Disclaimer: The usual stuff. Most, if not all, of the characters in this story are mine and are the rightful properties of Saban/Toei Entertainment. Blah, blah, blah, -blah-blah-blah…
She stared out of the vast terrain as the sun began to set.
“Oh, where is he?” and Katherine Hillard paced back and forth on the front porch as she had been for hours. Tommy had been gone the whole night and day.
She constantly worried about him. He agreed to move in with Kate on her grandparents’ cabin on the infamous Australian Outback. This was to see if they could live with each other before they made any commitments. Though there was not much need for stockcar racing in Australia, Tommy found another version of speed to occupy him: Desert Derbies. Racing across the treacherous landscapes made this sport more dangerous, if not equally, as stock car driving. Kat always felt that though Tommy had given up being a Ranger, as she and the others did two years ago. Tommy still yearned for the excitement, the danger, and the thrill that a Power Ranger goes through on a daily basis. Tommy was always constantly testing himself, she remember the call she got from Frank, the engineer who works with Tommy on the cars, saying that he was taking unnecessary risks, like he thought he was invulnerable. Nothing serious had happened to him yet other than a twisted ankle from a small wreck, but Katherine worried that it would only fuel Tommy’s ‘invulnerability’. However, that was nothing compared to the day of the invasion.
Tommy and Kat were in Sydney that day, gift shopping for one another when the attack began. Tommy immediately shoved himself and Katherine into a corner. Because their assailants were not human, Tommy, on pure instinct assumed a familiar stance and almost shouted out one the morphing commands.
Kat touched him on his shoulder and brought him back to reality. He was not a Power Ranger… anymore.
“Please, oh please come home.” She fretted. “I hope he hasn’t done something foolish.”
Her thoughts drifted back to day of the invasion again. Without Powers, without weapons, Tommy Oliver was still Tommy Oliver, and that would have to be enough. Kat called out, pleading with Tommy not to go, but of course, Tommy was deaf to her pleas. At first, Kat was fearful for him that he may finally be in over his head; but seeing him like this again, as he fought harder than he had ever fought before. Probably, because he doing with only his own skill, as he had done long ago before the powers. Kat remembered why she loved him and was again by his side: protecting him, as she knew she would do everything to protect her. But that was weeks ago now…
Two days ago, Katherine and Tommy watched a news report of the Power Rangers giving a tribute to the hero of the universe. She gasped, but did not exhale for a seemingly long time when the newscaster said the name: Zordon of Eltar. Needless to say, this lead to a discussion that surprisingly got heated when Kat suggested that they fly a plane back to Angel Grove.
Tommy made an excuse about finances, something Kat always worried about whenever Tommy bought new trinkets for his cars that he would only wreck and have to buy all over again. The argument echoed in her mind ceaselessly.
“Oh man, I wish we could Katherine, but… we just can’t afford a trip that expensive right now.” Tommy said regretfully.
“Well why not?” Kat pressed.
“… Well… because… we just can’t, that’s why.”
“Then I’ll pay for it. I have got some money saved up for a rainy day…”
“Blast it Kat! Why bother? Why can’t we just sit at home and watch from here? I’m sure it’ll be on TV!
“Tommy! This is our friend! We should be there!” Kat cringed at what she remembered she would say next. “What are you afraid of?”
She had never seen Tommy look at her like that. The last time she saw that look was when Goldar had challenged him and branded him a coward. That was just what she did, she had challenged him, and called him a coward, though not intentionally.
They both just stood staring at each other for a moment; neither one of them know what to do. Tommy was afraid that he might react as he normally did whenever challenged. So…
“I don’t have to deal with this!” he turned and yanked his jacket, plus the coat-rack off wall, and stormed out the front door; slamming the door behind him.
“Tommy!” Kat called after him. By the time she got to the porch, he was already in his car revving up the engine of his red Firebird GT.
Kat stood on the porch and watched as he tore off down the road and disappeared in a cloud of stirred up dust he left behind.
“TOMMY!” She screamed at him furiously. She went back in the house screaming out pure frustration. “Damn him!” Kat rarely swore but now she was furious. The funny thing was why she was mad at Tommy, as well as… herself. She expected Tommy to agree with her that nothing was wrong in Angel Grove, that sure they would go to Angel Grove and everything would be… a lie… What if Zordon… She suddenly felt sick at the mere thought. She dashed up stairs to the bathroom and reached the toilet just in time.
Though she did show it, she feared the worst had happened and bad news awaiting them in Angel Grove, and as usual, when she was a Ranger, she looked to Tommy for assurance that everything would be all right. This time it was the other way around.
Kat reached the toilet just in time as last night’s snack came up along with other things she did not remember eating for quite sometime. As she placed her hand on the sink for support, she knocked over something: a small tube. Kat gasped as she suddenly remembered but was too late to tip the tube right side up again before its contents poured down the drain.
“Damn!” she swore as she examined the empty tube. There was no way of telling if the fluid had changed color. She groaned exasperatedly, as if she did not have enough to frustrate her.
Katherine Hillard paced back for what must have been the ‘umpteen-hundredth’ time on her porch when the sun rose. Throughout the day she worried that Tommy may have tried something stupid, or in his mind ‘daring and brave’ and gotten himself seriously hurt. She thought she would have to keep mental bashing herself for the rest of the afternoon for thinking such thoughts when a vehicle came tearing down the road completely obscured by the dust it was kicking up as it approached. Kat was disappointed to see a deliveryman carrying several packages addressed to c/o. Two flat rectangular boxes and two tall boxes the equivalent to the size to contain jug of milk or something like that. Kat quickly signed for the package, the man was leering at her and the constant smacking sound as he chewed his gum was irritating beyond words. Well, favorable words.
Kat decided to open before Tommy returned…
“…And he will return.” she reiterated to herself. Needing a distraction, she opened one of the flat boxes and gasped at the sight of what was inside. A smile spread across her face from ear to ear as she ran her fingers over the soft material.
“Hmm, still my favorite color.” She joked.
Suddenly Tommy’s car pulled up. Kat had been so engrossed that she did not notice him. She could not wait to show him what came but when she saw how slowly, he stepped out of the car, she knew there was something else she had to do first.
“Kat.” Tommy spoke before she could. “I’m sorry for what I put you through the other day and make you worry last night.”
“Oh Tommy-!”
“No. You don’t have to apologize for anything. It’s my fault. I should’ve better control of my temper than that.”
For a moment Kat thought Tommy was falling into his old leadership roll and just accepting blame. There was a long silence between them.
“We’re going to Angel Grove.” Tommy said finally breaking the silence. Try as he might, Kat could hear Tommy’s voice quiver as he fought back tears. Katherine ran out to him and collided into his arms, holding him kissing and they both fell to their knees in each other’s arms. Tommy could no longer hold himself back; in the arms of his love, he sobbed uncontrollably. Behind them, Kat’s Zeo Ranger uniform glimmered in the light of the setting sun as if tears were streaking down across its surface.