History is the prologue for the The Coin Series and explains the ten year history for some of the primary characters in my world. The Coin Series will start moving forward with Reunions, but a history is needed to explain some of the deviations I’ve made. The Coin Series also assumes that the reader is familiar with MMPR through Space. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I’ve had playing with it.

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

All events in The Coin Series take place in an alternate dimension.

Power Rangers: The Coin Series
History

Kim sat at her desk lightly fingering the embossed card. It read: Angel Grove Class of 1997, with the school seal and 10 Year Reunion embossed in bright gold. It certainly didn’t feel like ten years had gone by. Yet time had somehow slipped away, steadily moving forward.

She indulged her mind and let it wander, remembering the good times with her friends and the bad times like her parents divorce. Christmases and dances and a boyfriend that was the epitome of her young world. Actually, she had been gone a little over 11 years, graduating absentia with little fanfare except a small plaque in the hallway commemorating her gold medals at the Pan Games. She hadn’t even attended the ceremony. She’d been in New York on a publicity tour for her gymnastics team.

That year had been a whirlwind with interviews, autograph signings, commercials, and personal appearances. Her mother had complained bitterly that she hadn’t come to Paris to visit, but there had simply been no time. She was the darling of the sports world that year. She smiled quietly to herself. It had all gone by in a blink. Jason had insisted she come back with him to Angel Grove at least once, and she eventually agreed, if only to explain things to Tommy, but that had been a disaster.

She and Jason had been kidnapped and taken to Muirantias where they had been lowered into Malagore’s pit of fire and changed forever. She bit her lip at the memory; nothing had been the same after that. Tommy had already moved on and she supposed that was a good thing considering the years that followed. Lerigot may have opened their hearts to the good, but he had been far too weak at the time to actually reverse Maligore’s damage. By the time they reached the command center, Zordon had warned them it might be many years before the alterations in their DNA began to manifest.

She shook herself and looked at the clock, half past twelve and definitely not the time to reflect on those memories. She looked down at the invitation and traced her finger along the registration website. If she was going to attend, she had to respond today.

“Enough already.” Carri said as she collapsed into the window seat. She was still in her pajamas and was balancing a cup of coffee on her knees. Her long dark hair spilled carelessly over the pink and white fluffy pillows Kim’s mom had bought and placed there on her last visit. “You’ve been staring at that thing for two days. Either say yes, or say no, but make a decision already.”

Kim looked up at her friend, who had been visiting for the past few days. Carri seldom rose before eleven and had obviously decided to sleep in today. She had met Carri Hillard through her cousin Katherine. Carri’s father was a successful producer in New York and Katherine had written him about their friend Adam’s idea for adventure travel show. The show would follow two guys as they investigated hidden places around the world to rock climb, hang glide, hike and find other offbeat places tourists didn’t usually go. Carri’s father had liked the idea and agreed to 10 episodes, but only if the guys were replaced with pretty girls. He’d also given Adam two weeks to get started.

Adam, who had already recruited two of his high school friends, was now at a loss to find two qualified replacements. Katherine had refused. She would not leave college, her dance students, or her boyfriend to go traipsing around the world on a mad schedule, alternately sweating with the heat or freezing to death. In desperation, he called on Aisha, who immediately suggested Kim.

For Kim, it had been perfect timing. She had been devastated by the news of Zordon’s death. Zordon was more than just a teacher or mentor to her; he had taken the place of a father figure when Kim’s own father had simply walked out. Even Kim’s stepfather, who loved her like his own couldn’t fill the void. Her tour with the gymnastics team was coming to an end and she had decided, despite her coaches urging, not to return and try for another Pan Games. She was nearly twenty by this point and had felt practically ancient for a tier one gymnast. Ten weeks of extreme tourism sounded like a perfect way to re-evaluate her life and figure out what she wanted to do next.

Adam was thrilled that she signed on, but crushed when Aisha decided at the last minute she couldn’t take so much time off of school. A roller coaster week had followed. One minute they had a replacement, the next they didn’t. Finally, when all seemed to fall into place, Kim’s co-host failed to show up at the airport and the entire project seems doomed.

Carri, who had come to the New York airport with Katherine to see the group off, had suddenly, without any warning, jumped in and volunteered to go. She used her father’s credit card to purchase a ticket for the flight and jumped on board the plane without a toothbrush or change of clothing. And that was that. They were off on their first adventure, herding cows in Montana. Off camera as well as on, Kim and Carri had become fast friends and the chemistry showed. The first ten episodes were almost immediately picked up by a cable network and fans thrilled to watch the pair traverse canyons, climb glaciers, and crawl through caves in the middle of nowhere, still managing to find somewhere to shop afterward.

Kim learned that Carri had made such an impulsive leap into the project because she was desperate to escape the boyfriend that she had gotten herself engaged to. She had agreed to marry her high school boyfriend, not because she was so happy ever after in love with him, but because people expected it. In the last year, she had realized she was heading down the wrong path, but could find no one to help her. Her mother adored her fiancé and assured her she just had cold feet. Her father simply reminded her that he’d already spent tens of thousands of dollars on a wedding.

She had felt stuck in a claustrophobic relationship and was realizing if she didn’t do something drastic, she’d continue to live, not her own life, but the life her parents expected. Carri wanted more, she just didn’t know how to get it.

Her family was stunned by her actions. Her father had threatened to disown her, that is, before seeing the potential profit of the first season, and her mother cried daily. Even Katherine shook her hear. Her cousin had always been such a mousy little thing. True, she had been captain of her high school cheerleading squad, but Carri was a most popular clone; bursting into tears if her manicure chipped. Extreme travel was so far out of character it was laughable.

But Adam and Kim never knew that Carri. From the hour she boarded that plane to Montana, she’d decided to re-write her life. She was no longer Carri the college cheerleader or Carri, David Myere’s fiancé; she was Carri Hillard, tv co-host. She was and independent woman who would tackle any physical challenge and do it just as well as any guy, if not better. She defined her own terms.

Her brother Josh had thought the whole debacle was hilarious, but after screening the first few episodes featuring his sister driving cattle in one of Kim’s tank tops and forging her way through a canyon river, even he had to admit his little sister was doing pretty OK by herself.

“Well?” Carri broke her train of thought. “Did you even notice I came in?”

“Of course I did,” Kim said, giving Carri a sarcastic smile, “I couldn’t miss those yellow PJ’s if I tried.”

Carri tossed one of the copious little pillows in the window seat toward Kim, who caught it and tossed it back.

“I was just thinking about how we met.”

“Oh joy of joys” Carri responded dryly, scooting further back into the seat and leaning her head back against the window, “I still hate cows.”

Kim smiled. The sports bras and tank tops had been a horrible idea. Even massive amounts of sun block hadn’t controlled the sunburn, but it had sold the show and quickly became their trademark of sorts. One season had turned into two, and tank tops were frequently replaced with bikini tops, but by then Adam was tired of it and had jumped on an offer by Carri’s father to return to New York.

The two girls trekked on for another two years before they both knew it was time to move on. One bitterly cold day at the base camp of Everest, the two looked at each other and agreed they were completely insane. They vowed to spend the next six months on a beach, any beach, in California. But once there, Carri grew restless and, with mounting pressure from her parents to come home and at least finish college, she accepted a new job, traveling around the world and evaluating the best places to shop. Kim quietly shook her head; only Carri could have managed to procure a job that actually paid her to go shopping. To add insult, over the next three years, she actually became quite famous for it.

For her part, Kim had had enough of television and enough of adventure. She wanted peace and quiet in her life, but it was not to be. At twenty-three, she could no longer hide the effects of Malagore’s pit. A few years before, Carri had discovered her developing ability to open transportation portals. Kim had sneezed a little too hard and the two of them were sent careening through space. Fortunately, they had gone no further than Aquitar and had been given a ride home by a very confused Billy. Carri found the idea that her friend had once been a pink power ranger fascinating and had admitted to being more than a little envious.

About that time, Jason had also had to call his life to a halt to deal with his new abilities and the two had briefly subjected themselves to the researchers at NASADA, who were just beginning to study the effects of morphanological energy on DNA. The researchers had been fascinated with Kim’s ability to manipulate portals and Jason’s ability to see heat signatures, but for all the tests and studies, no one was even considering how to reverse them. In fact, to Kim’s horror, NASADA was actually eager to develop them and pursue their utilization.

Frustrated, Kim found herself leaving Angel Grove once again and drifting up the coast to Turtle Cove University and their Botany program. She had been the president of the Botany club in high school and despite the fact that the chemistry needed was excruciatingly hard after so long an absence from school, she found herself enjoying college life and attending classes year round.

Jason had taken the opposite route and embraced his abilities. He began using NASASDA as a springboard for adventures both on Earth and elsewhere. As his involvement with the rangers, especially the Red Assembly, grew, she was introduced to many other “retired” rangers like Cole Evans, who also called Turtle Cove home.

Friends and family observed that she appeared to settle into her life. Her stepfather had supervised investing her money from her television show and two books. Those investments had left her in the enviable position of graduating with her BS debt free. She purchased a small home up the hill from the cove itself and had began to renovate it. She also had enough of a small income to live fairly comfortably while pursuing her masters. The years had simply by.

But Kim hadn’t been nearly as quiet as it looked on the outside. It had started, with the knowledge that Rita and Zedd hadn’t been destroyed at all, but had been “purified” and turned into humans as a second chance of sorts. Kim had accidentally run into them several years before on her travels and a sort of odd friendship had developed. Rita had known right away that all was not as it seemed with Kim and eventually Kim had sought her advice on how to deal with her troublesome powers.

Rita’s enchantment with the human world had been short lived. She soon realized that her powers were not lost forever, but were in fact quite whole. Mindful of her second chance, she had set herself up as a force for good, much to Kim’s amusement. Her first priority was to proclaim herself Kim’s new mentor, making sure Kim got control over her powers before they got control over her. She may not be the evil queen she once was, she told Kimberly, but she was still a damn good sorceress. As Kim had nowhere else to turn, she had accepted Rita’s offer and to their mutual surprise, Kim was an adept study. Jason, however, had been furious, and Kim found herself informing him less and less of her activities.

As her powers developed though, so did her mishaps. One afternoon, Kim found herself developing a high fever. Carri, who was visiting in-between show segments, began to get worried about her called Jason for help. As he arrived, Kim had been having a fairly vivid nightmare about Ivan Ooze, a villain she hadn’t thought about in years. Without ever quite knowing how, Kim had reached out and transported the three of them back six thousand years to Ivan’s first appearance on Earth.

Their presence, the Zordon of the past had told them, was fortuitous. Ivan had already destroyed three of the five ancient rangers and the other two were quickly losing hope. Cured of her fever, Kimberly recalled that Ivan had been sealed in some sort of containment egg when the future rangers had found him. Zordon had quickly assigned her to lead the rangers to Phaedos in search of Dulcea, who could hopefully give them enough Ninjetti power to, if not defeat Ivan, seal him in a containment field as Kimberly had suggested.

For Carri, it had been her first experience as a yellow power ranger and she was loath to give it up when they completed their mission. At Zordon’s insistence that she could not return to the future as a ranger from Earth’s past, she had reluctantly given her morpher to a chosen successor. However, to their surprise, Zordon allowed them to keep their Ninjetti powers. Those powers, he said, had been given to them by Dulcea and were not bound by space/time restrictions of Earth’s morphin grid.

It was during this time that Kim first learned that Zordon might not be gone forever at all, but very much alive. Somewhere. Once again she turned to Rita for help, but although she admitted to being curious, she thought Kim’s quest was useless. If Zordon was alive, she scolded, he obviously didn’t want to be found.

Kim had always said that the worst thing about leaving the rangers was losing the ability to transport. Now, however, things were different. Her power to open travel portals had grown and stabilized and with a little help from her Ninjetti powers and some good advice from the Zordon of the past, she struck out on her own to find him.

So much had happened since then that she wasn’t even sure she dared think about it. Through a series of strange events, including being married off against her will, she had become a surrogate member of a new team who had taken up her quest to find Zordon as well as the six original power coins. She had been married, divorced, adopted, and now targeted by one of the scariest villains she’d ever come across. The closer she got to Zordon’s trail, the more it eluded her. She began spending more and more time off world and soon her absences became evident. With people speculating and with the increasing demands of school, she had just decided to take some time off from her search when Carri had arrived.

Carri had whisked her away for three days of mind-boggling shopping, pedicures, and other spa treatments until Kim had cried uncle and insisted they stay home for a day, if only so she could open her mail and pay a few bills.

“Either pay attention to me or I’m leaving…with the new shoes you bought yesterday.” Carri’s voice brought her once again into the present. Kim sighed heavily.

“Ten years Carri.” She said wistfully.

"Yeah, so…it’s been a damn good run kiddo. You’ve done a hell of a lot.”

"Yeah.” Kim said. “That’s what I’ve been thinking about.” She looked at the invitation again, then set it down firmly. “I’m not going.” She decided.

“Why?” asked Carri, sitting up and putting her coffee on Kim’s desk. She had been afraid of this. Ever since that damn marriage thing on Rheiga 4, Kim had practically shut herself away. She rarely confided in anyone anymore; not Carri, not even Jason. She just seemed to lock her door and hide in her greenhouse. That was part of the reason Carri had cancelled her trip to Greece and descended upon Kim’s conclave. In their opinion, she was quickly becoming a hermit.

“Why should I go?” Kim asked. “I don’t have anyone I want to see that I don’t already keep in touch with.”

“Tommy will be there.” Carri offered casually. Kim snorted.

“Yeah, like that’s gonna be a good reunion. Your cousin would love it.”

Despite her best efforts, Kim’s relationship with Katherine Hillard had deteriorated over the past ten years. The two were barely civil. Kat and Tommy had parted ways mid college and Kim had learned through the grapevine that part of the reason lay in Kat’s accusations that Tommy regretted breaking up with his former girlfriend. It was ridiculous really. Kim figured it had way more to do with Tommy’s unwillingness to give up the rangers and his tendency to take off across the galaxy and play hero than any past affection for her. Besides, she and Tommy had talked at length about it a few years back. They were moving in totally opposite directions and high school had been so far removed from where they were going as adults.

At the time, Tommy had been doubling up on his classes in an effort to graduate college early and get into an exclusive masters program that would take him through to his PhD. Kim had given up college altogether to go trekking around the world with Carri. It had been a short layover near Angel Grove International Airport and Carri had desperately wanted to stop and see her cousin. Finding Kim and Tommy with their heads together in quiet conversation, Kat had exploded and Kim left in a huff. It wasn’t like she had expected Tommy to take her side against Kat, but the conversation had been innocent. Tommy had chosen to remain quiet and say nothing, as if he was tired of that particular argument and had nothing to say. The two had broken up shortly after and Tommy had packed up and headed off to Reefside to start his masters degree. He and Kim hadn’t spoken since and even Carri’s relationship with her cousin had remained a bit strained.

“Kat’s going to be there with Chris.” Carri added, one finger pulling a thread on one of the pillows. “I think she’s actually going to marry him.”

“Does he at least have a job now?” Kim asked, barely keeping the distaste out of her voice. At this point, she didn’t care a whit who Kat Hillard ended up with, but Carri’s relationship with Kat had once again begun to suffer due to Carri’s vocal disapproval of Kat’s boyfriend and Kim had resigned herself to being Carri’s sounding board on the matter.

“He’s working part time in the Pro Shop at Angel Grove Country Club.”

“Oh well, now there’s a stellar career move for someone with six years of college.” Kim smiled as Carri rolled her eyes heavenward and readjusted her seat in the window. “Kat’s thrilled for him…if only because she doesn’t have to shell out his greens fees anymore.”

“No,” Kim sighed heavily, staring at the invitation again. “I’m not gonna go.” Kim said. “What’s the point? I’d much rather stay here and go shopping with you.”

“I’m going to it.” Carri confessed, head turned away, looking out the window, but watching Kim’s reaction carefully through the reflection.

“You never went to Angel Grove High.” Kim said.

“I’m going with Jase. I’m the eye candy.” Carri grinned and winked at her friend.

“Good God.” Kim muttered. “So is this an official date or more of the same?

Carri shrugged. “No, Just more of the same.”

“You two need to figure it out.” Kim sighed. “Either come clean or get it over with and sleep together.”

Carri responded by throwing a large, heavy pillow at Kim’s head. It missed and Kim chuckled at herself for hitting a nerve. Since their misadventure into the past nearly two years ago, Carri and Jason had found it very convenient to announce to the world they were dating each other. The truth, however, couldn’t have been more different, but to Kim’s knowledge, she was the only one who knew that. In truth, they had become very good friends who were both tired of unsolicited advice, blind dates, and relationship assistance offered by well meaning friends and family.

It had started rather innocently enough, with Jason providing Carri as the incarnate version of the mysterious girlfriend he was always flying off to see. He hadn’t expected his mom and sister to actually track Carri down, but fortunately she’d played along… and rather convincingly too. To his surprise, Carri had thought it was a fabulous idea and asked him to reciprocate, showing up as her “boyfriend” at a family wedding.

From there, things had sort of snowballed. When Carri needed a date to a media or family event, she brought Jason. If Jason needed a date to an event, he’d bring Carri. But although the two had become very fond of each other and Carri admitted she did love him, after a fashion, neither had any inclination of making it an official relationship. Kim was left to wonder just how long they’d be able to pull off the rouse before it actually became a reality or the two ended up killing each other.

“Well, at least he’s a good kisser.” Carri leered. That got Kim’s attention.

“You did not!” she squealed.

“No. Not really.” Carri admitted. Kim made a face and sat back down in her chair.

“I mean, just the usual stuff to show outward affection.” Carri continued. “The problem is, it’s kind of like kissing your brother, ya know?”

“Yeah.” Kim replied wistfully, she was actually a bit disappointed. But Carri had picked up something in Kim’s voice and pounced on it.

“Yeah?” Carri mimicked. “Kimberly Ann Heart, you kissed him once didn’t you.” She accused. Kim grinned and turned away. “Of course not,” she said, but Carri caught the blush on her cheeks.

“You did so!” she all but screamed jumping up from the window seat. “Oh my God, you did!”

Kim waved her hands in mock defense, warding off and imaginary attack. “No!” she insisted. But Carri now had both hands on the desk leaning in towards Kim’s face. “You did so.” She pressed.

“Ok, ok, once….but we were only thirteen, so it doesn’t count.”

Carri threw her arms up in victory, “I knew it! I knew you guys had been friends too long for something not to have happened. Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“Because we were thirteen,” Kim stressed. “It was some stupid spin the bottle thing and we both agreed never to mention it again.”

“Tongue or no tongue?” Carri pressed.

“Carri!” Kim squeaked indignantly.

“I’m so gonna smack that boy.” Carri laughed as she slumped back into the window seat. The two laughed for a few moments before Carri got serious again.

“Seriously Kim, you have to go to this thing.”

“Give me one good reason why I should.” Kim countered.

“Because I won’t have anyone to talk to and escape to the bathroom with.”

“You’ll have Kat.”

“Ok, well I won’t have anyone to shop with and keep me company in-between functions.”

“That is the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard.” Kim insisted.

“Yeah, but it’s true. Come on Kim, you can’t leave me to the mercy of my cousin hours on end. If you don’t go, she’s going to feel the need to keep me company…all day.” At Kim’s raised eyebrow, she continued. “Don’t get me wrong, I still love her dearly and we’ve managed to patch things up after the whole Chris debacle, but she’s still never really forgiven me for coming to your defense when the whole Tommy thing deteriorated. If I’m alone with her for hours on end I’m just going to lose my patience and forget myself and offend her all over again. I can’t help it, it’s who I am. I can’t stand this new boyfriend and she knows it. I think she’s wasting her life all in the name of good sex, no matter how disgusting that mental image is to me, and I’m very capable of telling it right to her face.” Carri took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She looked directly at Kim, who was beginning to chuckle. “You know I will.” She insisted. Then because she thought she was losing ground, she said, “You said to give you one good reason. That’s one good reason.”

Kim shrugged her shoulders up and rubbed her neck. Her head hurt. She didn’t want to go to this thing. She didn’t want to put herself in the path of Kat’s censure and she sure as hell didn’t want to see Tommy. Word had it he already suspected someone from Earth was behind the Nova Rangers and their quest to find the original power coins. She knew his own powers, after six morphers, were more than developed enough to ferret out her own. But that wasn’t something she could tell Carri. As much as Kim trusted her, that was Elemi’s secret, not her own.

She struggled to find a good excuse that Carri would believe. There really wasn’t anyone she wanted to see at the reunion. Well, that wasn’t true. Aisha would be there with her new man and she hadn’t seen Rocky in ages. She had already seen their confirmations on the website. She closed her eyes and slumped her shoulders back down in defeat.

“All right,” she said, “I’ll go.” She clicked her acceptance on the website and hit enter.

Carri grinned at her. It had worked. She was getting Kim out of the house and out into the real world again.

“Fabulous,” she said. “Now go change your clothes and let me get dressed. We have to update your wardrobe.”

“What’s wrong with my wardrobe?” Kim asked. After three days of shopping she had more than enough new clothes.

“Nothing,” Carri countered, “We just need to make sure we’re the two most spectacular women there and absolutely nothing we’ve bought so far counts as spectacular. That is, unless you’re hiding something in your closet I don’t know about?”

Kim shook her head no, but didn’t answer.

“My point exactly,” Carri said, rising from the window seat. “Now go change and let’s go. You’re buying lunch.”

Kim stretched as she stood up and walked around the desk. Who knows, she thought, this just might turn out to be fun. After all, what’s the worst that could happen?

The End

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