A/N: Chapter 10. Surprises are in store.

A/N 2: I own nothing. Power Rangers once belonged to Saban, then they went to Disney and belong to Saban again.

Chapter 10 – The Ninjetti Rise Again

Sunday, May 2, 2004

4:30 p.m.

Angel Grove, CA

Kimberly Ann Hart hadn't been gone for very long, but nonetheless she felt drained as she exited her custom-made Cadillac convertible (which was about 85 percent pink, 15 percent LSU purple and gold).

She had been relieved that Tommy hadn't been the one to break up with her…and by that same token, she hadn't been the one to break up with him. But that was where the relief ended. Other than that, all the old wounds had been opened; for everything she had accomplished since she left the Command Center for the last time in 1995, she carried a ton of baggage as well.

She admitted that although she didn't blame Adam and the others for believing what she'd wrote, it still stung her a little bit to see those incriminating looks that she'd seen in Tommy's house about two hours earlier. Had her friendships really devolved into this?

And then there was her mother. Oh, her selfish, obnoxious mother Caroline Dumas; Kimberly would be hearing an earful when word got out about what had happened, and she knew that it would. After all, four of Caroline's best friends from Angel Grove were Jason's and Trini's parents, who knew just about everything.

It had been good to see everyone again, and she'd really respected what every one of those people had done for the legacy. But she just couldn't go back there as long as her mother ran things; no, that wasn't going to happen.

As she trudged into the house and was about to go give her dog Firebird a treat, a familiar voice reached her ears.

"Hello, Kimberly."

Kimberly looked left, then right, then behind her, until she found the source of the voice. Kimberly turned and gulped inside as she saw Ms. K herself sitting on her couch; she remembered what had happened the last time Ms. K was there.

Kimberly broke down and cried, the weight of the last eight years crashing down on her.

"Eight years, eight long years," Ms. K murmured as he held Kimberly tight. "Why must the forces that be do this to you?"

"I've asked myself the same damn question," Kimberly said softly as she sniffled, the tears rolling down her cheeks like rain. "Why do they still hate us and why does my mother hate Tommy and the rest of my friends so much?"

"Maybe that's a question that can be answered at a later time," Ms. K said. "For now, I'm here to talk about the plan of action against Caroline herself. I've thought about possibly going and visiting her and maybe even trashing the place myself, but decided I didn't want to do that."

"That's why I brought along a guest," Ms. K said. "Please come on out."

From the shadows came a well-built, dark-haired man; he obviously wasn't Tommy, but he clearly had some of Tommy's features.

"You must be Kimberly," the man said. "You're probably the unluckiest woman in the world for eight years running, despite competing in the Olympics."

Kimberly laughed slightly; she knew he was pretty much on the money.

"You…look like Tommy for some reason," Kimberly said. "I know you're not him but…"

"That's because I'm his brother, his biological brother. Believe it or not there are a lot of things Tommy didn't tell you, things he didn't even know when you two were dating," the man said. "My name is David Trueheart; I'm Native American, just as Tommy is."

"I also came to know the identities of the Rangers themselves, including my brother's, shortly after your relationship with him ended. I met him on a personal quest, and that's how he came to know how he and I were related," David said. "The Machine Empire tried to mix me up in Tommy's business, unfortunately; not his fault nor was it mine."

"Sadly that's often how it happens," Kimberly said. "They'll do anything to win, that's the way they are. So why are you here; besides being Tommy's brother, how can you help me out?"

"What it comes down to is this, Kimberly. Ms. K is right not to go trashing Caroline's property; that would be very bad news and exactly what she would want. She could frame you for that," David said. "However, the point remains that your mother is blackmailing you for everything you are worth. She's pinning you into a corner because she's your mother and you look to her for guidance. Tommy was fortunate to be adopted by a loving San Antonio family when he moved off the reservation."

Kimberly smiled at that; Tommy's San Antonio family had indeed been wonderful to her, before it had all ended.

"So, where do you come into this? What can you do, because as you said Ms. K can't really do anything physically," Kimberly said.

"Let me put it this way, in the past several years I moved off the reservation and got my law degree from USC. I am consistently known as one of the top lawyers in California. Basically, in addition to hopefully being your brother-in-law someday, I want to be your lawyer, Kimberly," David said firmly. "As Tommy's brother, it would be my great pleasure to expose Caroline for everything she is worth and make sure she never wraps herself up in your business again. If you get back with Tommy and Caroline tries to blackmail you, you have every right to sue her ass."

"In addition, I cannot be relied upon all the time, Kimberly. I have to go in and out of the spirit world; I cannot spend all my time here. There needs to be some reliable people backing you up," Ms. K said.

"Here's the bottom line, Kimberly; you need to worry about getting Tommy back," David said. "Let me handle your mother if it comes to that. If it comes to that, I will make her wish she was never born."

"I'm still concerned; her lawyers are very crafty and she and they will throw everything in the book at you, David," Kimberly said. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Believe me when I say this, I've had dealings with her lawyers over other matters. They fear me," David said with a smirk; Kimberly was taken aback by his confidence, it was clear he was not intimidated.

"You're a lot like Tommy, come to think of it," Kimberly said. "Fear is not a part of your vocabulary."

"Ha, I've stared down the Machine Empire before. Compared to them, Caroline is nothing," David said. "I don't fear any villains, and I don't fear a snobbish woman with a bunch of overrated lawyers either."

"Well I like your confidence, plus as it turns out my current lawyer is moving to a different line of work in a few weeks," Kimberly said. "We have a deal."

"You won't regret this," David said. "Here is my business card. Rest assured that I will do all I can to protect you in your quest to reclaim my brother."

Kimberly smiled and said, "Someday I'm going to go back to Tommy's place; I'm not going to let on when it is, but he best be prepared to answer the door when I do come back."

June 21, 2004

6:35 p.m.

Reefside, CA

At long last, a long, heart-aching, action packed school year was over. It was the beginning of the first summer that he would have off since coming to Reefside High School. He'd also attended the graduation ceremonies the past weekend, and had personally seen his four students – and Rangers – get their deserved diplomas.

For the first time in a while, he could settle in on a Monday night and just do whatever he felt like doing. He had learned to cook better but he didn't feel like doing it tonight; this was his first night off in a while and he planned on going out to dinner.

Unfortunately for his plans…but fortunately for him, on this first full day of summer 2004, fate had other plans in store for him. He had no idea that his world, as he knew it, was about to get turned upside down.

Because at that very moment, as he came out of his room and headed towards the door to head out to dinner, someone began banging on the door.

"Tommy, open the door now!" a female voice shouted. Tommy was taken aback for a moment; he knew who the voice belonged to. There was only one female whose voice he knew by heart (or Hart, if one gets the drift), and she was banging on the door right now.

"Hang on, I'm coming," Tommy called. Indeed, when he opened the door, much to his surprise, Kimberly was staring back at him. Tommy was stumped at first but then recovered enough to let her in.

"You look surprised to see me again," Kimberly said.

"Personally, after the meeting, I fully expected you to never come back," Tommy said. "I thought that May 2 was the last time we'd be in the same room together for a long time. Not that I'm not glad to see you in my home again, I'm just surprised."

Tommy then looked in those doe-brown eyes, and was taken back a bit. A fire burned bright in Kimberly's eyes that Tommy hadn't seen in a long time. Something funny was going on here, he thought.

"Well, I have something to say to you; I need you and I need you now," Kimberly said. "Can we go someplace private and talk?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Tommy said. "I was getting ready to go out to dinner, and I have Hayley on her way to oversee the lab, but we can go to my lab and talk if you want."

"Well, we can maybe still go out to dinner after this is all over, if you want," Kimberly said as she followed Tommy downstairs into his lab; she smiled. This had been part of his plan to find out the truth; it looked really nice. Not as nice as the old Command Center or Power Chamber, but a very nice place nonetheless.

"Before you talk, please let me finish. When I left this building on May 2, I was completely and totally devastated," Kimberly said. "All the emotions that I've been feeling for the last eight years came to the forefront; I was a total wreck after that meeting. Ever since, I've had some come-to-Jesus conversations with myself, or come to Zordon conversations as we might say."

"Tommy, no matter how hard I try, I still worship the ground you walk on. I've tried to date other guys but they are nowhere near your level. I remembered every moment we had, every kiss we shared, every date we went on," Kimberly said. "If it's possible, I worship the ground you walk on even more now because you had the guts to go find the truth about us. I love all of us, but no one else did that but you."

"My head has been spinning for nearly two months now dreaming of you every waking moment of the day, and you showing up for the opening of the Crane Gymnastic Academy here in town last week only amplified those emotions," Kimberly said. "I was so touched that you showed up for something that means a lot to me; my business and the expansion of it."

"There are a few major reasons I didn't come back here though until now; the first was that I heard you were close friends with the owner of the Cyberspace, Hayley what's her name, and another one was just the fear of the unknown, not wanting to be left at the altar again like what's happened before," Kimberly said. "Honestly though, I don't care about all that anymore. I can't run scared anymore. I have to face that fear and prove I can beat it."

With that, much like what happened on May 2, tears began rolling off Kimberly's face and onto Tommy's polo.

"I've even kept the stuffed white tiger you bought for me when we were in high school," Kimberly said, pulling out something that was just what she said; a tiny little stuffed white tiger that she held onto closely. "I've held onto this through the Olympics, through my time at LSU and throughout my adult life. My sorority sisters always tried to get me to date other guys, but I always told them no."

"Tommy, I need you more than ever in my life right now," Kimberly finished. "Today is Day No. 3050 since that…and I don't want to talk about 3051."

By this point, Kimberly couldn't control her emotions and totally broke down, falling into Tommy's arms.

"Kimberly, there are a few things you need to know," Tommy said, barely able to control his emotions himself. "About Hayley, I've never dated her and I never will; she knows that. I wouldn't be where I am without her, but she is a friend and nothing more. I've known her since graduate school."

"Secondly, you know I completely understand what you've gone through. It is my opinion that we were separated not just by an alien psycho, but via threats from someone that you more than anyone should be able to trust, but sadly can't. That's the biggest reason you fear rejection so much."

"Well, as long as you are in my arms, nothing will ever be able to harm you," Tommy said. "It's OK, Kim, I'm right here. And there will be no Day 3051."

With that, Tommy cupped her face with both his hands and put his lips to hers. The second Tommy's lips touched Kimberly's, the sky outside suddenly darkened and huge bolts of thunder and pink and white lightning raced across the California sky. Also, the Earth began to shake.

They both wanted to pull out of it, knowing what was going on, but it was like some sort of magnetic force kept their lips locked. Amazingly, though, even as the Earth shook, nothing was being damaged inside Tommy's lab or his house; a normal Earthquake would probably have the roof caving in on Tommy and Kimberly about now.

Suddenly, two twin bolts of lightning struck Tommy and Kimberly around the belt area; normal lightning strikes would have killed other humans, but Tommy and Kimberly came out of it unharmed. Not only that, Tommy could feel a warm power coursing through his veins that he hadn't felt in years.

'What was once separated is now whole again. Congratulations and good luck,' a haunting female voice boomed. Tommy and Kimberly gasped as they felt the Falcon and Crane roar to life, as if set free from a long bondage.

"Dulcea," Kimberly whispered.

"The spirit animals," Tommy said.

"It's…our Ninjetti uniforms," Tommy continued. He was right; that bolt of lightning had not only restored their connection to the Great Power, but they both were in their Ninjetti uniforms.

"We did it, Tommy. Against all the odds in the world, we're back," Kimberly said.

"Yeah but come to think of it, Caroline's going to be pissed," Tommy said, suddenly looking a bit concerned.

"She's not a problem anymore. She held that sword over my head for many years and she was part of the reason I didn't come back here but I'm not concerned anymore. If she comes for me I will sue her for blackmail and my lawyer will destroy her in court. I warned her if she comes near me or you that I will sue her and that she cannot win," Kimberly said confidently.

"Wow, that's pretty confident considering how full of herself Caroline is and how many lawyers she has. Who's your lawyer?" Tommy said, almost oblivious to the raging thunder and lightning outside.

"I think you know him," Kimberly said as she handed Tommy a business card. Tommy's eyes widened.

"My brother David is a lawyer?" Tommy said. "I haven't seen him in years."

"Not only is he a lawyer, he's not scared of Mommy dearest in the least," Kimberly said. "He claims he's had dealings with her lawyers in the past."

"Damn, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, even my brother. But David's a man of his word, so I have no doubt he can take her apart in court if he says so," Tommy said as he locked lips with Kimberly again. The second that happened, not only did the thunder and lightning intensify again, an intensely bright light lit up the room; so bright that Tommy and Kimberly had to cover their eyes.

When the light died down, the thunder and lightning ceased and Tommy and Kimberly parted to shockingly see bodies strewn all over the floor.

"Um, Dr. O," Tommy turned, in surprise, to see Conner McKnight and the rest of his Dino Thunder Rangers lying on the floor, trembling somewhat. "What's…going…on…"

Conner stopped short as he saw his mentor still in Kimberly's arms, as if they refused to break apart. Conner, for the moment, decided to leave it be and went back to talking about something with Kira.

"Oh my God, what did I just do," Tommy said. "Did I just pull you guys away from your graduation vacation? Guys, I am so sorry…"

"Yeah, we've been in Cabo San Lucas since yesterday and Conner and I were about to go out to the water and then all hell broke loose. The Earth started to shake and the next thing I know, I'm on a roller coaster ride and I end up here," Kira griped. It was true; Kira was still in her bikini.

"You interrupted our evenings as well, Mr. Technicolor. I'd say it was well worth it though," another voice said.

Tommy then turned to his right, even more shockingly, to see Jason, who had made that statement, and every one of his former teammates, who were somewhat surprised, but happy nonetheless. In particular, there was something that caught his eye.

His other four teammates that he had gone to Phaedos with him had also had their connections to the Great Power restored and all four of them were in uniform.

"I guess we got our answer to the question of whether we'd know if you and Ms. Hart got back together, Dr. O. Now is there a way for us to enjoy our vacation?" Conner asked which earned him three smacks in the back of the head and laughter from the older Rangers.

It also earned him a scowl from Rocky because Conner was still killing his Angel Grove Heat team on the soccer field, yet somehow managed to have a good time while making a former Ranger look like a terrible soccer coach. Conner just grinned as if to say, "scoreboard."

"In all seriousness, he's right," Kira said. "I look horrible in a bikini, though I had no idea this would happen."

Tommy sighed, looked at his four charges and said, "I guess I do need to let them go. After all, they just graduated 48 hours ago. I apologize and somehow I'll find a way to get you back to Cabo. By the way, what happened to you was called teleportation. Apologies, it's a bitch the first time you go through it."

"I am afraid the continuation of their vacation will have to wait for just a moment," a familiar voice boomed. That voice made every one of Tommy's former teammates' hairs stand on end. They knew that voice, but there was no way he could be alive.

Every single person in the room turned left, behind the Dino Thunder Rangers, to see a small, stout man clothed in all white, complete with a staff/wand in his right hand. The younger Rangers were confused, but the older Rangers knew who it was immediately, though they'd never seen him up close outside his warp. Tommy's next words would be forever remembered in Ranger lore.

"Oh my God, it's Zordon. And he's alive."

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