SUMMARY:
[Recap of "When Push Comes To Shove"]
The episode begins with a kiddie soccer game just finishing up. A boy named Patrick tells a tall tale to his friends about a bear attack, with "scars" to prove it. Of course he has them going until his Mom spoils the fun by revealing the scars to be easily wiped off with a napkin. The Soccer kids laugh at the little liar. Carlos & Cassie, whom were obviously coaching or something at the game, laugh as well. On the way home, Patrick tells local Officer Hemming that a bank is being robbed nearby. Of course no one believes the ever fibbing child, and Hemming tells him those lies are going to get him trouble one day (that day may be closer than he thinks). Meanwhile, the Astro Megaship is flying kinda low through Earth's atmosphere, as a thunderstorm is kicking up lighting around it. TJ & Ashley, Morphed but helmetless, prepare to train in the SimuDeck on the usual Craterite simulation. As they are starting their training battles with the VR villains, Andros is running tests on storm data, Cassie & Carlos teleporting aboard just in time for things to go wrong! The storm becomes quickly unstable, and Andros is unable to steer the Megaship out to safety before stray lightning bolts strike parts of the ship, causing computer malfunctions throughout.
[opening credits]
Lightning continues to pound on the ship, frying more security circuitry. The Simulation web in the SimuDeck disappears after a power surge, but the Craterites are still there! TJ & Ashley try to hold them off as what seems like an endless amount of now very much real Craterites, which begin to make an escape from the ship. Andros & the others join in to help but can do no good as what seems like thousands of the computer created drones pour out of the cargo bay doors, spouting parachutes and landing safely in Angel Grove. Down below, Bulk & Prof Phenomenus try out special enhanced hearing devices, which they use to try and listen for aliens. Skull is manning the decibel level control inside the van, and soon enough, Craterites are heard parachuting from the skies above! Inspection through binoculars reveal the unlimited supply of artificial aliens dropping down, so Professor hops in the van and gets a move on it, Bulk being pulled from shock by the wire of his earphones. Nearby, Patrick awakens from his bed and spots outside in the night shrouded streets a crowd of people suspiciously moving things around. He gets scared from the commotion and runs back to bed, thinking it a bad dream.
[commercials]
The next morning, Patrick's Mom kisses him good-bye as she heads to work and tells him the neighbor will be taking him to school. Not far away, the Power Rangers shoot the tubes in their Galaxy Gliders, heading for the center of Angel Grove. They then demorph and split up looking for the Craterites, since their sole purpose and programming is to fight Power Rangers. Patrick goes next door to get a ride to school, but no one answers. He looks in the window to see three Craterites acting like a family! He makes a run for it, and soon realizes everyone around him, from the mailman to a gardener, is an alien. He keeps running until he finds Officer Hemming in the park. While trying to explain his predicament to his cop pal, a glance in the mirror reveals even Hemming has been replaced (the real one bound & gagged in the back-seat of the police car)! Poor little Patty runs for his life once more, this time bumping into his soccer friends. Because he's cried wolf so many times, they scoff at him and laugh at his story as they head to school. Patrick sits down and cries on a bench. Nearby in the Phenomenus Van, The trio of losers plan their next move against the invasion, which consists of hiding like scared babies while building a machine to take care of the aliens. Cassie & Carlos continue their AMScanner search for the 'rites when they spot Patrick bawling and ask him what is wrong. He doesn't think they're believe him so he doesn't tell them anything, they cart him back home (The boy is playing hooky from school today, I guess). As the two teens leave to search for more 'Rites, Carlos tells him whatever is wrong, the Power Rangers will protect him from, although Patrick doesn't believe him either. Elsewhere in the City, Andros, TJ & Ashley make their way to a construction site on their Craterite hunt. Ash spots a suspicious looking worker, giving her a weird facial twitch. All of a sudden, a van nearby, which looks a lot like Adelle's missing van, is rocking like crazy. So she goes a knocking and finds the same guy who she just saw, except he's tied up! Unless he's angry with his twin, the other one is a Craterite in human disguise. The game is up and the entire crowd of workers begin doing funky hand movements and turn into their true forms. The Ranger teens release the captured worker, contact Carlos & Cassie, and prepare for battle as the Craterites swarm around them!
[commercials]
As the Craterites surround them, the Ranger teens Rocket and Morph. Cassie & Carlos slip in during the '3-3-5-enter' scene. The Rangers unite, jumping on a nearby building and posing dramatically. They hop down, ready to use their long honed skills from simulation training to reality. Red Ranger slashes them around with his Spiral Saber, as Pink Ranger bounces around blasting with her Astro Blaster, and Black Ranger uses his Lunar Lance to swipe them clean. Blue takes them on with his bare fists, Yellow with her smooth kicks. Soon enough the Craterites are defeated, but now the Rangers are called by Alpha to fight more of the digital demons down at the beach. Here the Yellow, Black and Blue Rangers get to use their special weapons some more to beat the crap out of the computer baddies (Teej demonstrating his Astro spin attack real nicely). Once they're finished becoming heroes of the beach, Cassie figures out why Patrick was so spooked, that he knew about the humanized 'rites, so they rush to get him to safety. Meanwhile, The Million Craterites March is rallying in front of a building downtown, where atop of it stands the leaders 'Rite with the black head (we'll call him 'chuckles' for lack of a better name). He tells them something in craterese and they get rowdy. The Rangers pick up Patrick, but Officer Hemming stops them by showing his true form and calling in his posse. As the good guys retreat, Patrick's Mom pulls up and he gets in the van with her and they get the heck out of dodge! Cassie & Andros lure the army of Craterites to the woods, where they are outnumbered about twenty to one. Where did the other Rangers go? Driving around in the Megatank for no reason, leaving Pink & Red to fight tons of the computer bred aliens. Chuckles appears and begins to blast our two heroes all about the forest. The other three Rangers finally pop up to help and bring a modified Spiral Saber, which is attached to a blaster, and programmed by DECA with info from the SimuDeck to help defeat the Craterites. Red Ranger fires it, with some help of his Lightstar Helmet power, striking Chuckles and a gang of 'Rites. This only stuns them momentarily, as chuckles pulls every single one of the Craterites into himself, forming a huge mega Craterite monster! The Astro Megazord is needed badly to battle the oversized amalgamated Craterite (or, "Craterite Conglomerate"). They begin to fight, and punches are exchanged. The Megazord knocks a hole through it (which quickly reforms), proving nothing can phase the virtual-born monstrosity. TJ hooks the SimuDeck data into the Astro Megazord Blaster, and it's slightly effective against the giant foe. They decide to focus on blasting chuckles' head in the center chest of the mixed monster, which seems to be it's weak spot. Millions of Craterites go boom once the bullseye is struck and the Rangers win the game again.
[commercials]
Later at the Surf Spot, Patrick tells Officer Hemming he's giving up his lying ways, having learned his lesson. Bulk & Skull run in with a device of Phenom's called a Space Alien Stripper (no, not THAT kind), threatening Hemming and everyone else to reveal their alien selves or they'll use it. Unfortunately, it backfires and strips the bumbling duo of their clothing instead. Everyone laughs, but cries hard inside for once again seeing Bulk & Skull in their skivvies.
[Scenes from "The Wasp With A Heart"; end credits]
_BLOOPERS:_
TJ flubs up the human form revelation scene; Patrick can't decide whether he's coming or going when opening his front door; Carlos gets space sick; Craterites hop to it!
