Rebecca's mind was racing with conflicting thoughts. On one hand, she did believe that Kim was back, and she honestly wanted to help. 'After all, she did give us the data cards,' she thought to herself. On the other hand, Mike had a very good point. It did seem strange that Kim just happened to have the data cards with her, and was so willing to give them away. One way or another, she needed to know the truth. She walked into the lab, where Jen & Ms. Fairweather were working on some equipment. She cleared her throat, getting their attention. It was Jen who turned around.
"Oh, hey Becca, what can I do for you?" she asked.
"Do we have the equipment here to do a DNA scan?" she asked.
Jen seemed a little unsure, turning to Ms. Fairweather.
"Yes, we do, why?"
"Mike and I thought that if you examined Kim, you could find out if it was really her or not. And, if it is, if her mind is still being controlled," Rebecca told them.
Jen and Ms. Fairweather turned to each other.
"We could recalibrate the censors to see if there was any foreign pathway in Kim's brain. That would tell us if Shin Getti still had her under his control," Jen pointed out.
Ms. Fairweather nodded. "Thats an excellent idea Rebecca, I'll set up for it. Jen, call Karen and Kim down here so we can begin," she instructed.
Jen walked over to the control panel.
"Karen, this is Jen. Do you read me?" she said.
'Loud and clear Jen, what's up?' a voice answered.
"I want you to bring Kim down to the lab for me. There are some tests I want to run," she informed her.
'You got it chief, we're on the way,'
Jen noticed the concerned look on Rebecca's face.
"This means a lot to you, doesn't it?" she asked.
Rebecca nodded. "Kim saved my life, she saved all of our lives, but if it really isn't her, or if she's under some kind of mind control, we need to know," she said.
Just then, Karen and Kim walked in the room.
"You wanted to see us Jen?" Karen asked.
Jen nodded, then turned to Kim. "Kimberly, Ms. Fairweather and I want to perform a DNA scan on you, to ensure..." she was cut short.
"To see if its really me or not, right?"
"Yes, exactly,"
Kim nodded. "I understand that all of you are skeptical of me, and that's cool with me. Whatever I can do to prove it to you, I'm all for it," she said.
"Rebecca, Karen, the procedure should take about an hour. I'll contact you when I have the results," Ms. Fairweather said.
Taking the hint, Karen and Rebecca walked out the room.
"You're convinced its her, aren't you?" Rebecca asked as they walked down the hall.
"You're not?"
"No, not really. I mean, I want to believe, but I still remember the night she died like it was yesterday. I remember wishing I would have gone back in to save her, and how guilty I felt when I didn't. I can't help but think that if I wasn't around, Kim would be the pink ranger right now and not me," Rebecca explained to her.
"Listen Becca, it's not your fault. Kim knew what she was doing when she ordered us out the complex. I felt guilty too, but now Kim is back, and we can all be together, just like the prophecy foretold," Karen assured her.
"I hope you're right Karen," she sighed.
"Hey Ka'Ron, look at this," Josh shouted. Ka'Ron, who had fallen asleep leaning up against the wall, opened his eyes, staring at a line of information Josh was pointing to on the screen.
"What is it?"
"The Psycho Rangers aren't just information, they're people," he told him.
"Thats not possible," Ka'Ron said.
"In 1998, scientists found a way to convert living beings into streams of data, which allowed the first teleporters to be converted. I think the same theories were applied to the Psycho Rangers," he said.
"So you're saying someone teleported them onto these cards?" he asked.
"In a way, yes. I think that they're bodies must have been damaged in some way, maybe in a fight or a war. They're souls, their inner essence was transferred to these data cards. From the looks of it, their personality subroutines have been altered as well, which leads me to believe that the Psycho Rangers are part human, part energy," Josh explained.
"That explains why they're so powerful,"
"If I'm right, the Psycho Rangers have souls, and if I can isolate the files that were altered by Zolara, I can save them," he said.
"Wait a minute, save them? For what? They're evil; they tried to kill us. The plan was to find a way to shut them down," Ka'Ron pointed out.
"I know, but they were only programmed to be evil. If I can eliminate the subroutines that were uploaded into their programming, they'll be able to think for themselves. They'll be human again," he told him.
"Humans with energy for bodies and superhuman strength. It's nice that you want to save them, but we don't have the luxury of playing boy scouts here. If we can destroy them, we should," he told him.
Josh sighed.
"We have been betrayed!" Psycho Red explained to the others.
The other four Psycho Rangers looked at one another in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Pink asked.
"Our master is sending us on a suicide mission to destroy a being that cannot be killed. Her hope is that we will be killed in the battle," he explained.
"But why?" Blue asked.
"She has lost the data cards, and she doesn't want our programs to fall into the hands of her enemies," Red explained.
"So what do we do? We can't attack Zolara, our programs will go off line if we raise a hand to her," Yellow pointed out.
"I say we find someone to kill her for us. Then we acquire the data cards ourselves and be free from enslavement," Black said.
"I agree. We've been pawns for too long, people using us to eliminate their enemies. I say its time for us to take our destiny into our own hands, who's with me?" Red asked.
All four of them rallied behind him.
"We're with you," Pink said.
"Zolara has ordered us to go to Shin Getti's palace. I say we go, then tell Shin Getti how to find our master," Yellow pointed out.
Psycho Red laughed wickedly.
"Yes. Soon, vengeance will be ours," he said.
"Vengeance," they all yelled.
Back at the Aqua Base, the rangers stood outside the medical bay, waiting for the results to Kim's testing. Ka'Ron wanted it to be Kim, probably as much as his sister did. When they first met, he felt a connection with Kim, and when she gave her life to save them, he felt like a part of himself died along with her. There hadn't been much time to mourn her death, but in his heart, there wasn't a day that had gone by that he didn't miss her presence.
'You okay bro?' Karen called out in her mind.
'Yeah, I just hope its her,' he answered.
'You just have to have faith. Trust me, its her,' she assured him.
He didn't get a chance to respond as the door to the medical bay opened and Jen walked out.
"Well..." Josh said, breaking the silence and speaking for the group.
"I have good news and bad news," she said.
"What is it?" Karen asked.
"Our DNA scans confirmed that it is in fact Kim, and that her mind was being control by an external source. We've been able to determine that the signal came from Shin Getti, but whatever it was, it's gone now," she explained.
"Thats good news," Rebecca said.
"Yes it is. We've only been able to determine that it was the green ranger, not Kim, who was being influenced," she said.
"Thats even better," Ka'Ron said.
"The bad news is that Kim's body was exposed to high levels of radiation from the Eltarian Crystal. My theory is that Shin Getti tried to give her more power than her body could handle. As the green ranger, she was able to withstand the high energy levels, but without it, the energy will kill her," Jen explained.
"Its my fault!" Karen sighed.
"What is?" her brother asked.
"If it weren't for me, she'd be okay. She's going to die, and its all my fault," she cried, then rushed away.
Jen noticed that Josh wanted to go after her, and she gave him a nod. He acknowledged Jen, then rushed off to catch Karen.
"So what do we do?" Mike asked.
"We have to get the Eltarian Crystal to stabilize her condition. From my estimate, we only have about 36 hours before there's nothing we can do," Jen explained.
"Okay guys, I'm open to suggestions," Mike said, assuming the leadership role with Josh gone.
The rest of the rangers looked at one another with confused looks on their faces, none of them with any ideas at all.
"I've got one," a voice said.
They turned to see Kim walking out of the lab.
"You're in no condition to be on your feet," Rebecca said.
"In 36 hours it won't matter, will it? I have a plan to get the Eltarian Crystal and put an end to Shin Getti once and for all. I can't do it alone, so who's with me on this?" she asked, hoping someone would step forward.
"I'll do it," Mike said, taking a step forward.
Kim smiled.
"You trust me Mike?" she replied.
The other rangers turned to Mike, wondering how he would respond. "Yeah, I trust you, but I'll never forgive you," he told her.
"Fair enough. Lets get to work," Kim said.
"Wait up Karen," Josh screamed as he chased Karen down the hallway.
He eventually caught up with her near the control center, where she was leaning up against the wall as tears rolled down her face.
"It's my fault Josh, all of it. I shouldn't have left her the day that complex blew up, and I shouldn't have brought her here. It was hard enough losing her the first time, but this time, she'll die, and it will be my fault," she cried.
Josh wrapped his arms around Karen, holding her close to him in an attempt to ease her pain. "None of this is your fault. We've all come this far working together, and now, Kim needs us more than ever. Are you going to stand here and cry about what could have been, or are you going to give it your best shot?" he asked her.
She knew he was right, but she still couldn't help but feel guilty. Part of her wished it had been her in that complex, not Kim.
"What can I do to help?" she sighed.
"The first thing is to stop crying. I'm sure the rangers are coming up with a plan right now to help Kim, and I know it would mean a lot to Kim if you were there," Josh explained.
Then, it happened...
Karen pulled back from Josh, wiping her eyes, and their eyes locked on each other. In that brief moment, as they moved closer, it was as if they were the only two people in the world. They were inches away from kissing one another when...
'Mike to Josh, we need you in the lab,' a voice said over his communicator.
That was enough to break the moment, and Josh regained his composure.
"On the way Mike," he sighed.
Karen and Josh walked into the lab, where Jen and the rest of the rangers were waiting for them.
"What's up?" Josh asked, finding a seat.
"Kim has a plan that will get us the Eltarian Crystal and eliminate Shin Getti for good," Mike said, showing Kim his full support.
"Mike and I are going into Shin Getti's palace. Josh, I hear you're the technical guy around here, I need you to find a way to shut down the Psycho Rangers," Kim said.
"I can do you one better. Ka'Ron and I have been working on a way to isolate the subroutines in their program that makes them evil, then eliminate it," he said.
Kim nodded. "Good, you and Ka'Ron stay here and work on it. Rebecca, your job is to sneak past Shao Kahn and grab the sphere of eternity, Mike and I will keep Shin Getti occupied until you do," she said.
"Got it," Rebecca acknowledged.
"What about me?" Karen asked.
"I want you to go to Zolara's underground fortress and shut it down. Ms. Fairweather tells me she's got an explosive big enough to do the job. Bring Zolara back here, where we can lock her in containment until we get the sphere of eternity. We'll trap her inside as well, and then take the sphere to the Temple of Light. That way, Shin Getti will never be able to escape," Kim explained.
"Sounds like a plan, but I'm going to need some help," Karen told her.
"We all have to stay on the game plan Karen, we don't have anyone who could go with you," Mike pointed out.
"I have someone in mind," she said.
Kim nodded. "Fine, whatever it takes to get the job done. Our day begins bright and early, so everyone get some rest," she told them.
One by one, the rangers piled out of the room, but Kim grabbed Josh by the arm, holding him back.
"What is it?"
Kim took a deep breath. "Jen tells me you've been the one holding this group together while I was gone," she mentioned.
"I do my part," he said.
"I don't want to step on your toes or anything, I'm not trying to take your spot, but if this plan is going to work, we all have to do our part," she said.
Josh nodded. "As far as I'm concerned, you've always been the leader. When it comes to making decisions, I ask myself 'what would Kim have done'. Right now, our priority is getting the crystal, not who's giving the orders," Josh explained.
Kim leaned up, kissing him gently on the cheek, then headed for the exit.
"Hey Kim," he called out.
She turned around.
"Its good to have you back," he sighed.
Kim smiled, then walked out the room.
The sun had set by the time Karen made it into town. She stopped in front of a small house near the edge of town, then knocked on the door. In the distance, she could hear someone yell 'here I come', and seconds later, the door opened, and there was Chris, wearing only a towel.
"Looks like I came at a bad time," Karen said.
"Actually, yeah, you did. If you're here for a social call, come back tomorrow," he snapped, then tried to close the door, but Karen put her foot in the door to stop him.
"This isn't a social call, I need you," she told him, walking in and closing the door behind herself.
"Need me? For what?"
"I'm going on a mission, a mission that could put an end to Shin Getti for good, and I want you to come with me," she said.
"What does that have to do with me?"
"We're talking about saving the known universe Chris, it has everything to do with you," Karen told him.
"I'm not the one who signed up for that heir of destiny bullshit, that's you. I'm not risking my neck for anyone," Chris said.
"I know what your problem is, you're jealous," she said.
"Jealous, of what?"
"You've always been jealous, jealous of the fact that Ka'Ron and I were destined to be power rangers. You grew up with us, you trained with us, and every day of your life, you resented what we were going to be. You hated that you didn't get picked for the job," Karen yelled at him.
"You don't know what you're talking..." she cut him off.
"Get over yourself Chris, no one feels sorry for you. Instead of sulking in your self-pity, feeling bad for yourself thinking you're always going to be average, why not do something worth wild? You wanted to feel like you were part of something important? Well, this is it! You want to be a part of destiny, heres your chance! The question is, are you up for it, or are you going to stay here and feel sorry for yourself?" she yelled at him.
Chris walked over to the door, opening it. "I don't have to take this shit from you, goodnight!" Chris said, doing his best not to sound rude, but still make his point.
"I don't know why I even bothered," Karen mumbled as she walked out the house.
