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

dawned on me that it wasn't from you. I agonized over every word...every single word." He shook his head, a self-mocking grin on his lips. "'You've always been my best friend, and in some ways you're like a brother to me. But, something has happened here that I can't explain. It's both been wonderful and painful at the same time. Tommy, I've met someone else...'

"

He swallowed painfully, fresh tears glistening in his dark eyes. "I even memorized it. I couldn't get over the pain...that you preferred someone else. That someone else could offer you the happiness I couldn't deliver. And I couldn't call you, and try to work things out." His voice dropped. "That's...that's why I never called you, Kim. I was...scared; scared of what you had to say to me."

That said, Tommy closed his mouth. He watched Kimberly, absorbing the impact of the letter, and all its world-shaking implications.

Kimberly's entire body trembled, one hand squeezing the letter for all it was worth, the other slowly rising to her lips in wordless horror. Her eyes were wide, darting from side to side, yet seeing nothing.

Yet, most disturbingly, a nimbus of orange flames wrapped her entire body in surreal light. Energy climbed in wisps around her, steadily intensifying as she recovered from the initial shock.

"I admit,"

she whispered, turning back to him, "this is a pretty original lie. Much more creative than the 'I didn't want to hurt you'

bit you've been spitting since Muiranthias."

Tommy continued to watch her with his intense, discerning gaze. She still trembled, tongues of fire stretching from her in a feverish dance.

He knew her words didn't match her thoughts. She wasn't as convinced of his deception as she wanted him to believe.

"Think about it, Kim," he pleaded. "Doesn't it explain everything? Why I never called you? Why I didn't understand your anger?" His face darkened. "Why Zedd dropped in at the power plant?"

Her frown deepened. "What are you getting at?"

"Think about it," he repeated. "Zedd arrives in the nick of time, carrying you off before I could explain. Then, he proposes to you."

"You're trying to convince me that Zedd wrote this."

It wasn't a question. Her skepticism was raw in her tone.

"Who else?" he challenged. "No human hand could write that kind of forgery! And he's tried it before, hasn't he? He tried to make you his Queen. He's been after you for years, Kim! Just biding his time, waiting for the opportunity to rip us apart!!"

He paused, slowly trying to catch his breath. With wide, hopeful eyes, he watched the conflict play across Kimberly's face. Disbelief, outrage, confusion, anguish...all swirled together in a evocative portrait of torment.

Finally, Kimberly grabbed fistfuls of her hair, ruining the immaculate style, and released a pained whimper.

"Kim, we can stop this! End the lies, throw Zedd's tricks right in his face!"

"SHUT UP!!"

she howled. Tommy watched, mortified, as the inferno burst around her, so bright she seemed like the sun dawning. "NO MORE LIES!!"

She turned away, gaze bounding like a scared rabbit, and leapt through the fissure without a coherent thought.

Chapter Ninety-Nine

Scorpina was very

good at what she did. An assassin born and raised, she had been schooled in the arts of deception, cunning, and bloodshed from early infancy. She developed into the most fear-inspiring Arachnid in seven generations, even earning the coveted position as one of Lord Zedd's favored warriors.

Unfortunately, her studies never included the occult. She had only a passing familiarity with magic, once in a while able to cast a potion spell Rita or Zedd gave her to administer. She never bothered to develop even a magical awareness...letting the sixth sense remain dormant.

Had she honed that sixth sense, she would've been sensitive to the shocking events occurring just a few feet from her, through the fissure leading to the Dark Dimension. She would have had warning of the seething, irresistible, nearly immeasurable power flexing within, promising Retribution in its most fundamental form.

So when she witnessed a feminine silhouette wrapped in an aura of pure fire, she was caught completely by surprise.

"M...mistress?" she murmured.

Somewhere within the cloud of energy came a hiss, and suddenly, a tendril of fire stretched forward, smashing Scorpina like blazing baseball bat. The assassin didn't even have a chance to scream as she was engulfed with the burning, unnatural fire, and at the same time smashed right through the wall by the sheer force of the hit. She catapulted through the contained air so quickly, the fire soon deadened, and was completely extinguished as she slammed into the heavy gray moon dust... just inches from the invisible shield separating the palace from the rest of the moon.

Chapter One Hundred

Zordon's ancient eyes widened, his blurred mouth hanging open in absolute astonishment.

Alpha jumped at the unnerving expression on the sage's face. Zordon was rarely surprised, and never rendered speechless.

"Z...Zordon?" the small robot stammered, terror lancing through him.

It took a long moment before the surprise wore off enough to let the Eltarian speak. "I SENSE...AN IMMENSE POWER BROUGHT TO LIFE ON THE MOON."

Alpha puzzled over this. "What could it..." He cut himself off with a distressed cry, hands waving frantically as the truth dawned on him.

"KIMBERLY HAS URGED THE FLAME OF DESTRUCTION PASSED ALL BOUNDARIES,"

Zordon said mournfully. "IF SHE DOES NOT MANAGE TO REIN IN THE POWER...IT WILL KILL

HER."

Chapter One Hundred One

"Are we there yet?" Justin muttered, exhaling as he hunched over. He rested his man-sized hands against his knees. "I hate

zero-gravity!"

"I thought Zordon was teleporting us as close to the shield as he could," Tanya sighed, floating down from her last leap.

Adam, who led the team, held a scanner in his hands. "According to these sensor readings, we're less that six meters from the shield."

Justin stood upright. "I don't see anything."

Katherine peered at the flat expanse before them, lifting her hand into the air in silent command. Windfire materialized, and in one smooth motion, she drew a single arrow and let it fly.

The silver projectile glanced off something, causing a ripple of faint energy at the impact site.

Jason folded his arms. "The shield cloaks the palace from sight as well as scans," he realized, nodding to himself.

"Not for long," Adam determined. He pressed a few buttons on his handheld unit, and touched it to the location Kat's arrow struck. The device blinked red for a few moments, and then, flashed a steady green.

A circle of energy emitted from the box, expanding to the size of a person. When the device was removed, the energy vanished, leaving a foreboding view of Lord Zedd's towering citadel.

"It worked," Adam breathed, "but as soon as Zedd senses a hole in his shield, he'll patch it at a new frequency. We'll have to reanalyze the shield to program the de-stabilizer." He tucked the device under his belt. "We'll be trapped here."

Jason led the team through the portal. "We'll cross that bridge wh --"

He stopped dead in his tracks, less than a yard into the palace grounds. The other Rangers froze behind him, worriedly staring at their shocked leader.

"Stay here," he advised. The Rangers nodded silently, watching him cautiously walk along the inner edge of the shield. He came to a stop beside a yellowish-gold mound, half-covered in dust.

He then knelt beside it, hands brushing the dust away.

"Jason?" Kat murmured, an icy fear gripping her heart.

"It's Scorpina."

Their helmets masked the horror on their faces, but all four Rangers tensed anxiously. Then, they hurried to Jason, congregating around the fallen warrior.

Jason touched the charred skin of her neck. "Her heart's still beating. She's alive."

Tanya's fists clenched nervously. "What could've...done this?"

Adam scowled beneath his helmet. "Zedd is a monster

!" he growled. He couldn't peel his eyes away from her blistered, bleeding face. He and the seductive spy were far from friends, but even the deceptive "Sabrina" didn't deserve such merciless treatment.

The Blue Ranger's analytical stare turned from the victim, tracking her descent up to a gaping hole a few meters away from a spacious balcony. A glint of light passed through the aperture, pulsing steadily.

"Why would Lord Zedd knock a hole in his own wall?" he queried.

Tanya folded her arms. "Probably lost his temper."

Katherine stared at the hole Justin indicated. "No...Zedd rarely loses his temper." She felt the quizzical stares of her teammates, and explained. "I do have some memories from my time as Rita's pet. I have...distinct impressions of some of the aliens. And I'm certain

that Zedd usually harnesses his anger effectively, rather than explode like Rita always did." She then turned her eyes to Jason. "And Zedd is far too proud of his palace to punch a hole into his throne room."

Despite the fact that her mask hid her emotive eyes, Jason somehow discerned path her mind was winding. "You don't think --"

Somehow, the six-tone signal of the communicator managed to sound even more urgent than usual.

The group gathered closely as Jason responded. "Yes?"

^RANGERS. I HAVE SENSED A SWELL OF POWER WITHIN THE CONFINES OF LORD ZEDD'S PALACE. YOU MUST TAKE EVERY PRECAUTION, FOR GREAT DANGER LURKS INSIDE.^

Adam chewed his lip, his