It was warm…and soft…and quiet. She didn't want to budge, but there was a tickle at the very edge of her mind. Despite this slice of heaven she found, there was something wrong. What was it? It was on the tip of her tongue…something…someone…
Nadine opened her eyes. She stared at a door. She blinked and looked around slowly. The walls were bare, one window with the curtains shut tight. Still, some light managed to sneak in. And she lay on a bed, cocooned in a thick comforter.
Nadine felt so relaxed, so pleasant…but then that tickle on the edge of her mind before a sharp bite. She sat up and recalled the last thing she experienced before she awoke here. Monkey Fist! Where was he? She rolled out of the comforter, mourning the loss of the warmth briefly before she stood. She was surprised to find a rug underneath her bare feet, but was relieved to see her clothes wrinkled and normal as before.
There was another thing she noticed. Her body did not ache. Despite the stress of the current situation, it would seem that the massage and the slumber had done her well. Oh the ironies, she thought.
Nadine walked to the door and listened. When there was nothing on the other side that she heard immediately, she gripped the door knob and held her breath. Would it open? Was it locked? She twisted the handle and pulled…and it opened!
She poked her head out to a long hallway, seeing and, more so, hearing no one. Where was she? Who was here? She closed the door gently before walking down the carpeted hall, relieved since the floor was no doubt cold. She took the first right and kept walking. Where…
There was a frustrated growl at the end of the hall behind large doors. Then a muffled voice shouting, "That isn't what I wanted and you know it!"
"Keep your voice down!" Monkey Fist! Even with the door blocking him, she could already recognize that harsh and furious tone. She shuddered. "If you wake our guest…"
Wake her? Guest? Ha, she thought bitterly, more of a prisoner. She blinked though, realizing that if the door a few yards away from her contained Monkey Fist and other strangers, she should go the other direction. Nadine took a step back and turned, hoping to slip away unnoticed.
Such hope was cut short when she saw a monkey ninja behind her. She didn't expect it and, as a result, she yelped before covering her mouth. Nadine looked back at the door, her hair falling over her shoulder. Dare she run? What was the point? Monkey Fist knew the layout better than her and that was what would make the difference.
Instead she turned around with the intention of being civil, proud even. The doors opened to reveal to no surprise Monkey Fist. "Ah, you're awake after all. I hope my colleague didn't wake you."
Before Nadine could speak, she saw something blue pop up over Monkey Fist's shoulder. No, not something…someone! She gasped. "Dr. Drakken?!" From the edge of the door in the back, she saw something green and black walk by. Someone. "And…and Shego?"
It made sense for Monkey Fist to be here, he kidnapped her after all. What were Drakken and Shego doing here though?! It was more confusing than alarming, given the stories Kim had told her about the pair. Except for Shego, she thought after a second, so long as she didn't anger Shego, she would be alright.
"If it isn't the great writer." Shego said with an obvious trace of sarcasm.
Monkey Fist smiled. "As you can see, we're not alone. I thought it best given our previous encounter."
Nadine's face flamed red. Drakken, however, pointed out, "Plus, this is our hide out you're borrowing." Well, that explained one thing.
"And how long will I remain a…guest here?" Nadine asked carefully. On the bright side, she thought, she would be able to observe and write more for her paper with Shego and Drakken here. That was the bright side…but…uh…that was it.
"Until I can find out how to transfer the powers you received." Monkey Fist stated coolly.
Nadine blinked. "Uh, but I have midterms and other papers due soon! I can't miss more than a couple days of classes, not now! If this semester gets jacked, I won't finish in three years!" The more she spoke, the more excited she got.
Drakken growled, plugging his ears for a moment. Monkey Fist said coldly, as if in resentment, "Then you'd better help me find a way to transfer the power. We all know your research skills pay off." Shego snickered from the shot. Yes, had it not been for her research she might not be here.
"I have no damn power! Magic doesn't exist!" Nadine shouted, panic gripping her heart.
The lights died suddenly. Darkness covered them. The realization that it was probably night passed through Nadine's mind as her first thought. The second thought was how close Monkey Fist sounded to her – when had he walked forward? "Then how do you explain that, Miss Burnier?"
Nadine shivered. He sounded to be to her left, perhaps a foot away. She hugged herself, her imagination running wild with what dangers might be in the dark with her – and what three of those dangers might do. Well, two of the dangers since Drakken evidently tried to move and stubbed his toe against the wall, judging by his cries.
"Shit wiring." She said breathlessly. When a neon green light flooded the surrounding area – Shego's hands! – Nadine flinched from the unexpected light. When she looked to her left, she jumped further to see that Monkey Fist was indeed just shy of a foot away. Anymore scares, she thought, and she'd have a heart attack!
"I'll have you know that we keep our hideouts to perfection!" Drakken protested.
Shego sighed and rolled her eyes. "Right, well I'm going to locate the breaker and fix this mess. Try not to blow anything up, writer."
As the bright green Shego walked away, Drakken shouted as he ran after her, "Wait! I'll come with…to flip the switches." Or, perhaps, he didn't like the idea of being in the dark with Monkey Fist and his ninjas. Shego made some sort of scoffing comment but evidently welcomed his company.
Monkey Fist and Nadine were left in the darkness. She wasn't sure what to say or even do. Slowly though, much to her relief, her eyes started to adjust to the lack of light just a bit. She could see the outline of Monkey Fist and the sound of his breathing ever so faint over her own pounding heartbeat. Luckily that was slowing down, calming. Like at Devin's place of business, Monkey Fist didn't move for her sake – well, that was the theory.
"Let's pretend," Nadine said quietly, "that I believed in this magic stuff." He didn't react yet. "If I help you find an answer…you'll let me leave? Go back to school and such?"
"Correct." Monkey Fist said just a softly, as if they were whispering.
"But what if it takes longer than a week? What if it takes a month? Two months? Six months?!" She felt the panic start to grip her again. To be gone for the rest of the semester, to have her plan be kicked back to an extra semester…a year, even. Oh, god, not to even count the deadlines to her graduate schools that were coming up! If she missed those, even if she came back in time to finish the semester well, she'd have to wait an entire year!
Perhaps Monkey Fist would have shrugged and said something akin to 'If it takes that long, then so be it' or 'Get comfortable' if Nadine's breathing hadn't increased. The air, though Nadine would be oblivious to it in her growing anxiety, felt strange. It felt, for a lack of a better word, electric.
It was all too clear to Monkey Fist that the power was linked with the holder's emotions. Judging from the reports from Shego about Nadine's adventures in the library and their lights, as well as just now, it was a reliable assumption until proven otherwise. While he wanted to see the strength of this, if it involved electricity or simply meant death to him, Monkey Fist decided to take another approach.
There would be plenty of time to provoke later, after all.
"So long as you don't try to contact anyone for help…I'm sure we can come to an understanding about your classes. I've heard recordings are all the rage." Though it was dark, there was a smirk to his words at the end.
Ah, her recorder! He still had it, didn't he? The suggestion helped calm her though. The air calmed. "So if I help you research…and as long as I don't contact anyone for help," that was to be a tempting idea that required creativity and subtly, "you'll let me finish my classes then. Online lectures, somehow find a way to gather the notes for me…and let me complete the assignments online?"
"Education is key, after all." He agreed to the terms. It allowed her a grace period, after all. When they got closer to finals, tests that she had to be physically present for, and the program deadlines…well, she would negotiate something closer to the date, if she hadn't escaped already. A few weeks…
To say that they had developed a routine was…eerie.
To say that Nadine had grown comfortable in said routine was a bit horrific.
Yet here they were, two weeks in. Nadine had managed to keep on top of her classes by a mixture of free time and dedication. It was a mixture of a delusion and hope that she would be free soon enough so she might keep herself up to date with her work. When she wasn't sleeping or studying, she was in a sort of mini-library with Monkey Fist looking through near ancient texts for this 'power' he kept insisting she had.
Really though…power, magic. Ha.
At least, this 'ha' was a hesitant 'ha' now.
Whatever this…magic…power…whatever was, it certainly did act upon her emotions. Nadine had been reluctant to admit it but by the third panic attack and power outage, she began to think it wasn't a coincidence. Three times only, surprisingly, in the past two weeks because Monkey Fist had been able to distract her from any others.
It was a mixture of surprise and relief, she had to admit, to have his velvety voice act as a calming effect – most of the time, at least. He hadn't gotten angry recent, but she shuddered every time she thought of his rage-laced tone. There was the irritation with Drakken and/or Shego, depending on who spoke and what time of day it was, but nothing past that.
Not only that, but to be surrounded by so many books, old and new, was relaxing to Nadine by itself. To read and fall into a comfortable position, a comfortable silence with the villain in the same room was surprising. To occasionally break the comfortable silence to share or discuss a passage, as if it were only an intelligent philosophical discussion with a friend, was odd but welcomed. It was surreal.
Meals were often shared with Monkey Fist, away from the aged texts. During this time, in between bites and sips, conversation was made. Usually it revolved around the books they read. Monkey Fist rarely inquired about her school work, whether from a lack of care or a refusal to send her into emotional turmoil and, subsequently, a burst of power, she didn't know. And Nadine, by proxy, never brought up his plans or Kim Possible.
The few times she ran into and spoke with Drakken and Shego had made for a page worth of notes for her paper. Drakken, she decided, was something of an oversized but creative child. Shego was nearly as dangerous as Monkey Fist – more so, since she seemed to care more of money and simply doing as she pleased – but oddly enough she remained with Drakken. Nadine had several hypothesis as to why – one of which came from the cliché Freudian theory of maternal-projection – but couldn't figure out one way or another.
Despite Shego's annoyance at having been studied by the student before, she seemed to like the other female presence. In an awkward way, they both bitched about the men and, once or twice, commented on how they kept their skin clear. Given Nadine's lack of items for her usual beauty routine, she copied Shego's weekly facial masks and near-nightly moistener.
Items…Nadine had to admit despite herself, she was indeed treated like a guest. Well, more than a prisoner at least. Her bedroom door was never locked unless she wanted it. The windows were not bolted – but were not first floor – and anything she requested to use was retrieved for her. In other words, her wants and needs were not neglected. It was surprising.
At night, she would write her notes on the three villains. She would hide them under her panties in a draw – clothes had been another thing that were bought and brought to her at her request. Namely form Shego, thankfully, but still. Once when Nadine asked about the cost, Shego shrugged and said that it came from Monkey Fist's pocket.
But how could he pay for it when he had spent his family fortune on his hands and feet?
Shego scoffed as if Nadine were an idiot. "He owns a whole castle full of old shit, how do you think?"
All in all, it wasn't bad. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad. Nadine was content, but content was not what she wanted. She knew she had to send for help soon, somehow, but she had no idea how. Any coded messages she might send in her homework or to her professors would be missed or ignored. She had hoped to send a coded message to a friend who might understand, but Monkey Fist made sure there was never any reason to contact anyone directly outside of professors.
How he managed to get the lecture recorded and notes taken was beyond her, however impressed as she was.
So how could she possibly escape?
There was no light at the end of the tunnel so far. Nothing either had read suggested a way to transfer this 'power'. It was exhausting and upsetting, to say the least. Truly, Nadine was reaching her limit. Nadine had thought and toyed with the idea of developing this…power further. In fact, she spend several nights trying to do just that.
The only thing she succeeded in was making her lights flicker. Nothing else. If this power was a great as the text suggested – it had to be if the sorcerer was killed for it – then why wasn't it more than a flick of the breaker for Nadine?
Perhaps it had to do with Nadine herself, her inability to believe or focus or strength…or something. None of it made sense. Maybe she didn't get the full dose. Maybe…Nadine would often curse out loud when this line of thinking came to be.
How did the sorcerer do it? How did he use his magic? How did he transfer it to his friend? This was all assuming that Nadine truly believed in magic. If this was what Monkey Fist wanted, to turn the power off when he got angry, she laughed. What else could he do though, if she couldn't figure anything else past?
Nadine decided to ask him just after the two week mark.
"Monkey Fist?" She spoke softly, looking over the book she had been reading-not-reading for the past hour. She was curled up in a cushy chair, her wet hair braided over her shoulder. It was chilly outside and, given that Drakken was a bit of a cheapskate, the building was chilly as well – it was, after all, fall. As a result, Nadine wore two large sweaters and sweat pants, as well as two pairs of socks.
The Englishman looked up from his own book, standing on one foot as he crouched. "What is it?" He asked calmly.
Nadine fiddled with the pages absent-mindedly. How was he not cold, wearing just his usual black robes and pants? Not even socks or gloves…curious. Will? Strength? She brushed it away "Have you…read anything about…what the sorcerer's power can do?" She ducked slightly in her book.
Monkey Fist blinked and closed his book, standing fully. "Why do you ask, Miss Burnier?"
Miss Burnier…Monkey Fist…they had kept to calling one another their titles. Why? It was a purely…well 'professional' sounded wrong. It was a neat way to keep their otherwise messy relationship as prisoner-not-prisoner and keeper, well, neat. They were civil and able, if not forced, to enjoy one another's thoughts and comments…but to be friendly and call one another by their given names? No. It was absurd.
"Curiosity." She offered. When he gave her a dull look, she sighed sharply and closed the book. "Alright, fine. I want to try and develop this…thing I have further. Assuming it's a real thing."
Monkey Fist smirked. "To use against me?"
"To conquer the world." She said sarcastically, sitting up in her chair instead of curled in a ball.
The man chuckled. "If I knew a way, Miss Burnier, I would have told you by now…if only to see the extents of the gift I want so bad."
So he didn't know either.
Nadine scowled softly. "Then how do you know I have this 'power'? If some light flickering act as your evidence then I'm concerned for how great this magic is."
Her irritation rolled off of him. He must have been in a good mood today. "Because Zarzarak's hand isn't as…fresh as before."
Nadine blinked. "Fresh?" That was right, she hadn't thought of the hand since all of this started.
"As in decay and smell, Miss Burnier." Monkey Fist stated as though this were a lecture. "It remained mummified and, for a lack of a better word, musty for all these years. Only when it gave you the power did it start to fall apart. Nothing extensive, but the smell is certainly unpleasant when it is in the same room."
So did it have limited times it could give or curse? Did that mean that she only had a sliver of the power? More questions, few answers.
He caught onto her line of thinking. "There is no reason to believe it only gives a fraction of the power…nothing suggests in the text."
"Text? Oh, you mean the text that has been in plethora? We haven't seen enough information to make that assumption, Monkey Fist." Pause. "Perhaps it gives only the amount the person needs to get out of the situation, the danger they're in at the time."
"Or perhaps it has given it all to you…and you just cannot use it."
Nadine's jaw tensed. Anything that implied her inability to control this, her inability at all, bothered her. It was a matter of pride, something he understood no doubt. "Since it is linked to emotion, as we've seen, perhaps you should infuriate me until something happens."
Monkey Fist chuckled as though she had told a joke. "I have thought about it, but anything past the lights going out seems…potentially deadly. I'd rather not poke the unknown until I have at least a map to find my way through it."
Good point, Nadine thought. While it was tempting to try on her own…she wasn't sure if it would prove to be deadly to the host as well. If they could find something to say…well, Christ, anything at this point!
"How is your hand anyway?" Monkey Fist's tone was softer at his inquiry. It brought Nadine out of her dark thoughts.
"Hm?" She glanced at the freshly bandaged hand. "It's fine. I mean…it doesn't hurt at all anymore. I think this may be my last wrapping…it's practically fully healed. Possibly a scar but…what does it matter?"
Monkey Fist only gave a short nod before he went back to his reading.
They were running blind though. They knew how the curse and the magic was transferred, and that was it. How to use it, what fraction of the power was given, how to transfer…all of these questions and no answers in sight.
Nadine swallowed thickly, surprised at how emotional she felt suddenly. She never disillusioned herself into thinking that she was anything more than an accidental vessel for what he wanted. Still, it was a new sensation to feel alone when she had another in the room with her.
"How many books are left?"
"Several dozen."
She felt dread in form of a stone hit her stomach. Several dozen. She had read nearly as many so far with no success in furthering her knowledge. He was the same. So what were the chances that they would find an answer in the next dozen or two? Or six? Two and a half weeks, nothing. What if they found nothing in these books? What then? What was next? Monkey Fist wasn't the type to simply give up.
Nadine stood suddenly, the book falling off the edge of her lap and onto the seat recently vacated. He raised a brow – the lights hadn't flickered, so that was a good sign. "I don't feel well," it wasn't a lie, "I'm going to my room." Nadine walked towards the door without pause.
"Stomach bug?" Monkey Fist questioned.
Nadine paused, hand reaching towards the doorknob. "Cold." Again, it wasn't a lie technically. She was indeed cold…just a different sense of cold.
The Englishman was quick to catch on, however. "You're already wearing two pairs of…well, everything." Pause. "It isn't that cold."
Nadine twisted the door knob but didn't budge, not yet. "Not all of us have fur to keep us warm." It was sarcastic and with a hint of mean in it. Still, it drew a chuckle from the man. With that, Nadine slipped out of the room and went to her own.
Or she would have, had she not heard a grumbling in a passing room. Nadine paused at the door that was half open, listening in. It was Drakken and he was, not uncommonly, talking to himself. It was about his latest scheme, from what she could tell, something about a ray or another. She dared to peek in. A ray and a scheme meant Kim ruining said plan – and rescuing her!
Drakken seemed to be having a good day, however, as he heard the creak of the floorboard under Nadine's foot. He turned with a growl. "Who…oh, it's you. The student." He quickly hid away his plans.
The young woman walked in further since she was caught. "And it is you…the mad scientist." That was something she had noticed right away as well. His ego, like most, liked to be stroked. More so with him, he enjoyed compliments of his great schemes and evil plans the most. His brain was the best to praise, not his looks or personality. Not that she was surprised when it was said that way. "What are you planning?"
"The next great thing! If I can get Dr. Schro- wait a second, you can't know. Nevermind."
"Why not? It isn't like I can do anything about it."
Drakken watched her closely before shrugging. "Monkey Fist's rule."
She bristled immediately. "His rule?!" If she had thought for one second that she liked the English monkey, it was instantly turned to loathe. "What, does he think that my knowing of your plans will make me scheme a way for Kim Possible to save me?"
Drakken laughed suddenly and quite loudly. In fact, it startled Nadine out of her fury. "Ki-Kim Possible s-save you, hahaha! No, no…that's…too funny." He wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye. "She'll never save you because my plans won't be taking place from this location. It's a hide-out for a reason, girl."
Again, that chilled sensation came back in form of a rock in her stomach. "Another rule of Monkey Fist?"
"Well, and Shego." Drakken mumbled reluctantly. "Now leave! I need to get back to work…and shouldn't you be researching how to do something with 'magic' with Monkey Fist?" There was something teasing in his tone that Nadine hadn't noticed. If she did, at least, she didn't process it. She was too stunned to.
Nadine spun and walked out, trembling with a mixture of anger and disturbance. The lights flickered, yes, but the air was different. She noticed it immediately in the hallway. It felt…charged, if that was even possible. Cold by Mother Nature, but charged by her.
Was this how to control it, this 'power'? A balance, a place that was of strong emotion and control? Panic made the lights go out. Anger but the will to walk away…what was this? Nadine stopped walking and focused on the sensation. What else could it do?
She thought of Monkey Fist and his 'rules'. She thought about punching him in his face though at the same time she tried to reign in the emotions. The air kept changing until she thought she saw something flash nearby from the corner of her eye. Not a light, she caught with a hint of surprise, but…the air. As if…lightning had…
"I thought you were cold." A familiar voice made her jump nearly a foot in the air.
Nadine spun around and scowled, but the air wasn't charged like before. "I was and am," she said after a second, "I just…felt faint." Had he seen what she thought she saw? Had he been watching her try to explore the power further? If he had, he gave nothing away.
Instead, he smirked. "Couldn't have that happen. Although that is quite a set of symptoms, cold and faint. One might think you were getting ill."
"Heaven forbid you should have to rush me to the ER." Nadine rolled her eyes. A moment passed before her heart clenched. "You would, wouldn't you? Or would you simply let me die?"
The man's expression was difficult to read. In fact it scared her a bit. Whatever was going through his mind, she didn't want to know. "My monkey ninjas are preparing soup for dinner. Go rest up…if you need me, I'll be in the library."
With that, he walked by her. She shivered though she couldn't quite figure out why. She remained standing in the middle of the hall for a minute longer before her feet moved. Anger and control…could the same effect she felt and saw be replicated with panic and control? Did this thing produce varied results based on different emotions?
If the books yielded nothing, then it was time for some experimenting.