The plan to eradicate Xmas

Plot thickens like a Xmas pudding

It was perhaps inevitable that the good mood would be spoilt quickly. Less than a minute later their morphers began to buzz but with a more urgent tone than usual, "The emergency signal", Mick gasped.

Instantly the rangers were on their feet and charging towards the exit "Santa here, what's going on?" the red ranger called into his morpher.

"Big trouble", came Jen's voice through the speaker, "Cyclobots. The silver guardians have engaged them in the industrial district-"

"Tell them to pull out", Santa snapped, interrupting Jen, "they're weapons will be no match for them".

"Quantum Ranger will be alerted and is on standby", Jen continued, "Ariel from SPD can also be available if things get too hairy". Nadira groaned, Ariel hadn't been in her good books since the debriefing meeting a week ago.

The ride was silent and tense, partly because Scott was driving like a maniac but also because of the impending fight. About ten minutes later the sleigh landed outside an abandoned factory in the heart of the industrial district. Nadira stepped out of the car nervously, the street was far too quiet for her liking, "This is where The silver guardians reported in from", Santa began, "and judging by the scorch marks on that building, I would say we're in the right place".

"Where are they now?" Mick asked, hoping that nothing bad had befallen them.

"A couple of them suffered superficial injuries and returned to base", Scott replied, "the others are in the area securing a loose perimeter".

"With a three man perimeter, Gluto or Frax could've snuck away", Mick mused out loud before reaching for his morpher, "nevertheless better to be safe than sorry". With a resigned sigh the team quickly morphed into their battle suits, "We'll each take a section of the area", Scott continued, "if you encounter trouble don't be a hero, call it in straight away". Nadira and Mick nodded grimly, "Mick search the parking lot, Nadira take the roof and I'll scout the inside".

With their tasks assigned Nadira jogged towards the building, heading for the fire escape leading to the roof. Slowing her pace to dampen her footsteps up the metal staircase, Nadira reached the top and gingerly looked over the brick work. The roof was mostly flat with a few skylights dotted around. There were four metal cubes at equal spots along the roof which the white ranger suspected were air conditioning vents or industrial sized fans.

Inching across the roof, she checked every available sheltered spot for any sign of cyclobots. After her second sweep she was satisfied there was no one around. Judging by the radio silence, the others hadn't encountered any either. Nadira took a look over the roof and could see the white suited Mick scampering through the parking lot. From her perch the white ranger couldn't see anyone in the area, "Mick I think the lot's clear", she said into the radio, "the roof's clear too".

"No one inside either", Scott finally stated, "I think whoever it was has gotten away but hold position for now. Nadira if you could spot for us from the roof that would be great".

"Roger that", the white ranger stated and began to do a circular route around the roof. Several minutes passed without sight of anything resembling a cyclobot. Her stomach was in knots, all this anticipation seemed to be for nothing but she didn't dare relax. Gluto or Frax or both had managed to disappear without being seen. After her fourth circuit of the roof, Nadira spotted something moving between two buildings across the street. She only got a brief glimpse but the figure had been shiny, a hallmark of a cyclobot, "Scott check across the street, I thought I saw some movement", the white ranger stated into the radio.

"Maybe you should check behind you", a heavily accented voice growled behind her. Nadira barely had time to turn around before she was met with a solid kick in the stomach. Rolling across the floor she quickly realised the boot belonged to Gluto, "Amateur, you walked right passed me several times", she spat, "now you will pay for your mistake".

Nadira didn't get a chance to think about where Gluto had been hiding, she was too busy dodging and parrying some powerful blows from the mutant. Her suit absorbed most of the blows but her arms were beginning to ache from just blocking the attack. Nadira quickly became bored of defence and decided to take the attack to Gluto She quickly jumped backwards, the sudden movement throwing Gluto off balance. Nadira hopped onto the roof ledge before quickly bouncing off, landing a solid kick to Gluto's chest. To her shock, the Mutant didn't seemed phased, "Thought rangers were meant to have fight", he chuckled, "normally I like this but I'm in a hurry today".

The White ranger barely registered what Gluto said as a powerful blow to her helmet. Before Nadira could defend herself she felt a strong hand around her throat and she was lifted into the air. Moments later she was dangling over the edge of the building, "Nothing personal", Gluto chuckled and he released his grip.

The white ranger barely had time to register that she was falling. Between the blow to the head and the quickness of the attack, she was halfway to the ground. The factory was only a couple of storeys tall and the suit would offer protection but Nadira knew the impact was going to hurt. She landed hard on her left shoulder onto the lid of an industrial sided dumpster. The solid plastic barely buckled and it bounced Nadira onto the hard concrete floor. For a few seconds Nadira lay perfectly still, counting her blessings that she was in one piece. That soon passed as the searing pain in her shoulder kicked in. Nadira had been in enough scraps in her life to know that it was dislocated. Fortunately the crash landing hadn't caused her suit to lose power.

The white ranger wasn't sure how long she had been lying on the ground for but "Well isn't this sweet", Nadira's blood froze, that voice belonged to Gluto. As Nadira staggered to her feet she could see the cyclobots closing in on their position, "Going to say hello there mutant princess", he added sarcastically in Nadira's direction.

"Nadira!" came the panicked cry of Scott as the other rangers sprinted around the corner.

What happened next would be burned into Nadira's memory forever. Her body froze as Cyra suddenly appeared and aimed her weapon directly at Gluto. Three sharp blasts quickly dropped the cyclobots. Cyra hesitated when her aim turned towards Nadira and a Gluto and a look of remorse quickly flashed over her face. Betrayal filled Nadira's as her brain finally registered what had happened.

Cyra has no time to react, Gluto fired, this shot crashing directly into Cyra's chest. The former ranger tumbled to the ground and a sudden surge of energy indicated that her morphers was fried. As Cyra and Nadira lay in a broken heap on the floor, they could only watch helplessly as Gluto dropped the weapon and slowly walked away. In the final moment before she lost consciousness Nadira wondered by Cyra had tried to save her.