A fiery, smoldering metal pile smashed and scorched the green grass below. Alex slowly walked over to his former ship, still breathing heavily from the ordeal. He looked to the sky, but could not track down his would-be assailant. All the while, he tried to quiet his mind while checking his wrist device. 2 hours and 23 minutes. Time Force would have long since scanned for my ship and dispatched search and rescue.

Just as soon, a growing gust of wind swept through his hair. A shadow enveloped him as a white ship appeared hovering just overhead before landing near the crash site. Alex walked towards the vessel with a noticeable limp to his steps as Jen and Lucas disembarked to meet him.

"Alex!" Jen cried before running towards him to help him walk. "What happened to you?"

"I'm not the concern right now. I need to speak with Captain Logan right away."

Alex wasted little time establishing contact with HQ the moment the trio returned to the ship. A few moments later, Logan appeared on screen. "Alex, thank goodness you're—"

"Sir, this can't wait. I know this is exactly what you warned me not to do, but I couldn't let it go."

Logan sighed while dipping his gaze down. "Son... how deep?"

"Very deep, sir. It nearly cost me my life."

"And this is exactly why I told you to stay out of it."

Alex took a deep breath before continuing, "With all due respect, sir, this is all the reason we should need to keep going. Whatever the Queen has us doing, it isn't justice. We need answers, and I know how we can get them without arousing any suspicion."

Logan took a few moments before looking directly at Alex. "What did you have in mind?"

Alex nodded. "Something risky."

...

An hour later, inside the high priority cells, a large explosion blasted open the side walls, sending shards of metal flying through the halls. Both Axis and Madman could feel the resonating heat of the blast and see the sunlight creeping in through widened eyes.

A pair of masked individuals shot down Axis' cell door and quickly removed his mouth restraint.

"Are we still clear?" asked one.

The other tapped a few buttons on his wrist, monitoring any and all city-wide emergency alerts. "Nothing triggered."

"Good," the man removed his mask, revealing himself as Alex.

Axis looked to him with a raised brow. "Have you any idea what you're doing?"

Alex slapped a metallic ring to Axis' right arm. "You try anything and in 20 seconds flat, this device will rapidly drain your blood until you pass out. Do not give us a reason to use it."

The General smirked. "What fun."

"Let's get right to it. We need the truth, from you and the lunatic next door."

Axis chuckled slightly before full on laughing. "Is that so? What curious timing. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Don't misunderstand. You're a criminal, clear as day. But force ejecting from a burning ship hundreds of feet in the air makes you reconsider a few things."

"Ah, hehehe. I see. I've always seen."

Alex nodded. "If we're a potential target of the Queen, you will help us put a stop to it. Agree to that term and Time Force is willing to work out a deal."

"You're not lying. I can see it all too clearly in that cold stare of yours. How interesting."

"Negotiating with people like you goes against everything I stand for. But even still, I give you my word. Somebody has to."

"Careful, officer. Righteous men don't tend to last long in our universe."

From the other cell, Madman stepped out with that same device affixed to his arm. Suddenly, he grabbed onto his head in anguish. "Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait...!" He released his head and wore a smile. "Aha! Someone's been messing with my station! Seems the Rangers are aboard the detachable emergency pod and quickly hurtling towards... the star in the Piltover Solar System."

"The Rangers?" Alex immediately walked up to him.

"Relaaaax. I know what you're thinking, copper. I've already set the pod to reverse course. Crazy how they even launched to begin with."

Then, Captain Logan entered the still smokey scene and confronted the two former prisoners. "I can't believe I'm asking this, but... just how deep does this go? The monarchy, your Resistance, all of it."

"Heh, not even I know the full depths of the Queen," Axis replied. "But, I will say this much. If you're searching for truth or justice, you'll find neither through her. I can see the dread in your eyes, Captain. The fear. In your heart, you must have realized long ago just how sinister the side you play for truly is. Hehe... You all must be truly desperate. If the Queen discovers all this, well..."

Madman chuckled. "It's true. Take it from me, a man who knows a thing or two about low job security."

Axis turned to Madman with a scowl. "And don't believe for a second I've forgotten your treachery."

"How could you? It happened yesterday."

"Enough," stated Logan as his eyes darted back and forth, contained within his thoughts. "I know damn well what might become of us. But I draw the line at the attempted murder of my officers. That's why we're taking a huge chance on you. Agree to help. Then, we'll talk about striking up a deal for the both of you."

Just then, Logan received an alert from HQ. "Cadet Lucas, what do you have?"

"Sir, we've got a strange reading coming out of sector 2. It's the Green Chronic Storm Morpher, but according to our sensors, there's nothing around it but space."

"Jason?" Alex asked. "Wait, Cadet Lucas, how fast is he going?"

Lucas checked the readings on the computer. "Faster than any human could go."

Axis' eyes shot up. "It can't be... What could he want with that Green Ranger?"

Alex turned to him. "Jason's on a ship that we can't get a lockdown on. Something tells me you can."

"You'd best prepare yourselves well, gentlemen, and prepare yourselves quickly. You might just catch a glimpse of infamy incarnate before he slits your throats."

A sudden paleness struck Logan's face as he took a careful step backward. "This is him, isn't it?"

"We need the Rangers back, immediately," replied Alex.

...

Inside the black hull of a mysterious ship, a groggy Jason started to awaken from his unconscious state only to find himself restrained to a chair in near darkness. Only a single dim light shone down from above his head as his vision slowly started to return.

He began to make out that same imposing figure in the corner of this unfamiliar room staring directly at him through the cold, unchanging expression of what looked to be a mask with red-colored, branching off lines adorning his face. He towered well over what would be an average Earthling. With each step he took towards Jason, an eerie clanking sound could be heard from his metallic boots all the way up to his bulky, black and dark gray armor enveloping him from head to toe.

Jason started to fully come to, enough to question the alarming presence marching closer and closer. "Hey! What's going on here!? Where's my team?!"

"Extinct," The cold, hardened voice would be enough to freeze eardrums. "As too will you be if you refuse to cooperate."

Jason noticed a familiar accent about his voice. He then looked down to see an empty spot on his wrist where his Morpher usually resided. "What did you do with my team!? Answer me!"

"Such insolence. You will learn your place soon, Green Ranger. But first, you are going to assist me with an important detail. My worthless excuse for a brother went and got himself captured, again. So, I'm going to dispose of him before he says anything regrettable."

Suddenly, it hit Jason. His accent was not mere happenstance. His body started to quiver at the thought. "It... you... it can't be... Admiral Axl?"

He chuckled slightly. "To my great benefit, tales of my disappearance have been greatly exaggerated. Unlike my brother, who feeds off attention, our work is done from the shadows."

"Our...? What are you—"

"Back to the matter at hand."

Jason tried to shake free of his arm and leg restraints, but couldn't move. His entire body felt drained as well. He couldn't even call upon his aura in his current state.

"Struggle, scream, cry for all the good it'll do. You only walk free when I allow it. If I allow it."

"You'll never get away with this! Time Force will stop you before you even get close."

"What part of shadows is escaping you? I can simply transport him out of his captivity under the veil of my cloaking technology. What I pilot is far more advanced than what Earth can track. But enough discussion. You too will have a part to play once Axis is secured aboard my ship."

"I'll never help you!"

Axl walked closer to Jason, taking in his fiery expression and unrelenting resolve. He could see it all too clearly in his eyes. "You are so much like your mother was, at a younger age. Brave, defiant, foolish, and so very naive."

"Shut up!!! You don't know anything about her!"

"Oh?" Axl turned around. "I'd say I know quite a bit about Queen Diane."

Just then, Axl's ship relayed a proximity alert. They were moments away from Earth's atmosphere and had arrived completely undetected. Axl made his way to the bridge of his ship to activate his teleportation device, but he could not get a clear lock on Axis' position when scanning Time Force HQ.

"Impossible." Axl threw up a visual on the screen that showed the remains of a small explosion where Time Force's high priority criminals are kept. Neither Axis nor Dr. Madman could be seen, just smoldering remains. "Time Force attacked? Who could possibly have the intel to accomplish this? And why aren't there any officers present?"

Many questions, fewer answers. Axl then walked back to where Jason was being held. "Green Ranger, you must know something about this."

"About what...?"

"Axis is missing."

"Oh... Sorry...?"

Axl started charging up his right fist with electrical energy. "Explain now, or suffer the consequences."

Jason however, looked inattentive and aloof to the threats of Axl.

"Perhaps I wasn't clear."

"Oh no, you were clear. But even if I knew anything, I still wouldn't tell you, because real heroes don't serve villains. So torture me, mutilate me, kill me, do what you have to and get it over with! I know my team is still out there. You can't take out someone like Taylor that easily. They'll come, and when they do, they'll come for you."

Axl stood speechless for a few moments before letting out a few chuckles. "Evil? Heh, and you believe yourself, what? Good? The proverbial white light in the darkness? The universe is the furthest thing from binary, Green Ranger. You have spirit, there's no denying that. But, there is still something I can take away from you. And if she goes, so crumbles an entire kingdom."

Jason's eyes widened as his face turned pale and petrified.

"Now, once you've wiped that ridiculous look off your face, you can answer this simple question: what's more valuable, your foolish Ranger pride, or the life of your mother?"

Within the tears Jason tried to fight and the fear he tried to bury inside emerged a clear reminder, a reminder of the same powerless feeling he had when confronting Axis twice over.

"...Time's up, Green Ranger." Axl started powering up his electrical abilities again. The accentuated crackles of lighting made it clear that his abilities outmatched Axis' by a sizable margin.

"Axl!" Jason cried in frustration.

"What's this? Decided being a 'real hero' was too difficult?"

"...If I help you... You'll swear to leave my mother alone?"

"The Queen is of little consequence to me; has been for a long while. So yes, I can abide by your terms, Green Ranger. Glad to see you using your head for once. Now, you are to examine the surface and come back with a detailed report of what you have found. And I do mean intimate details."

Axl pushed a button on Jason's chair, releasing him from his captivity. Axl turned his back to him, letting his guard down completely. Jason clenched his fist, but could not move his feet towards Axl, quickly recalling the light feeling on his naked wrist.

Without another thought on the matter, Jason ventured outside to observe the rubble-filled remains of Time Force lockdown. It was a bleak deal, but a little knowledge could go a long way in this delicate situation.

Not even a single officer could be found as he arrived at the site of the debris. He took a broken down pipe in his hands and carefully observed its charred texture.

By the looks of this pipeline, the attack must have happened pretty recently. These scorch marks are still a bit hot from a probable detonation, and yet, not a single Time Force officer dealing with this. Odd...

He continued to muddle through the aftermath of the attack. He began observing the smashed up cells to search for any further clues.

These definitely look like the cells they use for high-priority prisoners. Chances are, they locked up Madman in here alongside Axis. And assuming nobody moved their bodies, it'd also be safe to assume that they're both alive and well. Maybe another faction...? But who out there could so casually launch an attack on Time Force? And so quickly? They had both only been in here for a day and not even Admiral Axl knows what's going on... unless he's lying about that, but why would he? Damn, too many questions and no definitive answers.

He then uncovered a burnt piece of metal. This has the look of something that was shot by a blaster multiple times. There was a definite struggle of some kind. But the real question is, did these blasts come from within, or from outside?

Jason stepped into what remained of the cell block and observed the damaged parts. This darker side is used for the outer lining, so the blasts did come from outside, likely pointing to a break in and not a breakout.

All the while, Axl carefully observed every step Jason took before he returned to the ship. Jason entered with a puzzled expression, still trying to piece together what really happened.

"Well, what did you learn?" asked Axl.

"Not much. There's nobody around the area. No Time Force officers or even curious civilians. It's eerie."

"Interesting. More than likely an allied faction to my brother assisting in his escape. But who? And where are they now?"

"Yeah yeah, all great questions. I've done your dirty work, so what happens now?"

"Patience, Green Ranger, patience. You still possess some worth to me alive. Best to not rush you to an early grave."

Jason clenched his fists while staring directly at Axl. That intel gathering side quest had another benefit: He could feel his aura power ready to kick in, if needs be. I might just have one shot at this. But if I miss...

Axl then started slowly walking towards him. "Unless... you'd rather see yourself finished here and now by doing something truly foolish."

Axl continued to stalk Jason, but Jason stood tall and got into his proper fighting stance.

"Go ahead, take your best shot," goated Axl.

Jason's green aura began to flare up around him. "Are you sure you can handle it?" He wore a strong face, but the power strain already knifed at his skin and crunched his bones.

Axl started revving up his electrical powers now out of both his hands. The bolts crackled, sparked, and snapping upon the floor and ceiling. "I think I'll manage."

Jason began to charge, but just as soon, the ship tilted heavily to the right, flinging Jason and Axl against a wall.

"Under attack!?" asked a surprised Axl. "How could anyone override my cloaking technology?"

He quickly made his way towards the bridge. As Jason ran to follow him, both stood stunned at the presence of the Astro4 facing Axl's ship head-on. "It can't be! The Rangers should be dead!"

"Evidently not," a voice from behind the pair spoke out. A voice belonging to General Axis who slowly gallivanted his way into the bridge. "Always a pleasure, brother. I'm flattered. I never thought you would actually reveal yourself just for me. Your current oversight is a bit embarrassing, however. Perhaps you should have stayed hidden."

"You spineless coward," Axl replied coldly. "Don't tell me you're working with them."

"No, not really. Just looking out for number 1, as they say." Axis quickly fired his best lighting bolt upon Axl only to have it turned aside by a single hand.

"Was that supposed to be an attack?" gloated Axl.

"Why yes, but not an attack meant for you, brother."

Axl turned around to notice that his ship's controls had been fried by the deflected attack. "You imbecile! My ship can't take off now!"

Then, Alex and the Chronic Storm team entered the bridge fully morphed up with blasters charged up and aimed directly at Admiral Axl.

Carter pointed directly at him. "Admiral Axl, you're under arrest."

"Wait, we can arrest people?" asked Ethan.

Taylor looked to Jason. "You good, kid?"

Jason could barely contain his relief. "Guys... you're alive!"

"That one's on us," Kendrix replied. "This time, we were the ones that had you worried."

Jason ran to be alongside his team while the Admiral facetiously threw his hands in the air. "Hmmm, you have a problem, don't you, Rangers? You cannot actually accuse me of any known crimes, thus making your threats empty."

Carter carefully stepped in a little closer with his blaster still aimed and ready. "Oh I'm sure we can find a number of chargeable offenses, don't you worry."

"Did I start a war with your people? Did I lay waste to Zordina? You can't even prove that I tried to destroy you. But legal technicalities aside, I rather not take the chance." Axl built up a bright, blinding electrical surge and hit the floor with it, flinging everyone backward. When the light faded, Axl was nowhere to be seen.

"Ugh... what...?" Jason said. "No! Dammit! He got away!"

Taylor walked over to Jason and pulled him back to his feet. "We found him once. We can find him again."

Jason loaded his blaster the second he got to his feet and aimed it at General Axis. "And just what the hell are you doing out of your cell? Who freed you!?"

"Oh, me? Nothing a little desperation can't smooth over."

"Desperation...? And who's this guy?" asked Jason while pointing to Madman.

"Oh! Ahaha, right, you wouldn't remember me, huh, Greenie?" Madman cleared his throat. "I am the unrivaled and unhinged genius known throughout the stars as..." He held his finger up for a few moments before lifting his hands to the sky. "Doctor Madman!"

The other Rangers whipped their heads around towards him.

"You... bastard," stated Taylor.

"Okay, no," added Ethan.

"Alex," Carter said firmly while he walked over to him. "You never explained why you set these two free, or why we're apparently working with known criminals now."

"Wait, you did what!?" cried Jason.

"Don't worry," Alex assured. "Those devices wrapped around their wrists ensures that they will comply."

A throbbing pain suddenly rattled inside Axis' skull. "D-Damn... why does that accursed memory continue to linger!?"

Alex continued, "We got lucky, Rangers. If we didn't free Madman, you'd all have burnt up inside the heat of the