SEASON SIX
EPISODE 7: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
By:
X_C
SEASON SIX
EPISODE 7: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
By:
X_CSPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE WWF TITANPRIZE. IT'S MISSION: TO EXPLORE AND ENTERTAIN NEW SOCIETIES AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS. TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO WRESTLER HAS GONE BEFORE!
TITANPRIZE CREW:
Captain Vincent K. McMahon
... And many more!
WWF TITANPRIZE-CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM
"Captain's Log, Stardate 070900.00. Pop's is personally escorting Mommy dearest back to Wrestlefleet Headquarters, so while the Genetic Jack-Ass is on Earth, Shane O' Mac now commands this ship! This message is encrypted ladies and gentleman, so if you're reading it then chances are you're five minutes from the business end of a phaser."
He laughed at his own cleverness and spun around in Vinnie Mac's chair. Oh yes, power could really turn a young man's head.
"I've been thinking...it's just too risky, too dangerous to be dealing with those Nytron slugs. Not only do they suck as soldiers, but I wanna save Wrestlefleet, not commit treason against it. My intention was merely to use the loathesome insects for their illegal weapons, but as Lt Rock is always thinking...image is everything!"
Acting Captain Shane McMahon casually called up a set of personnel files, smirking as the faces scrolled by him. He didn't need to be the Giant-Killer he was to neutralize this pitiful little threat.
"Lt. Jeffrey Hardy..." Funny thing was, Shane used to like the guy. He was one of the few on the crew who could take as much punishment as Commander Shane in fighting exercises and Shane had admired the heck out of that. "Just can't keep your freaky rainbow head out of my sister's business can you? When the time comes, I will find a way to have you executed as a traitor... and pull the trigger myself."
"And your brother..." Shane sighed, twined his fingers behind his dark hair. "You're gonna be a real thorn in my side, Matty, you really are. So much more talented than anyone gives you credit for...and you will be rewarded, trust me..."
His smile grew wider, almost leering. "Sweet, sweet Lita. If there's one thing Pops taught me it's that behind every great Captain, there's one fine mistress, although right now Dad is carrying the idea of being faithful a little too far... When I'm the big man on the TitanPrize, Red, there will still be a... position for you."
Shane paused when his sister's file uploaded, her big brown eyes staring at him from the screen. "What happened to you Stephanie? McMahons made Wrestlefleet, and the way you act, you want our family name to be connected to its corruption? Lt Commander Jericho, he can have his loyalties re-programmed, but you... you... sis I pray that you see my side of things when the time comes, cause otherwise...."
Family was family. But Wrestlefleet was Wrestlefleet and power was more valuable than blood.
***
PLANET AERIALIA
"And then Eddie's all like... Noooo Ensign Crash, I don't think Ivory will let you feed her puppies - she doesn't have those kind of puppies for pete's sake!"
"I'm soooo sorry!" Tori laughed merrily, bubbly water spraying through the warm, clear air as she clapped her hands together. She reached for her Aerialian cocktail, which rested on the glossy marble surface of the whirlpool. "X-Pac was filling his head with such filthy innuendo! I guess he couldn't resist trying to educate someone who was enjoying milk and cookies!"
"Ugh-put a fork in me, I think I'm done." Stephanie grimaced as she sat up in her hammock, her skin stinging from too much sun exposure. She pushed her sunglasses up. "Geesh. I've never been this color before."
The Aerialian sun is a little strong." Lita smiled. "I'm sure Hunter will appreciate the effort."
"Not." Stephanie frowned back. "When I went to drag Edge and Christian out of the ship's tanning salon for their shift, I caught the jerk gawking at that Nytron gutter trash Kimberly with the rest of his degenerates. I wonder how they'd all like to stare down my prized Resian disruptor - that's pretty darn hot too!"
Chyna nodded. She felt the Commander's pain. "I appreciate Shane sending us girls to the most wonderful resort on Aerialia for a little R & R, but I suspect his motives are a little... slimy. Sorry Steph."
"Don't apologize on my account." Stephanie shrugged it off as she poured herself a glass of straight synthehol at the wet bar. Just hearing the name Kimberly made her want to drink herself into a stupor...."I bet if you pricked the little monster, he'd bleed slime."
"How can anyone just trust a backstabbing Nytron witch because she happens to be beautiful?" Lita demanded. "Hello! If she's willing to sell Russo up the river, that should raise red flags in someone's pea brain!"
"When men get all hot and bothered, their minds shrink to the size of peas alright!" Tori agreed. "That's in direct proportion to-"
"Tori!" Chyna exploded with laughter. "God! I'm with you, Lita. Kimmie just sheds a tear and the guys turn to puddles! Never have I been so constantly on the verge of losing my lunch!"
"What's major gross is the way Lt Commander Jericho has been squiring that scuzzy Nytron port of call around the ship!" Lita shuddered. "I mean, Kimberly shouldn't see-" she froze in mid-sentence. God maybe Matt is right about me. I just open my big mouth and stick my foot so far in I could choke on it. "Hey! You girls ever try Aerialian chocolate? It's totally sinful but so worth it!"
Stephanie was pressing her nails against the glass so hard she could feel it threatening to shatter in her hands. Why did they all have to walk on eggshells around her, acting like the word Jericho was a forbidden curse? "I-I need a walk." She practically threw her glass on the floor and fled the cabin, not even wasting time on sandals.
"Steph!" Chyna bit her lip, feeling bad. She knew what she had asked Chris to do was far more important than the Commander's feelings, but still....
***
"Stephanie!" Lita angrily flung branches out of her face after they had scratched and drawn blood. "Commander - come off it! What are you even doing? You don't even know your way around - dammit!" She shook her finger, which had gone numb from smacking into a wayward branch.
"Leave me alone!" Stephanie couldn't catch her breath no matter how hard she tried. She leaned against a tree, hugging herself tightly. God, she was shaking like a leaf, tears pouring out of her eyes though she willed them to stop.
I hate him, I hate him, I hate him! I wish he was dead!
The commander knew how childish she was being, didn't really care. She sat on the damp Aerialian soil, burying her head in her hands.
"That sunburn must hurt really bad."
"I'm not cut out for peace and quiet." Stephanie sniffled, running a hand across her face to wipe the tears away. If only she could hide her red, puffy eyes from Lita. It was a bad idea to let your inferior officers see you all emotional and out of control. "I need to get back to the TitanPrize and do something useful."
"I thought things were better with Hunter." Lita didn't play games.
"Hunter?" Steph laughed bitterly, pushed her sunglasses down her nose. "I think I've forgotten what he looks like. After he saved my life on Copeland-9, I figured... I don't know."
"He did savagely beat up Benoit for you."
"Oh yeah." Stephanie said scornfully. "And Shane gave him a three day vacation in the brig for interfering with a Wrestlefleet Intelligence Operation. Even my own brother has turned on me."
"Shane is-" This time, Lita pulled back. If Steph didn't believe that her hubby was total crud, she wasn't going to buy anything bad about her own flesh and blood. "Doing his job." Ugh.
"I'm jealous of you." Commander McMahon-Helmsley blurted out, blushing furiously. "Jeff is a real wimp...and a total dork, and I mean, someone really really needs to speak to him about the nails, but he's so sweet and devoted."
Good lord. If the Commander kept talking, Lita would start to question why she was even dating Jeff. "Yeah he's a sweet kid but... sometimes I'd trade him for someone dark and dangerous like Hunter. "
"Liar."
"Hey." Lita knew darn well this wasn't about Helmsley. "Maybe Jericho is just doing research on Nytron STD's."
"Right." Stephanie laughed. "It's not even logical you know? He just keeps telling me what a nasty, filthy, dirty, skanky, brutal, bottom-feeding trash-bag ho I am and he latches onto some nasty whore who's been laid more times than old carpeting!"
Wow! Now that was catty! "Men aren't logical. Even electronic ones."
"I don't even give a flying leap what Chris is doing!" Stephanie's eyes flashed behind her glasses. "I hope he's having a malfunction in his perverted little computer mind and he just explodes! Oh yeah, Stephanie's the skank, Stephanie's the slut, and he just goes and-"
"Cut the crap Commander!" Lita just didn't have that talent for keeping stuff bottled up inside, no matter how much Matt and Jeff encouraged her to try it. "You're not a bed-hopping carnival ride for ensigns are you, Steph? I don't know why the heck you run that game by Jericho, but-"
"I don't know about carnival ride, Lita." Stephanie said coldly. "But your boyfriend sure got plenty of mileage out of my lips a few months ago."
Lita held her hands behind her back. It was the only way she could refrain from slapping her superior across the face. "Want me to scratch your eyes out, Steph? Call you a cheap, nasty slut? Forget it! Maybe you're just scared that if you don't fake being a tramp, Chris won't have any reason to pay attention to you!"
"You are way out of line, Ensign!"
"Just tell me why, Steph?" Lita would never sink so low as to do this to herself...."Why do you wanna be the dirtiest joke on the ship?"
Stephanie turned her back on the Aerialian and walked away. She didn't like being exposed, even if the truth was better than the wall of lies she'd hidden behind.
***
WWF TITANPRIZE-TRANSPORTER ROOM-2
"This is sooo exciting!" Kimberly feigned interest in the mundane workings of the transporter console as the yucky Ensign Malenko leered at her, his hand inching disgustingly close to her behind. She missed the light touch of that flirty android. "So you're going to make the girls just appear there on that fancy pad? It's like...magic!"
"Baby," Ensign Malenko said in that gravelly voice of his. "This is science. Magic is what happens between the sheets with me!"
"Yes... I'm sure you have an impressive magic wand." Kimberly could taste the bile in her throat. "Can I watch?"
"Like you can take your eyes off me?" Ensign Malenko winked. "Ready for the love machine to bring you up?"
"Just beam us up, scumbag!" Chyna snapped through the comm, "Or should I have Ensign Crash kick your ass again?"
"Heh heh, I'm on it Chyna." Ensign Malenko could feel his ears burning. Freaking Houdinian makin' him look like a wuss in front of all the ladies....
Kimberly giggled. "Awww I know you let the little cutie pie beat ya Dean! It was a good boost for his self-esteem!"
"Hey - I'm all heart." Ensign Malenko geared up the transporters, hoping the four women were returning in their bikinis, especially that spitfire Lita...whoa!
"Now what happens...if you push this itty bitty button?" Kimberly blinded him with her smile as she nudged a lever next to the bio-meters.
"Hey! Aw geeeez, Kimmie!" Ensign Malenko could see his career flashing before his eyes as Acting Captain Shane McMahon whipped into the transporter bay to await his sister's arrival. The McMahon boy just didn't have Vince's level-headed approach to things.
"Where's my sis?" Acting Captain McMahon made a show of consulting his fancy Resian chronometer. "I have like the sickest news for her. Mom and Pops will be renewing their wedding vows at a little fiesta in the Smackdown two days from now. "
"Come on now Commander," Ensign Malenko laughed nervously. "Just cause they're old doesn't mean the parts don't work!"
"WHAT?" Shane gawked at him.
"Trying to catch flies or what big brother?" Stephanie eyed her sibling curiously.
Shane was staring at his baby sister, his jaw almost dropping to the floor.
"Oh my god." Poof! Malenko's precious ensign status had just magically disappeared!
"Never seen a suntan before, guys?" Chyna raised an eyebrow.
"I think this may be my fault girls." Kimberly giggled, her face tinted with a very pretty, embarrassed pink.
Girls was right. Acting Captain Shane McMahon wouldn't have believed it had he not seen it with his own two eyes. Chyna, Tori, Lita, and Stephanie were eight years old again!
***
SICKBAY
"Just when I think I've seen it all." Dr. Taker grumbled, shaking his head in disbelief as he poked a tri-corder underneath Stephanie's pig-tailed hair. "All of 'em are biologically kids, but they're intellectually and emotionally in their 20's."
"I want to be grown up again!" Stephanie pouted.
"This sucks." Little Lita was less tactful.
Dr. Taker smiled coldly. If they'd had his so-called youth, they wouldn't be complaining a lick. And since when did women want to be older than they had to be? "Ensigns Crash and Guerrero are with McMichaels seeing if they can't reverse this."
"Oh god... Eddie." Chyna groaned, burying her little face in her hands. All her strength and power were gone, and now her Latino Heat was going to see her like this?
"Brings back memories, Stephie." Shane leaned over and rubbed his knuckles against her head. "Or should I say piggy wiggy?"
Stephanie scowled. She hated that nickname, hated getting nuggies from her bully brother, and damn well hated everything associated with her pampered, loveless childhood! "Choke on it Shane, just choke on it!"
"I'm gonna have Mom and Pops wash your mouth out." Acting Captain McMahon was really getting his kicks with this. "And you know what young lady? You're not too old to take over my knee! Hey! Maybe you could be the flower girl at their icky second wedding!"
"You're a nerd." Lita stuck her tongue out at him.
"I know you are but what am I!" Shane was laughing as he headed out of Sickbay. "Oh and Taker? If they're just as brainy as before and unhurt, I want them given clearance to go back to work? We've got a ship to run here!"
"Aye sir." Little devil, Dr. Taker though icily. He couldn't wait for the day that Shane's balloon was burst in a big way.
"I'm telling on you!" Stephanie yelled after him, hot little tears swimming in her puppy dog eyes.
She couldn't be expected to work in Engineering like this!
***
ENGINEERING
Oh god just take a picture, it'll last longer! Stephanie tried to keep her head high, which was hard to do, considering the little pink bows she had placed in her braids by Jackie and Ivory while she was sharing milk and cookies with Ensign Crash.
She quietly slipped past Lieutenant Hardy and Lt Commander Jericho, who were close to the blue glow of the warp core, discussing something heatedly.
"Jeff, you shouldn't have let Ensign Edge speak to you like that!"
Lt Hardy's face was red. "I explained the protocol-"
"Protocol?" Jericho laughed, making Jeff's skin turn a darker shade of crimson. "Hey, when an Ensign has the gall to look you in the eye and defy a direct order cause he doesn't like your hair, you throw his ass in the brig!"
"Aye sir." Lt Hardy gritted his teeth.
"Look Jeffrey." the Y2J Unit lowered his voice. "I know you can do this, but if you let a bubblehead like Edge walk all over you, people will believe you only got this promotion cause you laid down for-" Stephanie gulped as she felt their inquisitive eyes on her. "Oh-my-god!" Lt Commander Jericho was doubled over with laughter, so consumed with intense amusement that Jeff practically had to hold him up. "I heard but...oh my god!"
"I have a lot of work to do, Chris." Stephanie said haughtily. "So please shut up."
"Who's gonna make me, Pippi Longstockings?" Jericho howled with even more laughter. "Good lord Hardy, I think I'm gonna pop a circuit here!"
"Er... sorry Commander." Jeff was grinning from ear to ear. "I know that you're still like 25 or whatever, but... hey you want me to run and get your favorite dolly?"
"Oh you're funny, Hardy." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should sign up for open mic night at the Smackdown, only with your stupid-sounding accent no one could understand a word you say!"
Jeff frowned. "I don't wanna play with you anymore!"
"Good! Go play with yourself then Lieutenant." Steph smiled sweetly.
"Hey Jeff." Jericho gasped, between chuckles. "We should take a pic right now. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley - rare photo of her as a virgin!"
"Yeah well, Jeffrey better get in the shot then." She was still a Commander! This kind of disrespect was infuriating!
"You've got cute little chubby cheeks." Lt Hardy had the nerve to reach down and pinch them like he was her uncle or something!
"And to think she grew up to have chubby cheeks too!" Jericho exclaimed. "And that special set gets pinched by handsome male crewmembers as well!"
"The only big ass here is you!" Stephanie was relieved to see Ensign Lita stalking into Engineering. "Don't talk to them Lita. They're being big meanie heads."
"Really?" Lita regarded them coolly as she jumped up on her suddenly too large chair. "I thought maybe you were a little more mature, Jeff."
"Well, I........" Lt Hardy had to admit he was creeped out by the little red-headed child that was poking at the engineering console. Sure, it was hilarious when it was Stephanie, but when it was the woman you'd been making out with on the Garden Deck three days ago....."Gosh Lita. Last time you looked like that you were sticking my head down wells and telling me Aerialian Sea Dragons liked the taste of rainbow hair."
"Oh then you've always been a royal sap?" Stephanie asked.
"Hey tiger." Jericho winked at Jeff. "Guess this puts a crimp in your hot plans tonight!"
"Hah!" Stephanie snickered. "Lt Hardy wouldn't know hot if it burned him on the-"
"Is this a playground or Engineering?" Shane's eyes were boring into Jeff's. "You can all just stop teasing my sis and get back to work! Now! We have a little ship to fly through space here!"
The warp core hummed loudly in the ensuing silence, although if one listened closely enough they could almost hear Jericho laughing under his breath...
***
COMMANDER MCMAHON-HELMSLEY'S QUARTER'S
"Oh put the padd down, Hunter!" Stephanie snapped, throwing a pillow at him from where she was curled up on the sofa. "It's not making me any older to ignore me."
"Steph..." Hunter sighed and pressed his fingers to his temple. His head was throbbing-not only was that smug little jerk Shane working him like a dog, but his wife was now a whiny kid. "I am up to my neck in reports here okay? Your inbred brat of a brother is killing me!"
"You just can't stand to look at me!" Stephanie was feeling weepy again. "Everything about me is still adult, just not... not this!" She gestured helplessly at her stupid miniature body.
"I can handle it Stephanie." Hunter took a long draw on his black coffee, although all he wanted on the table right now was an old-fashioned mug of beer. "I'm not X-Pac."
"He made Tori cry." Stephanie glared at him like it was his fault. Actually X-Pac's juvenile attitude had caused a full-blown temper tantrum in his girlfriend, and poor Terri was still probably sweeping up the Smackdown.
"Are you at least gonna come to bed tonight?" she asked hopefully.
Ensign Helmsley barked out a laugh. "Like hell babe! There's accepting what happened to you and then there's just plain creepy! Look, you'll be fine in 24 hours, okay?" He gathered up his padd and tri-corder. "I need to get this done and you're acting your appearance right now, so I'm going to the Smackdown. It's pretty quiet at this hour."
Stephanie watched wide-eyed as he eased out of quarters with his work. "It wasn't like I was asking you to touch me! Like you ever do anyways!"
She hopped off the couch, rubbing her eyes, hating how she'd suddenly become the human tear factory. Stephanie pouted her way onto their big old bed, seized the beautiful snow globe off her night table. She'd been the same age she was now when her nanny had dragged her past the exact same one... little Stephie'd desired it with all her might, but she'd been an adult when she'd received the most wonderful gift ever....
Lt Commander Jericho had given it to her. Made her cry, almost kissed her....
Hadn't meant it of course; Chris had been infected with a judgement-altering disease at the time...
But he sure meant everything he "gave" to that Nytron wench Kimberly, didn't he?
"I hate you, Jericho!" Little Stephanie McMahon lifted the snow globe high in the air and let it fall.
***
"Oh no." Lita stared at the sea of glass on Stephanie's floor, scattered like sparkling constellations across the dark carpeting. "Chris gave that to you...." She stepped carefully around the razor-sharp shards, the puddles of snowy liquid. There was something pathetically sad about the little plastic Mickey Mouse corpse that was lying face down in a pool of water. "I know Jericho is nasty to you 99% of the time, but I think he was sincere that night... god Steph."
"Sincere like a snake maybe." Stephanie couldn't bring herself to look at the destruction she'd caused. No matter how she reacted to him, it always hurt so much.
"Don't cry Steph." Lita sat on the edge of the bed, her legs dangling above the floor. "Maybe, hey maybe it can be replicated or something..." That sounded so stupid. It wasn't the material thing that mattered to the Commander, it was the moment.
"Forget it." Stephanie shrugged it off. "I'm only being such a baby cause of how he picked on me today! He and Lt Hardy were such idiots!"
"Tell me about it." Lita said sourly. "Matt offered to pull me around the corridors in a little red wagon and Ensign Too Hottie tried to steer me back to the middle school classes before he realized who I was."
"Come!" Stephanie called out as her door chirped. "Oh hey Chyna."
"Hey." Chyna was sulking as she trudged over to the bed, looking rather adorable in footie pajamas. "And don't say anything! These were the only ones I could borrow that would fit me." Even though they were all the same age physically, Chyna towered over them. "I'm making some sundaes!"
"Extra hot fudge." Stephanie already had her cute little chubby cheeks that every other ninny had to pinch-what could it hurt? She'd be slim and sexy again tomorrow. "Is Eddie being a total geek too?"
"An ultra-geek!" Chyna called up three sweet, gooey piles of ice cream at the replicator. "We did have a date tonight, but all of a sudden he has this urgent card game with Farooq and Bradshaw!"
"Pig." Lita twisted her spoon around in the whipped cream.
"It gets worse." Chyna told them. "Bradshaw tried to get me to sit on his knee and Farooq offered me a lollipop! I wonder how ol' Bradshaw's liking the big bruise that knee is sporting now?"
Stephanie managed a laugh. "I could kick a lot of shins at this point."
"Well, I don't know why we're just sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves!" Lita exclaimed. "We're kids for a day! Let's have fun!"
"Like a pillow fight or something?" Chyna asked.
"Better." Lita grinned. "We're small enough to fit in the ship's ventilation system! Let's see if the male crewmembers wear boxers or briefs when they sleep!"
"That's awful!" Stephanie squealed. "I love it!"
"But let's avoid Ensign Malenko's quarters." Chyna blinked when she saw the shimmering debris on Commander McMahon-Helmsley's rug. Lita subtley shook her red head at the other little girl. Don't say anything...."He told me yesterday that he liked to sleep in the buff."
"Gag me with a spoon!" Lita sang out as they skipped down the hall, laughing like the carefree little girls they weren't....
***
TITANPRIZE VENTILATION SYSTEM-CONDUIT 13B
"I really don't feel comfortable with this." Chyna whispered as they squished in front of a vent. She quietly unwrapped a grape-flavored sucker - just cause she'd booted Bradshaw in the leg didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the treat.
"Oh don't be a stick in the mud." Lita scolded her. "I've always wondered what androids preferred for undies."
"Oh god." Chyna's face suddenly turned green as she saw a flash of glossy brunette hair fall into her line of vision. "Just blind me with a phaser now, Lita."
"Yeah, this is not a good idea at all." Lita said hastily. "Let's go."
"What?" Stephanie panted, crawling up to them. "Where are we?"
"Uhhh just some jobber ensign." Lita waved her off. "Let's go find some real meat."
"No." Stephanie was frozen in front of the grate, eyes so unblinking her two fellow explorers wondered if she'd gone catatonic on them. "No."
"Oh god Chris." Chyna murmured in disgust. She knew deep inside he hadn't, but to even pretend....
Steph was numb as she watched Kimberly parade out of Lt Commander Jericho's bathroom, his robe touching her skin while Chris just laid there under his covers with that sleepy, satisfied smile on his face. The commander instinctively reached for her phaser, but there was no holster on her pink pj's....
"Steph, let's go." Lita touched her arm.
"No." Kimberly's hair was swept up in that just-been-with-a-really-hot-guy, toussled look, and she licked her lips as she smiled at Chris in a predatory, black widow sort of way. Stephanie wanted to get away, transport out of there, but she was pinned against the conduit wall by a hot dagger of pain slicing through her chest. She couldn't move....
"What the heck is that smutty little skank doing?" Lita hissed, watching in horror as Kimberly sat at Jericho's desk and accessed his logbook.
'Probably seeing what he... likes." Chyna almost made herself throw up. Stephanie and Lita shouldn't have been seeing this - if they witnessed how easy it was for Kimberly to bust into Chris's private stuff, they would both know something was up! "Commander? You don't look so good."
"My tummy hurts." Stephanie was rocking back and forth, her arms wrapped tightly around her own tiny, quivering body. "It hurts so much."
"We'll go to Sickbay." Lita almost wanted to cry herself. To see that look of agony on such a sweet, innocent child's face, even if it was Steph's face, made her feel awful. "You probably ate too fast."
Stephanie nodded, inching away from the vent with some difficulty. The physical pain was nothing compared to the black emptiness that was creeping into her heart, the venomous poison surging in her veins. Hate. If she wasn't sure of it before, she knew now.
She hated Chris Jericho with every fibre of her being.
***
LT COMMANDER JERICHO'S QUARTERS
"Loser." Kimberly muttered in the sleeping 'bot's direction as she booted up his computer. He hadn't even had the simple decency to invite her to share that bed with him before passing out, intoxicated by the drugged-up synthehol she'd been pumping into him all night.
"Well, maybe that's not quite fair of me." She giggled gleefully as the slim computer yielded to all the password she's poured into it, special codes that Jericho had slurred at her while she batted her eyelashes in his direction. "You've proven to be quite a winner. Lord knows I've just hit the jackpot!"
She smiled as a treasure trove of valuable and classified Wrestlefleet information was silently uploaded to an illegally cloaked Nytron shuttle that orbited the TitanPrize. Stupid crew - they had no idea how far their enemies had come. Russo would be so proud!
And gorgeous Lt Commander Jericho? He was quite the fascinating plaything really. She'd make sure he gave up all his secrets before she was done with him!
Kimberly powered down his logbook, tapping it shut with a blood-red fingernail. She'd make sure Commander McMahon-Helmlsey received every delicious detail too....
***
THE SMACKDOWN
"I'll never complain about getting old, I swear it!" Lita vowed solemnly, resting her red head on Jeff's shoulder as they slow-danced in the softly lit shadows of the Smackdown. It was actually kind of romantic, if you forgot the occasion was Captain and Mrs. McMahon's wedding reception.
"Bet you'll change your mind in 20 years." Jeff smiled. He hadn't been this relaxed waiting for Ensigns Crash and Guerrero to re-scramble Lita's molecules in Transporter Room-2, but he felt darn grateful now that she was all grown up again and able to wear the red dress that was so beautiful it almost made him dizzy to look at it.
"I'll still be this hot in twenty years, Lieutenant." She playfully straightened out his collar, the stars that signified his rank glimmering in the pale blue and purple lights. "You know... this dress uniform is quite dashing."
"Really? Ensign Christian told me it clashed with my eyes."
"He's just like so jealous cause he's merely a plainly dressed ensign." Lita murmured, kissing her perfectly fashionable boyfriend on the lips. "Oh... gross."
"Do I need a mint?" Jeff frowned.
"No." Lita was frowning too. "I'm sorry. I can't get in the mood to kiss you when I'm able to see Lt Commander Jericho holding hands with that second-class slut."
Lt Hardy blinked. "Man, Lita! Isn't Chris entitled to a little happiness?"
Don't smack him. Lita took a deep breath. "Hey...is your hair actually...blonde?"
Jeff rolled his eyes. "Commander McMahon told me I had to tone it down, said it was only respectable for this type of formal event. Oh god-what does that shallow snob want now?"
Shane was leaning against the bar, gesturing at the young Lieutenant.
"I'll give Ensign Crash a thrill." She patted him on the shoulder. "I should thank him for giving me my grown up body back."
"Thank him for me too." Lt Hardy winked at her and then turned to face god knows what from Shane...
***
"In the kitchen." Commander McMahon practically shoved Jeff through the swinging double doors, smoothing out his tailored black suit after the Aerialian had stumbled into the suspiciously empty room.
This wasn't going to be pretty, Lt Hardy realized grimly. There should have been chefs and waitresses racing around, but obviously the little snot had cleared them out.
"You like dancing with my sister, Hardy?"
"I felt bad for her." Jeff said flatly. "Since you so conveniently assigned Hunter to man the helm tonight, she was a little lonely."
"She doesn't need your pity." Shane's eyes were dark, stormy. "She doesn't need your protection, and she does not need Aerialian geeks holding her hand when life spits on her."
"I think Stephanie can pick her own friends."
"You mouthing off to me?" Commander McMahon leaned over, tore the stars off Jeff's collar. "Ensign?"
He refused to flinch, kept his eyes locked with Shane's. "Justification, sir?"
"Unofficially?" Shane smiled, had a padd in his grip. "I hate your guts. I'm tired of your convenient heroics and your demented, paranoid, schizo ideas about me trying to undermine my family and Wrestlefleet."
"So I know the truth?"
"Officially." Shane continued. "That's a different story. Officially I find that you're lacking in the necessary leadership skills to hold the rank of Lieutenant. You're not ready, and you can't cut it."
"Your sister felt differently."
"My sister kinda sucks at judging character." Commander McMahon said bluntly, handing Jeff the padd he'd been holding like a trophy. "I recommend you take this demotion quietly and without protest."
Jeff examined the padd, his face draining of color. "Damn you. I won't let you do this to my brother! It's not even true!"
"Every lie has a little core of truth at its center, Ensign Hardy." Shane seemed so relaxed, so calm. "And the truth is your brother did hack Wrestlefleet computers. As for trying to access high-priority files and contacting Nytron rebels with ships' command frequencies... yeah I made that all up."
Jeff felt like the room was spinning. "He'll be executed."
"Nah." Shane shook his head, grinning like a cat who had it's mouse trapped in a corner. "As long as I don't hear word one from Steph about how unfair all this is and how she's going to fight it, your big brother can continue to breathe."
The former Lt Hardy stared at his ripped collar, where his precious stars had been... he wanted to be sick.
"Evening Ensign." Shane smiled brightly as he pushed through the doors, having happily ruined one person's night. Oh no, you didn't cross the boss, and as far as the future was concerned... Shane McMahon was the boss!
***
"You're such a graceful dancer!" Kimberly gushed as she clung to Lt Commander Jericho, her mouth sickeningly close to his ear.
It was like having a disease crawling over his synthetic skin, the way she pressed herself a little too closely like some desperate, no-class tart, the way she smothered him in compliments until he thought he would suffocate. He wondered if Chyna had enough gratitude in her heart for this - he'd have to ask when she started speaking to him again...
"Chris? You're sooo quiet."
"Sorry." he said quickly. "Sometimes you just take my breath away." If I puke now, he thought, the whole charade gets blown to heck.
"You are just the sweetest!" Kimberly giggled.
A certain hypospray stabbed right through her throat would probably paralyze her vocal chords, he calculated. One more ear-splitting giggle like that and he might do it with his bare hands.
Chris repressed a shudder as she laid her scuzzy head on his shoulder. He kept waiting for something wiggly to crawl down his arm.
Stephanie.
He could see her now, a well-dressed wallflower with her wedding corsage pinned in her silky brown ringlets. The maid of honor's dress was a modest river of pale liquid silk that tapered off at her slim little ankles, one of which glowed under the light of delicate golden chain. She stared back, and that's where the illusion of beauty ended.
Those eyes... he'd expected loneliness with Hunter not being there, fiery rage for what he himself was doing, but that expression.... Jericho shivered. In those narrowed eyes he saw something more cold and dead than anything he'd seen from Dr. Taker.
She genuinely hated him.
Stephanie looked down at her hands, at the sleek band that decorated her ring finger. Tried to focus on something of sentimental value to turn her emotions back on, wishing they ran on a switch. It was scary to feel so soulless.
Her brown eyes gleamed wet in the colored lights as she forced herself to gaze at Chris again. He was whispering in the Nytron's ear; she was laughing at whatever charming thing he'd said.
Thank god she had Hunter. Now that she knew what true hate felt like, she could figure out how to love him...