Guess what...you guys get TWO chapters! :) Aren't you lucky? And I'm still working on Love Across Time and the next installment of my JF series.

Disclaimer: Check the last chapter. ;) Now...the conclusion of...Worse Than He Bite! BUM BA BUM BUM BUM!!! :D

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Back on the beach, Casey and his team continue to fight the ever present army of rinshi while Camille and Passerina wait patiently for their chance to strike. Their plan was coming together-lure the rangers to the cliff and get them too exhausted to defend themselves against Passerina’s hypnotic melody.

“Hmm. It’s always a treat when you get to catch a live performance, isn’t it?” Camille asked her avian cohort.

“True dat. Of course, once I get into the act, those performers aren’t going to be ‘live’ for much longer.” Passerina snickered back.

The red tiger and the other rangers would have laughed along with Passerina if they weren’t fighting for their lives. As it was, the rinshi were proving to be more formidable than they had anticipated.

“I don’t know how much longer we can hold them off!” Lily shouted as she was beginning to wear down. She grabbed one rinshi in a choke hold while kicking another one away from her. “We can’t keep this up forever, guys!”

Keenan, who was a few yards away from the cheetah, was also struggling with Dai Shi’s legion of darkness despite using all of his skills. And like the others, he was oblivious to the fact that they were being directed from the beach to the cliffs.

“We have to!” The silver eagle replied as he ducked a sneak attack. “Gwen still needs time to finish her training.”

“I’m all for that, Keenan! But if we’re gonna stall, can we at least morph?” The blue jaguar asked as he was being thrown into Casey. “Sorry, man.”

“No problem. But, you do have a point.” Casey replied as he straightened himself up after nearly being knocked down by Theo. “Let’s ranger up!”

Nanoseconds before the heroic foursome could lay their hands on their morphers, Passerina leapt into the middle of the fray and commanded the rinshi to spread out.

“Time to hit pause on that track!” Passerina crowed menacingly as she fanned out her tail feathers and strummed her vicious plumage. The moment the notes drifted to the rangers’ ears, their arms locked up and their bodies were frozen in place. “Since we’re on a cliff, how about a slammin’ rock tune?”

As promised, loud guitars and booming drums filled the air as the music took hold of the rangers’ minds and motor skills. Casey and his team tried their hardest to fight the music, but, this time, the spell was much stronger than before. The wicked lyre bird cackled as she kept the rangers’s hands from going anywhere near the pockets that held their salvation.

“Hope you like my little remix, rangers! I tweaked this spell so the more you try to resist, the stronger it takes hold.” Passerina cackled as she watched the rangers twitch and jerk helplessly.

“So, go ahead and fight it; you’re just gonna make the curtain drop on you that much faster!”

“Oh, great! Not this again!” Lily grunted as she struggled with her own body. “Okay, I never thought there’d be a time when I’d hate dancing.”

“I can’t move my arms!” Keenan groaned as he tried in vain to move them close enough to his pocket. “Can anyone else reach their morphers?”

“No, but I think we have a bigger problem! Look!” Theo shouted as he tried in vain to regain control of his limbs.

Keenan paid a little closer attention to their stilted movements and a look of horror crossed his face as he realized what was going on. Thanks to Passerina’s hypnotic music, the rangers were slowly dancing towards the edge of the highest cliff on the beach.

“How’d we get up here!?” Keenan asked in shock.

“I don’t know, but we have to do something! Try reaching your morphers again!” Casey ordered frantically. But the more they tried to get a hand on their pockets, the stronger the musical spell became...and the closer they helplessly danced to the edge of the cliff.

“I can’t stop!” Lily screamed as she attempted to literally sit this dance out. She managed to sit on the ground, but her joy was short lived as the music commanded her to stand up and continue dancing until she fell over the side.

“Sorry, girlie. You’re not sitting this song out!” Crowed a very confident Passerina as she continued to play her wicked song.

Back at the loft, RJ watched anxiously as his students and Keenan were steps away from tripping the light fantastic over the craggy edge. It was times like this when he wished he was a ranger. Then when his students were in danger, he could rush in to the rescue instead of sitting on the sidelines giving advice over a microphone. With a heavy sigh, he kept watching as the rangers two-stepped closer to a rocky demise.

“Gwen, wherever you are, please hurry.” He prayed quietly. When he saw that Lily tried to launch a failed sit-in, he cringed. This was the toughest bind the rangers have been in to date. They may have been unable to reach their morphers, but that didn’t stop the pizza mentor from speaking his words of encouragement. “Just hang on, guys. Help’s on the way.”

“Well, Camille. Just a few more steps and those bothersome rangers will drop off the charts faster than Taylor Hicks!” Passerina twittered evilly.

“That actually says a whole lot.” The wily chameleon snickered.

As the diabolical twosome watched, the rangers’ feet were so close to the edge of the cliff, tiny pebbles broke off and plummeted to the breaking shore below. If nothing was done soon, they

would be following those rolling stones.

“I still can’t reach my morpher!” Theo shouted as he tried to keep from looking over the edge. Unfortunately for the azure feline, he failed and his brown eyes peered over to see the waves crash against the craggy shore. “Man, that’s a long way down!”

“Notthe words I wanted to hear, Theo!” Keenan chewed out, momentarily oblivious to the fact that he was in the same boat with the others. Despite this, the silver eagle also made the mistake of looking down. “Man, why do I always look!? I could really use some wings right about now.” He thought to himself.

“We can’t give up!” Casey rallied bravely as he tried to keep his composure. But in his mind, he knew that things weren’t looking good for him and the others.

“Casey, I’m gonna fall!” Lily screamed in horror as she leaned forward a bit more.

“Lily!” The red tiger shouted. But, thanks to Passerina’s music, he couldn’t reach out to pull her back, let alone reach for his morpher.

Casey and the other rangers grunted as they made one last ditch effort to back away from the cliff, but all it did was strengthen the spell even more. Now, they were literally toeing the line between life and death as they stood on their tiptoes. One note from the lyre bird’s tail feathers and bodies of the rangers would litter the jagged rocks below. Their situation looked completely hopeless and Camille wasn’t one to waste the opportunity to rub their noses in it.

“It’s over, rangers! There’s not a force on this planet that can save you now!” Camille shouted as Passerina prepared to play their final note.

Her fingers were poised and ready to pluck the feather that would spell the end for Casey and his friends when, as if on cue, a black streak came roaring in and landed powerful kicks knocking Passerina and Camille into some nearby boulders. The shock from being plowed into the rock wall effectively broke the lyre bird’s spell over the rangers giving them back control of the bodies. The first chance they got, Casey and the others fell backwards and scrambled as far away from the cliff’s edge as they could. Groaning from the pain and struggling to get up from the attack, Passerina shook the cobwebs from her head and waited for her vision to straighten out enough for her to see who cancelled her finale.

“Hey, I work solo! Who invited you, anyway?!” Passerina snarled as the figure refused to answer. “You better answer me when I’m talking! Who are you!?”

When the smoke cleared, a lone figure, clad in black jeans, stood tall and proud. The confident smirk on her face was enough to let anyone know that things were about to get interesting.

“You can call me the bonus track.” Gwen replied smugly.

When Casey and the other rangers laid eyes on who saved them, they stood up and a wave of relief washed over the four of them.

“Gwen! You made it!” Keenan shouted in relief.

Camille’s expression was one of disbelief and disdain as her most hated rival had returned not only in time to save her friends, but to most likely take her revenge out on her new feathered fiend.

“I-I thought Passerina took care of you last time!”

“Please! Better monsters than her have tried!” The panther retorted with arms folded before she ran to check on her friends. “You guys okay?”

“Yeah; you got here just in time.” Theo sighed.

“We owe you one!” Lily and Casey replied in unison.

“No biggie.” Gwen replied with a nod. “I’m really sorry about earlier, guys. I can guarantee it won’t happen again.”

“It’s cool, sis.” Keenan smiled as he gave his sister a forgiving hug. “But could you try not to cut it so close next time?” He joked.

Gwen just raised an eyebrow at her younger brother before chuckling and giving him a nod. Her attention then turned to a woozy Passerina and the panther was anxious to show off her new skills.

“So, what do you say we ranger up and pluck this chick bald!?” Gwen smirked sadistically as her friends all broke out their shades and put them on. With a twinkle in her brown eyes, Gwen followed suit by putting on her Solar Morpher and tapping the left side.

“Ready?” She asked with authority.

“Ready!” The other rangers answered heroically before going through the motions. “Jungle Beast! Spirit Unleashed!”

All five transform into their brightly colored uniforms and stood defiantly in front of Camille, Passerina and the rinshi.

“Hmmph! You really think you can stop me with those lame costumes?” Passerina scoffed.

“Costumes...maybe not.” Gwen answered before stepping forward. “But, I have a feeling this could do the job.”

Gwen closed her hands into fists and slammed them end to end and the impact created a green light that took shape. To everyone’s amazement, the light had formed into the black panther’s new weapon.

“Jungle Kwan Dao!” She shouted as she swung it expertly.

The appearance of this new addition to the panther’s arsenal left the rangers awestruck as the sunlight reflected off of its gleaming, crescent blade.

“Whoa! Nice piece of hardware!” Casey complimented.

“Check that out!” Lily gasped in excitement.

After a couple more spins, Gwen pointed the bladed end of her weapon at Camille and Passerina in a challenging pose. With her new uninhibited attitude, she threw down the gauntlet.

“Okay, ladies...and I use that term very loosely. Who’s first?” She asked as her eyes fell on the lizard in the tacky dress. “Camille, you want first crack at this?”

“Like I’d waste my time.” The sly chameleon scoffed. “That’s what I have rinshi for. Attack!”

On her command, all the rinshi that have been fighting Casey and the others started to converge on Gwen. The panther just tilted her head and feigned yawning in order to get under Camille’s scaly skin.

“Honestly, Camille. You’re starting to sound like a broken record.” Gwen quipped as she gripped her Kwan Dao.

The rinshi, armed with spears of their own, bounded towards Gwen thinking she was going to be as easy to tangle with as the other four; but they were in for the shock of their lives. As the rinshi surround the waiting panther, Gwen opens her mouth and lets out a roar that made everyone there do a double take...including Master Dile who was watching everything from a few yards away. Gripping her Kwan Dao firmly in her hands, the black ranger charged in and launched a full body assault on any white-faced minion that tried to attack. Her full, unbridled passion could be felt behind every slash as she struck down rinshi after rinshi. Casey and the other rangers watched in awe; they had never seen Gwen fight with such emotion before.

“Yeah! Take it to ‘em, sis!” Keenan cheered on.

Hearing her brother’s cheering just fueled the fire within her even more as she stood her Kwan Dao on its spear tip and used it for balance as she delivered punishing kicks until the horde dwindled down to only a few.

“What are you waiting for!? Destroy her!” Camille shouted to her now splinter group of minions.

Obeying their reptilian commander, the last remaining rinshi advanced on Gwen who had one more trick up her sleeve.

“That’s right, you Thriller rejects. Come to mama.” Gwen whispered to herself.

Once they were in range, she took her Kwan Dao, and in a fluid motion, swung the weapon around her neck with both ends slashing the rinshi to ribbons as they got too close.

“Hands-free combat! Now, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” The no-longer-silent panther shouted as she posed with her weapon in hand. After her short celebration, she turned to face Passerina who was fuming. “Aww, did I ruffle your feathers?”

“You lousy feline! Nobody crashes my concert and gets away with it!” The lyre bird seethed.

“Well, I’m right here, chickie! Quit throwing a tantrum and do something about it!” Gwen taunted with her arms stretched out.

Before anyone could follow the action, lyre bird and panther charged each other with a full head of steam but Gwen stopped just short of striking range and let Passerina come closer. The wicked songbird blindly went in for an attack only to have Gwen roll her Kwan Dao down the length of her body. The silver blade made sparks against the avian rinshi’s body as it made contact. Once Passerina recovered, she tried to do a jumping attack, but the clever panther used her weapon to pole vault her into the air and counter with a flying kick of her own.

“Sweet!” Theo exclaimed.

Passerina, who was brought back down to Earth by Gwen’s assault, shook her feathers in utter shock and prepared to unleash her musical counter attack.

“Time to put an end to this!” Shouted the lyre bird.

“I couldn’t agree more!” Gwen challenged. “But before you do, I have to show you my little weapon’s best trick!”

The crescent edge on Gwen’s Kwan Dao began to glow and in an instant, instead of one deadly blade, there were two, and the pair of blades were positioned just like crocodile jaws. Before Passerina could pluck a single tail feather, the tandem blades snap shut around her midsection, pinning her arms to her body. As the trapped lyre bird’s struggling proved to be futile, Gwen leaned forward to give Passerina a parting message:

“Time for your swan song!” She shouted.

Gripping her weapon tightly, a pumped up Gwen jumps into the air with Passerina still helpless within her blade’s bite and goes into a horizontal spin so fast and violent, both fighters became mere blurs of color. Still in the killer corkscrew, the panther drills Passerina into the ground below, ending her existence with a loud explosion.

“Death Roll, baby! What!?” Gwen growled triumphantly as she let a little bit of the street in her come out and struck a pose with her Kwan Dao.

From the sidelines, Master Dile was brimming with pride having witnessed such a stellar battle. Thankful that they have their full range of motor skills, the other rangers rush to the black panther’s side to offer their congratulations.

“That was awesome!” Lily praised. “Your Kwan Dao rocks!”

“You unleashed your spirit all over her...” Casey began, but he never got to finish his thoughts.

“Casey!” The other rangers scolded.

“Are you trying to ruin our reputation?” Gwen asked in shock.

“What!? I was gonna say ‘tail feathers’. Honest.” The red tiger chuckled. “Come on; you know I wasn’t gonna go there.”

“Yeah, sure you weren’t, tiger boy.” Gwen thought as her eyes rolled under her helmet.

Theo shook his head in humor before turning his attention to the black ranger.

“I didn’t know you had it in you!” The jaguar chimed in.

“That makes two of us. I’m really proud if you, sis.” Keenan replied putting an arm around Gwen’s shoulder.

“Thanks, bro. You have no idea how good that felt.” Gwen replied finally. To her, the experience was absolutely euphoric.

As the rangers celebrated, Passerina, in all her battered and beaten glory, methodically crawled out of the crater Gwen created with her death roll attack. Her tail feathers were bent beyond recognition and her head plumage made bed head look like a perfectly coiffed hairstyle.

“I’m not finished yet, rangers!” She groaned weakly as she faced Gwen. “Gotta admit, black cat, you handle yourself pretty well. Question is, what can you possibly do for an encore!?”

At that moment, indigo lightning and purple flames surround Passerina’s bruised body until she grew taller than the Ocean Bluff skyline. The rangers watched from below as Gwen placed a hand on her hip.

“Well, since she’s bringing the music...let’s dance.” Gwen replied in a low tone.

“Now, your speaking our language!” Lily and Keenan shouted.

“Let’s take it to her!” Casey shouted before all five leaped into the air.

“Animal spirits, unite as one!” All five zords combine into their most powerful configuration. “Primal Fury Megazord!”

“Wow! You’re just in time folks because the rangers have come together for another epic fight! But in this match, just who will pay the piper?” Flit asked as he reprised his role as color commentator.

“If you don’t shut your fly trap, Flit, you’ll be the one paying!” Camille growled through clenched teeth.

“Okay, guys! All together!” Casey ordered as the Megazord launched a flurry of punches and kicks that were blocked by Passerina.

“Nice try! But I’m taking this battle!”

As the Megazord goes in for a punch, Passerina ducks and uses her beak to drill into the Megazord’s chest plate...which in this case, belongs to Gwen’s panther zord. The damage incurred by the ebony feline robot was, unfortunately, transferred to Gwen who felt every painful peck.

“Ow! If I wanted to get pricked this many times, I’d have gotten a tattoo!” Gwen complained painfully.

“Uh oh! I think the lyre bird’s trying to poke a few holes in the rangers’ game plan!” Flit quipped as he buzzed around Camille’s head. “Looks like Passerina’s rearranging the pecking order.”

“And the panther’s getting the brunt of it. Peck her eyes out!” Camille shouted to the feathered fighter.

“Aaah! I can’t see!” Theo yelled as he and the others tried to shield their eyes.

Now, the old Gwen would have kept her mouth shut and endured the onslaught with quiet dignity...but this was the new-and-improved Gwen and the words “quiet” and “dignity” would soon be thrown out the window...along with a certain lyre bird.

“That’s it! I’ve never been pecked by a bird and I’m not gonna start now! Eat Eye Beams!” Gwen shouted as yellow lasers shot out from the panther zord’s eyes, pushing the feathered menace away from them.

“Yikes! That looked like it hurt!” The buzzing fly observed. “If Passerina’s not careful, the only gold she’s gonna get is a crispy golden brown.”

“Man, I’d love for her to eat a little crow!” Lily grumbled as she and the others recovered from almost looking like Swiss cheese. It was during this moment that Gwen hears the voice of Master Dile.

“Gwendolyn, now’s the best time to use the Crocodile Spirit!”

“Sounds like a plan, Master Dile.” Gwen nodded in agreement. “Guys, let’s call out the croc!”

“Calling on the spirit of the crocodile! Combine!” They all shouted heroically.

A dark, green aura emanated from the top of the Megazord and robotic crocodile slithered out with a splash. Its jaws filled with razor sharp teeth were snapping, ready to bite anything in its path. The panther zord disengaged from the rest of the Megazord so the crocodile could take its place. The front legs formed clawed gloves over the tiger’s paws while the tail formed into a Kwan Dao and the jaws fit over the tiger’s head like a hooded helmet.

“Primal Fury Megazord with Crocodile Power!”

“Casey, I hope you don’t mind if I play lead singer on this one.” Gwen asked the feline leader.

“Be my guest, Beyonce’.” The red tiger chuckled as he stepped aside.

“Look out, now. Someone in your group already thinks I’m bootylicious.” Gwen smirked in thought as she took center stage.

“Incredible! In a twist of fate, the rangers call on the deadly crocodile to mix things up!” Flit shouted in excitement.

“I’m not impressed.” Passerina scoffed as she fanned out her tail plumage. “Crocs may not have ears, but they can still hear sound! So, listen up!” She shouted as she prepared to play another wicked tune. Her plan was to immobilize the Megazord so it couldn’t launch a counter attack.

“Oh, my! She’s planning on making the Megazord her dancing machine! If she gets this attack off, the rangers’ gooses are cooked!” The fly announced worriedly.

“Yes! Just one note...and that panther woman will be out of my hair once and for all!” Camille sneered.

“We have to stop her! If she plucks any of her feathers, we’re done!” Keenan shouted.

“Not if we can help it!” Gwen replied with growing confidence. She wasn’t about to let herself and her friends be subjected to any more bad dancing. “I know I’m a lousy dancer; I don’t need any help from you!” She thought before shouting: “Jungle Kwan Dao!”

The tail of the giant Kwan Dao glowed menacingly before being swung by the Megazord. Passerina tried to block but the power exerted by the tail’s whipping motion spun the lyre bird around until her back was facing them. With another swipe, the tail’s jagged spine severed all the feathers from her body, rendering them useless.

“Oohh! Passerina loses her edge to the edge of the Kwan Dao!” Flit shouted as he dodged Camille’s attempts to swat him. “She looks like she got into a fight with a weed whacker...and lost!”

“Nooooooooooo! Not my precious feathers! They were my meal ticket!” Passerina whined as she patted her now bald head and backside with her hands.

“Yeah, that reminds me. There are only three women in the world who can rock the ‘hawk...Miss Patti Labelle, Pink and Storm.” Gwen replied with attitude.

“Okay, no more Ms. Nice Bird! It’s time I sink my teeth into this battle!”

With a head of steam...and not much else...the wicked lyre bird charges into battle one last time.

“Funny you should mention teeth.” Gwen chuckled.

The rangers waited for the right moment to strike and once Passerina was in range, the Megazord leans over with its head down...and jaws open. When Passerina realized what was about to happen, it was too late. The crocodile’s jaws slam shut around her body and the whole megazord jumps into the air making the color commentator fly go nuts.

“This is beyond anything I’ve ever seen before! These kids always have new tricks up their sleeves!”

“No!” Camille groaned.

“And...Passerina gets taken for a ride as the Megazord goes into spin cycle! Faster...faster...fas-ohhh, I’m getting dizzy again. But, don’t worry. I’m staying on top of the play by play for the loyal fans!”

“What fans, Flit?! It’s just us!” Camille grumbled.

Passerina was being taken for a dizzying ride much to the chagrin of Camille. And to rub salt in the chameleon’s wounds, Gwen decided to impart a little wisdom of her own.

“Now to put Master Dile’s most important lesson into action...Let go!”

The Megazord opened its lethal jaws and the force of the spin sent Passerina plummeting to the ground below at breakneck speed.

“Noooooooooo!”

Passerina lets out a final scream before her body explodes into a ball of flames.

“And the loathsome lyre bird is nothing more than a crispy memory! Colonel Sanders couldn’t have done any better!” Flit quipped.

“Death roll, baby!” Gwen shouted.

“What!?” The others shouted in response as the Megazord struck a street pose and crossed its arms.

“What a move! What a team!! What a croc!!!” Flit buzzed excitedly.

“I’ll agree with you on that last one!” Camille replied sarcastically before snatching Flit into her mouth and swallowing him. “One day, panther!” She cursed under her breath as she vanished into thin air.

Back at JKP...

Master Dile had returned to the loft and waited with RJ for the rangers to return.

“So, you get 1, 253 channels on your sets?” Master Dile asked as she examined his “state-of-the-art” surveillance system.

“Including local.” RJ grinned proudly.

“What? No TiVo?” She smirked playfully.

“TiVo! Why didn’t I think of that?” He thought before answering the crocodile. “I’m still working out all the kinks.” The pizza chef confessed with a chuckle until it hit him that Master Dile was up on the latest technology. “Wait a minute. How do you know about TiVo?”

“Just because my spirit animal is a living fossil, doesn’t mean that I spend my life living under a rock.” Master Dile answered with a grin.

As the pair discussed possible DVD hookups, the rangers rush up the stairs filling the loft with chatter about their recent victory. When the wolf master saw Gwen enter the upper part of the loft, RJ ran up the stairs and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug as he swung her around in circles.

“Gwen, that was awesome!” He praised as they locked eyes. “You were a totally different cat out there!” Neither he nor Gwen wanted to release the hug anytime soon.

Master Dile watched the couple locked in a warm embrace and sighed happily to herself. She had trained both of them at one time when they were younger, but never did she imagine that they would end up together.

“If someone had told me years ago that Master Finn’s son and Master Mao’s daughter would fall in love, I’d laugh in their faces. Especially considering how protective Master Mao was of his ‘little lotus blossom’.” She chuckled to herself. “Poor girl; I truly believed she was going to end up in a convent.”

“Thanks, RJ. I think the real me finally came out.” Gwen replied with a smile as she enjoyed the feeling Pai Zhuq master’s arms around her slender waist. She noticed how RJ seemed to like the new uninhibited side of her and decided to play with him a bit. “So, now that you’ve seen me in that battle, are you telling me you like your women on the wild side?” She asked with a sly smirk and a slightly low tone to her voice. “Because if you do, thanks to Master Dile’s training, I can go there anytime you want.” She thought to herself.

Master Dile chuckled as the others waited for the pizza master to answer Gwen’s obviously pointed question. RJ shifted uncomfortably when he heard her ask that...and the fact the other rangers were teasing him and that Gwen’s voice now had a sultry tone to it didn’t help matters any. Seeing how everyone was staring at him and waiting for his answer, RJ swallowed hard as his pulse raced and his breathing quickened slightly. He hadn’t felt like this since the Hershey’s kiss incident after they defeated Arachnikhan.

“Is it getting hot in here? Gwen...what are you doing to me? Whatever it is, don’t stop.” He thought to himself before regaining his composure. “Let’s just say...I love a challenge.” He answered with a smirk of his own.

“Good answer.” The panther purred as she made her way down to the lower level. Once she was there, she laid her Kwan Dao on the training mat.

After everyone had made their way to the lower level, Theo walked up to the mat and knelt down to take a closer look at Gwen’s formidable new weapon.

“Man, this thing look so cool!” The jaguar replied as he reached out to pick it up.

“Be careful, Theo. It may not look it, but it’s pretty heavy.” Gwen warned.

The blue jaguar scanned the length of the hunter green weapon and thought back to how easily Gwen seemed to wield it in battle. And according to his logic and what the panther was telling him about its weight, nothing added up.

“There’s no way. She handled this thing like it was as light as a broomstick.” He surmised to himself. “I think I can handle it.” Theo retorted making Gwen throw her hands up in defeat.

“Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The panther master relented. “This isn’t gonna end well.” She thought.

Theo gave Gwen a smirk and goes for his first attempt. Grabbing the Kwan Dao with both hands, he tries to lift it like a barbell. His face contorted and turned a slight pink tinge as he strained with all his might, but despite that, he failed to make the heavy weapon budge a single inch. He then tried picking it up from the spear end with the same amount of success-none. RJ, Master Dile and the other rangers looked on in amusement.

“This is so much better than cable.” Keenan giggled.

“I’m so glad you’re getting a good chuckle out of my misery!” Theo groaned sarcastically as he tried straddling the weapon and picking it up that way.

“Is it really that heavy?” Lily asked.

“Yes!!” The jaguar collapsed next to the Kwan Dao, defeated and dejected. “Okay, either my arms just stretched or they got pulled out of their sockets.” Theo groaned. Casey couldn’t wait to call him on his shortcomings.

“I can see why you couldn’t budge it. You’re specialty is stealth.” The red tiger explained with a puffed out chest. “Now strength, that’s my department. I bet I can lift this.”

“Are you sure you wanna do that, Case?” Gwen cautioned further. “Last thing we need is for you to throw your back out. And I’m not trained in chiropractic medicine.”

“I’m sure. It doesn’t look that heavy.”

“Whatever floats your boat.” Gwen conceded once again. “Someone’s gonna get hurt.” The panther thought grimly.

The tiger grinned and spat into his hands before reaching for the Kwan Dao. Just as he was about to touch it, Gwen launched a stern protest.

“You get any spit on my Kwan Dao and I’ll bench press you.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Casey chuckled nervously as he quickly wiped his hands on his pants legs.

With clean hands, Casey grabs the weapon like a professional weightlifter and goes for the clean and jerk. He probably should have left it to the pros because once he pulled the weapon to his chest, the force knocked him on flat on his back. Now, the Kwan Dao was pressing down on his chest with him trying to kick himself free. With the air leaving his lungs, he did the only thing a person could do in his position:

“Heeeeeeellllllllp!” Casey screamed.

The cheetah hung her head in shame as Master Dile tried to keep from chuckling. Keenan, on the other hand, was laughing his head off as Theo and RJ tried to lift the heavy weapon off of the Jungle Fury leader.

“Man, how much does this thing weigh!?” Theo groaned in question.

“Too much!” Casey squeaked.

Gwen, who was watching this display of misplaced testosterone with shame in her eyes, heaved a sigh before walking to the red tiger who was looking more like a helpless turtle stuck on his back.

“Men are just hard-headed...no matter what the species!” Gwen mused in shame.

Taking pity on Casey, she grabbed her Kwan Dao and easily lifted it from the tiger’s chest before placing it on the rack.

“Okay...how did you do that!?” Theo asked in shock.

“When you’ve spent the better part of your life lifting heavy animals, you tend to build up wicked upper body strength.” Gwen explained flexing a bicep playfully.

“Whoa! I guess we could use some more strength training.” Lily wondered. “Maybe you could help us out?”

“I think I can arrange that.” Gwen answered with a slight grin. “You guys can come to the animal hospital tomorrow morning and I can set up some baby elephant calves for you to lift.”

Casey, Lily and Theo’s jaws dropped when Gwen made that suggestion. The frightened expressions on their faces were enough to make the four masters laugh.

“She’s trying to kill us!” Casey thought in horror. “Um...uhhh...I think I’ll pass.” Casey replied first.

“Yeah, dancers can’t afford to bulk up too much.” Lily declined with a nervous giggle.

“I just don’t wanna.” Theo confessed shaking his head quickly.

“I was only kidding.” Gwen laughed. “But back to the battle. That was too wicked! I honestly feel like a new woman.”

“Gwen, I have to tell you. Be thankful you stopped the spin when you did because I was this close to blowing chunks in there.” The jaguar admitted. “But other than that, the crocodile was awesome!”

“Yeah, and this was my favorite part: ‘Death Roll, baby! What!?’” Keenan added acting street. “I loved that!”

“As did I. Although, I never expected you to turn street on us.” Master Dile smirked.

“Okay, that part just came out. But, now that I think about it, that was kinda fun to do.” The panther giggled before bowing to Master Dile. “I have you to thank for teaching me that it’s alright to let go.”

“It was my pleasure, Gwendolyn.” The blonde crocodile answered with a smile.

“Now, if you’ll only tell me where you got that outfit. It’s gorgeous.”

Gwen’s reference to Master Dile’s excellent fashion sense reminded the young cheetah that she and the other rangers had a special surprise planned for the panther and eagle.

“Oh, that reminds me. Gwen, Keenan, we have something for the two of you. Wait right there.” Lily began before running upstairs to search for something. As she tried to remember where she hid the gifts, Theo picked up where she left off.

“Since you’re part of the team now, we thought you should dress like it.”

At that moment, Lily returned with two flat boxes wrapped in white paper. The one that was tied with a shimmering silver ribbon was handed to Keenan while the other, secured with a black satin ribbon, was given to Gwen.

“Go on. Open it.” The reptilian master urged with a smile.

As it turned out, Master Dile had a hand in picking out these gifts. Giving a confused, but interested look to his older sister, Keenan opened his box first with Gwen following suit. What they found inside made the sibling pair shout with joy.

“Oh, man! This is awesome!” The eagle shouted happily as he lifted the garment from its cardboard box and examined it from all angles.

“Can we try them on now?” Gwen asked as she held her outfit up.

“Of course. We want to see how they look on you.” RJ insisted. “Gwen’s especially.” He thought to himself lustfully.

With smiles on their faces, Master Mao’s children ran upstairs to change into their new training gear. After waiting for a good 5 minutes, Keenan called out to his friends.

“Okay. Tell me whatcha think.”

Wanting to make this fashion show memorable, Lily ran to the juke box and turned on the song “I’m Too Sexy” for Keenan to strut to. With a chuckle, the bird of prey strolled down the steps wearing his gift. The pants were made just like Casey’s and Theo’s complete with a silver stripe running down the length of the leg and a pocket to hold his morpher. The silver jacket was made like a Chinese shirt with black piping marking the talon marks his uniform had the Pai Zhuq symbol sitting proudly on the left lapel.

“This really is cool! Thanks, guys!” Keenan replied as he hugged everyone. But the show wasn’t over yet. There was still one ranger left to make her runway debut. Seeing that Gwen was taking her sweet time, her supportive brother decided to gently move things along...

“Will you hurry up, already!?” Keenan yelled. “Geez! How long does it take to put on clothes?!”

“Never rush beauty, little brother. You can’t model clothes like this without getting the hair and makeup right.” Gwen explained confidently. “With this outfit, I’m a hot fudge sundae. I’m just putting the whipped cream and cherry on top.”

That statement garnered cheers from the group waiting downstairs. RJ, however was oddly silent...and with good reason. Hearing Gwen call herself a hot fudge sundae with whipped cream made RJ hungry...in every sense of the word. The pizza chef was two seconds away from rushing up the steps to the panther’s dressing when her voice rang out.

“Lily, can you hit D5 for me?”

“You got it!” The blonde cheetah replied knowing which song she meant.

Hitting the button on the juke box, the theme from America’s Next Top Model filled the room and that was the black ranger’s cue to work the runway. The moment she stepped out, whistles and cheers nearly drowned out the music as she revealed her outfit. She had black leggings like Lily’s and her skirt was made like a denim mini with slits in the sides. Instead of a jacket, she wore a black, long-sleeved shirt under form-fitting ebony vest lined with white piping to designate the claw marks on her uniform and a white Pai Zhuq insignia on the left lapel.

“I so own this catwalk.” She giggled. “Pun intended.”

“Nice legs.” RJ blurted out before vainly trying to right himself. “I-I mean you look great!”

“Smooth, RJ. Real smooth.” Casey chuckled in thought. “But, you do look nice, Gwen.”

“Thanks, Casey. I love it. Especially the skirt.” And to prove her point, she did a couple of twirls.

“That skirt looks sick! I have to borrow it some time!” Lily asked eagerly.

Gwen could only smile at Lily’s eagerness to borrow her clothes. She never had any sisters growing up and seeing the young cheetah act in this manner made her feel like she gained one.

“I’ll think about it.” The panther winked before turning to her friends. “We can’t thank you guys enough. You guys didn’t have to do this.”

“But we do appreciate it.” Keenan interjected with a silly grin.

“Oh, and Keenan, I wanna say that I forgive you for the whole iPod fiasco. Especially since I bought myself another one the other day. And that one is safe and sound in...my...desk?”

As she spoke, she noticed her brother’s face contort in a guilty cringe that immediately told her that her brand new iPod was anywhere but safe and sound in her desk.

“Oh, no he didn’t!” She thought angrily. “Keenan, tell me you didn’t do what I think you did.” Gwen asked as calmly as she could.

The eagle was spitballing ideas to himself about telling his sister a little white lie about her precious electronic device, but he figured telling her that P. Diddy offered a million dollars for it wouldn’t fly. So, with a hard gulp, he sucked up what little courage he had and told her the truth.

“Okay! I borrowed it again! I’m sorry! And I know what you’re thinking. No, I didn’t leave it lying around for a goat to eat...this time it was a camel.” Keenan squeaked in fear. He was expecting his sister to blow her top, but, to his shock, she still remained calm.

“Relax, bro. I’m not gonna snap at you. Master Dile taught me that there are situations where shouting at the top of my lungs is inappropriate...” Gwen began as she kept her smile which was starting to creep the eagle out. “Which is why I’m letting my actions speak for me! Keenan!”

Before anyone could stop her, Gwen broke out in a sprint as she chased Keenan all over every square inch of the loft. That, and the combination of the silver ranger screaming like a banshee, made everyone laugh their fool heads off. All anyone could do was hope that Keenan would live long enough to replace his sister’s MP3 player.

“I wonder what song was playing inside the camel’s stomach?” Master Dile thought to herself in humor.

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THE END

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And that's it for WORSE THAN HER BITE. As usual, read, review and pass it on! :) And stay tuned for the next installment-Power of the Bison!