Sunrise Salvage, 6:15 AM
The sun had come up over the horizon a short time ago and the Motorvators (in human form) and their mentor Van, last of the hippies, were looking over the damage to their carfins which reflected the damage they had taken in the fight.
"Oh man!" exclaimed a dark skinned teen with dreadlocks whose name was Snap "Look at this! These things look like we were in a demolition derby!"
"This damage will take days AND nights to fix!" agreed a girl with shoulder-length brown hair named Rev.
The radio, which had been blaring music, switched to an announcer.
"This is the KEMR Morning Show and the time is now 6:16 AM." came the announcer's voice "First up, the news. Early this morning, a dynamite truck was hijacked." Five sets of ears immediately perked up. "Weird thing is, the driver swears that he was stopped by a walking monster truck which then BIT his truck which then flew away with the first one. Guess he should watch what he puts in his coffee, huh? In other news..."
"Nights we don't have." Axle grimly said, running his hand through his short brown hair. "THAT'S why the fang-gang split when they were winning."
"But what would Tracula want to blow up?" wondered a teen built like a football player who was named Nuke.
"Hello!" exclaimed Rev "Don't forget that Tracula knows this is our HQ."
"That means we need to be back in fighting shape by sunset." Axle said "If we all work through the whole day-"
"No, no, no! Amigos, have you forgotten you've got school today?" chided Van.
"Aw Van," said Snap "It's only a half-day! We won't miss much and we NEED to get our cars back in shape quick!"
"Look guys, a good education is key. Even a superhero needs an education and if you don't get one, man, you'll end up in Park permanently! Besides, I've got an idea."
"Alright Van," Axle conceded "We'll work until we need to get to school and we'll come back as soon as classes are over. But then we'll never get our cars ready in time."
"Don't worry about it! The Van man has a plan! Let's get started and right before you go, I'll turn the key on the plan."
They pulled out their tools and started working on the first of the cars. While they worked, Rev thought of something.
"Hey guys," she said "Check to make sure I'm inside the lines here."
"Sure Rev," Nuke said "What's on your mind?"
"OK, The Power Rangers are active in Angel Grove, right?"
"Right."
"And the Power Rangers fight monsters, right?
"Right."
"And the Vanpires are monsters, right?"
"Right."
"So how come the Power Rangers haven't done anything about the Vanpires?"
"Now that," said Van "Is a very good question. But don't forget, the guys the Power Rangers fight usually show up during the day, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So, the Power Rangers gotta be people too, they gotta sleep sometime. Unlike you, my four-wheeled friends. I guess when you're Motorvators, wherever your regular bodies go, they get rest like they were sleeping."
"OK, OK." conceded Rev "I know we shouldn't expect the Power Rangers to handle the Vanpires all the time, that's our job, but it'd be nice to get some help once in a while."
"Rev," Axle said " Shut up and hand me a socket wrench. We need to keep working or we won't stand a chance against the Trac-pack tonight."
The teens and their mentor continued working on their carfins. All too soon, the time came for the teens to head for Angel Grove High. As they left, Van looked up a number in the phone book, picked up the phone and dialed the number.
"Hello," Van said "Rent-a-Mech? I got a little problem here. Some rather rude drivers messed up my friends' cars last night and I could use some help fixing them. Here's what I need..."
Angel Grove High School, 10:22 AM
In the offices of the Investigator, AGH's student-run newspaper, Wendy was receiving her first assignment.
"Wendy," the senior editor began "When you and your brother tried to find out the identities of the Power Rangers, you showed a definite flair for investigation."
"But we didn't find out their identities." Wendy responded "Their energy matrix was too complex for our scanner to decompile."
"True, but in the process, you DID discover that two people had been turned into chimps by a monster and were able to contact the Power Rangers to help them."
[You don't know the half of it.] thought Wendy, thinking about how they actually had found out the Rangers' identities but told no one for she and her brother were Rangers themselves and had personally changed Bulk & Skull back to normal; Well, as normal as they ever are.
"Alright. So, what's my first assignment?"
"There have been reports of strange things happening around a junkyard on the edge of town. The place is called 'Sunrise Salvage' and is run by a Mr. Van He'll Sing."
"Van Helsing? What an interesting name."
"No, no, no. Van He'll Sing. Something about cars moving by themselves. Anyway, once classes end, head on over there and see what you can find out." Just then, the editor saw someone going by. "Yo! Nuke!"
The burly teen stopped at the sound of his name and turned to walk into the newspaper office.
"Yeah buddy?" he said.
"Nuke, you work over at Sunrise Salvage, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So, you're going over there after lunch, right?"
"No. Got a lot of work to do over there so I'm skipping lunch and going right over after my last class ends."
"You? Skipping lunch?" the editor seemed shocked at Nuke's declaration.
"Yeah, so what? A guy can't skip lunch every once in a while?"
"Um... Well... Nuke, meet Wendy." Nuke and Wendy shook hands. "Wendy's going to be doing a story on the strange things happening over at Sunrise Salvage and I'd like you to show her around the place."
"Strange things?" asked Nuke "That's just a bunch of rumors."
"Well, could you show her around anyway?"
"Alright." Nuke turned to Wendy. "Meet you at the front gate just before noon?"
Wendy nodded and they walked out of the newspaper office, going in different directions. Wendy went over to an alcove, an alcove that the other Rangers had used many times before for this alcove was just the right shape to trap sound so that you'd have to shout for it to be heard in the hall and you had to be looking in just the right place to see what was happening inside the alcove. She brought her communicator up to speak into the mic and pressed the send button.
"Alpha, do you read?" she said.
"Yo, yo, yo! I read ya Wendy, what's up?"
"Have the vehicles been out lately, say, near the junkyard on the east edge of town?"
"Nope. Matter of fact, they haven't been out since the last call to action and they're chomping at the bit... Er, or the car equivalent."
"Thanks Alpha, Wendy out." Wendy deactivated the mic on her communicator "So, is it just rumors or is it something the Rangers should know about?" she wondered aloud.
The Vanpires' Subterranean Hideout, 11:00 AM
The Vanpires' hideout beneath the old boneyard is a sight to behold. Atop the vast cavern, connected to the ceiling by a large stalactite, is the glowing blue meteor that started it all. The meteor that brought the first Vanpires to life and transformed 4 humans into the Motorvators.
What looked like roadways issued forth from the meteor, connecting it with the walls of the cavern and leading down to a series of glowing fuel pools. It was in these pools that the Vanpires were lounging when several robots walked in carrying a strange device.
"Who DARES to intrude on the domain of Tracula!?" Demanded the most fearsome of all the Vanpires. His body-type was a purple monster truck and electricity seemed to dance within his mouth and eyes. He was, of course, Tracula, Lord of all Vanpires.
"We bring greetings from King Mondo, ruler of the Machine Empire." said the lead robot. The robots set down the device and the lead one pushed a button on the device. The device activated and began to project a translucent image of a robot with a sour expression and what looked like a crown atop his head.
"I am King Mondo of the Machine Empire." declared the image "Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
"I am Tracula, Lord of the Vanpires. What is the reason for this intrusion into my domain?"
"I have come to propose an alliance. I have enemies, you have enemies. Together, we can destroy each other's enemies and establish dominion over this world."
"Hmmm. An interesting proposal. What exactly would be my role in this dominion over Earth?"
"The Machine Empire is vast, encompassing hundreds of worlds. That being the case, I can hardly be bothered with the details of running all of them."
"Then you would need a planetary governor..."
"Precisely! A position which could be yours if you aid in the destruction of the Power Rangers."
"And you would, of course, aid me in the destruction of the Motorvators?"
"Correct. We could most efficiently destroy each other's enemies if an exchange of information were to occur."
"Agreed. When should I expect your representative?"
"Immediately. KLANK! ORBUS!" Mondo shouted off screen "Teleport down to Tracula's headquarters at once and begin exchanging information!"
Moments later, a flash of energy resolved itself into a humanoid robot more complicated than the Cogs who had brought the projector and a smaller robot riding on his shoulder.
"Greetings." said the humanoid robot "I am Klank. First Gear to King Mondo of the Machine Empire and this is my assistant, Orbus." Klank indicated the small robot on his shoulder. Tracula stared for a moment at the two robots who had just materialized out of thin air and then turned towards the fuel pools to shout.
"CARDAVER!"
"Yes Master?" queried the short hearse that came immediately.
"You will give them information about us and the Motorvators and they will give you information on the Machine Empire and these 'Power Rangers' they are having trouble with."
"At once Master!" Cardaver turned to Klank & Orbus "This way. We can exchange information in my lab. I have several records you might find enlightening."
The Vanpires and robots conversed for several hours. Meanwhile, things of a more innocent nature were occurring above ground.
Sunrise Salvage, 12:22 PM
As Wendy and Nuke pulled up in front of the Pitstop, they noticed an orange pickup truck with the phrase "Rent-a-Mech" stenciled on the side parked in front.
"Hmm. Rent-a-Mech." pondered Wendy "I wonder if they're the ones who built the Thunderzords?"
"Huh?" Nuke was confused.
"Mech. Mecha. Another word for giant robot, which the Power Rangers' Zords are."
"Wow!" came a voice from behind them "Now that'd be cool! We got just about everything else here." the owner of the voice, a dark skinned teen, came up face-to-face with Wendy. "Name's Snap. And you are?" Two more teens came up to Nuke & Wendy.
"Guys," began Nuke "Meet Wendy. Wendy, this is Snap, Rev, and Axle." he said, indicating each teen in turn. "Hey guys, you know anything about this truck?"
"Nope." said Axle "Maybe it's part of Van's plan."
"Plan? What plan?" asked Wendy.
"Umm. Ah. Well." stalled Rev.
"We've got four cars that need to be fixed by tonight and we just got them in this morning. Really banged up too." Answered Axle.
"Well what are we standing around here?" asked Snap "Let's go in and find out!"
The five teens went inside the Pitstop, all but ignoring the sign that said CLOSED and Wendy followed the others down to the basement where a van, a tow-truck, a fire-truck, and a hotrod were being worked on by
"Bulk and Skull!?" exclaimed Wendy
"Hi Wendy!" said Bulk
"Yeah. Hi!" parroted Skull
"I didn't know you two were mechanics." said Wendy
A man with long grey hair, wearing rose-colored glasses and 60's clothes popped up from under the van.
"They're not!" he said "These guys are supposedly rental mechanics from Rent-a-Mech but you know how they started today?"
"I give up. How Van?" asked Rev
"I told them to begin by banging the dents out of the van and they started by whaling on it! Lucky thing I was watching them."
"Well you said to bang the dents out." Bulk said in his and Skull's defense.
"I also thought you were competent mechanics and knew what I meant."
Wendy cleared her throat and all eyes turned to her.
"Excuse me. Are you Mr. Van Helsing?" she asked
"That's Van He'll Sing." Van responded, putting emphasis on his name.
"Whatever. My name's Wendy." Wendy said, offering her hand to Van.
"She's here to do a story on the strange things that are supposedly happening around here." said Nuke
"Doing a story on unexplained stuff here, eh?" Van said as he wiped the grease off his hand and shook Wendy's. "Well, you're wasting your time. Nothing unexplained going on around here." Rev, Snap, Axle, and Nuke all had a simultaneous though short-lived coughing fit.
"Still," Wendy said "I'd like to interview each of you about what's been happening here."
"Well," responded Van "Alright, but you'll have to do the interview while we're working. If all four of these cars aren't in tip-top shape by tonight, we're gonna be in a bit of trouble."
"No problem." responded Wendy "Mind if I help? I'm pretty good with mechanical things. I could record the interviews with my tape recorder."
"We could use all the help we can get." said Axle "Van, how's it coming?"
"Well," began Van "Even though these dunderheads needed some major watching," Van indicated Bulk & Skull "With their help, I've gotten more done than I could have alone. Barely." Bulk and Skull took on a look of pride at having it said that they weren't TOTALLY incompetent, just mostly. "But there's still plenty of work to go around. The pump on the fire-truck is busted and so's the tow-truck's right headlight. Wendy, you can start with those."
The teens got right to work working on the cars with Bulk & Skull mainly relegated to lift & carry work now that competent help had arrived. Even so, numerous dropped parts, spilled oil, and general goofing up still betrayed their natural inability to do anything right.
"The way these guys work and the way the Thunderzords went to pieces, I could believe that those two built them." joked Snap at one point. As usual, Bulk & Skull were completely clueless.
While they worked, Wendy asked Van and the teens questions which they carefully answered to keep from revealing their big secret. However, there was another set of ears and eyes watching and listening in. A set that was not human. The eye that was watching lay upon the floor angled up, connected to its owner by a long cord. That cord was attached to a toilet. Next to it was a nightmare collection of spare parts which included a toaster, a skateboard, a fan, and probably a few more things all merged together to create a strange creature the likes of which had never before been seen on the Earth. The toilet was named Flush and its companion was named Toastar. They had been brought to life on the same night and by the same meteor that created the Vanpires and the Motorvators.
"So, the Motorvators' carfins are so badly damaged that they need help to get them repaired before sunset." said Toastar with a french accent.
"Yeah," responded Flush with a bass voice that bubbled from his bowl "Maybe they're so beat up that they won't be ready in time for sunset?"
"We must tell Lord Tracula! If they are slow in repairing them and our master can attack right after sunset..."
"The Motorvators won't be ready to fight! Let's go tell the boss!" Flush began to retract his eye.
"Not yet you flushable fool! That girl who is interviewing the Motorvators. We should find out what she knows and suspects. If she were to know about the master...."
"She could tell other humans and they'll be ready for the master's attacks!"
"Precisely! We will wait here and spy until she leaves and then return to the hidedout."
Flush and Toastar were not the only products of the meteor that could withstand sunlight. Another melding of junk was approaching them quickly. This one was a Fisher Price tricycle with a pair of toy binoculars and a clown horn melded to the center of the handlebars. Seeing the two spies, it charged at them as it barked up a storm. Inside the Pitstop, the barking came to the ears of those working on the cars.
"Hey, that sounds like Greasespot!" Snap said
"Greasespot?" questioned Wendy "What's Greasespot?"
"Every junkyard's got a junkyard dog," answered Van "And Greasespot is ours."
"What's he barking at." wondered Nuke
"You keep working, amigos, and I'll check it out. Probably just a cat or something." Van headed up out of the Pitstop's basement and approached the front door. "Or maybe a pair of fuzzy dice." he muttered
When Van opened the door he saw exactly what Greasespot was barking at. Greasespot was chasing Flush & Toastar around the place, barking up a storm.
"Oh, terrific." Van moaned "Tracula's two little spies. Go get em Greasespot!" Van shouted "Yeah! Chase them outta here!"
Once Van saw Greasespot chase Flush and Toastar towards the fence he went back into the Pitstop and down to the basement.
"So Van, what was Greasespot chasing?" asked Axle
"Aw, just some toaster-heads snooping around." Van responded "Last I saw of them, Greasespot was chasing them towards the fence and it didn't look like they were slowing down. Now, let's get back to work! We've still got a lot of repairs to do on these cars, amigos."
The Power Chamber, 3:04 PM
Matt and Justin were bent over a collection of parts and circuits on the worktable in the Power Chamber, talking as they worked.
"I'm not sure we'll be able to interface the new circuits with the original tracking gear." Justin said
"It'll be a stretch, but I think if we add a few micro-capacitors and resistors it should be able to handle the charge when the new components are activated." Matt answered
"But since both modes will use some of the same circuits, we'll have to make sure that it functions properly in both standard mode and in the new configuration. We don't want the new gear kicking in when it's in standard mode."
"True. That would be highly detrimental to the functioning of the Turbo Navigator."
"Not to mention blowing it up."
"Yo, yo, yo!" Alpha interrupted "You guys have been working on the Turbo Navigators for hours. How long before you're finished?"
"Alpha, that's the fourth time you've asked us that," Matt began, clearly annoyed "And if you don't leave us alone, I'm going to rewire your audio-visual sensors so all you can see and hear is Barney and Lambchop."
"Yo, yo, yo! I'm sorry. It's just that I get a little antsy when ya got equipment like the Turbo Navigators in lots of pieces. By the way, wouldn't it go faster if Wendy were helping you two?"
"Wendy's on a story for the Investigator, checking out the junkyard on the edge of town."
"Oh. Really? This morning she called to ask if the vehicles had been out that way. I told her that they haven't been much of anywhere for a while besides the garage."
"Hmmm, I wonder why. Oh well. She'll probably tell us later."
"Matt," Justin said "I've got an idea for how we can slave the geo-spatial controller to the primary locator matrix without overloading the processors. If we...."
Justin went on to describe his idea to Matt and the two continued working on the Turbo Navigators. No matter how many ideas they got, it was going to take a long time to complete the planned modifications. In fact, they expected to be working until late, barring a monster attack.
Sunrise Salvage, 5:09 PM
Van and the teens continued working on the cars through the afternoon and finally, about half an hour before sunset, they were finished. All four cars were in tip-top shape and they were just putting a coat of Van's special wax on each of them.
"Alright amigos!" Van exclaimed "We did it! All four cars are ready to roll! The wax'll be dry in plenty of time before sunset and that means our 'customers' will be very happy."
High fives went around the room. Van ushered Bulk & Skull out of the Pitstop with a warning to never come back on pain of having a load of junk dropped on them. If there was one thing Van hated, it was mechanics who didn't know their way around a transmission. Wendy asked Axle, Rev, Snap, and Nuke a few last questions and then turned off her tape recorder and prepared to leave.
"Well, thanks for the interviews guys, Mr. Van Helsing." Wendy said
"Like I said this afternoon, it's Van He'll Sing." replied Van, putting emphasis on each part of his name.
"Yeah. Well, anyway, thanks for the interviews. Should help me one way or another with the story."
"One way or another?" questioned Snap
"Yeah. Either it'll point me to the strange stuff or it'll help disprove the reports. Now I'm going to take a look around the junkyard, if you don't mind that is."
This statement worried Van and the Motorvators. If she was in the junkyard when Tracula decided to attack with that Vanpirized dynamite truck she could easily be hurt or even killed.
"Take a look around the junkyard?" Nuke questioned "At night?"
"It'll be getting dark soon and this place gets way scary at night." Rev pointed out "You don't want to be around here after dark."
"Uh, yeah. Come back in the morning, amigo." said Van "You'll be able to search all day tomorrow but when it gets dark in a very short time, you won't be able to see a thing."
Wendy was suspicious that they didn't want her in the junkyard after dark and decided that she would investigate covertly.
"Alright," she said "I'll come back tomorrow, just don't go and do an Area 51 on me tonight."
"Area 51?" asked Axle
"I know what she's talking about!" declared Snap "Area 51 is where people think the army's got some UFO's stashed. Don't worry. We won't mess with the place."
"Well, so long guys. See you bright and early in the morning." Wendy said as she left
"Well, she's gone." Rev said after Wendy had gone.
"Alright amigos," Van said "The wax'll be dry soon so while I go down and check my end of our comlinks, you dudes relax and get ready to Motorvate."
Van opened up the hood of a car next to the wall and went down into it. The hood was actually a trapdoor that opened onto the stairway down to Van's personal space where he had been when the meteor crashed through the junkyard, thus he was shielded from the bulk of the radiation that had transformed his four young friends into superheroes. Sometimes Van regretted that he hadn't been changed into an automotive form too but the rest of the time, he was glad that he didn't have their far-reaching responsibilities.
The Motorvators were out almost every night fighting the Vanpires. When Van had driven Rev's carfin to the church in the old boneyard to save her, he had nearly panicked when he arrived and saw four Vanpires right in front of him. No, he wasn't the superhero type. The guy at base who gave them advice, now THAT was what he was cut out for.
"Well, time for reflecting's over," Van mused "Now's the time to make sure I won't lose contact with my four-wheeled friends when things get rough." He flipped a few switches and the screen came to life showing the four carfins sitting in the Pitstop basement and until the teens transformed into the Motorvators that was all he'd see on the screen. Satisfied that the screen was working properly, he went on to check the transceiver and the tracking unit.
Back on the surface, Wendy walked close enough to the front gate so that they would think she was going through and then, instead of going through, she ducked behind a pile of cars and, using her carefully honed ninja skills to remain unobserved, began looking around the place.
In addition to searching visually for signs of strangeness, she was also using a hand-held energy detector that she and her brother had made just prior to their first public outing as the Techno Rangers. As she approached the side of the junkyard facing the old boneyard, it began to beep, indicating that it had picked up a small concentration of an unknown energy. She followed the reading until she saw it. In the lengthening shadows of sunset, a small point of blue light shined.
Meanwhile, in the Pitstop proper, the teens had decided to pass the time until sunset by playing Make the Make. Basically, they identified the year, make, and model of an approaching car only by the sound of the motor.
"That one's a '95 Suburu Outback." Snap said
"Snap, you always manage to get them." Nuke complained after Axle confirmed Snap's pronouncement
"Hey, I can't help it if I'm a natural."
"Well, the wax should be just about dry." Axle said as they waited for the next car.
"Yup, Van's special wax." Rev said "The stuff that kept you from getting fried when Tracula torched that gas tank you and General Motor were fighting on top of."
"Yeah!" Nuke whooped "That tank was totally torched but you came out without a scratch! You didn't even feel it!"
"I wouldn't say I didn't feel it Nuke." Axle corrected "I felt the heat, and it hurt, but the special wax protected me from the worst of it."
"And that's why we put the wax on all our carfins today." Rev said "If that happens again, we'll come through A-OK." Just then, they heard the sound of another approaching car.
"It's a '92 Toyota Camri LE." Snap declared
"No, no, no Snap. That may be a Toyota, but it's a Carrola." Rev countered while Axle hit the buttons to extend the Van-Scan periscope up so he could see it clearly to judge the winner.
"And Rev unseats the king of Make the Make!" he declared
"It was a fluke." Snap said
"Whoa! Hit the brakes a sec guys." Axle ordered as he saw something via the Van-Scan.
"What's wrong Ax?" asked Nuke
"Looks like Wendy didn't leave after all. She's got some gadget in her hand and it looks like she's found something. Oh no."
"What's wrong Axle?" asked Snap
"It looks like she's found a piece of the Meteor."
"Excuse me!" exclaimed Rev "Do you mean the big blue meteor that turned us into Motorvators and brought the fang-gang to life? That meteor?"
"The very one. Musta been chipped off when the Meteor plowed through Van's junk."
Just then, explosions rocked the Pitstop, throwing the teens to the floor and sending loose objects flying. Axle scrambled back to the periscope as the ground continued to buck beneath his feet. What he saw was shocking in that it was nothing like what he had expected. He was about to speak when Van popped up from the car hood-trapdoor.
"Lemme guess," he began "All this rockin and rollin is from that dynamite truck Tracula hijacked."
"Wrong Van," Axle declared "Some sort of weird jetfighters are bombing us!"
"Well, they're blasting US so I think it's Mission Ignition time anyway!"
"You're right Van," Axle agreed and turned to his fellow teens. "It's Shapeshiftin time!"
Axle, Rev, Snap, and Nuke dashed down to the basement where their four carfins were kept. Axle jumped into the hotrod, Rev into the fire-truck, Nuke into the tow-truck, and Snap into the van. The right index finger of each teen turned into a silvery key which they inserted into the ignition of their car.
"Mission: Ignition!" Axle shouted and light erupted from the car, enveloping both it and him. "MISSION: IGNITION!" the other three shouted and they too were enveloped in the light. When the light faded, the four teens had disappeared. Then, the hood of each car was pushed open from within and a strange melding of man and car emerged from each.
Meanwhile, Wendy had been outside when the Quadrafighters opened fire and was lucky to find safe cover. She knew immediately what was going on and thought they were after her although she thought it was overkill to bomb the place just to get one Techno Ranger. Wendy knew her Ninja Ranger powers would be useless against them. She activated her communicator but was greeted by a squeal of interference. The Rangers' communications frequency was being jammed. These guys weren't taking any chances.
The Power Chamber, a few moments earlier
"And just when were you planning to have the Turbo Navigators functional again?" Tommy asked Matt and Justin
"They should be ready by tomorrow night." Justin replied
"And they'll be better than new." Matt said
"And what if we need them before that?" demanded Tanya
"Look, there's nothing we can do about it." Matt said "Right now, it would take longer to restore the Turbo Navigators to their original setup than to finish the modifications which could end up saving us in the long run."
"Yeah, well. From now on, check with the rest of us before you do something like this again." Tommy said
"Alright, but how'd you know what we were doing anyway? Alpha... You didn't?"
"Yo, yo, yo! I had to tell him!" Alpha answered "He wanted to make a sweep of the racetrack before the race in two days to make sure there weren't any detonators around the place and I had to explain why he couldn't use a Turbo Navigator."
"And since now I'm going to have to make the sweep the night before, you two are going to help me with it as soon as you finish reassembling the Turbo Navigators." Tommy ordered
Just then, the alarms went off. A check of the scanners showed that a squadron of Quadrafighters was bombing a junkyard on the edge of town.
"Yo, yo, yo! I don't get it! Why would they bomb a junkyard?" Alpha wondered "Ain't that sorta redundant?"
"Might there be something in that junkyard which King Mondo would want destroyed?" asked Dimitria
"Oh no!" exclaimed Matt "That's the junkyard Wendy's investigating for the school paper!"
"Isn't it sort of overkill to use fighters instead of a battalion of Cogs just to get one Ranger?" questioned Adam
"No time to worry about that now. Wendy's gonna need our help." Tommy said "SHIFT INTO TURBO!"
"MOUNTAIN BLASTER, TURBO POWER!" yelled Justin as energy crackled between his hands. A Turbo Ranger gun belt appeared on his waist, then his clothes were replaced by his blue Turbo Ranger uniform. His helmet locked into place around his head, the opaque visor closing once the helmet was complete. Finally, his belt buckle lit up and he grew to adult size.
"DUNE STAR TURBO POWER!" yelled Tanya as energy crackled between her hands. A Turbo Ranger gun belt appeared on her waist, then her clothes were replaced by her yellow Turbo Ranger uniform. Her helmet locked into place around her head, the opaque visor closing once the helmet was complete.
"WIND CHASER TURBO POWER!" yelled Kat as energy crackled between her hands. A Turbo Ranger gun belt appeared on her waist, then her clothes were replaced by her pink Turbo Ranger uniform. Her helmet locked into place around her head, the opaque visor closing once the helmet was complete.
"DESERT THUNDER TURBO POWER!" yelled Adam as energy crackled between his hands. A Turbo Ranger gun belt appeared on his waist, then his clothes were replaced by his green Turbo Ranger uniform. His helmet locked into place around his head, the opaque visor closing once the helmet was complete.
"RED LIGHTNING TURBO POWER!" yelled Tommy as energy crackled between his hands. A Turbo Ranger gun belt appeared on his waist, then his clothes were replaced by his red Turbo Ranger uniform. His helmet locked into place around his head, the opaque visor closing once the helmet was complete.
Having morphed, the Turbo Rangers teleported to the junkyard. Matt stayed behind a few moments to check Wendy's coordinates and then teleported himself. He landed just outside the cover Wendy was hiding under. As soon as he materialized, Wendy pulled him under cover.
"Good to see you bro," she said "What do you say we show those tin heads bombing us what a pair of Techno Rangers can do?"
"I say: IT'S MORPHIN TIME!" Matt responded. Matt and Wendy joined hands above their heads and in a flash of light they were holding the Techno Morpher.
"TECHNO MORPHER ONLINE!" they shouted in unison
The Techno Morpher split down the middle and each took a half as the two halves reconfigured into two complete morphers and the two power coin halves in each came together to form a complete power coin in each. Matt and Wendy held their morphers out in front of them as the original Rangers had.
"TECHNO RANGER ONE!"
"TECHNO RANGER TWO!"
The morphers left their hands and attached to their belts which became Power Ranger gunbelts complete with bladeblasters. Next, their clothes became Ranger uniforms. Matt's was purple while Wendy's was grey but both were variants of the original Power Ranger uniforms. Finally, their helmets locked into place with the opaque visors closing once the helmets were complete. The design on Matt's helmet resembled the head of a stegosaurus while the one on Wendy's helmet resembled the head of a brachiosaurus.
"TECHNO RANGERS! KI-YAH!"
The Machine Skybase
What was that!?" questioned Tracula as he witnessed the Techno Rangers morph on the screen.
"That," answered Klank "Was the Techno Rangers. They are a subgroup of the Power Rangers."
"And they will mess up everything!" said King Mondo "The Turbo Rangers are also in the junkyard and all of them are shooting at our fighters!"
"Yuir highness, might I point out that the Rangers have never before encountered the Motorvators and with their decidedly mechanical appearance..."
"The Power Rangers will think they work for us! That's a brilliant idea! I'm glad I thought of it."
"Ah," began Tracula "We pit our enemies against one another. Excellent!
AUTOMANIAC!" Tracula shouted for his only minion who was crazy enough to do what he had planned.
"Yeah boss? You got some shmoes ya want froze?" answered the Ice Cream Truck
"Here's what I want you to do..." Tracula outlined the plan to Automaniac while Mondo ordered up some Cogs.
"Recall the quadrafighters and start Operation: Mutual Annihilation!" ordered King Mondo
Sunrise Salvage
As this was happening, the secret door in the side of a junkpile near the Pitstop fell open and the four Motorvators leaped out and scanned the sky for the fighters that were bombing the junkyard.
"I don't get it!" exclaimed Snap "Where'd they go?"
"They did their job," came a voice from the side "I gotcha now Bob!" The Motorvators spun around to see Automaniac. He blazed past them, backhanding Axle as he passed. "Catch me if you can man!"
The Motorvators chased the demented ice cream truck over and around the junk piles. Meanwhile, Matt and Wendy had rejoined the other Rangers just in time to see the quadrafighters pull out of their attack runs and head back into space.
"I don't get it," began Justin "Why're they running? We can't have done that much damage with our Autoblasters." Suddenly, a gear-shaped portal opened above them and two dozen Cogs dropped out of it onto the ground around the Rangers. "Nevermind."
The Rangers and Cogs started fighting. Justin hit the first Cog with a roundhouse kick that sent it flying. That Cog was closely followed by two more that Matt & Wendy hit simultaneously. Kat flipped over another one that was promptly punched by Tommy while Kat kicked it from behind, the primary motor-control circuit in its chest crushed from the twin strikes from front and back. Adam threw a nearby Cog at Tanya who karate chopped it to the ground. While the Rangers were fighting the Cogs, two of the robotic rejects were digging into a nearby pile of junk. Suddenly, they pulled something metallic out of the pile.
"Objective achieved." one announced "Initiate withdrawal procedure." All the Cogs engaged with fighting the Rangers jumped away and their faces opened up revealing the machinery beneath. From the eyes of each Cog came twin bursts of energy which hit all around the Rangers causing a number of explosions to impact on their protective suits and the Cogs started running through the junkyard.
"Follow those Cogs!" ordered Tommy "We can't let them get away with whatever they grabbed!" and the Rangers gave chase to the Cogs.
The Machine Skybase
The Vanpires and the Royal Family of the Machine Empire watched an overhead view of Sunrise Salvage on the viewer. The Motorvators were chasing Automaniac while the rangers were chasing the Cogs. Soon Automaniac and the Cogs would meet, closely followed by the Motorvators and Power Rangers.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Mondo "Soon our respective enemies will meet and destroy each other. In a few short minutes, our problems will be over with and the Machine Empire will rule the Earth!"
"With myself as planetary governor, of course." said Tracula
"Of course."
"Umm, my lord?" said Cardaver
"What do you want ya rust bucket?" questioned Prince Sprocket
"I just remembered from the information on the Power Rangers that they rarely strike without a good reason." said Cardaver "If a monster is causing havoc or threatening them, they will surely attack but the Motorvators won't be threatening them."
"By the first circuit!" exclaimed Mondo "You're right! KLANK! ORBUS!"
"Yes yuir majesty?" enquired Klank
"We need a way to get the Power Rangers to attack the Motorvators or the entire plan will be for naught!"
"I have just the idea yuir highness. Orbus can project holographic images onto the Rangers' visors which will make them think that the Motorvators are about to attack. This coupled with precisely placed sniper-bots will make the Rangers perceive the Motorvators as a threat."
"Excellent. Proceed to the rendevous point with all speed and execute the plan at once!"
"Immediately yuir majesty. Klank to sniper-bots 329 through 345, initiate operation: False Attack at preset coordinates." Klank spoke into his comm-unit and then he and Orbus teleported away.
Sunrise Salvage
Klank and Orbus, along with several heavily-armed robots, materialized atop a junk pile and began setting up. The robots had a clear line of sight to the spot where the Rangers and Motorvators would meet.
"Orbus, how long until you'll be ready to project?" asked Klank
"I should have the calculations finished about 30 seconds after the Rangers arrive." answered the small droid "I can't start until they arrive because their individual positions will be key to the projection."
"Alright, that should be fast enough to get them fighting." The sound of bells reached their audio receptors. "Here comes Automaniac! Everyone stay out of sight. If either group of heroes sees us, King Mondo will have us all recycled!"
Automaniac blazed in from one side and the Cogs who survived fighting the Rangers came from the other meeting in the valley between junkpiles. A gear-shaped portal opened, both Automaniac and the Cogs quickly went through, and the portal closed. Approximately five seconds later the Motorvators came in from the direction Automaniac had come from and the Power Rangers from the direction the Cogs had come from. Both groups skidded to a halt upon seeing the other.
"We've got you now you little-" yelled Nuke as they chased Automaniac but when they turned the corner all they saw were "Power Rangers!?"
"We're the Power Rangers alright." said the Red Ranger "And you must be Mondo's latest set of robots. I'm guessing he's doing this one alone since he used Cogs instead of Robotengas. Am I right?"
"Mondo?" questioned Rev "Isn't he the creep you guys were fighting a year or so ago?"
"We don't work for that Robogeek!" announced Snap
"Yeah, the last thing we want to do is to fight the Power Rangers!" said Axle
"Hey," said the Blue Ranger "Maybe they're telling the truth. Maybe they really are on our side."
"Maybe," began the Green Ranger "But Mondo's tried this trick before. Remember Defector guys."
"Defector?" asked the Grey Ranger
"A robot that said it wanted to be our friend but turned out to be playing us for fools." answered the Yellow Ranger
On top of a nearby junkpile, Orbus extended his neck to full extension. "All set to go." he announced
"Now's the perfect time, Orbus me lad," Klank said, his audio receptors hooked up to a large dish aimed at the heroes. "The Rangers just mentioned Defector."
"Projecting." Orbus' eyes lit up as he used them to project images onto the Rangers' visors.
"Look out!" Kat yelled as she saw laser cannons popping up from the Motorvators' shoulders. She instinctively reached for her autoblaster. "They're gonna fire!"
The Motorvators had no idea what was going on since they couldn't see the holograms Orbus was projecting. Before Kat's autoblaster could clear the holster, the sniper-bots fired and the lasers struck the Rangers causing sparks to fly from their suits as they were momentarily knocked to the ground.
"Return fire!" shouted the Red Ranger. The Power Rangers drew their weapons, aimed, and squeezed the triggers. It looked as though at least one team was doomed.
End of Act 2