Bite Me
Part II
by MegaSilver

Kimberly stood upright as her heart began to settle until it no longer pumped. She breathed in and out for a few moments before realizing that she didn’t have to.

“How do you feel?” Jefferson smiled, sliding his hand around her waist.

Before Kimberly could answer, a middle-aged man ran down the alleyway to them. “Is everything all right? I heard someone screaming.”

Kimberly walked over to face the man. “Just fine. But thanks so much for asking. You're such a sweetie.” She quickly pulled the confused man into a hug, transformed her face, and bit his neck. After she’d had her fill, she let him drop to the ground as she licked her lips. “Juicy,” she whispered.

***

Kimberly read over the letter carefully before folding it into an envelope, sealing it with a decal, and kissing the seal. She then dropped it down the letter chute for pickup the next day. “Now, where were we?” she smiled to Jefferson. Leaning up, she licked the side of his face.

“We’re on the road,” he informed her. “Pack your things.”

“What? It’s two in the morning,” Kimberly protested.

“Precisely. That should give us plenty of time to tint the windows on your car and get moving before sunlight.”

“Oh.” Kimberly looked into the mirror for a moment, then back up at Jefferson. “I thought you had a car.”

“No, I have a piece of shit. Come on, let’s get moving.”

***

Just over a week later, Tommy turned off his engine in Katherine’s driveway after a Sunday evening at the Youth Center. “Thanks so much for everything, Kat,” he said, leaning over to give her a kiss.

Katherine pushed him back gently. “Tommy, no.” She looked into his eyes. “Believe me, I want you to. But it’s too soon, and I know you’re not over Kimberly. I don’t know if you ever will be, completely. I shouldn't have tried to set you up with Heather.”

Tommy hung his head. “I’m sorry.”

Katherine undid her seatbelt and prepared to exit the car. “Don't be. It’s not your fault; it's mine.” She sighed, let loose her grip on the door handle, and relaxed once more. “That just didn’t seem like her.”

“I know,” agreed Tommy softly. “It’s like—I can’t even—I can’t believe it was Kim who wrote that. I didn’t think she would ever do something like that.”

Katherine opened the door. “If you ever need to talk, just call me, even if it's three in the morning.”

“I will,” agreed Tommy. “Thank you, Kat.”

As Tommy pulled away and Katherine entered her house, Kimberly came out from crouching beneath some bushes. “Tommy thought wrong,” she whispered as Jefferson followed her. “Wait, stay there. I don’t think Kat would let you in.”

“Do you think she’ll even let you in after all that?” Jefferson wondered.

A slow smile spread across Kimberly’s face. “You don’t know her,” she assured him. “I got this in the bag.” She primped her hair up, donned a melancholy expression, marched onto Katherine’s porch, and rang the doorbell.

Katherine opened the door and just about fell backwards. “Oh, my—Kim?”

Kimberly was breathing heavy, on the verge of tears. “My, gosh, Katherine! I’ve just made the worst mistake of my life! I don’t know what I’m gonna do!”

“Oh, Kim!” Katherine put a hand on the shoulder of the girl she took for a friend. “Come on in.”

“I can’t believe it! I just had this horrible emotional moment and I suddenly hated everyone and everything and I—” Kimberly continued to fake it out as she disappeared into Katherine’s house while Jefferson watched from the bushes.

A moment later, someone tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned his head around, Tommy grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up. “Who the hell are you and what do you want with Kat?” he demanded.

“What do you mean?” Jefferson asked.

“Don’t play me for a fool! I saw your girlfriend get out of those bushes and go into Kat’s house as I pulled off.”

Jefferson began to laugh. “You really do have quite the delusion of power, Tommy.”

“Wha—how do you know—WHOA!” Tommy was cut off by shock at Jefferson’s sudden face change. Too startled to move, he received quite a punch from the antagonist.

Inside the house, Kimberly had her face buried in Katherine’s arms, crying in order to stall for the perfect moment to strike her neck. “So I just wrote the letter and sent it without even think—” Kimberly was interrupted by the sound of blows being exchanged out on the lawn. With a growl, she shoved Katherine’s arm off and flew out the door.

“Ow! Kim!” Katherine winced. When she heard the sounds, she too ran out onto the porch, eyes widened by the sight of Tommy fighting a… Is that some sort of a monster? She turned to look at Kimberly, who by that time had also sported her demon face. Kimberly lunged to strike at Katherine’s neck, but Katherine definitely had the advantage of height and managed to throw Kimberly off the porch. She then jumped down onto the lawn herself and turned to face the demon. “You’re not Kim!”

“Gee… dense, aren’t you? Who else has an old outdated pink communicator for a watch?” remarked Kimberly.

Tommy broke free of Jefferson’s grip long enough to see Katherine and the other vampire. “Kimberly?”

Kimberly whirled her head around and realigned her face to normal. “Umm… duh!” She refocused her attention on Katherine and changed her face once more. “Now where were we?” She lunged at her former friend with all her might, and it was all Katherine could do to keep Kimberly's fangs off her neck.

Jefferson pounced onto Tommy once more, pinning him to the ground. “Now who’s the one with the muscles and the power?” he grunted. Just as he was about to bite Tommy’s neck, someone's foot lashed at his head. He turned to face his new attacker, who held a silver cross in front of him. He growled and flung himself backwards off Tommy.

An unfamiliar young woman with strawberry-blonde hair and a slender but sturdy build stood over Tommy with the cross. Once Jefferson was subdued, she put it back in her coat, pulled out a wooden stake, and went after Kimberly, but to no avail. Kimberly fought her way loose of the young woman's grip, knocked the stake out of the her hand, pulled Jefferson up, took him back to her car, and sped away.

Tommy jumped up from the ground. “Katherine, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Katherine gasped. “Are you?”

“Yeah, I’m all right.” As he spoke, the young woman stepped up to pair. “Excuse me? Who are you?” Tommy asked.

“I’m afraid I cannot tell you,” she replied, speaking with a thick French-American accent. “And you really should not be out here.”

“No,” said Katherine. “We-we have to know. You can trust us.”

“How do I know that?”

Tommy stepped forward and drew forth his share of the ZEO Crystal. “Because I’m trusting you with my identity. See this? We’re the Power Rangers. If these things are out there mimicking people, we have to know what they are and how to stop them.”

“‘Power Rangers’? I’ve heard of you. I did not think I would run into you, though. Especially so soon.” She tied her cross back onto her neck. “You cannot fight these things without me. If I tell you who I am, you must promise to work with me and to take the secret of my identity to your grave.”

Tommy nodded. “Okay, he promised.” “As long as you keep our secret, too.”

“My people call me Automne, Tueuse des Vampires. To my English Watcher, I am Autumn, the Vampire Slayer.”

Katherine and Tommy looked at each other, then back at Autumn, jaws slackened. “V-Vampire Slayer?” stammered Katherine.