Darker
By: Ozmandayus

Summary: This story is a direct tie-in to Becoming, It takes place five months after the end of it. This story also leads directly into Becoming’s sequel, "By Dawns Early Light" Divatox is captured and experimented on for reasons she does not know. While imprisoned she learns of a universal cover-up by the Galaxy Alliance concerning a galactic plague.

Keywords: Angst, Torture, Rape , Violence
Rating: NC-17
Timeline: Takes place in the summer of 2000, a couple of months after Becoming.

Disclaimer: Saban owns everything. I own the right to give these characters some much needed depth.

Authors Notes: This is the lead in story to the sequel of my Power Ranger Novel, "Becoming". I intend to re-invent Divatox the same way I did Lord Zedd.

Authors Notes Two: Warning in advance. This one is dark. There will be disturbing scenes. Read the key words above. I mean each and every one of them!!!

Send feedback to: mrsinister@mailhost.chi.ameritech.net

******

Soren-Kai
July, 16, 2000

Divatox wishes they would just kill her and be done with it.

Her eyes flutter as she tries to open them, but the bright lights of the room force her lids to stay closed. She tries to calm her breathing, using the techniques she has mastered over the time she has spent in captivity.

She knows the tests are about to begin. Her naked skin crawls at the sound of the entrance opening, signaling the 'accursed' machines arrival. Keeping her eyes on the ceiling, Divatox tries not to listen to the slow hum as the machine is turned on.

Laying flat on some sort of a floating cart was a pitch black box with a hole on top of it. When that hole opened a three foot long thin metallic snake like device rose up into the air, seemingly alive. As always, this 'thing' slithered past her foot, over her thighs, and poised itself above her stomach.

Divatox closes her eyes, not wanting to witness what happens next. She clenches her fists in preparation of the pain to come.

The long thin metal probe slowly descend, piercing her navel, screw driving itself through the then membrane of flesh. As usual, it caused sharp excruciating agony, but she does not cry out. A small trickle of blood falls down the side of her abdomen. Her very life essence wasted onto the floor. Divatox is used to the pain now. Each and every day she is tested. For what she does not know.

She has been a captive for nearly two full years.

Divatox feels nauseous, and wants to throw up. Her body starts convulsing from the dry heaving she cannot control. She used to lose consciousness when this procedure began, but not anymore.

Survival and observation keep her going. The silent promise to herself that she will someday escape and bring hell to her enemies doorstep.

The events that led to her capture play through her mind as the probe moved deeper within her, churning now as it explores her .

Divatox's ship was bombarded with some sort of an energy field on the edge of the galaxy. Her entire crew died instantly. The energy field also knocked out her power cells and navigation.

Divatox could have cared less about her crew. They could be easily replaced. But unfortunately she lost something else that day.

Her powers.

She always had since birth the natural ability to teleport. She also possessed the ability to harness and expel from her hands atomic energy bolts. Couple that with extensive combat training and she made the name Divatox one to be feared. She looted and plundered world after world as one of the galaxies most unstoppable space pirates.

Feared that is, until she arrived on Earth.

A cold shiver passes over her nude form on the cold steel table. She closes her eyes as tightly as she can, grinding her teeth until they ache. This daily torture will not break her, she tells herself repeatedly.

Calming herself as best she can, Divatox attempts to refocus on how she came to be here.

She remembers her ship being pulled by a tractor beam into another large craft. This new ship bore a design she had never seen before. Ancient archaic symbols decorated each side of the massive ship.

Then 'they' came on board. Humanoid shaped beings from out of nowhere boarded her ship.

Though barely conscious at the time, Divatox tried to make out their faces.

They had none.

No eyes, nose, ears, mouth or lips of any kind. Their faces held strange curves and grooves, but nothing that could be described as a particular feature.

About nine faceless, pale white skinned humanoids like men dressed in pale blue uniforms entered her craft and checked for survivors. With her eyes barely open, Divatox could tell that they didn't walk on the ground, they levitated about a foot off of it. With her powers gone, she figured they would just kill her.

Now she wishes they had.

These 'beings' took her off the ship and onto theirs. Once there she was in a holding cell with a window view of outer space, the new ship fired on hers, completely blasting it to atoms. These same faceless beings who had just taken her returned to her room and sprayed a funny smelling mist all over her body. This mist seemed to evaporate any non-organic items, as her clothes seemingly melted from her body.

She felt so weak at the time. The energy wave had caused a major shakeup on the bridge of her ship. When it started spinning, she banged her head against a wall, giving her a slight concussion. Her senses and timing were way off. She had no strength with which to fight these creatures if need be.

Dazed, confused, and now completely devoid of her clothes, Divatox crawled into a nearby corner, covering herself as best she could.

Then her captors started to speak.

In her mind.

(Your name is Divatox. You are wanted on over 90 worlds for crimes ranging from thievery to murder. Now, you will pay for your crimes by assisting us in our experiments. Their is no escape. You will die here. Except that.)

She didn't have the energy to answer them. The only thing she could do was to slump further into the corner. One of the faceless men approached her and held a small writing pin like object. A liquid with absolutely no odor came out and onto her face, causing her to lose consciousness.

Then she woke up her. She was no longer on a ship. Divatox surmised that this place was some sort of a combined prison/laboratory because of the twenty other some odd aliens and other worldly beings also being held against there will. She was taken an all white room, complete with flat walls floor, and ceiling. The ambiance felt sterile and cold.

But something else was odd about the room. The walls felt moist, as did the floor. There was an odd odor, similar to acid, that seemed to lift from the floor to the ceiling

She was given a metal cot with a thin mattress for a bed in the center of the small room, as well as a sink and toilet in the corner. Divatox could never figure out how those device worked because she could see no plumbing system of any kind coming from the floor or walls. There were no windows or doors of any kind. When the faceless men came for their daily tests an opening seemed to just appear where a door should be in the wall. It closed immediately after they arrived or left.

As the metal probe retreats from her navel, leaving a small trail of blood dripping from it's end, Divatox opens her eye's. she thinks silently to herself. The bed she sleeps upon is also her examining table. The first few weeks she was here, she fought with all the strength she had against her captors, killing at least two of them with her bare hands.

But her efforts were futile.

Divatox suffered severe beatings with wet metal sticks that were hollow. They would 'punish' her as they put it for hours, leaving her battered, bleeding form on the floor, only to come back the next morning for a new round of tests.

she has asked herself time and time again, longing for the great hereafter.

Divatox thought she knew pain.

She was wrong.

She didn't until now.

Once it was glaringly apparent that she could not fight these beings, she began to watch them and her surroundings closer, hoping to discover some way of escape.

She discovered that while her powers were gone, other prisoners possessed 'gifts' that were being suppressed by special collars worn around their necks.

But the torturous tests soon took there toll, forcing her to concentrate on surviving, and less on observing her captors and fellow prisoners..

The metal probe was always the first test of the day. Other than the intense pain resulting from piercing the navel, she couldn't fathom what the end result of it was. It seemed that the very end of the object would enlarge itself like a tennis ball in her stomach and spin rapidly, causing her enormous pain, yet she never felt any sort of suction at the end of the probe, so she surmised they couldn't be talking anything. In addition, her navel seemed to heal itself instantiously. She hoped beyond hope that they were not placing anything inside of her. But once again, after all this time she feels she would have noticed some sort of change in her body.

With a silent groan, the probe removes itself from her navel, leaving a small trail of crimson in it's wake.

One of the faceless men moved into the room and wheeled the piercing machine out. Another made his way over to her makeshift bed.

Divatox hated the next phase of testing with a passion that knew know end. The sheer violation and helplessness of it sickened her.

The 'being' then pulled a small white towel from behind its back and placed it over Divatox's face. She was now, for all intents and purposes, blind. Her arms were not bound, but she kept them at her side just the same. She learned her lesson well about disobeying.

Then she felt the 'being' spread her legs and place her ankles in metal clamps. She felt so exposed and vulernable that she sincerely wanted to die rather than suffer this fate on a daily basis her.

Next, she felt a hand on her vagina, massaging some sort of odorless lubricant over her. Then he slipped two fingers inside, making sure the liquid coated her inner walls.

Divatox has conditioned herself to separate what happens next from her consciousness. The being leaves the room and three others come in.

She knows these new arrivals are not the faceless beings. These are creatures of aliens who can talk. They speak with words, rather than through her mind. Divatox does not let her mind dare count how many different species have 'used' her during these experiments. This second phase of testing didn't start until she had been here for 10 months.

"Aaaahhhh!!!," she screamed as one of the male creatures mounted her and shoved himself inside her. He pounded her aching, motionless body for an hour before ejaculating alien semen inside her. Then the other on took the first ones place, his body covered in some sort of fur. He used her body unmercilessly, before finding his climax twenty minutes later. The last rapist was unusually 'large', Divatox strained to not cry out in pain as he worked her with a fury, before finding his release.

"Worthless piece of human trash," the last creature said as he exited the room.

She does not answer back. The first few time she did, beatings were there reply. They sapped her strength and will.

But they did not break her.

They couldn't break her.

They won't break her.

She found herself lucky that while the beings could speak to her telepathically, they didn't seem to be able to read her mind. For if they did they would have noticed that she took extensive training in Vor-Kar-Te on her home world of Garaq.

Vor-Kar-Te is the ability to separate all physical feeling from the mind, so that one could think even while experiencing untold amounts of suffering. As long as she had her mind, even the pain could be handled. She needed to be able to think clearly if she ever held any hope of escaping.

Her body ached and burned with no relief in sight. She felt violated beyond what anyone should ever have to feel. The pain was searing, but her mind was clear. There was one more test, then she would be permitted to see the other 'prisoners'.

Another being entered the room and removed the towel from over her eye's.

She does not answer.

Divatox bit the inside of her mouth earlier and could taste the metallic tang of crimson flow over her tongue.

She drinks her own blood today, so that someday her enemies may choke on their own.

The being places two small slimy slug-like creatures on her bare chest. She watched, no longer fearing them as they slowly approached her mouth, sliding along there bellies. Divatox opened her mouth as they moved in, sliding over her lips, into her mouth, and slowly down her throat. She relaxed her muscles, letting them slide into her stomach.

Divatox grits her teeth as the slugs move around her intestinal track. She can not possibly imagine what it is they do. Her mind blocks out the searing pain these invaders cause. After thirty minutes, she feels them start there way back up her body, past her lungs, and into her throat, and over her tongue. They crawl out of her mouth, leaving her with , at the very least, an end to the testing for today.

The 'being' collects the slug-like creatures, places them in a clear dish, and leaves the room.

Her sore, raved body screams as she sits up on the table/bed. In about one hour the door to her cell/room always opens and she is permitted time with the other captives. Divatox has made three allies since her arrival.

And it is with these three that she will escape this hell, and wreck vengeance upon her captors.

******

Soren-Kai
Dining Area
July, 16, 2000

Divatox walks the short distance from her room to the dining area past seven other cells. The walls in the hallway, along with the floor, appear identical with that in her room. Dressed now in the same gray jumpsuit she has worn since her arrival she walks into the dining area.

The room itself is not very big, probably six times the size of her cell. There are four tables, each sitting five individuals near the center of the room. As one might expect, each of the prisoners formed their own little group, needing to belong to some form of a group or family. The only time one could get together was directly after the tests here in the dining area.

Since they were only fed once a day, one didn't have a lot of time for socializing.

"How fare you this day," each word seemed to come from a different direction as Shadow addressed
her. The unusual echo like effect her voice had always intrigued Divatox. The statuesque woman, whose gray skin seemed to almost match her uniform moved to the side so that Divatox could take her seat. Green eyes and long black hair complimented her muscular physique.

"I am here. That is enough. What about you?" Divatox asked the woman.

Shadow turned her eyes away from Divatox`"They have been leaving the slugs in my body longer each day for the past ten days. I can barely hold any food down. Other than that, I will survive." Shadows race had no navel or sexual re-productive organs. She only had to deal with the slug- creatures in her tests. But for some reason they were three-times as painful for her than any of the others.

Divatox nods in understanding, her own body still aching from the tests. "Reign."

Sitting next to Shadow sat a being so dangerous his arms and legs have been shackled together with aggression detector bombs since the day he arrived shortly after Divatox. Standing upright, Divatox felt he was about 7'5, with at least four hundred pounds of pure cut muscle hidden underneath his dark black fur covered body. His face looked remarkably humanoid, but he had no muscles in his face, so it remained in a perpetual look of annoyance. The aggression bombs on his shackles were due to his immense strength and fighting prowess. Should he attack one of the 'beings' a small shell like shield will cover his body while the explosives kill him.

On his home world of Krom, he was the most dangerous warrior that the planet had ever seen. He is as skilled as he is cunning, and fought bravely in three wars his planet suffered through. Still, he had his enemies. Reign was exiled from his world because of evidence brought forth to his government of treason by his fellow soldiers none the less. He pleaded his innocence, but was banished anyway. He swore he would never again believe in anything or anyone, and that power would now be his only goal in life.

"Forgive me, Diva. Today’s tests were the worst so far. What ever it is they seek, they have yet to find. I wonder what fate will befall us if they come to the conclusion that they will never find what they are looking for," he said in a manner of intelligence that one would not expect from his appearance.

"I agree. By my own estimates, I've been here near two full years. Not once have they explained why they continue to hold me here, nor any of you. I have also noticed a small tinge of impatience in their tone of speaking. He may be closer to your conclusion than we think," Divatox explained while perusing her recently arrived plate of vitamins that served as food.

"We have to talk."

All eyes look up as another enters the dining area. This one is familiar to Divatox and the others at her table. The one-armed very human looking man approached the table. His DNA collar blinking continuously as he takes his seat. "Essence is dead."

The individuals at this table have known so many horrors that the death of one of their own comes as a fleeting moment in time.

"How?" Shadow asked of the female from K0-35 that had befriended them as much as anyone could in a place like this.

The one armed man closed his eyes momentarily, collecting his thoughts and processing what he is about to tell them. "She was present when the 'beings' brought a new prisoner on board yesterday. This new prisoner was a telepath of some sort. It touched her head, then killed itself by jumping off a nearby scaffold before the 'beings' could subdue it. Essence was tested yesterday extensively to determine what was done to her. She remained silent and told them nothing."

"When she arrived here yesterday they only let her stay a few minutes before taking her back. They were still looking for something," Reign added.

Divide nodded, then continued. "She touched me briefly under the table before they took her. As I walked here today, I passed her room as the beings were wheeling her body out. One of them told me that she expired under the new tests that they performed on her. They also said they hoped there would not be more deaths since all of us are about to face these new tests."

"Then we must act quickly," Shadow said. "Our time is short."

"There is more. Much more," Divide offered. "The alien that killed itself left her a message in her head. When was being taken back early for more tests she decided to give the message to me. I think she had a feeling she might not come back alive. I knew people from KO-35 were low grade telepaths, but I wasn't sure if she could do that. Since I am not psionic in any way, the message did not take root until last night."

"As much as I appreciate a good mystery, we have not the time nor the strength to wait on long drawn out discussions," Reign admonished.

"Agreed," Divatox said.

"Okay, you asked for it. About fifteen percent of the galaxy, everything in the north quadrant is dead. Every planet, every star, and every being. That translates to roughly 1200 worlds. Gone."

Divatox, Shadow and Reign are completely awed by this statement. They know that Divide is not one to lie and he is loyal to them.

Divatox thought to herself. "How? What could possibly destroy 1200 worlds?"

"A galaxy wide plague. Its origin is unknown. The Galaxy Alliance has been covering up this tragedy from the rest of the universe for nearly three years. They have instilled a phony trade embargo halting any and all transports to the north quadrant. They don't want to start a panic."

"How did this alien acquire this information?" Reign asked, ignoring his 'food'.

"His name is Marek. It seems he was a researcher for the Alliance. One of their top ones to boot. They have been sending unmanned probes to the worlds they lost contact with for the last three years. He went AWOL after the Alliance made the decision to hide all of this from the average civilian. This being found something in one of the Alliances oldest archives. There seemed to be some sort of a universal cleansing plague, foretold by the people of Hasert-9. They believed that every race of being were created on the same day, and that one day their 'God' Karock' was going to recreate the galaxy again from scratch, killing every single living thing, everywhere. Marek felt that the plague was not released by some form of 'God, but by the death of a single star that was poisoned by dark matter."

"Not possible. If the Alliance thought that there was even a possibility of dark matter being in the vicinity of as planet they would have sent a fleet of cruisers to destroy it," Shadow said.

"I know dark matter kills anything it comes into contact. But the Alliance knows how to track it, and have been destroying it for hundreds of years. Their have been no reports of it anywhere in the last millennium. How could there be any left," Divatox asked, while pondering all the new developments.

"A large part of the galaxy is still vast and uncharted, Diva," Reign added.

"It is indeed. Marek felt that a small patch of dark matter somehow joined with the energy released by a stars destruction. The energy of the star might mask the dark matters natural signatures, making it impossible to track. Everyone knows that dark matter grows with every planet it devours. Somehow, Marek feels this amplified dark matter is growing. That's why he left the Alliance. They refuse to believe it's dark matter and seem content to research it for god knows how long until an answer is found."

"How can we be sure that Marek is right about the plague being dark matter and the Alliance is wrong," Shadow asked.

"According to Marek it could be nothing else. All the unmanned probes sent back data that clearly pointed toward dark matter as the culprit. Marek also feel that the Alliance may be trying something that he is not aware of. He does not trust them. Not at all."

"What is Marek's theory on all of this," Divatox said.

"Marek feels that this situation is capable of threatening all life everywhere in the universe. We all know that their is no way to stop dark matter if it enters a planets atmosphere. That planet and everything on it will die in a days time. But Marek believed that their might be a hidden cache of Zentarian crystals on the 95th world from Galios."

"The 78th through 100th worlds near Galios were destroyed over five-hundred years ago. And even then, there were only rumors of the cache being stolen from Lord Zedd. He had the only known ability to mine for the crystals," Reign said.

"True, but Marek believed that the Alliance records were wrong. The war that destroyed those planets left a lot of information in doubt. Marek believed due to a faint signature trail that one ship got out of that solar system and landed on another world. Supposedly the one's who stole the crystals placed special safeguards to ensure that only someone from the Galaxy Alliance could retrieve them." Divide explained.

"Where?"

"Earth," he answered.

"And this Marek is sure that those 1200 hundred worlds have been destroyed?" Reign considered.

"Yes. He also believes that this plague, which he feels is growing at an alarming rate, will destroy everything that exists inside of 175 days."

"Speak of this to no one. I have an idea. Be ready to act on a moments notice," Divatox ordered as the others acknowledged her.

******
Soren-Kai
July, 17, 2000

Divatox laid naked as usual, awaiting the first test's of the day. Mentally, she knew what she was about to attempt would either result in her escape from this prison or her death.

Either option at this point was better than the current one.

One of the faceless beings enters the room, pushing the cart with the black box on top. Divatox has studied the opening that appears each time one of the 'beings' comes near it.