Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Heather Ray [life books to read TXT] 📗

she said quietly, "I've struck a bargain with the devil, trading my soul for the power to gain revenge. I can't get out of this. I must pay the price for my mistake."

She straightened, holding her scepter tightly. She stared into the red gemstone, watching the swirling cloud of energy encased within it. The power held by the stone was immeasurable. And deadly.

"The only way I can make amends for what I did, is to make sure we are both punished. You and I, Zedd. We both erred, and we both ruined lives. I can't say I'm a complete victim here. I will destroy you. And I'm going with you."

Before either Lord Zedd or Tommy could react to Kimberly's own judgement of herself, she swung the scepter with all her might at the ground beside Zedd's feet. As she did, she closed her eyes, mustering all her mental as well as physical strength. And her task was completed. As the gem struck the stone surface, it shattered into infinite grains of glass, releasing the energy trapped within it. As Zedd and Tommy watched in absolute horror, the energy took the form of a blinding flash of white light, throwing both Kim and Zedd away with all the force of supernova. Fortunately for Tommy, the blast was so concentrated that only the two at Ground Zero were affected. He didn't feel a thing. Physically at least.

Tommy scrambled to his feet, and ran towards Kimberly. The instantaneous flash of energy threw her into one wall, and she crumpled against the stone limply. He cradled her still body in his arms, and touched her cheek gently. Too surprised to do anything else, he shook her gently, hoping to wake her. It was at this moment that the Turbo Rangers ran into the dungeon. They stood at the entrance like statues, their gaze falling first upon Lord Zedd, who was lying completely motionless upon the floor. Across the room, they saw Tommy, clinging to Kimberly with all his strength. He looked up at his friends, his eyes blank with denial.

"What...what happened?" asked Katherine, approaching Tommy. The other rangers did the same. They all removed their helmets, each one displaying expressions of shock and terror. They knew they had arrived too late.

Tommy's lip trembled. "She...she killed

Zedd," he said at last. Adam's eyebrow rose, and he glanced at the Emperor of Evil. As he watched, Zedd's body slowly faded away, leaving a spark of red energy. That red energy then faded itself, vanishing from reality. There was nothing left of Lord Zedd but his silver scepter, which lay on the stone ground.

Trevor glanced at Adam, and then back at the spot where the creature was lying moments ago. "Was that Zedd?"

"Yes," Adam said, "He's finally been defeated. Forever

."

Trevor nodded, and knelt on the ground across from Tommy. He gazed at Kimberly's peaceful face, and then glanced up at Tommy. Tommy was staring at him quizzically. Trevor smiled weakly, wiping the moisture from his aqua colored eyes with his gloved hand.

"I'm Trevor," he introduced, "the temporary Blue Ranger. And you're Tommy."

Tommy nodded quietly. He then glanced down at Kim, who's eyes fluttered. Everyone surrounded the trio in a tight circle, as Kim's eyes focused on Tommy's face. They were soft brown.

"I...I'm sorry for what I did to you guys," Kim whispered softly, "There is no excuse I can give. Thank you all for trying to save me. But I was beyond salvation."

She turned to Trevor, and her eyes at first widened with surprise. Her expression softened, and she smiled at her friend.

"Hi, Trev," she said weakly, "Nice suit."

He chuckled slightly, "Somehow, I don't think it suits me."

Her eyes slowly shut, the light of life behind them fading. She then forced them open, and gazed at Tommy one last time. His eyes were wide and wet, and his expression was grim. With all the strength left in her body, Kimberly rose her hand to his face. He caught her hand as it began to fall, and held it to his cheek. Her hand was cold.

"Tommy," she said, weakly, gasping for air, "no matter what happens in the years to come, I want you to know I love you. I always loved you, and although my love was transformed to hate, I guarantee you that I never stopped caring about you. That's why I wanted revenge. I...I couldn't stand

the fact that you didn't love me anymore."

"Never," he whispered, "I could never stop loving you. I never did, and I never will."

Her smile brightened slightly, as her touch weakened, "Thank you...for not giving up on me. Trev, guys...thanks for being my friends. Thanks for caring about me. I...I only wish I'd realized it sooner..."

Her soft voice died on her lips, and her eyes slowly closed. Tommy looked at her still form, his muscles tensing and his breath escaping. As if in a daze, he stared at her face, praying her eyes would open once again. But they never did.

Katherine turned away from her friends, letting her tears flow into her cupped hands. Tanya's face remained stoic, but she released her tension by squeezing Adam's hand tightly. But Adam didn't feel her touch. His hand was numb, as was the rest of his body. His bit his lower lip, and closed his eyes tightly. Trevor ran a hand through his disheveled blonde hair, casting his eyes to the floor as they spilled over with tears. He then glanced at Kim, and hesitantly kissed her forehead. He then stood up, and hid his face in his blue helmet.

"We...we should probably get going now," he said hoarsely, "Our job here is done."

In silence, the Yellow, Green, and Pink Rangers put their helmets back on. Adam touched Tommy's shoulder, but he didn't respond. He remained on the ground, his back slumped in defeat, and his eyes squeezed shut, still holding onto Kimberly tightly.

"Tommy," Adam said, "we have to go."

He didn't move. Adam couldn't even tell if Tommy had heard him. He sighed, and rose his communicator to his mouth.

"Zordon," Adam said quietly, "We've got Tommy and...Kim. Teleport all six of us home, please?"

Chapter Sixty-Seven

In the Power Chamber, silence reigned. Kimberly was lain on a bed, a sheet over her body. Justin remained on his cot, still soundly asleep. Adam, Kat, Tanya, and Trevor all stood before Zordon, still in their uniforms. They all held their helmets under their arms. Beside Kimberly's bed, Tommy sat, slouching forward and clasping his hands together. He was holding his hands so tightly, his knuckles grew white. The four rangers looked up to Zordon, their eyes still red from tears. Finally, Trevor regained his voice.

"Um, I don't know what the usual procedure is with you guys," he said, taking a deep breath, "but what do we tell Kim's family; and the rest of the world?"

"I don't know," Adam muttered, "This has never happened before."

"We certainly can't tell the world the truth," Tanya offered.

"THE TURBO RANGERS CAN ANNOUNCE THAT KIMBERLY WAS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS FOR SOME PURPOSE. DESPITE VALLIANT EFFORTS, WE WERE UNABLE TO SAVE HER LIFE. THE BODY SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO THE POLICE, WHERE THE INCIDENT CAN BE DOCUMENTED, AND THEN SHE CAN BE GIVEN A PROPER FUNERAL."

Adam nodded. "I guess I can do that job. It won't be easy, but I'm sure there are tons of people wondering what happened to Kim."

"I'll go with you," Tanya offered, putting her helmet back on.

Zordon regarded his rangers for a moment, watching as Adam picked up Kimberly's body. Tommy didn't even blink in awknowledgement. Zordon sighed inwardly -- a sound that startled all of the rangers present. In all the years of service, none have ever heard signs of despair in their mentor's voice. Even Alpha was surprised.

"RANGERS,"

Zordon began, "I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE ALL FEELING. AS TIME PASSED, I CAME TO REGARD YOU ALL AS MY CHILDREN. IT IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO LOSE SOMEONE SPECIAL -- A FRIEND, A CHILD, A COMPANION -- AND KIMBERLY WAS AS SPECIAL AS A HUMAN CAN BE. BUT YOU MUST REALIZE THAT WHAT HAPPENED WAS NOT YOUR FAULT. THERE WAS NOTHING YOU COULD HAVE DONE. WE HAVE SCANNED HER BODY, AND WE DETERMINED THAT THE LIFE-FORCE WITHIN HER HAD DRAINED AWAY. SHE WAS AWARE THAT SHE WAS MAGICALLY CONNECTED TO LORD ZEDD, AND DESPITE THIS, SHE KILLED HIM. SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WAS DOING. SHE DIDN'T BLAME ANY OF YOU FOR HER FATE, SO NEITHER SHOULD YOU BLAME YOURSELVES. THIS INCIDENT HAS BEEN A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY, BUT IT IS OVER. KIMBERLY HAD FOUND PEACE."

The rangers all nodded, grateful for Zordon's reassuring words. Then, Adam and Tanya vanished in bright streaks of light, leaving Trevor and Kat standing before Zordon. They both glanced at Tommy, who was totally oblivious to everything surrounding him. He didn't hear Zordon's speech, nor did he see Adam and Tanya leave with what remained of Kimberly Anne Hart. Kat sighed, and glanced down at her palms. She was holding the red Turbo Morpher and key.

"I don't know what to do about Tommy," she said quietly to Trevor and Zordon, "It's like he's not even here."

"TOMMY WAS ESPECIALLY CLOSE TO KIMBERLY. IT WILL TAKE HIM A LONG TIME TO COME TO TERMS WITH HER DEATH. ALL YOU CAN DO FOR HIM IS LET HIM KNOW YOU ARE ALL THERE FOR HIM. ONLY BY REMAINING STRONG CAN YOU ALL GET PASSED THE PAIN OF LOSING A DEAR FRIEND."

"Here," Trevor said, "let me try something."

Trevor took the Morpher from Kat's hands, and approached Tommy. He pulled up a chair, and sat beside the stoic leader of the Turbo Rangers.

"Hey Tommy," Trevor greeted. As suspected, Tommy made no reply. "Look, Tommy...I have something to admit to you. Believe it or not, I know how you feel..."

Trevor studied Tommy's face carefully. He took a breath, and then finished his sentence.

"...because I'm in love with Kimberly, too."

Tommy blinked in surprise, and glanced up at the Blue Ranger. Trevor nodded, and grinned.

"Yep, I am. Kim and I were pretty good friends, and not after too long, I realized how much she meant to me. I honestly, truly love her. She was the light of the gymnastics team, and her energy and enthusiasm really made the work lots of fun. I had never been in love before, either. It was really a shock to my system."

Tommy gazed at Trevor inquisitively. Trevor realized he had his full attention.

"I loved her more than anything, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it. I mean, she was quite vocal about her relationship with you, and even though she didn't go into detail, it was obvious she was deeply in love. To be perfectly honest, I resented