Leo used to be a cadet. Now he was the kind of problem cadets were trained to report.
The abandoned SPD research hangar smelled like rust and old circuitry. Half the lights were dead, and the other half flickered like they were afraid to commit. Perfect place to steal classified tech — if you didn't mind the creepy atmosphere.
Leo crouched over a cracked console, tapping faster than the system could complain. Schematics, access codes, Zord blueprints — all of it streamed across the glass in a river of glowing blue data.
> "Come on, old girl," he muttered, smirking behind his cracked visor. "Give me something worth getting arrested for."
The screen beeped in surrender. Files unlocked.
Five names appeared, each tagged "Top Secret":
Shadow Enforcer Cruiser, Delta Prowler, Sky Saber, Guardian Unit 7, and Command Delta Hauler.
Leo whistled. "Oh yeah. That'll do."
The floor trembled as machinery deep in the hangar groaned awake. One by one, the Zords came online — towering silhouettes emerging from the dark like metallic predators. The air smelled like ozone and victory.
The first one to speak (yes, they talked) was the Cruiser, its voice smooth and bored, like a cop who'd written too many speeding tickets.
> "Commander Leo, operational protocols are incomplete."
> "Yeah, I'm incomplete too," Leo said. "We'll get through it together."
He tapped his wristband. The morph charge spun, and black armor folded around him — familiar SPD Red Ranger design, only inverted. Instead of bright red and white, it was all black trimmed in deep crimson. The badge on his chest shimmered like a warning light.
He checked himself in a shattered panel of glass.
> "Stylish. Slightly terrifying. Love it."
A chime echoed through the hangar. The main console flashed SPD ALERT: Unauthorized Power Signature Detected — Gamma Sector.
> "Ah. Already popular." He looked up at his new team of Zords. "All right, everyone. Let's go ruin somebody's paperwork."
The Command Delta Hauler rumbled forward, its engines coughing to life. Plates shifted and locked until the whole base was moving — a rolling fortress disguised as a cargo carrier. The smaller Zords took formation around it, black paint gleaming wet under the rain.
Out on the streets, people saw the lights and heard the roar and thought SPD had deployed new gear. They weren't entirely wrong.
---
SPD Headquarters lit up seconds later.
> "Sir, we're reading a Red Ranger-level power surge downtown."
"But B-Squad's in orbit!"
"Exactly."
---
By the time the real SPD Rangers arrived, Leo and his Zords were already halfway through a "test run." The Shadow Enforcer Cruiser was chasing stolen hover-bikes, Delta Prowler was pouncing on drones, and Sky Saber was writing its name in contrails above the clouds.
> Red Ranger (through comms): "Leo, stand down! You're using stolen property!"
Leo: "Correction: liberated property. Also, you're welcome — those bikes were about to rob a plasma bank."
> Red Ranger: "That's not the point!"
Leo: "Then I'm missing it on purpose."
He vaulted onto a rooftop, blasters humming in both hands. His movements were clean — military precision mixed with a street brawler's rhythm. He wasn't fighting SPD; he was just… not listening to them.
The sky cracked open with thunder. On cue, the Zords converged, combining into the Inverted Delta Megazord — black armor glowing with red energy veins.
Inside the cockpit, Leo grinned.
> "All right, boys. Let's make a good first impression."
The Megazord moved faster than it should have, sweeping aside drones with the back of its hand. SPD's scanners lit up in confusion.
> Analyst: "Sir, it's using our design schematics, but the energy signature is reversed!"
Commander Cruz: "Reversed how?"
Analyst: "Like it's… angry at us."
Down in the cockpit, Leo stretched in his seat.
> "Don't take it personally, guys. I'm just improving the brand."
The SPD Red Ranger's own Megazord appeared on radar. Two titans faced each other through sheets of rain — one shining in blue-white light, the other burning crimson in shadow.
Leo tilted his head.
> "I like your paint job. Mine's just less likely to get dirty."
Energy built between them, lighting the clouds above Newtech City. And in that flicker of red and white lightning, Leo realized he wasn't running from SPD anymore. He was rewriting what being a Ranger meant.
He tightened his gloves.
> "Let's see if justice still works when you flip it upside down."
The Megazords charged.
To be continued.