Power Rangers: Supernova

Episode 4: The lone scorpion

Our episode opens up on the desert planet of Antares, where we see the hooded figure with the scorpion tail wearing the orange Nova crystal as a pendant from the end of last episode walking the streets of the desert village (think something along the lines of Tatooine from star wars) through crowds of Antareans (scorpion-like humanoids with a hard exoskeleton and a stinging tail) trying to keep his head low, not trying to draw any attention from the arthropod-like aliens due to his humanesque appearance fearing that they would see him as a freak of nature, entering a desert arena amongst a crowd of Antarean spectators as an Antarean wearing a red mask calling himself "Scorpio" comes to challenge the king of Antares, exclaiming "hello dad" the chieftain exclaiming "son, why have you come back to your homeworld after you were exiled for your treachery?" Scorpio then says "to claim my birthright, of course. I challenge you to ritual combat, to decide the new leader of our people" pointing his spear up at his father. the Antarean king charges at Scorpio spear in hand only for Scorpio to quickly strike him down with an energy slash of his own spear causing him to explode while the crowd gasp, the cloaked humanoid watching with scrutiny. Scorpio raises his his spear in the air, exclaiming "bow down before the new ruler of Antares!" as a Mondrill enters Antares's atmosphere planting itself into the planet's surface, the hooded figure saying "what have you done, brother" under his breath. Phasers and Copyguards show up to round up and shackle the Antareans while the hooded figure escapes. we then see Zodiax and Hegemon arrive on the scene to watch phasers whipping the enslaved Antareans into getting to work while Copyguards stand guard saluting their leader while the hooded figure is horrified by the sight of his own people being enslaved, Hegemon laughing saying "these lowly savages will serve as a perfect slave labor force for the Monstar syndicate!" Zodiax telling him "agreed, Hegemon" before he and Zodiax enter the Mondrill where Scorpio sits on his own little throne, Scorpio getting up to shake hands with Zodiax telling him "good to do business with the future emperor of the known universe" Zodiax asks "and what do you hope to gain from this, Antarean?" Scorpio telling him "a spot on your motley crew, of course" we then cut back to Gamma base up in space where we see Otto and Gray getting accustomed to their new surroundings while Leon and Wolfie are busy sparring with each other, Otto looking at the millions of buttons on the computer console asking which one he should press first only for Siryn to smack the gold robot upside the head with a wrench telling him "don't touch anything unless you wanna be dismantled" Otto exclaiming "that hurt!" Marlon pats Otto on the back, telling them that she's sensitive about other people messing with her tech Otto then says "but I'm nothing but tech! look at me, I'm a well-oiled machine" Cami then tells Otto that Marlon has a crush on Siryn, saying that he has a diary full of love poems he wrote for her, but never had the courage to read any of them, Marlon blushes exclaiming "hey, that's classified information!" while Cami and Otto both chuckle. meanwhile Gray enters Tarus's room to see him meditating, Gray asking what he's doing. Tarus tells Gray that this is how he keeps his rage under control, by practicing inner peace. Gray then says "let me try" and tries meditating with Tarus, the gem on Gray's forehead glowing as he uses his telepathy to peer inside Tarus's mind seeing flashes of his past as a gladiator who fought for the entertainment of the Monstar syndicate, Gray saying "I see, you have a very troubled past my friend" Tarus then asks "you read minds, kid?" Gray then says "of course, I am Xybrian after all" Tarus then tells Gray "that's why I chose to leave that life of violence behind, I refuse to be the monster that they made me anymore" as Tarus gets up and starts lifting some weights to help blow off steam. Draco then gets a message from Pierce, Draco exclaiming "Pierce? haven't seen you since you left the academy" Pierce tells him "Sorry for leaving, and I know you're still disappointed in me for doing so. but I did what I had to do in order to find and take down my older half-brother Scorpio, he's taken the throne of Antares and sold our own people out to the Monstar syndicate" Draco then asks Pierce "then why have you contacted Gamma base?" Pierce tells him "to tell you and your new students to stay out of my way. this is my fight and mine alone" before hanging up. Draco calls all of his students in for a meeting in the bridge, showing him a hologram of the planet Antares. Draco explains to his students that the next Mondrill for him to destroy is on the desert world of Antares, homeworld of the scorpion people known as Antareans. he then shows them a hologram of Scorpio, explaining to them that the Antareans were recently betrayed by one of their own, a renegade by the name of Scorpio who sold his own people into slavery to the Monstar syndicate. Leon says "horrible" with Otto saying "you can say that again, this is worse than what happened to Triforia" while Gray comforts Otto and Wolfie says "Sirius was also a victim of genocide, it was destroyed long before I was born" Draco then says "that is why it is important that you go down there, free the slaves, and destroy the Mondrill. the whole galaxy is counting on you" Siryn then says "good luck rangers" Marlon asking her "how about a goodbye kiss with that beak of yours?" Siryn pushing Marlon out of the way telling him "fat chance, lover boy, now go" before we cut to the seven starzords being deployed from Gamma base before landing on the desert surface of Antares, the seven Supernova rangers walking through the Monstar syndicate encampment in desert garb to hide their identities past the enslaved Antareans as they're being beaten by Phasers and Copyguards while Hegemon oversees the whole thing, Tarus looking away in shame saying "I can't believe I used to fight for them, I mean what was I thinking?" Leon puts his hand on Tarus's shoulder telling him "It's okay buddy, it's in the past" Cami looks up at the Mondrill towering over the desert saying "we gotta destroy that thing if we are to free those people" Otto tells Cami "smartest thing you've ever said, little lady" Cami exclaiming "little lady?" Gray then senses something bad and informs the others "guys, we should get out of here" before Hegemon turns his head to the seven exclaiming "who are they?" before two Copyguards unmask Leon, Wolfie, Otto, Tarus, Gray, and Cami in front of Hegemon exclaiming "It's the power rangers, Phasers!" summoning a platoon of Phasers to confront the rangers prompting the seven to morph surprising the enslaved Antareans, all the while they are being watched from atop a cliffside by Pierce (cue Kyuranger episode 3 fight) Pierce then contacts Draco exclaiming "Draco! I told you not to send your rangers here to help liberate Antares" Draco tells Pierce "sorry Pierce but whether you like it or not part of being a power ranger is working together as a team. I get that Scorpio is your half-brother but you are becoming so narrow-minded by your own family issues you fail to see the bigger picture" only for Pierce to hang up on him again, Draco sighing, saying "teenagers..." Siryn standing by Draco's side tells him "he hasn't changed a bit since he left" Draco facepalming telling him "that boy, his vendetta against his brother has consumed him" while Siryn goes back to her lab to work on a project she was working on: artificial Nova crystals. we then cut back to the rangers on Antares taking out the phasers with each of their star strikes: Gray with the Nova scythe, Otto with the Nova crossbow, Marlon with the Nova dagger, Cami with the Nova lasher, Wolfie with the Nova claw, Tarus with the Nova axe, and Leon with the Nova sword. Hegemon clenches his fist as the Phasers are all destroyed, exclaiming "meddling rangers!" as he kicks an enslaved Antarean in a fit of rage before he and the two copyguards beam up to the Mega mondrill, returning to Zodiax's fortress on the Cimmerian planet with Hegemon reporting to Zodiax (now back to sitting on his throne) that the rangers are on Antares. Zodiax tells him "I should have seen this coming, those rangers ruin everything!" Scorpio then shows up to tell the two "if the rangers are here then they're sure to get help from my baby brother" Zodiax then says "what? you have a brother?" Scorpio tells him "half-brother, really. he's just as determined to liberate our people just as much as the rangers are". meanwhile back on Antares the Supernova rangers then turn their heads to see the hooded figure with the scorpion tail from before, the seven confused as to just who the heck he is. Pierce then says "you shouldn't have come" as he pulls his mask down revealing his dark-haired, brown-skinned human face, Leon exclaiming "you're... human?" only for Cami to see the scorpion tail and tell him "not quite". the enslaved Antareans of the encampment are shocked by this all gasping in horror, one exclaiming "It's the half-breed!" another shouting "he's an abomination!" Marlon looks at him and asks "half-breed? so you're half human and half Antarean?" Pierce tells them "You guys must be the Power Rangers Supernova, Commander Draco never told any of you about me didn't he". Otto asks "you knew Commander Draco?" Pierce telling him "Name's pierce, now stay out of my way" stinging Otto with his tail causing him to de-morph, Gray exclaiming "Otto!" as he and Leon both rush to his aid, Otto telling his teammates that he's been poisoned, Leon telling the others that they need to get him back to Gamma base immediately. Pierce turns his head to Tarus and has flashbacks to fighting the cyborg Minotauri in the gladiator pit, Pierce telling him "I remember you, you're the Minotauri that almost killed me. I can't believe Draco would recruit one of our own enemies into his ranger program, let alone be deemed worthy of holding a Nova Crystal" Tarus tells him "I've turned my back on the Monstar syndicate a long time ago, we are not enemies!" Pierce tells him "Lies! once a Monstar, always a Monstar!" Cami noticing the orange Nova crystal he wears as a pendant, Cami exclaiming "he's got a Nova Crystal!" Pierce removing the orange Nova crystal from his pendant before pulling down his sleeve revealing a Nova blast morpher, plugging the crystal into his morpher exclaiming "Nova Crystal, activate!" before shouting "Supernova, Blast off!" (cue morphing sequence) the other rangers shocked to see Pierce morph into the orange ranger. Pierce then says "come on Minotauri, let's finish what we started back in the arena" Tarus then says "if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you got kid!" charging at Pierce knocking Leon over, Leon exclaiming "Tarus wait! this isn't like you!"  the other rangers try to grab onto Tarus only for Tarus to give into his anger and tells them "get off me!" only for Pierce to poison the other rangers causing them to de-morph and is about to sting Tarus only for Leon to leap in to protect Tarus telling him "leave him alone!" Leon contacts Commander Draco telling him to send in the Lion starzord to pick them up, telling him it's an emergency. Draco then says "right on, Leon" deploying the Lion starzord to fly in and scoop up the seven Supernova rangers taking them back to Gamma base. we then cut to Zodiax's fortress on the Cimmerian planet where Zodiax sits on his throne and watches the footage of Pierce fighting the other rangers with Hegemon and the two copyguards standing by his side. Scorpio watches with them and says "my baby brother is a ranger, well this got interesting fast" Hegemon then tells Scorpio "you didn't tell us he was half-human either" Zodiax then tells Scorpio "If you want to prove yourself worthy of joining my ranks, then you must destroy the rangers" Scorpio telling him "gladly, I will depart for Antares shortly" Hegemon then orders the Copyguards to go with Scorpio and they do, exiting the throne room with him. Hegemon asks Zodiax why he's so interested in recruiting this Scorpio to the Monstar syndicate, and Zodiax tells him "simple, if the rangers keep bolstering their ranks then it's only fair that we do as well to even the playing field. if there is any lesson to learn from our defeats to those rainbow-colored punks it's that there's strength in numbers" before we cut back to Gamma base where we see Siryn scanning Cami, Marlon, Wolfie, Otto, and Gray laying on tables in the space station's infirmary before telling Draco "not good, they've all been poisoned by Antarean venom" Otto then asks "please don't tell me that it's deadly" Siryn then tells Otto "maybe not to you since you're a mechanical silicon-based lifeform, but for those who are organic carbon-based lifeforms like the rest of us yes it is deadly. but need not worry though, I am working on an antidote" Draco tells her "that's good to hear" before Siryn leaves the room, Draco telling them all to get some rest. Cami asks Draco "the scorpion guy, he said he knew you. and he had a Nova crystal" Draco tells her and the other rangers "that was Pierce, scorpio's younger half-brother. he was once a student at this very academy, but dropped out to go pursue his vendetta against his brother. he probably attacked you because he thought you were getting in the way of his goal, to defeat his brother and liberate his homeworld on his own terms" before we cut to Leon walking into Tarus's room where he sees Tarus meditating. Leon asks Tarus why the scorpion guy had such a beef with him, Tarus explaining to him "remember how I was a former gladiator for the monstar syndicate? Pierce was one of my opponents back in the day" as we cut to a flashback of Tarus beating the snot out of Pierce in the arena. Leon tells Tarus "I had no idea" Tarus gets up and tells Leon "I'm going back to Antares to settle the score with him, I am gonna make that scorpion pay for poisoning our teammates" Leon then tells him "Tarus, this isn't like you!" Tarus tells Leon "don't try to stop me" closing the door on Leon before entering the zord hangar to board the Bull starzord and fly to Antares. we then cut to Pierce sitting on a rock looking at his orange Nova crystal, only for the orange Morphin' master to appear before Pierce asking him "why do you still refuse to accept help from your fellow power rangers? the orange Nova crystal didn't choose you just so you could attack your would-be teammates" Pierce then tells him "this is my fight and mine alone Master orange, they'll only just get in the way. and I'd rather die than have some Monstar scum as one of my would-be teammates" Master orange tells him "your prejudice against the Monstar syndicate is justified, but Tarus is not one of them anymore. he was chosen to be a ranger just as you were" before disappearing. meanwhile back on Gamma base Leon enters the bridge where he walks into Siryn informing Commander Draco that Tarus has gone off on his own. Draco turns to Leon giving him the mission to go to Antares and save Tarus from himself. Leon says "on it!" before entering the zord hangar to board the Lion starzord. we then cut to Tarus confronting Pierce on Antares, Tarus asking Pierce "why did you poison my friends?" Pierce turns around, telling him "because they were in my way. these are my people being enslaved, freeing Antares from my brother's tyrannical rule was my mission not theirs. they paid the price for their interference. and you, I still have unfinished business with you after you almost killed me in the arena when I was held captive by the Monstar syndicate, gladiator" Tarus clenches his fist, telling Pierce "I told you before I am not your enemy, but since you chose to be mine... then so be it" the two plugging their Nova crystals into their morphers shouting "Nova Crystal, activate!" followed by both shouting "Supernova!" blast off! as they insta-morph while charging at each other (cue Kyuranger episode 3 second fight) the two rangers lock fists with Tarus asking Pierce "you said you came to this planet to liberate your people, those same people called you an abomination for being half-human" Pierce tells him "doesn't matter if I'm not full-blooded Antarean, this is my home and they are my people" as he lays the smackdown on Tarus knocking him around like a ragdoll, the orange Morphin' master watching from high up in the air saying "this is not good" before turning his head to see Leon rushing towards the fight, asking "what is the earth child thinking?" Pierce then shouts "now sleep" as he lunges his tail at the downed Tarus only for Leon to kick Pierce's tail away, Leon exclaiming "leave him alone!" Pierce looks at Leon and tells him "move Red, my business is with the black one not you" Leon then tells him "the three of us are all rangers, we should be fighting the Monstar syndicate not each other!" Pierce then tells Leon "not sure if noticed, but your buddy here was a member of the Monstar syndicate, which is why I must destroy him" Leon then says "then you'll have to get through me first" plugging the red Nova crystal into his Nova blast morpher, shouting "Nova crystal, activate!" before pulling the trigger on his morpher shouting "Supernova, blast off!" morphing into the red ranger. we then get a red ranger vs. orange ranger fight, Leon then says "you're on, half-breed" assembling his Nova sword. Pierce tells him "don't ever call me that again" assembling his own weapon: the Nova spear, the two locking weapons and clashing with each other. however Scorpio alongside a pair of Copyguards and a platoon of Phasers teleport onto the scene, Scorpio telling Pierce "hello baby brother" while the downed Tarus watches in confusion, exclaiming "Scorpio is his brother?" Scorpio then orders the Phasers and Copyguards to destroy the rangers, while Leon is busy fighting off the footsoldiers Scorpio exclaiming "Zodiax will be so proud when I bring him the heads of three rangers!" only for Pierce to throw his spear at Scorpio to stop him in his tracks, Pierce exclaiming "your fight with me and me alone, brother. I will liberate the Antareans from your rule" Scorpio then chuckles, telling him "go ahead and try" while a bunch of Anteareans watch the two brothers from atop a cliffside and chat amongst themselves about if they should believe what the half-breed just said, wondering if he's really the savior he claims to be. Pierce fights Scorpio hand-to-hand in an original footage fight before grabbing his Nova spear to fight Scorpio spear-to-spear while Siryn suddenly drops from a parachute, Siryn informing Leon over intercom that she has a present for him the bird-like alien mechanic tossing Leon one of the synthetic Nova crystals that she was working on. Leon asks what it is, and Siryn explains that it's a synthetic Nova crystal, one of many that she made to bolster the ranger's arsenal explaining that each one can be used to summon a special attack, hence why she calls them attack crystals. the one he's holding is the Gemini attack crystal. Leon then exclaims "way past cool, Siryn! Gemini attack crystal, activate!" plugging it into his Nova blast morpher summoning a clone of himself, the two Leons fighting off the Phasers and Copyguards in Kyuranger footage while Pierce fights Scorpio in original footage. Siryn after landing is surrounded by those same Antareans from earlier, Siryn comically telling them that she comes in peace and that she's an old friend of Pierce. once Scorpio and the Copyguards are cornered, Scorpio tell the Copyguards to attack red while he goes after his baby brother. the two Leons destroy the Copyguards with a Nova sword star strike. meanwhile Pierce charges his Nova spear up for a star strike of his own to finish off Scorpio, only for Scorpio to sneakily teleport away, Pierce exclaiming "NO!" meanwhile the two Leons become one again after destroying the copyguards before Draco contacts Leon informing him that the other rangers have been healed thanks to Siryn's antidote and are boarding their zords to come destroy the Mondrill as we speak (except for Otto, who decided to take Siryn's place as momentary tech support since she's not available) as we see Wolfie, Cami, Gray, and Marlon in the zord hangar board their respective starzords before blasting off into space, Otto wishing them all good luck. Leon boards the Lion starzord and takes off towards the Mondrill with Pierce looking off into the distance. we then cut to Scorpio returning to the cockpit of the Mondrill to sit in his seat where he is contacted by Zodiax who asks Scorpio why the rangers aren't destroyed yet, Scorpio telling Zodiax "I'm working on it, okay?" before hanging up. however he is knocked out of his seat when he feels a sudden earthquake, Leon in the lion's cockpit turning around to see the orange Scorpion starzord erupt out of the ground. Siryn walks up to Tarus to help him back up, Tarus telling Siryn to stay here before boarding the Bull Starzord to go after Pierce, the Bull headbutting the Scorpion clearing the path for the Lion zord. meanwhile aboard Gamma base Draco and Otto watch the footage from the monitor of the bridge, Otto asking Draco if the other rangers are gonna make it in time to help. Draco assures Otto that he has faith in them. meanwhile Siryn and the Antarean slaves look up to see the Chameleon, Swordfish, Wolf, and Cobra starzords enter Antares's atmosphere out of hyperspace one by one, the Antareans gasping while Siryn says "alright, just in time!" while Scorpio watches from the cockpit after sitting back in his chair, Scorpio clenching his fist saying "great, more rangers to spoil the fun! but at least the black one is keeping my brother distracted" the Lion, Chameleon, Sworfish, Wolf, and Cobra starzords combine to form the Supernova megazord (cue Kyuranger episode 3 megazord fight), Leon exclaiming "now time to destroy that Mondrill once and for all!" meanwhile Scorpio sitting inside the Mondrill's cockpit exclaims "not today, rangers!" pressing a button on the computer console causing the Mondrill to transform into its battle mode, Leon exclaiming "did it just transform into a giant robot!?" the Supernova megazord clashing with the Mondrill battle mode, the Chameleon zord's tongue wrapping around the colossal robot's lance weapon, Scorpio saying "sorry little lady, but that's not gonna work on me" as the Mondrill battle mode rips the tongue off of the Chameleon zord. Gray then says "Cami, switch places with me! I can take this guy" the Chameleon and Cobra zords switching places, Chameleon now becoming a leg while the Cobra becomes an arm. the Supernova Megazord then uses the cobra arm to disarm the enemy robot, Scorpio then says "that's it, I'm out!" ejecting from the cockpit just in time as the Supernova Megazord destroys the Mondrill battle mode with a Supernova Megazord star strike while the Bull and Scorpion starzords are busy fighting each other. Pierce witnesses the Mondrill's destruction, saying "the mondrill's finally destroyed, my work here isn't done. my brother is still alive" the Scorpion starzord firing a laser from its tail damaging the Bull starzord allowing it to burrow underground and escape, Tarus exclaiming "come back here!" however the Bull zord is too damaged to move, Morphin' Master orange watching the fight saying "Pierce clearly has a lot to learn" before disappearing while the Antareans look on with uncertainty. we then cut back to Gamma base up in space where Siryn is in the hangar busy making repairs to the Bull starzord only for Otto to show up to help her with her repairs using his technopathy while Draco sits in his office looking longingly at an old family photo of his younger self with husband Grizz and Pierce as a young child wearing a SPG cadet uniform. meanwhile Cami, Gray, Wolfie, and Marlon are walking through the hallways talking amongst each other about the new Orange ranger. Gray stops to enter Leon's personal quarters where Gray asks Leon to check on Tarus for him, saying that he needs someone to talk to. Leon tells Gray "sure thing" Leon then walks into Tarus's room, Tarus acting all grumpy asking Leon what he wants. Leon tells Tarus that he just wanted to talk about Pierce. Tarus asks "what about him? he's obviously a foe" Leon tells him "that might not be true, he did help me in fight off those footsoldiers back on Antares. sure he's got issues, but in time I'm sure he'll come around and join the team" Tarus crosses his arms and says "if you say so human" we then cut to Zodiax's fortress on the Cimmerian planet where Hegemon reports to his master that the Mondrill on Antares has been destroyed, Zodiax slamming his fist saying "another one of our occupied worlds lost thanks to those no-good power rangers!" only for a familiar voice to say "not quite..." as Scorpio steps out of the shadows, Hegemon holds his spear up to Scorpio's neck that he blocks with his own spear, Hegemon asking the rogue Antarean "and why would you show your face here again after your humiliating defeat?" Scorpio explains saying "even though my Mondrill was destroyed, I am still the rightful ruler of Antares by my own people's customs so the planet is still under Monstar control" Zodiax then asks Scorpio if he still wants to join his crew, and Scorpio tells him "of course, and I brought a few friends back with me to help bolster your ranks" and out of the shadows step none other than the two bounty hunters from last episode, Hegemon exclaiming "oh no, not them again!" Octania saying "at least he still remembers us" as she puts her arm around Scorpio's. Krakulus then says "good to be in your service, lord Zodiax" as Krakulus, Octania, and Scorpio all kneel before Zodiax who cackles evilly ending our episode on a cliffhanger.