.Much thanks for the comments! They are deeply appreciated.

Also, I'm still looking for a role play partner. Specifically, someone who can play a strong Tommy to my Jason and isn't afraid of getting into adult material (Het, not slash, though I am willing to discuss it if that's your thing). I have several story ideas that I'm dying to play out with someone. If interested, PM me and I'll give you details.

As always, much thanks to Griddlebone for the wonderful beta job!

Part 7

Trini had been led to the far west side of the park, where a currently empty basketball court stood, and was wondering where her quarry had disappeared to. It was strange that it was hiding from her. Usually, the monsters Rita set against them were all too eager to show themselves and attack them. It was making her a little nervous, especially since the Gnome had split itself up and forced the Rangers to separate. Why had it done that? What was Rita up to? She really didn't like being separated from the others, all things considered. She chewed her lower lip as she carefully scanned the area for any sign of the little Gnome and was just about to call the others when, suddenly, it darted out of some nearby bushes in a fit of giggles, running past her as she jumped out of the way.

"Hey!" she shouted, turning to follow. "Come back h..." She trailed off, eyes widening in surprise when she found she wasn't alone. Standing several feet away, the Gnome peeking around his legs and giggling, was what appeared to be a Power Ranger. A red one.

He bowed to her and said, "Greetings, pretty lady. Nice day, isn't it?"

The words jogged Trini out of her stupor. Her hand moved to her blaster, though she didn't draw it as she said sharply, "Who are you?"

The Red Ranger chuckled. "You know who I am."

Trini raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure we've never met before."

He laughed again and moved toward her, stopping when she took a quick step back, hand gripping her blaster. "Easy, Sweetness, if I'd wanted to hurt you, I'd have done so already. As for who I am, come on now, you're nearly as smart as Blue is. Put two and two together. What do you come up with?"

Trini's quick mind didn't need much more prompting than that. She drew her blaster, keeping it trained on him. "It's you. You're the one who broke into the Command Center. The one who..." She trailed off, swallowing back the emotion that rose at the thought of Zordon.

"The one who sent Zordon on his little vacation?" Red finished for her, seemingly unconcerned that she had a weapon aimed at him. "Bingo. Took Blue and Black a little longer to catch on. Please tell me you're not going to stand there and blubber on about how I'm not a real Ranger. That I'm some monster in disguise trying to trick you. As hard as it must be for you to accept, I'm very real. Have a Power Coin and everything. Oh, and before you start frantically calling for the others, we're blocking communications so that I could have some special alone time with each of you. Go ahead, try to call them. I'll wait."

Trini stared at him for a moment, making no move to activate her communicator. She knew, instinctively, and by the way he had just spoken about Billy and Zack, that he was telling the truth. "What have you done with Billy and Zack," she finally demanded.

He burst out laughing and clapped his hands. "You really are as smart as Blue, aren't you. Far prettier than he is, too. Don't worry, Sweetness, they're fine. No one is going to die today. I've been waiting for this for far too long to let it end too quickly."

"Why?" Trini asked, ignoring the little pet name he had given her. "You're a Ranger, you're supposed to be on our side. At least, you would be if you were a true Ranger."

Red made an irritated noise. "Don't be so naive!" he snapped. "Not all soldiers are the same. Rangers are no different; you're bound to encounter some on the other side. Like me."

"Did Zordon know about you?" Trini asked. Since he wasn't attacking her and seemed to be talkative, she decided to try to get as much information as she could. Maybe Kimberly and Tommy would come looking for her and the three of them could, perhaps, capture him.

"Yeah," Red replied, his tone once again conversational and slightly amused. "He was fully aware that I was around. Tried to talk me into joining your side. Obviously, that didn't go over well."

"Why didn't he tell us?" Trini asked, speaking more to herself than to him.

Red shrugged. "Beats me. Was a pretty stupid thing to do, though all things considered." He paused and glanced around, then said, "Listen, Sweetness, I would love to hang out with you all day talking...among other things, but I still need to introduce myself to Pink and your big bad leader before they realize there's something more going on than a crazy Gnome running around."

"In case you've forgotten, I've got a weapon trained on you," Trini replied. "You move and I'll shoot!"

Red snorted. "Seriously?" he laughed. "You really think you can take me down with that?" He took a step forward and held out his arms. "Go on, take your best shot."

Trini knew she was going to regret it but, knowing a fight was inevitable anyway, she tightened her grip on the blaster and took the shot. As she fired, he shot forward, ducked and rolled, and came up, kicking the blaster from her hand and following it up with a sweep to her legs, bringing her to the ground. She tensed, expecting another blow, only to be surprised when he backed off, allowing her to get to her feet.

"Well, now that that's out of the way..." He bowed to her in the formal way of the martial artist and then took up a fighting stance. "Whenever you're ready, pretty lady."

Trini regarded him warily, certain she was being set up somehow. But she knew she had to fight him. This stranger had already taken down Billy and Zack-according to him anyway-and, if he got past her, Kim and Tommy would be next. He might claim that no one was dying today, but that didn't mean that no one would be seriously hurt. Obviously, she could do nothing to protect Billy and Zack at this point, but she sure as hell could keep this guy from getting to Kim and Tommy!

Since her opponent was observing the 'niceties' of combat, Trini returned the formal bow, then took a stance of her own. "After you, hot shot."

Red Ranger snickered. "You're too kind." He darted forward and she quickly moved to meet him, starting a fast paced fight that she was determined to win. After a few minutes of exchanging blows and dancing around each other, he suddenly laughed and said, "Has anyone ever told you that you move like a Goddess? There are somany things I'd rather be doing with you right now."

"Dream on, lunatic!" Trini snapped back, blocking a punch and retaliating with a kick to his midsection. "I'm taken!"

"And is this lucky man worthy of you, I wonder?" Red replied, attempting a sweep of her legs. She jumped over the sweep, rolled and came up ready for another strike.

"He'd be a thousand times the Ranger you could ever be!" she growled, aiming a blow to his ribs.

He caught her wrist, however, and pulled her to him, pressing their bodies tightly together. Her eyes widened beneath her helmet, chills of foreboding racing down her spine. "That sounds like a challenge," he breathed.

Anger and fear for Jason filled her and, breaking the grip he had on her, she lashed out with a hard kick and spat, "Don't you dare touch him!"

"Ooo, such fire!" Red purred grabbing her foot and throwing her back. "You are so sexy when you're angry!"

Trini glared beneath her helmet, quickly recovering her balance and taking another stance. She said nothing as the pair circled each other, knowing that she had to get herself under control or she would lose this fight. She took a few deep, calming breaths, then launched herself at the Red Ranger, intending on engaging him with a fresh assault.

Red Ranger, however, appeared to have other plans. As Trini tried a kick, he grabbed her leg, pushed it down, then grabbed her arm and pulled her to him again, this time with her back pressed tightly against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, trapping her against him. "Sorry, pretty lady," he murmured. "We're going to have to pick this up again later. I don't have all day and really need to move on."

Trini gasped and stiffened as a hand brushed gently against her stomach and continued downward. "No!" she cried out, struggling as fear filled her at the thought of his possible intentions. There was a flash of light and the familiar feeling of powering down, which further intensified her fear and caused her to struggle harder. Abruptly, he let her go and she stumbled forward, right into the waiting arms of a small group of Putties.

Secure in their grip she stared, wide eyed, at the Red Ranger, who held up her Morpher and said, "I'm just going to hang on to this for a little while. I'll give it back before the end of the day. Promise." Tucking it away, he said to the Putties, "Take her to the other two. And be gentle! I see so much as a scratch on her, and we'll find out just how much pain Putties can experience. Understand?"

The Putties warbled in response, and the last thing Trini saw before her world vanished was the Red Ranger walking calmly away.

PRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPR PRPRPR

Kimberly knelt on one knee behind a bush, bow cocked and arrow ready to fire, taking careful aim at the Gnome clone she had gotten lucky enough to sneak up on after having chased it around a good portion of the park. It was a slippery little bastard, and she was certain she had broken a nail or two in the process of trying to catch it. Something she was not about to let go unpunished! A tiny smile crossed her lips as she lined up a perfect shot. "Got you now, you little psycho," she breathed and let the arrow loose, watching as it soared straight and true, right for her target. Then said target disappeared in a blur of red.

She blinked in surprise and jumped to her feet. "What the...?" She came out from behind the bush and moved toward the spot where the Gnome had been, eyes darting around the area, searching for her missing target. "Now where...?" There was a giggle from behind her and she spun around, gasping and taking a step back at what she found. Standing several feet away from her, holding the giggling Gnome, was what appeared to be a Ranger wearing a red uniform.

The Red Ranger made a tsking noise and wagged a finger at her. "You're not supposed to hunt in the park, you know. Do you even have a hunting license?"

The Gnome, apparently finding the question hilarious, burst into squealing laughter before making a rude gesture toward Kimberly and then vanishing.

Confusion filling her, Kim asked, "Who are you? What...what's going on?"

"Awww, is the little cheerleader confused?" Red replied mockingly. "Here, let me explain it to you in a way you'll understand." He pointed to her. "You, Pink Ranger." He then pointed to himself. "Me, Red Ranger. Me, Red Ranger, stomp you, Pink Ranger, into the ground. Understand?"

Indignation filled Kimberly and, raising her bow, she nocked another arrow and aimed it at him. "We'll see who stomps whom, pal!"

Red Ranger laughed. "What? No crying out in denial that I couldn't possibly be a Ranger? No jumping on the horn, squealing for your friends to come save you? Not that they could anyway, even if they could hear you."

Kimberly tensed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Red Ranger shrugged. "That it's been a busy afternoon for me. The Blue, Black and Yellow Rangers just couldn't seem to get enough of my company. Rather selfish of them, really, not wanting to share me with you and your leader."

A thrill of fear shot through Kim and she tightened her grip on her bow. "What have you done with them?" she demanded.

Red Ranger sighed. "You know, I'm starting to get bored having this same conversation again and again. They're safe and sound in a holding cell, waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"For when I face your boyfriend. They're going to help me test him. And so are you, Pink Ranger. In fact, you should be honored. You're a very important part of the test."

'I don't like the sound of that,' Kim thought. 'I have to find Tommy and warn him. Especially since this creep is probably the one responsible for the Command Center and Zordon.' "Shove your test, freak!" she shouted and let loose her arrow, not waiting to see if it hit its target. Instead, she reached for her Morpher, planning to teleport back to the Command Center and find Tommy from there.

She let out a gasp of pain as a hand grabbed hers in an iron clad grip and squeezed hard. She looked up to find the Red Ranger just inches away from her. "Nice try, little girl," he growled softly. "But you're not going anywhere."

His fist slammed into her gut, knocking the air from her. He released her and she fell to the ground, gasping and struggling to get her breath back. Distantly, she heard him speaking to someone, saying something about blocking teleportation. A moment later, he grabbed her arm and pulled up. "On your feet, Pink. I may be planning to thrash you, but I'm not without honor. You're going to get a fighting chance, first."

"How...nice of you," Kim gasped out, the sarcasm she tried to put in her voice losing its edge.

Red Ranger chuckled and moved back a few feet, bowing to her before taking a stance. "When you're ready, little girl."

'Dammit!' Kim thought. 'I don't have a choice now. Maybe I can get away...lose him in the forest. If I can do that, then I'll be able to find Tommy and we can put this guy down and rescue the others.' "Fine!" she spat out loud, taking her own stance, watchful gaze never leaving him.

She jumped when he moved suddenly, launching himself at her and aiming a kick for her midsection. She barely managed to block the kick and was immediately forced to go on the defensive as he continued to attack her. 'He's so fast!' she thought. 'I don't know how I'm going to manage to get out of this!'

It felt to her like the fight had gone on for an eternity when he suddenly bombarded her with several hard blows in quick succession that sent her tumbling to the ground. She gasped and rolled out of the way of the foot coming at her, scrambling to her feet just in time to meet a fresh onslaught. 'I can't keep this up!' she thought. 'Come on, come on! Give me an opening!' Out of desperation, her hand found its way to her side arm. She drew the weapon, keeping it in dagger mode and slashed at him, forcing him to back off. She pressed the advantage she had given herself and followed him, forcing him to go on the defensive now.

'If I can just get in one good hit...' Her thought trailed off as the Red Ranger suddenly laughed. "What's so funny?" she asked, not daring to stop her movements.

"You," he replied. "You think you've got control of this fight. That you have a chance. Sorry to have to tell you this, but you're nowhere close to being in control. In fact..." His own dagger appeared in his hand and he struck out, crossing the two blades and locking them together. He leaned in close and hissed, "I've been playing with you. And now I'm done."

Pain exploded in her ribs a second before she was sent flying through the air, landing hard on the ground. She struggled to her feet, only to meet several hard hits to her chest that ended with a crushing blow to her leg. She let out a yell of pain as she fell to the ground again, one hand gripping her leg as the other scrambled to get a hold of her dagger, which she had dropped. Catching sight of a booted foot coming at her head, she shrieked and brought her arms up, letting them absorb the impact before she grabbed his foot and twisted, pulling him off balance and to the ground with her.

Pushing the pain away, Kimberly scrambled to her feet, switching the dagger into blaster form and pointing it at the Red Ranger. She pulled the trigger, but her enemy was no longer there. She screamed as she was grabbed from behind, her struggles cut short as pressure was applied to her injured ribs. She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain, struggling to breathe, and so missed the flash of light that signaled a de-morph. She didn't, however, miss the feeling that came with powering down, and her eyes flew open, fear racing through her as she discovered that she was, indeed, back in her civilian identity.

"Wha...what are you doing?" she gasped.

"I told you," came the whispered reply. "You're going to help me test your boyfriend. And for that, you need to be plain old cheerleader Kimberly. But before we go find Green Ranger and start the test, we have to get you ready, first." She shuddered as a gloved finger lightly traced her collarbone. "Prepare yourself, sunshine," he breathed. "This is going to hurt."

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Tommy had tracked his Gnome a good distance through the park, but never did catch up with it. Instead, he ran into something much bigger and uglier.

Goldar.

The giant space ape had appeared out of nowhere, challenging Tommy to a fight that had been going on for quite a while now. Tommy was starting to get an uneasy feeling that he was being stalled, and was considering breaking off the fight and returning to the Command Center to call the others in when Scorpina suddenly appeared. The uneasiness he was experiencing grew when all Scorpina did was nod to Goldar, smirk at Tommy and vanish again.

Tommy turned a cautious look on Goldar as the ape laughed and said, "Follow me, Green Ranger. We have a special treat for you." Turning, he took off, clearly expecting Tommy to follow him.

Tommy didn't move. Instead, he activated his Comm Link and said, "Guys, this Tommy, come in." Silence. Frowning, he tried again. "Rangers, come in. Is anyone reading me? Command Center, come in. Alpha?" Still no answer.

He looked up as Goldar called out, "Coming, Green Ranger? You won't want to miss this!"

With a sinking feeling, Tommy cursed softly, then reluctantly followed Goldar. The golden armored ape led Tommy into the forest, glancing back occasionally to make sure the Green Ranger was still following him. Just as Tommy was about to stop and demand answers from Goldar, they entered a large clearing and Tommy froze. Kneeling on the ground, bound and gagged, were Trini, Zack and Billy. Scorpina stood behind them, the smirk still on her lips. When the trio saw him, they all started trying to speak through their gags, urgent looks in their eyes. Clearly, they were trying to warn him about something. Possibly involving Kimberly as he did not see her among them.

Forcing himself to remain calm, he turned his attention to Goldar. "All right, Goldilocks, what do you want? Where's Kimberly?"

"She's waiting to make an entrance like the little starlet that she is," a new voice said.

Tommy spun around, taking a few steps back and then quickly positioning himself so that he could keep an eye on everyone. He took in the newcomer, not quite believing what he was seeing. "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" the stranger repeated. "Well, let's see," he added slowly, crossing his arm and taking on a 'thinking' stance. "I wear a uniform like yours, only red so...maybe I'm the Red Ranger?"

"No, that's not possible," Tommy replied, shaking his head. "Zordon would have told us if there was another Ranger out there."

The Red Ranger laughed. "You sure about that?" He nodded toward Trini. "Like I told Sweetness over there, he was very aware that I was around. That night when I trashed the Command Center, he told me he'd been waiting for me to show up. He also confirmed that he hadn't said a word to any of you. Which is what made this day so much fun for me."

At the mention of the Command Center, Tommy's hands curled into fists at his side. Instead of rising to the bait, though, he said, "All right, you've had your fun screwing with us. Let my friends go and get Kimberly here, now."

Red Ranger chuckled. "You're not exactly in a position to be making demands, Green. I'm not done screwing with you yet. I will, however, let you see your precious Pink. Scorpina!" he called. "Bring little Pink out."

Scorpina nodded sharply. "Yes, young prince," she replied and vanished, Goldar quickly taking her place as guard.

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Prince?"

"Oh yeah," Red Ranger replied, a smirk in his tone. "Empress Rita is my mother."

"Mother!" Tommy exclaimed and then snorted. "Who'd be crazy enough to father kids with her?"

"I'd consider that an insult to my Father if I had one. But, considering Mother adopted me and we're not related by blood, I'll just make you pay for the insult to her," Red replied calmly, the barest hint of amusement in his voice. "Starting with that," he added, nodding back toward the other Rangers.

Tommy turned his gaze back to them and found Scorpina was back, but no sign of Kim. "Well?" he called. "Where is she?"

"Right behind me," Scorpina answered, turning to watch something behind her.

Tommy's heart nearly stopped as he watched two Putties drag a limp and beaten Kimberly into the clearing, dropping her in front of the other three, all of whom started struggling and calling through their gags. Goldar and Scorpina immediately pulled their swords and the trio went still, staring at the unmoving form of the Pink Ranger. Tommy's fists clenched tightly as rage and fear raced through his system. He started forward, only to find his way blocked by the Red Ranger.

"Sorry, Green, but we're not done here, yet. You want her...you want any of them, then you have to beat me, first."

"Gladly!" Tommy snarled and launched himself at the vile excuse for a Ranger. He put all of his fury, fear and strength into his attacks as he kicked and punched, flipped and rolled. All he could see was Kimberly, lying bloody and still on the ground and his friends tied up and helpless, their lives threatened. He was their friend...their leader. Their lives were his responsibility and he wasn't going to lose to this bastard!

The problem was that every move Tommy made was easily countered by the Red Ranger, and by the time Tommy finally realized that he was getting nowhere, he had already wasted a lot of energy. And it quickly became apparent that the Red Ranger knew this as well, and had no problem taking advantage of it. As soon as he found the slightest opening, he hurled Tommy forcefully to the ground and stood over him, shaking his head and making a 'tsking' noise.

"You disappoint me, Green," he said. "Here I thought you were a seasoned fighter, a true warrior, but you've gone and let anger and fear cloud your head. You're not scoring very well on this test, you know."

"Test? What are...you talking...about?" Tommy asked as he struggled to his feet and tried to catch his breath.

The Red Ranger crossed his arms, and Tommy got the distinct impression that he was rolling his eyes. "Come on now, you can't be that dense! You're the leader of the famous Power Rangers! The fierce and mighty Green Ranger! I'm a Ranger from the other side of the tracks. Do you really think I'm not going to test your abilities as both a fighter and a leader? You're not making a great impression so far, Tommy. A leader can't let his emotions get the best of him, no matter how much he may care for the one he's fighting to save."

"This coming from a Ranger from 'the other side of the tracks,'" Tommy scoffed. "You sure don't talk like one of Rita's goons."

"Which is why you're going to lose," Red Ranger replied, a smirk in his voice that had Tommy bristling. "I'm not one of Mother's goons. I'm a Ranger, like you. A fighter, like you. Which makes me the most dangerous enemy you've ever faced."

"You may be a fighter," Tommy replied, taking a stance. "But you're no Ranger!" He launched into another series of attacks, which the Red Ranger met with a fierceness that surprised Tommy. It seemed that the other Ranger was done messing around and had decided to get serious.

As they fought, a strange feeling of familiarity overcame Tommy and he wondered about it. 'Why do I feel like I've fought this guy, before?' he thought. He didn't have time to ponder it, however, as the fight suddenly escalated and Tommy found himself in one of the hardest fights of his life. It was all he could do to defend against the vicious strikes that came at him in rapid fire succession and it didn't help matters that his strength was starting to fail him. 'Can't let him beat me!' he thought, the image of Kimberly flashing through his mind. 'I have to end this and get Kim back to the Command Center!'

Unfortunately, just seconds after that thought crossed his mind, a kick made it through his defenses and slammed into his chest, sending him crashing to into a tree. The Red Ranger was on him instantly, raining powerful blows down on him so fast and hard, that Tommy felt like a punching bag. His instincts screamed at him to fight back, but he couldn't muster the strength to do so. With his body unable to maintain his Morphed form, he was forced into a power down, but the Red Ranger didn't stop. He continued his assault until Tommy was barely aware of his surroundings.

He didn't even really notice when the blows suddenly stopped, but he did notice when he was grabbed roughly by the hair and pulled forward a little, the Red Ranger's voice hissing in his ear, "Today was a warning, Green Ranger. You can't win this time. Not against me. I can take you down anytime, anywhere. But you're going to suffer first. By the time I'm through with you, you'll be begging for death." He paused, then added, "Oh, and one more thing. You really should reconsider dating teammates. All I had to do to get to you was to go through her. You'd best keep an eye on her. I may decide to play with her again if I get too bored."

Before Tommy could consider replying, pain exploded in the back of his head, and everything went dark.