One Month Ago
"We need Thundermegazord power, now!"
"Stegosaurus, Bifang*, Thunderzord power!"
"Mastodon, Lion, Thunderzord power!"
"Pteradactyl, Firebird, Thunderzord power!"
"Triceratops, Unicorn, Thunderzord power!"
"Sabertooth Tiger, Gryffon, Thunderzord power!"
"Tyrannosaurus, Red Dragon, Thunderzord power!"
"Tigerzord, power up!"
Kimberly reached out and grabbed the control column of her Firebird Thunderzord and flew it into position to combined with the Thundermegazord. She pulled hard at the controls, arms shaking with effort as the zord rocked back and forth. She frowned. Normally, her flying the zord was as easy as breathing. A 1-2-3 procedure that hardly made her break a sweat. Now she was sweating buckets while straining her muscles to hold it in place. Finally, she relaxed as the Firebird zord moved into place and her seat shifted backwards, propelling herself through the zord to line up with the others.
"You ready?" Jason asked her once she arrived.
Kimberly nodded back. She tried to focus on the fight as hard as she could, simultaneously staving off the exhaustion that washed over her in waves. Her body fought for her to slump over the control panels but she used everything to keep herself upright against the thrashing the Thundermegazord took, knocking her around while the others held still.
Come on Kim, you can do this, Kimberly thought, gritting her teeth. The fight was over after a few minutes of back and forth, until they executed a plan Billy had been working on for days. The monster didn't see it coming. Kimberly slumped in relief as she watched it explode in a fiery ball, knowing they were moments away from being able to rest.
"Great job you guys," Jason said with a nod. "Let's get back to the Command Center." The same thing he said after every battle where they would be debriefed over everything that had worked, and things they needed to improve on.
The moment they landed in the Command Center, Kimberly fell to her knees, gasping for air. Her entire body ached, much more than it should. Ever since receiving her powers, anything that managed to attack them, any pain she would've normally felt when having fallen would've been nothing but a simple brush. No. She hurt.
"Ay yi yi yi yi." Alpha waddled over and patted her shoulder. "What happened, Kimberly?"
"Kim." She felt Trini's hand on her back. "Are you okay?"
"Get her a chair," Jason added.
Kimberly shook her head, swallowed hard. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping the world would stop spinning around her. "I'm fine," She said. "I'm just worn out. Competition is tomorrow, we're working really hard." She sat back on her heels, pressing her palms to her forehead before smoothing her hands over her hair. "One it's over I can get some more sleep."
"Not unless you win," Avalon pointed out. "Then you'll be training even harder."
"If I have to," Kimberly gasped. Finally, everything stopped spinning and she, shakily, got to her feet. She looked around at her friends and up to Zordon, who was gazing at her with the sort of concern that only a father could. Zordon had grown to be more than just their mentor over the years, she should've known she couldn't really hide things from them. "Guys, I'm fine!" She insisted. "It's just like riding a bike, you get right back on. This fight just wore me out." She waved her hand. "The putties were really vicious this time."
"Yeah, if you think,"—Zack spastically wiggled his arms and jumped up and down, throwing in a few squats for extra measure—"is vicious! Those putties are always going to be nothing more than a distraction, come on now!" Jason glared at him and he lowered his head, pressing his lips together.
Jason turned back to Kimberly and folded his arms. "Look," he said gently. "We're just worried about you."
Kimberly mentally sighed. She tried not to roll her eyes. She knew this was coming. Everyone had been saying hat lately. Ms. Appleby nearly every day. She wasn't falling asleep in class anymore, but her grades weren't as stellar as they'd been before. Ms. Appleby was confused. As far as she knew, Kimberly showed up to work with Billy whenever they were in study hall to work on their homework, and yet her grades continued to slide. Her other teachers were starting to ask about her grades as well, Kimberly got them off her trail by flashing a warm smile and letting them know she'd work on it.
She intercepted phone calls home to her mother, tore up the letters the school sent about her grades, did everything to pretend everything was okay. She should've guessed her friends wouldn't have fallen for the same tricks. But she could still push them off the trail.
"You don't have to be," Kimberly insisted, putting as much warmth into her voice as she could. "You guys, we just defeated another one of Rita's and Zedd's monsters. We won! Shouldn't we be celebrating that!"
"Kim, this is the first time in weeks, almost months that you've been in a fight with us," Tommy explained. "These guys are getting harder and harder to defeat—"
"—And we still beat them." She mimicked Jason's stance, folding her arms. She lifted an eyebrow and looked around at her friends. "Let me guess, you've all been talking about this," She said. "Talking about me."
"We're just—"
"Worried! I know! I heard you the first time!" She huffed and turned her back on her friends. "I can't believe this. How long have you guys been talking about me behind me back? What else have you been doing? Making fun of me?"
Bailey looked hurt. "What's there to make fun of?" She asked. "Kim, we know something's wrong with you. You've been acting crazy for months, yeah?"
Kimberly whipped back around, her eyes flashing with a blazing fury they'd only seen a few times before. Against the monsters attacking their city. "Oh, so now I'm crazy?" The purple ranger gasped and took a step back from the orange ranger.
Tommy finally spoke up, his tone matching hers. "Crazy for the way you've been treating everyone? Yes! Kim, you've been at our throats for weeks now. Every time we say something you don't want to hear you fly off the deep end!" He waved his hand towards her. "I can't say anything about your constant practices, or your sleeping all the time, or even mention getting a bite of food without you having a heart attack about it." He lowered his voice, noticing the way Kimberly's chin started to tremble. "Kim, we know you're not eating."
Kimberly let out a low gasp. Her jaw dropped. How'd they…? She was being so careful. No. They didn't know what they were talking about. She was eating just fine. They'd seen her. "I eat plenty, thank you! I eat before I go to practice, I eat when I get to school, I have lunch with you guys every day!"
"You have lunch with us, but you don't eat with us," Trini said. Her hand dropped from Kimberly's back when the pink ranger stepped away from her. "You cut your bites into tiny pieces, but I haven't actually seen you eat anything in days now. Weeks."
"Yeah, you used to have as big a appetite as me," Zack added. "And that's saying something."
"What?" Kimberly sneered. "That I'm a pig? That I'm just one of Rita's and Zedd's monsters waiting to eat everything in sight?"
Zack's eyes widened in surprise. "No! That you're not being yourself." He took a step towards her. "Kim, you're one of my best friends. One of the best people I've known in my entire life. That's why it's so hard to see you like this!"
"Like what?"
Avalon then tried her hand at getting the pink ranger to understand. "Jesus, Kim! Even you know you've been acting differently. It's like we have to make an appointment to see you now." Avalon added. "You're constantly running off to practice or disappearing and we can't find you."
"That's funny coming from the girl who likes to run the streets!" Kimberly snapped back. Avalon closed her mouth, eyes darkening with anger. "How'd you get the bruise that time?" She motioned to the one poking out from the next of the orange ranger's t-shirt, resting on her collar bone. "Did you run into a wall?"
"Kim, you have to understand why we'd be upset," Billy said gently. He took a step forward, placed his hands on Bailey's shoulders. "We care about you. We're worried about you."
"We're your friends," Trini added.
Kimberly shook her head. "Some friends you are." She lifted the hand that held her communicator and teleported out of the Command Center.
"Hey Tommy, it's Kim," Kimberly mumbled into the phone. She sighed, hearing the sound of his answering machine recording her message. Was he ignoring her? "I'm so sorry. You haven't done anything worng. I just want to talk to you right now, it's driving me crazy. I just wanted to say I'm really sorry about everything. I've just been really tired lately. I don't even know what day it is or what time it is or what I'm talking about right now. Listen Tommy, I know this is really unfair for me to ask but I was wondering if you're going to be there for my mete. It's kind of important and I miss you. I miss us."
Tears suddenly came to Kimberly's eyes. "What happened to us, Tommy? Or, maybe its me? I don't know. I just…I have to go. Bye."
"And on the beam, Shawna Carson."
Kimberly looked around, watching as the Stone Canyon gymnast flew across the balance beam in a series of amazing stunts. She felt her stomach tremble once more, the same way it had once the team arrived in Los Angeles. It was time for the Invitationals and she had to do well. It put her one step closer to the Olympics.
Rubbing her hands together, Kimberly's gaze shifted over the crowd. She rolled up onto the balls of her feet and shoved the sleeves of her team windbreaker up her arms. A low sigh escaped her lips and she lowered back to flatten her feet against the floor. Her mother waved at her, but she didn't see Tommy yet. Jason, Zack, and Trini all sat together. Billy was in the row below them, flipping back and forth through the program, while Avalon and Bailey went to the snack stand.
For a moment, Kimberly felt something squiggle through her stomach. She wasn't quite sure what it was. Happiness that her friends showed, disappointment that Tommy still wasn't there, and envy. Envy that her friends were in the stands watching and she was on the floor. It was like the distance between them and her was a chasm in a mountain, stretching wider and wider as the seconds passed.
"Are you trying to look for a way out?" Olivia giggled beside her, stretching out her hamstring.
"Looking for Tommy," Kimberly explained. She twisted her fingers. "He's still not here."
"If I were you, I'd focus more on your dismount. Not my boyfriend."
Kimberly gazed along the other side of the room where another balance beam routine was being done. One of their teammates was performing. Kimberly watched as sh slipped off the beam and glaned towards Coach Schmidt, who glared back at her, shaking his head. Abruptly, he turned away from her and stalked across the gym floor to Olivia and Kimberly, who immediately straightened to pay attention to what he had to say.
"Alright girls," he said. "You're in first and second place going into the last event." Kimberly's eyes shot towards the board resting in the corner of the gym. Her name sat just below Olivia's, K. Hart. With a score of 9.72 while Olivia sat at 9.80. She only needed a few points to get into first. She could do it. "This is the first step on the road to the Olympics. You know how hard we've worked for this." Both girls nodded, Olivia reached out and squeezed Kimberly's hand. Kimberly squeezed it back. "And you know what you have to do; you have to focus, have patience and commitment, so you can go out there and do whatever it takes. Now, I believe in both of you with all my heart, and you know you can do this. Okay?"
"Okay," Kimberly whispered in response. This was it. In only a few minutes she would be ready to go, ready to perform so she could take her spot at Divisionals.
"Good. Now you go and be winners." Coach Schmidt tapped their shoulders before hurrying away. Going to the spot that gave him a good vantage point of the competition. That gave him the best place to see each and every mistake they made. The mistakes he would make sure they knew about later.
Kimberly placed her hands on her hips and looked towards the stands once more. She chewed her lower lip and turned away as quickly as she looked. She couldn't focus on what was going on over there anymore. She needed to focus on…on…her growling stomach.
"Oh, I'm so hungry right now," She murmured. Olivia made a humming sound in reply. "Ugh, I can't get it to stop growling."
"Kim! I don't have time to be your babysitter right now!" Oliva snapped. "Get some water, go get yourself together!" With that snipe, Olivia turned on her heel and stormed away.
Kimberly watched her go. Stung. Olivia was supposed to be her friend. Wasn't she? Then her gaze shifted, and she focused on Tommy, watching as he bounded up the steps to the stands. Kimberly caught his eye and smiled, waved. Tommy smiled back but didn't wave. Kimberly slowly lowered her hand. He was there but…he didn't look happy to see her. Eyebrows coming together, she watched as Kat came up the steps behind him and the two slid into the row with her friends, all smiles. Kat sat down and placed her hand on Tommy's wrist, leaning forward to say something to him and Jason.
Affronted, Kimberly swallowed hard and put her game face on.
Olivia was right, she needed to focus. So, Kimberly watched as Olivia did her routine perfectly, nailing every hit. And when she was done, she raced to Coach Schmidt and threw her arms around him, grinning as wide as ever. Then it was her turn. Kimberly smiled and threw her hands into the air, then ran forward to spring off the bounce board. Then she was on the balance beam and, wrapped foot and all, went through the routine she practiced as long as she could remember, going through the movements as easily as she breathed. She ignored the pain in her foot, the ache in her muscles, and went through the motions.
She did a little hop, ran forward, and flipped off the beam. A perfect landing. She'd nailed it. And listening to the crowd cheer for her was all she needed. Then her heart started to pound against her chest, everything slanted, and Kimberly slowly fell to the practice mat below her. Catching herself on her hands and knees, Kimberly gasped for air. She could hear concerned murmurs around her. Turning her head, she saw her friends all standing up on the bleachers, along with the rest of the crowd, straining to see her.
Her eyes locked with Tommy's. He had a blank expression on his face as he looked back at her. Kat said something with a worried frown, making him put his hand on her shoulder. Kimberly's stomach rolled and she looked away. Seconds later, she was gasping for real when Coach Schmidt swept her up in his arms and screamed that she'd made it to the Divisionals.
What?
She'd made it?
All at once, Kimberly felt more energized than she'd ever had.
She made it!
Later that night, Tommy decided it was time to give Kimberly the chance to talk openly with him. He missed her. He didn't see her anymore. He cared about her so much, loved her. If there was anything going on, he had to tell her. He waited until her mother left and went to the door of her hotel room, knocking on the door.
He waited a few long moments then knocked again. Taking a step back, Tommy glanced at the darkened door, he could see a lamp on underneath. He was sure she was there. Then he smiled, hearing her voice call out as her footsteps raced to the door. Finally, it swung open and his gorgeous girlfriend stood in front of him. Or, what used to be his gorgeous girlfriend. Tommy couldn't help but blink in surprise when he got a good look at her. She looked much thinner than usual, dark bags unable to be hidden by her the doorbell rang and Kimberly raced downstairs to grab it. Her cheeks were very hollow, her stomach more than flat, beneath her favorite pink and white crop top. He could see each of her ribs poking through the skin. Her hair was dull and lifeless. There was nothing in her that looked like the same, spunky girl he loved so much.
His heart ached for her. He just wanted her to be happy. But what was happiness when it was killing her? Slowly killing her. He could see it now. It was worse than any damage a monster or a putty could do to her. The thought alone broke his heart.
"Hey!" Kimberly greeted when she saw Tommy. Her eyes lit up, but nothing else did. Her body, which made her radiate a warm glow, practically collapsed against the doorframe as she gazed up at him.
"Hey." Tommy smiled back at her. He looked over her shoulder and asked, "Is your mom gone"
"Yeah, she left hours ago with some of the other moms from the team." Then she looked at him curiously. "What's up? I thought you had to get back to Angel Grove. Martial arts practice, remember?"
"Well." Tommy licked his lips, trying to keep his voice steady. "We haven't had much time to spend together and I know we're both really sorry and…I thought we could have a romantic night together." He pulled his hand out from behind his back, showing off a bouquet of flowers he had hidden. That part was real. He got her the flowers to cheer her up, to get a semblance of the Kimberly he knew. She loved flowers and gardening more than life itself, one of her favorite hobbies. It wasn't uncommon to find her with dirt all over her hands and knees when the weather was just right. "Besides, how can I pass up a night of hanging out in a hotel?"
"Ah! Tommy, this is so sweet!" Kimberly took the flowers and stood on her tip-toes, giving her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. "I need to put them in water. Wow!" She turned them this way and that, a semblance of her inner warmth coming back. "This is so beautiful, it must've cost you a fortune."
"Not too much," Tommy said. It wouldn't cost more than what he was risking. "You're definitely worth it." Kimberly gave him another smile and leaned in to give him a proper kiss, finding herself blocked by a box of pizza he'd brought from behind his back as well. "I thought we could have a romantic, candle lit dinner together."
He didn't know where the night would lead, but if it went positively…
Kimberly's stomach dropped. Tommy could see the fear rise in her eyes, nearly choking her. Pizza. No way. That was just going to make her fat. All the cheese, the grease…she could dab that away with a napkin, but she couldn't dab away the calories. No, she couldn't have any. Kimberly's stomach growled and she smiled at Tommy, folding her arms across her stomach, grabbing her hips. Her jeans were a little looser than she remembered, nearly falling. Tommy followed her movement with his eyes, eyebrows furrowing together, noticing her belt tied so tightly around her waist it may not have been a belt at all.
Kimberly's words caught his attention. "So what is this? Did someone put you up to it? Did you lose a bet against Jason and Zack?"
A slight sense of irritation bubbled inside Tommy. "No, Kim, we just haven't been spending a lot of time together and I wanted to change that."
"Okay, come in." Kimberly stepped back and allowed her boyfriend inside. She brought the flowers to her nose and took in a deep breath before hurrying behind him. He went straight to the kitchen table to lay things out. "Let me just put these in water."
"No, no, no." Tommy grabbed her arm and propelled her into a seat. "I'm waiting on you, today." He took the flowers and set them in a nearby vase on the counter. Then he moved back to the table and started to unload paper plates from the box, leaning over to give her a kiss every few minutes. Passionate kisses, hungry kisses.
When he allowed himself to be pulled away, Kimberly watched, knowing her window of opportunity was slowly closing. She felt tension rise between them. As if, subconsciously, she knew what was going to happen, but had no way of stopping it. "Let me just get some napkins…" She started to get up, but Tommy forced her back down once more. Kimberly flashed him a smile without any warmth behind hit and crossed her legs at the knee. She sat on her hands, which started to shake.
"And here's some pizza for you," Tommy said, pushing her plate to her. "And for me."
Kimberly watched as he gathered drinks for them and even went so far as to light a candle for the middle of the table. It wasn't until he went to the sink to wash his hands that Kimberly made her move. With his back turned, she grabbed her slice of pizza and started to tear it into tiny pieces, putting some of it into her napkin. Tommy looked over his shoulder to smile at her and their eyes met. Kimberly froze, a pinch of pizza pressed between her fingertips. Tommy's eyebrows rose.
"What are you doing?" He asked, voice flat. His mouth went dry. It was just as he thought, just as their friends thought. He didn't believe it. But now here it was, staring him in the face. She was hurting herself and didn't even know it. Or worse, he realized. She does know what she's doing.
"Nothing," Kimberly replied quickly. Then her anger surged and her eyes flashed in warning. Tommy had seen that look many times before, but not directed towards him. "What? I can't tear my pizza up? I can't want a smaller portion? You know, you're really making me feel very guilty right now." She threw her pizza hard to her plate and stood up. "I'm not very hungry."
Unable to keep his composure much longer, Tommy rolled his eyes. He could feel himself going more into what he called his 'Green Ranger persona'. Rita's magic had worn off, but there were still moments where he held on the personality of the mind-controlled monster. The arrogant, sneering one. The angry one. "So if you're not hungry, you could've just said something. But you don't have to hide your food."
Kimberly's head jerked back in surprise at the sudden change in his tone. Or was it fear. She'd been terrified of the Green Ranger, she admitted to him. Knowing it was Tommy underneath, not knowing if Rita's control had been due to her taking him over completely, or if she'd just taken over his body movements.
Instead of becoming timid, Kimberly's fire burned brighter. "I'm not hiding anything, Tommy." With a disgusted sigh, she turned away from him, head shaking. "You so don't get this."
"Get what, Kim? Get that you've been acting like a psycho?" He demanded. "Get that you've been ditching your friends for weeks. Get that you're not yourself?" He threw his hands into the air. "You're right. I don't know what's going on. I don't." He firmly grabbed her shoulders. "I love you, and you're not talking to me! Lately, you've been—"
"I'm what?!" Kimberly viciously ripped from his grasp.
"I don't know."
"Well, why don't you ask Kat? I'm sure she has an idea of what you are!"
"Kat? What does she have to do with anything."
Kimberly let out a bark of laughter. One so sarcastic that neither of them recognized her. "Oh come on, Tommy, I saw you at the meet. I saw you with her! If you're going to cheat on me, could it have been with someone else."
Tommy stared at her for a long, tense moment. He licked his lips, sucked in a sharp breath. "You know, if you stopped being so self-centered for a second you'd realize that we're just friends. That I could never care about anyone else but you. That you were the one who wanted all of us to be friends in the first place. We're not spending any more time together than I would with any of my other friends. You're the one who's gone!"
Kimberly immediately back down. She took a step back and lowered her chin, looking him in the eye. Another one of her mood swings. "I'm sorry, Tommy," Kimberly whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "I am. I love you and we're going to get through this, okay? You just have to help me through my training."
"Which training, Kim?" Tommy's hands clenched into fists, nails bruising his skin. "The training for Divisionals? Or the raining after that? Or the training after that?"
"A-are you saying you don't want to be with me?"
"No. I'm saying I haven't been with you and it's not my fault."
A sniffle. Kimberly drew her arm across her nose, used the sides of her hands to wipe away her tears. "So you want me to give everything up?"
"No, of course not. Gymnastics is your life." For a moment, Kimberly was hopeful, then Tommy hit her with the bombshell. "But it's not mine. And constantly chasing after you, constantly being there for you when I get treated like crap in return isn't fair."
"Then just leave!" Kimberly snapped. She grabbed the bouquet of flowers and slammed it into Tommy's chest so hard he had to take a few steps back to keep from falling over. "Take everything and get out of here! Okay? I don't want to see you right now. I don't…I don't want to…" She turned and ran to the bathroom and stormed inside, slamming that door behind her as she went. She paced back and forth, running her hands through her hair.
Then Kimberly froze.
Slowly pulled her hands down.
Strands of her hair came with it, large pieces dropped to the floor.
A/N: I changed Avalon's thunderzord from the Phoenix to the Bifang after the suggestion from a reviewer. The phoenix basically was Kimberly's firebird (Which I hadn't realized before) and the Bifang is a one-legged crane in Chinese folklore that predicted of coming fires. Otherwise, there's not much left to this story. A few chapters or so. I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so much!
~Av