Nothing is Impossible
Chapter 1: Awakening
She opened her eyes and her bloodied reflection stared back.
Letting out a gasp, the girl, a teenager no older than sixteen, took a few steps back, her bare feet almost silent on the white, padded floor. Her shock giving way to confusion, the girl looked down to see that floor was indeed padded. Her brow furrowing, the girl spun around to take in her surroundings.
The room was a small one, no more than fifty square feet, with white padded walls and a white ceiling a few feet over her head. A fluorescent light built into the ceiling bounced off the white surfaces of the room to give it an almost blinding glow. The thing the girl noticed the most though was the total lack of furnishings in the room. No bed, no chair, and, to her complete shock, no door. The only thing the room had to offer was the wall length mirror before her. With nothing else to look at, the girl's green eyes drifted back to the mirror and once again widened in shock for a second time.
Before her stood the girl's reflection, that of a slim, athletic young woman standing slightly shorter than average with straight, bright red hair that hung to her upper back. But from there, most of the similarities ended. The girl's reflection look like it had just stepped away from a bloody brawl, her pale features and slim arms and legs marred by dozens of cuts, scrapes and bruises. The girl noticed her reflection's knuckles were cut and her bed clothes, a white t-shirt and grey cotton short shorts were stained with dried blood that the girl believed did not belong to her reflection.
Quickly looking down, the girl attempted to observe the injuries she apparently had but instead found herself completely fine, with nary even a scratch marring her skin. Confused, the young woman looked back at the mirror, only to jump in fright when she found that, instead of mimicking her movements, her reflection had pressed itself against the mirror like it was a pane of glass and was staring at her intently, its messy hair and bruised face giving it a feral look.
"What's the matter?" the reflection questioned and, for the first time, the girl noticed the reflection's lip was split and its teeth were stained with blood, "Confused?"
"W-What?" the girl asked in confusion as she began taking hesitant steps towards the mirror, "Who….Who are you?"
"Why, I'm you, Kimmy" the reflection replied with a grin that could only be described as manic, "And it's time to wake up."
Before the girl could react, the reflection cocked its hand back and threw it at her, slamming against the mirror and shattering it. The girl stumbled backwards and lifted her hands to shield herself from the flying shards of glass. As she fell, the girl watched in horror as her reflection leapt out through the broken mirror at her, its fingers wrapping around her throat as she let out a terrified scream.
The girl let out a mixture of a gasp and a sob as she sat upright in bed, a hand lifting automatically to her throat. Her heart hammering in her chest, she quickly looked around, only to find instead of a padded room, she was in her bedroom, sitting in her bed with her sweat soaked covers clinging to her instead of laying on the floor being cut by broken glass. Hesitantly, the girl turned her attention towards the full length mirror sitting by her closet and was relieved to find her normal reflection staring back at her.
"Kim?" a female voice called from the stairs that descended out of the girl's bedroom, "Did you hear me? You have to get up and get ready for school!"
"Okay, Mom!" the girl, Kim, called back, running a hand through her bed tousled hair, "I'll be down in a minute!"
Letting out a sigh, Kim pushed off her blankets and swung her legs over the side of her bed, her toes curling in her bedroom rug, the details of her dream already fading away.
"Just a nightmare," Kim reassured herself as she stood up and stretched, "Just a stupid nightmare."
Even so, as she went through her morning routine, Kim would shoot an occasional glance at her mirror in case her reflection decided to something other than mimic her movements.
Later,
Kim, now dressed in a red sweatshirt bearing the symbol of Middleton High School over a lime green tank top with blue jeans and white sneakers, jogged down the sidewalk towards school, her backpack slung over her shoulders. The Colorado autumn air was cool against her skin and all around her the leaves of the trees had begun changing to their fall colors.
Up ahead of her, Kim could see the Middleton High School campus. Like many other American schools, the campus consisted mostly of a collection of interconnected buildings surrounded by various athletic fields. School busses and cars zipped in and out of the school's parking lot and dozens of students milled about outside the front entrance, gathered in groups of friends and associates.
One group in particular caught Kim's attention as she reached the campus.
Around the corner of the main school building, out of sight of the other students, was a group of six young men, five of them having formed a circle around the sixth and cornered him against the wall of the building.
Kim recognized the cornered young man immediately, knowing his short, blonde hair, bright, blue eyes and freckled face anywhere. She recognized the five other young men as well and her stomach filled with dread at the sight of them.
One of them was slightly older than her, standing taller than the cornered young man with a slim build and black hair that shone with a mixture of grease and hair gel. Along with his white t-shirt and ripped blue jeans, the young man wore a black leather jacket, the back of which was emblazoned with a green, grinning skull.
The young man to his right was shorter and rail thin, with a long neck and a large, pointed nose. Black, greasy hair hung limply to just above his shoulder from under the brown kangol hat that was perched backwards on the top of his head. A white tank-top could be seen under the black, leather jacket he wore and brown cargo pants hung from his slim frame.
The third young man sat in a hunched, crouched position, dressed in a ragged purple t-shirt and tattered jeans. His black hair was cut close to his head and even at the distance she stood from him, Kim could see a look in his bulging eyes that she found unsettling.
The fourth boy was the largest of the group, standing head and shoulders above the first, with a shock of red hair that hung down to obscure his eyes. Heavy-set, his stomach stuck out from under his green t-shirt and spilled over the top of his blue jeans.
The final young man stood in sharp contrast to the fourth, standing shorter than all even Kim with a squat frame and black hair that fell over one side of his face. He appeared to by of Hispanic descent, dressed in a longsleeved, red t-shirt and black pants.
Taking a moment to size the situation up, Kim squared her shoulders and quickly began making her way across the campus in a direct line towards the group of young men.
"Come on, guys," Kim heard the blonde whine, "I brought my lunch, I don't have any cash on me today."
"Ron, Ronnie, my man," the first young man, evidently the leader of the little group, said with what Kim knew to be false sincerity, lowering the sunglasses he wore so he could look the blonde, Ron, in the eye, "You're a smart guy. You know how this stuff plays out. Just give me your money, and we'll be done for the day."
"Maybe after giving you a bruise or two," the second young man added with a chuckle, before hissing in pain as the leader punched him hard on the arm.
"Shut up, Snake," the leader growled.
"Sorry," Snake grumbled as he rubbed his arm.
"But I'm telling you, Ace, I don't have any money," Ron argued weakly.
"Just kick his ass and go through his pockets, Ace," the smallest member of the group said with an annoyed tone, "I'm gettin' bored over here."
"Now, now, Arturo," the leader, Ace, said, glancing over his shoulder at the short young man and holding his hand out his hand in a placating gesture, "There's no reason we have to rush to violence."
Arturo rolled his eyes and Ace turned his attention back to Ron.
"So, you really don't have any money on you, Ronnie?" Ace questioned.
"N-No," Ron stuttered, sweat gathering on his brow, "Not a cent."
"Well, what are we to do then?" Ace questioned rhetorically, "You can't let us go hungry, can you, Ronnie?"
"N-No?" Ron replied, clearly confused and worried about what Ace was thinking.
"I'm glad we agree," Ace stated with a slimy grin, before holding his hand out to Ron, "Now, hand over your lunch."
"What?" Ron asked in surprise, clearly not having thought of this outcome, "Come on, Ace, you can't-"
Ace interrupted Ron by sighing dramatically and backing away from the blonde with a helpless shrug.
"Why do you always have to make me do things the hard way, Ronnie?" Ace questioned with a sad shake of his head before turning his gaze towards the largest member of their group, "Billy? Get his bag and bring me his lunch."
"What!?" Ron questioned in shock before looking at the large teenager, Billy, as he advanced on him threateningly, "Oh, come on, man!"
Instinctively, Ron shied away from Billy, trying to keep his backpack away from the large teen, but the redhead grabbed hold of the strap of the backpack and yanked the blonde closer. Ron struggled for a moment before Billy managed to yank the backpack off of him and shove the smaller teen to the ground.
"Hey!" Kim shouted, jogging the rest of the way to the group when she saw Ron fall, "Leave him alone!"
"Well, well, well, look who it is, the cheer captain herself," Ace commented as he turned towards Kim while Billy opened up Ron's backpack and began rifling through it, tossing books and papers onto the ground as he did, "Why don't you keep jogging, Possible? This doesn't concern you."
"You're roughing up my friend and stealing his things," Kim replied coldly, her eyes narrowing as she squared off with Ace, "It seems like it concerns me."
"Oh, that's right," Ace said as he began walking towards Kim, "You and Ronnie here go way back, right?"
As he stopped in front of Kim, Ace looked back over his shoulder at Ron, who had begun picking himself up off the ground, and grinned.
"Tell me, Ronnie," Ace began as he nodded in Kim's direction, "You ever hit that?"
Ron froze in a crouch as he realized what Ace had asked him, staring incredulously at the gang leader.
"You're such an asshole, Ace," Kim growled, bringing the young man's attention back to her.
"Well, I guess that answers that question," Ace stated as he started leering at Kim, looking her up and down while leaning closer to her, "Then, since you're not otherwise engaged, you and I could always have a good time under the bleachers after school."
Kim stiffed at the comment and Ace stepped closer to her, moving to touch her face as he did. As Ace reached out to cup her cheek, Kim clenched her hands into fists so tightly that her knuckles audibly popped and the image of her bloodied, savage reflection briefly flashed through her mind.
Before Ace could touch her though, a loud cry came from behind him a second before Ron slammed into the gang leader from behind and tackled him to the ground. As Kim watched in surprise, Ron and Ace rolled across the ground until the blonde managed to roll on top of him and began raining down blows that were more smacks than punches.
"I'm so sick of you!" Ron shouted, smacking at Ace's head, forcing the gang leader to hold his arms up to defend himself, "I'm so sick of you and your bull-"
Ron was cut off as Billy lumbered up and grabbed him by the back of his shirt before pulling the smaller man off of Ace before tossing him aside, sending the blonde rolling across the ground.
"Ron!" Kim shouted in shock and worry, the young man pushing himself to his hands and knees as Billy advanced on him threateningly.
"Hey!" a booming voice called, stopping Billy in his tracks and causing everyone's head to snap towards the source, "What the hell is going on over here!?"
Looking over, Kim saw a man jogging towards them. He was a large man with broad shoulders and a barrel chest. His brown hair was cut short to his head and his already beady brown eyes were narrowed.
"Mr. Barker," Ace said as he picked himself up, "I was just-"
"He and his friends were just shaking down Ron for his money and stuff," Kim interrupted, shooting a glare at Ace as she spoke before pointing at Billy, "This one was going to do even worse until you showed up."
"How am I not surprised?" the man, Mr. Barker, said as he glared at Ace before glancing at Ron, "You okay, Stoppable?"
"I'm okay," Ron replied as he picked himself up off the ground.
"Mr. Barker, sir," Ace began to say as he pulled himself to his feet, "We were just horsing around."
"Save it," Mr. Barker snapped, his gaze hard and cold, "I've known you long enough to see through your bull. I'll see you and your little gang of hoodlums in detention after school today."
As Mr. Barker finished speaking, the school bell rang loudly behind him, prompting the students who had been standing outside to start filing into the building.
"That's the bell," Mr. Barker commented, "Get your asses to class."
The gang members quickly made their way towards the school building, each of them shooting dirty glares at Ron and Kim as they passed.
"This isn't over, Ronnie," Ace growled as he passed, glaring at Ron from over his shades before leading his gang away from them and into the school building. Mr. Barker watched them go for a few moments before turning back to Kim and Ron.
"Bunch of punks," Mr. Barker grumbled before he glanced Ron over again, "You sure you're okay, Stoppable?"
"Yeah," Ron replied as he bent down and began cleaning up the contents of his backpack, sighing as he found the remains of his paper bag lunch, which looked like it had been trampled underfoot, "I'm alright."
"Well, I'd keep my head down going forward, if I was you," Barker said, "I can keep them off your back while you're here and this wouldn't be the first time I've given a heads up to the MPD, but all the same, you'd be best off if you stay out of their way."
"I'll do my best, sir," Ron replied with a solemn nod as he began shoveling things back into his backpack.
"Here, let me help you," Kim said, kneeling onto the ground before she began collecting Ron's things and handing them to him.
"Thanks, KP," Ron said, giving Kim a genuine smile as he took the items and placed them in his backpack.
"I have to get going," Barker stated as he glanced at his watch, "Take the time to get yourselves cleaned up and get to class."
"Sure thing, Mr. B," Ron replied with a nod.
"Thank you," Kim added.
"I'm just doing my job," Barker stated before giving them a nod and making his way into the school.
Kim watched him go for a moment before she helped pick up the rest of his things.
"You shouldn't have done that," Kim muttered as she handed Ron his things.
"I wasn't going to let him talk to you like that, KP," Ron replied as he put his things in his bag and zipped it up.
"Ace….the rest of the Triple Gs….they're dangerous, Ron," Kim stated firmly as she stood up, "I don't need you making yourself even more of a target for them for my sake. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself."
"I know, I….sorry," Ron sighed, his gaze falling to the ground as he spoke.
"It's fine, I'm just worried about you is all," Kim replied, giving Ron a small smile as they began making their way into the school building, "I've known you since preschool and seeing those jerks do that to you just…."
Kim trailed off as she glanced away from Ron. As she did, one of her hands clenched into a fist, her manicured nails digging sharply into the skin of her palm as dark, angry thoughts began filling her head. She was snapped out of her thoughts as she felt Ron lay a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"No need to be sad, KP," Ron stated as he flashed her a bright, sunny grin, "I'll just lay low and they'll have forgotten about it by tomorrow. No need to worry, okay?"
Kim looked at Ron quietly for a moment before returning his grin with a small, hesitant smile.
"...Y-Yeah, okay," Kim replied.
"Great, now come on, we don't want to be late," Ron said as he nodded towards the school before he began jogging towards the entrance.
"Right," Kim replied and moved to follow him before a sharp pain from her palm caught her attention. Hissing, she looked down at the hand she had squeezed into a fist, and was surprised to find small droplets of blood welling up from where she had dug her nails into. Kim blinked down at her hand in shock for a moment before she shook her head clear and quickly wiped her hand on her jeans as she jogged after Ron.
Later,
The late afternoon sun shone through the windows of the school, casting some of its interior in orange light. Kim, now wearing a blood and red cheerleader's uniform that left her stomach and most of her legs exposed under her red sweatshirt, stood in front of her locker, transferring books between it and her locker.
As she did, a young woman Kim's age, with dark skin, wavy black hair and brown eyes walked up to her. Noticing the young woman out of the corner of her eyes, Kim smiled as she approached.
"Hey, Monique," Kim greeted.
"Hey, Kim," Monique replied cheerfully, leaning against the locker next to the redhead as she spoke, "How's your day going?"
"Can't really complain, I-" Kim began to say but cut herself off with a hiss of pain as she picked up one of her books, almost dropping it in the process.
"Oh jeez, are you okay?" Monique questioned as she took a step towards Kim, a worried expression on her face.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Kim dismissed quickly, but Monique's eyes widened as she got a better look at the redhead's hand and the small cuts on her palm.
"What happened?" Monique pressed, glancing between Kim's hand and face.
"It-It's nothing," Kim answered as she placed the book into her locker with her other hand and closed it, "Just, like, a cheerleading injury."
"Are you alright, Kim?" Monique continued, "You've been kind of….I don't know, out of it today."
"I'm fine, I just….I just didn't sleep well last night," Kim answered, looking away from Monique as she spoke while throwing her backpack on over her shoulders, "And today's been-"
"Is this about what happened this morning?" Monique interrupted, following Kim as the other girl began walking away from her locker, "Between Ron and the Triple Gs?"
"You heard about that?" Kim questioned, blinking in surprise as she made her way down the hall.
"Everyone heard about that," Monique replied, keeping her voice low, "A couple of people I know said they overheard Ace talking about cutting Ron's heart out and showing it to him."
"H-He….That's just talk," Kim stated, her face blanching at the grisly thought.
"It probably is, but that doesn't mean he's not going to come after Ron," Monique insisted.
"Ron will be fine," Kim argued as they walked through a pair of doors that led out of the building, though there was a lack of conviction in her voice, "The teachers won't let anything happen to him and the Triple Gs are serving detention right now anyway."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Monique replied as she froze in her tracks right outside the door and looked away from Kim. Following her friend's gaze, Kim let out a shocked gasp as she spotted Ron surrounded by the members of the Triple Gs on the sidewalk across the street from the school grounds. As she watched in horror, Kim saw Ron try to back away before Ace punched the blonde in the face, sending him stumbling to the ground. Ace then barked some order that Kim couldn't hear, prompting Billy to bend down and grab Ron by the collar of his shirt before dragging him into the alley behind the convenience store they had been standing in front of.
Kim watched them disappear in mute shock, staring at the spot where the violence had unfolded as her backpack slipped from her shoulders and plopped to the ground.
"I'm calling the police," Monique said quickly as she fished her phone out of her pocket, "Kim, you go get Mr. Barker. I think he's still in-"
Monique cut herself off as Kim suddenly began running full sprint towards the alley that Ron and the Triple Gs had disappeared down.
"Kim!" Monique called as she began running after her friend, who was proving to be significantly faster than her, "Kim, wait!"
Kim did not wait, running across the street without a moment's hesitation. Turning into the alley, Kim skidded to a stop at its entrance. Before her, she saw Snake and the other member of the Triple G's holding Ron up as Ace rained blows down on the young man's face and stomach.
"Hey!" Kim shouted angrily, causing Ace to freeze mid-blow as the Triple Gs all turned their attention towards her. Seeing Kim, Ace let out a tired, frustrated sigh as he turned to face her.
"Again?" Ace questioned with an exasperated tone, "Can't you see we're in the middle of something here?"
"I can see you're in the middle of being an impotent little prick," Kim spat, feeling as if her blood was starting to boil in her veins.
Ace flinched as if he'd been struck as the rest of his gang stared at Kim in shock. After a moment, Ace blinked a few times before grinning and chuckling to himself.
"The lip on her, am I right?" Ace questioned, glancing back at his gang and indicating towards Kim with a smirk before turning back to face her, "I get the feeling that your daddy never taught you how to talk to a man."
"I know how to talk to man," Kim growled in reply, "You're not a man though, you're a spineless asshole with a limp d-"
Kim was interrupted as Ace backhanded her hard across the face, the blow strong enough to force her to her knees.
"Kim!" Ron shouted and tried to move over to her, but was stopped as the other Triple Gs held him firm and slammed him against the brick wall of the alley.
"Bitch," Ace snarled, glaring down at Kim over his sunglasses, "Say something again and I'll knock you out and leave you here like the trash you are."
"Kim!" Monique squeaked in shock as she stumbled to a stop at the entrance of the alley, her hands covering her mouth as her eyes stared widely at the scene before her. Monique and Ace's gazes met for a moment before the young woman turned on her heel and tried to flee.
"Help!" Monique screamed as she moved to get away, "Somebody help!"
Monique didn't make it three feet before Ace stepped forward and grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into her skin as he yanked her back into the alley. Grabbing her with both hands, Ace pushed Monique against the wall hard, pinning her with one of his arms while covering her mouth with his hand.
"No, no, no," Ace said quietly, shaking his head as he grinned at Monique, "Let's have none of that."
Monique looked at Ace with wide, frightened eyes, trying to push him off of her, but the young man proved too strong for her to overpower.
"Easy now, easy," Ace whispered as he leaned in close to Monique, looking her up and down as she did, "My you are a pretty thing. I think you and I could have some fun. Don't you?"
Tears welled up in Monique's eyes as she let out a muffled cry for help. Ron, for his part, tried to break free again, only for Billy to drive his fist into the young man's solar plexus, forcing him to his knees. Kim watched the scene unfold, her head foggy from the blow Ace had struck her. Glancing around, she saw the shattered remains of a mirror lying in a dumpster that sat nearby casting her reflection.
Focusing on the image, Kim could see the bruise forming on her cheek and blood from the cut on her lip staining her teeth red with blood. Abruptly, Kim flashed back to the image of her savage self from her dream and as it did, the young woman felt something click in her head. Spitting out a gob of blood as the light seemed to leave her eyes, Kim stood up.
As Ace removed his hand from Monique's mouth and began running it down her side, the young woman was able to twist her body so she could knee the gang leader in the stomach, forcing him back a step.
"Don't touch me!" Monique shouted as she crossed her arms over herself protectively.
"You got a little fight in you," Ace said as he recovered, grinning maliciously, "I like that."
"Then you're going to love me," Kim muttered from behind Ace before she grabbed his shoulder, spun him around and punched him square in the face.
There was a sickening crunch as the cartilage of Ace's nose crumpled against Kim's knuckles, the blow knocking the gang leader's sunglasses clear off his face. The punch sent Ace reeling back towards his gang, his hands automatically clenching his nose as blood began to pour out of his nostrils.
"My 'ose!" Ace slurred, the blood pouring down his face slurring his words, "'itch 'roke my 'ose!"
Turning towards his gang, Ace found the other Triple Gs staring at him in shock, as were Ron and Monique.
"'hy are you 'ust 'anding 'ere!?" Ace demanded before pointing one blood covered hand at Kim, "'ill 'er!"
"W-What?" Snake questioned as the group looked at their leader in confusion.
"I broke his nose, it's muffling his speech, " Kim stated coldly, drawing their attention to her, watching her as she pulled off her sweatshirt and tossed it aside before squaring off against the gang, "I think he said 'kill her.'"
The four young man stared at Kim for a moment before the bug-eyed one let out a shriek and went charging down the alley towards her. Kim didn't even blink as the gang member rushed her, cocking a fist back to throw a haymaker at her face. As the strike came at her, Kim leaned back a few inches, the punch coming so close that it stirred a few locks of her hair as it went by.
As his blow failed to connect, the gang member stumbled, his momentum carrying him forward. Shifting her weight slightly, Kim hooked one of her feet around one of the gang member's and lifted, causing the young man to flip head over heels. With shocking speed, Kim then pulled her foot back and kicked the gang member hard in the side before he fell to the ground, the blow knocking him into the wall of the alley before crumpling to the ground.
Groaning in pain, the gang member picked himself up as Kim walked calmly towards him. Seeing her coming, the gang member threw a wild punch at her, but Kim easily leaned out of the way before responding with two quick jabs to the young man's face. Blinking in pain, the gang member threw another punch at Kim only for her to duck it and rabbit punch him once in each kidney. Shouting in anger, the gang member threw a hook at Kim's head but she stopped it cold before punching the young man hard in the shoulder which dislocated with a loud, sickening crack.
The young man let out a screech of pain but it was quickly cut off as Kim uppercutted him, snapping the gang member's jaw shut and forcing him to bite his own tongue. The young man prepared to scream again, but Kim stopped him by punching him hard in the throat, causing him to make a ugly choking sound instead. Finally, Kim grabbed the battered gang member's head and slammed it against the wall behind him, the young man's skull bouncing off the brick before he crumpled to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.
Kim looked down at the unconscious gang member for a few moments before she slowly turned her gaze towards the remaining young men who were watching her with pale faces and wide eyes.
"Holy crap," Snake whispered.
"She just beat Grubber down like he was nothing," Arturo commented to no one in particular.
"Holycrapholycrapholycrap," Snake continued to mutter as Kim stepped away from the fallen gang member and turned to face them.
"Snake," Artero said as he looked up at the taller young man, "G-Go get her."
"What?!" Snake hissed, whipping his head around to look at Arturo, "You're the one with the knife! You go get her!"
"No way, man, I-" Arturo began to argue before an idea struck him and he turned to face the largest member of their gang, "Billy! Billy go kick her ass!"
"Duh, are you sure?" Billy questioned, glancing at Kim nervously.
"Yeah man, she's just a cheerleader," Arturo argued, "You can take her easily."
"And we'll be, uh, right behind you," Snake added with a reassuring smile.
"Uh, okay," Billy stated before turning his attention towards Kim, balling his hands into meaty fists and stalking towards her, "Hey you! I'm going to kick your ass!"
Kim offered no retort, instead opting to run down the alley towards Billy. Roaring, Billy cocked his arm back to throw a punch, but before Kim could come into range, she took a flying leap at him. The eyes of everyone watching widened in shock as Kim easily leapt seven feet into the air, covering the remaining distance in less than a second. The stunned Billy had no time to react as Kim reached him and drove one of her knees directly into the large man's face. The force of the snapped Billy's head back, his red hair flying wildly as he began to stumble backwards. As she began to fall, Kim grabbed hold of Billy's hair and used it to pull herself closer to Billy, allowing her to wrap her legs around his head. Her grip secure, Kim then lifted her arm up and smashed her elbow onto the top of Billy's skull.
The blow seemed to reverberate through Billy's entire body and he suddenly stopped trying to catch himself, his body falling towards the ground like a toppled tree. Kim rode him to the ground, rolling off of Billy as he fell hard on his back and landing in a crouch. Slowly, she lifted her head to look at the remaining Triple Gs, who stared back at her in abject horror.
"We…" Arturo began to say, pausing to gulp nervously as Snake shook in fear next to him, "are about to die."
And then Kim was upon them.
"Shrieking in mortal terror, Snake threw a wild punch at Kim as she rushed him, but she easily ducked the blow before driving her fist into his stomach, his shriek deteriorating into a high pitched choking sound of pain. Spinning away from Snake, Kim kicked Arturo in the chest, knocking him off his feet and sending him rolling across the ground. As Snake recovered, taking a few gasping breaths as he stood up straight again, Kim spun back towards him, punching him across the jaw hard enough to sending him stumbling back into the wall behind him.
"Alright, bitch," Arturo growled as he picked himself up of the ground and retrieved a switchblade from his pocket, flipping the dangerous blade out of its sheath, "You want to go? Let's go!"
Screaming, Arturo charged at Kim and thrust the knife at her back. The blade never connected though, as Kim spun around Arturo's attack and grabbed his arm just above the elbow, stopping him cold.
"Oh no," Arturo muttered to himself before Kim stepped over his arm, gripping it tightly with her knees and then jerking his arm against the bend of his elbow, snapping it with a sickening crack. Arturo screamed in pain as he released the knife, sending it flipping into the air. Releasing Arturo's arm, Kim stepped away from him as the gang member fell to the ground, clutching his arm to his chest while she snagged his knife out of the air and rushed towards Snake.
Snake swung wildly at Kim again and she dodged it with a roll, landing in a crouch inside the gang member's guard before she drove the knife into his thigh. Snake screeched in pain as Kim planted one foot before using it to spin herself upside down. As she did so, Kim looped her leg around Snake's neck before she yanked it downwards as she straightened herself, slamming the gang member's face against the ground, knocking him out.
Silence fell over the alley as Kim stepped away from Snake, broken only by Arturo's wails of pain.
And the unmistakable click of a gun cocking.
"'Itch," Ace growled from behind Kim, one hand still covering his broken nose, the other holding a pistol that was pointed directly at Kim's head, "I'll 'ow you 'at 'appens 'hen you 'ess 'ith the 'iple G's. I'm 'onna 'low your-"
Ace was interrupted as Kim spun around, faster than he would have thought possible and grabbed his arm. Before Ace could react, Kim yanked him towards her and slammed her shoulder against the gang leader's chest, sending him stumbling away from her as she released him. Ace quickly caught himself and turned to face Kim again, only to find her with his gun in her hand, the barrel leveled at his head.
"H-Holy shit," Ace whispered after a moment of shocked silence while his brain processed what had just happened, "Holy shit."
Slowly, Ace raised his shaking hands, their palms facing Kim.
"P-Please don't," Ace pleaded as he sunk to his knees, Kim adjusting her aim so the weapon was still pointed at the gang leader's head, "Please don't k-kill me."
Ace gave Kim a pleading look, but as he locked eyes with her, he found the young woman's gaze to be ice cold, devoid of anything resembling compassion or mercy.
"Oh God," Ace whispered, turning his head away from Kim and shutting his eyes, tears starting to leak out and run down his cheeks as a wet spot formed on the crotch of his pants, "I don't want to die."
Calmly, Kim moved her finger towards the trigger.
"Kim!" Ron suddenly shouted, "Kim don't!"
Kim snapped her eyes towards Ron, causing both him and Monique, who was now huddled behind him, to flinch.
"It-It's okay, Kim," Ron said, his hands raised in front of him in a pacifying gesture as Monique clutched fearfully at his shirt, "You….You don't need to do this. We're safe now, all of us."
Ron took a hesitant step towards Kim, Monique following behind him as he looked pleadingly at the young woman.
"You won, Kim," Ron said, trying to keep his voice calm, "You don't need to kill him."
All at once, Kim seemed to come back to herself, the coldness leaving her eyes, replaced by bright confusion.
"I…." Kim mumbled, confusion mixing with fear as she looked around, "I don't know what….what's going-"
"Kim," Ron said, calmly but firmly, bringing the young woman's attention back to him, "I need you to put the gun down."
Kim looked at Ron in confusion for a moment before she finally seemed to register that she still holding the gun.
"Oh my God!" Kim exclaimed, dropping the gun like it had burnt her, the weapon clattering to the ground, "I didn't….why….!?"
As Kim rambled incoherently, she looked around at the Triple Gs, including Ace who was still on his knees crying.
"Oh God, oh God," Kim said, tears welling up in her eyes as she lifted them to look at Ron.
"Ron," she whispered, giving her friend a pleading look, "What did I do?"
Before Ron could answer, the sound of distant sirens floated into the alley, catching all their attentions as they clearly drew closer.
"I-I have to go," Kim declared before she went running out of the alley.
"Kim, wait!" Ron called after her, but she was already gone before he could stop her.
Running as hard and as fast as she could, Kim did not stop until she was almost half way home, stumbling to a stop only when her lungs started to burn and her legs began to ache. Stopping next to a large oak, Kim leaned against it to catch her breath. As she did, she slowly raised her hands to look at them.
Her knuckles were bruised and cut and her hands were covered in blood, spray, she realized, that had come when she had broken Ace's nose and stabbed Snake. Looking down at her uniform, she saw that it was spattered with blood as well. Shaking in terror, Kim's mind flashed back to her nightmare reflection.
"Why, I'm you, Kimmy," the reflection's voice, her voice edged with cruelty, whispered in her mind, "And it's time to wake up."
Kim did the only thing she felt she could do in that situation. She clenched her hands to her to her chest, curled up into a ball at the base of the tree, and cried.
Later,
"Startling news coming out of Middleton, Colorado tonight," the news anchor intoned from behind his desk, "A video apparently depicting a teenage girl ruthlessly assaulting a local street gang has gone viral. The video, captured on the security camera of a local convenience store the brawl took place behind, seem to show a teenage girl in a cheerleader's uniform using some form of martial arts to fight the gang members, appearing at certain points to break the arm of one of the members and to stab another. The girl, identified as Middleton High School cheerleading captain Kimberly Ann Possible, fled the scene before authorities could arrive and, thus far, has not been reached for comment. Investigation is still ongoing."
The image of the news anchor suddenly froze, the screen on which it was displayed flickering slightly.
"Are you watching this, Black?" a woman hissed. She was a middle aged woman, her brown hair cut short, her one brown eye glaring at the computer screen in front of her, the other covered by a black eye patch. She wore a dark blue jumpsuit and was currently seated behind a desk in a large office.
"I watch the news as well, Director," a deep, masculine voice drolled over the ear piece in the woman's ear.
"Don't get cute with me, Captain," the woman snarled, "You know what kind of trouble this means."
"We always suspected there was another," Black observed.
"Yes, but I wasn't expecting to find her by way of Youtube," the director spat, "We need to contain this. Have a team bring her in."
"Director, are you sure that's a good idea?" Black questioned, caution in his voice.
"Why wouldn't it be?" the director questioned dangerously.
"You've seen the video, she's obviously scared," Black explained, "I don't think she understands what's going on. I get the feeling she doesn't understand she's….different."
"And?" the director pressed.
"And if we try to black bag her like a damn terrorist, she's liable to get spooked," Black answered, his tone clipped, "And we know what someone like her is like when spooked."
"We don't have a choice, Captain," the director said firmly, "If we don't jump on this, then you know someone else will. This needs to happen now. That's an order, understand?"
There was a long pause before Black answered.
"...Yes, ma'am," Black said quietly.
"Good," the director replied, nodding to herself, "Now, you better get a move on. For all we know, someone else is already on their way."
Meanwhile, somewhere in Columbia,
The entire compound was on fire.
Set deep in the jungle, the compound, set up like a plantation upon the cleared land, burnt, the flames that consumed the buildings belching black smoke into the sky. One building near the center of the compound was untouched from the fire, but had still sustained damage consistent of that from a firefight. Muffled gunfire came from within it's walls.
An office sat on the tallest floor, its windows, most of which had been shattered, allowing a clear view of the compound. A ceiling fan turned lazily above the bullet hole ridden desk, one of its arms having been snapped off. Two men lay dead, one shot through the head, the other with his throat slashed, blood still oozing from the wound.
Laying on the ground behind the desk was a heavy set man of Hispanic ethnicity, his hair balding and his hands decorated with a gold watch and a few gold rings. Weakly, he reached out for a handgun laying on the floor nearby, but as he did, a black booted foot stepped on his hand, his bones cracking as he let out a cry of pain.
"Oh, Hector," the owner of the voice sighed as she reached down and picked up the gun, "We warned you about what would happen if you didn't pay up."
The woman was in her late twenties, her skin a light brown, her eyes green and almost cat-like. Her wavy, raven black hair was tied back in a ponytail and she wore a black leather jacket over a lime green tank top and a pair of black jeans. She examined the pistol in her black gloved hands before cocking it and pointing it down at Hector.
"W-Wait!" Hector pleaded, holding his free hand up to the woman to get her to stop, "Gomez, wait, please! We can talk about this!"
"Hector, come on, you know me," Gomez said disapprovingly, "When I show up, it's not to talk."
Gomez pulled the trigger and the bark of the gun echoed through the building.
"This is a nice gun," Gomez commented as she stepped away from Hector's cooling corpse, "I think I'll keep it."
Just then, a chime came from Gomez's pocket, prompting her to reach into her pocket and pull out a cellphone. She noticed the text message notification and opened it.
"The girl's been found," the text message read, "Middleton, Colorado. Bring her in. Alive."
Both of Gomez's eyebrows raised in surprise at the message and she opened the image that had been linked with the text. Kim's name and picture appeared on Gomez's phone and a savage grin slowly spread across her face.
"Well, well, well," Gomez purred, "Hello there, princess."
A/N: "Oh my God," I hear you say, "He started another one?" Yeah, I'm weird like that I guess. But hey, I wouldn't write something if I didn't think you guys would like it. Anyway, this is another one of those ideas that has been buzzing around in my head for a long while and I finally decided to write some of it down. I'll tell you, this one was amazingly fun to write, which probably explains how it ended up so long. Hope you guys enjoyed it too! As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!