"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Lindsey Chavis reporting live from Wayne-Powers Industries in Gotham City," stated the reporter. "Tonight, I'm privileged to be getting this exclusive interview with Wayne-Powers Industries CEO, Derek Powers, and Mason Hodges, the CEO of Ray-Tech, in Angel Grove. Thank you both for agreeing to this interview."

"You're welcome," the two men replied.

"Okay, gentlemen, let's cut to the chase. Its been rumored that your two companies would be working together on a project. Can these rumors be confirmed?" Chavis asked.

"Miss. Chavis, it does indeed give me great pleasure to announce that Wayne-Powers Industries and Ray-Tech have already began working on a project together," Powers proclaimed.

"Would you care to elaborate?" the reporter asked.

"Well as you and all the viewers know, since I took the helm of Wayne-Powers, profits have never been better," Derek Powers stated.

"You mean you stole the company from me," grumbled Bruce Wayne, as he watched the interview on television, at his mansion.

"And Ray-Tech has been the leader in manufacturing defense weaponry for planets without guardians. I mean not everyone has a Batman or a group of Power Rangers," explained Hodges.

"Here's the story, Miss. Chavis. Ray-Tech is currently constructing the first of what our two companies hope will grow to many defense robots. Wayne-Powers has in turn supplied the material necessary to build this robot, and has been very active to the programming of the robot's artificial intelligence," explained Derek Powers.

"We call this project Ramrod," added Hodges.

"Aren't the two of you concerned about the heat your two companies will receive for embarking on such a venture? I don't mean to sound rude, but the two of you have reputations for being a little ruthless," Lindsey said.

Powers sighed and then replied, "Mason and I are two of the nicest people you'll ever meet. We've both had to work very hard to get where we are today, and yes sometimes we've had to take some drastic measures to accomplish our goals, but I assure everyone that this project is legit, and will be very beneficial to many alien worlds."

"Now if you will excuse us, we have some urgent business to attend to," stated Hodges.

Before the reporter could utter another word, the two men walked away.

"Well we'll all just have to wait and see how this partnership turns out for Wayne-Powers Industries and Ray-Tech. Till next time, this is Lindsey Chavis for CNN News," the reporter said.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all," Tim stated, as he turned off the television.

"I agree with you, Tim. There is something fishy going on in Gotham City," Andros stated.

"So the question is what are we going to do about it?" Tim stated.

"For starters, we're going to contact the other Rangers," Andros said. Andros opened the door that lead down to the basement, and he, Tim, and Ashley headed down.

Once downstairs, Ashley activated the trouble signal, which meant that wherever the other Rangers were at, their communicators would beep, letting them know to report to the basement.

"Did you guys see that interview on TV?" Tim asked, as the other Rangers arrived.

"Yeah, and I'll bet those two are hiding something," replied Stephanie.

"I think we should go to Gotham City and check things out," Chris suggested.

"Oh yeah! We're going to the land of the big, black, bat," Nick stated.

"Now wait a minute," Andros held up a hand. "Remember, you guys have got to back here by Sunday night. The Senior Writing Test begins Monday, so go there, find out what Hodges and Powers are up to, and get back here."

"Don't worry, Andros, we'll be careful," Chris assured. With that the Rangers teleported away.

"Look out Gotham City, cuz here comes the Power Rangers," stated Michelle, as the beams of light soared through the sky.

In a warehouse adjacent to the main building of Wayne-Powers Industries, a group of guards stood watch, doing their best to keep all intruders away.

From out of the sky descended Batman. Taken by surprise, the guards began to fire at the Dark Knight.

"McGinnis, use the smoke bombs," ordered the voice of Bruce Wayne, through the communications systems in the Batman costume.

"I'm way ahead you," replied Batman as he tossed two small bombs at the guards. the bombs hit the ground, causing smoke to surround the guards. When the smoke cleared, Batman was gone.

One of the guards pulled out his walky-talky, and began to speak. "Batman has been sighted on the grounds. I repeat, Batman has been sighted on the grounds. Everyone to their positions."

"I've found an open window, and I'm going in," stated Batman, as he flew through the window.

"McGinnis, don't try to be a hot shot," Wayne advised.

"You worry too much," Batman replied.

Inside the warehouse, the flying Dark Knight dodged gunfire from the guards.

Thinking on his feet, Batman tossed a few Batarangs at the guards. Just then six streaks of light entered the warehouse, and landed on the floor.

"Mind if we join the party?" the Red Ranger asked. The Rangers immediately began to fight off the guards. Batman swooped down to lend them a hand.

After a few moments of getting beaten, the guards retreated out of the warehouse.

"Wow! the Power Rangers," stated Batman, in amazement.

"Get rid of them, McGinnis. This doesn't concern them," Bruce Wayne ordered.

"Who was that?" the Pink Ranger asked.

"Never mind who that was. What are you guys doing here?" Batman questioned, taking his fighting stance.

"Calm down, man, we're here to help you," the Blue Ranger stated.

"Help, I don't need your help," just then, the Dark Knight noticed a CD lying on a nearby table. He ran over and picked it up. "Hmm," he said, noticing that it was labeled "Project Ramrod."

"Mind if I have a look at that?" the White Ranger asked, walking up to Batman. McGinnis turned around and knocked Tim to the ground with an uppercut.

"This is the last time I'm going to tell you guys this. I don't need your help, so go back to Angel Grove." With that Batman ascended into the air, and flew out the window.

"Well that was rude of him. We come all this way to help him out, and he just brushes us off," grumbled Stephanie.

In his penthouse office, atop the main building, Derek Powers and Mason Hodges had viewed the previous events on a security monitor.

"The Bat and his multi-colored friends could be trouble," stated Powers.

"The first Ramrod is nearly completed. We'll test on Batman and the Power Rangers," Hodges replied.

"I don't know about that. If we took that course of action, we'd risk revealing our true motives, unless--," A sinister grin appeared on Derek Powers' face.

"What are you thinking, Derek?" Hodges questioned.

"We'll arrange for a thief to steal the Ramrod and turn it loose in the city. If the Bat and the Rangers defeat it then we'll know that we'll have to make the next batch of them stronger, but if it destroys them---," Powers sneered.

"Then, their clients will have the weaponry need to satisfy their lust for power, and the two of us will make a hefty profit," Hodges finished.

"Mason, if the Ramrod is good enough to beat the Rangers and Batman, then maybe the two of us could put an army Ramrods to a better use, than a group, such as the Brood. We could rule the world, or better yet the universe," Powers laughed.

Batman arrived in the Batcave, and pulled off his mask. "Here's the disk." He handed the CD to Bruce Wayne.

"Good job, McGinnis." the elderly man stated. "Oh by the way, did the Power Rangers leave town?"

"I don't know, but I made it perfectly clear that we didn't need their help," Terry McGinnis replied.

"Well we just can't take no for an answer." Both Terry and Bruce turned around to see the Rangers standing there.

"How did you find us?!" yelled Wayne.

"Calm down, gramps, we put a tracer on Batman," Tim walked up to Terry and pulled a small metal chip off of the back of the costume.

"Wow! Batman is a teenager like us," stated Michelle.

"Terry McGinnis at your service," the young man stated with a smile.

The Rangers looked at each other, and then Powered Down.

"This is Tim, Stephanie, Michelle, Joseph, Nick, and my name is Chris," the Ranger leader said.

"Well don't get comfortable, because you're not staying," grumbled Bruce.

"Hey who is this guy?" Nick asked pointing at the elderly man.

"He's Bruce Wayne. He was the original Batman," Terry explained.

"That's enough, Terry. Don't tell these people anything else," Bruce ordered. "Listen, Rangers, I'm sure Terry has already told you that your assistance is not needed."

"Well we beg to differ with that, Mr. Wayne. You guys know about Derek Powers, but we have the inside track on Mason Hodges. We can work together, and stop whatever scheme those two slimeballs are hatching," Chris stated.

"Now that I think about it, they may have a point, Mr. Wayne," Terry stated.

Bruce thought about this for a moment, and then said. "Fine, but there's nothing else we can do tonight, except find out what's on this disk." Wayne placed the CD into a slot on the Batcomputer.

Everyone watched as a set numbers and words appeared on the screen, then a picture of a large metal robot appeared. Bruce then entered a few commands into the computer.

"What are you doing?" Terry asked.

"I'm issuing the command for the Batcomputer to begin analyzing the data on this disk. Maybe there's something up here that will tell us if the Ramrod has a weakness or not." Bruce Wayne replied.

"Man, your computer is just as cool as ours," Tim commented.

"Thank you," Bruce nodded.

After a few minutes the Batcomputer returned its findings. The Ramrod was incased in a titanium armor, and in addition to having the ability to fire nuclear warheads, the Ramrod could also emit a deadly nerve gas.

"I'm willing to bet that Powers and Hodges are planning on selling these Ramrods to a terrorist organization," Terry assumed.

"This could be even worse," Bruce said, grimly. "These Ramrods would make the perfect soldiers for conquering the world."

"Well those things aren't being manufactured on the Wayne-Powers Industries grounds nor at Ray-Tech, so where do we begin looking for them at?" Nick asked.

"I'll go back out and scour the city," Terry offered.

"No. I'll give Powers a call, tomorrow and see if I can get the information out of him. He probably won't tell me anything, but its worth a try," Bruce explained. "Take the Rangers upstairs and show them to a guest room. Give them something to eat, but don't let them touch my fruit snacks."

"Yes, sir. C'mon you guys," Terry and the Rangers then began to walk up some stairs.

It was late now, and the other Rangers had gone to bed. Tim was now wandering through a corridor, when he heard Terry's voice in a nearby room.

"Terry?" Tim said, entering what appeared to be the living room.

"I'll be right with you, Tim," Terry stated, pausing, briefly, from his phone call. " So I'll meet you at Scardino's Grill, tomorrow afternoon. Of course I'll really be there. Okay, bye-bye." With that Terry hung up the phone.

"Let me guess, your girlfriend. Right?" Tim assumed.

"Yep, that was the beautiful Dana Tan. We've been dating for five months now, though me being Batman does put a strain on our relationship, most of the time," Terry replied.

"How did you get tangled up with Wayne, anyway?' Tim asked.

Terry took a deep breathe, and then began to explain how Derek Powers had ordered his father killed, and how a chance meeting with Bruce Wayne had lead to him becoming the new Batman. "So how about you, Tim? How did you become a Power Ranger?"

"Ya know its really amazing that the two of us have met. The same, exact thing happened to me. Mason Hodges had both of my parents killed. I was adopted by the former leader of the previous group of Rangers, and my friends agreed to help me avenge my parents deaths," Tim stated.

"I remember a conversation I had with Mr. Wayne recently. He actually witnessed his parents being killed," Terry revealed.

"Aw, man," Tim said, with a stunned expression.

"Sometimes when its late at night, I think about what happened to my father. I feel like I should have been there. That together he and I could have fought off the attackers, but I wasn't. I feel like I let him down," Terry shook his head sadly.

"I've been struggling with those same feelings. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my friends and the duties of a Power Ranger. I'd probably lose my sanity. I really hated Mason Hodges and his assistant, Derek Simon, for what they did, but I know that as a Power Ranger, I can make sure that they don't hurt anyone else," Tim stated.

"That's right, as superheroes, we can make a difference. We can protect those who cannot protect themselves. Powers has a lot of stroke here in town. He can pay-off a lot of people, but there's one man he'll never be able to pay-off, and that's Batman," Terry said confidently.

The next morning, Terry drove Bruce over to Wayne-Powers Industries.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Mr. Wayne?" Terry asked.

"Trust me, McGinnis, this old man can handle Derek Powers, besides I'm wearing the wire, so you'll be able to hear our conversation from in here," Bruce replied, before getting out of the car.

Once inside Bruce tested the wire, to make sure that Terry could hear him.

"I'm getting on the elevator," Wayne whispered.

"Just holler if you need help," replied Terry.

"Ah, Bruce, how have you been," Powers said shaking the elderly man's hand. "I'm sure you know Mason Hodges."

"Its nice to finally meet you, Mr. Wayne," Hodges stated.

"Likewise," Bruce replied. "Derek, why wasn't I told about this partnership?"

"Bruce, I've told you this many times before. Let me take care of everything. Project Ramrod will make us a fortune, and allow many alien races to sleep peacefully at night," Powers replied.

"You know I don't like guns, and if I were calling the shots this project wouldn't be happening," stated Wayne.

"Well that's just it, my friend. You're not in charge. I am, and this project will continue as planned," Derek pointed a finger in Bruce's face.

"Fine. By the way, where, may I ask, are the Ramrods being manufactured at?" Bruce questioned.

"In a location safe from civilians. That's all you need to know," Hodges stated.

"Well then I won't take up any more of your time. Have a good day," Bruce then exited the office.

"Something tells me he could be a problem," Hodges warned.

"Who Bruce? Why he's practically got one foot in the grave," Powers laughed.

Meanwhile, the Rangers were inside Wayne-Powers Industries' Information Systems Department.

"I guess the programmers are on break," mused Michelle.

"Hey, you guys, check this out," the Blue Ranger stated as he sat in front of a computer terminal.

On the screen, were the logarithms used to program the Ramrods' A.I.

"This just might come in handy later on," Chris stated. "Have you got a floppy disk with you, Joe?"

"I never leave home without one," the Blue Ranger replied, producing a disk from thin air.

"How'd you do that?" Stephanie asked, curiously.

"Simple I had the disk in my pocket, when we morphed and came here. Billy told me that we could summon anything we had in our pockets, before a morph, from thin air," Joseph explained. He placed the disk into the drive and saved the file.

"I hear voices in the hallway," Tim informed as he stood by the door.

"Okay let's get back to the Batcave. Maybe Terry and Mr. Wayne got some information," Chris stated. The Rangers then teleported away, leaving no traces of their presence their.

"Hmm, Hodges said that the manufacturing plant was safe from civilians," Bruce stated.

"And in their interview he and Powers said that Ray-Tech was building the robots, but Wayne-Powers was supplying the materials and helping with the programming," Nick reminded.

"Aw man, why didn't I think of this earlier," Michelle smacked herself on the head. "My aunt is a programmer at Ray-Tech. I'll bet she knows where the manufacturing site is at."

Michelle pulled out her communicator, and contacted her aunt. "Aunt Cassie, you happen to know where the Ramrods are being manufactured at, would you?"

"You're in luck, Michelle, I've got some information about the project on my computer screen right now." There was silence for a moment and then Cassie continued. "All I've got here is that its somewhere in the Southeastern region of the U.S., but I know for a fact that Ray-Tech has a factory in New Orleans."

"So does Wayne-Powers," Bruce revealed.

"Looks like that's the place," Chris stated.

"Oh no, its almost time for my lunch date with Dana," Terry said, looking at his watch.

"Go meet your girlfriend. The rest of us will stay here and try to make sense of the information from the two disks," Bruce said.

"This is Lindsey Chavis reporting live from New Orleans, where a robbery has just taken place at Bay-Tech's local factory. The item stolen, was the first Ramrod robot, and Oh My God! Here it comes!"

People began to run for their lives trying to escape from the mighty mechanical titan storming down the street.

The Ramrod was a super-huge humanoid robot, with a silver coating on his body. The robot was currently being piloted by Dirk, who had taken this job because one, he was paid good money, and two, he wanted to be the man who defeated the Power Rangers and Batman.

"Yeah, run you little worms," Dirk laughed, as he sat in the cockpit, which was located in the head of the robot.

From out of the sky descended the Astro Megaship. Aboard it, the Rangers had taken their battle station and were now firing at the Ramrod.

"Hey, Mr. Wayne, I think we could use one of these," Terry said, before putting on his Batman mask.

"Maybe," Bruce replied.

"He's firing a nuclear missile at us!" yelled Tim.

"Hang on, I think I can take control of the missile's guidance system and send it into space," stated Cassie. Cassie had picked the heroes up from Gotham City. She figured she'd come along on this mission, since she knew how the Ramrod operated.

The missile's path changed, causing it to head upward into the sun.

"I'm going to try to jam the missile launchers, so it can't fire another one," Cassie said, continuing to press buttons on the Megaship's control panel.

"I'll head for the factory, and shut down the manufacturing of the other Ramrods," Batman stated.

"And we'll go down there and take on this one," the Red Ranger stated. The Rangers put on their helmets and teleported down to the street, while Batman flew out through the hanger exit.

"We need Liberty Megazord Power Now!" yelled the Red Ranger. The mighty Megazord descended from space, then the Rangers entered the cockpit, and the battle began.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Power Rangers are now battling the Ramrod. And I'm getting to safety, before one of those robots falls on me!" Lindsey Chavis stated, still trying to cover the story for CNN News.

The Ramrod hurled a few punches at the Liberty Megazord, causing sparks to emit from it.

"Okay, team, let's keep it together. Joseph, fire the Mega Missiles," Chris commanded.

The Mega Missiles struck the chest of the Ramrod, but no damage was done.

"He's charging at us!" exclaimed the Yellow Ranger.

The Liberty Megazord met the robot with a Mega Kick that knocked the Ramrod backwards.

"How about some nerve gas, Rangers," Dirk sneered as he pressed some buttons on the robot's control console.

"He's about to fire the gas," Bruce stated as he watched the battle on the Megaship's viewing screen.

"Correction, he thinks he's going to fire the nerve gas. I've just jammed all of the Ramrod's weapons," Cassie said with pride. "Hey, Chris, I'm sending you guys the information from those two disks."

"Okay, Cassie, we're receiving it now," the Red Ranger replied.

"According to the Batcomputer's analysis, the Ramrod can be destroyed by hitting it directly on the "O," written on its chest," Nick stated.

"Okay Ramrod, let's see if you can stand against the power of the Mega Chakram," the Red Ranger stated. The flying disc was tossed, and when Dirk saw it coming he transformed the Ramrod's head into an escape pod, and flew away.

On impact the Ramrod burst into flames.

"You make 'em, We'll break "em," Michelle quipped.

Batman arrived at the factory and immediately began to use his Batarangs to mess up the machinery.

"Ah, the mighty Batman. I've always wanted to test my fighting skills against yours," hissed the Shadow Ranger, as he appeared in the room.

"Take your best shot,"

The Shadow Ranger and the Dark Knight began to exchange blows, with neither man gaining the advantage. Finally, the Shadow Ranger summoned his finger blades and began to slash at Batman. Taking evasive action, the Dark Knight jumped back and then retaliated by striking the Shadow Ranger with a powerful kick, that sent the Shadow Ranger tumbling backwards into some boxes.

"Thank goodness for this suit's strength enhancements," thought Batman as he stood over the Shadow ranger.

Not willing to give up yet, the evil Ranger sprang to his feet, and fired blasts, from his hands, at the young superhero. Batman fell to the ground in pain.

The Shadow Ranger then summoned his Shadow Sabre and moved in for the kill, but Batman had one last trick up his sleeve. Once the evil Ranger was within range, the Dark Knight leaped into the air, and struck the Ranger with a spinning kick.

"I'm tired of this battle. We'll meet again," The Shadow stood up, and then teleported away.

Batman found the self destruct button for the factory, and pressed it. He then made his exit. "Consider Project Ramrod, Terminated."

As Derek Powers and Mason Hodges got into a nearby jet they saw Batman flying away.

"You've cost us a fortune!" yelled Hodges.

"I won't rest until the man behind the bat is behind bars!" yelled Powers.

"Mr. Powers, Mr. Hodges, would the two of you care to comment on tonight's events?" Lindsey asked, as she held a microphone in the faces of the two men.

"Not at the moment," Powers grumbled.

"Well can we expect another partnership between your two companies in the near future?" the reporter continued. The two men just turned and rolled their eyes at the reporter and then boarded the jet.

On a rooftop in Gotham City, the Rangers were saying their good-byes to their new friends.

"I'm sorry we got off to such a rocky start," Terry said as he and Chris shook hands.

"No problem, man, we all came together when it counted."

"Take care of yourself, Mr. Wayne," Nick stated.

"You too, Gold Ranger. All of you are noble heroes, and I wish you all the best in your battle against evil," Bruce replied.

"Hey, Terry. If you ever start feeling down, and you need someone to talk to, that's your own age, now you know that you have a brother in the world, and I'll always be willing to listen," Tim offered.

"The same goes for you, man," The two teens shook hands and then the Rangers teleported up to the Megaship, and then the ship flew away.

"So, Wayne, do you wanna give Superman a call and see how things are in Metropolis?" Terry mused.

"Very funny, McGinnis," Bruce replied, as he and his young protege looked down on Gotham City.

The End