Power Rangers: The Coin Series
The Beginning of the End

Teeg was not amused. It was taking longer than she thought to recall her servants from their various duties. Kemora was on board with her plans, for now, but just how long the demon was willing to stay quiet and obey was not certain. The promise of a return to Muirantias intrigued her, but Teeg was not fooled. Once the island had been conquered, she’d fine a way to break the spell holding her captive and be off again.

She needed more time and that frustrated her. She was infinitely patient, but if all was to go according to plan she must act quickly, before Kimberly could figure out exactly what was going on. Her spies had already reported that Elemi knew the Sabertooth Tiger Coin had been found and she was certain that he would have informed his ex-wife by now.

Slowly, she allowed one finger to caress the glass covering protecting the three coins carefully encased within the security box. Soon she’d return to the Lunar Palace and Rita would have a chance to prove her worth. She wished there was another way to alter the coins, but as far as she knew, Rita’s magic was the only magic that had ever successfully altered one of Zordon’s coins from good to evil.

Three coins, three Rangers, a full team at her disposal. True, she would have liked five or six, but there was no need to be greedy. She’d obtain the other three soon enough. Once she had all six, she’d intensify her search for the other golden keys that were not already in her possession. The thought made her smile. Soon, very soon, she’d have the gate open far enough to where, even if her master’s body couldn’t pass through, his sprit would. More virus than living entity, the spirit could posses, or rather infect, anything it chose; even the same indestructible clone body she’d crammed Kemora into. The narrow minded demon had no idea she was a walking experiment. If her body held, there would be no need for her master to seek out an infallible mortal. A mortal who might have a family who wanted it back. That was how she’d lost her master last time. The mortal body he’d taken over had a wife who loved him and wanted him back. To save his soul she’d foolishly given her own life force to lock the Demon King away. It was pathetic.

Now her master would live forever in a body of her own design. They would be back in force and she would have proven herself indispensible.

She closed the security box and placed it back in its protective chamber. From deep down in her chest she suppressed the very audible rumble of a purr.

Carri groaned heavily and half assisted, half carried, Rocky through the apartment door. She regretted not accepting the help of the night security officer in the lobby, but Rocky was going on and on about Power Rangers and Angel Grove and, although he hadn’t said anything compromising yet, she wanted him inside the apartment with as few witnesses as possible.

This was the last time, she swore silently to herself, that she ever took her communicator off. It didn’t matter that the thing wouldn’t have gone with her outfit, she had desperately needed to transport her completely intoxicated boyfriend home and had been stuck doing it the old fashioned way.

She was going to murder her brother. He’d been her savior earlier, showing up nearly twenty minutes after she did with a large group of his friends; mostly actors and crew from the newest TV drama he was in charge of. They’d swarmed around them and within minutes she and Rocky were having a fabulous time. The small crowd was laid back and care free and so sickeningly famous it looked like a mini award show reception.

Once it became clear that Rocky was well liked and included by Josh’s pack, her old friends backed off and even most of her mom’s friends held their tongues. To give her mom a little credit, she’d stewed silently for an hour, then focused on emptying her father’s open bar. By one AM, she’d disappeared and Mrs. Barrett informed her that she’d gone directly to bed. Unfortunately, by the time she’d emerged from the kitchen, Rocky was also gone. The beer had flown heavily all night among Josh’s group and a very pretty young actress who’d remain behind to flirt with her father told her they’d gone clubbing in search of something stronger.

Carri had been seriously pissed until she spied a scratchy note in her purse giving her the location where the group had headed. On seeing the note, she sort of forgave Rocky for leaving her behind, but not really. Fortunately, she still had enough pull to get inside the exclusive club, but by the time she’d found him he was already regaling a thrilled crowd of young women with stories of the monster attacks in Angel Grove. The rest of the pack had long since disappeared in search of harder, more secretive, substances and Rocky and Josh seemed to be the only ones left that she knew. She’d abandoned her brother, tossed a protesting Rocky in a cab, and headed home.

“What’re we doing back here?” Rocky slurred, standing bolt upright, then falling backward, and causing Carri to also lose her balance. With several choice words that would have made Jason proud of her, she kicked off her designer heels and threw him over her back, ignoring the ripping sound of her dress. Like a hunchback, she carried him toward the bedroom.

“Whoa...you’re gonna drop me.” He complained. Carri groaned and tossed him unceremoniously onto the small double bed. She removed his shoes with two aggravated pulls, resisting the urge to slam them in his face, then proceeded to remove him of the rest of his clothing.

“Why’re we back here?” He asked her again, forehead creased in confusion.

“You’re cruising at thirty thousand feet without you’re zord.” She muttered crossly.

“Huh?”

“You’re drunk off your ass. Go to sleep.”

“The party over?” He asked in bewilderment.

“Yes.” She said icily, her voice dripping with irritation. Carri didn’t drink much, didn’t like the way it made her feel, and she had very little patience or sympathy for those that did. It was nearly four AM on the east coast and she was past exhausted. She’d been ready to leave just before one and to have to go out and chase him and her brother down on a cold and rainy November night had been extremely annoying.

“They liked me didn’t they?” He grinned and when Carri looked up at him, she couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her mouth.

“Yes, Josh’s friends liked you very much.” She conceded. “What?” She asked when he just continued to stare at her.

“You look really good in that dress.” He leered.

“Yeah well, I’m not much for making love to someone who smells like a cross between stale beer and a Jose Cuervo.”

“I’m sorry about your boobs.” He slurred, his eyes clearly focusing on the area of her dress that was hanging open as she leaned over him to unbutton his shirt. She frowned at him in confusion; half amused and half annoyed.

“Ok, I’ll bite.” She said. “Why are you sorry about my boobs.”

“You keep fretting ‘cause you think you gained weight and that’s why you’re clothes don’t fit you.”

“Huh?’ She asked, genuinely confused.

“You keep thinking it’s impossible that you gained weight on a kelp and gelatin diet on Aquitar.” He said, closing his eyes. “It was all my fault… one stupid comment to Cestro.” He said drifting off.

“Hey wait a sec.” She said, raising her voice and shaking him. “ Don’t pass out now hero.” She said, reaching up and gently trying to slap him awake. True, she’d been a bit frustrated since she got back that her shirts and bras were tight, but she thought that had to do with getting used to the unrestrictive clothing on Aquitar and the soreness of her skin against the artificial materials of her clothes on Earth. Nothing looked too out of the ordinary, at least not to her…then again, she really hadn’t paid much attention to her body since she’d gotten back; she was just glad it didn’t hurt anymore. Having everyone comment that she didn’t look so skinny anymore when she was only up by about two or three pounds had been irritating, but now she wanted to know why he thought he might have had something to do with that.

“What?” he asked grumpily, pushing her hand away. “What do you want?”

“I want to know more about what you said to Cestro and why you’re sorry about my boobs.”

“Huh?”

“Think. What did you say to Cestro that makes you sorry about my boobs.”

“Oh…nothing.”

“Bullshit. What did you say Rocky?” She asked, voice taking on a hard edge.

“I uhm…awe Carri don’t be mad, it was innocent. I just made a stupid comment to Cestro when the techs were reconstructing the skin on your chest.”

“What did you say Rocky?” She asked, the edge deepening in her voice.

“You’ll be mad at me.” He pouted, closing his eyes again. She shook him forcefully and, ignoring the alcohol smell on his breath, grabbed his shirt with both fists and lifted his head off the pillow.

“What did you say to Cestro about my boobs?” She demanded. It was the kind of thing that would never have worked on him sober, but since he was drunk off his ass, he probably wouldn’t remember anyway.

“Said I loved ‘em.” He giggled. “But I kinda wished they were just a little bit bigger.” He grinned and raised his hand up to her face, thumb and forefinger held about an inch apart.

“You what?” She hissed.

“I didn’t mean for him to take me seriously.” Rocky said defensively. “He was all proud of himself that he was able to turn up the dial a little, so to speak, without anybody noticing.”

Carri released him into the pillows, half amused and half furious. So that was why none of her shirts fit. It couldn’t have been by much, she’d only loosened her bras by a hook or two to let some of the pressure off her skin. If Rocky wasn’t drunk off his ass she would have smacked him. Instead, she watched, slightly  amused as he threw his head back on the pillow and began to snore almost instantly.

Rolling her eyes, she trudged back out to the bathroom and quickly undressed and showered, taking a few extra minutes to closely examine her chest in the bathroom mirror before pulling her flannel pajamas on. If she was gonna have a boob job, she decided, she would have gone bigger than what she got, but there was definitely more there than she’d realized.

Returning to the bedroom, her shoulders and mood slumped as she realized he had spread himself across the entire double bed and was basically immovable. Even her pillow was already wet with sweat and drool and she dropped it with a disgusted grunt. All humor lost again, she made another loud angry sound, slapped him across the head with her wet pillow, and stomped out to the tiny second bedroom.

She hated that bedroom, it had been a utility closet with a large, old fashioned washer and dryer when she moved in. Feeling industrious and way too over inspired by the do it yourself shows on TV, she’d converted it and its narrow hallway into a bedroom in hopes of raising the value of the condo. The result was a closet with a twin bed, but it was still a bed and she fell gratefully into it.

She was seriously going to have to give Rocky some shit in the morning and not just because of his drunken behavior with her brother and his friends.  She rubbed her eyes and tried to relax a little. It wasn’t like she hadn’t complained about having a small chest before and it wasn’t like it was a massive change, it was that he hadn’t fessed up to it. She didn’t know whether to laugh, be angry, or chide him about not turning the damn dial up a little more. She sighed heavily and rolled over. She was far more angry about having to search for him and then having to carry him home drunk than she was about her boobs.

She guessed the evening hadn’t been a total loss, but she knew they probably would have had a better time if they’d stayed at Billy and Trini’s reception; at least she would have. She closed her eyes and felt sleep pull her gratefully towards oblivion, but before she even made it into REM, a small chirping noise brought her fully awake again.

She tossed the covers off and hurried into the other bedroom, but on closer inspection, it wasn’t her communicator. Frowning and casting a wary glance in Rocky’s direction, she twisted her wrist in a jerky, counter clockwise motion, revealing her wristband and panther power coin. The edges of the wristband glowed on and off and it chirped softly again. Looking back at the sleeping Rocky, she morphed quickly and quietly into Ninjetti mode, then, tapping the glowing crystals, she transported out.

Tommy was dreaming…he knew that, could feel it even though the nonsensical images were sharp and crisp. The dream meandered along in it’s unrealistic way until he could feel himself being pulled deeper in to where his true memories existed. The fog of the dream lifted and he floated for a while until landing safely in a familiar place. This phenomenon only happened when the memory was important to his present situation, so he carefully detached himself from his younger self’s narrow vision and watched the unfolding scene patiently from the sidelines. The sights and sounds of the past assailed him once again and he realized where and when his memory had taken him.

He was packing his Jeep outside the NASADA bunker where the Megaship was stored. A glance at the ship inside confirmed for him that this was the end of the mission to destroy Serpentera; just before he and Andros created the official Red Assembly. His younger self was angry and Tommy forced himself to remember why.

This was the time when he had just finished working his ass off to fast track himself through his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and, with Mercer’s help, had landed into a good, if not fabulous, eighteen month doctoral program. Word had also just reached him that Katherine had moved in with Chris. Their relationship had only been over a few months and the hasty move seemed to confirm to him that there had been more between the two than simple study partners. The realization stung his pride, even though he had been less than faithful to her on his dig with Mercer. There had been a Canadian grad student with them that was far too pretty to be interested in digging up old bones. She had a fiancé waiting for her back home and he had Katherine, but somehow the temporary fling had just happened. He’d returned horrified by what he’d done, but then heard the rumors that she and Chris had been seen all over Angel Grove together; and not just studying.

The older Tommy wanted to tell his younger self to chill a little. He was taking things far too seriously and in a matter of months he’d have far more to worry about than looking foolish in front of his friends. Reefside wasn’t going to be the place to make the new start the younger version thought it would. True, it had been a huge achievement to skip most of his senior year in favor of college classes and to fast tract through to his masters when his other friends were just finishing their bachelor’s, but Mesogog was about to make his first appearance and the young Tommy in front of him would be frustrated beyond belief that none of the three Dino gems wanted him.

From his detached view, he saw a tiny flash of red light and realized what his younger self hadn’t noticed; that Kim had transported to the base. He was never sure where she’d come from, but he watched as his younger self became painfully aware of her presence. He always knew when Kimberly was nearby, a fact that had truly bothered him until recently. His younger self turned calmly, cold mask firmly in place, and regarded her approach.

The older Tommy winced at the bitterness in the younger version’s eyes as he stared her down; noticed how the younger Kim paused and absorbed the look. There was a hurt in her eyes as well, and a lost and fragile look that the younger Tommy was too self absorbed to recognize. The older man’s heart ached at the vulnerability he saw, especially knowing what was about to come. Gritting his teeth, Tommy tried to banish this particular memory. He wasn’t proud of what came next and it wasn’t something he wanted to re-live in haunting detail, but the memory simply continued to play slowly forward. He could feel the cool wind bounce off the tarmac, see it tousle her hair, smell her perfume, and worst of all, see the pain and loneliness in her eyes.

“I wondered when you’d show up.” His younger self said icily, turning to yank the ropes holding the boxes in his Jeep.

“Congratulations.” She said  softly, “On the Serpentera mission.”

“We got it done.” He snapped.

“The morphers held together?” she asked. “Everyone stayed morphed long enough?”

“You want a metal?” He snarled.

“No.” she said softly, almost inaudibly. “Just asking. They were all so different, I wasn’t sure. Dimetria…”

“What do want Kim?” His younger self whirled around and all but lunged at her. She backed up a few steps, no fear in her eyes, just the sadness that only the older Tommy seemed to notice.

“I need your help.” She said softly.

“Not interested.” The younger Tommy growled. The older Tommy wanted to smack him, but it was pointless. This was memory; nothing more.

“I helped you when you needed me.” She protested.

“Andros and TJ’s idea…not mine. I didn’t even know you were still on board with things…thanks for the heads up by the way. Makes sense though, Jason’s apparently in on the sly, why not you? What is it Andros called you? Kaycea? They way he described you I thought we were dealing with someone really powerful, not one of Dimetria’s little couriers. I felt like a god damn idiot when Jason told me it was you.”

“Tommy..” she said almost pleadingly. “No one knew my real name except Jason….well at least not until now. Dulcea…”

“I’m the one Zordon left in charge of things.” The younger Tommy shouted at her, barely inches from her face, “You owe me at least a heads up what you’re doing in the Ranger community.” To her credit, the older Tommy noticed, she didn’t even flinch.

He realized then that she was already far more powerful than his younger self could have realized. At the time, he thought she was simply the courier between Earth and Eltar. They hadn’t been sure the older morphers would hold together and needed them checked out by an outside source. They’d agreed to wait a precious twelve hours only to be amazed that Andros’s courier had returned them, fully charged, in less than three.

He realized now that it was probably Kim that boosted the power cells in the morphers using her Muirantian powers; not Dimetria. Cole had admitted to Jason that she’d charged morphers for him and Merrick; this was probably the mission where she’d figured out how to do it. Most had already been restored by the Zordon Wave, but no one knew if they had enough power in them to go up against the Machine Empire again; most of the reds hadn’t even tried to morph for years. They’d been so short on time and it had been her efforts that gave them a little extra insurance that there was enough power in them to stay morphed long enough.

The girl before him already had the calm and steady demeanor about her that the older Tommy had recently come to know. She wasn’t the silly girl he remembered from this time period, but a confident leader and he wondered briefly if she’d already begun working with Thomas. “I’m the one who should have known you’re working with Dimetria, not Andros.” The younger Tommy railed at her. Again Tommy wanted to smack his younger self, but he knew the arrogant little boy that he was would be humbled soon enough.

“There’s a lot more going on in the universe than just the things Zordon left you in charge of…I have my own assignments…”

“Oh please…” The younger Tommy sneered. “You jumped ship a long time ago. I’m the one who stayed and took on the brunt of the responsibility...what, you felt guilty by Zordon’s death and decided to come back and give things another try with Dimetria?”

“Tommy, I didn’t come here to compare assignments.” She interrupted and the older Tommy noted an impatient red flash in her eyes that the younger version apparently missed.

“What did you come here for then?” He snarled.

“I need your help. I don’t know what’s happening to me…what happened on Muirantias…I shouldn’t be able to do the things I can…I’m afraid if it keeps up I won’t be able to control it. I don’t know where to go, Dulcea can’t help me further and now Dimetria’s says she can’t help either; this was never supposed to happen.”

“If Dulcea and Dimetria can’t help you, what the hell makes you think I can?” He snarled.

“You had more time with Zordon…he prepared you. Maybe there’s something in his histories, maybe some training he gave to you that he didn’t have time…”

“Not my fault you bolted.” He said, returning to tying down the ropes.

“Tommy that’s not fair. I didn’t bolt, I did what I was told to do…”

“Oh yeah, you were told to give up saving the world and become a sports star….the darling of the Pan Games.” He said sarcastically with enough venom to make her wince.

“That’s not all I was told to give up.” She said softly, voice breaking a little, and the older Tommy realized that his younger self hadn’t heard her. He tied down one box and then turned to add another, completely ignoring the girl.

That was what he hadn’t remembered. She was trying to tell him she’d learned Zordon himself might have been involved in separating them. It had been some sort of attempt to balance the continuum, to create an opposite version of Kemora by setting up his Kim to be taken to Muirantias.

Tommy was still trying to make sense of it; it was like a storyline to a bad novel. Zordon had allowed and encouraged them to become extremely close so that his love could help turn her around and bring her back, but then, once she’d been altered, they weren’t allowed to be together. Katherine had apparently been his consolation prize because there were numerous worlds where the two had lived long and happy lives together, but in his case the substitution hadn’t worked. He’d continued to pine for his Kim; even though he’d refused to admit it.

As Tommy studied the younger Kim’s face, he realized she desperately needed to confide in someone. Most likely she was just coming to terms with what being associated with the DG really meant. She was confused and scared. Of course Dimetria couldn’t help her, she was loyal to the DG. Kim had been created, her life manipulated. This must have been the time she was coming to grips with things. She had nowhere to turn and had come to him.

He’d blown it. He’d been so angry and so hurt he hadn’t seen that this was an opening, a cornerstone that could have changed their history. They would spend another five years in stony silence because of this. Mentally, he kicked himself. She could have been there for all of it. All those nights he’d lain awake, so full of fear and anxiety that Mesogog was all his fault. She could have been there; her experience would have been invaluable. All the answers he had searched so hard for; her training with Dulcea and Dimetria would have made them so much easier to discover…and he would have had her. The thought assaulted him and he felt as if he would physically be ill.

“Tommy…” she said, trying to get his attention. The boy turned to her coldly.

“Go ask Lerigot.” He said.

“I can’t….it’s complicated. I can’t even ask Jason.”

“Oh well…sucks for you.” He said nastily and loaded more boxes from the dwindling pile.

“I’m sorry about Katherine.” She said and he stopped short. Without even looking at her, he continued to lift the last of the boxes from the tarmac.

“Why the hell would you care?” He muttered, moving around to the front of the Jeep to look for more rope.

“Tommy, it’s not like I just stopped caring what happens to you.” She said, but the younger Tommy didn’t look up. “I…I thought maybe now that it’s over between you two…I don’t know… I’m sorry you got hurt again.”

“You’re sorry I got hurt again? Are you fucking kidding me?” The younger Tommy all but flew around the Jeep and towered intimidatingly a few centimeters from her, causing her to lean backward. “You do not have any right to be sorry for anything concerning me, do you understand me?”

“I just meant that…”

“No. You left. End of discussion. You have absolutely no right to feel anything for me ever again. I don’t want you anywhere near my life, I don’t want to help you with your little problem, I don’t want you anywhere near me.” He all but screamed. “If you’ve got problems, learn to deal with them yourself. I’m done rescuing you Kim.”

The older Tommy watched with  a terrible sense foreboding as a visible wall slid firmly down behind her eyes; a wall that would remain between them for more than five years. That still separated them even though they’d managed to find a way back to one another. “Do you understand me?” The younger Tommy shouted again.

“Perfectly.” She replied frigidly.

The older Tommy groaned, but the sound reached only his ears. “You idiot.” He reprimanded his younger self. “She would have fallen right back into your arms. She needed to trust someone and she came to you. You could have had her back again. She would have been there for you all through…” He shook his head as he watched the two younger people stare each other down.

“I’m sorry I wasted your time.” She replied waspishly and the older Tommy was pleased to see the surprised look on his younger versions face. He hadn’t expected that. Before him wasn’t the tearful little girl he’d been expecting, but the fully grown warrior of Phaedos; proud and defiant. “Congratulations on your victory.” She said with a chill that crept all the way into the bones of his younger self. “You’ll not hear from me again.” With that she turned and walked slowly, but regally around the side of the bunker.

Tommy watched as his younger self swallowed hard and watched her go, knowing full well the crushing pain that had been in the younger man’s chest. He told himself for years that he had done the right thing, that there was no place in his life for that particular female. “You idiot.” The older Tommy drolled again. “You think you’re so mature, so righteous, you didn’t just win that battle, you lost the whole god damn war. I’m still paying for that night. I still can’t get her to come to me for help.”

As he watched his younger self stare blankly at the retreating form of the woman he had loved all his life, the memory began to fade and he allowed himself to be lulled back into his dreams.

But there was no rest for him there either. He knew he was dreaming. The scene before him hadn’t happened, but it had haunted him in his sleep every night since he’d saved her. Kim was dead. He had refused to search out Rita to save her from the effects of Kemora’s force field. She had died without him ever telling her how much he loved her. It was a nightmare he experienced over and over again. As he watched Jason tear himself apart in grief, he just stood there, unable to fathom what had just happened. He knew he would wake soon, that she would be there and everything would be fine, but caught up in the throes of the dream, he just wasn’t sure and a sense of pure panic enveloped him. He could change it, he had to change it, she couldn’t be dead, it wasn’t happening….he tried to force himself out of the panic, but this time he couldn’t. It was black and cold and all enveloping. His heart pounded in his chest until it nearly exploded….and then it was gone; dissolved into a million colors.

Where he found himself next was equally as frightening, but this was no dream. This was a future thread. Not necessarily the future that would happen, but a very good possibility. This had only happened to him a few times and he knew from his training that it would be very short and he needed to pay close attention to every detail.

It was night and in the same place his younger self had been, but this night was unbearably hot. Lightning flashed across the sky every other second and in the distance he could see the eerie outline of a black tower. There wasn’t a soul about and as he watched, the bunker that had once held the Megaship was torn apart by a storm that contained no rain, but sand and debris. The world appeared to be at its end, but how or why eluded him. He forced himself to relax and absorb deeper into the scene before him.

From the wreckage of the bunker walked several teams of Rangers, although he couldn’t see which ones. Then, as if she’d transported, Kim was in front of him, eyes blazing red. He blinked and she seemed to multiply, but this Kim, even though her expression was just as fierce didn’t have red eyes. He blinked again and standing beside the other two was Kim as he’d known her as a girl. It was a metaphor, it had to be, but what, he didn’t know. As he felt himself pulled from the thread he desperately looked around again, trying to absorb every detail. He wouldn’t get another chance, this vision wouldn’t come to him again. Just before his vision left the scene completely, the lightning struck him directly and he was enveloped in a blinding energy. He was dead.

Waking instantly, he gasped for air and quickly threw his arm out to assure himself that Kim was next to him. He’d unfairly wake her, he knew that, but he desperately needed to feel her there. However, unlike the other nightmares he’d woken from, this time his arm met with an empty space. Still under the effects of the dream, he panicked and jumped up, tearing the sheets off and searching the room for her. There was no one there.

The room was dark and quiet except for the sound of his heart pounding in his chest. He wiped his hand over his face, only to discover that he was sweating profusely. Swallowing hard, he took a deep breath and walked to the tiny master closet. He opened it cautiously, terrified by what he might not find, and immediately collapsed in relief against the door at the sight of her clothes. It was alright. She was there and they had really gotten married yesterday. At that thought, he looked down at his left hand and spied his wedding ring, which further confirmed he had been sound asleep and dreaming. But that left the question as to where is wife was now. A quick search of the house and yard proved she was definitely missing, but where would she go in the middle of the night without telling him?

Quickly, he returned to the bedroom and dressed, immediately transporting to the Command Center. Wherever Kim had gone, he’d be able to trace her communicator signal from there.

“Alright.” Jason said in his best I’ve so caught you voice. “Now that that’s over with…out with it.” He collapsed in a small chair and plopped his feet up on the white counter with a loud thud. They were in a old inner-dimensional safe-room of Zordon’s so he didn’t have to worry about the time. The room was held sort of in-between time and space; time moved faster in here than on the outside world. He’d return, nearly as soon as he left, without anyone noticing the difference and still get a good night’s sleep.

He was overly tired. This had not been the night for a mission of this size and magnitude. They’d timed it, so no one would know they went cross-dimensionally, but they’d still been kept far too busy to discuss something like the new ring that had mysteriously appeared on her left hand. He’d been hopelessly hung over the whole time and that, along with her insistence that she’d talk to them after the mission, had only increased his dark mood. It was a relief to be back, Kim was good as her word, they’d only left three minutes ago, but he was tired and grouchy and seriously ready to lay into her.

He couldn’t believe he’d missed that ring at Billy’s wedding. Then again, he’d been a little drunk from the get-go. He’d picked Zack up from the airport on Friday afternoon and the two hadn’t meant to have anything more than a late lunch before heading over to the ceremony, but it was a hot day for November and beer sounded good to them both. Before they knew it, as they socialized, one beer had turned into four and they were seriously late for the small ceremony. Arriving just after the bride walked down the aisle, the two slipped into their chairs and tried their best not to crack up that they’d almost blown it. Only Carri had seemed to notice and she had shot them a scolding look that further made the two grin.

Once the reception started, the two, already in a jovial mood, got the party going with two more rounds of beer, then slid into the harder stuff after the bride and groom left. It had been fun at the time, and to his mortification he had actually gotten up and danced like a buffoon, but he’d seriously paid for it when Kim had called on him close to one AM to help with one of her secret missions. If he didn’t know better, he’d have accused her of planning it.

Carri had noticed the new ring almost immediately, but things on the blue world they were assigned to were already at critical mass and it had been impossible to simply stop and discuss Kim’s odd relationship with Tommy.

“Out with what?” Kim said as she laid the little bundle in her arms down on the small medical table and began the first of her scans.

“Oh come on Kim.” Carri growled, marching over to the table and raising her friend’s left hand. She was tired and smelly. She needed a bath and to crawl in bed for a week. It didn’t matter that she’d only actually be gone from the apartment less than five minutes, they’d just spent more than twenty hours on a dying world trying to make sure Zordon’s secrets didn’t fall into the wrong hands. She hated these kinds of missions. The outcome was already certain, she couldn’t do anything about it, just get in and get out before the end came, but it was inevitably depressing to watch your loved ones die. She had watched helplessly as her cousin’s alternate died of complications of childbirth and wounds received in the final fight for their world. She’d seen death before, but this time it had given her a chill that she simply couldn’t shake.“That.” She said testily, indicating the ring on Kim’s left finger. “That was definitely not there before.”

“Of course it was.’ Kim said nonchalantly, but a small grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. She left the small bundle on the table and waved her hand over a hidden consol. The consol sprang to life and, with a quick glance at what time it was on the outside world, she keyed a sequence. The consol beeped and produced a small crystal which, after a moment of concentration, disappeared in a flash of light from her palm.

“You send that to Tom?” Jason asked and she nodded.

“Netau’s getting suspicious.” She said absently. “Better he use the crystal to come here rather than me try and travel there so soon after closing out a blue world.”

“Jesus Christ.” He swore. “That’s all we need Kim. God damnit, did we have to bring another one back?”

“She made me swear I’d take care of him.” Kim said absently, returning to the medical table and tucking the blankets a little tighter around the bundle. It stirred, but then stilled and she smiled wistfully at it. From across the room, Carri made eye contact with Jason and he rolled his eyes.

“And just how many times are we gonna do this?” He asked in an irritated manner.

“As many as it takes.” She commented. This was by far the youngest she’d brought back. The baby had been born prematurely, but despite his small and frail size, he’d howled indignantly when she’d pulled him out of his dying mother. The scans indicated his lungs were premature, but he was otherwise fine and she instructed it to take any measures necessary and to help mature and immunize the tiny baby as fully as possible.

“And how many is Tom gonna be able to take?” Carri asked.

“History records Tom and his wife had nine children, all of which survived. This one makes four.”

“But we’ve brought back more than that.” Carri said, frowning. Jason gave her a surprised look, but she ignored him.

“It’s not safe to place them all in one family.” Kim said, opening a small drawer and pulling out several items.

“Damnit Kim,” Jason said loudly, slapping one hand firmly down on the counter. “If you’re caught…” He started, but he couldn’t finish, the loud bang had woken the infant and it wailed indignantly.

“Come on Jase..” Kim said, frustration catching up with her too. It had been a long day and she still had the baby to settle with Tom and sneak home before her own Tommy woke up. She pushed Jason’s leg aside and scooped up the wailing bundle, cradling the newborn against her shoulder. She was just as tired as they were. She didn’t like these assignments either, but they had to be done. She didn’t need to explain any extra circular activities to them. The presence of these kids in their past was stabilizing their world. She didn’t know why, it just was. There wasn’t another dimension like theirs in the whole universe; why she didn’t know. So far no one had successfully managed to stabilize it except for herself and Thomas. She’d continue as long as she had to.

It had started simply enough. On one of her first assignments to a blue lined world with Thomas, the dying Kimberly had begged her to take her son with her and keep him safe. Thomas had coldly turned his back on the woman and ordered her home before the last of humanity was completely destroyed on that planet. Kim had obeyed but, using her own powers to return almost as soon as she left, she quickly took the screaming toddler from his grateful mother; swearing she’d do her best to protect him. She never forgot that alternate Kimberly, but what to do with the toddler was harder to solve than she thought. The DG had very strict rules, the child would die instantly if it was discovered what she’d done and so, probably, would she.

Fortunately, a solution presented itself almost immediately. Through a strange quirk of fate, she’d been re-united with Tommy’s clone, who resided in her world’s colonial past. Tom wasn’t supposed to exist. He had been cloned by the Green Wizard to destroy Tommy, but instead of being destroyed himself, as he had in most dimensions, he had turned to the good. Zordon had allowed him to travel to and live his life in Angel Grove’s earliest settlement days. However, it soon became very apparent that, although the wizard had been destroyed, his power had remained behind in his last creation. Power that the DG had every intention of utilizing.

The DG was pragmatic if nothing else. Kimberly had been there when the clone was created, she had been involved, however indirectly, with his transplantation, and since he was technically born to her time zone anyway, she would be in charge of watching over him while they both worked for the DG.

She actually didn’t mind this duty. She enjoyed Tom’s company. He’d been created from her Tommy’s DNA and although he was his exact twin, he was far more jovial and impish than his counterpart and he often kept her in stitches when she visited. It was a nice break from the seriousness that had enveloped her life and the two had formed a tight, almost family-like friendship.

The only sadness that seemed to creep through Tom’s life was that he didn’t seem to be able to give his wife children. Although a clone was a biological twin, just how Tom was cloned remained unknown. He couldn’t bear to see his wife unhappy and had called on Kimberly for help. When she arrived on their doorstep, toddler in tow, it was seen as a miracle to them both. Kimberly was never quite sure how it happened, but it worked and she really hadn’t questioned why.

When Thomas had found out he’d been beyond furious. Kim had never encountered the kind of anger he showed her and she was honestly afraid for her own life for a while; until he gave her a chance to explain. History revealed that Tom and his wife had nine children and all lived to adulthood and prospered. How, Kim argued, could he have produced nine children if he was a sterile clone? The children had come from somewhere and Zordon’s own records indicated each and every one of them was genetically related to him. Besides, even though she’d interfered, the timeline hadn’t budged; obviously she’d been meant to do it.

Thomas had simply stared at her incredulously for a few long moments and then vanished. It was several weeks before he’d showed himself to her again, but when he did, it was to pull her into his confidence. Thomas, it seemed, was the king of transplantation, but where Kim’s action had been purely an emotional one, Thomas’s actions were pointed and specific; altering certain outcomes. She soon found herself deeply involved in his manipulations, whether she wanted to be or not.

He turned a blind eye to her rescues and she, in turn, aided and abetted him on his pet projects. In the last five years she’d rescued seven children. Not all of them were the children of alternate Kimberlys; she’d rescued one of Adam’s and a few were Kat’s, including the newborn in front of her. So far, she’d been lucky. Wherever she’d placed a child, the timeline remained stable, but she knew the odds were not in her favor and it was only a matter of time before she screwed up. She was simply not as experienced or detailed as Thomas was.

For the most part she’d stayed strictly in two timelines: Her present and Tom’s past. She couldn’t press her luck forever; even now Netau was more than a little suspicious, but she would continue as long as she could.

She didn’t like involving the others. If she’d had a choice, she would have kept them both out of things. But Jason was just as connected to Muirantias as she was and thus an invaluable asset to her work on blue worlds and Carri…well Carri had sort of unwittingly become involved and now the DG felt she was too good at what she did not to utilize once in a while.

As the baby quieted, she made her way back across the room to the others, but on the way back Jason suddenly swung his leg out, stopping her.

“The ring.” He said and she sighed heavily.

“Tommy and I eloped yesterday morning.” She said simply. Simultaneously, the other two swore in a loud, exasperated tone and the baby erupted in protest again.

“I cannot believe you let him control you like this.” Jason yelled and Kimberly rolled her eyes and gave him a harsh look.

“He’s not controlling me.” Kim argued, turning to the small synthetron and ordering a bottle for the baby. It quieted almost instantly and she pushed Carri out of her chair so she could sit with it; purposely not looking at either of them.

“Then what the hell happened?” Jason snarled.

“I got scared.” She confessed. “The idea of a wedding, I just wasn’t as into it as Kat seems to be, I was overwhelmed between my mom and his mom and the families and the bridesmaids. It was too much given everything else that’s going on and it was still five months away. He asked if the idea of eloping, just the two of us,  would make me feel better. I said yes.”

“Shit.” Carri spat, plopping down in the chair Jason had vacated. “That’s just great. My one and only chance to be a maid of honor.”

“Carri.’ Jason barked in a disgusted tone. “This is not about you, this is about him railroading her, yet again, and her rolling over and letting him do it.”

“Just how many female friends do you think I have?” Carri retorted. “Even my own cousin made me a stinking bride’s maid. Buy the dress, smile for the photo, but be in charge of anything? Get to sign the certificate? No…I’m never gonna get a chance at it now!”

“Oh for god’s sake.” Jason groaned, rubbing his eyes and leaning against the wall. “Kimberly, does it even occur to you that he’s totally taken control of you? I love you sweetheart, and I understand you’re torn and how easy it is for you to let him manipulate you, but you have got to stand up to him, now more than ever. Sweetheart, I get it, you love him, he doesn’t mean it maliciously, but can’t you see that’s what he does? I love the man like a brother, but he takes charge, damn the consequences, and never looks back. You’ve got to stand up to him and demand he respect you.”

“This isn’t a matter of who’s the big bad red leading the team Jase, I do stand up to him.” Kim said firmly and Jason rolled his eyes in frustration. “He’s just really good at backing off and wiggling up to me another way until he gets what he wants.” She admitted.

“Well at least you admit it.” Carri said morbidly. “But you couldn’t you have waited until after I’d been a maid of honor?”

“Carri….” Jason growled.

“No, I’m serious.” Carri snapped. “So what if there were three of us, Aisha already got to be a maid of honor and Trini didn’t care as long as she was the one who could help choose the dress colors. This was my one and only shot to actually get up front and be in charge of things instead of sitting on the sidelines like a pretty little accessory.”

“Kim,” Jason said, oozing frustration and shooting Carri a look to be silent, “You know what you need to do.”

“Honestly Jase, you’re only seeing the superficial stuff. We really do talk things out and he’s promised to try and talk to me more before he just marches forward and makes a decision for me.”

“Christ, that’s a comfort.” He said sarcastically. “He planning on leaving your house alone now?”

“Actually,” She admitted hesitantly, “I kinda like what he’s doing with the house.” As soon as she said it, both of them were on their feet and talking over one another in their frustrations.

“Guys, come on, stop. Whatever the two of you feel, this was my decision, besides it was a good idea to go ahead and get married. We can still have the ceremony, God help me, he’s still maneuvering to get the ceremony, if only to make his mom happy….it’s just better this way.It’s over with and now we don’t have to worry.”

“Why?” Jason asked, eyes narrowing. She winced slightly and raised the baby up to her shoulder, burping it. After a long silence she just looked at him and shrugged.

“What’s going on Kim?” He asked warily. She took a deep breath and then looked him directly in the eyes.

“The DG has ordered me to marry him and produce children as quickly as possible or they’ll interfere.”

Jason exploded, storming around and firing off a tirade that made even Carri blanch. The newborn, startled, screamed and began to wail again. Kim stood up with an icy look and began to walk with it, patting it’s back and crooning until it settled down.

“We agreed.” He growled and she whirled on him with equal venom.

“It was decided for me Jase.” She snarled, surprising him. “You know as well as I do that I have to cooperate or they’ll take things into their own hands. Better to have the child on my own and have a huge influence in its upbringing rather than let some creep like Netau raise it. You know I’m right.”

“If you have to have a kid, why don’t you just keep that one?” Carri said, rubbing her eyes and trying desperately to stay awake. Kim getting married was hard enough to digest, Kim with kids was seriously going to take a while fathom.

“For one thing,” Kim said, “He’s Kat’s…well, her alternate’s anyway, that would just be weird; considering. For another, it would be pretty hard to explain how I just happened to show up with a newborn when I haven’t been pregnant.”

“How does Tom explain it?”

“I only take the littlest ones to him. When I contact him, I give him about ten months warning. Time isn’t linear. Their future is our past. Usually, Bessie fakes her pregnancy until Tom returns with the baby. Besides, their farm is way out and she rarely goes into town herself. People still whisper behind her back that she’s a witch.”

“And the town doctor doesn’t notice most of these kids are a little old to be newborns?”

“He is the town doctor.” She responded wryly.

“Oh. Well then, next time just go back in time nine or ten months and give yourself warning.”

“I can’t do that.” Kim snapped.

“Why not?”

“Because it would…the continuum, it would be directly altering my own history…you can’t do that.”

“Bringing those things back across dimensions isn’t altering things?” Jason asked, the heavy fatigue showing through in his voice.

“So far it seems to help.” Kim said lamely, but it was obvious she really didn’t know how to answer.

“Alright fine.” Jason said resignedly, “I’m done arguing with you Kim. You just go and do what you want, you’re gonna do it anyway. I’m outta here.” He walked over to Kim and kissed the top of her head. “Christ,” He swore, moving the blanket aside to stare at the baby’s head, “He looks just like Tommy.”

“Which is why he’s going to Tom.” She said blandly.

“I worry about you sweetheart.” He said seriously, catching her eyes, and she smiled half heartedly at him. He gave her a look that told her, despite what he’d just said, that they’d definitely continue their conversation later. He took the phoenix crystal out of his pocket and tossed it up, catching it with one hand, then turned and left room.

“That went well.” Carri said sarcastically and Kim snorted, still walking with the baby.

“And you expect me to believe this work of fiction?” Zedd snarled, rising from his throne and shaking his staff.

“My lord,” A wingless Goldar groveled before him. “I know not how I survived the Zordon Wave, I simply did. I wandered the galaxies lost in my shame without my lord to guide me. When news reached me of your return, I came immediately to serve you once more. I did not know that you were not the great lord I served, but his successor, still, I offer my loyalties and my experience against the Rangers who now stand between you and your ultimate victory.”

“I think it’s a brilliant idea.” Rita cackled carefully, edging up to Zedd. He turned to look at her, a huge indication of how things had recently changed between them. She didn’t believe the blue monkey’s story any more than Zedd did, but his experience against the Rangers would be invaluable. Besides, he had served the old Rita for over ten thousand years, he would know a great deal about her and be able to confirm her own findings; especially where she thought the former witch had hidden herself. “He’s fought these Rangers before Zedd. His knowledge could be invaluable.”

“His knowledge is more than a decade out of date.” Zedd snarled. “And his record against them as children is pathetic. How could he possibly face off against them as adults without compromising our forces?”

“You’re right Zeddie.” Rita said casually, throwing him a bone. “And I agree with you completely, but I still say it can’t hurt. His very presence will shock the Rangers if nothing else; perhaps even bring up old insecurities and fears. They don’t know what he knows and what he doesn’t. He’s old guard, for all they know we’re beefing up the army and calling old alliances together. You’ll instill a sense of alarm in them. That’s worth something.” She reasoned. “Besides, how he survived the Zordon Wave is unimportant, he did. That in itself will inspire the others that Zordon wasn’t as all powerful as those goodie-goodies claim he was… and that Goldar is willing to offer you his allegiance indicates to the rest of the evil alliance that he recognizes you as the new lord Zedd. It confirms your rights from one of the few remaining old guard that you’re the heir to Zedd’s powers and his empire.”

“You have a point.” Zedd murmured, thinking carefully. “Very well. Find yourself quarters within the palace dungeons and await my orders.” He snarled and Goldar bowed low, backing out of the throne room.

“My lord Zedd, I await my chance to serve you faithfully.” He said as he crossed the doorway. Turning, he marched steadily toward the section of the palace he’d formerly occupied. He would not live in the dungeons; he was better than that. He was only slightly amused to note the section that held his old quarters was completely empty and unoccupied. When the old lord Zedd had ruled, the palace had been full to capacity. This little upstart had a long way to go before he could claim his former master’s standing.

As he closed the door behind him, he noticed the stealthy figure following him. He wasn’t surprised to be watched. He’d have to be very, very careful. Propping himself up on the old dusty bunk, he carefully removed a round, red ruby from where it rested in the center of his chest plate. Activating the crystal, he stared into its glowing depths. “I’m in.” He growled simply. Returning the crystal to his chest plate, he leaned back against the wall. He wished he could say it was good to be home.

Conner stumbled, half blind to the door. “I’m coming.” He yelled with irritation as the door bell rang again, this time three times in succession. He hit the hallway light switch and winced as his eyes refused to adjust from the blackness. Rubbing them against the light and trying hard to focus, he pressed one sleep crusted eye against the peep hole and frowned. “What the hell?” He murmured. The bell rang three more times in a row and he quickly undid the chain and latch and opened the door.

“Oh I’m sorry.” Kira said in a bright voice from other side of the door. “We’re you asleep?”

“It’s one o’clock in the freak’n morning.” He growled.

“I know,” she said unrepentantly and brushed passed him, large shoulder bag jostling him roughly. “My call back isn’t until nine thirty and there’s absolutely nothing open. Can I crash here?” She asked, just a little too sweetly.

He looked at her in astonishment for a second and then re-locked the door. Turning and moving her aside, he pulled a pillow and a blanket from the hall closet. Wordlessly, he deposited both unceremoniously on the couch and marched back into his bedroom.

“I love you too!” She called behind him in an amused voice. He simply slammed the door behind him.

Tommy was a little frustrated. According to her communicator, Kim was out in the middle of the old Power Chamber ruins, a good seventy five feet down. Then, as quickly as her signal appeared, it disappeared, but she was still there; just not. It didn’t make sense. Frowning, he racked his brain trying to think what could have been out there that would draw her out at one in the morning. As he stared at the readouts, a light flashed and the system picked up Jason and Carri’s muted communicator signals. In another flash, Jason was gone and the signal showed him bright and clear in his condo. Something was definitely up for those three to be out there together and it had to be on the sly because he hadn’t been invited to the party. He racked his brain to think what could still be down there besides a bunch of caved in storage rooms. Then an idea hit him. Grinning, he transported himself to the ruins.

Turning around three hundred and sixty degrees, he got his bearings and searched through the ruins until he found a remnant of Zordon’s old Power Tube. After a few more seconds of searching, he found an old door, half covered by debris. To even the most scrutinizing observer, out looking for what he was looking for, the door looked like nothing but a piece of twisted scrap metal, but Tommy knew better. Using the techniques Zordon had shown him over a decade ago, he activated the door of light and was quickly inside. Behind him, the door shut quickly, carefully locking against intruders. No alarms went off, which meant Kim hadn’t recalibrated the systems, but he still moved cautiously and silently. The passageway was dark, but there was light coming through the grate from the chamber below. It was then that he heard the voices: Carri, talking to Kim.

“So what are you going to do?” Carri asked. Her voice sounded tired. Tommy couldn’t see much of either of them, Kim was holding something, walking back and forth below the grate.

“Not much I can do is there?” She said a little testily.

“You gonna tell Tommy?” Carri asked and then shifted, giving Tommy a better view of them.

“I haven’t decided.” She said softly. This caught Tommy’s interest. Hadn’t they just agreed to keep each other in their confidences? And yet here she was, out in the middle of nowhere, confiding in Carri. This angered him a bit, he’d gone out of his way to include her in almost everything he was doing.

“I’ve been ordered not to…and besides I’m not sure how he’d react.” Kim said and his attention was again drawn to her pacing. “I mean, what would you do?”

“Me?” Carri asked, a little taken back. “Not likely their gonna order me to breed sweetheart.” She said drolly. “Netau even said to my face that he’s glad I don’t exist in every dimension.” The two girls giggled a little and Tommy sat back on his haunches; stunned.

“Come on, Kim…this is Tommy we’re talking about. He’s already told you he wants kids…and he’s gonna find out, he always finds out…better to tell him hon, even if it gets you in trouble.”

“Yes, but how’s he going to react when I tell him I’ve been ordered to do it…immediately. My god Carri, the very wording of it…You are hereby commanded to breed and produce living offspring within the course of one established and delineated standard time period….what am I, a god damn cow?” She asked and Carri chuckled. Tommy suppressed a grin, so that’s what had been bothering her. Last night, before they’d finally gone to sleep, she’d started to tell him about something, then had dismissed it as nothing important.

He knelt forward a little and watched the two as he considered what she’d just said. Truth was, it didn’t bother him all that much at all. He’d been wondering how to win her over on the idea and had allotted a good twelve months to the task. It appeared he didn’t even have to try. He actually thought it was kind of funny, but he knew better than to let her know that. He jumped as he heard someone begin keying the sequences to enter. For the first time since taking back his Zeo powers, he used the innate bonding of his Dino gem to invisibly blend with the passageway. He stood and, pressing himself against the corridor wall, watched as the new comer entered. He was half expecting Jason to return, but was stunned to see his double pass through the light barrier and land safely along the passageway as he had.

The man paused a moment to smooth down his bound long hair, straighten his vest, and dust off his long white sleeves. With a shock of recognition, Tommy realized he was staring at his clone. The clone Zordon had been sent back into Earth’s past. Startled to his core, he nearly gave himself away and, as Tom passed him, he turned slightly, as if aware something was amiss.

Tommy waited until the clone had made his entrance before stepping back to the grate. Obviously, the girls were expecting him. Kim gave a little excited squeal and hugged him backing up just enough to show him the mounds of blankets she was carrying. As the clone peeked inside the bundle, his heavily accented and formal greeting style dropped and his words sounded more like modern day English.

“A little blondie.” He crooned in wonder as Kim handed the bundle over to him. “And so tiny. Another girl then?”

“No.” Kim said, reaching up and caressing the baby’s head. “Another boy, but he’s premature, that’s why I told you to come early.”

“He’ll be alright though?” The clone asked, eyes meeting hers with concern.

“He’ll be just fine Tom. He cried good and loud when he was born and the medical computer says he’s healthy. I couldn’t’ fully immunize him though, but I’ll send what you need with you.”

“Alright, to borrow Jase’s phrase, I’m outta here.” Carri said, stretching. “When you have time,” She said, getting Kim’s attention, “I really need to talk to you about…” She raised her fist up and rotated it a bit in some kind of silent signal. Kim nodded as if she understood perfectly.

“What time do you land?” She asked.

“Around six thirty Sunday morning.” Carri answered with a roll of her eyes. “Gonna be a long day.”

“Well go back and get some sleep. Hopefully Rocky will feel better tomorrow.”

 Carri rolled her eyes and on the way out reached up and kissed the clone on the cheek. Giving the small baby an undeterminable look, she took a small crystal out of her pajama pocket and left through the doorway. A few minutes later, she passed unknowingly by Tommy and left through the outside door.

“Emmaline will be very happy to have another blonde in the family, even if he’s not the sister she wants.” Tom said, sitting down in the chair Carri had vacated and exposing the infant under the blankets. “She’s beginning to question if she wasn’t a foundling” He chuckled. “Of course her brothers have seriously pestered her about the idea that she was found out beyond the outhouse; scamps every last one of them.”

“They have the same mother.” Kim said quietly, rubbing her eyes. To Tommy, it looked as if she’d fall over from exhaustion any moment and he wondered again what she’d been up to. “There’s no reason to think they won’t look like one another. Emmie has a lot of Kat in her, more so than Tommy I think.” She said. That caught Tommy’s attention, he knelt down closer to the grate to both see and hear better.

“So what’s this one’s story.” Tom asked, absently counting fingers and toes on the sleeping baby, before kissing each in turn. Kim smiled at him sadly and Tommy wondered what she was thinking.

“Same as the others.” Kim said. “I hate working on  blue lines. Thomas knows that, but he sends me anyway so he doesn’t have to do it. The resident Tommy was already dead and Kat was mortally wounded. She fought until the end though. As we were getting ready to leave she went into premature labor. I shouldn’t have stayed, but the other child was already dead and she begged me to wait and take this one. She died minutes before he was born, I had to yank him out…it was unbearably sad.”

“You saved him though.” Tom said. “It a good thing you’re doing Kimmie.” He said softly, wrapping the baby back up in its blankets.

“It’s a dangerous thing I’m doing. Netau is already suspicious, but you’re not under his authority, so he can’t investigate…or at the very least he can’t openly report on what he finds if he does; unless it’s through the guardian in charge and he knows she won’t do anything about it.”

“I thought you were in charge of my timeline.” Tom said, raising the baby to his shoulder.

“Not technically, I’m actually only in charge of you and your family, but the guardian in charge of the timeline is a friend. I think she’s slightly in love with Thomas, poor thing. She likes me and lets me do what I need.”

“Well, Bessie and I certainly aren’t complaining. I should go though, no reason to tempt fate. Will you come visit soon?”

Kim nodded and stood. Turning, she opened a little panel and removed a small, but heavy, leather sack. “You’ll need this.” She said, holding out the pouch. Tom took and opened it before immediately handing it back.

“Thank you Kim, but we’re fine. You’ve done enough just bringing the little ones to us.”

“I insist Tom, you’re going to need it.” She said and Tom gave her an odd look.

“Can I assume, since it’s Spanish gold you hand me, that our little English settlement’s not going to fair well in its current struggle?”

“One rouge English outpost on Spanish soil will never fair well, especially when the king calls his army back to the colonies to fight the war brewing there.” Kim said softly, but Tommy could see the look on her face. She was worried and was trying to prepare Tom for something without directly saying what. “Be careful and do what you have to do to protect Bessie and the children.”

Tom stood up and Tommy couldn’t see the look on his face, but his shoulders and stance were tight and determined. He reached out and hugged Kim, giving her a kiss on the forehead. She smiled up at him and then kissed the baby.

“Take care Tom. My best to Bessie and the children.”

“You too lass.” He said, his odd, old fashioned accent returning as he turned and walked through the doorway.

Tommy waited only a few seconds after the clone had passed him on the way out before he made his way down to the door which would allow him access to the chamber below. He made a fair amount of noise before becoming visible again and walking through. Kim turned, surprised, obviously thinking he was Tom returning. She froze and stared at him, a frown deepening in her brow.

“I haven’t been gone ten minutes.” She finally said in a disgusted tone. “It’s been twelve at the most since I slipped out. I timed everything, there was no way you could’ve woken up naturally and figured out where I was. Did you follow me?”

“Had a nightmare.” He said plainly. “You want to tell me what’s going on or do you want me to start speculating?”

“Depends…” she said, reopening the concealed cabinet she’d just slammed shut. “How long have you been eavesdropping?”

“I came in when Jason left.” He said and she swore, her shoulders slumping a little.

“And you didn’t think it would have been appropriate to let yourself be seen?” She asked waspishly, spinning around to face him; but he only shrugged.

“Depends on why you didn’t tell me you were coming out here or why you didn’t tell me you’d re-vamped this place.”

“I didn’t know you knew about it.”

“The white Ranger was created in this room.” He said simply. “I didn’t know Zordon had told anyone else it existed.”

“I’ve known about it since we fell back through time to fight Ivan.” She said. “I searched it out as a way to have a quiet place where Netau and his cronies couldn’t watch my every move.”

She pulled what looked like a large wooden drawer from inside the cabinet and placed it on  the white countertop. Inside were various glass layers containing gold circles, which she removed and spread out in order. Without ever seeming to gesture or say a word, a red force field enclosed the room. He was startled by it, but didn’t show any physical signs except for a curious glance around the room.

“So what do you want to know?” she asked absently, indicating he take the only other chair in the room.

“For starters, what you’re doing out here.”

“I got a call from the Phantom and Solar Force Rangers to meet me out here. Before I could finish and get back home Thomas called me for a mission. Sometimes it’s necessary to travel to a blue line world and remove certain objects that shouldn’t fall into the wrong hands.”

“And for that you needed Jason and Carri?” He asked and she nodded in response. “And how long has Carri worked for the DG?”

“She doesn’t.” Kim said, focus still on the glass trays. “She has a way of getting herself mixed up in things. She’s good at what she does and occasionally I need to bring her with me.”

“And she’s good at…” He asked leadingly.

“She’s good at looking at a chaotic situation and  knowing the best way to get in and out with as little damage as possible. Plus we were in a situation where we were dealing with an alternate Katherine…sometimes when that happens I’m not the best person to lead things.”

“And the baby?” He asked, giving her an odd look. She raised her head and looked directly at him.

“Is best forgotten about.” She said firmly. “I keep no written records; it’s too dangerous. Transplantation from one dimension to another is older than the DG itself. I do what I have to do to keep the timelines stable.”

“It had nothing to do with the fact that it was Kat’s?”

“Partly.” She admitted.

“Was it mine too?”

“It was an alternate Tommy’s.” She said firmly. “If you’re going to deal cross dimensionally, you need to understand that there’s a difference. They all develop differently, no one is identical. Events like traumas and joys, the external influence of others, the lack of influence of others, they all change the personality; the development of the internal character. Better to think of them as close relatives rather than one and the same.”

“That sounds like something Thomas would say. “ He said and she shrugged.

“That’s what Zordon told me.” She said firmly. “Next question?”

“How long have you been working with the clone?”

“Time is relative.” She answered and at the hard look in his eyes she added quickly, “I’m not trying to be evasive. Time isn’t linear. According to my calendar I was re-introduced to him four years ago, but that doesn’t include the time I’ve spent in the past with him and his wife nor does it count the time we’ve spent together cross dimensionally. He’s inherited the Green Wizard’s powers and with that the Green Wizard’s responsibilities to the continuum. The only difference is that the Green Wizard technically worked for the other side. It was a huge coup for us when Tom turned and used that power to help us. It’s all in the other data tube. I don’t know how much you’ve read and how much you haven’t.”

“And you’re conversation with Carri before Tom walked in?” He asked, tilting his head slightly. “Have you decided you can confide that in me?” He didn’t mean it to be snide, but even to his own ears it sounded that way. He was a bit angry about that. Not at the order itself, but the fact that she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell him. She gave him a patient look and sighed deeply.

“It’s not a matter of confiding it, I haven’t come to terms with it myself yet.” She said slowly. “I’ve got issues with the DG, you already know that. I don’t like being told ahead of time to do something life changing immediately or they’re going to interfere again.”

“I can understand that.” He said, “What I don’t understand is why you’d hesitate to confide in me.”

“It’s not that.” She said. “There’s a lot you’re not supposed to know about; things even Zordon kept from you. You already know too much because you read my diaries. This is a minor issue in the scheme of things, but it’s majorly important to us because we’re directly involved. I confided in Carri because she and Jason both have the same issues with being controlled that I do.”

“So why the order?” He asked, unwilling for the moment to give up his anger. She hesitated, fiddling with the glass trays for a moment; slowly nudging them until they were even with each other.

“I wasn’t supposed to live.” She said softly.

“What?”

“I wasn’t supposed to live. Netau manipulated things and arranged for my death…again. He felt it was the only way to turn our dimension from an orange line, where it’s been since the Z Wave, to a green or blue. He had permission and everything proceeded as planned, but then Thomas interfered by giving the Mystic Mother the information she needed to give to you and you actually sought out her help and that changed things.”

“And that means…what? What’s the status of our dimension now?” he asked, not sure he understood what she was trying to tell him.

“We green lined. That’s something no one expected.” She said honestly.

“This Netau didn’t see that you’re survival instead of your demise would green line us?”

“No. We weren’t heading in that direction. Our dimension’s different; which is how I can get away with transplanting the children. No other Kimberlys survived Muirantias…well, none that I know of anyway. Just Kemora and I, we balance each other so to speak. I’m sure there are more we haven’t encountered yet, but no one knows for sure…the higher powers that be won’t talk to us about it. My survival seriously changed things on our world and that change reverberates across the dimension.”

“So you lived and we green lined and that translates into you having kids?”

“Sort of. I lived and we came together again. That’s a huge repercussion…we weren’t showing any signs of coming together again. There was a huge debate as to what to do because Thomas definitely interfered, even if the catalyst was your decision to trust Rita and ask her for help; there was no guarantee you would, Thomas just hoped. When he saw how upset you were that I’d been taken, he thought he’d give it a try and see if you’d be able to forgive both Rita and me. That was a huge if, but how he justified his interference. You had to choose to save me, which nobody thought you would. Netau was extremely angry he interfered. The powers representing good gained a huge victory and the powers of evil cried foul. It didn’t happen naturally, so no one knows what the outcome might have been. In the end it was decided to keep things as they are, but that left the question of whether an artificially created green world will stay that way. In the other green lined worlds where the Kimberly and Tommy remain together, they have their children at a far younger age than we are now. What’s going to happen a generation from now if we don’t have children relatively the same age…will things reverse? Will there be repercussions? Can it be afforded to allow me, with my altered genetics to have offspring like me? Should they interfere and transplant genetic material from an un-altered Kimberly? They couldn’t come to a decision. In the end, they gave me a few months to see what happens naturally and if that doesn’t happen, then obviously they need to interfere and get it done for me.” She stopped and looked at him, her frustration and defeat clear in her face.

“Well,” he said, leaning forward in his seat and looking at her wryly, “Maybe that explains why I’ve been having the same nightmare every night.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, frowning.

“The nightmare. It’s always the same and I’ve had it every night since we went back to Muirantias to save you. I didn’t seek out Rita’s help and you died. Maybe what I’m supposed to get out of it is that the timeline changed.”

“Maybe.” She said, considering his words. “Anything else in those dreams?”

“Tonight I relived that little scene outside the Megaship bunker.”

“The what?” She asked.

“The time when I was packing up things to permanently move to Reefside…when I basically told you to leave me alone and I didn’t want to see you again.”

“Oh.” She said chewing her lip and playing with the gold disks inside the glass shelves.

“And then I saw something new.” He added, “I think it was a future thread, but I was so panicked I’m not sure what I actually saw. She raised her eyes and eyebrows and looked at him in surprise. Future threads were rare, especially clear ones.

“What did you see?” She asked.

“I’m not sure.” He said. “I haven’t sorted it out. There was a huge storm, and the Megaship bunker was destroyed. There were several Ranger teams walking out of the wreckage, but none of them seemed to know it was there.”

“Anything else?” She asked when he paused.

“I saw you.” He said. “At first it was just you with red eyes, then beside you appeared another version without red eyes, and then beside her appeared a younger version, like the way you looked as a teenager. I think it was a metaphor, but I haven’t figured out what it means yet.”

“I’m not good at interpreting metaphors.” She said. “It could mean anything.”

“I also saw a tower.”

“What?” She asked, a little louder than she wanted to.

“A  black tower. At least I think it was black. It was dark and the tower was only illuminated by the lightening.” He said calmly, watching her reaction. Her face clearly showed she understood at least that part of the thread.

“Are you sure you weren’t still dreaming?” She asked, her face clearly concerned.

“It was definitely a thread. They don’t happen that often, I can usually tell the difference.” He said calmly. “You’ve seen them before.” He added. It was a statement, not a question.

“Once, on a blue world.” She said softly. Actually, she had just seen them on the blue world she’d just returned from. It was a dimension that had paralleled theirs pretty closely. That Tommy was of her dimension and saw them wasn’t a good sign at all. “Maybe it was an alternate dimension you saw…or maybe where the world was headed if you hadn’t gone to seek Rita’s help.”

“And if it’s not, if that’s our future?”

“Then we don’t have to worry about having children.” She said quietly.

Karone stretched as she made her way to the synthetrons in the main section of level eight. It was too early to inform Kim of the progress on the moon. She was tired and hungry and more than ready to crawl into her little bunk and sleep for a few hours. Taking her food from the machine, she turned and stopped dead in her tracks.

“I was wondering when you’d notice I was here.” Zane said casually, a lopsided grin on one side of his face.

“What the hell are you doing here?” She snapped.

“Visiting your brother, he’s got this crazy idea about going back to KO-35.”

“And you told him what a great idea that was, right?” She asked snidely.

“Actually, I think I talked him out of it.”

“And why would you do that?” She asked and Zane shrugged and kicked a chair out with his foot.

“Sit down.” He said.

“Why?” She asked.

“Because you’re food’s getting cold.”

Karone gave him an icy look and purposely sat at the table behind him. He rolled his eyes and, making a huge show of getting up, dropped dramatically into the chair next to her.

“I want to be alone.” She snarled.

“No you don’t, you just don’t want to have to talk to me.”

“Your wife made it very clear to you that you’re not to talk to me.” She said, anger rising at the amused look on his face.

“Don’t have a wife anymore.” He said casually. Startled, she looked up and met his eyes, immediately she wishing she hadn’t. He was glad to see her, that was obvious and there was such a longing in them that her heart betrayed her and skipped a beat.

“What are you talking about?” She asked, genuinely confused. “Aren’t you on your fourth kid or something?”

“Moirana was just as happy to see that contract end as I was.”

“And those kids? What are they supposed to do?”

“She’s signed up with a second husband; someone who’s actually the fatherly type. They’re fine. Not like I was around much anyway, what with working on KO-35 with the Astros.”

She gave him a cold look and he shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong. I love them.” He explained. “It surprises me how much I love them really. It’s just better she move on. I’ll still see them. Hell, I’ll probably see them more now than I did before.”

She continued to give him the hard look, then shrugged and began to eat her dinner without commenting, ignoring the fact he was staring at her.

“So how do you like working at NASADA?” He asked and she shrugged. Neither knowing what else to say, a thick silence settled between them. “Kind of thinking maybe I’ll take a job here too.” He said casually, taking a sip of his drink. She slammed her fork down on her plate and gave him a look that would frighten any other man. She looked so deadly and so much like Astronima in that moment that he nearly laughed. “Your brother said Tommy’s looking for a few good Rangers to help build this city project of his.” He continued, ignoring the daggers being shot his way by her eyes. “I think I might just be one of the retired Rangers he’s looking for.”

Karone stood and ceremoniously dumped her entire tray in the recycling bin. Without a word, she turned and strode out of the eating area.

“Face it.’ He called over his shoulder, eyes purposely looking straight ahead and away from her. “You still love me don’t you?”

Karone paused, but didn’t look back at him. A second later she continued on as if she’d never stopped and as she turned the corner she heard him laugh.

Tommy sighed heavily as a silence descended between them. They had talked things through to adnauseam, but at least they both had a better grip on things. Neither of them was sure what his dreams meant, whether they were for a past and a future that hadn’t happened or one they were possibly headed for, but both had agreed that all they could do was prepare for both outcomes. The black towers were apparently a specialty of Teeg’s. There presence could doom a world in a matter of days and they both agreed they needed to take as many precautions against the villain’s next return as they could.

That conversation had been mild compared to the one regarding their future together and their future children. He listened to her concerns and frustrations and he’d been able to re-assure her a little that he honestly did understand. Things were moving a little fast for him too. He’d been thinking he’d give himself a year before he started badgering her about a family and then allotted another twelve months before she actually caved in. This fast tract sat uneasily with him too, but he was more ready for it than she seemed to be.

What he was not ready for was his wife running out on dangerous missions while pregnant and after his kid was born. That had sparked a outright heated argument between them. He didn’t care that the grid apparently took care of unborn children for the mother while morphed, it was out of the question in his book. She, however, didn’t see things that way and had no intentions of stepping down. Besides, she argued, the DG wasn’t about to give her time off to have a baby and Teeg certainly wouldn’t sit around and wait for her to gestate. The debate had no clear resolution and after circling around and around with it, a small truce in the form of a long silence had settled between them.

He had no idea how long they’d been in the small room. Time was slower on the outside world than inside the room. It was an anomaly he’d never quite understood, but apparently one Kim took advantage of quite a lot.

“You gonna tell me what’s up with those trays?” Tommy asked, bringing his chair around next to her. She nodded and scooted over to make room for him, smiling a little as he wrapped one arm around her and kissed her shoulder in a kind of peace offering. “These the coins you were telling me about?” He asked and again she nodded.

“I’ve been able to make at least two dozen copies; unfortunately none of them are stable.” She said with a heavy sigh. “The user will get one, maybe two limited morphs at best. It seems I can charge…but I can’t create.”

“You’ll get there.” He said encouragingly. “How long did it take Zordon?”

“Zordon never created power coins.” She said absently, picking up a specimen and studying the markings on it. It was a panther. She’d created it first simply to amuse Carri.

“What do you mean?” He asked, frowning.

“A being named Ninjor created the original power coins from one of the six golden cosmic keys Zordon used to seal away the Demon King.”

“What about the White Ranger?”

“That coin’s been around for a while…not one of the originals though. Zordon just kind of re-vamped and upgraded it for you.”

“So who’s Ninjor?”

“Dulcea’s master…also master to Animus. I don’t know if Zordon studied under him or not. I think they were just friends, although Ninjor’s much older. He’s the one who first successfully transitioned the Ranger powers from the non-humanoid races to the humanoid races about twelve or thirteen thousand years ago and the one Zordon turned to when he needed help with the Power Coins. He’s also the acknowledged creator of the Ninjetti, not Dulcea. She just guards the Temple of Power on Phaedos; like Zordon, she never created coins.”

“You’ve met him?” He asked, and she nodded absently. “Nice guy?”

“Little twerp actually.”

“Excuse me?”

Kim looked up, a bit surprised, as if she hadn’t realized she’d said that aloud. “Uhm, he’s a great and powerful being who Zordon and many other great masters will always look to and venerate for all eternity.” She said solemnly, then quickly readjusted her focus back to the coins in front of her. “He also totally reminds me of that Martian guy on Bugs Bunny.” Tommy chuckled, but she didn’t look at him. “This is what I need to go back and speak to him about though.’ She said, packing away the tray of copied coins and bringing out a sealed glass panel.

“Those the originals.” He asked, hand reaching out to touch the glass encasement. Inside were the Tyrannosaurus, Pterodactyl, and Triceratops coins.

“Yeah, these are supposedly the originals.” She said softly and he looked at her curiously.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked.

“This.” She said, bringing out a thin, metal box. “This is the box the Phantom and Solar Force Rangers just brought back. The original reason I slipped out here was because I got a message to meet them here as soon as possible. The assignment from the DG came just as I was packing up.” She opened the case to show the Mastodon and Sabertooth Tiger Coins. “They’re very proud of themselves actually; as they should be.”

“Then Teeg doesn’t have the Sabertooth coin?” He asked excitedly. This was great news, that meant Teeg didn’t have the three Rangers she needed to form a complete team.

“Oh no, she’s definitely got one.” Kim said, adding the coins to the tray of originals. She opened the seamless glass encasement effortlessly, as if it had always had an opening, and slid the coins into two empty holes.

“I don’t understand.” Tommy said, sitting forward in his chair.

“I’m not sure I do either.” Kim said absently. “Look at this,” she said, waving her hand over the coins. Immediately a tower of multicolored lights shot up like from each of them. “These are DNA signatures, you can clearly see Jason’s and mine and Billy’s, but neither of these have human DNA signatures, they’ve never been used before…at least by humans.”

“So what does that mean? They’re fakes?”

“Oh no, they’re originals…at least as original as ours were.” She said. She waved her hand and the multi-colored towers changed and he could see a harmonic pattern develop between the five coins. “Look, the power cores are exactly the same.”

“You mean they’re the same, but copies… in the same way as Adam, Rocky, and Aisha’s are copies right?” He asked hopefully. She shook her head and his heart sank.

“No.” She said, pulling out another small sheet of coins. “Look, here’s Rocky and Aisha’s coins, the harmonic resonance is just minutely different because they were charged from our coins and not from the key. Their coins were also definitely only used on Earth. Our old coins have marginal traces of use both on Eltar and of the various humans who used them here on Earth once Zordon migrated. Rocky and Aisha were the only ones to use their coins…well, Jason used Rocky’s but I’m not counting that.”

“So what does that mean? That there are other coins out there that can open the Demon King’s Gate?” he asked, heart pounding. That could be a disaster if it proved true.

“No, I don’t think so.” She said absently. “But I can’t prove it and the Mystic Mother doesn’t know either.”

“Then are we safe or are we in trouble?” He asked seriously.

“I need to talk with Ninjor to be sure, but I think,” She said, pushing back from the table and looking up at him, “I think it means that Zordon never had the original coins with him here on Earth. I think they’ve all been copies of the originals that Ninjor made from the golden key…if the originals even ever existed.”

“So that means…”

“That means Zordon was a lot more careful than I’ve previously given him credit for. I always wondered why he would take the risk to transform the key and then actually use the coins openly. It never made much sense and Ninjor was very evasive. Zordon sent me off on a quest to find the original set of coins just as Teeg broke free and began her own search. I think he either wanted or knew that Teeg would latch onto me and track them down.”

“Thereby leading her on a wild goose chase.” Tommy finished and she nodded.

“He was buying time…” She said, thinking out loud. “The question is why and what for.” She said with frustration, gaze returning back to the coins.

“Do you think we’ll ever find out?” He asked, cocking his head to one side and tightening his arm around her. It had to be incredibly frustrating for her to learn the mission she’d been working on for nearly a decade was nothing more than an elaborate rouse.

“I have to.” Kim said. “But the answers aren’t here on Earth.”

“So what’s next?”

She turned again and looked him directly in the eyes. “Now we find Zordon.”

It was pouring the rain when Carri transported back into her tiny bedroom in New York. She opened her hand and watched as the transport crystal Kim had given her turned into a fine red dust. Glancing briefly at Rocky to see if he’d stirred any, she walked over to the dresser and opened the lid of a small shell box. Inside she deposited the powder, noticing as she did so that the box was almost half full.

She padded silently out to the small bathroom, showered, put on a new set of pajamas, and tossed her soiled and ripped ones in the trash. Toweling her hair, she walked quietly back to the living room and sat down on the sofa, watching the rain pour down across the large picture window. At times it was as if a fire hose poured against it, blurring the lights beyond and seriously dampening her already disconsolate mood.

Blue worlds always made her feel dejected, but this one had gotten to her like none of the others had. It had been remarkably similar to her own world and she could easily identify with the alternates. The resident Tommy was already dead, so she hadn’t seen him, but the resident Kat and Rocky had been there nearly their entire visit. They had tried to recruit them to their cause, their alternates always tried to do that, and when their pleas failed they had turned their backs on them like they were the enemy. It had hit her very hard this time. She was deeply in love with her Rocky and it was hard to see and hear an alternate who looked so much like her boyfriend try to beg and reason with her to help them.

The alternate Rocky’s death had also hit way too close to home for her. She didn’t know how Kim did it. How you turned a blind eye to something like that, Carri didn’t know and desperately wanted to learn. The alternate’s dead face haunted her. It was so like her Rocky’s and it had held such a surprised look, as if death had caught him completely off guard. Carri shook herself physically, she was being morbid. Her Rocky was fine, if a little drunk, and was safe and sound in her bedroom.

Silently, she stood, leaving the towel behind on the couch and walked to the bedroom. Rocky was still spread eagle on the bed and snoring loudly. She grinned and knelt down quietly by the bedside and just starred at his face. Ignoring the strong smell of alcohol on his breath, she reached out and kissed his sweaty cheek. Then, leaning back a little, she traced one eyebrow lightly with her finger and he stirred, reaching up to bat the finger away. Grinning more broadly, she leaned over and kissed the hand, linking her little finger with his. It had become a common gesture of affection with them. On Aquitar she hadn’t been able to handle the feel of anything on her skin and many times Rocky had been at a loss as to how to comfort her. Eventually, he began to simply loop his little finger around her’s just to let her know he was there. Even in deep sleep, his finger automatically tightened around her’s and the act nearly brought tears to her eyes.

“I love you.” She said quietly. He had stopped snoring when she kissed him, and she could see his eyes flutter a bit, but he didn’t respond. She leaned her forehead against his hand and brushed his fingers lightly against it. “Don’t leave me.” She whispered, but Rocky didn’t even stir.

Standing and wiping a few tears from her eyes, she turned and left the room, padding silently back to the tiny second bedroom. She had to get a better grip on herself, she told herself fiercely. This black mood had to end, and quickly; it wasn’t doing her a bit of good. She was safe and sound in her own world and those she loved the most were also safe and sound and living their lives oblivious to the goings on in the rest of the universe.

The black mood, however, wouldn’t leave her. She stared at the ceiling of the tiny closet until the rain stopped pounding against the window in the next room and long after the first rays of sunshine began to creep towards her across the living room carpet.

Kee wasn’t sure what drove her to seek out her brother. He’d been cold towards her ever since Kimberly had tapped her as a Ranger, but ever since she’d been united with Garan he’d all but refused to acknowledge her presence on the ship.

She’d never been particularly close to Kav. She knew full well he’d considered her a leech on his career and had been beyond embarrassed when Elemi had offered to charitably shelter her. Her brother was a brilliant engineer, his efforts on board saving the Ensway on more than one occasion. She wasn’t particularly troubled by his attitude towards her, but she was more than a little troubled by the rumors about the gossip he’d been spreading since her recognition by Kim.

Recognized, or adopted, children had far more power and status legally in the Intergalactic community than naturally born children did. Children happened, but recognized children were chosen. It wasn’t uncommon for a parent to recognize their blood children when they came of age, adopting them despite their legal blood ties, but it was very unusual for someone of Kim’s status to recognize a girl of Kee’s standing without a blood bond.

Kee wasn’t complaining. The new status was higher than Garan’s and had allowed her to be with him in a legal bonding. It had also opened doors to her that would, if she was careful, make her very politically powerful one day.  She was very conscious of this new standing and had become obsessed with furthering her education and making her new mother very proud of her, but it appeared her brother had been undermining her.

Garan had told her to leave it be, that once a child had been recognized, the past was wiped away, but Kee was more than a little concerned her blood brother’s efforts would embarrass her new family house. True, she had been born a servant, to a servant, but she’d come a long way since then. It was maddening that Kav would spread lies and hatred about her tainted bloodline. There were still plenty throughout the galaxies that held to the theories of the purity of one’s blood. By spreading inappropriate  stories about their mother and Kee’s own early past, he could very well bring embarrassment, if not shame, to Kimberly’s line and Kee was not about to let that happen. She was now a descendant of Zordon through Kimberly and the oldest daughter of her generation; honor needed to be upheld.

Garan held to the belief that Kav was jealous. Until Kee’s ascension to pink Ranger, Kav had been the only child of their mother’s line to actually accomplish something. Although his father had never formally recognized him, he had paid for his education and thus given him a status above their mother’s. He was as proud and arrogant of his abilities as he was good at what he did. This gave him a rank and status above all his other blood family; until Kee had become a Ranger. That change in status among his family had been a hard pill to swallow, a pill which became more bitter when Kee was formally recognized; something that he had hoped, but was forced to admit would never happen to him.

Kee paused as she reached the main engineering section, wondering briefly if Garan was right and she should leave things alone. There was no one around in these particular corridors and she felt a little uneasy approaching her brother unaccompanied. Shaking the feeling off as a silly remnant of her old past, she hit the door release and walked into the room that held the ship’s main engine core. The inside was dark and gloomy and she realized she’d chosen a timeframe when the main engineering staff would all have taken to their quarters to rest. Wondering if she’d even find her brother down here at such an odd time, she almost turned to go, then heard his voice travel softly through one of the grates.

He was talking to someone, but who, she couldn’t see. The room was dark and the grate obscured all but a faint outline.

“I’ve set the timer for twenty minutes, that’s more than enough time to evacuate and steal an escape pod.” Kav said, as if he was arguing softly with the other person.

“Twenty minutes is too long, someone could find it and deactivate it before the ship blows.” The other male voice said.

“Trust me, no one’s gonna break this thing, it’s indestructible. The ship is doomed and so is her crew. Besides, we’ll need at least a good ten to fifteen minute start to get clear of the explosion she’s gonna generate.”

“And once we’re out? What then? We just can’t float in a pod through deep space, they’ve only got a few days worth of oxygen in them.”

“My mistress has arranged for one of her scouting ships to find us. It will rendezvous with her armada where we’ll be greatly rewarded for our efforts.” Kav said and then laughed harshly. “The Rangers won’t ever  know what hit them.”

Kee’s heart pounded so loudly she was sure the two men could hear it. Slowly, she backed out of the room as silently and carefully as she could. Once back out in the main corridor she broke into a full run, nearly toppling a small group of engineers on their way to dinner. She didn’t dare hit the main alarm, once it sounded the two would know they’d been discovered and could possibly blow the ship up anyway before anyone could get to them.

She didn’t want to use her communicator either. If her brother was a traitor, who was the other man? For all she knew, he could be one of the bridge crew who would be alerted by her call. She bypassed the lift which would take her to the bridge and Garan, instead taking a stairwell that would take her to directly to the officer’s quarters. Elemi wouldn’t be on the bridge anyway, he’d have retired to have dinner with his mistress.

Ignoring what she knew was a direct order for him not to be disturbed, she raced down the corridor that led to his private quarters and banged on the door. She heard the one man she was the most afraid of roar his protest, but banged again, heart pounding so hard in her chest and her ears that she was certain it would burst before she could get his attention and deliver her message. The door slid open and Elemi burst out of the room, eyes murderous at seeing just who had disturbed him.

“We have a huge problem.” She said, voice startlingly strong and composed, even to her own ears. “We don’t have much time.”

The End

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