Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
"Strength Of The Sun"
Original Air Date: 05/20/00		Featuring footage from: GoGo Five #21 - 6 Banme No Shin Senshi! (The New 6th Solider!)
*7th Regular Season (15th of the 8th Season by Series) *Official Fox Kids Show Number PR-1015 *15th episode of PRLR *353rd 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) Monica Louwerens _AS_ Ms. Fairweather Ron Rogge _AS_ Captain William Mitchell Jennifer L. Yen _AS_ Vypra		Additional Cast: Brad Wilson _AS_ Tech #1 Neil Kaplan _AS_ Diabolico (voice) David Lodge _AS_ Loki (voice) Kim Strauss _AS_ Jinxer (voice) Diane Salinger _AS_ Queen Bansheera (voice) Alonzo Bodden _AS_ Thunderon (voice) Ezra Weisz _AS_ Falkar (voice)

SUMMARY:

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

In the demonous dwelling known only as Skull Cavern, Queen Bansheera's spiritual image makes the same threat to her disappointing servant Diabolico that she has before. Fail to destroy the Power Rangers again, and his Star Power will be given to her baby son, Impus! Diabolico promises not to fail again, and Bansheera's image tells him that he'd best not, before fading away into another dimension again. Diabolico quickly turns to Impus, who is resting on a pedestal behind him, and calls the dragon infant a "Spoiled little brat!". He says that If Impus wasn't the Queen's child he'd be nothing, and fearing another failure, Diabolico states that Impus will never have his powers, he'll destroy the child first! Diabolico approaches the sleeping baby with his evil clawed hand held out, with malicious intent. Right as he's about to rip Impus to shreds (hey, why use a knife when your nails are much more mean?), Jinxer walks in and asks Diabolico what he's doing. He pulls his hand away from the baby and fibs that he's just been adoring little Impus as he sleeps, "so innocent and... vulnerable...". Diabolico makes a fist with the hand he had planned to eliminate the child with, his infanticide plan foiled! Vypra & Loki walk in as well, Vypra asks her "master" what his next plan is, and Loki asks for permission to make a monster. Diabolico silences him midsentence and says that they don't need another monster, since Falkar & Thunderon (their first onscreen name mention) have still not fulfilled their quests. Said duo of demons enter, Falkar claims to be at his master's beck & call, and Thunderon asks what they can do for him. Diabolico has had enough of their babble and wants them to destroy the Rangers before Queen Bansheera returns. He orders them to finish the Rangers immediately, Thunderon replies "As you wish, master!" while Falkar laments "Personally, I will miss having them around to play with. But destroy them we will, the Power Rangers will be no more!"

[opening credits.]

Inside the Lightspeed Aquabase, the Weapons Lab section, Ms. Fairweather & Captain Mitchell examine the latest project. A technician named David brings up schematics on a computer terminal of what looks to be a shuttle train, named the Max Solarzord! Mitchell asks when it'll be ready to come online, Fairweather tells him it's ready now but the only problem is Ryan. She goes on to say that without the Titanium Ranger, the Max Solarzord is useless, as it's sophisticated weapons system was designed by Ms. Fairweather to be specifically operated by the Titanium Ranger. Ryan just happens to be walking in the hall as she says this, and eavesdrops on the talk concerning him. The Captain notes that right now there is no Titanium Ranger and hopes they can manage without the new Zord. Fairweather thinks he's right, as hope is all they have right now. She takes the CD-Rom from the computer terminal and places it inside a special case, and seals it up inside a briefcase (apparently, the disc contains the operating instructions for the Max Solarzord). Ryan takes this to heart, and sulks alone about being scolded by his father to keep from Morphing again. Elsewhere on the Aquabase, in the Galley, the five Ranger teens relax to a few cups of coffee & breakfast. Joel can't believe that the Captain won't let Ryan Morph with those two monsters still out there. Chad agrees that they're going to need Titanium Ranger's help. Dana notes that he didn't have a choice, and Carter points out that Ryan won't be able to help anyone if that cobra destroys him. Their Rescue Morphers beep, and Captain Mitchell orders them to the Transport Bay on the double, as an alert is out. They leave the table and scramble through the halls, the Captain walks with them and says that Falkar & Thunderon (having read my spoilers previously he now knows the proper names for the monsters! ;} were detected in the western city district. He tells them to be very careful, and is a bit puzzled when the five Ranger recruits stop in their tracks at the end of the hallway. The Captain goes to see what they're waiting for, and finds Ryan, holding up traffic. Mitchell & son exchange glances silently, the Captain's stern demeanor apparent even without words. He shakes his head and tells the Rangers to go, they obey and head for Transport around their grounded teammate. His father standing firm on the issue of not letting that cobra tattoo progress up his son's back whenever he Morphs, Ryan backs down and heads off in the direction opposite of where the Rangers went, with his head hung low.

[commercials]

The five Ranger recruits all jacketed up, they make the scene of the monster disturbance in the Rescue Rover. Falkar & Thunderon are found lurking in what seems to be the old abandoned warehouse area, Falkar especially excited to see the "little do-gooders" have arrived. The five pile out of the Humvee, and Carter tells them it's time to Morph. Falkar & Thunderon approach slowly, Falkar egging them on once more by saying "Yes, let's see your super powers, haha!". They Morph into Lightspeed Rangers with the usual five-screen shot, and then leap powerfully over the two demons, landing on a second story ledge and standing together saluting with a simultaneous "Let's Do It!". Carter shouts "Light", Chad shouts "Speed", and the whole team poses shouting "Rescue!". Falkar asks the foolish little Rangers how many times they need to be humiliated by them before they learn. Thunderon spews some green thunder bolts from his eyes, blasting our heroes from their perch and onto the ground floor. The demonic duo laugh, and follow the Rangers as our heroes lead them inside the raggedy building. Thunderon races in with his mighty fists striking about, punching each Ranger until he knocks both Green & Red into a wall. Joel & Carter timed this right, bouncing off the walls and throwing their Rescue Ropes at Thunderon on the way back. They have the creature's fist tangled up, but he simply uses this failed binding to swing his body around, taking Red & Green Rangers out for a spin! Falkar rips into the other three Rangers with his claw-staff, finishing them off with an old trick, the "spin around on the staff and claw with your feet rapidly" maneuver.

The beaten Power Rangers regroup, and Falkar begs them to at least give them a little bit of a challenge. Carter figures he asked for it, and the team whips out their Rescue Blasters. Firing the lasers at the demonic duo only cause the blasts to be deflected back at them! They fall from this reverse routine, Chad notes their weapons are useless, and Kelsey exclaims that there's got to be something they can do. Dana has an idea, and tells her teammates to try and split the monsters up. Kelsey thinks this is brilliant (even though it's no different from what was going on earlier!), and the two females hop up and get to running. They urge the monsters to follow them, Dana taunts that they couldn't catch a fly. Falkar calls them little brats, and Thunderon takes the fly thing personal by saying he's on them like flypaper! Falkar calls his partner too slow, and races after Pink & Yellow Rangers himself, saying that they'll never outrun him. He gives chase, and follows them through what looks to be the same buildings that were blown up in "Up To The Challenge" (oddly this goes for both Sentai & American footage!). The girls stop and fire their Rescue Blasters at the demon, but he manages to avoid the blasts and fires back with his eyebeam lasers, striking them with falcon-like precision. Kelsey & Dana leap from that building, and dash for another one, what looks to be a run-down shack. Hiding behind the wooden boards and peering out with the Blasters ready, the two fail to escape from Falkar's sight. Dana notes it's time for part 2 of the plan, and they both head into the shack as Falkar fires his eyebeams. He comes inside to find them both missing, calling for the "pretties" to come out. Yellow Ranger shouts "ready or not, here I come!" as she swings down from a rope outside the room, and fires the Rescuebird Extinguisher component at Falkar. He takes the burst of air in the face and tumbles, caught off-guard long enough for Pink Ranger to pop up aside Kelsey and fire her Rescue Blaster. Not at the demon this time, but at the roof! The condemned building caves in on Falkar, burying him alive for the time being. Kelsey comments on the "great teamwork, girl!", which Dana thinks "it sure was!".

Back at the Aquabase, Mitchell comes on the speaker system and calls Ms. Fairweather to Rescue Ops. Ryan's wandering around the halls aimlessly and decides to drop by to see what the trouble is. Fairweather & Mitchell witness Thunderon beating the snot out of the three Ranger guys in the outskirts of the city. We then join the battle, already in progress. The three Rangers' Rescue Batons are no match for Thunderon's massive spiked-knuckles. They lie on the ground helpless, their suits smoking from battle, as Thunderon charges forth, only to get Extingush-Blasted by Kelsey, who makes the scene with a flying leap. The demon falls backwards, and this allows the girls to regroup with the guys, Dana helps Carter up while telling him that Falkar is out of the picture. It's time to do the same to Thunderon, so Red Ranger shouts for "V-Lancer, Blaster Mode!", as he & his team pull out their large metal V's from nowhere. With their other hands, they summon their V-Lancers magically from the Aquabase, and quickly lock their V's onto the Lancer's in Blaster Mode. They aim the V-Blasters at Thunderon, who thinks he's had enough child's play and wants to finish this. He fires his green eyeblasts at our heroes, causing all five Rangers to collapse! As they lie apparently unconscious, Thunderon exclaims "Now that's what I call a strike! Haha!" as he marches towards them. Meanwhile, Falkar pulls himself out of the rubble, and vows to make those "nasty little Rangers" pay dearly for what they did to him.

The Power Rangers continue lying helpless on the ground, "lying" being the keyword, as it seems they're playing possum! Dana grunts and lifts her visor, asking Carter if he thinks this is going to work. Carter, his visor up as well, says that is has to. Thunderon approaches slowly, sadistically singing "All the little Rangers lying in a row. Serve them up to Diabolico!". Falkar appears on the horizon, and upon spotting his partner about to finish their prey, he gasps "What? It can't be!". Carter waits for the monster to come a little closer, and just as Thunderon comes near, he & Dana lower their visors again. Thunderon stands above the five downed Rangers, when Carter shouts "Now!", and all five sit up and fire their V-Blasters point blank at the demon! Falkar is shocked to his pal struck, and as Thunderon topples from the attack, our heroes go for a Spectra Blast attack with their V-Lancers. The five beams come together into an energy ball, and is launched at the dazed demon. Thunderon explodes, leaving only chunks of prime beef behind. Falkar is horrified at the unimaginable happening to his partner. Diabolico is on the scene secretly, noting to himself that Thunderon isn't done yet. He pulls out a card with Thunderon's symbol on it, and gloats that this will help him rise to the occasion. The card is tossed, it becomes energy which infuses Thunderon's remains with a massive burst. Thunderon is reborn as a giant menace, and not only are the Power Rangers stunned, but so is Ryan back at the base!

[commercials]

The huge Thunderon blustering above them, the Power Rangers (well, Carter, mainly) call for the Rail Rescues to come On Track! The Train Bay lifts from inside its Aquabase shelter underwater, and rises to the surface. The Rail Rescues roll out and link together, the Rangers hop inside and get in position for a Super Train takeoff, zooming up into the air, and restructuring the pieces to form the SuperTrain Megazord! It lands in the vicinity of the angry Thunderon, and faces off with him. He stomps at the SuperTrain Megazord, smashing his fists into it repeatedly, rocking our heroes inside it. Falkar watches this "beautiful" sight from below, noting aloud that he'll let Thunderon do all the work and he'll take all the credit! Diabolico, standing behind Falkar unnoticed, doesn't think so. Falkar nervously turns around, and fearing his master's wrath, he claims that he was just saying how much he really wishes he was up there helping Thunderon. Diabolico calls this excellent and tells him it can be arranged, but Falkar declines, wanting to see how Thunderon does alone. Falkar turns around, and Diabolico insists, by flinging the Falkar Symbol growing card directly into Falkar's back! The card lodged between his wings, Falkar has no choice but to grow & destroy as per Diabolico's commands. When Falkar increases in height, his face changes a bit, plus as per most all demons, his language becomes limited to grunts. SuperTrain Megazord, for all its power, can't possibly stand up to these two monsters by itself, Which is exactly what Ms. Fairweather remarks back at Rescue Ops to Captain Mitchell. Mitchell thinks they've got to come up with something else then (possibly because sending in the Lightspeed Megazord would just split the Rangers up, thus limiting the output of control power of both Megazords). Ryan wrestles with the fate of his teammates silent in the background.

Back at the battlefield, Falkar pulls his old "pole swinging" schtick again, toe-clawing the bird-crap out of the SuperTrain Megazord. Meanwhile in the Aquabase, The Captain orders his Lightspeed technicians to reroute all reserve power to the Megazord. One of the Techs notes that energy levels are falling, prompting Mitchell to order all reserves to be put online. Ryan listens to this, and stares at his glistening Titanium Morpher. He briefly flashes back to when the cobra tattoo was branded on him, and Diabolico's sinister laughter from that memory sparks Ryan to depart Rescue Ops in a hurry. Back at the action, Falkar kicks the SuperTrain Megazord into a mountain, causing it to break up into perfect blocks of Styrofoam! With the Megazord downed, Diabolico orders his monsters to finish the Rangers off right now. Thunderon & Falkar march towards the SuperTrain, as Carter urgently informs The Captain that they've lost all power! Meanwhile back at the Weapons Lab, Ryan opens the briefcase and the CD case inside it removing the CD-Rom and inserting it into the computer terminal. Good thing he was taught computer training skills at Demon University, since Ryan is able to get the Power Cells on the Max Solarzord activated! Ryan steps into an elevator lift with his Lightspeed Rescue Jacket on, shouting "Titanium Power!" as he presses the button on his Morpher. The Morph scene is cut, as the Max Docking Bay (for lack of a name) rises from the Mariner Bay and connects directly to the side of the Rail Rescue Train Bay. It has a huge M on it, coinciding with the one on Titanium's Morpher & helmet, apparently the M is for "Max" (not Mitchell, despite the obvious connections)! A Lightspeed Technician informs Ms. Fairweather that the Max Solarzord has been activated. She & Captain Mitchell look to each other with their eyes wide, she calls this impossible and rushes over to a terminal to checks the monitor. She sees the Max Bay open up, revealing the Max Solarzord in Shuttle Mode rolling out from within onto the tracks. Titanium Ranger is fully Morphed and sitting in the single-occupant cockpit, operating the joystick & button controls on the console surrounding him. Ryan contacts Ms. Fairweather and tells her that he's going to need a little help here! She's surprised to see him disobeying his father's orders and risking sure death to pilot her newest Zord.

The Max Solarzord speeds out along the railroad tracks, its solar paneling glowing blue with power as it jets past a monorail instantly. Captain Mitchell contacts his son and orders him to get back to base, Titanium Ranger can only argue "But dad, they need my help!". The Captain can't argue back, and Ms. Fairweather quickly gets to helping Ryan by telling him to position the wings for takeoff. Titanium Ranger locks wings into position, and from this angle the Solarzord resembles a remodified NASADA/ Mariner Bay Space Shuttle (as it does often, but we digress). The Max Solarzord detaches from the tracks and takes off into the skies above the city. Back at the battle, Thunderon & Falkar stomp on the defenseless SuperTrain Megazord. Just as Falkar lifts his claw-staff and aims to stab it into the Megazord, the Max Solarzord swoops by and fires lasers from under its nose. The demonic duo are blasted away, and the SuperTrain is able to stand up once more. Carter wonders who their savior is, and Ryan answers them, telling his teammates that he's got them covered. They're both shocked and happy to see him, Diabolico the same, as he comments that his former ward "wouldn't dare!". Ms. Fairweather tells Titanium Ranger to energize the solar panels by changing course and heading towards the sun! Ryan obeys the order and locks in the course, just as the cobra tattoo on his back begins to come alive, glowing gold through his suit. Ryan groans and fights off the pain, as he begins the ascent into space. The Max Solarzord Shuttle exits the Earth's atmosphere and zips off in the sun's direction. Titanium Ranger has to cover even his V-visor from the brightness as he notes the sight is "amazing". He coordinates energizing positions, turning the Solarzord around not too far away from his home planet, and getting his Zord fully energized in a matter of moments! The Max Solarzord dives down towards Mariner Bay, and as it descents, it starts to restructure itself and transform into Battle Mode.

Max Solarzord in Battle Mode flips in the air and lands perfectly on the shoulders of the mighty (and massive in scale compared to the Solarzord) SuperTrain Megazord. Carter wonders what Ryan is up to up there, and Ms. Fairweather lets the Rangers know, as she introduces the new Zord for the Titanium Ranger. Carter reminds Ryan that it's not safe and he shouldn't have Morphed, Dana worried most of all. Chad monitors the monsters, and points out that Falkar is getting ready to attack again. Dana asks Ryan if he's okay, and he tells his sister that he's fine, and wants to take care of business. Falkar lunges towards the SuperTrain Megazord, prompting Ryan to have the Max Solarzord backflip into the air, return to the Shuttle Mode, swoop through the clouds and transform to Battle Mode again, giving the Zord momentum enough to deliver a wallop of a flying jump kick on Falkar! The Solarzord bounces off and flips around again for another kick, and finally spins around for one last hit on Falkar. Dana cheers Ryan on, Kelsey remarks "Look at him go!", and Carter calls him "Phenomenal!". Titanium Ranger has everything under control in the cockpit of the Solarzord, until his back starts acting up again, the cobra starts to slither up his back more the longer he remains Morphed. Ryan overcomes it and locks on to the monster, as Diabolico watches from below and says that he can't fight the cobra forever! The Max Solarzord spins around as it flies through the air, striking Falkar with both its fists at once. Falkar falls, and Carter offers Ryan a little boost. Max Solarzord leaps onto SuperTrain's right arm, and is hurled towards Falkar by the Megazord! As the Solarzord zooms through the air, Ryan struggles with his pain, and manages to get the Zord locked on Falkar, firing from the small paneling shield/blaster it suddenly carries in its hand. Falkar is bombarded by the laser strength of the sun, and explodes. Max Solarzord lands successfully in the foreground as Falkar is reduced to nothing but flames.

Oops, seems Thunderon didn't go home to bed after all, he's been waiting for the right time to strike! Titanium Ranger catches his breath for only a moment before Thunderon appears, blasting at the Solarzord with his green-beams. Coupled with Ryan's mounting cobra-induced agony, Titanium Ranger is barely able to pull himself back together. Clutching the control stick, Ryan charges the Shield Blaster up and fires away, blasting Thunderon with so much UV radiation, he drops backwards into a sunburned heap! The SuperTrain Megazord, unable to lift even an arm anymore to help out in the fight, watches with the Rangers inside. Carter is wowed by Ryan's incredible job, and Dana tells her brother that was a good one. Titanium Ranger slowly starts to lose consciousness, passing out on the cockpit control console. Carter calls for him, but Ryan is unable to answer, having blacked out from the pain. The pain of the cobra moving up his back, the pain that shall continue as long as he remains Morphed! Titanium Ranger lies knocked out, as the cobra makes its way up his back, inch by inch.

[commercials]

Later at the Lightspeed Aquabase, Ryan is lying unmorphed in bed in the infirmary. Ms. Fairweather, despite having no apparent medical licenses, runs tests on him while Dana helps check her brother out. He finally regains consciousness, and tells Fairweather that the Max Solarzord is totally awesome. She tells him to nevermind about that and to get some rest, commenting that it was quite a crazy stunt he pulled. Ryan asks Dana if she thinks dad is going to be mad at him, she doesn't know, but says "sometimes dad can be pretty strict". Speak of the Captain, he enters, prompting Dana to fearfully depart. Captain Mitchell stands before his son with a stern look on his face. Ryan grunts out "Dad, before you yell at me for what he did...", his father interrupting him with a smile by saying "I'm not going to yell at you. Just the opposite. I'm proud of you". Ryan's surprised, Mitchell reiterating "Very proud. I would have done the same thing myself". He tells his son to get some rest, but first Ms. Fairweather asks him to roll over so she can check his breathing. Ryan does so, revealing the cobra tattoo is now located on the upper-center of his back! The Captain gazes horrifically at the snake's face, only a few inches away from his son's neck. Minutes later, The Captain & Ms. Fairweather leave Ryan to his rest. Out in the hall, Fairweather tells Mitchell that he's afraid that the last fight made the cobra progress very rapidly, and he next time he Morphs, it could destroy him. She leaves the Captain to this possibly, and he can do nothing but stand in the doorway without a word. Meanwhile on a cliff near the battlefield, Diabolico talks to himself, saying "The Rangers think they've seen the last of my three warriors. But they're wrong!". He holds three rubies in his hand, each one a different color and containing a different symbol associated with each member of the Darkside Connection. Diabolico exclaims "They will return even more powerful than before, and the Rangers won't even know where to turn!". Diabolico clutches the gems in his demonic palm.

[scenes from "The Cobra Strikes"; end credits]