Kimberly was standing beside Aisha, about as far from Tommy and Katherine as she could get in the confined space of the Command Center. Her arms crossed over her chest in what the team couldn't decide was self preservation or worry. After her mild break down a few moments before, the past Pink Ranger hadn't spoken much. She had watched the message from Zedd and Rita, with the concern and fear any mother would have, but seemed to almost entirely shut down as the Rangers debated the best course of action.
"I vote no. What if something goes wrong?" The bitty brunette said finally, her tone so quiet that the rest of the team likely wouldn't even have heard it, if it wasn't for the fact that she'd been silent so long, her voice caught their attention,
As eyes in the room turned toward the girl, many brows raised. It had been over a year since the last time all seven teens had been discussing a mission together in the Command Center. At that time it was Kat who was there merely as a friend, with no power coin of her own. In the time since the roles had reversed, the saucy Aussie was now the Pink Ranger, the respected member of the team and Kim was the nobody. Something the blonde made sure to point out.
Pressing her lips into a straight line, Katherine peered at Kimberly, her blue eyes, ice cold, as she very condescendingly stated, "That's noted Kim, but you don't really get a vote. You're not a Power Ranger."
As Kimberly bit down hard on her lower lip to keep herself from having another emotional outburst, she squeezed her eyes closed tightly as well. Not opening her mouth or her lids until she could taste the bitter, metallic tang of her own blood on her tongue, "I know," She said, breathing the words out as she held back her anger, "I'm nothing. I'm just the Powerless Ranger. But I've got more to lose here than anyone." A quick flicker her eyes betrayed her stony exterior as her eyes met Tommy's for a second. Their daughter was not the only one she feared losing.
Reaching out an arm, Aisha hugged her friend snuggly around the shoulder, "Don't worry Kim, you know Tommy, will bring Bianca, back safe." The Yellow Ranger reassured the young mother the best she could. And while there was always a margin for error in every mission, their leader had always been successful on any quest or assignment he'd been set on. There was no way he'd allow himself to fail on this one. Not when his own daughter's life stood in the balance.
Kimberly sighed, dropping her head for a moment and allowing her crossed arms to drop to her sides. They were going to make her say it out loud weren't they? To express what her real worry was. And when she did it was only going to make things more awkward, "I know, Tommy will get our baby back." The young woman said, through watery, doe eyes. Then when she raised her face again, she was gazing across the small distance between herself and her ex, "I know you're going to get her home to me. I trust you more than anyone in the world. But Tommy, as soon as you give your coin to Goldar, as soon as your powers are in the hands of evil, you'll be weak, vulnerable and on your own. I know. I've been there." A sideways glance fell on Kat, reminding them all of the horrible things she had done to Kim, while she worked for Rita. And how the original Ranger almost died because of it. Then she drew her attention back to the father of her child, "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."
"Aw Kim," Taking a tentative step toward his first love, Tommy gave her ample time to step back, before reaching her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry about me. I'll be ok. And I'll be back with BJ in time for us to both tuck her in tonight. Okay? I'll go to the caves a little early and scout around. Maybe if I can catch Goldar off guard before he's expecting me, I can get out of there with the baby and my power coin." Gently the lead Ranger tucked a strand of chestnut colored hair behind his ex's ear and looked at her with those soul piercing dark eyes.
As much as he loved Kat and he did, love her very much… their bond would never be the same as the one he shared with Kim. Nothing compared to first love. Beyond that the pair was connected by a child, a young life born of the two of them. He and Katherine were different. Their relationship had come from the understanding they had for one another about what it was like to be controlled by Rita. Where he and Kimberly had basically fallen in love at first sight, Tommy and Kat's romance bloomed through the slow progression of time, from friends to lovers.
But in Tommy's eyes the two girls were not in competition for his affections. He loved Kimberly, but Katherine was his girlfriend and that was how it was going to stay. He would never hurt her, or chose another woman over her. He'd felt the pain of being cheated himself once. And while that ended up being lie, the day he read the letter and was told Kim had met another man, had been one of the worst days of his young life. It had felt as though his heart had been ripped from his chest and held in front of him still beating her name. The pure goodness of the White Ranger's soul would not allow him to ever do that to someone else. Especially not someone he loved, like Kat.
"I'll be careful," Tommy whispered to his girlfriend as he leaned in to peck Katherine lightly on the lips. Then he touched her shoulder, slid his hand down her arm and squeezed her affectionately. "See you in a bit.'' He gave the pretty blonde the same teasing and affectionate wink he used to use on Kimberly and then teleported out.
For the first few minutes following Tommy's departure five of the six remaining teens gathered around the viewing globe to keep an eye on the leader's movements. Once the young father had secured his daughter they would teleport her straight to the Command Center where she would be safe. Then, if the White Ranger needed them they could jet in to assist. It was a great idea, in theory.
Kimberly however was not studying the monitors waiting for the opportunity to swoop in at the rescue. Instead she was busily pacing the highly polished black tiles of the floor. Her ballet flats made little noise as she circled anxiously, her thoughts tumbling around in her mind like wet clothes in the dryer. She was chewing on the skin around her finger nail, an old habit she'd thought she'd broken, causing the skin to become raw and pink. It seemed that the one time Ranger was at her wit's end by now. After being unable to protect her own child from her enemy's and now knowing her first love was risking his life to save their daughter. It was all too much to take in one day. The girl's stomach gurgled with waves of nausea that she fought to control and tried to push back the headache that was building between her eyes.
More than anyone Kim knew what her ex-boyfriend was about to face, she had been through something similar. And while she knew the Rangers were putting their minds to a plan, she wasn't certain it would work. From her own experience she knew the instant Tommy handed over his coin, he would become weak, dizzy and tired. It had happened to her the second Kat had taken hers from her bag that day on the beach. Even with the speed of teleportation, they may not make it in time. Goldar could easily subdue a vulnerable Tommy and transport him to another dimension, before the rest of the team could get there.
Finally deciding she couldn't keep waiting there for something to happen, Kim whirled around, "Alpha can you teleport back to my room at the Olivers'. I can't just sit here and watch this on the viewing globe like it's some Saturday morning TV show." Her baby girl's life was in danger as was the child's father's. And she couldn't just remove herself from the scene and act as though it was some sort of entertainment.
It wasn't as though she could be any help in the situation even if she stayed in the Command Center. And watching everything happen around her while she was powerless certainly wasn't making what she was going through any easier, in fact it was only adding to her frustration and worry.
Zordon offered a small nod of approval, giving his mechanical assistant the permission to send the young woman home and in a matter of seconds, she was gone.
After an hour of sweeping the area, Tommy hadn't found a single sign of Zedd and Rita's footsoldier. Likely after the years of battle the villains had finally started to catch on, knowing to expect the unexpected from the Rangers. They weren't going to be caught off guard this time and risk being foiled. The stakes were too high. And that meant Goldar would have to keep Bianca Jade far from her father's reach until the time was right.
Now knowing the chances of rescuing his daughter without a fight were slim, it was time for Tommy to accept the inevitable. He would need to turn over his power coin in hopes that the evil Space Creatures would keep their word and return his child. He also had to make peace with the idea that they could very well kill or kidnap him as well as once he was depowered, he would be easy prey. Even with all of his years of martial arts training he still wouldn't be much of a match for a Monster made with cosmic magic.
Before he could do it. Before he could hand over his coin and say goodbye to his powers once again, there was something that Tommy needed to do. Someone he needed to speak to. His partner and friend. The talking blade that had been beside him from the day he took up the mantle of the White Ranger. Saba. More teammate than tool the sabre deserved an explanation.
Pulling out his morpher Tommy called on his power, quickly changing from a long hair teen, to a uniformed hero. Reaching for his holster he wrapped his fingers round the hilt of the talking sword, drawing out the weapon. The small tiger's face that adorned the pummel instantly sprang to life, his eyes lighting up as the power charged through him, "Hey buddy," Tommy greeted the creature with a familiarity as though they were old pals. Which in a sense was how he felt, "Something big is going to go down today…"
Wherever Goldar had been hiding, wherever he was watching from, this was the opportunity he was waiting for. The second Tommy was distracted, that's when the golden gargoyle appeared. Wings wide and his red eyes glinting with evil. In his large, talend hands he held his sword and in the other, Bianca's baby carrier. The infant's eyes were large and scared, but her screams of fear seemed muffled by Rita's evil make. A red haze surrounded the child in her seat and Tommy recognized from the day that Trini's neighbor was taken. If Tommy didn't get his daughter out of it soon, she would be lost to evil.
"So White Ranger, you have come to claim your little brat. You humans are so predictable, always putting your offspring first," Grumbled the beast, swinging the baby carrier tauntingly in front of the young hero, "Your species is so weak!"
Though Tommy was a rather tall teen, he was still dwarfed by the metallic monster. Still, he stood to his fullest height, refusing to shrink in the presence of his enemy. Shoulders squared and strong as he stepped forward, "You use a defenseless infant to get what you want, and we're weak?" Questioned the boy challengingly. Taking yet another step toward he tried to inch closer to his daughter, terror still apparent on her face.
His own masked appearance wasn't helping to calm her either. Until Tommy spoke again. This time directing his words straight to the little girl, "Don't worry Princess, Daddy's here." He cooed toward the baby, causing her face to glow with an adorable grin. She knew that voice. That was her Daddy's voice. Daddy was the silly man in the mask. Daddy would save her.
"Are you ready to make your sacrifice, White Ranger?" Questioned Goldar, already disgusted by the show of affection between father and child. Humans and their emotions, it was nauseating. Not to mention he was in a hurry to get rid of the responsibility of the little one and to return to his master and mistress with the spoils of war in return.
Nodding his head Tommy reached behind himself for his power coin. While another person would have trembling hands and a mind full of doubts, he was nothing but steady and sure. He had lost his powers before, he knew he could survive without them. But now that he was a father, he knew he could never live without his little girl. As one hand extended to offer the power coin, the other reached out for Bianca. What happened seemed to all occur in super speed.
The second Tommy had his hand on the baby carrier, he slid it behind him with so much force, he let out his trademark kiai of "Sciyah," sending the baby and seat skidding through the dust and out of the reach of Goldar. Just in time for Alpha to lock on and teleport her away to safety.
Quickly the monster plucked Tommy's coin from its owner's hand, causing the boy's armor to instantly vanish leaving him exposed to Zedd and Rita's henchman. Raising a massive, gold laden foot, Goldar booted the White Ranger in his chest, sending him soaring backward in the air before landing on his back with a thud. The wind knocked out of him, Tommy found himself struggling to breathe. The air filled with the cackling sound of approaching Tengas, just as Goldar raised his sword ready to slam it down directly into the torso of a weakened and confused Tommy Oliver. It was a trap. He should have known it would be. But at least if this was the end. If this was the last day of life, he would know he lost it to protect his child.
All of a sudden, the scene seemed to switch from fast forward to slow motion. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something streak across the sky, and strike Goldar in the hand. The creature lost his grip on Tommy's power coin, as it tumbled into the air between them. As they both scrambled to grab it, yet another streak shot passed them, colliding with one of the Tengas and causing it to fall out of the sky. That's when Tommy realized what was happening.
As Tommy's fingers closed around his power coin and he struggled to his feet, two more arrows flew by and two more Tengas fell. Now reconnected to the Morphing Grid, the lead Ranger's strength was restored. As he spun and kicked Goldar hard in the side, the pain he felt only a moment ago seemed to fade. He was ready for battle but the creature it seemed was not. Stabbing his sword into the ground Goldar disappeared back to his own dimension.
"You can come out now, Kimberly," Tommy called out when he was certain they were alone. The remaining Tengas had retreated the second they saw Goldar abandon ship. He knew it was her, his silent savor. She was there, somewhere. Noone else he'd ever met could shoot an arrow with that much accuracy. Without her powers. With no armour or a Zord, she had come anyway. Despite the warnings. His ex-girlfriend had not let him go into battle alone.
A soft rustling sound could be heard from a batch of bushes to the left and Tommy's sharp hazel eyes turned toward it. Pulling herself up to her diminutive full height, Kim appeared. A sheepish look on her face at having been caught. Without a word of argument she walked toward the boy with her head held high. In her hand she carried the compound bow he had seen in her room just days ago. Her quiver slung over her back, now empty.
Stopping just in front of Tommy she still said nothing. Challenging him without a word to scold her when he should be thanking her. She knew he would. Tommy Oliver was incredibly stubborn. And just as she thought, he didn't disappoint.
"What are you doing here? Zedd's message said for me to come alone. You put BJ, in danger." He stated his tone clearly annoyed, arms folded over his chest.
Folding her own arms, Kimberly copied her friend's posture. Her eyes flashing slightly, that he . dare accuse her of risking Bianca. As if she wasn't the child's mother. As if she didn't have just as much to lose when their daughter's life was in jeopardy, "Correction. Zedd said not to bring any of the other Rangers. As your girlfriend pointed out this afternoon, I am not a Ranger." Her perfectly round, coffee colored eyes stared up at him. Hating that he was wearing a helmet and she couldn't read his expression, or see his eyes, "And you're welcome for saving your sorry butt. So sorry, that I risked my life coming out here because I was worried about you! But guess what Tommy, you're not my leader anymore, I don't take orders from you. I don't take them from anybody anymore. The only orders I follow now come from my heart. And my stupid heart had to make sure you were safe, because I love you, you stubborn jerk!" Then she dropped her gaze looking sad and beaten, spun on her heels, with her shoulders drooping and stalking off.
Tommy stood there successfully chastised, as Kim's feisty personality flamed up and then seemed to blow out. One minute she was telling him off and the next she was confessing the feelings she'd been holding in since she'd returned to Angel Grove. She loved him? She couldn't have meant it the way it came out, could she? Certainly she meant she loved him as her first boyfriend, as the father of her child… Not that she was in love with him anymore, right? Tommy had no idea what was happening. All he knew was when he whispered a soft, "I love you too, Kim." His tone was so small he knew she wouldn't hear it as he watched her retreating back, he meant it.