Title: Brownie Batter
Disclaimer: I do not own any person, place or thing you may recognize.
Rating: T
Warnings: Ranger related violence; language
Series: Taste the Rainbow
Characters: Zack Taylor, Adam Park, Abraham (Wild West Ranger), Corcus (Alien Ranger), Carlos Vallerte, Danny Delgado, Tommy Oliver, Will Aston, Dillon and Jake Holling; with mentions of and appearances by the various other Rangers, Mentors, Allies, Civilians and Villains
Spoilers: Eventual for all 20 seasons
Author's Note: So, this is part of an idea I had a while ago to write an episode tag oneshot with a focus on each of the Rangers. This series isn't something of a priority, so updates will be as I have both the time and inclination. This particular piece focuses on the Black Rangers.

Let me know what y'all thing.

Fae


Title: Day of the Dumpster
Character: Zack Taylor
Word Count: 676

Luck had nothing to do with it.

Now, why didn't he believe that? Yeah, sure, that other stuff about skill and teamwork sounded pretty and all, but there was no way it was entirely true. Absolutely not, and if that floating head person thought they'd believe that, then he was even more insane than Zack had first thought.

Oh, sure, don't get him wrong, he had said yes to the whole Power Ranger thing, because it was the right thing to do and because it sounded like fun. But that didn't change the fact that that Zordon fellow was a giant floating head. Nor did it change the fact that Zack was still majorly skeptical about this whole thing.

For a second there, he had thought that Kim was the only one of them with any brains, saying no the way she had- although it would have been better if it had been for a reason other than the fact that the helmet messed up her hair. He snickered, thinking about the way she had panicked when that little robot thing had started smoking.

Still, if they had been smart, all five of them would have run in the opposite direction. Then again, that hadn't exactly worked out all that well the first time they tried that.

He still couldn't believe they had actually managed to win. None of them had been prepared for what they were getting into. Maybe Jason. The whole leader thing came naturally to him, plus the whole karate thing gave him an edge that the others hadn't had. But Billy? Kim?

Okay, yeah, Kim could hold her own against Bulk and Skull and she could even knock Jason on his ass when she put her mind to it. But fighting a pair of high school bullies and sparring with friends was one thing. Fighting aliens who were aiming to kill? That was a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

And then there was that overgrown Wizard of Oz reject.

There was no way that could have been anything but luck. They had been even less prepared to fight him than they had been to fight those- whatever those things were out in the desert. And yet, the moment they looked ready to put up an actual fight, that monkey thing had taken off.

Good thing, too. He didn't think they would have been able to fight it. Him. Whatever the heck that thing was. He didn't know, nor did he care.

He lay back on his bed, his hands linked under his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

Only time would tell whether or not they had done the smart thing by saying yes. The right thing, yes. Of that, he had no doubt. Like Jason had said, Zordon had picked them to save the world. Saying yes had definitely been the right thing to do. The problem was that the right thing wasn't necessarily always the best thing.

He had to admit, however, that at the time, he hadn't been thinking about that. He had been angry. Hearing Kim scream like that-

He shuddered. He had hoped to never hear that sound ever again. It had been bad enough all those years ago, hearing it from the distance. Being so close like that was ten times worse. The difference was that this time, he could do something about it. So he had done what needed to be done, even if he had been skeptical about the whole thing, and they had come out on top.

He sighed. This was going to be an interesting little adventure the five of them were embarking on. He was just glad that it was the five of them, together. Even if today had been luck- (which it had been, no matter what Zordon tried to tell them)- they did actually have the foundation for future success to be because of their skill and teamwork rather than just luck.

It would take some doing, but he was reasonably sure that they'd get there. Eventually.