DISCLAIMER
Inspired by a PSA for PR and the Mutant X ep "She's Come Undone" as well as some concepts from the Lois And Clark ep "Target: Jimmy Olsen". I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize. Sorry if one of my transitions is a bit clunky.
In the parking lot of the hospital, Jason paced on the sidewalk, and then sank into a sitting position. What am I going to do? I can't fight Stryker. And there's no way we'll be able to convince him to deactivate us for good, he thought to himself. He glanced at his communicator and snorted derisively. Some Ranger I am. I can't even stop a human from taking control of me, he thought. Something wet touched his eyelids and realized that he had started to cry.
"Aw, what is this? The big, strong, Red Ranger crying?" a voice sneered. With a gasp, Jason jumped to his feet into a defensive stance.
"What do you want?" he snapped.
"Your destruction." Goldar lunged at Jason, who quickly dodged the attack and then kicked him. Goldar laughed when he realized that the Red Ranger's heart wasn't in it.
"Look at you! You're pathetic!" With a cry of rage, Jason lunged at him. Goldar dodged and then slashed him in the chest, causing Jason to cry out as he was knocked back.
"Come on, Jason! I know you can fight! What's the matter? Afraid?" the simian taunted.
"Of you? Not a chance!"
"Then come and get me, little Red Ranger!" Jason lunged at him again, only to be tossed over his shoulder. With a laugh, Goldar pinned him to the ground with a foot. In the Command Center, the alarm blared crazily.
"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! Jason's in trouble!" Alpha exclaimed.
"Contact the other Rangers at once," Zordon instructed. Alpha did so.
"What's up, Alpha?" Zack asked.
"Goldar has attacked Jason at the Angel Grove Community Hospital and he needs your help!" Alpha reported.
"We're on it," Zack assured, and the Rangers morphed. Jason grunted over the weight of Goldar's foot. As he struggled, he felt the pressure increase. Suddenly, a bone in one of his ribs cracked and he gave an agonized cry. There was a bright light and Goldar fell back with a cry of pain. He got up and watched in relief as the others fought Goldar. After a few minutes of intense fighting, the general left.
"So long, bozo," the Green Ranger said. Jason gave a rasping chuckle as he tried to rise.
"Jason!" the others cried, turning to their leader.
"I'm fine," he told them, trying not to wince.
"Jase, Bro, you don't sound good," the Green Ranger noted as he and the Black Ranger helped him to his feet.
"I'm okay," Jason insisted, but after one step, began to fall. However, the Green Ranger swiftly caught him and lifted him by the legs so that he was carrying him in his arms, with some help from the Black Ranger.
"Guys, put me down…now," Jason growled.
"Sorry, Bro. No can do," the Black Ranger responded as they headed through the doors.
"I swear, if you guys don't put me down---and I mean right now---I will drop kick you where it hurts," he threatened. Hearing the threat, two nurses stared at each other and then at the young man who was threatening the Power Rangers. What would their response be to that?
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'd like to see you try it," the Black Ranger dismissed.
"What's going on?" the receptionist questioned.
"He got ambushed by our enemies, fought them ending up with a cracked rib, and now he's trying to be a macho man," the Pink Ranger replied. The nurses put in a call and almost immediately, a doctor came up with a gurney. The Rangers gently placed him down, helped strapped him in, and the doctors whisked him away. Then, they all teleported out the building. Jason sighed as the doctors wheeled him into emergency. I don't believe this. They all disobeyed a direct order. I told them to put me down, he silently fumed. However, his thoughts were cut off as a bump caused a jolt of pain to go through his cracked rib and he let out a small grunt. Minutes later, he was sitting on an examination table as his ribs were wrapped up.
"I can't believe you guys strapped me down," he grumbled.
"Son, you were fighting the Rangers, we had no choice," the doctor told him. Just then, Kimberly and the others came in.
"What happened?" Kimberly wondered.
"What are you kids doing here?" the doctor wondered.
"We were all thinking about volunteering and were talking to the receptionist when we heard that he had been brought in," Trini answered.
"So, what happened? Is he all right?" Kimberly pressed. How much damage did Goldar do to him? she wondered.
"According to the Power Rangers, he got ambushed by some of their enemies, fighting them and getting hurt in the process," the doctor replied, his tone indicating exactly what he thought of that. Kimberly glared at him.
"That was stupid," she scolded.
"Yeah, I know," he said.
"I'll leave you all alone. And Mr. Scott, you can leave whenever you want," he told them and walked out. In the warehouse, Stryker's henchman walked up to him.
"Well, did Scott break down when he realized that he just killed one of his friends?" he smirked.
"Sorry, Sir. But they managed to get her to a hospital," the man reported.
"WHAT?"
"Sir, I don't know how---" the man's excuse was cut off as Stryker pulled out a gun and shot him in the chest. So, you failed in your task, did you, Scott? Then I guess I'm just going to have to punish you as I call you back, he thought, opening a drawer to reveal several controls. He grabbed one and pressed it. Back at the hospital, the others had crowded around Jason.
"See what happens when you don't have your morpher on you?" Kimberly scolded again.
"Guys, I'm fine. I've been injured worse in karate matches," Jason told them.
"But this wouldn't have happened at all if---" Kimberly's complaint broke off as Jason suddenly groaned and grabbed his head.
"Jase?" the others asked, crowding around him.
"Did he get hit in the head?" Zack questioned.
"Not that I saw," Billy replied. Meanwhile, Curtis, who hadn't left Monica's side ever since she had been brought in, had decided to grab a bite to eat. Suddenly, he heard a groan of pain.
"Jason?" he asked. He followed the sound until he reached the room. "Jase!" He pushed past the others who were too surprised to move and stood beside him.
"Curtis, I feel kinda sick, Bro," he moaned.
"He must've found out that Ruby's still alive and he wants you to come back," his friend said.
"What are you talking about?" Tommy wondered.
"Nothin'," Jason groaned. "Man, I knew he had a long reach, but---" the sentence was cut off by a retching noise. Kimberly and the others made noises of disgust. Hearing the noise, a nurse rushed in.
"Do you need some help?" she asked, standing next to him. Jason and Curtis just waved her off. Meanwhile, at the Angel Grove Police Department, Officer Stone was looking up Project X9 on-line. Soon, he was rewarded with a hit.
"Experimental mind control study, that's what the boys told me," he muttered. Then, as he scrolled down, "Run by a Lucas Stryker…study fell apart when subjects quit…Oh, there we are." He stared at the screen. ":Looks like I'm paying a house call!" With that, he stood up and hurried out of the precinct.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I'm not exactly sure what the procedure is concerning a broken rib, but I figured if the Power Rangers showed up at the hospital, the doctors would be inclined to take him right away, and they didn't take him to the Command Center since they were right there and it would've made more sense to bring him in. And I know realistically, they would've had to call Jason's parents before doing anything because he's a minor, but it just didn't work out for the story.
