Kim let out an involuntary cry of pain as she was thrown back into her clinically white cell. She got to her feet and charged at the Global Justice guards who had tossed her into the room. The door slid shut and sealed just as she reached it. Kim screamed in rage and slammed a fist against the door, before dragging herself over to the small bunk and throwing herself on it.
It had been days since Paris, and during all that time, Kim's life had been reduced to an unending string of prolonged and humiliating agonies. She hadn't seen Ron or her Family in all that time, only being told by Will Du that the Possibles, the Stoppables, and Wade were being held in "protective custody, for the time being." So, aside from meals and the occasional bathroom break, there had been a series of systematic attmpts to force Faye out of hiding. Everything from sleep deprivation, to prolonged drugging had been used. Today, however, today they had upped their game...
--
"It's not working, sir." Will said over the phone to ICAD One, raising his voice to be heard over the screams coming from behind the security door.
"Up the voltage, then." ICAD One replied. "I want Morgan by the end of the week, Du."
"Yes, sir, I understand that. But if we push too hard, we're going to have permanent damage, and we don't know how much punishment one takes will affect the other."
"Noted, Agent Du. Which is why I haven't authorized any of the Class C interrogation methods. I'll give you two more days, but if there's no progress, we may have to move to more drastic methods. In the meantime..."
"...yes, sir." Du hung up the phone, and pressed the button for the intercom in the room. "Up the voltage."
The volume of the screams increased, makuing it through the one way glass and into the observation room. Du forced himself to watch every minute of it.
--
Kim tugged down the hospital gown they made her wear, and turned towards the wall, not giving them the satisfaction of seeing how much it was getting to her. She was tired, hurting, and plotting horrible bloody vengance for when she finally got out of here.
Good for you. It's about time.
Kim's eyes snapped open, and she forced herself to remain in her current position. She hadn't heard from Faye since her capture. Her deranged alter ego had been worryingly absent, and even worse, silent. Kim had figured she was lying low, since she could still feel Faye lurking like a hibernating snake in the bottom of her brain.
"Faye?" she asked.
Keep your mouth shut. You want to play another round of "Where Will the Electrodes Go Next?"
Kim bit her lip and resigned herself to what was going to be the strangest conversation she would ever have in her life.
Where the hell have you been?
What do you care? I figured you'd be grateful for the break.
Cute.
Still putting up the brave front, huh? Noble. Stupid...but noble.
It's not a front.
Sure it isn't. When are you going to accept the fact that I know what you know, I feel what you feel? Well, when I'm awake anyway.
Is there a point to all this, or are you just gloating?
You're dying, Kim.
Yeah, right.
I suppose I deserve that. I'm not lying, Kim. You know that. I've done a lot of horrible, wonderful things. But have I ever lied to you?
...
Clearly you need proof. Close your eyes.
Why? So you can take control again?
So I can share with you what I can feel and hear. I promise I won't take control unless you say so. Seriously, what have you got to lose?
...all right.
Kim took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She fought to keep from opening them again as she suddenly heard the pounding of her heart. The arrythmic pounding of her heart. She felt the blood flowing in her veins and arteries slowing down. She could hear the synapses in her brain as they fired at fewer intervals. Her nerve endings were singing from overexertion, and every little nick and cut and fracture felt like agony.
How do you put up with this?
I don't. You're the one hurting like this, Kim. Not me.
I thought we shared the damage we took.
Not anymore. I figured out how to keep it seperate. No reason for both of us to be hurting on a regular basis.
Kim shifted on the bed, and bit down sharply on her lip as blinding pain moved in a wave throughout her body.
Stop it...STOP IT, PLEASE!
Whoops! Sorry. Deep breaths.
Kim took several deep breaths, returning her breathing to normal as the pain receded to its previous level. She gingerly rolled back to her original position and opened her eyes.
What do you want?
I want to help.
I seriously doubt that.
Fine. I want control. Permanently.
Not a chance in hell.
Thank you for the oh-so-typical Kim Possible response. You know it's going to happen. Even if they weren't torturing you in an effort to force a change, you have to have realized that I'm the stronger of the two of us now. It's happening whether you want it or not, so why not just let it happen now?
Because I'm not dead yet. I can still figure out a way out of here, save everyone and--
And get this room filled with knockout gas the second you get up to go to that door. GJ knows all your tricks, Kim. That's one of the dangers of having your allies turn on you. They know how to keep you neutralized.
They'll do the same to you.
But they don't know ALL my tricks. Hell, to be honest, even I don't know all my tricks yet.
I'm not letting you loose on the world. I won't be responsible for that.
And once again, the typical stupidly noble response. And again I say to you, it's going to happen anyway. You've got about two days left. Then you die.
And you die with me. ICAD One doesn't get either of us. Sounds like I win.
Really? What about Ron?
What?
What about Ron? Or his parents? Your parents? The Tweebs? What about Hana, Kim?
You won't be able to do anything to them. They're safe.
I wasn't talking about me. Do you really think ICAD One is just going to let them go once we croak? They can't risk this getting out and damaging GJ's reputation. They're all loose ends. And I think we can guess what sort of solution ICAD One has for loose ends.
...
Let me out. Let me out and I promise they'll be safe. No one will lay a hand on any of them.
I don't trust you.
Which means you aren't a complete idiot. But I WILL get them out. And I'll leave them alone. Once they're safe, they'll never see me again.
Never?
Never. In fact, I'll go so far as to call the entire Tri-City region "Off-Limits." Come on, Kim, deep down you know they'll never be safe unless I get them out of here. You don't have the strength anymore. I do. Let me out.
Three conditions.
Go.
You get everyone out safely, including Dr. Director. You disappear once they're back home.
Done. And the third?
...you make them suffer for what they've done to all of us.
Are you sure? No take-backs once it happens.
No more rules. Wipe the floor with them.
Now you're talking...
---
"Sir?"
Will Du turned at the sound of the security tech's voice. He walked over to the montoring station. "What is it?"
"Movement from Possible's cell, sir."
"Show me." Du watched as the tech rewound the video on one screen, keeping the live feed open on another. On the playback, Possible collapsed on her bunk, facing the wall. She lay there for a few minutes, shifting slighty a couple of times. Then she shivered and Du swore he had seen her body...blur. Possible was still again afterwards. He looked over at the live feed.
Possible stood up, keeping her back to the camera. Du watched as she stretched her arms over her head and baend from side to side, working out kinks in her muscles. She seemed stronger than she had been when they had thrown her back in the cell. Healthier. Almost as if...
Du grabbed a nearby phone an punched in an extension. "Sir, it's Du. We have Morgan. Repeat: we have Morgan." Du listened to ICAD One's voice as he continued to monitor the cell. Morgan turned, showing her face for the first time. Her expression was one of barely concealed glee. She grinned widely, waving at the camera.
"She's taunting us on the camera, sir. Should I activate the gas?"
"Not yet," ICAD One replied. "I want to see what she'll do first. Have the Pacification Squad standing by."
"Yes, sir." Du lowered the handset and spoke to the securty tech. "Tell the Pacification Squad to be on alert and waiting in the corridor. We don't know what she's going to try."
The tech nodded and sent out the alert. Meanwhile, Morgan stood in the center of the cell, her hands on her hips, surveying the room.
"Good god, you guys don't waste any money on frills, do you?" came her voice over the microphone. "Seems a shame really. You might have saved yourself a lot of grief. 'Cause I'm bored. Very, very bored."
Morgan walked over to where the only other furnishing in the room were. A metal chair and table, both bolted to the ground. She looked at the chair, gripped it with one hand, and with a grunt of exertion, ripped it from the bolts in the floor and held it up.
"And when I'm bored, stuff has a tendancy to get broken. Like, oh say, nosy security cameras. Ta ta!"
With that, she hurled the chair at the camera and the feed went dark. Du grabbed the radio headset form the security tech, and slapped the button that activated the knockout gas.
"Squad A, we have a security breach, knockout gas is filling the room. Masks on, and restrain the subject!"
"Roger that, Control." came the squad leader's voice. "Masks on, entering holding cell. Visibility is low, gas still hasn't cleared. Wait...I think I see something..."
Du and the security tech winced as the sounds of a violent beating came over the radio. The members of the squad screaamed and yelled, firing rubber bullets at random artound the room. There were screams of pain and the sounds of bodies hitting the floor like sacks of meat. Within twenty seconds the sounds had stopped, nothing but the hiss of the ventilation fans as they sucked the knockout gas out of the cell.
"Squad leader, report." Du said quietly. "Squad leader, report! Did you neutralize the subject?"
The sound of breathing filled the speakers, then a lilting sing song voice filled the airwaves.
"No more mercy, no more fools, no more of Kimmie's stupid rules."
"You can't escape, Morgan," Du said. "The base is on lockdown. There's no way out."
"Who says I want to get out?" Morgan replied with a sharp little laugh. "It's much more fun to have the little rats scurry around trying to stay alive. Catch me if you can, Willy."
The radio expired with a sharp whine of feedback as Morgan destroyed the radio. Du tore off the headset and looked down at the security tech. "Red alert. Every squad at the ready. And get extra agents on the detainees."
As the tech activated the alarms, Du picked the phone back up. "Yes, sir. I suggest clearing out as quickly as you can. I think we should take every precaution, just to be on the safe side. Yes, sir. Honestly, sir, while Possible looked to be on her last legs, Morgan doesn't. I honestly don't know what to expect. Yes, sir, I would say that. Yes, sir. I'll keep you posted."
Du hung up the phone, and put on the radio headset again, tunig it to an all-access frequency. "Attention all agents, we are at red alert. Repeat: we are at red alert. Be ready for anything, people...
"The monster is loose."