The Best She Can Be
Author: Roguesknight
Chapter 4: Disorientation
Rating: T/M. For violence, Language, etc.
Author's note: I feel compelled to once more remark that I'm not dead. My laptop that had a previous draft of this chapter however, is very much dead. I can't believe that it's been over 3 years since I last updated. Writer's block from hell is an understatement. Fortunately, my muses have returned and are demanding that I get back to it. I'd honestly forgotten how fun it is to create, even if I am playing in someone else's sandbox. Thank you to everyone who's encouraged me to continue, I shall try not to let you down.
Disclaimer: Ok…still not mine. In fact, everyone featured belongs to the mouse. Additionally, it should be obvious that this isn't the strict Marvel 616 universe. Inspiration is drawn from the movies, comics, and cartoons I've watched and/or read over the past 20 something years. We could consider it the Marvel 666 universe as the devil on my shoulder is the one feeding me plot points and laughing…unless Marvel 666 is a real thing, then, no I don't own that either.
" Oh, it's not a test, you said. Fury won't have even notice the paper, you said," Maria taunted Kim with a small smile; her back pressed against her column as bright red spears of light flashed between them. " Any other brilliant observations you feel like sharing?"
As much as she hated to admit it, being pinned down by enemy fire was strangely comforting, like an old blanket. * Probably not the kind of observation she is looking for * Kim mused. Instead she risked a peek around the edge of her column. " Ok, how about this?" She replied, snapping back against her cover, " Only two of them are bothering to shoot between us. And I didn't see the other two…I'd say it's a fair bet that they're trying to sneak up on us from the outside." She drew her weapon and raised it in readiness. " On three?"
Maria nodded, adjusting her grip on her own weapon. " One"
"Two," Kim nodded, taking a steadying breath.
They didn't wait for "three". In unison they whirled to the outer edges of their respective columns and began firing at the two robots that had indeed been attempting to ambush them, forcing them back towards the other end of the room. A retreat that was slowed when one of Maria's shots landed against her target's right thigh, immobilizing the leg below. A quick follow up blast to the chest and the target went down, the red goggles flickering once before blacking out. " One down," she reported, pressing back against her column.
"Good going," Kim complimented, keeping her focus on her own target and dropping low to avoid the return fire. She squeezed off another shot, aiming for the robot's weapon arm. Even with the field experience she'd obtained working with Global Justice over the summer, she still wasn't comfortable with gun battles. The shot barely even grazed the robot's arm, resulting in little more than a rip appearing in HYDRA uniform, to reveal all too human seeming flesh underneath. Her breath caught in her throat and she hesitated, shock briefly overriding the fact she knew it was just a robot and leaving her exposed long enough for it to re-center its aim on her chest and fire.
Maria knew something was wrong when she saw Kim freeze up after firing. " Son of a …" she began. Taking a deep breath she dived across the space between their columns; ignoring the sudden jab in her left hip as one of the drones' shots landed, and tackled the redhead, pushing her flat just in time to avoid being prematurely taken out. Together they pressed back against the pillar. " Focus Kim." She hissed. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. * Right, Fury's up there probably paying close attention to how we handle stress, I'm not screwing this up* She thought. " Look," she continued calmly, " I know you're probably a bit rusty when it comes to combat; taking down the odd purse snatcher aside, but you've got to get your head in the game. We're still outnumbered two to one and this," she indicated how the left leg of her jumpsuit had stiffened to reduce her mobility, " isn't going to help things any. Ok?"
Kim tried to ignore the burning in her cheeks as she nodded, " Right. We can still win this thing…and thanks for the save." She smiled hesitantly, wondering if Ron had ever felt as embarrassed when she told him to keep his head in the game as she currently did, or if it had just been one more thing he'd been able to shrug off in pursuit of never being normal. The thought lead to a spark of idea ; quickly bursting into flame. " Sorry, I just hadn't realized how detailed the training program would be. I mean, whoever she is, sure," she inclined her head towards the far end of the room, where the female robot remained stationed, oddly not participating in the attack, " but the others? What's the point of them looking human under there?" She shrugged. " But I can deal now. I think. And even better, I have a plan…well…ok an idea…an inkling of something that might even the odds just a bit."
" Which is?" Maria asked, taking advantage of a pause in the robots' assault to return fire on the center two and wondering what was keeping the one Kim had winged from continuing its advance.
" Here." Kim answered, pressing her own gun into Maria's left hand, " You're clearly the better shot anyway. Now we're just going to need to switch sides, and get ready for the next opening. The plan's simple. I'm the distraction."
The brunette stared at her for a moment as if she'd completely lost it. " And you'll be distracting them with what? Harsh language?" When Kim only smiled in return, she shrugged gamely, " OK…what the hell, I don't have anything better at the moment. Let's see this distraction of yours."
Inside the observation and control room, Captain American slid his gaze from the test going on below to Director Fury's seated form at the controls. " You know Nick, Possible raises a good point. Why waste the time and energy having just that extra bit of realism programed into attack drones, if you're just going to cover them in HYDRA uniforms anyway." He observed conversationally.
" Need to see just how they handle under as close to actual combat as we can get." The super spy explained. " Now I wanted them to actually be able to bleed when hit, but Pym keeps nattering on about the difference in viscosity in blood versus the oil those bots use, let alone trying to get the color just right. I tell ya, Cap, most of the time I just kind of tune him out when he starts droning on and on."
" Wait," the star spangled avenger startled, " You're telling me you let Hank Pym design those? I mean, I consider him a friend…and he's an ok guy…most of the time. But we both know his track record with robotics isn't exactly stellar. And you're putting a couple of fresh cadets in there cold?"
" What?" Fury shrugged. " I just told you that we needed to see how they handle combat conditions."
Cap closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to massage the knot of tension that had suddenly formed. " And when you say 'how they handle' you were of course referring to the robots and not Kim and Maria."
" Eh," Fury grunted, his focus on the control panels in front of him, " Two birds with one stone kind of thing." He glanced through the observation window and frowned as he took in Possible and Hill simply remaining stationary behind their shared pillar as the three base units proceeded to close in. Checking the readout from their uniform monitors, he saw their heart rates were elevated, but no more so than would be expected from a challenging workout. * Ok * he pondered * They're not freezing up; point for the cadets, but just what the hell are they waiting for?*. He briefly considered adding a timed component to the test and discarded the idea, after all, there would be plenty of future training sessions. " Anyway," he continued, turning his attention back to the super soldier, " You know how pacifistic Pym. He came to me with the idea of combining the adaptability of a synthezoid with the personality mapping programming of a life model decoy. He suggested that we could substantially reduce the risk to S.H.I.E.L.D personnel in the field while still maintaining the efficacy of top agents on a mission. I think he called it the next step in drone warfare…I'll admit, the possibilities are intriguing. And he may have started to babble about if they were combat models they couldn't be three laws compliant or something…I tuned him out and gave him a green light to get to work. So far though, the only full model is your old dance partner down there. Though, seeing as she hasn't fired a shot, I'm not exactly impressed."
Captain America sighed, less than thrilled at the explanation. * Note to self, hide Hank's copies of I, Robot and Terminator.* He groused silently. "Look, Nick, I admire Hank's desire to keep our men and women safe, but there's nothing that compares to a human ability to read a situation and improvise on the fly on a battlefield; no matter how adaptable the robot may be."
" I guess we'll see, won't we? Looks like red's about to make a move." Fury shrugged.
Back down in the testing room Maria stared at Kim as though she'd sprouted a second head that spoke fluent Kree. " That's you're plan?"
" Yep." Kim smiled, " and we're out of time, so here goes nothing." There was a miniscule pause in the fire being poured between the columns and Kim whipped herself around the corner, sprinting towards the opposite pillar. As the robots took in the changed circumstance and renewed their attack she launched herself into a handspring. As soon as her feet made contact with the pillar she pushed off once more, angling for a higher point on the pillar Maria was sheltering behind. Once more she landed and pushed off, throwing in a midair flip just for the heck of it. " Any time now Hill," She muttered, " Starting to run out of "up" here."
Crazy as Kim's distraction plan was, it seemed to miraculously be working, as the robots focused on trying to shoot her, their aim had been lured steadily higher, leaving a perfect opening. " Hey boys," She taunted, stepping out from her cover and leveling both guns at their chests, " Hail this" Before they could readjust their aim, she squeezed off two quick shots, scoring direct hits and taking them out of the fight. " Nice distraction!," she called as Kim landed nimbly and ducked under cover of the opposite column.
" Thanks," Kim smiled. " And I managed it without losing my pants. It can be done!"
Maria, blinked at the non sequitur. " Right. Good job…let's keep that streak going, oh, I don't know…how about the whole semester? Think you can manage that?"
" Well, if I can't I'll give you a sign, you know…sock on the door knob or…" Kim's eyes widened as that drone she'd failed to take out previously stepped from behind the column and leveled its gun at Maria's back. " Down, now!" she shouted.
Without hesitation Maria dropped, and playing a hunch, rolled onto her back as she hit the floor, bringing both guns to bear on the HYDA drone, and firing. " Ok," she grunted, " that's four for me. Last one is all yours Kim."
The redhead smirked, feeling some of her old confidence seeping back in, " Gee thanks, Maria. No, really. You're too kind." She risked a glance between the columns at the form of the dark haired woman positioned almost directly below the mildly disturbing flag with the tentacle skull. * There must be a villain's union that mandates they all use the same creepy handbook. I mean, after all there is a henchmen's union….* She shook her head, chasing the thoughts away. " What do you think; we've taken out all of her little helpers, maybe we can talk her into surrendering?"
Maria was fairly certain if her eyebrow climbed any higher it would succeed in its apparent mission to attain escape velocity and come right off of her head. Still, weirder things had happened. " One way to find out then, isn't there?" Deciding it wasn't worth trying to get back to her feet with her left leg still "injured", she decided to give the redhead's suggestion a test. " Hey, Ms. Green jeans!" she called out, " Your lackeys just got their asses handed to them by a couple of teenage girls. What do you say you save yourself some embarrassment and surrender?"
" Not quite what I had in mind," Kim hissed urgently, ducking back behind cover as the woman opened fire, a flash of light zipping through the space her head had occupied just seconds prior.
" I will not surrender," Madame Hydra snarled, contempt dripping from each word, " Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place. Will that happen when I rip off your heads and mail them back to your precious Director Fury?" She began to advance down the center of the room, methodically firing at Maria and Kim's positions in turn.
"Huh," Maria blinked, working herself into a seated position, her back against the wall. " I guess it is possible to piss off a bit of ambulatory circuitry. Who'd have known? Good luck taking her out Possible."
In spite of herself, Kim smiled, " I've got this one covered." Careful to stay out of the robot's line of sight, she traced out a rectangular shape in the air and tilted her head towards the flag. "Feel like giving being the distraction a shot?"
The brunette smiled and nodded in understanding before falling sideways, clear of her cover and opening up with both guns. Unsurprisingly, Madame Hydra was able to duck out of the way, leaving an opening that Kim was all too happy to take advantage of. Rushing forward, she spared a glance to her left, barely in time to avoid being shot in her unprotected back by taking a quick hop to the right . * So much for the element of surprise * she thought. Pouring on the speed, and moving in a zigzag pattern to try and throw off the villainess's aim, she finally reached the flag and leapt; her fingers brushing the bottom edge and tightening reflexively, pulling it free of the cords that had suspended it.
" And that is how it's done," she announced, waving the flag with a victorious flourish as she landed. Turning around, she saw the raven haired robot was slumped against the column it had been forced to take cover behind. "I've still got my head attached Maria," she called as she headed back towards her partner. " How about you?"
"Pretty sure it is," Maria answered, having gotten back to her feet. " Though, you'd think that once the test was over the suit would ease up on the whole leg injury thing."
Kim shrugged, " Probably just a bug in the system or something. I mean, what else is there? Everyone is down but us and we have the flag." Passing by the deactivated Madame Hydra, she stuck her tongue out dismissively, " Speaking of which, this is yours. Game over, loser." With that she tossed the fabric over the robot and kept walking.
Maria rolled her eyes, smiling warmly, " Real mature Possible." She held out Kim's side arm, butt first, " and if we're going to be returning things to their owners this is…" Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the ostensibly deactivated robot beginning to stir. "yours." She finished lamely.
As Kim's hand wrapped around the weapon, the sound of tearing fabric filled the room. " I'm not going to like what I see if I turn around right now, am I?" Maria shook her head rather emphatically no. "Didn't think so." She whirled towards the sound and took a step back; so that she was level with Maria, bringing her weapon to bear.
" You truly believe that either of you are actually competent enough to defeat me? ME?!" the villainess all but shrieked, her eyes blazing a hellish red. She dropped the ripped flag from her hands and slowly stalked forward. " All of you are beneath me. I am Hydra. I am superior. And I willtwist your heads from your necks and spit down your throats."
" You just had to piss her off," Kim deadpanned.
Maria smirked, " It seemed like a good idea at the time." As one the two cadets opened fire, scoring direct hits on the robot's head and chest, with absolutely no effect. " Ok," Hill started, with only the slightest amount of quaver in her voice, " This isn't working. Plan B?" She squeezed off two more precise shots at the robot's eyes and bit back a curse as they proved just as effective as the opening barrage.
" Survive." Kim suggested, hurling her useless gun at Madame Hydra's head, only to watch as it was batted out of the air with enough force to embed it in the training room's wall. *Well, there went that idea.* She thought, gulping silently. Years of training kicked in and she tackled Maria out of the way just barely in time to avoid the robot rushing towards them. Quickly she got back to her feet, pulling her partner up with her.
" Surviving sounds like a solid Plan B." Hill agreed, " Not sure how we're going to pull that one off, but I'm definitely on board." She paused, " Thanks for the save."
" No big," Kim smiled, " I've got this one, remember? Next Boss Fight is all yours." Not giving the other woman time to object; she flew forward, aiming a kick at the back of the robot's head, and connecting solidly with her face as she turned fully to face the cadets. Madame Hydra was actually rocked back from the force of the blow and it seemed to Kim that her eyes actually got brighter as they narrowed in anger. " Well, it seems I've got your attention tin lady," She taunted, casually drawing her index finger across her neck, " I recall some vaguely lame threat about taking my head off? Let's see what you've got."
Madame Hydra hissed, actually hissed, and darted forward with snakelike speed, arms outstretched, her fingers twitching in anticipation of making the threat a reality. Only to have Kim side step, grabbing the robot's wrists and pivoting, using its own momentum to drive it into the wall.
" You know, for someone who's claiming to be superior to me in, you know, just about every way; I'm not that impressed." Kim taunted. " Maybe you should just go ahead and power back down before someone gets hurt." The robot growled low as it pushed off the wall and came for her once again, leading with a roundhouse kick aimed at Kim's head. The redhead ducked, just barely. * Like me…the person getting hurt here would be me. But at least she's not going after Maria…yet.* Determined to keep the fight focused on her, Kim stuck out her tongue defiantly. " Missed me." Another blow, and another dodge. " Strike two." Kim said, backing away, luring the incensed villainess with her. " Come on bright eyes, my grandmother has better reflexes than…." The air was driven from her lungs as the robotic woman landed a side kick against Kim's rib cage with enough force to throw her through the air, only coming to a stop once she collided with the wall.
A slow, predatory smile split Madame Hydra's lips, " You were saying something ?" she near purred as she languidly sauntered towards her prey.
Inside the observation and control room Fury worked the console in front of him just shy of frantically, muttering a string of profanities that would have made all four branches of the armed services blush simultaneously as he did so.
" I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that this isn't part of the test." Captain America observed innocently, as he shrugged his shield from his back and slid it onto his right arm in a long practiced move. " Of all the people to use for the design test and you had to pick her? You couldn't have chosen someone even slightly less of a threat? M.O.D.O.K perhaps?"
The super spy paused his train of invective just long enough to glare at the other man, " Funny. Maybe you could do something to help, Captain Obvious." He stated before returning his attention to the controls.
Cap silently raised his shield and threw himself at the observation window, shattering it and fell towards the training room floor.
Kim shook her head dazedly, pushing herself into a sitting position against the wall as she took stock of her injuries. * Ok ribs definitely bruised* She took a small breath and winced at the pain that shot through her chest * maybe broken* she amended * and I'm sure my back is nothing but one big bruise but I can still feel and wiggle my toes…so that's a plus, right? * Seeing as there was still the small matter of an out of control, homicidal robot coming for her, she decided to take whatever bright sides she could. She considered saying something smart-assed just to show that she wasn't beaten yet, when she heard the sound of shattering glass. Glancing towards the sound's source, she decided that it was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever heard.
" Poor little recruit," Madame Hydra teased coming to a stop a few feet in front of Kim and looking down at her imperiously, " You thought you could make a difference in this world? You can't even handle "training". Consider this your final lesson; some things just aren't possible, even for a Possible. I doubt you can even stand right now without falling over. I think I'll go finish your friend first just so you can watch, knowing there's nothing you can do to stop me." She turned and began heading back towards Maria when a dull metallic thunk drew her attention back.
" Mind if I cut in?" Captain America asked, rising swiftly from the crouch he'd landed in between Kim and Madam Hydra and catching the robot under her chin with the edge of his shield; the force of the blow lifting her clean from the ground and into the ceiling.
Plummeting back to the floor, the robot twisted in the air to land deftly, arms and legs splayed. " You!" She howled, " Always you! Meddling in affairs that are none of your concern; no longer!" Uncontrolled rage drove the automaton forward, programmed personality blinding it to everything save for the desire to destroy the star spangled avenger. Everything, including the expertly thrown shield that severed her head from the rest of the body before continuing across the room to embed itself into the wall near Maria.
" I never did like that lady," Cap said, glaring at the broken robot as Madame Hydra's feature winked out of existence, leaving only the blank slate of the training drone. Turning around he walked over to Kim and offered her his hand. " That was quite the hit you took Ms. Possible, we should probably get you down to medical so they can check you out."
She smiled, taking the offered hand and gingerly pulling herself back to her feet, " That? That was nothing…I've taken worse." She said lightly, until another breath brought a fresh wave of pain with it. " Then again, I guess it's better to be safe than sorry, right? And please, there's no need to be so formal. Friends, and people who save my life can call me Kim…or even KP." Granted, there was only one person who'd ever really called her KP, but somehow she doubted that Ron would mind. She could almost imagine him in Heaven, doing one of his rather unique victory dances over the thought that he and Captain America were in the same league.
" Kim it is then," Cap stated, leading her across the room to meet up with Maria; who had managed to pry the shield out of the wall and was holding it reverently. " And you, Ms. Hill, are quite the markswoman. With a little more training, I have no doubt that you'll be giving Hawkeye a run for his money."
Maria blushed furiously, " It's a lot lighter than I thought it would be," She said, handing the shield back to him, " I mean, I've seen the news footage of some of the Avenger's fights. I just never imagined…" She took a deep breath before she could start gushing like one of the fangirls that could be found hanging out around Stark tower. " Anyway, if you're going to call her Kim, you can call me Maria." She continued with a confident smile, " or at least until you have to call me Director Hill."
" I'll keep that in mind," He grinned, " Now if you ladies will accompany me; we'll get you both checked out at medical."
They began towards the main entrance to the training room, only to have it open ahead of their arrival as a team of white coated lab techs rushed in to collect the downed and destroyed robots, followed closely behind by Director Fury and Agent Carter.
" Cadets Hill, Possible. I'm glad to see that you're both alright," Sharon began, " I'd have been here sooner to help, but it seems somehow the doors wouldn't accept my override code. Fortunately the geek squad here was able to jury-rig a bypass on the lock." She shifted her eyes meaningfully towards Fury, " Better late than never, right?"
Nick rolled his eye and snorted derisively, " Why is it that everyone thinks everything I do or am involved with here is some sort of test or has an ulterior motive?" The sudden silence in the room spoke volumes, as even the tech squad stopped what they were doing to look at him skeptically. " Fine, fine…I'm the great and powerful Oz. Just don't go looking behind any curtains here and you'll be fine. Agent Carter, if you would please escort the cadets to medical to get checked out? Once they're done there, go ahead and take them back to their dorm. I think they've had enough excitement for one day, and they do start classes tomorrow. We should let them get some rest." He smiled grimly, " There'll be time for more training later. I'm thinking we could always schedule the sleep deprivation testing for midterms."
" Yes sir," Sharon responded, sketching a quick salute, " Don't worry girls," she said comfortingly, " The good Director is kidding about sleep deprivation testing and your midterms." The two cadets visibly relaxed at the news. " He usually saves that for finals week. Come on, lets get you checked out."
Shoulders slumped, Maria made her way over to Agent Carter's side and Kim released Captain America's hand and was about to follow when he stopped her with a gentle hand on her right shoulder. " Sharon…err…Agent Carter, if you don't mind I'd like to speak with Kim for a quick moment." The blonde nodded her agreement and he steered Kim just far enough away that they wouldn't be easily overheard. " Ms. Possible…Kim," he started, for the first time that Kim was aware of, actually sounding unsure, " I know you're probably sick and tired of getting this from complete strangers, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry about Mr. Stoppable. From what I understand, he was a friend even before he became your partner; I've been in your shoes, so if you ever need someone to talk to…about anything.." He reached into one of the pouches on his utility belt and withdrew a business card with S. Rogers and a phone number printed on it. " I usually hand these out to new Avengers recruits. Just in case," He explained, handing her the card, " That's my personal cell. Feel free to call anytime." He smiled, " One of the upsides of being a super-soldier, I don't need quite as much sleep as a normal man, so, I mean it; if you need to talk, call anytime. And you can give that to Maria too if you want."
Kim blinked back the tears that were threatening to break free. " Thanks Cap….Mr..America…Captain…Sir.." She said, getting a grip on her emotion.
Captain America smiled gently, " My pleasure Kim, and unless we're actively training together or on a mission, why don't you just call me Steve?" Chuckling softly he lead her back to Agent Carter and waited until the training room doors had closed again before turning so Fury. " So?" he asked, raising an eyebrow inquisitively under the cowl.
" Alright, so Pym's program isn't quite ready for prime time," the director grunted, " Still, if we get desperate, they could be adapted as sleeper agents. Judging from the way the model went for you when you hit the floor, I don't see much of a difference from the robot and the real thing."
" That's not what I meant Nick, and you know it," Cap frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.
Fury rolled his eye theatrically, turning to face the super soldier directly, " Fine. They more than passed.," he admitted grudgingly, " What? You think I take a personal interest in someone I think will fail? Ha. They back each other up well, and you saw as clearly as I did that Possible was willing to put herself at risk to keep Hill safe once she was "injured". I'll make it official that they be partners for the foreseeable future. Who knows, maybe Hill will be able to keep red from blowing her top when Stoppable and Shego resurface."
The star spangled avenger's frown deepened, " When they resurface? Look Fury, I know there's the image out there that S.H.I.E.L.D's all-knowing and all powerful, but I don't think that power actually extends into the next world. I've seen the reports, and I know you have too. They died during the Dementor debacle. Unless you have evidence otherwise…."
He trailed off expectantly.
Fury grunted, " Look wing-tips, how many times has someone you know died in our line of work only to come back from the dead? Hell, if you count the X-Men alone you'll have to use your fingers and toes….maybe even get some volunteers to let you use their fingers and toes at this point." He fixed Cap with a skeptical glance, " Hell, you of all people should know that they're not dead until you see the body…maybe not even then."
" There may not have been bodies," Captain America argued, " but only because of the fires and subsequent explosions. Even then, it may have taken awhile but Global Justice was able to match the dental records for Stoppable and Shego against their databases. They're dead Fury."
The S.H.I.E.L.D Director sighed slowly, " You're right Cap, I did see the reports. Betty's a decent agent, but she's a little myopic at times. Show her an answer she wants to see and she doesn't always dig deeper." He paused, " Did you ever consider that it was a little too convenient that the only way it could be confirmed that Stoppable and Shego perished in that cluster…" Catching the disapproving glare he sighed and amended his statement, " accident…was through dental records?"
" Death is rarely convenient sir," Cap responded, carefully, " Especially in our line of work."
Fury favored him with a small smile. " Exactly. Which is why I had our top geneticists try testing the remains for confirmation. You know what they found? Not a shred of DNA. Not just that it didn't match Stoppable or Shego's genetic profiles, but that the remains were synthetic; some sort of advanced polycarbonate."
The Captain glanced briefly at the door to the training room before returning his attention to Fury. " And you didn't think it important enough to mention to anyone?"
" Oh, I knew it was important," Fury shrugged, " Thing is by the time the analysis came back, they'd already held the funeral, where even the President praised the "heroic and noble sacrifice", yadda yadda yadda. What would the point have been?"
Not for the first time, Cap found himself wondering if Fury were actually human and not just the most advanced life model decoy ever created. " Oh, I don't know," he bit out, " maybe spare Kim the heartache of believing that her best friend and partner was dead? We should tell her Nick, you know deep, deep, deep, really deep down somewhere that it's the right thing to do." He turned towards the door to the training room, intent on doing just that when Fury stepped in front of him.
" Just a second there," He said, raising his hands in an attempt at placating the other man, " Before you go rushing off half-cocked; answer me this: if you'd known that Barnes hadn't died during the war, is there anything on this planet that would have stopped you from going after him?"
" Of course not," the super soldier answered instantly.
" Exactly," Fury nodded, dropping his hands, " And if you'd dropped everything to go after him, right or not, we'd probably all be speaking German right now." He sighed, " Consider this Steve, Possible's grieved, and she's trying to move on. She moved across the entire country to do so. Hell, she starts college classes tomorrow on top of what she'll have to deal with as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent in training, do you really think that she'll be able to handle any of it if she can't keep her head in the game because she's constantly wondering where he is or what he's doing? Or why he hasn't bothered to contact her?"
Captain America's shoulder's slumped imperceptibly, " You know, I hate it when you use logic against me. I won't deny that you have a point Nick, but she deserves to know…it should be her choice what she does with her life, and she can't fairly make that decision without all the relevant facts."
" What about Stoppable's choice?," Fury countered reasonably, " Or Shego's? Or even that Drakken guy's? If they want to retire, get out of the game, shouldn't they be allowed to make that choice?"
Cap crossed his arms over his chest, regarding Fury coolly, " You seem pretty sure that they're out of the game Nick. Care to get something off your chest?"
Fury smirked, " Just more of that logic, Cap. It was what, about three months between Stoppable's trial and the explosion at Dementor's hideout?" Receiving a nod of acknowledgment he continued, " And it's been another three since the funeral. So, half a year goes by and the only time Stoppable and Shego popped up was to fake their deaths. That's what's got me thinking they're out of the game Steve. Used to be you could set a clock by how often Drakken and/or Shego would be break out of prison, threaten the world and then go back. It's not like blue boy was in the same leagues as Octavious or the Skull…he didn't exactly take the long view on achieving his goals. And Shego?" He snorted, " Look up impatient in the dictionary, and it's her picture by the definition. No. Something changed and it looks like they're done. You know what? I'm ok with that, not like the world doesn't have enough problems to keep us busy." He paused, " Still think telling red is the right thing to do?"
" I do," he answered, sighing, " But, you're right. She's got enough on her plate right now, no sense in adding more." He chose his next words carefully, meeting Fury's eye, " So they're out of the game…for now at least. God knows I can't blame them. I'm assuming you know where they are anyway"
" Not a clue," Fury stated matter of fact, " then again, I wasn't exactly looking for them either. Why?"
" Because," Cap said with another glance towards the training room's exit, " One day, she'll be ready to know the truth. I want you, personally, to start looking for them, so when that day comes she'll at least know where to find it. You want my silence? That's my price Nick, what do you say?" He held out his hand.
" Fine, fine," Fury grumbled good naturedly, taking the hand. " I'll get on it. In the meantime, seeing as your liaison is currently occupied, why don't you fill me in on what went down in Latveria?" He smirked, " Don't worry, I'm sure she'll still debrief you later." Without waiting, he proceeded to the room's entrance and through the sliding doors, leaving the sputtering superhero to catch up.
" He picks now of all times to develop a sense of humor," Cap muttered, a small smile crossing his face in spite of himself as he hurried after Fury.
The trip to the medical ward was, mercifully, a brief one. Maria only had minor bruises from being tackled but was otherwise fine. To Kim's shock, the battle with Madame Hydra had left her with only seriously bruised, but not broken, ribs and a strained back. The medic had given her strict instructions to take it easy and wrapped her ribs just as a precaution. Now in the hovercraft on their way back to the dorm, she had time to admire the scenery as the cityscape flashed by below them. " Um, hey, Maria," she bit her lower lip, " I just wanted to apologize again for freezing up back there."
" It's no big," Maria grinned, twisting around in the front seat to face the redhead, " That's how it goes, right? Anyway, I'm pretty sure I owe you for going hand to hand with the terminatrix and saving my ass. I'd say we're equal." She paused, " Though, truth be told, I wouldn't say no if you wanted to maybe give me some pointers on hand to hand? I mean, we saw just how useless our weapons were towards the end there, and I have a feeling that the longer we're with S.H.I.E.L.D the more likely it is we'll eventually encounter someone who's actually bullet proof. Might not be a bad idea to have something to fall back on other than run like hell."
"Deal." Kim smiled, " if you're willing to help me out with the whole gun thing. I mean you were totally badical with them."
Maria blinked, not quite sure what that meant, but decided to take it as a compliment. " Thanks, I think." She paused a moment, considering her next words carefully, " So…what was it that Captain America wanted to talk to you about back there? If I'm not prying too much that is."
Kim shrugged, after all, he had said she could share the information with Maria; she couldn't see a reason not to just tell the truth, " He just wanted to offer me his condolences about…you know" For what had to be easily the millionth time since the funeral, she had to take a deep breath and let it out slowly, one of the few things she found that worked to keep her emotions from getting the best of her. "Oh, and he gave me his number, said if I needed to talk I could call anytime. Same goes for you by the way."
Maria stared in stunned silence long enough that Kim was starting to wonder if she'd taken some head trauma they hadn't noticed. "Wow," she breathed finally, "Not in town two full days yet and you land the digits of a living legend. I'm impressed."
The hovercar came to an abrupt stop. "Well, we're here ladies," Agent Carter announced frostily.
Kim gulped, trading glances with Maria before looking over the edge of the hoverca; true, it did seem that they were above the dorm. Most of the buildings were difficult to tell apart from above, but the white eagle emblem on the helipad seemed like a clue. " Um…Agent Carter, not that we don't appreciate the lift, but do you think you could maybe get us just a little closer?"
The frost in the agent's tone condensed into solid ice, "Why Cadet Possible, I've seen some of the footage from your missions. This isn't anywhere near as high as you're used to jumping from…provided you land on the roof. If you miss…well it's still not quite as high." She was able to keep the act up for a few more moments, a miniscule almost non-existent part of her enjoying the looks of horror on the young women's faces before she broke down laughing and started the landing sequence for the hovercar. "Sorry girls, that was mean."
"So you're not…" Maria started, searching for a better word than jealous.
Sharon smiled warmly, "Jealous? No. I'm honestly not surprised Steve gave you his number Kim; it's just his nature. If he sees someone in pain, or who he thinks he can help in some way, he has to try. So, if either of you need to call, please call anytime; it's not like we exactly have the most normal work hours in the world." The hovercar touched down on the helipad. " And let's face it, if I wanted to play the "jealous girlfriend" I'm already a couple dozen super heroines and one or two reformed villainesses too late." She adopted a more professional tone before continuing, " Given the problems with the training program today, Director Fury will probably be busy pouring over the tech reports. It'll give you a couple days at least before he calls you back for any further training exercises, so you'll have some time to heal up and start getting used to classes in the meantime. I've been working with him long enough to know he's not going to just come out and say it, but I think you ladies impressed him today. Good job."
. "Thanks," they said in unison before looking at each other and smiling.
"Jinx," Kim exclaimed triumphantly, "You owe me a soda."
"Right," Maria snorted good naturedly, "Of course you still owe me a cherry coke for being right about Fury testing us."
" Fair enough," Kim conceded, " I'll see if I can't find one when I go get my books." She stole a glance at the clock set in the hovercar's dash. It was just before two, plenty of time, she decided to still hit up the bookstore, though maybe after a shower. While they'd changed out of the specialized uniforms for the training room back into their cadet blues, she still felt kind of gross and sweaty after the fight, and besides, the warm water would feel like heaven on her sore muscles. "Speaking of which, would either of you have any idea what time the bookstore closes on Sundays?"
"Three thirty? Maybe four," Maria answered hesitantly, " You may want to get headed over there now. You know, there's just bound to be other people who waited until the last possible minute to get their books too."
Kim narrowed her eyes, "You just want to get to the shower first." The smile she got in reply suggested that she wasn't far from the mark. "Fine, enjoy it. And later you can have another to get your precious cherry coke off, because when I come back, I'm taking the stairs and shaking the bottle the whole way," She teased. Turning her attention back to Agent Carter, she smiled sweetly, "Any chance you could save me some time and drop me off at the bookstore?"
The blonde shook her head, still smiling at the younger women's antics, " Sorry cadet Possible. I would if I could, but ESU really doesn't like S.H.I.E.L.D's presence to be obvious unless there's an actual emergency on or near campus, part of our arrangement I'm afraid." She gestured grandly to take in the hovercar, " I'm afraid getting you to the bookstore before they close wouldn't quite meet the administration's definition of an emergency." She smirked, " And you're going to have to change too…I'd hurry."
Kim's eyes widened and she vaulted the side of the hovercar before running full tilt towards the rooftop elevator access, "You don't need to fly cross country Kimmie-cub," she muttered darkly, "Let's make a family trip of it. You'll get there in plenty of time. You'll miss us once we're gone." As the elevator doors closed she was distantly aware that Agent Carter and Maria were laughing at her flight and added them to her list alongside her father. * I don't care how long it takes * she fumed * I shall have my revenge…oh yes, and it shall be sweet.*
After a quick stop back in the dorm room to change into the first clothes she could find; ,her jeans and sweatshirt she'd been wearing that morning, thankfully they didn't smell and it wasn't so warm that she'd look insane in a sweatshirt, she had eschewed the elevator for the stairs and ten floors and four city blocks later, Kim found herself in the ESU bookstore. When she first entered the building she'd felt the overwhelming awe she'd first experienced in the Middleton Public library at four years old; at that time she'd been sure that the bookshelves must have at least reached the ceiling, though there was no way that was likely. However, seeing that the bookstore's shelves did, actually almost reach the ceiling, it gave her pause, at least until she saw the length of the line of students waiting to check out. Determined to get out of there before closing time with all of the required texts for her classes, she grabbed one of the hand baskets from its position just inside the sliding doors and waded into the stacks. A half hour later she had managed to find most of the required texts for her S.H.I.E.L.D required prerequisites, and all of her general education texts, missing only the intro to neogenics textbook. *Thank every god out there that Ron left me money for school* She groused, casting a disgusted glare at the basket of books on her arm * There is no way their pricing on these things isn't some part of a villain's scheme to finance his or her bid for world domination. I mean, really, one hundred seventy-five dollars for an intro to biology book that isn't any more advanced than my high school book? What sense does that make? * She made a note to look into it in her free time, what little there was, when she spotted the holy grail of the college textbook shopper, a used copy of Intro To Neogenics, sitting on a top shelf wedged in between a couple of new economics texts, most likely hidden by someone who intended to come back for it once they'd completed the rest of their shopping…or got approved for another loan so they could afford all of their books. Unfortunately, that meant the book was out of her reach.
" Never a ladder around when you really need one" she muttered. Setting her basket of books down carefully, she considered the situation. On the one hand, the medics had told her to take it easy for the next few days; on the other was the possibility that if she took the time to locate a ladder, or flag down one of the overworked and underpaid staff to get it down for her that someone else could come along and snatch the prize away. "Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do." She checking that the aisle was clear, she leapt towards the opposite bookshelf, turning herself around on impact and bouncing back towards her goal until her right hand tightened on the spine of the book. "Got ya," she whispered triumphantly, albeit prematurely, as she lost her footing on the shelf and tumbled backwards into the open air. * Just great* she had time to think as she fell * I survive a fight with a psychotic robot only to be taken out by a book. Oh well, at least I'm taking it with me.* She closed he eyes in anticipation of hitting the floor, an impact which surprisingly, never came.
"You know," came an amused male voice, "If this were some sort of cheesy romantic comedy, I'd probably have to make a joke about you falling hard for me right about now."
Opening her eyes, Kim found herself in a bridal style hold in the arms of a man maybe two or three years older than she was, with a kind face and light brown eyes. Fighting back a blush she countered, " Not that I'm not grateful for the save, but if you're implying that I'm heavy you could always put me down."
Peter smiled at the young woman in his arms. * It's the same girl from last night * He thought, years of practice being the only thing to keep his surprise off his face * Kim something or other…what are the odds?*. Deciding that feigning ignorance of her identity in this particular instance was the better part of valor he replied, "I'm not quite brave enough to go that far. Though, I would recommend any future gymnastics be attempted in the actual gym. Might go a little better for you. I'm Peter Parker, by the way."
" Kim Possible," She replied, wincing inwardly and saying a quick prayer to whatever gods might listen that the name didn't ring any bells. She'd been counting on the cross country move to help her with anonymity but after that blasted Daily Bugle article she figured her chances were pretty much shot. "And seriously, you can put me down any time now. Unless you have any other pick-up lines you'd like to try first?"
It was all he could do to keep the smile from blossoming into a full grin. * Really? I'm still holding her and she wants to give me a straight line like that? Too easy.* Peter considered, lowering her legs to the floor and keeping an arm around her shoulders. For perhaps the first time in his life since that fateful spider bite, he decided against the easy joke, instead turning his attention to the text she'd clearly felt like risking her safety for. "Intro to Neogenics, huh? It's a pretty good class; almost even worth the price of the book when it's "new". Professor Connors is a great teacher, and a nice guy in general to be honest….well most of the time. But, hey, who doesn't have a bad day every now and then? "
Kim smiled in return, stepping out from under his arm and retrieving her basket of books, depositing the intro book on top of the rest. "First bit of good news I've heard all day," she stated, taking a moment to get a better look at her savior. He had chestnut brown hair, a shade or so darker than his eyes and was a little taller than her, she would put his height at around five foot ten or so and was dressed almost professorially in khaki pants and a white button down shirt over which he wore a dark brown sweater vest. "At least I'll get my money back when I sell these back at the end of the year, right?" She asked hopefully.
This he couldn't hold back and broke down laughing; it went on for what seemed like forever before he was able to get it under control. "Sure…sure you will. If you're lucky you might even be able to afford a combo meal at Bueno Nacho or something, no guarantees though. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you're a freshman this year?"
She nodded, "I guess it's pretty obvious, huh? Are you a student here too or do you just hang around waiting to save girls in bookstores?" She wasn't getting any kind of weirdo vibes off of him, but she figured it didn't hurt to make sure, after all as her father would point out, it was New York.,
"Among other things," Peter answered. Judging by the wary expression the redhead had adopted and the barely noticeable step back she took, he realized that answer was rather lacking and he hastened to explain, "Specifically, I'm the teacher's assistant for Professor Connor's intro classes, and a do a little freelance photography on the side to try and make ends meet. I'm sure you'd be just shocked to learn that the pay for a TA isn't a fortune."
Kim could feel her cheeks reddening. * Great * she sighed silently * Of course I have to fall on the one person I'll be seeing three times a week for a semester; wonderful way to make a first impression.* "So, you're a photographer too? Anything I might have seen?" She asked
To his credit, Peter managed not to visibly cringe at the question. * Way to go Parker* He reprimanded himself * You just had to bring up the photography. Now, let's see you get out of this one without looking like some wannabe paparazzi*. "Well," he hedged rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously, "Probably not. I mean, my shots occasionally get picked up by a local paper, nothing too big." He shrugged as if to say "what can you do" and hoped that she'd just drop the subject; as usual, the notorious Parker luck was against him.
"Well, what's it called?," She smiled, " Maybe I'll check it out sometime. I like to keep current on world events anyway, what's one more paper added to the list?"
He was saved, or perhaps damned, by the voice that rang out from behind him, "Peter Parker, don't you dare tell me that you got back together with Mary Plain again!"
Kim turned towards the voice to see a determined looking young woman with shoulder length hair, so blonde it was nearly white and wearing a navy blue sundress that fell a few inches short of being indecent, storming towards them, the oversized handbag Kim recognized as being part of Britnia's latest line swinging back and forth on her arm with each step. * Then again, she does have the legs for it * Kim mused * I doubt I could have pulled that off myself…of course had I tried, no one would have ever known because Dad would have put me on one of those black hole probes* Glancing at Peter she whispered, "Friend of yours?"
"In a manner of speaking," He sighed, before turning to address the blonde bombshell, "No Felicia, MJ and I are done thanks to..." He paused; there was that damn headache again. He briefly wondered if anyone else got instant headaches when thinking or talking about an ex before continuing, "We just didn't work out. This is Kim Possible; Kim, this is my friend Felicia Hardy."
"Nice to meet you," Kim offered, extending her hand. After all it wouldn't hurt to make a friend or two outside of Maria.
"Likewise," Felicia said, taking the hand, "Sorry for the outburst there. It seems someone," She inclined her head towards Peter, "has a thing for redheads. All I saw was your hair over his shoulder and thought he'd gotten back with his ex." She rolled her eyes and favored Kim with a conspiratorial smirk, "I swear, it was like a live version of Agony County with those two."
"Really," Kim found herself returning the smirk, glancing at a beet red Peter, " that bad huh? " She already liked the other woman, she hadn't expected to run into someone else willing to admit to watching Agony County so quickly.
"Worse actually," Felicia considered, tapping a manicured finger against her chin thoughtfully, " She had delusions of being a model, and maybe she was right, she got a few gigs here and there, but I never saw the appeal. Frankly, you're much more attractive than his last girlfriend."
Peter scowled, "That's enough Felicia. First of all, Kim and I just met. She's apparently one of my students, not my girlfriend. And secondly, I thought we agreed that there was no need to trash the ex."
"I'm sorry Petey," Felicia smiled sweetly, " She was just so dull. Probably the only redhead in existence to disprove that saying about red on the head wild in…"
"Felicia!," he snapped, cutting her off. "Way over the line there. Besides, aren't you the one who's saying that an evening with me is duller than watching paint dry? Not exactly a ringing endorsement that."
She grinned, unrepentant, "You're going to fault me for a little artistic license? To be fair I haven't actually spent a night watching paint dry." She turned to Kim, her eyes widening in sudden recognition. "Wait, you're Kim Possible? As in the Kim Possible?"
Kim smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously, "Maybe?"
The blonde rummaged through her purse before pulling out a copy of The Daily Bugle with Kim's picture front and center. "Think I could get an autograph?" She fished a pen out of her purse and handed it and the paper to the flustered Kim. "I'd ask you to sign too Peter, but I don't see that you got photo credit for this one. Which is odd, the angles look about right for your work. What happened, ole' brillo head decide it'd be cheaper if he didn't have to credit you?"
Kim paused mid-signature and narrowed her eyes at Peter, wondering if it really was a coincidence that he'd shown up to catch her. "So, just a local paper that you happen to freelance for, huh?"
"Is that the line he fed you?" Felicia interjected, grinning devilishly, "Mr. Parker here is, god only knows how, one of the best photographers out there, at least when it comes to getting pictures of Spider-Man anyway. Why he continues to sell them to a rag like the Bugle is anyone's guess."
Peter shot a glare towards the ceiling and the powers that be, who had clearly sold him out for their own sick amusement "I didn't tell you that the Bugle occasionally picks up my work because I didn't want you to think I was some sort of crazed stalker, Kim," he explained, doing his best at damage control. "As to the lack of photo credit with the picture? Yea, I've had a run in or two with psychopaths who seem to think that just because I get Spider-Man's picture that I somehow know him or have a working relationship with him. I asked JJ to stop listing my name in an effort to cut down on the whackos looking for me…and it only took three attacks on the Bugle by some nut in a costume before he agreed."
"So, that is one of yours then?" Kim queried curiously, turning down the intensity of the glare just a little. She could sympathize with the danger of having his real name out there where supervillains could get the wrong idea; there'd been one too many close calls at Middleton high, or her home over the years because they knew just where to strike to try and catch her unprepared.
"Actually, no," He lied, "believe me, I wish it was." Noticing the twin glares he was receiving he hurried to explain, "I love her dearly, but my Aunt May has somehow gotten it into her head that I'm never going to meet anyone after my last relationship and set me up on a blind date last night. One of her bingo friends' niece or something. Anyway, I spent the night watching her get wasted and flirt with the waiter. I was betting that by the end of dinner she'd have her tongue down his throat, so believe me, hanging out in an alley or on a rooftop hoping to catch a crime in progress would have felt like a vacation compared to that."
Kim smiled sympathetically, she'd been on more than one bad date in her time, though none quite as bad as what he was describing; and that included the times they'd been interrupted by supervillain attacks. She was about to share as much when an announcement came over the bookstore's pa system informing that there was only thirty minutes left before closing and suggesting that anyone who hadn't made their purchases yet move to the line in the front of the building to check out. "Guess that's my cue," She stated, "It was nice to meet you both. Peter, I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow in class." She shook his hand before offering Felicia her hand as well, "Felicia, maybe I'll see you around campus sometime."
"I wouldn't be surprised," She answered, "Even on a campus this size you'd be surprised how often you run into the same people."
"Word of advice," Peter offered before Kim could run off towards the checkout. "You might want to read the first chapter or two of your intro to Neogenics before Friday. Dr. Connors is a decent guy, but he does like to surprise his classes with a pop quiz before the first week is over. Not that you heard that from me of course." He held his finger to his lips conspiratorially and winked.
"Didn't hear what?" Kim returned with a quick smile before dashing off towards the rapidly lengthening checkout line.
Felicia watched until the redhead disappeared before turning to regard Peter curiously, "Huh, doesn't sound like the Dr. Connors I remember," She stated conversationally, "Half the time we had to remind him when there was a test coming up. It always seemed like his mind was on something other than teaching."
Peter grinned, offering his old friend his arm, "Oh, he's still absent minded. However, seeing as I'm the one he's going to push the grading off onto I figured it wouldn't hurt to make sure that at least one of the students does the required reading". Together they began towards the back exit to the bookstore, "So, how was your summer?"
"Oh, you wouldn't believe half of it if I told you," she laughed, slapping his shoulder playfully, "Let's just say Mother was looking to expand the Hardy foundation globally and I tagged along. I spent a very nice couple of weeks lying out on a Greek beach with a couple of nice Greek boys. Should I go on?"
"Please don't." He answered mock seriously, earning another swat to the shoulder.
"You wouldn't believe half of it if I told you," He parroted back to her. "I mean there was my epic struggle with drying paint for title of most dull thing in existence, punctuated with the occasional god awful date."
"Actually, I can believe that," She laughed, ignoring the glare she received.
Forty-five minutes later, and nearly a thousand dollars poorer, Kim exited the elevator in her dorm and made her way to her room, kicking the bottom of the door until Maria opened it. "Sorry," she apologized, "Couldn't get to my key." She raised the overstuffed bags of books in her hands by way of explanation, "If I'd put them down, I don't honestly think I could have convinced myself to pick them back up."
"Understandable," Maria grinned, "after all, you don't have a couple of charming young men here to help you with them. You didn't happen to remember my cherry coke did you?"
Kim blinked once her mind came back from the horrible place her roommate's words had sent it, "Yea, it's in the left bag there. And I'm really wishing that I'd followed through on my threat to shake it up." She shuddered, " And if you ever suggest that my little brothers are anything but demons from the pits of hell wearing human forms again, I'll be forced to take drastic action."
"Such as?" the brunette challenged, retrieving the drink from the bag and taking a long pull from the bottle.
Kim grinned evilly, "Such as letting both of them know that you think they're charming for starters. Maybe imply that either of them might have a chance with you. I'm pretty sure the world wouldn't actually be in more danger from them vying for your affections. Pretty sure." She didn't even wait for a reaction; walking into the room and setting her books on the counter.
Maria promptly choked on the soda. "Ok, ok, you win," She surrendered once she could breathe again, "Your brothers are demons from the pit, and you clearly share their DNA. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have to take another shower; for some reason I feel dirty again."
Kim glanced towards the bathroom longingly, she hadn't even had one shower yet; on the other hand, it was sort of her fault. "Fine," She conceded, "Just try to leave me some hot water for later."
"Shouldn't be a problem," Maria said as she headed for the hallway towards the bathroom, "If what I read in the section covering our building on the S.H.I.E.L.D Y-Pad is accurate, this whole place runs off of a Stark Industries Arc reactor, you could probably run the shower on nothing but hot all week non-stop and still not run out. Oh, and by the way, I popped down to the laundry room earlier, there's a coke machine in there; so I picked up a regular coke for you in case you get thirsty, it's in the fridge."
"Thanks!," Kim called after her. *This place is run on an arc reactor? Yet another reason to keep the tweebs as far away as possible.* She shuddered, an image of her dorm being shot into low Earth orbit springing unbidden into her mind. She made a note to check her room later to see if there was indeed a Y-Pad waiting in her desk as Maria had suggested earlier. In the meantime, she had been warned about a potential pop quiz at the end of the week, so she pulled out one of the chairs at the counter and took a seat before pulling the Neogenics book from the bag and cracking it open.
They passed the rest of the day in mostly companionable silence as each young woman hit the books so they'd be prepared for their classes ahead of time; breaking only to make a run to the ESU dining hall for dinner, where Kim was pleasantly surprised to find options other than mystery meat in gravy for once. When they returned, Maria decided to retire with her books to her room, and Kim finally got a hot shower in before doing the same. She quickly learned that trying to study on her bed was a bad idea as she fell into a restless sleep.