Power Rangers belongs to Disney/Saban. I am using the characters without permission, but I am not and don't expect to make money from this.

Rated PG: a little minor language, some mature situations. Brief discussion of abortion in a later chapter.

This fits the 'Five Things that Never Happened' fanfiction challenge/exercise - call it 'Five Men Kim Never Married.' Not your usual Tommy/Kim, so be warned if you're a T/K fan!

Kindly take a moment to review...

The Turning Point

Prologue

Dear Kim,

Hi, Beautiful. How's everything in sunny Florida? We're about the same here, I guess. Another week, another monster, ha-ha. Kat's doing a great job and she's fitting in with the gang really well, don't worry about that - but she's not you and we all miss you.

As for me, I'm about the same too: trying to keep up with karate, school, and our extracurricular activities, with about as much success as usual. I'm glad summer is coming up and at least I won't have classes to worry about. It won't be much of a break for you, will it? How's training going? Hope you're working hard, but not too hard, and finding a little time to have fun.

Man, writing letters is hard! I can't think of anything else except the mushy stuff, so here goes. Do I even need to say I miss you every minute of every day? Well, I do. Maybe it's selfish but I hope you miss me too, just a little.

Thinking of you with lots of love,

Tommy

The sloppy handwriting on the sheet of paper Kim held blurred as her eyes filled with tears, but she didn't need to see it; she'd read the words so many times they felt engraved in her heart. It was Tommy's first letter after she had left Angel Grove to train for the Pan Globals. Not the last, but he had never been much for writing. No, it had been mostly phone calls, but you couldn't hold a phone call in your hand years later and go over every word, wishing all the time that things had turned out differently.

Her own fault, of course. Maybe it was too late, but she'd never know unless she tried to put that mistake right. Pausing for only a moment to wipe her eyes, Kim carefully folded the two-year-old letter and slipped it into a drawer in the nightstand. She stood and closed her now-empty suitcase, picked it up and stashed it in the back of a closet in the small hotel room. With the chore of unpacking done, Kim glanced at the TV and decided against it. Instead, she stepped to the window and pulled the curtain aside, looking out over the city where she had grown up.

It was a nice view from this top-floor room, high enough to see the bright lights of Angel Grove at night, but her eyes quickly searched for and found a dark corner of the park where she and her friends had spent so much time both relaxing and fighting so many of their battles against Rita's monsters. It was only a small handful of years ago, yet it felt like a lifetime, especially now that the Power Chamber was gone. Once she and her friends would have been the ones carrying on the battle despite such a setback, but now a new team was in place. Her own career as a Ranger belonged to the past, so distant from her life now that it felt as if it had happened to a different person.

Maybe it had; the Kim Hart of then had been a high school girl, thrilled with the Power, immersed in gymnastics, newly in love. The Kimberly of now was a woman, in college, starting to think about the future. The rest of her life. A life that most certainly would not include Mr. Wyatt Williams, the man she had so stupidly dumped poor Tommy for.

Kim took a deep breath and let it out. She was still in touch with Jason, who had kept her informed of events in Angel Grove. She knew Kat and Tommy had dated for a few months, but she also knew they had put their relationship on hold after Katherine had left for a semester in London. With a twinge of guilt Kim wondered if the memory of what had happened the last time his girlfriend had gone away had discouraged Tommy from another long-distance relationship. At any rate, as far as she was concerned Tommy was unattached, and now might be the perfect time - her exams had ended early and she had left school right away; surely Kat wouldn't have been able to return from London this early. Kim shrugged off another guilty twinge. Tommy had been her boyfriend first, after all. It had been Kat's decision to leave and whatever happened would be her own fault.

Jason had had other news - their old hangout, the Youth Center and Juice Bar, had been sold, and the new owner was closing it for remodeling. Tomorrow would be its last day in business, and Tommy and the others wouldn't miss that for the world. He'd be sure to be there, and Kim would have every reason to be there too. The one time they had met after the breakup he'd been friendly, no reason he wouldn't be now - they'd both been with other people then, but now - with Kat hopefully out of the picture and with Wyatt left behind in Florida, things would be different. A lot different.

Tomorrow morning - it would be then, she was sure, with the strangest, strongest feeling something important was about to happen and that it would change the rest of her life. For now, it was late and she was tired from the flight; best to try for a good night's sleep, get a head start on beating jet lag, and be fresh and alert for Tommy. Kim turned back into the room, intending to grab a nightgown and get ready for bed - and she gasped, starting violently, heart leaping into her throat.

Her eyes took a second to process what she saw in the middle of the room, which had been empty just a second ago - a woman in a flowing white robe, the lower half of her face covered by a white veil. Just standing and looking at her, but-

"Who the hell are you?" Kim exclaimed, instinctively taking a defensive position with fists up. "How did you get in here?" She looked around, half-expecting the woman to have reinforcements.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the woman exclaimed. "I thought this form would be reassuring to you, but I forgot you never met Dimitria. Is this better?"

This time Kim couldn't help a startled cry as the woman's form blurred and shimmered, solidifying again as a thick vertical tube in which a familiar face floated. "Zordon??" she gasped.

"Oops, my mistake again," 'Zordon' said. He blurred once more and resolidified as a short red and gold metallic figure, continuing in Alpha's high-pitched voice, "Sorry about that; it's in rather poor taste to take Zordon's form just now, isn't it? How's this? Familiar, non-threatening..."

Kim's fear had ebbed a little, only to be replaced by anger. "How did you get in here?" she demanded hotly. "And who are you? Answer me!"

"I will, if you'll kindly stop shouting," 'Alpha' said in a reasonable tone.

"Well?"

"Okay." He paused, tilting his head thoughtfully. "How to put this? I'm your fairy godmother. Or maybe guardian angel? I guess that's close enough."

Kim lowered her fists just a little. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Tsk, language. Is that what you're learning in college, how to swear?"

"Oh, I can swear a lot better than that. And I will, not to mention kicking your butt, if you don't explain yourself!"

"So violent. Is this the legacy the Power has left you?" 'Alpha' asked mournfully. "Well, you Rangers are never the passive type, are you? I suppose you wouldn't be much use if you were. Anyway, explanations. I'm a manifestation of the protective forces of the Power."

Kim squinted at him, baffled, and lowered her guard a little more. "A what of the what?" she asked.

"Manifestation: a manifest indication of the existence or presence or nature of some person or thing, or, as in this case, an appearance in bodily form-"

"I know what the words mean," Kim snapped. "What I don't understand is what exactly you're talking about!"

"I'm... I'm..." Alpha gestured helplessly. "I'm a part of the Power Zordon gave all of you when he made you Rangers. It's more than coins or crystals or morphers or (spirits defend us) cell phones, it's a benevolent force of Nature with many aspects. I am one of those aspects, a living, thinking part of the Power, an embodiment of what you call the Morphing Grid, appearing as the being before you. When Zordon said 'May the Power protect you' it was more than mere words. It did. It still does."

Kim stared, confused by several parts of that speech, and started with: "Cell phones?"

'Alpha' rolled his head, a gesture uncannily suggestive of a human eye-roll. "Forgot when I am again. Not yet, but soon."

"Um... Okay. But why me? I'm not a Ranger anymore."

"It doesn't matter. Once a Ranger, always - well, you know. As a former bearer of the Power you still deserve its protection, and even its guidance when needed."

Kim blinked. "So does that mean I'm in danger?"

"Not in the way you're thinking."

"So - how?" Kim asked when Alpha didn't continue.

"Every life contains turning points. Tomorrow morning is one for you. An important one, with repercussions that will affect the rest of your life."

That sounded ominous - but on the other hand, it could be encouraging. What else could a 'turning point' mean than a chance to get back together with Tommy? But... "Why now?" Kim asked. "I mean, I came here to see Tommy Oliver - he was the Green Ranger, and then White, and Red-"

"I know who he is, and I know your intentions."

Kim raised her chin. "If you're trying to stop me, it won't work."

Alpha crossed his arms. "The decisions are yours; all I try to do is open your eyes to the possibilities, to help you to make the best choices on your own."

"Oh, yeah?" Kim frowned and took a couple of steps to a chair, keeping a cautious eye on 'Alpha' as she sat down. "Where were you when I started going out with Wyatt in Florida? When I fell for the jerk, and when I broke up with Tommy in that letter? Why didn't you 'open my eyes' then and keep me from making the biggest mistake of my life?"

"Why now and not at any other time which seems to have as much importance?" Alpha paused, his hand moving in a sweeping gesture in the air. "Because this is a nexus for you, Kimberly. Many possible futures are open before you. At this moment, you think only one will make you happy. Perhaps it will, and perhaps not. Perhaps it's the best choice, or perhaps the worst. You must not think it's the only one."

"Are you trying to tell me I'm not... well, destined to be with Tommy?"

Alpha's chuckle had a tinny ring. "You mortals and your notions of destiny, especially when it comes to love. Destiny is not fixed, certainly not at a crossroads like this one. You cared very much for Tommy, and still do, but he's not the only man you have the ability to love. No offense, but you're not the only woman he could find happiness with, either."

Kim shook her head stubbornly. "No, I don't believe that. Tommy and I are meant to be together. We're soulmates."

"And is he the only possible soulmate for you? Will you shut out other choices, other good men, as you've shut out Wyatt?"

"Wyatt is a loser. And I'm not the one who shut him out." Kim glared into Alpha's metal 'face'. "I don't care what you say. Tommy's the one. The only one."

"Stubborn, very stubborn. I see I'll have to show you."

"What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously.

"Come." Alpha held out a hand, apparently to help her up from her chair.

Kim hesitated, but if 'Alpha' meant her harm surely he would have made his move by now. She didn't exactly trust him - not quite - but she raised her hand cautiously and let him touch her fingertips with his own. A tingle spread from the contact, thrilling down her arm, making her gasp, and for a moment she was afraid again, for a moment she tried to pull back, but it was too late as a whirlwind of darkness shot with slivers of light swept her away into a dizzy vortex.

Only to open her eyes into bright sunlight and the murmur of voices from a few small groups of passers-by on the sidewalk near a familiar doorway. Kim found herself standing now and staggered unsteadily before catching her balance and looking around.

"The Juice Bar?" she exclaimed. "What happened - how did we get here? And it was night a second ago!"

"The Power has many abilities. Observe."

He pointed at a petite brunette who was walking towards them, alone. She reached the walkway leading to the door and paused, looking up, then around, not seeming to see them, fidgeting uncertainly.

"That's me!" Kim exclaimed. "But how...?"

"Many abilities, remember?" Alpha almost seemed to be smiling as he pointed at the other Kim again. "This is indeed you tomorrow morning, but a version of Kimberly Hart who did not get a visit from me in your hotel room. I'm showing you one of the directions your life could take after this pivotal moment, if you can open your mind to the possibilities. Watch; your future - or rather, one possible future - approaches."

- - -

To be continued...