"You see that?" Elliot Murdock asked, watching Jordan exchange a few words with Selena and Mason. "Since when was the school bully so friendly with Lifeguard Girl and Gym Kid?"

Derek Johnson reluctantly looked up, if only to humor his friend's question. "You're right, Eli," he mused. "That is kind of odd."

"I'm tellin' ya, DJ," Eli pressed. "Something weird is going on in Copper Harbor."

"Here we go again…" DJ sighed lightheartedly, still not convinced.

Just then, Dr. Aiden Lorne strode into the classroom, wearing his signature white coat. He was the fun but firm type of teacher, the kind that earned respect from his students without demanding it. "Alright, class, settle down." He clicked a couple of buttons on his laptop. "Last week, we studied the importance of teamwork in a scientific environment. Today, you'll each get a taste of what that's like."

The class looked up as the words "GROUP DYNAMICS PROJECT" appeared on the board from the projector. "You'll all be working in groups of five," Dr. Lorne continued. "You'll have the next two weeks to come up with an idea, conduct an experiment, and write a report based on your findings."

Leo Wright listened from his desk next to Kaia. As always, the well-built, dark-skinned student was wearing his iconic Copper Harbor Bears jacket. "Yo, Mason!" he called out to his classmate in the row in front of him. "Wanna group up with us?"

"Sure," replied Mason, swinging around on his chair. "If you're cool with Selena and Jordan tagging along."

Kaia's eyebrows narrowed. "Jordan?"

Jordan Reece stood up. He'd been preparing himself for this conversation all weekend. He just hadn't expected he'd have to have it right away. "I, uh…" said Jordan, gripping his forearm. "I think I owe you two an apology."

"Yo," said Eli. "Kyron's been hanging out with them recently. Let's ask him."
"Hey, Kyron!" DJ shouted. "You wanna join our group?"

Kyron looked back to Selena, Mason, Jordan, Leo, and Kaia, then up at Dr. Lorne, who met his gaze. Kyron could almost hear the conversation in his head: "I'm just supposed to hand over my Morpher and pretend like none of this ever happened?"
He turned back to Eli and DJ. "Sure thing," he said finally.

Hexa strode up and down in front of a vast crowd of hideous monsters. These were Lord Zero's generals, the top soldiers in his digital army, which she was able to send to the human realm via a makeshift device on her wrist, essentially turning them into "glitches" in reality. "Shockbait may have failed…" she said in her wicked yet alluring voice. "But I'm sure one of you has what it takes to destroy those pesky Rangers?" She put on a pouty face.

The generals all looked at each other. They were all tough, but exploring an unfamiliar dimension and battling these mysterious, powered-up humans was a little outside their comfort zone.

Then, Hexa had a cheeky idea. "You know," she said slyly. "I seem to recall Lord Zero mentioning that whoever could destroy the Rangers would become his top general…"

"Top general?" Came a gruff, intimidating voice from the crowd. "Out of my way, losers!" A menacing, skeleton-armored figure pushed forward. Glitching, red energy seemed to course through his bones, and his eyes glowed red with a deep-set fury. "That position is mine!"

"Wrathware!" Hexa mused. "Your ability to feed on and deepen negative emotions certainly makes you a… unique fighter. You really think you have what it takes to destroy the Rangers?"

"I'll delete myself trying if it means a shot at becoming top general," Wrathware growled.

"Excellent!" Hexa's face twisted into a wicked smirk, and she skipped out of the room. "Lord Zero," she called in a singsong voice. "I've found another volunteer to fight the Rangers!"

"So, why the sudden shift, Jordan?" Kaia asked, her arms folded across her chest. "You used to make fun of anyone who didn't fit into your world, and now you just expect us to believe you're a team player?"

Jordan sighed. He hadn't expected Kaia to forgive him immediately, but that didn't take away the pain of her skepticism. "Look," he said finally, "I know I've made a lot of mistakes over the years, but… a lot's happened recently. Things have changed. I've changed."

"Yeah, I know this game," Kaia said dismissively, rolling her eyes. "You make everyone think you've gone through some crazy, life-altering experience, and then you stab 'em in the back once you've gained their trust for your own pleasure."

"Wha– that's not–"

"Hey, come on, Kaia," Leo interjected. "Let's give him the benefit of the doubt."

Kaia raised an eyebrow and shot Leo a stunned look. "Benefit of the doubt?" she repeated, then sighed and turned back to Jordan. "Look, Reece, you may have fooled Grant and Vega, but I'm not buying it. I've got my eye on you."

"I know you're in on it, man," Eli whispered to Kyron on a nearby table. "What's going on with Jordan and his new pals? Why's he being so friendly all of a sudden?"

"I don't know, man," Kyron replied, shifting uncomfortably. People change, y'know?"

"I think we should focus on our assignment rather than your conspiracies, Eli," Tony added in a cool voice. Kyron shot him a thankful look.

"I don't get the hype about this assignment," Eli shrugged, spinning a pencil on his finger.

"You know it's thirty percent of our grade, right?" DJ asked.

Eli dropped his pencil, which clattered as it bounced on the hard vinyl floor.

Dr. Lorne looked up. "Eli, if you're planning on reinventing the helicopter, I suggest you find a more reliable rotor," he smiled.

Eli's eyes lit up, his face instantly full of excitement. "Oh, I've got ideas!" he blurted out, leaning forward with wild enthusiasm.

The rest of the group collectively groaned. "No!" they all shouted in unison.

Eli blinked, his grin faltering for a moment before he shrugged. "Okay, fine, no helicopter… but just wait till you hear my jetpack concept."

Dr. Lorne, meanwhile, was drawn back to his laptop, his brow furrowing slightly as he adjusted his glasses. He looked up, meeting Tony's gaze. "Mr. Watson, can I see you for a second?"

Tony noticed Aiden's expression, his hand tightening briefly on the back of his chair before standing up. "Be right back," he muttered.

"Teacher's pet," snickered DJ.

Astrid, the fifth member of their group, rolled her eyes. "Let him be. Tony's probably saving all of us from a failing grade."

DJ grinned. "Yeah, as usual."

Astrid had been quietly taking notes, her sharp face framed by her long, dark hair, but she never missed a thing. She watched Tony leave, narrowing her eyes. Something's up, she thought, though she kept the suspicion to herself for now.

"This isn't computer science, Reese," Kaia sighed, still skeptical. "We should base our project on something a bit more… physical."

"Sorry," said Jordan, raising his hands. "Just throwing it out there."

"Guys," Tony interrupted as he walked past. "We gotta go."

Jordan, Selena, and Mason exchanged a quick nod as they got up from their seats and followed Dr. Lorne out of the classroom.

Kaia and Leo looked at each other. "They're hiding something," they said almost in unison, and discreetly followed them out.

"Reports from the lab suggest a Glitch just entered our realm," Aiden explained, his eyes forward as he talked back over his shoulder. "I don't know much more at the moment, but–"

"We'll check it out, Doc," Jordan cut in.

As the Rangers headed for the back exit of the school, they had no idea Leo and Kaia had followed them out of the classroom.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone, fragments of red binary code appeared in the staff parking lot behind the school. Wrathware emerged seemingly from thin air, his red eyes glowing. "Hmm," he thought aloud. "A hard-willed teenager reluctant to trust a supposedly-reformed bully… delicious."

Wrathware waited in the shadows as the Rangers, led by Dr. Lorne, exited the building, then snuck up behind Leo and Kaia, tapping the blonde girl on the shoulder. She spun around and gasped. She wanted to scream, but no sound came. "Look into my eyes," Wrathware commanded in his low growl. Kaia felt she didn't have much of a choice. As her blue eyes met the fiery gaze of this otherworldly creature, she felt her doubt twist into something very different: rage.

"Hey, get off of her!" Leo suddenly noticed Kaia, who seemed to be entranced by Wrathware's gaze. The basketball captain shoved the Glitch away from his friend, then landed a left hook to his chest.

Kaia snapped out of her trance, taking a gasp of air before noticing the monster in front of her and letting out a surprised shout.

Aiden and the Rangers soon noticed the commotion. Jordan, Selena, and Mason sprang into action. "What are you guys doing here?" Selena asked.

Leo was about to answer, but Kaia spoke up. "We're spying on you because we don't trust you," she said bluntly.

Selena looked stunned. Something didn't seem right about her classmate's response. "What?" Before she could process it fully, her attention was drawn back to the fight.

"Digidrones, attack!" Wrathware roared as an army of Digidrones appeared around the parking lot.

"Do it, Rangers!" Dr. Lorne ordered, pulling out his phone. "Tony, get to the lab."

Tony gave him a quick nod and ran off.

"Alright, you heard him," said Jordan. "It's Morphin' time!" He swiped his hand over his smartwatch, revealing the high-tech device beneath the camouflage holograms. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Selena and Mason echoed, revealing their own Morphers. The three teens crossed their arms in an X shape over their chests, then thrust their left arms into the air. "Delta Code, download!" they called, swiping down on the touchpad with their right hands.

Leo and Kaia looked on in amazement as the red, blue, and yellow ones and zeros appeared in the sky and rained down a few feet to their respective colored Morphers, transforming all three of them into their spandex suits in a bright flash.

"Leo," Aiden called. The dark-skinned captain straightened his lucky jacket and walked over cautiously. "You showed courage back there," Aiden continued. "Ever considered joining the Power Rangers?"

Before Leo could answer, Dr. Lorne tapped on his phone. A moment later, Leo's phone began to vibrate constantly in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a graphic of green binary code running down his screen. Leo looked up at his science professor, who gave him a nod.

As he tapped his screen, Leo felt a rush of power course through his veins. Green binary code snaked up his left arm, transforming him in a flash into a green spandex suit with breathable mesh insets. An instant later, a silver belt and twin, V-shaped sashes appeared over his waist and torso. In another flash, his head became covered in a green full-face helmet with a black visor resembling the open mouth of a wild animal.

Wrathware was taken aback. "Another one?" he observed. "This might just be a challenge after all–"

Wrathware was cut off as Kaia threw herself onto him, causing them both to tumble to the ground. "What were you doing in my head?" she demanded.

Wrathware let out a low cackle. "It doesn't matter," he replied. "It's been done." His eyes seemed to flash brighter, but before Kaia could process it, she found herself ten feet in the air, pushed up by the inconceivably strong monster beneath her. She landed in a heap, restrained by two Digidrones.

"Get off of me!" She shouted, elbowing one and kicking the other to the ground.

Dr. Lorne blinked, amazed by what he'd just witnessed. "That'll do it," he mused to himself, pressing another button on his phone.

Kaia landed a devastating right hook on another Digidrone before noticing her phone vibrating. Pink ones and zeros ran down her screen as she pulled it out of her purse. She hesitated only for a moment before pressing her finger to her screen.

Wrathware, meanwhile, seemed to be deflecting every blow the Rangers gave him. "You can't defeat me, Rangers," he cackled. "I'm invincible!"

"Hey, bonehead!" came a shout. Kaia, now morphed into the Pink Ranger, leaped into the air and landed a flying kick square in Wrathware's face. To both her and the other Rangers' surprise, the Glitch only seemed to grow slightly larger, his bony armor matching the size of its wearer.

"Rangers, I've got a match," Tony's voice came over the radio. In the secret lab under the warehouse, the Rangers' techie was looking at an article detailing the Glitch the team were facing. "Wrathware is a dangerous Glitch who can amplify and feed on negative emotions such as anger, sadness, or… doubt…"

"Why'd you say it like that?" demanded Kaia.

Tony's hands flew up from the keyboard, even though no one could see him. "No reason," he replied discreetly.

It took Kaia a minute to put two and two together. "He was in my head…" she said to herself. "He's amplified my doubt about Jordan…"

Wrathware could sense her confliction. "Hey, Pinkie!" he teased. "Look into my eyes."

Kaia glanced up for only a moment, but a moment was enough. Kaia felt a surge of rage flow through her. Without thinking, she opened her utility belt and pulled out one of the miniaturized USB drives, plugging it into her Morpher that had appeared during her transformation. "This is for getting into my head!" she yelled. "Sky Bow, download!"

"No!" yelled Tony. "Kaia, wait!"

But Kaia was running on pure fury. As a sleek, compound bow manifested in front of her, she grabbed it firmly and pulled back the string, firing a bolt of energy toward Wrathware.

The Glitch seemed to absorb the impact, growing another inch or so taller.

"Kaia," came Tony's voice over the radio. "Any attack you make in an act of anger will only make him stronger."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Kaia groaned in frustration.

"Yeah," agreed Leo. "We can't just let him keep growing like that every time we strike."

"I may have an idea," replied Tony. "Now that all five of you are together, we might be able to utilize a special project I've been working on. I just need to run some final calibrations; but there's a hitch."

"Oh yeah?" asked Jordan as he and Selena cleared the last of the Digidrones. "What's that?"

"It requires all five of you to cooperate."

Kaia looked over to Jordan, now the Red Ranger. "I'd never cooperate with him!"

"Yep…" sighed Tony, leaning back in his chair and pursing his lips. "Figures."

Leo, meanwhile, was still struggling to adjust to his new powers. He'd been the captain of the Bears since 10th grade, so he was no stranger to opposition, but this was different.

"Leo," called Tony over the comm channel. "Try using your Jungle Tomahawks. The micro-drive on your left."

Leo followed Tony's instructions, taking the drive out of his belt and plugging it into his Morpher. "Jungle Tomahawks, download!"

Binary code appeared in front of him, taking the shape of two small, crossed axes. As Leo gripped their handles, they solidified into a pair of sleek, futuristic tomahawks. "Yeah!" the Green Ranger chuckled. "Now we talkin'!" He charged forward, ready to swing at Wrathware.

"Leo, wait!" Tony's voice crackled. "Any aggravated attack will only make him stronger."

"Look into my eyes," Wrathware demanded in that low, menacing voice of his.

Leo felt a surge of rage run through him. He wanted to lash out, to take this Glitch down once and for all. He lurched forward, ready to strike again.

"No, you don't!" shouted Mason. The Yellow Ranger threw his arms around his new partner, restraining him. Mason could feel the football prodigy's strength pressing against him, but he held firm.

Jordan rushed to the scene, gripping Leo's shoulders. "Leo! Look at me."

Leo slowly turned, his breathing heavy, still feeling the remnants of Wrathware's influence burning inside him.

"We're not getting anywhere like this. Brute force isn't going to win this time."

Leo slowly relaxed, leaning forward to clap Jordan on the back. "Thanks, man," he sighed. "Now, if we could just get through to Kaia…"

"You should talk to her," Jordan suggested. "She trusts you more than me. Selena, Mason, and I'll keep Wrathware busy."

Leo looked back at Kaia hesitantly.

"You can do this, Wright," Jordan encouraged. "There's something special between you."

Leo took a deep breath. "Okay," he said finally, and made his way towards Kaia.

Meanwhile, Kaia stood rooted to the spot, gripping her bow tightly. She knew Tony was right – she couldn't defeat Wrathware by working by herself. But she couldn't bring herself to work alongside her bully. As Wrathware's anger continued to torment her, she dropped to her knees with her hands on her helmet.

"Kaia!" Leo ran to her side, kneeling beside her. "You can fight this. It's not you. I know that."

"He's… in my head…" Kaia seethed through clenched teeth.

"I know– Kaia, look at me."

Slowly, Kaia looked up. She could still feel that unnatural rage within her, but something about looking at Leo – even if she couldn't see his face – seemed to soothe her a bit.

"Tony!" Jordan asked through the comms. "Is there anything we can use to help keep this guy busy?"

"You could try using your weapons' abilities," Tony suggested. "Each of your special weapons is infused with your respective Delta Code and can be used to channel your elemental power."

"But this guy can't be hurt by weapons."

"Maybe not individual weapons, but maybe a combo attack."

Selena ran up beside the Red Ranger, gripping her Tidal Spear. "Let's do it."

"Phoenix Saber, download!" Jordan called on his special weapon. Together, the two Rangers activated their unique abilities.

"Tidal Spear, Splash Attack!"

"Phoenix Saber, Blazing Slash!"

Flames and a powerful blast of water manifested on their respective weapons, each seeming to release a few ones and zeros every now and then. The blasts shot forward in unison, causing the Glitch to stumble backward.

"GAH!" exclaimed Wrathware. "Who knew water could be so powerful?!"

"Literally any lifeguard, surfer, or seafarer ever," Selena retorted, giving Jordan a high-five.

"Kaia, I didn't trust Jordan at first either, but he saved me from going through what you're going through right now," Leo said gently. "I can tell he's really changed, but I think there's a reason he used to–"

"Okay," Kaia responded suddenly.

"O- Okay?"

"I can work alongside him if it avoids having to have that conversation."

Leo just shrugged. "Alright, then. Tony, we've got Kaia. How's that new project coming?"

Green lights showed on Tony's monitors. "All systems green," he replied. "We are go for Delta Fusion Blaster. Rangers, combine your weapons."

The Rangers gathered around Jordan, attaching their weapons to his Saber. Mason knelt in front, offering support and stability with his gauntlets. Kaia clicked her bow to the underside of Jordan's hilt, pulling back the string and offering it to Jordan to fire. "Delta Fusion Blaster, ready!" the Rangers declared.

"This doesn't look tasty…" Wrathware whimpered.

"Eat teamwork, bonehead!" Kaia asserted.

"Delta Fusion Blast!" all five Rangers called together. "Final Strike!" Red, blue, yellow, green, and pink binary code converged at the tip of Selena's spear, which fired a powerful, white beam, hitting Wrathware square in the chest.

"I was right!" he wailed as he collapsed to the ground. "That tasted awful!" With that, he disappeared in an explosion of fire and binary digits.

"Nice job, Rangers," Aiden congratulated as the group made their way back to science class. "Kaia, Leo, I don't approve of you sneaking out and following us, but you showed you have what it takes in that fight. Just remember, it's not what you wear that makes you a Ranger – it's what you do."

"Jordan…" Kaia began. "I… I just wanted to apologize for doubting you."

Jordan shrugged nonchalantly. "I can't say I blame you, Kaia. I know I used to tease you and Leo a lot for–"

"Okay, yeah," Kaia jumped in. "So, we're cool?"

Jordan just smiled. "Yeah, we're cool."

After a short pause, she spoke up again. "You know," she said. "Now that I think about it, your suggestion to investigate how technology affects our day-to-day life doesn't actually sound that bad."

As the group re-entered the classroom, their attention was almost immediately drawn to the back of the room, where Eli, DJ, Astrid and Kyron were gathered. "For the last time, Eli," DJ groaned, his voice louder than necessary, "no submarines!"

"Fine," Eli sighed. "No submarines." As he looked away, his teammates thought it might have finally been over. But then, Eli's eyes lit up again. "But what about an underground monorail system–"

"NO!" DJ, Kyron, and Astrid yelled in united, exasperated voices.

"Hexa!" Lord Zero roared, his voice echoing through the citadel as he marched down the central aisle of his throne room. "Your plan failed– again! I warned you what would happen if–"

"Don't worry, my lord," Hexa soothed, her calm voice belying her inner fear. "I have a backup plan." Then, she yelled out towards the doorway. "Hey! Get in here! Quickly!"

Three Digidrones emerged, pulling and pushing a cart with a strange, boxy device on its flat deck. As they jostled it around, a wrench-like tool fell off the top and onto the floor.

"Careful!" Hexa whined, seemingly forgetting her previous command. "That's very sensitive equipment!"

AN: Sorry this one took a bit long to upload. I came down with a bug on Monday and only just got around to uploading this episode. Nevertheless, something big is coming next episode, so keep your eyes pealed!