Backwards and Upside-Down

Backwards and Upside-Down is the twenty-fifth episode of Power Rangers: Lost Ninjas.

Synopsis
A personality-reversing monster throws the Earthlight Rangers' team dynamic completely out of whack.

Last time we saw the Earthlight Rangers...
Xumara captured and turned one of the Zord technicians into a monster, in order to allay the Rangers' suspicions about a traitor. It worked. However, Micky had witnessed Xumara's attack, and sought out Rat to sell the information.

February 18th, Xumara's Ship, Palencia Airspace, 11:03 am
Xumara frowned at the viewscreen. Now that she'd switched back to street view, she could see Rat talking to another scrawny kid, though her nanocams weren't close enough to pick up the sound.

"What are you so interested in, Green Ranger?" she asked softly. They zoomed in closer to see Rat hand the street urchin a wad of bills. The younger boy counted them.

"Thanks. I've got to go tell the others," Rat said, turning towards the base.

Xumara shook her head. "I don't think I want you to do that. Zart!" The bald man had just returned to the room. He was grinning.

"Your simulation deck needs better fire safe—"

"Go find Schizofreak and tell him to attack the Green Ranger, hurry!"

"I'm not your slave!" Zart grumped, folding his arms.

"Go!" Xumara gestured, and Zart left.

Earthlight Zord Hangar, Palencia, 11:08 am
"How long do you think Lewis was under Xumara's control?" Jess asked Delgado, as they walked back towards the trapdoor. Wyatt lagged behind.

"I couldn't say. He's been behaving oddly for a while, but that could be mind control or just stress."

"Maybe we can ask him when he's feeling better," Wyatt put in.

"I guess," Jess said, with a sigh. "Well, at least we caught him before he could do any real damage."

"For all we know," Delgado replied.

"Yeah." Jess started to climb, and Wyatt followed a second later. As they climbed, something thudded heavily above them. Jess paused, listening. Waves of eerie laughter carried down towards them.

"What was that?" Wyatt asked.

Jess bolted up the ladder, swinging the trapdoor open to see a half-black, half-white monster standing in the middle of the laundromat, cackling manically. It was covered in faces, each contorted into a different emotion, and it wielded a staff topped with buzzing electrodes. Rat lay facedown a few feet away, morphed but unmoving.

"Rat!" She sprang out of the trapdoor, breathing a wave of fire in the monster's direction. He yelped and sprang back, only to start giggling again a second later. Wyatt looked from it to Jess and back, and then ran to his teammates' side.

"Next time, Rangers!" The monster yelled, and vanished.

"Rat, are you okay?" Jess rolled Rat over, but he stopped her.

"Never mind about me, go check on Micky!" He sounded unusually serious.

Jess stared at him. "What?"

"He was in the street before the monster showed up, he might have gotten hurt," Rat replied.

"I thought you didn't like Micky," Wyatt said.

"Go!" Rat shoved Jess away.

"O-okay." The Pink Ranger ran off. Wyatt helped Rat stand. Swaying a little, the younger boy caught himself on a washing machine.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Wyatt asked.

Rat shook his head. "Don't worry about me."

February 19th, Kai House, Palencia, 6:17 pm
"I couldn't find the monster anywhere in the city—and there's nothing on the news. He's lying low, for some reason," Jess said, walking into the living room.

"I didn't find anything either," Wyatt replied, from where he sat. "Has Rat come back yet?"

"Come back from where?" Jess sat down.

"I dunno. He just left without saying anything this morning," Wyatt replied.

"Huh. Do you think he's up to something?"

"Like what?"

Before Jess could answer, she heard the front door shut, and looked around. In walked Rat, very dirty, sporting a large black eye and an enormous grin.

"Where were you?" Wyatt asked. "And what happened to your eye?"

"I helped clean up some of the mess left over from the last fight. Everyone around here is really nice, even if they don't speak English," Rat replied. "And the eye's from a purse snatcher. Caught him, though."

"Hold on a second: you were helping people?" Jess asked, staring at him.

Rat looked surprised by her reaction. "Of course. I'm a Ranger now, isn't that my job? I couldn't just walk away and leave someone in trouble when I could do something about it."

"That's never stopped you before," Wyatt replied, looking mostly sincere and rather confused.

Rat rolled his eyes. "You know, maybe instead of making fun of me, you could try it sometime. You'd be surprised how good it feels, and we could definitely use the help. Look, I'm going to wash up and go to bed, okay?"

"Sure, fine," Jess said, a little nonplussed. Rat walked off, carefully avoiding the furniture or the carpets.

As his footsteps thudded up the stairs, Jess snapped her fingers. "A personality switch monster! That must be it!"

"Oh. I guess that makes sense," Wyatt said.

"Destroying the monster will probably undo it—oh," Jess said, sounding suddenly worried. "Maybe we shouldn't."

"Jess, that's not very nice," Wyatt said, sounding surprised.

"Come on, tell me you wouldn't like having someone who actually goes out and helps people when he doesn't have to more than a wimp who only fights when he can't run," Jess replied.

"That would be better," Wyatt admitted. "But I still don't like talking about Rat behind his back."

Jess flopped back in the chair. "Yeah, I know, I was just joking."

Unbeknownst to her or Wyatt, Rat was listening behind the door. As the topic changed, he tiptoed down the hall and out the front door. He'd only stopped in to keep the others from worrying and looking for him, and so he could get Ben Lewis's address.

Eventually, Rat found the street. There were still blots of inky stuff in the cobblestones: he crouched down and picked up a pinch of it, rubbing it between his fingers. It was thick and sticky, like tar.

"I knew I'd find you here," an all-too-familiar screechy voice said. Rat whirled, striking a fighting stance as Schizofreak stepped out of the shadows. "Can't endanger your teammates by letting them investigate with you, can you?"

"I don't need their help to take you down," Rat replied.

The monster cackled. "Prove it."

"Gladly."

Jess's Room, Kai House, 7:36 pm
Jess rolled over, and looked out the window towards the bay. The moon was just a faint sliver, casting glittery reflections on the water. It was so thick with boats that the masts looked like a rippling forest. Nearer, she could make out the pointy rooftops of historic buildings all cluttered together.

Jess frowned. Why couldn't she sleep? Was it Rat's personality change? She'd only been half-joking about not turning him back, and she did feel a little bit guilty about that. A little. This whole situation was weird and messed up. Going to the window, she opened it and leaned on the sill, shutting her eyes and letting the sea breeze flow over her. Jess made a face: it smelled like fish. Ugh.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an orange flash. Intrigued, she looked. Sure enough, another faint bang and flash rang out. Her eyes widened, and she ducked back inside, slamming the window shut.

"Wyatt!" She ran down the hall and hammered on his door. It opened before she expected, and she accidentally clocked Wyatt in the forehead. He staggered, clutching his head.

"Sorry, I just realized—Rat's gone out there to fight alone!"

"He what?"

"Come on!" Wyatt just had time to grab his morpher before Jess seized him by the arm. She dragged him down several flights of stairs and out the front door. In the middle of the street, she paused, and looked around. Something green glowed over the rooftops, and Jess ran towards it. Wyatt wrenched out of her grip, and strapped on his morpher. Jess followed suit.

"Earthlight Storm, Ranger Form!"

Darkside Avenue, Palencia, 7:57 pm
Rat had locked weapons with the monster, trying to force him back. His suit was blackened and smoking from other hits, but he wasn't even slowing down. His fierce glare was clear even through his tinted visor.

"Just give up," the Green Ranger growled, through gritted teeth. "I'm not going to."

"Big words for a little kid," Schizofreak replied. "The beard doesn't make you a grown-up."

"How about this, then?" Whirling, Rat roundhouse-kicked the monster, following it up with a volley of punches and hits. The creature staggered back.

"Rat!"Jess yelled, and Schizofreak looked up as the other two Rangers rounded the corner.

He cackled. "Your turn, Pinky!"

Shoving Rat away, Schizofreak whirled his staff and fired a white lightning bolt at her. She ducked, but not fast enough, and froze in place as the energy enveloped her. Skidding to a halt, Wyatt looked over at her.

"Jess? Are you okay?"

"Run," she managed.

"Oh." Wyatt did run, ducking behind a row of boxes as the monster fired at him. The electricity didn't even shake the boxes; in fact, the waves bounced off and faded into nothingness.

"No!" Rat yelled, leaping between the monster and the Crimson Ranger. The lightning struck him squarely in the chest. He dropped to one knee, and looked around in bewilderment.

"What have I been—oh no, monster!" Quickly, he scrambled away, but Schizofreak tsked.

"Back to normal? Can't have that, can we?" He blasted Rat in the back, and he dropped to his knees with a yell.

Wyatt's head popped up from behind a pile of crates. "Did you just fix him? Is that how we switch back?"

Jess had sat down on the spot she'd been blasted. She didn't look hurt, but she wasn't getting up either. The way she leaned back and looked around at the street, she almost looked bored. Slipping out of his shelter, Wyatt crawled to her and shook her shoulder. "Jess, are you okay?"

She swatted his hands away. "Leave me alone."

"Okay, but I think it'd be better if you helped us beat up the monster," Wyatt replied.

"Just go away!"

"But—" Wyatt as interrupted by a blast of white lightning. He arched his back as Schizofreak cackled.

"All three of them, just like that! This job is too easy!" With a yell, Rat seized his arm, jerking it aside. Out of the blast, Wyatt stumbled a little, but caught himself on a nearby wall. Rat drove a series of knee strikes into the monster's body, clinging to the staff with both hands.

"Hands off the staff!" Schizofreak yelled. He swung back and threw Rat against a wall, and the Green Ranger crumpled.

A breathless silence fell. Schizofreak looked around at the three Rangers, the end of his staff glowing green. Wyatt had tensed to fight, Rat looked stunned, and Jess didn't seem to have even noticed what was happening around her. The monster laughed again, and straightened, the light around his staff's electrodes fading.

"My work here is done!" With that, Schizofreak teleported away.

"I really should start paying closer attention to my surroundings," Wyatt said, abandoning his fighting stance. He paused, and looked down at himself. "This feels . . . different. I think we should return to base to figure out the full ramifications of this personality-reversing beam."

"Yeah," Rat said, picking himself up. He swayed a little. "I'm okay, I don't need help."

"Was anyone offering?" Jess replied, getting up and dusting herself off. Rat stared at her for a long minute, until she looked over her shoulder at him. "What are you looking at?"

"What's gotten into you?" Rat asked, sounding bewildered.

"None of your business." Turning, Jess started back up the street, demorphing as she walked.

"Hey, wait!" Rat ran after her.

"Fascinating," Wyatt said, stroking the chin of his helmet. As the other two Rangers started to argue, he followed, keeping a little distance between them and himself.

February 22nd, Historic District, Palencia, 11:07 am
A puppy stood in the middle of the road, investigating a smelly heap of garbage. Rounding the corner, a large, rickety bus bore down on the dog. As the puppy looked up, a green blur zipped across the street, snatching it up. As the bus rumbled past, Rat stopped up short, panting, and looked down at the dog. It snarled and bit his hand, but he set it down gently.

Jess leaned against a railing, holding a popcorn bag full of unpopped kernels. She pulled one out, tossed it in the air and blew on it. With a crackle of heat, it popped, and she caught it in her mouth.

Wyatt walked up beside her, and leaned on the fence as well. They watched as Rat went back into the road to get rid of the garbage. He didn't even seem bothered; in fact, he whistled the whole time.

"You could help him," Wyatt said. Jess moved away from him a little. She pulled out another kernel, tossed and popped it.

"This is more fun," she said.

"You're showing off."

"Why not?"

"No butter and salt this way," Wyatt pointed out.

Jess nodded, "Yeah, but I like it better."

"Popcorn with no butter tastes like styrofoam. Are you disagreeing seriously, or just to be contrary?"

Jess flicked a kernel at him. Another car nearly missed Rat, and stumbling, he stepped right into what looked unfortunately like manure. There were a lot of horse carriages in the historic district. He laughed, though.

"I still haven't been able to deduce why Schizofreak would reverse our personalities," Wyatt said. "In the cases of Rat and myself, the change appears to have been positive—he has become more heroic, and I vastly more intelligent."

"Why are you talking to me?" Jess said, not taking her eyes off Rat.

"Of course, you seem to be the exception," Wyatt muttered. Louder, he went on, "I suspect Xumara intends for our new personality traits to clash in ways we wouldn't otherwise expect, like Rat being reckless."

"Look, I don't care about Rat or you or this stupid Ranger business!" Jess snapped. "This is my spot, not yours; please kindly shove off and technobabble at someone else?"

With an eyeroll, Wyatt left, heading back up the street. He ducked into an alley beside the Kai house, and glanced around. Seeing he was alone, he moved to the garbage bins. With a quick snatch, he pulled a black beetle-like thing out from behind the nearest bin. It buzzed in his hand as he held it up to his face.

"Xumara," he said, "I've already counted fifteen of your nanocams scattered throughout the house; one word from me, one simple gesture, and the others will destroy them all. Listen. I've got a deal for you. My newfound intelligence has helped me realize just how pointlessly destructive this battle is. Meet me at the docks behind the Xihuitl Fishery tonight—no, strike that: make it the night after tomorrow. We can negotiate then."

He crushed the bug with one clench of his fist. It crackled and fizzled. Casually, Wyatt tossed it into the trash, and walked out of the alley.

Allies

 * Lorenzo Delgado
 * Micky Shell

Villains

 * Xumara
 * Schizofreak