A/N: wow, I really managed to update before the New Year – I wasn't sure I would manage, but I could take at least a few breaks from family dinners and stuff like that with the usual "I-would-love-to-stay-but-I-gotta-study-bye." The perfect excuse for every situation XD
I hope you all had a great time. ANd, what else? Oh, right - have a Happy New Year!
Ron couldn't help but feel sorry for Frugal Lucre as he watched the poor guy's unhappy expression as he brought Gemini's dog outside – that dog was definitely a psycho, and he definitely wouldn't want to be stuck with it for a single minute.
"The helicopter will be landing any minute now," the GJ agent told them as they stood near the landing area "are you sure you don't want to wait for him inside?"
"Yes," Kim said, glancing up with the hope to see the helicopter approaching already. She had never been so impatient to see Wade – she just needed to have someone else to speak aside for Ron…someone who was sane, she thought, and possibly not a criminal.
"Here it is," Ron said, glancing up to see the GJ jet with a sigh of relief.
Still in his arms, Hana laughed as the helicopter drew closer. "Page!"
Ron shook his head. "No, it's not a page, it's a…nevermind," he gave up.
Kim frowned a little. "Ron, how did you exactly convince your parents to let you bring her here?"
"I told them she would be more protected," he said with a shrug "which is true, I guess. They knew about the invasion already, GJ warned them. I think they warned your parents too – mom said they were all about to be transferred in a protected location."
Kim felt a small stab of guilt as she realized she hadn't thought about her family for a single moment since when the whole sitch had started – but after all, she had a lot of things to worry about, she quickly thought. "Oh," she just said, wondering if GJ had let their parents know exactly how bad the situation was. Ron voiced her thoughts.
"Do you think they know what is really going to happen?" he asked, looking considerably less cheerful than usual. The idea that Monkey Fist might not be able to help after all seemed to have greatly disappointed him.
Kim shrugged. "I have no idea," she said, biting her lower lip. She felt like she was lying to them, and that was something she had never liked doing. She sighed, trying to be as optimistic as she could. "But hey, no problem – everything will turn out to be al –" her words were cut off by the loud noise of the helicopter landing nearby.
"Hey there, Wade!" Ron exclaimed enthusiastically as the boy's chubby figure got down from the helicopter.
"Page!" Hana shrieked.
"Hello, guys. Sorry for the delay – I had to work on some stuff," Wade said with a proud smile as he approached them.
Kim smiled. "Useful stuff?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"You bet! Just wait until you see the stuff I packed up…"
"I really hope you brought my battlesuit!" Dementor's voice caused all of them to turn – no one had noticed he was there "you promised me I vould get one!" he muttered – he apparently couldn't wait any longer…and Kim had the distinct feeling he was going to use it to get Drakken back for attacking him with his Flower Power. Oh, well…they could let him play with his new toy for a while after all.
The grin of Wade's face widened. "Of course…and not just yours. I have a bunch of new and improved battlesuits with me – you're going to love them…"
Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump…
A slight, dry smile curled Monkey Fist's lips as he intently listened the only sound he could hear in the silence – his own heartbeat. His hearing seemed to have gotten sharper than before…before…well, just before. He had no idea of what exactly had happened, where he was and when, so it wasn't like he could make any safe assumption.
He only remembered waking up – waking up from a deep sleep? From a coma? From something else? He honestly didn't know. He remembered al too well just how blinding the light in his eyes had been, and he was certain he had heard someone speaking…more than just one person, really, and especially one of the voices had been dreadfully high and familiar, but everything had been awfully confused. The last thing he could remember feeling before he had slipped out of consciousness again had been someone lifting him and carrying him away from…wherever he was.
Now he was lying on his back on something soft – definitely a mattress – and a pillow had been stuffed beneath his head, which was a luxury you don't always get in prison. A cloth had been placed over his eyes, and since the room was dark – he had dared to take a peek despite the discomfort he had felt previously felt with the light, and he had grimaced upon feeling how…stiffened his muscles felt – he assumed it was just in case someone got inside the room and turned the light on. Was he in prison? It was a possibility, but for some reason he didn't think so. It was more an instinct than reasonable thinking that told him that…but no, he didn't think he was in jail.
Then where was he?
The fact he basically knew nothing about his surroundings annoyed him: he didn't like having no idea of what in the world is going on. He tried to focus on his last memory before his awakening, but the last thing he could remember was that infant, the Han, falling on him: he simply couldn't remember anything past that, despite the nagging sensation that something else had happened between that moment and his awakening. And, for some reason, he felt like it hadn't been anything pleasant.
He shook his head as if trying to clear his mind – dear Lord, even his neck felt awfully stiff, just as the rest of his body. How long had he been without moving? He felt like he could barely move – maybe he should stop wondering what in the world was happening and start trying to warm up his muscles so he could--
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the door opening and the light being turned on. Thankfully he had decided to keep the cloth over his eyes, or else he knew the light would have been blinding. He listened intently as somebody got in…just one person, he thought as the steps approached. A rather nervous person, judging from the hesitant step pattern and the way he – yes, that was a man's voice – mumbled to himself… it was probably somebody who wouldn't be able to put on much of a fight; he could take advantage from that to escape…then again, the fact just one person had entered inside a room where he was unrestrained seemed to indicate that he had been right: he was not in prison.
Monkey Fist breathed a little more easily, and he stayed still as the steps approached. Just a little closer, he thought. Just a little closer…
His simian hand shot up to grab the man's arm as he touched his wrist to check his pulse, causing the poor man to let out a surprised shriek. He tried to get free from his grasp, but Monkey Fist tightened his grip on his arm. "Where…am I?" he rasped, mildly surprised by how hoarse his voice sounded – it was like he hadn't used his vocal chords for a long time.
What in the world happened to me?
The other man seemed to calm down considerably as he understood he wasn't up to fight and simply wanted to know about his surroundings for time being. It was like when somebody woke up from a coma, he mused, and the thought gave him some courage – he knew how to behave in those situations, and the man in front of him didn't seem dangerous at all.
"You're safe – and you're not in jail, if that's what you were wondering," he said, trying to sound as reassuring as he could and keeping his voice low for his hearing's sake "I'm doctor Stanfield – I'm merely checking if you're alright…but you seem to be doing well," he said, holding back a sigh of relief as Monkey Fist let go his arm and let his hand fall back on the mattress. He hadn't even tried to get up, which was a good thing – if the cloth fell from his eyes, the sudden light wouldn't have been pleasant for him.
"What happened?" was Monkey Fist's next question as the doctor checked his pulse – which was perfectly regular.
"Well…I honestly don't know the details," Stanfield admitted – it wasn't the first time something like that happened since when he had begun cooperating with GJ, and it was rather frustrating having to deal with patients without knowing exactly what had happened "I was told you awoke from some kind of…some kind of coma, I guess," he said, not knowing if 'suspended animation' would mean anything to the monkey man "don't you remember anything?"
Monkey Fist shook his head, frowning beneath the cloth. A coma? Well, that would explain quite some things – it looked like the Han had done more than just knocking him out, he thought, starting to feel enraged….then a sudden thought occurred to him, causing him to shudder.
"How much time have I been like this?" he demanded to know as the man doctor checked his reflexes. He didn't precisely appreciate being poked like that, but it wasn't the case to complain.
"From what I was told, just a few months. And, before you ask, all your muscles seem to be working just right. Do your ears hurt as I speak?"
"Only slightly."
"Good – your hearing will be back to normal soon. You were just no longer used to noises."
The monkey man nodded, starting to feel slightly reassured. "How about my eyes?"
"They are unaccustomed to light, of course – but that's another thing that will get solved soon," he paused "do you feel like trying? I'll lower the light intensity."
"Fine," Monkey Fist just said. There was no reason to not cooperate after all – it was in his own interest to regain his full capabilities as soon as possible: if necessary, there would be time to escape later. He heard a clicking noise form the other side of the room.
"Try to remove the cloth."
Though at its lowest intensity, the light in his eyes was still annoying – it felt like gazing at the sun in a slightly cloudy day: annoying, but bearable. He blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes accustomed to the light, and much to his relief he could see clearly enough.
"Can you see me?"
Monkey Fist sat upright slowly, his muscles feeling slightly sore, and looked ahead to the tall, lanky man with greying hair. "Yes."
"Am I wearing glasses or not?"
"Excuse me?"
"Just answer to me."
"No, you're not."
"Perfect – you can put the cloth back on. There's no need to overexpose your eyes to light right now."
"I can manage for now. You didn't reply to my question," he pointed out as he lay back down "where am I?"
"I guess you could say you're on an operating GJ base – sort of," it wasn't his duty telling him exactly what was going on "no, you're not a prisoner," he added quickly as he saw him squirm slightly at the news "you wouldn't be unrestrained if you weren't."
Monkey Fist chuckled dryly. "I highly doubt I would go far as I am now."
"It's only temporary," the doctor said, opening the door, and Monkey Fist grimaced slightly as more light poured into the room "somebody will come here to explain the situation better than I could," he added before closing the door behind him. Monkey Fist frowned slightly as he heard the electric lock activating.
"Not a prisoner? I beg to differ," he said sarcastically to the empty room, but he just laid there, his eyes staring at the ceiling as he once again tried to remember what had happened after the Han had knocked him out – he knew something more had happened, and the fact it still eluded him was frustrating.
He sighed and decided to turn his attention to the present for now. He couldn't deny that part of him was genuinely curious to see what was going on – the whole situation seemed to be rather…interesting.
"Well, Betty," Gemini grinned at his sister as took a seat – Senior had to admit he admired the way he sat on the chair: one could have thought he was sitting on a throne "I really hope you and the kids here have another plan. Your freak of nature doesn't seem that threatening, if you ask to me."
"That is a very impolite way to refer to someone," Senior pointed out, causing Gemini to roll his eye.
Dr. Director, however, didn't seem upset – she probably just didn't want o give Gemini the satisfaction. "If Monkey Fist cannot help, we will go on as planned," she simply said "we'll built the most powerful weapons we can built and hope for them to be enough. Do you have a better plan, Sheldon?" she asked.
Gemini's only eye narrowed. "Don't start with me, Betty."
"I was simply asking," she replied, her voice as cold as ice "but of course, if you don't have any idea…"
Senior sighed and shook his head – he found it extremely saddening how they seemed to despise each other even though they were siblings. Family should mean more than that, he mused, then he chuckled inwardly at the thought that had just crossed his mind. He really was an old nostalgic man after all, he thought, faintly wondering if Junior was doing alright – he had provided him and his…girlfriend the best protection he could, but he doubted it would be enough should the Lowardians effectively take over the planet. One more reason for preventing them from doing so.
"I think it would be better for everyone here – for everyone on this planet – if you just kept your personal problems out of this business," he said somewhat coldly "you are supposed to be working together now, and this constant quarrelling isn't going to help anyone."
"I'm with the old man here," Shego said from her seat, barely raising her gaze from the magazine she was reading – man, those two were so boring to deal with. Hanging with Drakken was definitely funnier, she thought, half-considering joining him in the lab. Besides, slamming Motor Ed against the nearest wall every time he said something stupid – which happened awfully often – was quite fun. "Can't the two of you quit bantering like children? You're worse than Dr. D and Dementor, and that's quite an achievement."
Both Gemini and Dr. Director were about to voice their thoughts about being compared to those two, but they were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
"Dr. Director," Dr. Stanfield said quietly, doing his best to ignore the fact he was in the same room with some of the most infamous villains alive "the subject is awake and responsive. All the vital parameters seem to be perfectly stable, though he's still weak – his eyes are still unaccustomed to violent light, and his ears are sensitive to loud noises. He'll be back to normal soon anyway, his limbs just need exercise."
"Good," she nodded briefly "aggressivity?"
"He showed none."
"I understand. Anything else?"
"Nothing relevant, but he's understandably confused. He demands to know what is happening, of course – he doesn't seem to remember what caused him to get into that…suspended animation state you told me about."
"Interesting. Can he understand what he's told?"
"Yes. He's perfectly capable to hold up a conversation."
"Perfect. Thank you for your help," she said, dismissing the man with a gesture before turning back to Senior "I'm going to explain him the situation, if you don't mind."
The old man just nodded. "Someone has to," he agreed.
"Are you sure you want to be left alone with a scary monkey, Betty?" Gemini piped in "do you remember what happened when we went to the zoo with mom that time – "
The sound of the door slamming shut as his sister marched out of the room was the only reply he got.
"Yeah," Shego said, rolling her eyes – that guy was really more annoying than her brothers "I bet she does remember."
"Of course she does, I never let her forget it," Gemini gave an evil laugh, but he was cut off by the other door slamming open and Dementor rushing inside wearing some kind of…of…what was that anyway?
"A BATTLESUIT!" he proclaimed, raising his arms as if he expected the three of them to start applauding or something "it's mine! Now ze loser vill pay!" he added, rushing down the corridor that lead to the lab.
Shego blinked. "…okay, I take back whatever I said about you being worse than those two. What the…?"
"He got his battlesuit," Kim said almost apologetically as she walked into the room along with Ron and Wade.
"And not just him," Wade said, looking around at the main room in admiration – now that seemed a great place to work in! "I designed different kinds of battlesuits that could help –" he trailed off as they all heard screaming from the lab.
"Of course," Senior said with an almost resigned chuckle "we should have expected that to happen."
Wade blinked. "What's happening?"
"Battlesuit vs. Flower Power, round one," Shego said with a sigh, massaging her temples "this wasn't a good idea, Princess…"
Kim grinned a little sheepishly. "I know, but we gave him our word…uh?" she blinked as Ron suddenly put Hana in her arms and rushed to the door.
"Just keep her for a moment, okay?" he said excitedly "this is something I can't miss!"
"Hey, wait up!" Wade exclaimed, rushing after him – he was really curious to see how the battlesuit would work against the Flower Power that had taken down the Lowardian pods.
"Yeah, but we're supposed to stop them from…" Kim began, but they were out of the room already "nevermind," she sighed, quickly putting Hana on Shego's knees "just for a moment, alright? Just enough to check they don't blow up," she said quickly.
"What? No way!" Shego protested, getting up and handling Hana to the closest person – Gemini "just for a moment, okay?" she said, rushing out to catch up with Kim.
"Uh?" Gemini blinked, then he glanced down to Hana, who laughed and reached up for his nose. He grimaced, holding her at eye level, then he smirked and tapped her nose with his mechanical hand – there was a young mind he could corrupt, right under his sister's nose! "Hi there, little one. Have you ever considered joining the dark side and – hey!" he protested as Senior Senior Sr. snatched her from his arms surprisingly quickly for a man of his age and walked past him.
"Nothing personal," he said, sitting on the nearest chair with Hana on his knees "but I'd rather not leave children with someone who points dangerous weapons at them."
"Weapons?" Gemini glanced down at the mechanical hand he had just used to tap Hana's nose "oh. Right."
"Oh, I really hope they're treating him well…" DNAmy muttered for the fourth time, biting her lower lip a tad nervously – much to her dismay, she hadn't be allowed to follow the GJ agents to the room where they had brought Monkey Fist.
"Hey, he could help us saving the planet. You can bet they'll be careful with him, seriously," Motor Ed tried to reassure her. It was rather hard to believe she would ever be able to do anything to help, but after all she was the world's foremost genetist…and, according to Drew, she could actually create some dangerous creature if she wanted to. In any case, she would surely be more useful than that Lurman guy: at least she could work in a lab without messing up. He was really better off just taking out Gemini's psycho dog.
Besides, he was rather glad to have someone else in the lab other than just his cousin, Dementor (who seemed to dislike him just because he was related to Drew) and Killigan: Drakken and Dementor seemed to be unable to stay in the same room for ten seconds without jumping at each other's throats, and even though that Killigan dude seemed a little better, he seriously needed some anger management. With those three, beside himself, sharing one lab…well, things could quickly get explosive. Literally.
"I guess you're right," Amy sighed "I just wish they let me see him…!"
"I bet they'll let you when we're done here – they just needed to check him. He didn't seem to be doing too well, seriously," he said causing Drakken to look at both of them in annoyance. He and Ed were supposed to be showing DNAmy the lab – Dementor had left muttering something about getting his battlesuit – but it looked like she wasn't listening a word of what he said, and his cousin wasn't precisely helping either.
He didn't like being ignored – and hey, he was the one who had previously defeated the Lowardians, right? And he had the Flower Power as well. Weren't they supposed to be looking up to him, he wondered, forgetting the detail that they hadn't been exactly thrilled when he had been given that medal from UN. None of the villains besides Shego and Frugal Lucre had been, really.
"Save the planet? Monkey Fist? Meh," he scoffed, folding his arms. Why was everyone talking about that monkey-obsessed nutcase anyway? He had been the one to chase Lowardians away from the planet! Okay, he had also been the one to bring them on Earth with the whole 'Great Blue' mess in the first place, but they didn't know that detail. "You have seen him, right? He couldn't even walk!"
"But he could get better," Amy pointed out "you said it was normal for him to be like that after being like that for months."
"Who cares? Even if he gets back to normal…well, he was defeated by a baby!"
"Oh, Hana! Isn't she adorable?" Amy immediately squealed, causing Drakken to sigh. She couldn't just focus on a conversation, could she?
"Yeah, whatever. What I was saying is that –"
"Och, blue boy, if ye don't quit rambling this tour will last forever," Killigan grumbled from his workplace. He had been allowed to thinker with his explosives in that part of the lab – with that kilt he looked even more out of place than Ed with his ridiculous mullet, but Drakken had to admit he knew what he did when it came to explosive stuff…at least he still hadn't blown up anything by accident, though he had threatened to do so a couple of times. "Show the lass what she needs to see and shut yer trap – I'm working here."
"Now, now, there's no need to be so rude," Amy chided him with a slight frown "it's not nice."
"That's the point, lass. I'm not nice."
She giggled. "See? You are a grumpy one," she said almost in triumph, causing Killigan to roll his eyes and Motor Ed to snicker. He expected Killigan to retort, but he simply shrugged with a slight grunt and turned back to the micro-bombs he was working on, causing Ed to blink. Had he hit his head or something?
"Okay, fine!" Drakken snapped, grabbing Amy's arm and literally dragging her across the lab "this is our main power generator – everything gets energy from here. If you need some of your machines to be brought here…"
"Something wrong, dude?"
"Uh?" Killigan glanced up to see Motor Ed grinning down at him "what do ye mean?"
He shrugged. "Nothing, just wondering why you let her talk back to you without at least threatening to blow up something."
Killigan snorted. "I'm too busy to start picking up fight with a lass. Did ye all forget we have an alien invasion coming?" he snapped. Was there even a brain under that mullet? It was obvious he would have more going on in his mind rather than start quarrelling with a crazed genetist with a thing for plushies and petrified monkey men.
Motor Ed held up his hands with a huge grin the golfer didn't like a bit. "Okay, dude, I get it – I'll mind my own business. Don't bite, seriously," he said, turning to join Drakken on the other side of the lab.
Killigan blinked. What the heck had that lad understood? He was about to ask, but he was cut off as the door banged open and Dementor rushed past him, almost knocking him from his chair in the process. "What the…?"
"Drakken!"
"Uh…?" the blue skinned doctor had barely enough time to turn before he was sent crashing against the nearest wall by a powerful blow. He gasped as his back hit the wall, feeling as if all the air had just left his lungs.
"That hurt, seriously," Motor Ed muttered, and DNAmy bit her lower lip.
"I hope it didn't hurt that much, poor sweetie…" she said, rushing by his side to make sure he was fine.
"Much better zan your daisies, isn't it?" Dementor boasted, proudly standing in front of his rival, clad in his newly acquired, black and red battlesuit. His grin, however, wavered as he heard a muffled chuckle behind him. "Vat?" he asked, looking at Killigan and Motor Ed.
"Seriously, dude, what are you wearing?" Ed snickered – he seemed to be having a hard time to not laugh.
Killigan seemed just as amused. "I didn't know ye had a latex fetish, lad…"
Dementor's usually yellow-tinted skin turned into deep red as he gritted his teeth. "It is a battlesuit!" he barked, taking a few steps towards them "I'm not going to be insulted by a man vearing a skirt!"
"It's a kilt!"
Motor Ed grinned at Killigan's predictable reply – here we go again, he thought, taking a mental note to ask Senior if there was a popcorn machine around the lair. Sometimes he felt like they were much needed, and–
"Hey, watch out!" Killigan protested as a vine suddenly went past his head, narrowly missing both his head and Motor Ed's. Ed ran a hand through his hair – everything was alright, thankfully – as they both tumbled behind the table and watched Dementor being lifted from the ground by the vines coming from Drew's back.
"What did you say about daisies?" Drakken asked with a broad grin, but his grin quickly vanished as some kind of red shield appeared around Dementor, breaking the vines and causing him to stumble backwards "what…?"
"Surprised?" Dementor smirked "I have a few more tricks to shov you…"
"Is it always like this?" Amy asked quietly, sounding genuinely curious rather than scared as she crawled behind Killigan and Motor Ed to stay protected as she watched the fight.
"Aye, it's always like this," Killigan said with a shrug as he watched Drakken barely blocking Dementor's blow with another bunch of vines "och, I have to admit that latex thing works…"
"Hey, sure it does. Do you have any idea of how much I worked on it?" a rather outraged voice came from the door, causing them to turn to the small group of people that had just gotten in – more specifically, to the chubby boy who had just spoken…Team Possible's computer genius, of course. They should have expected him to join them sooner or later.
"I'd say they're even for now," Shego said dead-panned as she watched Drakken and Dementor fight while screaming at each other like children fighting over a teddy bear. Drakken's vines were trying to break Dementor's shield, and though the shield resisted keeping it up seemed to be taking all the power in the battlesuit so that Dementor could basically do nothing but keeping the shield on.
"True," Ron said, sounding somewhat disappointed – he had expected it to be more spectacular "are they going to stay like this until Drakken gets tired or the battlesuit runs out of power?"
"Alright, we better stop this before they make a mess," Kim said, turning to Wade, who held up some kind of remote control – he wasn't naïve enough to leave a battlesuit in the hands of a villain without having the possibility to make it shut down if necessary.
However, the boy hesitated. "Yeah, but if I turn it down now…" he shot a meaningful look at the vines that were still trying to break the shield.
Shego sighed. "Gotcha," she said, taking a step forward and lit up her hands "Dr. D?"
"Shego, can't you see I'm-- ouch!" Drakken yelped as a blast of green plasma hit square in his chest, causing him to stumble backwards and the vines to retreat, letting go of the battlesuit's shield, and Wade took advantage of the moment to shut off the battlesuit's power.
"Way to go, babe!" Motor Ed exclaimed, getting up from behind the table…just to be hit by another blast of plasma that knocked him on the ground.
"Will that lad ever learn?" Killigan muttered, shaking his head.
"Is this another thing that happens often?" Amy asked him.
"Aye," he replied, shifting a little to the left – did she just have to stay so close?
"Shego!" Drakken protested as he got back up, pouting as if she had broken his toy "why did you do that?"
"Hey, we had to make you stop acting like big kids," she said somewhat sternly "didn't we already tell you to grow up? No fights in here? Do not start destroying the lab? Does it ring a bell?"
"But it was him who–" Drakken began, only to be cut off by Dementor's protests.
"Zat's not fair!" he bellowed, looking accusingly at Wade "I had your vord I would get ze battlesuit!"
"And you got it," Ron shrugged "but you never told us to not make sure you wouldn't use it the wrong way. You had your chance."
He gritted his teeth. "You never told me you vould do zat!"
"Hey, you never asked – be a good guy, and we'll power it up again," Kim said innocently, amused by the disgusted expression on Dementor's face – well, on the part of his face they could see.
"Anyway," Shego said, turning to glance at the now deactivated battlesuit Dementor was wearing "that stuff really works. Isn't it similar to yours, Princess?"
"Yes," Wade replied "I thought these could be useful, since we had to fight off guys whose strength is much superior than a human's."
"These?" Motor Ed inquired, getting up from the ground "are there more?"
"A bunch," Wade nodded "one for each of you…plus a few more prototypes. If GJ can get enough people working on these, we could make thousands of them in a short time. I thought that if all of us, the GJ agents and possibly the army could get them…well, it would help a great deal."
"Sure it would," Ron seemed to be enthusiastic "hey, is there one for me too?"
"Yes."
"Booyah!"
"Sounds great," Kim agreed "we just have to speak with Dr. Director about this. I'm certain she will give us all the resources we need," she turned to the others "by the way, where is she?"
"She paid a visit to Monkey Fist – it looks like the Sleeping Monkey woke up," Shego replied, causing Ron's grin to disappear and DNAmy to squeal in delight.
"Oh, I'm so glad he woke up! How is he doing? Did he ask of me…?" she blabbered.
Killigan snorted. "Och, it was about time," he grumbled, doing his best to ignore Amy's babbling. Alright, monkey boy had awakened – big deal. What was there to get so jolly about?
"Hey, I have no idea. Ask the big boss when she gets back," Shego shrugged off Amy's questions before turning to Kim and Wade "until then, let's get to speak with Senior about your battlesuit idea – I bet he's got plenty of resource to put at our disposal as well. Maybe this time we'll manage to stop fooling around and finally get to work…"
Monkey Fist wasn't surprised as the door opened and then closed again, letting a woman in – he had heard the steps coming from the other side of the corridor. "Lord Fiske," she said quietly as she stood still for a few moments, her eyes – no, her only eye – adjusting to the dim light.
He gave a small, wry smile – how much time had it passed since last time someone had referred to him with his title and surname? "I was wondering when someone would show up to explain me exactly what's going on. I was starting to feel rather neglected," he said. She sat on a chair next to his bed.
"I am Dr. Director," she simply replied as if she hadn't even heard his remark "the head of Global Justice."
"Charmed," Monkey Fist said dryly, sitting up against the wall to stay at her same eye level – he didn't like it at all how she towered over him. He half considered trying to attack her, but he quickly decided against it – he knew she was a pretty good and experienced fighter, and he was in no conditions to fight her. "Am I so important that the head of Global Justice herself is here to explain me what happened? I'm quite flattered."
Her only eye narrowed. "This is not the moment to be sarcastic," she said firmly "this is an emergency."
"Oh, really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow "and how am I supposed to know it?"
She had to admit he had a point. "You don't remember anything, do you?"
"Last time I remember is a child falling on me," he said dryly, not really wanting to dwell into every single, embarrassing detail "I was told I've been into a come for a few months."
"Well, that's not completely accurate," she said quietly "it was more like…suspended animation."
Monkey Fist frowned, staring at her in the dim light. "I'm afraid I'm not following," he finally said.
She sighed – if he really didn't remember anything, she was going to have to try to remind him something. Under normal circumstances she would have tried to avoid being so blunt, but that was an emergency. She had to see if he actually could be useful against the Lowardians. "Lord Fiske, you have spent these last four months – four months and ten days, to be accurate – as a stone statue," she finally said.
There was a long, heavy silence as he stared at her as if she had just informed him that…well, that he had been turned into stone months before. "A stone statue?" he finally repeated.
"Yes. Do you remember now?"
Monkey Fist stayed silent for a few moments, his eyes staring blankly ahead. A stone statue, he thought. A stone statue, just like…like… "Path of the Yono," he finally heard himself whisper, his eyes widening as he glanced down at the back of his hands. There was nothing but hair now, but he could clearly remember how brightly the Mark of the Yono had shined there when he had agreed to follow that dark path.
Dr. Director nodded. "Yes. According to what Team Possible told me, you agreed to follow that path…and you did after being defeated."
"By the Han," Monkey Fist snarled, rage finally surfacing in his still confused mind "it was the Han who defeated me!" he gritted his teeth, his fists clenching.
"Exactly. You were turned into stone right after being defeated – do you remember that?"
Monkey Fist bit his lip hard enough to almost draw blood as another memory suddenly came to his mind – a horrible feeling of coldness spreading through numb, unmovable limbs, and a dreadful sense of helplessness and despair as all light disappeared from his sight. "Yes," was all he said through gritted teeth – yes, now he remembered! Team Possible was going to pay dearly for that, he thought, hatred burning in his chest. Them, that insufferable Yamanouchi ninja, the old man and that blasted infant!
"Perfect," Dr. Director nodded, quickly thinking of something she could say to distract him from that thought – he needed him to be lucid from that moment on, not enraged "I'm not familiar with this kind of things, but Possible and Stoppable seem to be quite sure that this has given you some kind of power. They say you are the new...Yono, isn't it?"
The thought seemed to have never occurred to the monkey man, for his eyes widened in utter surprise. "The new Yono?" he repeated, sounding almost incredulous "you think I'm the new Yono?"
"I don't think anything – Team Possible does," she remarked – it wasn't like she had ever witnessed anything that they claimed had happened…but she had to trust them "it seems to surprise you."
"I never found any indication that could make me think a such thing," Monkey Fist just replied, barely managing to suppress some odd sense of euphoria – could he really be the new Yono? If so, that would mean he'd have a power beyond imagination! He felt his heart beating faster at the thought, but he tried to not make it show up. After all, it was just a hypothesis: he still felt weak…and he didn't know what was he doing there, wherever 'there' was. He better be careful with what he did or said for now. "All I knew was that whoever unearths the Yono and receives its mark can command its power. But of course, your means of research can be rather…limited when you are a criminal to the world," he added somewhat bitterly "there could be more information I don't know about."
"This will no longer be a problem," Dr. Director muttered "we must find out everything about this…power you might have. All the contacts and sources of Global Justice are at your disposal for research," she said, grimacing inwardly as she spoke. She would have never thought she would say anything like that to a criminal, but that was an emergency and she couldn't allow herself to hesitate.
Monkey Fist raised an eyebrow – now that sounded most interesting. "Why, I'm moved," he said wryly "and here I thought your objective is to stop dangerous criminals like me rather than helping them…" he smirked at her stiff expression "for some reason, I get the feeling you might want something in return."
Dr. Director smiled bitterly. "I don't like this," she said "I loathe having to work with the ones like you…"
"Why, thank you," he said dryly.
"…but sometimes, you simply have no choice but recur to desperate measures."
The seriousness in her voice caused Monkey Fist to frown. "This doesn't sound good."
"It isn't. You see, there are quite some things you missed while you were petrified…"
