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

He continued to watch her, balling his fists in a vain effort to quell their shaking. "Why did you do it?" he demanded softly. Inwardly, he was thankful he'd recovered the ability to speak.

"What? Hurt the Smurf? Well, it's nothing personal. Just wanted to show you that I meant business."

She smiled perversely. "That, and test out my strength against a Power Ranger. I've gotten a lot better since our last fight."

Tommy watched as she yanked the heavy cloak from her shoulders. "I didn't fight you on Muiranthias, Kim. Do you know why?"

Her smile turned into a sneer, her hand unconsciously touching the cheek the Pink Turbo Ranger nearly ripped off her face. "Of course I do: why do you own dirty work when your blonde bitch is more than eager?"

The Red Ranger flinched at the words. "Kat was desperate," he tried to reason. "We had to stop the fighting, to save you and Jason before Maligore woke up. She didn't want to hurt you."

Kimberly sighed dramatically. "You are such

a broken record!"

She reached behind her back, drawing an obsidian archer's bow. "But it doesn't matter. The time for talk was four months ago. Now I'll let the Flame do the talking."

The instant her fingers touched the fine chord, a blaze of fire erupted across the bow, aimed right at the Red Ranger. He barely had the chance to dodge as the arrow streaked through the air, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake.

His breath hitched in surprise when he noticed the melted concrete that marked his previous position.

"And remember to go through the wormhole," Scorpina instructed at a painfully slow pace. "If you don't enter at the dead center at more than mach three, you won't make it to M51."

The simpleton saluted from the bottom of the boarding ramp. "So what's in this letter again?"

Goldar's fangs gnashed fiercely. "An invitation to a victory party, moron

."

Rito nodded, his head bowing deeply. "Cool! Am I invited too?"

A cold grin twisted Scorpina's sanguine lip. "Rita will tell you when she opens it; and you know how angry she gets when someone else opens her mail, so…"

"I'll be extra careful," Rito determined, puffing his chest proudly. "You can count on Rito, yessiree!" He pivoted, and marched up the ramp into the one-man vessel. "I'll deliver this baby express! Yeah…I'll even pick up some wrapping paper on Onyx, make it look pretty…"

His voice faded as the hatch sealed closed behind him.

Goldar and Scorpina waved at the ship, false smiles painted on their lips.

"Do you think that idiot can make it all the way home all by himself?" Scorpina wondered.

"He made it here

, didn't he?" the Titan pointed out. "He'll be fine."

The ship's rockets flared to life, blowing smoke into the hangar. Moments later, the sleek vessel lifted off the ground, and disappeared through the gate into the bleak skies.

The moment the roaring of the engines faded, Scorpina heaved a dramatic sigh of relief. "Finally!

I think I was killing brain cells every time I spoke to him!"

Goldar released a deep chuckle. "And you only had to tolerate him for a matter of days. Imagine living with him for months

." He held his hand in the direction of the exit. "Shall we?"

Scorpina smiled, and stepped past him. Side by side, the gilded pair traversed the winding hallways of the lower levels of Lord Zedd's extravagant Lunar Palace.

The sleek assassin couldn't help a malicious smile. "I must hand it to our Lord. Sending Rita an invitation to his wedding is the utmost in cruelty. If only I could see her face when she reads it!"

Goldar nodded his agreement. "As would I… though I would certainly not want to be within twenty parsecs of that old witch ever again." He then leaned closer to his companion. "Although, now that Rito Revolto is out of our lives, we can speak more freely on this matter. Who is our Lord marrying? How could he possibly find a suitable wife in this sector of the galaxy?"

The lovely assassin answered with a widened grin. "Our Lord plans to make the announcement this very day. In fact, he awaits us in his throne room."

Goldar frowned thoughtfully, pondering the possibilities during the lengthy hike to the high tower. There isn't a halfway decent villainess anywhere near here! I've heard Divatox has been fishing for treasure on Earth, but she is so beneath our Lord it's laughable. Why replace Rita with an even greater whiner? Rumors have spread that Dark Specter's upstart princess Astronema has come of age, but I doubt Specter would agree to such a union…

Before his mind could get any further, the pair reached the large double doors of wrought iron that separated Zedd's seat of power from the remainder of the palace. Shaking his mind clear of speculation, the towering warrior straightened his shoulders and marched into the presence of the Emperor of Evil.

Lord Zedd sat at his throne, his head leaning against one hand as he watched an image magically projected into the air. Beside him, the Karovan intellectual Egeon stood stiffly, a disinterested frown on his face.

"My Lord?" Scorpina spoke, announcing their presence.

Zedd lifted his free hand, and gestured them to approach. "I trust Rita's brother is gone?"

"Gone, with your invitation," Goldar informed him. "And even if the idiot doesn't make it to M51, he'll never manage to wind his way back here."

"It doesn't matter," Zedd decided, "I would like Rita to read the message, and deal one final blow to her swollen pride, but one way or another she has been humiliated. Behold, my new Queen."

His face alight with curiosity, Goldar hurried to his master's side. His eyes narrowed as he watched the scene displayed before him.

A woman in shiny black clothing flipped through the air, delivering powerful blows to what looked like a distracted Red Ranger.

Goldar frowned. I have never seen Tommy fight so poorly. Has she cast some spell on him, slowing his wits?

After a rapid exchange, nearly too quick for the naked eye to properly follow, a particularly nasty blow knocked the Red Ranger off his high horse.

The woman slowed, throwing her caramel hair back with a dramatic toss of the head.

Goldar gaped.

"Kimberly?"

Lord Zedd chuckled at the sheer astonishment on his trusted warrior's face. "Why the surprise, Goldar? I have had my eye on her before."

The Titan fought a frown of disapproval. He clearly remembered when Zedd had first deemed to wed the childish Power Ranger. It was right after Tommy had lost the Green Ranger powers forever… somehow, the pure Pink Ranger had attracted the Emperor's eye.

Despite his concerns, Goldar's blind loyalty brought him planet-side, to abduct the unwary Pink Ranger when she was alone. He'd even cast a spell on her, intended to make her shed her sweet character, and become a woman fit to wed an Emperor of Evil.

Oddly enough, eventually she did

shed that natural purity.

Something tells me there's an interesting story behind this confrontation…

he realized, staring agape at the tense battle.

"Now I am ready to collect my Empress," Zedd announced, rising from his throne. "Together, we will topple Zordon's brats." He leaned over, grasping his silver scepter between muscled fingers. "All I require is the perfect moment to interrupt this little drama."

"Tommy, the kid gloves are off

! She wasn't going to stop until she killed

you."

When Katherine made that declaration, the truth never really sank in. At the time, he was too concerned over Kimberly's injuries to even consider that the Pink Ranger had a point.

Afterward, the battle with Maligore and subsequent disappearance of his ex-girlfriend gave him much greater concerns. He'd never really pondered the spell of Maligore. What exactly did the Flame of Destruction do? Was it truly capable of tearing away the heart of a person, darkening her soul to the point of murder?

He had his answer when he found the dead security guard. And if that wasn't enough, he saw the brutal beating Justin had endured.

She was vicious. Animalistic. Heartless.

But she was still

Kimberly…and he couldn't hurt her.

What was it that crippled him so? True, he still loved her… the deep devotion he thought he had shirked after the supposed break-up ran just as true as the day he raced into Lord Zedd's Dark Dimension to rescue her.

But it was more than that. It was also guilt.

The guilt that moved him to carry the forged letter in his pocket wherever he went.

"The time for talk was four months ago."

Four months ago, he had received a heart-rending letter from the woman he loved. He tried to distract himself of the pain, first by taking a brief vacation, then in the company of Heather Thompson, and finally…with Kat.

True, his feelings for Kat grew to more than merely that; but that took time. He had chosen

to deal with his pain by replacing the one he thought caused it.

He could have dealt with his pain differently. If only he wasn't blinded by his wounded pride and fragile self-esteem! Then, he could've mustered the courage to see her… at least speak to her afterward!

It didn't have to be immediate. He had over three months to act, before Divatox forced their reunion under less than ideal circumstances…to say the least.

Three months…how many times did he wonder about her? How many times did he look at the sky, or the lake in Angel Grove Park, or even her old locker at school, and remember her? How many times did her face pop up in his mind, in his dreams? How many times did he yearn to speak to her…not even for answers, but just to hear her voice?

If he had followed that urge just once, all of this could have been