Autohr's Forward
Pesterfield, thanks, as always, for the post-upload beta, and I still hope you're enjoying it despite the grammar flub ups!
Pavelius, glad you're liking it, and I hope I can keep things interesting and accurate for you, since I'm not someone who actually lives in Germany like you seem to be. ^_^;;
ShadowCub, I'm glad to see ya still reading, and I hope you're enjoying it!
Extra: thanks for finding a couple things I thought I'd caught, Pesterfield; this was a recovery document, since my computer tried to die on my earlier today... ^_^;;
KP RS SG KP RS SG
"You know what?" Kim said in a subdued manner as she looked around the huge Schottenhamel Festhalle, much as she had been for the prior forty-five minutes. The place was filled to capacity, which meant that there were roughly six thousand people sitting within the temporary wooden structure. It was a riot of color from all the different clothing. Nearly everything you could imagine was there: traditional lederhosen and dirndl, regular clothing like jeans and tee-shirts or clothing like Ron and Kim were wearing, various political suits and corporate power suits, and even some things that wouldn't look out of place at a dance club.
Bright sunlight streamed through the acrylic roof, shining almost blindingly off of the white roof. Even with the expanse of clear acrylic, there was need of artificial light, and that was supplied in plenty. Several lights, made up of large rings with the lights proper hanging from them, hung down the center line of the roof, with a massive version of the rings in the center of the huge building. Each one of the hanging lights had a pine wreath adorning the support ring.
There were dozens more large pendant lights hanging between the building's walls and the central string of lights, and each of these lights had a wreath several centimeters above the light proper as well. Across the open ceiling expanse hung huge pine garlands, the deep forest green of the spruce drawing the off white of the longer walls together with the dark browns and natural pine coloration of the shorter walls and the nearly square tables.
All in all, Kim was impressed. She knew part of that was the comedown from the earlier fight's adrenaline rush, and she was fine with it. She wore a slightly vacant, distracted smile on her face, looking almost stoned with the natural cocktail slowly seeping out of her system. She watched waitresses running around like harried hens, people giving orders for food and beer, and the mere couple hundred people that had been served already drinking and eating heartily. Her smile and focus solidified slightly as she noticed a trio of waitresses approaching their table.
The youngest of the three women, about Kim's age, carried four large platters of various foods, including the huge turkey legs they had all ordered. The other two were both in their mid to late twenties and each carried twelve of the huge, thick walled tankards, called Maßkrug. The term Maß, from what Shego had told her and Ron, stood for the fact that each tankard held one liter of beer, and was used both as a unit of measure and as a descriptor for the tankards.
The way the waitresses brought the tankards was, in Kim's opinion, quite a feat of strength and endurance. Five of the tankards were held in each hand, and one was balanced on top of the other five. It looked almost painful, but the waitresses were handling them with aplomb, despite the occasional hand that seemed to try and find purchase on their rear ends. What was more shocking, she had seen a few other waiters and waitresses holding as many as nine of the tankards in each hand, and had boggled at the sight.
The tables were even a bit unusual. They were a lot like truncated picnic tables with a bench that went around the entire perimeter. Being essentially slightly elongated squares, Kim found herself sitting almost exactly at one corner of the table. Rufus was sitting at – or more accurately, on - the short end of the table. Shego - to Kim's surprise, working as a security consultant - was situated at the corner opposite the red-head. Finally, Ron was sitting just down from the other woman. She glanced across the table at him and shook her head in wonder as a thought occurred to her.
A year before, she'd have been both worried and a bit jealous to be sitting for all intents and purposes acrossthe table from him with another beautiful woman seated next to him. Now, she found herself surprisingly acquiescent to the arrangement. She briefly thought of justifying it because they were at Oktoberfest and she knew seating was at a premium. She quickly discarded it, though. After all, they had received a seat close to the tapping ceremony, and could have easily changed arrangements if it truly bothered her.
What actually set a slight dash of concern through her was the fact that Shego was sitting with them, and seemed to have fallen in with them much as she had as Miss Go. Well, not as happy and chipper sounding, and every bit as sarcastic as I'm used to! Kim corrected herself, her smile solidifying into a more natural, open expression of contentment. She took in Shego's clothing, which she had changed into before the ceremony. It was surprising to her how similar it was to her own, but seemed much more cosmopolitan with just a few changes.
Where Kim wore jeans, Shego had on a pair of men's style slacks. While the red-head had unabashedly worn tennis shoe like hiking boots, the former thief wore some that seemed in a passing glance to be loafers. The somewhat low cut blouses they wore, however, could have been purchased from the same rack, the only difference being Shego's robin's egg blue to Kim's cream color choice. Okay, she dresses a lot more stylishly than Miss Go, but still… I guess it's nice…
She shook her head and turned her attention back to the waitresses. At least their table's positioning meant they'd be served fairly quickly, as compared to the rest of the tent. It also made talking to any of the other three in their party easier - at least as easy as it was to converse in a tent with six thousand other people – and she got to look into her boyfriend's eyes.
Well, normally… Unfortunately his eyes weren't in a position to stare into, but she could forgive him for his attention wandering. Everyone's attention seemed fairly random, but then again, his attention seemed pretty straightforward in its random focus. Ron's stare was, at that moment, busy bouncing from the waitresses, to the food, to the beers, and back again. Or, Kim noted with the barest hint of jealousy, to the cleavage the dirndlthey wore showed off. The jealousy passed quickly when she noticed Shego was staring, too. A light laugh escaped her lips, almost drowned out by the noise of the beer tent.
Almost, but obviously not completely as Ron glanced over and waggled his eyebrows at her, and this time Kim let loose a full bodied giggle. She reached across the table to grasp his hand, earning an almost disappointed, but heartfelt coo from the youngest of the three waitresses, who had apparently recognized him. "Two beers for Miss Shego, one each for Mr. Stoppable and Miss Possible, a glass for Mr. Rufus with Würstl and Brezn, and two turkey legs each for the rest?" the younger waitress asked.
"Yep!" Shego answered with a throaty chuckle, taking in the young woman's body unabashedly. The girl blushed at the attention, and both the former thief and Ron handed a total of fifteen Euros to them. The raven haired woman added a winking admonishment, "Split that between the three of you!"
"Thank you, ma'am!" the eldest of the three called out as she set Shego's drinks down by leaning across the end of the table. The woman's rather sizable breasts were squished into a very noticeable cleavage. Kim - and to her surprise, Shego - rolled their eyes in resigned amusement, while Ron averted his gaze to Kim.
After the food and beers were distributed, Shego caught Kim's attention and raised her eyebrow, "Hey, Princess, you asked 'You know what?' a second ago?"
Kim blushed slightly, "Sorry, kinda… This is a lot to take in, you know what I mean?" Shego nodded, her eyebrow still raised. Kim snorted lightly and shook her head, "And a bit by the day in general, I guess?" She gestured around the huge beer tent, and then between herself, Ron, and even over towards the tables where politicians, as well as Falsetto Jones and Helga Lange in the Clockwork Knight and Diebfluch outfits, sans helmets, sat. Shego smirked and nodded in understanding as she understood what Kim's unspoken emphasis was implying, and the red-head continue, "Anyway, what I was saying is that, well, I never expected Dement-… Er, DeMenz to be so… Eloquent?"
"Apparently, he took public speaking as one of his double majors when he was studying at Berkley, and later on at MIST…" Shego informed the red-head, throwing up air quotes as she continued, "Most of his 'villainous rants' were ad libbed and intentionally over the top." Shego pursed her lips, contemplating the words they'd heard almost a half hour earlier. "Honestly, though, everything was well said… I know I felt some of it; especially that bit about how, with the Lorwardians, villainy doesn't really seem like a path worth following. As for the rest…" She shrugged and waved her hand in a 'fifty-fifty' gesture, "He's got some points, and some of it sounded like he's preparing for his run for the Bundestag during the next elections!"
"Yeah, but still…" Kim said, thinking as she stared into her beer, "I mean… Well, like you said, the way he said some of it, not just the villainy bit but the other things, it was like he was speaking what I've been feeling for a few months now… I don't know, it was just…" The red-head looked back up at Shego, staring straight into the older woman's eyes, "It's hard to explain…"
"I think I got ya, Kimmie…" Shego smiled slightly, then turned her attention to Ron as he spoke up.
"Well," Ron interjected, speaking through a mouthful of turkey leg. He quickly changed whatever he'd been about to say as he washed the turkey down with a swig of beer, "Oh, this is good!"
"It's not bad at all! Lots better than that fruity stuff we had in Toronto, anyway!" Kim agreed, sipping at her own beer and surprising Shego by not wincing at the slightly bitter sourness of the beer tent's choice of festbier, the Spaten brewery's Oktoberfestbier Ur-Märzen. "What, it's not like I've been completelysheltered, Shego!"
"Didn't say anything, Princess…" Shego drawled lazily, taking several healthy gulps of her own beer, and the red-head agreed with a smirking nod of her head.
"No, but I bet you were thinkingit!" Kim countered with a challenging glint in her eye.
"Yeah!" Rufus agreed, saluting Kim with his glass of beer. Kim returned the salute careful not to shatter his smaller, thinner glass with the huge tankard in her hand.
Shego laughed in an agreeable manner, "Okay, maybe a little." Shego leaned forward, steepling her fingers over her tankard, "But you have to admit, you have lead a relatively sheltered life, in some ways."
"Well," Kim shrugged, "Yeah, but we are over eighteen and we havebeen in places that allowed drinks for eighteen year-olds!"
"Ayup!" Ron and Rufus confirmed, each taking a long pull on their beers to wash down their food. Kim was about to send another barb back at Shego, but Ron continued, "Anyway, like I was saying, he lost his nephew and his father in the invasion, andhe took over his father's company thanks to his own GJ pardon for helping with the Lorwardians, so it all makes sense, y'know?"
"Yeah…" Kim sighed after taking another pull at her beer. She noticed Ron's gaze going down the square table to a woman built similarly to Shego, who was wearing a very low cut tank top. She glanced over and saw that the woman giggling at a bad joke from her boyfriend. Well, I know what caught his eyes…she thought with a devious smile coming to her face. She rolled her eyes and schooled her features into an innocent smile, taking on a sickeningly sweet tone of voice, "Hey, Ron?"
Ron's eyes snapped dutifully back to Kim with a sheepish smile on his face, "Yeah, KP?"
"Just making sure your mind's not too pre-occupied for the conversation." Kim's smile widened, earning a light blush from Ron and a hearty guffaw from Shego.
"Nicely done, Princess!" Shego crowed with only mild sarcasm, winking at the red-head, "And I didn't even see the claws come out, either!"
"I'm not that bad!" Kim whined in protest.
"Not anymore, anyway!" Ron quipped with a smirk, earning a glare that, somehow, managed to be both heated and fond at once, "A year ago, though?" Kim's glower made Shego turn a curious stare at him, and the blond continued, looking at his girlfriend as if shewere directing the gaze at him, "Remember homecoming?"
"Oh, God, don't remind me!" Kim groaned, covering her eyes with a hand, "I was jellin' on Bonnie sohard!"
"Bonnie?" Shego asked, screwing her face up a bit, "Um, bitchy, dark brown hair, pretty eyes, nice ass and rack, attractive if you set aside the bitch? She's with Junior, right?"
"Married to him, actually," Kim nodded, blushing at Shego's blunt commentary about Bonnie's attributes, "She rigged the homecoming king and queen vote to win, and tried to steal Ron from me."
"Really?" Shego asked, glancing at Ron. She saw his blush as all the confirmation she needed, "So, November, if I remember the school schedule?" Kim nodded and Shego thought for a moment, "About when he hooked up with the same girl… They're married now?"
"Yep!" Ron laughed, "And it's done amazing things for 'em! He's not nearly as ditzy and he doesn't constantly do his hair, and Bonnie's really cool now!"
"Will wonders never cease…" Shego sniggered, shaking her head with a strange note of fondness, "I knew he had potential, but of all people, I never expected the, what did you call her? Queen B of Middleton High?" At Ron and Kim's nods she continued, "Anyway, never expected someone like herto drag it out of him!"
"Neither did B…" Kim agreed, her expression softening slightly, and her eyes coming a bit more into focus as she glanced across the table at Shego. She blinked a couple times, then let out a startled, nervous laugh, "Hell, I don't think any of us really expected it!"
Shego nodded in agreement after taking a long pull on her tankard, before setting it down to stare at Kim for a moment. "Everything alright, Kim?"
The honest concern in the pale woman's countenance startled Kim, even more than the former thief using her name as opposed to a nickname. That surprise stopped the red-head from spouting her normal response to the question. After a moment thinking about the answer, she sighed and leaned forward, pulling a chunk off of her turkey leg and chewing on it to buy time to formulate an answer.
Her hesitation was due to a complex mix of emotions. Partly it was because of who was asking, partly because she hesitated when even Ron asked. And, after a moment of thought, she realized that a larger part was that, honestly, the concern in Shego's expression reminded her of Miss Go in many ways. And Ron and Rufus were both nodding in agreement with Shego's question. Might as well test the waters… Kim thought with a hopefully unobtrusive sigh, At least I'll have Ron at my back if she gets bitchy!
"Honestly?" Kim said questioningly, glancing between her boyfriend, their best non-human friend, and Shego, who all nodded, "Mostly, yeah, just…" She glanced around the beer tent, curling her mouth into a light grimace, "Well, aside from how over the top this all seems, I'm… Like I said a few minutes ago, I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed…"
"With the vacation?" Shego asked, eyebrows knitting slightly, "I figured the way you were earlier it was a lot more than that…"
"It isa whole lot more…" Ron supplied as Kim concentrated on devouring another hunk of roasted turkey, "School started out really good, but got stressful, and then some problems with timing of missions and some other things kept taking us away from each other…" Ron barked a mildly bitter laugh, "And of course some family drama happened… But the last part of her summer semester is what did it, I think…"
"Yeah…" Kim agreed, looking thankfully at Ron before turning back to Shego, a wan smile on her face, "I made the mistake of going into summer classes right out of high school …"
"I'm surprised you had trouble." Shego said sincerely, blinking a couple times.
"I shouldn't have, but I did." Kim shrugged, "Well, the problems came from one of my teachers, but that was dealt with by the Dean!"
"Where'd you go to college?" Shego was about to add more to that, but decided to hold off there. Kim looked at her as if expecting more questions and Shego smiled encouragingly, adding, "I could ask a lotmore, Pumpkin, but this is a sensitive topic, and a stressful one it seems. So, considering this morning and our… History, I guess, I'll take it at a slow pace, 'kay?"
Okay… Kim mused, a smile threatening her lips despite her concerns, Either she's mind controlled, a clone or she has turned over a new leaf… And it's nice to know she's as hesitant about all this as I am!She glanced at Ron, who seemed to not only trust in Shego's change of heart, but seemed to feel a lot calmer about her presence than he had when she'd been Miss Go. "I went to GCU…" she answered at length.
"That's my alma mater!" Shego chortled happily, "Is old man McDermott still the dean?" she asked with a surprisingly fond smile.
"Yes," Kim smiled, "He's still there. And he's awesome, even though I hated bringing my problems to him…"
"Eh, it's what he gets paid to do, right?" Ron's face was sure, but he framed it as a question, evoking an almost tired sigh from Kim.
"Yeah, but I hated doing it!" the red-head snapped, then sighed, "Sorry, but I really didn't… It felt like I was asking for special treatment beca-…"
"Because nothing, Princess!" Shego blurted bluntly, "GCU has been a school where people with special attendance concerns, such as heroes, ill students and such can go without problems. Hell, it's been that way since the thirties when the second generation of mad scientists and heroes began to crop up." Shego tapped the table firmly with a finger for emphasis, "Seriously, Princess, if it was bad enough for youof all people to go to the dean, then there were probably ten, fifteen other students in about the same problems before you…"
"Really?" Kim's face held a great deal of surprise at the vehemence in the woman's voice.
"Trust me, Princess…" Shego smirked, "I went through problems with one of the teachers there when I attended. Kyle Slocomb, one of the top math professors, and he was working his way up to run the damn department."
"You too?" Kim gasped, "He seemed to hate me from day one!"
"How many classes did you end up missing because of your missions?" Shego prodded, pursing her lips slightly.
"Like…" she glanced over at Ron, "What, three?"
"Three for math, two English, and one phys-ed." Ron said after swallowing down a mouthful of his beer.
"So three days, total." Kim shrugged expansively.
"That's it?" Shego blinked, "I figured you'd be busy as hell!"
"Luckily, the villains still doing their thing kept it to nights or weekends." Kim laughed, "And GJ helped when they got extra funding after the invasion…"
"More than they already had?" Shego's tone was skeptical as she twisted her eyebrows together.
"Actually," Kim pursed her lips now, "From what Wade was able to determine, their budget was just enough to keep the smaller time villains from becoming big time. And they'd tried to warn the UN and other world agencies about the Lorwardians, but were ignored. So…"
Shego nodded as Kim shrugged and spread her hands out in a gesture of incomprehension. "Makes sense… And they really stepped up with offering aid, transport and such for the cleanup and everything…" Shego shrugged, "Guess they're not as bad as they used to be, at least!"
"Yup!" Rufus cheered, pausing in his devouring to give Shego a thumb's up.
"Anyway, no, I wasn't too busy…" Kim pursed her lips, "I even asked Wade if he could find something in his past to do with villains, but nothing came up…"
"I…" Shego started, before grimacing, "After a few problems at GCU because of him, a few of Team Go's friends did some digging, too. Nothing, unfortunately."
"So he's just a douche." Ron concluded with an air of finality.
"That he is." Kim agreed, pulling a startled laugh from Shego. Kim stared at her a moment, drawing more, slightly stifled laughter, form the woman, and Kim sighed, "What?"
"Sorry, Princess…" Shego hummed while trying to hold in her amusement, "It's just… I'm gonna need some time getting used to the change you two seem to've gone through over the last four months!"
"We're not the only ones who've changed!" Kim countered, pointing at Shego herself, "The new uniform looks great, and your hair is spankin'!"
"Um, 'spankin''?" Shego queried dryly "I take it back, you're still sucha cheerleader…" The comment could have been quite acerbic, but the smile hovering at the edges of her lips and the sparkle in her eyes made it obvious she was teasing.
"Sure, sure…" Kim smiled, shaking her head and relaxing even more than she had been.
"She is right, though," Ron agreed with Kim's earlier assertion, "The suit Dr. L and Wade made for you looks amazing, and the hair is badical! It really makes you look hot." Rufus made a little cry of agreement before knocking his empty beer glass against Ron's, asking for a refill. Ron obliged and refilled from his own glass, not seeing the confused flash of emotions that crossed Kim's face.
Shego did, and although it was gone and replaced with the nearly relaxed, almost content smile she'd worn for most of the morning since the fight, Shego felt a brief flicker of concern, before mostly dismissing the flash of emotions. Instead, she let the warmth of Kim and Ron's honest compliments wash over her.
She could have turned to teasing one or both of the teens, but she felt a slightly coquettish smile crossed her features instead. She was feeling a comfortable sense of companionship with them, and more important, a sense of trust, so she didn't feel the need to hide behind teasing as she normally would have. "Thanks, guys…" she sighed warmly, then took a long sip of her beer and continued in a quietly musing tone, "I really don't get too many honestcompliments, so it's good to hear 'em!"
"I'm surprised…" Kim muttered under her breath, the same strange flash of emotions crossing her features that had raised Shego's concern a moment earlier, mixed in with a slight burst of jealousy as she glanced up the side of Shego's body.
"Let's see," Shego replied, seeming to ignore Kim's words, "Green skin, 'fiery hands of doom' as Ronnie called 'em at least once, sarcasm that blisters paint, can't toler-…"
"It's still a surprise…" Ron countered firmly, shrugging as Kim nodded in agreement with him. He caught Kim's gaze out of the corner of his eye and knew if Shego went on, his fiancée's Kimness would act up, and figured that none of them really needed to see that after the morning. So he went with his most effective tactic in dangerous situations: being the master of distraction. "Anyway, considering some of the jobs you talked about, I bet the haircut was a godsend…"
"Actually…" Shego considered for a moment, "Yes and no. I got used to the extra weight before, so it took me a couple weeks to get used to the lackof weight." She reached up and fondled the foremost ends of her hair briefly, smiling, "But… I love it, to be honest. And you're right, when I got used to it, it helped me out on my jobs…" She glanced at Kim with a smirk on her face, "Or as Princess would probably call 'em, missions!"
Kim laughed and rolled her eyes, but nodded in agreement. Then she sighed, resting her chin on her right hand and tapping the bridge of her nose with her index finger, "You know, speaking of the missions? I think that's the one thing I've missed. Being out and doing something instead of doing nothing other than hanging around with people or study, study, study…"
"The missions?" Ron and Shego asked, the former thief continuing their mutual thought, "Or the fighting?" Shego snickered at Kim's rolling eyes, and continued, "Ronnie here's got a point, Princess. Until a minute or so ago, you look like you'd smoked a couple joints…"
"Oh, bull!" Kim cried, covering her face with her hands as she flushed in embarrassment, "I'm not that bad after an adrenaline rush!"
"Yeah, she was actually more hyper than normal…" Ron supplied, earning a startled gasp from Kim, who dropped her hands to stare open-mouthed at her fiancé.
"I know," Shego smirked, "Remember, I did stay with her family for a week last year!"
"Oh, come on!" Kim protested, "I just process adrenaline differently than most people!"
"Yup, very differently!" Shego's tone was that of a woman trying to remain deadpan, but failing miserably. Kim frowned, surreptitiously tearing a small hunk of meat off of her turkey leg and tossing it at the raven haired woman. Shego caught the action out of the corner of her eye, and swiftly moved to catch it in her mouth, winking at Kim in a lascivious fashion, "Thanks, Princess!" The action and comment drew a faux frustrated, highly amused growl from Kim and a series of guffaws from Ron and Rufus.
KP RS SG KP RS SG
"Director Director!" the head of the EU's Global Justice offices called out, the old joke of 'proper forms of address between officers' tugging the barest of smiles from her despite the worry audible in his tone, and visible in his narrow, somewhat beady eyes.
He was running up to her with his typically quick, efficient movements despite standing just over two meters tall and maintaining a larger than regulation girth, which was just one of many things that appeared non-regulation. His uniform gave the impression of being rumpled, despite obvious non-regulation tailoring and it's form fitting design. His moustache and sparse goatee were just a tad shaggy, and his face had a perpetual five o'clock shadow. The facial hair, his eyes, the jowliness of his round face and thin, pointed nose added to the appearance of a lazy, ineffectual fop, which was anything but the truth. And if he was worried...
"Yes, Director Depardieu?" the one eyed woman asked in a serious manner befitting his obvious concern.
The man had brought the various problems of his command to her attention a few months ago, just after he'd replaced the former European Director General. She had, in turn, brought the man in on the investigation early, and she felt that the work had finally borne fruit. "We have a potential situation…" he paused and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, then glanced at her pocket and turned his face down slightly.
Sharply observant as usual, Betty thought with approval, All despite playing up that slothful obliviousness. Well played, Durant!She got the hint and casually put her hand in her left pocket in an impatient manner, cocking her head to the side slightly to enhance the effect. An instant after activating the white noise generator, she whispered, "Sierra-Gamma-Two-Two-Three."
The movements of her lips didn't match the words, nor did the European Director's as he spoke, "We have found the mole thanks to Mr. Load and Agent Du!"
"Indeed?" she asked leadingly.
"Yes, it's…" He glanced around as if whatever she'd said had eased his concerns a bit, "There are two possibilities, but only one within the agency. Agent Du discovered one of the doors in the facility does not work correctly despite his position within the agency. After some digging, Mr. Load discovered a way to it via a backdoor from an abandoned WWEE facility, and that the only member of GJ who can open it was Commander Williams. The other is an unknown female, possibly on WWEE's payroll."
"Where?" she prodded, not bothering to ask why Wade was unable to open it. Considering the path he took to get there, he was already running an incredible risk, and she was more than happy to just know about it. She'd done enough in her life to leave her with a stained conscience; she didn't need to add the possibility of harm to a barely fourteen year old boy to it.
"Sixth sub-basement," Director Depardieu answered while looking around, "The same floor as our weapons storage room and practice ranges." He wrung his fingers together nervously as Betty's eye hardened and narrowed.
"Very well." Betty said, shutting the device down. She closed her eye, bowing her head and running her thumb and forefinger across her chin, thinking furiously for almost a full minute. When her eye snapped open, she began snapping orders instantly, "Get Agent Du and everyone I brought form Middleton, the Logistics Commander and his staff, your staff, your second in command and hisstaff down to that door."
"My second is home celebrating his wedding annivers-…" the European director began, but Betty's voice cut him off like a razor.
"Then call him in, and make sure his family is secured and safe!" She waited for a few heartbeats as the man stared at her in shock, "Now, Director Depardieu!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Betty spun on her heel as he began snapping commands, and dashed down the corridor towards the emergency stairwell while tapping a few pre-set commands into her wrist communicator. The European director ran for his own office area, intent on gathering his staff before following her.
You'd better not use the elevator when Alert Zulu goes off…She thought with a grimace. She glanced at her wrist communicator, and saw the silent countdown to the alpha event lockdown she'd just authorized, set up to override even the European director's personal codes. The only two people on site in the facility that should be able to deactivate it were herself and Will. There was always Wade, but he was on her side, she knew, and would be monitoring for subterfuge and outright sabotage as she went about her duties.
During her last few steps to the stairwell door, she slipped an unobtrusive earbud device in her ear, making sure it was synched with her wrist communicator. I hope Du, MacMillan and Masters have theirs in, I want everyone I trust monitoring!She grimaced as she burst through the stairwell door, startling two low ranking agents with her sudden appearance. "At ease, you two're with me!" she barked without breaking stride. As she reached the stairs proper, she educated the agents - both of whom had questioned the need for such narrow stairwells - on one of the reasons for that very narrowness.
She reached her hands out and grabbed the railing, the supports for which came out of the wall almost fifteen centimeters below the rail proper. They also attached directly underneath the rail, allowing fingers to wrap mostly around the railing without striking the attachment points. Allowing her feet to swing out in front of her slightly, she turned her feet out at about thirty degrees, she then whipped her legs out and braced them firmly between the rails, using her feet to control her speed as she began to slide down the stairwell.
At the bottom she swung her legs back down, let go with her right hand and kept a grip with her left, turning her forward momentum into a swing that brought her around and at the top step of the next landing. She repeated the procedure for a total of eleven more flights. She smirked as she realized that the other two agents had been left behind by almost a flight and a half.
While they were obviously high speed, it had taken a couple false starts to begin using the technique she'd learned in the US Navy. They were also, despite their appearance, not nearly in the shape she was. Another note for the facility when I begin cleaning house…
She had just burst through the sixth sub-basement's doorway when she heard the alarm go off. She sighed as dozens of voices cried out in shock over her headset, and was pleased to see agents Du, Sites and Masters, as well as Senior Agent Trainers MacMillan and Simmons already in place. She was even more pleased to see Agent Masters, as well as both trainers, dressed in full assault armor, Agent Trainer Simmons holding a loaded and ready G-36 assault rifle at the port low position.
She glanced around the area she found herself in, taking in all the details in one sweeping glance. It was the confluence of three corridors, two elevators, three tube rooms, and four stairwells. The two hallways to her right and right rear lead to the weapon practice ranges and were large, open spaces with no cover. The other was long and narrow, with a few right angle turns before finally reaching the weapons storage rooms.
It made sense in a backwards sort of fashion, considering the weapons room was on the same floor. While most would think that lowering the number of entrances to such a floor would be better, Betty did not share that opinion. She was of the opinion that access control to the room proper – which had only one heavily guarded entrance that was through five airlocks – combined with ease of access to the floor for her own people, was the wiser choice of action.
After all, if the base was breached, she wanted as many of her own people as she could to get to the room quickly. From there, they could acquire arms and either take up defensive positions or move out quickly to intercept potential invaders. Those were only a few of the changes she'd implemented since taking over the agency eight and a half long years earlier, and she intended to keep improving things as long as she could.
Shaking herself out of her brief reverie, she glanced at Will. "Agent Du, which door?" Will pointed to the apparently blank wall across from the stairwell she'd just exited.
"Hidden panel for the access and doorway proper, ma'am!" he commented, pointing at the wall opposite the stairwell door Betty was standing in front of. Before he could continue, Betty heard the agents she'd ordered to follow her open the door, only to find five taser watches pointed at them.
"They're with me." Betty commented as she strode across the hallway, "Du, open the access panel, MacMillan and I will cover you. Sites, Masters, Simmons…" she glanced at the name placards of the two agents she'd conscripted from their duties, "Patenaude, Schiller, watch the other hallways, tasers ready."
"Ma'am!" all of them called out, Will taking to the task of opening the hidden panel, MacMillan covering him, while the rest took up optimal guard positions about the confluence area.
When Will opened the access hatch, the thin camouflage covering of the door slid aside, revealing a door that was four meters tall and ten wide, split in the middle. Hearing stamping feet coming from one of the weapon range corridors, she noticed the Logistics Officer and five other people dashing towards them.
"Log Officer Williams." Betty nodded curtly to the hugely built man. A few moments later a stairwell door further down the same hallway burst open and the overweight European Director pushed out, mildly impressing Betty by only puffing slightly from the extended exertion.
"What is this about?" the logistical officer asked, his English accent thicker than normal, "I have business to attend to!"
"That is what we're here to find out!" Betty snapped, eyeing Will.
"Mr. Williams," Will spoke in the clean, concise tone he'd used for so many years, indicating the large, vault like door across from the stairwell Betty had used, "Would you care to open this door?"
"I've never bee-…" the man began, only to be cut off by the European director.
"You will open the door," Director Depardieu's tone was cold, "Or we will use your biometrics to do so, Williams."
Williams glanced around worriedly, realizing that even some of his own men were starting at him askance and he shook his head in a frustrated manner. "I've never been beyond this door before!"
"Be that as it may," Betty interjected smoothly, "We have it on good authority that you are the only member of this office able to open it." To illustrate her point, she walked over to the door and placed her hand on the scanner, despite Will and Director Depardieu's protests.
"Enter authorization code." The feminine, robotic voice that spoke seemed to be the standard GJ voice, but Betty noticed slight variances in pitch that most would have missed.
"Director, Betty, Director Global Justice, door lock override function November-November-Oscar-Whiskey-Delta." Her voice was precise, and the command should have opened the door without fanfare. Seeing that the door remained closed, she immediately pulled her hand back, and it was a very fortunate move.
The panel sparked loudly, several arcs of electricity jumping between electrodes hidden within the perimeter. "Access authorization incorrect."
"Williams." Betty said calmly as she stepped back, her single cold eye almost taking his breath away, "That may very well have been fatal to me had I not removed my hand. Open it. Now." She did not raise her voice at all, but the cold, smooth delivery of her words struck him like a silken dagger sliding between his ribs.
"I…" the man looked around at the hard faces, and swallowed as three dozen GJ agents in heavy assault gear stormed into the area, a mix of less than lethal munitions and quite lethal firearms on display. "Ma'am… I was just…"
"You can give your excuses later, after you've surrendered yourself into the facility's custody!" Williams winced and opened his mouth to protest, but Betty continued without pause, her voice still calm but holding an edge of command few people would be able to ignore as she continued, "Open the door. Do not make me give the order again."
Williams was not one of those few, despite having been a decorated military veteran before joining Global Justice, even despite being known as a hard man within the ranks of the agency. He'd endured screaming, abusive dressing downs that would have blistered the armor of a main battle tank, and had held firm throughout them all. Now, standing a full head and a half taller than the woman giving him the order, he swallowed. He was nervous, so nervous in fact, that his birth accent, one that he rarely let free from what was once called 'BBC English', came through. "Roight awhy, mu'm!"
He all but ran across the hallway and placed his hand on the scanner. He didn't bother with a voice print, as the door began opening immediately. The base of the half meter thick door swung out and upwards towards the far wall, the top slipping down and backwards into the hall behind it. When it slid fully open, two massive hydraulic rams slid equally massive locking bars into place along the front face to lock it open.
"There has to be other ways in and out!" Betty growled as the logistics commander was taken into custody by two of his men, one of the European Director's men, and three of the assault team members. "Director Depardieu, keep him here in case there's other doorways locked to his biometrics, and I want the status on your second-in-command!"
"My men are just arriving, I will keep you updated, ma'am!" the pudgy commander answered smartly, snapping a salute that would have done Agent Du proud.
"Thank you. Agent Du, with me, Senior Agent Trainer Simmons, you'll lead two assault squads in there to secure it and search for possible alternate escape routes." She turned to Director Depardieu, "I want four hydraulic floor jacks down here yesterday to hold this door up, just in case!"
"Ma'am!" the director acknowledged, barking orders into his own earbud.
Betty stood back from the door next to Will, surveying the scene before her with professionally detached scrutiny. Will held himself in a similar position, but had a small, slightly pleased expression at the smooth efficiency the assault squads went about entering and clearing the area, "They're doin' good, ma'am. Looks like the training in the Sierra Nevada facility for Oscar Niner scenarios was a good thing."
"Indeed, Will." Betty conceded, barely keeping a smile from her face as he threw out a code set within a completely proper statement. Definitely getting better, Will!Even with her pleasure at the smoothness of the operation, her brow was furrowed in concern. For one, it was going too smoothly, and she could see the same concern written in Will's stance. There was also the reaction to the logistics commander's apparent betrayal; his people were shocked, to the point that they were giving him the most heated glares of anyone there. "Do you think it was Commander Williams?" she commented, her mouth moving out of time with her words.
"No, ma'am." Will responded immediately, "He's loyal to a fault, but he's not tooloyal, nor is he perfect."
"My thoughts, as well." Betty nodded, glancing around. She was about to turn her attention back to Will when a startled exclamation from the European Director snapped her attention to him like a bloodhound on a scent.
"Director Director!" the man's face was white as snow, "My… My Second is missing, and his family and the bodyguards have been rendered unconscious with knockout gas! It appears they used grenades from our own stores!"
"What?" Betty boggled for all of two seconds, a near record. "That should be impossible!" she grated, "The medical scanners wou-…"
"Are still reporting normal activity!" Wade called to her over the private comm. channel he had opened with her. "I can't believe I missed this, ma'am! He's right, no one would have known one way or the other…"
"Hell." she sighed under her breath. "Director Depardieu, he has four sets of bodyguards including overwatch, yes?" The European director nodded, and she continued, "First, send two forensic teams to scour each location…"
"That will only leave one here for the room, ma'am." Will interjected, and Betty nodded her thanks.
"Fine, send one each to the bodyguard stations, and two to his residence." The pudgy director nodded, but she held up a hand, deep in thought, "Scratch that, get four teams from local jurisdictions that are up to date with our forensics hardware to cover the stations, I want the others to go over every office the second has been in for any length of time. While I don't believe he was responsible for this, someone may have found a way to get to him and use him as a wedge in the door."
"Yes, ma'am!" the pudgy director answered and turned away to give the orders.
"Commander Williams…" the Englishman looked up at her, "I personally think you had little to no knowledge of what this is about, but only followed orders in hiding this. How long ago was it you performed this action?"
"About…" the man looked down as he thought, "About four and a half, perhaps five years ago."
"So before any of the command staff aside from European Division's Second Agent Magnusson were here?" He nodded again. Betty pursed her lips, "Would you be willing to be put under the effects of the truth ray?"
"I…" the man sighed and nodded glumly, "Yes, ma'am."
"Good." Betty spun on Director Depardieu, "Get me the ray, now!"
"Ma'am?" the man looked completely confused.
"It's listed as being in yourstores, Director!" she barked, turning on Will, "Agent Du! Take three men and secure the truth ray, ASAP!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Will snapped off a perfect salute, then spun and picked a three man team to follow him to the research storage on the third sublevel.
"Ma'am!" Simmons called as he and one of the squad leaders walked back into the hallway, "Everything's clear except for another door similar to this one." He jerked his thumb at the door that they had entered, stepping aside as a crew muscled a five hundred pound floor jack out of the stairwell.
"Dammit, why didn't someone call me about the jacks?" she growled out, "How many more are in the stairwell?"
"None, ma'am!" the wheezing engineering tech answered, "This was the only one that would fit in the stairs…"
"This is the Director!" she called into her wrist communicator, "Stand down to alert level Tango, repeat, stand down to alert level Tango. Authorization Sierra-Sierra-Golf-Golf-Golf-Baker-Niner-Three-Three."
As acknowledgements came through the earbud, she looked at the doorway as if staring hard enough would give her answers. "We'll get to the bottom of this," she promised no one in particular, "One way or the other!"
KP RS SG KP RS SG
"Oh my God!" Kim half brayed in amusement as she paused, leaning against a steel railing near the Hofbräu-Festzelt. Shego and Ron - with Rufus riding on his shoulder – both stopped and leaned against the same railing, which was a relatively calm corner of inactivity in the bustling festival. "I can't believe they got into a boob flashing contest!"
Her voice was louder than normal, due to the blasting pop music from the tent and the alcohol she'd consumed. While she hadn't been slurring her words in any noticeable fashion, the double shot of Jägermeister she'd downed less than five minutes earlier was starting affect her. "Oh, wow, I think I'm buzzed…"
"That kinda shit happens all th'time here …" Shego chuckled, her words a bit more slurred due to the higher alcohol intake she'd pursued. "Both the buzz and the boobs!" Kim groaned at the rather painful attempt at humor, while Ron and Shego both chuckled, "But, seriously, about the boobs? Believe me, Princess it does happen a lot, and usually a lot more than just that. I havebeen here a few times, y'know!"
"How many's a few?" Ron asked, blinking and shaking his head slightly. He'd managed to pace himself between Kim and Shego's beer and stronger alcohol intake, but was feeling almost as tipsy as Shego.
"This'll be my fifth…" Shego said after a couple moments of thinking, "An' from t'first time I came here, th' strip teasin' an' groping's something that's always happened, 'specially in the Schottenhamel an' Hofbräu tents." She shrugged as Kim looked at her. She's so cute when she all flustered and angry…she thought, before shaking her head and concentrating on what she was saying. "Well, I guess y'can see that kinda stuff damn near ever'where here at one point 'r another."
"How often did it happen to you?" Kim asked, "The gropin' I mean?"
"A few times, 'specially my first time here by m'self!" Shego admitted with a laughing shrug, "Th' first time wasn't too bad, 'cause I had someone along that dealt with 'em, but for the most part, th' idiots tend t'avoid me."
"Why's'at?" Ron asked with a confused twist of his eyebrows.
"Iunno?" Shego shrugged, "Guess I jus' give off th' right kinda vibe, but a few that did ended up with sprained wrists." She paused for a moment as that sunk in, then smiled evilly, "Th' ones that didn't take th'hint with sprained wrists ended up with broken wrists or thumbs."
"Like th' dick that grabbed my tit almost did." Kim griped as a fulminating frown crossed her features. The alcohol was finally starting to take a more noticeable effect on her; her words slurring more noticeably, and her eyes becoming half lidded as she glanced about them as if looking for the man that had groped her.
"Hey now, KP," Ron interjected, "Y'kept your cool, which's awesomely badical by th'way, and I think I dealt with 'em fine."
"Y'mean the ones that realized Kimmie was th'one they were grabbin'?" Shego asked with a snicker, "Or th' one that shit himself when'e realized you were, well, you?"
"All of it!" Kim giggled, leaning over to give Ron a passionate, almost showy kiss. The blond blushed slightly at the kiss. Not because he was embarrassed at the public display of affection, but the fact that it was a tongue battling kiss Kim normally waited to unleash in private.
"Woo!" Shego cried sarcastically, "Next thing y'know you'll be flashin' the crowds, Princess!"
"Y'mean like youalmost did before I got groped?" Kim asked as she broke the kiss, leaving her arms around Ron's neck, giving the older woman a mock glare.
"Well, yeah?" Shego asked with faux innocence in her expression, "I mean, okay, the groping and some asshat tryin' to get into my bag kinda ruined the moment, but…"
"Yeah…" Kim said in a drawn out manner, pausing for a moment as a thought struck her. The thought caught her so off guard that she gave voice to it without her normal tact, "I thought you'd wanna avoid it, though… I mean, with what ya said earlier about not getting compliments 'n' stuff."
"Hey, now…" Shego stuck her tongue out at Kim, but the red-head was still sober enough to see the flash of hurt that passed behind the older woman's flippant façade, "I'm jus' drunk enough not t'give a damn about what anyone else thinks…"
"Sorry…" Kim said sincerely, impulsively reaching out with her right arm to give Shego a brief but intense one armed hug, "It's ferociously unfair that people're idiots. I mean, you're a beautiful woman, an' it's just wrong for anyone to hold somethin' like skin color against 'em!"
"Well," Shego countered with a small, but honest smile at Kim's vehemence, "It's not like I'm black, Pumpkin… I'm kind of a toxic green, y'know? Implies I'm radioactive or somthin', I guess!"
"Well," Kim countered, intentionally copying her turn of phrase with a smirk, "It's not like someone else can get your powers like a disease or fungus or anythin'…" Kim waited until Shego cocked her head questioningly before continuing, her words coming out with a giggling rush, "Not without a huge, jeweled staff to compensate or something, anyway!"
Shego burst into sudden, almost painfully intense laughter at Kim's abnormally blunt, risqué comment. "Oh, oh, God, thankyou, Kimmie…" Shego said after a moment, wiping a tear from her eye, "I needed that." She reached out and ruffled Kim's hair fondly, before setting her hand gently on Kim's shoulder. "And 'sides, the only opinion's I give much'f'a damn about are people I like."
Kim's smile was so bright that Shego half expected to see rainbows spontaneously appear across the Theresienwiese. No such occurrence struck, and Kim's smile abated to a far more normal expression, but she was obviously happy about the development, before she paused and held a hand to her stomach. "I know we just got done eatin', but I'm hungry again." she pouted, glancing between Shego and Ron, "And I'd kinda like t'get away from the grounds for a bit."
"She's always like this after drinking, isn't she?" Shego asked Ron with a wicked smirk on her face.
"Dunno?" Ron asked, shrugging, "We've never drunked this much."
"Drank!" Kim, Shego and Rufus all chimed in at once, "Jinx!" Shego and Kim called at once, before staring at each other challengingly, "Dammit." Shego concluded, before all four of them laughed.
"Hey," Ron glanced at Shego after a moment of thought, "How 'bout we take your stuff back to your hotel, an' then we find a place t' eat on the way back?"
"After the theft attempt," Kim agreed, "I think that might not be too bad an idea, y'know?"
"Why all four of us?" Shego mock complained, pouting at Kim, "Don't think big, bad Shego can be a good girl for long enough t'get to her hotel room?"
"Oh, please, Shego…" Kim rolled her eyes with a groan, "It'll just be a lot easier for us t'get ahold of ya or set up gettin' together tomorrow or whatever if we know where you're stayin' and stuff, y'know?" Ron and Rufus nodded in agreement, and Shego, despite her joking tone, had to agree with the logic.
"'Kay…" Shego agreed easily, "We'll have t' either eat near my hotel or stop on t'way back, 'cause I'm stayin' at the Mandarin Oriental this year." Kim cocked her head in confusion, and Shego realized she hadn't told them about her normal arrangements in Munich, "The Lorwardians trashed th' buildin' my apartment here was in, an' all the bed 'n' breakfasts were full up."
"Oh." Kim replied with slightly widened eyes, "Well, we're at the Hausmann Suites…" Kim replied, blushing slightly as she continued, "Fritz insisted we get a free stay anywhere a Hausmann hotel is, an' the only room they had was a 'Princess Suite' room."
"Nice…" Shego drew out, sorely tempted to tease Kim about the room name. After a moment, she decided teasing the red-head about it could wait for later, and she shrugged, "Well, th' U-bahn is this way, hopefully it won' be too busy right now…"
KP RS SG KP RS SG
Eight hours later, Betty and the crew at the hidden room had discovered several things. One, that the rooms beyond the door were a storehouse of mad scientist gear. Gear she had personally ordered destroyed after thorough examination, and had watched several of the items destroyed with her own eye. Then there was the second door as Simmons had reported. After making sure Commander Williams was indeed loyal, and giving him a heartfelt apology of her own, they had further discovered that the door was not keyed to his biometrics.
Luckily, the discovery hadn't been painful like the test at the main door would have been, as the panel gave GJ standard 'classified area' warnings. Betty sighed as she stared at the computer tech that had been carefully tapping into the locking system, willing him to work faster, but through force of will held her tongue.
"We're ready whenever you are, Sir." the tech commented into his headset.
"I hope this works…" Will commented, and Betty smiled slightly. They were playing a dangerous game, since the device was disconnected from any outside service, they were remotely piping in a connection from the base proper. They were unsure if there were any viruses that could infiltrate their system, so they had Wade Load and Dr. Lipsky standing by to help combat them if there were.
"We're in!" the computer tech crowed triumphantly, "And no defensive computer countermeasures to speak of."
"Good." Betty growled, stepping forward to speak to the computer tech.
"There it goes…" someone commented as the door opened much like the first had. This door, however, was designed on a more massive scale. The door was far thicker, at over a meter and a half, and in addition to the rams that had pulled the first door from the top, there were three hydraulic rams pushing up from the floor, one on each edge and one in the center. When the door finally reached its open position, four rams shoved four locking bars into place much like the first door.
"Take cover!" Betty roared as a piercing alarm sounded. Immediately, she shoved the computer tech out of the open doorway and ducked into a forward roll, managing to find cover behind one of the floor ram's casings. Two of the assault team's point men, one of which was Senior Instructor Simmons, ducked in with her, while the third point man began backpedaling towards his team.
The third man was struck by the first plasma stun round to fly out of the darkness of the chamber. Simmons and the other point man were both struck, having had reactions just a hair slower than Betty's, and while protected from followup hits, were still knocked out cold. Will shoved two junior agents down and towards the side, falling on top of the newest, a woman who had just finished up her cadet trials.
Director Depardieu, despite all appearances of being a slothful, slow moving man, somehow managed to mimic Will. He dove in the opposite direction, covering both one of his more junior agents as well as the computer that the tech had used to hack into the system.
"Get th' Director'n th' other two outta thar, now!" Will roared like a drill instructor, his home state's accent coming to the fore in a way that hadn't been heard by any member of Global Justice for literally years.
Despite the incongruity of the man and his shocking vocal gymnastics, anyone that was potentially close enough dove to try and help. Senior Instructor MacMillan managed to grab the point man closest to him without being hit. Another assault agent dove for Senior Instructor Simmons, but she was struck right where her shoulder and chest armor met, and the weakness allowed enough electrical discharge through to knock her unconscious before she managed three steps.
"Security compromised, enacting lock down." a cool, feminine electronic voice commented dryly, and the door began to swing down. Betty, seeing this, dove from behind her cover to drag Simmons deeperinto the room. It was the smart choice, as if she had stayed, and had she left Simmons behind, they'd have been crushed between the door and the hydraulic ram's housings.
Betty immediately began dragging Simmons towards cover, only to hear the defensive computer system announce, "Standing down to readiness level two."
Betty blinked, glancing around the hallway. Lights had come up as soon as the door was closed, and she found herself in what amounted to a large foyer designed to be a staging area. Plasma staff charging stations, simple bench seats, and storage units for various munitions lined the walls.
Betty activated her wrist communicator as she looked around warily at the plasma launchers that had been active a moment before. "Agent Du, come in!" Betty barked, then glanced at her communicator, realizing that there was no reception.
"Communication signals jammed, as per your standing orders, Dr. Director." the feminine defensive computer's voice called.
Betty grimaced and called out, "What the hell is going on here?"
A three second pause preceded the computer answering her in a frustratingly calm tone, "I'm sorry, Dr. Director, but as per your orders, until and unless you give full biometric release at the main control console, I am unable to give out that information."
"Fine…" Betty sighed, playing along. She glanced around, scowling as she realized the design and construction was identical to normal Global Justice bases, and took a chance, "I am out of sorts, and need a pathway lit to lead me to the main control console, authorization Gamma-Oscar-Niner-Two."
"Acknowledged," the voice said promptly, electroluminescent pigments in the wall's paint lighting a pathway as ordered, "As per my design parameters, I must strongly suggest that if you are sufficiently compromised you seek medical attention and pass current command authority on to the next ranking officer available."
"Understood," Betty confirmed, "That should not be necessary, but if my faculties are further compromised, I shall."
"Very well, Dr. Director," the voice intoned, "If you would follow the lighted path."
Betty did just that. She kept her eyes open and boggled at some of the things she saw. Warehouses filled with GJ materiel, from weapons to armor to vehicles. A room filled with filing cabinets, which gave her pause long enough to peruse a few files. Personnel files, as well as research materials. She slammed the filing cabinets closed and continued down the hallway.
At the end of the hallway was a control center, much like a miniature of Global Justice Europe's, which was again a miniature of the main headquarters facility between Upperton and Middleton. What took her aback was the insignia adorning the main viewscreen. "WWEE?" she gasped, before turning her attention to the command console and the biometric thereupon.
She placed her hand against the handprint scanner and leaned down, letting the laser scan her retinal pattern. "I am Dr. Elisabeth Director, Director General of Global Justice worldwide operations, and I authorize a full release-…"
"Belay that!" a voice called out from behind her, and Betty uncharacteristically froze. After all, hearing a perfect rendition of their own voice coming from the shadows would startle anyone.
"Acknowledged, Dr. Director." the computer intoned emotionlessly, and Betty spun around, her mouth falling open at what she saw.
"Second Agent Magnusson!" Betty growled, and he barked a hard laugh at her.
"Surprise, Betty!" the lanky man standing behind her crowed. He had a small, PDA sized device next to his mouth, and Betty knew immediately it was a Mk. XV Voice Modulator, a GJ device that could mimic any person's voice perfectly. Then there was a brief, high pitched whine, and the man raised his arm, letting the voice modulator drop back against his chest, "I'd hoped when you finally found this you'd be in here alone, and I was right!"
Betty tried to dodge as her brain kicked back into action and she realized what the man was planning. There, at his wrist, was a Global Justice issue wrist communicator, and the whining had been the Taser's capacitors charging up. Unfortunately for Betty, the Taser's pad was already in the air, and it struck her neck just above the jumpsuit. She let loose a stuttering cry of pain as one hundred and fifty thousand volts blasted into her body. Damn, he knew I was wearing one of Drew's new suits!
"And I do have to thank you for bringing in the Truth Ray…" the man's voice held a smirk and he stood in a confident, open stance, "It will make things so much simpler for me."
He reached into what looked to be a standard issue jumpsuit and removed a jet injector. Betty tried valiantly to fend the man off, but her muscles were still protesting the electrical discharge. He pulled back the sleeve of her jumpsuit and held the injector to the muscles above her wrist. Within a moment of the injector hissing, Betty felt the muscles in the area stop responding to her. "Oh, don't worry, Betty… This is the mark four serum; it won't stop your involuntary muscle contractions, but it willkeep you docile until I can get you under my control physically."
Betty opened her mouth to spit a venomous curse at the man still shrouded in darkness, but could not. She settled for relaxing, instead. No need to give herself a headache by fighting the effects of a temporary drug, was there? It was a small bit of control, but any little bit helped; after all, she had a feeling she would need as much control and rest as she could get…
Author's Notes
Ok, it's a bit late… Sorry about that, both my story-flow beta and I got bitten on our respective rear ends by real life, and then the Thanksgiving holiday snuck up on me, but better late than never, right?
Erm, anyway, what was that? Shego's acting nice, pleasant even? Well, as pleasant as she can be with her sarcasm intact… And Ron seems to actually be a bit with it, huh? And Kim… Well, she seems, in some ways, to be living up to the red-head stereotypes, eh?
Then there's Global Justice. Uh, oh… Hope I'm not giving too much away with that last bit, but at the same time, I hope I've managed to pique some interest in what's goin' on.
Anyway, as always, thanks to Neo for making sure it's readable, and to everyone reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember, there's a load of fics out there, so keep up the reading!
