(no subject)

[bring_a_sponge]

MiB Headquarters,
Post-Black Oil Infestation Recovery Operation: Day Twenty-Two,
Office of Agent Zed

Zed passes his hand over a small sphere set into the surface of his desk. The curved glass window around his office darkens and goes opaque. Indirect lighting keeps the light at a steady level, but the room doesn't feel quite so exposed now.

"You really think she needs that?" K asks. "The kid's tough, Boss."

"I know," Zed replies, not looking up.

K looks at him for a bit, then goes back to moving one of the chairs to the front of Zed's desk. That done, he walks over to the glass door that leads out to the catwalk and the rest of MiB Headquarters. Hand on the entry panel, he waits.

Zed finishes putting his papers and neuralyzer in order. Then with a sigh, he nods.

K taps against the glass door. Even he can't help feeling a touch of vertigo as the glass door swings open to show, not the catwalk, but Milliways just beyond.

Sure enough, she's standing there, waiting.

K smiles. "C'mon in, Steph. We're all set here."

The smile's a lie. K is just as worried as Zed about what may be about to happen. But showing it would probably just make things harder.

Comments

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph shoves her hands in her pockets and steps through, trying her best not to look intimidated.

"Gang's all here?" she enquires, with forced cheer. The Security badge in her pocket is a comforting reminder that she can escape at any stage; she fiddles with it for a moment, perching cross-legged on the chair in front of the desk.

"So ... yeah."

[bring_a_sponge]

Zed and K both take a seat.

"Let me say this up front," Zed begins. "You've got absolutely nothing to worry about. We're all friends here. Hell, we're in your debt."

K nods. "The second you want to bow out of this, just say the word."

"But the thing is, Stephanie," Zed continues. "We think you might have seen something during the fight. Something none of us realized at the time."

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph looks at them warily.

"You ... do?"

[bring_a_sponge]

Zed nods. "We do."

He flips open a plastic folder on his desk, picks up a large photograph and slides it toward Steph.

The photograph shows a wide section of floor, somewhere in the MiB Headquarters. The jagged edge of a hole at one side makes it easy to tell it's part of the Main Hall, right after Duo's missile fire against the giant bugs made part of the floor collapse all the way down to the lowest sublevel.

But the photo itself is centered on two pairs of footprints, facing each other. The pair nearest the hole is normal sized. The other pair, several feet away from the first, is larger. Maybe of someone just over seven feet tall.

The footprints seem flash-burned into the floor.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph frowns at it; particularly at the split toes of the smaller shoes. It'd be pretty pointless denying that she was the one wearing those.

After a moment, she looks back up at Zed, shrugging awkwardly. "I didn't realise that was real."

[bring_a_sponge]

"So there was something...," K murmurs.

Zed is nodding. "We think it was. We're just not sure what it was. But we've got good reason to think that flash pattern there was caused by alien technology similar to our neuralyzers."

Zed taps his lying on his desk.

[alwaysroomforhope]

"The neuralyzers that make people forget things," Steph says, after a moment of realisation. "Oh, fuck. You don't think --?"

[bring_a_sponge]

The Men in Black nod.

"Yeah," K says. "I'm afraid we do."

"Here's the thing," Zed adds, picking up the neuralyzer and pointing at it. "If this was our tech, it would be calibrated perfectly to human brainwave patterns. Even allowing for trans-dimensional shift between worlds, the effect should have erased your memory of anything that might have happened."

"But what we're talking about here isn't our tech. It's a variant. And if the entities responsible for it haven't had much contact with humans before, their calibration might have been off. Maybe off enough to leave some remnants of your memory behind. Then the only question is, can we get to them?"

"How've you been sleeping lately, Steph?" K asks.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph is rubbing her temple uncomfortably. Things in her head!

"I -- Well, I don't really sleep well at the best of times, but -- yeah, it's been a bit --"

She grimaces, expressively, and eyes the neuralyzer on the desk.

Sounding resigned: "Is this going to hurt much?"

[bring_a_sponge]

Zed blinks, then eyes the neuralyzer still in his hand. "Eh?" he grunts. "Oh." He puts the neuralyzer down on his desk.

"Won't be needing that. If you've been having dreams, that's already a sign their neuralyzation didn't take."

"What we'd like to do, Steph," K chimes in. "If it's all right with you, mind--what we'd like to do is talk you through that moment. Have you take a good close look at that photo of the footprints, and try to think yourself back to that day. That might be enough right there to make you remember what happened."

Zed taps a button on his desk, causing the low roar that goes on all the time in the Main Hall to quiet down to a subtle and distant rumble.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph looks vaguely relieved. "Okay. Uh ... do you mean hypnosis or something? It's just that night, right?"

[bring_a_sponge]

Zed nods. "Just close your eyes and think back to that night. Right after Maxwell's missile strike brought down the floor."

"You were heading down to join Team Alpha. Right as you were dropping down through the Main Hall--that's when we're thinking something must have happened."

Zed's voice has dropped to a low rumble. Hypnosis really isn't the MiB's thing--not when they have neuralyzers--so this is about as new an experience for him as it is for Steph. But he's trying to tone his usual self down enough to give her a chance to remember.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph settles a little more comfortably into her chair, closing her eyes.

"Yeah ... there was a huge hole in the floor, but I didn't ride down on the back of Duo's mech for some reason -- oh, I had a de-cel cable. And Goldy ... didn't follow, did she? I thought she was going to when I jumped..."

She's quiet for a moment, forehead creasing with effort.

"It was still hot around the edges. The floors, I mean. And a little sharp. Made me think of the earthquake, bits sticking out, there was this one jagged ledge a few floors between in my way, and I was -- I jumped too far out? No, that's not -- but why did I go over there, then? ... And I ... landed on the ground, I think, and Duo had already ... did he blow up the Oil? How did that fight end?"

[bring_a_sponge]

....The thunder of the jumpjets rattle the walls as Duo's Stiletto sinks through the floor in the Main Hall and keeps going, down to sublevel C. Bits of metal and weird twists of what look like plastic shake off from the buckled walls.

The ledge turns out to be a part of the Main Hall's floor, jutting out over the hole. And standing at the far end of it is a dark figure, slightly taller than normal for a human. Its features are hidden behind a heavy hood and cloak.

[alwaysroomforhope]

"Hello?" Steph calls, frowning as she straightens up, and slipping a batarang into her hand. She's still adrenaline-fuelled, heart thumping from the fight with the bug creatures; she takes a couple of steps forwards to slightly steadier ground.

"Are you from one of the other teams, or do I get to blow you up too?"

[bring_a_sponge]

The figure is silent, and then begins to tremble. Almost as if it might be laughing. But it doesn't make a sound.

A moment later, there is a voice--and it doesn't sound human at all--saying, "No."

That might be all she's getting to both questions. But the figure still isn't moving.

Just...watching.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph stares at it for a little, brow furrowing.

When it becomes clear there's not going to be any further answer, she shifts her grip on the 'rang and lifts her chin.

"Okay, so if you're not with us then you're not supposed to be here and I have to knock you out and take you wherever. Uh ... or blow you up, but you're a person, not a bug. I think. ... Uh, so ... what are you?"

[bring_a_sponge]

There's a sound, something like an intake of breath, and then, in a voice that's rasping and dry at first, and then wet with phlegm, it says,

"We are Morbius. Heir to the Krell."

[alwaysroomforhope]

"Well ... that's good to know."

Steph tilts her head and peers at it.

"... When you say we, are you using the royal we, or are you more than one thing? 'Cos I'm getting the impression I might need some backup..."

The last part is mumbled. Probably not quietly enough, though.

[bring_a_sponge]

"We are the rulers of this world," it replies (unhelpfully).

"And you are already dead."

When it draws in another breath, the sound is guttural and wet.

[alwaysroomforhope]

"Well, yes," Steph says, in a rather duh tone of voice, but the hairs on the back of her neck are prickling, and her stance is a little more poised, prepared for movement.

"--I'm not sure Zed would agree with you on that first bit."

She fights the urge to hold a hanky to its nose and order it to blow.

[bring_a_sponge]

The figure is silent again, but this pause seems less intimidation then confusion about her answer.

Unfortunately, dark and scary aliens are not allowed to headtilt.

Apparently having decided to let Steph win the first part, the figure focuses on the second.

"What is... Zed?"

[alwaysroomforhope]

"I'm not telling," Steph says, frowning. "You have to do your own research or you'll never learn anything."

She takes a couple of steps backwards, nearer the jagged edge of the floor, still watching it warily.

"... I guess he's in charge."

[bring_a_sponge]

"Tell it.... Tell them....,"

--and here the voice shifts and, for a moment, sounds almost human--

"....Your resistance this day will bring you nothing. Merely a pointless delay of your inevitable destiny."

And now there seems to be something poking at Steph's head. But whatever it is, it can't quite make it through her Black Suit.

[alwaysroomforhope]

"I'm not—" Steph starts to protest, but she's a little off balance. Maybe the yawn that's cracking her jaw has something to do with that.

It's been a long day, suddenly.

"—uh, were you saying something?"

But she looks up, and there's nobody in front of her any more.




"— I don't ... know what happened."

[bring_a_sponge]

"That's good, Steph. That's real good," K says quietly.

Meanwhile, Zed is glowering, though, fortunately, not at Steph.

"The 'Krell', huh? And what the fuck is a Morbius?"

"Sounds like it might be a 'who,' Chief," K suggests.

Zed grunts.

[alwaysroomforhope]

"That's so not cool," Steph says, frowning and rubbing her temples uncomfortably. "It was in my head! Man. What does all that even mean?"

[bring_a_sponge]

"I'd say for now, Steph, you know as much about it as we do," K replies. "We know the Krell have something to do with the planet Altair IV. We know that much."

Zed nods. "Which confirms that last part of B's briefing, at least. Not that that does us much good."

Zed sighs and turns to Steph. "Anyway. That's our problem for now. We're sorry we had to put you through that, Stephanie, but you've just given us the best lead we have on this. Something else we have to thank you for."

"How's your head feel now? Got a headache? Anything?"

[alwaysroomforhope]

"Actually ... I feel better." She uncurls herself and stands up, still prodding at her temples. "Like ... clearer, sorta.

"Hey, if you guys need to attack this thing, you'll call me, right?"

[bring_a_sponge]

The Men in Black smile, and with one of his more friendly growls, Zed rumbles, "Count on it. Hell, you're the only one who can control Goldy."

"K?" Zed adds, and K gets up. He walks over to the door to Zed's office and opens it slightly. Instead of the rest of MiB Headquarters, it's the sounds of Miliways just beyond that fill the small office.

Zed nods. "Thanks again. And let us know if you remember anything more, ok?"

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph laughs at that first. "Shyeah. Yeah, I'll definitely tell you. That was way creepy, that guy.

"No problems. See you round!"