I have finally finished chapter 2. Sarah and Lacie appear in character this time, and not just as mention. Finster also has a bigger role,so if you like Finster, then you should like this chapter. However, Rita is just as cranky as ever. Thanks for all the reviews the first time around!

Chapter 2 The Precise Concoction

Kimberly awoke to the annoying beeping of her alarm clock. Blurry-eyed, she glanced over at the red digits: 5:00 AM. She had 45 minutes to prepare for gymnastics. She sat up in bed and yawned, pulling her hair away from her face. 5 AM had to be the worst time to be up in the morning. Kimberly's body went through the motions of preparing for the day. She was not the most morning person around. Finally dressed, she headed out to the kitchen area, only to find Lacie and Sarah already sitting there eating grapefruit for breakfast. As usual, Lacie was the only morning person, bouncing and ready to go.

"Ready for the day there sleeping beauty?" asked Lacie.

"I'm ready for more sleep. How late were you two out?" asked Kimberly.

"Not too late. Only until about 1."

"Then how come you're so bouncy this morning?"

Lacie shrugged. "A little coffee does wonders."

Kimberly grabbed a bowl and poured some cheerios into it, adding sliced bananas as an afterthought. "I don't see how you can drink that stuff," shuddered Kimberly.

"You learn to like it. If you and Sarah had a little, I'm sure you two would be more like me."

"Bite me, Lacie," mumbled Sarah. "If I wanted to be perky, I'd do it without coffee."

"I'm just saying that'd it help. Possibly give you a new attitude change."

"I like my attitude just fine thank you very much," retorted Sarah.

Kimberly ignored the exchange between the two. It had become a daily morning ritual between the two roommates and the dialogue didn't change too much each morning. The only difference was how grumpy or not grumpy Sarah was. Lacie always seemed to be bouncy. Kim was neutral to it all; she didn't let Lacie's mood nor attempts to have her try coffee bother her. Kimberly glanced up at the clock. 6:40 stared back at her. "Come on guys. We're going to be late if we don't get a move on!"

Lacie and Sarah snapped out of their arguments before going into serious gymnast mode. The trio grabbed duffle bags and were quickly out the door, locking it behind them. Forgotten were the dirty dishes on the table, the half-eaten grapefruit, and the hot coffee. Instead, three minds were focused on the upcoming day at the gym. Pan Globals were the most important thing and required most of the gymnasts lives spent at the gym. "As Sarah had put it the first day, "Welcome to Hell. To the right equipment, to the left bunk-beds." Even though Sarah was sarcastic much of the time, she really was fun to be around. Her remarks could make people laugh at the strangest of time. Of course, their coach didn't appreciate it too much when she did that during training, but Sarah never did care too much. Kimberly never did see how Sarah could be so sarcastic, but she didn't question it too much either.

The trio walked down the street as the sun began was rising on the city. Very few people were out and the streets were very quiet. It was a surprising scene to catch in Florida, but the teenagers had all gotten used to it after a few days. The peace and quiet allowed them to focus their minds and relax before training. Birds chirped in the trees above and Kimberly smiled. She loved when the birds sang each morning. It made her feel glad to be alive.

Rita awoke in one of her moods. Her husband still snored on next to her. "Grrr…. Zedd stop snoring! How can I even sleep with you carrying on like that!" She whacked him upside the head.

"Mmm…. Stop that pooky… my evil teddy, mine…." He rolled over, drifting back into a deep sleep. Rita raised an eyebrow at him, but shook her head. She did not have any time to deal with Zedd's sleep talking.

Rita padded down the hallway back to her balcony. Goldar and Finster were to be meeting her there that morning to further discuss their plans for Kimberly. As she arrived, she saw that neither Finster nor Goldar were waiting on her. Do I have to do everything myself? I need better minions. She tapped her foot impatiently and waiting for the two to show up.

Ten minutes later, steam was coming from her ears. Or, it would be if she were a steam engine. Finster and Goldar still hadn't shown up. I thought I told those two to be here… they should have been here by now. Rita couldn't stand it anymore. "Finster! Goldar! Get in here right now!" Rita's high-pitched scream echoed throughout the fortress, waking more than just Finster and Goldar. A few minutes later, the two rushed in, almost colliding.

"Where have you two been!" yelled Rita. "You were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago!"

"Sorry my queen," mumbled the two.

"Now, let's get down to business. Finster, did you do what I asked you?"

"Yes. The new Tenga warriors are almost complete. A few difficulties, but I do believe that I have fixed any new problems that will arise."

Rita looked skeptical. "What exactly will these new Tenga warriors be able to do?"

"Well, I have increased their intellectual capability, thus increasing the chance of overpowering the Rangers in battle or, in this case, Kimberly.

"Is that it?"

"Well, no. I have always created a new weapon for the Tengas to carry into battle. I call it the Tenga Talcon. It is special glove that all new Tengas will wear, very light weight as to not interfere with flight. With just the press of a button, long talons will extend from the gloves and can be used as a weapon, poison gas, or sleeping gas, " explained Finster as he pulled a pair of the black gloves from a bag around his waist and handed them to Rita.

"Now that's more like it. I like it when new Tengas warriors actually sound like worthy warriors," replied Rita as she looked closely at the gloves, eyeing the sharp talons hidden inside.

"Well it did take awhile before I came up with the perfect prototype. It only needs to be fully tested before I make anymore," continued Finster.

"Hmm… why not try it out on Rito? He's enough of an idiot to fall for that kind of thing," suggested Rita.

"Excellent idea," said Goldar. "Shall I take some Tenga warriors and attack Rito? Taking him by surprise is the only way."

"Yes, that's perfect," answered Rita as she handed him the gloves. "Take a few new Tengas with you, but have only one really attack Rito. I must know if this will work. It is crucial to the success of our plan."

"What shall I do my queen?" asked Finster.

"I want you to continue making new Tengas. If these Tengas are as good as they sound, we'll have no problems in the future. We'll use the new Tengas later. Right now, you and I need to discuss what we're going to do about Kimberly."

"What exactly did you have in mind?"

"I want something that will take her out of commission."

"She's already lost her Ranger powers and passed them on. How much more out of commission do you want."

"Enough so that she can never recover any Ranger powers! Enough so that it will allow me to use her against Tommy!"

"Well… I suppose I could create some kind of formula that would have a dangerous effect on the girl. What kind of formula do you desire?"

"Hmm… I don't want to kill her off. That's too easy and not fun at all. No… I want something that will take away the second most precious thing in her life."

"Gymnastics?"

"Precisely. Besides Tommy-boy, Pinky's been training non-stop. She's going for her dream, and I refuse to allow her to succeed."

"Well, I suppose I could whip up a sleeping potion…"

"Sleeping potion? How's that going to help me?" asked Rita, confused.

"Well, if she is training as hard as you say, she'll be working late into the night. If you slip the potion into something she drinks, it will affect her body and performance. Any multitude of things could happen to her after it takes effect. It will only work, however, if you give it to her while she is still working. If she takes it after her work-out, then she'll just think she's overworked herself."

"So you're saying to give it to her so that it'll cause her to have an accident...?"

"Precisely!" grinned Finster.

"Hmm… this could work well in our favor. Once she's out of commission…. We can take her for our own later own…. But she should suffer first. It'll make things all the more sweeter by the time I get ahold of her and Tommy."

"Why aren't we going to take her right away?"

"Because you nitwit, if we let her think she was the cause of her accident, she won't even begin to suspect that it was us. We don't need any Rangers on our case. They will ruin everything!"

"Ahh yes. It makes perfect sense," nodded Finster.

"Finster, I want that potion by this afternoon! No excuses!"

Finster bowed. "Yes my queen! I'm on it right away!" He walked quickly down the hallway to his laboratory and locked himself inside. Rita smiled to herself. Things were falling into place.

In his laboratory/bedroom, Finster quickly began grabbing multiple bottles off his makeshift shelves. He hummed to himself as he double-checked the contents, making sure he had all the right ingredients. "Now where did I put that Umbrim formula…." He searched the shelves until he found a small black bottle labeled Umbrim. "Ahh I remember it being there now…" He grabbed all the bottles and placed them on a table against the right wall, next to a small black mixing pot. After doing so, he began looking among his books to find the precise recipe. A sleeping potion had to be concocted precisely, otherwise it would never work.

The ingredients wore measured and then poured into the mixing pot. Finster stirred and stirred; a sleeping potion had to be well mixed to be effective. Colored smoke poured from the bowl, the signal that the potion was complete. Finster poured the yellowish mixture into three different jars and sealed them tightly with a cork. He didn't trust anyone else and was afraid one of the other minions would end up breaking one of the bottles. Finster had had too many potions and monster molds broken over the past few years to take any chances. He placed two of the bottles on the back of the top shelf and slipped the third in his pouch to take to Rita.

Kimberly wiped the sweat from her face with a towel. Practice that day so far had been brutal. Kimberly sat on the bench and slipped on a pair of jogging pants. As she did so, she watched the other girls practice. She was waiting for Lacie and Sarah to finish so that they could all grab some lunch on their break. Sarah was working on her floor routine while Lacie was working on the uneven bars. Kimberly had spent the entire morning on beam, trying to make sure her backflips were executed perfectly and that she could follow them directly with a few dance moves. She was glad that the noon hour had finally come. A break was in order. Kimberly looked up as Sarah ran over to her.

"How was your morning?" asked Sarah. She had become much more serene since waking up. Gymnastics always calmed her down.

"It was good. I'm doing better on beam with my new routine, but it's definitely exhausting."

"I know the feeling. I wish I could do something else besides my floor routine though. Hopefully I can convince coach to let me switch to vault this afternoon. I just haven't been able to nail my front flip on vault the way I should."

"I'm sure coach will let you. Oh hey, Lacie's coming over. Let's get a bite to eat. I'm starving."

Lacie joined the two girls on the bench. "What's for lunch today? Back to the apartment or out for lunch?"

Sarah spoke up. "Let's go to that new deli down the street. I've heard they have great wraps that are healthy and sooooo good."

Kimberly giggled. "I'm good with going there. What about you, Lacie?"

"Sounds fine to me. You buying Sarah?"

Sarah scoffed. "Me? Are you crazy? You buy for me, remember?"

Lacie rolled her eyes. "Right….We'd better get a move on if we're to make it back before the afternoon workout.

The three girls grabbed jackets and began walking toward the door. Kimberly motioned to their coach that they were heading out for lunch. He gave her an "okay" signal back. The street had become much busier since early that morning; cars and people were everywhere; the girls almost had to walk in a straight line because of all the people on the streets. Kimberly listened for the birds, but their chirps could barely be heard over the commotion on the streets. Her stomach growled and the dinging of the deli bell over head brought her back to the present.

"Finster! Finster! Get in here right now! You'd better have that potion or else!" yelled Rita.

A harried Finster rushed to the balcony. "I'm here my queen. And, I have brought the potion with me. It should do just the trick." He rummaged around in his bag, searching for the small jar. He handed it over to Rita, who inspected it's contents through the glass. "Excellent…now we just need to find the perfect time to slip it into something she's eating…" Rita moved to her Repulsa Scope to check on Kimberly. She watched as Kimberly ate lunch with two other girls and overhead Kimberly mention something about staying late. "Hmm… this could work to our advantage…" she mused.

Next time on Windmill into the Fall: Kimberly decides to train late at the gym, but Sarah and Lacie try to coax her out of it. Meanwhile, Rita sends a disguised Tenga warrior to Earth to place the potion in Kimberly's bottle of water. What will it do to Kimberly? Find out next chapter!