Through the Looking Glass
Summary: AU from Wild West Rangers. What if the time hole sent Kimberly to the future instead of the past? Can she prevent what's to come? Crossover with the Power/Rangers universe. T/K
Pairing: Tommy/Kimberly, eventually Jason/Trini, possibly others.
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers or Power/Rangers, don't sue.
AN: If you've never seen the fan made movie Power/Rangers, some of this might be a little confusing, but all will be explained. You don't need to watch it to read this fic, promise.
…...
"Kim's lost somewhere in time. We don't even know where."
"I'm trying to locate her, but these time holes form randomly in the universe and their time streams are unpredictable." Alpha explained.
Tommy sighed, staring at the shrinking time hole through the viewing globe. 'Please be okay, Kim.'
…..
Kimberly climbed to her feet, coughing as smoke filled her lungs. Her eyes widened in horror as she took in her surroundings. One moment she'd been standing in the hallway at the Youth Center, the next she was in a war zone. There was no other way to describe it. Everywhere she looked, there was destruction. Burned buildings, abandoned cars, bloodied streets. The smoke in the air was so thick it hung over the city like a cloud.
"Oh gosh, where am I?" Kim looked around, making sure no one was around before she tried her communicator. "Zordon? Tommy? Anybody?" She got no response.
Kimberly wandered the streets, looking for anything that might clue her in to her location. There were no street signs that she could find, and the few people she came across… well they weren't exactly the type she'd feel safe asking for help.
Suddenly, in the distance, there was a huge explosion. Her ranger instincts over ruled her fear and she sprinted in the direction of the fireball rising in the sky.
She reached the site on the outskirts of the city just in time to see a 10-story robotic monster collapse to the ground, engulfed in the flames. Should I morph? Are there more of those things?
Kimberly heard a distinct click from directly behind her. "Don't move."
She gasped and slowly raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. "I-I didn't do anything, I swear."
The figure moved from behind her and Kim had to fight to urge to faint. Before her stood none other than the Pink Ranger. The suit was eerily similar to her own, only a few differences were apparent. The helmet had been changed. It was thicker, like it had been reinforced, and was less dino like. The body of the armor was almost the same, save for a tear in the skirt, and the obvious wear and tear of what had to be a horrific battle. The ranger stood before her with a futuristic looking gun. Pointed right at her face.
"Who are you?" A female voice growled.
"My name is Kimberly. Look, I don't want any trouble. I don't even know how I got here." She said shakily, her eyes trained on the weapon fearfully.
"Show me your morpher."
Kim blinked in surprise. "W-what?"
The ranger placed her finger on the trigger. "Show. Me. Your. Morpher." She ground out. "Or I'll be painting the ground with your brains."
"O-okay! Okay! Please don't shoot me!" Kimberly pleaded, quickly fumbling to retrieve her morpher from her waistband. She gripped it in her shaking hands and held it out to the ranger in front of her.
The pink ranger snatched it from her hands and inspected it closely. Then slowly, the gun lowered. To Kim's surprise and relief, she handed her back her morpher. The pink ranger reached up and unclipped her helmet, revealing her face.
The last thing Kimberly saw were familiar doe eyes before darkness claimed her.
…
"Billy, any luck locating Kim?"
Billy sighed. "I'm having trouble moving my signal through the time barrier." He gave his friend a sympathetic look. "Here, let me try this." He turned back to the console, adjusting the controls. There was a quiet whirling noise. "There. Something should come up on the viewing globe."
Tommy and the others quickly turned back to the viewing globe, but it remained blank.
"That's strange. It locked on to her signal. If it can't transmit the image…"
"IT MEANS THAT THE TIME HOLE TRANSPORTED KIMBERLY TO THE FUTURE. THE VIEWING GLOBE CANNOT ACCESS THE IMAGE DUE TO THE RISK OF ALTERING THE TIMELINE AND IMPACTING THE FUTURE." Zordon explained.
"Kim's in the future? So how are we going to get her back? How do we even know what year she's in?" Tommy asked, fighting down the panic rising in his gut. Panicking wouldn't help Kimberly.
"The computer is analyzing the signal. We should have something soon." Billy assured him.
Tommy nodded and turned back to the blank viewing globe, hating that there was nothing he could do. The girl he loved was trapped somewhere in the future, possibly in danger, and he was here, unable to help her.
….
Kimberly groaned, and her eyes fluttered open.
"You know, you're gonna need to get over that little fainting problem pretty quick. It could get you killed one day."
Kimberly sat up straight, her eyes coming to rest on a figure with bleached dishwater blond hair.
"Who are you?" Kim asked.
The woman chuckled and came to sit down on the cot next her. "Pretty sure you already figure it out. I'm you."
"But h-how?" Kim asked, staring at her other self, bewildered.
"What year are you from?"
Kim looked at her strangely, a sinking feeling forming in her gut. "1995."
The other Kim nodded. "It's 2006. Welcome to your future."
Kim's eyes widened comically as she looked at the 28-year-old version of herself. "What did you do to your hair?!"
Future Kim laughed. She should have seen that coming. "I needed to be a little less recognizable. You probably noticed, Angel Grove isn't exactly the way you remember it."
"This… we're still in Angel Grove? Out there was Angel Grove?" Kimberly asked in disbelief.
Future Kim nodded somberly. "Look, there's a lot you should know. Maybe… maybe you being here wasn't an accident. Maybe if you know what's coming, you can do something to stop it."
Kim looked into the sad, tired eyes of her future self, wondering what horrors she'd seen. "Tell me."
"In the middle of 1996, Earth was invaded by a legion of intergalactic robots known as the Machine Empire. They gave Rita and Zedd the boot and took over their base on the moon to try and take over the Earth, but they were defeated. Defeated, but not destroyed. They were allowed to retreat. That was a mistake. They returned to Earth 6 years later… and they were ready for us. None of us were Rangers anymore. The Ranger team at the time tried to stop them, but it wasn't enough. They were all killed. So Zordon's original 6 answered the call, along with a couple of our successors. We've been at war ever since."
Future Kim gestured to the room they were in. "Right now, we're in the sublevels of what used to be the command center. It's the safest place for us at the moment. Agents of the Machine Empire hunt us like animals."
Kimberly was speechless. She and the others faced danger and risked their lives on a daily basis, but before this moment she'd never actually thought about what would happen is the Power Rangers…failed. And that was exactly what she was hearing. The Earth had been invaded, and the Power Rangers had failed. An entire team had died! Her team could-
"The others, are they…" She was almost afraid to ask.
"Our team is alive. Jason, Trini, Billy, Zack, and Tommy. All alive and kicking ass. Adam and Aisha were with us at first, but we didn't have powers for them and it became too dangerous. They left 6 months ago. And Rocky…" Future Kim's eyes hardened when she mentioned the second red ranger. "Rocky turned on us."
"What?" Kim's mouth went dry as her mind struggled to process what she'd just heard.
Future Kim swallowed thickly. "Rocky betrayed us. He works for the Machine Empire."
Kimberly shook her head in disbelief. "No! There must be some mistake, Rocky wouldn't do that! He's a Ranger!"
"There was an explosion. We all thought he was dead. Would have been better if he was." Future Kim said bitterly. "He was injured in the blast and lost a leg. The machines found him, and Rocky made a deal. If they fixed his leg, he would help them bring us down. Rocky cannot be trusted. Not in this time or in yours."
Kimberly sat in stunned silence. How had things gone so wrong? "And Tommy? Are you two still, ya know, you two?"
Future Kim nodded. "We're together now, but we we're always. We were apart for 7 years."
Kim's eyes with tears. "What happened? How did everything, even me and Tommy, get so screwed up?!"
"It was my fault." Future Kim admitted softly. "I hurt him. Very badly, actually. I was a stupid kid, who made a stupid choice and hurt the person I loved more than anything. I went to Florida to train for the Pan Global games. It was hard being away from Tommy, and not being a ranger anymore, but everyone was so excited and proud of me. I couldn't let them down. The distance was hard, but Tommy and I wrote to each other and talked on the phone when we could. Things were fine, for the first few months. But then the letters got shorter, the calls became almost non-existent. Then there was Katherine. She was my replacement, and I knew she had a crush on Tommy. She was gorgeous. Tall and blond, with blue eyes, and a body all the guys drooled over. One day one of the guys wrote to me. There was nothing special about the letter. Just letting me know they were thinking over me, and they sent a picture. It was of the gang at the beach. What caught my attention was how close Tommy and Kat were. She was practically sitting in his lap, and he just looked so happy. I assumed she was the reason Tommy seemed so distant. I tried to talk to him about it, but Tommy always seemed so busy. And being so far away didn't help. I got really insecure and I truly believed Tommy had fallen for her and just didn't know how to tell me. So, I broke it off. I wrote him a letter saying I'd met someone else, and that he was like a brother to me."
Kim gasped, covering her mouth in horror. "You what?"
"I knew it was cruel, but I was hurt. The way I saw it, I was giving him a taste of his own medicine while also setting him free to be happy with the person I thought he wanted to be with. But I was wrong. Very wrong. Tommy was crushed. We talked it out, years later when we were back in uniform together. It took a long time for him to forgive me, but he did. We lost a lot of years because of what I did."
Future Kim looked at her younger self seriously. "I won gold at the Pan Globals. But I'd give the medal back in a heartbeat if I could go back and change things. Going to Florida to live my dream wasn't worth what I gave up. Not even close. When you go back, Kimberly, remember that. Being a Ranger is more important than 1000 gold medals. And being with Tommy, is even more precious than that. Don't go to Florida, no matter what Tommy tells you. And don't doubt how much he loves you, no matter how many pretty blonds throw themselves at him."
Kimberly nodded, taking her future self's words to heart. She wouldn't forget. The future depended on it. The future of the world, and her future with Tommy.
Just then a chime sounded, and Future Kim hit a button on her communicator. "Go ahead."
Tommy's voice came over the device. "Where are you? We've got a situation."
"I've got a situation of my own. Come to my room." Future Kim replied.
"That sounded like a come on, Pinky."
"Don't you wish. Hurry up."
Kim frowned. "He's never called me Pinky before."
Future Kim shrugged. "He's a lot different now. We all are."
A few minutes later Future Kim's door banged open, and an impatient Tommy stormed into the room. He stopped dead at the sight of the two women on the bed.
"What the actual fuck is this?"
"Our hope for the future, Oliver, so play nice. You didn't swear so much 11 years ago. Don't scare the baby Ranger."
He eyes darted back and forth between Past and Future Kim. "She's…"
"Yeah."
"How?"
"No clue. She just showed up earlier. I almost shot her." Future Kim said.
"Um, she is sitting right here, and doesn't really like being talked about like she's not there." Kim protested.
"Yeah. Sorry." Tommy said, not sounding all that sorry. He looked at Future Kim again. "How much did you tell her?"
"Everything."
Tommy's eyes widened. "Is that wise?"
Future Kim rolled her eyes. "What is she gonna do? Change the future? That's the whole point, Tommy! The more she knows, the better. Maybe if she knows what's coming, she can warn the others and stop the Machines before they fuck up our world!"
"Or die trying, Kimberly!" Tommy shouted, throwing his hands in the air in frustration.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Tommy, really." Kim snarked, glaring at the older version of her boyfriend.
Tommy sighed. "It's not that I don't think you're capable. I know you are. But I also know how you get. You're gonna make this your mission and take it all on yourself. That kind of thing can get you killed. Then we won't even make it to this point!"
"I have to try! What would you do, if you were me? Huh? If you had a chance to change things? Wouldn't you do everything you could?"
Tommy knew he'd been beaten. He never could win an argument with Kim. Past or present. "Of course, I would."
"Then don't expect any different from me. This is my future too." Kim said quietly, her eyes looking into his weary chocolate ones.
He nodded, then looked up as an alarm sounded. "Time to go to work."
He turned to Kim as she stood up. "Not you."
"But I have a morpher! I can help!" Kim protested.
"Think! If you get killed, then what?" Tommy argued.
Future Kim stepped between them, preventing the argument from continuing. "We can't exactly leave her here either. What if they bomb the base again? She comes with but stays out of sight. Deal?" She looked at both of them for their agreement. Tommy and Kim both nodded.
"Good. Let's move."
…..
They traveled to the outskirts of the city and were met by at least a dozen 8-foot cyborgs. The other Rangers were already there.
Kim morphed just in case and hid in a nearby burned out structure. Just sitting by and watching was torture. She wanted to help her team, but Tommy was right. If she got killed before she could return to her time, there would be no hope. She just hoped everyone would be okay.
She didn't get her wish.
The cyborgs fought like nothing she had ever seen. It took the Rangers several minutes to even the odds. Finally, they were down to the last 2. Then the unthinkable happened.
Jason, Zack, and Trini were taking on 1, while Future Kimberly and Tommy were taking down the other. The cyborg landed a lucky shot to Tommy's gut and flung him backward several feet. Future Kimberly was distracted by Tommy's crumpled form for just a second. And that was all it took. The cyborg swung at her and she dodged just a second too slow. She avoided the energy blast that was aimed at her head, but she could get out of the way in time to avoid the cyborgs blade like arm as it slashed across her chest.
"NO!" Kim didn't mean to scream and give away her location, but it didn't matter. A moment later the cyborg was scrap metal, as an enraged Tommy blasted it to pieces. But it was too late.
He dropped to his knees and took Future Kimberly in his arms, pulling off her helmet. Kim rushed over to them, tears streaming down her face.
"No! No, no, no, no." Tommy pleaded, his own eyes damp, as he rocked the limp form in his arms. The pink uniform was stained a dark red, and the once vibrant doe eyes, were dull and lifeless.
Kim pulled off her helmet and clutched her future self's wrist, searching desperately for a pulse she knew wasn't there.
Tommy lifted his head and looked into the eyes of the girl he'd fallen in love with more than a decade before. Kimberly had never seen Tommy look so broken. His world had just ended.
"Fix this." He said hoarsely. "You have to fix this. Promise me!"
Kimberly nodded. It wouldn't end this way. Not when she could stop it. "I will. I promise." She reached up and took his bruised face in her hands and kissed him. She pulled back and rested her forehead against his, their tears mingling against their cheeks. "I promise you, it won't end this way. Not for any of us."
A whirling noise sounded behind her and Kimberly turned and saw the time hole appear. She looked back at the Future Tommy.
"Go."
She nodded and ran toward the portal.
….
A moment later, Kimberly found herself in the command center and was met by the relieved, cheerful faces of her friends.
Kimberly felt her legs buckle beneath her and she fell to her knees, sobs wracking her small frame.
The Rangers looked at each other in shock before Tommy rushed forward and pulled Kimberly into his arms.
"Hey, it's okay. You're home. You're safe." Tommy said softly, rubbing her back.
Kimberly just shook her head and continued to sob brokenly into his chest.
Adam turned to look at Zordon. "Zordon, what could have happened to Kim?"
"IT IS FOR THE BEST THAT WE DO NOT KNOW, ADAM. ANY KNOWEGE OF THE FUTURE COULD POTENTIALLY JEPORDIZE THE TIME LINE AND HAVE CATASTOPHIC CONSEQUENCES. ALPHA IS PREPARING A DEVICE TO REMOVE KIMBERLY'S MEMORIES OF THE FUTURE."
Kimberly shot up, jerking out of Tommy's arms. "No! You can't do that! You can't take my memories! I have to fix it! I promised!"
"Kimberly, your knowledge could potentially be dangerous. One changed decision could alter the course of our world." Billy explained gently.
"Good!" Kimberly said forcefully.
"Kim…" Tommy said gently, but she wouldn't hear it.
"No! You are NOT taking my memories. I won't let you!" Tommy grabbed her arm just as she hit the button on her communicator and they were both teleported away.
Billy sighed. "Let's give them some time. If anyone can talk her down, it's Tommy."
….
The couple landed in Kimberly's room. Luckily her mother was gone for the day.
She glared at Tommy fiercely. "I am not letting anyone take my memories." She said forcefully. "I have to fix things. I promised him! I promised! I can't just leave them like that!"
Tommy placed his hands on her shoulders as tears ran unchecked down her cheeks. "Promised who, Kim?"
Kim raised her hands and cupped his face, just like she'd done less than an hour ago, 11 years in the future. "You, Tommy. I promised you."
Tommy's face paled. He wasn't stupid. He knew the risks of tampering with time. His future self would never have made her make such a promise over something small. There was only one reason he could think of and more than anything, he hoped he was wrong.
"What happened?"
Kim shook her head. "Some things, you're better off not knowing."
"Look, if Zordon finds a way to wipe your memories without your consent, he won't wipe mine too. If I know at least some of what happened, maybe that'll be enough. Tell me."
Kim looked at Tommy for a moment then nodded. She thought back to Future Tommy's words about taking the responsibility of changing the future all on herself. She would need Tommy's help. They were a team. They always would be.
"We failed. The Power Rangers failed."
Tommy felt like he was going to throw up. "What?"
Kimberly nodded. "The Machine Empire attacked the Earth. We beat them the first time, but we let them retreat. The whole 'never escalate a battle' rule worked against us in a horrible way. They came back and took over the planet. They killed the current team of Rangers and the original 6 came back and took up our powers again. But we're losing." Kim paused as her hands began to shake and she sat down on her bed. Tommy sat next to her and took her hands in his.
"T-there was a battle. A-and…." Kim felt like she couldn't breathe as the magnitude of what she'd witnessed finally sunk in. "She died in his arms! Zordon can go to hell if he thinks I'm not going to stop this! You have no idea what it's like to watch yourself die! She was still morphed! There was blood everywhere and there was nothing that… I can't leave them like that, Tommy. I can't!"
Tommy fought back the bile rising in his throat and pulled Kim to his chest, rocking her slowly. Kim was right. They had to fix this. Not just for themselves but for the world and the future rangers.
"I have to fix this, Tommy." Kim whispered brokenly. "He's going to wake up tomorrow, 11 years from now, and she's going to be there. And all of this is going to be nothing but a bad dream."
"We'll do it together. I promise."
"One more thing Tommy, in case he does find a way to take my memories."
Tommy looked down at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't ever let me go to Florida."
…
Tommy and Kimberly met the others in the Command Center the next day.
"Hey, Kim. Feeling better?" Rocky asked.
"I'm fine." Kim said calmly, though she was anything but.
"KIMBERLY I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU IN BETTER SPIRITS. HAVE YOU ACCEPTED THAT YOUR MEMORIES OF THE FUTURE MUST BE REMOVED FOR THE GREATER GOOD?"
"No."
Billy blinked in surprise. "But Kim- "
"No one is taking her memories against her will." Tommy said firmly, stepping forward.
"TOMMY, THE RISKS TO THE WORLD- "
"I understand the risks, Zordon. But I also know Kimberly. She's been a Ranger longer than I have and has more than proven herself trustworthy. If she believes that keeping her memories is worth the risk to the timeline, then I trust her judgment."
"THAT IS NOT YOURS OR KIMBERLY'S DECISION TO MAKE."
"Actually, I think it is. As the leader of this team, their wellbeing is my responsibility. And no one is going to force anyone to do anything against their will, especially when it comes to messing with someone's mind. From the beginning, we've trusted you blindly. We've gone into battle against things we don't understand, often having no idea what it is we were facing on nothing but your word. Now it's time for you to trust us. If you can't do that… well then I'm not sure Kim and I need to be Rangers."
Everyone, including Kimberly looked at Tommy in surprise. Everyone knew how much being a Ranger meant to him. For him to put that on the line…
"Kim, time is a very sensitive thing. The slightest deviation could- "
"Billy, do you trust me?" Kim asked.
Billy looked at the petite girl in pink. They'd known each other since Kindergarten. She was his first friend. The only one who'd noticed the quiet, awkward boy in the corner and didn't make fun of the way he talked. He truly loved her. Not the way Tommy did of course. But the way one loved a truly treasured friend. His answer came easy.
"With my life, Kim." Billy said. He sighed and turned to Zordon. "I choose to trust Kimberly's judgement. She's earned it."
Adam looked at the others before nodding his head. "I do too. If Kim thinks her memories are too important to lose, I stand by her."
"Me too." Aisha agreed, placing a hand on Kim's shoulder.
Rocky shrugged. "I never thought her memories should be taken away in the first place. Hey Kim, got any good lottery numbers?" The red ranger joked.
Every laughed. "Even if I did Rocky, they wouldn't be any good for 11 years."
"Hey better late than never!"
They turned their attention back to Zordon, waiting to see what his answer would be.
"VERY WELL RANGERS. THOUGH I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS DECISION, AS PROTECTORS OF THE UNIVERSE, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO MAKE IT. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THIS KNOWLEDGE, KIMBERLY. MAKE YOUR CHOICES WISELY."
"I will, Zordon." Kimberly vowed. She looked at Tommy and he gave her a reassuring smile. They would do this together. They would save the future.
….
A little something that's been dancing around in my mind. If you guys like it, I'll continue. Happy reading!