The Terran Rangers/X-Men, Heather Ray [best black authors .txt] 📗

life. It worked out best for all of us.

"Thomas Oliver," said the priest, "do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or worse, for rich or for poor, through sickness and health, now and forever, until death do you part?"

"I do."

"Katherine Hillard, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and honor, for better or worse, for rich or for poor, through sickness and health, now and forever, until death do you part?"

"I do."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

As Tom's and Kat's lips touched in the kiss that would seal the marriage vows, the crowds of people began applauding enthusiastically.

Kimberly ran to Trevor, and kissed him with as much gusto as Kat kissed Tom.

Then, Tom and Kat ran out of the church, with tons of rice being hurled at them mercilessly. They entered the white limo, with the "Just Married"

sign, and they were on their way to the hotel, where the reception would be in about an hour.

Kim, Trevor, Anthony, Jason, Emily, Zack, Adam, Tanya, Aisha, Eddie, Regina, Rocky, Trini, and Will all stood and watched the limo drive out of sight. The group all stood happily, still cheering that their two friends have finally found love. After a few more minutes of conversation, the group dispersed, heading to the reception. The rangers and their families piled into a massive white limo, driven by Trevor's chauffeur.

"Let's get going, Miles," said Trevor. "We don't want to be late."

"Yes sir," said Miles, pulling onto the main road.

"That was a beautiful ceremony," said Aisha, dabbing her moist eyes with a yellow hankerchief. Eddie wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders and smiled fondly at her.

"And great outfits, Kim," said Adam, "Tom and Kat really stood out tonight!"

"Yeah!" chimed Tanya. "They looked like royals! You know you have to make my wedding gown when I get married!"

"When are you two getting married?" Kimberly asked. Adam blushed a deep shade of red, while Tanya grinned and took his hand in hers.

"Next October," she said happily, "I'm so excited."

"It's about time, Girl!" shrieked Aisha, reaching over to hug Tanya warmly. "Now, all we have to do is find wives for these two declared bachelors." Both Zack and Rocky looked up, their smiles falling.

"Hey Miles!" called Rocky, trying to change the subject. "How long will it take to get to the hotel?"

"About half an hour, Sir," answered Miles.

"Well, put the pedal to the metal Miles, 'cause I'm starved!!"

"Same here!" Zack chimed. The two bachelors gave each other enthusiastic high fives.

"I pity the poor women who end up having to feed you two," Jason quipped.

"Unbelievable," said Trini with a laugh. "Some things never change!"

Epilogue

February 14, 1997

The sun was setting in Angel Grove. Young Tommy Oliver stood on a rock beside the dazzling lake in Angel Grove Park, looking out onto the water, which was reflecting the pink and orange light on the horizon. He sighed and looked at his watch. It was five minutes before six.

This must be the first time I was ever EARLY

for something,

he thought with a small smile. Boy this is gonna be hard for me...

He turned around when he heard the rustling of the leaves in the trees. Kimberly approached him, her caramel hair blowing in the cool breeze. She was wearing a cute pink and white sundress, and to Tommy, she looked exceptionally beautiful in the pale light of sunset.

She's so beautiful, so alive. So...perfect

. There is nothing about her I would want to change. Not a single flaw I can see...

"Hey Tommy," she said sweetly, glancing down at her watch. "Wow, you're early! You wanted to meet me here at six, so I expected you to be here by about a quarter after."

"Yeah, well, I didn't want you to have to wait for me," he said, not looking her in the eye.

"What is it?" she asked, trying to make eye contact, "What's wrong?"

"Kim," he started, "I...I have something to...to say."

"Does it have anything to do with Annie and Trevor?" she asked knowingly. Tommy nodded.

"Kim, meeting Annie really made me think. About me, about you, and about 'us'

. We've been friends for over two years, and a we've been...more than friends for most of that time. When I met Annie, I came to the realization that, well, we may not always be together. I mean, I never really gave much thought to the future. I guess I always thought that we'd always be here at Angel Grove High, killing monsters and sipping shakes at Ernie's -- that everything will always be status quo. Well, that's not true. The future contains many possibilities, and I can't say I was too happy about the one Annie came from."

Kim nodded, looking down to her feet. Oh my God, he's gonna dump me. He's gonna let me go before I can let him go! Oh please, no...

"I...I guess it's fitting that it's Valentine's Day," Tommy continued. "Of course, it's also your birthday. So, I...I have something for you. I actually bought it awhile ago, but I never had the nerve to give it to you. Until today."

Tommy dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a small square box wrapped in pink and yellow wrapping paper. Kimberly hesitantly accepted the gift, and unwrapped it slowly. Much to her surprise, it was a black velvet jewelry box. She opened it carefully, and her eyes widened to see a delicate gold band with a small diamond set in the middle of a small golden heart.

"Tommy," she said quietly, "this looks a lot like...an engagement ring."

"Kim," he said, taking her other hand in his, "I'm not asking you for eternal devotion or anything. We're both pretty young, and we have things to do before we settle down. We both have college in the future, and I am planning on searching for the meaning of the arrowhead even before that. We have lives to live, and they may very well lead us in different directions. It's kinda scary."

"Yeah," she said, looking down at the ring. "You're right. We don't live the most normal of lives, and we never know if the next battle will be our last, or anything. And...my Mom expects me to go to France after college..."

"Kim, I want you to have this ring because I want you to remember that, no matter what happens, or where we go, I'll always love you. Maybe, when we're older, we may decide to spend our lives together. I don't know -- we're too young to make that kind of decision. I just wanted to say exactly how I feel about you."

Kim looked up into Tommy's hazel eyes, her own doe-brown eyes shining with tears.

"Tommy," she said quietly, hugging him tightly, "you don't know how long I've been waiting for you to tell me that!"

They stood there, holding each other as if their lives depended on it, atop the rock on the edge of the lake, for a long time. Behind them, the orange sun continued on its trek beneath the horizon. They stood there, wrapped in each other's arms, happy to just feel the warmth of the other. And so they stood, feeling safe and secure, as if nothing could ever hurt them. Time stood still, just for them, and they both knew that their love for each other will guide them through anything. Trial after trial. Battle after battle. Year after year. Time after time.

To Be Continued In...

The Terran Rangers/Final Fantasy VII

Contagion

Excerpt from The Terran Rangers/Final Fantasy VII: Contagion

Aisha Campbell groaned as she forced herself out of bed. She rubbed her eyes, and glanced at her alarm clock.

"Once again," she muttered, "I slept through my alarm clock. I'm late!"

But Aisha wasn't too worried about being late to school this morning. As she undressed, she realized she had other problems. On the side of her abdomen was a dark scar, still with dried blood on it. She ran her fingers down the scar, which was nearly a foot long, as she recalled how she received such a terrible wound.

About one week ago, she battled Holocaust as the Green Ranger. He managed to deflect her attack, and blasted her with powerful plasma energy, throwing her into a rusted steel beam. The sharp metal sliced through both her armor and her flesh, giving her a serious wound. But, her wound wasn't as serious as Jason and Zack's.

Jason's shoulder was almost completely sliced through, and Zack's leg was crushed, and he sustained a serious head injury. Even Tommy had numerous broken ribs, that even punctured his lungs. But all three young men have made complete recoveries, thanks to their enhanced Ranger healing abilities, coupled with the highly advanced med-unit, which further increases the body's ability to heal itself. What was strange is that she wasn't healing like the others. The med-unit could only partially heal her wounds, and left this horrible scar.

Billy had diagnosed that her wound was more serious than it looked, and since the med-unit had been used so extensively after that fight, it was low on energy. He believed Aisha's own healing abilities would finish up the regeneration of the skin, and she'd be as good as new in a day or two. But, its been six days, and she's still aching horribly.

"No big deal," she reasoned, wrapping her body in her bathrobe. "So I have a scar. It'll heal eventually. Its no reason to bother Billy. He said I'll be fine, and I believe him."

Aisha hurried into the bathroom, and showered. Afterwards, she combed out her hair, and got dressed. While she was tying her shoelaces,