FicWad

Episode 7: Coaction, Poise, Unity

"Woah!" A morphed Griffin shouted as he fought an Attack Zord in his Cheetah Chaser's Warrior Mode. He maneuvered out of the way of an incoming attack, then ordered, "Combine Zords!"

"Right!" Kenny and Wendy replied. They piloted their Zords towards his, and he fired a few missiles at the Attack Zord as it stomped towards him. Kenny and Wendy typed new codes into their cockpit keypads. Their Zords split into multiple pieces and began orbiting the Cheetah Chaser. Doctor K watched this unfold from her monitor.

The Attack Zord began charging an attack in its eye, prompting Griffin to fire more missiles. He thumbed in a new code, then hollered, "SpyTech Megazord Formation: ACTIVATE!"

"...Too slow," Doctor K said out of nowhere. Griffin tilted his head in confusion, then snapped his attention back to the Attack Zord right as it slammed its fists into the Cheetah Chaser.

"SIMULATION TERMINATED," An electronic voice echoed throughout the lab. What was revealed to be a city simulation faded away, giving way to familiar white walls and an equally familiar rat's nest of computers and wires.

"Crap…" Griffin groaned, removing his helmet and throwing his head back against his cockpit chair.

"We failed again?" Wendy said in disbelief, as she and Kenny removed their own helmets.

"That's impressive, Griffin," Cheetor said sarcastically, his face lighting up on the Cheetah Chaser's dashboard. "That makes twenty failures in a row."

"...I've got the controls locked down. I just need to work on my timing," Griffin replied. As he moved to put his helmet back on, he added, "A few more tries outta-"

"I don't believe there's any point in continuing, Ranger Red," Doctor K replied, her face appearing on Griffin's cockpit screen. "Everyone log your data into the system and disembark."

After logging their data and demorphing, the Rangers exited their Zords. They stood at attention in front of Doctor K's desk, and after several moments of awkward silence, she stood from her chair.

"Series Red, the Cheetah Chaser is the foundation that the entire SpyTech Megazord is laid upon. We won't get anywhere if you can't succeed."

"Sorry…" Griffin rubbed the back of his head, then looked down at his feet.

"Weird...you have the most Zord experience of the three of us. You'd think this would be a cakewalk for you," Wendy posited, glancing over at her Red teammate and prompting him to look back up at her.

"The combination is easy, but doing it while under enemy fire…." His voice trailed off, and he tapped his chin. He turned to Doctor K, then continued, "What if we temporarily fall back, then form the Megazord?"

"That isn't a viable option. The SpyTech Megazord requires a massive amount of Energon to power, so it can't stay combined for very long. There isn't any time to retreat," Doctor K told him. "In combat, even the slightest hesitation could cost you your life."

"I understand. I'll just keep on practicing until I-"

"No, Ranger Red, I'm afraid you don't understand." Doctor K interrupted. "And until you do, all of the practice in the world won't help."

She then turned her back to him, but not before adding, "Rangers dismissed,"

The following morning, Doctor K and the Buddy Droids sat at their stations, plugging away at various programs and diagnostics as per usual. As they performed various tasks around the lab, they failed to notice as a small V-shaped card detached itself from the dormant Cutter Attack Zord and drifted towards the door. It slipped through the gap between the door and the floor, then levitated up the stairs and slipped under the broom closet door that concealed the entrance to the lab. It flew through the lecture hall, made its way outside, and got caught up in a sudden gust of wind. It then blew all the way to the top of a downtown skyscraper, where it floated into the waiting hand of Control.

"...Finally," He said to himself, studying the card. He turned to Alt and Delete, who he addressed with, "The trap has been sprung; it is time to begin phase one of our plan."

He handed the card to Alt, who scanned it on her tablet. A new window opened up on its screen, displaying the coordinates of Doctor K's lab. "Thank you, brother. Delete and I will depart immediately,"

They both teleported away, leaving Control to leap down from the rooftop and land in a nearby dumpster. He dug through it, then pulled out what appeared to be a damaged fire extinguisher.

"Well, this wasn't disposed of properly," He remarked, grabbing ahold of the object. He climbed out of the trash receptacle, then pulled out his laptop as well as an Energon Storage Device. He connected the latter to the former via a USB cable, then scanned a Venjix Virus Card and attached it to the extinguisher. It glowed green for a few moments, transforming into an orange robot with a fire extinguisher arm. "Welcome to the world, Acid Attack Bot! You're going to help me defeat the Power Rangers,"

"Say…" Wendy began, breaking the silence that filled the campus library she and Kenny were sitting in. The Blue Ranger looked up from his laptop, and she continued, "Don't you think Doc was a bit...harsh? Y'know, with Griffin?"

"Maybe a little," He replied. He turned his attention back to his laptop, then added, "Then again, maybe some tough love is what he needs right now."

"Maybe...I just, I don't know. I get the feeling she knows why he's failing, but she won't tell him."

"Could be,"

"Isn't that really counter-intuitive, though? I mean, we're never gonna form the Megazord if she keeps him in the dark," She pointed out. "Besides, knowing him, he's probably beating himself up over the whole thing…."

"Worried about Griffy, are we?" He teased, grinning like a cheshire cat. She blushed, then slugged him on the arm as hard as she could. "Ow! Jeez...Look, in all seriousness, this probably isn't something she can fix by just explaining it to him. Sometimes people learn better when they figure it out themselves instead of having the answer spelled out for them, y'know?"

"I guess you're right…." She let out a sigh, then reached into her purse and pulled out a bag of candy. She opened it, then popped a piece into her mouth before adding, "Let's just hope that blockhead figures it out in time,"

"C'mon...C'mon...!" Griffin tapped his foot as he sat at his computer desk, playing an online first-person shooter game with some of his friends. He was trying to defend an in-game objective, but was running low on ammo as his position was swarmed by the other team. "Guys, we're gonna lose the flag! Where are you?"

"We're on our way with the tank; just hang tight!" His roommate and friend Thom replied via the in-game voice chat. Griffin gunned down a few intruders with his pistol as they breached his base, then sighed when he ran out of ammo.

"Listen, if you guys don't show up soon, we're losing that flag," He told his team. He panned the in-game camera up to the base's skylight, then spotted a rocket launcher lying on the roof. If he could just get to it, he'd be able to repel the attack by himself. However, it'd give the enemy a perfect window to steal the flag if he timed it wrong. It was a huge risk – but one he had to take. "...Screw it, I'm going for the bazooka!"

"Griffin, no!" Thom urged, but Griffin ignored him. He maneuvered his character out of the base, then sprinted up the stairs to the roof and swapped his empty pistol for the rocket launcher. He dropped back down the skylight and clicked his left mouse button to fire at an incoming enemy, but they responded by running straight towards him. Both he and the enemy player were killed by the resulting splash damage. Another enemy seized the opportunity to steal the flag. "Grif, you should've just waited. We were almost there!"

"I know..." The Red Ranger groaned as the enemy team captured the flag and won the game. He ran a hand through his hair, and as the game cut to a match result screen he added, "Guys, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, man. It's just one game," His other friend Evan replied. "You don't usually play like this, though. Everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, just...distracted by school stuff," He lied. He hovered his mouse cursor over the 'leave game' button, then added, "I think I'm gonna call it quits for today, guys. Good game,"

"Good game," Thom and Evan echoed, and he exited out of the lobby and closed out of the game. He removed his headset from his ears and moved it to where it hung around the back of his neck, then threw his head back and sighed.

"SpyTech Megazord Formation: Activate!" Griffin hollered, thumbing a new code into his cockpit's keypad.

"...Too slow," Doctor K said out of nowhere, just before a swing from the Attack Zord ended the simulation.

"I just don't get what I'm doing wrong..." He said to himself. "I can't go any faster, so what is it that I'm not-"

His morpher then went off, tearing him from his thoughts. He grabbed it off his desk, then strapped it to his wrist and pressed the dial button. "Go for Grif,"

"Ranger Red, I'm detecting Venjix activity in an abandoned hangar! I'm sending the coordinates to your morpher; I need you and the others there ASAP!"

"On my way!" He replied. He hung up, then removed his headset and hopped out of his chair. He thrust his denim jacket on, then grabbed his keys before tearing out of his apartment.

"This is the place…." Griffin observed as he, Kenny, and Wendy stepped into the abandoned hangar at Doctor K's coordinates. They scanned its interior for any signs of Venjix activity, only to come up empty. "I don't see any bogies; what about you guys?"

"I got nothing," Kenny replied as he shined a pocket flashlight in the darkness.

"Nada," Wendy echoed, crouching down to look underneath a broken fighter jet. "Maybe Doc's sensors are on the fritz..."

Floodlights on the ceiling flipped on out of nowhere, illuminating the room. Control materialized on a catwalk above them, accompanied by the Acid Attack Bot.

"Ca va, Rangers?" He greeted, walking up to the catwalk's railing.

"Saba?" Kenny asked, tilting his head. "I could go for a bite, but Griffin hates seafood!"

"No, not saba. Ca va," Wendy corrected him. "It's French for 'How's it going?'."

"Oh…"

"What are you doing here, Control?!" Griffin demanded, glaring up at his rival.

"Oh, nothing. Just out for a stroll," Control replied sarcastically. He thrust out his hand, then added, "Here, have some friends to play with."

Streams of orange binary code ebbed from his fingertips, then floated down to the ground floor. The ones and zeroes solidified into dozens of Xanadroids, which surrounded the Rangers and held them at gunpoint.

"Well, we found what we were looking for!" Wendy hollered.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Griffin cried out, and the three brandished their morphers.

"Install: CPU!"

Within moments, they had donned their Ranger suits. The trio wasted no time, summoning their SpyTech Analyzers and using them to combat their attackers.

Griffin ran up to a pair of Xanadroids, blocked both of their swings with his sword, then broke away from them and ran up a nearby stepladder. He slashed at some Xanadroids that followed him up, then leaped up and swept the legs out from under another one that had climbed onto a nearby fighter jet to flank him.

Kenny alternated between punching and slashing the Xanadroids. He sidestepped an incoming blaster bolt, then grabbed his assailant by the arm and Irish-whipped him into the wall. He super-kicked the robot as it spun around and tried to hit him, then speared another one that tried to sneak up on him before slashing it in the neck.

Wendy shoved a Xanadroid onto the floor, slashed it in the chest, and then ran underneath a metal staircase. She grabbed onto one of the posts holding it up, then spun around it while slashing at her attackers. She flew out from under the stairs and ducked into a slide, dodging incoming lasers as she slashed more of the robots in the legs.

"Wait a minute...something doesn't add up," Doctor K said to herself as she watched the battle from her monitor. "If Control is there, shouldn't Alt and Delete be-"

"INTRUDER ALERT!" An electronic voice echoed through the lab as klaxons blared and red warning lights flashed on and off. "INTRUDER ALERT!"

"The Cutter Attack Zord…!" She realized, jumping out of her seat. She grabbed her Nitro Blaster off a nearby table, then made her way to the Zord Bay to intercept. "Rangers, we've got trouble! Alt and Delete have infiltrated the lab!"

"That's not good!" Kenny exclaimed as he and the others finished off the last of the Xanadroids.

"No, it isn't…and neither is this," Control leaped down from the catwalk, then held an object out for the Rangers to see. It appeared to be some kind of remote control, or-

"A detonator!" Wendy realized, her blood running cold. "He's planted a bomb!"

"Indeed I have! And now comes the fun part!" He pressed a button on the detonator, and a large object that the Rangers had overlooked lit up with a red countdown timer. "It's been fun, Rangers, but this is where we part ways!"

The Avatar thrust his hands out without warning, shooting out long electrical cables that ensnared the Rangers. As they struggled to free themselves, he waved and said, "Have fun dying in a few minutes! Adieu~!"

He then teleported away, leaving the Rangers to their fate. The Acid Attack Bot hopped down from the catwalk, then towered over the Rangers as they attempted to escape.

"It's no use; those cables are nigh-indestructible!" It taunted. "Besides, even if you do break free, the doors will be sealed right about...now!"

As soon as he said this, mechanical whirring sounds echoed through the hangar. Steel barriers slid over the windows and skylight, and the doors all began to close…

"So this is what my Attack Zords look like when their programming is disabled…." Delete observed, looking up at the lifeless Cutter Attack Zord. "How...depressing,"

"Indeed," Alt agreed. She hooked her tablet up to a nearby computer terminal, then entered a string of commands into it and added, "Let's fix that, shall we?"

She pressed down firmly on the terminal's enter key, and a metal apparatus whirred to life and inserted itself into the Attack Zord. As it began to repair the damaged robot, Alt sidestepped to avoid a sudden laser blast.

"Get...out...of my lab!" Doctor K snarled. She aimed her Nitro Blaster at the intruders and fired a steady stream of projectiles, none of which seemed to connect. She moved to bridge the gap between herself and her targets, but before she could get any closer, she found herself tangled up in a string of cables. "What the-?!"

"Bonjour, Doctor K!" Control greeted, having teleported in behind her when she wasn't looking. "It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance!"

The Earth-2 scientist wriggled to try and break free but to no avail. Alt and Delete laughed, then turned their attention back to the Cutter Attack Zord as Control scooped her up and set her on a nearby chair…

"The doors...there's gotta be...some kind of override!" Griffin said through grit teeth. "If you two keep him busy, I should be able to-"

"No time!" Kenny said, cutting him off. He used his super strength to break out of his binds, then tore Griffin out of his and grabbed him by the arms. He lifted the Red Ranger up, then spun around and tossed him out the nearest exit just before it slid shut. Griffin grunted as he landed outside, then hopped up to his feet and pounded on the door.

"Ken, why'd you do that?!" He shouted into his morpher. "We had a way out!"

"Yeah, and this is it!" His Blue teammate replied. "You're the fastest, so you can run back to base, save Doc, and then use the Cheetah Chaser to bail us out!"

"But-"

"No buts!" Kenny told him, breaking Wendy free before raising his morpher and speaking into it again. "We're counting on you, so quit arguing and haul ass!"

"...Right!" Griffin turned and supersped away from the hangar, leaving Kenny and Wendy trapped inside for the time being.

"If the bomb doesn't kill you, I will!" The Acid Attack Bot boomed. It aimed its fire extinguisher arm and sprayed a stream of acid, which the pair narrowly avoided. Kenny and Wendy watched as it melted the fighter jet they'd been standing in front of, then summoned their weapons as the Attack Bot charged them.

"You...you'll never get away with this!" Doctor K shouted as she tried to break out of her binds with everything that was within her. "My Rangers, they'll come for me, and then-"

"Your Rangers are weak and pathetic, just like their predecessors!" Control interrupted, earning a look of hatred from his captive. He stepped over to her, then added, "I've left them to die in an explosion, and even if they manage to survive, they'll have not one but two Attack Zords to fight!"

A few seconds later, the Cutter Attack Zord roared, coming back to life as if it were on cue. As it broke out of its chains and tore out of the hangar, a countdown timer appeared on a nearby monitor, marking the time until a second Attack Zord would join it.

"You fought valiantly, but in the end, you failed to save this world...just like you failed to save yours," Control hissed. He summoned his rapier, then continued, "I'll be merciful and end your suffer-"

"Recognized: Griffin, B-05," The lab's security system announced, cutting the Avatar off mid-sentence. His face twisted in anger and disbelief, and he looked up just in time to see the Red Ranger dash into the room.

"You're going down!" He hollered, super-speeding towards the trio of intruders.

"We'll see about that," Control scoffed, tightening his grip on his rapier before charging into battle alongside his siblings…

"Why do you struggle, even in the face of certain death?!" The Acid Attack Bot demanded, as it tried and failed to hit Kenny and Wendy with its acid spray. "Why do you fight when there's no hope?!"

"Because this city is counting on us!" Kenny shouted, using his super strength to lift a metal ladder and throw it at the Attack Bot. "Every man, woman, and child living in Starview Heights...their futures depend on us!"

"That's why we'll never give up, even when all seems lost!" Wendy added. She watched the ladder get melted by acid, then pelted the Attack Bot with lasers while it was distracted. "As long as we're still breathing, we have a reason to keep fighting!"

"You're insane!" Control snarled at Griffin, who leg-swept Delete before hitting Alt with a quick lariat. He locked blades with the Red Ranger, then added, "Why throw away your life so recklessly?!"

"That's a question...you should ask yourself...Frenchy!"

Griffin screamed at the top of his lungs, pushing against his foe's blade with all his might. Still, in the end, he was overpowered, and the Avatar swatted him away. Alt and Delete sprang to their feet and lunged at him, and as the trio of generals overwhelmed the Red Ranger, Cheetor, Apex and Bugz snuck into the room and quietly untied Doctor K.

"You're going to die!" Control told Griffin, his voice filled with venom. He slashed him in the chest plate, then continued, "I'll see to it personally!"

"...Not if I can help it," Doctor K said. Control and the others turned to face her, and she opened fire with her sonic cannon. The trio were knocked off their feet by the resulting sound waves, along with Griffin, whom Doctor K quickly helped up.

"...This isn't over," Control growled as he and the other two got back up. They all teleported away, prompting the security system to shut off its intruder alert.

"Ranger Red, Cheetor, you know what to do!" Doctor K ordered, prompting Griffin and his Buddy Droid to board their Zord. She turned to the other two, then added, "Apex, Bugz, I'm sending the Gorilla Hauler and Rabbit Chopper as well. Save Rangers Blue and Yellow before it's too late!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

"Roger rabbit!"

A downtown skyscraper shook and rumbled, then tilted downward to reveal a hollow tunnel. The Cheetah Chaser, Gorilla Hauler, and Rabbit Chopper zoomed out of it, then tore through the city and headed towards the abandoned hangar.

"Ken, why'd you do that?!" Griffin shouted into his morpher. "We had a way out!"

"Yeah, and this is it!" His Blue teammate replied. "You're the fastest, so you can run back to base, save Doc, and then use the Cheetah Chaser to bail us out!"

"I finally get it…." Griffin said to himself. "The reason I couldn't form the Megazord before...it's because I didn't trust the others to have my back! The key to forming it and the key to being a good leader...it's to trust others! I can't just do everything myself!"

"I'm glad you figured it out," Cheetor replied as the Red Ranger converted their Zord to Warrior Mode and maneuvered it over to the hangar. "Now, let's save our friends!"

Griffin equipped his Zord's sword, then plunged its blade into the steel barrier blocking the hangar's skylight. It sparked as he began to cut into it, but before he could break it, he was interrupted by the arrival of a new Attack Zord.

"Rahhhhhh!" The Acid Attack Zord roared. It aimed its fire extinguisher arm at the Cheetah Chaser, then sprayed a stream of acid which Griffin narrowly avoided. Within moments, it was joined by the re-activated Cutter Attack Zord, and the two enemy robots banded together to combat the Cheetah Chaser.

Kenny grabbed a broken segment of one of Control's cables and forward-rolled towards the Acid Attack Bot. He wrapped the cable around its arms, then twisted it and spun it around, disorienting it. He held it in place, and Wendy aimed her blaster at it and fired, destroying its acid tank. The Attack Bot sputtered in pain as Kenny leaped away from it, then growled in anger as it looked at its destroyed tank.

"You...you'll pay for that!"

"I don't think so!" Kenny said defiantly. He summoned his own blaster, and he and Wendy combined their weapons to form their SpyTech Snipers.

Meanwhile, the Cheetah Chaser staggered backward after being cut by the Cutter Attack Zord. The Acid Attack Zord took advantage and sprayed the Red Ranger's Zord with its acid; sparks flew off its left arm and its sword melted in half.

"Left-arm damaged! Sword destroyed!" Cheetor informed Griffin, who promptly tossed the ruined weapon away.

"We can still do this!" The Red Ranger declared, willing his Zord forward. The Cheetah Chaser charged towards the Acid Attack Zord. The Gorilla Hauler and Rabbit Chopper followed him and kept the Cutter Attack Zord busy.

"SpyTech Sniper: Scope...SALVO!" Kenny and Wendy hollered in unison, aiming their combined weapons at the Acid Attack Bot. They twisted the dials on their barrels, then fired twin beams at their foe. The golden projectiles cut through the damaged robot like a hot knife through butter, and it cried out in pain before falling to its knees.

"No…!" It screamed, sparking uncontrollably before exploding. The Blue and Yellow Rangers pumped their fists in excitement, but their celebration was soon cut short when the bomb began to audibly count down from ten seconds.

"10...9...8...7...6...5," An electronic voice echoed from the hangar, counting down to the bomb's detonation. Griffin growled as he pushed his controls with all his might, charging the Acid Attack Zord and grabbing it by the arms. He struggled with the enemy Zord, then maneuvered it so that its fire extinguisher arm was pointed at the metal barrier on the hangar's roof. Its acid sprayed out, melting through the barrier and destroying the skylight underneath. "4...3..."

"Wendy, he did it!" Kenny realized, elbowing his Yellow counterpart and gesturing up to the skylight.

"C'mon!" Wendy grabbed her Blue teammate by the arm and vaulted into the air, using her superagility to carry them both to safety. The bomb exploded, and the force of the blast amplified her jump. They yelped in fright as they flung into the air, and were saved by the timely arrival of their Zords.

"K-Kenny!" Apex stammered, as the Blue Ranger entered the Gorilla Hauler's cockpit. "You m-made it!"

"That was too close!" Bugz exclaimed, watching as Wendy boarded the Rabbit Chopper and strapped into her cockpit seat.

"You did it!" Cheetor told Griffin, who threw his head back and sighed in relief.

"Thanks!" Kenny hollered, his image appearing on Griffin's cockpit screen. "You cut it kinda close, though!"

"I thought we were goners!" Wendy echoed. She turned her Zord around, then shot the Acid Attack Zord with her gatling guns. The enemy Zord staggered backward, releasing the Cheetah Chaser from its grip in the process. It regained its footing, then regrouped with the Cutter Attack Zord. Together, the two Attack Zords fired at the Cheetah Chaser, causing Griffin and Cheetor to cry out in pain.

"Grif, how much Energon do you have left?!" Kenny inquired.

"I'm at 50%!" Griffin told him. "That should be enough to finish 'em off with the Megazord!"

"We're doing this in real-time?" Wendy questioned. "Are you sure?"

"We can do it! I won't fail like last time!"

"I see…" Doctor K said, her voice echoing over the comm-link. "I'm glad you've figured it out, Ranger Red!"

"Let's go!" Griffin hollered. "SpyTech Megazord Formation: ACTIVATE!"

The Cheetah Chaser struck a pose, then fired a volley of missiles from its shoulders. The rockets hit the Acid and Cutter Attack Zords, staggering them and giving Kenny and Wendy time to type new commands into their own Zords. The Gorilla Hauler and Rabbit Chopper split into several pieces, which then flew towards the Cheetah Chaser.

I didn't let them protect me, Griffin thought to himself, watching as his teammates' Zords orbited his own. I was so focused on the enemy that I thought I had to do it all myself…but I don't. I have Kenny and Wendy to help me!

The Acid and Cutter Attack Zords aimed at the Cheetah Chaser and retaliated with their own missiles. However, the projectiles were blocked by a green force field projected by the Gorilla Hauler and Rabbit Chopper. One of them even bounced off of it and struck the Attack Zords instead.

"I trust you two...just like you trusted me!" With that, Griffin keyed in a new combination, causing the Cheetah Chaser to begin transforming. Its arms, shoulders, and feet folded up, and its chest piece flew off. This allowed Rabbit Chopper and Gorilla Hauler fragments to attach to it and form new arms and feet, respectively. Spare parts from the Zords attached to its back and chest, and its visor split open and folded back to the sides of its face as a new helmet slotted onto it.

"They did it…!" Doctor K exclaimed. She let out a laugh, then typed a long string of commands into her computer and slammed her hand on a button. "Ranger Red, I'm sending you another sword!"

"Thanks!" Griffin watched as a new sword materialized in mid-air, then grabbed it as pieces of the Rabbit Chopper attached themselves to the hilt.

"SpyTech Megazord: ONLINE!" The three Rangers shouted in unison, and their new Megazord struck a triumphant pose. The Attack Zords shot more missiles at them, but Wendy blocked them with the Megazord's arm blades before flipping a few switches to the right of her.

"Charging sword!" She shouted, watching a graphic on her screen that depicted their sword filling with Energon.

"Boosting output!" Kenny replied, pulling a lever in his cockpit to speed up the charge. "50%...60...70...80...90...100%!"

The Megazord raised its sword up as it glowed bright green. Sound waves shot out of its knees and shins, capturing the two Attack Zords in a giant bubble. Griffin twisted the dial on his morpher, then pressed the button before gripping his controls again.

"SpyTech Megazord: Dimension CRASH!" The Megazord delivered a diagonal slash to its foes, and the bubble they were trapped in rippled as the attack struck it. The Megazord skid to a halt once it passed them, and the Acid and Cutter Attack Zords erupted in a massive explosion.

"Shutdown: COMPLETE!" The Rangers shouted in unison. They removed their helmets, then took cleansing breaths as their victory set in.

"You did it, man! I'm so proud of you!" Kenny told Griffin. His lips curled into a smirk, and he continued, "I'm glad you pulled through. Wendy was really worried about you, y'know?"

"What?! That is so not true!" The Yellow Ranger blushed redder than a tomato, and she shouted, "You are so dead, do you hear me?!"

"Haha, don't be like that! I'm just messing with you!" Griffin blushed too, and he rubbed the back of his head as Kenny added, "Hey, you guys wanna grab some food?"

"Sure thing, but you're buying!" Wendy said with a grin.

"What?! That is so unfair!"

"Unfair? Who always picks up your tab when you forget your wallet or overdraw your card? Griffin and me, that's who! It's about time you paid us back, cheapass."

"Cheapass? C'mon Wendy, that's just hurtful!"

"That's the idea! It was an insult, bonehead!"

As his teammates carried on with their playful bickering, Griffin grinned ear to ear, then broke into a fit of giggles.

With you guys as my teammates, I'm the luckiest Ranger in the world...

"THE RANGERS WON...AGAIN?!" Venjix's voice shook the warehouse, and Control and his siblings trembled in fear. "YOU THREE CONTINUE TO DO NOTHING BUT DISAPPOINT ME! IF I DIDN'T NEED YOU, I'D DESTROY YOU RIGHT NOW! A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH – THAT WILL BE YOUR REWARD IF YOU CONTINUE TO FAIL ME! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

"Yes, Father!" His generals bowed before him, then turned tail and ran out of the room.

"THOSE PESKY RANGERS...THEY SHALL PAY FOR THEIR INSOLENCE! NO ONE DEFIES VENJIX AND LIVES! NO ONE!"

– POWER RANGERS: CPU –