Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
"Curse Of The Cobra"
Original Air Date: 05/13/00		Featuring footage from: GoGo Five #20 - Fumetsu No Resukiyuu Tamashii (The Immortal Rescue Spirit)
*7th Regular Season (14th of the 8th Season by Series) *Official Fox Kids Show Number PR-1014 *14th episode of PRLR *352nd total Power Rangers episode
Writers: Judd Lynn & Jackie Marchand		Director: Ryuta Tasaki
Starring Cast: Michael Chaturantabut _AS_ Chad Lee (Blue Ranger) Rhett Fisher _AS_ Ryan Mitchell (Titanium Ranger) Sean Cw Johnson _AS_ Carter Grayson (Red Ranger) Alison MacInnis _AS_ Dana Mitchell (Pink Ranger) Keith Robinson _AS_ Joel Rawlings (Green Ranger) Sasha Williams _AS_ Kelsey Winslow (Yellow Ranger) Ron Rogge _AS_ Captain William Mitchell Jennifer L. Yen _AS_ Vypra		Additional Cast: Neil Kaplan _AS_ Diabolico (voice) David Lodge _AS_ Loki (voice) Kim Strauss _AS_ Jinxer (voice) David Stenstrom _AS_ Demonite & Clone (voices) Alonzo Bodden _AS_ Thunderon (voice) Ezra Weisz _AS_ Falkar (voice)

SUMMARY:

[Scenes from "From Deep In The Shadows", "Truth Discovered" & "Ryan's Destiny"]

Inside the main hall of the palace known only as Skull Cavern, we find Diabolico standing in the center of the smog filled room, gazing down at the sleeping infant demon Impus. His three lead henchdemons walk in, Loki asking Diabolico what he's going to do now that his three new monsters didn't destroy Mariner Bay. Jinxer adds that Queen Bansheera has threatened to give his powers to Impus if he doesn't succeed in wiping out the city, Diabolico calls the bug-winged creature a fool, telling him that he knows that! Impus continues resting peacefully on the mantle, snoring in its sleep. Diabolico's three new monsters enter the room, the spokesdemon for the trio, the white knight known as Demonite, is sorry to report that they almost had the Power Rangers beat when the Titanium Ranger foiled their plans. Demonite asks what they'll do now, Diabolico informs him that he's already made sure Titanium won't bother them much longer. As for the other Rangers, since they'll be expecting their return, Diabolico has a little surprise for them. He hands Demonite a small red card with a mirror imbedded on it, Diabolico tells him that when he feels the need, use it. Vypra & Loki seem shocked by the gift, Jinxer claps his hands together and remarks that it's an excellent call. Diabolico tells the trio of demons (I affectionally refer to as the Darkside Connection) to go, Demonite takes the mirror card and promises his master that they will not fail again. The three depart, and Diabolico chuckles diabolically.

Elsewhere, in the undersea Lightspeed Aquabase, Captain Mitchell shows his recently reunited son around the base. Their tour takes them into the Weapons Lab, when Ryan asks "Who made all of this"? The Captain explains "The Lightspeed Megazords, Rescue Morphers, Blasters, Unilasers, the Rescuebird, and the Rescue Rover were all designed by Ms. Fairweather's team." (thus, those previous implied remarks that Fairweather was totally alone in coming up with these things is proven to be a bit misinformed. And who knows how big Fairweather's team is, or who could be apart of it?!). Ryan takes a good look around the area he once sneaked into, getting a fully lighted view which he inspects with awe. Mitchell takes his son out into the halls, and tells him that Carter is going to stop by and take him to the Training Facility. Ryan thinks he has a lot to learn, but his dad tells him not to worry, he already has what it takes to be a Ranger, the rest is just technicalities. They pause in their journeys, and the Captain smiles to his son, saying to him that he can't tell him how glad he is to have him back. Ryan thanks his father and "me too"s the remark. Captain Mitchell goes his own way, and Ryan's smile gradually dissolves as well. He enters his own Aqua Apartment room, and heads over to his closet (which seems to have a second set of those same clothes Ryan always has on in it). He stands before the mirror located inside the door, turns around, zips down his shirt, and stares at the cobra tattoo imprinted on him just recently.

[opening credits, same as last time. Fairweather credited, but doesn't appear.]

Ryan continues checking out the evil mark on his back, remembering the strange dream in which Diabolico branded him with the cobra tattoo. The scene from the previous episode plays out, up until the part where the cobra comes to life and bits his neck. Carter walks up to Ryan's door, but as he's about to knock, he hears Ryan's voice from within, stating "I can't believe this is happening!". The door hasn't completely shut, and so, Carter peeks in, spotting Ryan's cobra tattoo on the lower right portion of his back. Ryan finally slips back on his shirt and starts to leave his room, when he finds Carter standing there agape. Not thinking he saw anything, Ryan simply asks what's up, and Carter ignores the questions in his head over what he witnessed, mentioning that he thought he'd give him a tour of the Training Facility. As they head out into the hall, Captain Mitchell's voice comes over the speaker system, calling all Rangers to report to "Rescue Ops", thus giving an official name to the Command Headquarters of the Aquabase! Carter remarks that sometimes the best training is on the job, patting Ryan on the back and rushing off to Ops with his new teammate. In the city, Thunderon batters his mighty fists into a building, shattering the entire structure with only two blows. Debris crumbles atop several civilians, and people race away in panic, one rescue worker ends up tripping and falling in the stampede. The assault by the Darkside Connection gains the attention of Lightspeed, as the Captain watches the carnage on the viewing screen in Rescue Ops. The six Ranger recruits enter, Kelsey noticing the screened events and noting "They're back!". The Captain turns to the team and asks them if they're ready, Ryan looks him in the eyes and says "Absolutely". Capt. Mitchell is excited, saying "Let's show them what six Rangers can do!", before the six salute and shout "yes, sir", while on their way out. They rush into the Transport Bay, grab their Lightspeed Rescue Jackets, and board the Rescue Rover. Ryan sits in the back of the Humvee with Joel, who tells him "C'mon Ryan, let's show you how this is really done!". The Lift lowers, and the Rover rolls off into the city.

Several buildings are ablaze and partially trashed, the culprits lie below, reveling in the mayhem. Demonite states that he loves the smell of destruction, and Thunderon gleefully shouts that they'll have this place leveled by lunchtime! The Ranger recruits appear, as Falkar puts it, right on time. Three take to the rescue work of pulling people from under debris, while three others stand poised for battle in front of the Darkside Connection. The rescue work involves just one guy, and once some cops show up, the remaining three Ranger teens rush over to rejoin their teammates. Demonite says "We meet again", prompting Carter to shout "I guess you didn't learn the first time!". He gives the team the signal to grab their Rescue Morphers and shout "Lightspeed Rescue" as they collectively Morph into Lightspeed Rangers. Ryan does his own Morphing, changing into Titanium Ranger nearby. The six Rangers stand together and prepare to save the city, the trio of demons charge forward, and the battle begins. Now more evenly matched up two-to-one, the fight breaks off into three sections of the ruined area. Green & Pink Rangers take on Thunderon, Joel & Dana spend most of the time mimicking each others jumping styles before double Rescue Blasting him. Yellow & Blue Rangers tag team Falkar, who is more wily than they bargained for. Chad ends up smashed into a wall by Falkar's staff. Demonite is sparring with Titanium & Red Rangers, his blade-arm against their Titanium Ax & Rescue Baton. They appear to be doing well, until Demonite strikes Carter down and aims for Ryan, who leaps powerfully into the air, landing atop a nearby structure. Titanium Ranger stands high above Demonite, who spots Ryan switching his Ax into Laser Mode, and asks him what he's got there. Ryan tells him "This!", pulling the trigger on the Titanium Laser, and unleashing a blast of energy. Unfortunately, Demonite ducks just in time, mostly thanks to Ryan's cobra tattoo, which begins to glow right through the back of his Titanium costume! It causes Ryan great agony as it begins to slowly move across his back, so much in fact that Titanium Ranger collapses to his knees and loses grip of his Laser. Demonite howls with laughter, Red Ranger shouts out to his pal who seems to be in apparent duress, and the Titanium Laser falls to the ground. Ryan soon follows, as the cobra finally ceases movement, and Titanium Ranger plunges over the edge of the platform, slamming into the debris-covered ground.

Demonite leaps over Carter and stands above the helplessly in pain Ryan. Aiming his blade-arm at Titanium Ranger, Demonite tells him "Say good-bye, traitor", but before he can slice into Ryan, Demonite is struck in the back by Red Ranger's Rescue Blaster. Carter rushes to Ryan's side and asks him what just happened, Titanium Ranger clutches his shoulder and tells him not to worry, he's fine. Ryan suddenly cries out in pain, grabbing his back, Carter spots the golden glowing image shifting around and asks him what in the world it is. Ryan states that it's nothing, and Carter doesn't have time to press the matter, as the Darkside Connection regroups in front of the two, Demonite laughing "Revenge is sweet!". The other four Power Rangers race to their teammates' side, Dana asking her brother if he's alright, which he lies that he is. Demonite whips out his mirror card, saying that he's brought something to double their fun! Tossing the card on the ground, mirror up, it begins to glow, as a form begins to take shape in a matter of seconds. The six Power Rangers watch in shock as the form is revealed to be an exact copy of Demonite (Carter even shouting such, despite how Demonite has never been named onscreen!). It's not a complete twin, his helmet has a blue marking on top of it and sometimes has two bladearms. Demonite points out that everything he can do, his clone can do too! Evil laughter is bellowed, and Rangers are frightened.

[commercials]

Demonite tells the Rangers that they'll have to work twice as hard now. Demonite and clone, open fire upon the six Rangers, who roll out of the way of the surrounding blasts. Demonite's clone rushes into battle while the real Demonite takes a breather, sending his two demon buddies to do the dirty work for a while. Red & Titanium Rangers find the Demonite Clone a bit sharp on the edges, Pink & Blue Rangers find Thunderon more than a fistful, and Yellow & Green Rangers learn that Falkar is a real Pokey-monster as he strikes with his staff! Red Ranger ends up getting grabbed by Demonite's Clone, and held in place while the real Demonite plans to blast the helpless Carter (notice the digital splitting effects, seems they only had one costume of Demonite to use for him and his clone!). Carter shouts "Not today!" and reaches into his holster, firing his Rescue Blaster at Demonite while it's still attached to his belt. The blast strikes Demonite, causing his shoulder to spark, and to Carter's confusion, the same thing occurs on the clone. Titanium Ranger returns (must have had to go potty) and takes the Demonite Clone out of the picture for a while, leaving Red Ranger to keep tackling the real demonic deal. Thunderon beats Dana & Chad around the yard, and Falkar slices through Joel & Kelsey like paper, as Ryan tangles with the mirror clone of Demonite. Carter soon pulls out his V-Lancer and leaps through the air to strike Demonite, but he grabs the blade and cuts into Red Ranger on his way down. Dana & Chad also have their V-Lancers out, slashing at Thunderon together, but ending up both blocked by his spiked knuckles. Joel & Kelsey strike at Falkar with their V-Lancers, but the birdboy ducks and then jumps into the air, kicking both Rangers away. The five Power Rangers regroup, all still wielding their so-far useless V-Lancers. The Darkside Connection also regroups, Demonite notes the Rangers grow tiresome, Falkar yawns that they need a change of scenery and urges our heroes to follow. Carter plays right into their hand, leading his team after the trio of demons, but cautioning they should be careful.

They leave Titanium Ranger behind, to continue battling the Demonite Clone alone. They exchange blows, but it seems with every powerful attack Ryan gives, he suffers greater pain as the tattoo inches its way up his back. Meanwhile, the Darkside Connection is chased to the shipping yard, and once in place, our heroes lock their V-Lancers in laser mode on the trio of demons. The combined V-laser attack doesn't seem to effect creatures at all, since they just deflect it with a force field bubble, and bounce the blast right back into the Power Rangers! Thunderon remarks "They just don't learn, do they? Ha ha!". The five Rangers lie on the ground for a moment, and wearily rising from the smoke, Carter tells the monsters that this isn't over yet and they're going to bring them down. Demonite retorts back that it's only a matter of time before they defeat them, Chad asks "Haven't you learned that the Rangers will never be beaten?". Demonite responds that they seem to see things differently, and it's time to teach them a lesson they won't forget. The Darkside Connection aim their weapons at our heroes, and slowly march towards them. Elsewhere, Titanium Ranger gets struck down by the Demonite Clone. Dana (and Carter, it seems) is alerted to Ryan being in trouble and needing their help, via some kind of helmet communication we don't see. Joel states that the last time he saw Ryan he was fighting the Demonite Clone, Carter tells them to wait a minute, as he realizes something. He remembers the blast on Demonite that hurt the clone, and figures that maybe they can fight both of the creatures at once. This gives Red Ranger an idea, and once more the five Rangers race off. The Darkside Connection, their march a little bit too slow, halt their progress the moment their prey departs. Falkar asks "Now where are they going?!", Demonite realizes they're trying to save the Titanium Ranger and to go after them.

Speaking of which, Titanium Ranger is beating the clone juice out of Demonite's mirror twin. That is, until he's unable to punch, by being struck with an intense pain shooting up his back. Demonite Clone laughs and takes advantage of this, bladearm slashing into Titanium Ranger. Caught unawares, Ryan rolls down the steps and Demorphs in the process. His body weak from battle and his back still throbbing, Ryan remains crouched on the ground as Demonite's Clone sharpens his two bladearms against one another and walks towards Ryan, saying with evil excitement "Well, well, well. It looks like you gambled and it came up snake eyes. You lose!" Ryan struggles to make a fist, but from the grunts he groans out, he's not in the shape to do anything but die.

[commercials]

The Darkside Connection chases the Power Rangers through the shipping yard, passing between the huge shipping crates with Demonite leading the way. Our heroes manage to slip around a corner, and despite Demonite's threats that "you'll never lose us", the Rangers do just that! Their targets having vanished instantly, the trio of demons wonder where they went, Thunderon dislikes his reused trick, growling "I'm getting sick of this silly game!". The three monsters slowly march down the alleyway between craters, seeking the Rangers out, not noticing that four of them are passing overhead. That is, until Demonite quickly looks up and fires his eyebeam blasts at them, striking our heroes down with one blow. Falkar knows how to count, as evident when he says "Hold on, where's Red?". This prompts Carter to kick down the pile of metal cans blocking a nearby smaller alley, the cans knock the trio of demons back, and allow Red Ranger to come jumping in, holding his V-Lancer laser mode in one hand, and the Unilaser in the other! Firing Thunderon & Falkar away with the V-Laser, Carter ends up landing up against Demonite. He places his dual laser weapons at pointblank range to Demonite's chest, warning him not to take another step and if he knows what's good for him, to call off his clone right now. Demonite scoffs, telling him "Never! We're having too much fun" (Rocky? Is that you in there?). Meanwhile, Ryan gets slung around by the Demonite Clone, his ribs likely fractured as he ends up serving his side into a cement curb upon landing. Clonite laughs and as he heads towards him, asks the weakened Ranger where his friends are now. One such friend is back at the shipyard, Carter tells Demonite not to force him or he'll have no choice but to destroy both him and his clone at once. Falkar shouts from the sidelines "Go ahead! But i'm sure you're well aware that at that close distance, you'll blow up yourself too!". The other four Rangers finally recover from their recent injuries, and watch from down the way. Demonite, unafraid of death, points out that Falkar is right and to go ahead and shoot! Carter hesitates, Demonite eggs him on by saying "Come on, Red. Pull the trigger!", Falkar giggles, and Thunderon laughs.

Meanwhile, Demonite's Clone also gets a laugh as he aims his dual bladearms down Ryan, who lies helpless on the ground before him. Cloneite begins to raise his right bladearm, dramatically slowly, of course, while Ryan sweats it out. Back at the shipyard, Red Ranger tells Demonite that he's pushing him too far, the Darkside Connection simply urge Carter to make like Nike and just do it. His Ranger teammates call out to him, but he ignores all but Demonite, warning him one last time. Demonite laughs "Give it to me!", but Carter can't kill the demon in cold blood, he lowers his V-Lancer Laser & Unilaser, and says that this isn't the right way, he's going to go help Ryan. Red Ranger turns and starts to walk away, when Demonite readies his bladearm and shouts "Then i'll give it to you!" as he lunges forth. Dana shouts for Carter to look out, he does, swinging his double Lasers around and ducking, ending up with the barrel of both pressed against Demonite's chest once again. This time no hesitating, Carter pulls both triggers, firing the Unilaser & V-Laser into Demonite at the same time. He's engulfed in a fireball of explosive energies, as is Red Ranger. The explosion erupts, the Rangers shout in protest and cover their heads. Elsewhere, Demonite's Clone falls victim to his connection to Demonite, and before he can lower the blade into Ryan's body, he stumbles back and ignites into nothing but a large blast. Back at the shipyard, Thunderon & Falkar also cover their heads as several crates in the vicinity explode thanks to the fiery chain reaction. The Power Rangers are left standing in the wreckage, watching as the smoke clears and Demonite's body crumbles into large meaty chunks. Pink Ranger drops to her knees and cries for their apparently deceased teammate Carter, as no sign of him appears in ground zero of the explosion. Elsewhere, Ryan returns to his feet and looks into the flames where his foe once stood, noticing the mirror card falling to the ground and shattering into pieces. Ryan contacts the others on his Titanium Morpher, first trying for Carter, then Dana. He gets no answer, as Dana is busy slumped on the ground whining about how Carter can't be gone. Joel notices that he's not and points it out to Dana, as Carter kicks off the metal cans that had fallen on him in the blast. Red Ranger rises to his feet, the circuitry in his suit a bit torn up, and the wounds smoking, but otherwise, he's perfectly fine. The four Rangers race to his side, Dana hugging him and holding him up as he collapses in her arms. Dana tells him that he scared them, and Carter notes that he scared himself pretty good too.

Above them, atop a crate, Falkar is stunned by the sight that Red Ranger destroyed Demonite and managed to walk out alive. Thunderon tells him not to worry and to remember that they have Diabolico on their side! Indeed, as we see in Skull Cavern (through the viewpoint of the Hell-Mouth statue), Diabolico states that they're not through fighting yet and he has something that will make Demonite stronger. He pulls out a special card with two crossing blades on it, and shouts for Demonite to rise up and be even more powerful than before. Diabolico flips the card through the dimensional vortex in that statue mouth, sending the card to the scene of the destruction. He shouts "Grow!", and the card helps the meaty remains of Demonite come back together and do just that. No need for bats, Demonite's body reanimates gigantically via balls of energy clumping together. Demonite's not just back with a new size, but with two bladearms (like his Clone) and a new helmetless head! Red Ranger calls on Rescuezords to Mobilize, they roll out of the Rail Rescues themselves and before you know it, the Lightspeed Megazord has come together once more. Falkar watches from below, noting "That's quite an impressive Megazord. Hmm.", Thunderon remarking "Demonite will turn it into scrap metal!". The two watch the scenery as the Lightspeed Megazord stomps into fighting position with Demonite on the horizon. Demonite strikes with his dual bladearms, the Lightspeed Megazord Saber barely taking up the slack. Eventually, the double blades are able to keep the Saber-weilding arm held in place long enough for Demonite to slice the right arm of the Lightspeed Megazord off! This rocks each of the Ranger cockpits, Joel calls the creature "too tough", but Carter just tells him to hang in there. The one-armed Megazord stumbles around, trying to avoid Demonite's attacks, destruction inevitable.

Red Ranger (his suit-wounds from earlier still visible) tells his team that they're only going to get one crack at this and to keep the monster busy for him. Carter takes his Rescue Grip and departs the Megazord, leaving Chad in control. Demonite starts blade-battering the Megazord, sparking the four Rangers inside it. The Rail Rescues are coming together nearby, forming the Supertrain Megazord within a matter of moments. Demonite laughs some more as he impales his bladearm into the Lightspeed Megazord. This fun distraction allows Carter enough time to get the SuperTrain Megazord in position, Demonite only aware of the massive machine when it's unloading it's arsenal of missiles into him! Demonite is knocked away from the Lightspeed Megazord, which shuffles over to the SuperTrain's side for protection. We get a shot showing the scale of the SuperTrain to Demonite & the Lightspeed Megazord, as well as the city. Dana's wowed by seeing the SuperTrain from the outside for a change, and Joel thinks Carter's idea was a good one. Red Ranger tells his team "Okay guys, let's give it all we got, alright?", they reply with a firm collective "Right"! The SuperTrain Megazord readies its Turbine fist, with Demonite in its sights. Carter Supercharges the Turbines and fires, blasting into the creature with intense precision. The Lightspeed Megazord takes its Saber in its one good hand and charges it up, Chad giving the word for it to "Ignite". Which it does, slicing into Demonite via the "fire-ring" stock footage of when it had both its arms. The Saber strikes Demonite, he collapses and instantly explodes, it's Good-Knight to him! Carter breathes a sigh of relief and notes that was a tough one. The SuperTrain Megazord appears side-by-side with the Lightspeed Megazord, and hey, look, Lightspeed Megazord sewed its arm back on offscreen! As the two mighty machines pose, Ryan rushes to within view of them both, shouting "Great job, guys! That was amazing". Ryan smiles for only a second, before his back pains start up once again, causing him to fall to the ground and cry out in agony.

[commercials]

In Skull Cavern, Diabolico doesn't understand how those Rangers could destroy Demonite. Falkar tells him not to worry, Thunderon seconding him, promising to take care of them for him. The only two remaining members of the Darkside Connection depart the room together, Diabolico remarking to himself that they'd better not fail or else that little runt will have his power. Said "little runt" is Impus, who is still sleeping nearby, and the target of much aggression by Diabolico.

Meanwhile at the Lightspeed Aquabase, Ryan looks at the new shape of his cobra tattoo, it's begun to uncoil itself and stretch its head & tongue up his back a slight bit more. There's a knock at the door, so Ryan slips back on his shirt and tells the person to come in. It's Carter, who came by to see how he was doing. Ryan claims that he's fine and walks over to his kitchen area and pours himself a drink of water. Carter levels with Ryan, telling him that he saw the tattoo. Ryan tries to play it off "Oh. That. It's just a going-away present from Diabolico!". Carter notes that today during the fight it was like it was alive. Ryan sips his drink and turns to Carter, asking him that if he tells him something, he's got to promise not to tell anyone, including Captain Mitchell. Carter agrees, and Ryan reveals that the cobra tattoo IS alive and every time he Morphs it's going to move up his back until its reaches his neck and destroys him. Carter calls this crazy, urging him to tell his father about this. He doesn't have to, as Captain Mitchell plays eavesdropper, approaching the door just in time to hear enough to warrant listening in further. Ryan tells him "No, this is the first chance i've had to do something good with my life. If my dad finds out, he won't let me be a Ranger". Carter points out "If your dad doesn't stop you, that cobra will!". The Captain opens the door and says that Carter is right. Silence fills the room, so Carter leaves and leaves this matter to Mitchell & son alone. Ryan tries to explain, but Mitchell just wants to see the tattoo (despite not hearing the word "tattoo" during the time he was listening in). Ryan tells him that really it's no big thing and not a problem, but his father stands firm on the issue. He gives in and turns around, lifting the back of the shirt. The Captain takes a look at the evil expression on the cobra's face and tells his son "Sorry, Ryan, but until we figure something out, you do not Morph into the Titanium Ranger. Understood?". Ryan argues "But, Dad...", but Mitchell will hear of no butts (cept maybe Ryan's, given the proximity to the tattoo). He gives in and tells his father "alright". The Captain silently walks away, stopping at the doorway to say "I lost you once. I don't want to lose you again.". The door closes behind him, and Ryan is left torn between his responsibility to redeem himself, and his father's wishes to protect him.

[scenes from "Strength Of The Sun"; end credits]