Power Rangers Atomic Force

Ballin' the Jack

FIVE HILLS PRISON, INTERROGATION ROOM, 2:55 P.M.

The detective, an middle-aged Asian male, slammed his hand on the table.

"Talk!" he yelled at Jack.

Jack leaned forward and made an open gesture with his hands. "Ask."

The dull gray room was your stereotypical interrogation room: a long table in the middle, a single hanging light with a lampshade, and one-way glass. On the other side was Fisher, Seymour, Andrew, Gwen, Rebel, Marcus, and Rob.

"So, he stole the Vortex Gauntlet?" Seymour asked the doctor.

Fisher nodded. "From right under my nose, too."

Andrew scratched his chin and sniffed. "That would explain how he got our Morphers back so easily."

Gwen nodded as she sketched the delinquet's jawline.

"Why are you sketching him?" Rob asked softly.

Gwen dropped her notepad and blushed.

"Huh?" Gwen said, stooping down to pick up her sketchpad, scratching at her neck nervously.

Rob nodded and shrugged as he wheeled away. The detective paced around Jack, clicking his tongue.

"So, Mr. Steel, may I call you Jack?" Silence. "I've read up on you. You've got quite a track record."

Jack shrugged. "I wouldn't call it a-a track record."

The detective smirked. "Well, you've single-handedly stolen a shipment of laser blasters, a golden chandelier from the Landsdown mansion, a park fountain, twenty toilet seats, a pizza oven from Jungle Karma, and an entire house, plumbing and all." Jack started to laugh. "Pray, tell me, how did you manage to do these things?"

"You know what was even harder?" he asked with a snort.

"What?" the detective asked, obviously no amused.

"Putting them all back!"

Seymour sniggered into his hand and said, "So he did that."

"Sounds like a tractor beam combined with a bunch of other tools," Andrew thought aloud.

Gwen bit her lip and looked longingly into space. Jack looked at the one-way window, then back to the detective.

"So, why steal these things only to put them back?" the detective asked, perplexed.

Jack shrugged and folded his hands together. "The only things I've been good at are stealing and fighting. I got in trouble for fighting, so stealing seemed to be the better option."

Rebel laughed bitterly. "Yeah, and I shot Rob's legs off because I thought he looked better without them."

Marcus gave his sister a stern look. "You have no idea where he's coming from, Rebel."

Rob wheeled in between the siblings. "As much as I agree with you, Marcus, Rebel brings up a point."

"Shh!" Fisher said, holding his open hands out in a pushing motion, then pointing, "They're about to start talking again."

The detective tapped his fingers on the table, then slapped a file on the table. "Explain how you pulled those jobs."

Jack chuckled. "Anyone could've done any of them. All you need is a multi-tool and an dimension pocket."

The detective clicked his tongue and opened the folder. "You said you returned the things you stole. Why steal in the first place?"

Jack shrugged. "I grew up in a small community with nothing to entertain us kids. So, we stole from each other."

Everyone in the opposite room wore a "that-is-so-messed-up" look on their face.

"Is this real life or a dystopian novel?" Rebel asked.

Marcus nodded. "This is too Hunger Games to be real."

The detective dug his pinky in his ear and said, "I'm sorry, I thought you said you stole from your neighbors as a kid."

Jack nodded. "Well, yeah, we did. But we always returned what we stole."

At this point, the detective could feel his sanity slipping away. The Asian pulled out a pen and clicked it. "Okay. I want to know about your stealing the Vortex Gauntlet."

Jack looked down, smirked sadly. "It was an off day. My buddies had heard about this new thing that Dr. Fisher was developing. So, a buddy of mine sneak me in."

The Asian wrote down everything the African American said, then bit the end of his pen.

"And who would that be?" the detective asked.

"Pedro," he replied.

Dr. Fisher's jaw dropped in surprise. "Pedro?"

"Pedro?" the others echoed, exchanging surprised looks.

"He works as a janitor at Fisher Labs," Jack continued, twiddling his thumbs. "I snuck into the room where they were supposed to present the Gauntlet and slipped it on. Next thing I knew, I couldn't take it off. I didn't mean to steal it. It just... happened." He shrugged.

The detective stopped writing and closed the file. "Thanks for your cooperation." With that, he exited the room.

FIVE HILLS, NC 3:59 P.M.

A green Gel Shocker with a spiked head similar to the Orangeheads from SPD peeked around the corner. She gave the spikes around her upper arms and lower legs an experimental spin. Suddenly, a holographic version of Gelato appeared behind her.

"Threspoint, report!" he barked, an impatient look on his face.

The female Gel Shocker saluted and said, "Sire, the rangers are nowhere to be found. Now is an opportune time to commence Operation Blue Rinse."

Gelato nodded. "Commence. And make sure the Bio-Mines are in highly populated areas, but not in plain sight."

"Understood, master," Threspoint replied with a nod.

With that, the hologram disappeared and Threspoint produced small, gray square devices.

"Let's see the rangers handle this," she said with a chuckle, the blinking red lights on the devices lighting up her face.

FIVE HILLS PRISON, INTERROGATION ROOM 4:01 P.M.

Jack sat with his hands clasped together, eyes on the floor.

"What's this mess I've gotten myself into?" he whispered to himself.

The African American was so distraught that he didn't hear Fisher, the rangers, Marcus, and Rebel enter the room. Rob, however, hit the edge of the room's table with the his chair, causing Jack's head to fly up.

The young man looked at them, confused. "Doc, man, I thought you said you were going to give me a chance."

Fisher shook his head, a stern look on his face. "Desperate times, desperate measures."

Jack stood, licked his lips, and continued, "But I did it. I saved the rangers..."

"But you took my invention without my say-so," Fisher interrupted, face livid.

"It isn't all about you, y'know," Jack replied, pointing at the doctor.

He turned his finger to the rangers. "What about the rangers?"

The finger was then pointed at Rebel, Marcus, and Rob. "What about your other employees?"

"I appreciate my employees, though I don't often show it," Fisher replied, looking at the others.

"You show it more than you think," Rob told Fisher before turning to Marcus and saying, "Remember when you came down with a really bad case of the flu?"

Marcus chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. Doc let me and Rebel take extra sick days and helped Rebel take care of me."

The rangers huddled suddenly, much to everyone's surprise.

"You think he could be a valuable part of the team?" Seymour asked his teammates.

Andrew nodded. "There's no doubt that he can handle himself in a fight, but what about the stealing thing?"

"This could be, like, rehabilitation or something," Gwen said, "He can help us and stuff. Besides, he's just a kid. I don't want him to go to jail!"

"You bring up a good point, Gwen," Andrew said with a smirk, "Although I don't think it's because of rehabilitation."

Gwen slapped the blue ranger, who put his hand to his cheek. "How dare you!"

"I was kidding!" Andrew hissed. "Anyway, I think Gwen brings up a good point. Kid's either in jail or with us."

Seymour nodded grimly. "Yeah, I don't want this guy in prison. He's a little rough around the edges, but he'll do good."

The rangers broke their huddle and Seymour tapped Fisher on the shoulder.

"Doc, there's something we'd like to say," Seymour told him. The other two exchanged a nod.

Seymour put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Listen, kid, you have serious issues."

"But we don't want you to rot in a cell," Andrew continued.

"Plus we think you have talent," Gwen added with a warm smile.

"We want you to join us as the Vortex Ranger," Seymour said.

Fisher looked at his rangers, surprised. "What?"

Jack stood up and shook each of the ranger's hands vigorously.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" the young man said, a big smile on his face.

Gwen turned a deep scarlet when Jack shook her hand. The young woman yanked her hand away and wiped her sweaty hands on her uniform. Fisher looked his other three employees who shrugged, wide-eyed.

The doctor waved over Andrew. "Are you sure about this?"

Andrew nodded. "We'll rehabilitate him."

Fisher nodded. "Right."

Doctor Fisher exhaled heavily and put his hands on his hips. I've got to be insane for doing this.

"Alright, Jack," Fisher said, "I gave you a test and you passed. You may have stolen my device, but you put it to good use."

The doctor pulled out the deactivation chip from the Vortex Gauntlet.

"Jack, welcome to the team!" Fisher said with a slight smile. "Seymour, you are in charge of Jack."

The red ranger straightened up and said, "Yes sir!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, in charge of me?" the African American asked.

"Would you rather be in jail?" Fisher asked.

Jack shook his head.

"Then it's decided. Seymour will be in charge of your rehabilitation," Fisher replied.

Suddenly, Fisher's cell phone rang. The doctor pulled out his Blackberry and shook his head.

"This is bad," Fisher said to himself.

Seymour looked at the doctor, perplexed. "What is?"

Fisher pulled out a hologram generator and plunged it into his phone. A hologram version of Threspoint appeared on the table.

"Greetings, rangers," the Gel Shocker said. "I am Threspoint. By the time I've finished this message, you will have ten minutes until twenty Bio-Mines detonate, eradicating all life in Five Hills unless we get the Time Walker. I know that this maybe my last mission. Goodbye, humans. Goodbye, rangers."

With that, the hologram of Threspoint vanished and a ten-minute countdown appeared. The group exchanged horrified glances.

Fisher looked franticly around. "Okay, Seymour, Andrew, and Gwen, you guys engage Threspoint. Jack, there's a Banish Mode on the Vortex Gauntlet. Use it to dispose of those Bio-Mines. Rebel, Marcus, and Rob, you guys will serve as technical advisors in my absence. I will be here, dropping my charges against Jack."

"Right!" Seymour said with a nod, flipping out his Atomic Morpher and inputing the code. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Andrew, Gwen, and Jack replied, the former two inputing the code and Jack pressing the middle button.

"Atomic Scramble, Engage!" the core three shouted.

"Vortex, Intiate!" Jack shouted.

Seymour is in a nuclear reactor. The atomic structure of the uranium is displayed until it explodes. The neutrons and electrons vanish, leaving protons. The protons collide with Seymour's body causing a suit to form. The helmet is made from the remaining protons. The visor forms a plus sign.

Andrew is in a nuclear reactor. The atomic structure of the uranium is displayed until it explodes. The protons and electrons vanish, leaving neutrons. The neutrons collide with Andrew's body causing a suit to form. The helmet is made from the remaining neutrons. The visor forms a null sign.

Gwen is in a nuclear reactor. The atomic structure of the uranium is displayed until it explodes. The protons and neutrons vanish, leaving electrons. The electrons collide with Gwen's body causing a suit to form. The helmet is made from the remaining electrons. The visor forms a minus sign.

Jack is in the middle of space, surrounded by bright suns. Suddenly, a black hole opens underneath him, sucking in silver and gold light. The darkness of space forms his black suit and the silver and gold light creates silver and gold accents along with silver gloves and golden boots. Jack then dives into the black hole and comes out of the other side with his helmet on, the visor looking like a five-pointed star. He "lands" and strikes a pose.

Jack laughed. "We look awesome!"

"Save it for later," Seymour said. "Right now, we've got a city to save!"

With that, the Atomic Rangers ran off to confront Threspoint and Jack ran to locate the Bio-Mines. Rebel sighed and grabbed Rob's wheelchair.

"Let's go!" the girl yelled, wheeling Rob out of the room very quickly.

"Rebel, slow down!" the wheelchair-bound man screamed.

Marcus chuckled and ran after his sister and his best friend.

FIVE HILLS, NC 4:26 P.M.

Threspoint was chuckling to herself when she suddenly received a sharp kick in her lower back.

"Never seen a lady Gel Shocker that wasn't a General before," Seymour said mockingly.

Threspoint narrowed her eyes.

The red ranger then bowed and said, "May I have this dance?"

The Gel Shocker growled and extended her spikes.

"Guess that's a yes," Seymour said to himself, drawing his Proton Sword.

Threspoint charged, swinging with all her might. Seymour caught her blow with his sword and laughed.

"Really? Is that all you've got?" the red ranger asked.

Threspoint chuckled evilly. "You'll get a kick out of this..."

The spikes around her ankles extended and Threspoint Spartan-kicked Seymour in the gut, generating a shower of sparks. Seymour reeled back and put his hand to his stomach.

"Looks like I wasn't ready," he said.

Threspoint laughed as she approached, the spikes rotating very rapidly. Suddenly, Threspoint felt hot lasers against her back and saw a few sparks falling from behind her. The Gel Shocker twirled around to see Andrew and Gwen, the former resting his Neutron Blaster on his shoulder.

"Well, well," Threspoint said amusingly, "Looks like you all came."

Gwen drew her daggers as Andrew pressed a button on his blaster. Seymour ran his hand down his sword and then pointed it at Threspoint.

"You three are bigger fools than I thought!" the Gel Shocker yelled, cackling evilly.

With that, the three charged.

HOME DISTRICT, FIVE HILLS, NC 4:26 P.M.

Jack ran down the street frantically, attracting a lot of attention since it's not everyday you see a spandexed stranger running through a suburb.

"Okay, Jack," Rebel's voice came, "There are five Bio-Mines. And you have eight, almost nine minutes."

"However, it's a one and a half minute run to each site," Marcus added, "Don't waste time."

"Got it," Jack replied as he activated the gauntlet's Banish Mode.

Jack looked at the steps of an apartment building and noticed a faint red light blinking.

"Hello," Jack mused as he sucked up the device into space.

The Vortex Ranger nodded and said, "One down, four to go!"

With that, the new ranger then ran off.

FIVE HILLS, NC 4:32 P.M.

Threspoint slashed Andrew and Gwen across the chest and threw them to the side. Seymour was still standing, but fatigued.

"What's the matter, Red Ranger? Are you done yet?" the Gel Shocker taunted.

The red ranger flipped out his Atomic Morpher and entered 5-6-0-0-*-#-#. "Gamma Mode, Armor Up!"

The extra armor flashed on, giving Seymour his second wind. "Gamma Gyroblade!"

"Oh, the little ranger wants to play some more?" Threspoint taunted.

"Do your worst, Gel Shocker!" Seymour yelled, gyrobalde humming with energy as he charged.

BUSINESS DISTRICT, FIVE HILLS, NC 4:34 P.M.

Jack sucked yet another of the Bio-Mines. "Just one more."

"Yeah, and it turns out that Threspoint lied," Rebel reported, "You have less than twenty seconds!"

The Vortex Ranger panted nervously. "Okay, okay. Where is it?"

"It's to your left. Hurry!" Marcus yelled, making Jack clutch his head.

"A little softer, please!" Jack said, irked.

The Vortex Ranger began to run to extract the Bio-Mine, but it exploded.

"No!" Jack yelled, but the explosion began to slow down, then stopped altogether.

Jack looked at the blue flames emitting from the device and gaped underneath his helmet.

"This is so weird," Jack said to himself, half-perplexed, half-astonished.

"Yeah, it's not that easy to get used to," a voice came.

Jack turned to see a man who looked exactly like Fisher, but had platinum blond hair instead.

Jack switched his Vortex Gauntlet to Collapse Mode. "Who are you?"

"The name's Tyndall. Tyndall Fisher, but you can call me, the Time Walker," the man said with a smile.

Tyndall then snapped his fingers and the Bio-Mine reassembled. "Extract it."

Jack switched his Vortex Gauntlet to Banish Mode and sucked the Bio-Mine inside.

"Thanks," Jack said, saluting to Tyndall.

The Time Walker nodded. "I'll restart time for you. And, whatever you do, don't tell anyone my identity. I have some work to do around here."

Jack nodded. "After what you just did for me? Consider it done!"

With a nod and a finger-snap, Tyndall disappeared and Jack looked left and right.

"He's good," Jack said to himself as he ran to help the others.

FIVE HILLS, NC, 4:36 P.M.

The Atomic Rangers were in a stalemate with Threspoint, using all of their strength to keep Threspoint's spikes at bay. Suddenly, Jack ran up and blasted two black orbs at Threspoint's abdomen.

"Sorry I'm late," Jack said apologetically, "Traffic's a pain in the butt."

Threspoint growled and said, "Four? There are four?"

Seymour grunted, amused. "Allow us to introduce ourselves! Power of the Proton, Red Ranger!" Seymour struck a pose, his left foot forward, right foot perpendicular to the left, legs apart, left hand an open hand, and the right against his upper abdomen.

"Power of the Neutron, Blue Ranger!" Andrew said, also stiking a pose, left fist extended, right hand's fingers bent, palm exposed, the back of the hand parallel the right side of his helmet, both feet pointing forward, legs apart.

"Power of the Electron, Green Ranger!" Gwen yelled, striking a pose with her right leg crossed in front of the other, left hand in front of her helmet, right hand extended farther out than the left.

"Power of the Black Hole, Vortex Ranger!" Jack bellowed, striking a pose in a horse stance, left elbow bent back, left wrist bent down, fingers like he was holding a ball, right arm across his torso, right wrist bent up so that the "holding a ball" illusion was complete.

"Through the power of science, we defeat the alien foe. Power Rangers Atomic Force!" the four yelled in unison, red, blue, green, and black smoke exploding behind them.

Threspoint snapped her fingers and Gel Troopers landed on the ground.

"Get them!" she roared, the grunts charging.

"Andrew and Gwen, take care of the mooks. Jack, with me!" Seymour said, drawing his Gyroblade.

Andrew and Gwen nodded, drawing their Gyroblades, Andrew twirling his a little. Jack switched his Gauntlet to Frostbite mode and nodded. With that, the four charged.

Andrew slashed one Gel Trooper across the chest, causing it to melt into a smoldering puddle. The blue ranger then kicked a Gel Trooper behind him, twirled around, and slashed three more footsoldiers, producing more foul-smelling goop. Andrew then switched his Gyroblade to Gyro Mode and slammed it into the ground, a wave of blue energy going out in every direction, reducing the grunts to acrid gunk.

"Gotta help Gwen!" the Cherokee said to himself, running through the slime, producing splashes underneath his boots.

Gwen wasn't doing too well. The Gel Troopers were holding back her Gyroblade with their short swords. The green ranger activated her Gyroblade's Gyro Mode, cutting through the pawns, making them dissolve into putrid muck. Gwen sighed in relief only to have two more Gel Troopers rush her. Suddenly, Andrew jumped in and sliced the two assailants across the chest.

Gwen sighed and replied, "Thanks, Andrew."

Andrew twirled his Gyroblade and shoved one end into the ground. "No problem."

Gwen nodded and the two ran through the Gel Troopers to Seymour and Jack, slicing the grunts along the way.

Seymour sliced at Threspoint with his Gyroblade, which she blocked with her arm spikes.

"Jack, now!" Seymour yelled.

The Vortex Ranger dove in underneath the two's stalemate and slashed the Gel Shocker's abdomen, making the spikes on her spikes retract, freeing Seymour's Gyroblade. Quickly, the red ranger cut across the Gel Shocker's chest, causing sparks to fly. The monster flew back, clutching her stomach.

"Jack, you want to finish her?" Seymour asked.

Jack chuckled. "Sure, why not?"

With that, the Vortex Ranger pressed the inner button three times.

Jack and the monster are in the void of space. Suddenly, two neutron stars near the monsters collapse on themselves and trap the monster in place. The Vortex Gauntlet glows black and begins to whir loudly. "Vortex Collapse Beam!" Jack yells. A black ball of energy builds up in front of the barrel, then collapses on itself, forming a beam that slices the monster in half, causing an explosion.

"And boom goes the Gel Shocker!" Jack yelled as the explosion expanded.

GELATO'S SHIP 4:56 P.M.

Gelato gripped the arm rests of his seat firmly. "Biomecha, the nanites!"

The female general typed on a keyboard for a few second and clicked enter.

FIVE HILLS, NC 4:57 P.M.

The rangers watched as Threspoint grew enormous.

"Gamma Zords!" Seymour, Andrew and Gwen yelled as the three dinos rumbled through a time portal.

The Vortex Ranger pressed the inner button twice and then the outer button. "From the event horizon, Vortex Sphinx, launch!"

At the edge of a black hole rests a giant, stone-like, black, silver and gold winged cat. The zord opens its eyes and lets out a ferocious roar. It spreads its wings and flies with great speed to Earth. The earth's atmosphere causes the stone parts of the Sphinx to burn off, revealing metal. The fire subsides and the zord touches down.

The rangers boarded their respective zords.

'Gamma Zords, Combine!' the core three yelled in unison.

The Spino Zord roars, quickly echoed by the Cranio and Pentacera Zords. The Pentacera zord split in half symmetrically, then folded at the head to create the feet. The tail reassembled in a downward position, creating the pelvis. The Spino Zord's head attached to said pelvis, the spines on the front, tail swerving to create the left arm. The Cranio Zord's arms and legs attached to the main body and the zord attached to the other side creating the right arm.

The Megazord strikes a pose and the rangers proclaim, "Ancient Atomic Megazord!"

The Vortex Ranger pressed the inner button and then the outer button twice.

The Vortex Sphinx is in a black background lit dimly by stars. The zord's forepaws pivot around to form hands and the hind paws form feet. The tail regresses into the zord and the zord stands like a person. A face pivots down from inside the Sphinx's mouth and it strikes a pose.

"Vortex Sphinx, Warrior Mode!"

Threspoint extended her spikes and charged, to which the Ancient Atomic Megazord responded, the two meeting in a stalemate, their hands interlocked. The Vortex Sphinx, Warrior Mode charged Threspoint from the side to tackle her, but the Gel Shocker was ready and kicked out to the side.

"I'm not falling for the side thing twice, rangers!" she shrieked as she got the upper hand on the Ancient Atomic Megazord, slicing it with her wrist spikes.

The giant robots regrouped, both on them smoking.

"Energy's low over here, guys," Jack reported.

'Speak for yourself,' Gwen responded, rolling her eyes underneath her helmet.

'Jack, you think you can combine with us?' Seymour asked.

"No problem, bossman," Jack said, holding down both buttons.

The Vortex Sphinx's limbs separate, making armor on the limbs of the Ancient Atomic Megazord. The sphinx's torso split so that the back was on half and the crest on the other. The crest half splits in half symmetrically landing on each side of the saw part of the Megazord. The back attaches to the back of the robot, the wings folding into a resting position. The head of the sphinx makes a pharoah headdress and lands on the Megazord's head.

"Dino Pharoah Megazord!" the rangers cry as the robot strikes a pose.

Threspoint looked at the new machine, and yelled, "What?"

"Take flight!" the rangers yelled, the Megazord's wings spreading and soaring into the air.

Threspoint tried to sheild herself from the new Megazord with her arms, but the ranger used this is lift her into the air. Threspoint thrashed about trying to free herself, but the Megazord's grip was strong. Without warning, the robot released the Gel Shocker allowing gravity to deal her a heavy blow as she connected with the ground. The core three pulled out their Gyroblades and placed it on their controls and Jack held the inner button of the Gauntlet.

"Extinction Meteor!" the rangers yell as the Megazord ascends into the exosphere. The Megazord folds its wings and gets into a diving position. The gravitional pull of the planet brings the giant robot back into the atmosphere. As friction causes the Megazord to catch fire, the Megazord begins to spin, making a funnel of fire around it. As the funnel grows, the Megazord falls faster, finally hitting the monster, causing a huge explosion.

"Now that's something!" Jack said as the Megazord flew upward, landed on its feet and struck a pose.

FISHER LABS, INC. 5:29 P.M.

Jack looked around his new quarters, a room with black walls, gold trim near the ceiling, silver near the floor.

"Nice place," the African American said to himself.

Seymour nodded, then pointed to his left. "I'm right next to you, so if you need anything or just wanna chat, feel free to drop by."

Jack smirked. "Thanks."

"Oh, almost forgot," Seymour said, throwing the young man a package.

Jack opened it quickly, the tan paper falling to the floor. The African American chuckled to himself. It was a Fisher Labs uniform: a black jacket much like Operation Overdrive's, but with less pockets, stripes down the side of the arms, and the Fisher Labs logo, a capital "FL" inside a Bohr's model of the atom, on the breast pocket and matching pants with stripes going down the side of the leg. Though the traditional color of the stripes were gray, Jack's uniform had a black stripe with silver lines on each side of the stripe, followed by a gold one.

"Welcome to Fisher Labs," Seymour said, walking off so the new ranger could get comfortable.

Jack nodded and looked at his new uniform. Finally, something that was truly his. The Vortex Ranger put the uniform down and pulled out a wallet-sized picture of a woman that looked a lot like him.

"You always wanted me to stop stealin', Momma," the young man said to the picture, cupping it in his hands. "I'll do ya proud."

Trivia: There are multiple allusions in this chapter. At the beginning, the talking between the rangers, Fisher and the support characters while Jack was being interrogated is meant to seem like Mystery Science Theather 3000. Marcus mentions Hunger Games. Operation Blue Rinse is named after the nickname given to Bio-Bombs (blue rinse) in the Artemis Fowl series.