Chapter 3 - Bring 'Em Together

Seeing as how it was still summer break, it was very strange to see most of the Youth Center's teenage customers before noon, even on a weekday, yet that was exactly what the Bakers were seeing. Autumn rubbed scratched a hand through her hair. "Is it just my imagination or is it unusually full right now?" she asked Winter and checked her watch.

Winter snickered. "I think it has a bit to do with that yoga group that was displaced and asked us to be able to use the Center until they can find another class," he explained. "Or haven't you noticed a good portion of our clientele today is male?" he pointed out.

Autumn gave him a hang-jawed looked and shook her head. "One day I'm going to meet a nice guy who isn't disgusting," she declared and went to make up an espresso someone just ordered.

Winter chuckled. "Good luck with that. No such paragon exists," he told her. That bit of wisdom earned him a raspberry.

Rex pushed Tai through the doors of the YC. Tai was struggling. "Grandpa had plans for me today, I can't just go gallivanting off with you to gawk at bunch of girls," he complained.

"Not just a bunch of girls. Yoga girls," Rex said with a smile.

Tai grunted and pulled away from his friend and went to the counter and ordered himself a chai tea.

Autumn gave him and Rex disappointed looks. "You guys, too?" she asked.

Tai jerked a thumb at Rex who was unrepentant and gave Autumn one of his best smiles. She shook her head at them both but fixed Tai's tea.

Rex bumped Tai's arm and nodded as a line of girls began to come into the YC. Despite his high ideals and the hope that he was somehow a little above base male instincts, Tai looked. He was no better than Rex.

There wasn't an ugly one in the bunch; that included their own Chloe Kennedy, who joined the class with Tori when they heard it was moving to the Youth Center. She paused by them and crossed her arms over her chest. "I expected better of our fearless leader," she stated. "You, however, do not surprise me in the least," she informed Rex.

"What can I say? I enjoy the ladies," Rex said.

Tai rubbed his forehead. "I'm going to kill you," Tai growled under his breath at Rex. He lost his voice completely when the last three members of the group came in. Manny Diaz was a slim Latina with sharp cheekbones, a wide smile and long dark brown hair. Holly Fairweather was a cute girl with straight hair dyed a deep red and always had an expression that seemed faraway. The last member of the group was Lokelani Lyong with a slim, trim body, sun kissed skin, straight dark hair that flattered her mix of Hawaiian and Korean features.

Chloe and Tori glanced to see what had stolen Tai's tongue, not that he was ever exactly eloquent to start with. Tori giggled and Chloe shook her head. "The Fab Trio of thee junior class. Rex might stand half a chance, but sorry, Tai," she said and patted his arm sympathetically and went to join the class.

Tori gave him a sympathetic look. "Don't listen to her, Tai," she said gave him an encouraging smile before bouncing off to join Chloe.

Tai groaned and put his head down on the counter and wrapped an arm around it. "Am I so pathetic that Tori Williams feels the need to pep me up?" he demanded miserably.

Rex chuckled. "Right now, you look quite pathetic," he said helpfully.

Tai lifted his head to give his friend a glare. The threesome walked passed them just then and gave them waves. Rex waved back and Tai went blank.

Winter clucked his tongue sympathetically. "Here, Tai. Have another chai tea, on the house," he said, pushing forward another cup. His act of kindness earned him a glare as well, but he chose to ignore it and continued smiling.

Rex looked around. "Where'd Autumn go?" he asked.

Winter looked around. "Upstairs. We have a guest," he answered. He got perplexed expressions a moment before class started and his teenaged teammates forgot to ask any more questions.

-x-

In the Command Center, Billie and Danny stood before a door that was still locked. "What do you think is back here?" Danny asked her.

Billie shook her head. "I asked Dr. Bill and he didn't know. He said Alpha 5 just used these rooms for storage. Think you can get into it?" she asked him.

Danny just smirked. He pulled a screwdriver from his pocket and went to a console by the door and removed the face. From another pocket he pulled a pair of wire cutters. He hesitated. "You cut the power for the door, right?" he asked her.

"No. I'm waiting for you to electrocute yourself," she stated with a dead pan expression.

Danny shook his head. "Bloodthirsty," he muttered and began to cut and strip wires before rerouting things. "A'ight. That should do it," he said. Billie contacted Billy and had him turn the power back on to this section.

There was a whirring sound and the sound of an air release and the door's lock disengaged. Danny pushed at the door until it opened enough for their fingers to get through. The two of them muscled the door open and peered in. It was pitch dark.

"Guess we should have brought a flash light," Billie complained. Danny nodded.

They discovered the door was actually another corridor. They walked down away and were suddenly standing in a semi-circular room with half finished projects and various other things. Danny felt along the wall until he found a power switch.

"Holy hell," Danny declared. Billie nodded dumbly as they both stared through a circular glass tube.

They both jumped back when there was a bright flash of light and the sound of something mechanical powering up. The glass of the tube began to lift. Danny and Billie scrambled back but something was following them.

-x-

Roki stretched out in his throne studying a vial of putrid green liquid in a vial. He had been informed by Finster that it was the growth serum. It had been added to the clay and the very next monster would have to ability to grow larger if subjected to an especially large blast of power.

Naturally, Roki had ordered a monster to be to test it.

He glanced up when his sister entered the throne room. "So you're still alive," he remarked.

Zita looked like hell. "No thanks to you," she said and sat down with a huff.

"I tried to check on you. If I had put a finger in your room I fear I may have lost it. What was wrong with you anyway?" he demanded.

Zita shook her head. "I...don't know. I feel better than I have in ages, however. I see you're plotting. Anything interesting?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Testing Finster's growth serum. Why don't you run a test of your own until he had the monster ready," he suggested.

Zita rubbed her coin and smirked. "A brilliant idea," she declared.

-x-

Danny and Billie gaped as the robot that was walking toward them suddenly powered down and drooped. "Oh. I think she needs juice," Billie said quietly.

Danny nodded. Both of them were still amazed at what they were looking at. It was vaguely girl-shaped android with silver skin, large white eyes and white metal shaping hair and clothes. "This place is so awesome," he declared. As one they sprang into action, looking for something in what was obviously someone's lab that would charge the robot girl.

Danny unearthed some cables and a black box. He couldn't see what was in the box, but judging by its weight and various toggles and plugs, he theorized it looked enough like a car battery to assume it was a power source. He figured out how to hook the robot to it and turned it on.

Billie took the opportunity to run for her laptop bag. With a brief explanation to Billy, she ran back.  While the robot was charging he found a way to access her programming. "Ugh, parallel ports? How nineties," she complained and fished around in her bag and pulled out the appropriate cables and linked up, then she began delving into the programming.

"Hmm. There are two different sets of programming going on in here," she mused thoughtfully.

"Whazzat mean?" Danny asked as he checked her over for damage.

Billie shook her head. "Not sure. It looks like...there's original programming and something uploaded later," she mumbled. "I think I can integrate them," she said and began typing furiously on her laptop. Danny just nodded and let her do her thing.

-x-

Autumn came back into the Youth Center about an hour later followed by a slim Asian girl with medium length dark hair. She looked tired, with shadows beneath dark eyes. She gave Win a wary look and stayed behind Autumn for a moment. She didn't really have anything against him, but suddenly appearing behind her the night before had scared the bejeezes out of her. Luckily, Autumn seemed to know how to diffuse the situation.

She was really grateful to them both. Just by their appearance, the shadowy figures that had seemed to beset upon her as soon as she came to Earth had scared her to the very marrow of her bones. Yet Autumn and Win had been unable to see them and the appearance of them had made the figures fade away to nothing.

She couldn't remember much, just a name and waking up staring down at a girl who had looked just like her. She'd known, instinctively, that she had to get far away from the girl. She was also trying to find someone. She could not remember who or why but she knew it was of the utmost importance.

Autumn smiled faintly. "Sorry I disappeared on you, Winter. I was checking on Rei, and then I ducked out to buy her a few things," she explained. She peered around. "Wow, this place emptied out quick," she commented.

Winter chuckled. "Yoga class ended. How are you feeling, Rei?" he asked her with a kind smile.

Rei gave a tired smile. "Much better and I'm ready to begin job training," she added with a grin and gave a little salute.

"And, here I thought that was my job," a new voice cut in. All three of them turned to see a fit black man in late twenties. His hair was short and neat. He wore jeans and a black polo shirt.

"Zack Taylor," Win said. In the all the excitement the night before and that morning, he nearly forgot that the man was coming. He came around the counter and introduced himself, his sister and Rei.

-x-

Sora van Zandt was on his way to the Youth Center. It seemed like a fun place, plus he had seen places where he could train and spar. He had to keep in shape, especially if there was any hope of concluding his mission. He had not had the opportunity to make contact with the Power Rangers yet he's heard all about them already.

He was musing that one over as he entered the park. His sensei would be displeased with him. Sensei was an easy going man most of the time, but those rare times that he got short tempered were downright scary.

The thing to do was find the place his cousin had told him about, but she had admitted to not knowing exactly how to get there. She knew it was located outside the city in the desert. He wasn't about to go wandering around the desert on her word. Especially not after that map she had drawn him.

So, the next step would possibly be to make contact with them next time they were out defending the city from the featureless Z-men he was told were called Putties. "Just have to find some Putties, boyo," he said to himself.

"Did you say something?" Lani Lyong had separated from her friends after the yoga session. Manny had gone off with Tori Williams to discuss cheerleading things they were planning for when school started next week. Holly had gone to help her father with some special project she wasn't supposed to talk about. That suited Lani fine since it would just go over her head anyway.

She'd decided to get something from one of her favorite hot dog vendors in the park and nearly collided with the intent young man who appeared to be talking to himself. She wasn't in the best of moods either. Somehow or other Tai Stapleton managed to slip out of the Youth Center when she wasn't looking. Maybe it was for the best. She wouldn't have had the nerve to talk to him without her friends around anyway.

Sora blinked at the girl. "Er, sorry, luv. I was just talkin' to m'self," he said sheepishly.

Lani nodded blankly. "Um...please tell me those are friends of yours and not what I think they are," she said and pointed.

Sora turned around slowly. Watching them with oddly curious interest were about twenty Z Putties. "Funny thing. I'm hopin' they're your mates," he said quietly even as he took up a defensive posture.

Lani cracked her knuckles. "Nope," she said. She reached out and touched the Z on one of their chests. When he dissolved, the others reacted and began to attack. Lani Lyong hadn't been raised by a martial arts fanatical father and survived three older brothers without learning a thing or two.

Sora didn't truly have time to be impressed by the girl because the pain in his head beginning to pound behind his eyes. He was doing a relatively good job of defending himself while holding it back, but he was terrified of the darkness. He didn't know what happened in the darkness.

-x-

Billy was working in the main room of the Command Center while the junior Blues were playing with the toy they found. The viewer came on. He contacted everyone that there were Z Putties in the park. Billie and Danny came into the main room. "Danny. Get me a sample of that clay. It's time we updated things in here," Billie declared sourly and teleported.

Danny didn't bother to argue and teleported as well. The robot needed more charging so he wasn't too worried about leaving it unattended.

-x-

Power Rangers appeared in the park. Sora was so relieved he nearly lost it and a Putty knocked him for a loop. The Pink Ranger ran over to him. "Dude. You need get out of here," he said seriously and helped him to his feet.

"No. I...have to speak to the Power Rangers," Sora said as the darkness encroached.

"Well, you're going to have to wait. We're in the middle of a Putty problem," Pink Ranger pointed out. "And you don't look so good. Do you know where the Youth Center is?" he asked.

Sora managed a nod. "Go wait there and someone will find you," Pink Ranger instructed. Sora thought that was a very good idea and decided to leave the park while the Rangers were giving him cover. He didn't make it far before the darkness caught him.

The Red Ranger went to help Lani who seemed to be surrounded. Yet, when he arrived, he realized she was handling herself very well. Jason had said he would feel it in his gut when he found his partner. Admittedly there were probably some lower feelings too but right then he knew. "Lokelani Lyong," he said as the coin shard appeared in his hand.

Lani kicked at a Z Putty and watched him disappear before turning to the extremely tall Red Ranger. Her eyes widened a bit. "Yes?" she asked dumbly.

He held out a hand and she took it without hesitation. "Tyrannosaurus," he stated seriously.

"Tyrannosaurus?" she asked. She briefly felt the coin shard before red energy formed her cuffs and spread over her, forming a female version of the red power suit.

"Welcome to the team," he said and quickly let go of her hand.

Clapping startled them. They turned to see the Skeleton Ranger walking toward them. "How touching," he said. He drew his massive sword.

"Handle the Putties. I'll see what I can do about this guy," the male Red ranger told his new partner.

Though psyched about this turn of events, the femme Red nodded and did as she was instructed. "Good luck!" she said and dove into the fray.

The Pink Ranger approached her. "Sticks. Welcome to the team," he said good-naturedly.

The femme Red Ranger faltered slightly. "Nathan?" she demanded. His only response was a chuckle as he took out a few Putties.

The Skeleton Ranger didn't seem overly intimidated by the male Red Ranger drawing his katana. He snorted. "Are you serious?" he demanded derisively.

The Red Ranger looked at his sword then at Skeleton's. "At least I don't have compensation issues," he stated. He summoned a burst of strength and rushed forward.

The Skeleton Ranger swung forward.  The blades clashed in the air. The impact jarred them both, sending a numbing vibration through both their arms. They stumbled back. The Skeleton Ranger shook his head. Something was lingering there. A thought. A realization that the Red Ranger wouldn't be able to withstand another attack. He should attack now. No. He couldn't. Yes, he could!

The male Red Ranger watched the Skeleton Ranger stagger around. He was grateful because he knew that he didn't have another burst of strength in him.

"This...this isn't over," the Skeleton Ranger snarled as he wrestled with himself mentally. He teleported away.

"Didn't he say that last time?" the male Black Ranger mused.

The male Red Ranger sheathed his sword and realized the Putties were gone as well. "Yeah. That just means he'll be back," he stated. "Regroup at the Command Center," he called out. He looked at his new partner. "Follow me," he said and teleported. She teleported after him feeling giddy and overwhelmed. The other Rangers teleported as well.

-x-

Zita snorted in disgust. "I really don't understand how he keeps shaking the curse. It was powerful enough to control any human mind," she declared sourly and stalked back to her throne and sat with a pout. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot as she set her mind to figuring out how to control him better.

Roki shook his head. "Looks like the exoskeleton is holding up well. Finster! Have you completed my monster yet?" he demanded.

"Trojojo is here! I was completed minutes ago therefore I exist. I walked into the throne room so I am here," a deep voice stated as a horse headed monster dressed like an ancient warrior came into the throne room.

Roki rubbed his forehead. "Go. Attack Angel Gove," he ordered. Trojojo bowed and disappeared from the moon.

"Finster's been watching Powerpuff Girls too much. I think we need to take his television away," Zita said.

Roki covered his face with one hand and shook his head.

-x-

Lani looked around in awe at the Command Center then she watched everyone demorph. As she thought, the Pink Ranger turned into Nathan Doyle. Wood Johnson as the Yellow Ranger wasn't too surprising either. Rex Hart and Chloe Kennedy weren't eyebrow rising. Danny Kennedy she wasn't shocked by. Billie Davis, however, was a little unexpected.

The Red ranger's height probably should have given Tai away, but it had not even registered, not until he drew his sword. There was no mistaking that sword and the craftsmanship of Akira Watanabe. Her father had an original Japanese striking of an Akira Watanabe sword but not even her eldest brother Pua was allowed to touch it.

"I really hope you're staring at his sword, otherwise it's getting kind of creepy," Chloe broke into her thoughts, making her jump and flush.

"I, er..."

"We'll say she was staring at his sword. Sticks is a weapons junky," Nathan said. Tai cleared his throat and drummed his fingers over his sheath nervously. Rex hid a snicker behind a cough.

Wood grinned. "Welcome to the Command Center. Do you know everybody?" he asked her.

Lani nodded. "I'm familiar with everyone," she answered. Even if she wasn't the drummer of Nathan's band and therefore Wood, Billie and Danny sometimes showed up for gigs, they were also in the same class. The martial arts community wasn't very large either and she'd even seen Chloe compete before. She was also known to watch kendo matches. There wasn't a person at Angel High who didn't know who Rex Hart was.

"Yeah, yeah. Welcome to the team and all that. Billie, the robot," Danny said. Billie nodded and the Blue team darted off.

"You'll get used to that," Nathan said with a grin. "Formal introductions are in order I think," he said and rubbed his hands together. "Tai, you're new partner Lani Lyong. Lani, this is Tai Stapleton. You kids make nice while I go see what has Billie and Danny in such a tizzy," he added.

"Me, too," Wood said and the two of them walked off.

Tai dipped his head and cleared his throat again. "Sorry to spring that on you," he mumbled.

Lani smiled. "No. No reason to apologize," she assured him. She glanced at his sword again. "Can I see it?" she asked in a small voice.

Tai couldn't help the smile that crept over his face as he handed her the sword.

Lani nearly squealed as she got her hands on it and unsheathed it with awe. It was finely wrought and well balanced. "Beautiful. Papa has one, but we aren't allowed to touch it. It's an original Japanese casting and he paid an arm and leg for it," she said and winced at her own babbling.

Tai nodded. "He would, considering an original Japanese casting would be over forty years old," he remarked. Oh sure, he makes sense when talking about Grandpa's swords. He shot them a glare when Chloe and Rex began making snoring noises. Lani flushed again and handed his sword back to him.

"Stop ragging on the leaders," Autumn scolded them. For good measure Winter popped Rex on the back of the head. Rex rubbed his head but he and Chloe snickered.

The viewer came on and Winter looked at it. "Looks like a monster in an industrial complex downtown," he said.

Nath had come back, remembering the guy at the park and the promise to find him at the Youth Center when Win made that proclamation. He grimaced. "Dang. Guy'll have to wait," he muttered.

Tai nodded. He contacted the other three and they came running. "It's Morphin' time!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-toothed Tiger!"

"Dragonzord!"

-x-

Trojojo raised his sword aloft. "Charge! That is to say get them, meaning to attack!" he ordered the Putties he brought with them. Construction workers and people in suits began to panic and scramble around. "This is fun. Meaning I am enjoying myself," he declared to himself.

"Then it's time to ruin your day," the femme Red Ranger declared. The male Red Ranger appeared behind her and drew his sword.

The other Rangers appeared as well. Putties rushed forward to attack.

The femme Blue Ranger activated her helmet computer. "Got ya back, Glitch," the Male Blue assured her. "Power Lance!" The Power Lance appeared and he began taking out Putties as they surrounded them.

"Dragon Staff!" the femme Green Ranger made her weapon appear while her brother was enjoying Putties barreling through him only to resolidify and take them out. "Show off," she told him and thrust her staff at the Z of a Putty.

"Don't be jealous just because all you can do is see lights other people can't," he teased and whipped around, kicking another Putty in the Z.

"Power Scythe!"

"Power Axe!"

The Black Rangers stood back to back and took out Putties as they came upon them "Did I ever than you for this?" the femme asked.

"I'll have to think of an appropriate way for you express your gratitude," the male Black Ranger answered and hacked his blade through a Putty that got a little too close.

"In your dreams!" she declared and axed another Putty.

"Every night," he agreed and poked a Putty in the Z with the end of his Scythe.

"Power Daggers!"

"Power Bow!"

The Yellow Ranger began jumping around taking down Putties. "Man, I think I'm jealous," he complained good-naturedly.

The Pink Ranger let loose and arrow, "Don't worry, Wood, I dream about you," he said cheerily.

The Yellow Ranger snorted. "I meant the having a partner bit," he declared and slashed a Putty in the Z.

"Does that mean I can't dream about you anymore?" He didn't wait for a response, floating up into the air and taking down another putty.

Trojojojo attacked the Red Rangers. He swung his sword. The male Red rushed forward to block it.

"Power Sword!" the femme Red ranger summoned a double bladed sword and it was a work of sheer beauty. She and her partner gaped at it a moment. Taking advantage of his inattention, Trojojojo tried to take off the male Red's head.

The femme Red reacted and bent her entire body in the most awkward angle that shouldn't have exactly been possible in order to block the blow. "I owe you," the make Red said. She nodded and the two of them engaged in a dance of blades.

The femme Blue clapped her hands together. "You guys! We have all the weapons to form the Power Blaster! Power Sword! Power Bow! Power Lance! Power Axe! Power Daggers!" she told them.

As each weapon was called, its wielder grouped together and added their weapon to the mix. Once the weapon was formed, the five of them aimed. "Power Blaster! Fire!" the femme Black Ranger pulled the trigger and an energy blast powered toward Trojojojo.

"Oh no! As in, oh no! Meaning oh no!" he said as the energy hit him. He sparked and exploded.

He stayed exploded.

-x-

Billy went to check on the robot the Blue team had found. The robot straightened suddenly, causing him to jump back in surprise. Her eyes began glowing. Her two programs, personalities really, had merged and now she was juiced up. "Ay yi yi! Father, what have you done?" she said in a voice that was distinctly feminine, yet distorted and damaged. "Accessing all damage," she said and her lids lowered, the only moveable metal on her face.

Billy merely watched in fascination.

"Damage report complete. Minor repairs needed," she announced. She blinked and looked at him. "Billy!" she exclaimed and began to detach herself from all the wires and cables she was connected to.

Billy managed a small smile. "I don't believe we've met. Do you mind giving me a report on who you are and when you were made?" he asked her with a puzzled frown.

The robot blinked again. "I am Beta Z though my father would sometimes call me Beez. I was first created as a fully functional A.I. core unit one decade ago. Over the course of several years, Father built me various shells in which to house my core, finally deciding on this one. Then, something bad happened, but I detect memory erasures in various spots of my memory chips. I have many of Father's memories now but I cannot find how or when I received them," her voice became more garbled the more she used it until it sounded like she was talking through a walkie talkie, a very cheap one.

Billy nodded. "Well, perhaps I can repair your voice and then we'll get to the bottom of all the mysteries," he said as he fished around in Danny's tools.

"Thank you Bil--," her voice trailed off into a garbled electronic mess.

Billy nodded and repaired her voice box. "Well, Beez. We have a lot to talk about," he said.

"Yes, Billy," she agreed and her eyes glowed warmly.

-x-

Roki growled. "Finster!" he roared. "Your growth serum didn't work!" he shouted.

"Please brother, you give me a headache," Zita said with a sigh.

He slumped in his throne and they both brooded over their losses.

-x-

Tai, Lani and Nathan walked into the Youth Center from the front while Autumn and Winter filed in from the back to pretend they'd only been on a break, relieving Zack and Rei, who have been having crash training from Nanna Mai.

Tai looked around. "Do you see him?" he asked Nathan.

Nathan looked around and Lani, too, since she knew what the guy looked like. "I don't see him. He seemed adamant about talking to the Power Rangers," Nathan explained.

Tai sighed. "You told Autumn and Win what he looked like--"

"And that he has an accent," Lani interrupted.

Tai nodded. "They'll let us know if he comes in. In the meantime, I have to ask Grandpa how come the Power Sword has a Watanabe dragon on it," he said. He nodded to them and left the Youth Center.

Nathan shook his head. "Is Tai's Grandpa really all that in the weapons world?" he asked Lani.

She nodded. "He is," she stated. "Come one emo-boy, let's get a milkshake," she said and they went to the counter. The end of the battle deserved a little celebration.

x-The End Chapter Three-x           

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