Notes: Even though this isn't the first fic I ever posted, it is the first fic of any kind that I ever wrote. Therefore, even though it's not the best it's still near and dear to me. I wrote this years ago, before Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy premiered so you can just ignore anything that happened after Power Rangers In Space.
June 2022
"Aaron, can you please teleport to the Command Chamber. I need your help with something." Karone's voice started a telepathic communication with the young Blue Ranger.
"Sure thing, Karone," he responded and in seconds a brilliant blue flash illuminated the Command Chamber. Aaron's eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark lighting of the building. The spacious room contained consoles, machines, and tubes that were reminiscent of those in the Command Center/Power Chamber of past. However, here the technology was far advanced. The circular walls were lined with the costumes of all the Power Rangers of old, proving that those days had passed. The only thing the remained the same, was the ever present Alpha working on some sort of gadget. Aaron couldn't make out its purpose from where he stood.
Karone was bent over papers, an oddity in the world of Power Rangers, with a confused look on her face. Karone was obviously beautiful, she had aged well. She was now in her 40s, but men still whistled when she walked down the street, on those rare occasions when she left the Command Chamber. In years past, Zordon had been a mentor to the Rangers, but he was long gone now. When new rangers had to be chosen, Karone had taken it upon herself to help them. She had been closely associated with the Rangers all her life, even accepting the duties of Pink Ranger for a time. But it was her experience as the evil Astronema that served her best as mentor to the rangers. Karone could think like a good guy and a bad guy. She often knew what the big bads were planning before they planned it. And she knew more about the evil in the universe than the other 'old fart rangers'.
"We have a problem." She stated simply without looking up.
"So, what else is new?" Aaron tried to joke. Karone just looked up gravely and handed him the papers she had been looking at.
"They're records. Birth certificates, marriage licenses etc." She explained. Aaron was dumbfounded. What was she talking about? All these papers were blank.
"Uh, Karone..."
"I know, Aaron. They're blank." She paused. Aaron couldn't think of what to say next. A frown crossed his softened Asian features. He was a genius, as is the long history of Blue Rangers. He didn't get out often and wasn't much of a ladies man even though he was very handsome. Often, his social skills failed him. "Why you ask?" Karone continued realizing the sixteen year old was at a loss for words. "Because, they're not true anymore."
"Anymore?"
"Yes. Two people who were once married aren't anymore. Someone has gone back and changed the past." Karone used a serious tone that wasn't like her at all.
"Changed the past? But...how? And if these papers have ceased to exist then, what's next?" Aaron sputtered.
"I'm not sure how. But I know what's next. These," she motioned to the papers, "are just objects pretty soon people will start to change, to fade away or die."
Aaron now understood why she had been so serious. "We have to fix it." He said simply. "That's what Alpha's device is for, correct? It's a time machine of some sort. And you called me here to help him build it."
He is smart, Karone thought. "Yes. But there's a problem. Time travel is tricky - at best. And it's sort of...forbidden. In this case, we have no choice but to regulate the past. So I had Alpha make the device. It will create a sort of 'time hole' for someone to go through and stop whoever is changing the past. Of course, only one person can go through-"
"-one of the Rangers." Aaron interjected. His mind was already rapidly flipping through the choices, his friends. He began to examine the situation. What type of ranger could complete this difficult a task? The martial artist/comedian Marcus? The brute strength of Doug? Jasmine's compassion? Maybe his own intelligence...
Karone's voice broke his reverie. "Of course, but in the past your powers don't exist. So, this ranger, whoever we chose, will have to make things right by his wits alone and without disrupting the future too much. As I said, it's tricky at best." She turned to the time travel device. "We can deal with the selection process later, right now this...thing has to be built. We don't have much time."
Aaron groaned. "Excuse my pun there." She joked.
"There's no excuse for puns..." he muttered.
Aaron snapped the last piece of the time travel device into place. "That should do it. I hope." He exclaimed. "Now, who's going on this 'excellent adventure'? And what exactly does it entail?" He asked.
"The ranger chosen will probably have to do battle with some unknown evil force, and if this force has enough strength to open a time hole, that probably won't be an easy task. Our Ranger will have to have enough cunning to interact with the past rangers without letting them know who he is. Or she." Karone corrected herself and smiled.
Aaron now knew who he had in mind. He would've made the same choice. His best friend, Faith.
Karone noticed the faint smile cross Aaron's face as he though of Faith. The two had been friends since birth, practically and with the changes that occur in young boys Aaron's age his feeling for the girl had grown. Karone grinned and contacted Faith telepathically. With a streak of colored light, she arrived.
Faith was beautiful by all definitions of the word. She was medium height, but appeared taller by the strength which she carried. Faith was dressed simply, she was a jeans and T-shirt gal. Her long brown hair was, well, down right shinny and her eyes were deep and soulful. She was thin with delicate features, which was somewhat misleading. Faith could kick just about anyone's butt. She was self sacrificing and compassionate, with her friends. But she wasn't afraid to give the bad guys a little 'tude. And she was by no means shy, like Aaron, which made them fit together all the better. She scared away the bullies that picked on him as a child. Karone imagined that is why he fell in love with her.
"What's goin' down guys?" Faith questioned the two cheerfully.
Karone smiled at the girl. Faith was always ready for any challenge that had the misfortune of crossing her path. She showed no fear in battle, which eased the rest of the Rangers' tension. Karone knew that she had made a wise decision picking Faith as leader of the Power Rangers and the first female Red Ranger.
"Faith, observe." Karone pressed a little yellow button on the computer and a viewing screen appeared before the three of them. "Someone has altered the past so that, uh," Karone searched for the right words to describe the situation without freaking the two rangers out. "Well, as you know the Green, er White, er Red ranger, Tommy, and the Pink Ranger Kimberly were...involved. Someone broke them up, I don't know how, when Tommy was a Zeo Ranger. One change in the past, changes the present." Faith's face went white, as did Aaron's. "If we allow this change to occur, Tommy will eventually marry Katherine-"
"Why break 'em up? Why not kill 'em? Wait! they both live, right? Maybe they'll be happy. How do we know that this isn't the way it is supposed to be. Ya know, he can Kat can tell stories of their ranger days to their grand kids at Christmas." Faith was obviously both sad and scared, Karone could tell by the way she jumped from one incoherent thought to another. And the humor, Faith was trying to make things better in her mind.
"No. It won't be happily ever after. Maybe for Tommy and Kat, but not for Kim. She'll never find someone else. She'll die, I'm not sure how. It's all sketchy." Karone paused. Aaron and Faith were silent as they thought of Kim. "And it is not they 'way it is supposed to be'. I can trace a faint evil energy through a rip in time a couple of months ago. I can't believe I didn't notice it until now." Karone kicked herself. Zordon would never had made such a silly mistake. She pushed that out of her mind and continued. "The reason we can use the power to stop this is not her death, but the greater consequences of the death." She sighed and began a story Aaron and Faith knew all too well. "You Rangers were called when Lord and Lady Malicious attacked Earth. But, originally we had no power to give you, ours faded with Zordon. To create new powers all of the rangers from Zack to Zhane were needed to open a channel into the morphing gird..." From the bored look on the two teens face Karone could tell they got the point. "Yada, yada, yada. No Kim, no powers. No powers, no Rangers. No Rangers...bad stuff."
"Gotcha." Faith whispered, not fully hearing Karone.
"You, Faith, will go back in time and stop Tommy and Kimberly from breaking up. Of course, you'll have no power in the past, but we have, uh, faith in you Faith. You're one of the best, if not the best, fighter on the team..."
"Me?" Faith asked weakly.
"Yes." Karone replied. Faith also had something else that could either help her or hurt her in this fight.
"So, I go back, clean up the mess and everything is spiffy?" Karone could tell that Faith was still reeling for the idea of Kimberly dying, and hadn't really wrapped her mind around the later parts of the task. She wasn't in the right frame of mind, yet.
As Aaron went to ready the machine, Karone whispered to Faith. "There's something else. If Tommy and Kim don't get married then Kim will never force Billy to leave Aquitar and come to the wedding. His work there was very important. And if Billy doesn't come back then, he'll never tell Trini how he feels and they'll never get married." Faith paled as she figured where this was going. "If they never get married, they'll never have a son..." They both looked at Aaron.
With that Faith burst from her wallowing. Karone had pushed all the right buttons. She easily die herself, but if a friend, especially Aaron, were threatened she became warrior-ific. "All right, let's carve this turkey!" Faith quipped.
Karone couldn't help but giggle at the girl, who was secretly her favorite. She knew Faith shared Aaron's more-than-friends feelings. Aaron flicked the switch and the device began to hum. A ray of light shot from it opening a time hole. Faith stood tall in front of it. Karone knew she could handle this. She had been raised doing martial arts, being a ranger was in her blood.
"Faith!" Karone barked last minute instructions, "Don't tell anyone who you really are! Change only Tommy and Kim's break-up. Nothing else. There could be consequences and repercussions. Oh, and you'll be automatically brought back when your task is complete. If this thing," she motioned to the device "works right."
"If..." Aaron was obviously annoyed at the idea that it won't. He walked over to where Faith was standing. "I wouldn't worry about that. Just do your job. Bye."
"See ya." With a sudden surge of self confidence she grabbed Aaron and kissed him squarely on the lips. The kiss involved tongue. Aaron was shocked. Words failed him, again.
Faith finally broke free. She turned to Karone, expecting her to say something. "What?" Karone asked.
"May the power protect me?" Faith suggested.
"Right. That."
Faith jumped into the portal and disappeared from the Command Chamber. Karone, Aaron and Alpha watched her go. All of them were hoping she'd be all right, that she'd come back. Karone busied herself by contacting all the rangers, past and present and telling them what was going on. Tommy and Kimberly were frightened instantly, but not for themselves. Faith Oliver, their only daughter, had just embarked on the most difficult mission she would ever face.
December 1997
Faith screamed in pain as her body traveled through time. She thought she was dying. Her life flashed before her eyes, only in reverse and then, she hit pavement. Her shoulder hit the ground with a thump that could raise the dead and her head was next. Why portals could never land you on your feet was beyond her. She looked at her surroundings, a quiet suburban street, white houses, picket fences, trees and flowers, the whole deal. It was just before dawn, no one appeared to have seen her entrance. Faith had landed right smack in the middle of the street. She scrambled to her feet in case any cars needed the road.
"Great." She muttered. "Where am I? When am I? Who am I talking to?" Faith looked around for something that could tell her, a newspaper perhaps. Oh, now we're thinking. She thought. The house she had landed in front of didn't have one, the house next to it had a dog. Faith saw no point it making things harder for herself or becoming a puppy kicker.
She walked a couple blocks and took in her surroundings. This town definitely wasn't Angel Grove. On the intersection of her street and what appeared to be the 'main road' of the town, was a newspaper machine. The kind that you can shake it just right so it pops open and you can take all the newspapers you want. Faith knew from experience. So, she was a newspaper thief, everyone has a flaw. In this case her flaw served her well, she checked to make sure no early rising suburbians were around and opened the sucker up. Immediately, the headline caught Faith's eye. "PAN GLOBAL GAMES TO BEGIN WITH A BANG."
"It's the first day of the games." Faith thought. Which meant, she knew where Kimberly would be. After glancing at the paper Faith found she was in Florida, and her mother's competition was to begin in a little over an hour at a local arena.
The paper gave directions to the each event's location. "Time to motor." She muttered.
Faith looked around the gym and saw a bunch of girls warming up. A crowd was already starting to form. She didn't see her mother or anyone she recognized in this mass. Okay, I know Mom is here. But where? This place is big and there are hundreds of people here to watch the gymnasts. Talk about your needle in a haystack! Faith strolled around as if she owned the place and watched people take their seats and talk merrily. She craned her neck, but still no Kim. Even if I do find mom, what am supposed to do? Grab her, tie her up and force her to marry dad? I don't even know what happened. Why would they break up? They love each other. I wouldn't be here if they didn't. She shuddered as that thought lead to another. Oh God, scary visual. Parents having sex. This has got to stop. Where the hell is she?
As Faith continued her leisurely stroll through the gym, she noticed a few people who might shed a little light on the subject. The former rangers; Zack, Trini, and Aisha. They look a lot younger, probably 'cuz they're a lot younger now. she mused. She couldn't help but stare. It was weird to see them as teenagers. Faith knew them so well. All the old rangers helped the new Rangers out now and then. After all, the old Rangers gave the new Rangers their power and they know a lot about rangering. The older rangers were always spouting off advice to the new generation. Of course, the 'newbies' were always happy to hear it, seeing as they don't really know what they are doing. Whenever there was a monster the rangers were having trouble with, the 'old farts' would start talking about their days as Rangers. "Remember the time so-and-so attacked. That was kinda like this. See what we did was..." and their faces would glow as they relived the glory days. It was great to have them around. They never got bossy or tried to interfere unless they were asked. The only down side was every time the new rangers asked for help Rocky would spout out a "When we were Rangers we had to..." story that always ended up with the Rangers walking five miles in the snow. It was like a joke, if you weren't too fussy.
Faith particularly liked having her Daddy around for help. She couldn't count how many times in a battle she thought 'What would Dad do"? Faith always felt like she was following in his footsteps. He had been a Red Ranger too. It made her proud, it was something they shared. Kim liked to joke that she and Faith had menstruation to talk about while Faith and Tommy had martial arts and being the leader of the Rangers. Her dad had taught her martial arts from a very young age. It hadn't bothered Tommy in the least that Faith wasn't a boy, he said she could do anything a boy could do. And she believed it. Faith absolutely loved training with her dad. It was their 'quality time'.
Faith sighed and walked over to the ranger clan. "Hi." She said. Then kicked herself for being creative.
"Uh, hi." Responded Trini. "I'm Trini. And these are my friends Zack and Aisha."
Oh good, conversation. "I'm Faith. I'm, uh, from Angel Grove. I came to see Kimberly. I'm a big fan." She lied. But it wasn't entirely untrue. She was from Angel Grove and she did come to see Kimberly.
"Oh!" Trini looked excited now. "Hey guys! Come here. This is Faith, she's a fan from Angel Grove." They all smiled and shook her hand like she was the President.
"It's nice to meet you!" Zack exclaimed.
"Kim should be out any minute now." Aisha added. "Oh, there!" She pointed, as if on cue. Kimberly walked out, beaming in her warm up gear. Her hair was up in a French braid and she wore a pink leotard under her Team USA pants and jacket. Most notably, she was arm-in-arm with a strange man. Faith couldn't see his face, but she detested him instantly.
Hurmuph. He isn't as spiffy as Daddy. "Who's he?" She motioned to the evil man who was holding her mother.
"Oh." Aisha whispered as if she shared Faith's sentiments for the man. "That's Troy. Kim's boyfriend." Her boyfriend!?! Faith nearly choked when that word came out of Aisha's mouth. Zack noticed her reaction.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah. Fine. I, uh, thought she was dating, um, Tommy Oliver."
Trini sighed. "That's what we thought too. We came here for the games and found that she was with Troy now." Trini didn't look pleased with the situation either.
"What happened?" Faith was beyond curious and she needed to know she if she wanted to complete her mission.
"As far as I know, she came here and Troy swept her off her feet. So, she wrote Tommy a 'Dear John' letter..." Aisha's voice trailed. "I just don't understand it. She loved Tommy so much. Now it's like 'Tommy who'?"
Faith stared at Kimberly and "Troy". Kim was smiling up and him as if there weren't hundreds of other people in the gym, just Troy. Faith thought she was gonna be sick. Faith craned her neck to get a look at the mythical boyfriend. His back was turned, so she couldn't see much. He was tall, broad shouldered and had short black hair. He didn't seem to be anything special. Troy gave Kim and quick kiss and turned around to look at Kim's friends. Faith nearly hit the floor. Her deep brown eyes locked with his beady black ones for a moment. Recognition and hatred crossed both of their features for a brief moment. Kimberly's "boyfriend" was none other than the bastard son of Lady Malicious. He had tried to destroy the rangers as proof to his stepfather that he was worthy and useful. He had failed miserably.
January 2022
The warning signals rang out like shots in the Command Chamber. "Ay, ayi, ayi!" Alpha screeched. "Kero has kidnapped Jasmine."
"He's created a temporal fold and is in a different dimension." Karone asserted. Faith looked up from her console at the other rangers, her friends.
"Aaron, she if you can get a lock on her location." Faith barked in full leader mode. She turned to Marcus, the yellow ranger. Without a word he rushed to Aaron's side. Faith didn't even have to tell him to help go help Aaron. Just then, Doug, the Black Ranger teleported in. The tall black man's eye's were wild and his clothes were disheveled as if a tornado had hit him head on.
"What happened?" Faith asked.
"We were just walking in the park...He came outta nowhere! He opened a dimensional hole behind us and just grabbed Jasmine, then took off. I didn't even have time to think."
"It's all right, Doug. It's not your fault." Faith tried to comfort him, but that wasn't her strong suit, it was Jasmine's. She cursed silently. Jasmine was the Pink Ranger. She was also the youngest and the least skillful fighter of the rangers. Kero was playing dirty. Faith put her arm around Doug, which was hard, even for her. Doug was pretty big, he played football and weight trained. He was the brute strength of the rangers. Doug was also a big teddy bear on the inside and Faith could tell he was near tears over Jasmine's disappearance.
"Hey, Douglas! You gonna cry or are you gonna help us find Jas?" Joked Marcus. His black eyes dancing and his shoulder length hair whipping his face. Marc was the fun loving one. He was also Doug's best friend and was pretty much the only person who wasn't afraid to tease the large black man about crying. Marcus added humor to every situation which was often needed, badly. Marcus and Doug were what Marcus called the prerequisite minorities. Marcus was Hispanic and Doug was African American. Whenever, Faith would point out she was half Native American and Aaron was half Asian American, Marcus would point out that they were mutts. Aaron got offended the first time Marc said that, which only made Marc bring it up more. After a hundred and two times, one gets used to it.
"Got 'em!" Cried Aaron as he locked onto Jasmine's coordinates "Get ready to teleport."
The three boys looked at Faith. "Ready?" She asked and didn't wait for an answer. "It's morphin' time!" With four streaks of brightly colored light the teens were gone. They arrived in a dark room which appeared to have no light source, but they could see just fine.
"Jasmine?" Doug called out quietly. She responded with muffled cries. The pretty blonde girl was tied up and gagged in a corner. Her eyes were screaming bloody murder. She may be the smallest of the Rangers, but she didn't scare easily. Kero was no where to be seen. Faith rushed to the petite girl's side. And cut the her ropes.
"You okay?" Aaron asked.
"Lovely." Jasmine responded dryly. "Never better."
"You won't be for long..." Kero hissed. He wasn't there. But they could hear him. "So, Rangers. You want to play with me?" He asked as Jasmine morphed.
"Not even your own family wants to play with you." Faith shot back. Marc let out a low laugh. While Aaron seemed shocked, he didn't think pissing off the bad guy was a good idea. Faith and Marcus always thought it was. Doug just looked at Jasmine oblivious to what was going on. He hugged her.
Suddenly, a surge of silvery liquid hit the Rangers with tidal force and knocked them to the ground. The solution then began to take shape the shape of a man. He was dressed all in black, pants and shirt. His hair was black, his eyes were black. He looked downright evil. "Hope you can swim, Rangers." He said the last word as if it was a swear.
"He's made out of liquid." Aaron whispered to no one in particular.
"All right. So, how to we stop him?" Jasmine asked.
"You don't. I'm indestructible." Kero answered her, as if she should have know that. He then made a knife appear in his hand to demonstrate his point. Kero cut his arm off. The arm promptly grew back.
"We'll see about that." Marcus charged at him in full force and was quickly blown back by a wave. Doug charged next and hit Kero head on like they were playing football. But, Doug simply went right through Kero, who laughed.
Meanwhile, Aaron turned to Faith. "It's the ring." He motioned to the onyx ring Kero wore on his right hand. "Dad told be about it. I guess the Aquitians had problems with people like Kero. They're shape shifters and it's the ring that allows them to hold a shape." Jasmine heard the exchange too, and she ran at Kero and cut at his right arm with her blade blaster. Before the arm was lopped off, Kero transported the ring through his body so it was on his left hand. Seconds later his arm grew back.
"Damn." Whispered Faith. "He's quick." She then turned to Aaron. "Any ideas, Genius."
Aaron shook his head. "We can't cut the ring off, he'll always be able to keep shape. Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way."
"Just the way I like it." Added Faith. The other rangers smiled and stepped behind her. "All right guys. Let's take this puddle down."
"Oooooh. I'm shaking." Mocked Kero. He raised his hand and dark light began to shine from them. A black dimensional hole opened up and he and stepped in and it closed behind himself. Then, Kero appeared in back of the rangers and blasted them with silvery liquid. When the rangers hit the ground, they hit hard. All groaned and Jasmine and Aaron blacked out. Marc, Doug and Faith couldn't stand. Kero smiled and laughed wickedly. He raised his hands and opened a time hole behind them. "I'm gonna send you where you won't bother me again." He laughed. And raised his hands to knock them back again.
"Jump!" Cried Faith. She grabbed Aaron and rolled across the floor before Kero's water blast could hit them. Luckily, Marc and Doug had figured out what he was doing too. Doug had grabbed Jasmine. He cradled her in his arms. He had taken a bad hit and didn't look good. Marc was shaking his head because he was seeing double.
Marc whipped out his blaster and turned to Kero. "All right. Which one of you hit me?" He demanded and then fell to the floor. Kero just laughed his dumb wicked laugh. He waltzed over to where Marcus lay and lifted him high into the hair.
"Stupid Ranger. What made you think you could beat me? I'm all powerful." Marcus was now dangling in front of the dimensional hole. Kero was about to throw him in.
"All powerful? Ha!" Faith assumed a childlike mocking voice. "I'm Kero and I'm all powerful, my mommy says so. I'm gonna grow up and rule the world one day, you'll see. You'll see." Kero threw Marcus down and turned around, back to the hole, to glare at Faith.
"Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Faith Oliver. Red Ranger extraordinare." She reached her hand up to her forehead and gave a mock salute. "At your service, Sir!" She barked out the last part like she was in boot camp. Faith then discretely changed the setting on her blaster from electric to fire power. And silently prayed her plan would work.
Kero growled. "I hate you, Red Ranger. You always ruin my plans, but not his time."
"And the other Rangers are your bestest friends?" She quipped.
Kero step toward her. Faith waited until he was in just the right spot. "It's you I want. You're the thorn in my side, the gnat in my ear-"
"Enough with the metaphors. It's getting tired." He was nearing the position.
"I'm gonna enjoy killing you, slowly. You're gonna wish you were never born. They way I do." He whispered as if she should be scared.
"Alrighty then." Faith joked. Then she grabbed the blaster from its holster and shot him squarely in the chest it didn't hurt him but it did blow him back a few steps. Right into the time hole. Kero screamed and with a flash of black and silver he disappeared from sight. Well, that was fun.
December 1997
The crowds had left the gymnasium a little over an hour ago. The place was virtually empty, except a brown haired girl dressed in jeans and a red T-shirt. Faith was examining the gym closer, in case of an attack. It was big. Huge. There was seating for thousands of people. Usually, the building was used for basketball games. Some team people cared about, Faith wasn't big into basketball so she didn't know who. But, now the floor was covered and set up with gymnastics equipment. On the floor, a couple of gymnasts still lingered. They were practicing, talking to their coaches and what not. Kimberly was one of them. She wore a huge smile after her performance earlier today. There was still one more day of competition, but Kimberly was almost assured a metal. Faith just watched her chatter on with Coach Schmidt. She could see everything without being noticed because she was high above the floor in one of those boxes rich people pay for. The ones with the bar and the TV or whatever. Faith figured it'd be the only time she'd ever get to see the inside of one. Kim was so happy, totally unaware of the danger around her. How close she was to death or misery or both.
Faith shuddered as she remembered the events of that day. The former Rangers had introduced her to Kimberly and "Troy", and Kim had instantly taken to Faith. She was so excited to have a fan all the way from Angel Grove. Kim told Faith all about life in Florida, the good malls, stores, places to eat, and hotels. She had smiled at Troy a lot and even kissed him. Faith had done her best not to vomit right there. Kim had even invited Faith to come visit her back in Angel Grove when she settled into her new apartment after the games.
But all the while, Kero had stayed by Kim's side, so Faith had to try to keep the icy stares to a minimum. He never gave Faith a chance to talk to Kim alone. Faith imagined that had been the plan. Now, Coach Schmidt was taking up all Kim's time. By now, they were the only two left on the floor. Faith couldn't help but stare at her mother. She was so young and pretty. Her brown eyes sparkled with happiness. She was in good shape, as one had to be to be a competitive gymnast. Faith felt almost guilty. In her time, Kim had left the games just before she would have gotten to compete. Divatox had attacked Tommy even though he had given his powers to TJ. Tommy had be wounded and Kim had rushed back to Angel Grove to be by her lover's side. Faith's mother swore she never regretted her decision to leave, but Faith often wondered if that was true.
"Well, well, well. Looky what we have here." Faith whirled around, battle ready when she heard Kero's voice. He was dressed in a suit and tie, he looked almost handsome if you could get passed the whole evil part. Kero had and aura of confidence, almost smuggness. He stepped out of the shadow and took a step closer to Faith, but never dropped his black eyes from hers. "I was wondering if you'd show up. I'm actually glad you did. Now someone will appreciate the genius of my plan." He whispered with an evil, and triumphant smile.
"You plan?" Faith mocked. "First off, it's about to be ruined. Second, what kind of geeky plan is this? You're gonna break up two of the original Rangers. Ooooh. If I were gonna spend all this effort to go back in time, I'd at least, I dunno...kill something!"
"I'm changing the past." Her interruption went unnoticed. He talked to her like she was a child. "Death will come but slowly. It had to be this way, gradual, so Karone wouldn't notice." He cocked his head to the side and sized up Faith. "Obviously, she's more on top of things than I thought."
"Obviously." Faith shot back, in a tone that told him he was a moron.
He drew in a sharp breath and smiled. "No matter. It's too late now. I've won."
"The what the hell am I doin' here pal?" Faith asked angrily, still with the moron tone.
"Icing. As I said, you get to understand the beauty of my plan."
"Which is?" Faith wondered, sure he was going to tell her. Why evil geniuses always told the good guys their evil plots was beyond her. But, she was excited to find out what was going on.
Kero began his monologue, "Months ago my perfect plan went south. It was working, it was perfect but," he glanced at Faith and composed himself. "No matter. Afterwards, I was trapped in limbo, by you. There, I could easily open a time hole without Karone detecting it. I could go anywhere, destroy people who lived eons ago. But there was only one person I really wanted to kill." Faith had a sinking feeling she knew where this was going. "As I sat in limbo, cursing you and wishing you'd never been born, it occurred to me that I could make it happen." He grinned in his crazy evil guy way. "At first I was just going to kill Mommy dearest, but I realized that such an abrupt change would alert Karone to my presence. Plus, there was always that off chance that Kim would-"
"Kick your ass?" Faith suggested.
He glared at her. "Escape. Run to Tommy. Bring them together again and that simply wouldn't do." He took a brief pause and continued. "I wanted them to never get together, to end the relationship. The love spell was easy enough. With none of her friends her no one was aware of her odd behavior."
"Love spells don't last forever, and they can be broken." Faith interrupted, trying to shoot holes in his plan.
He smiled and got excited, as if he was glad she brought it up. "I know." He laughed in what one could describe as a crazy, evil giggle. "I thought I'd have to stay here forever! Make sure they stayed apart and keep doing the spell. But, as luck would have it, I don't need to. There's something, someone," He corrected himself, "else between them now."
"Kat." Faith whispered, horrified.
Kero became even more elated and his eyes began to glimmer with nuttiness. "You see? I've looked into the future here. It's perfect! It works. Kim dumps Tommy. Tommy is heartbusted. Kat has a huge crush on Tommy. Tommy ties to move on, with Kat!" Kero starts laughing wildly and he continued through his speech. "This is where the brilliance comes in, so pay attention. He loves Kat, as a friend, no like a sister. But he manages to convince himself it's more. Kim goes home sees how 'happy' they are and doesn't want to 'ruin' it for them. She never tells Tommy she loves him. They never get married! And Kat and Tommy live not-so-happily after." He slowed down. "They realize later that they're not in love, but never divorce for the sake of the children." The last word seemed to be a hysterically funny joke for Kero. Faith was silent. This was horrible. He was using Kat, Tommy and Kim's feelings of love for each other against them. God, she hated it when villains thought out their plans.
"Of course you realize, this way you'll never be born." He gloated. "And you won't be able to stop me that fateful day and trap me in my dimension. I'll never get caught in limbo. In fact, I'll beat the Power Rangers and I'll conquer Earth." He smiled at her, mock sweetly. "How do ya like them apples?"
Faith was at a loss for words. What am I going to do?!? , she screamed inwardly. Kero cocked his head a smiled at her. He was triumphant. She now realized how brilliant he was. Then, he began to laugh as an idea struck him. "Of course, now that you're hear there's no need to be subtle. I can finally do what I've been wanting to for months." He lifted his hand and waved sweetly before he disappeared into thin air. "Ta-ta now."
All the way in the sky box Faith could hear her mother scream. Not from surprise or shock, but from pure terror and agony. The kind that comes from learning your boyfriend is a monster who is going to kill you dead. Faith began to quiver. Oh God. What am I going to do? she asked herself again. Her mind went blank, she shut down completely. Mom... she thought. It was then that her instincts kicked in. She wasn't even aware she was running towards the floor, towards her screaming mother. Her feet were flying. She hit the stairs in no time and began to descend with unnatural speed. There were multiple flights of stairs and it would take her awhile to reach the bottom, then she had to run to the floor where all the equipment was set up. Faith's heart was pounding in her chest. Mom, please, please, please, remember the fighting skills you learned as a Ranger. She prayed silently. I need a plan. I couldn't kill him with my powers, now I don't have any. But, I HAVE to save Mom. God, what would Dad do? Think! She yelled at herself. Her breathing became irregular, but not because she had just run down seven flights of stairs and there were more to come. But, because she was scared for her mother. If Faith couldn't do something now, Kimberly was going to die. All right. He's got a lot of power, sure, and he knows I'm coming. All I have is me. My martial arts and my wits. But damn it all! I'm not the smart one, Aaron is! Then a beautiful thing happened, a memory. Hope. Aaron! He said that Kero's ring allows him to hold a shape. If I can get the ring he'll just be an evil puddle. Man, was she ever glad she hung on everything Aaron said!
By then, Faith had reached to bottom of the stairs. She ran through the lobby and the entrance ways until she was only yards for the floor. She could see Kero, but not Kimberly. Kero had never looked so undone. He had ditched the suit jacket to reveal a white dress shirt that with the sleeves rolled up. Faith gasped when she realized Kim's blood stained his shirt creating a dark red contrast to the starched whiteness of the shirt. His dark eyes were flashing and his chiseled features were twisted with fury.
"Where the hell are you. Come out!" He demanded. Faith felt a great weight lifted off her. Kim was still alive! She was hiding! And Kero didn't know that Faith had arrived yet. Faith needed to take his attention of Kim. She searched the floor for something she could use as a weapon. All she found was a half empty 1 liter bottle of soda. It would have to do.
"Yeah right. Like she's gonna come when you call her." Kero wheeled around and the sound of Faith's voice. If she had thought he was mad before...Then Faith caught him off guard and hurled the soda at him. It hit him right between the eyes, Faith was rather proud of her aim. Of course, the soda bottle went right through his head and fell to the floor behind him. But Kero was so surprised he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Kero scrambled onto all fours while Faith leaped into the air. She karate kicked him run in the bum and Kero fell down once more. He rolled over so he could see her. She stood above him in fighting stance. He lay on his back and glared up at her. She glared right back. He was even more angry now. Both were breathing heavily.
"You think you can beat me? You can't. You're just a powerless human. I am going to kill you and Kimberly. Then, the world will be mine!" He shouted.
"Right. Then you'll wake up!" Faith quipped. By then, she had regained her equilibrium and had a plan. A good plan if she did say so herself.
"I am going to make you suffer. Your death will be so slow and painful your grand kids are going to feel the torment."
"How am I gonna have grand kids if you kill me?" She asked her tone telling him he was a complete loser. He looked confused. She smiled at him and took off. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She barely stopped to re-grab her 'weapon', the bottle of soda. Gotta get him away from Mom. She thought. Faith ran straight through the door she had seen Kero and her mother walk out of earlier. It lead to the bowels of the stadium. There, numerous corridors connected various locker rooms, offices and equipment storage. Faith had been in there earlier when she was casing the joint. She ducked in and out of several rooms until she was sure she had lost Kero. Then she went to work.
Faith tiptoed into the girls' bathroom. There were about six stalls and sinks with mirrors over them. Pretty much a run of the mill public restroom. She dumped out the left over soda, so the bottle was empty. Then Faith crouched down low and removed a pipe from underneath one of the sinks. It took awhile, and a lot of strength she didn't know she had, but finally it was done. She held onto the pipe because it could be used as a weapon, but left the soda on the sink. Now, time to get Kero. Faith exited the bathroom and ran down the hall. When Kero popped out of one of the many rooms, Faith acted surprised and ran toward the bathroom.
"Potty break!" She yelled, just in case she had lost him. She hadn't. He was right behind her. Kero smiled evilly when he realized they were in the bathroom and there was only one exit, which he blocked. They stood facing each other. Faith continued to back away. Kero thought it was out of fear, but she was positioning him in front of the sink that she had doctored.
"Excuse me. This is the Ladies' Room. You can't be in here." Faith quipped as she grabbed the pipe and knocked him upside the head. She hit him with all her might, all her anger and fear. He was caught off guard and fell into the sink. His head shattered the mirror above the sink and to avoid any further injury, Kero turned himself into liquid. Faith grinned in triumph as Kero was sucked down the drain. She dropped the pipe and grabbed the soda bottle and held it under the sink so Kero oozed into it. Soon, he realized just what she was doing and veered away, but she had managed to contain some of the liquid. When he reformed he was missing an arm.
"Ha ha! Got your arm!" Faith taunted like she was playing the 'Got your Nose' game with her father.
"You bitch!" He screamed at her in fury. "Gimme that!"
"Right. Here you go." She held out the bottle and then snatched it back when he reached out for it. "Oh wait. I'm not stupid."
Kero kicked Faith in the shins and she fell to the ground, but she held onto the bottle tightly. Her head hit the tiled floor and she struggled to maintain consciousness. She shook the hit off and glanced and what lay before her. Shards of the mirror that Kero's head had broken were scattered across the floor. Perfect! With one hand still clutching the ever important soda bottle she reached for a rather large, sharp piece of glass. She seized it and rolled onto her back, similar to the position he held earlier on the floor. She flung the shard at his arm and cut it off, like Jasmine had done months ago in the future. This time, Kero had no other arm to switch the ring to and when the arm came off, he lost his shape. Before the puddle could regroup and reclaim the ring, Faith scrambled up and took hold of it. The angry puddle couldn't take shape. She sighed as she held the onyx ring tightly in her fist. It was over. She had won.
Faith composed herself with a few deep breaths. Then a thought hit her. Mom. She ran back out onto the floor.
"Kimberly!" She called. She must still be hiding or else she's...Oh, God. "Kimberly!" Faith screamed again, this time more frantic. She was answered by a almost inaudible moan coming from the seats. Faith ran to the noise and found Kim huddled on the floor, barely conscious. She was bleeding and bruised, but alive.
Faith crouched down next to her and touched her shoulder lightly. At that Kimberly stirred. She immediately assumed the best fighting stance she could laying in a heap on the floor. Then Kim realized Faith wasn't "Troy". "Are you okay?" Faith asked.
"Yeah, thanks to you. You saved me." Kim whispered. The two simile at each other. Kimberly felt an instant bond to the girl, but she couldn't explain it. "Thank you."
"What are friends for?" Faith asked. She helped Kimberly up. The two dusted each other off.
"Who are you?" Kim asked.
Faith wanted so badly to say 'Your daughter. Now, go tell Tommy you love him still!' But, she knew she couldn't. She wasn't allowed to tell anyone who she really was. "Um. I'm from...far away. Kero, uh, Troy was an enemy of mine. He's a shape shifter. Don't worry he's liquid now." Faith tried to explain it without lying to her mother, which was just wrong.
"Liquid?" Kim asked, obviously feeling better.
"Yeah. I, uh, took his ring," Faith showed Kim the ring, "so he can't hold shape anymore."
"Where is 'he' now?" Kim asked yet another question. Her Power Ranger instincts were kicking in and she knew they had to make sure he wouldn't come back.
Faith lead Kim to the bathroom and made a motion to the slivery puddle on the floor. "Eww. I can't believe I dated that." She motioned to Kero.
"It's not your fault." Faith turned to her and they hugged. "He had you under a spell."
Kim's face fell and Faith realized she was thinking about Tommy. Faith knew that killing Kero wouldn't fix things. She needed to get the two of them back together if she ever wanted to go home. Kim looked depressed. "What am I going to do now?" She asked in a whisper. "I can't compete like this." It was only then that it registered that Kim was really banged up. She had cuts and bruises all over her. Faith imagined she had some broken bones too.
Faith tried to be cheery. "But, bright side: Neither could he." She motioned to the Kero puddle again and Kim laughed.
"We better," Kim laughed even harder, "mop him up." Faith broke out at that too. They looked around for something to use. Kim grabbed a roll of toilet paper and they started laughing anew. "Talk about adding insult to injury!" Kim exclaimed as they set to work removing Kero from the floor. "I can't believe I'm going to have to tell Coach I can't compete because of the guy in the toilet paper!" Kim was finding humor in her situation. Faith was glad to see she was back to her usual high spirits.
"I'm sorry you won't get to compete." Faith whispered as she continued to mop.
"It's all right. I pretty much just needed to know I could be a professional gymnast. It's not exactly something I would've done forever. I don't back flip from the depths of my soul, ya know?" She smiled up at Faith again. "Plus sometimes it's just nice to be alive. Thank you again." Kim liked Faith, a lot. They were going to be good friends.
"Hey, it was nothing. You would've done the same thing for me."
"Yeah. But, let's just say I owe you." They finished with Kero. Faith opened a stall and allowed Kimberly to do the honors of flushing Kero down the toilet. "A lot. I might have to name my first born Faith." Faith couldn't help but smile knowingly at that.
"You might..."
Part II: The Parent Trap
The most difficult part was not being able to tell anyone who she really was. Faith had convinced Kim she was a demon hunter who was on a mission after Kero. Kim had accepted that. What better explanation was there?
Now the two 'friends' were going to Kim's new apartment in Angel Grove. Faith was going to stay, indefinitely. However, Faith told her she might leave without notice at any moment if she was 'called into action'. That way, if Faith completed her mission and got sucked back to the future Kim wouldn't worry about where she had gone. Kim liked having Faith around. They could talk about anything. Faith knew about Kim being a Ranger. Faith had told her that was why Kero was after her and also how she knew; he told her. When in doubt, blame it on Kero was Faith's new motto. Faith knew about Kero, which Kim didn't want to discuss with anyone but Faith. She didn't want the other Rangers to know. Faith thought that was a good idea, it was easier for her to stay incognito if less people knew about the battle with Kero. The other Rangers would just accept her as Kim's friend, who she met in Florida. Trini, Aisha and Zack already knew her as such.
Faith grinned as she watched her mother practically bounce out of her seat. Kim was so happy to be going home. All the Rangers were back in Angel Grove and they were going to have a party at Jason's house. Faith was invited too, it wasn't exclusively for Rangers. Friends of theirs were allowed, which made Faith a little easier. She didn't want to be the odd wheel out. Even if she was really a Power Ranger.
Kim and Faith arrived at Kim's apartment to find all the furniture completely set up and Trini, Zack and Billy there to welcome them.
"Surprise!" They yelled in unison. Kim shrieked with delight and gave each one of them a huge hug.
"It's so great to see you all! Did you guys do all this?" She asked referring to the furniture.
"Yep." Zack replied. "Stylin' and handy. Gotta love us!"
"I do! I do!" Kim shrieked and hugged them each again. "Oh. Billy this is Faith. You guys remember her?" Faith smiled.
"Hi." Trini extended her hand. "It's nice to see you again."
"You too." Faith shook her hand. Kim began to jump around the apartment looking at all the stuff and giggling and shrieking when she say something nifty. The others couldn't help but be happy too. Kim was just so darn cheerful it rubbed off. Billy, Trini and Zack were a little surprised to see her so joyful. They had thought she'd be upset about not getting to finish competing in the games. The 'official' story was she hurt herself during practice and couldn't continue. But, they didn't bring that up for fear it would ruin her good mood.
"So. You gals ready to party?" Zack asked. "I know I am."
"I can't think of a time you weren't." Billy joked and Trini laughed. Faith beamed at the two of them. They reminded her of Aaron.
"Let us get ready and then we'll hit the road." Kim seized Faith's hand. "I can't wait to see all the guys again!"
"We'll meet you back here in a half an hour!" Trini exclaimed and the three former Rangers left to go get ready for the party that evening.
A black SUV with Zack behind the wheel and four other passengers piled on top of each other pulled up the Jason Lee Scott's house. Kimberly nearly bounded out of the vehicle before Zack could pull to a complete stop. Her pink floral dress flew behind her as she ran to the door. "Come on you guys!" She yelled to the slower moving others.
"Hey. We're coming. Don't get your unddies all in a bunch!" Zack yelled back as he stepped out of the car. He wore black slacks and a white dress shirt and looked very handsome. They were all dressed up. Billy in khakis and a blue polo shirt and Trini in a mustard colored tank dress. Faith was the last to get out of the car. Her long brown hair that fell over her shoulders was blowing slightly in the wind. Kim had forced her to dress 'nicely' and had even done her make up. Kim had picked out Faith's ensemble, a short black skirt and a red oxford shirt. The skirt made her legs look even longer than they were. Even Faith had to admit she looked good. When the four joined Kimberly at the doorway. Kim rang the bell excitedly. Jason opened the door a few moments later. He too was dressed to the nines. Faith especially liked his gold tie. She wondered where one bought a gold tie.
"Jason!" Kim shrieked and hugged him madly.
"Hey guys." Was his reply as he ushered the new guests into the living room. There Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Tanya, Justin, Carlos, Ashley, TJ, and Cassie lounged around. The guest list apparently included the current Rangers. There were some other people Faith didn't recognize, she assumed they were non-rangers, but friends and therefore tried to be polite.
The party continued and talk to times the group had spent together in the past. Faith smiled, she knew a lot of these stories. Faith sat down on the sofa next to Tanya and Rocky and introduced herself. The party was starting to drift off into groups. The new team of Rangers were involved in their own conversation while Faith appeared to be the only 'non-ranger' to stay in the former Rangers' discussion. The ten of them ended up sitting in a circle and talked of the good old days. Faith took a few mental notes of embarrassing stories she could use later on in life. Strictly for blackmail purposes. Everyone seemed to be getting along and having a good time.
After about half an hour Jason jumped up when he heard the doorbell ring. "More people!" He exclaimed. Seconds later he appeared with Kat, Tommy and Faith's uncle David. Faith couldn't help but stare. Kat and Tommy were holding hands. She looked at him all lovingly. Tommy looked good. He had a glow about him. He was smiling brightly. Faith didn't want to take her eyes off her father. She hadn't seen him since the mission started. The mission. Faith tore her eyes from Tommy and shifted her attention to Kim. How would she take this?
Kim was staring at the floor, trying not to look as the happy couple appeared. But she couldn't help it. She loved Tommy so much and she hadn't seem him since she had been captured by Divatox. Tommy and Kat were still holding hands while they talked to Jason and David. David said something snide about Kat and Tommy. Which somehow lead to Kat putting her arms around her boyfriend in a big hug. Smiling and laughing they kissed. Kim valiantly tried to conceal her pain. She had to get out of there, but running away in a fit of tears would be just a tad obvious. She hadn't known it would be this hard.
"Kim?" Trini's voice interrupted Kim's thoughts. Trini turned toward the kitchen and asked. "Can you get me a soda?" Trini actually hadn't even opened her first soda. Kim smiled at her best friend gratefully. Kim lifted herself off the couch and navigated through the party guests. As she entered the kitchen she turned to her friend and smiled as if the say 'Thank you.'
Faith waited a couple seconds then discreetly got up and went after Kimberly. Kim wasn't in the kitchen when Faith arrived. She crossed the room to the back door of the house which opened onto a patio in the backyard. There, Kim sat. She neglected the plastic furniture in favor of the deck. She was curled up against the massive barbecue that Jason's father used frequently. Upon Faith's entrance Kim looked up. Her face was twisted from trying not to cry. She looked like a deer in headlights, but relieve swept over her features when she realized it was just Faith.
"I'm okay." Kim whispered, answering the question Faith had yet to ask. "I'm okay." She repeated trying to make herself believe it.
Faith sat next to her and took her mother's hand. She didn't know what to say. How to make it better. "Do you wanna go home?"
"No." Kim answered certainly. "I knew this would happen. I just didn't think it'd be so hard." Her voice broke. "It's my own fault. How could I have been so stupid-"
"No it's not your fault." Faith cut her off. "He tricked you. There was nothing you could've done. I just wish I had gotten to you sooner." Faith mentally cursed everything and everyone. Why hadn't they made sure Kero was dead and gone?!?
Kim was speechless. She hadn't known Faith blamed herself. Kim looked at her friend and sunk back against the barbecue. Her eyes showed pain, fear, remorse, hurt and a bunch of other emotions Faith couldn't identify. They were both silent for a few moments. Kim began to shake and then the tears came. The water spilled down her face despite her great efforts to keep them in.
Kim let out a shaking sigh. "What did I do to deserve this?" She whispered hoarsely. And then the crying came again more violently. This time she made no effort to keep it all in. Kim's entire petite frame shook and she began gasping for breath. Faith put her arms around her mother, physically supporting her as she cried. Mother and daughter sat like that for a long time. They didn't care if someone noticed they were missing. They just held on to each other, trying to ease the pain a little.
Faith bit her lip and tried to be strong. She couldn't help but let a single tear drip down her face as well. This whole exchange only made her more determined to fix things. She just didn't know how to go about it.
Faith kicked herself for only having seen The Parent Trap once.
The party had moved outside. Jason had found Kim and Faith walking around his yard and laughing at the strangest things. For awhile he thought they had gone insane or become hysterical. But they didn't seem to care what he thought. Faith whispered something to Kim about his tie and Kim had lost it. She let loose peels of laughter. Inside, the party goers had heard laughter and instinctively went out to see. Things had been getting dull inside.
Now, most of the guys were playing basketball in Jason's driveway. Trini, Kim and Aisha sat on the grass, talking in hushed tones. Every now and then Kim would look towards Tommy playing basketball, but she avoided catching his eye. Another group was sitting on the patio. They were telling anecdotes of their childhoods and laughing a lot. Technically, Faith was part of that group. Although she offered no insights into her own childhood. She sat away from the rest of the group. They were on the patio furniture and she sat leaning against the house.
Billy was telling as story about an explosion in his lab when he was a boy. Faith smiled at the story. She wondered if Billy knew that on the grass, Trini was looking at him the same way Kim looked at Tommy. Faith smiled. This would be the last time Billy would be on Earth before the wedding. Assuming there would be a wedding. She wanted to get Billy and Trini together almost as much as she wanted to get her parents together.
"...and my dad said 'Billy, if you start one more fire we're going to have to hire a round the clock fireman!'" Everyone laughed.
"Hey." Faith was startled as some dared to sit next to her. "I'm David. Tommy's brother."
"I can tell." She told her Uncle. Referring to the uncanny resemblance between the two brothers.
David appeared to have nothing left to say. So he smiled weakly and listened to Tanya talk about her how her parents disappeared. They had been trapped on an island searching for Auric for years.
"My parents would've killed each other if that happened to them." Announced Ashley. "It would've been a horrible, bloody massacre." David continued to smile at Faith.
"If it had been my parents, it would've been even worse." Emily interjected. "They wouldn't have been able to keep their hands off each other. Probably would populated the entire island!"
"I take it your parents are...affectionate." Billy whispered. David once again glanced at Faith. She pretended to be engrossed in the conversation.
"Oh. It's so gross. My mom's pregnant again now. They don't even have the decency to pretend they don't like each other around me. They kiss in public. Oh it's gross." Emily shuddered. The group laughed at Emily's plight.
Faith leaned her head against the house. As memories of her own parents swept over her.
It was a bright, spring day in Angel Grove. The sun was shinning and birds were chirping. Angel Grove Park was unusually quiet for such a beautiful day. A gentle breeze caused the water to ripple in the duck pond. The gentle peel of a child's laughter interrupted the serenity of the park.
A young couple walked across the lush green grass with their five-year-old daughter. The adults stood on opposite sides of the girl, each held one of the girl's hands and were swinging the small girl back and forth as they walked.
"I'm flying! Weeee!" Young Faith shrieked and giggled.
Tommy and Kimberly laughed as the pond came into view. The little girl didn't know it but it was where the two lovers' relationship began. It was the place they exchanged their first kiss. Faith giggled and pointed excitedly and a duck lifted off the surface of the blue water and flew away.
"I'm gonna be a bird when I grow up!" She exclaimed, and the youth really believed it. Kim tried to stifled a giggle.
"What kind of bird?" Her father asked, playing along. "A duck? Maybe a beautiful crane?" He glanced at his wife who blushed. "A falcon perhaps?" And he laughed.
"A big bird! The kind that can beat up all the other birds!" She answered. Her dad gave her a look and Faith became suddenly sheepish. "But I wouldn't. A good martial artist only used violence as a last resort and never initiates the conflict." Then Faith flashed Tommy her best 'I'm Your Daughter and You Love Me' smile. Kimberly laughed. Tommy had drilled that lesson into Faith's head when she had first asked him to teach her martial arts. She had been able to recite it for quite some time.
By then the trio had reached the water's edge. Kimberly dropped Faith's hand a strolled over to a nearby rock. That very same rock Tommy had been practicing on so many years ago. She took of her shoes and sat down, letting her bare feet dangle in the cool water. Kimberly turned and smiled at her husband and daughter. The noon day sun illuminated Kimberly and made her light brown hair glisten. She was a vision.
Faith smiled back at her mom and waved. 'Gosh, she's pretty.' She thought. The girl looked up at her father, who was mesmerized by the view. Faith scrambled up into her father's strong arms and whispered in his ear.
"Mommy's pretty."
Tommy never took his eyes off his wife when he answered in a whisper. "Yes, Honey, she's very pretty." Faith was so happy she was almost bursting. But, she had a mischievous idea that would make the moment even better.
Faith jumped down from her father's arms, snapping him out of his trance. She grabbed his hand and she ran over to her mother. Faith dropped Tommy's hand as soon as they reached Kim. She jumped into her mother's embrace and kissed her.
Kimberly lovingly returned the exchange. Then she glanced up and Tommy and smiled. Both of them loved Faith more than anything. Faith scurried over to the very edge of the rock and pretended to peer into the water as her father knelt beside Kimberly and kissed her gently.
Faith beamed. Mission: Accomplished.
"Faith?" David's voice returned Faith to reality. "What are you thinking about?"
"Oh nothing. My parents. Nevermind." She responded.
He smiled at her again to her bewilderment. Why does he keep doing that... "You wanna tell me about it? I'd like to get to know you better." Ohmigod! My uncle is hitting on me! Faith instantly went into full freak-out as she made the connection. She had to get out of there this was just too disturbing.
"I, uh, sure. I'd like, uh, that'd be nice." Faith answered trying her best to be coherent. "You know what we need? Cheese. Gotta have cheese. I'm gonna go get some cheese. I'll be back with cheese. Stay here." With that she picked herself up and ran inside leaving David thoroughly confused.
Great. Now I'm going to be traumatized for life. Faith continued into the house wondering how she was going to get out of this one. What does one say when your uncle hits on you? Maybe I should just run back to the apartment. "That'll send a message." Faith mumbled to herself not realizing any of the other guests where still in the house. She stopped dead when she noticed a pretty blonde girl sitting on the floral living room couch. She was deep in thought and hadn't heard Faith's approach.
"Hey." Katherine was startled when Faith spoke.
"Oh, hey, um...Faith. Right?"
"Yep. That's me." Faith announced as she plopped herself down next to the former Pink Ranger.
"Enjoying the party?" Kat asked in a futile attempt at conversation.
My mother is a basket case; my uncle has the hots for me; I'm stuck in this time until you stop dating my father. "Yeah. It's great." Faith forced herself to omit the details of her predicament. "Why are you in here all by yourself?" She wondered.
Katherine inhaled deeply. She didn't want to tell Faith her problems, but she was just bursting. She had to talk to somebody and Faith probably had the answers to all Kat's questions. "Is she okay?"
That isn't an answer to the question. In fact, it's another question. "Is who okay?" Faith was confused.
"Kim." Kat whispered. Faith was more confused. How much did Katherine know?
Katherine noticed Faith's bewilderment. "I saw her run outta the room when I kissed Tommy. Is she okay?" Kat repeated.
"Yeah. She's fine now. She's hanging with Trini and Aisha." Faith managed. She wondered where this conversation was headed.
"Good." Kat nodded her head, but didn't seem at all pacified by Faith's statement. "Good." She repeated trying to make herself believe that everything was fine. An uncomfortable silence ensued. Katherine kneaded her hands and stared at them as if she'd never seen them before. She refused to meet Faith's gaze, but Faith unabashedly stared at Kat.
"Are you okay?" Faith finally asked. Kat turned to her thunderstruck.
"Yeah. I guess." Kat paused as a sad look crossed her face. She blinked back tears and looked away. More silence. The clock ticked away the seconds. Kat finally turned back to Faith, realizing she wasn't going to take the hint to go away. "I just...After I was evil I promised myself I would never do anything or let anyone hurt Kimberly ever again." A wave of powerful emotions swept across Katherine's usually serene face. She started again intensely. "I tried to kill her. But afterwards she accepted me into her circle of friends and trusted me with her powers." She took a deep cleansing breath. "I swore I'd do my best to fill her shoes. And now here I am," she laughed bitterly at the irony, "in her shoes."
Kat's hands were shaking. Faith reached out to hold one of them in her own. Kat accepted the gesture with a weak smile. Faith didn't know what to say. She just squeezed Kat's hands in an effort to be supportive. Katherine appreciated the attempt.
Katherine continued in a whisper. "When she dumped Tommy he nearly died. I wanted so badly to take his pain away. He was lonely without her. I was lonely too. New country, new school, new people. And he was the only one who understood what it was like to..." Kat stopped abruptly, she had almost said something she shouldn't have.
"Be under Rita's spell?" Faith suggested. Kat didn't seem surprised that Faith knew, just thankful she didn't have to stop her story now.
"We comforted each other." Her voice was even smaller now. "I needed him."
"Needed?" Katherine had said it unconsciously and wondered how Faith knew her so well.
"Sometimes I wonder if I still do. You know? Maybe we just don't belong together anymore. I think that I might just be a replacement for Kim in more ways than one. They belong together...but then I think 'Tommy wouldn't use me like that and he wouldn't have stayed with me so long if he didn't genuinely care for me' so I just push all these thoughts out of my head. "
"But..."
"But now Kim is back. He won't even look at her. I might be over analyzing the situation but I think he's afraid."
"Afraid to get hurt?" Faith was confused.
"Afraid to hurt me. He knows he still loves her. He never stopped. He just doesn't want to discover he doesn't love me as much. He's protecting me." She said it surely.
"And you still need to be protected?" Faith was drawing her out.
Kat wrinkled her brow at that. "No." She said flatly and sighed as the realization sunk in. "No." She repeated. "I came here at a time when I was insecure and alone. But being a ranger has changed all that. I can stand on my own. I can take a hit."
Faith flinched. Images of her mother getting beaten by Kero flooded her head. Kat noticed the sudden changed in her companion.
"What is it, Faith?"
"My Mo...Kimberly. The guy who she dumped Tommy for. He...he...became abusive." Kat gasped in horror. "That's why she couldn't compete in the games. She was too banged up. Oh don't worry. I kicked his ass. They're not together anymore."
Kat sunk back against the plush couch in disbelief. When she turned back to look at Faith the only emotion Faith could read on her face was relief as if a great weight had been lifted.
"Maybe someone else needs him now..."
Faith and Katherine sat in complete silence. They had been alone in the living room for a little over a half an hour. Each had said very little since Katherine had made her decision. The only sound was the cheery cries of the party goers who were outside. They seemed so distant.
"So this is where you've run off to. Come on outside we're..." Kat and Faith whirled around. It was Tommy. The girls shared similar 'deer-in-headlights' expressions. The fatal moment had come.
"Whoa." Tommy was shocked by the reaction. "What's going on in here? Everyone's wondering where you are." He was talking to Kat, not Faith.
Poor Daddy. He has no idea what's about to happen to him. I don't want him to get hurt, but a girl's gotta live. Even though Faith desperately wanted to stay inside to avoid anymore passes from her Uncle. But she knew she had out stayed her welcome.
"Well, in that case I better head on out to par-tay!" Faith assumed a air of fun as she lifted herself from the couch. Simultaneously Tommy come around to sit next to Katherine. Father and daughter stopped in their tracks. Each stared into the eyes of the other. A brief flicker of recognition flashed across Tommy's face, but it was just as quickly pushed aside as impossible.
"You go this way. I'll go that way." Faith indicated the path away from the traffic jam. "See ya." She tossed over her should as she hastily made her exit. Does he know? Nah!
Tommy watched her go with wonder. "That girl," he sputtered and pointed. "She...she..."
"Has your eyes." Katherine finished for him. "I know."
Faith didn't hear the exchange. She was already outside seated by her mother on the lawn. Faith hoped that if she were engrossed in a conversation with Kim then David wouldn't bother her. She was only pretending to be interested. Her mind was years away; thinking of her family and her future. She couldn't believe that convincing Kat to end her relationship with Tommy had been so easy.
It didn't occur to her until much later in life that it wasn't easy at all. It was the hardest, bravest thing Katherine had ever had to do.
One ring. Come on. Pick up. Pick up! Faith silently willed the phone. It didn't work. Two ring. Three ring. Where the heck is he? This is getting pointless. Four ring.
Tommy glanced at the phone. He didn't want to talk to anyone. Five ring. Wasn't it obvious? His shades were drawn, the lights were dimmed, the bed was unmade and clothes littered his floor. He was laying in the bed. He had barely moved from that spot since Katherine had broken up with him. Six ring. Tommy was in full mope. He hadn't answered the phone in fear that his friends would try to take him skiing or something. Seven ring. He was getting irritated by this caller. Didn't he know Tommy didn't want to talk to anyone. Eight ring. Nine ring.
Why was he such a loser? Why did every girl that dated him break his heart? Why did he feel relieved that Kat had dumped him? Did he still love Kim? Yes. Dumb question. Did she love him? No. Another dumb question. Why did God hate him? Good question.
"Tommy!" His mother's shrill cry from downstairs shook him back to reality. Just because he was in college now and, technically, an adult didn't make her stop yelling at him like he was four. "Tommy! You got a letter! Come down!" She was worried, he knew that. She thought he should be out having a good time or out at all. It was Christmas. And all his friends were back, for the first time. Shouldn't they be out skiing or something?
Faith paced Kimberly's apartment. Tommy hadn't answered the phone, again. She was beginning to worry about him. She was also beginning to worry that she'd never get home. Why hadn't she been returned when Kat and Tommy broke up? The only logical explanation was that Tommy and Kimberly still wouldn't get together. They must have reservations. She did dump him and all. In that case, Faith had to use more aggressive tactics. She had a plan, it was already in motion.
Faith looked up when she heard Kimberly's footsteps in the hall. She was home. The plan was really in action now. Faith closed her eyes and listened. The footsteps stopped. Kimberly had reached the door. A jingling of keys, the key turning in the lock and finally the gentle scrape on the floor as the door swung open. Kimberly paused in the doorway. Just to her left was an end table on the table sat a plastic flower and a pile of letters. One in particular interested Faith. Kim reached out and began to leaf through the pile. She stopped when she reached Faith's letter. Written neatly on the front in what appeared to be Tommy's handwriting was the name "Kimberly."
Tommy returned to his darkened room with the letter in his trembling hand. It looked like Kimberly's writing. Why would she send him another letter? Hadn't the first one been enough? He plopped himself on the bed. Did he really want to open this? Kinda. What else was she going to do to him? She had already smashed his heart into billions of pieces.
Kimberly stared bewildered at the letter. What did he want? To make her feel even more guilty for what she had done? Remind her that she had dumped the best person she had ever known for a evil, liquid...thing? Maybe he wanted an explanation. What would she say? How can she avoid this?
Slowing each hand moved to unseal the envelope. There was no going back now. Two pairs of brown eyes took in the proposal before them. None of their questions were answered. But more were aroused.
Tommy reread the letter. What did she want to talk about? Maybe I'll finally get some answers. Maybe she wants to apologize. Maybe she still loves me...no. I dare not hope. It'll just make things harder when she tells you she's getting married to Mr. Right. Why does she have such a hold over me? She dumped me in the cruelest way humanly possible and hasn't really spoken to me since. Even if she wanted to get back together with me, would I want to be with someone who hurt me so much? Yes. Dumb question.
Well. What have I got to lose. She can't dump me twice. Well, she can it'd just be pointless. If she does still love me, I'm all for trying again. And if she does hate me, I can always kill myself. At the very least this should bring some closure. Tommy glanced at the clock. He had three hours before he had to meet Kim. Might as well start getting ready now, after all he was going to meet Kimberly
Faith smiled joyfully as she saw Tommy approach. She knew Kim was coming. She had been getting ready since she had discovered the letter. Faith hid behind a nearby tree and watched as Tommy stopped at the designated spot and looked out at the lake. He was deep in thought. Probably thinking about Mom. Faith mused, her grin widening. She hoped they'd talk it out before they realized that neither one of them had written any letter. All children and forge their parents writing and Faith was no acceptation. Tommy and Kim didn't always need the burden of knowing Faith had failed a test. So for the greater good, Faith would, uh, have her parents sign the test without either parent actually having to sign the test. Faith giggled and then quieted when she saw her mother near. Faith crouched lower to the ground. This better work.
"Hi." Kim whispered. Tommy spun around, he hadn't heard her approach. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. She wore a short, flowered skirt and a pink tank top. Tommy had never seen her so beautiful. The moonlight shone around her and the wind blew her hair, ever so slightly. Nervous, she bit her lower lip.
"Hey." He managed with a half smiled. Kim's heart melted. She loved him. The jig was up. She couldn't help but stare at him a little. It had been so long. He was as handsome as ever. The white fabric of his shirt displayed the muscles he had worked so hard for and contrasted nicely with his golden tan. She smiled as it dawned on her: He was wearing a white shirt. It was comforting and she took it as a good sign. Tommy shoved his hands into his khaki pant pockets.
"How've ya been?" She asked.
He though he said 'Fine, and you.' But instead his heart came pouring out of his lips, totally unplanned and unannounced. "Horrible. I miss you."
Kim sputtered. Was this what he had asked her hear to say? She grabbed his hands and stared up at him with intensity. "But...but...Kat. The letter. Ohmigod. I hurt you." Tommy searched her face for any signs that she felt the same way. All he saw was confusion.
"Kat and I broke up." He whispered. "I mean, she dumped me."
She flung his arms around his neck and hugged him. "I'm sorry." She wasn't sure if she was sorry Kat had dumped him or if she was sorry she had.
Tommy was shocked when she hugged him. He collected his wits and realized that she was in his arms again. He pulled her closer, not wanting to let go or wake up. "Me too." He murmured in her ear.
She looked up at him. Their faces were nearly touching. Their mouths were nearly kissing. "Tommy..." she moaned.
"Wait." Tommy stopped himself and shocked Kimberly. Pulling them both back into reality, but not letting go. "What about...what's-his-name?"
A shadow crossed Kimberly's normally cheerful face. She released him from her grasp. "Troy." She mumbled to anyone in particular. Her right hand flew to her face. Before Tommy knew it, she was crying uncontrollably. He didn't know what to say or do. What had happened?
"Kim..." He reached out to take her hands. It wasn't until then that he noticed her arm. On her right bicep was a bruise. A huge bruise that had apparently been made when someone grabbed her arm. The purple of her skin was covered in make-up. That's why he didn't notice it before, she was trying to cover it up. She took note of where his eyes were and cried even harder. "What happened?" He had a sinking feeling he knew already.
"Troy...he...attacked me...tried to kill me. That's why I didn't compete at the games!" Her tears were rapidly turning into anger and frustration. "That's why I dumped you! For him! He tricked me! Faith said he used a spell! All that work! All those years of planning! All that training for nothing! Nothing!" She sunk to the ground. "Oh God. I'm so sorry, Tommy. I love you. I'm sorry."
Tommy's heart broke. This wasn't at all what he had expected. He knelt down beside her. He once again took her in his arms and stroked her hair. They sat there for a few moments until she composed herself. Faith noted that Tommy was a lot better and pacifying Kimberly then she had been.
"I'm sorry." She repeated, hardly audible.
"I know. I'm sorry too." He could tell she didn't understand. "For letting you get away. For not being there when you needed me."
Kim wasn't really surprised that he blamed himself. He always did. He was, after all, the leader. "You're here now." She whispered in his ear. "That's all that matters."
He smiled. "We'll talk about this later." With that he leaned forward. Her familiar perfume filled his nose as their lips met for the first time in years. Neither had really remembered what it felt like. Soft, passionate, pleasant and right. Right. The way it was supposed to be.
Neither Kimberly nor Tommy noticed their daughter, Faith, doing a victory dance around her tree. She smiled broadly.
Mission: Accomplished.
Epilogue
Two flashes of white light illuminated the Command Chamber. "Karone! Any word on Faith?" Tommy asked as he and Kimberly materialized.
"Nothing yet. Sorry guys." Karone responded. She was beginning to worry. There had been quite a few of monster attacks since Faith had left. The other Rangers had been having trouble keeping the evil at bay without their leader and teammate. But so far they had managed. All the Rangers, new and old, were gathered, rather crammed, into the Command Chamber waiting for news on the Red Ranger. The old rangers were there helping the young rangers and supporting Tommy and Kimberly. The atmosphere was grim. In the back of everyone's head there was a nagging fear that Faith would not return. Each day that passed, the fear increased.
Aaron leaned against a computer console. His parents stood beside him. Everyone had known Aaron and Faith had been close, but they had no idea the extent. Aaron had barely been able to function, since she had left. He seemed hallow and lifeless. Of course, only Karone and Alpha knew about the kiss, but they weren't telling. They had more important things on their minds.
Tommy's expression mirrored Aaron's. He was worried about his little girl. It bothered him to know end that he couldn't protect her. Kimberly was almost literally supporting him. She held his hand and stroked the small of his back trying to ease his tension.
"She'll be okay, Honey." Kim assured him for the umpteenth time. Tommy put his head on her shoulder.
"I know." He whispered in her ear. "We taught her well. I hope."
"Of course she'll be okay." Jason's powerful voice rang out from across the room. All the other rangers nodded in agreement.
"You guys have nothing to worry about." Zack added. But Tommy couldn't shake the feeling that he had everything to worry about. Well, everything that mattered; his wife and his daughter.
Kimberly smiled at her husband. "Everything will be fine. Now, don't worry. You'll get wrinkles." She playfully patted his head and smiled.
Tommy tried to laugh a little. She was always so positive. Man, he loved her. He couldn't imagine not spending the rest of his life with her. They had been through so much since they had met so many years ago. She was a part of him. Tommy grinned at his wife and leaned in to kiss her. Their lips has barely touched when they were interrupted in an all too familiar way.
"God. Isn't there an age limit on these public displays of affection?" Quipped a voice from over in the corner. All the Rangers whirled around. Standing in front of a newly opened time hole was Faith. She was back. Her parents ran over and hugged her.
"I missed you guys." She said as she hugged them each once more for good measure. Despite her earlier comments, they were a sight for sore eyes.
Aaron beamed. She was back! He felt as if a great weight had lifted off his shoulders. Faith caught his eye while her father started to ask about her mission. She never heard him. Instead, in a style more characteristic of her mother, she bounced over to Aaron and embraced him.
"Don't ever let me let you go." She commanded the joyous Blue Ranger.
A bewildered Tommy stared at his only daughter. What's going on? He felt a small had touch his forearm. "She's not our little girl anymore." Kimberly whispered in his ear. Tommy sighed. He had know this hellish day would come. He wanted it to go away. She was in love. At least it was Aaron, a boy he had liked before today. He was a good kid. He had good parents.
Tommy spun around to face Billy, whose mouth was hanging open as he stared at his son, in mock fury. "Your male slut son is putting the moves on my baby!"
"I believe, your harlot daughter is the one putting the moves on my baby." Billy retorted.
"Oh. So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Tommy tried to glare menacingly at his friend.
"Affirmative."
"Don't make me come over there." Tommy and Billy were near hysterics.
"Bring it on, old man." The rest of the Rangers roared with laughter.
As the fathers continued their staged argument, the mothers watched their children kiss each other. The young lovers were oblivious to everyone else.
Trini moved over to where Kimberly stood. "Wouldn't it be cool if we were grandparents together?" She asked her long time best friend. Kimberly just smiled and stared that the kids.
Just then, the alarm sound. Aaron and Faith woke from their dream world and the five Rangers gathered around the view screen. A monster was attacking Angel Grove's business district.
"So much for my vacation." Faith sighed. "It's morphin' time!" She shouted as Red, Blue, Yellow, Black and Pink teleported out of the Command Chamber.
"Oh man, that stinks!" Rocky cried when he noticed the new rangers' telepathic abilities. "They can teleport without a communicator. When we were Rangers we had to walk five miles in the snow to the nearest communicator..." Adam smacked him. That joke was getting old, fast.
The old rangers watched as five multicolored super heroes did battle in Angel Grove. The nineteen old friends and one robot laughed as they started to joke about their own glory days as Power Rangers. They were all one big team, even the new ones who were out fighting. The were united in this secret that they had kept for so long.
Trini and Kimberly still stood together off to the side. "I wonder if our grand kids will be Power Rangers?" Kimberly thought out loud.
Trini stared at her. "What else would they be?"