Battle Heroes X Vetera: S01E09

Tricks and Tricks is the ninth episode of the Battle Heroes X Vetera series. In the episode, the heroes must embark on a perilous quest to stop Revolutech when the void cloud touches down on Belview City.

The heroes are in for a night of thrills and danger when the void cloud touches down on Belview City.

## The Episode

It was a dark night in Belview City. The sun had since set, leaving the area in darkness until the next morning. The door to the boys’ house opened and a body cloaked in shadows quickly exited, shutting the door behind them softly. They darted away from the house and continued moving until they reached a cul-de-sac. Stepping under a streetlamp on the sidewalk revealed that the figure was in fact Cloud, looking drastically different than usual. He had on an olive-colored tank top, camouflage pants, and black boots. His face was marked with two horizontal streaks of black paint under his eyes and a camo headband was wrapped around his head.

“Now to wait for the others,” He said to himself as he took out his phone and checked the time.

Tonight was the big night. The night of Ronnie’s Halloween party. Everyone was going to be there, and he wasn’t about to disappoint in the costume department. Cloud and the others had agreed to keep their costumes a secret from each other until tonight.

”Hey, soldier,” A familiar voice said. Cloud turned around and saw a costumed Zack. He was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit with a pair of handcuffs on one of his hands. The costume was intentionally scuffed, with tears in the top revealing a white undershirt underneath. He had on a pair of black sneakers.

“Woah!” Cloud said in amazement. The soldier circled Zack, checking out every angle of his costume. “Sick duds, Zack!”

“Thanks, Cloud. Since it’s Halloween, I wanted to dedicate my costume to all the scum suckers SPD puts away. What do you think of my Bane cosplay?”

The joke sent Cloud into a bout of laughter. When he looked up, a ghost was standing behind Zack. White hair was spilled out all over their face, covering it up almost entirely save for their nose and mouth. What was visible of their skin was white as a sheet. The surprise at their appearance caused Cloud to involuntarily yelp.

“G-ghost!” He exclaimed.

Zack turned around and saw the ghost as well. While he did look surprised, his reaction was a lot tamed than Cloud’s. The ‘ghost’ was giggling at Cloud's reaction. They moved the hair in their face out, revealing the face of...

“Popple?” Zack asked, astonished.

She looked completely transformed. Gone were her glasses and yellow jacket. Instead, she wore a grey tattered dress and matching low top shoes.

“Hope I didn’t scare you guys too much,” Popple said. Cloud was still recovering.

“Nice costume, Popple!” He said while recovering. “So this is what you look like without makeup, huh?”

“I’m a Banshee, you dunce!” Popple explained. The boys drew blanks. “Y’know, the creature from Irish folklore?” Zack and Cloud shrugged. “Heralds the death of a family member?”

“I’m sticking with the no makeup theory,” Cloud stated, which led to Popple punching him in the arm.

“Well, that just leaves Julius,” Zack said.

“And Julius is here!” Julius yelled. The teens turned and saw a silhouette across the street. He walked over and when he stood under the street lamp, everyone was at a loss for words. Julius’ costume consisted of a blue shirt, blue cargo shorts, blue slippers, and the head of a blue fish. His face was entirely concealed.

“So, what do you think?” He asked, his voice emanating from the fish head.

Cloud’s speechless began to fade. “Julius...what…why?”

“I *may* have taken too long on picking a costume and just put this together tonight…”

“But Julius, this is the night of Ronnie’s Halloween party! We gotta show up and show out!”

The fish head stared at them. “...I also got my head stuck in it, so there’s no going back.” To show his point, he took both sides of the fish head and pulled up, to no avail.

Zack summoned his katana. “Lemme see if I can help with that.”

Julius put his hands up and waved them around wildly. “No no no no I’m fine like this!”

“Let’s just get going. We can’t be late for this party!” Cloud said. “Which is why C.O.L.E is gonna be taking us!”

The red Ford Mustang with white stripes backed out of the boys’ driveway and drove to the teens, parking in front of them. Everyone got in and the car started driving again, setting a route for Ronnie’s place.

“Greetings, Cloud, Zack, Popple, and ah...” The car started, but struggled to identify the last passenger. “...Is it customary to bring an uncooked fish to a Halloween party?”

...

C.O.L.E parked and the teens got out of the car. The vehicle then drove off to find a place to park around the neighborhood. They looked at Ronnie's home, which was incredibly big. The place was grey with lots of windows. A small flight of stairs led to the porch and the front door.

"It's a mansion!" Popple said in awe.

Zack nudged Cloud. "You made it, Cloud. You made it."

"I always knew this day would know. Even when the class bully in third grade gave me a wedgie, I knew that one day I would have a moment like this," Cloud said proudly as the teens got up the steps. "Game faces on, everybody. Time to look good!" Cloud knocked on the door and glanced at Julius, quickly grimacing at the sight of his fish head.

The door opened, revealing Ronnie in a red skin tight dress, devil horns on her head, and a toy pitchfork in her hand. She squealed with delight. "Heyyy, look who's here!" She kissed Cloud on the cheek then hugged Popple and Zack, much to the latter's distaste. "I love you guys' costumes!" She stopped at Julius.

"Who's this?" She asked.

"It's Julius! How's it going?" Julius asked jollily.

"Oh...yeah, it's going...fine..." She said, quieting down as she talked to him. The fish eyes stared at her blankly. She looked at Cloud nervously and whispered to him. "What's with his costume?"

"He got stuck in there, poor guy. He was supposed to be a lifeguard," Cloud whispered back. Ronnie nodded knowingly and opened the door wide. "Well, come on in!"

As the teens entered the house, they could see that a lot of people were at the party as well. Pop music was playing from speakers and the partygoer were socializing amongst each other. The main lobby had a flight of stairs to the left that led upstairs and straight ahead led to the kitchen and beyond. Between the stairs, a DJ in a pirate costume stood, controlling the music. A path to the left led to Ronnie's living room.

"So, make yourselves at home! Refreshments are in the kitchen! " She took Cloud's arm and dragged him away from the others. "I'm gonna need your help with something, soldier..." Cloud turned to the others, smiling and shrugging. Zack looked around and set his eyes on the kitchen. "Who's up for a drink?"

...

Burnell was seated on the balcony of his skyscraper headquarters, wearing a black coat, an Italian suit under it, and a pair of black gloves. He was looking through a pair of binoculars aimed at the sky. His guards surrounded him, some watching the skies as well, some surveying the area, and some working with a helicopter that was on a helipad. The machine from Nova Scotia was being secured to the helicopter. Unlike their last expedition, the guards were well-armed, with rifles and bulletproof vests for protection.

The door of the balcony swung open and every guard turned on the newcomer, weapons ready. They immediately lowered them at the sight. Burnell stopped looking through his binoculars to look and saw the void monster. Like the guards, they had also changed his attire. Gone was the torn black jumpsuit and ripped clothing. Now, they wore zirconium armor that was as black as night. A helmet now covered their face, also made of Zirconium but with the eyes being made of a white material.

“Good, you’re here. Ready to get started?”

Without answering, the monster walked to the edge of the balcony and raised both their hands to the sky. The hands glowed with purple energy and Burnell looked back up in the sky. As he maximized the zoom, he could now just faintly make out a dark purple color.

...

Back at the party, most of the party was in the lobby, packed together and dancing.

In the living room, Zack and Popple were sitting on the couch. Across from them on another couch were Cloud, Ronnie, and some other popular kids. Julius stood near the wall, drinking from a glass of red liquid. He had managed to pry open the mouth of his fish costume and inserted a straw, but was still struggling to get a sip. Finally losing his patience, he poured some of the drink it down the mouth. "Wow, this punch is good!" He quickly finished the glass and walked back to the kitchen, coming back with a full glass and pouring some more in again.

"Wow! That fish is chugging down!" Someone commented.

Ronnie turned around and saw Julius go for thirds. After he got his drink, he walked to the lobby. She drank from a soda can. "Wow, he should really chill out with all that punch..."

Zack and Popple also drank from soda cans. "Why?" Popple asked, taking a sip.

"Oh...well, I don't know about the rest of his costume. Can he get out of it to pee?"

"Woah, woah, woah! What are you doing?!" Someone yelled from the lobby.

A boy in a knight costume who was sitting with the teens laughed. "Man, this is gonna be a good night, I can feel it! Why haven't we hung out with you guys before?"

"They just got popular now!" Ronnie answered. "I remember when Cloud and I first met. He showed me his slick looking car. The rest was history..." She sighed happily.

Popple contemplated this, taking another sip of her soda. Didn't Cloud and meet in Chemistry class?

"Oh yeah! You're the guy who outraced Eugene Russo! About time someone got rid of that guy."

Zack felt a buzzing in his pocket and felt around in his pockets. His morpher. "Hold on, guys, I'll be right back."

"The prisoner's making his one call!" A popular girl in a nurse costume commented, her girl friends laughing at her joke. Zack got up and walked through a sliding door in the living room that led to the backyard and a forest behind the mansion. He jogged into the forest and when he thought he was secure enough, answered the call. "What's going on?"

The preoccupied voice of Dr. Haley answered the call. "Zack! You need to get the team together and come to SPD Base, and fast!"

"Will do. What's happening?"

Silence. "The void...it's here." The line went dead. Zack put his morpher away and jogged back to mansion and the rest of the teens. "Hey Ronnie, so sorry but the gang and I have to get home."

"Get home? But you just got here!" She said.

"Yeah, well. things changed," Zack replied. "Cloud, Popple, let's get going."

"Ronnie's right, we just got here!" Cloud added.

"The..." Zack struggled to translate the news. "Stuff. The purple stuff."

Cloud and Popple's expressions changed as they realized what Zack meant. The soldier and banshee got up. "Yeah, we gotta go now. I'll see you at school, babe."

Ronnie pouted. "Alright, babe, see ya."

Zack, Popple, and Cloud rushed out of the living room. "Now, where's Julius? Dr. Haley wants us at the base immediately.

A wild shout stopped them dead in their tracks. "HOLY SHIT VLADMIRE IS GOING WILD!!" Someone yelled.

The three teens entered the lobby and saw that space had been made in the center of the room for Julius in his fish costume. The speakers were playing dance music and Julius was in the zone, dancing like he was an expert. The whole crowd was chanting his name.

"GO JULIUS! GO JULIUS! GO JULIUS! GO JULIUS! GO, GO, GO, GO!"

"What the hell is going on here?!" Cloud shouted over the music.

"Julius is dancing?" Zack said, confused. "He can't dance. Never could!"

Julius did the wave with his arms and then finished the move with a backflip, sending the crowd into even more of a frenzy.

Zack bustled his way through the crowd towards Julius. "We have to go, Julius! The void's here!"

"I'm not going anywhere, man! I'm in the zone!" Julius replied, shoulder shimmying.

"Too bad, now's not the time!" Zack reached for him, but Julius spun out of his grasp, getting in a b-boy stance.

"Hold on a sec, brother! Are you trying to get into a dance battle?! Why didn't you just say so?!" The crowd oohed and Julius pointed at the DJ. "Play something funky!"

The DJ nodded and changed the music to something more funky. Julius nodded his fish head to the beat for a few seconds before starting off with the running man. He then shifted into swinging his arm over his head like he was swinging a lasso, and finished by doing another backflip. He got into his b-boy stance again, waiting to see Zack's moves. The other boy, however, was having none of it. He simply stepped forward, grabbed Julius by his shirt and dragged him to the door.

"Alright, alright, alright! I'm going!" He complained in protest. The crowd made way for Zack, partially out of fear. He had a dead serious look in his eyes. He opened the door and walked out with Julius still in tow. Cloud and Popple ran after them.

"So Julius, you mind telling us how you lost your mind and where we can find it?" Zack asked, shaking his shoulders. The fish head stared at him.

"It was on the dance floor, which is why we gotta go back!"

"The void cloud's coming, so stop acting weird." He let Julius go and watched as he struggled to stand upright. "Great, he can barely hold himself up. Like he's--." Zack stopped and sniffed the air. "...No way! Julius is plastered!"

As if to confirm the news, Julius let out a burp.

Cloud laughed. "Wait, WHAT?! No wonder Ronnie was worried when he was drinking all that punch!" He put his arm around Julius. "This is your first time getting drunk, and I'm honored to be here with you, bro."

Popple got between Cloud and Julius. "I hate to interrupt the moment, but this isn't exactly a good thing!" She then looked to Julius. "How much did you drink?"

"I had about...1 drink," Julius replied. "Y'know, 1 drink after another! Ha!"

The teens got to where they parked C.O.L.E. As he got in the car, Zack realized something. "What about the party? They can't be out wandering around if the void's out."

Cloud sighed. "Yeah, you're right. That means we gotta...shut it down. Only question is...who's gonna do it?"

Julius hiccupped. "I'll do it! Let me just grab my phone and..." Julius patted himself and pulled out his phone, dialing a number and putting the phone to the fish's mouth.

"Rimo's Pizza, can I take your order?"

Julius laughed. "Yeah, uh, I'll have 1 large pepperoni--"

"Wrong number, you nut!" Zack snatched his phone and hung up, dialing 911 and handing it back.

"911, what is your emergency?" The police dispatcher answered.

Julius cleared his throat, as if to try and sound sober, but he still sounded just as drunk. "Yeah, officer, I wanna let you boys in blue in on some kids...who are partying and being drunk and stuff! How do I know?" He burped. "I'm drunk and stuff!"

...

In front of the SPD Base, the teens were in their ranger armor, looking at the sky. It was tinted with purple and the clouds in the sky were also shifting to become purple.

"Eh, crap..." Zack groaned.

Dr. Haley and Dr. Koss were standing next to the white jeep from a few weeks ago. "Indeed," Dr. Haley concurred. "You need to follow after it."

"That's all?!" Cloud protested. "That thing's gonna tear Belview apart!"

"Obviously, you won't be just chasing clouds...Cloud," Dr. Koss explained. "For this mission, you'll be receiving the Delta Cruiser again."

"Ever since the first discovery of the void cloud over Earth, Dr. Koss and I have been researching its properties, searching for a way to combat it." Dr. Haley ceremonially reached into the jeep and began grunting. It seemed as if he was trying to bring something heavy out. "Hrngh...very well. Inside of the jeep, is the weapon designed to dissipate the cloud. The cloud has a core of sorts, where its energy is most concentrated. If shot at, the cloud can be destroyed."

"We're on it, Dr. Haley. We won't fail," Popple said.

The air of tension was broken by Julius letting out a loud burp. "Yeah, guys...we won't let the cloud rain on our parade!" He said, his speech slurred.

Dr. Haley and Dr. Koss looked at Julius peculiarly. "Is everything alright with him?"

"Yeah, he's just nervous!" Cloud answered quickly. "You know how Julius is when he's nervous! He starts acting weird! Heh..."

The heroes got into the jeep, with Zack in the front seat, Popple taking shotgun, and Cloud sitting in the back. Julius took two steps forward and tripped, falling down on the ground. "Owww! Oww...who left this hard ground...where anyone could just trip on it..."

Cloud got out and helped Julius up and into the car. "Man, Julius is *really* nervous!" He said to Dr. Haley and Dr. Koss. The jeep hummed to life as Zack turned it on and the four heroes began their journey after the storm.

"So, you think they suspected anything?" Cloud began.

"What, that Julius got absolutely drunk at a party before this? If the slurred speech didn't raise any alarms, the falling down sure did!" Popple said.

"Hey!" The intoxicated red ranger exclaimed. "I am *not* drunk! Wait...I am."

As they drove, they saw civilians stopping what they were doing to look up at the sky. Cyan lightning arced in the sky, the loud sound of thunder filling the air. Rain began to fall, but not the normal kind. The rain was black in color. No one was prepared for the weather to transform into something so odd.

"Alright, where's this master weapon that the scientists mentioned. Let's get it ready," Zack said as he drove. Cloud reached down and groaned. "They weren't joking, this thing's really heavy! Julius, give me a hand."

Julius reached out and put his hand on Cloud's face.

"Julius, now isn't the time! Help me pick this thing up!"

Now he reached down and together, they managed to pick up the weapon. It was a silver turbine-like cannon. Cloud laughed. "Ooh boy, another cannon! I call dibs on shooting!"

Popple turned around and saw the weapon. "You're gonna need help carrying that thing. And I don't think Julius is gonna be much help."

Zack glanced at the sky, which was now fully purple in color. A cyan mass of glowing energy caught his attention. "I think I found the weak spot. You two ready?"

The green ranger stopped the Delta Cruiser in the middle of the road, causing the people behind them to honk their horns. Popple got out and waved her hands. "So sorry! We'll be done in a moment!"

Julius got out and waved his hands as well. "Yeah! Wave 'em in the air like you just don't care!"

Cloud opened his door, holding the cannon in his lap. Popple helped him get it out and lower it to the ground. Cloud saw a red button labelled 'start' and he pressed it. The cannon raised up off the ground from a metal stand and two panels slid, revealing handles to hold the cannon and aim it. Cloud grabbed them and tilted the cannon up at the sky.

"Alright, guys. Take one last look at the void, 'cause like I said, this void thing is screwed. SCREWED I TELL YOU!" Cloud pressed two buttons on the cannon and it fired a blue cannonball composed of energy at the sky. As everyone looked up, they watched in surprise as the weak spot of condensed energy dissipated and made an open hole in the sky, causing the cannonball to miss its target and go soaring away and out of view. The opening in the sky then closed up. Julius, Zack, Cloud and Popple stood, speechless.

"Hey, uh, what just happened?" Cloud finally said.

Thunder filled the air and the clouds began to gather in one place on the horizon. Once they conglomerated, they spun around each other, creating a funnel. The top of the funnel was cyan and as time progressed, the cyan travelled through the funnel, until it came out of the slim end and dropped through. The sky had returned to normal, for the moment. The crowd began to panic.

"What's happening?!"

"Where did it go?"

As soon as the cyan piece broke off from the funnel, the whole thing collapsed and fell to the ground. Popple turned to the crowd. "Alright everybody, don't panic! We need all of you to disperse and find somewhere safe to hole up!"

"Why? What's going to happen to us?"

Popple looked back at the horizon and gazed upon an entire wall of void about to blanket over everyone. There was no time to do anything, just watch as it cloaked everything in utter darkness.

...

When she came to, the entire world had been changed completely. The sky was a bright purple hue and covered by the void. The smog expanded even beyond the horizon. The ground around them was filled with a darker purple fog, closer to the color of the void cloud. *Is this, the cloud?*

"Popple?" A distant voice called out. Cloud. Shaking her head, she got up and called back. "Cloud, I'm here!"

Through the fog, Popple could make out the outline of someone. Cloud rushed through. "You okay?"

'Yeah...I'm fine..." She looked behind him. "Where are Zack and Julius?"

"Right..." A hiccup. "Here!" Popple and Cloud looked down and a red armored hand rose from the fog. Cloud took it and helped Julius up. "Someone farted, because there's gas everywhere!"

"You still haven't sobered up?!" Cloud complained, shaking his shoulders.

The last one to get up was Zack. "It wasn't a fart, Julius, but something sure hit the fan."

"The scientist's master weapon was a total flop!" Cloud said.

Zack crossed his arms. "Yup. They studied this stuff for what, since the end of the summer? How could this happened?"

"Because everything they know, is wrong."

All four heroes turned around to see someone step out of the void. It was the void monster. "The ones who you put your trust in failed."

Zack, Cloud and Popple prepared for combat, summoning their respective weapons. Julius looked at his teammates and got into an exaggerated kung-fu stance.

"You've got a lot to answer for," Zack said angrily.

"Yeah! Like who hooked you up with that armor?" Julius piped in. The others stared at him.

Zack pointed his katana at the monster. "Alright, here's the plan. Popple, Cloud, restrain him. I'm tearing this thing apart."

"Something tells me you have more important things to deal with." The monster stated, gesturing around it.

Even thought the heroes had their eyes on the monster, their ears began to pick up an alien sound all around them. It sounded like intense groaning. More and more outlines in the fog emerged. The heroes finally broke their focus from the monster and looked around them. Coming out of the fog now were humanoid creatures with dark purple skin and pulsating veins. Popple figured things out first.

"Oh...oh no." She could only utter, looking around herself. The creatures were actually the very citizens of Belview City!

Without warning, Zack lunged forward, swinging his katana. The void monster leapt back and retreated into the fog, leaving Zack to slash at thin air. The fog thinned our slightly and the heroes watched as the horde of void-possessed citizens began to take notice of them and inch forward. The heroes stood back to back.

"Woah! They're like zombies!" Cloud brought up. "How're we gonna deal with them?"

"Even though they're infected, they're still innocent people!" Popple pointed out. The citizens' amble accelerated and turned into a full on jog. Zack noticed that in his direction, there was a small opening through the horde. "Follow me!" He yelled, running through. The others rans after him and the possessed citizens gave chase.

Julius looked behind at the mob. They looked as if they had devolved, some even moving on all fours, or trying to. "Aw, geez! What do they want with us?"

"Remember the shark? Same thing!" Popple answered. Fortunately for the heroes, they discovered the Delta Cruiser through the fog. "Everybody in!"

Everyone got in and Zack started the engine, driving away from the crowd. Their troubles weren't over yet, however. Up ahead, another horde was charging at them as well. Zack hit the brakes and the jeep screeched to a halt. The heroes were completely surrounded.

"I don't think we have much of a choice now," Zack said grimly, looking around.

"Oh, man...I gotta go to the bathroom!" Julius also looked around frantically and locked his vision on a building to the right. "Can we stop there?" The heroes followed his finger and saw that he was pointing at a multi story parking garage building they were right next to. Zack turned the jeep to the right and drove through, entering the garage.

"Wait, we're actually taking a bathroom break?!" Cloud yelled incredulously.

"Julius might've been on to something...somehow," Zack yelled back, making a turn. The possessed were roaring and groaning in the rearview. Up ahead, Zack saw an elevator. "Alright, here's the deal, when we get close, you three hop out and call the elevator car!"

He slowed the jeep down and the three hopped out, running to the elevator and clicking on a high floor number. Zack slowed down and made a hard turn, parking the jeep directly in front of the elevator. The horde picked up speed as Zack hopped out. The door opened and everyone rushed inside. Cloud mashed the close button.

"Come on come on COME ON!" He urged the elevator to close sooner. A void possessed citizen lunged at the heroes, just as the elevator close. Behind the now closed door, the heroes could hear their screeches. The sound of metal being scratched reverberated inside of the elevator for a few moments before fading away. The heroes relaxed a little, enjoying their moment of freedom.

"So...I still gotta go to the bathroom!" Julius announced.

...

The elevator had delivered the heroes to the roof, which looked completely different compared to the ground level of the city. Outside of the purple tint, the night could almost pass as normal. The fog didn't reach the roof and the heroes were taking advantage of this, surveying the fog covered city via the vantage point. Julius sat on the edge, looking down at the fog. Zack, Cloud, and Popple were trying their morphers to get into contact with anyone from SPD.

Zack moved his morpher from his head. "No luck. We're completely alone out here. Wonderful, not only did the scientists mess up, they also aren't taking our calls."

"Might have something to do with the void," Popple offered.

Cloud, who was sitting on the hood of a car, got up and walked over to the others. "Speaking of which, what the negative ranger mentioned had me thinking."

Zack and Popple turned to him, confused. "Negative Ranger?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah! I came up with the name when I saw that fancy armor of his."

"Ooh, Negative Ranger. I like the sound of that," Julius called out from the edge.

Zack shrugged. "Well, we gotta call it something. Go on, Cloud, what about what they said?"

"They said everything we know about the void is wrong. But how? What don't we know?"

"Sounds like a job," Julius burped. "...For the scientists." He stood up and he transformed back into his normal form, the fish costume. "Now if you'll excuse me..." Zack, Cloud, and Popple's ears picked up the sound of liquid being released.

"Belview City, expect a light drizzle!" He said in a mock formal tone, cracking himself up and laughing.

"Ew." Popple said, turning away.

"I think I'm starting to get used to drunk Julius," Cloud said, laughing.

After he finished, he took his morpher and morphed back. "Hey, guys? Great news! The fogs getting sucked away!"

The others went to the edge and saw that the fog was creeping at a slower pace north.

"Team, we've got a good samaritan on our hands. Doing the cleaning for us!"

"I have a feeling that following the fog will lead us right to the Negative Ranger," Zack inferred. Next to the parking garage was another shorter building. Zack walked backwards to the middle of the garage roof and began to sprint back. Once he got to the edge, he leapt off, sailing through the air and landed on that roof. He turned around and motioned for the others to follow. Cloud and Popple did likewise and landed on the building. Julius, however, face planted on the roof.

"I'm serious, who keeps putting this ground here?!" He said angrily. "Oh, hey! A nickel!"

...

Indoors, Burnell was pacing around a large room filled with generators. "Where is he? Where is he?!"

Above the CEO, the heroes observed from a window on the roof. Cloud groaned. "Revolutech's here too?!"

"Of, course, isn't it obvious? They're working together to gather more of the void for Revolutech to use."

Above on a catwalk, a shadowy figure dropped down right in front of Burnell. The Negative Ranger. "What do you want?"

"We had agreed that the Prometheus-1 was to land *directly* on this power plant!"

"Things changed."

"When I save the people of this city, I want them actively seeing it!" Burnell pinched his temple.

"The effects are mostly harmless. They may be driven into a small frenzy, but it's not important."

"They better. In the meantime," Burnell pointed at his people. "Start sabotaging the plant. In the new age of Prometheus, there can be only one ruler."

The heroes began to converse with each other. "So that's the end game? Force the city to use the void as power so they can get rich," Zack said bluntly.

"We gotta stop them! But how?" Cloud said.

They sat and pondered things. Groaning in the distance could be heard. "Wait, what the Negative Ranger said to Burnell. Obviously, the void didn't put the people into a small frenzy. Could we use that to our advantage?" Popple chimed in.

"Yeah...yeah, we could!" Cloud pounded his fist into his palm and got up. "All those people out there want some fresh meat, right? How about we give it to 'em? Then Revolutech is gonna have to run away!"

Zack offered his fist to Cloud and the friends fist bumped. "Now that's some good thinking. In the meantime, I'm gonna get in there and try to hold them off from destroying everything. One of you could come with me."

Everyone looked at Julius, who was looking through the window. "Can't this thing change channels?" Who would have to take him?

"PoppleIsuggestyoutakeJuliuswithyouandgoherdthezombiestogetherthanks!" Cloud blurted out. "Zack and I can deal with things indoors!"

"Yeah, it's for the best anyway. He's still drunk and everything," Zack got up and motioned for Cloud to follow. "We're gonna go find an entry point." The two walked to the edge of the roof and began to climb down.

Popple sighed and looked at Julius. "How're you doing? Feeling a little sober, or still drunk?"

He hiccupped. "Yes."

"Alright, look, just follow me. We need to stick together," She commanded, walking to the other edge and slowly climbing down. Julius staggered after her and also climbed down.

...

Cloud and Zack crept along a catwalk in the power plant, looking down below. The building was filled with darkness, save for the flashlights of the Revolutech men. The guards were at work tampering with the machinery. Two were directly under them, using a wrench to dismantle something. The other guards were dispersed father away from them. Zack pointed below, then to the right. Cloud nodded and the two climbed over the rail and hung over the two guards. Together, they dropped behind them and quickly dispatched them by grabbing them, covering their mouths and delivering a hard strike to the head. They retreated back into the darkness, right before another three guards flashed their lights where they had heard noises.

"What the hell?! Someone's here?!" One of them exclaimed.

Something sailed overhead and landed in the darkness behind them. The guards' vision snapped to behind them.

"I'm gonna see what that was," One of the guards said, creeping towards the object. Finally, he found the object in the darkness and picked it up. A wrench. From behind, the guard heard commotion from behind. He quickly ran out and saw that the guards he was with were nowhere to be seen. "Alright, what's going on here?! Come out!" He withdrew his pistol. "I got a gun!"

From the darkness, a bolt of energy shot out and shot the pistol out of his hand. The guard grasped his hand and could only watch as Zack rushed out of the shadows and took him out with his fists.

Meanwhile, Popple and Julius wandered the streets of the city, careful as to not be detected early. She crept from behind a corner and looked to her left and right before signaling Julius to follow.

"Hehe...ha!" He uttered.

"Shhh!" Popple put her finger to where her mouth would be on her helmet. Up ahead, it looked like the void-possessed citizens were turning on one another. They hissed and shoved each other around.

"That doesn't look good. Are they fighting each other now because there's no one else around?"

"Makes them more likely to follow us! Time to make us some new friends!" Julius suggested, skipping in their direction. Popple noticed this and reached out to grab him, but wasn't fast enough to stop him. "Julius! Julius!" She furiously whispered. There was no stopping, he was going to jump the gun and ruin the plan! Unless...

"Julius! When we were dealing with the shark, what did you think I said instead of chum?" This caused him to stop dead in his tracks.

"Did you mean to say c--"

Julius shook his head and body wildly. "Dah! Duh...doo...dah!" To her fear, the possessed stopped hissing at each other and looked at Julius. However, they didn't go after him.

"Goo gah gee...Popple...Popple!" He continued to move erratically. Soon, his sounds prompted others to take notice and move towards him. However, they still didn't go into a frenzy.

"Julius, keep doing what you're doing!" Popple told him.

"I'd do that, but I have no idea what I'm doing!" Julius exclaimed, slowing down. The creatures responded by beginning to hiss and he quickly started moving again. More and more began to come out of the woodworks.

"Follow me!, slowly!" Popple gestured for him to follow and crept low to the ground, walking away. Julius slowly hopped after her and the possessed miraculously didn't snap, they simply followed.

...

Back at the power plant, Zack and Cloud now stood over another group of downed guards.

"Where are Popple and Julius?" Cloud asked. "They should be here by now?"

"We gotta keep going, we can't let the city be out of power."

"Yeah, I know, but we've been beating these guys up for a while!" One of the guards behind them groaned and tried getting up, but Cloud turned around and punched him back down, knocking him out.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about anything at all." The sounds of guns clicking caused Zack and Cloud slowly turn around to see Burnell and his guards. The guns had their guns aimed at them. Standing next to the CEO was the Negative Ranger.

"Hands up! On your knees!" One of the guards barked out. The two heroes slowly put their hands up and got on their knees.

"So, these are the ones who've been giving us trouble," Burnell began, looking them up and down.

"They look like two pieces of candy," One guard commented, soliciting others to laugh.

"Well, these 'pieces of candy' managed to knocking a few of your colleagues." Burnell looked at the Negative Ranger. "What were you exact words when we encountered the red one? Deal with them, do us both a favor. The rest of you, finish the job.

The Negative Ranger clenched his fists and stepped forward and Zack and Cloud stood their ground. Burnell watched intently. Suddenly, a guard ran out from behind Burnell. "Sir, we have a problem!"

Burnell sighed and turned around. "Now what?! Do I have to do everything for you?!"

"Sir, there's something wrong, there are people coming!"

"Yes, it was mentioned that some people would be in a small frenzy. I see no problem."

"More like a mob! they're running straight towards here!"

"Give me your walkie-talkie," Burnell commanded. The guard reached into his pocket and handed it to Burnell, who started talking immediately. "Eye in the sky, what's going on up there?"

After some static, another man responded. "It looks like...there are people down on the ground! They're being led by two people in the front. And...they're heading straight towards the gates of the power plant!"

One of the security guards stepped forward, gripping their pistol tightly. "Need us to do some cleaning up, boss?"

The others stepped forward with their own weapons. "Just give us the word and we'll deal with this."

"No, we aren't shooting anything, got it?" Burnell responded sharply. "We have to go. If anyone was to find out we were here sabotaging the plant, it would ruin me." He began talking into the walkie talkie. "Land the helicopter on the roof."

"What about these two. Are we at least popping them?" Someone asked, pointing their rifle at Zack.

Burnell pointed behind himself with his thumb. "We don't have time. Get to the roof and prepare to get out of here." He tossed the walkie talkie to the guard and they all began to clear out. Two of the guards shoved Zack and Cloud to the ground and gave them a kick before following after the others.

"I have plans for this city, and I suggest that you stay out of our way. Consider this your first and only warning from me." He looked at the Negative Ranger, who had been quiet since the announcement of the mob. With that, he turned walked away without another word, the Ranger following close behind. Zack and Cloud remained where they were on the ground. They could hear the sound of a helicopter touching down, then the sounds of the propellers becoming fainter and fainter. There was complete silence for a few minutes.

Zack got up and looked around cautiously. "C'mon, Cloud. Let's get to the roof and find Julius and Popple."

Cloud nodded in agreement and they made their way to where they had first entered. Climbing back through the window, they returned to the roof. Julius and Popple were up there as well. Popple was standing near the edge of the roof, looking down, while Julius sat on the ground, head in his hands. Zack and Cloud walked over.

"Now that we scared Burnell off, we gotta deal with all those possessed people," Zack stated.

"Uh, guys? I don't even think we need to do that..." Popple said, beckoning them to look below. They looked down and saw the crowd of people Julius and Popple had lured to the power planet. However, they weren't hyper-aggressive or attack each other. Now, they were writhing on the ground. The air was filled with the sound of their cries. Purple smoke was being released from their bodies, as if an evil spirit was being exorcised from their bodies. Looking up, the heroes noticed their surroundings transforming as well. The purple hue and smog that had been encompassing the city when they entered the power plant...was fading away. Almost as if a spell had been case. The four could now make out the night sky. The void was fading away into nothingness midair. The cries of the people diminished, until things almost seemed normal once more. They looked to be back to their normal selves, albeit very dazed and confused.

The heros' morphers buzzed and they answered the call immediately.

"Hello? Hello?" Dr. Haley's frantic voice began.

"We're here, Dr. Haley," Popple responded.

"Oh, thank goodness, we've been trying to get to you since--"

"Since your 'weapon' against the void turned out to be a complete dud? Yeah, figured." Zack said dryly.

Silence. "...We've dispatched an aerial rescue vehicle to your location," The scientist finished quickly. "We'll talk more once you've returned. Haley out." The line went dead.

"Mission accomplished, huh?" Cloud said with a positive tone in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"This mission sure is something, but it isn't over. Not by a long shot," Zack said, putting a foot on the ledge and looking up at the now normal night sky.

Julius sprung to life and ran to the edge of the roof. Deactivating his helmet, the others could hear him throwing up. Once he finished, he laid back on the ground, groaning.

"Ohhh...I feel *awful*...." He let out, holding his stomach.

Not that far in the distance, a helicopter was making its way to the roof.