DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Power rangers or anything affiliated with the series. I do, however, own the character of Melissa Blake and Chad McPherson.
"Good morning. My name is Melissa Blake," Melissa said as petite woman entered her office and gave a wary look around the place. She had rather short brown hair and was wearing a pair of jeans and a white halter-top. It didn't appear to her that this woman could even throw her around, much less a monster, but she was supposedly a former Power Ranger? She didn't think that the police department would pull her leg on something this serious. "Are you fine with this session being taped?"
"I guess," Kim said as she sat down across from Melissa and looked at her.
She didn't trust the woman, at all. She didn't really know why she was here. Well her husband had made her come, but that was beside the point. She was seeing a psychologist and she had never thought that would happen, even after all the things she went through as a ranger. These were things that she never thought she might be talking about to someone who was a complete stranger and knew absolutely nothing about what it was like to actually be a ranger.
BEGIN Tape KX102PR
"Your name?" Melissa asked, innocently, as Kim looked over at her. She didn't buy this innocent act at all.
She couldn't believe that her husband was all right with discussing their ranger lives, but the last few weeks had changed them all. Her husband had been one of the ones that was the most against them doing something like this until a few days ago, now it seemed that everything had changed with him as well.
"Kimberly Hart-Oliver," Kim said stiffly as Melissa gave her a shocked look. She was two years younger than her and now she remembered who she had been in high school and she was married to some Oliver guy. Why did that name ring a bell as well? She knew that she had to know an Oliver, but she just couldn't place a face with the name. "I was the first Pink Power Ranger."
"Um…" Melissa said, as she couldn't get out from under Kim's penetrating gaze. She was not giving her a moment to really try to pull together some questions for her.
"Am I supposed to lie down on a couch or something?" Kim asked to break the silence and Melissa quickly shook her head no.
"Not if you don't want to. I only have it here for people who insist on lying down. They think it is the only way that they can receive proper therapy," Melissa said, calmly, as Kim fidgeted in her chair. "Let's get some basics out of the way first."
"Like what?" Kim asked as Melissa looked down at her notes, trying to see where she wanted to begin. There was so much that needed to be covered, but she had the feeling that only a limited amount would be revealed by any one ranger at once. The police would only really know at the end of all the sessions what was really going on. "Is that what the police want you to find out about us? The stuff they weren't able to figure out on their own?"
"No, it's just some basic questions I'd like you to answer and then there are some that are tailored to this particular group," Melissa said, politely, as Kim nodded her head ever so slightly.
"Go ahead," Kim said, as she just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.
She didn't need to be here, but she had been convinced to come by her husband. He thought it would be good for all of them to talk to someone after the accident that had happened. She just didn't understand why they couldn't talk amongst themselves like they had in the past. It had always worked fine before, why wouldn't it work now?
"Do you have any family?" Melissa asked as Kim just looked at her. Surely, the police would have been able to find that out and give that sort of information to her.
"What did the police tell you about us?" Kim asked as Melissa laughed.
"Not much, just that I would be seeing the Power Rangers for some counseling over the next few days," Melissa said as Kim just shook her head. "Now, back to your family."
"Well, I have an older brother, both my parents are still alive and I've been married for a couple of years," Kim said as Melissa nodded.
"No children, yet?" Melissa asked, as Kim sadly shook her head no.
"I had a miscarriage while I was serving on my last ranger team. We haven't tried again yet. We want to make sure that nothing else comes after us. We have bad luck with being pulled back into the ranger world," Kim said, quietly, as Melissa sat there in shock.
"I was under the impression that you were done with all of your ranger work and had been done for quite some time," Melissa said as Kim looked at her and just shook her head. Yeah, they really didn't know anything about a ranger's life and now they were expected to explain all the intricacies and even rangers didn't know all of the answers to being a ranger.
"You are never done being a ranger. It's something that you wouldn't understand," Kim said, frankly, as Melissa could only nod.
"Have you ever been to a psychologist before?" Melissa asked, as Kim shook her head no. "Well, then this is a first."
"And a last," Kim said, in a definite tone as Melissa looked at her. She must have been sure that this was going to be a rather short encounter.
"All right, enough of those questions," Melissa said as she walked over to sit in a more comfortable chair, knowing that this was probably going to take several hours. She knew that Kimberly did not want to be here for that long, but in order to get the information that they needed then they were going to have to sit there with each other for a short while. "When did you first become a Power Ranger?"
"My freshman year of high school," Kim said as she spun her chair around to face Melissa.
"How long were you a ranger?" Melissa asked as Kim looked thoughtfully at the ceiling.
"About three years for my first post. Then I went to Florida to train as a gymnast. Then I came back out to California, got married and landed myself on another Power Ranger team, along with my husband. That team lasted for about a year. I've been on some little missions in between, but those were my major jobs," Kim said as she finally placed her purse on the floor, resigning herself to the fact that she was going to be here for quite some time.
"Your husband is a ranger as well?" Melissa asked as Kim nodded her head and smiled.
"Yeah, fell in love as rangers, but we're not the only ranger couple in history. We're just the first. I guess that is something to be proud of, although it is a pain in the ass when others ask for advice," Kim said as Melissa jotted that note down. It interested her to hear that, but she wasn't quite sure why it interested her at all.
"What was it like?" Melissa asked as Kim smiled.
"It was wonderful, it was such a privilege to be chosen but it also did things to all of us," Kim said as she went silent. She didn't want to delve into the horrible things that had happened to them.
"What did it do to you?" Melissa asked, twirling her pen as Kim thought about what to say. "Say the truth, not what you think is correct."
"There is no correct answer for this," Kim said as she continued to try to find the right words. She didn't know how much she could risk giving away. Sure, the others were fine with this, but they all were a little wary and she just didn't understand why she had to be first.
"Well then say what you are thinking and don't try to censor yourself. We'll get no where if you do that," Melissa said as Kim let out a sigh and then looked up at her.
"It made us grow up. We saw things that no teenager should ever have to see. I was almost killed several times, so were my husband and the others, we had to grow up quickly and learn what it was like to face that with no real comfort from the outside world. There were so many nights I cried because of something that had happened that afternoon that I couldn't stop. I was not the only one, we all had to sometimes so that we wouldn't go crazy from the stress of it all," Kim said as she played with a few strands of her hair.
"How did you make it through school?" Melissa asked, out of curiosity.
"We were careful to be at school on time, make good grades, and cover our bruises with make-up or by wearing long sleeves, even when it was ludicrously hot outside. We were good at hiding pain in front of everyone, even our families. The only ones, who ever saw how bad we were, were our fellow rangers. Our families didn't even know. They still don't know," Kim said as Melissa shook her head. How did they do that? How could no one notice any of their changes in high school?
"That must have been rough," Melissa said as Kim gave her a look and she cringed from its intensity.
"Rough is an understatement," Kim said with a shake of her head. "I can remember going to school, barely able to move, but no one noticed or at least no one said anything to us about it. You see most, really all, my friends were rangers and no one tried to break into our circle. We didn't mean for it to be that way, but it just happened and I think that secretly we were all happy about it. We didn't have to worry about someone questioning us. We all knew what had happened the day before and we didn't have to talk about it to get over it. For a long time we ignored it and when it got to be too much we went to each other for help."
"So, does it go too far to say that the rangers are like your family?" Melissa asked as Kim looked down.
"No, that's exactly right. We're family and when you lose a family member it's hard to deal with," Kim said frankly as Melissa looked at her. She hadn't even been here twenty minutes and she had moved them to that subject. "She was in my wedding. She was my best friend."
"Your best friend?" Melissa asked as she faintly remembered an Asian girl that Kim had hung out with in high school. "What was her name?"
"Trini Scott, you're going to hear a lot about her. You are talking to all of us, right?" Kim asked as Melissa nodded her head. "Her husband will be here one day as well."
"How many ranger couples are there?" Melissa asked out of curiosity and shock. Kim had said they weren't the only one, but she thought that maybe it was only one per group or something like that.
"Well, me and Tommy, Jason and…I can't count that one anymore, Billy and the second pink ranger, the second red and second yellow, second black and third yellow, fourth red and third pink, fifth red and fifth yellow…I don't really know what happened in the next few teams… the last one is yellow and white…don't ask me what number they are I don't have a clue about it. You kinda get lost after awhile," Kim said and then looked down at her fingers. "That's seven, but there are more I don't know about. The best person to ask would be Tommy, but I doubt he would tell you about it. He'd say that it has nothing to do with what you need to know and he's right."
"Seven?" Melissa asked. "You don't hate each other at the end of the day?"
"We're normal, we all have our days when we feel like we want to kill our spouses. Tommy and I always have, but you love your family and no matter what you take care of them, that is how we are. Any of us would give up our lives to keep another ranger safe," Kim said as Melissa looked at her. She was hiding something behind this willing bravado of hers, but what was it?
"What are you hiding?" Melissa asked as Kim looked at her. "You are so willing to tell me all this information, but it is just on the outside, the books of a Power Rangers life. You must have had some other reason to come here."
"Yeah, Tommy," Kim said as Melissa shook her head.
"What answers do you want?" Melissa asked, as Kim was truly shocked. How could she know that was what it happened to be with her? "I can't answer it all, but you can at least get it out and maybe we'll be able to find some answers."
"I wish I knew why now," Kim said as she let the tears flow freely.
"What do you mean?" Melissa asked.
"I could have accepted Trini dying in battle, but a damn car crash? Hell, we went through that on a daily basis in high school and we were able to walk around the next day like nothing had happened to us. Something is not right about that," Kim said angrily as Melissa looked at her.
"Was there anything odd about the crash?" Melissa asked as Kim took a deep breath.
"Yeah, that there was a crash at all," Kim said, as Melissa jerked her head up from her notepad. "Trini was a good driver, but she, supposedly, just lost control of the car. That's what they concluded, none of us are really sure that that is right. Jason saw the car and he just said that something seemed off. We couldn't get much out of him except the fact that the inside was completely destroyed, not the outside. We figured it was something else, but we don't know what and we can't really think of anything either."
"Something in your past possibly?" Melissa asked, as Kim shook her head no, at least that was what she didn't think then. It all seemed too surreal to really be able to find something that would go that far.
"Jason said she met with someone that day. He couldn't remember the name, but her day planner and purse was gone. That is something the police seem to be ignoring as if it is not important," Kim said as Melissa stood up to grab a folder. "What are you doing?"
"You may want to see this," Melissa said as she handed Kim a file.
"What is it?" Kim asked as she looked down that the sealed manila envelope.
"I'm not sure, but as you are the pink ranger, this is for you," Melissa said as she had been handed it by a police officer a few days ago and told to give it to the ranger, as he or she came.
PAUSE Tape: KX102PR
REPORT KX102PRa
For unknown reasons the tape is paused by therapist Melissa Blake, we can only assume that deeply personal information was revealed and requested to be erased by Mrs. Kimberly Hart-Oliver. Speculation as to what this information might be is varied, but is to no use as neither Ms. Blake nor Mrs. Hart-Oliver will comment on this section of speech.
Deputy Chad McPherson Angel Grove Police Department
END REPORT KX102PRa
"Oh my…" Kim muttered as she opened the folder then moved to the floor and dumped its contents there. "Who in the world knows this much about me?"
"What?" Melissa asked, as Kim searched through the material in front of her until she found a folded piece of paper.
"This can't be what I think it is," Kim said as she saw Trini's familiar handwriting and began to read.
Kim,
I know this is probably very unexpected for you to be getting this. Look after Jason for me, will you? Whatever is going on, I need you to listen to me now. I was able to get all of this from a meeting with Chad McPherson. I'm not sure what will happen to me after the meeting, but our identities are safe for the time being. Kim the information they have has taken years to gather, but it will only take minutes for you to destroy if all of you can manage it.
Chad McPherson came to my office on Friday and requested a meeting to discuss the Power Rangers. He is a police officer in Angel Grove and probably knows more than any of you about what might be going on. According to him the Angel Grove Police have some sort of plan for the rangers. I don't know what it is, but be careful Kim. I'm afraid of what this meeting might do to me, but my chances are better than some of you. If anything bad happens to me, I know that the police department will probably be involved. Jason doesn't need to know Kim; he'll go crazy. Look, as Power Rangers we have a certain responsibility to protect ourselves, which is what I am trying to do. Don't be mad at me for this, you know you'd do the same.
Love you,
Trini
"I know Chad. He's a nice guy," Melissa said as Kim nodded her head.
"I wonder if he is missing now. It would make sense that he would disappear since he was giving this information out to her," Kim said, as Melissa shook her head no.
"He brought all this to me the other day," Melissa said reaching over and switching off the tape recorder so that the two of them could wonder aloud without any further consequences. "Now we can hypothesize."
"It's just odd. I guess each one of us has a piece of the puzzle and it may take all of them to find a real answer, but why would this happen?" Kim asked as Melissa nodded while rewinding the tape to find the spot where they could begin recording again later.
"I'm not a detective or anything, but maybe Chad gave her this and then some one attacked her. Then he retrieved the packages so the police wouldn't know that he was tipping you off for your own protection. It would make sense if he was trying to help you," Melissa said as Kim nodded.
"But why not help her?" Kim asked as the door was opened and a man walked in.
"Chad, what are you doing here?" Melissa asked as Kim sat there, in shock at seeing this man.
"She was gone when I got to her," Chad said, ignoring Melissa's question. "The reason the police can't find a suspect is because there isn't one. From what I saw something just landed in her car and went after her. I don't know why, but stopping it was impossible. By the time I got to her the car was crashed and she was gone."
"This is crazy," Kim said as Chad nodded.
"That's what I thought, but it makes sense as a Power Ranger. Listen all the information that was gathered has been moved to my office, in order to keep the secret. The only way it will be destroyed is if you can give us something that will prove the theory of a monster," Chad said as he turned to leave the room.
"But how could I prove that?" Kim asked as Melissa shrugged her shoulders. She had no clue how that would be possible. "Turn the tape back on, I'm ready to really talk."
RECORD PRESSED Tape: KX102PR
"During your time as a ranger what happened?" Melissa asked as Kim looked down at the floor.
"What was shown on the news is just the beginning of it. I've already said that we had to hide things from everyone, but that was only the beginning. Power Rangers don't take well to changes. Jason, Trini, and Zack went to Geneva and three others replaced them. When that happened to us, we began to fall apart. We had to learn to trust three new rangers, it was not easy. We have our problems still, but when that happened we were really rocked," Kim said as she wiped her eyes. "That was when we realized how much things were going to change if we stayed in the game."
"How did it change you personally?" Melissa asked as Kim stood up and walked over to sit down on the couch.
"I began second guessing things for the first time then. I trusted the new rangers, but I still relied on Tommy and Billy the most and when I lost my powers, I didn't think I would be able to put myself through doing that to them again. Then I left, bad timing all around really. You think withdrawing from a drug is hell, withdrawing from powers is much worse, it makes you think drugs would be preferable. You are drained, you can't move, you have aches and pains from walking and other everyday activities. Your life is completely changed in a matter of seconds. You are a Power Ranger one day and a civilian the next, it's a huge change to try to become accustomed to," Kim said as she could only shake her head. She had never thought that reliving all of these things might help, but anything at this point could help and maybe they would find something in her words that she didn't know was there.
"All of you went through this change, correct?" Melissa asked as Kim nodded her head yes. "How did it affect you collectively?"
"If we had gone through it together I think it would have been different. Trini, Jason, and Zack all had each other to depend upon but Billy, Tommy, and I went through it at different times. We kinda fell apart for awhile there. Tommy and I went through hell in our relationship. We didn't know how to be together anymore. We loved each other, but we couldn't figure it out at first, being Power Rangers had been such a huge part of our lives. You lose part of who you are and it takes awhile to find it again. After a couple of years we were all able to get back to who we were before becoming rangers, then you get called for some mission. The cycle continued to repeat itself for us, hopefully we're finally out of it," Kim said as Melissa looked down at her notes.
"So you could say, as a group, losing your powers put you through more pain than gaining the powers," Melissa said as Kim gave her another look.
"Getting powers causes you no pain. I guess I could relate it to childbirth, you know it will cause you pain in the end, but it's worth it," Kim said as she smiled a sad smile. "I would have had my baby a few weeks ago if I hadn't had a miscarriage. I loved being a ranger, but you do give up so much for it."
"So who do you think could have done this?" Melissa asked as Kim just shook her head. She couldn't think of many things that would have a problem with Trini. She knew of things that had problems with her, Tommy, and Jason, but Trini had never been part of that trio and they had kept her out of it in order to protect her.
"If I knew I would be finding some new powers so I could go kick their asses. We destroyed everything we ever went against and she didn't fight during the worst battles. She had left to go to Geneva by then. Some of Lord Zedd's dominion didn't get destroyed, but they have never given us any problems. That's all I can really think of right now," Kim said as Melissa nodded. "Is there anything else? I just want to go home."
"No, I think we have found out plenty today," Melissa said as Kim nodded and then stood and walked out of her office. "Conclusion of tape 2, Pink Power Ranger, Kimberly Hart-Oliver."
END Tape: KX102PR
AN: All right, before I get slammed for Kim being out of character, I need to explain something. I am exploring the different dimensions of grief and different people act different ways. I plan to have a chapter with all of them together towards the end and they'll all be emotional wrecks, so if that's what you want to see, it'll be there then. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think, even if it is not exactly complimentary.