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"You have got to be kidding me," Kimberly said, gaping in horror at her producer. Her eyes flicked back to the garment the Betty held out and she shook her head in disbelief. "There is no way that I'm wearing that."
"Kimberly," Betty said, clearly trying not to lose her temper. "How much do we pay you to cover Power Rangers stuff again?"
"A lot," Kimberly admitted. "But you want me to wear that suit? Really?" The version of the original Pink Ranger suit was at least above average Halloween costume quality. But it wasn't her suit, and she really didn't want to be wearing it. However, there was no way that she could explain her feelings to her boss, not without making it an even bigger story.
"It gives you a connection with them," Betty said firmly, and Kimberly blessed every bit of practice she'd had at keeping a secret identity for helping her to keep a straight face. "And the original costume is a classic. It will give people a hook."
"The fact that there are Rangers on a morning show is a hook already." Kimberly briefly debated complaining that the costume was too form fitting, but she dismissed it.
"And they're going to teach you how to do a morphing pose!" Betty continued on, and Kimberly couldn't help but start laughing. At Betty's look, Kimberly tried to compose herself.
"Sorry," she said. "I was just laughing at the thought of myself as a Ranger."
"Well, you're going to be one tomorrow," Betty said. "Try not to mock it, these are the Power Rangers."
This time, Kimberly managed to control herself.
*
Kimberly stood in front of the mirror, inspecting herself in the costume. At least it fit well and she still looked good in the spandex. But there was something that just felt off about it that had nothing to do with what the costume was made of. This was a relic of her youth. She hadn't been a Ranger in years and it just felt wrong to be wearing it.
And it just felt wrong to be wearing a shade of pink this bright again. That, and it literally felt wrong - this costume was definitely not made of the same materials as her uniform had been.
"What on earth do you have on?" Adam asked her. He was dressed for classes, and after a glance at the clock, Kimberly realized that the last of Adam's karate classes had ended half an hour ago.
"You like it?" she asked.
Her boyfriend grinned and gave her a once over. "Always did," he told her. "Still doesn't explain why you have an old uniform laying around."
Well, if he was going to ogle, it was only fair that she return the favor. He always had looked great in a gi.
It was so cute the way that he would still blush.
"Can you believe that I'll be interviewing the Power Rangers tomorrow?" she asked. "And oh my god, they're going to teach me how to do a Morphing pose." She batted her eyes ridiculously, and Adam started to laugh.
He grew serious after a moment. "Are you okay with this?" he asked, his eyes filled with concern.
"Not like I have much of a choice," Kimberly said. "It's my job, after all."
Adam hesitated. "I hate to bring this up, but identities..." He trailed off.
"If people think I'm pulling off the morphing pose too well, I'll just blame gymnastics," Kimberly told him. She'd spent a lot of time thinking about it after the conversation with Betty that morning. "And I already called the Space team to give them a head up - they've run damage control before."
"Public IDs are a blessing and a curse," Adam agreed. "Hey, do you get to keep the costume?" he asked.
Kimberly glared at him. "Why? You want to rescue the Pink Ranger?"
"Mmm, no," Adam said, pausing to nip at her neck. "I was thinking more of her rescuing me."
*
Kimberly was really glad that Adam tagged along to the set with her the next morning. It wasn't that she was really nervous for this - she'd been interviewing Rangers since the Lightspeed Team. Besides, she was an original. She wasn't just some silly reporter playing dress-up to get an angle for a story. She was Kimberly Hart, and frankly, she was better than that.
"The Rangers aren't here yet," Betty said nervously as soon as she found Kimberly.
"It's not like they're going to need to fix their hair or makeup," Kimberly said. Kimberly's was pristine, of course. "They're probably trying to figure out how to deal with me."
"Try not to scare them away," Betty said, narrowing her eyes.
"Please," Kimberly said. "Like anyone will take me seriously when I'm wearing this outfit." She smiled for a second. "Now, if I had the bow to go with it, that would be another story."
"Kimberly!"
"I was kidding," Kimberly said. "Mostly," she added as an afterthought.
"The Rangers are here!" someone shouted, and Kimberly tried to show some enthusiasm. Newbies. Always so flashy. She tried to remind herself that her team had been just the same way.
The team of five walked in and posed. The Red was in the center, of course. Some things hadn't changed. Kimberly had a brief charitable thought that they were new - and they probably felt like this was what they were supposed to be doing. They didn't know any better.
She went over to introduce herself, extending her hand to the Red Ranger. "I'm Kimberly Hart," she said without preamble. "Shall we talk?"
"Of course," the Red Ranger said.
"This is a pretty informal interview," Kimberly said. "Really, you guys will just need to state your team name, talk a little about this thing that you're fighting, and then we can move on to this ridiculous stunt."
"You don't want to learn a Ranger pose?" the Blue Ranger asked.
Kimberly kept a straight face while trying to figure out a way to reply.
"I'd be honored to learn anything you want to teach me," she said finally.
*
"And now, the Rangers are going to show me how to do their fighting stances," Kimberly said, trying to sound as perky as possible. This was just a fluff piece, it wasn't a real interview, and she had to treat it as such. "I guess I'm dressed for the occasion," she gestured to the costume.
The Pink and Yellow Rangers stepped forward, and they demonstrated. Kimberly stood in between them, and did as they did - a downward strike, a hand in the air, and a lunge. The movements were different, but felt so familiar.
She smiled, and quickly got them back to the studio for the weather.
"Great job," the Pink Ranger said, extending her hand. Kimberly took it and felt a brief surge of power as Pink energy met Pink. The Pink Ranger didn't let go of her hand right away. "An honor," the Pink Ranger said finally.
She saw Adam come over and introduce himself, shaking the Green Ranger's hand, and seeing recognition there as well.
The newbies didn't acknowledge that there was anything special about them, and Kimberly had hope that they wouldn't be such a bad team after all.