Red-Eyed Herring

Red-Eyed Herring is the twenty-first episode of Power Rangers: Lost Ninjas.

Last time we saw the Earthlight Ninjas...
Following their note, the trio went to a laundromat, where Jess got them through a test, and they finally got their Zords. Zart launched an attack, trying to draw the Zords out to destroy them, but the Megazord pulverized his monster. After the battle, the teens deduced that Zart could only have known where they were if he'd been told by someone on the inside.

February 17th, Kai House, Palencia, 9:14 am
"You guys have any leads?" Jess asked.

The three Earthlight Rangers sat in one of the mansion's several dusty parlors, surrounded by the personnel files of everyone involved with their Zords. Rat and Jess had both worked out their own systems, Wyatt just settled for a couple of piles.

"It can't be someone in charge, otherwise they'd just have let the bad guys in," Wyatt said. "That narrows it down to these guys." He put a hand on the largest pile.

"Same," Jess said. "But I'm guessing it wasn't someone who's been left basically unattended with the Zords either, since nothing's been sabotaged."

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Rat said, slamming down a set of folders. "We need to root the traitor out before they can cause any damage."

"I'm open to suggestions," Jess replied, a slight edge entering her voice.

Rat thought for a moment. "We split them into groups and tell each one a different lie about our next plan. Whichever one the bad guys prepare for will narrow things down to a couple of people."

"I like it," Wyatt said.

Jess couldn't help but agree. "Okay, let's put this stuff away and start brainstorming."

"I'll do it!" Springing up, Wyatt started collecting files. "You guys can start without me."

"Please, what would we do without the intellect of the guy who can't remember he's not in Sweden anymore?" Rat replied, earning a glare from Jess.

Wyatt froze. "We're not in Sweden?"

Rat slapped his forehead.

*Darkside Avenue, Palencia, 10:20 pm*

Ben Lewis struggled with the rusty lock on his door. He blinked hard, trying to keep his eyes from going into that vertigo shot thing they always did when he was tired. The oily lamplight behind him cast the lock in shadow, and he fumbled just to find the keyhole. Everyone was taking double shifts trying to repair the Rangers' Zords before Xumara and her minions attacked again. They were nearly finished.

"Here, let me get that for you," a female voice interrupted. Ben spun around, and nearly bumped noses with Xumara. She smiled at his shock, and raised an arm. The black streamers on her sleeves stretched out, wrapping around Ben and picking him up. He struggled, but the fabric only tightened around him.

"I'm sorry," Xumara said, setting Ben down on the base of the cracked brick steps. She came closer, reaching back to untie the black strap around her forehead. "But the Rangers expect to find a traitor, and you were the most convenient."

"I'd never help you!" Ben protested.

"Darling, you don't have a choice." Xumara pulled the headband away.

Mouth agape, Ben stared in fascinated horror. Xumara had a third eye in the middle of her forehead. It opened, revealing an electric blue iris. Although he tried, Ben couldn't look away. The eye seemed to get bigger and bigger the longer he looked.

Ben's eyes turned red, and black fluid began to run out of the corners, streaking his face like inky tears. An insane giggle burst out of him, and then another. Xumara shut her eye, and put her headband back on, releasing the scientist. He crumpled to the pavement, still quivering with uncontrollable laughter.

"Get up," Xumara said, and he obeyed. "Good, now listen to me, I'm only going to tell you this once."

Unbeknownst to either Xumara or Ben, they were being watched.

*February 18th, Earthlight Zord Hangar, Palencia, 10:20 am*

"I don't like this plan," Rat said. "The Fireflyzord's the only one that can fly, whatever armaments Xumara's got are probably more than I can handle alone."

"We'll be giving you ground support the minute you find the ship," Jess replied. Both teens spoke clearly, but not too loudly. The cluster of scientists nearby didn't seem to be listening, but they could hear what was being said. Wyatt was doing the same thing with Mr. Kai on the other side of the hangar.

"You're still assuming I find the bad guys before they find me. Ground support won't help if I've been blown out of the sky," Rat retorted. He wasn't entirely faking the argument: Jess had seriously considered this plan during the brainstorming session.

"By that logic, we shouldn't even use the Zords because Xumara will just blow us away. We've already upgraded the defense systems after the last fight."

Rat shook his head. "Upgraded doesn't mean invulnerable, and we haven't even really fought Xumara, just Zart."

Jess nodded slightly, and the two wandered away from the cluster of technicians, heading for the break room. That had been their fifth group. Wyatt was a few steps ahead, and he held the door open for them.

"We're done?" He asked hopefully, as the trio entered the empty break room.

"Just about," Jess said, dropping into a chair. "Now all we have to do is wait."

Nobody said anything for a minute. Ignoring the awkwardness, Rat fished a sheet of paper out of his pocket, and started folding it. Wyatt noticed, and watched Rat transform it into a pterodactyl. The door to the men's room opened, and a shaggy-haired man stepped out. Glancing over at him, Jess paused, and sat up.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked.

"Huh?" The man glanced towards them, barely lifting his head. His eyes were bloodshot, and one of his hands trembled.

"Lewis?" Mr. Kai stood and approached him. "You look awful."

Lewis's arm shot out and caught Mr. Kai by the collar. He didn't look up, just swung around and hurled the man into a wall. All three Rangers were on their feet before Mr. Kai even hit the floor.

"Earthlight Storm, Ranger Form!"

As the trio morphed, Lewis began to laugh. Black fluid started streaming out of his eyes, quickly covering his clothes and pooling on the floor. As the Rangers—well, Wyatt and Jess—lunged for him, he melted into the goop, his empty clothes collapsing in a heap.

"Stop him!" Jess yelled, drawing her Earthlight Katana. She struck at the black slime, but it just parted, and her blade stuck in the floor. As she struggled to free it, the slime curled around the blade and up the hilt. It had ensnared her hands before she realized what was happening.

Wyatt started hacking at the stuff from the other side, but the slime just avoided his blows. As Jess struggled with the sticky, clinging goop, more caught her by the ankles. It picked her up, dangling her in midair as she struggled. In the middle of the sludge, a pair of bright red eyes opened, focusing on Jess, and an insane giggle rang out.

"I'll get help!" Rat shouted, and darted out the far door, slamming it shut.

Jess retracted her visor, took a deep breath, and blew fire at the monster. It parted down the middle to let the fire through. Wyatt was standing on the other side, and the blast hit him squarely in the chest, knocking him flat.

"Wyatt!" Jess yelled.

In her distraction, the slime monster lunged for her face. Her visor snapped shut, slicing off a chunk of the goop, and she let out a muffled scream. As she struggled, the slime monster completely enveloped her in black slime.

With a grunt of pain, Wyatt pushed himself onto his hands and knees. He looked up at the monster. From behind, he could see a flattened, smoking seam in the slime monster's back, just the size of the hole it had made for the fire.

"Heat works on it?" He said out loud. "Okay."

Springing to his feet, Wyatt struck a fighting stance, and focused. From the outside, it looked like nothing was happening—except for the heat distortion around his body. Charging, Wyatt dove into the goop. As soon as he hit the black stuff, a cloud of steam enveloped him, accompanied by a loud hiss and a shriek of pain from the monster. It recoiled, now covered in rubbery-looking clumps of solid black sludge, but Wyatt just followed it, practically swimming in the monster.

The thing let go of Jess, the black cocoon around her splatting as she hit the floor. It slid back into the main body, which kept trying and failing to get away from Wyatt. Sitting up, Jess retracted her visor again. The black stuff had covered her nose and mouth. Wrinkling up her nose, Jess sneezed, burning a hole through the monster. The black goop fell off her face and slithered back to the main body as fast as it could.

"Good plan," Jess panted, and pursing her lips, blew out a stream of concentrated flame. It incinerated the escaping clump of black goo, and sliced right through the monster. With a howl of agony, it collapsed in a writhing puddle.

As the slime finally escaped him, Wyatt stood. He made a gesture towards the stuff, and it recoiled. Still bubbling, it started to reshape itself into a man. Jess got up, crossed the room and checked on Mr. Kai. His eyes fluttered open, and he groaned.

"I think he's got a concussion," she said, looking at the ugly bruise on his forehead.

The far door slammed open, and a group of scientists burst inside. By now the slime had turned back into Lewis fully: he stirred as the men and women surrounded him. One woman held what looked like a remote control. She aimed it at Lewis, pushed a button, and a force field materialized around him.

"Where's Rat?" Jess called, as another scientist joined her beside Mr. Kai. Nobody answered.

Wyatt swayed a little, catching himself on the wall as Jess joined him. "That was clever, noticing the monster's weakness," Jess said. "I didn't know you'd mastered body temperature manipulation yet."

"I don't think I have, really," Wyatt replied, and demorphed. His face was very pale, and he was breathing hard. As he lost his morph, his knees folded. Jess only just caught him as he collapsed. Scooping him up, she carried him to the sofa, where one of the other scientists examined him.

"I guess that explains our traitor," Mr. Kai said, coming up beside her.

"Looks like it. Power down."

Tito Street, Palencia, 10:37 am
Rat stepped into the empty street, and scanned the area. No, it didn't look like the bad guys were sending any backup this time. The only sound was a trickle of slimy water running into a nearby storm drain, and the distant echo of traffic noises. Relieved, he leaned against a graffitied brick wall. He couldn't feel any vibrations, either, so the fight was probably done. They hadn't needed him anyway.

There was something funny about that monster. Not what it could do; it was a monster, after all, weird abilities were par for the course. Why would Xumara plant a guy with that kind of power in their base, and then have him just attack them? It'd have been smarter to have the thing sabotage their Zords, or kill off the other scientists, or even sneak up on the Rangers when they were asleep and offed them. It didn't add up.

"Hey, you know that Pink Ranger?" The voice startled Rat, and he spun around. In the narrow alley behind him stood a scrawny boy about his age, dressed in ragged clothes and a red baseball cap. There was something about him that made Rat want to make sure his wallet was still there.

"Does it matter?" Rat asked.

"I saw something you guys might be interested in," the boy replied, stepping out of the shadows.

"What are you talking about?"

"A monster. Two, actually. Thought you'd want to know what they were doing, but if you're not interested—" he started to turn away.

"Wait," Rat interrupted. "What kind of monster?"

The boy looked back, and grinned. His teeth were crooked. "Uh-uh, I'm not just going to tell you. Remember last time? You want something from me, you pay for it."

"You're the brat J—the Pink Ranger rescued!" Rat realized aloud.

The kid—Micky, Rat remembered—glared. "Who are you calling a brat? You don't sound any older than I am." Rat didn't reply. Micky continued, stroking his chin. "Now, for what I've got, I think . . . two hundred dollars is fair."

"Two hundred?"

"That helmet messing with your hearing? That's what I said. One hundred and fifty for the info, fifty since you're being rude."

Rat growled. Still, if this guy had something useful, it might be worthwhile. Plus it might make his teammates less annoyed if he brought some information back.

"I don't have all day here," Micky said, folding his arms. "Deal or no deal?"

"Deal."

Micky grinned. "Great. You get the money; I'll wait here for you."

Turning, Rat went back inside the laundromat.

Xumara's Ship, Palencia Airspace, 10:46 am
"Perfect," Xumara said, turning off her console. She'd been able to see what her monster could, and with its defeat the screen had turned to white noise. "Their suspicions are taken care of. A pity Lewis couldn't defeat them."

Zart, sitting in a corner with his back to Xumara, didn't say anything. Mock-pouting, she swept over to him, dress rustling.

"What's the matter, Zart? You wanted to go out and play?"

"Go away."

Xumara patted his shoulder comfortingly. He shrugged it off. "I know, I know. I'd have loved to let you fry the Rangers, but that just wouldn't have worked for my plan," Xumara said. "Tell you what, how about you have a little fun with some of the other monsters in the simulation deck? Call it training and they'll go along with anything."

"Shut up."

Xumara's voice sharpened. "That wasn't a suggestion, Zart. Go."

Rising, Zart walked off the bridge. As he reached the hall, Xumara turned back to the console, and the screens showing the feed from the Kai house. She frowned thoughtfully.

"Then again, I may need Zart again soon. I can't have you settling in Palencia, Rangers."

In the dark hallway, Zart stopped, and turned around. Holding up his index and thumb, he looked back at Xumara. He pressed his fingers together, pretending to squish her head with a little burst of flame. The light illuminated the grin twisting his face.

"Soon."

Allies

 * Lorenzo Delgado
 * Ben Lewis

Villains

 * Xumara
 * Zart
 * Fiery Salamanders
 * Red-Eyed Herring

Trivia

 * In planning, this episode was meant to continue for a bit past this point, into the Rangers' reactions to Micky's info, but it worked out this way.