A/N: I don't own anything, Saban and Disney own the Rangers and characters. Bob Costas belongs to NBC Sports and HBO, as does his show Costas Now, which at this time was called On the Record with Bob Costas. Iron Chef America, I believe, belongs to the Food Network as do Mario Batali and Cat Cora.

A/N 2: I also don't own the Calgary Flames, L.A. Kings, Stanley Cup or anything related to the National Hockey League. I should also mention I don't own anything Major League Baseball related. I also don't own Dance Master, Falcon4Crane does.

A/N 3: I would suggest reading Where the Zackman's Been to get an idea of the latest character to be introduced to the story. Hint: she's Zordon's annoying older sister, as you are about to witness.

Chapter 25 - Plans Have Changed

Saturday, August 21, 2004

9:00 p.m.

Reefside, CA

"So does everyone remember what everyone is supposed to do?" Tommy said.

"Yes," Trent said grimly. "With or without bodies, we have to go through with this. It's our only hope."

"What plans?" a voice said. "I don't think you've heard the news but you boys aren't calling the shots around here right now."

"Says who?" Tommy said before he turned around, shockingly, to find Zack standing before him, smile on his face.

"Uh, Zack, I think you must be braindead because quite frankly you seem to have forgotten that I'm the leader, Zordon brought this plan to me and we approved, so we kind of are calling the shots here," Tommy said.

"Sad to say, not anymore you aren't," Zack said. "We know what you are planning and it is a good plan. But the thing is, it's risky - especially for you, Zordon - and I'm not the only one who agrees. I'm sad to say that all of you have been overruled - by this woman."

Zack waved his free hand and Zordon gasped in shock and horror. There, right before his very eyes, was his annoying older sister Kristen. To him, she was sticking her nose in business it didn't belong in - again.

Zordon was too shocked to speak as his sister casually walked up to him and brother and sister stood, mere inches away, face to face.

"I don't think my plans involved you," Zordon groused. "You're getting involved in my business, just like you always do."

"So this is how a brother treats his older sister nowadays," Kristen said. "But then again, I know you better than you know you. What do you possibly think you can accomplish by risking your own life going into Mesogog's fortress? You do know that's basically asking for your death sentence right?"

"Kristen, I just want this to END, OK? I've been at this for over 10,000 years and I just can't take it anymore. One way or another, this HAS to end," Zordon said. "It's not like I'm going to be going in there alone."

"Yeah but the thing is you don't HAVE to go in there in the first place," Kristen shot back. "I know you want to be noble and end this once and for all, but this is not the way to do it. Besides, you really haven't thought about ALL the factors involved, like I have."

Zordon sighed, but said nothing as he continued to listen.

"Have you thought that Mesogog and Zedd might actually be smart? Have you even thought to think they will attack the city while you would recklessly go in there and possibly get yourself killed? It would rip the hearts of your young proteges over there and they would never be the same. Then we'd be in real trouble," Kristen said. "No, your plan is built on a grudge and while it might work, it's not worth taking the risk. My plan is more on the safe side."

Tommy, Trent, Zack and Kim watched in wondering. They'd never seen Zordon involved in this kind of dynamic before. Meanwhile, Zack was simply standing off to the side nonchalantly.

"My plan is this," Kristen said. "When everything is ready, it will not be you that goes into Mesogog's island lair. Tommy and Kim will be going...and they will go alone."

This news sent shockwaves through Tommy and Kim - it was a bombshell to say the very least.

"Our mission is not to end it - no, no no. Although Tommy and Kim could end this once and for all with the powers they now have," Kristen said, "and believe me, they have enough power to destroy Zedd, Mesogog, Goldar or Scorpina on the spot, that is not their mission. Their mission is simply to rescue their comrades before they are lost to us forever."

"The hell does she think she is?" Kim whispered fiercely in Tommy's ear.

"I have no idea," Tommy whispered back. "But I have no idea what she's thinking by this plot of hers."

"Meanwhile, this guy," Kristen said, pointing at Zack, "and this guy will stay behind and defend the city from whatever comes. Because if I know Zedd and Mesogog, it's almost a guarantee they WILL attack the city while Tommy and Kim are gone."

Zordon then lost it. That was all he needed to hear as that announcement simply made him lose it.

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Zordon nearly shouted. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT! WHAT IF THEY NEVER COME OUT OF THAT FORTRESS ALIVE? WHAT IF THEY ARE NEVER THE SAME AGAIN AFTER THE BATTLE! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

Zordon was about to grab his sister by the throat when suddenly Zack stepped in.

"Settle down now," Zack said. "This isn't like you. She is your sister after all and is just as qualified to make these decisions as you are."

"Are you defying me?" Zordon hissed at Zack. "Are you taking HER side in this matter?"

It was then that Zack dropped the second bombshell in less than five minutes.

"Well, I guess you could say I am taking her side," Zack said, "since she is my girlfriend and all..."

That was the last straw for Zordon as he began to storm out of Tommy's basement. The only thing that kept him from possibly hurting any of Tommy's property was Mystic Mother and Ninjor, who both grabbed him.

"I'm gonna get you both, you sanctimonious 'peacemakers!'" Zordon yelled.

10 minutes later...

For some time, it was all quiet in Tommy's basement as Tommy, Trent and Kim gathered in a huddle. Zack had ordered Kristen not to interfere in their huddle, out of sheer respect.

"What do you guys think?" Kim whispered.

"I don't know about this family business that's going on between Zordon and his sister but as the overall leader of this team, Zordon's actions were completely uncalled for, unbefitting of someone who has held the power and I'm very sorry his sister had to listen to that," Tommy said.

"I agree," Trent said. "The sad part was that was all real. He wasn't even under some kind of spell."

Kim nodded and they broke the huddle - and turned to their latest visitor.

"As the leader of this team," Tommy said as he stepped forward, "I'm sincerely sorry you had to listen to that. That was completely disrespectful to treat you, his sister like that."

"Dr. Oliver," Kristen said, "it's a pleasure to meet you, and, uh, some of your team. As far as my brother goes, I'm not taking it too hard. That's nothing new - he takes himself way too seriously as if he can finish this thing by himself and he thinks I'm a meddlesome, goody two-shoes that doesn't belong in this business. I was actually thinking he would like my plan, that he would respect me enough to go along with it. Ha, that was laughable."

"Well, as the leader of the team, I've heard both plans and I say yours is better," Tommy said. "Zordon doesn't need to be going in there - that's like throwing an Earth-sized bullseye on all our backs. We can't take everyone we have left in there! Has everyone else been captured besides us?"

"Yes. Every last one of them," Kristen said ruefully.

Tommy and Kim nodded and then left the basement. This was going to be a most dangerous mission indeed - they were going to have to do it alone and they hadn't had a mission together in many, many years.

As they left the basement, they stopped and Kim said, "OK, which one of us wants to be the one to try to calm Zordon down?"

Kim was quite shocked when Tommy said, "You go do it."

Kim just stood there, not believing what she had just heard.

"I'm serious about it," Tommy said. "I might be the leader, but you're the one he's always going to listen to. You're the one who originally thought the plan was good but in the back of your mind you were having second thoughts."

"I'm glad his sister came along and I'm quite glad he's not going in there," Kim said. "He can't afford to go in there. OK, I'll go talk to him. You should go get some rest."

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Tommy said.

"Of course I'm sure," Kim said. "It's nothing I haven't handled before. Remember my step-father Ken?"

Tommy gulped and swallowed hard, remembering just how bad of a stepfather Ken Hart had been to Kimberly. He'd been in the early stages of his friendship with Kim when he'd met Ken and the two never really liked each other that much. Tommy thought Ken was a loudmouth, arrogant asshole and Ken thought Tommy was too much of a degenerate to be in a relationship with his step-daughter.

Tommy nodded and both then went their separate ways.

Mesogog's Island Fortress

"YES, YES YES!" Zedd roared in approval. With their latest bevy of attacks, it seemed that ultimate victory was finally in his grasp. "Finally, VICTORY IS WITHIN OUR GRASP!"

Only four of the Rangers that could actually fight remained...Tommy, Kim, Trent and Zack. Sure, those four had hidden themselves wisely. But seriously, without their teammates the Rangers didn't have their main strength any longer...numbers. So seriously, how much of a chance did they really have?

For Scorpina, the near victory was bittersweet. It was bitter in the fact that she wouldn't have Adam to intimidate anymore, as within a matter of hours he would be trapped inside a nice photograph...forever.

But these Rangers had given her so many headaches over the last 10 years...first with Rita, then and now with Zedd...that it would be more than worth it to see those Rangers finally go down and for her to at least think about getting some of the spoils of Earth.

For Goldar, the moment of ultimate victory was at long last before him. The best part about it was that the two Rangers he hated the most...Tommy Oliver, that damned Dr. Oliver, and his little pink princess would be the ones most utterly humiliated. Long ago it seemed that Kimberly would belong to Zedd but the Rangers stole her away and Kim never really bought into it in the first place.

As for Tommy...well, nothing about Tommy really needed to be said for Goldar's blood to boil. It had been bad enough that Goldar's number one general spot had been usurped by Tommy while he worked for Rita. And it was even worse that Tommy had left them and had gone to work for that old fool Zordon. But what really made his blood boil was that he'd come so very close to finally ending this miserable nuisance once and for all. But every time he had victory within his grasp, it was snatched away that quickly by that very same man.

But this time, it really seemed to be over. Revenge was finally at hand. Finally, it seemed, Tommy would be utterly destroyed.

The great thing - for this group at least - was that was the one thing they all shared in common. They wanted the Earth, sure. Both Zedd and Mesogog and their goons had come close to destroying the Earth before but had failed. But even more so, they both wanted the evidence that they had destroyed the mighty Power Rangers of Earth - these same Rangers which had been pulling miracles out of their backsides for the better part of a decade.

This was exactly why they brought back Photomare. They wanted the evidence that they actually did the job.

And, even more than all of that, they wanted Tommy Oliver to suffer before he finally died his final death. They now had every single Ranger, except for a scant few, that Tommy had ever been close with. They were going to use that to lure him here, they were going to make him suffer, and then they were going to destroy the all mighty Tommy Oliver. If they destroyed Tommy, then victory was all but assured.

For Zedd and Mesgog, victory finally seemed destined.

Saturday, August 21, 2004

10:30 p.m.

Reefside, CA

"Did you talk to him?" Tommy said.

"Yeah," Kim said. "I chewed his ass out pretty good. When I mentioned Ken and that his actions reminded me of Ken's, he all but cried. That was all he needed to hear to apologize to me."

"As I recall, that was one of the reasons you became like a daughter to him in the first place," Tommy said.

"I really do think he's tired of this war, though, Tommy," Kim said. "I still think if he thought he could, he would walk in there and try to win this fight by himself."

"I wish he could too, Beautiful," Tommy said. "And I'm sad to say but his sister is correct. It's our responsibility...and ours alone...to go in there and give the team hope."

"Can we actually do it, Tommy?" Kim said. "We're severely outnumbered!"

"There's no reason to think we can't," Tommy said. "We've pulled out bigger miracles before."

Kim was about to say something else but a knock at the door stopped her.

"Man, who could be knocking on our door this late at night?" Tommy said. "This had better be good."

Tommy opened the door and to his surprise, there stood Nimrod, the Scarlet Sentinel.

"Hey, what are you doing up this late?" Tommy said.

"Thought you might like to know you have a guest in the basement that would like to speak with you."

"Yeah, who is it?" Kim said.

"It's Hayley. I think she might be free."

Kim and Tommy shared a look, then headed for the basement.

TBC...