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

Two Weeks Later…

"...and Lord Zedd was gone," Katherine concluded. She took a deep breath, forcing her body to relax after she had helped relay the stressful, terrifying tale of their last, and most important, victory over evil. With tense fingers, she lifted her mug from where it rested on the coffee table, and sipped her mint tea.

"Jesus Christmas," one of her guests murmured. He ran his fingers through ear-length braids, rubbing his scalp to help his mind recover from the information overload. "So, that's it then. Zedd's…dead? Not comic book dead or anything…but dead

dead?"

"It's conclusive, Zack," Adam answered, grinning at his predecessor's overwhelmed expression. "Zordon told us that when a powerful sorcerer dies, all the power he mastered during his lifetime is released in a widespread energy wave. He could feel it pass through the galaxy, as would any magic-sensitive beings just about anywhere in the Milky Way. The release of that energy proves Zedd's gone… for good."

The first Black Power Ranger was hardly comforted by the news. "Then it's only a matter of time before someone else comes in Zedd's place. I mean, first it was Rita, then Zedd, then the Machines. And sometime long

ago, baddies like Ivan Ooze and Maligore dropped by. Earth's like a magnet for interstellar Loony Tunes!"

"Nah, it's not like that," Justin said. "Zedd was killed by the Power Rangers of Earth, and the news will spread through the grapevine, if it hasn't already. Zedd didn't leave anyone behind to avenge him either; he always dumped allies who were no longer useful. The only ones likely to try and fight us would be Goldar and Scorpina, to restore their honor since they were both humiliated in that last fight, but they're serving life sentences. This interstellar police guy Blue Centurion picked them up last week."

The pretty Asian in yellow frowned thoughtfully. "But what about Zedd's empire?" she posed, "Surely some high-ranking official will try to avenge his emperor, and win the throne?"

Adam shook his head. "Actually, Trini, even though Zedd tried to marry Kim, he was still legally bound to Rita. Since he never named an official Heir, and he died childless, she's the undisputed Empress of his holdings. After sitting in a space dumpster for ten thousand years, and then losing for another year, I think she learned her lesson."

Zack whistled. "Zedd and Rita got married? Jeez, talk about a dysfunctional family!"

The former Black Ninjetti nodded his agreement. "Zordon's confident that villains everywhere will avoid Earth like a plague, since Zedd, Ooze, Maligore, and the Machine monarchy all died here."

Adam rubbed his bare arm, unaccustomed to the absence of the band that had always materialized when he jerked his wrist. "And if something new comes up, Zordon and Alpha are still on the watch. They'll know the instant a threat enters the solar system, and the Turbo Powers are on standby." He exhaled. "We finally did it, guys. We finally won peace."

Tanya's full lips quirked. "Despite how… how hard that last fight was, we really lucked out. At full power, Lord Zedd could've batted away the Turbo Cannon's blast with half a thought; but when we finally faced him he was running on half-power, and had expended most of his remaining strength fighting Kim. Whatever that last blast of hers was, it nearly killed him."

Trini's face was crestfallen, slim fingers absently playing with the ebony braid lying on her shoulder. "Too bad it didn't."

The first Yellow Ranger sighed deeply, leaning against the soft cushion of the Hillard family's couch. She stared into the warm amber waves of her own tea, blinking furiously to hold back more tears. "If she had killed him, then she… she'd be here, with us."

The girl next to her wrapped one dark brown arm around her thin shoulders, lending a squeeze of support. Trini looked up at Aisha's wide, confident smile. "Don't count her out yet, Girl," the erstwhile Yellow Ninjetti advised, "Kim has been through a hell

of a lot in her lifetime. She's a fighter…she'll make it through this."

"Eah," Rocky spoke around a mouthful of brownie. "Shl bfie."

Justin's eyebrow quirked at his "big brother."

"Huh?"

"'Yeah, she'll be fine,'

" Adam translated with a grin.

"I'm still rather perplexed," another guest pointed out. His greenish eyes were narrow with rare confusion, fingers rubbing his chin in contemplation. "How did Kimberly survive? From what I gather, she was already at the point of collapse when Lord Zedd released a tight beam of energy directly through her chest. It sounded like he aimed for her heart, and from the amount of blood you described, it appears he hit his target."

The young genius grimaced, realizing his overly-analytical mind had been depersonalizing the event…as if the victim wasn't one of the dearest friends he could ever hope to have.

"I…of course I'm thrilled to know she did

survive," he hastily amended.

"It's okay, Billy," Adam said, waving his hand. "Actually, we all thought she was dead. It was really impossible to tell she'd survived the blast: Zedd seemed pretty confident he'd killed her, and with our armor on, we couldn't detect her faint pulse and shallow breathing. It was Jason who realized she was hanging on by a thread."

Katherine cast a furtive glance at her watch. The original Red Ranger had promised to attend the informal get together, but as yet hadn't arrived. "Jason was in the Turbo Chamber during the fight," she narrated. "He and Alpha diligently scanned the moon, waiting for the opportunity to see what was going on, and lend whatever support they could. Zedd never got the chance to refortify his magical shield, but all the power pulsing between him and Kimberly created far too much interference for the sensors or teleporter to cut through. The Turbo Chamber couldn't detect anything until after the backlash faded from Kimberly's last attack."

"It's a good thing they teleported her out when they did," Justin pointed out. "They managed to snag her while we were forming the Turbo RAM Cannon. She might not have survived the discharge of so much power just a few feet away from her. And she definitely wouldn't have made it once Zedd died. The instant his energy was released into the cosmos, the spell holding an artificial atmosphere around the palace was broken. She would've suffocated."

He tossed a chunk of brownie into his mouth, and followed it with a long swallow of milk. "She got really

lucky," he affirmed, nodding for emphasis. "Either Zedd couldn't muster a big enough blast, or he just didn't know enough human anatomy to know where to aim. The beam edged to the side of her spine and veered right instead of left, where the heart is. It passed between the lung and the major vein, slicing open the vein and burning the lung. She lost a lot of blood, but nothing was damaged beyond repair. It took a few hours, but Alpha managed to mend all the major injuries without invasive surgery."

Zack frowned his confusion. "But if Alpha already fixed her up, why'd you guys bring her to the hospital? It's been all over the news: the Turbo Rangers delivering the comatose gymnast to Angel Grove Memorial, issuing a statement that she'd been kidnapped by the invading aliens for an as-yet undetermined reason." He scratched his head again. "What's up with all that?"

"Kim's 'disappearance'

was big news two months ago," Adam pointed out. "It was the first high-profile incident with Rita, Zedd, or the Machines that wasn't resolved in a day or two. The media went wild over the loss of a local celebrity. We all thought it made sense to give a somewhat conclusive answer. Kim had been kidnapped by Lord Zedd as part of some scheme, but the Rangers saved her. It's better than saying she was lost in the woods for seven weeks. Plus, if she does wake up with any… trauma… we have a feasible explanation." Adam sucked on the inside of his mouth. "It took us a few days before we finally decided what to tell the world. The bad part is the media frenzy that's gonna follow Kim around when she wakes up."

Rocky folded his arms. "But why did you guys bring her to the hospital anyway? Wouldn't Zordon be in a better position to break her out of that coma? Who knows how long it'll take her to wake up on her own?"

"It's never that simple, Rock," Justin spoke, with uncanny insight for someone his age. "Even with her injuries healed, the human brain is still a mystery to even advanced science. Zordon refused to try any therapies to force her to consciousness. She's in a deep coma, and he can't tell if it's a result from the Flame of Destruction, from the fight itself, or even some kind of psychosomatic thing. All he could do was make sure she was physically stabilized, and deliver her to the hospital for further observation. He said she'd wake up on her own, when she's physically and psychologically ready. And when she does, he'll do everything in his power to help her recover…emotionally

."

Silence hung between the friends as the weight of the last Blue Ranger's words fell upon them. They all firmly held the hope that their friend would eventually awaken… but what would she wake up as?

Billy cast a surprised glance at the youngest Power Ranger. "You have an excellent grasp of anatomy and medical science, Justin," he commented.

The boy beamed at the compliment. Coming from the legendary genius of the first Blue Ranger, it was an extraordinary honor. "I really like science," Justin informed him, "I actually put together an operational cardiovascular system for the science fair in fourth grade, all on my own! Got first prize, too!"

Trini smiled warmly, the first genuine smile she had been able to muster since she and Zack had arrived in Angel Grove from Geneva two days earlier. "I suppose genius always lies beneath the Blue helmet."

That comment earned immediate, nearly hysterical laughter from Tanya, Adam, Kat, Rocky, and Justin. Trini traded puzzled glances with her former teammate and first successor.

"What?" Aisha wondered, frowning.

Tanya was the first to recover her breath. "Who do you think was the Blue Ranger between

Billy and Justin?"

The uninformed trio shrugged.

When Rocky lifted his fist, jerking his thumb downward to indicate himself, the laughter burst anew.

Katherine managed to suppress her refreshing amusement when her phone rang. She took a few breaths to recover herself before answering. "Hillard residence."