Out of the Shadows, Part 2

Out of the Shadows, Part 2 is the second episode of Power Rangers: Shadow Ops.

Plot
The next thing I knew, someone with weirdly cold arms was carrying me. You'd think one big pain like the one sending shocks up my spine would block out the rest, but no, every scrape and bruise twinged right along with it. The only part of my body that didn't hurt was my legs; they felt heavy and numb, like they'd fallen asleep.

"Doctor Tesla!" Ugh, why did he have to be so loud? Whoever he was—it sounded like the guy who was carrying me.

"Cheetrax? You're not supposed to be out—" That didn't sound like a doctor. It sounded like a kid—either a boy around twelve or a teenage girl, I guess.

"Doc, I need your help. I don't know how to activate the Zoodroid Link." Zoo-o-droid? That was a weird word. The guy set me down on what felt like a table. I finally opened my eyes, and blinked to make the blurriness go away. The guy who'd been carrying me was wearing some kind of metallic, red-and-silver armor. Had horns—no, handlebars?

"What do you think you're doing?" The kid doctor protested.

I made the mistake of moving my head to look, and immediately regretted it. The wave of pain left tears in my eyes. I must have made a noise too, because the armored guy looked down at me, and gave me a squeeze on the shoulder.

"Hang in there, Aran."

"You need to take him to a hospital!" Kid Doctor protested. "Look at him, he's probably in shock already."

Oh, was that what was going on? I guess that explained why I wasn't panicking and everything felt like it was happening in slow motion.

"Doc, I scanned him. The hospital's not going to be enough. If we don't use the Zoodroid Link, and fast, he'll die."

"We can't give that kind of power to a random street thief!" Kid Doctor was getting shrill.

"I think he could be more if we just give him a chance."

"So, what, you want him to be your partner?"

"Yes."

There was a long silence. I was starting to get really cold; that was probably the shock thing the kid had been talking about. Also why I wasn't saying anything. Then again it was hard enough to breathe right now.

Kid Doctor spoke again, this time in a quiet voice I had to strain to hear. "Are you sure? You'll be stuck for life."

"I'm sure."

Kid Doctor sighed. "They're not going to like this."

I heard switches flipping, and the hum of a machine getting turned on. The guy in armor bent over me. He stuck what felt like stickers attached to wires to my forehead, then pulled open my shirt to put more on my chest.

"You're going to be okay in a minute, Aran. I'll explain everything then."

Oh, good. The guy walked away, and I realized the light overhead was getting brighter. Also red. If this was that 'I saw a bright light' thing I didn't like where it was headed—but I wasn't that surprised either.

A weird tingling feeling was coming over me. It started light and kind of warm in my fingers, but grew stronger as it passed up my arms and over my body. The hairs on my arms stood on end. Now it was getting to the level of static electricity. The stickers had gotten really hot already.

"He's compatible," Kid Doctor said. "Beginning bonding sequence."

A white-hot jolt shot through me, and I convulsed. That only made my wounds hurt worse. I may have screamed.

My vision went white, then black... ...which I guess was me fainting. I dreamed after that. It was blurry and confused. First I was in some kind of workshop, looking around. Kid Doctor was there, and he seemed excited. Younger, too; his coat was way too big for him and he almost tripped over it running to a console.

". . . responding well to initial stimuli . . ." he rambled into a little microphone.

I looked down at my hands, turning them. They seemed heavy and metallic. I flexed my fingers and saw mechanical bits moving. I was made of metal?

The kid turned back to me. Even though I was sitting down he had to stand on tiptoe to look me in the eye. When he spoke, it was slowly and deliberately, enunciating each word. "I'm Morgan Tesla, I am your creator. Do you understand me?"

There was a knock on the door. ..

. . . and Tesla jumped, looking around guiltily. The door swung open and in marched a grim-looking man in a dark blue uniform. He started shouting at Tesla, who backed away until he hit the console.

I shot to my feet, and there was a metallic ripping noise. Both humans jumped and looked at me as I walked towards them. The man went for his belt. With surprising speed I caught his wrist, jerking it up and back. He dropped to his knees with a yell of pain.

"Cheetrax, stop!"

. ..

". . . Prove dangerous. I move that the device be destroyed," a man was saying into a little microphone. Now I was in what looked like a small courtroom, with a number of severe men in severe business suits gazing grimly down at me. The man left, and I felt movement to my left. The little Tesla kid was sitting there, looking antsy. A woman rose from beside him, giving him a squeeze on the shoulder. She took the podium.

"We at Tesla Enterprises acknowledge the concerns of Ivory Tower Resources, but according to our empirically gathered data, the robot not only has great potential for military use, but behaves in a generally nonviolent and protective manner. In fact the only time he demonstrated aggression was when unauthorized individuals began intimidating his creator."

The other guy tried to say something, but the woman talked over him. "Yes, we've heard your argument that the men were only doing their jobs. My point is that the robot's first action upon being activated was to protect what he perceived as the weaker party. We haven't created a HAL, your honor." There was something of a smile around her mouth. ..

. . . "They're not going to hurt you." That was the Tesla kid again. Had he been crying? He was stuffing tech into a suitcase so large I wondered how he was supposed to carry it. "We're leaving."

"Where will we go?" I found myself asking.

"I don't know—somewhere else. We'll figure it out once we're gone where they can't overhear."

The door opened, and Tesla jumped, spinning around. The woman hurried inside, followed by an unfamiliar man in a Silver Guardians uniform.

"Morgan—"

"I won't let you deactivate him! He's a person, that's like killing him!"

"We're not going to let that happen." The woman moved slightly to the side, and the Guardian came forward. He crouched down to Tesla's level.

"I'm Captain Okoro, I'm in charge of the Guardians of Blackdell. We could really use tech like this."

"You mean make him into a weapon?" Tesla didn't sound convinced.

"I mean put him to good use protecting the city. Frankly, I don't trust Ivory Tower Resources. If they see your project as a threat that means it's worth looking into. So, mind giving this a shot?"

Tesla looked around the room, and then slowly nodded to the older man. He smiled and offered a hand to shake. Cautiously, Tesla took it.

Everything else was fuzzy. I glimpsed more machinery, bright yellow, blue, and I think I turned into a motorcycle at one point but everything was going nuts by then. There was something about a "bond with a human pilot, kind of a soul for the machine," and then a lot more blurriness and confusion. Eventually, as abruptly as it had started, everything stopped.

I opened my eyes, and blinked a few times. Dark, but there was a faint yellowy light shining from my left. Slowly I rolled my head around to look. It felt like it weighed a ton and someone was doing an epic drum solo right behind my temples. My mouth tasted like asphalt, my stomach was apparently dancing to the drumbeat and I was hot and cold all over. Including my legs, so I guess that was a good thing?

The light was coming from a workbench, and draped over that workbench was the sleeping kid. Tesla, I guess, if those dreams had been accurate. I pushed myself up on an elbow, felt something shift in a bad way in my back, and dropped back down. I got a glimpse of red and chrome next to me. Was that the guy who'd carried me in? Now I could see him better. He looked like he was wearing armor, and yes, his helmet had handlebars. No. . . somehow now I realized that he was a robot, not a man in a suit. One who could turn into a motorcycle if he wanted. He was hooked up to a machine, which I realized was also attached to me.

I must have made a noise or something, because Tesla stirred and sat up sharply, shaking his head. He had red grid marks on his cheek.

"You're awake."

"I guess," I said.

"The memory imprint worked?" He asked, getting up.

"The wha—" Was that what that was? It had seemed blurry and confused when it happened, but now that I thought about it, everything fell into place. "Yes. I think so. What was that?"

"As part of the bonding process, you and Cheetrax are imprinted with each other's memories," Tesla explained, coming over and pulling off the little sensor things one by one. "You're also granted superhuman stamina and reflexes, and normally some kind of special ability unique to you. We'll have to run some tests to find out what that is."

"Oh." I looked over at Cheetrax. He stirred as Tesla pulled off the sensors, and his eyes (or the robotic equivalent) lit up green. He sat up straight and turned towards me.

"Good, it worked." He sounded relieved.

"Don't be so surprised, it's worked before," Tesla muttered.

"I guess." Very, very carefully, I sat up, one hand on my mid-back. My lower limbs felt prickly, and the scrapes and bruises were starting to ache again. Also I was now wearing a uniform—like Corey's, but red where his was blue. "Whatever 'it' is. I'm your soul now or something?"

"More like my partner."

"Partner for what? Am I Robocop now?" I asked.

"Who?" Cheetrax seemed confused.

"Hey, if you have my memories you should remember the movies too."

"Unimportant memories tend to get buried in the transfer," Tesla chimed in. "The two of you—and the other Shadow Ops Rangers—are going to protect Blackdell from monsters like the one that attacked you earlier. At least to the public eye. You're also going to act as covert agents to find out how they're being created—and what Ivory Tower Resources is doing to make the Zigli family so interested. Anyway, the Captain will explain it all better."

I glanced around. There weren't any windows in the lab, but there was a clock on the work bench. 6:47. Wait—

"How long was I asleep?" I demanded.

"Seven, eight hours? It's not a fast procedure," Tesla said.

"So what happened to Josh?"

"Josh?"

"The guy who turned into a bulldozer."

"Oh, the Dozertech. Blue and Yellow have been fighting him off and on all day. For such a clunky thing he's surprisingly good at disappearing," Tesla replied. He sounded way too nonchalant considering he was talking about a bulldozer monster. "They'll take care of him, you worry about making sure your spine stays reattached and how we're going to convince the Captain that bonding you with the last of my Zoodroids was a good plan."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I muttered.

"So now it's my fault you nearly got yourself killed and Cheetrax felt bad?" Tesla snapped.

Cheetrax put his hands up. "Guys, calm down, we're all on the same side and we can help each other. I've seen his memories now too, I know."

Tesla sighed, shaking his head. "I really hope the Captain sees things your way." Rising, he headed for the door. "Cheetrax, make sure he's up to speed and don't let him exert himself. The last thing we need is a paraplegic Red Ranger."

The door shut with a thud. The robot designs taped to it flapped at the movement. Silently, I looked over at Cheetrax.

"Red Ranger?"

"You've never heard of Power Rangers?" Cheetrax sounded surprised.

"No—I mean yes, I have heard of them, I met a couple earlier after all. I just . . . kind of thought they fought in other places. California, mostly."

"We're not exactly a normal team," Cheetrax replied. "Along with fighting monsters, our duties include surveillance and detective work to find out what we can about our enemies off the battlefield."

"So the Ziglis and Ivory Tower?"

"Now, yes. More particularly Mercentech. It's a mercenary group we've been monitoring for some time, ever since the creation of the Tech Chips. That was what your attacker used to transform," Cheetrax clarified.

That little green computery thing. "So . . . what happens to Josh now?"

"Once the Rangers defeat him, he'll be arrested. Corey's very good at defeating Mercentechs without killing the users." Was Cheetrax trying to be reassuring?

"Right. Well, not that this conversation isn't fun, but is there some way I can watch the fight?" I asked. "I mean, if I'm going to have to do this stuff too I'd like to get a look at how it's done."

"I don't know if they're actively fighting now, but I'll check the monitors." Cheetrax didn't sound irritated or anything. Eh, he was a robot, he probably couldn't get sarcasm even if he had emotions.

I couldn't see the monitor from where I was sitting, so I got up. That was a mistake. The weird twingy, wrong feeling in my back intensified, and my knees folded like an accordion. I just caught myself on the side of the table as Cheetrax spun around.

"Aran!" Clanking, he rushed over and helped me up again. "You really should be resting—the Link may have helped stabilize you but you should still have medical attention."

"Yeah, sure, got it," I said, out of breath for some reason.

He deposited me back on the table again and I felt metallic fingers prodding my back. Apparently I hadn't dislocated my spine, because he pushed me back so I was resting against the front of the machine, and returned to the work bench. After a moment he brought over a laptop, which he set in front of me. Sure enough, the Blue and Yellow Rangers were fighting Josh—Dozertech. Blue was on one knee, firing, while Yellow cartwheeled in close for hand-to-hand combat. Her teammate had to do a couple of flips to find a better shooting angle, but managed to avoid plugging her.

The two alternated for a bit, but then as Yellow did a physics-defying backwards leap onto a car, something beep-boop-beeped on the work bench. Cheetrax started, and I looked around. He was already up and heading over. Turning my attention back to the screen, I saw the Yellow Ranger looking intently at her wrist. She was wearing something—was that a morpher? It was too bulky for a wristwatch, at least.

"How—"

"You fight Dozertech," the Blue Ranger said, coming up beside her. "I'll deal with the—"

Laser fire from the robot forced the two apart, and the battle continued.

I looked up at Cheetrax. "What are they talking about?"

Cheetrax turned towards me, holding a device. It looked like one of the things the Rangers were wearing—and there was a countdown flashing on it. About two and a half minutes and counting.

"Our computers must have detected the transmission of a Megatech," he said, sounding uncertain.

"Which is . . . ?"

"A very large, very destructive robot," Cheetrax replied. His features didn't move but I could have sworn he looked nervous.

I turned my attention back to the video. Blue was just jumping in for Yellow, shooting at point-blank range (with little success) and then jumping back to avoid a volley of finger lasers from Dozertech. He ducked behind a patio table and started talking into his morpher.

"Shadow Ops, I don't know if I can get out of this firefight in time to deal with the Megatech. Is there any way you can keep it from materializing?"

"We're trying to run interference, but we've only ever done this in simulations." The voice belonged to Tesla. Kid kept himself busy, that was for sure.

Yellow chimed in. "Yeah, well, unless you have other ideas we really need you to come through on this, kid."

"I'm working on it!" Tesla's shrillness made the comm crackle.

"Right. We'll just be trying to stop the bulldozer monster from pulverizing anyone else! Ciao!" She ran back into the fray.

I looked up at Cheetrax, who'd set the morpher back down. My mind was starting to go places, and I wasn't sure I liked them.

"So, whatever they've got, I'm part of it too, right?"

Cheetrax cocked his head to one side. "That's correct, but where are you going with this?"

"I'm thinking as I talk, let me figure out where I'm going and I'll let you know." I combed a hand through my hair. "So, the two of them aren't enough to take down the Dozertech, how is one of them supposed to fight a big one?"

"Well, at that size we bring out the Zords. The collateral damage and energy drain is substantial, but at that scale necessary," Cheetrax replied, coming over beside me. "At least one Ranger is required to pilot each Zord, but unless one of them can get away from this fight—"

"So it's just driving? The Zord thing, it's not like hand-to-hand combat?" I asked.

"Correct."

I sighed. "This is probably a terrible idea, but what if, assuming that Megatech comes through, I take out the Zord?"

Cheetrax hesitated, and I thought he was going to protest. You know the old song, it's too dangerous, you have no training. But instead he clapped his hands together with a clang.

"I knew I chose the right one! Oh, here." He raced over, snatched up the morpher and held it out to me. "This will help you get around, at least until we're on the road."

I took it and strapped it on, a little clumsily. "What happens when we get on the road?"

The grin in his voice was audible. "You ride."

" . . . Right. Okay." I raised the morpher. "How does this work?"

"Oh, here." Cheetrax held it to my mouth and pushed a button. "Say 'It's Morphin Time."

"It's Morphin' Time?"

The device made a funny whirring noise, vibrating against my wrist. Cheetrax let go and I lowered my arm again.

"Okay, now whenever you want to use it, push the button and say the words again. That way only you can use it."

Carefully, I stood up. Cheetrax gave me a hand, stepping back when he saw I was on my feet. Once I was balanced, he gave me a helmet. "Come on, let's go."

We hurried down the hall together, Cheetrax leading the way. Things seemed just a tiny bit slower than usual—easier to avoid or react to. A girl in a white lab coat almost ran into me, but I swerved aside so fast that even I was a little surprised by it. Guess that was the upgradey stuff that bonding process had done.

"You—I thought we only had two Rangers!" She exclaimed.

"Not anymore!" I gave her a quick salute, spun around and kept following Cheetrax.

Apparently that whole semi-conscious bit with the motorcycle had been real. Once Cheetrax had gotten me out of the building (we'd gotten a few stares from passing people, but nobody had gotten in the way), he'd gone all Transformers and bam, motorcycle.

I'd ridden a motorcycle before, but always as the hanger-on, or occasionally the sidecar buddy for the one or two of my friends who could not only afford the vehicle but didn't think sidecars were dorky. Granted he'd also made me hold his groceries on the way back but it still counted. This was surprisingly not that much different, because I was mostly just staying balanced while Cheetrax handled where we were going.

Granted, it wasn't exactly hard to figure out where the giant robot was. The countdown must have ended on the way, because it was already rampaging its way towards an Ivory Tower building. It had a digger claw for a right hand just like the Dozertech.

As we rode, the screen lit up, showing a man in a uniform. It took me a second to recognize him as the guy from Tesla's memories. Captain Okoro. He didn't look happy to see me.

"Where are you going?" He didn't sound happy either.

"Saw the fight going down and wanted in. Any idea where that Megatech is going to show up?" I replied.

"You have no training and you're still injured. You shouldn't be anywhere near the battlefield."

"Yeah, well, I've been having a really bad day, and I kind of need to take it out on something."

"Jainukul—"

"I've been watching the fight, I know you need the help. How do I do it?" I hoped my intense glare was coveyed clearly through the visor and everything. His was unavoidable.

Finally, without breaking his stare, he said, "We're sending out your Zord."

"Thanks."

I looked up, and saw the Megatech smashing one arm into the Ivory Tower building. Debris flew in every direction. It started clawing at the insides. Around its limbs, I glimpsed glowing green filaments, like cracks. What was that?

"Quick detour," Cheetrax said, and we turned. I glimpsed Dozertech up ahead, just as he advanced on the two Rangers. They were crouching, and looked tired but ready to keep fighting. I grinned.

"Perfect." I revved the engine, and Cheetrax took us around, behind the monster. He spun around as we shot up a ramp. It happened so fast I almost didn't realize it, but my arm had already raised and a weapon was forming in my hand. Cheetrax's imprinted memories told me what to do.

"Lens Shooter!"

One of those camera-shaped guns appeared in my hand, and I pulled the trigger as we left the ground. Yellow lasers pummeled Dozertech, shattering bits of glass and metal. He stumbled back and fell to the ground with a crash.

Cheetrax got us down and I put out a foot to stop the bike. I looked to the two Rangers.

"We'll take care of the big guy if you can handle this one," I said.

We took off again before I could get a response from them, but I thought I could hear incredulous noises from their direction. Then we were on the road again, zooming down the surprisingly empty streets.

"Now would be a good time," Cheetrax said.

"Got it." I reached over and switched on the morpher. It's Morphin' Time!"

The morpher's buttons all flashed, and the glassy center blazed red. The light formed a ring around me, shooting up and down from the waist. It wasn't just a costume change; all the nagging pains left over from Dozertech's attack vanished, replaced with energy. As the helmet closed around my head, I lowered the morpher and looked around. Even with the tinted visor my vision seemed sharper than before. Inside the glass a glowing green display lit up, showing me my own heart rate, body temperature, and a bunch of other stuff I didn't recognize.

" . . . Holy crap."

"I know, right?" Cheetrax sounded really excited.

Something moved in behind me, and I glanced in the rearview mirror. A massive red car-thing towered over me, making the pavement spark as it skidded back and forth. The front opened and a ramp dropped out just as Cheetrax slowed down. We shot up it and back into the vehicle, which closed up again. Inside it was full of green lights and gear things.

"Jump off!"

I did, in a backflip (which I'd always wanted to do but couldn't manage before so yay Ranger powers!) and Cheetrax reverted to humanoid form. There was a seat, so I sat in it, and got slid up and forward into a cockpit. Cheetrax was already there, this time as the console. A robotic voice announced that the configuration was complete and successful or something like that.

The first thing I saw looking across the console was guns, so I did those first. They slid out of the Zord's sides and started shooting up at the Megatech.

Allies

 * Morgan Tesla
 * Cheetrax

Villains

 * Dozertron/Josh