Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. If Bulk were mine I would have had him go out for track and field. And win.

A/N: Thanks to Rach and ScarletDeva for betaing.

Diary of the Dumpster

Eltaran medicine. They can travel freely through space and create powerful teams of super beings, but can they make a cast that doesn't itch? Of course not.

My life has flashed before my eyes four times now. This last time I really thought I was going to die until Jason stepped in. Fortunately, it's merely a fractured leg. And thanks to Zordon I'm only immobilized for twenty-four hours. I've told my parents I am spending the night at Kim's.

I suppose I'll get used to it: saving, being saved. Giving the care and preservation of my life and the lives of everyone I know into the hands of my teammates, and willingly taking theirs into mine. Terrifying. Exhilarating. Freeing, in a weird way.

Being a Power Ranger is an interesting road to self-discovery. This is my adolescence, and the only one I'll have, so I have nothing to compare it to; but I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say that there's no other avocation that gives you as thorough a knowledge of your personal limits, and in a heartbeat.

Of all of us, I am both most and least amazed by Jason. Paradoxical, I know, but there it is. The leashed power that roils inside him, the clarity of purpose, the sheer nobility and willingness to sacrifice: these things both confirm me in my opinion of his nature, and astound me. I could make the case that he is the true hero while the rest of us just play at it.

But that would denigrate the efforts of my teammates, and I don't mean to do that. We are all still learning how to do this together, and if I feel that perhaps I am lagging a heartbeat behind the others, it's probably just my perception, my own lack of confidence that colors my view. Which brings me full circle: me, a superhero? It makes me both shake my head and laugh aloud.

And speaking of laughter, today the Power Rangers got a write-up in the paper. The prevailing theory is that we are a covert government SWAT team. Yes, indeed. Those uniform colors are all sorts of covert.

Pause for scratching. Alpha has an arm attachment that's as good as a knitting needle.

I broke up with Richie yesterday. Long overdue, since I never really wanted to date him in the first place. I admit it, I was trying to get at Jason, and it horrifies me to realize I used a nice guy like Richie that way.

And I think, I really do, that Jason does feel more for me than friendship, even if he is dating Emily now. I won't stoop to trying to separate them, not if he's happy, but if they ever do break up…

It was this last battle, and its aftermath, which clarified things for me. There was a moment that crystallized… Billy and Kim were fighting in eerie synchronization, as they now so often do. Zack was near me, and as usual, Jason was taking on the world more or less by himself. Goldar was behind him, leveling a concussion blaster at his back; Jason couldn't have seen him in time to dodge, and all I could think was, 'he'll be killed'. I couldn't think what else to do. Didn't think at all, just… jumped into the fire. Zack leapt for Jason at the same time I went for Goldar. I caught the edge of the concussion blast, which is what broke my leg, they tell me. I don't remember anything else.

Kim said later that she'd never seen Jason like that. He attacked Goldar in a fury, she said, nearly throttling the beast until his retreat. And then he brought me here. White, shaking, cursing… I thought she was exaggerating until she showed me the Command Center tapes. And the fist-shaped dent in the medical console speaks for itself.

He had a long talk with Zordon after that. I could hardly help overhearing; Jason had evidently left the commlink to the medbay open in case I made some sound, and I could easily hear him talking to Zordon in the main chamber.

I wonder if they are still taking those applications to be student representatives to the Peace Conference in Switzerland?