There is clarity in anger if you're willing to feel it. Right no, I have pure, unadulterated clarity coursing through my veins.
"Du, you have some 'splaining to do!" I howl as I kick the door open, hurling him across the room. Silly that it might work but I knocked on the door, ignored his permission to enter and knocked again. I continued like this until I heard him get up to come fine out what was going on and then kicked the door in his face. Childish but satisfying.
Children have a simple but ineffective view of the world. The idea that hurting an humiliating the one who did the same to us is rubbish and makes us feel worse in the long run but it feels so damn right at the time.
I've crossed the room almost before he hits the ground and he has less than half a second to react as I slam my boot into his chest, pinning him down.
"Stoppable, what is the meaning of this?" he demands, getting red in the face and making like I'm cracking his ribs. I'm not, I know how much pressure I'm using, but he's still squirming.
"You tell me, Du! I just had to rescue a bunch of panicking rookies and the wreckage of a girl who used to be the finest leader I've ever worked with from a trio of Bebe robots!"
"Stoppable, intelligence reported that there was no known presence in that sector."
"That's bull. If there was nothing there, you wouldn't have ordered a sweep!"
"Sweep? I ordered you to reconnoitre a possible addition to our list of active exits," the smaller man replies with that absurd fearlessness of his. I'll never understand that. Du's seen what I can do, he saw it when he helped the Tokyo insurgency cover up Fukoshima's death.
"What I want to know, wise guy, is why did Bonnie think that it was a sweep? She had the kids deployed in that way and there was a definite feeling that they were going to face something. I found this absurd because they were so confident, despite not having the tools to face any of Drakken's conventional toys and there's no way they could have taken on a Rider. No matter how green they are, they know that much."
"Riders are powerful but they are not nearly as dangerous as you make out, Stoppable."
"Are you kidding me?" I demand, not believing what I'm hearing, "Riders are as fast as Bebes, immune to most attack forms because they can override the possessed body's shutdown and pain responses, comparably strong to a Diablo and actually harder to destroy because of their ability to possess other citizens nearby. Add to that the fact that you can't recognise them easily and you have possibly the most dangerous thing that we can possibly face."
"Mr Stoppable, you're upset and irrational. I'm not willing to continue this discussion with you in this state. Ah," he pauses for a second as a pair of his more faithful members join us in the room, "will you please escort mister Stoppable out so that he can take the opportunity to cool off and consider his position?"
I'm dragged bodily from the room by the two young men but I think everyone present knows that I could have overthrown the base alone if I needed to in that moment.
Reasoning that I'm not going to get another chance at talking to Du any time soon, I return to the infirmary. Man, I wish that Anne were here, but unfortunately, she feels that she is more needed in New York at the moment than here with us. I guess she is the doctor, even if it has something to do with the fact that I've been suppressing her hallucinations.
"How's she doing?" I ask from the door, almost afraid to enter the room.
"She'll be fine. Look, you don't have to be here, this is my responsibility."
"Well then, if I'm not needed, I'll go and make myself a sandwich," I say lightly, turning to leave at a gentle saunter. I'm not much for using my powers for being silly but I gently phase out of sight as I shadow walk a few paces.
"Ron?" Bonnie demands as she wheels around to look in my direction, "huh?"
She gets up and comes to the door of the room, a worried look plastered across her face.
"Ron?" she asked, a hint of panic in her voice that rapidly sours to annoyance, "I can't believe he ditched me!"
"Boo!" I exclaim, returning to visibility a few inches from her face. She squeals slightly and stumbles back, dropping onto her bottom. I can't help but laugh as I offer her my hand, which she swats away with a grumble and rolls over to pick herself up. I just grin and tilt my head as I watch her bum rise into the air and arch nicely as she pushes up on her hands.
"You did that on purpose, Ron."
"Why else would I do something like that? Pretty strange accident, even for a weird loser like me!"
"You'll never forgive me for that will you?"
"The loser thing? Already have. You're the one that still has forgiveness issues on that subject," I reply with the most forgiving smile I can produce.
"I really do, don't I?"
"I wouldn't know, I'm not a mind reader. How is Penny anyway? Seriously?"
"The doctor's done what he can but we're a little limited for medical talent here. We've made her comfortable but she isn't likely to make it through the night," she replied, tears welling in her eyes.
"I'll do what I can to make her comfortable but I can't really call Saint in, nor can I get Anne back here on a moment's notice."
"Thanks, Ron, whatever you can do."
I settle down next to Penny and focus for a few moments, then flood her body with endorphins. She stirred for a moment and then lay still, the faintest of smiles on her face as relaxation set in throughout her body.
"That's my girl," I find the words coming out of my mouth as I rest a softened hand on her forehead and bring mine down to meet it.
Bonnie sits silently for a few minutes, just watching me tend the younger girl.
"You really do care about these kids, don't you?" she asks finally.
"I love each and every one of them."
"Come again?"
"I love my friends as much as I love myself, these kids are next up and then it's the rest of humanity. I never got the hang of the whole equinimity thing," I add sheepishly after a moment.
"I didn't know you cared so much."
"Then you didn't know me as well as you'd hoped," I reply flatly, not a point of accusation in there whatsoever. There's no reason to beat her up about it, it's her own disappointment more than anything else.
"How can you say such a thing?" she demands, genuinely shocked.
"Bonnie, the no nonsense thing is just something that re-emerged in the false-scapes. I'll relearn fear in a little while," I reply, smiling my best 'you know I'm a goof' smile.
"You've been lying?"
"You have any idea how hard it is to lie to people you love as much as I love you and the others?"
"You…love me?"
"That's what I said, isn't it? Don't worry about it. I really do."
She turned slowly and left the room without saying a word. I smile, wondering what the crack revelation that I've spent a large amount of time training to love anyone and everyone is going to have on her. Wade had an odd response when I explained it to him, but I suspect that had something to do with the surveillance issue he had while I was in the tank.
"She's going to have an interesting dialogue with herself, isn't she Penny. Now, listen up, I've got a message for someone in heaven…"
"I have a question for you, Wade," I announce, sitting down next to him in the dinning area. It still troubles me that Lunch Lady was the only person we could find to prepare the meals but she at least makes the best of what she has these days. I guess handing her a gun was a good way of redirecting some of that unconfined hatred for humanity that she has brewing in there.
"Shoot, Ron," he replies, looking up from his toxic looking meal. It tastes ok, but that doesn't make actually eating it any easier.
"Have there been a lot of changes around here that I haven't been told about? I've been sent on three different missions without any form of briefing and we've lost a kid on every one of them. To make life more difficult, everyone's making out like this is normal. We never lost anywhere near as many rookies on my watch, did we?"
"I really don't think we should be talking about this here, Ron, maybe we should take a walk…" he replies enigmatically and gets up, leading me from the food hall. I pause for just a second to mould as much of my meal into a sandwich as possible before jogging out to follow him into the access shafts.
"What was that all about, Wade?"
"Ron, if you start talking junk about Du in crowded paces, you'll disappear like a number of other folks have over the last six months. Why do you think I spent so much effort trying to find someone who we were assured was dead?"
"You were assured that I was dead?"
"Yeah, Du led the expedition to try to find you. Came back with your body, or at least parts of it. Old us that you tried to stare down a Bigggrin and lost. Some of us didn't think that added up, especially Brick and Bonnie. Now Brick's in Montana trying to keep that cell from suffering from more of the mysterious accidents that have plagued them and Bonnie, well, you've seen what Bonnie's like these days."
"Things have been happening, eh?"
"Ron, you thought it was hickey when you found out that every time we got attacked, there were old hands guarding the door and they inevitably died. You think that's the only thing around here that isn't kosher."
"I hadn't given it much thought until he wouldn't let me take Penny to the hospital. I know that it would probably get me arrested again but it's not as if I handed out secrets last time."
"He's not the only one who's gotten paranoid but you're right, he doesn't trust you and hence none of the rookies and the other kids will trust you. He's their infallible leader and if you listen to his telling of his exploits, he was the one who saved Yori from Fukoshima and rescued Bonnie from Drakken. He's a hero to these kids and he happily showed off his skills all the time in the beginning so most of them are lax in a way that you never let them get. I'm sorry Ron, but as far as most of these recruits are concerned, you're a lying glory hound and he's the messiah."
"This is majorly wrong. This is supposed to be a group of free individuals fighting for a cause, not some weird cult of personality for Du."
"That's what I've been thinking for a while, but I'm smart enough to avoid saying it. Look, I'm sorry about Penny, but you've got to keep your head down. I can't cover for you forever."
"Wade, you won't have to, I confronted Du earlier. I can see me having another accident very soon."
"Mr Stoppable, please come in," said Du Cordially. I find this odd because he's usually pretty damn caustic with me.
"William, what can I do for you?" I ask, sitting down in the seat he indicated.
"It's come to my attention that you've been attempting to sow discord amongst the ranks. While I'm gratified to know that you're not actually getting anywhere, I'd prefer it if you would refrain from doing, I am not going to stamp on your personal liberties but lets be clear, you do not want to make an enemy of me."
"I'm sorry, Du, were you just threatening me? Or at least attempting to intimidate me a little? I'm sorry, that's just the funniest thing I've ever heard!"
"Mr Stoppable, let me remind you that I am a match for the late Kim Possible in hand to hand combat and you, are well, you."
"I can assure you that I had the reputation I had when I disappeared for a damn good reason, Du."
"I'm sure you believed that Mr Stoppable, but I think the evidence says otherwise. You are nothing to these children. I took them from their suffering and brought them into the light, me, not you. They love and respect me, Stoppable, not you. You are just going to have to accept that."
"You honestly believe all of that, don't you, Du?" I ask, shocked.
"What exactly is wrong with believing the truth, Stoppable?" he asked a mild feeling of puzzlement creeping into his voice.
"You're insane, you know that, Du?"
"Given what you seem to believe about the world, Stoppable, I'll take that as a compliment. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I have work to do."
I get up and make to leave, stopping in the door to look back at his calm, working demeanour. I shake my head and move on.
