Undue Parallels
The Passages were an immense network of underground tunnels that the American military had built many years ago to transport precious cargo across the country secretly. Once it was clear that the Diablos weren't going away any time soon, the military, in conjunction with Global Justice and founded by Mrs. Dr. Possible and the Stoppables, the Passages were set up as a nomadic refugee camp that could be easily moved along the tunnels if Drakken's forces showed up. Fortunately, Kim Possible and her team had been keeping him busy enough that a tunnel full of refugees didn't seem to be an immediate threat. At the moment however, the cramped spaces were being a detriment as a mutated, lethal strain of Infectious Mononucleosis swept through, and medicines were scarce.
"Hey mom." Kim said, giving her mother a tight squeeze.
Mrs. Dr. Possible returned the hug, then held her daughter at arms length with a tired, overjoyed smile. "You still look beautiful, honey. I'm glad this war hasn't changed that about you."
"Mom..." Kim said, blushing.
Dr. Possible inspected the thick braid that hung over Kim's shoulder. "Is Ron still doing this? I know you always had trouble..."
Kim shrugged slightly in embarrassment. "He's good at it. Says it's just like making lanyards back in Arts and Crafts at Wannaweep." she explained, sliding the lengthy lock of hair out of her mother's grasp to let it fall down her back. "Now what is this about mono sweeping through the Passages?"
Annabeth Possible knelt down beside an unconscious patient that lied on a gurney next to them. "Only a few years ago, this could have all been treated easily. Without basic medical supplies though, it's spreading quickly."
"That's why I never kiss a guy on the mouth." Joss whispered to Wade, who only looked back at her in confusion.
"We got your message and brought what we could." Kim said, taking a small satchel from Joss and giving it to her mother. "But it's all we can spare right now. Supplies are spreading thin."
Dr. Possible opened the satchel and frowned. "Not to sound ungrateful Kimmie, but this isn't near enough."
"I know..."
"Aunt Annie..." Joss said, interrupting. "What is it?"
Dr. Possible looked from Kim to Joss and let her shoulders slump. "It's Jim. He's sick and getting worse. I'm not sure how long before Tim gets it too."
Kim swallowed, standing in silence a moment as Wade and Joss stood awkwardly behind her. It wasn't that long ago she lost her Dad, but now this war was threatening to take her brothers too. How long before her mother was lost as well? Kim looked into her mother's tired blue eyes and wondered if she herself wasn't already sick.
A clatter of metal on metal echoed through the tunnel, and the unsuspected, yet welcome sound of a child giggling followed soon after. "Hana! Come back!" Ron shouted, a tired whine touching his voice that always seemed to present itself when he was forced to work. "You're gonna break something!"
Kim and her mother winced as another clatter rippled through the tunnel. Kim turned to her mother again and sighed, unconsciously pushing out her bottom lip as she always did when asking for something she knew she wanted more than needed. "Mom, I need to ask a favor."
"No, Kimmie."
"But Mom! The GJ base is no place for a six year old!"
"Look around, Honey. Until we get this under control, this is no place for the children we have on their way." Dr. Possible said, gesturing down the tunnel to a familiar blond couple. "I can't imagine a safer place for a child than with you and Ron."
The comment was innocent enough, but Joss was quick to pick up on it. "I've been trying to tell her that for months, Aunt Annie."
Kim ignored her little cousin, and turned back to her mother despite keeping her line of sight on the couple. "Is that Josh and Tara?"
"The human species is dwindling, and people want comfort. Contraceptives aren't exactly high on our supply lists." Dr. Possible answered.
Kim frowned. She had brought them here to safety after they had both tried to kill her. Now here they were, trying to make a life for themselves in this mess, and something as silly as Mono was threatening to end it. She wracked her brain, trying to find an answer. "Mom, if there was some way to get the medicines you needed..."
"What's wrong, Cap'n? If I recall, anything is possible for a Possible." Joss said amongst another racket of laughter, clanging, and Ron's whining echoing through the tunnel. When it seemed she had everyone's attention, she added "Drakken's main chemical factory?"
"An attack on one of Drakken's most heavily defended factories?" Wade asked. "That's suicide!"
"No it's not." she argued. "Besides, it won't be an attack. Just me..." Joss said, taking a deep breath. The idea of going back into Drakken's territory as an infiltrator, and possibly getting caught was a nightmare she thought she had left behind ages ago. But if it was the only way. "I know the layout, the security systems. I even still have my old uniform."
"Whether it still fits..." Wade said in what he thought was a whisper. Unfortunately, the tunnel and it's inhabitants had chosen that moment to fall deathly silent except for a single cough. "Uh..."
"I'm gonna just pretend that didn't come outta yer mouth."
"That was a long time ago, Joss. A lot has probably changed." Kim said.
Joss stepped up to Kim and pointed at Josh and Tara. "We could save the world Kim, but if we can't save them... If we can't save who's gonna come after them, then what the Hell is the point?" she said quietly as she looked squarely into Kim's emerald eyes. "The world's gonna be here whether Drakken is or not. It's the people on it we have to worry about."
"Now Joss..." Mrs. Dr. Possible said, reaching out slightly to stop her, but Kim could tell her mother agreed with her cousin.
Slowly, Kim nodded. She turned again to where Hana had approached Josh and Tara, and was able to bring a smile to the soon to be saviors of humanity. "Okay, Joss. This is your show. Let's save your world."
"There's not much there, Joss." Ron said with a frown. Rufus could be heard snoring in his uniform pocket, and Hana was running circles around the central banks of computers in an endless loop. Something she'd been doing all morning with boundless energy.
Joss looked at Ron's monitor. It showed surveillance pictures of the area around Chem Prime that they had gotten from Larry's crew, and much like the rest of the major cities in the world, San Diego was reduced to a smoldering ruin. "The lab itself is underground, beneath the rubble. Being run by humans though, it'll have venting that leads to the surface."
"Well, where'd you want us to meet you?" he asked.
Joss pointed at the screen, to a clearing in the city. "Here. It's a little close, but if I'm on my way out in a hurry, I wanna quick exit."
"I hear ya. We'll be there." Ron said, grinning as he reached out to snatch Hana around the waist. Unexpectedly, her momentum caused Ron's chair to roll wildly around her and slam into the far wall of the command room.
Joss ignored the pair, moving over to Wade. "You got that equipment?" she asked, putting an arm around his shoulder and looking down at his work bench.
"One set of Wade specials are ready to go." he said with a smile, laying out several items in front of him. "One laser pen, a maglock comb, magnetic resonance glasses, grapple floss, and a fresh batch of knockout lip gloss."
"Lip gloss?" Joss asked. "But I thought..."
"I had to make do with some of Ron's socks." he whispered, causing Joss to cringe.
"Joss." Kim called, suddenly appearing at one of the entrances to the control room. She gestured for her little cousin to follow her before turning to leave.
Joss sighed, whispering to Wade as she turned to follow. "Now I guess we'll see if I'm alive long enough to use any of that gear." Wade let out a quiet chuckle as Joss left, and she climbed the short set of stairs out of the command room to where Kim was waiting. She rubbed one shoe over the other nervously before she approached. As much as she was sarcastic, and prodding of Kim, Joss was still impressed by her and Kim always had a habit of making Joss feel inferior, just by being near. As much as it had hurt to see her own father gunned down in front of her, Joss had let go of not being able to save him early on. But Kim had literally grown up a superhero, being able to do anything. Joss could only imagine how hard the fall had been for her. "Kim? I'm sorry I..."
"Don't apologize, Joss." Kim said with a lopsided smile. "It's nice to be reminded sometimes of why we're here, still fighting." Joss nodded, but remained silent. Hearing Kim apologize was almost like having her old cousin from before the war back. Many of her customary niceties had melted away since losing her father. "I do wish you'd take your battle suit, though."
Joss shook her head. "I'll be settin' off every alarm the moment I mosey through the door. I am intendin' on bringing my guns though. You can never have too many of those." she grinned.
Kim nodded and smiled. "It's your call."
"There's somthin' else buggin' ya, ain't there?"
"I guess it just kinda hit me how... Josh and Tara... y'know."
"Did the nasty? The horizontal shuffle? The bump and grind? The..."
"Alright, I get it." Kim said with a sigh.
"But Kim, aren't you the one that kinda set'em up?"
Kim looked back at Joss, confused. "I know. Josh and I would never make it. We didn't before and we wouldn't now. It was just a nice thought to hold onto. Now that they're..."
"Joined at the hip?"
"Stop that!"
"Sorry." Joss admitted, blushing slightly.
Kim looked at her for a few more moments, as though judging her sincerity. "Now that they're more than just a couple, that idea kinda deflated. I'm glad you were there to pick up the bag."
"Maybe you should stop dreaming about what could be, and start acting on what's now. You're not in High School anymore, Kim. It's time to grow up."
At first, Kim's body flushed with anger at having her immature little cousin telling her to grow up, but then the words she had used rang loudly in her mind. Her anger subsided, and a sad smile crept across her face. "I said the same thing to Ron in his treehouse a few weeks before Prom Night. He had freaked out about the Diablo toys at Buenos Nachos, and though I doubt he'd admit it, Erik and I dating."
"Erik really hurt you, didn't he?"
"I think I could have recovered from Erik being a synthodrone if things afterward had gone differently."
"You mean if Ron had been a rebound guy?"
"What?" Kim asked, surprised. "No! Joss, relationships in this kinda sitch make things..."
As Kim struggled for the right words, Joss interrupted her again. "Easier to live with?"
"Complicated." Kim said finally with a glare.
"Horse puckey." Joss retorted. "You're starting to sound a bit too much like Betty with your by-the-book 'tude. That's not how you used to win, Kim. You won where GJ lost plenty of times."
"And I lost when it really counted."
The pair sat quietly for a moment before Joss finally spoke. "You ain't talkin' about Drakken winnin', are ya?"
"When I saw my Mom tired, and working around those sick people and heard that the Tweebs are sick too... Joss, I'm losing everyone I've ever cared about. If I lost any of you guys too... Joss, I'm trying to tell you to be careful." Kim said, looking down at the floor.
Joss stood and began walking toward her room. For a moment, she stopped and turned. "And I've been tryin' to tell ya for awhile that if ya don't stop bein' careful, we ain't gonna win."
The crew sat in the Kepler with Kim in the pilot's seat instead of her command chair. Ron sat beside her in his usual place, and Wade and Rufus were both at their respective stations as well. Joss, on the other hand was sitting in the passenger compartment, dressed in her old uniform; a sparkling skin tight leather outfit that did, despite her annoyance, feel a little snug. Hana sat beside her, wriggling in her safety harness and humming a song that Joss was finding oddly soothing.
Upon boarding the Kepler, Joss was very nearly going to change her mind about the whole plan and go in guns blazing. At least she would be more at ease. The memories of first being captured and having a compliance chip first implanted had been haunting her since she first suggested infiltrating the laboratory. Ever since her Aunt had taken it out with Kim and the others holding down as the chip forced her to fight against it, she had exercised her free will. To go back to that state of being a captive in her own mind was the most terrifying thing.
Suddenly the lights in the passenger compartment dimmed to a dark red, signaling that Kim had activated the infrared sensors and turned off the running lights for their stealthy approach. Hana stopped her humming and let out a quiet whimper, undoubtedly reminded of the dark labs where Drakken's minions had done their experiments. "It's okay, kid." Joss said with as friendly a smile as she could muster. She doubted her uniform was helping Hana's fears become elated at all, but there wasn't a whole lot she could do about it at the moment. "Pretty soon we'll have the medicines we're lookin' for and be back helpin' the people that need it."
Hana forced a smile onto her face, doing her best to relax as the ship slowed, descended, and stopped. The tell tale sign of a few of the other teammates activating their armor reverberated through the substructure of the Kepler, and Joss unbuckled herself from her safety harness. "We've got a squad of synthodrones heading our way, Joss. Hold tight." Kim said over the intercom.
"Always am." she replied under her breath.
Kim, and Wade climbed out of the Kepler wearing their battle armor as Ron followed with Rufus perched on his shoulder. While the mole rat's battle body was far too bulky and heavily armed to be used for stealth, but Rufus himself could be deadly against synthodrones in hit and run strikes. "Okay people, we've got twelve synthetics that have to go down before they're allowed to reconnect to the network. That means five seconds."
"Quick and easy, Kim." Ron said with a smile.
"Remember, Ron. This has to be done quietly."
"Kim, please." Ron said with a smile, beginning to walk away toward their target. "I'm a Ninja Master." His tone was placating, but Kim winced as his foot caught the buried forks of a rake that comically snapped the handle up to catch him in the cheek. "Ow! Who'd leave that..." he shrieked, closing his eyes and holding his face as he backed away into a pile of scrap pieces of metal that scattered and clanged together noisily.
"Are you done?" Kim asked, a smirk forming on her face as she stood watching with her arms crossed.
He laid there motionless a moment with a frown before climbing to his feet in another clamor of metal on metal. "Yes." he answered quietly.
"Then let's hope we don't run into any drones that may have heard us arrive."
"Or rakes..." Wade added with a snicker.
"Detecting transport sized vessel one hundred meters East." announced Synthodrone One One Three Nine, holding up a scanner. The rest of it's squad waited for orders with rifles at the ready, and One One Three Nine called them forward with a wave of it's arm. "Investigate and elimina..."
Kim's grapple punctured through the lead synthodrone's chest and pulled the quickly draining husk into the darkness. Using the in flight synthodrone's body as a spring board, Kim performed a high flying somersault and landed with a roundhouse kick that felled two more synthodrones.
Wade launched a set of darts from his gauntlet that lashed out, striking a synthodrone in the upper thigh and sending bolts of electricity surging through it's internal goo. Blisters began to form and it's vocalizer let out a high pitched warble before it's husk burst open, sending super ionized synthogoo splattering on several of it's companions and sending them into electrostatic shock.
Rufus leaped from the rubble around the synthodrone's feet, biting hard into the husks of several synthodrones, lunging from one to the other in a flurry of pink flashes.
Ron dropped in behind the squad without a sound, his blue aura flashing as the rest of his teammates attacked. He dug his hands into the concrete beneath the synthodrone's feet, lifting a large section of asphalt and turning it over. Three of the synthodrones were crushed beneath the weight, and in less than three seconds, the attack was over. Ron grinned at Kim and Wade as Rufus climbed up his uniform to sit on his shoulder. "Cool move, huh?"
Wade stabbed a small blade into the two synthodrones that were still writhing on the ground. "Show off." he said, looking back at Ron and grinning through his face plate.
"I think we need to work on your sneaky skills some more, Ron." Kim added as she began making her way back to the Kepler. "We don't know exactly how far from the surface this base is. If they heard asphalt being torn up..." she said, looking back at him. Ron's grin had faded, replaced with a disappointed frown. "There's no way they'd believe it was a human being. You might have just covered our tracks. Good job." Kim smiled shyly, trying to keep herself from tearing Ron's confidence down anymore than it already had been. Fortunately, Ron's goofy smile returned, but with a sense of slyness that was unfamiliar. Kim turned away, using her myonetic suit to increase her speed toward the Kepler.
The run back to the ship was quick, and Kim approached the holographically disguised ship first, using her battle armor's radio to send a message to Joss by line of sight. "Path's all clear, Joss. Wade figures you've got one hour to get in and out before they realize their patrol is gone."
The entry ramp unfolded from the Kepler and Joss climbed down the steps, smoothing her uniform. She nodded to Kim and the others as they waited at the base of the steps. "Hana's in the passenger compartment, playing with an old tennis ball." she said, trying to keep her nerves steady.
Ron, Wade, and Rufus climbed the stairs into the Kepler after giving their good lucks, and Joss was beginning to make her way toward the Chemical Laboratory. Before she managed to get very far, Kim grabbed her arm. "Joss, if you're not there in an hour..."
Joss nodded and forced a smile. "Then I guess you won't have to listen to how you and Ron should be jumpin' into the sack anymore."
"Joss..." Kim began, narrowing her eyes in irritation.
"I know, I know." she replied with a chuckle. "I guess I reckon if somethin' like that could happen, then maybe we really can save the world." For once, Kim let a smile break through at that explanation, and let go. "I'd better move if I wanna keep botherin' ya about it though."
"Good luck, Joss." Kim said with a nod, allowing Joss to continue.
Joss crept through the rubble until she neared a surveillance tower with a synthodrone manning a focused beam scanner mounted over a Death Ray. Taking the Mag Res glasses from a pouch on her hip, she slid them on and activated them. Normally, their battle suits came equipped with such a device, allowing synthetics to literally glow in their environment. Not having her suit on meant she had to improvise.
The world around her faded to black as the magnetic resonance glasses came online, with the bits of scrap metal sparkling like diamonds around her, interspersed with concrete; which was devoid of all color, and was thus practically invisible through the glasses. The synthodrone in the tower shined a bright yellow, showing every movement of the synthetic's body and even the flow of energy within it's gelatinous matrix. While this was certainly helpful, the true use of the glasses were realized as the now visible beam of the scanner swept by like a spot light, easily seen and easily avoided.
Waiting until the scanner beam passed by, Joss stealthily moved toward a vent tube that sprung up from the ground, slightly out of place amongst the destroyed ruins of the city. She put her back against the wall and crouched behind the vent tube as the scanner swept by again, and Joss pulled out the laser pen from her pouch. Clicking it on, the red beam cut slowly and quietly through the fused, steel vent until she could fold it open like a lid and she crawled inside.
Pulling the makeshift lid closed over her head, Joss braced herself in the narrow tube and traded her laser pen and mag res glasses for her small container of grapple floss. She attached the small magnetic coupler to the lid of the vent, and allowed the thin wire to unwind from the disguised spool as she descended down the tube.
The trip down was lengthy, as the chemical factory was buried deep below the surface. One thing about having an endless supply of tireless labor like synthodrones was that construction of such underground bases could be done quickly and with devastating efficiency. By the end of her floss cable, the tube had begun to slope inward toward the base, and Joss let go of her grapple line, sliding down the sloped vent. She continued to gather speed, passing alternative paths in the tunnel that would lead to other sections of the base.
Suddenly, the hum of energy beams reached Joss' ears and she slowed her descent by pressing her palms and feet against the opposite side of the tube until she was uncomfortably wedged in place. Below her was a grid of red, glowing beams of lethal energy, very similar to the McHenry security mesh that the GJ base had. "Okay Kim, point to you." she whispered to herself, trying to maneuver into a more secure posture. "Things have certainly changed."
Crawling down slowly to a position just above the laser grid, Joss inspected the area around the beam projectors. Just on the other side of the lasers was mounted a technicians control panel for maintenance. She blew the hair out of her face in frustration, and struggled to reach the maglock comb from her pouch. Carefully, she slipped the comb through the narrow gaps between the lasers and activated it. Several probes, scanners, and a control panel popped out of the comb and Joss inserted it into the card reader slot of technicians console.
Joss was clenching her jaw in determination now as her legs and arms began to shake and her feet began to slide. "Come on..." she whispered, feeling the heat from the laser grid on her rear end. Without warning, the console beeped and the web of lasers fizzled out. Joss relaxed her tiring muscles and let herself continue her fall, snatching the maglock comb as she swept by.
Internal vents began to pass by, and Joss counted in her head until she reached the point where she remembered the laboratory was near. Putting her hands out, she began to slow her rate of speed, cringing at the squeaks that resulted from her leather gloves sliding along the metal walls. After coming to a stop, Joss settled onto her back and took a heavy breath, trying to calm herself as she closed her eyes and listened.
There were voices both human and synthetic echoing through the venting, talking about various projects and security issues and orders, but so far as she could tell there was nothing about intruders or breaches in the perimeter, allowing Joss to heave a sigh of relief.
Spinning around in the tube, Joss began making her way further down until she reached the next internal vent, and listened. The sound of machines were loud here, but the lack of human voices was the best indication that the room was clear. Her intention was to find a reactor maintenance room, and from what she could tell, she had succeeded.
Taking the laser pen from her utility pouch again, Joss cut a circle around the vent and caught it before it could fall noisily to the floor. She poked her head out cautiously and surveyed the room, then after climbing out of the tube, turned to weld the vent cover back into place with the laser pen.
Kim was pacing back and forth in the passenger compartment of the Kepler, with Hana mimicking her movements as best she could, jumping from footprint to footprint. "It's been too long." Kim finally announced, checking the clock that was projected onto her battle armor's heads up display.
"Amp down, KP." Ron stated from his lounging position across several passenger seats. Rufus was sleeping, curled up in the cockpit of his own robot body, and Wade was in the upper level in his communication station, watching for alarms. "Joss knows what she's doing."
Kim stopped pacing to look at Ron and Hana bumped into her from behind, letting out a subdued giggle. "How much do you trust Joss's ideas, Ron?"
"Well, she did point out how I'm the real hero, with all that running into danger despite being afraid..."
"Of everything?"
Ron made a sour face. "Not everything!"
Kim held out one hand, "Bugs... Monkeys..." she continued, holding out her other hand. "Wicker furniture..."
"Hey, you try sitting on it with no pants!" Ron retorted, folding his arms defensively. "It pinches, alright?"
Kim shook her head. "It's just that some of her ideas lately seem a little..."
"Awkweird?" Ron asked, catching Hana as she raced toward him, now bored with Kim's lack of movement. "She's got a point though."
"She does?" Kim asked, perking up.
"Sure. I mean, if we don't take Drakken down, then what kind of world is little Hana gonna grow up in?" he asked with a frown. Hana, apparently sensing Ron's sudden mellow attitude, stretched her arms around his neck to give him a hug. Kim felt her throat well up as though she was about to cry, but a tender smile crossed her face despite as she stared at Ron and Hana. Somehow, the little girl actually made Ron look more mature, and made him sound a little more philosophical.
"Ron, that's not what I..."
"Kim." Wade's voice said over the intercom. "We've got trouble."
Joss tucked up against the wall of a corridor, a synthodrone guard in sight. She knew the synthetics would be an obstacle, considering they all had perfect facial recognition. Her uniform would mean little if her face was in the database as an enemy. Their thick husk was nearly impervious to blunt attacks and even small projectiles that weren't armor piercing. Fortunately, Kim's team had equipment to deal with the synthodrones, and Joss unsheathed her diamond edged, mono filament knife from her sleeve.
The synthodrone stood several inches taller than Joss, and she had to get a run in order to stab the blade through the synthodrone's vocalizer that was mounted inside the husk at neck level. She used her momentum, using the handle of the knife as a pivot point to spin the synthodrone a quarter turn and kick the door control next to her. As the door opened, Joss strained to pull the synthodrone into the room as it flailed it's arms in an attempt to attack. Tossing the synthodrone to the floor, Joss pulled her knife free and slapped her hand against the door control, closing it behind her as the synthodrone husk deflated and poured yellowish green ooze onto the floor around it.
"Okay, Mr. Synthodrone. Let's see what kind of clearance you've got." Joss said to herself, sheathing her knife and patting down the empty husk, being careful to avoid stepping in the synthogoo. She fished a key card out from around the synthodrone's neck and held up her trophy with a smile. As the card spun on it's chain, a reflection of movement in it's shiny surface caught Joss's attention and she ducked to the side as a uniformed woman sprang past her, sliding through the synthogoo.
The woman, who couldn't have been more than fifteen years old, climbed to her feet and charged at Joss, who thrust her leg out while bracing on a number of large containers. Her boot connected with the woman's gut, pushing her away and out of breath. "Now just hold on..." Joss said, holding out her hands. Blasting through synthetics was one thing, but having to take another human's life was a flashback that she didn't want.
The woman scrambled for various tools that were on a workbench, hurling them at Joss before charging at her again while she was off balance. The woman grabbed Joss around the waist, pushing her back against the containers in the room. Joss quietly cursed herself for not practicing hand to hand styles more with Kim, instead priding herself on her accuracy with a firearm. The woman knocked Joss to the floor and straddled her, drawing back an arm for a solid punch to the face.
Joss lifted an arm to block, sliding her knife out of her upraised sleeve and slashing it across the woman's arm. The cut was clean, and there was no power left in the punch. Joss threw her off and stood, holding her knife defensively as the woman crawled away, suddenly frightened. "Look, just hold still and I'll help ya."
"You stay away from me, monster. You're nothing but a terrorist!" the woman shouted, putting her back against the far wall.
"You're gonna start losin' a lot of blood if you don't start gettin' pressure on that." Joss replied, ignoring the woman's accusations. "Let me do somethin' about it."
The woman had hair similar to Joss's, but had a slightly heavier physique. One that was more accustomed to desk work and leadership than combat as Joss was. "Fine, if you're going to kill me, do it quick."
Joss narrowed her eyes as she approached the woman, letting a frustrated sigh hiss through her teeth. "Maybe you've lost too much blood already considering you're not even hearing what I'm sayin'." she said, taking a set of zip straps from the work bench and banding the woman's hands to the handles of a cabinet above her head. Taking her knife, Joss cut the opposite sleeve of the woman's wounded arm into strips and began tying them around the wound. "This'll have to do for now."
"Who are you? Why are you here?" the woman asked as Joss twisted up the last strip of cloth, obviously for a gag.
Joss thought for a moment, debating whether she should tell the younger girl anything. Patching her up was enough, wasn't it? She had purposely avoided any arteries, as killing the woman wasn't her intention. But there was definitely a familiarity in the girl's eyes that Joss recalled from when she herself had a compliance chip implanted and couldn't believe in anything other than what the chip allowed her to. "My name's Joss. I'm a part of Kim Possible's team."
"Impossible! Kim Possible is dead. You're nothing more than a terrorist that's going to be incinerated by Lord Drakken's war machine!" the girl replied with conviction.
Joss rolled her eyes and sighed, vaguely wishing she could muster that kind of dedication still, even if it was forced at the time. Gagging the woman, Joss looked hard into the girl's frightened eyes. "Try not to fall asleep and you'll be okay. I'll be back."
"Is the Styx Phase still on schedule?" Drakken asked Erik as the synthomech stood off to the side of a holographic display.
"Yes, Father." Erik replied, standing calmly and at attention. "Even though your experimental variation of the weapon vanished with Kim Possible, the primary aspect of Styx Phase is set to launch within a week."
"Speaking of that little experiment, how about you regall us with how you were crushed by a six year old girl, cuz that never gets old." Shego grinned from the other side of the throne room. She was carefully shearing the metal fingertips of one hand with the green glow of the other, sharpening them to wicked points.
Erik cast a sharp glare at her, but when she ignored it, he turned back to Drakken. "I told you, she's not a typical human." he snapped.
"We will have to look into this further, then..." Drakken began before being interrupted by a human face on his holographic display.
"Lord Drakken, sir. Hello!" came the familiar cheery voice of Hank Perkins. "We seem to have an intruder in Chem Lab Prime, sir."
"Who is it?" Drakken asked.
"Uncertain, sir. We have no video confirmation, but a patrol of synthodrones was found destroyed outside of the base's perimeter."
"Shego, Erik... Go and bring this intruder to me. Whoever they are, they've gotten cocky to come this close. They must be made an example of." As the pair of synthomechs turned and left Drakken's throne room, Drakken spoke into the air. "Hephaestus, what is the ETA on the Prometheus and Icarus phases of New World Order?"
"Both phases will be ready to fire in two point six months." replied the deep, haunting voice of the alien forge.
Drakken grumbled to himself. "Why so long?! If Kim Possible discovers..."
"The Prometheus satellite has proven difficult to build, and the Icarus cannon requires massive amounts of energy to be stored within the dynamos. So long as we remain vigilant however, this fortress is impenetrable."
Joss crawled out of a vent into a clear hallway and put the vent cover back into place quietly before standing and wiping all emotion from her features. The compliance chips that were installed in every one of Drakken's human followers tended to subdue a lot of human attributes in all but the most willful. Kim herself had managed to keep much of her humanity while under the control of a compliance chip years ago while trying to recover it for a Dr. Bortel. Unfortunately, Joss hadn't been that strong and much of the compliance chip programming had become residual after she had been freed from Drakken's control. Things like real, emotional and romantic love had become foreign, and she had thought that maybe compassion had as well until faced with the choice of ending her accidental captive's life. Deep down, she was starving to feel something again, or at least to see someone else feel something other than pain. Watching Kim, Ron, and Wade retreat into themselves the last few years had been disheartening, and she was truly beginning to wonder why they were trying to save humanity when it had already given up.
She stepped out into the hall, walking stiffly and emotionless as a group of human technicians walked by, completely ignoring her, confident that they had no worries within the compound of Chem Lab Prime, defended by Drakken's unbeatable synthetic army. Joss slowed her pace as she reached a chemical storage room, and with a quick swipe of the synthodrone's keycard, she slid inside and came face to face with an Asian woman in a black lab coat.
"Technician Wong, let me see your orders." Joss stated instantly, revealing nothing.
"Of course." the woman said, unquestioning Joss's motives. Her uniform was that of a graduate in Drakken's Empire, whereas the technician was only a minion now, despite her expertise before the Diablo War. While it seemed like an egotistical move for Drakken to keep his intellectual betters at the bottom of the proverbial corporate ladder, it also kept them from having too much power and access should they manage to break the compliance chips control.
Joss took the woman's PDA and inspected it. "Good." she said. "I have new orders for you."
Wanda Wong took the PDA back and read it over, her eyes twitching as the new information was uploaded into the compliance chip, compelling her to obey. At least until someone of higher rank found her cleaning latrines.
Joss looked about the room once the doctor left, gathering all of the medical supplies that she could put into her pouch, according to her Aunt Annie's list of supplies that were needed, as well as a synthodrone patch kit. While extraordinarily uncomfortable to have applied, a patch kit could be used as a makeshift first aid kit. "Good enough." Joss whispered to herself, turning on her heel to exit the room. A gleaming red alarm blinked on the door control and Joss swore under her breath. At some point, a silent alarm had been activated, meaning the base and all of it's synthodrones were on alert, but were uncertain who they were looking for.
She felt the patch kit in her pouch, seriously reconsidering the implications of not immediately escaping. Straightening her uniform, Joss took a breath and did her best to quash her nervousness beneath a facade of robotic calm. Anything suspicious now would be met with investigation, and that was something that she could not afford.
"I'm seeing a lot of activity around the perimeter, Kim." Wade said, watching the infrared scope. "Looks like Joss set off a hornets nest. Security beams are going up all over."
Kim made her way through the cramped cockpit of the Kepler to look over Wade's shoulder. "Any sign of my wayward cousin?" she asked. The security beams that had activated were normally invisible, and could only be seen with the Kepler's infrared scanner. Without her battlesuit's sensors, Joss won't even know they're there.
"Nothing yet. She does have twenty minutes before the scheduled rendezvous time. It could be she doesn't even know the silent alarm's been set off."
Kim nodded. "Let's hope she remembers as much as she says." She pat Wade on the shoulder, flashing an encouraging smile. "Keep an eye out."
Joss quietly entered the work room where she had left her captive. Even during a silent alarm, she knew this section of the base was low priority and would be checked last. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before the destroyed patrol on the surface failed to report and the synthodrone that now lied empty of fluid on the floor at her feet was discovered missing.
The young woman was still strapped to the work cupboard, and barely conscious with a line of blood running slowly from the wound on her arm down to her shoulder and soaking her shirt. Joss quietly shut the door and the woman's eyes struggled to open. Joss approached her and unfolded the patch kit. "If I take the gag off, you're not gonna scream, are you?" the woman shook her head weakly, hovering on the verge of passing out.
"Why... why are you doing this?" she asked, watching as Joss unfolded the patch kit.
"You mean why am I saving your life?" Joss whispered. "I guess I'm just that cruel."
"Cruel?"
"I'm guessing you won't be coming with me, and returning to workin' for Drakken ain't what I'd consider good times." Joss said with a sarcastic smile, placing the synthodrone patch over the girl's wound and rubbing the accompanying catalyst stick along the edge, grafting the rubber-like patch to her skin. Joss clamped her other hand over the woman's mouth, suppressing her agonized scream as the patch bonded and cauterized.
When the screams subsided and faded into heavy breathing and tears, Joss took her hand away, cleaning up the blood that had run down the woman's arm. "How would you know anything about the glory of following Lord Drakken? All you know is pain! As Lord Drakken tries to bring everyone to a future of peace and immortality, people like you try to keep them in squalor and suffering."
Joss let out a light chuckle, packing up the patch kit again and putting it into her pouch. "I remember that speech. Is Drakken still using the same one after all this time?" she asked. "What's your name, kid?"
The woman frowned and hesitated a moment before answering. "Katelyn."
"Well Katelyn, let me tell you about a little girl that had to watch her parents get gunned down by synthodrones with Diablo bots blockin' out the sun above the ranch she grew up on. As she ran away as her dad told her to, she was rescued by a young Global Justice Agent named Will Du, and for a year he taught her how to fight synthodrones."
Katelyn snorted at the mention of GJ. "Of course. Brainwashed by Global Justice. You do know they were destroyed years ago, right?"
"Oh, I know. Y'see, this girl had become pretty smitten with Agent Du in that year and when he didn't come back because his hyperjet was shot down, she fell apart; and was captured by Drakken's army. She was recruited, and rose through the ranks to where you are now. She was forced to believe all the lies by her compliance chip until Kim Possible found her and removed it."
"I told you, Kim Possible died when the Diablos struck." Katelyn snapped.
"That's what I thought too, for awhile. But why do you believe that?" Joss asked, standing. Katelyn was silent and looked away. "Because if she was alive, she wouldn't have let all this happen, right?" Joss smiled. "Your chip is telling you she can't help you, but it won't give you a reason why. Well I'll tell you. She's coming, she's just got some issues to work through."
"It's not possible..." Katelyn said sadly.
"I think you'll find that anything is..." Joss began before a loud, blaring alarm filled the room. "Well, you'll live kid. But it's time for me to go." Joss turned away, sliding out the door.
Katelyn glared after her and began kicking at the work bench, slowly shaking a small utility blade off of the counter.
"What's our sitch, Wade?" Kim asked as she stepped out of the elevator into the cockpit, leaving Ron in the passenger compartment, playing with Hana to keep the girl calm.
"Shego and Erik are closing fast, Kim!" Wade shouted, and Rufus gasped from the weapons station at the rear of the cockpit. "Looks like Chem Lab Prime just lit up, too!"
"Of course... Ron, we need you up here now!" Kim shouted into the intercom. "Wade, Ron and I will take care of Erik and Shego. You and Rufus get Joss out of there."
"But Kim, last time you went toe to toe with Shego, things didn't work out so well." Wade said, looking back at her with concern.
Kim flashed a grim smile at him as she stood to exit the ship. "Then I'm due." she said, opening the entry ramp and descending the steps to the broken street they had landed on. Ron stepped into place beside her as she spoke. "Okay Wade, extract Joss first. We'll hold off the 'mechs." she said into her battlesuit's comm system. "Let's go to work." she said to her partner. The Kepler closed it's entry ramp and lifted off with barely a sound, moving quietly toward Joss's chosen rendezvous point.
"Got a plan, KP?" Ron asked, searching the cityscape. The faintest sound of rockets tearing through the sky could be heard over the Chem Lab's alarms, and even in the shimmering light of dawn, a hazy dust cloud could be seen moving along the ground toward them. "Because here they come!"
"Actually, I thought I'd wing it." Kim relied, feeling Ron look at their approaching enemies, then at her and back again, and felt an unfamiliar annoyance at his concern. She had volunteered to face Shego while Ron kept Erik busy because they had to. If they managed to get to the Chem Lab, Joss wouldn't have a hope without her battlesuit. Neither would Wade or Rufus, for that matter. Wade was an invaluable asset and had come into his own as a field technician, but he still lacked the combat skills to hold up against more than a few synthodrones; and while Rufus had seen his share of combat and had twice the fire power of any other member of the team, the bulky robot body was slow and awkward. It would be torn apart quickly by either of the swift moving synthomechs. That left Ron and his Monkey Powers and Kim with her specially constructed battle armor that did little to hinder her natural talents for movement and martial arts.
To one side of them, Erik landed hard, creating a crater that he stepped out of with a satisfied evil grin. To the other side, Shego stopped her blindingly fast run on a dime, her hands already burning in green fire. "Okay, sport." Shego said, referring to Erik as she stepped closer to Kim and Ron. "You take the sidekick, and when I'm done with Kimmie, I'll give you a hand."
"Take your time, Shego. I'm going to make this quick so I can clean up your pieces." Erik retorted.
"Are you two done, or are we going to watch you fight each other instead?" Kim asked plainly. Shego growled and charged, her clawed hands ready to strike. Kim smiled confidently, knowing that her battle armor put her on as equal footing with this synthetic Shego as any of their battles in High School. Kim grabbed Shego's wrists and fell back, pressing her armored boots into the synthomech's midsection and rolled. The battle armor's myonetic enhancements activated and Kim used the extra power to fling Shego away and through the concrete wall of the ravaged building behind her before continuing to roll back to her feet.
Ron had seen Kim take on the particular stance at least a dozen times and moved out of the way, summoning his glowing blue aura as he did. Instead of charging into the melée, Erik instead opened both of his palms at Ron and they erupted with energy, exploding bits of pavement at Ron's feet. But Ron moved erratically, bouncing in awkward leaps from the street, to nearby buildings, swinging off of remaining supports, and performing flips that defied gravity before Erik lost track of him. Suddenly, the air shimmered above him and Erik reached out his hand in a solid punch that caught Ron in the chest as he appeared. Ron, surprised, was knocked back and skipped across the rubble like a stone on water before stopping in a pile of refuse.
Shego burst out of the building she had been thrown through, launching a volley of green energy at Kim. Leaping as Ron flew by, Kim performed a backward somersault in the air and drew her pistol, firing a series of near blind shots back at Shego and landing on a platform two stories up. Two bursts of energy found their mark on Shego's torso, leaving blackened marks that were quickly regenerated. The green fire, on the other hand, severed the supports of the platform Kim had landed on, and she began to slide down the toppling concrete.
Ron climbed to his feet and readied himself, shaking the dust off of his shoulders as he performed a Tai Sheng kata. But Erik continued to keep his distance, firing directly at Ron's body with one hand and wherever he would land with the other, keeping the Monkey Master moving and unable to strike. Ron rolled, leaped, tossed up bits of rubble to intercept incoming blasts, and spun around obstacles that exploded as he passed.
Kim fired her grapple at a building across the broken street before the cement platform fell out from under her, the sharpened head drilling itself into the concrete. Shego continued her assault as Kim swung in a wide arc, the mid point of her grapple cable hooked on a remaining street light post, drastically changing her trajectory to plant both feet into Erik's back, throwing him off balance.
Ron was already moving toward Erik when Kim struck the synthomech in the back, and he leaped high with the echoing screech of a monkey, bringing both fists down on Erik in a flurry that sounded like a symphony of hammers on a steel drum.
Though surprised by Ron's sudden ferocity, Kim refused to hesitate and spun, flipping a button on her weapon to unhook the grapple from it's place in the concrete, and retract it. The cable began to rewind, and the grapple hook shot back and whipped around the post Kim had used to turn in mid flight, catching Shego across the face. It created a deep gash across her metal cheek before it returned to Kim's pistol as a mangled chunk of bent steel. Green light shined out of Shego's wound as it closed up, and she found herself face to face with Kim, narrowly blocking Kim's strikes that continued to dent her normally smooth, black metal body.
Joss leaped through a surface exit of Chem Lab Prime, both of her pistols filling the hallway behind her with bursts of energy. Without her suit's targeting system and gyroscopic aim assistance, most of her shots were wild and erratic, and her pistols no longer had a power source to feed off of. She was running out of ammunition. "Damn it." she cursed to herself. "Gotta remember that more than enough guns is always acceptable."
She slapped the door control as she ran past, firing a shot into the control panel in order to keep the synthodrones from opening it easily. The light from the Kepler could be seen in the sky, approaching low and soundless, and Joss smiled at the sight of it, beginning to move forward until the sound of metal popping and the smell of melting steel caught her attention. The barrel of one of her pistols fell to the ground at her feet as she stopped.
There was a faint buzzing sound around her, barely audible over the sound of alarms and as a test, Joss motioned her damaged pistol ahead slightly to find another few inches fall to the ground. "Lethal, invisible laser grid. That's new." she said to herself as the synthodrones chasing her threw themselves at the door she had just come through. She holstered her remaining pistol and searched frantically through her utility pouch. Pulling out the lip gloss, she shrugged and took a deep breath as she opened the tiny container.
A translucent pink vapor wafted out from the fake lip gloss, surrounding Joss and drifting into the cross crossing lasers. The knockout gas popped and sizzled as it moved through the grid, causing the beams to appear momentarily and Joss wasted no time carefully making her way through the lethal security system.
The array of lasers were several feet wide, and Joss heard the door buckle and burst open as she began to straddle the last beam, silently cursing herself again for not taking the time to learn some of the cheerleading moves that would have carried Kim through such an ordeal seamlessly. Joss fell onto her back, outside of the laser net as eight synthodrones burst through the doorway, and were subsequently diced by the laser grid, spewing their sickly yellow synthogoo over Joss.
Joss let out a sigh and rested a moment before climbing to her feet. The Kepler touched down several feet away, and Rufus stepped out of the entry, the hip mounted energy cannon on his robotic body vaporizing synthodrones as they tried to attack the ship. Wade poked his helmeted head out of the entry of the Kepler and shouted, "Joss, come on! We need to go now!"
"Don't move." Joss heard from behind her as she began to move toward the Kepler. She turned to find Katelyn holding one of the synthodrone rifles awkwardly with her injured arm. She stood on the other side of the once again invisible laser grid, the barrel of the rifle aimed directly at Joss's chest. "I... I'm loyal to Lord Drakken, and I have orders to bring you in or destroy you."
Joss wiped the synthogoo from her mouth and eyes, then looked the younger woman in the eyes. The compliance chip would push her to obey her orders, but Joss hoped that she had the will to fight it. "You're human, Katelyn. You have other choices. You're right, can can shoot me down right here, but I can tell you I won't go back. Or you can come with me. We can remove the chip and you can go somewhere safe."
"I have orders..." Katelyn struggled to say.
"Or I can leave now, and you can forget this all happened. You can continue living how you are, and keep on servin' Drakken."
"Come on, Joss!" Wade shouted. "Kim and Ron are keeping Erik and Shego busy, but they're not going to last forever!"
"Kim Possible's still alive?" Katelyn asked, her rifle lowering slightly.
Joss nodded. "Things are about to be changin' soon, I promise." When Katelyn didn't raise the rifle again, Joss backed away a short distance before turning to run toward the Kepler.
"Hands off the merchandise, you dirty ape!" Erik shouted as he swatted Ron away and stood, his joints creaking and his armored body a map of fractures, dents, and pits. Ron flipped several times in the air and landed in a crouch, pounding his fists into the pavement that caused a wave-like ripple that caused Erik to take several steps back to regain his balance. He engaged his rocket thrusters as they unfolded from his back, and began firing blasts of energy down at Ron.
Kim made her way within Shego's reach, blocking her blows with her armored gauntlets. A swift kick from Shego sent Kim reeling, and she slashed across Kim's mostly exposed midriff, causing a skin tight forcefield to shimmer. "Not fast enough, princess!"
"Pay attention and keep up, Shego!" Kim reached back and entrapped Shego's outstretched arm with her own, moving in close and pounding the synthomech's elbow joint with several uppercuts until it fractured and broke. Shego shouted out in agony, and swiped furiously back at Kim with her other arm, leaving deep gashes in her shoulder plating.
Ron dived back and forth between several supports, running higher and higher up each surface until finally leaping out and spinning toward Erik, bringing an axe kick down into the synthomech's still damaged chest. Again, Ron balled up his fists and began pounding away like a gorilla on Erik's frame as they both plummeted back to the street level.
"Ron!" Kim shouted, flipping over Shego's head to run toward him. "Incoming!" Kim leaped high, catching Ron in a tackle before Erik slammed into the ground, causing another shattered crater in the street. She watched her armor's power level dwindle as she held onto Ron, rolling to a stop and looking back to see Shego running toward them with rage burning in her green glowing eyes. She stepped over Erik as he struggled to his feet, and Kim grinned back at her. The silhouette of the Kepler approached like a ghost from behind the pair of synthomechs, with tiny flares erupting around it as it launched it's arsenal of Flurry missiles centered on Erik and Shego.
The projectiles made no noise until they impacted the ground in a fan like pattern, pulverizing the street and stopping just before reaching Kim and Ron's position. Ron sat up as the explosions hit, covering Kim's now unarmored body with his own. Fragments of rubble showered them for nearly a minute, and smoke and dust rushed past before being blown back by the Kepler landing.
"Kimmie, you're back!" Mrs. Dr. Possible said with tired relief. "Did you...?"
Kim held out the pouch of medicines for her mother to inspect. "Joss really pulled through, Mom. How're the Tweebs doing?"
Mrs. Dr. Possible wiped her cheeks and smiled. "They'll be doing much better now. And so will the rest of us."
As Kim, Ron, and Rufus continued speaking with Kim's mother with Hana in tow, Wade and Joss stood a short distance away. "So how'd you know that girl wasn't going to shoot you the moment you turned your back?" Wade asked.
Joss looked at him and smiled. "I didn't. Guess I was gamblin'"
"You're lucky, you know that, right?"
"Maybe. Maybe all people need to fight Drakken's control is a little hope. Either way, she has her doubts about what Drakken's cause is all about. Things are gonna change soon, Wade. I can feel it."
Wade placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Let's hope it's for the better, then."