Play "Falling" by Cryoshell
Instrumental
The screen starts off black. One by one, spotlights come on, revealing the three Rangers looking at the ground. They then lift their heads as the title Power Rangers: Paleo Force shatters through the remaining darkness above them.
Lights out.
Duncan, Brody, and Cooper stand together at the generic quarry, looking at their Zords and smiling.
No one's here.
Kenny is working on a circuit board with a robotic hand sitting on his desk. He grins as he taps the circuit board with a stylus, making the hand twitch.
Hear the silence.
Jane and Brody are together at the hospital, Jane bandaging Brody's leg.
Scent of fear.
All the heroic characters look up to the sky.
You start running.
The view moves up into space, where we see our main villains in their spaceship, followed by a close-up of each of them.
With mistrusting and skeptical eyes.
We get a shot of Cooper, Duncan, and Brody staring down an army of Shadows.
Are you haunted?
The three look at each other before nodding.
I call out.
One by one, they take fighting stances as they ready their morphers.
I'm counting on you.
The screen cuts to black.
Falling.
All three Rangers charge in slow motion as an explosion goes off in the background.
Is this the end of the line, and can we make it in time?
In a rotating shot, Brody slashes Shadows with his Carnage Sword, Cooper shoots them with his cannon, and Duncan blasts enemies with his Switch-Gun.
Falling.
CJ extends her arm, directing her Zords to charge forward.
My world is spinning around. I'm crashing into the ground.
Calios descends from space like a comet and, after landing, steps forward, slowly drawing his sword.
Falling.
Moses folds his arms as three silhouetted figures gather on either side of him.
Now I need you to see it's up to you and me.
The Paleo Force Megazord shifts into sword-and-shield mode. It slashes a monster, then uses its Cryo Slash on it, making it explode.
I'm counting on you.
Consecutive shots of Cooper doing a Ranger Punch, Duncan doing a Ranger Slash, and Brody doing a Ranger Kick at the screen.
Cut to the end of the song as the music fades out.
The Rangers stand confidently in front of their respective Zords, who roar behind them as the screen fades to black again.
Chapter 17
Brody took a deep breath to calm himself. He and Jane had decided to retry their hangout. Hopefully, this time, CJ wouldn't show up and ruin things again.
"Hey, Brody."
He looked up. Jane had entered through the door of the restaurant.
"What made you choose this place?" she asked.
"Oh, no reason. It's just a burger joint Duncan and I like. It seemed like an okay place to hang out," Brody explained. "Know what you want?"
The younger Branson twin ordered a burger while Jane asked for chicken tenders. While they waited for their food, Brody continued the conversation. "So, how long have you been doing Taekwondo?"
"About three years," Jane said proudly.
"That's cool. No wonder your clone is so tough," Brody said, channeling the question into a compliment.
Jane giggled. "How come you're so complimentary to CJ all a sudden?"
"T-That's not what I meant! I meant you're tough. You know, because she got it all from you," Brody explained hastily.
"Well, thank you," Jane said.
"Speaking of CJ though, how do I know you're the real—"
Jane held up a finger. "Already thought of that." She pulled out her phone and showed him a recording of herself leaving her house. The time the video was taken showed that she'd shot it right before they met up.
That made Brody sigh in relief. "Right. Sorry, I think I've gotten a bit too absorbed in all this Power Ranger stuff."
"I'll say. Duncan told me you've always been a fan of stuff like this," Jane said. "It must feel like you're living in a real-life anime now, huh?"
"Duncan told you I like Kamen Rider?" Brody asked.
Jane nodded. "Yeah, he said you were a total fanboy."
Brody groaned, "Yep, he likes to tease me about that."
It wasn't long before their food was ready. As they began eating, Brody said, "So, when I'm not fighting monsters, I'm either studying or watching Kamen Rider. What do you do with your spare time?"
"Oh, I just hang out with my boyfriend all day long," Jane answered. Upon seeing Brody's eyes widen, she started laughing. "I'm joking! You should've seen your face, though."
"Very funny," Brody deadpanned.
"She got you good, Mother," Carl chuckled.
Soon enough, the two finished their meal and left the restaurant. "Wanna go to the arcade next?" Brody suggested.
"Sure," Jane nodded.
As they walked, Brody couldn't help but worry if CJ or some new monster of the week was just going to jump out of nowhere and ruin their day. But he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. For once, it looked like they would be able to spend some time together undisturbed.
"I assume Duncan is getting high while we're out here," Jane guessed.
Brody shook his head. "Surprisingly, no. We found out not too long ago that Kenny's robot could talk, so he and Duncan are taking the day to teach it stuff. I bet anything Duncan's gonna try and teach it about weed, followed by poker as a cherry on top."
Soon enough, Brody and Jane reached the arcade. First they played a few rounds of air hockey, which Brody won 5-3. Then they found a two-player fighting game, which Jane was quite good at. After that, they played a couple of songs on Guitar Hero. It didn't matter who won that one, because Brody thought they sounded great together.
After an hour, Brody's phone went off. He checked it and saw it was a reminder he'd set earlier. "Ah, sorry, it's time for me to hit the gym."
Jane smiled. "It's fine. We've already been hanging out for over an hour. Keeping in shape for those Ranger battles?"
"Exactly. I try to time it so I can work out when Mr. Cooper won't be there. He puts me and Duncan through hell when he's coaching us," Brody explained.
"Oh, really now?" Jane asked.
Brody nodded. "Yeah, you should see him when he spars with us. He never goes easy."
"You'd better go while you still have time, then," Jane said.
"I will. See ya."
With that, the two parted ways. Brody hurried to the quarry, checking his watch as he went. Jane walked back to her place, which wasn't too far away. She had no reason to suspect that she was being followed.
"Hey! Any Zords wanna help us out with some stuff?" Cooper shouted from Dickson's back. Once word had gotten around that a human was in town, Cooper had started balancing atop his pink partner as he walked, announcing their intentions to anyone who would listen. Naturally, due to his presentation, there were no takers.
Eventually, a passing Nigersaurus got annoyed and decided to do something about the loudmouthed human.
"You said you were looking for a Zord to help you, correct?"
"That's right," Cooper nodded.
"Well, there is a certain stegosaur about a hundred kilometers to the southwest of here. He may be willing to help you." The Nigersaurus gestured with his scaly head. "Why don't you go yell over there instead?"
"Why can't you help us?" Dickson asked.
"I would, but I'm late for a visit with some relatives," the Nigersaurus replied before walking away.
"Well, you heard him, Dickson. To the southwest!" Cooper pointed.
Dickson sighed and got to walking. "I hope this Zord is up to our standards."
"Eh, I'm sure that long-neck knew what he was talking about," Cooper said as he waved to some onlookers.
"Um, Cooper? I probably should've told you this sooner, but 'long-neck' is an offensive term to sauropods," Dickson warned him.
"You guys have slurs, too?" Cooper asked. "I thought that was just a human thing."
"No, Cooper, it's not just a human thing," Dickson deadpanned before muttering to himself, "I'm starting to get hungry."
"If you're hungry, just find a place to eat," the Scotsman said.
The Dicraeozord shook his head. "If we want to beat this new Ranger, then the Zord should come first."
"Hey, come on now," Cooper scolded him. "No one should have to starve themselves. Besides, Duncan and Brody can hold her off until we get back, just like wedid when Brody was gettin' his extra Zord."
"You and Duncan were both horribly injured while you waited," Dickson pointed out.
Cooper frowned, then nodded and continued, "Well, yeah, but this enemy doesn't have super speed, so that should make things a little easier."
After a minute, Dickson finally gave in and entered a restaurant big enough for Zords. If they were going to continue this mission, he decided it should be on a full stomach.
Brody had drawn a small crowd at the gym. He had managed to stay at his top speed on the treadmill for almost a minute straight, something even the best athletes at his school couldn't dream of. When he finally decided to take a break and hit the cooldown button on the machine, a couple other gym-goers even clapped politely.
Smiling to himself, he wiped the seat off his forehead. "I guess all this training is paying off."
"What's your secret?"
"Are you on steroids?"
Those were just some of the questions the other gym-goers were asking regarding his recent athletic growth.
"I'm not on steroids," Brody said firmly. "I just give it my all when I'm working out and then get plenty of rest afterwards." With that, he grabbed his stuff and left the gym.
As he walked home, his phone rang. Jane's name lit up the screen.
For an instant, Brody felt a flutter of nervous excitement. 'Does she want to go on another date already?'
"Hello?"
Jane sighed on the other end. "CJ's back. She's got me captive."
Brody stopped in place, his daydream shattered. "What? Are you okay? How are you calling me?"
"She wanted me to be the one to tell you," Jane answered, sounding remarkably calm. "You'll find us at the generic quarry. You can bring Duncan if you want, but no one else." With that, she hung up.
"Shit," Brody muttered.
He quickly made his way home to find Kenny and Duncan playing poker with G1.
"Hey, Brody! Come look at this!"
"We've got a big fucking problem," Brody told them. "CJ kidnapped Jane."
Both Duncan and Kenny leapt to their feet upon hearing the news.
"Where is she?" Duncan asked, finishing the twin joints he had in his mouth.
"At the generic quarry. CJ said only the two of us could come," Brody explained.
"Let me guess: anyone else comes and Jane dies?" Kenny speculated.
"Probably," Brody nodded. "Fortunately, I've seen this type of thing go down a dozen times in Kamen Rider. We'll just have Kenny sneak around and free Jane while we fight CJ."
"Then we kick her ass and take her name," G1 finished. He turned to Duncan. "How do we take a name?"
"We'll figure that out later," Duncan said. "Let's go, guys."
Brody drove the gang to the generic quarry, parking by the entrance and hopping out to review the plan. Then the group split up, with Duncan and Brody morphing in advance.
As soon as Duncan and Brody entered the quarry, they saw CJ with Jane tied up at her feet. Their friend looked relieved to see them.
"Uh, they're out in the open," Duncan observed. "How's Kenny supposed to sneak up with no cover?"
"He'll think of something," Brody assured him. Once they were close enough, he had a question for CJ, "You know, you could've just challenged us regularly. Why kidnap her?"
CJ shrugged. "This was more fun. And before you go thinking I'm playing dirty, relax. You're allowed to fight back while I kick your asses." She summoned her Biting Gauntlets.
"Relax, Brody, we're not gonna lose to this chick again," Duncan said. "I mean, look at her—her tits are just one polygon!"
"What?" Jane and her clone asked in unison.
"Ignore him. He's high," Brody said.
CJ took his word for it and began strolling forward, approaching them at an almost leisurely pace.
Duncan and Brody didn't waste time. They activated their upgrades and went on the attack. Brody went with his go-to method, trying to overwhelm her with speed. This time, before he could land any hits, CJ let loose her darkfire explosion.
Brody evaded the blast by leaping over it and charging at her from behind.
The R&B Ranger simply created a second explosion, blowing him away. "That's twice you've fallen for that now," she said mockingly.
Brody could only groan in response.
Duncan charged in. Unfortunately, that was the wrong way to approach a martial artist. CJ sidestepped him and punched him in the back of the head, flooring him.
Brody got back up and, seeing as how the Red and Black Ranger had his number regarding his speed, returned to his base form. He summoned his Carnage Sword and went in for a slash.
CJ caught the slash with her left gauntlet and threw a flaming punch. Charging his free hand with ice, Brody threw a counterpunch, and the two hit each other in the face. Both combatants stumbled back.
Drawing his Switch-Gun, Brody fired a shot. Not an instant later, CJ launched a fire bullet from her right gauntlet. The shots passed each other, and the Rangers knocked them away with their other weapons.
The two advanced toward each other once again. Once they were close enough, Brody threw a downward slash with his sword. CJ caught his weapon with her flame gauntlet and pressed her darkness gauntlet to his stomach, holding the sword high above their heads. Brody mirrored her action with his Switch-Gun and the two exchanged contact shots.
There was nothing to block the impact this time. Brody dropped his sword and fell to his knees, holding a hand to his gut. CJ seemed a bit better off, if still in pain, but before she could do anything, Duncan erupted from the ground behind her and got her in a headlock.
"Loved all the symmetry just then, bro," he commented. Having had the wind knocked out of him a second ago, Brody couldn't respond just yet.
CJ squirmed a bit in his grip but otherwise remained calm. "Nice try, but no dice." She glowed and split in two to escape, with both halves aiming their gauntlets at his head.
Duncan lunged forward and rolled away before they could fire. Then he regrouped with his brother. "Alright, I have a plan. You take Darkey, I'll take Flamey."
"You are not calling us that," the evil Rangers said. Before the brothers could reply, the dark Ranger turned around and fired a blast at Kenny, who had just begun untying Jane.
The shadow blast hit his shoulder, and Kenny collapsed in pain. He didn't take it sitting down, though. "G1, kougeki!"
The robot in question came in and attacked Dark CJ with a haymaker, but the clone of a clone ducked under it. G1 was expecting a low kick from that position, but instead, she sprang up, grabbed him by the head, and pulled it into her knee. Before G1 could recuperate, she followed it up a one-two punch and a snap kick, knocking him away.
"That didn't look like taekwondo," Brody observed.
"I figured I could use an upgrade, so I switched to MMA," Flame CJ said. She held out her gauntlet, unleashing a shotgun-like burst of fire. While the Branson brothers were distracted by the flames, she kicked Brody in the stomach and threw a flurry of punches at Duncan.
Rather than blocking, parrying, or giving ground, Duncan stood strong and the two met in a stand and bang. Both Rangers grunted as they took each other's hits.
As Duncan clashed with Flame CJ, Brody took the opportunity to help out G1. He tackled Dark CJ to the ground, pinned her left arm with one hand, and strangled her with the other. Dark CJ squirmed for a minute before bucking her hips, tossing him off her.
Both fighters quickly got to their feet and kept up the fight, G1 joining in to assist Brody. The Blue Ranger threw a couple half-assed strikes as he scanned the rest of the area. He was pleased to see that Kenny had recovered enough to untie Jane in the commotion.
"Let's get out of here, guys!" he yelled.
As if that were his cue, Duncan pulled his last punch, dealing Flame CJ a devastating kick in the groin instead.
"Ooooooh!" everyone else commented.
Duncan started digging into the ground. "All aboard the underground railroad!"
The rest of the gang made for the hole. Dark CJ tried to stop them by firing an energy blast at them, but Brody resummoned his sword and deflected it while the team made their escape.
The Black Ranger moved to help her counterpart up. Flame CJ growled in pain and scurried over to the escape hole, unleashing a torrent of fire from her gauntlet.
"Hey, I'm already stoned! I don't need to get toasted!" Duncan called out from within.
Flame CJ shouted in frustration. Judging by Duncan's yelling, it seemed her attack had come close but not quite close enough to hit the team. As much as they wanted to give chase, they knew that trying to fight Duncan underground would be a bad idea, forcing the Red and Black Rangers to cut their losses.
Duncan dug and dug until the gang found themselves in the Bransons' backyard.
"Well, we saved Jane, and I kicked a girl in the balls. Great mission, guys," Duncan said matter-of-factly.
Kenny grinned as an idea crossed his mind. "Brody, maybe you should walk Jane home. In case of more kidnapping."
"Very funny," Brody said as he de-morphed.
"That didn't sound like a no!" Duncan sang.
"Let's just go." Jane grabbed Brody by the wrist and led him out of the house.
Once they were outside, Brody said, "Sorry about them."
"It's fine," Jane waved it off. "I'm used to it. Every once in a while, my friends try and set me up with some guy they think is nice, and they just never let it go."
Brody chuckled, "Nice to know I'm not the only one getting shipped."
"Yeah, so can you let go of my hand now?" Jane asked.
Brody looked down to see that, as they'd been walking, he'd unconsciously slipped his hand into hers. He quickly retracted his hand. "Uh, heh, sorry."
Jane smiled. "It's fine."
The two of them made it to Jane's house without incident.
Once she was inside, Carl took the opportunity to comment, "I think you're making real progress here, Mother."
Brody groaned. "Will the shipping ever stop?"
"Man, those sausages were great!" Cooper said before belching. "What were they called again?"
"Boerewors," Dickson answered.
Having finished their meals, Cooper and Dickson continued their trek to where they'd heard they would find a new Zord partner. The area was a small, beautiful mountain range that had an occasional wind blow through.
"They should be somewhere around here," Dickson said as they looked.
Cooper pointed ahead. "Hey, I see a stegosaur! Maybe that's the one."
Over in the distance was a small, green stegosaur with purple markings on its shoulders and toe claws. The plates on its back were neon green and somewhat narrow. It also had a spike on each of its shoulders.
The Scotsman called out, "Hey, you!"
The stegosaur looked around for the source of the voice, "Who? What?" He then noticed the human and his Zord companion. "Who're you guys?"
"I'm Cooper, and this is me friend, Dickson," Cooper said.
"Nice to meet you. They call me Pops," the stegosaur introduced himself in return.
Dickson tilted his head. "Who calls you Pops?"
"I don't know. Somebody, I guess," the smaller Zord replied.
"So, Pops, just what type of dino are you?" Cooper asked next.
Pops thought hard for a few seconds. "Um. I'm a, uh. Don't tell me. Uhh—"
As the green Zord tried to guess his genus, Dickson said quietly, "Cooper, I am starting to think there's something wrong with this Zord."
Cooper shrugged it off, "Nah, he's just a bit forgetful, that's all."
"Uh, I'm a Pentaceratops. No, wait, I'm a Psittacosaurus. Wait, that's not it either—"
"Why don't you take a second to think about it?" Dickson asked in a tone you'd expect to hear from a kindergarten teacher. "Are there any stegosaurs that begin with the letter 'P'?"
Pops gasped comically. "Oh, I know! I'm a Paranthodon!"
"Cool. I just learned a new dino name," Cooper smiled, but after a moment his face fell and his eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Hey, Dickson, if we're in Africa, how come Pops here doesn't have an accent like yours?"
"I have no idea. Perhaps he's just a bit better at English," the Dicraeozord guessed.
Cooper nodded and asked Pops another question, "So, Pops, can you fight?"
Pops chuckled, "Heh, can I fight? You bet your sweet, uh, something I can fight! Who are we fighting?"
"Wait, you're helping us just like that?" Dickson asked.
"Of course I am. How could I not, after everything we've been through?" Pops laughed.
"We haven't been through anything," the human and pink Zord chorused.
"So, when do we shove off?" Pops asked, apparently not listening.
"Right now, that's when," Cooper said, pumping a triumphant fist.
Dickson shook his head. "Cooper, you really should reconsider. This Zord is clearly not in his right mind."
"I bet you fifty bucks this works out great," the Scotsman retorted. "Fifty. Now, let's get back before things get real bad with the clone lass." He pointed in a random direction. "To the train station!"
"Got it!" Pops began walking in the direction Cooper was pointing.
"That's not where the train station is," Dickson corrected them.
Cooper rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, whoops."
The Dicraeozord sighed. "Just follow me, Pops."
"So yeah, I should be arriving today," Cooper explained through his morpher.
Brody sighed in relief. Now that their teammate had gotten a new Zord, they could finally claim a real victory over CJ. After so many losses and draws against her, he was really looking forward to a win.
"What's your new power-up look like, Mr. Cooper?" Duncan asked.
"I could tell ya, lad, but I'd rather show ya when I get there," the janitor replied as he hung up.
"Ugh, fucking tease," Duncan complained.
"Who cares? As long as it helps us out, then whatever," Brody shrugged. "I can see exactly how this is gonna play out: CJ will challenge us before Mr. Cooper gets back, then we'll rumble with her until he conveniently arrives at the most dramatic moment."
Duncan rolled his eyes. "You're fucking loving this, aren't you?"
"Now that the pieces are in place, yeah," Brody admitted casually. His phone pinged. He checked it and held it up for his brother to see. "See? Just like I said."
Duncan squinted at the screen, then let out a groan. CJ had indeed issued them another challenge.
"I'll call Kenny." As he dialed their friend's number, they heard a strong knock at their door.
Brody opened it to find Jane standing there. He flinched at the sight of her, only to quickly remember that CJ wouldn't come to them right after challenging them to come to her.
Jane let herself in and handed rolls of tape to each of them.
"Start wrapping up."
"What even is this stuff?" Duncan asked.
"They're flame-retardant wraps," Jane answered. "I don't have an answer for my clone's dark power, but this should help protect you from her fire a little bit."
Brody smiled. "Thanks, Jane."
And so, the boys wrapped the retardants around their limbs and torsos, holding them firmly in place with tape. They felt a little stiff, but a lot more secure knowing they would help repel Flame CJ's attacks.
"This is gonna be a hassle to get off," Duncan complained.
With their fireproofing complete, the three met up with Kenny and his robot at the town square, where they also found CJ waiting for them.
Brody grinned. "You're screwed now."
"How? You gonna hit me below the belt again?" the R&B Ranger scoffed.
"Oh, I could tell you, but I'd rather show you," Brody replied, echoing Cooper's earlier choice of words.
"G1, fire!" Kenny commanded.
The robot fired its eye laser. While CJ was evading it, the brothers took the time to morph into their power-up forms. Brody, logically, dashed in with his speed, only for a bunch of Shadows to pop up out of nowhere and get in his way, causing him to crash into them.
Undeterred, Duncan charged in next. Unfortunately, CJ didn't meet him in a crude slugfest like she had last time. Perhaps wanting to be a little more careful where she got hit, she blocked and parried his strikes appropriately. Once she found an opening, she hit him with a right hook. Predictably, she then tried to kick him in the groin as payback for their last encounter.
Fortunately, G1 stepped in, bringing his fist down on CJ's shin and saving Duncan's junk.
"Ah! Dammit!" CJ grabbed her shin in pain.
After finishing off the Shadows, Brody rejoined the main fight. He dashed toward CJ and slashed at her with his Switch-Gun, only to be shocked when she caught him by the wrist and threw a low kick at his thigh, bringing him to one knee. G1 tried attacking with a hammer fist, but CJ pulled Brody into his path, making the robot stop short. Shoving the Yellow Ranger into G1, CJ dealt with Duncan next. She thrust both her arms forward, summoning her gauntlets, and hit him with dual beams of fire and darkness.
Duncan shouted in pain as he was sent flying.
Seeing his friends in trouble, Kenny threw something small and cylindrical at the group, yelling, "Cover your eyes!"
The Bransons squeezed their eyes shut and turned away, and it was a good thing they did, because the object burst into an explosion of pure light. The flash-bang stunned CJ, giving the team a chance to regroup.
G1, being a robot, was unaffected, and took the opportunity to give her a gut punch.
"Alright, everyone, huddle," Duncan instructed.
The group did as he said, and Kenny asked, "What now?"
"Now you die."
They all turned to see CJ standing right next to them, gauntlets raised. Duncan immediately slammed a palm into the ground, summoning a wall of earth between them and their attacker. Unfortunately, at such close range, the attack broke through. It was all Duncan and Brody could do to act as a shield for Kenny and Jane. The four of them flew back as the wall crumbled into gravel.
CJ grinned under her helmet. "Next time, maybe don't call a time-out while the bad guy is still there."
"Yeah, not the best move in hindsight," Duncan admitted as he struggled to his feet.
"Well, it's been fun, but I think it's time we ended this game once and for all," the R&B Ranger said.
Brody growled and charged at her again at high speed. However, she'd clearly anticipated this move; she spun in place, spraying white-hot flames from her right gauntlet, forming a barrier around her body which Brody crashed into. The Yellow Ranger fell back, writhing in pain from the flames.
CJ planted a foot on his chest. She was about to launch a finishing blast when a stream of water hit her, knocking her aside and freeing Brody.
Everyone looked over to where the blast had come from. There they saw the Pink Ranger with his cannon at the ready.
"And that's how you make an entrance," he said smugly.
Brody smiled weakly. "Heh, called it."
CJ quickly got to her feet, unfazed by the intrusion of another Ranger. "Well, you're all together now. So what? I've beaten you guys as team before."
"Yeah, you did. But now, I've got this." Cooper held up his wrist, his morpher changing from pink to green. He tapped it, causing a flash of light almost as bright as Kenny's flash-bang.
When it was over, Cooper's suit was green, and he no longer had a kilt. The purple lines on his suit had taken on a wavy pattern, like an air current, and the dual crests on his helmet were gone, replaced by several small stegosaur plates. He also had a set of plates on each of his ankles, and he shifted from side to side as if the garments made him feel lighter.
Cooper threw his fists in the air. "I just jizzed meself!"
"Oh, God," the rest of the team said in unison.
The new Green Ranger laughed, "I'm just kiddin'."
"That wasn't funny, Cooper. It was just gross," Chazz said through Duncan's morpher.
"Alright, alright. Now, you guys just stand back," Cooper said as he took a boxer's stance. "I'm gonna pound this high schooler."
Jane groaned, "Could you not say that about someone who's me?"
"Right, sorry," Cooper apologized. "Now, let's see what I can do in this form."
He threw a solid right punch, launching a small, green, fist-shaped shockwave. CJ was so shocked that she barely remembered to block the attack.
Grinning under his helmet, Cooper threw a rapid flurry of punches, all while advancing on his foe.
"Cooper is using All-Out Pummeling! It's super effective!" Duncan commented from the sidelines.
Brody shook his head at his brother's antics.
The plates of Cooper's ankles began flapping rapidly, lifting him up into the air as he launched more shockwaves at CJ. When he'd reached a certain height, he made the plates stop flapping, causing him to descend on CJ with the force of gravity as he hit her with an overhead punch. The R&B Ranger, finally over her shock, retaliated with punches and kicks of her own. Cooper blocked and parried her attacks and responded in kind.
CJ tried throwing a low kick to his thigh. She looked shocked when he shrugged it off. "What the—?"
"You're kickin' above your weight class, girl," the Green Ranger boasted as he leapt back. "Time to break out me new weapon!"
Cooper tapped his belt buckle. After another brief flash of light, a short stick covered in spikes appeared in his hand. He reared his arm back and swung it. To everyone's surprise, the upper two-thirds of the stick detached, unfurling a thick but flexible cord which connected it to the final piece.
"Whoa, he's got a fucking flail?" Duncan thought aloud.
"Sugoi," Kenny added.
Cooper whipped his flail again and again, forcing CJ on the defensive. Gritting her teeth, CJ threw a barrage of punches, launching darkness and fire bullets from her gauntlets.
To counter this, Cooper whipped his flail all around himself, generating blades of razor wind and directing them at the bullets. The wind blades cancelled out the dark bullets, but when they met the fire bullets, they only fanned the flames. CJ laughed, doubling down on her flame attack.
Seeing that CJ's barrage would soon overpower his own, Cooper ceased his attack, stowed his flail, and took to the sky again. CJ tried to shoot him down, but he evaded all her blasts. As he dodged, he held his hands close together, gathering green wind energy between his palms. Once, he'd accumulated enough power, he landed right in front of CJ and thrust his hands forward.
CJ split in two, but all that passed between her two halves was a light breeze.
"Heh, gotcha," Cooper said. He aimed each hand at one of the CJs and thenlaunched his attack. "Derecho!"
A glowing gale of neon green wind shot from each of his palms, hitting the evil Rangers and sending them flying.
Duncan, Brody, Kenny, and even Jane were in awe of Cooper's new power. They all came up and joined him, cheering.
"That was so cool!" Brody declared.
"You even named your attack! That makes it even cooler! I don't know what 'derecho' means, but still!" Duncan slapped Cooper on the back proudly.
Dickson interjected, "It is a type of windstorm that moves in a straight line. Cooper asked me for attack name ideas, and it seemed fitting for a beam of wind."
Rather than a proper sentence, Kenny just said, "Awesomeness!"
"I gotta admit, that was badass," Jane finished.
"Um, everyone?" The team looked at G1, who was pointing in CJ's direction. "She's not done yet."
They looked over just in time to see the two halves of CJ re-merge and de-morph. She pushed herself to her feet and glared at the team, growling viscously.
"I never thought I'd be scared to see your face, Jane," Brody said nervously.
"Me neither," Jane replied.
CJ re-morphed and yelled into her morphers, "You two! Get over here! Now!"
The heroic Rangers took that as a cue to call their own Zords to the scene. In hardly a minute, all the dinos were assembled.
"You sure you wanna do this, lass?" Cooper called out to CJ. "We've got you way outnumbered."
The Red and Black Ranger said nothing and snapped her fingers, prompting her Zords to charge up their elemental powers. In response, the heroes' Zords charged up their own attacks.
"We may need to take cover," G1 suggested.
"You think?!" the humans shouted as they ran.
The timing was perfect, because as soon as they began moving, the Zords all let loose with their energy beams. Some Zords were hit, others were able to dodge. In the carnage, it was difficult to tell who was winning.
"Pops! Go for the black Zord!" Cooper instructed.
"Which one's the black one?" the Stegosaur asked.
"Uhh," Cooper thought, "The one that's not red?"
The Paranthozord nodded. "Got it." He jumped up, curled into a ball, and spun rapidly, turning himself into a living buzzsaw. Crashing straight into Todd, he pushed him away from the main battle.
This allowed the rest of the Zords to gang up on Andy. Chazz and Carl fired twin ice beams, which the Appalachiozord countered with a stream of fire. The beam-o-war ended in a draw, so Alicia went next.
The yellow Austroraptor dashed in circles around Andy, slashing and biting him from all sides. It was only his thick armor that kept him from going down instantly. Figuring it was a lost cause to try and keep track of the raptor, Andy gathered his power and breathed a huge stream of fire at Chazz and Carl—only for the attack to be countered by a water blast from Dickson.
Kelly took the reins from there, using her earth powers to sculpt shackles to bind Andy's feet. Next, she had a blunt-ended stalagmite rise and retract from the ground repeatedly, striking Andy in the chin over and over.
After one strike too many, the brainwashed Zord lost his temper and launched his armor in all directions like a living frag grenade. All the heroic Zords took a hit—even Alicia was grazed despite her speed. The red Appalachiosaurus roared, recalled his armor, and sprayed fire all over the place, burning his enemies.
Meanwhile, Pops was fighting Todd to a draw. With a roar of frustration, the black Teratophoneus sank his teeth into Pops's neck.
"Get your mouth off me, woman!" Pops yelled. He began undulating his plates, causing green crescents of wind to shoot upward. The crescents did a quick U-turn and rained down on Todd, forcing him to let go of the Paranthodon.
The Stegosaur chuckled. "You like that, did ya?"
Todd roared and charged in for another attack.
"What am I, talking to myself here?" Pops asked, spinning in place for a tail swipe. "Seriously, am I?"
The Teratozord didn't reply, ducking under his enemy's tail. He counterattacked with a spinning move of his own, hitting Pops with the fist at the end of his tail.
Pops took the attack head-on, stunning him and leaving him vulnerable to even more tail-punches. To gain some distance, his tail shot off, still connected to his body by a ropelike cord, not unlike Cooper's flail. The end of his tail dug into the ground and retracted, pulling him away from his aggressor.
"I'll teach you to go around fisting people!" he shouted angrily. He responded with a breath attack of his own, launching a green beam of wind from his mouth. The attack didn't put Todd down, but it did hurt him enough that Pops could prep another assault. Fluttering his plates once more, he took to the sky. He flew around to gain momentum and aimed himself at Todd, curling up for his buzzsaw attack.
Todd didn't just wait for the attack to land. He charged up his breath weapon and let loose with all he had. Wind and darkness clashed for a moment, but wind ultimately won out. The black Zord was blown back by the force of Pops's strike, skidding across the ground until he landed heavily on his side.
Pops landed gracefully. "Hail to the king, baby," he boasted.
Back with the rest of the Zords, the heroes were having trouble dealing with Andy's firestorm. When he'd had enough, Dickson reared up and stomped his forelegs on the ground, causing a tremor. This threw Andy off enough that he stopped his attack briefly.
That was all the gang needed. Dickson and Alicia unleashed a combination beam of water and lightning, hitting the red Zord hard and zapping him at the same time.
After that, it was Chazz and Kelly's turn. The two ceratopsians charged Andy from each side and headbutted him, making him roar in pain.
Carl went last, thrusting his drill tail straight at Andy, nailing him in the chest.
The Appalachiozord staggered back from the blow before collapsing.
Having finally bested the evil Zords, the heroic Zords all raised their heads and roared in victory.
The humans cheered at their Zords' win but quickly stopped when they saw that CJ was still present, shaking with rage.
"This. Isn't. Over," she growled.
"You and your Zords have taken a beatin', lass," Cooper said. "That's your cue to retreat. Take it from us."
The Red and Black Ranger didn't have a retort. She simply turned her face toward the sky, and just like that, she was beamed away, along with her Zords.
Cooper breathed a sigh of relief and turned to face the group. "Well, now that that's all settled, allow me to introduce me new Zord." He paused when he realized that Pops was over in the distance, getting acquainted with the other Zords. "Uh, Pops? Mind if I borrow you for a minute?"
Pops abruptly stopped talking to the other Zords and walked over to the humans. "You can borrow me? I thought you were leasing me."
Duncan and Kenny laughed at that before Dickson spoke up, "Trust me. That wasn't a joke."
"Everyone, this is Pops, the Paranthodon," Cooper introduced him.
Pops looked down at Cooper's friends. "Wow, more Coopers."
The Green Ranger chuckled, "No, Pops, they're not other mes. They're just other people."
"Ooh, that makes sense," Pops nodded. "Hi, other people."
Jane tilted her head. "Uh, Mr. Cooper? Is your Zord okay?"
"He is not right in the head," Dickson answered.
Pops scoffed, "Hey! I am so right in the head! I'm so right that I'm also left!"
The rest of the team looked on in bemusement as a three-way argument began between Cooper and his Zords. They were a little quirky, the other Rangers thought, but you couldn't argue with the results. If this was the new normal, they would welcome it.