A Different Path

Chapter 5: Body Swap (Part 3)

For the first time in her life, Z felt like a princess. Hours of primping and preening had paid off. She was gorgeous -- or rather, Syd was gorgeous. 'Let's not sweat the small stuff, Z,' She reminded herself. 'This is your chance to play Cinderella.'

The elegant black limo pulled up to the hotel. As the door opened, Z was nearly blinded by the cameras and the flashing lights. Taking the offered hand of her very handsome escort, she stepped out onto the red carpet, careful not to step on the hem of her dress. "Glad you could make it, Sydney," her date said, taking her by the arm.

Z nodded, having been instructed not to speak. Syd had tried to teach her the names, faces and manners she would need to function in high society. In the end, the pink ranger had given up and snapped that she was there to be seen but not heard and not to ruin her reputation.

"You look beautiful," her date complimented and kissed her on the cheek.

Z smiled. She could get used to this.

The reporters took more pictures.

High above Newtech City, Mirloc stood in his headquarters and waited. From the windows in his command center, he had unobstructed views of the planet below, a world which he thought of only as his next conquest.

Sitting down, he tapped his fingers against the edge of his chair and waited for Bridge to return from Earth. He was not overly concerned. Bridge would come back – he always did. The empath had nowhere else to go; he had made sure of that.

A henchman informed him the instant Bridge teleported back to the ship. Bridge soon appeared in the command center, giving his master a respectful bow. "What do you have to report?" Mirloc said in a deceptively soft voice.

"You were right," Bridge dutifully reported. "There is something wrong with the yellow ranger. I didn't get a chance to scan the other three, but her aura -- her colors -- seemed off. It was like she was a different person or two people at once. Or maybe -- "

Mirloc silenced Bridge with a reproachful look. The empath had an unfortunate habit of rambling on when he was asked a question."Interesting," the monster reflected, wondering how he could use this information against the rangers.

"What are you going to do?" Bridge asked. He thought about the ranger he had scanned. Her aura wasn't evil or anything, which was kind of strange, considering the awful things Mirloc had told him about the SPD and the rangers. Maybe she was misguided and would come around to their side. He would like that. It was sometimes very lonely around the ship.

"I think it's time we hired some outside help," Mirloc said, and they both turned to face the blue planet, slowly turning below them.

Her feet hurt. Her head hurt. The ballroom glittered from top to bottom, but all Z could think about was the glare and how much it hurt her eyes.

Looking beautiful was more exhausting than it seemed. Two hours of posing graceful and struggling not to stumble over her dress had proved more tiring than fighting criminals could ever be. Once, she had envied girls like Syd and their extravagant lifestyle. 'No more,' Z thought sourly. 'She can keep it.'

The yellow ranger shaped her mouth into what she hoped was a passable imitation of a smile as another socialite greeted her. A dark shadow flitted across the corner of her eye, but Z dismissed it as a figment of her imagination.

An older man approached her, and Z was so tired that it took her a moment to recognize Syd's father. "Mayor," Mr. Drew said, pulling her gently towards a large group of people. "I'd like you to meet my daughter, Sydney."

"Sydney has become a member of SPD – " Mr. Drew continued, only to be interrupted by the arrival of his wife, who flashed the mayor her most charming smile.

"A fad she will surely outgrow," Syd's mother purred, sparing her daughter a dismissive glance.

"Perhaps," Z said, not believing it for a second. If this was the kind of life Syd came from, no wonder she had been so eager to join SPD. High above, between the golden curtains and the wall, the shadow hung motionless. If anyone had looked, they would have seen its eyes flash red.

The alarm sounded at SPD headquarters.

"Doggie," Kat said. "The perpetrator has been spotted downtown." She put video footage of a bank robbery on the viewing screen. They could see Hothos inside, stuffing handfuls of cash into bags as the terrified customers and tellers cowered behind the counters.

Kat hesitated. "Should I call the rangers?"

"No," Doggie growled, pressing a button. "C-squad, report to the command center!"

Hothos evaluated and dismissed the five cadets with a single scathing look. Was this the best the planet had to offer? "Do you really think you can defeat me?" the criminal said scornfully.

"Yes!" C-squad drew their blasters and fired.

Broodwing strode through the narrow hallways of Mirloc's ship, his black cape sweeping behind him. Entering the control room, he gave a curt bow to his newest employer.

"Broodwing," Mirloc said, "have you investigated the Rangers?"

"I have," The bat replied, "And what I have learned is most interesting. But it will cost you."

Mirloc's eyes flashed. "I have paid you enough!" he snapped his fingers and Broodwing was suddenly surrounded by shadowy reflectodrones, who slowly circled the mercenary. "Now tell me, or else."

Broodwing gulped. "In that case, I have recently discovered that the Rangers have been body-swapped. In fact, they have been so weakened that Cruger has assigned a lesser squad to their duties."

"How did this happen?" Bridge asked, curious. He had never heard of anyone being body-swapped before.

"A criminal, by the name of Hothos." Broodwing studied the human. Why would Mirloc keep such a primitive, pathetic creature around? There must be something special about him. "Hothos seems to have a unique genetic ability."

"Perhaps this Hothos can defeat the Power Rangers," Mirloc pondered, stroking his chin.

Noticing that Mirloc was lost in thought, Broodwing backed away. "My, look at the time," the mercenary said quietly. "I'll just be going. " Mirloc ignored the bat, trusting him to find his own way out. Bridge, however, removed his gloves and covertly scanned the mercenary.

"Broodwing can't be trusted," Bridge said softly. "He's very evil."

"So they say," Mirloc replied, an unreadable expression on his face.

The C-squad leader cried out as he was thrown through a window. He shielded his face as glass rained down upon him. 'I have to get up,' he thought. 'My team is depending on me!'

He reached for his blaster, wincing at the twinge of pain in his side. His fingers brushed the weapon but Hothos kicked it away. The cadet groaned in dismay and glared up at Hothos.

"I win," the monster declared boldly, admiring his work. The front of the bank was in pieces, the ground covered with glass and debris. Hothos deliberately stepped on a fallen cadet on his way out the door.

"No…" the cadet moaned and tried to rise, before slumping back to the floor unconscious.

"Doggie," Kat said, watching the battle from the command center. "C-squad is in trouble!"

Cruger sighed. "It seems we have no choice. Kat, call the rangers."

Four morphers beeped simultaneously.

"I have to go," Z said. She pulled her carefully concealed morpher out of her dress, ignoring a nasty look from Mrs. Drew. Kicking off her heels, she ran from the ballroom, hailing the first cab she saw.

Syd dropped the hairbrush in frustration. Z had impossibly unruly hair that refused to be tamed by either combing or straightening. She was just about to reach for the scissors when her morpher beeped.

Jack had just fallen into an uneasy sleep, haunted by battles and the maniacal laughter of Mirloc. When the morpher beeped, he rolled out of bed and ran to the garage, only barely remembering to take the blue cycle.

The pretty alien cadet blew Sky a kiss and waved as he passed by on the red patrol cycle. Sky smirked and bent forward, revving the engine to catch up to Jack.

The four rangers arrived at the bank at the same time. Sky and Jack both gawked as Z stepped out of the cab in her formal gown. "Are you just going to stare at me or are we going to do our jobs?" she demanded and glared as Jack stifled a laugh.

"Right," Sky said. They approached the bank warily, blasters drawn. Hothos took the time to toss a final bag of money into the back of a van before turning to face them. "Hello, pink ranger," the criminal sneered, "or are you the yellow ranger? I can never seem to keep my colors straight."

"You're under arrest," Sky said. Behind the monster, he could see the members of C-squad limping away, leaning on each other heavily for support.

"I don't think so." Hothos grinned and drew his shock baton. "Rangers, do you remember this?"

"We can take anything you've got," Sky challenged. "Ready!"

For once, Jack didn't argue. "Ready!"

"SPD Emergency!"

Hothos ducked behind his get-away van, just as blaster fire riddled the car with holes. He waited until the rangers came closer and jumped over the car, before drawing his shock baton, striking the ground hard enough to crack the pavement.

Jack jumped away just in time, as a wave of electricity traveled across the ground, knocking the rest of the team to the ground. Drawing his striker, Jack rushed at the criminal, hitting his opponent across the chest.

The monster staggered backwards. His many eyes glowed with desperation, as he fell on a towering billboard. Before the rangers could stop him, Hothos aimed a powerful kick at the supporting pole, leaving a deep dent. A woman screamed and covered her head, as the sign creaked and wobbled precariously before beginning to topple down on her hiding place.

Sky caught it just in time. Even morphed, the billboard was crushingly heavy, and he groaned with the effort of holding it up. "Run!" he gritted out. The woman stared at him for a second, frozen with fear, before dashing to safety.

Hothos simply laughed and blasted Sky with another bolt of electricity. Sky gritted his teeth as he sunk further towards the ground, the billboard pinning him with its weight.

The monster approached the incapacitated ranger. "What do you think would happen if I hit him with this again now?" Hothos said to the other rangers, giving them a vicious grin. He idly twirled the shock baton as he watched Sky struggle. "You have a choice. You can try to contain me – but not before I blast your friend here. Or you can let me go, and I might let him live."

In that horrible moment, Jack realized the monster was right. Sky – and by extension, his own body – was in serious danger. If his suit took too much damage, Sky might demorph and be crushed. Jack slowly put his hands up as a sign of surrender.

The monster smirked. "You're smart… for a human." His hand twitched slightly, and Jack reacted on pure instinct.

Moving faster than he ever had before, Jack positioned himself in front of Sky, just as the monster fired. He winced and hunched over in pain, dropping to the ground, as he absorbed the full force blast. Taking a slow painful breath, Jack forced himself to his feet and helped Sky lift the billboard. "Actually, I've made my choice," he said, turning to face the astonished monster. "I can do both. I'm going to save my teammate, and I'm going to bring you in."

Hothos spun around, only to find himself surrounded. Syd and Z encircled him, both pointing their blasters steadily at him. "Impossible!" he cried and stared at each in turn. "I switched you. You're weak, vulnerable!"

"Well," Sky said, finally catching his breath. "You don't know much about our technology, then."

Z caught on to his plan immediately. "Yeah, do I look like I'm the yellow ranger?" She struck the most girly pose she could muster.

Jack sighed inwardly. "That's right. By the regulations of SPD, we're bringing you in!"

"I don't think so," Hothos said. 'They must have found a way to reverse the effect,' he thought. 'But I can fix that.'

And then the four rangers experienced the familiar feeling of vertigo, as they were returned to their old bodies. But this time, the dizziness passed quickly and by the time they recovered, the monster was no more than a dozen feet away.

"Stop right there," Jack shouted at the fleeing criminal. Hothos was thrown to the ground, as the rangers fired on him. Jack unclipped his containment cuffs and approached the defeated monster.

"What an unfortunate turn of events," Mirloc said, crossing his arms in front of his armored chest. He had watched the entire battle from his control room, taking great interest in the proceedings.

Bridge shrugged. "Maybe we should try the reflective enlarger?"

"An excellent idea," Mirloc hissed, reaching for a lever on the dark blue panel.

In a single, last ditch attempt to escape capture, Hothos stumbled to his feet.

Sky shook his head. "It's over. Just surrender."

For an instant, the criminal seemed to seriously considering it. But before he could speak, the sky darkened ominously and three mirrors hovered in the air above him.

"Another trick?" Jack said. "How many does this guy have up his sleeve?"

As the mirrors aligned, they reflected a blinding light between then, soon engulfing Hothos in a brilliant glow. The monster screamed in pain and began to grow until he towered over the skyline.

"Whoa!" Z exclaimed. "Did I miss something?"

Hothos took a step, and his giant foot came hurtling down from the heavens. "I will crush you," he ranted, as the rangers scattered and rolled out of the way.

"I'm calling the Delta Runners," Kat said. The runners' autopilot function quickly guided the vehicles to the heart of the action, in the very center of Newtech city.

"Finally!" Jack exclaimed and jumped into the cockpit of his Runner. "I've been wanting to drive this thing for ages!"

"Sky – Jack – whoever you are! Red ranger," Cruger barked, "combine the Delta Runners to form the Megazord."

"Right," Jack said. "Everyone follow me!" Somehow, and afterward he was never completely sure how, the Runners came together, combining to form…

"The Delta Four Megazord!"

Z looked around curiously, gawking at the advanced technology contained inside the Megazord cockpit. "This is incredible," she said and Syd nodded in agreement.

"Let's finish this," Jack said, and the entire team turned their attention to the super-sized monster in front of them. If they could have seen within the command center, they would have noticed Anubis "Doggie" Cruger smile in satisfaction.

Hothos screamed in fury as he was thrown backwards by a well-placed punch from the megazord. He groaned and flailed his legs as he slowly shrank back to his normal size.

"Judgment mode!" Jack said, jumping out of the megazord. "You are charged with murder, kidnapping, robbery and resisting arrest." The indicator flashed back and forth, between green and red, before settling on a single outcome. "Guilty!"

They fired on the criminal, confining him to a card. "Now that," Jack said, "was cool." He demorphed and was pleased to see that he was back in his own body.

"Yeah," Z agreed. "I'm glad everything is back to normal."

"Not everything," Jack replied. He turned to Sky, who was watching him warily.

"You saved me back there," Sky said. The blue ranger frowned. "Was it just because I had your body?"

Jack shook his head. "No, we're a team, and you're part of it. Cruger was right. We have to work together in order to win this war. So from now on, let's try to work with, instead of against, each other. Deal?" He held out his hand.

Sky hesitated, searching Jack's face for any deception. Finding none, he took the offered hand and gave it a firm shake.

"Deal."

"Okay, 'fess up." Z demanded, giving her roommate a pointed look. "Who flooded the bathroom?"

Syd studied her nails. "What makes you think I had anything to do with it?"

Z took her hands from behind her back, revealing a bright yellow rubber duck. The toy squeaked in protest as she squeezed it. "I found this floating down the hallway. I guess you don't want it back." She began to walk towards the trash bin. "Oh, well."

"Wait," Syd cried, grabbing the duck. "Maybe I did – but it was an accident! I was so upset about being in your body, that I – "

Z waved off her explanation. "It's okay. I won't tell anyone. It can be our little secret."

At that moment, Jack walked into the rec room. "What's this about a secret?" he asked curiously.

"Secret? What secret?" Syd asked the red ranger in her sweetest voice. "Maybe it's the secret involving you, and a very pretty d-squad cadet?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, a friend on D-squad told me about it and gave me these pictures." Syd pulled a set of photos from her pocket, each of which showed a pretty alien cadet with blue hair, sitting uncomfortably close to someone who appeared to be Jack.

"What?" Jack exclaimed, outraged. "How – I wasn't even there!" Then he realized the culprit. "Sky!" He was fully prepared to march off and confront the blue ranger, but then Syd caught his arm, laughter dancing in her eyes.

"Don't worry," she said, batting her eyelashes. "Maybe, just this once, I'll let you make it up to me." Jack gulped as the pink ranger gracefully rose and left the room with a satisfied grin on her face, blond hair swirling behind her.

Next: "Blind Date" -- Bridge finds himself in more trouble than he can handle after Z mistakes him for her date.

A/N: Please review!