I hope you all forgive me for leaving ye hanging for a solid twenty days after my last update. I assure its not cancelled, if there's a long hiatus like this, assume I am still working on the chapters or I'm just having terrible Writer's Block and taking a break. Fear not, I won't suddenly cancel a story you are all liking… well… say that to the other stories I did.

Well, be glad I finally got the chapter up, it's probably not as long or epic as the previous two chapters, but I will be certainly using this story to not only follow the canon (sort of), but also delve into Kimberly's childhood and the relationship with her father Dr. Kevin Hart. If I'm honest, it's almost like the relationship that Reboot Lara Croft had with her father. Oh yes! I popped in a reference to Tomb Raider, if you spot it! Let me know in the comments!

Disclaimer: I don't own the song Power Rangers Operation Overdrive - Transcenders ft. J7 D'Star.

Enjoy Chapter Two!

"The strength of the team is each individual member.

The strength of each member is the team."

- Phil Jackson

Chapter 2: Assemble Project Operation Overdrive Part II

Next Day…

9:30…

Wednesday…

23rd May 2006…

Canon: Kick Into Overdrive Part II

(Scene: Hartford Mansion, San Andreas, California, Earth/No POV)

When morning broke through, all four of the Overdrive Rangers, even Mack decided to get up and have breakfast. Things were still a little tense after the fight between Mack and his dad, about who should really have the Overdrive powers. Dr. Hart stayed behind to speak to his dad about something, no doubt a lecture. Mack was confident if there's one person who could knock some sense into his only parent, it's the former ranger. While she did help them save the civilians, something in his gut told him it would be the first and last; he even had a feeling that his dad left the Red Overdrive Tracker for Dr. Hart. She was meant to lead them, the Historian had the most ranger experience and especially being the first, but it was obvious to all of them that something was stopping her. Pondering on the thought, Mack decided to apologise to his father, relieve any tensions from yesterday. The gang walked down the stairs, all agreeing to stop by Andrew's office first. Standing outside it, Mack took a deep breath before knocking on the door but… no one answered. He tried again, his dad still didn't call him to enter and this caused him to look back to his newfound friends; Mack could see the uneasiness on their faces. Opening the door, they entered, only to see the entire office was thrashed, like someone ransacked it. The one thing that worried them was Andrew was nowhere to be seen. The group were jolted out of their shock when they heard Rose.

They all turned, to see Dr. Hart lying on the floor unconscious and the Pink Overdrive Ranger shaking her shoulder; trying to wake their mentor up.

"Dr. Hart! Can you hear me?" She called out, "It's me, Rose!" A few moments passed, Kimberly finally stirred, groaning out loud. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, they can get answers from their ranger mentor as to what happened to Andrew and how she was knocked out. Rose gently lifted Kimberly, with help from Dax, bringing Kim to a chair to sit her down. Kim shook her head a few times, trying to get rid of the cobwebs in her mind. Mack told Will to go to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water and he went.

"Did someone get the Zord that hit me?" She muttered, making everyone in the room chuckle, as it did baffle them on how she retains her humour. It seemed like Dr. Hart was coming round. The Overdrive Rangers were somewhat relieved that their mentor was somewhat unhurt, depending on the definition of that in the ranger handbook. Will returned with the glass of water that Mack asked to get him and handed it to Kimberly. Lifting her head, she took the glass with a small smile and sipped it. The water eased the dryness in her throat, it felt like heaven to her, then put the glass on the desk and stood up, much to their surprise and worry. She them all a look that insisted their mentor was fine and opted not to argue with her. Being rookies, they have yet to learn that no ranger wants to anger a Pink Ranger, because according to previous ranger teams, it's the last thing they want to do. That was when Mack decided to question his father's research assistant.

"Dr. Hart, what happened? Where's my dad?" Hearing the worry in his voice, Kim decided to not beat around the bush, like she ever does… well… she did during her rough times.

"Moltor located us, he realised the crown was a counterfeit. He attacked us and the rest was all blurry. However, he has no doubt taken your father and made off with the Corona Aurora." Kimberly knows there is little time, Andrew is going to kill her, but Mack has to step into the role of Overdrive Red and maybe, just maybe; it might be enough to persuade Andrew in letting his son be the leader. As a not-so veteran Lieutenant, Kim feels she is just going to get the kids hurt; she lost too many under command and lost her best friend Bohan. While the former Pink Ranger recovered from the loss, the pain can never go away. Walking over to the damaged safe, Kim pulled out the undamaged Overdrive Tracker, then turned and handed it to a surprised Mack.

"But Doctor-" He was interrupted,

"This is meant for you Mack." Kim said sternly, "It's time you forge your own destiny." Nodding firmly, Mack accepted the device and they followed their mentor down to base. They can't exactly go in blind, they need to locate Dr. Hartford first and it so happens that Andrew keeps a tracking chip hidden in his watch.

10:10…

(Scene: Underground Base, Hartford Mansion, San Andreas, California/Kimberly's POV)

The rangers stood behind me, as I typed at the computers to pinpoint Andrew's tracking chip. I have to thank Billy whenever I get the chance, he insisted that my former lecturer have one him; because if anything happened to me, Tommy is going to be the first to find out through our connection and second, I can be located via my Ninjetti energy signature. Annoyingly, the chip is patched through to the satellite, which I have to access first and that is stupid time being wasted. Moltor is no doubt interrogating or beating the crap out of Andrew and I have a hunch that Fluious will be showing his icicle face very soon. Behind me, Mack didn't like the silence between us and decided to ask me a question while I worked.

"Dr. Hart," He said, "If you don't mind me asking… was the Red Overdrive Tracker meant for you?" While I waited for the co-ordinates of the tracking chip to come up, I sighed upon hearing that question. I might as well tell them straight. I turned to the team.

"Yes, your father wanted me to lead this team. He wanted me to be the Red Ranger.",

"So, what stopped you?" Ronny asked, confused at the thought; since I was the first Pink Ranger, why would I decline the chance to be a ranger again? They know I have the most experience, this should be a walk in the park for me. Sadly, it's not. Can I open myself up to this team? Tell them who I really am? Where I come from? My heritage?

"There are some things I have done in the past, that I'm not proud of." I replied, being sort of vague on the truth. "I don't feel I am worthy to wield the Power again." Suddenly, the computer beeped, notifying us that the information from the tracking chip has been processed, therefore Andrew has been successfully located. It also saved me from further questioning, I… it's not that I don't trust them, I feel they are not ready to hear who their mentor really is. Turning to the computer, I brought up Andrew's co-ordinates, only to see he is far out from the state; like I mean not exactly driving distant. "Seems like Moltor is holding your father inside the volcano of Yellowstone National Park.",

"Yellowstone!?" Dax exclaimed, "That's between the borders of Idaho and Montana! How are we going to get there?" Without turning, I smirked. The best thing about being a ranger, is we know how to get to locations in style and in a matter of minutes, faster than any known vehicle. Unfortunately, Billy couldn't get the teleportation system for the Overdrive Rangers to work, let alone up and running; instead, we collaborated with him and NASADA, along with Lightspeed to engineer something better. Typing in more commands, I brought a full visual of their transport and stepped aside to show the recruits.

"Rangers, may I introduce you to your everyday ranger means of transport. This is the Special Hydro Aero Reconnaissance Craft." They all had a look of awe on their faces, it looks like your everyday jet, only bigger, sleeker and faster. It's a good thing us rangers have a friendly compromise with the Air Force thanks to a good friend and the US Army; so there's no fear of being unintentionally shot down. "If that's a mouthful for you all, SHARC will do. It will get to your desired location in decent time and can reach max speeds of Mach Four." Their jaws dropped upon hearing that, that's roughly a little over four-thousand kilometres per hour. They were heading for the hangar bay, only for to stop Mack for moment.

"What's up Hart?",

"Um… tell your dad that I'm sorry for punching him." I said awkwardly. It was sort of humorous because Mack had a look of shock on his, so he's going to be expecting a story from me and why I punched his dad. Moving on, he slid down the firepole to catch up with the others and to board the SHARC. I turned back to the screen, to see the kids getting onto the jet, obviously Ronny being the speed demon; in both a literal and metaphorical sense, was more than happy to be the pilot. I guess she liked the sound of a vehicle that can hit Mach Four, which is over the normal speed of sound. As I watched, my mind suddenly shifted back to the past, the time when my father and I were actually close.

Twenty-one Years Ago…

15:00…

Friday…

10th April 1985…

Canon: Pre-Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers

(Flashback/Hart Household, Angel Grove, California, Earth/No POV)

It was a typical warm, Californian sunny day, a little girl with brown-caramel hair and dressed in light pink was giggling as she reached for the next tree branch, being sure that it was able to take her weight. There's an advantage of having a large tree in the back garden and the little girl was surely taking advantage of it, as she neared an open window. From where she stood, the little girl could see her father pacing inside his study, reading a book. Little Kimberly has been fascinated with her father's interest in History and whenever he lets her, join him with his research or teaching her topics that her school wouldn't go into. While still in kindergarten, it was made clear to the parents of Kimberly Hart, by her teacher, that she is a bright young girl; with an intelligence that challenges her best friend Billy Cranston. While Billy leaned towards Science and Technology, Kim was into History and does excel in Science, English and Math too; but it was clear History was favourite subject, no thanks to him. Kevin was proud of the fact he was being a great influence on his daughter. When asked the idea of bumping her up a grade or two, Kimberly refused, she wanted to be with her friends and only with them, for her entire school career. In her files, it was kept note that when she advances to higher grades in the education system, to be asked if she is interested in taking up Advanced Placement subjects, subjects like History, Science, Math and English. The teachers knew it will be a matter of time before she starts finding classes boring or they'll just run out of things to teach her.

Kimberly reached out for the windowsill, her small hands grabbing it and managed to pull herself up; because of her gymnastics, the young girl of age six has quickly built up impressive upper body strength. Kevin turned to see his daughter standing on the window. He put his book down and chuckled out loud. It was a good thing his wife was out doing the grocery shopping, if she heard Kimberly scaled the tree to get into his office again, she'd have a heart attack. Some days, Kevin regrets letting her do gymnastics, it now encouraged her to climb everything, but he doesn't mind it. Little Kim needs to burn off energy and climbing is one way to do it, he also lets Kim practice Karate with their neighbour Jason Scott. The Scott family are good, life long friends, he and his wife went to high school with them. The thirty-five year old Historian still couldn't believe it's been six years since he and his wife took in this child, left on their front doorstep, in a strange casket and a letter written in a language neither could comprehend. Watching his daughter grow, it was almost unbelievable that there is alien life beyond Earth and they probably look like them. Where did their daughter come from? Why was she sent here? What happened on her home planet? It was starting to be a bit like a Superman/Clark Kent scenario, who knows? Perhaps Krypton does exist, which caused him to chuckle mentally. Wherever his daughter came from, her parents do not have to worry, she is in safe hands. Kevin snapped out of his long drawn thoughts, walking over to Kimberly, still chuckling at her. He lifted her off the windowsill as he said:

"Kimmy Cub, still refusing to use the door I see? You know your mother hates seeing you climb the tree outside.",

"But dad!" Kim groaned, "It's so much easier than climbing the stairs.",

"You are such a little monkey." Kevin smirked, making his daughter giggle. He stared right into Kim's doe-brown eyes, they were full of wonder, life and curiosity. Kevin sees a hunger for knowledge in her, it's why he agreed to teach her few extra topics, he saw she was getting bored at the standard History Curriculum. He also guessed being from another planet, their intelligence is far greater than humans and so far, it is just assumed Kimberly is very smart for her age. When she goes into Middle School, an Intelligence Quotient Test is assigned for her, Caroline insisted they wait till she's either eleven or twelve. "Don't worry Kim, she doesn't have to know. Say, since I'm nearly finished, how about we go out to the mountains together?" Kimberly's face lit up and it was adorable.

"Can we daddy!?",

"Of course my little princess and I will tell you the story of the legend of the White Stranger of Angel Grove in the nineteenth century." Apart from teaching her Ancient Civilisations, the legend surrounding the White Stranger was always his daughter's favourite story; it not clear whether or not he actually existed, in a way, it's a fairytale to his daughter. Just a Wild West version, a cowboy dressed in hat, riding a white horse to save the day. After cleaning up his belongings, Kevin grabbed the book about the White Stranger and both he and his daughter left the study.

(Flashback Ends)

Why did you have to leave dad? What happened? Where did you go? Who was coming after you? So many questions that I need answered and for all I know, there are probably more questions than answers. A part of me feels angry that he left, watching him leave was like tearing a piece of my heart of out, the two of us were so close… I guess I was closer to my adoptive father than I was to mom; she did admit to me that she was jealous of the relationship the two of us had. Maybe a part of me was being selfish, I didn't spend that much time with mom, so no wonder she and I were so distant; especially when I was heading into my teenage years. I wasn't rebellious or anything like that, we just didn't see eye to eye and mom did become a little controlling. While dad encouraged me to keep up the Karate with my pseudo-brother Jason, mom wanted me to stop and focus on gymnastics. Mom began to disagree with a lot of things I was doing and it frustrated me. That was when I began staying at my friend's house instead, when I couldn't take it or hit my boiling point; I'd just pack what I need and walk out for a few days until things calmed down. Hell! I even spent time at Ernie's house and I began seeing him as an uncle. I was slowly building up a little family that understood me.

I turned my attention back to the screen, seeing Dax use his zip line to save Andrew after Moltor attempted to toss him into the lava. The Blue Overdrive Ranger used his ability once again and caught Andrew in the nick of time. Bringing up another screen, the other four rangers were fending of the Chillers. Wait! Chillers!? Wonderful, Fluious; the self proclaimed 'Ice King' has decided to make his debut. Looks like that starts the dangerous Piggy-In-The-Middle. I swear if more enemies show up for the crown, this will really stretch us thin. Not to mention, the brothers don't exactly get along, most likely they will fight each other, as much as they fight us. This will be a long messy battle not just for the crown, but the jewels too; I won't be surprised if they try piggy-backing us. Continuing to watch the fight, Dax returned to the others, allowing Andrew to get on into the SHARC, while they finished off the last of the Chillers. Fluious won't be happy to hear he lost some foot soldiers to a group of 'newbie' rangers. Also, note to myself: to contact some old friends to train in the Overdrive Rangers, to prepare them for unmorphed combat. It is vital they know how to fight without their powers. They can't rely on them too much. I can thank god, first day for the kids, no monster was sent out and brought to Megazord size, but it also won't be long till they have to handle that too.

"You should be out there Mrs. Oliver." Said a voice behind me. I yelped out of genuine fright, twirling around to see Spencer behind me. I placed my hand against my chest, taking deep breaths to calm my racing heart rate.

"Fuck Spencer!" I growled, "Don't scare me like that!" The butler of Hartford Mansion chuckled a little.

"Think of it as payback for locking me in the walk-in freezer." Ah man! He still hasn't forgiven me for that!? It was accident! I found the freezer opened, not realising he was in there and I just shut the door. Andrew spent twenty minutes looking for him, until Mack heard a furious knocking sound coming from it, the three of us found him; cold, alive and with tiny little icicles forming on his suit. He will never let me live it down and it will only be a matter of time, before he tells my husband and all my friends. After that lighthearted joke, Spencer got a little serious. "Had you accepted the powers Mrs. Oliver, you would have been out there on the battlefield.",

"I have already explained my reason Spencer. I can't bring myself to hold the Power again." I said to him, my voice getting slightly shaky. "I have lost many of those closest to me under my command. I'll just get them hurt." The butler walked up beside me and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Or you are afraid of something that happened long ago will repeat once more." I swallowed a lump in my throat, hearing those words from a humble butler, it's like I'm listening to my father Zordon; as if he never left. There is truth in his words, I am still haunted by Countdown To Destruction. The Eltarians have called the attack on their planet The Second Siege of Eltar. While my nightmares and flashbacks are not as severe as they once were, they do come sometimes. On top of all that, I still have bad reactions to loud noise; while most of the time I flinch, it does cause me to have a trigger. The last one I had was in Angel Grove. Tommy and I took a trip over to meet Kat and Billy, also to hang out at Ernie's. He is well aware of our history as Power Rangers, he knows I played an important role in the war, but no more than that. Ernie figured it was serious enough if I had a service dog at my side, vest and all for further evidence.

As the Youth Centre was quiet, Ernie decided to join us for a smoothie outside in the typical, sunny Californian weather; Eltar is similar, though not as hot. It's more moderate, like Ireland, decent balance between sun and rain, it was mild really. Once we sat down, the five us had a nice catch up; Billy's company was running well, Kat's dance studio continued to grow in popularity and the Youth Centre as hardly changed, maybe except for new features. Ernie took some tips from Hayley, setting up a couple of computers for the students and public; Billy got the computers for him as a kind gesture, the gym was still there and some kids learning gymnastics use the beam I used to practice on. Hm, good memories. Anyways, there was a car nearby, the owner was trying to start it, only for it to suddenly backfire; it caused me to drop the smoothie glass and the memories I wanted to forget all flooded back in. I couldn't breathe, the sounds of war filled my head; I just saw and heard it all again. Thank god for Rex, he went straight into action to calm me down, while Tommy did the same. Kat, Billy and Ernie stepped back to give us space, not to overcrowd us. It took them ten minutes to bring me back, get my mind out of the war that finished seven years ago. Of course, Ernie was asking questions now, he recognised the reaction to be connected to PTSD. The response he gave me was:

"Kimberly, you are the last person I would think of, to see you suffer Post-traumatic Stress Disorder." We all had to bring Ernie inside so we could discuss the topic in private. It was a long explanation, but he understood and he was glad to hear that I'm continuing my counselling sessions. He did place a finger that it's with a former ranger, Ernie figured that anything that is ranger related, stays in our close knit circle. My pseudo-uncle was shocked that I wasn't born on Earth, but on Eltar and I was a part of their military. He couldn't comprehend how I went from being wanting to be a gold medal gymnast to a soldier, specifically a Lieutenant and leading in the war on my home planet. I did somehow, open up enough to tell him of my time being tortured by The United Alliance of Evil; even my adoptive mother and stepfather had a hard time believing that, that I steeled myself and put up with such physical pain being inflicted on me. They were surprised that I didn't break. The phantom pains from my scars come and go too and they are still sensitive to touch. When I told her I was still getting pain… well… more discomfort from them, she contacted another former ranger: Kelsey Winslow. It sort of surprised me, because if I remember from the ranger video; she was the adrenaline junky, wild horse of the Lightspeed Rangers. I guessed that she decided to settle down and got a diploma in Physical Therapy and did some specialised course. Her job doesn't stop her from climbing in her free time. Kelsey was more than happy to help me, especially as I was a former ranger too, the help from her was appreciated; but it took her some time to get used to sight of my scarred and near mutilated back. Once she got over that, Kelsey practically worked her magic. I go to her and Dana when I can, but since I'm helping Andrew, I'm too busy at the moment.

Snapping myself out of the past, I watched as the team boarded the SHARC to return home. Looks like they won't be too long to reach the mansion. I better call some friends to 'break' the new team into preparation for unmorphed combat scenarios. You never know if you suddenly lose your powers or become disconnected from the Morphing Grid. You can't let yourself be too comfortable in the spandex. I was smirking to myself, because I knew the exact people to call. Whipping out my phone, I walked away from Spencer, as I speed dialled an old friend. I waited for the call to be answered, after another five seconds, my call was received.

"Hey!" I greeted, "Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, do you think you can bring your husband, along with his work partner and wife?" I listened to the question she asked me. "Why? Say, how would you feel about 'breaking' a bunch of new rangers in?" My tone became teasing, Spencer turned to me with a very worried look on his face. Suddenly, her own tone changed and I was getting yelled at all of a sudden. "Hey! Don't yell at me! I'm just a mentor! I'm not back in the fucking spandex Colonel Yellow Eagle!" I growled, using my contact's code name and the military position in a mocking matter, but my friend knows I'm teasing. No harm done. "Look, can you, Quantum and the two time-crossed lovers come to Hartford's mansion this week?" Yellow Eagle let out a sigh, but chuckled in the end. Like any Yellow Ranger, it was a chuckle of evil excitement. She gave her answer. "Tomorrow? That soon? Alright then. Nice speaking to you. See you tomorrow then." I hung up on the phone. Looks like Unmorphed Combat 101 is in session. Spencer was still looking at me with slight worry, the only response I could give him was a sweet smile, to assure him I am not actually going to break them.

By then, we heard the sound of the elevator, as the kids and Andrew ascended from the hangar. I gave Andrew a tight hug, genuinely glad that he is not hurt, except for the fact I punched him. He actually told Mack that story and the archaeologist felt he deserved being a cold ass towards me. I don't blame him, you say a lot of hurtful things when you are angry. Andrew turned to his Mack, finally agreeing to letting him lead the Overdrive Rangers, it made me smile in the background. My lecturer has to accept that his son is old enough to make his own decisions and let him out into the world. I went over to pick up the Overdrive uniform and it to Mack, telling him to put it on. Nodding, Mack went off to change while I set up the DNA Gene Sequencer to sort out his abilities. It didn't take Mack long, fully dressed in the uniform and if I'm honest, it looks better on him, than it would on me. I told Mack to stand between the devices and I turned it on, letting it do its job. Once the process was finished, Andrew turned off the device.

"How do you feel Mack?" Ronny asked him,

"I feel the same honestly." He replied, only to frown. He turned to Spencer, reaching out with one hand, we watched as he lifted the elderly butler a good few inches off the ground! It all instantly clicked to us, that Mack's ability was Superhuman Strength, how handy. Mack out Spencer down before he gave the old guy a heart attack. I looked at the new team of rangers: Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, there's a nice ring to it. I do feel they will be worthy to have a place in the Power Ranger Legacy, a legacy my father started back all the way in nineteen-ninety-three. The thought made me clutch my necklace. That was when Andrew turned his attention to me.

"So Kim, any words of wisdom to the team?" What's there to say? I looked at the five-man well… mixed gender team analytically.

"I actually don't have much to say." I said to them, honestly. "The only advice I can give is: as long you all work together, no one can defeat you. No one!" They felt encouraged by it, the team was in the mood to celebrate, have some pizza. I looked at my wrist watch, it was already close to six in the evening, they will all no doubt be hungry, on top of all that, we have to order extra for Ronny. As I noticed with Conor with his Super Speed, he needed to consume for calories than the average human; it will be the same for Ronny. She needs more energy to maintain the Super Speed. Andrew agreed, but obviously we have to start tracking down the five jewels of the Corona Aurora. So while Andrew does that, I will have to help prepare the team for combat without their powers with some help; must notify him about that. Aside from that, we all left the base to sort out food and celebrate the fact, the recruits survived first time as Power Rangers. The road will be tough and with any new team, there will slight problems, I will only be able to give advice; I can't diffuse it for them, Mack will have to grow into his role as a leader. If there is problems in the team, not only he, but all of them will have to sort them out somehow and they overcome those problems, it will only bring them closer together as a true team.

"You are proud of them already, are you not Kara?" Rhea asked me mentally. I responded back to her using my connection to her.

"Yes, there will be obstacles along the way, but they will persevere over them." Following the team into the elevator, the door closed and it brought us back up to the main part of the mansion. It's time for the archaeological adventure of a lifetime.

"Go Rangers, go Rangers! Go! Go! Go!

Go Rangers, go Rangers! Go! Go! Go!

Power Rangers, Operation Overdrive!

Power Rangers, Operation Overdrive!

Watch five fingers reaching for the sky in five ways,

Five heroes walking through the sun for five days,

Dark forces lurking, leaving evil where they roam,

Five Rangers looking for the same five stones!

Go! Go! Go!

There's treasures to be found, there's some lives to be saved,

Our planet to look after, there's a whole lot of space!

Good versus Evil, we got heroes on the scene,

Power Rangers Overdrive is the number one team!

Power Rangers, Operation Overdrive!

Power Rangers, Operation Overdrive!"

And that's it! I hoped you liked it! Just a note for yourselves, I might pop in a reference to our favourite archaeology games and films for some fun. Anyhow, I'm in the middle of study and exam period for my university course, so expect my update schedule to be completely unpredictable and slow.

For a little fun before I post the next chapter, on top of figuring out the TR reference, can you guys also guess who are the contacts Kim called to help her train the Overdrive Rangers?

If you like what you're reading, hit the Follow, add it to your Favourites and constructive criticism is nice to see. I like reading people's opinions.

Until next time!