Hate is such a luxurious emotion, it can only be spent on ones we love. - Bob Udkoff
"This will ruin everything!" He cried out enraged at the thin girl. The girl was in tears, but stood her ground. She looked exhausted and emotionally drained, and the anger exerting from her boyfriend was no aid to the situation. "You will get rid of it!"
Her eyes widened in horror. "But…"
Slap. Her face pulsed heat from where he had just hit her. A sob escaped, and her strength crumbled along with her body to the ground. "You will not argue with me, you whore!"
Finally, she found her voice. She would be strong. "No! I am keeping the baby!"
"I'll kill you for this! You've ruined my reputation, my life, everything, in just one meaningless night!" His words stung. They jabbed a knife into her heart over and over as they repeated in her mind. Before she could react, his large hands were wrapped around her slender neck and squeezing the life out of her.
She thrashed her arms, hitting his in vain repetitively. She dug her nails into his skin until her strength again failed her, and her body relaxed against her will. Her vision clouded, and she felt his hands being pulled from her neck. Far away, or near but she could not tell, she heard a voice screaming. It sounded like her boyfriend, but another was in the room as well. It was a girl, and she sounded furious.
A few moments later and her boyfriends terrifying shrieks were silenced. The girl's labored breathing slowed, but her vision cleared once more. Her savior had dark brown hair and was clad in jeans and a t-shirt. The brunette was staring intently into her eyes, detached concern filling them.
She could finally see her boyfriend; his body sprawled on the concrete a few feet away. His chest was not moving, and there seemed to be liquid seeping from underneath him. Her mind was too tired to contemplate this. She opened her mouth to say thank you, but nothing happened. The fog came back, and then darkness overtook her.
"Noooo!" Voices interrupted her attention. She looked to the side of her and saw the other four rangers staring at their fallen leader, as he impacted with the water. Her earlier blow had forced them to power down, and she could clearly see the terror and sorrow in their eyes.
The blonde turned towards her. "How could you?"
Following her lead, the three boys glared at the woman before them.
"I'm evil." Kimberly scoffed. "What'd you expect?"
"It's that metal thing that did this to you!" Conner declared loudly. "You've been brainwashed!"
The villainess burst with laughter. "Brainwashed? You think I've been brainwashed? Honey, who would have brainwashed me?"
"Divatox." Trent said briskly. "She would have been the one."
"Oh, but Divatox is gone. She was purified during The Wave. All her magic against me would have disappeared." Kimberly rolled her eyes. These rangers were so naïve. Just like she had once been.
"But you loved him!" Kira shouted.
"Once upon a time, kid." Kimberly replied, voice low. "That time is done. Au revoir!"
Blue mist surrounded her and she was gone.
The teenagers ran to the edge of the cliff and looked for any sign of their teacher. "It's no use. The current would have swept him away by now." Trent stated solemnly, turning away.
"No!" Kira let out a sob. Conner touched her arm in comfort, but he was having a hard time keeping his composure as well. Ethan fell to the ground, tears already dropping. His companions joined him soon after. He felt a hand clutch his, and saw Kira also grabbing Conner's. Trent sat further from the group, his head buried in his knees; his body was shaking.
They sat there, like that, until a black jeep pulled up in front of them. Kira jumped up. "Dr. O?"
"That's impossible." Ethan declared. The boys pushed themselves off the ground and stared as someone stepped out of their leaders car.
When the door shut, the person was revealed to be Hailey. She had a grim look upon her features, as if she already knew. She toddled slowly towards them, as they walked closer to her.
"Hailey, Dr. Oliver's…" Kira's voice trailed off, and she looked at the pebbles on the ground. She couldn't say the word.
Hailey nodded, her eyes swelling. "I know. Let's go to the café."
She placed an arm around the tiny blonde and guided her towards their teacher's jeep. Trent and Ethan continued after them in silence.
"This isn't how it's supposed to be." Conner murmured, looking back at the cliff where his mentor had fallen, as he followed the group.
For a moment, Kimberly almost felt guilty as she retreated from the students of the late Tommy Oliver.
But everybody knows, almost doesn't count. Kimberly thought of the ancient Brandy song as she landed from the teleportation in mid stride in one of the alleyways. She, unlike the Power Rangers, knew how important privacy was.
She exited the alley and persisted down the public sidewalk until she found her stranded motorcycle near Hailey's Cyberspace.
One thing she knew, she needed to get out of town quickly if she were going to pursue her next in line. First, she needed to find the position she needed to teleport to.
Kimberly lifted up the seat and lifted the small pack. She searched through the contents and smiled when she retrieved what she wanted, a crystal necklace. She folded her fingers over the crystal and closed her eyes. Softly, she whispered, "Crystal, guide me to my mind's intent."
Immediately the crystal glowed with a light pink hue and lifted out of her hand. Kimberly regarded the light with interest until it showed the very person she wanted to in projection. She recognized the location almost instantly and rolled her eyes. Some things never change.
She kicked the starter on her bike and revved the engine as her fingers wrapped around the handles. Her world became a blur as the motorcycle streaked to her destination. A few seconds after her departure, she arrived in the parking lot of a very familiar hangout. It was funny how this was exactly where she had met with him last.
The brunette knew she could not just go in there as herself, mostly because that would cause a huge dramatic scene that she really wanted to avoid. She was annoyed that it had taken her so long to get rid of Tommy and wanted this to be a quick visit.
She concentrated on the form that he might recognize; a surprise return from Antarctica was in need. As she approached the door, she caught her reflection in a window. An impish smile formed from her lips, and she brushed her orange bangs over the device that she had become attached to. Over the years, she had perfected her "morphing" and was able to pull off the outfit much like her old power ranger uniform, instead of having to constantly change back. This was much easier and more fun when it came to surprising people.
Kimberly, now disguised as "Krosa", quickly thought of a surname. She was not going to be caught off guard like the last time. The word Rose automatically came to mind. "Krosa Rose." She whispered, satisfied. It sounded girly enough.
A breath escaped passed her lips as she opened the glass doors. Instantly, she could hear his laughter and saw him hanging something from the ceiling. She felt a frown tug at her cherry colored lips. Who would he be laughing with if he were alone? It was after hours; she had figured he was cleaning up or finishing a late work out. Oh well. She sighed. It's too late to turn back now.
"Well, well…fancy meeting you here again!" She stated brightly, almost cringing as old memories of her youthful energy passed through her thoughts. Her target turned around when he heard her voice. His eyes immediately lit up at the sight of her.
"Krosa!" He exclaimed and swiftly approached her. When he reached her, he enveloped her into a hug. Kimberly stiffened at the intimate contact. He appeared to notice because he let go almost as soon as he had done it.
"Sorry." He added sheepishly. "I just got caught up in the moment. I've been seeing a lot of old friends lately." He grinned, his face reddening slightly. She forced a smile and nodded in "understanding".
"Oh yeah. I know what you mean. I'm…just not used to human contact anymore." She shrugged. "You know…polar bears."
He laughed. "Yeah, that makes sense. Sorry again, though."
"Hey, are they here yet?" A familiar male voice rang from the back. Kimberly's eyes widened. She inwardly cursed at her rotten luck. The old friends comment should have rung a bell. Her reflexes must be dimming. A man with light brown hair appeared from behind the counter, he was wearing a red shirt like Jason. What is it with people continuing to wear their color even after they had finished their time as rangers?
"Who is this?" He closed the distance between them. He looked slightly confused.
Jason placed a hand on his shoulder and another on Kimberly's. "Krosa, this is my good friend Rocky DeSantos. Rocky, this is Krosa…" He paused, realizing he didn't know her last name. She smiled, proud that she had thought ahead.
"Rose. Krosa Rose." She took her former teammates extended hand and shook.
"Krosa?" His lips pursed. "You looked familiar, but I doubt I would forget a name like that. Or that hair. Nice to meet you." He smiled as an afterthought.
"You too." She said softly. She really did have rotten luck.
"I hate to say it, but if you're looking for service…the Youth Center is closed." Jason joined in. Kimberly's eyes left Rocky's and found Jason.
"Oh, well that's all right. I was just stopping by." She shrugged again.
"But," Rocky added enthusiastically, "You should definitely stay! We're throwing a party!"
"No, no-" She began to say 'That's all right', but Jason cut her off.
"It's for Ernie…he's returned." He said with the same eagerness. "You didn't get to see him last time; besides, I'd like you to meet some of my other friends."
Oh, no. She thought in horror. That is definitely not happening. Her mind began to work in overdrive. She did not want to overexert herself by fighting two of them at the same time. It wore her out to do too much magic, so that was not an option. She would just have to wait for another time to finish this. They were both very skilled and could probably match her own if they worked together.
Before she could answer, the door opened behind them. She turned her attention to five people entering the building. Her thoughts turned even more sour as she recognized them; each, she had an opinion about.
Billy. Her heart softened slightly at the look of him, but the anger overcame the nostalgia. He couldn't really care for her anymore, considering he had never bothered to look for her when she had disappeared, and he was now holding tightly onto the blonde's hand. Then again, there was something about the atmosphere around him. He seemed…sad.
Kat. She really did not have that much against her. A villain had drastically changed her life as well; except, she was the one that ended up with a great life. Not her. Yet, she had taken a couple things from her. Her power coin. Her boyfriend. Her life. Kimberly had never really shown how much it affected her that Kat had been able to replace her so easily.
Karone. Her once best friend, but as Astronema. She looked happy, and was holding a platinum blonde's hand. Kimberly almost called his out, but that would blow her cover. She was not ready to reveal herself yet.
Zhane. Her eyes clouded over when she saw the face beneath the platinum blonde hair. He was the reason she could not save Hygelac. Her breath caught as she thought the name. She had never been able to think of the only man who had befriended her without sadness filling her heart. She had to regain her composure, but the next person would not help.
Andros. He was the very reason her Hulk Wannabe was not standing with her this very day. He was the cause of her going over the edge. She hated him almost more than she hated Tommy's nobleness. Almost more than Divatox, who had been the reason behind all of her hatred.
But she had to remain calm. She shook her head and noticed that they were all staring at her. Her eyes found Jason's concerned ones, apparently he had been trying to introduce her to them, but she had not responded.
"You all right, Krosa?" She saw Karone's eyes flicker with possible recognition as Jason said her fake name.
"Uh…yeah. Sorry, I just spaced a little." Kimberly forced another smile.
Jason's smiles met hers, but his was genuine. "Okay, good. I was just telling them about your trip to Antarctica. By the way, you never told me how that went?"
"Oh, it was great." She nodded. "Gotta love that weather." After the sentence came out, she cringed inwardly. That sounded as if she had just gone to Wisconsin or something. She had to come up with something better. "It was really interesting. I really found myself while I was gone. I guess that's what being separated from what you once were can do."
That was better. It wasn't even a lie.
Apparently, they agreed with what she had said because they were all nodding in comprehension.
"Do I know you?" Karone blurted out. "You look strangely familiar."
"Karone!" Andros whispered urgently.
"I don't know. You look familiar too. Are you famous?" Kimberly said the last word with a little more emphasis. Karone blushed and silenced herself, apparently still guilty about her Astronema persona.
"Sorry about that. She thinks she knows everyone." Zhane joked. "I'm Zhane." He extended a hand towards Krosa, which she stared at. She was not going to shake his hand. She would not betray Hygelac like that. The smile on his face wavered when she did not return his gesture. Satisfaction filled her body when she noticed his eyes were less bright.
Jason broke the awkward silence. "She's still not used to all of this."
His short explanation seemed to be enough for the five of them, but Rocky still seemed confused. She had shaken his hand after all. Kimberly saw him shrug off his thoughts, relieved that he was still an extremely laid-back guy.
"Hey, I need some help with the streamers, guys!" Rocky said, finally remembering why he had been in the back before.
"I'll help you." Karone, Andros, and Zhane chorused. Billy and Kat remained silent but headed over to the bar to make the punch.
Kimberly's eyes followed the couple. Her nerves were irritated. She had wanted to get all this over with. Visiting with them made her heart weary. She continued to stare at Billy as he sat on one of the barstools. He looked how she felt- worn out. Her frown increased, and she turned to Jason who seemed to be deep in thought as well.
"Jason, what's wrong with…the man in blue?" She tapped his arm to catch his attention. He jolted out of his reverie and shook his head while running a hand through his hair.
"That's Billy. He, well, I don't know how to say this." Jason paused and sighed. "Okay, a good friend of ours passed away a few years ago. She had moved away from Angel Grove, and even though visits were scarce between the two, they still remained as close as ever. She went missing one day, and he searched for her until the day he found out she was dead. Billy has never been the same."
Although her outsides remained concerned, her insides froze. The soul she didn't know she still had chilled her to the bone. She couldn't hear this. No. Not now, not after so many ears had passed with her believing one thing. By the look on Jason's face, she realized she was supposed to say something. "Oh, were they, uh, dating?"
Jason bit his lip and shook his head again. "No, I don't think so. They always had a soft spot for each other though. They were so different, yet so much the same. I would have liked to see them end up with each other. But Kat, the blonde, was there to help him through the whole ordeal. She helped him search too."
Kimberly chose to ignore the fact that Kat had helped look for her, and focused on the fact that she had taken yet another guy from her unintentionally. "You were good friends with her too? Did you help?"
His dark eyes clouded. "For a period of time, but I figured that it would be harder to move on if the worst were to have happened. I couldn't really bare with the hope anymore after a while. I mean, look what it did to Billy." He gestured to his blonde friend.
Kimberly could have understood his reasoning had she wanted to, but it was her life that he chose to move on from. "I feel sorry for him." She said softly. "I know what it's like to lose the people you love."
Jason's head hung a little lower as he dug his hands in his front jean pockets. Kimberly could tell he was uncomfortable with the conversation, but she wanted to continue this subject. It was time.
"What was her name?" She asked simply.
"Kimberly." Jason dwelled on her name. "Kimberly Hart. I loved that girl like my little sister. I'll always wonder what happened to her."
The move to Florida had to be the best and the worst choice of her life. She went to the Pan Globals, medalled, became independent, and basically grew up- away from the shallow valley girl she had once been. Then again, she also dumped her longtime boyfriend, lost contact with her closest friends, got kidnapped from Divatox when she tried to return for a visit, realized that her dream of going to the Olympics had diffused, became lost in her purpose, and got kidnapped by Divatox again.
She hated that with every decision she made, there was a good and a bad consequence.
"That's really sad. Why did she move to Florida?" Kimberly continued. She was interested in what he had to say about her. She wanted to know if he would let his true colors out and stop speaking so fondly of her.
Jason's eyes narrowed slightly. "She was involved heavily with gymnastics and received a chance to go to the Pan Global competitions."
Kimberly nodded. She had done a heck of a good job too. Unfortunately, none of her so-called best friends had been able to make it to her big day.
"You know, I don't remember mentioning that she moved to Florida. How did you know that?"
Shit. She knew she shouldn't have gotten so self-absorbed. It was the downfall of everyone.
"I…" Kimberly stuttered. "Lucky guess?"
"A bit too lucky. You guessed the right state out of 50. Did you know Kimberly?" His tone didn't seem accusing, just perplexed.
Kimberly pursed her lips. The cat was out of the bag. She didn't feel like lying anymore. "Isn't it funny how things are never as they seem? How you can never truly know someone, Jason Lee Scott?"
She sighed and slowly reached for the hairline above her forehead. His stare went from confusion to horror as the dark hair was revealed from underneath the orange. His jaw dropped. Rocky, who had been observing the "new girl" from behind Jason dropped the streamers he was pinning to the ceiling. Karone cursed at him because her end had dropped as well. When she turned around to see what he was gaping at, she almost fell off the ladder. Andros and Zhane simultaneously pivoted around, each of their faces paling.
"Kim?" Jason finally sputtered, his jaw never fully closed.
"Shocker, isn't it?" She grinned slyly, staring him straight in the eye. "That I could have been alive all this time?"
"Wha…why-why didn't you say anything before?" Jason stammered. She was slightly amused by the level of his astonishment. She scanned the rest of the crowed quickly. No one else had found their voices yet.
"It would have been easier had I not been trapped for a year in the services of Divatrox, Jason. By the time I got out of there, I had already found out the truth about my so called friends." She snapped. "Upset that you didn't recognize the woman you called a little sister?"
"What's the matter, Kim?" She heard Rocky say behind the original red ranger. "Why are you acting like this?"
There was a loud thump on the ground followed by a slight gasp coming from Billy. Kimberly's eyes rested on an unconscious Kat, lying on the cold hard tile. Great, that was her fault. Now she had taken that too? "I see she still fits perfectly in my shoes."
From the look in his eyes, she could see that Jason could care less about Kat lying on the floor. He wanted some answers pronto. With a small laugh, she shook her head. He was going to be searching for those answers for a long time. Well, until he was dead.
"Are you under a spell?" Jason questioned. That would have been the easy way out. Then they could somehow find a way to reverse the spell, and everything would be peachy again. She clenched her fists with pent up fury. The lights flickered as sparks flew out from the light bulbs.
"Why does everything have to be about a spell!" After the words left her mouth, she felt like laughing. She was a sorceress now after all. It made her sound like a hypocrite. "Why can't this ever be about you? Can you not fail at something, or do you have to blame it on something else?"
Jason's jaw had yet to completely close, the reality not completely hitting him yet. Kimberly's glare darkened when his reply never came. "Fine. Don't answer me. Even Tommy held a better conversation than this."
"You've already been to Tommy?" Rocky interjected. His eyes were lit with worry.
Kimberly slowly turned her head to stare him in the eyes and smiled as she stated, "He was a great fighter; he never gave in, even until the very end."
As she turned to leave, she felt a hand grab her forearm. She whipped around to face the aggressor and threw him her deadliest stare. Jason immediately dropped her arm with an astonished look on his face. A jolt of electricity had coursed through his body when he touched her. He shook his arm to ease the pain.
The others, minus Kat and Billy, were approaching her as well. She really needed to get out of here.
Jason finally spoke, "Kim, wait…"
"I did. For a year. I'm done waiting." She replied quietly. She turned on her heel and pushed the door open with as much strength as she could muster. The last thing she heard was the song "Lean on Me" playing on the portable radio. She shook her head at how ironic it was that that song would be playing at this very moment.
Billy watched her leave without saying a word. His normally logical brain had flown the coop. Not one of his thoughts made sense. It was only after he saw movement from his lower peripheral vision that he was able to comprehend what was going on.
Kim was alive.
Billy kneeled beside Kat and placed his palm on her cheek. "Kat," He paused. "Kat, wake up."
Her eyes slowly opened; her face contorted into a pained expression. "Wha, what happened?"
"What did just happened?" Rocky stood in the same spot, not ready to move.
"Kim is alive. But she's evil." Jason stated flatly.
"Evil." Karone echoed dully. "This is all my fault."
"Why do you say that?" Billy turned his attention away from Kat who was pushing herself into a sitting position.
"How do you know Kimberly?" Andros interrupted.
"How do you know Kimberly?" Jason returned quickly. Obviously, Kim seemed to be very familiar with the later generation Power Rangers as well as the early.
"I met her at the villain conference just before the Space Rangers were set in motion." Andros answered. "She did seem really out of place at the time. I hadn't realized that she was serving under Divatox though."
"Kim was a ranger with you guys?" Karone questioned with interest.
"Kim was a Power Ranger?" Zhane raised an eyebrow. Andros seemed just as surprised.
"Why didn't you tell us?" He turned to his sister.
Her cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry. After the whole Astronema guise, I was so confused about everything, and I guess I just wanted to forget everything about her." She stressed the last word with a slight shudder. Zhane put a comforting arm around the blonde. "I guess when I pushed Astronema out of my mind, I also forgot about the friendships I had while I was her. I forgot about Kim."
"How is that possible?" Billy murmured, not meaning for it to be as soft as it was said. Kat threw him a look, which he caught. She probably did not expect him to say something of the sort, considering their relationship.
"She killed Tommy." Jason said faintly.
"Now, we don't know that, Jase." Rocky placed his large hand on the original red ranger's shoulder and squeezed.
"Didn't you hear what she said? Am I the only one who understands this?" His volume increased as he spoke. "She has killed someone! This is really happening."
He had a point, but Billy still didn't want to believe it. Tommy was at home, grading papers during his free time away from the current Power Rangers. Kimberly was alive and happy.
Yet, his mind betrayed him. He knew that Kimberly, although her character had drastically changed, would not lie about such a significant thing, especially when she knew they could easily contact him to find the truth. She was a live, but she obviously was not a happy camper. She seemed to have blamed everything on them too.
He wanted to explain to her that he had never given up on her. Not completely. He had continued building his tracking device after her "death", explaining to everyone that it was just a precaution when really it could also conclude this Kimberly mystery.
Billy glanced at Kat. She was good at fooling everyone else about her feelings, but not him. He had always been able to acknowledge her true feelings. Right now, she was torn between happiness that Kimberly was alive, horror that Kim was angry with them, and sadness that she might lose Billy.
He could tell she was hurt by the comment he made before because of the way she seemed to retreat to the loving friend now that they were talking about the situation with Kimberly. She was again second to Kimberly, like so many other things in her life.
The genius had to let her know that even though Kimberly was back, he would not leave the woman who had helped him in so many ways since their ranger days. Although he had once loved Kimberly, maybe even more than a friend, Kat was the right one for him.
He gently stroked her hair with his fingers and flashed a reassuring smile as her eyes found his. The sides of her lips turned upwards in a small smile; she understood the meaning behind his gesture. Just before he rejoined the conversation, she mouthed "Thanks." He nodded and continued to stroke her hair.
"Jason, I believe we should design a plan to stop this before she gets to anyone else." His hand left Kat's golden locks, and he stood tall. He closed the distance between his once leader and leaned in so he could whisper, "I know this is hard for you…it is for me as well, but we need to get our act together. It's what we do."
Unshed tears glistened in the former red ranger's eyes. "I know, man, I just feel… terrible for not always believing you. You were right, Bill. She's alive."
Billy smiled sadly. "Jase, I don't blame you for wanting to move on, but blaming yourself will not save Kimberly."
"Do you really believe Tommy's gone?" His dark brown eyes met Billy's light blue ones.
The tables seemed to have turned. Before, it was Billy going to Jason for advice. Now it seemed that the leader needed reassurance from the great mind of someone who always appeared to have the answers. Since Zordon was no longer there to comfort them, Billy was naturally the next in line.
Billy really had no clue how to answer this. Tommy had a knack for surviving everything, but he would not have wanted to fight Kimberly back. The once blue ranger knew that the black ranger would have killed himself before bringing harm to his once true love.
Jason was still looking at him, pleading for an answer. "I…honestly? I don't know, but we can find out."
Jason nodded, though Billy could tell he was not completely satisfied with the vague answer. He watched Jason turn to the others and begin talking, but he wasn't really listening to what the ex-ranger had in mind.
The petite former pink ranger had reentered their lives and was immediately the center of attention. She had always been able to do that.
She was evil-supposedly-, angry…at them, unhappy with her life…enraged with everything. She was under no spell, yet she possessed magic. Divatox was no longer evil, so the ex-villain could not still have a hold on her mind. There was a strange metal device on her forehead that could very well mean something, but still one question rang through his mind: What kind of evil was Kimberly?
I am so sorry that it has taken over a month to update! I've had more than half of this written the whole time, but I didn't think it was good enough to post. I'm still not completely satisfied, but I felt horrible that I hadn't updated! I'll try to update quicker next time. I have the next chapter planned and ready to type, so it shouldn't take a month. Hah.
it does seem I've lost a few readers, but oh well. thanks to those who reviewed!
the online dreamer- thanks! I'm glad it didn't fail at being a good chapter. Yeah, thats completely how I feel about "The Great Tommy Oliver"too. he was a great ranger, but so were the other ones. I think he got too much credit. They made Kimberly too "damsel in distress" for my taste. And the sailor moon thing was hilarious. I used to love Sailor Moon. My friends I would pretend we were them. I was Jupiter. :)
IsabellaPaige- Sorry the next part took so long. :) I'm glad you weren't expecting it. Although, killing off characters seems to be habit for me in all my stories.
Funky in Fishnet- Yeah, I know her evil is weird. I'm having a hard time defining it myself. However, each day it becomes clearer to me. hehe
foasys.scaper- Yeah, I'm pretty sure it did, except...he's dead. And his body probably went into shock after the impact, so the pain was short. Tommy deserved a decent challenge anyway.
Daisyz- Haha, I almost didn't leave it there...but I needed to end the chapter. Otherwise it would have been more than 30 pages. I actually changed the beginning of this chapter to keep things open ended.
Ghostwriter- She might return soon, then again she might not. Who knows...well, I do, but we'll see.
hope you guys like!