Disclaimer: I do not, have never and have no hope to own the Power Rangers. They are owned by Saban (Please don't sue me Mr Saban). I also do not own Doctor Who, which belong to the BBC or any associated characters. Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling and although not used directly in this series is an excellent read and deserves a mention.
I do not own VR Troopers, Big Bad Beetleborgs, Masked Rider, Galaxy Rangers, Transformers or GI Joe. Some of the concepts and character in this story are based on these shows as do any characters that make an appearance. They are all used without permission of the copyright owners.
I also need to credit Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Blake's Seven and Star Fleet/ X-Bomber for some of the ideas in this book and for general inspiration. References are made later in the series to Sailormoon, Digimon, Pokemon, Robotech, Zoids, Gundam Wing, Captain Planet, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future and Dragonball-Z and any character or idea taken from those series is done without permission.  If there is anything I've forgotten such as MASK, Terrahawks, Thunderbirds or Ghostbusters, they're not mine either.
I would like to thank Jeremy Ray Logsdon, Ellen Brand and Randel for writing their respective series. They were an inspiration to me two years ago when I started writing this series and remain so regardless of the numerous rewrites I have produced. The basis of the Morphin Grid in this series is modified from Randel's version of Ellen's definition of the Morphin Grid. The idea of the Infinity Crystals in later chapters was inspired by Jeremy Ray's Earth Crystals and Marvel Comic's Infinity Quest.  Any characters used have been taken with the permission of the author.
The mention of a series, book or television program in this disclaimer in no way guarantees characters, places or situations from those sources will appear in this series. Most are excellent programs that deserve a mention or that have had a positive influence on the direction of this series. No part of this series is used for profit.
Author's Note: This is a rewrite of the first part of Conquest of Evil first released at the Command Center Archives in 1998/99. This has been rewritten to allow for later seasons of Power Rangers including Wild Force.
Time Line: The series does not adhere to the Saban timeline. The year is 1996 and the series begins after Billy left for Aquitar, but before Jason started to lose the powers of the Gold Ranger.
Special Note: This part borrows heavily from Ellen Brand's story: Fathers and Sons. This has been done with permission and I thank Ellen for agreeing.

Three Minutes
by ShadowRanger

Time: 14:57:31.47

It takes three minutes to boil an egg. In that time who knows what can happen....

"Well," Minion said as the after effects of the blast lifted. "That was... disappointing."

He could imagine the looks on the Rangers' faces as they realised their powerful finisher had simply been shrugged off. Their attack had been surprisingly aggressive and as a result they had succeeded to stun him. But he doubted there was any way a single shot could destroy him.

"Fire!"

He reacted by jumping into the attack, not because it made it easier to absorb, but because he didn't want to risk a stray blast damaging the site. The Rangers had poured all their energy into that single shot and as the ground around him exploded Minion wondered if perhaps he had made a mistake. Energy poured into him, overwhelmed him and finally pushed him aside. Despite his efforts the blast struck the stone circle and the area became the center on a large explosion that shook the countryside. The ground, already cracked from an extremely dry summer was thrown into the air. The cloud of debris sucked the rubble into itself and then deposited it in the crater that had been created. Smoke poured from the small mound in the center of Stone Henge.

The Rangers had watched the explosion carefully for any sign their enemy had survived. Eventually they were satisfied and after a final look at the site and a nod from Green Zeo they teleported away.

~*~

Leewood
14:58:44.16

"You'll have to do better than this uncle," Masked Rider cried as he fought off the last of the Maggots.

It had not been an easy task since it seemed Dregon had decided to make a sudden attack that relied on numbers more than one particular Insectivore. Dex had fought them off although it had taken first Chopper and then Magno to turn the tide. Then with a combination of skills that had made him such an effective Masked Rider, Dex had battled with his Electro Saber and had soon subdued his attackers.

He quietly looked around the picnic area as if expecting another attack. The remains of the Stewart family's picnic were strewn on the ground, the wooden bench broken by the weight of an armoured humanoid bug being thrown onto it. He was glad that when the attack had started common sense had prevailed; his family and anyone else who happened to be in the area had escaped at their earliest opportunity.

"Well, looks like little Dexie finally grew up," a female voice said.

"Scorpina," Dex said calmly. "Is this a social call or have Rita and Zedd finally divorced."

"No such luck," Goldar growled before Scorpina elbowed him. By this time Dex had turned to face them. "I mean Lord Zedd and Lady Rita have decided to join forces with Count Dregon."

If he were not so worried Dex would have laughed at that statement. Dregon and Zedd were known to hate each other to the extent where they only attended meetings if there was a screen between them. It was fortunate too since Dex had often thought it was only the villains' inability to get along that stopped them from accomplishing their goals.

"It is good to be back where I belong," Scorpina said. "I've missed fighting at Count Dregon's side."

Dex cringed as he remembered the days when Scorpina had been a member of his uncle's elite troopers. Together they had fought continuously against Zordon's forces. When Dex's grandfather had discovered the crimes committed in the name of Edenoi he had vanquished Dregon and Scorpina never to return. At some point Scorpina had drifted into Rita's service and Dregon had contented himself with plotting the conquest of Edenoi; it was a plot that had concluded with the murder of Dex's father, the true king.

"You would do well to surrender now Prince Dex," Nefaria said. She had already drawn her feather and was poised to account.

"I calculate there is a ninety-nine percent chance the Masked Rider will die if he does not surrender," Fact said.

"And no chance of survival if I do surrender," Dex responded. "You can do what you want Scorpina, I am not giving up. Electro Saber - activate!"

He sprang before his opponents could attack him and after crossing swords with Goldar and successfully kicking the gold plated monkey aside, he managed to catch the blade of Scorpina's weapon on his Electro Saber.

"You are outnumbered," Cycloptor told him, as Dregon's other lackeys closed in.

"Masked Rider - Super Gold!" Dex called out.

Through the addition of a secondary power source and an altered flow of energy from the Heart of Edenoi, Dex's powers were taken to the next level. Not only was he more powerful, but he held a hand blaster capable of dealing with more than one opponent at a time.

"Chopper, rev up!"

"I'm coming boss," he heard the motorcycle respond as Magno followed suit.

~*~

Time: 14:58:50.49

A speck of dust rolled down the side of the crater left by the Rangers' weapon. As it moved it nudged other grains that followed suit, exposing the superheated soil beneath to cool air and causing steam to rise into the sky.

~*~

Crossworld City
14:58:54.16

"Laser Lance Command!" The white and red figure drew an energy weapon and watched as his tormentors took a step back. "Yah, yah, hi-yah! Seeya!"

Whatever the bird creatures were, JB Reese was certain they did not belong to Grimlord. He had jumped to that conclusion after they had failed to fall apart when knocked into each other. It was confirmed when he noticed how sloppy their fighting style was; they were just over grown birds. With that in mind he was pleased to see his weapons had at least some effect against them. From the smell of burnt feathers it was clear just how big an effect that was.

He to where his friend and leader, Ryan Steele was educating a mixture of grey creatures at the school of hard knocks. Ryan's blue and red armour shone as he picked off those enemies with the Z on their chests. He had learnt that those were the ones that fell apart when the Z was hit. More kept coming, but Ryan did an impressive job of cleaning house.

And of course Kaitlin was fighting without reservation against a group of Skugs. She had stopped struggling some time ago and was just wearing them down enough so they would collide. She had summoned a pair of sais and was using them to disarm the Skugs.

"Who's that?" Ryan asked as he finished the last of his opponents; he was pointing at a figure riding a bicycle above them.

"So you beat my Putties and Tengas did you?" Rita asked.

"That's Rita Repulsa," Kaitlin realised, I remember her from those cover stories Woody did a few years back.

"And now she's teamed up with Grimlord," JB stated.

"So you think your smart do you?" Rita asked, as she grew angrier.

A burst of energy ripped from her wand and struck the spot where the last Skug had vanished revealing a grid of green energy that slowly faded out of existence to form a door of red and purple lightning. Beyond the doorway they could see a throne and on that throne sat the mutant known as Grimlord.

"Hail Grimlord, master of the Virtual World," they heard a variety of voices call.

"At last the Reality Barrier has fallen," Grimlord gloated. "General Ivar, move our forces out; the conquest can begin."

~*~

14:58:54.25

More and more dust rolled off the mound left by the Zeo Cannon's blast, the steam throwing globs of dirt into the sky.

~*~

North Valley, Earth
14:58:59.51

"Run!" Sam shouted as the metal soldiers drew closer.

His two friends did not need telling twice. Both of them turned and ran as fast as they could through the smoking remains of their town. They had already tried to leave North Valley, but had found their way blocked by an unknown force field. Sam doubted these things were part of Kilokahn's army. He had seen footage of them on television fighting the Power Rangers. That was shortly before the attack. Afterwards there was no electricity left to run a television. The metal warriors had invaded quickly and then left only a small force to round up the towns members.

Sam stopped behind the remains of a building. His family and most of his friends were gone, but his only concern was survival. Behind him was a bright flash. Sam and his friends turned around in time to see a collection of hooded beings walking towards them. His insides felt frozen as he searched for an escape route, but failed to find one. Then the creature grabbed him and held him up. The image of a beautiful woman was the last sight he saw.

"Perfect," the woman said as she walked towards her forces, unaffected by their unique abilities. She opened her hand and they deposited three crystals. A smile came to her lips; Rita and Zedd had not exaggerated about the value of the souls she could collect on this world. Her Shadow Demons could suck the positive emotions from humans and feed them only hate and fear. As a final act they ripped the very essence from their body, leaving only an empty shell. With the emotions and souls she stole she could make new Shadow Demons to grow her army and unless the crystal was returned to its rightful owner, the victim would never awaken. "Humans, young and weak, you will make useful Slaver Lords."

The Queen signalled for her servants to grab the three youths and then teleported away. North Valley was not her assigned target, but a town full of much needed resources, was too good to miss. She had summoned from her normal realm by Nukus using a picture Rita and Zedd had found. It had taken the three of them to convince her that North Valley could meet her needs.

She had studied Charterville and knew the Beetleborgs would never surrender, but that didn't matter. The three humans she had just taken had given her the rare capability of being able to make more than a mere Shadow Demon. If performed correctly she could combine her nearly drawn powers with Nukus' ability and Vexor's know how. That would allow a valuable expert on dealing with Beetleborgs to return.

"To Charterville," she commanded and then vanished with her servants and prisoners close behind.

~*~

14:59:03.01

Columns of thick black smog erupted into the air, competing with the nearby tyre pits over which could turn the sky darkest. A huge mushroom cloud formed overhead and a sinister laugh could be heard for miles around. Television and radio signals became scrambled as static electricity built up in the area.

~*~

Charterville,
14:59:37.51

Three typically average kids walked inside a haunted house and screamed. Since becoming Beetleborgs they had seen some of the most hideous monster Vexor had been able to create. Unfortunately Vexor's monsters nowhere near as bad as the sight of the House Monsters spring cleaning Frankenbean's head.

"Hey Flabber," Drew said as they entered the house, "What's up?"

"Nothing," Flabber replied. "That's the problem. There have been no monster attacks for a while now and I'm starting to think maybe Vexor has given up."

"Isn't that good news?" Jo asked, unable to understand the reason why Flabber looked nervous.

"It's not the simple Jo," Flabber told her. "You remember when you defeated the Shadowborg, don't you?" Jo, Drew and Roland nodded. "Well the same thing is true with Vexor. If he has given up then we have no further need for Beetleborgs. It's a question of good and evil, Ying and Yang. No Ying, no Yang, no villain, no need for Beetleborgs."

"You mean we have to give up our powers?" Roland asked.

Being Beetleborgs had been the centre of their world for a long time. Now they were going to lose their powers not because of something Vexor did, but because they had won.

"Not yet," Flabber told them. "We need to find out what happened to Vexor first."

"Maybe there are some clues in the crypt," Drew said finally. "Why don't we Borg and take a look."

When the other two agreed Drew decided it was time to leave. "Beetle Bonders, Beetle Blast!" As they transformed Drew found himself hoping this was not the last time he would get to do so.

~*~

"You ready?" Blue Borg asked.

"Yes," Green and Red Borg replied together.

All three of them cautiously made their way into the crypt Vexor had been using as a base. They knew he was long gone, but needed to check just the same. Although the idea of no longer being Beetle Borgs was devastating, but if it meant the Earth was safe then that wasn't so bad after all.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here," a sinister yet familiar voice said.

The three Borgs turned to see Shadow Borg walk into the room. "Hello Kiddies, I'm back!"

"You, but you're dead. We destroyed you," Blue Borg said anger showing in his voice.

"What can I say Drew, I got better."

Without another word he blasted the three Beetleborgs with his gun. He snap kicked Green Borg and punched Red Borg in the chest, sending her to the ground.

"Why don't you try Mega Blue?" he asked Drew. Then shrugging he smashed the Blue Borg in the face. "On second thoughts, don't."

Three crystals appeared in his hand and he placed one each Borg. Drew looked up in time to see the something looking down at him. "I think we're in trouble," he murmured.

Neither Roland nor Jo were able to reply.

~*~

Time: 14:57:31.47

The barriers placed at strategic points around the Earth flared with power as a hand emerged from the torn grounds at Stone Henge. The circle was once again restored although all but one of the doorways remained empty. A lone figure rose from the dirt and looked around with a growing sense of satisfaction. Minion put his head back and laughed; a chilling laugh heard throughout the world that caused humans, demons and henchmen to freeze in fear. Even the Shadow Demons trembled at the noise.

It takes three minutes to boil an egg, in that time who knows what can happen? Sometimes those three minutes can spell the end of the world.

End