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: It's a battle. At The Spot.

A/N 3: Usual disclaimer. Not mine. Eldin, Grace Sterling, Zophram and Fienna are products of Boom Studios.

Chapter 17 – Vengeful Crane

January 4, 2005, late morning

Angel Grove Park

Angel Grove, CA

When the Ninjetti, Space and Morphin teams and their allies, fully morphed (Jason and Zack had their Dino powers given back to them by Fienna) touched down in the park, they couldn't see anyone.

But they all knew better. The air was charged with evil and the attack could come from any point, at any time.

Tommy, in his invisible form, quickly took stock of where the battle was to take place. It didn't take him long to recognize the significance.

It was The Spot.

Anyone associated with him and Kim knew what that meant. Kat certainly knew it too – hell, she probably picked The Spot in the first place just to make what was going to happen extra painful.

Tanya was standing right next to Tommy, and though she couldn't see him, she knew where he was and they could basically nod to each other, knowing the significance.

"Look out!" Tiffany suddenly shouted. In the next moment, Conner barely pulled Kira out of the line of fire of a surprise attack…Dustin had tried to attack her with his Earth based attack and Conner just barely pulled her out in time.

Then Tanya spotted something heading towards Trent, and shouted, "Trent, look out! Behind you!"

Trent, clad in silver whipped his head around and saw a shark fin zooming towards him and said, "Not so fast. Unicorn Bow!"

As quick as the eye could see, a long crossbow appeared in his hand, already loaded with silver tipped energy arrows. He fired three at the shark fin, and the shots hit dead on, exploding on impact.

"You'll pay for that one, Silver Ranger!" Slippery Shark growled as he angrily picked himself up from the unsuspecting attack, the other villains suddenly rushing to his aid.

"Wrong, shark breath," Tommy said, dropping the disguise and standing with his fellow Rangers, "it's you and your bosses that are going to pay for your injustices."

"It's only been two seconds and Dr. Oliver's running his mouth already," Lokar said, "What's the matter Tommy, did precious Kimmie not want to come out and play?"

"Keep Kimberly's name out of your mouth," Tiffany said, "because we all know that deep inside that you're really afraid to take us on, Lokar."

"We'll see who's afraid when this is over," Stag Beetle responded, glaring at Tiffany. "Do we have permission to slaughter them now, boss?"

"I would say so, yes," Lokar said. "Attack!"

Kat was about to head for Tommy, but was suddenly thrown to the ground by a surprise silver beam, and she looked to see the Silver Ranger standing in her way.

"Out of my way, White Ranger, or is it Silver now?" Kat said. "You aren't my target. My ex is."

"Sorry, but to get to him you have to go through me first," Trent said, "and in case you forgot, you were the one that made me try to eliminate Dr. O in the first place. It's payback time, Kitty."

Kat then spared a quick glance at Tommy, who was facing off with both Jen and Stag Beetle, then turned back to Trent. If she'd looked just a second longer, she'd have seen Wes teleporting in behind the three, with his plan ready to go when the time was right.

She nodded as if to say to herself, 'Tommy should have his hands full with those two. I'll pick up the pieces once they're finished with him. In the meantime, I'll make an example of Mercer's kid.'

"OK, fine, kid, but don't say you didn't ask for this ass kicking," Kat said as she dashed forward, her sharp claw like fingers poised to strike. But she didn't reckon on Trent's speed, as Trent moved even faster, divided up his crossbow into two short sabers and slashed Kat across the chest.

'Damn. The super speed powers are permanent. Have to watch out for that,' Kat thought.

"OK, so you want to play that way? Fine by me," Kat said as she pulled out a scythe-like weapon and the two crossed blades.

Meanwhile, Tommy came face to face with an old foe, and a new one.

"So it's the great Dr. Tommy Oliver," Jen said, with a bit of a sneer as she pulled out a long purple rapier. "I've always wondered what it would be like to face the greatest to ever do it."

"He ain't so great, believe me," Stag Beetle said, arrogance dripping with every word. "The first two times I faced him, the first I drained him of his green powers and the second I destroyed the Thunder Megazord and Tigerzord."

It was an obvious attempt to get Tommy off his game, but Tommy didn't even flinch. He'd been through too much already.

"I think you'er gonna eat your words, beetle brain," Tommy said. "You're about to find out that I'm not the same guy I used to be."

"Then bring it," Stag Beetle said as he and Jen raced forward, their attacks poised to strike.

Phaedos

"That giant bug seriously didn't say that, did he?" Kim asked the being sitting next to her, who was infinitely familiar with the last reference Stag Beetle had mentioned.

Kim had refused to say it over the years, but of all the monsters she'd faced, Stag Beetle for her was one of the most annoying – because he in large part had stripped Tommy's Green powers, and then of course had been involved in the disastrous Zord fight that Stag Beetle had just referenced.

Adding to her annoyance was that the bad guys had, intentionally, chosen "The Spot" to launch their attack. The indignity of it all, she thought. That place was sacred ground to her all these years later.

"Did he say he destroyed the Thunderzords?"

"I think he sorta said that, yes," the reformed being said. "He's lying of course, as I led that attack, and if you don't go kick beetle boy's butt just for that, I will."

Kim sighed. There was no way she wanted to face her tormentors again so soon after the divorce, but unless she got in there, things were not going to go very well. At "The Spot," too.

"Good luck, Kimberly," Dulcea said, nodding at Kim. They all knew she was ready, even if she didn't know it, and now was the time.

"Pink Ranger Power!"

Angel Grove Park

Tommy was in the fight, but knew he wouldn't last forever against the speed and skill of Stag Beetle and Jen combined.

He looked around the battlefield, and saw that things weren't a whole lot better.

Billy, Aisha, Adam, Rocky, and Zack, with Tanya in tow, were trying to battle Lokar, Kaden, Ooze, Grifforza, Goldar and Heart Stealer, but even though the sides were technically even, Ooze just by himself was more powerful than the six Rangers and their allies. They were getting tossed on their asses, to put it bluntly.

Jason and Tiffany were getting some of the worst of it. The fight with Robogoat was one on two, but Robogoat was somehow more powerful than he was the first time Jason faced him, and even Tiffany and Jason were no match for him. Tiffany was a powerful sorceress, but her spells were having zero effect.

'Lokar's powers, no doubt,' Jason thought.

Trent was trying against Kat, gamely in fact, but Kat had speed and experience. He was giving his all, but Tommy knew Trent couldn't possibly hope to win against her. His uniform was shredded in many areas as Kat knew how to exploit him physically and mentally. He had been taking a beating for the last 15 minutes – she was toying with him.

Conner, Kira, Ethan, Marah, Cassidy and Devin were getting it possibly the worst of all. Perhaps they were slightly outnumbered, but the Ninja Storm five had a wealth of experience and skill and the evil currently inside them made them even more powerful.

And the Space Rangers were trying, God bless them, and the reformed monsters who had refused to side with both Dark Specter and Lokar had come back from their main hideout on Venus Island to help them, including the three Blue Gems from the M-51 galaxy.

But even that wasn't enough, as the horde of monsters from the Zordon era (and various monsters, criminal mutants and Orgs from after the Zordon era itself) outnumbered them. Even the Lightspeed and Wild Force teams, and Eric were not enough.

And then Jen slashed Tommy across the chest with her rapier, seconds before Stag Beetle slashed him across the chest with one of his pincers. This double attack was particularly brutal and Tommy, for as great as he was, was running out of steam.

Wes, from his place in hiding nearby, was losing hope too. Jen was a menace now, and the way things were going he wasn't going to get a shot to free her today, or anytime soon.

"Face it Tommy, I have your number and our Purple Ranger has proven to be better than you too," Stag Beetle taunted. "You now have two choices. Either surrender or I'll finish what I started ten years ago."

"Do your worst, bug breath because surrender is not in my vocabulary," Tommy said as he struggled to his feet.

"I was almost hoping you would say that," Stag Beetle said. "The hard way it is then."

Stag Beetle stalked towards Tommy and was about to snap Tommy into the grip of his pincers, when out of nowhere, a massive pink beam of light rocked the ground, causing Stag Beetle and Jen to fly back about 20 feet. Jen, in the process, hit a tree and was knocked unconscious. Stag Beetle wasn't much better off; he didn't hit a tree, but he landed hard and was pretty shaken up.

In the next moment, several more beams of pink light hit the ground, sending the villains scattering.

"You will be doing nothing of the sort, you disgusting bug," a haunting voice swept throughout the battlefield. It gave Tommy shivers; he knew who it belonged to and he knew the cavalry had arrived.

Seconds later, a pair of white boots flipped through the air and kicked Stag Beetle back just as he was getting up.

Tommy, once he came to and realized he wasn't in Stag Beetle's deadly grip, looked at who had come to his aid – again. Like she had done so many times before. This time it truly was a surprise. There was no way she could possibly be mentally ready to fight in something like this – and yet, here she was again.

It was if time stood still.

He then threw a glance over at the tree that Kim had thrown Jen into. Gosh, he thought, he wished he didn't need to use that sentence. Wes was over there tending to her and he saw him stuff some sort of liquid down her throat. The two then disappeared and he hoped that was the end of that.

He didn't need to face Jen anymore. She had him on defense that whole fight.

Before he knew it, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't even need to ask to know who it belonged to.

Kimberly then briefly took her helmet off and asked, "Are you ok, handsome? They beat you pretty good."

"Yeah, give me a second," he said. "It seems things never change. You saved my ass again, beautiful. You want to handle the overgrown bug over there once he gets up?"

"Yeah, let me beat the tar out of him. He's gonna pay for running his mouth about the Thunderzord fight, and he's gonna pay for those comments at our spot too," Kim said. "Go help somewhere else."

"I know you're not 100 percent mentally, but thanks for coming," Tommy said.

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world, not after Lokar and these other morons ran their mouths about me being scared to come out," Kim said.

"Beetle boy is all yours," Tommy said as he headed off and Kim put her helmet back on, right as Stag Beetle was coming to and confronted Kim.

"So, the beleaguered Pink Ranger finally comes out to play," Stag Beetle taunted. "Big mistake, Pinkie."

"Shut up," Kimberly snapped. "I'm in no mood for your taunts. I've been waiting to snap you in half for ten years. Now fight me."

"You're sure you want some of this, Kimmie?" Stag Beetle said haughtily. "Take a look around. Your friends are all beaten up!"

"Not for long they won't be…" Kim said. Stag Beetle wondered what she was talking about and then she extended her arms to the sky. Pink beams of light danced across the battlefield and across the Rangers, their allies and the reformed monsters, reinvigorating them and nullifying what had happened previously.

"You think that makes any difference?" Kaden growled as he tried to fend off a reinvigorated Adam. "We beat them the first time and this time will be the same thing!"

"You stay out of this!" Kim retorted. "I'm coming to you, believe me, but I have bigger bugs to fry right now. Now fight me, you ugly thing."

"As you wish," Stag Beetle said as he charged Kim. But from the moment the fight began, Stag Beetle knew he was in trouble.

He knew it five seconds in when Kim took out her refurbished Power Bow, loaded a pink arrow with a white tip that teemed with energy, and launched it at one of Stag Beetle's pincers on his head. The arrow hit dead on and cleaved the pincer clean off.

"You'll pay for that!" Stag Beetle roared. Kim gave no retort except to load another arrow and fire that one at the other pincer on his head, which likewise cleaved that right off his head. Before he could recover, Kim leapt through the air and slammed her foot against Stag Beetle's chest, knocking him ten feet back.

"It's time I exterminated you," Kim said with a hard tone as she gathered her powers for one final attack. It took the form of a pink cyclone, and it raced towards Stag Beetle at frightening speed. As tough as his armor was to crack, even this was too much for him. The attack slammed into him with tornado style force, and he went down and did not get up again.

Kim then sheathed her bow as if what she'd just done was nothing. She was so focused that she didn't even know that a lot of eyes were on her during that fight.

"Just like all of Lokar's soldiers," Kim said as she sheathed her bow. "All bark, no bite."

"Guys!" Robogoat shouted from where he was fighting Jason, Tommy and Tiffany. "Pinkie just decimated Stag Beetle! We gotta take her out as payback!"

Immediately, 25 past monsters (Robogoat, Slippery Shark, Pumpkin Rapper, Samurai Fan Man, Shellshock, Turkey Jerk, Miss Chief, Stenchy, Silo, Punch-a-Bunch, Clawhammer, Destructipede, Barillian Bug, Teksa, Freaky Tiki, Thunderon, Infinitor, Dragontron, Tronicon, Camera Org, Bell Org, Ship Org, Supertoxipod, Madtropolis and Fossilador) left their civil war battles with the other monsters and Space Rangers and headed for Kim. Kim gulped.

Stag Beetle by himself was tough enough, but 25 like him, powered by Lokar? To make matters worse, Kimberly had never faced about two thirds of them.

They failed to look behind them however, as a new figure stepped out from the trees, the 25 monsters in her sights.

Right as they were about to reach Kim, a massive blue beam shot out of nowhere and enveloped them all in a massive circular prison. With a mighty tug, the Mathematitress pulled the monsters into her calculator and they disappeared.

Most of Lokar's army watched in shock – they couldn't believe what just happened.

"What the?" Kaden stammered right before Rocky slammed him with his Power Sword.

"Give us our friends back, now!" Katarina demanded, looking at the math-based monster. Who the hell was this freak, Kat wondered.

"How about you join them in detention, Kitty?" Mathematitress retorted as she launched another blue beam directly at Kat. If it hadn't been for Kaden and Goldar pulling her out of the way, she would have been swallowed up as well.

The bad news was that five more monsters accidentally got caught in the blast, as Rhinoblaster, Terramole, Pollinator (Dino Thunder), Blue Globbor, and Shockatron were sucked in as their faces appeared on Mathematitress' lab coat.

"Thank God!" Soccadillo said as he finally caught a breath; he had been fighting Rhinoblaster for 20 minutes. The two had a fierce rivalry ever since Soccadillo refused to stay with evil after the Countdown. "He really cramps my style!"

"Too bad I missed that time, Kitty but these five will do just as well. Nice little power up," Mathematitress said.

"Enough!" Ivan Ooze snapped as he launched a purple beam from his hand, attempting to trap her in a forcefield. But he didn't reckon on her rising power level, as she easily caught the blast, and melded it with five geometric energy triangles.

"My turn," she said as she let the power build, then tossed the blast back at Ooze, Lokar, Kat and their minions. The result was a massive shower of sparks and fire that sent the villains tumbling to the grass and actually visibly hurt them – even Ooze and Lokar.

"She's…brutal," Kat gasped. "She makes Numbor look like child's play. Dad, we're going to have to retreat."

"Yes, I agree," Lokar said as the villains stood back up. "You win this round, power brats, but this is far from finished!"

"And math lady," Kat said, "you will give our friends back to us one day…or else."

"Or else what?" Mathematitress said. "The name is Mathematitress, and as I said, you'll be lucky if you aren't in detention with them one day. Be gone before I decide to do it now."

And as if to make a final point, the villains suddenly heard the revving of a car and knew they were in even deeper trouble. That was seconds before Storm Blaster emerged from the trees, Justin behind the wheel, and ran the villains over one by one, with Kat being the last victim.

"That's for trying to kill Tommy, you traitor," Justin growled as he glared at Kat, who glared at him right back.

"This is not over, power brats!" Goldar roared in defiance as the villains teleported out and the sky, which Lokar had darkened for effect, became bright once again.

Grandma F's Hotel, in the aftermath of the battle

Downtown Angel Grove

"Well, that battle sucked, but we're all still alive and we still have a chance to win," Devin said as he slumped down on the couch.

"Tell me about it," Jason said as he sat down, feeling the effects of the last battle as well. "That was as bad as some of the worst battles with Zedd or the Machines. If not for Kim, several of us probably would be dead."

Kim couldn't disagree with him. If she hadn't shown up, despite the fact that she still wasn't really ready to fight them two weeks after the divorce, some of her friends would be dead right now – possibly even Tommy.

"Yeah but they'll be back, I just know they will be," Kim said. "They didn't torture Tommy and I for eight fucking years to give up after one battle."

"Yeah, they'll have an ace up their sleeve, no doubt," Justin said. He was clearly thinking about something and the Rangers looked at him curiously.

"What is on your mind, Justin?" Grace Sterling asked, speaking for the group.

"There are a lot of nightmare scenarios I envision, but one stands above all," Justin said.

"You don't mean Goldgoyle again, do you?" TJ asked nervously.

"I do, Teej," Justin said. "I think Kat is sadistic enough to do it if she wants a quick blow against us."

"I share his concern, Rangers," a new voice said as a friend to the former Turbo Rangers walked into the room.

"Dimitria," Grace Sterling said as she greeted her warmly. Unlike how she felt about Zordon, she and Dimitria were much closer.

"Then you agree with me," Justin asked his former mentor. It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement.

"Yes. Katarina is more than powerful enough to summon Goldgoyle and it is my opinion she will do it," Dimitria said. "She lost 30 monsters in that fight and now the Crane is in the fight too."

Tommy looked at Kim, right as Kim mouthed, 'desperation move.'

"He destroyed BOTH sets of Turbo Zords, correct?" Adam said. Justin nodded in confirmation.

"Can we hope to beat him?" Andros said. "Goldgoyle was a menace for Zhane and I for many years as well."

"Only six Rangers can hope to beat him, with two of them in the lead," Dimitria said, "and I am looking at them right….now."

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