Disclaimer: Power Rangers related stuff still belongs to Disney, anyhing involving Thomas, the DG or K belongs to KSuzie, everything else belongs to me.
Author's Notes: This chapter is based on a lot of the universe that KSuzie has created in her fic, "The Coin Series". I have given a brief explaination of who Thomas is and what the DG is. If you haven't read "The Coin Series" and you are completely lost feel free to pass along any questions and I will try my best to get them answered. Or check out "The Coin Seires" as they are KSuzie's concepts and she does a much better job making them make sense than I do lol.
This will be the last chapter of the this year as the Chrismas and New Year's holiday's are coming up and I will be very busy. January is going to start a busier schedule for me but I hope to at least continue on the pace of one chapter a month, with the next new chapter of Legacy appearing from the middle - the end of January.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!
Power Rangers Legacy
"Spirits Return"
It was a rather chilly evening in early October as the rangers were running around doing their tasks. They were so involved in what they were doing that none of them noticed they were being watched. Or at least that one of them was being watched.
The person doing the watching was Thomas, an older man who didn't belong to this world. He didn't belong to any world really; he hadn't in a long time. Not since he lost everything as his home world became a dark dimension. He supposed he was lucky that the dimensional guardians, or DG as some referred to them, had saved him. At the time all he wanted was revenge against Kemora for destroying everything as his losses sat heavily on his heart. They wanted him to work for them, they considered him to be an asset.
He agreed to work for them, that's how he got to where he is now. He worked for the group that was responsible for making sure dimensions ended up where they were supposed to go. He couldn't affect outcomes; just make sure green worlds progressed correctly toward good while blue worlds progressed toward becoming evil. The primary task, the task that he and K worked on, was Kemora. Not destroying her, although that thought was never far from his mind, but repairing the timelines she had destroyed. If there was one thing Kemora was good at, it was ruining the correct progression of a world.
Kemora was what brought him here, what gave him his current task. He hadn't been in this dimension long, and he had just spotted the female ranger he was looking for. She was approaching one of her teammates and that bothered Thomas a bit. He'd have to be careful in doing what he was going to do, but barring any unforeseen circumstances he was certain he could accomplish his task without involving the others. Even if they noticed her disappear they would simply assume that she did it on her own free will.
His task was something he really didn't want to do, but the DG was pretty insistent that this was the path they wanted to go down. It started with the news that Kemora's spirit was gaining strength. She had broken the plain into another dimension, and there was no doubt that she would connect with its Kimberly. She would certainly ruin a green world as well as destroy countless timelines on other worlds once she regained her full powers.
It was a task that needed handling, and the DG was pretty instant on taking care of it quickly. Although they initially wanted to use K, she was quite busy running Primus's errands and as Kemora wasn't at full strength yet they didn't feel as though they needed to pull her away from Primus for this task. The young one was brought up, but Thomas suggested and the DG agreed that she was too young, too underdeveloped even for an easier battle against Kemora. There was a high risk for her failure and Thomas was unwilling to chance it.
That's why she was chosen. He and K had both hoped that for her sake, the DG would take a while to notice her altered signatures. But her powers grew quickly and it didn't take long for the DG to realize what she was. They thought she was the perfect candidate for this task. She'd fought and beaten Kemora multiple times. She already had training from Dulcea before she'd gotten her powers. Because of that, her powers were growing quickly and the DG was anxious to see what she could do. If she was ready, she could work for them and they could give her simpler tasks to complete as her powers continued to grow. The DG was hopeful that she and the young one would grow to be useful, and by useful what they meant was they wanted them to learn to obey commands and follow rules, and not develop the same tendencies that K has.
Agree or disagree with the DG, that's why Thomas was here. He didn't want to be, he was quite conflicted about bringing her in. After all, he already had two he was grooming. But they didn't really give him a choice in the matter and he didn't have anything solid to argue. As she grew near he prepared himself to carry out the DG's orders.
Carri found herself separated from her teammates in a forested area in search of, well, something. Billy said it had something to do with something he was working on and somewhere in the technical mumbo jumbo she was lost. But like the rest of the team she took a scanner and was sent out. The one point of Billy's speech she did understand was that the quickest way to find whatever Billy was looking for was to give them each a scanner and have them spread out throughout the forest.
"This is just great." She muttered to no one in particular as she dredged through the forest. She was hot, sweaty and tired and had no luck at all finding Billy's mystery component. Why it was out here in the first place she didn't understand either. She was hoping that soon one of the others would page her and say that the scavenger hunt was over. The mound of papers she was complaining about sifting through earlier seemed like a much better task than the one she was charged with now.
Pushing a branch out of the way and moving forward, Carri suddenly found herself face to face with a rather large spider. She squealed and used the scanner to reach out and push it to the floor, then proceeded to scream obscenities at it as it scurried away for safety. Carri puffed out a few agitated breaths as she tried to calm down.
"Carri?" a voice called out through the trees. "Are you ok?"
Carri turned, somewhat surprised to see Kim making her way toward her. Of course she really had no idea where anyone ended up or which way anyone was walking so she supposed she shouldn't be too surprised. "Yeah." She said gruffly as Kim grew near. "Just a spider."
Kim let out a laugh as she slowed her pace and fell in line next to her friend. "One of the fiercest rangers I know and yet you fall prey to a little spider."
"Spiders can kill you, you know." Carri said crossing her arms over her chest as the two girls continued walking. "I've seen Arachnophobia."
"I really don't think you have to worry too much about killer spiders out here." Kim replied with a roll of her eyes. Carri simply huffed in response.
Kim laughed and Carri decided it was past time to change the subject. "You find anything?"
"Nah." Kim replied. In all honesty, she wasn't completely sure what they were searching for either. She definitely wasn't as clueless to Billy's techno speak as she was fifteen years ago, but with all her experience even she didn't understand every word that came out of his mouth. From everyone's earlier reaction, Tommy was the only one who had some sort of idea. "Maybe the boys did."
"Do we even know what areas we've searched?" Carri said, thinking for a minute as she looked down at her scanner. "I mean, I feel like I've been all over this place and my little thingie hasn't even beeped once."
Kim nodded. A beep would indicate that they were at least getting close, and her scanner hadn't beeped either. "But Billy said it's out here. I'm beginning to wonder if we're searching for a needle in a haystack.
"I never liked that phrase." Carri said absentmindedly.
"What phrase?" Kim questioned, momentarily forgetting what she said.
"Searching for a needle in a haystack."
Kim raised an eyebrow and looked at her. This ought to be good.
"I mean one would have to be bored out of their wits and have absolutely no life to actually search for a needle in a haystack. And if one were to be dumb enough to accidentally drop a needle they needed into a haystack, they could save a whole lot of time by just going and getting another needle. Problem solved. No reason to search for a needle in a haystack." Carri finished her rant.
Kim shook her head. Obviously her friend had thought about this more than once. "What about those who only have one needle and can't afford to purchase another one?"
"They're going to be regretting dropping the needle in the first place." Carri replied matter-of-factly.
"So you're saying that the unique piece of equipment that somehow ended up here, or the needle, should be abandoned because it got dropped into the forest, or the haystack, even though we had nothing to do with it?" Kim said giving her a questioning look.
Carri heard the seriousness of the question but she couldn't help but notice the amusement in her friend's eyes. "All I'm saying is that if you're going to feel compelled to do the search you need a giant metal detector, not a bunch of people sifting through stuff with a small one." She finished her nonsensical rant by holding up the hand held search device. "And why are we talking about this anyway? This is stupid."
"You're the one who brought it up." Kim was quick to point out.
Carri grinned wickedly at her. "And you're the one who said searching for a needle in a haystack."
"Fine. I just won't talk to you anymore. Solves that problem." Kim said as she went back to concentrating on the scanner in her hands, pointedly avoiding any eye contact with Carri.
"Please. That's going to last all of five minutes." Carri said with a snort. The way they gossiped and chattered she doubted it would even last that long.
"Probably." Kim replied.
Carri smirked. "That was more like five seconds."
"Yup." She said, looking up at her and smiling. "And now I think we should refocus on the task at hand."
"Do you think we should regroup? Figure out who has gone where. See if anyone's getting close. As much as I love wondering aimlessly through the forest, it would be more fun to see what areas still need to be searched so we can find this thing and I can get back to work." Carri said as her eyes were on her scanner as well.
"I didn't know anyone who was excited to work late." Kim commented. It was only a Wednesday evening, but for Carri this week's work had started immediately after their reunion on Saturday when she had to take care of some things for their Nepal shoot and it had only gotten busier from there.
"Thrilled." Carri said dryly. She had some things that had to be taken care of by the following morning otherwise she would've called it a night by now. She couldn't wait for Saturday so she could finally relax again.
"Anyway." Kim said, switching back to the task at hand. The boys would kill them if they saw how out of focus they were getting. But it was getting dark and they'd been out there for a while with no results, they couldn't help but get a little off task. "We should probably get up with Billy, see if he wants to halt it again until tomorrow evening. Soon we're not going to be able to see and even with flashlights I doubt we'll be able to maneuver around everything."
Carri ducked around another branch and started to stand. "I'm all for" She stopped suddenly to squeal once again as another spider found its way into her path. After knocking this one down it ran toward her, and she cursed and jumped behind Kim, grabbing her shoulders and ducking as if she wanted her friend to protect her.
Kim was poised and ready to say something, but as Carri grabbed onto her shoulders a red light formed around them and they disappeared.
The light faded as both girls found themselves standing in the living room of a well lit house. They blinked a few times, adjusting their eyes to the light as they looked around. It only took a few minutes to realize they recognized the house. It was the house Carri temporarily resided in during high school, the one belonging to her aunt and uncle.
"What the hell?" Carri said looking around, hoping that her aunt and uncle weren't around to wonder how they deposited themselves in the middle of their living room. "Did you do this?" she asked glancing at her friend. It certainly had the markings of Kim's powers.
"No I didn't do this. Why would I take us here?" Kim asked, her answer showing more confidence than she felt. Honestly she wasn't sure. She really didn't think she was responsible for their teleportation. Although the red light made her wonder if it was a powers mishap. It would certainly be an odd mishap. She hadn't had a serious mishap since she sneezed herself all over the timeline. But then again even with her last mishap she felt her powers at work. Although it looked like her handiwork, she didn't feel her powers taking over.
"Ok." Carri said slowly as her mind worked quickly to process the situation. "If it's not you, who would be able to mimic your powers and bring us here?"
"I don't know. Rhianna maybe. Or Callisto." Kim doubted Callisto had the powers to pull something of that nature off, but she could certainly be pulling the strings with Rhianna. Rhianna had the potential to be a great sorceress, she could figure out how to teleport them and make it look like Kim did it.
"If it's a Callisto trick why take us here?" Carri said as she thought about it. "Unless…. What if Kat's here? What if she brought the baby over to spend time with her parents?"
"Why would Callisto bring us here to see Kat?" Kim questioned, not quite sure where her friend was going with this.
Carri spoke quickly as she rambled out her theory. "She and Kat have a history. She's been wanting her to be her evil sidekick for years. What if she got to her. Or kidnapped the baby to groom to be evil and killed Kat. And wants us here to witness what she's done and taunt us because it's too late."
"It's possible." Kim said as she thought about it. It was a long shot but she wouldn't put it past the goddess. "We should split up, search the house."
"Right." Carri agreed as she turned and tore up the stairs, calling out her cousin's name. She stuck her head into the master bedroom and peaked into the bath. Satisfied, she looked in Kat's room. She was startled at first, it looked the same as it did in high school and she was almost positive Kat had changed it since then. As Kat wasn't there she shook off the odd feeling and went to check her old room. Opening that door she realized that they apparently had a new house guest and that the décor had completely changed into something she wouldn't touch. With a shrug she went on to check the guest room and the bonus room. Satisfied that Kat wasn't there, she headed back down and met up with Kim.
"If Kat has been here and Callisto did get to her, she left no evidence." Kim said as she glanced around the house, still puzzled by their appearance there.
Carri shook her head. "If it was something Callisto did she'd leave us a giant note, make sure to take the credit."
"I agree." Kim said simply as she thought. She was clueless as to where to go from there. "So if it wasn't me, and it wasn't Callisto, where does that leave us?"
"I don't know." Carri said, placing her hands on her hips as she continued to think it over. As they stood there thinking the door opened. Both girls froze until they realized it was Rocky walking in. Carri glanced at him for a moment before she commented.
"That didn't take long. I'm surprised you all even noticed we were missing considering we were separated and searching for our needle in a haystack." Carri said as she rolled her eyes at her own use of the phrase.
Kim snorted as Carri approached Rocky. Her amusement with Carri's use of the phrase faded away as she looked at Rocky. Something wasn't right. She watched as Carri reached out to touch him and he quickly jumped back and got defensive. Carri looked hurt but the more Kim studied him the more she thought she realized what the problem was.
"Take a good look at him." Kim suggested as Rocky glanced from one woman to the other, the look on his face showing his confusion.
Carri stepped back, looking Rocky up and down. Finally she sighed. He looked just like the boy she dated in high school. "Crap. Are we in the past?"
"I don't know." Kim said as she considered all the different scenarios. "It's possible we're in an alternate dimension."
"What's going on here?" Rocky asked as he looked at his team's former pink ranger. He was more than a little confused. He hadn't seen her in a year and although she still looked good, she definitely looked a lot older. "I thought you were supposed to be in Florida. What are you doing here? And who's she?"
"Well…" Kim let her voice trail off as she wondered exactly how she was going to answer all of this teenager's questions. She noticed the communicator on his wrist and decided to give an explanation a shot. "We're rangers. From our world. And we're not exactly sure what we're doing here either."
Rocky looked from one woman to the other. "How do I know I can believe you?" He asked. Rangers from another world seemed kind of farfetched to him. They could just as easily be some sort of trick orchestrated by Mondo.
"We have Ninjetti powers. We could show you." Carri quickly suggested, hoping that Ninjetti powers were as universal as they seemed to be. As Rocky was wearing blue she assumed he was a Zeo ranger. And if he was a Zeo, then he would've already gone through having Ninjetti powers.
"What are Ninjetti powers?" Rocky asked, his confusion not lost on the girls.
Kim frowned. They obviously hadn't seen Dulcea yet, if they were going to see her at all. There was one thing that was universal in the Power Rangers timeline, and that's how they started. "We have power coins."
Kim and Carri quickly produced their power coins and held their hands out for Rocky to inspect them. He cautiously walked toward them as he looked them over. They looked almost identical to their old coins except for one detail. "Why do your coins have animals on them?"
Kim wasn't sure how much she should tell him so she simplified her explanation. "It's where we draw our powers from." She said. She wasn't sure if he bought it. "Every world develops differently. Our powers are a little different than yours."
"Maybe we should go to the Power Chamber." Rocky suggested. If he teleported them in with him and they were evil they'd be kicked out before they ever made it into the main room. And if they were good, Zordon could help them figure everything out.
"Good idea." Carri said quickly, figuring any information they could gather would more than likely start there.
"Ok." Rocky said, still unconvinced this was best. But that was the decision he had reached and he was going to follow it through. He walked toward the duo and the girls each grabbed an arm as he teleported them off.
The rangers teleported into the Power Chamber. As the teleportation beams dissolved and the girls got a good look at where they were standing, both were flooded by memories of their youth.
"Hello rangers." A booming voice said from behind them.
Carri and Kim spun around to see Zordon suspended in his tube, much like he was when they were teenagers. Carri gasped and Kim grabbed her hand. "Zordon." Kim said in a whisper as she tried to push her tears back. The last thing she expected when she woke up that morning was to see her former mentor again. He was like a father figure to her and she still missed him. Even though this wasn't their Zordon it still meant something to her.
Zordon looked at the two girls standing in front of him. Both were rangers holding multiple powers, he could sense that immediately. He also sensed Kimberly's Muirantian powers. She was allowed into the Power Chamber and she was a ranger which led him to believe that she was not corrupted by the evil of the pit.
He looked from one of the women to the other and noticed how both were surprised to see him and a little touched. He assumed that in their world Zordon sacrificed himself to save the greater good. He knew he had the power to do it, and that it might come to that one day.
Rocky crossed his arms and leaned against the console as he watched the two women's reaction. "Why are you so surprised to see Zordon?"
Carri took a deep breath and turned around, answering the question while Kim composed herself. "Our Zordon, well, he went home to Eltar years ago and we haven't seen him since."
"You can't just go there or send a message?" Rocky asked, eyebrow raised.
"It doesn't work like that." Carri said, hoping that particular line of questioning would stop.
From behind the console Billy glanced over at the two women. It was certainly possible to contact Eltar, it was even possible to go there. But maybe they couldn't on their world. Or maybe there was more that they weren't telling them. His curiosity made him inclined to probe but he was able to reason against it. If they weren't saying then obviously it was something the younger rangers need not know.
Rocky didn't quite understand how it worked like that but he let it slide. Besides that wasn't what he was really interested in. "Zordon, are we sure they are who they say they are? And how can we help them get home or whatever?"
Zordon smiled at his ranger. He was appreciative of his concern. "They both have held multiple morphers. I can sense the power running through them." He answered Rocky's first question.
Kim smiled at Zordon. It had been so long she had almost forgotten what kind of powers he had. It made her wish that her Zordon was still alive, that she could ask him questions and seek guidance with her own powers. Dulcea was a good mentor, but it would be nice to be able to receive assistance from Zordon.
"I am unsure how to get them home or why they are here in the first place. It is something we will have to look into." Zordon continued on, answering Rocky's second question.
Kim was ready to say something to that regard when the Power Chambers sensors went off. The room shifted into ranger mode as Zordon spoke. "It appears as though Mondo has sent a monster down to the surface with Cogs. We will alert the other rangers. Rocky, you go ahead."
"Right." Rocky said giving his mentor a nod as he snapped up. "It's morphin time! Zeo ranger three, blue!"
Billy and Alpha immediately went to contacting the others. Zordon looked at the two female rangers and spoke. "You may watch the rangers battle on the screen."
They nodded and turned to view the action. Four of the Zeo rangers were fighting the monster and the Cogs. Carri snickered as she realized just who the monster was. "Leaky faucet." She said with a smile. It brought back memories of being Zeo two, fighting against the Machine Empire and that particular creation several times.
As the girls watched they realized that this team's own yellow Zeo wasn't out on the battlefield. "Where's your yellow ranger?" Kim asked, relatively surprised that she wasn't out on the battlefield yet.
"We have attempted to contact her." Billy said. It was bothering him as well. "It appears as though she disappeared from the Hillard household around the same time you appeared."
Carri raised an eyebrow and looked over at Kim. This whole thing keeps getting stranger. She turned back to the fight and she and Kim continued to watch. Much to Carri's surprise, they were taking quite a beating from Leaky Faucet. He was annoying, but he was simpler than most and it didn't make sense to her. "Why are the Zeo's getting beat so badly?" She asked aloud. Kim shot her a look. She wasn't sure if that was a good question to ask.
"The Zeo rangers need all five members to be able to defeat Mondo's monsters. Without the yellow ranger, the others will struggle against Leaky Faucet." Zordon said. He understood her surprise. There were ranger teams out there that functioned superbly individually. And although the members of his team were good fighters individually, to take out the monsters they needed all five of them.
Carri snorted. She and her team had taken on monsters one on one when she was younger. Kim shot her an even dirtier look and Carri rolled her eyes. She thought for a moment before sighing. "Let me go help them. Your yellow ranger is probably gone because of us. They need a fifth ranger and I've fought Leaky Faucet a hundred times."
"I am not sure that is wise. I do not want you to interfere with our timeline." Zordon said. He understood why she wanted to do it, but he didn't feel as though it was the best idea.
Carri started to protest but Kim held her hand up. She had an idea of what to say for her to win this conversation. "I understand your concern. But it is possible that your timeline has been interfered with starting with the disappearance of your ranger. Perhaps your ranger is supposed to be here fighting this battle. Because of us, she is not. By your team losing a battle they should have easily won, we will be interfering with your timeline."
Zordon thought long and hard about what Kimberly was saying. It was certainly possible that she was right. It may be in their best interest to let the other ranger help. "You may assist our team."
"Alright I'm on it." Carri said reaching back and grabbing her power coin.
"Wait!" Billy exclaimed, trying to stop her before she morphed.
Carri turned back and looked at him curiously. "What?"
"Part of their morphing grid is infected." Kim said simply as all eyes turned toward her. "It will strip any coin that tries to draw powers on this world."
"How did you know that?" Billy asked. He was more than a little surprised. It wasn't like they had a sign posted in the Power Chamber. It had been hard to lose their coins like that. Rita and Zedd's magic infected the grid. They went to morph against one of their monsters and their coins were lifeless, and because of their connection to them they even started to drain the ranger's energy. Billy had been the guinea pig, working hard to save the team while the Aquitarian Rangers came to protect Earth. Some of his experiments cost him dearly. He'd never be able to be a ranger again. But he did save the others, and when they were fully recovered they were able to go off in search of shards of the Zeo Crystal. They still hadn't figured out how to purge that part of the grid but they had contained the infection so that other teams could still use the morphing grid.
"I could feel it." Kim replied. It was an odd explanation for the young ranger, she was aware of that. She probably should have let him fill Carri in. Her excitement at being that connected to the grid overwhelmed her which is why she felt compelled to share what she knew.
"Whatever." Carri said with a shrug. She was always amazed to see how Kim's powers were developing and she couldn't believe she could feel the grid. Quickly she moved past that and got ready to go help the others. "It's on to plan B. Planetary rangers power up!" And with that, the white planetary ranger headed out to the battle.
Carri hit the ground in the middle of the action and those on the battlefield both good and evil turned to stare at her. She simply grinned behind her helmet. "I hear you need help giving this bucket of bolts a good ass kicking."
Leaky Faucet was surprised by the cocky newcomer, and wasted no time shooting water at her. She stepped out of the way and shook her head. "You'll have to do much better than that."
"Cogs!" Leaky Faucet yelled, watching as a group of the warriors ran toward her leaving him to fight the Zeo rangers.
"This ought to be easy." Carri said as they attacked. One by one she flung them out of the way. It reminded her of the exercises she used to do on the simudeck. She faced tengas and cogs, all the old armies that were easy enough to beat on her own. It gave her a workout and kept her skills sharp.
She looked around once during the fight and realized that Mondo was sending more Cogs down to attack her. Not wanting to waste any more time on the Cog army, Carri called for her lance. Using her weapon made it go faster, but there were still more of them coming. Frustrated Carri used her powers to cause lightning bolts to come down from the sky.
The Cogs directly surrounding her were struck with lightning and short-circuited. As Carri watched them fidget and fall to the ground, she snorted. "Damn this would've been helpful ten years ago."
The remaining Cogs stood strong and Carri simply rolled her eyes and prepared to attack. Before she even got a chance to finish them off, a black and gold streak ran through them and as the Gold Ranger materialized he went to stand in front of her. "Are you alright?"
"I was handling it. But thank you Trey." She said, not realizing she called the Gold Ranger by his name until it was too late. She hoped the others new his identity.
Trey wasn't sure what shocked him more. That the ranger standing in front of him knew his name or that this ranger was carrying Planetary powers. He didn't know any of the planetary morphers were in use, let alone on Earth. "How did you know my name?"
Carri cringed. "I'm not from this dimension." She said figuring it was best to be honest. "But don't worry, for the sake of this dimension's timeline your secret is safe with me."
Trey didn't know what she meant by that or what was going on, but if she said she wasn't going to tell this world's rangers about him he'd have to trust her. "We need to assist the others."
"I agree." Carri said as they both turned their attention to Leaky Faucet. "We'll start with a little lightning." She said as she caused a bolt to flash down from the sky. As it hit Leaky Faucet, Trey ran in with a gold rush.
The four Zeo rangers were stunned. They had two new rangers running around and they both had just hit Leaky Faucet harder than any of the attacks they had tried to hit him with. "Who are you guys?" Tommy asked as Carri approached the group.
"That's gold ranger, and I'm white ranger." She said simply. She wasn't going to reveal Trey's identity and she didn't want to get into who she was until after Leaky Faucet was dealt with. Tommy was ready to protest the lack of information but Carri continued. "Look it doesn't matter who we are. We're allies. And we're here to help you send this idiot back to the scrap heap."
"Ok." Tommy replied with a nod, ignoring the million and one questions that were running through his mind.
"Gold ranger and I can give this guy a few good hits if you want to nab the zeo cannon and take him out." Carri said giving her lance a twirl.
"I don't know if we can use it without our last Zeo." Tommy replied. It was a good idea, but one he wasn't sure was going to work.
Carri simply shook her head. She didn't know what kind of world this was, but it was obviously one where ranger teams functioned quite differently. "Look I've got yellow zeo running through my veins. I can probably fill in." Although she seriously doubted that there were any residual effects of the yellow Zeo crystal present in her with all the other morphers she's held since then, she didn't think it would make a difference.
"We'll give that a shot." Tommy said. He hoped she was right, that she could substitute for their missing ranger.
"Hey gold ranger!" Carri hollered out to Trey. "Can you provide us with a distraction?"
"Easy enough." Trey replied. As he went to attack Leaky Faucet, the monster spewed water at him, knocking him back. He then quickly turned the water on the other rangers, causing them to scatter.
"Any more ideas?" Adam asked as he and Carri found themselves hiding behind a boulder.
Carri thought for a moment as she glanced around, her eyes finally settling on a decent sized rock. "Just one." She replied. She stood in a crouched position, waiting until Leaky Faucet looked away before grabbing the rock and using it to plug the water.
Leaky Faucet tried to frantically unclog himself but before he got a chance Trey was all over him. Carri ran out and regrouped with the rest of the zeo team. "We need the Zeo Cannon now!" Tommy cried out.
The cannon fell into the five ranger's hands and Carri found herself with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu as they yelled fire. Leaky Faucet went down into a blast of metallic pieces, but it wasn't long before Klank and Orbus were there to revive them. All six rangers stood and watched as Leaky Faucet grew to city wrecking size.
"We need Zeo Zord power, now!" Tommy was quick to yell as the four rangers jumped into their zords.
Carri and Trey took a step back to watch the action. "If the rangers do not need my assistance I will be taking off. I trust that you will keep my identity a secret as I will keep yours." Trey said glancing over at her. He assumed that by her introducing herself as the white ranger that she had no plans on revealing who she was either.
"No arguments here. I plan on being home shortly and forgetting this whole thing ever happened." She said, sighing as she thought about home. It was going to be a really long day as by the time she sorted through this mess and got home, she still had work to do.
As they watched they noticed how Zeo two's zord was pulling sluggishly. Carri was about to comment when Kim's voice came through her helmet. "Billy is having trouble with the zord. He wants to know if you can pilot it."
"Just like riding a bicycle." Carri commented.
"I didn't think you liked those little sayings." Kim teased as her friend leaped on top of the zord.
"Just needle in a haystack." Carri reminded her as she climbed into the zord's cockpit. She sat in front of the controls and a few moments later she was ready to go. "Alright let's bring this bad boy together and show Leaky Faucet a thing or two." She said as she prepared the zord for Megazord mode.
The zords combined as Leaky Faucet taunted them. The megazord stood strong as it pulled out its saber, using it to quickly bring Leaky Faucet down for good. With the monster gone the group of rangers headed to the Power Chamber.
"Zordon, what's going on, where's Kendall?" Kat asked the moment they arrived in the Power Chamber. She was more than a little concerned that her cousin wasn't out on the battlefield with them.
"Ask these two." Rocky said, gesturing to Kim and a still morphed white ranger.
The Zeo team turned in time to see the white ranger power down. While Kat gaped at the white ranger Tommy turned his focus toward her accomplice. "Kim? What are you doing here I thought you were in Florida?"
Kim held up a hand to stop the teenaged Tommy from coming over and sweeping her into a hug. "I'm not your Kim." She said evenly.
Tommy stopped in his tracks. He looked Kim over. She certainly looked like his Kim. Only older than his Kim. "What do you mean you're not my Kim."
"We don't belong to your world." Kim said trying to figure out how to explain it best. "We are rangers from another dimension. We seemed to have ended up here accidentally."
"Carri? You're a ranger?" Kat asked, unable to get over the fact that her other cousin was a ranger on any world.
"In my world." She replied with a smile. She didn't know who she was to Kat but obviously she wasn't someone that she would think of as ranger material. She couldn't help but wonder if she lived in New York. The her that she masqueraded as in New York definitely wouldn't be mistaken for a ranger.
"You're just too… I mean…. You're a mousey cheerleader, you live in high society…. I mean I love my cousin but I just can't see any version of her as ranger material." Kat said. She was quite confused and she was certain that this Carri led a completely different life from the one she knew.
Carri took a few deep, forced breaths and Kim shot her a dirty look. She knew where her friend was going. Kat had insulted her, and in Carri's mind she probably just added it to the list of reasons why she was mad at her Kat. But she didn't know herself here and she couldn't take out her aggression on the wrong Kat.
"A double in an alternate universe doesn't necessarily share the same traits as that person in your universe." Carri left out the parts where she spent three years as a cheerleader and she lived in high society. And Zordon obviously saw her as ranger material, along with the powers that be as she was chosen as the White Planetary Ranger. That in itself should speak volumes. Granted she didn't know this Carri, perhaps she did fall into the high society pack with no interest in any of the things that made her who she was. But that didn't give Kat the right to discount every alternate.
"Whatever." Kat said simply. She didn't get it and she wasn't going to argue it. "That still doesn't explain what happened to Kendall."
"Kendall as in cousin Kendall?" Carri asked, eyebrow raised. She was hoping the answer was no. If anyone didn't qualify as ranger material, it was her.
Kat nodded. "Yes, she's the yellow ranger. And she's missing."
Before Carri could jump in with a comment Kim interjected. "I have a theory on that." She said as all eyes focused on her. "I think when we arrived, Kendall sort of switched places with us."
"Great maybe she can find our needle in a haystack." Carri said, intending to irk Kim a little. Despite the fact that this wasn't her Kendall she found herself somewhat pleased and the prospect of her wandering through the woods.
Kim's lips curled up briefly as she glanced over at Carri before turning back toward the younger rangers. "If that's the case it shouldn't be a problem for me to take us home and return her."
"Great, so let's take care of this." Tommy said as the leader in him came out.
"I'm not sure that's wise to do yet." Kim said. As soon as she spoke several members of the team were inclined to protest but she held her hand up and cut them off. "We don't know how this happened in the first place. If we were brought here for a specific purpose and we leave we may be leaving this world at risk, endangering your lives and your future."
As she paused Zordon looked down at her. He could tell that she had been through a lot, that she knew a lot as a ranger. What she knew specifically about interdimensional travel he wasn't sure. She didn't sound like she knew the specifics, but she was good at what she did know and she knew how to incorporate instinct and knowledge into situations.
Kim looked the team over before continuing. "As for your yellow ranger, I have no doubts that our team will look after her until we can return her to you, assuming that's where she went. If that's not where she went, we'll find out once we find out why we're here." She was pretty sure that if Kendall was dumped in the middle of the forest, it wouldn't have taken Billy long to detect the odd zeo signatures that would have suddenly appeared on the grid. Although if things worked out like she hoped they would, that wouldn't even be an issue.
Tommy absorbed the words of the older Kimberly. He wasn't sure what he thought of what she was saying, or if he agreed with what he was saying. Before making a judgment of his own he turned toward his mentor. "Zordon, is this the best course of action?"
"I agree with Kimberly." Zordon said as he looked his conflicted leader over. "We must figure out what brought them here before we can allow them to return home."
"So now what?" Adam asked looking at the two older rangers.
"We need to find a place to go where nobody is going to be suspicious of us." Kim said. It wasn't like they could stay over at anyone's house. Kat's parents would easily pick up on Carri not being Carri, while anyone else they could stay with would find it odd that Kim had aged so much since she'd been gone.
"Maybe you guys could stay in a hotel or something." Rocky suggested.
Kim shook her head. "No, for that we'd need money, an adult ID, neither of which we have here."
Carri cleared her throat and Kim looked over at her. With a smile Carri reached into her back pocket and produced a wad of cash. "I had lunch with Mr. I'm so conflicted over what to do about Emily today." She explained. Not feeling like carrying much of anything, Carri had taken out of her office with only her keys, ID and cash. She didn't even take her phone. She was tired of work calls and just wanted an hour of peace and quiet. She smiled before she continued. "We can probably forge an ID no problem."
Although forging an ID could cause trouble, they were short on options and if they stayed at a cheap enough hotel they wouldn't confirm the ID. "Alright. It's the best we've got." Kim agreed to the idea.
"Great. So let's get this show on the road." Carri said with a grin. One by one the rangers teleported out of the Power Chamber to get things situated so they could figure out exactly what was going on.
An hour later Kim and Carri met the rangers at a burger joint on the outskirts of town, somewhere there was no chance of Kim being recognized. They weren't sure about having dinner with the other rangers, but the team was pretty insistent on it. They figured it was more curiosity than anything. Besides they needed to eat dinner and they might learn something about why they were there by eating it with the other rangers.
After they were all seated and their orders taken, the rangers immediately started chattering. The young ones wanted to know everything, wanted to share everything, and Kim and Carri simply let them control the chatter as they tried to smile and nod and answer as vaguely as they could when they were asked questions.
"It must be weird sitting here with younger versions of the rangers you know back home. In fact this whole thing must be weird. It's certainly weird for us." Tommy started up the conversation.
"It's not the first time we've been put in an awkward situation." Carri said simply, recalling all the different alternate worlds she had visited.
"Would it hurt to tell you about ourselves?" Adam asked, not sure what one was allowed to discuss with rangers from another dimension.
Carri looked at Kim who shrugged. "I don't see why not. I can't imagine you would have too much influence on our lives." Kim said. They had been there, done that, and were wise enough to know that these were their friends of a much different time.
"None of us have been on the team since the beginning." Tommy was the first of the group to speak. "I joined at the start of my freshman year as the green ranger. That was right before the others came along."
"Midway through freshman year Rocky, Aisha and I were transferred in. We took over for Zack, Trini and Jason when they left." Adam informed them. They looked at him and nodded, and Adam could tell that something similar happened on their world.
"I moved here last summer. Before we started our sophomore year." Kat supplied, smiling over at the two newcomers. "I took Kim's place right at the start of the year after she went to Florida for gymnastics. Then Kendall came to live with me and took Aisha's place halfway through the year when her family moved. That was a month or two before our coins were infected. We were zeo's the rest of sophomore year and I imagine we'll start out junior year the same."
"That sounds similar to the way our world unfolded." Kim said. Although there certainly were similarities, there were a lot of differences as well. But Kim didn't see how it would help them at all to point those out.
"So you went to Florida to train too?" Tommy asked, eager to ask this Kim questions. It may not be his Kim, but she was still a ranger and still a Kim and that was good enough.
"Yes I did." Kim said evenly, smiling at the younger Tommy. It was odd to see him obviously drooling over her. She'd forgotten what the younger Tommy's affections were like. Nowadays, although anyone who knew the duo knew they were together, he tried to remain more reserved, more of the ranger master that every team after them knew him to be, and saved most of his longing for her for behind closed doors.
"So did you and me, I mean your Tommy, did you guys do alright while you were gone?" He was anxious; he missed his Kim very much. She promised to try and come home over the holidays but she had to back out. Now she swears she's going to make it home over the summer but there's no guarantee about that either. He loved her but it was hard to have a long distance relationship.
The letter Kim wrote as a young girl slammed to the front of her mind and danced around, haunting her, reminding her of stupid decisions she made in her youth. She had to try to push those thoughts away to answer Tommy's question diplomatically. "It is wonderful that you are dating your Kim. However you have to remember that I am not your Kim, and everything from whether or not I had a relationship with Tommy to what I may or may not have done in Florida is different. And for your sake, I can't tell you anything."
Carri smirked. She certainly remembered the letter, the agony that her Tommy went through when Kim had dumped him. It was hard for Tommy to make it through those times. But luckily for him Kat was there to help him through it and he eventually started to return her affections. If she hadn't helped him through his broken heart she doubted he would have been able to be friends with Kim when she came to visit. Carri snorted aloud as she realized Kim may actually owe her second chance with Tommy to Kat.
Kat found herself focusing on Tommy's reaction. He was sad, he wanted to talk about Kim. It drove her crazy sometimes. She was so into him but other than her being a ranger she was almost positive he was oblivious to her. As Carri snorted she shook those thoughts away and changed the subject. "Tommy's not the only one with a ranger girlfriend." She was actually quite pleased that Kendall had gotten so close to the ranger team and found a boyfriend. They were kind of distant with her until she joined the team and then she started getting along with everybody.
"Yeah." Rocky chimed in. "Kendall and I have been going out for a few months now." He added. It was nice, Kendall was fun. Sometimes he found himself unsure about their relationship. But she was a ranger and Kat's cousin and she was pretty.
Tommy and Adam didn't find those good enough reasons to date her. Neither of them were too thrilled with her before she became a ranger and they firmly believed Aisha picked her because she already knew the team, not because she'd make a good ranger. She hung out with them a lot because she was Kat's cousin, and spent a lot of her time throwing herself on Rocky. When they started dating after she became a ranger, Tommy and Adam argued that it was a one sided relationship and Rocky continued to point out it was just new and they were getting used to each other and that things would change. He was still waiting to see if he was right.
"Oh." Carri said sharply, thinking about how Kendall all but threw herself on her fiancé in the hospital. Kim kicked her sharply in the shin, knocking all those thoughts back for the moment. "Good for you." She added with a forced smile.
The waitress came back by and dropped their food on the table, grabbing up empty glasses and going to refill them with soda. The group started to eat and the waitress returned with their drinks. Chewing and sipping were the only things heard until Kat spoke. "What about you two? Seeing anybody?"
Kim and Carri were surprised by the questions about their lives, although they supposed they shouldn't have been. "Yes we're both seeing people." Kim replied, answering without giving too much away.
"Are they other rangers?" Kat questioned, her curiosity getting the best of her.
"Maybe they are, maybe they aren't." Carri said with a smile. "We're happy to answer questions but we can't promise that the answers will be what you're looking for."
Kat nodded as she studied this version of her cousin carefully. There were some similarities and a lot of differences between her and the Carri she knew. As she looked at her closely something caught her attention. "You're getting married!" she exclaimed giddily.
Carri blinked and looked at her oddly for a second before realizing how she knew. "Yeah. Next summer."
"Who's the lucky guy?" Kat questioned, not thinking about how she couldn't really answer that question.
"Someone I met in high school." Carri replied. It was true, and it was the best answer she could give.
"David?" Kat squeaked as Carri choked on her food. Kim snickered and Kat continued. "I know you can't tell me. But you guys broke up and Aunt Becky said he was trying to win you back and I bet he did. That would be so amazing. I'll bet I'm thrilled. I'm sure I'm your maid of honor."
To Kim's credit, she was holding in her response, even her facial expressions. Carri was taking a few deep breaths. It was hard enough to separate her Kat from this world's younger Kat, and if Kim were to laugh at the situation she had a feeling Carri might just go off.
"Kat is excited." Carri said evenly. Running into a Kat on another world was not something she wanted to do, especially after all the ups and downs she and her Kat had recently.
Rocky noticed everyone's reactions and was a bit curious by them. There was something up between this Carri and her Kat but he couldn't quite put the finger on it. He decided the best thing he could do to change the odd feeling at the table was change subjects. "So what do you guys do for a living?" He asked as he worked to scarf down the rest of his food. He and Adam were going to have to leave shortly, but he wanted to make the most of this conversation. He found Kat's other cousin pretty and kind of interesting and he wanted to hear what she had to say.
Kim thought for a moment. She didn't suppose giving them a little tidbit of her life would be too bad. After all, Kim herself wasn't around to hear it. "I'm in marketing."
"I work for my father." Carri added in. She certainly didn't want to go into details of her company or how she got it or anything like that.
"You're an actress?" Kat said. She was somewhat surprised. Although with her father's insistence Carri had taken acting classes, she didn't think she was actually inclined to follow that one through.
Carri let out a little laugh. "Something like that." She said, noticing the smirk on Kim's face.
Kat continued to let her curiosity get the best of her. She couldn't quite pin this Carri down and it bugged her. She decided she had to ask the question that had been nipping at her the last few hours. "So how did you get tapped to be a ranger?"
"I was living with you at the time and the girl who I took over for chose me, and Zordon agreed." Carri said. She glanced at Kat and she wasn't sure she satisfied her with that explanation. "I had fought Mondo's forces without powers. I had taken karate, so I guess it helped. I guess they could tell by the way I handled them I'd make a good ranger."
Rocky smiled as he took ten dollars out of his pocket and laid it on the table. It was cool that she had taken karate. "I had to cut this short, but Adam and I have to run."
Adam finished shoving the last of his food into his mouth before pulling out his own money. "Yeah, if we don't hurry we'll be late meeting the others."
"What others?" Kat asked out of curiosity.
"The baseball team. We promised we'd meet some of the guys at the batting cages tonight for practice. We're working on making varsity next year. We want to bring the team to the state championships." Rocky filled her in.
"That brings back memories." Carri said absentmindedly as she thought about her days as a high school pitcher. Kim kicked her and Carri snapped back into the moment.
"You watched your friends play baseball? Go to state?" Adam asked. He hoped the answer was she watched the other rangers win the state title.
"Well…" Carri said dragging it out. She sighed. Could it really hurt anything? This Carri was nowhere around and she was much too old to influence her about baseball now. "I pitched some. In high school."
"Really?" Rocky asked getting excited as she nodded. "Were you any good?"
Carri laughed. "You could say that."
"Come on, we've got to go." Adam said grabbing his friend by the arm and leading him out of the restaurant.
Rocky stared at the table as Adam was dragging him out. This girl was much too old for him and he didn't know Kat's real cousin. But she was pretty, she seemed as though she was a really good ranger, and she liked karate and baseball. If he didn't know better he'd hunt down the real Carri Hillard. But he'd have no idea what to expect from her, and besides, he had a girlfriend. So for now he'd just settle with his teenaged crush on an older woman.
He shook women out of his thoughts as Adam led them to his mom's borrowed car. Moments later the duo were settled in and speeding off in the direction of the batting cages.
Kim and Carri arrived in their hotel room late that night. They had been going nonstop for a long time, and both were hoping that crashing for a few hours would give them the focus they needed to figure out what was going on.
They had done everything in their power and they were clueless. Dinner with the team didn't provide any answers. Although the rangers were interesting and brought back memories of their youth, they didn't say anything that might be a clue as to why they were there. After dinner, they left and spent several hours working with Zordon and Alpha in the Power Chamber.
Zordon himself had no idea, although the fact that someone may have tried to manipulate Kim into thinking she used her powers worried him. There were very few beings in the galaxy with the ability to pull that off and not many of them would have good intentions. He couldn't begin to reason why anyone would send either of them here.
Kim was baffled. They were meant to do something. Or not do something, it was impossible to say for sure. She was almost positive it had to do with this world. Anyone who knew her well enough to know of her powers would know that she could just take them back to the moment they left, no harm no foul. It wouldn't affect their world so it had to affect this one.
She and Carri exhausted every possible resource. They went through Power Chamber records, talked to all of Zordon's galactic contacts. Nowhere did they come across anything about a rising threat to Earth or to the power. It was frustrating but they could only assume that whatever the reason they were here, it hadn't happened yet. They had alerts set up throughout the galaxy looking for disturbances, and now they were going back to the hotel to play the wait and see game.
"I don't think I have to say this, but I don't like this at all." Carri commented as she plopped on top of the comforter and laid her head on the pillows.
"Me either." Kim replied as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "But what choice do we have? We have to figure out what's going on. For us, for them, for who knows what else."
"Let's assume that a villain tried to mimic your powers and bring us here, or at least bring you here." Carri started. "And for whatever reason they wanted Kendall gone. That would have to be a damn smart villain. We're talking someone with a lot of power, a lot of magical power. Someone who knows a lot about your Muirantian powers. The list is short and Zordon's right, if it's a bad guy they definitely don't have good intentions and I'm not too anxious to see what they are."
"If it's a villain why? What are they doing and what do they want with us?" Kim asked. She couldn't imagine a villain bringing them here and leaving them to stew this long without giving them some sort of clue. "What if it's someone on our side? Who wants us to help with something?"
"And what? They send us an invitation but don't bother telling us what it's for? No one Zordon knows has any clue. If it was the good guys you'd think they'd have spelled it out by now." Carri pointed out. As weird as the villain idea seemed, to her the good guy theory was much odder.
"I don't know." Kim said. Not having any idea bothered her but there wasn't anything she could do about it. "We're just going to have to wait and see what happens."
"What about the boys?" Carri asked, referencing the three male rangers on their team. "Should you hop back and tell them what's going on?"
"I don't think it's necessary." Kim replied. Carri propped herself up on her elbows and raised an eyebrow at her friend. "In theory I'll be able to get us back home within moments of our departure, and if Kendall's there I'll grab her and return her before there's even a blip on the radar. They'll never know."
"Then it's back to running around that damn forest with those scanners." Carri grumbled with a sigh. She thought about it for a moment before she continued. "So if nobody figures out we're missing, should we tell them everything?"
"I don't know. It depends on what happens. If it doesn't affect them we can just consider it another mission." Kim replied, referencing all the missions she and Carri ran as planetary rangers. "We were called to duty, we saved the world, and they don't need to worry about it."
"I know that's right." Carri said with a chuckle. She knew Rocky and Tommy would have a fit if they knew the girls had been swept away by someone unknown to take care of an unknown mission on another dimension.
"Then we're in agreement. Depending on what this turns out to be we'll just run the mission and get home right when we left as if nothing ever happened." Kim replied. Whether or not it was a good idea as a girlfriend it may be the best idea as a ranger and that's what counted. If they fixed this issue the others didn't need to know about their activities.
"Agreed." Carri said, flopping back down on the bed.
Kim reached over and turned off the lamp that sat between them before lying down on the bed herself. She saw shadows of Carri throwing her clothes off and worming her way under the covers as she went to do the same. She doubted either of them would get any real sleep, but even a little bit of rest would help whatever they had to face tomorrow.
A young Kimberly Hart was sitting on a plane as it taxied to its gate in Angel Grove's airport. She was glad to be returning here, glad to be home. It had been almost a year since she was last in California and she missed it all. She missed the rangers, her friends, and especially Tommy.
It was why she was coming back. She was going to surprise everyone. She knew they'd be thrilled to see her. They'd be shocked when she gave them her news. But the decision was hers and hers alone and she was going to stand by it. She loved gymnastics, and she loved being able to train in Florida, but it just wasn't for her.
Everything was so different this past year. She had gotten a private tutor that she spent a few hours each weekday with. The rest of her time was spent practicing. There were no malls, no dates, no lounging with friends. Nothing that Kim enjoyed doing in Angel Grove she did in Florida besides gymnastics. There was simply no time. She'd hardly been able to even call anybody back in Angel Grove, let alone think about visiting she'd been so busy training.
Kim sighed as she stood in her seat and squeezed out into the aisle with the other passengers. They shuffled slowly toward the exit and as Kim broke free she headed down to wait for her luggage. She had brought everything she owned with her back to Angel Grove. After all, that was what one tended to do when they weren't going back somewhere. It was something she had thought about for a long time, and although she enjoyed gymnastics she wasn't willing to give up everything she had in Angel Grove any longer.
Her coach was disappointed; he had recruited her and brought her there to make her a star Pan Global athlete. But he let her go. He knew that if she didn't want to be there she'd never be able to put the effort into gymnastics that was needed to qualify for the Pan Globals. Her mother was the most disappointed. Kim had a feeling that it had nothing to do with her quitting gymnastics and more to do with the fact that her mother was firmly rooted at an art gallery in Paris, and had been almost since the moment she arrived in Miami.
Her parents discussed it, and by discussed Kim assumed they meant argued about it, and Kim would return to Angel Grove to live with her father. Her father loved her but she doubted he was thrilled to have her living with him again. After all, when they divorced he had no objection to sending her off to be in her mother's care. It would be different, he lived in Stone Canyon and although he was close to Angel Grove they had to fight to get her enrolled in Angel Grove High. But she would attend her junior year there and she'd be able to hang out with her friends and boyfriend and do all the other things she missed so dearly. And her dad had already promised that once she passed her driver's test he'd get her a used car. That would certainly help things.
Kim approached the baggage claim just as the light went off and suitcases started spewing out. She crossed her arms over her chest as she went to wait for her two pieces of luggage. Despite everything, it was just nice being back in Angel Grove.
Her two suitcases appeared rather quickly. The first one pulled near and Kim reached out and grabbed it. As she did she felt a chill form around her. It felt odd and out of place but she tried to shake it off as she grabbed her second piece of luggage. She pulled the handles up and started to wheel them away and that's when she felt the chill again.
The sensation got stronger and stronger, and then she felt something entering her body. She gasped, and tried to scream, but whatever it was, was taking her over. Her actions were no longer hers. She started to panic as she willed herself to move, to do anything to keep from whatever was happening to her from happening. She felt herself being pushed farther back and knew there was nothing she could do and then she felt it. She had been silenced.
The body that had belonged to Kim smiled. The body now belonged to Kemora, who found this conquest rather easy. This girl hardly fought at all as she took her over. She wasn't even strong enough yet to take her over with as much force as she used to. Sure the girl screamed and protested, but this Kim was too weak to do much else.
Although she was weaker, she'd do. Kemora could still get her powers back to full strength inside this girl's body. It was just nice to have a body. Now she could start to plan her revenge. She could play around in this world for a while but she had a goal in mind. She wanted to get back to the pit.
Her powers would replenish themselves eventually, but the quickest and easiest way to do it would be to reconnect with the pit that gave her all her evil abilities in the first place. Then she could go after those who pissed her off the most. Starting with K. It was her fault she was lost everything in the first place. K had to get involved, had to get other rangers involved. She banished her from Muiranthias but she'd get back there.
It was going to take a lot of planning on her part and probably more time than she wanted to put into it, but she'd get back to Muiranthias. She would need help though, ranger help. As much as she'd like to just rip those goodie two shoes apart, since she wasn't at full strength she would need access to their base and their powers in order to help herself and get back to Muiranthias. Being in the body of the Kimberly of this world, she should be able to gain access to this world's center of command. Its sensors would more than likely pick up on Kim's latent signatures that they were used to reading before it noticed the demon Kemora, as long as she didn't use her powers to get in. By the time they realized what she was, it would be too late. As much as she didn't want to, she knew she'd have to continue on to Angel Grove and pretend that nothing was wrong. It was the only way to gain access. The rangers would have no idea what was about to hit them. She would be sweet and innocent Kimberly until she got what she wanted, and then she would destroy them all on her way to restoring her full power.
Thomas stood in the shadows as he watched Kemora capture the young Kimberly's body. Now was the time to do something about it while she was still weak. It was finally time to tell the truth. He didn't want to risk it before, telling her that something might happen and her not agreeing to help. But now she'd have no choice. Kemora was there and preparing to wreak havoc on this and every other world she touched. He imagined she'd be inclined to help, after all chances were good that she'd remember her and come after her world and her friends.
Thomas took himself to the girl's hotel room, where after a night of barely sleeping they were both up and dressed. They took defensive stances as they glanced and him and he greeted them with a simple hello.
Kim didn't know what to think. If Thomas was involved it would probably explain how they got into this situation to begin with. She didn't know much of him, only the little bits and pieces that K had time to share with her. She wasn't even sure if she could trust him. K had her reasons for trusting him but it was obvious that K's Jason was weary of him and her Tommy didn't trust him for anything. "What are you doing here?" she asked, wanting to get right to the point.
"Do you remember when Kemora was banished during the final battle on K's home world?" Thomas asked. If they wanted to get right to the point he would. He waited for a second as the girls both nodded their heads yes. "She has broken into the plane of this world and managed to take over its Kimberly. She plans on returning to full strength and going on another rampage."
Thomas paused for a second, letting them both absorb that information before turning to face Kimberly. "The dimensional guardians need you to banish Kemora. That's why they had me bring you here. And since you now have Muirantian powers, you are expected to work for them."
"Wait a second." Carri said sharply, causing Thomas to turn toward her. "You just rip us out of home dimension and expect us to be all happy go lucky when you need us to help? I don't think so."
"You weren't supposed to be here. This was her mission. Your being here is why the yellow ranger of this world is on your home planet and why you arrived in the Hillard's living room. You threw off the balance of the magic I was using. It was only meant to teleport one person." Thomas said evenly. The dimensional guardians were not pleased by Carri's accidental transport, but as she had proven useful to K in the past they assumed that she'd probably be able to help this Kimberly.
Carri grunted and muttered a smart ass remark about her involvement and Thomas glared at her. "The dimensional guardians did not mean for you to be involved in this at all. They are quite happy that you do not exist in every dimension."
Carri shut up for a moment while she thought about a good retort, but Kim spoke and Thomas's attention immediately shifted back to her. "Back up a minute. They want me to work for them? Absolutely not. That's K's job, not mine, and I will not have my life consumed by the dimensional guardians." Kim said as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Thomas. "I will help this time, only because I've met these rangers and I don't want to leave them at Kemora's will. But if you ever pull a stunt like that again I won't hesitate to simply teleport myself back home."
Thomas nodded as he mulled over her response. He was slightly pleased that she didn't want anything to do with the kind of life the dimensional guardians wanted her to lead. But he knew where defiance got you. He knew where it got K. The years that she spent in a suspended state conscious yet paralyzed while going through torturous things that no human would survive…. Her torment at the hands of the dimensional guardians weighed heavily on him and he had no desire to witness another Kimberly go through the same thing.
He looked over at her and locked his eyes with hers as he started to speak. "You are very powerful, and your Muirantian powers will grow into something far more than what you can even imagine. You have the capability to do powerful things for any side you chose and the dimensional guardians are well aware of that. They will want to control your power. If they can't, they will kill you and there is nothing I or anyone else can do for you." K was of value to the continuum, it was the only reason she was allowed to live. This girl did not have that luxury. "I will leave you with that to think about for the next time the dimensional guardians tell you that you are going to help."
Giving her advice was the extent of what he could do to help her. Perhaps that wasn't all he could do. Regardless of how this battle turned out he could buy her some time. He would return to the DG and tell him that although her powers were developing, she simply wasn't strong enough to work for them full time yet. It would give her a chance to get her head on straight the next time the DG came to seek her services. Hopefully when she was brought in front of them she wouldn't be inclined to be that defiant. They would not be pleased.
Kim nodded. She understood what he was saying but she didn't want to live her life at the call of the dimensional guardians. She didn't know what she was going to do about them, but she certainly got the gist of what she couldn't do. "I will take your words under advisement." Kim said simply. "As for Kemora, don't worry, I'll figure out what to do with her."
"I'm sure you will." Thomas replied. "I am unable to assist you but I will be watching. I hope for your sake and for that of the other dimensions that your powers will prove themselves quite useful." With that Thomas disappeared, leaving the two girls in the hotel room together.
"That's just great." Carri grumbled. "Like I really want to deal with Kemora of all people." Most people didn't have to deal with anyone of her caliber in their lifetimes. Carri had more encounters with the demon spawn than she'd care to discuss.
"We have no choice. She's here and we have to stop her. She'll torment this world, our world, go back to K's world…. It's much simpler to stop her now." Kim said as she started to push any thoughts of the dimensional guardians away for the moment and started to work on ideas. There had to be something she'd learned that would prove itself useful.
"I personally would like to kick the bitch back into oblivion. But since that wouldn't work, and you're the one with comparable powers that the dimensional guardians are after, what have you got?" Carri asked. Kemora was much like Callisto. Fighting them was a challenge. Defeating them was near impossible. And although Carri had a lot of tactics, if anyone could actually defeat Kemora it would be the one whose powers were born from the same source.
"I may have an idea." Kim said as she continued to think it over. There was something she had discussed with Dulcea. They were having a conversation about possessions, and more specifically Kemora. She had been concerned that she'd escape from K's world, and after a night of vivid dreams where Kemora destroyed everything near and dear to hear, she had asked her mentor for suggestions on how to stop her. Dulcea had an idea, but Kim would need to go speak with her in order to follow it through. "I'm going to need to go check on something. Can you keep an eye on the kids?"
"Yes sir." Carri replied with a mock salute. She watched as Kim used her powers and disappeared, then got up and went in search of the rangers.
Kim arrived on the rocky beaches of Phaedos. She'd been there so many times that she almost had the terrain memorized. She was back in her home dimension in her time, only not on her planet. She had no plans in going to Earth, only in seeing Dulcea to get the information she needed then leaving. She was bending time; she would be existing in this dimension in two places simultaneously. When she finished this mission she would teleport herself and Carri back to Earth at the same time she arrived on Phaedos. She would be at home on Earth while her hours younger self would be on Phaedos.
It was a weird thought, it always had been. It had come to her mind several times when she had been training on other worlds, that her life would be carrying on in Angel Grove while she was out training and that nobody would know the difference. Well she supposed people did know. The dimensional guardians certainly knew what she was capable of even if they weren't aware of exactly what it was she was doing. Thomas probably had an idea of what she was doing.
As she maneuvered through Phaedos, she had to wonder if that was how she got on their radar. Teleporting herself as her powers grew. It certainly got her on the radar of those good and evil. She had been spotted multiple times in her home dimension while training, no matter how much she tried to keep herself hidden. It was why more recently she'd travelled to the farthest reaches of the galaxy to train, to places where there wasn't much life around to recognize her.
She shook her head and willed all her thoughts to disappear. She was on a mission, an important mission. And although she planned on returning close to her departure time, she still didn't want to lose focus. She had to talk to Dulcea and return quickly. The fate of more than one world depended on it.
Trekking across the planet's surface, she made her way to the small training grounds that Dulcea spent most of her day at. Dulcea was nowhere to be found, but it wasn't long before a white owl flew overhead. As it hit the ground it transformed and her mentor was standing in front of her.
"Kimberly, it is good to see you." Dulcea greeted. "Are you here for more lessons?" She asked with a smile. Kim was well aware that she'd already told her that she had taught her all she knew, that it was up to her to learn the rest. More than likely she was simply here for guidance. As of late Kim had been there several times to seek her advice.
Kim smiled and shook her head. "No, I realize you are out of lessons." She replied. It was a joke between the two of them. Dulcea could show her no more where her powers were concerned, only guide her. The smile faded and a somber look took her over. "I wish I was here for something as simple as my own powers."
"Is something wrong?" Dulcea questioned. Kimberly rarely got that look on her face and when she did it was never good.
"I'm afraid so." Kim replied, pausing before she launched into her story. "Kemora has returned. She's on another world, she has taken over its Kimberly. She's weakened from her last attacks but we have to banish her quickly before she starts another rampage."
"And you feel as though I would be of assistance?" Dulcea asked curiously. She was unsure why her protégé would have returned to Phaedos for this matter. She wasn't sure how to guide her against Kemora and she was unable to leave the planet to offer aide in battle.
"Sort of." Kim offered lamely. "It's what we discussed before. How to banish a spirit. I need your help seeking it out."
Although Kim didn't offer specifics on what she wanted Dulcea knew exactly what she was talking about. "I can point you in the right direction but your powers are the only thing that will find it."
"I understand." Kim replied. "I can find it. I have to, I can't let Kemora roam free."
"We must move quickly." Dulcea replied in agreement. She had never personally encountered the demon spawn but she knew enough of her from Zordon. She knew that the best way to stop her was to keep her out of a body. If she'd already taken over a Kim, they wouldn't have much time before she figured out how to get to full strength again.
"Thank you." Kim replied. Dulcea walked quickly and passed by Kim as the ranger fell in line behind her mentor. She hoped that this would be easy and that she'd be able to destroy Kemora in no time.
Carri found herself meeting the other rangers at the Angel Grove Youth Center that morning. She wasn't sure this was a good idea. But the others assured her that this world's Carri had never been to the Youth Center and that nobody would recognize her. And they were clear that it was where they were going to be, and if she wanted to visit with them she'd have to be there too.
As she arrived she found the four members of the ranger team sitting at a table. It certainly brought back memories of her high school days. The inside of their Youth Center was set up very similarly to the one she remembered. Briefly she glanced at the bar and the sparring mats as she walked over and had a seat.
"Good morning everyone." She greeted with a smile. If she was going to be babysitting, she may as well put on a happy face.
"Hey Carri." Rocky replied, returning her smile with one of his own. Although he missed his girlfriend, he was excited to see Carri again today.
"Where's Kim this morning?" Tommy asked. He was still unsure why she was unable to make it. Carri had been very vague on the phone.
"We've figured out why we're here." Carri said simply. The rangers looked at her, each of them expecting an answer. "I can't explain just yet," she started not ready to go into an in depth explanation of Kemora at the moment, "but Kim thinks she knows how to fix this situation and get us home and Kendall returned."
"That's great I can't wait for Kendall to get back home." Kat replied excitedly. It was weird not having her cousin in the room next to hers the night before.
"You will let us know what's going on right?" Tommy asked, not appreciating being left out of the conversation.
"When the time comes." Carri said evenly. She was pretty sure they'd have to eventually tell them about Kemora. But not yet. Not until Kim came home with their answer. There was no point just yet in having them fret about a teammate who was on the other side of the country. Especially Tommy.
"How was your hotel?" Adam asked changing the subject. He wanted to know too, but it was obvious that Carri was in no mood to share.
"About as good as expected." Carri said with a smile. "We didn't sleep very well anyway so I suppose it didn't matter."
"I hate when I don't get any sleep." Rocky complained in an attempt to be sympathetic.
"It happens. Part of the job I suppose." Carri replied. Lying in her own bed she'd sleep forever if she could. But the years she spent in space came with a lot of ranger related sleep deprivation and as much as she didn't like it, she was used to it.
Rocky assumed she meant part of the ranger job and he couldn't help but probe. "So you've been on a lot of adventures?"
"Yeah, you could"
Before Carri got a chance to finish her sentence, Tommy jumped out of his seat. "Kim!" He exclaimed, running over to give her a hug.
Carri glanced back as the other rangers jumped up and she saw them rush to greet the younger Kim. "Crap." She said, suddenly wishing she'd told them about Kemora. As it was too late to backtrack she knew she'd have to figure out how to get them out of this situation.
"It's good to see you." Kemora said as she halfheartedly returned his hug. Kat was standing beside him smiling and she couldn't decide if Tommy was with Kat or if Tommy was with Kim. Either way it didn't matter, they were all going to die.
She looked around at what she assumed were members of the ranger team as Adam, Kat and Rocky all greeted her. Taking a few minutes to pretend to care, Kemora returned the greeting then allowed herself to be led over toward their table. She sat down next to Tommy and glanced up, her eyes immediately locking with Carri's.
"Who's this?" Kemora asked curiously. Although she couldn't help but feel as though she knew this Carri already.
"Carri." She said quickly as she stuck her hand out. She didn't want to give the team a chance to explain why she was here. Kemora would most certainly realize she was seeking her out if she knew she was from another dimension on a mission. "I'm a friend of the team." She added.
"Nice to meet you." Kemora replied as she took Carri's hand. "I'm Kim."
Every bone in Carri's body screamed jump up and run as she saw the red hint in Kim's eyes. She wasn't one hundred percent certain but she could almost guarantee that this was Kemora. Hanging out with her was probably not a good idea. But she was obviously pretending to be Kim and perhaps there was a chance that she could figure something out about what she wanted if she let this play out.
"So, Kim, what are you doing in Angel Grove?" Carri asked casually.
"I just moved back home actually." Kemora said with a smile. "I missed my friends and family. I couldn't stay in Florida any longer."
Carri was the only one who picked up on the tone in the voice and the wickedness behind her smile. The others were simply thrilled to hear the news. "Kim that's great!" Tommy exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're home. But what about the Pan Globals?"
"Those were stupid." Kemora said. No matter what world she was on Kim was an idiot for taking off with Florida and leaving Tommy to fall in love with the blonde bimbo.
"I'm sorry you quit. You were so good at gymnastics." Kat said, extending her arm out and placing her hand on top of Kim's.
"Of course you would say that." Kemora said, allowing some of her bitterness to come through. She couldn't help but wonder if she had wormed her way in with Tommy while this Kim was gone.
The rangers weren't sure what to make of Kim's comment but Carri knew exactly what she meant. She locked eyes with her and Kemora gave her a sticky sweet smile. She was starting to get just as suspicious of Carri as Carri was of her. She was much too old to be Kat's cousin of this world. Something was strange. She decided that whoever this was would figure her out and that it was time to move quickly.
"I meant, you know, you did encourage me to go." Kemora clarified her last statement as Kat smiled and nodded at her. "Anyway, I miss everyone so much. Especially Alpha and Zordon. It has been such a long time since I've seen them."
Carri had a feeling she knew exactly what she was doing. Trying to get an invite to the Power Chamber. She didn't know what for, but if she could get in she'd have access to enough to wreak plenty of havoc. "Excuse me for a second." Carri said as she abruptly stood and made her way over to the lockers. She was going to have to come up with something good in order to get them away from Kemora and keep the demon out of the Power chamber.
As she stood out of sight of the others her mind raced while she worked to find a solution. Finally it hit her. Standing straight she marched out toward the table. "Guys we need to go. It's an emergency."
"Great you can come too." Tommy said glancing over at Kemora before turning toward Carri. "We were just reminiscing about Alpha and Zordon. I'm sure they'd love to see her."
"That's cool I'd love to go." Kemora chimed in doing her best to use a Kim like attitude.
"It's not a typical emergency." Carri assured them before leaning in and lowering her voice. "It's not safe for anyone without powers."
"I'm a former ranger. I can handle it." Kemora replied. She was going to get herself into the Power Chamber if it was the last thing she did.
"She's right, I'm sure it will be ok." Tommy assured her. He couldn't imagine what in the world would be so serious that his girlfriend, a former ranger, couldn't pop in with them.
Carri put a hard smile on her face as she spoke. "Maybe later. She really shouldn't go right now, it's not safe." She stood straight up and looked at the four rangers sitting around the table. "Now the five of us have to go. We'll come back for Kim later."
The rangers were confused, something was definitely wrong here. They weren't sure if it was Carri's behavior that was off or if there was really some sort of serious concern in the Power Chamber. Either way, they had to find out. "Ok." Tommy said oddly as he stood. "We'll be back." He promised, leaning down to give Kemora a kiss on the cheek.
Kemora watched as the four rangers walked off. She glanced at Carri briefly before the older woman followed her. She must know who she was. It was the only reason for her insistence that she be left behind. Which meant she wasn't going to let the rangers take her to the Power Chamber. The only shot she had was catching a ride.
Moving swiftly Kemora jumped up and ran in the direction of the rangers. She figured she had a few seconds at best if she was going to grab on to one of them. As she arrived in their teleportation spot, she realized she was just in time to see the remainder of the multicolored streaks fly through the air. "Dammit." She swore aloud. Carri must have rushed them off.
This called for an entirely new strategy. If Carri knew who she was, all bets were off. She'd tell the rangers and there was no way they would willingly let her teleport in and use their equipment. Her powers were already strengthening; she could feel them grow inside this body. She could simply wait it out, but that was never any fun. There were other methods. She wasn't sure if she had enough power at her disposal yet to create her putties. But she did know she had enough power to convince whoever was trying to take over Earth to help.
It wasn't what she wanted, but it would do. She'd seek out whatever nitwit's help that was attacking Earth. Then she'd go after the rangers. Hopefully she'd destroy them and have free reign of their equipment. If not, her powers would come back full force soon and she'd kill them all and take herself wherever she wanted. Either way, she'd win.
The rangers arrived at the Power Chamber and Tommy was quick to note that there was absolutely nothing going on. "What was that all about?" He questioned angrily, turning toward Carri. "Why were you being so cruel toward Kim?"
Carri stared at him for a moment. The Tommy of her world had always been their no-nonsense leader. Now his tone frightened those who didn't know him well and even Carri steered clear of him when he was in high and mighty red ranger mode. But the attitude in the younger Tommy amused her more than anything. She tried to let that slide as she went to answer his question. "That's not Kim." She said simply, the look in the younger Tommy's eyes one of disbelief. "Not technically anyway. She's been taken over by Kemora."
"Kemora is here?" Zordon questioned with alarm. He'd heard of the demon before but knew little about her, only that she brought death and destruction with her to every world she touched.
"Who is Kemora?" Rocky piped up from the back. Zordon rarely worried about much but he seemed more concerned than usual over the mention of the name Kemora.
"Long story short, Kemora was born Kimberly Hart. This Kim was dropped into the pit on Muiranthias and it made her evil. And once she was evil she took out some built up anger on the Kat and Tommy of her world. Eventually Kemora was killed, or at least Kim was." Carri paused as all attention was focused on her. It was a tough story to tell and she was intentionally leaving out some of the specifics. She wasn't sure how much she should tell them about Kat and Tommy's relationship as a factor in the story since it was obvious that they didn't have that kind of relationship here. The last thing she wanted to do was influence something that was not meant to be.
Taking a deep breath she continued her story. "Kemora, her essence, her powers, left the body of a dying Kimberly Hart. What was left of Kim, the goodness, the memories, was allowed to die in the company of whatever friends and family that Kemora hadn't killed." She paused as that sank in. "Her spirit is immortal, so from there it crossed dimensions, finding another Kim of another world and taking her body over. With a fresh body she could start over. She was killing Tommy's and Kat's of all sorts of dimensions, getting to the point where she just didn't care specifically anymore and started killing everyone as it suited her. She was developing her own powers, sealing others powers. As long as she has a body, her powers are full force."
"So this Kemora has come here and is tricking us into thinking she's are Kim?" Adam asked in an attempt to make the situation make sense.
"Not quite." Carri replied. This was the part of the story they really weren't going to like. "Kemora doesn't do well with the bodies. Depending on the strength and power of the Kim, she can only use the body for so long before she drains it and has to find another one. She knows when the body starts weakening and that's when she starts hopping dimensions, looking for a new Kim to occupy and leaving the old one to die."
"So she came here to switch with our Kim?" Kat asked, hoping that they could prevent anything bad from happening.
"Well…" Carri's voice trailed off. If they weren't in ranger worry mode yet, they would be now. "Last we saw of Kemora, her spirit had been banished from another dimension. She has just gotten strong enough to cross dimensions again and whether or not it was on purpose her spirit made its way into yours. She's already taken over your Kim."
"How can you be sure?" Tommy asked in a panic, feeling as though he couldn't breathe.
"An interdimensional traveler told us that she was here and that she'd taken over your Kim. It's how we found out about our goal here, to stop Kemora." Carri explained. She paused briefly before she continued. "And seeing her in the Youth Center, well I have experience with Kemora I know what she's like. And although the shell is Kim, who she is has been taken over by the demon."
"I'm not going to let Kim die." Tommy said with a determination that surprised even his teammates. "Just because Kemora has taken her I'm not going to accept this is over. We'll find a way to separate the two and save Kim."
"I promise we're going to try." Carri assured him. She had no idea what her Kim was up to and separating Kemora was a lot harder than they could imagine.
"Trying isn't good enough. We have to do something." Tommy said, looking past Carri and glancing up at his mentor. "I'll do whatever it takes. Where do we start?"
"We are not going to do anything until my Kim get's back." Carri replied firmly. Tommy was in a save Kim panic, she'd seen it in her own Tommy often enough. She was going to have to try and get him to calm down and look at the situation logically. "There's nothing we can do. Kim has powers comparable to those of Kemora. She's the only one who can stop her and we have to wait until she returns with a solution."
"I don't care about Kemora. I just want her out of Kim." Tommy's words were filled with a mixture of anger and determination.
Carri sighed. This was a lesson that was hard for anyone to learn. It was something no Tommy would be willing to understand, even her own and he knew the consequences of letting Kemora roam free. "We all want to save your Kim. But we have to stop Kemora. She'll destroy countless worlds and galaxies as she steams forward in her path for power and revenge. We'll do everything we can for Kim but Kemora is the primary goal."
"That is not acceptable." Tommy said harshly, standing straight up and glaring at the woman standing in front of him. He wasn't going to let Kim die, and he wasn't going to let them rush in with some half assed plan to get rid of Kemora at Kim's expense. He'd save her himself if he had to.
As the tension in the room mounted, a red light formed between Carri and Tommy before dissolving into the older Kim. "Hey guys, what did I miss?"
"Thank god." Carri grumbled. "Kemora's here and she probably knows I don't belong here and please tell me you know how to get rid of her and save Kim."
"Yup." Kim replied triumphantly as she held out an object in her hand. Everyone gathered around and inspected the ancient artifact that Kim was holding.
"What is that?" Tommy asked, not able to begin to fathom how it might help.
"A little something I found." She replied. And by found she meant searched relentlessly for over a course of several days on a remote planet in the middle of nowhere. Dulcea was right. It took her powers to find it and connect to it. And although it wasn't hard, the item in question had been well hidden and a pain to get to.
"I imagine it's more than a paperweight." Carri commented dryly giving Kim a look once she realized that she wasn't going to elaborate her answer.
"I can use my powers to activate it." Kim started, thinking about how she hoped she could activate it. She had tried and had only been successful once out of a dozen or so attempts. The odds were low but she didn't want to waste any more time trying. She figured she could get out into the field and do it there. "Once it's activated all Kemora has to do is touch it. Then it will pull her spirit out of the body it doesn't belong to, giving me the chance to banish her again."
Tommy nodded before going to ask the most important question. "And this will save Kim?"
"As long as Kemora hasn't done too much damage." Kim replied evenly. If their Kim was strong she'd last a long time under Kemora's possession. If not… well there wasn't much that anyone could do for her in that case.
"Great so" Rocky was abruptly cut off mid sentence. All eyes turned as the Power Chamber sensors went off.
"Rangers it appears as though Kemora is down on the surface along with a small army of King Mondo's Cogs." Zordon informed them as the images of Kemora came on screen.
"Let's do this then." Carri said as she shifted into ranger mode.
Kim looked over the artifact in her hand and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing." She muttered before shifting into ranger stance as well. "Planetary Rangers power up!"
"It's morphin time!" Tommy quickly called from behind her. Within seconds the two types of rangers morphed and arrived on the scene.
Kemora stood in the middle of an empty parking lot waiting for Carri to bring her little friends to attack. She was doing well at terrorizing citizens, she was sure she had gotten her attention. Finally all of her efforts paid off as two separate types of rangers teleported in front of her.
"Planetary?" Kemora questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You'll need more than that to defeat me."
"That's why we brought her." Carri said with a nod in Kim's direction.
"Hello Kemora." Kim replied with a nasty tone that Carri wasn't used to hearing out of her friend. "Remember me?"
"Have I tormented you in the past?" Kemora asked with a wicked smile as she looked her over. She was a Kim, it was evident from her voice. Using her powers she reached out to feel her. That's when she realized what she was. "You're certainly not K. How silly of them to send you here after me. Unless you came to thank me of course. You do owe all your pretty little powers to me."
"I owe you for giving me what I need to kick your ass." Kim said as she held the artifact in her hand in an attempt to activate it.
Kemora snorted. "Please, even if you can get that to work do you think I'd be stupid enough to grab hold of it?" She asked. It was a nice try but this Kim was still a novice and she'd never get one over on her. Mustering up the strength from inside her she ran over to Kim and threw her across the parking lot before she could figure out how to stop her.
As Kim jumped to her feet the other rangers rushed to her aid. Before they could get close Kemora drew from her still recovering powers to put a force field around herself and Kim. The rangers watched helplessly as Kemora created a red glob that turned into a sword and Kim called for her Fire Saber.
"What do we do now?" Tommy asked, anxious to get inside the force field and save his girlfriend.
Carri grunted as she hit the force field and her hand bounced off. She turned her attention to the Cogs that were standing in attack formation. "Let's take care of them first." She suggested as she called for her Lightning Lance.
Reluctantly Tommy agreed and he and the other rangers prepared for their battle. While on the outside the battle between the Cogs and the rangers was beginning, on the inside the battle between the two Muirantians was going full force.
Kemora smiled as she clashed swords with Kim. The sword play was just child's play. She had bigger and better things she could do to this girl. What she wanted to do was take her body, but that was near impossible with her possessing Muirantian powers as well. She'd be able to block her attempts. Instead she'd have to hold her at bay here, kill all her friends, and go out and set up a way to kill her slowly and painfully. Perhaps if she was lucky she'd figure out how to get K. It would be a two for one.
Kim slung her sword at Kemora who blocked her attempt and smiled. "You know I could go at this forever." She said smugly as she pushed Kim back.
"Wouldn't you know. So could I." Kim reminded her. Although there was nothing in this world that would make her want to spend the rest of her life, however long that may be, fighting Kemora. As Kemora came at her and took a swing at her midsection, Kim hovered high into the air.
"Anything you can do I can do better." Kemora reminded her in a sing song voice as she levitated as well. The fight continued several feet in the air, near the top of the boundary of the force field.
The sword play was fierce until Kim kicked Kemora in the stomach, and she tumbled backwards and fell out of the air. With a grunt the demon hit the ground. She wasn't at full power yet and it was hard to simultaneously levitate and hold the force field up. Glancing up she saw Kim fall to the ground and tilt her head. "You give up yet?" Kim asked with a cocky tone in her voice.
"I don't give up." Kemora growled as she leaped forward and attacked Kim.
Kim rolled to the ground with Kemora on top of her and at her first opportunity she kicked her away, leaping to her feet as Kemora did the same. The demon's eyes were burning red as she stared down her opponent. She was not about to be beaten by someone who had only experienced a fraction of the powers she had.
As the fight inside the force field grew fiercer, the fight outside was slowing down. The cogs were dwindling in number, and although Mondo had already sent down replacements once it appeared as though he was done throwing his cogs away in her fight. Carri and the Zeo's worked diligently to make whatever was left of the Cog army disappear.
The moment Adam kicked the last of the Cogs down, Tommy turned and ran back to the force field. "How do we get in here?" he asked as he tried several times unsuccessfully to break the barrier with his weapon.
"It seems pretty solid." Kat remarked as the other rangers walked up and looked it over.
Carri walked up and frowned as she looked at the action going on inside. There were powers being used, blows being taken, and none of it looked very pretty. "We've got to figure out a way to give Kim a chance to get that thing activated." She commented. There was no way Kim even had time to give it a shot while Kemora was attacking her like that.
"Then we've got to get in." Rocky pointed out. Although like everyone else, he had no clue how to accomplish that.
Carri stuck her hands out and pressed against it. It didn't give, it didn't bend. It was solid and Kemora was doing a good job of keeping it up. She shook her head. "Kemora has to be forced to take it down."
Helplessly the others watched as Kemora and Kim battled. They were moving all over the giant space Kemora had created for them to fight. They got toward one side of the force field and Kemora kicked Kim hard face first into its walls. Kim stumbled back a little, not aware that she had been so close to the force field. With all her powers Kemora picked Kim up and threw her to the other side of the force field and she hit the wall once more, falling crumbled up to the floor.
Kim laid there for a moment. She didn't know how much time she'd have but it may be in her best interest to simply play dead. It would give her a moment to mess with the artifact. Kemora was running her mouth and walking slowly toward her so that should give her a little bit time. If she could get it activated, perhaps she could trick her into taking it.
The others watched as Kim hit the wall and fell down. "She's not getting up." Tommy said in a panic. She was their only way of rescuing Kim.
Carri watched as Kemora stood on the other end taunting Kim. The demon looked over toward the rangers who were aching to get in and winked before she slowly walked toward the fallen ranger, thinking of what she was going to do to her when she got there. All at once the Zeo's started fretting aloud about how to rescue both Kim's. Carri tuned them out as she reached toward the sky and started bringing lightning bolts down to the top of the force field, trying to get it to break.
Kemora snapped her head in the white rangers direction. She was making it a bit difficult to continue to hold up the force field. But it didn't matter. One good attack on Kim and she'd take her out of the picture so she could kill the rest of them.
Kim continued to remain curled up on the floor. She could hear the lightning bolts, hear Kemora's footsteps getting closer. She tried to block all of that out and concentrate. It was as difficult as it had been before and she couldn't get it to activate to save her life. Closing her eyes she took a few deep breaths. She had to do this, she was running out of time.
As Kemora approached she reached inside her for all the power she could muster. She was going to hit Kim with everything she had. She tried to balance her powers between holding onto the force field and hurting Kim. She knew her powers were still too weak to fully concentrate on both tasks. But as she got closer to Kim she got greedy. She was such an easy target, laying there lifeless and asking for Kemora to destroy her. She had underestimated her Muirantian powers. This girl hadn't learned as much as she assumed she did.
Kim could hear Kemora drawing closer. As she was almost on top of her she could hear the lightning crash all the way to the ground. The force field had been broken. Kemora could no longer keep it up. Which mean she was about to attack her. She heard two sets of footsteps lunge toward her. One belonged to Kemora, and from the voice she could tell the other belonged to Carri. She had merely seconds if she was going to pull this off this time. Pulling all her knowledge and power from within her, she held the artifact in her hand. Briefly she closed her eyes, and as she opened them back up she could see it glowing.
She noticed Carri approaching quickly from the side. That gave her an idea. As Carri came up to her she stuck her hand out and Carri grabbed the artifact. Processing quickly she placed it in Kemora's outstretched hands as she leaped to attack Kim. Not expecting Carri to have the artifact, she reacted on instinct and grabbed whatever she handed to her.
Quickly Kim rolled out of the way as Kemora fell to the ground, her spirit starting to separate from the young girl's body. Kim reached her hand out and called for her Phaedosian Staff. As it fell into her hands Kemora's spirit separated from the body it had taken hostage. Kim pulled the power from the staff and directed it toward Kemora, opening a portal and throwing her through it.
Kim knelt down to check the pulse of the young Kimberly. "I think she's going to be ok. We need to get her back to the Power Chamber though." She said as the Zeo team rushed over toward them.
Tommy picked up the unconscious Kim from the ground. "Let's get going." He said as he and the Zeo team teleported off.
"Where did you send Kemora?" Carri questioned, glancing over at Kim.
"Back where she came from." Kim said simply.
Carri smiled. "K's gonna love you for that." She said, thinking about how her spirit was previously floating around K's home dimension as they both teleported to the Power Chamber.
The young Kimberly Hart sat up on the medical table with her boyfriend rooted firmly to her side. She was trying to comprehend all that had happened to her that day. "So that was an evil me, us?" she asked looking at the older Kim.
"Something like that." Kim replied. "The important thing is that she's gone and you're alive. You were lucky. Not everyone she possesses survives."
"Will she come back for her? After all she knows who she is now." Tommy asked as he put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.
"I doubt it." Kim replied. "Not on purpose anyway. She knows who I am now, knows my signatures. She'd come looking for me first." She replied in an attempt to reassure them. When they didn't look satisfied she continued. "Plus it's going to be a while before she's out again anyway. I banished her from her body, which will weaken her powers again. It'll take some time before her spirit can connect with another Kim."
"Will there be any side effects?" Kim asked. Other than the ones she already felt. The memories of Kemora that touched her. All those that the demon had killed, all those she had destroyed. While Kemora possessed her she didn't even get to skim the surface of who she was and she still had enough to give her a lifetime's worth of nightmares.
Kim looked at the young girl and smiled. "You should be just fine." She assured her. She doubted Kemora was around long enough to do any lasting damage to this Kim. She was lucky.
"Do you think, I mean" Kim paused and blinked back a few tears, "will she keep doing that to people?"
"She'll try." Kim replied, watching as her younger self took a deep breath and nodded. "But there are others like me who are going to continue to try and stop her now. Don't worry about Kemora. We'll keep her contained." What she knew, what she didn't want to say was that the task of containment was nearly impossible. With the help of the Lightspeed Rescue team she had tried it once when she was in college and had gotten swept away into Kemora's web on another world. She lived almost ten years thinking Kemora was gone. Until K came into their lives. That visit changed everything.
"Thank you for saving me." Kim said smiling briefly at her older self.
"You're welcome." She replied.
"So is that it?" Rocky asked glancing at the two women. He was excited to get Kendall back, but he was sad to see them go. "I mean have you done everything you needed to do here?"
"That was my mission, my purpose. We're free to go home now." Kim replied. She hoped this was the only mission she'd be blindly thrown into any time soon.
Carri gave him a goofy grin. "I was just along for the ride." She added as Kim snorted. She was kind of pleased to be able to piss the dimensional guardians off. After all, they took Kim against her will. It was only fair that they got more than what they bargained for. Besides, even though Kim did all the grunt work she did prove useful.
"Thank you." Tommy spoke, pausing a moment. "For everything you've done here." They owed these women for everything from the battle with Leaky Faucet to saving Kim. As Tommy finished speaking, the rest of the team echoed his sentiments.
"You're welcome." Kim said as Carri nodded in reply. "Now I think it's time for us to go home."
Kim moved so she was standing next to Carri and she linked her arm in her friend's. "I'm going to drop her off, then I'll be back with Kendall." She said with a smile as a red light emerged from within her and the two women disappeared.
Kendall awoke on a cold muddy surface scared and worried. She wondered how long she'd been out. Glancing at her watch she noticed that it couldn't have been more than five minutes that passed. That couldn't be right. It was only late afternoon when she was at home. Now she was out in the middle of the forest and it was nighttime.
Slowly she pulled herself up and stood as she took in her surroundings. Glancing around she noticed two devices sitting on the ground. She couldn't tell what they were, and she leaned down to pick one up and examine it. It was complex and she had no idea what it was so she sighed and put it back down.
"Hello!" she called out, wondering if there was even any point to calling for anyone. When no one responded she took a few minutes to examine the area. When she was satisfied that she was completely clueless, she knew it was time to call for help.
As she brought her communicator to her mouth a red light appeared before her. She stopped and the light faded away, revealing what appeared to be an older version of her cousin Carri and another woman. "What's going on here?" She asked as she jumped into a defensive stance.
"Relax." Carri replied as she rolled her eyes. "We're not going to hurt you."
"There's been a bit of a mix up. I'm here to take you home. You're team will explain everything when we get there." Kim said as she held out her hand.
Kendall was unsure if she could trust this woman but she was wearing some sort of communicator. Perhaps she was telling the truth. "Ok." She said slowly as she reluctantly held out her hand.
Kim took her hand and teleported them back to the scene she and Carri had just left. "That was fast." Adam commented as they materialized before them.
"One of the benefits of my powers." Kim replied with a grin.
"Are you ok?" Rocky asked as he and Kat went up to Kendall.
"Yeah I mean I was only out there a few minutes." Kendall said with a shrug. It freaked her out but at the same time it was no big deal, and she had no idea why Rocky and Kat were hovering around her and why Tommy was attached to some strange girl on a med bed.
The other rangers looked curiously at Kim. "Another benefit, I can bend time. I just picked her up right where she was dropped off. You guys went through a whole day that she didn't."
"Is that… bad?" Kat asked somewhat confused.
"No, it'll be fine." Kim promised them.
"So what exactly happened while I was gone?" Kendall asked, looking from her cousin to her boyfriend.
"You've got a lot of catching up to do." Rocky replied with a grin.
Kim smiled at the rangers as they all huddled together to explain the story of the past day to Kendall. Turning Kim took one last glance at Zordon. "Goodbye." She said with a smile, trying to avoid the tears that wanted to push forward. Before she got any more emotional she teleported herself back home.
"So." Carri said as she picked her scanner up off the ground and handed the other one to Kim. "Are we not telling the boys?"
"I don't think so. We ran a mission successfully, they don't need to know about every mission." Kim pointed out. "Besides the last thing Tommy needs to know is that Thomas and the dimensional guardians have their eye on me."
Carri snorted. "That poor boy would have a heart attack. Or have delusions of going after the dimensional guardians and Thomas. Or both."
"Knowing Tommy? Both." Kim replied. It was certainly in their best interest to keep all of this away from him for the moment. "So then we agree that it's best not to share our little adventure?"
"Please I don't want Rocky to freak out either. As long as they didn't notice we were missing I am cool with it." Carri said. He worried about her enough about her normal ranger activities, she certainly didn't want him worrying about what Kim had gotten her into.
"Great. So then we're back to where we started." Kim said turning and giving her friend a sly smile. "Searching for a needle in a haystack."
"Haha." Carri replied dryly. "I still think we're never going to find this stupid thing."
"Yes well we have to. Billy needs it." Kim quickly reminded her. The conversation was certainly familiar but it seemed as though it had been years since they'd had it last. Time had passed and both girls were in totally different places than when they first started this search.
"Yes but its still getting dark. And we're still clueless." Carri replied. She thought for a minute and then she groaned. "And I still have work to do when I go home. I just want to crash."
"Aren't we Miss Complainy tonight?" Kim teased. Although she agreed, more than anything she wanted to crash as well. She was exhausted. She had exerted her powers more in the last few days than she had done in a while. Using her powers like that wore her out and made her hungry and she just wanted to eat a giant meal then lie in bed and recuperate her energy.
"Yeah well what can I say." Carri replied with a shrug. It didn't take her long to remember why she didn't want to be out there in the first place. Suddenly she remembered what they had decided right before they left. "Weren't we going to call the others and tell them we should postpone the search until tomorrow?"
"Yeah I believe we were." Kim replied as she pulled her communicator toward her mouth. "Billy?"
"Go ahead." Billy was quick to reply.
"It's getting dark out here. Maybe we should call it a night, see who has covered what ground, and try again tomorrow." Kim was making a suggestion, although her tone came across as a leader who had already made the decision.
"Affirmative." Billy replied. "I'll contact the others and we'll meet here briefly. I can use the locators on the scanners to map out what ground everyone has covered so far and we will try again tomorrow."
"Alright. Carri and I are on our way." Kim said. As she pulled her hand down she smiled at her friend. "Let's call it a night." Both girls used their communicators and teleported back to the Power Chamber before heading home to get some much needed rest.
Thomas watched as the two Planetary Rangers teleported themselves away. He was quite pleased with this one's performance. Although that wasn't what he had told the DG in his earlier conversation.
What he told them was what he'd intended on telling them. That her powers were there but they weren't developed enough to work for them full time. That she needed to learn more before they attempted to use her again. The DG was disappointed but they took his words under advisement. It would certainly buy this girl some time, although he didn't know how much. The DG would keep an eye on her, that much was certain. They knew her powers would develop more quickly because of her previous training with Dulcea. And they would eventually be inclined to use her again.
The truth was far from what he had shared with the DG. He was impressed with the way she handled Kemora. She wasn't polished, but that came with her youth. Eventually she'd be aware of the full extent of her powers and she'd be able to do everything that K could. He even thought that if she weren't as defiant she could be of assistance to the DG with all she knew now. But he wasn't about to bring her in front of them yet. Hopefully by the time he was forced to, she'd be more sensible about her response. They'd most certainly kill her if they didn't like what she had to say.
Thomas shook his head. He wasn't sure if he wanted to say anything to K. But this one knew enough to teleport herself to K's home world and ask for advice. Or complain. But for now he'd leave it be. It was time to go check on the young one and see how she was doing. Thomas left the forest thinking one last time about the girl of this world that he would be keeping an eye on, hoping that this one would make the right choices as she developed her Muirantian powers.