ABDUCTION OF THE WHITE RANGER

by Cheryl Roberts

Disclaimer: This is a work of adult fiction containing scenes of erotic nature. If you are under the age of consent in your particular jurisdiction, proceed no further. The Power Ranger characters belong to Saban International and are being used without their knowledge or consent. No profit is being made by the author on this story. August 1995

Note: This story takes place between the end of season 2 (Blue Ranger Gone Bad) and the beginning of season 3 (A Friend in Need).

CHAPTER I

"How did I get myself into this?" Tommy sighed as Billy helped him with his bow tie. "I'm a martial artists, not a dancer. That's Zack's thing. Man, I wish he was here."

"Zack's thing is hip hop, not ballroom," Billy said, stepping back to study his handiwork. Tommy was fidgeting with his cuffs and waistcoat. With top hat, tie, and tails, Tommy was going to attempt to play Fred Astaire to Kimberly's Ginger Rogers. "Whose idea was it to sign up for the Spring Talent Festival?"

"Okay, so I'm the one who said it'd be kind of fun to put something together," Tommy admitted as he pulled his long brown hair up into its usual ponytail, "but I had a martial arts demonstration in mind. How was I to know Kim would be on a Hollywood Musical kick?"

"Blame her Aunt Karen for that. Let's have a final look at you to make sure you don't look as ridiculous as you're going to feel," Billy remarked, eyeing his companion critically.

"Gee, thanks loads."

"Would you look at Tommy," Rocky said with a low whistle.

"He almost looks like a gentleman," Adam snickered.

"That's enough, you guys," Tommy groaned. "It's bad enough I'm going out there to make a complete fool of myself without having to listen to you two."

"Boy, you sure clean up good," Aisha said as she joined the quartet back stage.

"Where's Kimberly?" Billy wondered.

"Still in the dressing room. Her hair isn't cooperating," Aisha replied. "She's a bundle of nerves."

"It can't be stage fright," Adam reasoned, "after all, she's been through dozens of gymnastic competitions."

"It's not that," Aisha said. "Her father came in from out of town for this, and her Aunt Karen is here too."

"So that explains her heightened emotional state," Billy concluded.

"Guys, if you think Tommy looks good, wait until you see Kim," Aisha bubbled. As if on cue, Kim appeared in the wings; she was trying to fasten her necklace.

"Aisha, could you help me with this thing? I can't get the clasp latched."

The four male members of the team stared at Kim with undisguised admiration. She was dressed in a deep rose ballgown which was dusted with silver sparkles. The form fitting gown hugged her body until it draped past her hips where it flared out in a frothy, feather trimmed skirt. The fit of the gown was such that it provided Kim with an ample display of cleavage. Her hair was swept back in a sophisticated bun; the guys found it hard to credit that this was the same young woman who had arrived at the theater in a denim overall jumper and pigtails.

"What do you think?" Kim asked as she spun around for them, modeling the dress. The dress plunged lower in the back than in the front; it was a wonder that the thin spaghetti straps were able to hold it up.

"Wow," Tommy stammered at last. "You look fantastic!"

"You really think so?"

Tommy, still tongue tied, could only nod. Tommy was suddenly, powerfully reminded just what an attractive young woman Kimberly was. He had called her cute; he had called her beautiful. Her present incarnation went beyond either of those descriptions, but Tommy was reluctant to put words to his reaction. It wasn't that he never thought of Kimberly in terms other than teammate and girlfriend--he did, with growing frequency--but that was in the privacy of his own fantasies.

"Tommy?" Kim queried, perplexed by his prolonged silence.

"Sorry," he mumbled, shaking off the spell which momentarily immobilized him. He realized that Kimberly was staring at him, her brow furrowed. "What's wrong?"

"The hair's all wrong," she remarked thoughtfully. "It's too severe pulled back like that. It needs to be looser, more debonair, more roguish. Here, let me fix it." Kim pulled Tommy down to her level and reached around to remove his ponytail holder. Tommy was treated to an exquisite view of her cleavage. If that wasn't a powerful enough stimulant, Kim was playing with his hair. He closed his eyes and tried to regain control of the heat in his cheeks and in his groin.

"There," Kim declared, releasing him. She had his hair pulled into a low knot so that it hung more loosely about his face.

"Rather like an Eighteenth Century gentleman," Billy observed.

"Tommy, are you blushing?" Aisha blurted out, doing little to hide her smile. Adam and Rocky also bore knowing grins. If Kim had been unaware of what she had done and the effect she was having on Tommy, the others weren't. He wanted to die of embarrassment.

"You guys are up next," Billy interjected, taking a quick peek out on stage.

"Right now, I'd rather face Lord Zedd than the audience," Tommy muttered.

***

"That can be arranged, White Ranger," Lord Zedd, Master of Evil and would-be emperor of the universe, hissed as he observed the proceedings. His anger manifested itself in a red aura which enveloped his hideous body which resembled the exposed musculature of a human body; his silver armor was more of an exoskeleton than protection. His silver tipped fingers clenched and unclenched his staff of power. For a change, the lord of darkness was alone. His inept minions were cowering somewhere or another, and his vexatious wife Rita was visiting relatives in another dimension. Zedd was frustrated with his lack of success in defeating the Power Rangers (among other things if he wanted to be honest with himself). His frustration continued to grow as he observed Tommy and Kimberly's meeting backstage at Angel Grove High. Their obvious affection for one another and self-conscious exchange of compliments made his stomach turn.

"There has to be a way to destroy those accursed teenagers," he grumbled. He had tried monsters. He had tried draining their powers. He had tried turning them against each other. Why had Zordon chosen teenagers to be his Power Rangers? Teenagers were too unpredictable, too overconfident, too willful. Adults were more suited to the task . . . and it was less humiliating to be beaten repeatedly by adults than by children. What was it that teenagers possessed that adults did not that made them more suited to wield the power?

He watched as Tommy and Kimberly shared a chaste peck on the cheek before taking the stage.

"Bah! A harmless kiss!" Zedd snarled. Once, before his marriage to Rita, Zedd had considered making the Pink Ranger his empress. She had the potential to be beautifully wicked, but Goldar had managed to bungle that mission as he had so many others. "When a woman looks as inviting as Kimberly, one does not merely kiss her. One takes her! But then, hopelessly romantic Tommy wouldn't even know what to do with a woman! Such an innocent . . . ." An idea flickered to life in Zedd's exposed brain. Could that be the key? Innocent of carnal knowledge? It was an idea worth exploring. "Putties, retrieve the White Ranger. On stage, in front of all those people, he won't be able to morph or put up much of a fight. And show a little more ruthlessness than you normally do. I want putties with a little more spine!"

***

"Just relax, Tommy," Kim whispered as she and Tommy took center stage. "Think of this as if it was a kata, and you'll do just fine." "Dancing Cheek to Cheek" began playing through the sound system. Tommy put his arms around her, finding it a little awkward to place his hands on her bare back.

"Where did you get this dress? It looks absolutely incredible on you," Tommy asked softly. The shimmering, frothy concoction and the way Kim was poured into it were sufficient to distract Tommy from his nerves.

"It was Aunt Karen's; she and Uncle Ted used to be ballroom dancers. That's why I wanted to do this--as a surprise for her. Now, here comes the twirl and dip . . . . "

Tommy followed Kim's instructions, twirling her about then dipping her low. He drank in the sight of her sparkling eyes and glowing smile, and snuck in a furtive glance at the swell of her breasts. He and Kimberly had been dating for months now, but their relationship seemed not to have progressed much beyond close friendship and light affection. Their hectic lives, dictated by their responsibilities as Power Rangers, left them little time for anything of a more serious nature. Which posed the question: did he want a more serious relationship? Did Kim? Of late, Kimberly had been more demonstrative of her affection; was that her way of indicating that she was wanting more out of their relationship? And what exactly did he mean by "more serious?"

"Hey there, Handsome, where are you?" Kim queried softly. "It's like you're a million miles away."

"Just thinking," he replied, smiling.

"You'd better start paying attention, or you're going to wind up dropping me on my butt," she warned.

Then, Zedd struck. His putties materialized on stage, surrounding Tommy and Kim. Before the dancers knew what was going on, Kim was torn from Tommy's arms and tossed aside. She gave a yelp of surprise and landed as she had just predicted.

"What do you clay brains want this time," Tommy snapped as four of Zedd's minions swarmed over him.

"Let him go!" Kim shouted as she regained her feet. She surged forward to help but was repelled by a solid back-handed swing. The blow caught her in the side of the head.

"Kimberly!" Tommy struggled to break his attackers' grip, to no avail. The five vanished in a flash of light. Before the other four Rangers could come to help, Kim and the remaining two putties also disappeared.

***

Pandemonium broke loose in the auditorium. Back stage, the four remaining Power Rangers were stunned.

"What happened to them?" Adam gasped.

"Lord Zedd," Billy pronounced grimly.

"What do we do?" Aisha queried.

"We go to the Command Center and see if Zordon can pin point their location," Rocky suggested.

"You three go ahead," Billy directed. "Kim and Tommy's parents were in the audience; they are probably very frightened and in need of comfort and reassurance."

"From Billy or the Blue Ranger?" Aisha wondered.

"I have not made that decision yet. Get going."

Aisha, Rocky, and Adam activated their teleporters and vanished. Billy peered out from behind the curtain. Security was trying to control the panicked crowd. Words of comfort coming from him would mean little to his friends' parents. He activated his communicator.

"Zordon, have you been able to locate Tommy and Kimberly yet?"

"No," Zordon replied. "Alpha can find no trace of them. I fear they are no longer on Earth. If Lord Zedd has transported them to another dimension, they could be anywhere."

"Thanks, Zordon. I will teleport to the Command Center as soon as the Blue Ranger relays this information to Kimberly and Tommy's parents."

"Very good, Billy."

Billy checked to make sure the coast was clear then initiated the morphing sequence. He felt a trifle uncomfortable walking out on stage in uniform, but there was no shirking his duty. Thus far they had managed to keep their dual identities from their parents. It would take a bit of doing to explain away the present situation, considering it had been viewed by an auditorium full of people.

Billy stepped out from behind the curtain as calmly as he could. Mr. Caplan was at the microphone trying to call for order. Billy tapped him on the shoulder and took the microphone out of his hands. He tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice as he addressed the crowd.

"There is no need to panic. The putties are gone, and the Rangers have the situation in hand," he began. "However, would the parents of Kimberly Hart and Tommy Oliver please come to the stage." The crowd was more than a little bit stunned, but they cooperated by opening aisles so that the families could approach unimpeded. Both of Kimberly's parents and her Aunt Karen were there; also, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver were present. Billy directed them backstage.

"Who are you?" Mr. Hart demanded. Billy had never known Kimberly's father very well. He had moved out of state after the divorce and probably wasn't very familiar with the Rangers.

"What happened to Tommy and Kimberly?" Mr. Oliver asked.

"As near as we have been able to determine, they were kidnapped by our arch nemesis, Lord Zedd."

"Why? What are our children to him?" Mrs. Hart spoke up.

"We don't know," Billy fibbed. "Our hypothesis is that he seeks to use them as hostages against us."

"Do you know where he has taken them?" Mrs. Oliver asked.

"Not yet. We suspect he has removed them to either another dimension or his lunar citadel. We do know for a fact that they aren't on Earth."

"Not on Earth?" Kim's aunt murmured. All of the adults wore expressions of shock and disbelief. Billy couldn't blame them; once upon a time, he wouldn't have believed such nonsense either. "I promise you all, we will do everything in our powers to bring Kimberly and Tommy home safely." There was nothing else to add, so Billy teleported, disappearing in a flash of blue light.

***

Tommy reappeared in Lord Zedd's throne room. The putties dumped him in an undignified heap on the floor. After a moment's disorientation, Tommy got to his feet and assumed a defensive stance. He was seemingly alone in the chamber.

"All right, Zedd, what's the big idea?" Tommy demanded. He reached for his communicator, but the device flew from his wrist as if pulled off by a giant magnet. The same happened when he went for his morpher.

"Welcome to my humble fortress, White Ranger," Zedd sneered as he stepped forward. He leveled his staff at Tommy and hit him with an energy blast that flung him across the chamber. "So nice of you to pay me a visit."

"What do you want, Zedd?" Tommy glowered as he picked himself up, preparatory to striking out.

"Your cooperation. I'm conducting a little experiment, and I needed a suitable guinea pig."

"I thought that's what you had Goldar for."

"Insolent human, you shall pay for that!" In lumbered Zedd's chief lackey--a blue furred simian dressed in gold armor and sporting a pair of wings.

"Later, Goldar, when he has served his purpose."

"Yes, master."

"What makes you think I'll go along with whatever it is you have in mind?"

"I can be very persuasive; Goldar, fetch in my other guest." Goldar returned a few moments later with an unconscious Kimberly limply draped over his arms.

"What have you done to her!"

"Nothing--yet."

"Goldar, get away from her or . . . ." Tommy threatened.

"You'll do nothing, White Ranger," Zedd declared. "For the moment, your pathetic little girlfriend merely sleeps. Make the slightest move and Goldar will snap her neck." Zedd gestured, and Goldar hoisted Kim up by her neck. Seeing her ragdoll-like body dangling from Goldar's massive paw made Tommy break out in a cold sweat. He relaxed his stance only slightly. Zedd's previous attempts to destroy them had been farcical, almost unreal with all the putties and bizarre monsters. The present danger to Kimberly was more immediate and real than Tommy was used to in dealing with Zedd.

"Kimberly's continued well being depends entirely on you. Try to escape, try to contact your friends, try to resist, and she dies--regardless of my plans for her."

"What are you going to do to her?"

"You'll see soon enough. What's it going to be, Tommy? Does she live, or does she die now?"

"Why should I trust you? You want us all dead anyway."

"True, but all in good time. There are still four more of you Power Brats out there. Not only will you be my guinea pig, you're my bait."

"We'll never do you bidding," Tommy said defiantly. Zedd was bluffing. He had to be. If he called Zedd's bluff--stalled for time, he would be able to come up with a way to get them both out of this mess.

"Very well. Goldar . . . . " The armor encased fingers began to contract, and Tommy realized that there was no way he could reach Goldar before Kimberly's neck snapped.

"Stop it! All right, Zedd; what do you want me to do?" Tommy asked, surrendering. He held on to the hope that Zedd really did want them alive for some purpose or another. As long as they were alive there was a chance that the others would be able to help them get free.

"For the moment, stay where you are and enjoy the show," Zedd rumbled, sounding very pleased. "Goldar, remove the Pink Ranger's morpher and communicator. Oh, and while you're at it, remove her clothes too."

"With pleasure, master," Goldar replied gleefully.

"Zedd . . . ." Tommy began ominously, but he remained immobile as Zedd raised his hand to signal Goldar to break Kim's neck. Zedd approached Tommy and stood next to him as he motioned for Goldar to proceed. Seething, Tommy tried not to watch, out of respect for Kim, but Zedd forced his face forward, and curiosity kept his eyes open. With one, swift movement, Goldar shredded Kimberly's gown, leaving her in her undergarments. Tommy felt his pulse quicken, and he chided himself for his reaction.

<<Chill out, man. So she's in her underwear; no big deal. You've seen her run around in leotards and swimsuits before, and they left about as much to the imagination as what she's wearing now.>>

But leotards and swimsuits were stuff she wore for everyone to see. He had always wondered what sort of underwear Kim favored; when he mentally undressed her, he tended to picture her in something lacy and feminine. She was wearing a lacy, long line bra and matching lace panties (although he had expected her to be wearing pink instead of white); what he hadn't expected were the garter belt and stockings. Combined with her white strap sandals, he found the picture rather exciting.

"Very nice," Zedd commented, completely destroying Tommy's reverie. Goldar handed over Kim's communicator and morpher. "Put this around her neck." Zedd showed Tommy the silver band. "This little collar carries enough explosives to blow your precious pink princess to bits if you get out of line."

"It is done, master," Goldar reported.

"Good. Now to secure our other guest." Zedd summoned a pair of putties who came forward with the restraints. They consisted of a control grid set on a narrow, almost transparent belt, to which were fastened wrist manacles of the same material. "Be a good little ranger and put these on." Zedd commanded, handing the shackles to Tommy. Tommy's eyes flashed with anger, and he was just about to refuse when he caught a glimpse of Kimberly still in Goldar's grasp. Gritting his teeth, he buckled the belt around his waist and fastened on the first of the wrist restraints. The putties secured his other arm. Once the binders were in place, Zedd activated the mechanism with a staggering blast from his staff.

"Go ahead, Tommy, take a moment to test your restraints. Don't worry; Kimberly will not be harmed during your test."

Still suspicious, Tommy did as Zedd directed. He tried to strain against the manacles, but an electrical shock jolted through him, causing him to drop to his knees.

"The belt produces an energy field; any pressure exerted against the field creates the charge. Try to break free of the cuffs or try to pull the belt apart, and you run the risk of frying yourself. Oh, the longer the pressure is maintained, the more intense the blast. The unit is capable of creating a charge sufficient to kill most humans."

"Let's get on with this, Zedd," Tommy said tiredly, continuing to glare at his captor.

"Very well. Goldar, leave Kimberly for the moment. It's time to put our subject's cooperation to the test. Since you haven't fouled anything up yet and I'm in a generous mood, you may have a little fun with our guest. I assure you, he'll give you no trouble."

"Thank you, master!" Goldar simpered. He lumbered over to Tommy, grinning wickedly. "I have waited for this for a long time." He reached out and slammed his fist into Tommy's stomach, careful not to disrupt the belt's control grid. Tommy took the blow and flew backwards with the impact, the air knocked out of him. As he tried to recover, Goldar continued to advance.

While Goldar was pummeling Tommy, Zedd reversed the effects of the sleep spell which held Kimberly in thrall. He said nothing, but stood back to see what the Pink Ranger would do.

Kim's eyes flickered open. She had no idea where she was; she wasn't even aware that her equipment and clothing were missing. The first thing she was cognizant of was Goldar's hulking form. He wasn't paying any attention to her; then she saw why as Goldar threw Tommy against the wall on the far side of the chamber. Tommy landed hard and didn't move. Furious, Kim launched herself into a series of handsprings, flinging herself at Goldar. She caught him with a double kick in the back of his knees that sent him crashing to the floor. Kim quickly interposed herself between Tommy and Goldar.

"Touch him again and I'll feed you your toe nails," she threatened. Goldar rumbled menacingly as he climbed to his feet, but Zedd prevented him from lashing out at Kimberly. Kimberly took the opportunity to check on Tommy, who was laying frighteningly still on the floor. "Tommy?"

"Do not concern yourself with the White Ranger; rather, be concerned for yourself, my pathetic pink Power Brat.

"Don't you dare touch him again," Kim threatened, glaring up at Zedd, daring him to cross her. The thought of Zedd hurting Tommy yet again was more than she could stand. Tommy had already suffered enough at Zedd and Rita's hands, from having his mind messed with, losing his powers, and being forced to fight an evil version of himself. Somehow, he had managed to survive; Kim had sworn a long time ago not to let them get their hooks into Tommy ever again. "I won't let you hurt him any more, Zedd."

"Oh, but I will hurt him. And you. But that's for later. For the moment, Tommy's continued existence is in your hands."

"What do you mean?"

"Cooperate and he continues to live; do not and he dies."

"What kind of fool do you take me for?"

"A love sick fool. Goldar . . . ."

Zedd's winged minion came forward and dealt a blow to Tommy's restraints. The energy field flared, and Tommy moaned in pain. Then he struck Tommy another debilitating blow.

"Goldar, stop it!" Kim shouted as she tried to pull Goldar away from Tommy. Goldar merely tossed her aside.

"Zedd, stop him," Kim pleaded. "What do you want me to do?"

"Submit to my spell freely and join my ranks of evil."

"And you'll leave Tommy alone?"

"I swear by all the evil in the universe that Tommy's life shall be in your hands. As long as you do my bidding, he will continue to live."

Kim bit her lower lip as she looked from Zedd to Tommy. Zedd motioned Goldar away. Kim gingerly probed Tommy's injuries and inspected his restraints. In addition to the contusions produced by Goldar, he had burns from the energy flares. His moan of pain brought tears to her eyes.

"Don't worry, Tommy; I won't let Zedd hurt you any more," she whispered, brushing his cheek with her lips. At that, Tommy's eyelids fluttered open.

"Kim?" he murmured weakly, but she didn't hear him.

"All right, Zedd; you win. Let me have it."

"Kimberly . . . no!" Tommy protested.

Kim screamed as black fingers of lightning caressed and penetrated her body. The coruscating energies enveloped her in a whirlwind. To her credit, she remained standing throughout the painful transformation.

"Ha, Goldar! This is perfectly delicious! My spell won't make Kimberly evil, but it will magnify the darkness hidden in her sweet little soul until it consumes her. It shall be interesting to see what secrets she has kept locked away behind that innocent facade."

Tommy could not hear Zedd's gloating; his attention was wholly on the swirling blackness which obliterated his view of Kim's petite frame. Suddenly, the mist began to dissipate, revealing her transformation. The darkness wafted upwards, uncovering black leather boots with impossibly spiked heels, legs enclosed in black mesh stockings. The cloud continued rising, revealing a black leather mini-skirt which just barely covered her when she raised her hands to fan the rest of the mist away. Kimberly turned towards Tommy, flashing him a fuchsia bustier which showed off her cleavage even more than her gown had. The ensemble was topped off with a leather jacket. Her hair was teased out and her sweet features were highlighted with provocative make-up.

Kim stretched sensuously, and when she opened her eyes she fixed Tommy with a smoldering gaze. She licked her blood red lips oh-so-slowly, a move which brought a lump to his throat and to his groin in spite of his pain.

"Kimberly?" he gasped. He watched, fascinated, aroused and pained as Kim strutted about, her every move exuding a sensuality he never knew she possessed.

"This is an unexpected development. Who knew the Pink Ranger was such a wanton at heart," Zedd cackled.

"You'll find that there was more to sweet little Kimberly than you ever dreamed," Kim purred as she approached Zedd. Her voice was deeper, a throaty contralto that caressed the ears, yet there was a hardness to it, a haughtiness as well. If Zedd expected her to bow to him, he was in for a rude surprise.

"Is Tommy's life still mine as you promised?" she demanded, glancing back over her shoulder, hunger dancing in her eyes.

"You may do with him as you wish, except release him. He is not to leave this citadel--alive."

"I have no intention of letting him go." Kim sauntered back over to Tommy. She knelt beside him and caught his chin in her hands. She gazed deep into his brown eyes.

Tommy said nothing; he didn't trust his voice as her scarlet tipped fingers combed through his hair.

"So beautiful," she murmured as she ran her hands across his shoulders and down his chest. She continued to feel him up, her hand sliding down his hips, around to stroke his buttocks, and back to gently squeeze his noticeable hard-on.

"I see you like the new me," she teased.

Tommy bit his lip and wanted to die of embarrassment because her fingers were only making his appreciation more pronounced. He felt the heat in his cheeks, which deepened at Kim's laughter.

"Don't be embarrassed," she cooed into his ear. "I'm glad I turn you on. I've always wanted to, you know. Oh, don't look so shocked, Tommy. You can't imagine the fantasies I've had about you . . . about what you'd look like if I were to peel away that deliciously wicked Spandex uniform . . . mm!" Tommy's response was an inarticulate groan. Kim favored him with a predatory grin then turned her attention to Goldar, who hovered close by.

"Touch him again, you winged maggot, and I'll cut your heart out," Kim hissed. As if to prove her point, she filched a dagger from Goldar's weapon's belt and held the point under his chin. "Zedd gave Tommy to me. I have plans for Mr. Oliver, and I don't want him damaged any more than he already is."

"I do not take orders from females," Goldar growled.

"Didn't you used to be Rita's chief book licker?" Kim leered. Goldar drew back as if to strike her.

"Let her have her way for now," Zedd commanded. "It will be interesting to see what our Pink Power Slut has in mind for her sweetheart."

CHAPTER II

Day One:

Tommy passed a fitful night chained to a post in a cell in the lowest echelon of Zedd's palace. How could he sleep after what had happened the previous day? Part of him hoped that it was nothing but a horrible dream. After Goldar had used him for a punching bag, he had come to just as Kimberly let Zedd cast a spell on her. Why had she done that? And what the spell had done to her . . . ! He had to break through the spell somehow, get her to remember herself before . . . before what? Kim had made it clear that she did not intend to kill him, but he had found the hungry look in her eye as she said she had plans for him unsettling. A chill passed through him. It was going to be difficult to keep his mind on figuring out a way to escape--not with his jailer looking the way she did.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty; rise and shine!"

Before he could open his eyes, Tommy felt a mouth pressed to his. It was a fierce kiss--a hot, passionate kiss that drew the breath from his body and left him gasping for more.

"Mm, you are gorgeous!"

Tommy recognized the throaty purr--just barely; he opened his eyes and looked at Kimberly. Hot scarcely began to describe her. Tommy felt his body responding as he gazed at his leather-clad girlfriend. It was Kim from his wildest fantasies, but there was no sweetness in her face, no warmth in her smile. Her grin flashed hunger; her eyes shone with lust. She was a sexual predator on the prowl, a veritable walking wet dream. Kimberly reached up to run her fingers through his hair and pressed her hot body against his, grinding her hips into his. Tommy felt the blood rush to his face and cock.

"Kimberly, stop this," Tommy entreated. "Fight the enchantment; shake off Zedd's spell. You don't want to do this!"

"Oh, but I do," Kim assured him, smiling wickedly as she continued to toy with his hair. She stood on tip toe to lick his ear. A shiver that had nothing to do with cold raced down Tommy's spine. "Have you any idea how many times I've dreamed of you--of seeing your naked body, of touching you . . . tasting you . . . and you doing the same to me? Can you imagine how often I've dreamed of feeling your cock sliding in and out of my hot, wet pussy only to wake up and discover my fingers slick with my own come? My hormones have been in an uproar ever since I laid eyes on you."

"This isn't you talking, Kim; it's Zedd's spell," Tommy insisted, more for his benefit than hers. How many times had he imagined the same things about her?

"But it is me talking," Kimberly said with a low chuckle.

"I won't believe it. I refuse!" He tried to close his eyes and turn his head away. Kim grasped his chin and held his head in place. With infinite slowness, she traced the outline of his lips with her tongue. Tommy clenched his teeth behind his lips.

"Poor little Tommy, your sweet, innocent girlfriend isn't the nice girl you thought she was," Kim teased him, "and considering the rampant state of your cock, I'd say you weren't the gentleman I always thought you were." She tried to French kiss him; he refused to open his mouth, so she bit his lip. When Tommy gasped in pain, she slipped her tongue into his mouth. Then she stepped back to study him.

"You have too many clothes on," Kim decided suddenly. "Putties, front and center!" Tommy hadn't noticed the sextet waiting in the shadows behind Kimberly. She gestured and two putties stationed themselves on each of his arms.

"What are you going to do?" Tommy demanded. Kim's smile sent shivers down his spine and a jolt through his cock.

"Anything I damn well please," she said with a wicked laugh. "Unchain him and separate the manacles--for now." The putties hesitated for a fraction of a second; the prisoner was not supposed to be released, but Zedd had instructed them to obey this woman. However, their handling of Tommy was anything but delicate. In their efforts to release the manacles, they put pressure on the force field. A serious surge of energy painfully ripped through Tommy's body.

"Careful! I don't like my meat overdone," Kim chided them with glee. "Strip him, but slowly. I want to enjoy this."

The two remaining putties came forward, and while the other four held Tommy in check, they carried out Kim's orders. The first one jerked the tattered tuxedo jacket off Tommy. The second pulled off his tie and waistcoat. Tommy began struggling, disrupting the force field; the energy forced him to his knees.

"Naughty, naughty, Tommy," Kim tsked as she stood with one hand on her hip and the other playing with the silver choker around her neck. The movement made Tommy's blood run cold as he recalled what Zedd had told him about that piece of jewelry.

Next, a putty pulled the shirt off Tommy's shoulders and down his arms. The other literally ripped the tank top underneath off his body. Kim stepped forward at this point and placed her hands on his chest. Tommy observed that her breasts rose and fell with her heavy breathing, and her eyes were alive with a lascivious fire.

"Mm!" she murmured as she pressed her cheek to his pectorals. Her eyes closed momentarily, and it appeared that she was listening to the beat of his heart. "You should go topless more often." As Tommy was still on his knees, Kim grabbed a handful of hair and yanked his head back. She ravenously attacked his mouth, forcing her tongue into an erotic dance with his.

"Don't . . . ." Tommy protested weakly. Kim merely smiled as she commanded the putties to hoist him to his feet. Seconds later, Tommy's pants were down around his ankles.

"Briefs, how boring," Kim pouted, then she burst into giggles. "My, what an interesting bulge." She stepped forward again and cupped his crotch.

The heat burned in Tommy's cheeks as he bit back a moan. What was that saying? _Be careful what you wish for._ In a way, this was like a dream come true; he had envisioned stripping Kim-- she doing the same to him--and exploring her body. He should have been elated. Yes, he wanted Kim, but not like this, not imprisoned in Zedd's citadel surrounded by putties. Tommy had no doubt that Zedd was somewhere watching. The thought was unbearable. Even worse, as humiliating as Kim's treatment of him was, part of Tommy couldn't help but enjoy Kim's attentions--her kisses, her hands on his body . . . .

"You're enjoying this almost as much as you hate it, aren't you," she whispered in his ear, her hand continuing to fondle his balls and squeeze his shaft through his cotton shorts. Tommy fought to keep his expression impassive. "I can see it in your eyes. Well, Sexy, the fun has only just begun." Kim slid herself down Tommy's body until her face was level with his cock. She nipped at it playfully through his underwear, then, licking her lips hungrily, she caught the waistband in her teeth. Tommy held his breath and closed his eyes as she peeled away his last piece of clothing. His cock sprang free, almost at full stand.

"Oh my . . . ." Kim gasped breathlessly. In spite of himself, Tommy opened his eyes and looked down at her. Kim's eyes were wide with amazement and delight. She seemed almost mesmerized as she reached a hand toward his throbbing rod. Perversely, he found her reaction gratifying, and as her fingers lightly brushed his cock (it was the first time anyone other than himself had ever touched it), it took every ounce of his self control to keep from coming. Kim continued runnig her hand up and down the length of him. She planted a kiss on the head, then proceeded to caress her face with his tool. It seemed to Tommy that it was an effort on her part to tear herself away. Her face was flushed, and her fingers absently traced the outline of her cleavage, which Tommy found compelling.

"Put the extension on his manacles and strap him to the table," Kim ordered, her voice thick and unsteady. The putties quickly fastened thin cords to his shackles which were then connected to the control belt. Tommy put up a token resistance, but he was all but dragged across the chamber. He was thrown down onto the cold slab (which helped cool his need somewhat) and was shackled spread-eagle. Once he was secured, Kim prowled around him like a tigress. She drew her finger down his body.

"I can hardly wait to start on you," she said breathlessly. She then traced her tongue along the same route that her finger had followed. Tommy tried to squirm away from her touch. "Oh, don't worry, Tommy; I'm not a complete whore."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked hoarsely.

"I won't take what you aren't willing to give," she replied. She sat down near his head and toyed with his hair. "Quite simply, I'm going to break you--your proud spirit--and tame your equally proud cock. When I'm through with you, you'll be begging me to fuck you. You'll be begging to serve as my sex slave." The horror he felt at her words must have shown in his eyes because Kimberly began laughing cruelly.

"First things first. I'm going to indulge my curiosity. I want to know this incredible body of yours. I want to know what causes you pleasure. I want to know what causes you pain. When I'm done with you, you'll be like putty in my hands."

***

"This is too perfect, Goldar," Zedd gloated as he watched Kim begin her assault on Tommy. Kimberly's exquisite torture was painstaking in its detail. She began by slowly licking her way down his body, starting at his ears. It thrilled Zedd to watch as her mouth devoured her companion's body and her fingers caressed and pinched. Tommy's skin glistened where Kim's tongue left a trail of wetness. As for Tommy, his tortured expression wavered between agony and ecstasy. No, Zedd mused, events could not have proceeded any better had this been his intent from the outset. "Neither of them realizes that Kimberly's actions are driven less by my spell than by her own dark hungers; watching her makes me wish my plan to make her my empress had succeeded. And Tommy . . . you can see the conflict in his face and in every taut muscle in his body: anger, humiliation, and pleasure! He can't help but enjoy what Kimberly is doing to him even though he's fighting it with every fiber of his being. Look at him; this is destroying Tommy!"

"Yes, it will be interesting to see who wins the contest of wills," Goldar agreed.

"With Kimberly being so delightfully lascivious, I have no doubt that she will win out. After she does, I will remove the spell on her, and then we can revel in her self-loathing. Two down, Goldar, and four to go."

CHAPTER III

Day Two:

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty; rise and shine!" A cruel kiss accompanied the words, and Tommy slowly found himself coming around. Every nerve ending in his body was alight with the exquisite torture he had undergone the day before. Kim had touched, licked, kissed, tickled and otherwise explored every inch of his body, uncovering the fact that Tommy was highly responsive to erotic stimulation--much more than he ever dreamed. She had tantalized and drawn responses from places he never imagined would respond, and he had fought her, every step of the way. His muscles screamed with the pain of being so tightly clenched. His balls ached with the need to come.

It had taken every ounce of martial arts training he had to control his body. When she wasn't bringing him to the brink of orgasm and leaving him high and dry, he was fighting his own urge to come. He had to. It was what Kim wanted him to do, and he refused to give her the satisfaction because it would mean giving Zedd satisfaction. Oh, but how he wanted to shoot his load down her throat, all over her face and tits--he wanted to watch her swallow everything he had to give. He had come close to losing it. He hadn't realized that his nipples were so sensitive or that he liked having his throat licked so much, and the way she played with his hair . . . ! The worst had been the first blow job she gave him. The feel of her soft lips and warm, wet mouth enveloping and caressing his aching cock had nearly been too much. She had given him several blow jobs yesterday; each successive oral massage had been better than the last. Kim learned quickly and was becoming a first-rate cocksucker.

<<That's right, make jokes about it. Do whatever you can to keep from giving in. Just remember that once you and Kimberly are free, Zedd will get his!>>

Even as he reaffirmed his vow, he felt the velvety warmth of Kim's mouth descend upon his raging hard-on, taking him as far down her throat as she could. As her head bobbed up and down, her hair tickled his balls. Before he could repress it, a moan slipped out.

"I love sucking your cock," Kim murmured as she licked him like an ice cream cone. "I can't wait to taste your come!"

Tommy couldn't look at her; his resistance would weaken if he saw her expression of lust and self satisfaction. She was sexier than he had ever imagined. Watching her face as she consumed him in her animal hunger could turn his knees to jelly; watching her touch herself . . . that fired his hormones almost as much as her mouth on his cock. Tommy felt certain she wasn't really aware she was doing anything; she only did it when she was distracted, when contemplating her next move. Sometimes she would only chew on her pinky. Other times she would let her fingers wander down her cheek, throat, and chest. Once he glimpsed her absently stroking her right nipple through her satin bustier. On that occasion, he came very close to begging her to do more; that he should be so turned on by watching her playing with herself blew his mind.

"Still holding back? I didn't think a young stud like you would have that much restraint," she taunted him. "Most other seventeen year olds would have blown their wad a long time ago." Tommy refused to take her bait. "Oh well, I guess that means we get to play our little game for a while longer. Okay, putties, flip him over."

Tommy was unprepared for that, so he didn't put up much of a fight. He was swiftly unchained, rolled onto his stomach and restrained once again. Kim walked around and crouched before him; she carried a bowl of--something. Tommy eyed it warily.

"First, I thought we'd do breakfast; you have to keep up your strength, you know," she said. "We can either do this the easy way, or I can have the putties force feed you like they did last night. Which is it?" She brandished the spoon and waited.

As humiliating as being fed was, it was preferable to being made to eat like a dog or having the food forced down his throat. "I'll cooperate," he said grudgingly.

"Good boy, you're learning." Tommy found the mush tasteless, cold and lumpy; he almost would have rather starved, but if he wanted to try to escape, he would need his strength. Surprisingly, Kim did not speak as she fed him. Her mind seemed to be some place else; however, as soon as the mundane task was finished, her eyes flared with desire.

"Would you like to know what I'm going to do to you today?" she queried impishly.

"Does it matter?" he asked tiredly, in spite of his resolve not to give her any openings.

"Aw, don't be such a spoil sport. I thought that since I spent so much time yesterday getting to know your front half that I should spend today getting to know the rest of you. I even brought along some toys." That filled Tommy with trepidation, but Kim did not show him what the toys were. She positioned his head at the edge of the table and then crawled up next to him. She straddled his bottom and made herself comfortable.

"I love your hair. Mm, it's so sexy!" Kim murmured as she slid her hands up his back. She gathered up his hair and splayed it out across his shoulders, then she buried her face in his long brown locks and inhaled deeply. She played with it for several minutes--drawing it up, making braids, combing it out with her fingers. Then she pulled up the first of her toys: a hair brush. It was not something Tommy had expected. With long, slow strokes she brushed his hair out, and Tommy felt himself melting, some of the tension easing from his muscles. Man, but it felt good!

For the longest time Kim did nothing but brush, and Tommy felt himself getting drowsy. Then, she rolled the brush down his back, which felt pretty good too. Kim moved his hair out of the way and began kneading his shoulders, easing the tension there. Tommy didn't want to relax, but he couldn't help it. It was difficult to maintain such a defense for so long, and she presently wasn't doing anything in particular to arouse him. It was so easy to surrender for the moment. Kim's hands soothed his aching muscles, working out the kinks in his shoulders and arms. As she continued down his back, a mellow warmth suffused Tommy; he would have to remember to ask Kim for a back rub sometime after they got out of this mess.

Kim stretched herself out across Tommy's back and nuzzled her face at the base of his neck. As her tongue danced across his backbone, sweet fire shot through Tommy's body, rejuvenating his cock and putting him back on alert. Kim slid back over his buttocks and knelt between his spread legs as she licked her way to the small of his back. Her tongue bath ceased when she reached the indentation at the base of his spine and beginning of his buttocks. She practically purred as she glossed her hands over his bottom, delighting in the baby fine hair which covered his ass. To Tommy's amazement, Kim reached under him and forced him onto his knees; she pressed his head down so that his backside was stuck up in the air.

"You do have a gorgeous ass," she sighed, continuing to run her hands over the smooth, rounded globes. She nuzzled cheek to cheek, and Tommy felt the explosion of her hot, heavy breathing against his backside. A moan threatened to slip out as she began kissing and licking his ass, but he bit it back. Kim drew her fingernail down the crack of his ass; the sensation was so unexpectedly powerful that Tommy couldn't help but moving his hips--much to Kimberly's delight.

"You like that?" she queried with relish, slipping her finger down between his cheeks a second time. This time, he tried to fight the telling movement. Her finger continued to probe, finding and swirling about the corrugated rim of his asshole. Tommy gripped the corners of the table until his knuckles turned white. Kim blew softly up the channel of his behind, and Tommy's body shivered. He couldn't see it, but Kim smiled predatorially before she dipped in closer. She grabbed his buttocks, and drew her tongue up the length of his crack. Tommy whimpered and bit his lip. Spurred by his response, Kim concentrated her tongue on his hole, licking the outside thoroughly then pushing into the opening. Tommy's body went rigid as the sensation tore through him like a lightning bolt of pleasure. Kim removed her tongue and slowly inserted the tip of her finger. There was no holding back Tommy's gasp this time.

<<No more! Stop it! Please, stop!>> Tommy screamed in the privacy of his mind as her finger worked its way in and out of his bottom. He couldn't believe she was doing this to him! He couldn't believe it felt so good; he almost couldn't stand it. His body shook with the tremors that radiated from his anus. He was frantic to escape from her finger, when suddenly, she pulled it out, leaving him gasping with relief. Kim continued to pet and stroke his bottom, almost as if to soothe him; he wouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security again.

"If you thought my finger fucking your ass felt good ...." she murmured with mock sweetness. Then, Tommy heard a humming sound and felt the kiss of cold metal on his burning ass.

<<No! No! No! NO!>>

***

"What did Zordon have to report?" Aisha asked as Billy returned to the park. The four of them had been on constant alert since Tommy and Kimberly's abduction Saturday night.

"Still nothing to report," Billy answered. "Zordon and Alpha have scanned all of Zedd's known dimensional hiding places; they even tried a few that normally they wouldn't have considered--I guess they're too nasty, even for Zedd."

"They couldn't have just disappeared off the face of the universe!" Aisha's frustration exploded.

"He probably has them in a shielded location," Adam said.

"He no doubt took their morphers and communicators to make it harder for us to track them," Rocky added.

"Zordon also recommended I contact Jason, Zack, and Trini at the peace conference and put them on alert," Billy continued.

"What good will that do?" Aisha wondered.

"It gives us another set of eyes and ears," Rocky said.

"And back up if Zedd should attack," Adam concluded.

"It's up to Tommy and Kimberly to contact us," Billy added. "They are both clever and resourceful. They will find a way to let us know where they are."

CHAPTER IV

Day Three:

"Damn you, Tommy!" Kim raged as she stormed away from the table in pure frustration.

Once again, his control over his body had proven stronger than her exquisite tortures. Tommy released an inaudible sigh of relief. If she had kept up the tongue bath she had been giving his cock, he would have lost it. She wasn't playing any longer--bringing him to the brink of orgasm then pulling back; she was seriously trying to jerk him off now.

Tommy had noticed something different in Kim's behavior from the very beginning of their session. She had started off with the usual "Sleeping Beauty" and kiss routine, but when he looked at her, she looked rather haggard, like she hadn't slept at all. He could sympathize with that; his dreams had been so erratic and erotic that he had had a hard time getting any rest. Day two had been a particularly draining day. Tommy shuddered with excitement and revulsion at the memory of his session with the vibrator. That had been only the first of what turned out to be an afternoon of kinky games which often bordered on the sadistic.

Apparently, the session had left Kim dissatisfied, for she left Tommy earlier than usual. He all but sobbed with relief when she left him alone in his cell. Tommy supposed that he could take some comfort in the fact that Kim, even at her darkest, wasn't into S & M.

"What is it going to take to break you?" Kim continued to vent. She was literally shaking.

"More than you have to offer," he shot back. It was difficult backing down from the edge; his balls ached with the need for relief.

"Oh? This body still arouses you, doesn't it?" Kim asked as she pirouetted for him. She smoothed her hands down her sides and hips, posing for him alluringly. She then ran her hand up over her chest and into her hair. Tommy didn't bother to hold back his moan of appreciation.

"You know it does," he answered tiredly. He had to keep her talking to buy himself more of a respite and marshall himself for the next round. "I didn't fall in love with you for just your body; I fell in love with you because you were a beautiful person inside as well as out. Without that inner beauty, what's the attraction?"

"What a disgustingly noble sentiment," Kim sneered as she walked back to the table. "However, the spirit may be unwilling, but the flesh is weak."

"Goldar once thought the same things--when I first lost my Green Ranger powers; he didn't break me then. You won't break me now," he declared with more bravado than confidence.

"We shall see," Kim promised as she leaned over him.

She started in on his earlobe, licking and nibbling. Tommy steeled himself for the tongue bath as her mouth found his collar bone. He wished she had left his arms extended; Kim had secured him with his arms fastened to the control belt. Tommy guessed that she figured out that he was able to better brace himself against the table that way, but it also helped distract him from her games when his muscles ached so badly.

As Kimberly nibbled her way down his neck, Tommy became aware that Kim was straddling his hand, and she seemed completely unaware of it. The first thing he realized was that she wasn't wearing any underwear, which sent the hormones racing straight for his groin. The next thing that registered was the heat and wetness exuding from her. Tommy hadn't considered Kim's reactions to his tortures; she had seemed impervious, except for those few occasions when she touched herself. He had glimpsed her erect nipples before, too. If Kim was as horny as he was and just as unfulfilled . . . no wonder she was so frustrated and short tempered. Why wouldn't she just masturbate? Unless she was saving herself for when she finally broke him . . . ?

It wasn't a conscious decision on his part; perhaps it was simply desperation, but Tommy reached out with his fingers until they lightly brushed Kim's pussy. Tommy forced himself to take a deep breath and remain calm; the thought that he had his hand up Kim's skirt was intoxicating. She was busy chewing on his other ear and seemed not to notice, but her hips shifted allowing his fingers greater access. Tommy was momentarily at a loss; he wasn't quite sure what to do. He began exploring, running his fingers around the fleshy labia in search of her clitoris (he knew enough to look for it). He finally slipped his finger over a hard knob of flesh; Kim's hips gave a telling jerk, and Tommy reasoned he must have hit the spot. He began to gently massage the swollen button. Kim's hips spasmed more noticeably, and she finally looked up from where she was savaging his mouth.

"What are you doing?" she stammered, moaning deep in her throat. Her eyes were wide with surprise, almost fear, but she didn't back away.

Tommy didn't answer. He continued to finger her and watch with obvious interest. Kim had closed her eyes. One hand braced her against his body and the other reached up to squeeze her left breast. Her moans crescendoed. Her hips began rocking against his finger as much as his finger stroked her. A flush filled her face, and she bit her lip. Her breath was coming out in short pants. She threw her head back as the muscles in her body began to contract. Her grip on his shoulder was surprisingly--almost painfully--strong. Tommy was so engrossed in watching her that he almost forgot to breathe.

"T-tommy . . . !" she gasped, sounding so much like her true self that Tommy nearly stopped what he was doing. Kim's eyes suddenly snapped open, and she screamed as her orgasm hit. Her hips bucked, and her body shook so violently it reminded Tommy of an epileptic seizure. Kim's climax was so intense, that when it ebbed, she collapsed on top of him as if in a faint. Even while senseless, Kim's body continued to shudder in the aftermath of her pleasure. Tommy felt her perspiration trickle onto his chest, and his fingers were sticky with her warm juices. The experience was so powerful that he all but came himself. He felt pleased with himself for having given her such an intense orgasm.

Kim stirred at last. Her eyes were less glazed than they had been prior to her release. For a moment she looked disoriented; her brow furrowed in a familiar fashion. Briefly, Tommy dared to hope that the spell was broken, but then the darkness returned. Her eyes flashed with angry fire.

"Damn you, what did you do to me?" she shouted between clenched teeth. She slapped him soundly. "Now what am I ...!" Too furious to speak, Kim turned and strode out of the cell, pausing only to bark at the putty sentinel, "Chain him to the post. Let's see how he feels after a night on his feet."

***

"Yes . . . oh, Tommy . . . I . . . no! No more! No!"

Kimberly woke with that cry, bathed in sweat. Every nerve in her body was on fire; her skin still tingled with phantom caresses. The wet sheet beneath her bespoke the power of her orgasm. She sat up and looked around, experiencing a moment of panic. Where was she? She was naked in a strange bed. What had happened to her? She buried her head in her hands and tried to think, but all she could come up with was an impenetrable black curtain. The last thing she recalled before waking up was Zedd blasting her with his magic and . . . Tommy! Where was Tommy? What was going on? She looked around her chamber frantically. Her eyes fell on a shimmering orb of light, and she had the distinct impression of being watched. She scowled at the globe.

"Stupid dream," she muttered as she leaned over the edge of her bed to retrieve her discarded sheet. She surreptitiously wiped her sticky fingers on the cover. She wanted to die of embarrassment; she had been masturbating in her sleep, and someone had watched the whole thing! She felt sick inside. She forced herself to lay down and act normally. Even so, she was a bundle of raw nerves. She had to try and think things through.

What had she been doing since Zedd had captured her and Tommy? Her mind was a complete blank, and yet . . . there was the dream she had just had. It was a horrible dream; it left her feeling filthy and disgusted inside. She had been dressed in leather and behaving like a perfect whore. She had molested Tommy--had done horrible things to him!

The weird part of the dream was that she hadn't been herself so much as she had been a spectator. It was like she had been inside Tommy's head watching what was going on. There were emotions--anger, shame, guilt--that had nothing to do with her; they were like Tommy's emotions. Was that what had been going on? Had Zedd's spell turned her into a whore and made her violate Tommy? Suddenly, Kim wanted to throw up. She snuck a peak at the orb and saw that it had vanished. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees.

<<Oh God, what have I done!>> Her body shook as she fought to control her emotions. She had to get a grip. She didn't know that she had done all those things to Tommy; it was only a bad dream. What she did know was that she and Tommy were still in Zedd's clutches; there were things she had to take care of. Obviously, the spell had worn off. She had to make certain that Zedd didn't find out otherwise she would be unable to do anything. Tommy was somewhere in the keep, so the first order of business was to find him. She then had to find a way to remove his shackles, locate their morphers, and get in touch with their friends. The only reason they hadn't been rescued was that the others hadn't been able to track them.

Kim stood and wrapped the sheet around her. She had no idea how much time she'd have before the peeping Toms returned. She had to find Tommy and ask him what was going on. In the dream, she had been Zedd's Power Slut; if that was the case, then she was going to have to continue the charade. The thought knotted her stomach. What if her dream was the truth? She wasn't sure she could go through with it; how could she face Tommy . . . to see him naked and helpless . . . to touch his silky smooth skin, the hardness of his muscles . . . to taste his of lips . . . .

<<What are you thinking!>> The mere thought of Tommy had her pulse pounding, and she could feel hot moisture between her legs. She bit back a whimper. She was acting as if she really had been Zedd's whore! She couldn't have done those things! She knew she had often thought about Tommy like that--had wondered what he looked like naked and what he'd be like in bed. She had imagined making love to him, but it had never been like the scenes in her dream!

Kim hurried out into the corridor; she couldn't stay in her room thinking about what-ifs. As she walked down the hall, she was filled with a chilling sense of deja vu. She closed her eyes; her feet seemed to know the way. She swallowed hard. It was not a reassuring beginning. Unerringly, she made her way through the labyrinth of Zedd's palace to the lower dungeons, and she paused at the entrance to a hauntingly familiar cell. There were no guards. Kim's hands trembled as she reached out to deactivate the force field.

The cell was dimly lit, but Kim could just barely make out a slumped figure at the far end. Taking a deep breath, she willed her feet to carry her forward. As she got closer she recognized Tommy. He was chained to the pillar, just as she had instructed--in her dream. Kim tiptoed closer, hardly daring to breathe. She cast a nervous glance at the spot where Zedd's viewing globe was normally suspended. The orb rested on a pedestal; it was as dark as the rest of the castle. Kim approached to within a dozen steps of Tommy, stopped and stared.

She had never seen him naked before; the sight made her breath catch in her throat. He was sleeping, his head bowed forward on his chest. His long hair covered his face. The dim glow in the cell made his skin seem more bronze than usual, and his body glistened with a sheen of perspiration. She marvelled at his muscle definition, her gaze slowly absorbing every detail. Her eyes travelled down his rock hard stomach to his trim hips and ceased roaming as they fell on his erect cock. It stood tall and proud and throbbed with a life of its own.

For several minutes Kim stared as if transfixed. She felt a rush of molten desire surge through her body. She felt weak-kneed and dry mouthed. She was afraid to breathe, let alone move lest she disturb him; yet she moved forward like a sleepwalker. Dropping to her knees before him, she reached out to touch his cock with trembling hands. Hard. Hot. Smooth. Her hands caressed his manhood carefully but with certainty. She brought her face closer, rubbing his achingly purple rod against her cheeks. Her eyes flickered shut as she all but worshipped his cock. Before she even realized what she was doing, she wrapped her lips around the shaft and began licking and sucking. She was intoxicated by his taste, his touch, and his scent. As her mouth lavishly kissed his organ, her hands hefted his balls. They were heavy with the need to come. She fondled them gently as she bobbed her head up and down on his pole with greater intensity.

Tommy groaned in his sleep, but Kim was heedless of his reaction. She was completely lost in her oral ministrations. Tommy's hips began moving even as his body was tossed about in the grip of a dream. Kim wrapped her arms around his hips and grabbed his ass to get a better grip as Tommy began fucking her mouth faster. In scarce moments, hot jism erupted from Tommy's cock and shot down her throat. The force and quantity took Kim by surprise; she fell back, gagging. The spell of the moment was broken, and she realized that Tommy was starting to wake up. She collected her sheet and dashed behind the pillar where Tommy couldn't see her.

"A dream," he murmured only half awake, "but man, what a dream." When he realized that he had ejaculated, he sagged forward, sighing with relief, which triggered a surge from his restraints. His gasp of pain brought tears to Kim's eyes. "Man, Kim is going to be pissed tomorrow when she can't get a rise out of me." Then he drifted back to sleep.

Behind the pillar, Kim had drawn herself into a tight ball; she had her fist jammed in her mouth to keep her crying from being heard. The blow job she had just given Tommy . . . she shouldn't have known how to do that! She had never sucked a cock before. Tommy's words . . . it was true--the dream--all of it was horribly true! She had done all those things . . . ! Kim waited for Tommy to drift into a more sound sleep before fleeing the cell.

Kim returned to her chamber and buried her face in her pillow. She couldn't do it. She couldn't continue to be Zedd's Power Slut, but she had to until she could think of a way to get them both out of Zedd's citadel. However, she vowed not to lay another hand on Tommy. There had to be a way to "torment" him without touching him, but it would have to provide Zedd with an equally entertaining show. The thought made her stomach churn.

CHAPTER V

Day Four:

The next morning, Kim was waiting for Zedd in his throne room. She lounged seductively on the massive stone throne as butterflies did kamikaze runs in her stomach.

"You dare sit on my throne!" Zedd rumbled as he made an appearance.

"Chill out, Zedd; boy, are you a grouch before you've had your first cup of coffee," she drawled lazily as she vacated his seat. "You should thank me for warming it up for you. Damn but that slab of rock is cold!"

"What are you doing here? I rather expected you to sleep in. I must admit, that was quite a performance you put on last night." Kimberly's insides went cold at his words.

"Oh? Which performance might that be?" she asked unconcernedly, buffing her nails.

"You made quite a show of pleasuring yourself; I found it very . . . stimulating."

"Yeah, well, I hope you got your rocks off all right, if you have any rocks under that metal jock strap," she snorted.

"Why aren't you working on the White Ranger?" Goldar rumbled as he made his appearance.

"Because I need to have someone do a little shopping for me," Kim said. She was going to enjoy sniping at Goldar.

"Shopping?" Zedd muttered.

"Hey, aren't I the original shop-aholic?"

"I don't trust her, master," Goldar whined.

"Oh, can it, Goldilocks. What? Are you afraid I'm not going to do anything interesting enough for you to jerk yourself off to? Do you even have balls, for that matter?"

"I would like to know why the White Ranger hasn't succumbed yet. What is taking so long?" Zedd demanded.

"He's a paragon of virtue; why else is he called the White Ranger?" Kim replied acerbicly. "He's close, Zedd; very close."

"It's a trick to summon the other Rangers," Goldar insisted.

"Get real, ugly. If I wanted to contact the other Rangers, I'd have done it already. Do you think I enjoy being cooped up in this dark, drafty palace? The moon isn't exactly my idea of a hot vacation spot. Look, give me some paper. I'll jot down what I want, and you can approve the list. All right?"

"Write the list, and we shall see if I'm sufficiently intrigued to send a putty to retrieve the items." Zedd magically produced paper and a pen. Kim parked herself on the stairs of the dais. She chewed on the end of the pen thoughtfully then began writing. A short while later she tore off a part of the page and handed it to Zedd.

"There you are, one shopping list without any room for secret messages or whatever Goldar thinks I'm trying to pass," she declared. "What do you think?" While Zedd and Goldar studied the list, Kim tucked the remaining scrap up her skirt.

"Putty patrol, go to Earth and fetch everything on this list," Zedd commanded. To Kimberly he added, "This had better be good. What do you need these things for?"

"You see, Zedd, you and Tommy have something in common: at heart, you're both voyeurs, and you especially like to watch me play with myself."

***

At the first opportunity, when she felt she was unobserved, Kim transferred the paper from her underwear to her bustier. She double checked the contents; she had already had the coded message composed when she had asked Zedd for the paper. Now all she needed was a way to get it to Billy.

Her interview with Zedd had worn her out. She was so afraid he had found out that she was free of his enchantment. She had hoped her act would be convincing; at least that had been successful. The ease with which she traded barbs and snide comments disturbed her, though, and she had no idea where that comment about Tommy being a voyeur at heart had come from--unless it was something she had picked up from her dream. She hoped Tommy would forgive her for maligning his character in that way; of course, that was the least of the things she had done. She hoped he could forgive her for everything else, but he had to know that Zedd's spell was responsible.

By the time she reached her room, the putties had returned with her paraphernalia--stolen no doubt. The putties quickly scampered off as she began sorting through the collection of shopping bags. Kimberly pulled a dress out of one of the bags, a cold lump of dread forming in her middle.

<<I can do this. I have to do this.>>

***

"What do you think she has in mind, master?" Goldar queried as the two observed Kimberly's preparations. "I still don't trust her. She should just take the White Ranger and be done with it."

"It will be much more satisfying to see Tommy's will crushed by his former comrade," Zedd commented.

"What are we going to do about the remaining Rangers, oh Hideous One?"

"Ah yes, the others . . . an oversight on my part. I have become so involved in this little production that I nearly forgot the second reason I captured these two. Yes, we should send some putties down to stir things up a bit, and I will have the former Pink Ranger dispatch them as proof of her loyalty to me."

"And if she hesitates?"

"Destroy her."

***

Tommy awoke feeling dazed, disoriented, and somewhat rested considering he had spent the night on his feet. To his astonishment, he also wasn't freezing; he was clothed--at least partially so--in the tattered remnants of his dress shirt and trousers. Most noticeably, he did not have a raging hard-on. Snippets of a dream came back to him . . . he had been dreaming about fingering Kim but then it switched, and he dreamed that Kimberly had come to him and had relieved the pressure in his aching cock. He must have come in his sleep. He was extremely grateful for that; he couldn't have held out any longer.

Kimberly still hadn't arrived, which puzzled Tommy, but the putties were in full force. It looked as if they were setting up a stereo. He wondered what was going on. Then, Kimberly arrived. Her leathers were gone. She was dressed in a short, flounced denim skirt and a sleeveless denim shirt which was unbuttoned and tied at the waist, leaving her bellybutton visible. Under the denim top was a hot pink t-shirt. Instead of spiked boots, she wore a pair of pumps with pink ankle socks. The teased hair and provocative make-up were absent too. She wore her normal colors, and her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. She looked like her usual self.

"Kimberly?" he gasped, a note of hope creeping into his tone. Could it be that she was free from Zedd's spell at last?

"Sorry, Sexy, Kim's not here right now. It's just lil' ol' me, Power Slut," she replied with a giggle. She flashed him a flirty smile then went to inspect the putties' handiwork.

"What's going on?" Tommy wondered. He swore at himself; he hadn't meant to betray his curiosity.

"You were such a deliciously naughty boy yesterday that I decided you deserved a treat, a little respite if you like," Kim began. But the way she licked her lips and sighed told Tommy that what she had in mind was going to be anything but restful.

"Power Slut, attend to Lord Zedd's will!" Goldar barked out imperiously as he teleported into the cell.

"Hell, now what?" Kim swore.

"Our master has decided that you shall have the honor of sending a legion of putties against the remaining Power Brats."

"For all the good that will do," she remarked snidely.

"You doubt Lord Zedd's creations?"

"Goldar, I've kicked enough putty butt to know these guys are going to get their clay asses stomped. The putties will never be able to defeat the Power Rangers until Zedd gives them more brains, but if he did that, who would he have to boss around? All right, you clay heads, front and center!" The putty guards assembled along with those who were setting up her equipment. "Zedd wants you guys to go kick some Ranger butt." Before she ordered them to leave, she sauntered up to the putty nearest her. "I've got special instructions for you. I want you to concentrate on Billy. He's awfully ticklish. Sneak up behind him, and once you start tickling his sides, he'll be laughing so hard he'll be easy prey. Get going, guys." Kim flashed Goldar a mocking grin.

"Satisfied?" she sneered.

"Kim, how could you do that!" Tommy yelped, not believing what he just witnessed. "How could you betray Billy and the others like that?"

"Zip it, Tommy," Kim snapped, her own doubts giving her an angry edge. "Don't piss me off or else you'll be naked and strapped to the table with your ass in the air so fast your head will spin." A shudder ran through Tommy's body, and Goldar laughed. "What are you still doing here, ugly? This is a private party, and you weren't invited."

"Someday, Power Slut, it will be my turn," Goldar rumbled menacingly then teleported away.

"I'm so scared," Kim snapped. She walked over to the stereo as nonchalantly as her quaking knees would allow her. <<Please, God, let this work!>>

***

It was lunch hour; Billy and Aisha sat on the grass and watched while Adam and Rocky played basketball with several of their other classmates.

"This is impossible!" Aisha fumed. "Why can't we find Tommy and Kim? It's been four days!"

"Whatever Zedd is using to cloak them from our scanners has proven most effective," Billy said.

"I wish something would happen; the waiting is beginning to get on my nerves."

"It is most unusual that Zedd has not taken the opportunity to attack us while our strength is depleted."

"Did you hear what happened at the mall this morning?"

"No."

"Word is that some really ugly guys in gray jumpsuits just appeared out of nowhere, loaded up with goodies, and vanished."

"What manner of merchandise was stolen?"

"That's the really weird part. They hit Radio World, Sound Blaster Music, Petite Boutique, and Lynnette's Lingerie."

"An eclectic assortment of goods," Billy noted.

"Ugly and wearing gray . . . I wonder if that could have been . . . ."

"Putties!" Billy yelped, scrambling to his feet. A dozen or so wriggling clay forms advanced toward the basketball court. The other students on the playground ran screaming while Rocky and Adam fell back into defensive stances.

"I wish putties could talk," Adam muttered as the attack commenced.

As the battle was joined, Billy found himself engaged with an unusually persistent putty. The same one (as near as he could tell) kept advancing on him regardless of how many times Billy fended him off. The putty did not seem intent on pummeling him; rather, it appeared to want to carry him off. It repeatedly grabbed for his waist. Billy dropped his guard for a moment, considering whether or not to allow the creature to get close to him. If it meant to abscond with him, it might take him to Tommy and Kimberly. In Billy's moment of hesitation, the putty tackled him, and, of all things, began tickling him.

"No fair! Hey, stop it!" Billy gasped between bursts of laughter. He tried to break free of his attacker, but the putty stuck tight to him, assaulting his sides unmercifully. Billy was laughing so hard he was in tears. He could scarcely breathe, let alone put up much resistance. The putty had him.

"Hang on, Billy!" Aisha shouted as she launched herself feet first at his tormentor. Her feet struck the putty square on the "Z," and it broke apart. When it did so, a scrap of paper fluttered to the ground. Billy collapsed, trying to catch his breath. As he was recovering, the remaining putties vanished.

"Are you all right, Billy?" Adam asked.

"I never knew you were so ticklish," Rocky said, smiling. Billy scowled at him. To his knowledge, only one other person knew of his sensitive sides. As he sat up, he spotted the scrap of paper. He saw his name scrawled on it and snatched it up.

"What is it?"

"Just something that fell out of my pocket while my overzealous foe was tickling me," he fibbed. Billy's heart was racing as he slipped the missive into his pocket. "We need to get to the Command Center and tell Zordon of this attack."

"It'll have to wait; lunch hour is over," Adam reminded him.

"Damn," Billy muttered, much to the surprise of his friends.

***

Three o'clock couldn't arrive fast enough for Billy. He scarcely closed his locker before looking for a secluded corner.

"What's with you?" Aisha asked in exasperation. "You've been acting like you've had ants in your pants all afternoon."

"I will explain at the Command Center."

Shortly, the four were standing in the dark confines of Zordon's headquarters.

"What is the matter, Billy? I have been aware of your heightened state of anxiety since this afternoon," Zordon said.

"The putty who had been tickling me dropped this," Billy explained, pulling the paper from his pocket.

"But you said . . . ." Aisha began.

"I had to use discretion. The only person who knows about my ticklish sides is Kimberly. This note is addressed to me and is in her handwriting. I couldn't risk Zedd learning of it."

"Yeah, he always monitors our battles," Adam agreed.

"What's it say?" Aisha asked eagerly.

"It's encoded," Billy murmured, "except for the last line. The code, I'm assuming, is alpha-numeric in nature, meaning she substituted numbers for their alphabetical counterparts."

"So 5-24 4-9-8-8-23 should be translated as e-x d-i-h-h-w. That doesn't make sense," Rocky said.

"She's jumbled the sequence," Adam realized.

"Affirmative. All we need to do is figure out the key, and it is my hypothesis that the uncoded last line is a clue."

"What is the line?" Zordon queried.

"'Who's your favorite fully-sentient, multifunctional automaton?'"

"Those are the first words you said to me, Billy," Alpha spoke up.

"Affirmative, and the only other person left on the team who heard me say them is Kimberly," Billy added excitedly. "So the answer to the question is Alpha-5 . . . of course, A-5!" Billy quickly translated the code.

" 'At Zedd's citadel, the moon. Morphers gone. Tommy in bad way. Need help fast,'" Billy read.

"Short and sweet," Aisha observed.

"If they're prisoners, how did Kim get this on a putty?" Rocky wondered.

"It could be a trap," Zordon agreed.

"Maybe Kim is loose; you know, Zedd could be blackmailing her with Tommy's life or something," Aisha posited.

"Kim's handwriting looks hurried but not forced, and the code required some forethought and planning," Billy noted.

"Trick or not, we just can't leave them in Zedd's palace," Adam interjected.

"Zedd's palace is well protected; we already know that our scanners cannot pierce the spells which protect it," Zordon informed them. "Also, the closer you are to his stronghold, the more easily he will be able to detect your powers."

"What if we went in without our powers?" Billy suggested. "We could carry our morphers in a shield receptacle so that Zedd would be unable to detect them."

"The minute Zedd realizes that we're gone, he'll turn all sorts of monsters loose on Angel Grove," Rocky pointed out.

"We have Jason, Zack, and Trini on stand-by, remember?" Billy said. "Even if we all don't go, at least one of us has to make an attempt to rescue them."

***

While her friends were making their plans, Kimberly was enacting her own. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she turned on the CD player. She wandered about the cell aimlessly, sort of flirting with the idea of dancing. It was the way she danced when she was cleaning her room. Some of the songs were her favorites, some were Tommy's. Kim tried to relax and let the music take her. She called it Zoning, and she had never told anyone about it. A certain song would grab her and not let her go; when that happened, nothing existed but the music and its commands to her body. That was what she was trying to reach: the Zone. She divorced herself from her surroundings: no dark citadel, no cell, no viewing globe, no Tommy. In the shadows of her mind, she created a private dance studio where she could surrender body and soul to the rhythm.

Kim changed to the next disc; she wanted music with a driving beat, something that spoke to the body. The first song up was "Gimme All Your Lovin" by ZZ Top. The song enveloped her, and she began a rhythmic bounce--left leg planted back, right leg forward and pointed, knee bent, and the bounce came from the hip. Then she stepped into a rolling sway. With a kick and a turn, she was lost in the music.

Tommy had retreated into his own thoughts while Kim flitted about the cell. He had no clue as to what she had in mind. There were times when he could have sworn he saw flashes of her former self, but they were fleeting, merely wishful thinking. He found her behavior disturbing because it no longer fit the pattern established over the last three days.

She had yet to touch him. Perversely, his body yearned for her touch; he somehow felt empty without his body screaming for release. He was geared to fighting her attempts to claim his body; the lack of action made him jumpy. While he was trying to puzzle out what her game might be, he wasn't paying attention to Kim's weak attempts at dancing. He barely noticed the music, but when the music changed unexpectedly in mid-song, Tommy noticed. Glancing up, he caught a flash of pink and blue out of the corner of his eye. Intrigued, he looked up and was held spellbound.

Kim's eyes were closed, and her body was undulating to the pounding beat. Tommy had never seen her move like that before; she was selling the song with her body, and he found it more enticing than her intense pleasure games. For all that they were extremely successful in bringing his body to a fever pitch of sexual excitement, there had been something forced and unnatural about her actions.

Although a gymnast and something of a martial artist, Tommy knew that Kimberly loved to dance. She was conveying that with her every movement; her face was lit with a smile of pure joy as she sashayed across the cell. The way she lifted her hair . . . the way her hands caressed her body . . . the way her hips thrust forward sharply or the way they rolled as she slowly circled them around . . . . Tommy tried to shut his eyes, but he was mesmerized by her movements. It was like when Kim had been touching herself, only a thousand times more incredible. He felt the heat burning through him more volatile than before. Even though her eyes were closed, Kim was playing to him, drawing him in, and he wanted to be drawn in. Somewhere deep inside, Tommy knew he was in more danger from the dancer than from the dominatrix. This was the Kimberly from his private fantasies; this was the Kimberly he yearned to make love to.

With a sure, flowing move, Kim reached up and undid her hair ribbon. She spun around closer to Tommy and draped the ribbon around his neck. The song changed: "Let's Put the X in Sex" by Kiss. Her hands tugged at the knot in her denim shirt and slid the shirt down her shoulders; what Tommy had thought a t-shirt was a close fitting crop top. Her hands smoothed down her sides and hips. She grazed them back up her thighs, lifting her skirt along with them. She wasn't wearing any shorts underneath as per usual. Kim dropped to her knees and continued grinding her hips around, thrusting them towards him invitingly. When she climbed to her feet again, she bent over, flashing him a glimpse of her black panties. Her head whipped back and forth in a rhythmic frenzy. Her smile was seductive, and when she briefly opened her eyes, Tommy could almost see her desire burning within. When the song reached the line, "then I saw those black lace panties," Kim ripped her skirt off and continued dancing in a pair of lacy black high-cut bikini panties. Tommy's groan of appreciation was lost in the music.

Kim's impassioned performance continued on through something by Aerosmith and into a set of Van Halen. Tommy was beyond identifying the music; it no longer mattered, only Kim's movements did. During "Runaround," Kim lost her pink crop top; she gyrated about in a black demi-bra, panties, and high heels. Her body glistened with perspiration, making her look as if she had been oiled up. Her breasts heaved with her heavy breathing. She edged her way closer to Tommy. He could see her nipples straining to break free of the lace trimmed cups. Her hands toyed with her breasts and slid down between her legs. She played at removing her panties but never quite did so. Kim lifted her hands above her head as she launched into a sensuous series of hip spirals, undulating like a belly dancer. Then, she suddenly spiked her heels as the music died.

Kim stood right in front of Tommy, her eyes still closed as if savoring the last of the fading notes, then she opened her eyes. High on the music and movement, Kim stared deeply into Tommy's eyes. Her body felt more alive . . . she felt more free than she could ever remember. The dancing had taken her to places in her mind she rarely visited. It touched fantasies she had thought buried away--fantasies of two bodies pressed together but moving as one, of hands caressing and lips tasting, of passion set free and consummated.

Kim wanted Tommy; she needed his touch desperately. She reached out for him in spite of her vow not to touch him. She ran her fingers through his hair and over his face, but it was a gentle, inquisitive touch. She parted his shirt and slid her hands down his chest, pausing a moment to press her hand over his heart. It pounded as strongly as hers. Kim met Tommy's eyes and read his need there. The dance had aroused him as much as it had her; Tommy wanted her as much as she wanted him.

Almost of its own volition, Kim's hand continued down Tommy's body until it brushed his crotch. Her eyes went wide with surprise as she felt the wetness: she had made him come without even touching him. Her first reaction was of surprise and delight; it was a powerful realization to know that she could make him cream his jeans as it were, but her exultation turned to fear. What had she done? With her dancing she had accomplished what the Power Slut had tried so hard to achieve for three days: Tommy's will had faltered.

Kim bit her lip and couldn't look up at Tommy. She had to master her emotions before she could face him. When she did, she searched his eyes again. She could almost feel his need; the desire was in his eyes as was his determination to deny that desire. She would pretend she never saw it.

"Tommy," she began. She had wanted to sound cold and stern, like the bitch she was supposed to be; instead the word came out in breathy excitement. She suddenly realized how closely she was standing to him; she could feel his heat. She pushed herself away, angry and frightened. This wasn't what she had meant to do! When she felt more in control of herself, she turned back to face him. "The flesh is weak, but the spirit is still strong. You're safe, at least for now." Kim walked out of the cell with as much hauteur as she could muster. Once she was clear, she all but ran from the dungeon. She wanted to crawl into the deepest, darkest corner she could find and have a good cry.

CHAPTER VI

Day Five:

Kimberly sat up in bed. She couldn't sleep, and she couldn't bring herself to go see Tommy. She went for a walk instead. She had to come up with a different way to "torture" Tommy. She couldn't go back to doing the things she had while under the influence of the spell, yet she couldn't dance for him again either. It was too seductive, a high like being on a drug. She loved the way her body felt as she moved to the music; even more, she loved the way Tommy watched her as she danced. To know that he liked her dancing sent a delicious wave of pleasure rippling through her. If only he didn't have to be chained up; if only he could touch her!

What was she thinking? She wasn't supposed to be seducing Tommy; she was supposed to be stalling for time until the others could come and rescue them. She felt sure Billy had gotten her note; at the very least Zedd hadn't found it--she would have heard about it if he had. Kim wandered the halls of the citadel as she considered her options; before she realized it, she found herself in Zedd's throne room. She headed for the observation platform and looked out. Earth filled the darkness before her. She was beginning to wonder if she would ever set foot on it again. Another, more unexpected question popped into her mind: did she want to return? How was she going to be able to face Tommy when this was all over? After everything she had done to him . . . a sudden noise in the chamber behind her sent Kim scurrying for the shadows. She pressed herself against the cold rock of a pillar as Squatt and Baboo, two of Zedd's more inept lackeys, entered the throne room.

"Finster! Oh Finster!" Baboo called out.

"Quiet, we don't want Lord Zedd to hear," Squatt said. Kim peeked around the column and saw that Baboo was trussed up in a force field belt like Tommy's.

"Well, you shouldn't have been playing around with things in Finster's lab," Baboo chided him.

"We have to get this thing off me before Lord Zedd wakes up," Squatt insisted. "There's no telling what he'd do to me!"

"All right, all right. Finster!"

"I'm coming; I'm coming," Zedd's resident monster maker called out with a sleepy yawn. "What have you two been up to?"

"I sort of got caught in this belt thing with the force field," Squatt admitted.

"I tried to undo it, but when I touched the grid, the energy lashed back at me and burned me," Baboo related.

"Of course it did. That was an extra precaution his lordship had me install in the device."

"But when Baboo got zapped, I didn't," Squatt added.

"That's because the energy was directed outwards from you. The grid is designed to repel anyone who tries to remove it improperly, but in doing so it leaves the wearer momentarily free of the force field. It is a flaw I haven't been able to correct. How did you manage to get caught in this thing?"

"Baboo and I were in your workshop . . . ."

"And just what were the two of you doing there?" Finster queried in his usual patient, low key manner. "You shouldn't be messing about in my workshop. Lord Zedd has me working on the antidote to lift the spell on Kimberly."

<<Why would he be doing that?>> Kim wondered.

"Oh goodie! I can't wait to see Kimberly's face when Lord Zedd finally tells her that the spell didn't really make her evil," Squatt cheered.

<<What?>>

"I can't believe that such a nice girl could have such naughty thoughts hidden away inside," Baboo agreed.

"That's the beauty of this particular spell; it unlocks the evil that already exists within the subject. The trick is removing the spell while retaining the subject's memories of what he or she did while under its influence," Finster explained. "As for that energy belt, let me go get a control pick."

<<No! That can't be true!>> Kim screamed in the privacy of her mind. She didn't want to believe; she couldn't believe that all those things she had done to Tommy had been a product of her own mind, and yet, there were some things that she had done that she knew she had fantasized about--not to the degree that she had carried them out, but she had thought about . . . . <<Oh God, it wasn't the spell all that time; it really was me!>>

"Here we are," Finster declared upon his return. Kim forced the turmoil in her brain aside; she had to find out how Tommy's restraint could be undone. Finster held up a slender wire.

"That looks like one of Rita's hairpins," Squatt said.

"It is," Finster replied. "There is no special control pick; Lord Zedd normally uses his magic to release the belts. However, for those of us without magic we can use any slender, stick-like object provided it is long enough to extend past the force field. The trick is hitting the controls on the grid in the proper sequence." Kim strained to see what he was doing, but Baboo was in the way. "There you are, Squatt."

"That looked easy," Baboo said. "All you did was hit all the blue squares."

"But the squares don't always remain the same colors," Finster pointed out. "The key is to remember to hit the keys on all four sides of the central square--top, bottom, left, right. Now, if you two are quite finished, I would like to go back to sleep. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow." Finster turned and left the chamber and was followed closely by Squatt and Baboo. Kim waited a few moments longer, then made good her escape.

***

"Here are the plans, Billy," Alpha said as he pulled up a diagram on the computer.

"These are the schematics for Zedd's palace?" he queried.

"For Rita's palace," Zordon corrected. "They are centuries old. There is no telling what sort of modifications Zedd made when he took over. These plans may do you no good."

"Even if changes have been made, it's better than going in completely blind," Adam said as he peered over Billy's shoulder.

"They probably won't have done much to the dungeon," Rocky commented.

"My sentiments exactly," Billy concurred. "If we infiltrate his palace on the lowest level and work our way up, we're sure to find Tommy and Kimberly before we get to the throne room."

"We bust them out of their cell then teleport out," Aisha concluded enthusiastically.

"Nothing is simple when dealing with Zedd," Zordon said.

"Ohhh, I don't like the idea of you going in without your Power Coins," Alpha said worriedly.

"It's the only way. Once we've found Tommy and Kimberly we will contact you, and you can teleport them to us," Billy said.

"We'd best get busy," Adam spoke up.

"Good luck, Rangers, and may the power protect you."

***

"Hello, Tommy."

Tommy was awake when Kim arrived; however, he kept his head bowed on his chest, hoping she'd think he was still asleep. He didn't want to answer her. He peeked at her through half closed eyes. She wore her leathers again; at least he was spared the sight of seeing her as he knew her. His mind was filled with fragments of erotic dreams and images of the previous afternoon. He didn't trust his voice; he didn't trust his command of his body. He watched as Kimberly strode across his cell. When she turned on the stereo, his head snapped up.

<<No more dancing! Please, anything but that!>> Tommy pleaded silently. He knew that if she danced as she had the other day, he was done for. Worst of all, he was sure she knew it to.

"What's the matter, baby; is the Power Slut too much for you?" she cooed as she tilted his chin upwards.

"Leave me alone, bitch," he snarled. He had never called anyone that in his life, but he had to lash out. He had to do something to hang on. For a moment, Kimberly's expression was blank except for a flicker in her eyes of--what? Pain? Anger? Hurt? A second later, her palm slammed into the side of his face. The blow stunned him with its ferocity. Kim looked as if she was going to say something, but then she bit her lip and massaged her stinging hand, glaring at him all the while.

Kim felt her shoulders shaking, and she turned away from Tommy before he could see the tear sliding down her cheek. How dare he call her that! Damn it, did he think she was doing this because she enjoyed it? She was doing this to keep him alive! But he couldn't know that. He had been unconscious when Zedd struck his bargain with her: <<cooperate and he continues to live; do not and he dies.>> Tommy thought she was still under the spell, not that that made any difference, not after what she learned last night. Zedd's spell only released her inner most desires. The Power Slut wasn't Zedd's creation; she was her own.

Kim wanted hot music to lose herself in. Once she hit the Zone, there would be nothing but the music and her response to it. She wouldn't care what she did or what Tommy thought about her. There would be no pain, no guilt. She knew that Zedd would be watching, but she didn't care. All that mattered was keeping Tommy alive one more day, and if dancing was the way to get it done, so be it. Even so, her hands trembled as she slipped the discs into the tray. Van Halen, "Black and Blue." With a sigh, Kim surrendered herself to the pulsing beat.

It was obvious to Tommy from Kim's first step that her need was greater than ever. Her desire communicated itself in her strut, the sharp thrusts of her hips, the arch of her back, and the coolness of her gaze. It was a wantonness that he had yet to see in her. She was a sexual predator stalking him. She danced over to the pole directly opposite the one he was chained to. She danced around it, grinding against it. Her gyrations were almost frenzied. Tommy was hard to the point of bursting before the song was half over. Then, impossibly, Kim sauntered over to him and performed the same bump and grind against him. When she pulled away, she left him wanting more.

Tommy groaned as the tension in the air intensified and Kim stripped off her leather jacket, revealing a black and pink teddy. The song changed: "Cradle of Love." Kim's touch had left his body burning with the need to touch her again. He wanted her to touch him again. He desperately wanted to pull her into his arms and move with her. As he watched her drop to the floor, pumping her hips to the driving beat, Tommy knew he had lost the battle at last, and he didn't care. His only thought was of taking Kim--of stripping off the remainder of her clothes and burying his cock as deep in her pussy as he could.

Kim also had surrendered all pretense of restraint. Another song came up, something as hot and sexy as she felt. She threw off her leather skirt with abandon. She would dance for as long as she could hold out. Her movements were increasingly suggestive. She had begun playing with herself, her fingers teasing her nipples through the lacy fabric of her teddy. They were hard, as hard and hot as Tommy's cock. She was wet; she could feel her moisture dripping down the insides of her thighs. It didn't matter what she did now; she had done it all already. There was only one thing left undone, one sexual barrier left uncrossed. She was going to do it, whether Tommy had surrendered or not. She had to.

Tommy's eyes were more than a little glazed as he watched Kim whip herself into a spin. When she stopped, she dropped hard into the splits. She sinuously raised herself up and peered at him through the wild strands of her hair. Tommy swallowed hard; she looked as if she wanted to eat him alive, and he wanted her to do it. Panther-like, she crawled across the floor. She pressed her body to his legs then slowly pulled herself up his body. She ground her hips against his pelvis and yanked his shirt down his shoulders. She kissed her way up his chest; he could feel her hot, heavy breath exploding against his skin, scalding him. She slithered upwards, until her hands gathered up a double handful of his hair, and stared deep into his eyes.

"Kimberly . . . ." Tommy began hoarsely.

"Don't say anything; I know," she said, devouring his mouth.

Kimberly lost all control as her lips touched Tommy's. She couldn't seem to get enough or press herself close enough to him. She gave a tiny gasp as he strained to touch her. His fingers succeeded in grazing her buttocks. Tommy's tongue danced with hers, and she felt the tidal wave building force within her. A whimper of dismay erupted from her as Tommy's mouth left hers, but his lips quickly found her throat. She wrapped her legs around Tommy's waist above his restraints. With a sigh, Kim tossed her head back and offered herself to him. It quickly became obvious that Tommy wasn't going to be doing much of anything with his restraints on. Kim pried herself loose reluctantly. She studied the control grid first but was soon distracted by the distension in Tommy's pants. She unfastened his trousers and pulled out his cock. She swallowed it in one hungry gulp. She sucked it with feverish intensity, but she didn't want to jerk him off; she wanted to fuck him. She got to her feet and guided his rod between her legs. She rubbed herself against it. She was still wearing her teddy, and she tugged at the snaps in the crotch to open herself to Tommy completely.

Kim was fairly drowning in the sensations that overwhelmed her. However, ultimate pleasure was denied the pair as a beefy hand caught Kimberly by the hair and tore her from Tommy's body. She was thrown aside like a rag doll. The shock of skidding across the cold floor helped snap her back to her senses. Goldar towered over her, leering. He tossed a bundle at her feet.

"Put these on, Power Slut," Goldar rumbled, "Lord Zedd demands your presence immediately."

"Blue furred son-of-a-bitch," she growled under her breath. She pulled herself into a crouch. Still trying to catch her breath, she looked up at Tommy. The enormity of what had almost happened finally hit her. Tommy had surrendered to her as surely as she had surrendered herself to him. Kimberly took no pleasure in her victory. Actually, she rather felt like crying.

"I'm sorry," she forced out. Then she recalled she was still playing a part and Goldar was waiting to teleport her to wherever Zedd wanted her. "Duty calls, lover, but I'll be back as quick as I can to finish what we started." Tommy hung his head in defeat; the expression on his face was more than she could bear. She hurried over to the stereo and killed the music. Then she studied the outfit she had been told to wear; a blush set fire to her cheeks. The outfit consisted of a pretzel-style bodysuit in hot pink (a very thin pretzel at that), a white Bolero jacket with elbow length sleeves, shimmering pink tights, spiked white boots, and an opaque visor. Kim wanted to dress in private, but Goldar wasn't going to leave, and the Power Slut wouldn't care who she stripped in front of. She kicked off her pumps, pulled off her socks, and started with her pink tights.

Tommy's eyes never left Kimberly from the moment Goldar pulled her away from him. They had come so close. Tommy wasn't sure if he should hate Goldar or thank him. That Kim had wanted him as badly as he had wanted her was indisputable. For a moment, it was as if he had the real Kimberly wrapped around him; then she mocked him and destroyed the illusion. She had won. He had expected her to lord it over him more; perhaps Goldar's presence had something to do with that. Power Slut seemed to hate him as much as Kimberly did. He watched as Kim examined the costume Goldar had delivered. He saw the muscles in her shoulders tense up and a shiver shudder down her spine. An unusual reaction, then she started stripping.

Tommy thought that he might actually get to see Kim naked, but that hope was soon dashed. She merely toyed with him. Keeping her back to him, she tossed aside her pumps and socks. She propped one leg up on the edge of the "exam" table, providing Tommy with a glorious view of her creamy white ass. The line formed a pleasing curve from the arch in her back to her thigh (marred only slightly by the black tail of her teddy. She took her time rolling the stockings up her left leg and then her right. Next she stepped into the tangle of thin Spandex straps, pulling the garment up until the small triangular panel covered her behind before unsnapping her lingerie.

"She has defeated you at last," Goldar hissed triumphantly. "I saw it. Your hours are numbered, White Ranger."

Tommy didn't care as he watched Kim pull the teddy up over her head. Oh how he wished she would turn around! She slipped the straps up around her neck and stretched and wiggled, adjusting herself into the suit. Tommy's breath caught in his throat as he watched her remove Zedd's obedience collar. Without that collar, Tommy had no reason to hold back. He glanced over at Goldar and smiled grimly.

"I can hardly wait," he retorted. Kim finally turned around, and all thoughts of Goldar fled. His eyes went wide, and a moan slipped out as she reached up to shake out her hair, causing her taut nipples to push against the stretchy fabric. As she bent over to pull on her boots, her breasts all but spilled out of the strategically placed ribbons. She collected her gloves and visor, slung her jacket over her shoulder, and sauntered over. When she touched him, it was gently with trembling fingers. When she looked at him, he could still see the fire simmering just beneath the surface. If anyone had ever looked like they wanted to be fucked, Kimberly most certainly did. She pressed herself to him, and Tommy could feel her nipples grazing his chest. Then, to his surprise, she bent down and pulled his pants back up.

"Even pleasure slaves have their dignity," she whispered with an intoxicated giggle. She took his face in her hands and pressed her lips to his. What began as a soft kiss quickly exploded into a passionate inferno that threatened to rage out of control once again. Kim's mouth savaged his, her tongue dipping into his mouth. Tommy matched her intensity as he sought to devour her lips. Goldar, however, broke things up.

"That's enough, harlot," Goldar sneered. Kim was still panting as he dragged her off Tommy.

"I'll be back," she promised in a low, husky voice.

"And so will I," Goldar threatened. Then, the pair teleported.

***

"Very nice, my little Power Slut," Zedd murmured appreciatively as Kim arrived wearing the travesty of her Pink Ranger costume. "Come, my precious pink slut, I have guests I am anxious for you to meet."

Kim knew before they descended the stairs to the holding pens who she was going to see. Four prisoners, manacled as Tommy was, waited below. Kim wanted to cry in frustration. Her friends were supposed to be saving her, not the other way around! Zedd motioned for her to wait as he stalked forward to see his prisoners.

"Welcome to my humble home, Power Brats," Zedd gloated.

Kim surveyed her friends. Excepting a few bruises and general dishevelment, they appeared unharmed. To her consternation, they were in civvies. A putty turned their confiscated communicators and morphers over to Zedd.

"A clever plan, sneaking into my palace without your powers. Had you not contacted Zordon to have him teleport your power morphers to you when you did, I might not have known you were here until it was too late." The four glared at Zedd defiantly and said nothing.

"What've you done with Tommy and Kimberly?" Billy demanded at last.

"Do not worry, Blue Ranger; I shall show them to you." Zedd summoned a viewing globe and focused in on Tommy's cell. He was shackled as Kim had left him; she could tell that he was still painfully aroused. He sagged forward exhaustedly, his legs barely supporting him. Kim bit her lip; there were red marks on his face and chest that hadn't been there before. When Tommy looked up, he had a black eye. He was glaring at someone just beyond the range of the globe. Goldar! Kim was livid. That winged maggot had gone too far this time.

"And allow me to present your former associate and jailer, the Pink Power Slut.

<<Come on, Kim; you can do this.>> You have to! Kim felt her friends' eyes on her as she strutted down the stairs. Their mouths fell open in shock, and their incredulous stares mortified her. However, it quickly became obvious that her appearance engendered more than astonishment, especially in the men. All three were sporting the beginnings of hard-ons. Kim found herself excited by their reactions.

"Kimberly?" Billy was barely able to say her name.

Kim removed her visor and gave Billy her best fuck-me stare. His reaction--the look in his eyes, the difficulty he had in swallowing, and the ever growing bulge in his shorts--sent shivers through her hormone saturated body.

"Hello, sexy," she purred as she thoroughly gave him a once over. She was finding it far easier than she liked to maintain her character. "You said jailer, Zedd?"

"I so enjoyed your handling of Tommy that I figured you could use some new playmates." Zedd stepped aside and motioned her forward. He wanted her to inspect the prisoners. Kim forced herself forward, strutting by her friends haughtily. She stopped first before Rocky.

"Hello," she cooed into his ear. She ran her hands over his shoulders, slipping her fingers under his tank top. She raked her hands up into his hair as she pressed herself against him. She gave his groin a thrust from her hips. Rocky had closed his eyes and tried not to groan; the eyes snapped open, and the moan slipped out when Kim gave his cock a light squeeze.

"Bashful Adam," she purred, moving on to her next victim. His face was already suffused with a burning blush by the time she stood before him. Kim giggled drunkenly as she shimmied down his body, nipping at his erection through his shorts. She slid her hands up the backs of his legs and squeezed his ass. Then she stood and leaned in close; instead of kissing him, she traced the outline of his lips with her tongue.

"Don't you dare touch me," Aisha threatened fiercely as Kim sauntered over to her. Even as she said it, Kim stepped behind her and started running her hands up Aisha's thighs. Kim realized the guys were staring and continued moving her hands up until they cupped Aisha's breasts.

"Stop it . . . ." Aisha growled, her face growing hot. Kim paid her no mind and tweaked Aisha's nipples. Her left hand moved to Aisha's throat, and her right slipped down between Aisha's legs.

"You're as wet as the boys are hard," Kim teased. She was completely lost in the charade; she had been since she first touched Rocky, and with each successive body she touched, she became more and more lost. "I'll really have to use my imagination on you. I bet we could put on a really kinky show for the guys." Kim slipped her tongue into Aisha's mouth.

"Sweet, sweet, Billy," Kim sighed as she wrapped her arms around Billy's neck. His eyes were closed tightly. "Open those baby blues, Billy. I want you to look at me. I want you to see me." She grabbed his face and kissed him hard and hot. When she pulled away, she left Billy gasping for breath. Her hands continued down his body; when they reached the neck of his tank top, Kimberly grinned wickedly.

"I've always wanted to see what you look like without a shirt." So saying, she ripped his shirt down the front and pulled the remains down around his waist. She walked around him, giving him a full appraisal. She rubbed her hands all over his ass, then as she had with Aisha, one hand explored his upper body while the other explored between his legs. "I can hardly wait to start on you."

"Come, my Power Slut; let's leave your playmates to consider their predicament," Zedd commanded with a cruel laugh. Kim gave Billy a parting lick at the ear, then obeyed. She swung her ass with flair as she followed Zedd up the long staircase. Her need saturated body was still screaming for release; she only had a moment to consider what she had just done before the door to the dungeon was slammed shut.

***

Left alone in the dimly lit cell, Aisha was the first to find her voice.

"What did that fiend do to her!"

"Oh God," Adam groaned. Aisha glance first at him then at the other two. Their reactions to Kim's attentions were still obvious.

"I don't believe you guys," Aisha huffed.

"We are merely adolescent males possessed of enormous quantities of raging hormones," Billy said in their defense.

"Come off it, Aisha; how'd you expect us to react to being felt up by a complete babe?" Rocky asked sharply.

"That "complete babe" is your teammate and Tommy's girlfriend," Aisha reminded him.

"You weren't exactly unaffected by her either," Rocky shot back, observing that Aisha's nipples were still noticeably hard.

"Lord Zedd probably has her under some kind of spell," Adam interjected when he finally found his voice again. He hoped the others wouldn't notice that his shorts were somewhat wet.

"We have to figure out a way to free ourselves from these restraints and locate Tommy and Kimberly. Perhaps Zordon will be able to remove the spell Kimberly is under," Billy said as he tried not to think about the effect Kim had had on him.

CHAPTER VII

Day Six:

It had been late when Zedd finally decided that he no longer required Kimberly's presence, and she had been completely worn out. Instead of going back to Tommy as she had promised, she had gone to get some sleep. However, sleep had been anything but restful. She had relived the dance in her mind, only her mind carried it to that final step she and Tommy nearly achieved. Then the dream switched, and she watched, aroused and ashamed, as she felt up her other friends. Other dream-like snippets kept interfering, fragments of Goldar abusing Tommy. In her mind's eye she watched as Goldar landed a kick to Tommy's back; she felt as if Goldar had hit her. Kim felt Tommy's pain and woke up.

She found herself covered in sweat and gasping for breath. Her body still ached with the combination of pain and pleasure. As with the nightmare from the first three days, the sequence with Goldar fighting Tommy had been in Tommy's perspective. If she was somehow picking up on Tommy's dreams, that he had sustained a terrible beating at Goldar's hands. She needed to go to him at once. She needed to tell him she was free, that the others were here. She had to give him some hope.

Kim reached out for the first garment she could lay her hands on as she scrambled out of bed; however, the first thing was her Power Slut costume. She refused to wear that ever again. She searched about and spotted the tattered remnants of her aunt's ballgown. Kim picked it up carefully. It was completely ruined. The full, feather-trimmed skirt had been completely ripped away, and the remaining hem was torn and split resembling a jagged maw of teeth. The bodice was torn down to about where her navel would be; both side seams were coming undone, and the silver straps had been pulled out from the back of the dress. Kim slipped the dress on, finding it apropos. It had been shredded just as her life had been shredded. Kim remembered the way Tommy's eyes shone the first time he saw her in the gown. He'd never look at her that way ever again. Admiration will have been turned to disgust and loathing.

A tear trickled down her cheek, and she wiped at it angrily. She glanced at the reflection in the obsidian walls of her chamber; she looked like one of the scantily clad heroines off the cover of an old pulp fiction magazine. She tied the straps halter style behind her neck, and she looked about to see if she could find a safety pin to close up the bodice. However, all she found was one of her hairpins.

A hairpin! Kim reached for it with a sort of reverence; she was almost afraid to blink or breath, lest the precious pin vanish. She carefully straightened out the wire and held it up in a sort of triumph. Hairpin no longer, it was now a control pick; here was the key to Tommy's freedom!

Kim raced down the corridors, her bare feet slapping the cold stone loudly. She didn't care if Zedd or his henchmen saw her; all that mattered was getting that pin to Tommy. She all but flew down the stairs to the lowest dungeon; she actually tumbled down the last six or seven in her haste. However, when she reached Tommy's cell, she pulled up short. The force field had been deactivated, and Tommy was gone!

Where could he be? Kim's mind and body went numb with fear. Then, the fear was replaced by blazing anger as she realized that it wasn't Tommy's dream she had somehow intercepted. She had picked up on his present situation. Goldar was beating him now! As she stood there nursing her fury, something inside the cell exploded. The blast knocked Kim to the floor. Picking herself up, she crawled over to examine the debris. There wasn't much left of her leathers or the stereo. She wondered what had caused the explosion. She turned to leave and stepped on a hot piece of metal. Swearing, she picked up the offending item; it was the remains of the silver choker she had worn. Running through the center of the silver coils was a collection of hot wires. She knew without a doubt that the collar had been the bomb--a bomb meant for her. She hadn't planned on taking the thing off; she had done it as an afterthought. Why had Zedd activated it now, unless it had something to do with Tommy's battle with Goldar.

Thinking of Tommy's plight spurred Kim to action. She raced back up the stairs, but this time her steps were guided by her white-hot anger and the cold, hard edge of her determination. As she sped through the corridors, she ran into Squatt and Baboo.

"Power Slut, what are you doing here?" Baboo began.

"It's Kimberly to you, bub," she snarled, grabbing him and shoving him up against the wall. "Where has Goldar taken Tommy?"

"Why should we tell you?" Squatt asked.

"If you don't, I'll rip your gizzard out and stuff it down your throat!" Her eyes were dark and dangerous.

"I think she means it," Baboo gulped.

"He's taken him to the Arena of Darkness."

Kim shoved Baboo away and continued up the winding stairs. She was going to need a weapon of some sort; there was no way she could fight Goldar barehanded, but where to find one? Finster's workshop! There was bound to be something there, but the only way she knew to get to Finster's lab was through Zedd's throne room. It was late; Zedd was probably sleeping or recharging or whatever it was he did. The odds were good that he wouldn't be parked on his throne. Still, Kim exercised caution as she arrived at the throne room. She kept to the shadows, ducking behind whatever cover she could find. Unfortunately, Zedd was on his throne. His attention, however, was riveted to a viewing globe. In it, Goldar was fighting Tommy, but it was hardly a fair fight. Tommy still wore the control belt. He was not only receiving blows from Goldar but also surges from his shackles. Even so, he was trying to put up resistance.

"Your resistance has cost you dearly, White Ranger," Zedd rumbled. In the globe, Tommy looked up to find the source of the disembodied voice. "Remember that darling piece of jewelry your former girlfriend was wearing. The Pink Ranger is no more!"

"You didn't kill the Pink Ranger, Zedd, only your Power Slut," Tommy shouted back defiantly. Zedd merely laughed, but as Tommy continued to fight, Zedd stopped laughing.

"Perhaps I had better check on Kimberly's remains."

That was Kimberly's cue to get moving. She quickly slipped from the throne room into Finster's workshop. As she had hoped, there was a wide variety of weapons along with the monster molds and clay for the putties. Most of the implements were too heavy for her to handle, but she finally found a wicked looking mace. She hoisted it onto her shoulder and started to take her leave when she spotted something in a cabinet. Their morphers and communicators! The door was locked. Kim briefly thought about smashing it, but that would alert Zedd to her presence. She would do no good against him by herself. Kim hesitated. She had to free the others, but Tommy needed help too. However, freeing the others would do Tommy more good in the long run. If he could hold out a little longer . . . .

Kim cut back through the throne room; Zedd was no longer watching the proceedings in the Arena of Darkness. His viewing globe was trained on the cell where Billy and the others were still chained to their craggy supports.

"If Kimberly is on the loose, she will no doubt pay her friends a visit," Zedd rumbled.

As Kim slipped out of the chamber, her mind was racing. How could she free the others with Zedd watching her?

***

Kimberly stood at the top of the stairs leading into the holding pen where her friends were held; she was relieved to see that they had managed to drift off to sleep. What she intended to do with Billy was going to be difficult enough; she didn't want them all to know. Kim tore the bodice of her dress even further and loosened the straps until the top of the gown barely covered her breasts. She plumped herself up to give herself even more cleavage. She ripped the skirt so she could show more leg, and she even pulled apart the back seam so that she showed more ass. She fluffed her hair out, and did her best to assume the Power Slut's deliciously wicked grin. She fingered her hairpin nervously. Where would she hide that? She settled for bending it slightly and slipping it into her mouth. Then, with a sexy swagger that came far too easily, Kim started down the stairs.

As she drew nearer to her teammates, she observed the flicker of Zedd's viewing globe. She forced herself to ignore it as she approached Billy. She began the charade by simply admiring him. He had changed so much since they had first received their power coins; he was no longer the geek whose every sentence Trini had to translate. She should have been able to understand him better; after all, she had known him almost as long as she had Trini and the others. Kim appreciated the way his body had filled out--his muscles weren't as hard or defined as Tommy's, but they were nice . . . his fair hair blown back stylishly, his blue eyes . . . and he really did have a cute ass. Kimberly could see herself attracted to her quiet, intellectual friend if she hadn't fallen for Tommy.

However, she had to remind herself that she wasn't there to speculate about Billy; she was there to grope and hopefully free him. Offering Billy a silent apology, she stepped closer and reached for the bulge in his shorts. She must have done quite a number on him earlier for he was still rather hard. She squeezed him gently then began stroking him through his shorts until he started to come around. When he opened his mouth to speak, she covered his mouth with a kiss.

"Don't say anything," she hissed against his lips. She raked her fingers through his hair and stood on tiptoe to lick his ear. "I'm being watched. Just play along, please!" To Billy's astonishment, she kissed him again, harder than before. This time when she French kissed him, she transferred the hairpin from her mouth to his. Kim came up for air, then started kissing and licking his neck. She flicked her tongue over his earlobes and whispered further instructions. "With the pick, press the squares around the central square in this sequence: top, bottom, left, right. That will deactivate the force field."

"Why are you doing this?" Billy stammered as Kim slid down his body to play with the hairs on his chest. Billy found her attentions exceedingly distracting, as he had earlier in the day. His sleep had been fitful, thanks to the erotic images conjured by his hormone saturated imagination. The gown she had looked so spectacular in at the talent show looked even more inviting on her now. However, Billy realized that there was something else going on here besides her arousing perusal of his person. It was with monumental effort that he attempted to focus on her words and not on what she was doing to his body.

Kim slowly licked her way down to his bellybutton; she could feel his cock pressing between her breasts. Kim quickly scampered around behind him and undid the chains which held him to the stalagmite-type projection. Once he was standing free, she began running her hands all over his ass. A shudder ran down Billy's spine. Kim wrapped her arms around his chest and began placing tiny kisses all over his back.

"Zedd's spell wore off three days ago," Kim began, keeping her voice low. She used Billy's body as a shield so Zedd wouldn't see the pained expression on her face. "Oh Billy, I've had to do terrible things!"

Even as Kim's confession came pouring out, her hands continued to play with Billy's body. Billy was torn by his ever increasing sexual excitement and his growing concern. As Kimberly held him, he could feel her body trembling against him and could feel her silent tears slipping down his back. To his astonishment, Kimberly did not gloss over the sordid details of her ordeal. She confided everything to him, from having the putties strip Tommy for her to the near-culmination of their sexual contest. At the conclusion of her tale, she fell silent. Billy could feel the tremors in her body lessening; however, her body suddenly went rigid, and she gasped. It sounded to Billy like she was in pain. Kim swung around and knelt in front of him; she began nuzzling her face against his pelvic area--to dry her tears, Billy tried to tell himself. When she felt composed, she stood up; she continued to stimulate his lower anatomy.

"Goldar has Tommy," Kim said, returning her attentions to his hair, face, and neck. "I've got to find out where they are; Baboo said something about the Arena of Destruction."

"Two levels up, directly under Zedd's throne room," Billy whispered. Kim's face brightened at that, and she kissed him with genuine emotion.

"Your morphers and communicators are in Finster's lab, so are mine and Tommy's. You guys go after them first. When we meet up, I want you guys to get Tommy out of here."

"What about yourself?"

"How can I go back after what I've done? I sexually molested and damn near raped Tommy! Hell, I molested all four of you guys!"

"But Zedd's spell . . . ."

"Acted on fantasies I already had, dreams and desires I kept suppressed. The spell freed me to act on them. The enchantment lasted only three days, Billy; I did the worst of the damage of my own free will. I even enjoyed it! I can't bear the thought of what Tommy thinks of me . . . I know I can't forgive myself." Kim pulled away from Billy. If they kept up the conversation much longer, Zedd was going to become suspicious. She cast a surreptitious glance over her shoulder. The orb was still glowing. Kim forced Billy to his knees. She grabbed his face, kissing him roughly. "Just promise me you'll get Tommy out of here. As long as he's safe, I don't care what happens to me."

"Kimberly . . . ." Billy gasped.

"Promise me!"

"Very well. We'll take care of Tommy first."

"Thank you, Billy. Do me one other favor. Someday, when he's forgiven me, tell Tommy I loved him." Kim gave Billy one last kiss, then she slapped him aside brusquely. She strutted away haughtily and prayed that Zedd had bought the performance.

In the darkness behind Kimberly, Billy struggled to sit up. His hormones and emotions were in a raging turmoil. Kimberly's caresses had been the most incredible things he had ever experienced; he had never dreamed her capable of provoking such responses in his body. He never thought she could be so lascivious, and yet his excitement was tinged with great concern. Her words had troubled him greatly. He never thought he would ever hear such contempt and self loathing in her voice. He knew why she had told him so much so freely; she could no longer bear the burden. Her pain was like a knife in his heart. For all her play acting, Billy would never forget the look in her eyes as she extracted her promise from him; it had chilled him to the bone.

"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" Aisha queried sarcastically.

"We didn't mean to wake you," Billy apologized.

"I'll bet. Billy, how could you!"

"It's not like I had much choice in the matter considering I'm the one wearing the restraints."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just that I can't believe this is happening. The things Kim's doing to us . . . how could she!"

"She has no choice either; she's Zedd's prisoner too," Billy said with obvious pity, and Aisha picked up on it.

"You know something," Aisha hissed. Billy glanced up towards the orb that Kimberly had been so worried about; presently it was dark.

"I know how to get out of these manacles," Billy answered cautiously. He forced the implement Kim had given him out of his mouth.

"How'd you get that?"

"There is no time to go into detail. If I give you the pick, do you think you can reach the control grid on my belt?"

"I can try." Billy edged himself closer to Aisha, being careful not to loose the pick.

"Kim cut you loose while feeling you up; she slipped you that pick," Aisha realized. "That means she's no longer under Zedd's influence! Then why was she . . . ?"

"Please, don't ask," Billy requested. "And don't say anything to Rocky or Adam about it. Kim has experienced enough humiliation with regards to her captivity already."

"Something's really wrong, isn't it," Aisha said, picking up on the catch in his voice.

"Here, take the pick. Hold it steady . . . you have to touch the control panel in a precise sequence . . . ." Aisha held the tiny wire as still as possible while Billy tried to align his belt's control grid to her level. He didn't want to cause the grid to flare up and burn either one of them. Billy moved himself close enough for Aisha to reach, but it was also close enough for her fingers to brush the bulge in his shorts.

"Sorry," they murmured simultaneously. After a few more attempts and intimate contacts, Billy had to give up.

"This is most distressing. I wish Kimberly had brought her manual stimulation of my anatomy to its ultimate conclusion," Billy confessed with a blush.

"I never realized that the male anatomy was that sensitive," Aisha remarked, carefully using Billy's euphemism.

"It is extremely sensitive. The least amount of hormonal stimulation or physical contact can bring about engorgement."

"Yeah, well, how about we try a different tactic," Aisha suggested, quickly changing the subject. "Do you think you could used your teeth to insert the pick into my control grid?"

"An excellent suggestion; however, I should warn you that the procedure could be easily misconstrued for an activity of a more licentious nature by the uninformed."

"Just pick the lock, Billy."

Billy knelt up once again. It took some doing, but he was able to brace his hands against Aisha's legs. He carefully picked the hairpin out of Aisha's hand with his teeth and leaned in closer. He was careful not to burn his face.

"What in the world . . . ?" Adam gasped as he came around.

"Way to go, Billy," Rocky cheered.

"Don't even think it," Aisha snapped, "and don't distract the man."

***

Kim hurried through the dark corridors. She had to get to Tommy quickly. Billy would soon have the others free. She marvelled at how much more calm she felt. She hadn't planned on unburdening herself to Billy, but she hadn't been able to stop herself. She hadn't seriously considered staying behind, but once she had said as much to Billy, she knew that was what she had to do. Once Tommy was safe, what happened to her wouldn't matter; perhaps this would help atone for all she had done to Tommy. She only hoped she wasn't too late.

***

"Had enough, Tommy?" Goldar gloated as his latest blow sent Tommy reeling across the chamber.

It took some doing, but Tommy managed to pull himself to his knees. He tasted blood on his lips; was it from a new cut or an old one? Tommy had sustained far too many blows from Goldar's armored fists; in the back of his mind, he was grateful Goldar wasn't using his sword. His body screamed with agony, but Tommy welcomed the pain. There was something clean about it, and he welcomed the opportunity to lash out.

"All you have to do is say the word," Goldar continued with mocking laughter.

"You won't break me, Goldar; I'll die before I beg for mercy," Tommy spat with more confidence than he felt.

"Little Kimberly finally broke you," Goldar taunted. "I saw you give in to her at last . . . ." With a choked cry, Tommy hurled himself at Goldar, knocking him to the floor. The massive arms flailed out, and Tommy rolled clear. Zedd's lackey had struck a nerve; anger and guilt boiled just beneath the surface of Tommy's emotions. He was angry and ashamed for not being strong enough, for having given in, for wanting Kim so badly, and for enjoying her dancing so much. His emotional distraction proved costly; Goldar grabbed his hair and pulled him to his knees. Tommy glared at Goldar defiantly as he drew his massive hand back. However, something flickered on the edge of Tommy's already blurry vision, and he fell backwards.

"Back off, Goldilocks!" Kim snarled as she swung the mace with all her might, smashing Goldar in the face. The winged lackey roared with agony as he staggered away from Tommy. "Tommy, are you all right?"

Tommy didn't look up. He couldn't. He didn't want to see Kim as the Power Slut. However, she wouldn't let him alone. She brushed the hair from his eyes as she tilted his face towards her. Her face looked pale and haggard; her eyes had dark circles under them. Her expression was concerned. She chewed her lower lip anxiously, and tears trickled down her cheeks. When she became aware of the intensity of his gaze, she looked away.

"Kimberly?" he asked hoarsely. He couldn't bring himself to hope; so many times it had proven to be a cruel trick.

"It's me this time, Tommy," she said. "Hang in there . . . ow! Hey!" Goldar yanked Kim's hair and tossed her aside.

"You'll pay for that, harlot," Goldar threatened. "Tommy is no longer your concern."

"Leave him alone; he's suffered enough already," Kim answered, assuming a fighting stance. Goldar laughed at her.

"You seek to do battle with me? You are nothing, pathetic Power Slut!"

Kim did not waste words but launched herself into a series of back handsprings. She landed a solid kick to the center of Goldar's breast plate, knocking him backwards. Enraged, he drew his sword and charged at her. She dropped and tripped him up. Really losing his temper now, Goldar slashed out blindly. Kim dodged but she was a fraction too slow. Goldar's sword bit into her side, drawing blood. Fortunately, the cut wasn't deep. Kim ignored the wound and got to her feet.

"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size," Tommy interjected as he kicked out, sweeping Goldar's feet from underneath him. He couldn't just sit by and let Kimberly face Goldar alone.

"I'll deal with you when I'm finished with the slut," Goldar rumbled. He picked up Tommy and wedged his energy belt over a projection in the floor, which caused the energy to feed back into Tommy's system excruciatingly.

Kim was grateful to see Tommy out of danger for the moment, and she relished the pain from her wound. It helped clear her head and keep her focused on the matter at hand. Goldar was still menacing her with the sword, so she cast about in search of the mace. It was difficult to see through the fog which enshrouded the floor, but she finally spied it a few feet away. The head was twisted, but that didn't matter. She only wanted it to parry the sword strokes. She cartwheeled--or rather started to; the move ripped her wound open further. She collapsed with a scream. Goldar swatted her with the flat of his blade, catching her in the rib cage. She sailed across the floor, unable to catch her breath. She winced as she tried to get up.

<<You have to keep moving, for Tommy's sake.>> Painstakingly, she got to her knees. She held herself upright with one hand and hugged her injured side with the other. <<You have to keep Goldar away from Tommy long enough for Billy and the others to get here.>> Where was Billy? What was taking him so long? While her thoughts were elsewhere, Goldar got the drop on her.

"Look out!" Tommy shouted. Kim dropped flat to the floor to avoid the blow. Goldar towered over her, his sword poised to pierce her belly.

"Now you will die, Power Slut," Goldar sneered, but Kimberly kicked with all her might, planting her foot firmly in Goldar's groin. The blue-furred monstrosity dropped to his knees, then he teleported away. Kim climbed to her feet and staggered over to Tommy.

"I've got to get you out of these things," she gasped. Belatedly, she remembered giving her hairpin to Billy. She had nothing else to use. Goldar would be back at any minute, or worse, Zedd might be with him. <<Think!>> she urged herself, then she recalled Finster's words regarding the belt. "No time for anything else . . . I'm sorry, Tommy." As Kim's knees gave out, she grabbed the control panel and pushed against it. The fierce energies reacted by flowing into her body. She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth against the pain. She could feel the fire racing along her skin; the blood in her veins seemed to be boiling.

"Do it!" she screamed at Tommy. "Break free!"

***

Tommy had gone cold inside when Goldar's blade caught Kimberly's abdomen. He wasn't toying with her as he had been with him. Goldar plainly meant to kill Kim. Even on her best day, Kim was no match for Goldar. He had hoped to draw Goldar's attention away from Kim; instead, he wound up being propped up on a pole unable to do anything but watch the unequal contest.

When Goldar's blade caught Kim in the ribs, he knew she was in a world of hurt: cracked ribs, possibly broken. Tommy's heart sunk at that point; he knew Kim was done for, so it came as quite a surprise that she had the energy for so vicious a kick (in spite of everything, Tommy winced in sympathy as her foot nailed Goldar). Even though Goldar had retreated for the moment, Tommy knew he would be back with reinforcements, additional firepower, or something. He prayed Kim's strength would hold out long enough for her to find a way to get him down.

_"I've got to get you out of these things."_

Kim seemed disoriented, like she had lost something, but when she looked up at him the second time, there was fierce determination shining in her eyes.

_"I'm sorry, Tommy."_

Then, she did the impossible and grabbed his belt's control grid as her knees gave out. Tommy closed his eyes and braced himself for the jarring shock, but it never came. Startled, he opened his eyes to find the current had completely surrounded and permeated Kim's body. Secondarily, he realized that he was untouched by the deadly energy.

_"Do it! Break free!"_

Kim was giving him the chance to break his restraints by diverting the energy flow. Tommy strained against the bonds with all his strength. The belt didn't seem to want to give way, even though the material was stretched out to accommodate the pillar.

"Control . . . grid, touch . . . top, bottom, left, right," Kim gasped out. She was weakening. Tommy did as she directed, frantically pushing the buttons on the grid. At first, nothing happened. When he tried a second time, he repeated the sequence only going to her left then right. It worked. The field shut off, and the catch clicked open. Kim fell away, still clutching the belt, and Tommy almost dropped on top of her. Tommy gathered her in his arms; touching her was the most wonderful thing in the world.

"Tommy?" Kim groaned, struggling to remain conscious.

"I'm right here, Kim." He jerked the remains of his shirt out of his waistband and wound them around Kim's abdomen. She gasped in pain, and Tommy felt something stinging his eyes. "Take it easy, Kim; I'll get you out of here."

"Billy and the others . . . they're here," she murmured.

"All right! Just hold on a little longer, Kim. Everything's going to be all right."

"No it won't . . . I'm sorry, Tommy . . . I . . . . "

"Hush; save your strength." Tommy was beginning to get scared. Kim's face was even more pale than it had been, and her breathing sounded shallow and gurgly, like she had fluid in her lungs. Goldar couldn't have done that much damage, could he?

"So, Tommy, you're free," Goldar bellowed as he reappeared. He carried a lance of crimson energy. "Good. Soon you'll join the Power Slut in death!"

"The only thing I'm going to do is make you pay for what you've done to Kimberly."

"Tommy, no!" Kim protested weakly as Tommy launched himself at Goldar. She struggled to sit up. Goldar used his pulsating staff to swat Tommy away. The inconsequential blow seemed to stagger Tommy. Was it her imagination, or was the lance glowing more brightly? Tommy hit Goldar with a roundhouse kick; again Goldar fended him off with the staff. This time, Tommy groaned, weakening, and the lance was definitely shining brighter. Kim realized that the lance must be absorbing Tommy's energy!

<<No!>> she screamed silently. She hadn't endured so much . . . she hadn't come this close to saving Tommy to lose him now. She had to get up. She had to stop the fight somehow.

Tommy backed away to reappraise the situation. He felt so weak all of a sudden. He had to keep Goldar away from the projection where he left Kimberly. Tommy didn't think too much of his lack of strength; he attributed the drain to his week of captivity. He wished Billy and the others would hurry up. Then he heard sounds that were music to his ears: an explosion and mayhem.

"Tommy!" Billy shouted as he and the other three Rangers raced into the chamber. After they were free of their restraints they had crept through Zedd's throne room to Finster's lab to retrieve their morphers; however, they had been discovered by Zedd's chief monster maker, who had sounded the alarm. With Zedd distracted by other matters (mainly the battle between Goldar, Tommy, and Kim) they were able to break away before reinforcements arrived.

"Man, am I glad to see you guys," Tommy sighed, relieved.

"Here's your morpher," Billy said, tossing it to him. "Where's Kimberly?"

***

To Kimberly, it was as if the world began moving in slow motion. She could see it all happening and how it would all fall out before anyone else could move: Billy and the others rushing into the chamber, Tommy glancing back to look at them, Billy throwing the power morpher. Tommy looked up and extended his arm to catch it. Goldar brought back his arm to throw the lance.

<<Please let me get there in time!>> Somehow, some way, Kim found the strength to move. As she hurried through the mist, it was as if she was outside her body, watching the proceedings. She threw herself forward, catching Tommy in the small of the back. Someone shouted a question at her. She stumbled forward, recovered herself and stood as the tip of the lance reached her chest.

Surprisingly, it didn't hurt. It felt rather like an intense flashlight beam focused on the center of her chest. Then she felt the cold kiss of the metal handgrip. She grasped it. She was dimly aware of her momentum carrying her backwards. Her back struck the wall . . . it all seemed so far away. She looked up to see Tommy staring at her, his expression indescribable. Why was he looking at her that way? Tommy reached out towards her, she started to reach back, but she saw Goldar advancing on Tommy. He didn't even realized it. She had to warn him.

"Tommy . . . !"

***

Tommy's morpher clattered to the floor as he landed hard, face first, knocking the wind out of him. Gasping, he rolled over to find out who had pushed him. Impossibly, there stood Kim, looking like death warmed over. She wobbled unsteadily as she tried to assume a defensive posture.

"Kim, what the . . . ." he began, but the sentence died on his lips as a streak of crimson light buried itself in her chest. The missile's momentum carried Kim with it to the far wall.

"NO!" The scream ripped forth from deep within himself. He scrambled to his feet, tears blurring his vision. He had to help her. She was trying to pull the lance out. Her expression was frightening--one of surprise and serenity. She didn't cry out, not a gasp or a cry of pain. When she finally spoke, she said only one word: his name.

"Behind you!" Aisha shouted. Tommy reacted automatically, lashing out with a vicious back kick.

"Rocky and Adam, keep Goldar busy. Aisha, get Tommy out of there. I'll get Kim," Billy directed. Yet, even as he tugged on the lance which pinned her to the wall, Billy knew in his heart it was too late. Billy fought his tears as Kim's body fell into his arms. The expression on her face was so peaceful, it made his heart ache all the more. He pulled her close and stifled a sob. This was not the place to grieve.

"Billy, let's go," Aisha called out as she all but dragged a stunned Tommy behind her. Adam and Rocky were coming up behind them. Billy handed Aisha the lance.

"We may need this," Billy said. Then he activated his communicator. "Zordon, get us out of here!"

CHAPTER VIII

Billy, Alpha, and Zordon were gathered in the Command Center's infirmary. Kimberly lay on an examination table bathed in a suspension ray.

"Is there anything you can do, Zordon?" Billy asked.

"Very little, I am afraid."

"Kimberly's life signs are non-existent," Alpha reported.

"Can't you at least try?" Billy insisted. "What about the lance? Have you been able to figure out what it did to her?"

"Not yet," Zordon answered. "I understand your concern, Billy; Alpha and I are doing all we can."

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just that . . . ."

"It is not easy for me to lose one of you in this way. We shall do our best."

***

Billy left the infirmary feeling very cold and lonely inside. He had never appreciated how much Kimberly's friendship had meant to him. Ever since First Grade . . . he had met Kim through Trini but they became friends in their own right that day when she took him under her wing because she couldn't stand to see the other kids pick on him . . . . Billy tried to compose himself and keep his expression neutral as he enter the Command Center proper. Aisha, Adam, and Rocky all hovered close to the infirmary door. Aisha was in tears, and Rocky and Adam looked like they were on the verge themselves. Tommy, however, was off by himself. He sat on the steps facing the viewing globe looking for all the world like a zombie. Since his one exclamation in Zedd's citadel, he had not uttered a word. This concerned Billy. Of them all, Tommy had always been the most open with his emotions; he had never held back his concern or his affection for his friends, especially Kimberly. That he could not grieve for her told Billy there was a much deeper problem involved.

"Billy, what's the word?" Aisha asked eagerly.

"Nothing yet," he answered with uncharacteristic simplicity. "Zordon and Alpha said they'd do their best."

"Not very reassuring, is it," Adam mumbled.

"Zordon's best has to be better than an ordinary doctor's," Rocky reasoned.

"How are you holding up, Billy?" Aisha wondered.

"As well as can be expected."

"I'm really worried about Tommy," Adam whispered. "This silence isn't like him."

"Yeah, I'd feel better if he was beating the stuffings out of a punching bag or something," Rocky added.

"I'm worried as well. Let me see if I can talk to him," Billy said. He crossed the floor and took a seat next to Tommy. "Tommy?" There was no response. Billy flashed his hand in front of Tommy's face; he didn't even blink. This was going to be more difficult than Billy had anticipated. Making up his mind, Billy grabbed Tommy's arm and touched his own teleporter.

The two reappeared on an outcropping of rock overlooking the lake in Angel Grove Park. It was one of Billy's favorite locations: secluded but with an incredible view. He came here often for astronomical viewing and data gathering.

"Billy? Where are we? What gives?" Tommy asked bewilderedly, finally coming out of his funk. Billy sighed gratefully.

"Tommy, I . . . I really need to talk about what happened," Billy began. The awkwardness he conveyed was not feigned. Tommy might not be in the mood to talk for his own sake, but he wouldn't shut out a friend in need. "I'm not sure I can deal with it, and seeking out a therapist isn't exactly an option for us, is it?"

"I guess not."

"We've all been hurt before; it's just that until now, none of us has ever sustained life-threatening injuries. In many ways, it seemed as if we were invincible. Between our powers and Zordon's science . . . ."

"I know what you mean," Tommy agreed. Then he fell silent again. Billy did his best to curb his frustration.

"What happened to you two while you were Zedd's captives?" Billy asked bluntly.

"Lots of things; I'm not sure I can talk about them yet."

"I'm not asking out of mere curiosity. When Kimberly came to set the four of us free, she made me promise to get you out of Zedd's citadel, and she asked me to tell you, someday, if you were ever able to forgive her, that she loved you. Tommy, the look in her eyes scared the hell out of me. She looked like someone who was ready to die." The description, while melodramatic, was accurate and it had the desired effect of shaking up Tommy.

"Why did she do it, Billy?" Tommy asked helplessly. "The whole mess started when Kim let Zedd cast a spell on her. She didn't resist or anything; in fact she practically begged him to cast it."

"Weren't you there? Didn't you know what was going on?"

"I must have blacked out after Goldar had smacked me around; I came to just as Kim was telling Zedd to go ahead."

"How was Goldar able to use you for a punching bag?"

"Zedd threatened to have Goldar break Kim's neck if I didn't cooperate. He put an explosive collar around her neck and told me that he would detonate it if I didn't cooperate."

"Is it possible while you were unconscious Zedd told Kimberly to submit to the spell or he'd let Goldar continue pummeling you?"

"I suppose so."

"What happened next? What did the spell do to Kimberly?"

"It turned her into the sexiest thing on two feet," Tommy sighed heavily. He hadn't meant to be so candid, but the words were said, and Billy was his friend. Billy wouldn't make judgments; he might even be able to help him make sense of his topsy-turvy emotions. "She was hot; seeing her in that leather get-up gave me an instant hard-on. She was like sex personified; she was all over me, doing things that I always wished she'd do to me. But she was cold, hard, evil. The fact that she had my hormones in an uproar amused her. Granted, Kim could be something of a tease, but not like this."

Tommy paused to collect his thoughts; Billy was rather surprised that Tommy was opening up to him so unreservedly, much as Kimberly had. From Kim, he knew it had been a terrible ordeal. Billy needed to learn from Tommy how he felt about it.

"Zedd made Kim--the Pink Power Slut as he called her--my jailer. Kim told Zedd that she intended to break me by seducing me; she wanted me to be her pleasure slave."

"And did she? Seduce you, I mean."

"Man, did she ever!" Tommy stood up, suddenly filled with nervous energy. The afternoon breeze was cool. Neither Tommy nor Billy had a shirt on; both were still dressed as they had been in Zedd's citadel. Billy shivered, but Tommy didn't seem to notice the cold. "The last six days were the most awesome and the most awful days of my life. Those first three days . . . the things Kim did to me . . . wow! She didn't really do anything to hurt me, well maybe a few things on day two, but for the most part she was driving me out of my mind with her mouth. Man, she has a talented tongue. She has this way of rolling her tongue around my cock . . . sort of the way she French kissed me."

Having experienced one of Kim's kisses, Billy had an excellent frame of reference. He sat down to conceal his hard-on, but there was nothing he could do about his blush. Tommy turned at that point and noticed Billy's distress.

"Hey, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Don't worry about it. If any of this is to be resolved in our own minds, the graphic details are going to have to be discussed. The emotions can't be analyzed without knowing what produced them." Tommy eyed Billy puzzledly. "Trust me, Tommy; I have an excellent reason for pursuing this. You mentioned the first three days . . . ."

"The first three days, Kim had me stripped and strapped to a table while she had her way with me. She did anything and everything you could think of."

"How did you feel about that?"

"I hated it, but I liked it, too," Tommy admitted with some difficulty. He couldn't face Billy as he said it. "I hated being forced; I hated knowing Zedd was watching, but most of all I hated seeing Kim that way . . . as a whore. Even so, I couldn't help but enjoy what she was doing to me. I mean, how many times had Kim done me in my dreams just like that--but without the restraints?" Tommy paused thoughtfully "Actually, the first three days were less seduction than a contest of wills. She was trying to get me to beg to come, and I was trying not to. Towards the end of the third day, I was pretty sure she had me."

"What happened?"

"Kim was starting another tongue bath; my hands were at my side instead of clamped to the corners. Kim was standing right over my hand; she didn't have any underwear on. I honestly don't know what made me do it, but I started playing with her pussy."

"You sound rather guilty about it," Billy observed.

"I guess I do feel a little guilty. Normally, I wouldn't have touched Kim without asking permission, and I certainly wasn't under Zedd's spell. Maybe it was curiosity, maybe it was desperation, I don't know." Tommy shrugged self-consciously. He reached up to massage the back of his neck; it was a nervous gesture. Billy waited, letting Tommy continue at his own pace.

"Kim was so hot and wet--literally. That was the first time it occurred to me that she was as turned on by her games as I was. I had barely begun rubbing her clit before she came. And when she did, I nearly lost it too. It was so intense; the expression on her face, her moans . . . ." Tommy closed his eyes, savoring the memory. "I really loved watching her come; damn, but that was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. This may sound strange, but I felt really pleased with myself."

"A little bit of vindication? You were able to do to her on the first try what she had failed to do over the course of three days?" Billy wondered.

"No, at least not consciously. You know the feeling you get when you've done a job really well--a sense of pride and satisfaction--that's more what it was."

"I take it that after this episode, the routine changed," Billy prompted, getting to the all important fourth day.

"I'm not sure what happened. I know that night I had a really intense dream; I think I sort of relived the first couple of days. When I got to the part where I was jerking Kim off, I came. It woke me up, I came so hard. After three days of holding back, it felt wonderful. The next morning I felt ready to face Kim again; I was confident I could withstand her tortures, but she didn't do any of that stuff. When she came into my cell, she hardly looked at me. She certainly didn't touch me. She wasn't wearing her leathers either; she was dressed in something she'd wear to school. I was willing to swear that she had shaken off the spell, but then Goldar arrived and told Kim Zedd wanted her to send the putties after you guys. I knew it had only been wishful thinking when she instructed one putty to tickle you to render you helpless. I couldn't believe it. It was bad enough what she was doing to me, but to turn against you guys too . . . ! After that, she started dancing."

Tommy closed his eyes and could almost hear the drums and bass guitar. In his mind he could see the blissful smile on Kim's face, the power in her shapely legs, her hips undulating enticingly, her breasts moving as her shoulders rose and fell to the beat. A shiver ran down his spine, and he felt his cock stirring.

Tommy's prolonged silence caused Billy to look up; he had never observed an expression of complete rapture on Tommy's face. If Billy was to wax romantic, he would say Tommy was all but glowing.

"Oh God, Billy, it was awesome," Tommy finally continued. "She was so into it; she was really enjoying it, but it wasn't like how she enjoyed playing with me. It's hard to describe. The expression on her face was so full of joy. There was no coldness in her at all. She was all movement and fire and . . . everything! I'd never seen her look so open. It was like she had nothing to hide. She was sexual and yet she wasn't. I mean, nothing was forced. The way her hips moved, the way she stripped, the way she touched herself--it was right. It was perfect.

"There was something so real about her dancing, so honest. She had shown me something so incredible . . . I mean, this was Kim, really Kim. It was like she had shown me a piece of her soul. She had me, Billy. I wanted Kim the dancer so badly, I would have given in. And I think she wanted me just as badly, at least for a second it seemed like it. Then she destroyed it all by laughing at me," Tommy concluded with a touch of bitterness. "That was the only time I was ever really angry with her. It was like she was saying that none of it had been real; it had all been a put on.

"Day five--I spent the most frustrating night of my life watching her dance in my dreams. If she danced for me one more time, I was done for. I called her a bitch when she came in that day; I had to lash out, hurt her in some way just to hang on. That didn't stop her. She was in her leathers again, and when she danced, she was like sex personified. It was even more intense than the previous afternoon." Tommy hung his head for a moment. "I couldn't hold out. I started to say the words, but Kim wouldn't let me. She knew. She started kissing me as if she was going to eat me alive. I didn't care any more; all I wanted was to be as deep inside her as I could. We came real close to going all the way. If it hadn't been for Goldar . . . I'm still not sure whether I'm grateful for his arrival or pissed at him.

"Goldar had come to fetch Kim; Zedd wanted her for something or another. Goldar gave her a new costume to put on. It was funny, she stripped in front of us, but I never really got to see anything. The outfit was a sexy mockery of her Pink Ranger costume. After she had been teleported out, I creamed myself."

"I can imagine. I nearly ejaculated when she strutted into our cell in that outfit," Billy murmured.

"You saw her?"

"Apparently she was entertaining you while we were breaking into Zedd's citadel," Billy explained. "Shortly after Zedd captured us, he presented us with our jailer: Kim. Zedd said that he had enjoyed Kimberly's handling of you so much, he was giving her some new `playmates.' He had Kim come forward and inspect us."

"Inspect you?" Tommy queried, his curiosity piqued by Billy's fierce blush. "She felt you guys up?"

"Most definitely. Her cursory examination of our anatomies was quite disconcerting and exceedingly arousing."

"She check all of you out? Even Aisha?"

"None of us escaped untouched."

"That was some spell Zedd had her under," Tommy whistled.

"Not really," Billy murmured hesitantly.

"What do you mean?"

"There's more to it than that, Tommy," Billy began. "When Kim came to set me free, she told me what had been going on."

"You mean you knew all this already?"

"From the first blow job to the vibrator to the final near-culmination of your contest."

"Then why did you have me relive all this!"

"I wanted to hear your side of the story; I need to know how you feel about the whole episode."

"Why? I'm not following you on this. What was that you told me earlier, about Kim wanting you to tell me she loved me? You said she looked like someone who wanted to die. Why?"

"She despised herself. She said she couldn't bear to face you or any of us after what she had done to us."

"Why? We all know she was a victim of Zedd's spell."

"I don't know if I should tell you this or not."

"Tell me what?"

Billy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was his turn to stand and pace with nervous energy. His actions were not instilling confidence in Tommy.

"You'd better sit down," Billy recommended. "What I'm going to tell you--as she told it to me--you will find disturbing. Keep in mind that everything Kim did, she did because she loved you and couldn't bear to see Zedd hurt you anymore."

Billy related all that Kim had told him--why she agreed to let the spell be cast, of having no memories of the first three days save what came to her in a dream, of breaking free of the spell and having to continue the charade. He told Tommy the nature of the spell and from whence the erotic tortures had originated. He told Tommy everything, including how Kim freed him under the cover of seducing him.

Through it all, Tommy listened, stony faced and silent, never interrupting. When Billy finally finished, Tommy was quiet for so long that Billy began to regret telling him the truth. What harm could it have done to let Tommy have his illusions now that Kimberly was . . . but therein lay Billy's dilemma. Kim had told him that she couldn't face Tommy because of what she had done and what she felt about herself. If she had survived, it would have destroyed the team. Tommy had to be able to forgive her knowing the whole truth. Billy owed it to Kim to try.

"So all that time she was acting out her own fantasies?" Tommy sounded lost, and Billy wondered just how much Tommy had cherished Kimberly's appearance of innocence. Did Tommy really believe that Kim was beyond the dreams of adolescent females? If so, he was treating her as something less than human.

"Not quite. As Kim explained it to me, the enchantment did not superimpose the evil on her; it only acted on the darkness within her, magnifying it. She considered her sexual fantasies as something forbidden instead of a natural part of the adolescent condition. She was ashamed to admit that she had such fantasies. What Kim failed to perceive was that when you magnify something, it becomes distorted, even if only slightly. The fantasies weren't inherently evil, only the purpose to which they had been put."

"I never imagined Kim even knew about half the stuff she did to me," Tommy murmured.

"That was very naive of you. Adolescents of today are rarely as innocent of such knowledge as adults would like to believe. You had your fantasies about Kimberly, didn't you?"

"If she hated what she had done, why did she keep on doing those things after she shook off the spell?"

"Don't be so dense," Billy snapped, losing his patience. "You guys had no powers. You had no idea if help was on the way. At that point, Kim didn't know how to get you free of your restraints, and she couldn't have fought Zedd single handedly. She also couldn't risk Zedd casting the spell a second time. She had to remain cognizant if she was to be of any help to you."

"Why couldn't she have at least told me she was free of Zedd's spell?"

"She was monitored constantly. She told me that she had been masturbating in her sleep, and Zedd gloated about it the next morning." Tommy pulled a face at that revelation. "Could you and she have put on as convincing a performance if you knew she wasn't the Power Slut any longer?

"She felt badly enough already. Kim wanted to spare you any further humiliation. You were the victim; you had no choice. Even if you enjoyed what she was doing to you, you would still be guilt free; you hadn't asked for any of it to be done to you. When Kim resorted to the dance, she thought she was doing you a favor. She didn't know how powerful it was going to be.

She had no idea that she'd get so caught up in the dancing or that you'd be so aroused by it. After that first dance, she wanted you as much as you wanted her, and when she realized that she had made you come, she was devastated. She had been beaten; she gave up all hope for herself. The only thing that kept her going was knowing your life was in her hands. She no longer cared what happened to her. She only hoped that you wouldn't be too angry with her and could forgive her."

"I was a little angry, but never with Kim! I was angry with Zedd for turning her into a whore and at myself for not being strong enough to resist her."

"You're only the White Ranger, not Sir Galahad."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're a seventeen year old male with a beautiful, spirited, sexy girlfriend who was determined to get his hormones in an uproar. There was no way you stood a chance; it's rather amazing you withstood her attentions as long as you had."

"You know, I'm not going to be able to look at her and see the same old Kim, " Tommy said with a sigh. "It's going to be hard to deal with her being both cute and sexy. I know I had my fantasies and all; I just never considered Kim really being that sexual."

"Kim has always been a very sexual person, but it has always been unaffected. She doesn't try to be sexy; she just is."

"Then why was she so ashamed of having sexual fantasies about me?"

"I can't answer that. Not every teenager is comfortable with his or her sexuality. Maybe having hers flung in her face so brutally threw her off balance."

"I don't suppose it really matters at this point," Tommy said. "What matters is getting Kimberly to realize she has nothing to be ashamed of. I've got to talk to Kim as soon as possible. She can't go on hating herself for what she did to me. So what if her actions were based on her private fantasies? Had she been in control of herself she never would have acted on them. As for the stuff she did after the spell wore off, she isn't to blame. Even though she thought she was in control, she really wasn't.

"Heck, even if I had wanted to hold all the kinky stuff against her, how could I after what she did to save my butt from Goldar? I only wish I could have done more so she wouldn't have been hurt; if anything from this mess eats at me, it'll be that. Come on, let's get back to the Command Center. Maybe Zordon can tell us when Kim will wake up." Tommy got to his feet then realized that he didn't have his communicator/teleporter. When he looked back at Billy, he found him sitting on the edge of the outcropping with his face buried in his arms. "Billy?"

"Kimberly is dead, Tommy," Billy croaked out hoarsely.

"She can't be . . . Zordon and Alpha . . . ." Tommy began, grasping at straws. However, Billy could see the denial for what it was.

"She was gone before we left Zedd's Citadel," Billy continued quietly as Tommy dropped to his knees, numb with shock. "She had no life signs when we got to the infirmary; there was nothing Zordon and Alpha could do. They're going to repair her obvious physical injuries so her parents won't have to see how badly she was . . . I'm sorry, Tommy."

"Billy . . . ." Tommy began helplessly. Propriety and convention did not prevent Billy from reaching out to his devastated friend even as his own tears slid down his cheeks.

***

"Where are Billy and Tommy?" Zordon queried as he reappeared in his column in the Command Center proper.

"We're not sure," Aisha answered. "Billy said he and Tommy needed to talk, and then he teleported out of here."

"Here they are," Rocky said. "Alpha found them in the viewing globe. They all turned to the globe as Billy made his solemn announcement.

"Zordon?" Adam asked in disbelief.

"Billy is correct. I am sorry, Rangers."

"Turn the globe off," Rocky choked out as he turned away, wiping his eyes. Adam was already holding Aisha as she began to cry. "We should let Tommy grieve in private."

***

Billy had no words with which to comfort Tommy; he was equally distraught. After several minutes, he felt the tremors in Tommy's shoulders abate.

"It should have been me," Tommy said slowly, his tone cold and eerie. It concerned Billy. "I should have been the one to die; I was the one Goldar was trying to kill."

"Goldar was trying to kill both of you," Billy reminded him. "Tommy, Kim gave her life for you; don't do anything to devalue her sacrifice. She wanted you to live."

"Zedd will pay for this," Tommy murmured darkly.

"That's not the answer."

"You can't mean to let Zedd get away with this!"

"That's not what I'm suggesting. All I am saying is that we can't go after him with anger and vengeance in our hearts. We do that and we could lose the protection of the Power. If that happens, Zedd will truly have won. That's not what Kimberly would have wanted.

"Lord Zedd wanted to destroy you; he failed because Kim's love for you was greater than his evil. Kimberly died a true hero. She had a smile on her face and your name on her lips. Always remember that."

CHAPTER IX

Tommy entered the infirmary with his heart in his throat. The others had tried to talk him out of this, but it was something he wanted--no, had to do. The lights were dimmed save for the nimbus which surrounded the medical table. An aura of blue-white light surrounded Kim's body. He was grateful Zordon and Alpha had repaired her wounds; there were no traces of the injuries which had claimed her life. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful . . . it was difficult to believe that she wasn't merely sleeping.

"Hey Beautiful," he said, his voice husky. He pulled a stool up next to the bed. He deactivated the stasis field. His hand trembled as he reached down to stroke her hair. "I had to tell you that Billy told me everything. I am so sorry you had to go through all that. You don't have to feel ashamed of anything--not for what you did, for what you felt, or for what you fantasized about. I had my fantasies about you, too. However, if you really need to hear the words, I forgive you. I just wish you could forgive yourself.

"Actually, there are a lot of things I wish you could hear at this moment, like how much I'm going to miss you and how much I . . . ." His voice faltered, and his eyes misted over. He buried his head in his arms on the edge of the table, trying to regain control of his emotions. He allowed himself to shed a few silent tears, and then he became aware of a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Billy next to him. The others were standing behind him. Tommy wiped his eyes and mustered a brave smile.

"I can't help but think of how much Kim really loved fairy tales," he began with difficulty. "I wish this was a fairy tale. I'd give her a kiss; she'd wake up, and we'd live happily ever after. I guess I wasn't much of a knight on a white horse."

"Come on, Tommy; you need to get some rest," Billy said.

"Alpha and I have determined the nature of the crimson lance," Zordon interrupted.

"What did it do to her?" Tommy demanded.

"It drew the energy out of her body and stored it."

"Can the process be reversed so the energy could be reinfused in Kim?" Billy asked hopefully.

"There is a way to reverse the process, but I'm afraid it would not bring Kimberly back. The energy would restore her body, but Kimberly has no brain activity. Her body would be nothing more than a living shell. The spirit has fled; all my science could not restore it."

"I couldn't do that to her," Tommy said. "It's better to let her go."

"A wise decision and a difficult one," Zordon concurred. Knowing he had done the right thing didn't make Tommy feel any better. He hung his head.

"Let's go, Tommy," Billy urged him. "There's nothing more you can do here."

"Just a second, okay?" Tommy leaned over and gently kissed Kim's lips. Then he reactivated the stasis field; however, as the field re-energized, a brief surge rippled through it.

"Zordon, what was that?" Billy gasped. He hurried over to the control panel to check the monitor. The field pulsation was supposed to match the life signs of the patient within it.

"I saw it, Billy, but I'm still getting no life signs."

"Tommy, drop the field and kiss her again," Billy directed with urgency. Tommy needed no prompting. With the second kiss Billy's monitor registered a second blip.

"She's alive!' Aisha squealed.

"Was it a spell?" Adam asked.

"My scanners register no arcane energy about her," Zordon reported.

"Then it's a miracle," Rocky murmured.

"I don't care what it is," Tommy said as he sat down on the edge of the table. He scooped Kimberly into his arms. "I'm not letting you go until I have you back." Tommy pressed his lips to hers and shut out everything else. His heart was racing. Was it his imagination or was there warmth in her lips now?

"I'm not getting any regular pulse, just these blips," Billy said with frustration.

"Tommy!" Aisha yelped as Tommy's body dropped to the table. He appeared as lifeless as Kimberly. Billy hurried over with a portable scanner.

"Life signs are barely there, but there is brain activity," Billy related.

"What is going on, Zordon?" Adam asked.

"Alpha, scan Kimberly and Tommy for mensonic waves," Zordon directed.

"What are mensonic waves?" Rocky queried.

"Mensonic waves are common in most telepathic species," Zordon began.

"Kim told me that some of her dreams seemed to be from Tommy's perspective," Billy interjected excitedly. "She was also experiencing strange pains while she was freeing me; they were almost like physical blows. Could it be possible that some kind of mental link was established between the two of them during their ordeal?"

"It would be highly unlikely but not impossible."

"Zordon, I'm picking up low level mensonic waves in Tommy," Alpha confirmed.

"What about in Kimberly?" Aisha asked eagerly.

"They're very faint and unstable," Alpha said.

"What does this mean?" Adam queried.

"Kimberly's psyche is still alive, as it were, but almost on the edge of flickering out of existence. It's up to Tommy. It is my guess that he has somehow projected himself onto the mental plane in search of Kimberly. If he can bring her back, there is a chance we can re-energize her body, but if that last spark dies on the mental plane, Kimberly will really and truly be dead."

"Alpha, let's switch the polarity on the lance and be ready. There won't be time to spare if we're to save Kim," Billy said.

***

Tommy had been cradling Kim's body in his arms. Then, he felt a sort of snap, and suddenly he was no longer in the infirmary. He was some place cold, silent, and dark. It was so quiet he could hear the beating of his heart. He looked around in confusion. Where was he? Where was Kimberly? He was supposed to be trying to save her.

". . . got to hang on . . . got to find out . . . ."

The voice was faint, but it was definitely Kim's voice.

"Kimberly!" Tommy shouted, happiness bursting within him. He had thought he would never hear her voice again.

"Tommy?"

"Where are you?"

"Help me, Tommy; I can't hold on much longer!"

"I'm coming!"

Tommy ran through the darkness toward the sound of her voice. He ran until he came upon the edge of a sheer drop; in his haste he nearly toppled over the edge. He spied Kim hanging on, just barely. With a cry of joy, he dropped to his belly and grabbed Kimberly's wrists.

"Man, Kim, I thought you were gone forever," he gasped as he pulled.

". . . so weak, Tommy . . . couldn't hang on much longer, but I had to . . . ." Kim babbled. With a great heave, Tommy hauled her back from the abyss. He sat down and smothered her in his arms as if he was afraid to let her go.

"I just couldn't let go," Kim continued, gasping for breath. "I saw Goldar coming for you, and then I wound up here. I didn't know what had happened; I couldn't let go until I knew you were all right."

"Now that you're here, I'm more than all right." He bent to kiss her, but she pulled away. "Kim?"

"Please, Tommy . . . I can't . . . ." she began with a sob. She tried to scramble to her feet and run away, but Tommy held her fast.

"I'm not letting you go ever again. I love you."

"Tommy, don't . . . ."

"Billy told me everything, Kim. I know all about the spell and about what you did. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"How can you say that?"

"Because it's true. You only did what you had to do. Please, come back with me. We can work this out together."

"I don't know," Kim said hesitantly. "After everything I did . . . ."

"Everything you did was to prevent Zedd from hurting me, but if you can't get through this, it would be like saying Zedd won after all. Because, if I lose you now, it would destroy me as surely as if Zedd had blasted me himself. Please, Kim."

"I didn't endure all that humiliation and Goldar's beating to let Zedd win," Kim declared indignantly.

"That's my girl. Come here." He wrapped his arms around Kim and pulled her close.

"I'm scared, Tommy." Her body was tense in his embrace.

"So am I. A lot of pretty intense things happened to us, but I'd rather learn to deal with them together than by myself." He looked down into her anxiety filled eyes and smiled with warmth and gentleness. He felt Kimberly start to relax. He softly touched her hair and her face. He cupped her chin and tilted her face upwards, then he tenderly kissed her cheeks and eyelids.

Kim finally gave him a diffident smile as he leaned in close to kiss her lips.

***

As suddenly as he had found himself in the darkness, Tommy was back in the infirmary. Tommy began to wonder if he had really left. Kim was still limp in his arms.

"I'm getting brainwaves on Kimberly," Alpha reported.

"Rocky, Adam, pull Tommy out of there and hold him," Billy ordered. Tommy was quickly yanked from Kim's side.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked. Then, to his amazement and horror, Billy climbed up on the exam table with the crimson lance poised over Kim's breast. "Billy, no!" He struggled with Adam and Rocky, but he was too disoriented and dazed from his unusual experience. "Don't! I found her; she was coming back!"

"It's all right, Tommy. Billy isn't hurting her," Adam said while they tussled.

"Billy and Zordon reversed the energy flow of the lance; they're putting back what the lance stole," Rocky added. "He has to put the lance back into her the way it was in Zedd's palace."

"She's not in any pain, Tommy," Adam hastened to say. Tommy forced himself to calm down. Kim was still laying on the bed unmoving; her features were as composed as they had been when the lance first pierced her breast. If any thing, Billy looked to be the one in pain. He had his eyes closed, and his expression was a mixture of intense concentration and concern. Tommy observed that the crimson color of the lance was being leeched out the longer the energy was in contact with Kim.

"Give me some good news, Alpha," Billy called out.

"I'm getting a weak, erratic pulse," Alpha said.

"Let me know when she's stabilized and close to being normal; not all the energy stored in the lance belonged to Kim."

"Goldar hit me with it a couple of times; Kim can have my share," Tommy offered. "It looks like this is killing Billy."

"Billy wouldn't let anyone else do this," Aisha informed him softly. "It's pretty risky."

"I should be doing this," Tommy said.

"You had the harder task in finding Kim and pulling her back; if you hadn't succeeded, there would have been nothing any of us could have done," Aisha reminded him.

The process continued for several agonizing minutes. At last, Kim began to stir. She gasped, and her body arched up along the shaft. Her hands reached up as if to grasp the pole.

"Pull out, Billy," Tommy shouted. Billy removed the energy shaft and hopped off the table. Tommy quickly replaced him.

"Tommy?" Kim murmured weakly.

"I'm right here, Beautiful," he said as he hugged her. Around them, the infirmary was filled with happy cheers.

***

"Are you ready?" Tommy queried. He held Kimberly in his arms. She nodded against his chest but didn't say anything. She hadn't said much since being revived. She couldn't make herself look anyone in the eye, especially Tommy or Billy. The others were not overly concerned; she had just undergone an overwhelming experience. They knew Kim needed time to recover.

Zordon had determined that as Kimberly was dying, she was so concerned about Tommy that she refused to let go fully--as symbolized by the sheer cliff face she clung to. Thanks to the minor telepathic link Zedd's magic inadvertently created, Tommy was able to find her on the psychic plane (if you will) and bring her back. As the two were not proper telepaths, their minds were only accessible to each other only under periods of intense emotion. Zordon felt confident that the link would fade in time.

Tommy and Kim were preparing to teleport back home. Billy and Aisha were morphed and ready to accompany them. Tommy, Billy and Zordon had managed to concoct a plausible tale to tell their parents. While the preparations were being made, Tommy remained close to Kimberly, holding her hand or just somehow maintaining physical contact as if he was afraid to let her go. Kim wasn't sure she liked the attention or not, but she was too afraid to let him go as if she might lose her life line.

"I called your folks, Tommy," Billy said. "I asked them to meet us at Kim's house. I told them that we finally had something to report."

"Great! Let's go, guys," Tommy replied. The Command Center faded from view, and a moment later the four of them reappeared in the Harts' living room. Their sudden appearance took Kim's mother by surprise, even though she had been forewarned. For a minute no one spoke; no one moved. The quartet presented quite a spectacle with two colorfully costumed superheroes, Tommy dressed in the remains of his tuxedo trousers, and Kim wearing an oversized lab coat, clinging to Tommy like a frightened child. The moment quickly passed, and Tommy and Kimberly were mobbed by their deliriously happy parents. Tommy tried to set Kim down so her parents could hug her, but Kim clung to him even tighter, emitting a frightened whimper, to the consternation of Billy, Tommy, and Kim's parents.

"Why don't you take Kimberly to her room," Billy suggested. "I'll explain things to your folks."

"All right, and thanks." Tommy clasped Billy's hand for a moment then left Billy to dispatch his unenviable task.

"Do you think our folks will buy Billy's story?" Kim murmured as Tommy carried her down the hallway.

"Sure, why not?"

"It's going to sound too weird for them to believe."

"He's only telling them a watered down version of the truth. We were captured to be used as bait; you found a way to get free and get word to the Rangers, then they came and rescued us after fighting some of Zedd's monsters. He's not going to go into explicit detail; there's no point in upsetting our folks further." Tommy entered Kim's room and set her down on her bed. He tucked her under the covers, then he sat back and studied her. She still looked really pale, and there was an uncomfortable distance in her eyes. "Are you going to be all right for now?"

"I don't know. I think I just need a little time to sort things out," she said dully.

"Whenever you're ready, we'll talk. All right?"

"All right."

"Now get some sleep. You've earned a decent night's rest." Tommy kissed her on the forehead. "I'll check on you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Tommy.

CHAPTER X

"Hey, Tommy, it's good to see you. You had us all pretty worried," Ernie called out as Tommy entered the youth center.

"Believe me, I am glad to be back," Tommy replied. He spotted Billy at the far end of the counter and joined him.

"What did Mrs. Hart have to say?" Billy queried.

"Kim still refuses to see anyone; she won't even come out of her room," Tommy answered.

It was Monday, and Tommy's return to school and the news that Kimberly was at home recuperating lifted the dark cloud that seemed to have settled over Angel Grove High. Tommy had tried to visit Kimberly on Sunday as he had promised, but she wouldn't see him. He called Monday morning, but Kim's mother told him that Kim didn't want to talk to him.

"I don't like this, Billy; how can I help her if she won't talk to me?" Tommy asked morosely.

"Her withdrawal concerns me also," Billy agreed. He was beginning to wonder if they had done Kim any favors by recovering her. He found it difficult to accept that she might really have preferred death; she had always been a scrapper. Billy shook his head sadly and took a sip of his Smoothie. As he looked up, he spotted trouble coming through the doorway. "Oh, no. Not them."

"Bulk and Skull?" Tommy asked, cringing.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to make the Rangers' involvement common knowledge," Billy sighed.

"The entire student body saw us get snatched by the putties; putties and Rangers naturally go together." Tommy waited until he was sure Bulk and Skull were behind him, then he turned around. Bulk was halted in mid-tap with his mouth open. "Yes?"

"We want to ask you some questions about the Power Rangers," Bulk began. Tommy merely sighed tiredly.

"Don't you guys ever give up? What can I tell you other than they got me and Kim out of Lord Zedd's citadel? You guys have seen them more than I have; they've rescued you a couple of times. Didn't you learn anything from them then? Look, I've already said all I'm going to say about it; now, will you buzz off? I've got a week's worth of homework to get caught up on."

"Come on, Skull; maybe Kimberly will tell us what we want to know," Bulk groused. However, as he turned to leave, Tommy grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. He had hold of Bulk's jacket collar and glared at him.

"Don't you dare pester Kimberly about this! She's endured enough without having to deal with you two bozos. You bother her and I promise I will feed you to the next monster that shows up in Angel Grove." Bulk opened his mouth to protest, but there was a dangerous glint in Tommy's eyes and his jaw was set. It was a look Bulk had never seen in Tommy's eyes before, and for once Bulk exercised a little common sense and left the matter alone.

***

That night, the dreams began. At first they were fairly ordinary if erotic--variations on his favorite fantasies. He woke up the next morning drenched in sweat and in sticky pajamas. The next night, the visions were of Kim's erotic tortures and her dancing. However, several times during the sequences the perspective seemed to shift. It was like he was viewing the scene from Kim's point of view, and the emotions he experienced were definitely not his own. By the third day, he was unable to get the dreams out of his head even when he was awake, and these sequences left him either highly aroused or feeling sick and dirty inside. The arousing dreams were of him and Kimberly making love, but they weren't from any of the fantasies he had ever conjured. The nauseating ones involved him and Kim, but what happened amounted to rape.

After four days of trying to get to see Kimberly and four days of have been driven to distraction with dreams, Tommy finally figured out what was going on. The answer came from yet another sequence of dreams, and he found these even more disturbing than the ones of him abusing Kim. They were of the final fight with Goldar. As he watched Kim stand against Goldar, Tommy re-experienced his feelings of anger, helplessness, and grief. At other times, he was Kimberly. He found her emotions a puzzling mixture: remorse, guilt, anger, determination, and triumph. Tommy was chilled by the sense of peace Kim felt as the lance pierced her chest . . . to feel her life ebbing away . . . only peace, no pain--until Goldar lumbered up behind him. He had awakened at that point shouting his own name. Remembering what Billy had told him, Tommy realized that these were Kimberly's dreams. Somehow, she was projecting her dreams to him through their tenuous bond. Tommy knew he had to see Kim in spite of her refusals. He planned to go to the Harts' house after school; however, he received a call from Mrs. Hart asking him to come by.

"Tommy, please, you must tell me what happened to you and Kim while you were this Zedd's prisoners," Mrs. Hart said as soon as Tommy arrived. She ushered him into the kitchen and gave him a glass of ice tea. "I need to know. Kim hasn't left her room since you two were brought home. She refuses to eat. She hardly sleeps at all, and when she does, she's troubled by terrible dreams."

"I know; I've been having trouble with dreams too," Tommy replied, almost inserting a "her" before "dreams" in his sentence. He hesitated; he knew they were probably going to have to tell Kimberly's mom something, especially with Kim's withdrawal, but how much should he tell her?

"I want to help her, but I don't know what to do," Mrs. Hart continued. "For instance, I've checked on her a few times and found her talking out loud in her sleep; the things she's said and done . . . ." To Tommy's amazement, Mrs. Hart appeared to be blushing. After a lengthy pause she asked, "Tommy, did you and Kimberly have sex while you were Zedd's prisoners?" Tommy felt himself blushing and took refuge in drinking his tea.

"I know it's none of my business," Mrs. Hart continued in a rush as if she was afraid to hear the answer. "I had told Kim that I preferred she wait until she was older but that I'd respect her decision. I trust her to act responsibly, and I know you both are responsible young adults; it's just that some of her outbursts have been very disturbing."

"No, Mrs. Hart, we didn't have sex," Tommy replied without hesitation. <<Although, it was about the only thing that didn't happen to us.>> "However, some of the things Zedd did to us were really . . . ." Tommy floundered for a word and wished he had Billy's thesaurus-like facility. "They were really intimate and embarrassing. Please don't ask me to be more specific; it's hard for me to talk about them." For a moment, Mrs. Hart considered pursuing the subject, but something in Tommy's unsteady voice and his distressed expression dissuaded her.

"Are these `things' the reason Kimberly is acting the way she is?" she asked instead.

"She definitely had a worse time than I did," Tommy answered. "I'd like to try and talk to her. I think she and I can work this out together."

Mrs. Hart led the way down the hall to Kim's room; even before they got there, Tommy knew that Kim was in the grip of a dream; he could feel her anger and desperation. She was facing Goldar again.

"Kim?" Mrs. Hart called out softly as she knocked on Kim's bedroom door. "Tommy's here, Kim." When Kim didn't answer, she opened Kim's door and let out a startled gasp. Tommy didn't need to look to know what she was seeing. In his mind's eye he watched Kim take the lance which had been meant for him. In her bed, Kim's body arched upwards sharply, and her hands wrapped around the phantom shaft. As her body relaxed, a smile slowly crossed her lips.

"I've seen this before," Mrs. Hart murmured, shivering slightly. "I don't know why, but it bothers me more than anything else I've seen her do. It's all I can do to keep from running in there and shaking her awake." She turned to look at Tommy and found him pressed up against the wall in the hallway; his face was pale, his eyes tightly closed, and his expression agonized. "Tommy, are you all right? What's wrong? What does this dream mean?"

"This is the one thing I haven't been able to come to grips with yet," Tommy murmured. He looked up and saw fear in Mrs. Hart's eyes. He didn't want to tell her what happened; he didn't want to think about it any more than he had to, but to say nothing after having Mrs. Hart see his reaction would be cruel. "During the final fight with Goldar, Kim . . . saved me. She took a blow from a lance that was meant for me. Fortunately, the Rangers were able to save her." The less said about it the better. "Just let me sit with Kim a while, all right?"

"All right. Help her, Tommy," Mrs. Hart requested, flashing her daughter a look of concern.

"I'll do my best."

"If you need anything, call."

Mrs. Hart left, and Tommy closed the door. He took the chair from Kim's desk and pulled it up to her bedside. She was tossing and turning fitfully; her moans were not of pain but of pleasure. Tommy caught her hand and kissed its palm.

"Hey, Beautiful, you have company," he whispered as he brushed the hair from her eyes. She didn't react to his touch or his words. He folded his hands over hers and rested his chin on their entwined fingers.

He didn't know if what he had in mind would work. He was going to attempt to reach Kim on the mental plane like he had when he pulled her up from the edge of the abyss. The link obviously hadn't faded as he was still picking up on her dreams. The problem was he had no idea how to get into her head. The first time it had happened, he had been kissing her. He tried kissing her now, but nothing happened. He studied Kim's face; her expression had softened with the change of her dream. He couldn't resist tracing the outline of her lips; they looked so sweet. He drew his finger over the curve of her cheek and slid it down her neck to her collar bone. Her skin was so smooth and soft, if slightly moist with perspiration.

Tommy stopped himself suddenly. He was not there to grope Kimberly while she slept, but he couldn't help himself. He had wanted to touch her so badly the whole time he had been Zedd's prisoner. He was beginning to pick up snatches of her present imaginings. Her free hand began moving over her body, and Tommy was entranced as he watched it caress her breasts, slip down her abdomen, and dip between her legs. Tommy felt his cock stirring.

"Oh Tommy!" she gasped, still in the grip of her dream. "Touch me, Tommy, please!" She emitted a squeal of delight and a giggle. Tommy gave a start of surprise and felt a familiar snap. He was once again wandering in the darkness of the realm of the mind. This time, all was not silent. He followed the moans of pleasure and found a rather unexpected sight.

Kim was laying naked on a bed--not her own, Tommy noted--and "he" was sitting next to her, dressed in white Lycra shorts and nothing else. "He" was busy caressing Kim's body from head to toe. Tommy was mesmerized by the performance. The dream-version of himself expertly knew where to touch Kim and how hard or softly to elicit her squeals of delight and moans of ecstacy. "He" was taking his time in pleasuring her, playing her body like a concert pianist. Kim's sighs were music to his ears.

Tommy found it rather kinky watching himself as "he" began kissing her toes. "He" kissed, licked and sucked his way up her calf. "He" tongued the backs of her knees and proceeded up the insides of her thighs.

"Don't stop now," Kim begged as "he" neared her pussy. Tommy remembered her heat and wetness from the time he had masturbated her. He longed to be a participant in this fantasy and not merely a spectator. His doppleganger gave Kim's clit a teasing flick of the tongue and licked his way up the curve of her ass cheeks. Kim's skin glistened wetly as her lover licked his way up her spine and concluded by kissing and nibbling at the base of her neck. With a contented sigh, she rolled over to embrace him. Tommy nearly gasped out loud as "he" began kissing his way down to Kim's breasts. "He" swirled his tongue around her areola then brushed the hard, pink nipple. "He" gently nipped at it and drew it into his mouth.

All the while, Kim was writhing in ecstacy. Her body trembled with her building orgasm. She arched her back and thrust her hips forward as if seeking relief for her hot, throbbing pussy. It was all Tommy could do to keep from rushing forward and burying his face between her legs. His double worked his way back up her neck to her lips. "His" tongue darted into her mouth, and while their tongues performed their erotic dance, "his" hand slid down to her pussy and began stroking her. Kim's body stiffened at his touch. She was close; Tommy remembered the signs. The expression on her face was exactly the same as the one she wore when he got her off. Then "he" abandoned her mouth and attacked Kim's clit. She gasped, and her hips raised up off the bed. For a moment her eyes opened, and it looked to Tommy that she might have caught sight of him, but then her climax hit. Kim's body spasmed with the force of her orgasm. She bucked hard against "his" face; as the pleasure rippled through her, she grabbed "his" hair and forced "his" face deeper into her pussy. His doppleganger continued to eat her out until laughing, sobbing, and gasping, she collapsed on the bed. As his simulacrum sat up and began caressing Kimberly's quivering body, Tommy approached the bed.

"Mm!" Kim purred as she began to stir, a dreamy smile on her lips and lust in her eyes. She reached for her lover and spotted a second Tommy walking towards her. "What the . . . ?" The Tommy in bed with her faded away, but the other remained.

"That was pretty awesome," Tommy said, his smile bright and his face flushed.

"Tommy?" Kim gasped. The bed suddenly vanished, but she was still naked. She was very confused. Tommy realized she didn't know where she was or what was happening. Kim was looking around for something to put on, so Tommy offered her his shirt.

"You're really here and not part of my dream," she realized, "but how?"

"I'm in your mind, just like when I pulled you up from the cliff."

"What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"Tommy, I . . . ."

"Don't turn away, Kim." He reached and caught her arm as she tried to flee. "I want to help, and I think deep down inside you really want my help. I think that's why you've been projecting your dreams to me. We have to discuss what happened and what's happening still."

"I guess so," she agreed diffidently. Tommy concentrated, seeing if he could manipulate the environment. He succeeded in re-creating the promontory where Billy had taken him for their talk. He adjusted things slightly so he was able to dangle his feet in the water when he sat down; this way he would have an outlet for his nervous energy instead of pacing. He motioned for Kim to sit down next to him. She did so, reluctantly, leaving plenty of distance between them.

"Where do we start?" she asked nervously.

"How about at the beginning? What do you remember of those first couple of days?"

"Nothing," Kim admitted, "except for stuff from a dream I had, but I think it was your dream."

"Then why don't I tell you what happened." Tommy began relating the events as he had told them to Billy. His descriptions of the exact nature of her tortures were more in depth, but she needed to know what she had done more than Billy needed to.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Kim shouted, burying her face in her hands. "Please, don't make me remember!"

"Just because you can't remember what happened doesn't change the fact that it did," Tommy said as he gently pulled her hands away from her face. "Listen to me, Kim; those first three days you were under Zedd's spell--regardless of the nature of that spell. You were not in control of your actions; you weren't responsible."

"But I allowed Zedd to cast the spell on me!"

"So Billy told me. That was something I really wanted to ask you about. Why did you do it--all of it, I mean. Why was it so important to you not to let Zedd hurt me any more?"

"I just couldn't stand by and let him hurt you. He's done so much to you--him and Rita both. When they stole your Green Ranger Powers, I hurt so much for you. I wanted to help, but there was nothing I could do. And those two won't leave you alone! It was worth everything to me not to see you suffer at their hands." Her eyes flashed with protectiveness and determination.

"Even though you saved me from Zedd and Rita, it's destroying you to know that you caused me pain," Tommy pointed out. "You know what hurt the worst during those first three days? It wasn't what you were doing; man, it felt incredible! It was how you were doing it. You were so cold and cruel; it just ate me up inside to see you like that. That didn't come from any fantasy you might have had; that was Zedd's handiwork."

"We all have dark sides, Tommy. You should know that better than most, having had yours pulled up for all to see several times. Zedd freed my dark side; at heart, part of me is a heartless, wanton bitch," Kim remarked bitterly.

"It's not as bad as all that," Tommy said. "You told Billy that the spell magnified the darkness already inside you, right?"

"Yes."

"What happens when you use a magnifying glass? It makes things bigger, right?"

"Right."

"Your dark side couldn't be as bad as it was under Zedd's spell because Zedd's spell made it bigger than it really was." Kim still looked puzzled. "I wish I could explain this to you the way Billy explained to me," Tommy grumbled in exasperation.

"I think I see what you're getting at, but that doesn't take into account what I did after the spell wore off."

"All right, let's look at that. What's the first thing you did once you realized you were no longer under Zedd's control?"

"I visited you in your cell and gave you a blow job while you slept."

"How did you feel about that?"

"I was mortified! I shouldn't have known what to do, but I did. I shouldn't have touched you, but I couldn't help myself. I shouldn't have ...."

"Enjoyed it?" Tommy prompted. Kim's head shot up, and she stared at him with wide eyes. "You did enjoy it, didn't you? Maybe just a tiny bit, and you feel that you shouldn't have." She hung her head, ashamed. "The dancing, feeling up Billy, Adam, Rocky and Aisha, freeing Billy under the pretext of seducing him, and even though you don't consciously remember it, all the stuff you did to me on the first three days--you enjoyed it all, didn't you?"

"Yes!" Kim admitted, in tears. She glared at Tommy blackly. "There, I admitted it. I enjoyed all that stuff. Satisfied?"

"But you hated it, too. And you hate yourself for having enjoyed it," Tommy added softly. "Why? Why do you feel so guilty about it? What are you so afraid of?" At that, Kim sobbed helplessly. Tommy put his arms around her.

"Hey, it's all right. Take it easy, Kim," he said, trying to soothe her. When words of comfort didn't work, he tried a different tactic. "The graphic details have to be discussed because you can't analyze the emotions without knowing what caused them." Kim sniffled and looked up at him perplexedly.

"That sounds like a really bad imitation of Billy," she said, grinning slightly as she wiped her eyes.

"Well, he said something like that," Tommy muttered sheepishly. It did him a world of good to see that tiny grin. "We know you're upset because you liked what you were doing, and according to what you told Billy, your fantasies were the root of what you were doing, so maybe we need to examine your fantasies to see if they really are as bad as you think them."

"I couldn't tell you my fantasies!" Kim objected.

"Why not?"

"They're . . . personal."

"But you spent three days acting them out!"

"It's bad enough that I have them and that you know I do," Kim shot back, her face crimson.

"Why are you so embarrassed to admit that you've fantasized about doing kinky things with me? I have my own fantasies about you," Tommy said.

"You do?"

"Mm hm." Tommy sighed deeply, a look of longing on his face. Kim found it rather disconcerting. "Definitely. Does knowing that bother you?"

"I don't know. I'm surprised, but I'm not. Actually, I'm kind of glad; I'd always sort of hoped . . . ."

"Same here. It isn't easy being seventeen and having your hormones in an uproar, is it?" Tommy said ruefully. "I have my fantasies; you have yours, and I'll bet Billy has his too. I don't think it's possible to be a teenager without thinking about sex."

"I guess you're right," she admitted grudgingly.

"I suppose if you really don't want to tell me, you don't have to, but I have to warn you, I have seen bits and pieces of some of them."

"You have? How?"

"Well, there's the one I walked in on when I popped into your head, and I have been picking up on some of your dreams." Tommy's demeanor suddenly became serious. "There was one . . . " Tommy concentrated and called up a snippet of one of the more troubling visions Kim had projected. In it, he had Kim pinned to a table, holding her arms with one hand. With the other he stripped off her clothes. <<"Now for a taste of your own medicine....">> Tommy stopped the scenario abruptly. He looked at Kim pleadingly; for her part, she couldn't meet his eyes. "Please me tell that's not something you'd really like me to do."

"I thought you might want to get back at me for what I did to you," she admitted with difficulty. "I wouldn't blame you if you did."

"Kim, how could you think that I'd do something like that? I don't want to hurt you or humiliate you, and I'd never take you by force--as long as I was in my right mind; just as you would never have done those things to me if you had had any choice. I'm not going to punish you for what you did, and you've punished yourself enough." Tommy lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "I want you to stop torturing yourself. It isn't worth it. Promise me?"

"All right," she agreed hesitantly. She managed a brave smile. However, her expression became pensive, and she chewed at her lower lip anxiously.

"What is it?"

"You mentioned your fantasies . . . ."

"Yes?"

"What sort of things did you fantasize about?" Kim asked nervously. "Would you share one with me? I'd kind of like to know."

Kim's question took Tommy by surprise. The thought of letting her see what he had the two of them doing in the privacy of his mind brought the heat to his cheeks. The shoe was on the other foot; he understood how Kim felt when he had asked her the same thing. The whole subject of fantasies had been his idea; he was the one insisting on discussing the matter and being honest.

He couldn't back out on her request.

"Is something wrong?" Kim wondered, noting his distress.

"Not really," Tommy fibbed. "I just have to figure out which one I want to share. You see, my favorite one has sort of already come true."

"It has?"

"It was the one where you seduced me with your dancing," he said carefully, uncertain of what Kim's reaction would be.

"Really?" Kim murmured, taken aback by his admission.

"Uh huh, but the reality completely blew the fantasy away."

"Oh?" Kim didn't want to admit it, but she was curiously pleased by Tommy's statement. Even so, she had the feeling Tommy could see it because he smiled at her more warmly.

"We're in each other's minds; it's kind of hard to hide thoughts and emotions," he reminded her. "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I hope I get to see you dance like that again someday. Wow!" Kim had no words; she merely blushed.

"Let me see," Tommy continued, contemplating his options. "I have another favorite that involves dancing, a shower and a chocolate-raspberry Smoothie." Kim cocked an questioning eyebrow. Tommy laughed at her doubtful expression. "_Late Night at Ernie's_ it is!" As Tommy concentrated, the lake and the outcropping vanished to be replaced by the Youth Center.

"How are you doing all this?" Kim wondered.

"Well, I'm not really sure how all this mental link business works. What I've been doing is picturing a place in my mind then trying to think the pictures to you. Whatever it is that I'm doing seems to be working. Hey, maybe I could try and imagine that we're watching this on a movie or TV screen; we could pretend to be watching a dirty movie." Kim's scowl made him laugh. "All right, all right. Here goes."

***

Tommy's fantasy opened with him pulling his 4 x 4 into the parking lot at the Youth Center just as Ernie was leaving.

"Hey, Ernie, is Kim still here?"

"Yeah, she's finishing up her beam routine; she said she'd make sure the lights were off and the door was locked behind her when she was done," Ernie said.

"Would you mind if I waited inside for her?"

"I don't see why not; I think I can trust you two not to get into any trouble." Ernie unlocked the door to let Tommy in.

Tommy made his way into the gym area quietly; he wanted to surprise Kim. He could hear the music from her radio as he came down the hall. Kim was completely absorbed in her beam routine; even so, Tommy hung back in the doorway to watch. Kim performed a series of back layouts into her dismount. Tommy was about to applaud, but something in the way Kim stretched out as she stuck her landing caught his attention; it was the curve of her back and the way her behind filled out her black Lycra shorts.

Kim walked to the side of the beam and continued to stretch out: her legs more than shoulder width apart, her hands on the beam, and bent at the waist with her bottom thrust out nicely. As she worked her muscles, "Let's Put The X in Sex" began playing. She started a series of deep knee bends, going down and coming up on her toes and rhythmically thrusting her bottom out. Once through the song's introduction, she began dancing, strutting about sexily, leading with her hips, rolling them around, shimmying her shoulders causing her breasts to bounce enticingly. Her eyes were closed as she sashayed around the beam. During the guitar solo, she pressed herself up onto the beam, and in verse three when the drums were heaviest, she began humping the beam. Before the final the refrain, Kim tore off her racer-back top and continued gyrating her hips and running her hands over her body until the song faded out. She seemed to recover herself after that, and collecting her towel, scampered off for the showers.

Standing in the doorway, Tommy was breathing heavily and sporting an aching erection. Without realizing what he was doing, Tommy headed towards the girls' locker room. He paused for a moment at the doorway, but his desires overcame his sense of propriety, and he walked in. The layout was similar to the boy's locker room. Tommy spied Kim's discarded clothing on a bench outside the showers. He peered cautiously around the dividing wall. Kim was luxuriating under the spray, leisurely soaping up her body. Her mind was far away, but a blissful smile crossed her lips. Tommy couldn't hold back any longer. He stripped off his clothes and grabbed a towel from the laundry.

"Hey, Beautiful, want me to wash your back?" he queried, a smirk of satisfaction on his face as he casually reclined against the edge of the dividing wall.

"Tommy!" Kim yelped as she whirled around. She looked as if she was going to attempt to cover herself, but realizing that Tommy must have been there for quite a while watching her, she gave it up. She settled for putting her hands on her hips and nailing him with an indignant glare. "Just what do you think you're doing?" To Tommy's delight, she didn't tell him to leave.

"I thought I might join you," he replied as he unwrapped the towel from his hips. Kim's eyes went wide and her breath caught in her throat. "You don't mind, do you?" She numbly shook her head as he walked towards her. He didn't stop until he was standing under the spray with her. Tommy smiled as she looked him up and down and then looked again. He held his hand out for the soap that she was clutching in her hands. He turned her around and soaped up her back.

"I saw you dance; that was awesome. I didn't know you could move like that," he said as his hands slid up and down her spine. They kneaded her shoulders and dropped lower to lather up her ass. Kim emitted a startled squeak and gave a little jump, then she leaned into his soapy caresses. Her body relaxed into his, at which point Tommy reached around to massage her breasts. His cock slid along the crack of her ass. Kim's head canted back, and she moaned deep in her throat.

"What are you doing to me?" she sighed, giving herself over completely to his caresses.

"I just want to make you feel good." Tommy let one hand drift lower until his hand was on her pussy. Kim gasped but didn't move away. Tommy slipped a finger between her legs, finding her nether lips. Kim's hips rocked in time with his strokes. Meanwhile, his other hand continued to play with her breasts. His fingers pleasantly tormented her aching nipples.

"Tommy, please!" Kim moaned. Tommy bent forward and kissed the side of her neck. He felt the tremors shaking her body.

"Does that feel good?"

"Yes."

"Want to feel something even better?"

"Yes!"

Tommy quickly spun Kim around and pulled her to him. He literally lifted her off the floor as he kissed her, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth. Kim wrapped her legs around his waist to keep from slipping out of his arms. Their mouths devoured each other's while the warm water rinsed away the last of the soap. Tommy had to finally break for air; Kim was gasping for breath. He then began kissing her neck and let his lips trail down her chest. Kim leaned back, offering her breasts to him, which he eagerly accepted. He backed Kim against the wall of the shower as he licked her full mounds. Kim sighed with needy delight. Tommy began to find it difficult to support her. Giving Kim another breath-stopping kiss, he scooped her into his arms and carried her out of the shower.

"Tommy, what are you doing?" she protested as Tommy continued to steal kisses. He carried her up to the snack bar and laid her out on the counter. The youth center was now dark save for the neon lights behind the counter. Kim's body fairly glowed in the warm red and orange lights.

"Where better to have a snack than at the snack bar," he teased, his eyes gleaming mischievously. Kim giggled as Tommy stretched her out, allowing her legs to hang over the edge. He leaned himself over her, and starting with her forehead, kissed his was down her body, pausing for a prolonged suckle at her breasts. His mouth wandered lower and lower. His hands parted her thighs. Tommy seated himself on one of the barstools, lifted Kim's hips and buried his face in her snatch.

As his tongue probed her pussy, Kim began moaning uncontrollably. She writhed all over the counter; her hips bucked harder against Tommy's face. When her hands weren't bracing herself against the edge of the counter, they were playing with her nipples.

"Yes!" she gasped as her back began to arch. "Eat me, Tommy!" She grabbed his hair and forced his head deeper between her legs. Her muscles were pulling taut. As Tommy glanced up from the tongue job he was giving her clit, he observed that her eyes were closed, and an expression of joy akin to the one she wore while she was dancing filled her face. Her hips were thrusting more sharply. Her muscles trembled. Her breath was coming out in heavy pants.

Tommy concentrated on swirling his tongue around the hardened knob of her clit. His tongue lapped at the warm juices which trickled out of her. He licked slowly, savoring every drop. Above him, Kim was going wild. Her legs closed about his head; her hips raised off the counter further. Tommy thrust his tongue deeper into her pussy. While his tongue danced around her clit, he slipped a finger into her hole. That sent Kim over the edge; her orgasm hit hard, sending her into spasms as she screamed with ecstasy. Kim's body bounced around the counter hard as she kept coming and coming. Tommy kept his mouth glued to her pussy, not wanting to miss a drop of her sweet-tart juice. Finally, the climax ebbed, and Kim collapsed against the snack bar exhaustedly, releasing Tommy. Her body continued to tremble. Tommy wiped the come from his chin and licked his fingers clean as he observed Kim's quivering body.

"Ohmigod," Kim groaned weakly.

"You were incredible." Tommy leaned over her once again and kissed her. "You taste pretty good too. I'm not sure which I like better: you or a chocolate-raspberry Smoothie," he teased.

"Tommy!" Kim moaned in protest.

"Hey, I know. Don't move," he instructed her. He slipped behind the bar and disappeared into the kitchen. Kim's hands skimmed down her body reminiscent of Tommy's hands on her body, and she turned her head to see if she could see what Tommy was doing. "Ah ha! We're in luck!" Tommy emerged moments later with a filled glass.

"What's that?" Kim asked warily.

"Left over chocolate-raspberry Smoothie," Tommy declared.

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I thought I might try combining my two favorite treats." Tommy took a sip of the thick, shake-like concoction, liberally coating his lips with the drink, then he kissed Kimberly, allowing her to lick the foam from his lips.

"Not bad," she murmured. Tommy's next move took her completely by surprise. He poured the drink onto one of her breasts; the frigid beverage caused her nipple to harden instantly. "That's cold!" However, Kim didn't have long to suffer from the cold; Tommy's warm wet tongue eagerly lapped up every thick drop. Kim squealed again as Tommy poured the Smoothie onto her other breast; once again he licked it clean. The alternating cold and warmth plus the sensation of Tommy's broad tongue wrapped around her tits had Kim beginning to writhe once again. Tommy trickled the shake down her breast bone and abdomen, filling her bellybutton, all of which he eagerly consumed. Kim was whimpering in anticipation as he held the cup over her pussy, and she gasped and sat up as the thick drink dribbled onto her hot, swollen clit. Tommy eagerly ate his dessert until Kim came a second time.

"Ugh," Kim complained as she recovered from her orgasm. "I'm all sticky! I need another shower."

"I'll wash your back again," Tommy offered.

***

The fantasy faded. Tommy glanced over at Kimberly. Her eyes were glazed, and she was breathing rapidly. He could see her nipples pushing against the fabric of her shirt. Her cheeks blazed with scarlet. He wasn't unaffected either; his cock throbbed with his appreciation of the scenario he had created.

"What did you think?" he asked. He was anxious to hear her opinion. He wanted her to have enjoyed it as much as he had.

"That was something else," she managed, swallowing hard. Her mouth was unusually dry. "Do I really look like that when I dance? I look so into it, so . . . sexy."

"I know. I love seeing that look on your face; I have to admit, the details are a lot more defined since I saw you dance in Zedd's citadel," Tommy said. "The same goes for what you look like when you come. I never imagined you could ever look so good. You're not too embarrassed, are you?"

"Maybe a little," Kim replied. She hesitated then plunged on, "but it did look like fun." Tommy was very relieved.

"Since I showed you one of my fantasies, will you show me the one you thought so terrible?" For a moment, Tommy thought she might refuse. He gripped her hand to reassure her and said nothing.

"It's not as detailed as yours--I mean with a set up and all that," she said self-consciously.

"It doesn't have to be. Just show it to me the way you see it in your mind," Tommy urged her. Kim took a deep breath and tried to form the images as Tommy told her to. She was nervous, and the picture wavered, losing resolution around the edges. "Relax, Kim. Let your mind drift like you would if you were sitting in the park daydreaming."

***

Kim's fantasy came into focus. She was in a bedroom, waiting. She was wearing a satin kimono-style robe as she paced back and forth nervously. Then she forced herself to sit down on the bed. Suddenly a streak of white light appeared out of nowhere, and Tommy, dressed as the White Ranger, materialized at the foot of the bed.

"Kimberly, what's going on?" Tommy queried. "When you contacted me, you said it was urgent."

"It is," she answered, but she sounded nervous.

"Then why aren't you morphed?"

"It's not that kind of emergency, Tommy." Tommy cocked his head in puzzlement. Kim sat up and reached for the buckles on his helmet. She smiled at his bewildered expression as she removed his helmet.

"What sort of emergency is it?" Kim didn't answer. She leaned closer and kissed him. She had wanted it to be a soft kiss but could hold back no longer. She kissed him passionately, her need burning through. She held Tommy's chin as her tongue probed the depths of his mouth. However, she couldn't seem to get enough of him and had to come up for air.

"Kim?" Tommy gasped. Kim's robe slid off one shoulder, revealing a creamy white shoulder and the swell of her breasts, as she reached up for his ponytail. She swiftly freed his long brown locks.

"Don't say anything," she murmured, laying a finger against his lips. "This is something I've wanted to do for a long, long time." She kissed him a second time, more gently. She purred deep in her throat as she pressed herself up against him. "First things first; this uniform has to go."

"I'll power down," Tommy offered.

"No, let me take care of it in my own way." Kim slipped off the bed and walked around behind Tommy, grazing her hands over the white Spandex of his uniform. She was delighted to see the noticeable bulge in front. Kim reached up to unfasten his breast- plate; Tommy had to help her remove it. She reached around and unbuckled his swordbelt. Then off came the gauntlets and gloves.

Kim unzipped the back of his uniform to his waist, then she slowly peeled it down his body, uncovering his naked chest. She stood behind him running her fingers over his smooth, tanned chest. Her fingers played along the ripples of his muscles, exploring the contours and ridges. She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against his back. When Tommy groaned, she heard it rumble up from deep within his chest. Merely feeling his flesh under her fingers was intoxicating, and she planted a trail of tiny kisses down his spine.

The boots had to go next. Kim knelt by Tommy's feet and pulled them off. She slowly slid herself up the outside of his muscular legs. Her hands caressed his ass through the form-fitting fabric. The shudder which ran down his spine at her touch caused her breasts to swell with excitement.

"Do you know how long I've dreamed of seeing you naked?" she queried, her voice thick with emotion. Kim paused, her hands clutching the folds of his uniform that hung about his waist; her moment of indecision was caused by her being unable to make up her mind whether she wanted to take him from the front or the rear, so to speak. Finally she settled for behind (after all, she had done everything else from the rear). She remained kneeling on the floor, her face level with his ass and oh-so-slowly skinned the rest of his uniform down around his ankles.

"You have an incredible ass," she sighed longingly. Her hands wandered all over the rounded globes of his bottom. She delighted in playing with the tiny, silky hairs which covered his ass. She pressed her cheek to his, a lusty smile lighting her face. She placed a tentative kiss on one cheek and continued to run her hands over his behind. Kim wanted to stay and play longer, but she had other areas to explore. She slipped around and stood before Tommy. Keeping her eyes on Tommy's face, she slowly eased herself down the length of his body. She watched as his eyelids fluttered closed, his lashes long and dark against his tanned face. His head tipped back and he moaned as the satin of her robe caressed him. Kim's eyes were closed, too, until she felt the tip of his cock brush her face.

When she opened her eyes, they went wide with surprise and appreciation. His cock stood tall and proud, commanding her attention. She reached out tentatively to touch it. The moment her hand touched his smooth, hard flesh, it was like the flood gates had been thrown open. Kim's hands wandered all over the shaft and down to his balls. Her lips brushed the head, and her tongue darted out to take a taste. Tommy groaned, and another tremor shot through his body. As Kim bent to take another taste, he guided her head to his crotch.

Kim closed her lips around his cock and made his rod slowly disappear into the depth of her mouth. Tommy's audibilization of his pleasure sent a shiver through Kim as she endeavored to take him all in; however, there was just too much. Still, she bathed his cock with her tongue, swirling it around, licking him from tip to root, and sucking as if she would draw his very being into herself. She felt his cock swell in her mouth; it seemed impossible that it could get any bigger. Tommy's knees began to buckle; his whimpers became more pronounced. Kim wasn't ready for him to come yet. With great effort, she pushed herself away.

"Don't stop," Tommy pleaded. He reached out a hand to touch her breast, but he held back, not certain if he should. Kim guided his hand the rest of the way, allowing him to caress her through the robe. It was such a delightful sensation that she released a moan of her own.

"Don't worry; I'll finish what I started. There are lots of things I want to do with you before I make you come," she assured him. She caught his hands in hers and guided him onto the bed. "Just lay down and enjoy."

Kim had him lay out on his stomach. She sat back for several minutes just admiring the view, then she straddled his hips. The first thing she reached for was his hair.

"I've been dying to play with your hair," she murmured as she buried her face in it. "It's so sexy!" She allowed her fingers to romp through his long brown locks, combing it out, twirling it around, nuzzling her face in it. Tommy demonstrated his appreciation of her attention with a deep sigh. Kim reached for a hairbrush, and with long, slow strokes ran it through his hair. Kim played with his hair until she felt her nipples grazing the satin of her gown and the moisture between her legs. She could have easily gotten off just playing with his hair. She forced herself to put the brush away, and after indulging herself by burying her face in his tresses once again, she moved on to something new.

Her hands wandered all over his back and shoulders and down his arms. Her lips and tongue traced the same route. Kim pulled her robe off her shoulders so that her breasts came in contact with him as she worked his upper body over. Inspired by Tommy's long hair, she shook hers down and proceeded to massage his back with her hair, which Tommy seemed to enjoy immensely. Then Kim ran her tongue down his spine; she slid herself down over his behind and continued licking her way down to "v" at the base of his tailbone. The globes of his ass rippled as his muscles clenched and unclenched. Kim drew her tongue down the crack of his behind, and Tommy nearly jumped off the bed. She gently stroked her finger along the division between his buttocks, watching as his ass wiggled. She had to stop herself once again lest she become too engrossed in any one activity. She reached over to the night stand and picked up a bottle of baby oil.

Tommy yelped with surprise as Kim slowly trickled the cool oil down his back. She worked the slippery substance into his back with penetrating strokes. Her hands smoothed the oil into his shoulders and arms. Kim rubbed long and hard, liberally reapplying the lubricant. It was difficult to keep from losing herself in the feel of his satiny smooth skin and powerful muscles under her hands. She all but purred as she pressed herself against his back, coating her breasts with the baby oil.

Next, she poured the oil between the cheeks of his ass and massaged it in. With her finger, she made sure to probe the deepest reaches of his crack. Tommy's body gave a telling jerk as her finger explored the rim of his hole. The oil allowed her to slip her fingertip in, causing him to gasp at the sensation which ripped through his body. She slowly rotated her finger around but did not insert it any further. Already Tommy's hips were snapping against the mattress. She abandoned her probings to slide her finger down the length of his ass until she tickled the underside of his balls.

Before oiling up Tommy's legs, Kim pressed her face to his leg and ran her cheek down from the swell of his bottom, over the thigh, to the base of his calf. Then, she ran her tongue back up his leg, pausing to tickle the back of his knee; she repeated the procedure with his other leg. Then came the oil.

Kim sat back once Tommy was oiled from head to toe and examined her handiwork. His skin glistened warmly with the oily sheen. She had brushed his hair until it shown and lay softly against his shoulders. It was a sight that took her breath away.

"You look good enough to eat," she purred softly in his ear. She flicked her tongue over the contour of his ear. "Roll over."

Tommy obeyed, and Kim straddled his hips once again; this time his cock was nestled between the crack of her ass, and when she tilted her hips forward, it slipped up between the lips of her pussy. Kim rocked her hips back and forth experimentally, revelling in the current that went shooting through her body. Tommy smiled up at her and gazed at her through heavy eyelids. He reached up to undo the belt on her kimono. She didn't stop him. She let him slide the robe off her completely.

"Wow," was all Tommy said, bringing a pleased blush to Kim's cheeks. She leaned over him, staring directly into his eyes. Her fingers found his hair again (she just couldn't leave it alone) as her lips found his. This time, she kissed him slowly, savoring his mouth. She traced the outline of his lips with her tongue. As her tongue slid into his mouth, Tommy pulled her closer; their kiss became harder and hotter. Kim's mouth wandered down from his, finding his sensitive neck. She licked and nibbled her way down to his collar bone; she swirled her tongue in the hollow of his throat then kissed her way back up the other side. She chewed on his earlobe and licked the outer edge of his ear. Tommy tossed his head from side to side; his responses were beginning to chip away at her restraint.

Kim drew her fingers down his chest, leaving faint red trails from her fingernails. She spent several minutes tracing the outline of his abdominal muscles. Next she took his arms and placed them up over his head. She slid her hands down the insides of his arms and toyed with the hair under his arms.

"You seem to have this thing for hair," Tommy teased her. "Too bad I don't have any on my chest."

"Oh, but I like your chest bare," she murmured. "It's perfect just the way it is." Her hands glided down to his belly button, then she kissed her way up in a line from his navel to his sternum. Her mouth explored his right pectoral, licking and kissing her way across his flesh. She danced her tongue around his areola and flicked the tiny nub of his nipples. Tommy sucked in a deep breath.

"You like to have your tits sucked as much as I do," Kim giggled as she continued her sweet assault with greater abandon. She nibbled at the right side for several minutes longer while her fingers played with the left, then she switched sides. Tommy's body was rocking beneath hers; tiny thrusts of his hips sent his cock sliding against her pussy. Kim's mounting excitement had her drenched with her own juices which were slowly coating Tommy's cock. When she was done with the tongue bath, she reached for the oil and rubbed him down until his chest gleamed as his backside had.

"Mm," she sighed, looking him over hungrily. She rubbed her oil slick hands down her chest, to Tommy's obvious gratification. His moans were like a drug, inflaming her senses and her body. Her nipples were as hard as the cock trapped between her pussy lips. She tweaked them, then rolled them around with her palms. Tommy continued to groan, an expression of bliss lighting his face. Kim let her hand wander down to her pussy, and she started rubbing her clit. Tommy's body went rigid beneath her. Kim laughed playfully as she unfurled her arms and reached up to play with her own hair. She was feeling dangerously carefree.

"We'll explore this a little more later," she said breathlessly. "Right now, there's a nice, hard cock here I've been dying to taste." When she raised up from Tommy's cock, she noticed that it was sticky with her own fluids. She glanced up at Tommy with a devilish gleam in her eyes. "You know, I've never been brave enough to see what I taste like; I've always kind of wondered."

"Oh man!" Tommy gasped as Kim all but swallowed his cock. She literally licked him clean. His hands dug deeper into the covers as he fought not to lose his load. When Kim sat back, she slowly licked her lips.

"Interesting," she murmured. Tommy shook his head in disbelief. "Would you like a taste?" That received an enthusiastic nod. With a sly grin, Kim slid a finger into her pussy, generously coating it with her come, then she offered her finger to Tommy, who eagerly sucked it into his mouth. "May I have my finger back? I'm going to need it."

Kim resumed the blow job she had begun when she first stripped Tommy. She knelt between his legs and went down on his cock, taking it as deep in her throat as she could. Where her lips and tongue could not reach, her hands serviced with firm, gentle strokes. Her tongue licked the whole of his organ, paying special attention to a sensitive spot just beneath the head. As she bobbed her head up and down, her hair tickled Tommy's balls, much to his enjoyment. Kim detected a tightening throughout Tommy's body which was her signal to seriously start sucking. She applied some suction, hollowing out her mouth and surrounding his cock with air. She tried not to touch him with teeth or tongue. Tommy started going crazy; he couldn't keep still. Kim had to fight a smile or she would have lost the effect she had created. With one hand, she held his cock in place; with the other, she caressed his balls, finding a sensitive spot to rub. Her fingers continued lower between his legs and up between his ass cheeks, which were slick with sweat and baby oil. She resumed her head bobs as her finger slid up and down his crack in perfect rhythm. Tommy's groans were becoming more intense. The tightening continue in his muscles; Kim could feel his cock swelling in her mouth. Tommy was trying to gasp out something but couldn't form the words. He was on the verge. Kim's mouth didn't let up, nor did her finger. She found his hole and slid her fingertip inside.

Tommy's cock erupted, and he came with a shout, shooting come down Kim's throat. She gulped at it, trying to swallow it all. Some slipped out and oozed down his cock. Kim licked it up eagerly. Tommy's body rocked with the intensity of his orgasm, leaving him quivering in its wake.

***

Kim's fantasy abruptly faded as Tommy grabbed her and kissed her, a move which took her completely by surprise.

"Tommy?" she gasped when he let her go.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "That was just too powerful. I think I just creamed my jeans."

"Really? Wow!"

"That was an awesome fantasy. I'm really glad you shared it with me." She smiled diffidently and curled up next him. "Do you still think your fantasy was so bad?"

"I guess not; it was no kinkier than having you lick a Smoothie off me," she admitted.

"See, your fantasy wasn't evil; only the purpose Zedd put it to was," Tommy said reassuringly.

"I suppose. Another thing that bothers me is how uninhibited I get when I'm aroused. I've always tried to keep it in because I never know what I might do, but I really liked letting go. That's going to take some getting used to."

"You won't have any complaints from me."

"Do you think we'll ever do stuff like we did our fantasies again--I mean, for real?" Kim asked after a thoughtful pause.

"Do you want to?"

"I know I liked doing those things to you, and I really wanted you to touch me when I started coming on to you after I finished dancing. So, I'd have to say yes; what about you?"

"I'd love to make your fantasy--or mine--come true someday," Tommy said. "We will one of these days when we're more ready for it. For now, we can step back and see how things go. We don't have to do anything we don't want to, okay?"

"Okay. And Tommy, thanks for everything."

"Any time, Beautiful." He gave her a hug and kissed her on the top of the head. "You know, I just realized something. In our fantasies, neither one of us fantasized about going all the way."

"Maybe that means we both feel we're not ready for it yet."

"There'll be plenty of time for that later, too," Tommy assured her. "Are you going to be okay now?"

"I think so."

"Good. Now I have to figure out how to get out of your head; I'm not real sure how I got in here in the first place."

"Wait a second, Tommy. I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure."

"Billy told you about how I seduced him while trying to free him, right? You're not angry about that, are you?"

"No, you did what you thought you had to. Billy told me that Zedd was watching you at the time and that you had to keep up the charade."

"You're not angry even though I said I enjoyed it?"

"No. Billy was really worried that I might be angry, too."

"Why would he be concerned? It wasn't his fault I did what I did to him."

"I don't think he intended to tell me, but I think he felt guilty because you really blew his mind."

"Really?" Tommy caught the inflection in Kim's tone and noted a glimmer of pride in her eyes. He smiled broadly at that; when she caught his glance, she blushed. "You can't help being so sexy, and he can't help being a seventeen year old with an overdose of hormones. Can I ask you something? Why Billy?"

"I don't know," Kim murmured self-consciously. "Maybe because I've known him for so long. I do know that I couldn't have done what I did to Adam or Rocky. Do the others know that I wasn't under the spell when I `inspected' the prisoners?"

"No. Billy and I talked about it, and we felt that there was no need to tell them. Billy told me that Aisha woke up towards the tail end of your 'performance,' but he explained the necessity for it. She understands."

"It's going to be hard to face them for a little while, especially Billy."

"They're your friends. They know that Zedd had you over a barrel."

"I suppose you're right."

"I should probably warn you about Bulk and Skull; since it's known that we were rescued by the Rangers, they are determined to interrogate us. I warned them that they'd better not give you any trouble."

"Will they never learn?" Kim asked with a sigh. Then, a grin spread across her face, and a spark flashed in her eyes. She began to giggle.

"What is it?" Tommy queried, his heart skipping a beat. It was good to see a smile on her face.

"I hope they do bug me about the Rangers; I know exactly what I'll tell them."

"Oh? What's that?"

"I'll tell them that the White Ranger has the most incredibly sexy ass. Can you see them going around checking out the butt of every guy in Angel Grove High?" Kim burst out in peals of laughter.

"That's cold, Kim," Tommy replied, laughing also. Their merriment was sufficient to disrupt their link. The two soon found themselves back in their own bodies.

"Ugh!" Tommy complained as he came to. His muscles were cramped, his hair was plastered down with sweat, and his pants were soaked with his come. Kim was equally sweaty and had soiled underwear. They both looked at each other and grinned ruefully.

"How are you feeling?" Tommy queried.

"A lot better. Thanks for everything, Tommy." Tommy leaned forward and kissed her.

"How can you stand to touch me? I need a shower," Kim grimaced.

"So do I. Say, I could always wash your back," he offered. Kim gave him a look that said "don't be stupid." Tommy laughed it off then looked down helplessly at his stained pants. "How am I going to explain this to your mother?"

"I think I know a way," Kim said with a mischievous grin that totally escaped Tommy.

"Great! What will you . . . hey!"

Kimberly took the glass of water that had been sitting on her nightstand and dumped it in Tommy's lap. He yelped and recoiled, overbalancing and falling out of the chair. Kim slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggle.

"Mom!" she called out. "Can you bring a towel?"

"Kimberly . . . ?" Mrs. Hart began as she hurried in. Her eyes began to fill with tears as she saw her daughter full of life once again. Tommy was busy picking himself up off the floor; his expression was one of embarrassment and exasperation.

"I accidently knocked my glass over--right in Tommy's lap," Kim explained.

"You what . . . oh, Tommy, you're soaked," Mrs. Hart exclaimed. "I'll go find you something to put on, and I'll throw those pants in the dryer for you."

"Thanks, Mrs. Hart."

"Mom, what's that you're cooking?" Kim asked eagerly as she inhaled deeply. "It smells wonderful, and I'm starving. Can Tommy stay for dinner?"

"Of course he can, honey." Mrs. Hart smiled tearfully. "Thank you, Tommy."

"It was my pleasure, Mrs. Hart."

***

"Where's Tommy?" Adam whispered to Billy. Class was about to start, and Tommy was no where to be seen.

"I'm getting kind of worried, guys," Aisha added.

"The last time I saw him was last period yesterday," Rocky said. "He never showed at the youth center for our work out. Have you heard anything, Billy?"

"All right, class; let's get started," Miss Applebee said as she turned away from the chalkboard. Just then the classroom door opened. It was Tommy.

"You're late, Tommy," Miss Applebee began.

"I know. I'm sorry. Mr. Caplan gave me a pass," he said. He handed her the paper from the principal; however, when he went to take his seat, he looked around in confusion.

"Lose something?" Bulk sneered.

"That's enough, Bulk," Miss Applebee warned.

"Hang on a sec." Tommy popped his head out the door for a moment then stepped out of the room. He returned a moment later, holding the door open. In walked Kimberly, clutching her books tightly and chewing her lower lip nervously.

"Hi, guys," she said awkwardly.

"Kimberly!" Billy exclaimed with genuine relief. In an instant he and the other three were out of their seats and trying to hug her all at once.

"We're glad you're back," Billy said, hugging her tightly.

"I'm glad to be back."

***

In his lunar palace, Lord Zedd, Master of Evil and would-be emperor of the universe, watched their reunion with nausea.

"I can't believe this! The White Ranger's spirit was crushed! The Pink Ranger was dead! How did Goldar manage to screw things up this time?" he fumed. He let his ire simmer until his red aura subsided. His meddlesome minions had thought it best to stay out of his way in the wake of the recent fiasco. "Some day, Power Brats, I promise you, I will have my victory!

"Ah well, at least things weren't a total loss," he hissed in a fashion his underlings would have found peculiar. He stared at the crystal globe he held in his hand. Pictures flickered within the orb, pictures of Tommy and Kimberly. Zedd watched Kim's dance with interest and pleasure.

"Zeddy, I'm home!"

Zedd cringed as his wife's strident voice echoed throughout his throne room.

"Blast that woman!" he rumbled as he tucked the globe away. This was an episode he wasn't quite ready to share with her. A chill that had nothing to do with cold raced down his spine. He didn't want to give Rita any ideas.

THE END

Back to Story Page

Back to Main Page