Consequences (Dubois Chronicles 2.102)
DJ Dubois
July 2007

Rating: T (Teen-language, violence and character death)

Notes: The characters from Xena Warrior Princess and Hercules the Legendary Journeys belong to StudiosUSA and Universal. Forever Knight belongs to Sony Tri-Star. The characters from House belong to Universal and their copyright holders. Smallville belongs to DC and the CW. The Marvelverse characters belong to Marvel Comics. Alias belongs to James Abrams, Buena Vista Entertainment, Touchstone Pictures and ABC. Kim Possible and her cohorts on her show are owned by Disney. The Mummy and its characters belong to Universal. All other characters are mine.

Introduction

Gabrielle, Bard Queen of the Amazons, writes….

Having defended our allies from continuing defamation, we turned our attention back to the main matter at hand: dealing with Isobel and Nai-Jin's prophecy once and for all. David continues to probe the accounts in his study as well as consult my scrolls seeking clues.

It is at this point that Miranda's friend, Yori, and her friends—David's ex-recruits—figured into our destiny. After they went to the western American coast, he kept an eye on their missions, anticipating that the very rashness he had seen in a certain firehaired girl would cost her and her partner. It hadn't.

At least it hadn't until mid-February 2009 at the O' Connell Manor.

There, our enemies struck as one. Alex was alone save for the duo in question.

And the price of her self-assuredness would prove costly indeed….

Chapter 1 [May 22, 2008—Possible Residence, Middleton, CO]

The sun shone brightly on that mid-spring day in the Rockies. A gentle cool breeze wafted through the high mountain pines and rustled the oaks scattered in their midst. A few kids here and there skateboarded or rode about on their bikes. Rush hour in this town never got to the levels that it did in Denver or Boulder. It was a relaxed and quiet place to be for the most part.

From behind a tree, Dave, Angie and Miranda Dubois stepped out of a portal. They glanced around, taking in the scenery and the people surrounding them.

"Seems nice enough," Angie assessed.

"Looks can be deceiving," he retorted; his eyes shifting around before he started to relax a bit.

"Uncle Dave, there's nothing here," Miri countered.

"It's okay, Miri. He always gets like this on one of these recruiting visits," the oncologist advised. "Let me lead, okay, Dave? Her mother's a friend of mine from way back."

"Okay," he agreed, feeling glad that Angie could take the lead on this visit.

"Thanks," his wife expressed as they walked up the Possibles' front walk and knocked on the door.

Twenty seconds later, a striking redheaded woman in her early forties stuck her head out of the door. "Angie, you made it!" The two women embraced.

"Thanks for the invite, Annie. I couldn't resist the opportunity to come up here." Angie shrugged. "Especially if I can help Kim with a scholarship. How are Jim and the kids?"

"They're fine. In fact, Jim's waiting right inside. I hope you don't mind but we sent the twins over to a friend's for the night. Kim and her friend, Ronald Stoppable, are running a little late. They're…on an outing, you might say," the hostess explained while looking at Dave and Miranda.

Angie blushed. "Annie, I'm sorry. This is my husband, David, and our niece, Miranda. Dave, Miranda, Anne Possible, world famous brain surgeon and our med school class' valedictorian."

"Really?" he asked with interest. "Anne, it's good to meet you." After they shook hands, he added, "Did you ever meet Frank Landers, per chance?"

"Of course. Nice guy. I heard he and his wife Jolene had moved to your neck of the woods. Is that correct?" she responded.

"It certainly is. Nice having him around again after all of these years." He smiled. "Sorry, he was my classmate too. We went to high school together back in Massachusetts."

"Really? So you're all from the same area pretty much including you, Angie?" Anne supposed.

"I grew up six hours away from them in New York State but we all knew each other in high school," Angie declared.

"I'm sure there's a story waiting to be told there," the hostess replied while opening the door. "Please come inside. Can I get your coats?"

"Thanks, Dr. Possible," Miranda expressed as she and the others handed over their wraps.

"My pleasure, Miranda." She hung up the coats and led them into the living room where a tall and slender man with brown hair save for a bit of white at the temples sat waiting for them. "Jim, these are the Duboises—Angie, David and Miranda. They're from Tucson."

"Oh yes! The university there. Awesome physics facility! A-plus in my book!" the husband praised enthusiastically with a pump of his fist and a grin on his face. "Nothing's too good for my Kimmie-Cub I have to say!"

Recalling that Kim didn't like to be called that before strangers, his wife sighed and rolled her eyes.

Dave smiled, enjoying the fact that a father could dote on his daughter. "I know the feeling. Angie and I have three daughters of our own. Nothing's too good for them." The two men shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Possible."

"Call me, Jim, and thanks for saying so. Angie, you're looking great," the host indicated.

"Thanks, Jim. I agree with Dave on that front," Angie concurred, feeling glad that Dave and her friends were getting along smoothly. "How are the experiments going?"

"We'll have our ninetieth patent next week. Thanks for asking. Anne was showing me your latest piece in the New England Journal of Medicine. Interesting stuff," Jim related. "And what do you teach, Dave?"

"Medieval history and I chair the History department. Most of what I do focuses on the history of writing and literacy," Dave explained.

"I still remember the book you both wrote together on epidemiology. That's still required reading at the hospital," Anne interjected.

"That's very kind of you to say, Annie," Angie expressed shyly. "A lot of water's gone over the bridge since then though. Chairing Oncology is a challenge in its own right."

At that moment, the front door opened and shut suddenly.

"Man, KP, I can't believe that Drakken got away again!" a male teenager whined.

"It's really no big, Ron. At least we blew up the Frostulator—whatever that was. Anyhow, we need to get ready for that visit from the college folks. No telling what they're going to be like…." a female voice—KP's apparently-responded.

"You said 7:30. Hey, my watch says we still have a whole 45 minutes before those guys show. I'll see if the twins want to play video games," Ron presumed.

From his pocket, Rufus, the pink naked mole rat, jumped up and yelled, "Cheese! YUM! YUM!"

"What the Rufus wants, the Rufus gets," his owner concurred while rushing into the living room. Seeing her parents and the visitors already there, he stopped cold and tripped over his nervous feet, landing face first on the floor.

Miranda stood up and rushed to his side. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm cool but thanks, Lovely Lady," Ron assured her while climbing to his feet. "And who might you be?"

"My name's Miranda Dubois." She smiled wryly, trying her hardest not to giggle at him. "The niece of the college folks."

"C…coll…college folks? Oh MAN!" Seeing Dave and Angie sitting on the couch, he slapped his hand over his face, wincing in embarrassment and glancing at his watch. "It's busted again!"

"Uh oh!" Rufus concurred, feeling embarrassed for his human and their friends.

"He's cute!" Miranda exclaimed. "Can I hold him?"

"Sure. Just don't rub too hard," Ron indicated. "Hang on." He stuck his head out of the room. "Hey, KP!"

"Ron, not now!" Kim called down the stairs.

"YES NOW!"

"We'll have to do Bueno Nacho after the college visit, Ron! I'm on the phone with Monique, all right?" she yelled back.

"Kim, they're here already! That's what I'm trying to tell you!" he shouted back.

They heard a door slam and a pair of feet rushing down the stairs. When Ron had returned, he had a fit young woman who resembled her mother very closely. As with him, she wore a dark top with beige cargo pants and what appeared to be a utility belt around her waist.

"Uh, so sorry about the drama there," the redhead apologized. "We thought we had more time than that."

"Why don't you take a seat, Kim?" her mother suggested. "These are some old family friends, Drs. David and Angela Dubois from Tucson. That's their niece, Miranda."

She turned to Ron, glaring at him for the apparent fake out.

Ron gulped, feeling as if the floor should swallow him up at any second.

"We're eager to meet you, Kimberly," Angie told her.

"It's a pleasure for me too. Mom's said a lot about you, Dr. Dubois. So you're with the university? That's really neat," Kim replied pleasantly, trying to make up some lost ground.

"It's a great place. We think you both would fit in," Dave noted while taking out the fliers. "I'm sorry Ronald's parents were out of town tonight but maybe you might want to go over these with them, Son? If they have any questions, they can give me a call or an email if they'd like."

"That'll be great, Dr. D. Thanks," Ron expressed.

"My pleasure, Ronald," the older man replied, trying to keep the Child from laughing too hard in his head in the process. He eyed the two teens again. "Off on a mission?"

"We…uh…do that from time to time," Kim explained hesitantly. "That's not a problem, is it?"

Dave wanted to go on but remembering that Angie wanted the lead, he motioned to her.

"Actually, you'd fit right in with others in that regard." She sighed. "The problem is though, you can't just drop everything and rush off to fight a super villain, Kimberly."

"She does that now, Angie, and it seems to be okay," Anne disagreed.

Angie wiped her forehead off. "Yes, the world needs defending. I won't argue with you there, Kimberly. We have a group of students who operate along your lines. But they also have classes, jobs and lives. We teach about responsibility in addition to the coursework." She noticed the bruise on Kim's hand. "Can I see that? It looks nasty."

"Yeah well, it looks worse than it is," Kim dismissed.

Angie touched the bruise and healed it with her abilities. "There you go."

"Wow!" Ron gaped as he and his best friend stared at the healed hand.

"That's amazing!" Anne exclaimed. "How?" She stared at her friend. "Angie, you're a mutant, aren't you?"

"That's right," the oncologist admitted. "I just wanted to show you that I'm practicing what I'm preaching."

"We both are," Dave added. "But the group we work with has both mutants and non-mutants in it. With some adjustments, you'd fit right in, Kimberly."

"And me, Dr. D?" Ron pushed.

"Maybe with some training, you might get there," Miranda assessed. "I'd be happy to help you."

"Maybe?" Kim stared incredulously at the three visitors. "Sorry, folks, but Ron and I are a team in our own right. Take us both or not at all."

Her parents squirmed with embarrassment.

Dave sighed while tapping his finger on the table. "Global Justice suggested you'd have that reaction. Kimberly, nobody said that you both couldn't come to the university. However, I'm not going to send Ronald out with the others—even if he's your partner, valet, best friend, boyfriend, husband or whatever just because you say so." He cleared his throat. "Anne, Jim, I'm sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to massage blood flow into his scalp. "I just don't want him to end up hurt or worse."

"As if you'd understand?" Kim scoffed.

"Kim! That's enough!" her mother chided.

"No, Mom! What do they know about dealing with school and fighting bad guys? It's a lot harder than they think!" the younger woman protested.

Dave coughed, not really believing he would have to give this lecture. "Angie, why don't you give her the answer to that?"

"No, Dave, doing the high school hero thing was your bag, not mine," she retorted, not wanting to handle that hot potato.

"Here we go," Miranda groused while rubbing her face.

"No way!" Ron exclaimed. "Dr. D, you did the hero thing in high school too! That's so awesome!"

"So not helping, Ron," Kim interjected moodily.

"It wasn't as glamorous as it sounds, Ronald. Nor was it my choice," Dave responded. "Unlike you two, my enemies had a personal beef with my family, friends and myself. They toyed with, hunted down and hurt us on several occasions. You know when I was your age my grandparents were already murdered? A teacher died from cancer from another enemy." He started counting on his fingers. "Then my history teacher was driven insane by another blast from my past literally."

"Don't forget about our parents too," Angie reminded him tersely.

"Right. The point though is that like you, Kimberly and Ronald, people knew and targeted me. But unlike you, my enemies don't schedule our fights around class schedules, dates, etc. They strike hard, fast and for keeps." He sighed. "And I was rash at your age too and it nearly got us all killed." He hugged his wife's shoulders. "I hope you don't cause someone to die because of a mistake, Kimberly. It's the lowest, most rotten thing in the world." As he uttered the words, he spasmed. "Dang it, not now!"

Within his head, the Other surged forth, seizing control.

"Anne, where's the bathroom?" Angie queried in panic.

"My God! David, you're having a seizure. I…."

"Trust me; Doc, it's no seizure," Miranda advised knowingly. "Just stay back."

The Child glared at them all through his open yellow eye; spit frothing from the sides of his mouth. "Lissen good, both of YA! Don' be STOOPID! This ain't no GAME!"

"Dial down the drama. We…uh…get it," Ron assured him hesitantly.

Kim took out her Kimmunicator and paged her tech guy. "Wade, I need a scan of one of my parents' friends now! He's raving!"

On the other end of the screen, the heavy set fourteen year old boy nodded. "I've been picking up high levels of anxiety from your house, Kim. What's going on?"

"Wade, scan him now!" Kim snapped while holding the device between them.

From the device, a light swept over the angry alter ego.

As he scanned the results, Wade gaped. "Kim, do you know who that is! He's not having a seizure! He's worse than schizophrenic! Don't get him any angrier than he is now!"

"Great. I know his wife's Mom's classmate or something."

"Kim, that's David Dubois."

"Wade, we know that! SO?"

"So he's cursed, Kim. Remember that stuff last summer about the fiery guy nearly taking out that town in Kansas? THAT'S HIM!" the tech explained. "The mark on his right hand. Is it glowing?"

"Yes, Wade, it is," Anne noted.

"AIN'T GONNA HURT YA!" the Child snarled. "LEMME 'LONE!" He sulked on the couch.

"Right," Wade agreed albeit with less than absolute certainty. Assessing the current situation, he added, "As long as you don't provoke him, Kim, you should be okay according to the file."

"Umm…uh…uh…" Ron blabbered, lingering on the edge of fainting.

Kim eyed the Dark One not knowing what to expect. She had dealt with magic-obsessed monkey men and comet powers not to mention demented geniuses. This, however, had to take the cake.

"That mess wasn't his fault. It just proves Uncle Dave's point!" Miranda countered. "Four of our worst enemies jumped us at once. Even with all of our preparations, they still won. Fortunately, we had our own friends. They saved us." She took a deep breath. "Auntie, I'm taking him outside for a minute to cool off."

"That'll be a good idea." She rifled through his bag and handed her the bottle. "Get him to take them if you could."

"Right. Sorry about this, Folks," Miranda apologized before leading the Child out of the room.

"He really is cursed?" Kim asked.

"He's had a whole coven of deceased witches chasing him." Angie shuddered. "I ran into several of them too."

"So the ghost stuff's real?" Wade piped in.

"Yes," Angie admitted while rubbing her forehead. "His high school experience helped make him that way. Annie, I'm sorry about this. We'll leave if you like."

"No, Angie, it's okay. He…ummm…isn't going to blow anything up, is he?" Anne assured her.

"Maybe we can suggest a shrink. I know…." Jim started.

"NO! Trust me, that's the last thing we should do!" Wade indicated. "Dr. Dubois, I'm following his pulse rate. He's calming down."

Thank You, Lord! "Sorry I didn't catch your name."

"It's Wade Load, Ma 'am. I'm a big fan of your work with magnetic resonance imaging if you don't mind me saying," Wade introduced himself.

"I appreciate it. Sorry if we can't talk more right now about it," Angie lamented. "Thank you, Wade, for your help."

"My pleasure. I'll let you all get things straightened out. Just beep if you need me," Wade assured her.

"Thanks, Wade," Kim expressed before signing off. "Wow." She slumped into the empty chair.

"I think you just proved his point as well, Kimmie," her father noted. "You do charge in and don't consider all of the consequences."

"I…guess," the teen hero admitted. "Dr. Dubois, I…I didn't know."

Angie put her hands on Kim's shoulders. "It's okay. But Dave's not lecturing you to break you and Ronald up or to stop you from being a hero. All right? He and I don't want you to go through what he has."

For one of the few times in her life, Kim felt fear.

From that look, Angie shook her head. So much for this trip. "I'll see how Dave's doing." With that, she left the room, leaving everyone to deal with the emotional fallout.

Ironically, Dave's and Angie's words would come to pass less than year later…