A/N: The inspiration from this theme came from my researching some of the past Rangers, as I wanted to incorporate them more into the MF season, which obviously I thought should have taken place. While researching, I harkened back to theme 15 for inspiration and this is the result. Enjoy!

"…": characters talking to each other

'…': characters talking to themselves

(…): extra facts about something in the story

(Takes place after "Stranger Within II")

Theme 20: Scars

Rocca Residence, November 22, 2006, 2:00 pm – Briarwood, CA, USA

"She's been like that for days; weeks even..."

"It's ridiculous; that's what it is!"

"Lay off! You'd be that way if you'd been turned evil and attacked your friends and family!"

"Speaking from experience I presume?"

"N-no, but we should really leave her alone!"

"We do that and we don't see her for a few more weeks."

"Well, what do you suggest?"

...

"Anyone?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake!"

Vida, holed up inside of her room rolled her eyes. Honestly, they thought they were all so smart. They knew everything; how wrong they were. They didn't know what it was like to be evil, to fight against all those whom she loved and cared for, to see the naked fear in Clare and Maddie's eyes, the sadness in Chip and Xander's, the coldness in Nick's olive orbs... God, she couldn't even think about it anymore!

Gray eyes closed as she fought to keep the tears at bay. She couldn't cry; not here, not now. Maddie had a sixth sense for figuring out whether or not she had cried and would instantly try to play the nurturing sister, a role that she was good at, but something that Vida never appreciated. She was eighteen for heaven's sake! She didn't need to be coddled, and if her father saw her... well.

A knock sounded at the door, startling the Pink Mystic Ranger out of her self-induced pity party. Wiping away a stray tear, she got to her feet and padded towards the door, hoping against hope that it wasn't her sister.

"Who is it?"

"Xander."

Vida shied back, mild panic setting in. "What do you want?!"

"Listen, V, I'm here to help."

"How?!" Vida snarled anger eminent in that one singular word. "You don't have any experience in being evil, in seeing the fear and pity in my friends' eyes, the brokenhearted look on Maddie's face! No way in seven hells do you know what I feel like!"

A sigh was heard. "You're right, V. I don't."

"But I do." came a cultured, feminine voice. Vida, startled, stared at the door for a moment, wondering if she was imagining things. The voice, sounding amused added, "No, you are not hearing things. May I come in?"

"Who in the hell are you?"

A chuckle, then Xander's voice emerged from outside her room again. "This, V, is my cousin, Katherine Cranston."

"A fellow Pink," Katherine affirmed voice amused. "May I come in? I would like to talk."

"I thought you were in London or something," Vida asked, confused. At least, that was where she had been when Vida last emailed the woman a few weeks ago.

"Xander called me and said that you had a problem that I, as a fellow Pink might know how to deal with," Katherine said voice serious.

Vida gaped. Thoughtless, insensitive, arrogant Xander had been smart enough to call someone to help her?! Was the sky falling? Vida glanced out her window and saw that no, the sky was not falling... which meant that Xander had actually cared enough about her to try to find someone to help her when he couldn't.

"Fine. You only." Vida unlocked her bedroom door and saw a fairly tall blond-haired woman, blue eyes peering curiously at the newest Pink ranger. Dressed in dark wash jeans, pink ballet flats, and a black tank top with a pink blouse open on top of it the woman looked nothing like the delicate ballerina that Vida had imagined. Hell, she actually looked... cool.

The woman smiled. "Call me Kat." She held out a hand to shake, which Vida took reluctantly. She glanced over at her fellow Ranger who grinned, somehow reassuring her that everything would be fine, even without his saying anything.

"Uh, come in, I guess." Vida stepped back and let the blond-haired woman step into the bedroom she shared with her twin, Xander's grin hovering in her mind. Once the door had been locked again, Vida made her way over to a bench underneath a bay window, sitting down and drawing her legs up to her chin. Kat looked around before making her way over to the young adult, silently asking for permission to sit down. Vida shrugged.

Silence reigned for a few moments before Kat spoke. "When I first arrived in the States, I was scared stiff; like a bloody corpse." She laughed. "It was made worse by the fact that I felt myself to be an outcast, everyone laughing at me because of my accent and my penchant for chlorine-tinted hair." Upon receiving a confused look, Kat added, "I used to love diving; I was a champion diver for a few years along with being a ballerina."

Kat took a breath before continuing. "When I arrived in Angel Grove, I didn't really fit in. My family was always busy, and I had trouble making friends. That's when Rita Repulsa found me." Vida's head lifted slightly. She'd heard the name Rita in passing from both Chip and, surprisingly, Xander, both of whom had become avid researchers of the previous Ranger teams upon their installation as active Power Rangers.

"She cast a spell on me, changing my entire outlook on life. I became outgoing, energetic, and companionable. I was easily making friends."

"But," Vida asked, wanting to know more.

"But, I became fascinated with one Thomas Oliver. I became insanely jealous of his girlfriend and felt that he had to be mine, and mine alone. So, Rita had me infiltrate Tommy's group of friends by giving me the ability to turn into a cat. I was able to prowl around Tommy's girlfriend and get more information on her, such as her tendency to practice her gymnastics late at night in the Angel Grove Youth Center."

Vida, by now, was extremely interested in Kat's story. It made a lot of sense, and she knew that Xander had felt much the same way when he had first arrived in Briarwood over a decade ago. Of course, Kat had had it harder because she had come to Angel Grove as a teenager rather than a kid, but still, the similarities were there.

"So, what happened?"

Kat smiled sadly. "I snuck into the Youth Center, stole Tommy's girlfriend's Ninjetti Power Coin and Morpher and ran. I took them to Rita, who then decided to break the spell on me."

"You mean,"

"Yep. Tommy and his girlfriend – Kimberly Hart – were Power Rangers. He was the White Ninjetti and she the Pink. Kim fell off the balance beam she'd been on and hit her head. She was in the hospital for a few days, and the Pink Ranger was out of commission." She paused. "When Rita broke the spell on me, I realized what I had done. I had deliberately harmed someone whom I had befriended; actually, more than one person, and put the world at risk by putting one of her protectors out of commission. I felt so guilty, like I should have been able to do something. But, the thing was, I couldn't have done anything even if I wanted to. It was like my real self had been shoved to the back of my mind and I couldn't do anything but watch and see what went on around me."

Vida watched as the veteran Pink let a tear fall down her face, smearing a small amount of mascara. 'My God, this happened over ten years ago... and yet, she's still scarred about it. She didn't let it stop her. She overcame it, became a Power Ranger and now runs her own dance school.'

"So, what happened?"

"Well, I snuck back up to Rita's base on the moon after telling Tommy and the other Rangers what I had done and snatched Kim's Power Coin and Morpher back. I brought them back to her and she got better."

"That quickly?"

"What I actually did was stole her link to the Morphin' Grid, meaning that she was slowly losing her life as Ranger powers, in general, unless willingly passed on to a successor will continue to almost literally feed off their first possessor, draining them. Luckily, I restored Kim's link to the Grid in time. Then, when Kim decided to go train for the Olympics in Florida, she gave me the ability to become the Pink Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger and Ninjetti in her place. From then on, I strove to do all I could to defend the Earth and make up for what I had done." Kat smiled at Vida. "So, you see that although scars like being turned evil by the villain of the year, as it was, never leave you, you can't let them control you. If you do, the villain's won. I'm sure you don't want Necrolai to win, correct?"

Vida looked at Kat, surprised. The Australian chuckled. "Xan filled me in over the phone. He was concerned; your entire team's worried about you, Vida. They're upset that you won't let anyone in to help you and that you seem to be drowning in what ifs and the possibilities of what could have been, how you should've been strong enough to avoid being turned evil. Let me tell you now, Vida, that it can happen to anyone. For heaven's sake, Tommy was evil at least two times; the second Pink Galaxy Ranger was evil for almost half her life before becoming good again; the Titanium Ranger from Lightspeed Rescue was the same way, except he was raised by demons for most of his life. The list goes on, Vida, but all you can do is move on and do all you can to not let it happen again."

Vida smirked. "So, you're saying I can do better?"

Kat chuckled. "Yes, you can do better."

A few hours later, Vida emerged from her bedroom, Kat behind her to a hallway filled with her concerned teammates. Madison instantly crushed her sister into a hug, tears dripping onto Vida's black and pink-stripped hoodie. Chip grinned, as did Nick, both glad to see that the normally tough Pink Ranger would be okay. Vida then moved over to Xander and, leaning up hugged him, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek in thanks. Then, winking, she moved towards the staircase, waving a hand in thanks to the Green Ranger for his help.

Kat, walking by on her way to help Vida find some more pink clothes (you understand, Kat had been appalled at the lack of pink in her successor's wardrobe) reached out and gently shut her cousin's open mouth. "Careful, Xan. Flies might decide your mouth would make a good home."

As the Australian moved downstairs, the other three rangers looked at Xander in disbelief, shocked at Vida's brazen action. Xander, meanwhile, shook his head before grinning. "Guess V's back to normal, huh?"