She gritted her teeth, her fingers drumming restlessly against her thigh. "Well, Prism," she whispered, her voice tight but laced with humor, "any brilliant ideas on how we handle this sausage fest without getting ourselves shot to hell?"
Prism's voice slithered into her thoughts, rich with mischievous glee. "Oh, I've got a few ideas. Since none of my annoying siblings are here to rein me in, I could hijack their suits directly. Make them malfunction. Cycle the armor plates at the worst moments, constrict them so tight they can't breathe, or trigger emergency releases on the heavy segments so they fall flat on their asses."
Pink bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. "You mean strip them down? You're a kinky little AI, aren't you?"
Prism giggled, mockingly scandalized. "Why, you flatter me. But seriously, I could mess with their visors, flood them with seizure-inducing visuals, or make their comms play nothing but the most obnoxious moaning sounds you can imagine. And let's not forget jamming their guns. Nothing makes a guy panic faster than finding out his big, shiny rifle won't fire."
Pink's grin widened beneath her helmet, her heart thumping a little harder from the thrill of it. "I love it. But that still leaves too many of them on their feet, and if even one of those bozos makes it to that alarm panel on the wall, we're toast."
Prism's tone turned conspiratorial. "True, but we've got an advantage. No cameras, no backup, and we haven't seen another soul in the last five levels. We can make some noise—just gotta keep them far, far away from that alarm. They'll be as steady as a cheerleader on prom night."
Pink rolled her eyes, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter. "Yeah, well, I'm not chancing it. We need a sensory overload to disorient them. Flash charges to fry their vision, sonic charges to throw off their balance, and cymatic charges to make them feel like they've downed a gallon of bad booze."
Prism purred approvingly. "A sensory symphony, huh? Delicious. It'll be like their worst nightmares wrapped in a very loud, very blinding package. I almost feel sorry for them. Almost."
Pink's grin faltered slightly, her fingers pausing over the armed flash charge. "Wait, Prism, one more thing," she said, her voice tinged with a flicker of unease. "Cincarion's systems have been on the fritz ever since they put Nova in detention, right? Has Aegis taken over yet?"
Prism went silent for a moment, as if searching for a signal. When she replied, her voice was unusually serious. "Nope. I don't feel Aegis anywhere in the city. If he's networked back into Cincarion, maybe he's keeping his distance for us. You know, plausible deniability?"
Pink's shoulders tensed, but she forced a smirk. "Well, Red did look disoriented at the briefing the other day," she mused. "Maybe she actually took a day off. I'm thrilled for her—finally being lazy for once in her life."
Pink took a breath, thinking fast. "Alright, just in case someone's wandering by, let's cover our tracks. Make it look like Nova's absence is triggering malfunctions. If we need to make a quick escape, I'd rather have ops scrambling to handle something harmless, like rescuing a kitten stuck in a tree."
Prism's laugh turned wicked. "Consider it done. I'll set off a few false alarms, random power surges, maybe even send an elevator on a joyride. Ops will be chasing their own tails."
Pink's smirk widened, and she felt some of the tension ease. "Perfect. Keep them busy and confused. Now let's give these guys a show they won't forget." With her flash charge ready, she steadied herself, preparing to descend into the chaos they were about to unleash.
Pink could barely contain herself. The rush of adrenaline pulsed through her veins, making her limbs itch to move. She recloaked, the invisibility shimmer settling over her like a second skin. "Prism, you ready?" she whispered, her grin wide beneath her helmet.
Prism's voice dripped with playful anticipation. "Born ready, babe. Go light up their world."
Pink didn't need any more encouragement. She took off down the stairs, moving swiftly and silently through the ten-meter corridor. As she neared the massive room full of soldiers, she couldn't help herself—she launched into the air with an acrobatic flip, landing dead center in the room with a flourish and a deep bow, her arms sweeping out theatrically.
"Pink," Prism whispered, the humor in her voice unmistakable. "They can't see you right now, you know."
Pink straightened, her grin faltering. "Ugh," she groaned, more to herself. "I wasted the good flip." She rolled her eyes, muttering about the injustice of perfecting that move only for it to go unseen. With a quick mental command, she de-cloaked, her pink armor suddenly blazing into view, catching the light and drawing every gaze in the room.
The soldiers, mid-laugh and mid-game, froze in disbelief. The sudden appearance of a brightly armored Ranger in their midst wasn't just unexpected—it was like a bomb had gone off without the explosion.
Pink's voice cut through the stunned silence, projected audibly from her helmet speakers, dark and dripping with twisted humor. "Well, well, well," she drawled, a mocking edge lacing her words. "I hope you boys had time to say your goodbyes—and maybe one last, desperate grope in the shower—because this is where things get painfully exciting. Trust me, I'm in a real mood to make it hurt."
The soldiers' laughter and chatter died instantly, replaced by wide-eyed disbelief. A few of them exchanged glances, as if struggling to comprehend the audacity of the pink-armored Ranger suddenly standing in their midst, and the dark threat beneath her playful tone.
Pink's gauntlets pulsed to life, the energy charges glowing menacingly. She didn't waste the moment of hesitation. With a wicked grin, she spun in place, releasing a symphony of chaos. Flash charges burst out, filling the room with blinding, searing light. Sonic pulses slammed into the air, distorting sound and throwing the soldiers off balance, their shouts turning into panicked, disoriented cries. Cymatic charges rippled through the space, sending dizzying vibrations that scrambled their senses, making the bioweave suits constrict and malfunction.
Pink's laughter echoed through the chaos, raw with frustration and defiance. "Consider this foreplay," she sneered. "I promise, it's only going to get rougher from here."
The pink energy coursed through her suit, surging through her body in waves of raw, electric power. Pink felt it like an adrenaline-fueled flame, making her muscles coil and uncoil with impossible speed. She moved with the precision and grace of a gymnast on fire, vaulting off overturned tables and flipping over panicked soldiers. Her boots hit the ground with flawless landings, her movements a perfect blend of deadly efficiency and acrobatic flair.
Pink's gauntlets pulsed with energy as she wove between the chaos. She jabbed an elbow into one soldier's throat, cutting off his scream as he crumpled, gasping for air. She flipped backward, landing in a perfect crouch before launching herself forward, her knee smashing into another's chest with bone-crushing force. The pink glow of her suit flared brighter, feeding her momentum as she unleashed a devastating roundhouse kick, sending a soldier sprawling.
"Come on!" she taunted, her voice slicing through the chaos. "Is this all you've got? I expected more from a room full of armored grunts! Give me something interesting!"
One soldier lunged at her, rifle raised, but Pink ducked low, sliding beneath his swing and firing a stun round from her gauntlet. The impact crackled with energy, sending him into convulsions before he collapsed. She twisted upward in a smooth motion, jamming the edge of her hand into another soldier's exposed neck, his gasp of pain barely audible over the cacophony.
Meanwhile, Prism worked her magic, hijacking the bioweave suits. Soldiers stumbled as their visors filled with scrambled, disorienting images—flashes of color and false threats that made them flinch and fire at shadows. Rifles misfired, or worse, jammed completely as Prism corrupted their targeting systems. She even triggered emergency armor releases, causing heavy chest plates to disengage and crash to the floor, leaving their wearers unprotected and vulnerable.
"Oops," Prism mocked, her voice filled with dark glee. "Looks like your fancy toys don't work so well under pressure. Poor babies. What will you do now?"
Pink vaulted off a nearby crate, spinning mid-air and landing a brutal kick to a soldier's jaw, sending him sprawling into a heap. She felt the surge of pink energy again, flowing through her veins like liquid adrenaline. Her gauntlets fired another stun round, this one hitting a soldier square in the chest, the electrical pulse dropping him instantly.
"Pick it up!" she shouted, her grin feral. "I'm not even warmed up yet!" She slipped between two soldiers trying to flank her, her fists snapping out with brutal efficiency—an elbow to one man's nose, a palm strike to another's temple. They crumpled, groaning, as she danced between them, untouchable and unstoppable.
Pink was a whirlwind of pink energy and ruthless grace, her movements as unpredictable as they were devastating. She ducked under the wild swing of a soldier's rifle, grabbing his wrist and twisting hard. The sickening crunch of bone echoed in the chaos, and she used his own momentum to fling him into a group of his comrades. They tumbled like bowling pins, the soldier's armor clattering as Prism triggered another series of misfires.
"Come on!" Pink barked, spinning to face her next target, her tone laced with wicked glee. "At least try to look competent!"
A brute of a soldier charged at her, all brawn and no brains, his massive fists aiming to crush her. Pink's smile widened beneath her helmet, and she vaulted up, planting a boot on his knee and launching herself over his head. She landed behind him, reached up, and delivered a brutal chop to the back of his neck. He dropped, unconscious, and she rolled forward, narrowly avoiding a burst of gunfire from another desperate soldier.
She came out of the roll with a snap kick to the shooter's knee, forcing a howl from his lips as he buckled. Before he could fall, she slammed her forearm into his throat, cutting his cries short and sending him to the ground in a gasping heap. Without a moment to breathe, Pink pivoted on her heel and side-flipped over a table, her legs spinning in the air like a gymnast's routine, but with a deadly edge. She landed lightly and unleashed a flurry of jabs at another attacker, her fists moving with lightning speed. A strike to the kidney, a hook to the jaw, and finally a brutal uppercut that sent the man sprawling backward.
The energy coursing through her felt alive, a pink fire that made every movement sharper, every strike harder. But she never stayed still. Her adaptability in combat made her a force of nature, a storm of kicks, punches, and devastating blows that the soldiers couldn't keep up with.
A soldier tried to sneak up behind her, but Prism's voice purred in warning. "Three o'clock, darling. Ready for a dance partner?"
Pink twisted mid-air, using the warning to her advantage, and landed a spinning back kick square into the soldier's chest, sending him skidding across the floor. "Thanks, Prism," she sang, her voice bright with adrenaline.
Another soldier, this one more composed, took aim with a rifle. Pink spotted him and reacted without hesitation, yanking a stun disk from her belt and flicking it like a deadly frisbee. It connected with his shoulder, sending a pulse of pink energy through his body. He dropped his weapon, spasming as he hit the ground, and Pink sprinted forward, vaulting over a crate to intercept yet another opponent.
She landed beside the next soldier and slammed her knee into his stomach, doubling him over. In one fluid motion, she twisted his arm behind his back and drove him into the floor. Before she could take another breath, two more soldiers rushed her from the left and right, trying to flank her. Pink dropped to the ground in a perfect split, their fists swinging uselessly over her head. With a predatory grin, she swept their legs out from under them, sending both men crashing into each other.
"Nice teamwork, boys! but i'm not in the mood to be double teamed right now" she mocked, pushing herself back to her feet with a dancer's ease.
Meanwhile, Prism kept up her interference, causing another wave of mayhem. Visors flashed with disorienting patterns, rifles jammed, and a few suits tightened to the point of restricting movement, soldiers grunting as they struggled against their own armor. Pieces of bioweave plating suddenly disengaged, crashing to the floor and leaving several soldiers exposed and panicked.
Pink capitalized on the chaos, sprinting toward a heavily armored brute who was still trying to get his gun working. She vaulted up, grabbed the back of his helmet, and yanked hard, using his own momentum to slam his head into the floor. She backflipped away, planting both feet squarely into the chest of another soldier, propelling him into a stack of crates with a satisfying crash.
Another soldier swung at her with a combat knife, but Pink twisted away, grabbing his wrist and twisting his arm into a painful lock. "Oh, come on," she taunted, her voice dripping with mock pity. "At least try to make me break a sweat." With a savage knee to his gut, she sent him sprawling, then launched herself into the air once more, flipping over another soldier and firing a volley of stun rounds from her gauntlets.
Pink landed lightly on her feet, surveying the room filled with groaning, disoriented soldiers, the chaos she'd created a whirlwind of triumph around her. "That all you've got?" she called out, a wild, victorious laugh escaping her lips. "I expected more from a room full of supposed warriors! Better luck next time, boys!"
Pink stood amidst the wreckage of fallen soldiers, breathing heavily but grinning under her helmet. She wasn't sure how many she had taken down—she'd lost count in the adrenaline-fueled chaos—but she knew they were lucky to still be alive. The pink energy still hummed through her body, the endorphins from the fight making her feel light, almost euphoric. She felt good, better than she had in weeks, and it made her laugh, a wild, unrestrained sound.
Prism's voice slinked into her thoughts, dark and playful as ever. "They never even got close to the alarm," she purred. "I feel so... clam jammed."
Pink burst out laughing, the absurdity of it cutting through the tension. "Oh my god, Prism!" she managed between chuckles, shaking her head. "You're the worst."
"Guilty as charged," Prism replied, her laughter carrying a wicked edge.
But as Pink moved forward, stepping over groaning bodies and into the deeper recesses of the room, her laughter faded. The endorphin rush drained from her veins as she laid eyes on the area in the back. Her heart sank, the grin slipping away as a chill washed over her.
There it was—a Ranger vault. The sight of it made her gut twist, and the lightness she'd felt vanished in an instant. The vault was an ominous structure, fortified with layers of reinforced metal and lined with alien energy dampeners.
Prism's voice, now devoid of any playfulness, sank into her mind like a cold knife. "There's only one reason they'd resort to using this," she said. "They weren't just detaining him temporarily. They were planning to keep him here, hidden from the world. They must've been terrified of Nova. This vault is probably one of the only places on Earth where she'd never be able to find him."
Pink's jaw tightened, her hands clenching as Prism continued. "He's not just cut off from the Grid. This place dampens everything—even the Ranger's sense of where the morpher is...
Rage ignited in Pink's chest, hot and consuming. "They wanted to make him disappear," she whispered, her voice shaking with fury. "Completely erase him."
Prism's voice sank into Pink's mind, heavy with solemnity. "And it gets worse," she continued. "This vault doesn't accept Ranger access codes. It's designed to shut out our kind completely—Ranger AIs can't get in or interfere. There's no way to hack it on the fly... not unless all of us AI were working together, hunting for back doors or exploitable holes in the code."
Pink's lips curled into a smirk, even as her anger simmered. "That's okay," she replied, her voice brimming with a dangerous kind of excitement. "We can do it the fun way." She began pulling out a series of explosive and plasma charges from her belt, her fingers moving with eager precision as she alternated them along the thick vault doors.
"If she won't let me crack her open," Pink continued, planting another charge with a satisfied snap, "then I'll make her melt." Her grin widened beneath her helmet, her pink energy pulsing with anticipation as she prepared for the vault to feel her wrath.