A/N 1: So this is a little plot bunny that just won't go away. Note: I am not a Kat hater. But this one just won't go away.

A/N 2: The Rangers meet Lokar in battle for the first time in years - some for the first time ever. Meanwhile, Kimberly walks to her freedom.

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

Chapter 15: Project Paris VI - Merry Christmas Beautiful!

October 6, 2004, 2:30 p.m. local time

Angel Grove, CA

Aisha and Rocky DeSantos were confused.

One minute it was a normal workday. Aisha was doing lawyer work at a private firm in Los Angeles, and Rocky was doing business at a small restaurant he owned in Stone Canyon.

But the next minute, they were dumped on their asses in some sort of command base.

Their eyes widened too. This certainly was not the Command Center or Power Chamber of old. The tech here was clearly far more advanced than any structure they had been in beforehand.

"Welcome back to the fight, guys," a familiar voice said from their left. Two silhouettes they were very familiar with appeared in the room.

"Billy," Aisha said, greeting someone that, quite frankly, she hadn't seen in years. "I had no idea you were back, Rocky didn't either. And you said fight. As in Ranger fight?"

"Yeah man, we gave that shit up long ago," Rocky said.

"I am afraid you don't have a choice in the matter. The multicolored one has called all of us back to the fight," another voice said from the right. They turned to see Adam, who nodded his head as if to say, "Yeah, I meant it."

"Adam," Rocky said. "The multicolored one, as in Tommy? What are you not telling us? I see you all the time. What the hell is going on?"

"As Adam said, you have no choice in the matter. And he couldn't tell you, and Tommy couldn't say anything because your lives would be in danger," Billy said. "It's fight or die. Guys, Kimberly's very life may well depend on whether you – and all of us – are motivated or not. As we speak, Tommy is in Paris, France working on a plan, but he's going to need all of us."

Aisha's eyes widened. She hadn't heard from Kimberly in years. What were they not being told?

"You're in the basement of Grandma F's Hotel in Angel Grove," Billy revealed. "And as soon as 'Grandma F' gets back, we will fill you in. You two better sit down and relax. You will be ok being away from work. Tommy has obtained an artifact with magic that will protect you both. This story will take a while."

Both surmised that it was the magic of whatever artifact Tommy possessed that had brought them here. He must have given it instructions.

Two hours later when it was all finished, Lady Fienna asked Rocky and Aisha, "So, now that you've heard what's happening, are you ready to fight for Kimberly's survival? Because it will absolutely take all of you to defeat Lokar – and you'll need reinforcements from the younger generations too."

Aisha started to open her mouth but Rocky looked at her as if to say, 'I'll take this.'

"We absolutely are," Rocky said. "We gave Kat a second chance and this is what she does to repay us? Torture Kim, murder Trini and almost kill Tommy? No, she's not fucking getting away with this. And we're gonna fucking get rid of Lokar for good."

They then looked at Wes, who was here after his own brush with danger and had successfully got his child out of the line of fire.

"Should we move in here permanently? You had to uproot your own life," Aisha said.

"It's possible," Wes said. "I've already called Taylor and Eric and warned them they may need to ask Princess Shayla and Merrick to reopen the Animarium. As long as Jen is under Lokar's control, I don't think you're safe even if you're together."

"So what do we do now?" Rocky asked.

"We wait until Technicolor needs us. In the meantime, we may also have to go on a quest. A faraway planet," Billy said. "It's Ninja powers but stronger. Tommy has successfully reconnected with his falcon in that way."

"We'll be ready."

Miami, FL, 8:00 local time that night

Kimberly walked into her usual spot of hell, though it was less hell these days due to the influence of the Orb of Hope that Tommy now possessed and things felt…different tonight.

She could feel a presence within the room, but it wasn't hostile at all. But she couldn't see it.

Then a familiar voice that she hadn't heard in years came from the ceiling, near the closet where she kept her clothes.

"Look up, Kimberly."

Kimberly turned a lamp on and turned toward the closet and her eyes widened.

"Saba?" she asked Tommy's former sentient sword weapon. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you."

"Keeping watch over you, per Tommy's orders. It's part of a series of directives Tommy has given the Orb of Hope. Whereas you get a limited number of wishes with your coins, for now, because he earned the Orb of Hope, Tommy gets as many wishes as he wants."

"So he's OK," Kimberly said.

"Yes and the idiots here don't know it yet, but he has made sure due to the Orb's magic that they are unaware Tommy is in Paris. They were able to turn Mrs. Collins evil thanks to Tommy going to Europe, but that's all they'll be able to do."

Kimberly shivered at the mention of Jennifer Collins – the poor woman had her soul tainted by this crowd of goons and she'd met Jen for the first time today. The encounter had sent shivers up Kim's spine.

"We will be OK. In a little less than three months you will be out of here. Look at it that way," Saba said. "And I will be here to make sure these bastards don't hurt you anymore."

"I trust you and I'm so glad you're back. You helped Tommy with so much," Kim said. "For the first time in a while, I see my freedom not far off."

December 6, 2004

WTVJ-TV

Miami, Florida

Cassidy Cornell and Devin del Valle could hardly believe their luck.

When the two interns from Reefside got this assignment from their boss, to go to this mansion and interview these peculiar business people, Katherine, Kaden, Ivan and Luigi (in reality, he was Lokar in human form, but the two young interns didn't know it until they went), they had no idea what they were walking into.

And it wasn't until they got there that they realized that Katherine was trying to kill Dr. Oliver the whole time the Dino Rangers were fighting Mesogog.

They did the interview the week after Thanksgiving as part of their internship to receive credits from the University of Miami, but until they eavesdropped on a conversation shortly before their interview, they had no idea they were dealing with villains from Dr. Oliver's past hellbent on destroy them and the rest of humankind.

The villains had spilt the whole plot to destroy the world, while Cassidy and Devin's video was rolling. There was something about a Kimberly, a Jen, Dr. Oliver, the original Rangers et al.

They somehow made it out with their hides intact but now they had a real problem. The plot they'd uncovered was not insignificant. But the chance that their boss had anything to do with original Power Rangers was one in a bazillion. You'd have had to buy a ticket to the lottery for that to be the case.

Fortunately for Cassidy and Devin, their boss was Angela Williams, Zack Taylor's ex girlfriend from California. They had hit the jackpot. And when Angela saw the tape her eyes blazed with anger.

So THAT's what happened to Kimberly all those years ago, she thought. No wonder she fell off the face of the Earth. Angela didn't know for sure, but she had reason to suspect that Kimberly had went through hell for many years. That she was a successful attorney here in town was a miracle in and of itself.

By now, she, Cassidy and Devin were in a back room, away from everyone else because more than anything, Angela knew the Ranger code. They kept their identities secret for a reason.

"OK, you two here's what we are going to do," Angela said. "I need two days to separate the interview for the news thing and the Ranger stuff, but by the time you get here Wednesday, I'll have the tape for the news ready so you can get your project done, and then you can take the Ranger tape with you."

"Yeah and then as soon as classes are done for the semester we need to get the hell out of here to California. I don't know where we'd stay but it can't be here, at least not for the Christmas holidays," Devin said. "Lokar will surely suspect something is up."

"Oh he will. I remember when Lokar first showed up on the scene over 10 years ago. He was a menace," Angela said. "You two have unintentionally done the world a great service – again."

"I know what we need to do," Cassidy said. "We need to do two things. Once we get to California, we need to find Conner, Kira, Ethan and Trent. Give them this tape. They'll take care of the rest."

"Excellent idea," Devin said, with Angela nodding. "They're Rangers, we're not."

He had no idea his statement was only partially correct.

"One final note. If you see my ex Zack while in California, give him that tape too. I know how he'll be when he gets the tape. He'll be in a foul, ass kicking mood," Angela said.

"And with that, we need to get back to campus, because finals are a coming," Cassidy said.

"Yes, go study up, you two. You're excused," Angela said as the two left.

"Good kids," she murmured.

Saturday, December 18, 2004, midday

LAX Airport

Los Angeles, CA

"Hey Rockstar, Trent, look who else just landed at LAX."

Cassidy and Devin must have felt they were going through divine intervention, again, hearing those voices.

They had landed at LAX about an hour ago, and now as they turned left, they could see they weren't the only recent Reefside High graduates in the airport. The voice belonged to Conner, with Kira and Trent with him. Ethan was going to school at Reefside Tech, but he would be joining them once they got out of here.

"Guys!" Cassidy said as they met the three ex-Rangers and their old friends. "How's college soccer jock?"

"Oh boy. UCLA is something else, dude," Conner said. "Out of the frying pan into the fryer. Kira's doing quite well though. How's New York, Trent?"

"Expensive. But I love it," Trent said. "And how's life in South Beach for you two?"

Cassidy and Devin's faces grew somber. A moment of truth had arrived and when the three ex Rangers saw the looks on Cassidy and Devin's faces they looked at each other as if to say, "uh oh."

"It's fine for the most part, except, uh, one thing. We need you to do a favor for us," Cassidy said.

"Name it," Conner said.

We need to go pick up Ethan in Reefside, tell him to get packed, then go to Angel Grove, stat. I will help book us a hotel room along the way," Cassidy said, lowering her voice. "I don't trust anyone or anything in Reefside right now."

"It's spandex business isn't it?" Kira said.

"Yes, and I don't want to go into it further until we get to Angel Grove," Devin said softly. "But we aren't Rangers and you are. We need to show you something and then let you guys handle it."

"OK. Then let's move," Conner said.

7:30 that night, shortly after dinner

Grandma F's Hotel, fifth floor

Angel Grove, CA

"OK, you guys, so why were you so hot to trot to get me to pack up so quickly and leave impromptu?" Ethan said, specifically glaring at Cassidy and Devin. He was looking forward to being at home for the holidays and had been uprooted, so to speak. "You insist it's spandex business, so this better be good."

"It is and it's important," Cassidy said as she set up her computer and plugged a flash drive in. "Just shut up and watch. I will explain everything afterwards."

The video they watched was fairly brief but it was riveting. When it was all done, the four Rangers looked at Cassidy and Devin, then each other in shock.

Now they knew why they couldn't go to Reefside. Cassidy had no need for a further explanation.

Dr. Oliver's faithful wife, or so they thought, was actually an enemy who had tried to kill him. And Cassidy and Devin had done the Rangers a favor. Again.

And Kimberly Hart. Poor, poor Kimberly Hart.

Conner's eyes blazed with fury. If that had been Kira in Kimberly's place, he would have been a savage animal.

"That Ooze guy just gives me the creeps," Kira murmured meanwhile. "He just looks disgusting."

"Yeah and Katherine is seeing him behind Dr. O's back," Trent said. "Gross."

"Not to mention she almost killed him," Ethan muttered.

"Guys, the fearlessness you guys showed against those slimeballs, even if it wasn't intended, may have just saved the world," Conner said. "Thank you. I'm dead serious."

"We're not Rangers. You guys are," Devin said. "We couldn't beat the bullies of Reefside in a fist fight, much less take on 20 foot monsters. You guys are the experts at that. Keep that tape safe, please and if you are called back to the fight, please win this for us."

"We don't have powers anymore, but we will keep ourselves safe and we will resist Kat whenever we can," Conner said. "We will win this for not just you but all of the legacy. I make that promise. That bitch Kat murdered a Power Ranger too otherwise Ms. Kwan would be here right now and she almost killed Dr. O."

"There's one last thing," Devin said. "Part of the reason this works is because of our boss in Miami at NBC. We hit the jackpot."

"Our boss in our internship at NBC Miami is none other than Zack Taylor's ex girilfriend, Angela Williams," Cassidy said. "The first Black Ranger. So we have one more thing we need to do. Per her, we need to show him this tape somehow. The problem is, I have no idea where he lives. She said nothing about that."

"We'll find a way," Trent said.

"This is our chance to leave our own legacy," Conner said. "We're not Dr. O's team anymore, as much as I love him. We are our own unit and when we get that chance, we'll prove it."

The basement, same time

They had no clue that every word of theirs was being listened to, six floors below them. Billy utterly gawked, which was rare for him.

He remembered Cassidy and Devin as Reefside's version of Bulk and Skull. But like the two former bullies, they'd found a way to make the best of life. They had no idea what they had just accomplished.

"When Zack finds out about this, he's going to want to beat somebody's ass," Rocky said.

"Ya think?" Jason said. "I want to whip a monster's butt, too."

Tiffany, in her capacity as Fienna's assistant, sometimes brought Jason over. He liked the place – all that was missing was Zordon, but to Jason, Fienna was a lot like him.

Jason could now see why the Dino Rangers beat Mesogog. They exuded leadership.

Fienna saw that Conner now had the tape in his hands and made a snap decision.

"Teleport then down here, now," Fienna ordered Billy. "Do it," she commanded more sternly as Billy hesitated. Billy was lukewarm on the idea but did as he was told.

Two seconds later, six white streaks of light landed in the room, strewn all over the floor.

"Where…are we," Trent said.

"This sure as hell ain't Reefside, or even that nice bedroom six floors above," Cassidy said.

"Nope. This is far more advanced than Dr. O's lair," Ethan said.

"Indeed it is. I am Lady Fienna of the M-51 galaxy and welcome to my home."

The six visitors from Reefside instantly made the mental connection of "Grandma F's Hotel" and turned towards the White House-esque situation table to see not just Lady Fienna, but several of the faces that only Kira remembered from the video when they started their journey.

"Billy Cranston, Jason Scott, others," Kira said. "Where are we?"

"In the basement of the hotel you are staying in, Ms. Ford," Billy said. "We brought your bags down here too. This command structure has plenty of sleeping space. We think it would be more prudent."

"Good. I don't want to go back to Reefside if I don't have to," Cassidy said. "I don't trust anything there."

"And you are right to, Ms. Cornell," Wes said. "I'm Wesley Collins, Red Ranger of Time Force and they got my wife too."

"The team from 2001, right and your wife is Jen, correct?" Kira asked. "Sorry, I'm a total dork. I'm the only one that actually paid attention to the brief Ranger history class."

"Yes and yes," Wes said. "Until my wife is free I can't go home. You six have done all of us a great service and you deserve a place of safety."

A blue ninja with an N stepped forward and suddenly addressed the six visitors from Reefside.

"I am Ninjor, keeper of the temple of ninja power and creator of the original power coins. There's one other thing. Mr. Del Valle, you are correct when you said that you and Ms. Cornell are not Rangers. That is correct…for now."

"What do you mean by that?" Devin said. He'd had a fascination with finding out who Reefside's Rangers were but never had the intention of becoming one.

"You'll see," Ninjor said. "Remember rule number one, besides keeping an identity secret. You don't choose the Power, it chooses you."

Billy looked at Ninjor who nodded back at him. He then addressed his old teammates and the new Rangers in the room.

"Rocky, Aisha, Adam, do you remember that I told you we may have to go on a quest for powers stronger than Ninja?" Billy asked. The three Ranger veterans from Stone Canyon nodded.

"We're going. Tomorrow. Tommy wants Kim safe by Christmas and we are a week away. We need to start getting ready. Tommy already has reconnected with his falcon and Kimberly has slowly but surely realized the Crane is still with her too."

He then looked at the four former Rangers and their two friends.

"You six, you're coming too," Billy said. "Get a good night's rest. We go first thing in the morning."

December 21, 2004, very late at night

Reefside, CA

His bags packed and ready to go, Dr. Tommy Oliver stood in front of a silhouette that seemed just like him.

As someone would find out very soon, it actually was.

Before he gave his final instructions, he recalled being visited in a dream just the previous night. It started scary, but as it turned out, it was reassuring.

Flashback, December 20, 2004, the spirit world

Tommy suddenly realized he wasn't in just his own dreams anymore.

No, he was back in the spirit world, just like in the spring.

But unlike the spring, he sensed no danger.

But he took up a defensive stance when three figures appeared.

The first one was Kat, or some form of her, Tommy prepared for a fight, until the saw the second figure emerge. It was…himself. He relaxed again. And he relaxed even more when a third figure appeared.

"It's sad, isn't it?" this world's version of Kat asked her husband. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"No, it was not. But considering that Lokar is involved, it doesn't surprise me," the other 'Tommy' said.

"So you guys aren't hostile," Dr. Oliver said. "Mind telling me what I'm doing here? And who is the young child?"

"We are from the Prime universe of Rangers, and that's our son, JJ," Kat addressed him. "No, unlike the impostor who I would like to beat the crap out of, we aren't hostile."

"This absolutely was not supposed to happen," Tommy's counterpart said. "In the prime universe, Kat and I are married, JJ is our son and she never turns bad. Much less by Lokar and his goons."

"We are here to tell you to keep the faith," JJ said. "Though technically you aren't my father, this is incredibly sad. It's sad for Kim, too."

"Rangers have always found a way, Tommy. Lokar is a mighty foe but there's no doubt he can be vanquished," Kat said.

An idea suddenly sprung into Tommy's head. Something that could keep Katarina occupied while he carried out his rescue mission.

"I know what you're thinking," his counterpart said, "and yes, it is possible. The Orb can do it easily."

End Flashback

"Now remember. You have eight days," Tommy said. "Your mission is to do everything possible to keep her appeased and keep her off me. Is that understood?"

"Yes," the person said. With that, Tommy teleported himself, and his bags out of the house and walked towards his Jeep.

After waiting for a little bit, he pulled his Jeep (there were temporarily two Jeeps in the driveway) out of the driveway and headed towards LAX.

Paris bound, where hopefully he could pull off his Christmas rescue plan.

But for that to happen, he needed them to be drawn out. Looking to the orb, an idea suddenly came to him.

He would have to wait till he got to Paris to pull it off, but he'd left in enough time where he could accomplish what he needed to.

December 24, 2004, in the morning

Miami, FL

Everyone in Lokar's compound were witnessing a disturbing sight.

A sudden, impromptu lightning storm had come out of nowhere at 10:30 in the morning. It had roused every one of the villains from what they were doing. The sky should have been sunny since it was Florida, but the sky was black as night.

"Look out!" Grifforza shouted as a particularly fierce lightning bolt nearly struck one of the windows.

"Kat, where are you?" Lokar demanded.

In a swirl of pink and black, Katarina appeared before her father.

"I'm here," Kat said. "What in the actual…"

"That's what we are saying," Goldar said, ducking down as another nasty bolt of lightning sent the power flickering.

"That's enough," Katarina said. "I don't know if Zordon's crew or my husband is messing with me – it's probably the other geeks – but just in case, I'm going to fix them."

"It's probably Fienna or someone like that," Ooze said. "Somehow, I don't think Tommy Boy has that much power."

"Yes, you're right," Kat said. "Rocket scientist Tommy is not."

"Activate Project Ninja Storm. It's time," she told Heart Stealer.

"Summon Jen," she then told Miss Chief. "If Fienna wants to hit us then we are going to hit them twice as hard. There's no Ranger team on duty, so we shouldn't have any issues destroying things."

In a matter of moments, six silhouettes appeared in the building, four male and two female, all with malice in their eyes.

"You summoned us, my Lady?" Shane Clarke said, evil dripping from his voice.

"Yes," Kat answered. "I believe the power brats are behind this, or some of them anyways and we are going to make them pay. We are going to go to Reefside and level it. I have to keep my 'husband' close for now, but I want everyone else out there. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"Ninja Storm!"

"Thunder Storm!"

"Winter Storm, Ranger Form, Ha!"

Jen's new, evil powers were Ninja, and they were purple, not pink, as she had left her Time Force morpher in the past and her powers were ice based. Her power had also been strengthened by Ivan Ooze himself.

They were indeed a formidable team, as they headed out for their first mission.

Kim's eyes widened, as there was suddenly nobody around. Not Lokar, Ooze, Kat, Kaden, anyone. She'd heard it all, and they'd all gone out to battle.

She looked at Saba up above, who was looking at her as well. Saba had trolled the denizens of this hell for the last two months with spastic attacks, which none had ever seen coming. Kim had thoroughly enjoyed that.

"This is my chance, isn't it?"

"Yes. And look at what's before you."

As if on cue, a set of luggage, hygiene, clothing, boxes which no doubt contained most of her valuables. And a passport, should she need it.

"Tommy is ready and will order the Orb to open a portal for you as soon as the fight is fully engaged," Saba informed her.

"I can't believe Kitty thinks he doesn't have the power he just exuded," Kim said as magically the sky cleared. "Boy are they in for a big surprise."

"Will you be OK?" Kim asked. "I hate this place, but I enjoyed your company."

"I am going back to the spirit world, Kimberly, but I will always be thinking of you," Saba said. "A worthy Ranger you were and are."

Phaedos

They'd gone through six days of grueling training, the four Ranger veterans and six newbies.

If what Tommy had went through to get his Falcon powers back was intense, this was doubly so.

For Cassidy and Devin, it was a humbling but a grateful experience. A few days ago, they couldn't beat anyone in a fight. Now, they felt their unpredictable style would give Lokar problems.

These ten were ready. And the time was now. Reefside was being attacked.

"May the Power protect you Rangers, and to those who possess the Great Power, all things are possible," Zophram told them. And for once, the elder members of the team listened to him.

"It's Morphin Time!"

Grandma F's Hotel, downtown Angel Grove

Marah looked at her bosses, Grace Sterling and Lady Fienna.

She had been put through the wringer for five long months. At long last, it was time for her to prove she was worthy of wearing green.

"I'll make Tommy proud," Marah said, pulling out her morpher. "Dragonzord!"

Downtown Reefside

Christmas Eve morning was not a pleasant one in Reefside, and it was only about 7:45.

The town hadn't seen an evil alien attack in years, but this one was a big one.

Being led by Lokar were the six evil Ninja Rangers, Kaden, Goldar, Grifforza, Ooze, and Heart Stealer. Plus, Lokar had more reinforcements he could call if he needed them.

And they were leveling everything in sight.

The Christmas economy in Reefside was going to be very bad this year. The Grinch had come early and come with force.

That was until a series of green laser beams struck the ground in front of the villains right before they got to a department store, causing them to stumble back.

"Your destruction ends here and now," a stern female voice said and walking out of the shadows, unbelievably, was the Green Dragon Morphin Ranger.

Every single villain had mouth gaping open – those powers were supposed to be destroyed.

"Tommy regained the Green powers? Impossible!" Goldar roared.

"Do I sound like Dr. Oliver? Guess again!"

The realization then hit the five Ninja Storm Rangers who had defeated Lothor.

"Well, well, well," Shane sneered, "it looks like someone finally let dear sweet Marah play Power Ranger temporarily. Sorry Marah, but move aside or we will be forced to make mincemeat out of you."

"You can try," Marah said. "But you'll fail. I'm not backing down. By the way, Kaden, where's your evil sister? I was hoping I could get a piece of her for the evil she's caused."

"Like my sister would waste time with a novice like you," Kaden sneered. "But we'll be happy to wipe the mat with you ourselves."

"You can try but I'll make you fail."

"And she won't be alone," a new voice said as multicolored laser beams struck Marah's adversaries sending them stumbling backwards again.

Immediately, blue, black, red, yellow, gold, purple, silver, maroon, navy and turquoise landed next to Marah. Inside, Lokar fumed. He and Kat had miscalculated. The Rangers had help after all – in fact, technically, the sides were even.

Marah wasn't expecting help, but she was certainly glad to have it.

"Back off Lokar," Blue said. "Help is here and you aren't going any further."

"Ah, Cranston, we meet again," Lokar sneered. "I forgot how much I detested your nerdy self. Not as much as others on your team, but I detested you nonetheless."

"The feeling is mutual, Lokar," Billy responded. "You and your children…your days are numbered. Now if you want us, come get us."

"Fine, but to get to us, you have to go through some of my friends," Lokar said. "RoboPutties!"

Suddenly, a swirling portal opened and Putty Patrollers came flying out of the portal, but they were decidedly different from those that Rocky, Aisha, Billy and Adam had faced in the past.

They were Putties but with cybernetic parts to them. Putties with a significant upgrade, as if the regular ones and Super Putties weren't tough enough.

"Interesting contraptions, don't you think?" Kaden taunted as the enhanced Putties marched towards the Rangers, malice showing in their eyes. "It's funny what happens when you can take the normally useless Putties but infuse them with Machine technology, thanks to my sister's Machine Empire connections. Have fun."

The ten Rangers engaged the machine infused clay creatures, but were finding tough sledding. Well, most of them were, anyways.

Strangely enough, navy and turquoise were holding their own against the CyberPutties, while the older Rangers struggled. They weren't doing great, but they weren't being pushed around like the others were.

Then, suddenly, Devin (clad in navy) got lucky. As he was dueling with a CyberPutty, another tried to ambush him from behind. He elbowed the CyberPutty and then kicked the other CyberPutty in front of him back.

On instinct, he grabbed his blaster and before the CyberPutty he elbowed could get up, he fired his blaster right at the Putty's chest, or so he thought. However, he lost his grip on his blaster right as he was firing it, and the shot was slightly awry.

Right into the CyberPutty's weak spot. It hit him in the right side of his head, and he suddenly convulsed and dissolved into nothing.

Without thinking, he turned to the other CyberPutty who he had knocked back and fired his blaster at the same spot. This time the aim was true, with the same result.

He then ran over to Cassidy, who was fighting off two more of the cybernetic golems and told her, "When you get a chance, aim for the right side of their heads. That has to be their weak spot!"

"Got it," Cassidy said as the two golems charged them both. An idea came to Devin as he looked at a light pole standing behind them.

"Follow my lead," Devin whispered to Cassidy.

When the golems got close and were about to strike, Cassidy and Devin veered upwards to avoid the attack, sending both CyberPutties careening into the light pole. They crashed into the light pole head first, exposing their weakness and turning them to dust.

"Good work, guys!" Rocky said as the rest of the Rangers surrounded Devin and Cassidy. They had watched what was going on and, amazingly enough, had followed their lead and dispatched the rest of the CyberPutties.

"We got lucky," Devin said. "The first one I destroyed my shot was awry and somehow found their weakness."

"Lokar, Kaden and Kat must have put their central nerve system in that spot. Once it got disrupted it took away their power source," Billy deduced.

"You may have dispatched my CyberPutties, but we are far from done," Lokar snarled. He was about to up the stakes of battle when he suddenly paused.

"We need to retreat," he told his generals, "and return to Miami. I fear something is very, very wrong."

"You all get off easy this time, power brats," Jen snarled. "We will see you next time and when we do, we will grind you into the dust."

They all disappeared and the Rangers looked at each other.

"You don't think that means…" Adam started.

"Don't you dare say it," Rocky said. "Don't you jinx it."

"No jinx necessary, I think the same thing," Billy said. "Kimberly has to have escaped to Paris. That's the only reason they took off."

"We should get back to Angel Grove just to be sure," Aisha said.

Grandma F's Hotel, the basement, 20 minutes later

The scene was celebratory, needless to say.

Tommy as it turned out had lit the match by using the Orb to cause a lightning stunt in Miami, making the villains all mad and wanting to seek payback.

The end result was no one was left to guard Kimberly, and as soon as the battle was fully engaged, Ninjor had said, Tommy had used the Orb to open a portal and she walked straight to her freedom without anyone laying a hand on her.

No matter what happened to them, and a lot could happen to them in retaliation, this was already a happy Christmas. It was one that they'd remember for a long time.

The sight of Kimberly in Tommy's arms (to them, the way it always should have been) was enough to put smiles on their faces.

"Now Lokar's family gets to know how it feels when we meddle in their lives," Jason said. "Before, with Lokar, it was just business. Now it's personal. I want to tear him to shreds."

"There's one other thing," Cassidy said. "This tape…we still need to find Zack."

"Doubly so because in my view Lokar will go after anyone associated with the Power," Devin said.

"Yes and Zack was on the Island all those years ago. In fact he was Lokar's first target," Billy said. "We'll find him and when we give him these details, he will want to beat somebody's ass."

Miami, Florida

The mood on the other side of the country was decidedly more somber.

What Lokar had felt during the fight was that Kimberly was gone. Without a trace. Not a single one of her possessions was left, not that they could use anyways.

Well, except a note. It had taken just three minutes for Kaden to find the note Kimberly had left.

It was also decidedly more venomous than the breakup letter that she'd sent Tommy all those years ago. By far.

Dear Kaden,

At long last, I am free.

Free from your insults, the abuse you leveled on me for the last three to four years, and free from every single thing evil threw at me.

You tried to destroy me. You failed – in fact you simply made me more powerful.

I left you for Paris, a far better place than the hellhole you let me stay in. I will miss my law friends, but it is worth it to finally be safe from you.

I rediscovered my parents who found out about you, I found someone far better than you as well. As of now, we are divorced.

My lawyer will be contacting you with details. Including this one little bitty detail. I had a TRO put in place in my divorce papers. Which simply means, if you have any thoughts about trying to find me in Paris, don't. Because if you come within 100 feet of me, I will sue you so hard you will be penniless. And I can do it.

That is, until I see you on the battlefield and make you suffer the way I suffered. And by the way, I won't be alone.

Au revoir and good riddance,

Kim

Kaden dropped to his knees. The person he had gleefully tortured for three years was gone. And never coming back.

"Read it, Dad. Our plans got busted," he said as he felt Lokar coming near him.

As Lokar read every word, he felt the fury building up inside of him.

"It's not your fault, son, and we will get them back," Lokar said. "Kimberly may have escaped, but the price of her freedom will be the destruction of every living Ranger in existence."

"Wait a second," Kaden suddenly realized.

"What?" Lokar said.

"Those two who helped destroy the CyberPutties, they're the journo geeks from Reefside who did that interview with us a few weeks back. I'll bet you anything that before we did that interview with them they recorded us talking about our plans."

"I think you're right. Further, I'd wager they were working with Kimmie to set us up for today," Lokar said. "They must be destroyed, just as much as the rest."

Paris, France

Already within a few hours, the light that was gone from Kimberly's life was rapidly coming back.

The lavish dinner that she'd had on Christmas Eve would have made a royal king blush.

Tommy and Helen and Pierre had shared hugs too – in large part because Tommy had kept his promise. He had said he was going to bring Kimberly out of danger by Christmas and he had done it.

The two were laughing watching Kaden's heart break.

Now it was Lokar's turn to cry, after Kimberly had cried for so many years and after Tommy had almost lost his own life too.

"Kill every living Ranger in existence," Kimberly snorted as she cuddled up next to Tommy in the lavish guest room the two were sharing. "Gee. Haven't we heard that before?"

"Yeah. It failed then and while it's a threat, it's gonna fail now too," Tommy said.

"I still can't believe Lokar's CyberPutties or whatever they call themselves got beat by a couple of rookie journalists," Kim said. "That makes this even more delicious."

"In my life, I never thought Cassidy and Devin, as nosy as they were in Reefside, would become Power Rangers," Tommy said. "But they are. Marah was actually my recruit to be the Green Ranger, Cassidy and Devin was not on my bingo card."

"Today is a day I will remember forever, Tommy, thanks to you," Kim said. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Beautiful."

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