A/N: So, I know this is two weeks late but better late than never. Right?
sabina21: Read on :)
TheTombedSpirit: I don't know about being kidnapped but that sure would be exciting.
adoven: Funny you should mention those... they're already in my plans.
hewhoreaps: There're so many issues to sort out here...
Turned-By-William AKA Spike: Aww, thanks. Sorry this one's so late.
Apollo Holmes: Yeah so did I.
brankel1: Thanks.
"Make me a green dino ATV," Trent demanded from Elsa.
Elsa smirked, looking him up and down.
"And in return you will join us?" she asked.
"What do you think?" Trent snapped. He then reminded himself of the task at hand and calmed down. "I mean I'll have my ATV back. Of course I'll be grateful."
"Very well," the female villain drawled, going back to Mesogog's lair. Trent turned around and walked away from the district warehouse. He shook his head at Elsa's foolish choice of trusting him.
On Sunday, Tommy was on his way to Kim's house, intending on making a proposition. He felt hopeful about what he was going to do and felt that Kim would finally give in to him.
Suddenly, the white ranger appeared out of nowhere on a green dino ATV. The green ranger raised his eyebrow at him.
"I'd like to make a deal with you," Trent proposed, sitting on the green ATV in his civilian form.
"What kind of deal?" Tommy asked, although he already had a pretty good idea in mind.
"This ATV in exchange for mine."
"How do I know you haven't rigged it?"
"Well... you don't. But I'm pretty sure your friends can check it out for you."
Tommy nodded. That was true. Hayley could check it over and then fix any problems if necessary.
"Okay, but you'll have to wait. I'll need to go home and get it."
Trent scoffed. "I know where you live. If I wanted to steal it, I would've done so ages ago," he claimed dryly.
"How do I know that you actually know where I live? What if you just wanna find out?"
"The place you're staying at is one of my father's many extra houses. I wouldn't wanna upset the landlord and I definitely wouldn't wanna get the tenant in trouble."
"Fine," Tommy conceded.
After Tommy and Trent went back to the former's temporary home, they sensibly sealed the deal by trading ATVs.
"See ya later," the teenager said, driving off on his ATV. Tommy watched him go and then decided to take his own ATV to the dino lab to get it tested, completely forgetting about his plans with Kim.
Kim sat at her apartment, waiting for Tommy to show up. They'd planned on meeting at hers half an hour ago and he still wasn't here. She stopped looking out of the window and went to her chest of drawers, pulling out her diary. Opening it, she decided to add another extract.
4th January 2004
Dear diary,
I'm waiting for Tommy to show up; we made plans to meet at mine. I think... I think he has something he wants to tell me. Well, it seems like that anyway. Or is it just hopeful thinking? He did tell me he loved me...
Am I a bad person? Despite hurting Tommy so badly in the past, I want to be with him again. Is this selfish? It's just that after I found out about Kat breaking up with Tommy for Jason, I kinda changed my mind. I guessed I realised that we're all humans and we all make mistakes. I mean, Kat is such a lovely girl and she would never hurt anyone intentionally. It just got me thinking. She hadn't meant to hurt Tommy and neither did I, but somehow we both ended up doing it anyway. If Kat, the girl I chose to be my successor, broke Tommy's heart... did that make her a bad person? Yes and no. We both broke up with him for selfish reasons: me for my gymnastics and her for the chance to be with Jason. But did that make us bad people? Kat definitely wasn't a bad person. And after some time, I realised that even though I wasn't perfect, I wasn't exactly a bad guy either.
Oh God, help me. I'm falling for Tommy again. Hard. If he makes a move on me, I honestly can't see myself denying him. Or myself.
Maybe the next time I write, I'll no longer be single...
Bye for now.
As soon as she set the diary down, she heard a shrill scream from below. Bounding over to the window, Kim spotted a woman being harassed by none other than Zeltrax.
Running out of the apartment, Kim threw the door of her apartment open and hid in an alleyway to morph. Once she was in her ranger form, she ran over to the poor woman and kicked Zeltrax away from her.
"Are you okay?" she asked, not turning to look at the woman. If she had, she would've noticed it was none other than Elsa in disguise.
"Yes!" she squeaked feebly, mentally praising her own acting skills.
"Run!" Kim commanded.
Elsa gladly did so, running in the direction of Kim's apartment. Luckily for her, the yellow ranger had left the door open. Elsa smirked. It was time to snoop.
Entering the apartment, the villain went straight to the bedroom. She rolled her eyes as she surveyed the room, finding nothing but walls plastered with posters of singers and gymnasts. Turning to Kim's dresser, Elsa spotted a notebook. Upon closer inspection, she realised it was a diary. And not just any diary. Kim's diary.
Flicking through the pages, Elsa grimaced as she found nothing of interest. In fact, the whole diary was about Kim and the others kicking the bad guys' butts almost every single day. And of course, there were a lot of lovesick entries about some guy called Tommy. Elsa threw the diary back where she found it and decided to rummage through the dresser instead.
After what seemed like hours, she located a bunch of older diaries. 2003, 2002, 2001... and so on. Elsa knew she didn't have enough time to look at all of them and return the room to its original state afterwards, so she picked 1996 on a whim.
If Elsa had a heart, it surely would've bubbled at what she found. So Kimberly Ann Hart had lost her pink ranger powers once to some female named Kat. An idea took root in her mind... She had to leave and inform Mesogog straight away. If he approved, Kim wouldn't be able to escape her wrath.
After defeating Zeltrax, Kim found Tommy waiting for her outside her apartment.
"Hey," Tommy greeted as Kim reached him. "You left the door open."
"Oh no..." Kim groaned. "I was in a hurry when I saw Zeltrax trying to kill that woman."
"Zeltrax? Trying to kill a random woman? That doesn't sound like him," Tommy commented. Now that Kim thought about it, he was right. Since when did Zeltrax attack someone who wasn't Michael? A civilian? That was weird. Kim remembered that Tommy was late and brushed the Zeltrax issue aside.
"You're late!" she snapped. "Where were you?"
"Oh. Had a run in with Trent when I was on my way here," Tommy answered.
"What did he want?"
"His ATV. Not for free either; he gave me my own. A green dino ATV," Tommy replied.
"Wait, you got it checked out right? Remember what he did to Mike?"
"Yeah. That's where I was. Hayley said it was alright."
"Good; I'm surprised he didn't try anything."
"So, are you going to invite me in or...?"
"Yes," Kim replied, rolling her eyes and opening the door for Tommy. As they went into the living room she asked, "So what did you want to talk about?"
"Us. Kat. Jason. Being rangers again. A lot of stuff really," Tommy admitted. Kim flushed. Us?
"Us?" she repeated in an amused tone. Tommy gave her a look. "Okay, okay. Just kidding. Sit down."
Tommy sat down on the couch and so did Kim. She looked at him expectantly.
"So... I've been thinking about this for a while. About Kat, Jason and I. You know, when Kat and I were dating, I probably wasn't as committed to her as I should have been," he started.
"You mean you cheated on her?" Kim blurted out. Tommy gave her another stern look.
"No. More like the other way around," he answered dryly. "Anyway, what I mean is that I was always busy with college and then my racing career. I was never really there for her. Where I wasn't, Jason was. I admit I caused Kat a lot of pain. She didn't deserve any of it. I mean, she was busy too with her ballet career but she always made time for me. I, however, wasn't as considerate as her. Not long after, Kat got pregnant. And I knew it wasn't mine."
Kim's eyes widened at this new piece of information. "She got pregnant while she was still dating you? I had no idea!"
"Neither did I," Tommy confessed. "I was so immersed in my career that I didn't notice all the signs and symptoms. What's worse is that we lived in the same house. I was as dense as a brick. In the end, she had to tell me. I knew the baby wasn't mine; I never even had enough time to get her pregnant!"
"Honestly, Tommy, it only takes two minutes," Kim stated as a matter of fact.
"I didn't even give her two minutes. I instantly lashed out at her and didn't want to hear her explanations. In my mind, I began to feel worthless. I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. First, you allegedly left me for some guy in Florida. And then, she left me for my best friend. No, actually she didn't leave. She begged me to listen, she wanted to work things through. She thought that we could work our issues out and get back together, despite her being pregnant with Jason's baby."
"There's nothing wrong with you, Tommy," Kim chided, taking his hand and pulling it into her lap. "There's never been anything wrong."
"Thanks. I know that now," he told her. "But at the time, I felt betrayed. I thought she was in the wrong. After all the arguing, my hatred for them died down. But still, things with the two of them have never been the same. I eventually forgave them but I never forgot. Until now."
Kim gulped as Tommy looked her straight in the eyes. "Until now?"
"Yeah. I've finally figured out the real reason why Kat and I didn't work. It's because my heart was never with her. Of course, my racing career got in the way but if she was in my heart, it wouldn't have been enough to keep us apart. My heart's always been with you."
The breath was knocked out of Kim's lungs in one fell swoop. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks and the butterflies in her stomach made her feel like she had a wild baby kicking in there.
"And mine has always been with you," she divulged involuntarily. She couldn't help it. Tommy was being so honest right now; it didn't feel right to hide her feelings from him. It would be an injustice.
"Finally, you admit it," Tommy commented happily, caressing her face. Kim grinned and looked down shyly. "So, I was thinking. The two of us have a new start as rangers again. How about we resume our relationship too?"
"Can you promise that it won't end in tears again?" Kim questioned hesitantly.
"No, I can't," Tommy responded truthfully, squeezing her hand. "But I'll try my best."
"Oh okay," Kim relented. Tommy beamed, feeling like the happiest man on earth. Now he finally got how his friends felt when they were with their girls. Now he finally understood why Jason took the chance with Kat as soon as he could. Because he loved her. And Tommy most definitely loved Kim. "But there is one thing you have to do for me."
"What's that?" Tommy inquired curiously, a little concerned.
"You have to think of it as a new beginning. We aren't resuming our high school relationship but we're starting another one as a man and a woman."
"Of course," he agreed, releasing a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. At long last, they were together again. He leant in to kiss her when she got up. He pouted at her as she smirked back at him.
"I'm not gonna make it easy for you!" she teased. "Catch me if you can!"
Tommy laughed and chased Kim up the stairs, oblivious to the other presence in the house.
Elsa smirked and put everything back where it went. Just as she was about to sneak out of the room, she heard laughter coming from the staircase. She dared to stand in the doorway and her eyes widened when she saw the yellow ranger kissing some guy... the same guy who had dropped her off.
So little Miss Hart wasn't as innocent as she looked. Elsa was going to enjoy ruining her life. As Kim and her beau stumbled around the passageway, Elsa tiptoed past them and safely made it downstairs. She pulled up an invisiportal, taking advantage of the fact that Kim was enjoying herself a little too much to notice.
Be happy while you can, yellow ranger. This time tomorrow, you'll be crying.
"Have you guys heard from Trent yet?" Conner asked, joining his friends as they walked to class together.
"No, and I'm not sure if I want to," Kira answered truthfully. After so many weeks, she had finally accepted that this Trent wasn't her Trent. And she was fine with that. If Tommy had returned to the good side all those years ago, then Trent was bound to do the same.
"We've gotta make sure that he doesn't go off on some poor freshmen because he wouldn't give him his lunch money," Ethan told them making Kira roll her eyes.
"You know what? I think he's after a bit more than a free grilled cheese," Conner quipped.
"And when we know what that is, maybe we can deal," Kira told Conner. "But until then, we keep an eye on him."
After the three entered the classroom, Trent stepped out of his hiding spot in front of the lockers. "Watch me all you want; it won't make a difference."
"Trent Fernandez, please report to the principal's office," Randall's voice boomed through the speakers. Trent rolled his eyes and sighed. "Trent Fernandez."
Trent walked into class, snickering as he remembered the look on Randall's face when he called her 'team' losers. He sat down at the same table as the other rangers and rolled his eyes. Ethan and Conner were currently shooting paper balls into Devin's lunch box and Kira was writing down the lyrics to a new song.
"Hey, did you guys hear that we're supposed to get a new teacher today?" Ethan asked.
"Yeah," Conner answered, chucking a paper ball into the lunch box. "Any guesses?"
"Well, I heard from a very reliable source that's it's this eighty-year-old woman who used to teach Kindergarten in Ohio," Cassidy reported proudly.
"Really?" Conner asked, not convinced.
Just then, Principal Randall sauntered into the classroom.
"Good morning class," she greeted while everyone sat down. "I would like you to meet your new teacher: Dr Anton Mercer."
Both Kira and Trent let out a shocked, "WHAT?!"
Anton strode in and greeted them with a smile. "Morning class."
"What's up with you?" Ethan questioned, having noticed Kira's reaction.
"Hey, she looks pretty good for eighty," Kira remarked, making the class laugh. Cassidy hit Devin on the arm.
"Ow, I thought it was funny," he whined, rubbing his arm.
Kira then looked back at Ethan. "He doesn't like me much. Doesn't think I'm worthy enough to be his son's girlfriend."
"Doctor Mercer has graciously agreed to take over until your teacher gets back on his feet," Randall informed them, beaming at Anton before looking at the class. "I would you to treat him with the same respect that you would treat Doctor McKnight."
"Thank you," Anton thanked her before she left the room. He then turned to address the class. "Well, allow me to, uh, start by saying that it's an honour to be here." Ethan and Conner exchanged looks as Kira glanced at Trent to see his reaction. He didn't look too happy. "What I'm handing out to you now are permission slips. These are for you parents to sign." Anton handed out two stacks of slips to the front two tables. "We'll be going on a field trip tomorrow to the museum." Kira took a permission slip before passing the slips to Ethan. "I trust you will all to be able to make it."
"Anton Mercer teaching other peoples' children?" Kira asked as the trio passed the school bus. "He doesn't even seem to like Trent much."
"Yeah," Ethan agreed. "I wonder whose brilliant idea this whole thing was."
"Oh, it's gotta be Randall's," Kira stated. "Did you see them together? It's like they're old pals."
"Hey, no matter how bad we've got it, there's always someone who's got it worse," Conner interjected, gesturing over to Trent and Anton who were arguing.
"I've gotta go. I don't have time for this!" Trent yelled, storming off.
"Okay, but I want to talk to you later. Understood?" Anton called out after him.
Kira watched Trent walk off and then turned to her friends. "What are you guys doing now?"
"Soccer."
"Computer club. You?"
"I promised Doctor M that I'll help him inventory some stuff in the lab. Plus, he probably wants to know who's teaching his class."
"Yeah, I wonder what Dad has to say about it," Conner muttered.
"See ya."
"See ya."
"Later."
"That's great," Michael commented after hearing about who his substitute was.
"You're kidding?" Kira asked as she peered up at him. "Right?"
"No," Mike answered. "I know you think that Anton is a little strange..."
"Yeah, and Justin Timberlake is a little cute," Kira agreed, sarcasm dripping from her tone.
"Alright," Michael relented, looking at her. "He's a lot strange but he's brilliant. He taught me a lot of what I know. It'll be great."
"If you say so."
"He really is an amazing person once you get to know him." Kira picked up a bone with a tag on it and examined it.
"Hey, where does this go?" she asked, waving it around.
"Oh, you'd better give me that," Michael claimed, taking the bone from her.
"What is?"
"Just a bone." The purple ranger raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah, but why is it so important?" Kira asked.
"It needs to be kept safely in my hands," Michael stated, not answering her question. "Let's just put it away."
"Whatever you say," Kira conceded as she watched Michael lock the bone away in a briefcase.
"Alright, come along now," Anton ordered, walking backwards to face the class. "We don't want to keep our per-historic friends waiting!"
Kira suddenly stopped to look at the statue of the T-Rex.
"What's the matter?" Conner enquired.
"That thing just gives me a creepy vibe," Kira replied. "It's like it moved."
"You know that dinosaurs are extinct right?" Ethan chirped before Kira gave him a stern look, referring to the fact that they had dino zords. Ethan caught on. "Okay, I see your point."
The boys walked off and Kira looked at the statue again. "Stop staring!"
"And just ahead is a triceratops from the Cretaceous period," Anton narrated as they navigated through the museum. "Strictly herbivores. Hunted by the Tyrannosaurus Rex."
"Gotta love the T-Rex," Conner told Ethan as he grabbed his shoulders from the back.
"Whatever bro," Ethan responded after the red ranger laughed.
Kira heard a growling sound and turned around in time to see a tyrannodrone running around. She walked towards it.
"Hey!" Cassidy greeted making the other girl look at her. "Where are you going?"
"Uh, to the bathroom," Kira replied uncertainly.
"Oh great, me too," Cassidy stated. "Cos my lipgloss is totally wearing off."
"Cassidy, just stay here okay?" Kira implored. "You're just going to get us both in trouble."
"Whatever... I'm going to the little girl's room and you can do whatever you want." Cassidy left to look for the bathroom and Kira went in the opposite direction.
"Miss Cornell," Anton spoked up as he came up behind Cassidy. Kira immediately hid behind the wall partition as Cassidy turned around. "Come join us. Wouldn't want you to miss all the exciting artefacts."
"But what about..."
"Come on now," Anton insisted, pushing Cassidy forward.
Once the coast was clear, Kira headed to the storage room. She slowly opened the door and walked in, going further and further until a tyrannodrone grabbed her from behind. A fight broke out between the purple ranger and a group of tyrannodrones.
"Let me go you freaks!" Kira demanded as two tyrannodrones dragged her to a shelf.
"Kira," a voice crooned making the purple ranger look over at the fossil on the top shelf. "You must listen to me." The fossil's 'eyes' glowed as Kira's own became a pale blue colour. "You will do as I command."
"Where could she have gone?" Ethan queried worriedly as he and Conner searched for their friend.
"There she is!" Conner yelled as he spotted her. "Kira, Kira!"
The boys ran over to said girl.
"Are you alright?" Ethan asked. "What happened?"
"Uh yeah, I'm fine," she responded, blinking tiredly. "I just got lost."
"Lost?" Conner repeated.
"Yeah, as in not found," Kira snapped before looking at Ethan. "But I'm fine. Are we leaving?"
"Yeah, we're leaving," Ethan replied in a surprised tone.
"Alright, let's go," Kira ordered while stomping off, leaving behind two confused boys.
A/N: Bit of a disjointed one, I'll admit. I just had so much to write that it all seems a little cluttered now, what with all the small scenes in the chapter. I even had to cut this episode into two separate chapters, just because there was simply too much to write.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I slipped part of the title of this FF into the chapter (totally unintended BTW). See if you can spot it. XD
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