Chapter Five:
The Escape
The door slammed open.
The four rangers found themselves being led from their cell, down a long corridor, and into a small cafeteria. Benton went first, picking up a tray and holding it out as a heavyset Crimer deposited a scoop full of slop onto it. The Green Ranger cringed.
"Are you sure that's all we've got?" he asked. "We could order in. I'm partial to KFC myself."
The Crimer glared at him and grunted. One of Benton's guards grabbed his elbow to move him along. At the far corner of the room, another door opened, and a female Crimer slipped through, making eye contact with Benton and nodding. Benton nodded back, letting out a loud, low whistle as he perused a basket of old fruit. "Man, I hope my team did well in the game last night."
Right on cue, he heard Gordon's tray slam down behind him. "You can't be serious with this," the Red Ranger said. "Do you have any idea who I am. I am Gordon Cherry. An Olympic champion. Multiple time Olympic champion at that. I get served gourmet meals every single day, and you think I'm going to lower myself to eating this gruel."
He picked it up and threw it in the large Crimer's face. His guards moved to pull him back and stop him, only for Rio to spin on the spot and deck them both with two quick jabs to the face.
The room erupted into chaos as guards in rubber masks swarmed Rio, trying to stop him. Rio fought them all off singlehandedly, throwing gut punches and uppercuts in every direction he could. Benton backed up away from the chaos, setting his tray down and quickly slipping over to the door where Agent Ten stood.
"Heya, pretty lady," he said. "Come here often?"
Agent Ten looked down. He couldn't tell, but he was pretty sure she blushed a little under her mask. "The vent's open," she whispered. "You know your way around?"
"I do," Benton said.
She slipped him a small card. "Take this. Activate it when ready."
"You're the best," Benton said, taking the card and stuffing it in his shirt. He ducked through the door to find himself in a small back room, a large vent on one side, its cover removed. He dove inside and started crawling through.
Back in the cafeteria, Rio was still brawling with his guards, Gordon having ducked under the nearby table, and Karen staying away from the fight. Or at least, that's what she was pretending to be doing while slipping a key card off one of the guards while they were distracted.
"Rio, not again!" she shouted to signal him once it was done.
At the signal, Rio dropped his guard and took the next punch, collapsing as if he had been knocked out. The guards surrounded him and cheered. "Get him out of here," the captain said. "Take the others back to their cells."
He looked around for a second, realizing Benton was missing. "What happened to the other one?"
The Crimers all looked around the room in confusion. "He's escaped!" the captain shouted. "You three, go after him. He can't have gone far."
"Yes, sir."
Gordon and Karen were taken back to their cells, Agent Ten among their guard. Once they were shoved inside, Gordon pulled out his radio. "Doctor Kuchar, we've breached containment."
"Well done, Gordon," Doctor Kuchar said. "We'll see you in five."
They waited a few seconds until Ten rapped on the door three times to let them know it was safe. Karen pulled out the key card she'd stolen and swiped it across the pad on the cell door, popping it open. "Nice Karen performance back there," she told Gordon.
Gordon smirked. "Well, you know," he said. "Helps to know one."
Karen elbowed him in the side and stuck out her tongue. "Shut up."
The pair stepped out to find only Ten standing guard. "Hey, guys," Ten whispered, slipping them three cards that Karen quickly pocketed.
"Did Benton get out okay?"
"Oh, yeah. He's on his way. Now, get going."
"See you, Ten," Gordon said. He balled up his fist and swung it past her face. Ten collapsed to the floor, slightly overexaggerating being knocked out. Gordon and Karen smiled at each other and ran on past.
Meanwhile, Rio was carried back into the torture room, where the captain ordered him placed on the table. He looked over Rio's supposedly unconscious form and picked up a couple of sharp instruments. "Punch me in the face, will you?"
"Want me to do it again?" Rio asked.
"No, I do not," the captain said. "I intend to—"
He stopped and looked up at Rio onto to receive a second punch right to the nose. Rio swung himself up to a sitting position, grabbing the nearest guard and flipping him over the table, punching the next one in the gut, and smashing a third into the wall. He grabbed a fourth in a headlock and held her tight.
"How?" she said, struggling against him. "You're not enhanced anymore."
"Seriously?" Rio said. "You guys remember I used to be a boxer, right?"
He flipped her over, then punched the bleeding and broken nose of the captain who'd been trying to sneak up on him with a cattle prod. Once he collapsed, Rio found himself free of opponents. He got to his feet and wiped himself off, strolling right out of the room.
"Lord Iron Claw, sir," a Crimer shouted. "There's an escape in progress."
Iron Claw looked back from his window, where he'd started leaving deep claw marks in the bulletproof glass from pressing against it so long. He looked back at them, his eyes red. "Who is it?"
"Um, all four of them, sir."
"Then find them. Do I have to do—"
A loud blast shook the island. Iron Claw turned and looked out the window to see the Rangers' airship, the Sky Ace, racing toward the island, bombarding it with missiles. "Scramble our fighters!" he shouted. "Find the Rangers."
"Yes, sir!" the Crimer said, dipping out through the door.
"And find my Shine!" Iron Claw shouted after him.
Gordon and Karen raced through the corridors, pressing up against a corner and peeking around it. "According to the map, our exit is down there," Gordon said.
"Let's go, then," Karen said.
The pair rushed out around the corner and raced at top speed toward the exit, moving way slower than they were used to, but they'd started to slip back into their old body rhythm so it wasn't too frustrating. They passed a side corridor only for Rio to burst from it and ram right into them.
"What?" Rio said, rolling over. "Who—Oh, hey guys. You made it out."
He extended his hands and helped them up. "Hey, Rio," Karen said. "How's the chin?"
Rio rubbed the spot where he'd let himself get decked, now a little bit swollen. "Not bad. Left much worse on the other guys. Swelling should go down eventually."
A band of Crimers appeared at the far end of the hall. "There they are."
"And we've got to go."
The three turned and ran for the exit, reaching the outside door marked on the map and pushing through to the jungle outside. "Do you got the things?" Rio asked.
"Oh, yeah," Karen said, pulling out the three cards Ten had given her. She distributed them each to her comrades, the red spade card to Gordon, the blue diamond card to Rio, and the pink heart card to herself. Each ranger pressed their thumbprint against the card's symbol and tossed them to the ground, where they started expanding and growing outward. Gordon and Rio's turned into their red and blue attack vehicles, while Karen's took the shape of an old-timey buggy. It had been in their catalog of body models when her car was being built, and she found it hilarious, requesting that one specifically. The cars finished just as the door behind them burst open and Crimers came running out.
"Hop in," Gordon said.
The trio jumped into their vehicles and activated them, racing off through the trees before the Crimers could even react.
Back inside the complex, Benton crawled his way through the vents. He checked his map again. "The morphers should be right around here," he said, glancing through a grate. He was stunned to see Leon inside, probably supposed to be standing guard, but instead parading around with the green morpher on his wrist, striking a bunch of different action poses.
"Pretty cool, aren't they?" he asked, stifling a laugh.
Leon jumped a foot in the air and spun, just as Benton kicked out the vent cover and dropped to the floor. "Hi," he said. "So glad you're having fun, but I'm gonna need that back now."
Leon stared in horror, his face a deep red. He quickly shook himself out of it. "Freeze!" he shouted, his hand going for the morpher's activation button.
"Um, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Benton tried, but he was too late. Leon pressed the button, and a bright flash lit up the room, transforming him into the King of Clubs.
"Haha," the faker shouted, balling up his fist. "Now, you're screwed." He threw a punch, only to cry out in pain and collapse to the ground. He gasped and strained, looking like he was in a lot of pain.
"What is happening to me?" he shouted.
Benton raised an eyebrow, watching him struggle. "So, did you just miss the whole 'it doesn't work without our cyborg enhancements' thing, or . . . ?"
Leon looked up at him. "What?"
Benton stared at him. "It doesn't work without our enhancements. That's why we were captured. It was a whole thing—Oh, you were still floating up in the factory when that all happened, weren't you?"
Leon didn't say anything. Benton smirked and crossed to the other morphers. They were contained inside a large box that was clearly supposed to be locked, but apparently Little Leon had been a little naughty. He opened it up and pulled them out, pocketing all three, then crossing back to crouch in front of Leon.
"Glaring weakness in hindsight," he said. "But don't worry. I'm breaking out now. Once that's over, I'm sure Doctor Kuchar can fix the problem. Then we'll come back here and take you all down. I might even let you try it out if you play nice."
Leon stared up at him. "Help me," he pleaded.
"Oh, I will," he said, spotting Leon's gun resting nearby and grabbing it. He looked it over and tsked at Leon. "Man, I do not want to be you when the Iron Claw figures out just how much you fumbled here today." He reached down and switched off the morpher on Leon's wrist, returning him back to normal. Leon gasped with relief, only to be struck on the back of his head with the butt of his own gun.
Benton tsked again. "Poor sap."
He pulled out his map again to check it. "Alright, nearest exit?" He turned and headed out the main door, finding himself in a large open corridor. "And I believe I'll be going left."
"Hey, you! Stop!"
Benton turned to see a squad of Crimers down the right end of the hall, coming towards him. "Uh oh."
He pulled out the card Ten gave him, this one green with a clover marked on it. "No time like the present." He pressed it and threw it to the ground, the card rapidly expanding into a bright green motorcycle. "Hey, buddy," he said, mounting it. "Ready for your first ride outside of training? Me too."
He started it up and took off down the corridor at high speed. Lasers blasted his way, but he skillfully dodged around them. He reached the turn he needed to take and veered tightly down it, his knee scraping the floor. Just ahead, he saw the doors leading to the outside. He put on the gas, ducked his head and barreled straight through them, flying out into the trees outside and landing hard on the dirt. He swerved to the left and shot down the narrow dirt trail.
"Well, I'm out," he said into the comms on his dash. "Where are all of you?"
The rumble of the Sky Ace met his ears as he looked up to see the airship sweep overhead, firing its lasers at the mountain. "Alright, there's one of you."
"We're coming up on your location, Benton," Gordon's voice said. "I see you on my tracker."
Tracker? Benton thought. There was a tracker on this thing?
He studied the monitors before him. Back during training, he hadn't had much need for them. He spotted one with three blips moving toward a fourth. "Are you the three blinkers on the big square one on the left side?"
"That's us," Karen said.
"Nice. See you soon."
About a minute later, Benton went off a small jump, landing on a much wider trail right in front of his teammates, causing Rio and Karen to have to swerve to avoid him. "Hey, watch it!" Rio shouted.
"Sorry," Benton called back.
The four raced together, circling the island as the firefight between the Sky Ace and a series of fighters raged above, a handful of fighters breaking away to try and pursue the vehicles below. The team managed to avoid all the lasers that came their way, but it soon started getting pretty hot.
"Any ideas on how to get on board that airship?" Gordon asked.
"I think so," Benton said. He'd been fiddling with the map display on his dash for the last couple minutes. He tapped on one landmark so that it lit up on the others' screens as well. "That there a cliff?"
"I think so," Karen said. "I think it's that ridge on the side of the mountain over there."
She pointed off to the north. Benton could just see it through the trees. "Nice." He tapped his comm. "Hey, Sky Ace," he said. "Do you think you can swing around past that cliff backwards with your back hatch open in about two minutes?"
"What are you planning, Benton?" Gordon asked.
"To the cliff!" Benton said without answering, veering off down a side trail that the map indicated led up to the cliff. His teammates shook their heads and followed him. It was a bit winding and rough, but eventually, they found themselves at the foot of the cliff, with one last climb ahead of them. Right on cue, the Sky Ace swept past, its back bay doors open.
"We're ready for you," Doctor Kuchar's voice said.
"Let's do this."
Benton revved his engine and took off, putting on as much speed as humanly possible. Fighters raced behind him, blasting him with lasers. Benton pressed his gas as hard as he possibly could. He reached the edge and fired up the rockets attached to the back of his vehicle, flying off the cliff and soaring through the air for a short distance before slamming down inside the Sky Ace's bay, veering hard and crashing to a stop.
Behind him, the others crashed inside as well, the bay door closing up behind them. Yoselin and Doctor Kuchar rushed to their sides.
"Are you alright?" Doctor Kuchar asked, looking over Benton.
Benton rubbed his shoulder, which now had a bad scrape. "Oh, I'm great," he said. "Can we go home now?"
Doctor Kuchar smiled. He tapped his comm. "Tomas, get us out of here."
"Yes, sir."
The Sky Ace turned and veered away from the island, racing back out over the ocean. Iron Claw watched them go from his sanctum, slamming his fist so hard against the glass that it shattered.
"No!"