Kimberly
"It's just as I feared." Billy murmured, looking down at the screen in front of him. There was a frown on his face, wrinkles forming on his forehead as he gazed at the information he only understood. We were all back in the medical chamber, Kim hooked up to the same machines as before. She laid on the bed, going in and out of consciousness even though she did her best to stay awake. Reaching out, Tommy rested a hand on her shoulder and she finally allowed herself to slip off to sleep. The rest of us were circled around the bed, waiting for Billy's results.
"What is it?" Tommy asked, a hint of fear in the back of his voice.
"Whatever this spell is, it's not draining her powers. It's draining her very life force." Billy replied, looking around at all of us. "Each time the spell goes into effect, it's killing her. That's why the other Kimberly seems to flicker. Because if our Kimberly were to not make it…" He trailed off.
"There will be no me." I finished for him. He nodded, a heavy sense of severity falling over everyone. I let out a sigh. It killed me that kids this young have to deal with this kind of stuff. I loved being a Ranger, but I know now as an adult that it was an awful lot for 15 years old to go through. My heart stung as I watched Tommy bend down and kiss Kim on the forehead while stroking her cheek. He was so sweet. He still was. Well, for the most part.
The last I had seen Tommy was for Rocky and Aisha's anniversary party. They had invited me, and I agreed to go, needing a break from the games and the girls. Plus, it was a nice chance for me to head back to California for the weekend. I hadn't gone since before things ended terribly between the two of us. Well, not ended. You need to be something in the first place to end. When I showed up at the party, I was surprised to see Tommy looking like he was having the time of his life. He was smiling, joking with the others and even flirting with a couple of Aisha's friends from work. I had heard that Kat had left him at that point, surprised that he hadn't told me himself. He didn't talk to me, but we did share a moments glance that he didn't seem to give a second thought about. That pretty much made me understand that he was over me. I officially had no doubt that he hated me for shutting him out of my life. If he really cared about me, he would have tried to reach out once him and Kat were done. Instead, he was radio silent. I headed back home, knowing in my heart I had made the most painful right decision in letting him go…again. I had also decided that dating wasn't exactly at the top of my list of things to do. Andrea even tried to help, offering to set me up with people she knew from the area. I knew deep down though that no one would measure up to what I felt for Tommy. So, I tossed myself into my work and spent the last year being only focused on making sure my girls be the best team they can be.
"Alright. How do we stop this then?" Jason asked, resting his palms on the table in front of him. "Is there a reversal spell or something?"
"I'm unsure. Alpha and Zordon are doing some research. Hopefully, they will be able to discover a cure." Billy replied.
"Rangers, please report to the control room immediately." Zordon's voice boomed throughout the building, him paging us. He didn't sound upset or unconfident which was a good sign in my book. Kimberly flashed pink in her sleep and I felt my entire body shudder again. Everything seemed to wobble in front of my eyes for a moment. Once she stopped glowing, I came back into view as a normal person. My stomach wanted to heave but I held it down. I wasn't about to upchuck the contents of my stomach in front of a room of teenagers.
"You okay?" Tommy asked as the group moved to head to the control room. I nodded, forcing a cheerful smile on my lips.
"Yeah. I mean, it's a weird feeling but I think I'll live." I replied. Instantly, I wished I had chosen a different set of words because he casted a look at Kimberly over his shoulder. "C'mon. I'm sure Zordon has the answers." He nodded, and we followed the rest of the group into the hall. Zordon was in his power cell as usual when we entered the room and Alpha was pulling a long strip of printer paper from the computer. There was nothing but strange looking characters on it, something I couldn't read. He handed it over to Billy who analyzed it like it was a typical textbook.
"Any ideas on how to stop this, Zordon?" Trini asked, gazing up at their leader. Her, Jason and Zach stood to the side by Billy, allowing Tommy and I to stand in the middle. Zordon nodded, his giant head shifting so he could see us all.
"Yes, Trini. Rangers, the only way we are going to be able to stop this spell and save Kimberly's life is to trap Rita in a container that would prohibit her powers from working. This will stop her connection to Kimberly and stop her from draining the life from her." He stated. Billy murmured something to Alpha who sighed.
"We have to trap Rita? How? And in what?" Zach asked.
"We will utilize the space dumpster that she was imprisoned in when she was first released." His voice boomed. "It can be reused to seal her."
"Do we even have that?" Jason questioned. Billy shook his head.
"Negative. It's on the surface of the moon. According to these results, it's directly two miles from the Moon Palace. It'll need to be recovered before any type of containment can take place." He explained.
"I'll go." Tommy said, stepping forward. "I know the Moon Palace better than anyone. It should be me."
"I'm afraid not, Tommy. Rita's mission is to obtain you and the Dragonzord Powers. You will be unable to take part of this mission." Zordon replied. I watched that angry jaw clench of Tommy's as he glared up at his mentor.
"Then I'll go." I said, sticking my hands in my back pockets.
"No." Tommy said quickly, shaking his head. "It's too dangerous."
"It'll be dangerous for whoever ends up going." I answered. "I will have Kim's power coin and I also know what we're going up again. I managed to kick Goldar's ass good enough that I should just be facing Rita up there. I can even do a sneak attack and lock her in that thing before she even knows."
"The rest of us can go too." Jason said, stepping towards me.
"That will not be possible." Alpha chirped. "We will need to keep your powers here to help supply the morphing grid with the ability to keep Kimberly stable. You will be too far away on the moon to do that and it'll deplete your powers down to 50%."
"You're not going alone." Tommy said, glancing at me.
"I remember thinking this side of you was cute at one point." I mused, raising an eyebrow at him. "Think of it this way; if I go now and fail, the rest of you will still get another chance to stop her. If something were to happen to you there now, it will kill your future selves and change the course of history."
"Kimberly's correct." Billy stated. Ripping off a piece of paper, he walked towards Zordon. "There's something else that the system picked up."
"What is it, Billy?" Jason asked.
"There's another life form on the moon." He responded.
"So, Goldar is still alive then? Or does she have a monster in waiting up there?" Trini asked. Billy shook his head.
"No. The scan indicated it was a human. Though, it's picking up on a great deal of power. If I didn't know any better, I would claim that a Ranger was there."
"Alpha, can you complete a reading and pull it up on the viewing globe? Maybe we can see what's there." Trini suggested. Alpha nodded, pressing a number of buttons and knobs on the console.
"How could there be another Ranger on the moon? Unless she managed to create another evil Ranger like she did with Tommy." Zack wondered out loud.
"That would be impossible. There are no other power coins to be found in the universe." Zordon replied. "This would mean she crafted one and not even Rita Repulsa has that kind of power necessary for that magic."
"Rangers, something has been detected. I am trying to get the image on the viewing globe." Alpha said, turning a dial. Shifting on my feet, I gazed over at the globe that stood at the south part of the room. It illuminated white for a moment, a pixelated picture forming inside of it. "Just a little bit more…"
"What is that?" Jason whispered, squinting his eyes so he could see better. I could now see the outline of a person. I gently moved passed Tommy so that I could see better. Whoever it was, they were sitting in something. It was all I could really see. Could Rita have taken another Ranger from the past as a hostage? It would make sense. Perhaps she had nabbed Jason or someone in hopes of getting these kids to fork over Tommy.
"Let me help, Alpha." Zordon said. The globe glowed a brighter shade and the image began to sharpen at a faster rate. My eyes widened as the person came in to focus. The dark brown hair, combed neatly to the side. The stubble on the chin, the same shade of those locks on his head. This chocolate colored orbs that glared angerly at something off screen. The air inside of my escaped out of me with a hiss.
"Dude, that's you." Zach said behind me and I heard him slap Tommy in the arm.
"No. No. No." I whispered, walking over to the globe. Sure as shit, there sat Tommy Oliver, chained to the same chair Rita had me captured in when I was on the moon. "What are you doing there, you big idiot?" Why the fuck was Tommy on the moon? Everything in my gut begged it to be some kind of mistake. That it wasn't really him. There would be no way he would rush there to save me. He hated me, remember? So why was he there now? Being a heroic idiot? Anger flared in my chest, mixing with dread and worry.
"Where is she, Rita?" The older version of Tommy said. "I know Kimberly is here. Let her go."
"Oh, do you miss her, Tommy? Do you miss Kimmy?" Rita's voice said from somewhere we couldn't see.
"I think he came to save you." Trini said softly.
"I need to get to the moon. Now." I pulled the morpher from the back of my waist line and held it in front of me. "Pterodactyl!"