Power Rangers: Legacy
"Moving Forward"
Billy stood in his Command Chamber early on a Wednesday morning. It had been a little over a week since the rangers had gotten their powers. Not much had happened on the evil realm other than a few Cirranadrone attacks. From experience Billy knew that was about to change. That was why he had some new equipment delivered from one of the most technologically advanced planets. He wanted to spend the day getting it installed in the Command Chamber but he was going to need some help.
Unfortunately all of the rangers had full time jobs. The only one he could probably get to help would be Carri. As of the previous Friday, she had sent the copy of the first show in her series to her father. Her father approved it and sent it out to all the networks the day before, and now Carri didn�t have anything to do but wait. Once the show got picked up she would start production on the second episode, but for now her days were filled with boring stuff such as working on her house.
He figured she would love to have the opportunity to help out so he beeped her communicator. Not surprisingly, she jumped at the chance to get out of the house for a while. It didn�t take long before the yellow streak flew into the Command Chamber and dissolved into Carri.
"When you said you got a lot of new stuff you weren�t kidding." Carri said glancing around at all the equipment laying on the Command Chamber floor
"It shouldn�t be too difficult to install." Billy assured her. Most of it Billy could give Carri directions and she could do it, but not without an extra pair of hands. He went and picked something up off the floor and pointed to one of the control panels. "We�ll start over here." he suggested
Billy pulled the back of the panel off and got it ready to install the piece. He instructed Carri to hold it up so that he could get it in. As he was getting started his phone rang. He sighed and went to answer it.
Carri glanced at him as he hung the phone back up. "Am I gonna hold this thing forever or shall we get it in?" she asked with a smile
"I�ve got to get to work." Billy replied. He was the boss and he had freedom to come and go as he pleased, but it seemed as though they couldn�t go thirty minutes without him. "You can try by yourself if you want but I think you need two pair of hands to get any work done. Hopefully I won�t be gone long."
"I think I can find some help." she said grinning at him
"Alright. I�ll get back here when I can." Billy promised as he teleported out
Carri sighed and thought about it. She knew that Tommy was busy that day and that Kim was at work. She also knew that Jason had taken the day to work on his new novel. He was starting a new sci-fi series and his deadline was coming up in about two months. They were aiming for a summer release for the book, hoping it would be good enough that millions of people would pick it up for summer relaxation. She was hoping that perhaps Rocky had some spare time so she gave him a call. When he didn�t pick up she left a voicemail, but she wasn�t expecting to hear back anytime soon as he was probably working hard too.
Although she was out of Turbo rangers, she did know of another ranger that would love to help out. She had spoken to Zhane a few times in the last week. He was as concerned and felt as guilty as she and Kim did about Callisto and Rhianna attacking Earth. He had volunteered to do anything he could to help the Turbo team and finally dispose of the duo. Carri couldn�t think of a better way to start helping out than by lending her a hand in the Command Chamber.
She didn�t waste any time contacting him. He agreed to give her a hand and she teleported him up. Zhane arrived and looked around at all the pieces Billy had left laying around. "All this needs to get installed? I do have a hot date tonight." he said grinning at her
"Yeah, yeah. Just give me a hand." she replied grinning back. She picked up the piece that she and Billy started with and got Zhane to help her start upgrading their Command chamber.
Tommy stood in his house in Reefside that same morning, throwing the last of the things he would need into boxes. Over the last week they hadn�t had any major attacks, but Tommy decided that this would get serious and that he didn�t want to be living in Reefside when all the action was happening in Angel Grove. He was renting a fully furnished place in Angel Grove and planned on staying there until Callisto and Rhianna were gone.
"So are you ready to get going?" a female voice asked from behind startling him
Tommy spun around and saw Hayley standing there. "As ready as I�m going to be." he replied. "Thanks again for staying here."
Hayley had agreed to live in Tommy�s house in Reefside while Tommy was staying in Angel Grove. It worked out well for both of them. Tommy didn�t want to leave his command center unattended and Hayley loved to go down there and dabble with technology.
"No problem. You have ranger stuff to do." she said smiling at him. "So is everything going to be alright when you get there? I mean with you and Kim."
"Yeah I told you we talked. And we�re working alright together. At least we know where we both stand. It was good closure, and now we can both move on." Tommy replied
"Really?" Hayley questioned finding it hard to believe that Tommy was ready to simply move on
"We�re friends. We�ve put the past behind us and we�re both going forward with our lives." Tommy reiterated smiling at her. He closed the top of his box and lifted it up, carrying it toward the door.
"Well if you really have closure and are moving on then that�s great." Hayley said. She still wasn�t sure if she believed that after all Tommy has gone through the last few years they were closing the book and moving on, but if he said they were than she would believe it for now.
Tommy shook his head and smiled at her. "We really are. I promise. Kim and I are just friends and that�s all." He didn�t know what was so hard for Hayley to believe. He and Kim talked and they agreed to be friends.
"Ok well have fun in Angel Grove. Call me if you need me." Hayley said dropping the subject as Tommy approached the door
"I will." he promised as Hayley opened the door for him. He walked through and headed toward his jeep, tossing the box in the back. Climbing into the front seat he cranked the engine and was off for Angel Grove.
As the morning rolled into the afternoon there was a lot of activity stirring on the moon high above the rangers. Callisto arrived back on the moon for the first time in a week. From the looks of things the castle was finally finished. She would have to give it to Rhianna, she had done a hell of a job on it.
Callisto headed inside and worked her way toward the main room where she found her counterpart. "I see you have everything finished."
Rhianna nodded her head yes. "Yes now we�ll be ready for full fledged attacks against the rangers."
"You may need a little bit of help with that." Callisto replied
Rhianna turned toward her as she pulled her hand out from her side, revealing the staff she was holding. "What�s that?" she questioned standing and walking toward her
It took an entire week but Callisto had finally hunted down a staff suitable for Rhianna. This would make her at least as powerful as her parents if not more so. It was only the beginning of what she wanted to do in order to boost her power. "This is for you." she said extending her arm and handing her the staff
Rhianna took the staff in both hands and examined this. "What can this do?" she questioned looking up at her goddess friend
"For starters you can make monsters, make them grow." Callisto explained. "Of course there is a lot more power to the staff than just that."
"Can I give it a try?" she asked the excitement showing in her eyes
"Be my guest." Callisto replied
Rhianna walked over toward the window of her throne room, which was facing Earth. "Should I go down there to find a good monster?" she asked
"I don�t think that will be necessary." Callisto replied
Rhianna started thinking about how in the world was she going to be able to see the rangers if she didn�t go down there when all of the sudden the crystal on the top of her staff started to glow and she got a clear picture of Angel Grove. "This does have a lot of power." she said smiling. "Now I just have to figure out what to make into a monster."
"Take your time. Whatever you see, your staff has the power to change it." Callisto replied
Rhianna nodded and continued to scan Angel Grove, looking for the perfect item to make into her first monster.
Rocky stood in his school in the early afternoon hours as he was helping a student after class. The boy he was helping was sweet and desperately wanted to learn, but he was having trouble picking up on some of the easy concepts. Rocky promised to help him some after class.
The boy�s mother eventually walked in and headed over to the mats. "How are you boys doing?"
"Good mom." her son replied
Rocky smiled at her. "He�s picked up on a lot. I think he�ll be just fine."
"That�s great." she said as her son walked over to her and she put her arm around him. "You ready to go home."
"Yeah I guess." the boy replied with a hint of sadness in his voice. He really wanted to stay and work some more, but he knew that he couldn�t. "We�ll practice more later right?" he asked Rocky as his eyes grew wide and his voice perked up
"Of course we will." Rocky replied. He said goodbye and watched as the excited child left with his mother. He walked toward his office once the school was empty, smiling at the secretary as he passed.
Heading into the office he sat down in his seat. He was done with teaching for the day, he had passed all his afternoon classes to an old friend and was trying to concentrate on more of the business end of things. He was trying to get someone to cover his morning classes but he hadn�t pressed the issue as he had promised that little boy he�d help him some.
Rocky dug through his desk drawers until he came up with his cell phone. Flipping it open he saw that he missed three calls. One was from his brother, one was from Carri and one was from Jessica. There were two messages and he was hoping Jessica was not one of them. He dialed into his voicemail and pulled the phone up to his ear.
The first message on there was Jessica, telling him she was sorry and loved him and begged him to take her back. He sighed as he deleted that one. It wasn�t the first time since he left her at the hospital that she called and tried to get him to pick her over Carri. He hoped she would give up soon. The next message popped up and it was Carri, saying that she was at the Command Chamber doing some work and seeing if he had time to come help.
He didn�t really have a lot to do that afternoon and after spending four years without her he loved any opportunity to spend time with her. He smiled as he deleted the message, then slipped out of his office and told his secretary he�d return soon. He headed toward the back of the building where noone would see him before teleporting out.
As he arrived in the Command Chamber, he saw Carri leaning over a console. "Hey babe." he called out
She stood up straight and spun around. "Hey." she said as she walked over and put her arms around his neck, giving him a kiss. "I take it you got my message."
"Yes I did." he replied returning her kiss. "I thought I�d come help you get some work done." he said as he smiled at her
"Hey." a male voice said suddenly interrupting Rocky�s moment
Rocky peered around Carri and looked to see Zhane, who was standing up from behind the control panel. He must�ve been ducked down which is why he didn�t see him when he came in. "Hey." he said his voice filled with uncertainty. He didn�t feel comfortable with Carri hanging out in the Command Chamber with someone she�s admitted to sleeping with. "What are you doing here?"
"Carri asked me to help her get some of this work done." he replied with a smile. He did pick up on the tone in Rocky�s voice and was trying to brush it off.
"Oh." was all he said as he leaned down and gave Carri a look
"So let�s get this stuff finished and we can all get on with our days." Carri said quickly going to pick up another piece. She hadn�t told Zhane that Rocky knew, she didn�t think it was important. Now she wish she did as she was afraid they were going to butt heads before this was all said and done.
"Sounds like a plan to me." Zhane said as he ducked back down and continued working on what he was doing before
Carri walked Rocky over to the front of another panel and got him to help her take it off so they could get that piece installed. "So how was work this morning?" she asked making small talk
"Good." he replied. He couldn�t help but keep glancing over at the panel that Zhane was behind. As much as he trusted Carri, he didn�t like the fact that she spent all morning with him here alone. He didn�t know Zhane well enough to know if he could trust him or not.
"Have you passed out all your classes yet?" she questioned. She knew he was trying to get other teachers to take over the rest of his classes so she thought she�d ask about it. Anything to keep him from thinking about Zhane.
"Almost." he said continuing with the one word answers
Carri sighed. Something had to be done about this. She watched as Zhane emerged from behind the panels and picked up another piece, examining it for a second to see what the instructions said to do with it. He flashed her a smile as he walked by her and headed behind another panel.
Luckily Rocky didn�t notice his smile as he was working on installing his piece. Carri stood beside him watching as what she was doing only needed on person. A few minutes later Zhane reappeared.
"I can�t get this in by myself. Can I get a hand?" he asked
Rocky and Carri turned toward him. "Sure." Carri replied as Rocky shot him a look
Zhane looked at Carri strangely as Rocky�s eyes felt like daggers shooting at him. He led her around to the back and put the piece in her hands. "This goes all the way in. I need you to hold onto it so I can attach it."
"No problem." she replied. She picked the piece up and leaned into the back of the panel
Zhane leaned in beside her and whispered to her. "What�s up with Rocky?" he asked as he started to attach the piece
"He knows." she whispered back. "About us."
"Yeah but that was a long time ago it�s done with." Zhane pointed out. Neither had any interest in each other besides just friends and hadn�t in a well over a year. Zhane was more than happy with Karone and Carri was thrilled to be back with Rocky again.
"You know that, I know that, even he knows that but I don�t think he cares." she replied
Zhane rolled his eyes. "Whatever." he said repeating words and gestures he had picked up from Kim, Carri and Ashley over the years. He needed to get more leverage to get part of this piece screwed in. He squeezed his arm out and put his hand on the best place he could reach, the small of Carri�s back. He used her to push off on and get the piece installed.
With her help it didn�t take long. As he was finishing up he felt something grab onto him and fling him backwards onto his back. "What the hell do you think you�re doing?" Rocky asked glaring at him
"Helping you guys upgrade the Command Chamber." he replied as he sat up
"I think you can do that without your hands all over my girlfriend�s back." Rocky replied as Carri jumped back out of the panel and stood
She cocked her head and looked strangely at him. "Please tell me what the hell this is all about."
"I�m not going to sit here and watch while your ex is feeling you up." Rocky told her as he crossed his arms. "And as long as we�re discussing this, I don�t appreciate you turning to him for help."
"First, he wasn�t feeling me up. Second he doesn�t want me and I don�t want him. But we are friends and friends do help each other. If it was Jason with his hand on me like that you wouldn�t care." she said crossing her arms as well
Truthfully if it was Jason he would still care but he wouldn�t say anything as he knew there had never been anything between them. But there was one huge reason why Jason didn�t bother him as much as Zhane. "You�ve never slept with Jason." he pointed out
"Mine and Zhane�s relationship was a long time ago." she said making a point of her own
"Well how would you like it if Jessica was hanging around with me?" he asked trying to get her to see things from his point of view
"That�s different." she growled. Jessica wanted him for eight years and probably still wants him. They dated a lot longer than she and Zhane did and he knew for a fact that Jessica got under her skin more than anybody. He wouldn�t have an opinion on Zhane if she hadn�t have slept with him.
Rocky thought for a moment. Perhaps Carri was right but he wasn�t going to admit that.
"Look I�m with Karone now. I have no interest in Carri." Zhane pipped up trying to help her out
"Then why hang around?" he asked
Carri had a murderous look in her eye. He had no idea what it was like to be on a ship with someone and only have that person as a friend. You were bound to get close, and forming that kind of relationship you were bound to stay close even after the adventure was over. "He�s hanging around because he�s my friend. He and I were close for four years and after what we�ve been through a friendship like that doesn�t just dissolve. And if you can�t"
Mid sentence the alarms in the Command Chamber went off. Carri thought it was perhaps for the best as her temper was flaring and she could�ve said something that would�ve gotten her kicked to the curb. Carri rushed to the controls to key up the problem.
"Looks like our first monster." Rocky said as he looked at the screen
"Well let�s go give him a warm ranger welcome." she replied with a smile. She was more than ready to pummel something at the moment. "Zhane can you contact the others?" she asked looking over toward him
"Will do." he replied standing up
"Alright. Then the only thing that�s left is shift into turbo!" she said yelling out the last three words of the sentence. The two rangers morphed and quickly teleported to the scene as Zhane went to contact their teammates.
Kim sat in her tiny office working on something that needed to get done quickly. She had a lot of ideas flowing and she was trying to get them all down on paper. She glanced up through the glass of her office with just enough time to see Sandy whip her head away as though she wasn�t staring at her.
Although she enjoyed what she was doing, the past week and a half had been difficult. Sandy still didn�t like her and had no clue why Ashley had brought her on. She was quick to stand behind her and judge her every move. Ashley could tell that Kim was a bit frustrated and told her not to worry about it. As long as it was Ashley�s company, her�s was the only opinion that mattered.
Which made Kim feel a little bit better, as Ashley had loved some of the ideas Kim had come up with in Monday�s meeting. She told her to get some rough drafts up for her to see by the end of the week and that was exactly what she was working on.
Of course she�d probably be farther along if there weren�t two Cirranadrone attacks yesterday. Those weren�t the only attacks they had seen, there were four from the week before Fortunately Cirranadrone attacks were usually over in ten minutes or so. Sandy was not happy with Kim for all the ten minute breaks she was taking and had already complained to Ashley more than once. Ashley was well aware that Kim was involved again with the rangers and brushed off all of Sandy�s complaints.
Kim tried not to think about it as she leaned back in her chair and studied her work. Another idea came to mind and she leaned forward again, just as her communicator went off. She sighed, like she needed another Cirranadrone attack today. If she didn�t work for Ashley, she�d probably already have been fired.
After making sure noone was looking, Kim angled her chair so noone looking in could tell what she was doing. She brought her communicator to her mouth and responded. "Go ahead."
"Looks like you�ve got your first monster from Rhianna and Callisto." a male voice replied
Kim couldn�t quite place the voice but it sounded a lot like Zhane. Now was not the time to worry about that though. "Shit." she said forcefully as the realization that Callisto and Rhianna were now in the monster making business sunk in. "Alright I�m on my way."
Kim spun her chair back around and stood up, heading out the office door. As she walked toward the elevators she was stopped by Sandy. "Miss Heart, where are you going? I believe you have plenty of work to do."
"I do." she replied flashing her a smile. "But I�m a bit stuck and so I�m heading to Starbucks for a drink. Coffee based beverages help me think."
"Fine." Sandy said a fake smile plastered on her face. "Just don�t take too long."
"It�s coffee. How long could it take?" Kim joked all the while thinking that the monster could take forever. She didn�t have time to worry about it now as she headed toward the elevator and hit the button. She rode it down to the first floor then jetted out of the building.
As soon as she was safely in the back of the building, she was ready to join the fight. "Shift into turbo!" she yelled and in a flash of pink she was gone
Tommy pulled up in front of the apartment he was renting in Angel Grove. He was going to miss having his own house, but there weren�t any fully furnished homes for rent in the area so he went with an apartment.
He opened the back door of his jeep and stacked the last two boxes on top of each other. He carried them down the sidewalk and toward the door of his place. Struggling he held on to the boxes with one arm while he fumbled around looking for his keys with the other. Finally he pulled out the key to the apartment and got it in the lock, flipping it open and walking in.
There was a pile of boxes inside already, and Tommy clunked the last two down beside them. He paused for a second and looked around the apartment. It was a one bedroom, one bath with a tiny second room that was set up as an office. It would be more than Tommy would need in Angel Grove. The rent wasn�t bad, which was good as he was still paying the mortgage on his Reefside home.
This was the first time in a long time that he was grateful he wasn�t just a teacher, that he had his doctorate as well. His doctorate had given him the opportunity to do research and create things for companies both small and large. The pay for the research was amazing, and he had taken most of the money and put it into savings or invested it. The only time he spent any of it was on things ranger related, as his teachers salary was enough for him to live the lifestyle of a normal bachelor who owned his own home.
He had a few research projects already lined up to take him through the first half of the year. He was almost glad he wasn�t teaching the rest of the semester, as rangering was going to take up a lot of his time. If he was teaching as well he would never have time to get to his research. If he couldn�t get projects done for these companies on time, he would loose his credibility and not many companies would want to hire Dr. Thomas Oliver, the man who gets you stuff done on his time schedule. But now here he was, with nothing to do between attacks except work on his research.
Tommy glanced over at the boxes on the floor and decided that now was a good of a time as any to start putting the boxes in the rooms where they belonged, and maybe even start unpacking them. His only plans for the day involved meeting up with Jason later.
He chuckled to himself as he thought about that. He wasn�t quite sure what he was getting himself into. But Jason wanted to hang out with him some now that they were both in the same town again. And he wanted to get Tommy back into the swing of things. In a way Tommy was looking forward to what Jason had planned.
As he lifted a box and headed toward the bedroom, his communicator went off. He quickly set the box down just inside the bedroom door as he pulled his communicator toward his mouth. "Go ahead."
"You guys have a monster to deal with."
The male voice came through loud and clear, although Tommy couldn�t quite place it. "On my way." he replied looking around the apartment. He was trying to make sure noone was peering through the window, as the last team he was on got caught morphing by a high school reporter. Fortunately for them she decided that the rangers lives were more important than the story, but Tommy didn�t want to chance someone else figuring out their secret.
Satisfied that he didn�t have any nosey neighbors, Tommy morphed. "Shift into turbo!" he yelled and within seconds the red ranger was headed to the scene.
The five rangers were quick to gather on the battlefield and get their first glimpse of the monster. Carri cocked her head and looked at the monster curiously. "Is that a giant troll doll?" she asked. Standing in the center of the Cirranadrones, Goldar and Cratus was what appeared to be a giant troll dressed as Robin Hood.
Laughter escaped from Kim�s lips as she looked at the troll. "She certainly is her father�s daughter."
Suddenly the troll pulled arrows out and with one shot fired several rounds at the rangers. The girls amusement quickly faded as they ducked out of the way. "Toy or not," Tommy started as he stood back up, "we need to take it down."
With that Tommy was the first ranger to run for an attack. He headed toward the monster and wasted no time trying out his turbo weapons. "Turbo lightning sword!" he called out as he leaped into the air, attacking with the sword on the way down
The other rangers were anxious to try out their new weapons, and one by one they called for them and ran to attack. Kim and Carri called for their Turbo Wind Fire and Turbo Star Charges and ran after Goldar and Cratus, firing at them before launching in hand to hand combat. While the girls were initiating their attacks, the remaining two rangers called for the Turbo Thunder Cannon and Turbo Hand Blasters and ran into battle with the Cirranadrones.
The first few minutes of the battle were frenzied, as everyone started to fight against everyone else. Kim started off facing Cratus, until he pulled out a weapon and fired it at her, flinging her back. She hit the ground hard and barely heard Tommy yell at her as she was covered by Cirranadrones. She fought her way to her feet and looked at the small army that was surrounding her.
Feeling as though she had no other choice, she levitated above them and fired at them with her weapon before flying behind them and landing safely on the ground. Tommy watched as Kim started to fight them more in the open, but didn�t have a chance to process what she just did as Cratus came up behind him. Tommy turned with his sword and sliced Cratus back before engaging him in combat.
Tommy watched as the Troll monster continued to fire arrows at the rangers. Rocky was trying to control him but wasn�t having as much luck as he had hoped. Everyone else was too busy to go help, and that�s when Tommy decided that this had to end fast. Tommy pulled out his Turbo Blade and with a weapon in each hand, he furiously attacked Cratus.
As Cratus fell to the ground he looked up at the red ranger. "If the monster fails, I�ll be back for you." he promised as he took off
"I�ll be waiting." Tommy replied for noone�s benefit but his own
Carri saw Tommy send Cratus packing and decided that it was high time to do the same thing with Goldar. She ducked and oncoming attack and rolled out of the way. As she stood, she jumped into the air and fired blasts from her Star Chargers until she got close and was able to use them to electrocute him. Carri stood there and watched him fall to the ground. "You�re going to have to do better than that Goldie."
"This isn�t over." he growled glaring at her for a moment before disappearing
Before she had a chance to get back to the action she heard someone yell look out from behind her. She snapped around to see Rocky picking himself up from beside the troll and three arrows flying straight for her. Rocky couldn�t believe what she did, as with a flip of the wrist the arrows were suddenly flying to the side and hitting the ground, just missing her.
He didn�t get to say anything as she immediately jumped into the air and fired her weapons at the troll. As she hit the grounds more weapons were shot off behind her and the red ranger landed next to her. Tommy had fought through some Cirranadrones to get there. Now that both Goldar and Cratus were gone and the number of Cirranadrones were dwindling, they could concentrate on the monster.
Kim and Jason watched as the monster fight ensued. Both were fighting off against the remainder of the Cirranadrones. Both were ready for that part of the battle to end as the Cirranadrones seemed to be getting tougher with every fight. Kim knew for a fact that Callisto prided herself on upgrading her warriors. She wanted the toughest fighters that could be found, and Kim could honestly say that no army she had ever faced before compared. That wasn�t to say that Callisto had the toughest fighters, but she was certainly trying.
It didn�t take the pink and green rangers too much longer to finish one part of the fight and be ready for the next. The duo took care of the last of the Cirranadrones and ran over to join their other three teammates in battle, each taking turns leading an attack against the troll monster.
In the middle of the vicious cycle of attacking then retreating to avoid the arrows that the troll shot, a voice came through Carri�s communicator. "Hey guys I think I have an idea." Zhane spoke catching the rangers attention. "Fire at his midsection."
"At his midsection?" Carri questioned aloud as she glanced at the troll. She studied him for a moment until she realized what she had missed before. She was able to catch a glimpse of a green crystal sitting on the belly of the troll that was hidden by his shirt. "Guys there�s a crystal. Aim for the crystal."
"Let�s try these." Tommy said touching his belt with one hand and motioning for them to join him with the other. The rangers fell in beside Tommy and each went for their Auto Blasters. "Auto Blasters, fire!" Tommy ordered
The five beams hit the troll directly in the center of it�s crystal. There was a small explosion as the troll fell to the ground. As the dust settled, the troll grew to city wrecking size.
Kim sighed as she watched the troll tower over Angel Grove. "Yup. Just like her father."
"We need Turbozord power now!" Tommy called out, trying not to show his amusement with Kim�s comment. She was right, it was a lot like fighting Rita and Zedd all over again, only the warriors were a lot tougher.
The rangers jumped into their zords and quickly formed the megazord. Using the same strategy as before they concentrated their firepower on the crystal, bringing the troll down for good. Satisfied that they had destroyed him, they teleported to the Command Chamber.
"Well." Callisto said as she watched the rangers destroy the monster. She wasn�t expecting much out of a troll monster, although it was Rhianna�s pick. Rhianna didn�t know much about Earth culture and she thought that the Robin Hood troll doll looked mean. Callisto figured if anything it was her first monster and a good way to get her feet wet.
"That was a failure." Rhianna pointed out as she looked away from Earth with disgust
"Don�t worry." Callisto assured her. "It was your first monster. Your powers will grow and we will be able to make something much more powerful than that." Callisto�s plan was to keep advancing Rhianna�s powers. She had the idea for the ultimate tool of destruction, but she wouldn�t be ready for it until Rhianna was ready.
"What about them?" Rhianna questioned, pointing toward the two that ran off during the battle
"There was nothing they could�ve done." Callisto pointed out. "But in the future they will serve their purpose." she assured her as she glared at them and made a fireball with one had and rolled it around on her fingers
They both got the hint as they muttered their own assurances of future successes. Satisfied with their answers, the fireball disappeared and Callisto headed out of the main room, leaving them there with Rhianna to think about what they wanted to do next.
The rangers arrived back in the Command Chamber, where Zhane was busy working and trying not to pay them much attention. Kim and Carri were both ready to make a few comments about the mission and get back to what they were doing. That would not be the case as Rocky and Tommy both stood firmly in front of them.
They both had questions to ask stemming from their performance on the battlefield. Jason stood to the side looking at them curiously as he wasn�t aware of the questions that he already had the answers to. "You girls did some interesting things out there. Are they part of your Turbo powers?" Tommy asked. Thanks to the Dino Thunder team he knew first hand how ranger powers could easily translate into other powers. He hadn�t received any special powers from the Turbo morphers, but he assumed they did.
"What are you talking about?" Kim asked genuinely confused by his question
"You hovered over a group of Cirranadrones then practically flew over their heads. That�s not natural, even for a ranger." Tommy pointed out
"Oh that." Kim said flashing him a smile. "That I learned from Dulcea. When I was on Phaedos I learned to tap into the powers of the crane. I can levitate at small heights and fly, if you want to call that flying."
"And what about the thing with the arrows?" Rocky asked looking at Carri
"What thing?" she questioned. So much happened on the battlefield that she didn�t recall all the specifics.
He held his hand out and flicked his wrist. "Then the arrows hit the floor."
"I trained in telekinetic abilities on KO-35. It was a lot of hard work but I�m told I was a fast learner. It�s kind of second nature now." she explained giving him a smile
"Why didn�t you tell us about this?" Tommy asked thinking about how it would have been nice for him to know
"We told you we were trained. We just didn�t think about giving the specifics until they came up. Jason and Billy knew." Kim replied flashing him a smile. Neither woman was intentionally keeping secrets, and neither was going to apologize for not telling the remaining two rangers.
Tommy shot Jason a look. "It�s not a big deal." Jason replied part in his defense and part in theirs. "It doesn�t impact what we�re doing." he pointed out
Tommy sighed. Jason was right, but he still would have liked to know. "Is there anything else we should know about you guys."
"Not that I know of." Carri replied flashing the red ranger a smile
"If that�s all we want to talk about regarding this fight, I have to get to Starbucks and get a coffee so I can take it back to work." Kim replied flashing Tommy a smile as well
Tommy nodded. There wasn�t much more about the fight to be said. It was no different than fighting Rhianna�s parents and until the formula got shaken up, they knew what to do and they did it well. "Actually I think I�m going to go get a coffee too." he told her
"Great. Then let�s go." she replied teleporting out. She couldn�t afford to waste anymore work time standing here.
Tommy quickly teleported out behind her, leaving three members of the Turbo team in the Command Chamber. Jason stood there looking at Carri and Rocky, who were exchanging awkward glances as Zhane was busy working around the Command Chamber. He had a good idea of what might have been going on. He definitely wanted all the details later, but for now he wanted to head back and put some fresh ideas into his book.
"I�ve got some stuff I need to do. I�ll talk to you guys later." Jason said as he teleported out
"So." Carri said crossing her arms and looking over at Rocky
"So." he replied. "We need to talk." he said as she nodded
Zhane heard the conversation start between the duo and took that as his cue to leave. "I need to go find something. I�ll be back." he said as he hustled out of the main door, leaving them alone
"I�m sorry." Rocky started after Zhane had left
"For?" she questioned. She had an idea of why he was sorry but she wanted to hear him say it.
"I was thinking about it, and you were right. I have no idea what the last four years of your life were like. I have no idea how it was to spend most of them with one person. I can only imagine that romantic feelings or not, you�d still be close." he explained
"I�m sorry too. If it would�ve been Jessica I�d have kicked her ass first then yours." she apologized. Of course that wasn�t to say she wouldn�t have done it all over again. She was still friends with Zhane and she would still spend time with him, she was just going to have to learn to be more cautious around Rocky. She always knew he was jealous about hers and Jason�s friendship, God only knows how he feels about her and Zhane.
"Are we good?" Rocky questioned smiling at her
"Only if you�re alright with Zhane being around. Because in all fairness he is a Planetary Ranger and this is still as much his fight as it is mine and Kim�s." she replied
"He can be around as long as he�s not touchy feely with you." Rocky promised. If he ever thought that Zhane was trying to win Carri�s heart he�d be more than a little unhappy.
"Deal." she said grinning at him. She was glad that they weren�t going to start fighting about it all over again. She could have seen how they could have easily gotten into it during the heat of the moment, and if the argument would have started again she would�ve gone all out.
"Deal." he agreed smiling back and putting his arms around her. He was glad that was done, as after not seeing her for four years the last thing he wanted to do was fight. He regarded her for a moment before leaning in and pressing her lips against his. She returned the kiss and he leaned back as she put her arms around him and brought him close again.
"Shall we finish some of this work?" she asked
"Sounds like a plan to me." he replied. He let her led him back to the equipment just as Billy was teleporting back in.
"Sorry I was gone so long." he apologized as he arrived and saw Rocky and Carri standing there. Work had kept him their a bit longer than expected and all the arguing and blunders from people he was now thinking about firing had given him a splitting headache. "I see you found some help."
"Yeah I�ve had Rocky and Zhane lending a hand. We worked until the monster fight." she replied
"There was a monster fight?" Billy questioned. Usually he was alerted whenever Callisto or Rhianna sent forces to Earth. However if Carri had received the alarm quickly enough it would have disabled the alert.
Rocky let out a slight laugh. "We battled the troll doll monster."
"Although the first monster may have been amusing, I have a feeling she�s going to come into her powers and we�re going to be in for serious battles." Billy pointed out. He worried about what Rhianna may be capable of, but until she showed her true power there was nothing he could do.
"Yes but until then we can laugh at the troll doll monster." Carri was quick to add. She had found it quite amusing even though it�s arrows actually did deliver quite a kick.
Billy smiled at her. "Come on, let�s get this finished." he said gesturing to what was left on the Command Chamber floor
The duo joined him and Zhane eventually followed as they all worked quickly to help Billy finish installing his upgrades.
Kim stood at the counter at Starbucks, waiting for her coffee. She didn�t really want it, but she knew if she went back without it Sandy would be suspicious. She glanced over at Tommy, who was standing beside her waiting for a drink of his own.
"So when are you heading back to Reefside?" she asked giving him a slight smile
"Oh I�m not." he said quickly smiling back. Kim looked at him slightly confused by his response. Tommy picked up on her expression and continued. "I mean I will eventually but for now I�m renting a place in town. If the attacks are going on in Angel Grove, this is where I need to be."
"That�s nice." Kim said as she picked up her coffee. She wasn�t sure what to say to Tommy. When they were dating it flowed so easily but now that they�re pretending to be just friends it was hard.
Tommy grabbed his coffee and watched as Kim turned to walk out of the coffee shop. He followed closely behind her and as they stepped outside, he fell in beside of her. "It�s a nice day out here." he said casually
"Yeah it is." she replied
"Too bad we had to spend part of it fighting." Tommy added
Kim shrugged. "That�s the life of a ranger." she replied although she knew that he was as aware of that as she was
"I think it�s great." Tommy said
"What? The fighting?" Kim questioned having no clue what Tommy was referring to
"No. Well kind of." Tommy said as he looked over and smiled at her. "For over a week we�ve been fighting side by side and working really well together. I have to admit, I was kind of nervous about everything. But since we talked it out and we know that we�re just friends, we�re working like a well oiled machine. You have to admit, that first mission was awkward."
"Yeah it�s great to be friends again. It does help on the battle field to be speaking to each other. Especially since we�re both leaders." Kim said flashing him a smile. She had no idea where this conversation was going or what Tommy was doing out here with her.
"Not only does us being friends help on the battlefield, but it helps me personally too. For the longest time I thought there was something wrong with me and I didn�t want to move on. Since we�ve talked, it helped me realize that things weren�t like I thought they were. I�m not a bad person, I deserve someone." he said looking down at her. She made a face and he quickly continued. "You do too. We both deserve the opportunity to be able to find someone to be happy with."
"We do." she replied, although after all they�d been through together she was surprised that he seemed so willing to just be friends and move on
"It�s great that we can be so mature about it, the just friends thing." Tommy added. "I mean we�ve put the past behind us. Now we can look toward the future and start dating other people and it won�t be awkward. We�ll still be friends."
"Of course." she said thankful that they were almost at her work building. She was more than tired of listening to Tommy go on about how they were friends and were moving on. She tuned out Tommy�s rambling for the next few minutes until she stood in front of the building. "Well Tommy it was good to walk and talk with you, but I�ve been gone too long and I need to get back up there."
"Don�t want you to get fired." he said with a smile. "I just wanted to catch up with a good friend. Talk some."
"Alright. Well I�ll talk to you later then." she said smiling as she walked into the building. She wiped the smile off her face as she approached the elevator. Yeah it was great to be friends and she was so excited to be able to date other people. Kim rolled her eyes to herself as the elevator doors dinged open and she walked in, hitting the button for her floor.
According to Tommy, it was over and they were moving on. She wasn�t sure if he really meant it or not, but he sure sounded like it. Maybe he was trying to make her feel better. Who knows. She sighed as the doors opened once again, and she exited and headed toward her office. She didn�t get very far before she was stopped.
"That was a long trip for coffee." Sandy said snidely
"Well it was Starbucks and there was a long line and"
"Ashley wants to see you." Sandy said cutting her off. She wasn�t in the mood for her excuses. She had complained to Ashley who promised to take care of it when she got back.
Kim let out another sigh. This day kept getting better and better. "Fine." she replied as she headed off for Ashley�s office.
When she arrived the secretary told her to go on in. Kim entered, shutting the door behind her. As the door shut Ashley looked up and smiled. "Hey have a seat." she said gesturing to the chair in front of her
Kim slouched down in the chair. "I�m so sorry about being gone so long. It�s just that we had to go up against our first monster and things were kind of hectic."
"Don�t worry about it. Trust me, if anyone understands I do." Ashley promised. She knew Kim�s involvement with the rangers would keep her out of the office some. As long as she made it up and the work got done, she didn�t care. "I just had to call you in here to keep Sandy off of your case. She�s whined about every long break you�ve taken. I�m sure she wouldn�t complain if she knew you were out saving her life."
"Thank you." Kim replied flashing her a smile and relaxing a little bit in her seat
"So how are things going with the fight?" Ashley asked
"Like I said they�re in the monster making business now. But Rhianna�s no worse than her parents yet so it�s pretty easy. The Cirranadrones are getting tougher, but we can still handle them. It�s just a lot going on. They�re serious about revenge and taking over the planet so they want to keep us on our toes." Kim said. She knew that Callisto and Rhianna wouldn�t quit pushing until they got their way. Which meant although things seemed relatively easy now, there was an uphill battle in their future.
"So same old same old for now?" Ashley questioned smiling at her. "How about everything else? How�s the team doing?"
"The team�s fine. Rocky and Carri are together, Carri and I are still close and Jason�s good friend�s with us, and Tommy and I are just friends and going to start seeing other people." she said trying to smile through clinched teeth
Ashley picked up on the irritation in her voice. "So you and Tommy are through."
"According to him. We�ll see though." she replied. She had been thinking about their relationship, or lack there of, since she spoke to him at his home in Reefside. Now he seemed bent on the just friends concept and she felt confused. Not that he ever gave her any indication that he wanted more than that, but she found it hard to believe that he could just turn the switch off that easily.
Ashley gave her a sympathetic smile. "Well I guess I�ve kept you long enough for Sandy." she said not wanting to continue the conversation for Kim�s sake. "You can head back to your office and work on those ideas of yours."
"Thanks." Kim replied smiling back at her. She stood up and walked out of the office, sighing once more as she headed back to her workspace. She had a monster fight, her immediate boss hates her, and Tommy wants to be just friends. At least the day couldn�t get any worse from there.
Kim pulled up into the driveway in her Pontiac Grand Am. Her father had loaned her money to get a car, as she knew that was the first thing she needed once she got her job. She�d had it for two days and it was a used car, but she loved it and in a few years it would be hers. Cutting the engine off she climbed out of the drivers side just as Carri came bursting through the front door.
"Are we ready to eat? I�m starving." she said flashing her a smile
"As ready as I�m going to be." Kim said smiling back. The rest of her day was not much to be excited about as Sandy was breathing down her neck the entire time. She was more than ready to go have dinner and clear her head a bit.
"You driving?" Carri asked
"You know, I think the wind on my face might feel really good at the moment." Kim said. She owed Carri and was more than willing to drive her around, but she knew that sitting in the convertible with the top down she could allow herself to get lost and relax and she really needed that at the moment.
Carri smiled at her. "No problem." she replied hitting the button to unlock her doors. They both climbed in as Carri pulled the top back, then started the engine as they took off. Bulkmeier�s wasn�t far, and although they had only been there a few times they had both grown to love it. That�s why when Carri suggested they have dinner out, it wasn�t a hard choice. It didn�t take long to get to the restaurant, and when they arrived Carri parked the car and the duo climbed out.
They headed in and were quickly seated. The waitress came over and got drink and food orders, leaving the two girls to chat. Once she was out of earshot, Carri spoke up. "You won�t believe my day. Rocky and Zhane saw each other for the first time since the Zordon wave. You can guess that me spending time with someone I slept with didn�t go over well with Rocky."
"What happened?" Kim said pipping up, excited that she wasn�t the only one whose day wasn�t peachy
"We argued, he pretty much wanted me to stay away from Zhane and for him not to come near me. I don�t think it�s any of his business. He doesn�t, nor will he ever, understand what happened up in space. I told him as a Planetary, Zhane has the right to be around." she said purposefully not referring to him as a ranger in the restaurant. She grinned at Kim then continued. "Anyway he apologized later and I gave him an apology, although probably not the world�s most meaningful one. We�re ok now, but God I really thought he was going to rip Zhane�s head off. I mean it�s no secret he wasn�t thrilled with me hanging out with Jason but he tolerates it. I�d hate to see what he�d do with Zhane."
Suddenly Kim reached across the table and grabbed Carri�s hand, a murderous look in her eye. Carri flashed her a smile. "What are you mad at Rocky for getting on Zhane? I know the three of us want to stick together but"
"Not that." Kim practically growled emphasizing each word
Carri turned to follow her gaze to try and figure out what was causing Kim to grind her teeth and partially tear into her skin with her grip. She saw Jason standing with his arm around a petite brunette. Standing beside him was Tommy and a blonde who was drop dead gorgeous. "Maybe blonde big boobs isn�t his date maybe..." Carri let her voice trail off as Tommy pulled the chair out for her, then took the seat next to her and put a hand on her back before scooting in closely. "Wow." Carri said turning back to Kim. "Did you know?" she asked before quickly answering herself. "Obviously you didn�t."
"It makes sense. Do you know he walked me back to my office this afternoon, telling me how great it was that we were just friends and how great it was that we could put the past behind us and move on. Of course I didn�t know that he was serious and that he meant he was moving on tonight with that tramp." Kim said murderous look still in her eyes
"Don�t let her get to you. I mean please, she�s obviously had so many plastic surgeries she looks like her entire body could deflate at any minute." Carri pointed out trying to comfort her friend
"But I thought we were closer than that, and now this.... God I feel like an idiot for thinking for a moment that he might actually still have feelings for me." Kim said leaning back as she felt like hitting herself. She couldn�t take her eyes off of the woman that Tommy had brought out his double date.
"He did say that you were cool to move on right?" Carri asked
"Well yeah but..." Kim started
"No buts." Carri quickly cut her off. "He obviously wasn�t waiting that long before jumping in with someone else. Why should you deny yourself a relationship because of him?"
"Yeah but it�s hard to just forget about everything with Tommy and move on." Kim said frowning
Carri nodded her head in Tommy�s direction. "Are we forgetting about blond big boobs? He�s perfectly content with being your friend while sleeping with someone else. And if that�s the way it�s going to be you need to get yourself someone. I mean at least I had Zhane in space, how long has it been since you�ve been with someone? Forget about Tommy, I�m going to throw you back into the dating world."
"I don�t think Rocky will be happy with you going out to singles bars with me." Kim pointed out making a face
"Who said anything about singles bars? I�m in the production business now. How hard would it be for me to find you a single, sexy man?" Carri said grinning at her
Kim let out a long heavy sigh as she glanced over at Tommy and his date again. "You�re absolutely right. He said we should move on, and he has. Why should I mope over him? I deserve to be just as happy as he is."
"That�s the spirit." Carri replied. Kim deserves so much more than to be sitting around the house, depressed because her exboyfriend won�t take her back.
"From now on, I�m going to be out there looking. If we�re seeing other people, than I should find other people to see." Kim said making a resolution. She would always hold a place in her heart for Tommy, but he obviously really meant it when he said that it was great that they were friends and it was great that they could move on. Now it was time to try and forget about him so that she could be just as happy with someone as he seemed with his tramp.
Kim smiled over at Carri as their dinner came out. She had spent four years in space, where everything was so different. Now that they were back on Earth, things were getting back to normal, or at least normal to them. It was time for her to try and forget about Tommy and start living the life that she deserved.
The End