Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Ninja Steel.

Madam Oedius wasn't sure when it all started to happen; when she turned on Galvanax. She remembered the very day Galvanax became a champion of the universe, and she remembered the creation of his show Galaxy Warriors. She remembered being a fan of his back at the absolute height of his popularity and cheering him on whenever he appeared on TV. She remembered seeing him as a ruthless, powerful being that would crush anyone who opposed him.

Eventually, Galvanax stopped with the fighting. He held onto the title of champion for so long that warriors who challenged him had to earn the right to fight against him. That meant fewer battles, since he was only fighting with the worthiest, and the longer he held onto his title, the more challenges his opponents had to overcome just to face him. His ego continued to grow and he started to see himself as indestructible. His fans were ever adoring and believed he could do anything.

One day, when he heard of the power of the Ninja Power Stars, he knew he had to have them. He knew he was worthy of them. So he obtained the Prism, tried to grab one of the stars and found himself rejected. He set up a challenge. Whoever was worthy enough to grab a power star would become the next new champion (only if they could defeat him, of course, and he knew they wouldn't). Fans and warriors from all reaches of the galaxy embraced the challenge and would fight each other for the honour of trying to grab a Power Star. When every warrior failed, Galvanax grew frustrated with them and would find a reason to punish them. His fans, who felt he could do no wrong, would always support his decisions.

But Madam Oedius, who could see Galvanax for more than what was shown on TV, saw the champion grow weaker. He wouldn't fight, he wouldn't train. His ego was the only thing he continued to strengthen. She was sure, against any opponent, Galvanax would find himself struggling. He may still come out the winner, but it wouldn't be in the same, crushing manner as it had been in his prime.

Against the Rangers, Madam Oedius knew Galvanax would fail. If he fought the six of them, he would lose. It was plain and simple. Madam Oedius felt that she could beat him herself, but she didn't want to.

No, instead, she had a different approach. While everyone was so focused on the show and on Galvanax, and fighting themselves for his validation and for the title of champion, Madam Oedius was free to work behind the scenes on her own plans. She would be the one to grab all the Ninja Power Stars. She would be the one to earn Galvanax's respect.

Then, she would crush him. He would be far too weak to fight back and he wouldn't have the Power Stars to back him up. Madam Oedius would defeat the greatest warrior in the galaxy, and perhaps the universe, and it would be time for her to rule.

However, to accomplish that, she needed everyone to believe Galvanax was still the strong, brave, undefeatable warrior that they all saw him as. She needed to guard his reputation, and find ways for him to exert his power so he didn't reveal how pathetic he was truly becoming. In his eyes, and the eyes of all who watched, she remained his biggest supporter.

Behind the scenes, she was planning his demise.

She had some sneaky ways of going around his plans. She didn't want Galvanax to know she was sending down monsters to attack the Rangers, so she needed to be less obvious about it. Aiden was the perfect monster because, to Galvanax, he was just a human who was causing trouble. He had no reason to think Aiden worked for Madam Oedius, or that Aiden had any real knowledge of what happened on the ship.

Unfortunately, Aiden was met with his demise. The Rangers figured out he was nothing more than one of Madam Oedius' creations and they defeated him. Madam Oedius was without her greatest warrior and that burned her.

So, she looked for another. And this time, instead of trying to use someone the Rangers might love, she set her sights on a human the Rangers would be sure to hate. She had been watching them enough, following their every move. She was likely the only person on Galvanax's ship who had noticed the pink Power Star had switched hosts for a quick while. She knew everything, and she hoped that would be the tipping point.

The guards were terrified as she approached the prison, especially when they tried to shoot at her with their guns but she didn't slow down. They let her walk right by as they coward in the corner, begging she spare their lives.

Alarms started to sound. More guards would rush out while the prisoners were being rushed away. Madam Oedius assumed they were being taken somewhere for their safety and to prevent escape. Some of the less cowardly guards tried to fight her. They would be met with their end.

Eventually, Madam Oedius found the prison cells, with the prisoners all locked up inside. Some of the guards still tried to stop her, but Madam Oedius had other plans.

"So, this is the worst this planet has to offer?" she asked as she looked around, seeing the criminals cowering in their cells as their eyes remained glued on the dead guards who had tried to stop Madam Oedius. She knew the prisoners were at her mercy. They wouldn't have weapons to attack, or anyway to defend themselves. If she wanted, she could kill them all now.

But she didn't. Instead, she found the cell she needed and pointed to the prisoner she wanted.

"You," she said to a man and he looked around, hoping it wasn't him. But Madam Oedius nodded, then pulled opened the door to his cell. "Come with me."

"Me?" he asked. "But… but…"

"You know the identity of the pink Ranger, do you not?"

"No one believes me," he said.

"They will soon," Madam Oedius smiled and waved him over, "Come on."

-Ninja-Steel-

The Rangers had many places they liked to train. Sometimes, it was in the garage just outside the school. Sometimes, they liked to head out to a clearing in the woods. Other times, they liked to train on Brody and Levi's property. They felt by mixing it up, no one would be able to find the exact spot where the Rangers trained, and so no one would stumble upon their identities.

On this day, the Rangers had opted to train on Brody and Levi's property. They planned to hang out together after and so having a couple showers nearby that they could use to freshen up afterwards was appealing.

Most of the Rangers had already showered and changed into clean clothes. Sarah, who insisted Kelly train with the Rangers, stayed outside a little longer to run her girlfriend through some basic attack and defensive maneuvers. In the off chance she was targeted again by Madam Oedius, Galvanax, or whoever else wanted to fight the Rangers, Sarah wanted to know Kelly was ready.

Since they were last to come in, they were the last to shower, and while their friends waited for them, they had the TV on. As they flipped through the channels, the Rangers found some breaking news.

Kelly was first to come out of the shower, but the Rangers didn't hear her. She walked into the living room and when she asked what everyone was watching, they all jumped up and Levi turned off the TV.

"Oh… okay… is this like… Ranger group porn or something?" she asked, confused by the secrecy. "Come on, guys, we all have guilty pleasures."

"It's not porn," Preston said. "We're watching the news."

"What's happening?" Kelly asked and reached for the remote, but Levi held it high.

"You don't want to know."

"Uh, journalist dad," Kelly reminded him. "The news kind of fascinates me, you know. Is it good? Bad?"

"Bad," Hayley answered. "Very, very bad."

"Okay… so… shouldn't I know? Did the president say something stupid again? Is it world war three? Have we turned on Canada?"

"Not yet," Calvin shook his head.

"Has Canada turned on us?"

"Kelly, this isn't politics," Levi said. "This is about prison. There's been… a break in?"

"Break in?" Kelly frowned. "Uh, don't people try to get out of prison?"

"Yeah, that happened too," Preston nodded his head. He rubbed the back of his neck, "Madam Oedius broke in and… all the prisoners were able to break out."

"All… all the prisoners?" Kelly gulped. "So… like, thieves and con artists?"

"Murderers, rapists… uh… pimps."

"Pimps?" Kelly frowned just before it hit her. "Wait, like… Drex? Like, guy who kidnapped Sarah and tried to… you know. That prison with that pimp?"

The five Rangers all nodded their heads.

"Madam Oedius broke into that prison? Did she take him?"

"We have no idea," Levi answered. "Security footage is missing and so are all the prisoners. We have no idea which are free, which she took, if any."

"We just know they aren't in prison anymore," Brody nodded. "Which means the worst of the worst of this country are running free."

"Because that's exactly what we need," Kelly muttered.

"What is exactly what we need?" Sarah asked as she made her way into the living room. She noticed the worried looks on all her friends faces and frowned. "What?"