A\N: I, due to undisclosed experiences that may or may not defy the known laws of physics, am awesome. And my reviewers are equally so. :)

The Rangers are doing well.

I make the monster grow, and the Rangers fend it off with the same level of skill as before. Not quite easy for them, but not too difficult. I'm getting the hang of this.

The citizens of Angel Grove cheer as the monster's destroyed.

You fools, I think with a surge of rage, You cheer on children as they save you! You utter fools...

Don't you know what you're cheering for?

I turn and sigh. It's not their fault. While in morph, the Rangers don't seem like children at all. They have no idea that they're supporting child soldiers, or that if Zordon has his way, they'll only support more. Poor, innocent fools...was Angel Grove always so blasted stupid?

"My Queen?"

"Oh, shut up." I snap.

"My Queen, Dark Spector wanted a report today..."

Damn. I forgot. I sigh and get up. I envy the Rangers, sometimes. Their world is black and white, simple and clear-cut, and the only problems they face are results of their secret-keeping.

If only my problems were so easy to solve.

I go to a private room and call up the hologram of Dark Spector before kneeling. "Honor to you, Dark Spector." I say formally in Tallian. The language, almost Gaelic, has become a standard over the United Alliance of Evil's domain. I made sure of it-I don't like having to rely on my telepathy to learn new languages, although I did so in Earth's case.

"Rita." Dark Spector says. "My loyal friend." Wait, you have friends? "You are still on Earth. Dare I ask why, or shall I assume Zordon's bodyguards are still proving troublesome?"

Take a wild guess. "My lord, I swore to free the Earth children and defeat Zordon. I cannot leave until I have fulfilled my oath."

Dark Spector stares at me.

"You are...changed, my friend." Dark Spector says finally. "Perhaps a retreat would do you some good."

Yes, it must bother you that I'm not insane anymore. "I find peace in my work, Dark Spector."

Dark Spector considers.

"I will give you one more month, Rita." He tells me. "After that, you must leave that planet, oath or not."

A month? Are you joking? I've had a whole year and I've barely gotten anywhere! "Zordon of Eltar is our greatest threat, my lord. Defeating him would be a major blow for the Council of Light." And as much as I hate to admit it, I will actually take a very real joy in watching those pompous assholes get the news. I might even send a putty with a recording device.

Dark Spector considers.

"Report in a month." He barks, then kills the connection.

Great. I sigh and rise to my feet. I hate that twerp. I idly twirl a strand of silver hair around my fingers, musing that I ought to cut it shorter. Zordon's idea of a prank was changing my image on his viewing globe, so it would be handy when the Rangers are looking for a woman with bad fashion sense and long silver hair that they find a woman with normal clothes and short silver hair instead.

I smile. Not that the Earth children would consider my long white dress to be normal. On Earth, at least in their part of the world, they wear trousers they call 'jeans'.

"My Queen?"

You again. I know Zedd likes spending time with you, Goldar, but I'm starting to think that has more to do with your shared love of sports and alcohol than any redeeming qualities you might have. "Yes?"

"Er...Scorpina told me to find you..." Goldar says nervously.

Uh-oh.

I move more quickly, gliding to the balcony, where Scorpina is waiting, looking troubled as she bows. "Rita."

"What's wrong?" I snap, sitting in front of the telescope.

"Jason...or I can just let you see for yourself, oh highly patient one." Scorpina teases.

I look.

Down below, Jason and Tommy are fighting. Nothing unusual there, except as soon as I see it alarms go off in my mind.

Boys, I think irritably as I scan the surroundings for whatever lava pit they've managed to fight their way next to. If they aren't fighting monsters, they're trying to kill each other.

Then Tommy's eyes glow green.

"Tom! Bro, calm down!" Jason shouts, ducking.

"But I am calm." Tommy says, his tone perfectly even as he lashes out, his hands covered in green fire. Green what? He doesn't know that spell! "I'm just going to kill you, Jason."

"Bro, it's me!"

All right, I don't know what in the hell is going on but this is the point where someone needs to break it up. Zordon, what are you doing? Don't you have some kind of teleportation over...oh, there we go. Tommy and Jason vanish in flashes of light, and I sigh.

What the hell was that? Tommy's not under any spells that I know of, I don't know who else would put a spell on him, and I can't figure out why his eyes would glow green without magic. Could Zordon's bastardization of magic and technology he calls 'The Power' be harming Tommy? I know Tommy has natural psychic ability, but in a human that shouldn't result in incompatibility with the Power-in fact, it should enhance his connection. Well, unless he's suddenly become a Witch, but he's a rather long way from that stage. And Trini's pretty close to a Witch, and that only puts her more in tune with the Yellow Power, so unless I'm missing some base difference in the color energies...

I turn my telescope to Zordon's palace. Much as I hate spying on the twerp-his brainwashing routine with the children is sickening-I'd like to see what he thinks. He's the expert on Rangers.

Tommy's currently not in the main chamber, but Jason is. The poor boy is bruised, and I feel a bit of sympathy. Tommy trained against Goldar for a while, morphless, so I'd hate to see him against a normal human. Or even Jason, really.

"Zordon, what happened?" Jason asks, the anguish clear in his tone.

"I AM UNSURE, JASON." Zordon admits. Wonderful. So neither of us has any clue. If this little episode ends with me forced to work with you, I am going to wind up shooting you in the head, whether or not you help Tommy. "PERHAPS RITA HAS ATTEMPTED TO REVIVE THE SPELL SHE PLACED ON TOMMY." Oh, yes, please blame me when it's probably your technology at fault. "GO HOME, JASON. I WILL ATTEMPT TO HELP TOMMY, AND CALL YOU IF YOU ARE NEEDED."

"Okay." Jason says, his head hung down in the perfect picture of a dejected teenager. He turns and slinks off, then stops. "Zordon? Where is Tommy?"

"IN A CONFERENCE ROOM BELOW US. I THOUGHT IT BEST TO KEEP HIM AWAY FROM HIS OWN CHAMBER, GIVEN HIS IMPRESSIVE COLLECTION OF DAGGERS." Daggers? What? The only dagger Tommy has is the Dragon Dagger, and I've seen his room in the Command Center before...

I swivel my telescope down.

Tommy's not in a conference room.

He's in a cell.

The boy is pacing frantically, occasionally slamming his fists against a wall, clearly unable to tell in the dim light which duracrete wall holds the door. "Let me out!" He shouts. "Zordon? Let me out!"

My heart almost stops.

Jason must be gone because Zordon's holographic face appears on one wall. "TOMMY."

Tommy launches himself at the wall, screaming, "You traitor!"

Zordon waits until Tommy's finished flinging himself into duracrete, then speaks again. "TOMMY, TELL ME WHAT YOU FEEL."

"Like you can take your psychiatrist act and shove it up your ass." Tommy snarls, pacing back and forth, a little dragon boy with no control over himself.

"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT. TO REMOVE THIS SPELL I MUST KNOW WHAT IT IS."

"Spell? What spell?" Tommy demands. "Oh, the one you put on me?"

"RITA IS THE ONE-"

Tommy bursts out laughing. Well, this little drama is interesting.

"Rita? Rita?" He crows, then glares, his face a mask of stone. "Rita has nothing to do with this. Rita tried to save me, and you damn well know it."

Whaa? He knew what the spell did? He's always said Zordon saved him...

"You, on the other hand, I don't trust so much." Tommy snarls. "Especially after what you did to my head." He chuckles darkly. "Funny. You know, I think that's what's setting me free now."

"YOU THINK MY MENTAL SCAN WAS A PUNISHMENT?" You did what? Are you crazy, Zordon? Eltarians aren't psychic! Zordon's attempts at telepathy aren't even struggles, they're practically torture!

He used that on Tommy?

"I HAD TO BE SURE THAT RITA WAS NOT STILL INFLUENCING YOU." Zordon continues, confirming my guess. Okay, that's it, he dies. "IT WAS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD."

"No it wasn't." Good boy, Tommy. "You wanted another slave." Wow. Perceptive, aren't we?

"TOMMY-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Tommy shouts wildly.

"My Queen?"

I glance up at Scorpina. "I'll handle this." I tell her.

Scorpina glances at Earth, then shrugs. She can tolerate children, but she doesn't much care what happens to them. "As you wish. C'mon, Goldie."

I sigh and return to the drama playing out.

"You don't care about us." Tommy hisses. "You want soldiers. That was your fight, wasn't it? You and Rita were fighting because she didn't want you making kids into soldiers. And now you're flipping her off by making us fight her for you."

"TOMMY, ENOUGH." Zordon says, apparently fed up with Tommy's ability to think clearly. "I CAN ATTEMPT TO REMOVE RITA'S SPELL, BUT YOU MUST NOT FIGHT ME, OR IT WILL HURT YOU."

And this is the point where I step in.

I shut my eyes.

Power is everywhere in this universe. You just have to think it to you. And I draw a lot of power from space. Well, all right-from the concept of space, then, but in reality the energy I use isn't something I can understand without concepts.

At the moment, though, I call on every drop of power in my being.

Then I teleport.

Screw finesse. I blow a hole through Zordon's defenses and take out half his technology by accident. But it works-Tommy whirls and stares at me.

I reach out and gently send my power into his brain.

He collapses. Good. The last thing I need is a dragon kit fighting me because he's half insane.

Then I look at Zordon.

For a second, I think I will speak. I'm a Witch, I've taken oaths to cause no harm, or at least as little as possible. I've never before broken those laws, not without insanity to guide me.

But now, knowing full well what I do, I strike.

Zordon screams in pain and I smile, then turn and take Tommy into my arms.

Broken laws or no, my son is coming home.