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

to reply, but she promptly shut it with a fierce front kick, targeting the vulnerable solar plexus. Tommy lurched back, stumbling in a haze as tears of pain all but blinded him.

He was so distracted, he had no defense for Kimberly's renewed assault. Her rage renewed, she mercilessly pounded him without offering a moment to breathe.

It was a roundhouse kick, striking Tommy in his unmasked face, that finally toppled the mighty leader of the Power Rangers.

Dazed and bleeding, and fighting for consciousness, Tommy barely felt it as Kimberly snatched his collar, forcing him to lift his head.

She stared at him for a long moment. Battered, bruised, and bloody… he probably couldn't even see her. Her gaze flashed with the energy of Maligore, drinking in the very picture of her revenge.

And she waited.

She waited for a wash of happiness… of true contentment to flood her veins, and finally ease the stress that corded her every muscle, and addled her mind both at rest and awake.

It didn't come.


Chapter Seventy-One

'Think like a man of action, and act like a man of thought.'

It was a famous quote, though Katherine couldn't recall who first said it. It didn't particularly matter anyway; there was a wealth of wisdom in that phrase, to enrich the life of any man, or woman.

She strove to live by those words. She couldn't just lull herself into a false feeling of security, or shy away from taking action for the better good. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't let her passions reign free, and act or speak without considering the consequences.

However, when she finally disentangled herself from the heavy piping of the power plant, and got a glimpse of the ghastly scene before her… her reason was extinguished by icy fear.

She absorbed it in an instant. She saw Justin, lying frozen like a grisly statue, his small stature leading her to believe the Power had left him. Then she saw Kimberly, straddled over a limp and defenseless Tommy. She saw the blood on his face, the tears in his armor… and the pristine, unmarked skin of the woman who tried so vigorously to rip him to shreds.

Without a blink of the eye, word to her comrades, or even a steadying breath, she drew Windfire in a silent command, and pulled back the fine cord.

Before either Adam or Tanya could fully discern what was happening, a silver and pink arrow streaked through the sky.

The arrow whistled faintly as it parted the air before it, drawing Kimberly's attention… but the spawn of evil had no time to react as the magically-enhanced point bit deeply into the flesh of her exposed upper arm.

The terrible shriek that tore through her throat, deepened by the rich voice the Flame granted her, rang like a tormented soul in Hell.

The force of the blow threw Kimberly off Tommy easily, letting her drop into a shivering, spastic heap nearly two yards distant.

Her ruby eyes dripped brilliant flames, her entire body quaking as she blindly tried to grab the arrow that had torn so far through skin and muscle its tip pierced her bone.

The shrieking tapered off soon after, replaced by frenzied whimpers as Kim struggled to pull the arrow from her body.

"Oh God…" Tanya murmured, stepping back in astonishment. She blinked again and again, as if trying to undo the terrifying, merciless action she'd just witnessed.

Had Katherine's aim been mere inches off, the first Pink Ranger could have lain dead before them all.

She numbly watched her best friend slide Windfire over her shoulder, and hurry to check on Tommy.

"Tanya!"

The Yellow Ranger shook herself out of her stupor, and gazed into Adam's opaque visor.

He touched her shoulder in a small gesture of comfort. "Go check on Justin."

She nodded, and hurried to the prone Blue Ranger. Adam watched her, and then turned his eyes to Katherine, Tommy, and Kimberly.

"At least it's finally over," he sighed.

Chapter Seventy-Two

The piercing sound of a woman screaming was enough to draw Tommy back to the land of the living. He groggily opened his eyes, blinking at the vibrant pink that overwhelmed his vision.

"Kim…"

Katherine's face turned to stone. "It's me."

She slid her arm beneath his shoulders, helping him rise. His hands cradled his face, gently probing the swollen, bloody mess Kimberly's thick heel had left.

"What happened to --?" he started to ask, until the soft whimpers of pain finally penetrated his conscious hearing. He whirled around, and his battered face hung in open shock.

Kimberly lay on her side, heaving painful gulps of air, as her hand squeezed the flesh around the arrow that drove into her arm. Blood poured in rivers from the wound, bathing her flushed skin, matted hair, and black clothes in rich sanguine. The horrible image instantly burned itself into the Red Ranger's brain, sure to haunt his nightmares every night thereafter.

He was so stunned, he merely stared at her, watching her bite her lip furiously as she tried in vain to mute her agony.

Slowly, he managed to pry his eyes away from Kimberly, and sluggishly turned to Katherine.

She recoiled at the accusation that swam in his eyes. It would have been a glare, if not for the shock that widened his emotive brown eyes.

The Pink Ranger felt the heat of his gaze, and rose to her feet to create some distance between them. She looked down at him, her rose mask hiding her features and flat tone masking her frustration. "Don't look at me like that."

"You…you…" He closed his eyes tightly, searching for the rational mind that had abandoned him. He couldn't find it in time to hold back furious words. "You almost killed

her!"

She folded her arms tightly over her chest. "I hit her in the arm, Tommy, and I recall enough Biology to know she has no vital organs between the shoulder and elbow." The defensive sarcasm vanished in a heavy sigh. "What else could I have done to stop her before she finished you off?"

Her argument would have made sense, if Tommy were able to think clearly. Instead of noticing how his girlfriend steeled herself against his words, all he could register was Kimberly, writhing in pain, drowning in hate, slipping even further

away from him…

"Dammit, Kat!" he growled, anger numbing the pain of his injuries and lending him the strength to rise to his feet. "She's under a spell…just like you

were when Rita turned you into her pet! Did Kim ever try to kill you? What the hell

do you have against her, anyway??"

Somewhere in his addled mind, he knew he was being grossly unfair. He knew Katherine wouldn't try to do Kimberly any permanent damage. He knew she had done it to save him…not out of jealousy, revenge, or any other personal reason.

A cold silence fell between them, as Katherine processed the depth of his accusation. Nothing could hurt more than his suspicion…did he have absolutely no faith in her?

"Against her?

" Kat repeated, when she finally recovered her voice. "Why? Just because I care enough about you not to watch you skewered like shrimp? Because I was able to take action, when all you could do was stand and watch her beat you to a pulp?? What is your

problem??" By now, her voice had risen to a shout. "Do you honestly

think you can save her by letting her kill

you?"

"Guys!" Adam suddenly shouted, breaking the intense standoff. He grabbed both Rangers by their shoulders, pushing them away from each other to ease the tension. "This isn't helping anyone!"

Red and Pink turned away from each other, each quietly breathing.

"Let's get Kimberly out of here," the Green Ranger suggested. "Alpha can mend her arm, and hopefully Zordon can figure out how she could still be under Maligore's spell. He's been dead for weeks...it just doesn't make sense."

"Do we have any idea what she was doing here?" Kat questioned.

"Justin was out when I got here," Tommy reported, his gaze lingering on Kimberly. "Adam, come with me to check on Kim. Kat, you look around for anything unusual."

Gee Tommy, could you be a little more vague?

she wondered, her anger draining the patience right out of her. She quickly made as much space as possible between herself and the Red Ranger.

Chapter Seventy-Three

"Justin? Can you hear me?" Tanya urged, gently patting his face to pull him to consciousness. "Come on, Justin…"

It was beyond sickening to see her young friend so viciously mauled, but she had managed to beat down the nausea and methodically check his vitals. He still breathed, albeit shallowly, and his heartbeat was regular. Most of the cuts were shallow enough that they'd already stopped bleeding.

And then, his eyes fluttered.

The Yellow Ranger decided to try and rouse him, and perhaps gain some insight into what happened.

Finally, her diligence paid off, and Justin managed to open his damp, unfocused eyes. She couldn't contain a sigh of relief. "Can you hear me?"

"Tanya," he breathed. He began blinking fiercely, trying to orient himself.

"Do you remember what happened?"

He licked his cracked lips, trying to moisten them enough to articulate. "Generator…" He blinked again, fighting for