"How's it feel to be back in the driver's seat?" Zack's voice asked in my ear. I smiled, pulling back on the lever in front of me. The pterodactyl dinozord pulled up in the air, flying towards the outskirts of Angel Grove. Much like riding a bike, it was easy to remember how to fly my Zord once I was back at the helm. It glided through the air like nothing, the wings spread out on my sides like a real prehistoric flying dinosaur. I made sure to turn off all the lights on the under carriage, cloaking my presence from anyone who happened to look up. Billy also made me invisible to any type of radar in the area, making it so the military and nearby airports were unable to detect me. I flew the zord towards the hotel, the lights of the building quickly approaching. It was the tallest building on this side of town and the gold gleamed in the glow of the moon above it.
"It's like I never left." I replied. "I'm coming up on the hotel. Are you guys seeing it?" I asked.
"Affirmative, Kim." Billy said, his voice in my ear. "You'll need to hoover over the building for several minutes for us to be able to get a floor plan with the radar equipment."
"Alright. I'm moving closer now." Flying towards the building, I pulled up on the brake and slowed down. The engines in the wings of the zord hissed as I brought the machine to a halt over the hotel. "I'm over it right now. Start scanning."
"Kim, once the reading it done, you make sure you get the hell out of there." Jason said, his tough voice carrying over in the cockpit of the pterodactyl.
"No worries there." I muttered, holding the mech in place. Glancing out of the window, I looked at the hotel. On the roof, there were several columns like structures that blinked a red light every few seconds. They did not blink at the same time but rather in a pattern. A screen lit up on one of the column, but I was unable to make out what it was. "From what I see up here, there are some weird computer things on the roof. I'm not sure what they are but they don't look like they belong there."
"They might be how they are communicating with the rest of the universe. Rita and Zedd liked keeping in contact with other beings out there in case they needed some help. She might be doing the same thing." Tommy replied. I could hear a gruffness in his voice. He was not pleased that I had agreed to do this. He didn't say so, but I could tell by the way he looked at me while I climbed into the zord before I left.
"Whatever they are, they have blinking lights on them. Can you guys see them?" I asked.
"Yeah. Alpha is trying to see if he can pick up on a signal from them." Jason replied. "Just a few more minutes, Kimmy. Then you can head back. Can't have you out there having all the fun."
"You're just jealous." I said, flicking on the switch for the auxiliary engine. I was trying my best to cut back on the noise I was giving off.
"Hey, our Zords are now fully charged. We could come out and kick some butt if need be." Zack said.
"I don't think that's necessary. Kim, we have the scan. You can come back now." Billy said.
"Alright. I'm coming back." Turning off the stabilizer, I shifted the craft to face towards the desert where the Command Center was. Pushing down on the throttle, the Zord flew away from the hotel. "I'm getting hungry. Anyone want some take out while I'm out?" I asked, smiling to myself.
"Ha ha. Just get back here." Tommy replied, sounding more relieved than before.
"Fine." There was a sudden jerk and it felt like I was being pulled backwards. I pushed down on the throttle some more, hoping it was just the backup engine faltering. There was another jolt and the Zord dropped quickly for a few hundred feet. A scream flew out of my mouth as I struggled to bring it back up.
"Kim! What's going on?" Tommy asked.
"I don't know. I dropped altitude for some reason. I think my back engine is failing." I called out. Turning, I glanced out the back window. I saw that there was something stuck to the back end of the craft, a blinking light on the end of it. "I've been hit! It's one of the computer things from the hotel. I think she's trying to track me."
"Head back." Jason said. I shook my head, boosting my engines.
"I can't. They will know where everyone is. I'm going to see if I can toss it." I replied.
"Kim, meet me at the bay. I'll call the Dragonzord and we can pull it out."
"Okay. Hurry! It's killing my engines." Red lights began to flash all over the cockpit, warning me of the engines being to fail. I shifting the controls and headed towards the bay where I knew the Dragonzord was kept. I could see the reflection of the moon on the surface of the water, telling me the ocean was coming closer. Behind me, I could hear the object lodged into the metal of the zord begin to buzz. Swearing, I pushed harder and sped up. A high pitch scream came from one of my engines before a fireball erupted from my right side. A siren sounded in the cockpit as the pterodactyl began to nose dive. "Tommy! Where are you? I lost all but one of my engines. I'm going to crash!"
"Hang on, beautiful! I'm coming right now." His voice called back. I could hear the call of the Dragonzord in the background. Using everything I had, I pulled up on the throttle and tried to bring the zord back up to the air. It didn't work, the ocean starting to come closer. In the distance, I could see the outline of the enormous Dragonzord on the far right side of the bay. "Kim, eject!" Tommy called out. Reaching over, I slammed my gloved fist on the eject button. Nothing happened. My seat didn't move, and I was still inside of the Zord.
"It's not working!" I yelled. The ocean was coming closer and faster. I braced myself for the impact.
"KIM!" Tommy's voice screamed as I hit the surface of the water. The front of the zord bent as if it had hit a brick wall. The sudden stop threw me forward, but the straps of my seat held me in securely. Amazed by the face I was alive, I looked around me. Smoke billowed from the right side of the zord as the left side began to sink under the water. Cold water began to fill the inside of the cockpit. Ripping my seat belt off, I pushed on the hatch above my head. It didn't budge. The lights in the cockpit flickers as more water rushed in. Sitting back in my seat, I tried kicking at the plated glass in the front. It didn't even splinter. My heart raced in my chest as I tried again and again. Each kick made my back twinge in pain for a second before going numb. I ignored the feeling though, trying to add more force with each kick.
"Tommy!" I called out. There was no response, telling me that the intercom was gone as well. The water was up to my chest now, the zord tipping forward as the front end filled with water. Pulling my helmet off, I swung it towards the glass. It chipped slightly as it made contact, faint spider webs crossing the window. I repeated the action, more cracks appearing. "Come on!" I hollered, swinging again. The glass cracked again but didn't break. Reach up, I pushed but it didn't give. I tried to swing the helmet again, but the water was slowing down my movement. "No, no, no!" I whispered, doing my best to kick and hit the glass. Pushing myself against the glass, I frantically searched around. It was pitch dark, the lights from the bay looking like fire flies in the distance.
The water had reach my neck now. I kept bobbing up and own, trying to stay above it. Reach up, I pulled on the hatch again. I saw that the metal had twisted so it was blocking it from opening. Tears began to brim in my eyes as I stood on the seat of the cock pit and pushed with everything left in me. It opened slightly, allowing more water to pour in before slamming shut. This was it. This was how I was going to die. I survived so many battles against monsters bigger than skyscrapers, fought one on one against bad guys that could cause nightmares and lived through an accident that almost left me paralyzed but this is what kills me? Where was the justice in that? Was there really no karma? After all the good I've tried to do, this is what happens to me in the end. And just after I had Tommy back in my life.
"Kim!" A muffled voice cried above me. Looking up, I saw a green cladded figure standing on the right wing of the pterodactyl.
"Tommy!" I called, bobbing my head above the water. My helmet was floating around my head, bouncing off the glass as it filled with water. Tommy pulled his helmet off, slamming it on the glass from the outside. It cracked more, the web spreading. "Tommy, hurry!" I screamed. I only had about three inches of air left and it was becoming incredibly difficult to breath.
"Hang on!" He yelled back. Pulling the Dragon Dagger from his belt, he knelt down and slammed the tip of it against the fractured part of the glass. Water lapped at the glass, covering it as the Zord sank deeper. Tommy drew the dagger back again and jabbed it into the same spot again and again. The glass splintered slightly, a dime size hole breaking through. I took a deep breath as water filled the rest of the cockpit. I slammed my hand against the glass, staring up at Tommy. "I'm coming! Don't give up! I just got you back. I'm not losing you now." The edges of my vision darkened as my lungs screamed for air. Tommy continued to chip at the glass, small pieces of it flying off as he went. It was no use. My head was spinning from the lack of air and everything was growing dim. "Kim! Kim!" I heard as everything went black.