Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible or any of its characters or concepts.
Author's Notes: Usually I wouldn't update this quickly but I finished this chapter early and didn't see any reason not to put it up. The first half of this chapter jumps around a bit so I hope you don't have any trouble keeping track of what's happening, if you do feel free to complain.
Chapter 11: Assassin's Knife
Resting her chin in her right hand, Shego casually watched a small group of teenaged girls flipping and jumping around the auditorium. Or rather she watched one particular girl going through the complex routine, the redhead's form easily keeping her attention.
The pale female was seated in the stands of Middleton High's auditorium, watching Kim and her fellow cheerleaders go through some routine for the year's final competition, which for some reason took place after the school year had actually ended. Shego wasn't really sure why she had come, she could have just stayed at her ex-rival's house, but for some reason she had decided she wanted to be here. Unfortunately for her though, she was not the only one.
Monique sat on Shego's left, ostensibly watching the cheerleaders practice, but actually watching her fellow observer out of the corner of her eyes. Finally building up the nerve for a direct confrontation, she turned her head fully to the side. "What's the deal between you and Kim anyway?" She spoke softly since Ron and Yori were sitting close by and she didn't want the boy to overhear. The statement however was still loud enough to instantly draw her companion's attention and for a moment an uncomfortable silence passed between them.
Giving a good deal of consideration to simply ignoring the question, Shego nevertheless chose ultimately to respond. "That's not really any of your business. But even if it was, I wouldn't be able to give you an answer, because I don't have an answer myself." She calmly turned away, watching Kim perform a series of back flips. "We're friends I guess, though she says she wants it to go further."
Following the plasma-wielder's gaze, Monique was unsurprised when she saw to who it led. "I sort of got that from that kiss you two shared, but to be honest I'm worried for Kim. You better not hurt her." She tried to ignore the fact that she had just threatened someone who could probably rip her in two.
For her part Shego seemed a little shocked by the threat. "You know I don't think I can remember the last time someone actually had the nerve to threaten me, especially not someone of your strengths. But you should know, I will never again willingly hurt Kimmie, or allow any harm to befall her." She found that she really did mean that, though she accepted that Kim's friends would probably find it hard to accept.
Though she was somewhat cautious of the green-skinned woman's reaction, Monique just had to ask her next question. "And the rest of us, will you harm us?" As of yet Shego had not shown any truly obvious signs of aggression towards any of them, but her demeanour had not been too friendly either.
Turning her attention back to Monique, Shego stared for a moment before suddenly lashing out with her left arm. The teenager pulled back hurriedly and instinctively closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. An impact that never came.
Slowly opening her eyes, the fashion diva was shocked by what she saw. Rather than hit her, Shego's pale hand had instead closed around the hilt of a viscous-looking knife, a knife that had apparently been heading straight for Monique's face. It would seem her life had just been saved.
Bringing her arm back to her side, Shego studied the knife carefully. "Kim wouldn't like it if her friends died. She was bad enough when Stoppable was injured." Her attention turned to the rafters above. "Not that you care about that."
Impressed that the slightly older woman had managed to catch her knife, Ashleigh smiled menacingly. "Of course I don't care. If I did it would make it so much more difficult to kill people. And killing is what I do best." She calmly leapt from the auditorium's rafters, performing a mid-air spin and landing in a perfect crouch that any of the gathered cheerleaders would find very hard to emulate.
Kim could hardly fail to notice the blonde's appearance, nor had she missed the earlier incident with the knife. Part of her wanted to make her way over to the stands, but the rest of her knew that she had to stay and protect her fellow cheerleaders, who were starting to mil around in confusion behind her.
Unaware of the internal battle her ex-rival was suffering from, Shego slowly rose to her feet. "Don't tell me you were foolish enough to come here alone." She tossed her captured knife down at her feet, where it half buried itself in one of the stand's bleachers.
Ashleigh's smile widened, her teeth beginning to show. "Oh no, I brought some friends along. They should be arriving right about… now." As soon as she said the last words, the main doors to the auditorium were smashed inwards, falling to the ground and permitting the entry of a full five of Dementor's Demenbots. "You see, I came prepared." The blonde drew another of her knives and pointed it at Shego's chest, but then seemed to notice the bandages on the other woman's form. "You're injured? What a shame, I would have liked to have fought you at full strength."
A small smirk crossed the pale thief's face. "Oh don't worry about that." She grabbed a slightly lose bandage on her right shoulder and gave it a tug, causing the entire covering to unravel and leaving her now perfectly healed shoulder bare. "I heal pretty fast."
Although she noticed that Shego did not remove the bandages on her abdomen, Ashleigh was nevertheless satisfied that at least the arm was fully operational. "Well if that's the case, then why don't we get this started?" In a flash she drew three knives from behind her back with her right hand and with a single swipe sent them all hurtling towards the stands.
Generating a plasma blast in each hand, Shego hurled them at the incoming knives, striking two of them and sending them spiralling off to land harmlessly on either side of the auditorium. Rather than blast the third knife she simply stepped to the side, allowing it to sail past and collide harmlessly against an empty section of the stands. "I'm afraid you're going to have to do better than that." Charging up her right hand she made a slashing movement with her arm, sending three plasma spears streaking through the air.
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While Shego engaged Ashleigh, her companions had their hands full with the Demenbots. Two of the androids headed for the cheerleaders, while the other three headed for the stands.
Sprinting forward, Kim attempted a spin-kick against the head of one of the Demenbots approaching her. Unfortunately the robot proved faster than she had expected and was able to dodge the attack, countering with a swift punch aimed at the redhead's abdomen. That attack was avoided but caused the teen hero to fall back in an attempt to escape any further strikes.
Though at first she was confused at what seemed an increase in the androids' speed, Kim quickly came to realise what the problem was. She was not wearing her battle-suit, and with its absence she lost a considerable amount of strength and speed. Well if that was the case then she was just going to have to try harder.
Glancing back at the cheerleaders cowering against the wall behind her, Kim was somewhat surprised to see the Bonnie was standing her ground, staring defiantly at the advancing Demenbots. The redhead had to admit that while the action wasn't very smart, it was somewhat brave.
Any further considerations of Bonnie's position however was shaken from Kim's head as one of the attacking automatons jumped forward to engage her in combat, the two of them beginning to trade blows at high speeds. Though the Demenbot had caught up considerably in terms of strength and speed, it was still severely lacking in skill.
Barely managing to dodge the robot's powerful attacks, Kim waited for an opening in its somewhat flawed form. When that opening finally came she drove her fist into its chest armour, pleased to hear an audible cracking sound even as her knuckles began to throb. As the damaged Demenbot stumbled backwards the redhead swung out with her right leg, slamming it into the android's body and further shattering the already weakened amour.
Stumbling back slightly, Kim felt like clutching her now intensely painful leg but refrained from doing so to avoid getting distracted. She was at least pleased to see that small bursts of electricity were emanating from the Demenbot's chest and that its entire body was twitching slightly, evidence of some form of internal damage. The armour on the robot's chest had been broken apart, leaving its complex circuitry vulnerable. It was then that she noticed what her opponent's partner was up to.
Having completely bypassed the teen hero, the second Demenbot headed straight for the gathered cheerleaders, or more specifically for the only one that dared to stand against it. Although she tried to hide it, it was clear that Bonnie was somewhat unnerved by the mechanical warrior stalking towards her, its red eyes resolutely staring her down.
The slightly translucent android came to a stop a bare meter from the brunette. "Target unidentified, classification unassignable. Cautious engagement recommended." It dropped into a low combat stance, ready to counter any attack that came its way. Or at least that was what it thought.
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Narrowly dodging yet another of Ashleigh's knives, Shego spun her body into a high spin-kick, swinging her foot at the blonde's head. That attack was just barely avoided but the following punch connected with the knife-wielders stomach, the plasma encased fist burning through the female's thin sweater and leaving a burn on her skin.
None too pleased with the slight injury, Ashleigh jumped back to a relatively safe distance, taking her time to eye her opponent. "You're stronger than I expected I'll give you that." She looked down at the cut on her left leg, curtesy of the plasma spears she had not managed to fully avoid earlier.
Shego smirked, trying to hide the fact that her abdomen was beginning to burn. "People like you always seem to have an unfortunate habit of underestimating me. Sometimes I allow them to hold such beliefs but I think I'll shatter yours." Without waiting for any form of response she fired a plasma beam towards the blonde, hardly surprised when the attack was dodged but ready with a flurry of plasma blasts that caught her opponent off guard.
Cursing under her breath, Ashleigh endeavoured to avoid the incoming projectiles, leaping over several of them and dropping to a crouch below others. Despite her impressive reflexes however she was not quite fast enough to keep up with the barrage, eventually getting caught in the side by one of the blasts, the disruption allowing two more to strike her in the chest. Keeping her head though the assassin managed to hurl a knife as she was knocked to the floor, pleased to see the weapon draw blood from Shego's left arm when the pale female failed to completely avoid it.
Though she was peeved about the shallow cut she had just sustained, something out of the corner of her eye drew Shego's attention away from her currently stricken foe. It would seem that one of Kim's fellow cheerleaders was standing off against a Demenbot, a battle that was likely to go quite one-sided and certainly not in the girl's favour. Sighing loudly, the former-sidekick clenched her right hand into a fist and generated a concentrated plasma bolt, not hesitating to launch it at the bothersome android.
Rather than being given the chance to see her attack's result, the plasma-wielder was instead forced to immediately contend with a renewed attack from Ashleigh, the troublesome blonde coming at her with two knives drawn. Though she did not like it, Shego had to admit that the twenty-one year old was good. In fact she was even stronger than a battle-suit equipped Kim, making her quite an opponent indeed.
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Near the top of the auditorium's stands, Yori stood off against another of the Demenbots, standing between it and Ron. The android had already identified the injured boy as its primary target and the teenaged ninja was not looking to allow it anywhere near its desired prey. "I don't know exactly what you are, but if you are in league with that filth then I will see you destroyed." She had no trouble recognising Ashleigh as one of those chiefly responsible for her home's destruction.
Unfazed by the girl's threat, the automaton moved a little closer, its red eyes scanning across its foe. "Target unidentified, however identifying features suggest target to be of ninja origin. Extrapolating. Target believed to be surviving ninja of school Yamanouchi, classified as dangerous." Monkey Fist had made sure that all of Dementor's robots were programmed to be able to identify and destroy surviving ninjas from Yamanouchi.
Angered at the mention of her destroyed home, Yori pulled her two bladed fans from their stowed position on the back of her belt, opening them fully and preparing herself for combat. As the Demenbot took a single step forward she ran to the attack, swinging out with both of her weapons in an only half-successful attempt to catch it off guard.
While one of the bladed fans did manage to leave a cut across the android's right arm, Yori failed to cause any damage to its torso. Moreover the damage to the limb was only superficial and the Demenbot did not even seem to notice, striking out with the scratched appendage and attempting to take off its target's head.
Unfortunately for the teenaged ninja her wounds were still far from healed. Her left arm was starting to feel drained of strength, and the wound in her side was causing her a great deal of pain even after such a small amount of movement. Gritting her teeth, Yori had to force her body to move out of the road of her mechanical opponent's attack, barely avoiding the powerful limb that streaked past her cheek. Nevertheless she was determined to protect Ron, knowing the injured boy was in no condition to protect himself.
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Ripping out a section of the damaged Demenbot's internal circuitry, Kim watched as it fell to the ground, smoke rising from the hole in its chest. The other nearby android had already fallen, Shego's plasma bolt having blasted straight through its body. The attack had been conveniently timed as the automaton had been in the process of diving towards Bonnie when it was struck, offline before it even hit the ground.
While Shego's intervention had been reasonably unforseen, what had really surprised the redhead was the fact that Bonnie had stood her ground the entire time. Even when the Demenbot had been diving towards her the other cheerleader hadn't flinched, indeed Kim almost thought she had been preparing to attack, though that was ridiculous.
Turning her attention away from Bonnie, the teen hero looked to the auditorium stands. Shego was intensely engaged with Ashleigh, the two trading physical blows and projectiles at lightning speed, while Yori was at least holding her own against a slightly damaged Demenbot. The last two android's however looked like they were going to be a problem, one of them circling around the back of the stands while the other was advancing on the vulnerable Monique. Making up her mind quickly, Kim headed for the Demenbot bearing down on her fashion oriented friend, unaware that she was being followed.
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Moving on somewhat shaky legs, Ron moved as fast as he could towards Kim's discarded gym bag, painfully aware that Yori was risking her own life to protect him. Rufus was sound asleep in his pocket, and after their last encounter with Demenbots he was intent on keeping him that way. Almost tripping on one of the stand's bleachers he finally reached the pink bag, reaching in with his left arm and withdrawing his best friend's Kimmunicator. The device was somewhat difficult to use with his immobile right arm bound in a sling but the sidekick found a way, managing to bring it online. "Wade, we're under attack. You need to get us some backup right now!"
Looking rather confused by the command, the techno-geek raised an eyebrow slightly. "Are you sure? You look alright to me." He wasn't taking into account the possibility that Ron was not in the middle of the action, and quickly rethought his decision when the blonde turned the Kimmunicator around and scanned it across the battlefield. "Okay, I'll call GJ! I'll tell them to be their as fast as they can." He deactivated the device, already busy contacting Dr. Director.
Ron meanwhile was already staggering back to Yori and her opponent, intent on giving her a hand. His progress however was stopped when a Demenbot pulled itself up from the stand's back, crouching somewhat awkwardly at the top. Being only a couple of meters from the injured teenager, it immediately initiated a scan. "Target Ronald Frederick Stoppable identified, classified as highly dangerous. However detected injuries to right arm suggest possibility of lower threat level." As was usually the case with the automatons it didn't really seem to be listening to itself at all, leaping from the back of the stands.
Landing in a crouch in front of Ron, the Demenbot deployed its surgical blade from its right wrist. "DNA sample is to be collected. Then target is to be… eliminated."
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Actually cursing when she saw the last Demenbot's new position, Kim now had to choose between saving Monique and saving Ron. If the boy was not injured she probably would have chosen her Afro-American friend since she was less combat experienced, but her best friend's injuries made the choice far harder. Help with her decision came from a most unlikely source.
Placing her hand on the redhead's shoulder, Bonnie was somewhat pleased when the other girl jumped. "Calm down Kim, I'm on your side. You go help Stoppable, I'll help Monique." Usually she wouldn't even consider helping her schoolyard rival but she knew that at a time like this it was necessary to put aside her dislike.
The brunette's statement surprised Kim, who couldn't understand what was going on. "What are you talking about, you can't fight. If you go over there you'll be no better off than Mo." She was keenly aware that she was using up valuable time, but she thought she had a responsibility to not allow anyone else to get hurt.
Bonnie almost looked insulted by the statement. "Just go Kim. We don't have time to argue. And don't worry I'm not as weak as you might think." She cracked her knuckles to emphasis her point and took of towards Monique without waiting for a response, moving at an impressive speed.
Almost going after her fellow cheerleader, Kim stopped herself from doing so, realising that she had to get to Ron without delay. Like Bonnie she bolted up the stands, quickly making her way to the very top. She arrived just in time to see the Demenbot take a swing at her friend with a small blade, cutting him shallowing across the abdomen.
Growling in anger, the redhead leapt over Ron's head and landed on the Demenbot's shoulders. Wrapping her feet around its neck she dropped backwards, placing her hands on the ground and twisting violently with her legs. Caught off guard, the android didn't even know what was happening before its own neck snapped.
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Whipping out another knife, Ashleigh hurled it at her raven haired adversary, highly frustrated at the fact that she seemed to be losing this fight. Shego had scores of cuts along her arms and one on her cheek, but the only serious injury she sported was her abdominal wound and that had been there before this battle began. The knife-wielder on the other hand had several nasty burns and cuts all across her body, as well as some serious bruising on the left side of her face where she had earlier been kicked.
Deflecting the knife with a well-aimed plasma blast, Shego charged up and threw a plasma sphere at her irksome opponent. She was aware that she was more or less winning this fight but it was taking longer than she would have liked, the blonde simply refusing to go down. The worst part was that all the moving around was threatening to pull out the stitches in her abdomen, that particular area of her body already proving particularly painful. And to make things even harder that plasma bolt from earlier had drained a considerable amount of her energy, making it increasingly difficult to employ her more powerful attacks. It was all really annoying for her because she would like to be able to go and help a certain redhead before the girl got herself hurt.
Though she did manage to avoid the plasma sphere, Ashleigh was nevertheless caught by the concussive shockwave created by its explosion and flung backwards a few meters. She managed to flip around in time to land deftly on her feet, balancing dangerously on the edge of one of the bleachers. "You know, you're really starting to piss me off."
Shego smirked at the comment, trying to ignore the pain shooting through her. "Is that so, because I'm not even half done with you yet. Come on lets finish this now." Rather than waiting for Ashleigh to make a move the pale female leapt down the stands herself, landing on her hands and propelling herself into a rapid spin-kick.
The two quickly went back to trading blows as they had before, arms and legs clashing in a barrage of powerful strikes. Shego's hands ignited during the battle, a move that was quickly countered by Ashleigh drawing a pair of her knives. Even with such deadly attacks being utilised they continued to spar, neither securing the clear upper hand. Both were determined to win this battle, and also to do it quickly.
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Slashing downwards with her right fan, Yori left a deep cut across her opponent's chest, forcing the Demenbot to once again break off its attack. Her fight with the automaton had not gone as well as she would have liked. She was winning to an extent, but she had yet to make a cut deep enough to cause the android any serious damage. On the bright side it had only managed to hit her once, a glancing blow at the base of her ribcage that had winded her but done no real harm.
Becoming highly frustrated with her mechanical attacker, the young ninja locked her left fan into its open position and hurled it at the Demenbot. The bladed weapon spun quickly through the air, resembling a circular blade as it moved. Despite attempts by the android to avoid the weapon it managed to bury itself in the robot's head, utterly destroying its sight capabilities.
Now blinded, the Demenbot struggled to get a bead on its opponent with its auxiliary senses but found itself unable to get a proper fix. Before it could calculate an effective course of action Yori's second fan cut deeply into its abdomen, disrupting several important power relays and sending its useless body tumbling down the stands.
Clutching at the reopened wound on her arm, Yori stumbled back and fell to a sitting position. The fans weighed more than most would expect and wielding them in her weakened state had taken a lot out of her. As soon as she regained enough strength to stand she intended to get back to the fight, but that might take awhile.
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Monique backed up quickly as the Demenbot advanced slowly towards her, painfully aware from observing the others that she had no chance of defeating this foe. She was not a coward, but she was not an idiot either. She knew that fighting an opponent that you could not beat was simple foolishness. There was no courage in throwing your life away for no reason.
For its part the android showed no obvious reaction to the girl's retreat, though its cognitive functions informed it that the withdrawal was a sign of significant weakness, meaning that caution was not necessary in the current situation. "Target unidentified, no classification. Target's actions suggest low threat level." It raised its right arm and prepared to release a powerful attack against Monique.
Before the attack could fall however, the Demenbot was suddenly struck from behind, a semi-powerful kick delivered to its side driving it sideways and almost causing it to lose its balance. While the automaton's defences were still lowered, it assailant proceeded to throw a straight punch at its armoured body. The attack connected but did no noticeable damage, merely driving the robot further back.
Though its armoured body had only suffered minor structural damage from the two attacks, the Demenbot nevertheless quickly fixed its glowing eyes on the brunette cheerleader that had struck it. "Target unidentified, no classification. Target's actions suggest medium threat level, caution recommended." It raised both arms in a defensive stance to ward off any further attacks.
Smirking slightly, Bonnie tried to ignore the throbbing from her right hand. "Well that didn't do as much damage as I hoped, but at least I got your damn attention." Though she looked tough on the outside, she was now actually quite worried that she'd bitten off more than she could chew. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.
The Demenbot took a step forward, almost as if it was aware of the girl's fear despite her unmoved expression. Unlike with Monique it moved somewhat cautiously, though its movements were less than totally wary. As far as its scanners were concerned, Bonnie was worthy of some caution but not a whole lot.
Any chance of combat between the two was lost though as the buildings windows suddenly exploded inwards, allowing several heavily armed GJ agents to swing in. Though none of the agents actually landed near them, the Demenbot seemed considerably more hesitant to attack once it saw they had company and backed off quickly to a safe distance.
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Further up the stands, the arrival of GJ had a more direct impact. As the android whose neck Kim had broken attempted to reorient itself several loud gun shots rang out, accompanied by several bullet holes appearing in the Demenbot's chest and head. For a moment the automaton continued to stand but it soon keeled over sideways, smashing headfirst into the bleachers below.
Lowering his high-calibre pistol to his side, Will Du stepped up to Ron and Kim. "Miss Possible, we got a call from your friend Mr. Load. He said you needed our help." His eyes scanned across the battlefield, noting the three Demenbots that had already been defeated before his arrival. "Though it seems you have handled things reasonably enough." While he was pretty sure the robot he had just taken out would have been defeated without his help he figured he and his men could at least be of use defeating what was left.
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Breaking off her close-quarters engagement with Shego, Ashleigh leapt back to put some distance between herself and the pale thief. A low growl rose in her throat as she noticed the assembled GJ agents now ringing the auditorium. "Damn you all! I promise, I'll kill every last one of you if it's the last thing I do!" She looked over at the last surviving Demenbot. "Heh bolts-for-brains get over here! We're bugging out!"
Its audio sensors instantly recognising the blonde's voice, the surviving android rushed towards her, simultaneously drawing the attention of the surrounding gunmen. The GJ agents opened fire on the Demenbot without hesitation, their combined automatic gunfire quickly honing in on its fast-moving form. It didn't take long for several streams of bullets to find their marks on the automaton's body, ripping it to shreds in a matter of seconds.
Ashleigh though had never meant for the Demenbot to survive, it had merely been a distraction. As the vast majority of the GJ agents turned their attention away from her, she sprinted to the auditorium's back wall, leaping up and pulling herself through a low-lying window. Several gunmen opened fire on her but she managed to get out of the line of fire before any of them could actually get a hit. Though there was a GJ transport hovering above the building outside its occupants failed to notice her escape and she quickly disappeared into the trees at the rear of the school's grounds.
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Casually moving his rook three places forward, Brad looked at the man who sat across from him. "Well Mr. Betters, it seems you are losing this game." He had already taken out almost half of his opponent's pieces and had a superior position on the board, not that either of them were fully focused on the game at hand.
Moving one of his remaining pawns, Betters looked at the large video monitor above them. On the screen a small blinking light was moving through some badly animated trees, travelling at a fairly decent speed considering the fact that it had to weave through the dense underbrush. "I see your assassin girl is running, a shame she was unsuccessful in her task." The light represented the tracking device that had been planted in Ashleigh's neck to keep track of her movements.
Leaning his own head back to study the monitor, Brad seemed unperturbed by the blonde's actions. "That's alright, she was never meant to succeed anyway. I merely wished to test my enemy's strength. It is good enough that she herself escaped." Though he did not really care about her ultimate fate, Ashleigh was a useful tool while she remained alive. He clicked his fingers to draw the attention of the room's third occupant. "Nathaniel, go pick her up, and do it quickly."
The swordsman nodded and stood up from his reclining position against the wall. "As you wish master, I will see to it that she comes back alive." Mostly he cared only about following Brad's orders but he realised that a small part of him wanted Ashleigh back as well. She was a good source of many different kinds of entertainment.
Waiting for his chief enforcer to leave the room, Brad fixed his full attention on his guest. "I seem to remember that those two guineapigs I had you test the enzyme on ran away as well." Betters was not a physically impressive man, middle-aged and of average height and average weight. His head was topped with thinning black hair and he had a very small beard, adding to the rugged appearance of his tanned and angular face. His placid blue eyes were offset by the trim black business suit he wore and the devilish smirk that always adorned his face.
Studying the board before him, Betters was only half considering his next move. "They're thieves, running away is what they do. Besides what did you expect? I picked the two urchins up off the street, you should hardly have had high expectations." He silently made his move on the board. "They actually believed me when I told them their actions weren't going to hurt anyone. Soon I'll have them steal what we need. They won't even consider the consequences." The two had already been thieves when he hired them and with their new powers they had been become very good at the task. "Do you want me to round up anymore test subjects?"
Moving his queen to a more advantageous position, Brad slowly shook his head. "No, I believe we have proven well enough that the Meteor Enzyme works. Perhaps it is time I give it to some of my more powerful servants. Maybe Ashleigh would like a power boost." The knife-wielder tended to hate losing so he considered that now would be the perfect time to give her the enzyme. As Betters made another move, the greying man moved one of his pawns. "Checkmate my good friend."
His ever present smirk widening slightly, the crime boss knocked over his king. "Good game." He rose from his seat. "I must go. I have things to attend to. I'll see you at the meeting, make sure you're prepared or the others will not be happy." He himself knew the villain would not let them down, but the others were not so convinced.
Waving his hand dismissively, Brad also rose from his seat. "Don't worry, I'll have some interesting things to show them by then." He picked up Betters' fallen King and placed it back on its base. "Everything is going perfectly."
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Will looked dutifully at the screen of his GJ communicator. "Neither Kim Possible nor any of her companions were seriously injured in the attack Dr. Director, but unfortunately Ashleigh got away." He knew that one of his key objectives had been to capture the blonde assassin so he was quite annoyed with himself for allowing her to escape.
The other GJ agents were busy moving the bodies of the Demenbots and trying to calmly explain the situation to the frightened cheerleaders still huddled against one of the walls. Of the two tasks the latter was proving the more difficult as the teenagers were demanding to know exactly what had happened yet refusing to actually listen to any explanations. Not that the gunmen could tell them everything anyway.
On the other end of Will's communicator Betty inclined her head slightly. "Well at least you're all alright. I'll send out some teams to search for Ashleigh, though I doubt they'll find her." If the woman's reputation was anything to go on, she was already long gone.
The conversation was interrupted as Shego stepped up beside the teenaged agent, doing her best to ignore the knife-wounds on her arms. Her eyes quickly moved to Will's left arm and she saw that it was no longer bandaged. "So you've recovered from that little meeting of ours have you? Took you long enough."
While Will struggled to retain his composure, Betty took it upon herself to address the pale thief. "You look like you could use some medical attention Samantha, why don't you and Kimberly come down here so we can talk?" By 'here' she was of course referring to the GJ headquarters.
Rubbing her shoulder where that first Demenbot had managed to land a hit, Kim stepped up beside Shego. She noted the older girl's wounds but chose not to dwell on them for now, though she certainly intended to pay some attention to them later. "I'm guessing this isn't the only incident involving Brad's minions."
Betty nodded on the communicator's screen. "Last night Ashleigh and the one with the sword broke Drakken and a mass murder out of a maximum security prison. Twenty-two guards were killed." Owing to the death toll the news of the break-out would soon become public knowledge but for now it was successfully being kept under wraps.
Sickened by the news of so many deaths, Kim briefly looked back to her other friends before turning back to the GJ leader. "Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can."
Placing a hand on her wounded cheek, Shego ignored the resulting burning sensation on her palm. "So Dr. D is out again huh? Strange, it's usually me that breaks him out. I'm almost jealous." She might have actually been jealous if she hadn't just fought Ashleigh and more or less won.
Stowing away his now deactivated communicator, Will motioned outside the auditorium where the GJ transport that had brought him here had landed. "Come with me, I'll take you to headquarters." He wasn't so much offering a lift as doing what he knew Dr. Director expected him to do.
Before they could leave they had to wait on Kim to make sure everyone else was okay, despite Will's insistence that his agents had already checked. It wasn't that the redhead didn't trust GJ, she just wanted to make sure herself. She was a little worried when she saw that Yori's arm wound had opened again during the fight but the ninja assured her that it was a minor injury and that she would soon have it properly bound again. Ron's chest wound was very shallow and was hardly even bleeding, a single roll of bandage being applied by a GJ medic easily sufficient to stop what little bleeding there was.
The last of her friends Kim checked on was Monique, and she was pleased to see that the girl was not even injured. While in the vicinity she also took the time to check on Bonnie, though the brunette did not seem to enjoy the attention, blatantly telling her fellow cheerleader to leave her alone.
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Finally coming to a stop, Ashleigh struggled for a moment to catch her breath. She really did hate running away, even though she knew it was occasionally necessary. Usually she was the one chasing down runners so it was annoying to for once be the one being chased, not that any of the pursuing GJ agents had gotten close to catching her. "Damn… bastards… I really am going to… kill them."
"You want to kill everyone." The voice was accompanied by a figure falling from the tree above her, landing in a crouch between the roots.
Noticing who her companion was both from his voice and his ability to sneak up on her, Ashleigh quickly turned her head to survey him. "Don't worry Nathy I'll share with you. How about we kill them all together." She had no problem sharing with the swordsman, his stoic company always entertaining her. "Where's our ride?"
Fingering the hilt of his sword and looking around for any of Ashleigh's pursuers, Nathaniel motioned over his shoulder with his free hand. "It's up the hill. I didn't want anyone to see me land." He almost smiled at the look of annoyance that crossed the exhausted blonde's face.
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Dr. Director allowed herself to smile slightly as Kim and Shego entered her office, the two younger females striding quickly to her desk. "It's good that you came so expediently. I need to discuss with you what our next moves will be. It seems that Brad wants to take you two out, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to relocate you."
Looking highly confused, Kim gave Betty a vacant stare. "Relocate? What are you talking about?" She hoped that the brunette was not saying what she thought she was saying.
Adjusting her eye-patch slightly, the GJ leader proceeded to fold her hands before her face. "As long as the two of you are targets it will be too dangerous to allow you to remain at the Possible residence. I'm going to move you to a secure location we have nearby. It's a rather expansive facility and it's well protected and hidden."
While Shego took the information in silently Kim felt that she had to object. "But I don't want to leave my home! I don't want to leave my family!" She wasn't sure if she could handle being separated from her parents and brothers for an extended period of time.
Frowning slightly, Betty fixed her eyes on the worried redhead. "You don't really have a choice Kimberly. If you stay then they will be in danger. What would you do if a squad of Demenbots turned up at your house? Would you be able to protect them all?" She didn't mean to sound harsh, but the teen hero had to understand or else her entire family would be in danger.
Though she really wanted to answer in the affirmative to those questions, Kim realised she could not justify such an answer. Would she really be able to protect them all? Even with Shego to back her up it seemed doubtful. She even doubted she would be able to find them all before the Demenbots did. So maybe going away was the best option.
The sound of Betty's fax machine activating prevented any immediate conversation continuing, a single slip of paper sliding noisily from the contraption's slot. The action struck the office's owner as odd since she only very rarely received faxes unannounced. As soon as she read the sheet though she realised why there had been no warning, her face almost going white when she saw the paper's contents. "Damn him… he's just playing with us." She quickly slid the document across her desk where her two guests could see it.
Kim gasped at what was written on the sheet, while Shego merely raised an eyebrow. It seemed that Brad really was just playing with them. Why else would he hack into GJ's systems just to send a fax? Why else would he send them something like this?
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'Dear Dr. Director and others,
I thought I'd do you a favour and save you the trouble of figuring out the people I am planning to kill. Some of these should come as no surprise to you. Others might be a little shocking but I ensure you I am serious. It's too bad, they were really just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I suggest you protect these people or they will die.
Kimberly Ann Possible
Samantha Christine Golovin
Ronald Frederick Stoppable
The Ninja, Yori
Will Percival Du
Bonnie Elizabeth Rockwaller
Monique Britney Parks-Johnson
Yours Sincerely, Brad.'
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Scanning over the list, Shego was surprised that he managed to work out the name of so many people he knew next to nothing about in such a short time, though she was pleased to see he had at least been stumped in finding anything but a first name for Yori. "I guess we're going to have some more people staying with us huh?"
Rubbing her temple in frustration, Dr. Director nodded slowly. "It seems so, the facility is certainly big enough but it's going to be a bother getting some of these people away from their families. I mean Yori's fine, and Ronald's parents should be use to this by now, but this Bonnie girl and that Monique are going to be problems." She sighed loudly. "This is going to take a lot of paper work."
Looking through the list, Kim noted that there was one name that Betty had not commented on. "What about Will, are you going to put him in with us as well?" She didn't always get along with the teenaged male but she figured he couldn't be any worse than Bonnie, whose inclusion in their group she was simply dreading.
Waving one of her hands slightly, Betty didn't seem too concerned with Will's inclusion on the list. "I was going to have him help guard you anyway, so there's no problem putting him with you." Although on the outside she seemed unperturbed, internally she was worried about the young agent's continued safety, wondering if the only reason he was on the list was because she had given him command of the men she sent to the others' aid.
Fully realising that this situation was far bigger than her, Kim slowly hung her head and resigned herself to Dr. Director's wishes. "I'll help you talk some of the others into going, though I'm not sure how much help I'll be with Bonnie." She didn't want to leave her family, but realised it was inevitable.
Seeing the somewhat downtrodden expression on her companion's face, Shego threw a bandaged arm around her shoulders in an attempt to give comfort. The plasma-wielder's arms were wrapped all the way along their length, covering the many knife wounds the limbs had suffered. "Don't worry Princess, you'll still have me around." It was odd, but she had become use to comforting the teen hero now.
Smiling at the older girl's actions, Kim turned fully to Shego and threw her arms around the ex-villain. She didn't particularly care that Dr. Director was watching their every move, right now she was just happy to know that at least someone was going to be there for her through thick and thin. The redhead's smile only widened as she felt a strong pair of arms circle around her back, a sign of feelings returned.
Though the scene she was witnessing confused her slightly, Betty chose not to dwell on it. Besides she had far more important things to do then wonder about the nature of Kim and Shego's relationship. Thanks to her earlier meeting with the US representatives she had the authority to do pretty much anything she wanted and yet she had a feeling the parents of some of Brad's targets were not going to give up their children easily.
Looking over Kim's head, Shego caught the brunette's eyes. "You're really taking this Brad guy seriously aren't you? A lot more seriously than I've ever seen you take anyone, even that weird-ass brother of yours." Gemini's activities usually received the majority of GJ's attention but for now at least it seemed that someone else had taken his place.
Noting that the younger female had yet to release Kim, Betty nodded slowly. "I don't think we've ever encountered someone like him before. His plan is obviously well prepared, and he has some powerful followers. With Drakken, Dementor and DNAmy all working for him he has some of the world's greatest and maddest scientists under his control, and with Monkey Fist he potentially has access to some very powerful artefacts. Add to that his considerable underground connections and I'm sure you can understand why I would take him seriously, without even mentioning The Raven." The worst part was that as far as she could tell he hadn't even finished gathering his supporters.
Finally pulling away from Shego's embrace, Kim turned her full attention to the leader of GJ. "When you figure out where he is, we'll help you take him down along with all the others, before they can hurt anyone else." She was feeling more relaxed now, and better able to focus on the problems at hand. Whatever happened she was determined to make sure no more harm came to those important to her.
A little surprised that the redhead didn't seem to think her earlier position had been strange, Betty picked up one of her ever ready clipboard forms. "You're going to have to sign this Kim. It basically says that you're freely allowing yourself to be put under our protection. Samantha doesn't need to sign since she's technically still under arrest."
Kim signed the form quickly, choosing not to comment on Dr. Director's statement of Shego's status as a technical prisoner. As far as she was concerned the pale female should have been completely dissolved of her former crimes, but as long as she remained free that would be good enough, provided that she stayed alive as well. If she ever lost anyone important to her, then whatever her heroic ideals, someone was going to pay dearly.
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Hidden beneath an area of burnt-out forest on the outskirts of Lowerton, GJ maintained a small underground facility. Small that was compared to the facilities that the organisation actually worked out of. In actuality it was quite large, easily as expansive as any high-society mansion, though far less stylish. Indeed it was utilitarian to the extreme, sharp corners and stark grey walls the norm within.
A small hill within the burnt-out forest split in two, the halves moving to either side to reveal the top of a long stairwell leading down to the base below. No sooner was the entrance revealed than a squad of GJ agents walked out into the evening light, their leader immediately jogging over to the one-eyed woman standing a small distance away. "Dr. Director ma'am, we've ascertained that all systems within the emergency facility are now operating at full capacity. It is safe and ready for use."
Waiting for her men to step to either side, Betty walked up to the base's entryway. "Good work, meet up with the others and begin security detail." She turned and looked over her shoulder. "As for you lot. I'm aware that some of you are less than happy to be here but you're just going to have to deal with it. So if it's not too much trouble I'd appreciate it if you'd all get in the hole and go down those stairs without protest." Although she said it as a request, her tone made it clear that it was anything but.
There was some grumbling from some members of the group, the vast majority of it coming from a certain turquoise-eyed teenager who hung to the back, but ultimately they complied with the order. All seven of them headed down the stairs, with Betty following close behind them, the hill above the entranceway sliding back into place as soon as the last head was clear.
At the base of the stairs the group spread out, quickly surveying their surroundings. The room they had arrived in was vast, the tall ceiling obviously coming close to the surface above. It was at least twenty meters across in every direction and several hallways headed off from it, accompanied by staircases heading further down. One wall of the room was dominated by a huge video screen, with a large circular table surrounded by purely functional chairs placed before it. The rest of the room appeared bare, save for an oddly shaped device in the far corner.
Reaching the bottom of the steps, Betty strode a few steps into the room and turned to face the others. "For those of you who were not listening earlier, I'll give you the basic layout again. This is the entrance hall and conference room." She pointed behind her to the hallway entrance at the far end of the room. "Through there are the entrances to your sleeping quarters, you can work out where you sleep yourselves." She lowered her hand. "Recreational facilities are to my right, including a gym and several sparring rooms. Other facilities are to the left, mostly labs and workshops you will have no use for. There are several levels to each section so try not to get lost." Most of those before her were under no threat of getting lost, but she wasn't so sure about some of them.
Scoffing loudly, Bonnie adjusted the shoulder straps of the heavy rucksack she wore and made her way past the director, heading for where she had been told the sleeping quarters would be. "The rest of you can do whatever the hell you want, but I'm not hanging around to listen to anymore talk. I don't want someone to come around to my house and kill me so I'll stick around. Just leave me alone." She was less than pleased that her life was being disrupted in such a way, and was not interested in talking to anyone about it.
Though she hesitated slightly, Monique eventually followed Bonnie across the room, aware that there was no use listening to stuff that was just going to go over her head anyway. Yori and Ron went too, knowing their presence was no longer necessary. This left Will, Kim and Shego silently facing the leader of GJ.
Paying no attention to the retreating teens, Betty kept her attention on the three before her. She sighed suddenly, knowing her next statement was going to annoy at least one of them. "I've decided to leave Kimberly in charge here." Raising a hand she cut off Will's inevitable protest. "I have a good reason for this Agent Du. Despite your qualifications as an agent, you do not know any of our guests very well."
Kim nodded, quickly picking up on the director's reasoning. "And I know all of them. You're guessing that they're more likely to go along with what I say as a result." She shrugged slightly. "That makes sense I guess, though some are going to be less willing to cooperate than others. I think I can control Shego at least."
Rolling her eyes, Shego noted that she was the only one who hadn't brought any bags. "Can you all stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Her emerald eyes swivelled to look at Betty. "I don't suppose you'd provide me with some clothes, I don't actually have anything but what I'm wearing right now." She was still wearing the clothes she had taken from Drakken's lair, though they had been washed a couple of times since then.
Without even looking, Betty pointed to a corner behind Shego where some plain cardboard boxes were stacked. "We recovered your surviving possessions from the base you ran to after escaping the police. I was planning to send them to the Possible residence but had them brought here instead. Your jet is also in the hangar on the next floor down." She had meant to return the thief's clothing and other possessions earlier but had lost track of the items during the troubles with Brad.
Raising both her eyebrows in surprise, Shego looked in the general direction of where she thought the hangar to be. "Since when did you have my jet? I seem to remember hiding that somewhere."
Shaking her head, Dr. Director was almost amused by the green-skinned woman's response. "I hardly think pushing it into an abandoned warehouse counts as hiding it when that particular warehouse was right next to the one you took Miss Possible's parents to." They had found the aircraft soon after taking Shego into custody and had moved it to the underground facility just after the attack at the school auditorium.
Wondering why Shego had not told her about this jet earlier and slightly curious to actually see it, Kim tugged on the back of the older girl's tank top, quickly drawing the plasma-wielder's attention. "We'll go see the jet later, for now I'll help you move these boxes to your room." She herself was wearing a large rucksack but she could still take more weight, and there were too many boxes for one person to carry alone.
Shego agreed to the proposition relatively quickly, picking up the majority of the boxes herself and leaving the rest to Kim. Pausing briefly for Betty to dismiss them with a curt nod, the two headed off in pursuit of those that had left earlier, seemingly having no difficulty coping with the weight of the items they carried.
Watching the two younger females leave, Dr. Director spoke to Will without turning to face him. "I might have left Kimberly in charge Agent Du, but I still expect you to make sure everything stays civil and organised down here. I'll keep in touch and help you out if it's needed." She turned back to face him. "I'm counting on you." Her tone made it clear that she believed the boy could handle the task, even if her words did not.
Standing to attention, Will saluted smartly, an action that was mimicked by Betty before she turned and made her way back up the steps. A few moments after the brunette disappeared a low rumbling sound signalled the closing of the facility's hidden entrance. That was it, they were locked in.
End Notes: For those of you annoyed by the minimal amount of character interaction in recent chapters, I assure you that the next chapter will be almost entirely character interaction and involve some more Kigo goodness. Reviews as always would be appreciated, but don't expect the next chapter to be up anywhere near as quickly as this one.