A/N 1: So this is a little plot bunny that just won't go away. Even though the views for stories is screwed the heck up. Note: I am not a Kat hater. But this one just won't go away so I gotta do it.

A/N 2: Rangers defeat Mesogog, but the threat from Lokar and Katarina remains alive and well. And he gets reinforcements. Meanwhile, Tommy begins to hatch a risky plan for Kimberly's freedom.

A/N 3: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers isn't mine. Eldin and Fienna are products of Boom Studios.

Chapter 10 – Project Paris: Beginnings

March 29, 2004

Miami, FL

It was always a good day for Kimberly when Katarina was ranting about something. The smile across Kimberly's face was making Kat even more furious.

Today, the source of her ire was the "idiot" called Lothor. The space ninja who was the latest threat to Tommy's team. She had yet to see Lothor face to face, but she had seen his army and they were all ugly. The two girls, Marah and Kapri didn't seem quite so bad though, at least from what she could tell.

She'd also learned that three members of the Ninja Storm team had briefly fallen to Lothor's evil before being freed by the other three members, two of which had also been evil during round one against Lothor. Those six and Tommy's team then teamed up to make Lothor wish he'd never come back.

"The only good news is that now five of the six Ninja Storm Rangers have been exposed to evil, including the little dolphin that seems to steer away from water suddenly," Kat fumed, "so whenever Jellyfish gets a chance…"

It was at that point that the lights in Lokar's compound began flashing on and off. And the ground started shaking.

That never, ever happened in Miami.

It was at that point that Kimberly's joy disappeared as she fled back to the room she and Kaden (grudgingly) shared. She could feel a presence in the building that was so evil it made her hair stand up.

"Did you make the ground start shaking again you worthless pile of goop?" Lokar snapped to Ivan Ooze. He was being much more harsh on him and scrutinizing as it was no secret to anyone in the compound that Kat was seeing Ooze (behind Tommy's back).

"No, I'm not, Lokie," Ooze snapped back.

Seconds later, the ground stopped shaking.

"Who dares enter unannounced?" Lokar demanded as the lights came back on. Meanwhile, Goldar gasped. It couldn't be…

"Who dares to demand answers of me, Grifforza of Titan and the Talos Dimension?" a female voice sneered confidently.

Seconds later, an alien female who looked no younger than 25 Earth years walked out from the shadows. She was a mix of her deceased mother and her revived father. She had her mother's (Scorpina's) facial looks but blonde hair, had wings to fly like her father, and was very beautiful but had her father's determination and her mother's snarky personality.

But she was not the only one who had arrived.

Next to Grifforza was another lady, also stunningly beautiful, dressed in red from head to toe with flowing raven colored hair. She carried a lance that had a heart shaped tip, had a heart shaped tattoo on her right bicep and her beauty belied how dangerous she really was.

"My own daughter, with whom I am well pleased," Goldar said as he father and daughter embraced. "I am happy to see you have survived unlike my wife and your mother."

"It was not easy – I tried to tell my mother to bide her time after the Countdown, but she was so thirsty for action and to start getting revenge on Zordon's rats that she got herself killed."

"Katarina, Lokar, I would like to also offer myself and Heart Stealer's assistance to defeat Zordon's legacy. You can also tell Jellyfish to stand down. Heart Stealer will take care of your quest."

"And how, pray tell, can you accomplish what Jellyfish cannot?" Kat snarked.

"Watch your mouth. Treat my daughter with some respect," Goldar said.

"Spunk. I like it. Pipe down, Dad, she's just passionate," Grifforza said. "First of all, Jellyfish is a recycled monster and those never work. They should only be used as distractions. Heart Stealer is far more powerful than a recycled monster. Would you care to demonstrate?"

"Absolutely," Heart Stealer said. "My request is bring a footsoldier or recycled monster here, I don't care which."

After Heart Stealer had performed a demonstration and further explanation of her powers, Kat said, "I like it. It could take a long time, but if that's what it takes to get the job done, then so be it. You're hired."

"I will not let you down, Katarina. You are oh so close to ending Tommy Oliver and when my plan comes to fruition we will finish the job," Heart Stealer said, bowing to her now boss.

"See that you don't. These are the faces you are to memorize," Kat said, Heart Stealer acknowledging the warning and taking some papers Kat had offered her. "Goldar. Take Jellyfish off duty, immediately."

April 29, 2004, late afternoon

1492 Valencia Drive

Reefside, CA

There were no two ways about it. The Dino Thunder lab had been completely cooked by Zeltrax.

And Hayley had the video footage to prove it. He had been the one to drag Elsa away.

Tommy Oliver was not a dumb guy, however. He knew who was the mastermind behind this, and it wasn't Zeltrax, or even Mesogog.

He simply couldn't say it in front of everyone. Now wasn't the time to do that yet. Doubly so with Kat in the room.

He flashed back to when he had caught Kat red handed talking to Zeltrax, somewhere in the city. It had been happenstance but once this had happened, he'd activated his invisibility mode and heard every word.

He even remembered the order she gave him.

"He and his rats have no idea I am batting for the other team. When the time comes, attack the lab and destroy it. Preferably with the Rangers inside, but do it whenever you can."

She'd even given him the coordinates.

Zeltrax had simply cherry picked the time and the hour.

He suddenly snapped back to reality, and thank goodness, when Anton said, "It's all my fault. I should have stopped him."

"Don't blame yourself for what you did when you were him," Trent added.

"Trent is right, Anton. This is between me and Smitty. It has nothing to do with you," Tommy said, knowing who the real culprit was as he fought to barely keep his eyes from flashing. He breathed a sigh of relief…he'd almost given away the game.

"But if there were no Mesogog…"

"We can't go back and change what happened. Mesogog is gone. We should be thankful for that."

"So I guess we don't hang up our morphers just yet?" Conner said.

"No," Tommy replied.

"Not to make light of the situation, Tommy, but I left something at work. I need to go back and get it," Kat said suddenly.

"Be safe out there," Tommy said, nodding as she walked around the wreckage and rushed out the door.

'Perfect,' Tommy thought.

"Trent, I need you to stay back. The rest of you probably should go keep your minds at ease," Tommy said.

The teens nodded, filing out of the damaged lair not far behind Kat.

Trent gulped. It was one thing for him to worry about Hayley firing him from Cyberspace, but this was one of the first times he'd had a private conversation with Tommy, away from the rest of his teammates.

He looked at his father and his father looked at him, despite what Tommy had just said to him. They both figured they were about to get reamed.

What Tommy said next surprised them both.

"Just so you know, neither of you deserved your fates," Tommy said, looking especially at Trent. The two locked eyes and Trent breathed a sigh of relief inside.

Instinctively, Trent knew that Tommy knew the real truth and what he'd said about "Smitty" was a lie. He wasn't the real enemy. He also knew he wasn't going to be fired for his actions.

"Anton, before I go on, what I just said about "Smitty" is a lie," Tommy said. "A deliberate one. He has had it out for me, but he isn't the real enemy. The real enemy lies within these walls."

"You and I aren't the only ones with secrets, Dad," Trent said. He looked at Tommy for an indication to stop but Tommy indicated it was ok to continue. "Dr. O is right. The real enemy, and traitor, of this operation is his wife."

"That's a fantasy," Anton said. "I don't know Kat as well as the rest of you, but she seems nice enough."

"No, Anton, they're right. It's absolutely true. You should never trust anything coming out of her mouth," Hayley said, and Anton was taken aback by the hate blazing in her eyes. "She's like any politician…if she's talking she's lying. Including, in my opinion, the lie she just told about needing to get something at work. I am sure what she's actually doing is running back to her daddy to brag about what she just did."

"Only at face value does she seem nice enough," Tommy said. "Mesogog – and make no mistake, he's still awful – is small fries compared to the enemy she really works for."

"She works for, and is the daughter of, a powerful wizard named Lokar, who was an enemy of Tommy's old team of Rangers," Trent said. "She also sent one of her henchmen, a powerful warrior named Goldar, to poison my Gem. That's why I did all those horrible things."

"That's the reason your son is still on the team, Anton," Tommy said. "He was put in a terrible spot and some day the others will see that."

"That said, you still can't tell the others what happened to you until it's time Trent," Tommy said sternly, "and if I found out you did, losing your powers will be the least of your concerns."

Trent gulped and nodded mutely.

Anton sighed and was on the verge of tears. His son should not have been resigned to that fate. Before, he had wanted to know who put his son in that situation.

Now, he almost wished he wouldn't have found out the truth.

"So…then…your wife is the reason you almost died," Anton said to Tommy. Now he understood a little more why Tommy was being extra careful around his wife. "Tommy, that's just beyond horrific. What were you even thinking marrying her?"

"I…do not have good luck with Pink Rangers, and she was one. Most of my old team got hoodwinked too," Tommy said. "The one before her was also my girlfriend once – she's the one from the Dear John letter. That plan was also cooked up by Lokar to divide us."

"Speaking of," Tommy added, "I have a plan to address her problems but it will have to wait. Right now, Mesogog is the threat and must be beaten once and for all."

April 30, 2004

Miami, FL

It had become a rite of passage, these days.

Tommy beats the latest big bad, Kimberly cheers inside, Lokar, Kat, Ooze and Grifforza fume in frustration. Once again, they'd forced Kimberly to watch with them hoping Tommy would finally lose. Of course, when that didn't happen, Kim took a sadistic pleasure in rubbing their noses in the dirt.

"What's that Tommy told Mesogog? I sort of forget," Kimberly snarked. "Oh yeah, that's right. Good guys always win. Even when Zordon dies or we give up our powers, we always win."

Grifforza simply gave her the death glare – in the last 24 hours she'd become beyond pissed that thanks to Rita, Fienna and Zophram they couldn't touch her. Grifforza had tried it once and didn't like the result.

And she'd already grown to hate Kimberly's snark. Always getting the last word in.

"I see why you hate her so much, Dad, and Tommy boy too," Grifforza said.

"You learn to hate them pretty quick as much as they win," Goldar said.

"The bad news for you, Kimmie, is that once our plan comes to fruition, your forever flame will be dead and eventually so will you and all your friends in Angel Grove," Grifforza sneered. It was at that moment that Heart Stealer came in.

"Heart Stealer, has your plan been executed?" Grifforza said.

"On five of the six, yes," Grifforza said, "which is fine by me. The sensei's son didn't want to come to our little 'play date' that I hooked the Rangers into, which is a shame. He's a smart one, that guy."

"Another Billy, that's the last thing we need," Goldar huffed.

"But on the other five, yes. All I have to do is activate the spell on them, and they become my instruments of destruction, against their will," Heart Stealer said. "It can be done any time, any place, but I would say that the longer time passes, the more powerful the hold is and the harder it is to break."

"And they're five of the best to ever do it. The Samurai, smart as he may be, can't beat them by himself," Goldar said. "I am proud of you my daughter and credit to you, Katarina, for the plan."

"That's only part of it," Kat said with a cruel smirk. "Miss Chief, report!"

In a red flash, an old enemy of Kimberly's appeared – she had been freed from her pachinko ball prison many years ago and gave Kimberly a healthy dose of side eye. Kim could tell the contempt was still there.

"Has the trap been set for our sixth Ranger?" Kat asked. She had planned a backup in case anything went wrong. This was one that, along with Miss Chief, she was going to handle personally.

"It has, Mistress," Miss Chief said.

Kim gulped. Tommy would have to know about this, somehow.

But as if her wishes had been heard, as if someone had heard her mental cries for help, she heard that alluring voice in her head again. It was the same alluring voice she'd heard when she'd been bestowed the three extra wishing coins.

"He will know of the plot. You must rest, young Crane. Some day, the Crane and Falcon will fly again…forever."

That gave Kim peace of mind and so, she stood up and glared at Kat, Grifforza, Miss Chief and the whole crew and said, "Your plans will all fail, as they always have. Even if I don't live to see it, one day you will all be held responsible for your crimes. You cannot defeat me so easily."

"And Grifforza," Kim added, with some extra bile laced in her voice, "when we send you to hell, give your mother my regards."

And with that, she left. The whole crew clearly had nervous looks on their faces. They had thrown everything they could at their archnemesis and still she was here standing. And so was Tommy, for that matter.

May 1, 2004, early in the morning

Tommy awoke with a start, and realized two things.

The first was he wasn't in Reefside anymore. In fact, he didn't know where was. All he knew was a hot sun was bearing down on him.

The second thing he realized was that Kat wasn't with him. So this absolutely had to be Ranger related. He could be anywhere, even in a pocket dimension such as that blasted Island of Illusion back in the day.

He looked around and realized this definitely was not the Island of Illusion. The air was very dry unlike the island, which was tropical in nature and very humid.

He then soon realized a third thing. Kat was going to flip and his cover might be blown. He would probably have to think up a new plan when this was all over.

Presently, he heard voices.

"You say he's here, Zophram?" a distinctly female voice asked.

"Yes, I see him clearly. Tommy has successfully been brought here. I think you two should handle this," a distinctly male voice added. Tommy bristled just a bit at the voice. It sounded a bit like…Zedd?

"Yeah, I see him too," a third voice added. Tommy knew this voice and gulped. It was clearly Ninjor. He couldn't see him…yet, but knew the voice by heart.

Ever since Hayley and his three clones had told him about the conspiracy by Lokar, and that Ninjor was in the game, he knew he would have to come face to face with the Ninja Master and face the music. He was not looking forward to that, and it appeared that day was here and now.

If the situation wasn't so serious, Tommy would have chuckled. The teacher was actually going to the principal's office this time and he just knew he was going to get reamed out.

In that moment, the joy and elation of beating Mesogog, as tough as he was, had evaporated. It was like winning didn't even count.

"For someone that just won a really tough fight, you're acting like you've lost."

Those words shook Tommy out of his stupor, and he gazed at Ninjor. He hadn't realized Ninjor had teleported in front of him seconds before.

As if to confirm what Ninjor had said, Tommy dropped his head in shame.

"It does feel like a loss," Tommy said frankly. "I beat Mesogog, but I honestly don't have an answer for Lokar. Wherever he's keeping Kim has to be akin to a high security jail. Not to mention Goldar's back."

"They added to their forces too, I should inform you. The daughter of Goldar and Scorpina has joined their forces and brought a very dangerous assistant with her. An assistant that has the potential to corrupt a Ranger or even entire teams of Rangers," Ninjor said.

Tommy gulped. One evil Ranger was terrible – but an entire team?

And he shuddered to think how awful the daughter of Goldar and Scorpina was.

"Of course, this wouldn't have happened if I'd fought for her and asked Kim what the hell she was thinking," Tommy added.

"There was nothing that could have been done about it, Dr. Oliver. It was fixed," an alluring female voice said.

Tommy's face furrowed in confusion as he came face to face with a tall, blonde Amazonian like woman dressed in a conservative, dark green Ninja-like outfit.

"I see you have some confusion. It was indeed meant to happen, Tommy," Ninjor said gently. "I knew this and that's why I went back to the Temple of Power after the fight with Dischordia. I knew what Kat would become and that you and Kim would make bad choices and have to live with them."

"I am Dulcea, Master Warrior of the planet Phaedos and this is my home," she said. "We brought you here partly to inform you of the threat Ninjor just talked about, but it's obvious you also feel sick to your stomach about your actions."

"Truth be told, some of us doubted you'd be here today, Tommy," Ninjor added. "That you are here I can tell you for certain has them nervous."

"Yeah and if it wasn't for Kim I probably wouldn't be," Tommy said. "Like I told Billy, in a way I should have just taken death. It'd have been much easier than knowing Lokar's back in the game and that he ruined both Kim and I."

"And if you had taken death, Mesogog would have won and it would have been all over," Ninjor told him pointedly.

"She still loves you, you know. She requested you know about the threat and that is why you are here," Dulcea said.

"If I am being frank, I love her too. And if I could I'd take her in my arms again. But I wouldn't know the first thing about getting her out of there. Not with that place on lock."

"Especially not with Ivan Ooze there. Have you been caught up on him?" Dulcea asked. Tommy shook his head. That just sounded bad. The daughter of Goldar and Scorpina was bad enough.

"He's worse than terrible. If he wanted to, he could even kill Lokar and take over for himself someday. He is that powerful," Ninjor said. "Your wife is also seeing him behind your back."

Tommy simply shook his head. Eventually he'd have to deal with this too.

"The best I could do at this point is get her out of there to some place where she may still be loved. Paris, France, maybe but her mother was a total jerk and hated me," Tommy said.

"I took advantage of this, once," a new voice said. It was the voice that sounded like Zedd, as a third being, dressed in gold, appeared. "Now I think the plan has the most risk, but also the most upside."

"You sound like Zedd, but clearly aren't him," Tommy remarked.

"You're right, I do not go by that anymore. I am Zophram and served with your mentor…before I succumbed to the darkness," he said. "Tommy, Lokar, while tough, can be beaten and either banished to the Talos Dimension forever, or destroyed."

"That's where he's from?" Tommy said.

"Yes. This dimension was immune to Zordon's energy wave, so when the wave hit, he took him and his two children back to the dimension."

"That explains where Kat was during the Countdown," Tommy murmured.

"Paris is seriously a good idea though, Tommy, although it's very risky," Zophram repeated.

"If it can be pulled off and she is willing to trust her parents again, Kimberly can be safe from Lokar and Kat, and can rebuild her life in one of the most beautiful cities anywhere in the universe," Ninjor said.

"We can do that later. The real reason you are here, Tommy, is because you need a means of communicating with Kimberly," Dulcea said. "I can give you greater powers in time, but for now I can help reconnect you to the Falcon spirit and make it where you can communicate with Kimberly telepathically. Kimberly has already been practicing how to do this."

"Has she been here?" Tommy asked.

"No, but I have friends on Earth, some you know and some you don't, who are helping her," Ninjor said.

"You're right. Paris can wait, for now. The more important thing is I need a way to be in contact with her that doesn't arouse suspicions. How long can I stay here before Kat may be suspicious of me being gone?"

"A while. Kat has gone back to Miami for a little bit. I will know when Kat is about to return and I will send you back," Dulcea said. "In the meantime, follow us so we can get to work."

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