Stephanie took a sip from her drink as she sat across from Denzel. The two of them were visiting the bar Stephanie had gotten drunk in right before they first met. And so far, they'd been sitting in awkward silence.
The pink werewolf downed his shot and broke the ice, "So, I imagine you want to follow up on our last discussion?"
Five days ago
Denzel smiled as he followed Stephanie to the floor below the penthouse.
"Guard this door," Stephanie told a nearby robot. After that, she and Denzel entered. "Let me say this right now, this isn't a one-night stand."
"You couldn't have just said that in public?" Denzel pointed out.
Stephanie leaned against the wall, crossing her arms, "I thought you'd appreciate being called out in private. So I'm going to be blunt: it's nice that you didn't push my boundaries the other day, but that's not a free pass with me, and either way, I'm looking for an actual relationship."
Denzel put a hand on his hip, "And what makes you think I'm looking for a one-night stand?"
"For one, when Clawthon was naming our reasons for joining, he said you were looking to stave off boredom. Guys like that usually aren't interested in romance," Stephanie explained. "And also, I know the look of a guy who wants to get in my pants. I've seen those eyes before."
"Your evidence is flimsy, but your instincts are right," Denzel conceded with a shrug. "I was interested in a round or two in bed with you."
"If we're clear on that, then we're good," Stephanie uncrossed her arms and walked out of the room.
"What more did you want to say?" the pink werewolf asked.
"Because I may not want a one-night stand, I am open to a date here and there. What do you think?" Stephanie asked before downing the last of her drink.
Denzel lidded his eyes as he considered her suggestion, "I guess I could give it a try." He downed his own drink, "We're in Norway. Should we go enjoy the view?"
"That sounds lovely," Stephanie smiled resting her cheek in her palm. She raised a hand and called out to the bartender, "We're ready for a check!"
"These Rangers are pretty tough," the grey cat observed.
"I've got an idea, sir," the Smilodon raised a hand, "How about we send a message through a show of force?"
The snow leopard raised an eyebrow, "What kind of show?"
The Smilodon threw his arms in the air, "I mean we face those Rangers ourselves and show them what we can do!"
The grey cat smiled and stood up, "I think I like your idea, (insert name)." His smile quickly turned to a glare, "Though, for future reference, don't bring up my personal business so casually."
That made the Smilodon bow his head, "Sorry, sir."
"Psst."
"Hm?" Selene sat up and looked around for the source of the noise she'd just heard. "Did either of you guys hear that?"
"Less talking more, more basking," Lupe said from his spot on the ground.
Rodrigo sat up, "Actually, I heard it too." Looking around, he spotted the source of the noise and pointed, "Over there!"
The other two werewolves followed his finger and saw another, purple-furred wolf peaking his head over the rooftop.
"Um, can we help you?" Lupe asked.
The purple wolf climbed onto the roof, "Oh, I was just passing through, and I thought you seemed like an interesting group."
Selene raised an eyebrow, "All we were doing was lying in the sun. You thought that was interesting?"
"Um, yes?" the purple wolf answered awkwardly, "Werewolves don't usually bask in the sun."
"Fair enough," Lupe said as he got to his feet. "What's your name?"
The purple werewolf bowed, but quickly righted himself, "My name is Calvin. Nice to meet you."
"Now that we know each other's names, do you want to sunbathe with us?" Selene asked with a smile.
Calvin smiled back, "Sure! And I'm willing to do anything else. Do you do anything besides sunbathe?"
"Well, I like parkour," Lupe suggested.
"That's perfect!" Calvin agreed.
And so, the four colorful werewolves began running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. As they ran, some of them showed different preferences for how they went about it. Selene and Lupe went around any obstacles in their path, Calvin jumped over anything in his way, and Rodrigo punched through anything that was too tall for him to jump.
"We're not here to destroy anything, Rod," Selene called out.
"Don't listen to her. You're doing great!" Lupe followed up.
At one point, though, Calvin tripped when he stubbed his toe on a vent, causing him to faceplant. Getting to his feet, he growled and stomped on the vent, denting it to the point of ruining it.
Rodrigo put a hand on his shoulder, "Take it easy. I like hitting things too, but that felt excessive."
Taking a deep breath, Calvin regained his composure, "Sorry about that. Sometimes my temper gets the better of me. Let's keep going."
The group started running again, but their fun was spoiled by several ice blasts freezing the ground in front of them. To avoid slipping, the wolves got on all fours and dug their claws into the ice. Following the direction the blasts had come from; the group spotted an anthropomorphic Smilodon.
The Smilodon laughed as the muscles in his right arm bulked up. "Come and follow me!" he dared. He fired one last shot at them before leaping to the ground below.
The werewolves took the bait and leapt after him, where they found their foe along with two allies, a snow leopard and a grey house cat with a black cape.
"Hello there," the grey cat said politely. "We're looking for the Power Rangers. Have you seen them? They're colored just like you."
Selene, Rodrigo, and Lupe tensed up as they realized the cat knew who they were. Calvin, on the other hand, simply looked nervous. "These cats look dangerous." He sniffed the air. "And I smell humans approaching. I don't mean to sound like a coward but, should we run?"
Not wanting their new friend to find out their identities, said, "Let's split up." The other wolves wordlessly agreed with her and went their separate ways.
Lupe headed to the east of town. He knew he couldn't stay in the back alleys forever, he decided to morph then and there. Summoning his tire iron, he spun around and hit the snow leopard in the head.
The snow leopard grabbed the tire iron and the two wrestled for the weapon.
As he struggled, Lupe realized that his tire iron was feeling hot to the touch. After a minute, it became too much, and he was forced to let go. Before his opponent could make use of the stolen weapon, Lupe aimed his fist at him and fired a shot from his morpher. To his shock, the snow leopard aimed a palm at his face and unleashed a blast of fire, knocking him out into the street.
Before the snow leopard could follow him, the Yellow Ranger called out to the few civilians in the street, "Everyone, run!"
Rodrigo jumped from wall to wall until he ended up back on the rooftops. Knowing the Smilodon was close behind, he morphed and summoned his gauntlet.
Sure enough, the Smilodon followed him and shot off an ice blast, which Rodrigo smashed with his gauntlet. The Smilodon smiled, "Listen up. I like to find out my opponents' names before I destroy them in battle. I'm Frostfang. And you are?"
"I'm-" Rodrigo stopped himself and thought for a second. "Wait, if I give you my name, how do I know you won't announce it to the public?"
Frostfang licked his saber teeth, "Fair enough." The Smilodon man punched with his enlarged right arm.
Rodrigo met the cat's punch with one of his own. Their punches collided and created a small shockwave. After a brief stalemate, they separated, with the Blue Ranger playing it safe by outfighting.
Unable to get a good hit in, Frostfang leapt up and sank his claws into the wall. From there, he launched another icy blast. Rodrigo tried to counter it with a shot from his morpher, but Frostfang's attack proved stronger, and the ice struck the blue werewolf.
Seeing that his morpher wouldn't be enough, Rodrigo tried another move. "Claw Jab Thrust!" His sonic claw attack shattered Frostfang's ice blast and knocked the Smilodon off the wall.
"Let's try this another way," Frostfang declared. Both his hands glowed neon blue as he charged in for another round of close combat.
Rodrigo flexed his hands as he extended his gloves' claws.
"Absolute Zero!"
"Claw Bombard!"
The first two claw swipes collided, but after that, the cat and dog laid into each other. Rodrigo growled. For all his slashing, Frostfang was actually pushing him back. They exchanged blows for another ten seconds before Frostfang thrust his hand and struck Rodrigo in the gut, knocking him out into the streets.
"Ugh," the Blue Ranger groaned, putting a hand on his gut.
"Get off me, please," Lupe wheezed.
Realizing who he'd landed on, Rodrigo hastily got up and helped his teammate get to his feet.
"So disappointing," the snow leopard commented.
The two Rangers readied themselves for another round as their opponents advanced on them.
Selene morphed and used her skateboard to skate back up to the rooftops with the grey cat following her in a single bound. Before the Green Ranger could get much further, something wrapped around her neck, stopping her in her tracks. Turning her head, she saw that the grey cat had removed his cape and used it as a lasso to catch her.
"Did you think I was wearing a cape just for show?" the cat asked rhetorically. Reaching behind his back, he pulled out a sword handle. He pressed a button on the handle, making a blade extend from the handle. To finish things, he yanked on his cape hard, pulling Selene toward him so he could slash her.
The force of the pull was so strong that Selene actually flew past the cat and crashed through the corner of the rooftop before hitting the ground.
Lupe and Rodrigo blinked, "Selene?"
"These guys are strong," the Green Ranger groaned as her teammates helped her up.
Stephanie and Denzel stood at the bank of a river, just taking in the scenery. "Hm, this is nice," Denzel commented. "How about you?"
"I could look at this all day," Stephanie smiled.
"I'm afraid you do not have all day," Clawthon's voice spoke through their morphers.
The red werewolf facepalmed. "Please tell me you weren't eavesdropping on us this whole time.
Clawthon was quick to reassure her, "I only tuned in about ten seconds ago. But enough about that. Your teammates are in trouble."
Denzel glanced at his date before speaking into his morpher, "Alright then. Where are they?"
"On the south side of town."
Just as Denzel was moving to leave, Stephanie grabbed his hand and asked, "Hey, Clawthon. Since you and your friend have tech from a century into the future, do you happen to have a way to teleport us?"
A second voice, belonging to Wolfgang, laughed, "I was wondering when one of you would ask. Yes, we have a teleporter. I suggest you morph in advance."
The red and pink duo nodded and donned their Ranger suits. In another flash of light, they found themselves in the streets with their teammates nearby.
The grey cat didn't look worried about the two extra enemies, "Incendian, take care of them."
"Yes, sir," the snow leopard said.
Taking the challenge, the Red and Pink Rangers summoned their weapons with Stephanie firing her pistol.
In response, Incendian formed a staff of fire and used it to block her shots. Once he got in close, he started swinging. Stephanie dodged the first swing but got hit by the next. The snow leopard then attacked Denzel.
The Pink Ranger blocked the staff with his saber, putting the two in a brief deadlock, "You're a snow leopard but you have fire powers?"
"Ironic, isn't it?" Incendian replied. He twirled his staff and started clashing with Denzel. Blocking another shot from Stephanie, the snow leopard threw his staff at her, injuring her. He then created another staff and leapt at her.
Denzel got in the way and blocked his strike. As he slashed at Incendian, Stephanie got to her feet. Growling, the Red Ranger moved in, firing several shots before getting in close where his staff would be less useful. She tried to pistol-whip him while Denzel tried another slash.
In response, Incendian shrank his fire staff down to a fire dagger. He used the dagger to slash Stephanie's wrist while holding his other hand out to shoot Denzel in the gut with a fire bullet. The snow leopard leapt out from in between them and drew a flaming ring in the air with his hands. The ring flew around the two Rangers and tightened, binding and burning them. With a snap of his fingers, Incendian made the ring explode, making the Rangers collapse.
Meanwhile, Lupe and Rodrigo were having a tough time with Frostfang. At first, the two Rangers were doing well, using their weapons to shatter any ice the Smilodon sent their way.
Unfortunately, Frostfang decided to get creative and, instead of ice, hit them with a burst of snow, blinding them long enough for him to get in close. He sent Rodrigo flying with a punch to the face.
"Hey!" Lupe shot the Smilodon in the back with his morpher before swinging his tire iron.
Frostfang blocked the strikes with his right arm before lunging forward and sinking his saber teeth into Lupe's shoulder. As the Yellow Ranger screamed, Frostfang twisted his neck and flung Lupe into Rodrigo and knocking them both over to Stephanie and Denzel.
This left Selene dealing with the grey cat. Having seen what he could do with his cape, she came up with a plan. She let him wrap the cape around her skateboard, then pressed her fist against the cape and shot it up with her morpher. Keeping up her momentum, she used her skateboard to skate through the sky and take potshots at the cat.
Looking bored, the grey cat simply used his sword to deflect her shots. Soon after, he managed to send one of the blasts right back at her.
Selene stumbled a bit through the air, and as she righted herself, she saw that all her friends were in trouble. Not only that, but humans were starting to gather around the fights. She grit her teeth, not liking the idea of public defeat. "I'm ending this now!" she sped toward the grey cat and initiated her kickflip finisher. To her surprise, though, the grey cat sidestepped her, so the only thing she smashed was the pavement.
"That's my line," he snarked as he slashed her across the back. After that, he kicked her in the gut, launching her over to her fallen teammates.
"Mission accomplished," Incendian declared as the trio of cats surrounded the werewolves.
"What now, Bright?" Frostfang asked.
Rather than answer the question, the now-named Bright looked to the human onlookers, "I hope you all saw this. How does it feel? These heroes have appeared so recently, and already they've fallen." He stared off into space, "Are you seeing this, Clawthon?"
Wolfgang frowned as he watched the Rangers' predicament. "It looks like we may need to step in." Hearing no response, he turned around to look at his friend, "Clawthon?"
"It can't be," Clawthon muttered in shock.
The inventive werewolf grabbed his friend by the shoulder, "Snap out of it! We need to go!"
Bright planted his foot on Selene's stomach and raised his sword to impale her. However, in a flash of light, Clawthon and Wolfgang, wearing hoods to hide their faces, appeared in front of Bright.
Clawthon grabbed Bright's sword, stopping it from piercing Selene. Incendian and Frostfang aimed their hands at Clawthon, intending to blast him with their respective elements, but Wolfgang interfered.
The bearded werewolf revealed two, small mirrors attached to his palms, and used them to redirect the cats' blasts at each other rather than him.
"That's enough," Clawthon growled.
Bright said nothing for a moment before withdrawing his sword, "Very well. I've gotten my point across anyway. Men, we're leaving."
"Yes, sir," the fire and ice duo answered.
"You'll be seeing me again," Bright told Clawthon as they were beamed back to their ship.
With the cats gone, the Rangers had the chance to get to their feet. They all looked around at the populace, who had looks of shock and doubt on their faces.
Wolfgang sighed, "I think it's time for us to leave." He pulled out what looked like a small detonator and pressed it with his thumb, teleporting the group back to Nocturn Tower.
The Rangers demorphed, all of them looked angry or discouraged to some degree. "This day took an unpleasant turn," Denzel complained.
"It wasn't that bad," Selene said, trying to sound encouraging.
"We just lost a fight. Badly. And all the humans saw us lose," Stephanie frowned. "I'm gonna go get a drink."
"Me too," Denzel nodded.
As the red and pink wolves walked off, Rodrigo refocused on the team's mentors, "How did that grey cat know your name?"
"We…have a history," Clawthon admitted.
"Okay, but HOW?" Lupe followed up, "He's from outer space. What could have happened that an alien has a grudge against you? And when?"
Clawthon looked uncertain but stayed silent.
Selene frowned, "I hope you'll be ready to tell us soon." With that, she and the other two Rangers walked away as well.
Now alone, Wolfgang put a hand on Clawthon's shoulder.