Disclaimer: Don't own Power Rangers.

~oMo~

Jacob snapped awake just before he hit the floor, thunking his knee loud enough to startle the one who'd rolled him out of bed—which was Charlie, this time. Jacob suspected that his teammates were taking turns waking him up.

"We're going out to convert ourselves some foot soldiers in half an hour. Get yourself presentable."

Jacob groaned again, running a hand through his brown hair, and noticed how greasy it had gotten lately. Charlie left without another word.

Jacob actually found a tiny shower next to the closet, and the chilly water woke him up the rest of the way. Still, it felt surprisingly good, and for a little while, he felt normal again.

The feeling faded away as Jacob came into the main room of the Hexagram, combing his damp hair out of his eyes with his fingers. The other four were there already, morphed but helmetless. Heather's mouth twitched upwards in a small smile, and Jacob returned it.

"Unleash the monster within!" He cried, morphing with a negative flash. As he removed his helmet, the Alchemist appeared on one wall.

"Ah, I see that Chan has deigned to grace us with his presence, good. Your task is simple, Rangers. Take these Toxipods," he said, gesturing as Fischer entered, carrying a handful of black, shiny pods the size of a small fist. Jacob took the two he was handed, and they stuck to his skin just a little. "You throw them at people, and they do the rest. Capture as many as you can before the Power Rangers arrive; we'll be able to teleport all the ones who've been converted. This should help with the numbers issue for the moment. Your target is Angel Grove. Get started."

"Back into action!" Charlie said, and they all put their helmets back on. Fischer teleported them out with the push of a button, and they materialized in the park of Angel Grove. The only people there were on their way to work, and the screaming began almost immediately.

Spinning around, Layla threw a Toxipod at a passing suited man, who fell as it struck him in the back. The pod exploded, and black ooze flowed all over his body, hardening as it spread. Within seconds, he was completely covered. Where his eyes had been were wide, insectlike eyes, and his hands were webbed and clawed. Shakily, the new Toxicite stood, and let out an inhuman shriek, showing off a mouthful of white fangs.

Charlie started throwing as well, though Jacob noticed how he tended to just barely miss the panicking citizens. Joe looked around in bewilderment, until Layla reminded him what they were supposed to be doing. Guiltily, he started throwing. Hefting a Toxipod, Jacob threw it at a woman in a business suit, and it bounced off her shoulder. The pod burst anyway, and she had time to scream for help before it took over. Transformed, she sprang to her feet and tackled another citizen, and the oozing stuff spread to him.

Then the wind rose, and Jacob looked up to see the same two Stellar Zords that had come the last time descend, landing directly before and behind the evil Rangers. Hissing, the Toxicites sprang back. The untransformed people cheered wildly, squeezing between the Zords to escape the Toxicites.

"Line up," Charlie said to his team, and they did. "Let the Toxicites tire them out first—it'll be a good test of their strength." Unmorphed, the Stellar Rangers appeared through the trees. The Toxicites charged, some running, others leaping through the trees to drop down on the Rangers. Only two were not snared in the Toxicites' ooze. The Pink Ranger darted out of the way at super speed, and began harrying the Toxicites, herding them away from the others as the Green Ranger shook off the ooze—it wouldn't stick to him—and began cutting the others free.

Stellar Red ripped the ooze apart and joined the Pink Ranger in keeping the Toxicites busy. Then the others were out and fighting fiercely. The grass burned away in a flash or froze and shattered beneath their feet. The Toxicites were teleported away as they fell. Adrenaline began coursing through Jacob's body, and his hands itched for his trident.

"Morph," Layla snapped to them. "Stop toying with us."

"A Kiwi? Anyway, I was hoping you'd say that," Rex said, punching out the last few Toxicites between him and the evil Rangers. The seven stopped where they were.

"Medieval Planets, descend!" They shouted, raising their fists and morphing with a blast of smoke. As they each announced their title, a fireball exploded behind them, blackening the nearby trees and burning away their leaves.

"King of the Planets! Red Jupiter Ranger!"

"Morning and Evening Star! Orange Venus Ranger!"

"Ruler of the Night Sky! Blue Luna Ranger!"

"Swiftest of the Planets! Pink Mercury Ranger!"

"Heavenly Lord of War! Green Mars Ranger!"

"Greatest Celestial Light! Yellow Sol Ranger!"

"Ancient and Farthest Sphere! Black Saturn Ranger!"

It dawned on Jacob that the five Monster Rangers were sort of outnumbered. He suppressed a shudder, and dropped into a fighting stance along with his teammates. The remaining Toxicites struggled to their side, which only made Jacob feel a little better. He focused on his opposite, and as the seven began to charge, so did they, yelling.

Stellar Black came closer and closer, and Jacob raised his fists for the first blow. The two sides clashed at the edge of the sidewalk, and then nothing else existed but the battle. Sunlight flashed off helmets and suits, smoke wreathed the fighters, and the Stellar Rangers' powers exploded colorfully throughout the insanity. It was shaping up to be a hot, humid day, and the heat from the fires made it worse. The only sounds were shouts and thumps, and Jacob's harsh breathing, echoing inside his helmet.

He swung at the other Black Ranger, who caught Jacob's arm and pinned it beneath his own. Jacob spun around and kicked him in the back, following it up with a blow to the side of the neck, and the other dropped to his knees. Then his opponent flipped around, dove under Jacob's arm and tangled his legs up, felling the Black Monster Ranger.

As he broke his fall, Jacob glimpsed Layla's meteor hammer swing over his head, streaking flames after it. He managed to kick his rising opponent in the gut, and flipped himself upright as the Black Ranger staggered back. Any desire or even need to hold back faded in the heat of battle. Jacob stabbed and struck at Stellar Black, who deflected nearly half of the blows with his sickle. Sparks flew, and Jacob began to slow down as the smoke grew too thick to see what he was hitting, but he could feel the haft of his trident striking home. Exhilarated, Jacob realized he and his teammates were forcing the Stellar Rangers back. The Orange Ranger yelled something that Jacob couldn't quite make out.

Staggering back, Jacob glanced around at the rest of his team, just as a pink streak shot past him, and Heather stumbled. Her opponent seized the moment and punched her in the face with a green-glowing fist. She was flung back into a sturdy oak tree with a loud crack, and slid down to the scorched earth limply. For Jacob, at least, the entire park went silent.

Jacob ducked a blow from the Black Stellar Ranger just in time, roundhouse-kicked him in the head, and instinctively flipped over towards Heather's side. As she demorphed, Jacob quickly felt along her back for anything that might mean a broken spine, but found nothing. The back of her head was sticky with dark blood. Now the noise came back, and Jacob cringed as a nearby tree was blasted into splinters. He saw the Green Ranger helping Stellar Black up, but didn't register it.

"Heather! Heather, can you hear me?" He called, trying to be heard above the continued explosions and sounds of battle. Then she disappeared with a green flash, and Jacob realized that both his and Heather's opposites were coming. Taking a deep breath, he leaped to his feet and faced them. The fighting was dying down, with all of the Toxicites out of commission. The two looked taken aback, and Jacob realized how odd his actions would have looked. Wryly, he wondered what was going through their minds. Remembering his planned obsession, Jacob charged his opposite.

"Storm Trident!" Jacob cried, whirling the weapon as it appeared. The other Ranger didn't move, and Jacob was nearly on him when he leaped aside. Then the point of the Green Ranger's lance stabbed into Jacob's back, and he fell flat on his stomach. His scream of pain was muffled by a huge, hot explosion.

Blurrily, Jacob looked up. He glimpsed the sunlight gleaming off the Zords, and several small black things that might have been phones held up by the people watching outside it. It felt as if his ribs had caved in where he'd been stabbed, and the wound itself throbbed so strongly that it took his breath away. The smoke stung his eyes, and he coughed convulsively.

Then, mercifully, he was back in the Hexagram. The shadowy figure of Fischer hovered over him, Jacob felt a tiny prick just below his left shoulder blade, and then a wonderful coolness spread across his back. As he lost consciousness, Jacob thought he heard Heather say his name.

~oMo~

Jacob woke up, and wondered why he was lying on his stomach. Then he remembered the fight, and reached back to feel the place where he'd been stabbed. He was a little stiff, but the wound itself didn't hurt at all. But as he touched the spot, his hand met a layer of scales. He felt around, and found that the scales simply faded into his skin at the edges of the wound.

As he sat up, Jacob remembered what Fischer had said after the first battle—the formula would make him more monster-ish to cure his injuries. Jacob felt the spot he'd been stabbed during that early fight, and found more scales. Letting out a long breath, he lay back down on his side, just as Heather walked in.

"Heather!" He sat up quickly.

"Layla was going to barge in and demand to know why you stopped fighting even though you knew I would be teleported out immediately," Heather said, with a wry smile. "I offered to ask instead."

"Thanks, I do that a lot," Jacob admitted, "Forgetting all about a fight to go rescue somebody—besides, I wanted to make sure you hadn't been killed outright. Fischer can't cure that."

"That wouldn't have done any good, but thanks for thinking of me," Heather said, and then grinned. "Next time, try to keep your mind on the enemy Rangers, why don't you?"

"I'll try, if you promise not to get injured that badly again," Jacob said.

"Deal," Heather laughed, but paused when she saw that he wasn't joking.

"Seriously, don't scare me like that," Jacob said. Heather paused, her hand on the doorknob, and looked more carefully at Jacob. "Don't act so surprised," he continued. "One: we're in the same boat. Two: green suits you more than you think." Jacob halted and wondered if he'd gone too far too quickly. Heather flushed dark green. Then she stepped forward and kissed Jacob on the mouth.

Almost before Jacob had realized what had happened, Heather was gone, the door sliding shut after her. Unable to stop grinning, Jacob leaned back and tried to find a comfortable spot on the barely padded bed. He'd helped the good guys win a fight and gotten the girl, from the looks of it. Not a bad day.

~oMo~

Trivia: The Toxicites are actually a remnant from an older fic I never wrote, whose bones are scattered among my current ideas. They're visually based off of Spiderman's Venom.