Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, Masters of the Universe, Justice League or Doctor Who. They all belong to their respective copyright owners. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.

Prologue - The Peril of Grayskull

Castle Grayskull, Eternia

"Any sufficiently arcane magic is indistinguishable from technology" - Variation of Clarke's Third Law.

Eternia was a world filled magic. Magic was everywhere and because it flowed so freely, the planet was home to a massive number of magical plants and creatures, and more than its share of magic users. The saturation of magical energy had caused the people of Eternia to evolve differently from some other worlds. It created a bond between the people and their world, leaving them more in touch with their environment and knowledgeable of the best way to use their resources.

Even where science had proven more effective, magic still played a role. The use of alchemy allowed the alteration of metals and manipulation of the elements affected everything from transportation to medicine. Even the energy used to power those homes that used electricity was converted from magical energy housed within small crystals.

It was a world where the laws that governed physics could be skewed to allow normally impossible things to happen. A planet where gods walked alongside mortals in harmony. And a world where some of the natives were born with physical mutations that granted them special abilities. There were humans that could fly with the birds and those that could withstand huge amounts of pain. There were those that magic made more durable, faster and stronger than others. And while it was not a primitive world, it was not what outsider would consider technologically advanced. There was no doubt that it was a world of wonders.

The source of the vast majority of Eternia's magic was hidden deep within the planet and accessible from only a few places. In the days following the creation of the universe, a piece of crystal had become trapped with the planet's core. It was this crystal that would make the planet so abundant with magic. And it was the energy drawn from that crystal that had become a key part of the power of Castle Grayskull.

And it was within the walls of Castle Grayskull that Skeletor had seemingly triumphed.

Victory was not a quick thing as far as Skeletor was concerned. It was something to be savoured and the opportunity to belittle his fallen enemies was not to be missed. And there was no doubt that the so-called Masters of the Universe had been defeated. On this day Skeletor's forces had lured them into a trap, overwhelmed them with greater numbers and subdued them with superior strength. They had beaten down the losers of the very one-sided confrontation and then tossed them into a portal that Skeletor had opened inside Castle Grayskull, which led to a demon dimension. The magical sacrifice he had prepared required the souls of the warriors of righteousness in order to bind a demon to his will. Sacrificing He-Man's friends had the added benefit that it hurt the mighty warrior.

"And so, the mighty He-Man has fallen," Skeletor gloated as he stood over the last of his enemies. "You have nothing left you muscle bound oaf. I have defeated you."

And far as He-Man was concerned, Skeletor was being honest for once. The Prince of Eternia and its greatest hero could only look up as his uncle towered over him. The sword that granted Adam the powers of He-Man dangled from a chain at Skeletor's side.

"Castle Grayskull has fallen and the Sorceress is dead..."

Not quite so true. The castle was in his possession, but its secrets were still beyond his reach. And the Sorceress while close to death still held a small amount of life energy. Just enough to keep her alive until he had extracted the information he needed to unlock the castle's power.

"Your friends have been thrown into my vortex where they will bind my demon and bring forth Eternia's destruction..."

In truth Skeletor had no intention of destroying Eternia. He saw the world as his kingdom, denied to him by his father and brother. His plans for Eternia were much less destructive: Eternia would become his throne world where he would rule his empire from Castle Grayskull.

"I have taken everything from you, there is nothing that can save you now... so tell me Prince Adam, why do you still defy me?"

Despite knowing on some level that Skeletor was lying and that the Sorceress and his friends were alive, loss and anger fuelled his tired muscles, pushing him to lash out one more time, only to stop when a whip of raw energy tethered itself around his neck, dragging him backwards.

"So, the spirit is not as broken as the body," Evil-Lyn commented as she wove a new spell to taken control of his mind. Normally such spells would likely fail, but normally he was not emotionally broken. "We will soon change that. Kneel before your master."

With his body broken and his mind driven to despair, the powerful spell found easy purchase. There was no way that he could fight it off, but He-Man was more than just strong, he had within him the mind and the spirit to back up that strength. It was just a matter of biding his time and relying on his enemies to be their usual evil selves.

He knew Skeletor. He knew that simply killing his greatest enemy would never be enough. Skeletor wanted He-Man broken, had gone out of his way to bring the powerful warrior to his knees. He had tortured his friends in front of him and displayed his weapons as trophies just beyond his reach.

And Evil-Lyn? Well she was every bit as evil as her master and thrived on the control she felt at that moment. She had He-Man bound to her control and relished to opportunity to control his words and actions. But never his thoughts. Whether she realised it or not, her spell had only affected his motor control and not the thoughts of the man behind the vacant eyes.

"Join us," Evil-Lyn commanded. "Proclaim yourself a servant of Skeletor. Swear your loyalty to us!"

"To us?" Skeletor asked, a dangerous undertone in his voice. Skeletor did not share power with anyone.

"To Skeletor," she corrected. "I meant to Skeletor, of course. Swear upon your power that you will serve Skeletor as his loyal slave and we shall spare your miserable life."

And for the first time since he had fallen, He-Man sensed that the tide of battle had turned in his favour. Instead of fighting the spell, he embraced it, using its power to push himself to obey... and the same time defy. They wanted him to swear an oath. He would. And he knew exactly how it should be done.

"Yes, my mistress," he answered. He crawled to where Skeletor stood watching him. "I swear by my power that I will serve..."

"Stop! You will not deceive me He-Man. There is no way that you would ever serve me. Besides, what power can you swear by? You worthless brute, you have no power. Well, tell me?"

And that was all he needed. One command, one simple instruction to say that which the spell had previously prevented. Before anyone could stop him, his hand reached out, grasping the blade of the sword Skeletor had taunted him with earlier. His sword, the Power Sword of Grayskull, forged within the eternal flames of the planet and the conduit for its massive energies.

"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!"

And with that the spell was broken, shattered as the sword drew the magical energies into his broken body, restoring him to his previous strength. In the back of his mind he could feel his connection to the power return. He ripped the sword free from the chain that held it to Skeletor's side and in the process knocked the villain from his feet.

"I HAVE THE POWER!"

"No!" Skeletor protested as he regained his footing. "This cannot be! I had you at my mercy. I had you beaten, broken. I took everything from you and still you defy me. How?"

Three times he unleashed a blast of dark energy from his staff. The first two were deflected harmlessly from the blade while the third knocked it from He-Man's grasp.

"This is the end of the line, Skeletor!" He-Man warned as he dodged a shot from Evil-Lyn, which connected with the portal, disrupting its power.

"You fool, you'll free the other Masters!" Skeletor warned before returning fire. He had not gotten to his current position by allowing his minions to attack him.

And Skeletor's warning came true as the vortex turned from glowing purple to sickly green and the Masters of the Universe that Skeletor had sacrificed to its power were released.

In the meantime, He-Man had closed the gap between himself and the villain, grabbing hold of the villain's Havoc Staff, preventing Skeletor from unleashing its energy. He drew back his fist a slammed it into the villain, not holding back for the first time in such an encounter. Usually he subconsciously pulled his punches. As Skeletor struggled, He-Man lifted him over his head and threw him into the broken vortex. With Skeletor gone the vortex closed, leaving the assembled Masters of the Universe facing the rest of Skeletor's army.

"Retreat!" Evil-Lyn bellowed before turning to run. Her companions did likewise.

The war it seemed was far from over as the last of the villains left the castle and the drawbridge closed. But the evil of Skeletor was gone for good, it seemed. The Masters of the Universe had triumphed.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Clarke's Third Law

In comparison to Eternia and many other worlds, Earth was not considered magical. The abundance of Iron that made up the planet's core prevented the strange energy from flowing freely. And an accident during the planet's infancy meant that its connection to the power that flowed through existence was fundamentally different. As a result, the humans of Earth had had to get by without the use of spells and enchantments. They had learnt to apply the principles of the world around them to fashion machinery to make up for their shortfall. For the most part they were not even aware of what was missing from their lives.

And there was no question that Earth lacked the number and variety of magical creatures that Eternia boasted. Earth's animals had had to adapt to their environment without magic just like the humans.

But while magical energy did not flow freely on Earth as it did on some worlds, there was still magic for those that could find a way to use it. The magical essence of the planet was what allowed life to flourish after all. Throughout history there were those that had learnt how to draw upon the planet's magic. Unlike on some worlds there was more than one method of doing so and more than one source from which to draw. No, Earth was not completely without magic users, but it was widely accepted that they were in the minority.

Earth certainly didn't lack for heroes. There had always been those that would rise up and face evil or risk their lives to save those in need of help. The Justice League and many other groups protected the planet from the threat posed by super-powered villains. And just like the Masters on Eternia, many of its members were ambassadors for their people. In recent times they had been joined by the Power Rangers, a team of costumed fighters protecting the world from invasion by evil space aliens.

Just like Eternia and many other worlds, the Earth had once contained a fragment of crystal left over from the formation of the universe. However due to a collision with its own moon in the first days following its creation, that fragment had been shattered and scattered through the planet's structure creating lines of natural magic that seeped out wherever it could, often where multiple lines of magical energy crossed.

The Earth fragment of crystal had different properties to the one found in the heart of Eternia. The latent magic surrounding the Earth purified the souls of those within its reach. It wasn't strong enough to turn an evil person into a good person, but on some level, it eroded the evil around their hearts. Often the effect was most obvious when considering how competent a villain had been before exposure to the planet. Rita Repulsa for example had at one time been a fear villainess known for her cruel methods and her ruthlessly efficient methods of conquest. Just a year on Earth following her release had transformed her into a mockery of her former self. Lord Zedd had likewise been influenced by the Earth's power- for there was no way that any sort of love potion would have worked on him before he first attempted to conquer the planet, even if it was a very twisted form of love. It was such magic that had allowed the heroes of Earth to fight off multiple threats.

And it was to Earth that the damaged vortex carried the defeated Skeletor, depositing high above the planet, still travelling at the same speed that he had been propelled into the portal, and leaving him to plummet helplessly toward the surface. As he fell, the Lord of Destruction laughed triumphantly as he tasted the planet's relatively untapped potential and realised that he had arrived in a place that would allow him to extract revenge upon He-Man. For it seemed the regardless of whether the natives of Earth could use its magic, Skeletor had no problems.

It was a shame that he was concentrating on the newly discovered power that he forgot all about the more immediate problem of the rapidly approaching ground.

End of part.