"Divatox! Divatox!" Porto's cries echoed through the Baribarian. "Oh, dear. Divatox, where are you, my queen?"
Porto stepped into the observation room. Divatox sat intently studying one of the monitors. "Divatox, there you are. Why aren't you sleeping? We have to prepare for tomorrow."
Divatox impatiently waved off Porto. "Go away, you fat piece of blob. I'm watching this."
"What is it, my liege?"
"It's a recording of the Power Rangers."
On the screen, Red Turbo fired several shots at Gold Ranger, which he deflected back. As Red Turbo fell to the ground, Gold Ranger said, "Well, Tommy, it seems history does repeat itself. You never told me how good it felt to be evil!"
Divatox pondered Gold Ranger's words. Then, she said, "Porto, on second thought, come over here. Get as much information on Tommy as you can. Concentrate on his involvement with the Power Rangers."
"Yes, Divatox." Porto wandered over to a nearby console and started typing an information request. "Well, Tommy joined the original Power Ranger team about five years ago. He - oh my! This can't be right!" Porto continued to stare at the computer printout.
"Well? You stupid pile of snot, spit it out!"
"Well, this can't be right, but it says Tommy started out as the evil Green Ranger, fighting alongside Rita Repulsa!"
Divatox smiled. "Yes! Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. Tell me, who was the leader of the Power Rangers then?"
"Why, Jason, my liege. He said that himself, that he was the former leader of the Power Rangers."
"Yes . . . Porto, give me everything on Tommy. I've got a lovely idea for Turbo Ranger 1, Red." Divatox laughed with pure evil delight.
Tommy and Billy sat down at a nearby table at the Angel Grove Youth Center, while watching Jason, Adam, and Rocky spar. Tommy said, "So, why can't you stay, Billy?"
"Well, I've got this thing I'm working on, back at Aquitar. See, it's an experimental space station. I told Cestro and the others that I'd stay and help design it. If it works, it could revolutionize space warfare, and tilt the war between good and evil."
"Wow, it's that important, huh? So, how's it going between you and Cestria? Planning any marriages?"
"Marriage? No, no, no. Not anytime soon. I'm too busy with this space station thing."
"Really? Well, let me tell you, don't ignore her for too long, or you'll be out on the streets before you know it."
"But . . . Aquitar doesn't use streets."
As Billy sat trying to understand Tommy's joke, Tommy stood up and walked over to where Zack was standing.
"Hey Zack, how's it going?"
"Hey Tommy. Nothing much, I guess. I was watching TV ever since I quit being a ranger, and you know what? You guys are getting your asses handed to you without the Zack-man!"
"Yeah, you should come back sometime. Hey, have you talked to Billy yet?"
"No . . . why, what's happening with him? I heard he's got a girl on another planet now."
"Yup. And you know what? He's starting to turn back into that old Billy again. I just told him that if he ignores his girlfriend, he's gonna find himself on the streets. You know what he said? 'Aquitar doesn't use streets.'" The two of them laughed. "Seriously, though, what are you guys doing now?"
Zack thought about that for a moment. "You know, I don't really know. See, those guys at the peace conference, they only give about two week's unplanned vaction a year, and we really had to cover for Jason when he was the Gold Ranger. So, we're probably going to go back now. It's pretty fun there, actually. So, how are things with you and Kim?"
Tommy stood straight up. "Things? Oh things are fine. No problems. Nothing at all. Got that? Good. I'll be on my way now." Tommy hurridly rushed out the door.
Zack shook his head. "Man, something's up."
Tommy stopped running at the park. He sat down as he caught his breath. Kim, he thought. Why did everything have to come down on us? I love you, even if you don't love me. You just don't know how much I'd do to get us back together again.
Kat. Do I love Kat? Or is it just another way to lose my feeling of loneliness? Why? Do all people go through this? Do I love Kim or Kat? Do I love both, or neither?
As Tommy was lost in his thoughts, he did not noticed people near the lake running in terror. Nor did he notice the wry grin on Elgar's face as he approached his target. Nor did he notice when Pirahnatrons snuck up behind him. He was dimly aware of fighting for his life. He was a thousand miles away as he reached for his Turbo Key. He did not remember calling out for Red Lightning Turbo Power, nor did he remember declaring himself as Turbo Ranger 1, Red. And most certainly, he did not remember groups of Pirahnatrons swarming around him, and teleporting him out. All he remembered was the images of the women he thought he loved.
"Alpha, run a search for Tommy." Zordon was very worried. He had felt a shift in the balance, and feared the worst.
"Ay yi yi! I can't find him!" Alpha was also worried. "Rangers, teleport to the Power Chamber immediately."
Four flashes of light entered the Power Chamber. As they materialized, each one waited for Tommy to step up and say, "What's the trouble, Zordon?" When he did not, Adam said, "Where's Tommy?"
Zordon said, "I do not know, rangers. Alpha has been unable to locate him. I fear he has been taken captive."
"Again?!" The rangers all remembered when Prince Gasket had taken him and brainwashed him.
"No, this time, the stakes are much higher. Unlike Prince Gasket's crude form of memory erasure, I fear Divatox has a much more insidious plan in mind. If we do not find him soon, there is a good chance that he will either die, or go completely insane."
In Tommy's mind, he saw Green Ranger disabling the Megazord, and assaulting the Power Rangers. Early on, in his life, he had sworn that he would uphold good, but he had instead nearly destroyed those who had epitomized that goal.
In Tommy's mind, he saw White Ranger standing helplessly as the ThunderZords were destroyed. In his mind, he knew that it was his fault that the rangers had lost, that he had failed his team, that he was unworthy of the title of leader.
In Tommy's mind, he saw Zeo Ranger 5, Red, in Prince Gasket's arena, mercilessly attacking the Power Rangers Zeo. He had sworn that he would never again turn to the side of evil, but he had. He could never again claim with certainty that he would never fight alongside evil again.
Gradually, Tommy's mind became aware of separate beings in his mind.
Gradually, Tommy's mind broke into shards.
Tommy slowly came to. Where am I?, he thought. What is this place? He looked around. He was in a strange arena, with a gaping hole in the sky. As he studied the arena, he noticed that it looked like Rita's Dark Dimension, only it was lit up, there was no fog, and it had been expanded by a factor of 10. Tommy reached for his Turbo Key, but there was nothing in his pocket. Frantically, he began searching for a way out.
As he progressed, Tommy became aware of two other beings in the arena with him. "Hey!" he called out to one of the other beings, seemingly clad in green. "Hey, who are you? Can you help me out?"
As the other being turned, Tommy saw that he had his face! "Who are you?" he asked. "You look like me, only you're wearing red. Pretty bad color scheme with the pants, too." Red Tommy thought, That can't be me. I was never that rude to anybody!
Red Tommy thought, "Hey, um . . . Tommy, where are we?"
"I don't know, where are we?" This new voice came from the other being. As this figure, clad in white, approached, his face was clearly that of Tommy's as well!
Green Tommy said, "Hey, what's going on here? Just who are you guys, anyway? There can't be three Tommys!"
White Tommy said, "I bet Divatox has something to do with this."
Red Tommy said, "That's right! We got captured by Elgar, didn't we?"
Green Tommy scowled. "Yeah. And guess what? It wasn't because of lack of fighting. It was because someone wasn't concentrating on the fighting!" The last remark was cast specifically at White Tommy.
White Tommy retorted, "I should think our problem with Kim and Kat is more important that a bunch of random moves designed to incapacitate someone. I feel we shouldn't fight unless severely threatened."
Green Tommy said, "You didn't consider that threatening?"
White Tommy replied, "Not considering what we were thinking about at the time."
Red Tommy, who had been silent during this entire exchange, spoke up. "Say, don't you guys notice that we're starting to refer to Tommy as 'we'? It's almost like we're separate sections of Tommy!"
White Tommy said, "If that's true, then this jackass here is almost certainly Tommy's fighting instinct, complete with recklessness."
Green Tommy yelled, "Yeah, we'll that's better than you, Mr. I-Don't-Want-To-Fight Man. You've got to be Tommy's diplomatic side." Green Tommy said 'diplomatic' sarcastically.
Red Tommy said, "Then what am I?"
White Tommy said, "Well, since you're not arguing like us, then you're probably the piece of Tommy that holds the other two parts together. Look, we're even wearing the same colors that Tommy wore when our personality was most evident in his behavior. When Tommy was Green Ranger, he was very reckless; when he was White Ranger, he was very self-conscious about being leader and thus more diplomatic; and when he was Zeo Ranger 5, Red, he had more of a compromise between the other two personalities." The three Tommys had started walking, at the same time, and in the same direction.
Green Tommy said, "Well, good for you, Sherlock. Now, how does that help us get Tommy back together?"
Red Tommy said, "We can start by not arguing with each other."
Green Tommy said, "You're right, White, he is the mediator."
Red Tommy said, "Come on, guys, can't we try and get along?"
Green Tommy sneered, "Shut up! Man, don't you ever add something useful?"
White Tommy stopped. He grabbed Green Tommy by the shoulder and yelled, "Look, we're all the same guy, and we've got a job to do, so maybe you should be thinking about working together!"
Green Tommy snapped, "Get your hand off me!"
Red Tommy hurried between the two and said, "Hey, hey, hey, guys, lighten up! We're part of the same person, so we should be able get along . . . " Red Tommy trailed off as he saw something in the distance. "Hey guys, what's that?"
White Tommy squinted. "It looks like us!"
Green Tommy said, "You mean it looks like me. He is wearing the Green Ranger costume, you know."
Red Tommy said, "C'mon, guys, let's go!"
The three Tommys started sprinting towards the new Tommy. When they approached, White Tommy stepped in front and said, "Hey, buddy, can you help us?" Green Ranger continued to stand where he was, seemingly unmoving.
Green Tommy stepped up and said, "Hey, we asked you a question!" He stepped up and tapped Green Ranger's shoulder. A shock of electricity coarsed through Green Ranger and into Green Tommy. Green Tommy screamed, and then disappeared.
Green Ranger started moving. In front of him appeared the city of Angel Grove. Monster after monster started appearing in front of him. He rushed them, and began fighting.
Red Tommy watched, confused. "What's going on? I don't seem to remember this happening."
White Tommy said, "I don't know, but he's stupid. He'll never last against so many monsters. He needs a plan, but he just rushed in."
In front of the two Tommys, Green Ranger delivered a staggering chop to one of the monsters' back. It howled and fell to the ground. Green Ranger ran to another monster and kicked it in the face, hard. He followed with a roundhouse kick to the side of the head, two punches to the chest, and a sweep kick, knocking the monster to the ground. Spinning, Green Ranger saw two other monsters coming near him. He rushed one, spinning and delivering a powerful roundhouse to the monster on his right, followed through with the momentum and tornado-kicked the monster on his left. Both monsters fell to the floor. Green Ranger saw the hoarde of monsters surrounding him, and began again.
Red Tommy said, "You know, I don't think there's an end to those monsters."
White Tommy said, "Yeah . . . it's almost like he's being tested."
Green Ranger was still going at it. As he jump kicked another monster to the ground, he showed no signs of stopping.
Red Tommy said, "I don't think it's possible to come up with a plan for that kind of thing, you know? That's why it's important we have the ability to defend ourselves physically, if push came to shove."
White Tommy said, "I always prefer to think out something before rushing in blindly, but . . . yeah, I guess you're right. At some point, we do need to learn how to simply fight, and damn the consequences."
As soon as those words left his mouth, all the monsters dissolved. Green Ranger stood still for a moment, and vanished. A bolt of green lightning struck the ground next to the two Tommys, and Green Tommy reappeared.
"Woah!" Green Tommy exclaimed. "That was intense! What happened?"
White Tommy said, "What do you remember?"
"All I remember is tapping Green Ranger on the shoulder, and now I'm here."
Red Tommy said, "That's weird. I wonder what happened."
White Tommy looked around. "Guys! Over there! It's White Ranger!" They all ran to the unmoving ranger, clad in white.
White Tommy nervously said, "Uh, you guys saw what happened to Green when he touched him. Maybe you guys should try something first."
Green Tommy laughed. "Hah! The scared, insecure little ranger's too chicken?"
White Tommy snapped, "Hey, it's a good idea not to separate any of us." Underneath his breath, he said, "Although I'd love if you got sent to he-"
Red Tommy stepped in between the two again. "Woah, guys, let's remember, we' re all the same guy. All right? Let's not fight, okay guys?" Green and White Tommy reluctantly nodded okay.
White Tommy said, "Well, since things only started happening when Green Tommy touched Green Ranger, I guess I should do something." He stepped up and touched White Ranger. Again, there was a flash of electricity, as White Tommy disappeared.
This time, White Ranger became surrounded by five colored uniforms. His teammates. They all started sneaking quietly. In front of them, a large crater appeared. In the middle of the crater was a young boy, strapped to a post with ropes. He was unconscious, but his worn figure showed signs that he had been abused recently.
Green Tommy said, "This is what happened when I touched Green Ranger?"
Red Tommy said, "Yeah . . . something like this. What's going on?"
Green Tommy said, "I don't know. Look, the boy's just . . . just there. Why doesn't Tommy get his rear in gear?"
Red Tommy sighed. He couldn't believe how he could have been like this once. "Look, if he's out there like that, that means there's a trap. If he rushes in, he's going to get pounded."
White Ranger was now pointing to the other rangers, then to different parts of the crater. They all nodded, and split up. Red and Black Rangers rushed the crater, dashing towards the boy. The other rangers surrounded the crater, armed their Blade-Blasters, and blew up all of the big rocks. White Ranger was nowhere to be found.
Green Tommy watched the scene with disgust. "If there's really a trap, then shouldn't they all rush? That way, at least one of them gets through."
Red Tommy argued, "What about getting out? Once you rescue him, you still have nothing if you can't get out."
Green Tommy's hard expressions softened just a little. "Oh . . . I guess I didn't think of that."
Meanwhile, Goldar and Rito teleported down in front of the boy. Red and Black Rangers halted. They both drew their weapons, and rushed them. The other rangers were still shooting at rocks. Sometimes, their weapons blew up lasers hidden as rocks.
Yellow Ranger aimed her Blade-Blaster directly at Green Tommy. Green Tommy jumped up, and prepared to run. Yellow Ranger fired. The beam went straight through Green Tommy and hit the rock he had been sitting on. It exploded in a flash of sparks and gaskets.
Green Tommy yelled, "Woah! That was a laser?!"
Red Tommy had to laugh. "Man, you have to see what your face looks like! You look like a ghost!" Between bursts of laughter, he said, "See, that's why they didn't rush!" More laughter. "Okay, okay, I'm calm." He drew a big breath. "Seriously, if they had rushed, all those lasers would have blown them to Aquitar."
Green Tommy looked back at the scene. Red and Black Rangers had drawn Goldar and Rito away from the boy in the center. Now, Falconzord came flying down. It armed and launched its missiles. After getting up, Goldar and Rito retreated. Falconzord came down to the crater, and when it left, the boy had been rescued.
Green Tommy stood, lost in thought. "Wow, I guess a good plan does come in handy sometimes." Suddenly, the ground started shaking. Everything disappeared, and a flash of white lightning hit the ground and White Tommy emerged.
"Wow!" White Tommy exclaimed. "That was awesome!"
Red Tommy nodded, finally understanding. "Everything went back to normal when you two accepted the other's usefulness."
White Tommy said, "Yeah, that's right! But why would Divatox do something like this, when it only reinforced Tommy's mind?"
Red Tommy said, "Haven't you noticed something? Remember how bad you two were arguing? I bet Divatox thought just separating us would be enough to drive Tommy insane."
Green Tommy suddenly caught on. "I get it! And Tommy's mind took the opportunity to unite us, the way he always wanted to!"
White Tommy said, "That's great! Wait, hold on. If we're so buddy-buddy now, how come we're still three separate beings? If we all accept each other, shouldn't we have united by now?"
Green Tommy suggested, "Red here hasn't gone through this yet."
Red Tommy protested, "But I don't need to. I already accepted that both of you need to exist, and you've just accepted it yourselves."
White Tommy mulled this over. "Divatox must still be keeping us separated somehow."
Green Tommy sighed. He threw his hands in the air. "Great. So we just sit here until somebody rescues us."
White Tommy shook his head. "No, if Divatox is keeping us separated, then she's probably planning something."
The environment started shaking. Immense fog started covering the sky. In the distance, the sound of metal striking metal could be heard.
Houses started forming around the three Tommys. Cars started zooming past. There was a lot of crying around them. The Angel Grove Monster Alert was on.
Green Tommy yelled to make himself be heard. "What's going on?!"
White Tommy yelled back, "Do you hear the metal? It must be an attack!"
Red Tommy froze. His veins seemed like they stopped pumping as the blood drained out of his face. "Guys . . . look at the sign."
White and Green Tommys turned around. Though the fog was very strong, the street sign clearly read Baracuda Street.
Green Tommy whispered, "Baracuda Street."
White Tommy shook his head. "My God. That's what Divatox is doing."
All three Tommys turned their heads. The original Megazord towered over them. Lightning crackled, and the Mega Power Sword flew from the sky into its hands. It charged, and the fog dissapated to show its adversary, a hideous long-necked bat-like creature. They started fighting. Then, in the middle of the fog, Green Ranger's flute sounded.
Dragonzord appeared, and Green Ranger jumped to one of the buildings on Baracuda Street to get a better view. He started playing his flute, instructing the Dragonzord. Like a wild animal, the Dragonzord struck the creature again and again.
White Tommy exclaimed, "C'mon, guys, we've gotta stop this!"
Red Tommy stepped in front of him and held him back. "Think about it, man. This is only in Tommy's mind. We can't stop anything, and even if we could, there'd be no point to it." White Tommy started relaxing, but continued to stare at Green Ranger.
The Dragonzord started backing away from the creature. From the Megazord, Red Ranger yelled, "Tommy! He's too strong! We've got to fall back!"
Green Ranger yelled, "No! I can take this clown. I've got a plan!"
Green Tommy sneered, "Well, White, I think I know why Baracuda Street happened. It's because YOU told him he had a plan! If you hadn't butted in, he would have retreated!"
White Tommy spun around angrily. "WHAT?!"
Red Tommy panicked. Instinctively, he put himself between the other two Tommys. "Woah, guys, chill. Nobody's responsible for this. How could we have known?"
White Tommy shoved Red Tommy out of the way and confronted Green Tommy. "No, I'm not going to 'chill'. This bum thinks I'M responsible for what happened here! Let me tell you something, jackass. If Tommy hadn't been so . . . so reckless, he wouldn't have tried to justify his reckless attack with a plan!"
Green Tommy shoved White Tommy. "You think I'M responsible?! Tommy went ahead because he thought he had a plan! If it wasn't for you and your damn plans, it wouldn't have happened!"
As the two argued, Dragonzord charged the creature. The creature blasted the Dragonzord to the ground with eye beams, and picked up the helpless zord. Spinning it around, the creature launched it towards Green Ranger and Baracuda Street.
Green Ranger jumped out of the way just in time. The Dragonzord collapsed on top of the building he was on. Green Ranger frantically ran towards one of the people who had evacuated in time. "Was there anyone inside the building?"
The woman cried, "Yes! My little baby!" Others started naming others whom they thought might have been in the building.
Green Ranger panicked. He rushed inside the fallen rubble, digging desperately for any sign of the child. At last, Green Ranger stopped. He had found the baby. A sharp piece of the ceiling had found its way into the chest, through the baby's heart, and out the other side. Green Ranger trembled. He had known people died in each attack, but had never before seen it so personally. Despite being on the battlefield, he was on the verge of tears.
The woman ran up to Green Ranger. "My God! You found my baby? You found her?" She stopped running as she saw what Green Ranger was holding. "My . . . my baby!" She fell to her knees and cried. Green Ranger stepped towards her and laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. The woman snapped her head up. "You! You're responsible for this! If it weren't for you, my Jesse would be alive! Alive! You! You're responsible! You and your damn friends are all murderers!" Any other words were muffled as she cried over her baby.
By now, the Megazord had destroyed the creature. The other rangers ran to Green Ranger. Red Ranger clasped Green Ranger's shoulders. "Hey, man. I saw what happened. It's not your fault. I saw. You did everything you could."
Green Ranger looked away. "Did I?"
The scene faded away into the fog.
White Tommy retorted, "It was you and your recklessness that did it! If you had more thinking and less bull in your head, Tommy wouldn't have charged!"
Green Tommy yelled, "I've had enough of you!" He reached to his pocket for his morpher.
Red Tommy was terrified. "Hey, wait a minute-"
White Tommy sneered, "You're on!"
Red Tommy stammered, "Can't we just-"
In unison, Green and White Tommy yelled, "It's morphin time!"
"Dragonzord!"
"Tigerzord!"
Green Ranger looked at his adversary as White Ranger assumed attack position. Red Tommy rushed between them and yelled, "Can't you see what's happening?! Divatox wants this to happen! This is all Divatox's fault!"
Green Ranger yelled, "Get out of the way!" He grabbed his Dragon Dagger and fired it at Red Tommy.
Red Tommy collapsed. He rolled to his feet. "This is ridiculous! You can't fight against yourself!"
White Ranger drew Saba. "Watch me!" He fired Saba's eye beam at Green Ranger. Green Ranger jumped and struck out at White Ranger with his dagger. A duel ensued between the two.
Green Ranger yelled, "You and your damn plans were never worth crap anyway!"
White Ranger shouted, "If you drilled a hole in your head maybe it wouldn't be so hollow!"
Red Tommy jumped to his feet. "That's it! I've had enough!" He brought his fists down to his sides. Two Zeonizer bracelets emerged. "It's morphin time! Zeo Ranger 5, Red!"
Red Zeo rushed in between Green and White Rangers. "You two knock it off NOW!" With one hand, he thrust the Zeo V Power Sword at Green Ranger, and held the Zeo Laser Blade against White Ranger's side with the other. "I'm sick of you two always fighting! You both know you need each other! Think of the lives you've saved working together. Doesn't that count for something?"
Green Ranger turned his head. "Are you saying Baracuda Street doesn't count?"
Red Zeo stammered, searching for the words. "No . . . I'm saying that it shouldn't drive such a hard wedge between us. Look at you two. You're like babies. Trying to shift the blame to someone else. And that's what Divatox wants. Because then, we'll have lost."
Green and White Rangers thought about the words. Their behavior in the past minute came back, over and over in their minds. They became aware of their weapons, pointed directly at each other. Slowly, they lowered their weapons to their sides. All three demorphed.
White Tommy held his hand out to Green Tommy. "Hey, look man, I'm sorry. I can't say what big of a jerk I've been."
Green Tommy smiled. "Can't be bigger than me." He took White Tommy's hand in friendship.
Lightning started sizzling from the two Tommys' hands, clasped together. Green and white lightning streamed from their bodies. They became transparent, and started merging into Red Tommy. Their two forms encased Red Tommy, and finally solidified, forming the Red Turbo armor.
Tommy awoke with a start. Man, what a dream, he thought. A sudden burst of sound came from his right. He tried to get up, but found he was strapped in. The computer started sounding, "ALERT. PATIENT AWAKE."
Tommy hurriedly snapped the straps from his wrists. He undid the clamp around his neck, and got up and undid the ones on his feet. He got up and hurried out the room.
"He's over in that room. Hurry, before he gets up!" This was Porto's voice, wraught with concern. Pirahnatrons started swarming in his direction.
Tommy grabbed his Turbo Key. "See ya, suckers. Shift into Turbo! Red Lightning Turbo Power!"
Red Turbo rushed through the opposite corridor. As he ran, he heard Rygog's commanding voice. "You stupid Pirahnatrons! He went THAT way! Elgar, why aren't these stupid creatures of yours any good?"
Elgar's voice responded. "I dunno! I taught them all myself!"
Rygog returned. "Geez, that explains a lot!"
Then Red Turbo clearly made out Divatox's voice. "Rygog! Elgar! Stop bickering and get that ranger! Porto! Is he insane yet?"
Again, Porto's voice. "Not yet. He's got a very strong mind, you know. Very remarkable. I wouldn't mind studying that for a while."
Divatox responded, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, do your worst. But make sure he's completely around the bend first."
Red Turbo thought, Cripes. They want me insane. Then he remembered the severe multiple personality disorder he had went through. Guess I was for a while.
Red Turbo pressed the teleport button on his communicator. Nothing happened. He supposed he didn't really expect anything to happen. He started running again.
He stopped just short of tumbling over the balcony. Woah! he thought as he looked down at Earth from space. That's a long way down. Rygog came up in front of him. "Well ranger, I guess you're stuck between a stone and a rigid location."
Red Turbo snorted. He didn't even bother to correct him. Instead, he looked over the balcony. I wonder if they bothered to erect a forcefield outside the Baribarian? Here's one way to find out!
Red Turbo spun and leaped out the balcony into space. At once, he tried his communicator. Still nothing. He panicked. He didn't know if a Ranger suit could withstand the amount of friction that he was about to experience.
As a last resort, Red Turbo fired his Auto Blaster at the Baribarian. The explosion blew Red Turbo away. He swore he heard a faint bzzing sound. With renewed hope, he tried his communicator again.
Tommy walked along the park. It had been two days since his adventure. He was still trying to let it all sink in.
Jason started walking up to him. "Hey, bro. Penny for your thoughts."
Tommy said, "Hmm? Oh, I was just thinking about what happened . . . you know, up there." He gestured towards the sky.
Jason said, "C'mon, what really happened up there? I don't believe you told Zordon everything. You're holding back."
Tommy stayed silent. Finally, he broke. "It was about Baracuda Street."
Jason sighed. "That old thing again? Why are you so obsessed with that?"
Tommy snapped, "A baby died! And it was all my fault!"
Jason laid his hand on Tommy's shoulder. "Look, if I've said this once, I've said it a thousand times. It wasn't your fault. Deaths are inevitable. That's part of being a Power Ranger. Think of all the lives you've saved. There is not one person in this town who would think twice about lending you a hand."
Tommy laughed an ironic laugh. "That's not quite how it is now, is it? Now it's 'Power Rangers: The Hidden Evil'. Didn't you see that last night on the news?"
Jason said, "No, I was still resting."
Tommy sighed. "I'll be okay, man. Thanks."
Tommy stopped in front of the Juice Bar. I can't go through this, he thought. I'm getting out of here. But as Tommy started turning around, another voice said, chicken! Get in there and do it already! Tommy smiled. He never really had known just how separated his mind had been. Okay, Oliver, you get in there and you say it to her!
Tommy stepped through the door. As he approached the counter, he saw Kim and Kat sitting together, talking. Tommy started sweating. Well, since they're so busy right now, I'll just leave them alone. Hey! You're not getting off that easy! Get over there and tell her! Tommy was ready to faint. He put his hand on the wall for support and shook his head.
Kimberly looked up. "Hey Tommy! Come over here, we need to talk."
Tommy thought, oh no. I'm out of here. No, no, no, go! She wants to talk to you too. I can't handle this.
Tommy walked over to the table and sat down before he fainted. Kim said, "Tommy, Kat told me how hurt you were when I broke up with you."
Tommy swallowed. He wasn't sure what would come out of his mouth if he opened it. For months, he would go over this moment in his head. Sometimes, he was begging her to come back. Other times, he was yelling at her for hurting him so much. When he started dating Kat, the scenario changed to one of telling Kim he was dumping her too. He had no idea which one would show itself.
Kim continued. "When I first met you, I fell in love. But when you started changing so much, I started feeling less and less secure. At times, I wanted to hide because I was scared. You're a wonderful man, but you're not the one I want."
Tommy choked. To hear this once in a letter had almost killed him. To hear her voice saying it was worse than death.
Kim said, "A long-distance relationship will never work. I have to go back to Florida for training. Kat, you want to tell him the rest?"
Kat took a deep breath. "Tommy, Kim and I have been talking, and she thinks it's wonderful that we're going out together."
Kim added, "I just want you to be happy. You're not going to be happy dating by letter."
Kat said, "I know you've had troubles about our dating because of what Kim would think. I thought you'd feel better if you knew Kim approved."
Tommy's head was swimming. There was too much information. He managed to stammer out, "Uh . . . yeah, that, um, makes me feel more, er, secure, I guess."
Kim smiled. "Great. I still love you Tommy, I just don't think you're the one I'm destined for."
Tommy smiled back. Then he fell back and fainted.