Power Rangers 1. Life Is Good

_Hi again everyone! I know it's been a few weeks but I've finally begun work on my next epic. It's important that I let you all know that this is not at all a sequal to my first fic, and I'm sure that will be quite obvious to you right away. Also I realize that things are starting out a little slow, but I promise it is a Tommy and Kim fic and I guarantee that by the end you will be glad that you read it. So please just give it some time. Finally, thanks to all of you who are loyal readers, this one is definitely for you! Enjoy and review please!_

* * *

Dr. Tommy Oliver swung the duffel bag effortlessly into the back of his black Jeep as he hummed a familiar toon to himself. He was in the best mood that he had been in, in years. This was most likely due to the fact that the weight of the world had finally been lifted from his shoulders. It had only been about a month since his triumphant victory over Mesogog and his army and still the feeling of success was as fresh as daisies. 

The battle had of course been one hell of a struggle but it was definitely worth it now, in early June. Tommy's army of heroes: Conner, Kira, Ethan, and Trent were thrilled to be normal again. Of course they missed the excitement of going into battle and the indescribable loyalty, which grew with each fight, but the time had come for them to move on, and that's exactly what they did. Everyone was preparing to embark upon a brand new journey known as college in the fall, but before they parted ways they decided on one last adventure together before reality hit. The four teens agreed on a cross-country road trip, the destination: anywhere but Reefside.

Naturally, Kira suggested that they invite their leader and mentor Dr. O, and with slight objection from Conner Mcknight it was finally decided that Dr. O would make the trip much more enjoyable, or at least much less likely to go wrong. But when his former students proposed their idea to Tommy the day of high school graduation they were disappointingly rejected by the late twenty something paleontologist. Tommy had considered the invitation and was extremely flattered that the teenagers, in their prime, would want to spend the summer with their former science teacher. However, Tommy knew better, he knew that if they parted ways now then they would forever be bonded by the experience they all had shared together this past year. If they set out on the open road for an undetermined amount of time then they would most certainly forget their bond very quickly, especially in the closed quarters of Trent's brand new SUV, a graduation present from his father. Besides, Tommy had other plans in mind for the summer.

Tommy realized that he was finally packed and with a quick security check of his modest home located in the outskirts of Reefside, California, Tommy Oliver was on his way to whatever the future held for him this brutal, hot summer. He hoped that his future would give him somewhat of a break from his past. It wasn't that he had, had a bad life or anything, in fact it was the complete opposite. How many other people out there could take credit for the actual existence of the Earth every morning? Well, there were a few, but not many. It had just been so long since he had been free from the responsibility of saving the world. In fact, Tommy hadn't been at peace since his racecar days, shortly after he passed on his Turbo powers to TJ all those years ago.

Now, with the destruction of Mesogog and not even a hint of trouble from anyone else in the universe, Tommy was free to finally take back his own life which he had lost his freshman year of high school when his family moved to Angel Grove. Tommy never resented being a ranger or anything, he was just ready to be normal, and the first step to being normal was to do what every other American does in the summer, and that's, taking a vacation.

Tommy thought through his options; the Bahamas, Cancun, Europe, even Africa, but there was still just one place that he knew of where he could go to fully unwind, and that place wasn't even in another state, in fact it wasn't even that far of a drive. The desired destination was nothing more than a two bedroom, one bathroom cabin down by the Shady Mountain Lake, just two hours north of Angel Grove. Tommy's Uncle John had given him a key to the quaint little house when Tommy was in high school. Through high school he had taken full advantage of it many times whenever he was feeling lost or confused. It had actually become somewhat of a fortress of solitude for Tommy. But, now he wasn't going there for comfort, rather he was going there to sort of pick up where he had left off. There he could, not forget his past, but he could let go of his past and finally chart a new course for himself. He was after all still a young guy, with his whole future ahead of him.

The drive had seemed short and painless; Tommy was only interrupted once by his cell phone, it was Haley. His brilliant and loyal friend of many years had not called with alarming news or a plea for help; she just called to wish Tommy a safe and restful summer vacation. Tommy had originally planned on stopping off at the Cyber Café to bid her farewell, but in typical Tommy fashion he had woken up late and therefore was way behind schedule. He had originally hoped to reach the cabin by at least three, but it was now six and he had just barely reached the town of Shady Mountain.

Shady Mountain, was a charming little mountainside town, the people were friendly, the scenery was beautiful and there wasn't a sign of organized crime or monster attacks for miles. Tommy had been there so many times growing up that he had actually made friends of many of the locals. It just felt right driving into town on an almost empty tank of gas without a worry in the world.

Tommy pulled up to the gas pump eagerly and hopped out of his jeep slowly as his muscles adjusted to actually being used. He had made the whole trip without one stop and was pretty proud of it. Stretching his legs, Tommy was interrupted by the gas attendant who had run out of the small convenience store, which would forever be known to the people of Shady Mountain as _Earl's_. _Earl's _was like the place to be in Shady Mountain, aside from the lake of course. It was where all of the local teenagers hung out and where everyone went for meals, groceries, and gas. Earl, now an elderly man had turned the plain brown building into a gas station/grocery store/diner. He ran the store and the pumps, while his wife Aurora ran the diner.

"Well, if it isn't little Tommy Oliver!" yelled the old man as he ran out to greet the young man.

"Hey Earl," replied Tommy with a grin as he reached out to shake Earl's hand. "How ya been?"

"Oh you know me, Tommy, as young as ever," replied the old man cheerfully.

Earl had looked about eighty years old for as long as Tommy could remember, he hated to think just how old the man actually was by now. But, Earl never thought of himself in terms of his age, instead he thought of himself in terms of his health, which was outstanding.

"So what brings you out to these parts doctor?" asked the old man slyly.

"Doctor?" questioned Tommy, "How'd you know?"

"Your Uncle John came up here for the winter season. You know how the slopes can get on the other side of the mountain, and he sure loves those skis," replied the old man as he pointed to Shady Mountain, which the town was named after.

"He sure does," added Tommy, wiping the sweat off of his forehead with the sleeve of his black cotton T-shirt.

"What?" questioned the old man, "You hot? It's barely ninety eight degrees."

Tommy starred at him awkwardly; it was hot.

"Go on," ordered the old man get your tail inside, Aurora will fix you something to eat and the groceries are on me." He patted Tommy on the shoulder as he reached for the lever to release the small door protecting the gas tank in Tommy's Jeep. "I'll fill'er up."

Tommy entered the familiar room quickly and was rewarded with a cool gust of air, courtesy of the top of the line air conditioner, which hung out the window on the far side of the diner.

"Tommy!" squealed the elderly woman from behind the counter as she ran up to the handsome man and planted a big sloppy kiss on his cheek.

Tommy cringed to himself, hoping none of the onlookers noticed.

"How have you been? Where are you living? When am I going to get to meet your wife?" asked the woman, bombarding Tommy with questions and not giving him a single second to respond.

"It's nice to see you too replied Tommy," as he gently kissed the tiny woman on the cheek and then sat down to enjoy a delightful evening of conversation with Aurora and Earl.

It was around nine o'clock when Tommy had finally had his fill of Aurora's questions about Tommy's love life. As he sat expressionless, listening to the story of how Earl had won over Aurora's heart for the millionth time, Tommy began to actually feel kind of lonely. Up until now Tommy hadn't felt lonely since… Well, since that day he received the letter. That stupid letter, it wasn't even worth thinking about.

But, it was true, the feeling was not good then and it certainly was not good now. After Tommy and Katherine had decided that the whole long distance thing wasn't going to work out when she started college, Tommy really hadn't had much time to think about women. His racecar driving had completely consumed him and once that was done all of his attention went into his education.

He loved studying paleontology as an undergrad and at the university he attended there were so many opportunities to actually get out there and dig for fossils that Tommy spent all of his weekends with his professors. Then once Anton Mercer entered the picture and had actually taken an interest in Tommy's potential, Tommy was motivated to work harder than he ever had before, excluding his ranger days. But then suddenly it all once again became about protecting the Earth when Andros called him with the disturbing news that Serpentara may one day fly again. Ever since that day, Tommy had been solely devoted to saving Earth and the only woman he really ever got to know was Haley, and she was just a friend.

Tommy hadn't realized just how much he had missed female companionship until now at this very moment, when he noticed the sparkle in the old couple's eyes as they discussed their love story. Normally it would make Tommy want to gag, actually it would make anyone want to gag. But it was different somehow and as much as Tommy hated to face it, he needed someone to love.

Just then the bells above the door jingled as the final customer of the night entered the store. Tommy didn't bother to turn around to see who it was; he was too busy staring into his bottomless coffee cup, watching the dark liquid swirl round and round.

"Hello dear," said Aurora as she waved to the customer with a sweet smile, and suddenly her smile grew even bigger.

The customer was obviously on a mission because Tommy heard a faint but cheery female voice mutter 'hello,' followed by footsteps heading back into the convenience store.

"Tommy, dear," began Aurora, "you're probably needing some groceries. I doubt that uncle of yours left anything edible in that cozy little bachelor pad of his, why don't you go and pick up what you need."

"And it's on us, and I don't want to hear any arguments," finished Earl as he flashed a firm fist at Tommy.

Tommy chuckled, "Thank you," he replied graciously, not at all in the mood to start an argument with the couple.

Somewhat depressed and certainly confused Tommy headed into the convenience store. He had no idea what he needed but picked up the little red basket next to the cash register anyway and began to browse the small store. As he walked through the dairy section he added milk, eggs, and butter to the contents of his basket all the while trying to figure out how in the hell he had made it this far without a girl of his own. In the cracker and chip aisle his thoughts drifted to Katherine as he wondered if he had made a mistake breaking up with her. Sure, she was far away, but she would have stuck by him no matter what. However, he knew that she would never be happy trying to love him and keep his love through letters and phone calls. It just couldn't work, it didn't work and Tommy could personally attest to that.

By the time he reached the cookie and candy aisle, Tommy was officially depressed because his fears had finally been realized and he allowed himself to think about her, Kimberly Hart. He hadn't thought of her in quite some time and actually this puzzled him. There had been a time, not long ago when he couldn't go a day without thinking about the cheery, bubbly, and out of this world delicious Pink Ranger. But recently he just had no desire to do so. Sure, on occasion he would catch Kira and Trent giving each other meaningful looks when they thought no one else was looking and it would remind him of what he used to be a part of. But, it never really bothered him; it was just a memory just like the memory of the time he and Jason won that big karate tournament or the time that he and his friends had gone on the class trip to Australia. Why did the memory of Kimberly suddenly matter to him now?

As Tommy tried to answer this question he found himself suddenly on the hard wooden floor with a sharp pain running up his spine, and the shrill of an angry woman.

"Ouch!" squealed the woman in agony as she hit the floor shortly after Tommy.

Tommy shook his head bringing himself back into reality and realizing that the woman could possibly be hurt.

"Oh, I'm so sorry ma'am, " he began with concern as he brought himself to his feet, tripping over his own box of cracker. He then grabbed onto the woman's arm gently, attempting to pull her up.

She had dirty blond hair, which at the moment covered her face, but from what Tommy could tell she appeared to be an attractive woman. Tommy easily guided her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" spouted Tommy, "Again, I'm so sorry. I'm just such a klutz sometimes."

"Well, I won't argue with that…" began the girl as she steadied herself and then pulled her stray hair behind her ear exposing her face, which by now had the exact same surprised expression on it as Tommy's did.

"Heather?" mumbled Tommy in astonishment, looking into the beautiful woman's eyes.

* * *

Jason Lee Scott entered his small ranch style home lazily, dropping his gym bag, his mail, and his keys to floor as the phone rang from the kitchen a second time. 

"Damn," he cursed as he tripped over the red bag and just barely caught his fall.

"Hello," he said into the receiver questioningly, although positive of who would be on the other end of the line.

"Hi sweetie," said the female voice through the speaker, "How was your day?"

"Oh Em," he began, "you would not believe it if you had been there yourself…"

Jason had been dating Emily on and off since his senior year at Angel Grove High, but it wasn't until recently that he had decided it was time to finally pop the question. He had been pondering the idea of marriage for quite some time, but it was his latest conversation with his best friend Tommy Oliver that had finally pushed him to make up his mind.

Ever since the wicked and desperate Divatox had abducted Jason and Kimberly, also his senior year, Jason had always been worried that he wouldn't be able to have a normal relationship. It had been confirmed by his high school partners in crime, well in crime fighting, that it was simply impossible to have a normal romantic relationship with anyone. Tommy found this to be especially true since he was the most recent member of the Power team to suit up once again. But even Jason had a responsibility to the team and to their legacy even though it had been years since he had battled the forces of darkness. Jason had been the first leader of any Power Ranger team ever and he certainly never turned in the title when he turned in the coin. This meant that although he wasn't constantly on guard like Tommy, he was still on call, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week for the rest of his life.

But when Tommy and he had spoke on the phone the night before, Tommy had given his best friend the 'okay.' It seemed so surreal to hear Tommy Oliver declare himself a free man and therefore relieved of his duties as the protector of the world. When Tommy said this Jason knew that the threat was gone and if Tommy believed it was over then it must have been over. That's why Jason had left his successful Karate studio early that afternoon to go on a citywide search of the perfect engagement ring for Emily.

Emily had always been so understanding and so forgiving of Jason through all of the years. In high school he had a knack for disappearing and although she always questioned him about it, she never pushed on after he told her it was just an emergency he had to take care of. Naturally things were better through college and times did get rocky when Emily ended up going out of state for grad school. But when she returned everything was back to normal and the couple picked up where they had left off.

Recently Jason had noticed sort of a weird vibe from Emily and it was obvious that she was just dying for him to make the ultimate commitment to her. Jason wanted the same thing too of course; he was just concerned for her safety and then there was that tiny little secret that he had sworn to take to the grave.

"So are we still on for dinner?" asked Jason anxiously.

"Of course we are," replied Emily with a sigh, somewhat frustrated that all they did anymore was go out to dinner and if she was lucky, then desert.

"Don't sound so excited," said Jason with a hint of disappointment in his voice as he pulled the small burgundy box out of his jeans pocket and opened it to get a second look at the crystal clear diamond as it gleamed in the dim kitchen light.

"I'm sorry," began Emily, "it's just that we do dinner every night-"

"Em," cut in Jason aggressively, "I promise tonight's dinner will be different. Just wear something nice, okay?"

There was a silence on the other end and finally Emily spoke, "Okay. But you better not take me to another buffet. The last time you told me to wear something nice we ended up at Golden Corral."

Jason laughed, trying to conceal it, "Hey, I had no control over the fact that the real restaurant caught on fire."

"Yeah, so you say," finished Emily lightly. "Alright sweetie, I'll be ready at eight."

"Good Em."

"I'll talk to you soon Jason. Bye."

"Bye. Oh Em?"

"Yeah?" asked Emily hopefully.

"Love you," replied Jason, picturing the expression that she was going to have on her face later that evening when he got down on one knee.

"I love you too Jason," she replied and then there was a click followed by silence.

Jason hung up the phone and headed for the stairs, he definitely couldn't ask Emily to be his wife without first taking a shower. Just as Jason reached the top of the staircase the chime of his doorbell immediately distracted him as it echoed throughout the empty house. Rolling his eyes Jason reached for his wallet from his back pocket and headed back down the stairs. He was sure it was going to be some neighborhood kid trying to push candy and magazines at him for school. He figured he'd save them some trouble and himself some time and just throw a few dollar bills their way. But when Jason opened the door, what he saw was far from an elementary school student.

"What the hell?" he questioned in astonishment, dropping his wallet as the unidentifiable creature reached for him faster than Jason could react.

Jason felt the cold, leathery hand cover his mouth and he saw the other two creatures swarm him from the sides, but he never even felt the poisonous gas as it worked its way up his nose, through his sinuses, and eventually took control. Then, blackout.


	2. Second Fall

_Hi guys, thanks for stopping by, I realzie the chapters are short but I'll try my best to keep them frequent. Like I said before this one's taking a little bit of time to develop. Regardless, thanks for the reviews, they motivate me to keep writing. Some of you may have noticed that the rating has changed and that's because I haven't decided how graphic I want to get with this one, so for now it's fine and if I need to change it later I will. Well, enjoy and of course review._

* * *

Tommy stared at the blonde haired woman in astonishment; she was most definitely the last person he had expected to encounter at Earl's. She stared back at him in amazement and finally she broke the silence.

"Oh my gosh, Tommy!" she said in excitement as she captured the confused paleontologist in a warm and tight hug.

Tommy was even more surprised than before at Heather's reaction, which was hard to imagine. Though it struck him as oddly coincidental that their second meeting was much like their first. Tommy had been a mere teenager of seventeen when he had first had the pleasure of meeting Heather Thompson, world champion snowboarder. It had been Kat and Billy who had forced Tommy to go on a ski trip in hopes that it would cheer him up after the biggest disappointment of his life, which again was the letter. But when he literally accidentally bumped into Heather at the ski lodge all heartbreak was forgotten, at least for a little while. Tommy and Heather had an amazing chemistry from the start and as they spent more and more time with each other as the weekend progressed, Tommy started to become more and more convinced that maybe life wasn't so bad after all.

Of course, being a ranger Tommy was very aware of the fact that all good things must come to an end and that weekend did end prematurely and so did the relationship between Heather and he. King Mondo had launched another vicious attack against the planet earth and the rangers at home just couldn't handle the heat alone. Tommy and Heather had really made a connection up on the bluff high above the ski valley; they even almost came close to a kiss. But Tommy's ranger duties always took priority. Tommy never forgot the look on Heather's face that day when he told her he had to cut the weekend short, and more vivid, he never forgot the look on her face the last time he saw her.

Kat, being the wonderful friend she was, wanted to help Tommy overcome his heartache over Kimberly, so she called Heather and invited her to a nice romantic dinner with Tommy at the Youth Center. Tommy was skeptical when he originally received the invitation for the mysterious evening, but when Heather arrived in that baby blue dress, all of his doubts were forgotten. They had a nice evening together however it was forced to a halt when Adam and Rocky barged in dragging Tommy away from any chance of a romantic relationship with the girl. King Mondo had once again sent out his monster of the week and as beautiful as Heather looked, Tommy had other responsibilities. Heather was disappointed and rather pissed off at the intrusion and Tommy's early exit. In fact she never bothered to stick around to say goodbye.

Since then, Tommy had wondered many times how different things would have turned out if only King Mondo hadn't ruined their short-lived romance. But every time he asked himself that question it never took Tommy long to come up with an answer. If it had not ended that day then surely it would have ended the next day or the one after that, or the one after that. Simply put, a ranger could not sustain a relationship with a non-ranger for long simply due to the fact that it would be a relationship built on lies and deception. That's most likely why he had turned to Katherine for consolation; something that no other girl could give him.

"Heather!" said Tommy in exasperation. "I can't believe it! How have you been?" he returned the woman's tight embrace, in fact he hugged her even tighter.

"Great!" replied Heather sweetly, finally releasing her hold on Tommy. "What are you doing here, Tommy?" she questioned eagerly.

"What am I doing here!" replied Tommy in surprise, "More like what's world champion snowboarder Heather Thompson doing in a quiet little itty bitty town like Shady Mountain?"

Heather giggled for a moment and Tommy remembered exactly why he had been immediately attracted to her all those years ago. She had the most intoxicating smile and her sparkling brown eyes only made it harder to resist.

"Well, I've got to live somewhere don't I?" replied the blonde beauty proudly. "Actually, after I won the gold medal three years ago it's been nearly impossible to go anywhere without being bombarded for pictures and autographs, and not to mention money."

"Really, money?" questioned Tommy as he tilted his head to one side in confusion.

"Yes money," answered Heather, rolling her eyes. "I'll tell you Tommy, once you've fallen into a little good fortune like I did with all of those endorsement deals all of the 'family,' comes out of the woodwork. It's like suddenly everyone's a cousin I've never met before or a long lost uncle in desperate need of a few thousand bucks." Heather once again swept a golden lock of hair behind her right ear.

"Gee, that must be tough," replied Tommy sarcastically with a smile.

"Shut up!" began Heather playfully, "It's a lot more serious than it sounds. Besides, I like it here. I've been skiing down the other side of Shady Mountain since I was four years old. This place has always been one of my favorite places to be."

There was an awkward silence as the couple became hypnotized by the each other's nervous glances. Tommy was immediately aware of the fact that there would be no trouble picking up where they had left off. Heather still had that vivacious twinkle in her eye that had immediately caught his attention and she clearly hadn't harbored any sour feelings for Tommy in spite of their falling out. Finally, Heather broke the ice once again.

"So," she began bending down to pick up the contents of her shopping basket, which were scattered randomly across the wooden floor, "now that you know why I'm here, do you care to share your story?"

Tommy joined her on the floor and began sorting the items, "Well, I'm actually a science teacher at Reefside High, well I was," said Tommy in hesitation. "I haven't quite decided if I'm going to return next semester, but for now I'm just enjoying summer vacation." He flashed Heather an award winning smile, assuring her that she was the one making his summer vacation enjoyable.

She smiled back at him shyly, "Well, why Shady Mountain?"

"My Uncle John has a cabin on the other side of the lake that he lends out to me whenever I need it, so I've been coming here at least once a year since I was two years old. It's also one of my favorite places to be in the whole wide world."

The two finished cleaning up the aftershocks of their collision and were once again standing.

"And how long is summer vacation?" asked Heather curiously as she dusted off the front of her white tank top and finally rested her hand in the back pocket of her Levi's.

"Well, depending on whether or not I decide to resume my position at Reefside High, I'd say indefinitely," answered Tommy, once again capturing Heather's gaze.

She then smiled again at him but this time her cheeks blushed a rose pink as she became flustered, "So I guess I'll see you around then Tommy." Heather turned around and headed for the cash register.

Tommy stood in the middle of the cookie and candy aisle in confusion. They had quite the flirty banter going on, why did she end it so casually?

"Come on Oliver," Tommy mumbled to himself as he contemplated the situation.

He knew that considering the almost microscopic size of the town that he would most definitely see Heather again, but he had waited so long already that he didn't want to wait anymore. It almost seemed like fate had stepped in that evening at _Earl's_. What were the chances that at the exact moment that Tommy began to feel the need for a woman, the woman of his dreams would literally knock him off his feet? It had to have been meant to be, but Tommy couldn't even remember how to successfully ask out a girl. Finally, Tommy swallowed his pride and caught up with Heather as she finished her transaction.

"There you are dear," said Aurora with a mischievous grin as she handed the brown paper bag to Heather.

"Thank you Aurora," replied Heather politely, ignoring Tommy and heading straight for the door.

Tommy quickly set his shopping basket down on the wooden counter and followed Heather to the door. He reached it in just enough time to open it for her; she nodded to him as she passed through. Tommy followed her out into the warm air; the fact that the sun had set had absolutely no impact on the temperature. Once the door closed and Aurora was out of earshot Tommy made his move.

"Uh, Heather, wait," he said lightly grabbing her left arm, guiding her to turn around and face him.

"Yes, Tommy?" she said with a devious grin.

"Well, it's just that, um…Well, you know since you and are both here and everything, I uh…", jeez Oliver he thought to himself. You're a grown man and you can't even ask out a woman! But Heather Thompson wasn't just any woman.

"Go on," urged Heather, enjoying the sight of Tommy squirming. She may have forgiven him for ditching her back in Angel Grove, but she certainly hadn't forgotten about it.

Finally, Tommy was able to spit it out, "Heather, would you like to join me for lunch tomorrow down by the lake?" He flinched waiting for her reaction.

Heather shook her head doubtfully. "Well that depends."

"On what?" questioned Tommy immediately.

"On whether or not you plan on staying past the first course," she looked at him seriously.

"Oh Heather," replied Tommy, "I plan on staying long past dessert."

Heather blushed once more, "What time?"

"How's noonish?" answered Tommy immediately, elated with relief. "I'll bring lunch, you can just bring yourself."

"Noonish is good," confirmed Heather, "but I'm bringing dessert."

"Great," said Tommy, "it's the cabin near the old coal mine."

"Got it," said Heather, turning to walk away, "See you latter, Tommy."

"You can count on it, Heather," finished Tommy as he watched Heather walk away to her small blue pickup, he couldn't keep his eye off her.

She didn't look a day older than the last time he had seen her. Just about the only thing that had changed about her was the length of her hair, it reached just bellow her shoulders and sparkled like gold in the moonlight. Tommy was once again falling for Heather Thompson and he was loving every minute of it. But now he had to hurry up and get back into the store, what was he going to make for lunch?

Rocky DeSantos stepped out of the steaming hot shower, wrapping the soft white towel around his slender waste. He approached the mirror and using a hand towel he wiped the condensation off the smooth surface allowing his handsome reflection to emerge. Rocky grinned at himself, flexing his biceps. It was time to get down to business, he began to lather up his face with shaving gel and before long he had a white foamy beard.

Rocky was pretty excited about the evening ahead of him; he had a date with Cheryl, the new human relations girl down at his office. Rocky had climbed up the business ladder quite easily at Stemford Inc., the computer Software Company he worked for. In all honesty, Rocky knew pretty much nothing about computers or software but he could navigate his way around the business end pretty well. In fact his charismatic personality and knowledge of business from college definitely gave him a leg up.

Roomer around the office had it that he was next in line for the head position in the gaming software department. But Rocky wasn't about to believe it until it actually happened. The promotion would be nice because of the money, but the hours were a killer. He already spent sixty hours a week at work now, when he got promoted he figured he'd just have to set up a cot in his office. Of course that would be a brand new corner office with its very own bathroom.

Rocky's face was finally silky smooth, but his hair was in need of some maintenance, actually it was in need of a trim. But since Cheryl was expecting him by 8:30 there had been no time for him to stop off at the barber's. He didn't know why but for some reason he was much more excited about his date this evening than he had been for a long time. It could have been because he hadn't actually been on a date for a long time due to the merge of Stemford Inc. with a smaller but promising company called Antronus Enterprises. It was all pretty dull but it meant a hell of a lot for the industry. And it was because of the merge that Cheryl was even hired. She was a sweet woman, just a few years older than Rocky himself but in all honesty her greatest asset was her looks. She was a ten.

By 8:00 Rocky was down the stairs and by 8:02 he was in his black BMW. As he pulled out the garage a steady flow of rain began to poor, but once he reached the freeway visibility was pretty low. That was okay, though, as long as he had the directions to Cheryl's house. Feeling down in the console between the driver and passenger seat Rocky searched for the small blue memo note, which contained directions to Cheryl's Los Angeles home. But, there was nothing there but a straw wrapper and a parking permit. Cursing himself Rocky realized he had left the tiny sheet in the breast pocket of his gray blazer, which he'd worn to work that day. Rocky immediately searched for a solution, his cell phone. Scrolling through his contacts Rocky found the woman's number and pushed the green send button. He listened eagerly for her voice, but he didn't even hear a ring.

"What? Come on!" yelled Rocky as he hit the steering wheel column with his fist causing the car horn to sound. The service must have been out due to the storm. "Damn it!" Rocky knew his only option now was to get off the freeway and turn around, there was no way he was going to look for a pay phone in this storm.

Rocky dashed out of his car, trying to dodge the rain as he made it up his driveway and into his house. He didn't bother closing the door behind him because he just needed to grab the stupid piece of paper and split. He opened the door of the downstairs closet, which was adjacent to the front door. He then reached in, fished through the pocket and pulled out the lightweight treasure, and stuffed it in his pocket. But as he closed the closet door he saw something out of the corner of his eye coming up the pathway to his front door. Taking a better look, Rocky was in complete shock.

The creature was absolutely hideous and although he had seen quite a few sights in his days as the red and blue rangers, they never even compared. Rocky took his fighting stance in silence, but before he could defend himself the monster's arm shot out in front of him, almost as if he were a changeling or something. The creature's hand cupped Rocky's mouth and without a fight Rocky was out cold, his last memory was the smell of the green gas escaping through the monster's tentacle.


	3. Bikinis and Biceps

_Hey everyone, here's the next chapter. You're finally going to get a small taste of our villain who will be revealed in time. In the mean time let me know what you think. Also thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far, please continue. Enjoy._

* * *

Tommy woke up bright and early the next morning, and was looking forward to the day ahead of him very much. The night before he had once again met up with Heather Thompson and most importantly the spark was still there. After they parted ways Tommy spent what seemed like forever in the small grocer trying to decide what to buy for their lunch the next day, and he still couldn't believe that she had said yes rather than slapping him across the face. But that was what he liked so much about Heather, she was so laid back and fun to be around.

Tommy did his normal morning workout down by the lake as the sun came up over the horizon. Then, after a shower and a quick breakfast he set out for work. There was so much that needed to be done around the cabin even though it was kept up very well by his uncle. Still yet, six months of dust had collected on top of every surface thinkable, the windows were filthy, the floor needed to be vacuumed, and the outside grill needed to be hosed down and cleaned off. By eleven thirty everything was perfect, all that was left to do was prepare the food.

Heather pulled up to the small secluded cabin at around half past noon. She sat in contemplation for a moment before moving to exit her vehicle. She could see Tommy a ways off down by the lake, obviously grilling lunch. Deep down inside a smile was just fighting to get out but she wasn't quite sure if she could let it out. Last night when she had agreed to meet Tommy for lunch she wasn't really thinking straight. Just as the first time she met Tommy he made the butterflies in her stomach flutter a mile a minute. She couldn't believe that at her mature age such a silly thing like a handsome guy could revert her back to the feelings of a high schooler. Although, Tommy had a funny way of stealing her heart and she hoped that this time he would want to keep it.

As Heather watched the tall, striking man grill happily in black swim trunks and a white sleeveless T-shirt, she had to admit he was hot. But what was she getting herself into? She had been lucky the first time because she hadn't known Tommy long enough to be heartbroken when he left her back in Angel Grove, but this time he seemed as if he had no intention of skipping out on her. He was different now; he was more at ease. When they originally had met he always seemed to have something on his mind, granted he had just been dumped by his girlfriend of two years. But now his head seemed as clear as the sky.

Heather finally took a deep breath and opened the door, ready to give this whole silly thing a second chance. Who knows, maybe it would actually work out, after all it was Tommy. Tommy had wandered in and out of her thoughts sporadically through the years, usually whenever another guy once again used her for her fame and money, never actually caring for her. But through the years, out of all of the guys she had dated, Tommy had been the most genuine. It was odd that he had been the most mature and yet he had been the youngest man to ever catch her eye. Tommy had been two years younger than Heather when they met, on top of that he was merely a senior in high school, when she was already graduated and was at the time a college sophomore, through correspondence of course. She knew, even then that there was something very special about him.

Tommy glanced up casually when he heard the sound of Heather's car door slam from atop the hill. She walked toward him grinning with a beach bag on her shoulder, a mystery dish in the other, and the most amazing bikini, which she filled quite well. It was an aqua blue halter bikini with a ruffle boarder and as a cover up she wore an old worn pair of denim daisy dukes. In short, she looked absolutely enticing. Tommy was struck speechless.

"Hi there," said Heather cheerfully as she approached him and sat down the dish covered in tin foil on the old warped picnic table beside Tommy.

"Uh, hi," answered Tommy meekly, clearing his throat and then finally finding his voice, "I was just starting to wonder if you had decided to pull a Tommy and leave me hanging."

Heather chuckled, staring at the ground, "Never," she replied into her shoulder.

Tommy noticed her discomfort at his tasteless joke and realized that although he had thought it many times he had never actually apologized to Heather for the incident.

"Hey," he began, "I didn't mean to tense things up, I guess you can't really joke about something until you've actually addressed it first." He sat down the spatula gently.

Heather looked up at him, removing her white rimmed sunglasses. She squinted into the sun waiting for what was due to her.

"Look Heather, I was young and well I don't want to say stupid, but I wasn't the brightest guy around if you know what I mean," continued Tommy. "Back in high school things were pretty crazy and I had quite a few responsibilities for a teenager. It really doesn't matter what they were now, but the point is that I couldn't avoid them. Trust me if I could have I would have because, well…I really liked you then," he paused, "and I think I'm starting to like you even more now." Tommy grabbed Heather's right hand with his right hand and held it gently as he waited for her reply.

Heather stared at their hands interlocked together and couldn't help but notice just how perfectly her small pale hand fit into his large tan one. She then looked up at Tommy and with a wink she accepted Tommy's apology. Pulling her hand away from Tommy she quickly began to help set the table, opening the pasta salad and pulling drinks out of the cooler, anything to keep Tommy from seeing how ridiculously red her cheeks were.

"So, I didn't know you cooked," said Heather confidently, ignoring any awkwardness that may have lingered. "I have to admit, it's pretty sexy."

Tommy chuckled as he once again picked up the spatula and tended to the salmon on the grill. "Let me know if you still think it's sexy once you've tasted it." Tommy smiled to himself, Heather thought he was sexy!

The two chatted like old friends through the rest of lunch preparation and then finally they both took a seat on opposite ends of the picnic table.

"Oh," interrupted Tommy, forcing Heather to stop her fork in mid air, "I have a surprise." He quickly rushed to the second ice chest and pulled out two wineglasses, a bottle of wine, and a bouquet of white daisies. "For my lady," he said teasingly as he presented the flowers to Heather.

She graciously accepted them. Smelling them eagerly she said, "How did you know daisies were my favorite!" she was truly amazed and even more impressed.

"I didn't," answered Tommy, "they just reminded me of you."

Heather wanted to float right out of her seat, but before she could Tommy grounded her by pouring the wine into the glasses and offering a toast, "To new beginnings."

"To new beginnings," repeated Heather as their glasses clanked together making and enchanting click.

For Heather lunch was like a dream, a wonderful dream come true. Tommy was a complete gentleman and the salmon was fabulous. The more Tommy opened up about himself the harder Heather fell for him. She was stunned that he had willingly given up his promising racing career simply because he had a thirst for knowledge. She was even more impressed when she discovered that it had only taken him just over seven years to obtain a doctorate in paleontology. He was intelligent, funny, polite, and absolutely perfect.

"Tell me Tommy," said Heather before shoveling a fork full of strawberry shortcake into her mouth, " what was it that made you ask me to lunch?"

"Well, you gotta eat don't ya," he replied jokingly.

But Heather wasn't looking to laugh; "I mean it. What made you do it?"

Tommy stopped eating and carefully gulped down the bite which was already in his mouth, "I just figured that we were both gonna be here for a while, I had nothing planned and I didn't see a ring on your finger, so I thought…" Tommy faded out, pretending to be distracted by something in the lake, but there was nothing there other than the water.

Heather dropped her head in disappointment, trying not to look disappointed but it wasn't an easy task. Tommy noticed that she had been let down by his answer, so he realized it was time to just be a man and tell her the truth.

"Heather," he said trying to get her attention, but her chin was still buried in her chest, "the truth is that I missed you."

Heather's head snapped up immediately and her dark eyes filled with vibrance once again as Tommy continued. "I know that may sound odd but the fact of the matter is that I haven't really had a whole lot of time for women since high school. In fact to be completely honest my last girlfriend was Kat, and we broke up when I started college. And now that I actually have a minute to breathe I realize that there's a whole lot that I've been missing out on."

Heather appeared disappointed once again, "So, it's not really me that you've missed, it's just girls in general," she stated in annoyance.

"No," replied Tommy slowly, "I just miss having someone to laugh with, to have fun with, and joke around with and well…love. And as I recall I had no problem laughing and joking with you, and the last one I'm sure will come just as easily."

Heather had never been an emotional person, but the rollercoaster that she had been on this afternoon alone was nearly unbearable. She didn't know whether to hit him, leave him, or kiss him. But something told her that the first two options just wouldn't be nearly as satisfying.

"I'm gonna go for a swim," she announced casually, acting almost as if she hadn't heard a word he had just said.

Tommy was baffled, but he figured that she now knew his intentions so it was completely up to her.

"You know you're supposed to wait at least an hour before going swimming after you…" shouted Tommy, coming to a dead silence as Heather slid off her denim shorts, exposing her curvy hips and well proportioned back side.

Heather smiled to herself, finally she had the upper hand and she had absolutely no problem using it. It was no secret that Heather Thompson had an amazing figure, guys were telling her about it all the time. She just never really cared about it until now, now that it pleased Tommy. Heather quickly ran into the lake, she was going to make Tommy work for her this time.

Tommy quickly recovered from the eyeful and quickly peeled off his T-shirt revealing his washboard abs and impressive pecs. "Watch out girl" he yelled, "I'm gonna getcha!"

Tommy swiftly followed Heather into the water and once inside the cool lake all of the seriousness was forgotten. The couple swam for quite some time, splashing, chasing, and hiding. Tommy hadn't had quite so much fun since he was a teenager, and Heather found the experience even more exhilarating than plunging down a snow covered mountain at eighty miles per hour. Eventually, Heather was the first one to wear out just as Tommy captured her in his muscular arms.

"Time out! Time out!" she screamed, half-choking and half-laughing hysterically. "It's no fair, you're stronger than me!" She pretended to struggle to get out of his grip, but really she didn't want to.

Tommy's hold only tightened more as she struggled and finally he won the battle. He held Heather close to him as their laughter stopped and the mood took a more serious turn. Heather gazed up into Tommy's deep brown eyes as he returned the gaze through his long ebony lashes. Both were dripping wet and Heather's mascara had smudged off long ago. Soon, Tommy began to lower his head down to Heather and she didn't resist, in fact she couldn't wait to taste his sweet, sweet lips on hers. Finally, the two joined together, at first in a soft and gentle, closed lip kiss, which quickly evolved into a full blown passionate expression. Tommy had missed this, missed it a whole lot. Sure he had dated a few girls here and there whenever he had a Friday night free, which was rare. But none of them ever stuck around long enough to be kissed the way he was kissing Heather right now because Tommy never had any time for them.

As they parted the sun began to set, neither of them could speak, they had nothing to say. Actually, there was nothing to be said because they both felt the exact same way, like they were head over heals in love.

* * *

Trini Quan looked up from the dishes in the sink as she heard the doorbell ring on a Saturday afternoon. Glancing out the window she couldn't see anyone in her front yard, but turned and headed for the front door anyway. As she approached the front door she dried her hands on the white dish towel, which she had borrowed from the kitchen and once her hands were dry enough to allow her to get a grip on the doorknob she opened the door with a shocked and amazed expression strewn across her face.

"Billy!" she screamed as she jumped into the arms of the somewhat dorky, but still handsome man.

"Trini," he responded, "you look as beautiful as ever," he wrapped his arms around the pretty Asian girl tightly, smiling the whole time.

"What are you doing here? I wasn't supposed to pick you up from the airport until tomorrow," she finally released him.

"I know but I was so excited about seeing you that I told my assistant she was on her own and if I got any calls then she knew where to find me."

Billy had been working for NASA for only a couple of years now, but due to his extremely impressive intelligence he was quickly promoted and was currently working on the next moon landing. This naturally wasn't quite such a big deal to him since he had actually explored the galaxy several times. He loved outer space and being in on all of the action, but he missed his home way to much and eventually returned to Earth after only two years on the planet of Aquitar. It wasn't easy saying goodbye to Cestria, but he knew that Earth was where he belonged.

This weekend though, he decided that a visit to his old pal Trini was long overdue. She hadn't seen him since shortly after he returned from Aquitar. Currently, Trini was living in Seattle, and was working as a chemist; yes the former rangers had another scientist in the bunch. She hadn't seen any of her friends in a while and had been meaning to organize some sort of reunion, but to her dismay nobody's schedule allowed for it. However, that wasn't going to stop her from seeing her friends, even if it had to be one at a time.

"So, come on in," said Trini, holding the door open for Billy. He picked up his only suitcase and followed her inside the white and yellow house.

After settling in the guestroom, Billy joined Trini in the kitchen for coffee and fresh baked oatmeal cookies, which were originally intended for tomorrow.

"Have you heard from any of the guys?" questioned Billy, a little irked at himself for not keeping up with his correspondence.

"Actually, I spoke with Kim last week and I promised her it would be a surprise but I can't hold it in any longer," she paused for dramatic effect, "Kim's coming back in two weeks to see you in Florida and then she's coming to see me!" screamed Trini in excitement.

Billy was also elated with the news; he actually hadn't seen Kim since that one Christmas back in high school when she came back to Angel Grove for a visit. Kimberly had been one of his best friends since kindergarten, which was odd because she was so beautiful and popular and he was so nerdy and so Billy.

"This is great news," began Billy, "I'll have to clear away some –" he was cut short as his cell phone began to ring and although Billy had promised himself that he wouldn't worry about his job this week, he had to answer his phone because the call was from his assistant.

"This better be important Janet," he said into the small receiver, not bothering to say hi. He was rather annoyed since he told Janet that he would rather not be disturbed unless it was completely necessary.

"Well who was it?" he asked as he stared at Trini oddly. Trini continued to stir her coffee. "Well what did he look like?" another silence. "Well if you gave him my number I'm not going to worry about it. If it's important he'll call me." A pause, "Alright Janet, thanks for calling. Take care." Billy hung up the phone and Trini gave him her full attention.

"Well, that was odd," he huffed.

"What?" questioned Trini.

"That was my assistant Janet, she said some guy came to the lab looking for me this afternoon."

"What's so odd about that," asked Trini confused.

"Well apparently he became very upset and somewhat erratic when my assistant informed him that I was out of town. She didn't intend to tell him where I was, but she was alarmed and told him anyway just so he would leave. She even gave him my cell phone number."

"That is strange," added Trini. "Do you think we should be worried."

"I see no reason to be," responded Billy, "it's not like Janet told him the exact address where I was staying and besides if he was that upset then he would have already called my cell."

"I suppose your right," finished Trini taking a sip from her cup.

The two sat in silence for just a moment but then the doorbell rang once more.

"I wonder who that could be," questioned Trini as she rose from her seat at the table to answer the door.

"Maybe someone else decided to surprise you," said Billy jokingly as he reached for another cookie.

"I'll be right back, Billy."

Trini walked through the living room and into the foyer and without a second thought she opened the door.

Billy sat at the kitchen table content with an oatmeal cookie in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other as he skimmed over the front page of the Seattle newspaper. Suddenly, his calm was harshly interrupted as he heard a terrifying scream from the foyer, it was Trini. Billy came to Trini's rescue, responding faster than he had in his ranger days, but he was too late. By the time he reached the front door the grotesque creature had already poisoned Trini and another unfamiliar mutant was carrying her away over his shoulder. The monster quickly reached out and pulled Billy towards him by the ankle. As Billy hit the carpet, another tentacle engulfed his face and without any time for a struggle, Billy was unconscious.

* * *

"Vixor," said the beast in a deep, devilish voice as he tapped his sharp claws on his thrown, "tell me, is the task almost complete?"

Vixorstepped into the firelight, leaving a slimy film across the cold stone floor below him. "Not quite master. We have four in captivity and seven on our itinerary." The mutant bowed to the thrown.

"Excellent," awarded the villain, nodding in approval. "Those wretched humans will pay for what they have taken away from me if it's the last thing I do! Now go and bring me the rest of them!


	4. Decisions, Decisions

_Hello all! I know, I know this one's taking a bazillion years to get into gear, but by my estimation we're only a few chapters away from the start of the good stuff. I just really need to build up this whole Heather and Tommy thing and you'll all understand why later. So please bare with me! And of course enjoy and review._

* * *

Tommy settled into the soft queen sized bed with his thoughts buzzing a thousands miles per minute. Spending the day with Heather had been so perfect and it just felt so right even in spite of several awkward moments. He knew it was much too soon to be thinking about the future right now but he couldn't help but seriously consider the possibility of not returning to Reefside High at the end of the summer.

He really couldn't afford not working for a whole year but maybe if he went back to writing for the various paleontology journals and magazines he would be fine for a little while. Then it occurred to him that earlier in the year he had received an offer for a position as a professor at a small but prominent university in northern California. At the time he turned it down because he was still contending with Mesogog, but now that he was gone maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. The college was less than two hundred miles from Shady Mountain, which meant he could spend the weekends with Heather.

What a strange thing for Tommy to be thinking about; it had been forever since he had to make a decision with another person in mind rather than just himself. But this whole Heather thing was so brand new that he was most definitely getting ahead of himself. She was just so perfect in every way and most of all she was perfect for him. The only other girl that he had ever been convinced that he belonged with was Kimberly. This scared him and understandably so because she obviously was not meant for him.

Rolling over Tommy decided it was best for right now to just focus on the present and so he played the events of the day over in his head as he drifted to sleep. After Tommy and Heather's earth shattering make out session, they slowly exited the lake together with her hand in his. The look in Tommy's eye was quite mischievous and even more urgent. But, Heather knew better, she had played this game before and lost. Sure, she wanted Tommy, all of Tommy just as much as he wanted her but her better judgement won out. Knowing that she couldn't stay with the man and manage her self control, as well as controlling his urges; she decided it was best to just call it a day.

Tommy was disappointed when she announced that she thought it was time for them to end the evening but he was also relieved. He naturally had a lot of pent up desires that really needed to be fulfilled but he also had a stronger desire for Heather to stay in the picture. He knew that if they were to take things to the next step so soon then they would most likely not get anywhere beyond that. Simply put, going all the way would complicate things that just did not need to be complicated right now.

Saying their good-byes the couple separated, anxious for the next time they would meet again, which was agreed upon for the next day. Heather had invited Tommy to her home the following evening, it was her turn to wine and dine him. She knew it was a horrible idea to bring him to her house where there was a bed and absolutely no distractions, but she just slipped. Of course there were a few thoughts circling through Tommy's head about the events of the following night as well as some predictions that a part of him longed for to come true. But he was going to leave that decision up to Heather because he was completely torn on the issue.

Tommy arrived at Heather's monstrous mansion, which sat on a large bluff overlooking the valley where the town of Shady Mountain rested. The gigantic home was constructed of red and gray brick and was complete with a sauna and a swimming pool. Tommy felt rather intimidated as he buzzed the doorbell, shocked to hear Heather's voice sound from the small speaker beside the button. "Come on in," she said happily, "it's open."

'What in hell am I doing here?' thought Tommy with a sudden doubt. More importantly, what in the hell was Heather doing with him? All of this time she had questioned his motives for asking her out when really he should have been questioning her motives for accepting. His income wasn't even enough to pay for these bricks much less afford for them to be assembled into a house, and of this size! He hadn't realized just how good Heather had done for herself, but considering that she had a signature line of ski wear and ski gear, it should have been pretty obvious. Tommy was just not used to being associated with someone of such wealth; even Anton Mercer tried his best to hide his good fortune from Tommy while they were working together.

"Hey there," said Heather with a hint of cheer in her voice as Tommy entered the rather large, wooden paneled kitchen with a window over the sink the size of his bedroom wall. Heather's eyes lit up like a firefly at the sight of Tommy and he definitely took note of it. He also took note of the low-cut ice green satin dress which draped over Heather's shape perfectly. Tommy was relieved to discover that he wasn't over dressed in his gray dress slacks and black dress shirt.

"Hi," answered Tommy returning Heather's warm gaze, noticing that she was preparing dinner herself.

He felt somewhat awkward now knowing just how different they were from each other and still yesterday they had managed to connect perfectly. Deciding that this was all just bricks and concrete Tommy pushed the negative thoughts to the back of his head and gave Heather a proper greeting. Wrapping his arms around her waist he began to nibble at her neck.

"Forgive me for my shortcomings," he muffled into her ear as she giggled, "allow me to give you a proper greeting."

That was all Tommy needed to say and Heather dropped the knife she had been using to cut the carrots and gave Tommy her full attention. As Heather wrapped her arms around Tommy's neck and returned his affections with an intense kiss, Tommy began to get those feelings again. He wished that he hadn't been such a hormone case, especially at this age, but if there was one thing Heather was good at it was turning him on.

Eventually, Heather was able to focus her attention back on dinner and refused to let Tommy help her.

"Why don't you go ahead and take a look around the house. Dinner will be ready in fifteen," said Heather as she leaned over the open oven door, checking on the baked potatoes.

"Sure," replied Tommy in amazement. He really didn't care to see the rest of the oversized house; it would only discourage him. But, he really didn't want to explain his anxiety to Heather so he let himself out of the kitchen and entered the living room.

Heather's taste was quite unique from his other girlfriends'; of course they were pink rangers. Kimberly would have cringed at the site of this place and in some strange way this comforted Tommy. Maybe Heather was more his taste, he liked the way the room was decorated. One would have never guessed that this was the house of a single woman in her late twenties. The walls were covered in intricate wool tapestries constructed in earth tones. The sectional sofa was a nice smooth brown leather, almost a milk chocolate color and the coffee table was solid cherry with tiny etchings of forest animals bordering the top surface. The room was very rustic, showing no sign of femininity. The theme was consistent throughout the rest of the house; the only room that differed was Heather's study. There really wasn't much room for a décor because the walls were completely consumed with trophy cases, which proudly displayed medals, trophies, and other memorabilia representing Heather's accomplishments.

Finally, on what Tommy thought to be the third floor, the top floor, he came across Heather's bedroom. It was there that her feminine side was apparent. Her king size bed was covered in a satin pink comforter and a mountain of lacey pillows. Tommy chuckled as he realized that Heather too had a different side to her. Her vanity was covered in various cosmetics and hair care products, while the dressers were topped with white lace doilies and porcelain vases of dried flowers. On the far end of the room near the closet were the remnants of Heather's search for the perfect outfit for the evening. That corner of the room was covered in scattered garments including blouses, skirts, pants, shoes, and even a bra or two. Tommy blushed at the site of the black lacy undergarments, nervously picturing Heather in them.

"Tommy," interrupted a voice as Heather entered the room, "dinner's ready."

Tommy head snapped back staring at Heather like a deer in the headlights, but then realizing that his thoughts were only in his head and Heather had absolutely no idea what they were he was able to relax. But Heather had seen Tommy staring at the mess on the floor.

"Oh sorry about that," she apologized, "I didn't have a chance to clean it up. I was having one of those fashion victim days, you know?"

Tommy stopped dead in his tracks, "No I don't know," he replied suspiciously.

"Well, I guess guys really don't have those days but us girls do, and some days I just cannot find an outfit that looks right on me," Heather stopped herself from going on and boring Tommy, she was here to impress him not scare him away with her girly insecurities.

Tommy sighed to himself as he tried to convince himself that Heather Thompson was nothing like Kimberly Hart. All girls were shallow like that when it came to appearances. Besides, the rest of the house was a man's dream.

Heather led Tommy down the tremendous staircase in silence and once they reached the den, Tommy broke the tension.

"This is quite a place you've got here," he declared once again, scanning the room for reassurance.

"Thanks," said Heather modestly, "I hope you don't think me a glutton. The house was actually my father's vision. He helped design it and he even decorated it for me as a present. He just really wanted me to settle down and stop living out of hotel rooms. So one day he drove me up here and yelled 'surprise'."

"Wow," said Tommy in amazement, not at the story but at the fact that Heather had absolutely no say in the décor.

"Yeah," continued Heather, "practically the only room that I can really call mine is my bedroom. It's much more me than anything else in the house."

Tommy could feel his stomach take a dive even though he knew he was being ridiculous. Big deal, so the girl liked pink, what girl didn't?

During dinner Heather found Tommy to be distant once again, which was rather disappointing to her especially since he had seemed so transformed the last couple of days.

"Is everything okay?" asked Heather as she served Tommy his apple pie a la mode. "You seem a little distracted." Heather took her seat across from him once again.

"Yeah," began Tommy, realizing that if he wanted this to work then he was going to have to be honest with Heather from the get go. "Here's the thing Heather," he took a deep breath. "I guess you could say I was a little put out when you said that you were having a fashion victim day and more so when I discovered that your favorite color was pink."

Heather stared at him like a bird had just flown in the window and perched itself on Tommy's shoulder, but she said nothing.

"Here, I'll explain," said Tommy. "I hadn't planned on telling you this until at least the fifth date but I've only really had two girlfriends in my life…"

"Kat and um, um, oh don't tell me, Kimberly!" declared Heather, proud of her good memory. "So what's the big deal, I already knew that. But I guess it is kind of strange." Heather suddenly became distracted as she processed the information.

"Anyway," cut in Tommy a little annoyed, "both of them were ridiculously girly and absolutely adored the color pink, especially Kim." Tommy's attention now wondered as he recalled just how justified Kimberly's adoration for pink was because she did look amazing in it.

"Tommy," said Heather interrupting Tommy's train of thought. "Are you afraid that since it didn't work out with either of them who liked pink, then it won't work out with me who also likes pink? That's a little ridiculous don't you think?"

"Well yeah," admitted Tommy, "I guess I didn't realize how stupid it was until you said it out loud. I'm sorry Heather; it's just that this is all so new to me again. I really haven't had much time to date since high school."

Heather chuckled as she rose from her seat. Although Tommy's lack of women was odd he was still insanely cute. "Come on," she said grabbing his hand and pulling him up from his seat.

Heather led Tommy into the den and up the stairs once again, not speaking until they reached the threshold of her bedroom.

"What are we doing here?" asked Tommy with a confused expression.

"It's been a little long since the last time you were in a woman's bedroom, hasn't it?" asked Heather lightly.

"Um, yeah," replied Tommy, "but, I don't really see what-" Tommy stopped mid sentence realizing what Heather was hinting at and then he blushed profusely. "Are you serious Heather?"

Heather smiled at the gorgeous guy as she leaned up on her tiptoes and playfully pecked at Tommy's soft lips. It didn't take long for Tommy to take control of the situation and before they knew it the couple was standing at the foot of the bed, kissing aggressively.

"I'm only going to ask this one more time Heather," Tommy managed to mumble in between kisses, "are you sure?"

"Umhmmm," replied Heather into Tommy's mouth, as she leaned into him knocking him down onto the bed.

Tommy was truly excited by the unexpected turn of events but as sure as Heather seemed he wasn't sure that he was as confident. Was he making a mistake? Did he really love Heather or was he just in love with her? Was it worth risking what they had and the future that they could have together for just one incredible night? No, it wasn't. But how in the hell was he going to stop this without offending her or looking like a prude? He was supposed to be the man. Then suddenly, as bad as the idea was, it hit him.

"Oh," he said suddenly tearing away from Heather and grabbing his abdomen. "My stomach," he declared, raising from the bed and running into Heather's bathroom.

"Tommy?" asked Heather, too stunned to follow him. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," yelled Tommy as he closed the bathroom door and immediately began making noises associated with barfing.

Finally, Heather made her way over to the bathroom door and once the noises died down she knocked. "Tommy, that sounds pretty bad, maybe we should just call it a night. Why don't I set up one of the guest rooms for you?"

That really wasn't what Tommy had had in mind, he needed to get away from Heather, but at this point he would take whatever he could get.

"That would be fine Heather," he choked. "Thank you."

* * *

Aisha Campbell stared at herself in the full-length mirror quite impressed with what she saw. "Damn girl, you look fiiiine," she said to herself in satisfaction.

The dress she had chosen for the special evening was a brand new yellow Gucci slip dress, which had been extremely expensive, but if her predictions were correct it would have been well worth it. Tonight was Zack Taylor's and her first anniversary and although Aisha was a patient person she was allowed to get the ball rolling.

Aisha had returned to the states from Africa once the destruction of evil had been initiated by Andros, the red space ranger. Shortly after her return Aisha enrolled in college and continued work as a veterinarian's assistant. Once she graduated she opened her own practice in Stone Canyon, California where she had spent most of her childhood. Not long after, she hesitantly agreed to a blind date set up by a girlfriend of hers from middle school. Once on the date she was shocked to discover that the gentleman she had been set up with was none other than Zack Taylor, former black ranger and current man of her dreams.

Zack had also gone through college and graduated finally with a masters in dance. There really wasn't much money in the field, but he spent a few years as a back up dancer for various pop stars in music videos and even went on tour with some of them. Eventually, Zack was tired of the industry and was ready to settle down. So he opened a hip-hop dance studio in San Francisco, where he met and dated Aisha's friend Zoe. The relationship didn't really have much potential but the two remained friends anyway. Then one day Zoe suggested that he take a chance with a childhood friend of hers who was back in the area, and although it was an hours drive to Stone Canyon from San Francisco Zack agreed, mostly as a favor to Zoe.

Neither Aisha nor Zack could believe the coincidence, but they made the best of the evening. In high school they met briefly on a few occasions but nothing major and they never really got the chance to get to know each other before Zack went off to the peace conference in Switzerland. But now they were astonished to find that they had a ton in common. Now, a year had passed and Zack still caused Aisha to get butterflies in her stomach every time she saw him.

Aisha was shocked and amazed when she glanced at her bedside alarm clock and realized that she was actually ready with time to spare. She still had a half-hour before Zack was due, but she was so excited about the evening that she decided to give him a pre-date call. Aisha absolutely loved being in love and it wasn't until she had met Zack that she realized that she had never actually been in love before. Sure it was silly and sappy to call Zack five times a day, but hey he did it too.

Aisha eagerly dialed Zack's cell phone number from her downstairs portable and took a seat on the gray plush sofa; careful not to ruin her dress. The other end rang about six times and just as Aisha was beginning to become concerned, Zack answered the phone.

"Hey baby, what's up?" he said charmingly into his cell phone.

"Nothing sweetie, I was just getting a little antsy. What time are you going to be here? I can't wait to give you your present."

Aisha had put a lot of thought into Zack's gift, but really she was more concerned about what he had chosen for her.

"Oh girl, you are a sly one. Seriously though Isha, be truthful you just can't wait to get your present," Zack laughed mockingly into the phone.

Aisha pretended to be offended by his assumption but she couldn't get too angry with him especially since he was absolutely correct.

"Whatever," she mumbled, "but you still didn't answer my question."

Zack paused for a moment not wanting to break the news, but he had no choice. "Well to be honest, I'm sorry to say that I am running a little late," he waited for Aisha to blow up at him but she said nothing. "I'm sorry, traffic was bad on the freeway and I just stopped home real quick to change."

Aisha didn't say a word, she was disappointed but she didn't want to ruin the evening before it even began. "Okay, Zack. I guess I'll see you around nine then?"

Zack was shocked at his girlfriend's sensibility, "If even that late," he answered immediately, "I'm practically out the do-" he was cut off by the sound of the knock at the door and Aisha heard it too.

"What was that?" she asked as she allowed the disappointment to sink in.

"Hang on baby, someone's at the door," he replied as he made his way to the front door.

Aisha considered just hanging up the phone but she didn't want Zack to think she was upset with him so she just held on the line and listened to the dead air. As she watched her own gorgeous reflection in the television screen she noticed her face take on an alarming expression and before it registered as to why she realized that she could hear the most horrific cry on the other line and it was coming from her boyfriend.

"Zack! Zack!" she cried in frustration. "Zack, answer me! What's going on!" tears welled up in her eyes. She could no longer hear Zacks struggling moan and she could have sworn that she heard the words, "the other yellow one is at home now, go get her," on the other line, but she wasn't sure. Suddenly the other end went dead and as the tears fell from Aisha's dark brown eyes panic began to set in.

First she dialed Zack's cell again, but all she heard was the cheerful sound of his voicemail message, which only shook her up even more.

"Oh my go-" she began to say, unable to finish her phrase because she felt her lungs clog up.

After taking several deep breaths Aisha once again grasped her phone tightly and began to dial 911, when suddenly there was a knock at her door. She turned her head slowly in the direction of her entryway, which had always seemed so welcoming to her. But now as she starred at it shaking like mad, it scared her to death. She noticed that her phone would not complete her call because it had already gone dead.

"Who is it!" she screamed, trying to sound assertive and somewhat threatening.

But, nobody answered; they just rang the bell this time. Aisha was frozen, and for a moment she wondered if she was going to survive this night alone. It had been quite a while since her ranger days and although she never would have choked then like she was now, she knew that she had to be strong. Quietly she kicked off her silver stilettos and reached for the nearest weapon to her, an umbrella and approached the door cautiously.

"Look," she yelled furiously, "I've already called the cops and they're on their way so you might as well do the smart thing and get the hell out of here!"

The doorbell continued to ring, almost as if it were taunting her. Aisha knew that she had to face whatever was out there and going out the back door just wasn't an option because she had a feeling that no matter how she exited her house, whatever it was would be waiting for her. So she held her breath and slowly cracked open the door, but before she could even take a peak she was shoved back hard, so hard that she fell to the ground and collided with the base of her couch. Luckily the piece of furniture was soft but unluckily the beast whom had pushed her was now standing above her. The site of the creature nearly caused her to hurl and although she had seen ugly monsters in her day, there had never been an ugly quite like this one.

"Get away from me!" she screamed as she kicked at the monster while trying to get up at the same time, but before she could get her footing she was immediately detained by two henchmen.

The henchmen weren't as slimy and grotesque as the other creature but they did smell just as bad and were determined to capture Aisha. As she struggled with all her might she was easily overpowered and soon the leader overtook her face with what appeared to be his hand and the room went foggy and then dark.

* * *

"Yes, oh yes, my plan is flawless!" cheered the wicked demon as he watched the weak little yellow ranger faint to the ground into a useless heap. "I never imagined it would be this fun to avenge the death of my brother and create a brand new destiny for my family's legacy. It's just too easy!" The evil lord rose aggressively from his black throne and began pacing back and forth through his sizeable and dimly lit chamber. His feet clanked heavily on the cold stone floor and the sound echoed throughout the palace. "I made a promise to you brother that I would destroy those power rangers once and for all and I will not fail you! Ha, ha, ha…" 


	5. The Morning After

_Hi guys, I was very excited to see that I recieved the most reviews so far on this storyfor the last chapter, thanks! And I truly mean that. It makes me happy to see all of your predictions and what not and I'm so glad that you are all liking the story. Also, a few of you have made the comment that some of the chapters seem rushed and I have to admit I do agree. I apologize for that but honestly I just can't wait to get to the really good stuff and I know that's bad but I am trying.So, hopefully this one will tide you over because the next chapter is the begging of the good stuff, promise. Enjoy and review!_

* * *

Tommy woke up from a good night's sleep fully clothed and feeling like quite the idiot. Last night he had been given and rejected a golden opportunity that he hoped he would be presented with again. But that wasn't the part that bothered him so much, instead he was nervous about how Heather would respond to his sudden stomach bug. He hoped that she wouldn't blame herself for his unexpected "up-chuck" especially since she had been the one who actually cooked the dinner. It really was a delicious meal of steak and vegetables and Tommy never would have dreamed of throwing it up under normal circumstances. More importantly, he hoped that she hadn't caught on to the fact that he really wasn't sick and had actually made the whole thing up.

Tommy quietly rose from the soft bed, attempting to arrange himself so as to look somewhat presentable. He wasn't one bit surprised to find that he was in Heather's guestroom because all night long his dreams were plagued with the events of the night before. Some versions of the dream were true to life while in others he had opted to make the other decision and therefore the dreams were much more enjoyable in his unconscious state. But for now Tommy was concerned with how in the hell he was going to get out of this ridiculous mansion without having to face Heather. He knew it was terribly rude to sneak out at the crack of dawn when she had been so kind as to let him stay the night, but he also knew that he just was not in the mood to discus his behavior night before. Tommy figured he'd stop by later and lay the whole thing out on the table so that Heather would finally understand his true intentions.

Tommy quietly crept down the large staircase, slowly and strategically, expecting at least one stair to creek and rat him out but surprisingly there wasn't a peep. Once he reached the bottom of the staircase the front door was in sight and he knew that he was pretty much home free. He crossed the living room almost carelessly as he was sure that Heather was probably still asleep way up on the third floor, she would never hear him from up there. But when he finally eased the large wooden front door open he found that his theory couldn't have been any more incorrect.

"Morning," said Heather dryly as Tommy realized his cover was blown, he straightened up immediately trying to look as guiltless as possible.

Heather had just returned from her morning run and was now in the process of completing her cool down stretches on the front lawn. Even though Tommy knew he was in trouble he still took the time to notice just how good Heather looked in her itty bitty navy blue running shorts and gray sports bra. Once again she exhibited characteristics of the perfect girl for Tommy. He loved going on morning runs himself and it had been years since he had had company on his excursions. Kimberly would often times accompany him on his runs years ago. There he went again comparing Heather to Kimberly when it was all totally irrelevant.

Tommy nodded in recognition of Heather's greeting but had absolutely no idea what to say, so he remained silent.

"Leaving so soon," Heather said in a monotone drawl, which suggested that she had been hip to his scheme the night before. She was obviously pissed and didn't even bother to look in Tommy's direction.

"Oh, uh," began Tommy, caught off guard, "I didn't know you were up. I didn't want to wake you but I really should be going. You know, stupid me, I left all of the windows open at the cabin and I-"

Heather cut him off instantly, "You don't have to make excuses for my benefit Tommy," she began, "I'm just glad that you decided to display your true colors last night before I made a mistake that I most definitely would be regretting at this very moment." She continued to stretch her hamstring nonchalantly, acting almost as if Tommy had already left.

Tommy was struck speechless, he had tried to do the right thing the night before and now he was being punished for it. Man, he really needed to just let his pride go, why was it so difficult for him to be honest with Heather? Come to think of it he hadn't really been honest with anyone in years, at least not anyone who wasn't a ranger. He was so used to a life of secrecy that the truth was just completely foreign to him now.

"Heather listen," he started as he stepped off the sidewalk and onto the grass, "we really need to talk."

Heather stopped what she was doing and straitened up, appearing interested in what Tommy had to say but sarcastically shot him down, "Talk about what, hmm? Tommy, you don't know how to talk about anything unless it's on the topic of lame excuses," and she really made it a point to emphasize the phrase 'lame excuses.' "Now I think it would just be best if you left and please don't come back."

Heather continued to lunge, working her calf muscle, and then calmly walked back towards the house. But Tommy, realizing that it was now or never and stepped in front of her, obstructing her path.

"No, I'm not going anywhere. At least not until you hear what I have to say," he declared with as much force as he had used to taunt Goldar with years ago.

"Please move out of my way," asked Heather politely.

But Tommy stood his ground and after a short dual, Heather gave up.

"Fine, but make it quick. I have a lot of errands to run today," she said with just a hint of irritation in her voice as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Tommy was silent for a moment as he strategized an effective speech in his head. "It's true, I wasn't sick last night and I most certainly didn't throw up." He admitted the truth quickly and honestly.

Heather made an attempt to interrupt him but he raised his hand in defiance.

"Just listen Heather. I faked an upset stomach because I didn't want to sleep with you last night," realizing how heartless that sounded Tommy finished his thought, "At least not yet."

"And this is supposed to make me feel better?" asked Heather, about ready to kick Tommy Oliver off her property and out of her life once and for all.

"Wait a minute Heather, I didn't want to sleep with you last night because I thought it was too soon," Tommy sighed uncomfortably. "Heather, I reeeally like you and there's nothing I want more than for things to work out between you and me. But I knew that if we took things to the next level so soon then it would just complicate things and ruin any chance we ever had. However, being that I am Tommy Oliver, my clever little solution managed to just complicate things even more," Tommy rolled his eyes at himself and was taken aback when Heather began to giggle.

"That is the sweetest thing that any guy has ever done for me," she managed to say in between her laughter. "Usually they're telling me that we need to sleep together to make the relationship work!" Heather couldn't believe how incredibly honorable Tommy was, the complete opposite of any other guy she had ever dated. "But seriously Tommy, don't you think you're playing it a little too by the book?"

Tommy stopped for a moment pondering Heather's question, "Well, no," he finally answered. "I don't think you quite understand just how difficult it has been for me to get a girl and now that I have one, the most incredible one, I don't want to do anything to spoil it," he gazed at Heather intensely expecting nothing from her in return.

Heather bit her lower lip in embarrassment; Tommy had a way of making her feel so uncomfortable and yet so flattered at the same time. She finally walked up to Tommy and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Pick me up at five hot stuff," she said teasingly before strutting confidently into the house.

That night Tommy did pick Heather up at five and for once he was actually on time. The two spent the evening on a short mountain hike and finished it with a moonlit swim in the lake; everything was perfect. Actually, the next few days to fallow were just as perfect if not better. Heather and Tommy connected more and more with each moment they spent together, and they had spent a lot of time together. Around town the locals envied their new romance because they had that look in their eyes, that look like nothing else mattered but the person beside them. Tommy was finally ready to give his heart away and although it all happened so quickly his doubts were soon forgotten, that was until Thursday afternoon.

* * *

Katherine Hillard kicked the front door shut with all her might as she carefully struggled to hang on to her grocery bags long enough to make it to the kitchen table. It had been an exhausting day and although she had spent the last few years living out her dream and dancing for the London Ballet Company she began to wonder if it was all worth it. Since college, Katherine had pretty much been on her own without a familiar friend in the world it seemed like. She was so shocked when she was actually accepted into the LBC that she never even stopped to think about the sacrifices she was making.

It had been a while since Katherine had seen any of her friends, at least a year. Two years ago when she was touring _Swan Lake _she had made the rounds in America. In November she saw Tonya in Philadelphia, in December it was Jason, Adam and Rocky in Los Angeles, and in January it was Tommy in Denver. Then in Europe, Kimberly was sweet enough to see her best performance in Paris. Sure it was a glamorous life but behind the scenes it was terribly lonely. The other dancers were in constant competition and there was so much drama that there wasn't even enough left for the performance. Katherine hated all of the pettiness and had often found herself daydreaming about returning to Angel Grove. She knew that there weren't many of her friends left there, just Jason and Adam, but Aisha was nearby and so was Rocky and well at least Tommy still lived in the same state.

Katherine felt as if she was really missing out on something, a normal life. Slowly, she put away the groceries in her London flat not really putting anything in its proper place but it really didn't matter. For the past couple of months she had been killing herself in the studio preparing for the next ballet production. Katherine's hard work and determination had finally paid off because she was awarded the lead, but what good was it when she didn't have anyone to share the excitement with?

Groaning, Katherine plopped herself down on the small tan loveseat in the tiny living room. She considered making some tea but that meant that she would have to stand up. The clock on the VCR read 10:07 and in a mere six hours she would be waking up once again to begin another pointless day. Katherine could feel her muscles aching and she knew that she would be close to useless in rehearsal the next day. There was only so much strain the body could take and she had pretty much maxed it out today.

Eventually, Katherine managed to pull herself off the loveseat and made her way into the bathroom where she took what was supposed to be a short but much needed soak in the tub. She had actually fallen asleep and when she woke up she had absolutely no idea what time it was, but the water around her was freezing cold. Irritated with herself and her exhaustion, Katherine jumped out of the tub and quickly wrapped a towel around her slender body. She shuffled into her tiny bedroom and rummaged through the bottom drawer of her white dresser, finally finding a pair of gray boxer shorts and a pink camisole to wear to bed. She barely finished dressing before collapsing onto the old worn mattress and dozing off to sleep at first contact.

Katherine began to dream intensely about many things, in the beginning the dreams were good but as the moments passed they became more and more misfortunate. At first she had not been present in the dreams but her friends had and they were all in so much despair. Jason, Rocky, Trini, Billy, Aisha, Zack, and Adam appeared to be tortured beyond belief, while Tommy and Kimberly watched blindly almost as if they couldn't see anyone. Later, Katherine could hear her own cries as a rumbling sound overtook everyone and before she could see the source of the distress she was yanked out of the nightmare by an alarming pounding coming from the front door.

Katherine jumped at the sound of the knock and slowly eased herself off the bed and managed to stumble into the living room.

"I told you Rick," she yelled as she dodged the coffee table in the pitch dark, "that was your last chance! It's over!"

Rick was a guy she had been seeing from the company, he was also from America and unfortunately was nothing but scum. The two had dated for about three months and Katherine had actually been happy for a little while at least. But, last week after rehearsal she found him in the dressing room with her understudy and lets just say they weren't dancing! Katherine immediately called it quits not even considering giving the pig a second chance. For some odd reason, though he just wouldn't let her go. He'd been to her flat every night since the whole ordeal happened pleading with her from outside the door. Tonight, Kat just didn't have the energy to put up with his bull.

"Go away!" she yelled again as she forcefully swung the door open, flicking on the overhead light at the same time. But once she opened the door she honestly wished that it had been Rick on the other side.

The creature smelt so fowl as he dripped with green slime and grime. His face was distorted beyond recognition and the only facial feature Katherine could make out was his eyes because they too were glowing green. Katherine immediately lunged to slam the door on the horrible sight but he was too fast and too strong. He fought her back without any effort and once the door swung open Katherine was bombarded by two other creatures who were also extremely ugly but they had nothing on their leader.

"Stop! Help!" screamed the blonde Australian woman as she kicked and fought with all of her strength.

But, one creature pinned down her legs while the other pinned down her arms. Tears streamed down Kat's face as she wondered if this was it but her thought was left incomplete once the monster's hand overtook her mouth and like her friends before her she inhaled the gas and was rendered unconscious.

* * *

Adam Park paced nervously back and forth across the empty dojo floor, paying no mind to the lightning and thunder crashing outside the wall of glass windows. He and Jason had been partners, running the dojo located in Angel Grove together for the past few years. They had also pleaded with Rocky to join their endeavor, but he was much too happy making his six-figure income straight out of college. That was okay though because Adam and Jason did make a great team. Adam had always been very reserved and somewhat of an introvert while Jason was outgoing and very much a people person. Adam really was happy and content with his life, in fact if one day never changed from the next then that would have been just fine with him.

But today, Wednesday, the former black ranger was feeling quite ill, not physically but mentally. Monday morning he had arrived at the dojo only to find the most alarming news on the dojo's answering machine. Adam had been gone for a short weekend with his girlfriend, Lina to Catalina Island. He had accidentally dropped his cell phone in the pacific while on the boat ride from Long Beach to the island. Lina thought it was an absolute gut buster but Adam really wasn't humored by the situation. He didn't want to have to pay for a new phone and on top of that all of his numbers were stored on his old phone, which made things all the more difficult on Monday morning.

The first message Adam received which really upset him was from Emily, Jason's girlfriend and she was quite alarmed. The message had been left on Friday night and she had been worried because Jason never picked her up for their date. At first she sounded mad and hurt, but by the third message left on Saturday afternoon she was absolutely freaked out. Since she wasn't allowed to report Jason missing for twenty-four hours according to the police, Emily was forced to conduct her own investigation which led her to her boyfriend's quiet home on Arbor Street. Initially, she was completely puzzled when she found Jason's wallet on the foyer floor along with some type of dried up flaky substance, which she could not identify, but no Jason. Naturally the woman went crazy without any clues and the police department was convinced that he had simply skipped town for the weekend.

Once Adam received the final message, left shortly before he arrived at the dojo that morning, he cursed himself for not checking his messages at home the night before. He had arrived home so late that the last thing on his mind was his messages. But soon Emily joined Adam at the dojo to fill him in on her findings. She had called Tommy, Rocky, Zack, Trini, and even Jason's mother by the time the weekend was over but she hadn't been able to get a hold of anyone but Jason's mother. Not wanting to alarm the woman, Emily concocted some ridiculous story which allowed her to find out the last time Mrs. Scott had spoke to her son and what was said. But it was a dead end just like everyone else. Emily of course thought nothing of it when she was unable to reach any of the guys but for Adam this was huge.

Immediately Adam jumped into action convincing Emily that her best chance was waiting for Jason to contact her at home while he began his own search. First he called Tommy; reaching nothing but the answering machine. Next he called Rocky who refused to answer his cell, his home phone was just as helpful, and finally his receptionist was able to give Adam something to go on, well sort of. She told Adam that Mr. DeSantos never reported to work that morning and she had not yet been able to get a hold of him but she would relay the message to him that Mr. Park had called.

Frustrated, Adam called the next friend in line, Zack. But just like Tommy and Rocky, his home phone went unanswered and the assistant manager at his dance studio told Adam the same thing that Rocky's receptionist had; he hadn't come in for work that day. Racking his brain Adam realized that Aisha had been dating Zack for the past year and naturally she would be able to clear up this whole misunderstanding. Even if they all went on some secret mission, Zack surely would have told Aisha. But when her office receptionist made an identical claim to the ones before and her home phone wouldn't even ring, Adam was definitely alarmed. Not bothering to further agitate himself, Adam jumped in his truck and headed for Jason's house.

Once at his good friend's home, Adam used a spare key, which he had retrieved from Jason's desk at the karate studio and let himself in the front door. Although Emily had held on to Jason's wallet, the dried up flaky substance she had described was still on the foyer floor. Bending down, Adam touched the foreign material and even brought a small sample up to his nose but soon regretted it; it smelt awful. After a quick overview of the house Adam was on his way to the next stop.

He set foot in Aisha's three-bedroom stucco home in the very familiar city of Stone Canyon. On his way up the walk he had already spotted the also familiar substance on Aisha's driveway. Inside though, there were signs of a struggle, an umbrella was strewn across the living room floor and the brown coil rug was shuffled and folded in the entryway. It gave him chills to think that the former yellow ranger had been kidnapped and possibly hurt. Adam knew that he had to get to the bottom of this mess, but feared that he might be forced to do it alone. Unsure of exactly where Zack lived in San Francisco, Adam decided to forego the trip and instead check on his friends in southern California.

Adam didn't reach Los Angeles until the early morning and although he had been to Rocky's impressive two-story pad at least twice he still had some trouble finding it. By the time he came across it he felt a dire hatred for gated communities. But once on the property, Adam really didn't need to exit his car to discover that Rocky had the same fate as Jason and Aisha because the same dried up substance littered Rocky's driveway like leaves in the fall. However, Adam checked out things anyway but was unable to get into the house because he was keyless and was afraid that he might set off the alarm. All he noticed out of the ordinary was that the coat closet was wide open and proved to be an excellent obstruction of his view.

By now, Adam was starting have a sinking feeling in his stomach because it had become very apparent to him that his friends had not gone on a ranger mission but were instead forced into one. Adam was eager to help them but there was just one problem, he had absolutely no clue how. Realizing that there were still a few rangers whom he hadn't yet contacted Adam forced optimism into his head. Of course Tommy would know what to do, if he would just answer his damn phone! Adam once again returned to his truck and headed in the direction of Reefside.

Later that day Adam arrived home by 5pm without a single clue and completely confused by his stop in Reefside. He had found Tommy's modest but suiting home in the outskirts of town with some difficulty, but when he discovered that the place was locked up and secure he was puzzled. There were no signs of a struggle at the house and there weren't any of the weird tracks on the porch or inside from what he could see, but there was also no sign of Tommy. Adam even drove through the streets of Reefside hoping to spot his friend and eventually resorted to asking the locals if they knew Dr. Tommy Oliver. But his effort went unrewarded and with no clue as to what to do next Adam turned around and made the long, upsetting trip back home.

That night Adam was content as ever and continued his search by raiding Jason's desk at the karate studio and his desk at home searching for phone numbers of whoever might be of assistance. He was distraught to discover that Billy wasn't answering his phone and that he had taken a vacation from work for the rest of the week. If there was anyone who could help him it was Billy, that is if he hadn't been abducted yet. Next, Adam phoned Kimberly, who of course didn't answer either, but noticing a second number for France at the bottom of the page Adam took a chance and dialed it.

"Bonjour," said a perky female voice.

"Um, hello," said Adam uncomfortably, pausing to clear his throat, "is Kimberly Hart there."

There was a short silence on the other end, "I'm sorry, no she's not. But, this is her mother, may I ask who's calling."

Adam sighed in relief, at least he'd reached somebody, "Mrs. Hart," began Adam, "Oh I mean, uh," Adam couldn't remember the woman's new last name, "this is Adam Park, I was a friend of Kimberly's back in high school."

"Adam? Oh yes, Adam," said the woman with excitement, "I certainly remember you, how are you doing dear?"

Was that supposed to be a trick question? "I'm well, but it's very important that I speak with Kimberly right away," he hoped he didn't sound too rude but oh well if he did.

"I'm sorry Adam," replied the woman apologetically "but Kimberly left yesterday on a plane to Seattle-"

Adam cut her off immediately, "Here? She's coming here, to the U.S.?"

"Yes," replied Mrs. Hart with some hesitation, "Why Adam, is something wrong? Is everyone okay?" she sounded genuinely concerned.

Adam thought for a moment, unsure of what to say, "Yes, everyone's fine," he lied, "I was just calling to invite Kimberly to a last minute birthday party for Jason this weekend. I thought that she might at least like to know about it even if she couldn't make it."

"Well that's very sweet of you Adam. Why don't I give you her cell phone number, you should probably be able to reach her tonight, she's staying with Trini and I guess Billy is visiting as well."

"Oh thank God!" bursted Adam, not caring how ridiculous he sounded. It was about time that something started to work out for him. "I mean, great! They're all together, maybe they'll be able to make it to the party after all," Adam slapped his hand on his forehead cursing himself for the outburst and the pathetic save.

Mrs. Hart laughed awkwardly wondering in the young man was intoxicated but gave him her daughter's phone number anyway. She had always thought Adam to be a very nice young man when he and her daughter were in high school together, he was always so respectful and from what she could tell he had treated her daughter very well.

"Thank you so much Mrs. Hart," gushed Adam, "you don't know what this will mean to Jason. You take care, okay, it was nice talking to you," Adam didn't mean to sound so rushed but he really was.

"You as well," said Mrs. Hart ready to end the conversation. But suddenly she remembered something and stopped to inquire about it with Adam. "Oh Adam, before you hang up do you know of a man named Val More?"

Adam thought for a moment, "No why?"

"Oh it's silly," began Mrs. Hart with a sigh and then an explanation, "he came here earlier today looking for Kimberly. He said he was an old friend of hers from high school too, but I don't really remember him. Then he became kind of upset when I told him that Kimberly had left for America and he practically demanded that I tell him exactly where she was going."

Adam's eyes grew the size of golf balls, what if this Val More guy had something to do with the mysterious disappearance of his friends? And what if Kimberly was next? "No the name doesn't sound familiar," Adam managed to say without suspicion, "but you didn't tell him where she was going did you?"

"Of course not Adam, I told him she was going to Angel Grove. I'd like to see him find her there," the woman chuckled to herself; she was proud of her deceit.

"That was smart," replied Adam with relief. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about though," he waited for Mrs. Hart to reply but she never did. "Well once again it was nice talking to you. I think I'll call Kim right now."

"Alright dear, thank you for calling."

"Bye."

"Goodbye."

Adam immediately hung up the phone and fiercely dialed the cell phone number without hesitation, despite his quivering hands. "Come on Kim pick up," he said out loud, holding his breath as he prayed that he would soon hear the young woman's sweet voice on the other end of the phone.


	6. Interrupted

_Hi guys, I'm so excited about this next chapter I just know you're going to love it. Things are finally starting to get really interesting and I'm dying to know what you all think. I also can't begin to say how much I've appreciated all of the reviews. Just when I think you guys can'tget any better you all go and leave another bunch of motivational and insightful reviews! Enough praise I can notgive. I know I thank you all the time and it gets repetative but that's only because they really do mean a lot to me. Now, I've had a few requests for a small recap, so TrueRomantic this is for you. Okay...Tommy went on vacation to his uncle's cabin at the lake where he meets Heather Thompson, the snowboard champion from "There's No Business Like Snow Business," and they start a little 'thing'. Meanwhile there's a new villain who has yet to be revealedbut isout to settle the score with the former Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (that's why Tonya won't be in this one, sorry) so he sends his henchman Velmore to capture the rangers. Jason is first to be captured, followed by Rocky, then Billy who's visiting Trini for the week. Next on the list is Zack and Aisha who are dating, then Katherine, and you'll have to keep reading to find out who's next! Enjoy and please, by all means review!_

* * *

"Hello?" said Kimberly Hart into the small gray cell phone, her heart pumping fiercely as she waited in anticipation, eager to know the identity of the caller on the other line. She hadn't recognized the California number from the caller ID.

"Kim? Oh, thank God," said Adam with an intense sigh of relief.

"Yeah," replied Kimberly, somewhat confused and half-alarmed, "um, who's this?"

"Sorry," apologized Adam quickly, realizing that for all Kim new he was some weirdo with a phone book and nothing to do in the middle of the day, "it's Adam, please tell me that you're okay?"

Kimberly was speechless for a moment as her worse fears were realized, "Adam, yes I'm okay or at least I think I am, I…I just don't really know what I am right now. I'm scared Adam…" she trailed off.

Adam had already prepared himself for what he knew the former pink ranger was about to say, "Kim, tell me what's wrong," he ordered.

"Well I, um, I…" Kimberly became flustered, she could feel the tears welling up in the back of her throat and she just hated that feeling. "I'm in my rental car on my way to Angel Grove, where's Jason! Why haven't you been answering you phone!" Kimberly sounded hysterical but she wouldn't let Adam get a word in to give her answers. "Oh Adam, I just came from Seattle early this morning. I came out to surprise Trini and Billy for the week but I think I was the one that got the surprise. When I got to Trini's house no one was home so I used my spare key to let myself inside." Kimberly spoke faster and faster as each word left her mouth. "There was this disgusting, smelly, dried up flaky stuff on the floor and I don't think it was anything that we have on Earth, Adam. But Billy and Trini were gone, their stuff was there, there were even full coffee cups and cookies still on the kitchen table. So, I waited for them to come home, but Adam, they never did! I just knew something was wrong," Kimberly let the lump in her throat pass and soon tears rolled down her cheeks, drizzling down in the groove where her cell phone met her ear. "But that's not the worst part, the worst part is," she choked up once more, "the worst part is that I called every single last one of you guys, right down to Katherine in London, for crying out loud, and none of you have answered your phones, or reported to work, or told anyone where in the hell you are! Why!"

Adam felt terrible that Kimberly had to discover the misfortunate events the same way he had, by not finding anyone at all. "Kim, Kim listen to me," he began, trying not to sound as irate as her but was having much difficulty with it. "I know already, I've been on the same endless hunt as you have the last few days. Jason disappeared on Friday night. Rocky never reported to work, Aisha never reported to work, Zack never reported to work, and for all I know Tommy's took a vacation to the moon!" Adam's frustration got the best of him as he erupted just as Kimberly had. "But Kim, everyone but Tommy had that dried up flaky substance in the entry way of their front doors and I have absolutely no idea where in the hell they are!"

Kimberly hit the brakes hard and jerked forward violently. Adam heard the screech on the other end of the line and became immediately panicked but before he had a chance to react Kimberly was already yelling.

"What! You mean you've been to everyone's houses and called every contact everyone has and still you haven't found anyone? What in the hell is going on Adam? This isn't right, something's wrong, something's terribly wrong…" Kimberly rested her head on the steering wheel, willing the pounding headache to go away.

"You got that right Kim," replied Adam, taking a calmer tone. "I think they've been abducted or something. I'd say that judging by what I've seen that whatever it was, it was definitely done against their will. Well, to everyone but Tommy, his house seemed untouched."

"What do you mean?" asked Kimberly, exhausted from her emotions even though she was dying to know if Tommy was all right. Actually, as strange as it seemed, about half of her worry was due to the absence of Tommy. She had been so terrified that she even attempted to contact him, but not having his number she was forced to call his parents. Their answering machine claimed that they too were on vacation for the rest of the month.

"I went to Tommy's place in Reefside yesterday," began Adam, "but it was all locked up and secure, as if he had been the one who left it like that. There was no sign of that weird stuff in his entryway and his car was gone. I can only hope that it or they haven't gotten to him yet." Adam shook his head in disgust.

"Adam," whispered Kimberly somberly into the phone, "what are we going to do? Which one of us is next?"

Adam froze in eerie surprise, he had spent so much time worrying about everyone else that he never stopped to think that maybe he was a target as well. At first he was sure that he would be able to hold his own against who or whatever was thrown at him but then he realized that if no one else had been able to avoid it then most likely he wouldn't be able to either. And what about Kim, would he ever see her again?

"Kimberly, where are you," asked Adam urgently, finally noticing that it was actually dark outside.

"About a hundred and fifty miles out of Angel Grove, but with this rain I shouldn't be there until about midnight. Why?" asked Kimberly curiously.

Adam's first instinct was to tell her that he would be there to rescue her as soon as possible and to just stay put. But logically he knew it was stupid to have both of them out on the open highway alone, so he did what he knew was best.

"Kim, how are you on gas? Do you have enough to make into town?"

"Yes," answered Kimberly seriously, "I have a little less than three quarters of a tank."

"Good," said Adam with relief, "I want you to keep driving until you get here, don't stop for anyone or for anything. We'll meet up at my house; I live on Lockwood lane, the third house on the left when you enter from Main street. Understand?"

"Yes," replied Kimberly, revving up her engine once again.

"Alright, and please be careful."

"You too Adam. I'll see you soon."

"I can guarantee it, Kim."

* * *

The disfigured, silver plated green monster known as Velmore walked stiffly up the driveway, his trio of thugs hid behind several stray trees, the less visible they were the easier it was to attack the former white ranger in the secluded location. Velmore reached the porch and scaled the three porch steps silently; very optimistic that he would soon redeem himself after his last failed mission.

His master had not been happy when he had been unsuccessful in tracking down the former pink ranger, Kimberly Hart. He thought for sure she would be one of the easiest feats because she was so tiny and well frankly, she was a girl. If only he had been able to use his full powers he would have a perfect track record by now, but since his master feared that the use of too much power would only alert the enemy to their existence he was forced to do it the old fashioned way.

Velmore had been given photographs and names of his targets from which to track them down. Then, disguised in human form he researched and gathered information on every last ranger whom had been responsible for sparking his master's grudge. Up until this morning he had been very successful in his mission but that wretched little Kimberly slipped through his fingers and according to her mother she had returned to Angel Grove, but he was unable to find her down their either. It was no matter though, because once he had the leader, Tommy Oliver in custody then he would be able to use his full power to take the humans down and Kimberly Hart wouldn't stand a chance.

Velmore had originally pondered the idea of capturing Tommy first but he figured it would be a more interesting challenge to gather the rangers one by one and up until now it had been quite enjoyable. The girls were surprisingly much more difficult to abduct because they were so damn feisty but the men had been a disappointing challenge. They were all so taken by surprise, having not had any excitement in their lives for nearly a decade that they were pathetic. Taking over the world was going to be a sinch.

Knocking on the wooden door Velmore finally clued in that the science teacher's car was missing from the driveway and although there were a few lights on in the windows, there seemed to be no stir inside the house. Once again he knocked, harder this time, attempting to stun the man inside, but there was no sign of him. Finally Velmore was forced to face the facts; Dr. Oliver was simply not home.

He pondered the possibilities of where the nuisance of a man might be at this hour of the night, perhaps at a girlfriend's house? But there was just one problem, Tommy didn't have a girlfriend and Velmore knew this for a fact. In all fairness though, it had been nearly a week since he had researched the man and it was entirely possible that he had met and become cozy with a girl since then.

Velmore waved in his men with one flick of his hand and the small army emerged from the shrubbery.

"It appears that our friend Dr. Oliver is not home, so we will wait for him."

The three mutants nodded their heads, accepting the order and returned to their sheltered hiding places on the property. Velmore himself ascended onto the roof of the small house, where he was sure to see the return of the black jeep almost immediately with Tommy Oliver in tow. He hoped he wouldn't have to wait too long, but he most certainly was not about to return home empty handed, failure was not an option.

* * *

Kimberly pulled up to Adam's one story house, the third house on the left-hand side of Lockwood lane. She was so relieved to be somewhere safe that she never hesitated to exit the car and the moment her feet hit the pavement she took off in a swift jog up the walk way. It was still pouring like crazy out and the lightning and thunder only made her yearn for the cozy interior of her friend's home all the more. But as Kimberly approached the front door she was stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh Adam, no," she said out loud as if she were speaking to her friend face to face, "not you too, please not you too."

Tears fell from her eyes, mixing with the raindrops, which streaked her face constantly; she was soaked. Bending down to the concrete Kimberly reached for the green glowing gel substance which spotted the ground; a great deal of it had washed away already from the rain, but for the most part it was still quite visible. The substance felt no different from jello but the color was alarming and very much disturbing simply because it was so foreign to her. Wiping her hands on her old tattered blue jeans with a disgusted look across her face, Kimberly rose from the ground and continued on her way to the front door.

She turned the doorknob slowly, in no rush to enter what she knew would be an empty house, but the door was in fact locked. Peeking in the window, Kimberly could see that all of the lights were on and there was some jello on the floor in the entryway, which meant that whatever took Adam, took him from inside the house. Then why in the hell was the door locked if he had been dragged outside? Clearly, whoever or whatever it was didn't want to make it look like fowl play was involved and that Adam exited the home himself, careful to lock the door behind him.

"This is just great!" she screamed, her shouts camouflaged by the steady downpour. "Now what," she whined to herself once more tugging at the silver doorknob. Then she thought for a moment, maybe Adam had a hidden spare key.

She recalled one time back in high school when Tommy and she had walked Adam home after a grueling history study session at the youth center. Once they reached Adam's house he realized that he had forgotten his keys inside and was stranded. This was very unlike Adam to be so forgetful, but Tommy, being Tommy had a simple solution to prevent the incident from ever happening again. He told Adam it would be smart to hide a spare key somewhere near the front door, he'd done it ever since he was in middle school and it never failed him once. At the time Kimberly found it quite cute and endearing whenever her boyfriend made desperate efforts not to be a victim of himself, but now it was just plain helpful.

First, Kimberly lifted the doormat, thoroughly examining the empty space beneath it. Next she hopped up and down, attempting to search the light fixture and the doorframe, but nothing. This was not good news because Adams porch was quite empty, there was really no effort made to decorate it, which was expected since he was a guy and all. But, Kimberly needed to find a way in. Finally she turned around, deciding it wasn't safe for her to be out in the open and headed back to her car when she nearly stumbled over a sprinkler head, which was intrusively sticking out of the ground and overlapping into the sidewalk. Kimberly smiled to herself as she unrooted the mobile sprinkler head, successful in finding the spare key buried just beside the gardening mechanism.

Once inside the house Kimberly took every precaution immediately. First she checked and then double-checked every door and every window to make sure that it was securely locked. Then, she turned off all of the lights, not wanting to draw any attention to the only house on the block with its lights still on at this late hour. Once she was finished, a wave of exhaustion overcame her and before she could let her mind wonder into all of the possible scenarios about the fate of her friends and most likely herself, Kimberly crashed out on the living room couch.

When she awoke it was by the sound of Adam's clock radio, which echoed throughout the tiny house. Kimberly didn't recognize the song but she didn't much care for it and was therefore forced awake, if nothing else then to shut the damn thing off.

It was still dark outside and at first it didn't register to Kimberly where she was and what had occurred just hours before. But now, remembering her friends and the unknown terror, which was undoubtedly out to get her, Kimberly was wide-awake.

Terrible thoughts immediately swarmed her head as she desperately tried to fight them off and although that was impossible she still stayed strong and absolutely refused to let herself cry. There had to be something she could do, not just to stay safe, but also to help her friends. Unfortunately she had no idea where to start. She had always been the cute ranger, the pretty ranger, the positive ranger, and not once was she the smart, intelligent, inventive ranger. No, that had been Billy, Jason, and Tommy, and well anybody but her!

But they were all gone, Billy had been with Trini when they were abducted, Jason had been gone since Friday night. Zack and Aisha hadn't been seen in a few days, Rocky was in the same boat. Katherine wouldn't answer her phone or her messages but it was pretty obvious what had happened to her, and Tommy…well now no one was quite sure what exactly happened to Tommy, and this gave Kimberly and idea.

If Adam had already investigated Tommy's home in Reefside and had most likely consulted all of the possibilities and still no Tommy, then there was only one logical explanation left. But, that explanation was an awful long drive and luckily Kimberly was very much willing to make it.

* * *

Tommy exited the front door of his Uncle's secluded cabin on the lakeshore with a towel flung over his shoulder and the excitement of new love and a perfect day ahead of him. Heather had already entered the clear, sparkling water and once again she never failed to impress Tommy with her extensive and alluring collection of bikinis. Today, it was the white one with a cinched band top and a tiny side tie bottom. Tommy wondered just how much better it would look when it was completely wet; he knew it wouldn't be long before he found out.

The couple had made it sort of a morning ritual the past couple of days to meet at the lake bright and early and then swim until they were too hungry to tread anymore water. Both of them would have preferred to nix the whole meeting thing and just stay together all of the time but neither of them would verbalize it. Heather tried her best to respect Tommy's wishes and not entice him, well at least not too much. While Tommy tried his best to respect Heather and their relationship altogether and not succumb to Heather's, and to be honest his desires, but it hand not been easy and as the days passed it became more and more difficult. The more Tommy thought about it, the more he was beginning to think that maybe it was time. After all, they were both mature adults and were fully educated on the benefits and the dangers of a physical relationship.

Eventually, Heather was the first to tire out and by then it was late morning, nearing noon. Tommy had had the hardest time keeping his hands off of Heather that morning because she was just so beautiful and he found himself daydreaming the most intense fantasies. Calling it quits should have relieved him of the frustration but it only encouraged it as Heather emerged from the water with Tommy trailing at a short distance behind her. She turned and flashed him a smile.

"I call dibs on the shower!" she yelled, finally facing him completely.

Tommy had been right; the swimsuit did look quite stunning when drenched in water. "Not if I get there first," he yelled back not bothering to avert his eyes from her chest.

Once inside the cabin, Heather ran straight for the bedroom and she most definitely would have beat Tommy to the shower if it hadn't been for his sneakers, which were carelessly left directly in the middle of the doorway to his bedroom. Without any warning Heather tripped over them, falling easily onto the soft white comforter with a bounce. Consequently though, Tommy had not been able to avoid the obstacle either and ended up on top of Heather.

The couple laughed hysterically for a few moments, "Ouch," screamed Heather in between giggles, "my side hurts from laughing!"

Tommy only encouraged the pain as he immediately began poking at her sides, provoking more laughter from the gorgeous blond goddess. "That's what you get for making my bed smell like the lake!" he teased as he too was in hysterics.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she pleaded, trying to capture his hands but wasn't very good at it.

Finally Tommy decided to take mercy on the woman and pinned her arms down over her head; suddenly things became very serious. Heather gazed into Tommy's eyes with great intensity, trying to figure out exactly what Tommy had in store for her today, maybe today was the day. But Tommy, rationalizing the situation decided once again to take the high road and released Heather. He stood up urgently, appearing upset.

"Is everything alright?" asked Heather softly. She didn't know if it was a good idea to pry or not but she just couldn't help herself.

Tommy turned around and walked towards the open doorway, "Take your shower and we'll talk about it after," he said over his shoulder.

Heather felt it best not to persist and followed his instruction without question. In the meantime, Tommy took the time to cool off and have a bowl of cereal. He had to figure things out and fast because he couldn't fight off Heather forever. If only she wasn't so damn attractive, who would have ever thought that it would be almost unfortunate to be with such a perfect woman? There were thousands of guys who would love to be in his position right now, but he just couldn't help the fact that he was such a gentleman.

Finally, Heather emerged from the bathroom dressed in a pink cotton camisole and designer jeans. As usual she looked amazing and the pink wasn't helping either. Without a word Tommy passed by her in the living room, entered the bathroom, and closed the door.

When Tommy exited the bathroom he appeared relaxed and a tad bit rugged in a plain white undershirt and a worn out pair of Levi's. Heather lit up at the sight of him; she had been somewhat depressed as she poked at the half-eaten bowl of Cheerios.

"Do you feel better?" she asked casually, pretending like he had simply had a headache.

"I'd say so," he replied with a pearly white smile as he held out his hand to his girlfriend. Heather took his hand gently and followed him back into the bedroom.

Tommy had done some heavy duty thinking in the short time he had had alone in the shower and reached the conclusion that what Heather and he had could only get better from here. There were no obstacles or possible threats on their relationship like King Mondo or even Mesogo because that chapter of his life was over and it was time for a new chapter to begin. Heather didn't start pre-season training until the fall and Tommy's options were open for job relocation near her, which meant that if he chose to he could very easily fall in love with Heather Thompson. But then he realized that he already had.

"So, care to share what's with the grin?" asked Heather lightly, referring to the permanent smile plastered across Tommy's face. The couple took a seat on the still damp comforter.

"Yeah," he replied, "but I have to warn you it's contagious."

"Is that so, doctor?" she asked playfully as Tommy wrapped his muscular arms around her and enveloped her in a passionate kiss, Heather could get used to this side of Tommy. "I see what you mean," she responded once he released her lips from his. Her smile was just as big as his was, "Does this mean what I think it means?" she asked, so close to him that her words were spoken into his mouth.

Tommy gently nudged the pink camisole up over Heather's head with his strong, tan hands. He didn't have to say a word, Heather knew the answer to her question and without hesitation she returned the favor and removed his white T-shirt in the same fashion. Lying down on the soft welcoming bed, the couple took it slow and savored in each other's touch and finally Tommy was ready to take the next step.

"Are you sure you're ready," he asked Heather in between kisses before moving on to the woman's sweet tasting collarbone.

"Yes," responded Heather simply with great urgency.

Just as Tommy was about to make good on his promise, the couple was so rudely interrupted by an annoying thud on the front door. Tommy paused, looking up from Heather and into the living room towards the front door. The thump came again, only faster and harder.

"Who and the hell could that be," sighed Tommy with great annoyance, searching the floor with his eyes for his jeans.

"Oh don't answer it Tommy, just forget it, they'll go away," pleaded Heather guiding Tommy's face back down to her lips with her hands. "You've waited long enough, and so have I. I can't take it much longer…" she captured him in a hypnotizing kiss once again.

But the knocking persisted and Tommy was once again distracted. "I better answer it," he said, painfully breaking away from Heather's lips. He could never resist helping a person in need; maybe it was the power ranger in him that forced him to be such a boy scout. Heather appeared beyond annoyed and Tommy knew it. "What?" he asked, not wanting her to be upset with him. "What if it's someone who's lost or something? Hiker's stray from the group and end up a mountain lion's dinner around here all the time. It'll just take a second, I promise," he assured Heather searching her eyes for permission, but she wouldn't grant it.

Tommy disregarded her disapproval with great difficulty and reached for his jeans on the wooden floor, scooping them up quickly. He stumbled into them clumsily as he crossed the living room, relieved that the curtains were closed. The knocking continued and now Tommy was starting to get irritated by the mystery intruder but figured it must have been important. Zipping up his fly, he reached for the doorknob and swung the large wooden door open. Before he had a chance to process who the stranger was he was immediately captured in a tight and quite frankly stunning hug as the small woman in his arms shook with relief.

"Oh Tommy, thank God they didn't get you too," she said, muffled by his bare chest.

Tommy was frozen, making no effort to return the familiar woman's embrace. He couldn't believe it, he was speechless but it didn't matter because Heather had enough to say for the both of them without really having to say much at all.

"Ahhhemmm," interrupted Heather loudly, clearing her throat as she stood in the bedroom doorway, wearing nothing but Tommy's oversized T-shirt.

The uninvited guest immediately released Tommy, looking him up and down she realized he was wearing nothing but a pair of old dirty jeans. Then her eyes shifted to blonde woman at the other end of the room, she was wearing nothing but what was clearly Tommy's old T-shirt.The petite guest'seyes shot wide open as everything registered and suddenly she felt nausea taking over. Tommy's expression was just as animated as hers ashe realized that his perfect life was about to get a lot more complicated with Kimberly Hart once again making her grand debut.


	7. This Is HeatherMy Girlfriend

_Hello everyone, thanks for your patience, I've been looking forward to this chapter the whole time I've been writing this story so I really hope you like it. I was stunned and amused to see the reviews for chapter 6 and I love them all! Let's see a repeat of that enthusiasm this time too, please. Let me know what you think._

* * *

Kimberly pulled up to the small, secluded, lakeside cabin, she noticed that there were two vehicles in the dirt driveway, a black jeep and a blue truck. Relieved that someone was actually home, Kimberly jumped out of her white midsize rental car immediately. Lightly jogging to the door, Kimberly had a slight doubt that either she had managed to find the wrong cabin or that maybe Tommy's Uncle had been the occupant today.

Back in high school when she and the gang set out to find Tommy after he lost his green ranger powers, they had never actually found the cabin. Typical to every situation back then, Goldar had managed to ruin their plans once again. But now, Kimberly did recall the route they had taken on the way to the cabin and once she found the town of Shady Mountain it was just a matter of finding someone who knew the local geography. A very nice old man at the gas station had pointed her in the direction of John Oliver's cabin, and this was it.

Kimberly approached the door with caution, squinting her face in apprehension as she timidly pounded on what looked to be a very heavy wooden door. If Tommy's Uncle John had in fact been the one to open the door then she would just simply claim that she was lost and ask for directions. The plan was perfect; she had nothing to be afraid of except for the fact that if Tommy wasn't here then most likely he was with the other rangers and that wasn't exactly a good thing for him or for her.

After a couple of minutes of pounding relentlessly on the front door, Kimberly's hope began to fade faster and faster as she once again began to realize the severity of the situation. It was one thing for her friends to have been captured but it was an entirely different thing for Tommy to have been captured. Kimberly had always felt immense guilt for the ridiculous letter she had sent Tommy back in high school, and she had never really quite forgiven herself for it.

It was true that she had found someone else in Florida, but he certainly was not worth trading in Tommy for. At the time she had just simply been scared, lonely, tired, and well in no shape to make such a decision. But, she had made the decision and she paid for it dearly because when she returned to Angel Grove with Jason that spring, her heart busted into just about a billion pieces when she made the connection that Tommy and Katherine were cozy at the karate tournament. She certainly couldn't have brought herself to apologize to Tommy after that, she could barely stand to even look at him. Kimberly realized that she had in fact made a huge mistake that could only be repaired by hurting sweet innocent Katherine who had been so good to Kimberly, taking her place on the team and all. So, Kimberly thought it best to just let Tommy Oliver go, but she did dump her boyfriend back in Florida anyway because every time she looked at him all she could think was 'I gave up Tommy Oliver for that?'

Since then, Kimberly hadn't seen or spoken to Tommy and she figured that by now he was a complete stranger to her. She'd be lucky if he even remembered her; okay maybe that was a little extreme but it had been a while. Kimberly often wondered how her life would have been different if she had never left to train for the Pan Globals. Sure, it was quite the confidence booster to bring home the gold medal like she had but the high hadn't been quite as great as the first time Tommy had kissed her. Remembering that moment, Kimberly was once again aware of just how important it was that Tommy answer his damn door right now. She began pounding on it even harder.

As Kimberly felt her knuckles finally go numb she heard a rattling inside and before she knew it the front door swung open and standing in front of her was a site incredible enough to make her forget all of her troubles, at least for a split second.

"Oh Tommy, thank God they didn't get you too," she cried as she just about tackled him in the doorway. He looked pretty confused, and well he should, but Kimberly didn't care as she buried her face in his bare chest. She pondered the idea of staying there forever even though Tommy made no move to return her heartfelt embrace. Everything just always seemed so much less complicated when she was in the arms of Tommy Oliver, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why in the hell she had let him go. But her encounter with perfection was cut short as an interruption came from the back of the room.

"Ahhhemmm," came an unfamiliar female voice, which forced Kimberly to let go of her rock and finally get a good look at him. He was even taller than she remembered and even more handsome than she ever thought possible. His hair was short now but it made no difference because his eyes were as deep and absolutely as mesmerizing as ever. And once Kimberly noticed that Tommy was in fact shirtless and had a better physique than he'd had in his teenage years, she thought that her luck had most definitely changed. But boy was she wrong as her eyes unintentionally darted in the direction of the intruder on the other end of the room. To Kimberly's misfortune, it was a beautiful, tan, thin, and downright gorgeous woman with golden blonde hair and a face and a body that could surely stop traffic. She did look somewhat familiar though, but Kimberly couldn't place exactly where she knew her from.

Now, the woman looked royally pissed but that really didn't bother Kimberly, what bothered her was the fact that the she was clearly wearing Tommy's old T-shirt and nothing else. Kimberly's knees buckled as her expression faltered and had Tommy not interrupted her thoughts she surely would have made a complete full of herself.

"Kimberly," stated Tommy, blinking his eyes in amazement. She was the last person he had expected to find on the other side of the door, but he couldn't decide exactly how to feel about her unexpected visit.

Kimberly stared at Tommy for a moment trying to decipher the best way to do this. "Hi Tommy," she began, neglecting the other woman who had just taken her rightful place at Tommy's side. "I uh, didn't mean to bother you but I just really need to talk to you." She stared into Tommy's eyes pleading with him to take a hint, but he was Tommy and she couldn't expect too much of him. "Could we take a walk or something?" Kimberly's hands fidgeted as she nervously struggled to keep eye contact with her ex-boyfriend.

"Um, we're a little busy, right now," cut in Heather with the force of an axe. But Tommy raised his hand silencing her, this was his battle not hers.

"Gee Kim, it's not that it isn't great to see you and all but we are kind of busy," he blushed the brightest shade of red. "Maybe I could call you later or something." Tommy couldn't believe what had just come out of his mouth, it just sort of slipped and he had no control over it. He didn't really want Kim to go and a part of him was dying to hear what she had to say, but the other side of him was stronger and forced him to reject her just as she had rejected him. It was petty but Tommy had been most deserving of the satisfaction.

Kimberly was completely dumbfounded, the nerve of him. She sighed in irritation, "I don't think it can wait…" she continued, rolling her eyes.

But once again Heather stepped in, making the connection that this woman had in fact been the same Kimberly who had broken Tommy's heart all those years ago, and she wasn't about to let her rehash it. "Listen, honey," she began, shocking Tommy with her feisty attitude, "if you think you're going to come back here to clear your conscious or whatever then don't even bother, okay. High school was a long time ago and believe me, Tommy's over it. So, if you don't mind we'd really appreciate it if you just left us alone."

Kimberly stared at the woman stunned and Tommy knew that Heather had definitely made a mistake of monstrous proportions. Even though Kimberly had been a total sweet heart in high school, she was not at all somebody that you wanted to piss off and Heather had successfully done that.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," replied Kimberly, scowling hatefully, "and who exactly are you?"

Before Heather could answer, Tommy cut in hoping to avert a conflict but he was just a tad bit late. "This is Heather," he paused, "my girlfriend."

Kimberly's day just kept getting worse and worse. It was one thing for Tommy to have a girlfriend but it was something entirely different for him to have his very own wench. Not only that, Kimberly looked so homely and frankly unattractive in her old tattered and now stained jeans, and oversized gray hoodie sweatshirt. To top it all off, her hair was in a massive knot on the top of her head and the circles under her eyes were the size of a plum. She struggled to hide her disappointment and downright rage for the situation, and she did do a pretty good job of it. But it was on now and she surely would have put the blonde parasite in her place had it not been for the fact that somewhere out there her best friends were depending on her to save their lives, if she wasn't too late already.

"It's a pleasure," said Kimberly sarcastically, moving on to the task at hand. "Look Tommy, I really don't have all day, I've wasted enough time as it is," she glared at Heather, suggesting that she had been the waste of time, "but, I really do need to talk to you and I think you know why." She pointed at her bare wrist quickly, indicating to Tommy that it had something to do with the rangers.

His eyes widened immediately and he agreed to fallow Kimberly out the door, but first he had to reassure Heather. She was genuinely offended by his gesture and appeared in no mood to grant him permission to be alone with his ex, but she had no choice.

"I'm sorry Heather," he said quickly, "it will just be a minute."

"That's what you said five minutes ago," she snapped back, revealing a whole new side of herself to her boyfriend. There was nothing left for Tommy to do but stare at her apologetically and then turn and follow the petite, brown haired woman down to the lake.

Once Kimberly reached the shore she took a very deep breath, staring into the wavy calm. This was it, whether she was ready for it or not she was going to have to find a way to suck up all of the awkwardness and embarrassment and work together with Tommy to rescue their friends. She just kept reminding herself that she was doing it all for them as Tommy approached her. He took his spot beside her, also choosing to stare into the lake, rather than speak to the woman face to face.

"So, what's the deal?" asked Tommy straight up. A part of him was actually angry with Kimberly for interrupting his life just as it was all starting to make sense again.

"I don't even know where to begin," answered Kimberly, folding her arms to her chest nervously. She could feel Heather's eyes on them from all the way back at the cabin. She knew the woman was staring out at them through the living room window, monitoring Kimberly's every move. "I guess I'll start with my trip to Seattle. I wanted to surprise Billy and Trini with an early visit from France, but when I got to Trini's no one was home..."

Tommy had difficulty paying attention to exactly what Kimberly was saying, he was still in shock and in no shape to process so much information as the woman continued her story. So, he listened in silence.

"It appeared that they hadn't gone anywhere because I found Trini's purse, Billy's luggage and other clues to suggest that they had not planned an outing. But most importantly, I found this dried up flaky stuff on the entry way floor and I had never seen anything like it. So naturally I called Jason." Kimberly appeared to fall into a trance as she reiterated the story, she had no option, and if she thought about it too hard then she would go hysterical. "But, he didn't answer his phones and neither did Adam, or Aisha, or Zack, or Rocky, or Katherine, or you," she ended casually not really wanting to admit that she had made great efforts to get a hold of Tommy, although it was pretty obvious at this point. "I was beginning to get really worried, so I got in my rental car and headed towards Angel Grove, and that's when Adam called me." Kimberly finally found the strength to look at Tommy, hoping for support but all she got was a cold shoulder. "Anyway, I so relieved that he was okay but not so relieved to hear that everyone had disappeared."

Finally, Tommy returned her gaze, "What do you mean disappeared?" he asked with great concern.

"Well, just that exactly," responded Kimberly, turning her body directly in Tommy's direction and he mimicked her movement. "Adam had contacted anyone and everyone he could that might know somebody's whereabouts but the simple fact of the matter was that one by one everyone lost contact with the world, it was like they just vanished."

"It could all be just a coincidence," interrupted Tommy, not wanting to believe a word of Kimberly's preposterous lie.

"No Tommy it isn't," snapped Kimberly, "Adam went to everyone's house to investigate and all he could find was that same dried up flaky stuff like I had found at Trini's." Kimberly grew silent, allowing the information to sink in.

"So then where's Adam?" questioned Tommy finally. "I don't really think it was the best idea to split up," he glared at Kimberly with disapproval.

She ignored his scowl as she continued with the story, "Um, we never did split up because by the time I reached Adam's house last night nothing was left but some weird gel substance that looked exactly like lime jello in Adam's entry way. Adam didn't make it Tommy." Tears finally infiltrated Kimberly's eyes, as she fought them back desperately, not wanting Tommy to see her cry.

Tommy now understood why Kimberly had been so urgent back at the cabin and he felt like crap for not taking her seriously and for nearly turning her away. He wanted to apologize but he just couldn't, his ego was too proud. Noticing the tears gathering at the corners of Kimberly's eyes he did the only noble thing left to do and gathered Kimberly into his arms. She didn't fight his advances even though she should have, it was clearly out of sympathy that he was even willing to touch her but she was really hurting. And of course there was the satisfaction of knowing that that tramp Heather was at this very moment getting her panties in a twist with jealousy. Kimberly wrapped her arms around Tommy's neck, encouraging him even further.

Eventually, Tommy noticed that Kimberly had once again gained her composure and he gently let her go. "So what now?" he asked, taking a step back.

"Your guess is as good as mine," replied Kimberly, wiping her nose with her sleeve. "I figure I did my part already." Tommy stared at her quizzically. "I found you, Tommy. Isn't that enough?" she giggled, finally loosening up.

"I suppose that was a big enough challenge," said Tommy, silently scolding himself for having forgotten to charge his cell phone the whole time he'd been in Shady Mountain. "But I can't do this alone, and by the sound of things it's just you and me Kim."

As Tommy entered the cabin the first thing he saw was Heather's disapproving scowl as she stood in front of the fire place with her arms crossed, still wearing nothing but Tommy's T-shirt. "Is she gone?" she asked, matter of factly.

Tommy closed the door behind him, preferring that Kimberly didn't hear the argument that was about to arise. "She's back in her car, but she's not gone," he replied almost whispering.

"Well, when will she be gone?" questioned Heather, tapping her bare foot on the wooden floor.

Tommy walked over to his girlfriend, avoiding any eye contact, knowing she was not at all going to like the answer that he was about to give her. "Um, that's the thing Heather, you see…Um, I'm sort of going with her." Tommy braced himself for impact, sure that sparks were going to fly.

Heather stared at him speechless, surprised that she was actually surprised. It was just so characteristic of Tommy but it still stung with the pain of a thousand bee stings. Tommy waited impatiently for Heather to respond but she never did and he wondered if this was going to be the cause of the end to his happiness.

"Well, say something," he said finally.

"What do you want me to say?" asked Heather, sniffling in an effort to conceal her tears. "Man, Tommy, all she had to do was strut in here for two seconds and just like that you took her back…"

"Woe, woe, woe, Heather slow down," cut in Tommy, not liking the conclusion Heather had come to. "It's not like that at all and I know this is going to be hard for you to understand but I can't tell you exactly why I'm going back to Reefside with Kimberly but I assure you that nothing's changed and nothing will change."

Heather stared up at him with tremendous doubt in her eyes. "I promise," finished Tommy.

"Why is it that it's so hard to trust you and yet I still do?" asked Heather, through the tears. She did understand, well sort of. This was surely not the first time that Tommy had abandoned her for some unexplained reason and it probably wasn't the last either. Tommy's mysterious ways were just simply something that Heather was going to have to get used to if she wanted to love him, and she did, desperately. "Okay then, I'll be here when you get back, but when do you think that will be?" It was so hard for Heather to make that promise but she loved him more than she could ever be angry with him.

"I don't know yet," answered Tommy, sadly, "it could be days, it could be weeks, hopefully not months."

Heather stared at him bewildered, what in the hell had she gotten herself into. She was dying to know what in the hell could be so important but she knew that even if she asked she wouldn't receive a truthful answer. "Alright," she replied, "I'll see you then." And with that she turned around walked into the bedroom and closed the door.

Moments later Heather re-emerged, fully clothed and on her way to the front door. Tommy watched her in silence as she pulled the door open and suddenly the outside light surrounded her. Realizing that this might be the last time that he would ever see Heather again Tommy followed her outside with only one intention in mind, a proper goodbye. He paid no attention to Kimberly, who sat bored out of her mind in the small rental car with the air conditioner cranked up as high as it would go and the music on loud enough to be heard from the outside. Tommy paid no mind to anyone or anything at that moment, just Heather. Swiftly he caught up to her as she reached her truck, and spinning her around he pulled her to him forcefully. Caught off guard, Heather gasped in surprise but had no time to recover as Tommy's mouth suffocated her with the most intoxicating kiss.

From inside the car, Kimberly had no choice but to be a witness to the over the top farewell, a gesture that could never be done justice in the movies. She wondered to herself if Tommy had ever loved her that much, and if so then why hadn't he ever tried to win her back? She supposed it didn't really matter now because at least he was happy and at least he was still alive. Right now was no time for jealousy or regret because there were more important matters to contend with than high school romances.


	8. Tension

_Hey guys, you are all so awesome, and I mean that! The reviews were totally inspiring and now I'm really psyched about the story. I gather from your words of wisdom that you guys like where this whole thing is going and you're just dying to know who the bad guy is right? Well, you're going to have just wait a tad bit longer but at least you get to find out what became of the other rangers. Enjoy._

* * *

"Here," said Tommy as he slid into the driver's seat of the white rental car and handed Kimberly a truck stop hotdog, a bottle of soda, and a rather large bag of chips.

"Thanks," replied Kimberly eagerly. She was starving and hadn't even thought about food since before she left for Adam's yesterday. It was very kind of Tommy to think of her like that.

Tommy said nothing suggesting that he heard her remark of gratitude and instead shut the door, revved up the engine and pulled out of the truck stop. The couple was only about twenty minutes outside of Shady Mountain and although Kimberly's rental car was in desperate need of gas, Tommy didn't feel much like making polite chit chat right now at Earl's, so he stopped at the next closest place. It was decided immediately after Kimberly informed Tommy of the dilemma at hand that it would be smartest to take the rental car back to Reefside, rather than Tommy's Jeep. Obviously, who ever had kidnapped their friends knew their stuff and also knew where everyone lived, worked, and probably what they drove.

The short drive to the gas station had seemed like an eternity to both Tommy and Kimberly. After Tommy said his farewell to Heather directly in front of Kimberly, back at the cabin, he returned to his bedroom, packed the important stuff and locked up the cabin. By the time he joined Kimberly in the car there was enough tension to last the rest of their adventure together and it certainly lasted all the way to the truck stop. The two sat in complete silence the entire distance, aside from Kimberly pointing at the gas gage, indicating to Tommy that they were low on fuel. Tommy just nodded. Tommy silently prayed that Kimberly wouldn't bring up Heather, but she had no intention of doing so.

Now, that the real struggle was about to begin on the four hour drive back to Reefside, Kimberly figured that it wasn't worth the stress to make the journey uncomfortable and frankly unbearable; she was determined to break the ice.

"This hot dog is delicious," Kimberly began casually as she stared out of the passenger window. Tommy made no response. "Are you hungry?" she continued, seeming unfazed by his cold response. "Do you want some chips?" she asked, shoving the bag of Lay's in Tommy's direction.

Tommy seemed a little irritated at her gesture, he clearly had other things on his mind, like the fact that he had just left behind the best thing to ever happen to him since high school and he may never even see her again. "No thanks," he responded, hoping Kimberly would get the message that he wasn't in the mood to be social. She did get the message, but she didn't really care, she hated the silence.

"I know that we have like four hours ahead of us Tommy, but do you mind telling me exactly what we're going to do once we get to Reefside?" It had been Tommy's declaration back at the lake that they would return to his home in Reefside, no questions asked.

Tommy turned his head from the road and looked at Kimberly with what appeared to be annoyance. He didn't mean to come off as such a jerk but Kimberly couldn't possibly understand what he was feeling right now. She hadn't been the one to sacrifice her social life and love life since high school to ensure the protection of the planet Earth, an oath they had all taken together. But, only some of them seemed to have actually taken it seriously.

"I have a sort of command center, I guess you could call it, in my basement," began Tommy, trying to be as polite as possible.

"Oh, from your black ranger days!" interrupted Kimberly excitedly.

Tommy stared at her in bewilderment, clearly Jason had been talking about him to her, which strangely enough bothered Tommy. "Yeah, from then," he replied. "So, what else did Jason tell you about me?" he asked shaking his head.

"What?" questioned Kimberly with confusion, "No, it wasn't Jason who told me. I saw on the international news in France that evil forces were attacking the city of Reefside, California, and that a new team of rangers was protecting the city. Then, my brother called me one day from UCLA to tell me that you had been a guest lecturer in one of his science classes and that you had said that you were living in Reefside. From there the connection wasn't hard to make. Why else would you be living in a town like Reefside?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Tommy, finally lightening up.

Kimberly grinned, "Oh come on Tommy, you were Tommy Oliver the most popular guy in school the most talked about athlete to come out of Angel Grove, not to mention the best looking guy to ever walk the halls of Angel Grove High. Everyone was expecting you to make something great of yourself, and you did. But no one expected you to do it in Reefside, California." Kimberly stared down into her bag of potato chips awkwardly, had she said too much?

Tommy turned his attention back to the road, pondering Kimberly's analysis of his life thus far. "If you always thought so highly of me then how come you never stuck around?" Tommy didn't meant to be so blunt but it just sort of slipped and he wished that he could have taken the question back. He really didn't want to know, at least not now because it had been an emotional day already, and something told him it was only going to get worse.

Kimberly was speechless, what in the hell kind of question was that? She was just trying to make friendly conversation to loosen things up a bit. But the worst part of it was that she didn't have an answer to give Tommy. "Tommy, I uh, well…" she stuttered on for a few moments before Tommy relieved her of the burden.

"Kim, just forget it. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. It just sort of slipped and you don't have to answer. Really. It was a stupid thing to say."

Kimberly sighed, not quite sure what to say once again, so she didn't say anything at all and neither did Tommy. In fact not another word was spoken until they reached the city limits sign just outside of Reefside. Conveniently enough, Kimberly had fallen asleep not long after the confrontation, or at least she pretended to fall asleep and eventually she did.

When Kimberly awoke, she didn't really recognize where she was but beside her Tommy looked perfectly at ease. Yawning, Kimberly stretched as best she could in the midsize and rubbed her eyes profusely, trying to wake up. "So you never answered my question. What are we going to do now that we're in Reefside?" The city limits sign whizzed passed Kimberly's window in a blur.

Tommy answered her dryly, "Like I said before I have a command center in my basement, which may have the capabilities to track the others' whereabouts." Kimberly stared at him, clearly doubtful of his claims. "Don't worry, I didn't build it myself, I had help from a friend of mine from college, Haley. She's an MIT grad…" Tommy continued to speak of the woman fondly, which made Kimberly uncomfortable.

"So, she knows?" asked Kimberly with just a hint of anger.

"Well, yeah," replied Tommy, "how else could I have convinced her to help me?"

Kimberly crossed her arms in disgust. "I don't know," she replied, "but it would have been nice to have been consulted before you went and spilled the beans to a complete stranger. Does Jason know?"

Tommy was clearly offended by Kimberly's distrust, how dare she question his motives. He led the team long after she left and he most certainly didn't need her permission to recruit a civilian to help save the world, when it was the only option. "You know what Kim," he began impatiently, "No, it's not worth getting into it with you and I don't even owe you an explanation at all. Where have you been all this time, huh? It's been a long time since you turned in you power coin and I don't recall you ever returning to claim it anytime recently!"

Kimberly opened her mouth, prepared to defend herself but she realized that she had been out of line and Tommy was right. It had been quite some time since she suited up and she could have continued the fight like Tommy had and monitored and investigated the evil forces of the galaxy, but she just simply chose not to. If anything she deserved the scolding. "I'm sorry Tommy," she apologized softly, "you're absolutely right. I have no right to ridicule you or your decision when you've done nothing but make sacrifices for the rest of us."

There was a brief silence and then Tommy picked up where the conversation should have left off. "I've been trying to reach Haley on my cell phone the past few hours, but she doesn't answer and she took off of work for a couple of weeks apparently."

"Do you think she's alright?" asked Kimberly with surprised concern.

"Yeah, I'm sure she's fine, she had mentioned something about going to see her parents some time this summer. Maybe our timing is just crummy."

Kimberly nodded her head in agreement, "Okay, but you don't need her to track the others down do you?"

"No, at least I don't think so," replied Tommy with slight hesitation, which was no comfort to Kimberly.

The couple drove on, discussing a plan of action and shortly arrived at the small gray house located in the outskirts of Reefside. "Well, this is it," said Tommy as he pulled into the driveway. The sun was setting and all that was really visible was the house's silhouette as the pink and orange rays radiated around it.

"I like it," declared Kimberly, smiling at the view, and she really did like it. It was a very cute home but it clearly belonged to a man. It was in desperate need of a woman's TLC, unfortunately that woman would most likely be Heather. Kimberly shook the thought out of her head as she unbuckled herself. "Tommy can you open the trunk, the latch is on the side of the seat. I need to get my stuff out."

Tommy released the plastic latch and exited the car, heading directly for the trunk. Frankly, he was stunned at the amount of luggage packed inside the trunk. He starred at the suitcases and duffel bags in astonishment.

"What?" said Kimberly, joining him in front of the open hatch, "You act as if you've never seen a suitcase before." She began shifting and removing various pieces.

"Oh I've seen a suitcase before," replied Tommy, "I've just never seen so many in one place."

Kimberly rolled her eyes, "Well, if you must know, I didn't come out here for just a vacation," she struggled to lift the top suitcase. "I'm moving back."

Now Tommy stared at Kimberly in astonishment, "What made you decide to do that?" he questioned.

"I hope that question is just a question and not a plea for me to change my mind," she answered with a giggle. "I just missed everybody that's all. I mean France is great with my mom and all, but it's time for me to start a real life. After the Pan Globals I got bombarded with endorsement deals and-"

"And long lost relatives looking for a hand out," finished Tommy.

"Yeah," said Kimberly slowly, "how'd you know?"

"Just a guess," said Tommy, once again stuck on another parallel between Kim and Heather.

"Can you just hand me the pink one," said Kimberly, pointing at a pink overnight bag towards the back of the trunk. "That has everything in it that I need for tonight." Tommy handed her the bag and commenced packing the trunk back up. "I hope you don't mind Tommy but the first thing I want to do when we get inside is shower, I haven't had one since I was in France!"

"And strangely enough you don't stink," returned Tommy chuckling. Kimberly gave Tommy a playful slap as they topped the porch steps but before they could reach for the front door, something else reached for them.

* * *

Adam woke up in a haze of pitch black and for a moment he thought that his eyes were closed, but upon blinking several times he realized that his eyes were very much open. Groaning, Adam discovered that he was bound and shackled in a vertical position and he wondered how in the world he had been asleep standing up.

"You guys I think he's awake," said a familiar voice, echoing through the black chamber.

Adam looked around, frustrated that he was unable to see anything at all, much less the source of the voice.

"Adam?" came another voice.

"Aisha? Rocky?" responded Adam, listening for their response.

"Yeah, it's us," replied Aisha.

"All of us," added Jason.

"I'm so relieved," began Adam, as he slumped over "well, sort of. You guys have no idea what hell I've gone through the past few days looking for all of you." As sad as it was he was actually comforted in knowing that whatever it was that he was about to undergo, at least everyone was going to be there with him.

"Well congratulations," said Zack, "you found us," he didn't sound at all amused.

"So, who's all here?" questioned Adam, in desperate need of a tally.

"Everyone but Tommy and Kimberly," answered Billy.

"Yup," replied Trini who had not yet been heard from. "Uh huh," added Katherine with her distinctive Australian accent still coming through.

"Well, is everyone okay? I know it was no picnic for me to be smothered by that green slimy tentacle that reeked beyond belief," continued Adam.

"Yeah, we're all okay," replied Jason, "we've had a little time to adjust. But what I'm really worried about is Tommy and Kimberly."

"Why?" asked Adam, still leading the discussion.

"Because, they have no idea what in the hell is in for them," finished Aisha.

"I don't know about Tommy," said Adam, "but I know that Kimberly is very much aware of the misfortunate turn of events and she's working on it," Adam was assuring himself more so than his friends.

"What do you mean 'working on it'?" questioned Rocky, his stomach growling so loudly that it echoed through the chamber.

Adam chuckled at the sound of Rocky's tummy even though it wasn't that funny that he might have to stand here helpless as his friends wasted away from starvation. He would most certainly be the last to go. "I contacted Kim when you guys started disappearing and we were supposed to meet at my house but Kim got there too late, I was already gone."

"Well that's nice that Kim knows we're in trouble but who exactly is going to help her?" questioned Katherine, trying to be realistic.

"What about Tommy," added Trini. She was always the optimist and had always placed a great deal of trust in the former White Ranger.

"I don't know if Tommy's really and option guys. I never got a hold of him and no one seems to know where he is," answered Adam, recalling his efforts to reach the guy.

"Oh that's right!" gasped Jason. "He was going up to his Uncle's cabin for the summer. Why in the hell didn't I at least mention that to you Adam?" If Jason's hands had been free he would have slapped his forehead.

"The cabin," began Adam, "I can't believe I didn't think of that!"

"Hey guys, calm down," said Billy, trying to be the voice of reason. "Kim's a bright girl, I'm sure it won't be long before she realizes Tommy's whereabouts."

"Yeah, if they haven't captured her yet," pouted Rocky.

"And even if she does find Tommy," cut in Aisha, "what can they do? They're just civilians, just like us. Man, what I wouldn't have given to have had my power coin the other night!"

"Everybody cut it out," cried Trini, "this is so ridiculous, Kim and Tommy have never let us down in the past so there is no reason to doubt them now."

"Trini's right," added Jason, once again assuming his role as the leader, "we just have to think positive and do whatever we can to stay alive and safe. We'll do our part and Kim and Tommy will do theirs. Alright?"

Slowly but surely, everyone agreed with Jason and after a short time things did actually seem not so dim, well except for the pitch-black room.

"So where exactly are we anyway?" asked Adam finally.

"Who knows," replied Rocky, "but who wants to put money on it?"

"Rocky, you're such a bafoon," snapped Aisha. "This is no time to be making bets."

"What?" questioned Rocky, "I was just trying to make things interesting, I haven't seen anything but black out for the last, well…" he thought for a moment, "I don't even know how many days!"

"Four," answered Adam, "you've been here four days my friend."

"And still, no one has come to check on us or even taunt us," added Zack. "I don't know about you guys but, I don't know how much longer I can stand this."

"My money's on Zedd," said Rocky, paying no attention to Aisha's earlier attacks on his behavior, "he's the only one sick and twisted enough to torture us like this, without any food for God's sake!"

The room erupted into laughter, in spite of the seriousness of the situation. Things were not looking so good for the rangers, but little did they know, the last thing the wanted to happen was for their kidnapper to reveal himself.


	9. Lord Xarr

_Hey guys, sorry to keep you waiting but there's actually been some excitement around here lately, so I've been busy. But, I have bee writing in between and the reason why this chapter took so long was because I just was not satisfied with it. So, I revised it and reworked and pretty much can't stand to read it anymore, but I hope you guys like it. There's nothing like a fresh point of view. However, the reviews did not go unoticed because once again I fell in love with them. In particular, I was speechless at the kind words of Ravena Storm, thank you for both reviews they really made an impact. But, of course that's not to say that the rest of you are under appreciated because you're all my friends. I'll shut up now, I promise. Enjoy!_

* * *

Kimberly let out the most terrifying cry as the mutant creature violently pulled her down the porch steps of Tommy's home. She hit the ground with a loud thud as an intense pain shot up her tailbone and then distributed itself evenly throughout the rest of her body. Beside her, Tommy had never even given the monster, Velmore a chance to get a good grip on him but the monster's flunkies weren't far behind and soon swarmed the wooden porch. Tommy was attacked on all three sides and using his quick thinking and agility he was able to take out the green goon beside him with one punch. The useless attacker was soon followed by the second creep who had made the mistake of grabbing Tommy's right arm, his strongest arm. Using leverage from the monster in front of him, Tommy managed to ram the two into each other head first, and with a bang the problem was solved.

Tommy had been prepared for the attack from the moment it began due to the fact that he had seen Velmore's silhouette on top of his roof as Kimberly and he drove up to the house. Velmore hadn't been real obvious; Tommy had just been real observant. At first the moving shadow on the roof startled Tommy but he didn't let on because he thought it best that he take the monster by surprise just as the monster had planned on taking he and Kimberly by surprise. Tommy quickly considered letting Kimberly in on the secret but it had been a while since she had been in on the action and he feared that she may have become alarmed and therefore would have blown their cover.

All the while Tommy was helping Kimberly search for her overnight bag in the trunk he had been listening to the sounds around him. He heard Velmore's silver cleats scrap across the coarse shingles on the roof. To his left was the sound of some leafs rustling in a group of bushes. To his right, he heard the crunch of footsteps across the gravel on the side of the house. And on the dirt driveway he noticed a pair of footprints leading to the very tall grass at the edge of his front yard; it was the perfect cover.

Tommy had been relieved that Kimberly had seemed so relaxed and casual as they mounted the steps because the monster would suspect nothing. But, he unfortunately had not calculated that Velmore would swoop down and grab both Kimberly and he simultaneously, leaving Tommy no opportunity to protect Kimberly. He had planned on quickly pushing Kimberly to the ground before she ever even laid eyes on the monster, but his plan was a bust when he had to dodge the slimy claw himself.

Now that the trio of pathetic sidekicks were still spinning from Tommy's surprise, Tommy had the chance to attempt to free Kimberly, who now struggled on the dirt trying her best to break free of the monster's hold. Tommy kicked the green blob square in the back of the head, a blow that would surely knock the goon's socks off. However, to Tommy's surprise his foot only passed through the mass of ooze and exited through the monster's face leaving it unscorned and immediately regenerated. The creature turned to Tommy, agitated with the former ranger's attempt, and without a second thought the monster launched a third arm out of his torso. The tentacle wrapped around Tommy so tightly that he could barely breathe. He choked and gagged as his air tunnel became smaller and smaller.

Meanwhile, Kimberly continued to kick, scream, and struggle with the monster, but on the ground she had no advantage. However, after witnessing Tommy's foot pass completely through the creatures head she was enlightened with and idea. First, she needed somebody or something to distract the slimy bully's attention away from her. Thinking fast she yelled out to Tommy.

"Tommy, use your morpher!"

Tommy stared at her bewildered, he didn't have any powers anymore, but he soon caught on as he realized that Velmore didn't know that. The creature immediately turned his attention towards Tommy who was pretending to access his back pocket with little success. In the meantime, Kimberly took the opportunity to reach for her duffel bag which had busted open, ejecting various garments and hair care products all over the ground. Kimberly finally settled on a sweater, and wrapping it around the monster's tentacle she tied the sleeves into a knot and with all of the strength that she could muster up she tightened the knot, causing the knot to shrink and then slice the green limb in half. Unable to rejoin together because of the fabric between the two halves, the tentacle remained split and Kimberly was freed. The disconnected tentacle around her waist immediately turned to slim and before Kimberly knew it she was dripping with gew.

"Yuck!" she declared as she rose from the ground, determined not to let the mutant get the best of her again. She quickly ran back behind the car and hoped the monster would lose interest in her long enough for her come up with some way to help Tommy.

Velmore was not injured, just frustrated that the girl had once again slipped through his fingers, literally. But he had no intentions of giving up; he just needed to get rid of the pesky Dr. Oliver who was still secure in his grasp. Regenerating his lost appendage, Velmore restored his tentacle quickly and used it to cover Dr. Oliver's face. Just as the monster began releasing the poisonous toxins through his vanes, quickly making their way to his pores, he was once again sliced in two, actually three. Kimberly swung fast and hard, down upon the long tentacles and without any reservations the steel pipe had severed both of Velmore's arms off and Tommy was released but he was also unfortunately dripping with slime.

Tommy reacted fast, paying no mind to the icky coating which draped him and he jumped off the porch, stopping only to grab Kimberly's hand. She matched his pace exactly as the couple rounded the corner of the house and worked their way deeper and deeper into the forest.

"Tommy, I don't think we can out run him," she said, huffing and puffing, but still far from exhaustion.

"Never say never," replied Tommy as he jumped down off the tiny cliff, taking Kimberly with him.

Kimberly screamed, she hadn't realized that the ground dropped off and floating in mid air was the last thing she expected. It had been too long since she'd had such a rush and she loved it. But, she could hear and smell the monster trailing behind them, which left her little opportunity to savor the moment.

"Come on!" yelled Tommy, yanking Kimberly off the ground from the squatting position, which she had landed in. He jerked her left, and then right, and then left again as the monster continued to gain on them.

"You'll be sorry you ever ran away from me you pathetic humans!" yelled Velmore as he picked up speed.

"I seriously doubt that!" shouted Kimberly back over her shoulder. "Who is this guy anyway?" she asked Tommy loudly. But before Tommy could answer Velmore supplied her with and adequate answer.

"They call me Velmore, loyal servant to the most powerful Lord in this galaxy and every other galaxy in the Sonar Quadrin!" Velmore began to transform, bubbling and shifting as he grew in size and caught up to his prey.

"Work's for me," replied Kimberly and Tommy agreed with a grunt.

With one final effort the monster transformed into a gigantic mass of slime, all of the silver, which had adorned him, was overtaken with green slime as a sheet of jello gushed up like an ocean wave amidst the forest. It closed in on Tommy and Kimberly, coating trees, bushes, and anything in its path. Just as it hovered above the couple, the rock wall just ahead of them opened up and the couple was safe within the chamber before the slime could reach them. Velmore slimed the rock entrance with a grotesque sounding splat. Immediately reforming himself, he desperately searched for a way inside the closed wall but there was none to be found.

"What in the hell was that?" asked Kimberly as she struggled to catch her breath. She was forced to lean up against the rock wall to stay on her feet. "I mean, I know who he is but what in the hell is he!" she asked again.

"You got me," replied Tommy, examining himself and the green gel he was drenched in, "but he sure stinks." Tommy preferred to block out everything the monster had said about his identity, at least for now.

"Yeah no kidding," replied Kimberly, also enamored with the green substance, she quickly sheded her sweatshirt, hoping that it would relieve her of some of the unbearable funk. "So, where are we?" she asked, adjusting her light pink, tank top.

Tommy watched Kimberly tug and twist the thin cotton shirt, instantly reminding him of the woman's perfect figure, which was nothing short of any man's greatest fantasy. Kimberly looked up at him, not expecting to find him gawking but was surprised by the goofy grin across his face. She raised her eyebrows at him, questioning his expression. Caught off guard, Tommy changed the topic fast, clearing his throat. He hoped Kimberly hadn't noticed the various shads of red which his face had turned "Well, this is it Kim. Welcome to my underground chamber of command, I guess you can call it."

Kimberly giggled at Tommy's pathetic recovery as she surveillanced the room. It was constructed entirely of stone; gadgets and machines were strewn throughout the chamber, and there was even a weight machine or two. "I have to say Dr. Oliver, I am impressed." Kimberly stepped into the center of the room, checking out all 360 degrees.

Tommy followed her up to the control panel, amused by her expression, which soon became very serious and he could have sworn that there was water in Kimberly's eyes. "What? Not flashy enough for you?" he chuckled at his own joke.

"No," responded Kimberly softly, almost in a whisper, "it's perfect, absolutely perfect." She stared at the monitors and the control panel with such adoration that you would have thought that it was made of gold. "I'm sorry Tommy, I don't mean to be so emotional. It's just that," she paused for a moment, "It's just that it's all so spectacular."

"Yeah, Haley sure knows her stuff," said Tommy proudly.

"No, I don't just mean that," began Kimberly again, "I mean what you have done for all of us. I guess it never really clicked what you have taken on this past year, with a new team and all. I mean, gosh, this is your life! You've been down here countless hours, watching the backs of every person on this planet while the rest of us haven't lifted a finger." Kimberly turned and looked at Tommy, he returned her gaze. "I'm sorry," she admitted sweetly.

Tommy didn't know how to respond to Kimberly's gesture, she was just so genuine. He really didn't mind doing it all but it would have been nice to have had a little assistance from another veteran ranger. Standing in silence, Tommy finally knew exactly what he was supposed to say "You know Kim, out of all of the guys, I'm glad it's you that I'm here with."

Kimberly smiled up at him with great appreciation, "Me too," she said wiping some of the green gew off of Tommy's cheek with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. Their eyes locked tightly and for just a moment everything was just as it had been before, it was as if nothing had ever changed. And for a split second Tommy had forgotten that Kimberly Hart was no longer his girlfriend. But it didn't take him long to recall a beautiful young woman named Heather.

"So, enough chitchat, let's get the show on the road," he said, flipping on the main control and shrugging off the 'moment' as if it was nothing at all.

"Right," replied Kimberly, taking a seat. His avoidance hurt just a tad, but none the less, it was still pain. "I guess I should probably hold off on the shower, since those goons might still be outside the house." Kimberly had been dying for a shower, but she was beginning to feel a connection with Tommy that she feared might break if she gave it just the slightest opportunity.

"Good idea, " replied Tommy, already engaged in the control panel. "Now, let's see…okay, we're on-line." Tommy starred at the computer screen intently; he was beginning to remind Kimberly of Billy. The couple worked diligently for about a half-hour. Tommy did most of the work since he was familiar with the system but not familiar enough.

"Damn!" he cursed, frustrated that he really had no idea where to start. "Kim, this is useless without any leads to go on! I mean we don't even know who in the hell is responsible for all of this in the first place."

"Yes we do," replied Kimberly, trying to keep the mood light, she knew how wishy washy Tommy's temper could be, "It's the most powerful lord in this galaxy and every other galaxy in the Sonar Quadrin," she mockingly imitated Velmore's husky voice, following her imitation with a childish giggle. It didn't take her long to see the annoyed expression on Tommy's face and she immediately straitened up before he had a chance to scold her. "Did you tap into the morphing grid?" she asked, with every attempt to sound serious, but honestly she was clueless as to what they had done up to this point.

"Of course I did," replied Tommy, massaging his temples, "but there's no sign of any kind of a disturbance or even of anything new."

"Well then what do we do?" asked Kimberly, with a small hint of defeat in her voice. If Tommy couldn't figure this thing out then all hope was lost because her knowledge of computers only went as far as e-mail.

"I guess we wait," replied Tommy, banging his fist down lightly on the consul. He closed his eyes, willing the situation to just solve itself.

"Wait for what Tommy? For the guys to just magically appear at the front door?"

"No," answered Tommy with agitation, "but, how in the hell can we find them if we have no clue where to look, huh?" he snapped at her.

"Just simmer down Tommy," she began in her defense, "there's no reason to get short with me. It's not my fault-"

"Simmer down?" cut in Tommy, not caring that he was about to escalate a monstrous argument. "What? You think this is nothing to get frustrated about? News flash Kimberly, this is real. Our friends may even be-" he stopped himself before he said something he might regret.

"Are friends might be what?" questioned Kimberly fiercely, "Go ahead Tommy, say it! Boy you really think I'm and idiot don't you? I know this is real, I'm the one who spent the last few days just sick with worry, running around the West Coast looking for everyone. While you were on vacation, busy getting la-" Kimberly stopped herself, she knew that mentioning the girlfriend was only going to make things worse.

"Busy getting what!" yelled Tommy, egging Kimberly on. How dare she even consider bringing Heather into this mess, she had nothing to do with anything.

Kimberly hated Tommy's temper but she had one of her own, and she shot back at him with no intention of holding back, "You were busy getting-"

Once again Kimberly was cut off before she could dig herself into a hole that she would surely never get out of, but Tommy didn't interrupt her. Instead she was interrupted by the loud cry of the alarm. Covering her ears, her eyes darted to the monitor. Tommy began typing fiercely and only seconds later he had the most wonderful news.

"It's a signal, and if I'm not mistaken, it's from Billy."

* * *

Clink, clank, clink, clank…the mutant guard, part of the species known as slops entered the chamber in which the former team of heroes was being held captive. The friends immediately grew silent the moment they heard even the slightest sign of life outside of their circle. Waiting in anticipation, no one moved a muscle as the slop moved from one candelabra to the next, lighting the otherwise pitch-black room. Slowly but surely the chamber was unveiled to the rangers, constructed of stones and marble, the room was as dreary and unwelcoming as they had all imagined. Soon a small army of slops entered the room, each one assigned to a specific human.

Full of curiosity, the rangers were more puzzled than frightened. The creatures were ugly but they didn't appear hostile and one by one the possibility of a revolt entered the rangers' minds. Jason knew that no one was going to make a move without his consent, which meant that it was his call. He decided to take things slow and just play it by ear.

The slops stepped up to their designated prisoner and without a sound unlocked the shackles, which had anchored the humans to the walls. One by one, sighs of appreciation echoed through the chamber. Preparing to give the signal Jason demanded his friends' attention by releasing a sigh much louder than anyone else's, once the last ranger was unshackled. Tensing up, the rangers knew that this might be their only chance for survival.

"Now!" yelled Jason as he used the palm of his hand to hit the chin of the slop in front of him, causing the mutant's head to jerk back and allowing Jason to follow up with a spinning kick directly into the guard's stomach. The guard fell forward but only out of surprise because the impact was hardly worth struggling over. Unfortunately, Jason had overlooked one small detail when he gave his signal and that was that some of them had not eaten or even drunken water in nearly four days. He and the others were so weak that their efforts had done nothing but agitate the slops. Adam had given it a good effort and was the closest to triumph, but he was quickly brought to his knees when his assigned guard struck the back of his legs so hard that they were knocked out from under him. The rest of the team was only more pathetic and soon the room was filled with cries of pain and defeat from the humans, while the guards cheered and disciplined their captures. It was complete chaos that was brought to a sudden halt when the slops' leader entered the chamber.

"Silence!" he ordered, raising his polished golden staff in the air and slamming it down on the marble floor so loudly that the rangers were sure the floor was going to split in half.

Slowly, the guards jerked the rangers to their feet and then ordered them to their knees as they processed the sight in front of them. Jason was in utter astonishment as he came face to face with the villain who could only be compared to his predecessor. The room was in complete silence as the evil lord managed to stare down every ranger at the exact same time. Katherine found herself shaking with fear, while Aisha closed her eyes attempting to visualize herself anywhere but here. Billy studied the being with his eyes carefully. Although amazed, Billy maintained the rationality he was known for and simply looked at the situation like one would examine a science project. Zack on the other hand, blinked with disbelief, it couldn't be. He had definitely never signed up for this guy. Trini felt the same way, but she was willing to accept her fate, even if it meant standing up to the mass of pure terror in front of her. Rocky, although scared shitless, couldn't help but comment.

"You all owe me fifty bucks," he declared without thought, referring to the bet he had and only he had made just a couple of hours ago. At this point, there was only slight evidence to suggest that their captor was none other than Lord Zedd himself.

Jason quickly shushed Rocky, but it was too late, the monster had already approached Rocky. As he starred down at the man, Rocky was speechless and very upset with his uncontrollable loud mouth. He would have apologized but he couldn't find his voice. The evil master hovered above Rocky, threatening him without words until finally he spoke.

"I don't recall giving you permission to speak," declared the monster. Rocky just stared at him with a terrified expression. "Ha, ha, ha…" the villain laughed, piercing the ears of the former rangers and filling their thoughts with memories that were better forgotten. "It's settled then," continued the monster, "he shall be the first to go!" With the declaration the room shook and the lights flickered as Rocky's life suddenly flashed before him. He had this sinking feeling in his gut that no one was going to bail him out this time.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" interrupted Jason from the other side of the room. He was still on his knees but struggled with the slop beside him to rise from the ground.

The monster quickly made his way to the original red ranger and standing directly in front of Jason he ordered his servant to allow the man to rise. Once on his feet, Jason refused to back down. He looked the beast in the face, matching him eye to eye.

"I'm not afraid of you," he announced not only to the villain but also to the entire room. He wasn't about to let the rangers see him fold, not now.

"Oh you're not are you?" questioned the evil lord, taking one step closer to his sworn enemy.

"No" replied Jason, matching his step and taking another one closer.

"Well then perhaps that's just because I have yet to introduce myself," replied the monster. "Let it be known to all who cross my path that I am Lord Xarr, master of the Sonar Quadrin and brother of Lord Zedd!" Once again the chamber shook, matching the monster's intensity.

Jason was not phased by Lord Xarr's declaration but now the whole situation was beginning to make sense, right down to the shinny golden 'X' which perched atop Lord Xarr's staff. It was an exact replica of Lord Zedd's, only gold.

Zack was relieved to discover that he hadn't gone crazy and Lord Zedd had not in fact been resurrected from the good. Instead, his own flesh and blood took his place and he was nothing to shrug over. Lord Xarr stood tall, taller than his brother did; he was covered head to toe in golden hardware that sparkled in the firelight. The 'X' above his head twinkled eerily, sending a chill up Aisha's spine. Lord Xarr's flesh was not red like his brother's had been, instead it was charred black, as black as the room had been before the candles were lit. Aside from those slight differences, the monster was a carbon copy of his brother, his eyeshield a scarlet red tint, concealing the monster's twisted soul.


	10. Just You and Me

_Hey guys! It's good to be back after a couple of weeks of chaos. Anyway, here it is the next chapter but I can't take credit for all of it because I did get one tiny idea from C2(thanks girl!) and it was just the perfect ending I needed for this chapter. As always I loved the reviews and don't be afraid to leave more! Enjoy._

* * *

"Let it be known to all who cross my path that I am Lord Xarr, master of the Sonar Quadrin and brother of Lord Zedd!" announced the evil tyrant.

Jason watched carefully as Lord Xarr arrogantly strutted around the dimly lit chamber after revealing his identity. The sight of him was quite surreal and although things just kept going from bad to worse, Jason continued to try his best to stay positive. He was however, feeling very weak from lack of food and water and he decided that he'd rather die fighting Lord Xarr over dying of hunger.

"Well then, kicking your ass shouldn't be too hard," said Jason snidely, not caring if he pissed off the monster who could very well end up being his toughest challenge yet.

Lord Xarr turned around slowly, enraged by the former red ranger's disrespectful mouth. He was going to have to teach him a lesson, one that he most certainly would not forget for the duration of his stay. Walking towards Jason, Lord Xarr grasped his staff tightly and without a word he hurled it towards Jason, sending a lightning bolt across the room. Jason had time to dodge the blow but behind him stood Kat and Aisha, neither of which would have been able to avoid the bolt. So, Jason took the blow for his team and when the worst of it was over he lay flat on the floor, paralyzed and unable to move a single bone in his body, just his eyeballs from side to side.

His friends' immediate reaction was to rush to his aid but the slops would not allow for it and although the tears began to flow down the former pink ranger's cheeks, the villains had absolutely no compassion.

After a laughing spell, Lord Xarr decided to make his intentions known to his prisoners, sure that he could demand their respect. "Anyone else in the mood for a nap?" he questioned, kicking Jason hard in the side, but Jason barely felt it because his body had gone numb and he was still unable to speak. The rangers then struggled harder against the slops that had by now constricted everyone's arms behind their bodies. "Ha, ha, ha…Now you will listen to me pathetic humans!" The rangers wanted so badly to fight back, if not physically then with words, but they knew that the next person who spoke would surely end up like their fallen leader and then where would they be with two of them down?

"As I was saying," continued Lord Xarr, "I am the brother of the most feared and the most respected villain that ever attempted to conquer this galaxy and although he was defeated, I have every intention of finishing the job. "You annoying little roaches were the only thing standing between my brother and universal domination, and had it not been for you he would have defeated this galaxy and every other galaxy in this dimension by now. But no, you and your eternally irritating leader Zordon had to go and ruin everything! And now because of you, my brother is in the Sixtate galaxy, playing house with his wife Rita! The sight of them just makes me sick! He used to be so evil and oh how I adored him when I was a boy. I used to dream for hours of the day that I would be of age to rule along beside him and now that that time has come he is no longer evil. No thanks to you!" Lord Xarr hurled another lightning bolt in the rangers' direction but purposely missed them because he had only intended to scare them and had succeeded at doing so.

Once he composed himself, Lord Xarr continued, "Now, you are all probably wondering what I have in store for you and although I can't give you all of the details, just know that none of you are getting out of this chamber alive." His words pierced the ranger's like knives and even Jason managed to cringe at the revelation. "You may have noticed that the universally respected and revered, Dr. Oliver has not yet graced us with his presence, and neither has his quirky little ex, but believe you me, I have my best man on it. You better hope that they are not captured anytime soon because the moment they are, it's lights out for all of you. It's just so much more fun to destroy you all together, just like all of the fireworks on the fourth of July. The more in the sky at one time, the sweeter the show. Ha, ha, ha…You'll be sorry you ever escaped the wrath of Lord Zedd because I am even more vicious!"

With that, Lord Xarr waved his hand, signaling to his drones and then turned and walked out the door. The slops immediately released the rangers and shoved them to the ground, allowing the slops to make their exit without having to worry about anyone escaping. But, before they left, they wheeled in a cart containing jugs of water and a large pot of an unidentifiable substance that the ranger's assumed was edible grub. Rocky was the first to reach the cart and without hesitation he began to dig into the pot, using nothing but his right hand as a spoon.

"Rocky, that's disgusting!" said Aisha, pushing him to the side and grabbing a jug of water.

"What?" said Rocky with a full mouth, "Do you see any spoons?"

"Right here," said Zack in annoyance, he flashed the supply of spoons in Rocky's face.

"Oh, sorry," apologized Rocky, licking his fingers clean while reaching for a spoon with his left hand.

Trini, Katherine and Adam tended to Jason, hoping that a drink of water would revive him. But it appeared that only time would fade the paralysis, he had already begun to have feeling in his fingers. With his eyes, Jason motioned for his caretakers to get something to eat for themselves and they each grabbed a spoon.

"This is absolutely disgusting," whined Kat as she starred at her spoonful of gruel.

"You can say that again," agreed Aisha, who also frowned at the thick, brown food substitute.

"Eww, what is it?" asked Adam, being the last to take a heaping helping.

"It certainly isn't oatmeal," answered Trini.

"But I'm pretending it is," added Zack, "that's the only way I can choke this stuff down."

"I've never been so hungry in my life," replied Rocky, who had at this point eaten most of the porridge.

"Hey Billy, aren't you going to come and eat anything?" asked Katherine, passing around another jug of water. She noticed Billy had made no motion to join the others for food and water. Instead, he sat on a rock beside Jason, fidgeting with some sort of unidentifiable object.

"Just a second," said Billy, engrossed in whatever it was that he was doing. The others let him be for several moments but the food supply was rapidly depleting.

"Hey Billy," called Zack, "if you don't get over here soon, Rocky's going to eat your helping of mud."

"Hang on," replied Billy, making one last adjustment to the mechanism. "There," he declared, appearing quite proud and satisfied with himself as he made his way to the others. Taking a seat he grabbed for a spoon and the pot simultaneously.

"Hey," said Rocky as Billy took the pot out of his hands. Everyone laughed at Rocky's misfortune, he deserved it.

"So, what were you doing back there?" asked Aisha, taking another swig of water.

"Well guys, let's just say that not all hope is lost," he replied, with a full mouth. Everyone starred at him puzzled. Billy reached for the mechanism inside his pocket, passing it to Aisha he explained its importance. "I used it to send out a distress signal that hopefully Tommy will receive."

"I don't understand," replied Kat.

"Well, Tommy consulted me a few times while he and his friend Haley were building his command center in his basement for the Dino Rangers to utilize. I gave them some ideas and suggestions for maximizing their equipment's capabilities. And one thing we discussed was the idea of tying their computer system in with my own at my lab, you know, just in case they needed some assistance if things got a little hectic. Luckily, we never had to use the communication channel but now I'm glad that we took the precaution. Anyway, I sent him a chip, which he installed into his main hard drive that matches the chip inside of this device right here." He gestured for Zack to hand the device back to him, and then pointed out the chip for his friends to see.

"And you just happened to have it with you?" questioned Rocky, not believing their luck.

"Well no not really," replied Billy, "since I was going on vacation to visit Trini, I knew that if I took my laptop with me then I would spend the whole week in cyberspace, rather than enjoying the time off. But, my days as a ranger taught me that you should always be prepared so I brought with me a modified version of my system at home, this device, just by chance there was an emergency. If I don't have my laptop, then I always have this guy," he flashed the device at everyone again. "And now Tommy has our coordinance and can hopefully devise a way to rescue us."

"And you really think Tommy's going to get the signal?" asked Adam, not wanting to fill his own head with false hope.

"As long as Tommy is either logged on to his computer system or just within earshot of his command center then he will receive the distress signal. I mean, I'm sure by now Kimberly has tracked him down and if he knows we're missing then most likely he is searching for us."

"Of course, that's assuming Kimberly has found Tommy," interrupted Katherine. She had no intention of admitting it but she wasn't completely convinced that Kimberly could handle things on her own. It had just been too long since any of them had swung into action.

The room grew quiet again as the rangers contemplated the possibility that Kimberly may have more on her plate than she could chew. But the silence was broken, "Kim will come through for us, I know she will," interrupted Jason. His speech was somewhat slurred but he had finally regained the ability to talk. The rest of the rangers raced to his side, giving him the remainder of the food and water. All the while hoping to God that Jason was right and Kimberly had in fact found their leader.

"Come again," said Kimberly with the most puzzled expression on her face.

"It's a distress signal from Billy," repeated Tommy as he clicked away at the keyboard, finally finding a reason to smile, "I don't believe it, he must have taken the computer chip with him." Tommy was talking more to himself than he was to Kimberly.

"Explain please," replied Kimberly, not wanting to be the odd man out.

Tommy looked at her with just a hint of a sparkle in his eye, "When Haley and I built this place we asked Billy for his input and he suggested that we tie our computer systems together, you know just in case. So, he sent me a computer chip, a match to several of his own which are installed in his desktop and laptop, and I guess he must have constructed some sort of portable device and taken it with him to Trini's."

"And now he has it with him and the other guys, wherever they may be," finished Kimberly with excitement in her voice.

"You got it," assured Tommy, flashing Kimberly a grin that was undoubtedly her favorite feature of his. "Now, we have their coordinance, and if you'll just give me a second, I'll translate it." Tommy began typing away on the keyboard again as Kimberly sat impatiently watching his fingers move quickly over the buttons.

"Anything yet?" she asked anxiously, after several minutes, she was never big on waiting.

"Hang on," replied Tommy, taking notes on a small notepad while typing with the other hand. "Okay, yes, got it!"

"Whoo!" cheered Kimberly beside him; it never hurt to be perky.

"Alright, Kim, according to my calculations the guys are located in this galaxy."

"Well that's good news, I suppose," replied Kimberly not sure if it really was or not.

"But they are on another planet, one that I have never heard of before. In fact it would appear that the planet is actually brand new."

"You mean whoever captured the guys created their very own planet to keep them hostage on."

"I guess," answered Tommy, "or maybe it's like some sort of alien military base or something."

"But you know exactly where the planet is located right?" began Kimberly, her excitement suddenly depleting.

"Yup, I know exactly where it is. The only problem is we have absolutely no way of getting there," finished Tommy, dropping his head in defeat.

"And even if we could get there, how could we begin an attempt to save the guys without any powers?" added Kimberly. Tommy agreed with her, nodding his head slightly. The two sat in silence for several moments as they pondered a possible solution. "Come on Tommy, there's got to be something we can do. I mean look at all of this fancy equipment, one of these buttons has to be of use to us." Kimberly began scanning the control panel for answers.

"I'm sorry Kim, but it's just not that easy," said Tommy, throwing up his arms with a sigh. "I mean we literally gave up the dino gems and without them we're running on nothing but batteries and electricity. Hell, we couldn't even teleport when we did have powers."

"So, maybe the solution is not exactly obvious," began Kimberly, not letting her spirits fall. "I can't even count the number of times that we thought all hope was lost back in the day, but things always had a way of working themselves out, and this time is no different." Kimberly looked over at Tommy, waiting for him to agree with her but he never did. "Look, Tommy, you found the dino gems by your self, right? And you built this place, and you found a team, and eventually you kicked the bad guy's ass, right? And you did it all by your self. Sure you had some help from Haley and the kids, but you were the leader, and I bet you were the best damn leader that any team of rangers has ever seen since Zordon." Tommy nodded, a smile creeping across his face. "Well, if you did it once then there is no reason why you can't do it again." Kimberly congratulated herself silently for posing a rational case that had hopefully motivated Tommy.

"You are absolutely right Kim, I can do this," replied Tommy, finally coming around.

"Hey, do you think that maybe we could get some help from another team?" asked Kimberly with optimism.

"I suppose we could," began Tommy, as he pondered the possibility. "But, the second another power source enters this galaxy I can guarantee the bad guys will be tipped off and one of two things could happen." Kimberly starred at him eagerly. "One, he'll finish off the others immediately because he won't want to risk losing them. Or two, one will happen and in addition to one we might just end up launching galaxy war number two."

"Oh, good point," replied Kimberly. "But how do we even know if this guy's legit? I mean sure we've seen what like, four of his henchmen. Big deal. For all we know he's just some monster with a score to settle or something, he probably doesn't even have an army or an empire."

"That may be so Kim, but it may also be that he is in fact a powerful leader in another galaxy like that slimeball said," Tommy stood up from his chair and began pacing back in forth in front of the control panel. "We just can't risk it."

"I guess that's true," said Kimberly with disappointment in her voice. "Well what about the dino rangers? I'm sure they wouldn't say no to a chance to help out some veteran rangers, even without their powers."

Tommy shook his head immediately, "No good," he declared, "they're on a cross country road trip, too much time would be wasted waiting for them the get back. Plus, without powers it could end up being even more dangerous with more people. It's a lot easier to sneak around with two opposed to six."

Kimberly thought for a moment, "So then it really is just you and me, huh?" she asked biting her lower lip.

"Yup," replied Tommy, stretching his arms and taking a much deserved yawn. "Just you and me," Tommy paused for a moment, taking in his very own words. Just Kim and he, it sounded nice.

"Well then, let's get going," interrupted Kimberly, "how did you happen to find the dino gems?" she began prodding him for answers that she hoped would lead to the big answer.

"Um, I was on a very important mission with Anton Mercer on a secluded island where we began development of the dinosaur army. And then of course once I found the gems I was able to track down other useful eggs, like zords and such," Tommy was getting ahead of himself and making no sense to Kimberly.

"Okay then, so you were able to track down power sources right? Kind of like how Zordon tracked down the Zeo crystals?" Kimberly was on to something.

"Move," said Tommy, ordering Kimberly out of the way, he had just been graced with a wonderful idea. He immediately began typing, pushing buttons, and turning knobs on the counsel.

Kimberly was more than happy to get out of Tommy's way if it meant that there was a possibility that they could find powers. About ten minutes into Tommy's investigation he asked Kimberly to run a test on the slime from the monster they had just barely escaped earlier that day. She of course had no clue what she was doing but lucky for her Haley had constructed a device precisely for that and it was as simple to operate as a microwave.

"Done!" declared Kimberly just as the machine dinged, indicated it was finished with its cycle.

"Great, so am I," added Tommy, joining Kimberly at the table in the middle of the room, where the device sat. He pulled out the readings from the printer at the far side of the room and then returned to Kimberly's side, saying nothing until he had scanned every inch of the print out. Kimberly was going nuts waiting for him to finish and suddenly she wished that she had taken Billy up on his offer all those years ago to teach her nerd code. At least that's what she had called it.

"Okay, I have some good news and some bad news," said Tommy, finally putting down the computer print out.

Kimberly clenched her eyes shut deciding which she wanted to hear first and then realized that she couldn't take any more bad news today, at least not without a little hope. "Good news first please," she decided.

"The good news is that I have tracked down a power source, which conveniently enough is on the same planet as the guys and our new found friends. The source is somewhat unstable because it does reside and was originated on a planet, which was created and is supported by an evil energy force."

"Translation please," said Kimberly, waving her hands in front of her, pressuring Tommy for the facts.

"All we need is a host that was created by the light of good and with the negative power source we can recharge our powers. Even though the power source is evil, the actual power can still be channeled through the good energy and therefore be converted." Tommy gazed at Kimberly excitedly, and she returned the gesture.

"And when you say host, does that mean power coin?" the thought of using her power coin again excited her already.

"You know it Kim," confirmed Tommy, reaching for Kimberly without a second thought and gathering her into his arms. Kimberly held on tight as Tommy lifted her off the ground and spun her in two complete circles before releasing her again.

"Wow!" began Kimberly, "This is good news and you know what's even better news?"

"What?" asked Tommy over his shoulder as he opened what appeared to be a secret compartment in the wall and pulled out a silver box crafted of steel.

"Since I am in fact moving back to Angel Grove I have everything I own in the rental car outside…"

Tommy turned around with delight, "You brought you're power coin?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Kimberly; not quite believing how well things were falling into place.

"And I've got mine too," began Tommy as he opened the steel box and removed a small golden disk from its contents. It was so familiar and a very good familiar. He never thought that he would have use for it ever again, since the powers it contained were most definitely destroyed by Rito Revolto. He and the others had merely held on to their coins as momentos, proof that it had all actually happened.

"This is so awesome Tommy," said Kimberly, watching the coin shuffle through his fingers. "But now we have to figure out how to get to the other planet and how to get my coin out of the car with those goons outside. Do you think they're still there?"

"Oh I would almost guarantee it Kim, and I can only hope for it."

"What do you mean?" questioned Kimberly. She couldn't figure out why Tommy would ever want to encounter those disgusting slime balls again.

"The results from the test on the slime indicates that that creature, whatever he is, cannot hold his form when he is not in a sustainable state. Which means that teleporting would certainly take its toll on him. That's why I have reason to believe that they are not teleporting but are instead using visiportals."

"What's that?" asked Kimberly.

"Remember when you got stuck in that worm hole and got transported back to 1880?" explained Tommy.

"How could I ever forget it?" Kimberly had made some wonderful friends on that journey and she had also been in jeopardy of never seeing her friends or Tommy ever again. Although, the White Stranger would have made a pretty good substitute.

"The wormhole was a tear in the fabric of time, just like a visiportal is a pathway from one location to another. Mesogog and his crew used them all the time and the thing about them is that they don't close immediately because the hole can't calculate how many beings have passed through it. Instead, it has a short time span in which it remains open."

"So then, all we have to do is fallow them in?" finished Kimberly.

"Right," said Tommy in confirmation.

"This is the best news I've heard all day," exclaimed Kimberly, as she began to devise a plan. "So, how about this, we use your equipment to monitor the ugly guys outside and eventually they'll get bored with us and leave."

"I don't know about that Kim," replied Tommy with a sigh, "something tells me these guys are on a mission and they're not going to leave until they've completed it. I hate to say it but at this point it seems that our only option is for one of us to offer our self up as a sacrifice." Tommy stared at Kimberly sadly, he didn't want to break the bad news to her but she had already figured it out.

"Me?" she glared at him as if protesting the injustice.

"I'm sorry Kim, no offense but which one of us do you think has a better chance of finding the power source and then rescuing the guys? Tommy looked down at the floor, afraid he'd already hurt her feelings.

"You, I guess," concluded Kimberly, with deep disappointment in her voice, "but you have to swear to me that you will come through for us. I don't care what it takes, I'm not going to spend my last days in existence covered in green, smelly goop." She waved her finger in his face to let him know that she meant business.

"I swear," began Tommy, "don't worry, we both know I can do this and besides, at least you'll be with the others and you can let them know that help is on the way."

"Sometimes I really hate your ego," replied Kimberly smugly, she hadn't intended to say it out loud but there was no way that she could hold back. "But, if it means that we can get everyone back safe and sound then…" Kimberly trailed off and Tommy watched as her eyes grew to about three times their normal size.

"What is it Kim?" he asked, turning around to see what had her so distraught. Kimberly pointed towards the staircase, unable to say a word. By the time Tommy turned around the travelling green pool of slime which Kimberly had seen seep underneath the door had molded itself into a full size Velmore, who immediately opened the door, letting in his army of three slops.

"Well, so much for devising a plan," said Kimberly, finally finding her voice and taking a fighting stance.

"This is it Kim, you know what to do!" yelled Tommy, charging at the team of slops.


End file.

Power Rangers, Adventure, Romance