Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Yes Zordon.” Tommy said with a sigh. He was supposed to meet Kat to work on a project together, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen now. He fiddled with his communicator for a second before scooping up his bag, heading out to the Juice Bar. Kat was sitting at a table, already pulling out her books for the project, looking around for him. Tommy managed to catch her eye, tapping his communicator twice. Kat knew exactly what that meant, and within seconds she had thrown everything back in her bag and was approaching him, ducking into the hallway.

“What’s going on?” She whispered and Tommy shrugged.

“I don’t know. Zordon just called me and asked me to come to the command center.” He explained.

“Well, I’ll come with you. Maybe it’ll go faster and then we can get back to our schoolwork.” Kat suggested. Tommy nodded, taking Kat’s hand before teleporting. Kat had been his biggest supporter during the past two months after Kimberly had sent him a break up letter, and sometimes Tommy wondered if he should ask her out. However, Kat had firmly hit the brakes on that idea, telling him that while she liked him, she didn’t feel right dating her friend’s ex, no matter what the circumstances of their breakup was.

“THANK YOU FOR COMING TOMMY.” Zordon said when they showed up, looking at Kat in surprise.

“Tommy and I were working on a project when you called, so I figured I’d offer my assistance.” Kat said, smiling at her mentor.

Zordon nodded, turning his attention to the problem on hand. “ALPHA AND I HAVE DETECTED A STRANGE SIGNAL. AFTER SOME INVESTIGATING, WE BELIEVE THAT WE’VE FOUND THE SOURCE. BEHOLD THE VIEWING GLOBE.” Tommy and Katherine turned, looking at the globe, which was zooming in on an object.

“Is that?” Kat asked, tilting her head.

“That’s the Dragonzord coin.” Tommy said softly, staring at it.

“CORRECT. ALPHA FOUND IT ON A BEACH DOWN IN FLORIDA.” Zordon said, watching as Tommy’s shoulders stiffened. They all knew at this point what Florida was code for. “TOMMY, YOU NEED TO GO DOWN TO FLORIDA AND RETRIEVE THAT COIN BEFORE RITA OR ZEDD GIVE IT TO SOMEONE.”

“It doesn’t have powers anymore, does it?” Kat asked, completely confused.

“THAT I AM NOT SURE OF. WE NEED TO BRING IT BACK TO STUDY IT.” Zordon said.

“How did it get to Florida?” Tommy asked, crossing his arms. “Last I knew, it was in storage.”

“IT WAS, AND I AM UNAWARE OF HOW IT COULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN, BUT ALPHA AND I HAVE DETERMINED THAT THE ONE WE HAVE IS A FAKE.” Zordon told them grimly.

Kat nodded, turning to Tommy. “Do you want me to come with you? Seems easy enough but if Tenga’s show up....”

Tommy nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Better be safe than sorry.”

Kat bit her lip, looking up at Zordon again. “Zordon, how far away is that location from where Kimberly is? Do you think we should check in on her while we’re there?”

“PERHAPS THAT IS A WISE IDEA KATHERINE. THIS BEACH IS ONLY A MILE FROM WHERE KIMBERLY IS. ALPHA AND I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HER SINCE WE LOCATED THE COIN, BUT HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. I DON’T THINK THAT IS A COINCIDENCE.”

Kat nodded, smiling at Tommy and patting his hand. “If you don’t want to go, I understand. But I’d feel better knowing she’s ok, and I know you would too.” Tommy nodded, muttering under his breath, even though he secretly agreed with her.

Kimberly had cut off most communication with them after the breakup letter arrived. Rocky had gotten a weird voicemail from her a few weeks later, and Aisha and Billy had gotten letters that didn’t really sound like her. Trini had tried to contact the facility she was at, only to be turned away because she wasn’t at that facility anymore and no one was willing to tell them where she had gone.

By then, everyone was concerned about her. Jason and Zack had gone to Paris right before they came home, tracking down Kim’s mother and getting her new information, but they still weren’t able to talk to her. Carolyn had promised to have Kimberly reach out, telling the boys that she had just spoken to her daughter a couple of days prior and everything was fine.

Tommy refused to attempt to reach out to her, nor did he push Zordon to let someone go check in on her. “Let’s get going.” Tommy said, trying to keep his voice under control.

Kat nodded, looking up at Zordon. “You’ll let us know if you hear from Kim?”

Zordon nodded before looking at Alpha. “PLEASE ENSURE THE AREA IS EMPTY BEFORE YOU SEND THEM THERE. I WILL HAVE THEM MORPH.”

Alpha nodded, hitting a few buttons. “Ready when you are Rangers.” Alpha said, hitting another button.

“I WILL GATHER THE OTHERS WHILE YOURE THERE. BE CAREFUL RANGERS.” The two nodded before Tommy looked at Kat.

“You ready?” He asked, she nodded.

“OK then, it’s Morphin Time! White Ranger Power!”

“Pink Ranger Power!” The feeling of being teleported fell over them, and within seconds they landed on the beach, looking around cautiously.

“I think the spot is over by those trees.” She suggested jogging over.

“I think you’re right.” Tommy agreed, looking around the area carefully.

Kat squatted down, touching the sand gently. They spent a few minutes looking for it, Kat finally touching the cold metal. “Found it!” She yelled, holding up the coin.

Tommy came over, staring at it. “I still don’t understand how this got here.” He muttered, gently taking the coin from her. Kat shrugged, not noticing the subtle differences in Tommy’s stance as the Green Ranger powers took him over once again.

“I’m going to run down the street and see if I can find Kim. Do you want to join me?” She asked, looking over at him.

“No.” Tommy replied coolly.

“Ok, it shouldn’t take me long.” She said, demorphing. “I’ll see you back at the Com-” She never got a chance to finish her sentence when Tommy punched her in the face and teleported away from her.

Chapter Text

Kat came to a few minutes later, looking up at Aisha’s concerned face. “What happened?” She muttered, rubbing her face.

“Tommy punched you in the face after he touched the coin.” Aisha said quietly, checking over her quickly. “We need to get back to the Command Center, come on.” She helped Kat up looking around quickly before hitting the button on her communicator to take them back.

“WELCOME BACK RANGERS.” Zordon said. “KATHERINE, ARE YOU ALLRIGHT?”

“I think so.” Kat said, touching her face gingerly before smiling at the rest of her friends.

“WE HAVE A PROBLEM. BEHOLD THE VIEWING GLOBE.” All the Rangers, along with Jason, Zack and Trini, turned towards the globe, watching as Tommy came into view.

“RITA HAS FOUND A WAY TO MERGE HIS POWER COINS TO CREATE A NEW RANGER.” The eight people in the room gasped when they saw Tommy, his uniform turned into some sort of twisted version of itself, making him look fearsome.

“I don’t understand.” Jason said, looking up at Zordon. I thought Tommy’s White Ranger powers weren’t corruptible.”

“YOU ARE CORRECT JASON. HOWEVER, RITA AND ZEDD HAVE FOUND A WAY TO USE THE GREEN RANGER POWERS TO OVERRIDE THE ONES I GAVE HIM, AND THEY APPEAR TO BE FIGHTING FOR DOMINANCE OVER HIM.”

“Great.” Zack muttered. “Just what we need, a juiced up Evil Green Ranger. So, what’s our plan then.”

“We have to find Tommy and break the spell.” Rocky chimed in.

“Hey, that’s my line.” Jason teased, shaking his head at his friend while the others chuckled as the tension eased a little.

“It looks like he’s being held in a Dark Dimension while the powers try to fight for him.” Billy commented, looking at the readout.

“So can’t we just wait and see what happens? I mean, Tommy's White Ranger powers are going to win out, so why risk something happening? Rita and Zedd might be trying to lure us there to attack Earth or something.” Adam piped up, watching his leader through the globe in concern.

“There's a couple of problems with that though.” Trini said after a minute, hitting a few buttons. “The additional powers are causing his body stress, which could cause him several physical problems. It seems to be awakening something in his DNA, probably from how he got the powers in the first place. His body might end up rejecting the White Ranger problems to protect itself.”

“So we can’t wait then.” Rocky growled.

“But if we engage him in battle, won’t that cause him physical distress as well?” Aisha asked in concern.

“It could also help him kick off the evil powers and save him.” Billy sighed, looking up at Zordon. “We don’t have a choice Zordon. We need to get to Tommy before Rita and Zedd do something to make this change permanent.”

“I AGREE. HOWEVER, WE MUST BE CAREFUL THAT ADAM ISN’T CORRECT AND THIS IS A DISTRACTION FOR AN ATTACK ON ANGEL GROVE.”

“I Think Tommy would agree that if it was between saving him and saving Angel Grove, that we need to make the hard choice.” Jason said quietly.

“Ok. We try to save Tommy, but we’ll stay in touch with you guys. If there is an attack, we will deal with it then.” Rocky decided, and they all nodded.

“Ok, Trini, here are the coordinates.” Billy chimed in, typing out a few things. “I need you to keep an eye on these charts to make sure the system isn’t taxed.” Trini nodded, taking in the information that Billy was giving her.

“I’ll keep on looking for ways to break the spell.” Jason said.

“I’ll track Angel Grove and make sure there’s no putties showing up.” Zack said.

“Before you guys go...” Alpha started, looking up at Zordon. “You should be aware we haven’t gotten in touch with Kimberly.”

“Is she in danger?” Trini asked in concern.

“WE ARE UNAWARE OF HER BEING INVOLVED WITH WHAT HAPPENED, BUT SHE STILL HAS NOT RESPONDED TO OUR ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT HER.” Zordon said.

“So we need to be prepared for some sort of surprise.” Kat muttered, wincing at the pain still on her face.

“I can go down to Florida and see if I can see her real quick.” Zack offered.

“WE NEED YOU HERE ZACK. WE WILL JUST HAVE TO HOPE THAT KIMBERLY IS OK.” Zordon responded, shutting him down.

“Can we get going then?” Aisha said, playing with her morpher.

“Yea, let’s go guys. IT’S MORPHING TIME.” Rocky shouted.

X

“This is not good.” Adam muttered when they teleported in, sticking close together. “What is this place?”

“It appears to be some sort of arena.” Billy said looking around, trying to assess the dangers.

“Welcome Rangers.” Zedd purred, looking down at them.

“Where’s Tommy Zedd?” Rocky asked, staring at him.

“Your former White Ranger is safe and secure with us Red Ranger.” Zedd replied, tapping his staff. Goldar appeared along with Rito and a bunch of Tengas, immediately jumping in to attack the Rangers. They methodically spread the five fighters out, not allowing them to use teamwork to win the battle.

Kat was fighting a group of Tengas when someone grabbed her shoulder, pulling her away before throwing her on the floor. She looked up, staring at Tommy in his new uniform. “Tommy.” She breathed, as the battle seemed to stop around her.

“Do I know you?” Tommy asked, staring down at her.

“Of course you do. I’m Kat, we’ve been teammates for months.” Kat said to him.

“Kat?” He replied, sounding like he was trying to remember something.

“That’s right Tommy, Kat. Remember, I'm your friend.” The Pink Ranger begged, trying to look into his eyes.

“Friend.” Tommy responded, as if hearing the word for the first time.

“Yes Tommy friend.” Kat promised, reaching for his helmet, only to have her hands smacked away.

“What did you do to him Zedd?” Rocky growled.

Zedd snickered, calmly walking forward. “I simply offered him everything he ever wanted.”

“Liar.” Rocky shot back as he dodged an attack from a Tenga.

“Once I destroy you and take over this miserable planet, I will have no need to stay. I offered him the title of King of the world, and he took it. Rather pathetic, but it doesn’t take much to turn someone who’s truly evil inside.” Tommy took that second to try to punch Kat again, but she ducked.

“Please Tommy. Don’t let Zedd control you like this.” She begged, sighing in relief when Billy came over to help her.

“Tommy! Remember everything you’ve been through! Don’t let the Green Ranger take over who you really are.” Tommy replied with a spin kick that knocked the Blue Ranger down.

“Who I really am is your enemy Ranger.” He said cooly.

“That’s a lie.” Billy coughed, as he struggled to get up. "You’re Tommy Oliver. You’re my friend. You are our leader. You are one of Zordon’s chosen. You’re a protector. What you aren’t is whatever Zedd and Rita are trying to turn you into.” Tommy went to attack them again, only to hesitate for a second to everyone’s surprise.

“Zeddy.” Rita warned, knowing that they were going to lose him. Zedd nodded, clapping his heads firmly, making all the fighting stop.

“My king.” Zedd said, puffing out his chest. “Please accept this humble gift from Rita and myself.” Zedd tapped his staff on the ground, a group of Tengas carrying out a rug, dropping it on the ground, two of them kicking at it so it unrolled, ending at the White Rangers feet.

“Kimberly!” Kat shouted when she realized who was laying there, going to help her dazed friend only to get pushed away from her by the Tengas.

“You.” Tommy said quietly, looking down at her. She looked so familar, yet he couldn’t place where he knew her from.

“Tommy.” Kim replied, looking up at him before struggling and failing to stand. “What happened to you?” she asked, blinking up at him.

“I’ve always been like this.” He replied, picking her up by her hair and forcing her to stand up.

“What sort of gift is this Zedd?” he asked, turning to address the other male. “You can’t do better than used goods?”

Zedd laughed, nodding at Tommy. “I brought her here for your revenge, my Lord. What better way to destroy your enemies than to kill one of them?”

“Tommy no!” someone shouted and he turned to see the Blue Ranger swinging his lance, hitting his arm in hopes that he would drop Kimberly. It didn’t work, but he ended up tossing her aside when the Red Ranger joined in, trying to herd him away from the young woman lying in a heap on the ground. Black,Yellow, and Pink kept trying to get to her, but between Goldar, Scorpina, Rito and the Tengas they were having a hard time. Tommy managed to push away the Red Ranger, ducking under the Blue Ranger and making his way to his gift, wrapping his fingers around her throat and squeezing. Blue came towards him, but Zedd hit him with a bolt, almost knocking him out.

“Billy!” Red cried, unsheathing his sword.

“If you swing that I will choke the life out of her.” Tommy said sharply, making him pause.

“Tommy. Come on, Kim doesn’t deserve this.” Red said, pausing just before a Tenga grabbed him.

Tommy rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the squirming bundle in front of him who was slowly losing consciousness. He could hear the battle around him, could sense the Rangers trying to get closer to him. Instead he focused, fingers tightening around the woman’s neck. “Kimberly.” He said, testing the name out and wondering where he had heard it before.

“To…to…my…” She muttered, gasping for air when he loosened his grip briefly.

“I remember you.” He whispered, eyes narrowing. “You thought you could do better than a King?” He hissed, squeezing her neck. “I’ll show you.” He watched as she struggled, ignoring everything else until he almost dropped Kim, roaring in pain when he was hit in the shoulder by an arrow. His eyes narrowed in anger, throwing Kim away to turn to the Pink Ranger deflecting another arrow with his dagger.

“You should know your place Pink Ranger.” He growled, hitting another arrow away. He almost forgot about the woman on the ground, turning at the last minute to see Yellow trying to drag her away. Kimberly had dark purple bruises around her neck, and she was clearly still trying to catch her breath. “Nice try.” Tommy snarled, ignoring the pain of another arrow in his side to grab his prisoner, yanking her away from her would be rescuers swiftly, hearing something snap and the young woman in his arms scream in pain.

“Tommy please, my arm.” She whimpered, almost passing out from the pain and her arm now hanging at a strange angle.

He looked down at her, laughing at her tear-streaked face. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt for long.” He promised, summoning his sword of darkness and grinning at her.

X

Kat dodged around another Tenga, almost running into Adam who was fighting Scorpina. “Is that the best you have Adam?” She purred, posing in her gleaming armor.

“You guys always get cocky right before we win.” Aisha snapped back, using her daggers to fling a Tenga into the older woman, knocking her to the ground.

“We need to get to Kim.” Adam said, glancing over when he heard Rocky yelling for Billy, who was slumped on the ground. “Crap.” Adam muttered, hitting another Tenga while Rocky grabbed Billy, heading back towards them with a frown.

“We need to snap him out of this.” Rocky said when he got to them.

“Really?” Aisha snapped back sarcastically. “I never would have guessed that’s what we should do.”

“Ok, new game plan. Billy get in touch with Zordon and tell him we found Kim and need to get her out of here, Adam and I will cover you. Aisha and Kat, you do whatever it takes to get to Kim, got it?” Everybody nodded, breaking up into groups.

“Can you attack Tommy and I’ll go for Kim? I’m thinking you can stay back from him and hit him with arrows.” Aisha questioned, and Kat nodded, following her friend back into the fray, quickly getting to Tommy and hitting him with an arrow, cheering internally when her second shot caused him to drop Kim, trying desperately to keep his attention so Aisha could get the former Ranger out of harm’s way. Her heart dropped when he turned from her, grabbing Kimberly so violently that they could hear it when her arm broke. Aisha swung her daggers, trying desperately to get him away from Kim.

Kat heard Billy yelling at Tommy when he summoned a sword, dropping Kimberly to the ground and stepping on her hair, pulling her head back to expose her throat. “Tommy please stop.” Kat called out, tears welling in her eyes. He ignored her, slashing down with his sword, cutting Kim across her throat.

Billy screamed, time seeming to slow as the three males came running, Adam getting there, swinging his axe at Tommy in rage. “Break that sword!” Billy shouted, collapsing in front of Kimberly.

Kat ran to Aisha, wanting to help her get rid of the Tengas. Before she could hit one though, they took off, flying away. They turned to fight the other villains only to find them all clustered by Zedd and Rita., watching the Rangers with blank expressions on their faces.

“I need help!” Billy screamed, trying to stop the blood, his uniform turning a dark purple color.

“Oh God no.” Aisha whispered, pulling Kat with her.

“I can’t stop the bleeding.” Billy said to them, his voice oddly detached, as they knelt next to him.

“What can we do?” Aisha asked, taking Kim’s hand and trying to talk to her.

Kat watched, feeling helpless, remembering the night Kim fell off the beam because of her. She could hear her crane calling out to its sister and suddenly knew what she had to do. Dropping to her knees, she demorphed, shoving Kim’s power coin into her shaking hands, leaning over her. “Pink Ranger Power.” She shouted, and the coin activated, morphing Kimberly.

“Are you insane?” Aisha yelled, glaring at her. “We can’t lose you too.” Kat ignored her, the blood rushing In her ears as she looked up at Rita, her former mistress screaming and pointing at Tommy.

“They got the sword.” Billy said, picking Kimberly up. Sure enough, Tommy was on the ground, shoulders heaving while Rocky and Adam stood over him. “We need to get out of here.” Billy shouted, getting their attention. As if hearing him, their communicators spring to life, Alpha’s worried voice looking for them.

“Get us out of here Alpha.” Aisha begged, watching as their enemies started arguing with each other.

“Stand by.” Alpha said, and within seconds they were gone, heading back towards the Command Center.

Chapter Text

“Alpha, have you locked onto them yet?” Jason asked nervously, trying to read the map on front of him.

“Not yet, but I think I’ve narrowed down where they could be.” Alpha said, hitting a few more buttons. After the Rangers had teleported to where Tommy was, Zedd had done something to cut off the signal, leaving them unable to track the Rangers and make sure they were ok.

“I’m trying to get the globe working, but somethings blocking it.” Trini added, huffing in frustration.

“ZACKARY IS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO HELP EXTEND THE SIGNAL.” Zordon said. Sure enough, Zack came back with something that looked like an antenna, helping Trini set it up.

“We’re getting something!” Trini finally announced, squinting at the picture. “I think its Tommy.” She said, looking closer. “He’s got the Sword of Darkness.” She announced, watching as he swung it down and came back up with blood glistening on the tip.

“What did he hit?” Zack asked in confusion, seeing all the Rangers.

”THERES SOMEONE ELSE WITH THEM.” Zordon said solemnly. “I BELIEVE IT COULD BE KIMBERLY.”

“What?” Jason said, stopping what he was doing and looking as well. This was exactly what Zordon had been worried about.

“Let’s get them out of there.” Trini begged.

“WHATEVER IS BLOCKING THE SIGNAL IS TIED TO THE SPELL TOMMY’S UNDER.” Zordon told them solemnly.

“So we can’t save them until it’s broken.” Jason growled.

“I’ve got a fix on them. Once the spell is broken, we can get them here quickly.” Alpha promised. The three former Rangers watched the screen, unable to see Kim but watching as Rocky and Adam worked together to break the sword and free Tommy.

“GET THEM BACK HERE NOW ALPHA.” Zordon commanded. Alpha nodded, communicating quickly with someone before hitting buttons, bringing all 7 of the others back. The teleportation was barely over when Billy turned on his heel, running to the Med Room.

“What's going on?” Trini asked, noticing that Kat was demorphed and Aisha had blood on her uniform.

“Tommy cut Kim’s throat with the sword.” Adam said quietly. Trinis eyes widened, and she took off after Billy, Alpha waddling off after her to help.

“You bastard.” Jason growled, glaring at Tommy, who was just staring at his hands. Zack didn’t bother to speak, just walking up to Tommy and shoving him as hard as he could before marching off.

“It wasn’t his fault. Zedd and Rita convinced him to do it.” Adam said, standing up for his leader.

Jason looked over at him, before running his hands through his hair. “I don’t think now is the time to discuss this.” He said stiffly, knowing that they needed to focus on saving Kim and keeping Tommy from doing something stupid.

“TOMMY DO YOU STILL HAVE THE GREEN RANGER COIN?” Zordon asked suddenly. Tommy didn’t say anything, only nodding before holding up his hand, the coin glittering in the lights.

“Clearly we need to come up with a better security system for this stupid thing.” Aisha complained, crossing her arms, glancing over at Jason who had separated himself from the group, glancing down the hallway Billy had taken Kim, trying to avoid looking at the specks of blood decorating the floor. “Jason?” She said quietly, wanting to offer him some support.

Kim might have been one of her best friends, but she was his sister in all but blood. They had grown up together, Jason being her shelter when her parents divorced and Kim being his rock when his brother died when Jason was 6. Now she had been almost murdered by the one person that Jason trusted with her more than him, and he was trying to figure out how to cope with this change.

“Are you ok?”

Jason tore his eyes from the hallway, looking over at the current Yellow Ranger, opening and closing his mouth a few times but unable to answer her.

“RANGERS, I BELIEVE TAKING A BREATHER IS THE BEST CHOICE FOR ALL OF YOU RIGHT NOW. AISHA, WILL YOU PLEASE GO WITH JASON TO THE MEDICAL BAY AND SEE IF YOU CAN BE OF ANY ASSISTANCE?” Aisha nodded, walking forward to gently take Jason’s elbow and escort him from the room. “ROCKY AND ADAM, I NEED YOU TO RUN SOME TESTS ON TOMMY. WE MUST MAKE SURE THAT RITA AND ZEDD DIDN’T HAVE A BACK UP PLAN IN PLACE.” Tommy’s ears turned red and he sunk into himself. “YOU WILL FIND WHAT YOU NEED IN THE TESTING BAY.”

Adam and Rocky glanced at each other before nodding, leaving Tommy alone with their mentor. It was silent as Zordon floated in his tube, staring at Tommy. “I thought the White Ranger powers were incorruptible.” Tommy finally said, gripping his morpher tighter. “That’s why I took them in the first place.”

“THEY ARE. BUT THE GREEN RANGER POWERS ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE A PART OF YOU TOMMY. THAT’S HOW THE WIZARD OF DECEPTION WAS ALBLE TO MAE YOUR CLONE.”

“What can I do about it Zordon? I mean, the only way to keep from hurting people is to take away my powers, but if the Green Ranger powers are just dormant inside of me...” Tommy looked down at himself, shaking with rage and anguish.

“TOMMY, YOU AND THE OTHER RANGERS HAVE BEEN THROUGH A LOT SINCE YOU RECEIVED YOUR COIN. WHILE YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY RANGER TO HAVE BEEN TURNED EVIL, YOU HAVE BEEN THE ONE MOST INFLUENCED BY IT.”

Tommy closed his eyes, remembering the look on Kim’s face when they were dealing with his clone, how relieved she had been that he hadn’t turned evil again. She had run right up next to him, not caring that there were townspeople in trouble and villains threatening them, wrapping her hands around his arm. That night when she had teleported into his room, she had been in tears, running her fingers through his hair as she begged for his forgiveness for thinking he had been turned evil again. He had promised her that as long as he had the White Ranger powers she wouldn’t have to fear that happening, and yet it did. “How can I pay for my sins when I keep committing them?” He asked softly, demorphing and rubbing his head wearily.

“WHEN YOU WERE TAKEN BY RITA AND ZEDD, DO YOU REMEMBER THEM DOING ANYTHING TO YOU?” Zordon asked.

“They kept calling me a king, telling me that I was going to be Zedd’s equal while we ruled the galaxies. That the Rangers were my enemies, and I would be getting my revenge on one of them in particular.” Tommy said slowly, thinking back. “When I saw-” He couldn’t bring himself to say her name, swallowing hard. “-all I could see was jealously. That she had abandoned me, but I couldn’t remember how or why. It was like a mockery of what her and I had gone through together. It came back in all of these twisted memories of things that had happened to us, but most of them were bad, like every time we had been put under a spell and ended up arguing with each other.” Tommy stopped, staring at his hands, remembering wrapping them around the petite brunette’s neck. “I just knew that she deserved to die, that what she had done was unforgivable, even if I couldn’t quite remember what it was.”

“RITA AND ZEDD TOOK ADVANTAGE OF HOW UPSET YOU’VE BEEN OVER KIMBERLY, AND USED THAT TO FUEL THE GREEN RANGER COIN.” Zordon commented slowly.

“It’s like they wanted to use Kimberly’s death to destroy Tommy’s powers.” Kat chimed in, appearing next to the viewing globe, pale and shaking. She grabbed onto the console, trying not to puke.

“KATHERINE YOU SHOULD BE RESTING UNTIL YOU CAN GET YOUR POWER COIN BACK.” Zordon said sternly.

“I needed to leave Zordon. Kimberly hasn’t woken up yet and my Crane was exhausting itself looking for hers.” Kat explained, slowly making her way over towards them, placing a hand on the control panel before slowly lowering herself to the ground, letting out a sigh. “Billy had Zack give me something for the pain, he said I should stabilize in a bit.”

Zordon studied her for a moment before nodding. “DO YOU THINK YOU CAN REVIEW SECURITYFOOTAGE AND SEE IF YOU CAN TELL WHEN THE COIN WAS STOLEN?” Zordon asked.

“If I can do it sitting down yes.” Kat agreed.

“I’ll go grab you a chair.” Tommy offered, jogging off, desperate to be away from Zordons prying eyes.

“How is he?” Kat asked softly once Tommy was out of earshot.

“THIS IS NOT TOMMY’S FIRST BRUSH WITH EVIL. HE HAS BECOME INTIMATELY KNOWLEDGABLE OF HOW TO FORGIVE HIMSELF.” Zordon said carefully.

Kat sighed, leaning her head back, remembering how Tommy had tried to help her through guilt over Kimberly getting hurt when Kat was evil. However, when it came time to help him, she had tried to convince him to cover the pain by trying to replace Kim instead of helping him deal with the pain he was feeling. As a result, Kimberly was straddling the line between life and death, and while Billy had managed to give her a transfusion and the Ranger powers were healing her wounds, the emotional trauma she had gone through would not be so easily fixed.

X

“Ok, I think you’re doing fine Jason.” Trini muttered, giving her former leader a reassuring smile.

“Thanks Tri.” Jason responded, wiggling his feet which were currently propped up. He had given blood to Kim, passing out himself when his blood pressure dropped to low. “Does she need any more?” He asked, glancing over at his sister who was deathly pale laying on the table next to him. Aisha was running her fingers through her hair, whispering to Kim to try to wake her. Kat had left moments ago, Billy managing to convince her that she needed to rest. Jason was trying to avoid the same situation, but he realized that being here in the same room as Kim was making him want to get up and hold her hand while he convinced her to wake up.

Finally, Billy straightened up, looking his former leader in the eye. “You need to go to your room and rest. There’s nothing more you can do here.” Billy told him sternly. Jason opened his mouth to protest, only to be silenced by Zack.

“Come on man, let’s listen to Billy. He’s been through a lot today, and I for one do not want to be on his bad side.” Zack said smoothly, holding out a hand to help Jason up. “Plus we’re going to have to deal with a classic Tommy Oliver guilt trip soon, and I’m going to need a nap before that happens.”

Jason grunted, eyes narrowing at the White Ranger’s name. “Billy, you’ll let us know if anything changes?” Zack asked, and the Blue Ranger nodded. “Thanks man.” Zack tugged on Jason’s hand again, but this time Jason responded, standing slowly only to feel his knees buckle.

“Let me help.” Aisha said, offering Jason her shoulder. Zack did as well, and slowly the three of them left the room.

“I’m going to run these scans through the computer to see if there’s any more damage that needs addressed.” Alpha said after a moment, holding up a drive. Besides the broken arm and blood loss, they had also found multiple bruises and cuts on her body. Billy hadn’t been able to figure out what kind of weapon had caused them, but they seemed to be healing quickly.

“Billy, why don’t you demorph?” Trini said to him while they were alone.

Billy looked down at himself, somewhat surprised that he was still in his blood soaked uniform. “I’m alright.”

“No you’re not. I need you to demorph then go shower and change. Kim doesn’t need to see that when she wakes up.” Trini insisted.

Billy was silent, looking at Kim. “They brought her out in a rug.” He said softly, making Trini tilt her head.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“They brought out this rug, and they kicked it open and there was Kim lying in it. I watched her struggle to get to her feet, and all I could think about was the story of Cleopatra and how she met Caesar by doing the same thing, and I wondered if they were going to force Kim to be his lover or something.”

Trini’s nose wrinkled. “Don’t tell the guys that.” She joked.

Billy didn’t smile, and he shuffled around, finally agreeing. “I’ll have my communicator on.” He said before heading out of the room. Trini watched him leave, managing to hold it together long enough that he wouldn’t hear her crying. She curled up on the bed Jason had been on, wiping her eyes. She didn’t hear Alpha coming back until he was next to her, awkwardly trying to comfort her.

“Don’t cry Trini, my circuits can’t take it.”

“I’m sorry Alpha, it’s just hard to see her like this.” Trini said, wiping her eyes.

“Well I have good news. The rest of the scans came back clear, and I think Kimberly is healed enough that was can force her up.”

“Are you sure?” Trini questioned him.

Alpha nodded, waddling over to grab a syringe. “This won't wake her up for a bit, but I think it will help everyone to see her.” Trini watched with bated breath as Alpha gave Kim the shot, not knowing what to expect.

X

Kimberly’s eyes fluttered open, and she gasped for air, trying to cough but not being able too.

“Kim.”

She heard, and she looked to see Trini gently brushing back her hair. ‘Trini.’ she mouthed her best friend's name, crying at her touch.

“You’re alive.” Trini said in wonder, sighing in relief. Kimberly touched her throat, feeling the stitches.

“Alpha said you should be ok by the morning. You’ll have to stay here until then though.” Trini explained. Kimberly tried to talk again, touching her throat in confusion. “Do you remember anything?” Trini asked. Kimberly struggled to sit up, wincing at the pain she was in before touching her arm. “It’s broken, but you should heal from that shortly.” Trini assured her.

Kim tilted her head, confused. ‘How?’ She mouthed.

“Kat gave you back your power coin to save your live.” Trini admitted quietly. Kim’s eyes widened, blinking back tears.

“Here Kimberly, let me help you sit up.” Alpha said, slowly adjusting the bed and fixing her pillows. “I have something for you to write with.” He added, handing her a blackboard.

‘Thank you Alpha.’ She wrote.

“Anytime Kimberly. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go let Billy know you’re awake.” Both girls nodded and Alpha left, hitting a sequence of buttons by the door before it closed.

“He’s limiting who can come in right now.” Trini explained. “Billy’s worried that too many people in here might hurt your healing by causing you too much stress.”

Kimberly bit her lip, worrying it for a minute before picking up her blackboard. ‘Am I safe here?’ She wrote, and Trini felt her heart clench.

“Yes, you’re safe. Whatever Rita and Zedd did to Tommy wore off, he’s back to being his overwhelmingly charming self.” Trini promised.

Kimberly continued chewing on her lip, pondering her next question. ‘Why would he do this?’ She finally settled on, eyes full of tears.

“I think you two just need to talk and work on clearing the air between you two. He’s just been so angry since he got your letter, and Rita and Zedd used that against him.” Trini admitted.

‘Letter?’ Kim questioned, tilting her head.

“You don’t remember?” Trini asked in confusion. Kimberly shook her head, wondering briefly if she had done some sort of damage to herself. Trini was quietly, not knowing what to say.

Luckily Billy came in a moment later, and he had plenty to start in on. “You’re awake.” Billy commented, coming closer to look her over, checking her stitches then having her move her broken arm a little to check it’s healing.

Kim gave him a watery smile, picking up her blackboard again. ‘You know you’re getting pretty good at this rescuing thing.’ She wrote and he smiled briefly.

“How are you feeling?” He asked quickly, and she tried to answer only to not be able too put into words how she wad feeling.

Instead, she just wrote ‘letter?’ on her blackboard.

“Kim said she doesn’t remember writing Tommy a break up letter.” Trini supplied. Sure enough, Kimberly started to shake her head vigorously, not caring about the pain it was causing.

“Maybe we should run some more scans.” Billy muttered. Kimberly shook her head again, throwing off the covers and trying to stand up.

“Be careful Kim.” Trini begged her. Kim ignored her, managing to get to her feet and take a few steps.

Billy tried to get her to sit down, but she refused, fighting his hold. “Kim, you need to relax. What’s wrong?” Billy pleaded.

Kim stopped, reaching for her blackboard. ‘Liar.’ She wrote clearly.

“About the letter?” Trini asked just to clarify.

‘Need to see Tommy.’ Kim wrote next.

Billy sighed. ‘Ok, let’s go see him.” He agreed, knowing that she would start arguing with him if he didn’t agree.

“Tommy’s getting scans done right now by Rocky and Adam, he should be done shortly.” Alpha, who had come back with Billy, informed them.

“Good, that’ll give us time to get situated.” Billy said. “Trini, can you go get Jason and Zack so they can help me get Kim there? AT least he can force her to listen if needed.” Billy gave Kim a look and she grinned sheepishly while trying not to rub at the stitches on her neck.

“I’ll grab you a shirt too Kim.” Trini promised as she left the room, pausing for a second to lean against the wall and wipe her eyes.

“You ok?” Aisha asked, coming up behind her with a mop and bucket.

“Yea, just needed a moment.” Trini muttered, smiling at her friend.

“Is Kim OK?” Aisha asked.

“Yea, she woke up a few minutes ago. She wants to see everybody.” Trini said, gesturing towards Aisha. “What are you doing?”

“I didn’t want Kim to see the hallway when she woke up.” Aisha replied softly.

“Gotcha. Why don’t you go in to see her? I’m going to go get Jason and Zack.” Aisha gave a thumbs-up before heading into the med bay. Trini could hear her yelling Kim’s name. She couldn’t help but smile a bit as she made her way down the hall, seeing a few still wet spots. “Jase?” She asked, knocking on her former leader’s door. Zack answered a moment later, gesturing her inside. She couldn’t help but laugh at the look on the former Red Ranger’s face as he laid in bed, legs propped up on a couple of shirts of his. “Looking good.” Trini teased as he rolled his eyes.

“Don’t start with me. Is Kim awake?”

“Yea but she’s pretty out of it.” Trini told them, perching on the edge of the bed. “Billy wants to take her to go talk to Zordon.”

“Let’s go then.” Jason said, getting up, staggering a little as he blinked away the spots in his eyes.

“I’m stealing this for Kim too.” Trini said, picking up one of Jason’s sweaters. “At least red is close to pink right?” Both guys laughed, Zack placing a steadying hand on Jason’s shoulder as they made their way over to Kim.

X

“Ok, let’s get these scans to Alpha so he can study them.” Adam said softly when they were done, smiling at Tommy reassuringly, who was sitting on the counter staring at his hands.

“Hey man, we’ll get this figured out.” Rocky said, patting Tommy’s shoulder. “At least you can talk to Kim and find out what happened. I know you’ve been worried about her, even if you wouldn’t admit it.” Tommy didn’t respond, looking down at his hands again. Rocky and Adam exchanged looks not sure what to say to their leader.

“Come on, let’s see if Kat’s had any luck with the security cameras.” They walked down the hallway in silence, the Red and Black Rangers trying not to set off Tommy. They could hear voices once they got closer to the main room, but not the one they hoped for. “She must be doing alright if Billy’s in there.” Adam reasoned.

“Yea, I doubt that he-” Rocky stopped talking when they came across the counter and he saw the person they were talking about. “Kimmy!” He yelled, running across the room and grabbing her, twirling her around while he hugged her tightly.

“Rocky, she’s injured.” Billy chastised him when he was done, noticing that she was wincing a little in pain.

Rocky stopped, quickly putting her down. “Sorry Kimmy.” He muttered She smiled up at him, tapping his nose affectionately.

“She’s having trouble speaking right now, so she’s been writing everything down.” Trini explained, pointing to the blackboard that was on the floor. Kimberly had dropped it when Rocky had grabbed her. He bent down, picking it up and giving it back to the brunette with a sheepish grin.

“Sorry Kim.” He muttered again. She gave him a hug, clearly telling him she forgave him. Adam stepped up then, checking her over before giving her a hug as well. The two backed off, allowing her to see Tommy. The room was silent as they stared at each other, Kimberly taking a step back after a minute to put some distance between them.

“Kim...” Tommy said, his voice trailing off. She studied him for a moment before writing something on her blackboard and showing it to him.

‘I didn‘t write you that letter.’

“Kim, We don’t need to talk about this right now.” Tommy replied, avoiding her eyes, fiddling with his hands again.

‘No. Show it to me.” Kimberly demanded. Tommy sighed, heading towards his room at the Command Center where he had hid the letter, not wanting his friends to know he still read it all the time, coming back with it a few minutes later. Kimberly snatched it from him, reading it over with wide eyes, mouthing the words as she went.

Trini, who hadn’t read it yet either, was reading it over Kim’s shoulder, making faces. “No wonder you’ve been so upset Tommy, this is awful.” Trini muttered, wrapping an arm around Kim.

The brunette just stood there, rereading it over and over again. Finally she ripped it up before crumbling the pieces and throwing it at Tommy. She picked up her board then, starting to write something and showing it to Trini before stopping and staring at Tommy.

“You don’t think… “ Trini said, frowning at Kim’s nod.

“What’s going on?” Aisha asked, confused.

“Kim still says she never wrote the letter.” Trini explained.

“Are you sure she just doesn’t remember? She's been through a lot lately.” Adam said softly, smiling at the brunette, who was still writing, the look on her face silencing everyone for a minute.

“Yea, if it wasn’t Kim, who wrote it?” Rocky added after a minute, bracing himself.

Trini and Kimberly exchanged a look, looking concerned. “Scorpina wrote it.” Trini said slowly, looking at Kim again who nodded.

“What makes you say that?” Rocky asked, glancing at Adam whose face was almost as pale as Tommy’s. Rocky knew how much guilt Adam carried about that letter, and to find out that it was a fake must be killing him.

“When Kim started dating Tommy, Scorpina said that he was just a Jason that she could fuck since she couldn’t date her ‘brother.’ Kim almost ripped her head off when she said that.” Trini explained, smiling briefly at the look on Jason’s face, which matched the one on Kim’s.

“So it stands to reason that she would reuse that insult when trying to cause problems in their relationship.” Billy said.

“Wait, if Kim never wrote the letter, which means she never broke up with Tommy then right?” Zack asked somewhat hopefully. Maybe things could get fixed between his two friends if that was true.

Kim was writing something down. Wiping away tears as she handed it over.

“We did try Kim.” Trini said after she read it. “We never heard back from you, so we figured you didn’t want to talk to us right now.”

“RANGERS, GIVEN THE CURRENT SITUATION, I BELIEVE THAT RITA USED SOME SORT OF SPELL TO BLOCK OUR ATTEMPTS TO LOCATE KIMBERLY,” Zordon closed his eyes, trying to calm his thoughts. “KIMBERLY, I AM SORRY I DIDN’T DO MORE TO ENSURE YOUR SAFETY. I TRUSTED THAT ONCE YOU LEFT YOU’D BE SAFE, BUT I SHOUKD HAVE HAD SOMEONE CHECKING ON YOU.” Zordon bowed his head, hoping she knew how sorry he was. Kimberly nodded, silently forgiving him.

Tommy cleared his throat, stepping forward to catch Adam’s eye. “Can you guys give us a minute?” he asked quietly. Kim immediately shook her head No, stepping back behind Trini.

“Maybe we need to give Kim a break.” Aisha said, glaring at Tommy. “She’d probably prefer to talk to you when she could actually, you know, talk.”

“Kimberly, you know I wasn’t in control of myself when I did that.” Tommy said, completely ignoring everyone around him. Kimberly touched her throat, the stitches Billy had used already healing her skin. She backed up some more, now stepping behind Aisha who moved to defend her.

“Guys, we’re not trying to fight here.” Jason said, holding up his hands.

“Yes, but I’m understanding that Kim might be a little reluctant to be around him at the moment.” Aisha said, eyeing the White Ranger.

“We’ll be fine.” Tommy snapped back, eyes narrowing a little when he looked at the Yellow Ranger.

“You just tried to kill her Tommy. I don’t think she’s ready to go jump back into bed with you.” Aisha responded icily, not backing down.

“RANGERS.” Zordon warned. “I THINK THIS SITUATION IS A LITTLE TOO MUCH RIGHT NOW. TOMMY, I THINK YOU SHOULD GO HOME AND GIVE YOURSELF A CHANCE TO RELAX WHILE WE RUN THESE SCANS.” Tommy nodded, looking over at his teammates. “I EXPECT YOU TO STAY AT YOUR HOME TONIGHT. ALPHA WILL MONITOR YOU TO ENSURE YOUR SAFETY.” Zordon announced.

“But Zordon-”

“THIS IS NOT A PUNISHMENT WHITE RANGER. I JUST NEED ALL OF YOU TO CALM DOWN BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO DISCUSS WHAT HAPPENED.” Zordon turned and eyed the rest of them. “AISHA, ROCKY, ADAM, ZACK, JASON and TRINI, I BELIEVE YOU SHOULD GO AS WELL. KIMBERLY WILL NEED SOME REST AND HAVING EVERYONE HERE WILL PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING.”

“But what if Billy needs help?” Rocky said, hoping he was right.

“Honestly, you guys would do better going home and resting in case we get another attack. Kat’s going to have to stay to be monitored for power withdrawals as well, so you guys need to be at full strength in case we need to go out.” Billy said.

Rocky set his jaw, ready to argue but stopping at Kim’s face. “Fine.” He muttered, crossing his arms. Kim smiled at him before turning to Zordon, writing something down and showing it to him.

“I CAN SEND AISHA TO GET WHATEVER YOU NEED KIMBERLY. I’M CONCERNED YOU’RE TOO WEAK TO TELEPORT.” Zordon said. Kimberly nodded.

“Do I need to worry about a roommate or anything?” Aisha asked. Kimberly shook her head.

‘My roommate didn’t make cuts, so I have my own room right now.’ She explained.

“Perfect.” Aisha said, giving a thumbs-up.

‘What day is it anyway? I need to know how long I’ve been gone.’

“It’s Saturday the 21st.” Jason supplied, watching as Kimberly’s face paled.

‘IT felt like I was there forever.’ She wrote carefully, not wanting to admit yet that she had just been taken that morning.

“WE STILL HAVEN’T PINPOINTED WHEN YOU WERE TAKEN KIMBERLY. ALPHA AND I WILL WORK ON THAT AS WELL.” Zordon promised.

Kim nodded, glancing back at Tommy who was watching her intently. “Kim, can I say something?” He asked quietly. Kim eyed him for a minute before nodding in agreement. “I’m sorry I believed that stupid letter. But you know I wouldn’t do anything to intentionally hurt you right?” He held out an arm, hoping she would come to him. He needed to hold her, to let the scars from the past few months heal themselves so they could move forward. Kimberly walked towards him, hesitating a few times before standing before him, slapping him across the face before he could react. “What the hell Kim?” He said, grabbing his jaw.

“Liar.” She mouthed clearly enough for all of them to see.

“Ok, why don’t we all calm down.” Jason said, stepping in between them, knowing that Billy, Aisha, and Trini were all ready to rumble with the White Ranger. Honestly, he wasn’t too keen on him right now either. “Zordon’s right Kim, you’ve been through a lot today, I don’t want you saying something you’ll regret later.” The former Pink Ranger looked up at the man she had called her brother her entire life, tears dripping down her face.

Billy stepped in then, trying to herd Kim towards the door. “Let’s go lie down, we can talk about all of this later.” Kim nodded slowly, turning and allowing Billy to slowly walk her out of the room.

Jason turned towards Tommy, eyes narrowing as he studied his best friend. “What's going on?” He asked quietly and Tommy shook his head.

“I have no clue.” He muttered, heart pounding.

“RANGERS, YOU ALL NEED TO GIVE KIMBERLY CHANCE TO FEEL SAFE HERE. NOW, I SUGGEST THAT THOSE WHO WERE GIVEN TASKS COMPLETE THEM, AND I WILL SEE YOU ALL IN THE MORNING.” Zordon said, nodding at them before disappearing.

Chapter Text

While Zordon’s declaration had gotten Tommy to leave, the rest of the Rangers came back to the Command Center to check in on Kim. She was clearly exhausted, yet every time she drifted off, she would wake up in a panic. Currently, Kat was laying on Kim’s bed, rubbing her back and whispering soothingly to her. Aisha had Kim’s head in her lap, stroking her hair.

Adam sat next to her, rubbing his hands together as he watched Kim wince in pain. Trini had Kim’s legs in her lap, fingers ghosting over the bruises she had found. Rocky was sitting in a chair he found, back ram rod straight as he kept vigil over his friend. Jason sat on the floor next to him, having been banned from the bed when he upset Kim a while ago. Zack was with Alpha and Billy, looking for something to help Kim sleep. It was quiet for a bit before Kim moved, sliding away from the girls and touching her throat.

“What’s wrong?” Trini asked quietly, watching Kim make a motion. “Itchy?” Kim nodded. “When Billy gets back, maybe he can take the stitches out. It looks like you’re healing well.”

Kim nodded, looking back over at Kat. “I'm fine Kim. You keep our coin as long as you want.” Kat said, trying to hold back the power withdrawals she had been starting to feel. After Kim had informed them that she hadn’t written the letter, Kat had been over wracked with guilt, knowing that she, along with Billy, had encouraged Tommy to go skiing that first weekend instead of encouraging him to go get answers from his ex. Kim glared at her, gesturing towards the drawer she had the morpher in. “Kim, I can last 15 more hours so you heal properly. It’s not that big of a deal.” Kat said.

Aisha wrapped an arm around the blonde, concerned over how pale she was looking. “I think we need an influx of pink power around here.” She teased lightly as Kat giggled. Kim smiled too, wiping her eyes.

“Oh, I know!” Kat said, heading to her own room.

“How can you get more pink in here? It already looks like someone threw up bubble gum here.” Rocky interjected, still sitting stiffly in his chair. Kim stuck her tongue out, making a face at him before yawning.

“I agree. WE all need to sleep.” Adam said, sliding off the bed. “Maybe we should get going. I think Kim will have a better night's sleep without all of us crowding her.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Trini said, giving her best friend a small smile. “What do you think Kim?” The former Pink Ranger nodded, giving Trini a hug.

“As soon as Kat gets back and we make sure she’s good for the night as well.” Rocky agreed, looking up at her.

“I’m staying right here.” Jason muttered, crossing his arms. Kim got up, wincing as her arm twinged in pain. She slowly walked over to Jason, carefully sitting down in his lap and allowing him to wrap his arms around her.

Kat came back then, holding a giant stuffed flamingo. “I think this is pink enough.” She announced, putting it on Kim’s bed. The group chuckled, everyone slowly getting up and stretching.

“You sure you don’t want someone to come stay with you Kat?” Aisha asked, the blonde shaking her head.

“Billy is staying here to keep an eye on us, and I have a feeling Jason’s staying as well.” She glanced over at the two on the ground.

“Ok, you have know how to get in touch with us if you need anything then.” The Yellow Ranger replied, hugging Kat before walking over to Kim and giving her a hug as well. The rest of the group did the same before teleporting out one by one, leaving Jason alone with the girls.

“You ok if I walk Kat to her room?” Jason asked him.

“I don’t need you to walk me down the hall Jase.” Kat said with a slight giggle.

“I insist. For my own peace of mind, I just want to make sure you’re ok.”

“Fine.” Kat said, crossing her arms.

Jason carefully stood up, juggling Kim in his arms and gently placing her on her bed. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Kim nodded, waving at Kat as the blonde left her room. Kim plucked at the flamingo Kat had left with her, knowing that Jason would be back and wanting to talk. The door opened a second later, and Zack bounced in, surprised that the room was empty.

“You kick everyone out?” He teased her, and Kim nodded, gesturing at him. “Oh, sorry. Billy gave me a couple of things for you.” Zack said, holding out a few pills to her. “The blue one is to help you heal faster, the red one is for that rash you go, and the yellow one is for helping you sleep.” Kim nodded, picking up the pills. “He said to take them one at a time in case you have problems swallowing.” Zack added, watching her carefully as she swallowed the pills. “Good. Let’s get you all tucked in then.” He said, winking at her. Kim couldn’t help but smile as he pulled back her covers, slipping and letting out a silent sigh. “4th times a charm I guess.” Zack said. Kim held out her arm, wanting to curl up next to her friend, seeking comfort in someone she had known for years. “Mind if I crash here tonight?” Zack asked, and she nodded, waiting for him to strip down to his boxers and wife beater before slipping in next to her. “Go to sleep.” He ordered and she nodded, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths before falling asleep.

Jason came in a few minutes later, shaking his head at Zack. “Just like Middle School.” Zack joked, remembering when Kim would tuck in next to one of them when her parents' fights got particularly bad. “We should have gone down there sooner.” He added, looking down at his friend. Kim and Jason might have a tight bond with each other, but it didn’t mean that Zack didn't care about her just as much.

“I just don’t get it. Kim thought she was there for weeks until she heard what the date was. We saw her on tapes, so there’s no way she was gone that long.” Jason said, pulling off his own shirt and sitting on the edge of Kim’s bed.

“Zedd most have drugged her or something.” Zack muttered, gently tracing the light scars on Kim’s arm. Jason watched them quietly, trying to put his thoughts together. He was interrupted by Billy, who came in with a tray.

“She asleep?” Billy asked, looking over at Kim and nodding. “I’ll crash on the floor.” The Blue Ranger said, yawning.

“Dude, it’s a King-sized bed. I think we could all fit.” Zack said. “Maybe we should call Tri and make this a real old-fashioned sleepover.” Jason and Billy laughed, the three boys quietly sharing memories of their youth. Nobody noticed when Kim started to stir, flinging her arm out suddenly and smacking Jason in the face.

“Crap.” Billy muttered, leaning over his first leader to talk to Kim.

“I thought those meds were supposed to help her sleep.” Zack said, dodging out of the way of Kim’s second swing.

“I did too.” Billy frowned, trying to wake Kim up gently. Her hand shot up, reaching for Billy’s throat.

“That’s it.” Jason said, pushing Billy away. “Go get Tommy. Shes clearly having nightmares about him, maybe seeing he’s out of the spell will help.” Billy nodded, hitting his communicator to teleport to Tommy’s room.

X

Sleep didn’t come for the White Ranger that night. Tommy stared at the morpher in his lap, trying to decide his next steps. How he was going to talk to Kim after what happened between them. He could still feel the rush of power as he crushed her throat, the voice in his head telling him how good revenge against her would feel. He laid against the pillows, fingers playing with a stress ball Kim had bought him when he first joined the team. She had teased him that he needed to relax more, and he had laughed, considering the green foam ball one of his most cherished possessions. Even when he had thrown out almost everything of Kim’s, he still held on to this.

Squeezing the ball, he thought over the past few months, all the pain and regret in his chest that was for nothing. His thoughts turned to rage as he remembered who was responsible for all of this, then deflated when he realized that he might have destroyed the most important relationship in his life outside of his parents.

Forget what he did under the spell, he knew Kim would forgive him for that, but he knew that she might not for how he acted after getting the letter. From flirting with Heather, to dancing with Kat, and finally, sleeping with Veronica, who was still pissed at Kim after the whole Angel Girls Club situation, after practice one day. Come to think of it, Aisha probably was going to hate him for that too.

Frowning, he threw the ball, hitting Billy who had chosen that moment to teleport to his room, in the chest. “I fail to see the reason for this greeting.” The Blue Ranger said, tilting his head towards his friend.

“Is Kim ok?” Tommy asked, sitting up.

“No.” Billy said stiffly, glaring at him. Tommy nodded, staring at his hands. “I need you to come with me. She’s having nightmares and I think seeing you might help. She keeps freaking out that you’re still under a spell.”

Tommy jumped out of bed, standing in front of Billy in his boxers. “Let’s go.” He said.

Billy shook his head. “I don’t think she’d appreciate you showing up like that.” He replied, gesturing to his lack of clothes.

“Right.” Tommy muttered, quickly reaching for a tank top and a pair of sweatpants. “Let’s go.” He said, allowing Billy to take his hand to teleport him to the Command Center.

X

“I don't know what we’re going to walk into.” Billy muttered to Tommy when they got back to the Command Center. Tommy nodded, staring at Kim’s door. He used to spend more time in her room than his own. It had been the first place they were intimate in, not wanting to get interrupted by parents when they had decided to take that next step. Or any of their friends. Tommy was pretty sure Jason would dismantle him if he knew they had started having sex right after he came back the first time, Kim so excited that he was back that she basically threw herself at him the first chance she got, and they never looked back. He shook his head, trying to clear it. Right now wasn’t the time to think about that. He had to concentrate on getting Kim to talk to him first, not worrying about them making up like that.

Billy had turned to talk to Alpha about something, so Tommy decided to just head inside by himself. He walked up to Kim’s door, frowning when it didn’t open. He’d always had access to Kim’s room, even when they were just friends, she always let him sneak in if he was having a bad day. After he got the letter, he would sneak into her room and curl up in her covers, wondering where they had gone wrong.

Billy came up to him, tapping the door so it would open and walking in. Tommy followed, watching in surprised when he saw Zack and Jason pinning her down on her bed, Kimberly thrashing, her mouth wide open like she was screaming but no sound was coming out. Her face and neck were an angry red, except for the area around her stitches, which was a pale white color.

“She’s strong guys.” Zack panted, looking up at the other two.

“What the hell happened?” Billy asked.

“Whatever those meds you gave her backfired, she only half woke up and she seems to be trapped in some sort of nightmare.” Zack said, trying to keep Kim from swinging at him.

“Crap.” Billy said, kneeling down in front of them, trying to asset her state of mind. “Let her go.” He said after a minute.

“Are you nuts? She’s going to hurt herself.” Jason shot back, turning his head so Billy could see the black eye she gave him.

“She’s thinking she’s still being held captive. Holding her down is only going to make it worse.” Billy reasoned, startled by the brunettes silent screaming.

Jason sighed, looking at Zack. “On three?” He asked, and Zack nodded. “I, 2, 3.” They rolled away from Kim at the same time, watching as she started rolling around, fighting with someone.

“Just give her a minute.” Billy said, watching Kim carefully to make sure she wasn’t going to hurt herself again. Luckily, she started to calm down after a few minutes, slowly stopping and getting up, blinking at Billy. “Hey Kim.” He said softly, sitting on the bed. She watched him, touching her throat. “I know. But you’re safe now.” He promised, gesturing behind him, wanting her to see Tommy. “See. Everything’s fine.” Kimberly blinked a couple times, looking over at her ex a few times before staring back at Billy and mouthing something. “I don’t know what you’re saying.” Billy muttered, frowning. Kimberly flopped back on the bed, looking around for something to write on. She found the pad she had been using, writing down something and showing it to them.

“Why don’t you think you’re safe Kim?” Jason asked, having come over and sat on the bed. She wrote something else, holding it up. Tommy’s eyes flashed when he read her message, a low growl coming from him.

‘Goldar took me from my room.’

“Are you sure? Zordon thought you had been on the beach with Tommy’s coin.” Jason said.

Kim shook her head, then stopped, thinking. ‘I had been down there earlier, but I didn’t see the coin.’ She wrote.

“Did Goldar say anything to you when he took you?” Zack asked.

Kimberly was quiet for a minute before responding. ‘They wanted to taint Tommy’s powers.’ She wrote.

“By having him kill you?” Billy asked and she nodded.

“Do something he can’t come back from.” Jason muttered.

“I’ve killed before.” Tommy said quietly, remembering blowing up a rock pile at the quarry when he was fighting for Rita and not realizing that a worker had been nearby.

“Yes, but only by accident. You never took a life intentionally like that.” Jason reminded him. Tommy nodded, looking over at Kim. He didn’t notice when Zack smacked Jason on the arm, gesturing with his head to the door and they snuck out.

Billy seemed more eager to stay, watching them closely before sighing. “I’m going to check Jason’s face to make sure you didn’t hurt him too badly.” He said with a slight smile. Kim nodded, touching her throat again. “I can probably take those out when I get back. You’re almost healed, it might help with the irritation. I’m more concerned about your arm right now honestly.” Billy stated, noting how awkward Kimberly was sitting on the bed, figuring she had probably rehurt it when she was thrashing around before.. Kim nodded, not looking at him. “Ok, I’ll be back.” Billy glanced at Tommy before leaving.

“Can I get you anything?” Tommy asked when they were alone, and she shook her head. “OK.” Tommy said, gently sitting on the edge of her bed. “I don’t know what to say to you.” He started, staring down at his hands. The same ones that had almost strangled the life out of her a few hours earlier. He quickly hid them behind his back, not wanting to draw attention to them.

Kimberly watched him for a minute before picking up her pad, writing something before showing it to him. ‘I don’t blame you for what happened.’ She wrote carefully, touching her throat to empathize what she was trying to say.

“I know. Doesn’t mean I don’t blame myself.” Tommy said.

Kimberly nodded, staring at him for a few minutes before picking up her pad again. ‘What do we do now?’ She wrote.

“Right now, I just want to be with you.” Tommy admitted, scooting closer to her.

Kim held up a hand, stopping him from getting closer. She wrote again ‘There’s a letter on my desk you should read.’ She pointed to a black box on her desk.

“Ok?” Tommy said, walking over to grab it, opening it to reveal a bunch of letters. “Which one?” He asked her, looking up. ‘The one on top.’ She wrote. He pulled it out, smiling when he saw his handwriting on another envelope. “Kim, do you still love me?” He asked, looking at her while holding the letter in his hands. She didn’t answer, sighing and looking down at her hands. Tommy opened the letter, paling as he read it.

Dear Kimberly,

I hope you’re having a good time down in Florida. I think you were so brave to leave to do gymnastics. You left a giant hole here in Angel Grove, but I’ve been working hard to fill it. Angel Girls are doing great now that Aisha is off it again, ‘too busy’ to dedicate enough time to it. Looks like I was right about her after all. Ernie packed away your high-beam and replaced it with a dance barre for Kat since no one else was using it, and there are some talks they might tear up that garden you planted last year to put something else in. Like I said, you were so brave to leave Angel Grove and think nothing would change.

Oh, by the way I banged Tommy the other day and it was, according to him, the best he’s ever had. I see why you kept him close while you were here, he does some great things with that cock, and we plan on seeing each other again real soon.

Later,

Veronica

Chapter Text

“Kim.” Tommy said looking up at her, his jaw tense. She had tears in her eyes while she watched him.

‘Is it true?’ She wrote, and he swallowed.

“Kat and Billy took me skiing right after I got the letter. I met Heather there and we tried to go out on a date. She decided not to come after I got called away to fight a few times, so Kat showed up for the date instead.” Kim’s bottom lip started to quiver, and she blinked rapidly, trying to hide her tears. “Nothing happened, but a couple of days later, I was leaving school and Veronica asked me to take her home. We started talking and...” He gestured to the letter, cheeks red. “I’m assuming she wrote this because I brushed her off afterwards and didn’t want to keep hooking up.”

‘Was she better than me?” Kimberly asked, and he tossed the letter aside, sitting down next to her.

“Never. I love you. What happened with her was a dumb decision I made because I was hurt and angry.” Tommy reached for her hand, only to have her jerk it away, shaking her head. She tucked her knees under her chin, wrapping her arms around them. He sat there as Kimberly cried silently, hiding her face behind her hair. Tommy slid over to sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his chest. She let him for a minute before angrily pushing him away.

‘How could you just believe that without even asking me?’ Kim wrote, glaring at him.

“Kim, that letter broke my heart. I didn’t want to believe that you could do something like that.” Tommy said quietly.

‘You did though.’ Kimberly responded, giving him a brokenhearted look. ‘It didn’t even sound like me.’ She wrote next, frowning as her marker started to die.

“Kim....”

‘You think I’m a cheater like my dad’ She tried to write out, the marker skipping several letters but he could understand the message. Tommy was silent, knowing that there was nothing to that he could say to defend himself at this point. Kimberly got out of bed, opening one of her drawers and digging around looking for something. She pulled out a notebook and a handful of pens, angrily scribbling on it to see which one would work. When she couldn’t get one, she just took the notebook, stalking over to Tommy and smacking him with it.

“Kim!” Tommy yelled, trying to duck. She kept hitting, and he kept dodging, hoping she would calm down. Neither one heard the door open, Billy appearing with another pill and a pair of tweezers to cut the stitches out.

“What is going on in here?” Billy asked, looking at his two dishelved friends. Kim turned on her heel, throwing her notepad at the Blue Ranger. Billy dropped everything he was holding, holding up his hands to defend himself when she turned on him. “Kimberly!” He yelled when she attacked him, pushing him out her door. She then turned towards Tommy, staring at him while trying to hold back her tears.

“Kim please, it didn’t mean anything to me I swear.” Tommy told her, wanting to calm her down. She just pointed at the door, turning her head so she didn’t have to look at him anymore. “Alright, I’m going.” Tommy muttered, holding up his hands as he walked out the door. Billy was out there with Kat, who was rubbing his shoulders.

“What’s going on? I hear a bunch of crashing.” Kat asked quietly, looking up at Tommy.

“I told her about the ski lodge.” Tommy admitted, shuffling his feet.

“Really Tommy? You couldn’t wait a few days before telling her that? Or maybe Billy and I would have liked to have been part of that conversation, so she understood why we did it?” Kat glared at him. “What else did you tell her?”

“I told her everything.” Tommy admitted, adverting his eyes.

“Seriously? No wonder she kicked you guys out.” Kat eyed the doorway, biting her lip. “Let me try.” She said, knocking once on the door before opening it, ducking when the flamingo she had brough into the room before came flying at her. She turned to glare at Tommy before shutting the door, refusing to let Kim intimidate her.

“Well this day just went from bad to worse.” Billy puttered rubbing his tired eyes.

“She forced my hand on it. I didn’t have a choice.” Tommy said warily, shuffling his feet.

“Unless she guessed at what happened and you confirmed it, I don’t see how she forced you into anything.” Billy observed with a slightly annoyed tone.

“I just wanted to lay it out there, so we could start with a clean slate.” Tommy admitted.

“Or we could share the blame. You told Kat you didn’t want to sit around and mope. You were the one who flirted with Heather and tried to date her. You were the one who danced with Kat and asked to kiss her. Neither of us forced that on you.” Billy replied.

“That’s not what she’s angry about.” Tommy admitted. Billy blinked, wondering what Tommy was going to confess. Jason and Zack had been making their way back over, but they had stopped when they heard the heated exchange in the hallway between the Blue and White Rangers.

“Tommy, whatever happened, Kimberly is an excellent judge of character. She’s also forgiven you for a lot worse, I’m sure.” Tommy opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He closed it again, shuffling his feet some more. Billy clenched his jaw in annoyance, turning to address his other friends. “Where did you two go off too?”

“We told Zordon about Goldar. He’s trying to see if he can find his signature in Florida at all.”

“Before Kimberly can go home I will have to reconfigure her communicator to override whatever system Rita and Zedd are using to interfere with it.” Billy mused, trying to figure out how he could do that.

“Zordon’s already working on that. The computer’s running scans to figure out what’s blocking it.” Zack explained. The four former teammates started tossing around ideas on how to keep all of them safe, almost forgetting the emotional problem waiting for them behind the closed door until Kat came out with tears in her eyes and her morpher clenched in between her fingers.

“What are you doing with that?” Billy asked, looking at the morpher in surprise.

“Kimberly said that she’d rather suffer than accept any of my charity at the moment.” Kat said, trying to hold back her tears.

“I’m sorry Kat.” Tommy told her, knowing that all of this was his fault. Kat glared at him with narrowed eyes.

“About what exactly Tommy? Letting her think I pushed you to pursue Heather, or tried to convince you to date me, or that she thinks I helped you cheat on her by FUCKING VERONICA SMYTHE!” Kat yelled, throwing the letter Kim had shown her at him before storming off, locking herself in her room.

“Dude.” Zack muttered under his breath. He might not had been around when the whole thing with Veronica, Kim and Aisha went down, but he had heard about it from Angela later on and knew how much animosity there was between the three girls. “Seriously bro? You couldn’t sleep with someone else?”

“Clearly, I made a mistake. I don’t need you judging me Zack.” Tommy muttered.

“When did this happen?” Jason asked, crossing his arms.

“Listen, this is between Kimberly and me. I don’t need anybody going all big brother on us because she’s upset.” Tommy warned.

“I’d also like to point out that we’re all tired and stressed about what happened today, and perhaps now isn’t the best time to have this discussion.” Billy chimed in.

“Fine.” Jason said, glaring at Tommy again. “Zack, come on, we’d better make sure that Kim’s ok.”

“If she has any withdrawal symptoms let me know, I don’t think she wants me in there right now.” Billy said sadly.

“Understood.” Jason gestured Zack over, and the two men disappeared into Kim’s room. Billy turned towards Tommy.

“Perhaps you’re better off at home after all, unless you feel you need to be here.” Billy commented, turning and heading towards his own room. Tommy stood in the hallway, staring at Kim’s door, wanting for nothing more than for it to open and Kim invite him in. Not so much to forgive him right away, but to let him know she didn’t hate him and they would talk when she was ready. Of course nothing happened, and he trudged off, heading towards his room, hoping things would look better after sleep.

X

“You’re looking good Pink!!” Aisha said the next day, hugging her. Kim smiled faintly, looking up at Zordon.

“TRINI WOULD YOU PLEASE TAKE THE STITCHES OUT FOR KIMBERLY, BILLY IS WORKING ON SECURITY RIGHT NOW.” Trini nodded, looking over at Kim.

“Let’s go t the Med Bay, I think there’s something we can use to help with that itching.” She said, taking Kim and pulling her away.

“I’m so glad things are going to be back to normal.” Aisha sighed with a smile.

“Yea, having Kim back is great.” Adam agreed.

“Oh, we should show her we got the Zords back. And Ninjor, he’ll want to see her too.” Rocky said, clapping his hands.

“She probably wants to go home Rocky. She’s got practice.” Aisha reminded the Red Ranger who just frowned.

“We barely got to see her.” He pouted while his two best friends laughed.

“Really Rocky.” Aisha teased.

“Maybe we could have a small party for her before she leaves at least.” Adam suggested.

“Yea if Tommy let’s her out of his sight.” Rocky joked.

“RANGERS, I BELIEVE YOU SHOULD SPEAK TO KIMBERLY BEFORE MAKING PLANS.” Zordon told them with a slight frown on his face.

“We will Zordon, we promise. I just can’t help being excited.” Rocky said, bouncing up and down again.

“I swear you’re like a child.” Aisha rolled her eyes at her friend. “Actually, I’m going to go check on Kat, see how she’s doing without her coin.

“KATHERINE WENT HOME LAST NIGHT. SHE WAS ABLE TO GET BACK HER POWER COIN BEFORE SHE SUFFERED TOO MANY WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS.”

“Wait, she got him coin back from Kim? I thought Billy said she would need it overnight to help her body heal from everything.” Adam asked in confusion.

“I SUGGEST YOU ASK KIMBERLY ABOUT THAT AS WELL.” Zordon told them. The three Stone Canyon Rangers looked at each other in confusion.

“Is there anything else we need to ask anyone?” Aisha asked, raising an eyebrow. Zordon was silent, refusing to answer them. “Ok then...” The Yellow Ranger turned away from their mentor. “How about Zack and Jason? Are they up yet?”

“ZACK AND JASON ARE HAVING A DISCUSSION WITH TOMMY IN HIS ROOM.” Zordon replied.

“Probably walked in on Kim and Tommy ‘making up.’” Rocky snickered, flinching when Adam hit him. “Come on man, I’m sure you’re pulling for them to get back together more than any of us.”

“Yea well, at least he’s not going to be making pervert jokes about it.” Aisha responded. She had heard some of the things Rocky had been muttering about Kim and Tommy when they left last night, and she really wanted to punch him over it.

“What? He was a much better leader when he was getting laid regularly is all I’m saying.” Rocky defended himself.

“Kim kept him focused when he was going off the deep end, it has nothing to do with them having sex.” Adam said evenly.

“I’d love to see the look on Kim’s face when you say that to her though.” Aisha giggled.

Rocky swallowed hard, smiling briefly. “I just want them to be happy, is that too much to ask?”

Aisha shook her head, giving Rocky a hug. “Me too Rock, let’s not push it though. They went through a lot, and Kim’s got to heal from her physical wounds as well.”

“SPEAKING OF WHICH, BEHOLD THE VIEWING GLOBE.” Zordon commanded, taking the chance to change the subject.

“What are we looking at Zordon?” Adam inquired as they turned.

“GOLDAR WAS THE ONE WHO DROPPED THE POWER COIN AT THE BEACH FOR US TO FIND. I BELIEVE HE TOOK KIMBERLY IN THIS TIME FRAME AS WELL. KATHERINE FOUND A FAILED ATTEMPT TO CONTACT US SHORTLY AFTER THIS FOOTAGE THAT APPEARS TO HAVE COME FROM KIMBERLY’S COMMUNICATOR.”

“That’s strange.” Aisha muttered. “Do we know why she was contacting us?”

“KIMBERLY SEEMS TO HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GREEN RANGER COIN BEING AT THE BEACH, BUT SHE DOES NOT REMEMBER SEEING IT. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SHE WAS TOLD ABOUT IT BY ZEDD OR RITA. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT SHE FOUND IT ON THE BEACH AND WAS TAKEN WHEN SHE ATTEMPTED TO RETRIEVE IT. KIMBERLY HAS ALWAYS HAD A STRONG CONNECTION TO THAT COIN FROM DATING TOMMY, ALONG WITH JASON FROM THE TIME HE POSSESSED IT. SHE COULD HAVE SENSED IT THERE, OR RITA COULD HAVE TOLD HER THAT SHE HAD TAKEN IT.”

“Great.” Aisha muttered, turning her head when Alpha came into the room.

“Zordon, I believe I have found the lapse in security which led to the coin being stolen.” He announced. “PL

EASE CONTINUE ALPHA.” Zordon said, nodding at Trini and Kimberly who had followed Alpha back in.

“It was the day we teleported Zedd here. Zedd managed to sneak Scorpina in and she stole the Power Coin.” Alpha reported.

“Great.” Kim muttered blinking when everyone turned and looked at her in surprise. “What? Billy told me I could talk once the stitches were taken out.”

Rocky jogged over to her, wrapping Kim up in a hug. “I’ve missed you.” He declared. Kim smiled briefly hugging him back. Adam and Aisha came over as well, hugging Kim tightly. “Ok guys.” Kim said pulling away. “We already this when you got here this morning, remember?”

“Yea, but you’re talking now so it feels different.” Aisha said.

Kim smiled at her. “That explains why Trini cried when I said hi to her.” Trini grinned sheepishly, not saying anything.

“Well now that you’re better, we need to celebrate finding you!” Rocky said, bouncing up and down.

Kim sighed, her smile dropping briefly. “I have to stay here for a few days while Billy figures out how to fix my communicator.”

“Sweet!” Rocky cheered, Aisha high-fiving him in agreement.

“Do you have to stay in the Command Center, or can you pretend you’re here on vacation?” Adam asked quietly.

“You can stay with me Kim, my parents miss you.” Aisha said.

“Actually I’m going to stay with Jason and his parents. We’re going to pretend I came home as a surprise for everyone.” Aisha pouted for a second. “Besides, Jase and I need to learn to be roommates sooner rather than later.” Kim said off-handedly, making everyone stare at her.

“What do you mean?” Rocky asked, holding his breath just in case. “I decided a couple of months ago that I wasn’t going to go past the Pan Globals. I’m not enjoying the competition like I thought I would, so I talked to my mom, and she agreed that I could come back to Angel Grove, but I’d have to stay with Jason’s parents this time. After all, they are my godparents. Jase didn’t know, his parents decided to wait to tell him until after the games in case mom or I changed our minds” Kim explained. Jason’s parents had offered to take her in when Kim’s mom moved to Paris, but they were caring for Jason’s grandmother at the time and Kim’s mom had refused to burden them, which is why Kim ended up with Aisha.

“So you’ll be back for senior year?” Trini asked to Kim’s nod.

“I want to graduate with my friends.” She said with a smile.

“Yes!!” Aisha cheered, hugging Kim yet again.

“THIS IS WONDERFUL NEWS KIMBERLY. YOU HAVE BEEN MISSED.” Zordon added, smiling at his Pink Ranger.

“Thanks Zordon.” Kim said quietly, staring at the floor.

“Then we really have to party.” Rocky smiled, wrapping an arm around Kim and Aisha. “Don’t worry Kim, we’ll make it early so you and Tommy can have some time to talk.” Kim flinched at that, looking away.

“Kim?” Trini said softly, touching her friend’s arm.

“Guys, Tommy and I are over.”

“Why?” Rocky asked in confusion.

“Because he believed that letter without even trying to find out the truth.” Aisha, Rocky and Adam shared a look, slightly embarrassed.

“Kim-” Adam tried, only to be shut down.

“I know about the ski lodge guys. Tommy told me thinking he could make it ok. I know about the date with Kat too. That’s not the problem.”

“Then what is?” Rocky asked in confusion. Kim hesitated, biting her lip. She knew that the rest of the team would find out what had happened last night, but she really didn‘t want to be the one to tell them.

Lucky for her, Billy chose that moment to enter, stopping in surprise when he saw everyone staring at each other. “Greetings.” He said quietly, stealing a glance at Kim who just ignored him.

“Hey Billy, maybe you can explain what the heck is going on here? What did Tommy do?” Rocky asked.

Billy glanced at Kim again, frowning as she refused to make eye contact again. “I prefer not to say as I was not privy to the details before last night and am still not up to speed on everything.” Billy said, almost sounding like he was pleading with Kim to listen to him.

“I think you know enough to say.” Kimberly responded, and the group all blinked at the icy tone to her voice.

“Are you two... fighting?” Trini asked in shock. She couldn’t remember a time when any of them fought with Billy with more than a quick squabble. The 5 original Rangers had been overprotective of him, knowing that most of the time any issues with Billy stemmed from his shyness and lack of social grace.

“Kimberly has been misinformed as to the events of the ski trip, and has righteously though mistakenly gotten upset with Katherine and myself.” Billy attempted to explain.

“I’m not upset about the ski lodge Billy!!!” Kimberly all but shouted, grabbing her throat and grimacing as if in pain.

“Kim...” Billy said, stepping towards her. Kim shook her head, putting Trini in between them. “Please let me help you.” Billy asked quietly, taking a deep breath. The rest of the Rangers were all quiet for a minute, watching Kim and Billy.

“You out of everyone here at the time should have known I didn’t write that letter. How could I have done that to Tommy after what my father did to my mother?”

“Kim, when you didn’t answer Aisha’s phone call-”

“Bull. You guys made one effort to contact me and that was it? Remember when Trini didn’t answer a call from Zordon to check in and he sent two Rangers to go check on her when I asked? Did anyone even think to ask him to go check on me? That maybe something weird was going on?” She continued, turning to look at Zordon who had been floating around quietly, just watching them, but turning to avoid her gaze.

“We tried multiple times to get in touch with you Kim. Jason and Zack even went to speak to your mom before they came home after the conference.” Adam tried to reassure her.

“Was that before or after Tommy decided to cheat on me with Veronica?” Jaws dropped at her words, Adam and Rocky staring at Kim before their eyes dashed to Aisha, whose face was pale and shaking. Nobody needed to ask which Veronica she was talking about, they could tell by the look on Kim’s face it was the one they were all thinking about.

“He thought you broke up with him Kim. He didn’t mean to cheat on you…” Rocky said carefully after a minute, flinching when Aisha turned on him.

“Are you kidding me? He doesn’t even like Veronica, he just did it to hurt Kim.” Aisha snapped back.

“He thought she’d hurt him first.” Adam pointed out softly, seeing that Tommy, Jason and Zack had appeared behind the girls.

“Oh hell no, you ain’t pulling that Ross and Rachel we were on a break crap here. We’ve been walking around on eggshells for weeks thinking that Tommy was grieving his relationship and it turns out he was just-“

“AISHA.” Zordon said, cutting off the beginning of her rant. “RANGERS, I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS NEWS IS UPSETTING TO YOU, BUT I NEED YOU TO REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE ALL A TEAM, AND NOT TO LET YOUR FEELINGS GET IN THE WAY OF THAT.” Aisha glowered, crossing her arms. “WHITE RANGER.” Zordon continued, causing the girls to turn and see their leader standing there staring at his shoes. “WOULD YOU CARE TO ADDRESS YOUR TEAMMATES?” Tommy shuffled, taking a deep breath before sighing. “I’d like to speak to Kim alone right now.”

“Hell no.” Aisha said, stepping in front of the brunette. “You can speak to me. What the hell is wrong with you? How could you do this to us? When did you become the type of guy who thinks with his dick? How are we-”

“If you’d excuse me, what I did is between Kim and I, not you.” Tommy said rather coolly, which quickly proved to be a mistake.

“That’s rich.” Aisha snorted, stepping forward, ignoring Trini’s attempts to pull her back. “You’re half right Tommy, it SHOULD be between the two of you. But you chose to bang the one girl at school that would hurt me just as much as Kim. You know how she treated me, how she made me feel when she talked to me like I was less than nothing. You were there through all of it, the nasty rumors, the looks, the muttered remarks after she got kicked out of the club.” Aisha blinked twice, trying to stop the tears that were forming. “You’re supposed to be better than this.” She finished biting her bottom lip before fleeing the room, not wanting him to see her cry.

“Sha.” Kim said softly, watching her friend leave. Tommy’s face crumbled as the Yellow Ranger fled the room, and for a split-second Kim was torn between which one of them she should comfort. Taking a deep breath, she shot her ex a scathing look before leaving the room after Aisha. Rocky and Adam were silent, glancing at Tommy and the doorway several times before they turned and silently went after the girls, leaving Trini, Zack, Jason, Billy and Tommy with Zordon and Alpha.

Obviously realizing this was his best chance to plead his case, Tommy turned to Trini. “Tri, you have to believe me that-”

Trini held up her hand, not looking at him. “How soon after you got the letter did you sleep with her?” She asked quietly.

Tommy sighed, shuffling his feet. “It was a couple of days after we got back from the ski lodge.” He admitted softly.

“Any chance you were under some sort of spell?” She asked hopefully. Tommy glanced up at Zordon who shook his head.

“I can’t even express how upset I am with you right now.” Trini said, turning away from him.

“I SUGGEST YOU ALL GO HOME RIGHT NOW AND GIVE YOURSELVES A CHANCE TO THINK THINGS OVER BEFORE SOMETHING HAPPENS THAT YOU WILL REGRET.” Zordon said, looking over at Alpha.

“What are we doing with Kim?” Jason said.

“WE WILL SEND HER A MILE FROM THE AIRPORT AND HAVE HER CALL YOU PRETENDING SHE’S COMING FOR A VISIT. I WILL HAVE AISHA TELEPORT TO FLORIDA TO PACK A BAG FOR HER.” Zordon said.

“I’ll go get Sha.” Trini said, turning to go. Zordon waited for her to leave before eyeing the four left.

“BILLY, I SUGGEST YOU GIVE KIMBERLY A CHANCE TO RELAX BEFORE YOU TRY TO PLEAD YOUR CASE TO HER AGAIN. I’M SURE SHE WILL BE MORE RECEPTIVE ONCE SHE’S FEELING NORMAL AGAIN.” Billy nodded his head, staring at Tommy for a second.

“I’ll try to talk to her, but she’s pretty upset right now.” Jason said, smiling at the Blue Ranger. “She chased Kat out of the Command Center already.” Tommy shut his eyes, not wanting to see the distressed look on his friend’s face. Zack just stood there, arms crossed, silently glowering at his former teammate.

“ZACKARY?” Zordon said, concerned about his ranger.

“Sorry Zordon, I just don’t know how to feel at the moment.” He admitted, looking up at their mentor.

“RIGHT NOW, WE NEED TO PIECE TOGETHER WHAT HAPPENED AND FIND WAYS TO PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN.”

“I’m already on that Zordon.” Billy said tiredly.

“Billy did you get any sleep last night?” Jason asked worriedly.

“I can’t say that I did.” Billy muttered, staring down at his hands.

“BILLY, I NEED YOU TO GO LAY DOWN. IF RITA AND ZEDD ATTACK AGAIN YOU WILL NEED TO BE AT FULL STRENGHT.”

“But Zordon-”

“GO MAKE A LIST OF TASKS THAT NEED TO BE COMPLETED, I WILL HAVE THE REST OF THE RANGERS TAKE CARE OF THEM UNDER ALPHA AND MINE’S SUPERVISION.” Zordon instructed.

“Don’t worry Billy, I’ve got everything under control.” Alpha piped in, tilting his head at the Blue Ranger.

“We need to figure out the interference at Kimberly’s so she can go home.” Billy said wearily.

“Trini and Aisha will work on that. I have a device that Aisha can take with her to scan Kimberly’s apartment.” Alpha promised. Billy turned towards Jason.

“Can you figure out a security protocol for her? We’ll need some way to run checks on her down in Florida and in Sydney if she gets to the Olympics.”

“We won’t have to worry about that.” Jason said. “Kim’s coming back for Senior Year, wo we’ll be able to keep an eye on her.”

“Yea, she told us last night.” Zack said, shuffling. He could feel the tension radiating from Tommy, and didn’t want to be involved in whatever fight the White Ranger was about to pick.

“We’ll still need some sort of security protocol for her in Florida, but at least I can work on securing your house before she comes back.” Billy yawned, trying to cover his mouth. “The med room needs cleaned as well; I was too tired to worry about it last night.”

“I can take care of that.” Tommy said softly, wanting to feel like he was helping. Billy didn’t even look at him, just nodded stiffly.

“I’ll go check on Kat.” Zack volunteered. “I’m sure she’s pretty upset right now.”

“Rocky and Adam can go through the security tapes again with Kim. We need to figure out how they got to her.” Jason added.

“AGREED. NOW BILLY, I SUGGEST YOU GO REST OR I WILL SEND ONE OF YOUR TEAMMATES TO MAKE YOU DO SO.” Billy nodded slowly, not bothering to look at Tommy again before shuffling off to bed.

“I’m going to go see what the girls are doing.” Jason said, breaking away from the White Ranger.

“Alpha, can you send me to Kat’s?” Zack asked.

“Right away. Please tell her that everything is going to be ok.” Alpha pleaded, and at Zack’s nod, hit the teleportation buttons, the former Ranger disappearing in a beam of black light a second later.

Tommy looked down at his hands again, clenching them tightly before sighing. “I’ll be in the Med Bay if anyone needs me.” He finally said.

“TOMMY.” Zordon intoned.

“Yes?”

“I CHOOSE YOU FOR THE WHITE RANGER FOR MANY REASONS, BUT NONE OF THEM MAKE YOU INFALLIABLE. RITA AND ZEDD HAVE CHOSEN WHAT THEY FEEL IS THE BEST WAY TO BRING DOWN THE RANGERS. PROVE TO THEM THAT YOU ARE A TRUE LEADER BY NOT LETTING THEM DICTATE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOURSELF.” Tommy nodded, not looking at his mentor as he turned on his heel and headed towards the Med Room.

X

Alpha had given Billy something to help him sleep, but when he opened his eyes 6 hours later, he felt like he had been up for days. Blinking his eyes sleepily, he rolled over, jerking back in surprise when he realized that Kim was lying next to him. She must have drifted off as well, and he watched as her chest rose and fell with her steady breathing, noticing that the skin around her next was still faintly discolored, and he worried about why she wasn’t completely healed yet.

“Kim?” He said softly, shaking her shoulder. He hoped she was in there so they could talk and figure things out, not because she was being forced by their friends. Brown eyes fluttered open, and Kimberly blinked at him sleepily. “You ok?” Billy asked her, concerned by the exhausted look he saw in her eyes.

”I don’t know yet.” Kim admitted, slowing sitting up. “So much has happened, I don’t know what to feel anymore.”

“You know I’m aways here to listen Kim.” Billy said softy, smiling at her.

Kim watched him for a minute before looking at her hands and sighing. “I’ve been so busy the last few weeks that I didn’t realize I hadn’t heard from you guys. I got that letter about two weeks ago, and when I tried to call Tommy to find out what happened, I realized I hadn’t spoken to you guys for a couple of months, and the last few letters I had written hadn’t been responded too. Ditto for the phone calls I had made. The last message I got from anyone was mom telling me that you were looking for me, and I hadn’t been able to get in touch with her to find out what was going on.” Kimberly huffed, playing with her fingers.

“Rita and Zedd must have found a way to block your mail. They may have put the secretary at your building under a spell as well, she was less than helpful when we reached out to try to find you.” Billy offered.

“Looking back, I should have tried harder to get in touch with you guys. There were some weird things going on at the gym. I swear I saw Scorpina a couple of times in her human form, and there was a janitor that never talked to anyone, but one time I was passing him and I thought I heard him make that gobbling noise the putties used too. Sometimes I’d even see a flash of gold out of the corner of my eye, and I’d turn expecting to see Goldar standing there.”

“I can’t confirm or deny if they were there, I’ve been unable to track Goldar’s movements at all for the past few months.” Billy admitted miserably, staring at his hands.

“I was at that beach a few days ago, and I felt something was wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what. I knew then I had to get back home and find you guys so I could figure out if I was crazy or what. I was planning on getting on a plane and coming here during my off time. In fact, I was finishing up my packing and heading towards the airport to find a flight when Goldar appeared in my room. He had some sort of weird knife on him with an end that looked like the tip of a Philips screwdriver. He threatened to use it to kill me then my roommates. I agreed to go with him, and he spent hours beating me before he took my bag and went through it, finding the letter and taunting me with it. I was planning on confronting Tommy with it when I got here, to find out what he had done. Goldar strapped it to me under my jacket right before they put me in that rug, wrapped in a baggie. I think he wanted Tommy to find it after he...” Kimberly paused, sniffling.

“They weren’t planning on Tommy staying evil for long were they.” Billy said softly.

Kimberly sniffled again before shaking her head. “The Sword of Darkness was a decoy. Tommy was released from the spell right after he...um...” Kimberly pointed to her throat.

“It just took a minute for him to come out of it.”

“Makes sense.” Billy muttered. “He had crossed the line that we weren’t supposed to, and they thought he’d lose his powers over it.”

“And they wanted him to find that letter on my body to put the nail in the coffin.” Kim said quietly. Billy nodded. The letter had been stuck in the light jacket Kim had been wearing, which Kat had put in Kimberly’s room since it had miraculously managed not to get any blood on it.

“How are you feeling?” Billy asked.

“Wrecked.” Kimberly admitted. “I’m exhausted. I feel like I could sleep for 100 years right now.” She yawned, stretching.

“Zordon had me make a phone call to Jason’s phone to have him pick me up at the airport to cover our tracks. Alpha was able to manipulate the flight records and show that I was on my flight.”

“Good.” Billy sighed in relief. He hadn’t thought of covering Kim’s tracks before he had gone to sleep earlier. He watched Kim, noticing that she wouldn’t look him in the eye. “You know I didn’t know right?” He said to her, watching as she stiffened.

“I find it hard to believe given what I know.” She responded.

“Kim, all I wanted to do was to get his mind off that stupid letter before it made him do something to hurt himself. He was in a horrible state, and we were worried that he would do something. The whole thing with that girl at the lodge was supposed to be a distraction while we got in touch with you and tried to verify what was going on but none of was able to talk to you.”

“And the thing with Kat?” Kimberly asked, her voice hardening just a tad. “You know Kat had a crush on Tommy. Heather told him to buzz off after he showed up late to their date and Kat was there. She told Tommy that she didn’t feel right seeing him until she talked to you, and he just walked away from her. That must be when Veronica stepped in.”

Kimberly nodded slowly, playing with her hands. “I don’t want to be mad at you.” She admitted.

“That would be a desirable outcome of this conversation.” Billy agreed.

“Seriously.” Kim complained, pushing his shoulder a bit.

“I almost lost you this time Kim. It would kill me to have saved you only to lose you again.”

“You big dork.” Kim half teased him, wrapping Billy in a huge hug. “You’re lucky I love you so much.”

Billy smiled at that, sighing to himself in relief. “I hope you'll consider forgiving Katherine as well. Her actions were well intentioned.”

Kimberly clenched her jaw in thought. “I don’t know about that." She muttered. ” I’ll think about it, but Kat and I don’t have the history you and I do for me to look back on and know you didn’t mean any harm.”

Billy was silent, remembering what had happened between the two girls before Kimberly left the team, and who the fighting was over. “And Tommy?” He finished.

Kimberly growled. “He betrayed me Billy.”

“He thought you were broken up.” Billy replied carefully.

“He was hurt and angry, and chose to sleep with someone who would hurt me when I found out. Who does that sound like?” Kim asked.

“Sounds like an evil Ranger.” Billy said quietly.

“I can’t trust him after this. What if we get into another fight? Would he do it again? I mean, he didn’t even check to see what had happened, he just believed that I would do something so heartless and wanted to do something heartless back.”

“We're still a team Kim.” Billy reminded her.

“Not anymore.” She said, shaking her head before slowly getting up off the bed, walking towards his door. “I’ll see you at my ‘surprise’ welcome back party.” She said quietly, nodding at him before leaving.

Chapter Text

“Are you ready?” Jason asked her later that night. Kimberly nodded, running her fingers through her hair. He had ‘picked her up’ near the airport, and they had worked on their story on the way home. Jason had already told his parents that she had called and said she was on her way, and they had agreed to let her stay with them. He had played it off as Kimberly deciding at the last minute she was coming to visit, which was technically true, but they didn’t know the whole story.

“I think so.” Kim muttered, smoothing down her dress. The clothes she had packed were missing, probably having been destroyed by Goldar after she escaped. Aisha had managed to throw a few things together for her, knowing her friend’s taste well after they had lived together.

“You look good sis.” Jason said, giving her a cheeky smile. Kim had tried on several outfits, complaining nothing was working. Jason had rolled his eyes good naturedly at her before realizing the problem, Kimbelry was having problems with her broken arm. It had healed enough that the bones had fused back together, but she had lost some of her range of motion because she didn’t keep the power coin long enough. Jason had helped her into the last dress, zipping her up and whistling at her.

“Thanks Jase.” Kim said, looking at the Youth Center.

“You going to talk to him?” Jason asked.

“Not more than necessary.” Kimberly said darkly, grabbing the door handle.

“Kim, he’s beating himself up inside. You know how he gets, can’t you at least hear him out.”

Kimberly glared at Jason, her eyes narrow. “I’ve been ‘hearing him out’ since the day he joined the team. How many times did he turn against us, and I was there to help him pick up the pieces once the spell was broken? Or when he ditched us after losing his powers, and I jumped right back into his arms when he decided to show up again? He’s out of chances with me, hopefully Aisha can forgive him as long as she’s a Ranger and he’s her leader, but that’s all I can ask.”

“Kim...” Jason said, half begging.

“He almost killed me Jason.” Kim shot back, fist clenching. “Goldar kidnapped me and threw me in front of him knowing that he was angry and he played right into their hands. All the times he was turned before, he never attacked a civilian like that. This was personal, deliberate. I could have died back there and never known why my boyfriend cheated on me.”

Jason was silent, letting the words hang in the air. “Are you sure you want to go in there?” He finally asked, reaching over to wipe a few tears off her face.

“Yea, I just need a moment. Why don’t you go ahead, I’m just going to fix this.” Kimberly pointed to her face, taking a shaky breath.

“Ok.” Jason agreed, kissing her cheek before handing her the keys. “Make sure to lock up when you’re done.” He teased.

Kim hit his arm, smiling softly. “Yes dad.” She joked back, letting him leave. She took a couple of deep breaths, checking herself in the mirror. She had put some coverup on her neck, not wanting anyone to see the discoloration from being strangled. She touched her throat, remembering Tommy’s hands around her, the look of pure disgust on his face as she flailed in his arms. Blinking back more tears, she smiled, trying to look carefree. There was a good chance she’d run into Veronica or one of her friends in here, and she had to keep herself calm. She slowly got out of Jason’s truck, smiling faintly as she locked the doors, walking around the side only to slam into someone. Her heart stopped, shaking a little as she prayed it wasn’t her ex.

“Kimmy?” She heard, and her eyes opened, looking up at Skull who was looking like he saw a ghost. “Kimmy!!!” He yelled, wrapping her in a hug. “Bulky, look who’s here.” He yelled over his shoulder.

“Look at you.” Kim said, pushing herself away to look at Skull in his uniform. “Lt. Stone being nice to you guys?” She teased as Bulk came over, wrapping her in a hug as well.

“He’s not so tough.” Skull bragged before looking around quickly, making sure the older man wasn’t around.

Kimberly giggled, impulsively giving Skull a kiss on the cheek. She would forever be grateful that she learned to be friends with these two, even after all the craziness that had happened. She did the same with Bulk before glancing at the Youth Center. “Well, since Jason abandoned me, would you two care to escort me inside?” She asked in a light Southern accent.

“It would be our pleasure miss.” Bulk said, straightening up and tipping his hat, a huge grin covering his face.

“Yea, our pleasure.” Skull said, offering Kim his arm. The three friends headed inside, Bulk and Skull telling Kim stories of their training while she smiled and laughed for the first time in what felt like forever.

X

Tommy pushed up the weights, worry crushing his chest. He hadn’t heard from any of his friends after he left the command center, and he was desperate to know how his girlfriend was doing. Of course, he probably shouldn’t think of her like that, since he doubted that she would forgive him for what he had done. Probably was talking to Zordon right now about how to take his power coin away now that he’d proven to be unworthy of having it.

Rocky and Adam were working out next to him, having been chased out of the Command Center by Aisha who was furious with them for daring to not take Tommy out the second they knew what he did. Speaking of his Yellow Ranger, she was studying with Billy, Kat, and Trini, her back to him so she didn’t look at him. Zack was finishing up a class, smiling and laughing with his kids while casting worried glances at the two groups of Rangers. Tommy turned back to his weights, concentrating so hard that he didn’t even notice Jason coming in and walking casually over to him.

“Need a spot?” The former Red Ranger said.

“Thanks man.” Tommy said, He had been benching under his weight to prevent injuries, but now that Jason was here he could get a real workout in.

“Don’t thank me. Just trying to act normal.” Jason said, eyeing the crowd. “It’s about to get nuts in here.” Tommy opened his mouth to ask why, only to hear Skull’s voice ring out

“Guys, guess who’s here?” Half the Youth Center turned to look, only to see Kimberly coming in, blinking and waving at people.

“Kimberly!” Aisha shouted, jumping out of her chair, acting like she hadn’t just seen her a couple of hours ago.

“Hey Sha.” Kim said hugging her former teammate. Tommy realized then why Jason had come over to spot him- his arms had given out the second he saw her come in the door and he had managed to keep Tommy from crushing his chest with the weights.

“You two are broken up remember?” Was harshly whispered into his ear, and he struggled to breathe, knowing that he was right. Rocky and Adam had already abandoned their weights, running over to their friend. He could hear the brunette’s giggles, relief flooding over him as he realized that he hadn’t taken that away from her. He got up slowly, watching the crowd around her. Jason patted him on the shoulder before heading over as well, parting the crowd to escort Kim to the Ranger’s table.

Tommy stayed back, knowing that he wouldn’t be welcomed. Actually, it seemed like most of the male Rangers, along with Kat, were getting some variation of the cold shoulder. Tommy sighed, laying back down on the bench. He wouldn’t approach Kimberly here, where people would be waiting for a confrontation. Counting his reps, he lost himself again in the rhythm, ignoring the glances from his friends.

Finally, he stopped, getting up to head to the showers, hoping to wipe some of the filth off of him. Scrubbing down didn’t take long even with his hair, and soon he had it drying loosely over his shoulders, the ends curling from the moisture. “Ok then.” He muttered, sighing.

The door opened, and Billy walked in, eyeing him carefully. “You might want to get out there. Veronica showed up.” Tommy’s eyes narrowed, grabbing his gym bag and brushing past Billy to head out towards the rest of the group.

X

After Ernie had given Kim a huge hug, he insisted on making them all shakes. Bulk and Skull, obviously forgetting that they were supposed to be on patrol, sat down with the group, listening as Kim told them about her training down in Florida. Bulk followed up with the story about Skull and him being turned into monkey’s which had the whole table cracking up before trying to outdo each other with crazy Ranger stories.

“You never told me about the love potion.” Trini said, wiping her eyes as Skull did an impression of Kimberly fawning over him during that spell.

“It wasn’t one of my prouder moments.” Kimberly said softly, smiling at Skull who winked.

“I’m just glad we finally realized we could be friends out of it.” He said, kissing her cheek.

“Absolutely.” Kim agreed.

“Hmph. Wonder what your new boyfriend will have to say about that.” Someone chimed in, and they turned to see Veronica standing there with her arms crossed, her friends Beverly and Michele with her.

“Who asked you?” Aisha responded, ready to pounce.

Veronica ignored her, pushing her way in front of Aisha and leaning over the table towards Kimberly. “I’m surprised you’re not begging Tommy to take you back yet.” She purred, the grin on her face widening.

Kimberly swallowed discreetly, not wanting her to see the distress she was feeling. “We’re not together anymore.” She replied evenly, Rockys hand grazing her knee as if to steady her.

“I know, cause you’re a heartless bitch.” Veronica smirked to the snickers of her friends. “Or is it because he‘s already told you I’m a better lay and you know you can’t stack up?“

“Girl, get out of here. Tommy doesn’t want your skank ass.” One of the other cheerleaders that had been sitting by them piped up.

“Well Kim and I know that’s not true.” Veronica sneered back.

Kimberly stood up slowly, noticing that Billy had hurried out of the room. “I‘m not fighting you over him.” She said, hands on the table.

“That’s because you know I already won.” Veronica replied. “But really, you can’t blame the boy. You’re the one who started whoring around in Florida while he was sitting around waiting for you to come back.

Kimberly looked at her, fighting back the first thing she wanted to say. She knew that most of the school thought she had broken up with Tommy, and the only way to get back her reputation was to admit the truth, even though that would just give Veronica more ammunition to throw in her face. “Actually, I didn’t.” She told the other girl, who blinked in surprise. “One of the girls at my camp wrote that letter and sent it because she was jealous that I had a boyfriend and she didn’t.” She heard the gasps around her as everyone absorbed what she had just said.

“Oh shit.” Bev muttered from behind Veronica, realizing that her leader had just been given a gift.

Veronica took a second to recover, blinking rapidly as she computed the information before grinning like the Chesire Cat. “So I broke up the golden couple huh? Guess he was just desperate for someone to ride his-”

“Ladies.” Ernie interrupted sternly. “I’d like to remind you that this is a public space and that there are children present.” He turned to Veronica. “I suggest you leave, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to remind you of the rules here, but it will be the last.” He looked over at Kimberly. “This is your first warning Kim. I’m happy you’re here, but I won’t put up with this language at my place, understood?” Kimberly nodded, folding her arms and glaring at Veronica who rolled her eyes, gesturing with her head at her friends who followed her out.

“Wow.” Aisha muttered.

Kim felt her legs tremble, but she kept a brave face, sinking back down in her chair. There was silence at the table while everyone tried to figure out what had happened. “Jase, I think I want to go home now.” Kim said quietly. She was feeling completely drained, her arm had started to throb and her neck where the stitches had been itching.

“How about we order really quick and we’ll take it home? Mom and dad didn’t leave anything for us to have for dinner remember.” Jason said, digging for the keys Kim had given him back. He was about to offer to have her go sit in the car when Bulk spoke up.

“Skull and I can take her back to your place? We’re supposed to be on patrol at the Game Park it’s on the way.” Skull was sitting ramrod straight in his chair, glaring at a spot on the table like he wanted to burn a hole through it.

“That’s fine with me.” Kim sighed, glancing across the gym to Tommy’s ashen face. She wondered how much he had heard but found that she didn’t really care. Skull had already gotten up, offering Kim his hand, flanking her left while Bulk got her right, pushing Kim through the crowd of spectators toward the exit.

“Well this is just fantastic.” Rocky muttered, letting out a groan.

“You got that right.” Adam agreed.

“She better not come at my girl again, or I’m gonna take her out myself.” Aisha stated.

“Sha.” Kat said quietly, placing her hand on her teammate's arm.

“Nope, that girl’s just lucky I had my hoops in.” Aisha replied nastily, huffing.

“I think we all were.” Trini agreed, glancing over at the exit. She got up to go after her, but she stopped, sighing to herself. “We need to do something. This is going to get all over the school by tomorrow.” She glanced over at the cheerleaders who had been friends at Kim, the group of girls already giving Tommy dirty looks and chatting among themselves.

“Ok, we need to plan a girls night while Kim’s here. I’m thinking movies, shopping, makeovers, solving world hunger, the whole nine yards.” Aisha continued, looking at Trini and Kat.

“I don’t know if she wants me there.” Kat reminded them.

“Trust me, she’ll want you there.” Aisha replied, flipping her braids over her shoulder as Tommy finally approached them next to Billy. “Veronica just left, I’m sure you can catch her though.” Aisha said nastily to him. Tommy clenched his jaw, clamping down on his tongue so he wouldn’t say anything he’d regret later.

“Is it true?” Adam asked quietly, remembering that they weren’t supposed to know what happened.

Tommy swallowed hard before nodding, opening his mouth to respond only to get tackled from his side, landing on his butt unceremoniously in front of everyone. He looked up in surprise, knowing that there were very few people at the school who could do that.

Skull looked down at him, shoulder’s heaving as he glared at the man he had just dropped on the floor. Tommy’s heart clenched. Even if Skull had come to terms with being Kim’s friend, he was still furiously protective of her. The look in the other teen’s eyes was that of a man defending the woman he loved, and for once Tommy didn’t have a snappy comeback and a quick smile to fix what was wrong. Silently, Skull brushed his hands off, turning and walking away before Tommy could respond.

X

“Ok Kim, I think we have everything worked out.” BIlly said a few days later, smiling at his friend.

Kimberly nodded, rotating her shoulder carefully. It had been a rough week, and she was exhausted. The day after her confrontation with Veronica at the Youth Center, she had gone shopping with the other female rangers, the four girls trying to avoid the awkwardness hanging in the air. Kim tried to hide the fact that her arm was hurting from her friends, but they noticed almost right away, and once they got back to Aisha’s, Kat had practically forced her to take the Pink Ranger coin again for a few hours, telling Kim that she wouldn’t forgive herself if Kim had to withdraw from the Pan Globals because of her injuries. It worked like a charm- Kim was completely healed before they went to bed, Kat managed to hide her withdrawal symptoms while complaining about cramping.

The next day Kim had gone to the High School with Jason’s parents, speaking to Principal Kaplan and re-enrolling for the fall semester with the understanding that she might start a week or two later depending on her touring schedule. Luckily, she had always been a good student, so he was willing to speak with the teachers and put her with ones that were willing to let her make up the work when she got back. She also spoke with the cheerleading coach, who promised to save a spot with her on the roster for the next year. Kimberly had sighed with relief at that one. She wanted to move on from the Rangers, and having things to do once that was out of the picture was important to her. The rest of the day was spent at the Scott’s, organizing her room and trying to figure out where she was going to put everything. Her dad was going to pay to have her stuff shipped back, and while it wasn’t a ton, her room at the Scott’s was smaller than her old bedroom, and she wanted to make sure she had it organized and kept clean for her hosts.

The next two days had been filled with people coming to see her, friends from High School who had heard about the confrontation with Veronica and wanted to check in on her and get the juicy details about what Tommy had done and offer her ‘comfort.’ Kim managed to steer the conversations away from that, but it left her tired and crabby, a state she still found herself in the next day when she agreed to follow Billly to the Command Center and have herself scanned by Alpha while Zordon watched silently.

“HOW ARE YOU EELING KIMBERLY?” Zordon asked after Billy announced that the tests came back normal.

“Honestly, I’m exhausted. I feel like my strength is just gone.” Kim said, smiling faintly at Billy when he announced everything came back clear.

“THAT IS PERFECTY UNDERSTANDABLE. YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT, IT’S GOING TO TAKE TIME TO FEEL LIKE YOURSELF AGAIN.” Zordon told her.

Kimberly nodded, glancing at Billy. “Can I have a second with Zordon?” She questioned him and he nodded, turning and walking away. Zordon was silent, watching her carefully. “Zordon, when I come back, I don't’ want to be a Power Ranger again.” Kim said softly when he left, looking up at her mentor.

“KATHERINE HAS YOUR POWER COIN KIMBERLY.” Zordon replied, pretending that he didn’t understand what she was saying.

“That’s not what I meant. I don’t want to help out when I come back.” Kim said firmly, looking at her mentor.

“I WOULDN’T FORCE YOU TOO.” Zordon told her.

“I just want to be normal. I want to be a teenager, not a superhero.” Kim shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t want to worry about being held captive again, or dangled in front of someone like a prize.” Kimberly said bitterly. Zordon nodded, looking deep in thought.

“KIMBERLY, IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE INVOLVED WITH THE RANGERS ANYMORE, I WILL DO MY BEST TO KEEP YOU OUT. HOWEVER, I REQUEST THAT YOU THINK ABOUT IT BEFORE GIVING ME AN ANSWER. I KNOW ALPHA AND I WOULD MISS YOU BEING HERE, JUST LIKE WE MISSED TRINI, ZACK and JASON WHEN THEY WERE GONE.” Kimberly huffed, crossing her arms in frustration. “THERE’S NO WAY TO PERMANATELY CUT YOU OFF FROM THE MORPHING GRID KIMBERLY. YOU DIDN’T NOTICE IT WHEN YOU WERE IN FLORIDA, BUT NOW THAT YOU’RE BACK YOU’RE GOING TO FEEL A PULL WHENEVER KATHERINE USES HER POWERS.” Zordon reminded her.

“I can’t be around him Zordon.” Kimberly said softly, closing her eyes. “Even thinkng about being in the same room with him makes me sick.” She continued.

“I WISH I COULD MAKE THIS BETTER FOR BOTH OF YOU KIMBERLY.” Zordon told her, feeling their pain acutely through their links to the morphing grid. She nodded, fidgeting, refusing to say anything else. Zordon watched her silently for a few minutes before turning from him, looking down the hallway Billy had gone through a moment. “RUNNING ISN’T GOING TO FIX ANYTHING.” Zordon told her firmly.

“I’m not trying to run, I’m trying to...” Kim paused, thinking through what she wanted to say. “I don’t want to confuse anything.” She finally said. “I feel like I’d just be in the way at this point.”

“UNDERSTOOD.” Zordon said, sighing to himself. “KIMBERLY, JUST REMEMBER THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MY PINK RANGER. I AM EXTREMELY PROUD OF YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED, AND YOU ARE GROWING INTO A WONDERFUL YOUNG WOMAN.” Kim bit her lip, blushing a little. “HOWEVER, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT ZEDD AND RITA WILL LEAVE YOU ALONE IF YOU ARE NOT INVOLVED IN THE POWER RANGERS. TRUTHFULLY, UNTIL THEY ARE DEFEATED I CANNOT PROMISE THAT YOU’LL BE SAFE. I’M SORRY.” Zordon told her.

“How can I be part of a team when I don’t trust anyone anymore?” Kim asked him, wringing her hands together.

“THAT IS A QUESTION YOU WILL HAVE TO ANSWER YOURSELF.” Zordon told her. “BUT I CAN TELL YOU- YOUR FRIENDS HAVE MISSED YOU A LOT, AND IF YOU GIVE THEM A CHANCE THEY WILL BE THRILLED TO BE AROUND YOU AGAIN.” Kimberly gritted her teeth, nodding once in agreement. “I WILL WORK OUT A PLAN FOR WHEN YOU COME BACK. THE RANGERS ARE DOING WELL FOR THE MOST PART, SO WE WON’T NEED YOU FOR THE MOST PART.” Kimberly nodded again, letting out a puff of air.

Billy walked back into the room then, looking at them curiously. “I think I have your security figured out for when you go back tomorrow, Kim. I just need to teleport down with you to make sure it’s going to work.” Kim nodded, shuffling her feet. She was still nervous about them manipulating flight records for her cover story, but she was emotionally exhausted after this week, and just wanted to be back in her own bed.

“I WILL LET YOU TWO GO. PLEASE GET SOME REST AND BE BACK HERE EARLY IN THE MORNING.” Zordon told them,

“Will do Zordon.” Billy said, smiling at Kim. “We should probably get ready for dinner.” He suggested. Kimberly sighed, knowing that he was right.

“HAVE A GOOD NIGHT RANGERS.” Zordon said, nodding at them as they teleported out. He sighed, shaking his head sadly. He had known that Tommy was extremely upset about his relationship ending, but he had chalked most of his emotions up to regular teenager drama. If he had realized how much anger towards Kimberly Tommy was covering up, he would have forced a meeting between the two of them to talk things over. He had convinced himself that it wasn’t worth the risk- teleporting long distance like that took a lot of power and would disclose her locations to the forces of evil. He had promised his former charges that since they were no longer Rangers and no longer physically close to the Morphin Grid they were supposed to be safe from Rita and Zedd’s prying eyes, but that clearly wasn’t the case. Sighing softly, he transported himself to the Zord room, wanting to discuss the next steps with Alpha who was overseeing upgrades to the Ninjazords.

Chapter Text

“Zedd!” Rita screeched, looking around for her husband.` 1

“What is it, my little poison dart frog?” Zedd purred, walking over to his wife. “Kimberly’s back in Florida, but I can’t see her anymore, something’s blocking my signal.

“Don’t worry about her Rita.” Zedd smirked, rubbing his temple. “Just enjoy your private White Ranger show. He’s falling apart.” RIta pouted. She had a special hatred in her heart for the former Pink Ranger after finding out she had almost married Zedd back in the day. Even though Rita hadn’t liked Zedd in the beginning, she had developed feelings for him, and it turned her stomach to know that he had been obsessed over the girl who had fought so hard to destroy her Green Ranger.

33.“Wench.” She muttered, looking through her Ritascope down at earth. Tommy was sitting in the park, staring at the lake. “He’s so sad right now.” She purred, closing her eyes. She could feel Tommy’s soul near her, calling out to her in pain and agony. “Green Ranger...” She muttered, remembering the months after he had left her when she would be able to talk to him, to try to convince him to join her again.

“Rita?” Zedd asked, staring at her. She paused, shaking her head.

“His friends are all ignoring him. Now would be the perfect time to send down a monster....” Rita let her voice trail off.

“Yes. Perhaps we can bring back one of our classic ones, stir up some old memories.” Zedd said, rubbing his hands together. Rita thought for a moment before snapping her fingers.

“Finster!” She screeched, turning towards her loyal servant. “Make me a monster, bring back the Fan Man.”

“Yes Empress.” Finster said, hurrying back to his lab.

“Fan Man?” Zedd inquired.

“He was before you, back when Tommy first joined the team. Kimberly had a bad day, and Tommy walked her home. She got kidnapped and captured in a bottle, and Tommy helped to save her.” Rita grinned cruelly before continuing. “That was the day he decided to ask her out, I watched him practicing in front of his mirror for weeks before he finally did it.” Zedd nodded, deep in thought.

“So your idea is to split the Rangers apart by reminding Tommy of this time.” Rita grinned, smiling wickedly at her husband. “My dear, that is a splendid idea. I'm impressed you thought of it yourself.” He stated, ignoring the look on her face. While Finster works on that monster, we shall come up with a list of ones to send down, slowly driving the White Ranger insane in the process.

“You don’t think that....” Rita stopped, not wanting to say what she was thinking.

“Don’t worry Rita. By the time the summers over, the Rangers will be begging for mercy.” Zedd cackled to himself, enjoying the thought of finally beating the Rangers.

X

"God, I needed this vacation.” Rocky muttered, stretching his neck. They were at the Pan Globals, hanging out in the girls hotel room.

It had been a long few weeks, Zedd and Rita had constantly sent down monsters that, while weak, had some sort of significance to them as Rangers. Replicas of the first monster Tommy had fought, ones that had kidnapped Kimberly, the two that they had fought on their first date when he came back as the White Ranger, or they had used their teamwork to destroy in battle. After each one, Tommy got quieter and quieter, and they were concerned he was going to completely lose it one day. He was the only Ranger not attending, knowing that he wouldn’t be welcomed. Kim had done him a small favor and not told the parents what happened, telling her mom that they had broken up because of the distance and he had been interested in someone else that hadn’t worked out. He had told his parents that they had talked about the letter and had realized it was a misunderstanding, but they agreed not to get back together. His mom had been surprised, but she let it go, telling him that it was his decision. He barely spoke to his friends outside of Ranger duties, choosing to spend his time in quiet reflection and working out while trying to get himself back to the man he was before, the leader that his friends trusted. Aisha barely looked at him during training, working on her individual skills because she didn’t trust his judgment. Rocky was still on her list as well, whatever he had said in support of Tommy clearly upsetting his oldest friend. Adam was torn between the two, angry at the circumstances, but still concerned about his leader and his mental health.

“Agreed. Recent events have caused an extreme strain on our circumstances.” Billy agreed, glancing over at Jason, who looked like he was about to hurt someone.

Kim had caught him texting Tommy the night before, giving him updates on how she was doing. That had led to a screaming match between the two, Kimberly hurling insults about how everyone was more concerned about their precious leader than the person he had hurt. Jason had tried to reassure her that wasn’t true but she had rushed away crying, refusing to see any of her friends since. The only silver lining was that she had nailed her floor routine that afternoon, the announcers commenting that she seemed to have a little extra fire in her routine compared to her practices. Now, the first Red Ranger was sitting on the floor, leaning up against the bed that Trini was sleeping in, watching the door warily in case Kim showed up.

“I’m just glad that Kim’s arm is ok.” Trini piped inn. While Kimberly had healed from all the injuries. She had been suffering from some phantom pain i her broken arm Zordon ran tests, not finding anything, trying to reassure Kim that she was ok.

“I can’t believe how much she’s improved since she’s come down here.” Zack commented, smiling as he thought about Kim’s routine. “I wish she would reconsider goinng to the Olympics though, I think she’d be amazing.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t.” Kat said softly, playing with her hair. Things between the two of them were still strained, even though Kim had reassured her Pink counterpart that she didn’t blame her for anything that had happened after Tommy had gotten his letter. The group was quiet for a minute, turning their attention to the movie that was playing.

“One more day, and it’s over.” Jason commented after a moment.

“Yup, and then we can do our touristy thing.” Aisha said, grinning. They were in San Jose, and she was looking forward to checking out the area after the last day of the Pan Global.

Rocky’s communicator went off, and he sighed, tapping the button. “Hey Zordon.” He said quietly.

“RANGERS. I NEED YOU AT THE COMMAND CENTER. HE HAS SENT DOWN ANOTHER MONSTER AND TOMMY NEEDS HELP.” There was a collective sigh from the group before they all stood.

“We’ve got an hour before we’re supposed to be at the next event. Let’s get going.” Jason announced, hitting the button on his own communicator to accept the teleportation.

“WELCOME RANGERS.” Zordon said, nodding at the viewing globe.

“Is that...” Zack let his voice trail off, glancing at Trini.

“ZEDD HAS BROUGHT BACK HIS OLD MONSTER GUITARDO.” Zordon confirmed.

“Who’s that?” Adam asked, knowing from the glancing between his friends that this monster meant something important.

“He used Kimberly’s guitar to make music that puts people into a trance. Kim and Tommy took him out together. It was the last big battle before Tommy lost the Green Ranger powers. He had to stay behind because his powers were almost gone, but Trini, Billy, Zack and I went under Guitardo’s spell and he had to come help Kim. He managed to push her out of the way before she got captured, and they used the dagger and Kim turned her bow into a harp to defeat him.” Jason explained, watching as Tommy dodged a musical blast from the guitar.

“IT MAY NOT BE THAT EASY THIS TIME.” Zordon told them gravely.

“We can recreate Kimberly’s harp with Katherine’s power bow. That caused a great deal of damage the last go around.” Billy suggested.

“I can do that Billy.” Alpha said.

“Yea, but Kim used Tommy’s dagger to destroy Guitardo. We don't have that anymore.” Zack reminded them.

“We’ll figure it out.” Rocky said, looking at his fellow ninja Rangers. “You guys ready?” He said.

“Katherine, when you morph, your bow will be playable as a harp.” Alpha said as she nodded.

“Alright then. IT’S MORPHING TIME.” Rocky yelled, and they quickly morphed, teleporting to the park to help their leader.

X

Tommy dodged another blast, trying to keep his head int he game. He had stupidly rushed into this fight by himself, not wanting to bother his friends, trying to prove that he was still capable as leader of the Power Rangers, even if he had failed in other aspects of his life. Shockingly, that didn’t seem to work, and now he was here at the mercy of Zedd’s Guitardo, who was enjoying tormenting him.

“How about a new song, White Ranger?” Guitardo said, before breaking into the refrain of Boyz II Men’s ‘On bended knee.’ “Did you like that White Ranger?” He asked, noting how Tommy froze when started hearing the song. “I especially like the never walking again part... maybe if I do that to you Kimberly will take you back!”

Gritting his teeth , Tommy charged again, only to get blasted back again.

“My music will blow you away!” Guitardo screeched, picking p his guitar again. “Time for an original Pink/Black Ranger tune.” Guitardo started singing ‘Down The Road’ and Tommy growled, pulling out Saba with a roar.

“That’s enough!” He shouted, barely glancing at his friends as they teleported in.

“We’ve got our own music for you to try!” Kat shouted, playing her bow. Luckily, it worked,, blowing Guitardo back so the Rangers could regroup.

“Let’s bring them together guys.” Rocky suggested, and the 5 Rangers quickly threw their weapons in the air, the strings still on the bow somehow turning their attack into music which overwhelmed and destroyed Guitardo.

“Well that was something.” Aisha muttered, glancing over to see Tommy practically collapse into himself as they were being teleported back home.

“WELL DONE RANGERS.” Zordon said when they were all back at the Command Center.

“I wish Rita and Zedd would get off this rewind kick their already.” Rocky complained, reaching out to put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

“I’d love to go beat them with my Power Axe.” Zack muttered, glancing over at Trini who gave him a hug. It had bothered Zack that the monster had used something that he had done with Kimberly to hurt Tommy like that.

“RANGERS, I’M AFRAID THIS IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE.” Zordon informed them.

“How can it?” Aisha muttered.

“ZEDD AND RITA ARE WELL AWARE OF THE FIGHTING GOING ON BETWEEN YOU RANGERS. UNTIL THAT IS RESOLVED, THESE EMOTIONAL ATTACKS WILL CONTINUE.” Zordon informed him.

“You mean until we all bow down and kiss the ring.” Aisha shot back, crossing her arms.

“Sha....” Rocky said softly, trying to cover up the warning in his tone.

“Back off Rocky. I know you think that your buddy can’t do anything wrong, doesn't mean the rest of us feel that same.”

“This isn’t helping though.” Trini interjected. “Yelling at Tommy doesn’t make anyone feel better.”

Aisha turned and stared at Trini in shock. Her Yellow Ranger counterpart had been dealing with the brunt of Kimberly’s angst over her relationship, Aisha unable to make the constant trips down to Florida to check on the former Pink Ranger after getting into an argument with her parents and being grounded. “Do you remember what he did? He didn’t give a crap about helping the team when he banged another woman!”

“I just don’t like this.” Trini countered, glancing over at Tommy, who had taken his helmet off and was just standing there staring at the floor.

“We need to show a united front. This arguing isn’t doing that.” Aisha opened her mouth to argue again, only to be stopped by Zordon.

“RANGERS, I BELIEVE THAT KIMBERLY’S EVENT IS STARTING SOON. YOU SHOULD GET BACK.” The group nodded, looking over at Tommy before looking at each other.

“We’ll see you later bro.” Jason said, walking over to pat Tommy on the shoulder.

“AISHA, I WISH FOR YOU TO STAY A MOMENT.” Aisha looked up at Zordon, her eyes flashing before nodding in agreement. The rest of the group was teleported out, Trini and Kat flashing tight smiles at Aisha before they left. “ALPHA, PLEASE CHECK ON THE ZORDS.” Zordon commanded, waiting for the robot to leave before addressing the two Rangers still there. “AISHA, I HAVE WATCHED YOU FAIL TO BE A MEMBER OF THIS TEAM FOR THE PAST FEW WEEKS. WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE DEFENDING YOUR FRIEND, I MUST ASK YOU TO PUT ASIDE YOUR FEELINGS FOR THE GOOD OF THE TEAM.” Zordon said sternly.

“Zordon.”

“ENOUGH. THIS WILL NOT CONTINUE. YOU TWO WILL HAVE A DISCUSSION, AND IF AT THE END YOU CAN’T COME TO AN AGREEMENT, THEN YOU BOTH WILL HAVE TO FIND SOMEONE TO TAKE YOUR PLACE.”

Tommy’s head snapped up, and he opened his mouth to protest. “Zordon-”

“A LEADER MUST ACT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THEIR TEAM WHITE RANGER. YOUR ACTIONS WERE SELFISH, AND THEY HAVE CAUSED MANY ISSUES. I KNOW YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE AMENDS, BUT I NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAMMATES CAN WORK TOGETHER TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE WORLD. IF THAT CANNOT HAPPEN, THEN I WILL NEED TO FIND RANGERS WHO CAN.” Zordon instructed him. Tommy’s jaw clenched, and he glanced over at his former friend, whose eyes were rimmed with tears. “I WILL GIVE YOU BOTH TIME TO DECIDE HOW TO PROCEED. AISHA, YOUR FRIENDS ARE WAITING FOR YOU.” Zordon said, nodding at her.

“Thank you Zordon.” Aisha muttered, wiping her eyes before hitting the button on her communicator.

“She won’t speak to me.” Tommy said once Aisha was gone, avoiding Zordon’s eyes.

“TOMMY, I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU HAVE SUFFERED SINCE THE TRUTH WAS REVEALED TO YOU.” Zordon began quietly. “I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW HARD I MUST BE FOR YOU TO STAY ON THE RIGHT PATH WHEN EVENTS ARE TRYING TO PULL YOU DOWN.”

“Aisha won’t forgive me.” Tommy said stiffly.

“SHE MAY NOT. AND THAT WILL BE A CONSEQUENCE OF YOUR ACTIONS.” Zordon watched Tommy clench his fists again, trying to marshal his arguments. “TOMMY, YOU AND I HAVE HAD MANY TALKS ABOUT THE TRAITS YOU POSSESS THAT MADE RITA PICK YOU.” Tommy stiffened, knowing where this was going. “YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SOMEONE I WAS PROUD TO CALL MY RANGER, EVEN THOUGH I DIDN’T PICK YOU MYSELF.” Zordon hesitated, thinking over his words. “HOWEVER, YOU ARE NOT INFALLIBLE, AND YOU WILL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF WHAT YOU’VE DONE. RIGHT NOW, YOU NEED TO DECIDE WHAT KIND OF MAN YOU WANT TO BE-IF YOU WANT TO LET THIS DEFINE YOUR LEGACY AS A RANGER AND AS TOMMY OLIVER.”

“How can I make this better Zordon?” Tommy asked quietly, looking at his hands and sighing.

“BY PROVING YOU ARE MORE THAN THE MISTAKES YOU MADE, AND THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THEM.” Zordon told him. Tommy sighed, sinking back into himself. “I HAVE FAITH THAT YOU WILL TAKE CARE OF THIS TOMMY. JUST LIKE I’VE ALWAYS HAD FAITH IN YOU.”

Tommy blinked, looking up at Zordon and nodding. “I’m glad someone does.” Tommy muttered.

“FAITH TOMMY. HAVE IT IN YOUR FRIENDS AND IN YOURSELF.” Zordon advised him.

Tommy nodded, sighing to himself. “Can I go?” He asked quietly, and Zordon nodded, allowing him to teleport out of the Command Center without another word.

X

“For some reason, this reminds me of the time we got trapped in that mansion when Zedd and Rita got married.” Rocky muttered to Adam as they walked into the Winchester Mystery house. Room after room spread out in front of them, as they used flashlights to walk around.

“Don’t you dare summon them.” Adam hissed as they heard a story about a former guest who supposedly haunted the house.

“Maybe they’ll send down a ghost.” Zack said, wiggling his fingers.

“I would caution against provoking them.” Billy said, using his own flashlight to stare at a portrait on the wall.

Rocky had stopped listening, too busy backing into a corner to scare his friends. “Ah!” He shouted, jumping at Jason who looked like he was going to beat him.

“Guys, come on.” Trini said, laughing as she teased Jason with her flashlight beam. “Does Jason need someone to hold his hand?” She asked, giggling. “The boogey man might get you.”

“I’m the oogie-boogie man.” Zack started singing, dancing in a tight circle to make sure he didn’t break anything.

“Knock it off Zack.” Kim hissed, grabbing Aisha’s arm. She didn’t like scary things either, and for the first time since everything happened, she wished Tommy was here to hold her and make everything feel better. He would tug on her hand and lead her into another room, stroking her arms teasingly until she was shaking in his grasp, giggling softly. Shaking her head, Kimberly tried to get rid of the image of her ex and bury how much she really did miss him.

“Let’s keep moving.” Jason said, turning to the right and going into the next room. He moved his flashlight around, taking in the decorations when a flash of gold caught his eye. “Goldar.” He whispered, seeing his enemies' eyes glowing in the dark.

“Hello Red Ranger.” Goldar muttered, glaring at him.

“Seriously. What the hell do you want?” Jason growled, tensing as his friends slowly tinkled into the room.

“I’ve been bored lately, I’m just looking for something to do.” Goldar said, walking towards them. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done a battle.” His eyes glanced around, settling on Kimberly. “I thought you’d like to enjoy our hospitality again.” He purred, and Kimberly froze, staring at her friends.

“Nice try Goldar.” Rocky said, reaching for his morpher.

“I wouldn’t do that.” Goldar grinned, smirking at them. “Scorpina and some Tengas are in this building, along with dozens of civilians. Do you think you can get to all of them before she does?”

“There’s enough of us here, they’ll be fine.” Rocky shot back, only to hear someone screaming off in the distance.

“Better go check on that, hope everything's ok.” Goldar said, waving his hand around.

“You’re not getting her again.” Adam said, clenching his own morpher when they heard another scream.

“Do you think they’re having fun, or do you think they ran into my friends?” Goldar asked casually, grinning at the group.

“That’s enough.” Aisha grumbled, getting into position to attack.

“Do you really want to risk that here Yellow Ranger?” Goldar snarled.

“To save my friend I do.” She responded. The rest of the Rangers got ready, trying to figure out how to fight in the cramped space.

“Ok Rangers.” Goldar agreed, steeling himself, carefully tucking his wings in so he wouldn’t damage them. Adam jumped first, getting a few punches in before being pushed away. Billy went next, trying to knock him down.

“Guys, we need to make sure everyone else is alright.” Rocky said quietly to the ex-rangers.

“We’ll keep an eye on them.” Jason said, pulling Kim away so he could keep an eye on her.

“Watch out for those Tenga’s, they’re vicious.” Kat warned as she went to back up her teammates.

“Great.” Zack muttered, looking at his first leader.

“Let’s stay together.” Jason stated, pulling the girls into another room while Goldar was distracted. They walked through several rooms, having to backtrack a couple of times when they met a dead end, but not running into anymore bad guys.

“Maybe Goldar was lying.” Zack suggested hopefully.

“I don’t know if I want to take that risk.” Jason admitted. “Let’s at least see if we can find anyone else.” They kept looking, listening for the sounds of people talking.

“I heard some shrieks, but it sounded like people just having fun.” Trini said, pointing in one direct.

“We haven’t run into anyone yet.” Kim added, clutching Jason’s arm. She was determined to get out of here without being hurt, to show that she didn’t need her ex to keep her safe. “Let’s keep going.” She added.

“Freaking Goldar.” Jason muttered. “Ok guys, I’d hate to be the party pooper, but we need to contact Zordon and make sure Tommy’s on standbye. Can you guys keep an eye on the exits?” His former teammates nodded, standing at the ready with their flashlights.

“Zordon?” Jason asked, quickly telling their mentor what was going on. Alpha scanned the building, locating Goldar and verifying that no one else was in the building. Zordon told them he would contact Tommy and brief him before warning them to be careful. “Let’s go find the Rangers.” Jason declared. “Hopefully Goldar has left now that he knows we know he’s lying.” Trini glanced over at Kim, noticing that she was looking pale in the flashlight beams.

“Good thing, or we’d be throwing Kim in a princess dress again.” Zack said cheerfully, smiling at her. “I’d rather marry Zedd again then play princess for anyone.” Kimberly said bitterly.

“Whatever you say Kimmy.” Zack responded, wrapping his arm around here. “Plus as I remember it, Billy and Trini are the ones who rescued you that time too.” Kimberly blushed a little, remembering how Tommy had gotten Zordon to teleport him into her room to check on her and they had spent the whole night doing things she didn’t want to think about now.

“We only have a few minutes before the next group will start, we need to get back.” Trini said.

“Ok, let’s get going.” Jason said, starting to lead them back only to crash into someone in the next room. “What the-” He stuttered, using his light to find Tommy standing there, watching them with his arms crossed in front of him.

“You almost gave me a heart attack bro.” Zack said, exaggeratedly placing his hand on his chest. Kim rolled her eyes, casually keeping distance between her and her ex.

“Are you alright?” Tommy asked her quietly. “Yes.” She said quietly, sliding over behind Trini. She didn’t want to see the look on his face, even though she could picture it perfectly. Trini took her hand, squeezing it gently while Jason told Tommy what was going on. “Zedd thinks we captured Goldar. He’s demanding his release.” Tommy told them, glancing at Kim.

“He’d go off script or something?” Zack asked. Tommy nodded. “Great. So what’s the plan Leader 1 and Leader 2?” The former Black Ranger asked.

“Telling Goldar to get out.” Tommy said stiffly, turning on his heel, gesturing for Jason to go ahead with the light. The five moved through the house quietly until they ran into Adam.

“Tommy?” Adam asked in surprise, looking at his leader.

“Zordon sent me to check in on everyone.” Adam nodded in understanding. “Goldar took off. He seemed nervous.”

Tommy snorted, rolling his eyes. “Zedd’s not too happy with him right now.” He said stiffly, turning his body slightly so he could see Kimberly out of the corner of his eye. He took a step towards her, stumbling in the dark a second before straightening up

“Great. Can we get on with our night then?” Aisha asked, folding her arms and glaring at Tommy.

“I’ll get out of your hair.” Tommy muttered, nodding at all of them. He turned to Rocky. “Hit your communicator if you need me.” He instructed.

“Bye Tommy.” Rocky said, glancing over at Billy.

Tommy turned towards KIm, walking over to her before she could move. He leaned over, studying her carefully. Kim’s eyes narrowed when he gently reached out to touch her hair. “You’re ok?” He asked and she nodded, holding her breath. “Ok.” He said, nodding to the rest of his friends before teleporting out.

Chapter Text

“This is such a cliche.” Tommy muttered to himself as he sat in the corner, nursing a beer. With all of his friends gone cheering Kimberly on, he was stuck by himself for the first time since he moved to Angel Grove. For the first time since he walked down that alleyway and was kidnapped by Rita and became her Green Ranger he remembered what it felt like to be alone, to not have friends to rely on. So he went out, finding a party being hosted by one of his football team with enough booze to make him not feel lonely for a moment. Of course, he never really drank, and he knew that alcohol was probably not the best thing for the leader of the Power Rangers to indulge in, but he didn’t care at this moment.

“Hi Tommy.” Veronica purred, pulling him away from his thoughts. She plopped down next to him, rubbing his knee affectionately.

“Get away from me Veronica.” Tommy growled, pulling away.

“You are so grouchy. It’s a party, liven up.” She replied, reaching out to play with his ponytail. “I like you better with your hair down. It’s more fun to pull like that.” She grinned at him, rubbing his knee again.

Tommy growled again, pushing himself up and walking away from her, ignoring Veronica calling his name. He chugged the rest of the beer, grabbing another one while Mark, one of the fullbacks for the team, grinned at him. “Looks like Veronica wants you to tap that again. You going for it?”

Tommy made a face, popping the cap off his beer and taking a sip. “I’d rather burn my dick off.” He said seriously, surprised when Mark started laughing even more.

“Maybe that would give you a better chance with Kim.” He said, backing off when Tommy turned on him, his eyes narrowed.

“Don’t say her name.” He warned, feeling his skin prickle as he prepared to attack.

“Sorry man, I thought you were over it.” Mark held up his hands, backing away.

Tommy watched him go, feeling his old Green Ranger powers stinging his fingers. He gripped his beer tighter, walking away before he did something stupid. He weaved through a couple of drunks, trying to ignore a couple making out on the floor in front of him, and headed towards the back bedroom, needing a moment to calm himself. Of course, that didn't’ happen, as his communicator went off.

“Yes Zordon.”

“TOMMY, I NEED TO YOU COME TO THE COMMAND CENTER. GOLDAR IS THREATENING THE RANGERS.” Tommy sighed, teleporting himself to a debriefing with Zordon before trying to help his friends on their vacation. Kim barely looked at him while he was there, and he could feel the hatred coming from Aisha. He left as soon as possible, heading back to the party and downing shots with his o-line as a way to numb the pain.

X

Tommy adjusted the bandana in his hair, checking himself in the mirror. He knew Kimberly loved it when he wore one, often teasing him that he looked bigger and stronger with a little fabric wrapped around his head. He was wearing her favorite jeans too and had carefully picked out a shirt she had bought him

as well. He grinned, checking himself out in the mirror again. His eyes looked a little red, but that could be written off as him not sleeping very well instead of the bottle of vodka he had finished last night in his room while he thought about how to deal with the day. Kim had come into town last night, moving in with Jadon and his family. Her father would be coming in at some point with her stuff, and the team was going over to help her get organized and help the Scott’s deal with an influx of presents that have showed up from people who wanted to show their appreciation to the local hero.

Honestly, Tommy had been shocked that he was invited, but Kim seemed willing to keep the peace between them, and he was planning on doing his best to show her how sorry he was. Thus, the extra time taking care of his appearance, and the fact that he was leaving 10 minutes early to stop and grab her a smoothie from Ernie. His goal for today was to have Kim at least smile at him, to acknowledge that he still existed for the good of the team.

Aisha and Kim had had a long talk while they were on their little vacation, and his Yellow teammate had stiffly told Zordon that she would respect Tommy’s leadership while in the field if he didn’t push it when they weren’t fighting. Taking a deep breath, Tommy headed downstairs, hesitating when he saw his father standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“You heading out?” His dad asked, and Tommy nodded. “Tell Kimberly we said hello. I know your mother would love to have her over for dinner sometime soon.”

“Dad...” Tommy said, his voice trailing off as he tried to figure out what to say.

“I know things are rough between you two right now, but give it some time and everything will work out.” His father advised, smiling at his son.

Tommy huffed, wondering how much his father actually knew about what was going on. “I messed up big dad. I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me.” Tommy took a deep breath, trying to center himself.

“Tommy, do you remember the talk we had about relationships?” His dad asked, crossing his arms and looking up at him. Tommy flushed, remembering the way-too-late sex talk they had had after his parents had caught him and Kim in his room one night. “I told you that the most important thing about a relationship is trust. The second is understanding that your actions have consequences. Your mother and I didn’t approve of how quickly you decided to progress your relationship, but we also recognize how deeply you two felt for each other.” He paused, studying his son. “Tommy, does this have something to do with that girl you brought over here when your mom and I were at work?” Tommy stared at his father, feeling his pulse quicken. His father nodded to himself, sighing. “You’re 18 years old now Tommy. That makes you an adult. As such, we won’t monitor your morality. Besides, I think you’re suffering more than any punishment we could come up with.” Tommy sighed, lowering his head down. “I think your friends are waiting for you.” His father said after a minute, moving aside to let him go.

Tommy nodded silently, brushing past his father. Jumping into his Jeep, he glanced over at his passenger seat, feeling the overwhelming loneliness that he had subjected himself to. His friends were avoiding him outside of Ranger duties, he lost his girlfriend, his self-respect, and he hurt someone that he considered a sister by being selfish.

Shaking his head, he took off, picking up his order and promising Ernie that he would have Kim stop by. Pulling up to the Scott’s, he took a deep breath, picking up Kim’s cup before heading in. He opened the door, surprised at how quiet it was. Jason and his two little brothers weren’t exactly known for that. “Jase?” He called out, brow furrowed. He heard footsteps, and turned, heading to the stairs to see Kim coming towards him.

“You’re early.” She commented lightly.

“I thought we were meeting at 10?” Tommy said in confusion. Kim’s lips twisted into an almost smile, shaking her head. “You forgot to charge your phone.” She said. Tommy flushed, knowing she was right. “ My dad called, he had to get back home so he paid to have my stuff shipped here.” Tommy winced, seeing the look on her face. “Guess I should be glad he at least came to the games right?” Kimberly asked tightly, swallowing hard.

Tommy stepped forward, opening his arms. She walked down the last few steps, allowing him to wrap her in a hug. She didn’t respond but he just allowed himself to hold her for the first time since she had stepped on the plane back to Florida after Christmas. Kim pulled away after a minute, taking a deep breath.

“Jason and his dad are picking p the furniture, they should be back soon. Tri’s picking me up so we can go shopping with Kat and Aisha, I have to buy some clothes to wear for the next few days. Billy is insisting that I need a TV in my room, so he dragged Adam and Zack out to find one and rewire the entire house to make it work. Rocky is out grocery shopping with Jason’s mom and the twins.” She gave a half smile. “I thought Jase was going to pick you on his way, but apparently you missed him.”

Tommy flushed a little, shuffling his feet before remembering the drink he had put down on the counter. “I got you a strawberry smoothie.” He said, walking over to grab it. Kimberly gave him a funny look before taking a sip. “Ernie says hello by the way, he’s looking forward to seeing you.”

Kim snorted, turning away from Tommy. “I won’t be going back there for a while.” She said softly, looking at the milkshake.

“Why?” Tommy asked, not understanding.

Kim stared at him, looking surprised. “Because the last time I was there, your fuck buddy called me out in front of my friends.”

Tommy blinked, unsure of what to say. “I’m sorry.” He finally settled on, knowing there was nothing more he could say to make things better.

“I’m sure you are.” Kim replied, glancing down at her watch. “I’m going to let Trini know I’m ready. You staying here?” She asked, looking at him.

“Unless you need someone to carry bags.” He asked lightly.

“No.” Kim replied, pulling out her phone. He watched her in silence, noting how she stared quietly at him once she finished her call.

“I’ll wait for Jase then. He’ll need help getting everything in.” Tommy said quietly. Kim’s lips twitched, and for a second he caught the twinkle in her eye that told him that she was remembering why there needed to be new bedroom furniture in the first place. “Probably shouldn’t say anything about that huh?” He asked, watching as Kim pursed her lips, staring down at the milkshake in her hand.

“My stomach hurts.” She said suddenly, pushing the drink at him. “GO ahead and finish this.” She turned and started walking back up the stairs.

“Can’t we talk?” Tommy asked, watching as she froze.

“I don’t think you want to hear what I have to say to you.” She said quietly.

“I can take it.” Tommy said confidently.

"And what would that do?” She responded, still not looking at him.

“I just want to clear the air. Get us back on some sort of common ground.” He swallowed hard, thinking. “I don’t want you to hate me anymore.”

“I’m not allowed to hate you.” Kim said somewhat bitterly, whipping around finally to stare at him. “Zordon made it clear that fighting with you was hurting the Rangers, so I have to learn to suck it up and let you do you.”

“He didn’t say that.” Tommy shot back, brow furrowed.

“Why do you think he threatened Sha with losing her powers? He knew that I wouldn’t want that to happen, so he linked you two together to force the issue. God forbid anyone be angry with his precious White Ranger after all.”

“Kim...”

“Don’t bother. I want nothing to do with you Tommy. The only reason I haven’t completely shut you out of my life is not wanting Rita and Zedd to use that against the Rangers, but I have no use for you at all.” She turned back around, bounding back up the stairs and shutting the door to her bedroom firmly behind her.

X

“Hey Tommy.” Rocky said a few days later, nodding at his leader. Tommy nodded back, wincing slightly as he settled on the bench next to his friend. He had spent the past few days hiding in his bedroom, turning on music and ignoring his parents when they would try to talk to him, claiming he was feeling sick.

The only two times he went out was to sneak another bottle, trying to drown out the memory of the look of disgust on Kim’s face when they spoke the other day, and when he had to lead the Rangers in another fight. Luckily, morphing did something to the alcohol in his system, slowing its effects temporarily until he could get back home. No one realized that he was drunk, a fact he planned on keeping to himself. He knew he would have to show his face at the Youth Center today, so he had gone for a run last night for over an hour, wearing himself out so he wouldn’t drink.

Somehow he managed to make it through the morning, and now he was here, waiting for Jason so they could start planning their next class. It was only a couple of weeks until school would start, and they would begin their self-defense classes again.

“Haven’t seen much of you.” Rocky said casually, causing Tommy to jump.

“Haven’t been welcomed.” Tommy muttered, glancing at his hands.

“I haven’t really either.” Rocky admitted, gazing across the room. “Aisha’s still pretty mad at me.”

“What happened between you two anyway?” Tommy asked, knowing that it was his fault.

“It’s not important.” Rocky muttered, rubbing his hands together.

“It is when it’s my fault.” Tommy replied, sighing.

“Seriously, you couldn’t have found someone better to screw than Veronica? You can’t stand her.” Rocky asked him, wanting to know the reasoning behind what his friend had done.

“I was stupid.” Tommy replied sullenly.

“You were a selfish prick.” Rocky agreed. “I mean, even if Kim had left you, Aisha would have still been hurt knowing what you did. Not that it’s all your fault, but Kim is barely speaking to Kat right now, and she keeps sniping at Billy too.”

Tommy made a face, not wanting to deal with this. “She’s made her decisions, I don’t feel like getting involved in her fights anymore.”

Rocky watched him carefully, surprised. “It wasn’t that long ago when you would do anything to keep her from hurting.” He commented quietly.

“Yea, well that was before she kicked me out of her life.” Tommy said bitterly, laying back to lift some weights.

“Tommy, she’s hurting bad. She’s crying herself to sleep most nights, and now that she’s staying with Jason's he’s trying to keep up the lie that you two broke up because of distance so Jason’s mom keeps asking her when you two are going to talk.”

“That’s her decision.” Tommy stated coolly, lifting his weights.

“Yes, sorry, that she doesn’t want to be with someone who bangs a girl who hates her.” Rocky said drying, jumping back a bit when Tommy glared at him.” “Dude, I'm pretty much the only one on the team who isn’t thinking about who they’d like to castrate you right now, I wouldn’t look at me like that.” Rocky warned.

“Why don’t you go cry at Kim’s feet? I’m sure she’ll let you back in if you grovel enough.” Tommy grunted out between his reps.” Rocky shook his head, standing. “Glad you’re so casual about ruining the friendships you had with two people that you claimed to care about. As for me, it kills me that Aisha thinks I don't’ care that she’s hurting, and that I approve of what you did.” Rocky brushed off his hands, shaking his head as he walked away from his leader. Tommy paused, watching Rocky go and wondering how long it would be before he started feeling better about himself again.

X

Tommy headed home again by himself, wondering what he was going to do for the rest of the night. His friends had abandoned him again once the planning meeting was done, not wanting to upset Kimberly now that she was back. “This is getting stupid.” He muttered, rolling his eyes. “How am I supposed to get things back to some sort of normal if people won’t give me a change?” He looked up at the sky, wondering if he was being watched. “I hope you’re enjoying yourself Zedd.” He yelled up at him before groaning and flopping down on a bench, grumbling to himself.

“Hey bro!” Someone shouted, and he looked up to see Mark run up to him, smiling. “What are you doing?” Tommy hesitated, trying to make something up. “Man, she’s got you all twisted up now that she’s back doesn’t she?” Mark questioned, tilting his head. “Kimberly needs to get over herself, it’s not like you did it on purpose to break things up between the two of you.” He rolled his eyes while Tommy grunted. “Seriously though, you couldn’t pick someone better to bang than Veronica. That girl just screams cheap lay.”

Tommy jumped up, glaring at Mark. “You shouldn’t speak about a woman like that.” He threatened, Mark raising his hands up before backing away.

“Hey, sorry, didn’t think you cared about her that much.”

“I don’t, but I’m not going to let you trash talk someone just because you don’t like her.” Tommy said, straightening himself up. There was nothing like defending a woman’s honor to get his blood pumping and his mind cleared.

Mark reached inside his pants pockets, pulling something out. “I figured after she played with you and got you to mess up the ‘most important thing in your life you’d hate her a little, but I guess you’re just too good for that Saint Oliver.” He held something out, and Tommy accepted it, seeing that it was a baggie with what looked like pills inside. “I’ve been watching you mope around since you found out that Kim didn't’ break up with you, and I must say it’s pretty said, so I thought I’d give you something to make you feel better.” He gestured to the bag. “First one’s on the house, let me know if you want more.” With that Mark walked away, leaving Tommy staring at the bag.

X

“This is excellent.” Zedd muttered, watching Tommy carefully.

“He’s miserable without his worthless friends, isn’t he?” Rita cackled, enjoying watching her former ranger suffer.

“Yes. More importantly, he’s doubting himself and making poor decisions. How wonderful.” Zedd purred. The two villains started plotting, trying to figure out how to push Tommy over the edge.

Scorpina looked on in mild boredom, not wanting to get involved in their planning. She didn’t approve of this plan, feeling that it wasn’t worth getting involved in the love affairs of teenagers.

Goldar disagreed with her, wanting no more than to bring their former colleague to his knees, begging for mercy before being destroyed by Zedd’s staff. Goldar was especially happy about the fighting that was going on between the original Pink and Red Rangers, the knowledge that their lifelong friendship was on the rocks because of the Green Ranger put an extra spring in her husband's steps. Scorpina sighed again, tapping her fingernails on the wall.

“You seem destressed.” Finster said behind her, and she turned towards him, wondering what he wanted. “I could help if you’d like.” The genius finished, holding up something.

“What is that?” Scorpina asked in confusion.

“The love spell that I used for Zedd.” He said simply.

“What is that going to do?” Scorpina asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I did some more testing on this after I used the antidote on Zedd. Turns out, while it does cause infatuation, it also causes someone to unbury their true feelings about someone if one of them reciprocates them.” Finster explained. “When the Pink Ranger got sprayed and fell for that other human, it exaggerated HIS feelings for her and allowed her a safe avenue to try out hers. That’s why she was so eager to apologize to him once the spell was broken.”

“So you’re telling me that you can spray that on Kimberly, get her to see Tommy and she’ll fall in love with him again? I’m sure she’d appreciate that.” Scorpina asked sarcastically.

“Perhaps she would.” Finster said tightly. “After all, she still has feelings for him, or she wouldn’t want to be around him so much.” Scorpina opened her mouth to argue, only to find that she couldn’t.

“Rita and Zedd would be less than pleased.” She said slowly.

“Perhaps. Or maybe they would be thrilled to tell Tommy the only reason she’s forgive them is because of them.” Finster replied, waving the bottle around.

“I won’t do it without their permission.” Scorpina said slowly, trying to think through the consequences, wondering if it was a good idea.

“Fine, then let’s get permission.” Finster agreed, approaching his Master and Mistress.

“What is it now Finster?” Zedd asked, pulling away from his celebration with Rita to stare at his minion. Goldar appeared as well as Squat and Baboo, all three clearly having already heard Finster and Scorpina’s conversation.

“My Lord, I believe I have found a new way to hurt the Rangers.” Finster said proudly, holding out the potion. Rita froze looking at it, hoping that Zedd wouldn’t start another argument with her about how their relationship had started.

“Excellent idea Finster.” Zedd said, realizing immediately what he was thinking. “The question is, who should we have her see?”

“Jason.” Goldar said immediately, crossing his arms.

“That’s disgusting.” Scorpina said, wrinkling her nose.

“Why not? They’re not really related.” Goldar shot back. “Besides, Tommy never thought he measured up to him, what better way to prove that than to have her fall for him instead?”

Rita nodded at Goldar, looking at Zedd. “It would cause a lot of problems for the Rangers.” She agreed slowly.

“Tommy would never believe that Kimberly would fall for Jason though.” Zedd argued.

“That’s true.” Rita muttered, thinking. “What if we sprayed Jason instead, and had him fall for her? Tell Tommy that she’s been crawling into her bed at night for comfort, and they got carried away and now they’re together?”

“Ooo, can Baboo and I go down and spray them?” Squat asked, jumping up and down.

“Yes, that sounds like it would be fun!” Baboo agreed. “We never get to do anything anymore.”

“There is one downside though.” FInster spoke up, glancing at Scorpina.

“If Kimberly and Jason do not have romantic feelings for each other, the potion will only last for a couple of days at the most.”

“That’s enough time to do damage.” Goldar snapped back.

“I believe the most damage would be from Kimberly getting back together with Tommy. The feelings are still there, and it would cause Tommy more hurt to realize she had forgiven him because of a spell, and that he would have to be the one to break it and make him hurt more.” Finster said slowly. Goldar growled, his eyes narrowing.

“Oh quit complaining. You know Jason would get pissed at Tommy for taking advantage of her and not realizing she was under a spell. You put her and Jason together, she might end up getting back together with Tommy because of sheer embarrassment, and that’s the last thing any of us need.” Scorpina warned her husband.

“Well argued Scorpina.” Zedd purred, nodding at her before turning towards Finster. “You have until tomorrow to figure out how to infect Kimberly without the rest of the Rangers suspecting anything. I believe that will be enough time?” Finster nodded, bowing before stepping out of the room. Zedd turned towards Rita, smirking. “I trust you’ll keep your dim-witted brother under control until then?” He asked, and Rita shrieked, pushing Zedd away before marching away. “Women.” Zedd muttered. “Why did I get married again?”

“I have no clue.” Goldar responded, glaring at his own wife before marching away. Scorpina rolled her eyes before following Finster into his lab, wanting to be a part of whatever plans he was making.

Chapter Text

“So how does this work?” Scorpina asked Finster, holding up the canister. He smiled, staring at her. “First, we need to get Kimberly to inhale this...”

X
“Come on Kim, please come with me.” Jason begged, sitting on her bed, watching as Kim tried to pick an outfit.

“Jase...” Kimberly let her voice trail off, trying to figure out how to get out of the group visit to the park her friends had planned that day.

“You can’t avoid him forever Kim.” Jason said gruffly, crossing his arms.

“I know.” She muttered, dropping a shirt on the floor.

“Here.” Jason said, getting up and pulling a pink sundress out from her closet. “Wear this. You’ll look adorable while you go out looking for a new man in front of your ex-boyfriend.”

Kimberly rolled her eyes at him playfully before grabbing the dress. “Fine. Whatever you say big brother.” She teased, laughing.

“Make sure you put some shorts on underneath in case you want to do a few cartwheels while were there.” Jason replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Yes big brother.” She said, smirking before sighing. “Fine, I’ll go. But if he tries anything, or people start saying anything....”

“That's fair.” Jason said, nodding at her. “Now get dressed, we’re leaving in 10 minutes.” He said, winking at her and kissing her forehead before leaving her room, heading downstairs where Zack was waiting, joking around with his brothers.

“Hey man.” Zack greeted, trying to teach Joe how to do one of his hip-hop kido moves while Jason’s mom muttered under her breath. “Kim coming?” He asked, smiling at his friend’s nod. “Good. Sha’s bringing Kim's guitar to give back to her, I thought we could sing a little.” Zack danced a little bit more, laughing while the twins snickered as well.

“Zack you’re a nut.” James said, watching as his brother fell on his butt.

“Ignore him Joe. The ladies love a little dancing.” Zack encouraged him with a huge grin.

“Not that much.” Kim teased as she walked down the steps, smiling at the boys.

“Kimmy, you’re coming to our game today right?” Joe asked with a pout.

“Yes, I promised I’d come.” Kim said, ruffling his hair.

“Mom informed me we’ll be sleeping outside if we miss it.” Jason muttered to Zack who chuckled. Kim winked at them before heading to the kitchen, pulling out the pasta salad she had made the day before.

“Let’s get out of here.” Jason said, taking the bowl out of Kim’s hands and ducking a kick from James before running out the door.

“See you two at 5.” Jason’s mom said dryly, giving Kim a kiss on the cheek before heading back upstairs.

Kim followed Zack outside, sighing to herself. “You ok?” Zack asked, glancing at her.

“Yea, I just...” Kim chewed on her lip, glancing at Jason’s truck, where he was putting the pasta salad in a cooler. “I don't want to fall into old habits while I’m here.” She admitted, flushing a little.

Zack tilted his head, observing her. “You still have feelings for him don’t you?” He questioned, and she nodded with another glance at Jason.

“What’s that about?” Zack said, gesturing with his head to their original leader.

“Jason thinks we’re going to get back together.” Kim said, playing with the hem of her dress.

“Well you’re sure dressing like you want him to notice you.” Zack said lightly, knowing how much Tommy had always loved Kim’s sundresses.

“I’m not making decisions based on him.” Kim said, crossing her arms and glaring at Zack.

“I promise that if you start getting all googly eyes at him again, I will poke you on the nose and tell you to knock it off.” Zack said, crossing his heart with his fingers.

“I don’t want to be my mom.” Kimberly said miserably, staring down at her shoes.

“You won’t be. Your dad was a jerk to your mother who didn’t care about anyone else but himself. Yea, Tommy slept with someone else, but he was devastated after that letter and wasn’t thinking clearly. I mean, he almost got himself killed several times running into battle in a blind rage after Goldar would say your name to him.”

Kimberly looked over at Zack, blinking in surprise. No one talked about the time after the letter to her, not wanting to make things worse between the two of them. “All he had to do was pick up the phone.” Kimberly said, heading towards Jason.

“Yea, I know.” Zack muttered, cursing his former leader under his breath as he climbed in after her.

X

Zedd stared down at earth, watching as Kimberly and Zack talked. “Looks like Kimberly is playing right into our hands. Excellent.” He purred, turning towards Finster.

Squat and Baboo had snuck into her room while everyone was gone the day before, sprinkling a powder on her bed that dissolved quickly, but would set her up for the love potion, bringing up her unresolved feelings towards her former lover. Admitting them to Zack was the go ahead they needed, a cover so it wouldn’t look so weird when she started acting in love around Tommy again.

“How should we give her the potion?” Rita asked, crossing her arms.

“We’ll send down the Tenga’s, Goldar, and your idiot brother. They will attack the former Rangers, and make it look like a lucky grab. We also need to make sure that Tommy is the one who rescues her, or the whole thing will be for nothing.” Zedd said, calling forth his minions. “Now, the Rangers are having a picnic in the park, why don’t you give them something to distract them.” He said, nodding towards his warriors.

“We will not let you down my lord.” Goldar promised, bowing to Zedd.

“Yea, don’t worry sis, we’ll make sure that things go smoothly.” Rito grinned at her, waving his sword around.

Finster handed the potion to Goldar. “When you figure out who is going to grab Kimberly, give them this potion to infect her with after Tommy realizes she’s in trouble.”

Goldar nodded, carefully putting the potion in his pocket. “Let’s go.” He said, nodding at the rest of the group.

X

Adam threw the football towards Rocky, ducking around Billy to avoid getting hit only to rn into Trini and fall over anyway. “No!!!” Rocky yelled when Jason jumped in front of him to grab the ball, running to his end zone. Kim threw a block in, cackling when the Red Ranger fell to the ground. “You guys play dirty.” Rocky pouted from the ground, smiling when Kim ran to her teammates to do a victory dance with Zack.

“Looks like you’re having a good time.” Goldar interrupted, standing in front of Aisha, smirking at them.

“Goldar.” Tommy shouted, immediately dropping into a stance.

“Hello Rangers.” Goldar gloated, waving his sword in the air. Rito stood next to him, giggling in glee as he threatened a group of people who had been having a good time playing kickball down the hill from them.

“Great.” Jason muttered, getting into a fighting stance.

“Guys, let’s morph!” Tommy said, looking around quickly before grabbing his morpher. The other 5 current Rangers did the same, quickly changing into their ninja outfits. “Can you guys help out the civilians?” HE asked Jason who nodded, gesturing with his head to the rest of the former Rangers.

Kimberly was the only one who hesitated, looking over at her friends who were spreading out to take on the Tengas and Goldar. She put a hand over her heart, remembering being the Pink Ranger and fighting with her friends. Zordon’s words came back to her, and she took in a shaky breath, unsure if she could fight like this.

“Ranger.” A Tenga screeched, grabbing her arm.

“Get off me!” Kimberly shouted, punching the bird repeatedly. Her attack stung it for a second before it’s talons grabbed her, digging into her shoulders. She screamed in pain, ignoring everyone around her.

“Kimberly!” Tommy shouted, looking over when he heard her call out. He panicked, completely ignoring Goldar while pulling out Saba and using him to attack the Tenga who had his ex by the throat by his talons and was trying to fly away. He threw the sword, nailing the bird in the shoulder and catching Kim when she was dropped.

“Ow.” She whispered, wincing at the blood dripping down her neck. Tommy immediately teleported both to the Command Center, leaving the battle in his rash to help her. Alpha quickly took over, reassuring Tommy that she would be ok before teleporting him back to the fight.

It didn’t take long for Goldar to be set back on his heels, sending Rito for one more attack on Jason before they turned away. “Let’s get out of here guys.” Tommy ordered, watching as Trini and Zack supported Jason as they were teleported away.

“Ai-yi-yia! Jason, are you alrigh?” Alpha worried as soon as they all appeared.

“I’m ok Alpha. Nothing a little ice won’t fix.” Jason said, wincing as he grasped his shoulder in pain.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” Trini said, smiling at him while they walked carefully down the hall.

“Zack, you better come too.” She yelled over her shoulder and the former Black Ranger nodded, limping painfully after them before Adam offered him an arm to lean on.

“Rita was targeting them, wasn’t she?” Aisha muttered, crossing her arms. “She trying cause more fighting between all of us.”

Billy nodded in agreement. "It appears they think it’s beneficial to involve the former Rangers in the hopes that their injuries would cause us to be distracted in battle.” He said, glancing over at Tommy who was looking around for Kim.

“Clearly it’s working." Rocky added, watching Tommy as well.

“LUCKILY, TRINI AN BILLY HAVE COME UP WITH A WAY TO TREAT THEIR INJURIES WITH LITTLE HEALING TIME, AS IF THEY WERE STILL RANGERS.” Zordon agreed.

“Where’s Kim?” Tommy asked, not really caring about discussing this battle yet. Zordon eyed hmi for a minute before responding.

“KIMBERLY IS RESTING IN HER ROOM.” He told them, Tommy barely hearing him before taking off, wanting to reassure himself that she was ok. He heard Rocky call out his name but he ignored it, not stopping until he was in front of her door.

“Kimberly?” He called out, gently knocking, surprised when her door opened for him without complaint. He walked in slowly, eyes darting around until he saw her laying on her bed arms wrapped around a giant stuffed tiger he had given her when he first came back as the White Ranger. “Kim?” Tommy asked, approaching her. She looked up, her eyes damp with tears, the fading red marks on her neck the only indications of what had happened to her.

“He wouldn’t let me go back.” She said, her tone reminding him of a child being denied their favorite toy. “

Who?” Tommy questioned.

“Zordon. Told me I needed to stay here and heal.”

“Probably a good idea." Tommy said, standing in front of her.

Kimberly looked up at him, blinking a few times. “At least I can talk this time.” She said, an almost smirk resting on her lips. “

Yea.” Tommy said, sinking down next to her on the bed.

Kimberly didn’t get mad, instead scooting over to rest her head on his lap, obviously seeking comfort. “Thanks for saving me.” She whispered, closing her eyes and sighing.

”No problem.” Tommy assured her, his heart bating faster as she gently stroked his leg, deep in thought.

“Maybe the day will come that I don’t have to be rescued all the time.” She added, yawning.

“I hope so. I’d rather you be safe.” He assured her, reaching a shaky hand out to touch her hair, stroking it gently.

“Thanks.” Kim yawned again, closing her eyes. “Wil you stay with me?” She asked smiling when he nodded in agreement. Tommy shifted around a bit, trying to get more comfortable. Kimberly curled around him, holding him close like she used to do when they were together and he would want to comfort her after a hard battle. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes as well, leaning his head against her while they both drifted off to sleep.

X

Jason laid in bed that night, exhausted. Kiberly and Tommy had een acting weird since the fight with Goldar. He had found them asleep on the bed together in Kim’s room, having gone in to get her so they could go to his brother’s game.

She had been quiet during the game, biting her lip and staring at Tommy (the entire gang ended up going to cheer the twins on) when she thought no one was paying attention. He had rolled his eyes several times at her when she wasn’t looking, not wanting to deal with whatever feelings she thought she had for Tommy now. He had tried to talk to her after they got home, but she just brushed him off, smiling a little while she assured him that everything was fine. She had gone to bed with a dreamy look on her face, and he had collapsed on his, debating on what to say to his friend tomorrow.

If Kim and Tommy worked through what happened and got back together that was on the. However, Jason was concerned that Kim was only willing to forgive Tommy because she was still suffering from what happened that afternoon, and she was willing to fall into old patterns if it meant she felt safe.

Jason pondered talking to her in his head for a bit, until he heard movement at his door, and he sat up, watching as Kim entered his room, twisting the pink tank top she was wearing around her fingers nervously.

“Kimmy?” He whispered, stiffening a little when she crawled into bed next to him. While this wasn’t unusual, when she started wrapping herself around him like he was her body pillow he wasn’t sure what to do. While he never had feelings for Kim, he was suddenly aware of how little clothing they were both wearing, moreso when Kim’s hand slid down to rest on his stomach right above his belly button, her leg resting in a very uncomfortable spot for him. He realized that this most be how she used to act around Tommy, and since she couldn’t seek comfort with him, Jason must be the next best thing. “Kim, are you ok?” He asked her, and she shook her head.

“I almost died again today Jase.” She whispered, snuggling close to him. “I’m so tired of being targeted.”

“I know you are.” Jason said, giving her a little hug. “I’m sorry you got hurt today.”

“I’m sorry you got hurt today.” She responded, gently stroking his arm where he had gotten shot.

“Eh, just another day in the Ranger life right.” Jason said lightly, trying to make them feel better.

“Agreed.” Kimberly said with a snort, snuggling closer to him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked carefully to her sigh.

“Everything’s fine Jason. I just didn’t want to sleep alone tonight.” She assured him.

“And you chose to climb into my bed instead of...” He trailed off, not knowing how to end that sentence.

“Instead of who’s Jason?” She asked, giving him a nasty look.

“Instead of the guy that you’re crushing on.” Jason responded, knowing he had just set her off.

“I don’t have a crush on anyone. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kimberly snipped back at him.

“Fine.” Jason said, sighing. “Let’s go to sleep.” He said, trying to adjust Kim’s grip on him before working on falling asleep.

X

“Excellent.” Finster said, nodding in happiness. “So far this this going better than I thought it would.”

“She hasn’t taken him back yet.” Zedd complained, crossing his arms.

“It wasn’t designed to do that my Lord. You know the Rangers would be suspicious if she just ran back to him. Kimberly has been dosed, she was rescued by Tommy. Her heart will start beating faster for him, and she’ll start thinking about him again, but her head is going to override it for a bit. IT will remember the fact that he slept with someone else and let her friends call her a slut. Her heart will override it, and she will take him back, then he will be crshed.” Rita cackled at the thought, wanting nothing more than to completely destroy her former Ranger.

“Also, while Kimberly is fighting the spell, she will act out towards the other male Rangers, trying to find someone to direct her feelings too. That will set Tommy off and cause problems between all of them.”

Zedd nodded thoughtfully, turning towards earth. “Excellent.” He growled, a grin covering his face. “How will we know when Kimberly will be ready to take him back?” He questioned, looking down on Earth again.

X

“You ok man?” Rocky asked the next day, looking over at Jason.

“Barely.” The former Red Ranger said, yawning into his hand. “Just a long night.” He added.

“I get that.” Rocky said, stretching. “Aisha yelled at me again last night.” Rocky said, changing the subject.

“She won’t let it go will she?” Jason said warily, thinking about Kim.

“She’s so angry about what happened. I mean, I get it, but she’s taking it way to personally.” Rocky muttered.

“I see she forgave Adam.” Jason said lightly.

“Adam said that TOmmy was completely in the wrong and should be punished. I don’t feel that way. I know he did something bad, but he was truly hurting over losing Kim and he made a mistake.” Rocky sighed, huffing air out of his lungs. “Maybe they should both have given up their coins, I don’t feel comfortable with Aisha watching my back anymore, and Billy doesn’t trust Tommy after knowing what he did. Tommy meanwhile blames Billy and Kat for taking him to the ski lodge, and Kat for rejecting him which lead to his decision to sleep with Veronica in the first place. Rocky lowered his head, feeling the pain starting. It wasn’t fair that one stupid thing would cause their friendships to fall apart, but that’s where they were and they all had to deal with it.

“Maybe you’re right.” Jason muttered, watching as Kimberly and Aisha sat at a table together, taking turns glaring at Tomy who was trying to ignore them while teaching his class.

X

A week went by, and the gang started to notice a difference in Kimberly’s behavior. Aisha was the first to comment on it when Kim defended Tommy to her when she was complaining after a fight, which ended with the two girls in separate corners of the Command Center when Trini and Kat pushed them apart.

Adam was the next one to notice after getting annoyed with Kimberly when she would get distracted while they were working on their summer reading together and she kept stopping to watch Tommy work out. Jason tried to speak to her that night, but she had shut him down, telling him that her love live was no longer his concern.

Now, here it was 8 days after Kimberly was given the love potion, and she was sitting at the Youth Center, watching Tommy teach his class. “Kim, you ok?” Zack asked, trying to get her attention.

“Yea, it’s just been a long couple of days.” She said, turning back towards Zack and Billy who were watching her intently.

“You’re humming.” Billy said, gesturing towards her.

“Am I?” Kim said, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

“Yes. You’re humming. And that goofy smile on your face is disturbing.” Zack added.

“Guys.” Kimberly warned, rolling her eyes before glancing over at Tommy again.

“You need to go talk to him.” Billy said, raising an eyebrow.

“Talk to who?” She questioned innocently.

“Tommy.” Both boys said together.

“Jinx!” Zack crowed, winking at Billy when he tried to say something else.

Kimberly giggled at them, opening her mouth to say something when Veronica decided to plop herself down at their table.

“You three look like you’re having a good time.” She said smoothly, glancing over at Kim before looking over her shoulder at Tommy.

“What do you want Veronica?” Zack asked in annoyance. “

Just waiting to talk to Tommy. He seems pretty upset about something.” She purred, smiling at Tommy.

“Go ahead.” Kimberly said airily, looking at her nails.

“Excuse me?” Veronica asked while Zack and Billy eyed her in concern.

“We both know that TOmmy only slept with you because he was upset that he thought I broke up with him. If he hadn’t gotten that letter, there’s no way he would have given you the time of day.”

Veronica made a face, standing up and glaring at her. “You’re just upset I satisfied him more one time than you did the in the three years you two were sleeping together.” She hissed, balling her hands into fists.

“That’s what happens when you have a lot of experience.” Kim said sweetly, and Veronica attacked, lunging across the table at her, blinking in surprise when Billy grabbed her and pinned her to the table.

“Get off me.” She hissed.

“No.” Billy responded calmly, watching as Ernie came over.

“What’s going on here?” He questioned, frowning down at Veronica.

“He’s assaulting me.” Veronica snapped, growling when Billy finally let her up.

“I find that hard to believe.” Ernie replied evenly. “Veronica, I’ve given you plenty of warnings. I think it’s best you don’t come here again until you decide to change your attitude.” He said firmly.

“Fine. This place is a dump anyway.” Veronica said, glancing over her shoulder at Tommy, who had dismissed his class and was watching them with a frown on his face. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Veronica marched down the steps, heading towards the White Ranger. Before he could protest, she grabbed him by the ponytail and pulled him forward, giving him a long French kiss in front of everyone, finally backing away and tossing Kimberly a triumph look before leaving the Youth Center.

“She needs to be slapped.” Zack commented, smiling at Kim who looked a little pale.

“Affirmative.” Billy said, sitting back down.

Kimberly looked over at him, smiling gently. “Thanks for defending me.” She said, leaning over to give her friend a big hug.

“Anytime.” Billy said, kissing her forehead. Things between the two of them were still a little bit delicate, and Billy hoped that this would help to heal the divide between them.

“That was gross.” Aisha interrupted, plopping down at their table and glaring at Tommy.

“He looks a little green doesn’t he?” Zack said, studying the Ranger leader carefully. “I don’t think he enjoyed that at all.” They had all seen Tommy aggressively wipe his lips off in disgust after Veronica walked away.

Aisha glanced over at Ernie, wanting nothing more than to run after Veronica and give her a piece of her mind but not wanting to upset the man who was practically another parent to the group.

“Down mama.” Kim teased, patting her friend’s hand, flipping her hair over her shoulder so she could catch a glimpse of her ex, who was starting to break down after his class. “I’ll be back.” She said, getting up and trotting over to him, trying to slow the beating of her heart.

“Hi Tommy.” Kimberly said nervously, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Hey Kim.” Tommy responded, flashing her a smile. Kim eyed him carefully. “Just picking up after class.” Tommy continued, putting away a mat. “You ok?” He asked, tilting his head to study her.

“I.. Wanted to talk to you.” Kimberly admitted, smiling at her feet.

“About what?” Tommy asked, his heart beating faster.

“I’m feeling a little... off, and I wanted to talk to you about it.” Kimberly said, still not meeting his eyes.

“Ok. Let me finish up and we can go for a walk?” Tommy suggested, and she nodded, smiling at him before going to settle back by their friends, staring at the table. Tommy cleaned up quickly, not wanting to keep her waiting. He could feel Aisha’s eyes going back and forth between them, and could practically hear here demanding to know what was going on. Tommy took a deep breath once he was done, approaching his friends with a smile on his face. “Ok if I clean up real quick?” He asked, looking at Kim. She nodded, still not looking at him before turning and waving at Kat who had just wandered in. Tommy walked quickly towards the showers, brushing past Bulk and Skull who had been watching his class as well.

X

“Finster, why is this taking so long?” Zedd asked, staring down at the Rangers. “I thought they would be back together already.”

Finster sighed. Zedd and Rita weren’t well known for their patience, which could be frustrating at times. “My Lord, she’s almost ready. Her mind is fighting the potion because it knows she shouldn’t be with him anymore, but the part of her that loves him is coming out more and more. She just needs a push to make her move.” He explained quietly, watching as the scene at the Youth Center unfolded.

X

“You ready to go back to school?” Tommy asked, looking down at her. They had decided to walk through the park, taking care to stay away from the places that meant something to their relationship. She had a haunted look in her eyes, and from what Jase has admitted to him, she wasn’t sleeping very well either.

“I guess.” She whispered, shrugging. “It’s weird, I’m not used to being normal anymore.” She looked down at herself. “

I guess going from Power Ranger to Pan Global superstar can do that.” Tommy said, surprising himself by reaching over and squeezing her hand. He was surprised at her looking up at him, giving him a megawatt smile.

“I’m looking forward to normal life. No gymnastics I don’t want to do, no Ranger duties, it will be great.”

Tommy bit his lip, not wanting to argue with her. He couldn’t imagine being happy without powers, but after everything she had been through, he certainly couldn’t blame her. “We miss you.” He said, blushing a little. Kimberly hadn’t come to the last two meetings, and Zordon had admitted she told him she didn’t want to be called unless there was no other options. She looked away, debating something before deciding just to say it.

“I just...” Kim took his hands, looking up into his eyes. “I want to feel safe again. I don’t know how to do that without you.” She tugged his arm, pulling him down into a long, expressive kiss.

X

“And finally, she tells him she wants him back.” Finster said with satisfaction.

Chapter Text

Tommy woke up the next morning, fighting a hangover. After they kissed the first time Kimberly had jumped in his arms, wrapping hers around his neck before kissing him again, practically choking him with her tongue. He had slammed her up against a nearby tree, fingers gripping her thighs under her skirt. They pulled apart a few minutes later, taking a few deep breaths before Kimberly pushed him away, taking off running as soon as her feet hit the ground. He had followed her at a distance to make sure she got back to the Youth Center safely. He then went home, tossing back shots of vodka while he moped in his room. Luckily, his parents weren’t home, so he didn’t have to worry about lying to them like he’d been doing for weeks. He curled up in bed, staring at the wall until he fell asleep.

Groaning again, he tried to sit up, wondering why his head hurt so much. He didn’t bother to get dressed, heading downstairs, hoping that his parents would have gone somewhere without him. No such luck, and he groaned internally when he heard Jason talking with his parents. “Hey bro.” He muttered when he saw Jason, nodding at him.

Jason laughed at his appearance, taking in his messed up hair and the faded boxers he was wearing. “You don’t dress for company?” He asked the White Ranger, a smirk covering his face.

“This is as close to formal attire as my son gets.” His mother sighed, shaking her head.

“It’s just Jason.” Tommy replied, opening the fridge to find something to eat.

”Don’t forget my roomie.” Jason said in a teasing voice. Tommy whipped around, staring at him.

“She’s outside with your father. Might want to go get dressed young man.” His mother said, eyes twinkling in amusement. Tommy took off, running upstairs, quickly tying his hair into a ponytail, cleaning up in the bathroom and throwing on some clean clothes. He tried to control himself walking back down the stairs, hearing his parents chatting on the back porch. He walked out, fighting back a headache at the feel of the warm sun, wishing he had thought to drink some water last night before bed.

“She’s weeding the side yard.” His mother said, waving a hand. “You know that girl and plants.”

Tommy smiled softly, practically jumping off the porch in his hurry to go see her. He didn’t see Kim at first, huffing in annoyance until she appeared from behind a bush. “Hey." Tommy said softly when she looked up at him. “Hi.” She replied, looking back down at the plants in her hands. “Your mom did a good job keeping this up.” She commented, smiling.

“She wanted to keep it up for you.” He replied.

“That was sweet of her.” Kimberly said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“I used to come out her to think about you” Tommy admitted, sitting down next to her.

“Even after our breakup?” Kimberly asked quietly.

“Yes.” Tommy said, swallowing hard.

“I thought you hated me.” She replied.

“I hated myself more. For not being strong enough to confront you and just letting you walk away from me. I regretted from the moment it happened.”

KImberly looked over at him, gently placing a hand on his arm. ”You mean that?” She asked, looking up at him.

“I do.” Tommy reassured her, kneeling next to her. Kimberly flinched, pulling away from him. “Kim?” He asked, watching as something flashed in her eyes before she smiled at him, sitting up taller so she could kiss him again.

X

“This is working splendidly.” Zedd said, watching as the two ex-lovers vowed to work things out between them. “Almost too splendidly. FINSTER.” He yelled, waiting for the minion to come over. “What are the drawbacks to this spell?”

“What do you mean Lord Zedd?” Finster asked carefully.

“I want to limit the chances that she breaks it before we do our big reveal. What do we need to do to keep her under the spell?”

Finster clenched his jaw, considering. “The original love spell overrode common sense to get the person to fall in love with the first person they saw, which is why Kimberly fell for Skull despite her misgivings about him as a potential mate. This new version suppresses Kimberly’s feelings towards what Tommy did with that woman if their relationship is the same as it was. We may have to interfere and let Tommy rescue her a few times depending on how long you wish this to go my lord.”

Zedd nodded in thought, glancing back down to Earth. “I’m enjoying this so far, I may not throw you out with the trash.” Finster chose to say nothing, bowing and backing out the door. “Let’s so how long we can play this.” He muttered, grinning before he went to find his wife.

X

“So you two are back together again?” Aisha asked in surprise, looking at her friend. Kimberly nodded, studying her nails. She had spent the day with Tommy and his parents, hanging out and talking about the Pan Global and her decision not to go to the Olympics. Tommy then took her out to dinner, driving over to Stone Canyon so they could go somewhere where nobody would notice them, and they could enjoy themselves without whispers and rumors.

“Yes we are.” Kimberly said, a flutter of disgust in her stomach before she squashed it down, smiling at Aisha.

“Are you sure about this?” Kat asked, touching her fellow Pink’s shoulder.

“Of course I am. I wouldn’t have agreed to it if I didn’t want it.” Kim said, starting to get annoyed by her friends.

Trini was sitting in the corner, watching her best friend carefully before she spoke up. “We just want to make sure.” Trini finally chimed in. “You were pretty adamite that you wouldn’t forgive him for this, especially after Veronica confronted you at the Youth Center.”

Kimberly shrugged, looking awa from her friends. “I’m still in love with him.” She said, the weird feeling in her stomach that had been there since yesterday disappeared for a second.

“Girl, do I need to knock some sense into you? How can you trust someone like that?” Aisha asked her in surprise.

“I just can Sha. I wish you would understand that.” Kimberly said, eyes narrowing a little.

“I hope you don’t expect me to forgive him. He’s a piece of crap Kim. I get that he puts on the uniform and all of the sudden he’s your White Knight again, but this is the guy who was willing to throw you under the bus because of a letter that he never vetted to find out if it was true. The guy he tried to hook up with your friend-” She stopped and pointed at Kat, who flushed and looked miserable “-Before sleeping with someone who he knew would hurt you. Who blocked us from looking for you, and who ignored the warning signs that you were in trouble so he could sit and mope.”

“That’s enough Sha.” Trini said carefully, noticing the look on Kat’s face.

“It’s all the truth.” Aisha replied stubbornly.

“He didn't’ force anyone to participate in any of that either.” Kim said, crossing her arms and giving Kat the side-eye.

“That's true too.” Trini said.

“I know Kat stopped yourself before things got too far, but you’ve flirted with Tommy before and he just ignored it. This time he didn’t, like some....” Aisha stopped, seeing the look on Kat’s face. She sighed in frustration, pushing away her ice cream. The girls had gone out for lunch, wanting to get away from the boys for awhile.

“How about we talk about something else. Kim, if you’re happy we’re happy but just be careful. We don’t want you just running back into things because they feel safer.” Trini said, smiling at the rest of her friends.

“I think that sounds like a good idea.” Kat said, sitting back in her chair.

“Fine. But if you change your mind Kim, I got a kitchen knife with his name on it.” Aisha promised after a minute, crossing her arms and glaring.

“Save that for Veronica.” Kim snapped, rolling her eyes at Aisha.

“Oh I will.” Aisha promised.

“Are you ready for volleyball tryouts Trini?” Kat asked, grasping at straws to change the subject.

“Yup. I’ve been doing my exercises I feel fit as a fiddle.” Trini smiled, rubbing her aching forearms.

“I hope so after the hour of practice you made me do with you the other day.” Kim teased shaking her head.

“That’s nothing compared to what you used to make me do for you for cheerleading practice.” Trini shot back with a small grin.

“Hey, you’re the one who volunteered.” Kim said, leaning forward as she told the other two girls the story of how Trini had almost taken out the entire cheering squad with a badly stacked pyramid.

X

“HI Tommy.” Kimberly said a couple of days later, getting up on her tiptoes to kiss her boyfriend.

“Hi Kim.” He responded, wrapping his arms around her before deepening the kiss. He was thrilled that Kimberly was giving him another chance, even though the voices in his head were stating that he had reasons to be concerned. “What are you up to?” He asked carefully.

Kimberly shrugged, reaching up to play with his ponytail. “I have cheerleading tryouts tomorrow.” She said quietly. Tommy grinned, remembering all the times they had made out under the bleachers during football season. From the blush on his girlfriend’s cheek’s, she was remembering that too.

“Kimberly!” Aisha shouted, distracting both of them.

“Hey Sha.” Kim said, placing a hand on Tommy’s chest.

Aisha glanced over at him, eyes narrowing a little before turning and addressing her friend. “You wanted me to watch you practice?” She asked, and Kim nodded.

“Tommy’s not very helpful with that.” She teased, smiling at the White Ranger.

“I’m sure.” Aisha said dryly, rolling her eyes.

“You two go ahead. I’m going to go workout then I'll meet you for dinner, ok?” Tommy said, dropping a kiss on Kim’s cheek before nodding at Aisha. He hurried away, trying not to look back at Aisha who he knew was glaring at his back. It would take time, but he knew that Aisha would forgive him if her friend did. He made his way to the Youth Center, checking his watch when he noticed that Zack and Adam weren’t there yet. “Seriously.” Tommy muttered, annoyed that he would have to wait for them. Then again, he had made them wait for him multiple times, so he figured turnabout was fair play.

“Hey man.” Zack finally said, grinning at his friend.

“Where have you been?” Tommy asked, giving him the look.

“Sorry, we got stuck outside talking to Bulk and Skull.” Adam supplied, looking at Zack.

“Over what?” Tommy asked, crossing his arms. Things between him and the two class clowns had gotten worse over the past few weeks, and he really didn’t feel like dealing with them.

“They’re really not your biggest fans.” Zack said, shrugging. “I think Skull wants to go Round Two with you.”

“You mean he wants to sucker punch me again.” Tommy muttered, glancing at the Youth Center door.

“Yea well....” Zack seemed to be thinking about what he wanted to say next. “He’s not exactly thrilled that the two of you are back together.” He finally settled on.

“Well he’ll have to deal with it. Not like Kim would have given him a chance if I wasn’t in the picture.” Tommy snapped back.

“Tommy.” Adam said quietly, raising an eyebrow.

“No. It’s bad enough that Aisha is trying to throw a wrench in my relationship, I won’t have some cop wannabe doing the same thing.”

“Hey. Don’t be a jerk.” Adam warned. “We’ve all defended you to Aisha, but she’s still hurt by what you did. And quite honestly, I don’t really blame her.”

Tommy glared at Adam, brushing off the Black Ranger’s hand off his shoulder before glaring at him. “Whatever.” He grumbled. “She needs to get over it.”

Adam’s eyes narrowed, and Zack realized too late that he should step in-between the teammates. “Maybe you were too busy trying to get into Kim’s pants that day, but Aisha was devastated when Veronica didn’t let her into the club. Then she was embarrassed when Veronica spread it around school that her family was poor and couldn’t afford to pay their bills even though that wasn’t true. One of her buddies even tossed a $20 at her to ‘help her keep the lights on.’ Let’s not forget how Veronica and her friends jumped Kim and Aisha after Veronica was taken out of the club. I know you spent a lot of time playing doctor for your girlfriend after that day.” Adam practically snarled. Tommy’s face went white, his lips pressed together tightly. There were several beats of silence, then he turned and marched into the changing room, not wanting to be around his friends any longer.

X

“Congrats again Kim!” Lorraine Marks said, giving the brunette a huge hug. “We’re so happy to have you back on the team.”

Kim smiled, giving her a hug back. “I’m excited too. I’ve missed this.” She admitted.

“Yea, I’m sure, when you were getting ready for the Pan Global you were really missing old Angel Grove High.” She teased and Kim laughed, tossing her hair.

“Well, maybe not all the time. But I did miss my friends, even when I was busy during practice all day.”

“That sounds rough.” Lorraine said, turning her head when she heard Veronica snort. “Go away Roni, no one was talking to you.” She snapped, rolling her eyes at Kim. Veronica was a cheerleader as well, which mean that Kim would have to deal with her since she made the team.

“Sorry, didn’t know Ms. Perfect was so lonely all the time. Maybe she should have called her friends more often.” Veronica said, glaring at her teammate.

“All that matters is that I’m back now, so you don’t need to worry about me anymore.” Kim said sweetly, reaching out to pat Veronica on the cheek. She wasn’t sure where this sarcastic side of her personality came from, but it was honestly all she could do not to rip Veronica’s face off. “Thanks for your fake concern though, it’s almost touching. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I had to go take a shower before someone comes to pick me up.” She winked at Veronica, heading into the locker room.

“This is going to turn into a mess, isn’t it?” Becky Peone said to her, already toweling off her hair. “But don’t worry, I’m happy that things are getting back to normal here, well as normal as things can be between school and constant monster attacks.”

“That’s one thing I don’t miss.” Kim sighed, glancing over her shoulder. “Do you mine hanging out for a bit?”

“Veronica bothering you again?” Becky asked.

“Yup.” Kimberly said with a sigh.

“Go ahead. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Thanks Becky.” Kim said, smiling at her friend. Becky and her had been cheerleaders for years together, and used to hang out all the time before Kim became a Ranger.

“No problem. Can’t stand her anyway.” Becky had been almost kicked off the cheerleader squad because Veronica kept picking fights with her, which had led to more fights within the squad. Kim cleaned up quickly, putting on a sundress and fixing her makeup, slipping into her trusty boots. “Big plans for tonight?” Becky asked when she came out, smirking at her.

“Maybe.” Kim shrugged. For some reason, the idea of seeing Tommy right now was not appealing to her.

“Well, we’re going to go out tomorrow to celebrate the team getting together, no men allowed!”

Kim nodded with a giggle. “Sounds like a plan to me. I love it.”

“Come on, I’ll walk you out.” Becky said, linking arms with Kim, walking right past Veronica and her friends.

X

Rocky walked over to the school with Tommy, wanting to spend time with his friend. He had spent 29 minutes listening to Aisha rant about how she didn’t trust her leader and that she thought something shady was going on with the whole ‘Tommy and Kimberly’ situation. He could tell something was bothering Tommy as well, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. “I’m just glad we have another few days before our practice starts.” He said quietly, glancing over at Tommy.

“Yea. I need a few more days to get my arm in order.” Tommy said, rotating his shoulder. He had hurt it slightly rescuing Kim the other day, and for some reason it was still bothering him.

“I'm sure you’re just waiting to see Kim in her cheerleading outfit again.” Rocky teased to Tommy’s blush. The first time Kim had worn her outfit in front of him, Tommy had gotten sacked by Bulk, practically burying him on the turf in glee.

“I’m trying to keep those thoughts under control.” Tommy muttered, shifting nervously. “I don’t want Kim to think I’m just getting back with her so...” He trailed off and Rocky’s grin grew.

“So you two can go back to banging like bunnies all the time?” The glare he got was well worth the dig though. Tommy shook his head, trying to fight off images. “You guys ok?” Rocky asked, his smile disappearing as he asked the question that was bothering me.

“I think so.” Tommy admitted. “It’s just...” Something was nagging at the back of Tommy’s mind, but he wasn’t sure what it was.

“Seems a little too easy?” Rocky suggested.

“Yea, I guess.” Tommy sighed as they walked into the school, heading towards the gym.

“Think we’ll see some of the girls in uniform?” Rocky asked, grinning.

“You shouldn’t get distracted by the cheerleaders.” Tomm warned with a half smile.

“Guess I’ll just have to get as good as you are.” Rocky shot back.

Tommy shrugged, looking around before commenting “It’s a lot easier when you’ve already seen one naked.” He grinned wickedly, and Rocky groaned, shivering.

“Really? I don’t want to think about that.” He complained. Tommy grinned wider. “Why couldn’t I be Jason.” Rocky muttered.

“Why would you want to be Jason?” Kimberly asked, arching her eyebrow as she looked at the two boys.

“Um...” Rocky said, trying to figure out how to backtrack. Tommy blanched, not wanting Kim to have heard what he was saying.

“Just because he’s a better fighter than I am.” Rocky managed to stutter out.

Kimberly rolled her eyes, waving goodbye to one of her friends before turning to address them again. “Any reason why I’m getting two escorts today?” She asked curiously.

“Just bored.” Rocky said, winking at his friend.

Tommy leaned down to give her a kiss, surprised when she flinched at his touch. “Kim?” He asked quietly, looking at her in concern.

“Yea?” Kimberly said, not making eye contact with him.

“Hi Tommy.” One of the cheerleaders interrupted, giving Kim a dirty look.

“Hi Bethany.” He muttered back, pulling Kimberly to him.

“Is the happy couple back together?” She purred, and Tommy smiled briefly.

“That’s so sweet.” She fake giggled flipping her hair back. “I’ll make sure to let the girls know.” She said, fluttering her fingers at them before leaving.

“What a bitch.” Rocky muttered, turning to look at Kimberly. Tommy had her wrapped in a hug, and she looked like she was fighting every instinct not to push him away and run. “Hey Kimmy?” He asked, tilting his head to look at her. “You ok?”

Kim nodded, using Rocky as an excuse to turn away from her boyfriend. “I’m fine, it’s just been a long day and I want to go home.” She said quietly.

“I’ll take you.” Tommy offered, trying to take her hand only to have her pull it away.

“I’m good. Trini’s practicing for volleyball tryouts, I’ll just wait for her.” Kim smiled briefly at them before turning and practically running to get away from them, completely ignoring the fact that they had plans that night.

“That was weird.” Rocky muttered, trying to avoid the crushed look on his leader’s face.

X

“FINSTER!!!” Zedd yelled, watching the exchange between Tommy and Kim.

“Yes my Lord?” Finster asked, looking at him.

“Kimberly’s acting funny? What is going on?” He asked in annoyance.

“What do you mean?” FInster asked curiously. Zedd quickly outlined what he had just seen, and Finster nodded. “Kimberly spent the day with the girl who slept with Tommy. As I told you before, the spell works of her affections towards him. IF she spends too much time around people who remind her of why she broke up with him in the first place, then she’s going to start pushing him away again.”

Zedd growled, slamming his fist down. “So we need to do another attack?” He asked snarky, remembering what Finster had said before. “Alright. Let’s send down Rito and the Tenga’s.” He sniped, staring down at Earth. “Hopefully Rita’s idiot brother can do something right for a change.”

“Doubt it.” Goldar said from the corner he had been standing in. His main henchman had been in a mood the past few days after his own wife decided to take a trip without him, not wanting to participate in the games they were playing.

“Goldar, I want you to go down and observe how she reacts. We need to keep this going on a few more weeks to really get an impact. Goldar nodded, smirking before he bowed to his master and left to go hide at the park.

X

“Well that was a great time.” Jason muttered under his breath as he hobbled into his house, flopping down on the couch. Tommy followed him, sitting down next to his best friend while trying to lock eyes with his girlfriend.

Kimberly had been ignoring him since they had gotten into a battle with the Tenga’s. She had gotten grabbed, and instead of calling for him like she used to do, she had shrieked for Adam who was closer, and he managed to defeat them, pulling her away for a second so she could get her bearings. Rito had tried to grab Jason next, but Rocky and Tommy had managed to subdue him, causing their enemy to run away with his tail between his legs. Once they were done, the team split up, with Tommy insisting on walking home with Jason and Kim even though she protested they were fine.

“I’m going to go take a shower.” Kim muttered, wiping something off her sleeve before getting up.

“You ok?” Jason asked, looking up at her.

“Yea, just tired.” She said.

“Well, look who decided to come home.” Jason’s mom said, leaning against the doorway. “And where have you kids been?”

“There was an attack at the park.” Jason said.

“And you thought you could help.” She finished. It wasn’t the first time that the kids had been involved in a fight, often helping people escape the attacks.

“Yea, I tripped over a branch on the ground.” Jason muttered, smiling at his mother who was looking at his ankle in concern.

“I’ll get him some ice.” Kim said, pulling out a pack and handing it to her friend. “I’ll see you tomorrow Tommy.” She said softly, not really looking at him before heading upstairs.

Tommy frowned as she left, glancing over at Jason sadly before taking a deep breath. “I guess I should get going.” He said. “Let me know if you need me to teach your class tomorrow bro.”

“Thanks Tommy. I should be ok.” Jason said, rotating his ankle slightly and frowning at the pain.

“Bye.” Tommy smiled at Jason’s mom, wishing her goodnight before practically running out the door. .

Chapter Text

Tommy was trying to sleep, staring up at the ceiling. He had dragged himself home after the fight, sitting through a quiet dinner with his parents before doing his homework, texting Kim several times to try to convince her to talk to him only to get ignored. That left him here, laying on his bed and remembering all the stupid things he had done that had led him here. His right arm had been shaking, and he was dying for a drink, but he didn’t want to be drinking if Kim decided to call back. He even pulled out the little pouch of pills that he had been given, debating on taking them but deciding not to.

Sighing, he rolled over, exhaling slowly to try to get himself under control. Closing his eyes, he tried to drift off, clutching his pillow to him as he tried block the depressing thoughts from his mind.

X

The next few days didn’t get any better for him. Sleep hadn’t come easy to the White Ranger, and after 3 nights he was beyond exhausted. Jason’s ankle had started bothering him again so Tommy had to cover his class when all he wanted to do to was sleep all day. He went through the motions, helping the kids through a kata while running through the last few days in his brain. He had to figure out what was going on with Kimberly, if she was avoiding him or just tired from the constant fighting they had done since she came back.

Towards the end of the class, Tommy looked up to see Kimberly sitting at a table with her back to him, laughing at something Billy had just said. His heart jumped, and he hoped that she was there to see him so they could talk. He watched her flip her hair over her shoulder right as one of Jason’s students threw a punch, hitting him in the face. He ended the class after that, rubbing his jaw as he made his way over to his friends.

“You ok man?” Rocky asked, smirking at him. Kimberly glanced up at him, eyes narrowing a little bit as she studied him, letting out a little sigh before sliding over so he could sit next to her, carefully wrapping an arm around her.

“Someone’s got a good right swing.” He commented, rubbing his jaw in a vain attempt to ease the pain.

“Here’s some ice Tommy.” Ernie said, handing him a baggie. “I heard that hit all the way in the back.” Kimberly giggled at that, trying to cover her mouth to hide the noise.

Tommy glanced at her, impulsively leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Glad you find my pain funny dear.” He said dryly.

“To be fair, we all do.” Rocky said.

“There is a bit of satisfaction in seeing someone usually so aware be taken down by an amateur.” Billy agreed with a small smile.

“Very funny guys.” Tommy grumbled, pulling Kim closer to kiss her forehead. “How’s Jase?” He asked her, and she sighed.

“He’s the world’s biggest crybaby, I swear. Kim, fluff my pillows, Kim, get me a snack, Kim, wash my butt while I take a shower…”

“Excuse me?” Tommy asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

“Not the first time I’ve seen him naked.” Kim said with a shrug.

“Preadolescence doesn’t count Kim.” Billy said with a small smile. Kimberly’s eyes narrowed, glancing down at Billy’s crotch before back up to his face with a raised brow, making the Blue Ranger blush. “Apologies. Your emotional trauma has been noted.” Billy said, ducking behind Rocky who was laughing.

Tommy glared at the blond, even though he knew that nothing had happened between the two. It still bothered him a little bit that Billy had seen Kim naked before he did, and that he had been the first man she had seen naked as well. “Kim, why don’t we go take a walk?” He said, tucking her into his side.

“Yea, let’s go.” Kim agreed, saying good bye to their friends, allowing Tommy to take her hand as they left.

X

“Can you see my bruise?” Kim asked, lifting her hair up so Jason could look at the back of her neck. Jason’s first day of being able to walk normally had been celebrated with yet another nasty Tenga fight where she had been grabbed and almost dragged away. She had managed to hit the minion a couple of times before Tommy managed to jump in and pull her away, but the damage had been done.

“You’re fine.” He responded, rolling his eyes.

“Good. I don’t want Tommy to freak out again.” She sighed, tossing her hair.

Jason studied her for a second, noticing how Kim kept touching where the Tenga had grabbed her. “How much makeup did you put on that to cover it?”

“Enough.” Kim muttered, fixing her shirt. “Maybe we should just stay in, I’m exhausted.”

“Come on, we need to get going. It’ll be fine.” Jason said, grabbing her arm gingerly.

“I know, I just...” Kim let her voice trail off, unsure of what to say. “Sorry, I’m just tired.” She said, yawning.

“Well then you and Tommy can find someplace to make out in.” Jason said, glaring at her. He was still annoyed that he had caught Kimberly and Tommy making out in the Zord Bay after the fight today, mostly because his best friend was only in his boxers and Kimberly’s underwear had been laying out on the floor.

“Big brother...” Kim said, smiling up at him.

“Little sister....” Jason said, shaking his head at her.

“I just wanted to remind him of what he could have given up.” Kimberly said, twirling her hair.

Jason rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh. “Come on, let’s get going. I’ve been waiting to get out of the house for days, I’m not letting you ruin this for me.” Kim laughed at that, yawning one more time before letting Jason drag her out of the house.

X

Adam walked towards Tommy’s house, enjoying the California sunshine. There was only a couple of weeks until they started their senior year, and there was still so much they wanted to do.

Sighing, he decided to take the long way, walking down the hill where he had first met Billy, Kim and Tommy. He thought through all of the things that they had been through since then, Billy saving them from the snake and revealing himself, being teleported to the Command Center the first time, becoming a Ranger, getting the ninja powers... he was so distracted by his memories he almost ran into someone, stumbling over an apology before he realized who it was.

“Scorpina” He growled, reaching for his morpher.

“it’s Sabrina Adam.” The warrior reminded him in a bored tone, flipping her hair around. “Listen. I don’t have a lot of time but I need to talk to you.”

“What on earth could I possibly have to say to you?” Adam shot back, remembering when she had almost taken out Aisha and him in this same disguise.

“Because I know why Kimberly has been acting weird.” Scorpina informed him, crossing her arms.

Adam froze, staring at her in shock. “You mean..”

“She’s under a love spell.” Scorpina stated, watching as Adam’s face paled slightly.

“Why…”

“Zedd is trying to torment Tommy by giving him hope then taking it away.” She explained. “He’s trying to break him.”

“Great.” Adam muttered, narrowing his eyes. “And why should I believe you exactly?”

“Because you know I'm right. Those times Kimberly backs off Tommy and avoids him? That’s the spell weakening and her true feelings breaking through. Zedd’s trying to continue it by constantly attacking and having him save her.”

Adam’s eyes narrowed, considering what she said. “You’re trying to trick me.” He settled on, making her laugh.

“You don’t mean that much to me Black Ranger.” She shot back with a smirk. Adam growled at her, getting into a fighting stance. “Fine, don’t believe me. When Zedd breaks your leader don’t come crying to me.” With that Scorpina winked at him before waving her sword and disappearing.

“What the hell am I supposed to do now?” He complained, shaking his head, distracted glaring at the spot Scorpina had been at before continuing to Tommy’s. He knew he had to tell someone, but he just wanted one drama-free night with his friends before he told them what Scorpina had said.

X

Kim yawned as she snuggled up next to Tommy, letting him wrap his arms around her as they chatted with their friends, waiting for the movie to start. She was still exhausted from the fight this afternoon, and the way that Tommy had clung to her she knew that he was still worried about her. The thought made her smile, and she couldn’t stop the warm feeling that came over her. She looked up, pursing her lips for a kiss which he gladly gave her.

“Can you too stop with the kissy face already?” Jason asked, rolling his eyes. Kim stuck her tongue out at him, kissing Tommy’s cheek this time.

“Some of us are trying to eat here.” Rocky added, tossing some popcorn in this mouth.

“Really Rocky?” Trini teased, rolling her eyes at the 2nd Red Ranger.

“Yea, I don’t think your parents would appreciate that man.” Zack added. They were hanging out at Tommy’s in his basement, having decided to stay in since none of them were sure they would make it through a movie out.

“Kim, can you come help me with this braid?” Kat asked, holding up her ponytail. Kimberly agreed, smiling up at Tommy before pouting her lips for another kiss, which he obliged. Kat handed her a picture and Kim studied it for a second before nodding, settling in behind her fellow Pink. Aisha was playing with Trini’s hair too, trying to work it into a knot.

“Oh, James Bond!” Rocky said, flipping through the channels. “We only missed the first 20 minutes, this is perfect!”

“I do find this an agreeable solution.” Billy said, turning his attention to the screen.

“Which one is this?” Zack asked, leaning forward.

“The World is Not Enough.” Billy replied after checking his phone.

“Oh I like this one.” Jason said, turning towards the movie too.

“Too bad our time as Ranger’s isn’t like that.” Trini teased, wincing as Aisha hit a snarl in her hair.

“You got that right!” Rocky agreed to chuckles. The group watched the movie, cracking jokes and making comments on how they would do things with their Ranger Powers. Kimberly pretty much tuned everyone out, too tired to really focus on anything but Kat’s hair.

All of the sudden, she looked up to see Bond skiing, and her shoulders tightened, something nagging at the back of her brain. He was talking to a beautiful woman before they started down the mountain, and her fingers froze, remembering how Tommy had flirted with a woman while skiing only days after he had gotten the letter. Then, when she rejected him, he had turned to Kat, the blonde whose hair she was still playing with. She pulled the blonde locks, making Kat yelp.

“Kimberly?” She asked in her soft Australian accent, wincing. “You're pulling a little hard.” Kim didn’t respond, threading her fingers through her hair again and pulling. “Ah!” Kat yelped, grabbing her head.

“Kim?” Aisha asked next to them, noticing the pale, tight look on her friend’s face. Trini placed a hand Kim’s shoulder, trying to snap her out of whatever was going through her head. Kim responded by pulling Kat’s hair again, making her yell out in pain. The guys turned then, watching as Aisha and Trini tried to convince Kim to let go of Kat.

Tommy got up, squatting down next to his girlfriend. “Beautiful?” He asked carefully, smiling softly at her. Kimberly blinked at him, her fingers slowly sliding out of Kat’s hair, allowing her to escape.

“Beautiful?” She asked quietly, and he nodded, reaching for her hand only to get pushed away, Kimberly up and running up the basement steps before anyone could react.

“You ok bro?” Jason asked him, and he nodded, staring down at the floor nobody noticing that Adam had slipped out of the room after Kim.

X

“Kim?” Adam asked, sitting down on the ground next to her. He was guilt ridden that he hadn’t said anything about his encounter with Scorpina, but he had really be hopeful that she was wrong. However, seeing how she reacted to the skiing scene, he knew it was true.

Kimberly was curled up under a giant oak tree, arms wrapped around her legs while her knees were up to her chest. He sat down next to her, realizing after a moment she had a clump of blonde hair in her fingers. “What’s going on?” He asked carefully, and she looked at him with red- rimmed eyes.

“He cheated on me.” She whispered, her voice shaking. Adams heart sounded as he realized what was happening, and before she could say anything he wrapped her wrist and teleported them to the Command Center.

X

Zedd sat on his throne, glaring at the object in his hand. Finster had made a so-called ‘love thermometer’ to gauge how well the spell was working. After the fight today, it had been almost at full strength, hitting that mark soon after the Rangers went back to their Command Center. Zedd had been pleased, deciding that he would start getting his big reveal ready, wanting to hurt Tommy when he was at his happiest moment. Then a short while ago it plummeted, hovering just above the mark Finster said could mean the spell was broken. His temper flared, and he slammed his fist on his throne, screaming for Finster to come fix his machine.

X

“Adam, is everything ok?” Alpha asked, surprised when the two teleported into the Command Center so late.

“Alpha, something’s wrong with Kim.” Adam said, rubbing the brunette’s back while she tried to get herself under control, not liking to cry in front of Zordon and Alpha.

“WHAT HAPPENED?” Zordon asked, studying the two humans in front of him carefully.

“We were watching a movie, and all o the sudden Kimberly started acting weird and ran out of the room.” Adam explained, trying to throw his friend a comforting smile. “Zordon, I think Kimberly’s under a spell.”

Zordon tipped his head, pondering his words. “WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT ADAM?” He questioned.

“Because Scorpina told me today.” After the fight.” Adam rushed the last part, wanting to clarify but not wanting anyone to dwell on what he had just said.

Zordon was quiet for a second, floating in is tube staring at them. “ALPHA, I NEED YOU TO TAKE KIMBERLY AND SCAN HER FOR POTIONS, SPELLS, ANYTHING THAT CAN AFFECT HER. ADAM, TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT SCORPINA SAID TO YOU?”

“Just that the spell only works if Kim doesn’t think about why they broke up in the first place.” Adam took a breath, avoiding the look on Kim’s face. “I didn’t believe it, but Kim got upset watching a scene where people were skiing....” Kim pushed him at that statement, wiping her eyes angrily.

“ALPHA, TAKE KIMBERLY TO THE MED BAY AND SCAN HER NOW.” Zordon instructed, waiting for them to leave before addressing Adam. “WHEN DID YOU SAY SCORPINA TELL YOU THIS?” Zordon asked, watching him intently.

“Just this afternoon. I thought she was playing games with us again, but when I saw how Kimberly reacted to the movie, I knew it had to be true.” Adam admitted softly, shuffling his feet. He felt like he was betraying his leader, but if this was true then the spell needed to be broken before something happened that they couldn’t come back from.

“I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WERE HESITANT TO SAY ANYTHING BLACK RANGER, BUT WE MUST TAKE ANY POTENTIAL SPELL RISK SERIOUSLY.” Zordon reminded him.

“She’s not exactly trustworthy Zordon.” Adam pointed out, a little annoyed he was being talked down too like that.

“YOU ARE CORRECT ADAM. HOWEVER-” Zordon was cut off by a beeping noise then Tommy’s voice coming over the intercom.

“Zordon, Kim and Adam have disappeared. Can you help us find them?”

Adam sighed at the panicked sound of his friend’s voice, knowing he should have told them where he was. “I’m here Tommy, so is Kim. We needed to see Zordon.” Adam explained, jumping a little in surprise when a streak of white appeared next to him.

“Where’s Kim?” Tommy demanded, looking around the room.

“SHE IS WITH ALPHA.” Zordon said, purposefully leaving out the details.

“Is she ok?” Tommy asked, confusion dancing across his face.

“ALPHA IS PERFORMING SOME TESTS NOW.” Zordon explained to him.

Tommy nodded slowly, glancing over at Adam. Kim had gotten hit in the head during their fight that afternoon, but Billy had checked her over and said she was ok. Once she was cleared, she had found Tommy in the Zordbay which had led to the situation with Jason finding them in the middle of an intense makeout session. She had seemed alright then, smiling at him and kissing him like she used to when they were together before, but the way she had completely changed personalities during the movie caused some alarm.

“Can I see her?” Tommy asked, turning to leave.

“I THINK IT’S BEST YOU STAY HERE WHITE RANGER.” Zordon warned him.

“Kim’s pretty upset. She needs a moment to herself.” Adam explained, placing a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. His friend glared at him before his face softened, pulling away from Adam to tug at his ponytail.

The room was silent until Alpha’s footsteps could be heard coming, the robot muttering to himself about something. “Zordon, it looks like Scorpina was right. I found- Oh, hello Tommy.” Alpha said, greeting his friend.

“Where’s Kim?” Tommy asked impatiently.

“She’s laying down in her room.” Alpha said, almost falling over when Tommy brushed past him to go see his girlfriend.

“TOMMY, I SUGGEST YOU LEAVE HER ALONE AND LET ALPHA TELL US WHAT HE FOUND.” Zordon warned. Tommy grunted, leaning against the control panel and crossing his arms. “ALPHA, PLEASE SUMMON THE REST OF THE RANGERS.” Zordon instructed. Alpha nodded, hitting a few buttons to call the rest of the group.

“What’s wrong with Kim?” Trini asked as soon as they hit they ground, looking up at Zordon.

“I ran a scan on Kimberly, and it is picking up the DNA of that spell she was under during the Mischief Monster.” Alpha said, handing the scanner to Billy.

“I KNEW IT!!!” Aisha yelled, glaring at the other two females in triumph.

“AISHA.” Zordon warned, and she immediately stepped back.

“We weren’t here for that one-” Zack said, pointing to Jason and Trini “-so can someone please explain?”

“Kim got put under a love spell and thought she was dating Skull.” Rocky explained.

Tommy’s eyes narrowed, pushing past Adam roughly before once again heading towards the rooms, the tension in his body daring anyone to follow him

X

Kimberly was stuck in her room, curled up in a ball on the bed, sniffling.

Alpha had briefly talked to her about the spell, concerned that her changing emotions could cause problems for her down the road. She didn’t know what to do, only that the knot in her stomach made her feel like puking and the ringing in her ears was giving her a headache.

She didn’t even notice when her door opened softly and Tommy came in until he made his way around her bed, sitting down on the floor and staring at her. “Are you ok?” He finally asked, and she ignored the question, taking deep breaths to calm herself. ”Kimberly?” He asked, and she sniffed again, sighing lightly when he reached out to stroke her cheek.

“We’re supposed to be stronger than this. We’ve been through too much to let something like a stupid letter bring us down.” Kimberly said, gripping Tommy’s hands.

“I’m sorry.” Tommy said, lacing their fingers together.

“I know you are, but...” Kimberly let her voice trail off, staring at her boyfriend. “I’ve never doubted us for a second Tommy. I just loved you. Maybe that’s why this hurts so much.”

Tommy sighed, surprised when Kim pulled him forward into a kiss. “Kim?” He said quietly when he was done, only to get pulled into a deeper one, Kimberly’s tongue swiping past his lips in response to his silent question. Tommy’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her as close to him as he could. Hands rubbed each other up and down, his under her shirt while hers were grazing his waistband. She pulled him on top of her and was slowly unbuttoning his shirt when suddenly she heard a yell and Tommy was yanked away, the sound of a fist hitting flesh echoing throughout the room while she scrambled to cover herself.

Chapter Text

“Adam.” Trini yelled, trying to pull the Black Ranger away from Tommy, who was laying on the ground with an arm up to protect his face.

“He’s trying to take advantage of her!” Adam shot back, glaring down at his leader. “He knows she’s under A spell and he doesn’t care!”

“I don’t think that’s the problem Adam.” Trini commented softly, trying to calm him down. Kim meanwhile had gotten herself covered, and was standing on the other side of her bed, eyes wide and red with unshed tears.

“I can’t believe you’re defending this.” Adam said, looking at the former Yellow Ranger.

“I’m just trying not to make this situation worse than it already is.” Trini said evenly, putting her hands on Adam’s shoulders and looking into his eyes. “You need to leave. I will handle this.” Adam glared at Tommy before nodding, slowly walking out the door. Trini sighed before looking at her best friend, sitting on the bed next to her. “Are you ok?” She asked, ignoring Tommy’s sigh from the floor.

“Yes.” Kim said, glancing down at her boyfriend. Tommy looked up at her, jaw clenched in annoyance.

“Zordon wants to talk to you both.” Trini said, rubbing Kim’s arm. She nodded, fixing her shirt and reaching up to check her hair. Tommy stood up too, doing the same in a bid to pull himself together. “Zordon sent everyone else home. He didn’t want a big confrontation about the last few weeks.” Trini said, linking arms with Kim as they left her room, leaving Tommy to follow them silently.

“RANGERS.” Zordon greeted them when they came back, nodding. Trini settled against a panel, crossing her arms and watching the couple carefully. “I KNOW THE LAST FEW MONTHS HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT FOR THE TWO OF YOU, AND FOR MY PART IN THAT I AM TRULY SORRY.” Zordon began, unsure of how to express his remorse. “BEING RANGERS SOMETIMES MEANS SACRIFICING MANY THINGS, BUT ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN ASKED TO GIVE UP MORE THAN MOST. ZEDD AND RITA HAVE PROVEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN THEY ARE WILLING TO SINK TO EXTREME DEPTHS TO GET REVENGE ON ALL OF YOU, AND AS MUCH AS I WISH I COULD GUARENTEE YOUR SAFETY, I HAVE BEEN PROVEN WRONG.” Zordon paused, deep in thought.

“So what’s the deal with this spell Zordon. Is Kim really under another love potion?” Tommy asked, glancing over at his girlfriend. He remembered the spell Kim had been put under before, and she wasn’t acting like a love-struck schoolgirl around him like she had with Skull.

“FINSTER MANAGED TO UPGRADE THE ORIGINAL POTION, LOWERING KIMBERLY’S IMBITIONS.” Zordon said vaguely. Tommy nodded, still not quite understanding but not wanting to fight with his mentor.

“Finster knew the problem wasn’t that Kim doesn’t still have feelings for you. It’s that she doesn’t trust you.” Trini explained, smiling at her best friend who was glaring at her. “I’m sorry Kim, but this spell needs to be broken and he needs to understand what to do.” Trini said, holding up her hands. “The spell overrides that when you do something that reminds Kim of why she cares for you, which is why we’ve been attacked so much lately.”

“Zedd’s trying to keep me under the spell.” Kim said, frowning while she looked up at Zordon. “I don’t understand why he would do this. It makes no sense to...”

She glanced at Tommy, her voice trailing off. He was crushed, staring down at the floor with his whole body shaking. She went to him, gently cupping his face with her hands and forcing him to look at her. She could see the anger, fear, and doubt in his eyes, knowing down in her heart that he was truly sorry about what had happened between them. Impulsively, she got up on her tiptoes, pulling him down into a kiss.

She tried to ignore Trini clearing her throat behind her, but the tug on her arm was too hard to ignore. “Stop it Trini.” She demanded when they pulled apart, glaring at her best friend.

“You know this isn’t right Kim.” Trini responded softly, putting a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about this Tommy.”

The White Ranger nodded, taking a breath before gently running his fingers through Kim’s hair. “How do we break it?” He asked, not breaking eye contact wiht Kim at all.

“YOU NEED TO REMIND KIMBERLY OF WHAT HAPPENED TO SPLIT YOU UP.” Zordon said, nodding at his White Ranger.

“I don’t care what happened.” Kim shout back, turning to glare at Zordon. “It’s my life. If I want to stay under a stupid spell then I should be able too.”

“KIMBERLY, I UNDERSTAND YOUR HESITATION, BUT THIS HAS TO HAPPEN.” Kim sniffled turning to wrap her arms around her boyfriend.

Tommy held her while she cried, brushing her hair back with his hand, not caring if Zordon and Trini saw the tears that were leaking down his face. “Can we do this in private Zordon.” He asked quietly not looking at his mentor.

“OF COURSE. TRINI WILL MONITOR YKIM TO ENSURE THE SPELL IS GONE.” Zordon said, allowing his two Rangers to leave.

“Do you think they’ll be ok Zordon?” Trini asked after they were gone.

“WE CAN ONLY HOPE TRINI.” Zordon said gravely.

X

“If you could punch Zedd in one place with no repercussions, where would it be?” Rocky asked randomly, playing with the popcorn in his bowl. For once, he had no appetite not wanting to eat when they were waiting to find out if Kim’s spell was broken.

“I can think of a few places.” Jason growled, making all of them laugh.

“Do you guys think Zedd and Rita... you know, do it? Like one day we’ll be forced to fight their kid or something?” Zack asked with a shiver.

“Rita doesn’t want to have children.” Kat said off-handedly, surprised when everyone looked at her. “She told me once when I was under her spell.” Kat explained with a slight blush.

“That’s so gross.” Rocky stated, wincing. “You didn’t hear them did you Kat?”

The blonde scrunched up her nose, thinking back. “No, thank God. I’d probably have to get a lobotomy to get that image out of my head.”

“Worse than seeing your parents do it.” Aisha agreed.

“Or your baby sister.” Jason muttered, making a face.

“Both events would be extremely traumatizing.” Billy agreed, sighing at the thought.

“Wonder if Rita ever uses the headache excuse.” Rocky joked, ducking when Kat threw a pillow at him. “What! I’m just saying, I can’t imagine Zedd’s good in bed, would you want to deal with looking at him all the time?” Aisha and Kat both fake shivered, not enjoying the mental images they were getting.

Suddenly, there was a flash of white, and Tommy was back in his house, standing by the doorway with his arms crossed refusing to look at anyone.

“Where’s the girls?” Zack asked, looking around for Kim and Trini.

“They refused to come.” Tommy said tersely, clenching his fists in annoyance.

“Shocker.” Aisha mumbled, only to get hit on the arm by Kat. “What? How many times does he get carte blanche to break Kim’s heart before enough’s enough?”

Tommy whirled around, eyes flashing as he stared at the Yellow Ranger. “Get out.” He hissed, straightening himself up to his full height.

“Bro.” Rocky said, surprised.

“Get her the fuck out of my house.” Tommy replied, giving Aisha his full on Evil Green Ranger stare.

“Fine. I could care less about you anyway.” Aisha said, crawling off the couch.

“Sha.” Adam said, touching her arm.

“No. I’m tired of his ‘woo is me’ bullshit. He fucked up and broke Kim’s heart, and you guys are all willing to be his best buddy again even after all of the awful things he said about her. Not to mention the fact that even though we had ample cause to be concerned, he wouldn’t allow us to go check on Kim down in Florida because he was too afraid of seeing that she could possibly be happy without him.” Aisha stood up, facing her leader head on.

“You just couldn’t handle the fact that Kim forgave me for what happened when you’re still running around like a victim.” Tommy shot back, unable to control himself.

“Aren’t we special.” Aisha replied sarcastically. “I’m so happy for you Tommy. After all, you’ve been the King of victims haven’t you? Maybe watching the way you’ve been acting since you got that letter gave Zedd and Rita the idea in the first place.”

Tommy unconsciously took a step forward, tensing for an attack. “Do you think I’m happy right now?” He asked, deadly quiet. Jason had already gotten up, standing by Aisha ready to jump in if something happened. “I’ve had to confess to the woman I love that I’m no better than her father. That I did something to intentionally hurt her and ruin everything that we had together. I’ve had to hear her cry, to beg me to stop talking, then tell me to stay away from her twice now. Do you think I care that you’re angry at me?” He stood in front of Aisha, taking a few deep breaths to control himself, focusing on Rocky’s hand on his shoulder and Zack’s on his other arm, his eyes trained on Jason’s hand in front of Aisha to protect her. “I should have your coin for insubordination.” He snarled.

Aisha’s eyes widened for a second before she grabbed her morpher, holding it up. “You want it, come get it.” She threatened.

“Tommy, Zordon would not appreciate this course of action you’re taking.” Billy warned, standing up as well.

“Maybe we should all take a breath.” Kat agreed, wrapping an arm around Aisha.

“Agreed. This has been a difficult situation for everyone, let’s not make it worse.” Billy practically begged them.

Tommy glared at Billy, jaw clenched. “You can get out too if that’s how you feel.” Everyone blinked in surprise at him. “Anyone else?” Tommy asked, jerking away from Rocky and Zack.

“I’m going to go check on Kim.” Adam mumbled, picking up his bag and handing Aisha hers.

“Kat?” The Yellow Ranger asked.

“I think I’ll stay here.” Kat said after a minute, looking at Tommy. She knew he was devastated about what happened and needed the support.

Aisha eyed her for a second before shaking her head, turning to Adam. “Guess it’s just the two of us then.”

“I should come as well, make sure Kimberly is ok now that the spell’s worn off.” Billy said slowly, glancing at Jason. He knew lines were being drawn, and he desperately wanted to stay neutral, but he was (along with Kat) were still on thin ice with Kim when the spell started, so he assumed nothing had changed.

“Let’s get going.” Aisha said, brushing past Tommy without looking back, Adam and Billy at her heels. Tommy didn’t move as they walked out the door, breathing deeply when it shut behind them.

“What the hell Tommy.” Zack said once they were gone, glaring at his friend. “You had no right to speak to Aisha like that.”

“I don’t really care.” Tommy snapped back.

“Maybe we should all relax.” Kat suggested, walking up to Tommy and putting a hand on his shoulder. He froze at the touch, but she didn’t back down. “Why don’t you go workout for a bit and try to relieve some tension? Give Kim a little time to-” Her thought was cut off by the sound of their communicators going off.

“Zordon.” Tommy said shortly, his body tensing.

“RANGERS, I NEED YOU AT THE COMMAND CENTER IMMEDIATELY.” Zordon stated. “GOLDAR AND A MONSTER ARE DOWN BY THE DOCKS.”

“Yes Zordon.” He could here Alpha in the background talking to Adam as well. He turned to Jason. “Get Kim and Trini and bring them to the Command Center. I don’t want to risk Kim getting taken again now that we know what Zedd’s plan is.”

Jason nodded, looking at Zack. “Can’t we fight the monster instead?” He complained as the hit the buttons to teleport.

X

Tommy’s instincts were right; Zedd’s monster was trying to lure Kim out to take her. When that didn’t work, it used its ability to drain power to somehow create a temporary power coin, allowing Goldar to break into the Command Center. Between the four originals, they were able to beat him back long enough for Alpha to fix the security protocols and hit Goldar with their defense systems, the gold monkey screaming in pain as he transported himself out.

“Well that was fun.” Zack said in a sarcastic tone as they watched the Rangers finish destroying the monster. Kim had retreated out of the room as soon as Goldar had fled, reassured by Zordon that she would be safe if she didn’t leave the base. The three remaining Ex Rangers had watched as the team refused to work together, Tommy and Aisha staying as far apart as possible, leaving the other 4 to mediate between them while they were trying to fight. Luckily, they got their act together when Zedd made the monster grow, using all their skills to defeat it without more harm to downtown Angel Grove. Once everything was settled, Trini left to go find Alpha who was working on security.

“You guys ok?” Tommy asked as soon as they teleported in, searching for Kim.

“Yea, Goldar’s not that tough you know.” Jason shrugged.

“JASON AND ZACK, PLEASE TEND TO THE ZORDS. BILLY’S NEEDS REPAIRS AND I NEED THEM SUPERVISED.” The former Black and Red Rangers looked at each other before glancing at their friends, shrugging before heading out themselves. Zordon eyed the Rangers in front of him, debating how to begin. “I KNOW ITS BEEN A HARD COUPLE OF WEEKS.” He finally started, nodding at the group. “RITA AND ZEDD HAVE STRUCK AT WHAT MAKES YOU A STRONG TEAM- THE TRUST YOU HAVE IN EACH OTHER.” Aisha laughed softly before stopping herself.

“What is your assessment of our situation?” Billy asked, looking up at Zordon. Their mentor was quiet, thinking to himself.

“I WILL GIVE YOU UNTIL TOMORROW TO DECIDE IF YOU CAN WORK AS A TEAM. IF NOT, THEN ALPHA AND I WILL FIND A WAY TO TRANSFER TOMMY’S POWERS TO ONE OF THE OTHER FORMER RANGERS.” There was a collective gasp from the group, even Aisha looking surprised at Zordon’s announcement.

“I don’t want another leader.” Rocky said, placing a hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

“Me either.” Kat stated, avoiding Aisha’s gaze.

“Perhaps there’s another solution.” Billy said hopefully, looking at his team.

“I’ve got one.” Aisha said after a moment of silence, reaching behind her. “Give him my morpher too, since he’s so fantastic that no one can believe he doesn’t deserve to be a Ranger anymore.”

“AISHA-“ Zordon started, stopping when she glared at him.

“No. I knew the moment Adam read that letter that something was wrong. I asked you to let me go see her and you said no. When Zack and Jason couldn’t get in touch with Kim Tommy refused to go down to check on her. When the Dragonzord coin was found, even before he touched it he showed no concern about Kim’s safety. I know how much that letter hurt, but that doesn’t excuse the poor leadership he's shown since he got it. I must be able to trust him with my life, and how can I do that when I know what he’ll do if I dare to cross him?” With that Aisha shoved her morpher at Rocky, who fumbled and almost dropped it as she teleported out of the Command Center.

Tommy stared down at the floor, embarrassment turning his face red. “What are we supposed to do now?” Rocky asked, staring down at Aisha’s morpher. “Aisha has to physically give her powers to someone right Zordon? She can’t just abandon them?” Adam asked, looking up.

Zordon nodded slowly, mulling. “BILLY, ALPHA REQUIRES YOUR ASSISTANCE IN UPGRADING THE SECURITY PROTOCOLS.” Zordon stated. “TRINI IS WITH HIM NOW.” Billy nodded, heading toward the security room, patting Tommy on the shoulder awkwardly.

“ROCKY AND ADAM, PLEASE GO DOWN TO THE VAULT AND DO INVENTORY. WE MUST ENSURE THAT GOLDAR DIDN’T TRY ANYTHING WHILE HE WAS HERE.” The two Rangers nodded, Rocky still fiddling with Aisha’s morpher. “GIVE THAT TO ALPHA. HE WILL KEEP IT SAFE UNTIL TOMORROW.” Rocky nodded, following Adam out.

Tommy waited for them to leave before turning to look at his mentor. “You want to take my coin?” He asked quietly, looking up at Zordon.

Zordon was silent, studying him. Finally, he spoke, looking his White Ranger directly in the eyes. “DO YOU FEEL YOU DESERVE TO BE THE LEADER OF THE POWER RANERS.”

Tommy clenched his jaw, not wanting to answer.

“THEN I NEED TO KNOW IF YOU’RE WILLING TO PUT IN THE TIME TO CHANGE THAT. IF NOT, I WILL FIND A NEW WHITE RANGER.” Zordon informed him.

Tommy sucked in his breath, turning away from Zordon. Tapping his communicator, he teleported out of the Command Center, leaving Zordon alone.

Chapter Text

Aisha laid on her bed the next morning, completely exhausted. Kim had slept over the night before, curling into bed next to her sobbing softly as the spell finished exiting her body and she fully remembered what had happened to break up her and Tommy. Aisha wanted nothing more than to punch the White Ranger in the face, but she managed to keep herself under control. Things were delicate right now, and while she stood by what she said about not trusting Tommy, she wasn’t sure if she really wanted him to lose his powers.

Zordon had called each of them into the Command Center to talk, trying to decide what to do next. This mess was tearing their friend group apart, and one way or another it would end today.

That didn’t stop an argument last night- Jason and Zack trying to convince the girls that Tommy didn’t deserve to lose his powers, which Aisha had snapped back on and Trini backed her up. Kat hemmed and hawed about her feelings, while Kim just sat there silently. Jason then tried to plead his case directly to Kim, who completely ignored him, heading to her room and shutting the door, only to come back a few minutes later and announce that that she was staying at Aisha’s that night before walking out the door. Jason’s face fell as soon as she left, but Aisha didn’t bother to try to make him feel better, only gave him an ‘I told you so’ look before following her friend out. Trini came out too, talking to Kim quietly for a minute before giving her a hug and sending them on their way.

They spent half of the night talking- Kim demanding to know everything that had happened Ranger-wise after Tommy got the letter before going quiet except for the crying. Eventually they fell asleep, but Aisha knew today was going to be even harder. She glanced at the clock, realizing they needed to get up to get ready for their meeting.

“Kim?” She whispered, shaking shoulder. Brown eyes opened, looking up at her. “Time to get going.” She said, and she nodded, sitting up and yawning.

“Do you think we’re ready?" Aisha asked, watching her closely.

Kim sighed, looking down at her hands. “I’m not. I don’t want to be involved in this at all.” She admitted. Aisha leaned over and gave her a hug before crawling out of bed, quickly getting ready before they teleported to the Command Center.

X

“THANK YOU FOR COMING RANGERS.” Zordon said to the group in front of him. The six current Rangers were standing around, no one looking at the other. “THE WAY I SEE IT, WE HAVE SEVERAL OPTIONS. ONE- TRANSFERRING THE WHITE RANGER POWERS TO ANOTHER RANGER. TWO- KEEPING THE TEAM AS IS. THREE- I WILL BE YOUR LEADER FROM THE COMMAMD CENTER.”

“That does not seem like it would be a positive solution.” Billy said after a minute.

“Exactly. There’s been times where we’ve been blocked from you Zordon and we can’t risk that during a battle.” Rocky agreed quickly.

Kat hesitated, glancing at Aisha before speaking up. “I don’t agree with Tommy losing his powers. However, I understand Aisha’s hesitation to trust his judgment. I have found myself doing that as well recently.” She admitted, blushing a bit.

“Could have fooled me.” Aisha muttered, flinching when Adam lightly smacked her arm.

Zordon sighed, closing his eyes for a second. “THEN I HAVE ONE OTHER SUGGESTION.” He started, looking down at his White Ranger who was staring down at the floor. “TOMMY. YOU HAVE BEEN AN ASSET TO THE TEAM SINCE YOU JOINED AS THE GREEN RANGER THREE YEARS AGO. I NEVER REGRETTED MAKING YOU MY WHITE RANGER. YOU HAVE MADE ME VERY PROUD.” Tommy looked up, his eyes red as he stared at Zordon. “AS YOUR MENTOR, I SHOULD HAVE DONE MORE TO SUPPORT YOU AFTER YOUR BREAKUP. ALL OF YOU HAVE SHOWN GREAT MATURITY AS RANGERS I SOMETIMES FORGET YOU CAN BE EMOTIONAL TEENAGERS AS WELL.”

“It's not all your fault Zordon.” Adam said quietly, glancing at Aisha. Kim and Trini had told him one night that Zordon had admitted to feeling guilty over Tommy becoming the Green Ranger and when he first joined the team would often make excuses when Tommy made mistakes.

“I UNDERSTAND THE CONCERNS THAT AISHA RAISED THE OTHER DAY. THAT’S WHY IVE ATTEMPTED TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION.” Zordon nodded at Alpha, who left the room quietly. “ALPHA WILL BRING THE OTHER RANGERS IN FOR SUPPORT.” He explained, waiting for them to come in. “WHEN ALPHA AMD I CREATED THE WHITE RANGER POWERS, IT WAS NOT OUR INTENTION TO HAVE TOMMY TAKE OVER AS LEADER OF THE RANGERS.”

“The powers work best as a group of five. That’s why Rita was able to take the Green Ranger powers so easily. They were created independently of the other five coins and didn’t have the same protection-built in.” Alpha chimed in, nodding at Tommy. “Tommy becoming leader happened after Zedd had kidnapped Kimberly, giving us access to their files where we found out Zedd had planned on using her as a bargaining chip to get back his Green Ranger.” Multiple Ranger eyes looked at Kim in surprise when she nodded in agreement. Before, this information had only been known by Jason and Kimberly because Zordon wanted to assure his Red that there was a reason Tommy became leader and assure his Pink he had taken precautions to protect her in the future.

“AS SUCH, THE POWERS HAVE FOUGHT HARD TO PUT BACK THE STATUS QUO, AS I’M SURE JASON CAN ATTEST TOO. ROCKY DID NOT NOTICE AS MUCH AS HE HAD NEVER BEEN THE LEADER SO HE JUST THOUGHT IT WAS NORMAL. THEREFORE, I SUGGEST THAT ROCKY BECOMES LEADER OF THE FIVE MAIN RANGERS AND TOMMY WOULD BE MORE OF AN INDEPENDENT RANGER.”

Rocky flushed, glancing over at Tommy who had yet to say anything. “I don’t feel right doing that.” Rocky said, shaking his head.

“THIS WOULD BE A TEMPORARY SITUATION TO TRY OUT. I BELIEVE YOU FIVE RELY TOO HEAVILY ON TOMMY’S LEADERSHIP AND THIS WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO THE TEAM AS A WHOLE.”

“It does seem to be a suitable compromise. I’ve noticed the lack of discussion lately with decisions being made perhaps allowing Rocky to build up his leadership skills would help us in the long run. I myself am unsuitable to take over as I often have to spend time putting things together instead of coming up with battle plans.”

“Tommy would still be a Ranger?” Kat asked quietly to Zordon’s nod. Jason made his way over to Rocky, offering him support. Zack and Trini went to their color mates as well, while Kim hung back, not knowing what to do.

Aisha looked over at Kim, who nodded once before breaking eye contact. "I'll support Rocky being leader.” She announced softly. Adam quickly agreed, much to Rockys chagrin. Kat walked over to Kim, gently taking her fellow pinks hand before agreeing as well. Billy was the only one who looked to Tommy, brow furrowed for a minute before he agreed as well. Tommy’s hands shook as he agreed, voice shaking.

“VERY WELL. ROCKY, JASON WILL HELP YOU TAP INTO YOUR LEADERSHIP POWERS AND GIVE YOU SOME SUPPORT WHILE YOU LEARN YOUR NEW ROLE.” Zordon said, nodding at the two Reds.

“Tommy, once Rocky is settled, there are some upgrades to your powers we can work on as well.” Alpha chimed in. “They weren't ready when you got your powers the first time, and we didn't want to risk having to take you offline while we got them set up.”

“What kind of powers?” Adam asked curiously.

“WE WILL HAVE TO SEE WHICH ONES WILL WORK NOW THAT YOU HAVE THE NINJA POWERS.” Zordon said vaguely. “NOW THE SIX OF YOU MUST WORK ON YOUR TEAMWORK TO AVOID ADDITIONAL ISSUES IN THE FUTURE. ROCKY, I EXPECT THAT YOU WILL COME UP WITH A TRAINING SCHEDULE AND HAVE YOUR TEAM AGREE TO IT BY TOMORROW. UNDERSTAND?” Rocky nodded numbly, feeling Jason squeezing his shoulder. The teens stood in silence for a moment, no one wanting to speak. Finally, Tommy coughed, reaching for his communicator and disappearing in a streak of white.

“Great.” Jason muttered, glancing at Zack. “Can you...?”

“On it.” Zack promised, teleporting out.

“He won’t suffer any power withdraws will him?” Billy asked, looking up at Zordon.

“NO. HE MIGHT FEEL A LITTLE OFF TODAY, BUT HE DIDN’T TECHNICALLY LOSE ANYTHING.” Zordon said tiredly, nodding at all of them. “I SUGGEST YOU ALL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR TIME OFF. IT’S GOING TO BE A LONG COUPLE OF WEEKS GETTING USED TO THINGS.” Zordon reminded them.

“And we have school starting too.” Adam reminded them.

“Practice as well.” Billy added. Rocky sighed, glancing over at Jason who nodded in encouragement.

“Speaking of which, can I go Zordon? I have to be at school in an hour.” Kim said, studying her nails.

“We should go as well.” Zack said, gesturing to the males. Trini and Kat chimed in as well, the entire group teleporting out leaving Aisha alone.

“IS THIS A SATISFYING CONCLUSION FOR YOU AISHA?” Zordon asked, staring at his Yellow Ranger.

Aisha nodded slowly, accepting her morpher that Alpha was holding out. “Do you think it will work?” She questioned softly to her mentors sigh.

“I THINK IT’S THE BEST OF OUR OPTIONS AT THE MOMENT. I TRUST THAT YOU WILL ALL BE SUPPORTIVE OF YOUR TEAMMATES AS THEY ADJUST TO THE CHANGE.” Zordon said sternly.

Aisha nodded fiddling with her own communicator. “I should go, I have to work at the vet today.” She said after a minute. Zordon nodded, watching in silence as Aisha left.

X

Tommy sat in his bedroom a few days later, staring at the wall. School had started, and he was exhausted. Between football, senior year activities, and Zedd realizing that Tommy had lost his leader role and sending Goldar down to torment him, it had been a long couple of days. Now he sat in his room, trying to drink the vodka he had gotten off one of his teammates but too emotionally drained to focus.

The first day of school had been horrible, rumors flowing around about what had happened between him and Kim. He had hoped that things would have calmed down since the truth had come out weeks ago, but it had only gotten worse.

Of course, it didn’t help when Veronica had shown up at school wearing a shirt she had made with his number on it as it was traditional for the cheerleaders to wear the numbers of the Senior football players the first day of school.

Kim surprised everyone by wearing Bulks number, the former bully taking every opportunity to throw it in his best friend s face that Kim liked him better much to Skulls annoyance. Tommy meanwhile wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face after the third time Bulk had walked by him with an arm around Kim, the petite brunette laughing at something he said.

Practice had been worse, the cheerleaders coming over during their practice game, trying to pep them up. After his third sack in two drives, coach pulled him and put in his junior backup. Jason, Rocky and Zack had tried to talk to him, but Tommy had refused, sitting there with his head down and his helmet in his hands.

The next two days weren’t any better, and now he was here on a Saturday night drinking so he could sleep. His parents had gone out on a date, asking him to come but he refused, wanting to be alone. He was pretty sure he was going to be all night- there was a big bonfire down by the beach for the end of the first week of school, and the entire gang was going to be there except for him. He didn’t even hear the sound of someone teleporting into his room, too wrapped up in self-pity until he felt his bottle being yanked away by someone.

“Hey.” He half snapped, looking up to see Aisha staring down at him.

“What are you doing?” She asked sharply, giving him a disappointed look.

“I don’t need your attitude right now Aisha.” He muttered, reaching for the bottle only to miss.

“You’re drunk.” She said, looking at him in shock.

“So?” Tommy challenged, stumbling to get up. He glared at her, his mind slow to catch up to what she was doing there.

“Well isn’t this just fantastic. Finally felt bad enough for you that I came to talk and you’ve been sitting here hitting the bottle.” Aisha complained.

“Didn’t ask you to feel sorry for me.” Tommy drawled back, aware how much he was slurring.

“Whatever.” Aisha muttered, walking to his desk and putting the bottle down.

“What do you want?” Tommy demanded, glaring at her.

“I wanted to talk to you, but that’s a little hard considering you can’t even think straight.” Aisha said, watching as he slouched bad down on the floor.

“Guess I disappointed you again then.” He slurred out, surprised at how the vodka had hit him all of the sudden. Then again, this was the first time he had really drank without morphing, so maybe this is what it was supposed to feel like.

Aisha was quiet, staring down at him with an unreadable look before sighing. “I wanted to thank you.” She said, playing with her fingers nervously.

“For what.” Tommy asked, turning his head to look at her.

“For being supportive of Rocky.” She admitted after a minute. “I know how hard that was for you, and he appreciates you supporting him.”

“I didn’t have a choice.” Tommy said shortly, glaring at her.

Aisha got off the desk, sitting down next to him on the floor. “Yea you did. You could have thrown a fit, turn the rest of them against me, and probably gotten Zordon to take my coin instead.”

“I don’t have the power over him that you guys think.” Tommy mumbled, surprising himself by laying his head on her shoulder. It had been so long since he had gotten comfort from anyone, and he was craving any kind of contact with his friends.

“I don’t think you understand the power you do have.” Aisha said.

“Tommy, Zordon was right to take the leadership away from you. Even after all this time, Rocky, Adam and I don’t feel comfortable questioning you, Kat’s too afraid too, and Billy isn’t one to stir the pot unless it’s something really bad.” Aisha paused, letting her words sink in. “Maybe it’s because you’ve never steered us wrong before, or because we see you as this infallible beacon of good that we don’t question things, but a lot of that is our fault.” She admitted.

“I didn’t ask you guys to feel that way.” Tommy said quietly.

“I know, but there was such a power imbalance when we joined the team it was hard not too. Kim was devastated to lose her friends, and Bily retreated into himself for months, and we were scrambling to get the team together and learn how to fight Zedd. Then Rita shows back up, and it’s just been non-stop ever since.” Aisha reminded him.

“I did everything I could to make you guys feel comfortable.” Tommy reminded her, getting up awkwardly to pick up his bottle, settling back down in his spot and taking another drink before offering it to Aisha, who surprisingly took a drink herself.

“I know you didn’t, but it doesn’t mean we didn’t feel it. Then when we thought Kim broke up with you, none of us knew what to do. Zordon told me the other day that we all put you on a pedestal, and eventually you were going to fall if we didn’t support you, and he was right. We should have stood up to you and to Zordon and demanded someone go check on Kim. Maybe that would have avoided this whole thing.”

Tommy started to play with the bottle, marshalling his arguments as best as he could. “I just want forgiveness.” He finally said.

Aisha sighed again, standing up and brushing off her pants. “All I can do is not hate you anymore.” She said softly, still not looking at him. “And support you if Veronica starts anymore crap. I really can’t stand her.”

Tommy took another swing of his bottle, coughing a bit before an impish grin covered his face. “She sucks in bed too.” He declared, making Aisha stare at him in shock.

“I haven’t been drinking enough for this conversation.” She declared, taking the bottle back to have another sip.

“I thought about Kim the whole time, and I couldn’t even get off, I had to fake it.” He admitted, and Aisha laughed her ass off, shaking so much Tommy was concerned for her health.

“Never thought I’d heard those words coming out of your mouth Tommy.” She admitted once she had calmed down.

“I only speak the truth.” Tommy muttered, looking at her.

“I hope you got yourself an STD test.” Aisha said, making a face.

“I can’t believe anyone else would be desperate enough to sleep with her.” Tommy admitted.

“I can’t believe you were. I mean, half the females in the school would sleep with you at a moment’s notice, and you picked her? I just don’t understand that.”

Tommy took another drink trying to gain courage from the alcohol. “I just wanted to hurt her.” He stated after a minute. “I didn’t think about anything else. Even flirting with Kat-”

“You’re an ass.” Aisha declared. “You knew that Kat liked you, and you tried to take advantage of that.”

“Yes.” Tommy stated evenly. “If she would have let me, I would have sleep with her first. I didn’t care about hurting Kat- I just knew that Kim had some insecurities about her and that it would hurt her. Just like when I slept with Veronica- I didn’t think about it hurting you, just as long as it hurt Kim.”

Aisha was quiet for a moment, staring at Tommy intently. Finally, she stood up, tapping her communicator to teleport out, leaving Tommy alone again.