THORN

He was beating up the kickboxing station again. Thorn felt the anger boiling inside of him. He needed to release it. He tried to put all of that rage and all of that pain into his hits and kicks, but it wasn't enough.

He kept going, waiting for something to finally help. He hated feeling this way. Thorn had always been able to keep perspective on things. He was the calm, rational voice of reason among his friends. Nothing ever messed with his mind like this.

He flashed back suddenly to the day everything had changed. Caleb lay dead in his arms, murdered by his aunt simply because she'd chosen to turn evil. Caleb had been completely innocent, and Thorn's aunt had ripped his life away from him.

He flashed on Taylor, who'd seemed so harmless. He remembered what they'd done and it killed something inside of him. He wasn't like the others. He and Sage understood magical entities. Why hadn't he realized what Taylor was sooner? He'd let that creep use him just so he could forget his pain for a few precious minutes. Caleb might have forgiven him, but how could Thorn ever forgive himself?

If I ever see him again, he's dead, Thorn thought. The old Thorn would never have harmed someone unless left with absolutely no other choice, but that Thorn had died with Caleb. Taylor had to pay for what he'd done.

He began punching the station harder. He couldn't feel it anyway. He imagined Taylor's face, and then he imagined Kat's. His aunt had paid for her actions. Katie had seen to that... But Taylor was still out there somewhere, along with Thorn's power coin, and that idea made Thorn sick.

He couldn't breathe. He didn't stop attacking the station. Finally, someone grabbed him. He was going to swing at whoever it was, but he realized it was Josh.

"Are you okay?" Josh asked.

"I'm fine," Thorn said automatically.

Josh hesitated before gently pulling off Thorn's gloves. His knuckles were bleeding and bruised. Josh didn't say anything as he started cleaning his hands up. After he'd gotten them to stop bleeding, he walked back to the supply closet and returned with an ice pack.

"Ice them both. It will help with the swelling," Josh said.

"Thanks," Thorn said. Neither of them said another word until Jayden and the others arrived for training.

SKULL

He was starting to get frustrated. He stood in the lab with Lieutenant Stone, Spike, and the man who might be Bulk's last hope and stared at the forensic evidence they'd looked over a dozen times before. An old friend... emphasis on old... of his and Bulk's had come out to take a look at what they had. Skull had only called him in desperation. He was mildly surprised the guy hadn't died yet, but maybe he'd discovered a cure for that.

"Ahhh... I cannot help you," Professor Phenomenus Ingenious said after an eternity of studying the evidence.

"Why not?" Skull asked.

"This was not aliens!" Professor Phenomenus replied as if that should have been obvious.

"Aliens?" Lt. Stone repeated skeptically.

"Aliens?!" Spike asked with much more enthusiasm.

"Yes! Aliens! Like that shifty-looking fellow right over there on the windowsill!" He pointed to his target.

"That's a squirrel," Lt. Stone said.

Professor Phenomenus laughed. "Ha! Perhaps to the untrained eye!"

"How did you meet this guy again, Skullovitch?"

"He's brilliant," Skull insisted. "And if he says aliens didn't do this, then they didn't."

"Of course it wasn't aliens! Aliens aren't real!"

"Ha! That's what you think!" The professor said.

"But if it wasn't aliens..." Skull laughed nervously. "How are we going to free Bulky?"

"Yeah," Spike echoed with a laugh of his own. "How?"

"Don't look now, Skull," The Professor said cautiously, "but aliens appear to have cloaned you! Don't worry. I will kill the imposter!"

"No, Professor, wait! This is my son. Remember? Spike?" Skull clarified.

"Your son... Hmmm..." He nodded, considering this. "Perhaps to the untrained eye!" He grabbed a wooden broom and tried to hit Spike with it. Spike proceeded to let out a panicked screech that Skull echoed in shock as the Professor attacked his son. They continued going back and forth like this for a minute.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Everybody, calm down!" Lt. Stone said firmly, grabbing the broom out of the Professor's hands. He paused. "Okay, um... Professor... Your insight that this was not, in fact, the work of aliens was very helpful. I'm sure you're a very busy man. Feel free to head on out now."

The Professor nodded. "Yes, I have very important work to do," he said. "Good to see you, Skull. You look almost as good as me. Watch out for the alien clone!"

"Wait!" Spike said. "If it wasn't aliens, who did this?"

"That's quite simple, Little Clone... Bulk is guilty."

"What?!" Skull asked.

"Oh yes, the evidence clearly puts him at the scene. His clothes have her blood on them... I thought it might be aliens, but sadly, no. So it must have been Bulk. Rest easy! The police have captured him, as I must go capture that alien on the windowsill. Ta-ta!" Professor Phenomenus left.

"Do you really think Uncle Bulk's guilty?" Spike asked sadly.

"No way, Spikey!" Skull reassured him. "I just forgot that the Professor's only expertise lies in aliens. At least we ruled them out!" He smiled, but internally, he was terrified. If even Professor Phenomenus couldn't clear Bulk's name, who could?

His attention was drawn to the window as the Professor ran by with a net. The alien squirrel took off running, but Skull knew the Professor would catch it in the end.

Skull was about to look away when something else caught his eye. He had to remind himself to breathe as he saw her. She might be older, but Kimberly was still the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

"I'll be right back," Skull said. He hurried outside. He spotted her and rushed over to her. "Hey, Kimberly!" He said too eagerly.

Kimberly jumped. "Oh! Skull... You scared me," she said, recovering.

"Sorry."

"I didn't know you were back in town."

"Oh, yeah... I always come when Bulky needs me." He paused as his emotions hit him. Skull disliked being overly serious, but as much as he acted like a goofball most of the time, he wasn't a complete fool. Bulk was in serious trouble, and he was out of ideas. He suddenly felt like part of him was about to be destroyed. Who was he without Bulk? They'd been best friends for so long, he didn't know anymore. What would he do if Bulk sat rotting in prison for eternity, or worse, if they tried to give him the death penalty?

"Skull? Are you okay?" Kimberly asked. She looked genuinely concerned. It gave Skull strength.

"No," he admitted. "Bulk didn't do it, Kimberly!"

Kimberly looked at him in confusion. "Didn't do what?"

"He's in jail for murdering some kid in the park... Didn't you know?"

"No... I don't watch the news much, but even if I did, I'm sure it hasn't been on there... Tommy would have said something."

"Oh... Tommy. Are you guys back together?"

"What? No," Kimberly said with a laugh. Her smile still lit up his world. "No, Tommy and I are just friends, but my son and I are staying with him and his daughter."

"What's his wife think about that? I mean, if he's married."

Kimberly paused. "Actually, he married Katherine Hillard... Do you remember Kat? But she passed away very recently."

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry to hear that!" He genuinely was. He did remember Kat. She hadn't been Kimberly, but she'd seemed nice enough, and she was pretty. Bulk had always loved her accent, and Skull had to admit it was nice to listen to her talk. Skull's wife had left him and Spike when Spike was still small because she couldn't quite understand the two of them the way they understood each other, but he was okay with that. He couldn't imagine how he'd feel in Tommy's position. "Is he okay?" He asked. He genuinely wanted to know. Tommy Oliver might not have been his close friend or anything, but he'd known him for a long time, and he was surprised to realize he cared about whether or not the guy was alright.

"It hasn't been easy, but he's trying," Kimberly replied. "His daughter, Katie, keeps him going. She's just like him." She smiled, and Skull could tell she had a lot of affection for the kid.

"You said you have a son?"

"I do. His name is Kenny. He's my entire world." She smiled proudly.

"I know what you mean. Spike's everything to me."

"Spike?"

"Yeah, my son. He's the greatest kid around. You wanna meet him? He's inside."

"Um... Sure, Skull. That would be nice."

Skull smiled. "Come on," he said. He gently took her arm and led her inside the building. Spike was helping Lt. Stone clean up.

"Kimberly Hart!" Lt. Stone greeted her with open arms. "It's been a while since I last saw you. How are you?"

"I'm doing well, thanks," Kimberly said, hugging him.

Spike looked at his father and mouthed, THE Kimberly Hart? Skull nodded. Spike looked at Kimberly and chewed his gum thoughtfully before extending his hand and saying, "Hi! Spike Skullovitch! It's great to meet you, Kimberly!"

She smiled at him warmly. "It's nice to meet you, too, Spike," she said, shaking his hand. "You look just like your father."

"Thanks," he said with the laugh he shared with his father. "So, Kimberly, do you have any kids?"

"Kimberly's son is the best elite gymnast Angel Grove has seen since... Well, since Kimberly, actually," Lt. Stone said with a laugh.

"I see... And... Your husband...?"

"Spike!" Skull said harshly as he felt his cheeks turning red.

"What? You know you wanted to ask," Spike said.

Kimberly had turned noticeably stiff. "I'm in the process of getting divorced," she said awkwardly.

"Oh, no! I didn't know, Kimberly," Lt. Stone said. "I'm surprised you and Mark split up. You two seemed so perfect..."

"Actually, Mark has a hand problem... And when I found out it extended to my son, I left him."

"I'm proud of you." Lt. Stone put an encouraging hand on Kimberly's shoulder.

"Thanks."

Skull stared at her. "Your husband hit you?" He asked.

"Yes. It's not something I'm proud of... I stayed with him for entirely too long, but I didn't know he'd ever put his hands on my son. When I found out, it was over... And I broke his nose."

"Good for you!" Lt. Stone said.

"What's his name?" Skull asked.

"Skull-" Kimberly began.

"Tell me his name. I'll make him regret it!" He was furious. How could anyone have ever put their hands on Kimberly? He hated guys who hit girls, but this was personal. Kimberly mattered to him, even if they never saw each other anymore.

"That's very sweet of you," Kimberly said genuinely, "but I'm okay. I left him, and that's what matters."

"No one has the right to do that to you!" Skull said sharply.

"I know that now... But thank you for offering to be my hero." She kissed his cheek and Skull forgot everything else for a moment. He was a teenager again. He began mumbling nonsense words as he touched his cheek and smiled.

"Dad? Earth to Dad!" Spike called.

"Huh? Oh... Sorry," Skull said.

"Skull... You said Bulk's in jail for murder. What exactly happened?" Kimberly asked.

"He found a little girl... She was already dead, but he touched her to try to check her... He was just praying the kid had somehow survived, you know?" Skull asked. "Anyway, Bulk didn't do it. I know he didn't... But his DNA's all over the girl, and her blood was on him, and it looks bad... The forensics are right here. Lieutenant Stone got the evidence sent to him as a favor from some of his former co-workers. We've been going over it and the reports again and again, but it doesn't matter. We can't prove he's innocent."

Kimberly paused. "I think I can help," she said.

"How?" Skull asked.

"I know someone who's a genius with science... He might be able to find something you guys are missing... The thing is, it's complicated to involve him... But I know he'd help."

"Who is it?" Lt. Stone asked.

Kimberly hesitated. "I can't say," she finally said. "Not before I talk to him, and maybe not even after... But I want to help Bulk."

"You do?" Skull asked in surprise. Kimberly hadn't always been his or Bulk's biggest fan.

"He saved Josh's life. Now, someone needs to save his."

"Josh?" Skull asked.

"Billy's son," Kimberly explained.

"Oh! You mean Little Billy," Skull realized. "Yeah, Bulk talks about him a lot. He tried to keep as much of an eye on him as he could in the last few years. He really likes the kid, and he feels sorry for him. He hated that he ended up in the system. It couldn't have been easy on him."

"It wasn't... But Bulk is the reason Josh is alive. He wouldn't give up on him until he found him and pulled him out of the rubble of the house... So I'm not going to give up on Bulk until we clear his name."

Skull believed her. He'd never seen her look so determined before. "Uncle Bulk really did that?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Kimberly said. "Bulk's a hero."

Lt. Stone nodded proudly. "I always knew he had it in him," he said. "Now let's show the rest of the world what we already know... What do you need, Kimberly?"

"Pack all of this up. I'll talk to my friend and if he's okay with it, I'll come get it for him."

"Will do!"

Kimberly was about to leave when Skull touched her arm gently. "Kimberly..." He said. "Thank you. Really."

"There's no need to thank me," she said. "Bulk may have been a bully, but he's always had a soft spot for kids. He'd never hurt one. I refuse to let an innocent man be punished for a crime he didn't commit."

Skull nodded and let her leave. He hoped her friend would come through. It seemed this might actually be Bulk's last chance.

KIMBERLY

She raced home, not sure how this conversation was going to go. All Kimberly knew was that she had to try. When she got inside, Billy was alone and sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Hey," he greeted her with a smile. Billy almost seemed like himself again. He was so close... Kimberly wasn't sure if asking him to do this would help him or make him relapse, but something told her giving Billy a science project with such high stakes would end up making him feel more like himself and boost his confidence. Still, she approached the subject with great caution.

"Billy... Can we talk?" She asked.

"Of course, Kimberly. What can I do for you?"

"It's not actually for me... It's for Bulk."

"Bulk?" Billy asked in confusion.

"Billy, Bulk needs help. He's in jail for something he didn't do, but Skull and Lieutenant Stone haven't been able to prove that he's innocent. They have all of the evidence. I was hoping you'd be willing to take a look at it?"

Billy hesitated. "I'm not sure, Kimberly..."

"Bulk saved Josh's life," she blurted out. She hadn't meant to, but Billy needed to know. He'd been told before, by Katie, by Tommy, and even by Jason, but for whatever reason, Billy kept forgetting that Bulk had saved his son. It was like any details that had to do with the explosion refused to stay in his mind for long.

"What do you mean?" Billy asked.

"When the explosion brought the house down, Josh was knocked back, and he ended up under the rubble of the house. Bulk saw the explosion and ran over to help, even though it was obviously unsafe. He also called 911." She paused. "He moved rubble and boards and everything that was in the way until he found Josh. He kept going even when he shouldn't have. It wasn't safe, and the explosion was so bad, the logical conclusion was that neither of you had survived. Bulk refused to believe that. He kept digging until he found Josh, and he pulled him out, and he held him and protected him and tried to comfort him until the paramedics could take care of him. Then, he started looking for you. We'd all shown up by then, and he dug through as much as he could... He didn't give up on either of you, Billy. Bulk was determined to save you both if he could. We all tried to dig and find you... We didn't know you'd been taken... When it was obvious we needed to get out, Casey told us you weren't there... Not dead, but just 'Billy's not here'... But we all assumed..." She shook her head. It still hurt to think about.

To Kimberly's surprise, Billy wrapped her in his arms. "I'm okay," he told her. "I'm home. I'm okay." She knew it was as much to comfort himself as it was to comfort her. Billy needed to repeat that to himself frequently to calm himself down.

"I didn't want to stop looking," Kimberly said softly. "And when I realized you were really gone... I couldn't function. I just froze where I was... I remember falling to my knees and it was like I couldn't breathe... Tommy had to carry me out of the rubble by force."

Billy held her a little tighter. "I can't believe Bulk cared so much... I always thought he hated me."

"He likes Josh. Bulk loves kids, and Josh is a great one. I guess with you guys living so close to his mom, Bulk got to watch Josh grow up, and he got attached."

Billy paused. "I'll do it," he said. "Get me the evidence. I'll sort it out for them. If there's any way to prove Bulk's innocent, I won't stop until I find it."

Kimberly nodded. "Thank you, Billy... And I think this will be good for you. I know science is still comforting to you, and working on this might save someone. You'll be a hero, like you always were."

"I'm no hero," Billy said sadly. It broke Kimberly's heart to hear him say that, especially since it was obvious how much the words hurt him. "But I'll help anyway."

"You're my hero," Kimberly said. "You were the one person I could always count on, Billy."

"I thought that was Tommy, riding in on his white horse to rescue you," Billy teased her. "Literally, that time you got stuck in the past, actually..."

"Jerk!" Kimberly said, playfully whacking his arm. "I was a teenager, okay? And the guy on the horse was his ancestor, not him."

"You still have him up on a hero's pedestal, Kimberly... But that's okay. That's where people like Tommy belong."

"You may not see it, Billy, but you are a hero. Any man who takes his neurotic, stubborn old friend and her young son in any time things get too bad at home, no matter how much she refuses to let him help her get out of the situation for good, is a hero."

"You needed me. Anyone would have done that."

"My own parents wouldn't do that."

"Which makes them jerks... But I'm still not a hero. I'm just your friend."

She snuggled against him. He couldn't see it. He still had Merkhet's programming in his head telling him he was worthless and anything but a hero, but Kimberly knew the truth; Billy had always been the best of them. Someday, she'd help him understand that.

TANYA

Maddie seemed to be doing much better. Tanya was fairly confident she could leave her for a little while. "Are you sure you don't mind staying with Jason for a bit?" She asked.

"Mom, I'm fine. Go find Aisha. Besides, it'll give me a chance to bond with my dad," Maddie said. She was still alternating between calling him that and Jason, but Tanya had noticed "Dad" seemed to be winning.

"Alright. Stay out of trouble. I love you."

"I love you, too."

With that, Tanya allowed Alpha to teleport her back to Africa. She didn't know how long she'd be gone. This could take a while, especially since she didn't know exactly where Aisha was or who had taken her. She hated the idea of being away from Maddie for any extended period of time, but wherever Aisha was, she knew she needed help.

Tanya saw Tia and Imani sitting together. "Tanya!" Imani cried, running toward her for a hug. Tanya picked her up and gave her one before setting her down so she could hug Tia.

"Is it time?" Tia asked.

"Yes," Tanya said. "I'm bringing you both to Angel Grove with me. We'll drop Mani off at my friend Jason's house. He has four sons who I'm sure will absolutely fall in love with her. Then you and I can go find your mother."

Tia nodded. "Come, Mani," she said. She took her little sister's hand, then took Tanya's. With that, she opened some sort of portal and they walked straight through to Angel Grove.

"That was amazing!" Tanya said. They stood outside of Jason's front door.

Jason opened it and smiled at her. "Are these Aisha's girls?" He asked.

"Yes. Mani, Tia, this is Jason. He's a friend of your mom's, too."

"Hi!" Imani said cheerfully. She hugged him. Jason immediately melted, as everyone who met that child seemed to do. Tanya knew he was already wrapped around her little finger.

"Hello," Tia said. "Thank you for taking care of my sister while we are away."

"No problem. This little cutie's going to give my sons a run for their money," Jason said.

"Come on, Tia. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll find your mother," Tanya said. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but she didn't care. It was time to bring Aisha home, one way or another.

ZEKE

He was too wired to sleep. That happened sometimes, especially when he took his ADHD medication later than he was really supposed to. It was the summer, and he liked to sleep in while he could, so sometimes, he ended up taking the pill as late as one or two in the afternoon.

Since he couldn't rest, he got up and left the house. He didn't look at the spot where his father had briefly died. He never did anymore, always looking anywhere else as he walked by it. He couldn't handle the reminder that he'd nearly lost him.

As soon as he was outside, Zeke began to run, because running usually cleared his head. He fell into a steady rhythm pretty quickly and tried not to think about anything but the way his muscles ached, begging for him to run even faster. He gave in, picking up speed until he reached the park. Once he was there, he ran along the familiar paths, enjoying the way it felt to push himself physically.

The Putty attack which followed was a surprise. Putties rarely came out at night, especially in groups. Zeke reacted quickly, battling them on his own. He wondered if he should call back up, but he was handling the attack well on his own so far. When the monster showed up, however, he knew he couldn't keep stalling.

"Katie! Sage! I need back up!" He said.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked. It was obvious she'd been wide awake.

"Putties in the park."

"At this hour?" Sage asked. "What are they up to?"

"I don't know... But there's a monster, too."

"Which one?"

"No clue. Please just get here. I'm in trouble."

Katie and Sage didn't hesitate, and moments later, they arrived already morphed. Zeke quickly morphed as well.

"Ah, Rangers!" The monster said. "Wonderful! I needed a midnight snack!"

"Eat this!" Katie said, flipping him off before swinging Saba at him.

The monster cried out in pain as Saba hit him. He tried to bite Katie, so she hit him again for good measure. The monster turned toward Sage and tried to bite her. She kicked him in the chest and he stumbled back. He tried to take a bite out of Zeke, but he ended up chewing on air as Zeke managed to dodge the attack.

It was going well until the monster grew, as monsters tended to do. "Great... We're facing a monster at night and the only one of us with a Zord that's not powered by sunlight is Sage," Katie mumbled. "I may need to try to call in my new friend..."

The monster pulled a tree up from the ground, roots and all, and ate it. "Someone has munchies," Zeke mumbled.

"Come closer, Ranger, so I can eat you!" The monster said.

"No thanks," Zeke said. "I'm good. Really."

The monster took offense and tried to grab him, but Katie got in the way and snapped his hand for daring to try to hurt her friend.

Sage called the Dragonzord. It arrived fairly quickly and suddenly, the odds were back in their favor. After a few minutes of battling the giant monster, Sage finally hit it hard enough to knock it down. It vanished and Sage got out of her Zord.

"That rocked," Zeke told her honestly.

"Thanks," Sage replied.

"I wonder why they sent a monster now..."

"Maybe they finally realized how much we rely on solar power," Katie suggested.

"I should get home. Dad's probably going to realize I left soon."

"Still sneaking out after all these years?" She teased him.

"I couldn't sleep. I got bored." He shrugged.

Katie shook her head. "Of course you did. Alright, let's walk him home, Sage. That way we know he doesn't run into any more trouble."

They did just that, finally leaving Zeke alone with his thoughts. At least he was tired now! He tried not to worry too much about the possibility that the bad guys had realized they were weaker at night. That seemed like a problem for another day. Zeke closed his eyes and finally fell asleep, but a little voice in the back of his mind was still worried something more serious might be coming. He chose to listen to his dad's advice for once and ignored the little voice so he could get some rest.