Status: Complete
Pairings: Tommy Oliver/ Kimberly Hart
Category: Alternate Universe, Team Fic
Genre: Adventure
Rating: Teen
Summary: In accordance with tradition, I declare the 26th Winter Olympiad open." Everything that she had sacrificed had finally accumulated into this sixteen day event in Atlanta, United States; her home country. She was here.
Size: 1,508 words
Warning: N/A
Author's Notes: Set in 1996.
Series/Sequels: N/A
Updated: October 15, 2013
Summon the Heroes
1996.
The 26th Summer Olympiad.
All the training, all of the heartache, all of the pain, everything that she had sacrificed had finally accumulated into this sixteen day event in Atlanta, United States; her home country. Her childhood dreams of going to the Olympics were finally being realized. The last year had been hard on her and her teammates. They had to rise from the depths of obscurities to the pinnacle of the spotlight and impressing the coaches of their respective spots.
Kimberly was keeping this outfit forever along with the little USA flag she held in her hands.
She had almost given up her boyfriend, Tommy Oliver, when she had been training in Florida.
The pressure had caused her to crack.
But talking with her friends had stopped her from writing that 'Dear John' letter she had been pondering in the darkness of her room.
She had turned that pain of leaving him in Angel Grove into determination that had her placing in the top slots for the Olympics.
"United States."
With the 533 US athletes who were competing in the Games, she walked out onto the field, the hundreds of flashes running down on them. Before them, the athletes from Zimbabwe marched, waving at the hundreds of citizens looking down on them.
The eyes of the world looking down on them.
It felt so different from when she had been the Pink Power Ranger.
Just last year, she was fighting against 60 foot high monsters and piloting a highly advanced robot that had the ability to combine with five others to create an even more powerful one. Two years before, she had been evil for a day, swapped minds with her male best friend, fallen in love with an ex-Evil Ranger, had gone and met aliens, and at one point, had been de-aged. She calmly looked up at the sky above them. Fighting in a skin-tight costume had been awesome and exhilarating but she realized after the accident with Katherine, it was not for her.
So she moved on.
Bruce Baumgartner waved the US flag, the red and white swirling together for just a moment.
She remembered how nervous he was, wondering the question if he accidentally dropped the flag or did something that would be embarrassing for the host country.
Kimberly looked up at the crowds, knowing that her parents and boyfriend were among the hundreds sitting among there.
How she wished her young friends were up there.
"They're here." Kimberly looked up to see Billy Cranston looking down at her, smiling. He had gone with her, choosing to compete on the rings.
"What?"
"You didn't tell her?" Katherine Hilliard looked at her fellow teammates. She had taken up her old sport of diving, something that the young teen had not believed she would ever do again after her incident. But here she was, decked out in the Team USA outfit. "I thought you told her."
"He wanted me to keep it a secret." Billy shrugged, his happy mood not diminishing. "He bought them tickets along with bribing Zordon into teleporting them here via you know what."
"All of them?"
"Yes, all of them." Billy leaned against and pointed out. Kimberly looked up just in time to see bright flashes of multicolor light.
Red, yellow, blue, white, black, green, pink, yellow, and yellow.
Jason, Trini, Rocky, Tommy, Zack, Adam, Cassie, Tanya, and Aisha.
Kim laid a hand on Billy's shoulder. "Thanks."
"It just doesn't feel right without them." Kat waved her small USA flag. "Something this should be celebrated with friends and family huh?"
She locked her flag with Kat's. "Yeah."
Billy added his. "One for all and all for one." They broke, whispering 'Power Rangers' under their breaths. "They'll return after tonight since they couldn't explain why they would be gone for two weeks. Even Jason wouldn't be able to come up with a reason."
"Yeah, all the times we used the camping trick, they wouldn't believe it."
"I wouldn't know. I never told my dad that I had to go camping."
"Well, you never tried to explain all the cuts and bruises one would get fighting Rita's monsters." Billy whispered in a low voice to Katherine.
"Touche"
Team USA stopped, watching as their flag joined the other 191 nations who were participating in the Games.
Time seemed to slip away, the words blurring until -
"The Olympic Flame is now entering the stadium."
The Olympic Flame being carried into the stadium to the roar and approval of the crowd as he rose from below the ground where the Flame had been exchanged. Without thinking, Kimberly jumped onto Billy's back who easily carried her, locking his arms around her legs to steady her. Katherine laughed, easily looking over the crowds.
Bright fireworks burst over her head.
The stadium filled with the sounds of Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' blaring from the speakers.
The torch beater ran off the stage, running through the crowd and running onto the track. She could see the torch stop for a second and then a woman wearing the colors of Greece join the torch bearer.
"That's Voula Patoulidou from Greece." Billy explained what had happened, that she was the first woman to win a medal for Greece in her respective sport. "From a man to a woman, from the host country to the country of origin."
"Billy, the eternal researcher and scientist."
Billy cocked his head at Kat. "I'm not going to be able to compete for ever in gymnastics." They all laughed.
The torch was passed to Janet Evans, the next torch bearer who was a four time gold medalist in swimming. She finished going around the track and started up the ramp. The Flame was passed between Evans to Muhammad Ali, the boxer.
Kim looked at the once proud figure that was now ravaged by Parkinson's disease, his trembling obvious as his left arm vibrated against his will. But she had to admire him, admire the fact that no matter how much his body was ravaged by the disease; he still fought, moving now to light the Olympic Cauldron.
The torch was lowered.
The Flame began racing up the oiled wire, heading for the Cauldron standing on the tower that looked over the city of Atlanta.
Kim, Billy, and Katherine began howling louder and louder the Flame came closer.
It sped faster and faster until-
The torch exploded in flames, the bright orange tongues reaching into the sky.
Kim looked where the Rings were.
Blue.
Yellow.
Black.
Green.
Red.
Five interlocking rings.
Each weaving in and out of the others for all eternity.
A memory superimposed itself over her vision. Red: strong Jason and a laughing Rocky. White blended in, the color turning pink: her as the original Pink Ranger, Katherine piloting the Crane Zord, and Casey accepting the Pink Powers. White: Tommy taking off his helmet. Green: Tommy joining them and Adam accepting the Green Zeo shard. Blue: calm Billy fixing the Zords and Rocky jumping around the Juice Bar. Yellow: Trini helping Billy after being bullied and Aisha hefting a heavy travel bag, ready for her trip to Africa, and Tanya easing into the powers of the Yellow Shard. Black: Zack dancing on a table in Angel Grove Park and Adam playing around with Rocky after receiving the powers for the first time.
A feeling of indescribable words and heights filled her, tears rising in her eyes. She was here. With her friends next to her.
Heroes.
It was only the beginning.
"And now, in accordance with tradition, I declare the 26th Summer Olympiad open-"
RIP Nodar Kumaritashvili. May your Olympic Spirit live on in the Olympians following you.
