Chapter 13- United
"You heard what Lord Mesogog said, isolate the Pink Ranger!" Elsa hissed as she and Zeltrax strode forward to engage the Rangers in battle.
Tommy had remarked earlier that this Tuesday had been going too well, and then sure enough an alert had come through from the Reefside Business District, Elsa, Zeltrax, Tyrannodrones and of course, a monster had arrived to make things difficult. Tommy had activated the Brachio Zord to release the other Rangers' Zords as the monster was enlarged almost instantaneously.
While Conner, Ethan and Kira took on the Rhinoback monster, Tommy and Kim were dealing with Zeltrax and Elsa.
"Black and Pink, that really doesn't go you know, very last season." Elsa quipped bringing her arm up to slam into Kim's face.
"Says the reject from the Matrix, how long ago did leather go out honey?" Kim snapped back, blocking Elsa's blow by catching her arm and twisting it up behind the cyborg's back. Elsa threw her head back to butt Kim in the face and the Ninja staggered back, her vision swimming at the sharp blow.
"So, how did you two meet? Palaeontology talk? Spandex convention?" Elsa asked, trying to pry out of Kim some hint as to her identity and the explanation for her unexpected appearance.
"We're old friends." Kim leapt into the air and delivered a punch to Elsa's stomach which sent her flying backwards onto the pavement.
"I can tell, your moves are so…outdated, you must be old." Elsa taunted as she regained her footing.
Kim growled in annoyance and met the black-clad female in a fierce fist fight, trading blows and blocks at lightning speed, not bothering to dignify that with a response. Her moves weren't outdated were they?!
Meanwhile, Tommy and Zeltrax were battling with their weapons a few metres away.
"I will have my revenge Black Ranger!" Zeltrax growled as he swept Tommy off his feet with his sword.
"I don't know what you're talking about Zeltrax, but then again I don't really care either, let go and give up." Tommy shot back as he stood again putting his staff to the ground.
"Brachio Staff, Wind Strike!" He called and a violent burst of air flew at Zeltrax knocking him off his feet in a shower of sparks. Elsa saw this and made a run for her partner, Kim in hot pursuit.
The two pairs of fighters stood together and stared each other down, Zeltrax and Elsa glaring darkly at Tommy and Kim who stood side by side, their stances mirroring each others.
After what seemed like an eternity locked in silent battle facing each other Elsa screeched "Attack!" and the two cyborgs rushed the senior Rangers.
"Black Ranger Power!"
"Pink Ranger Power!" The two both leapt into the air and simultaneously launched power kicks at Mesogog's henchmen, sending them both to the ground in a burst of pink and black light.
"Power Rangers!" Tommy and Kim were perfectly in time with each other, as they had been back in their early days, and the feeling was exhilarating, especially to Kim, having been so long absent from duty. They really were stronger when united, the Power Rangers were all about teamwork, but it seemed that Tommy had once again been fighting his own battles while letting the team fight theirs. Now at least the new Black Ranger had someone to look out for him as he did for the others.
Zeltrax helped Elsa to her feet and she pushed him away angrily as she recovered herself.
"You may have all the right moves now Power Rangers, but we'll see who has the last laugh. Lord Mesogog will make you wish you'd never been born." She threatened.
"I'm quaking in my moon-boots, aren't you?" Kim glanced at Tommy and brought a gloved hand to her covered mouth, imitating a yawn.
"Oh yeah, I've never heard that one before, very original." Tommy agreed, nodding vigorously.
"We've told you before. Tell your 'master' to give it up, because the Power Rangers are here to stay." He said strongly and Kim gave a short inclination with her head.
"We shall see." Zeltrax growled and the two lackeys exchanged a look before teleporting out in a flash of green light.
"That staff thingy of yours has some neat tricks." Kim remarked as the two walked towards Kira, Ethan and Conner who were returning from their successful Zord Battle.
"My Brachio Staff?" Tommy reminded her with a smirk.
"Yeah, that thingy."
"It's nice to see Kim getting all technical." Ethan remarked and Kim shot him a withering glance.
"Whoah, did it just get cold out here?" Conner remarked.
"Seriously Kim, you and Kira don't know how similar you are." Ethan said in a small rather terrified voice, glancing between the two females.
The two girls shared a look and high-fived with a laugh. "Girl Ranger Power!" Kim chuckled.
"It can only be a good thing if I'm similar to the greatest female Ranger ever!" Kira nodded.
"Oh I don't know about that, wait until you meet Trini and Aisha." Kim cut in, at the younger Ranger's tilted heads she could tell they were lost.
"Trini was my partner in crime, the first Yellow Ranger, and Aisha was her replacement once Trini left for a Peace Conference." The Pink Ranger explained, a little wistfully. "They're my total best friends, we always looked out for each other. You could not find two stronger, more powerful women, I promise you."
A strange warm feeling bubbled up in Kira's stomach. At meeting Kim she hadn't really thought about any of the other former Rangers, even though she had seen them on Dr. O's video diary. Now it stuck her that there was a whole Power Legacy of female Rangers behind her. Thinking back to the video Kira surmised that Trini must have been the pretty Asian girl with a sheet of long dark hair who wore lots of yellow.
"I can't wait to meet them." She said honestly, and Kim's smile was evidenced even behind her face mask, as it shone in her dark eyes.
Tommy watched this display with a smile of his own, he had worried somewhat about Kira not having another female in the group to bond with as other Ranger teams had, but now that Kim had arrived she was certainly helping the musician to show the softer side of herself, rather than the tough and proud tomboy exterior Kira usually displayed to keep in with the others.
"Come on guys, it's getting late, I know you have homework to do." Tommy reminded them sternly and the three groaned but began to slouch off.
"See you two tomorrow. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Conner called over his shoulder. Tommy made to shout after him but Kim put a gloved hand on his shoulder.
"Ignore the boy, if you respond he'll know he's getting to you." She advised with a giggle. "Let them have their fun, it's not often school-kids get the opportunity to rib their teachers, you know we'd have jumped at the chance if we could've."
"Yeah, but Miss Applebee always scared me too much to ever think of answering her back." Tommy confided, which made Kim laugh harder. When she had recovered she sighed and said,
"It means they trust you, they're not scared to talk to you like a human being, even if you're their teacher. You should be glad for that."
"And when did you get so wise?" Tommy asked her suspiciously.
"Let's call it woman's intuition. Momma knows best." Kim tapped her obscured nose and threw her arm around his broad back much as they used to do in the old days. She felt him tense slightly and withdrew her arm quickly, making as if she had been swatting a fly on him and embarrassed at her action.
"Got the rascal!" She announced tightly and held up her finger briefly as if to demonstrate a squished insect on it, but put it back down again too quickly for Tommy to see.
"Well, uh, let's get back." Tommy said, fumbling with the words. "It's your turn to poison us isn't it?" They had taken to cooking in rotation so Tommy didn't have to obsess over being such a bad chef all the time and so Kim could feel like she wasn't being a selfish guest.
"Sure is, and on today's menu is charred pepperoni pizza if it pleases my lord." She gave a low sweeping bow. Tommy chuckled at this.
"Sounds great."
"Well then I must not be explaining it right." Kim laughed and the two made for home.
"Master, did you succeed?" Elsa asked Mesogog as she and Zeltrax knelt before their evil commander.
"Yes, no thanks to the two of you…your incompetent blundering amazes…even me." Mesogog hissed as he rounded on the pair of them.
"I ask you…to separate the Pink Ranger from the others, and you cannot even succeed…in doing that. You," He fixed his beady gaze on Zeltrax, "were too busy pursuing your vendetta against Oliver, and by allowing yourself to be injured, gave the Black and Pink Rangers time… to regroup. But no matter, in the short while Elsa actually… succeeded in following orders for once…I was able to get a reading on the Pink Ranger's energy signature. Now all that remains…is to match the ranger source…to the civilian form. Sss sss sss." He sniggered with a triumphant leer.
"We start by scanning all those who fraternise with the good doctor, Rangers… are like animals. They stay in packs… for they are too weak to survive alone. If we find him, we find the identity of the Pink Ranger! Then were merely need to break her…from the pack. Now begin!"
"So when is your gymnastics demonstration, this Friday?" Tommy asked hesitantly taking a bite of what looked suspiciously like a perfectly cooked pizza.
"Yeah, Stacy is bringing the girls down Thursday afternoon so we can run through the routines, and we'll be doing it Friday morning in your assembly." Kim explained, watching Tommy hawkishly as he ate the first slice. Kim was very self conscious about her abilities as cook and had been attentive to the point of obsessive over the pizza.
Tommy sunk his teeth in and thought all was going well until he came to a layer of hard as ice dough in the middle. It appeared Kim had cooked the outside well enough, but hadn't defrosted it enough, so the centre was cold and stiff. At Kim's piercing look he bit into it harder and chewed affixing a fake smile on his face.
"Mmm, delicious." He said weakly giving a thumbs up.
"Tommy, honestly?" She insisted.
"Okay, it's kinda…frozen in the middle. A bit." He told her sheepishly.
"Oh no! I worked so damn hard on this pizza." She glared at her own plate as if this would cook it.
"Kim, don't sweat it, my oven is very disagreeable, it's not like I've produced anything better." Tommy attempted to placate her.
"Yeah, well, how hard is it to make a pizza? You follow the damn instructions on the box." Kim growled, attempting stubbornly to eat her slices. "Oh god, that's, that's just awful." She laughed as her teeth hit the frozen middle. "I should just be banned from doing this!" Tommy joined in, laughing lightly at the situation.
Kim threw her napkin at him. "Hey, you're not allowed to laugh at my misfortune!" She said indignantly. This certainly didn't stop Tommy who staggered over to the phone shaking his head.
"Another night of take-out then?" He offered as he dialled the pizza delivery place's number.
"One day we're gonna get this right." Kim shook her head, clearing the plates away and dumping the pizza disgustedly in the trash. "Maybe we should take cooking classes."
"Yeah, I mean we can't get much worse." Tommy said, before returning his attention to the phone and ordering the pizza.
A bleeping noise in the kitchen startled Kim. "Did I leave something on?" She questioned as Tommy hung up.
"Oh, no that just means that someone's trying to contact me on the video link downstairs." Tommy explained, leading the way down the steps to the basement. He stopped in front of the main control console and plopped himself down on one of the chairs, typing his access code into the computer system.
"It's kinda like a webcam on a normal computer, only bigger." He clarified as he opened up the video box. Displayed on the screen was a man of around thirty, with sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes, wearing a blue shirt open at the collar.
"Oh my god, Billy?!" Kim squealed leaping to Tommy's side to peer at the screen.
Billy blinked owlishly and his eyes widened as he registered the images on the screen.
"Kimberly? Morphinomenal!" He grinned and then looked at the both of them in turn.
"Wait a moment, are the two of you-"
"No!" They both cut him off, perhaps a little too vehemently. Billy blinked again at the onslaught of sound crossing the connection.
"I see." He gave a small smirk and received twin glares from his audience.
"Kim came to town for a visit, and due to the…complications, she's staying with me." Tommy explained, somewhat defensively.
Kim glanced at him with a raised brow but the Black Ranger didn't seem to notice.
"Did you get my email?" Tommy asked Billy who seemed to have recovered from the excitement of seeing Kim and was back to business.
"Yes, congratulations Kim, it must feel quite pleasurable to be back in uniform again." Billy turned his attention back to the Pink Ranger who smiled brightly. He had heard all about Kim regaining her powers and Mesogog's interest in the Pink Ranger from Tommy, but he hadn't expected her to be staying with their former leader- her ex- and looking so cosy while they were about it- Tommy had neglected to mention that…
"It really is, I missed being a Ranger so much more than I realised. So Tommy told you already?" She narrowed her eyes at her housemate who shrugged embarrassedly.
"When I saw you stagger after using the energy balls to take out the Tyrannodrones, I thought I had better contact Billy after all and tell him what was happening. I didn't want to risk anything happening with you and not being prepared for what it could mean." He explained and Kim nodded, rather touched by his concern. She brushed her chestnut hair behind her ear somewhat nervously and looked to Billy on the screen.
"So, what does it mean Professor Cranston?" Kim said, chewing her nail as if waiting for a diagnosis. Tommy reached over to grasp a neighbouring leather chair and pull it behind Kim so she could sit and talk to Billy comfortably. She smiled gratefully at him and Billy observed the two silently but with a hint of amusement. When their attention was back on him he began.
"Well, from what I can deduce from the information Tommy has provided me with and previous knowledge about our Ninja Powers, without the support of a Power Coin your link to the Morphin Grid has been frayed, but it isn't gone completely. As the Spirit of the Crane- while a composite of your strengths, energies and personality- enabled you to connect to the grid as it was formed with the help of the coin and your energy in the first place, Ninjor's power linked us and our animals with the grid. The Spirit of the Crane is an integral part of your metaphysical form, it is part of who you are." He clarified. "It was strengthened and created by the Coin and the power of Ninjor, but your powers are still unique to you, powered by the goodness of your soul and the strength of your heart. But, as I said, without the Crane Power Coin, you cannot call upon the abilities of the Ninja without cost to yourself. Before the Morphin Grid powered everything, the Crane was just a representation of your spirit, which enabled your abilities but did not power them. Now, when you use the Ninja Powers it drains your own energy rather than that of the grid."
Kim's eyes had taken a glazed over look, as they often did when Billy used the long words that she had no idea about. She got the gist however, from him explaining everything in more simplistic terms.
"So, what your saying is, when we were Ninja Rangers before, because of our coins the grid powered our actions and our Spirit Animals were just symbols of our inner selves which helped us take our form and have our special abilities. But now that I don't have a coin, the Morphin Grid can't power me, it just allows me to do these things, but whatever energy I use for these special moves is my own."
Billy nodded, glad that she grasped it without him having to explain it all again. "Affirmative."
"So is Kim's energy replenishable, or in using the abilities will she be draining power that she can't get back?" Tommy broke in, voicing Kim's unspoken question.
"Although I can't be sure without examining her in action, I would hazard a guess that as the Crane is part of Kim, she will not be losing anything by calling on her special abilities, it will just take some time for the energy she uses to be regained. Take for example, someone running a marathon, they will be tired and worn out with the prolonged physical exertion afterwards, but that won't impede them from being able to run again at the same pace afterwards, it will just take some time to recover themselves and build the energy back up. So Kim will feel tired if she exerts her powers too heavily, but with time she will recover them. You just have to be careful about tiring yourself out in a battle as this will weaken you and leave you vulnerable for a time until you give the powers time to recuperate." Billy rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.
"I have some paperwork to do and a conference to go to this week, but I can try and clear my schedule and visit early next week to check you over Kimberly?" He offered looking between them.
"Billy I don't want you dropping everything to come do a physical on me, I'm fine, you said yourself that my powers are renewable, it's really not important." Billy looked over at Tommy who shrugged and Kim glared.
"Don't you look at him for permission Billy Cranston he's not in charge of me." She chided and Billy sighed.
"Very well, but if you begin to feel unwell or you're worried about anything, call me." Billy said firmly.
Kim nodded and then her eyes brightened. "Hey, is Trini there?"
Billy shook his head in the negative. "She's on a dig in the Arizona Desert until Saturday, but I'll tell her all the news when I speak to her, she'll be thrilled for you."
"Thanks Billy, get her to call me when she has the time okay, it's been way too long."
"I shall do so Kim, and keep in touch."
Kim nodded and grinned, it was great to see Billy after so long, the original Rangers hadn't all been able to get in the same place at the same time since Jason's birthday party the year before, and since then they'd hardly had the time to communicate at all. She was expecting Tommy and Billy to say their goodbyes, but when they both remained silent, looking pointedly at her she frowned and then coloured in realisation.
"Oh, um, well I'm gonna go make us some coffee. See ya Billy."
"May the Power protect you Kim." Billy said sincerely and Kim smiled appreciatively before heading up the stairs.
Tommy turned his attention back to Billy and ran a hand through his spiked hair.
"So give me the truth here Billy, though from what you've been saying I think I know the answer already. If Mesogog manages to get his claws on Kim, and tries to drain her energy, what would happen to her?"
Billy's expression was grim. "If Mesogog succeeded in draining Kim's energy, one of two things could happen. Either she would be completely destroyed, unable to live without the spirit of the Crane, because so much of her is a part of it, and vice versa. Or, perhaps a worse outcome, she would survive, but would be nothing but a hollow shell, devoid of emotion or heart. She probably wouldn't even register her surroundings let alone anything else, she'd be like a vegetable." His voice was low and shaky, the thought of seeing one of his closest and oldest friends in such a situation affected him deeply.
Tommy nodded and rubbed his hand over his face tiredly. "I thought as much, Mesogog hinted at his plans when he got hold of me."
"You know, Tommy, if Kim's out in active Ranger duty with the rest of you it puts her at great risk. And you know the implications-"
"You don't have to remind me Billy, but you know Kim, she's stubborn, she wants to help and she doesn't want protecting. I figure if she's with us at least I'll know where she is and be able to help her out if she gets into difficulties."
Billy did not look reassured but gave a short nod anyway. "I'll try and get out there as soon as I can so that I can give her a physical examination and see if we can't figure out how to enhance her powers."
"Thanks for your help here man, I really don't have all the answers, so I really appreciate the input."
"Any time Tommy. Look after Kim, you always have, and she needs it now more than ever."
"I always will Billy. I'll catch up with you soon."
"May the Power protect you both." Billy's mouth twitched up into a ghost of a smile as Tommy nodded his farewell and broke the connection. Yes he prayed the Power would protect them both,
God knows we're gonna need it.
Kim stood and slipped silently away from the top of the stairwell, the prediction of her potential fate echoing in her ears.
I am truly sorry for updating a day late this week guys, I was unexpectedly away from home so I couldn't update last night, so I'm sorry for all those who were expecting me! A little cameo from Billy there, as I've had numerous requests for original Ranger appearances, and as I've already mentioned Billy's involvement it seemed like a good time to bring him in, look out for chapter 15, you may get another old friend visiting! Next chapter will also see the return of answers to reviews but because all of my GCSE exams have been happening the past three weeks I don't have time right now to reply to you all individually, sorry! Thanks for coming to read and thanks even more if you review!
See you next friday!