Chapter 4

The unnamed knight tented his fingers as he sat on his throne. It had been a day since Hungry Horror Hippo was destroyed. His subordinates moved cautiously around him. They couldn't tell what he was thinking behind his helmet.

"Alright," he suddenly spoke. "Hands up. Who thinks we should make a monster that can get rid of those two troublesome teens in an instant?"

Everyone raised their hands.

"Well, alright then. Factoraze, review the footage from their battles and create a monster that can exploit their weaknesses."

The robot bowed and lowered his tube arm to the ground, where it gave a burbling cough and began spewing black liquid. It piled up slowly on the floor and did not immediately take a solid shape.

Resting his cheek in his palm, the knight sighed. "Seriously, you're really slow with that thing. Isn't there, like, an update we can download for you?"

"My apologies, sir," Factoraze replied.

"Will you just relax and be happy that you're healing up nicely?" Duncan griped.

Brody subconsciously rubbed the bandages on his bicep and hand. Fortunately, he didn't need a cast, though it still hurt like hell. "I can't help it. If I wasn't sure before that monsters are gonna keep showing up, I am now."

They were at school, just like it was any other day. Duncan and Brody did their best to act casual and ignore the gossip about their alter egos, which was rapidly spreading among the student body. As they moved between classes with Kenny, someone put an arm around each of the brothers' shoulders.

"Hey there, lads..." Cooper paused when he noticed Kenny. "Kento, right?" Kenny nodded. Continuing, Cooper asked, "Ya hear about what happened last night? Those guys in suits beat that hippo thing."

"Yeah, it was awesome!" said Kenny.

"That it was. They have a name now, you know," said Cooper knowingly.

"A name?" the brothers said at the same time. Then they both thought for a second, resuming their cool.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Duncan said, playing along. "They call themselves the Power Rangers, right?"

Cooper nodded. "Y'know, some kids around here think they're vigilantes while others just think they're superhero wannabes. What do you boys think of 'em?"

"What do you think about them?" Brody deflected. Kenny's eyes narrowed at this.

Cooper just grinned. "Me? I wish I could be part of their crew. I'd kick all kinds of arse."

The three teens shared a look. "Looks like Brody isn't the only superhero fanboy around here," Duncan joked. His brother glared at him while Kenny chuckled.

"Well, I've got stuff to clean. See ya later," Cooper said as he took his leave.

The boys resumed their classes, and days passed by without incident. Duncan wasn't complaining, but Brody was still on edge. His fears seemed more justified every day. Outside, it was slowly but steadily getting hotter, hot enough that it was clear something was going on. Temperatures weren't supposed to steadily increase in October.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Brody asked one boiling afternoon.

His brother groaned and wiped some sweat from his brow. "There's another monster behind this. Is that what you're thinking?" Brody nodded, making Duncan groan again. "Okay, let's just get this over with. Hey, Chazz?" he spoke into his morpher.

"Yeah?" the Zord replied.

"Could you ask the Cryolophosaurs to search around for any monsters that might be causing this heat?" Duncan asked.

"Sure."

Satisfied, Duncan lowered his morpher. "There. Now we just wait until they find the monster. Happy now?"

Brody sighed. "I guess so."

"Oh, come on, lighten up," Duncan complained. "If you need a distraction, why don't you go try to ask Jane out again?"

That made Brody glare at him. "Not cool."

"We've got battle suits with ice powers. Everything we do is cool," Duncan shot back.

Chazz, Carl, and Brody all groaned. "Oh, God."

Duncan at least had the decency to look ashamed. "I know. I knew it sucked as soon as I said it."

Several more days went by with no report from the dinos. On top of that, the temperature had risen into the high eighties. Duncan couldn't even open a window to smoke a joint without sweating.

"Okay, you were right, this is something to worry about," he conceded.

"What are we supposed to do? The Cryolophosaurs have been looking all over town and they haven't found a trace of anything," Chazz explained. "Maybe it's just a normal heat wave."

Duncan looked over to Brody. "Will you say something already? You've been sitting around lost in your thoughts for two days! Quit posing like you're The Thinker!"

Brody stopped posing like The Thinker and responded, "I think I have an idea."

"Wait, what?" Duncan and the Zords responded.

Ignoring their question, Brody spoke into his morpher, "Carl, Chazz, meet us on the outskirts of town."

"Are we taking the car or the Cryolophowhatsits?" Duncan asked. "Oh, I know! We'll flip a coin."

Brody rolled his eyes. "It's broad daylight. Let's just take the car."

Once they arrived at the outskirts of town, the boys morphed into their Ranger forms and rendezvoused with their Zords.

"So, do you think the monster that's been heating up the town is out here?" Chazz asked.

Brody nodded. "I do." He pointed down the road to their left. "In fact, I actually see him right over there."

Duncan and the Zords looked to see that the monster was indeed nearby, less than one hundred feet away. It was a humanoid mass of rock with arms lined with what looked like luminous strips of plastic, giving the impression that they were covered in shimmery stage fire. Duncan thought it looked kind of like an Elvis impersonator.

The creature spoke first. "Okay, I have to ask, how'd you figure out I was here?"

"Well, when Chazz said the Cryolophosaurs were having trouble finding you, I realized you could be heating the city from the outside by superheating the winds. It was either the edge of town or underground. I'm glad we found you before we had to look there," Brody admitted.

The monster nodded. "Nice detective work. You're correct. By spinning the tassels on my arms, I'm able to generate a heatwave which the winds carry into the city. It was actually a bit of a chore since I had to change location depending on the direction of the wind—"

"Hey, Chazz, since you and Carl are here, you think you could just smash this guy right now?" Duncan asked.

"Good idea!" Chazz replied.

Carl took the initiative and raised his foot over the monster, preparing to stomp.

"Crap! They're being smart about this!" exclaimed the knight. "Lensia, do your thing!"

Lensia waved her hands impassively, sending a beam of energy down to the planet.

Just as Carl was bringing his foot down on the rock monster, a flash of light made the Carnozord stumble back. When the light faded, the monster was as big as Carl. The tassels on the stone creature's arms lit on fire, and before anyone could react, he began to lash them out like whips.

Sneaking up behind the monster, Chazz charged and stabbed it in the ass with his horns.

"Quick, guys, let's form the Megazord and finish this!" Brody yelled. He and Duncan hopped into their Zords' heads as the two combined.

Duncan took the reins and had the Megazord throw a punch. This knocked the stone monster back, but before they could continue their assault, their enemy's flaming tassels shot out, ensnaring them.

"What do we do now?!" Duncan shouted in a panic. The tassels were damaging the Megazord all over.

"I know what to do!" Carl said. The Megazord stepped forward, the head on its chest biting off the tassel that was wrapped around the rest of its torso.

Brody went in for a slash with their drill arm. "Now's our chance!" However, in a surprising display of flexibility, the stone monster leaned sideways and dodged the blow before counterattacking with another flame whip. The Megazord was too slow to dodge and ended up taking one hit after another.

Growling, Chazz yelled, "Okay, enough is enough!" He threw a successful right punch. Not wasting a second, he followed it up with several more.

"Hey, Lensia," the knight said.

Somehow, the faceless witch managed to look annoyed. "Yes, my lord?"

The knight grinned under his helmet. "I just got an idea. Why don't you shrink that monster back down to its previous size?"

"Why do that?" the Mosasaur asked as he and Factoraze looked on.

"You'll see," the knight said. "Lensia."

The witch waved her hands, sending another beam of magic down to Earth.

The boys powered up the Megazord's drill arm, hoping to finish off the stone monster there and then. Unfortunately, before their attack could make contact, the monster vanished in a flash of light.

"What the—? Where'd he go?!" Duncan panicked.

"Right here, that's where!" said a voice behind them.

The two Rangers turned around to see the stone monster, now back to normal size and inside the Megazord with them. Before they could react, the monster wrapped its tassels around their necks and jumped out of the Megazord, taking them with him.

Once on the ground, it went for Brody first, grabbing him by the face.

"Hey, quick question!" Duncan said, clearly stalling.

Not taking its eyes off Brody, the monster asked, "What?"

"The last couple monsters we fought had names. Do you have one?"

The monster nodded. "I'm Matt Stone."

Neither brother had any response for that. Duncan simply used the chance to draw his Switch-Gun and fire off a couple shots.

Instead of dodging, Matt Stone held Brody up like a shield, making the Blue Ranger take the hits. He then threw him at Duncan. The White Ranger ducked, only for Matt Stone to dash forward and punch him in the face. Before either brother could get to their feet, their enemy wrapped his flaming tassels around their waists. With a roar, he whipped his tassels, flinging the boys far off into the distance.

Duncan and Brody hit the ground hard. Seconds later, their suits disappeared.

"Alright, that's not a very useful feature," Brody observed, rubbing his head.

"Whoop de do," Duncan snarked as he got up. "Let's just get to the hospital."

Brody nodded. "Good idea. My neck's killing me."

Remembering that they'd left their car back where they'd fought the monster, they were forced to hike through town to retrieve it. Curiously, the monster wasn't there when they returned. Not too long after that, they got to the hospital.

"Well, boys—" said the doctor before pausing. "Wait a minute, this is the perfect time for my new intern to try diagnosing someone. Jane, could you come in here?"

At his invitation, in came a familiar face.

"Jane?! You work here?" Brody asked.

"You know these two?" the doctor asked.

"I've seen them around school," Jane answered before facing the brothers. "And I'm interested in studying medicine. It's too early for college, so for now, I'm shadowing a doctor."

"Okay," said Duncan, though he seemed more interested in Brody's reaction than in the girl herself.

After a brief physical examination, Jane asked them, "How did you two even get injuries like these?"

"Well, I was skateboarding, and I wiped out a couple times," Duncan explained. "Brody got all those bruises from figure skating."

"I hate you," said Brody.

The doctor looked skeptical. "What about the first degree burns all over your necks and waists?"

Duncan didn't really have a plan for that. "Uhh…We were playing with fireworks?"

"I'm gonna be nice and pretend I believe that," Jane deadpanned. "How about the bruises on Brody's back?"

"Uhhh, I refuse to answer any further questions without my lawyer," Duncan got out.

Jane sighed. "C'mon, guys. What really happened?"

Neither boy responded.

She sighed again. "Fine. Well, you might want some ointment for the burns and some ice for the bruises, but other than that, I think you'll live."

"Thank God. Well, we'll be on our way," Duncan said as he hurried himself and Brody out of the office. "That made me anxious. When we get home, I'm getting high."

"Of course you are," Chazz and Brody said at the same time.

Duncan laughed at that as they got in the car. Once they were home, Brody sat them down. "Alright, we need some kind of strategy."

"Like what?" Duncan asked, joint in hand.

Brody groaned. "I don't know yet. That's why we're talking about it now."

"I know! How about, when you guys are in the middle of fighting, you trade weapons? Maybe that would catch the monster by surprise." Chazz suggested.

Carl spoke up next, "Or you two could train to improve your fighting skills."

Taking a puff, Duncan said, "That sounds like even more work than we've already been doing, so screw that."

"Oh, come on," Brody complained.

"Hey, I'm only in this because you and Chazz guilt-tripped me into helping out," Duncan remarked.

"He's got you there, Mother," Carl said.

Brody stood up and headed outside. "Fine, I'll train by myself."

Brody drove around for a while, looking for a place without any people around. He eventually settled on an empty quarry. After morphing, he took out his Carnage Sword.

"Okay, back when I first used this thing, I stabbed it into the ground and ice flowed out of it. Maybe that would work for a slashing attack?" he said to himself.

Not really knowing what to do, he simply focused his thoughts and, thankfully, the drill-sword began glowing neon blue. Grinning, Brody slashed a nearby rockface.

"Rider Slash!" The sword left a much deeper mark in the rock than he figured it normally would've. This was a good start.

"Is that an attack from those Kamen Riders you've mentioned, Mother?" Carl asked.

Brody blushed under his helmet. "Heh, yes."

In addition to his weapon, Brody discovered that he could also infuse his punches and kicks with ice energy.

"Well, this could certainly help out later," he said with a grin.

"So, you flung them off into the distance… and didn't bother to look for their bodies?" the knight asked.

Matt Stone rubbed the back of his head. "Well, when you put it like that…"

The knight got up from his throne. "Why don't I show you why I'm putting it like that?" He snapped his fingers, causing a screen to appear, revealing Brody in the midst of his training.

"Here's what's going to happen," the knight warned Matt Stone. "You're gonna head back down there and, in addition to causing havoc, you're going to make sure you kill those kids. Otherwise…you're gonna suffer."

The rock monster gulped. "U-Understood. Next time I see them, I'm going all out."

He made his way over to the launch pod and aimed himself at the center of town.

Brody was tired but satisfied, having put a good amount of effort into his training for today. He de-morphed and was about to head home when his phone rang.

"Duncan?" he answered it.

"Heads up, Matt Stone's back in town," said his brother.

"The guy or the monster?"

Duncan sighed. "You know which one I mean."

"Alright, I'll head toward him now. You meet me there," Brody said as he re-morphed and called for his Cryolophosaurus.

Following news reports, the Blue Ranger tracked the monster to the center of town. Not wasting any time, he drew his Switch-Gun in its gun mode and fired while the creature's back was turned.

Matt Stone didn't hesitate to strike back. He whipped out his tassels, which suddenly extended long enough to reach Brody, who dodged by quickly dismounting his steed.

Brody summoned his Carnage Sword and charged. Matt Stone swung his tassels, but this time Brody countered them with shots from his pistol. Once he got close enough, he got in a couple good slashes before the monster knocked him away with a solid punch to the chest.

Before Matt Stone could continue his attack, several ice shots hit him from behind. He turned around just in time for Duncan to tackle him to the ground and climb on top of him. The White Ranger threw punch after punch, but unfortunately, this method of attack proved to be less of an advantage than he thought. All of Matt Stone's tassels wrapped around Duncan's head, neck, arms, and torso, burning him all over.

As Duncan screamed in pain, Brody intervened. The Blue Ranger used his Switch-Gun, now in its sword mode, to slash through the tassels and put them out, allowing Duncan to escape. He then thrust his ice-charged Carnage Sword straight into their enemy's chest.

Matt Stone ignored the pain and grabbed Brody's arm before throwing the boy away like a rag doll. The Rangers dragged themselves to their feet and engaged the monster hand-to-hand. In a surprising display of skill, Matt Stone blocked all their attacks. Quickly twirling in place, he lashed the boys with his fire tassels.

Understandably frustrated by the flaming whips, Duncan put all his weight into a single punch. "Cut that OUT!" The force of his punch got through Matt Stone's guard and made him stumble back.

Matt Stone attempted his twirling move again, but this time, Brody countered the attacks by charging his blades with ice. Neon blue met fiery orange as he deflected the tassels. Every time they clashed, there was a hiss of steam. Unfortunately, as he had only been self-training for less than a day, his guard was far from perfect.

Duncan, meanwhile, summoned his Chasmoshields to block the strikes. Moving in, the White Ranger grabbed the monster and headbutted him. He then let go so his brother could get a hit in.

Following his Duncan's lead, Brody charged his fist with ice energy and attacked. "Ranger Punch!"

The blow cracked Matt Stone's chest. He was starting to feel overwhelmed. The moment one brother finished hitting him, the other would follow up. Getting desperate, he grabbed both their heads and slammed them together.

Recovering quickly, the Rangers drew their pistols and fired. After that, they put some distance between themselves and the monster. The two huddled to come up with a plan.

"Alright, let's end this now. You stall him while I finish him off," Brody said.

"Why do I have to stall? Why can't you do it?" Duncan complained.

The Blue Ranger deadpanned, "Because I actually trained and developed my own finishing moves today, and you smoked a joint and watched TV. That's why."

Duncan groaned, "Fine." As soon as he said that, the tassels wrapped around their waists again and started swinging them around, slamming them into buildings, onto the pavement, and through windows.

After a bit more punishment, the boys managed to cut themselves loose with their swords. Duncan rushed in and started throwing punches and slashes at their enemy. Meanwhile, Brody got into position.

Finally, the Blue Ranger leaped into the air. "Duncan, hit the deck!" He extended his leg, channeling ice energy through it as he fell toward his enemy. "Ranger Kick!"

Author's Note: Alright! My first cliffhanger. By the way, "Ranger Kick" is Brody's reference to the Rider Kick, the signature attack of the Kamen Riders.