Chapter summary: Tommy is brought fully under Rita's spell and is given a mission: befriend the five teenagers he met at the martial arts tournament. In the meantime, Jason is concerned about Rita's lack of planet-attacking activity.

Author's notes: The original show was having to juggle the source material, and Burai is very different from Tommy. So, the relationship between Rita and Tommy feels rather distanced, since they're rarely even shown in the same shot. That was something I realized early on I could change; I could make their relationship far more personal. I'd already set up Tommy's mother as absentee, so I could play around with a mother/son relationship. I also wanted Tommy to be more human while under the spell. In the show, he's more overtly monstrous, and even his undercover interactions with the Rangers seem angrier and more sarcastic. I wanted the chilling counterpoint of Tommy acting completely normal… only working for evil. I think it was probably my favorite dynamic to write, especially since I could not only explore the relationship between him and Rita, but also with Goldar, Finster, and Scorpina.

It was Sunday morning, according to Angel Grove time, and Rita felt like death warmed over as she applied her makeup. It wasn't as if she were trying to impress anyone in particular, but she felt it was her duty as monarch to hide the bags under her eyes.

It had been an exhausting weekend. Friday night had mostly been spent on preparing the various potions and charms, with which Squatt and especially Baboo were irreplaceable help, no matter their personal failings. Baboo had a better grasp of potions than she, though she would never admit it. Not to mention summoning enough power within herself to do a proper job while Finster kept Tommy under the "Helmet of Persuasion" or whatever the hell Finster was calling it.

Then Saturday…

Rita had never actually tried swaying someone's mind. She's taken control of monsters and animals before, sure, but a conscious, strong-willed being? She knew the theory, but the actual experience was nothing like what they said in the books.

Finster had laid the groundwork beautifully. Tommy was relaxed and pliable. There had been a moment after Goldar had first taken the brainwashing helmet off when Tommy looked like he was going to fight, but Goldar kept a firm hand on his arm, and the boy let himself be guided out of the workshop and into the throne room.

There was a problem, of course, with only using Finster's machine. It was good at relaxing and laying the groundwork for suggestion, but it was not to be used by itself. Too much time under its ministrations, Finster had been careful to point out, and he would lose all capacity for independent thought and action.

Rita began the long process of wrapping her hair tightly into the cones. No, she didn't want an imbecile for a servant. She didn't even want someone who would only blindly follow orders. She wanted a true warrior. Someone who would make plans. Who could improvise. Who could eventually come out of the "mind control"—such an inaccurate term for what they were doing—and fully become one of her warriors.

She wanted the boy who laughed and called her by her title when she introduced herself. But completely devoted to her.

Rita wasn't quite sure when that became so important to her. Perhaps it was yesterday, when she'd had to maintain the maximum level of eye contact with him for ten hours as she worked her spells.

It had been… intense. Not many people realized how magic was not only difficult but deeply personal. She was using her own life energy to fuel the magic. That's why she was so crushed after every monster death, and she only used a little magic on them. Sure, she was angry about losing each time, but seeing a monster that was touched by her own magic destroyed… it was like seeing a part of herself die as well. And the headaches from the expense of power and concentration were intense.

That was nothing to what she had experienced with Tommy. She had seen his entire life—his very soul—laid bare before her. His trouble at school. His problems with rage. His brief bouts with bullying… on both sides. His mother, who had screwed him over with her hard lessons and competitiveness, and then left him with the responsibility of caring for his ailing father. His father, who could barely cope with disability. The hard relatives who had come in to lord over the two, who had disapproved of the mother and disapproved of the son who stayed in trouble just because he had no way to deal with the pressures. The love and humiliation he felt at having to take care of his father…

Rita didn't think she could have picked a more intensely complicated individual if she had tried. So different from the other Rangers, with their loving, stable homes and charitable behavior. For those brats, the power was just another responsibility. Just another way to help people. For Tommy, it would be a release from crushing responsibility.

The spells had worked. There were a few sticky moments when she saw resistance in the boy's hazel eyes, but she'd been able to quickly find the issue and deal with it. The father, especially, was a problem area. Even though Tommy obviously wanted to be rid of having to care for the man all the time, he felt crushing guilt and could never seem to admit it out loud.

Yet Rita had overcome those difficulties, she thought with not a little pride. The key wasn't to make the boy hate his father outright. It was to convince him that he was a burden on his father, and his father would heal easier without such a badly behaved teen burden. It was a crack in the boy's self-esteem, but he didn't need too much self-esteem or else he'd be entirely impossible to control.

When Finster had insisted the process end—that they had both had enough and needed eight uninterrupted hours of sleep—Tommy had bowed graciously and allowed himself to be led to some guest quarters. He'd even smiled, though the smile had looked a little dazed to Rita's eyes.

Rita groaned. She'd had to keep herself upright until Tommy and everyone but Finster left the room, and then she'd slumped, nearly delirious with exhaustion. She wasn't quite sure how she'd gotten to bed… and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

"Are you awake, my queen?" a tentative voice called from a crack in the doorway.

"Come in, Finster." She had just completed the finishing touches to her hair. Her voice was much softer than usual.

The scientist pushed the door open and came doddering in, carrying a tray of Rita's favorite foods after a magic hangover: black coffee, an aspirin, and three chocolate-covered donuts, complete with sprinkles.

"Tommy is already awake and ready," Finster said as Rita heartily applied herself to her breakfast. "He is exercising right now. He's not one to remain inactive for very long."

"Good…" Rita said, swallowing a large mouthful of donut and washing it down with a gulp of coffee. It burned her throat pleasantly. "He needs to keep in training. I want a warrior, not a tax accountant. How are his behavior patterns?"

"Exemplary," Finster said. "He's right on schedule. I believe, if you agree after assessment, that we can proceed with waking him up a bit more. He should, if we're careful, be fully aware by tonight."

"Excellent! He can be back in school by tomorrow and no one will be the wiser," Rita said. She congratulated herself on the foresight to have Tommy call his father both Friday and Saturday. It was essential that no one, not even the invalid father, know that something odd was going on with Tommy.

She dismissed Finster so she could finish her breakfast. Her head was feeling better already as the caffeine sped the medicine along. She'd been impatient all weekend, wanting to have a fully loyal Ranger at her service. But it just wasn't time yet. She might be able to give him Ranger powers that night… and she might not. In fact, it would be smarter to wait… to give him some simple assignments so he could prove himself before gifting him with real power. After all, once the power was grafted onto his spirit, it was no easy task to separate the two.

Rita leaned back in her chair, holding the hot coffee between two cold hands. Things were going far better than she thought. It was all up to Tommy now… and how he would respond to service.

Billy was usually the first to teleport in to the Command Center, wanting to get a little tinkering done before the others got there and the meeting began. This Sunday, though, Jason was there first.

"She's planning something… I just know it," Billy heard Jason's low voice say.

"I do not deny that the situation is worrisome, Jason. But there is little we can do right now," Zordon's reassuring voice answered.

"Hey," Billy said, approaching the middle of the cramped room. "What's going on?"

"Rita hasn't attacked, and Jason's jumpy," a calm voice came from the floor. Billy hadn't seen Trini there until she spoke.

"Yes… It is a bit unusual," Billy said.

"Downright unheard-of, you mean," Jason answered. "I feel like… I dunno… like she's leading us into a false sense of security."

"Or that she might be traveling? None of us have had a vacation in months, and even evil overlords need to get away from it all… I'm guessing," Trini suggested.

"Or taking a sick day?" Billy said. "I mean, don't dark empresses of evil get the flu upon occasion?"

"Rita is still in her palace… the sensors show us," Alpha answered. "The power levels have not dropped. She may be sick, though…"

"I think this is something to discuss when the actual meeting starts," Trini interrupted.

"Discuss what?"

Kimberly and Zack had just teleported in, both holding tall lattes from Java Time. Zack produced a tray with three more from his other hand.

Billy sighed inwardly. Tinkering was unlikely, he mused as he accepted a drink.

"What else?" Jason answered Kimberly's question. "No monsters this week. Not a one. And I was sure on Friday, or even Saturday…"

Zack rolled his eyes. "Jason, listen to yourself. You're complaining that we haven't had to fight for our lives this week? I, for one, have enjoyed every minute of the peace and quiet. I thought we all had."

"I have been able to get a lot more work done this week," Billy chimed in.

"But she's up to something," Jason said furiously. "Something big, if it requires this much planning."

"Or the flu," Trini countered.

"I'm not buying it," Jason said, sharper than he meant to, as Billy saw by his apologetic look. "I mean, if she wants to put us off our guard, she's doing a great job at it. Look at us! Do you call this vigilance?"

"Jason, chill," Zack said hesitantly.

"Zack's right," Kimberly said. "I mean, even if she is planning something big, how can we be ready for something we don't know about?"

"It's not like we have to wait for her to make the first move," Jason said quietly.

The silence was tense. This was the beginning of an old argument.

"Jason, we cannot consider that as an option," Zordon said, finally joining in the conversation.

Jason turned to face Zordon. "But… why not? We know the general location of Rita's palace. We can move safely around the moon with our Ranger suits. All it would take was a little…"

"That's great," Zack interrupted with a laugh. "Anyone feel like volunteering for that suicide mission?"

Jason shook his head. "I'm not asking you to go. I'll go. I can get in and out easier anyway."

"We don't want you volunteering for a suicide mission either, dummy," Kimberly said.

"But…"

"Jason," Zordon said, "it is out of the question."

"We know nothing about the security there," Billy added. "It could be monsters, or magic, or advanced extraterrestrial technology, or bear traps…"

"Bear traps!..." Trini giggled.

"We have no information, of course," Zordon said. "But what is more… what is the second rule of being a Power Ranger?"

Jason looked defeated. "Never escalate a battle unless Rita forces you."

"Which would necessarily include beginning a battle, which would happen if you trespassed in her palace and were caught," Zordon said, a touch of finality to his voice.

Jason said nothing. An uncomfortable silence filled the room, as it always did during this argument.

"Which, of course," Zordon continued, "does not mean that we should drop our guard at all. We must remain vigilant."

"We should each call in to the Command Center once a day," Jason said, obviously wishing to forget the previous argument. "We should also check the hot spots, at least for the time being. Sometimes the human eye can catch what the best of video surveillance can't."

"Agreed," Zordon said.

"Sounds great," Zack said. "I'll take Foley Park."

"I'll check in on the beach," Trini said. "I need to get away from painting the kitchen anyway."

"I'll take the mall," Kimberly chimed in.

Everyone looked at her. Trini looked like she was trying not to laugh.

"What?" Kimberly said. "I mean… come on. There have been two mall attacks this month already. If that isn't the definition of a hot spot, I don't know what is."

Jason laughed. "No… nothing wrong with that. I'll take Marshall Park, then. Billy?"

Billy shrugged. "I think I can be of more help here. I can help Alpha with the sensors. There are, after all, things that surveillance can catch that the human eye will miss."

Billy hoped that didn't sound defensive. He'd tried not to be offended at Jason's slight of the Command Center's sensors. He'd worked hard on those, after all.

Jason nodded, having fully recovered after his dressing down. "Sounds like a plan. We'll do a sweep once a day until the next attack. Hopefully…"

"Hopefully this is all useless," Zack said. "Hopefully Rita hasn't grown a working brain in the past week."

"That's not funny," Trini protested.

"Indeed it is not," Zordon said, focusing on Zack. "It is unwise to consider Rita anything but a dangerous foe. While you all have beaten her each time she's attacked, it only takes one failure to lose everything. Never assume that your enemy is stupid or incompetent. Rita is as old as I am, and has seen centuries of intergalactic battle. Her fault right now is she constantly underestimates you. She will not always. So do not underestimate her."

"All right, I'm sorry," Zack said. "I was only kidding." He mumbled the last words, which Zordon heard but let slide. He was scolding his Rangers far too much for his liking today.

"So," Jason broke in. "We system check our Zords, like usual, and then break in an hour?"

The others nodded, falling into comfortable routine. Billy was disturbed, however. If it was Rita's intent to sow discord among the group, she was doing a pretty good job.

Tommy's awareness slowly formed around him, as if a fog were lifting. He blinked his eyes rapidly and reached up to rub them. He was momentarily surprised that he could move at all.

He checked his watch. 6:00. AM? PM? He had no idea. He didn't even know what day it was, because he was, he reflected with some humor, on the moon and therefore time and days wouldn't matter all that much.

"It's Sunday night, if you're wondering," a rough male voice said.

"I was wondering, actually," Tommy answered.

The rough male voice belonged to a huge armored… man? He had a simian face, so Tommy wasn't sure if "man" could apply. The warrior was holding a large golden sword, pointing vaguely in Tommy's direction. He considered… it couldn't be real gold—the sword and armor. Too malleable for any use in battle.

"What's your armor made of?" Tommy asked before he could stop himself.

"None of your business," the warrior answered. "The Empress is waiting in her throne room. Now that you're awake, you're expected to attend her for testing."

Tommy smiled brightly and hopped off the medical bed he'd been lying on. He pulled on his shirt over his tank top and combed his hands through his hair, trying to make himself look presentable.

"Don't bother," the warrior said. "You're human… you're hideous anyway."

"But Empress Rita looks human enough," Tommy said, giving up on some tangles. He sighed. "Apparently being brainwashed did nothing for my hair."

The gold warrior did a double-take. "You… you know you were brainwashed."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Of course I was. I'm not a complete idiot."

"And you're… fine… with it."

Tommy grinned. "Why wouldn't I?"

As immobile as the warrior's face was, Tommy could tell he was making him uncomfortable. He couldn't figure out why, but he knew they had better get a move on if Empress Rita wanted them immediately. He indicated that he was ready to go. The gold warrior still regarded him suspiciously but led the way out of the workshop.

"By the way," Tommy said as they were walking down a long hallway. "I never got your name."

The warrior made an irritated sound. Tommy supposed he shouldn't be so chatty, but this was the first time in days he'd had free range of his thoughts. He just couldn't help saying whatever he was thinking.

"Goldar," the warrior finally answered.

"Oh, so your armor is made of…"

"It is a coincidence!" Goldar said.

Tommy shrugged. How could anyone respond to that?

Tommy got his first full look at the throne room. The place was an amalgamation of mist, darkness, clocks, and candles, but as Tommy's eyes adjusted from the direct lighting of Finster's workshop, he could make out the alien opulence of the place. The focus of the room, though, was an open balcony featuring a telescope.

Open balcony… Tommy flinched away.

"The atmosphere is protected by a force field, you dummy," Goldar said to him in a low tone.

"Oh," Tommy said, willing his heart back to normal speed. "I knew that."

Finally, Tommy saw Empress Rita glide in from a corner, where she had been reading a large book. She sat herself on her throne and regarded Tommy imperiously.

Tommy moved forward, trying his hardest not to look foolish, and bowed low. When he straightened, he said in words that seemed drilled into him, "Your servant, Tommy Oliver, reporting as ordered, my Empress."

He waited on pins and needles as Empress Rita's eyes seemed to bore into him. He gulped under the scrutiny, hoping against hope that he had performed everything correctly.

In the back of his mind, though, he slowly became aware that this was not, in fact, the first time he'd been in the throne room… and not the first time he'd shared eye contact with his Empress. The flashes of memory were… intense, and frightening in a sense. It was as if something personal had happened between them. Tommy forced himself to meet her gaze head-on. He would not appear weak in front of his Empress.

"You are my servant, then, Tommy?" Rita finally asked. "Completely loyal to me?"

"Yes, I am, Empress," Tommy said strongly. If he was certain of anything, it was of that solitary truth.

"He knows he's been brainwashed," Goldar said abruptly. "He told me himself." There seemed to be a ring of triumph in Goldar's voice.

"Do you?" Empress Rita said sharply.

Tommy flinched at her tone. He wasn't sure if he would be able to bear her outright displeasure if he felt so uneasy at this. "Yes, my Empress. I know I've been brainwashed. I know I'm under your control," he said. He wanted to ask why this was a problem, but he didn't want to risk disrespecting her.

"How do you feel about that?" Empress Rita asked after a long pause, during which Tommy suffered acutely.

Tommy considered, not quite sure how to put his feelings into words. "I feel… This probably sounds ridiculous, but I feel liberated."

Empress Rita frowned in confusion, though Tommy suspected she knew more about him than he was able to explain. "Liberated… how?"

Tommy sighed. "My Empress… it's like this. I've always had to take care of people, you know? I've always had to worry about money, or school, or getting into trouble, or getting expelled from one more school…" Tommy smiled. "Now, my life is simplified."

"You know you'll still have grave responsibility," Empress Rita said.

"Yes, my Empress," Tommy said. "However, I know what is expected of me. I… I didn't before."

Tommy remained silent again under Empress Rita's scrutiny.

"And what about… your father," Empress Rita said.

The tension in the room made Tommy feel uncomfortable. He pictured, as always when he thought about his father, the smile that his mother had sworn he and his father shared. Tommy had had little to smile about lately, though. So had his father, what with the expulsions and various other problems Tommy was constantly bringing into his father's life.

He also again pictured the hospital bed… waiting and worrying into late hours in hospital waiting rooms… rushing to stuff medicine down his father's throat while he was still able to swallow in one of his fits…

Tommy realized he hadn't answered. "My father… is better off without me. My loyalty lies with you only, Empress Rita."

Tommy saw the tension leave his Empress's face, and he cheered in his head. He knew he was Empress Rita's servant; he just had no idea how to go about it. This waiting without orders or purpose was maddening.

"Tommy, listen carefully to me," Empress Rita said in a serious, earnest voice.

All thoughts of everything but fully absorbing Empress Rita's words left Tommy immediately.

"You are my most important plan—my ultimate weapon. You will be given power. The power to crush our enemies. By your hand they will suffer, and together we all will kill them." Empress Rita's gaze left Tommy's to include Goldar, Finster, and the other minions Tommy hadn't really met yet.

Tommy felt pride swell inside of him, and a responsibility that did not crush. My ultimate weapon…

"However, Tommy, you must prove yourself before I grant you this power," Empress Rita continued. "Therefore, I give you your first mission."

Tommy's attention sharpened, ready to commit to memory everything his Empress told him.

"The teenagers you had lunch with Friday… I want you to make friends with them."

This drove Tommy into utter and complete confusion. What did that have to do with…

"Yes, my Empress," he said quickly. It was not for him to question why right now. This was his first assignment, after all, and Empress Rita knew far more than he.

"You will return to your home tonight to sleep and go to school tomorrow. You will act like a normal teenager. At six o'clock tomorrow evening, then, you are to be in your bedroom, alone, for teleportation. Squatt, give Tommy the poles."

A short, blue minion immediately appeared at Tommy's side, pushing some short, ornately carves wooden sticks into his hands. "Here ya go, weird human guy."

"Thanks," Tommy answered wryly. You're the new guy here, Tommy reminded himself. He would just have to deal with bullying until he proved himself.

"Those poles interfere with all surveillance, including those in the Power Rangers' Command Center," Empress Rita explained. "Place those around your bedroom and have three of them on you at all times. We must maintain the utmost secrecy… at least for now."

"Yes, my Empress," Tommy said. "I will obey you in all things."

"I know you will," Empress Rita answered, and they made eye contact for one last time. Tommy was pleased to see that Empress Rita had confidence in her eyes. He vowed right then and there to do his utmost to keep that confidence.

With that, Rita flicked her wand, and Tommy was gone.

"He certainly knows how to talk, my Empress," Goldar said in the wake of Tommy's departure.

Rita smirked. "He treats me with the utmost respect. You would do well to follow his example."

Goldar was obviously furious but had no way to voice that fury without stepping over the line. Rita finally had mercy on him.

"Come, now, Goldar," she said in her kindest voice. "You are not being replaced… you have no cause for jealousy."

"I am certainly not jealous of that mere human," Goldar said, not able to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"That's good to know," Rita said.

Squatt and Baboo had been speaking in loud whispers. They, over time, usually forgot to whisper, as they did now.

"I don't think Goldar likes the weird human very much," Squatt said.

"I don't think I like him either," Baboo answered. His voice was wearier than his counterpart. He'd had to prepare many of the potions used in the brainwashing process, and Rita knew those potions were difficult to make correctly. They'd been perfect, though. She considered giving him a pay raise.

"He's too flippant about the brainwashing," Goldar said. "That's dangerous. He could be faking."

"He's not faking," Rita said sharply. Silence rang throughout the room.

They couldn't know. How could they? They had not been as personally involved in his transformation as she had been. They knew nothing of the internal changes she had enacted in the boy's very psyche. But they would not question her. And certainly not about this.

But that didn't mean she couldn't cheer them all up a little. After all, as much as she verbally abused them all, she had carefully handpicked all of them and they were her team. They could never be replaced by some mind-controlled human.

"Goldar, what was Scorpina doing the last time you talked to her?"

Goldar looked up in surprise, obviously still fuming about the human. "The last time I heard from her was a week ago. She's doing freelance mercenary work in the Ceti system."

Rita was pleased to hear that Goldar and Scorpina were on good terms at the time. That would make things a lot easier. "Contact her immediately and ask her to join us here. I know she won't want to miss out on all the fun."

Tommy was pleased to note that, while a little woozy, he did not pass out this time when he was teleported. He opened his eyes slowly and realized he was back in his new bedroom at his uncle's summer house.

He was disappointed a little in the normality of his surroundings, after spending the weekend in a moon palace surrounded by aliens. He was nearly convinced that it was all just a dream.

Except for the wooden sticks clutched tightly in his hands. And the undeniable fact that everything had changed.

Tommy immediately spread four of the poles around the perimeter of his bedroom. He could almost hear a slight buzzing as the spell activated in a dull green glow that surrounded the room. The glow vanished, and the buzz left in the room was nothing more than the electronic buzz of a TV left on.

He was starving.

Realizing he had not had time to shop for groceries before his appointment with destiny and that there was certainly not a scrap of food in the house, Tommy grabbed his jacket and stuffed the additional three poles in a deep pocket. He made sure his wallet was in his jeans—how embarrassing would it have been if he'd left his wallet up at the Moon Palace—and left the room for a fast food/grocery run.

He paused and looked back at his bedroom, now only remarkable in that it was invisible to the Power Rangers, and was rather let down. The sheer mundanity in the room, his errand… his first mission…

Tommy shook his head to clear it. Even the greatest warriors had to eat and sleep. As for the mission, Tommy knew with all his being that he was destined for great things. That much he was sure about—as sure as he knew Rita was his mistress. If his Empress thought that he needed to earn that glory, who was he to question her?

Tommy smirked and turned away from his bedroom. He decided to check out that juice bar. Maybe it wasn't closed yet.