A/N: Thank you, everyone, for the reviews! Now is the time for revenge! Star Trek is not mine. Enjoy!

Kirk and Spock strode into Sickbay and Nurse Chapel directed them to McCoy's biobed. The doctor looked drowsy, but was up. He watched the three of them as they entered.

"Hey, Bones," Kirk said, approaching him.

"Hi, Jim," he said, his accent a little stronger than usual.

"How do you feel?"

McCoy grimaced. "Like someone hit me with a photon torpedo." He shifted. "What happened?"

Kirk pursed his lips. "You were almost murdered."

"Oh, is that what that was?"

Kirk snorted and squeezed his arm. "Do you remember anything?"

McCoy stared at the ceiling for a while. "Yeah," he said. "I remember some kids had a bone to pick with me… don't know what about as I was just mindin' my own business." He frowned as he thought back. "Somethin' was wrong with me; I couldn't fight back and they had a field day."

"What was wrong was that you had close to 20 milligrams of atropine in you," Chapel broke in. "And then somehow walked away after getting assaulted and stabbed." She sighed as McCoy looked down at himself in mild surprise. "Do you remember anything about that?"

The doctor tilted his head. "I remember… blue. I remember moving… don't know where. I think I saw you, Chris," he said. He closed his eyes. "And…" they popped open. "I saw one of the kids." He frowned. "I don't know where, though…" He looked at Chapel. "How many times was I stabbed?"

"You have four different knife wounds," she reported. "Of those, two are in-and-out stab wounds. The other two were slices, and there was a smaller abrasion on your wrist."

McCoy looked surprised. "I don't remember any pain while moving," he mumbled, reflecting.

"Of course!" Chapel slapped her head.

"What is it?" Kirk asked.

"Did you feel detached?" Chapel questioned McCoy. "Like you were apart from yourself?"

McCoy furrowed his brow. "Something like that."

Chapel grinned. Anticipating Kirk's question, she turned to him. "Atropine in large doses can cause dissociative hallucinations. He didn't feel any pain because he couldn't feel himself!" She was still smiling.

"Why so happy?" McCoy grumbled.

"Because, whoever tried to do you in gave you the key that allowed you to go find help," Kirk said, catching on. He felt relief for the inadvertent blessing.

"Do me in? Murder? With atropine?" McCoy processed the flow of information. "Why?"

"That is what we need to find out," Spock said, stepping into the conversation. "Doctor, did you visit a small bar before the… incident?"

McCoy nodded. "Yeah. Lovely little place. Can't remember the name of it, however."

Kirk leaned forward. "Do you remember what the bartender looked like?"

"Yeah. Big dude, but nice. Dark hair, growing a beard…" he trailed as he noticed Kirk and Spock exchange glances. "What?"

"What all happened while you were there?" Spock asked.

McCoy shrugged. "I got a brandy. Chatted with the bartender. Three of the five kids that later jumped me were sitting in a corner, though. They left a while before I did…" he trailed. "Chris, did you say atropine?"

"Yes, Doctor," she said.

He mulled it over. "It must have been ingested for me to last that long…" his eyes widened. "Of course!"

"What?" Kirk demanded.

"The bartender gave me my drink for free," McCoy said. "Said it was because I was Starfleet."

Kirk clenched his fist. "He must have poisoned it." He swallowed down his anger towards the lying man. "What was his reaction?"

McCoy stared at him. "I don't know, Jim. I drank the brandy, chatted, and then got up and left. I suppose he was surprised."

Kirk couldn't help a small grin. "I'll say. He just watched his victim leave."

"I did thank him for the drink and told him it was delicious," McCoy reflected.

Nerves and the unusual nonchalance concerning the situation finally sent Kirk over the edge and he started laughing. "Bones, I daresay he was dumbfounded!" He could easily picture the bartender staring stupefied at his victim's back as he left the room.

"It's nothing to laugh at, Jim!" McCoy replied, indignant. "I was almost killed!" He frowned as he ran the situation through his head. "Twice!"

"I believe that the failure of the atropine is why this group of 'kids' as you call it, attacked you," Spock surmised. "To finish the job."

"That's reassuring," McCoy grumbled.

"Doctor," Chapel said. "You do have a high tolerance for drugs and other medications," she realized. "After surviving a large cordrazine overdose, atropine would be a lot easier to handle." She paused. "Comparatively speaking. And I can only get a sedative to work on you after you're thoroughly exhausted; you can handle large amounts of almost anything."

"Good to know," McCoy said dryly.

Kirk straightened and turned to his first officer. "Well, Spock, we now have evidence against the bartender; shall we go back and file for custody?"

"Indeed, Captain. It will also be interesting to see how he is related to the group of young adults Dr. McCoy has been referring to."

"Well, let's go get him! When do we beam down?" McCoy started to sit up but was pushed back down by three pairs of hands.

"Oh, no," Chapel said. "You are staying right here until you get your strength back and I make sure there are no post-transfusion problems. Blood loss did help get the atropine out of you, but trust me, that's the only good thing it did."

McCoy muttered something about mother hens but acquiesced. "Jim," he called as they turned to leave. "One more thing. I caught two of the names of the kids. Cutler and George. I don't know if one of them was the one I saw later, but he was definitely part of the group."

Chapel frowned. "Someone around the age of 19 pushed by me at the café when you arrived," she said. "I thought distinctly that he looked like he had seen a ghost, but if he was one of the ones responsible…" she swallowed. "He might have."

McCoy patted her hand. "Well, I'm not dead to be ghosting around haunting places," he reassured. "But I'm sure that gave him one heck of a scare."

"It scared all of us."

Kirk nodded to McCoy. "Cutler and George. Thanks, Bones. I expect to see you better when we get back."

"Understood, Captain," McCoy said in the same light humor. As the two left Sickbay, only Chapel glimpsed the mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Ghosts…" McCoy mused.

"Okay! Okay! Yes! That was my job. But I had no part in the other activities, I swear!"

Kirk leaned forward and braced his hands on the table. The bartender, Ed Baker, sat on the other side in the Gruthar holding cell. The man, despite his gruff appearance, looked thoroughly, utterly cowed and panicked.

"Job." Kirk said, his voice hard and commanding. "So you've done this thing before? For whom? I want names!" He slammed his fist onto the table.

"I, I don't know!" Ed cried.

"What do you mean you don't know?!"

"I mean I'm just a, just a link," he stammered. "If someone tells me to knock off a Starfleet, then I do, but that's as far as my information goes!"

"Who tells you? And why Starfleet?" Kirk leaned closer and Ed shrank away.

"Cutler's group. Mainly. Sometimes it's someone else, but I only know Cutler and his crowd."

"Cutler who?"

Ed grimaced. "Cutler, uh, Garrison. He, he and his posse are more involved with the Black Hole."

"Black Hole? And what is that?" Kirk demanded.

"It's uh, a group. It's a group opposed to Starfleet." Ed swallowed. "They contacted me a while back and asked if I would knock off Starfleet as they saw fit in return for a handsome amount of money." He shifted. "The money was good, and I had use for it, after all, I don't get many patrons so business is tight… I never went out and did mercenary stuff because I found an easier solution with atropine-"

"And how many did you kill?" Kirk looked up and saw Ed blanch. "Yes, kill, Baker, kill! How many?" he shouted.

"Two or three," he said meekly. "Once I saw them fading I didn't stick around… went to the back and stayed there until Cutler's group took care of things." He looked up, his face white. "But I watched the doctor walk out of there without a care in the world, and I swear I didn't have anything to do with what happened in that alley!"

"You already had everything to do with it," Kirk cut off, disgusted. "By poisoning him." His voice quieted. "It just took longer."

Ed's eyes watered. "I didn't-"

"Didn't what?" Kirk snapped. "Didn't mean for anyone to get hurt? Didn't mean to kill anybody? You knew exactly what you were getting into when you agreed to the Black Hole's offer." Kirk held up a hand and stopped Ed's protests. "But never mind that. What about Cutler? What can you tell me about him?"

Ed tried to regain a semblance of composure. "He and his friends- George, Pickney, Travis and uh, Howard- stick together and get into trouble. I know Cutler and George dropped out of school; don't know the others' stories. I've always suspected they joined the Black Hole to be cool vigilantes. They try to be bad boys."

"If what they did to McCoy is any indication, then they're doing a good job of it," Kirk muttered. "Do you know where they're stationed? Places they frequent?"

"I, I know the address of their hangout," he said shakily. "I had to deliver a message there once."

"Write it down," Kirk ordered, sliding a paper across the table. Ed picked up the pen, trembling, and scrawled it on the sheet. When he was done Kirk took it and folded it up.

"Thank you. Now," he leveled Ed with a steady gaze. "I can't promise that things will be easy for you, but your cooperation will certainly hold sway with a jury." Ed nearly fainted. "According to Gruthar law, you will stand trial for murder and attempted murder."

Ed raised his head in confusion. "Attempted murder? When did I ever…?" he trailed.

Kirk gave him a humorless smile. "Dr. McCoy is still alive," he informed. "He's pulling through in Sickbay."

Ed fell out of his chair. "Damn, that man is a tough nut!" he blurted.

Kirk's smile widened. "Yes, he sure is." He walked over to the wall and hit the communications button. "Ready to come out." A moment later the cell door opened and Kirk walked into the jail compound. A Gruthar policeman took his place inside. He met Spock where he was waiting.

"Captain?"

"Got the address of the thugs responsible," Kirk reported, holding up the piece of paper. "Troublesome kids going down a dark path; they joined an anti-Starfleet group called Black Hole."

Spock tilted his head. "Yes. I've read reports about them while I was waiting. A fairly new group, they are highly xenophobic and untrusting. They feel that by disposing of Starfleet members, they are liberating Gruthar from corruptive influence."

"Bones would never hurt anyone; they're the ones corrupting." Kirk sighed. "What about actions against them?"

"The standard police force has been steadily picking up members charged with violence and conspiracy," Spock informed. "Their numbers are small, and support has diminished drastically since catching the group before it could gain any sort of hold on society. The justice system has been handling the situation admirably."

"Well, Spock, if it's working so well, I don't see any reason to impede that." Kirk frowned. "But I want those five brought to justice."

"Agreed, Captain," Spock said. "However, since it is Dr. McCoy who was attacked, should we not ask if that is what he wants?"

Kirk turned sharply and stared at him. "Are you saying he may choose to not press charges?" he hissed. "A crime has been committed; those responsible must be tried!"

Spock shook his head. "I am saying that the doctor may have other ideas, and that we should inform him of the circumstances and listen to what he has to say about it."

Kirk eyed him. "Very well, Mr. Spock," he said. "Let's go talk to Bones."

"What do ya mean, 'no'?!"

"Jim, they're kids," McCoy said. "Who are getting off to a bad start. They don't need to spend the rest of their lives in prison."

"They joined a conspiracy and tried to kill you, I think they should be held accountable for their actions," Kirk maintained.

"And they will be. At the same time, we can make sure they won't ever do something like it again."

Kirk was about to say something else but stopped. "What?"

McCoy's eyes gleamed with mischief. "I'm being released from Sickbay this evening. You have that address? I suppose we should stop by for a visit."

The night darkened on Gruthar. In a renovated building, five youths gathered as they did every night. One seemed wide-eyed and jittery. The others looked bored.

"You're overreacting, Pickney," George said, fiddling with a coin.

"It's no time to get cold feet," Travis said.

"But I know what I saw!" he insisted. "He waded through the café looking like Death himself!"

"And just how did he get across town?" Howard demanded.

"Corpses don't walk," Cutler said dryly, interrupting the argument. Everyone quieted and looked at him. He hopped off of the counter he was reclining against and sauntered to the center of the room. "You saw him. The atropine was kicking in and he was bleeding out in an alley. I think you were seeing things, Pick."

"If I was, then I saw a ghost," Pickney said. "And so did everyone else in the café."

There was silence. "A… ghost?" Travis stuttered.

Outside, listening intently, McCoy and Kirk held down a chuckle. Spock merely raised an eyebrow, probably disapproving of the illogic.

"C'mon, Travis, ghosts aren't real," George scoffed. "You're just chicken."

"You and Pickney would rule the henhouse," Cutler observed.

"Well, if it wasn't him, and if it wasn't a ghost, then what did I see?" Pickney demanded.

Cutler shrugged. "A hallucination. Or nothing at all. The guy's deader than a doornail."

Howard shifted. "Yeah… yeah he is."

"What, you too?" Cutler exclaimed. "Guys, come on, it's part of the real world! We had to kill him!"

"But ghosts aren't part of this world," Travis said. "What if he comes back to haunt us?"

"That's my cue," McCoy whispered. Kirk and Spock nodded. The doctor eased himself inside the room and stood in a dark corner.

"He's not going to come back," George said. "You're just paranoid."

"Guys, I think I'd better be getting home," Howard said. "Before it gets much later."

"Fine, oh Howard!" He turned and Cutler grinned. "Watch out for any ghosts!"

Two of them laughed and he climbed the stairs grumbling. Nearing the door that McCoy had just come in through, he passed right by where the doctor was hiding.

McCoy reached out and gripped his shoulder.

"HOLY shit!" Howard screamed, backpedaling away from the shadowed, grinning face. He fell off the stairs and scrambled towards the others.

"What? What is it?"

"Th-there's, he's, he's in the corner!" Howard spluttered.

Cutler pulled out his knife. "Who's there?" he shouted. "Show yourself!"

"What are you going to do with that knife, Cutler?" McCoy said softly from the shadows. "Kill me?" He stepped out into the light. "It'd be a bit hard, considering you already did."

His face paled and eyes grew as wide as saucers. McCoy bit his cheek to keep from laughing. Every boy but Pickney froze, rooted to the spot. Pickney was backing away, pointing and shouting "I told you! I told you! Didn't I tell you! I knew I saw him! Oh, God!"

"Shut up!" McCoy snapped. Pickney paled and swallowed.

McCoy leaned against the railing on the stairs. "You know," he said, taking his time. "There's a problem when you target Starfleet. Most people don't realize it, but that doesn't keep them from trying." He narrowed his eyes. "Trying like you boys."

"What, what do you mean?" Cutler asked bravely.

McCoy straightened and glowered down at them, given a height advantage due to the stairs. "I mean that it's damn foolish to attack Starfleet. Most people only do that if they have a death wish." He stepped down closer, and they all stepped back. "Do you have a death wish?" he rumbled in his throat.

"No!" Several shouted. Cutler looked only indecisive. He gulped and stepped forward, looking up at McCoy and meeting his eyes. "Starfleet's been attacked before. There's nothing foolish about it because killing's worked."

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" he said softly. "It didn't work for me." He took another step.

"You see boys, we're duty-bound. And there is a clause in Starfleet that simply states that we are not allowed to die." He let those words sink in, enjoying the confused and fearful looks. Then he grew angry. "And you thought you could simply deprive me of my duty!" he shouted. "Did you think it would be fun to kill someone? Did you decide to commit murder for the heck of it? Well?" He was walking closer with every word, temper boiling. The boys just backed further and further away. They collided against the back wall. McCoy closed the distance between them and shouted. "Do you see how that worked out?!"

"Sonuva…" someone said, breathless.

McCoy whirled and jabbed a finger at Cutler's chest. He jumped at the touch. "You failed! Because you didn't think! You were a fool who targeted those who aren't allowed to die and dragged your friends in it with you!" he spat. He dropped his tone to a low growl. "And may Heaven and Hell help you should you ever try such a stupid, foolish, thing again."

He broke away suddenly. "Idiot," he grumbled. He suddenly flashed a smile and looked at the four others. "As for you," he said sweetly. "Will I have to return to keep you out of trouble?"

Unnerved at the sudden change, they rapidly shook their heads. "No! No! Never again… we promise!"

"Good," he purred. "Keep it that way." He cast one last look at Cutler. His face was slack, but his eyes glittered, and Cutler shrank under their intensity. "I'm watching you."

McCoy swiftly walked back up the stairs and out the door. He didn't shut the door all the way, however, and when the boys started to lose some of their tension he slammed it as hard as he could. Shouts of shock erupted from inside.

The doctor hopped back out on the street and met Kirk and Spock, who had left their positions by the window. He was grinning. "If that doesn't keep them out of trouble then they're bigger idiots than I thought," he said.

"Agreed," Kirk said. He glanced at Spock and looked amusedly at McCoy as they walked down the dark street. "Remind me to never, ever get on your bad side."

McCoy laughed. "Did you enjoy the show?"

"It was…" Spock shifted. "Disconcerting." He mentally realized that he was very lucky to have never been on the receiving end of Dr. McCoy's full temper. "But its effectiveness has yet to be gaged."

McCoy whirled on him and crossed his arms. "Speculation, Spock?" he said firmly, but lightly. "Do you think, that after that, they will continue with Black Hole's conspiracy theory and murder?"

Spock looked back at the building. No one else had exited it. "I wouldn't," he said bluntly. "And I believe, that in the interest of self-preservation, they will also abstain."

McCoy grinned. "See, Jim?" he chatted as they resumed walking. "Revenge can be accomplished without the hassle of the courts. And you wanted to throw those kids in jail." He shook his head.

"Yes, well I see now they would've been getting off easy," Kirk said. "But, a Starfleet clause where you're 'not allowed to die?"

McCoy laughed. "Well, I had to come up with something!"

"Yes," Kirk trailed. He smiled. "You make a good ghost, Bones."

"Thank you," McCoy replied. He started whistling as they strolled along back to the beaming point.

Kirk and Spock glanced at each other with the same, unspoken agreement flashing between their eyes.

Never, ever piss off the CMO.

I hope y'all liked it! Thank you for reading! Mwa-ha-ha-ha, I enjoyed writing about McCoy's revenge. I hope this delivered to y'all's expectations. Please review!