Well, here's the continuation of the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for all the reviews for this story. Thank you all very much. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Invincible
By FAH3
"MOM!" Kim shouted as she rushed into the home she grew up in, franticly looking for her mother. "Mom! Where are you?!" Kim asked as she began to x-ray the entire house. The only thing on her mind was finding her.
"Kimmie?" Anne asked as she came down the stairs and saw her daughter's worried face. Before she could say anything else, she found her daughter almost crushing her in a bear hug.
"I'm glad you're okay." She said as she held onto her mother like she was fixing to float away.
"Kim, I'm fine. What about you? Where have you been?" Anne asked as she broke the embrace to look at her. "Everyone was so worried about you."
"That's a little hard to answer." Kim said to her mother as Diana stepped into the living room.
"I didn't see any sign of a threat outside." She said as she saw Kim and her mother.
"Kim, who's the woman in the metal bikini?" Anne asked her.
"That's Diana, and it's a long story. Mom, Wade filled me in. What happened? Who attacked you?" Kim asked her.
"I didn't see who it was. Your brother's and I were talking and I went to go fix some coffee. I heard the back door open; but when I turned to see who it was, I was hit by a dart. The next thing I remember was waking up on the floor." Anne said.
"Do you still have the dart?"
"No, it wasn't there when I woke up." Anne said as she sat down on the couch with Kim and Diana sitting in a near by love seat.
"What all did this guy take?" Kim asked.
"That's the strange part. He took a couple of your yearbooks, and a couple of pictures from the photo album. He also took all your medical records and school papers." Anne said.
"He didn't get your scrap book, did he?" Kim quickly asked her.
"Scrap book?" Diana asked.
"I started collecting all the news about Kim in a small book. And no, honey. He didn't find it." Anne said.
"That's a relief." Kim sighed to herself.
"I don't understand what all the concern is about. I'm glad you came to check up on me,"
"She doesn't know about your friend." Diana said.
"Kimmie?" Anne asked her daughter.
"Mom, Wade was able to get some footage of this guy from a neighbor's security system. He's got a picture of the guy, but he's still trying to clear it up. But it also showed Monique coming for a visit, and he took her." Kim said.
"Oh my God. M-Monique came back to town not too long ago. Something to do with fashion, and we've been talking every so often. This man actually kidnapped her?" Anne asked.
"We're afraid so." Diana said.
"Oh dear God." Anne said as the worry on her face became evident.
"Diana, I'm sorry to do this. I know I said I'd help you understand how everything works, but I've got to go find Monique." Kim said to the Amazon princess.
"I understand. I will guard your mother if the barbarian returns." Diana said to her.
"Please and Thank you." Kim said before she flew out of the house faster than anyone could see. For a moment or two, there was an awkward silence between the two women.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Anne asked the woman.
"Please." Diana said. "May I ask you something?" Dian asked as Anne went into the kitchen.
"Sure."
"Why do you call her Kim?"
The heavy metal doors slid open with a hiss, allowing Sherri and Mercy to enter the secured facility. Sherri was a little agitated to be contacted by Corbin so openly. Even after throwing his ass in a box for several weeks, he still had to be a smug, arrogant bastard. Every part of her wanted to lock him away and throw away the key, but the man was too damn good at his job. Whatever it was that needed her to be down here in person, it had better be good. Otherwise, she'd lock Corbin away and never let him out. All too soon, she saw the blond haired man in front of a holding cell. The smirk on his face was too obvious, even from the far distance she was from him.
"Nice to see you could come and visit." He said to her.
"Cut all the bull, John. Just what the hell is so damned important that I had to be dragged out of a business merger?" she asked him.
"You know the little errand you sent me on?" he asked her.
"Don't play your stupid games with me. I'm not in the mood, so spill it." Sherri growled.
"Well, take a look." He said and looked back at the holding cell.
Sherri and Mercy looked in, and Sherri's eyes widened with shock and disbelief. Sitting in the room, with her feet bound and her hands tied behind her back, was a young black woman with long hair and her eyes blindfolded.
"What the hell did you do?" she growled.
"You wanted information about the Daily Planet's new reporter, so I brought the best source. This is one of her friends." John said to her.
Within a matter of seconds, his back and head slammed against the wall while Sherri held him by his throat. As he tried to regain his bearings, he noticed how her grip seemed to be getting warmer and warmer. Finally, it felt like her hand was almost on fire as he felt his neck burning.
"You stupid little punk! You've involved me in kidnapping! I should tie you to a rock in the middle of no where and let the birds peck your eyes out." She said as her make-up began to melt off various places on her face, revealing pale green skin underneath.
"You don't understand, do you? I'm not that dumb!" he said as he winced at the burning pain he was feeling on his neck. "She's also one of the newest fashion designer's out there. Her creations are becoming so popular, that she's starting her own business. Not only can she give you information about Possible, but you can hold her for a bloody ransom."
"I don't play those kinds of games anymore." Sherri said as most of the make up dripped of her face, revealing who she truly was.
"Shego!" Corbin gasped at who he was seeing. "Wait! WAIT! There's something else. That medallion around her neck, I've seen it before. It was part of an African legend."
"Do I look like Indiana Jones?"
"You don't understand! That amulet she's wearing is supposed to have mystical abilities. With that amulet, it would give the wearer the abilities of any animal known to man! If she could reveal the secrets to you, you'd be able to take on anyone. Even Superwoman." Corbin said.
Sherri let go of Corbin's neck as she thought about what he had just told her. It was no secret had a very large thirst for power. But to possess the power to scare people into submission; to control them would be grand. Or the power to show that she could beat their greatest hero would be even greater.
"Excellent. I'll order some truth serum to be ready." Sherri said.
"I wouldn't if I were you, Sherri." Mercy said as she walked over with a few sheets of paper. "According to this, she doesn't respond well to certain drugs. The tranquilizer almost put her into a coma. The truth serum would most likely kill her." Mercy said to her.
"Oh, dear. That is a shame. A very terrible shame." Sherri said as she looked at the young woman again. "For her." She said with a large grin forming on her face.
Kim walked straight into the hustle and bustle of the City Room, ignoring all the greetings and questions she was getting from everyone. Her mind was too busy trying to figure out where to start looking for Monique in the first place. She would prefer to look for her as her alter ego, but knew a lot of people still didn't trust her. The cops trying to arrest her at that elementary school pointed that out. Not to mention she would still need evidence to get this jerk arrested.
But then she remembered the power she had as a reporter. The power of the press could also have the power to change the course of mighty rivers if it was used the right way. She just needed to figure out where to begin.
"Hey there, Middleton. Back so soon?" Lois asked her as Kim got to her desk and booted up her computer.
"What?"
"Your rich boyfriend called Perry and let him know about the extra long date to the Bahamas he took you on. But since you don't have that much of a tan, I'm guessing you two didn't leave the hotel that much?" she asked.
"Thanks for covering for me, Ron." Kim thought to herself. "Something like that. I can't talk about it now, though." Kim said as she opened her browser and immediately tried to look up anything she could find about Monique's business.
"Come on, Kim. I'm not a shy little schoolgirl that's going to blush." Lois said, wanting some juicy details.
"Lois, I found out one of my friends was kidnapped." Kim said to her.
"Oh my God. Have the police found anything?" Lois asked her.
"They haven't found out anything. All they got is a fuzzy video image that they're too stupid to know how to clear up." Kim said as she started skimming through data.
"Monique? Monique, the fashion designer?" Lois asked as she glanced at Kim's screen.
"Yeah, we went to High School. The guy that kidnapped her also robbed my mom's house and drugged her."
"Oh, God. She wasn't?"
"No, thank Christ. All I know is that Monique tried to start her business back in our hometown. It looks like some of the top fashion companies weren't happy about her going independent either." Kim said as she browsed through the data.
"I'll start making calls to my contacts and see if they know anything." Lois said.
"Lois, you don't have to."
"I know. George? This is Lois Lane, Daily Planet. I'm calling in that favor you owe me." Lois said into the phone.
Kim couldn't help but smile at Lois' actions. It might not exactly be what she and Ron had back in High School, but it felt good to be with a team again. She just prayed she could find out something soon. If anything happened to Monique, she'd never forgive herself.
"Anything?" Ron asked as he entered the bat cave.
"The computer almost has the image cleaned up enough to give us an idea who we're dealing with. I hate to say this, but even Gotham PD has more advanced equipment than Middleton does." Wade said to his friend.
"Middleton is a small town that doesn't have a major crime rate. The closest thing they get to a kidnapping is when a pet is taken." Ron said as he walked over to the vault that held his uniform.
"And Kim's finally back. She's trying to find anything she can on her end." Wade said as he watched Ron begin to enter the vault's code.
"About time she came back." Ron said simply. Wade knew Ron was upset when Kim left the first time, but never said or did anything about it. If Ron was acting this cold again, that meant he might be mad at her. Lately, he couldn't tell. Ron was cold and kept to himself ever since his parents were killed. When Kim came back, he seemed to improve little by little. But now here they were, back at square one. "Wade, what did you do to the bat suit?" Ron asked him as the vault doors opened.
"I noticed something about the old one. Even thought it protected you, it limited your mobility. So I was able to use Stoppable Industries R&D to make a new one." Wade said.
"It looks like a suit of armor." Ron said as he removed a gauntlet and saw the spikes pop up.
"That's what it roughly is. It increases the chance of being stabbed or shot only slightly, but it allows you to use your body to its full extent." Wade said.
Ron looked up at Wade to say something, but stopped when he saw the spikes on the gauntlet fly free and embedded themselves into one of Ron's practice dummies. Ron looked back at Wade with a questioning eyebrow as Wade gave a nervous chuckle.
"I might have added one or two things." Wade said.
"We'll talk about this when I get back." Ron said as he put the gauntlet back and removed his robe. "Get back to the video footage."
"Right." Wade said as he went back to his seat in front of the computer. No sooner had he sat down, the computer began to beep to let him know its task was complete. "Ron! It finished cleaning the video!"
"Play it." Ron said.
The video began as it usually did, but now it was zoomed into the area the attacker appeared with a sharper and cleaner image. His face was still hidden the shadows when he shot Monique. And you still couldn't get a good look at him since he was looking down when he approached her. It seemed like it was a waste of effort as he picked her up and began placing her in the car. That's when they got it. He looked straight in the camera's direction as he was coming around the car again, and they had a crystal clear image of his face.
"YES! We've got him!" Wade shouted with glee.
"Run it against every criminal data base. I want that thing matched by the time I get back." Ron said in his bat voice.
As Wade turned around, a gasp escaped him as he saw Ron in his new suit with the cloaked draped around him, hiding most of his body from sight. The way the first suit and mask made him look was scary. But now with this new model, he looked absolutely terrifying. For a moment, he actually did look like something that had crawled out of someone's nightmares.
"My God." Wade said as he moved past him and into the moonlight that was shinning over the opened Tumbler.
There was a brief whiff of ozone as he spliced the cables together. He examined the equipment before him and briefly scanned it. There still more alterations to be done in order to make this suitable for his needs. He was working quickly, but it may not be fast enough. He knew his leader had been patient for some time now, but that patience may be wearing thin. Perhaps it may not have been smart to create a human body. If he had created a cloned Kryptonian body, his work would be going faster. He ripped the panel off of another piece of equipment as his hand began to shift down the center of the palm as the flesh spilt and began to bleed. A small saw extended itself and began spinning as he lowered it to the equipment below.
"What's your status?"
"My lord?" Brainiac asked, stopping the saw for a moment.
"How much longer until I am free from this damned hell?!" Zod shouted through the comm. link.
"I've just now obtained the first pieces I need and still altering them, my lord." The cyborg said.
"HOW LONG?!"
"Almost a year; and that's if I can get the proper components without any interruption."
"That's not good enough!"
"I am sorry, General. But I do not possess the abilities of a Kryptonian. This will take time."
"And if you had the abilities we would have on Earth?"
"Most likely, the time frame would be drastically reduced." Brainiac said to him.
"Then we have no choice. Wake the others at once. They are to help you in freeing me."
"Are you sure that is wise, my lord? They are only loyal to you. There is no certainty that they will follow my orders."
"The more time we waste, the sooner we will be discovered by Kara. She won't stay away forever. Wake my lieutenants." Zod said as the transmission ended.
"Yes, General Zod." Brainiac said.
He turned to a large empty section of the fortress as the three circles in his forehead made themselves known again. The crystal floor began to separate before him as something beneath began to rise. Within moments, a pillar rose with the black pentagonal ship sitting peacefully on it. One the floor stopped rising, it's two corners opened to reveal oval shaped pods with a large glass window in the front of both of them. Because of the frost and mist that had gathered inside of them, only a slightly visible silhouette could be seen. One seemed small, and rather feminine shaped. The other was large and bulky. It almost seemed like a behemoth was inside of it.
The circles grew brighter for an instant as the machinery in the pods began to come online. The pods lifted slightly upwards, cracking them open slightly and slowly started venting the gasses inside as a thick white fog. It would take a full twenty-four human hours before they were awake. If he tried to rush the process, there was too strong a chance of tissue damage or organ failure. At least it would give him time to finish altering the equipment and run a diagnostic. But having to deal with the two organics would not be easy.
It had been almost two days since Corning had shown her the little treat he had brought from Middleton. It didn't matter how many times Corbin had done good work for her, she didn't trust that smiling idiot. She was taking a very big chance, letting him talk her into keeping that girl around. Screw getting the information for the cyborg, she didn't want her ass in jail. Again. It had been years since she had sat in a Global Justice jail cell, and she wasn't eager to go back.
She groaned a little as she closed her eyes and remembered her little temper tantrum. She should have been more in control. Now thanks to her own stupidity, Corbin now knew who she really was. If Kim or the police got a hold of him, he'd most likely sell her out to get a lighter sentence. Hell, she knew he'd do it in a heartbeat to get her back for throwing him in that cell in her own building. It looks like she may have to take more drastic measures to make sure little Johnny keeps his mouth shut.
"Sherri, we've got a priority transmission coming in for you. It's from Corbin." Mercy said over the intercom.
"Patch him through." Sherri said as she lowered her large flat screen TV into place. A few seconds later, John's image appeared with a very worried look. "I said not to contact me unless it was an emergency." Sherri said to him.
"It is an emergency. Apparently, the little woman knows how ti use the amulet better than we thought." Corbin said as the sound of a loud crash echoed through the lab. "We have her contained for a the moment, but I don't' know for how long."
"Then what are you waiting for? Tank her!"
"And have a murder rap on my head? Forget it! I've already got a few of the men armed with tasers." Corbin said to her. That's when the sounds of a very loud crash echoed as the image began to shake and almost turn into static.
"CORBIN! WHAT'S GOING ON?" Sherri shouted.
"The brat just barged through the wall like it was cardboard! She's loose!"
"Then get her back there, now! And stay there! You made this mess, you clean it up!" Sherri said to him.
"Wait a minute, you"
Sherri didn't let him finish. She cut the transmission before he could say anything else. She should have known better than to let that outback punk talk her into that. Corbin's outlived his usefulness. It was time to nip this thing in the bud.
"Mercy?" she asked as she pressed the intercom.
"Yes, Sherri?"
"Take care of Corbin. Make sure no one finds him." She said.
"You've got it, Sherri." She said as the intercom cut out.
She needed a drink. She walked to the bar and grabbed the nearest bottle of Jack Daniel's she could grab. As she unscrewed the cap, she looked up and saw her reflection in the window.
"You've finally done it." Her reflection said. "You're now just like Lex Luthor."
"I AM NOT!" Sherri screamed and hurled the bottle through the window.
She stood there for a few minutes as her temper flared for a few more minutes. As she began to calm down, she realized that the reflection was no longer there and that she was looking at a large hole in a large pane of glass.
"Crap." She said herself as she called maintenance. "This is Miss Gough. Would you please send someone immediately to replace a broken window?" She asked as she began to hear the faint sounds of a car alarm going off down below. "And call my lawyers. I have a feeling I just bought someone a new car."
Kim was exhausted as she stood in the elevator as it headed to her apartment floor. So far, every lead she and Lois thought they had was a dead end. She wished Wade would call or something. She was getting tired of being in the dark. She decided she would go on patrol and look for Monique herself. She was getting tired of not knowing where she was. She was doing her best not to think of what all could be happening to her while she was sitting in the dark.
As the elevator doors opened, Kim scanned the hallway to make sure the coast was clear. When she didn't see anyone, she began loosening her shirt and exposed part of the blue uniform that was underneath. Sometimes it was a pain in the ass to wear a pair of tights underneath a pair of normal clothes. She was half way to her apartment when she noticed something. There were footprints that started at the window and walked to her apartment.
Kim knelt down to get a closer look at the footprints that had become stained in the blue hallway carpet. As she looked at them closer, she realized that the footprints were in blood! Human blood! She looked at the apartment door, and saw blood covering the knob. The apartment had been locked, so whoever it was couldn't get in. She looked at the footprints again and saw that after stopping at her apartment, they went to a near by broom closet. Whoever was in there could be seriously hurt. As she started walking toward the closet, she lowered her glasses and looked through the door.
"Oh my God!" Kim said as she quickly opened the door and gasped at what she saw. "Monique?"
"Hey, girlfriend." She said as she gasped. On eye was swollen shut while the other was halfway. Both of her lips were swollen from being split, and it looked her nose was broken. There were several cuts and bruises all along her arms and legs, and her clothes looked like she had just been through a war zone.
"Monique, what happened to you?" Kim asked her as she helped her friend to her unsteady feet.
"It's a long story."
Monique was lying on the couch with an ice pack on her head. It turned out both of her arms had a hairline fracture, and a sprained ankle. She also had several cracked ribs. Kim was doing her best to clean the wounds with alcohol and peroxide and bandaging them up. Wen Kim found out who did this to her, she was going to put this guy in a world of hurt. Monique didn't deserve anything like this.
"They did this to you to find out about me?" Kim asked her.
"For a few hours. I told them everything I knew, but then they really started to put on the hurt." Monique said.
"But why would they want to know about me?" Kim asked herself.
"Beats me. Maybe you wrote an article someone did like."
"I'm so sorry about this, Monique. I never meant for this to happen."
"It's okay. But I swear, the way they were beating me. It was almost like they thought you were Superwoman or something." Monique said.
"Yeah, or something." Kim said as she bandaged another wound. "You said they asked about me for a few hours. What about the rest of the time?" Kim asked her friend.
"They asked about this." Monique said as she pulled an amulet out from under her shirt. "My ancestors came from Africa. The legend is one of them went to Anansi and asked him to give him a totem that would give him the powers of the animal kingdom, so he could protect his tribe. When you use this, it gives you the abilities of any animal you think of. That's how I got out. I went through that place like I was a rogue elephant, and I crawled up the building like a spider."
"Wow. And I thought I could do anything." Kim said. "Did you ever get a look at the guy that did this?"
"Yeah. Some blonde jerk that kept smiling a lot. He sounded like Crocodile Dundee." Monique said.
"John Corbin." Kim growled.
"Huh?"
"I know who you're talking about, Monique. I've had a run in with him before." Kim said as she stood and grabbed her coat. "I'm going to go to the police and tell them what you told me. I'll call Lois and get her over here to make sure no one comes looking for you." Kim said as she made her way to the door.
"Wait." Monique said as she sat herself up. "You can also tell them where that dill weed's hiding. I remember where they took me."
Kim wasted no time changing into her uniform and taking to the air. She was speeding her way across Metropolis with the intent on making Corbin pay for what he did to her friend.
"Kim, it's Wade. I finally got a picture on the guy, but I don't have a confirmed ID yet."
"It's John Corbin. He's also the ass that exposed me to Kryptonite and tried to kill me." Kim said.
"I thought Ron was supposed to be the detective. I still don't have a location for him yet,"
"He's hiding out at a Gough Industries facility near Hobbs Bay. Monique was able to escape and told me where he was. Wade, I need you to check out any data you can find on it."
"On it." Wade said and began doing his research. "Here we go. It says it was shut down almost a year and a half. But from what I can tell, the place has still been getting power for some time. It looks like someone's pirating power for it."
"I've got police heading there now, but I want a piece of Corbin first." Kim said to him.
"Kim, this is too easy. It's almost like someone's trying to lead you to him. This might be a set up."
"Then I'm fixing to find out." Kim said as she saw the facility up ahead and increased her speed.
What the hell was going on? People were evacuating all over the place. But he didn't hear any alarms going off, no orders being issued. Something wasn't right. Corbin tried to open the door to the office he had been staying in, trying to find out what was going on; but he couldn't. The door was locked and sealed. He kept trying to open it, using as much as his strength as he could. But no matter what he did, the damn thing wouldn't budge. If this thing had a glass door, he'd be able to break through it. But instead, this whole place looked like it came out of Star Trek. He hated high-tech crap.
That's when felt the building shake. Down to its foundation. Either the building had been put on top of an unstable fault line, or something was trying to come in. Either way, it wasn't good. It was time to find out what was happening.
"Someone tell me what's going on out there?" Corbin asked into an intercom, not caring whom he reached.
"We've been ordered to evacuate the premises, sir. Priority orders from the main office."
"That back stabbing," Corbin said before the building shook again, worse than a few minutes ago. "What the hell is causing that?!"
"I don't know, sir. I – Holy crap! Superwoman?"
"Ah, hell." Corbin said before the wall behind him shattered as the woman of steel made her way in.
"Hello again, slime." Superwoman said as she grabbed Corbin by his shirt and lifted him high above her head.
"You know, we really have to stop meeting like this." Corbin said to her.
"And I should smash your skull in." she said.
"We both know you wouldn't do that." Corbin said with his classic snide grin.
"Maybe." She said as she slammed him down against the metal table in the room, snapping it's legs from under it. "But it's sounding awfully tempting right now." She said as she used her heat vision to melt a hole in the desk top; too close to Corbin's head. "Why did you kidnap the girl?"
"I was feeling lonely?" Corbin said; his grin never wavering. It was time to pull some thing out of Ron's play book.
Still holding him by his shirt collar, Superwoman dragged out of the office and through the hole she had made in the wall. He was protesting the entire time and tried to break away, but she held onto him tightly. When she reached the guard rail, she held Corbin over the steep drop to the floor below.
"I'll ask again. Why did you kidnap the girl?" Superwoman asked.
"If you're trying to scare me, it isn't going to work. The fall won't kill me." Corbin said.
"I'm counting on that."
"Huh?" Corbin asked before she let him go. Corbin fell down to the lower floor and landed on his feet, snapping both of his legs as he did so. As he collapsed into a heap, he saw that part of his broken femur was actually bulging through the skin. It hadn't pierced the flesh, but it looked like it was close. Too damn close for his taste. Did the alien woman finally loose her mind? That's when she felt her grab him by the back of his shirt and lift him upward again.
"WHY?" Superwoman demanded.
"All right! I'm not being paid enough for this. I was hired to find information on Kim Possible. From glancing at a few files, I knew she was one of her friends so I brought her here." Corbin said.
"But why torture?"
"We found out she didn't respond well to drugs. I couldn't risk killing her until I found out what I needed.
"You said 'we,' John. Who hired you?" Superwoman demanded.
"It's,"
Outside the building, a black stretch limousine had been parked for hours. Hidden behind what was left of a storage warehouse, the car was out of the line of sight of the security cameras and the guards that had been posted there. Half an hour ago, the driver inside the car had called the facility and ordered the evacuation because of a bomb threat. She had been watching the building ever since then, making sure everyone had escaped. She glanced at the small laptop that was next to her and watched the readout data that appeared on the screen.
It had a direct link-up with the security system and sensors inside the facility. She checked the system again after she saw Superwoman barrel through the walls like a hot knife through butter. All readings, including the infra-red sensors, said that there were only two people left inside the facility. She knew just who the remaining two were and smiled. Reaching into the pocket that was in front of her shirt, she gently slid the small black remote out and turned it on. A small green light lit to life to indicate that not only did it have power, but it was also transmitting its signal perfectly. Taking one more glance at the small laptop, her smile grew as she pressed the small button in the remote's center and listened to the facility explode into massive fireball of heat and debris.
She crushed the remote in her hands as small pieces of debris and concrete began to fall against the car as the large plum of pitch black smoke rose into the air from the raging inferno. She closed the laptop and started the car as she took a glance at the burning remains of the facility and began driving away. The problem with John Corbin had been taken care of and, with a little bit of hope, so had their red-headed problem. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even realize that the car had come to a sudden stop until her forehead slammed down onto the steering wheel. She pressed her hand against her now throbbing forehead as a large lump began to rise. As she glanced upward and looked into her rearview mirror, her brow began to furrow in aggravation.
"Ah, crap." She growled as she felt the car's rear axel ripped from its place and the backend slam down onto the pavement. When the driver's side door was ripped away, she gulped when she saw Superwoman looking at her with her pupils beginning to glow red.
"Hello, Mercy. Let's talk." She said to her.
"Miss Gough?" the temp buzzed as Sherri was looking over a few remaining contracts that were in the works with other business'. The sooner Mercy came back from her little errand, the better.
"What is it?" she asked, not even looking up from her paperwork.
"There's a young lady here to see you, and she seems to be rather upset."
"Tell her I'm busy at the moment and to come back later."
"I don't think I can ma'am." The temp replied.
"Stupid idiot temps. How hard is it to schedule something?" Sherri said as she activated the intercom again. "Why can't you?"
"Because she just flew to the other side of the building."
"Oh." She said as the large window behind her shattered into hundreds of shards as the angry super heroine landed behind her.
"SHEGO!" she bellowed as she glared at the older woman.
"You know, some make an appointment if they want to see me. But I guess I can make an exception this time." Sherri said as she turned in her chair to face the angry hero.
"Mercy didn't kill him, is you want to know."
"Kill who?"
"Corbin. He told me who had hired him before your little lap dog tried to blow him to hell. And not just with Monique's kidnapping." Kim said to her.
"And you believe him?" Sherri asked her friend.
"His heart wasn't racing, and his breathing was steady. He wasn't lying, Shego. You paid him to torture Monique? And to expose me to rock?" Superwoman asked her.
"One thing, Kimmie. You don't have any evidence." Sherri said to Kim.
"Mercy is tied up at the blast site, and Corbin isn't dead." Kim said to her.
"I repeat. You don't have any evidence." Sherri said to her. Their conversation wasn't between two friends right now. There wasn't any sign or even the smallest hint of that. This was an argument between Kim and Shego.
"You can't be that,"
"Mercy is a very loyal employee, Kimmie. She might have told you everything, but that's because I wanted her too. And I know about Corbin. Hardly anything happens in this city without me knowing. John is in critical condition with third degree burns over forty-three percent of his body. You might have saved him, but he still got barbecued. I doubt he's in any condition to testify." Sherri said as she stood.
"You – what's happened to you? You tried to k-kill – him. What's?" Kim said as she began to feel weak in the knees and felt a wave of nausea wash over her.
"What's wrong, kitten? Feeling a little sick? Maybe feel like you're going to hurl?" Sherri asked as she walked closer to Superwoman.
"The – the rock?" Kim asked as she braced herself against a wall.
"Not exactly." Sherri said as she held up her left hand to reveal its faint glow. "Remember all those years ago? When I found out about you and kept it from Drakken? Well, I've been curious about you ever since. Mainly, the ship that brought you here." Sherri said as she began to walk around Kim like a shark in the water.
"I was black listed for stealing Drakken's little secret, but I was tired of being evil anyway. But as my company grew, I was able to do a a little more research in you. Mainly, trying to figure out where your ship landed. What an edge I'd have if I got a hold on that gold mine."
"But – the radiation. How?"
"I'm getting to that, Kimmie. You see, all the data I'd collected didn't make any since at first. Then I found that rock that made you so sick. When my lab boys tested it, they found something very interesting. Something that made all the data fall into place like a puzzle. It turns out that you and the rock have a very strong connection." Sherri said, but noticed how Kim could barley look up. Probably not even speak. "The little glowing green rock? It's what's left of the planet you came from. I've decided to call it Kryptonite, after your planet's name."
"T-then whe-where are you hiding it?"
"You haven't figured it out? I thought you were so much smarter Kimmie. Let me tell you a story.
"You see, NASA tracked something the day you came to Earth. Something that was moving so fast, they barley got a picture of it. So they assumed it was a meteor. But shortly after that little object crashed to Earth, a small meteor drifted toward the planet and started entering the atmosphere. Now in our story, a lone comet comes flying past us. It's close to Earth, but not close enough to be pulled in by our gravity. OR at least it would have if it didn't collide with a large chunk of meteor.
"The two crash together, and fuse together. This warps the sucker on many levels, and causes it to crash to Earth. Specifically, on top of the heads of five siblings that were playing in their brand new tree house. The kids all live, but the altered radiation of the meteor begins to change their DNA drastically. One gets strength, another can alter their size, while the two youngest can replicate themselves. But the other sibling, a young girl, get the ability to generate radiation. And if not used properly, it can be very destructive. Imagine how that little girl felt growing up, being labeled a freak of nature and doesn't have any idea how to use those powers? Especially when she gets upset and accidently burns her school down?" Sherri growled as Kim fell into a sitting position.
"Now, here comes the worst part. A piece of the altered meteor wasn't affected by the collision. It's still a pure sample of what the meteor originally was. And this little sucker burrowed itself into the ground not too far from the family home. So in the not too distant future, the mother of these sibling's begin to make a garden in that same spot. At first, nothing happens. But after being exposed to it for years, she finds herself with ovarian cancer and becoming exhausted constantly, even after they remove her uterus.
"Now on her death bed, after the girl has been terrified it was her powers that made her sick, finds out it was that little chunk of meteorite that killed her. You see Kim, it was your ship that satellite tracked and those meteors were brought here in the wake of your ship. It's didn't take me long to figure out your ship must have an advanced propulsion drive." Sherri said to her.
"I-I was a baby. I h-had no c-control – over my ship." Kim moaned.
"It's amazing. I'm not even fully flared up, and it's making you this sick. I know you didn't have any control Kim, but my heart's telling me otherwise. I'm lucky, though. My radiation can't kill humans, but it can make your life a living hell." She said as she began to glow brighter and watched the agony on Kim's face. What was worse, Sherri enjoyed watching her suffer. "Here's another pain. I really did love Lex. I hoped I could finally reclaim some of the dreams I had to give up with him. The dream of being happy, maybe even a family. But I showed him what I was like without the make up on. In all my pale green, glow worm, glory. He immediately began making plans to try and use me as a weapon.
"He stopped loving me the instant I showed him what I was really like. So I took that egotistical for everything he was worth in the divorce, and I made my other dream a reality." She said as she looked at the pain in Kim's face and only thought she wasn't suffering enough. "You ruined my life, Kim. Besides my mother, you were the only person I could ever trust. You were my only real friend. And you were the one that's responsible for making me like this." Sherri growled as her fists ignited and her make up began to melt away.
"Sherri,"
"SHUT UP, KIMMIE!" Sherri shouted at her. "You brought those damn rocks on my head, you killed my mother, and you ruined not just my career as a thief, but you cost me my marriage. I know you didn't mean or directly responsible, but I BLAME YOU FOR ALL OF IT! And I will hate you for the rest of my life, because of it."
"Y-you're – going to – to kill me?" Kim asked as her body felt like it was on fire and she fought back the urge to vomit as the world around her seemed to be spinning.
"No, Kimmie. That would be the easy way out. I know your secret identity, and I know your weakness. And thanks to Corbin, I know everything about your past and I know who you're friends are. I have the power to make your life as much as a living, nightmarish hell as mine was if I want to. So I won't kill you, Kimmie. Instead, I'm going to make you sweat, knowing everything I just told you. At any moment, I could let everything I know slip, or give the name of your friends and family to any of these maniacs you've busted. I wonder what that Lobo character would do if he knew your mother was single?" Sherri asked and enjoyed the anger in Kim's face.
"You do and I'll,"
"You won't do jack shit, Princess. Fear is power, and I'm putting the fear into you. I'm going to enjoy this, Kimmie. Just like the old days. Now," Sherri said as she grabbed Kim by the hair, her hands still glowing, and yanked her to her feet and took her to the open space where her window was. "GET OT OF MY OFFICE!" Sherri shouted as she kicked Kim in the butt and sent her free falling.
Kim fell from the Sherri's office like a rock. She was still so weak from the exposure to Kryptonite radiation that she couldn't control her decent. Her fall soon stopped as she crashed into the concrete sidewalk below and created a crater about two feet deep. A crowd immediately gathered as a very nauseas Superwoman slowly stood to her feet and she grasped her head. The lightheadedness and nausea was going away and she was beginning to feel normal again. As she took a few deep breaths, she looked upwards and glared at the top floor office window where Sherri was still standing and watching.
Kim had hoped that everything she had heard about the seedy deals she had made, the illegal activities she had been involved in, were nothing but rumors. But she knew that most of them, if not all them, were true. Sherri had been one of her closest friends and had saved her life once. Now everything they had was shattered. Even though Sherri had made her true colors known, Kim couldn't help but feel sad about what had happened. Once a villain, always a villain.
"Are you okay, Supergirl?" a woman asked as Kim kept glaring upwards.
"I'm fine, ma'am. And that's Superwoman." Kim said before she took to the air. She needed to let her mom know what had just happened, and then take Diana back to her place. It was going to be tricky having an Amazon here, but she hoped she could do it. At least she still had some friends left. In fact, there was one she needed to talk to later tonight.
The two pods finished venting the gases that were within them and were now going through the reanimation process. The two beings inside were still alive, but certain procedures were needed in order to restore the tissue back to their normal state. But that wouldn't take long. The cyborg had long finished his task of altering the equipment to suit his needs, and the diagnostic had told him they were fully functioning. So there he sat, waiting. As he heard the loud gasps for air coming from the two beings inside, he let the three dots on his forehead glow brightly to let them know who and what he was.
The first one to rise was the woman as she coughed from having her lungs inflate with air for the first time in years. She supported her weight on the pod as she pulled herself upwards and let her long ebony hair flow. The other being's actions were similar. He was also grasping onto the pod as he tried to support his own weight again. His wide, muscular frame was almost two much for the pod to support. As both beings were learning to use their legs again, the cyborg grasped the clothing the fortress had created for them and tossed it close to the ship. Even though he was a machine, he did not enjoy looking at these beings in the nude. Especially since this organic body of his was having an instinctive reaction at the sight of the nude female.
The female looked at the cyborg with her ice blue eyes for a moment, and confusion was obvious in her face. But once she saw the three glowing dots on his forehead, her mind registered the cyborg's true identity.
"I see Zor-El's program worked." She said as she stepped out of the pod and onto the cold floor, shivering at the temperature. The large man only let out a high pitched growl as he stepped free from the pod.
"It is nice to see you once again as well, Ursa." Brainiac said as he looked at the large male. "Still the strong silent type, Non?" he asked the man, and was rewarded with a deep growl as the male scratched his thick black beard.
"Has Zod been freed?" Ursa asked as she saw the clothing and immediately grabbed the black body suit.
"Not yet. He has instructed me to waken both of you to help me gather the necessary components." Brainiac said.
"Necessary components? Any Kryptonian colony has a device to open a door to the Phantom Zone." Ursa said as she slid the black body suit over her frame, and smiled as she saw Zod's symbol was mounted proudly on her chest.
"That is true, Ursa. But we are not on any Kryptonian colony." Brainiac said to her as Non began putting on his own uniform.
"What are you talking about?" Ursa said as she looked at the area they were standing in. "This is clearly a Kryptonian facility."
"This place may be Kryptonian by design, but it is not a colony world." Brianiac said to her as he began to bring the monitors online.
"Then where are we?" Ursa asked as she walked to the monitors with Non joining her.
"We are on the third planet of the Sol system. A young star, with a culture that's still very primitive by our standards." The cyborg said as he showed them the images their ship's computer took of the planet before it landed.
"Why would Zod send us to this backwatered planet? Why not Argo or Kandor?" Ursa asked.
"Three reasons, Ursa. One, Kandor has been destroyed. Two, I haven't been able to reach Argo for several years. And three, Jor-El's child is here." Brainiac said.
When the cyborg mentioned the Jor-El's name, both turned and looked at the living machine.
"Jor-El? His brat is on this world?" Ursa asked him.
"Yes. He sacrifised himself to let her live. She has been raised among the inhabitants of this world. In fact, this fortress if of Jor-El's design." Bainiac said to her.
"Poetic Justice." Ursa said to herself. "We shall have revenge on the child of our jailer!" Ursa said as she and Non turned an began heading toward the exit.
"WAIT!" Brainiac said, his voice almost deafening. "There are several things you need to know, and you are in no condition to fight Kara Jor-El when she is at full strength. And there are Zod's orders."
"Full strength?"
"If you will actually sit down and listen, I will explain. But until Zod has been freed from the Phantom Zone, you will follow my orders. There is much to be done, and we have very little time. Now, as these humans say, sit down and shut up."
Kim walked down the stairs and was soon greeted with the familiar settings of the batcave. Just where Wade said he'd be, Ron was sitting in front of the computer and going over several items of a case that were displayed in front of him. She wasn't in uniform, seeing how she wouldn't need it to talk to Ron. Thankfully, neither was he. He was wearing a black turtle neck sweater with the sleeves rolled up to mid forearm, and a pair of old blue jeans. She cleared her throat to make her presence known, but Ron didn't budge. She walked closer to where he was sitting, trying to make her footfalls as loud as she could. He still didn't move. Was he ignoring her on purpose?
"I didn't know you kept that." Ron said, not even turning his head.
"Kept what?"
"The shirt you're wearing is one of my old jersey's. I used to keep a few at them at your house, just in case." He said, still looking at the computer.
"Wade told me what happened with the scarecrow. How are you feeling?" she asked him.
"Lousy." He said as he stood and walked to an area of the cave that looked like it was some sort of crime lab.
"What are you working on now?"
"A WGA promoter was killed not too long ago. I think it might be one of the wrestler's. Mainly one that calls himself Killer Croc." Ron said as he looked into a microscope.
"I've never heard of him. Of course, I don't watch GWA." Kim said.
"We'll, we've both met him before. In fact, he held you and the rest of the cheer squad hostage." Ron said to her.
"Only on person did that. And I don't remember anyone of them named – Gill?" Kim asked him.
"Exposing himself to that concentration of toxic runoff, he was left with a rare skin condition. He's human, but he looks more like a humanoid crocodile. He's known for having a very short fuse in and out of the ring." Ron said.
"Gill? That slime spitting – ECH!" Kim said as she remembered being bound by that giant loogie. "I wanted to also let you know that Monique's safe and sound. I recently took her back to Middleton."
"I know. I tracked you flight path. I also know about John Corbin." Ron said as he took notes.
"Ron, is there anything wrong? You're acting like your mad at me." Kim said to her boyfriend.
"You ran away again, KP." He said to her, standing to his full height.
"I didn't run away."
"I know what happened at the school, Kim. And when J'onn and I tried to help, you turned your back on us. Then you disappeared for two weeks without a trace." Ron said.
"Ron, I didn't plan on that. I was just trying to clear my head, and I was struck by lightning. The next thing I know, I'm on a lost island of women warriors." Kim said to him.
"Themyscira." Ron said to her.
"How did – never mind. Ron, I wasn't trying to disappear. I just needed to calm down." Kim said to him.
"The point is you still ran off." Ron said as he turned to her and threw his notebook onto the table. "When your dad died, you ran off to the North Pole and no one saw you again for seven years. Sven years, Kim."
"I told you, I was trying to learn more about my biological parents!" Kim shouted.
"But you didn't take anything with you that would remind you of us!" Ron shouted back.
"What are you talking about?" Kim asked him.
"You didn't take any pictures of your family, or us, with you. You didn't take any mission gear, all your clothes were brand new, and you didn't even take Pandaroo with you. You left everything that would remind you of your dad. Including anything about the rest of us. If that's not running away, I don't know what is." Ron said to her and turned back to the table and propped his weight on it.
"You're right. Every time I looked at anything, it made me think of dad. And daddy was the one that bought me Pandaroo in the first place, so that's why I didn't take him. Every time I saw it, I saw dad. But it was a chance to learn about who I am, Ron. And I wanted you to go with me, Ron. I wanted you to be with me for every second." Kim said to him, but he still didn't move or even look at her. "But I couldn't hold you back. Ron, you're my best friend. But let's face it, you were always looked upon as my sidekick. I wanted everyone to see what a great person you were. But you couldn't do that if you were with me. And I hated not being with you, Ron. I couldn't stand it." Kim said as a few tears began to fall.
"You're wrong, though. I didn't leave everything about us. I took this jersey with me, and I wore it every time I went to sleep. It was the only thing that I had that could make me feel close to you." She said to him.
She turned to leave him to his work as a few more tears began to make themselves known. That's when she felt his hands clutch her by her arms, turn her around, and kiss her on the lips with her eagerly returning the embrace. Both were holding onto each other for dear life as they didn't want to let their kiss end. They both needed it. They both needed to know that one still needed the other, that they still wanted each other. Even as their kiss ended, they still held each other tightly.
"I'm sorry, Ron." She whispered to him.
"When the scarecrow gassed me, he made me live out the worst moments in my life." He said to her.
"Your parent's death?" she asked him.
"It was at first. But then it made me relive my greatest fear over and over again." He said to her as he held her closer.
"What was it?"
"Loosing you." He said.
As they held each other in the dim light of the batcave, for the first time in so many years, Ron Stoppable began to cry. After holding it in for so long, he finally began to let the pain make itself known. But now, she was there to help him through it; just as he had been for her so many times before.
Every breath he took seemed to be in agony. There were several thick layers of bandages all over him, hiding the areas of burned flesh and muscle. His lips felt dry as he felt the hose to the life support plugged into the middle of his throat. It was a strange sensation to breath and not feel any air passing through your nose or mouth. His lush head of hair was now gone, showing the pink of his skin before it showed the black edges of where he was burned. Several fingers were missing on one hand, even though he could feel them. He knew that Superwoman had tried to shield him from the blast, but she hadn't been entirely successful. It was hard to do when you were in the middle of the blast.
One eye was completely covered, but one eye opened when he heard footsteps. He hoped it was the nurse with more morphine. His burned chest expanding seemed to cause him nothing but pain. His vision wasn't clear in the eye though. Most of what he saw was fuzzy and people looked like blurs unless they were very close to him. But there was one blur he didn't recognize. It had walked to his bed and seemed to glance at the machines he was hooked up to. That's when the blur took a seat and seemed to be looking at her.
"Don't try to talk, Corbin. I know it must be difficult to even breath right now." The blur said, but he knew that voice. If his other hand wasn't completely bandaged, he'd be balling a fist and trying to belt her one across the mouth. "I wouldn't, John. You wouldn't want an IV to come out. And given the state both your arms are in, I'd think that it would be a living hell for them to put it back in." Sherri said with a smirk.
"B-b-bit." He tried to say, but couldn't get the words out.
"Mercy did this, not me. I didn't have any idea she would take such extreme measures against Superwoman." Sherri said to him, trying to use a soothing voice. "I know you don't believe me. I don't blame you. You're lungs are most likely burned, and you'll be scarred for life if you live through the night. Not to mention, the explosion didn't help your broken legs. You'll be using a cane, if not a walker." Sherri said.
Corbin tried to ignore her, but couldn't. She knew what she said was true. If he lived through this, he'd be a cripple for the rest of his life. Not to mention the Phantom of the Opera looked better than he would. His life and everything he knew were down to the proverbial toilet.
"Look John, I know we haven't been on good terms lately. But I've recently acquired some data that will be most helpful to you."
"Scruu yuu." Corbin somehow managed to say.
"Now Corbin, I wouldn't dismiss it so quickly. What if I told you, that this data showed me a way to give you a new body? One stronger, and better than yours ever was?"
"Bushtt."
"Not bull, Johnny. It would make you stronger and faster than any athlete in this world. Think the Si Million Dollar Man on a much grander scale. And with it, you'd have the ability to beat Superwoman into nothing more but a broken shell of what she once was." Sherri said to him and smiled when she saw the glimmer in his eye. "My people have been working on it day and night, John. It's almost finished. But it just needs someone to operate it. How about it, John? A brand new body to give you power like you've only dreamed?" Sherri asked her.
Corbin quickly shook his head yes. The offer was too good to refuse, and it would be far better than what he was looking forward to when he got out of here. If he got out of here.
"Excellent." Sherri said and turned on her cell phone. "This is Miss Gough. Yes, I'm sad to say he didn't survive." She said as Corbin's eyes went wide at what she was saying into the phone. "Get a surgical team ready at once. We only have a few minutes before the brain is useless." She said and closed her phone. What the hell was going on here? Surgery? Brain? What kind of setup was this? "See you when you wake up, John." She said and turned off the life support machine.