-1Karone arrived on the scene just as Siena let loose her unknown gift. As Karone saw this before her eyes she doubled her speed.
"You're not dead." She said snapping Sofia out of her thoughts of victory. "You're just tapping into a hidden power."
Sofia snickered, giving Karone a once over look in distaste.
"Sorry…You can't help her…You don't understand her…" Then Sofia's voice changed to a meeker approach as she spoke to the apparition. " Siena, trust me, my Mis-Friend…She can help you."
Siena's eyes portrayed every feeling she was.
"I-I…there's a chance that you can return me back to normal?" The clarity of Hope, was implied in the words.
Karone saw the urgency of the situation. With delicacy she said, "No. You can put yourself back into your body. I know you can…I can guide you through it."
It took Sofia some time to comprehend that Karone was more than just a passersby. Sofia had to fight Karone or they'd lose the victim they needed.
"After all this time…Your sister," Lexi said addressing Andros, "Is still always at the top of her game."
Lexi watched the screen fascinated to be able to a Ranger, encountering a problem, personally.
Andros nodded in response. It wasn't that he was afraid, he knew only to well that she could take care of herself, it was just a brother's instinct to protect another sibling.
Tommy turned to his daughter as he brought out a gift-wrapped box. He handed it to Lexi.
"It's for you, but don't open it just yet…" He instructed.
She gently pulled it close to her, an adoring look, graced her face.
"I don't…I don't understand…When do I-"
She exclaimed even as they looked back at the screen.
"You'll know when the time is right." Was his vague response. She gave in on the question for now. Content she put it in her bag, that was now on her shoulders. However, before they even were granted to see Siena turn ghost on them, the screen went blank. A staticky sound resonating from across the room in the speakers. Next pitch black consumed them, they lost their feed completely.
Lexi immediately looked to her dad, eyes wide. She may not have been a real ranger but it didn't take one to understand what was happening. She could barely make out his form but that didn't matter so much because she could sense that he was near.
"Maybe it's just a glitch…" Tommy entering a few codes on the keyboard. While Andros tried another set to return the lights. The clicking of the keys the only sound in the room.
With an aggravated snarl, Tommy reached into his pocket and pulled out his communicator. Considering the situation he really only had one choice. He transmitted the link and connected with his old friend.
"Hayley….Are you there?"
He asked.
"Dad." came Lexi's warning voice, "who's sh-" Although no one could see her expression it was full of confusion and sadness.
She was cut off by Hayley's reproached voice.
"Tommy its three am…Why don't we go back to bed and talk about this in the morning." An innocent sentence but Lexi took it all wrong.
"So much for not cheating on mom!" Her eyes filled up with salty tears that stung. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. Body trembling with anger and regret.
Tommy snapped, "Lexica! Go wait on the ship. I'll be there In a moment to talk to you.
His face pained as he almost broke at the terrible words his daughter had just claimed. He loved Kim, he loved her so much that he had given her up. It was the hardest thing he eve had to do. His mind drifted back towards all the wonderful memories him and Kim had shared. It was Hayley, who snapped him back, as she became fully awake at his sharp command. She hadn't realized his daughter would be there…wait…
"Tommy? What's going on? You have a daughter?"
"We need you to go and see if there's anything headed our way. We didn't detect anything however, we have lost all other communications and the lights went" he heard a loud crash and a humanly curse, come from his daughter's way. " out."
"Dad the door won't open!" Lexi gave it a kick, which only resulted in her wincing in pain.
"Andros," Tommy started, "do you mind giving her a hand."
"Yeah sure." was the response as he made his way, careful not to walk into the table. He found Lexi and stopped her.
"A door is not a punching bag." He chastised her. Waving his hand in front of the censor, "It just needs a little help, and you're to short to reach the censor."
Grumpily she responded, stamping a foot, "I am not!"
"Fine. If you think you can do it by yourself give it your best shot," Andros retorted moving far away from the door. In order to give her plenty of space to work. Which to her credit she did.
Meanwhile Hayley and Tommy once more were working together to figure out this new inconvenience.
"Tommy you weren't trying to fix something were you, " she asked, attempting not to laugh.
"Very funny," he said sarcastically, "but no…It was right after we were watching Karone go help some girl before this evil villainess took her." In the seconds that it took to come up with that solution they both exclaimed.
"Uh oh,' Then Tommy spun around, fear contemplated his entire features. His body grew numb, chest tight, he had to get his daughter out of here. Now.
"Lexi, go the back-" He hollered out to Andros and Lexi but was only rewarded with an ear piercing sound. One that broke glass. It had been a bomb, to be exact a low level amount of c4 had been placed on the other side of the door that Lexi had been inches from.
The impact brought her down in seconds. The door crushing her as her head slammed against the hard surface of the floor. No sound could be heard from her ears. Everything grew rather dark.
Andros who'd been sitting on a chair had been blown back by the force but his reflexes allowed him to come out of that with no more than a few cuts.
"Lexi!" Screamed Tommy! Smoke had filled the room, intoxicating the air. It also helped preserve the darkness that had latched itself onto them.
He coughed, covering his mouth. Running over to where he knew the door had been. Andros was already there lifting the inches thick, metal door, from her now bruised body. Soot covered a side of her face, lips pale as snow.
"I've got the door, pull her out from beneath it," Andros told the spooked Tommy. He scooped his daughter up into his arms, as slowly as possible. As he lifted her, she moved slightly, groaning.
"My head."
"Shh," was his response, "don' waste your energy. You were hit hard." He gulped, how could he had put his daughter in such danger? He hated himself for this. He couldn't lose her. His precious daughter. Only daughter. The only connection he had left to Kimberly. His throat convulsed, holding back tears.
Another cough erupted, her split lip bleeding even more. Her eyes fluttered a moment.
"Was it a truck?" She asked him in a joking manner. She moved a hand with minimal pain as she checked to make sure that her ribs weren't broken. Her head however, she was in no mood to move. It felt as it would explode.
"Tommy what happened" Hayley calmly asked them.
"We're under attack…" Tommy started but when he brought his eyes back up he started to see a figure appear out of the swirling, settling smoke, fumes and soot. "Andros, we've got company," he whispered to his left.
"Tommy?" This time his best friend's voice was none to patient. He imagined she probably had her headset on, folded arms and a ticked off look crossing her face. He shook himself into concentrating. His purest reminder: the innocent, fighting form, lying pitifully in his arms.
The once figure had turned into figures. A sole female came from the billowing smoke. Tommy and Andros heard the click of her heels before truly being able to see her.
Tommy who'd been in a crouching position, now, as carefully as possible, picked his daughter up off the floor.
"Andros," he called out, "Call for back up." Tommy's face became stone as he laid Lexi down on a corner table, away from the upcoming fight.
"Ahead on you," Andros remarked his face glancing briefly up at the comm link. "Hey, Hayley, we're in trouble."
Hayley's voice came loud and clear.
"You're way over your heads! I am calling in an emergency team of rangers. Where's Karone?"
Hayley asked from her station in her home. Shaking off the sleep as she watched the dots on her scanner multiply. She hit the emergency button and awaited for the call from any of the inactive rangers.
"She's down on Earth, somewhere in Connecticut." Andros responded before being shot at. He spun around into a protective stance as he and Tommy were introduced to the sickening sweet voice that had interrupted his precious SOS.
Both Rangers gasped at whom billowed out from the smoke, as if it had created her. The long, chocolate hair in ringlets was down. She stood there, like a Commander on a horse, waiting patiently to strike, the soldiers, at her beck and call, stood behind her. Hands on her hips she stood proud and tall.
"Lexi?" Tommy whispered. She looked almost identical to his daughter except the eyes, the similarities however were striking. Who was behind this, that's what they would need to figure out, and fast. Andros gave him a skeptical expression.
"Well isn't this dandy, Parker. Two Old Rangers, in one setting. Rather amusing actually." The dark clad figure wore tight, black pants and an equally shadowy rose shirt could be seen through the filmy, dark fabric. Using her well practiced ability of manipulating time, she flew right past Tommy. Making sure to give him a side kick, knocking him a dozen feet or so away. She made a mockery as she batted her eyes, making one of those sad baby faces, "and look at what we found…" A sadistic grin now appeared, as she stood next to Lexi, lying unarmed on the table. The figure grabbed Lexi's throat, choking her, "a Ranger that hasn't even spread her wings yet."
Lexi struggled to pry the woman from her as she gasped and coughed. Finding it even harder to breathe than it had been before.
Tommy became rooted to the spot. He wanted to yell, to do something…anything. But this one fear, coming true, had paralyzed him automatically. He stared at the 'evil twin' of his daughter with hate-filled eyes. It was Parker who stopped this folly.
"Lori, if you don't mind, catch the mouse, bring her back, and then play." Tommy and Andros both turned their heads to get a second look at the boy who'd was still at the door.
Parker straightened as he saw the pairs of eyes glance in his direction. Parker was dressed formally, choosing not to change and appear in a James Bond approach to this charade, rather than then the all-out-evil, that he was so fond of portraying. His straight, dark hair was cut short. His eyes dark, seemed hollow, as if there was nothing to them.
"Afternoon boys," he mocked, bringing his right hand up as if to tip an imaginary hat.