DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything affiliated with them.
AN: All right, I'll admit that I had never seen the episode Forever Red until today, so I got inspired to write a one-shot of how I think it should have ended, mind you, it's not anything like the ending. I hope you enjoy it and since this is all off the top of my head, please give me grace with my grammatical errors.
"Hey Kim, call me when you get this, I think I have some news that you want to know about," Trini's voice played on the answering machine as she continued to put up her groceries. She had just moved into this house in Reefside and she wanted to actually make it a home before any of her friends visited. She, however, was having a hard time with that as she was always being called by someone about something. What could it possibly be now?
"Trini," Kim said as Trini's phone picked up and she wondered if she had gotten the machine.
"Hey, Kim. I didn't think that you would call back so soon," Trini said as she looked around the room. Many of the female rangers had assembled upon finding out that Tommy had set up a special mission. They all thought that it was only right that Kim be there to see them get back as well. "Can you come up to Angel Grove, now?"
"What's going on that I need to drop everything and come right now?" Kim asked as she looked over at her purse, knowing that she was going to go. She just wanted to give Trini a hard time for it.
"A special mission that my husband didn't deem necessary to tell me about," Trini said as Kim's mouth formed an 'o' and she completely understood the situation.
"I'll be there as soon as I can," Kim said as she closed her phone and hurriedly put up her groceries.
"Did she buy it?" Cassie asked as Trini nodded her head yes. They all wanted to see the original pink so bad, but they knew that it would take a miracle to get her here without too many questions and somehow Trini had done just that.
"She knows that I am pissed at Jason, so she wants to see what I do to him when they land," Trini said as Ashley and Cassie both laughed. They had their own partners to rip into, but they had the feeling that Trini would be a little bit worse, considering the fact that she was six months pregnant.
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"Nice job guys," Tommy said as the red rangers walked off their ship and into the open air. He had been worried that they wouldn't be able to make it, but they had somehow pulled it off.
"So the legend finally speaks about something other than specifics," Andros said as Tommy just shook his head. All he wanted to do right now was go home and take a long nap, but he had the feeling that was not going to happen.
"I need to be going," Tommy said as Jason shook his head no. They were all going to reminisce and he was going to be there for it.
"Hell no, Tommy," Jason said as Tommy gave him a perturbed look. Tommy didn't really want to be here when Trini found out where Jason had been and if the others were smart, they would have tried to leave to. "The last time we had a reunion, you left, so you're staying this time. I'm going to embarrass the hell out of you with all the facts about 'The Legend' and I'll make sure to include kissing on Kim in there."
"Great, that's all I need," Tommy said as Jason's attention went elsewhere and his eyes widened.
"Shit," Jason said as he walked over to the car that had just pulled up.
"He can say that again," Andros said as he scooted backwards. He wanted to get as far away from Cassie as he possibly could.
"Honey…" Jason began as Kim rolled down the window and looked out at him, which caused his mouth to drop open. He had not thought that Trini would call her in. He knew that Kim was back, but most of the people here wouldn't even recognize her. She had changed a lot since they had last seen her.
"Oh don't you honey her, Jason Lee Scott. You go on a damn mission when your wife is six months pregnant, have you lost your mind?" Kim asked as she climbed out of the car and Trini exited from the passenger's side. She was honestly enjoying watching Kim rip into Jason, it saved her a lot of energy.
"What are you," Jason trailed off, in wonder, as Tommy looked over at T.J. and just shook his head. He didn't recognize the woman, but she knew about the rangers, somehow.
"Don't act like you're surprised. You knew that I'd find out and one of the first people I'd call would be her," Trini said as Jason just raked his hands through his hair and began shaking his head. "What the hell were you thinking!"
"He wasn't," Eric said as Trini glared over at him and he quickly looked away. He did not want to receive her wrath if he could help it.
"Who can I get?" Kim asked, playfully, as Trini continued to rip into Jason and Cassie was letting Andros have it. She wanted to join in on the fun, but she didn't really know anyone. "None of you look familiar, what I wouldn't do to rip into Rocky right now. Why isn't he here? He was a red ranger too, unless I've lost my mind."
"Long story," Tommy said as the woman looked over at him and her expression changed from playfulness to utter terror.
"Tommy," Kim said as she looked back at Trini, Cassie, Kat, and Ashley. They were all watching her; they had known this would come and they had wanted to see how she would act.
"Yes," Tommy said as he still did not recognize her and she turned to walk away. She didn't want to see him, she didn't want to deal with this sort of drama tonight.
"You're staying," Trini said as Kim had been walking back towards her car, just shaking her head. "You wouldn't want to make my blood pressure go any higher, would you?"
"Tri, this isn't fair. I didn't know," Kim said as Kat had a sly smile on her lips. "You all planned this?"
"Yeah, we did. We've been wanting the two of you to see each other for years," Kat said as Kim threw up her hands in frustration and then walked over to Andros. She had briefly met him a couple of times because of ranger duties that the two of them worked on.
"I wish that I had known you would be here, I could have brought you some research," Andros said as Kim just shook her head. "You have to do it, you're here."
"That does not constitute me having to tell them anything. None of them need to know about that," Kim said as she pulled out her cell phone and scrolled down to Billy's number. She was definitely going to need some therapy after today.
"Who is that?" Tommy asked as T.J. gaped at him. How could he not recognize Kim? She didn't look all that different from the pictures that he had still lying around at his home.
"You don't recognize her?" T.J. asked as Tommy shook his head no. She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place a name to her face to save his life. "You must have blocked her out really good."
"Billy, answer the damn phone," Kim said as Tommy gave her a hard look and then his eyes lit up in recognition. It was Kim, the woman that he had loved for so long and he didn't even recognize her anymore.
"You've got to be kidding me," Tommy muttered as T.J. and the other red rangers wore smirks on their faces. They never thought they'd see this out of 'The Legend', but now they were getting to see the human side of Tommy.
"We're not," Eric said as Tommy sat down in his place and just began shaking his head. He couldn't believe that this was happening now.
"I don't get it," Carlos muttered to T.J. as he looked at Tommy, completely confused.
"You don't know the story of the letter, we probably would have told you about that tonight, but we won't have the chance now," T.J. said as he watched the way that Kim and Tommy were acting.
"How did they plan this?" Tommy asked as he looked over at Trini and the other female rangers, who just had smirks on their faces.
"Let 'The Legend' stay and talk, we're going down to Bulk's establishment, minus Kim. You two have some catching up to do," Ashley said as Tommy glared at them and Kim just laughed out of the absurdity of the moment.
"Why are all of you doing this?" Kim asked as they all looked at each other. "We don't have anything to talk about."
"Everyone deserves a chance to be happy," Eric said as Tommy glared over at him and they all walked off, leaving the former red, white, and green ranger to fume as Kim just shook her head. She was going to get them back for this, somehow.
"Tommy, your keys," Jason said as Tommy shook his head no. He was not going to escape; he wouldn't be that mean and leave Kim without a ride.
"I'm not rude enough to leave her here, alone," Tommy said as Kim looked over at him. He was going to really hate her once he heard all of this.
"That's good," Trini said as they all hopped into vehicles and drove away.
"I love our ranger friends," Kim said as Tommy looked over at her and smiled. He knew that she was just as frustrated as he was about all of this crap.
"Yeah, me too. I was hoping to just get back to Reefside and get some rest. These missions take more out of me nowadays," Tommy said as Kim looked over at him, hoping that she had not heard him correctly. There was no way that she had just bought a home in the same town as Tommy.
"Please tell me that your parents live in Reefside," Kim said as Tommy shook his head no and then stared over at her, realizing what that accusation meant.
"You're kidding," Tommy said as Kim shook her head no. She was dead serious and Tommy would figure that out very soon, especially when he heard the rest of her news. "No ring. So you didn't marry Mr. Perfect?"
"Tommy, don't be an ass," Kim said as Tommy gave her a shocked look. She had never been this blunt with him before.
"I'm just saying that you dump me for Mr. Perfect and you don't even marry him," Tommy said as Kim glared over at him. He was really pissing her off now.
"Mr. Perfect happened to be your child, but I had a miscarriage, not that you care," Kim said as Tommy's mouth fell open and he tried to shake his head to make the thoughts go away. "It's not going to help, you have to deal with the truth."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Tommy asked as Kim looked down at the ground.
"Tommy, it wasn't a good time and it had a lot to do with my being a ranger. Um…I've been in contact with Andros, a lot. My powers are still on the fritz, they have been since I lost them. There are some nights that I wake up and I'm glowing pink, there's others when I have a power surge that sends me flying from the bed. I'm not like all the normal rangers that just lose their powers and go on, mine are still clinging on tight," Kim said as Tommy just shook his head. He had a hard time believing that Kim had been dealing with this for years without anyone knowing, but he was actually sure that all the others knew. He had just been kept out of the loop because of his issues with Kim.
"Why not come back to Zordon and get help?" Tommy asked as Kim just shook her head. "He couldn't do anything for you?"
"He could try, but what was the point of bringing the team down even more? You didn't want me there and they didn't need a pissed off leader on top of everything else that they were dealing with," Kim said as she walked over to his jeep and propped herself against it.
"But then you go to Andros?" Tommy asked, not following the line. He didn't know she would even run into Andros without some help from some of the other rangers.
"No, I went to Aquitar and then they sent me to Andros, even he can't help. The only person that could was Zordon. I'll be like this forever," Kim said as she just shook her head and reached into her purse and handed Tommy an envelope. "I thought you might like to have this."
"What is it?" Tommy asked as Kim stood up and walked away. "Kim…don't go."
"I've got to Tommy. I want you to read through all of that and then meet up with the rest of us, if you still want to see me after all of it is said and done," Kim said as Tommy gave her another confused look, but decided to not argue. He was sure that Kim would be able to walk wherever they had chosen in a few minutes.
He then carefully unstuck the corner of the envelope and pulled it open. A letter that was several pages long fell out, but it was also accompanied by several pictures of Tommy. He didn't know how she would have been able to get them, but he was sure the letter explained it all. One picture did concern him though, it was an ultrasound and he could only assume it was a what could have been, for the both of them.
Tommy or whomever might discover this in the event of my death,
I hope that this letter finds you well, much unlike my last. Things have changed and I hope that you will understand some of them. Tommy is in great danger a danger that he does not know and will never understand. For the first time in your life, Tommy, your powers are not what they used to be and I know you can feel it too. The collective powers of the rangers have been drained over the last few years, according to my research; the rangers will only exist if new power sources are found. There will be no more rangers like those that Zordon harbored for so many years. The earth is in grave danger, again.
This isn't a letter of apology, although I suppose it should be, considering the last letter of mine that found its way into your hands. The problem is, I have more of a confession than anything else, a confession that you are very likely not to like. Besides the fact that I have been in almost constant contact with Andros and have left the Earth to go to Aquitar several times, I have never fully quit being a ranger.
How can that be? Yes, my powers were stripped like everyone else's but, my powers clung on and allowed me to become what I am now, an undefeatable ranger. My powers have cemented themselves with my body, to the point that I scare myself when I morph. I am no longer the pretty pink ranger, but a deeper shade that no one else would imagine my becoming, almost blood red. As it has been figured that I am the undefeatable ranger a lot has been put on me. I am now the lone protector of earth, plus any rangers necessary to get the job done and I will be, until the day I die.
I didn't want for word of this to get out, who would? Then things began to happen in the cosmos that seemed to point out that you, at the very least, would know that I was the ranger you would suddenly be reporting to. The hierarchy has changed and we have had to switch around so positions, but now everyone is happy. We are all working in various places, but Andros makes us meet every so often for progress reports. The latest thing I was to report on, was you, the lone ranger that rivaled what I had and is very close to attaining it for himself.
Tommy, as much as you might want to be a ranger all of your life, you don't want to be stuck as one. You've got a lot more to do in your life. Like marriage, a family, things like that, that you should have done a long time ago. I'm not going to tell you to go out and get married tomorrow, but I suggest it because as much as it hurts, we can't have each other. It would surely turn you into a permanent ranger with all of the responsibilities that no one wants. Intergalactic peace is a lot of work, even for an old ranger.
This secret, is only the beginning. I have one that is possibly even worse, depending on who hears the news. I know that some would be happy to hear this and others would be worried at its implications. That is why I only leave evidence that it is true here, not anywhere else. There is a small chance that we have found another Zordon, more specifically a being possibly related to Zordon. If we were to ever rectify the ranger problem, we would have to have this person's power, at the very least. All rangers would be back and those that have become permanent rangers might even be able to take on a normal life once again.
There, however, can be no mission to find if our assumptions are right, they refuse to allow us any access to the planet. No rangers have been there before and no rangers will go, so the rangers will end, very quickly. The Earth will only be protected by one, Tommy, I am sorry, but I will never be able to come back to you. I am now the protector, I am no longer a regular ranger, much less a regular person, which is something you deserve to have. I love you, take care of yourself.
Love,
Kim
"She's not going to be with them," Tommy muttered to himself as he looked up and searched for her silhouette. It had been a long letter, but it had not taken him that long to read. He could just see her exiting the gate and he could only hope he could catch her before she left the earth, permanently. "She's leaving and I have to stop her."
"I wonder how much time I have," Kim mumbled as she looked around and then looked back to see a black jeep streaking across the open area. "Of course he would get done before I get to leave."
"Kimberly!" Tommy yelled as he slammed the car into park and he jumped out, just in time to grab her and keep her from stepping into the beam of light that had come shimmering up beside her. "You're not leaving Earth."
"Not permanently, but I do have to leave," Kim said as Tommy shook his head that she was not going to leave, not right away at least. "Tommy, I do have to leave. That was what Andros wanted me to tell all of you. I had written that letter to you, when I found out. It's time I go. I'll be back."
"Kimberly, please," Tommy begged as Kim just shook her head and then stepped into the glimmering lights and disappeared.
"You seem to be having a bad day," Adam said as he gave Tommy a knowing look as he walked up.
"I just lost Kimberly, again," Tommy said as he just shook his head. Why was she the one chosen to protect all of them and why in the hell was she so insistent that they now shouldn't work, not couldn't? As he looked up at the sky he cursed himself for knowing what was going on up there and for being able to do nothing to get to her.