Power Rangers: The Alternate
Chapter 13: Webbing Bells
Disclaimer: The Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. All things Carri belong to KJ; including Rhianna
The story takes place in an alternate universe
Authors note: A huge thank you to KJ, who dealt with my twisted sense of humor for two and a half hours and still somehow managed to help me get my outlines straight and pull it all together so it works.
"Congrats guys!" Aisha said, raising her smoothie towards Kim and then Billy. "Your first official karate class." She finished with a flourish and the others raised their glasses in unison to meet hers.
"So what do you guys think?" Tommy asked, looking directly at Kim. He was a little nervous. She was really good at what she did, but there were countless little minor variations that he'd had to correct; the angle of a fist, the direction of a pivot, the name of a move. He knew she hadn't been faking it; it was the difference in the way she'd learned it. All of it played into the appearance of her beginner status, but he'd also recognized the frustration in her eyes and it worried him.
"Morphinomical." Kim quipped with a saucy grin and the others around her laughed.
"It's actually quite a fascinating differentiation between the written technical depiction and the actual physical implementation of the art." Billy commented, nodding.
"What he said." Kim added, taking another sip of her smoothie, and again the Rangers laughed.
"I meant, did you guys like the class?" Tommy asked, but Aisha interrupted.
"That's him." She hissed in a loud whisper, grabbing onto Kim's shoulders and turning her roughly toward the entrance.
"The one that asked you to the Valentine's dance?" Kim asked, trying to figure out exactly which one of the football players gathering around Ernie's counter was the one in question.
"Aw man…" Adam groaned, "That thing is still more than six weeks away and you've got a date already?"
"Yep…" Aisha announced smugly. "Keith Kar, linebacker on the football team, with his very own car, asked me yesterday…can you believe it?" She squealed the last few words like a giddy little girl, squeezing Kim's arm in her excitement.
"He's cute…" Kim offered appreciatively as the subject of Aisha's squeal came into clearer view at Ernie's counter; noting that the boy had to be at least two feet taller than her friend, with massive broad shoulders for a teenager. She grinned at the mental image of the two dancing. "You better start practicing wearing those heels you were talking about."
"What the heck is he doing asking a girl six weeks in advance?" Rocky grumbled. "I mean, the thing was just announced Monday when we got back from winter break."
"Marge asked me yesterday." Billy piped up. "While we were in computer lab."
"So much for teaming up and going as a group again." Adam moaned, wondering who he'd ever get up the nerve to ask, then with a grin and mischievous side look at Tommy said, "At least Tommy knows who he wants to ask."
Tommy's eyes immediately widened and he shot Adam a look that said his friend was going to pay for that remark the next time the two met on the mat. He gave a Kim a hesitant look to see if she'd heard, but, to his mortification, she'd already turned around to face him.
"Really?" She asked. "Who?"
"Oh….uhm…" He stumbled, caught off guard and totally unprepared to ask the object of his affection to a dance in front of the entire team if she was just going to turn him down and insist on being just friends. "I, uh…they're just…giving me grief 'cause they have no idea who their gonna ask." He managed to choke out as coolly as possible; considering his neck and ears were completely on fire with embarrassment. "I don't…I mean…I'm not sure who'd even want to go to the dance with me." He mumbled.
"Well I know who'd like to go with you." Kim offered helpfully, completely oblivious to the fact that Aisha had snapped back around and all eyes were riveted on her.
"Really?" Tommy nearly squeaked.
"Mmm-hmmm." Kim said, swallowing a sip from her smoothie. "I have it on very good authority that Kat Hillard thinks your cute."
As one, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha choked and burst out laughing.
"What?" Kim asked, genuinely confused by their reactions. "What's so funny?"
"Girl…" Aisha said between giggles, "I think we need to have ourselves little talk…but after I go see my new boy." She added with a wink and a pat on Kim's shoulder. She stood up and moved away from the small group, toward the counter where her date for the dance had just spotted her and was waving.
"What did I say?" She asked again, but Rocky and Adam just began another round of snickering and Tommy shifted uncomfortably, while Billy looked as confused as she was. Anything they might of said, however, was interrupted by a familiar chirping sound from their communicators.
"Saved by the page." Adam snickered under his breath, stealing a glance at Tommy.
"Let's go." He said as sternly as he could manage. His entire face felt like it was on fire and he was sure it must be beet red by now. Kat Hillard? The girl she'd been talking to before his class? True, the new exchange student was really pretty; with long blond hair and blue flirty eyes. He'd noticed her before, but not enough to actively seek her out at school. Why in the world would Kim suggest her? Unless, of course, she was trying to tell him she wasn't interested herself and save him the embarrassment of suggesting they go to the dance together. The thought sank heavily in his stomach and suddenly his mood shifted from cloud nine to sub-zero.
He stole a glance at the Alternate as they very quietly slipped from the Juice Bar and out into the deserted hall. She met his eyes curiously and he looked quickly away, signaling the others to transport out.
"Rangers," Zordon greeted them as they entered the Power Chamber. "I'm afraid I have very disturbing news."
"What is it Zordon?" Tommy asked.
"Rita Repulsa has returned…and it appears as though she has joined with Lord Zedd in matrimony."
Tommy's head jerked to one side, eyes fixing on the Alternate. She'd gone very white and seemed to sway a bit. "That's exactly what you said would happen." He said, eyes wide, despite his best effort to stay calm. Kim had told him all about how that had happened on her world… and what it had meant for their team.
"What's this?" Alpha asked, coming over to the small group.
"Kim said that's the same thing that happened on their world." Tommy explained. "She told me all about it. How Zedd and Rita joined forces against the Rangers, got married, and produced a baby monster named Thrax and an humanoid daughter name Rhianna."
"Rita…and Zedd…married?" Aisha asked incredulously.
"That's gross." Rocky added.
"Their gonna have kids?" Adam asked, face scrunched up in a look of disgust.
"That's one mental picture I can do without." Aisha commiserated.
"Let us not get ahead of ourselves." Zordon responded. "While it is true that alternate universes tend to settle along similar timelines, in no way is the future of this world dependent upon the history of another. Each will develop along its own path."
"But Zordon, Thomas said…" Kim protested.
"While I appreciate and value Thomas's opinions Kimberly," Zordon interrupted. "And I appreciate your concern, I must discourage you from referring to the past timeline of your world as a reference to the future of ours."
"But…" Kim protested, "I've already lived this. I know what's going to happen."
"It is true that some timelines will resemble one another closely Kimberly, and that major events often occur in tandem or in a similar order, however each alternate universe is unique, developing its own contours."
"But Zordon…"
"No Kimberly. Just as you resemble our former teammate, your timeline may also resemble ours. However, I must also stress that just as you have developed very differently from the Kimberly you replaced, so too has our world developed differently from your own. Do not depend too strongly on similarities that may or may not play out the way you perceive them; that practice could prove very dangerous for both you and this team of Rangers."
"Yes Zordon." Kim mumbled. She knew what was going to happen, she'd seen it on more than one world; not just her own. Zordon was wrong to dismiss her like that, she pouted silently. She had knowledge that could really help.
"One thing is certain," Zordon continued, this time addressing all the Rangers, "Rita has combined her power with Lord Zedd, dramatically shifting the balance of power on the morphin grid. We must proceed with caution until the playing field has settled."
As he spoke, the alarms blared and the Rangers turned as one to the viewing globe.
"Ai yi yi!" Alpha wailed. "Zordon, this is the most hideous monster yet!"
"What is it?" Adam asked, frowning.
Within the globe was a blue, spider-like creature. Three pairs of legs peeked out from beneath yards and yards of puffed out, bright peach organza while its fourth pair of legs poked through two poufy sleeves. Two huge, oversized, black bows were situated on either side of its multi eyed head, where its shoulders would otherwise have been, and another huge black satin bow decked its backside.
"Zedd and Rita have sent us their first monster." Zordon observed. "It is the Brachnomaid, possibly derived from one of Rita's own wedding attendants."
"That thing's a bridesmaid?" Aisha asked, face scrunched up. "And I thought the dress I had to wear in my Aunt's wedding was hideous."
"Oh no!" Alpha fretted. "Zordon look, it's attacking the civilians in the park!"
As the Rangers watched, the Brachnomaid stunned its victims with a smoky haze emitted from its bouquet of dead flowers, then engulfed them in a grey web-like substance. When the victims emerged from their cocoon, the color had been completely drained from their skin and clothing, leaving them looking like ghostly black and white copies.
"This is very serious Rangers." Zordon warned from above them. "Brachnomaid has the ability to drain the life force from her victims, increasing her own power and leaving them in a vulnerable zombie-like state."
"Don't worry Zordon, we'll stop it." Tommy said definitively and the others chorused their agreement. Within seconds, they were fully morphed and transporting out.
Goldar, giving up on his master and his master's giddy bride, left the throne room with sagging shoulders. Now that batty old witch was using the wedding party to attack the Rangers. The stupid spider had caught the bridal bouquet and earned the right to become Rita and Zedd's first joint monster venture. Could things possibly get worse?
He looked over his shoulder again as he slipped from the room. At the very least Rita could have taken off that repulsive dress and given the thing some armor…but no, she and Zedd had combined their powers and simply morphed the thing into an even more gruesome caricature than they'd started with.
The way things were going, he mused silently as he shuffled down the fog filled hallway, maybe it would get lucky and simply scare the Rangers to death.
"Ah….Rangers….welcome!" The monster greeted them sweetly as they teleported in. "Welcome to the webbing of the century! I have it all planned….won't you join me?" Seeing a movement behind it, the spider-like creature jumped, spraying pink fog on something behind a rather large bush. Immediately, Bulk and Skull began gyrating wildly, then fainted. Brachnomaid sprayed them with webbing and as they emerged in black and white form, she squealed, "Oh look, the webbing singers are here!"
"Oh gross…" Kim drolled, "Talk about Beetlejuice revisited…"
"Huh?" Aisha and Rocky asked together.
"Never mind…" Kim muttered. "Wrong universe..."
"We're here to put a stop to your wedding plans Brachnomaid!" Tommy yelled, shaking his fist as the others teamed up in formation around him.
"I'm sorry you feel that way." The monster hissed. "I really do hate webbing crashers. Looks like I'll have to call security on you!" She taunted.
The Rangers were expecting putties to emerge, but instead, large black birds with huge beaks fluttered out of Zedd's white lightening transport beams.
"Oh my gosh.." Kim exclaimed, backing up a little. "Tengas."
"What?" Tommy asked, turning to face her and getting nailed by a huge black, six foot tall, crow-like bird who took that particular second to fly forward at him.
The birdlike, armored beasts squawked loudly, over and over again, with annoying caw-like sounds causing Aisha to cover her helmet with her hands where her ears would be. One of the birds flew at her, as if to attack, but she blocked at the last moment and pushed it back with her arms. "Back off bird brain."
"Tengas." Kim said again over the noise. "This isn't good Tommy, they're a lot harder to fight than putties. They're morons, completely stupid, but really strong. You have to out think them."
As she spoke, three of the cawing creatures surrounded her and began circling; pecking at her with their beaks and scratching their clawed feet against the ground.
"Who are you calling moron pinkie?" One of the beasts taunted.
"They talk?" Adam asked as he dodged an attack by another feathery band swooping towards him.
Kim was having a seriously bad case of de ja vu. As black feathers fluttered around her, she began having flashbacks to the last few battles on her world. Putties were one thing, it was like going back in time to the tried and true, but the Tengas were totally different. Memories of her previous life assaulted her; of her dead team mates, of the aftermath of Kemora's possession, of the loss of her world.
It was too much and in a flurry of black feathers, she became just dizzy enough to lose her edge. The monster saw it and closed in, spraying her with a pink smoke that escalated the dizzy feeling, and she wilted into a fairly dramatic faint. The Tengas caught her and held her up as the monster sprayed her with webbing.
"Kim!" Tommy screamed, trying in vain to reach her. In his panicked struggle, the Tengas regrouped and closed in, holding him still while Brachnomaid turned sprayed him with webbing too.
Emerging in their zombie form, Kim and Tommy had de-morphed and appeared to have completely forgotten that they were Rangers. They looked like odd, black and white caricatures of their true selves; with dramatic, overly exaggerated movements. Oddly, they still rushed toward one another, as if the memory of being teammates was still intact.
"Oh goodie!" Brachnomaid squealed giddily, "Looks like the bride and groom are here! Come along Tengas!" She sang, turning and pulling up her poufy skirt as she marched away. Within seconds the monster, the Tengas, and all her victims, including Kim and Tommy, were transported away.
"What just happened?" Adam asked the others, stunned.
"I'm not sure I want to answer that." Rocky said uncertainly.
"Rangers!" Alpha called through their communicators. "Return immediately to the Power Chamber."
"No complaints from me on that one." Aisha said, and the Rangers teleported out.
"She did it!" Rita crowed. "Two Rangers in less than ten minutes! Oh Zeddikins, you're so marvelous…so brilliant, so wonderful…so…"
"Now now my dear…it was your idea to use the bridal attendant…" Zedd cooed in response.
"I think I'm going to be sick…" Goldar growled from outside in the hall, dropping his head in his hands.
"Zordon…" Rocky said incredulously as the four remaining Rangers faced their mentor. "What's going to happen to them?"
"Don't worry Rocky." Alpha cajoled. "I've checked and there isn't a court in the entire Intergalactic Community that will recognize this kind of ceremony under duress…except perhaps on Rheiga, but no one really listens to their opinions on these matters. "
"Who cares if it's not legal," Rocky exclaimed. "We have to stop it!"
"It may already be too late for that." Zordon said solemnly. "Behold the viewing globe."
The Rangers turned as one to the illuminated globe where an overly perky, black and white, zombie-like version of Kim was marching giddily down the aisle, surrounded by a hysterically laughing Rita, her new husband, and their court.
"Oh no…" Aisha exclaimed, "Zordon, we have to do something…they can't…they can't do that…they're not old enough!"
"For now, both Kimberly and Tommy are relatively safe in Rita's sub-dimension." Zordon answered reassuringly. "Lord Zedd's minions appear to be content to entertain themselves with their new puppets. What we must now focus on is a way to destroy Brachnomaid's bouquet of Nihnenteem death flowers, which will destroy the spell and release her victims.
"Besides," Alpha offered helpfully, "It's not the actual ceremony we have to be concerned with, it's the wedding night afterward."
"Alpha…" Zordon warned. "Now is not the time to discuss such contingencies with the Rangers."
"But Zordon, the Atanger ritual…Lord Zedd will surely follow it, if only to have his revenge on you and the Rangers. If the marriage is actually consummated, it will be virtually impossible to annul it later."
"Oh my god…" Aisha moaned, covering her face with her hands while the boys simply looked at each other in a combination of amusement and horror.
"Alpha," Zordon called, drawing the attention of the Rangers back to him and away from the viewing globe which now showed the zombie like versions of Kim and Tommy passionately kissing at the end of the monster ceremony. "We must focus our energies on reversing the monster's spell. Nihnenteem flowers tend to petrify and can prove difficult to destroy."
"We'll need to burn them with Neddverian coal fire." Alpha said knowingly, raising his metallic finger and nodding his head. "It's the only substance that will burn at the temperatures necessary and yet still remain portable enough for the Rangers to transport and easily handle during a confrontation."
"Then begin the preparations." Zordon responded, darkening the viewing globe least the Ranger's attention be drawn back to it.
As the young Rangers moved away and began to focus on the tasks Alpha assigned them, he allowed himself the luxury of a frown. These events had been unforeseen by him and he needed time to fully comprehend their ramifications.
Zordon was not unaware of how the timelines had played out in other dimensions. Some dimensions moved faster while others tended to lag behind. He was an interdimensional being, like Thomas, and although Rita's entrapment in his energy tube left him no longer able to communicate with his alternate selves, he still understood where he needed to take his Rangers and the desired goals of the Guardians of the continuum.
On the one hand, a union between the Alternate and their dimension's Tommy was very desirable. It would produce a notoriously stable timeline with heirs that would solidify the dimension in the green zone; devoted to good. However, on the other hand, the Alternate had survived possession by the Muirantian demon Kemora…and that opened a plethora of possibilities where the young girl might be better unencumbered by a mate.
He knew exactly what Thomas had in mind by hiding the girl from the Guardians. It was a difficult dilemma and one where he was not entirely sure how to proceed.
It took far longer to assemble the weapon utilizing Zordon's small Nihnenteem coal supply than Zordon and the Rangers had anticipated. So long, that the Brachnomaid and the Tengas were already back in the park terrorizing more civilians when the remaining four Rangers transported out to meet her.
"Well, well Rangers." She laughed. "I had such fun with the last webbing, I thought I'd plan another. Any volunteers? You Rangers make such cute couples."
"Your matchmaking days are over Brachnomaid." Rocky shouted.
"Party pooper." The monster shot back.
"Ready guys?" Rocky called.
"Ready!" They responded, moving into formation and assembling various parts of a small cannon.
"Now!" Rocky shouted, and the weapon fired a huge roman candle like plume of sparks in the monster's direction.
The sparks consumed Brachnomaid and her toxic bouquet. She screamed, first in outrage and then rather pitifully as she melted into a multi colored gooey mess on the grass. Sinking into the slime that had once been the Brachnomaid, the bouquet of Neddverian death flowers caught fire and then melted into the ooze.
"That was easy." Aisha said, standing back up and dusting herself off from where the back kick of the cannon had tossed her.
"A little too easy." Adam said hesitantly as they waited for some sign of the release of their friends.
The Rangers turned and looked around the quiet park. The sticky remains of the Brachnomaid continued to bubble and boil on the grass as the Nihnenteem coal particles continued to heat the ooze; even the Tengas were suddenly, conspicuously, absent.
"Uhm…Zordon?" Rocky asked hesitantly, but even as he spoke the Brachnomaid's victims began reappearing one by one in the exact order they'd been taken. Last to appear were the unmorphed Kim and Tommy and the other Rangers rushed forward, vocal in their relief.
"Are you guys ok?" Aisha asked, hugging Kim in relief.
"Yeah…I think so…" Kim said hesitantly. "What just happened?"
"You guys were captured by Brachnomaid…uhm…do you… remember any of it?" Rocky asked uncertainly.
"No." Kim said a little too quickly, stealing a slight, nervous glance at Tommy.
"Nothing." Tommy confirmed, also looking a little too uncomfortable for his own good. "Absolutely nothing…it's all blank."
"Yeah…" Kim agreed, nodding although her face looked utterly panicked. "Absolutely blank….nothing at all…not any of it."
"Don't suppose you guys want to fill us in or anything…" Tommy said nervously, laughing uneasily and trying to act nonchalant. "I mean, since we remember absolutely nothing." He stressed, stealing a small, guilty glance at Kim, who had her arms crossed protectively across her chest and was basically staring at her shoes.
"Brachnomaid captured you and morphed you into her…" Billy began helpfully when the others stalled, but Aisha slapped his shoulder.
"That's ok…" She interrupted. "Nothing much, you guys are back now, that's all the counts."
"Yeah…" Rocky and Adam chimed in unison.
"We're not entirely sure what happened either." Rocky said awkwardly.
"Zordon turned off the viewing globe." Adam added, looking at Rocky and Aisha to back him up.
The six Rangers, four morphed and two unmorphed, regarded each other in a short uncomfortable silence; none of them really sure what to say next. As the silence grew, so did the bubbling ooze of the monster…into a sixty-five foot tall blue, hairy, multi-eyed Bridezilla; complete with veil and garter.
"Looks like the job's not quite finished." Tommy observed gratefully. "It's morphin time!"
As he and Kim morphed and joined the rest of the team, the zords appeared and the real battle began in earnest. Unfortunately, the Rangers quickly learned that there is no force in the universe more powerful and more evil than a pissed off bride; especially one super-charged by both Rita and Zedd's combined magic.
She tossed the zords around like cheap kid's meal prizes; sending sparks flying and alarms blaring. They flew in all directions, Kim's Thunderbird spiraling straight down into the center of Angel Grove Lake, causing waves of water to splash over those few civilians brave enough to continue daily activities during a monster attack.
"Time to bring 'em together guys!" Tommy called as his Tigerzord took a direct hit and rolled with a mighty metallic groan down Angel Grove's main avenue.
The zords rebounded, and all came together, but it was a difficult fight at best. The more she was thwarted, the angrier Bridezilla became, until she finally screamed her outrage and struck the mighty zord with her iron handbag, sending it flying backward.
"I've never seen a monster this powerful before!" Rocky called, coughing on the smoke filling the cockpit.
"Kim? Have you ever encountered this one?" Tommy asked.
"No…I mean, all the monsters are slightly different, so it's hard to say. I remember the monsters got a lot more powerful once Rita and Zedd joined forces, but…I don't remember anything this bad except for Ivan."
"Ivan?" Tommy asked, but she didn't have time to respond. Bridezilla was on top of them and pummeling the prone megazord with pounding fists. One after another, the shock waves reverberated through the megazord, cracking jaws and rattling the Rangers within.
"Alright…" Tommy growled. "That's it. Time to teach this spoiled princess some manners."
The Rangers rallied once again and pushed the Bridezilla backward, but destroying her was no easy task. Weakened by the battle, the zords split apart, sending the Rangers flying, but they pulled it together and attacked again, putting Bridezilla on the defensive.
It was a desperate and furious battle, caught on camera by a few brave news crews who sent the images live, via satellite, to all the televisions in Angel Grove and even into the Lunar Palace. The citizens cheered as the Rangers gained an edge, then cried out in outrage as Bridezilla fought back and seemed to turn the tide. They went back and forth longer than any battle the Rangers of that world had ever fought before and finally, in one last push of strength, Tommy switched strategy mid stream and sent the megazord up into the atmosphere, then straight back down to Earth, impaling Bridezilla with the megazord's sword from her veiled head, down to her scuffed satin shoes.
Bridezilla exploded with a force that took most of the abandoned industrial section with her, but she wasn't done yet. Inside her was a hidden device that activated upon her destruction, it exploded with a force of morphanological energy so strong that it rocked the megazord, breaking the zords apart once again and sending the Rangers flying.
Tommy landed with a thud and de-morphed, his head spinning and the wind knocked out of him. At Kim's scream, he forced himself to roll over on his belly and pull himself upright, only to watch in horror as, one by one, the Thunderzords exploded.
"We did it!" Rita screamed, jumping up and down in the throne room.
"Victory is mine!" Zedd roared over her shouts. "At last! Zordon's Rangers are defeated!"
As the monsters assembled in the Lunar Palace for the wedding began to shout and dance around, Goldar sat heavily on the side stairway leading to the dungeons. "Oh my aching head…" He moaned, covering his monkey like face with clawed hands.
"Zordon…" Tommy said in an incredulous whisper as he looked in agony up at their mentor. "What do we do?"
"Rangers," Zordon replied sorrowfully, "My sympathies at the loss of your zords. No one understands more than I the bond the Rangers share with them, but their sacrifice was not in vain. By absorbing the morphanological energy burst hidden within the Bridezilla monster, the zords were able to shield you and deliver you safely back to the surface."
"But…how do we fight Rita and Zedd without zords?" Adam asked.
"A Ranger doesn't need a zord to fight evil." Kim whispered, barely audible, obviously as numb as the others by the shock of their loss.
"Yeah, but we need powers." Rocky argued. "We can't face Tengas and monsters as just normal humans."
"Of course we can." Kim snapped angrily, whirling on him. "What makes a Ranger isn't the powers, it's in the heart. The Great Power will always aide those who fight with all their heart and soul on the side of good." She said passionately, eyes blazing. She was covered in soot and her clothing torn, but Tommy thought she had never looked more beautiful to him. He agreed with her. They would find a way to defeat Zedd; one way or another.
"You are both correct." Zordon said gently from above, diffusing the argument before it could begin. "You are right Kimberly, a Ranger's heart is all he will ever need to win the battle, but as Rocky noted, we must now shift our focus to the combined powers of Lord Zedd and Rita and how we will win the war."
"Tell us how to re-charge our powers Zordon. We can re-build the zords, but we're gonna need our powers to keep Zedd off of Earth." Tommy said.
"I'm afraid your Powers are gone." Zordon said gently.
"Then we have to get new ones." Kim said decisively.
"You've been through this before." Tommy said, turning towards her; eyes hopeful. "You told me your team lost their powers and went on a quest for new ones. Where? How?"
"After Ivan Ooze destroyed our zords." Kim said sadly, remembering the events on her world.
"Ai yi yi! Ivan Ooze… Ivan returned to your world?"
"An excavation team dug up his egg when they were digging the foundation for a parking garage." Kim said in a detached voice, chewing her thumbnail and thinking hard. Turning to Zordon she said with far more feeling. "My Zordon nearly died in that attack and our Power Chamber was destroyed. It was a last ditch effort by my Alpha to send us to Phaedos in search of Dulcea. It was a one way trip, if we didn't succeed, there was no coming home."
"Can't we go to this Phaedos too?" Tommy asked, coming up beside her and looking earnestly up at Zordon.
Zordon was astounded by the suggestion. He had been about to recommend another power he'd been considering, but perhaps, given the Alternate's association with the Muirantian realm, this solution was the better course of action. "I believe Dulcea could be of great assistance to our cause." He responded.
"Then we can go?" Kim asked hopefully. She had adored Phaedos and was actually rather sad to leave it. While she wasn't keen on reliving the quest she'd find there, having her Ninjetti powers back would be awesome.
"Alpha…recalibrate the transporter." Zordon directed.
"Ai yi yi!' Alpha exclaimed as he bent over the consol. "Phaedos! How exciting!"
Goldar tossed violently on his small cot, finally kicking off his warn blanket and jumping off the bed to the stone floor below. Impossible. Outrageous. A pitiful arachnid and a few flying chickens had done in one day what he'd failed to do in years… what armies had failed to do.
True, black widow spiders had the nasty reputation of eating their husbands after mating, a ferociousness that really had to be admired in any decent monster, but it had out done him! A stupid, silly, brainless, dimwitted, female bug had bested him…the great Goldar…
He sat heavily on the narrow strip of his bedclothes and pouted. Perhaps, if he was lucky, and his luck hadn't exactly held lately, those miserable teenagers would find a new set of powers and come back to torture Zedd and his new battleaxe of a wife. For the first time in his life, he found himself actually pulling for the little spandex wonders.
Kim breathed deeply of the salty air, blowing wildly across the stony beach. The heavy surf pounded against the rocks, sending up huge clouds of wet mist that billowed landward and dusted her cheeks and arms with salty droplets. She loved Phaedos, but the memory of her last visit saddened her too. The recollections floated about her like ghosts and the reality of the last few months of her life weighed heavily on her shoulders.
"You ok?" Tommy asked gently, coming up beside her. They needed to talk. He remembered every detail of the monster wedding…and the ceremonial bedding that had been humiliatingly witnessed in the time honored custom of the netherworld …and he was certain she did too.
Zordon had held him back to press for details while the others filed out to clean up and prepare for the journey to Phaedos. He had been as evasive as he could until his mentor had informed him that the marriage was a legal one and could only be successfully annulled if it hadn't been consummated. Unfortunately it had…and, even if it wasn't legal on Earth, in the eyes of the Intergalactic Community… and the Rangers… they were now legally married. Unfortunately, that wasn't nearly as easy to undo as it was on his home world; but Zordon had promised to try.
"Fine." She responded, still staring sadly at the sea. "Just remembering my last visit to this shoreline." She added wistfully. She turned and regarded him. He had a strange look on his face which she attributed to the memory of what had happened between them. That particular memory was awkward at best. What had been so incredibly passionate and enthralling a few short hours before was now mortifying in the light of day…but she couldn't think of that now. There was too much still to do. "It's gonna be fine." She said softly, meeting his eyes.
"The power quest?" He asked, and she nodded slowly, giving him a soft, sad smile that melted his heart. He understood what she hadn't spoken. She had meant their untimely nuptials. They stood in silence, staring out at the waves for several long moments before she spoke again.
"The quest…" She said gently, turning her eyes back to him. "We can do this Tommy, we just have to focus on the task at hand...and deal with the rest when we get home." She said firmly.
"The quest…" He murmured, eyes returning back to the stormy water. "Right…the quest."
"I've done this part before, remember?" She answered with a grin, leaning her shoulder into his arm and pushing at him mischievously with her elbow.
He grinned at her and watched as the sea air tussled her hair. On this far away beach, on this alien world, it wasn't hard at all for him to imagine her as a mermaid, a siren, calling to him on the rocky foreign shore.
He loved her, he realized with a shock that reverberated to his very core. For the first time in his life he felt something far beyond simple infatuation. What's more, the warmth in her eyes when they returned his gaze seemed to echo his feelings.
Suddenly, he didn't want Zordon to find a solution to their dilemma. He wanted her, wanted to spend his whole life with her doing just what they were doing now; fighting to make the world a little better. The universe itself seemed to open for him in that moment and for the first time in his young life, as he stared into those wonderful, soft brown eyes, anything and everything seemed possible.