I've been trying not to make it a trend to be late to a scene, especially since the whole Vypari incident. But unfortunately for me, my documentary professor just kept talking, and it wasn't even about documentary, either. Now, I'm pulling up a whole half hour after I got the initial message from Miss Fairweather.

The entire way here, lightning kept striking down in this area, and once I actually get a visual of our opponent, I kinda know why. Dangerous. Also must be why the rest of my team is down. I push the fear away and leap off of my Rail Rescue. "Hey, you!"

I swear that thunder rumbles when the monster turns to face me. "Oh, look. Another pathetic Ranger for me to crush." Good fucking luck with that- "Lightning spikes, away!"

"Ally!" Carter calls out, voice still feeble, "Watch-" His warning doesn't come late by any means, it's just that this guy is way too fast. The monster's weapons dig into the ground at my feet, and in the next instant, electricity zaps through me.

The suit's nice for a lot of reasons, but its main fault is this: it keeps me awake as I'm struck by lightning. It makes me nearly invincible, but it doesn't change the fact that the pain's still real. I'm barely aware of getting rolled onto my back, my opponent standing above me, sword raised-

Blood spatters out from the monster's chest, brought on by a stray laser blast. The trajectory's all wrong, though, I realize as my senses come back to me. It couldn't have come from my team. No matter, though. At least this gave me the upper hand. Chad's by my side in an instant, helping me to my feet. "What's goin' on?" Carter mutters.

"Hell if I know," Kelsey retorts, and I reach over to help her to her feet. Suddenly, though, she straightens up, gaze fixed on something over my shoulder.

I turn and look straight into a mirror.

At first, I almost think that the new Rangers are, somehow, the Lost Galaxy team. Then I realize that that would be impossible, not because space travel is impossible, but because there would've been a traffic jam anywhere they landed. News and all.

Nope. The team that had taken down our opponent is us. Or at least, us if we had robot antennas on our heads. "What the f-"

"C'mon," Carter urges, "We should go meet them."

Chad reaches out, slapping his duplicate on the back. "Hey, man. That was pretty sick. Thanks for the assist-" His hand falls as our duplicates march forward in perfect unison. And if I strain my hearing, I think I can catch the slightest hint of gears whirring.

Robot versions of us. Alright. Not the weirdest thing I've seen this week, but it's definitely up there. "Hey," Carter starts, "Hold on a second."

Of course, his words aren't heeded (which sounds a lot like something I would do). Instead, the robots come to a halt as the door to a heavily armored jeep opens and a short man steps out. He's in some kind of combination between a lab and a trench coat, carrying a small device in his hand. A game controller?

Oh, whoever this is did not make a video game controller to control… whoever these people are. "Hello, Rangers."

Ew. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this guy is one of our villains sent by Diabolico. "Uh, hi. Could you tell us what's going on here?"

"These," the scientist explains, "are the Cyborg Rangers."

At least this time, we're not arriving back to Aqua Base with a damaged Rover. The last jolt of the elevator arriving at the top of the bay kicks me awake, and I stretch, ignoring the way Dana glances back at me. "What time did you sleep last night?"

"Hey, I got my six hours."

She sighs. "You're the worst."

I grin, hopping out of the car. "Thanks, I try."

Joel scoffs. "Please. No way in hell you're taking my title."

Chad snorts out a laugh and Kelsey nods emphatically. "You've got a ways to go, 'Lys."

Carter rolls his eyes, even as a smile forms on his face, and he leads the way over to Captain Mitchell. "Captain, you really didn't have to," he starts.

"He means that literally, too," Joel adds quickly, "'Cause we were about to have that covered." Dana shakes her head. "Anyway. With those Cyborg Rangers, Diabolico doesn't stand a chance."

"The Cyborgs aren't here to join you." The man who speaks looks like he ranks even higher than Captain Mitchell, which probably makes him General McKnight. I've heard of him. Nothing good, though. "They're here to replace you."

Oh.

From the very first day I put on this morpher, I questioned if I really wanted to be a part of this organization. If I deserved to be, considering that I was even questioning that in the first place. But now, faced with this, panic settles in my gut like a sickness. Captain Mitchell steps forward. "Sir, this is a mistake."

General McKnight shrugs. "You saw them yourself. They saved these…" He glances over at us and smiles a pitying smile. "Kids."

"Kids?" Kelsey mutters.

"What were you thinking, Bill?" Dana flinches, and I reach out a hand, resting it on her shoulder. "They could never defeat Diabolico. Not if they couldn't defeat a single demon."

"Hey, now," Joel soothes, which is extremely not like him. Whatever he's going to say next, "You got all those medals. Where's the smarts that earned you them?" Geez.

Kelsey steps forward. "Clearly not here with us right now-"

"Quiet." Captain Mitchell can barely finish speaking before the Cyborg Rangers step out in the hallway behind the General. Kelsey's jaw clenches, but she steps back behind Chad.

General McKnight smiles. "You are relieved of your duties."

One of the soldiers with him opens up a silver briefcase with six slots, one for each of our morphers. The other soldier steps up to Chad, reaches for his wrist, and gets his arm caught in Chad's vice grip. As much as I don't want to fight here… if my friends want to, I'll follow. But Captain Mitchell shakes his head, and each of my teammates relinquishes the one thing they've probably treasured the most in their lives.

A tear slips down my cheek, not because this has the same impact on me, but because I feel a sickening sense of relief.

The strap of my morpher doesn't come off when I try to remove it. General McKnight narrows his eyes at me. "This is not the time or place for this, child." Jesus Christ do I hate authority figures.

"I'm not fuckin' around," I retort, "It's not coming off." The soldier who Chad almost decked in the face reaches for me next, but Carter steps in front of me. I blame his warm, gentle touch on the fact that he was a firefighter. His fingertips graze my wrist as his other hand tries to pry my morpher off, but it still isn't working.

"She's right," he announces, "Something's probably wrong with it or something." Or something is not in Carter's vocabulary. He's always got ways to describe stuff, which means he's more frazzled than he's letting on.

The General heaves a sigh and gestures to the man holding the briefcase. He closes it with a click. "Alright. In that case, we'll just have to hold you until we can figure out what's wrong with you."

"What's wrong with me?" I sputter before I can think that it might be a dumb thing to say, "What's wrong with you?"

Captain Mitchell raises his hand. "Alyssa. Don't."

I've never been good at listening to instructions, but for everyone's sake, I know I have to. "The rest of you are dismissed," General McKnight orders.

Dana doesn't even turn around to fuss over me. Chad walks backward, eyes fixed on me as if to say We'll get you out. Joel's hands clench and unclench, fingers occasionally tapping his leg, as if he's gripping onto the controls of a plane. Kelsey shakes her head and follows Dana.

"Mr. Grayson," General McKnight starts, "Please escort Ms. Sakamichi to her room."

Carter nods, staying behind me all the way until we get to our dorm. "You'll be okay?"

He's so close that I can smell his cologne wafting around me, can feel the natural warmth he emits. Shit. "As okay as I can be." He glances down the hallway, and I follow suit, seeing one of the soldiers posted up at the end of it, staring at us.

God, I hate acting. I reach up, letting my hand brush against Carter's forearm. He shivers under my touch. "Where can I see you next?"

Understanding flickers in his gaze. "Our spot." How nice it would be to have a spot with someone. Damn. "The bridge in Goldenrod Park."

"Alright. Be safe, okay?" My hand falls to my side. I'm not willing to play this up more than I need to.

"Always."

Carter is unreasonably angry. Of course, the one person on their team who wants their position the least would be the one to keep their morpher. Of course, something miraculous couldn't happen to him like that.

And of course, their youngest member is, impossibly, in danger in their own damn base. Or what used to be theirs. "She'll be okay," Dana murmurs, more to herself than any of them. "She'll be fine."

"Should we call her parents?" Chad offers. "Her brother, maybe? There's gotta be some, I don't know, legal loophole we can exploit or something, I don't know."

Kelsey scoffs. "Like they would help us. They made 'Lys doubt herself."

Again, unreasonably angry. "She got herself where she is," Carter warns. "And for now, the best thing we can do is wait."

Joel smirks, and Carter knows exactly what he's gonna say. "What was that little show in the hallway about?"

"If she can get out," he explains, fighting to keep his voice level, "I told her where she can meet us."

The Green Ranger nods slowly. "Yeah. Told her while she was feeling you-"

Explosions rocket off a few blocks away, and his gaze snaps over the billowing cloud of black smoke. "As fired as we are," Chad mutters, "We should help those people."

"Chad's right," Carter agrees, "Let's go-" Joel grasps his arm.

"What's gotten into you, man? This shit's not on us anymore."

Kelsey nods. "Yeah. Let the Cyborgs handle this."

I'm awoken by a knock at my very locked door. Without my team here, the dorm feels empty. Too big. Too quiet. Guess why that idiot outside was loud enough to get me up. A sheet of paper slides underneath the door, and I get off the couch, stretching before I bend to pick it up. From Miss Fairweather. Make sure to go out the back entrance. Might need to do a little swimming, but it'll be worth it.

I unfold the last bit of paper and a card falls out. Because I'm not a dumbass, I know exactly what this is: a key.

Joel's going to eat this up.

Carter's not one to believe in karma, but seeing the scientist get cornered by his own creations is kind of odd. He does what he must, though, and tackles him out of the way before the Cyborgs can get to him. The others form up behind him, as loyal as always, even though none of them had been able to think of a single plan except to "use brute force", as Joel said. And apparently, brute force works, since Carter's able to take down his duplicate fairly easily-

"You are no match for us Cyborg Rangers." Oh. "You will all be terminated." Never mind.

"They're right," the scientist mutters, "Nothing can stop them without my self-destruct button."

"We better hope you're wrong, then-"

There's the screech of the rover, and Carter looks up to spot Captain Mitchell and a sopping-wet Alyssa in the passenger seat.

"Miss me?"

Of course, we come out on top. Now we stand in the control room of Aqua Base, and I've got a towel wrapped around my shoulders. I've already started sneezing, which is just great news, but at least I think we're about to get an official apology. General McKnight stands in front of us, surveying us with his rat-like gaze. "Captain Mitchell made a wise choice, choosing all of you." He pauses and smiles to himself in a way that makes him look slightly less rat-like, "Six wise choices."

He steps over to Captain Mitchell next. "Captain." Dana's father stands attentively, "I won't interfere again."

With that, they clear out, heading to the elevators, and I grin. The Aqua Base erupts into relieved cheers and laughter, and Dana gives me a quick hug, not without telling me she'll make me soup. Chad claps me on the back, Joel ruffles my hair, and Kelsey and I fist bump. Carter hesitates, though, so I step up to him. "If this whole Power Ranger business doesn't work out," I joke, "You should think about acting."

The others burst into laughter, and my smile widens. He shakes his head, but I still catch the beginnings of a smile. Joel nods. "Yeah, y'all definitely gave us something to look at earlier."

Hm. "Speaking of which…" He frowns. "You will not believe how I actually got out of here."