Street Fightin' Sanbot

Synopsis: The Rangers, Pee-wee and his Playhouse pals, and their robot companions meet Sanbot, a robot from Shenzhen in China who, like Pepper, hates being referred to as a boy despite her feminine chassis, mannerisms, her similar features to Pepper and her voice. They also meet Karin Kanzuki (a rich teenage heiress), her friend and rival Sakura Kasugano, hotheaded and impulsive Makoto Rindou, and fun and flirtatious Laura Matsuda.

Chapter 1--Disturbance in the Multiverse

Typically, Somni and her family slept well but she and her brood had begun to have visions of strange humans in unusual garb.   One was in traditional schoolgirl garb while the others were dressed in glorious designer dresses, most likely Armani or Versace.   For some strange reason, these women had a beef with one another and without much chattering, they engaged in combat.    She saw a new robot, Sanbot, fighting against these women and holding her own but needed backup.    The next thing she saw was a tennis shoe to her face and she woke up with a start.  

‘I don’t have a good feeling about this.’, she said, inhaling and exhaling slowly.  Her heart rate slowed to normal and her sudden arousal hadn’t even phased her deep sleeping hubby, Delta 1.    She often thought it would take World War three to rouse him from sleep, but she sighed, thinking, ‘It was probably just a bad dream after all.’    She would wait until tomorrow to talk about it over breakfast with her friends and gauge their opinion on the whole matter.

Somnibot called everyone on Ranger HQ's videophone the next morning and told them to meet her there so they could discuss Somnibot's dream. Kim noticed that Somnibot was trembling slightly.

‘What’s the matter, Somni ?’, she queried, curiously.  

‘I-I had a nightmare, well, actually more of a vision…’, she began, and proceeded to tell Kim about what she had experienced.   

‘That’s impossible though.   These are video game characters.’, she thought.   She rallied the Rangers together, passing along the information.  

‘Something’s wrong with the multiverse.   I don’t know what, but I have a feeling it might be dealing with powers we don’t yet comprehend.’, Billy said, some unease in his tone.

‘Dude, when you say it that way, you make me nervous.’, Zack quipped.   He was trying to add levity to an otherwise tense exchange but it only made matters tenser.   

‘Guys, we can’t worry too much.   We need to focus on keeping vigilance.’, Jason mentioned.

‘Jason’s right.  We’ve got plenty of training under our belts but that doesn’t mean we can be slack when it comes to keeping our skills honed.’, Tommy agreed.    With that said, Alpha 5 and Delta 4 kept a monitor on what was happening outside HQ.    Surely just as Somnibot had feared, lightning was beginning to branch out across the sky in myriads of colors.    Stars, galaxies, heavenly bodies were all starting to ‘pour’ into our reality and the storm was just starting to pick up.

Chapter 2--Heckyl’s Escape

Heckyl had broken his shackles and eked his way through the Universal crack.   If anything could stop this mixture of realities, he could, but he was going to need a powerful wizard’s assistance.    He wasn’t certain where he would find one, but Angel Grove seemed as good a place as any…

Meanwhile…

Karin Kanzuki had been caught up from a mall crawl to a large verdant field in what she learned was called ‘California’.  

‘Well, this most certainly isn’t Japan.’, she thought to herself.   Across the field, she could easily view her rival Sakura Kasugano.   Two rather beleaguered women, Makoto Rindou and Laura Matsuda rubbing their temples and coming to, acclimating to their new surroundings.    Not far from them, a new robot, Sanbot, seemed to be escaping something and running away for her very circuits.  

‘The sky is falling, the sky is falling !’, she yelled, rotating her propeller arms frantically.   Wanting to know more, Karin wished to stop the bot from escaping any further and extract more information from her.   Something very bizarre was going on, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.  

Chapter 3--Let the Real Bizarreness Begin

'HADOUKEN !', Karin yelled, launching a fireball at the robot. Sanbot stopped immediately, the small firewall fading to nothing. The four teenage girls ran up to the busty femdroid, who was doing an equivalent to hyperventilation.  

‘Why are you firing at me ?  I mean none of you harm.’, she began to explain.   Makoto wanted to fight this strange AI, not really trusting her at all.   

‘You looked like an enemy.’, she began.   Having dodged robots before she had little reason to let any form of AI give her the slip but she stepped back and let Sanbot begin her story.

‘I saw the crack in the Multiverses, just like you.   I don’t know what caused it or how I even ended up here, but there’s a warlock who created the rift.’, Sanbot said.  

‘We have no reason to fight her.  I think we can trust her.’, Karin said, ironically.   She, the heiress, who had been so roughly treated physically and emotionally thought that this creation was truthful and genuine.  

‘Fine.   Do you know where you’re going, robot ?’ Laura asked.

‘I’m seeking help.   That cyndrillical shape upon the hill has captured my eye.  Oh, silly me.  I forgot to introduce myself.  I’m Sanbot.’, Sanbot said, holding out a flipper as if to shake Laura’s hand.   Karin offered her hand as well.  Makoto reluctantly did so only to fit in and not upset the group dynamic.   None of them knew who this warlock was but he was watching from a distance, a sneer on his face.   

‘To think our power has become this unstoppable.   I didn’t think that concoction would work !’, Rita said, next to her husband, standing in his muscular glory.  Behind that iron grill, he was restraining himself from laughing.

On the path to Power Ranger HQ…

Heckyl knew the crystals were close.   He had to get them to the Power Rangers to deliver them to the Dino Charge Rangers or all would be lost.  He had seen it from an apocalyptic future where he could do nothing but watch the world burn.  It was worse than something out of the Terminator franchise and he had to turn this timeline around before the worst came to pass.   

Chapter 4--Why Should We Trust You ?   

Heckyl was met by some rather stern looking robots.   

‘Who are you and what is your business here ?’, Beta questioned, staring him down.   Heckyl had to admit, this robot was extremely imposing when he wanted to be.   

‘Yeah !   What do you want ?  Where did you come from ?   You don’t look familiar to me at all.’, Alpha agreed.    Wearing that steampunk attire he either looked as if he had come from a convention or was some sort of avant garde entertainer.  

'Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Heckyl. You may remember one of my former monsters, Nightmare.', he explained.    The bots were strangely comforted by this.  Nightmare had been an ironic boon to them in battle.   

‘You created that thing ?’, Delta questioned.   

‘Yes, I did.   I wasn’t myself at that point but Nightmare decided to become a do-gooder.   Honestly, I couldn’t be any prouder.   I know what it feels like to be a father now.’, Heckyl said, beaming proudly.   

‘Come to think of it, have you seen Nightmare ?’, he queried.  

‘No.  No sight of him for quite a while.  Though it seems the Multiverse is having the hiccups.’, Alpha 5 noted astutely.    It was worse than just ‘hiccups’.   It was a full blown epileptic seizure.   

‘So, you’ve come from your timeline to help us, I wager ?’, ASIMO poised.   

‘Yes.   There are some very powerful crystals located somewhere here in Angel Grove.  I know they’re close, I can sense their energy nearby.   Now that I’ve changed, I should be able to handle them and return them to their rightful recipients.’, Heckyl explained.  

‘Zordon knows everything, I’m sure he can assist you.   As for our new friend, I think we can provide her sanctuary.’, Alpha said as they ran toward Headquarters.

Chapter 5-- An Unexpected Assist

Suddenly, the Bots were cut off at the pass.

‘I finally caught you meddlers in your tracks !’, Zedd bellowed, towering over them intimidatingly.   The fighters running alongside them were more awed at the warlock’s stature than anything else.   The woman beside him was nothing to sneeze at either.   Both of them were evil incarnate; they stank of villainy.    

Before the warlock and witch could attack, Somnibot and the Rangers were rushing toward them.    There was a branch of lightning that rippled across the sky.   Nightmare landed amongst them and quipped, punily,

‘I didn’t come here for the fall, you know !   Good seeing you again !   What on earth is going on ?’, he asked, getting helped back onto his feet by an old friend in Somnibot.   

‘I would explain everything but as you can see, we’re occupied.’, Somnibot replied, obviously.   

Rita and Zedd were becoming extremely agitated by the whole fiasco unfolding before them.   Heckyl found a pathway to HQ and escaped the battle to come.    He wouldn’t have been much use fighting anyway since his abilities were robbed by the evil Sorcerer of his realm.   He knew he’d get those abilities back someday but for now, he was relying upon the kindness of strangers.   

‘I’m getting really angry !’, Rita roared, wielding her crescent wand much like a naginata.  Zedd used his staff to zap his enemies and make putties rise from the earth to do his bidding.

‘This will put the odds greatly more in our favor, Rita.’, he said, confidently.    Even though eventually she would overtake him as the greatest sorceress who ever lived, she endured his hectorish postering and braggadocio.    A massive battle broke out.   All the while, Zordon opened a portal to the crystal’s location and gave Heckyl one last reminder.

‘Use the communicator to reach me.   I will return you but as for your trip back to your own timeline, I’m still trying to figure out that whole conundrum.’, Zordon said.   Heckyl understood.   Spacetime wasn’t exactly a straight line and it wasn’t an easy fix to map out.   

Rita matched her moves with that of the Rangers, then the bots.  Sanbot came in fighting like a champion.    Sanbot didn’t even know she had it in her but she knew that her friends had to be helped and protected by any means necessary.   

‘I’m through messing with you.   Time to let a monster do my dirty work !’, Rita said, disappearing before Karin could deliver the final blow to her temple.  Karin stumbled.

'Monster ?', she whispered to herself. Suddenly, Terror Blossom and Octoplant appeared before Karin Kanzuki. They both reminded her of the sakura trees back at the Kanzuki Estate.

‘You can’t possibly fight these two abominations by yourself.   I know I might be considered your nemesis, but we need to work together to survive.’, Sakura said, taking upon a broad, confident fighting stance.   Terror Blossom and Octoplant were unphased and seemed to be holding their own against the warrior women, rangers and robots.  It was an all out melee until Heckyl’s true nature was revealed.  

‘Enough !’, he screamed, fire and electricity shooting from his fingertips.   The two monsters were shrunk to almost non-existence and trodden under Conky’s wheels.   

‘You think this is an easy victory ?  Well, don’t go counting your chickens before they’re hatched, mystery blue-haired man.’, Rita rebutted, swishing her cloak around her imitating Nikki Minaj for a moment.   

Chapter 6--A Clash Unlike Any Other

Terror Blossom threw her darty needles at her nemesis, trying to pin them to the ground.   Luckily, Sanbot deflected them with a shield composed from her arms.  It seemed her updated format was far better at defense and martial arts than she ever knew.   She didn’t question it, only embraced her inner warrior and immensely breathtaking moves.    Sakura and Karin fought in tandem, joined by Makoto and Laura as a tag team and they were making mincemeat out of Terror Blossom and Octoplant.    Rita and Zedd were quickly losing patience.

‘I grow irritated with this fight.   Time to upgrade.’, Rita said, waving her scepter and making her plants fuse and grow.  

‘Oh, how diabolical.  Octoblossom will be unstoppable !’, Zedd trumpeted, celebrating his and his wife’s preemptive victory.  

'Oh no !', the four street fighters said.

'We need Zeozord power, now !', the Rangers and robots said in unison.

Together, they formed the ZeoZord while the robots began to fuse with the help of Sanbot.  

‘Together combined, we form OmniZord.’, the plethora of voices stated as one.   Zedd was shaking in his metal boots.

‘Maybe I was a bit overzealous ?’, Zedd questioned before the ZeoZord planted its mighty foot, nearly crushing him.  

‘I’m getting you out of here before you become a pancake !’, Rita said, summoning a whirlpool to return them both to their base on the moon.   

Seeing the situation didn’t need any further meddling or assistance, Heckyl took the fight as his exit to leave.   The crystals had been returned, he was back to full strength and his timeline had finally been set right.   He thought about saying farewell but didn’t wish to set anything in this present timeline awry.    

‘I must go while I can, lest I cause another ripple that can’t be undone.’, he thought.   With abilities restored, he summoned a vortex that returned him to his era knowing the Rangers and their friends would be fine on their own.

Chapter 7--Duking It Out

ZeoZord and Omnizord fought Octoblossom together.   Even though it was a fair fight, Octoblossom greatly outweighed and outmuscled them both.    With one swipe, she almost knocked out Omnibot but Somni had a plan.  

‘Maybe a little song would daze her a bit ?’, she thought.   It would give the street fighters more of a chance to retaliate.   All four of them had been knocked to the ground.   They had taken a licking but they kept on ticking.   They weren’t about to give up, especially not to a plant.   

Somnibot opened her mechanical mouth and exhaled, preparing to sing. She took her Dream Star Scepter in hand.  The Scepter itself glimmered, glistened and sparkled in the sunlight, crackling with energy.    Taking a deep breath, she began to sing a song that effected herself and the Rangers but they fought the urge to take a snooze on the battlefield.   

‘Huh ?  I’m getting so sleepy.’, Octoplant yawned, stretching her branches to the sky.   

‘Everyone, strike !’, Morpheus and Pasitea cried in unison, honing in on her vulnerable spot.   It was a small flaw in her tough skin, but it would be enough to send her crashing to the ground and hopefully obliterating her before she did any further damage.   She had done enough wrecking and destroying for one day.   It would take awhile for everything to be rebuilt but they had some free time.  It wasn’t anything a little bit of Zordon’s magic couldn’t repair, anyways.    

Chapter 8--Where Did Mr. Steampunk Go ?

Zordon had blinked, erasing any evidence of a fight.  Those who had witnessed awoke (thanks to Somni, Pasitea and Morpheus singing in harmony more than likely) from a deep delta sleep thinking what they had seen had been a mere reverie.  

‘Where’s Mr. Steampunk ?’, SICO queried.  

‘Oh, about that.  He was able to set his timeline right.   Zordon briefed me about it only a few seconds ago.’, Alpha 5 said.

‘You’re gonna have to tell us more than that, Alpha !’, Zack said, teasing the remainder of the information from the robot.    As for the street fighters, they had mysteriously disappeared.   

‘Karin and her friends must’ve been transported back by that whirlpool, even if it was one that Rita concocted.   Seems Heckyl and Zordon were working in unison to put everything right.’, Billy surmised.  

‘Zordon always knows how to fix kerfluffles and wrinkles in time.’, Alpha stated, happily.  In a huge motion of celebration, the group hugged each other.

‘I am starving, you guys !’, Adam chimed in.

‘You are always hungry !’, Aisha teased.   For old time’s sake, they had a healthy meal at the Juice Bar and went to the beach to put a pleasant cap on the day.   Wherever Heckyl was, they had a feeling that he was kicking back in style.    They also wouldn’t forget their street fighting friends.   They learned a valuable lesson from them.   Even though most of them were rivals, they managed to work past their differences.   Heckyl had been another so called ‘villain’ to illustrate that not all books can be judged by their covers.   In fact, his pages were still being written and even someday, they hoped they would meet again.  

Epilogue

The gang attended a concert that Bulk and Skull were holding for the community to fix potholes in the roads as well as finding homeless people permanent jobs and places to stay.   ‘Wow, I didn’t know you guys did this sort of thing.’, Adam stated, incredibly surprised.   Long gone were their days of bullying.   Their efforts now were exclusively altruistic.  

On the way back home before departing, the team, joined by Bulk and Skull, cooled off with different sorts of ice cream treats.    Kim had an Orange Julius, Aisha had a peanut buster parfait, Billy had a Banana split, Zack had a molten brownie a la mode, Bulk dug into an ooey gooey caramel brownie and Skull lavished an apple funnel cake.   Some of them even had blizzards or Dilley bars.   By the time they were done they were completely sated and worn out from their previous victory.   

‘That was truly something.   I had never had ice cream before, what a treat !’, Sanbot chirped, genuinely gracious for the gift she had been given.    However, now she had nowhere to go.   

‘I was thinking, maybe, we could use Sanbot as another ally.’, Delta said, drawing her in for a robotic hug.    Sanbot felt oily build up in her lacrimal ducts and shed a little oil, more than glad that her new friends were so willing to add her to the team.

‘I won’t let you down !’, she trumpted.  

‘We know you won’t.  You were awesome out there.   With a bit more training, you will be unstoppable with us !’, Jason said with a grin.

‘Welcome to the team, Sanbot !’, Tommy mentioned, offering his hand in an official Power Ranger’s handshake.

‘Alright !  I’m home at last !’, Sanbot exclaimed, joyously.    

The End