Menace By Night
The door opened. A black shadow stood in the doorway, staring down at them. Hibiki woke abruptly, saw it, prepared himself to attack, to protect his wives.
A voice growled, "No heroics for you tonight, punk."
The shadow waved an arm at him. He was seized by some invisible force and thrown against the wall above his bunk, the sheet and blanket flapping around him. It pinned him there, and his struggles were futile.
Dita awakened instantly. She felt the shadow's presence, and whispered, "Please help us."
The shadowy shape raised its arm again, and Barnette was hoisted off the bed and suspended with her feet a short distance above it, facing the doorway. She tried to fight back, but was also held motionless.
"So this is where you were hidin'. What's with you?" Barnette recognized the voice that had tempted and tormented her at the target range, and twice more in her quarters. "You were supposed to kill this red-haired bitch for me. I even tried to help, and all you did was argue and wave guns around. Then you go and marry 'er, you stupid twat. I knew you went both ways, but not her."
She was turned left a little, then right. "Daaamn, you're a hottie." The shadow made an evil chuckle and seemed to look up towards Hibiki. "Gotta hand it to ya numbnuts, you sure can pick 'em." It returned its attention to Barnette. "You could have had me all to yourself, babe, but now you're gonna have to wait your turn — business before entertainment."
The shadow flicked its hand, and Barnette was flung across the room and slammed into the wall, and Hibiki. She cried out in pain, he groaned as he felt ribs crack. They were dropped onto the bunk, and could only lie there stunned. He managed to put an arm around her, a feeble attempt to comfort and protect her.
It looked down at Dita. "Here we are again toots, and this time I know we won't get interrupted. Your flyin' pain in the ass is all took apart."
Dita lay still with her eyes closed. Her fingers twitched, very slightly.
The smug voice suddenly seemed puzzled. "What's up with that, anyway? Damn thing flew half-way around the planet all on its own and took off with you before I even got warmed up. Like it's got the hots for you or sumpthin. Really pissed me off, too." Another ghastly laugh. "Well, I'm all calmed down now. I promise I won't get impatient and kill you too quick, even though we're a little short on time. How do you expect me to do my best work when I'm rushed?"
The voice went on, excited, gloating, "You're gonna scream for me tonight, bitch. You're gonna scream real good." It made an indescribable sound, of hunger and anticipation. "Let's get this party started."
The shadow gestured at Dita.
Nothing happened.
The figure jabbed its arm at her, violently. This time, Dita opened her eyes. They were filled with blue light. She rose from the bed until she stood upright. There was something unnatural about her movements, as if she were simply ignoring the ship's artificial gravity. Her hair billowed around and above her head like a brilliant red storm-cloud, threaded with tiny blue-white sparks. She turned that glowing blue gaze on the intruder.
"THESE ARE FRIENDS. YOU HARM THEM. YOU ARE ENEMY."
She sounded unnatural, too. Her voice was normal, if flat, but overlaid on it was another version of her voice, stronger, resonant, with almost mechanical overtones. It came not from her, but from everywhere. She raised her left hand and blue light dispersed the shadow, showing what looked like one of the Taraak crewmen. The light brightened and his appearance shifted, revealing the blond idol she had encountered the day before.
The eyes were still just as empty and the expression was one of absolute sadistic malice. "More tricks?" he snarled. "I'll show you some tricks!" He pointed two fingers at Dita and a bolt of red darkness slammed into her, knocking her back a few centimeters. Other than that small movement, though, she seemed unaffected. She frowned and lowered her hand, but the man-thing remained visible. Unmasked, he quit trying to conceal or disguise himself.
"I KNOW YOU. I REMEMBER WHAT YOU DID TO ME, AND WHAT YOU TRIED TO DO."
Her voice had changed again; it still echoed with power, but it was expressive now, threatening, vengeful. Dita was speaking for herself this time, where before it had been the Pyxis speaking through her.
"YOU TOOK ME FROM MY HOME, MY FRIENDS, AND THE MAN I LOVE. YOU STOLE MY MEMORIES, AND THREE YEARS OF MY LIFE, AND THEN YOU TRIED TO KILL ME."
Dita raised her right hand now, palm up, and watched in fascination as streaks of blue light converged above it from every direction, coalescing into a burr-like ball of crackling sparks with a brilliant, pulsing core.
"TIME FOR YOU TO PAY!"
She flipped the fist-sized sparkball at the man-thing. He tried dodging to the right but it tracked his movement unerringly and struck him in the stomach. The sparks spread out and wrapped around him as the crackling grew louder. His expression changed from arrogant malice to shock, surprise and pain, his mouth opened wide and released an unearthly howl. He dug and scrabbled at them, but got only scorched fingers for the effort. The ball lasted some twenty seconds before it sputtered out.
Deep burns tracked across the man-thing's clothing and skin, and wisps of smoke rose lazily. He was half-panting, half-growling now, glaring hatefully at Dita. "Nice try bitch, but I'm too tough for you. My turn!" His right hand thrust out at her, spread and curved like a claw. Jagged black lightning limned with a baleful red glow discharged from the fingers, reached out and twined around her, sizzling. Thick branching strands crawled across her body like worms, seeking out vulnerable spots, slithering over her breasts and between her legs.
Barnette gasped in horror, but Dita merely hissed with distaste. Blue light flared where the red-black creepers tore at her skin, leaving her untouched. She swept her right hand around, gathered up the mains leading back to the man-thing and clenched them in her fist.
"NOT THIS TIME, YOU SLIMY PERVERT!"
Dita ripped the groping things off her, then slashed the man-thing across the face with them. His left arm jerked up with inhuman speed to block the attack, and was partially successful. They flashed with blue fire over the red and black, and left more smoking burns behind.
She lowered her fist and a wave of blue light swept down her arm, glowing brighter until it reached her hand. It followed the black-red lightning to its source and up the man-thing's arm; he screamed in pain, and the lightning shattered into a cloud of tiny black specks and faded away.
That was more than the man-thing could take. He started backing towards the door. Dita made a swirling gesture with her left hand as her lips spread in a cold, spiteful smile.
"YOU'RE NOT LEAVING. WE'VE GOT STUFF TO DO."
Blue light streamed from the floor and walls, formed a barrier across the doorway and blocked any escape. Dita drifted forward, more blue light gathering around her hands.
Trapped, the man-thing roared and launched himself at her. Dita's lips peeled back in something far too primal to be called a grin and, once again, she kicked him in the balls. Yesterday her merely human strength had been ineffective. Tonight the Pyxis lent her nearly unlimited power; her kick stopped the man-thing dead in his tracks and he hunched over, screeching with pain and rage.
Dita wasn't done yet. Two thick bunches of her hair reached out like arms, wrapped around his neck and yanked him up straight. She drew her right hand back and slapped him with a blue flash and a sound like Barnette's favorite shotgun.
"ARE YOU HAVING FUN YET, YOU PIECE OF SHIT?"
Her voice was a furious thunder, and her backhand follow-up was just as loud as the first slap.
"ARE YOU?!"
Her hair flipped him over and smashed him into the deck, then pulled back and rejoined the storm-cloud above her. The man-thing shook his head groggily, then surged to his feet and reached out to grapple with her. Dita clenched her fists, shouted "HAI!" and pummeled him brutally, eliciting sharp grunts of pain, accompanied by sounds like sledgehammers pounding on a log. He staggered back, then braced and started to push forward as if forcing his way against a strong wind. The man-thing grabbed at Dita again and she jabbed him in the face. There was a blinding flash of blue light around her fist, and a loud BOOM. The man-thing was flung back into the barrier and…stuck. He struggled to break free, and failed.
A change came over Dita then, her predatory expression faded and she floated a few centimeters higher. She examined the transfixed man-thing with a kind of passive curiosity for several seconds. Her flat Pyxis-voice rang out:
"YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ENEMY. THERE ARE OTHERS. REVEAL ALL THAT YOU KNOW."
"You'll never get nuthin' outta me, bitch!" he yelled defiantly, but then he groaned, and signs of some desperate internal struggle showed on his face. Dita continued to watch carefully until he groaned again, and scowled poisonously at her.
"DON'T KNOW MUCH, DO YOU?" she said disdainfully in her own voice.
She somehow looked inward, and the light in her eyes…fluttered, brightening and dimming in quick tiny increments for a few seconds. Some sort of understanding seemed to come to her then, and she turned her attention back to the man-thing.
"YOU WOULD END THEIR EXISTENCE."
Her voice was calm and uninflected again, with just a hint of puzzled surprise.
"THAT IS NOT PERMITTED."
Now she sounded stern, and decisive. The man-thing glared at her but said nothing.
"YOU ARE OF NO FURTHER USE. YOUR EXISTENCE MUST END."
She pronounced that with grim finality, and a sense that both Dita and the Pyxis spoke as one.
This provoked a retort from the man-thing; "You puny creatures can't kill me! I am immortal!"
Dita did not reply. The light trapping him blazed up in a blue corona and the man-thing began to dissolve, ruining that perfect face. He struggled some more and made strangled, croaking noises as stains spread into the light, purple and red and swirling black. More blue light poured in, beating against the contamination, burning it away. Barnette screamed and squinched her eyes shut, overcome by the gruesome sight as skin and flesh melted off, bones crumbled, organs disintegrated, until all that was left were a few finger-sized crystals, glowing a sullen red. Soon even those were reduced to nothing and only the pure blue light remained, slowly fading.
Dita watched coolly until the light-show ended, her hair settling to lie innocuously down her back as if it had never done anything unusual. She lowered herself to a sitting position on the bed and closed her eyes, and when they opened again they were just pretty, blue human eyes. She swayed, and put out a hand to steady herself. She took a deep breath, then looked at Barnette and Hibiki, still lying dazed on the bunk. She crawled over to them, sat up, and took Barnette's head in her hands. "Barnette. Barnette! Can you hear me?" Her voice was all her own again, sweet, anxious and only human.
"Dita, dear. Please don't yell in my ear." She sounded weak but lucid, and slowly opened her eyes. "Hibiki. He's hurt." Now she sounded near panic. "He's not moving!" She started to lift his arm off her, and he groaned.
"Not moving. Cause it hurts. 'M okay. Sorta." He was taking shallow, cautious breaths. "Cracked ribs. Had 'em before." He slowly drew his arm back.
Barnette turned, swung her legs around, and carefully sat up on the edge of the bunk. She looked down at Hibiki, worried.
He grimaced. "Hi, Barnette. Hi, Dita. I know. What's next. Do it."
She looked down. "Dita. Can you get up?"
"I think so." She shoved herself to her feet and stood beside the bunk, still a little unsteady.
"Good. Now, help me get him unwound from the sheet, grab his feet and pull them around, carefully. We're going to sit him up beside me."
They untangled him, and Dita pulled. Hibiki grunted and winced a few times, but did his best to cooperate. After his legs were over the side, they each slid an arm under his shoulders.
Barnette said, "We're going to sit you up. Let us do all the work. This is going to hurt, my love. Ready, Dita?"
Dita nodded. They pulled him up, carefully. He gritted his teeth and growled. They got him sitting up, and Dita sat on his other side. They supported him as he regained what breath he could.
"Better. Let's sit here. For a while."
Barnette slid a hand around his chest and back, watching every wince. "Just for a minute. We've got to get you to sickbay. You might have internal bleeding, or lung damage."
"I know." He smiled at her. "Thank you. Dita, Barnette. You take good care of me. Sorry I couldn't. Do the same."
Dita shook her head. "There was nothing you could do. That man-thing was far too strong."
"It threw us both around like dolls," Barnette added. "But you stopped it, Dita. I saw things, but…how?"
"Not now. Sickbay first. Then I'll tell you what I can."
Hibiki said, "Pants."
Barnette looked puzzled. "What for? There's no time to waste. You could be bleeding."
He gave her a pleading look.
She huffed, and gave him a sour look back. "Fine. Pants. There they are. Dita?"
Dita stretched, snagged them with her toes and dragged them in. He lifted one foot, then the other as she pulled them on, got them bunched up above his knees. She looked at Barnette. "Taking them off is a lot more fun."
Barnette shook her head. "I don't see why they're so important. I'm not going to waste time getting dressed in an emergency."
Hibiki looked sheepish, but stubborn. Barnette shook her head and said, "Men. Let's get going."
He looked at her. "You're hurt too."
"I'm all right. Just bruises." She started to rise, inhaled with a sharp hiss. "Okay. Big bruises." She pushed through the pain and managed to stand up, listing a bit to port. "Dita, you're going to have to do most of the work. Let's get him standing up."
Dita stood. He put his hands on their shoulders. They crossed their arms behind his back. They lifted, he leaned forward, pushed up, got to his feet with another groan, reached down and pulled up his pants. With Dita supporting him from one side and Barnette hobbling on the other, they made their way to sickbay.
They got Hibiki loaded onto an examination table. The medical scanner considered the matter for a minute, then delivered its verdict: four cracked ribs and some cartilage damage. Nothing worth waking Doctor McFile over. The duty medic wrapped him up, prescribed a shot of bone-growth stimulant, painkillers and plenty of rest. Barnette was right, she only had some bruises. More pain meds and rest. They were just finishing up when Captain Magno walked in.
Barnette saw her first. "Attention on deck!"
"At ease," she replied immediately. "Is everybody all right?"
The medic reported, "Lieutenant Commander Orangello has multiple bruises, a few fairly severe. Lieutenant Commander Tokai has four cracked ribs and additional minor trauma. They have both been treated. They should be ready for light duties in two or three days, normal duties in ten to twelve. Lieutenant Liebely has not reported any injuries."
The Captain smiled at her. "Thank you, Chief Nomari. Are you ready to release them?"
"Yes, Captain. We're done here. They were just about to leave."
"Good. I want to see you three in my office."
"Could we get dressed first?" Dita asked. She and Barnette had borrowed medical smocks but wore nothing else. Hibiki still wore only his pants, and the light gray bandage wrapped around his ribs.
"Of course. I will see you there in a few minutes." She nodded at them all, turned and walked out.
Author's Notes
Writing the man-thing is in one sense hard, and in another way it's very simple. I write what creeps me out, and figure it will creep everybody else out too.