In the morning after being possessed by a strange force of light, Commander Leon summons the team and looks at Perry with a mix of apprehension and disappointment. He points at her and says, "Johnson, I have bad news for you."
"What is it sir?" Perry asks.
"I got a call from your old case worker. Your parents died in a car accident."
"Really?"
"Yes. We recovered their bodies and they're being transported to the morgue."
"Okay, thanks for that."
"Perry, are you okay?" John asks with concern.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"You sure?"
"I am."
"Come on, you can't be okay. They're your parents."
"I know, but I would rather not talk about it right now. Come on Phoebe, let's go."
"Okay Perry. George and Nick, I'll keep her company."
"Okay Phoebe. Get better soon Perry."
"Yeah, we have your back."
Perry walks out of the base with John and Andrew confused as to why she didn't cry for their deaths. "Commander, what's up with her?" Andrew asks.
"She didn't want to tell you, but I will. She was abused as a child. Her records indicated that she ran away from the abuse several times even though she reported it to police."
"Why the hell didn't the police do anything about it?"
"I guess there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute the case, but I took it upon myself to take her in. I found her with Phoebe and I recuited her. It turns out she was the right pick because she solved my puzzles and hacked into the Pentagon with ease. She was exactly the candidate I needed to take on Messiah."
"Well, it could have helped if you told us in the beginning sir."
"Well, sometimes privacy is more important than anything else. But I understand your concern."
"I know Perry doesn't want to talk about it, so we'll give her time."
"Very smart Steel. You're dismissed."
"Yes sir."
Back at her quarters, Perry is crying while Phoebe tries to comfort her. Perry begins to have flashbacks of her abuse at the hands of her father. She also has flashbacks of his physical attacks on her and his constant screaming at her. John and Andrew arrive and she dries her tears in order to evade suspicion.
"Are you okay Perry?"
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"Are you sure? Commander Leon told us what happened."
"Okay, you know the story, but you don't know how it felt to live under his thumb."
"You're right, I don't. My parents died and I was devastated. They weren't abusive, but losing them was something that just brought me down."
"Yeah, my parents weren't abusive either, but they were strict, demanding and often times forced me to do things I didn't want to do. I never got to be a kid and I never had the chance to enjoy my life. In here, I can do all that without worrying about anything."
"Really?"
"Yeah, don't worry. We have your back and there's nothing that will keep us down. You have to believe that."
"I do. And I want to be upfront with you guys."
"Don't worry right now. We'll give you time and when you're ready you can come to us anytime."
"You mean that?"
"Yeah, we mean it."
The three embrace each other and the Buddyloids join the hug, causing the team to laugh hysterically. "Don't worry Perry," Pheobe says. "You will always be my friend."
"I know."
"Rangers, we have an alert. A group of Vipers are now attacking a shipment of Enertron. Head out to the city immediately."
"Yes sir! Come on Nick, let's go!"
"You got it man."
The team head out to the city where they attack the Vipers. John sends the workers to safety while the others attack the Vipers. They quickly dispose of all the Vipers and regain control of the Enertron.
"So, why was it so easy to take these guys down?"
"I don't know, but we better get to it before Enter shows up."
"Yeah, let's go."
The Rangers retain control of the Enertron and send it on its way. Commander Leon signals to his Engineers who are working on a secret project that even the officers aren't aware of.
"So, is everything ready?"
"Yes sir. The program should be done soon."
"Good. Once everything is complete the Rangers will know the power they don't know they have."