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

clarity. "Did something…then saw me…" His breath hitched. "C…cut me…"

Tanya eased the boy into her arms, offering what little consolation she could. "It's gonna be okay, Justin. We're all here now, and we got Kim. It's over."

He sighed into her chest, the air rustling the long bangs that hung over his face. She gently stroked the back of his head, and slowly lowered him back to the ground. "I'll check out the generator, and see what she did."

She then threw him a reassuring thumbs-up, and turned around. She'd heard the argument escalate between Kat and Tommy, and was silently thankful that Adam managed to distract them before it came to blows. And with everyone's emotions running so high… it wasn't unlikely.

Finally, it looked like everything was going to work out all right. At least it would, once she determined what exactly Kimberly had done to the generator.

She made her way to the web of piping that surrounded the heart of the plant. Yet even amidst the thrumming of the machine, she heard something oddly regular; like a pulse --

-- or a tick.

Oh please…no

!

Desperately, she searched the area until her gaze fell upon a small box, with red numbers scrolling down.

Two minutes and thirty eight seconds.

Tanya's breath came in shallow gasps as she grabbed the bomb.

Nowhere to throw it, and I can't contact Zordon!

she realized, her heartbeat rising, I can't deactivate it on my own…

Without thinking, she burst into a supersonic run, vanishing in a streak of vibrant yellow motion.

Against all odds, despite the panic clouding her mind, she managed to wind her way back through the plant with far less difficulty than it took finding her way inside. Her face lit up with joy as she saw the high gates of the plant draw closer and closer.

She couldn't muster the courage to actually look

at the time remaining.

With a grunt of effort, she launched her body into the air, flipping over the gate, and crouching deep to stick her landing. She nestled the bomb to her chest, careful not to accidentally drop it.

"Zordon!" she shouted into her wrist, "I have a bomb!"

The panic was evident in her voice, but Zordon was able to piece together the terrifying situation.

^TANYA, SIT THE BOMB ON THE GROUND, AND MOVE AWAY. ALPHA, SET THE TELEPORTER.^

Tanya did as ordered, and made as much room between herself and the bomb as possible. She watched intently, her entire body frozen, as the bomb began to glow with energy.

Finally, it vanished in a white carrier wave.

"Zordon? What did you do?"

^WE TELEPORTED THE BOMB INTO SPACE, WHERE IT CAN DO LITTLE HARM.^

With that reassurance, Tanya was able to breathe again.

Chapter Seventy-Four

Adam watched, mystified, as the Yellow Ranger raced out of the plant as if the fate of the world depended on it. Part of him worried for her, and urged him to follow. But before he could, Kimberly seemed to emerge from her agonized daze.

"Get…away

from me!"

she screeched, her demand broken by a gulp of breath.

Tommy chewed his lip in exasperation. "Kim, I swear to God, I want to help you!" Yet with each forward step he took, she kicked her body further away, dragging herself along the cold concrete.

The Red Ranger closed his eyes, squeezing his fists to combat the trembling. He couldn't stomach it. She lay in a puddle of her own blood, the loss of which left her skin pale. With each inch she pulled away, she lengthened the crimson streak that stained the pristine concrete.

She was a mess...could she even survive such a loss of blood without medical attention?

He couldn't teleport her out, and he flat-out refused to knock her unconscious. The only way to save her was to carry her, kicking and screaming.

He swallowed a breath, and glanced at the Green Ranger. "I'm gonna need my helmet."

Adam read the order, and the fierce determination, in Tommy's swollen, narrow eyes. With a quick nod, he hurried to collect the crimson helmet, discarded on the bloodied battlefield.

"Kim, there's nowhere to go," Tommy said gently, "except with us."

It was that precise moment, during the grim silence that stretched between the estranged lovers, that the orchestrator of all this chaos took center stage. A white-hot flash of lightning forced the Red Ranger to take a step back, and shield his eyes for protection.

When he was finally able to see again, he found himself staring into the fierce ruby visor of the Emperor of Evil.

Lord Zedd, twenty-eighth of the house of Zhept, folded his arms over his proud, muscled chest. Behind him, he heard the startled gasp of his bride-to-be. And before him, he stared pointedly at the thunderstruck leader of the Power Rangers.

"Zedd?" he mumbled, his shock making his expression almost comical.

The Emperor tilted his head as he appraised his foe. "Tommy. As eloquent as ever, I see."

"Tommy!"

The Red Ranger glanced behind him, and a confident grin touched his split lip as the Pink and Green Rangers dashed toward him, taking a battle stance at either side.

Adam offered Tommy his helmet. "Looks like this isn't quite over yet."

Tommy nodded his thanks, and snapped on his helmet.

"Oh, but I think it is, Rangers. At least for now."

And then, the Rangers got their first taste of Lord Zedd's personal power.

He thrust a single hand forward, the silver tips gleaming with unnatural electricity. The currents of power leapt from each tip like a biting whip, slapping each Ranger with enough energy to fry an elephant.

The three teens screamed as the energy sizzled through their bodies, and then collapsed to the floor.

A satisfied smirk touched Zedd's hidden lip as he watched them struggle to their feet. Now why didn't I do that sooner?

Though, mere physical pain wasn't enough. He wanted them all to suffer in mind and spirit, as well as body. And through his master plan, he'd achieved that end... and soon, it would culminate in a final, bloody showdown.

But not yet.

The Lord of Phlegethon turned, and cast his ruby gaze on his prize.

Kimberly flinched under his scrutiny, but did her best to hide her fear beneath a veneer of complete control.

"What do you want, Zedd?"

she demanded in a steady voice. She managed to compose herself extraordinarily well for someone fighting for sobriety against mind-numbing pain and panic.

"You."

This time, the spawn of evil made no attempt to hide her true feelings. Her eyes widened, and once again, she bit down against the pain and did her best to crawl away from the simmering menace before her.

"Stay away from her!"

Zedd glanced behind him, watching in amusement as the Red Ranger forced himself to his feet. His body heaved with deep breaths, and his knees shivered as he tried to support his own weight.

His legs buckled, dropping him to his hands and knees in fatigue.

Zedd laughed deeply at the humbled hero, before turning back to his prize. "Perhaps we should continue this conversation somewhere less crowded."

Her flaming eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I have a doctor at my disposal that can tend your wounds," he informed her, his voice too low for the others to hear, "I am your only escape. Either you come to my palace, or you allow yourself to be dragged back to the Power Chamber."

The Emperor lowered himself to one knee, bringing him eye-level with the young human woman. Slowly, he offered her his hand.

"It's me...or Tommy

."

Kim's lip trembled as she tried to articulate her hatred for the despot. How many times did he try to kill her? She'd almost died in his Dark Dimension, his machine draining the dwindling Pink energy right out of her until Tommy --

She forcibly pulled her mind from that memory. I was a different person then,

she rationalized, and so was Tommy...

Was it...even possible

...that Zedd was no threat to her? If he truly wanted to kill her, he could have accomplished that easily already. Whatever energy he cast at the Rangers, dropping them like so many flies, would've surely killed her in her weakened state.

The real question was...whom did she hate less? The alien menace that ravaged entire solar systems, or the man who broke her heart.

Slowly, a cold smirk pulled her lip. Anything's better than letting Tommy and Kat get the best of me.

Wordlessly, she touched her fingers to Zedd's crimson palm.

"Kim, no!" Tommy yelled, struggling to regain his equilibrium again. This time, he managed to rise to his feet, albeit shakily.

A faint pulse of energy shot from Zedd's hand into Kim. With a soft sigh, she fell into the villain's waiting arms.

"ZEDD!"

Tommy roared, stumbling toward him. "What did you do to her??"

The Emperor could have easily sent her to the moon as she was, listless on the cold concrete. Yet a malicious smile lit his hidden face at the scene he would act for the distraught Red Ranger.

Gallantly, Zedd lifted the unconscious girl into his arms, letting her head lean against his shoulder.

"My dear boy, I think you've managed to hurt her far

more than I ever did," Zedd chuckled. "Is it really a surprise she would choose me?" Then, as instantly as he appeared, the Emperor vanished...taking his prize with him.

Part Fourteen: The Proposal