Disclaimer: I own none of this. This is just a story I wrote for the enjoyment of others who also love the Power Rangers series, and a good Tommy/Kimberly fic.
Chapter Nine: What's For Lunch?
Billy was seated at the head of his dining room table, with Jason, Zack, Rocky, Adam, Aisha, and Kat around him. Billy had worked through the night, and managed to get a rudimentary teleportation system working. He'd have to work on it some more later on. It had been much easier for everyone to make it to his house with teleportation. It was surprisingly pleasant to see the beams of colored light shoot down into his home. Everyone had greeted each other like a family, but they'd settled down rather quickly.
Now they all waited for Billy to share what he'd found. Just like old times.
"So, I think everyone wants to know just what the hell is going on here? But first, let's get down to the important business; what's for lunch?" Rocky asked in mock seriousness.
"I've ordered pizzas, and they should be here soon." Billy answered easily.
"Really Rocky? What is it with you and food?" Aisha asked, shaking her head.
"I'm hungry." Rocky said, rubbing his stomach for emphasis. Aisha rolled her eyes, but her lips curved up in a smile regardless.
"Please continue Billy." Kat urged gently.
"Thank you Kat. Yesterday I asked you all to try morphing, and we had immediate success. All but one of you were able to morph into your Mighty Morphin forms." Billy explained.
"Speaking of which, I think I should explain this one Billy." Kat cut in.
"By all means, go ahead." Billy agreed.
"I wasn't able to morph into the Mighty Morphin pink ranger because I never connected with the crane spirit. I was able to use the pink ranger powers, but the crane was never mine. She was always Kim's." Kat explained sadly.
"The Ninjetti spirits were given to six chosen individuals. Each individual had traits that matched that of their given spirit. When the crane power coin was passed on to Kat, it was passed to an individual who hadn't been chosen." Billy added.
"So how was she able to morph?" Adam asked skeptically.
"The pink energy transferred to her when Kim gave her the coin, so she had access to the pink ranger power. However, since she wasn't the chosen one she wasn't able to fully access her powers. Yes, I know she could transform into a ranger and a ninja ranger. She was also able to control the crane zord, but there was more she wasn't able to do. Does anyone ever remember Kat using the extra powers that came with ninja ranger mode?" Billy asked.
"She used the Metallic Armor." Aisha pointed out.
"Because she earned that upgrade along with the rest of us. The armor had nothing to do with the ninja powers." Billy countered.
"That explains why Kat wasn't able to morph into the Mighty Morphin pink ranger, but not why the rest of us got our powers back." Zack said.
"I'm getting to that. I've done some extensive research, and I believe I know why our powers were returned." Billy said carefully.
"Don't keep us in suspense Billy." Jason urged.
Shooting Jason a look, Billy shook his head exasperated before looking back at the rest of the rangers, "Everyone remembers what happened in 1998?"
"The Countdown to Destruction, where Astronema tried to take over the entire universe. It was day that…" Rocky trailed off. He looked uncomfortable, and the others did too. No one wanted to say it out loud, even though it had been years.
Finally, Jason took charge, "Zordon died that day, releasing a wave of energy that supposedly destroyed all evil in the universe."
"Yes, but that's not all it did. I remember what happened that day. I felt something change inside me, almost as if I'd come home again. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I do now. It was my ranger powers returning, permanently. Zordon gave us one last gift, giving us our powers back." Billy explained, a single tear slipping down his cheek.
"We miss him too Billy." Kat said gently. She reached across the table to take his hand. Unashamed of his tears, Billy smiled back at Kat.
"Thank you, but there's more to this story. Jason, how about you take it from here since he did contact you first." Billy informed.
"I got a call from Tommy, and he needs our help." Jason said grimly.
"Must be pretty serious if he needs the help of his old ranger comrades when he has a new team." Zack said.
"It is. The evil overlord that Tommy's team is fighting took one of our own. He took Kimberly." Jason admitted.
"Kimberly? What do they want with her?" Aisha asked confused.
"Kim was transferred to Reefside due to her job, and she has her powers back too. She became the pink ranger again to help out the new rangers, and was injured in the process. Tommy said that she ended up in the hospital after running from the rangers. From there she was captured by the bad guys." Jason explained.
"Typical. Kim was always getting into some kind of trouble." Rocky scoffed.
"Hey, it doesn't matter what our personal feelings are. Tommy asked for our help, and we're going to give it to him." Zack scolded.
"Kim wasn't at fault for this. She was just doing her job as a ranger and as an agent of the RATF." Jason said firmly.
"Did you just say that Kim is an agent of the RATF?" Adam demanded.
"Yes, deal with the shock on your own time. We've got bigger problems on our hands. The bad guys that took Kim turned her evil, and now she's fighting the rangers." Jason informed.
"Kim's been turned evil. How horrible." Kat said quietly.
"Karma's a bitch." Rocky pointed out.
"Knock it off Rocky! We're past petty differences now. Kim is a ranger, and we owe it to her to help save her." Jason reminded.
"Question her after we get her back." Zack put in.
"When do we head to Reefside?" Aisha asked.
"Immediately." Billy answered briskly.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going." Aisha urged.
"I agree. I think we should join Tommy as soon as possible, and come up with a plan." Adam agreed.
"Billy, can you program the coordinates?" Kat asked.
"Affirmative, but it's already done. I took the liberty of setting the coordinates after everyone arrived." Billy said with a smile.
"Good to see some things never change." Zack chuckled.
"All right rangers, let's do this." Jason ordered. Everyone hit the yellow button their communicators, and were whisked away in a colored streaks of light.