Author's Foreword
Hey there, everyone! One quick note, I have enough material beta'd for just under two chapters, and hope to keep that level going 'til the end of Book II. Granted, real life often bites us all on the rear end, and with both the US Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas coming up, it might be a challenge, so we'll see! So now… On to the review replies!
Poetheather1: thanks for your review, glad you're enjoying the fic and that last chapter. As to ugly, well… Read on!
Guest: thanks for the review, and although it's a pity ya didn't sign in or name yourself, I know some people prefer to review anonymously. At any rate, yes, I believe Rufus can cook; if you remember, back in Book I of Vacation from the Norm, Rufus helped Ron in the hotel's restaurant kitchen. And, well, Ron and Shego took their suits just in case… And Kim, as will be at least explained in passing, is getting back into mission mode thinking, so even on vacation, didn't want to take the chance.
I'm glad to hear that the descriptions aren't bogging down the story; that's something I always worry about, and it's nice to hear that I'm doin' it right! And, yes, Shego/Shay's conflict with her self doubts and past failings are, indeed, explored in this 'Book' of "Vacation from the Norm"… As is Kim's fight against her own…
KP-RS-SG-KP-RS-SG
"So it really isn't all that different than me asking Big Daddy Brotherson for help a couple years back." Kim said after a pause, adding, "Well, in reverse, anyway!" After suffering the frustration of listening to Hirotaka give orders in Japanese, a language she was essentially unfamiliar with, he'd taken a few minutes to explain the situation to her. She had been staring at him with some incredulity after finding out what, exactly, Yamanouchi had been doing, and why they'd hedged their bets by asking Ron to accompany them. And, apparently, Shay had been asked by one of the families to help out, ironically on the same side as Yamanouchi, to clear up one last debt she owed from her time as a villainess. At least if it's really an operation supported by GJ, she won't have to worry about violating her pardon! The red-head thought, trying to find at least some positive light in the situation.
Shaking her head, she sighed, a bit troubled that her fiancé and lover hadn't included her. She knew that their driving concern had been to keep her relaxed and in 'vacation mode'. But she suspected they also worried that her hesitation, her… Anxiety, as she'd called it before the situation with Professor Kimpinski two weeks earlier, might cause problems. Had she been asked earlier in the day, she probably would have agreed, but… She'd so easily fallen back into her old mission thought process. It had been Ron who had suggested taking the mission outfits on the vacation, a bit of just in case thinking that had paid off. And just that morning, she hadn't even thought about putting her own mission clothing on under her regular clothes, and taking her mission gear wit her, she'd just done it! Much like she'd always had some mission clothing and gear with her almost at all times while she was in high school…
Then, after spying Hirotaka and talking to him, she'd so easily fallen back into her old 'mission mode'… She couldn't help but feel that, for the first time in months, she was feeling far, far more confident than she had. And not just in reference to their last, mutual mission in Germany. In point of fact… She frankly felt better than she had during any of Team Possible's missions since the first month at GCU! Seeing Hirotaka was troubled, she shrugged and smiled at him, "Hey, I told you Team Possible's worked with at least one member of the underworld in the past!"
"It is still a surprise, Kim-sama." Hirotaka murmured quietly, then looked up sharply as the driver let out a startled exclamation, just before the vehicle lurched violently from an impact to the right rear.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Kim snapped as the van lurched to the right, then left around traffic in an attempt to ditch what was apparently a vehicle trying to run them off the road, "Don't tell me these people are stupid enough to attack us on a crowded street?" Hirotaka, now dressed in a proper shinobi shōzoku, leaned down and forward enough to glance into the driver's side mirror, shrugging noncommittally as he watched for their pursuers. "I thought they were just going to follow us?"
"I am afraid they have decided otherwise after we almost lost them!" Hirotaka growled as he turned towards the rear door, almost stumbling as the van was struck a second time on the opposite side, "And as much as we planned for such a situation, it was considered quite unlikely!" He managed to grasp the rear door's handle and crack it open slightly, only to close it as he saw a suppressed assault rifle angle towards him.
"By who?" Kim snapped back, helping Takumi, the youngest member of the group who had fallen with three other ninja after the second hit, to his feet. She almost literally bit her tongue when she heard the rapid pinging on the back of the truck, and the softened, but still rapid snaps of the suppressed assault rifle.
"Global Justice!" Hirotaka answered as he tied himself off with a rope, attaching the other end to a cargo anchor near the rear door. As soon as the firing paused, he shoved himself out of the rear door and onto the hood of the pursuing vehicle. He steadied himself and dropped into a low, stable stance, almost laughing as the man with the assault rifle cursed, fumbling to reload the firearm with the driver's sudden attempts to shake the ninja. Seeing that it was not likely, he let his rifle fall to its carrying strap and reached for his sidearm, even as Hirotaka drew his katana.
The Russian driver was good, but not quite good enough to shake the unexpected passenger. As such, the blow to the tire struck true and the tire shredded itself against the blade. Kim, seizing the opportunity provided, tossed one of Wade's stink balls at the man hanging out of the open passenger window of the SUV. The stink ball struck the Russian's slung assault rifle, the greenish miasma flowed up and over the man's face. Fortune smiled upon Kim, because while half of the fumes flowed around the gunman to trail behind the vehicle, the gunman's body and its position on the window allowed the other half to flow into the vehicle.
The effects were nearly immediate, making all of the men in the vehicle choke and retch. The driver attempted to put a gas mask on, but was overcome by the horrible stench. He lurched forward, accidentally slamming the truck into a lower gear, stalling the engine and making the vehicle lurch to a halt in short order.
Hirotaka had just jumped free when the SUV lurched, and managed to pull himself back into the van and close the door before the other pursuing SUV could get a clear line of sight. The driver and Kim both crowed in triumph the driver adding, "That's one down!" in English. She immediately swerved into an alleyway, narrowly avoiding walls and the second SUV, which plowed into a meter thick lightpole base a few meters past the alleyway's entrance.
"That's two!" Kim cried as she chanced opening the rear door enough to glance out.
"Good!" Hirotaka nodded. He then turned to the driver, speaking in rapid fire Japanese, before pulling his cell phone out and reading a text he'd received.
"Hai, Hirotaka-sensei!" the driver answered, and Kim ground her teeth in frustration. She knew that the ninja needed to speak in Japanese for the more complex orders, as it was their native tongue, but she wanted to know just what was going on!
A few seconds later, Hirotaka let out a string of harsh sounding Japanese, before slipping his phone back into its pouch. Kim was certain the words were curses due to the blushing reaction of the teen she'd helped to his feet, and she smirked slightly. "Trouble, Hiro?" she asked, earning a slight wince from a few of the ninja present.
"Hai." Hirotaka sighed, pursing his lips, "Yori-chan sent a text a moment before we were attacked. She said that she, Shego-san, Ron-sama and Ken-kohai are stopping to divert some of the men following our charges, leaving their men, Shizuru-san and Kazuo-kun, and the six Yamanouchi with them, for protection."
"Shouldn't that be enough?" Kim asked uncertainly, drawing a worried glance from the tall Japanese man. Shrugging slightly, she added, "I mean, yeah, these guys're using firearms, but they don't seem to be gangsters…"
"Hirotaka-sempai and I can confirm they are mercenaries, Kimberly-sama," Takumi murmured, "He recognized two, and I recognized two others from surveillance Yamanouchi performed for the Japanese government last month. We are uncertain why they were hired, but we do not think that capture is their goal…"
The information congealed in Kim's consciousness, and her eyes widened in sudden, horrified comprehension. "Whoever hired them is trying to start an open gang war, like the cartels in Mexico near the turn of the century." Kim said with a certainty that startled Takumi, who was the second in command of the group despite his age. The younger ninja glanced at Hirotaka, who nodded as Kim pursed her lips, "One of the courses I took over the summer was a social studies class for the criminal sciences major… One of the things we studied was the more violent cartels that were taken out in the nineties. La Federación was the last cartel in Mexico, for example, and they got their power by starting a war in a similar manner by using former FARC rebels to kill off the heads of competing cartels. In the end, after the Mexican Army had driven them into an untenable position, an assault force consisting of Global Justice and US Army Spec Ops combined team finally… Ended them."
"I came to that conclusion as well." Hirotaka murmured, nodding in agreement, "And using Russian mercenaries, dressed like Russian mafia to point a fing-…"
His phone ringing stopped him, and he immediately answered it with a tense, "Hai?" He apparently wasn't given a chance to speak further and Kim felt a vague sense of worry as Hirotaka's face went tense, then outright fearful. After a moment, in which the van hurtled across two more main streets through an alleyway to avoid Amsterdam police, he spoke with clear, concise English, "I have Kim-sama with me, Shego-san! She will be able to help more than I!" Hiro turned to the driver and spoke in rapid fire Japanese, then glanced back at Kim, "My apologies, Kim-sama, but you need to speak to Shego-san…"
"What?" Kim asked tensely as she grabbed the phone. Receiving no answer from Hirotaka, she turned her attention to the phone, "What's the sitch, Sheegs?"
"Kimmie?" Shay sounded as if she were about to ask Kim several questions, "I'll ask what the hell you're doing there later, but I need your help with Ron, now!"
"What's wrong?" Kim asked, sudden dread pooling in her gut at the implication of Shay's words.
"Ron's about to go super-ape like he did against the mean and greens!" Shay snapped, "Something about Gemini finding Monkey Fist's last notes and reading something about a weapon called 'The Han'…" There was a pause, Kim drawing a breath to speak when she screamed, "Ron, no! Stay here with us, dammit!"
"No!" Kim snapped, the ball of dread in her stomach exploding into sickened panic as she reached for her wrist Kimmunicator…
KP-RS-SG-KP-RS-SG
The staccato snap of suppressed automatic rifles startled Ron, who immediately looked to Shay's position next to the black BMW SUV they'd so recently evacuated. What he saw amazed him; she'd crouched low and brought about a huge plasma ball which intercepted most of the bullets before they could strike her. Those that didn't vaporize were turned into slag that bounced harmlessly off of her suited frame or into the heavily armored side of the vehicle. Ron also knew this action not-so-incidentally protected the surrounding civilians from stray bullets, something he was quite thankful for.
"Let's get around 'em and take 'em out!" Ron snapped, earning a nod from Yori and Ken, "And try and get Hiro here ASAP!" He glanced up and to the northwest as he heard the sound of a helicopter, but dismissed it when he couldn't find it after a few seconds of visual searching. Head in the game, Ron! He berated himself lightly, Other things to worry about right now!
With that, the three ninja fell into motion, Yori following Ken to their right, Ron slipping to the left. He jumped slightly when a lightly armed Russian slipped up literally right in front of him, but paid the sneaking blond no mind. Booyah, ninja training! Ron cheered himself, before lashing out with a simple, slightly cross body uppercut. It struck the slightly taller, black haired man perfectly behind the ear at the front of the temporal bone, knocking the man unconscious.
Ron quickly made his way along the line of cars parked along the street, glad that the few pedestrians he'd seen had hidden in shops or around the nearest corner. I've only been shot at three times in my life before and none of those were on Team Possible missions! he griped to himself as he surveyed the scene from a better vantage point. Shay had yet to unleash more plasma than she already had, but at least when she'd taken out their SUV's tires, she'd at least lessened the likelihood of more than a few people shooting at her from cover. There were two others using the big Russian built SUVs - which he thought looked kind of like the US military's Humvee - as cover, while forcing Shay to keep her position. Every time she moved, he'd open up once again, and one of his compatriots kept a loaded weapon at the ready, and they'd switch off as ammunition ran out in each weapon.
Time to end that! Ron though, leaping into action. Keeping himself low, he dashed upon them. The man that wasn't firing him caught sight of him, but it was too late to react. Ron dove into the man firing upon Shay with a shoulder block that would've made Steve Barkin shed a tear of pride. Even as well executed as the block was, Ron felt as if he'd charged headlong into a brick wall.
Fortunately, the man folded like any lineman caught off guard, his assault rifle flying well away from him. The other was borne to the ground by the combined weight of Ron and the Russian's compatriot. Seeing his advantage, the blond hurriedly kicked out at the man's unprotected head. The man was knocked unconscious, and Ron looked around, barking in Japanese, "Yori, Ken, did you see where their buddies went?"
"Not beyond this one!" Ken shouted, finally landing a blow that knocked his opponent unconscious. Ron nodded, then felt the still conscious mercenary he'd first tackled moving as he caught his breath. Ron's face went somewhat livid and he hammered several lightning-fast punches into the man that had been firing upon Shay, his mouth moving in silent curses towards the man as he continued for several punches after the man was out. He almost jumped when he heard the former thief's plasma drop, and he glanced over to see her breathing hard, but otherwise unharmed.
"They all seem to have slipped back down the street, Ron-sama!" Yori called in Japanese after zip tying the three opponents she'd felled, nodding towards where several knots of pedestrians were staring at a storefront from behind cover.
"Then let's get after them," Ron said firmly, glancing at Shay, "You have a way up that building?"
"Yes I do!" she smirked, speaking in Japanese as well and holding up her left wrist and showing off a dark green, deep charcoal gray and silver version of the Kimmunicator, "Nerdlinger sent me one with that brain fix they sent over for Kimmie! And I'd be able to get up there even without it!"
"Good!" Ron pointed at Yori and Shay, "You two, up the buildings here, try and cut 'em off!" He glanced at Ken, "You're with me, we'll try and flush 'em to the ladies!"
"Hai!" Ken and Yori said in unison, Ken dashing to follow Ron towards the storefront, Yori already jumping towards the building's front.
Shay easily caught up to her and grabbed her around the waist, saying, "Hold on!" before sending the grapnel flying in a shot that would have done Kim proud. As the grapnel let out a clink upon connecting, she jerked her wrist in a certain quick pattern, causing the grapnel's ultra powerful winch to pull them up.
Ron and Ken, meanwhile, dashed towards the storefront, being careful to use cover, least the mercenaries catch them off guard. Glancing in, they noticed that the front was empty, which started the monkeys, who had been somewhat quiet since leaving the SUV, to chittering in Ron's head.
"Ron-sama…" Ken said softly, his expression troubled, "They are not acting as mercenaries should…"
"Really?" Ron asked, remembering that Shego - and indeed most henchmen - tended to stay and fight. He'd always equated them to, essentially, mercenaries, so he was confused by Ken's comment.
"Hai," Ken nodded, looking around in sudden worry, "Should they not have tried to escape and rejoin their fellows, instead of staying long enough to draw us after them?"
"Good poi-…" Ron started, then saw a helicopter he'd heard a few moments earlier dropping towards a roof another thirty or forty meters down the street. He glanced at Ken, shrugging, "Maybe they already had a ride inbound?"
"Good point!" Ken seemed slightly relieved, even chuckling at his use of Ron's cut off phrase, drawing a matching chuckle from Ron. He then pointed up, "The ladies will need backup!"
"Yup!" Ron said, angling his own wrist mounted grapnel towards the roof, even as Ken unlimbered his own ascension tool. The slightly older ninja revealed something that looked much like a kusarigama, but instead of a sickle, it had a short, three barbed hook at the end, much like a traditional grapnel done smaller. Out of the center of the three hooks was a spike similar to a kunai, but he nonetheless seemed quite adept at its use as a grapnel. Ron honestly hoped his fellow ninja would not be forced to use it as a weapon.
The two of them were upon the roof in a few scant seconds, and were almost surprised to see that, indeed, their quarry was heading towards the helicopter, which hovered barely two meters off of a nearby roof. He also noticed Shay and Yori less than five meters away, the two ladies concentrating on their targets with professional aplomb, Yori somewhat in the lead. This is going too good… Ron thought, The other shoe's bound to drop any moment! His thought, one he was prepared to dismiss as his normal paranoia, was given strength as something was tossed out of the helicopter.
Whatever was dropped was out of Yori and Shay'd line of sight due to a heavily built stairwell exit enclosure. Ron knew, in that moment, that the shoe he'd just worried about was dropping, as the helicopter was already powering away, leaving the apparent mercenaries behind. "Get down!" he hollered as he recognized what had been dropped: one of the former Professor Dementor's focused sound blasters…
KP-RS-SG-KP-RS-SG
"I can't really thank ya enough, Miss Possible!" the wizened old Native American murmured to Joss as he looked upon his once again free roaming cattle, wiping his brow with an old red handkerchief with an intricate pattern sewn in white.
"No big!" Joss assured him, chuckling as she looked at her boyfriend with a huge grin. They'd just helped prevent almost one hundred and twenty head of prize worthy cattle from being rustled by super-high tech cattle thieves from a ranch near Billings, Montana. "But, honestly, it was more Felix than me, Mr. Red Eagle!"
"Horseshit!" Eli Red Eagle chuckled, earning a blush from Felix and a chuckle from Joss, "I saw you cuttin' away at that horse trailer while yer friend there positioned the ramp…"
"Yeah, but he found 'em." Joss countered, winking at the older man and tapping her nose, "Sometimes, it takes a mix of technology and good old senses to do the job!"
"Well, I'm grateful!" the old man chuckled, cocking his head slightly at the teen heroine, "Y'sure I can't pay ya back somehow?"
"Tell ya what…" Joss spoke with a suddenly considering tone, "When ya send some of 'em up for slaughter, send my daddy a side of beef, and we'll call it even!"
"Sure thing, there, Miss Possible!" the old man said, spitting into his hand and holding it out for a quick shake. Joss replicated the move and shook his hand back, before saying her goodbyes and walking over to Felix, a huge grin on her face.
"You did awesome, Wings!" she crowed as she sat in his lap, giving him a sharp buss on the cheek, "Though I hope your nose can recover…"
"Eh, it's not so bad when ya get used to it." Felix joked back, scrunching his nose at the still lingering smell of one hundred and twenty bulls and steers in a crowded trailer. "Besides, we've got a half hour before Wade's ride can get here, and I saw a nice, secluded spot over near that butte…"
"Oh?" Joss raised an eyebrow, snuggling up a little closer to him and touching their foreheads together as he ran his fingers along the slightly exposed flesh between her shirt and jeans, "And?"
"Well…" Felix smirked slightly, "The Clark's Fork slows down near that butte and has a nice, secluded set of woods…"
"Mmm-hmmm?" Joss prodded as Felix stopped speaking but moved one of his teasing hands to her side.
Leaning forward slightly, he kissed it lightly before murmuring, "And I think it'd be perfect for a bit of calming you down…"
"I am a little shaky…" Joss admitted, the mild adrenaline rush after the mission nothing compared to the rush after dealing with Adrena Lynn and McTwist, but nonetheless there. The thought of Lynn, her first real nemesis, drew her thoughts to her cousin, Kim Possible, and what the older Possible was going through… And the fact that Kim had hooked up to the woman many others had considered her nemesis. She felt a vague sense of worry about how the world would react to their upcoming revelation… She hoped it would be positive, but…
"You okay, Joss?" Felix asked softly as she stiffened in worry, drawing her attention from her thoughts to his face.
"Hmmm?" she asked, confusion in her face for a moment. Seeing the worry in his eyes, she smiled slightly in embarrassment, before snuggling up under his chin, her tone troubled when she spoke again, "I'm fine, just… Worried 'bout Cousin Kim and Ron, even Shego, now…" She pursed her lips, and Felix could feel the intensity of her troubled frown even though she wasn't looking at him, "I got called by Summer Gale today…"
"Oh?" Felix asked, as if it were news to him. He knew she was going to get the call, but not when, so he was somewhat surprised by the information. "About the interview with those three?"
"Yeah…" Joss nodded, sighing as Felix decided to get going, and lifted them off.
After getting to an altitude of about one hundred and fifty feet, and angling towards the location he'd mentioned earlier, he prodded gently, "Does it bother you?"
"What's that?" Joss asked softly, her voice barely audible over the rushing wind and the rockets pushing the chair forward, "The three of 'em's relationship? That they're comin' out like that? Or that they had to 'cause'a Tripe?"
"Um…" Felix murmured questioningly, a slight chuckle, "All of the above?"
"In order," Joss chuckled back, but the tone was somewhat fragile, "Not really, a bit and fuck yes!" Felix winced, as, despite being freer with her language than most people Felix knew, she rarely used that particular curse. "I mean… It's their life, and yeah, they're public figures 'n' all, but… They shouldn' hav't' deal with comin' out b'fore their ready, y'know?"
"I know, Joss…" Felix murmured, kissing the side of her head as he came in for a landing, just off of Eli Red Eagle's property, "But, in the end, it's their choice to come out in that fashion, and knowing Kim?" He chuckled slightly as she stood up and stretched her legs, watching her well muscled rear bunch up and relax with unfeigned appreciation. "Besides, I kinda think it's better they're doing it this way instead of something like, well… The web site or similar, know what I mean?"
"True…" Joss sighed a chuckle out, adding, "But they're gonna 'nounce Shego 's part'a Team Possible Alpha later t'day, an' that's only a couple days b'fore the interview's on TV!"
"Better now than after the interview," Felix quipped with a laugh, "And we're officially Team Possible Bravo at the same time, right?"
"Yeah…" Joss nodded, then turned a thankful, loving gaze on him, slowly making her way back to where he sat. "Thanks, Wings… I was kinda startin' to feel worthless t' Cousin Kim with the shit Tripe tried to throw at her on that show of hers…"
"You're never useless, Joss…" Felix assured her, reaching up to cup her face gently in his palms, "Ever, got it?
"Thanks…" Joss murmured again, kissing his hands, then holding onto them as she slowly dropped to a squat… Then to her knees in front of him.
"Joss?" Felix gulped as she began to trace his shirt where it was stuffed into his pants, a blush rising up his throat towards his face.
"I, um… I wanna do somethin', well… A little different than we've been doin'?" Joss smiled up at him, a light blush staining her cheeks, "An', hones'ly, I don' wanna push things here by askin', but, um…" She dropped her face with a giggle as Felix's blush rapidly crossed his face and darkened alarmingly, "I… I really like to, y'know…" She glanced at his crotch, which was responding to her shy display quite readily, "I, well… I like… Actually, I love givin' head… An' I wanna do sometin' more than jus'makin' out…"
"Um, well, I…" Felix gulped audibly, finally croaking out, "Y… You sure you wanna, Joss?"
"Mmm-hmmm…" she felt her own blush rising, something that hadn't happened since she'd first seen a naked man on the internet a few years earlier. Hell, when she'd first tried giving head, she hadn't blushed as much as she was at that moment, and yet, here she was, blushing like a virgin… Hell, the accent she normally took pains to lessen was back in full force! God, what this man does to me! she thought with a huge smile, finally looking up at him and whispering, "If you think you're ready for me to, just say so… Jus'… Y'gotta un'erstan', I'd… I'd love t' do it t'ya… I know it's kinna, well… Prob'ly kinna weird, I guess?" She felt her blush deepen as she glanced down at the rapidly bulging pants scant inches from her fact, and back up to his face once again, before continuing, "Y'really had my motor runnin' after all'a that, what ya said, I mean… An' I really wanna get yours goin', too, Baby…"
"I, um…" Felix thought about hedging again, but seeing Joss' deliciously responsive nipples visibly hard, despite the heavy sports bra the equally heavy cotton of her mission shirt, he couldn't help but say, "Sure…"
"Wel-…" The ringing of their Kimmunicators interrupted Joss' statement, drawing a low groan from both teens. Activating the unit on his chair, Felix gave Wade a slightly annoyed look as he answered, "What's up, Wade?"
"Sorry to interrupt whatever's goin' on, guys!" Wade said with an almost panicked look on his face, "But I need you guys to head towards Billings, now!"
"What's goin' on, Wade?" Joss asked, her own version of mission mode quickly settling over her face as she literally jumped into Felix's lap and began to strap in. Felix, realizing that Wade, a young man he'd never heard anyone say panicked before, was doing just that, took off and set the general course into his chair's navigation computer. He handed Joss one of the two facemasks the chair was equipped with, then donned his own as she put hers in place.
"Gemini's after Ron's parents and Hana," Wade said, fingers literally flying across his keyboard, "and it'd be a simple matter to find out they're in Billings for some actuarial dinner!"
"Where at?" Felix asked, but the question was unnecessary as he saw Wade's location information already programming itself into his chair, "Okay, then, are we dealing with WWEE goons?"
"Led by Agent Delta!" Wade grumbled distractedly.
"Wait…" Joss hissed, "Wait, as in that Tripe bitch?"
"She 'escaped' earlier today…" Wade said in the same grumbling tone, "And from what I can see, it has to have been an inside job…"
"So why in the world are they after the Stoppables?" Felix asked tightly, worry for his best friend's parents and little sister clouding his normal calm demeanor.
"I don't know, exactly…" Wade said, "But Kim called me a minute ago…" He paused to put his full attention to typing something into his computer, his fingers moving in a literal blur, before continuing, "I took the time between then and now to check a few things out, that's why I know Gamma escaped…" Wade looked back at the screen, "They're in the process of breaking into Ron's place, I've got a couple Wadebots on the way and the Tweebs'll help out, but…"
"They'll prob'ly find out wha' they need b'fore ya can get there…" Joss concluded, which a downcast Wade nodded to, "Hey, non'a that, Wade! Y'couldn't've known, got it?"
"Yeah…" Felix agreed, drawing the teen computer master's eyes back to them, "I'm sure everyone else will be happy to know we're on protection duty, right?"
"Yeah, yeah…" Wade sighed, shaking his head to get rid of at least some of the worry clouding his judgement, "It's just… When Kim called me, she was freaking out, worrying about Hana and the Stoppables…" Wade's eyes widened in worry, "And she said something about Ron going Monkey Master, too!" Wade's face paled as he saw something on his screen, and he swallowed, "Oh, God… It's happening near a residential area of Amsterdam!"
"Then tell her to tell him we'll keep his parents safe, Wade!" Felix said, "that might calm him down!"
"We c'n hope!" Joss said, "Wade, we're fifteen from th' Stopp'ble's, we'll contact ya 's soon 's we get there, 'kay?"
"Okay," Wade gulped and winced, "Just… Just get there as soon as you can, guys…"
KP-RS-SG-KP-RS-SG
Shay heard Ron's warning and immediately raised a double fist of plasma, launching it forwards just as something on the other side of the stairwell exit enclosure made a loud, basso punching sound. She saw the air distorting from whatever it was, and the exit enclosure turning into so much shrapnel. She knew immediately that her double fist of plasma would be useless in stopping whatever it was, but she still hoped her plasma slowed it, or at least lessened the impact when it struck her!
A short instant later, she knew it had, and that her action had quite likely saved Yori's life. Her plasma, a mix of heat and concussion, destabilized the edge of the quasi-spherical mass of sound, and it merely knocked the younger woman off of her feet and into unconsciousness, as opposed to likely turning her insides into pulp.
It also helped that the shot had only been generally aimed at them, and the remainder of the sound dissipated less than twenty feet after passing Shay's position. What the hell was that? Shay screamed in her mind as she felt herself swimming between light and darkness, her right eardrum ruptured and blood seeping from her nose.
"Shay!" Ron screamed and the pale woman would have sworn on a stack of holy books that there were monkeys screaming with his voice.
That can't be good, can it? she wondered, feeling her power already working to repair the relatively light damage she'd suffered. Then she remembered the last time she heard monkeys screaming in Ron's voice and her blood ran cold.
"I have Yori-sensei, Ron-sama!" Ken yelled, and Shay felt herself being picked up by a blur of blond hair, black and blue uniform, and faint trails of smoky, blue power. She wanted to retch as she went up over his shoulder and her abused balance system was thrown for a loop. She barely caught herself before the rather expensive prime rib dinner became the new 'in thing' in ninja evening wear. She was shocked when Ron grabbed Ken be the back of his shinobi shōzoku and leapt across the four meter gap between the building they'd been on and one to the east… All the while bearing her weight, Ken's weight and Yori's.
"Oh, that hurt!" Shay moaned loudly as they landed, dropping below the level of the false roofline that hid a middling size, residential air conditioning unit from being seen on the street. She coughed a couple times, still fighting to keep her food down, and muttered a little bit more strongly, "Wha'th'hell was that?"
"That was one of Dementor's mad sciency things!" The blond hissed, before looking Shay over, "Sonic destructa-something-or-another…"
Shay blinked as she saw the rage bubbling bubbling up deep in his eyes, despite the control he was trying to hold over it. She knew he saw the blood leaking from her ear, nose and corner of her mouth, and knew he was losing the battle with his rage when he shook his head harshly… And she heard the enraged screeching of monkeys starting to float audibly through the air. Oh, shit… she thought, before murmuring aloud, "Calm down, Ronnie…"
Ron stared at her for a moment, before shaking his head again, and the monkey's screams lessened. Finally, he nodded at her before turning to Ken, asking, "How's Yori?"
"Unconscious, but she otherwise appears unhurt…" the ninja said softly, glancing over the top of the false wall to spy their foes, who were just walking through the dust created by the sonic weapon's destructive blast. He turned back slowly, so as not to draw their attention and whispered, "They did not see where we went…"
"Well," Ron grunted, "they're about to find out where I went!" With that, he bunched his legs up under him in preparation for a leap that would take him back across the gap, when Shay's hand grasped his shoulder.
"Wait for me to recover," Shay hissed, glancing at Ken, who seemed ready to follow Ron, "Both of you!"
"Shay," Ron said, calming slightly as he felt the strength in her hand as she squeezed his shoulder, "Watch over Yori 'til she wakes up and hook back up with us…"
"And what happens if you go full monkey, huh?" Shay's tone was more than a little worried, "I saw you during the invasion, Ron! We both know what could happen if you lose it in the middle of a city, hell, in the middle of a residential area!" Ron blinked and she pushed her brief advantage of his attention, "I know you're about to freak out and I know why… You're about to do the same for me that you did for Kimmie during the invasion, but I'm fine, okay?" Ron half nodded at her, drawing a brief, only slightly pained smile, "And Yori's gonna be fine, too…"
Ron gave her a look as if he were starting to understand what she was worried about. He sat back on his rear gently, crossing his legs and leaning against the false wall before closing his eyes and taking several deep breaths, his lips murmuring as if he were speaking a mantra. He was still tense, and Shay took a breath, making sure to keep her voice calm. "There's more to it than that, though, Ron…" she murmured softly, "I can hear the cops in the area, and that damn thing's gonna have 'em bringing out the big guns! And while Amsterdam is a signatory to the UN's supervillain mandate, they still treat supervillains and their henchmen as terrorists, which means The Netherland's equivalent of SWAT's gonna be brought out!"
Ron's closed eyes didn't see her shrugs, but it was plain in her voice as she continued, "I don't wanna see you shot at 'cause they think you're the one responsible, 'kay? Their equivalent to SWAT here isn't just trained cops, but they have actual members of the military mixed in." Ron nodded, finally comprehending the full import of her worries and the sounds of monkeys fell from their screeching cacophony of rage to an angry, but controlled screech and growl chorus when he let out a quiet, half moaning sigh. Shay smiled in relief and reached out to grasp his shoulder.
She felt his muscles relaxing a bit and let out a breath she'd been holding, catching Ken doing the same thing out of the corner of her eyes and realized the young man had been prepared to go with Ron to try and control him. She smirked as a realization struck her, a realization that had the not-quite-Shay voice screaming negative invectives at her, I'm glad I have the experience in calming down a man… she almost chuckled aloud, and a brief sense of awe slipped through her mind, But damned if he's not a lot harder to calm down when he's mad than Harley ever was! Her observation cause a burst of enraged ranting in the back of her mind, but the very nonsensical manner of the familiar voice allowed her to ignore it.
Before the voice could calm down enough to counter her comment with words, Ron opened his eyes. There was a faintly visible ring of blue glowing around the edges of his eyes, but his eyes were far, far calmer, for which Shay was thankful. "You good, Sport?"
"Yeah, yeah…" Ron murmured, "I got this…" After another deep breath, he spoke in a measured manner, "Shay, I'm asking you to stay here with Yori 'til she wakes up. Ken and I'll get over there, one of us'll destroy the sonic thingamabob and we'll keep 'em busy 'til Hiro can get here."
"Ron…" Shay started, but the blond interrupted her.
"Hey, master of distraction and a real ninja here," Ron smiled, "we'll be good!"
"You'd better!" Shay snapped, grabbing his uniform by the neck and pulling him close, "And get your goddamn head covering on!" With that said, she leaned in and planted a deep, intense kiss to his lips. It was different than the one she'd given him in Germany on the train, or the few they'd shared while mutually loving Kim or the exceedingly rare ones she'd given him outside of those situations. It was sure, confident, assertive and open. There was the briefest of hints of more to kiss than there had been with the others, but it was still guarded, hidden… And, even with that, the kiss nonetheless left Ron breathless as she pulled away, smirking at him. "There's some of that luck back!" she half chuckled, "Just in case, Distraction Boy!"
KP-RS-SG-KP-RS-SG
"What are we doing here, Little Sister?" Sheldon 'Gemini' Director groused, feeling uncomfortable walking openly with Betty Director so near the GJ EU headquarters building. Granted, his little sister was behind him, making sure his back was protected, and they wore superior disguises, thanks to the man walking ahead of them, who was Betty's suggestion for Agent Alpha. The man not only had superior martial skills, which he was imparting to the WWEE's rank and file with aplomb, but he was a master of disguise. Gemini had flinched at least once upon seeing his own reflection, not recognizing the portly blond man with spectacles and wearing a cheap tweed suit.
Neither did he recognize Betty, now a full red-head with a slim figure, acne scars and gaudy ear and facial piercings. Said woman tittered, being fully in her role, before whispering to him, "You'll see in a minute, Shelly…" she promised, "Stop there, Alpha."
Agent Alpha paused and followed Betty's direction to turn down an alleyway. It was barely wide enough to allow Gemini's huge shoulders to pass through, and he made sure to keep Agent Alpha in front of him, while Betty again brought up the rear. He may like the man's work, but he would be some time in coming to trust the Asian fully. At least Alpha seemed as clueless as to their ultimate destination as he was.
When they came to a small alcove, Betty slid ahead of him and slipped a complex looking electronic key from her hair and opened a hidden door. Gemini raised an eyebrow, as he hadn't even seen the keyhole. She led them into a small, two meter by three meter by four meter tall room, which began to descend after as she'd not only closed and locked the door, but removed the key and stood back. "Ten seconds to our floor and a thirty meter hallway, Shelly." she murmured as Gemini began to fidget, leaning into him and craning her neck to plant a gentle kiss to his chin, "Promise that you'll love it almost as much as you love me…"
"I'm sincerely intrigued now…" Gemini murmured, the truth of his statement plain in his eye. Betty smiled mysteriously and pulled away as the elevator stopped. She unlocked another door with the same key, and as soon as the door opened, a thick mist began to coalesce at their feet. The temperature difference seemed to be the cause, as the elevator was similar to the five and a half degrees Celsius of the surface, while the air at the door was nearly thirty five degrees Celsius!
"What's going on, Betty?" Gemini snapped, not liking something about the feel of the situation.
"This way, Shelly…" Betty drew out, the playful tone making Alpha and Gemini share a concerned glance, "The perfect weapon to break the will of Team Possible - especially Ron Stoppable - is waiting for us at the end of this hallway… Waiting patiently, I might add!"
"This tool is a person, is it not?" Agent Alpha's voice was far younger than his actions would indicate, but sure, certain.
"Told you he's sharp, Shelly…" Betty chuckled, sounding more like the woman Gemini was used to hearing, allowing him to relax somewhat. "In fact… She's someone that will not only shock Stoppable to the bone… But she should stop him in his tracks, at least long enough to contain him!" Betty paused as she entered the room and turned the lights on, allowing both men to gaze upon the glory of her 'weapon'. And stare they did, in a dumbfounded mix of awe, horror and quickly dawning comprehension, "Gentlemen… Princess of the House of Warkryer, First Daughter to the Lord Emperor of the Lorwardian Empire and Fallen Daughter of Peacemakr, Blood Sworn of the mad warrior Warhok." Glancing back at the huge, green skinned woman, she chuckled darkly, "Warmonga of Lowardia!"
The woman warrior was standing at perfect attention, her eyes staring ahead and what would be a precise fifteen centimeters above a similarly tall Lowardian's head. She wore a somewhat abbreviated version of her old suit, as if it had been torn open and repaired, as opposed to replaced, revealing her muscular, if scarred abdominal muscles. Her broad shoulders were held back and at a precise parade attention position, despite her right shoulder and arm being cybertronic prosthetics. Her right eye had been replaced, the reason for the replacement obvious with the ugly, deep scar that ran from her chin, up her face and through the eye socket. Her legs from about mid-thigh down were also prosthetics, though equally as muscular in appearance as they'd once been.
Gemini could feel Agent Alpha tense as if preparing for a strike from the alien against either Gemini or himself, but Gemini's laugh caused him to pause in mid movement. Gemini glanced at his sister, then the huge alien and began to laugh all the harder, in comprehension of just how low his sister had come from her former heights… All for him. "Mind controlled, my dear sister?"
"Of course, Big Brother! It's part of her choker, and no one will be the wiser!" Betty almost crowed in delight, "And… I have one that will work on Stoppable as well… Once we stop him with his own weapon, this 'Han' that Monkey Fist ranted of in his diary, we will use her," she pointed at the dull eyed Lorwardian, "to dumbfound him into a pile of panicked idiocy! Then he will be an easy target for our own brand of mind control…" Gemini looked at her with shock in his eye, as if he'd never expected such… Viciousness from his younger sister. Then she took a few slow, almost shy steps towards him, lifting her face towards his and whispering, "All for you, Love…" With that simple declaration, Gemini understood why his sister was doing it. For him… For the love he'd felt for her for… Years… Which she now shared with him.
A slow smile crossed his features as she pressed her body into his and he began to chuckle low in his throat. "I see…" Gemini took a deep breath, letting it out in a slow, appreciative growl, "Yes, I see indeed! This, Betty… You were right, Love… This was well worth taking time away from monitoring the events in Amsterdam!" He walked over to stand at her side, sliding a loving arm around her and holding her close, "Well worth it indeed…"
Gemini chuckled again as he pulled her with him as he walked up at the monstrous alien before them, his eye focusing on the wide, golden band around her neck, the one she'd worn when she'd invaded the earth. "Such a small thing…" He murmured, reaching up to flick a finger, savoring the clean ring of the metal despite it not only being worn, but the modifications done to it, "But it allows me such delicious irony… I shall use those that killed my Pepe to take out Team Possible, use their most formidable weapon against what will be left of GJ… And then…"
"The world…" Betty sighed, her tone slightly troubled, but supportive nonetheless.
"Yes, Love…" Gemini sighed softly, hugging his sister closer to him, "Trust me, Love… I will not destroy the world to take it… In the last few weeks, you've taught me the… Folly of some of my ways. But, those that disobey me outright, or attempt to stop our ascendance?"
"We'll crush, as examples…" Betty murmured, glancing up at Gemini before leaning up to kiss his cheek, "I'm with you, Big Brother…"
"Thank you, Betty…" Gemini murmured, glancing at the huge alien once again. Yes, he would have his vengeance for losing Pepe, by using one of those responsible as a simple tool… One that would gain him control of the most powerful weapon Earth had ever seen! And all thanks to his little sister… His lover, and the woman he loved above all others…
Yes, indeed, if this were any indication, his time was nigh…
KP-RS-SG-KP-RS-SG
"Got it, Shay!" Ron breathed after a long moment, a smile slowly spreading across his face. After another moment, spent watching the complex play of emotions in her beautiful green eyes, he slid the head covering out of its stowage compartment and secured it around his face. The sounds of Amsterdam police were indeed closer, and he set his face in determination that they would not have to become involved, and risk being hurt or worse, for something that shouldn't have happened as it had. He'd just sealed his facemask around the front when one of their foes calling out to another. The odd familiarity of the man's voice made him pause to listen, risking a careful glance over the top of the false wall where he was crouched.
"Where are they?" the man, whose voice Ron had heard in at least three villainous capers, grumbled, "They can't just disappear like that! And this wasn't supposed to atomize them, just hurt them!" He glanced at the device before chuckling, "Unless they're behind a brick wall or two…"
"They've gone, as I said they would!" Ron was almost surprised that the man, obviously one of the mercenaries they'd seen earlier, speaking English with a very light Russian accent. He was surprised that the man sounded disgusted with the situation he was in, but discarded that thought for a moment as likely unimportant. The man was a rather large, almost as tall as Steve Barkin and even more muscular. "Stoppable is a hero, not a soldier! They have fallen back to follow our original target, I'm certain!"
"And you're an idiot." The second voice belonged to an even larger man, who held himself in a manner somewhat familiar to Ron, as if ready to leap for protection at a moment's notice. The man's bearing screamed henchman, as did the American Midwest accent. "Were ya stuck with your head up your regular employer's ass when that boy saved the world? He's a goddamn superhero, and our mutual boss wanted him captured, too!"
"Mutual boss?" the first man scoffed, "You're mistaken, our employers work together out of mutual benefi-…"
"Oh, I'm sorry…" the second man chuckled, angling the sonic blaster in an incidental manner that took in the first voice's men, "You still think Mikhail Moiseyev is your boss, right?"
"What?" the first man spoke in confusion, though his suspicious bearing indicated he was preparing violence upon his erstwhile colleague, "What do you mean, henchman?"
"What I mean, former Soviet Spetsnaz…" the henchman's smile spoke volumes, "Is that our boss, well, kind of took over your boss', what do you call it? Bratva?" The first man's face drained of color, and the henchman chuckled darkly, "Gemini doesn't like people that disagree with him, especially when there was an understanding that we needed the heads of the Atcherkamp and Balisteri families dead!"
With that, they heard the punching, oddly distorted whining growl of the sonic blaster, immediately followed by agonized screams from some of the mercenaries. Ron and Ken were immediately on their feet, the ninja taking a few quick jumps back to get a run at the gap. Ron, however, bunched his legs up underneath him. His legs and eyes glowed blue, and he bodily launched himself over the four meter gap between the buildings. With a scream of primal fury that melded human and monkey, Ron brought an axe kick down upon the weapon.
His kick, driven as it was by sheer rage and a bit of the MMP, landed perfectly on the device to snap it in half. Normally, Ron would have crowed to himself about dumb skill, perhaps even GJ's infamous 'Ron Factor', but he was too far gone in disgusted rage. Even at their worst, the other supervillains' henchmen hadn't been so callous, so cold. He understood, this wasn't a normal situation, it was closer to organized crime than supervillainy, but these men supposedly belonged to HenchCo's Henchmen's International Union, a subdivision of the International Villains and Supervillains Union.
It didn't seem to matter however, as the man who had wielded the sonic blaster immediately went for a sidearm. Ron was already a step ahead of him, a stiff legged sidekick flying towards the man's elbow. With a loud cry of pain, the man's arm flew back and away from his body, the elbow joint capsule partially ripped from the powerful strike. Ron didn't stop, immediately skipping forward and spinning, bringing a rigid knife edge strike to the man's temple.
The man dropped, unconscious, and Ron glanced around. Everything was moving in slow motion, but his vision was clear. In fact… It had expanded! He saw everything happening within his field of vision. While the information he received could have been distracting, years of playing video games and the MMP combined to make the information flow smoothly and easily.
To his right, Ken was taking on two henchmen, while dealing with one of the mercenaries who was injured…
Further to his right, four mercenaries were covering two of their fallen comrades, while at the same time, taking cover from the seemingly random strobes of green plasma flying over their heads…
Ron knew, by sound and by seeing her plasma fly, that Shay was providing covering fire to him and Ken…
He saw out of the left side of his vision, two henchmen unlimbering rifle looking devices he knew were stunball launchers…
His strange slowness of perception allowed him to dive to the roof just as Shego's covering fire struck one of the devices, causing it to explode like a grenade and sent the both men flying across the roof. This drew several curses from another one of the henchmen near where the sonic blaster had been dropped. He was yelling orders to his remaining eight subordinates to fall back to his position. Ron began to dash towards his position, but the man's sudden smile spoke of danger that Ron almost ignored. The sudden appearance of a compact electronic megaphone, the kind Kim had used in a couple of cheer routines, gave the blond pause enough for the man to speak.
"Stoppable, I'd stop and give up if I were you!" His sure, arrogant tone grated on Ron's nerves. He did pause long enough to hear the man out, given that the man's underlings had pulled back and were not firing upon them, "We have Alfonso Balisteri in our custody! You shall surrender yourself and Shego and come peacefully, or he suffers!"
Ron glanced over at Ken, who gave a minute gesture - a gesture that only those familiar with Yamanouchi teachings would understand - to keep the man talking. So Ron looked back, a questioning eyebrow raised, "And we should believe you, why, exactly?"
"You may or may not, it matters not to the WWEE!" the henchman chuckled darkly, "But you should know, even if you do not give up, we shall have the weapon that gives you your powers in our possession soon as well!"
"What're you talking about?" Ron almost laughed at the moron on the next rooftop over, "I didn't get this from some wea-…"
"No need to lie!" the man countered, "We have the last writings of Monkey Fist!" Ron felt his blood run cold at the mention of the madman that had been imprisoned in stone, wondering what information they could have gleaned from the man, "We know of The Han, that it is a weapon used by the so called Monkey Master and that you possess it! Soon enough, boy, we shall instead!"
"What?" Ron gasped as fear, shock and, above all, a soul deep rage passed through him. He knew he should ignore the man, to stop him from speaking, but his rage was overwhelming conscious thought. It was something he had only felt twice before when Kim, and so recently when Shay's, lives had been in danger. And now, this man was saying they were going to take Hana!
The man ignored the blue glow that suddenly flashed through Ron's eyes, and across his entire body, foolishly speaking as if his words would do anything to calm the blond who was quickly surrounded with a blue, monkey shaped aura, "Do not make us harm your parents or little sister, Stoppable!" He held up a cell phone, "I hit send, and you're at fault for whatever happe-eeaaaiiiii!"
The man's hand burst into an oddly multicolor flash as a small, tight, intense green ball of plasma struck. The color change was due to the vaporization of plastic, metal and other materials from the phone. Luckily for him, his suit was the newest design from HenchCo, incorporating a version of the material that Kim, Ron and Shay's suit had. While bulkier, it offered much of the same protections, so instead of blowing his hand off or melting it to a stub at the wrist, Shay's plasma ball merely destroyed the phone and shredded the material, leaving his right hand covered in a dozen small, but horribly painful third degree burns.
Unfortunately for the man, Shay's plasma save came too late to stop Ron. The blond was in a near berserker rage as he tore through the other men present, a blur of blue, black and blond that shoved Ken to the side, even as the ninja was cutting at any electronics he could see on the men. The Japanese man landed on his rear hard and slid several feet as Ron literally sent men flying, some with horribly broken or dislocated limbs, a few merely unconscious from what appeared to be simple touches to their heads.
Then he was upon the man whose men had harmed Shay, and who had personally threatened his parents and little sister. Ron's face was a rictus of hate as he grasped the man by the front of his uniform. "No one…" he grated, "Harms those I love, or threatens to!"
With a seemingly indifferent toss, the man went flying almost forty meters through the air and through another building's roof exit enclosure. He looked around when he heard his name screamed by a familiar voice, relaxing slightly when he saw Shay yelling at him. But he saw a transport that he knew belonged to the WWEE by its colors closing on them. He decided to take the initiative, giving into the enraged howls of the MMP demanding he rend, tear those that would harm those close to him to shreds…
KP-RS-SG-KP-RS-SG
Shay had pulled Yori's phone out to call Hirotaka when the WWEE agent threatened Ron's family. She hoped he knew something that could calm Ron down, before the blond did something he - and perhaps hundreds of innocent civilians - would regret. As soon as the Japanese man picked up, she began speaking hurriedly, "No time to talk, Pretty Boy, I need to know how to deal with a Monkey Master about to go berserk!"
"I have Kim-sama with me, Shego-san! She will be able to help more than I!" To say she was shocked to hear he had Kimmie with him was an understatement, even as she heard him speak in Japanese, before talking to Kim, "My apologies, Kim-sama, but you need to speak to Shego-san…"
"What?" Kim asked, the tension in her voice clear, "What's the sitch, Sheegs?"
"Kimmie?" Shay had a thousand questions she wanted to ask, but decided against it and just launched into asking Kim for help, "I'll ask what the hell you're doing there later, but I need your help with Ron, now!"
"What's wrong?" Kim asked, her voice cold with worry.
"Ron's about to go super-ape like he did against the mean and greens!" Shay snapped, "Something about Gemini finding Monkey Fist's last notes and reading something about a weapon called 'The Han'…" She paused as she caught sight of a WWEE transport coming towards them. She glanced at it and saw it stop perhaps two hundred meters out, as if the pilot was fearful of approaching the glowing Ron Stoppable. An instant later, Ron's power flared brighter, the sounds of monkeys that Shay had only heard twice before - once that very night - back in full force and he began to float a meter and a half in mid air; the former thief knew, beyond a doubt, that he was about to go after them, somehow. "Ron, no! Stay here with us, dammit!"
"No!" Kim snapped, adding after a moment, "Keep him close, knock him out if you have to, Shay!"
"Kimmie…" Shay started, but the next sight she saw stopped her words stillborn. Ron had, somehow, caused several pieces of brick and a few loose combat knives to float up, and spun in place, kicking one of the blades on the flat side towards the WWEE transport. Shay blinked when that blade managed to not just strike the armored aerial vehicle, but stick in to the hilt. Hearing that Kim on the phone with Wade, she decided it was time for action, calling to her lover, "Fine, you're right…"
"Ken!" she yelled at the ninja as she jumped the gap between the buildings, "Watch Yori!" She gasped when she saw that Ron was about three meters in the air, several more chunks of debris flying about him, and both of the other knives already flying through the air at the now retreating transport.
"Shay," Kim called out from the Yori's phone, "tell him Wade's calling Joss and Felix to get his family!"
"Right!" Shay nodded as Ron dropped down, plainly seeking a larger piece to launch at the transport, when she landed in front of him. She slapped him hard across the face, yelling at him at the top of her voice, "Ron, listen, goddammit!"
The blond flinched, glaring at her for an instant. The look in his eyes, the rage, the uncomprehending anger, sent a shiver down her spine. She was reminded, ever so briefly, of his time as Zorpox, when he'd been the only villain to truly scare her. But, instead of the cold, calculating gaze of an evil genius, she saw the unleashed, fear driven rage of the man she'd come to, at the least, care about. The man she could be falling for… The man whose fiancée loved her and she loved in return…
Taking a chance, she reached out and soothed the spot she'd slapped. He moved his hand as if to stop her, but the hand hovered halfway between his side and her wrist, as if waiting. Taking a breath, she whispered, "Please, Ronnie… Those assholes aren't worth losing it like this… Calm down, Princess said Joss and Felix are getting your family… They'll be alright, I promise…"
Something in her gaze, her words, perhaps even her voice got through to him, for he blinked. He glanced up and to the east, to see the WWEE transport far enough off as to be out of range, unless he unleashed enough of his power to actually damage a large area of the buildings around them. In that same moment, Kim's voice yelled urgently over Yori's phone.
"Ron, she's right, Wade already sent Joss 'n' Felix out!" Ron glanced at Yori's phone, uncomprehending why Kim's voice would be coming over it, but not denying his own ears, "Your 'rents are in Billings, and the WWEE doesn't know where they're at yet! They'll take them someplace safe…"
Ron took all of a second to respond, then he muttered thickly, "The ranch?"
"Yes…" Kim said softly, tears audible in her voice, "Please, Ronnie, calm down, they'll be safe…"
"Shay?" Ron glanced at Shay, his eyes still wide, the whites, tinged with his blue glowing power, clearly visible… But, deep in the eyes, Shay could see him clawing back to himself.
"I'm fine, Sport…" She smiled at him in a way that promised, despite the blood, that she was fine, "Just shook me up a bit, 'kay?"
"Ron-sama!" Ken called urgently, drawing their attention and pulling Ron further back from the brink, "Kim-sama and Hirotaka-sempai are here on the other side of the buildings!" He continued in the same urgency as Yori moaned, obviously coming around, "We must reach them before the police find us!"
"Right…" Shay nodded, glancing at Ron, who nodded as if in a daze, "C'mon, Doofus…" The blond blinked as if startled and looked back at her, "Let's get to this Hirotaka-sempai and Kimmie, 'kay?"
"Right…" Ron sighed, "Sorry…"
"No apologies now, just hurry!" Shay urged, glancing across the street to see Amsterdam's equivalent to SWAT emerging from the roof across the street. Ken tossed several small, plastic balls at their feet, causing a massive smoke cloud to envelope them. They hurriedly dropped down into the alleyway between the streets, then through a thin pedestrian access between buildings and to the road opposite of their original position.
"Get in, hurry!" Kim said from the side door of the van as Shay pushed Ron ahead of her, the red-head helping Ken and Hirotaka place Yori into the van. When she was settled, Shay jumped into the van behind Ron, who Kim had grabbed drawn into a deep hug and brief, passionate kiss. As soon as the door closed and Shay had situated herself in the now crowded rear compartment, her own shoulders were assaulted by the red-head's hugging arms, and her lips by the heroine's own. While unexpected, she honestly didn't mind, even letting out a light moan of disappointment when Kim pulled away. "You two okay?"
"Fine…" Shay murmured, "A bit roughed up, but I'm already healed."
"I'll be close to it as soon as my 'rents and Hana are safe…" Ron said darkly, "But I won't be fine 'til we get Gemini!"
"We'll get him…" Kim and Shay both said soothingly, the verdant woman continuing in a soft murmur, "I hate to ask this, but what's this 'Han' weapon Gemini's morons were ranting about?"
The entire van going silent told Shay she'd just opened a can of worms that should probably have waited until later. She glanced around and saw troubled looks on the faces of all the conscious ninja, opening her mouth to take her question back before Yori's soft voice interrupted, "As one of the women in Ron-sama's life, she must know as well…"
"Wha-…" Hirotaka started, but a stiff fingered jab to his side stopped him.
"You three are… Together, are you not?" Yori asked plainly, earning a hesitant, worried nod from Kim. Ron glanced at Shay, and she sighed, shrugging as if to say she left it up to him.
"Sorta-kinda pretty much?" Ron said in a worried tone, drawing an ire-filled moue from Yori.
The ninja sat up with a huff and favored him with a gaze that promised that while she was recovering from being unconscious, she could still give him a hurting. Shay chuckled and stepped in, saving Ron her ire by saying, "Pretty much sums it up, Yori." When Yori looked to her for an explanation, she shrugged and smiled, "I'm with Kim... And Ron... And… I think it's for the long haul." When Yori's moue deepened slightly, Shay sighed and added, "I… Hope so, anyway."
"Yeah…" Kim and Ron agreed, smiling at the pale woman, before looking back at Yori.
With a sigh, she nodded, "Very well… The Han, as Gemini learned through Monkey Fist's writings, is a weapon of great power. Fortunately for everyone involved, he does not realize that The Han is not a weapon in the traditional sense…" With an expression of heavy worry, she looked straight into Shay's eyes, almost creeping the older woman out with her intensity, "She is a weapon by birthright, the only weapon strong enough to face the demigod known as The Yono and his ilk. She is a pure conduit to the Mystical Monkey Power, imbued in it, again, by birthright, but not a true wielder of it, until the Mystical Monkey Power is passed on by the holder of the Lotus Blade. The holder of the Lotus Blade, however, is the wielder of the Mystical Monkey Power… As well as her guardian and her teacher in the ways of the Mystical Monkey Power and the path of the light." Yori paused and leveled a gaze that brooked no arguments from the former thief, "For if The Han falls into the path of the shadow, the world is lost…"
"Oh, shit…" Shay murmured, making the connection based on how Ron and Kim had reacted to the news, "Ron's sis…"
"Yes." Yori nodded, "The Yono has already been, as you Americans say, taken care of… But while the Yono was known to us, there are other, unknown threats that will need her power, in the future… For one such as Gemini to even know of her existence is beyond worrisome. And he wants to start a gang war in Amsterdam that, should it spread, would distract not only governments, but those government's militaries, Global Justice, and possibly the UN itself."
"Leaving Gemini free to do whatever he plans to…" She glanced at Ron, "You said the guy was wrong when he said that Th-… That Hana was what gave you the MMP, is that true?"
"Yeah, I got it from some statues Monkey Breath had…" Ron sighed, "But Yori's right, we need to stop this now, as much as I wanna be back in the US to watch the fam…"
"I'll check with Wade to see if Felix and Joss are with 'em." Kim said softly, smiling at him and patting his hand before moving to the right rear corner of the van.
"Y'gonna be okay, Sport?" Shay asked softly, placing her hand where Kim's had been.
"No…" Ron sighed heavily, "I screwed up, Shay! And I got Alfonso captured…"
"Actually, you did not, Stoppable-sama." Hirotaka said, shaking his head in disagreement, "While there may have been other courses of action that could have been better, this one was successful in general." Ron screwed up his face as if to disagree, when the older man raised a finger to stop him, "Yes, they captured Alfonso-san, but he jumped out of a moving vehicle to allow his father, Toni-san and Atcherkamp-san to escape. They have already offered a 'ransom'," Ron almost laughed at the sight of Hirotaka making air-quotes, "We shall make them think that is what they are getting, and then strike when they are, as I believe Edward-san would say, 'Fat, happy and stupid'!"
"Maybe…" Ron sighed again as they pulled into the safehouse's garage. As they got out, they were greeted by the sight of several Yamanouchi ninja and a dozen each of Hendrick and Vincente's men, as well as the men themselves. "I just fee-…" He was stopped in mid word by a light slap to the back of his head.
"No more of that!" Shay said, resting her hand back on his shoulder, smiling at him, "Yeah, you listening to my idea, thinking these guys were just mercs, may not have been the best course of action, but it worked…" She pursed her lips, eyes narrowing, "In fact… If Gemini wanted both of us like that henchman said… Keeping us all together might've been their original plan."
"The sonic blaster?" Ken asked, startling Ron, and drawing a contemplative nod from Shay.
"Exactly…" she drew out, "Ron… You and I would've been the only guaranteed survivors of a car being blasted with that thing…"
"And had Shego not blasted the vehicle with the only henchman capable of using it, they would have caught up to us, and they would have ended our lives, not to mention debilitated you long enough to be captured!" Vincente's voice was firm and supportive as he leaned forward to make sure Ron was looking at him. "So while it wasn't the best course of action, Ronald, it worked, and quite well for all of us in the long run!" Seeing that Ron, hearing the words from the man most affected by the current turn of events, seemed to accept their words, he stood fully and began to stroke his moustache. "Shego and the ninja are quite right, though… That was exactly their plan!"
"Um, how d'ya know?" Ron asked, shocked that Vincente and Hendrick seemed happy to see him.
"We managed to take a few prisoners…" Masaru, the driver for Vincente and Hendrick's BMW SUV said with a certain degree of coldness that almost startled Shay.
"Are they alive?" Ron asked, swallowing against the nervousness the question brought up in his gut.
"Though they are a dishonor to the Henchman's union," Masaru all but spat, "They are still members, so yes…"
"But they were quite willing to talk when they discovered that Alfonso is my son, and that I, being a criminal, am not as bound by those rules of law…" Vincente's smile was ugly, but Shay felt she could understand why. What startled her, though, was that Ron seemed to agree with his thoughts, if the brief but dark shadow that flashed across his eyes were any indication. "Suffice it to say, we know where Alfonso is likely being held…"
Ron glanced at Hirotaka, who seemed the most up to date of the field teams, and asked, "D'you know if we've sent any scouts out?"
"We have, Stoppable-sama." Hirotaka nodded, "However, it could take the-…"
"Hey, guys?" Kim said, before anyone else could say anything, "Sorry to interrupt, but…" She turned her gaze, full of relief and no small amount of joy, on Ron, "Joss 'n' Felix got your 'rents and sis out just fine. Unfortunately, well…"
"What?" Ron asked, worry clouding his face.
"The people the WWEE sent to your house were lead by Deegan Tripe," Kim half spat, then calmed a bit, "And… They kinda tore it up when the Wadebots and the Tweebs got there…"
"Dammit, KP, don't do that!" Ron snapped, his face clouded by rapidly changing emotions. Shay chuckled softly, as did several of the others, drawing a scowl from Ron and a titter from Kim. The red-head put her arms around Ron's chest and hugged him, drawing a sigh from him as he kissed her forehead, "Sorry… Thanks for letting me know, KP…"
"No big." she answered, before glancing around, "So… What's the sitch?"
"We're getting my son back," Vincente growled lowly, his tone cold and uglier than his earlier smile.
"And as soon as Yamanouchi's scouts get back," Hendrick added, "we shall teach Gemini that it is not wise to screw with people such as myself and Vincente!"
"Just let us know the plan," Kim murmured, holding up the wrist with her Kimmunicator, "And I'll see if I can't stir up some more assistance!"
"Ooo, good call, Kimmie!" Shay said in a sing-song voice, "Nerdlinger should be able to help narrow the search area for the scouts, and you have some friends here in Europe!" At several raised eyebrows, she waved in Ron and Kim's general direction, "With Kimmie's cyber master on the job and scaring up some help, our side just got a huge boost!"
"Any help will be good." Yori murmured as they were led into the safehouse proper, "And Wade-san is very, very good." Kim nodded as she walked over to Yori when the ninja sat down heavily on a couch in the main room, where the TV was playing a live broadcast, with video of the prior hour and a half's events. For some reason, that seemed to strike something in Kim, and she pulled out her older Kimmunicator and brought up the medical scanner before running it over the Japanese teen's body, "What is that for, Kim-sama?"
"Medical scan," Kim said with a smile, Rufus clambering up to look over the readings with her. He smiled and gave Yori a thumbs up, to which Kim nodded in agreement, "Looks like other than some light bruising to your upper arm and a few places on your torso, you're good."
"Thank God…" Ron murmured, sitting down in the love seat next to the couch, "I was worried about you…" He glanced up at Shay as she stepped next to the couch he sat on, "And especially you, Shay… You took the bruntof that sonic blaster thingy!"
"Like I said, Sport," Shay smiled as she sat down next to him, forcing herself to ignore the snotty sounding mimicking of her words by the voice that was not quite her own, "I was healed up by the time you and Ken were about to jump into that crossfire in the making on the other roo-…" Shay frowned at Kim as the red-head, with an irritated, worried look on her face, began to scan her, "Dammit, Possible, I said I was recovered!"
"And you had a WWEE modified Sonic Destructulator used on you!" Kim snapped back, frowning slightly. Rufus squeaked an agreement in a similarly annoyed tone, before blowing the older woman a raspberry. "You've still got some bruising in your left lung and kidney, and you'll need to eat before we head out again, but everything else looks fine." Kim raised an eyebrow as Shay huffed, almost turning away from Kim's serious, but worried gaze. "Sorry, Love… We just don't want you to get hurt like last time…"
Awww, look! the familiar voice griped, finally finding another target other than Ron to rant about, She's worried about Go City's Superwhore! There was a sharp bark of laughter from the voice, before it dropped into a plaintive, child-like tone, Jus' wike Wonnie an' widdwe Wufus! Another, calmer but darker chuckle followed, the voice changing back to what Shay was used to, I suppose since you've finally accepted that these idiots love you that you're going to let them get hurt the next time you go out, right? I mean, since your luck seems to be what got them both into this, it's what's expected, eh? Shay let out a sigh, deciding to just let the voice flow through and over her like water over a rock, I mean, hell, you don't even know that ninja bitch, and you almost got her killed!
"No…" Shay whispered, in answer to both the voice and the silent question she read in Kim's eyes. My actions saved her life, damn you! And you know it as well as I do, you… Whatever the hell you are! The voice stayed silent except for a bit of grumbling, and Shay saw that Kim had was awaiting an explanation for her single word denial. Shay shook her head briefly, drawing a shuddery breath, "Don't be sorry for being worried, Princess; I'm fine, or will be by the time the action starts up again, but you're right to check…" She reached out and pulled Kim close, holding her tightly and all but dragging her onto the couch. The red-head squeaked in surprise, Rufus jumping from her shoulder to the couch's arm with a protest of his own, before settling herself into her lover's lap, "I'm sorry you got dragged into this, Kimmie, but I'm glad you're here…" She glanced at Rufus, who still wore a scolding expression on his face, "At least Bud here kept you mostly out of trouble!"
"Yeah…" Kim finally relaxed into Shay's warm hug, almost jumping as Ron settled his arms around both her shoulders and Shay's. She was happy that the older woman didn't jump or tense up as normal, but seemed to accept the gesture. The red-head almost purred as Ron placed a gentle kiss under her ear, an action mirrored by Shay at almost the same time on the opposite side of her neck. "Glad I can help…" She made a happy sound as her lovers made sounds of agreement, then turned to look back into Shay's eyes, "Y'know, Lover, you're awfully tense…"
Shay chuckled, looking back into the expressive eyes of her lover with a quirk to her lips, "Maybe your Doofus could give me one of those back rubs of his?"
"Hey!" Ron objected teasingly as he sat down to Kim and Shego's left, "Right here, y'know…"
"Well," Kim said as if not hearing Ron, but giving him a wink, "I think our Doofus would love to give you one, Sheegs…"
"Our Doofus, Princess?" Shay asked, earning a happy nod from Kim. The pale woman reached up, as if without thinking, to ruffle Ron's hair, her eyes sparkling as she continued to stare at Kim, "Y'know, I… I kinda like the sounds of that."
Oh, the whore's making a choice to condemn the woman she loves and the boy she wants to screw, is she? the voice snipped, I wonder how badly they're going to suffer for you, Shego, hmmm?
She ignored the voice, because Kim's statement was true… Whether the voice liked it or not, after seeing Ron's reaction to her being hurt… She knew, at the deepest levels, that Ron was hers, just as surely as he was Kim's…
And that he would always be hers, even if she was never his…
Author's Notes
Wow, unexpected realization on Shego's part there at the end… Or, at least, unexpected for her, considering how she's been feeling up to this point… Then again, there was a lot going on in this chapter, and our heroes went through a lot of stress, so is that kind of realization all that surprising?
Then we have Shego learning things about Ron and his sister she'd never suspected, Ron nearly going berserk over Shego getting hurt and the WWEE muscling in on organized crime?
And then Tripe's escape - so easily done, with inside help - interrupting a sweet-turned-nearly-sexy scene with poor Joss and Felix. Will those two ever catch a break to really explore what they want with each other? Only time will tell…
Uh, oh, Gemini, Betty and Agent Alpha reveal part of their plan, and it involves… Warmonga? Oh, no…
And all of it starting off with the revelation that Kim has knowingly dipped her toe into the grey area of being a hero… Even if she never really admitted it before that point, even, if her words are any indication, to herself, let alone anyone else!
As always, thanks to Neo the Saiyan Angel for her flow/feel beta work, this fic'd suck a lot more without her! ^_^' And remember: there's lots of fics out there so keep up the reading, and if ya like a fic, give the author a review!