AN: Shoutout to SpecialK92 and Ghostwriter for their reviews last week!
Kimberly pushed JJ's stroller down the street to the park. Thomas' classes ended at 3 today and this was their normal Thursday routine. JJ loved playing in the sand and it gave them some much needed time out of their apartment. This last year had been crazy, but she had loved every minute of it.
"Hey Kimmie!" Brittany called as Kim smiled over at her sister-in-law. While she had never been accepted by Mitchell and Sally, Thomas' siblings were great to her. It also helped that Brittany had a bit of a hopeless crush on Jason and that this was one of the few times she got to see him outside of the Academy. While Thomas' friends had taken a bit to warm up to a prophet in their midst, they were some of her fiercest protectors now. "How is my favorite nephew?"
"Teething, but other than being a bit fussy and drooly, he's good," Kimberly said as Brittany leaned over and unbuckled him from the stroller. JJ clamped on to her necklace and began chewing on it as Britt laughed. "Tommy is going to spar with Jason, Zach, Trini, and Rocky for a bit. It also sounded like they may be bringing some other classmates."
"I don't think he'll ever notice me," Britt said as Kimberly let out a sigh. It was easy for her. Thomas had only ever really had eyes for her and that had been painfully obvious to anyone that tried to hit on him. "I'm Thomas' little sister…I'm not…"
"You are valuable whether Jason notices or not," Kimberly said as JJ crawled over to her and Britt looked at the ground. "Britt, just keep being you, okay? Promise me."
"What have you seen?" Britt asked as Kim looked away from her and she let out a groan. "Oh c'mon- you can't give me details?"
"I haven't seen the details. I just know that I keep seeing that you need to be you," Kimberly repeated as JJ let out a squeal and she looked over her shoulder to see Thomas jogging their way. He leaned down and scooped JJ up before tossing him in the air. "Tommy…"
"He loves it and I'm always careful," Thomas said as he flew JJ around before depositing him in her lap. He then leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "How's training going, Britt?"
"Uncle Theo is kicking our asses, but otherwise it's going great," Britt said from her spot on the ground as Kimberly put JJ down on his feet and he automatically sat down to crawl to her. "C'mon, bubba, why don't we try walking?"
"He'll walk when he's ready. He's couch surfing like a pro," Thomas said as he saw his classmates jogging towards them.
"Can I join?" Britt asked and Thomas let out a sigh. "C'mon, T. I am better than you think I am- I'm a Trueheart too."
"You weren't trained the same way I was, but it looks like there's a new girl. You would probably be a good test for her," Thomas said as Britt jumped to her feet, giddy to get to train with them. "Britt."
"I know, I know. Only the girls," Britt said as she followed behind him. They were going to train, while JJ got to play in the sand.
"Hello, Kimberly," a man said as she jerked around as she tried to stop JJ from shoving sand in his mouth. "He leaves you so unprotected."
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Kimberly asked as she picked JJ up and stood up. The man straightened and she realized who he was. "Kiros. I have six more months."
"That's quite specific, but you are quite powerful," Kiros said as he leaned in closer and Kimberly's chest heaved up and down. She glanced over to the sparring and saw that Thomas was currently taking on all of the cadets that had come out today. "Oooh, he's yours? He's going to be quite the ranger. Too bad he won't ever reach his full potential without you."
"Leave. Now," Kimberly ground out as Kiros grabbed her shoulder and she let out a scream. She didn't know what she thought Kiros would do, but she certainly thought that she would be able to at least fight the being. It was part of why she trained with Thomas so much. Her scream was enough to draw Thomas' attention and Kiros disappeared in front of her as she hit her knees and put JJ down. Her body felt like it was on fire and it felt like it took forever before arms were wrapped around her that provided some relief. She heard questions around her, but couldn't focus on a particular one to even try and answer it. Her body went limp as she fainted against Thomas' chest.
"Who the hell was that?" Thomas ground out as he marched into the Command Center and Theo spun around to look at him. What was Thomas talking about? "Kimberly's in the hospital because some being touched her and it…who was that?"
"There haven't been any spikes," Theo said as Thomas stared at him. "Did you see who it was?"
"Briefly. She screamed and then she went down. There's no obvious injuries. There's no explanation for it. I need to know if this was a fluke," Thomas stated as they both heard heels clicking behind him and he stared at the ceiling. "Aunt Ames…please."
"You didn't see a spike, because he hasn't announced himself yet. At least not to the rangers," Amelia said as she laid out papers in front of them and Thomas started reading through them. His heart dropped as he caught the name that he didn't want to see. Kiros. "Thomas- Kiros is dangerous to all prophets. And well…we know who he has set his sights on."
"Put me back in the pool," Thomas said as Theo jerked his head around to him. That was not the reaction that he had thought Thomas would have when Kiros emerged, but one look at Amelia let him know that Kimberly had seen this as well. "You said I could come back in whenever I wanted. I want back in now."
"Thomas, I don't know if that is a good idea," Theo hedged as Thomas glared at him and he let out a groan. "You're right though. I'll put you back in the pool, but I can't guarantee that you'll get powers."
"I know, but I have to try," Thomas said as Theo and Amelia both nodded.
"We all know you'll try. She knows you'll try. And maybe, hopefully, you'll succeed," Amelia said as Thomas leaned over the console and tried to pull it together. "Then again- this team is good. They could always…protect her too."
"We all know that is horse shit. There's a reason she told me that I can't save her- I don't know that these rangers even stand a chance," Thomas said as he looked at the profiles of the current ranger. He could take all of them out without powers, easily. He guaranteed that Kiros could take all of them out as well.
"Thomas, they're solid. They're just new," Theo said as Thomas shook his head.
"JJ just turned one. She said that she wouldn't…why does the timeline keep getting moved back? Why do I keep losing time with her?" Thomas asked as Theo and Amelia exchanged a glance. This hurt all of them, but it hurt Thomas the most. It was always going to hurt Thomas the most. "Why can no one save her?"