Chapter 9- New Beginnings
"Now do you believe that there was more to those two than anyone was telling us?" Kira smirked in an I-told-you-so tone.
"We bow to your infallible wisdom and knowledge oh Yellow one." Ethan mock bowed. "Man if only you could be as smart on the game codes to the new Mighty Dragon Hunter Xenos game that's out."
Conner and Kira looked at him in confusion and he shrugged it off. "Never mind."
"I wonder what is up with Dr. O and Kim, I mean the way Hayley said it, sounded like they hadn't talked in years then we find them groping each other in the lab? Can you say sexual tension?" Conner grinned.
"Maybe you can't." Kira teased, "And I would hardly call hugging groping."
"Ah but you can never tell Kir, who knows what they'd have gotten up to if we hadn't broke them up." Conner responded.
"Well we did leave them alone again once we left genius, if they wanted to have a quick smooch in the cockpit of the Brachio Zord, who would know?" Ethan reminded them.
"It's none of our business if they do." Kira scolded them. "He's our teacher, would we really be that keen to find out if it was anyone else?"
"Says the one who insinuated their involvement in the first place!" Ethan laughed. "And he's not just any old teacher, he's like the best Power Ranger, our team-mate, and he's kinda our friend. And Kim is just... cool!"
"Well I just hope she sticks around a while, it'll be good to have another girl on the team now we know she's still a Ranger. Gives me a relief from all this testosterone poisoning." Kira sighed.
"We'll head back round there tomorrow and see what's gone on, maybe having a girl his own age around will make him stop using the stern teacher voice on us all the time." Conner said hopefully.
"You never know, maybe she likes his stern teacher voice." Ethan grinned.
Kira just gave an exasperated sigh.
Kim's little talk with Tommy had made her more than a little twitchy. Every shadow she passed on the way back to the hotel had her on edge, every tree could've held some…Tyrannodrones- as Tommy had called them – ready to jump on her.
When she finally got back to the hotel she jogged up the stairs to her room and locked the door with the bolt as well as the key.
"Just 'cause you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you." She reminded herself and shut the curtains. "Tommy really does have a way of making you feel all safe and warm doesn't he Kimmy?" She said sarcastically, remembering her earlier lovesick memories of him.
She saw a message blinking on her room's machine once more.
"I guess Tommy started a trend." She shrugged and hit the playback button.
"Kim it's Jason, I've been trying to get you on your cell all day, and you haven't been answering your room phone either. You've got me worried Terror, that phone is usually attached to your ear. Give me a call."
Kim pulled her phone from her back pocket and looked at it, there were eight missed calls and it was on silent. She scolded herself, Jason was the typical big brother, if he didn't hear from her and she didn't respond to her phone he automatically would think something was wrong. Trini was the same.
She hit the green button to redial the number and Jason picked up on the third ring.
"Hey, this is Jason."
"Do you really answer your phone like that?" Kim joked and she could hear him suppress a growl.
"And just where have you been young lady?"
"Okay dad if you must know I was at Tommy's."
"Reaaally. You just can't stay away from the guy can you?" Jason quipped, but she could almost hear him doing his victory dance over the phone.
"Quit dancing."
"Sorry."
"And for your information, he wasn't even there half the time. He arrived later."
"Ah, breaking an entering, a lost art form."
"Yeah I know, but it turned out the Dino Rangers and Hayley were there and they made me very welcome, well at least the Rangers did, to the point of hero worship. Always fun."
"I'll say. So where was Tommy?"
"Captured by Mesogog." Kim said in a lazy offhanded sort of way.
"What? Is he okay?" Jason asked in concern.
"Well duh Jase do you think I'd just be sitting here happy as a clam if he wasn't?"
"That's not funny Kim." Jason said sternly.
"Oh like you haven't done it to me tons of times." Kim said dismissively. "Anyway! Better news, he's the new Black Dino Ranger!"
"No way, that bastard he's had more comebacks than Madonna." Jason sighed.
"I know, but I'll tell you his ass still looks as cute as ever in spandex."
"That was way too much information!" She could hear his grimace and laughed.
Jason added. "If you're going to objectify my friends give me warning first okay? That's what Trini is here for."
"Sure thing. I also found out just how deep the rest of you have been in on all this business with Tommy thank you very much. You're all much more sneaky than I gave you credit for."
"Yeah, sorry about all that Kim, but you know it wasn't our right to tell-"
"You don't have to apologise Jase, I know why you did it. Just let me know, is Zack in on the fun too, as Tommy said you and Billy were involved, which meant Trini was too."
"Zack keeps in contact with Tommy, so yeah he knew, but he didn't help out like Billy and Trini did. I think he bought pizza and beer round when he dropped in to visit."
"Well that's good enough. You'll all just have to buy me something pretty to make up for it."
"So, did you two talk?"
"Yeah." Kim sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"That good huh?" Jason laughed.
"My gosh, it was so intense Jase. We both found out some things that we didn't want to know, but I think we definitely needed to."
"Let me guess, a large part of that involved Kat huh?"
"You could say that. Anyway, we've moved past it now, I guess we consider each other friends, we're gonna start trying to act like it again."
"So when are you leaving Reefside?"
"Ah, there's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about."
Jason remained silent but his unvoiced question was there. He didn't need to ask her to explain this time, she wanted to say it.
"Another thing, Tommy uh…enlightened me to, was that because I received the Ninja powers of the crane back when I was a Ranger, I have a lot of residual energy left from that, and now that the Ninja powers aren't used by Kat, and as the Crane will always be inside me as my spirit animal, I'm able to morph into the Pink Ninja Ranger, even without my coin."
"Wow, Kim, that's huge! How does it feel?"
"Weird, but in a really good way. It's something I never dreamed I would get to do again, it's just amazing! You really don't appreciate being a Ranger 'til it's gone."
Jason laughed. "Well, now you me and Tommy have all made comebacks, the other three will be green with envy." Kim swallowed any jokes she could make about being green with evil and got to the real problem with her powers.
"Yeah, it's great. It's just, apparently now Mesogog has been alerted to this big increase in power in Reefside, and that would be me. So now I'm number 1 on evil's most wanted list. He's looking for a way to increase his energy, to make him all powerful or whatever, and apparently he's looking for me to be his new battery."
"So what're you saying, how soon are you leaving?"
"I'm not, right now, Tommy reckons if I make to leave Meso-thingy will find me, and if I'm on my own he'll be able to target and capture me no problem, and we can't risk that. According to what Hayley was telling me earlier, he's managed to capture both Tommy and Kira already, so picking me up will be no biggy once he knows who I am. So Tommy's offered to let me stay with him until we get Mesogog off my case."
"I'm sure you're devastated." Jason commented dryly.
"That's enough out of you, I'm only doing it because I know Tommy knows this guy better than anyone else around here, I'm not gonna argue if it's gonna get me killed or turned to Power Mush. Tommy's smart and Hayley's a genius they'll figure a way to fob him off."
"And what about your gym?"
"I've got Becca, Stacey and Missy to hold the fort back there, they do most of the teaching anyway I just oversee and pay the bills."
"You do more than that." Jason chided her, he had observed Kim had taken to selling herself short a lot since she stopped being a Ranger and broke up with Tommy.
"Yeah maybe."
"And what about your gymnastics display you had planned at the gym?"
"That might fit in well with the situation." Kim told him with a smile.
"You're plotting something." Jason noted.
"Not really, I had an offer a few weeks ago from a…Principal Ransel, no… Principal Randall I think it was, she's the Head of Reefside High. She wanted me to organise a gymnastics demonstration at one of their assemblies, if I'm here anyway I might as well arrange for the girls to come here instead. It's not like I don't need the money."
"Randall, she must be Tommy's boss. Yeah, why not, it'll probably make him look good to be associated with a silver medal winning gymnast, she'll probably like him even more once you've done your stuff."
"I'll call Stacey tomorrow and get her to tell the girls. Angel Grove isn't far from here anyway, they can bring the bus over or something. And it'll be a good way to get my mind off this Mesogog problem and back to gymnastics. A little distraction never hurt anyone."
"Yeah, what's the danger in a school demonstration?" Jason agreed. "So from now on I should call you at Tommy's huh?"
"I guess so."
"You know, if you need me or the others, I bet we could come up there no problem. Safety in numbers remember?"
"Jase you guys all have lives now, and I have Tommy and the other Dino Rangers looking out for me, I'll be fine!"
"Just promise me if you have any trouble-"
"-I'll call one of you. I promise!" She added, knowing he was about to make her say the words.
"Alright, I'll talk to you soon. Stay out of trouble."
"Oh, You know me." Kim said dismissively.
"Yeah. Stay out of trouble!" Jason laughed.
The next day, the three teens and Dr. Oliver were happily ensconced in Hayley's Cyberspace after a hard day of monster fighting and homework set for the weekend. Tommy had yet to inform his students and partner in crime that he had invited Kimberly to live with him temporarily. He was building up to it, and as Hayley set down a cup of steaming black coffee in front of him he decided he should take the plunge.
"There's something I should tell you guys, and I don't want any witty comments out of it," He looked pointedly at Conner who raised his brows and leant back on the sofa with his arms folded waiting for the revelation.
"I invited Kim to stay with me while she's here." At this Hayley's mouth opened to comment and he swiftly held up his hand.
"You need to hear me out." Hayley shut her mouth and nodded, taking a perch on the arm of the sofa where Kira, Ethan and Conner were sitting across from Tommy.
"Hayley, remember you were telling me earlier that the computer had picked up an energy reading that was off the charts from the day Kim came to see me?"
"Yes, but you didn't notice it because of the fight, you mentioned this earlier Tommy what's your point here?" Hayley frowned, she wasn't used to being out of the loop and was puzzled by Tommy's cryptic mood.
"Well Mesogog did notice it, and that was the reason for the fight. The energy came from Kimberly as she still has the powers of the crane from when we were the Ninja Rangers. So now she's a target, you know Mesogog is looking for power to help him destroy human civilisation, and she has a lot of it, more than enough to make Mesogog's dream a reality. I don't know all the details of it yet, I'm still figuring out the implications here, but I know that she has the potential for a lot of power. So Kimberly is staying with me, so we can keep an eye on her and see what Mesogog's next move will be. It's only temporary and it's for her protection." Tommy added emphasis to his last sentence, knowing that his students would be eager to read something into the situation.
"Tommy, no offence here, but you've only just started talking to her after about eight years of no contact, are you sure this is what you want, you're putting yourself under a lot of pressure here." Hayley pointed out.
"It's not a question of what I want, it's a question of necessity. Kimberly is in danger, she's one of my oldest friends and team mates and it's my fault that there is any of this mess with Mesogog in the first place." Tommy responded.
"Tommy you have to stop blaming yourself for Mesogog, it was not your fault." Hayley said insistently, standing up to try and intimidate him into submission, she should've known better as he too stood up to argue his point.
"He's using my experiments and targeting me and anyone I'm in contact with, if I hadn't got involved with Anton Mercer in the first place there wouldn't have been any of my work to steal." Tommy countered.
Conner, Kira and Ethan shifted uncomfortably in their seats, they each had a feeling that this was not a conversation they were supposed to be overhearing and not an argument that was new, and they remained silent at the exchange sharing glances between them. Conner coughed softly after a few moments of Tommy and Hayley's discussion.
"Ahem. Guys, this is probably a fight you wanna save for another day, it sounds like it could go on forever and we need to know the deal here." Both adults turned to look at the three.
"You're right, sorry guys." Tommy apologised sheepishly as he sat back down again tiredly.
"Anyone for refills?" Hayley asked to change the subject, grabbing the cups as if this was her reason for standing in the first place.
"So, what is the deal?" Ethan asked, handing his glass over for a top-up, "Kim's gonna stay with you until we know how Mesogog's going to act?"
"Pretty much. That way we'll all be on hand if Mesogog does manage to locate her, and we can stop him if he tries to attack. Then she can move out as soon as the problem's solved."
"Which will be?" Kira queried with a raised brow.
"Whenever Mesogog loses interest or is out of our way for good." Tommy said with finality.
The three knew better than to argue with that tone.
"And when we go out to fight Mesogog and his goons, she'll stay at base with Hayley so she's out of the way." Tommy added.
"From what I've heard of Kimberly, it doesn't sound like she likes the type to stay out of the action when people are in danger. Have you even mentioned this to her?" Hayley asked perceptively.
Tommy shifted awkwardly and Kira resisted the urge to laugh at how Kimberly already made Dr. O act like a shy teenager again.
"It hasn't come up yet." He muttered, unappreciative of how easy it seemed to be for everyone to embarrass him in front of his students. "I'll tell her tonight when she moves in." He instantly regretted his choice of words but there was no indication of that apparent on his face.
When he and Kimberly had been new in their relationship he had dared to think about their future together, as any hopeful young lover does, he had spared thoughts about how they would grow up together, how he would propose to her, and their wedding day, the birth of their first child, their distant futures spiralling out in front of him as something to work towards. He remembered thinking about them moving in together, perhaps he would save money and buy a house for them to share, or perhaps they would move in to where one of them already owned. He had imagined moving day, Kim pulling up in her car with boxes labelled carefully with her flowing handwriting, cases of brightly coloured clothing, how he would grab all the boxes and dump them all in the hallway before she even had time to think, then he would rush out to the car and lift her out, and carry her over the threshold like they were newlyweds and she would sit in his arms and kiss him, and everything would be perfect.
After being a Ranger for a time he realised that dreams of the future should be replaced with dreams of the moment, that at any second he could lose Kimberly or she could lose him, the odds were always against a Ranger ever finding true security and happiness while on duty. There were so many risks associated with being a Ranger, and losing his powers had only reinforced that. So when they had been together he had made every effort to let Kim know how much he loved her, giving her even the smallest gifts that always brought a smile to her face, he never wanted her to be in any doubt about how much he cared about her. But still in those uncertain times, he had kept his hopes and dreams for the future, and looking back now, it was almost heartbreaking to realise that not one of his dreams for the future had come true, especially those concerning Kim and even for a time, Kat. It made him wistful for their uncertain teenage days, as the innocence that accompanied youth also provided courage, hope and faith that everything would work itself out in the end.
The three newest Rangers exchanged glances as Dr. O had retreated inside himself once more, lost in memory. Kira could guess where her teacher's thoughts travelled back to, and Hayley knew all too well, having spent much time in college observing Tommy lose focus and start lamenting his past when something she said triggered a memory. Ethan and Conner just looked at each other and shrugged.
"Earth to Dr. O?" Ethan leant forward to try and snap their mentor out of his daze.
Tommy shook his head and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, guess I zoned out there for a minute." He stood and ran his fingers through his dark hair for no other reason than to give his hand something to do. "I better get back to the house, those pop quizzes won't write themselves."
This was met by a groan from his students.
"Oh Dr. O!" Conner moaned.
"I thought Mesogog was supposed to be the bad guy!" Ethan muttered grabbing his bag from the ground and slinging it over a shoulder.
"Tell Kim we say hi." Kira added as she grabbed her guitar case and stood too.
Conner stood with no further comment, but offered a nod to Dr. Oliver and Hayley, and followed the other two out.
Tommy sighed and turned as he felt the weight of Hayley's hand on his shoulder. The red-head smiled sympathetically but her eyes were serious as she accompanied him to the door.
"I hope you know what you're doing." She said solemnly.
Tommy nodded and pursed his lips as he left the café.
"So do I."
I wasn't too keen on this chapter myself, all filler no thriller, but I suppose it needs to be done to get everyone caught up and give you a little insight into everyone's thoughts. Next chapter, I think might be a lot more to your liking! But first, I'll address some of the questions from the reviews-
Tomgirl27- Yes, the rangers did have Ninjetti powers, but they were called Ninja Rangers in the TV series and the Ninjetti powers kinda fell by the wayside in the series, there were many similarities between the two sets of powers, the only differences were that the Ninja headpieces covered up everything except the Rangers' eyes in the series and the Ninjetti powers only covered the bottom half of the face. Ninja Storm had completely unrelated Ninja Powers, as their powers were formed from the elements and the MMPR Ninja powers were linked to the Spirit Animals. Hope that clears that up for ya. No Kim didn't technically get a date with Skull although I never said she did, she did have a lot of unofficial almost dates with him which were usually the products of Rita's spells that Kim broke off as soon as the spells were removed (examples being in Power Ranger Punks, a Bad Reflection on You etc) but she did consent to dance with him in 'The Potion Notion' after she had earlier hurt his feelings. I'm such a font of useless information aren't I? Lol. Anyway, thanks for reviewing, hope I answered some of your questions there!
A lot of you were wondering when the Tommy/Kim interaction would heat up, my suitably vague answer to you is this, a lot sooner than you think...kinda XD
Thank you all who reviewed, I'm glad I'm getting positive responses for the choices I'm making in this, I just hope I don't disappoint you! Be well, see you next chapter or on the reviews page!
xXx