Author's notes – thanks for reading :). At the chapter's end, there's a reference to a black suit – you'll know it when you get to it – that is just a tiny reference to another series of stories featuring the same characters but independent of these stories, I just haven't written that series yet. Enjoy :).

Koula girl -- thanks again for the feedback :). My favourite zord battles were the ones where the zords all fought individually, so I figured I had to include at least one zord battle like that.

Chapter Six

We teleported back into camp as the zords all returned to their underground hiding places, landing out of sight behind the main hall. Demorphing, we all ducked through the rear entrance of the building, the teacher's quarters, and slipped into the main hall to join the group. Luckily, we hadn't been missed during the chaos after the ambush on the beach. The all-clear was called about five minutes after we returned, and not surprisingly, the camp staff decided to have breakfast half an hour early rather than complete the morning run.

However, the fight pretty much killed the camp program for the rest of the morning. A team of several dozen doctors and nurses were called to the campsite to give every kid a thorough check-up, before the camp staff phoned both Goondiwindi and Currimundi State Primary Schools to ease the concern of hundreds of worried parents. By the time the camp had dealt with the press, it was one o'clock in the afternoon, so we were given lunch and told the camp program had skipped forward to deal with the extraordinary circumstances. For our group, this meant a walk across Tallebudgera Creek and hike around Mt Burleigh, followed by a study of the rockpools on the beach around the northern side of the peak.

Sarah, Scott, Teresa, Brendan and I walked together, following the mountain trail and enjoying the picturesque scenery. Once around the mountain, Mrs Manderson tried to organise everyone into some kind of rockpool study, but it wasn't meant to be, and we spent the afternoon wading and exploring the pools on the beach. I have to admit I find rockpools fascinating - they're like naturally-formed aquariums, with darting fish, rows of seaweed and tiny hermit crabs.

Needless to say, both Brendan and Scott teased me all afternoon about it, until I lured them close enough to thoroughly drench the pair of them - the resulting water fight ended up involving the whole group. Soaking wet but happily laughing, we all marched back to camp late that afternoon. Dinner was a subdued afraid, and after returning the book I'd borrowed from the camp library, I went to bed early and slept soundly.

The next morning saw a much more relaxing start to the day, with no fifteen-storey monsters in sight. It was 'sleep in' morning, which meant there were no loud whistles forcing us out of bed and no forced runs on the beach, to the delight of over a hundred and fifty tired kids. After the battle yesterday morning, Scott and I slept as long as possible, not even stirring when the other kids in the cabin began to move around and almost missing breakfast.

By the time the groups all assembled in the main hall, we were all awake. For the Muddies, today's activities included a stroll down to the beach for some fishing (as well as burying Brendan so far in the sand that only his head protruded, and threats of dismemberment if we didn't dig him out again), followed by a trip to Tallebudgera Creek after lunch for an afternoon of sailing. The day was pleasant and uneventful, particularly considering the daily attacks at the start of the week. Not that the six of us minded one bit.

However, as we all later found out, back home in Caloundra things were anything but peace and quiet. The Power Rangers' battle with Pisces on Tallebudgera Beach had confirmed what the international press living in Caloundra had began to suspect during the attack at SeaWorld - the Junior Team of Power Rangers were in fact a group of eleven-year-old sixth grade students from Currimundi State Primary School. The link with the school itself was old news, but the specific age that identified the superheroes was certainly not.

The fact that there was also suddenly a Grey Ranger, complete with his own zord, did nothing to hamper the media circus.

The Bureau of Supernatural Events, the department of Caloundra City Council specifically designed to report to the rest of the world the public activities of the Power Rangers, had been swamped with calls from journalists all day. Around lunchtime, the Mayor of Goondiwindi called on behalf of the parents and teachers of the city, and was put on hold for twenty minutes as the office workers tried desperately to think of something to say to him that wouldn't give the poor man a heart attack. "Why yes, this happens all the time and we generally just let the Rangers sort it out," wasn't considered a viable option.

But again - as Scott had said earlier in the week, one of the coolest things about camp was the fact we didn't have to worry about it. We had the week to ourselves, to laugh, do nothing and be kids. And we were happier for it.

After the day's activities, everyone was pretty tired by the time dinner was served, and the macaroni and cheese we were offered was eaten with less than the usual noise and enthusiasm you'd expect from more than a hundred kids. Still, the pasta tasted delicious (despite the fact that Brendan says I'm biased towards anything Italian. Actually, I am, but that's neither here nor there), and the ice cream and apple pie we had for dessert were pretty good too.

After dinner, everyone just wandered around and chatted with their friends. At Mr Burgess' request, the camp staff rigged up a large wide-screen television in the main building to catch an important game of rugby being played somewhere in the country that night. It wasn't long before heaps of kids had grabbed pillows and blankets from their bunks and sat down to watch.

Sarah and Teresa decided to join everyone in the main hall, while Ian and Brendan accepted a challenge from Petey and Luke to several rounds of Scrabble in the library. Realising those games would probably get all four of them forcibly evicted and banned from ever going near the place again, Scott and I decided to find a quiet spot behind our cabin, relax with some hot chocolate, and count the stars.

"Hey," said Scott with a smile, as I rounded the corner of the cabin, went over to where he was sitting and happily accepted the mug of hot chocolate he offered me. "What kept you? I've been here for ages."

"I went to take a shower," I replied, sitting on the grass with my back to the cabin and slowly sipping the chocolate milk, taking my time and feeling the warmth spread right down to my toes.

"Oh good, I'm glad to hear your attitude towards bathing on camp has changed," he grinned, reminding me of last year's camp where I went for a whole three days without taking a bath. "Although I'm almost afraid to ask - shower block?"

"No, the locker room in the Command Centre."

He stared at me for a second, then burst out laughing. "You prude!"

I blushed. "I am not," I replied indignantly. "It's just that camp showers are always so dirty and slimy..."

"Yeah, whatever," he said, and then smiled. "Prude."

I pouted, but couldn't help myself and was soon laughing with him. "Yeah, well, it is the one place on Earth where I get total privacy."

Scott smiled, taking a slow drink of chocolate, before looking up. "Next time, ask Alpha to heat your towel before you're finished."

I turned to him. "They can do that?"

"Yep. So worth it."

I smiled, took another drink, and leaned back against the wall. Staring up to the heavens, I began naming the constellations and planets I could see, and it was only after I'd began following the Milky Way with my eyes that I suddenly felt small. And given I pilot a zord, feeling small is pretty daunting. Turning away from the million points of light, I looked over to my best friend and broke the silence.

"Can you remember at the start of the year when we were all at Sarah's birthday party?" I asked.

Scott smiled. "Chocolate ice-cream cake. It was a good party."

I laughed. "And we were sitting there in Sarah's backyard, staring up at the stars and wondering just how big the Universe was." I paused, and shook my head. "If we'd even begun to imagine where we'd be in six months, and just how big the Universe would get."

"I know what you mean," nodded Scott, turning to me. "I used to think that, you know, America and Europe were faraway, but now..." He looked up, scanning the heavens with his eyes and searching for the star Billy had pointed out to him. "Somewhere up there, in the millions of miles of empty space, the desert planet Nerimos is orbiting a tiny yellow star. No-one on Earth has even heard of the place, much less walked on its surface - but we have, you know?"

I nodded. "All those stars, can you imagine how many planets must be up there?"

"A million and one worlds to explore," he said softly. "All with monsters that need fighting and people who need our help. There has to be heroes, after all."

I looked back to the stars. Something Ian had said a few days ago came back into my mind. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

I opened my mouth to reply, but stopped, confused.

He laughed, his dark eyes twinkling in the low light. "Go ahead."

I shook my head. "Well, what I was going to ask is, do you ever get scared?"

He paused, then nodded. "Every time," he replied. "Every time I'm facing down something with glowing eyes, a bad attitude and way too many teeth. And not always for us, I mean, it's scary thinking about the people behind us who aren't invulnerable and don't have zords to retreat to." He turned to me. "Do you think the Seniors ever get scared?"

"They probably used to," I said. "But I just can't imagine it now. They're all so confident, I mean, they always seem to know exactly what they're doing. Jason in particular, I don't know how he does it."

"They've probably fought all these battles before," Scott said. "And given how long they've been doing this, they must be doing something right." He paused. "What about you? Is it scary being the leader? That you just got given a golden coin and told to lead us into battle once a week and make sure everybody's still standing when the smoke clears?"

I frowned. "Well if it wasn't before, it is now," I replied, and Scott laughed. "Seriously, it is a little freaky. I wish I knew what I was doing half the time. I just make decisions, hope I get them right and try not to think about what happens if I get them wrong. I trust you guys though, and I know whatever we're facing, we'll be standing together. Besides, I couldn't order you guys to jump through hoops on command even if I wanted to."

"Because we'd launch you into deep space."

"Exactly," I smiled. "I'm glad I'm a Power Ranger, I'm glad we've found Ian, glad we have the Seniors looking out for us, and sure as heck glad I've got you."

Scott smiled. "You'll get the hang of it, don't worry," he said. "It's what you do, man. And you're right - we can't go wrong as long as we stick together," and he went to take another drink of chocolate but found his mug empty. "Darn, I'm empty," he frowned, holding the cup upside down for emphasis.

I glanced down to my own mug. "Me too."

"Then it's a good thing you've got me around," came a voice, and we turned to see Ian come into view balancing three mugs in his hands. "Plenty for everyone," he said, walking over to the wall, sitting down beside us and carefully passing us a cup each.

I accepted the mug Ian offered and took a slow sip. "Ian, you rule. You so do."

"So... what happened to Scrabble?" asked Scott innocently.

"We were kicked out of the library," Ian admitted, then laughed. "It wasn't us! It was Petey and Luke!"

Scott and I leaned back against the wall, our sides aching from laughing so hard, and Ian gave us a few seconds to collect ourselves. "So," he began finally, "I know all about you guys, I got a guided tour of the Command Centre and I even have my own zord," he said, looking to me. "Anything else I need to know?"

I quickly turned to Scott and we grinned at each other, the same mental image of a dark costume flitting through both our minds, before turning back to Ian. "Actually, come to think of it..."