayed the reality she was desperate to deny.

For her part, Hilary seemed equally uncertain, unable to hide her grimace as she admitted, "I don't know. That was a big shock she gave herself. If it were anyone else, maybe they'd be even worse off. But Lena's body is different, it's not… well she's not human. In this case, it might have saved her but…"

She trailed off, leaving the last of it unspoken as the rest of the team turned to Abbey for answers.

"You said she did this to herself?" Zeke asked. "Why?"

"I don't know," Abbey admitted. "The monster it... it hit her with some kind of beam. After she destroyed it, she was stumbling, as if confused."

"She looked at you," Miguel added. "But I didn't hear what she'd said."

"She said "it's good to be back"," Abbey repeated. "It's weird, the way she said it, it reminded me of when we first found out she worked for Xaviax. When she was our enemy."

From the computer, Hilary shot Ray a look; a look that was silently mirrored with equal worry.

"She tried to hit me," Abbey recounted further. "Although… it almost seemed like she was fighting herself. That's when she dived for the cable; when she…"

She let out a gasp as her eyes widened, suddenly connecting what had unfolded before her eyes. "She was trying to stop herself! She did this to herself so that she couldn't hurt me!"

And suddenly all Abbey could think about was their last conversation, of the hard truths Lena had laid out that Abbey was too scared to admit. She'd been so angry, so hurt. For a moment, she'd caught herself wondering what good Lena was even bringing to the team. All to avoid the guilt of her transgression.

All to avoid pretending that there was no parallel between Gail's situation and Lena's.

"Hey," Erika comforted, her voice hard and stern as she gripped Abbey's forearm in support. "This isn't your fault, and we're not going to let them get away with this."

But for all Erika's assurance, Abbey couldn't help but feel otherwise, watching their friend sweat as she tossed and turned on the table while muttering and moaning beneath her breath.

"What if we're looking at this all wrong?" Zeke suggested as he turned to Hilary. "I mean, you said yourself that she's not human. So maybe it's not a human solution we're looking for?"

"Of course!" Hilary agreed urgently, spinning around to the desk before grabbing a small headpiece and carrying it over to the unconscious Ranger. "You're right, this is a computer problem."

"What's that thing meant to do?" Miguel asked.

"When Lena first came to us, I used it to get a scan of her code," the programmer explained. "Maybe it'll help give an idea of what's going on."

Abbey nodded and took the device, helping their mentor gently fasten it in place as Hilary returned to the computer and booted up the scan.

"Whoa!"

The screen lit up with lines of code, falling like heavy rain from top to bottom. Only it wasn't moving in one direction. The lines were changing, jumping erratically as sections disappeared and were rewritten, only to be deleted once more, again and again across all facets. Abbey had no idea what it meant, but she knew it wasn't good. Erika, Miguel, and Ray appeared just as confused as she was, but Zeke and Hilary went white as their eyes bounded from line to line of the code.

"What's going on?" Abbey asked them desperately. "What's it doing?"

"It's trying to rewrite her," Zeke explained. "It's like some sort of computer virus."

"She hasn't got a fever," Hilary realized. "She's overclocking. Her processors are all being dedicated to fighting whatever's doing this to her."

"There's got to be something you can do, right?" Miguel pleaded. "Now that you know what it is?"

But Hilary just shook her head.

"That code is rewriting and deleting so fast, anything I could do could just be undone in an instant. I might even screw up with whatever it is that Lena's trying to accomplish."

"Well, what would you normally do?" Erika suggested. "You said was a computer problem, what would you try if it was just a machine?"

But Hilary's face simply dropped, as if it had been an answer so dreadful she hadn't wanted to comprehend it. "Anything else? Turn the whole thing off."

Turn it off? Turn her off?

"Could you even do that with her?" Abbey asked. But her mind answered for her almost immediately, and Abbey gasped in horror as she realized the reality.

"Off? Sure," Hilary admitted. "Back on? I've got no idea. The truth is, right now, the battle is within Lena. And I don't even want to think about what she's dealing with in there."

The two women stared at each other, stone-faced and stubborn.

"I've got to admit," said Mileena. "You're taking this remarkably well. I would have thought you'd be sniveling at my feet by now, begging for your existence as I wiped away your code and replaced it."

"You should know I'm made of sturdier stuff," Lena replied. "I'm assuming it's the same reason that you're so calm about me coming in behind you and undoing all your hard work."

Mileena smirked in agreement, the only acknowledgment of Lena's skill as both programs waged their constant war in the background.

"So, is this Ender and Xaviax's latest scheme for revenge?" Lena rolled her eyes. "Some kind of Scrooge situation with my Ghost of Christmas Past?"

"Or maybe I'm your 'yet to come'?" Mileena said dryly. "Masters know I'm not loving you as my present."

Lena snorted. "You caused plenty of disappointment back in the day, you should be used to it."

"And yet the bar continues to drop." Mileena's eyes narrowed, and she took a step back to examine Lena from top to bottom, her gaze pausing judgmentally just below the neck. "Urgh, your maker could have at least let us go a little further through puberty."

Oh, yeah. Because tactical armor was just so flattering.

"So, what's the grand plan?" Lena probed. "Talk me to death until I give up all hope and let you have my body?"

With a knowing smirk, Mileena tapped her temple. "Please, like I haven't noticed your stalling. You're me, remember? Every plan you've ever made was born right here. Not to mention…" With an almost theatrical twirl, Mileena outstretched her arms smile widening broadly as she gazed up almost manically at the void around them. "In here, we're one and the same. Your thoughts are mine."

Lena's jaw clenched as her older self reveled in their shared space. Was she really always this obnoxious? Being a step behind was one thing, but did she really have to be losing to this?

She knew what Mileena was doing, what she planned, what her endgame was. What Lena didn't know was how to stop her. How to keep her body for herself.

She needed to change the game.

"It's no use," Mileena said lazily, picking up on Lena's thoughts. "You've lost your bite, your edge. In abandoning your purpose, you gave up what made you powerful. But don't worry, I'm here to get you back on track. Here to make what you were always meant to be. You just need some reminding, that's all."

The woman barely twitched, and yet the surroundings began to change. All Lena could do was stare, watching in amazement as the fog began to swirl, tall structures rising as the shadows emerged and began to shape. The darkness was receding, making way for glaring daylight as at last the lines on the figures began to form and reveal who they were beneath.

Lena gasped, heat pounding as she realized where they were.

Five Power Rangers, Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, and Black, standing in the middle of a city square. All around them were orange armored robots, an army of Gideon's Byte-Bots. And standing before them was Mileena, just as clear as the woman that also stood beside her, smirking.

This was a memory.

Not just Mileena's memory; her own.

There were the Data Squad Rangers, huddled together in what had been, at that point, their biggest battle. This was the day she met them.

This was the day that she met Ray and Hilary.

When she'd nearly killed them.

The elevator doors dinged, signaling Ray's arrival as Hilary sleepily turned to see him enter. Dressed in a maroon hoodie and sweats, he carried a steaming mug in one hand, yawning as he approached Hilary's work terminal. Lena still lay on the bench, moving restlessly as if caught in a disturbing dream. And all Hilary could do was watch, helpless to do anything but keep her stable.

"You're still up?" Hilary realized as Ray made his way over. In truth, she'd barely noticed the time, buried in her workstation to find anything that could be of use to Lena. So far, she'd come up empty. Still, it wasn't unusual for her to be so caught up in the work that she'd forget to go to bed, and Ray had accepted early in their marriage that it was okay not to wait up.

For him to come down at this hour was unusual.

"Couldn't sleep," Ray admitted. Slowly, he looked at the unconscious Lena, fear worn on his face as plainly as the breaking day.

"It's funny," said Hilary. "If you told me fifteen years ago that this where I'd be, sitting in my underground lab and tending the teenage reincarnation of our mortal enemy, I would have straight up not believed you. And that's after all the time travel and being shrunk down to six inches."

"Definitely makes the top five," Ray agreed.

"I think it takes the top spot," Hilary corrected. "I know they say that nothing is impossible once you're a Ranger, but this is next level."

And yet, Hilary admitted to herself as she checked Lena's vitals, there was nowhere else she wanted to be. As she looked up, watching her husband stare sadly down at Lena, she could tell the feeling was mutual.

"When you first told me that she'd walked into your office," she said. "I thought you were crazy for trying to help."

"So did I," Ray chuckled. "What did Doctor K once say I had? An overly dominant need to be needed?"

But even then, Hilary had known it was the right thing to do, and Ray wouldn't have been the man she loved if he hadn't tried.

"Now look at us," she said. "I've got to admit, I kind of got used to having her around."

"I know what you mean. Right now, upstairs just feels so… empty. Like it wouldn't be the same without her anymore."

It had only been a few weeks, and already neither of them could imagine their lives without her.

"So, give it to me straight," Ray decided. "Not just the version you told the Rangers to spare them. What's her outlook?"

"The beam that hit her was a malware transfer," Hilary explained. "The suit blocked some of it, and Lena managed to halt the rest as she blasted the controls. But what did get through was enough to trigger some sort of latent protocol, which is why she must have shocked herself."

"But if she knocked herself to stop it," Ray reasoned. "Why is it still running havoc with her code?"

"Normally when you shut down a computer," Hilary explained. "It's to stop a rogue or faulty program dead in its tracks. Restarting puts the program back on a path it knows how to follow, and usually, that gives it a chance to reconnect with the affected program to either make it function normally or lock out the infection."

"But that's not the case here?"

Hilary shook her head. "Whatever this is, it seems to have its own start-up protocols, ones that are actively competing with Lena's. Right now, two programs are at war inside her body, battling it out for control."

"Any idea what that other program could be then?" Ray asked. His tone was hopeful, but the look on his face warned of realistic expectations.

"Only a guess," Hilary admitted. "But I'd bet good money that the program causing all the problems is the one the body belonged to."

"Mileena," Ray breathed bitterly, "the OG. So, what; Xaviax doesn't like the latest software update so he's rebooting to factory settings?"

"Seems that way."

"Is there really nothing you can do?"

Hilary shook her head. She knew why Ray was asking, what he was really meaning. But she also knew every trick she'd tried and knew why she'd avoided others. All possible options were expended, even if it wasn't what her husband wanted to hear.

"I'm practically flying blind here," Hilary said. "Right now, the scales are balanced, Lena might not be making any headway in there but neither is Mileena. Anything I do could just as easily harm as help. I hate it too, but right now the best we can do is keep her comfortable and hope Lena finds an edge."

"She's a fighter," Ray decided. "She always has been. She certainly proved it to us more than enough."

But while Hilary nodded in agreement, she couldn't help but feel the trepidation trilling inside her chest, an anxious uncertainty at the situation unfolding before her.

Yes, Lena was a fighter. But Mileena was too. And unless she somehow found a way to get a message to Hilary, Lena was fighting on her own.

Lena could only stare, paralyzed in horror, knowing every moment that would play out before her. It was strange, standing to the side, watching it all unfold like some outside observer, all the while remembering like she was seeing it through Mileena's eyes. Through her own.

The warrior beside her had vanished, stepping into the role of history as she lunged at her enemies. But every now and then, her eyes flickered back to Lena. To let her know that she was aware of her presence. That she was watching.

The warrior from the memory cackled as she cut down the Green Ranger, whipping around as Hilary approached sais with spinning. The old Mileena smirked, smashing through the Yellow Ranger's guard before blasting at her feet to send her flying. It was Ray's intervention that saved the young teen, bounding off the rejoin their team as the remnant memory snicked.

But Lena wasn't just watching the memory like it was some old recording dug out from a file. She felt it. Every swing, every blow. Every excited jolt at her heart, her pulse singing as Mileena reveled in the bloodlust and battered into the Rangers. It was more than just a surrender to the fight, it was an overwhelming embrace of what Lena had, until now, long forgotten.

Glorious purpose.

Is really what she'd been like? So cold, so sadistic?

So… powerful?

Even in playing the part, the real Mileena chuckled, like she was reminiscing on good times as the memory Rangers stared in horror and a figure dressed in black appeared. The Lord of Evil himself; Gideon.

Even simply seeing him again made Lena's stomach churn, twisting so tightly it almost forced its contents to regurgitate. He sauntered toward them with his flaming red hair, unleashing purple lighting as her past self knelt in submissive servitude.

She'd been all that, she'd been so strong.

And yet she'd still bent the knee to another, barely more than a slave to do another's bidding

And all the while, the woman Lena had once been didn't seem to care.

"Good times," Mileena smiled in wistful reminiscence, head flicking up to catch Lena's eye as she watched their former master tear through the five rangers. "Look at that. Look at how they feared us. Look at the power we walked beside. And you gave all that up."

Lena ground her teeth but said nothing. She could see what Mileena was doing, filtering around in their shared memories, finding suitable moments to try and lure her back. To convince her to surrender and allow the old self to resume control.

Well, two could play at that game.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" said Lena. "Like, say, what came after?"

"KYLE?" Ray's voice suddenly cried out. "What are you doing here?"

All heads, past and present, whipped to see a figure standing defiantly among the mess of Byte-Bots, and both Gideon and the past Mileena stared with seething resentment.

"Saving you," the man proclaimed. "I hope. Data Squad! Digitize!"

The light flared around him, summoning the clunky green armor and orange visored helmet before lunging into the fray. Moments later, the two onlookers watched as the Security Ranger engaged with the past Mileena.

"And the rest, as they say," Lena mused. "Is history."

The warriors clashed, blades colliding, blow after blow, before at last Kyle Mason drew his pistol and squeezed the trigger at point-blank range. The weapon boomed, sending Milena soaring.

And now it was Lena's turn.

"What was that about power and influence?" Lena asked as the present Mileena seethed beside her. "Oh, and that wasn't your only defeat like that, was it?"

Lena focused hard on the memory, searching through her archives for the perfect choice. The perfect set. The scenery folded away, day turning to night as they found themselves in a darkened warehouse. The past Mileena was staring at the Green Ranger, who held a device in his hand and an axe in the other.

"Give that back!" the past Mileena snarled.

"Oh, this?" the Ranger laughed as he held up the device. "If you insist…"

The old Mileena could only scream as the Ranger shattered with his weapon, the one beside Lena grimacing angrily as the scene already changed.

"Or…" Lena considered, "Was it this one?"

Outside again, the Cranston City Museum rose above them, Hilary leaping and twirling her sais as Mileena furiously swung her sword to keep up. Ducking low, the Yellow Ranger jutted out a kick, smacking the warrior in the stomach to send her flying.

"Yes," Mileena growled as she watched the memory playback. "Thank you for the reminder of my need to repay her."

"Oooh, but we're not done yet," Lena snicked. "Or are you forgetting the grand finale to your last little outing?"

Suddenly was a boom, the very ground tearing away as the confines closed in around them. Only this time things were far from stable. Fires burned around them, the floor crumbling as Mileena staggered to stand. Her armor tore away, her face scratched and bruised as she stared at the equally battered Security Ranger. Neither warrior looked like they had much fight left in them. Mileena seethed with near-maddening rage as Kyle Mason brandished her stolen sword and readied for the final blow.

Even standing on the sidelines, it took all Lena's effort not to look away. Every feeling of the memory hit her all at once, overwhelming her with a tidal wave of emotion; the exhaustion, the fury.

The desperation.

And now it was all coupled with the knowledge of what was coming.

The moment of her final breath.

"Your secret?" Mileena demanded with a desperate gasp. "What is it?"

Mason's head lowered, like a narrowing brow as he readied that strike, and Lena's lips in synchronous quoting as she recalled what he had said to her.

"I'm human."

A reply that had only stoked the fire within into a raging inferno. As Lena looked on with pain, wanting desperately to avert her gaze but knowing she couldn't, Mileena flung herself with full fury at the Security Ranger. It was an act of desperation, and an outright refusal to surrender, to be lesser. Being better, the greatest warrior, it was all that she had ever been. It had been her purpose.

And yet it hadn't been enough, not for Gideon, not for her. In the end, she'd fallen to her own obstinate devotion, a refusal to see past what she had been created for.

With a bloodcurdling scream, Mileena took the full force of Mason's strike, vanishing into a blinding flare as Lena remembered what came next. How it felt to have her entire being destroyed as her body turned to ash.

To vanish into nothing.

The light consumed them both, bursting across their vision as they returned to the white void of Lena's mind.

"See?' Lena said quietly. "All of that, for nothing. You allowed your purpose to be defined by someone else, and all it led to was ruin."

Her heart was still pounding, the remnants of furious panic fading as the effects of the memory lingered. No doubt Mileena too was reeling, slowly coming to terms with the moment of her death.

Of their death.

But instead, she didn't seem the least bit perturbed.

"Oh?" Mileena snickered, a disembodied echo that seemed to emanate from all directions. "You didn't think I was done, did you? It's like I said, my memories are yours. And yours are mine."

Light flared around her, consuming Lena's vision as a strange tingling overcame her. It prickled at her skin, a continuous current that emanated deeper and deeper, pulsing through her flesh and down to her very bones.

Panic overcame her, heart racing in her chest as her breathing sharpened and Lena realized what was happening. She remembered this feeling, the strange sensation that caught her completely by surprise. The feeling of being remade.

No…

No!

Not that day!

"Where one memory ends," Mileena's voice told her, "another always begins."

There was another flash, and Lena stumbled forward as her new lungs gasped their first breath.

Her vision was blurring, heavy head struggling through disorientation as she staggered to adjust to her new limbs. But still, she could feel it, the coldness of the sterile air, the weight of her old armor on her body. She knew where she was; when she was. And then she heard a voice, like a hushed whisper that curled through a metallic grill to send an icy chill crawling down her spine.

"Did it work?"

"Like a charm," delighted another voice, this one far too happy and chipper. "I have to say I outdid myself this time. Along with a few… special modifications that you requested."

Slowly, Lena raised her head, the swirling mix of past and present thoughts churning through her mind as at last her eyes adjusted to see the two before her. Ender, grinning sinisterly with all his signature pride; Xaviax, his face still obscured behind the unreadable mask, cloaked in the shadows of the room. And behind them, lingering like a malevolent phantom, smiling at her like a predator eyeing its next meal, was Mileena.

Slowly, Lena raised her head to at last meet the eyes of her new master, feeling her lips move with the memory and utter words that now tasted like bitter bile.

"How do you wish me to serve you, my master?"