Finding the Way (Quests Saga Part 2) (Dubois Chronicles 2.103)
DJ Dubois
August 2007

Rating: T (Teen-language and fighting)

Notes: The characters from Xena Warrior Princess and Hercules the Legendary Journeys belong to StudiosUSA and Universal. 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. Mutant X belongs to Marvel Studios. Kim Possible and her cohorts on her show are owned by Disney. The characters from House belong to FOX and their copyright holders. The characters from the "Mummy Returns" belong to Universal. All other characters are mine

Prologue

Gabrielle, Bard-Queen of the Amazons, writes….

After the events detailed in the Consequences scroll, we all had to reevaluate and do things that we might not have wanted to. Xena and Jasmine prepared to set off with Miranda, Yori and the latter's blonde haired friend (although it would be nice if he'd invest in a belt). For Miranda, it meant returning to Japan and confronting her past. For Angela, dealing with a new status, her pregnancy and balancing her life. For David, being split between responsibilities to his family and dealing with Isobel. Meantime, Kim Possible wanted to prove herself to the group. The manor disaster has hit her hard…thinking that she might have prevented it. But she also has questions.

Quests all, too bad some of us have to stay where we are. grumble

Chapter 1 [UMC—one day after "Consequences"]

Frank walked out of the Clinic, feeling eager for a break. Since Alex's death, he'd told Angie to attend to her business and that he and the rest of the staff would cover her. Heck, he owed her hours in any event. I know she can't help it but we have a slew of people here!

"Frank?" Cuddy inquired while looking him over. "You look out of it. How long…?"

"It's been a long day, Lisa. Someone needs to cover for Angie though," he explained while stifling a yawn.

"The rest of us can do a few extra Clinic hours too," she pointed out. "Besides, Jo's worried about you."

"I guess. Wish Richards were back from his conference. I definitely need a day off. See you later. Lisa, thanks," he expressed, letting the frustration out in his voice.

"My pleasure," she assured him while heading toward the elevator. Talk about a bad time for something like this to hit. I hope Angie's okay. It's been at least three days since anyone's heard from her or Dave.

"Playing Mommy again, Cuddy?" House sassed.

She rolled her eyes. "I forgot. It would be a little much to expect some empathy from you. Try it sometime."

"Hey, Landers and Angel Cakes think they have everything figured out. Too bad that life sucks," the diagnostician retorted.

"You could make it suck less by doing the right thing." She motioned with her eyes toward the Clinic.

He guffawed at that one. "Oh yeah, right! Come on, Cuddy….."

She shrugged. "You're right. Why should we care? I mean it's only a few hours. Right?"

"It's the principle of it. Whiners R' Us is a place we endure. You're the Florence Nightingale of the group," he told her. "Besides I have to baby sit my kiddies upstairs. New case."

"The Hamilton case?" Getting a nod from him, she rubbed her chin in deep thought. Then she smirked at him. "Tell you what. You solve your case and then maybe you can pitch in."

He looked at her with equal parts of 'you're nuts' and 'you're up to something'.

"Or maybe I could make it worth your while, House?" she supposed, letting the engagement ring shine in the hall light.

Getting the full gist of where she was going, he groused, "That's blackmail."

She snickered while leaning close to his ear. "I could make you wait until after we're married. Or…." She let the words hang in the air. "…Or I could be persuaded to speed up the timetable if you help out." She looked him right in the eye. "Really speed up the timetable."

He frowned, feeling like a fly stuck in a spider's web on that one. While he hated Clinic duty, he wanted her…badly.

And she knew it too…..

"Fine!" he retorted sharply before heading off toward the elevator.

I knew that would work! She walked into the Clinic for her "contribution". I need to remember to stock up on the way home.

[Patient Room 1050]

Kim Possible sulked in her bed, wishing that she were anywhere else but there. For the previous three days, she'd laid there, dealing with the ribs, concussion and the guilt. I should've been more careful. She glanced out the window and saw that night had fallen over the Old Pueblo. Another day bites the dust. For a split second, she swore she heard something move in the shadows but saw nothing. Just my imagination!

"You know if you keep frowning like that, you're going to turn into a prune," a voice sassed from above her.

She snapped the light switch by her bed to find Spider-Man clinging to the ceiling over her. "Spider-Man, right?"

"That's me. Just wanted to see how you were doing and all that," he explained.

"Dealing with things. And you?"

He shrugged. "About the same. I thought you'd like to know that your monkey buddy's back in jail."

At least something went right. "Thanks for dealing with him. He can be a royal pain in the rear."

"I gave him one—that's for sure." He flipped down to the floor. "Look, I'll be honest. The real reason I'm here is about the guilt thing."

"Guilt thing?" She narrowed her eyes. Although he'd hit it on the mark, she would never admit it.

"Dr. O' Connell. The bookcase and all that." He hesitated, feeling the pain from his uncle's murder so many years before. "You're going to have to deal with that. I have."

She nodded, understanding the change in his tone from almost bantering to ultra-serious. "It stinks. So how do you deal with it?"

"I accept that with great power comes great responsibility. I also learned that I can't deal with everything by myself. If I need help, I find it," he explained. "I also remember my debts too."

"Learned that down here? As I recall, you were a loner for a long time," she assessed, recalling his GJ file.

"I've done the team thing mainly here. Hey, who wouldn't given the fire power?"

She had to give him that after the display she saw at the manor house. "And before?"

"I teamed up with other heroes as I needed to. I guess at heart I'm still a loner but the group wants me. That's the difference and it's really cool," he continued.

"And how do you deal with Mr. Scary?" she asked.

"Yeah him." He sighed. "I've seen a lot of scary things, Kim. He takes the cake though. In the last four years, his alter ego's dealt with a lot of garbage. But he's lost people too."

"And the creepy lady from the manor house. I noticed they really don't like each other," she guessed. "She throws a mean blast too."

"Tall, gaunt and mean?" Getting a nod, he continued, "That's Isobel. She made him you might say."

"Made him?" She tried to wrap her head around that sitch.

"He's dealing with a curse and it's a nasty one. By the way, I don't know what you did to piss his inner kid off but you did it. He doesn't just snap at anyone like that." Spidey rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess you might want to be more careful in a fight. Think on that." He jumped and scaled the wall while heading for the air conditioning vent which was open. "By the way, for what it's worth, you did okay against those ninjas." He scampered into the shaft and secured the vent cover back in place.

I guess I have a lot to think about, don't I? She mused silently on what he said. But what's his sitch? And what's going on with that professor anyhow?

[One floor below]

Even as his partner rummaged with her questions, Ron Stoppable's eyes slowly fluttered open. His temples pounded as if someone was beating a drum. "I'm alive?" He looked around the room, allowing his eyes to blur into focus. From what he remembered, he knew he should've been dead. "Man!" He whined. "Where am I?"

Cameron entered the room and smiled. "Well, look who's awake. Welcome back, Mr. Stoppable. How's the head?"

"Feels like someone's beating on it," he grimaced. "Where am I?"

"University Medical Center in Tucson. You were brought in two days ago." She checked his chart. "And you're quite the popular one too. You've had people watching over you."

"Wha?" His eyes snapped open self consciously. "Kim? Where…?"

"If you mean your friend, Kim Possible, she's upstairs. She's dealing with a concussion and some bruised ribs. Otherwise, she's fine," she informed him. "But you've actually had someone else watching over you night and day."

Kim's upstairs in bed. So who would? He tried to think but it hurt too much to do so. He laid back down flat, staring at the ceiling. Then it hit him.

As that happened, Yori walked back in the room. "Any change, Doctor?"

"Ask him yourself," Cameron suggested with a grin. "I told you so. I'm going to get some meds for his headache. I'll be right back."

"Hai." The ninja bowed courteously to the doctor as the other left the room. When the door closed, she hustled over to his bedside. "Welcome back, Stoppable-San."

"Yori?" he asked. "You've been here all along, haven't you?"

"As much as I could be. I also checked on Possible-San as well. She was sleeping upstairs. I am glad to see you awake. Sensei will be pleased," she informed him.

Once again, he felt the conflicting feelings inside of himself. At least she kept an eye on both of us. "Hey! It's great to be popular! Boo-yeah!"

She grinned at him. "Ah, yes! The American style humor! How I have missed that, Stoppable San."

"There's another great sign," Cameron agreed as she walked in with Chase. "This is Dr. Chase. We've both been checking on you."

"Glad to see your eyes open. That was a nasty bruise you took," the Aussie doctor concurred. "By the way, you should thank your friend here. She helped to pull you out."

"I did what I needed to," Yori commented, deflecting the praise.

"Still you might want to be more careful," Cameron insisted before setting down a paper cup with two pain pills and a glass of water on his nightstand. "Take these. They'll help with the pain."

"Thanks, Doc. By the way, any chance of getting a hold of my parents? I don't want them freaking out," Ron requested.

"Your parents know you're safe," Yori assured him. "I contacted them myself. Possible-San's parents will be here tomorrow. I will finally get to meet them."

"They're really cool. You'll like them," Ron told her.

"I'm sure." Yori waited for the doctors to finish and leave the room. As soon as they did, she shut the door. "There is someone else waiting to see you. I don't think the doctors would like it if they knew." She reached into her pocket and produced Rufus.

"Hi!" the mole rat greeted his human.

"Hey, buddy!" Ron replied. "Been taking care of Yori, have ya? I trust you've been behaving yourself?"

Rufus rolled his eyes—as if he'd mess with one of his friend's desired females…..

"He and I have been keeping good company," she assured him.

"Cool. I wasn't doubting he would," Ron declared before frowning. "Sorry about the manor. I…tried to warn Kim."

"So Rufus-San told me," she replied. "As Sensei says, Stoppable-San, we cannot control the path of a dandelion dander in the path of a tempest. As I said in my letter, we will have to ride the typhoon out together. Such is our destiny."

"Typhoon?" His eyes went wide.

"Hai. As soon as you are well enough to travel, you must accompany Miranda and me back to Yamanuchi. Sensei has a mission for us," she informed him. "I realize it will be a sacrifice for you to do so but it is a matter of honor for us all."

And there she goes with the honor stuff…as if I can turn that down. He sighed, knowing that he could object all he wanted to but in the end, he couldn't refuse the attractive ninja. "Miranda's really a graduate too?"

She nodded. "Of a sort. She and I trained together for many summer seasons. I trust her with my life as I would yours." She hesitated before adding, "She has already saved your life."

"She has?"

She explained, "She and her friends stopped Yodoshi from killing you. I got you away from there."

"That's Yodoshi, huh? Scary dude!" he realized. "And Kim? Did she survive okay?"

She managed to keep a straight face at the mention of the Competition. How does Miri deal with these feelings? "As I told you, she's resting upstairs."

"So she's coming with us?" he supposed.

"No." She bit back the rest of the response, guarding against revealing too much of her feelings on the matter. "Sensei wishes for us to go. Trust me; we will have more than enough of…what do you Americans call it?...ah, yes….firepower. Possible-San has her own path to follow."

Feeling weird to be going on a mission without his longtime partner, he squirmed. "Own path?"

"All will become clearer to you, Stoppable-San. Rest now. Rufus-San and I must go," she assured him while kissing him on the cheek. "Regain your strength. Soon you will need it." With that, she left the room.

After he was alone once again, he stared at the ceiling. How do I really feel? Man! I'm such a heel! I love Kim and yet, I feel psyched to be going off with Yori. And we've got to face demon boy again? I hope Sensei knows what he's doing.