Power Rangers Galactic Onslaught

Chapter 10

Kimberly Hart pursed her lips. She was back in Angel Grove and while she knew that it was nothing to be nervous about, she still was… She'd postponed it as long as she could have, however as much as she tried to deny it, he was still family. Even after the divorce, he never stopped caring for her, showing up in all her competitions and supporting her in every way he could. For a long time, she had blamed her father for leaving them… so much that she didn't even consider living with him when her mom moved to France, deciding instead to live at Aisha's house. This coldness had gone on for too long. She understood her father on some level now. In high school, it had seemed that the divorce was an unprecedented betrayal… After all, how could her father just leave her mom, splintering their family in the process! But if the past few years had taught her anything, her father wasn't a villain. She had seen evil and her father was anything but! And she knew now what she didn't know then, that love wasn't forever… that it's possible to fall out of love even after beating impossible odds together… and that love can't be forced.

Letting Tommy go was one of the hardest things she had done but right now, she didn't regret it in the least. Tommy never fought for her. He wasn't a bad guy but she knew certainly that amidst everything he was going through, she just wasn't a priority for him anymore and she refused to wait for a guy who wouldn't even try to patch things up before accepting that they were over…

Back to her father. Looking back, she now remembered the countless sleepless nights due to her parents fighting downstairs over trivial things. They may have been childhood sweethearts but their love for each other had dwindled over the years. Eventually her dad had broken things off, moved to a new apartment … While he only sporadically spoke to her mom, he never did the same to her. He picked her up from school and dropped her home. He still paid for her classes, paid child support, gave her enough pocket money to fill her closet with pretty new dresses every week. He was always there for her. She was always his princess. He never stopped loving her even when she hated him and blamed him for everything!

So, it's only natural that she should not hesitate to support him now.

She hadn't felt like this when her mom remarried.

Her father's fiancé was pregnant. She was going to have a half-brother. She should be happy yet all she felt was unexplainable sadness and she didn't know why. She had sorted her issues with her dad, forgiven him and moved past everything yet right now, knocking on his door seemed to be the hardest thing for her.

She was scared.

And no, it wasn't because she was afraid the new kid would replace her. Her dad had proved time and time again that his love for her is unconditional and having another child would not change that.

She inhaled deeply before pressing her communicator and teleporting out from her father's doorstep. She couldn't do this, not today.

Tears threatened to fall out of her eyes as she rematerialized in the solitude of her own apartment in Promethea HQ.

"Sheesh, are you done feeling sorry for yourself?" A snarky voice broke her out of her stupor. Right, she wasn't alone. How could she be, when she had a demon in her mind.

"Can you please give me sometime to think. You can't possibly understand what I am going through now."

"I probably understand better than you. I can feel everything you are feeling right now. The grief, regret, anger, remorse… but unlike you, I am not biased and blessed to be free of pathetic human defence mechanisms and mental blocks that hide the true reason for your anguish. I can see through your pain, Kimmy. I know why you are sad even when you pretend to not know yourself." Kalamity replied as condescending and pompous as ever.

"Then pray tell why."

"As you wish." Her vision blurred as she staggered towards her sofa in jerky steps.

"What are you doing?" She grunted, sitting down against her will.

"I don't want to fall and hit myself so it's the best for both of us to be sitting right now. I doubt your delicate human sensibilities can handle the shock."

"What are you getting at? I am not in the mood for mind games today, Kala-" Just then, she felt her surroundings whirl as she was swept up in a memory… the memory of the day Zordon discovered that Maligore's pit had changed her and Jason in more ways than one…

They were standing in front of Zordon's tube while Alpha 5 scanned them with some sensor, green light traversing their entire body and readings popping up in the computers.

"What's going on?" She asked. "So that pit gave us some superpowers?"

"I fear it's not that simple, Kimberly." Zordon said gravely, for once his voice not booming. "Maligore's hellfire have changed you both on a genetic level. Lerigot's magic saved you from being corrupted by his dark powers but it was too late to reverse everything… Jason, the residual triforian energies of the gold ranger staff combined with Lerigot's protection spell eliminated all traces of Muranthian energies from your body but in doing so, turned you into half triforian. Like the triforians, your body, mind and soul will be augmented over time and you may develop powers like super strength, telepathy and empathy. Kimberly, you on the other hand, are now half muranthian and there's no telling what other abilities you might manifest."

"That doesn't seem that bad-"

"Due to the significant changes to your bodies and souls, you two are no longer human. You will outlast your friends and family for centuries, if not more. Furthermore, your genes are no longer compatible with the rest of your species. While anatomically and physiologically, you are still human for the most part, genetically you are not… You two can't have children or any biological successor."

Kim blinked. While she wasn't eager to get married and settle down, she did want to have a child of her own one day. She looked sideways and saw the same worry in Jason's eyes. Jason loved hanging around kids. That was one of the main reasons he taught karate lessons for children and volunteered in foster homes and "Big Brother" programmes.

She gulped as Zordon started to give further advice on how to deal with their new powers and later sent envoys from Triforia and the Mystic Realm to help train them.

"So, there's the reason, Kimmy." Kalamity's voice ended the flashback and she couldn't control the tears anymore. "You're sad because you won't ever be a mommy."

"I'm not in the mood for your taunts, Kalamity." She snapped, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

"It's for the best, Kimmy. We will live for centuries, easily outlasting any friends or family you have. Do you really want to feel the pain of losing someone we give birth to?"

"That doesn't validate this. I never asked for these powers! I never wanted to be a ranger again or a demon-"

"You never asked for me also." There was the faintest trace of sadness in Kalamity's voice, a want for longing that Kim couldn't pretend to ignore no matter how much she wanted to. Despite their tumultuous beginning, she and Kalamity had reached an understanding. Despite being a demoness, Kalamity was not evil. She respected Kim's autonomy and never tried to possess her even though most demons in her place had no qualms about doing so…

"No, I didn't but I am glad you are here. For better or worse, you are a part of me as much as I am a part of you." Kim admitted, expecting her alter ego to gloat or call her a sentimental human.

"Thank you." Kalamity said softly, her voice lacking any malice or bitterness for the first time. Kim felt a rush of happiness and euphoria, which definitely wasn't her own. Despite herself, she smiled. "Didn't know that my acceptance meant this much to you."

"It doesn't." Came the quick reply, laced with mild annoyance.

"Liar." Kim's lips twitched. "Come on, Kalamity. You know you like me."

"Only because I have to live with you for eternity."

"Awee, so you do like me!" Kim laughed.

"We were having a moment, don't ruin it, sister."

"Sister? We are sisters!"

"I will take it back if you don't stop being so irritating."

"Arella would be so happy to hear that."

"I will burn our tongue if you mention anything to anyone, let alone that pompous self-entitled elf."

Before Kim could come up with a suitable reply to continue their banter, her communicator started beeping. She answered it smiling.

"You ready, Kim?" Trini's voice came from the other side.

"For what?" She asked before she remembered. "Shoot! I completely forgot about the double date!"

"You what?! You set this whole thing up. You can't bail on me! It's in two hours and I still can't decide what to wear."

"Who said anything about bailing?" Kim replied. "Wait, do you want to bail?"

"No…maybe… I don't know Kim. It's been forever since I have gone on a date. What if I mess things up?"

"Relax, Trini. You don't even know the guy."

"That's the point! I don't know the guy!"

"Honey, you are spiralling."

"I know."

"I am coming over in five minutes. We will select some awesome dresses, look like the hottest gals in town because we are, have a great time and who cares about the guys? We are just going to have a fun time, Trini. It's not serious." Kim told her calmly, silently wondering how things have changed over the years. While they were growing up, she was the one fussing over dates and Trini was always there to calm her down and now, the tables have turned… She was the confident one and Trini was nervous about a date of all things?

The Dark Dimension had never been more saturated with evil energies before this moment. The skies were stormy and all the generals of the United Alliance of Evil were gathered in a clearing in the middle of the Dark Forest of Infinity.

Rita Repulsa wrinkled her nose. She knew why they were all summoned here on such short notice. In response to Ooze attacking Earth, Ninjor had restored the powers of the original morphin rangers. To make matters worse, the zeo rangers were back in action.

She thought they would retire with Zordon gone… but no! They just couldn't let things be!

Now they had Dark Spectre's full attention on their every move!

Despite what the people of Earth thought, neither she nor Zedd particularly liked fighting children … Zordon knew that too, that's why he selected adolescents to be his champions, knowing with absolute certainty that Rita wouldn't unleash her full wrath on them. All she did was test Finister's creations on them, instead of unleashing the horrors of the seven hell dimensions, which would have turned Angel Grove into a burning crater within seconds…

The teenagers reminded her so much of herself and her own team…

She wanted to scare the teens off by any means necessary, but not kill them under any circumstances.

The kids were persistent though, staying their ground even when she rarely slipped and things looked dire for the pathetic planet, they protected…

And in doing so, they earned her respect.

A small part of her feared for them and the challenges they'd now face.

Ooze was chaos incarnate.

He had almost killed Katherine just to show he could.

Dark Spectre didn't hold a candle to his sheer power but he more than made up for it with his depravity and his uncanny ability to bend them all to their will, thanks to mistakes made long ago.

Every one in this dimension had asked Spectre for dark powers and he'd fulfilled their wishes, giving them abilities beyond compare but in return for their unwavering loyalty and devotion.

If they ever betraying him, they would lose their powers within seconds, leaving them at his mercy…a fate not even the vilest criminal deserved.

She looked around, noticing the rebuilt Machine Empire led by Mondo. They were one of the very few to ever turn their backs on Spectre and survive, though that hadn't ended well for them in the long run. When Dark Spectre rebuilt them, he reprogrammed them to be loyal to him, no matter what.

Dark Spectre was a conniving sorcerer who had survived millennia, feasting on sorrow and despair. He was as old as the known universe. There was no way the rangers stood any chance against him.

She mourned for them.

He would break their spirits till there was nothing left…

To challenge him meant courting inevitable death.

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