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Chapter One

She could see it like it had just happened yesterday. The one man she had loved more than she could ever love another human being was staring death in the face, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. In fact she had been the one to instigate it. Only seconds before he was a hero riding into battle in a shinning suit of red armor. But, she easily ignored his greatness, not by choice of course. It was however out of her control.

There he hung; the only thing saving him from defeat was his best friend, who was evil's pawn. He was not trying to save him; instead he was struggling with all of his might to destroy him. This excited her and brought a smile to her face. "Into the fire. Into the fire. Into the fire..." was all she could think and say. "Noooo! Stop! Please wait! Tommmmyyy........"

Kimberly Hart had once again forced herself awake to avoid reliving the most horrible experience of her life. As she sat up it became very obvious to her that she had been sweating for quite some time. Her pink satin pajamas were drenched, her pillow was moist, and her soft auburn hair was so damp she could have sworn she had just gotten out of the shower.

It did not take her eyes long to adjust because it was pitch dark around her and all she could see was the electric green light of the dreaded numbers on her alarm clock, 4:55. She groaned knowing she had only five minutes to recover before her day was set to begin. She felt like she had not gotten a minute of rest since she turned off the lights the night before, yet she had been in a deep sleep for nearly seven hours. As she lay back down on the soft but wet pillow she wanted to cry.

Why had this dream come back to her? Why hasn't she been able to get just one good night's sleep since she picked up her bags and moved back to Angel Grove? And why did it have to be that particular nightmare that kept haunting her? Actually she knew why she just had no idea how to fix it, other than ignoring it. But, it was too hard now; it had been with her for too long.

She had known when she left the team that she wasn't just living out a lifelong dream; she was abandoning her very best friends as well. She rationalized it by telling herself that Katherine would be an even better ranger than she ever was and before long her friends would realize that it was all for the best. But she knew that was not true. Kimberly Hart had contributed more to the team than Zordon could have ever hoped for. With Kimberly as the Pink Ranger a battle was never lost for good and a ranger was never left behind.

But, when the Rangers lost their powers because of Master Vile Kimberly could not help but feel guilty. She knew that if she had been there she could have done something to prevent it, or at least she could have tried. Even though they did recover their powers in the form of the Zeo Crystals things were not the same, and never would be. It was because of this that Aisha stayed in Africa. And it was because of this that Billy met the Aquestrian Rangers and eventually came to reside on Aquitar.

Although, some good did result from the changes. For starters Jason rejoined the team and even though it was just for a little while everyone was so happy. And, the evil wrath of Lord Zedd and his horrible wife Rita Repulsa became a memory of the past.

But it was not just the unending guilt of knowing that she abandoned the team when they needed her most that would not allow Kimberly peace. Instead it was the even more torturous guilt of knowing that she not only left Tommy Oliver behind, but she also tossed him aside as if he had never really meant anything to her at all. When in fact he meant more to her than he could ever know as long as he lived.

Kimberly tried to remember what in the world she was thinking when she sent him the letter. The contents of it were so cold and impersonal, and the fact that she mailed it care of the Youth Center made even more hateful. She could not explain to anyone or to herself for that matter why she did what she did. So many times she wished she could have taken it all back and there was no comfort in knowing that at the time she truly believed she was doing it for Tommy's benefit.

She knew it was hard on him to be with out her and she also knew that it was only a matter of time before he realized it. Kimberly had fought dozens of Lord Zedd's monsters and battled in so many life threatening situations in the past, yet the most frightening thing that could ever happen to her was receiving the same letter from Tommy. Only she would know whom the girl was that he had fallen so hard for, Katherine Hillard.

She was a very beautiful girl and her exotic roots in Australia only made her more appealing. In addition, the fact that she was under the bad guys' control before joining the team just like Tommy did not help either. They had way too much in common; after all, Tommy was the first Ranger Katherine met when she moved to Angel Grove. Kimberly had seen the way Kat looked at Tommy so many times. Kimberly also knew that it was inevitable that he would some day in the near future return those looks to the new Pink Ranger.

At the time Kimberly truly believed breaking things off with Tommy was the best thing to do for him and the team. Without her distractions Tommy could be an even more effective leader for the team and he would be happy. But then why was she so miserable now?

Beep...beep...beep...the alarm clock startled Kimberly out of her thoughts and as much as it scared her she was thankful for it. In fact, she was more than happy to jump in the shower and begin another day of her brand new life in her favorite city in the entire universe, Angel Grove. Once Kimberly completed college and her two year internship at a local high school in Florida she never even stopped to consider where she was going to spend the rest of her life, because she had already known Angel Grove was the only place for her. So, she rented a U-haul trailer and jumped in her car and never once looked back the entire drive to California.

However, once she reached home she discovered that she was in for a great deal of disappointment because none of her friends were left in the small paradise. She had not really kept in touch with anyone except for Jason, who now resided in a small town upstate. He never much talked about the guys because he was afraid of slipping and mentioning Tommy. And, although Kimberly never said it Jason knew that she was living with a great deal of guilt on her shoulders, and the last thing he wanted to do was remind her of it.

She also kept in touch with Aisha by mail but all Aisha ever wrote about was her adventures in Africa. Kimberly didn't know if she had even kept in touch with anyone else from the gang. But the one person Kimberly was most interested in finding back home was Tommy. She knew he would not be there before she even left for Angel Grove.

She had seen the brand new team in charge of saving the world on the news, and the second she laid eyes on him there was no question in her mind at all that the Black Ranger was her Tommy Oliver. He was such a strong leader and she was brimming with pride as she watched him back in action. She knew he had to be the one leading the team because Zordon was gone and the only other person on this planet capable of finding a new power and saving the world was the former White Knight.

The Florida news broadcasted the goings on of the colorful heroes often and every time she saw it one name repeated over and over in her head all day, Reefside. And now that she was within hours of the seaside town she wouldn't dare show her face there. Even though she was desperate, not just to see Tommy, she was not nearly ready for that. But, she just wanted to see where he lived, and see what he saw everyday, and just be close to him even if she had no idea what street he lived on or where he went to work everyday.

Kimberly swung open the familiar doors of the Youth Center, the sun had not come up yet but it was time to get to work. Every morning Kimberly personally trained a young girl who was a student at Angel Grove High. She believed that this girl had a true talent when it came to gymnastics.

As Kimberly entered the juice bar a familiar face and a comforting voice greeted her.

"Good Morning pretty girl, can I make you my specialty energy smoothie to jumpstart your day?"

Kimberly giggled and she could not help but notice how grown up and just plain sweet Eugene Skullovich had become.

"Yeah, that would be heaven! How did you know that was exactly what I wanted?"

Skull smiled and blushed as he reached for a pink plastic cup.

"You know I make it a point to make sure the prettiest girl in Angel Grove is happy."

Kimberly couldn't help but let her face drop, she knew Skull meant well and she appreciated it but she just could not picture anyone else making her happy but Tommy. Skull noticed her change in emotion.

"What's the matter Kimberly? You look tired. You know what you need is a nice relaxing evening under the stars. Just picture it a picnic on the beach, soft mus..."

"Skull!"

Kimberly did not mean to sound so angry but she could not help it. Everyday it was the same thing, she was so happy to see him smile and to hear his voice and his laugh. It was just like old times and just like old times he had to go and ruin the moment by reminding her that she has other options yet she doesn't have the sense to take advantage of them.

Kimberly knew that she could be satisfied with Eugene Skullovich, maybe not happy but content with life. He had matured into a wonderful man that any girl would be lucky to have. He had so many good qualities. For one, he was an entrepreneur, he and Bulk had bought the Youth Center about a year ago and remodeled it back to its old self. They did just as good of a job with it as Ernie, if not better. They took a great deal of pride in the establishment and they seemed to get along really well with the high school students. Kimberly couldn't even think of a time that she saw either one of them interact with a student and not make that student laugh or at least smile. Of course that was just the type of person Skull was.

It was funny, Skull still dressed in his own style, which had matured quite a bit, but somehow he had become very attractive in Kimberly's eyes. And it wasn't that she could not like him in that way, in fact she knew that if given the chance she could eventually fall in love with him. But, she just did not want to because it would not be fair to him or her and she just could not let her true love go. She preferred to just be good friends with Skull and spend the rest of her life miserable and dreaming about Tommy Oliver. The thought of it made her queasy.

Skull did not mean to upset Kimberly, but he could not help it if he was still madly in love with her. High school was so long ago yet he just never met another girl quite as special as Kimberly Hart. And when she moved back to Angel Grove it was like he was given a second chance at life. In fact, nobody knew this but Bulk, but he opened the Youth Center at 5:30 every morning just for Kimberly. Before she came back to town it did not open until at least 7:00. But, he knew he was just wasting his time. He also knew that even though he had no idea where in the world Tommy Oliver was, he was still the only man in Kimberly's heart. It did not take a rocket scientist to figure out that Kimberly was hopelessly devoted to Tommy and would be for the rest of her life.

"I'm sorry Kimberly, I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that every morning you walk in here in your little pink shorts and your big beautiful smile and all I see is Kimberly Hart, captain of the cheerleading team, class president, and all around the cutest girl at Angel Grove High. I swear it Kimberly; it's as if I am transported back in time every morning at exactly 5:30 a.m. Oh and for the record, you’re still the cutest girl at Angel Grove High."

Kimberly could not help but smile.

"Thank you Skull. And, I'm not just saying this to be nice but, it is truly wonderful to be able to see you every morning too."

Just then Kimberly's student walked in looking determined and prepared for a work out. Skull handed Kimberly her smoothie.

"Well, looks like she's ready for battle."

"Thanks.

Chapter Two - The Attack

By the time 8:25 rolled around, Kimberly was dressed in her brand new pink skirt and a stylish white oxford shirt, and of course no outfit was complete without pink open toed heels. For a while after she left Angel Grove she had stopped wearing her signature color because it only connected her to her role as a Power Ranger, which made her sad. But when she returned home it only seemed appropriate that she adorn pink again.

Now at work, her hair was pulled up into a professional-looking ponytail and she had decided that because of her age and her sense of style if she wanted to be respected by her students and co-workers then she needed to wear glasses. It was funny for her to think that she spent so much money on a pair of designer glasses that did not even serve an optical use.

As she entered Angel Grove High School all the heads turned, mostly the boys'. She had already been a teacher at the high school for about three months, yet every time she entered a room all the eyes were still on her. Her first day there everyone thought she was a new student until they had her class. Soon all of the students came to find out that Ms. Hart was more than qualified for the job and she was damn good at it.

Kimberly rounded the corner and entered the main hallway, to her right she spotted her favorite spot on campus, her old locker. Every morning she acknowledged it and the same string of memories popped into her head. That was the spot where her and Tommy met, although he had stolen her heart long before that at Jason's karate tournament. That locker was also the spot where he met her nearly everyday after school to walk her home or to the Youth Center. It was also where Tommy and her had stolen kisses between class periods when the teachers were not looking. And now everyday started with those memories and everyday Kimberly's eyes became watery at the sight of it. She could have taken another route to her classroom yet somehow that spot comforted her, it assured her that it had all actually happened and it was not just some schoolgirl fantasy.

Kimberly crossed the threshold of her classroom as the first bell rang; she still had at least 3 minutes before her students began trickling in. She opened her planner to double-check her lesson plan, watercolor.

Kimberly was the new art teacher at Angel Grove High. It was luck that there happened to be an opening at the high school the week after she came into town, even though it was the middle of the semester. She pounced on the opportunity and because she had always been one of Mr. Caplain's favorite students of all time she was a shoe in. But, she had to admit it was really strange being Mrs. Applebee's co-worker and Mr. Caplain's employee. Bulk and Skull told her she was nuts. She loved it though, and the kids were so good to her. If only she had Tommy life would be perfect. Heck, if she had Tommy and was starving on the streets life would be perfect.

As the last bell of the day rang Kimberly was jerked out of a daydream. She did not mean to let her mind stray from her students but she could not help it. The art room always reminded her of the time Tommy's unsuccessful attempt at an art project resulted in another one of Zedd's poor excuses of a monster. Of course this memory only led to so many more.

"See ya' on Monday Ms. Hart," she heard one of her students say as they walked out the door. But she was in so much of a daze she never even noticed which student it was. She just replied with "Have a nice weekend."

By the time she finished cleaning and putting away all of the supplies her white shirt was a multitude of colors in a multitude of places. "Good job Kimberly," she muffled to herself, as she noticed that her brand new skirt remained spotless. "At least you don't look like a total slob."

The clock read 4:05 and Kimberly Hart was ready for her weekend, but then she cringed at the memory that she had promised Skull she would run the Youth Center for him until 9:00. As it turned out Bulk was out of town for a few days and Skull promised to pick him up at the airport. Kimberly knew that there was no way it was going to take Skull four and a half hours to go to the airport and back but she figured it would be rude of her to question his motives. Besides, at the time she did not mind doing it because it would give her a chance to catch up with the students that were not in one of her classes but frequented the Youth Center.

Now she wished she had never agreed to it. Her shirt looked like it belonged to a three- year old, her cute heels were not so cute anymore because she could barely feel her feet, and she was tired from the week, and uncountable hours of missed sleep. It was a good thing that she had not scheduled any gymnastics practices for this evening, she usually taught one class every afternoon.

Kimberly sat behind the juice bar on a stool, which she stole from the front of the counter. She knew Skull would not mind if she took it easy on the job as long as everyone was served. But, she was feeling better now that the apron she was required to wear covered up all the hideous stains on her shirt and she ditched her shoes the second she got behind the counter.

Not only that, there were only a few kids left in the Youth Center. It was Friday night and everyone was at the movies or the mall. The only kids remaining were three boys sparing on the practice floor, and two girls drinking sodas and giggling at each other's whispers. As she watched them a smile was permanently plastered on her face. If she closed her eyes she was sure that when she opened them Jason, Zack, and Tommy would be standing there instead. But with every blink came disappointment.

As she sighed with disapproval of herself she heard the familiar sound of two voices bickering about something stupid, and she knew she was a free woman. Bulk and Skull entered the room engaged in a heated argument about air traffic controllers. Kimberly giggled at the sight of them. Once those two got together it was as if they had never graduated from high school.

"Well my dear, your services are greatly appreciated but I think we can relieve you from here," said Bulk.

"Thanks guys. I can't wait to get home and take a nice long bubble bath, and hopefully have a relaxing night. That is if I can find the energy to walk home in these ridiculous things," replied Kimberly as she shoved her foot into her worn shoe.

Bulk whispered something to Skull and he smiled like it was Christmas morning. "Hey, you know if you'd like I can drive you home. It's no problem, really."

"Yeah Kimberly, I don't mind closing this place up by myself. I have been gone for three days, it's time I take my turn," replied Bulk.

Kimberly thought about it for a second, it sounded so tempting and she was so beat. But, she knew that if she accepted the evening would end with her crushing Skull's hopes again and then she would be feeling guilty the entire weekend. 'No thank you', she thought. She did not need that kind of baggage when she could hardly survive as it was.

"Gee Skull that's so sweet of you to offer but I really was exaggerating. My feet don't hurt that bad, and besides with the two of you closing up you'll get out of here in no time. And I know how much you two look forward to going down to the bowling alley every Friday night. I'll be fine walking."

Skull looked so disappointed, Kimberly felt like she had just told a child that Christmas was not coming this year. But she had to stand firm or else the consequences would be worse.

"Okay, if that's what you prefer. But please be careful. I know that Angel Grove hasn't had much excitement since we were in high school but you never know."

He was so sweet to care so much about her but before Kimberly had a chance to change her mind she swallowed the shooting pain she felt in her feet and raced out of the room.

"Thanks, I'll be careful. Have a good time tonight."

Because it was already dark, and because Kimberly had no choice but to carry her shoes or risk losing her feet, she decided the best move would be to cut through the park. It was a nice evening, the perfect temperature to be out side. Kimberly took a deep breath and exhaled with happiness. She was home again and even though she had stirred up so many bad memories she felt safe.

She smiled to herself at the thought of returning to her home. Which, coincidentally happened to be the same house she shared with her mother and her brother all of those years ago. She could not believe her luck when she drove into town, and turned down Rose Avenue to find 256 with a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard. She really could not afford the white two-story house with pink trim and shutters yet, but she just had to have it. So she fought and fought with the bank until they agreed to give her a loan. And even though it would take her an eternity to pay the house off at her salary it was worth it.

As she strolled along passed the playground she felt a raindrop hit the tip of her nose. "Perfect!!!!!!!" She yelled as the down poor began. The rain was so loud and it made it even harder to see where she was going. So many times she had walked that route from the Youth Center to her house, but all of a sudden it was as if she had never set foot on that ground before. As Kimberly looked from side to side she had absolutely no idea where she was or in which direction her house or the Youth Center was.

'It's okay Kimberly, you can just stand here and wait it out. I'm sure it will clear up in a few minutes and you'll be fine,' she thought to herself.

But for some reason she wanted nothing more at that moment than to take off running in a screaming fit, she was scared out of her mind and she had no idea why. She just had this very unsettling feeling, so she took off in the first direction she turned. But, it did not take long for her to come to a halt. This was because her left shoulder hit a very hard structure with such force that she yelled out in pain with a high pitched scream, which would have been heard all the way back at the youth center, had it not been for the pounding rain. She nearly passed out from the zap and decided that it was by far the most painful thing she had ever experienced.

As she lay on the mushy ground drenched in rainwater and freezing in excruciating pain tears fell from her eyes. Just then the first bolt of lightening struck the lake and its glow was so bright it was very clear to her that she had not ran her shoulder into a tree like she had assumed. She had instead been intentionally hit by something she had prayed she would never see again. And, as the second bolt hit, her fears were confirmed, there standing before her was an unnaturally tall figure with glowing red eyes and sharp monstrous fangs. The light reflected off him like flames on water, and the reflection was almost blinding.

Kimberly scrambled to get to her feet but her left arm was useless and the mud was too slippery. She tried to scream but she did not hear anything escape her mouth. Kimberly did not know if it was because of the loud thumping rain or because her voice was scared into submission. By the time she realized what was going on Kimberly Hart was in the death grip of one of the most evil creatures ever in existence, Goldar.

Chapter Three - Worst Nightmare Come True

“Kimberly Hart will be sorry she ever moved back to that wretched city when we get through with her. Ha, ha, ha. In fact she’ll be sorry she ever met Zordon and joined his pathetic little team all those years ago.”

“Yeah, Kimberly will cease to exist and in her place a new hero will be born. A hero that will bring destruction and misery to everything and everyone she ever loved.”

At first when Kimberly heard those horrible voices she immediately assumed that she was once again in the middle of one of her typical nightmares and thought nothing of it. But, when she attempted to shift her position the shooting pain in her left shoulder reminded her that it had all actually happened. Goldar had shown up at the park and taken her down with one quick swing of his sword. And now she was deathly afraid to open her eyes because she had a very strong feeling that she would not like where she was about to find herself.

She prepared herself for the worst; Lord Zedd’s lair on the moon, a dark dimension, or perhaps a secluded cave. Wrong, as she opened her eyes she discovered that she had never seen this location before. Of course it was dark, damp, and disgusting, but it was still not what she had expected. Above her she could see the stars. Below her she could feel the hard, cold marble floor penetrate through the fabric of her clothes and chill her skin like ice. At this point it became obvious to the former Pink Ranger that she was in fact lying down but she was not chained or bound in any way. Yet, she could not move.

Was she paralyzed by soreness or by the pain shooting through the left side of her body? Or was she frozen from fear? Most likely it was all of the above as well as the overall shock of realizing that the two most feared monsters known to mankind were alive and well. And it got worse; she was their prisoner.

Finally, Kimberly was able to raise her head slightly above the fog, which covered the floor. As soon as her head popped out of the clouds she wished with all her heart that she had never moved. Not only were her fears confirmed in the form of the muscled monster and his wicked wife, but the two of them immediately turned their attention to her.

“Good morning sunshine. Ha, ha, ha...” Lord Zedd laughed as Kimberly froze.

“What’s the matter Kimmy, not feeling so good after your little run in with an old friend?”

Rita seemed to be enjoying herself very much, as was Goldar. But Kimberly realized it was against everything she had ever fought for to give them the satisfaction.

“Yeah, actually I was under the impression that I would never have to lay eyes on his ugly, beady eyed, stupid face ever again. So as you can imagine I am a bit disappointed.”

Kimberly would have kept going, but the pain had traveled into her head and she was hit with an overpowering headache. But, she could not let the three beasts know. So she mustered up all the might she could and with the help of mostly her good arm she was up on her knees in no time. And from there she was able to make it on her bare feet. The chuckles from across the room only made her want try harder. Even though it was impossible to stand up straight, she did hold her head high.

“Impressive Miss has been, but if I were you I would not waste my energy on pride, it’s a losing battle. You can forget about it! Because now you belong to me!”

The room erupted into an earthquake as Kimberly fought to maintain her balance, but Zedd was right, it was a losing battle. She ended up right back down on the floor with a hard thump, which now caused a fiery pain in her back. She sat up with the grace and determination she was known for back when she owned a power coin.

“No, you can forget it Lord nobody cares about you anymore. I don’t belong to anyone but myself, and that is not about to change just because there’s a full moon out an you decided that it was a good night to take over the Earth.”

“But that’s where your wrong you naïve, stupid little girl. You don’t belong to your self and you never did since you became a Power Ranger.”

“If you’re implying that I was Zordon’s little puppet then your wrong. I fought for him because I believed in him and I had more free will then your brand of evil will ever give you.”

“That may be so, but I was not referring to Zordon when I said you belonged to somebody else.”

“Oh yeah, then who were you talking about?”

“Why Tommy Oliver of course, or should I say Dr. Thomas Oliver. Boy, they must be desperate to give out those doctorates...”

Kimberly did not even hear the rest of what Lord Zedd had to say, she did not need to he had already hit where it hurt when he mentioned Tommy’s name. She was not so much shocked at the realization that she did in fact belong to Tommy even though he did not want her. She was shocked at the realization that it had been so obvious that her life revolved around the memory and the hope of having Tommy again some day. Lord Zedd soon realized that this was going to be much, much easier than he had anticipated.

“I see I have found your weak spot without even really trying. You make this too easy for us Kimberly.”

“Yeah,” chimed in Rita, “if we’d a known it was going to be so simple we could have taken over the world months ago. Ha, ha, ha....”

Kimberly did not want to hear it. She attempted to cover her ears but her shoulder hurt to badly, it was no use. She felt as vulnerable as a bunny rabbit surrounded by coyotes. As the tears began streaming down her face uncontrollably, the room shook harder and the noise became louder. She was nothing more than a fool brought to them for their entertainment and it ate her up inside.

“You disappoint me Kimberly,” snapped Zedd. “You know I chose you for a reason, and it was not just because I knew that you had a soft spot for your old sweetheart. No, I chose you because you always got my nerves boiling. Your determination, strength, loyalty, and ability were more than I could handle. Let’s face it, everything else aside, you were the best girlie ranger ever to adorn the costume. Oh yeah, and I want to annihilate Tommy dear and I know you are the only one that can do it.”

His words pierced Kimberly like an arrow. The very thought of contributing to Tommy’s demise was unbearable. There was no way that she could ever hurt him again not after how badly she hurt him before. She would trade her own life before she ever agreed to help Zedd destroy the man she loved.

“You forget who you’re dealing with Zedd. I don’t take orders from you, never have and never will.”

“Oh no my dear, that is where you’re wrong. You will take my orders and you will follow through with them.” Zedd was beginning to get angry.

“Never. You must be utterly insane. I’ll never do your evil bidding. In fact, I should not even be here right now. You were destroyed, Andros, he destroyed you. Zordon sacrificed his life to ensure you and your kind would never poison the world with evil again.”

Kimberly remembered the day Jason had told her about how Zordon was gone and along with him evil was too. It should have been the happiest day of the Rangers’ lives, yet it was the saddest. Kimberly had locked her self in her dorm room for days grieving for Zordon. It was not fair, how could Zedd and Rita be standing in front of her after all that?

“Well, you’re half right. You see my dear, my darling wife and I, oh and the gold bum, are in fact still disgustingly nice, kind, and I hate to say it but caring beings. But the three monsters you see before you are as evil, underhanded, and malicious as they were when you met them.”

“I don’t understand. How can you be good and bad at the same time?”

“The same way you are going to be of course. You see, it was but a year ago that my wife and I were feeding ducks and ridding horses in a distant dimension. But, one day, much like yourself we were brutally kidnapped, came right out of the blue, didn’t even expect it.

Turns out your honey’s new villain Mesogog got a hold of some tape your crush made for his new pathetic team of losers, in case of an emergency. On the tape was the story of all of us, you included. Mesogog discovered that no other force has ever been such a challenge for the Power Rangers than Rita and me. So, it took him some time but with the help of his henchmen and some other errand boys, he was able to track us down. So, he did and he infused us with one little evil charge. That was all he needed because, well let’s face it, we’re evil at heart.

Naturally his original plan was control us and use us to destroy the Dino Rangers. But, you and I both know that we don’t take orders from anybody. There was a short battle, but Mesogog’s army was too weak to take us on. We disappeared for a while, I suppose Mesogog figured we were out of his hair for good. But, little did he know we were busy recreating our own army of goons, and strategizing the end of the world as you know it. We also rebuilt our new home. Allow me to introduce you to Serpentera II. He has all the functions of his predecessor, only he won’t fail.”

Kimberly did not want to believe what she was hearing. How could it be that the nightmare was about to begin all over again? She was terrified. Even with Tommy’s incredible strength and skills there was just no way he could lead four teenagers to victory against Zedd’s evil magic. The only being that could ever do that was Zordon, and he was gone forever. Suddenly Kimberly wished very badly that she had taken Skull up on his offer for that ride home.

“Pay attention you insignificant fool!”

Lord Zedd did not appreciate Kimberly’s wandering thoughts, if he was going to make the most evil warrior ever created out of her then he was going to need her to hear all he had to say so that his spell would take total control of her. He needed her to feel helpless and alone, and most importantly, utterly devoted to the destruction of the Black Dino Ranger.

“If I’m so insignificant, then why do you need me so badly?”

Kimberly choked out the question frightened of the response.

“Because, as I explained before I need you to destroy the Black Ranger.”

“But why me? I’m just a has been like you said before. How could I possibly even begin to take on a Ranger?”

“Well, I don’t know if you know this or not but you have always been Tommy’s weak spot. He always would have done anything for you, and something tells me that he still would. Nothing would hurt him more than having you annihilate him. In fact, I’m sure he’ll give up long before that happens.”

Kimberly did not actually believe what Zedd was telling her. There was just no way that Tommy would still care for her after all that happened and all the time that had passed by. But maybe if she agreed to help Zedd then he would not put her under a spell and she would be able to trick him and get away in enough time to warn Tommy of the dreaded couple’s return.

“Okay, I’ll do it. But, you have to promise me that you will only take away Tommy’s powers and not hurt him.”

Zedd was no dummy, he knew the girl was up to something. It was just too easy. He was not going to let her play him for a fool.

“You miserable, stupid girl! You must take me for a fool. I know your game, and I’m not falling for it, in fact I am insulted, you are going to pay for your ignorance. Goldar, seize the girl, you know where to take her!”

“But wait, I agreed to help you, there is no reason why you have to manhandle me!”

“You’re so cute when you’re angry, you’re also not very smart. Did you actually think I would give you a power coin without turning you evil first? Ha, you belong to me now!”

Goldar grabbed Kimberly by her hurt arm and it was painful but she resisted him. She soon regretted it as he tossed her against the wall with such force that she bounced off of it and landed on the floor. He then picked her up before she could gather her bearings. She kicked and screamed uncontrollably.

“Enough!”

Screamed Zedd as he hurled a lightning bolt at her with his staff. She was out cold.

Chapter Four - An Evil Shade of Pink

When Kimberly awoke she was very aware of what had happened to her before she was rendered unconscious. She was no longer angry and she did not feel like herself. It was hard to explain because she was still Kimberly Hart from Angel Grove, but she was also somebody different.

As she lay on the hard table she came to the realization that there was some sort of laser beam feeding its rays into her mind. She immediately sat up, noticing that her left-shoulder no longer hurt. But as she departed the table an awful siren began to blare all around her.

“Shut it off!” She screamed covering her ears; she had no idea who she was yelling to but she could not stand the sound. With one gigantic leap and powerful kick Kimberly disabled the mechanism which had created the laser as well as the noise. Just then in a mass of lightning bolts Lord Zedd once again appeared.

“Success!” He yelled in delight. “The transformation is complete! Welcome to the dark side my dear.”

Kimberly smiled with an uncontrollable urge to destroy something else. Her eyes began to glow a dark shade of pink. She felt reborn and untouchable. Kimberly was no longer lost or confused about her past and she was definitely looking forward to her future.

“Thank you my lord. I appreciate all you have done for me. Before you I was nothing, and with you I am everything.” She bowed in reverence.

She was not only thankful for her new found self-esteem but also her brand new powers. For Kimberly Hart stood in the middle of Lord Zedd’s dark dimension cloaked in the most magnificent Power Ranger battle armor she had ever seen. It was comprised mostly of black material, but it was not spandex. Instead it was much thicker and much stronger. Like before, diamond shapes adorned her boots and her gloves, but this time the diamonds were a darker shade of pink. She also could not help but notice the remarkable shine of the gold trim on her boots, gloves, and belt. Another unexpected improvement sat upon her shoulders and protected her chest and back. It was a pink and gold shield similar to the Green Ranger’s. In the center appeared a large stylized ‘Z’. Looking down she noticed her morpher was also gold, but her coin was black with a pink pterodactyl in the middle occupying most of the space.

Resting in a black holster on her hip was an amazing weapon. It was the size of a blade blaster, only the gold, pink, and black tool looked as if it could do far more damage. But her favorite part was the flawless helmet, which protected her head. It resembled her old helmet with a few needed modifications; black replaced the white areas, her mouthpiece was gold, and the shapes were much more dimensional and powerful looking.

Kimberly was ready for battle and Lord Zedd knew it.

“Well, Pink Ranger it would appear that you are ready to take revenge on my behalf, and don’t worry I will not stop you. But there are a few rules that you must obey if this is going to work.”

“Yes Lord Zedd anything you say I will obey.” Kimberly was becoming impatient but she knew that she was only awarded these powers to serve Zedd and any little mess up would cost her.

“First of all, you must not let anyone know your identity. Second, you will be allowed to resume your life in Angel Grove while occupying my powers. But, you must not let on that something has happened to you. If anyone suspects anything it could lead to your demise. And finally, your number one mission is to destroy the Power Rangers, the Black Ranger in particular. And it must be done at all costs. I don’t care how you do it, as long as he is finished!”

Kimberly laughed in excitement, “Yes my Lord, by the time I’m done with those pathetic nothings it will be as if they never existed, and the Black Ranger won’t even be a memory!”

A part of Kimberly deep down inside could not believe what she was hearing herself say. But another part, a more powerful part of her truly believed that Tommy Oliver deserved what was coming to him.

“Now go my Pink Ranger!”

“I will not let you down Lord Zedd.”

Chapter Five - Dr Thomas Oliver

It was one of the most beautiful days that Dr. Thomas Oliver had ever seen in Reefside, California. The sun was shinning, the sky was blue, and there was the sweetest breeze in the air. As he walked to Haley's Cyberspace he could not help but realize how wonderful his life really was. Sure, he was constantly susceptible to Mesogog's attacks, but that was just the way his life was.

He never saw it as burden though, not when he did it for Zordon and especially not now that he was doing it purely on his own accord. Instead, he looked at it as a challenge or a good deed. It was his calling and he was beginning to realize that it always would be. He chuckled to himself at the thought of being an eighty year old Power Ranger. He hoped it would never come to that and he was pretty sure that it would not. Especially not now with the amazing team he assembled to share the Dino Thunder powers.

Connor, Kira, Ethan, and Trent were truly a force to be reckoned with. Each ranger had a special ability and gift, which they contributed to the team. Together they proved to be unstoppable time and time again. Not only that, they were just all around great kids. They reminded him of the old team. Those were such good times and they did so many incredible things. To this day he could not believe he had traveled the universe and saved the world well over a hundred times.

But these times were not so bad either. He truly was lucky to get the job at Reefside High. Although he was firm with his students he was always fair, and he secretly was impressed by every single one of them. When he first came to Reefside the teacher gig was just a day job, a cover really, and a much easier way to find teenagers to recruit to save the world. But now, he loved his job and would not have his life any other way. Actually there was one other way he would rather have it, but it was impossible, so he reminded himself it was a waste of time to even think about it.

As his thoughts traveled back into the present he reached Haley's and opened the door surprised to find the place so packed. And it was even more amazing to think that all the kids were there to see Kira. She had just finished some brand new material and wanted to test it out on a few people. But, Connor, Ethan, and Trent being the good friends that they were surprised her by inviting everyone they knew as well as posting a few flyers around the high school and the city.

It did not take long for Dr. Oliver to spot the star of the show. He was so proud of Kira, not only for her Ranger skills, but also for her music. She had the most amazing voice and her talent for song writing just would not quit. When she first became the Yellow Ranger he was a little nervous about having only one girl on the team. It was something he had never experienced before and he was afraid she might feel left out or that she had something to prove. But Kira was up to the challenge and the boys never once took her for granted.

Kira smiled at her fearless leader from atop the stage. It always meant so much to her when Dr. Oliver took time out of his busy life to come and watch her perform. She always sounded better when he was in the audience because there was just something about him that made her want to try harder. She admired her Biology teacher very much; he was incredible. The man had amazing skills when it came to martial arts. He never talked much about his past, but she knew that he had to have been some kind of martial arts champion back in the day. There was just no way that kind of talent could go unnoticed.

As the quiet teacher returned her greeting with a small wave, a small tingle went through her body. Dr. Oliver was the most amazing person she had ever met and every morning when she woke up she thanked God that she was lucky enough to haven been chosen to save the world beside him. And as she struck up the first cord of her brand new song, she knew that today was going to be special.

Dr. Oliver watched his protégé in awe it was almost as if he was in some kind of a trance. But suddenly the spell was lifted when he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Connor, the leader of his Power team; that was whenever he was not in battle of course.

Connor was a truly astonishing kid and an even greater Power Ranger. Sure, the guy had his faults but who didn't? When Connor first got his Red Ranger powers and began to have doubts, it really hurt Dr. Oliver. Not because he felt rejected, but because he knew that he was changing these kids' lives in a way that would never allow them to go back to the life they knew before. Even though the power was not permanent, being a Power Ranger was. He was a living, breathing example of this. Being a Ranger stayed with you for the rest of your life, and sometimes it was a tough pill to swallow.

But he was confident that Conner would be able to handle it. He was a bright boy, he just did not always have the best common sense. However, when it came time for battle it was like Connor truly did morph into someone else. He took being the leader of the team very seriously. In fact, outside of being a Ranger, Dr. Oliver began to notice a change in the tall soccer player. It was almost as if he had matured into a man over night. And not just any man, but an exceptional man.

Dr. Oliver was sure that the last time he saw so much promise in a Red Ranger it was in Jason Lee Scott, his best friend. And Jason was just as proud of his distant predecessor as Dr. O was. He remembered the day Jason called him up on the phone with the most outrageous sound of excitement in his voice. Jason had just seen the new team on the news and was blown away by Connor's abilities. He even thanked his best friend for continuing his legacy with such an incredible human being.

Now, as the teacher respectfully greeted his student with a small handshake he noticed that Connor was not alone. Nope, good old reliable Ethan was standing next to him. Dr. O shook his hand too and noticed the laptop under Ethan's left arm. Lately it seemed like the boy had grown another appendage in the form of the gray laptop. He could entertain himself for hours with that thing. But not with just video games, he also used his knowledge of technology to help the team.

He was a lot like Billy in many ways. But he was also so different from him too. He was a brain like the original Blue Ranger, but not nearly to the level Billy was. He made up for it with his overwhelming confidence though. It was strange because Ethan hung out with the 'geek' crowd at Reefside High yet he presented himself as if he were the king of the school. That was one of the reasons Dr. Oliver trusted him with the powers so much. Ethan was always optimistic that the team would win the fight.

And whenever Ethan was morphed he never once disappointed the Black Ranger. Even though he had no formal training in martial arts the kid was awesome. It was almost as if he was born to be the Blue Dino Thunder Ranger. Deep down inside Dr. Oliver believed this was true.

As the three guys stood watching the girl they all cared for more than any other girl in the world right now; they knew something was missing. Then, Dr. O spotted that something rushing into the café panting for air.

At first Dr. Oliver was extremely concerned. He thought that maybe the White Ranger had been attacked by another one of Mesogog's goons. But, when Trent stopped to wink at the singing beauty up onstage Dr. O knew that Trent was only panting out of fear that he might miss his girl's big day.

As Trent made his way over to the rest of the guys he gave them all a quick nod before taking his spot to the left of Dr. O. Dr. Oliver could not help but tease him. After all, his friends used to do it to him whenever he showed affection for Kimber- No, he promised himself he would not think about her, or that, or what happened. Luckily his recovery time was less than a split second.

Instead, he chose to focus on the young man standing beside him. He had not chosen Trent to possess the White Dino Gem, but if had been given the power to he would have. The White Power had always been very special to Dr. Oliver, even sacred. This was not just because he was the first White Ranger to ever exist, but because he knew that the White Power was different from the rest. After being nearly every color of Ranger possible Dr. Thomas Oliver reached the conclusion that the White Power was somehow special. Not just anyone could posses these powers; it had to be the chosen one. And thankfully that chosen one was Trent Mercer.

Trent was a very strong young man. In fact, he caused the Black Ranger to have many doubts about his team when he first came around; himself included. Honestly, Dr. Oliver was very worried that the evil White Ranger could quite possibly be the end for his team. But, luckily Trent was stronger than Mesogog's control and was very wise in choosing to use his powers in the name of good.

Now that the Rangers had Trent on their side, there was no doubt in Dr. O's mind that good would prevail. Trent had impressed him time and time again. He was a truly remarkable person. And Dr. Oliver could not have picked a better White Ranger.

Now, standing with the three heroes, Dr. O was positive that he had made the right decision for the first time in his life. When he first discovered the Dino Gems he had considered calling back some of the old team. There was no doubt in his mind that every one of them would have agreed to accept the responsibilities that came with the powers all over again. But he just could not do it. This was his fight and it had to be fought by his terms. He knew that it would not have been fair to once again disrupt their lives so permanently. They had all served so loyally that each one of them deserved a good life, free of evil.

Just as Dr. Oliver returned his attention back to the singing girl on stage he heard a familiar female voice whisper in his ear, "Hello Dr. Oliver. Long time no see."

As he turned around a smile appeared across his face as he embraced the beautiful girl in a tight hug.

"It's so good to see you," responded the handsome doctor, "I didn't think I could go on much longer without you."

"It was only two weeks," chuckled the woman.

"Yeah," he added, "But when the fate of the world is in your hands, you can't go long with out the biggest brain of the entire operation."

As Haley pulled away from her dearest friend, she stared deep into the dark abyss that was his beautiful brown eyes. The couple must have held each other for at least a few minutes before they were forced from each others arms with a loud shatter, accompanied by large and small shards of glass, and a disturbing piercing shrill from the Yellow Ranger.

Dr. Oliver's initial reaction was to grab Haley and take cover on the floor. The rest of the Rangers followed his lead as everyone else around them erupted into chaos. All of the kids were scurrying around so fast that Dr. O had no idea what was the cause of the commotion, but he was beginning to feel fear.

Soon, the room began to clear as the loud noise of the fire alarm burst into the room, caused by the opened fire exits. Before long the intrusion was in Dr. Oliver's view, and he could not believe what stood before him.

Chapter Six - She's Back

As Kimberly Hart set foot on Earth once again she was no longer the evil Pink Ranger. Instead, she was the evil Kimberly Hart. These were two very different people, with two very similar goals, to seek revenge. The evil Pink Ranger sought revenge in the name of Lord Zedd while the pretty high school teacher sought revenge for herself, her fears, and her regrets.

Lucky for Kimberly, Lord Zedd transported her to a hidden location behind some dumpsters, in what appeared to be an alleyway.

‘Why’d he send me here out of all the places...’ she thought to herself in annoyance as she inhaled the smell of week old garbage that radiated around her. She knew that she should have come in uniform, but she did not want to attract attention. At least not before she pinpointed her target.

But as she turned the corner and scoped out the scenery, she knew exactly why her master had chosen this spot. Walking towards her was a sight which she had not seen in years, a sight that she thought she might never see again. It was Tommy Oliver.

At first she was taken aback by the surprise, but then she quickly became overwhelmed with a rush of memories. Memories of holding hands in the park, longing glances in the youth center, finding any reason to make physical contact even if it was just a pat on the back, and kisses that made everything else in life obsolete.

There, walking toward her was Tommy Oliver, her White Knight in shinning armor, and the man of her dreams. His face was exactly the same, just as handsome as it ever was, but with a goatee, which would not take long to get used to. His hair was short now, and immediately she missed the soft ponytail. His body was a little bigger than she remembered, but she was not complaining.

It was as if time had done no harm except in one very important feature, his eyes. They were not the same eyes that had followed her every move and understood her every thought, and that was not just because of the glasses. No, they were much harder now. It appeared that Tommy was no longer Tommy, and she missed that. But, she also could not help but fall hard for Dr. Thomas Oliver.

Before she could completely evaluate the situation, she was forced back into the alleyway so quickly that she was sure he had not seen her when his gaze shifted from the sky to the building. As she leaned up against the wall, holding her breath, she was half expecting to hear him call her name. But instead she heard the door open in an eruption of voices, and then close with the silence of the breeze.

Surprised by her utter lack of self-control and sappy, pathetic urge to fall into the Black Ranger’s arms, Kimberly sighed in frustration. She could not believe how quick she was to disregard her previous feelings at the mere sight of the man. Not only that, she was just inches away from betraying Lord Zedd, and those consequences were something that she did not even want to begin to think about.

Deciding that the coast was probably clear, Kimberly once again stepped around the corner and crept past the door until she reached the large rectangular window. The whole way, her mind was playing a relentless game of tug of war and neither side was winning. On the one hand, she had her loyalties to Lord Zedd and herself. While on the other hand she could not at all remember why she had ever sought vengeance on Tommy Oliver to begin with.

She reluctantly reminded herself that this attraction was bound to happen, and it was merely a representation of the weak little girl she was before Lord Zedd and Rita took her in. If anything, this whole experience should be reminding her just how insignificant she was before her master was kind enough to bestow upon her the dark powers. Then why was she frantically searching for the tall handsome man in the window?

Never mind that right now, she had spotted him. Amongst the crowd she noticed the man in black in the center of the room in the back row. He was starring at the blond girl in yellow on the stage intently. She did not instantly become jealous though, because it was obvious to her who the girl was, the Yellow Ranger. An evil smirk grew upon her face at the thought of obliterating the girl all together. She relished in her evil thoughts; she was in control of herself now.

Just then two teenage boys approached the man, and once again it became obvious to Kimberly that the boys were not just teenagers, they were Power Rangers. The very tall boy in red was quite handsome and very fashion conscious. A combination that would have normally driven the Pink Ranger wild. But not this time, instead all she could think about was taking a blade blaster to his pretty little face. Tommy shook hands with him and then acknowledged the boy in blue next to him. This kid did not intimidate Kimberly one bit. She laughed out loud at the mere thought of seeing the geek in action.

“Excuse me miss? Um, are you okay?”

The young male voice of a panting teenager brought Kimberly to her senses. She must have appeared to be a total psycho. She was crouching in front of a window of a public place with no shoes, disheveled hair, paint all over her shirt, and to top it all off she was laughing hysterically.

After her face changed back to its original color, she turned to the young man. He was also handsome. In fact he was tall, dark, and handsome. He too was dressed very well in a white button up shirt and designer jeans. But Kimberly was no fool; she knew exactly whom she was dealing with.

As she turned around, a fake but believably sincere, smile grew across her face.

“Yes, um, I’m fine. I’m sorry,” she continued with a sweet tone in her voice, “I must look pretty weird. I really am okay, I’m just having one of those days.”

Trent wanted to believe the beautiful young woman but there was just something very unsettling about her but he could not pinpoint exactly what it was. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt though. If anybody knew anything about needing the benefit of the doubt, it was Trent.

“You’re sure?” he said with deep concern.

“Yes, of course. You’re so sweet to be so concerned, but I really am okay.”

“Well, is there anything I can do for you? My friends are just inside, I could just go get them real quick and we could help-“

“No!” Kimberly interrupted with intense force. She did not mean to sound so insistent, but she could not risk Tommy seeing her. “I mean, um, I’m fine. There’s no need to bother anyone. In fact I was just leaving. It was nice meeting you, um?”

“Trent.” Responded the young man as he stuck out his hand for the pretty girl to shake.

Kimberly shook his hand politely and began walking in the other direction, “Well, see ya.” She yelled over her shoulder.

“Wait,” called out the young man, “you didn’t tell me your name.”

Kimberly cursed the kid in her head, how annoying could he possibly be? She had to think fast, “Um, you can call me Ms. Har-Harper. Ms. Harper.”

“Um, Okay Ms. Harper, be careful and it was nice meeting you too.”

Trent finally went in the door as Kimberly was halfway across the street. ‘It’s about time, irritating little mutant.’ She thought to herself. ‘What does he care what my name is.’

Once she reached the window again, it did not take her long to zero in on her target. She still could not believe she was here in Reefside, and Tommy was only a window apart from her. As she began to let her sentimental feelings take control, she was not prepared for what came next. Just then a woman with long curly burgundy hair stepped behind the Black Ranger and leaned in very close to him as she whispered something into his ear.

Kimberly began to feel her previous feelings evaporate as Tommy took the woman in his arms and embraced her tightly. Suddenly it became very clear to the Pink Ranger why she wanted vengeance on Dr. Oliver. He was just like Tommy Oliver, and he would hurt her the same way. It all began to come back to Kimberly.

That day, looking in the viewing globe she saw Katherine clutching his arm so tightly, her head tucked in his shoulder, and not an inch between them. Then she remembered the day they went to the beach. Katherine did not want to go, but when Tommy invited her, it was as if there was no decision to be made. Yet, none of those memories compared to the incident when she was stuck in the hospital recovering from her dangerous fall off the balance beam. It was because of Katherine that Kimberly was so exhausted to begin with. She stole her power coin and was responsible for all of the complications. It was all Katherine’s fault, and Tommy was so quick to forgive her.

Kimberly’s eyes grew red with the intensity of her building emotions, as the couple in front of her turned towards each other and gazed into the other’s eyes. Tommy was the same Tommy now as he was all those years ago. He could not be trusted then and he could not be trusted now. He had to pay for the hurt he caused her and she was ready to make sure that he did, today.

“It’s morphin’ time!” She declared to the world as the pink shroud of evil engulfed her and shaped to her form, resulting in the introduction of the evil Pink Ranger to the people of Reefside. She was going to enjoy this, and when she was done, things would never be the same for the Black Ranger.

As she flipped through the glass window with a strong, piercing “Hiyaaa!” her eruption into the room startled the Yellow Ranger. The pathetic little girl looked like a deer in headlights. Her shrill was delightful. The rest of the room was no better, or braver, for it took only seconds for the screaming teenagers to evacuate the room. Once they were gone all that was left was the Power Team. Yet somehow they did not look so powerful. The Yellow Ranger froze still on the stage, while that other three boys were shrunk on the floor, along with their leader and his silly little girlfriend.

Kimberly took great joy in the expression that seemed to be permanently tattooed on the Black Rangers face. He looked horrified and stunned at the same time. He began to shake his head and the words “No, no, no...” escaped his lips in a whisper over and over again. It was as if the other Rangers were helpless without his leadership. Before they could even gather their bearings, the evil Pink Ranger was making her first move in the form of a roundhouse kick to the fallen Black Ranger’s chest. He hardly saw it coming. In fact, no one saw it coming. All they saw was their leader hit the ground with a devastating thump caused by his head hitting the floor. Haley shrieked out in horror as the evil beast in front of her exploded into laughter.

Connor and Trent lunged at the black and pink monster, as Kira and Ethan hunted for weapons. But it was too late, she was gone, with one quick blast of pink lightning it was over, and they had failed the Black Ranger.

Chapter Seven - The Battle

"Who was that?" asked the normally calm and cool Yellow Ranger. She was in such utter disbelief of what she had just witnessed that she could not move a muscle, only speak.

"You mean, what was that?" replied the Red Ranger as he knelt down to assess the damage the pink monster had inflicted upon his leader.

It was silent for several moments as the four teens and the beautiful woman came to the realization that not only was Dr. Oliver on the ground, but he was unconscious as well. Haley began to make a muffled noise as she laid her head down on the handsome man's chest. She did not think that she could bare to see her good friend in a coma ever again, but she might not have any other choice.

"So now what?" asked Trent as he placed a supportive arm around Haley's shoulder. He looked up at the rest of his friends and he knew that the person or thing, which they had just encountered, would as of this moment change their futures forever.

Haley continued to weep softly before she gathered her bearings and was able to speak. "Well, I suppose that we should probably get him out of here and home, where he'll be safe. There's no telling when that rotten, evil, disgusting monster will strike-"

"You're too kind." Interrupted the haunting evil voice, which they all wished they had never heard.

Everyone froze, not wanting to look up and face reality, she was back.

"What's the matter kittens, too scared to take me on." Kimberly's voice chattered with an intensely scary tone, and she did not sound like she was ready to back down.

They all knew what they had to do and they knew that it had to be done now. So, without ever looking up all four teenagers shouted in unison the words that would kick the battle into full swing, "Dino thunder power up, ha!"

Standing in front of the injured science teacher was an intimidating force that would have startled any other competitor, but not the evil Pink Ranger. She was ready for a fight and she was by no means willing to accept defeat.

"Red, blue, white, and cute little yellow," said the Pink Ranger in a sweet innocent voice.

"Well, looks like we're all here," she smiled behind her helmet. "Oh, I take that back. What happened to black?" The Pink Ranger was going to have fun with this as she nodded toward the motionless mass on the floor, which was still under Haley's protective embrace.

"What's the matter sweety'd I hurt your boyfriend? Normally I'd apologize, but I'm afraid that I'm just not sorry." Kimberly erupted into a fit of laughter and Haley began to cry. She could not imagine how this creature could be so hateful. Mostly though, she could not believe that this creature could be so hateful to Dr. Oliver.

"Oh, don't cry," said the pink ranger in an almost apologetic voice. "Believe me, he's not worth it," her voice was once again cold and forceful.

"Well, let's get on with this," shouted the Red Ranger as he took a defensive stance.

"So the pretty boy has an attitude," responded the Pink Ranger. "I like my men with spunk. But as luck would have it I don't like you." She sounded mean an unforgiving. The Rangers were scared but they could not let her know that.

"Well, I guess the feelings mutual," replied the Red Ranger.

"Let's do this now!" Chimed in the White Ranger. "Are you gonna make your move are you just wasting everyone's time?"

"Leave it up to the White Ranger to play hero," said Kimberly in a disgusted voice. "You know if I'd had a dime for every time the white guy's ego swelled up, then I'd be a very rich woman."

"You mean a very rich monster," interrupted the Yellow Ranger.

"You know what? I really don't like you blondie." Kimberly was getting annoyed, "So I suggest you shut up or else I'll shut you up."

"That's enough!" shouted Ethan. He was not in the mood to listen to anymore of the Pink Ranger's threats.

"Ooh tough guy," giggled the Pink Ranger. "What are you gonna whip out your laptop and teach me a lesson?" She was very amused by the Blue Ranger; it was going to be way too easy.

"No, but I will." Came a voice from behind her followed by a kick to the back of her head.

The Pink Ranger hit the floor as she cursed her ego. Looking up she could not believe that she had left such a wide-open opportunity to the Red Ranger who stood above her. She was not happy, not at all. In retaliation she took him down with a kick to his shins so fast he never even saw her move.

As she hopped up the White Ranger came at her, fist first. She just barely missed his blow, which would have surely paralyzed her for a few seconds. Kimberly was not about to be the victim, but the White Ranger was. She elbowed him in the ribs and as he crouched down in agony her forearm snapped up against his face as he joined the Red Ranger on the floor.

It did not take but mere seconds for the Yellow and Blue Rangers to get in on the action as Ethan went high and Kira went low. But, they just were not strong enough and ended up with Connor and Trent.

"Let's call on our weapons guys!" declared Connor as they all stood up in unison.

"Let me save you the trouble." Interrupted the Pink Ranger, "Pterodactyl Power Bow!" she shouted to the sky as the artillery appeared in her grasp.

By now the Rangers had begun their attempt to lure her outside and away from Dr. O and Haley. The Pink Ranger took the bait as she met them outside with the spectacular bow in hand. They too had called upon their weapons and were ready for action.

"Oh, how cute, you come with accessories." Kimberly giggled. "Well, let me show you mine!"

She swung the bow like it were a staff, knocking all four Rangers momentarily out of commission.

"Come on guys, get up! We have to regroup!" Shouted Trent.

"Easier said than done! Omf!" said Ethan as the Pink Ranger stuck him in the abdominal.

Kira was not afraid of this fight now, the evil Pink Ranger had ticked her off one too many times. She lunged at the pink nightmare with her bow and put up a pretty fair fight. The two females dueled for a short time, the Pink Ranger coming out the victor.

"She's too strong!" moaned the Yellow Ranger as she lay on the cement recovering from the blow.

"You ain't seen nothing yet pretty!" shouted Kimberly as she drew back her arrow and aimed for the helpless girl on the ground. "Fire," she said sweetly.

Trent saw the entire horror story unraveling as he jumped in the arrows way just before it reached Kira. It hit him and it was a serious hit. He was down as sparks flew all around him.

"Nooo!!!" shouted the Yellow Ranger as she pulled him into her lap, he was motionless.

Once again the Pink Ranger had the upper hand and she did not waste any time.

"Your turn cutie," she declared as she took aim and fired at the Red Ranger before he had time to take cover or dodge the shot.

It hit him directly and he fell too. Ethan ran to his aid but he never reached his friend because the pink arrow reached him first.

It was indeed a terrible sight for anyone to see. There on the pavement lay the Red and Blue Rangers with shocks of pink waves engulfing their bodies. The two teenagers feared they would never move again. In front of them sat a pathetic scene, the Yellow Ranger desperately rocking the White Ranger in her arms. Her cries were relentless and heartbreaking. But, not to the Pink Ranger.

"Hey there cry baby," demanded the Pink Ranger, "Shut it! You're the lucky one today. I don't have an arrow with your name on it. But that's only because I need you to give Dr. Oliver a message for me. Oops, I mean that is if he ever wakes up." The Pink Ranger laughed out loud as Kira sobbed uncontrollably; she just wanted the evil Ranger to leave, and the nightmare to end.

Kimberly continued, "Tell him that Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa have returned and they only have one goal in mind, to defeat the Black Ranger and everything he stands for! In case you were wondering that does include you too, sweetie."

Kimberly reached for her morpher to teleport, "Oh yeah, and also tell the dear handsome doctor that all of this destruction is going to be caused by me. And do forgive me, it was rather rude of me not to have introduced myself, I'm the Pink Ranger. I was the beginning but now I am the end of the Power Rangers! Ha, ha ha..."

And just like that the evil Pink Ranger was gone.
 

Chapter Eight - The Aftermath

Kimberly Hart was on such a great high that the stars above her seemed brighter and nothing seemed impossible. As she appeared in front of her master and his wife she stood tall with pride. She had given those Rangers one hell of a scare and she had knocked the life right out of the Black Ranger, or at least temporarily.

“Ah my faithful servant has arrived,” said Lord Zedd as he turned around in his throne to greet his evil Pink Ranger. “You have done well my dear, very well.”

“Thank you Lord Zedd,” answered Kimberly as she bowed to her superior.

“Zeddy, you were right, this girl is unstoppable. If things keep going at this rate we’ll be king and queen of the universe in mere days!” said the evil witch standing next to Zedd.

“Not so fast my dear. These things take time, as you know,” interrupted Zedd.

“What do you mean my Lord?” asked the Pink Ranger. She did not want to sound so eager, but truthfully she was looking forward to annihilating the Power Team as soon as possible.

“Well my faithful servant, I fear that the wretched Dr. Oliver will no doubt be suspecting that you are the Pink Ranger,” responded Zedd.

“But Sire, I was so careful not to let him see me, and I hardly said a word while he was conscious, surely he would not be that quick to identify my voice,” said the Pink Ranger in her defense.

“That may be so, but you forget how well the Doctor knows you. And, I wasn’t going to say anything because you did such a commendable job on your first time out, but you did drop hints to the other Rangers and that annoying red head that you came with a past.”

For the first time since her victory the Pink Ranger felt about two inches small. “I am so very sorry my Lord. I promise it won’t happen again. I didn’t mean-“

“Silence!” yelled the red monster. “I am disappointed in you Kimberly but I’ll have to get over it as there is work to be done. In the meantime you will return to Angel Grove where you will resume your life as the charming little schoolteacher. You are not to let anybody know about me or of any of the events of the past two days. Got it.”

“Yes my Lord, whatever you wish,” said the Pink Ranger.

“You will live as you did before, none of your habits or mannerisms should change noticeably. I know it will be hard but no one is to know your identity. You will wait for my further command.”

“Yes my Lord, I-“

“Are you crazy Zeddy?” interrupted Rita Repulsa, “We got those power pukes right where we want them. It would be ridiculous to pull out now, we’re just getting started!”

“Enough!” yelled Lord Zedd. “You forget, our dear friend Mesogog is still in the picture. Because of this I would like to take this opportunity to use a strategy which has always served me well, divide and conquer.”

“Continue my dear husband.”

“You see, we just have to wait for Mesogog to make his next move on the Rangers, which I’m sure will be soon. And then we send down our own little deviant to a separate location. I can almost guarantee the Black Ranger will take on the challenge alone, and then he will be history! Ha, ha, ha”

“That’s brilliant my dear husband!” squealed Rita. “Not only that, but with the Black Ranger gone those Rangers won’t have chance against that idiot Mesogog and our precious pink priss will have no trouble annihilating him!”

The couple continued to bask in their glory with a huge series of laughs as Kimberly stood before them contemplating her role in all of this. Truthfully, she could not have cared less about Mesogog; she just wanted revenge on Tommy Oliver. But, deep down she knew that once she got her revenge things would not be so wonderful, especially if Lord Zedd and Rita took control of the world. She’d have to think about that latter though. She had received her commands and that was all she needed to worry about right now.

“Well Pinkie, what are you waiting for?” asked the grouchy witch. “Get out of here!” Rita spun her finger and zapped the Pink Ranger back too Earth without a second thought.

Meanwhile back on earth the Dino Rangers were not holding up so well. All three boys still lay on the pavement motionless while Kira could only find the strength to cry. She knew that they would get through this but it was just so hard to imagine that after the horrific scene she had just witnessed.

“I can’t let evil beat us,” she declared out loud between sobs. “I won’t. She carefully let go of Trent as she sat up straight and gathered herself while looking around to make sure no one was in sight. When she saw the coast was clear she yelled, “Power down.”

Just like that the four teenagers were once again in their normal street clothes and they were relieved of the Power and all that came with it. It took a few moments for the boys to come to. The first was Trent.

As the young man realized he was in the arms of the most beautiful girl in Reefside he thought that he was in the middle of a dream. But, when he saw the tears escaping the young girl’s eyes he remembered what had happened. He sat up and right away and consoled Kira with a tight hug.

“Are you alright?” he softly questioned as the Yellow Ranger nodded into his chest.

“I was so scared you weren’t going to wake up,” she muffled.

“Well, I’m here and I’m okay now, just a little dazed is all,” assured the White Ranger as he looked around in search of his two best buds.

Connor and Ethan were both lying on the pavement about two yards away from each other. As Connor began to move he was brought back into reality as his eyes opened and he saw Haley’s busted front window. He sat up slowly and surveillance the damage.

“Conner!” yelled Kira as she escaped from Trent’s arms and hurried to her friend. “Are you okay? For a second there I thought you were a goner for sure.” She hugged the Red Ranger before he was even able to stand up completely.

“Whoa, I’m fine, just a little dizzy. But I do always appreciate a hug from a beautiful girl.”

Normally Kira would have scolded him for thinking with his hormones at such a serious time but she was just happy he was alright.

“Did I miss something?” they heard a groggy voice say from below them. It was Ethan and he was still in recovery on the ground. “Well, don’t just stand there flirting, help me up!”

Once everyone was on their feet and scanned for injuries by each other they were ready to face the reality of the situation.

“Well guys,” said Conner, “I just hope Dr. O came out of this one as lucky as we did.”

The four teenagers looked at each other with great worry in their eyes and then raced towards the empty window. As they got closer they could see Haley still sitting on the ground where they left her. And as they reached her they were relieved to see their leader with his eyes open.

“Dr. O you’re okay!” shouted the Yellow Ranger as she knelt to give him a hug too.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” groaned the archaeologist as he gently wrapped one arm around the girl. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so sore in my life, and I know for a fact my head has never hurt so bad.” He was in a great deal of pain but the worried faces of his students reminded him that he was the adult in this situation and it was up to him to make sure they felt safe and optimistic. So he mustered up a smile and said, “But, the test is still on for Monday.”

Everyone smiled, but the last thing on their minds right now was a biology test. However, they appreciated their teacher’s sense of humor, especially right now. His comment actually did make them feel better because it reminded the kids that the world had not yet come to an end and with each other’s help they would see Monday morning.

“Well, you all better get out of here,” said Haley. “I want you guys to take Dr. Oliver home in my SUV.” She handed Trent the keys knowing full well that Conner would end up convincing him to let him drive. “I’ll be along in a little bit. I need to wait for the cops to get here so I can file a report, and then get up some sort of temporary barricade to cover up this colossal hole in my wall,” she gestured towards the broken window.

“Are you sure you don’t want a couple of us to stay with you and help clean up?” asked Ethan, he always had such good manners when it came to Haley.

“No, I think right now it is very important that you five stay together because you never know when she's going to show up.”

Everyone became silent. It was the first time the pink nightmare had been brought up since it happened and up until now everyone preferred to pretend that all this destruction did not have a culprit. But, leave it up to Haley to bring everyone back to reality.

“I’m sorry guys,” she said realizing what she had done. “But, it did happen and you guys need to get past it and be ready for what’s next. Now go before the police get here and detain you for questioning.”

“Haley’s right,” confirmed Dr. O. “We need to get back to my house, there’s a few things that need to be straightened out, and the last thing I want is to be stuck here answering a list of never ending questions.” Dr. Oliver did not want to think about the Pink Ranger either, the thought of it was just too much for him to process, but he knew that he had to, and soon.

“Okay,” said Conner handing Haley his keys so she could get home. He then knelt down and wrapped one arm around Dr. Oliver as Trent knelt down on the other side of him doing the same thing. The two young men effortlessly lifted their leader off the floor and the fallen heroes slowly made their way to Haley’s parking spot.

Chapter Nine - Time To Face Reality

As soon as Dr. Oliver set foot in his house he headed strait for the bedroom. He had so many things to sort out in his head on the car ride home that he decided it was irrational to think about them in the presence of his students. No, this was something he had to figure out on his own.

“You guys can go ahead and hang out in here or downstairs its up to you,” he said over his shoulder as he slowly took one step at a time up the stairs. “I’m beat. I just need to take a quick nap and a few aspirins, and I promise we’ll sit down and figure everything out, but please don’t leave, it’s not safe.”

The four teenagers looked at each other completely puzzled.

“Is he for real?” asked the Yellow Ranger. “We just got our butts seriously whipped by a pink psychopath that wouldn’t rest until we were paralyzed, and he wants to take a nap! There’s something seriously wrong.” Said Kira as she took a seat on the couch.

“I’m afraid to say it,” said Conner as he headed towards the kitchen, “but I think your right. Did anyone else notice how weird Dr. O was acting on the drive home?”

“Your tellin’ me,” added in Ethan as he plopped down on the recliner. “It was like he was in complete denial that the whole thing ever happened.”

“Yeah,” said Trent, taking a seat next to Kira, “He didn’t even want to hear what happened after he was knocked out.”

“I couldn’t believe the way he snapped at Kira when she told him that the pink witch told her that, that Lord Zedd or whoever was back and that she was there to destroy Dr. O for him,” said Conner as he opened the refrigerator door.

“And forget when she told him that the nasty pink thing said something about being the beginning and the end of the Power Rangers,” added Ethan.

“Never mind that,” said Trent. “What about when Connor told him about how she told Haley not to cry over Dr. O because it wasn’t worth it. It was like she knew him or something.”

“Something’s definitely up,” muffled Conner as he shoved a giant scoop of cookie dough ice cream in his mouth directly from the container.

“Just help yourself,” said Kira sarcastically.

“What?” said Conner in between bites. “He said we weren’t allowed to leave and I’m hungry. You can’t hold four teenagers prisoner in your nerdy little science house and expect that they’re not going to get restless and then hungry.”

“Oh yeah?” said Trent. “The only problem is that you seem to have skipped right over the restless part and went strait for the hungry part.”

“And,” chimed in Ethan, “he’s not holding us prisoner, he’s just being cautious. You know I wish you would just once take something seriously.” He was becoming impatient with the Red Ranger.

“I am taking this seriously,” argued Conner in his own defense, hurt by his good friend’s accusations. “I’m sorry okay. I’m going to regret saying this, but I’m really worried this time guys. It’s not just because of that twisted Pink Ranger though. It’s mostly because of Dr. O. It’s like he’s somebody else.”

“Yeah, somebody without a backbone,” added Kira remembering how he cowered in the back seat with his eyes closed humming some ridiculous tune quietly to himself to block out the others’ conversation.

“I agree,” said Ethan, “what kind of a leader stares death right in the face and the only thing he can do is sit there and say, ‘No, no, no,’ over and over again, while the rest of us come this close to needing a change of pants?”

“Well, all we can do now is wait,” said Trent rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m sure we’ll have all the answers once he comes back down.”

Upstairs, as Tommy entered his room he quickly closed the door behind him and then went straight for the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

“I don’t know what you’re so worried about Oliver,” he said to himself out loud. “This is all just a dream that you’ll wake up from soon. It just has to be.”

He chose a bottle of aspirin from the medicine cabinet and opened it. He quickly popped four pills into his mouth knowing full well that it was much more than he needed to get rid of his headache. But, it just was not enough to make all of his pain go away.

Next, he returned the bottle to it’s designated shelf and closed the mirror cabinet door. Starring at himself he knew it was time to sort everything out. But how could it possibly be?

The second he heard the Pink Ranger’s forceful “Hiyah,” he recognized her. And when he turned around and saw her shape, the way she moved, and the way she made herself seem seven feet tall when she was only five-three, he knew. But, it just would not register; he would not let it.

He was so ashamed of the way he handled things. He froze like a weakling, and was in so much denial that he went as far to say “No, no, no” over and over again like a stuttering fool. He was useless. He even let down his guard, and paid for it royally.

Dr. Oliver did not want to believe that she was capable of such horrible things. But, maybe she was. Or maybe it was not even her. Maybe his eyes, his memory, and his mind were just playing tricks on him.

But, what about everything that happened after he was knocked out? What about Lord Zedd? Honestly it did not surprise him one bit when Kira told him of the return of Lord Zedd, for he had seen the stylized ‘Z’ on the Pink Ranger’s chest. That only added to his initial confusion.

But, what about how she said she was the beginning and the end of the Power Rangers? He supposed that could have meant lots of things. But, only one meaning came to mind.

Worst of all was when the Pink Ranger told Haley he was not worth crying over. There were only three women on this Earth that could have justifiably made that statement, and two of those women did not even come close to meeting the evil Pink Ranger’s description.

He did not want to face the facts, but it all matched up. The evil Pink Ranger was not just some soulless monster like he’d faced so many times before. No, she was a real person, and not just any person. He hated to admit it, or even think it, but the simple fact of the matter was that the Pink Ranger had to be Kimberly Hart. His Kimberly Hart.

But, he had to consider the situation in every aspect and he had to be rational about it. If there was anything he learned from his years in uniform it was that anything was possible. This could be good news but most likely it was bad.

It was entirely possible that the evil Pink Ranger that had defeated him and his team was in fact a regular monster. Zedd and Rita could have just concocted her in hopes of playing with his head. If that was the case then they were good, real good.

But, it was also entirely possible that they decided to skip the imposter and go right for the real thing. In which case Zedd and Rita were not just real good, they were great. And if this was so, then Kimberly had to have been put under some sort of spell. She would never intentionally hurt him on her own. In fact if anyone had any right to be sour it was him.

One thing was for sure though, even if there was just a slight possibility that Kimberly was under all of that hardware and hate then there was no way that he could hurt her, even in defense. He had to find out for sure. But, how? She did not seem too eager to reveal her identity in the first attack and the sooner he knew for sure the better.

If it was Kimberly then maybe he could find her and reason with her before her next attack. But, that was just a naive and stupid idea. Tommy had been under so many spells in the past that he knew there was no such thing as rationalizing with her. But, maybe he could at least find out if it really was her in the Pink Ranger costume if he found her in person.

He knew what he had to do. So he turned around and walked towards the phone sitting on his nightstand. He picked up the receiver and dialed the familiar phone number that had been tattooed in his brain for several years now.

“Hey, it’s me. How’ve you been?” he spoke into the phone.

Chapter Ten - Where Is She?

“I’m good man, it’s great to hear from you,” said the former Red Ranger.

Tommy felt comforted when he heard the sound of his best friend’s voice on the phone. He had always admired Jason ever since that day he competed with him in the martial arts tournament back in Angel Grove. The two were meant to be best friends from the start, and although their friendship had taken many detours in the past, it was solid as a rock now, in their adulthood.

“So, what’s up?” asked Jason quizzically.

Tommy wanted nothing more than to pour out the events of the last few hours to the guy he trusted more than himself, but he knew it just was not a good idea. In the past he never once hesitated to call Jason in a Ranger emergency, even if just for advice. But this time was different. This time was personal.

If he told Jason of his suspicions of Kimberly then Jason would immediately make it his business and that was just too risky. For one, it would make him a target for Zedd and Rita, too, and he had no powers to protect himself. And second, it was senseless to get Jason involved when the Pink Ranger might not even be Kim. So, Tommy decided to play it cool.

“Oh, not much is going on, just going to work and saving the world. You know how it is,” responded Tommy nervously.

Jason knew his friend well and he knew that Tommy was a terrible liar.

“Yeah? How is Ranger business going?” he was going to try to subtly get to the bottom of this first.

“It’s...alright. The Rangers are giving it their best and so far so good. I mean the world is still in existence right?”

“Right,” said Jason with hesitation. “Well I’m glad to hear that things are going well.” He was waiting for Tommy to get to the point of his phone call.

“Yup.” Replied Tommy.

There was a long silence.

“So, um, it’s not that I don’t like hearing from you, man. But I’m just kind of curious as to why you’re calling.”

Jason did not like the vibe he was getting from the Black Ranger, and he could not understand why Tommy was not being honest with him when he had always been before.

“Um, well,” Tommy knew he could not just come right out and ask about Kimberly, but there was no other way he could think of. “I was just wandering if you had, um, K-Kimberly’s address.” He could not believe how incredibly nervous he sounded. But he realized that he was not nervous about lying to his best friend, he was nervous about finally talking to someone about Kimberly.

Jason was totally shocked and confused at Tommy’s request. The last time Tommy asked him about Kim was the summer after high school graduation, and even then he was just being polite because he knew Jason was excited about how well Kim had done in the Pan Globals.

“Um yeah, I’ve got it here somewhere,” said Jason in total confusion as he ruffled through the papers in his computer desk. He had no idea how to react to this. “Just hang on sec okay, let me find it.”

As Tommy waited he began to dread the answer to his question. He was honestly expecting Jason to give him an address in Florida or maybe even Paris. But a small part of him knew what he was about to hear.

“You still there man?” asked Jason. He was so dumbfounded by the whole situation that he was not even thinking. He knew Kimberly’s address by heart because she now resided in the same house she lived from the time they were small kids up until they were teenagers.

“I can’t believe I totally spaced it, but Kimberly lives in Angel Grove, in the same house she lived in back when we were kids. She moved...”

Tommy did not need to hear the rest. He was overwhelmed with an incredible feeling of anguish and hurt. If Jason had said anywhere else he would not be so worried. But it only made sense that Rita and Zedd would have picked a Ranger who was still in Angel Grove to do their evil bidding. The couple would always be drawn back to that city, and all of the Rangers knew that. Maybe that was why none of them chose to stay there. They just did not want to even toy with the possibility of ever encountering the evil duo again.

“Tommy? Tommy? You still there man?”

Tommy’s thoughts were interrupted.

“Uh yeah, sorry. I was just trying to remember the house number was all. 256 right?”

Who was Tommy kidding? He knew that address better than he knew his own, and Jason knew it.

“That’s right,” there was a pause, “I hope you don’t mind me asking Tommy, but why’d you need to know? I mean you haven’t even mentioned Kim in years.”

Tommy predicted Jason would be suspicious, he had to think of something fast.

“Uh, I was just going through some old boxes I had left over from the move. Apparently I hadn’t opened them in a while ‘cause I came across some old stuff from high school. Some of it was Kim’s and I thought she might want it back.”

It felt so odd to talk about her again. For a minute he forgot that they hadn’t spoken since 1997.

“Come on man, you expect me to believe that line of bull? Something’s up, now what is it?” Jason was very serious.

“Nothing’s up okay!” Tommy snapped. He immediately regretted it though as he realized that he had just made this conversation a lot harder on himself. “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you, but it’s just been a really stressful day.” He almost broke down and would have told Jason everything, but he had Jason’s best interest in mind.

Jason was not naive, he knew Tommy wasn’t telling the truth and he was starting to realize that he probably wasn’t going to.

“No, it’s cool. I get it. I’m sure it was hard dredging up all those old memories. Would you mind telling me what things of Kim’s you found though? Maybe I can tell you if it’s worth paying the shipping charge to send them back.”

Jason was doing anything in his power to pry any little piece of information out of his friend.

‘Crap!’ thought Tommy. He should have known Jason would not let him off the hook that easily.

“Just a couple of books, a sweater, a pair of sunglasses, a makeup bag...” Tommy just kept naming things. He figured that if he kept talking then Jason would get tired of listening to him. And he was right.

“Whoa, I get the picture man. That’s an awful lot of stuff for you to have had all these years.”

“Well, you know girls, they always have a lot of stuff with them. I guess it just all kind of accumulated over those three years. Kim was always forgetting things in my car or in my house, and you know me of course I always forgot to give them back.”

Tommy did not want to talk about this anymore, the memories kept coming back. The late nights she spent at his house studying because she said she didn’t want to keep the Campbell’s up with her light on. Only they never studied. Instead they could usually be found making out in his room with the door closed, or they would just lie on his bed in each other’s arms talking. Then they would both fall asleep and wake up at 2 am and realize that if the Campbell’s knew Kimberly was at Tommy’s house that late then they would have put her on the next plane to Paris.

They left in such a rush that she would usually leave something behind. Then when he would return home after walking or running her home and making sure she got in Aisha’s bedroom window safely he would find whatever object she left behind. The next day at school he would tell her she forgot it and she would say, “well I guess I better stop by tonight and pick it up.” And she would, but sometimes she never remembered to take it with her when she went home.

“Tommy?”

“Huh, oh sorry man.” By now Tommy knew he was treading on thin ice.

“That’s the second time you’ve wandered in five minutes, are you sure everything’s okay?” Jason was extremely skeptical at this point and he didn’t buy the forgotten items story one bit.

“Yeah. Trust me. Everything’s fine, or at least it will be. I mean it.” Said Tommy.

“If you say so then I’ll believe you. But if something were wrong you would confide in me right bro?” asked Jason.

Tommy paused for a second, “If I needed your help you know I would ask for it.”

And Jason left it at that.

Chapter Eleven - Loyalty

When Dr. Oliver finally came downstairs it was hours latter. He was very surprised to find that like him, the other rangers were sound asleep. They looked so carefree and peaceful; it was hard for him to bring himself to wake them up. His nap had felt so good and it did help him calm down. He did not dream about anything, it just felt like he had taken a break from existence for a few hours. It was just what he needed. He still had the same worries and fears as he did when he fell asleep, but somehow things did not seem as bad.

Just as he was about to shake Connor awake he heard a noise in the kitchen. Prepared for the worst but hoping for the best he headed towards it. He could not believe how tense he immediately became as he quietly maneuvered around the couch. He decided to just get it over with and lunged into the kitchen hoping to take the intruder by surprised.

And surprised the intruder was as the longhaired woman shrieked and dropped the jar of pickles she had been holding in her hand. The jar hit the ground with a gigantic crash and pickles and glass went everywhere. Everyone heard the noise and immediately raced into the tiny room prepared for some action. But were disappointed and yet relieved to find Haley startled and shaken.

“What is wrong with you Tommy!” she yelled in frustration.

The other Rangers knew she was pretty upset because she rarely called Dr. O by his first name.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized as he rushed to her aid with a handful of paper towels in one hand and a plastic bag in the other. “I guess I’m just a little shaken is all. I didn’t mean to scare you I thought you were Ki-uh somebody else.” Now he was babbling and he had to be careful not to let the cat out of the bag.

“Oh, it’s alright,” whined Haley, “I guess I should have let you know I was here but I figured you were probably upstairs asleep too.” She knelt down to help the doctor clean up the mess. “I can’t even understand how in the world any of you guys were able to sleep after everything that happened earlier.”

“Well,” said Connor, “you’d be surprised how well you can sleep when it’s your only escape from reality.”

“You said it,” agreed Kira, “Anything was better than picturing that horrible Pink Ranger all afternoon.”

“Speaking of the horrible Pink Ranger,” said Ethan bluntly, “are you ever going to tell us what’s up Dr. O?” Ethan wanted answers and he wanted them now.

Tommy looked rather uncomfortable at the mention of the Pink Ranger and Trent picked up on it.

“Lay off it man,” said Trent, “he’ll tell us when he’s ready. Right Dr. O.”

“Right,” said Dr. Oliver. “The only problem is that I don’t think I’ll ever be ready. But, I guess you guys do need to know the plan. Why don’t you all take a seat in the living room and Haley and I will be in when we finish cleaning up this mess.”

All of the Rangers were so eager to get on with it that they were ready to grab some paper towels and even a mop so the job could get done faster. But, Conner picked up on his leader’s uneasiness and figured that it would be best to just listen to his instructions.

“Come on guys, lets go,” he gestured to his friends and they all followed him into the next room.

“Well, this is it guys,” said Trent, grabbing Kira’s hand out of nervousness, “Something tells me this is going to be big.”

Kira wrapped her other hand on top of his and said, “That may be true, but everything will be okay.”

“It better be,” replied Connor as he nervously leafed through a science magazine he had found on the coffee table.

“Wow,” said Ethan in amazement, “you must really be bothered by this, man. I never thought I’d see a science publication in your hand.”

All four kids laughed and for a second were relaxed.

Back in the kitchen Haley immediately picked up on her good friend’s tenseness.

“Are you okay Tommy?” she asked gently.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I guess I’m just a little shook up is all. I wasn’t expecting to find you in here.”

“Well, who were you expecting to find?” asked Haley curiously.

“It doesn’t matter. Come on.” They had finished cleaning up the mess.

As the couple walked into the living room the laughing teenagers immediately grew silent. Dr. O took a set on the recliner and Haley found a spot next to him on the ottoman. Everyone was frozen in anticipation as the Black Ranger took one final deep breath and began to speak.

“First of all, I just wanted to say thank you to you guys for being there for me today. I realize I don’t express my gratitude to you all as much as I should, but I am grateful to every single one of you every minute of everyday.”

Everyone modestly nodded to Dr. Oliver, shocked and somewhat confused.

“More importantly, though,” he continued, “I let you all down today. I was a poor leader and I am sorry for that.”

“Dr. Oliver!” interrupted Kira, “You have never once let us down and today was no exception."

“I appreciate your loyalty Kira,” he smiled at the beautiful young woman, “but you don’t need to try and make me feel better. I reacted to the situation terribly and because of that you all had to pay for it. I am also very ashamed at they way I carried on in the car on the drive home. I guess you could say I’m not really myself right now and I have my reasons for that.”

Everyone starred up at the man with an intense gaze that only made things more difficult for him.

“But, the fact of the matter is that we have just encountered what could very well be our greatest challenge as Power Rangers. That is why it is very important that we all keep a level head and our guard up at all times. Not only that, we need to not be afraid of the battles that lie ahead because I am confident that we will come out of all this on top.”

The Rangers nodded in agreement as their pride in themselves and in their leader engulfed them.

“However, I believe that if we are to succeed then you all need to follow my instructions completely. They may not sound rational or logical to you guys, but I have thought this over very carefully and I have come up with a plan that I think will work.”

“So you think we can knock that nasty little Pink Ranger right on her butt?” asked Ethan eagerly.

“Well, I do think we will ultimately succeed in destroying Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa,” answered Dr. O. He had no intention of hurting Kimberly if he could help it, but he knew the Rangers would not yet be able to understand that.

“Remind me again who they are,” said Trent. The other Rangers had filled him in on what they knew of the history of the Power Ranger’s legacy, but his mind drew a blank.

“Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa were what I guess you could call my version of Mesogog. Nine other Power Rangers and myself fought against them back when I was in high school. I suppose neither side won, but it didn’t matter because according to the Red Space Ranger, Andros, my leader Zordon destroyed them. But, somehow, I don’t how, they’re alive and well now, and they won’t rest until they’ve gotten rid of me, for good.”

The Yellow Ranger cringed in despair. It did not make sense that anyone would want to hurt Dr. O.

“I guess they decided that the best way to do that was by creating their own Power Ranger.” Continued Dr. Oliver. “Why they chose pink and who they chose is unknown to me right now. I have my suspicions, but I don’t think it would be fair for me to divulge those to you until they are confirmed.

“Wait a minute, back it up just on second,” said Connor, “are you trying to tell us that the Pink Ranger is an actual person?”

“I do have reason to believe that that’s a very good possibility.”

“Then who is she?” asked Trent eagerly.

“Like I said, I don’t know but I have a candidate in mind,” answered Dr. Oliver.

“Well spill it man,” demanded Ethan.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do that just yet. Not until I know for sure.”

It wasn’t that Tommy didn’t want tell the Rangers about the possibilities he just knew that the more they knew the more danger they would be in.

“So we’re just supposed to sit back and wait for her to attack again and hope that this time she doesn’t completely annihilate us?” asked Connor angrily.

“No, I’m not saying that at all,” assured the Black Ranger. “I’m saying that I am going to follow the leads I’ve gathered and hopefully find out the identity of the Pink Ranger.”

“Well, give ‘em to us Dr. O, we can help you,” said Ethan.

“No, I can’t. This is something I have to do alone.”

“But why?” asked Kira, “I thought we were a team.”

“We are a team,” replied the doctor in his defense. “But somebody needs to stay here in case Mesogog decides to join the party while I’m gone.”

“Where are you going?” asked Haley trying to choke back her worry and disappointment.

“I can’t say, it’s too dangerous for you all to know. All I can tell you is that it is within driving distance. I have no idea how long I will be gone for, but I promise I’ll keep you posted, okay?”

“I’m sorry Dr. O. but were just having a really hard time wrapping our brains around this,” said the Red Ranger. “You’re just not making any sense.”

“I realize it may seem that way to you Connor, but I have to do this and all I can do is ask that you all give me one hundred and ten percent of your loyalty like you always have. What do you guys say? Please?”

The teenagers looked at each other in confusion; they were completely dumbfounded. Kira was the first one to gather the courage to respond.

“Of course we will Dr. O.”

At that moment Dr. Thomas Oliver had never been so proud of his students.
 

Chapter Twelve - Coming Home

A little under one hour had passed since the Dino Rangers left Dr. Oliver’s small secluded home. It was very obvious to him that they did not like his orders one bit. But, he had to hand it to them; they took it like the heroes they were and obeyed him. Haley on the other hand had a more difficult time letting her best friend go.

She stayed behind after the others left. She had snuck away downstairs pretending to scan the city and its surrounding areas for trouble, but Tommy knew otherwise. He figured it would be best to just let her be, after all he’d done everything but explain himself to her and the Rangers.

Before Dr. Oliver hit the road he jumped in the shower in hopes of rejuvenating himself. It had been such a long day and the hardest part was yet to come. Amazingly the shower did refresh him and renewed his energy.

After, he packed his bags. A suitcase, a duffel bag, and his old green school bag leftover from his high school days as the Green Ranger. He had absolutely no idea how long he was going to be in Angel Grove but he hoped no more than the remainder of the weekend. If he missed anymore school at Reefside High Principal Randall would surely fire his butt in a heartbeat. That wasn’t the most important thing right now, though.

As he packed his things he found himself unintentionally filling his bags with white and green garments. They were all so old but he had kept them. Once he realized what he was packing he began to question himself. Why was he really going to Angel Grove? Was it really just to solve the Pink Ranger problem? Or had he always been looking for a reason to see Kimberly Hart again? And if that were the case then was he sappy enough to think that if he wore white and green then she would remember everything and then fall madly in love with him all over again?

“Snap out of it Oliver,” he said to himself as he hurriedly emptied the contents of his bag and began grabbing for anything black in his reach.

“That part of your life is over and Kim is gone with it. This is strictly business and that’s it.”

Once his bags were full and he mentally went through the checklist in his head he realized that for once he had actually remembered everything. So, he made his way downstairs, out the door, and to his jeep. Loading the jeep he remembered that Haley was still downstairs and he knew that she at least deserved a goodbye. He was about to go back into the house to get her when the front door opened and out she came.

She did not say anything she just hurried over to him and embraced him in a tight, almost suffocating hug before he had a chance to say anything. He could tell she was crying and had been for a while because the front pieces of her hair were wet. He was about to say something to her but realized that he had no idea what that would be. He couldn’t tell her anything she did not already know and anything he said beyond that would not offer her any consolation.

He just simply said, “I’ll call you once I get settled in the hotel, I promise.”

She finally let go of him nodding her head in response. Tommy turned around and climbed inside the black jeep. He turned on the ignition, put the automobile in drive and stepped on the gas. He never even looked back at the beautiful woman; it was just too hard.

Being on the open road only made Tommy more nervous. He approached the Reefside city limits sign and noticed the sign right after it that read, ‘Stone Canyon 216, Angel Grove 232.’ He still had four hours of this never-ending torture to go.

About one hundred miles latter he approached a gas station, which sat out in the middle of nowhere. The sun had already gone down and all that was left was a faint orange glow in the distance. He pulled over and filled up his tank.

After, he went inside the small establishment to pay but realized that he was suddenly very hungry. Browsing around the convenience store he reached for a bag of chips. Then he headed up the next isle where he chose a bag of trail mix. Finally he picked a bottle of pink lemonade out of the drink case. Then he approached the cashier.

“This all for ya,” said the elderly man in the blue smock that read the name of the station.

“Yeah,” responded Tommy “and pump two.” He then spotted the rack of gum on the counter. “And a pack of gum please,” he said as he grabbed the package.

“That’ll be twenty eight twelve.” Tommy paid the man in cash and headed back out on the road.

After turning on his headlights Tommy opened the bag of chips. He hadn’t had this kind in years. Not since he and Kimberly went on that picnic right before she left for Florida. The memory of that day made him smile.

After finishing the bag of chips he opened his bottle of pink lemonade and took a drink. As the sour yet sweet liquid passed his lips he remembered that pink lemonade was always Kimberly’s beverage of choice. Once again he smiled.

He then set down the bottle in the drink holder and tore open the bag of trail mix. He couldn’t believe how hungry he was. Kimberly always said that “when someone is hungry it is better to stuff your face with nuts and raisins rather than nuts in a chocolate bar.” He laughed to himself at the memory of all the cute things she used to say and do.

Once the nuts and raisins were gone Tommy remembered the gum he had purchased and stuffed in his pocket back at the gas station. He reached for it and shoved a piece in his mouth. At that moment he came to the realization that everything he just bought was subconsciously purchased because it reminded him of Kimberly. The biggest reminder of all was filling his mouth with her taste right now. Kimberly always chewed bubble gum flavored gum and because of this whenever he kissed her he usually tasted it on her lips.

Disgusted at himself he spat out the gum into his empty lemonade bottle, another reminder of his weakness. He quickly threw all of the wrappers and containers in the back seat. He did not need the distractions.

Not long after Tommy came upon another mileage sign. Angel Grove was only forty-two miles away. ‘How time flies when you’re having fun,’ he thought to himself sarcastically. It was time for him to figure out what he was going to do when he actually reached Angel Grove.

He knew where she lived and although it was a Saturday night she probably would be at home by the time he got into town. But if she was the evil Pink Ranger did he have the strength to take her on tonight? More importantly though, did he have the strength to see her again tonight?

Tommy pondered this question for quite sometime and by the time he came to a decision he had reached Angel Grove’s city limits sign along with a big elaborate sign that read ‘Welcome to Angel Grove, Home of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.’ He remembered the day that sign was put up and what a wonderful feeling it was to be recognized for his devotion to the city.

He soon passed by the lake; it seemed so small now. He knew it hadn’t shrunk, his life had just gotten bigger. Beyond the lake was the park. He thanked God it was dark out because he knew that if he had laid eyes on it in the daylight he probably would have turned his jeep around immediately and gone home.

Several minutes latter he was on Main Street and shortly after that he parked at his destination. Getting out of the jeep was no easy task because Tommy was so stiff from the drive; it had seemed so short on the way.

After checking in at Angel Grove Hotel Tommy managed to lug his bags into the elevator and up to the third floor. Once the door opened with a ‘ding,’ he slowly searched for the door that read 316. He found it at the end of the hall.

The inside of the room was decent, nothing extravagant but nice. If these were normal circumstances he would have opted to stay at his parent’s house, but it would have been stupid to get them involved in all of this.

He sat down all of his luggage on the floor and headed strait for the telephone on the nightstand. He dialed nine and then the number. It began to ring.

“Hello,” said a female voice.

“Hi, it’s me,” he said slowly.

“Tommy?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he answered “I just wanted to let you know that I’m here.”

“Where is here,” asked the concerned woman on the other end of the line.

“It doesn’t matter Haley. The important thing is that I reached my destination safely and everything’s okay.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that Tommy. You take care of yourself okay?” Haley could tell that Tommy was tired and was in no mood to talk.

“Okay,” he answered.

“Well, good night,” said Haley dryly.

“Good night,” replied Tommy with remorse. Click. She had hung up the phone.

Tommy was so very tired, that’s why he decided that it would be best to wait until tomorrow to find Kimberly. He knew that if she escalated a fight then he would be no competition for her in the state he was in. He also knew that if he even just saw her in the state he was in he would not have the strength to handle the situation correctly.

As he drifted off to sleep he immediately became entranced in a dream. It was a really good dream; she was in it. He dreamed of the first day he met Kimberly Hart and of the first time he kissed her all the way up until the last time he kissed her under the mistletoe. Then just as she was about to board the plain to Florida again he awoke realizing he was completely out of his mind.

He got up off the bed immediately and washed his face in the bathroom. Looking in the mirror he said to himself, “This is it Tommy.” And while grabbing his keys on the way out the door he had only one destination in mind.

As he pulled up to the small white and pink two story house at 256 Rose Avenue Tommy felt as if he had never stopped coming to this house. It was all so familiar. It even still had the same rosebush in front of the bay window that he had helped her plant one Saturday afternoon.

Tommy turned off the engine, removed his seatbelt and took a very deep breath as he opened his jeep door. He stepped out onto the sidewalk and started up the short path to the porch. His legs were numb, his breathing was a mess, and he could have sworn that the sound of his heartbeat could have been heard all the way up to the master bedroom window on the second floor where the soft yellow light was glowing.

As he reached the porch he stepped up the first step, and the second, on the third he realized how loud his boots were. He hoped she hadn’t heard him because he did not want to scare her, it was after all 2:00 a.m.

Once he reached the door he held his breath and reached for the doorbell.

Up stairs the gorgeous young woman had just gotten out of the bathtub. She had been soaking for so long, just trying to figure everything out in her head. She had done something very wrong today and she was quite aware of it. But, it had felt so right at the time.

As Kimberly unwrapped her pink towel she traded it for a pink satin negligée. The material felt nice against her skin as she walked over to her bed and turned down the covers. Thinking about the next day Kimberly sighed to herself. ‘I don’t want to go back to reality and pretend like I’m miss perfect prissy princess.’ She thought to herself. How in the world could Lord Zedd expect her to return to her old life and act like nothing’s changed? It was definitely going to be a challenge.

As Kimberly sat down on her bed and adjusted herself against the headboard she thought of something much funner, Dr. Oliver. Ever since she saw him this afternoon she had been completely overwhelmed with lust and infatuation. However, she was not at all impressed with his romantic display in the cyber café. In fact she was somewhat insulted that he would even date someone like that red headed woman when he had been with someone as charming and beautiful as herself.

Her anger towards him began to surface and she knew that if she did not put a stop to her evil thoughts now then she would never get to sleep. So, she lay down, drew the covers over her and began to doze off.

Suddenly, she was awakened by the sound of her doorbell. Annoyed and somewhat alarmed she dragged herself out of bed and reached for her robe, which was draped over a chair. She put it on and wrapped it around herself; securing it in a bow as she walked down the stairs slowly and cautiously.

It was so late, who in the world could be visiting her at this hour? As she approached the door she put her hand on the doorknob and used the other hand to turn on the outside light. Cursing herself for never having that peephole installed she slowly opened the door. Whoever it was she was pretty confident that she could take them on, even in her nightgown and robe. However she was not prepared for who stood before her, Tommy Oliver.

She swung the door all the way open in surprise and to get a better look at the handsome doctor. He looked as delicious as he had earlier in the day. He still wore the same clothes and had the same expression on his face that he did as he walked care freely through the streets of Reefside.

Kimberly did not know what to say and it seemed that the doctor was mute himself so she did the first thing that came to mind. She followed her animalistic urges and lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and capturing him in the most passionate kiss ever known to man.

He responded very well to her and wrapped his arms around her even tighter than her grip was. He tasted so good and it felt so wonderful. He did not kiss like the boy she had kissed so many times so many years ago. No, he was all grown up and she had to admit it was for the better.

They both began to get very heated and as she began to lose control of all of her senses Kimberly heard the sound of footsteps on her porch. As she slowly came out of her deep sleep she realized that it had all been a dream. Disappointed and terribly confused she sat up and pouted to herself. Who the hell was on her porch and why did they have to wake her up?

Annoyed, she repeated the steps, which she had taken in her sleep and put on her robe and made her way downstairs to the front door. She turned on the light and slowly eased the door open half expecting to see Dr. Oliver standing there with that silly little grin on his face. But, she was surprised only to find an empty porch. She stepped outside and said,

“Hello! Is anybody there?”

After surveillanceing her yard and the street she determined that if there was somebody there before then they certainly didn’t hang around.

Chapter Thirteen - Today's the Day

The next morning Kimberly’s alarm clock chimed at exactly 7:00 on the dot. At first she awoke in the most horrible mood. Sleep had felt so good. Who knew being evil could take so much out of a person? Then she realized that for the first time since she had moved back to Angel Grove she had actually gotten real, uninterrupted, restful sleep. With the exception of her dream and the unexpected visitor in the middle of the night, of course.

At first she couldn’t remember which scenario had been real and which had been merely a dream. Had she actually had the pleasure of tasting Tommy’s sweet lips again? Or had she had the disappointment of finding an empty porch?

The second choice sounded much more realistic and after some careful deductive reasoning she realized that Dr. Oliver had never set foot on her porch last night much less taken her breath away with a passionate kiss that out did all other kisses before it.

It had seemed so real though. Kimberly ran her fingers over her lips hoping to find some remnant or proof that it had actually happened. But, this was real life and in real life Tommy Oliver lived a perfect little happy life in Reefside with his perfect little students and his disgusting little girlfriend.

“Blah,” she said out loud at the thought of the mysterious woman.

‘Never mind that now Kimberly,’ she thought to herself as she sat up in bed deciding what to do with her Sunday. She knew that Lord Zedd’s orders were that she continue her life just the same as before, not doing anything different. But, the mere idea of doing her regular Sunday routine was unbearable. ‘Would anyone really suspect something just because I didn’t show up at the Youth Center this morning?’ she thought.

Every Sunday since she moved back, she would get up at 7:00 a.m., jog the long route to the Youth Center, and then have breakfast at juice bar counter in the company of Bulk and Skull. And it wasn’t that she minded Bulk and Skull’s company, she just didn’t feel like pretending to be a valley girl that never really grew up, all morning long.

Maybe she would just skip it. But wait, that was no good. She had unintentionally missed her training session with the girls at the Youth Center yesterday. She was a little preoccupied at the time. Surely her absence sent Skull into a terrible worry, especially after she insisted on walking home in the dark alone the night before. If she did not show up this morning he would probably assemble and head up a search party for her.

Dragging herself out of bed she walked over to her dresser drawer and fished out a few garments suitable for a five-mile jog. Then she changed her clothes, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and fixed her hair up into a knot on top of her head.

Kimberly then made her way downstairs noticing how comfortable her brand new Nikes were. Before heading out the door she went into the kitchen and gulped down a huge glass of water followed by a small glass of orange juice for a little boost. Then she opened all of the curtains downstairs to let in a little light. Finally, she grabbed her keys on her way out the door.

As she stepped out onto the porch she began to stretch and prepare herself for the run. She seriously could not see herself completing it because she was so tired. But, orders were orders, even if she hated them. She took off running a little burdened and very slow.

Back at the Angel Grove Hotel Tommy Oliver woke up from a stream of nightmares that were so terrible they made real life seem like a cakewalk. They were all of course about Kim and most of them were about her as the evil Pink Ranger.

One dream in particular stood out from the rest. As it started out he had found her at the Youth Center, sitting at the counter. When he approached her she was her old sweet self. She acted as nothing had ever come between them and invited Tommy to join her. As he sat down next to her he suddenly found himself in Lord Zedd’s evil dimension, the same one he had rescued Kimberly from when Katherine stole her power coin. When he reached for her to offer his protection she was gone, and in her place was the evil Pink Ranger.

She challenged him to a duel but there was one slight problem, he was powerless. He called on his Dragon Zord powers, his Tiger Zord powers, the White Ranger powers, Zeo Ranger 5 powers, his Turbo powers, and finally his Dino Thunder powers. But no morphers appeared and he was left to battle the villainess in the state of a mere mortal.

The Pink Ranger seemed very proud of herself and very eager to watch him panic. She said something to him that really bothered him in his dream, and it still bothered him now that he was awake. She said in sweet little innocent voice, “Awe, what’s the matter Tommy? Can’t find your power coin? I have to say I know how that feels and I would help you find yours, but you never even tried to help me find mine!” her tone became very evil.

He was so confused, how could she even say that? She knew he had always done everything in his power to help her no matter what. But, apparently she did not see things that way.

“When I lost the pink power coin you did nothing to try to get it back,” she continued, “Instead all you were concerned about was Katherine’s safety when it was all her fault to begin with!” she erupted into rage.

“Kimberly, what are you talking about? You know Katherine was under Zedd and Rita’s spell when she did all of those terrible things, and when she came over to our side she was in incredible danger. I had to pro-“

“Enough!” interrupted the evil girl. “Stop sticking up for her. She’s not even here!”

Tommy cringed at the sound of her yell. “Kim, just calm down okay, I don’t want to fight you,” he said coolly.

“Don’t want to fight me?” she sounded surprised. “How could you not want to fight me when it was you who created me!”

He couldn’t understand what she meant by that and even though the dream eventually ended with him the loser and her the winner he couldn’t have cared less about the outcome. He just wanted to know what it all meant. Mostly though, he wandered if it was his subconscious that conjured up this nightmare or was it perhaps some higher power?

Realizing that the day had to start some time Tommy pushed himself out of bed and went straight for the shower. Then after showering he did the rest of his grooming. Even though Kim might be evil he still wanted to look presentable for her. Soon he was out the door at exactly 8:00.

For as long as Tommy knew Kimberly she had always been an early bird. In high school he never understood how she did it when he just had a hard time remembering to set his alarm clock. So, now he figured that she had probably already been up for at least an hour.

But, maybe he was being rude showing up first thing in the morning. If she was not in fact under Zedd’s evil spell then she would think he went insane. How would he explain himself to her? That’s why he never rang the doorbell at her house last night. At the last minute he realized how bad it looked showing up at his high school sweet heart’s house at 2:00 a.m. when he had not seen her in years. If she wasn’t evil what could he say? Maybe something like “Oh gee I suspected you might be the evil Pink Ranger so I thought I’d stop by and check. And now that I’m here it’s clear that you’re not so I guess I’ll be going.” That some how did not sound right. Not to mention it would be involving Kimberly in this whole mess when she did nothing but mind her own business.

Then of course the second he left she would get on the phone and blab the entire thing to Jason, and before he knew it he’d have to worry about a macho man with no powers as well as cute girl with no special abilities, just a score to settle with Zedd and Rita. No thank you.

He seriously hadn’t given any thought to what he was going to say to her if she was not evil. She would not let him leave without an explanation and somehow he didn’t think she would believe that he just wanted to catch up with her for old time’s sake. She knew she had hurt him and he knew that was why she never made any efforts to contact him after she sent the letter.

Deciding that because most of the evidence pointed to Kimberly as the guilty party he probably did not have to worry about an excuse. If anything he should probably morph before ringing the doorbell.

As Tommy once again got out of his jeep and walked up the path his stride grew very quick. He was ready to put this whole thing to rest even if it meant awaking another battle. Once on the porch he did not hesitate to ring the doorbell and it was not until he heard the chime inside the house that he took a deep breath to center himself.

He waited for what seemed like forever but no one came to the door and he heard no stir in the house. So, he rang again. Nothing. He was beginning to feel desperate so he rang again, and again, and then he knocked, and knocked, and knocked. Still nothing.

Stepping off the porch he turned right and peeked inside the bay window. The house was exactly how he pictured it would be. Everything was tidy, not a speck of dust in sight. The walls were covered in framed photographs and every available surface had miniature decorative figurines. There were also pink pillows on the couch and pink drapes on all of the windows. But no Kimberly.

Tommy finally came to terms with his bad timing and turned around to walk back to his jeep. He noticed that her car or what he assumed was her car was parked in the driveway. “I hope she’s okay,” he said to himself as he climbed back in the jeep.

Chapter Fourteen- Hello Kimberly

The second Kimberly set foot in the Youth Center, as usual all eyes were on her. In particular Skull was very excited to see her.

“Hey Kimberly,” he said with a huge smile spread across his face, “where ya’ been girlie?”

Kimberly looked down to the floor and rolled her eyes to herself; she was so not in the mood for any of this.

“Oh, sorry about yesterday, I was feeling a little under the weather. I guess it was something I ate,” she replied and then forced a smile.

“Yeah,” said Bulk in a serious voice “well a phone call would have been nice. We had five whinny little girls stuck her for two hours waiting for you. And then when their parents finally came to pick them up we had to listen to them whine for fifteen more minutes about how unprofessional it was that you weren’t here with no explanation.”

Wow, Bulk was mad. Kimberly couldn’t remember him taking that sort of tone with her since high school. ‘I guess I’m not the only one experiencing mood swings,’ she thought to herself. Though she figured what he was really mad about was having to listen to his best friend worry about her all day.

“I’m sorry,” she retorted, “I just didn’t wake up until well after the class would have been over and by then I didn’t even feel like getting out of bed, much less getting on the phone.”

Kimberly was surprised at how easy and naturally the lie came out of her mouth. Maybe this morning wouldn’t be so hard after all. Wrong. She noticed Skull staring at her with those ridiculous puppy dog eyes behind the juice bar. He began to speak,

“You should have called me Kim, I would have brought you over something to relieve the pain. You’d be amazed at what the right combination of fruits, vegetables, and vitamins can do.” He was so pathetic.

“That’s so sweet Skull, but this may be news to you but as it turns out I am a grown woman and I feel quite fine now incase you hadn’t noticed.”

That really came out wrong and Kimberly knew it. She hoped Skull didn’t take it too personally but who was she kidding? He shrunk back like a scared little boy and turned to make her smoothie. Bulk however was not as easy to forgive the girl’s heartless remark.

“Hey, miss inconsiderate, don’t think you can just waltz in here and treat Skull like you did back in high school ‘cause in case you didn’t notice he’s a grown man. And, he never has to do any of this for you but he does it because he’s a nice guy and he thought you were a nice girl. But I guess he was wrong about that, wasn’t he.”

Bulk turned and walked away towards some tables that needed to be bussed on the other side of the room. Kimberly however was not impressed with his clever little comment. She made a face at his back and then decided that she needed to make things right with Skull or else it wouldn’t be long before he realized something was up.

“Skull?” she said unsure if she would receive a response.

“What?” he responded dryly without turning around to look at her.

“I’m sorry,” Kimberly actually sounded sincere.

Skull really wasn’t interested in her apology. Bulk had been right all along. She had never actually been his friend she was just being cordial to him because she had to see him everyday. What had he been thinking all this time, as if he would have ever in a million years had a chance with her.

“Just forget it Kimberly,” he said, “it doesn’t matter. Here’s your smoothie.”

He handed her the pink glass and turned to walk to back kitchen. Kimberly really couldn’t have cared less about hurting his stupid little feelings but if she didn’t fix things soon she’d be hearing from Lord Zedd and it wouldn’t be pretty.

“But Skull,” she pleaded “it does matter.” She paused to think of what line of bull she could feed him next. “You’re one of my best friends in the whole world and if anybody deserves my respect it’s you. You’ve been so good to me these past few months and I repay you by being so hateful.” She buried her head in her arms and began sniffling as if she were crying. And of course he bought it.

“Kimberly, don’t cry,” Skull came around the counter and sat down next to her. As he rubbed her back in consolation he said, “It’s okay. Please don’t be upset.”

‘He’s such a sucker,’ she thought to herself ‘I’m almost in the clearing.’ She stood up and lunged at him wrapping her arms around his neck and capturing him in a hug.

“So you forgive me?” she muffled into his T-shirt.

“Well,” said Skull “what you said really wasn’t nice but I think that eventually I could forgive you.” He was going to milk this apology for all it was worth.

“Eventually?” she asked surprised, “Why not now?”

“Well I hear the words coming out of your mouth but I’m not sure I believe them.”

She couldn’t believe this guy. If he loved her so much why was he making this so difficult for her?

“Because,” answered Skull light heartedly, “I need you to prove to me that you really value my friendship and you aren’t just using me to get free smoothies.”

Kimberly pulled away from him and playfully slapped him on the shoulder. “I should have known better. Okay, what do I have to do to prove my loyalty to you my dear?” She wanted to throw up.

“Go out with me tonight,” he said confidently as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

‘No,’ she thought to herself, ‘he did not just ask me to do that! There’s no way I can do that.’ She didn’t even notice where his hands were. Then, just as she was about to give him an answer she heard Bulk’s voice in the distance utter a familiar name.

“Well hello Tommy,” said Bulk.

Kimberly turned around speechless to see the handsome Dr. Oliver standing behind her looking as scrumptious as ever in his sexy worn jeans and black button up shirt, which he wore with the sleeves rolled up and the first three buttons undone. She could see his white undershirt poking out and wished she could see just a little bit more. He wasn’t wearing his glasses today, and she was grateful because she was now able to see his beautiful dark brown eyes more clearly. ‘Perfect timing,’ she thought.

“Hello Bulk,” he said cordially walking over to him to shake his hand. “Long time no see. How you been man?”

“Good,” said Bulk, “I own the place now, well Skull and I do,” he gestured towards his best friend.

It was at this time that Tommy looked in the direction of Bulk’s hand and for the first time in a very long time he once again laid eyes on the most beautiful woman he had ever had the pleasure of seeing, Kimberly Hart. At first he didn’t even notice who she was with he just took in the gorgeous sight. She was dressed in her work out clothes but as always she looked amazing in them. She wore a fitted black tank top and short little pink running shorts. Her hair was a silky auburn knot on the top of her head and she still glowed like a firefly in the night sky.

Once he took her in and caught his breath he immediately noticed Eugene Skullovich’s arms wrapped around her waste. The image hit him like a roundhouse kick to the stomach. He knew that his leg’s would have given out from under him if he hadn’t have been holding on to the railing next to him.

Skull glared at his former classmate as Tommy caught Kimberly’s attention. That was it, the only shot he’d ever have with Kimberly, ruined once again by Tommy Oliver. He never much cared for the guy before, but right now he wished he would just disappear forever.

Bulk and Tommy began walking towards the couple. Tommy couldn’t believe what was going on and he had no control over it. He just had to roll with the punches.

“Hey Skull,” he said as cheerfully as possible as he extended his hand to the man.

“Tommy,” replied Skull nonchalantly pretending his hand was not there.

Skull’s unfriendliness really didn’t bother Tommy, though. He only cared about one person in that room right now and it certainly wasn’t Skull. His gaze shifted towards the girl. He looked at her for what seemed like forever. He studied her, never wanting to forget the way she looked at this moment because he knew that it would soon be over.

“Hello Kimberly,” he managed to say without shaking or stuttering.

“Hi Tommy,” she answered back looking into his eyes. Then she bit her lower lip hearing Lord Zedd’s voice in her head reminding her that she had to act like the Kimberly Hart she once was. So she escaped from Skull’s grasp and shifted towards her ex-boyfriend. She took one step forward, got up on her tip toes and rested a small, sweet, moist little kiss on the doctor’s cheek. She could have sworn that his skin immediately got warmer beneath her lips.

Chapter Fifteen -  I Know You're the Black Ranger 

Tommy was in complete shock at the former Pink Ranger’s gesture. She had actually kissed him on the cheek with no reservations or hesitation. Now he was more confused than ever. It wasn’t that he thought that Kimberly no longer cared for him, he just figured that he had merely become an acquaintance to her because it had been so long since they’d had any contact with one another.

Noticing Dr. Oliver’s surprised expression Kimberly realized that Lord Zedd had been right. Tommy had recognized her and that’s why he was standing before her now. ‘What am I going to do?’ she worried as she remembered her master’s anger the day before. She was going to have to be very careful this time; no slip ups like she’d had with Skull.

“So,” said the handsome man nervously, “How have you been?”

He couldn’t understand what was going on ‘Her eyes should be glowing red right about now, why is she acting so sweet?’ he thought.

“I’ve been good,” replied the beautiful young women sweetly, “I guess now you know that I’ve moved back to Angel Grove.”

“Yeah,” replied Tommy “here you are.”

There was an awkward pause, which didn’t last for long thanks to Skull.

“So, Tommy,” he said suspiciously “what brings you back? Haven’t seen you around in quite a while.”

That was the last question Tommy wanted to answer. He knew he should have come up with an excuse before he arrived but he figured Kimberly wouldn’t even give him a chance to say hello.

“Uh,” began Tommy “I came out here on a dig.”

“A dig?” questioned Bulk. Everyone looked at Tommy like he had gone mad.

“Yeah, a dig. I’m a paleontologist now and I thought I’d come out for the weekend and check out the Angel Grove Mountains.”

Bulk and Skull immediately cracked up laughing.

“That’s a good one Tommy,” said Bulk in between chuckles, “but what’s the real reason you came out her?”

Tommy turned red. The nerve of these guys laughing at him in front of Kimberly, no less, when they didn’t even go to college.

“No, seriously,” he said defensively, “I got my doctorate in paleontology and I now teach at a high school in Reefside.”

The duo laughed even harder at his effort to impress them. Tommy was beginning to get really agitated with them, and he would have put them in their place if he hadn’t of noticed Kimberly staring down at her shoes. She looked as if she wasn’t the least bit interested in the conversation that had been taking place around her. Instead she appeared to be deep in thought.

Little did Tommy know Kimberly was in the middle of a personal battle within herself. She was having a hard time establishing her feelings for the man standing in front of her. On the one side it was Tommy, good old Tommy. He had always been there for her whether they were dating or not. On the other hand it was Tommy, the same guy who let Katherine ruin her life and steal her spot on the team and not to mention in the gang. Deciding that the Tommy she preferred was long gone; Kimberly wasn’t going to let this guy get the best of her. In fact she was going to get the best of him.

“Kim,” said a voice bringing her to her senses. It was Tommy. “Do you want to maybe take a walk?” Tommy realized that of course Kimberly wouldn’t show her true colors in front of Bulk and Skull, he needed to get her alone.

“Sure,” said Kimberly smiling “in fact, how about you walk me home?”

She was so friendly. Tommy was beginning to feel remorse for ever having suspected her of such horrible things.

But, before taking a step she turned to Skull who was still recovering from his outburst.

“Pick me up at eight handsome,” she said and then led the way out the Youth Center.

Tommy was astonished, the look on his face was classic, Kimberly wished she’d had a camera.

Outside, Tommy finally caught up with her, forgetting all about the evil Pink Ranger and Lord Zedd, he just had to know what was going on with her and Skull.

“Kim,” he said matching her stride “so, you and Skull?”

“Well, I always thought he was kinda cute.”

Kimberly giggled, she was very happy with the way things were turning out today. She clearly remembered how hard her ex-boyfriend had taken it when Miss Chief had put a spell on her back in high school, which caused her to fall head over heels in love with Skull. She knew exactly which buttons to push now, and she was going to push every one of them.

Tommy stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Kimberly never much cared for Skull before and she certainly never thought he was cute. Tommy just tried to shake it off and change the subject. But he could not help but think there was something suspicious going on.

“So, how’s it feel to be home?” he asked changing the subject.

“Pretty good,” replied Kimberly, “actually everything’s perfect, just like it always was, except even better.”

“How’s that?” inquired Tommy. He couldn’t imagine things ever being any better than they were back in high school.

“Well, I don’t have to worry about being at Zordon’s immediate service every five seconds,”

Kimberly realized that, that probably wasn’t a very good thing to say when Tommy was already suspicious of her. It just kind of slipped.

“What do you mean Kim?” he grabbed her arm and stopped her from walking, “I thought you always loved being a ranger?”

“I did,” said Kimberly immediately in her defense, “I guess it just came out wrong. What I meant to say was that I don’t have to worry about Lord Zedd and Rita’s constant attacks anymore.”

‘Oh Tommy please believe me,’ she thought realizing that she may have just blown her cover. ‘Quick Kimberly change the subject.’

“So you’re in Reefside now?” she asked.

Tommy was still pondering her last statement but if she was the evil Pink Ranger then she probably already guessed his motives. He’d have to a least try to throw her off.

“Yeah, it’s pretty great down there. It’s a lot like Angel Grove. The people are really wonderful and I think I’m really starting to like it.”

“I bet you are,” said Kimberly under her breath referring to Haley.

“Hmm?” said Tommy.

“Oh, I said it sounds like you are,” answered Kim.

The two were silent for a couple of minutes, until they reached the lake. Kimberly was the first to speak.

“So why don’t you tell me why you’re really here?”

Tommy froze. He was so confused because she should have already known why he was there. What was taking her so long to reveal herself?

“Well, I uh, um...” he began stuttering like a fool.

“Save it Tommy,” she said annoyed, “I know.”

“You know what?” he asked eagerly.

“I know you’re the Black Ranger,” she whispered.

Tommy immediately shifted into a battle ready stance. ‘I was right,’ he thought, ‘it’s true Kimberly is the Pink Ranger.’ Just as his worst fears were confirmed Kimberly began to giggle.

“Cut it out Tommy, I was being serious,” she playfully punched him in the shoulder and continued walking in the direction of her house.

Tommy was really lost now. She was acting like nothing had ever happened back in Reefside. She seemed to have no clue.

“I’m being serious too Kimberly,” he said puzzled, “how do you know who I am?” Tommy knew Jason hadn’t told her about the Dino Powers because he had promised to guard the secret as if it were his own. So then how else could she have known?

“Relax,” she said composing herself, “I saw you and the new rangers on the news back in Florida and I immediately recognized your fighting style, your cute little ‘hiya’, and well just you.” She looked up into his eyes and smiled just like she used to.

“Oh.” Said Tommy baffled. If she was able to recognize him on the news then surely he must have been correct in recognizing her in person. But then why was she looking at him like that? If she really was evil then how come he couldn’t see it in her eyes?

“Why,” said Kim jokingly, “did you think I was gonna turn into some big scary monster or something?”

“I’ll take care of that for you,” said an unwelcome voice in the distance.

Chapter Sixteen - Let the Games Begin

As Dr. Oliver and Kimberly turned around at the sound of the monstrous voice it became evident that the voice belonged to none other than Goldar.

“Just what I didn’t need,” said Tommy out loud; taking a fighting stance, “I thought the gold guy was dust.”

Kimberly realized that she should probably be reacting the same way as Tommy. But, she honestly did not care one way or the other about the hideous monster and the gray clay men that had just appeared out of thin air.

“Just pretend you care Kimberly,” she said under her breath, as she also took a fighting stance.

The putties drew closer and began surrounding the couple.

“So we meet again Tommy,” said Goldar, “how’s life been treating you?”

“Pretty good. Up until now,” responded Dr. Oliver.

“Good to know,” said Goldar right before commanding the putties to attack. “The girl is mine!”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” said Tommy grabbing Kimberly’s hand.

She stared up at him noticing the slight smirk that appeared across his face. And for just a split second she felt like Tommy Oliver’s girlfriend again.

“May I have this dance?” he asked.

Kimberly smiled and returned his grip as the two launched their defense. She lost all sense of what was actually going on. She could feel her body doing flips and kicks but it was as if she were in a world of her own. A world of her and Tommy. Then, just as Tommy sent her off to battle alone Goldar recepted her.

“I hope I didn’t just see what I think I saw,” said the ugly monster into the Pink Rangers ear. Along with his words came a red stream of smoke escaping his mouth and entering her ear. As she received the smoke she felt a surge of evil come over her.

“All you saw was some damn good acting,” she whispered back to him, “now let me go.”

“No, Lord Zedd requests your pres-“

Goldar was cut off by a sidekick to his side delivered by Tommy. It took him by so much surprise that he lost his grip on Kimberly and she was free once again. Kimberly knew that Lord Zedd was waiting for her but things were just getting started. She couldn’t very well leave now.

As her and Tommy stood back to back she could feel the evil within her surfacing. She knew what she had to do, sabotage the Black Ranger.

As Tommy kicked and punched at the gray goons Kimberly stood casually behind him checking her hair for split ends. Every now and then she would make a “hiya” or a “ha” noise to keep Tommy convinced that she was still in the fight. Pretty soon Dr. Oliver was swarmed with nearly all of the putties and Goldar was not far behind. Finally, after some time the putties had Tommy in their grip and he was helpless against them.

“Tommy, I need you!” yelled Kimberly in a pleading voice. She was out of his view and really didn’t need help; she was just leaning up against a tree. She figured that by overwhelming him he would be defeated much easier. She wanted so badly to morph and join the fun, but that would definitely blow her cover.

“Where are you Kim! I can’t see you!” he yelled back searching for her as best he could.

He knew that by now the odds were totally against him, but he had to help Kimberly. Just then Goldar took a swing at his stomach with is gold sword. It knocked the air right out of Tommy, but on the plus side it also knocked him out of the putties’ grip. As he hit the ground Kimberly came into view, she was running out from behind a tree. He found nothing suspicious about it because he was just glad she was alright.

“Tommy!” she yelled, “Are you okay?”

Just as she knelt down to help him up two putties seized her and were about to take her back to Lord Zedd when everyone heard Dr. Oliver yell, “Dino Thunder power up, ha!”

Kimberly watched carefully as from the black gem on the silver bracelet he wore on his arm emerged a Dino morpher. The mechanism seemed somewhat complicated compared to the original morpher she was used to. Tommy continued to match up the two pieces of the morpher and suddenly he became the Black Ranger.

From then on the battle pretty much belonged to the Black Ranger. Goldar eventually decided to cut his losses and take Kimberly and go. But before he had a chance the Black ranger interfered and took possession of the woman.

“You’ll be sorry!” yelled Goldar before he and his army disappeared.

What Tommy didn’t know was that Goldar wasn’t talking to him, he was yelling at the Pink Ranger because she had made it so difficult for him to retrieve her. That was after all the reason for the attack.

“You alright Kim?” asked the Black Ranger immediately as he surveyed her up and down for bruises.

“I’m fine,” said Kimberly coldly.

Tommy was taken aback by her tone.

“Power down!” he yelled after taking a look around to make sure the coast was clear.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he questioned again taking her chin in his right arm and raising her face so he could look directly into her eyes.

He figured if evil was inside her then now would probably be the easiest time to see it. As he gazed into her eyes he saw nothing. And, that was actually the problem because if there was one thing he remembered about his girlfriend, it was her eyes and the way they always sparkled.

Kimberly understood exactly what he was looking for, but she simply couldn’t produce it. Her eyes kept wondering to his bracelet. She was captivated by the black gem, she knew it was her key to success.

Tommy noticed her obsession with the silver band.

“What?” he questioned.

“You know me and jewelry,” responded Kimberly innocently, “I was just thinking about how much I would have liked for our morphers to come in the form of accessories.”

Tommy smiled; he had his old Kimberly back. Not only that he was pretty sure that she wasn’t the evil Pink Ranger. She did say and do some strange things during their short time together, but that could just have been the result of time. And, Goldar and the putties attacked her too, which they wouldn’t have done if she was on their side. But then why didn’t the Pink Ranger come with them? It wouldn’t make sense for Zedd to just send Goldar when he had a stronger weapon at his dispose. And of course Kimberly’s safety was most definitely an issue now.

Chapter Seventeen - Two Very Different People

Kimberly sat picking at the disgusting conglomeration of what the restaurant called food, on the plate in front of her. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she had been so bored. It was a beautiful night on the outside dinning porch at Piere’s. The stars were twinkling bright, the moon was full, and there was a slight breeze in the air. The only problem was the desperate man sitting in front of her whose attempts to impress her this evening didn’t go unnoticed, but were not at all impressive in Kimberly’s eyes.

‘What in the world was I thinking?’ asked Kimberly herself. ‘Making Tommy jealous really was not worth all this.’ She pictured the look on his face back at the Youth Center when she accepted Skull’s invitation for this evening. ‘On second thought maybe it was worth it.’

“Kimberly? Kimberly?”

“Huh, what?” she asked as Eugene Skullovich pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Did you hear what I said?”

‘No, and I don’t care,’ she thought to herself. “Um, I’m sorry I’m just a little distracted this evening is all.”

Skull looked perturbed. “It’s Tommy isn’t it?” there was a silence. “Man that guys got a heck of a lot of nerve coming back here like that after all this time.” Skull’s rage was starting to build.

“No Skull, just calm down,” said Kimberly rolling her eyes. “It has nothing to do with Tommy,” she tried to think of another excuse. “I was thinking about tomorrow, since it’s Monday and all. I was just thinking about a student that’s been giving me problems.”

Skull was by no means convinced, “Nice try Kim but I know you better than that. You still love him don’t you?” He definitely caught Kimberly off guard with that one.

“What?” she asked as her eyes grew wide.

“Come on Kim, you haven’t heard a word I’ve said all night. Here I am trying my best to impress you and you have not once even acknowledged any of it.” Skull sank back in his chair crossing his arms over his chest.

He was right of course; Tommy had not escaped her mind for even a minute since their encounter this morning. After Goldar’s attack Tommy seemed somehow relieved and relaxed. The rest of their walk to her house was truly like old times. He had shared with her his history from the time he left Angel Grove up until now. He even mentioned the woman from the Cyber Café.

Her name was Haley and she was an MIT graduate. He called her a friend but Kimberly couldn’t help but wonder if he was actually telling the truth. She was however very much involved in the creation of the Dino Thunder Rangers, which meant that she knew everything about him, and about high school. At first Kimberly became angry when Tommy told her. How could he have possibly trusted anyone with that information? But as he elaborated more and more on his reasoning she realized that he had done it out of desperation. Tommy had never ever wanted to make trouble for as long as Kimberly had known him. All he wanted to do was help people and this planet. Haley was his only option. But, Kimberly still wasn’t dropping the whole girlfriend thing because that hug back at the Cyber Café was pretty friendly.

Tommy also seemed very interested in her life since they last saw each other. She gave him the run down about college and teaching at Angel Grove High. The whole time she was fearing that he would question her about the letter and about the guy whom she had supposedly left him for. But he never brought it up. In fact he did not even once question her about other relationships.

When they finally reached her front door they both just kind of said their good-byes, and Tommy turned around and left just like that. Neither one of them brought up the idea of seeing each other again or even getting together one last time before Tommy went back to Reefside. It was kind of sad really, Kimberly knew that there was no reason for her to continue the torturous game any longer because she had her orders, and they were to destroy Tommy Oliver. She could already feel her self going soft and that just was not acceptable right now. But, she did find it odd that Tommy made no efforts to keep in contact with her. In a way she was disappointed because after seeing the way he looked at her even after all this time, a small part of her believed that he still had feelings for her. But, she must have been mistaken.

“You’re right Skull,” Kimberly said finally responding to his question, “I was thinking about Tommy,” she paused. “Do you actually think a university would be dumb enough to give him a doctorate?”

Back in Reefside Dr. Oliver fumbled with his keys in the dark trying to decipher which one opened his front door. Finally finding a match he leaned into the door as he turned the knob. As he passed from the darkness of the outside into the darkness of the inside he realized just how unfamiliar this home was to him. Going back to Angel Grove had definitely taken its toll on him emotionally and judging by his heavy eyelids it had taken a toll on him physically.

After finding Kimberly and talking with her he had reached the conclusion that she was not the evil Pink Ranger. And as he walked away from her house he was feeling pretty good about how everything had panned out. Kimberly was okay and for the first time he realized that he was going to be okay too. Their lives were different now and just as everything must end, so did they.

He took a deep breath as he sat down his luggage and flipped on the light switch.

“Hey,” he heard a groggy female voice say.

He turned and looked at the couch, it was Haley and she had been asleep.

“How long have you been here?” he asked concerned that she was unnecessarily stressing herself out.

“Since this morning. After you called me and told me you were on your way home I figured I’d check things out just to be on the safe side. It’s been over twenty four hours since the Pink Ranger has attacked.”

“That’s true isn’t it,” stated Tommy as he sat down next to her. “I wonder what her plan is?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” replied Haley. “So, how’d things go in Angel-,” she caught her self, “I mean wherever it was you were?”

Tommy glared at her, “I can’t believe you used the computer to track me down after I specifically told you that it was in everybody’s best interest that you not know where I was going.”

“I’m sorry Tommy,” Haley whined, “but I couldn’t help myself I was worried about you.”

“Well, as much as I appreciate your concern I don’t appreciate you undermining me!” he banged his fist on the coffee table, knocking some magazines onto the floor.

Haley looked shocked at his outburst, but she quickly went on the defensive, “Don’t you dare raise your voice at me Tommy Oliver because I spent these past two days worried sick about you. And whether you like it or not I am always going to be watching your back, because I care so much about you!”

Tommy immediately realized he was being much too harsh on the woman. “Haley, I’m sorry,” he pleaded, “I guess this whole situation has just been so stressful for me. It wasn’t exactly easy for me to go back to Angel Grove, and it especially wasn’t easy for me to investigate the possibility that the love of my life may have been that horrible creature that nearly destroyed us yesterday.”

Haley was silent. “Oh Tommy, I didn’t realize it was Kimberly that you went to find. I’m sorry sweetie, we don’t have to talk about it anymore if you don’t want to.”

“No it’s fine,” said Tommy softly, “it might do me some good to get things off my chest.” He took a deep breath, “Luckily Kimberly is not the Pink Ranger. When I finally found her she said and did some things that I have to admit were rather odd. But, looking back on it I probably did the same thing. It was just so weird for us to be together again and there was just so much tension.”

Haley rubbed her hand up and down his back offering her support, “Go on.”

“Well, I guess the hardest part was realizing that Kimberly and I are just two totally different people and we could never mean anything to each other like we did before.” He looked sad.

It was then that Haley turned to him and gathered the hurt and wounded man into her arms.

Flying high above the Earth in Serpentera II was the evil and malicious Lord Zedd and his wife Rita Repulsa who had just caught the end of Tommy’s outburst.

“Aw, poor Tommy dear,” giggled Rita thrilled at the Black Ranger’s sorrow.

Lord Zedd and Goldar were too busy laughing to offer a response.

“Zeddy,” yelled Rita over the laughter, “don’t you think right now would be an excellent time to launch another attack? The Black Ranger is so low I’d feel sorry for him if I didn’t despise him so much.”

“No my dear wife,” responded Lord Zedd, “although it may seem like an excellent time to wound the already wounded I have an even better idea.” He turned to his servant, “Goldar, bring me my Pink Ranger.”

Chapter Eighteen - Lord Zedd Requests Your Presence

Kimberly, walked briskly up the steps of her porch, not once looking back at the car that had just dropped her off. She quickly shoved her key in the door not even stopping to turn the doorknob before she pushed on the door.

The night had been a total disaster and she was pretty sure that Skull had gotten it through his thick head that they simply weren’t meant to be together. She wasn’t mean about it; she just simply pointed out a few things to him throughout the evening that suggested they were just to different to ever have anything more between them than friendship. He even ended the evening early, convinced that she was still madly in love with Tommy. Which actually wasn’t a good thing considering she had spent the whole day trying to convince herself that she wasn’t.

As Kimberly made her way to the kitchen to find something real to eat she had a sneaking feeling that she was not alone.

“Who’s there?” she asked meekly as she prepared to reach for her morpher.

“You scare much too easily Pink Ranger,” responded the husky voice.

“Goldar,” said Kimberly as she spotted him in the shadows beneath her stairwell, “what do you want?”

“Lord Zedd has once again requested your presence. And just as a heads up he was not happy about your refusal to his invitation this morning.”

Early that morning Goldar had come to retrieve her for Lord Zedd, but she didn’t want to leave Tommy, not before she found something on him she could use later, and she had.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” She walked over to Goldar and grabbed onto his sword and the two disappeared.

Aboard Serpentera II, Kimberly released her grip on Goldar and immediately bowed to the wicked couple in the thrones before her.

“My Lord, my Queen.”

“Silence!” snapped the evil ruler. “How dare you defy me and show up here with nothing to show for it!”

Kimberly stayed down knowing full well that it was much safer than actually looking up at him.

“But Master,” she said softly, “I do have something to show for it. I mean I will if you just give me a chance.”

“Continue,” he urged curiously and suspiciously.

“Well, during the time that I spent with the Black Ranger I made a few useful and reliable observations.”

“Such as?” questioned Rita in her obnoxious voice.

“On his wrist he wears a bracelet and on that bracelet is the gem from which he calls his Dino morpher and draws his powers.”

“Big deal Pinkie,” squawked Rita as she immediately dismissed the idea of even further listening to the Pink Ranger, “Zeddy and I already knew that. We were watching too ya’ know.”

“Rita, I will not have you interrupting,” said Zedd angrily, “Do go on my dear.” He was intrigued.

Kimberly continued, “I realize that this is not necessarily the latest news but what’s interesting about it is how accessible the gem really is.”

Lord Zedd nodded in agreement, “But, how do you purpose we get to it Pink Ranger? It’s accessible to us yet so easily guarded by him.”

“That’s true,” responded the Pink Ranger, “but, if I could just get close to him I’m sure that I could retrieve it for you.”

“Ha,” protested Rita, “and what makes you so sure he’s going to let you get that close to him? He didn’t even hug you goodbye. He just walked away like you were yesterdays trash, which I guess in a way you are.”

Kimberly really could have gone without Rita’s two cents, as if she didn’t feel bad enough already. Their encounter was very disappointing, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t get a second chance.

“I know his feelings for me have depleted throughout the years,” announced Kimberly in her own defense. “But, he did fight to save me and more importantly I detected a great deal of jealousy within him when I agreed to go on a date with Skull back at the Youth Center.”

Lord Zedd pondered the thought for a second; he then turned to Goldar, who nodded in agreement. Then he turned to Rita who crossed her arms over her chest and raised her nose in defiance.

“So let me get this straight Pink Ranger, your purposing that you seduce him into turning over the gem to you?” Lord Zedd sounded extremely skeptical.

“More like I seduce him into forgetting that he’s even wearing the gem,” snickered Kimberly.

“Thus allowing you to take it,” said Zedd finishing Kimberly’s sentence for her.

“Exactly.”

Chapter Nineteen - Knock, Knock, Surprise

Tommy Oliver was unexpectedly shaken out of his dream as something rapped on his front door downstairs. At first he thought it was just the rain, which was apparently pouring down hard against the dark shingles atop his roof. But, when the noise picked up again he realized that someone was down there. He immediately shot out of bed rather alarmed at the possibilities. Maybe it was Haley or Kira in trouble. Or worse, maybe the Pink Ranger had returned to pick up where she left off.

As he approached the front door he peeked through the window to see who it was, but it was so dark he didn’t recognize the figure even when he switched on the porch light. Deciding it was probably one of the girls because the person was so short he opened the door. A hooded figure stepped inside the warm cozy house. She immediately tore off her hood and Dr. Oliver was quite taken by surprise.

“Kimberly?” he questioned rubbing his eyes as he tried to decide if this was a dream or not, “what are you doing here and how did you find me?”

“There’s no time for that,” huffed Kimberly as she made obvious efforts to catch her breath. “Are all of your doors and windows locked?” she began to survey the room in a panic for possible entrances.

“Yeah, air tight,” responded Tommy in confusion. “What’s going on Kim?”

Kimberly continued to scurry around the living room looking out all of the windows and jiggling the locks to ensure their security. To Tommy she appeared disheveled and downright scared. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her so worried. He finally caught her wrist in his hand before she could get halfway up the staircase.

“Kimberly, stop.” He demanded pulling her down to his level. “Just slow down and tell me what in the hell is going on.” He was stern yet gentle in his tone.

Kimberly paused and took several deep breaths as she stared into the handsome man’s eyes and began to sob. “Oh Tommy it was terrible!” she heaved. “I had just gotten home from my date with Skull and I went up to my room to get ready for bed, when I heard a noise downstairs,” she paused to catch her breath. “I figured it was nothing but I went downstairs to check, you know just in case.”

Tommy was captivated by her tale, “Go on,” he urged.

“Well, when I reached the bottom of the stairs like a dozen putties came out of nowhere and began to attack me! I fought them off pretty good for a little while and actually made it out the front door, but outside it was even worse.” The tears began to fall faster down her cheeks. Tommy didn’t know how to comfort her other than to take her in his arms and never let go, but given the circumstances he knew it was not an option.

“Goldar was waiting for me on the porch and I ran out of the house so fast I ended up right in his arms. Oh Tommy it was horrible! He started saying something about the Evil Pink Ranger and how I was going to become her practice dummy when suddenly a bolt of lightning struck and luckily took him by surprise long enough for me to wiggle my way free from his grip. I immediately ran to my car, and I thank God that I was still wearing my jacket because my car keys were in the pocket.” Kimberly was sobbing uncontrollably now.

“It’s okay now sweetheart,” Tommy whispered as he gave in to his urges and engulfed her in his arms pulling her into his bare chest; until now he hadn’t realized he was shirtless and in his boxer shorts. She didn’t seem to mind though.

The two of them stood there for a couple of minutes, his grip was relentless and her sobs continued at a steady pace. Tommy still had so many questions for her, like how in the world she found him. There was no way she had known his address, not many people did. But, until he calmed her down it was impossible to get any answers.

Once Kimberly finally gathered her bearings and was breathing normally, Tommy slowly let her loose from his grasp. She stepped back realizing that he too was now wet. The couple began to laugh and Tommy was relieved that she was beginning to feel more comfortable.

Becoming more serious Tommy straightened up an asked “Did anyone fallow you here?”

“No, Goldar disappeared as I turned the corner of Rose and Oak street,” she announced, “But I was so shaken, there was no way I was going to go back home. I didn’t know anyone else to turn to. I just needed to feel safe.” There was a long silence as Tommy equated what she had just said. He still made her feel safe.

“Well,” he began carefully, “your always safe with me. You know that, don’t you Kim?”

“Of course I do, Tommy.”

He smiled down at her and she returned the gesture. Though, Tommy was beginning to feel quite guilty for dragging Kimberly into this mess. The evil space villains had left her alone just fine before he visited Angel Grove and attracted their attention to the former Pink Ranger.

“It’s pretty late,” announced Tommy “but, I better contact the others, this could be the lead we’re looking for…” he continued to talk but Kimberly didn’t hear what he was saying because all she knew was that if he called anyone else her plan would be ruined. They needed to be alone and the longer the better. It had worked out so well up until now. Lord Zedd had teleported her to the small hidden house in Reefside and it did not take her long to muster up the acting skills necessary to pull the scheme off. Tommy had bought it easier than he bought those stupid karate movies. She just secretly prayed that Tommy wouldn’t notice that her car was no where in sight. He began to walk towards the entrance of his underground chamber, eager to get started.

“Wait!” shouted Kimberly surprising herself; she had to think fast. “Do you really think that’s necessary?” Tommy nodded.

“Of course it is, the other rangers and I have been waiting for the Pink Ranger to make a move for two whole days now and she hasn’t even budged, not once. But, at least we know Lord Zedd still has plans for her, now it’s up to us to regroup and strategize.”

“I guess you’re right Tommy, what was I even thinking? Of course you need to utilize every resource you have to get the job done,” she paused with a look of disappointment on her face. “It’s just that I’m kind of tired, ya’ know?”

“I suppose that’s understandable,” responded Tommy sympathetically. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you go ahead and crash in my bed for the night. I’ll call the kids, well be downstairs, you won’t even hear us, I promise.”

‘No!’ thought Kimberly, ‘he can’t call the others. How am I supposed to seduce him with four pesky teenagers and one annoying egghead around?’

“Okay,” responded Kim coolly as she panicked inside struggling to find an excuse for Tommy not to call the other rangers. “But, I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep, by myself that is. I’m just so shook up. Maybe you could just stay with me for a little while, just until I fall asleep, please?”

Tommy couldn’t believe what he was hearing; he would stay with her forever if she asked him to. However, this whole Pink Ranger thing really did require his undivided attention, but what would an extra twenty minutes hurt?

“Sure Kim, I’d be happy to stay with you until you fall asleep. How about I call the guys first though? You’ll probably be knocked out long before they get here,” he chuckled to himself at the idea of attempting to get Conner McKnight out of bed at 3a.m. on a school night.

‘Still no good!’ screamed Kimberly in her mind.

“That’s a good idea,” she responded excitedly, “but um, um,” ‘come on Hart,’ she thought ‘you can think of something, anything,’ She immediately dropped into a motionless heap on Dr. Oliver’s living room floor.

Chapter Twenty - It's Mine Now

When Tommy reached the top of the stairs the unconscious mass in his arms still felt as light as a feather. When Kimberly originally collapsed on his living room floor he immediately rushed to her aid. After yelling her name many times and lightly tapping her face he realized that she was out cold. He figured it was due to the stress of her day, including Goldar. Little did he know the woman was perfectly fine and just as conscious as he was.

Tommy finally laid her down on his bed making sure that her head was comfortably cradled in his pillow. Kimberly immediately smelled the familiar scent of Tommy on the linens. She almost smiled to herself but then remembered that he was watching her. She began to realize that this whole fainting thing could work in her favor even better than her original plan, which really wasn’t planned. She’d had no strategy to seduce her ex-boyfriend, she just figured she’d flirt with him and eventually he would succumb to her kiss. In retrospect it was a horrible idea considering how platonic their relationship had been earlier that day. But now she could act as loopy and uncharacteristic as she wanted because he would just figure she had a concussion or something.

Suddenly the weight on the bed Kimberly laid on became lighter and she realized that Tommy had stood up, perhaps to go call for help, or worse the other Rangers. It was time to wake up. As her eyes opened slowly, she made the typical moaning sound she always heard on TV whenever someone woke up. Tommy was already halfway out the door but heard her and turned around.

“Kim, are you okay?” he asked kneeling at the bedside.

‘Perfect’ thought Kim, ‘this is going to be even easier than I thought, he’s feeling guilty.’

“Um, I think so,” she choked out blinking her eyes as they adjusted to the light generated by the lamp next to her. “What happened?” she asked alarmed.

“You must have fainted,” replied Tommy, “one minute you were talking just fine and then the next you were down on the ground,” he frowned, still blaming himself for dragging Kimberly into this mess.

“How long was I out?” she asked.

“I’d say a few minutes, not long,” he answered.

‘Enough small talk Kimberly,’ she thought to herself, ‘it’s time to take care of business and get this over with.’

“Thank you for being so good to me Tommy,” she began as she forced her eyes to produce water. “I don’t deserve any of this after what I did to you. I was so stupid,” she cursed herself.

“Whoa Kim, slow down,” interrupted Tommy, “it was a long time ago and I’m fine, really.” He silently hoped she couldn’t tell that he was lying through his teeth.

“But you don’t even know the worst part,” Kimberly continued, prodding his curiosity.

“What’s that?” asked Tommy slowly, not sure if he wanted to know the worst part.

“I’m still really attracted to you,” admitted Kimberly as her eyes wandered to his wrist where the prize rested in the form of the bracelet, which contained the black dino gem.

That was all Tommy ever wanted to hear; yet he couldn’t enjoy it because he knew the woman was not in her sane mind.

“You must have hit your head on the floor or something Kim,” he assured her, “maybe you better just get some sleep before you say something you will probably regret in the morning.”

“I won’t regret it Tommy,” she protested raising herself to his level with her arms. “I really mean it, I think I still love you,” her voice faded into a whisper and she didn’t know why. Kimberly suddenly became very confused as she tried to draw a line between Kimberly Hart and the Evil Pink Ranger. Who was speaking?

Tommy was speechless; he wanted so badly to believe her. As he gazed into her gorgeous hazel brown eyes they began to grow bigger as the women leaned towards him. Tommy knew he should back away but it had been so long and he had missed her and this so much. Before he could fight it she had already captured him in a kiss. The kiss seemed to last forever in fact Tommy almost forgot to breathe in between.

In Kimberly’s head she couldn’t really remember what in the world she was doing in Tommy Oliver’s bed. She knew she’d had a pretty good reason yet all that she could think of was Tommy and how wonderful it felt to kiss him again. Suddenly she felt an enormous weight cover her body, it was Tommy. As he lay on top of her he began to explore her with his hands, her hair, the soft skin on her face. Suddenly something cold rubbed against her cheek and she remembered why she was there, the bracelet.

She had to get the bracelet for Lord Zedd, her master. What in the hell came over her? She didn't love this man, she didn’t even need this man; he was nobody to her. She was here on a mission and it was her job to complete it. She immediately began to kiss him more forcefully hoping that her wandering hands would be disregarded in the midst of her aggressiveness. Soon she had his left hand in her right hand and she reached for the lamp and flipped off the switch.

It took quite some time for her to figure out how the bracelet on his wrist operated. It was not easy paying attention to the man’s wrist when she would much rather be paying attention to the rest of him. But, he didn’t seem to notice the attention she was giving his left arm. Finally as their lips parted, so did the clasp on the bracelet, and it was hers.

Tommy immediately tightened his grip on her body realizing that she had just obtained his bracelet.

‘Sun of a…’ thought Kimberly. How was she going to get out of this one, literally?

“What are you doing,” he questioned very seriously looking into her eyes with the help of little moonlight, which trickled in through the white curtains.

Suddenly Kimberly’s eyes began to glow bright pink as a vindictive grin grew across her face. “Getting rid of you,” she answered wickedly. She was still securely in his grasp but the gig was up and she would soon be free.

Tommy’s eyes grew wide in horror. “You’re the Evil Pink Ranger,” he stated to her and to him self, it was too fresh to feel real.

“That’s right handsome, and you used to be the Black Ranger,” she teased.

He suddenly grabbed her right hand, which contained the bracelet, and although he was much stronger than she, and all of his weight was pinning down the rest of her body he still didn’t have a prayer. Kimberly’s body began to grow warm underneath him and eventually became scorching hot, forcing him to release her and get on his own two feet. By then she too was standing up on the other side of the bed.

“It’s been fun sweetie, really,” she giggled as she dangled the bracelet in her hand. “Don’t be so disappointed, it’s not you it’s me,” she erupted into a fit of laughter.

“Kimberly, don’t do this!” yelled Tommy, keeping his distance.

“Do what?” she asked seriously. “This?” she then pulled out her morpher and within seconds she was transformed into the Evil Pink Ranger.

Chapter Twenty-one - I Can't Lose Her

The next morning Dr. Oliver awoke to sound of birds chirping outside his window. For a second he smiled to himself at the noise, it was morning and it had all been a horrible nightmare. Reaching for his left arm he felt his wrist certain his dino gem bracelet would be there, but when he felt nothing but skin he jumped up and gazed at his wrist hoping it was there. It wasn’t. Replaying the events of the night before in his head he remembered all too well what had happened.

After Kimberly had seized the bracelet and morphed into the Evil Pink Ranger, her and Tommy exchanged a few words, his much nicer than hers. As Kimberly stood before Tommy in her uniform he had no choice but to reason with her and hope things didn’t get physical.

“Kimberly,” he said immediately, “this isn’t you. Lord Zedd has you under a spell. You have to remember who you really are, and it isn’t this.”

“Shut up, Tommy!” she snapped back grasping the bracelet even harder. “I know exactly who I am, I guess you just never got close enough to find out for yourself.”

“What do you mean?” questioned Tommy, “I know you better than anyone else, and you know it.” He was hoping to intimidate her thus creating a mental dual that hopefully he’d win because he was of his own mind. Tommy remembered how chaotic his thoughts had been whenever he was evil. He knew exactly what Kimberly was going through and he knew exactly how to treat it.

“Well, if you know me so well then how come I’m the one with upper hand!” she declared.

She did have a point. It was right about now that Tommy was feeling pretty stupid for having let her trick him. But it was only because he didn’t want to believe that Kimberly was capable of evil. Back on the Island of Muranthias when she and Jason had been sacrificed to Maligore she had turned evil. Looking back that was probably the worst moment of Tommy’s life up to that point. It was one thing for her to move to Florida and then send him a stupid Dear John letter. But it was something entirely different to not have her anymore at all. Right now that was the case. Kimberly was no longer Kimberly, but on the inside Tommy knew that she was still there.

“I let you win Kim,” he admitted to her and himself, “but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to let Zedd win.”

“Let me win?” chuckled Kimberly, “You didn’t let me win, I beat you. Just like I’m going to do now!”

Before Tommy knew it she had scaled the bed like it was nothing and was closing in on him. He had really pissed her off this time. He probably shouldn’t have said that last thing about letting her win. Now he gave her a reason to have to prove herself.

When she reached Tommy he greeted her with a snap kick to the chin. He really hated to do it but if he didn’t maintain the upper hand then he would probably be left with no hand. Kimberly fell back onto the bed dropping Tommy’s bracelet next to her. Tommy acted fast and retrieved it before she had a chance to recover.

As she recovered from the blow Kimberly stood up with more furry than she had ever had before. She had to get that bracelet back, what would Lord Zedd do to her if she returned without it?

Before she could act Tommy had done it, he had uttered those horrible words “Dino thunder, power up, ha.” He stood before her in all his glory.

For a second Kimberly thought all hope was lost. She had not yet actually taken on the Black Dino Ranger, and although she would never admit it she was scared. She knew what Tommy Oliver was capable of. He had saved her and the other Rangers countless times all by himself against some of Rita and Zedd’s toughest monsters. Now she was the monster and would have to be the first to conquer him. As she stood up Tommy backed away from her slowly.

“I don’t want to fight you Kim,” he said compassionately, “But, I’m not going to let you win this time.” He absolutely hated the way things were going.

Kimberly immediately recognized the hurt in his voice. Lord Zedd had been right; she was Tommy’s weakness and right now was the best time to take advantage of that.

“Let’s get this over with Black Ranger,” she uttered as she took her stance.

“Your move Kim,” responded Tommy regretfully.

Kimberly immediately snapped her leg up just as Tommy had done to her, but this time she struck the man on the side of the head. He recovered quickly and although the quarters was small he found a way to maneuver around so quickly she never saw his fist coming towards her. It hit her stomach and she momentarily had the air knocked out of her but was on the defense in no time. It was her turn, so she returned the punch directly to his stomach and his reaction was similar to hers. But unlike Tommy, she did not give him time to recover because she immediately knocked his feet out from under him causing him to crash to the floor. Kimberly then stood over him with her foot to his throat.

“So, you gonna gimme that gem or do I have to take it?” she asked.

“Neither,” choked Tommy as he struggled for air.

Kimberly knew exactly how this battle was going to end, there was no way Tommy was going to give up that gem, and there was definitely no way that she was going to maintain the upper hand. Her position right now was just pure luck; there was no way that he was fighting at one hundred percent. He was simply trying to tire her out and Kimberly knew it. She had no choice but to provoke him and put herself out of her own misery.

So, she reached for her blade blaster, and just as she guessed Tommy had his Brachio staff in his hand before she could even aim at him. He struck her in the knees and pain surged through her entire body as she dropped to the floor, releasing him. The pain was excruciating in spite of her powers. As she struggled to sit up Tommy stood above her.

“Just stay down Kim,” he ordered, “it will make things a lot easier,” he pointed his Brachio staff directly in her face.

“You know I can’t do that Tommy,” she said softly just before aiming her blade blaster at his chest, but before she could pull the trigger he had already done it, sending a great surge of power through her tiny little body.

Tiny surges surrounded her body for a few moments, at first they were black and white and eventually they turned to pink as her body returned to its regular unmorphed state. She appeared unconscious and lifeless on the ground.

Tommy was stunned. He didn’t mean to do it, he hadn’t realize how much power he had forced into that last blow. Now, he felt helpless and vicious. He didn’t deserve to win; he didn’t even deserve to know the woman. Rushing to her side he cradled her in his arms.

“Kimberly, I’m so sorry!” he yelled over and over again with no response from her.

He hugged her to him as he felt her move slightly.

Kimberly opened her eyes slowly; a faint smile crossed her face. “Tommy,” she whispered, “I forgive you.”

Tommy was elated, she was alive. “Kimberly you’re going to be okay, I promise,” he assured.

“No Tommy,” she responded, “it’s over, but it will be okay,” tears came to her eyes. “This is it.”

Tommy couldn’t believe what he was hearing, he couldn’t lose her, he just couldn’t.

“But before I go,” she continued “I just want to see your beautiful face one more time, please.”

“Anything you wish, Kimberly,” he said as he powered down, revealing himself to her.

Tears began to fog his view of his one true love’s beauty and he cursed them for their obstruction, and just as he went to clear them away with his left hand he felt it, a massive hit to his forehead, perhaps it was her elbow, or maybe her fist, but Kimberly Hart had once again played him for a fool, and knocked him out cold.

Chapter Twenty-Two - She Seduced You?

“Excellent my Pink Ranger, you have served me well,” said Lord Zedd as he took the bracelet containing the black dino gem away from Kimberly.

“I have to say Kimmy,” chimed in Rita, “I’m impressed. I honestly didn’t think you had it in you. I guess you really are evil.”

Kimberly didn’t respond; she wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult. Did she really want to be evil?

“So what’s next in your brilliantly devious plan my dear husband?” questioned Rita as she admired the bracelet.

“Well Rita, I think it’s time we find out for our selves what this silly thing can do. Pink Ranger get over here!” he demanded.

Kimberly stepped up to the monster and bowed silently.

“Enough with the formalities, just put this on,” he said shoving the bracelet around her wrist.”

“Couldn’t that be dangerous to the Pink Ranger, my Lord?” asked Goldar.

“Why yes, it could,” chuckled Zedd. “The good power might resist the bad power causing quite a bad reaction that could very well be fatal. But, you win some you lose some, right Pinkie?” said Zedd erupting into a fit of laughter as Rita joined in.

Kimberly immediately reached for the clasp on the bracelet. There was no way she was going to take such a chance. It wasn’t worth it; she could defeat those pathetic power pukes without the Black Ranger’s powers. But, before she could undue the clasp Zedd zapped her with his staff, infusing her and the gem with evil and one priority, to destroy the Power Rangers at all costs. So, she straitened up an yelled “Dino thunder power up, ha.”

The second Dr. Oliver heard the knock on his front door he rushed to open it. On the other side he found Conner, Kira, Ethan, Trent, and of course Haley staring at him eagerly. Earlier that morning he had immediately ran downstairs directly after replaying the events of the horrible night before in his head. He’d contacted each Ranger individually demanding that they come over that very minute. But considering that everyone was still in bed, recovering from a night of cramming for their Biology test the next day, it took them a minute or two to wake up and get dressed.

“Well, are you going to let us in or not Dr. O?” uttered Conner impatiently.

“Of course,” responded the teacher pulling the door completely open and stepping aside for everyone else to come in.

Everyone rushed in realizing that they had no idea why they were there. Had it been a social call? Dr. O. wasn’t making any attempt to explain anything. What they didn’t understand though, was that he was just hesitant to admit that he had been played and beaten because he thought that he could handle everything by himself. But, wow, was he sadly mistaken.

“So,” said Kira annoyed, “are you gonna tell us why you made me skip my shower this morning or are we just gonna stand here and watch dust collect?”

“A little of both I suppose,” answered the doctor dryly. “Why don’t we take this downstairs, I promise I will reveal everything to you.”

“Everything,” questioned Haley.

“Yes, everything,” responded Tommy.

“We’re not gonna be late for school again are we?” whined Ethan. “Randall already has it in for all of us, you especially Dr. O.”

“That’s really not my biggest concern right now Ethan,” responded Dr. Oliver seriously. “Just get downstairs and you’ll understand why.”

Downstairs the Rangers made themselves comfortable in compliance with Dr. Oliver’s request that they do so. Once they were all settled he took his regular seat facing them. Everyone appeared very attentive and eager to finally learn what was up with the Pink Ranger.

“Well, I suppose it’s time to begin,” said Dr. O. Nobody responded or even moved because they didn’t want to delay things any more than they already had been.

“First I should probably tell you where I went on Saturday night,” he took a deep breath. “I went to Angel Grove.”

Conner flinched as if to say something but the others starred him down so fiercely he didn’t dare speak.

“Yes, Conner,” continued the teacher, “the Angel Grove where the Power Rangers originated,” he paused for a second. “I went there to confirm my suspicions that Kimberly Hart, the original Pink Ranger was in fact Zedd and Rita’s evil ranger.”

Kira gasped in surprise, “you mean we’ve been fighting one of our own?”

“Quiet Kira,” demanded Ethan, “let the man finish what he has to say!”

“Thank you Ethan,” injected Dr. Oliver, “but there’s no need to snap at Kira.” Kira nodded her head in defiance to Ethan.

“I’ll get to that question in a moment Kira,” he continued. “Anyways, I did find Kimberly in Angel Grove and I was able to speak with her for quite some time. She said some strange and questionable things, but nothing so extreme that it would cause me to believe that she was guilty. We were even attacked by Goldar and some putties in the park and it appeared they were after her.” Dr. Oliver had to take a moment to breathe.

“Initially I felt terrible for involving her in this whole mess, but I soon found out that I had no reason to feel bad because after I left Angel Grove she showed up at my door last night.” Everyone gasped in shock, but again nobody said anything.

“She spun this whole story to me that Goldar had come after her again and I actually believed her. Then she fainted and I truly felt like garbage. So, I carried her up to my room where she woke up and fooled me into allowing her to steal my dino gem bracelet.”

The teenagers immediately began to giggle and Conner just couldn’t help himself he had to say something. “Let me guess Dr. O. the little lady seduced you.” The chuckles became even louder.

“It doesn’t matter how she did it,” snapped Dr. Oliver in annoyance, “the point is she now possess my dino gem, which means I don’t have it, so we are plum out of luck.”

Everyone became serious again.

“Your joking right?” questioned Trent.

“I wish that were the case,” responded Dr. O, “but it’s true, the Pink Ranger has the upper hand.”

“But on the plus side the dino gem is useless to her right?” cut in Kira.

Dr. Oliver gave Haley a very unsure look as she returned the same expression.

“Well, that depends,” answered Haley. “The gem is selective in who it responds to, but because Tommy and his powers bonded with Kimberly and her powers so many times back when they were a team, it is very possible that there could be traces of Tommy’s energy still inside of her.” Everyone appeared puzzled.

“You see,” cut in Tommy, “many times when someone accepts the power it stays with them, even if they give it up. The coin or gem, the costume, the weapons, and the physical power may leave their body but the real power is still there.”

“Cool,” said Ethan, “so that means that we can never really lose our powers completely, right?”

“Well,” responded Tommy, “that’s true to a certain extent, many rangers including myself have resumed their powers for a short time when it was absolutely necessary, but it doesn’t always work for everyone.”

“Do you think it could maybe work for you when the Evil Pink Ran- I mean Kimberly shows up again?” questioned Trent.

“No,” stated Dr. Oliver, “as long as the gem is in someone else’s hands I can’t access the power.”

“Well,” suggested Kira, “maybe you could resume one of you old ranger powers.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that easy Kira,” said Dr. O. hating to break the bad news. “As long as the dino gem exists I cannot use any of my old powers unless my gem had been bonded with them before, like the Zeo powers were bonded with the Turbo powers when they were created. The only way I could be a ranger now is if I had an actual physical coin, or crystal, or direct power source.”

Everyone was speechless, they all knew that their destruction was near.

“But, I’m not terribly worried about not having my powers right now because what is more important is the question of whether or not Kimberly can assume the black dino powers.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t mix powers unless they had been bonded together when one of them was created,” questioned Conner. Everyone was amazed that he had actually comprehended all of the information Dr. Oliver had thrown at them.

“Well, normally they can’t, Conner,” answered Dr. O, but in this case the power has an enabler in the form of Rita and Zedd’s magic. Because they created the evil pink power they can still bond it with the dino gem if it will accept Kimberly. And, I hate to say it but I’m pretty sure that it will.”

“But there’s still a chance that it won’t, right Tommy?” questioned Haley.

“I guess it’s possible, but you guys don’t understand how close Kimberly and I were,” Dr. Oliver began to get a little choked up at the memory. “I don’t just mean our romantic relationship, I mean our bond as teammates. She was always there for me in a battle and I tried my hardest to always be there for her. After she gave up her powers a part of me deep down inside felt it too."

Nobody knew what to say, so they all just sat there in silence, it seemed that all hope was lost.

“Dr. Oliver,” Kira finally broke the silence, “are you saying that victory is hopeless for us?"

“I’m not saying that at all Kira,” answered Dr. O assuringly, “I’m just saying it’s going to be one hell of a ride.”

All four teenagers and even Haley broke out in a smile. That was all the kids needed to hear; a little encouragement from their leader and they were once again optimistic. But, little did they know that Dr. Oliver was in fact pretty sure that this would be their final battle. The Pink Ranger had annihilated the Rangers the first time they encountered her and now that she had the black gem, the most powerful gem, things were most definitely in her favor. But, there was no reason to discourage the teenagers because if there’s one thing being a Ranger taught Tommy it was that anything is possible.

“So what’s next?” asked Trent.

“Well,” said Dr. Oliver, “we wait.”

“Does this mean the test is still on?” whined Connor.

Everyone looked at him and simultaneously shoved him.

“What?” he responded, “It was a good question.”

On to Part Two...

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