When he heard what the Blue Light Ranger shouted as he bolted, Fred acted immediately, before his Justin even had a chance to speak. An enemy Justin Stewart with a plan was too dangerous a threat; the android had to be neutralized before he could carry it out. The Gold Psycho Ranger blurred down the hall, knocking Billy aside and slamming into the fleeing android, sending it sprawling.

Well aware of the formidable physical power of the machine, Fred thrust the tip of his staff into the back of the artificial Justin's neck, pinning his foe to the steel deck plating.

Billy scrambled to regain his footing, but in the process was forced to lower his guard. The Blue Psycho Ranger took advantage of that instant of vulnerability, bringing the blade of the Psycho Axe slashing down onto the other Ranger's right wrist.

See how you like it! Justin thought in savage, delighted triumph. He'd been forced to sever four of his own fingers to escape from captivity at Billy's hands; how ironically fitting to now actually take one of those hands, before placing the older Ranger in his captivity!

At the same time the android Justin writhed and struggled with all of his superhuman might to push himself up from his prone position. The way his chest was pressed against the floor made it impossible to reach the trigger for the bomb which now seemed to be the galaxy's last hope. Yet Robot Justin could neither dislodge nor overcome the staff holding him down! Worse, according to his skin sensors, the head of the staff was growing rapidly hotter . . .

In utter agony from his maiming and losing more blood by the second, Billy Cranston had no hope of successfully defending himself from the fresh and unwounded Blue Psycho Ranger. The blunt side of the Psycho Axe smashed into the side of his helmet again and again, until the protective headgear cracked and the mentor of the Light Rangers lost consciousness.

With the stench of burning circuits the Gold Psycho Ranger's staff melted through the android's neck, severing the head from the body. The decapitated form twitched and writhed for a few seconds before falling still.

Then both Psycho Rangers teleported away, the Blue taking Billy and the latter's hand to the med bay, while the Gold took the android and the latter's head to Justin's workshop.

ΩΩΩΩΩ

With those immediate issues taken care of, the two remaining Psycho Rangers turned their attention to the matter of assuming leadership of the UAE. Contacting all of the other leaders in a holo-conference, Justin deliberately pulled no punches, hitting them hard and fast.

"The Gold Psycho Ranger and I have just killed Dark Specter, Astronema, and Darkonda. I'm therefore assuming immediate command of the United Alliance of Evil as its new Emperor. If all of you keep to the original agreements struck regarding the division of labor, responsibilities and rewards, I will as well. There need be no further bloodshed, but I warn you that any treason to the UAE will be met with immediate execution! Now, are you with me or against me? Lord Zedd?" the Blue Psycho Ranger prompted, turning and directly addressing the being he was most concerned, putting the evil alien on the spot in the process.

Fred nodded to him, lifting the staff and preparing to teleport to Zedd's actual location should the resultant answer be . . . unwise. Still visibly shocked by what they were being told, however, all of the UAE heads professed loyalty, at least for now.

"Excellent! I would remind everyone that the UAE now holds more of the galaxy than it ever has before. Also, both Blue Light Rangers have been captured and will shortly be joining the Psycho Rangers," Justin explained, keeping the surprises coming too fast for his audience to keep up. "Once that happens we will sweep aside the remaining Light Rangers and bring order to the galaxy! The GLL is staggering now, mortally wounded whether it knows it or not. All we need do is administer the coup de grace. Victory is certain, provided we do not fall apart!" Justin finished forcefully, quoting another famous wartime leader. "Dark Fortress out."

With a push of the button he wiped away the holographic images of his inferiors. He actually did intend to keep his word to them; taking Dark Specter's lion's share of the spoils would be enough for him.

Abruptly the Gold Psycho Ranger dropped to one knee and bowed his head, startling the seventeen year-old.

"What is thy bidding, my master?" he asked in an especially deep voice, and the new teenage Emperor of Evil burst out laughing as he got the reference and the joke.

ΩΩΩΩΩ

The war went on for another two months by Earth's calendar, but as Justin had said, the outcome was no longer in doubt. The information contained in Billy's memories and the android Justin's data banks alone would have doomed the Galactic League of Light; the addition of their fighting prowess and intellects to the Psycho Rangers erased all hope.

The effectiveness of so many Blues on one team intrigued Justin and made him ponder what kind of people he should seek as the additions to fill out the ranks of the Psycho Rangers. With the whole of the galaxy brought under the dominion of the United Alliance of Evil, the need for the team itself might seem questionable to some, but not to the new Emperor. The Psycho Rangers would serve as the ultimate punishment for any rebellion, as well as deterrence for any treachery from within. And if a new threat should arise, the Psycho Rangers would be there to mercilessly crush it, Justin among them.

After all, just because he was Emperor now didn't mean he was going to let Fred and the others have all the fun.

ΩΩΩΩΩ

As with my Robocop fanfic, the idea and inspiration for this chapter was provided by 90TheGeneral09, a good friend and an excellent fanfic author. If you haven't read any of his stories yet, please check them out, especially his three Good Son fanfics.

I realize this alternate chapter was fairly short, but I can't help feeling that if Billy and Justin's desperate, last bid offensive had failed, there would have been very little left to say. I hope you enjoyed this brief look into how easily things could have gone the other way in this series, if Fred had acted only an instant earlier when confronting Billy and Robot Justin.