Warning: This story contains some strong language and explores mature themes such as sex, violence and death.
Disclaimer: The characters and locations from Kim Possible belong to Disney and the characters of Jonny Quest belong to Hanna-Barbera. Hattori Hanzo is from the move Kill Bill by writer-director Quentin Tarantino and are all being used here without permission or profit.
Chapter 36
Team Possible Rides Again
Kim rolled over on her back and opened her eyes as she stretched. The room was dark, except the moonlight coming in from the big picture window on her side of the bed.
Her hand made contact with something soft next to her. She turned her head, only to find her face just a few inches from that of Sheri. The raven-haired beauty was propped up on her elbow, continuing to watch Kim as she stirred awake.
Sheri had a very concerned look on her face. It was as if she was trying to read Kim's mind. She bit her lower lip and hesitantly turned to her red-headed friend.
"Kim," she nervously wondered, "I have to ask…That time in the temple, when you were trying to get the Bloom to go to Jessica and you held the sword to your heart…You weren't really going to…I-I mean you were just bluffing right? You really wouldn't have killed yourself, would you?"
No matter what Kim said, she knew it would upset Sheri. That's why she took a deep breath and told her the truth. She placed her hand on the side of Sheri's face and quietly explained, "Yes, Sheri. I was prepared to do whatever it took to force the Bloom to accept Jessica, even if it meant my own sacrifice in the process."
Floored by Kim's answer, Sheri looked hard in her eyes. Her vision was blurred from the tears already starting to form in her own eyes, needing to understand just what why Kim felt it necessary to give her life.
Sheri begged her for a better explanation. "But…but why? WHY would you be willing to do such a thing?"
Kim turned her head away from Sheri and attempted to answer. "I did it for the children. Ron and Jessica have to have the power in order to protect Katie and Patrick."
Now even more confused and upset, Sheri was on the verge of a breakdown. She continued to press Kim for more information. "I-I don't understand…protect their children? Protect them from what…and who?"
Unable to look Sheri in the face, Kim started to get up. Sheri quickly yanked her back on the bed and demanded, "Damn it, Kim, TELL me…Protect them from WHOM?"
Kim did not have the answer. She just knew that Ron's children were destined for greatness. "Trust me Sheri, their children are more important than my life; and they have to be protected! I just can't explain it any better than that right now; but believe me when I say that my sacrifice would have been worth it."
Sheri buried her head in Kim's shoulder and cried, "NO! No, I cannot accept that!" She was openly weeping as she leaned close and whispered, "You are much too special of a person to do something like that. There are too many people who depend on you…and love you…to just throw your life away!"
Kim shook her head firmly and tried to rise again. This time, Sheri held her in a vice-like grip, afraid of losing her sanity if she loosened her hold. Kim fiercely shot back, "No, the only thing special about me was my job and the Lotus Bloom I wielded. The only thing that's changed is my new sword, the Lotus Heart."
Now Sheri was crying uncontrollably, with thick, massive tears streaming down her cheeks. She felt as if her heart had been ripped from her chest.
"NO, Kim!" Sheri pleaded. "You are very special, and you need to understand that!"
She grabbed Kim's face in her hands, forcing both sets of emerald eyes to lock as she continued. "You…you have people who love you very, very much. They…we…I…would have never accepted your suicide!"
Kim responded with bitter anger. "If I was so damn special, why did you take off? Why did it take over 14 years before you came back? WHY weren't you there all those times when I really needed a friend? WHY, Sheri…WHY?"
Now crying even harder, Sheri's heart was in the pit of her stomach. She tried her best to explain her reason for leaving.
She sobbed, "I didn't do it to hurt you. I thought I was protecting you…from my past…from any thoughts of blame for us losing Will…from everything. I'm so sorry, Kim…sorry for hurting you…sorry for losing touch…sorry for dropping off the face of the earth."
She took her hands from Kim's face to wipe away her constant flow of tears as she begged, "Whatever happened before…the fights we had when I was with Drakken, the callous remarks I made when I first rejoined Global Justice, the way I left you after Will died…the truth remains. I need you now. I need your strength. I need your heart. I need your touch. I really, really need you, Kim!"
Kim turned her head away from the woman, her voice taking an air of finality. "No, Sheri. Too much time has passed. Too much has happened for me to be able to love you the way you want."
Not wanting to inflict any more pain, Kim's tone softened. "I'm not gay and I never will be. As much as you wish it to be, I can never love you like that. The best that we can hope is for us to just be friends again. That's all I really want. Honestly, that's all I ever wanted."
Kim held Sheri's hands in her own and tried to tell her side of the story. "After you left, I spent every free minute I had looking for you. I spent hundreds of thousands for dollars to fly all over the world, chasing down every lead and calling in virtually every favor I had left in this world…
"Ron and I had countless fights about my search. He said I was becoming too obsessed with you for my own good. I guess that was yet another nail in the coffin that buried our marriage…
"I kept up with my intense search until the board of directors at Global Justice ordered me to stop looking for you. I only let you go when they threatened to fire me. There's not too much outside demand for 'super spies' these days…
"Ron and I got divorced soon after that, and the Bloom left me. I felt empty and dead inside. That's when I gave up on love and friendship, concentrating all of my energies on my job."
Kim then pushed Sheri away and sat up on the bed, attempting to put some distance between them as she concluded, "I'm sorry, Sheri…I really am. I simply have no love left to give anyone!"
Wiping her tears away, Sheri forced all of the defeatist thoughts from her mind. She replaced herself on the bed next to Kim and declared, "NO! I refuse to believe that you, of all people, could even think you have no love left to give! And if I was the reason for your willingness to take your life…or believing that you can't love again…then damn it, I am going to dedicate my life, no matter how long it takes, to prove you wrong and win your heart!"
Before Kim could react, Sheri captured her face, leaned in, and gave her a deep, passionate kiss.
This time, though, Kim did not respond to the kiss. She clinched her lips and jaw tight while she stared straight ahead, refusing to give Sheri any pleasure of being kissed back.
Sheri pulled away and was just about the say something when her communicator went off, startling both women. Sheri fumbled around in the dark trying to finding it. After a moment, she turned it on and looked upon Wade's smiling face.
"Ladies," Wade beamed, "I found the kids! They're less than two hundred miles from you."
His face was replaced on the screen by maps and topographical data. "The satellite image shows very hilly terrain. I think they're in a cave, judging by how weak their signal got soon after they landed."
Wade's face returned to the screen. "Burn wanted me to let you know he has Ron and two other teams with him. They are only two about hours behind Fukushima's jet. Four of our best South American teams are also on the case."
With the coordinates locked in their communicators, they were on their way within five minutes after receiving the call. The heading took them nearly due east, toward the small town of Tecuantitlan.
Sheri's plan was simple…fly in at ten thousand feet and jump over the target, using the GPS in their communicator's to find the right place to land in the dark. Simple as pie!
Of course, the plan did have a few drawbacks. Instead of jumping from a plane designed for skydiving, they were doing it from a jet that had to find its own way home. On top of that, missing their mark could mean a long walk, or even getting captured, as they tried to get back to their target location.
Kim didn't like the odds for the plan's success. Still, she didn't see where she had any choice if they had any chance at all of rescuing Jessica and the children.
Kim unbuckled her seat belt and secured her chute. Noticing no bay door for the drop, she narrowed her eyes and inquired, "Sheri, would you mind telling me how we are supposed to jump from a speeding two-seat jet?"
Sheri copied Kim's movements with her own seat belt and chute. She then gave an evil grin and pressed a button on the console. "That's the easy part, Princess. After the canopy is retracted, I'll flip the jet over and we'll simply fall out!"
Kim's eyes grew wide upon realizing they were already past the plan's 'point of no return'. "Oh, crap!" She screamed. "You have got to be k-i-i-i-i-i-i-d-d-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-n-g!"
As Kim's last word escaped her lips, she and Sheri were plummeting toward Earth, free-falling to just under a thousand feet before deploying their chutes.
The target was a barren hilltop directly above the transponder signals. While Sheri hit the mark perfectly, Kim missed the spot by three hundred yards. By the time the flame-haired woman caught up with Sheri, she had already found a way in.
Sheri pointed toward a spot in front of them and whispered, "Over here, there's a vent shaft that leads into a large cavern about a hundred feet below us."
The shaft was a tight fit, but it did indeed lead to a large cavern, with a fifty-foot drop to the floor. Luckily, their new 'super-suits' had built-in grappling hooks and automatic retractors. This helped Kim and Sheri lower themselves silently to the floor. Once their footing was solid, the duo activated the 'Stealth Mode' on their suits and started searching for Jessica and the children.
Fukushima was ecstatic! His prize had just arrived and was being taken to the holding cell that was made just for her. He felt like a child who couldn't wait to open his birthday gifts.
He had to force himself not to run from his throne room to the holding cell in the cavern. It was simply inappropriate to show any lack of emotional self-control in front of his ninjas.
The second he arrived, his cheerfulness turned to anger at the scene of complete incompetence before him. Four of his best ninjas were trying their best to quiet a screaming baby—and failing miserably!
Walking up to them, he demanded an explanation. The ninja he knew as Kato lowered his head and answered, "Master, the infant has been crying like this for the last hour, and we do not know why."
Fukushima sneered, "Did you bring its diaper bag, like you were instructed?"
"Yes, Master…but the diaper is dry."
"Are there any bottles or jars of food in its bag?"
"No, Master…I am sorry. We did not have time to search the house for any food or bottles when we were there."
Fukushima spotted the little girl sitting on the cot, with her mother's head resting in her lap. The look that Katie gave him could have melted steel.
He pointed at her and demanded, "You there…What does you mother feed your brother?"
She didn't answer, choosing to continue her fierce stare. It was as if she believed she really could destroy the evil man with such a look.
Unfazed by her glare, Fukushima picked up the infant by the cross of the baby's overalls and dangled a knife at the boy's throat.
This time in English, he growled, "I said, how does your mother feed this thing? I will NOT ask AGAIN!!"
Seeing her little brother in grave danger, she involuntarily jumped in sheer fright. A few tears flowed from her cheeks as she pointed to the chest of her unconscious mother.
Still handling Patrick like he was radioactive, he passed the baby back to Kato and fumed, "You FOOL! She's breast-feeding the thing. Wake her up!"
Kato shook his head. "We have tried, Master; but she will not open her eyes. I must have hit her harder than I intended."
Fukushima seethed, "Then shackle her feet and right arm, rip off her shirt, and stuff the tit into its mouth. I don't care. Just…shut…it…UP!"
After giving a hard look of his own toward Katie, Fukushima made a slashing motion near his throat with the knife previously aimed at her brother before storming out of the room.
Sheri spotted Fukushima and followed him into the cavern. Spotting Jessica and the children, she witnessed the conversation with the ninjas and Fukushima's departure before she called Kim on her headset.
Kato did as he was instructed, shackling the woman but leaving her one arm free. He tore open her shirt to find her bra had a flap in the front. He opened the flap and took a moment to admire the ample breast in front of him. Kato smiled to himself and made a mental note to thoroughly abuse this woman the second he had the opportunity.
For now, he gently laid the child in her free arm. Soon, Patrick stopped crying and began feeding. Looking at the woman lying there with the child at her breast, Kato noticed a silver necklace hanging around her neck. Reaching down, he yanked it away from the woman.
Kato sneered at Katie, "Your mommy won't be needing this any longer." as he put it in his pocket and walked away.
Seeing as the prisoners were all secured, the four ninjas locked the holding cell's door and left off to get some dinner and a little 'shut-eye'. Of course, they took no heed of the girl's pleading for food or water for her or her mother. They also left the cell without a guard, confident in the strength of the cell's bars against a mere woman and her young whelps.
As soon as the…'men'…left the room, Sheri reached through the cell bars and placed her hand on the side of Jessica's neck.
Finding a pulse, she turned to the little girl and whispered, "Katie, it's me…Aunt Sheri! Are you alright, baby girl?"
Katie jumped. Hearing Sheri, but not seeing her, made the girl think she was starting to lose her mind.
Sheri used her most soothing voice to calm the child. "Katie, its okay…I'm right here! I just have on a special suit that makes me hard to see, so I can sneak around easier."
Katie kept her voice soft as she wept, "Aunt Sheri, that man took Mommy's necklace…and she won't wake up!"
Sheri gently stroked Katie's golden hair and reassured her, "I know, baby…everything's going to be okay. Kim and I are here; and we'll take care of everything. All I need you to do right now is stay with your mother and don't be afraid. We will get all of you home very soon. Can you do that for me?" Katie smiled and silently nodded, her tears replaced by a warm smile of renewed determination.
Kim whispered into Sheri's ear, "How is she?" This statement made Sheri jump, because she didn't hear Kim approach.
"Damn it…don't do that, Kim!" Sheri muttered. "Sometimes, I hate these suits!"
She took a deep breath and answered Kim's inquiry. "Jessica's alive, but knocked out…and they took her necklace."
It was Kim's turn to speak to the girl. "Katie, it's me…Kim. Can you hear me okay?"
Once the little one nodded, Kim continued, "That's good, Katie. Just close your eyes and call the necklace to you."
Katie did as she was told. The necklace instantly appeared around her neck. Surprised by this action, Sheri asked, "Kim, how the He—" She quickly remembered Katie's presence and quickly shifter her words. "I mean, how the heck did she do that?"
Kim smirked, "It was easy…Haven't you noticed how quickly she adapted to everything at Yamanouchi…the language, the studies, even the combat training? She will be the next 'Chosen One', receiving Jessica's power when the time is right."
She directed her voice toward the girl. "Katie, please tell the necklace to go to your mommy."
Katie closed her eyes again, and the necklace returned to Jessica's neck.
Kim praised, "Good girl, Katie! Now…put your hand on the spot where your mommy was hurt and say, 'Wake up'."
Katie placed her hand on Jessica's bruised temple. Kim placed her own hand on top of Katie's. The girl then gave her mother a kiss and whispered, "Mommy, please…wake up."
Jessica's eyes opened with a start. The jolt would have forced her off the cot if Kim hadn't been holding her in place.
Kim kept her voice smooth and level. "Relax, Jessica. Don't make any sudden moves right now. Your child is feeding."
Still disoriented, Jessica asked, "Who's here?"
The same voice was soothing in its response. "It's us…Kim and Sheri. Just take it easy, and everything will be alright."
Jessica's head was pounding. She had no idea where she was or what happened. Yet, knowing that Kim was near reassured her and she relaxed to let Patrick peacefully continue his meal.
Raising her head, Jessica looked into the face of her daughter, who managed a weak smile. "It's okay, Mommy. Aunt Sheri is here. She'll save us. She promised she would."
"Jessica," Kim started explaining. "Sheri and I need to scout the area, so we can find out what we're up against and plan an escape route. I need you to get Patrick fed and changed so he is quiet when we try to sneak out of here. Just sit tight and don't be afraid. If Fukushima comes back, remember what I taught you. Use the Lotus Bloom to defend yourself and the children."
Kim then handed her an earpiece and said, "Put this on. That way, you can talk to us, if necessary. Just don't let them see you using it, or they'll know we're here. That will make getting safely back to you ten times harder."
"Okay, Kim." Jessica sighed. "Please don't be too long."
While Kim was talking to Jessica, Sheri was busy picking the locks on the shackles which secured her to the bedposts.
Sheri stated, "We'll be as quick as we can, Jess. Katie, sweetheart…Be sure to take care of your mommy for me, okay?"
Jessica looked around the cell. "Kim? Kim? I wanted to say 'thanks'."
"Mommy," Katie noted, "they're gone."
In Jessica's earpiece Kim answered, "We can hear you Jessica; but please try not to talk to us unless it's absolutely necessary. It's too distracting, otherwise."
Less than ten minutes after Kim and Sheri left, Fukushima returned with three of his men, looking into the cage where Stoppable's family was held. His mood changed from gloating to angry the second he saw the women wasn't shackled as he instructed. Instead, she was sitting on the cot, still breast-feeding her infant.
Pointing at her and turning to his men he barked, "I thought I ordered her to be placed in shackles!"
Jessica casually turned her head, nodding toward the shackles on the floor behind her cot.
"You mean those things?" She sarcastically teased. "They just kind of…fell off. So sorry about that!"
Fukushima stepped up to the cage door and glared at her. He then growled, "Woman, you have the Lotus Bloom. Give it to me now, and I will let you and your wretched children live."
Jessica turned her back on him, removed Patrick from her breast, and handed the baby to Katie. While buttoning her shirt, she instructed, "Take care of you brother for me, Katie. I have to teach a bad man some manners."
Turning back to face Fukushima, her eyes narrowed as she stepped up to the cage bars and taunted him. "Why don't you come in here and TAKE it, you filthy coward!"
Fukushima pulled a gun out of his sash. He aimed it at the children and raged, "Give me the Bloom, or they die right NOW!"
As soon as Kim and Sheri heard his threat over their headsets, they turned and rushed back to the cavern.
Jessica had enough of this man for a lifetime. She positioned herself in front of the children and took the fighting stance she learned from Kim over the last few weeks.
Her eyes flashed with a more brilliant shade of blue than usual as she warned, "Just try hurting my children…and I will tear you into sushi!"
Fukushima gave an evil smile, shrugged his shoulders, and pulled the trigger. Milliseconds before the bullet left the barrel; the Lotus Bloom took the form of a shield and appeared in Jessica's hand. The bullet ricocheted off the shield, just missing Fukushima. The man standing behind him was not so lucky, as the bullet travelled cleanly through his shoulder. The man screamed in pain and clutched his shoulder as he fell to the floor.
Fukushima turned back toward her fuming mad. Drawing his sword, he lunged at Jessica through the cage bars—only to have her knock it from his grip. His inferior blade shattered as it hit the floor.
He roared, "You BITCH!! The Lotus Bloom will be mine…and so will the Lotus Blade. After I kill you and that stupid outsider, I will be the sole keeper of the Mystical Monkey Power!"
Jessica calmly held out her right hand and called forth a blue energy ball. With all her strength, she hurled it at Fukushima. Its impact sent him flying backwards more than ten feet before he finally hit the ground.
Through clenched teeth and quaking with anger, Jessica hissed, "Don't you EVER let me hear you talk like that in front of my children again!" She then added, "If you weren't such a sniveling little coward, you would let me out and fight me…one-on-one. Then you would learn the true power of a 'Chosen One'!"
Standing upright and crossing her arms, Jessica looked down her nose at Fukushima and snarked, "Seems the last time you went one-on-one with Kim, she almost killed you. It's too bad Ron stopped her. Well, he's not here now—and there would be nobody to protect you this time!"
When Fukushima stood, his face was dark red with anger and embarrassment. He still kept his voice under control as he explained his plans for her fate. "It doesn't matter if you give to me or I take it after you're already dead…I will have it."
From another unseen pocket, he produced a miniature black box with a distinctive red button. "See this?" He cackled. "It's a detonator. I have explosives set every eight feet in the walls and ceiling of this room. When that useless man of yours gets here, I will chain him to a chair and force him to face my big-screen monitor. On that screen, he will watch his family being crushed to death under tons of rock and dirt. While he sheds his useless tears over you, I will kill him."
He gave a wicked smile as he finished, "Once his heart and spirit are broken, his flesh and bones will not be far behind."
Fukushima turned to leave the woman and her children. Before he got ten feet from the cage, Jessica fired another energy ball. The blast hit him squarely in the back, knocking him down again.
She bellowed, "COME BACK HERE AND FACE ME, YOU COWARD!! Or when I get free, so help me, I will send you straight to the DEVIL HIMSELF!!"
Fukushima's men carried him from the room, leaving a very angry woman and her children alone in their cell.
Authors Note: Please review and let me know what you think because happy praises are my only reward and I like rewards.
As for reviews I also like to thank ByrdDog66 and Jutter6922 (I still don't know what the stands for) for their reviews and for faithfully following this story week to week.
I also wanted to add a special thanks to Samurai Crunchbird for his Beta reading skills because I know that the last few chapters have really put them to the test. Take heart my friend for we well soon be finished and then the weary shall rest.