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Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, they belong to their legal copyright owners. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.

Author's note: Astronoma and Andromeda were two misspellings that appeared in the Fox Kids UK adverts for Power Rangers in Space.

Taking Control

He marched into the office, seemingly unconcerned by the various security guards that Maxell had summoned. Behind him walked five females and Maxell quickly realised that with the exception of their hair, four of them looked very much alike. The fifth however did not wear the same sort of clothing as the others and lacked the look of determination as she was guided by two robotic looking soldiers. Maxell had to admit that it was an impressive sight.

"You are Maxell," the man said as he stood in front of the desk. Despite the desk being on a raised platform where he could stare down at his visitors, Maxell could not fight the feeling that he was the one being looked down upon. "You are the elected Chairman of the Alliance of Evil and as such responsible for calling changes in membership and arranging meetings?"

Maxell bristled at the question. Although that was exactly his role, he prided himself on being more than a secretary, which if he were to guess would be a generous interpretation of the question. As the elected leader of the Alliance of Evil he had wealth, authority and the protection of the dozen or so major factions that battled for political superiority within the organisation. He was in charge of the administration and paperwork, a role that even some villains would argue took the definition of evil to a whole new level. He could with a stroke of his ever present pen grant or block the plans of any of the Alliance's members, bound as they were to follow the laws laid down by the council. Only the Machine Empire had ever managed to defy the Alliance's will as determined by Maxell - for no matter how much power they fed into the spells that governed the Alliance, machines were simply immune to magic. Just that morning Maxell had approved the membership of four new factions and their requests to invade selected planets. He had also blocked one ambitious warlord from conquering a star system that Master Vile had paid for decades before. How dare some unknown wannabe walk into his domain and insult him? Especially when the insult had been so worded that he considered himself stupid for even finding it insulting.

"I am," he confirmed, trying to sound important and imposing, but failing. There was something about this rather ordinary looking man that made Maxell nervous. "Did you wish to apply for membership? The waiting list is rather long for full membership, and new members are required to understand that there is a hierarchy to be respected."

The man - for despite the feeling of power he did seem to be human - laughed, shifting his form as he did so into a tall elf-like figure.

"No Maxell, I am not here to join the Alliance of Evil. I am here to disband it."

He gave a quick nod to the females behind him and four of them leapt into action. A combination of magical attacks and honed combat skills quickly took down even the most powerful of Maxell's security guards. The fifth female seemed to struggle, her face scrunched up in a grimace as she watched those he assumed were her sisters, rapidly slaughter the guards.

Maxell was panicking, his forces had been selected from the best unassigned henchmen that money could buy. They had been given armour crafted by some of the finest armourers in the galaxy and enchanted by some of the Alliance's most devious wizards. And despite that, they didn't stand a chance. He briefly saw a glimmer of hope as one of his hidden guards, too small for most people to take notice of, drew a dagger and swiped at the mysterious elf, only for the blow to be blocked as a green figure appeared and decapitated the would-be assassin.

"Ah Ecliptor," the elf said in a tone that could have been approving, but was most likely mocking, "always on time."

The fight was over, the four females had resumed their previous positions after stepping over what was left of the bodies of their opponents. The fifth female had stopped fighting against her guards, her head tilted in defeat.

"My sword is yours to command," the mighty warrior replied and for the first time Maxell recognised him as Ecliptor, one of the Alliance's much sought after warriors.

"And you my dear consort," the elf continued, not deeming to address Ecliptor further as he turned his full attention to the defiant female. "Still so spirited after all these years, still determined that you will not accept your destiny as my queen. Still human enough to feel sympathy for those that in another life would be your enemy." He leaned close, his features changing momentarily into something far less friendly looking. "I am growing tired of this game my dear. You have no hope of rescue; those who might have known or cared that you existed are dead, along with your world. You will never escape and one way or another, you will accept your destiny."

She didn't speak, but glared back at him defiantly. The stare down did not last long; he looked away first, returning his features to a more friendly appearance. Despite his words he would not destroy her and she knew it. In a way, she had beaten him.

"The Alliance of Evil has served its time," he announced, turning to stare at Maxell. "As of now it will be reformed into the United Alliance of Evil. And the role of elected chairman shall be replaced by myself as the Grand Monarch of Evil."

Maxell wanted to protest. He wanted to shout and threaten all kinds of retribution for the sheer arrogance of this Grand Monarch of Evil. However it seemed that the intruder's words held enough magic within them to collapse all the spells that had been erected at the formation of the old Alliance. The protections that kept him safe in his office dissipated, making him aware of just how vulnerable he really was.

"You have served this organisation well, Maxell," the Grand Monarch mused, "but you also tried to resist my will. You are a traitor to the United Alliance of Evil by retroactive decree. Andromeda, deal with him."

"Of course Dark Specter," one of the females responded. She had pink hair, so far the only thing that set her apart from the others.

Andromeda raised her staff and a ball of flame shot from the tip, engulfing Maxell. The searing flames consumed his flesh. His screams could be heard throughout the building as the magical flames did their work. When the flames finally faded, Maxell had been reduced to a charred corpse. With a second wave of her staff, Maxell's body was transported to the entrance of the headquarters where it would serve as a potent symbol of the new regime's power.

"Very good," Dark Specter praised his servant.

Andromeda was only a clone, a magical copy of his soon-to-be queen. Like her sisters, she had been created to lead his armies into battle and was completely loyal to his teachings. Astronoma, Astronema and Artemis each had their own strengths, but Andromeda had been a student of Dark Specter's finest sorcerers and her powers could reach into the depths of the Morphin Grid.

"Thank you, Dark Specter," she replied, eyeing her master with a hungry look.

Andromeda, Astronema, Astronoma and Artemis had all been created according to Dark Specter's will. They embodied all the things he wanted his queen to be. Among those traits he had given each of them an overwhelming desire to be his queen and to serve in his name. It made the four servants highly competitive and more than a little jealous of his intended bride.

"Now, send word to all those servants of evil that the first meeting of the United Alliance of Evil will take place soon and that their attendance is compulsory." Over time Dark Specter had grown accustomed to completely ignoring the looks of desire on his creations' faces.

"At once Dark Specter," the four females responded.

"Ecliptor, escort my bride to her new quarters and ensure that she is secure," he ordered.

Ecliptor bowed his head and turned to the captive female. "Come along, Princess," he said, gesturing for the two foot-soldiers to lead the way.

As Ecliptor left, Dark Specter to make his way to the raised platform where Maxell had once held office. With a wave of his hand the table was gone, replaced with a throne that spoke of his power. There would be those who tried to oppose him, others who would seek to learn the secrets of his power, but in the days to come they would learn obedience. For just as he had secured an operative deep within the hierarchy of the Galactic Council, so he would now control the Alliance with an iron fist. And then the Universe would be his.


Power Chamber, Earth

"The tests are complete Zordon," Alpha reported.

Zordon sighed. This was the moment when he would discover whether his instincts were correct. Nothing in his mind could come about without there being a price to pay. The computers had been working since events had freed him from his dimensional prison to confirm whether or not his fears were justified.

"Very well Alpha, transfer the data to the Viewing Screen," he instructed.

The monitor filled with line upon line of scientific data and carefully compiled numbers. The Rangers would have found it difficult to understand most parts of the complex report, and almost impossible to comprehend some of the more alien tests that the computer had undertaken. Maybe Trey would have understood the full implications since as Lord of Triforia he had had his share of such examinations. And Billy with his experiences on Aquitar had a chance of recognising what some of the readings represented. The others would not know and that was the way he wanted it.

"So it s true," he said softly. "I had hoped that this was not the case."

"Ai-yi-yi, I'm sorry Zordon."

Zordon smiled at the little robot. Alpha had been his companion for during his imprisonment and was extremely loyal. In fact Alpha had been with him before his confrontation with Rita, but had been damaged. In the years following the showdown, when there had been no way for Zordon to communicate with the rest of the universe, Alpha had been ignored and left to rust. It was only when Zordon had been able to reach out that Lexian had volunteered to rebuild Alpha. Over time Zordon had grown to consider Alpha a friend.

"Thank you Alpha," he replied. "Do not concern yourself."

"The Rangers will be so upset."

"That is why you will not tell them," he replied. Seeing that Alpha was about to protest he wondered if this was going to be the first time he had had to use Alpha's override command to ensure his silence. "Please Alpha, I ask you to keep this matter between us as a favour to me."

To his great relief Alpha agreed. The idea of using his ownership of Alpha to turn such a request into a command was something that disgusted him. Alpha had grown and developed into an individual with his own personality and perhaps after all the time he had spent within the presence of such high concentrations of magic, a soul. To reduce him back to the level of a mere machine would be an unthinkable and truly unforgivable act in Zordon's mind. While Alpha normally did as he was told, that was more to do with him being the
Grid Master's assistant than simple robotic slavery.

"Thank you, Alpha. Begin analysis of my Power Coin. Let us hope that we will find a solution there."

There was much to be done and sadly, less time to do it in. Zordon hoped that his research would prove invaluable to the Rangers in their future battles against the forces of evil. If the visions he had received recently were true, then they would need all the help they could get. And perhaps armed with what he now knew it was time to put a new master plan in place.


"We're ready, Dark Specter"

Across the universe there were many villains. Some were the lone leaders of their own organisations, while others were part of a much larger evil dynasty. Machines, tyrants, pirates, locusts and misguided fools, there was no question that evil sported a wide range different villains. And while some worked together, all were focussed on achieving their aims at the expense of anything that got in their way. And that level of selfishness meant that sometimes infighting was inevitable.

The Alliance of Evil had been a council of the most powerful villains. I was a place where disputes between different factions could be resolved before a minor disagreement turned into an all out war. Rules were in place to make sure that villains at focussed on the goal of destroying the forces of good before turning on each other. It was a place where the size of an empire was as important as the power they held.

But that had changed. Dark Specter had seen the flaws in the Alliance of Evil and had made it his first act to disband the organisation. For the first and greatest flaw of the Alliance of Evil was that membership was voluntary. Once a villain was granted membership, they could sever ties at any time. The Machine Empire had left eons ago and had no long been bound by the rules that applied to the likes of Master Vile. Infighting had become more common in recent decades and given a few more centuries and there was a chance that the Alliance would have fallen apart.

And so Dark Specter had stepped in, destroying the Alliance's administrator and appointing himself as Grand Monarch. His decree had actually stated that the Alliance of Evil had been absorbed into his own empire and reinvented as the United Alliance of Evil, which all members of the Alliance of Evil, past and present, were required to join. He had ordered one of his underlings to send a message advising his new subjects of the change, but had decided a personal appearance would be a better idea.

Astronama, Andromeda, Astronoma and Andromeda had worked together to build a communication platform capable of transmitting Dark Specter's image to all points of his new empire. It had been set up in such a way that for magic users he would appear as a magical projection and for the machines, he would appear as an electronic data stream. It was intended to show that that he could use their methods and not limited like some of those he wished to address.

"Excellent my dear," Dark Specter replied. "Begin the spell."

And with that the members of the newly formed United Alliance of Evil received the message.

"VILLAINS OF THE UNIVERSE, I AM YOUR NEW GRAND MONARCH. THE ALLIANCE OF EVIL HAS BEEN DISBANDED, REPLACED BY A NEW, STRONGER ORGANISATION THAT YOU NOW A PART OF. THE DAYS OF INFIGHTING AND EMPIRES DECLARING INDEPENDENCE ARE OVER. YOU HAVE A CHOICE: EITHER YOU ARE A PART OF THE UNITED ALLIANCE OF EVIL, OR YOU WILL BE ERADICATED AND FORGOTTEN.

ONE MONTH FROM NOW THERE WILL BE A MEETING, THE FIRST MEETING OF OUR NEW ORGANISATION. USE THE TIME BETWEEN NOW AND THEN TO DECIDE WHAT YOU WILL OFFER THE UNITED ALLIANCE OF EVIL. THOSE THAT DO NOT ATTEND WILL BE DECLARED TRAITORS, HUNTED DOWN AND BURNED."

As he spoke, Dark Specter demonstrated his shape shifting abilities, each form growing increasingly monstrous as his tone turned more and more threatening. When he was finished he had no doubt that those that had heard him would obey his command.

End

<post_date>2014-12-03 12:00:01</post_date><post_modified>2022-11-15 14:09:35</post_modified>