Tiger in the Night
Kimberly stared at the ceiling of the hotel room she shared with Miranda, one of her Pan-Global training teammates. I hate it here, she thought violently. I hate the people, I hate Gunthar, and I really, really hate this hotel room. Clutching a small stuffed green dragon, she went to stand by the window. Miami's lights shone out across the Atlantic. The view's the only good thing. If I try hard enough, I can imagine I'm back in Angel Grove. A siren cut through the still night, followed by another then another. She sighed, walking back to flop on her bed. Miranda stuck her head in the room.
"Kim, everyone's going out tonight to celebrate Gunthar's flu. Wanna come?" Miranda asked, slightly slurred. Kimberly could tell that Miranda had started her "celebrating" early.
"No, Mirry, I don't feel like celebrating someone else's misfortune," Kimberly replied mechanically.
"Okay, but you'll miss out on a lot of fun!" Miranda stumbled back out of the room. Kimberly clutched her dragon a little closer. She turned her head and her gaze fell on the phone by her bed. No, she thought, no, I'm not going to call Tommy tonight. He wouldn't really understand everything going on here. I don't want him to. Besides, he has Kat now. The window beckoned to her again. She opened the balcony door and stepped onto the balcony. Immediately she was assaulted by an ocean breeze fluttering the hem of her nightshirt. She raised her head to inhale the pungent salt smell of the ocean, wishing she was back in Angel Grove.
"I need to get out of here," Kimberly muttered as she stepped inside. Closing the balcony door, she tugged on a pair of worn jeans, yanked an old, baggy grey sweatshirt over her head, and jammed her feet into her broken-down old pink Keds. She slipped her keys into the jeans pocket, making sure her canister of Mace was still attached to the key chain. Pulling the sweatshirt's hood over her hair, she left the hotel, walking aimlessly.
With her worn clothes, she blended in with Miami's riffraff, the homeless and the punks that were the only people out at this hour. She passed easily through their ranks, assumed to be a young boy running away from home. Kimberly didn't stop walking until she reached the sands of the Miami shoreline. Once there, she tugged off her shoes and waded into the waves.
The cold water lapping at her calves felt real to Kimberly. It was the only thing that had since she arrived seven weeks ago. The gym where she practiced was too new, the people too unfamiliar. Gunthar was the only person she knew there, and she learned quickly that you don't try to be friends with the coach. As it was, she soon started to resent Gunthar. He pitted the gymnasts against one another, had mandatory weigh-ins, and called the girls "fat cows" and "pregnant elephants" if they gained a few pounds or did less than perfect on a routine. Kimberly never had worried about her weight before, but with Gunthar as her coach, had been told she had to lose five pounds by the next weigh-in.
All of the gym politics she hated. She had heard of coaches like that before, but had never thought she'd actually train under one. She toyed with the laces on her shoes as she waded a little deeper into the ocean. The cold waves broke around her, welcoming her into their depths. She stood still a few moments, transfixed by the darkness of the water.
The beeping of her watch broke the spell. She immediately lifted the watch to her mouth before remembering that it was just a watch. Her communicator was in Angel Grove, around Katherine Hilliard's wrist. Kimberly sighed and started walking out of the waves.
She had only gone a few steps when something wrapped around her left foot. Thinking it was just seaweed, she tugged on her leg to free it. Whatever had grabbed her tugged back, hard.
"Let go of me!" Kimberly screamed, trying to free herself. The thing tugged harder, pulling Kimberly back to the ocean. She struggled, fighting whatever was pulling her, but it was stronger. With a final scream, she was pulled out towards the ocean depths, salt water filling her mouth as she screamed.
Her shoes washed up on shore the next morning.
Adam yawned as he sat down to watch the early morning news on KHAG TV 21. Swallowing a large gulp of coffee, he tried to concentrate on what the newscaster was saying.
"And that's it for the local news," Craig Ferston said as they cut from a shot of the Power Rangers. "Now, in national news, a young Pan-Global gymnast disappeared last night from the Miami hotel where she was staying. There was no sign of a struggle in the hotel room and her keys are missing. Police believe she left her room on her own and later disappeared. The only clues they have right now are her shoes, a pair of worn pink Keds which were found on the beach this morning, a few miles from her hotel." A picture of the gymnast flashed on the screen. Adam sprayed coffee everywhere as the announcer continued, "Police are asking for anyone that might have seen Kimberly Hart or know where she might be to contact them on their toll-free CrimeStoppers network."
Adam's father entered the living room as the broadcast was ending. "Adam, is everything all right?" Detective Park asked.
"No, dad, it's not. Kimberly's disappeared from Miami," Adam replied sadly. "I have to call Tommy."
At seven AM, the phone rang at the Oliver's house. "Tommy," his mother called. "Tommy, wake up. You have a phone call."
Tommy mumbled something, stuck his hand out from under the covers and banged around his nightstand for his phone. Finally he found it. " 'lo? Whosit?" he mumbled.
"Tommy, it's Adam. You have to be awake enough to hear me," Adam insisted.
"Izzit Ranger biz?"
"No, it's about Kimberly."
Tommy was awake instantly. "What about Kimberly?"
"Tommy, she's missing."
"Zedd?"
"Don't know. The Miami police found her shoes on the beach near her hotel this morning. They're also receiving reports now about people seeing a lone figure on the beach around eleven thirty PM and hearing screams around midnight."
Tommy swore violently. "Now what?"
"I don't know. Dad's been keeping track of the reports since Mr. Hart's still around here. He says that right now, it looks like she went for a walk, decided to wade in the ocean, and was caught by an undertow. Miami police are starting an ocean search, but still..."
"Adam, just let me know when there's some good news, okay?"
"I will. I'm going to call Billy and see if he can rig something in the Command Center to look for her."
"Okay. I hope this all turns out all right."
"So do I, Tommy, so do I."
A week had passed with no more news of Kimberly. Tommy sunk lower and lower into a deep depression as the police reports grew staler. "I'm about ready to give up hope, you guys," he said one day, sinking into a chair at the Juice Bar. "People saw her walking towards the beach. What if she did get pulled under?"
"Don't say that," Aisha admonished him. "Zordon and Alpha are scanning day and night for her."
"But she doesn't hold the power anymore. They won't be able to find her."
"Tommy, we'll find her, don't worry," Adam told Tommy, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"But will she still be alive?" Tommy asked, the pain obvious in his eyes. Adam didn't get a chance to answer. His communicator toned.
The group looked around, checking the area for eavesdroppers. "What is it?" Billy asked.
"Any news of Kim?" Tommy added.
"Rangers, I am sorry. We have not located Kimberly. However, there is something you should take care of. A tribe of Tengas, led by Goldar, has landed in Angel Grove Park. You must stop them before they can carry out their latest mission of evil."
"We're on our way," Tommy said. "Guys, it's morphin time."
As the Rangers landed in the park, they found themselves swarmed instantly by the Tengas. Goldar stood back, away from the fight, by a clump of what appeared to be back-up Tengas. As the Rangers fought, Tommy kept casting glances at that, wondering why Goldar wasn't attacking. He would find out soon enough.
"Rangers!" Goldar exclaimed as the last of the main force of Tengas was defeated. "I want you to meet someone--someone who will soon be your worst enemy!" He motioned to the clump of Tengas and they split, revealing someone clad in black spandex. The figure turned to face the Rangers. Tommy stood, dumbstruck. It was another Ranger, definitely female. Her costume was almost identical to his, with the main difference being the color. Her boots reached to above her knee and had impossibly high stiletto heels and pointed gold cuffs. Her gold belt hung snugly around the top of her hips. Her suit fit her like a second skin. The mantle was molded to her chest, the neck opening wider than his, spread further at the shoulders. At that moment, he was glad for the relative looseness of his costume.
The Tengas that had shielded her arraigned themselves on their stomachs in a line in front of her. She walked across their backs to face Tommy. Some of the Rangers winced, seeing her step on the Tengas in those boots, but the Tengas just kept making a path for her.
"Rangers, meet--Black Tiger!" Goldar crowed, noticing the obvious distraction she caused.
"I think I'm going to like this assignment," Black Tiger purred in a low, sultry voice as she sized up Tommy. She unharnessed her long whip, cracking it right by Tommy's head. Under his helmet, he flinched.
The Tengas leapt up from the ground and began to fight. Black Tiger faced off with Tommy. With one snap of her whip, Saba flew out of his hands.
"So, White Ranger," she purred, "I thought you'd be more of a challenge. After all," she looked at him again, stepping off the Tenga she was standing on, "you're so much bigger than I am." She was right. Even with her heels, she only reached the middle of his helmet. "It will be a pleasure returning you to your true side--the Dark Side."
"No." Tommy shook his head. "I'm not evil."
"All humans are inherently evil. Haven't you realized that by now?" She had kept advancing towards him until he was trapped in against a stone wall. "Come with me, White Ranger." She placed her hand on his mantle, almost caressing the tiger symbol. "We could be quite a team." Black Tiger's gloved hand slid downwards in a silky stroke.
"Never," Tommy snarled, knocking her hand away. "I will never be evil again."
To his horror, she just laughed. "We shall see, White Ranger, we shall see." She backed away to stand next to Goldar. Her final words to him were, "It will certainly be a pleasure breaking your spirit."
Several battles later, the Rangers teleported into the Command Center. Tommy ripped off his helmet. Once again, Black Tiger had cornered him, taunting him until he was nearly ready to surrender. "Zordon, I don't think I can take one more battle like that," he gasped, his face flaming. "Black Tiger is just too much to handle. And we still haven't found Kim!" he exclaimed.
"Tommy, I think we just have to accept that she's gone," Aisha said. "We would have heard something by now if she wasn't."
Tommy demorphed. "Still, I'm not going through with this. I can't take it anymore. If I face her one more time, I might not be able to keep control." He set his morpher on the console. "Find another White Ranger." He teleported out.
Kimberly sat in her room in the stronghold. Well, one of her rooms. She had managed to get an entire wing of the stronghold for her personal use. Right now, she was busy tinkering with a small metal box. "All those years of watching Billy are finally paying off," she muttered. Making a few final adjustments, she finished. "Ha!" she exclaimed, smiling. "Yes, it's done!" She left her room and headed down the hallway. There was only one entrance to her wing of the stronghold. Mounting the box above the entrance, she used her remote to activate it. Soon, the whole wing had a black glow to it.
"Now let's see Zedd try to sneak in here and replace that spell," she muttered. She fingered the dark coin in her pocket.
It felt good to be a Ranger again. Okay, so she was working for Zedd, but not for long. She had just commandeered an entire wing of his stronghold. The spell he originally cast on her broke a week ago. Kimberly knew Tommy was close to surrender. That's why she was making her final preparations for her greatest plan ever: double crossing Lord Zedd.
The metal box and the black glow were a force field designed to prevent evil from entering the wing. That was part one. Part two was going into effect now. She morphed into Black Tiger, then activated her transporter.
Jason sat in yet another conference. The peace conferences were beginning to drag. Not even the gorgeous Swedish representative could keep his mind on the talks today. A commotion in the hallway drew his attention. In a flash of light, the doors to the conference room blasted open. In the doorway stood a woman. Jason recognized her costume as a black version of Tommy's White Ranger costume.
"Jason Scott?" the woman asked in a low, sultry voice.
"That's me," Jason said, standing up. "Who are you, and what do you want?"
"They call me Black Tiger, and what I want," she looked him up and down, "is you."
"No! He's mine!" Kirsten, the tall, buxom, blond Swedish representative, threw herself in front of Jason.
"Sister, you have got to be kidding." Black Tiger uncoiled her whip. "Now, step away from him, or I'll have to use this."
"You don't scare me, you whore."
Calmly, Black Tiger snapped her whip, wrapping it around Kirsten and yanking her away from Jason. "Now, Jason Scott, will you come with me?" she asked, sliding a hand along his chest.
"I don't have a choice, do I?" Jason didn't look too upset at this turn of events.
"No, sugar, you don't." Black Tiger wrapped an arm around Jason and teleported the two of them out of there.
Jason looked around at the new surroundings. "I take it we're not in Switzerland anymore," he muttered, looking out a window and seeing a full Earth.
"No, you're not." Black Tiger pulled off her helmet.
"Kimberly? You're working for Zedd now?" he asked incredulously. "You're Black Tiger? Oh, this is rich." He nearly collapsed with laughter.
"Jason, get up. I'm not working for Zedd--well, not much longer, anyways. What's so funny?" she demanded.
"Oh, just that I've been getting frantic long-distance calls from Tommy about your disappearance in Miami and how this new Black Tiger is playing havoc with his mind."
Kimberly smiled, demorphing. "Yeah, well, I'm never going back to Miami. I like it better up here."
Jason stared at her. "You're kidding, right? You like it in Zedd's happy home?"
"This wing is mine. He can't get in."
"What about Tommy?"
"What about him? I plan to challenge him tonight, one last battle."
"What makes you think he'll fight?"
"Well, Adam should be watching the evening news soon and hear about your abduction."
"So I'm bait." Jason grinned. "Oh, this is just too, too rich."
"Well, I have to get ready to broadcast my challenge, so make yourself comfy. The replicator is over there. But Jason? I might need you to play the part of the abductee."
"No problem. Have fun!"
The viewing globe flickered to life. "Zordon of Eltare," Black Tiger purred, "I am issuing a challenge for the White Ranger."
"I am afraid your challenge is too late. Tommy is no longer the White Ranger," Zordon informed her.
"Oh, that's too bad," she said silkily. "Then I suppose I'll just have to up the stakes." Jason was pulled into the frame of view. "You see, I have someone very dear to him up here. If the White Ranger -- Tommy -- doesn't meet me at Angel's Bluff in half an hour, his friend dies."
Tommy stood on Angel's Bluff, the ocean wind whipping around him. "You win, Black Tiger!" he shouted into the winds. "I'm here! Let Jason go!"
A black whirlwind manifested on the cliff in front of Tommy, coalescing into the form of Black Tiger. "Your friend will be released after the fight," she purred in her silky voice. "Providing that you win, of course."
"And if I don't win?"
"Then I keep both of you, him as a servant, and you...as my slave."
"Lord Zedd won't let you. He wants his evil Green Ranger back." Tommy said.
"Are you so sure that he does? What would he want with Rita's failure, now that he has his greatest success--me." Black Tiger uncoiled her whip. "Prepare for battle."
Tommy took a fighting stance, fear twisting his insides. He knew that unmorphed, he stood little chance against the evil temptress, but he had to try, he had to free Jason.
Black Tiger cracked her whip, wrapping it around Tommy's waist and throwing him to the ground where he lay, stunned. She walked over to him, placing a booted foot on his chest. "What a disappointment," she said in a suave tone. "I thought you'd be more of a challenge. I thought your friends meant more to you than this. I can't believe you'd let them down so easily."
Tommy grunted. The heel of her boot was pressing against his sternum. "What do you know about friends?" he asked scornfully. "You probably don't know the meaning of the word."
"Oh, I know about friends. In fact, I want to prove to you that I'm not the monster you think I am." Black Tiger snapped her fingers and Jason stood on the cliff. "I'm letting him go. He's free."
"How do I know this isn't a trick?"
"Because, Tommy, I'd never trick you when it comes to your friends. Jason is free to return to his peace conference and Kirsten, if he wants to return."
"Jason, go," Tommy grunted. "Take my car; the keys are in it."
"Tommy, bro, I can't leave you here alone," Jason said, as planned.
"Go!" Jason glanced at Black Tiger, who subtly nodded.
"Go, Jason. I won't hurt Tommy--yet."
"Good luck, bro," Jason whispered as he left the cliff.
"Now for you, Tommy," Black Tiger purred. "Time for you to see your new home." She transported them both to her wing of the stronghold.
Tommy looked around the surroundings. "Nice decor," he muttered, taking in the silk wall hangings and thick black carpet.
"Glad you like it, since it's your home now."
"It may be where I live, but Zedd's stronghold will never be home." Tommy stood proudly, defiantly staring at his captor.
"Oh, you'll come to think of it as home in time. I did." Black Tiger stared back at him. "After all, I had nothing else to live for when Zedd rescued me. I hated where I was. I hated the environment, the people. I had no friends there. Even my boyfriend stopped talking to me. I was ready to die when I was brought here in a flash of light. Here, I had power, I had a comfortable environment, and best of all, I had a chance to claim a new boyfriend--you."
Tommy looked at Black Tiger in disbelief. "I have a girlfriend. I love her dearly. I could never love you."
"If you love her so much, why didn't you ever write to her?" Black Tiger asked, voice slightly cracking.
"I did write to her, nearly every day."
"I never got them!" Black Tiger screamed, ripping her helmet off. Tommy stared in disbelief at Kimberly's tear streaked face. "Not a single one, Tommy Oliver, do you hear me?"
"No," Tommy whispered. "You're...?"
"Yes, I'm Black Tiger! I've been the one tormenting you these past three weeks. You probably thought I was dead, drowned in the Atlantic Ocean! Well, I'm alive and well!"
"And working for Zedd?"
"No, not anymore." Kimberly demorphed and sat down on the carpet. "The spell or whatever he used wore off a few days ago. I remembered how Billy made energy-specific force fields, so I made one to keep evil energy out of this wing. I'm my own Ranger now. I don't have to report to Zedd or Zordon or anyone, except myself."
Tommy sat down on the carpet next to Kimberly. "This is just so much to take in at once, Kim. You're alive, living in a commandeered wing of Zedd's stronghold, you have a Power Coin again, and you never got my letters. Kim, I'm forgetful, but not that forgetful. I know I mailed them. Every other day, I gave them..." his voice trailed off as realization dawned. "I gave them to Kat to mail. She was always going to the post office with a stack of letters for her friends in Australia, and she offered to mail them for me. She must have kept them. Kim, I'm so sorry."
Kimberly managed a weak smile. "You really wrote?"
"Really. Every day. Usually at least five pages telling you how much I missed you." Tommy placed his hand over Kimberly's. "I never got a response from you after the first week. I thought maybe you were just so busy with your training that you didn't have time to write. I never thought Kat would try to keep us apart by not mailing those letters."
"I'll take care of that," Kimberly said. She touched the black tigercoin she held in her hand. "Tommy, about what I said when I first morphed, about your true side being evil... It's not true. I was just trying to make you doubt yourself."
"It worked. I was nearly ready to surrender that first day."
"I'm glad you didn't." Kimberly looked at Tommy sidelong. "It was your resistance that broke Zedd's hold on me."
Tommy returned Kimberly's gaze, the love and longing apparent. He pulled her into a tight embrace, not wanting to let go. "When Adam called me the morning you were found missing, it took everyone all they had to keep me from flying out to Miami to join in the search. I drove Billy crazy, checking in with the command center every five minutes to see if they'd found you yet."
Kimberly rested her head against Tommy's shoulder, closing her eyes. It felt so peaceful there, just being held by him. "I'm not going back to Miami. Ever."
"What about your training? The Pan-Globals? Your dream?"
"I can train up here. I'm not about to give up my dignity for the sake of a gold medal." Kimberly then proceeded to pour out all the details of Gunthar's training process.
When she finished, Tommy just looked at her with a combination of shock and awe. "That had to be rough, not having someone there to listen to you." He squeezed Kimberly a little tighter. "I wish I could have been there."
"Me too." She pulled away slightly. "Tommy, I have to send you back to your house. It's getting late, and I don't want your parents to worry about you."
They stood up. "I wish I didn't have to go," Tommy told her, looking into her eyes.
"I know, but this is best." Kimberly touched a button on a wall panel and transported Tommy back to his house.
Katherine was just starting to fall asleep when she heard a tapping at her window. It's only the wind blowing the tree branches against the house, she thought groggily. Nothing to be concerned about. For some reason, ever since the appearance of Black Tiger, Kat had been having nightmares, dreams so real that she had taken to sleeping with a knife under her pillow.
The tapping sounded again, waking Katherine. "Fine, I'll see what it is," she mumbled. Pulling back the curtains, she looked out, fully expecting to see nothing but the old tree.
Black Tiger's helmet glittered in the pale moonlight outside Katherine's window. She stumbled back as the window flew open and Black Tiger entered, hovering a few feet off the floor.
"I believe you have something of mine, Katherine," Black Tiger purred, advancing on the frightened girl.
"What? I don't have anything of yours!" Kat exclaimed, inching towards her bed--and her knife.
"Letters, I believe. Letters that Tommy Oliver gave you to mail."
"Those aren't yours!"
Black Tiger pulled off her helmet. "Aren't they?" Kimberly asked.
Katherine's eyes grew dark. Kimberly was back, and that left her with no hope of ever winning Tommy. "Fine," she gritted out, yanking open a drawer in her nightstand. "Take them. I don't care. He's all yours." She tossed the pile of letters to Kimberly, who neatly caught them.
"Thanks, Kat," she smiled, turning to go.
Katherine lunged for her bed, pulling out the knife from under her pillow. "It's not over yet!" she growled, jumping for Kimberly. The knife embedded itself between Kimberly's ribs, securely lodged in her back.
Kimberly gasped, more from shock than from pain. "You...you stabbed me!"
"Damn straight I stabbed you. How do you like that? A tiger brought down by a Kat!"
Kimberly activated her transporter, transporting back to the stronghold. She stumbled to the com panel, trying to contact Tommy.
Tommy's communicator toned from its place on his dresser. He stumbled over to answer it. "Whaddisit?" he asked, half asleep.
"Tommy, it's Kimberly," she gasped. "I need help. I've been stabbed..." her voice died out.
"Damn!" Tommy swore. He activated his transporter and transported to the Command Center. "Zordon, I need my morpher!" he exclaimed, grabbing it off the console where he'd left it. "I'll explain later. Tigerzord!" he morphed, transporting up to Kimberly's wing.
Kimberly was lying on the carpeted floor, unmorphed, blood pooling around her. A marbleized knife handle protruded from her back.
"Oh, Kim!" he exclaimed. "Please, don't let me be too late!"
The White Ranger teleported into the emergency room of Angel Grove University Hospital, an unconscious Kimberly in his arms. "Somebody help her!" he exclaimed. "She's been stabbed."
An orderly wheeled a gurney over and loaded Kimberly on it. The doctor on call took one look at the placement of the knife and ordered a surgical bay to be prepared.
As Kimberly was wheeled into surgery, the head nurse looked around to ask the White Ranger who the girl was and what had happened. He was nowhere in sight.
Fifteen minutes later, Tommy rushed into the hospital, headed straight for the admissions desk. "Did a Power Ranger bring a girl in earlier?" he asked, gasping to catch his breath.
"Yes, the White Ranger just brought in a girl who'd been stabbed. We didn't get the chance to ask him any details about her. Do you know her?" the nurse asked.
"Her name's Kimberly Hart and she's been missing from Miami for about three weeks now," Tommy told her.
"She's still in surgery. From where the knife was, there might be internal damage as well. We've already alerted the police, since it appears to be an attempted homicide." The nurse handed Tommy a stack of papers. "She won't be out of surgery for a while, so if you could help us out by filling out some of these admissions forms...?"
Tommy accepted the forms. "Her father should be called; he's in Stone Canyon." He gave the nurse James Hart's phone number.
Several hours later, the doctors said that Kimberly was stable enough for visitors. Tommy and Mr. Hart stood outside her room. "She looks so fragile," James whispered. The knife had grazed Kimberly's lung, so she was on a respirator temporarily. An IV fed into her hand, replenishing the blood she had lost as well as supplying her with fluids.
The attending nurse, an older, motherly woman, placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "You don't have to worry about her too much," she said in a soft voice. "Dr. Harmon's one of the best. We'll take good care of her. You two, go get some coffee and breakfast in the cafeteria. You've had a rough night."
Tommy and James started the hike to the cafeteria. "They told me that a Power Ranger brought her in," James said.
"Yeah, the White Ranger. He let me know as soon as she was here," Tommy replied.
"Why didn't he let me know?"
"Maybe he didn't know how to get in touch with you?" Tommy's answer was strained. In truth, he'd been too worried about Kim to even think about what her father was going through. He looked at James now, actually seeing him.
He was wearing a suit and tie, the tie itself loose around his neck, the suit wrinkled as if he'd spent a long night in it before he even got to the hospital. He probably did, Tommy suddenly thought. This is the first he's heard of his daughter since she disappeared three weeks ago. Tommy had been so wrapped up in his own despair, he hadn't even stopped to think about what her family was going through. "Mr. Hart?"
"Call me Jim. After what we've been through tonight, I think we can drop formality." Jim ran a hand through his dark hair, trying to achieve some semblance of neatness.
"I think Kim's gonna be okay."
"I hope so, Tommy, I really do."
Returning to Kimberly's room after a short breakfast in the cafeteria, Tommy and Jim saw Detective Park outside her door.
"Morning, Tommy, Jim," Detective. Park greeted them.
"Morning, Kyle," Jim greeted him.
"Morning, sir," Tommy echoed.
"I hate to do this to the two of you, but an attempted homicide was reported. We've taken the knife in for analysis. Tommy, I was told that you were the first here after she was brought in by a Power Ranger."
"Yes, sir."
"Did the Power Ranger happen to mention how she was hurt?"
"No, sir. He just told me that she'd been stabbed and was in surgery."
"Damn," Detective. Park swore under his breath. "We don't have much to go on. There were no stray fibers on her clothing, nothing under her nails, and no blood other than her own. All we have is the knife, and if that doesn't pan out, all we'll have is Kimberly's memory." Detective Park tipped his hat to them. "Let me know when she's awake. Jim, my prayers are with you," he told the man, clapping his shoulder.
"Thanks, Kyle. I appreciate it." Sincerity shone in Jim's eyes.
"Tommy, are you going to stay here today, or do you want a ride back to your house?" Detective. Park offered.
"I could use a ride, sir, thanks."
"So that's the story," Tommy finished up, telling Adam, Rocky, Billy and Aisha what he knew. "I wish I knew more. Kim didn't get a chance to tell me who did that to her."
"Kim's Black Tiger?" Aisha wondered. "I can't believe we didn't think of that before!"
"Tommy, if Dad finds anything, I'll let you know as soon as I know," Adam offered.
"Thanks, Adam."
Kat came into the juice bar, noticing the solemn group. "What's going on?" she asked.
"They found Kim. She'd been stabbed last night and was brought into the hospital," Rocky told her.
Kat's face paled, all color draining from it. "Oh my God," she whispered. "Do they know who did it?" she asked, keeping the nervous tremor from her voice.
"No, they don't. Tommy found her in Zedd's stronghold," Billy explained.
"Could Zedd have done it?"
"I don't think so. If he didn't like the job she was doing as Black Tiger, he'd just have vaporized her, not let her bleed to death," Adam remarked.
Billy noticed that Kat didn't show surprise at Adam's remark. "Besides, I don't think Lord Zedd would use a pink and black marbleized camp knife," he added, "even if he was going to stab her." He watched Kat's reaction carefully.
A small twitch by Kat's right eye was all the proof Billy needed.
A steady beeping was the first thing Kimberly heard upon regaining consciousness. Soon after that, she heard, "You're awake!"
"Tommy?" she croaked, throat still raw from the recently removed respirator tube. "Tommy?"
"I'm here, Kim," he replied, coming into her line of sight. He carefully took her hand in his. "This is becoming routine, beautiful," he murmured, kissing her forehead.
Jim came to stand beside Tommy. "Dad," Kimberly whispered. The three of them came together in a mass hug, Tommy and Jim being careful not to dislodge Kimberly's IV.
Kat paced back and forth in the Juice Bar. Billy had asked her to meet him there, but hadn't said why. She rubbed her hands together nervously. Ever since the night before, she hadn't been able to get rid of the feeling that Kimberly's blood was still on her hands, even though she could see it wasn't there. He can't know, she thought to herself. This has to be about school. That's all. Billy just wants to talk about school. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she screamed.
"Jumpy today, Kat?" Billy asked.
"No, not really," she replied, hand over her heart. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."
"I wonder why," Billy mused.
Kat looked at Billy, a trickle of worry running up her spine. He doesn't know. He can't know. Can he?
"Kat," Billy started, "You didn't seem too surprised when we told you that Kim was Black Tiger."
Kat laughed nervously. "Well, this is Angel Grove, right? Stranger things have happened."
"That's true," Billy agreed. "But for Kim to go missing, for none of us to have thought that she was Black Tiger, then to reappear with a pink and black camp knife in her back? A knife remarkably similar to one that you used on your last outing with the Angel Scouts."
"That doesn't mean anything!" Kat protested. "There are lots of knives like that!" She began looking wildly around the room, trying to gauge a route of escape. He knows! He knows!
"Kat, you have plenty of motive to want Kim dead. Why?" Billy demanded.
"She was going to take Tommy away from me!" Kat wailed as Tommy, Detective Park, Lieutenant Stone and three other police officers entered the Juice Bar. She turned seeing Tommy, and tried to run to him. "Tommy!" she screamed. "I only wanted to be with you!" She continued to scream as the officers handcuffed her and Lieutenant Stone read her her rights. She was taken kicking and screaming from the Juice Bar. Tommy went to stand next to Billy.
"How'd they find out?" Billy asked.
"Kim's awake. One of the first things she did was tell Detective Park who stabbed her. How'd you find out?" Tommy asked.
"This morning. She didn't show surprise when we told her Kim was Black Tiger, and she was acting jumpy all day."
"I still can't believe this. Kat actually tried to kill Kim."
"I guess we all misjudged her."
The End