Shadow Ranger Return to Angel Grove The Firebird Zord of the Shadow Ranger (nee Pink Ranger) flew over the city of Angel Grove, California, towards the Command Center used by her former teammates' counterparts in this timeline. "Oh, crap," she muttered, when she saw the ruins of the Command Center. "What happened here? Zedd? Arsenal? Neon Wizard? The X'Hirjq?" None of the answers were evident. After landing the Zord for a closer look, she ruled out Neon Wizard easily; there were no Calvin and Hobbes books among the rubble. she thought, pulling her Shadowcat-model Excalibur Cybercycle out of a special compartment in her Zord's fusilage. Without bothering to strap on the armor, Kim rode into town. Kim strode into The Angel Grove Gym and Juice Bar, affectionately known as "Ernie's" after the owner/manager. She was instantly overcome with a sense of nostalgia. This was the site of many a victory celebration, mystery, and some of the corniest dialogue she'd ever delivered. There was also the time she'd managed to get Skull to kiss Bulk.... Stifling a laugh at that thought, she noticed Tommy, Billy, Rocky, and Adam sitting at a table, along with two girls she did not recognize. She guessed the blonde was Kat, based on what Arsenal had told her. She was a little disgusted at how close Tommy and Kat were sitting to each other. she thought, wiping away a tear. Thinking fast, she quickly caused herself to become invisible. Winding her way through the crowd, she reappeared near Ernie, who's back was to her. "Hi, Ernie." Startled, Ernie jumped almost a foot, quite a feat considering his size. He glanced over his shoulder, and smiled when he saw Kim. "Oh, hi, Kimberly. Didn't realize you were back in town." "I'm just visiting for the weekend," she told him. "Who's the new girl?" she asked, nodding in the Rangers' general direction. "Her name's Tanya," Ernie explained. "From what everyone's told me, she comes from Kenya." "She certainly seems chummy with the others," Kim muttered. "So, what'll it be?" "Bloody Mary. Oh wait, that's right, you don't carry alcoholic beverages here. Just a V-8." "One V-8 comin' right up." As she sipped her vegetable juice, almost gagging on the horrid taste, she observed the Rangers, especially Tommy and Kat. "This could get a little confuzzling," she muttered to herself. An insistent beeping from his wrist communicator grabbed Tommy's attention. "What is it, Alpha?" he whispered. "And keep it quiet, we're in public." "Rangers, return to the Bunker, immediately. We've got trouble brewing." "We're on our way." He stood up, and headed for the door. The other Rangers followed his lead. Kim noticed Tommy and the others leaving, and decided to follow. She followed them out the door, where they disappeared in their common beams of light. Revving the Cybercycle, she followed the beams to their destination. "What's the situation, Alpha?" Tommy asked, once the Rangers were in the Command Bunker. "Rangers, Zordon and I have been detecting anomolies in the morphing grid. Somebody who is not a Power Ranger has access to it." "How is that possible?" Adam asked. "It must have something to do with those unreality waves that rolled through here last year," Alpha explained. "Maybe a Green Power Ranger who was never freed from Rita's spells slipped through! Or a traitorous Power Ranger of another timeline! Ai- yiyiyiYI!" "Calm down, Alpha!" Zordon rumbled. "Panicking will not help anyone." "So what can we do?" Tanya asked. "And I thought Adam was the Green Zeo Ranger?" "I am," Adam stated. "Tommy?" "I was the original Green Ranger, back before the rest of you joined," Tommy explained. "Back then, the team was Jason, Billy, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly. I was chosen by Rita Repulsa to be the Green Ranger, and had various spells cast on me to insure my loyalty." Tommy turned away from the team, his thoughts lost in time. "Jason and the others freed me from the spell. After a while, though, my powers were stolen from me. Then Zordon created the White Power Coin, and I became the White Ranger." "I think you've said enough, luv," Kat stated, hugging Tommy, her Australian accent thickening. "I know exactly how you feel." "Guys," Billy called out from his workstation. "I've got a lock on the nearest morphing grid anomoly. It's right here in Angel Grove. Observe the viewing globe." A shot of Kimberly on her Cybercycle appeared on the holographic globe. "I don't believe it," Tommy whispered. "It's Kimmy, and she's a Jihaddi." "Jihaddi?" Tanya and Kat asked. "There's this one organization out there," Billy explained, "the Jihad to Destroy Barney the Purple Dinosaur. They're of the mistaken mindset that we're allied with him. Those markings on that cycle are Jihad insignia." "We've fought them in the past," Tommy continued. "I don't look forward to fighting against her." "I'm getting some unusual energy readings from Kimberly," Billy stated. "It would appear that she internalized the energies of a Power Coin." "Internalized?!" Alpha exclaimed. "Ai-yiYIyiyiyiyi. Is nothing sacred?" "So what do we do, Zordon?" Rocky asked. "Unless she attacks," Zordon rumbled with his mouth-full- of-peanut-butter voice, "do nothing. We let her make the first move." "Let's head back to Ernie's," Kat suggested. "Kimberly will be there, if and when she decides to talk to us." "What are you trying to tell me, Zordon?" a dopey, syrupy, yet surprisingly menacing voice asked, three hours after the Rangers had left. "Lord B'Harne," Zordon replied, "one of the former Power Rangers has allied herself with the Jihad. I need your permission to have her disposed of." "Hyuck hyuck hyuck! Can't you control your teenagers, Zordon? The temporal warps have given me numerous Ranger operatives all over the world, all without them knowing of my involvement in your operations. We can't have my plans spoiled by one rogue Jihaddi Ranger." "About the Ranger in question," B'Harne ordered, "hyuck hyuck, kill her." B'Harne's face disappeared from the viewing globe. "Ai-yiyiyiYI!" Alpha exclaimed. "Zordon, how can we do this to poor Kimberly?" "Quiet, Alpha. For allying herself with our enemies in the Jihad, Kimberly must die." "Man, I can't wait to confront Kimberly," Rocky stated. "How can she betray us like this?" He and Adam were sitting at a table outside the Gym and Juice Bar. "I remember when that one Jihaddi, Windigo, wiped the floor of that Mall with her," Adam recalled. "When did Windi do this to me?" Adam and Rocky jumped, startled, as Kimberly leaned over the table. "DON'T DO THAT!" Rocky yelled, clearly flustered. "I just stopped by the old stomping grounds for a visit," Kimmy stated, pouting, "and I find two of my closest friends talking about me behind my back." "I ain't friends with no stinkin' Jihaddi," Adam muttered. "Is that what this is about?" she asked, taking a seat at their table. "Pull up a chair, boys, because I've got one hell of a story to tell you. For starters, I'm not the Kimberly you know. I'm her counterpart, from another timeline...." "Impossible!" Tommy yelled, after Rocky and Adam had relayed their encounter with Kim to the rest of the Rangers. "That extremely convoluted story is so full of impossibilities, it boggles the mind!" "Not necessarily, Tommy," Billy stated. "I've run through the whole scenario in a computer simulation. It's not impossible. Highly unlikely, but not impossible." "You're saying that two Rangers could've shared a single Power Coin, Billy?" Adam asked. "Affirmative. But both would have to have been holding onto the same Morpher." "This is unreal," Tanya stated. "Aside from the fact that this is the first time I've even heard of this Jihad, and I've never even met Kimberly before, I feel like I'm in the middle of something I don't want to be in." "Same here," Kat agreed. "After all, I was the one who stole her Power Coin, back when Rita had me under her spell. If she's the same Kimberly that I know, even though she says otherwise, she may be out for revenge." "So what do we do?" Tanya asked. "We confront Kimberly, and make her see that she's wrong," Tommy stated, a cold edge coming into his voice. Billy thought. "IT'S MORPHING TIME!" Tommy yelled. Kimberly sat in the cockpit of her Firebird Zord, parked near the ruins of the Command Center, trying to reach Arsenal on the comm unit. "Base One here. Please state your name, rank, and branch of service." "Shadow Ranger, unoffical member of the Covert Ops Team. I'm trying to reach CINC Arsenal." "Please stand by." "Arsenal here. What's up, Kim?" "I'm not exactly sure yet. The Rangers now know I'm with the Jihad. Also, I told Adam and Rocky the details of who I really am, and how I got here. It's a safe bet they've told the other Rangers." "Have you reached a decision yet?" "Yeah. As soon as I've wrapped up a few things out here, I'm coming home." <"Home". To think that I now consider Base One as home, after what I've seen here.> "Roger that, Kim. See you when you get back." Kim turned off the comm unit. Gazing out the Firbird Zord's cockpit, she noticed the Rangers' distinctive teleportation beams approaching her. "Oh, shit." The five active Power Rangers landed of the plateau outside the ruined Command Center. Standing beside her Zord, Kimberly morphed from her normal clothes into her Power Ranger outfit/Excalibur armor. Flipping open the armor's helmet, she approached the Rangers. "Are you here to talk," she asked, eyeing the Rangers warily, "or to fight?" "That depends on you, Kimberly," Tommy stated. "Are you with us, or with the Jihad?" "I never thought of it as an either/or question," she replied. "Why not help me prove that Zordon works for B'Harne?" "That's all I needed to know," Tommy stated, swinging his fist. Kim caught it, and used his momentum against him, throwing him to the ground. "TOMMY!" Kat yelled, racing towards Kim. Kat leapt, flipping into the battle. "Pathetic," Kim muttered, catching Kat dead center in the chest with her fist, driving the air from Kat's lungs. Kat fell to the ground, gasping for air. "Double whammy?" Rocky called out. "You got it!" Adam replied. The Blue and the Green Zeo Rangers took positions on opposite sides of Kim, and started racing towards her. They leapt, planning on catching her between them. "Give me a break!" Kim groaned, as she shifted to her shadow-form. Adam and Rocky, instead of ramming into Kim, crashed into each other. Resolidifying near her Zord, Kim quickly climbed into the cockpit. "Let's take this party topside!" she called through the Zord's external speakers, as the Firebird Zord soared into the air. "KIMBERLY!" Tommy yelled. "Phoenix Zeo Zord Power! NOW!" With a beam of red light, Tommy "morphed" into his Phoenix Zeo Zord. The two Zords raced through the areas surrounding Angel Grove, Kim leading Tommy on what amounted to a wild goose chase. They buzzed people picnicing in the park, then headed over to the beach. The film crew for Baywatch ran for cover as the two Zords ripped past the cameras. "You've gotten good," Tommy stated through the tacnet. "And you still can't drive to save your life!" she taunted back, pulling the Firebird into a tight loop, leveling her guns on Tommy's six. "Eat lead, turkey!" Tommy just barely rolled out of the way, as the 30mm guns opened fire on him. "When did you arm your Zord?!" he called out. "Not long after I killed you the first time," she replied. "You've grown colder." "And you're still a jerk, no matter what timeline we're in." Kim inverted the Firebird, and brought it down on top of the Phoenix, just inches separating the two. She smiled, pulled out a camera, and flashed Tommy. She pulled away, and hit the afterburners. Tommy followed as best as he could. The chase resumed, heading out over the Pacific. Banking left, Kim roared past the conning tower of the USS Enterprise. Tommy just barely avoided crashing into the tower. "You lunatic!" he screamed. "Are you trying to kill me?!" "You have to ask, after this chase?" she shot back. "Good point." The chase proceded back to the mainland, once again causing a film crew to scatter. Kim led Tommy into a canyon. "Try and keep up," she taunted, "if you can." Kim led Tommy through some twists and turns that had Tommy wondering if he'd survive. Nearing the end of the canyon, Kim suddenly pulled back on her stick, bringing the Firebird Zord into a vertical climb. Tommy wasn't as lucky. Tommy had just barely "morphed" out of the Zord as it crashed into the canyon wall. Catching his breath, he cursed as Kim flew off towards the East. "You'll pay for this, Kimberly Hart," he swore, "if it's the last thing I do." "ZORDON, YOU'RE USELESS!!!!" "Please, Lord B'Harne, dont.... AAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!" Zordon writhed in Hellwyrm-induced pain. "The rogue Ranger will die," B'Harne exclaimed. "Even if I have to do her in myself!" To be followed up whenever I get around to it.... The Power Rangers, including likenesses thereof, trademarked by Saban Entertainment, used without permission. The Shadow Ranger is my own creation, based on a former Power Ranger. Shadow Ranger: Return to Angel Grove written by Ted "Arsenal" Brock Copyright 1996 Pullemouttayerhat Productions