A/N: Only two more chapters to go! Don't be sad. I'm already working on my next fic! The preview will be at the end of the story like usual. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Remember to R&R!
Kimberly
I know that God supposedly made women for men because Adam was lonely but I'm starting to believe he did it because Adam would have ended up getting himself killed by the end of the first day. This resolution came to mind as I watched Mr. Always-Has-To-Be-The-Damn-Hero leap right into a fight with Rita who was holding a spear that could cast spells with just a blink of an eye. Though, I do give him credit. Not many would be brave to face off against her, but he could have at least come up with a plan before jumping right into action. It was too late now though as I watched the two of them roll around on the floor. I had a list of questions I wanted to ask him, starting with how he was able to morph right now. And how did he have so many different power coins? What the hell was he doing with his life now that he had that kind of technology? Those questions would have to wait though. There were more pressing matters at hand.
"Master Oliver, we will need to destroy her spear." Saba said as Tommy pulled himself to his feet. "It's her main power source."
"No!" I called out. "We need to follow Zordon's plan." Tommy ran over to me, stopping so he could look down at me through his helmet.
"Listen, I understand what it's like working under Zordon and wanting to do everything he says. As you get older, you'll realize that sometimes, it's not the best plan though. We have the chance to destroy her and we need to take it. If we do it now, she can't come back and attack the Earth." I was confused for a moment and then I realized what he was talking about. He must think I'm the younger version of myself. Of course. Rita has him believing I'm off dying somewhere. "We need to get that crystal though and kill her."
"If we kill Rita, the universe will collapse." I replied. "The timelines are too intertwined now. Any chance in the past will cause it to rupture. That's why we need to seal her. If we don't, it'll be the end of the world."
"Oh." He said. "That changes some things."
"Someday, you'll learn to listen the first time." I muttered. Bending over, I straightened up the space dumpster and tried to pry the lid off of it. It was stuck, the impact crushing it on to the point I couldn't move it. "Shit. I can't get it. It's stuck."
"Here. Let me try." Tommy knelt next to be, sticking the tip of Saba's sword into the side of it. Over my shoulder, I watched as Rita moaned as she struggled to stay conscious.
"I am not a can opener!" Saba exclaimed, irritation in his voice as Tommy wedged the blade in further. There was a noise and one side of the lid came up. It was enough for me to pull it off completely.
"Great work, Saba." Tommy said as we stood up. "Now, let's get her right where she belongs." Both of us turned around and were surprised to see the Rita was no longer laying on the floor. She was nowhere to be seen even. "Shit! Where'd she go?" Tommy asked, taking a fighting stance. I did as well, holding my bow close to me. I put my finger on the string, ready to pull it when needed.
"I don't know. She can't be too far though; her magic is still all over this room." I replied. He turned so his back was against mine and he was facing the balcony. I was looking into the room, seeing the doorways. She wasn't anywhere over here though.
"Say goodnight, rangers." Her voice called above us. Looking up, I saw the she was floating in the air above our heads. She pointed her wand out towards us, a direct beam of magic heading right towards us.
"Kim, watch out!" Tommy called, shoving me out of the way. I sprawled across the floor, leaving Tommy to take the full hit of the attack. He let out a loud cry, Saba falling to the ground as scorch marks covered his white uniform. As the beam faded, Tommy fell to his knees, gripping his chest.
"Tommy!" I called out, scrambling to get to my feet. I ran forward but was hit with what appeared to be an invisible wall. I bounced off it, a shar pain shooting through me where I had touched it.
"You are quite the fool, Tommy. You could have had it all. You could have had power, greatness, the world at your feet. Instead, you decided to waste your talents on someone who will never love you in the same fashion you feel about her. You let a silly notion of love come between you and your destiny. Now, I must kill you to make sure that I will be am to fulfil my destiny." Rita said, floating above Tommy. On her head, I noticed that half of her hair was gray now, the force of Saba's attack doing no doubt. "I will destroy you and any memory of you on that pathetic and disgusting planet. I will make sure no one remembers the White Ranger."
"You…forgot…one…thing." Tommy said, his voice barely above a hushed tone. "I'm…not…remembered…as…the…white…ranger." There was a clicking noise and a flash of green light filled the room for a moment. When it subsided, Tommy was now standing, dressed in the Green Ranger uniform. "Green is more my color. Hiya!" Jumping into the air with a new burst of energy, Tommy landed his heel right into the middle of her chest. Rita slammed into the wall, her staff falling from her hand. It fell down, heading towards the dumpster. Once it was near enough, the dumpster began to glow, and it sucked the staff in like a drain eats water.
"No!" She yelled as her staff disappeared. She glared at Tommy, holding her sternum. Her attention turned to me and out of nowhere it seemed, she was standing in front of me. Her hand reached out and found my throat, wrapping her fingers around it. My airway was cut off as I felt her lift me off the ground. I kicked and clawed at her, trying to break free. She didn't release me though, a mad look in her eye as she gazed at me. "You'll be the reason I destroy this Earth as well as the one in your timeline." She said, leaning in close. "I will destroy every single human and every single trace of you from the face of history. I will let him live though so that he can see the devastation caused by his little whore."
"Fuck…off." I managed to gasp. Putting my ankles together, I pulled my legs up and forced them into her stomach as hard as I could. It was enough for her to drop me and I gripped the pink crystal in my hand as she did. The string holding it there snapped as Rita stumbled backwards. I ran forward and kicked her again, causing her to walk closer to the dumpster. With one final kick, she tripped over a piece of rubble and landed in the suction zone of the space dumpster. Rita let out a loud scream as she began to shrink in size.
"This isn't the last you've seen of me! I will destroy all of you! Just you wait!" She called, her pitch going higher and higher as she grew smaller and smaller. She disappeared into the space dumpster and Tommy slammed the lid of it on top. A white light sealed it shot and any ounce of magic that was in the room was now gone. I let out a sigh of relief, thankful to see the evil bitch just where she belongs after everything she put me through these past few days. Looking down at my hand, I saw the pink crystal in my palm. It pulsated pink one finally time before finally going a dull color. I felt all of my energy return and I wondered for a moment if that meant that Kimberly was restoring on Earth as well.
"Whew." Tommy said, walking towards me. Reaching up, he undid the clasps of his helmet and tucked it under his arm. "That was rough. You did a great job though. Zordon will be proud." He looked around the room. "I need to find the Kimberly from my time era. I know she was coming here. Do you know where she might be?"
"Oh, I think I have an idea." I replied. I undid the clasps of my helmet and pulled it off. My ponytail fell from it, my bangs sticking to my sweat covered forehead. Tommy's eyes widened as he realized it was me.
"Kim? But, how?" He asked, stepping closer.
"It's a very long story. And also, how the hell are you morphing into a whole team of rangers like that?" I questioned. He smirked, rubbing the back of his head.
"Long story?" He replied, shrugging his shoulders. I rolled my eyes at his attempt to be cute. His face took a look of seriousness as he looked down at me. "I thought for sure you were being held prisoner here when you tried to come save me."
"Might be the other way around." I responded. "I only came because we had a feed of Rita holding you hostage. Why did you come?"
"The rest of the team and I started having flashbacks of you with us when we were younger. Our memories were trying to align themselves or something. There was a memory of you trying to get to the moon to save me and when Billy looked you up in the past, you were listed as a missing teen that was later found dead. I thought it meant that Rita had killed you. I had to try and stop you." He explained.
"Well, aren't we the pair." I mused.
"Kimberly!" Hermes voice called, walking out of the doorway where he had helped me sneak through. He gazed around the room, looking for Rita.
"She's gone, Hermes." I said, giving him a gentle smile. "We've sealed her like we've planned. Now we just need to figure out how to send her back to her time era."
"I believe I can help with that." Hermes said, shuffling over to the dumpster. Bending down, he picked it up and smiled over at me. "I can transport it back to the past with me."
"But Hermes, I thought you said that time travelling when you're not charged will kill you." I replied, taking a step towards him.
"You're correct. By going back, I will cause my own end. But, it will be worth it to ensure that all the lives on Earth are saved." He stated.
"But we can find another way." Tommy said. "I'm sure Zordon will have the power to do so."
"It's alright. It's my time to go anyway. I've had a good life. My father has been born and will sleep until Rita's return in 10,000 years. This will be my way of honoring him and the rest of my family in a way that has never been done before. I do need to apologize for the role I played in her evil ways." He gave Tommy and I each a sincere look of apology. "I did not wish to hurt anyone. Please believe me on this."
"We do." I whispered.
"Excellent. Before I go, I should warn you that Rita placed the version of herself into a sleeping state with the others who lived here. With her gone, they should awaken shortly." He smiled again, holding the dumpster against his chest. Closing his eye, Hermes began to speak in a different language. A dull yellow light began to glow around him that grew with intensity with each word he spoke. A loud noise like a gun shot rang out and in the blink of an eye, Hermes shot off through the curtains of the balcony and disappeared. The entire palace fell silent for a moment but then, a shrill voice that we knew all too well rang out from somewhere in the building.
"I'VE GOT SUCH A HEADACHE!"
"Let's get the fuck out of here." I muttered. Tommy laughed as I pressed the teleporting button on the morpher.
Back at the Command Center, I gave Billy the crystal I had gotten from Rita. With it, he was able to complete reverse the spell and brought Kimberly basically back to life from the brink of death. I stopped flickering like a television with bad reception, something I was grateful for. When she woke up, she was bright eyed and bushy tailed. I was glad to see her up and moving around, probably not as glad as Tommy who watched over her like a hawk the entire time I had been gone.
When we first arrived, Tommy walked around like he was reliving a memory. His face lit right up with excitement when he saw Alpha and Zordon again. We spoke with Zordon alone, telling him of the adventure on the moon and how Hermes had sacrificed himself in honor to send Rita back in time. Zordon said he would try to reach out to his council to see if there was anything that could be done about rescuing Finster and the rest of his bloodline from Rita. Zordon also swore us to secrecy, telling us we must never speak of our involvement with sealing Rita. We agreed, knowing the damage it would cause. It was bad enough the kids were meeting their future selves. I didn't think letting them know that their whole jobs as rangers was based on a lie. High school was bad enough.
The sound of talking came from the doorway as the teenagers came into the control room of the Command Center. The kids had been in the medical bay mostly with Kim, waiting for her to wake up. On Tommy's arrival, Jason and Zach found themselves almost acting like groupies to him. It was weird to watch them follow him around when literally the other Tommy was sitting in the next room. They asked him all sort of ranger questions and things about the future. He turned them down though, telling them he didn't want to ruin any surprises. It was probably a smart move on his part. It was the safest way to know we weren't going to change things. As they entered the room, Kim was in front looking happy and holding Tommy's hand who was beside her. Trini and Billy were behind them, the other boys bringing up the rear.
"How you feeling?" I asked, smiling at Kimberly.
"A whole lot better, thanks to you. Or me, I guess." She replied, laughing.
"Me too. I think I have something that belongs to you." I pulled the morpher from my belt line and handed it over to her. She took it in her hand, the power transferring from me to her, where it belonged. "It was great being a ranger again, but I think it's in better hands with you."
"You would know best, I suppose." She replied. Letting go of Tommy's hand, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and I hugged her back. It was weird hugging a younger version of myself but comforting at the same time.
"You behave, okay? At least a little anyway." I shot her a wink as I pulled away. "That goes for all of you, especially Jason and Zach."
"See? They obviously know something about us that is going to be awesome!" Zach exclaimed, pouting. Tommy scoffed next to me, shaking his head.
"Good to see things never change." He muttered under his breath. I nodded, smirking up at him.
"Tommy and Kimberly." Zordon said, causing us to turn up and look at him. "It was a privilege getting to know you as adults. I am honored to serve you twice as your mentor. It's given me great proudness to be able to call you two of the greatest Power Rangers who have ever served. You will be remembered through history as such." His voice boomed.
"It was great to be back for the short time I was here." I said, smiling up at him. "And thank you, Zordon, for being our mentor. You helped strived us towards our full potentials, something we couldn't have done without you."
"Kim's right. We'd be nowhere in life without the Power Rangers." Tommy said. He turned to the kids. "Cherish the time you have here, even when the fights get tough and it feels like you won't come out on top. We're living proof that you will. You've got a big job and I know you can do it."
"Are you ready to return to your time?" Alpha asked. I looked over at Kim and Tommy again. Tears were streaming down her face as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I think so." I replied.
"You'll need to walk into the transport bay. It's where we set up the charges." Billy explained, pointing at the space where we used to park that horrendous Rad Bug of his. I could see two poles attached to the floor, wires coming from them. I stepped forward, Tommy following me. Stopping between them, we turned back to face the group. Billy pressed a button on a remote and the poles began to buzz loudly.
"You know, just for the record, the long hair was much better." I said, not looking up at Tommy.
"Oh, yeah? Maybe I could grow it back." He suggested. I shook my head.
"Nah. I like it short. Though, green does look mighty fine on you." Glancing up at him, I smirked as a blinding white light filled the room.