Self Destruct Chapter 10: Make Me Bad, a power rangers fanfic

A/N 1: This is a complete AU for Dino Thunder. Conner, Kira, Ethan, and Trent are not going to be in this story. Instead, veteran Rangers will replace them as the newest team of Power Rangers.

A/N 2: Don't look for the Letter to be an issue. The story is T/K but, as many of you have seen in my more recent works, I've given the characters more of an adult twist. With that in mind, I highly doubt Tommy and Kim really would have gone that long without speaking to each other. I'd like to think they worked stuff out sometime after Murianthis and agreed to be friends.

A/N 3: As always, beta-read by kdmarks.

I am watching the rise and fall of my salvation.
There's so much shit around me.
Such a lack of compassion.
I thought it would be fun and games.
Instead it's all the same.
I want something to do.
Need to feel the sickness in you.

I feel the reason as it's leaving me, no, not again
It's quite deceiving as I'm feeling the flesh make me bad.

That being said, on with the story…

Self-Destruct

Chapter 10 - "Make Me Bad"

Original Posting Date:

When the Rangers returned to the Command Center, seeing Tommy seated in his usual place with an expression on his face that showed an immense fear was not what they had been expecting. As soon as Adam, Jason, and Rocky laid their eyes on the man who had led them for so long, all thoughts about Tommy being the White Ranger were immediately put to rest. Kimberly, however, would not be convinced so easily. One look into the depths of his chocolate brown eyes when no one else was around would tell her the whole truth; she'd know right away if her boyfriend was indeed the evil Ranger that had attacked them earlier.

"You didn't tell us there was an evil gem," Rocky commented flippantly and with exasperation in his voice as he sank himself down into the couch that sat against the nearest wall. Closing his eyes, he laid his head to rest on the wall and let out a deep sigh.

Adam followed his best friend shortly thereafter, elbows on his knees, forehead resting on clenched fists.

"I—I had no idea." Tommy muttered, slowly shaking his head. Nervously, he started to pace around the basement, looking at his friends to see if they believed him. He was being honest with them. Until today he hadn't known an evil Dino Gem existed, either. "I can't believe this is happening. It's unbelievable. It's like—"

"Everything all over again," Kimberly blurted loudly and without thinking, raising her hand to cover her mouth as soon as the words had escaped her lips. The look of hurt and betrayal on Tommy's face made her instantly regret her comment; she lowered her eyes to the ground, her cheeks suddenly turning a rather vibrant shade of red.

For his part, Jason was quick to come to his friend's side by way of a comforting hand laid on Tommy's shoulder. Having been turned evil before as well, Jason understood the pain and demons that Tommy—and himself, for that matter—continued to deal with even though neither had wavered from the side of good in nearly a decade. More than anything though, Jason was surprised to hear something so vicious come from the woman who, like he, was the offspring of Maligore, and should have understood what Tommy was going through more than anyone else. In Jason's eyes, Kimberly should have been on Tommy's side instead of throwing veiled accusations at him just because he had been turned evil before; and sometime later, when Jason was able to sneak a private moment with the Yellow Ranger, he was going to tell her just that.

"Exactly," Tommy murmured, catching everyone in the room off guard. The eyes of Adam and Rocky shot wide open as they bolted upright in their seats, joining Jason and Kimberly in staring at Tommy in disbelief. Quickly and defensively, Tommy's hands went up in the air. "Woah, woah, woah; first off, you've all seen me evil before. Jason, you've seen it twice. Have I ever even been approachable before, not to mention able to carry on a full on conversation with you?" Tommy continued, looking to Jason who shook his head. "Thank you. Secondly, if I was the White Ranger, I wouldn't have just let you guys go like that. I've learned twice now that my life would have been a whole lot easier if I had just killed you all when Rita and Prince Sprocket gave me the chance. God only knows what an inconvenience you guys all are."

Considering the smirk on Tommy's face, the twinkle in his eye, and the way he paid extra-special attention to Kimberly when he spoke, it was damn near impossible for them not to laugh. Damn near impossible for everyone except Kimberly, who didn't think it was a bit funny, that is. She was standing there wearing an unimpressed look, arms folded firmly across her chest. While her friends were having a good time laughing and joking around with each other, she was still thinking about the White Ranger, who he was, and what they were going to do about him. She had pretty much eliminated Tommy from contention but that was only the first mystery solved. It was unbelievable to her that they were acting this way.

Wanting to get the attention of the male populous in the basement, Kimberly first tried the polite approach by lightly clearing her throat. When that didn't work, she did the same thing only this time a little louder. After the fifth time she was practically grunting and on the verge of hitting something, if not someone. Mentally ignoring what the repercussions of her actions could be, Kimberly closed her eyes and opened her mouth, preparing to release a Ptera Scream. By nothing more than dumb luck, Tommy caught the opening of her mouth out of the corner of his eye and practically dove at her, pressing his hand over her mouth.

"What the hell are you thinking!?" Tommy bellowed, staring down at her as his heart pounded violently in his chest. All he could see was Kimberly screaming, throwing them all backwards, and pretty much destroying everything in the Command Center, a setup that had taken him for more than a lot of money. "Do you have any idea how much all of this stuff cost me? I don't know about you but I don't have an extra seven-and-a-half million dollars just lying around if any of this stuff breaks. And in case you haven't realized it, there really isn't a way that I could put insurance on a bunch of equipment that utilizes technology the government doesn't even know exists!"

Memories of the days when she and Tommy were nothing more than good friends came rushing back at Kimberly. Back then, this would have been the calm before the storm to an all-out verbal beat down between the pair; waging war with their words until neither had the strength to continue. Now that they were in a relationship though, she knew that she had to pick her battles a little more carefully. Not only that but she didn't really have much ammunition to shoot back at him. Yes they weren't paying attention to her, but unleashing a Ptera Scream in such a close proximity to them shouldn't have even been a conscious thought. For the first time that she could remember, she was willing to admit that her actions had no justification and were one-hundred percent wrong.

For Adam, Jason, and Rocky, this was one of those awkward moments that reminded them all of being kids and seeing their parents argue. You didn't want any part of it but you had to listen just in case anyone said something really stupid, that way you knew whose side to take. It's common knowledge that if dad says something dumb, the kid should immediately go to mom and get on her good side. Right now, they were leaning towards Tommy but they all stayed planted firmly, waiting for the off-chance that Tommy said something completely ludicrous and lost their support.

"You're right. You're completely right," Kimberly muttered, looking at her feet.

Having caught their breath when Kimberly first started to speak, the three men let out disappointed sighs when she accepted responsibility. Shrugging his shoulders, Rocky was the first to make his exit, heading for the stairs while muttering something about not being able to win them all. With no blowup apparent, Adam and Jason soon followed the Blue Ranger, neither one wanting to be a part of the apologetic, emotional conversation that Tommy and Kimberly were likely about to have.

At the realization that she and Tommy were now alone, Kimberly began to feel nervous. In the month-plus that they had been back together, there had never been any real yelling between them. There had been a few minor confrontations; Tommy not putting dirty dishes in the dish washer, Kimberly leaving her cosmetics all over the bathroom counter, but nothing major. This was entirely new territory and now she was forced to go at it alone without the safety net of her teammates. She wasn't worried about Tommy striking her physically simply because she knew he wasn't that type of guy but she had often been around him when he was at his angriest and had heard the venom that he was capable of spitting if so inclined.

Staring down at Kimberly with furious eyes, Tommy didn't even notice that everyone else had gone upstairs. He was so focused on her that he was unable to look elsewhere. Unfortunately for his angry demeanor, seeing Kimberly scared or upset always made his emotions melt inside. It was the way her soft, doe brown eyes begged for his forgiveness and told him that she would never do it again. It was her heavenly scent and her perfect lips, pleading with Tommy to kiss them. It was the way he became completely oblivious to everything else around him when she was in the room. More than anything, though, it was the way he knew he could never love anyone as much as he loved Kimberly that prevented him from staying mad at her.

Reaching out slowly, Tommy touched Kimberly's chin and gently elevated it so that she was forced to look right at him. She prepared herself for the worst but was pleasantly surprised when Tommy placed a tender kiss on her lips. Everything else soon melted away as she stepped into Tommy's arms, allowing his embrace to both comfort her and forgive her of any wrongdoing.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you in front of everyone," Tommy murmured, nuzzling the side of her face with his nose.

Sighing, Kimberly responded by pulling her head back and looking him in the eyes. "Thank you for apologizing. That means a lot to me," she replied with a soft smile. "And I'm sorry for almost destroying everything. I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's okay. It's not important, it's just…stuff," Tommy supplied, shrugging his shoulders in a way that represented a complete shift from his attitude just moments before. With careful, meticulous movements, Tommy brushed a few loose strands of hair behind Kimberly's ear and smiled at her. "After what happened earlier, I'm just glad you're okay. I still can't believe we're dealing with an evil Ranger."

Plain as day, there it was; Kimberly's opportunity to come to her own conclusions about Tommy being the White Ranger. His reaction to her backdoor insinuation had pretty much eliminated him in her mind but there was still one final test that needed to be administered, something that could only occur when they were alone. With her gaze fixed on him, Kimberly took a deep breath and asked the question her heart told her she didn't want to hear the answer to. "Tommy, are you the White Ranger?"

"What? Kimberly-" Tommy started only to be cutoff.

"No. I want an answer. Yes or no, are you the White Ranger?" she reiterated, never once looking anywhere but into his deep, chocolate brown eyes, praying that they did not betray whatever came next.

"No." Silent seconds passed for what seemed like an eternity. Tommy stared at Kimberly, expecting her to say something but nothing came. Eventually, the silence became too much for Tommy to deal with. He couldn't believe that Kimberly of all people was questioning him about this. "Do you think I'm the White Ranger?"

"I-I don't know." If Kimberly was honest with herself she would admit that that was not a truthful answer.

Chuckling bitterly, Tommy shook his head. "Don't give me that 'I don't know' crap, Kim. We both know that's not the truth. I want you to look me right in the eye and tell me if you think I'm the White Ranger or not."

Despite her deepest fears, lying to Tommy was something she had never been able to do. Even when they weren't together, lying to him was never an option. It wasn't now and it never had been. Fearful of breaking Tommy's heart, for weeks she thought about how easy it would be to keep her guy in Florida a secret from him until her guilty conscience got the better of her. She couldn't lie to him then just like she couldn't do it now. Biting her bottom lip, Kimberly slowly shook her head from side-to-side.

"No. I don't."

This time Tommy's laugh was not one of bitterness. Instead it was gentle, accompanied by the sweetest of kisses placed tenderly on Kimberly's wrinkled-in-surprise forehead. Letting his arms drop, Tommy took Kimberly's tiny hands in his much larger ones. "I love you, Beautiful, and I just want you to know that I would never do anything to hurt you."

Smiling up at him, Kimberly nodded. "I know. I love you, too. I'm just scared of what an evil Ranger running around Reefside means for us. I mean, a month-and-a-half ago I didn't even think I'd be a Ranger again, not to mention fighting an evil one."

"Yeah, I know. I feel the exact same way." Tommy's whispered admittance of fear helped to ease Kimberly's emotions. "But we'll get through it the same way that we always do. I just wish I had a Dino Gem of my own so I could help you guys. Having to sit on the sidelines and watch that stuff happen sucks big time."

"Tommy, what you're doing is more than enough. I mean, you're a great Ranger, probably the best there ever was but this battle just isn't yours. I know how much you want to fight and I would love more than anything to have you out there with me," Kimberly replied, her words touching a special place in Tommy's heart. Being called the greatest by Cole or a legend by T.J. just didn't hold the same weight as hearing it from the one you loved. "Besides, what would the rest of us do if you were a Ranger? There'd be no one here to help us and do all the stuff that you do. We'd be lost without you down here working your magic."

"Yeah, you guys would be pretty lost without me, huh?" Tommy joked.

"We would," Kimberly answered seriously. There wasn't a moment where she doubted that this war against Mesogog would have been exponentially tougher if it wasn't for Tommy. It was the little things, really. Like the way he got everyone together at his house on Wednesday nights so they could watch Lost and eat a home cooked meal. Or how he took and paid for all the Rangers and their significant others to play miniature golf and laser tag over the Fourth of July holiday and bought dinner. Tommy didn't have to do these things but he did and Kimberly didn't think that she or the other Rangers told him enough how much they appreciated all that he did for them. "When something bad happens and the Rangers stop it, we get all the credit in the press but you deserve just as much of that credit as we do."

"You know," Tommy started, blinking back the slightest hint of something wet touching his eyes, "when we were kids you had the way of saying just the right thing to make me feel better no matter how down on myself I was. It makes me really happy inside to know that you haven't lost that talent."

"And I hope I never do."

There was such an immense amount of love between these two. They truly defined what it meant to be someone's other half, for the knowledge that neither was complete without the other was quite common to those that knew the pair. It was because of this that Tommy suddenly felt the need to show Kimberly just how much he loved her. Sex, however, was surprisingly far from his mind. He wanted something much more spontaneous, something that Kimberly would never be expecting. But what could he do that would surprise a woman who donned yellow spandex and fought evil on a daily basis?

Casually looking around the basement as he thought about what to do, Tommy noticed a few cans of paint sitting in the corner, left over from when he and Hayley had built the Command Center. Inspiration, it seemed, struck in the oddest of fashions. The paint reminded Tommy of a particularly fiendish monster from their past, an oversized French painter by the name of Artisimole. One-by-one the creature drained the Rangers of their energy until only Kimberly remained. With the weight of having to move to Paris with her mother resting heavily on her shoulders, Kimberly came through and saved the day.

Now, how does that give Tommy inspiration, you ask?

Well, considering that it was just past nine-thirty in the evening on the American West Coast, that meant that it was just past six-thirty in the morning of the following day in the French capital city.

"Have you ever seen a Parisian sunrise?"

Kimberly shook her head. "I've only been to France once and I was never up early enough. Why do you ask?"

Giving Kimberly a wink, Tommy smiled. Before she knew what hit her, Kimberly was pulled tightly against Tommy's chest, secured by a strong arm around her waist. She felt him reach around with his other arm and fiddle with something behind her. On the verge of asking what he was doing, Kimberly was met with a sudden yet familiar rush of energy. The next thing she knew they were standing on the rooftop of a building on the Champ de Mars with a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower just a couple hundred feet away from them.

"Oh my God, my hair!" was the first thing that flew from Kimberly's mouth. Standing in one of the true fashion Mecca's of the world, it was only natural that the first concern from the self-proclaimed fashion-nut was the state of her hair which was currently matted down thanks in large part to her helmet. Her hair after de-morphing was the only thing she had ever truly hated about being a Ranger.

"I just teleported you to Paris in plain sight, abused the Power, and all that you're worried about is your hair?" Tommy asked, laughing in disbelief. Having never been to Paris before, Tommy allowed himself a few moments to take in his surroundings. Unlike Kimberly, his first thought was that photographs and television did the Eiffel Tower no justice. With a few more minutes until sunrise, Tommy took Kimberly's hands and pulled her around so that they were facing each other. He smiled at her briefly then shifted his attention to the horizon, in the direction where the sun would rise from shortly. "It's beautiful," Tommy commented, slowly bringing his eyes back to Kimberly. "Like you."

"Like me?" she inquired sweetly, giving him an innocent smile. There was no denying that Kimberly was a gorgeous woman so it was only natural that she had been hit on by many men in her time, each armed with their own arsenal of compliments to throw at her. She had heard hit all before but nothing got to her more than when Tommy called her 'beautiful.' He said it all the time yet it never got old. She reasoned that it just meant something more when it came from the one man she knew would never break her heart. Anger her sometimes? Yes. Infuriate her to the point of wanting to scream? Absolutely. But never did she doubt that Tommy's undying love was something she could always count on having, just as she wanted him to know that he could always count on having hers.

"Like you, Beautiful," Tommy murmured, lowering his head and kissing her softly. Their lips melted together as Tommy slinked his arms around Kimberly's waist, pulling her even closer against his firm chest. When their kiss came to its end, Tommy pressed his forehead to hers. "I love you, Kimberly Ann Hart. You could have ripped the Command Center to shreds earlier and I still would have loved you."

Rolling her eyes, Kimberly let out a chuckle. "Okay, can we just never talk about that again, please?" Pretending to zip his lips and throw away the key, Tommy nodded his head. Seeing as how he had just sealed his lips and couldn't speak, Kimberly determined that the only thing left to do was kiss him again; which she did, albeit this time with a lot more pressure. Dueling tongues entered the heat of battle just as the first rays of sunlight started to shine behind the famous tower.

Kimberly would have been perfectly content to continue their rooftop make out session but Tommy did not want her to miss her second chance at seeing a Parisian sunrise. Initially, she was disappointed when Tommy pulled his lips away but her disappointment turned to utter delight when he turned her around. The way the sun illuminated the Eiffel Tower, it was easily one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. In fact, the only place she could think of that was better than Paris to watch a sunrise was on the cliffs outside of the old Command Center in Angel Grove. And really, the only reason Paris wasn't on the top of her list was because she had so many amazing memories of the Command Center, both with Tommy and with all of the other Rangers, as well.

Tucked under Tommy's arm, Kimberly mused that being in Paris with him was quite the ironic situation. It was a city that had nearly pulled them apart once before. To Kimberly, standing there with him now was like them proving that nothing would ever be able to put that kind of strain on their relationship again. It was, in one word…

Perfect.

If only things had stayed that way…

Grunts and the pounding thud of punches and kicks both thrown and blocked filled Tommy's backyard as Adam and Jason went toe-to-toe on the lawn, Rocky playing the role of referee for their impromptu sparring session. Barefoot and shirtless, wearing only the bottom half of their gi's, the trio of current and former Red Ranger's had been going at it for nearly an hour, all needing to take out a little pent up frustration after the beating they had been given by the White Ranger. Illuminated by the floodlights that Tommy had placed in the trees and around the house for security purposes, this was as close to no-holds-barred as it got for the Rangers outside of battle.

The use of their individual powers was acceptable and done frequently. The only rule was nothing above the neck or between the thighs and waist, saving them all from the worry of head damage and never being able to reproduce. Still, the three men knew their limits and did not abuse the freedom they had given each other. Instead, they used it as a way to both take out aggression and prepare themselves for their next encounter with the White Ranger, whenever that was.

Easily the bulkiest of the trio, Jason was surprisingly light on his feet, bouncing on his toes and either blocking or avoiding almost everything Adam threw at him. The quickness factor still belonged to Adam though, and occasionally he was able to catch Jason off-guard and land a kick or strike. Using his invisibility, Jason disappeared into thin air only to reappear behind a confused Adam moments later. The Black Ranger went for a tornado kick that would have left Adam flat on his back had it connected, but Adam sensed Jason's foot approaching at the last possible second and let time slow down for him as his gem-enhanced speed kicked in, followed by a graceful Butterfly Twist over Jason's swinging leg.

From a safe distance a few feet back, Rocky watched in unadulterated awe as his best friend and predecessor continued to execute their dance of flying hands and feet. Catching Jason's foot, Adam flipped him backwards but was left disappointed when Jason landed in a perfect fighting stance. With a cocky wave of his hand signaling for Adam to come to him, Jason threw a punch that was easily blocked. From there, their hands became a blur as strikes were delivered and blocked from both men at a pace Rocky had never seen before. Even with Adam's enhanced speed Jason still found a way to keep up with him.

For what seemed like the longest time, Adam and Jason went back and forth with neither man able to gain the upper hand. Only when both were gasping for air, sweat pouring down their faces, did their exchange cease. With their arms high above their heads as the sweet reprieve of fresh oxygen filled their lungs, the first and present-leader looked to one another and started to laugh. After a quick bow, Jason stepped towards Adam, slapping hands with the Red Ranger.

"Good job, bro," Jason commented with a grin.

"You too, Jase."

"Hey, I don't know about you guys but after today, I could sure go for a beer or two," Rocky interjected from the sidelines, garnering agreeing head nods from Adam and Jason.

With the White Ranger still fresh in their minds, the three men were eager to banish those thoughts and a little alcohol would do the trick perfectly. They were just heading towards the back door when they saw Kimberly walking towards them from inside the house. She took one look at the trio standing there all shirtless and sweaty, and began laughing loudly. Raising her hand, she waved it at her face as if she was hot. "Wow, you boys should pose for a calendar or something. I can see it now. Ranger Men of 2005: Explicit and Uncensored."

"Shit girl, I could do the whole calendar by myself. The ladies love a little Rocky," the Blue Ranger replied, getting eye rolls from his male teammates and a half-smile from Kimberly.

"The operative word being little," Adam added. He may have had the speed advantage, but Rocky managed to sneak in a quick elbow to the stomach that left Adam doubled over and coughing.

"Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dumber," Kimberly joked, shaking her head as she made her way across the lawn to the men.

"You got that right," Jason chuckled, mimicking Kimberly's reaction to her two friends. Wearing a bright smile, Jason put his arm around Kimberly's shoulder, giving her a one-armed hug. "So where's Mr. Legend?"

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Tommy," she started, making sure to add as much emphasis to the name as possible, "is upstairs taking a shower. What are you boys up to?"

Before Jason or anyone else could reply, they were halted by the loud rumbling of thunder high above their heads. The Rangers looked to the sky curiously, pondering the noise that was typically reserved for the winter months. It wasn't ten seconds later when a flash of lightning streaked across the darkness above them, crashing down as close to them as possible without directly striking anyone. The quartet was thrown in different directions, skittering across the lawn.

Groaning in pain as he held onto his side, Adam was the first to see the assortment of flames dancing on the freshly trimmed grass where the lightning bolt had just struck. Pushing himself onto his feet, he grimaced and muttered, "What the hell?"

The others joined him shortly thereafter, standing around the fire as they stared at it with curious expressions etched onto their faces. Kimberly and Jason had both opened their mouths at the same time, presumably to speak, but neither was able to utter a singly syllable. There was another loud crack, this time not from clapping thunder, but from the heart of the flames burning white hot, then silence. Wind howled high above their heads and as everyone adjusted their eyes to the sky, rain began to fall.

Curiously, the flurry of water droplets did not make contact with any of the Rangers save Rocky who reached his arm out just to make sure they were real. Instead, the rain was directed at the fire, tempering the flames, wisps of smoke floating off into the atmosphere. When the fire had been completely extinguished and the smoke had cleared, all that was left was a message burnt into the lawn.

Soon…was all it said.

"Soon," Rocky repeated, his attention turning from the grass to the house and the light he knew to be coming from Tommy's bathroom. Subconsciously, Rocky's head swiveled to look at Kimberly. "Are you sure he's in there?"

The question was spoken quite softly, especially for Rocky's standards, so as not to offend Kimberly who now looked rather nervous as her gaze shifted back and forth between the house and her teammates. A reply danced on the tip of her tongue but she knew that words would be useless in this situation. She needed to know what Tommy was doing, and she needed to know now.

Kimberly sprinted from the backyard into the house, through the kitchen, and down the hall to the closed door that led into the room she shared with Tommy. Flinging the door open, her need to know was halted by the sound of singing, Tommy's singing, muffled by the shower, coming from the bathroom. A small smile crept across her lips as she pressed her ear to the door with closed eyes, recognizing the song almost instantly.

In her mind, she was no longer a near-thirty Olympic gold medalist standing in her bedroom listening to Tommy's off-key melody. Where she found herself was a place she had not seen in over a decade. Seated on the steps of the Youth Center that led from the bar to the exercise floor Kimberly looked down at the guitar strapped around her shoulders, then slowly to the younger versions of her best friends. Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini, and Tommy were seated around her, smiling as she prepared herself to sing the song she and Zack had written for Tommy.

The sound of Tommy crying out followed by a loud crash snapped her from her memories, back into reality. Her first instinct was to try the knob but she was left disappointed when she found it to be locked. She could hear Tommy groaning; fear filled her body, and the next thing she knew she was standing in the bathroom, the door splintered at the hinges. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her shoulder Kimberly pulled back the shower curtain and found Tommy on his knees, arms wrapped around his midsection, hot water raining down on his bowed head.

"Tommy. Tommy," said Kimberly, pushing his shoulder, hoping to elicit some kind of reaction. He groaned again then turned his head upwards to her, the slightest hint of a smile on his face. The Yellow Ranger breathed a small sigh of relief. "What happened to you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tommy lied, grimacing as he pushed himself onto his feet. Gingerly, he bent down to his feet and retrieved a bar of soap, holding it up for Kimberly to see. "Didn't even know I had dropped it until I stepped backwards and slipped on the damn thing."

Shaking her head, Kimberly smiled back at him, thankful that it had not been something more serious. Then she remembered why she had come to find him in the first place. But then, he was in the shower after all. Certainly he couldn't have been the one to deliver that ominous message. "The White Ranger attacked again."

"What?" Tommy did not try to hide his surprise as he looked back up at Kimberly, concern for the well being of her and the other Rangers spelled out in his eyes. Turning the water off, Tommy stepped out of the shower; he retrieved a towel from the rack on the wall and began to carelessly dry himself off. "Are you okay? And the others? What happened to you guys?"

"Tommy, it's fine. Really," said Kimberly reassuringly though it did nothing in comforting Tommy. "He didn't really attack us in the usual sense. I think he just wanted to send us a message."

"What do you mean?"

Wrapping the towel around his waist Tommy led Kimberly out of the bathroom, back into the bedroom where he began an immediate quest to find something to wear that was at least somewhat clean. Having a woman in the house hadn't been exactly what he was expecting. Kimberly was as far from the domestic type as was possible. That didn't bother Tommy it just meant that, between the two of them, things that would be routine for most couples like doing laundry or washing dirty dishes didn't get done until it was absolutely necessary.

Seated on the bed, Kimberly watched Tommy struggle to step into a pair of basketball shorts. He was clearly favoring his ribs, the slightest of movements causing him to outwardly wince. "There was thunder and lightning, and then a part of the lawn caught on fire. It started to rain after that. When the fire was put out, the word 'Soon…' was burnt into the grass."

Tommy eyed Kimberly curiously as he began the daunting task of pulling the loosest t-shirt he could find over his head. "And naturally, you came up here to check on me to make sure I wasn't the White Ranger, right?"

"Tommy, I—" Kimberly began, only to be silenced by Tommy's hand.

"Stop. You don't have to explain. I'd probably be worried about me too if I was you or one of the others. It's not like I don't have a history of turning on the people I care about." Momentarily, Tommy paused, just long enough to leave Kimberly wondering whether or not his feelings were hurt. "All I can do is continue to tell you guys that it's not me, and prove it when I can. Like now."

"Now?"

"Now," Tommy repeated with a confirming head nod. "The Yellow Ranger alone, all by herself, with no one here to help her. If I was the White Ranger, don't you think I would have already capitalized on the opportunity to take out a Ranger without having to worry about the others?"

"I—" Kimberly started, her mouth snapping shut. Silently, she pondered Tommy's question. Alas, his point was a valid one, and she convinced herself that it was pure coincidence Tommy hadn't been there in the backyard with them. "You're right. I'm sorry, Tommy. It's just so…weird, you know?"

Ignoring the pain that jabbed at his ribs with every step, Tommy crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to Kimberly, laying his left hand on top of her right that rested on her thigh. He turned his head towards her and placed a soft kiss on her lips that did wonders in the way of reassuring to Kimberly where Tommy's true allegiances lie. When Tommy pulled his lips away, he pressed his forehead to hers and whispered, "I won't let him hurt you."

"Tommy, don't make promises you can't keep. You're not a Ran—"

"No!" Tommy interrupted, his voice a low growl. Chocolate met doe as Tommy looked directly into Kimberly's eyes; into the eyes of a long-lost love, a love he had somehow rediscovered, a love he refused to ever let go of again. "I may not be a Ranger anymore, but I am promising you right now that he won't lay a finger on you. If he does, he'll have Hell to pay for it."

For the briefest of moments Kimberly expected to see Tommy's eyes flash white as if he were still the teenaged Green Ranger acting under the evil influence of Rita Repulsa. Then she remembered that the Tommy she was looking at now was not the young man he had once been. Yes, her initial instinct was to think that he was the White Ranger, but that had simply been nostalgia. In her heart of hearts, she knew there was no way that Tommy—the man who had devoted his life to protecting the innocent at the tender age of sixteen and never once looked back, the man who relished every opportunity he was given to put evil in its place, and the one person amongst them all who would never truly be able to leave this life and honestly didn't mind—could be the White Ranger. His heart was pure, of that she was sure.

Understanding his need to feel chivalrous, Kimberly reached out and cupped the side of his face in the palm of her hand, gently stroking his cheek with her thumb. "Okay, Tommy," she whispered. "Okay."

"I love you, Kimberly. I always will," Tommy told her with as much emotion as he could muster, needing her to know that his feelings were real. "Nothing can hurt us as long as we have each other."

"Tommy, why are you talking like this?"

"What do you mean? I just—I mean, look at the facts. When it comes down to you and me with the fate of the world in our hands, we've never failed. As a team we've lost our fair share of battles, but never when it was just the two of us. I think that says a lot about who we are; that we can rely on each other for anything, know what the other is doing and thinking without having to ask. I know it probably sounds crazy, but I've always felt like there was this special bond between you and me, something that tied us together no matter how many thousands of miles life threw between us."

The hint of something wet touched Kimberly's eyes; she was unable to contain the smile that Tommy's words had created. She too had experienced that same strange connection, but had never discussed it with Tommy. In their younger days she had been too afraid of what Tommy would think to say anything to him. Surely he would have deemed her to be crazy, she told herself back then. When they were reunited some years later, neither were Rangers anymore, nor were they a couple. The connection had still been there, but she did not bring it up, convincing herself that it was just the few remaining feelings of an old love long gone.

"I've felt it, too," Kimberly whispered hoarsely.

"What? F-For how long?" Tommy sputtered in disbelief.

"Since the day I saw you at the karate tournament, I guess. I took one look at you and I just knew that you were special, that you weren't like all the other guys I knew. There was also something mysterious about you that just made me want to know everything about you," Kimberly admitted, smiling softly at the look of shock on Tommy's face. "The more we got to know each other, the closer we got, the more the connection grew, I think. When you lost your powers and went to your uncle's cabin, I could feel what you were going through inside. I was heartbroken that you were so sad and that I couldn't do anything to make you feel better."

"I think our connection is strongest when our emotions are just as strong."

"What do you mean?" asked Kimberly who wore a look of both curiosity and confusion upon her face.

"Well, when you left for Florida, I felt the same thing you felt when I lost my powers. For almost two months I could feel how homesick you were, how much you missed everything you knew and loved and cared about. Then one day, I couldn't feel you as strongly. I assumed you were finally starting to adjust, that maybe you had made some new friends. In hindsight, I know now that it was just—"

Tommy stopped himself before he made mention of the young man Kimberly had left him for by way of what she described as 'the cruelest thing she had ever done,' but Kimberly still knew what he was speaking of. It was Tommy's deepest hurt, an emotion that he had buried, but never truly banished. Part of her was sad that her actions from so long ago still hurt him, but another part was oddly happy to know how much he had truly cared about her, how much he still cared about her.

"What's done is done, Tommy. We've both made our share of mistakes, but for some reason, life thought we deserved a second chance. I want to focus on the us of today, not what we were or what we could have been if things had been different. I like who we are and where we're at. I don't love the old Tommy and I would hope that you don't still love the old Kimberly."

A shake of Tommy's head came almost as soon as the words had escaped her lips. "No, of course not! I like who we are and where we're at, too, and I'm definitely not in love with the old Kimberly. Granted," Tommy continued, his lips slowly curving upwards. "The old Kimberly did look exceptionally hot fighting in a sundress with those tight, little, spandex biker shorts underneath."

"Hey! As your girlfriend at the time I resent your sarcasm, Mister! You of all people should have been happy that I wasn't wearing a thong or something and showing off my ass to the Putties and Tengas every time I did a flip or a kick!"

Closing his eyes, Tommy smiled brightly. Kimberly slapped his shoulder, but Tommy didn't flinch. Instead, he closed his eyes tighter and smiled even bigger. "Just let me enjoy the mental image for a second, k? I guess now's as good a time as any to tell you that one of my teenaged fantasies was seeing you fighting in lingerie."

"Thomas James Oliver!" Kimberly exclaimed. But try as she might, she was unable to contain her laughter. Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes even though she knew that Tommy could not see it. "I should have known from all those times I had to save your ass that you were just being a little pervert and got distracted."

"All the times you saved my ass!?" Tommy laughed, his eyes now wide open. "Ms. Hart, need I remind you of all the times you yelled 'Tommy!' in that high-pitched scream of yours that I can't do because I have balls, and I had to come to your rescue?"

"Wow. Way to take a girl down," Kimberly muttered softly, flopping down on the bed.

Tommy's head met the mattress seconds after Kimberly's had. His first movement was to get her eyes on him. His second was to open his mouth in order to tell her, "Hey, I wouldn't be much of a White Knight if I didn't get to rescue the princess every once in a while, now would I?"

"No, I guess you wouldn't," Kimberly answered with a light giggle, pecking a kiss to the tip of Tommy's nose. Next moment her arms were around Tommy's neck and they were kissing passionately. All signs were pointing towards a night of adult fun when three bodies came barreling through the bedroom door. Kimberly yelped and flipped over to see Adam, Jason, and Rocky standing there as if they were walking in on a fight. "What the hell are you three doing!?"

"You never came back," Jason accused, pointing a finger at Kimberly. "We thought—"

"That the White Ranger got to her?" Tommy asked, finishing Jason's thought for him. Tommy couldn't help but laugh at the way the cheeks of all three men immediately got red, not to mention Jason's sheepish nod. "Guys, everything's fine. I thought you all agreed earlier that I wasn't the White Ranger?"

"We did, but then boom! Thunder. And crack! Lightning," Rocky interjected wildly, his arms flailing about in every direction. "And then…and then…and then burn! Fire."

"Burn! Fire?" Adam asked, staring at Rocky in disbelief.

"I didn't know what sound fire made," Rocky muttered with a look of embarrassment.

"And burn was the best you could come up with?"

"Hey, I didn't hear you—"

"Guys, guys," Jason interrupted, ceasing what he knew could turn into an argument as heated as a Presidential Debate. Usually, their arguments were quite amusing and Jason would have let it go on, but not under the hardened glares of Tommy and Kimberly who were both staring directly at him as if he was the leader of the pack. "I think we're interrupting them. Let's take this outside."

Kimberly smiled gratefully; Tommy managed a tight, forced grin as Jason escorted Adam and Rocky out of the bedroom, making sure to close the door behind him on his way out. When the room was sufficiently clear, Kimberly rolled back over, smiling at Tommy, lazily tracing her finger over his t-shirt covered chest.

"We're gonna get through this, Beautiful," Tommy whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. Her nose nestled against Tommy's chest, Kimberly inhaled deeply, the faintest trace of his cologne sending her senses into overdrive. Needing closer contact, she attacked his lips with a passion. For nearly five minutes they remained wrapped in each other's arms. When the kiss finally broke, Tommy was nearly breathless. All he could manage in reply was a muttered, "Wow," as he subconciously touched his fingers to his bottom lip.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything. You just have a way of reassuring me that everything's going to be okay," Kimberly replied, kissing him again, a bright smile on her face when she pulled away moments later. "Plus, it doesn't hurt that you're willing to take me to Paris just to see the sun rise."

"I can take you to the Great Wall of China tomorrow if you'd like."

Noting the grin on his face, Kimberly playfully slapped him on the arm. "I'm serious. No matter what we're doing, you always find a way to make me feel special. After all these years, I still don't see how I ever let you go."

"I thought we weren't talking about the past anymore?"

"We're not."

Tommy laughed. What Kimberly considered to be logic had always gotten that same reaction out of him. She was quirky in her own right, and that was part of what Tommy loved about her. Kimberly never felt like she had to conform to fit in. She did her own thing and really didn't worry in regards to what people thought about her. Tommy, the complete polar opposite of Kimberly in that respect, admired her ability to tune out and disregard any negativity around her.

He was on the verge of saying something when the bedroom door burst open once again. This time it was just Jason, who came in with eyes closed just to be on the safe side. When no noises were heard, he deemed it safe to open his eyes and speak to his unimpressed friends. "Tyrannodrones. Elsa. Park."

And with that he was gone. Disappointed, frustrated, and a little bit angry, Kimberly pushed herself into a sitting position and looked to the clock on Tommy's nightstand. "It's freaking midnight for God's sake! Why can't he just attack at four o'clock Monday through Friday like Rita and Zedd always did?"

Not even giving Tommy a chance to reply, Kimberly spun on her heels and headed for the door but he called out to her, getting her to stop and turn around, arms folded across her chest. "Be safe out there."

Tommy's concern for her well-being made her expression soften to the point she could offer a small smile. "I will. You better get down to the basement, just in case the White Ranger shows up again, and we need your help."

"Yeah, I know. I'll be down in a minute."

Kimberly, with no time to argue, nodded her head and left him on his own. After a pit stop in the bathroom, and another in the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, Tommy settled down into his usual chair just as the morphed versions of his friends began to engage the Tyrannodrones.

In the park, Kimberly had taken to using her Ptera Grips against Mesogog's leather-clad general, while each of the male Rangers did battle with small groups of Tyrannodrones. Charging forward, Kimberly swiped at Elsa who jumped backwards to avoid the blow, but the Yellow Ranger would not be stopped so easily. She continued to slash at Elsa, missing by mere inches every time. Finally, when the Ptera Grips had proven themselves to be useless in this situation, Kimberly dismissed them, deciding to revert back to that which she knew best.

Launching herself into a series of back handsprings, Kimberly pushed herself high into the air, executing a corkscrew maneuver that left her looking right at Elsa's back. When Elsa turned around, Kimberly jumped as high as she could and locked her legs tightly around Elsa's neck. Looking down on Elsa, Kimberly smiled from beneath her helmet. "Later, bitch!" Kimberly exclaimed in a voice reminiscent of her Valley Girl days. Snapping her body backwards, Kimberly used the added momentum to flip Elsa over, sending her crashing into the ground with a resounding thud.

Across the way, Adam, Jason, and Rocky were making quick work of the Tyrannodrones. In fact, most of them had already been eliminated. With only two of the drones remaining, the men had taken to toying with the creatures. Red, black, and blue formed a perimeter around the Tyrannodrones, making escape impossible. Slowly, they approached the drones like a cheetah stalking its prey. On Adam's signal, they moved forward to finish the job just as a bolt of lightning struck the ground in between the pair of Tyrannodrones, destroying them instantly and throwing the Rangers backwards.

In a fashion similar to what had happened earlier, a fire began in the place where the lightning bolt had hit, but there was something different about it this time. Instead of dancing around like they had done before, the flames grew upwards in a column. Kimberly, who was still occupied with Elsa, did not see this happening, but the male Rangers watched the flames continue their vertical growth with a sense of dread. It was as if they knew what was coming, but were powerless to do anything about it.

There was no rain, either, just the whistle of arrows being fired at them. Diving to avoid them, Jason looked up from where he lay just in time to see the flames disappear into thin air, replaced by the figure of the White Ranger. Jason made to get on his feet, but was dropped once more when the White Ranger summoned a ball of crackling white energy and hit Jason right in the chest with it, sending the Black Ranger flying through the air, right into a tree.

The sickening crack of flesh and bone meeting unforgiving oak was enough to alert Kimberly to what was happening. She started to run towards the White Ranger, but immediately knew that she wasn't going to make it in time. Not even halfway there, she tried to scream for Adam and Rocky, but the words would not come out. With wide eyes, she watched in horror as the Red and Blue Rangers met the same fate as Jason, Adam connecting with a tree, and Rocky hitting the thick metal bars that were supporting a nearby swing set.

Sensing a new presence approaching, the White Ranger slowly turned his head to see Kimberly charging at him. Turning around to face her, the White Ranger folded his arms across his chest, laughing louder as Kimberly got closer. Even when she drew her Ptera Grips, the White Ranger did not move a muscle outside of tapping his wrist once. An invisible shield went up around the White Ranger, preventing Kimberly from coming within more than five feet of him.

"What's the matter? You scared? Come on and fight me!" Kimberly yelled, pacing back and forth, her gaze never leaving the White Ranger.

For a moment, the White Ranger seemed to ponder the idea of lowering his defenses and fighting the Yellow Ranger, but quickly dismissed the idea, shaking his head. "It is not yet your time, Yellow Ranger, but worry not, your day will come soon enough." Then, with another touch of his wrist, the White Ranger was engulfed by flames once more. When the fire went out on its own a few moments later, he was gone.

Defeated, Kimberly looked around for the nearest injured Ranger and found that it was Adam who lay under a large oak tree fifteen feet away. Thankfully, after checking on all of the Rangers, she found that none of them were hurt too seriously. Everyone was able to walk, albeit with quite a bit of pain, but they all knew that it could have been a lot worse, and that they were lucky it hadn't been.

More so than Adam and Jason, Kimberly had been the most concerned about Rocky. With his history of back injuries, not to mention the fact that he was slammed into a huge metal pole, it was a wonder he was even able to walk. She reasoned he was lucky that he'd just be sore for a few days, quite a reversal of fate from the paralysis that surely would have occurred had the Power not been there to protect him.

As the Rangers prepared to teleport back to the Command Center, Kimberly thought back on their first two meetings with the White Ranger. Both had been fleeting, and involved the Rangers being on the receiving end of surprise attacks and quick departures, never giving them the chance to retaliate. Pressing the button on her gauntlet to teleport, Kimberly felt the rush of energy as a column of yellow light enveloped her, and with closed eyes she silently promised herself that he would not get away so easily the next time that they met.