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They were the streets, they came from the ground and at any moment they could erupt. Those large lumbering putties, with her new found power she still flinched. Loud noises were a major trigger. Sometimes seeing blurs in her peripheral vision caused her panic. She would reach out and if she felt Jason she felt calm.
She wasn’t alone; each of the Rangers had something wrong because of Rita. One night Jason wouldn’t speak and she just held him. It was why she was glad to have him and her friends. They all experienced the trauma first hand. But this day seemed to be worse than others for her. Each noise that seemed unnatural made her jump.
“Kim?” Jason asked.
“Can we get off the boardwalk,” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said and held her hand.
She pulled herself into Jason, breathed him in. She saw her face, her cackle came from nowhere and Kim jumped. She yelled for Billy and Jason held her. He rubbed her back, he tried to keep them moving. They had to get away or her episode would get worse. He wondered if anyone of them could return here and not see Billy’s death again.
“Let’s get some ice cream,” he said. “I need some ice cream.”
She was shivering; she stopped them and breathed out. Her fist was clenched and she relaxed. She looked into Jason’s blue eyes, he smiled at her and she kissed him. They walked to get ice cream; he always got strawberry with chocolate sprinkles. She would get soft serve swirl of chocolate and vanilla. Zack never had the same flavor. Trini had to have coffee with hot fudge. And Billy he… was dead, no he isn’t! She flinched.
“”I’ll have cotton candy, three scoops on a waffle cone please and thank you,” Billy said and turned. His smile grew, “Jason, Kim, fancy see you here. Had to get my favorite flavor.”
That’s what it was, and there he was. Kim smiled and Billy came in for a hug. He was real and safe. They had won and saved the world. But why did she feel so helpless? Jason squeezed her hand and she knew she would be fine. They ordered ice cream, ate, chatted and eventually got together with the others.
“You got ice cream without us?” Trini said. “Rude!”
***
The Rangers were still doing clean up duty after Goldar had been killed. Rita was gone (or so they hoped) but her magic still lingered. The five split up to cover more ground and the putties weren’t as strong. Kim was patrolling around Reefside Drive. There was reports of a putty that was close to her. She hunted it down and when she saw it she charged.
She started kicking; she kept missing the core of the putty. You could defeat a putty anyway but the center core was an instant win. She spun and kicked with her other foot and the golem of Rita shattered and became dust. A car exploded five blocks away and she flinched.
She looked around she was surrounded; her heart began to race as her breathing became labored. The suit wasn’t light, it felt heavy like the gravity changed. She threw some punches, kicks but it wasn’t enough. She screamed for help, none of the rangers should have to handle this many putties.
She curled into a ball covering her head. She knew pain would come but she knew someone would heed her call. She couldn’t breathe she was breathing but it wasn’t helping. She thought she heard a voice but she was buried in Rita’s henchmen it was muffled. She felt like she was underwater gasping for air.
She was yanked up and she felt arms around her. She grabbed and could feel armor. It was one of her friends. She was saved. Her breathing began to slow down and become regular. She was rambling so quickly Jason couldn’t understand her. He led her away from the crowds so they could return to civilian clothes.
“Kim? Are you hurt?” Jason asked.
“You saved me from them, how did you beat them all?” Kim asked.
“I didn’t Kim, come on let’s get out of here for now,” he said.
“Oh,” she said and knew what happened. “You still saved me.”
“You would do the same for me,” Jason said before kissing her forehead. “You hungry? I am. I’ll invite everyone over and we can have a barbecue.”
She walked with Jason and soon she was joined by Billy, Trini and Zack. She let go of him and took his hand. She squeezed it and he squeezed back before looking into her eyes. She knew she would never be rid of her trauma but she had some great friends. The group chatted with each other as they gathered supplies from the grocery store before going over to Jason’s place. She felt blessed to be surrounded by her four best friends.