Kimberly Hart (Tragedies and Triumphs)

Kimberly Ann Hart (born 14 February 1979) was Pink Ranger from 1993 to 1996 and the Pink Ninja Ranger from 1996 to 1995. During that time she fell in love with and dated Tommy Oliver, the Green and then White Ranger. She left the Power team to train for the Pan Global Games in Gymnastics at the St. Lawrence Gymnastics Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Subsequently she met and began dating Brendan O'Driscoll, breaking her relationship with Tommy.

Early life
Kimberly was born in Seattle, Washington to Terrence and Kris (née Boutin) Hart. Her father's parents are both from Bavaria, while her mother is of French-Canadian descent. Her parents met while they were students at Seattle-Tacoma University and married in May 1978 right after Terrence finished his degree; Kimberly has understood she was conceived on the wedding night. The young family moved to Angel Grove, California shortly thereafter, and in 1985 were joined by a baby boy, David Francis.

Kimberly was raised in the Catholic religion of her parents and began attending school at St. Frances Xavier, but left after first grade as the family had moved across town and her mother did not wish to make the long commute. She did do Angelette Scouts, a nominally Catholic but not overtly spiritual chapter of female scouts, from second to tenth grade, though their activities never took more than a few hours once a week. Subsequently Kimberly began attending Marley Elementary School, where she befriended, besides a number of girls, the introverted Billy Cranston. By middle school, however, they had drifted apart as Kimberly became more intensely involved with gymnastics and cheerleading.

Junior high school was difficult for Kimberly as her parents began to fight and finally, right after seventh grade, announced to the kids that they would be divorcing. Shocked at the dissolution of this stable unit she had always counted on and increasingly disgusted with the shallowness of some of her cheerleaders and the school "Queen Bee," Dana, Kimberly began spending more time with her mother's sister Corinne and her husband Steve Leary.

During eighth grade, however, Kimberly's social life got a shot in the arm when she was asked to show a new student, Trini Kwan, around and rekindled her friendship with Billy, who had become friends with two transfer students, Zack Taylor and Jason Scott of Los Angeles. Though disparate and very young, the five shared in common a sudden and/or persistent social void and were there for each other, so quickly bonded. It was a friendship that would prove highly consequential, for all of them and indeed, for the entire world.

The beginnings
Kimberly was one of the original five Power Rangers chosen by Zordon when Rita Repulsa decided to take revenge on Earth. Initially skeptical about the whole concept, she - along with the others - was quickly convinced when she came head-on with the threat and immediately assumed her role, despite joking about the bad "helmet hair" this would commit her to.

Alongside her friends, Kimberly withstood numerous severe threats. Though without martial arts experience, she proved a strong asset to the Power team as a skilled pilot and marksman, using these skills to singlehandedly save her friends and win battles on multiple occasions in her Pterodactyl Dinozord and with her Power Bow.

Move to Florida, rupture with Tommy
Initially, Kimberly lived with her father's parents in Coral Springs and attended a local high school, spending nearly all her free time on gymnastics practice. She had few friends until the summer, when she started to get to know Cindy McClintock and Marlene Cristiano, two girls on her gymnastics team. They spent their summer free time adventuring around together, and they marked the new school year with dinner at an Irish pub, where they met bartender/server Brendan O'Driscoll, an Irish student at Broward Community College. He invited the three to the beach with his schoolmates the next day, and they all became friends. Kimberly took a certain amount of grief from Marlene and Cindy due to the extra-long conversation she had with Brendan that day, but she was determined to be faithful to Tommy.

Ironically, that determination prompted her to ask Brendan to escort her to the October Homecoming dance, figuring it would be safer to go with a guy who was "just a friend." However, she found herself surprised at how much she enjoyed his company and felt somewhat guilty the next day. A month later, on a long weekend, she agreed to go on a yacht cruise with Brendan and his classmates, and when she returned to her grandparents' home she realized she had forgotten to tell Tommy where she was going that weekend. By now she felt too guilty to tell him where she had been, and she was conscious that their phone conversations were getting shorter and less involved.

An after-Thanksgiving dinner a few weeks later led to a passionate kiss with Brendan, finally forcing Kimberly to make a stark choice. Reasoning that her life had changed and was now too far away, she made the difficult decision to break up with Tommy, unsure of what would happen with Brendan but sure that she couldn't maintain a long-distance relationship. Brendan, however, was definitely interested in Kimberly, and now open to his advances, she happily began a romance with him.

First exhibition, a run-in with the past
Their relationship was quickly put on hold and tested, however, when Kimberly went to Europe over Christmas break 1996-97. In Copenhagen, she competed in her first international gymnastics exhibition and won first place. Both her parents as well as her paternal grandparents and Jason, Zack and Trini had come up for the event. Kimberly and David then spent Christmas with their father and grandparents in Munich and St. Sylvester/New Year's with their mother and stepfather in Paris.

While Kimberly was in Paris, however, a stalker threatened Brendan in Florida, then attacked her family and broke her brother's arm looking for her, then bombed the Galway factory where Brendan's father worked. The very night that Kimberly returned to Florida, Brendan was kidnapped and the culprit turned out to be none other than Lord Zedd. Unable to contact the Power Rangers, Kimberly took the risk of chasing them down onto the cargo cruise Zedd had booked, where she rescued Brendan but was forced to accompany Lord Zedd when he announced that Rita was dead and Kimberly was to be his new bride.

Fortunately, in just a few hours, the Rangers got Kimberly's messages and tracked her down to the star system where Zedd intended to have Finster perform nuptials in a Satanic ceremony. Kimberly was then teleported to safety. Subsequently, a revived Rita sought and obtained a restraining order forbidding Lord Zedd from approaching Kimberly or her civilian associates.

Brendan had a hard time understanding Kimberly's explanation for the events - stories of the Power Rangers are not widely accepted in Europe - but he was happy enough to see Kimberly and he let her know in no uncertain terms how much he appreciated her coming after him.

Return to Angel Grove, graduation
Kimberly's mother announced in February 1997 that she would be selling the house she had kept over from the divorce and been renting out to a friend, as the friend was leaving and the family had left too many possessions inside to trust with a stranger. Kimberly knew she would have to sort through her own belongings but hesitated about going back to Angel Grove until she talked with Trini and learned that Jason was now back there for good. So, in April, she went back for spring break, eager also to help with the faltering Youth Shelter project Jason had mentioned.

This little holiday thrust the two yet again into the world of the Power Rangers as Space Pirate Queen Divatox kidnapped them, intending to sacrifice their "pure, strong" human souls to woo the demon Maligore into accepting a marriage of convenience. She got them all the way to the Island of Muranthias before the Power Rangers and the wizard Lerigot were able to rescue them.

Though the rest of her holiday went well, Kimberly came to feel that this old life might weigh her down and potentially jeopardize her ability to move forward. By this time, her father had moved to Boston, her mother was in Paris and her Aunt Corinne was making regular trips to Maine to take care of her elderly maternal grandmother, so she had little reason to go back to Angel Grove and plenty of reasons to stay away.

Kimberly graduated from Hollywood High School in Spring of 1997 and decided to continue at Florida Atlantic University in the fall as training intensified for the 1999 Pan Global Games. Now that she was going steady with Brendan, her life as a Ranger was over - or so she thought.

Relationships
In elementary school, Kimberly had a tendency to persuade a reluctant but not very strong-willed Billy to play the role of "Ken" to her "Barbie," or as the father when she wanted to play "house." They did exchange a tiny kiss a few times on the occasions when such sessions included a "wedding" prelude. They once talked about getting married but Kimberly said her mom had told her she was too young to be thinking about this stuff. In eighth grade she was briefly interested in Jason, but though open to pursuing a friendship he was still too much of a "young boy" to want to try actually dating.

From junior high on, Kimberly was a constant target of suitor Eugene Skullovitch, whom she resisted

Her freshman year of high school, Kimberly attended homecoming with Peter, the older brother of her longtime friend and fellow Angelette Scout Laura Komorowska. They were "officially" together for about three weeks until Peter confronted her with the fact that they hadn't had a real date since Homecoming. Realizing that her duties as a Power Ranger might render normal relationships impossible, Kimberly suggested they break up. She felt dejected - "so much for high school" - for about a week until she met Tommy Oliver, Jason's rival at a Karate competition.

As it turned out, Tommy would become the Evil Green Ranger and then defect to the side of goodness. Subsequently he and Kimberly began dating in what was the first serious relationship for either of them. The intensity of their relationship only waxed as they fought alongside and rescued each other and Kimberly saw Tommy through two losses and restorations of his powers, as well as his transition to team leader upon the departure of Jason, Zack and Trini. Tommy likewise saw Kimberly recover from a horrific power drain and serious head injury in what would be her last arc as a Power Ranger; no sooner had Kimberly recovered than she passed her Powers on to Katherine and left the team to put her physical fitness to work for her gymnastics.

Kimberly met Brendan in Florida, and as time, distance and the absence of a fight pulled her emotionally further from Tommy, she began to appreciate Brendan more and more, finally breaking up with Tommy and starting an "official" relationship with Brendan. The relationship was tested early in by a run-in with Lord Zedd, and then on Kimberly's side when a return to Angel Grove forced her to confront her level of attachment to her Power Past. After graduation, fearful that she might lose Brendan if she didn't put herself "in the moment," she gave increasingly less subtle hints that she was open to advances. Although she knew Brendan was a devout Catholic and not apt to break the Church's rules regarding premarital intercourse - and although her mother had warned her of potential consequences long ago -, she at least wanted to make herself "available." Eventually, Brendan succumbed to his own impulses and desire to please, and the two of them lost their virginity together in August 1997 on an isolated beach. Quickly, Kimberly was overcome with guilt, not so much for herself - she didn't feel like a good Catholic - as for Brendan. She knew he would be overcome with guilt for having done such a thing. She subsequently talked at length with him and suggested they stop, saying "maybe my mom was right and it's best to wait for marriage, after all." Then she was petrified for the next three months until a pregnancy test confirmed a definite negative.

Personality and interests
Prim and athletic, Kimberly has always loved sport and the outdoors in her own girly way. She was an Angelette Scout until she was nearly 16, but her local chapter was not particularly active. Her father and her uncle Steve took her to the archery range from time to time, which she enjoyed as an activity, but the dearth of other female participants was a discouragement to her.

Kimberly started gymnastics at age four and was a cheerleader from sixth through ninth grades. Gymnastics has been her prime sport and she has competed in numerous regional and state-wide events before beings selected to train to represent the United States in the Pan Global Games. As of 1997 she is training for this event with Coach Gunther Schmidt in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Apart from sport, Kimberly enjoys gardening and French cooking, and is an avid fan of "vintage" - namely, pre-1980s - films and TV shows, especially Hanna-Barbara features such as Scooby-Doo (she would sometimes cite Daphne as a personal role model for her stint as a Power Ranger) and Jonny Quest as well as The Brady Bunch, The Dick van Dyke Show, Bewitched and The Beverly Hillbillies.

Kimberly is known to her friends as spirited, caring, warm and reactive, if a little silly and ditzy from time to time. In junior high school, hoping to "fit in" with the Makeup Monster cheerleader crowd (and react to her parents' souring marriage), she adopted a rather shallow and willfully naïve persona that didn't quite fit her and which she sought to discard starting in eighth grade. By the time she was a junior in high school, she had largely shed the traces of her bad phase.

Religious views
Kimberly was raised Catholic, but necessarily strictly so. From second grade onward she never attended Catholic schools, though she did attend Catechism under Sister Lucy to prepare for her first Communion. She and her family stopped regularly attending Mass after her parents' divorce and religion was not frequently brought up in the house.

As a young girl, Kimberly aspired to always be a "good girl" and she understood this to mean well in-line with God and obedient to His laws. Gradually such notions fell by the wayside due to lack of consistent context in her later upbringing, though she always felt a certain connection to Churches and shrines when she passed by them.

Kimberly's rediscovery of religion, however, came with her relationship with Brendan, who is highly devout. Her boyfriend's self-torturous approach to Confession and repentance, however, give her hesitation about stepping fully back in, as she fears just how she'll be made to see herself.