The Rangers and Lord Zedd get more than they bargained for when Rita takes matters into her own hands…

All things Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. All things Carri belong to KJ, with many thanks. Demonking belongs solely to Daniel White and Teeg and Rexo belong to KS. The premise of the Coin Series has been borrowed from a story written by Terry, Chris, Daniel, Brice, Katey and myself.

The Coin Series take place in an alternate dimension.

Power Rangers: The Coin Series
Back to Action

“Absolutely not.” Billy said, the irritation clear in his voice. “This is a Command Center, not a pet shop.”

Kim turned, one hand still in the tank and the other dripping water over the stone floor. Her house in Turtle Cove had been rented and the moving company had packed everything away into long-term storage until she was finished renovating the old house. Carri had been fine with her taking over the formal living room and dining room of the condo, turning the unused rooms into a huge greenhouse of sorts, but she had drawn the line at her huge fish tank.

“Carri won’t let me keep them at the condo.” Kim said, turning back around to re-plant some of the underwater plants that had come loose from the gravel during transport into the Command Center. “She says they make her skin crawl.”

“That’s no reason to bring them in here.” Billy argued. The last thing he wanted was a couple of fish staring at him. As a child, he’d been afraid of fish, but that phobia had long since been conquered. His distaste for them now was for other reasons. If he’d wanted to work with fish, he’d have stayed on Aquitar.

“It’s only until the house is restored.” Kim called over her shoulder, ignoring him.

“That’s likely to take years.” He said, not giving up ground.

“Well then that will give you a good reason to help me with the new wiring, it’ll speed things up.”

“I already re-wired one house for you.” He said, referring to her house in Turtle Cove.

“And you did a brilliant job too.”

Billy shook his head as he watched her all but crawl into the tank. It was a huge, seventy-gallon affair that was frankly bigger than she was. She had an elaborate under water garden going and only two spoiled occupants to inhabit it. Those occupants had traveled in their own ten-gallon temporary tanks and watched him curiously through the glass. The stupid fantail goldfish had known immediately he could communicate with them and wiggled and twisted around trying to get his attention.

Kim secured the last of the plants and twisted back out of the tank. She hadn’t realized she was leaning so far into it. Her neighbor had been taking care of it since she’d moved back to Angel Grove and she could smell the algae overgrowth. She picked up a cloth and wiped the inside of the tank one more time.

“What’s with all the fish angst?” She asked, a bit ticked with his attitude, she had to find a place for the tank somewhere. She was surprised to meet with so much resistance from everyone.

Jason told her she could keep it at his place, but he’d feed the fish to the next cat he found, Carri flat out wouldn’t have them, and Tommy had just starred at her like she was crazy. Her brother’s tiny apartment was too small and no one else seemed willing to foster them either.

“Remind you too much of your ex?” Jason chuckled, entering the room and catching the tale end of the conversation.

“Not humorous.” Billy growled. “Not even close.”

“Hey, I’m not the one who married a fish.” Jason drawled. “Watch out.” He teased as he handed Kim two, five-gallon jugs of water, “He might be secretly attracted to them.” He chuckled to himself and walked back out of the room to get the other containers he’d brought over from the lab. Billy shot him a murderous look, but didn’t say anything.

His marriage to Cestria had been an odd affair. Aquitians were mammalian, like humans, but they weren’t a physical race. Sex was in no way, shape, or form the way his race copulated on Earth. Cestria had been curious, but she’d also been repelled by his touch. Aquitian procreation was an artificial affair; intimacy was a combination of telepathic and telekinetic techniques. If there was one good thing to come from his tenure on that planet, he thought, it was the development of those skills. Billy shook his mind free of old memories. His marriage had been a joke. Cestria had bled his mind of knowledge and tried to keep him like an exotic pet. She’d been stunned that he rebelled once he gained his strength back, but that was another issue altogether.

“I like them.” Trini said quietly. Tapping one of the temporary holding tanks. “They’re sweet.” She added and Billy’s gaze softened a bit as he looked over at her. She was the most beautiful creature in his universe and in four more days, she’d be completely his. The others had been stunned at their announcement that Trini’s baby was his. Kim had given him an odd look, but when he challenged her stare with one of his own, she’d smiled softly and had said nothing.

“What’s this one’s name?” Trini asked as the fish in question wiggled and flipped around for her.

“Goldar.” Kim said absently, measuring the right amount of aquarium salt into the water Jason had brought her. “The other one is Alpha.”

Trini switched her attention over to the other tank and crooned at the second fish. “Hi Alpha.” She said sweetly, as if she were talking to a human baby.

Goldar and Alpha were actually the fourth of their line. It had started, simply enough, with a visit from Kim’s little sister. Charlotte, the daughter of her mother and stepfather, had been visiting Kim’s house in Turtle Cove and won two small carp at the local carnival. Kim had grudgingly bought a small tank to keep them in and promised to keep good care of them when Charlotte returned to Paris. Within a week of Charlotte’s visit, the two were dead and Kim flushed them away. But within another month, business brought her stepfather Andre back to California and Kim was mortified to learn Charlotte was coming with him.

Kim had always had a soft spot for Charlotte. Her mother’s pregnancy had been somewhat embarrassing for her and mortifying for her little brother. She had only been thirty-seven years old, hardly too old to have a third baby with her new husband, but to a seventeen year old Kim, it had been a bit gross. To make matters worse, both Kim and her brother had been invited to join the birth. Charlotte Girard was born just three days after Kim’s gold medal run at the Pan Games and had been Kim’s darling ever since. She was spoiled rotten, and knew it, but was so sweet that few people cared.

So with Charlotte on her way back from Paris, Kim dutifully went to the pet shop and bought two more fish, depositing them in the tank less than an hour before their arrival. Charlotte was thrilled to see her fish and didn’t even seem to notice that the pair were a completely different breed. However, just before their departure back to France, the entire house was woken up to her screams. The fish were dead; again. After a family burial in the back yard, Kim dutifully took a sobbing Charlotte back to the pet store and purchased two more goldfish. This time Kim put down a good two hundred dollars for fish, a ten gallon tank, gravel, filter, and everything else that goes along with having fish. Charlotte sweetly kissed the fish tank goodbye on her way to the airport and Kim was left staring at two fantail goldfish who looked as if they both knew they had only hours to live.

When Goldar and Alpha the third were also found floating and bloated next to the filter, Kim started to feel really bad. The poor things hadn’t asked to be sentenced to a short life on her countertop, so she sat down at the computer and began to study up on goldfish. When Kim was a child, she remembered having a plain glass bowl with one stupid fish that wouldn’t die if you tried to kill it. Each week she would dump the contents of the bowl into the bathroom sink, rinse it out, then use her hand to dump the fish back inside.

Twenty years later, things were a bit different. The water coming through the pipes into the house contained different puritives and the bottled water she’d used on the last tank didn’t contain either the minerals or the salts necessary for fish to survive. Silently vowing never to drink tap water again, she dutifully cleaned out the old tank, added a second filter, balanced the water, and then let it cure for a week. Too embarrassed to go to the pet store for yet a third round of fish, Kim drove twenty minutes to a specialty store. Goldar and Alpha were the last pair of one inch golden fantails in the tank and the owner assured her they were healthy. Kim spent another hundred dollars on fish books and supplies and took her two helpless experiments home.

The result was that Goldar and Alpha the fourth were the two most spoiled fish on the face of the planet. Since fantails are very social fish, Kim kept their tank in her office, where they could watch her work and she talked to them constantly. This gave both Carri and Jason more than a little concern, but the fish were healthy and quickly outgrew their little tank. To the second, twenty-gallon tank, Kim added an underwater garden, filled with plants the Internet claimed were beneficial to fantails. Within a six months, Kim found herself expanding the tank to fifty gallons and, ignoring the merciless comments from Jason about her insanity, the following Christmas she splurged on the seventy-gallon tank. The two fantails didn’t need a seventy-gallon tank, but it was Kim’s Christmas present to them, and it allowed her to add a few more plants. The two were very animated and would wiggle around whenever she approached the tank.

“You do realize Goldar is female.” Billy drolled.

“Really?” Kim asked, turning around to face him. “The internet says you can’t tell until they reach about three to four years.”

“How old are those two?” Billy asked, coming closer to the holding tanks for the first time and bending down next to Trini. The two fish were a good six inches long, maybe a bit longer, with large fans extending out another few inches.

“Just about two.” Kim said, measuring slime into the replacement water.

Billy stood up and stared at her. “They’re huge.” He said. “Fantails aren’t supposed to be big fish.”

Kim grinned. “Yeah, the owner of the aquarium store says I can have a job anytime I want it.”

“That’s because she doesn’t know how many you killed in the process.” Jason snorted, dropping the last of the water next to Kim. Goldar was a girl, that was awesome. He wondered briefly what his old archenemy would think of his female namesake. Not that it mattered, Goldar was long gone, even Jason didn’t think about him very often.

“Why is that thing in here?” Tommy asked coming to a stop just short of the main control panel and turning around to get a good look at the tank.

“My point exactly.” Billy said, his angst returning.

“Because no one will baby-sit until the house is finished.” Kim responded firmly, “And I’m not going to waste money on renting another apartment when they’re perfectly fine in here.”

Money was quickly becoming an issue with Kimberly. The house was going to cost an unbelievable amount to renovate, even with her Ranger connections, and she’d just received a letter from a lawyer letting her know she needed to either go back to school or get at least a part time job for her trust fund payments to continue.

“Kimberly…” Tommy started in a warning tone he’d developed just for her. A tone she despised. She looked up and shot him a look that meant she wasn’t going to argue the point.

“Fine.” He growled at her, turning around and sitting down at the main consol, he didn’t have the time or the patience to argue with her this morning. He’d just returned from Triforia and didn’t like what he’d seen there. The information Trey had provided scared the shit out of him. He wasn’t going to argue about fish.

Jason raised an eyebrow at the exchange, but said nothing. In the last few weeks since she’d bought her grandfather’s property, the pair had come to a steady truce of sorts and had begun working easily with each other again. It was weird to see them together every day, but not really together. It seemed odd to him that it was Carri and Rocky mooning over each other and not Kim and Tommy; although they did seem to spend a lot of time together lately.

For some reason, the old grid buried on the property she bought wanted to communicate with Tommy more than her. She shrugged it off, but Jason knew it annoyed her to no end. They’d spend hours together planning, working, going out together, even bickering like an old married couple, but they weren’t together. Tommy apparently even had some sort of new girlfriend in Stone Canyon and Kim appeared to care less. Then again, Kim was so focused on her house that she hardly noticed anything else.

To Kimberly’s delight, the house had many wonderful surprises. The top story, which had been sealed off by her grandfather after World War II, had been sealed off completely furnished. The windows had simply been boarded up and the rest left to sit. Except for the heavy tarps that covered the furniture, everything had been left just as it was, as if the occupants had only stepped away a few hours ago. It was a treasure trove of antiques going back to the original days of the house. The rooms gave Tommy a creepy feeling, but Kim was thrilled to find boxes of photos and family records stored away in one of the bedrooms.

The addition of the upstairs doubled the square footage of the house from the county estimate and meant that she would also be able to restore the rooms on the first floor to their original dimensions. She had purchased the property at such a ridiculous price, she had more than enough left over to repair the house, but it was going to take time, even with the added bonus of Ranger technology on her side.

But for every delight, there was devastation. The upstairs portion of the house had never been wired for electricity and the electrical lines to the house had long since been disconnected. The kitchen contained an old gas stove, which meant there had to be a propane tank buried somewhere, but they hadn’t found it. The kitchen also contained the only bathroom and those were the only two rooms that had plumbing.

The city had no intention of another running power line from the main road to the property any time soon and when they did, it was going to cost her a small fortune to have them hook her up. Solar panels were an easy solution to the problem, Kim had access to highly advanced and efficient ones, but she had to repair the roof to install them and repairing the roof required the use of a generator for the power tools, as well as other borrowed technologies. There had also been some dicey moments until it was determined that the well water on the property was both sufficient and potable. Fortunately, the house had been hooked up to the Stone County waterline somewhere in the sixties and Kim had managed to get an account opened again. But that brought up the issue of the old septic tank that needed replacing. Kim had gotten it done. How, Tommy didn’t want to know.

There was also the headache of her grandfather’s nineteen-fifties remodel. Kim was thrilled to find the dropped ceilings hid beautifully plastered ceilings above, but there was no other insulation in the house beyond the last attempt to modernize the first floor. What insulation was present, was full of asbestos.

Given the situation with foundation problems, the lack of wiring, plumbing, and the insulation, the entire house had to be shored up and completely gutted before she could even think about renovating. This was good in the sense that it would allow her to modernize the floor plan and customize it to her own needs, but it was also frustrating considering that all the renovations would have to be done by herself. No contractors, not even her uncle, would touch the job. This left Kim in the embarrassing position of having to mooch help from her friends… again.

She thanked her lucky stars for Tommy, who, although annoying, was genuinely interested in the project. He had flipped many, many houses with his brother and he assured her he was enjoying the diversion. It irked her a bit that the grid ignored her in favor of him. She was, after all, the heir to the property, but she was more than grateful for his help. It also kept him interested in the project and off her back about leadership responsibilities in the Rangers.

Tommy was eager to hand over some of the more mundane aspects he was in charge of. Unfortunately, he had a limited number of people he could delegate to. The more she proved herself capable, the more he handed over. Kimberly had her own duties to take care of and resented the added burdens. It was either confide in Tommy about who she was working with and why or simply shut up and accept the extra duties. She’d found herself tempted to drop the ball on more than one occasion, just to get him to stop, but she never did.

She had to admit, she was fascinated by the depth of his involvements and began to wonder just how he managed it all. Far from being a major or even crowning achievement, his Dino Thunder team had been merely a footnote. His influence was everywhere and she was surprised she hadn’t noticed it before. His whole involvement with the Zeo team seemed to be nothing more than a pastime for him. She didn’t know how he did it.

Kim finished adding the slime and stress relievers to the water and motioned to Jason to help her lift the water containers up into the tank. Jason gave one last look at Tommy’s back, half expecting him to continue his objection, but he never did. Billy turned away and busied himself in one of his own projects and Trini followed him. Fish in the Command Center, Jason thought absently as he lifted the water and poured it into the tank, that was the stupidest thing he’d ever heard of.

“He appears to be abiding by your wishes.” Sirius crooned through the view screen. His voice grated at Teeg’s nerves, but he had been faithful in his reports. She hadn’t been gone that long, she doubted Kimberly had even noticed her absence. She had no doubts Elemi would inform her once they began sparing again, but for now she was content to wait. The Novas were moving quickly and that could only mean one thing; they had discovered the location of another coin.

“I need Kimberly kept occupied over the next few days,” Teeg said absently, as if it were no important task at all. “I need to make certain she doesn’t have enough time to assist the Nova’s.” Procuring a coin would be twice as difficult for them if she wasn’t around. They needed her to break through the force fields and other security devices. If she wasn’t there, they would have to wait for her arrival. That would give Teeg time to cut in and take the coin for herself.

“I have a plan.” Sirius crooned. “A series of monsters that…”

“I care not for your plans.” Teeg hissed. “Do it.”

“Yes my queen. All will be done.”

Teeg flipped the view screen off with irritation, turning her focus back on her round viewing globe. The Nova’s had found something. They were packing up their operations on the planet’s surface. Elemi was on the move and she’d be ready to follow.

Carri rolled over, shielding her eyes from the light with the back of her hand. She had a choice, hot breath in one direction, light from the window on the other.

It hadn’t taken her long at all to get used to sleeping with someone. She had had boyfriends before, but she’d never spent consistent nights with them. She liked it.

Classes at his school didn’t start until two-thirty in the afternoon, but there was always a ton of things to be done before hand. He’d try to arrive by eleven in the morning, sometimes earlier, to steam clean the mat, get paperwork done, or answer the phones. He had an instructor there full time now to oversee the teaching, as well as high belt students who were assisting, but it was his school and he wanted to be there as much as possible. Occasionally, he would travel to his two satellite schools, but mostly the routine stayed the same. He’d generally be home somewhere between seven and eight, depending if he stayed around to teach the high belt class himself.

This suited Carri perfectly. She hated getting up before ten or eleven and loved to stay up late. She usually had quite a bit of work to do, despite her father’s assurance that she wouldn’t have much to do at all, and that generally kept her busy up until a few minutes before he was due home.

They had settled into a good routine. They would meet for dinner about eight and plan their evening from there. At first, Rocky had made an effort to get up and walk back down to the condo he technically shared with Jason, but after the first week she’d told him to lie back down and go to sleep. He would usually start to fall asleep by midnight, one in the morning. Sometimes she could keep him awake, most times she couldn’t. Rocky would sleep until seven or eight, kiss her goodbye, and then head off Jason’s to shower and change. Then the day would start over again.

It surprised her that she liked having him there. The warmth of another body had taken some getting used to, and the snoring, but on the rare night that she slept alone, she missed him.

He rolled over and spooned against her and she smiled. It was his way of telling her he was awake and getting ready to leave. Rocky had given up trying to wake Carri in the mornings. Unless her communicator was going off, it was a hopeless cause. His arm slid around her and he pulled her close, absorbing her warmth for just a few more seconds. Then he kissed her neck, released her, and sat up.

She sighed contentedly and pulled the covers over her head as he dressed; then both of their communicators went off.

“Shit.” Carri spat, throwing the covers off and rubbing her eyes. “These things are starting earlier and earlier on Fridays.” She stood up and began to search out the cloths she wore the night before, stopping only when she noticed him grinning at her.

“What?” she asked.

“It’s amazing how fast you’re actually capable of moving in the morning when you have to.” He said, pulling on his shirt.

She shot him a halfhearted annoyed look and then bounced across the bed towards him.

“Take that back.” She said, throwing her arms around his neck. He leaned in and kissed her thoroughly.

“Good morning.” He whispered.

“Good morning.” She answered, unwilling to give up the kiss. Their communicators chirped again and she fell back on the bed in frustration, bouncing a little from the force.

“Jeans.” She said, rolling off the bed and searching through a basket of clean clothes, “I need my frek’n jeans.”

There were no claybots again this Friday; that in itself was a bad omen. Monster number four-seventy-two was beyond description. It wasn’t a bee, it wasn’t a can of soup, it was some weird mishmash of alien technology. The problem, the Rangers soon discovered, was that it blew up fairly easily. All the little pieces, however, soon became a swarm of little bee cans.

“Did I ask for this before coffee?” Carri hissed as a little bee monster dipped and dove around her helmet, trying to sting her through her uniform. “No, I didn’t ask for this before coffee.”

“Someone want to offer up an idea of what to do now?” Kim asked, in the same boat times around five. “Ow! Shit, that hurts! Watch the stingers guys.” She said.

The morning had been very nice for Kim. She’d taken her drawings over to her uncle’s office for her brother Michael to look at. She knew what she wanted the rooms in the house to look like, but getting the actual construction plans were another story. Despite the early hour, Her brother had his hands full with another client and had passed her off to one of his friends. An hour later, Kim had a date for the night, but she’d also had to run off and answer her communicator.

“I’m out of ideas.” Jason added after his attempts to blast the little bee cans resulted in yet another swarm of smaller bee cans.

“Billy, please tell me you’ve got the equivalent to a can of Raid coming our way.” Carri called over her communicator. She’d been stung about ten times and was beginning to see little yellow lights blinking in front of her eyes. “I don’t feel so good guys.” She said, knees bucking a little. Rocky was by her side in seconds and held her up before she could fall down.

“I’m taking her back to the Command Center.” He called and transported them both out.

“I’m in the same boat.” Kim called, moving toward Jason and Tommy. She linked her arm with Jason’s and leaned against him. “My eyesight’s cutting out.”

“Back to the Command Center.” Tommy called, and the three transported off the scene.

“We did it!” Rita shrieked. “They’re running away. We actually won a fight against the Rangers! I’m impressed you overgrown lizard. I didn’t think that little metal insect had it in him!”

“Sirius!” Zedd growled from his throne. “The Rangers had better survive that venom. If Teeg returns to find them destroyed, you will be the first creature I throw at her.”

“That old witch isn’t here anymore,” Rita whined, “Why should we continue to do her bidding?”

“Silence you gnat eating wing nut.” Zedd barked, raising his staff and shaking it at her. “I am the one who will decide the right time to destroy the Rangers and no one else. For now, I choose to toy with them a little longer.”

“My lord,” Sirius crooned, throat bobbing. “The venom is short lived. The allergic reaction it produces in mammals is easily treated by the simplest technology. I thought only to show you what your genius is capable of, should you decide to no longer play with them.”

Zedd turned his gaze to the large viewing globe. “Let us see just how long it takes them to destroy your little toy.” He said gruffly. “One skirmish hardly wins a battle.”

Carri felt awful. Hundreds of little yellow lights danced in front of her eyes and everything felt three times too big. Her mouth felt like cotton and her throat like sandpaper. It was like she was trying to breathe through a straw.

“It’s an allergic reaction of some type.” Billy said not far from her face. She couldn’t see him, but he was obviously close by. “You should start feeling better in a few minutes.” She felt something cold injected in her neck and assumed it was an antidote of some kind.

“The good news is, Zedd has recalled those things.” Tommy said, coming into the room, “The bad news is we collected very little meaningful data on them and there are several civilians reporting stings.”

“Whatever they were, they’re nasty.” Kim said, rubbing her arm as Billy injected her with anti-venom.

“Tell me you have an idea of how to contain it.” Tommy said turning to Billy. He knew Billy must have already analyzed the data, it was way too organized in the computer. He hated self-replicating monsters, they never fought fair.

Billy reached out and injected him with anti-venom before he could protest. “I’ll prepare some extra doses for the civilians.” He said, turning back to the computer consol. They had all been stung multiple times and were all in various stages of a reaction. Carri had the worst of it. Her face and fingers were swollen and tiny hives had appeared all over her body.

“It’s not like we can flood Angel Grove with poison.” Jason offered. “Killing the people would kinda defeat the purpose.”

“It’s doubtful an artificially created monster would react to poison.” Billy said absently, filling several vials with serum. Besides, he’d already considered the idea.

“What about sound?” Kim offered. “I installed a couple of those sound repellents in the house to drive off the wasps that moved into the upstairs wall. Would that work?”

“It’s an intriguing concept. Providing those creatures will actually respond like insects and assuming we can find the correct frequency. It may only act as a deterrent, but it might buy us time to find a way to destroy them” Billy said, considering the idea. “Do you have one I could look at?”

“They’re up at the house. I can get one.” She said standing up. The yellow lights immediately assaulted her eyes and stumbled against Tommy.

“I’ll go get one.” Rocky offered. “I don’t seem to be effected by the stings.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Tommy said. “That house has issues.”

“That’s the understatement of the century.” Jason added. Why Kimberly was so bound and determined to keep that house was beyond him.

“I’ll go.” Tommy said and transported out before anyone could protest.

“I guess that leaves me to deliver the anti-venom to the civilians.” Jason said, taking the vials Billy handed him and also transporting out.

Trini was more miserable than she’d been in her entire life. Half way through the bee can attack, she’d had to retreat back to Billy’s lab when the nausea overcame her. It was awful, she was of no use to the Rangers and certainly no use to Billy in his lab.

She reached down and turned up the anti nausea device Billy had given her, but before it could take effect, her stomach heaved and she was assaulted by another wave of vomiting. Mornings usually didn’t bother Trini. She usually woke up with high energy and ravenous. It was only in the late morning, after she had eaten, that she got sick. It happened all afternoon, every day. She’d eat, she’d throw up, she’d be starving again. It was a vicious cycle. Vomiting this early in the day was an ominous sign.

The anti nausea band Billy had given her helped a bit, but once it started, it was difficult to get under control. She crawled from the waste facility to the narrow bed Billy kept in the lab and curled up into a fetal position. Sweat beaded on her forehead and matted her hair to her face.

This should have been a wonderful time. Her divorce would be final on Monday morning and her soon to be ex was getting re-married on Tuesday. The final decree had taken a bit longer than she had thought it would. Geirge had decided to quibble a bit over the settlement after he’d received the news that her baby wasn’t his. She hadn’t wanted to argue the matter, but her lawyer and Billy both insisted the man shouldn’t walk away with everything. He had finally stopped bickering when his girlfriend had gone into false labor. She was due to deliver her baby any day and he now wanted the divorce finalized as quickly as she did.

She was surprised how ambivalent she felt about the whole thing. She’d spent more than five years of her life sleeping next to the man, but she could care less who he was with now or what he was doing. She thought that she would have a few regrets when the time came, but she felt nothing except relief. She would be free to raise her baby in peace and to be with Billy.

She pulled her knees to her chest and closed her eyes tightly as another wave of nausea assaulted her. Billy had a surprise for her tonight. They were going somewhere special. It wasn’t really a date. They didn’t really go out on dates the way Carri and Rocky did. They spent quiet time together, just enjoying each other’s company.

He had been very good to her. She didn’t know what she’d do without him. Her parents had been shocked when they told them that the baby was his. Her mother had remained calm, but had given her a cold hard stare. Her father and brother had simply left the room. The fact that Billy was a long term family friend and that they would soon be married meant little. Their disappointment in her was obvious. It hurt her and the sting was deep.

In contrast, Billy’s father was thrilled. He’d even purchased a bassinet for her and loaded it with every conceivable baby item he could find. They hadn’t heard from Billy’s mother yet, but he wasn’t concerned. He assured her they would hear from her eventually.

In the meantime, she and Billy had settled in together, as much as they could anyway, living in the lab. She didn’t mind the lab, she loved being with him, although she knew they’d have to find other accommodations eventually. She hadn’t thought it was possible to love another man, let alone fall in love again so quickly, but it seemed like the two of them had always been together. She guessed they had been since they had known each other for so long, but it still seemed strange. It was as if her ex husband had simply evaporated and Billy had stepped into his place; except she was far happier.

She wondered what would have happened if she had stayed in Angel Grove and never moved to Switzerland. Perhaps they would have eventually gotten together. Maybe she could have spared them both the pain of a failed marriage and they could have spent the last decade as a couple. She didn’t know. She would have never expected to have been this happy with him.

She had always held a soft spot for Billy, but she’d never really been physically attracted to him as a young girl. She and Kim had giggled that he had the prettiest eyes on the face of the planet, but he was beyond challenged socially. The things that mattered most to the two girls in high school had meant nothing to him. He’d worn thick, heavy glasses, loose overalls, and was incapable of speaking anything except the techno babble of a computer wizard. She had known there was a genuinely golden person underneath, but she hadn’t been able to get past the esthetics of the surface. Besides, at that point in her life she would have been far too shy to even consider the idea. She sighed heavily, she had been young and foolish. There was no point in speculating, they were together now, and that was all that mattered to her.

The nausea overcame her again and she rolled off the bed and crawled back to the waste facility. She was nearly into her second trimester now, she should be past this. Poor Billy, she thought miserably, he was saddled with so much more than he’d bargained for. Pregnancy was far more than she’d bargained for too. Dr. Manx assured her that the worst of it would be over soon, but she wasn’t entirely positive she’d live that long.

Rita threw the glass bottle against the chamber wall in disgust. It wasn’t fair. They were no more than pawns in whatever game Teeg was playing. Rita was a sorceress, she had unbelievable powers, but she couldn’t use them. She had to sit idly by and watch Zedd kiss up to that over grown pussycat.

“Poor Rita. All that bad is it?” A voice crooned from the shadows. Rita spun and raised her staff, only to have it flung from her hands by an red energy bolt.

“Don’t try it sweetheart.” The figure said. “I’m far more powerful than you could ever hope to be.”

“Who are you?” Rita demanded, squinting to distinguish the form behind the darkness.

“I need a favor.” The voice soothed a bit more calmly. “Perhaps we could make a deal.”

“What do you want?” Rita snapped, cradling her arm.

“The same thing you do.” The figure walked slowly toward her, sliding out of the shadows. “To destroy the Rangers as painfully as possible.”

“Kimberly?” Rita asked.

Carri tossed uncomfortably in the medical bed. She couldn’t breathe and her heart was racing. She couldn’t hear anything except a loud whooshing sound in her ears. She tried to tell Billy that she couldn’t breathe, but her voice wouldn’t work; nothing worked. Panic grabbed her and she thrashed about, but nothing moved like it was supposed to.

“What’s happening?” Kim asked, trying to hold Carri on the table. She was thrashing so violently she was afraid her friend would fall off the narrow bed. Rocky grabbed her legs and the two struggled to keep her in place.

“Anaphylactic shock.” Billy said, changing the setting on his scanner. “She can’t breathe, her throat is closed. Hold her down,” He said firmly as he turned and grabbed a more intricate piece of medical equipment. “I’ve got to get her airways open.”

Billy slid a narrow panel over her chest and clicked it into place. Restraints came forward from the table and they helped him lock down her legs and arms. A few seconds later a clear mask slid over her neck and head. The computer took over for him then, analyzing the problem and physically inserting an oxygen tube in the base of her throat, below the swelling. Carri relaxed almost immediately.

“The computer will also sedate her.” He said, placing what he hoped was a reassuring hand on Rocky’s arm. “She should be fine. It’s just a massive over reaction to the venom. The most dangerous part is already passed, the computer’s in control now. It’s state of the art, even on a core world.”

The first thing Billy had done when he learned of Trini’s pregnancy was to upgrade the medical facility. He had absolutely no faith in the medical technology of his home world. He’d used his influence to procure two of the most advanced medical computers in the sector, and probably many others. Carri would be fine, but her reaction to the venom concerned him. Her immune system was overreacting and the readings the computer was giving him didn’t look good. Carri was in for a long recovery. His eyes met Kim’s and she nodded, as if understanding his silent misgivings. She pulled a seat up next to the bed and directed Rocky to sit. He did so numbly, eyes following every movement the computer made around her head and neck.

“Will she be all right?” Kim asked Billy softly as they moved away from the medical bed and back to the main control room with Jason in silent tow. Jason stopped at the archway, eyes on Carri, but ears tuned toward Kim and Billy.

“She should be.” He answered.

“You don’t look all that convinced.” She pressed.

He sighed heavily, rubbing his fingers across his eyes. “I don’t like the way her immune system is reacting to either the venom or the antidote. The computer’s having to intercede too much.” He paused and looked back at the bed in the other room. “That’s the best possible care we can give her. It’s better than anything else we’ve got on this world.”

“But…” Kim pressed again when he paused. He regarded her for a moment and then continued.

“But those hives aren’t normal. They’re growing at a phenomenal rate and readings show a high aluminum content, they’re poisoning her. For some reason she’s more sensitive than the rest of you.”

“She got stung by a similar metal creature before.” Jason added. They turned to him and he continued. “One of Ivan’s, when we fell back through time. It was one of those little ooze filled scorpions, remember it?” He asked Kim.

“That’s right,” She confirmed. “I remember it now.” It had been an attack of hundreds of tiny metallic scorpions. She and Jason hadn’t been stung, but Carri had. “But she didn’t have a much of reaction to it.” Kim added.

“The second venom sting is always more volatile.” Billy said, considering the new information. A scorpion wasn’t a bee, but then neither monster was a real insect and both were supposedly metallic. He wondered if there was any way to determine if they had been constructed using the same technology. “I need to figure out what it is. It could be that her immune system is simply over reacting to a second sting, but I still need to make sure the reaction isn’t one that’s going to effect the rest of the team as well.”

“Guinea pig number one, reporting for duty.” Kim quipped, giving him a mock salute. He grinned at her in response and then both of them turned a more somber gaze back to Carri.

Tommy wasn’t afraid of ghosts. He’d encountered many of them in his journeys. As long as they didn’t bother him, he ignored them. Despite that, he enjoyed working on the old house. The more time he spent there, the warmer his feelings became. It was becoming less and less of an empty, cold dwelling and more and more of a friendly place.

He walked through the room and picked up one of the sound repellents Kim had installed. The far wall of the room had become one massive wasp nest and they had spent the better part of the previous afternoon removing the colony of unwanted tenants. He paused, glancing at the sound device and mulling over the day’s attack. It was entirely possible Zedd had been watching the house and dreamed up the bee monster in response to their efforts to exterminate the wasps. He’d have to remember to install a security shield on the property like he’d done for his own houses.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he whirled around to see a faint bluish glow just before it disappeared. That was new. He’d often felt something in the house, but as of yet, he’d never actually seen anything. The glow blinked briefly to his right and he swerved again.

“Alright.” He said aloud, forcing his heart to stop racing. “You have my attention. What do you want?”

Silence. Tommy waited a few more seconds. Still nothing.

“I’m leaving now.” He said. “I have work to do.” He turned and walked steadily towards the door. As he crossed the doorway to the hall he heard a voice, clear as if someone were actually behind him.

Danger.

Tommy turned and looked back into the room. There was nothing there. “What did you say?” He asked, his voice far calmer than his racing heartbeat. The blue glow blinked directly in front of him once more. This time he also heard a low buzzing sound, like a cricket or grasshopper.

Danger.

“I think I might have a bit of a problem with my family.” Kim said casually as Billy took a sample from the large purple boil that had developed on her arm. Unlike Carri, who had them over every square inch, Kim had only developed two around a particularly nasty sting site.

“What do you mean?” He asked, eyes on the sample he’d taken. He turned and spread the gray, puss like substance onto a thin tray, which he then slid into a slot on the medical computer board.

“I have a trust fund.” She explained and he nodded that he was listening even though his eyes focused on the readings the computer was churning out. “Not much, but enough for me to live on if I’m frugal.” He nodded again and she continued, “Anyway, it’s contingent on me being either a student or holding down at least a part time job.”

Billy stopped and turned his eyes to her. “That was smart of someone.”

She smiled, “It’s designed to keep heirs like my dad employed instead of living off my grandfather’s estate. The problem is, I’m not technically employed now and renovating the house doesn’t count. I’ve been cut off until I either go back to school or get a job. My mother’s putting huge pressure on me to move back to Paris and help with the gallery and my Uncle and brother are putting pressure on me to come work for them. It’s hard to explain why I’m always so busy if I’m technically not doing anything.”

“Going to work for your family isn’t an option?” Billy asked, pressing a few more buttons and checking the readings.

“Not with Tommy increasing my duties here and with other duties elsewhere. I’m chasing my tale to keep up. If it weren’t for Tommy, nothing would be getting done on the house. He’s the one pushing me foreword on it.”

“What are you suggesting?” He asked, glancing up from the readout.

“Maybe you could find me something little to do, part time, here at NASADA? Nothing major, just something to show I’m employed and give my family a reason to stop trying to rescue me.”

Billy nodded, “That shouldn’t be hard. I’ll talk it over with Tommy. We’ll assign you something. Come to think of it, it might actually be beneficial to assign all of you something. If only to have a good excuse why you’ve been traveling through the gates.”

Earlier in the morning, Trini had brought to his attention an information request she had pulled from the main computer system. She had noticed that someone was interested why Carri, a TV host, would spend so much time in and out of the high security areas of NASADA. He was pretty sure it was the same tabloid who’d published a nasty article about her giving up her show and boyfriend to carry on an affair with her karate instructor. It was nonsense, but it was also a security risk.

“Carri’s waking up.” Jason said, walking over to them. Kim slid off the counter and walked with them back over to the medical bed. Billy keyed a sequence into the main panel and the clear hood slid back from Carri’s face. The swelling was down, but she was still covered in large purple boils.

“How are you feeling?” Billy asked, monitoring the report issued by the computer.

Carri cleared her throat and coughed roughly. “I got hit?” she asked groggily.

“Do you remember what happened?” Billy asked.

“Bee, can-like things.” Carri croaked. Her voice sounded rough and hoarse. “Yellow lights.” She stopped and was caught in a fit of coughing.

“Do you remember coming back to the Command Center?”

She shook her head slightly, groaning with the pain the movement produced. The computer sensed the change and compensated for it. She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep. Billy scanned the screen, then backed away from the bed, motioning for the others to follow.

“How is she?” Tommy asked, entering the room from the main area and handing the sound repellent to Billy.

“That took you long enough.” Jason quipped. “What’d you do, go out for lunch while you were at it?”

Tommy looked at him briefly, then, ignoring him, turned his attention back to Billy.

“She’ll be all right.” Billy answered. “She’s stable and the computer’s keeping her drowsy. She’ll be up and about by morning, but she won’t be well enough for duty for a while.”

Tommy nodded, also noting Billy looked like he had more to say on the matter later. He shifted his gaze to the medical bed, noting how Rocky kept a silent, steady vigil. His heart went out to him, he’d been there. It was always hard when the girls got hurt, it was devastating if that girl was someone you loved. He remembered when Kim had been captured by Lord Zedd. They’d gotten her back, but not before the warlord had nearly killed her. He’d spent days rooted to her side and fearing for her life while Zordon treated her. The agony of not knowing if she’d survive or not had nearly killed him. His gaze focused back to the present and to the older version of the girl he’d loved so overwhelmingly. She still looked very much like the girl she’d been, but working with her had proven just how different she’d become. He moved slightly as she tried to pass by him, but reached out and grabbed her arm.

“I need to talk with you a second.” He said as Billy as Jason filed past them leaving Rocky alone with Carri.

“Sure.” She said.

They walked quietly to an unused room and Tommy hit the button to slide the door shut.

“What’s up?” She asked.

“I think a ghost up at the house tried to communicate with me.” He said.

“Which one?” she asked, curious.

He paused and gave her an odd look. “What do you mean which one?”

“There are several of them.” She said, non-pulsed. “They usually aren’t interested in communicating though, just curious as to what we’re doing down stairs. I get the feeling they didn’t like the old renovation and want to see what we’re going to do.”

Tommy stared at her for a moment. It never occurred to him that she would be able to see ghosts. “You see them?” he asked.

She shrugged uncomfortably. “Jason sees heat emissions, I can see electromagnetic energy patterns. It’s connected to my other abilities. Yes, I see them, but not like I see you. I can tell them apart though, I think they like that.” She paused and then added, “Once, when I was sorting the old photos in the upstairs bedroom, I turned around and a whole bunch of family portraits were lined up behind me. I think they were asking who’s daughter I was, so I pointed to a picture of my grandfather as a baby. The house has seemed warmer since then.”

Tommy nodded, the house really had seemed more welcoming lately. He filed away her ability for future reference. When he had time, he just might bring her into one of his other projects.

“It spoke to you?” She pressed. “What did it say?”

“Danger.”

“Danger?” She repeated, “As in danger in the house or danger outside the house?”

“I don’t know.” Tommy confessed. “I hung around for a good twenty extra minutes, but nothing more. It just warned me about danger.”

“That’s odd.” She said, frowning a bit. “Nothing else?”

Tommy paused, thinking how he wanted to describe it. “There was a buzzing sound, not really a chirping…like a swarm of grasshoppers.”

“Kind of like a zacada?”

“What?” He asked, taken back.

“Noisy, fly like bug. You’d know it if you’ve ever heard one.”

“I know what they are, yeah…” he said, thinking about it. “I guess, I’d have to call up a recording of the sound to make sure. Why would you ask? You’ve heard the sound too?”

“What did it look like?” she asked, redirecting his thoughts. This was one area she needed to keep Tommy well away from. She knew the sound, knew what it meant. What she didn’t understand was why the ghost went through Tommy and not her.

“I don’t really know.” He said honestly. “It was just out of my range of vision. Kind of bluish, but only for a second.”

“Wide and tall or short and narrow?” She asked.

He frowned again, thinking. “It was more like I just knew it was there. My height, tall.”

“That was Curtis.” Kim said with conviction. “He’s the one who lined up the portraits that day.”

“How do you know?” He asked, curious.

“Because I asked. I asked them to show me which one lined up the photos and when I turned around, there was a picture of Curtis, separated out from the others. He’s the one who built the house. He’s no-nonsense, very stern…kinda like you.” She said with a grin. She paused, hesitating a second. Tommy knew that look, it was one she got when she was deciding whether to disclose something or not.

“What?” he asked, waiting for the bombshell. She shook her head, then gave him a wry look.

“He was a Ranger.” She said. “About a hundred and twenty years ago… a fairly powerful one.”

“So what’s in this for me?” Rita asked, swinging her legs over the side of the chair.

“Simple. I kill Kimberly, taking her off of Teeg’s tale, and you give Teeg the power coins, making you the hero of the day.” Her visitor said silkily. Her resemblance to Kimberly was uncanny. It was as if they were twins, except this twin was dressed in black leather, with glowing red eyes, and was very obviously fighting on Rita’s side.

“And that’s all you need? Me to power up that force field of yours and put it in one of the dimensions here? I don’t have to do anything else?”

“Not a damned thing. Zedd won’t even know you were a part of it, if you don’t want me to tell. Teeg will lose all interest in this world once Kimberly is dead and the coins are in your possession. You’ll be free to conquer it…you’ll be queen.”

“Queen.” Rita giggled, trying the word out several times. “I like that.”

“All right whoever you are, I’ll do it.” She said, sitting up and pointing a finger at her visitor, “Just remember, those coins are mine to give to her royal catness.”

“On my honor.” Her companion drolled, three fingers of her right hand held up in a glib display of trust.

Carri sat up uneasily on the medical bed, swaying a bit. She was still woozy from the medication, but it was clearing fast. “I’m fine.” She snapped, swatting away Rocky’s assistance. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” Rocky argued. This was a bad idea, she shouldn’t be getting off the table. He wished the others hadn’t gone, he had no idea how to increase her medication and put her back to sleep. “You look like you need to sleep the rest of the night.” He insisted.

That was putting it mildly. Rocky dreaded telling her the hives had hardened with scar tissue, creating ugly grayish purple splotches all over her body. They all had the marks, but Carri’s case had been severe and she was covered head to toe. Her face and body were literally deformed with scar tissue. Carri had been a beautiful woman, he wasn’t sure how she’d react. She was still beautiful to him. He didn’t care, he was so thankful that she was still alive. He’d never prayed so hard in his life, he’d been so scared he’d lose her.

“I don’t want to sleep anymore.” She growled. She felt horrible. Her eyesight was fuzzy, her throat felt like gravel and she had a massive migraine. She was never very amiable when she first woke up, which was why she tarried in bed so long in the mornings, but she was beyond irritable right now. Her vision cleared a bit and she noticed her arms were covered in angry purplish splotches.

“What the hell happed to my arms?” She asked, staring at them as her vision cleared. The splotches were raised above the skin, unevenly shaped, and they ranged in size from a dime to a half dollar. They were all over her hands and arms; it was like she’d turned a different color.

“It’s scar tissue.” Rocky said gently. Carri’s head moved too fast and a wave of dizziness assaulted her. Her head rolled to one side and Rocky quickly put his arms around her so she wouldn’t fall. “Billy has a procedure to help them fade.” He reassured her. “He’s already given you one treatment, it’s looks a lot better already.”

“Better?” she choked, tears welling in her swollen eyes. This purple stuff was scar tissue? It was painfully tight, like she was wrapped in shrink-wrap. What the hell had happened to her?

“Carri it’s going to be ok. You had some kind of allergic reaction to the venom in that monster. You went into shock…you really need to rest.”

“They’re all over me.” Carri said, looking over her hands and legs. The splotches were everywhere, she thought, panic rising in her. She brought her fingers up to her face and felt the same uneven skin across her eyes and nose and neck.

“Oh my God.” She whispered, realizing the scars covered every inch of her. Her face didn’t even feel like a face anymore. Her knees buckled and she clung hard to Rocky.

“It’s going to be ok.” Rocky reassured her. “Carri we’re going to find a way to reverse the effects. Nothing has changed, I love you.” His voice sounded stupid and hurried, even to him, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. His heart ached for her, but there was nothing he could say or do to change things.

The room whirled around Carri, she felt his arms tighten around her, but everything else seemed to spin out of control. Her head dropped against his shoulder and he realized that she’d fainted.

Trini rolled over and laid her head on Billy’s shoulder enjoying the closeness of the small bed in his lab. She sighed contentedly and he smiled and kissed the top of her head.

“Feeling better?” He asked.

“A little.” She lied. They hadn’t been able to go out and see his surprise, she’d been too sick. She felt awful about it. Billy was always so busy, he had allocated his precious time this evening to spend with her and she just didn’t have the energy to go anywhere. “I’m sorry about your surprise.” She said.

“It’s all right.” He said, gently rubbing her arm, “It can wait.”

“Dr Manx thinks the sickness will go away soon.” She added hopefully.

He stroked her hair and back and she tried hard to stay still and enjoy it. She didn’t want him to initiate anything tonight; it just didn’t feel good. Despite the maximum setting on the anti-nausea band, the symptoms had barely lessoned. She had told him as gently as she could that she just wanted to rest. He’d said that he understood, but Trini began to fret. Their relationship was still new. She didn’t know for sure how he’d react if she continued to turn down his advances.

“My mother called me today.” She said casually, fingers playing with the sheet. “She wants to know if I plan to come home or just hide in your lab.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That I work a lot. She says it’s not good for the baby and I’m being irresponsible. Can you imagine?” She asked, sitting up a little and meeting his eyes. “She called me irresponsible. That’s a word she generally reserves just for my brother. I’m the one who went to college, who played by the rules, did all the right things…”

“You mean the one who’s not quite divorced yet but is having her boss’s baby?” He quipped. She winced and he regretted his words. “I’m sorry, I was teasing.”

“I know,” She said softly, leaning down and kissing his bare shoulder. She laid the side of her head flat against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I’m scared.” She admitted. “I’ve wanted a baby for so long, now I can’t even handle a few weeks of sickness.”

“It’s all right.” He answered gently, stroking her long hair. “I’m here.”

She rose up again and caught his eyes. Yes, he was. At the time in her life when she was the most lost and vulnerable, he’d simply put his arms around her and made it all right again.

“I love you.” She said, and he smiled broadly. He’d told her a thousand times how much he loved her, but she’d only smiled in response. To hear it now was magical. It was all he could do not to roll her over and kiss her passionately.

“I love you too.” He answered simply.

Kim walked down the corridor of the main level eight complex tossing her purse on the table and ordering a cup of hot tea from the food synthesizer against the wall.

“I thought you had a date tonight.” Tommy called from a table out by the fountain.

Kim took her cup from the processor and walked over. “Don’t even...” She started to say, but stopped mid sentence. Tommy had company and she hadn’t realized it.

“Kim this is Hayley.” Tommy introduced.

The red head next to Tommy was smiling broadly and Kim grinned back at her. “Nice to finally meet you.” She said, holding out her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Hayley took her hand and shook it firmly before Kim sat down in the empty chair across from them. “And I’ve heard a lot about you too.” Hayley grinned.

Tommy gave her a warning look and she ignored him. Kimberly was dressed to the nines and she knew he had noticed far more than he was letting on. He had talked nonstop about Kimberly for nearly twelve weeks since the reunion. It would have been amusing if the moron wasn’t so intent on believing he felt nothing more than friendship for her. Hayley respected Tommy, he was the best Ranger that had ever lived, but when it came to his own emotions, he was an idiot.

Hayley had always known about the Kimberly factor, as she called it. The man had been obsessed with her for years, always maintaining an outward distance and an attitude of indifference. He’d spent the last two hours this evening justifying the time he spent on that old house of hers. It was the grid, he insisted, it had nothing to do with creating an excuse to see her every day. He’d even gone out and found a girl to date on the side, further justification that he just wasn’t interested in a romantic relationship with her anymore. But the fact that she was out on a date had him in knots. He hadn’t been able to concentrate on any of the information she’d bought him.

Hayley had known Tommy a long time. Long enough to know his body movements and long enough to read almost every mask he put in place. The minute he’d sensed her, his whole stance had shifted. Kim was dressed in tight capris, a low cut, form fitting shirt, and heels… and he was obviously very aware of it.

“What happened?” Tommy asked and Kim gave him a sardonic look.

“Why would you ever ask me that?” She countered sweetly and Hayley chuckled.

“Because it’s not even nine o’clock and you’re back here.” Tommy said casually.

Kim shrugged, sipping the tea. “I’m here because I wanted to check on Carri. I just stopped for the tea. How’s she doing?”

“Fine.” Tommy said, reaching for his own drink. “She’ll be up and around tomorrow.”

“And the scars?”

Tommy winced. That was another matter entirely. “Billy’s going to talk to her about going to Aquitar.”

“Will the water there do any good?”

“It regenerates skin and cell tissue.” He answered. “More importantly, she needs to purge her system of the metal poisoning before it damages her organs. It’ll also re-calibrate her immune and lymphatic systems. She has to go. We’re lucky the Aquitians still have a good relationship with Billy.”

Kim nodded, but remained quiet. She felt for Carri. Even with a baseball cap and no makeup Carri always looked good, was always confident about her looks. The angry gray and purple scars were not going to go over well. Kim wondered briefly how she would handle it. She had a strong character, she would adjust… eventually.

“So you had a date tonight?” Hayley asked innocently. Tommy gave her another warning look and she pointedly ignored him again.

Kim snorted. “If you can call it that.” She scoffed.

“Disaster huh?” Hayley sympathized. She hated dating. It was far too complicated and emotionally draining. She’d take a good computer and a fast modem over a relationship any day.

Kim snorted again. “You really want to hear about it?” she asked, eyebrow raised.

“Yes.” Hayley said, drowning out Tommy’s no.

“Alright,” Kim said, setting her tea down. “Here’s what happened.”

The date had seemed promising enough. The guy was a friend of her younger brother’s, but he was also a senior architect with her uncle’s company. He was talented, good-looking, and very charming.

He had picked her up at four in the afternoon, which she thought was a little odd, and they went to see a movie she’d been interested in. They guy paid for the movie, a matinee, with a two for one coupon, which was also a little odd, but not enough for her to say anything. He had opted to forgo any refreshments because they were going out to dinner, so she bought her own drink and they found their seats. The movie itself had been a disappointment, but it had been entertaining and she was enjoying herself.

She was more than a little surprised when dinner turned out to be at a fast food chain where, again, he used a buy one meal get the second one free coupon. Kim was now beginning to think this was a little strange and wondered briefly if her brother was playing a joke on her. Not that she hadn’t been known to down a hamburger or two, especially since Rangering speeded up her metabolism and she actually needed the extra calories, but the chain they’d gone to was not one of the better ones and didn’t even promise a half way decent meal. Warning herself against being a snob, she ate the meal and tried very hard to enjoy the company.

They guy was cute, but very full of himself. In the hour they spent talking, he talked only about himself and didn’t ask a single fact about her. I did this and I did that constituted the bulk of every topic. By the time dinner was over, Kim’s ears were tired and she was already willing to call it a night.

After dinner turned out to be an even bigger surprise when he took her to, of all places, an arcade. Kim hadn’t been to an arcade since high school. Despite the fact that he used a gift certificate to purchase tokens and laser tag tickets, she actually found herself having a pretty good time, especially since the noise level prevented her from hearing anything he said. When their number was called for laser tag, Kim kicked off her heels and creamed him thoroughly.

She emerged from the mock battle smiling despite herself. There was no way in hell she’d actually go out with him again, but she wasn’t ready to cremate him in ethogy to Carri either. However, when she asked to be taken home, he’d driven her to his house, not hers and as they pulled into his garage, she asked him what he thought he was doing.

“So he turns to me and tells me that he’s paid for the evening and now it’s time for me to pay him back upstairs.”

“What did you say?” Hayley asked, ignoring Tommy’s stern looks and kick under the table. Kim was a fabulous storyteller and she couldn’t wait to hear the end of the tale.

“I said: What do I look like, your gift with purchase?”

Hayley laughed and Kim laughed with her. Tommy was stewing. Kim wasn’t upset, if anything she was glib about it, but he was ready for blood. What concerned him most was that he honestly didn’t know if he was ready to deck the guy for being an asshole or if he wanted to strangle him for wanting to have sex with her. He ground his teeth together and said nothing.

“It’s not the worst date I’ve ever had.” Kim confessed, “But it’s up there. I demanded he take me home and he got out of the car, put the garage door down, and walked inside his house. I just transported back here.”

“You’re serious?” Tommy asked. Never in his life would he have left a woman to find her own way home. He’d been turned down before, but he always took the girl back. Of course, he’d always had better sense than this idiot apparently did.

“I’m serious.” Kim answered, finishing her tea. “It was weird. I mean, he didn’t pay for anything. He used coupons and a gift certificate…I’m supposed to be all hot to trot for him after that?…and this guy makes at least six figures under my uncle, he’s not struggling. He lives over in Angel Estates by the golf course.”

“I meant that he just left you in the garage afterward.”

Kim nodded, tossing her cup in the recycling cubical. “That was creepy.” She said. “I wonder how many girls have been stuck like that? I wasn’t scared, I’m a Power Ranger for God’s sake, the guy was going down if he tried to rape me…but I’m the boss’s niece, he shares an office with my brother. What’s with that?”

“What was the worst date?” Hayley asked.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to check on Carri?” Tommy interrupted. He was done with stories about Kim’s love life. He liked the idea very much that she didn’t have one. If he was wrong, he sincerely didn’t want to be corrected.

“Yeah.” Kim said standing up and pushing her chair in. “I should go, it was nice meeting you Hayley. Will we see more of you down here?”

Hayley smiled and nodded. “I hope so.” She said. She liked Kim. She liked her more than she thought she would. “Tommy was just about to pay for dinner,” she said suddenly. “Nothing fancy, but better than fast food. Wanna come?”

“Thanks,” Kim said, genuinely, “but I’m done for the night. I’m going to check on Carri and then enjoy a rare moment of quiet back at the condo.” She placed a hand on Tommy shoulder as she left, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said. “Night.” She called back over her shoulder to Hayley.

“I was just going to pay for what?” Tommy asked when Kim had left the cafeteria area.

“I like her.” Hayley said matter-of-factly.

“No.” Tommy warned. The last thing he needed was Hayley meddling with his friendship with Kim. They had just started to develop an easy rapport; he didn’t need Hayley screwing it up. “Stay out of it Hayley.” Tommy growled. “I’m serious.”

“So am I.” She grinned mischievously.

Carri pushed Rocky away with a shove. “Quit it.” She said testily, fatigue taking some of the sting out of her voice.

“Carri.” Rocky sighed with exasperation. All he’d tried to do was kiss her. She wouldn’t let him near her. It broke his heart that she pushed him away.

“I don’t care about the scars.” He said gently. “It’s you I love.”

“Bullshit.” She said angrily and refused to look at him.

“I’m serious.” He said. “Damnit, all I want is to be with you.

“I don’t want to be touched.” She said firmly.

“Does it hurt when I touch you?” He asked. If it was just a matter of sensitivity, he could understand that a little better.

“No.” She said simply.

“Do you understand that I don’t care what it looks like?”

She nodded silently, tears falling from her eyes. His heart bled for her. She was trying hard to prove she wasn’t superficial, but it was difficult. She looked like a burn victim, except the scars were symmetrical and a purple color.

“Then why?”

Her shoulders slumped a little. “It’s gross, I look like a walking raspberry. How can you stand to even look at me?” She turned her back on him and folded her arms.

Rocky had explained that Billy was willing to use his influence to send her to Aquitar, but there were side effects. The healing treatments there would take weeks to complete and would most likely leave her sterile. Carri had never wanted kids, that didn’t bother her, but the idea that couldn’t have them if she changed her mind was unsettling. Rocky was the only man she’d even come close to considering having a child with. She knew he didn’t want them either, but that was because he was overwhelmed right now with his family. What if he changed his mind ten years from now and suddenly wanted one? What if the waters couldn’t heal her skin? What if her immune system never calmed down? Would he turn away from her because she was too much maintenance? Her mind was overwhelmed with the uncertainty of it all.

Rocky walked over to her and put his arms around her from behind. “Sweetheart, the whole time you were unconscious, I prayed the hardest I’ve ever prayed in my life that you’d be ok. I don’t care what it looks like. All that matters is that you weren’t taken from me.”

Carri turned in his arms, burying her face in his chest, and burst into tears. He held her gently, rubbing her back, and shedding a few tears of his own.

“They’re moving.” Teeg said breathlessly. “Make sure we have a steady lock on them before they engage the hyper dive. I won’t lose them now.”

She stared at the screen, watching the Nova’s re-dock with the Enzway. “Engage tracking sequences now.” She ordered, her breath coming a bit faster. “Do not allow them to know we’re in pursuit.” The claw like nails of her hands protracted and curved outward, betraying the adrenaline rush she felt. The pupils of her eyes narrowed to diamond like slits and a low growl rumbled upward from her chest. The hunt was on.

Kim’s communicator went off early the next morning, barely after sunrise. She rolled quickly out of bed, dressed, and transported to the Command Center; surprised to see Carri dressed and out of the medical bed.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“I’ve had better mornings.” Carri said quietly. Kim walked over to hug her, but she turned away. “Tommy’s called in a replacement for me.” She said. She cocked her head to one side and Kim noticed Karone sitting quietly behind them.

“Just until you get your strength back Carri.” Tommy re-assured her. He knew the transfer wasn’t going to go over well, but Carri was in no shape to fight. She could barely stand for more than a few minutes and the Aquitian treatments Billy was sending her for would take weeks. “Karone knows this is a temporary assignment. She’s filled in for Rangers before, it’s not permanent.”

Carri shrugged her shoulders and fought back the tears. She’d barely had a morpher for three months. Was she ever going to be more than just a short term Ranger? This was the worst day of her life. She didn’t want to be sent off to a strange planet. Rocky had volunteered to go with her, but he was needed here. There was nothing he could do for her on Aquitar anyway. It was hard enough to come up with a cover story for just for her.

“What’s going on?” Kim asked. She couldn’t read Carri’s face, it was too swollen, but Rocky looked devastated.

“I’m going to Aquitar for treatment.” Carri said sullenly, “They paged you so I could say goodbye.”

“This is good sweetie,” Kim said, gently touching her arm. “The quicker you go for treatment, the more effective it is.”

Carri nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“The transporter’s ready.” Billy interjected. “Cestro is standing by to receive you.” He gently led Carri to the main transporter. “Don’t let Cestria get to you.” He advised. His ex wasn’t inclined to help him, but she’d been massively overruled by the friends he still had there. He didn’t think she’d cause any problems for her, but he wasn’t positive. “Delphine has agreed to watch out for you. She has a lot of political power. Cestria won’t cross her. I’ll check in on you every chance I get.”

“Want me to mess with Cestria?” Carri asked as she settled into the transporter.

“What do you mean?’ He asked quietly, pleased to hear a little of the old Carri in her voice.

“Tell her how happy you are with your new wife and baby?”

“Careful,” He warned, “Cestria can be vicious.”

“I can hardly wait then.” She quipped. She sighed heavily, as if resigning herself to her fate and Billy smiled at her, impressed by her strength despite everything that was happening. She was going to be fine.

Rocky stepped forward, looking like the world was about to end, and Billy moved aside to let them say goodbye.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” He asked, sliding his arms around her and holding her tightly against him. She didn’t resist him, but she didn’t return his embrace either.

“No.” She said, her voice breaking. She leaned against him, absorbing the feeling of him one more time. Despite his continued reassurances, she was not at all confident that he would remain with her. How could he? Her body was gross, her insides damaged. She was in for a long, hard recovery and their relationship was fairly new.

“I love you.” He said kissing the top of her head. “I’ll keep in touch over the communications system and I’ll be right here when you get back.”

She leaned harder into his embrace, but said nothing. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her. What the hell was she going to do? What would they have in common outside of Rangering? There was just no way he would stay with her.

She broke the contact, pushing him away and nodding to Billy that she was ready.

“Standby.” Billy said and Rocky stepped back behind the consol. Carri closed her eyes as the transport beam powered up. A few seconds later she was gone.

The bee can monster didn’t hold off long. Within a few hours of Carri’s departure, it was back with a vengeance, attacking the citizens in Angel Grove Park.

“All right guys, like we planned it.” Tommy said, as they transported in. He watched as each of them fanned out, carrying their assigned poles. They checked in as they reached their positions. It was strange to hear Karone’s voice coming from Carri’s uniform. That was going to take a bit of getting used to.

“We’re in position.” Tommy called to Billy. “Initiating the sound sequence now.”

Sound waves began to generate from the poles and the monster exploded into thousands of little bee cans. This time, however, the tiny monsters were contained within the sound circle and exploded again into even smaller monsters.

“It’s working guys.” Billy called. “They’re almost small enough now to initiate…” Before he could finish there was a huge flash of red light and the monster grew to sixty feet.

“Ok, please tell me we were expecting that.” Kim said as the Rangers scattered.

“We need Zeo Zord Power.” Tommy ordered.

“Sirius!” Zed yelled from his throne. “Just what the hell is going on here? I didn’t tell you to send that thing back to Earth!”

Sirius looked in dismay at the viewing globe. “My lord,” He assured, panic tainting his normally soft voice, “It was not me who released the monster. It was well contained when I left it a few hours ago.”

“Call it back.” Zedd ordered.

“My lord, I’m trying.” Sirius shrieked, frantically flipping dials and turning switches on his control board. “It won’t obey my commands!”

“Having trouble with one of your pets?” Rita sneered. This was going to be fun. One of the girl Rangers going to die, Sirius was going to be knocked down a peg, and she was going to get kudos for capturing a coin, all without ever leaving the throne room.

“Shut up Rita.” Zedd ordered. The last thing he needed was that little witch witnessing the meltdown of his command. “Shut the monster down Sirius, or I’ll feed you to Teeg on the next transport.”

“I’m trying my lord,” Sirius wailed. “I’m trying.”

Kim had been thrown from her zord. For some reason the monster had singled her out and attacked with a vengeance. She hit the ground with a thud and rolled to absorb the impact; shaking her head. The monster was emitting some kind of red cloud that induced the same type of reaction as the little stings. Her vision blurred slightly.

“I’m all right.” She answered, as Tommy demanded she report in. “Just winded… Billy, there’s an open hatch at the base of the lower right leg on the monster. Can you see it?”

She heard Billy confirm her ground surveillance and coughed spastically as the red cloud encompassed her again. “I think I can get your device inside, transport it to me.”

“Absolutely not,” Tommy ordered. “It’s too dangerous, regroup and form the megazord.”

“Billy transport it to me, I can get myself in and out.” Kim called back. “I’m probably the only one that can do it…that armor’s too tough and the hole is too small for the zords.”

Billy apparently agreed with her because the device appeared a few feet away. She grabbed it and transported herself to the open hole. She set the device for maximum power and threw it inside. A few seconds later she began to hear the explosions and she transported herself back to the ground.

“What happened?” Zedd demanded as the viewing globe showed huge explosions on the planet’s surface.

“Four-seventy-two appears to be imploding.” Sirius replied, relief clear in his voice. This was the one and only time in his life that he’d been thankful for the destruction of a monster at the hands of an enemy. If Zedd didn’t destroy him for this, Teeg might. It was an unforgivable breach of security. He didn’t understand how this could have happened.

There were relatively few creatures occupying the Lunar Palace. In its heyday, thousands had lived here, but even with a steady trickle of monsters arriving daily, it was hardly crowded. Whoever had broken into his lab had broken through the best security systems known to the galaxy. There was simply no one here who could do that.

“And the Rangers?” Zedd growled.

“I show five life signs…uh….oh my.” Sirius swallowed hard. This was not good, not good at all. He was in desperate trouble now.

“What is it?” Zedd demanded. He was beginning to panic… and he didn’t like the feeling.

“Uh, my lord…there are only four life signs for the Rangers.”

"What?” Zedd all but screamed, standing up on the dais.

“One of the Rangers appears to be… deceased.” He replied slowly.

Zedd sat back on the throne slowly, hand in front of his facemask. “Which one?” he asked quietly. He wasn’t at all sure he wanted to hear the answer.

Inside the red cloud of smoke and haze created by the monsters explosion, Kimberly shook her head to clear it of the ringing noise in her ears. The blast had de-morphed her, but she didn’t feel any major damage. She stood up, but fell back to the ground, well, maybe a little damage, she conceded silently. She took stock of herself again and realized how weak she actually was. She hadn’t thought she’d been hit that hard. Red smoke billowed around her causing her to cough spastically. She forced herself up, still coughing and gagging. She was dizzy and lights flashed around her eyes. From somewhere behind her, an arm, thick and strong as steel, wrapped around her neck. A red ball of energy flashed in front of her face.

“Bang.” The woman said softly as Kimberly crumpled against her. “You’re dead.” She placed another arm around Kimberly’s body as it fell downward and the two disappeared in a flash of red light.

Tommy gave the order to return to base and a few seconds later the Rangers appeared in the Command Center.

“Where’s Kimberly?” Rocky asked, looking around him.

Tommy looked around frantically, he thought he’d seen her stand back up after the monster exploded, but she hadn’t returned to the Command Center.

“I can’t find a signal on her.” Billy said, adjusting several dials on the consol.

“Scan for her energy signature instead of the Zeo signature.” Tommy said, coming over to stand next to him.

Billy stood up and backed away from the consol. “I’ve already done that. She isn’t there. Her last recorded energy signal is just before the explosion.”

Tommy looked over and saw Jason, white as death, leaning against the other consol.

“I can’t feel her.” Jason said incredulously, panic building in his chest. “I can’t feel her.” He repeated. He closed his eyes and concentrated with all his might… nothing. That had never happened before.

In the ten years since Muirantias, he’d always felt her. They’d had a couple of close calls, but he always been able to connect with her on some level. They shared the same power. It flowed from one into the other. Her link to him through Muirantias had definitely been severed. It was as empty as if it had never existed. How that could happen, he didn’t know. If Kim was alive, she was cut off from her powers. If she was alive, he thought grimly, she wouldn’t survive long without those powers.

Panic and grief built up in is chest. “Oh God,” he said numbly, leaning heavily against the consol. “She’s gone...”

“Would you still be able to detect her if she’d been taken inner-dimensionally?” Billy asked hopefully.

“Yes.” He answered, his voice breaking. “There’s nothing there.” He said incredulously, unwilling to accept what he knew had to be true.

Karone walked over and laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, the others just stared numbly as the realization hit them that Kim was missing and most likely already dead. The world felt like it should have stopped, instead it just kept surreally moving forward.

Tommy turned away and walked slowly across the room to the fish tank she’d set up the previous day. The silence in the Command Center was deafening. It was like a bad dream that couldn’t possibly be happening. But it had happened and none of them would wake up to find it was over. If Jason couldn’t feel her, someone who was connected to her by a live and active bond, then she was really gone.

But, wouldn’t he know if she was dead? Tommy thought numbly, grief stealing his breath away. Envy punctured the grief as well. Why was Jason the only one to feel her absence? He had loved her too. Once upon a time, they had shared a similar link. His mind was numb and refused to process the information. It wasn’t true, he told himself, it couldn’t be true. A life-force that bright and strong didn’t just vanish. From somewhere behind him he heard Trini sob, but the sound was far away and distant to his ears. He wasn’t even sure when she’d returned to the Command Center.

He placed one hand against the cold glass of the tank and watched as the two fish wiggled around in front of him. Deep down there was a place inside him where she still existed. It had been there since the first moment he saw her. It wasn’t active anymore, he’d known that for a long time, but love, real love, didn’t just go away. The loss of it faded or could be ignored, but it never went away completely.

Why wouldn’t he feel something? It didn’t make sense. He had all these powers, he should feel something… anything. Yet the part of him that was still linked to her wasn’t cold or empty or vacant as Jason was experiencing, it was as warm as it had always been. He turned his thoughts inward, openly exploring an area that had been shunned for years.

He closed his eyes… concentrating… searching. That part of his soul was not easily opened. It had been carefully locked away and years of hurt and scars and insecurities fought to keep it shut. Yet, underneath it all, she was still there. The bond was as solid as the first day it had been forged. He forced his mind to plow ahead, searching for any sign, tracing down any link, and when he found it, he grabbed hold as tightly as he could.

“She’s alive.” Tommy said with firm certainly. All eyes turned to him. “She’s definitely alive.” He repeated.

“I can’t feel her.” Jason said, his voice hoarse with emotion.

“I can.” Tommy said, meeting his eyes.

The End

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