A/N: I'm finally writing into season two! I'm also changing up this scene so instead of Blaze and Devon, it'll be Blaze and Trent. Enjoy the chapter!

edited on march 28th, 2022 @ 4:26am

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Months after Evox's "defeat" . . .

𝓣𝚁𝙴𝙽𝚃

I WAS CURRENTLY AT RIPTIDE GYM as I wore a black tank top with gray sweatpants. I was currently sparring with Blaze while Devon stood to the side and watched. Blaze eventually knocked me down with the wooden sword.

"Are you sure you're a ninja, Trent?" Devon teased, walking over to us.

"I let him win." I stated, causing both Blaze and Devon to laugh before Blaze helped me up off the ground.

"Those fighting tips worked really well." Blaze said. "You're a good teacher, Trent."

"Hey, anything for a friend." I nudged him a little as Devon, Blaze and I walked up to the television.

"Due to its success in Coral Harbor, the whole world is embracing Morph-X technology. France's new Morph-X tower will bring unlimited energy to Paris." Mayor Daniels was saying as Blaze patted Devon on the back.

"It's just the latest addition to our growing network that will soon circle the globe." Mayor Daniels concluded.

"Another tower. It's really happening." Devon commented.

"All thanks to your team." Blaze told him.

"With the threat of Evox gone, it's my honor to help the world achieve clean energy one tower at a time. Earth will be greener and more peaceful than ever thanks to Grid Battleforce and the Power Rangers."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"Okay, time for target practice." Zoey informed as her, Ravi, and I picked up the Beast-X Blasters.

"Beast-X Blast!"

The three of us fired at the targets that were set up in front of us.

Ben, Betty, and Devon ended up falling over as Ravi, Zoey, and I placed our blasters down and went to help them.

"You guys okay?" Ravi asked.

"Yeah."

"Yeah. We'd better, uh. . . Let's go, Ben."

Ben and Betty left as Nate entered with a cart, followed by Dacoda. "Hey, everyone." Nate greeted.

"Hey, Nate. Where's Steel? It's not like him to miss training." Ravi said.

"I haven't seen him today. I've been pretty busy. Zoey and Dacoda have been helping me work on this project. Check it out." Nate responded, removing the glass. "I've decided to call this the Beast-X Ultra Blaster. Wanna try it out?"

"Sure." Ravi replied as Nate reached in and grabbed the blaster out of the case.

"It's not only more powerful than your Beast-X Blasters, but it's also got rapid fire, just in case anyone tries to come after our Morph-X again." Nate informed.

"Let's give it a try." Ravi said as the blaster powered up and fired. It ended up being out of control as it was hitting the wall. We all tried to control the blaster until it finally stopped. Nate took the blaster from Ravi's hands.

"Sorry. Just a small stabilizer malfunction." Nate stated.

"Small?!" Ravi repeated. "That's an understatement."

"It's got the power we want!" Zoey pointed out.

"Yeah. I'd hate to be that wall." Devon commented.

"You and me both." I agreed as we all sighed.

"Guys!"

Steel ended up coming in the room with a whiteboard. "I have an urgent announcement! It's very bad news. Evox is back." He announced.

"What!?" Ravi exclaimed.

"He is?" Devon questioned.

"How do you know?" Nate asked.

Steel turned the board around. "Once you look at the evidence, it's obvious. Listen, I've been doing the research for weeks now. I've found some pretty troubling stuff. Look, I know it's a lot to take in. Even I was lost for words." He explained as Zoey walked up to the board.

"Hmm. So, this is your evidence?" Zoey questioned, grabbing a piece of a newspaper article that was on the board.

"Precisely. Exhibit one— remember that Morph-X tower spill in Sector Lima-3-2?" Steel asked as we nodded. "It's all cleaned up! I checked the logs. No clean-up crews were ever assigned. That's a hundred tons of Morph-X unaccounted for. It must have been stolen."

"No, no, no. My Dad said it was taken care of. He's the Mayor, he'd know." Devon informed.

"Even mayors can make mistakes, Devon. We have to investigate!" Steel exclaimed.

"Ah, I think I know what's going on." I stated, causing everyone to look at me. "Steel, my good friend, you have something what I like to call post-Ranger syndrome."

"Post-Ranger syndrome?" Devon repeated.

"It means Steel misses fighting the bad guys, so he's looking for evidence on Evox's return. Which might I add, is impossible." I explained.

"Trent makes a valid point." Nate agreed. "Steel, Evox is gone. We destroyed him. You were there."

"Underground lizard people? Earthquake machines? These are ridiculous." Nate continued on.

"I dunno. Some of these things seem kind of legit. But you can't get obsessed." Zoey informed.

"I'm not. I'm sure I'm right." Steel denied.

"You need to have proof." Ravi told him.

"Enough with the conspiracy theories." Devon added on.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not." Devon countered. "My dad's back on town. It's been ages, and I can't wait to see him."

"That's enough training for today." Ravi said as Steel groaned in frustration.

"Proof, huh?" Steel mumbled to himself, taking a photo off the board. "Hmm. I think I know just what to do."

"You guys go. I've gotta get this stabilizer fixed. It's gonna take a while." Nate informed.

"I have a suggestion for tomorrow's training." Steel suddenly spoke. "How about a run through the woods?"

"Sounds good." Nate replied.

"Yeah, some fresh air would be nice." Devon agreed.

"Fantastic! See you in the morning, then." Steel said.

"Bye, Steel." Zoey bid farewell to him.

"Coda, how about I take you out for some ice cream while I give Aiden a call?" I suggested.

"All right." Dacoda agreed as he followed me out.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Dacoda and I were sitting at a picnic table as he ate his ice cream. "So, Steel thinks Evox is back even though you defeated him?" Levi was saying on the other line.

"Yeah. Like I said. Post-Ranger syndrome." I stated, causing Levi to let out a chuckle.

"What if he's right though?"

"Aiden, don't tell me you actually believe his nonsense."

"I'm just saying, we thought the fight was over when we defeated Galvanax, right?" Levi questioned, making me hum in reply. "Not to mention, you and Dacoda said you felt like something was off, when has your intuition ever been wrong?"

"Almost never." I responded. "It was apart of being a ninja."

"Got that right." Levi agreed. "What I'm saying is, don't doubt him, okay? He seems pretty smart, despite being a robot."

I smiled before bidding farewell to Levi and hanging up the call.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The next day, I was with the others as we were walking into the woods. "What an awesome morning!" Zoey commented.

"Isn't that the Lima-3-2 tower—the one that leaked?" Devon asked Steel.

"Indeed it is. Very observant, Devon." Steel responded.

"Let's go!" Ravi exclaimed as we all chuckled and began running off.

We all ran through the woods. "Hold up, guys! I think it's time for a break." Steel called out as we all stopped.

"Sounds good." Ravi agreed. "Man, look at this scenery."

"Guys, check this out. Does this person look familiar?" Steel questioned, holding up a photo towards Nate.

"Um, not really." Nate replied.

"Okay, Devon. What about you?" Steel asked, showing the picture to Devon next.

"Uh, what person? You mean that blurry shape?" Devon questioned in confusion.

"Really? Clearly, it's Evox's right-hand man Scrozzle." Steel informed.

Nate sighed. "Not again." He muttered.

"It was taken here two days ago. I found it "online", so it must be true!" Steel stated.

"That's why you brought us here?" Zoey asked in disbelief.

"Maybe." Steel answered.

"Stop this already. Scrozzle's toast." Ravi said.

"Steel, remember me telling you about Victor and Monty? The two idiots I went to high school with that made the fake monster repellent?" I questioned.

"I don't follow. . . where are you going with this?" Steel questioned.

"What I'm trying to say is, don't believe everything you see online. It can be very misleading." I responded.

"I think this is your Scrozzle." Devon informed, walking over to a tree stump. "It just got overgrown."

Steel groaned. "Impossible! Listen, there's gotta be some other clues." He began looking around. "Um, like, like. . . A-ha! Footprints! You can't deny that a robot made these."

"Those are your footprints, Steel." Nate pointed out.

"Huh?" Steel lifted up his foot. "Oh, well, there may be some resemblance, but. . ."

"No buts. You can't go around making wild claims without any proof." Nate interrupted.

"Okay. Fine. I'll do this myself." Steel claimed as he walked away.

"Come on, Steel, where are you going?" Devon asked.

"To find proof! Since you seem to love it so much." Steel responded.

"Steel, don't go!" Zoey called out to him before sighing.

"I think we hurt his feelings." Nate stated.

"We were being a little harsh on him." I pointed out.

"Yeah, better go after him." Ravi agreed as we all followed after Steel.

"Steel!" Nate called out his name.

"The trail's gone cold." Ravi informed.

Devon, Nate, and I continued calling out for him. "What's this?" Zoey asked, gesturing to some footprints.

"Robot footprints! He must have gone. . . this way." Nate answered. "Come on!"

The five of us appeared behind some bushes. "Unbelievable." Nate commented, not believing what he was seeing — which was Tronics gathering Morph-X. "Steel really was on to something."

"Hurry up with the Morph-X. Otherwise Evox will blast you to bolts." I heard Scrozzle's voice say.

"Steel was right. Evox is back." I informed.

"Get a move on, Tronics!"

"Another drilling Robotron. Oh no. Looks like the Morph-X tower leak was no accident." Nate pointed out.

"And it wasn't cleaned up. It was stolen." Devon added on as his wrist comm beeped. "Come in, Commander."

"Devon, how's the training run?" Commander Shaw asked.

"Scrozzle and a Robotron are in the woods. They're stealing Morph-X for Evox." Devon replied.

"What? Are you sure?" Commander Shaw questioned.

"Positive. We'll get more intel and be in touch." Devon confirmed.

"Put the Zords on standby." Commander Shaw ordered.

"Copy that."

"The Morph-X is ready for teleportation." Drilltron 2.0 informed.

"This day is going to be great!" Scrozzle exclaimed as he laughed.

We all rushed forward to intervene. "Really? Well, we're about to ruin it." Devon countered. "It's morphin' time!"

We all pressed our wrist comms as our morphers appeared. "Activate Beast Power! Ha!" We shouted as we morphed.

"Unleash the Beast!"

"And that's my cue to get out of here." Scrozzle said as he disappeared along with the Morph-X.

"No! The Morph-X!" Zoey shouted.

"That's the least of your worries!" Drilltron 2.0 claimed as the Tronics headed for us.

We all began fighting the Tronics as a threw some kicks in while laughing. All of us eventually regrouped.

"Whoa. It's as tough as the last Drilltron." Nate informed.

"I'm just getting started." Drilltron 2.0 claimed as he sent an attack through the ground, making us collapse to the ground. "Now seize them!"

The Tronics headed towards us. "You know the drill, Rangers. It's time for destruction." Drilltron 2.0 continued on.

"Not a chance!" Ravi said as we all struggled under the Tronics grip.

"Let go!" Zoey exclaimed.

"And now to finish you!"

"Hey, drill head!" Steel's voice was heard as Drilltron 2.0 turned around.

"Activate Beast Power!" Steel shouted out as he got covered in silver mist and morphed. "Striker Beast Blast!"

Steel fired at Drilltron 2.0, sending him off flying into the air. He fired at the Tronics next as they got destroyed.

"Steel!" Devon shouted.

"I heard the fight from the woods and came as fast as I could!" Steel informed.

"You were just in time." Ravi told him.

"Steel, we've gotta talk. We need to say that. . ." Zoey began before she was interrupted by Devon's wrist comm beeping. "Huh?"

"What's up, Commander?" Devon asked.

"A Gigadrone detector just activated. Zords are en route, but it's about to land. . . right where you're standing." Commander Shaw replied.

"What? Right here?" Devon questioned as we looked up at the sky to see a green sphere. "Incoming! Look out!"

We all moved out of the way just in time. "Whoa. That was close." Zoey commented.

"No way!"

"Let's check it out. Come on." Devon said as we all rushed to the hole.

"The leaked Morph-X is still underground." Nate pointed out. "That Gigadrone must be drilling down to steal it. We have to stop it."

"I just knew something like this would happen." Steel commented.

"You should've minded your own business, Rangers, 'cause you won't be able to dig yourselves out of this fight." Drilltron 2.0 stated.

"Zoey, Trent, and I can handle the Robotron." Steel informed.

"You guys stop the Gigadrone!" I added on.

Zoey, Steel, and I headed for the Robotron. "I think I have an idea. Nate, is it possible for the Wrecker Zord's crane to lower my Zord into the hole?" Devon questioned.

"Yes. Theoretically." Nate replied. "Commander, we've got a crazy plan."

Zoey, Steel, and I were busy fighting Drilltron 2.0. "Okay, Ravi, you stand guard while we do this." Devon informed.

"Roger that."

"Here we go." Nate said. "Extending Wrecker crane arm."

The crane then extended. "Ready to do this, Cruise?" Devon questioned.

"Sure am!" Cruise replied.

Devon's Zord grabbed onto the crane as Nate began lowering him down. Two Gigatronics headed up from the hole.

"They're Gigatronics!" Smash exclaimed.

"We gotta stop them." Ravi said.

"I can't defend myself. Not with Devon still on my hook." Nate stated. "Ravi?"

"Yep, we're on it." Ravi responded as he began fighting the Gigatronics.

Devon finally landed on the ground. "Wow, that's a lot of Morph-X." He stated.

"It's everywhere. We can't let the Gigadrone get it." Cruise informed.

"But where is it?"

As if answering him, Devon suddenly got attacked. "I think we just found it." He said. More Gigatronics soon appeared.

Zoey, Steel, and I continued fighting with the Robotron. "Beast Slash! We're not finished with you." Steel exclaimed.

Ravi was still fighting the Gigadrones to prevent them from heading towards Nate.

"I can hold them back."

"Great." Nate said. "Devon?"

"Might be a while, guys." Devon answered.

Zoey, Steel, and I got thrown to the ground as Drilltron 2.0 laughed. "Say goodbye!" He said.

"No thanks!" Steel said, moving out of the way just in time for the drill to connect with a tree.

Zoey and I headed to attack but got thrown to the ground instead.

Devon was busy fighting his own battle underground. "Oh no! Our Morph-X levels are dropping!" Cruise informed.

"Don't worry. I've got a plan. Nate, lower your hook again!" Devon said as Nate did so.

Devon grabbed onto the hook as he swung it around, hitting the Gigatronics in the process. The hook connected to the Gigadrone as Nate reeled him up.

"Transport Beast X Blaster!" Zoey and I shouted in unison as the three of us fired at Drilltron 2.0.

"Cannon ready!"

"Saber charged!"

"Beast-X Cannon Blast!" Zoey and I exclaimed, firing at the Robotron.

"Striker Beast Slash!" Steel shouted, slashing at Drilltron, finally destroying him.

"Ha! Beautifully done, Steel." Zoey complimented.

"Now we'd better go help the others." I stated.

"They need air support. Time to take it to the sky." Steel said. "Commander, deploy the Jet, Chopper, and Airplane Zords."

"Perfect. Let's fly!" Zoey said.

Zoey and I arrived just in time before the Gigatronics attacked Nate.

"Thanks, Zoey, Trent." Ravi said.

"Phenomenal timing!" Nate complimented.

"Thought we'd make an entrance." Zoey said. "Ready, Jax?"

"Finally, a little action!" Jax exclaimed. "Let's do this!"

"Ha! Great!" Zoey said. "Jackrabbit Mode!"

Zoey attacked the two Gigatronics once more with the help of Ravi. They ended up cheering.

Devon used his sword to slash the Gigatronics underground. "Transport Cheetah Beast Blaster!" He shouted out as the blaster appeared in his hands.

"Racer Zord, Cheetah Strike!" Devon shouted as the two Gigatronics were defeated.

"Whoa. Looks like I've caught a big one." Nate claimed.

"I'll help you." Steel said as he took Drilldrone off of Nate's crane.

"Let's put you back in the ground." Nate said, heading for Drilldrone. "Target locked. Wrecker Zord bazooka blast!"

Nate fired at Drilldrone until he finally exploded. "Virus eliminated! We did it." Nate cheered.

"Great job, everybody!" Steel praised.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"The crew has already been taken care of the Morph-X spill." Devon announced once we were back at Grid Battleforce.

"Glad to hear it. Have you found Evox's base?" Commander Shaw asked.

"No, ma'am. I ran a scan of the Cyber Dimension. As far as I can tell, it's deserted— no sign of Evox. They're hiding somewhere else." Nate responded.

"So we don't even know where that Gigadrone came from." Ravi added on.

"Right now, we can only assume that today won't be the last attack. We have to be ready for anything. I'll inform the Mayor." Commander Shaw said.

"Well, you all thought I had a screw loose. And actually, I did. See?" Steel said, holding up a nail as we all chuckled. "Luckily, Nate fixed it. But, really, I just wanted to get to the truth."

"The truth is, your evidence was right— like the tower leak." Ravi stated.

"And I guess it could have been a photo of Scrozzle." Devon claimed.

"I suppose you don't have post-Ranger syndrome and I should trust my intuition more often, because like I told Aiden, it's almost never wrong." I added on.

"It was so nice not worrying about the Robotrons, I guess we didn't want to believe that they were back." Zoey stated as Ravi and I hummed in agreement.

"We're sorry we didn't believe you. Will you forgive us?" Nate asked.

"Of course, but on one condition." Steel answered.

"What's that?" Zoey questioned.

"Name it." I told him.

"You all join my expedition! I have evidence that proves Coral Harbor is home to the one and only. . . Loch Ness Monster!" Steel exclaimed.

"Like the one from Scotland?" Ravi asked.

"She's here on vacation! I know it!" Steel informed.

"Steel, the Loch Ness Monster is not—" I started to say as Nate kicked me in the shin to get me to stay quiet.

Ben and Betty soon entered the room wearing scuba gear. "Ben and Betty reporting for duty, Ranger Steel!" Betty greeted.

"We got everything we need, Steel, but these goggles sure make it hard to see." Ben added on as he took off the goggles.

"You know, a boat trip could be fun." Devon said.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Excellent! Let's go find Nessie!" Steel exclaimed.

"Come on, Ben and Betty!" He added towards the two siblings as we headed out of the room.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

A/N: And season two begins! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 3206 words.