Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie by Heather Ray (beach read book .TXT) 📕

the humans wouldn't survive." An eager grin lit her face. "Let's see what happens when two goody-goods lose their purity!"

As Divatox's forces took a back seat, the Turbo Rangers hesitantly approached their friends.

They froze as Kimberly lifted her head.

"Kim?" Adam called.

She stretched her neck slightly, and suddenly, her eyes snapped open.

The Rangers gasped.

Her eyes...once a soft shade of brown...were a fiery red.

A cold smirk spread onto her face. It seemed so out of place on such a sweet, loving person.

Tommy suddenly felt overwhelmingly sick.

She lifted her dainty arms, still enclosed in heavy iron manacles. With a flick of the wrist, she shattered the chain.

Horrified, the Turbo Rangers turned to Jason, whose eyes also swam in crimson flame. A brutal sneer wrinkled his face as he too tore his chains with little effort.

Justin was the first to recover his voice. "What's wrong with them?"

Adam swallowed, his mind swimming. "Divatox said something about Maligore feeding off their purity. They must be under an evil spell!"

"Well, we've beaten evil spells before," Kat pointed out, trying to sound reassuring.

Tommy watched carefully as Kimberly and Jason stretched their muscles. Is this just another spell?

he wondered, his heart sinking.

Divatox then stepped forward, clutching the sacred Golden Key high above her head. "Maligore's children...destroy them!"

Kimberly leapt off the edge of the pit, crouching into the sand like a cat prepared to pounce. Jason performed an aerial somersault impossible for any normal human being.

Adam, Tanya, Kat, and Justin took a cautious step back. Yet against all reason, Tommy rushed toward them.

"Kim!" he called anxiously, hesitantly reaching for her. "Can you hear me?"

The former Pink Ranger responded with a wordless snarl, catching his fingers within bizarrely-powerful hands. He winced as she squeezed his digits, then shoved him aside.

Justin watched the powerhouse the others called Jason. He moved to approach, but the young man caught the boy's hand within a vice like grip. Justin fought the urge to scream as bones ground together, until a punch in the gut sent him reeling.

"Leave him alone!" Katherine hissed. She braced herself as her erstwhile teammate landed a punch that would snap a redwood into splinters. Stars shot across her vision, making it impossible for her to avoid the thunderous snap-kick the black-belt martial artist landed beneath her chest bone.

The Pink Turbo Ranger stumbled, trying desperately to hold onto consciousness until the Power could reorient her. When her vision cleared, her blue eyes widened to see her predecessor stride purposefully toward her.

"Kim," she pleaded, "you have to fight the evil!"

Maligore's child responded in a foreign voice...a voice so deep, sultry, and unabashedly wicked Katherine jumped in shock. "Evil is as evil does."

"Don't do this!" she begged. Kimberly grabbed her arm, squeezing so tightly the Pink Ranger feared she might lose it.

"Leave her alone!" came a sudden shout. Kimberly had no time to react as the Red Ranger grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to release her target.

Suddenly, he let her go, tearing off his crimson helmet. Red-rimmed chocolate brown eyes stared at her, holding her eyes in a gaze so powerful, it was nearly a physical grip. "Look at me, Kim. Look at me!"

Tommy didn't even blink as the red orbs bore into him. He was so close he could actually see the angry fire burning in her eyes, tingeing them red, creating the blazing aura he could feel through his protective gloves.

"It's me...Tommy."

"Yes!" Katherine added. "We're your friends!"

Tommy felt the heat rise within his former girlfriend, forcing him to back away. "What makes you think I don't remember you?"

Kim wondered, tilting her head. "Oh, I know who you two are...and you're certainly no friends of mine

!"

Her words were so heavy with venom the two Turbo Rangers had no idea how to react.

Kimberly took advantage of their momentary stupor, firing a bone-crunching roundhouse to Tommy's jaw. The Red Ranger managed to lift his arms in an instinctive block, but the sheer force of the assault sent him reeling. Kimberly then turned her attention to her successor, easily ducking her retaliatory swing. She then bent low, and kicked the Pink Ranger in the back of the knees. She chuckled as the taller girl fell onto her back, and jammed her heel into Kat's stomach. "You know, Kitty...you really suck at combat."

Tommy watched, his torment naked in his eyes. He'd lived this before...hurting the people he cared for, powerless to fight the evil...

"Kim, please," he croaked, "I don't want to hurt you."

Her smoldering gaze slid from the girl who stole her boyfriend to the two-timing bastard himself. She took a deep breath, reveling in the complete lack of guilt at pummeling the people who hurt her so much.

For the first time, there was

no conflict. No stubborn affection lingering under the surface, reducing her to tears. No weakness. No naïveté. Just raw power. And justified rage, flowing through her body in an inferno, augmenting her strength to a level that would actually threaten her enemies.

"Don't worry, Tommy,"

she drawled, her deep voice sending chills down the Red Ranger's spine, "I swear to you, you can never

hurt me again."

She stepped away from Kat, and turned to her first love. And to think- she'd actually been afraid

of this moment...when confronted with the man who both captured, and shattered, her heart!

Tommy's face was the very picture of ignorance. "Again? When did I hurt you, Kim? When

!"

Incredibly, she released a long, indulgent cackle. "If you really think I'll justify that with a response, the Power's really

gone to your head!"

Then, she leapt at him. Tommy was completely unprepared for such a vicious assault, and barely managed to catch her wrists as they both crashed to the ground.

She hissed wordlessly, fighting to pull her hands from his surprisingly firm grip.

"Kim," he exhaled, his teeth on edge with strain, "Are you mad at me, or do you just want to kill me?" God, that's a stupid question...but maybe it'll help me get through to her.

She slowed her struggles, eyebrows rising in surprise. Then, she smiled. "I don't want to kill you Tommy."

He released a sigh of relief. Maybe I can

reason with her...

"I want to tear your eyes from your sockets, peel your skin from your muscles, pull your hair out one strand at a time, rip off your fingernails...and then

kill you."

Tommy found himself struck speechless as Kimberly then wrenched her hands free, and slapped him across the face. The pain was blinding, for without his helmet, he was particularly vulnerable.

An indulgent smile spread across her face as she watched Tommy squeeze his eyes closed, blood trickling from his nostrils. She then leaned toward him, resting her elbows on his powerful chest.

Tommy's breath hitched. She was pushing the air right out of his lungs!

"You owe me, you know,"

she whispered, her breath tickling his ear, "For every night I cried myself to sleep. For every nightmare I had...picturing you with HER

, fighting beside HER

, kissing HER

. For every morning I woke up, my eyes swollen, my body even more exhausted than I was when I'd gone to bed."

His eyes stung as accusations crashed into him one by one, words cutting far deeper than Goldar's blade ever did. He thrashed beneath her, struggling to react, trying to respond. He felt the need to deny doing anything with any girl; to shout back, defend himself, make her see the truth.

But he couldn't even breathe...much less argue.

What is she talking about??

His frenzied mind demanded. Did this spell plant false memories into her mind, turning her against her friends?

Kim leaned back, relieving the numbing pressure on his organs, allowing him a breath. She smiled sweetly as he sucked in air, coughing through a dry throat.

The sight of him in tears was oh so satisfying...so she let herself enjoy it.

"Wh...what about the letter?" he wheezed.

What right did she

have to be upset? Spell or no spell, she had no reason to doubt him. He didn't do anything that could even remotely be considered unfaithful. She broke up with him!

She cocked her head curiously, letting her long hair slide over one shoulder. It was a gesture Tommy once considered adorable...a lifetime ago.

"I didn't get anything from you,"

she informed him. "No letters, no calls, nothing. But if you tried to apologize in a letter, instead of actually speaking

to me, then I'm glad I never got it."

Tommy stared at her blankly, watching in disbelief as she lifted her hands, nails outstretched. She was preparing to drive her fingers into his flesh --

-- when sudden pink blur flashed above, knocking the spellbound girl off him.

The Red Ranger was shocked to see the Pink Ranger, standing tall over her predecessor. Her breath came in deep gulps as she watched Kimberly lift her head from the sand, rubbing her jaw painfully.

"Kim," Katherine muttered, her voice unusually harsh. "Stop this now! I don't --"

"Oh please,"

Kim snapped, lifting her head from the sand. "If you dare

say 'I don't want to hurt you'

, I'll make sure you linger

before you die!"

Kimberly flipped onto her feet, and closed the gap between herself and Kat. Tommy stared in horror as his ex smoothly blocked a jab from his girlfriend, leaving the Ranger open for a powerful knee in the stomach.

Kat fought to regain her footing, and managed to gather enough strength to throw another punch.

Kim received the blow to her chest, snarling fiercely. Yet she bent backwards, just barely dodging Kat's follow-up swing. As Kat's momentum pushed her forward, Kim performed a kick that should have been impossible due to gravity...she leaned so far back, she planted her hands onto the sand, and lifted her knees.

Katherine groaned as she received both knees in her abdomen, tossing her yards across the chamber.

"Oh, and sweetie,"

Kim drawled. "Pink is out."

Kat didn't respond.

Chapter Forty-One

Through the fire dancing in his once-raven eyes, Jason surveyed the damage his own hands had caused. He strode across the sand like Goliath, a bestial grin pulling his lip at the chaos surrounding him.

The power...it's like nothing I've ever felt before! I've even defeated the Rangers!

Without breaking a sweat, he embarrassed the Yellow Ranger. Tanya was new to martial arts, and a few brief lessons from Adam certainly couldn't grant her the skill needed to take on a true master.

Adam himself was too distracted to do much either. While incredibly fast, he didn't have the