Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible. She is owned by Disney and Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley. Any original characters shown or mentioned belong to me and can not be used without permission. Got it?
The WPS universe was inspired by BlackBird's AIRW universe, with permission.
The Worst Possible Sitch
Chapter Seven – Checklist
"Ah-boo-ya-ha?" Shego finally asked.
For the past fifteen minutes since snapping out of her fugue state the redhead had related the re-associated memory from two days ago – minus of course what she could not have known about her friends outside of their sudden appearance in the yard just prior to the breakout. Dr D would shit a blue brick if he knew I not only didn't interrupt her once but actually paid full attention!
Well… maybe not exactly full attention…, Shego reflected as she continued to massage the teen's feet. Midway through the tale she had encouraged her maybe-former nemesis off the floor and onto the sofa where the teen had kicked off her shoes, placing bare feet in the woman's lap, toes wiggling in the gesture universally understood between females. She could not determine if the teen was flirting or just being… well, Kimmie.
Flirting or not, having removed her gloves to better work the teen's feet, Shego was appreciating the pleasure of the simple contact. That she was getting some hands-on-skin action going was a bonus, and quite frankly, a turn on. She was trying to hold herself back some.
At that moment one of Drakken's henchwomen entered the lounge, her cowl and mask pulled back like a hood, freeing a wild mane of strawberry-blonde hair. The woman stood in the doorway, a wide-eyed shocked expression on her face as she took in the scene before her.
The Lieutenant. Sitting with Kim Possible! The girl's feet in her lap!
Massaging them!
With her usual flippancy, the green suited woman grunted, "That's right Thirteen. It's Kim Possible. The boss knows she's here. And yes, I'm rubbing her feet," she shared an amused glance with the teen.
"Got a problem with it?"
A shake of her head, "Uhm, no ma'am!"
"What did you need Thirteen?"
"I wanted to watch 'How I Met Your Other Mother'," the woman stated.
"Use the lounge on the Guest Level. Tell the others this one's off limits tonight," the lead henchperson instructed.
"Yes ma'am…," the woman backed out, not taking her eyes off the strange and practically unnatural sight until the doors closed.
Matching green eyes met. Neither said a thing for almost thirty seconds, then they erupted in hearty laughter at the other's expense.
"O'm'gawd!" Kim squealed, "Did you see the expression on her face? Priceless!"
"Remind me to download the security cams," Shego snorted merrily, "That's prime for the Christmas Blooper Reel!"
Which sent Kim into a further fit of giggles. "I… I thought her… head was going to… explode!" she fought to get out.
"Or her eyes burst into flame!" They convulsed into a longer fit.
"Oh, oh, oh… and what's with the hair?"
"'Hood Hair'?" she smiled, "Sometimes called 'Cowl Foul'. The head wear is hard on the 'do's, especially those who wear theirs longer than 2 inches."
"Oh god, that felt good," Kim calmed. "Where were we?"
"Ah-boo-ya-ha," the green woman offered.
"Oh yeah."
"Wasn't that like, your doofus' Bad Boy evil laugh?" the pale woman ventured before wincing internally. She really needed to tread carefully around the topic of the former sidekick and boyfriend. For one thing, it seemed not all of the girl's memories were yet in place. That's a land mine I best not trip.
"Shego!" Kim chided, "Ron's not a doofus! He's just… Ron." She finished her Loca Cola which had been forgotten on the table until she got off the floor. "He's been as faithful to me as you've been to Drakken."
Yeaaahh, she mused, definitely not all her memories are restored.
"The moment called for something," Kim shrugged, "That was the only thing that came to mind."
The verdant vixen chuckled, "Still, I would have paid good money to have seen dear ol' Betty's face as you went sailing over that wall… ."
"Ahh BOO YAH Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha‼‼"
Standing amid the crowd of cheering inmates, Dr Director watched with a certain detached professionalism as Kim Possible soared from sight. In her business, if one was to not continuously underestimate one's assets and opponents, one needed to frankly appreciate their abilities.
What a magnificent agent she would have made!
Her earphone chimed. "Director."
"Du… couch cough… 'ere," came the strained voice, "…hack… Possible is Wide."
Betty's lips twitched in a wry grin. She looked at the wall where gas clouds were yet to fully clear. Up there Will would have had a spectacular front row view until the bombs went off. Really need to find out where she got ahold of those. "I saw. And a truly impressive Hail Mary it was."
"All the more… cough caaakk… when y' consider it' been less than… gasp… tw'nty hours… she arriv'd 'ere… ."
"Add that somehow she motivated everyone for assistance, most of whom are in here as a direct result of her actions," she added. "You were right Will, we shall be very hard pressed to deal with her. Still, we must try. Mobilize everything you can. Call in any reserve and fringe assets available. Then get some oxygen."
"Wi…," coughing fit, "do… owt… ."
Her lips drawn tight, the global peacekeeper turned to take in Kim's nearby friends. On the ground Leon struggled to roll the now unconscious dark-skinned girl off her while Ron stood there frozen, staring in shock at where he had lost sight of his girlfriend, jaw dropped.
So speechless was the boy, he had no reaction to the woman's words to nearby agents, "Detain them for questioning. I'll be setting up my command center in the warden's office." Spinning on her heel she stalked from the yard, leaving the rest of her people and the correctional officers to finish locking down the remains of the riot.
She passed Señor Senior Sr as he turned to his son. "Now that, Junior, is an evil laugh!" he gestured with his cane, "Come my son, we have been remiss in practicing our own… ."
"Ahh BOO YAH Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha‼‼" Kim crowed deliciously, pulling the cry from her diaphragm. She reveled a moment in the feel of the air rushing past, her hair whipping wildly, the looser folds of the hooded orange jumpsuit fluttering. She felt like a circus' human cannonball. It was a rush like that of a free-fall sky dive, only better since no plane was required for this.
The former hero…, Criminal now that I've busted out of jail…, feeling herself reach the apex of her trajectory, glanced for the target that the Jeerleader majorette promised she would have little difficulty in seeing, and sure enough, there it was below her.
The railway ran close enough to Lemon that the super maximum security prison not only required trains to alert them to their approaches by sounding their horns in a predetermined manner, but also used them to service the supermax facility. A secure station accessed by a heavily guarded underground tunnel would accept needed supplies from properly pre-arranged delivery stops. Even mass transfers of prisoners, such as most of Kim's current arch foes, arrived from the airports they were flown into from around the world, was done in this fashion.
A series of thick brush, moats and streams, gate-less stretches of electrified fences, endless coils of razorwire, and clear spaces filled with unevenly laid sharp rocks and debris made it far too impractical to storm the walls from that direction. The lack of any clear and even overground passage between Lemon, the station, or any portion of the tracks ruled out any consideration of using the trains in any part of a breakout attempt.
Except for this method!
Below her the train whose horn had played an integral part in timing the break raced along at a clip she estimated to be about eighty to ninety miles per hour. It was obvious she was meant to "dismount" atop the racing transport. Fortunately the rails did not run even close to parallel to the walls, but instead seemed to be set at an angle of forty or so degrees, which only served to increase her chances of effecting a proper dismount from this maneuver. Factor in that the Jeerleaders, Sadie especially, had launched her at an oblique angle to the walls and it all combined to increase the amount of train-top for her to hit. The closer to parallel meant less surface area, less chance to "stick it".
While not the first time she ever landed atop a speeding train, this was her first time sans a vehicle or even a parachute. She was not at a matched speed. The train was moving much faster than muscle power could possible propel her, so she was going to bounce.
Bounce hard.
How best to… oh… yeah!
Reaching into the jumpsuit's front pocket the redhead found, transferred from her original prison garb, the mystery mass the carrot-topped Izzy had given her, Pinching off a bit Kim quickly smeared the smelly stuff about her hands as instructed. So prepared, the ex-cheerleader could do little more than wait as the hard metal rushed up at her.
Or vice versa.
At the last possible moment the fledgling criminal tucked into a roll, shutting her eyes and presenting her back for the initial impact. With eyes closed she had no idea that the ruby glow which was now an erratic part of her had flared to life.
BWHAM‼
The shock reverberated throughout her glow-reinforced body, her spine taking the brunt of it, but nowhere near as bad as it should have been. She flipped on the rebound, her hands outstretched to make contact, which she did. Her lower body bounced once more but the Jeerleader's sticky stuff performed as promised and her hands remained in contact with the polished, sun-heated metal. With the sound of a tortured squeegee across dry glass she slid toward the edge, leaving behind a dark smear from her coated palms before sliding completely off the car.
Of course it was nothing, with her reflexes, to locate and grab with her fingertips the ridge of metal that formed the seam of the rooftop, her body slamming into the windows set in the side, cracking them. Startled passengers jumped first, then crowded the panes trying to get a better look.
Sucking air into her battered body, Kim rested for only a few heartbeats while taking stock of her predicament.
Break out of jail… Check.
Land on a speeding locomotive… Check
Hang on for dear life onto the side of said speeding locomotive… Check.
Need to climb back up… Check.
Her slide across the top of the transport having burned off the effects of Izzy's Mystery Mass from her palms, Kim experimentally tried the back of her right hand. She grinned when it stuck fast. Maybe I do need to get the recipe, she mused, curling her hands into fists and using them to secure herself while clambering up. Once she made the top again, the redheaded teen rolled on her back to rest for a moment.
Catch my breath… Check.
I just escaped a supermax prison! the teen worked to calm her racing heart, I can't believe I just did that!
As if to underscore the fact that she had indeed just "did that", something went zing! off the metal near her head. Then another.
Sharpshooters! And the standing order for escapees is shoot to kill!
The teen hero-cum-villain rolled away from the roof edge as a couple more bullets smacked where she had just been. Kim could barely see the prison towers where the shots had to be coming from, but she knew that with powerful enough scopes she was easily still visible to them in the neon orange clothing, even if a hit at this distance would take more luck and art than skill. Reaching into the pocket of Chica bombs, she pulled out a handful already knowing which she wanted.
Grey… grey… grey…, she rolled them in her hand until, There we go! Shoving the rest back in she slammed the marble-sized incendiary hard against the metal, this time noticing how her hand suddenly lit in her new protective ruby glow.
Spankin! Like my super suit's forcefield, she thought as she was engulfed by a dense yet harmless cloud of smoke, I've really got to learn how to call it at will!
At eighty or so miles per hour, the thick smokescreen was quickly swept free of her girlish frame but as they were on a straight stretch of railway, it remained between her and the tower's line-of-sight. At least for a few seconds more anyway, as they were about to hit a gentle bend that would bring her back into their view. More shots winged past. While preventing them from getting a clear bead on her it did not stop them from shooting blind.
Keeping low, the teen escapee quickly made her way to the nearest space between the cars as more and more shots zipped and pinged about her. Reaching it, she dropped down and out of any chance of being seen or hit.
Avoid being shot… Check.
Kim opened the door to the rearward car, moving up the aisle between startled passengers, some of the women screaming, mothers protecting their children as they recognized the brilliant orange Department Of Corrections jumpsuit first, then the person wearing it second.
The Infamous Teen Hero-turned-Murderer Kim Possible.
The redhead moved swiftly, knowing it could not be long before the prison, or more likely Global Justice, had units in the air and radioing for the engineer to stopover for a search. First order of business is to get out of this ugly day-glow 'Here I am, come and arrest me' outfit! Having the baggage car as her objective, Kim ignored everyone.
She was almost to the next door when two of the men she passed jumped her the moment her back was to them. They grabbed her high and low, grabbing her about arms and legs amid shouts of "Hold it Girlie!" and "She can't be all that tough!"
I don't have time for this foolishness!
Kim reacted on auto-pilot, slamming her right elbow back into the face of Low Guy. As he reeled back clutching at his nose fountaining blood, he bumped into his buddy, causing High Guy to relax his grip momentarily.
More than enough time for the girl to pivot in place inside the man's arms to face him. "I'll say this once. Let. Me. Go." she stated evenly.
The buff man, his hair cut short in a military style, smirked at her. "Or what Girlie? We Marines eat fluffs like you for breakfast. Sometimes for dessert if you ask nicely!" he guffawed. Which cut short abruptly in pain as Kim slammed her heel atop his foot and slipped down out of his grasp. Rolling backwards on the floor, both heels found in rapid order his knees, groin, stomach and his chin on her way up into a handspring then back to her feet.
The out-of-uniform marine fell back over his nose-bleeding buddy, unconscious, even as Low Guy stood, recovered for Round Two. A shake of his head and a spit sent blood clear from his face. Thinner and more wiry than his fellow, he moved into a fighting stance that screamed part brawler part judo. He lifted onto the balls of his feet to absorb the car's motion, his lower body shifting to keep his center of gravity low even as his shoulders rolled to keep his head level and locked on her.
Kim simply struck a hand-on-hip pose, not in anyway threatened by the larger man. Please! Shego he is not! Her voice still even, she tried to inject some menace into it, "You so don't want to do this."
Smirking, "Oh yes Fluff, I so think I do." The passengers closest to them squeezed against each other to clear as far out of the way as the crowded car allowed.
"'Fluff'?" the former hero cocked an eyebrow, "I didn't take that from your friend, I certainly won't from you."
"Oh, you'll take it. And ask for more."
Kim snorted, "I just escaped from a Super Maximum Security Prison filled with not only trained Correctional Officers, but reinforced with Global Justice forces." Her eyes narrowed, full of danger, "Do you really think you, alone, can take me?"
The marine closed in on her, his fists meant to do the talking for him in a rapid one-two attack with a knee chaser.
At least that was his goal.
Sidestepping, the redheaded teenager slapped his first strike away before grabbing the wrist behind his second. She simultaneously tugged on it, pulling him off balance, and spun on her left foot, rolling her shoulders along the outstretched arm, whipping her right elbow up to plant it hard into exposed ribs. Continuing her motion she came out standing behind him and jabbed the heel of her left palm into the base of his skull.
Already taking a step forward, the man rolled with the blow. Leaning forward and placing his hands on seat armrests for counterbalance, he brought his left leg up in a hooking kick for her temple. Kim rotated under and stepped into it, placing her right shoulder into the crook of the knee. She straightened, hanging him up. So entangled the marine was kept off balance on his right leg as she walked them forward before hooking her ankle around to trip him. With her right hand on the back of his head she drove his face into the floor.
Hard.
He stayed down. The entire exchange took less than three seconds.
"Told you so," she said, walking atop the length of his body. The pair's female traveling companions squealed, dropping alongside their men.
Overhead came the sound of approaching helicopters. Kim could tell by the timber of the chops that most were from Global Justice. Her time to make the baggage car had slipped away.
Turning, Kim looked about at the wide-eyed passengers looking her way, most with expressions of fear and awe on their faces. She raised her voice. "By now I suppose you know who I am. From the news you know what I'm capable of, even before this manslaughter business.
"From this," she swung a hand at the two men collapsed in the aisle, "you know what I'm capable of now. So what say we cut through things and have some cooperation?
"You know, save some time," I'm a criminal now, time to bank on that cash and act it! "Save some lives," she emphasized the last word in a cold menacing tone.
Everyone nodded amid scattered and varied vocal assurances. Pointing at several women she called for articles of their clothing, "You, let's have your top… you, pants…," she ordered the girlfriends of her attackers as they were pulling them out of the way. As they hurriedly complied she moved back up the aisle taking up a collection from the terrified passengers.
Add Aggravated Assault, Terrorism, and Grand Larceny to the list…
Check, Check, and Check.
In short order the redhead had assembled a serviceable yet fashionable ensemble; red hip-hugger Capri slacks, soft black knee-high moccasins, a black tube top, a long-sleeved bolero jacket only a few shades away from the slacks, and a wide brown leather belt with a double row of studs and rivets. Finally she selected several belt pouches designed for cameras, cellphones, and other assorted devices.
Feeling the pressure of time slipping away as the aircraft got closer, the young new villainess moved to the space just in front of the rear door and stripped perfunctorily to her underwear right there. Keeping a wary eye on her hostages, In for a penny, in for a dollar! she quickly donned her new attire, transferring her stash of meager yet useful stuff into the belt pouches.
Now Hostage Taking and a Strip Show… Check and Double Check.
"There! That's more like it," she modeled for the closest girls who did not seem afraid of her, "What do you think?" She smiled thinly as they nodded their approval.
"Folks," she spoke to the rest, "Thank you for your time, cooperation, and not making me hurt any more of you." Opening the door she stepped through.
"And that's all I recall so far," Kim paused.
"Wow Pumpkin," Shego drawled, "Color me impressed. I didn't think you had the chops."
The ex-hero shrugged, "I told you, I'd had an epiphany."
"Yeaahh…," Shego locked eyes with her, not for the first time marveling at how they were the same color as her own, "Mind telling me exactly what that was?"
"I'm evil."
"Right. This is based on what again Pumpkin?"
"The red tinge of my chi for one. My actions for another. I've killed and maimed, and if Du is right that I'm succumbing to the influence of the Shun Leep Murderfist, I will again. I broke out of jail, evaded a manhunt, resisted arrest, terrorized and stole," the redhead listed. "Probably more I've yet to remember."
"The Murder Two charge aside, that's really not much of a list…," the woman said, secretly impressed with the short list in such a short time.
"I guess a villain's gotta start somewhere," Kim countered with a shrug. "I mean, it was all enough to earn me a death-sentence before my so-called trial even began!"
"Yeah," growled the pale green woman. She had almost forgotten the flush of anger she felt when Kim related the Global Justice conversation. It tweaked her guts the way the Straightest Arrow she had ever known had been cut loose by Director and her ilk.
It's déjà vu all over again.
Though I wasn't the straightest of arrows… .
"Anyway," Kim crumpled the empty soda can with one hand, the scarlet aura flashing briefly. Without even looking she tossed it over her shoulder, sending it sailing right into the open recycling can. "I'm thinking at this point I realized you were the only one I could call on."
Shego paused in her ministrations. "What about Mom and Pop, and you know…, the Buffoon and Nerdlinger?"
"I still can't remember everything so I can only guess according to what I know and feel right now," the redhead eyed her levelly. "I may be on the path to supervillainy, but I still love my family. I'll not see them held accountable for my actions, or liable in lawsuits.
"I would think that you'd understand what it means to not want to involve family."
Shego nodded, "Hoo boy yeah, but maybe not for exactly the same reasons as you. Remember, Love-Hate relationship and the entire No-Longer-Hero thing."
"Well, my folks are not government sanctioned superheroes like yours," she nodded. "I don't expect they'd survive a fucking Spanish Inquisition meant for me."
"Cupcake! Such language!" the woman feigned shock, then smirked, "I think I like this New You."
The former hero smirked and wrinkled her nose, "I know! I think I recall enough to know that I'm rather liking the freedom being evil brings."
"Tell me about it. Oh, and 'No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!'" Shego supplied the dangling punchline.
Kim threw her head back and laughed, "Bwah hah hah hah hah!" Like in the exercise yard facing Arcadian's sister, this too was from deep within her, heartfelt, and brought tears to her eyes.
Shego sat there drinking in the refreshing changes in the young woman she had reluctantly admitted to herself that over the past couple years she had fallen in love with. Who ten, almost eleven, days ago she had openly admitted it to, but was rebuffed.
Now Little Miss Perfect is just a bit Little Miss Perfecter.
Or is it just an act? To gain my aid and support? Shego's normally cautious and suspicious nature fought to assert itself, Sure she's been very poor at guile beyond the high school kind, but that was also before this. Before deciding to be evil… .
No, she chided herself mentally, she's always been one hundred percent decisive. Whenever she makes a decision, no matter how snap, she enviably follows it through to its intrinsic conclusion, so she's bound to be on the up and up.
Still, what might this mean for me? For us? Shego pondered, I'll need to play it cool. Not spook her. I couldn't bear to be rejected again.
Finally the redhead came back down from her brief high. She wiped tears from her eyes. "I had just watched the blu-rays a month ago! Oh, Monty Cobra is priceless!"
"That they are pumpkin," Shego agreed.
"As for Wade…, I can't trust that he's not been compromised by GJ. Fact is, if I bother to think about it I'm not all that certain of how much I should have been trusting him all along."
The woman frowned, "I thought he was your friend. That you trust him."
"You know the sayings, 'as far as you can throw him', and 'keep your enemies closer'?" Kim asked. "Sure he's been helpful and saved my skin loads of time, but there have been all these minor things…, y'know, small things individually, but they add up. I told you about the resonance stone he chipped me with?"
Shego nodded.
"I can't think of exactly when he did that! And that wasn't such a surprise since I had once forced him to admit that he had chipped Ron. Over the years I've caught him in a few other things. Like he accesses my bank accounts and reads my personal diary," the girl ranted, her hands gesturing expressively. "He's known all my pins, combinations and passwords without me telling him.
"And some of the things he could do with the Kimmunicator remotely would be worrisome if I hadn't bothered to ignore them," now that she was rattling off the list of things she had overlooked for a while she was getting truly worked up. "He's got hours of video records about me going back years. He can replay almost any point in my life, even times I was totally unaware he was even watching!
"Remember that time I gave you my cold?"
"Oh yeah," she snarked. So far the most intimate thing you ever gave me!
Ahh! How moopy is that?
"He showed me a video in my own home, which has no cameras, tracking exactly how I picked up my tweeby brothers' virus‼" Kim glared, "Now that I'm daring to think about it, I have to wonder exactly how often and where he's been watching me‼" She shuddered.
"Nice. And that's your friend?"
"Maybe no more. And not just for that as much as like my family, I want to protect my friends from the drama I'm bringing down on my head," the teen sighed. "Though thinking about all that makes it easier to cut him loose, y'know?"
"I imagine so," Shego allowed. She started to speak, then shut her mouth, thinking better of it.
However the sharp-eyed teenager caught the moment. "What?"
"No, I best not."
"Nuh-uh! Come on, spillit," Kim persisted.
"What about your boyfriend?"
There it was again, that strange inflection on the word. Only now, with some of her memories restored, Kim was better able to understand and decipher what was behind it. "I said I'll be cutting some strings," she started carefully. "Ron's been my bestest friend since Pre-K. He's always been there for me and followed me no matter what or where it led. Maybe he'd follow me in my new chosen career. Maybe not.
"But I can't allow him to do it. It wouldn't be fair to him and I'd be a poor friend to allow him to even think of dragging his good name… his family's good name… through the gutter as I'm about to do to mine."
As the henchwoman nodded, Kim scooted closer so that her knees rested across the older woman's lap, grasping her hands.
Surprised, Shego froze for long seconds before looking into eyes so much like her own, yet much more expressive. And there's a lot of expressive in there.
"Shego," the teen started, "I… think I know what… look, I remember the night in Lighting Labs including how I felt and reacted. Then. But there is a lot I'm still missing… ."
"Kimmie…,"
"No, let me finish this," Kim interrupted. "There is a lot missing right now, so I can't say anything with any sort of certainty, but remember, I called you. For Help. I don't think there is anyone else in the world I can trust at my back… or my side… than you.
"I can't deny there is a lot of chemistry between us… ."
"But…," Shego whispered.
"It wouldn't be fair to you, to us, to discuss that night until I get it all back." Kim leaned her head closer.
"And if you never do?" the woman leaned in as well until their foreheads touched. Their eyes no longer met, but they could feel each other's breath as they spoke softly. Good thing Thirteen didn't walk in on this.
"Then I'll need time to evaluate it anew, based upon what I do get back, and where we go from here. Okay?"
"Promise?"
"Promise," the exchange was little more than air felt moving across their lips.
Shego smiled. Not her usual sardonic smirk either, but a genuine smile. "I think I can live with that."
"So we're good?" the girl asked.
"Check, Princess. Triple Check."
"Meanwhile," the redheaded villainess said, her voice business like, "I have another promise I need to keep."
The pale woman pulled back, ready to submerge herself into waters more familiar and safe than this baring of emotions. "To Triple S?" Kim nodded, her face taking on the typical determination she was used to facing off against. "How many do you figure to bust free?" she asked, comfortable that this at least was something she had more experience with than the teen, "The Seniors certainly. Your evil cheerleaders possibly… ."
"All of them."
Please drop Comments and Reviews. I also accept PMs. All will receive answers, and that's a Kim Promise.
BTW, if any missed it, the Jeerleaders from Chapter 6 were all modeled on the female cast members of Total Drama Island. If you have NOT seen this show, by all means, you've got to!! It is BY FAR the most fun and REAL Survivor-type "Reality" Show on the air!!
I have plans for the guys from the show as well... .
See you next week!
LR
