"Corner pocket," Lupe declared. He made his shot, making Rodrigo nod in approval.
"That was impressive," Rodrigo said as he aimed his pool cue. "But the eight ball is still mine. Middle pocket." He hit the eight ball, rebounding it off one of the sides so it landed into the pocket he called.
The robot supervising the game pointed at the blue werewolf, "We have a winner: Rodrigo."
Lupe sighed in defeat, "So, what do you want to do next?"
"I'm sure Clawthon has a home theater somewhere in this fancy building. We could watch a movie?" Rodrigo suggested. "I'm in the mood for something romantic."
Selene watched from a distance as the yellow and blue duo walk away, sighing, "First Denzel and Stephanie, and now those two? I wish I had someone special."
Back aboard Bright's ship, the grey cat sat on his throne. "Alright, listen up, everyone," Bright called out. "I don't plan on going back down to the surface any time soon, but that doesn't mean we have to go easy on the Rangers. We'll be sending two men this time, with my choices being Moonlight and Hue."
"You sure I can't go down there too, sir?" Frostfang complained. "I had a lot of fun."
"This isn't just about victory, it's about sending a message," Bright answered.
Frostfang sighed, "Yes, sir."
Selene perked up as her morpher started beeping. "Let me guess, there's a new cat on the loose?"
"Two this time," Clawthon informed her. "Gather anyone from the team you can find, and I'll contact the rest."
The green werewolf nodded. Sniffing the air, she quickly found that they did, in fact, have a home theater. "Lupe, Rodrigo, new cats have shown up!"
"Aww, but we were getting to the good part," Lupe complained.
"We can rewatch it later. Now let's go," Rodrigo said. He grabbed Lupe's hand and the two of them followed Selene.
Before they could even leave the building, though, Lupe stopped them, "Wait, why are we running? Can't Wolfgang just teleport us?"
"Yes, I can," Wolfgang answered.
Just as the Rangers morphed, they found themselves in a new town that was right next to a bay. "Wait, where are we?" Selene asked as she looked around.
Clawthon answered her, "You're in the town of Bergon. After this battle, I recommend you go and see the sights."
"I hope they have a good bar somewhere," Stephanie said as she summoned her pistol. She sniffed the air, "Alright, I smell the cats."
The sound of a building being demolished in the direction of the sea. "And I hear them," Denzel snarked, smiling under his helmet.
"Very funny. Now let's go," the Red Ranger instructed.
Following the sounds and scents, the team quickly located their new foes. One was a purple house cat wearing a breast plate, tattered pants, vambraces, and greaves. The other one was a lavender cat in an ornamental dress meant for dancing. Underneath her dress was a dark blue bodysuit.
Stephanie aimed her fist at the duo, "Everyone, take aim and fire."
Just before the Rangers fired, the purple cat prepared a counter, "Hue Shift: Blue!" From the forearm down, his arms became a deep shade of blue. Not only that, but an ornate blue staff appeared in his hands. He ran forward, spinning his staff to deflect shots while his partner took cover behind him.
Once the cats got in close, the battle really began. The dancer cat did a handstand and spun around, kicking Stephanie and Rodrigo. Meanwhile, the purple cat jabbed Selene in the gut and kept on running, separating her from the group.
Selene smacked the staff away and blocked the follow-up attack with her skateboard, "I thought it was bad manners to hit a lady!"
"This is a battle! The whole point of a battle is to hit people!" the purple cat answered. He grunted as Selene closed in, making his staff ineffective. "Hue Shift: Red!" The cat's hands and forearms turned red, and his staff was replaced with a sword.
Caught off-guard, Selene was forced to back off as the purple cat retook the upper hand, soon taking a slash from him. Getting an idea, she swung her skateboard and engaged him in a deadlock. As they stood in place, she aimed her morpher at his face and fired a shot, with the cat only barely tilting his head out of the way.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team continued dealing with the dancer cat. The dancer gracefully avoided every shot the Rangers fired at her, prompting Stephanie to make a call, "Alright, change of tactics! Everyone, go for close combat!"
Denzel and Lupe got on either side of the cat dancer and swung their weapons, only for her to jump and position herself horizontally, passing between the sword and the tire iron. Before either Ranger could attack again, the cat dancer did a pirouette while sticking her leg out, striking both of them.
As the cat dancer landed on her feet, she introduced herself with a one-liner, "Graceful as the moonlight, with which I share my name."
Stephanie growled, firing a couple shots as she and Rodrigo moved in. She threw a kick while her blue teammate threw a punch.
To their frustration, Moonlight blocked Stephanie's kick with her shin while parrying Rodrigo's punch.
"Duck!"
The Red and Blue Rangers crouched down, but unfortunately, Moonlight crouched with them, avoiding Denzel's horizontal slash. The cat dancer kicked him in the shin, making him fall. Stephanie and Rodrigo aimed their morphers at her, but at such close range, Moonlight grabbed their arms and aimed them at each other, causing friendly fire.
As Moonlight handsprang away, Lupe helped his teammates up, "Guys, I have an idea."
"Hue Shift: Green!" the purple cat called out as he gained a new weapon.
"Hey, green is my color!" Selene protested. "And your gun looks like Stephanie's gun. So that's two things you're ripping off!"
"I didn't come here to be original," the cat replied as he fired his gun.
Selene used her skateboard to take to the air and avoided the shots. Deciding to finish things off, she initiated her finishing kickflip move.
The purple cat shifted his arms back to their normal, purple color and threw a punch, his fist glowing with energy.
The two fighters' attacks collided and were in a stalemate for a few seconds before they were both blown back.
Unfortunately for Selene, the purple cat recovered first and punched her in the face, knocking her helmet off. Upon seeing her face, he paused with his next punch, "Um, hi. My name is Hue. What's yours?"
While confused by the question, Selene took advantage of Hue's distraction to hit him in the thigh and then the side with roundhouse kicks. She then charged up her morpher for a finishing blast.
"Wait!" Hue held out a hand. "I want to ask you something first."
"Should I explain why this idea is ridiculous?" Denzel droned.
"I can think of worse ideas," Stephanie smiled under her helmet. "Just pretend we're on another date."
Denzel rolled his eyes, "Fine, but I'm leading."
The Red and Pink Rangers moved in on Moonlight. Denzel made the first move, darting in and out to confuse the cat dancer. For one of his advances, he did a cartwheel kick.
Moonlight sidestepped the attack but when she moved to slash, Stephanie came in from the side and hit her in the head with a butterfly kick. The strike knocked Moonlight on her side.
The two Rangers tried kicking the cat while she was down, but she blocked them with her shin and forearms.
Doing the windmill, Moonlight twirled herself back onto her feet. Losing her temper a bit, she abandoned any dancing technique in favor of an energized claw slash.
While hurt, Stephanie and Denzel leapt aside, revealing their teammates' combination attack. Lupe was doing a one-handed handstand balancing on Rodrigo's palm. Rodrigo spun around, creating a blue and yellow tornado.
"Is that supposed to be dancing? That's the most ridiculous-" Moonlight didn't get the chance to finish her criticism when she was struck by the tornado. As she struggled to get up, blue cracks started forming all over her body. "This isn't over," she declared. She jumped up and, to the Rangers shock, began bouncing off the air itself, fleeing the scene while staying well out of reach.
"Well, that's one way to make an exit," Denzel commented.
"Forget that! Where's Selene!? She can track that cat through the air!" Stephanie pointed out.
Rodrigo pointed off into the distance, "There she is! She's…uh."
"-and it was a while before my parents really started paying attention to me," Selene said as she poured a bit of sugar in her tea.
Hue nodded and took a sip from his own cup, "Well, try looking at it this way. At least your parents are actually together."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?"
The two of them stiffened up at the sound of Stephanie's voice. "I think maybe I should leave now," Hue declared
Selene stood up from the table, having a bad idea of what was about to happen.
Stephanie stomped up to the Green Ranger, "Should I list off everything wrong with what you were just doing!?"
Before the red werewolf could yell anymore, Denzel put a hand on her shoulder, "Take a deep breath. We can go over this back at the tower."
Once the Rangers were back at their home base, Clawthon and Wolfgang joined in the discussion.
"I have no problem with this," Clawthon calmly gave his opinion.
Stephanie growled, "You're fine with her getting friendly with one of the people you gathered us to fight?"
"No situation is truly black and white. If Selene sees something in this cat, then I will allow it," Clawthon said, crossing his arms.
Wolfgang shrugged in agreement, "Besides, it's not like she revealed anything crucial about us." He paused and glanced at Selene, "You didn't do that, did you?"
"No."
"Then no problem," Wolfgang reasserted.
Stephanie was practically shaking with rage. "I need something to hit and something to drink," she muttered as she walked away. "And don't follow me this time, Denzel!"
Rodrigo and Lupe glanced at each other, with Rodrigo coming up with an idea, "Let's just figure out what to do about those cats."
"Hmm, the purple one can switch weapons in an instant. I think I can handle for the next round," Denzel shrugged.
Lupe put a hand to his chin, "What about the dancer girl? Unless she was bluffing, she really will be back."
"Then let's come up with a new combination attack for when that happens," Rodrigo suggested.
"Alright then. To the training room," Denzel started walking, beckoning for the others to follow.
Once the team entered the training room, Selene pointed something out, "Do I smell alcohol?"
Denzel glanced at the entrance to the training room and facepalmed, "Oh, boy."
"I'm here. What's the plan here?" Stephanie droned as she walked into the training room in a sports bra and gym shorts. All the other wolves noted that she was slightly unsteady on her feet.
"How did you get so drunk so fast?" Selene asked, concerned.
Stephanie ignored the question and waved her hand, "Come on. I heard there was a plan, so what is it?"
"We're trying to come up with one now," Lupe answered. "Maybe we could do something with my charge-up ability?"
Selene gasped as she got an idea, "Wait, that's it!"
"What's it?" the rest of the werewolves asked.
Before she answered, Selene morphed into her Ranger form, which the others took as a signal to do the same. "What I'm thinking is that, if Lupe can supercharge us for a fight, then maybe there's something we can do to improve our weapons." She held up her skateboard, "Stephanie, press your gun up against this and shoot."
"No," the Red Ranger pouted.
"Um, I like your enthusiasm, but what makes you so sure this might work?" Rodrigo asked, tilting his head.
Selene thought for a second before asking back, "What made Lupe think cranking us up with his tire iron would work?"
The blue and yellow werewolves glanced at each other and shrugged, realizing she was right.
Stephanie crossed her arms, "I'm still not doing it."
Sighing, Denzel put an arm around her shoulder and asked reeeaaally nicely, "Stephanie, could you please take out your gun and shoot the green girl's skateboard?"
"Fine," the Red Ranger summoned her pistol and took aim.
"Wait. Make sure you press the right up against my board," Selene asked.
"…I hate you," Stephanie whined. She still did as her teammate asked, though. When she pulled the trigger, instead of destroying the skateboard, it made the board glow red.
Selene looked at her board, wide-eyed, "Whoooa. I need something to hit with this." On cue, a practice dummy sprang up next to her, and she struck it, making it explode. "Wow."
Lupe pulled out his tire iron, "Me next!"
"Is there a reason you sat down for a friendly talk with one of our enemies?" Bright asked, his tone both polite and annoyed.
"I just-I," Hue stuttered out, not knowing how to explain himself.
Bright sighed and held up a hand, silencing his subordinate, "Never mind. But two things are going to happen. One, you're off this assignment. And two-" he pulled out a red pill and popped it into his mouth "-I think I'll discipline you myself."
Frostfang snickered, "Oh, he's going to crush you."
Incendian raised an eyebrow in concern, "Sir, I'd like to remind you that those pills aren't good for you."
"I wasn't asking your opinion," Bright growled.
Our team of colorful werewolves hid all around Bergen as the sun began to set, waiting for their feline foes to return.
Stephanie tapped her morpher so only Denzel would hear her, "Are you sure we should have Selene be in the center of town? She's just going to get spotted."
"You seem to have a grudge with our green friend," Denzel commented. "Want to talk about it?"
"Maybe later. We're in the middle of a mission," Stephanie answered. Her eyes widened as Moonlight landed down across the street from her. She morphed and walked toward the cat, taking aim with her pistol. Right as Moonlight was about to kick a young woman, the Red Ranger fired, hitting her in the shin.
The cat dancer chuckled once she saw who had attacked her, "Well, look who it is."
Upon getting a bit closer, Stephanie noticed something different about Moonlight. First, the cat's fur had turned red. Second, her bodysuit and dress had become a leotard with stockings and opera gloves.
The Red Ranger spoke into her morpher, "Everyone, the dancer cat is on the south side of town!"
"Roger that!" "I'm on my way!" "Coming!" "I'll…be there in a bit."
Catching a kick and a chop from Moonlight, Stephanie was caught in a deadlock, though she still managed to growl into her morpher, "Green, I swear if you got spotted, I'm going to-"
"I'll only be a minute!" Selene said. The Green Ranger leaned down to the kids she'd been talking to. "It was nice talking to you two."
"Thank you for helping us," the boy said with a smile.
"Can we see you again?" the girl asked hopefully.
Selene nodded before turning around to make her way back to the team.
"Alright, time for everything at once!" Lupe announced. His teammates lined up in front of him and he used his tire iron to crank all three of them up.
"All together," Stephanie instructed. She and her two cranked-up friends moved in for an attack.
Moonlight smiled as the Rangers came at her. Turns out her change in appearance wasn't just superficial, as she kept up with all three of them. Not only that, but she was also blocking their strikes in addition to dodging. She caught Denzel's sword and Rodrigo's punch and positioned them in front of her to counter of Stephanie's shots.
Lupe went next and raised his tire iron, "Stephanie, gun charge!" When the Red Ranger fired a shot at his iron, making it glow red. He swung at Moonlight, only for her to leap up and use his face as a stepstool.
Despite her frustration, Stephanie took a quick breath and calmed down. Clutching her pistol by its barrel, she walked up and swung her weapon at the cat. Moonlight twirled around it and tried Karate chop the Red Ranger, who blocked it with her forearm. Stephanie threw a left punch at Moonlight's side, but the cat twirled out of the way, parrying several more strikes.
"This is cool to watch, but should we help her?" Lupe asked, scratching his head. His question was answered by Selene soared overhead on her skateboard.
The Green Ranger sped down at a diagonal angle, trying to crash into moonlight. The cat dodged it by simply stepping back, so Selene rolled forward and swung her skateboard, grazing Moonlight's shin.
Stephanie followed that up by using Selene's shoulder as a stepstool, front flipping over Moonlight and firing with both her pistol and her morpher. Some of the shots finally hit Moonlight, giving the rest of the Rangers the chance to attack.
First was Denzel. He went low and slashed at Moonlight's shins, ruining her mobility. Next was Rodrigo. The Blue Ranger threw a right cross and then hit Moonlight with his Claw Bombard, with the explosive blast damaging her further.
Last was Lupe. After a big wind up, he swung and hit the cat in the temple with his tire iron.
Moonlight stumbled back, overwhelmed by all the accumulated damage. Suddenly, cracks began forming on her body.
"Not again," Stephanie muttered. "Everyone, combined beam! Now!" The Rangers followed her order and charged up their morphers. However, when they fired, they were treated to a surprise when Moonlight stopped the combo beam with her hands.
"This. Isn't. Over!" the cat yelled. The cracks on her body glowed even brighter, with light starting to envelop her entirely.
Watching from a nearby rooftop, a familiar, burgundy werewolf frowned at the action below, "This doesn't look good."