Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Heather Ray [read ebook pdf TXT] 📗

avoided. They could have worked out the misunderstanding. Her heart would've been free of the frustrations and hurt that burdened her…that left her open to Maligore's evil. Her spirit would've been strong, as it always had been. She would've fought

against the evil; fought for her freedom. She would have broken the spell, just as Jason did, with Lerigot's aid --

He hissed in agony, his right hand cradling a painful slash on his left shoulder. His eyes blurred with moisture, sliding from the blood oozing over his pristine gloves, to the one that caused it.

Kimberly smirked with satisfaction, flaming eyes turning to the red stain on the edge of her razor-sharp bow. "Looks like I've shed first blood, Tommy,"

she noted. "Maybe now you'll actually fight, instead of dancing around me."

Tommy ground his teeth against the pain, and forced himself to stand tall. His distraction left him wide open for that strike…he had underestimated just how fast she was. And she handled that bow like it was an extension of herself.

He swallowed. This was simply not

the time for remorse…though he still felt it weigh him down like a clump of lead in his stomach.

"Turbo Lightning Sword," he forced through clenched teeth. Energy swirled from his right palm, forming the Red Turbo Ranger's primary weapon.

He gripped his blade between bloodstained fingers, bending his knees as he prepared himself for what was to come.

She tossed her hair behind her back. "That's more like it!"

Both hands met at the center of her bow, splitting the weapon into two short swords. Her arms hovered at her sides, malicious glee glinting in her ruby eyes as she charged forward.

Tommy met her halfway, watching as one blade arced forward and the other swung behind her. He lifted his sword, letting her first strike glance of the sharp edge, and ducked the follow-up swing. She spun around, bringing both blades to bear at once. He gripped his sword with both hands, angling the long blade to collide with both of the obsidian scythes.

And so, they fought…a macabre dance made perversely beautiful by the graceful movement, gleaming weapons, and unyielding determination of both combatants. Throughout the battle, Kimberly led, grunting with frustration and effort as she forced Tommy to back away. The Red Ranger remained ever on the defensive, never striking with more force than needed to merely knock her off balance, and give himself a moment to recover his bearings.

The care he took to not hurt a single hair on Kimberly's head was painfully obvious. Every instance Kimberly punched through his impeccable defense, she'd taunt him with a shallow cut. Much as she did to Justin, she covered much of his body in open wounds, letting the blood gradually sully his luminescent armor.

Yet Tommy would do no such thing. His brilliant silver blade never came in contact with her flesh or clothing, nor did it come close. Instead, his sword served as a shield, blocking her blows as best he could.

He had hoped that his mercy would prove to Kimberly that he didn't want to harm her. She refused to believe his words, but his actions couldn't be denied.

Unfortunately, she interpreted his actions differently.

"You arrogant bastard

!"

she howled, a nimbus of fire glowing around her eyes. "You think I'm so weak you can beat me without even trying? Fight…back!

"

She punctuated her last word with two vicious downward swings, both backed by enough force to topple a redwood. Tommy managed to scramble out of the way with a split-second to spare, letting Kim's blows dig deep into the concrete ground.

Kim growled furiously, struggling to dislodge her swords from the tight sheathes they cleaved into the floor.

"Kim, I'm not trying

to beat you! I'm trying to get you back!"

Kim's gaze jumped up at the sound of metal clattering against the ground. She stared at the Red Ranger, who slowly lifted his hands in surrender. His sword lay forsaken at least six feet away from him.

He took a tentative step forward, but her sharp glare froze him in place. "Kim, this isn't you! You're a loving, compassionate person! I don't understand why you're still under Maligore's spell --"

"Don't you dare

place the blame!"

she snarled, her fists clenched in outrage. "It's your

fault! You

left me

…you

made me

spiteful, hurt, and weak. The Flame just shed the weakness, burned away the pain, and gave me the strength to do

something about it!"

Despite the hundreds of times his own conscience laid such accusations on him, it still stabbed like a dull sword to hear Kimberly utter it.

He lowered his hands to his sides. "...you're right."

Chapter Sixty-Nine

"And now, move your tassels to the other side of your caps."

The sea of students obliged, sliding the dangling ornaments to the right of the center peak.

"Class of 1997, I'm proud of each and every one of you. I salute you, and wish you good luck in whatever the future holds!"

The throngs of listeners fell into uproarious applause, celebrating the monumental achievement reached after thirteen years of formal schooling. The students threw their caps into the air, filling the canopy with indigo and yellow Frisbees.

Adam cheered just as loudly as the others, pride swelling his heart as he eagerly searched for a good friend to share it with. After a few moments of looking, he felt arms drape his shoulders from behind.

"Tanya!" he greeted, turning into the hug. "Congratulations!"

The Yellow Ranger laughed gleefully. "This is so incredible

! Can you believe --"

Her words were lost when the six-tone signal rang through the cheerful din. Suddenly, all their mirth faded, and two pairs of serious dark brown eyes met.

Adam grabbed her hand. "Let's find Kat and get out of here."

She nodded mutely, hopping over the row of folding chairs between them and following him to the edge of the swarm of graduates.

"There she is!" Tanya noted, pointing to the row of trees behind the large tent. There, Katherine waved at her teammates frantically.

Tanya and Adam raced to join her amid the trees.

"Here," she told them, pointing to dense bushes nearby. "No one will see us."

The trio dodged into the verdure canopy, and huddled around Adam, who activated his communicator. "This is Adam."

"ADAM, NOW THAT THE GRADUATION CEREMONY HAS CONCLUDED, YOU AND THE OTHER RANGERS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED AT THE POWER PLANT."

Tanya's eyebrow rose. "What's going on?"

"THIRTY MINUTES AGO, ALPHA DETECTED A TELEPORTATION SIGNAL DESTINED FOR THE ENTRANCE TO THE ENERGY FACILITY. THE POWER RELEASED BY THE GENERATORS DISRUPTS ANY SENSORS, COMMUNICATIONS, OR TELEPORTATION WITHIN THE AREA, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO DETERMINE THE THREAT REMOTELY. JUSTIN WENT AHEAD TO INVESTIGATE, AND TOMMY JOINED HIM THEREAFTER. WE HAVE HEARD NOTHING FROM EITHER OF THEM YET."

Katherine's gaze darkened. "Can you teleport us directly there once we Morph?"

"YES. BE CAREFUL, RANGERS."

The three teens rose to their feet amidst the foliage. After quickly sweeping the area for witnesses, they flexed their wrists, urging their Morphers to appear.

"Wind Chaser Turbo Power!"

"Dune Star Turbo Power!"

"Desert Thunder Turbo Power!"

The summoned energies formed cocoons around their bodies, molding armor over their clothing and infusing them with speed and strength far beyond their natural limitations. The instant the transformation was completed, a new wave of power washed over them, sending them on a carrier wave to the gates of the Angel Grove Power Plant.

"No time to waste!" the Green Ranger shouted, bounding over the walls. The Pink and Yellow Rangers were at his heels, following him into the humming facility.

"How are we supposed to find them without any scanners?" Tanya wondered. "This place is enormous!"

As if in answer, a bolt of lightning flashed low in the atmosphere up ahead.

"What was that

?" Katherine breathed.

"Lightning…in a cloudless sky," Adam answered, eyes narrowed.

"Let's move," Tanya urged, as the trio vanished into blurs of motion.

Chapter Seventy

A bolt of lightning crashed directly overhead, but both ignored it completely.

Silence reigned.

It couldn't have been more than ten seconds since Tommy had made his startling proclamation. Still…the burning silence seemed to stretch into eternity, as he awaited her reaction.

The enraged scowl that had folded the spawn of evil's cheek had smoothed, as surprise won out over anger. She stared at the Red Ranger warily, as if he were an asp prepared to bite her. "What are you playing at?"

He took another slow step forward. This time, she made no move to back away. "No games, Kim." His voice was sure, strong…oddly soothing.

Why did his voice still have the power to wrap around her like a warm blanket?

"I…I messed up." His hands rose to his head, unlatching the crimson helmet and sliding it off his face. Chocolate eyes pleaded with her, helping to freeze her in place.

The gap between them closed to just a few feet. She still didn't pull away.

"I should've called you…tried to work things out between us. I had no idea you were hurting so much." He bit his lip, gazing at her sadly. "I didn't even think it was possible for you to hurt more than I did."

Her lower lip thrust out in an exaggerated pout. "Aww…did poor little Tommy get a boo-boo?"

Her sarcasm was biting, but he didn't let it distract him. "Yes, Kim, I did...because someone lied to me. I don't know who yet, but someone tricked me --"

She interrupted him with a harsh chuckle. "Oh, of course!"

she mocked. "It's so obvious! Someone made a clone of me, making you hate me enough to chase after Katherine while I was a continent away! Or, maybe it's the old 'out of sight, out of mind'

deal? Only with your

memory, you forgot I even existed! So you're innocent…you never meant

to drop me like a bad habit!"

She dropped the false humor. "Too bad that doesn't erase the fact that you did

."

He opened his mouth