"… and the mayor called. He'd like to talk about expanding your power initiative. He says that polling has been very promising, and his constituents have expressed positive feedback in the areas where it's already been brought online."

"Thank you, Patricia," Scolex smiled. "Could you pencil him in for tomorrow? I'm sure that we'll have lots to discuss."

Scolex's secretary bid her leave and left him alone in his office. Leaning back, he turned the chair toward the wide window overlooking the city; it had a perfect view of the lake while still completely shaded from the harsh midday light. It would all be over soon, his struggles with Rangers and his ongoing battle of wits with Hawkins. And then his true work, his ultimate goal, could finally begin in earnest. Even now, with victory so close in his grasp, Scolex couldn't help but take in the view, both of the city before him and the grand office at his back. Marveling at how far he'd come.

It had been the first of his many goals when he'd at last made enough to put his name on a building. It meant a lot to buy this one specifically and to make this room his office. It was a reminder, a humbling remnant of his ultimate failure. Of the painful lesson that some were simply not ready to save the world.

Even now, Scolex could still see it, the long mahogany table that had once stretched to the end of the room. The rows of suits that had sat on either side, staring at him in judgmental ignorance. And the young entrepreneur, barely more than a boy then, sitting slack-jawed as his hopes for the future were crushed beneath their heel.

"You're pulling the plug?" Davian had been despondent, blindsided by their complete unwillingness to make the world a better place. "I don't understand; this program could help millions."

"We're sorry, Davian," the chairman had replied. "It's just not feasible. It's too big a project, and even if it weren't, you're just too inexperienced for us to hand over that kind of money."

"But it's my money," Davian replied. "It's my family's-."

"Trust," the chairman cut in. "And it's our job to make sure that when it's spent, it's spent responsibly. And we cannot in good conscience let it get burned away on some idealistic pipe dream. We're sorry, you're just going to have to dream a little smaller."

Back then, Davian could only stare in horror, unprepared for the cold callousness of the unified front.

"Smaller's not good enough," he said curtly. "There are people that need our help now, who don't have time to wait for a useful program to get off the ground."

"And that's a sad fact of life," the chairman replied sympathetically. "But it's also true the world over. And just because a program has grand designs, that doesn't mean it will even help the people it's meant to, especially if it's too big to even get off the ground. We're sorry, but our final answer is no."

Scowling, Davian had left that office more incensed than he'd ever been, silently vowing to one day return and take it all away from the short-sighted accountants who ran his company. One day, he would make them see. He would change the world, with or without them.

Now smiling, Scolex looked upon the office, devoid of the commanding table that was used to dominate any who entered. Now, the room was a place for people to meet him and him alone. He'd come so far, achieved what he'd needed to take the next step toward saving the world.

Slowly, Scolex reached to the drawer of his desk, pulling it open to look upon the steely face inside. At the mask that stared back. Back then, he'd been too naive, too blissfully unaware of what he needed to become. But now he knew better. The mask was what he needed, and he knew what needed to be done to create a perfect world. Dream smaller? That was the mindset of cowards with no ambition. The solution had been to conjure even grander designs, ones that would change the world forever. And soon, very soon indeed, that perfect world would be right on their doorstep.

And Hilary Hawkins would finally be within his gasp.

Episode 30

Meet & Greet: Part 1

The bell rang to signal another day's end, and just like every other, the halls flooded with students. But while most were eager to be done with classes and embrace the coming weekend, a fresh anxiousness chittered through the usual buzz. As the corridors packed from wall to wall, the drama of the Spring Bloom had been long forgotten in favor of a far more pressing concern: Parent-Teacher night was upon them.

The last one for the year, the final mid-semester check-in, where their cohort's parents would learn exactly how their school days were going. And while some could spring throughout the halls as if the day were like any other, others were bracing for the night's arrival with a foreboding sense of dread. Erika was doing everything in her power not to think about it, something Abbey was more than happy to oblige.

"Okay, just a little on the left? No, sorry. Now the other side's crooked."

"You know," Erika said dryly, "I don't think off-center posters are going to be make or break for people's opinions on the education system."

Months ago, Abbey would have complained; she would have anxiously insisted that everything she did as student council president had to be absolutely perfect. But to her credit, she let out a soft, calming breath before replying. And Erika could swear that she chuckled as she did.

"You know what?" Abbey replied. "Why don't you take a look then?"

Sticking the corner to the wall, Erika climbed down from the ladder and stepped to Abbey's side. At a glance, and had she not been looking for it, the poster would have easily appeared straight. But having been dealing with Abbey's pedantry for the last five minutes, Erika was now immaculately familiar with the sign's position. Now aware of its slightly dipping corner, she could no longer unsee it.

"Dammit." Erika hissed as Abbey's smiled smugly. It was now going to bug her until it was fixed. "How did you swindle me into this again?"

"Mostly pity," Abbey recalled.

Thankfully, Erika's rescue arrived just in time.

"It's off by two millimeters," Lena said lazily. "Shall I?"

"Please," Erika pleaded. "Rescue me."

As Lena elevated to adjust the poster with machinelike precision, they were joined by Zeke and Miguel, both with boxes in their arms. "All the placards have been placed, and all the maps are stacked neatly at the front," Miguel confirmed.

"Every room has the sitting teachers listed by the door, along with the break times," said Zeke, just as proudly. "There's no way any parent's getting lost around this place tonight."

"Okay. You, I get," said Erika, pointing to Miguel. Then she turned to Zeke, her skepticism plain for all to see. "But how did Abbey rope you into helping out?"

Zeke just shrugged. "It got me out of class, and I've got time to kill until tonight starts. Mom still wants me to come along and hear what my teachers have to say, even though it doesn't really matter."

That was true enough, although Zeke's casual disregard for the evening was doing nothing to ease Erika's nerves. It was easy for him to say. Zeke's mom was probably going to be too preoccupied with his younger siblings to take more than a tokenistic note of his teacher's comments. But Erika's feedback was going to be a lot more… complicated.

"I don't even know why you're so stressed about all this anyway," Erika said to Abbey. "It's not like your teachers will say anything bad. Your Mom's going to have a whole night of everyone saying what a "good girl" you are."

"It's actually kind of embarrassing," Abbey sheepishly agreed. "I'm sure that my teachers have more important parents to talk to, but she still wants to take up their time to lap up the praise. It's nice to be appreciated, but it starts to feel a little much when she's specifically going back to hear the same things every year."

"Maybe you just need to shake it up?" Erika suggested. "Go off the rails, break some rules. Show her another side; give her something new to hear about."

Abbey rolled her eyes but nonetheless smiled at Erika's jest.

"So, answer me this," Lena inquired as she dropped down from the ladder with the now perfectly straight poster above her. "It's three-quarters through the year, and all of you are finishing up. Everyone's already taken their SATs and college applications were months ago. What's even the point of having a parent-teacher night for class seniors? Is this just another weird human thing that I don't get, or does it actually not make sense?"

"It's not just you," Erika agreed. "I've been asking that for weeks.'

But while Erika had expected Abbey to chime in with a sickly-sweet response about bonding as a community or something, the answer came from another source.

"No journey's over until it reaches its end," Ray explained as he approached. "Most parents only get to see a snippet of your lives when you're at home; this is their chance to check-in. You might be counting down the weeks, but moms and dads still want to see how their kids are going. After all, talking to your teachers is one of the few ways they get to really learn how much you've grown."

That was the part that Erika was afraid of. Because for all her work, for all her progress, tonight was the moment of truth. Tonight was the night when her dad would walk straight into the school and hear exactly how Erika was doing. She knew it should be fine, that she'd made leaps and bounds and had absolutely nothing to worry about. But there was still a whispering voice in the back of her mind, an ever-present snarl of self-doubt that questioned if it really had been all that far at all. That Erika's idea of progress was barely a step in the direction she needed.

Maybe it would be fine, maybe all the evidence she had was more than enough. But for as long as Erika could remember, her dad had put everything aside to support her, to give her every opportunity he could. Moving counties, late night shifts, and still putting in the effort to spend time with her whenever he got the chance. All to give Erika every opportunity to succeed and feel supported.

Every time she'd failed, the guilt had filled her to the brim and threatened to burst. Because for all her father did for her, Erika saw the cost. The exhaustion in his eyes, the regret of missing part of her life because of his need to work. And for so many years, she'd repaid him by acting out and ruining every chance he'd given her. But this year, this year had been different. Now, it was time to see if the proof was in the pudding, and that very idea filled Erika with more anxious trepidation than she ever thought possible.

"Looking good, everyone," said Principal Goodson, striding down the hall to congratulate them. "The school's never looked better."

"Principal Goodson!" Erika realized. "Aren't you looking sharp today? There's something different about you; you're looking even more powerful and assertive than normal. Did you get a new haircut? New glasses? It's something about your face; you're definitely radiating more of that inspiring, authoritative energy that us kids look up to."

All around her, Erika's teammates watched with fascinated amusement as their proud and defiant leader lapped up to her longstanding nemesis of authority. Even Ray stood back, unable to hide the snickering smirk as Erika spewed every compliment under the sun in a last-ditch effort to land in Goodson's good graces. But their enjoyment was only momentary.

Principal Goodson was not buying it. "What do you want, Erika?"

"Okay, so here's the deal," Erika explained. "You know my dad's coming tonight, and we both know that I haven't exactly had the most stellar parent-teacher nights over the last few years. But hey, it's the last one, right? There are basically no consequences for what's said and no way to get called out on what might have been left out. And given that you're getting rid of me in a couple of months anyway…"

"I'm going to stop you right there," said Goodson sternly, lifting her palm to silence her and stifle the last of Erika's fleeting hope. "I'm a woman of conviction, Erika. Under no circumstance would I ever lie to a parent about a student."

Erika's heart sank; her final hope of improving her odds yanked from her grasp with little hope of retrying. But as Erika wallowed in the hopelessness of what was to come, a smile flickered to Goodson's lips, like she'd taken her own little moment of fun before conceding to the truth.

"Which is why you have nothing to worry about," she smiled. "You've had a great year, Erika, it's been really good to see how far you've come. Truly, I'm proud of you, and I look forward to meeting your father this evening to tell him in person."

It was like Erika's heart had suddenly grown to Megazord size, swelling in overwhelming joy as she basked in Goodson's affirmation. Behind her, Erika's friends and guidance counselor were all beaming, proudly sharing Erika's moment as she thanked the principal profusely and returned to them. Just like that, her nervous afternoon had turned around, and now the evening couldn't come fast enough.

"Alright then," Erika asked Abbey. "What do you need next?"

As Abbey began going through her checklist in preparation, Erika gleefully accepted every task and skipped off to complete them. Goodson had been the confirmation she needed, the one person who had no vested interest in hiding the truth or sugar-coating. Now that she knew everything was going to be fine, that her dad would at last get the confirmation that his hard work was paying off, there was nothing in the world that was going to ruin Erika's night.

They stood side-by-side, awaiting orders as Xaviax strode out front. Ranks of Cyberdrones stood straight and at attention, ready to be deployed at a moment's notice. Beside them, the Digitizer hummed in patient idleness, the loading screen primed to manifest Ender's latest creation.

Today was the day. After months of effort, planning, and scheming, the time had finally come to deliver the final strike. Ender's grin was wide and brimming, eager to deliver his magnum opus and rub his brilliance in the faces of his enemies. But beside him, ArcKnight was stiff and unenthused.

"You all know your roles," Xaviax confirmed. "There can be no mistakes."

"Have no fear, most contemporaneous one!" Ender declared. "This plan has been reviewed and refined with the finest of toothed combs. By the evening, the Power Rangers will be dealt with, and you'll have your prized programmer kneeling at your feet, begging for mercy. It'll be quite the show, and I, for one, can't wait to watch it all play out."

"Your enthusiasm betrays your hubris," ArcKnight growled. "There are many factors that we have not prepared for, and the Rangers numbers are still at full strength. We must not underestimate them."

"Yes," said Xaviax coldly, his hushed voice wafting with an air of annoyed indifference. "Experience has taught us that the Power Rangers are always more formidable than we anticipate. Even our supposed best has yet to succeed in eliminating any of them."

While the mask was facing away, ArcKnight knew his master's eyes were glaring at him specifically, comments pointed at his most recent failures. Ender's monsters had been equally unable to secure a victory, but their purpose for creation had been different. They were disposable, blunt instruments to be pointed at a problem while Ender schemed greater plans behind them. But ArcKnight had been created from the very beginning to lead, to command Xaviax's forces in victory as a warrior with no equal. And yet, time and time again, the Rangers had bested him.

Xaviax's curt notation only served to deepen ArcKnight's shame, and his disgust for Ender's underhanded plan only stoked the growing fire within. He had only failed because he'd been held back, forced to comply with Ender's convoluted schemes by engaging with a hand behind his back. This plan was merely the latest in a long line of needlessly complex conspiracies. But this one involved a dishonor that ArcKnight swallowed with particularly bitter reluctance.

This was not how he wished his victory to be attained.

"Your timing must be perfect," said Xaviax. "Once the Rangers realize what we have done, they will scurry for the closet hole they can hide in, and no doubt Hawkins will immediately begin developing countermeasures. We need the Rangers in our custody, or failing that, their loved ones. And then, with her precious team in our clutches, we will have the leverage needed to incentivize Dr. Hawkins' compliance. And I don't think I need to remind you of the necessity of that."

Both minions bowed before parting, Ender to his console while ArcKnight made a final inspection of the troops. The monitor lit up, positive beeps confirming commands as the wires and cables whirred with power. The Digitizing tube burst to life, hissing with steam as the lights strobed with unnatural creation. Then the door to the chamber hissed open, and an annoyingly familiar face stepped out.

"Well, would you look at that!" Radiowave announced proudly. "Seems like you just can't cancel talent!"

"Radiowave! So great to hear from you again!" said Ender. "Listen, I've been speaking to some people in the know, and I think I've lined up the perfect gig for your second comeback. What do you say?"

Turning from the Cyberdrones, ArcKnight shot Ender a disdainful look of disapproval before appealing to Xaviax's better judgment. "Master, for the last time, I beseech you. This fool has twice failed to destroy the Power Rangers. What possible use could we have of him?"

"You know it's funny, ArcKnight," said Ender. "I was just thinking the same about you. What's your score now? The double digits? Your resume for failure is so impressive that you could play for the New York Jets."

"I would be wary of too much gloating, Ender," Xaviax warned. "Or should I remind you that plenty of ArcKnight's failures have also been your own?"

If there was anyone in the world capable of shutting Ender up, it was Xaviax. ArcKnight wasn't sure he'd ever been so grateful to his master. It was a gratitude that expired quickly.

"Master," ArcKnight tried again, "If you could perhaps consider-."

"Consider what, ArcKnight?" Xaviax's voice curtly cut him off, icy like a flash freeze that chilled ArcKnight to his core. "Please, do tell me. What plan do you have for defeating the Power Rangers that you have elected to keep secret for so long?"

"But, my lord," ArcKnight stammered. "This plan of Ender's, there is no honor in-."

"Honor?" Xaviax hissed. "Tell me, where has honor got us? Has it lain waste to our enemies? Has it brought Dr Hawkins to her knees before me? Has honor made even a single contribution to the obtainment of our ultimate prize? No. All we have achieved has been in spite of your honor. When we began, Dr. Hawkins was vulnerable, and yet now she has empowered seven individuals, herself among them, to act against me. It is fortunate for you that we have been able to proceed so far while the Power Rangers remain at large. But they remain, nonetheless, and we can no longer work around their existence. It is time to remove them once and for all, and I will not allow something so trivial as honor to get in my way."

ArcKnight flinched as his master's words plunged like sharpened daggers, bitter barbs of disappointment that sunk deeply. No one was more infuriated by the Power Rangers' continued existence than he, at how they perpetually bested him in combat despite ArcKnight's clear superiority. But to hear his master lambast the very trait that he'd imparted him was a wound so deep and gaping that it could have killed him then and there.

Indifferent to the hurt he'd caused his minion, Xaviax returned to his throne to loom in contemplation. "There will be no duel of honor. There will be no great last battle with which they will defend their ideals. If Dr. Hawkins, her husband, and their little group of adolescent proteges are emboldened as Power Rangers to always stand against us, then the solution is clear. We will make the Power Rangers no longer."

At last, the fateful hour approached as dusk fell upon the city of Lakeview, and the lights of the high school lit up as the families walked through the doors. Couples, singles, and whole menageries of aunts, uncles, and siblings filed in like a great, excited crowd that scattered in all directions to descend upon the exhausted faculty.

From where she leaned against the stairs, Erika watched the families enter, joining the dots to several previously unknown explanations. Every other time, Erika had given the evening a skip, choosing not to sit through endless repeats of her "poor attitude" and "need to apply herself". Which meant that she hadn't realized the fascinating display that paraded in at the start.

Whitney was a near-splitting image of her mother, striding through the doors in matching designer heels and paired outfits while rolling their eyes with disdainful disinterest. By contrast, Erika wasn't sure she'd ever seen Deryck look so sheepish, shrinking as much as possible as his mother stormed in behind him with a resonant aura of authority.

The whole thing made Erika wish that Lena had opted to stay. With Ray already on faculty, her attendance at Lakeview High was mostly for the sake of staying near the Rangers. Consequently, Lena had opted to skip out on the biannual school event, choosing instead an evening of beating Hilary at Scrabble. But seeing it all now, Erika just knew that the team's resident android would get a particular kick out of seeing the continuation of evolutionary traits.

But she had to admit, what Erika found even more interesting was seeing her own friends' interactions with their parents. She'd certainly met them all enough times, but the interactions were always fleeting, on the periphery as Erika passed their orbit while meeting with Abbey and Zeke. But now, as she sat on the edges and watched Zeke's mom straighten his collar while Abbey engaged her parents in joyful conversation, Erika couldn't help but appreciate the side she so rarely saw. Ray's assertation echoed back to her, about how families only saw a fragment of their children's lives, and Erika realized that same was just as true for her and her friends.

They saw each other at school, hung out as friends at the Hub, and even fought side by side as Rangers. But here, on this one night that Erika had been dreading for days, she got to see a snippet of the lives that were usually kept separate. An insight into her friends that was so rarely ever afforded, a reminder of something that all of them were fighting for.

But her moment of quiet self-reflection was put on pause as Erika spied who she'd been waiting for. Standing fresh from a shift, still in his security uniform, Ken Nishimura had never looked so lost in his life. Caught up in the moving mass of people, he stared around the school's lobby with wide-eyed amazement, hopelessly scanning the sea of faces for the one he recognized. With a giggle at the sight, Erika appeared by his side moments later, tapping his shoulder to announce her presence and guide him with eager enthusiasm.

"You made it!" she said excitedly, throwing her arms around him.

"Of course I did," her father replied. "This is the last one I'll ever get to do. Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Thank you, parents and guardians of Lakeview High," Principal Goodson's voice announced over the PA system. "If you could please begin making your way to the first interviews, our kind student volunteers will be available to guide you as necessary."

And that was Erika's cue. Already, she could see Abbey making her way over to ask for aid as the crowd began splitting off to the various corridors. "Zeke and I are going to help direct people," she explained. "Do you think you can go with Miguel and direct people coming through the back? There are always people that come late."

Agreeing gracefully, Erika turned back to her father. "I better go help Abbey out. Are you going to be okay on your own?"

"Don't worry, I think I can handle…" said her father, looking down and squinting at the first name on the list. "Mrs. Henderson, by myself. We'll catch up when you're done helping your friends."

With a beaming grin, Erika turned to join Miguel at the door, only to stop as if her heart was tugging her back. Slowly, Erika looked to her father with an expression of sheepish humility. "Thanks for coming, Dad. I promise you won't regret it."

And for all the things he could have said, Ken Nishimura chose the perfect, simple words as he looked his daughter in the eye and beamed with preemptive pride. "I know."

With her heart singing with joy, Erika almost skipped away, joining the patiently waiting Miguel as the two of them made their way to the school's back lot.

"You're in a good mood."

"Things are just good, you know?" Erika merrily replied. "Things are on the up; we're on a hot streak as Rangers, and my Dad is about to get the parent-teacher conference that he never thought was possible."

Miguel nodded and smiled in complete agreement. "I know what you mean. I'd barely started here when the school held the last one. But now? It's like the Parkinsons get to see the payoff for all the hard work they put into looking after me."

"Look at us," Erika decided proudly. "Two people reaping the rewards for pulling themselves from their messy lives. Go us."

Laughing between themselves, they reached the back lot as the last straggling parents were making their way inside. With welcoming smiles on their faces, the two of them greeted and guided the late arrivals into the school. Before long, they were standing proudly before the empty lot. Things were going great, and with confirmed good news from the principal herself, there was absolutely nothing that was going to ruin that night.

It was a thought that Erika would immediately regret.

"Quixote," Lena announced, placing the tiles proudly on the board.

"Oh, come on!" Hilary groaned. "That's not a real word."

"The noun of quixotic," Lena recited. "Meaning to be capricious or unpredictable. It's also used to mean being foolishly impractical in the pursuit of ideals and is often associated with rash, romantic fascination and behavior. Derived from the Spanish literary character Don Quixote, whose eponymous journey explored his absurd ideals of chivalry and unattainable ideals. Shall I go on?"

"No," Hilary grumbled, "Take your points."

Lena's brain could do basic math in a fraction of a second but conceded to her sense of petty vindication by announcing each number slowly.

"So, let's see here," she said. "That'd be five ones, an eight, and... oh look, the Q is on the triple letter. Plus, the fifty points for using all seven tiles on my slate, and I guess that makes a total of one hundred and three. Do I have that right?"

"We both know that you do," said Hilary dryly.

"Excellent! After all these years, vengeance is finally mine!"

Really, Hilary should have known better than to play a game with someone who could memorize a dictionary.

"This is torture," the programmer finally admitted, looking into the bag to see how many tiles remained. "Please tell me I'm about to be put out of my misery?"

Her call was answered by the sound of an alarm, and she and Lena immediately leaped to the monitors to investigate. But their jovial attitudes vanished in an instant, flashing to frightened panic as they saw the site of the alert. Xaviax hadn't just sent forces anywhere this time.

He'd sent them to the school.

It was like she knew it was coming, an instinctive jolt in Erika's heart as the very air buzzed with growing static. Her hair stood on ends, skin prickling with anticipant dread as suddenly her vision filled with a blinding flash of green.

No! Please no! Not now!

Erika snapped to Miguel on instinct as the parking lot filled with Cyberdrones, side by side in defensive stances as they glared at the unwelcome arrivals. ArcKnight stood before them, sword in hand and glowering with menacing command. Beside him stood a figure that Erika would have happily never seen again.

"Gooooooooood evening, Ladies and Gentlemen!" Radiowave proudly declared. "It's Radiowave, back from cancelation to take you through nighttime drive. We've got a great evening in store for all of you folks, but first, a word from my very generous sponsors."

"We're sure hearing you a lot for someone that was canceled," Erika growled.

"Don't you guys ever try anything new?" Miguel added.

"Your petulance has long ceased to be endearing," said ArcKnight. "Tonight will be your end; you and the rest of your comrades. This is your final chance to surrender."

With barely a glance at Miguel, Erika's fists tightened as she secured her stance and delivered her rebuttal, "We're going to have to say: no."

"Cyberdrones!" ArcKnight commanded. "Attack!"

Like a tidal surge, the Cyberdrones rushed toward the door, giving Erika and Miguel no time to reach for their Morphers as the amassing numbers rushed them. But as they reached the teens, only some remained to occupy the threshold's guardians. The rest of them charged into the building behind them.

Ray's first warning was the screaming, the terrified cries as people fled in panic. His head whipped around, eyes glaring at the source rushing down the end of the corridor. Cyberdrones. Ray didn't think, he moved, surging forward on an intercept path to kick the front one back.

"I'm gonna need to see your hall pass."

Instead, they simply lunged at him. Ray's arms were already swinging, parrying the blow like bars of iron that shoved the robot back. Behind him, people were running, screaming in terror as Ray held back the tide. But he couldn't hold it for long, and if the Cyberdrones were there, then there was no way that this was the only hallway they'd flooded into.

He needed to get outside, reconverge with the rest of the team, and hopefully get somewhere private to morph. But there were too many civilians around, and retreating for his own safety meant leaving them to the Cyberdrones' mercy. Not an option. For now, Ray was all they had, and that meant staying exactly where he was.

"Whitney?" a woman behind him screamed. "Has anyone seen Whitney?"

"Get into a classroom!" Ray told the fleeing parents before spinning a kick. "I'll find her. Go!"

Behind him, Principal Goodson was ushering the people to safety, holding back her panicked terror as she held firm against the robotic horde. Slamming another door shut to seal the parents in the sanctuary, Goodson's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Ray in surprise. Just as quickly, she looked away, clearly dismissing her inquiry as something for later.

With the hallway nearly empty, Ray took his opportunity to move, running down the hall toward where he'd last seen Abbey and Zeke. They needed to regroup, rejoin forces, and launch a coordinated counter-attack. They could hold their ground in the halls all they wanted, but on their own, they were caught like fish in a barrel.

"Hilary?" he called into his com, bringing the watch to his lips as he ran. "We've got some unwanted guests."

But there was no reply.

To Ray's horror, the only sound was a sea of static, a harsh buzzing crackling back at him. Ray's heart seized. Xaviax had found a way to jam the coms; that should have been impossible! Until now.

Without coms, they were cut off from the lab, with no way to coordinate with the others. He needed to get to the Rangers now!

As Ray skidded around the corner, a fresh gang of Cyberdrones met him, free of any parents to harass and looking for a new victim to bully. But no parents meant no witnesses, and Ray's eyes flared with a fresh barrage of lasers that sent them clattering to the floor. He reached the window, stopping just long enough to take stock of the mayhem unfolding through the school.

From the top floor of the East Wing, he could see all the windows facing the school's inner courtyard. Cyberdrones were on every floor, although their numbers seemed to be flowing out toward the exits. Ray could see what they were doing; with the parents locking themselves inside the classrooms, the Cyberdrones were fanning out to form a perimeter. They were here for a purpose: to trap the people inside so none could escape.

But their shifting position could also be a source of advantage; if Ray could regroup with the others and morph, they could hit the lines where the Cyberdrones were weakest and create a break for the people to escape.

As long as he could find them first.

Abbey was running as fast as she could, battling the surging current as everyone trapped in Lakeview High fled for their very lives. Her mom and Richard were hot on their heels, relenting to Abbey's knowledge of the halls as she desperately searched for a place to keep them safe.

Last she saw Zeke, he'd been just up ahead, guiding his parents to room W24 for his Physics interview. If Abbey could just get to him, then she could put Mom and Richard somewhere secure with people to keep them calm. Then, and only then, could she and Zeke get to Miguel and Erika at the rear lot.

"This way!"

She whipped around the corner, elbowing a Cyberdrone right in the face as she urged her mother and stepdad to follow. Up ahead, Abbey could hear a high-pitched squealing, Whitney running for her life with Deryck on her heels. He grabbed the first door in reach, throwing it open and pulling Whitney inside before sealing it behind them. At least someone was safe, shame it wasn't anyone Abbey was worried about.

Why did it have to be tonight? Abbey cursed herself for even questioning it. Of course, it was tonight. When else would she and the other Rangers be so preoccupied, too distracted to mount a proper defense, and too beholden to their secret identities to easily morph? It was the perfect opportunity, and Xaviax had caught them unaware.

Guiltily, Abbey was starting to wish she'd asked Zeke to usher the parents from the parking lot instead of Miguel, hoping that her boyfriend would be okay until she reached him. But her first priority was getting Mom and Richard safe, then she could phase herself and Zeke through the floors and intervening Cyberdrones to find the others.

Finally, she saw Zeke up ahead, waving toward her as he held open a door.

"Over here!" he called, beckoning desperately as Abbey squeezed her mother's sleeve and picked up speed.

"In here, quickly!"

No, time to argue, Richard and her mom hurried inside the room, joining the Johnsons as Abbey stopped at the threshold. Problem one was solved, now for the other.

"Stay here," Abbey pleaded. "We're going to look for the others."

Honestly, she should have seen the next part coming.

"You absolutely will not!" her mother insisted. "Get in here now before more of those robots show up!"

"Zeke, we've found them!" Mrs Johnson agreed. "Shut the door before they find us!"

The next thing they knew, both teens were grabbed by their parents and yanked into the classroom. The door slammed behind them, everyone dropping to the floor to hide from the widows as Richard and Mr Johnson gathered up chairs to barricade the entry.

"What are you doing?" Abbey hissed. "There are still people out there!"

"Keeping you safe," her mother insisted. "There is no way I'm letting you go back out in that chaos!"

Beside her, Zeke's parents were equally adamant, unmoved before the pleading of their son. "Mom, Dad, please!" Zeke tried. "We need to go for help."

"If there's help outside, then it will find us," his mom replied.

"The best thing to do right now is to stay put," Mr. Johnson agreed.

Great. Cyberdrones were running amok in the halls, and the two people best suited to handling them were trapped inside with their parents. Abbey shared a worried look with Zeke as he gulped with nervous uncertainty. There was nothing they could do, no way to convince their parents to let them venture outside without breaking their promise of secrecy.

It meant that, for now, Ray, Erika, and Miguel were stuck on their own. The best they could hope was that Lena and Hilary were already on their way.

Shrinking in feigned subservience, Abbey faced the wall and tapped her communicator, hoping to reach the others and warn them. But a harsh hiss of static was the only reply, screaming at her anxiety as she watched Zeke's face drop in recognition. Then, something out the window caught her eye, and Abbey's face heart stuck as suddenly she watched everything unfolding turn from bad to catastrophically worse.

Erika leaped for the bench and bounded, flipping off the surface as a chasing Cyberdrone faceplanted beneath.

"I get that tonight's not going your way," Erika growled as they clambered around the bench to catch her. "But if you want them to say good things, then you'll just have to play nice."

Her foot snapped out in front of her, planting her heel into the chest to send a Cyberdrone crashing into its friends behind. With the henchmen clambering to their feet, Erika spun around, blocking a strike coming from her blind spot as she grabbed on tight and flung her attacker to the ground. As the metal armor scraped against the concrete, Erika bounced off the bench again, shifting away from the enclosing henchmen to finally get them all in front of her.

"You want to improve your grade?" she hissed. "Try summer school."

The crack of thunder boomed as crimson lightning unleashed from Erika's hands, coursing the robots' bodies as they all convulsed into overload and dropped into a steaming, twitching pile. With one problem dealt with, Erika whipped around and raced toward the school's entrance, a threatening growl rumbling behind her clenching jaw as her mind raced through a million frightening scenarios. The drones had gotten past her, and now they were running wild inside the school where her dad was sitting helplessly. Where Abbey, Zeke, and Miguel's families innocently roamed the halls to be the perfect targets for Xaviax's schemes. Abbey and Zeke were still inside, and Ray was also somewhere. But with hundreds watching all around them, they'd all be limited to do more than help people get to safety. Erika and Miguel were the only ones safe from prying eyes, and they needed to make it count.

For everyone's sake.

Up ahead, black smoke cracked as Miguel Wisped from sight, vanishing as a Cyberdrone harmlessly swatted through the shadows. In the blink of an eye, the boy appeared behind it, launching a powerful tornado kick that sent it bowling into its comrades like a ball into pins. With the Cyberdrones closer to the entrance staggering to their feet, Erika raced to Miguel's side, spinning around to face the ravenous horde with fury in their eyes.

"And we're back listeners!" Radiowave pronounced. "Coming to you live from Lakeview High for the evening drive. We've got some spry and lively guests with us in the studio tonight. What's got you all in a knot this evening?"

"Me? I just want a moment of peace and quiet," Erika replied as she shot a look at Miguel. "But if you want a soundbite, then I'm happy to take you to school."

"Time to teach these guys a lesson they won't forget?" Miguel asked.

"Oh yeah," Erika agreed. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

The Morphers flashed to their wrists, the keycard whipping between Erika's fingers as the two teens moved in seamless synchronicity. "Server Force! Login Access!"

"I DON'T THINK SO!"

As the card swiped the slot and Miguel hit the activator, the air was filled with a piercing ring. It radiated the air, signaled by the sound of a scratching record as it pulsated from the satellite dishes on Radiowave's body with rippling intensity. As the two teens called the command for the grid to imbue them, nothing answered. The Morphers made no noise, no signal of complying. Instead, they remained quiet and lifeless on their wrists.

"Uh oh! Looks like we've run into some technical difficulties," Radiowave cackled. "Looks like you just got taken off the air!"

Erika's heart stopped as she realized what was happening, watching as Miguel's jaw dropped as they stared at their Morphers in horror. Nothing had happened, their powers weren't working.

"What's happening?' Miguel gasped. "Why aren't they working?"

Erika shot a seething glare at Radiowave and ArcKnight, "I think I've got a good idea."

"Your Ranger powers were a crutch to disguise your inferiority," ArcKnight sneered. "Now behold the truth of your ineptitude."

The warrior unleashed a torrent of lightning from his sword, blasting it at the feet to send them flying. The resulting boom hurled them from their feet, launching them backward as they soared beneath the overpassing building and tumbled into the courtyard. But their troubles didn't end there.

Awaiting in the courtyard, fresh numbers of Cyberdrones were lying in wait, pouncing onto them before either Erika or Miguel could rise. The henchmen snatched at their limbs, grabbing tight and heaving them up. And as Erika and Miguel writhed in the Cyberdrone's grips, they watched in horror as Radiowave and ArcKnight stepped deeper onto the grounds.

"Looks like you need to take a quick break!" Radiowave declared. "But don't worry, folks, I'll be right here to take you through the night!"

Unable to escape from the henchmen's iron grip, Erika's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. Trapped and contained, there was nowhere for her to go, and unable to morph, she had no protection from what was coming. It was over; she'd lost, and all she and Miguel could do was brace for the end.

In her final moments, Erika's eyes scanned the buildings, bounding from window to window in a desperate plea that her father was nowhere near. That he wasn't going to watch what was about to happen. Up on the East Wing, Ray was on the top floor, pressed to the window and too far away to do anything but stare in horror. On the opposite side and one floor down, Abbey and Zeke were equally trapped in a classroom, sealed behind a pane of glass.

She could see the look in her eyes, Abbey's preparation to grab Zeke and phase right through in a desperate attempt to free her friends. But Abbey didn't know that their Morphers weren't working, that she and Zeke would be leaping into battle unarmed to throw themselves at ArcKnight's mercy.

"I will take these two to our master," ArcKnight informed Radiowave. "You scour the building for the others. Do not let them get away."

"Can do!" Radiowave replied enthusiastically. "That's right, Ladies and Gentleman, Radiowave's here to take you through the evening. But first, a message from our sponsors!"

As the Cyberdrones surged forward, rushing back into the school building, all Erika could do was look to the second floor to lock eyes with her friends. They stared back in wide-eyed terror as Erika sent them a silent, pleading message to run while they still had the chance. To hide from the fight that they had no chance of winning.

With her final moment, Erika looked up to Ray in a desperate bid to give the same warning. And then, in a sinister flash emerald, they were gone.

"NO!" Hilary cried out as she watched Erika and Miguel vanish on screen. Beside her, Lena stared at the grainy security footage that they'd been able to access. Both were at a loss for words.

The day they'd long hoped impossible had finally come. Xaviax had done it; he'd found a way to disable their Morphers, to shut them off from their Ranger powers. In the blink of an eye, Lena had watched the tables turn completely, and now two of the Rangers were in their enemy's clutches while the others remained trapped within the school.

Powerless.

And there was nothing she or Hilary could do.

When the coms had gone down, Hilary had immediately plugged into the school's hardwired surveillance system, determined to gain some form of visual on the chaos. But all it had done was give them a fresh viewing of their teammate's fate. Now, Hilary had gone quiet, resonating a cold and seething fury as she went straight to erasing all electronic footage of the teens and her husband using their civilian powers.

Lena knew Hilary well enough to know why she was focusing on something so trivial, something she could so easily do later. It was the only way she could feel like she was doing something; being busy was the only thing stopping her from unraveling.

"I don't understand," Lena stammered, staring at the footage as she rewound to Erika and Miguel's failed morph. "How could they disrupt the Morphers? Did they find a way to short-circuit them or something?"

"I don't know," said Hilary. "But I'd bet everything I have that everyone's least favorite DJ is behind it. There's no sign in the footage that the Morphers were damaged or fried. There was also no alert on my end, no warning or error indicating that something was wrong or malfunctioning. It's as if…"

"They've jammed the signal," Lena realized. "They stopped the Morpher from connecting to your server and act as a conduit for the Morphing grid."

"Don't need to break a Morpher if you can cut off its connection," Hilary agreed. "It looks like Radiowave's now blocking all signals going in and out of the Morphers. Which would also explain why our coms are down."

Through gritted teeth, Lena glared at the graining image of the monster that just wouldn't stay down. The last time he'd been active, Radiowave threw the entire city into chaos, not to mention Ray and Hilary's civilian powers. But outside, it was all quiet, and evidenced by the security footage, the electronics in Lakeview High were still all operational.

"Here's what I don't get," Lena thought aloud. "If Radiowave's back, why isn't everything going crazy again?"

"Last time, his signal had no effect on the Morphers," Hilary explained. "Trust me, I've done everything I can to make them as hack-proof as possible. Xaviax would need something pretty powerful to disrupt their connection with the lab, so he must be disrupting on a different frequency to last time, sacrificing range for strength."

"So, if we disrupt the signal, we can get the Morphers back online?"

Hilary nodded. "Looks that way. But last time, it took blowing the monster up to stop it for good. I've got no idea how we do that without our powers."

It was killing her, sitting in the seat in an underground lab while the rest of their team were trapped and being hunted. Xaviax had played them. He'd found the perfect time when they would be too worried about everyone else to counterattack effectively. He'd picked the perfect moment to get almost all of them at once.

And Lena was at home, playing Scrabble.

Her very nerves were jittering, her stomach twisting with anxious inactivity as Lena's true powerlessness hit her. But she had to do something; anything. Find some way of reaching her friends and get them all out in one piece.

"I'm going down there."

Lena had barely reached for her coat when Hilary grabbed her wrist, tugging her back from an impulsive move that could cost them all dearly. "Absolutely not. Whatever this is, there's a good chance that it's still running a variant of the Haywire Code. It put you in agony last time, and I am not letting it do that to you again."

"We don't know that," said Lena. "There's no sign of Ray losing control of his powers, and there's plenty of technology that's still working. For all we know, it's a completely different code."

"And what if it's not?" Hilary rebutted. "It could knock you out the second you step into range, only this time, there's no Miguel to Wisp you away or Power Rangers to protect you. Not to mention that it will block your Morpher, so you'll be just as powerless as the others."

Lena took a step back, shocked by the veracity with which Hilary rebuked her. And yet, it wasn't an angry scolding nor a condescending lecture about patience and responsibility. No, as Hilary warned her to go no further, Lena heard a pleading in her voice, her eyes brimming with trembling fear.

"Lena, please," said Hilary. "I can't lose anyone else today."

No matter how strong her resolve, Lena knew she couldn't say no to a request like that. For Hilary to beg Lena to remain, to resist the urge to charge to the rescue that she was also fighting, only spoke to how truly terrified she was. Her husband was trapped in the school, and two of her proteges were already captured. Hilary and Ray were the only family that Lena had, but in that moment, she realized how much the reverse was also true. And no matter how badly Lena wanted to help her friends, there was no way she could put Hilary through that.

"Okay, so if we'll get nowhere charging in," Lena conceded, "what can we do?"

But Hilary's reply didn't fill her with any hope. "Best case, we figure out a way to get in contact with either Erika and Miguel or the others at the school."

"And what do they do while we figure that out?"

"I don't know," said Hilary grimly. "But until we figure out how to stop that walking radio tower, the others are on their own."