Strange World
C6: Killing Time
[Disclaimer: Disney owns KP and all that good stuff. I own whatever I write/create. Don't steal and don't sue.]
Let's begin…the killing time…
Tao never blinked as she thought back thirteen years. The same men as now had taken her away…she had used all the pent-up electric energy in her body…a man had died…his blood was on her hands and face…she knew what blood was.
It was getting harder to breathe and to keep those memories clear. Tao didn't know why that was. There was a pain in her tail, and she didn't know why. Her eyes stung, and she didn't know why. All she knew was that she didn't know.
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Tomas clawed Sean Green's throat open and the man was killed instantly. The blood spilled into the water and clouded it. Tomas ripped the keys from the dead man's belt and swam to Tao. She was turning blue. He unlocked the weight and pulled Tao up to the surface with him.
"Come on, Tao, breathe!" he gasped when he managed to pull both of them out of the water, "Don't make me hurt you like this!" He pressed on her chest and breathed into her mouth. He pressed on her chest again and she coughed out the water. But she still didn't respond to anything.
An alert went off in the distance. The power was cut to everything in the building. Tomas gave one look to Tao—she wasn't going to go anywhere—and then started to run.
Someone was trying to open the holding tank for Shego, Kim, and Ion. They didn't know any of the codes, and now they shut everything off. The women would be dead before the power could be restored.
Tomas ran to the holding room and looked around. The men were looking around for their problem. In a fit of rage, he rushed at all the soldiers and knocked all of them out.
"What are you doing?" he roared at the boy who was standing at the controls. The blonde boy was nervous and trying to get the women out. He was Ron, Tomas recognized him.
"I just wanted to get Kim and Shego and Dr. Psymon out of there!" Ron said in a scared voice, "What did I do?"
"You cut off all the power!" Tomas looked over the completely dark controls, "All the life support in the tank is gone! We'll never get the power back in time!"
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Are you heartless?
Yes.
Why is that?
Because I killed someone.
Wasn't he going to kill you?
So? I killed him.
Are you a normal person?
Does that matter when you kill?
Yes. Instinct. Everything is instinct. Even in normal people. Kill or be killed. You have to stay alive.
No one gets to kill! Especially not a child!
It was an accident. You never meant to hurt him. It was instinct. Would you have liked it if your mother had to deal with you being dead?
Well…no…but…
But nothing. Any person that tries to hurt someone can be hurt right back. Even human law condones it. Self-defense. You can't let people hurt you. Protect yourself. Protect the ones you love. Don't let anyone get hurt…unless they try to hurt others.
…yeah.
Tao blinked and woke up with a gasp.
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Tomas pounded at the controls. His pace became frantic. He wanted the tank to open. The power was completely out.
"I can't do anything!" he said in total terror, "Ron, see if you can't—HHK!" Large hands on long arms wrapped around Tomas' neck. He was lifted clear off the ground and a gun barrel pointed to his head. Ron was being held by one arm off the ground. More men had found them.
"We've wanted to do this for a long time, kid." the man pointing the gun grinned evilly.
Now that the tank had no power, the light that had blinded the women before had gone out. The tank silenced them, but they were shouting for the men not to hurt him. Bullets ricocheted off the hard tank and they stopped. The man went back to aiming at Tomas.
"Bye-bye."
Tomas closed his eyes. Something rang out like a shot. But he was all right. One man was unconscious and had dropped his gun. A small silver blaze went around their legs, led by another silver blaze. One by one the men fell. Soon, the only man left was the one holding Tomas by the neck. He threw the boy away, facing the two blazing silver spots in the darkness. A harsh hiss came from the darkness rang out. Silver eyebrows knitted angrily.
It was the same man that had attacked Tao in the mall days ago.
"So it's you again." he said with a sneer, "Now I get to pay you back for all the pain you caused me. I get to kill the great Tao."
"You'd sooner kill a goldfish than me." Tao hissed, "Now let them go!"
"No can do, kid." the man grinned, pulling out the knife from days ago, "Power's gone. Now fight me!"
He slashed wildly with his knife. Tao dodged and ran over to the tank. She clawed at the thick material, but to no avail. The knife slashed again and cut at the top of her back. Tao jumped and climbed up the tank, feeling blood drip down her back. It stung to breath. The man grabbed a gun from the ground and fired at Tao.
Tomas tried to pull the gun from the man, but he yanked it free and cracked the butt against Tomas' head. He fired at Tao again, but she was gone.
"Come out wherever you are!" he shouted, "I'll kill the brats if you don't get out here!" He aimed threateningly at Tomas and Ron. He suddenly jerked forwards and twitched. He dropped to the ground, not moving. Tao crouched down and wiped her hand clean of blood. The man was dead.
"Tomas, tell me how to get them out." she pulled Tomas and Ron to their feet, "They can't breathe."
"We don't have any power." Ron started poking at the buttons randomly, "Try smashing it!"
"We'll never get through it in time for them to breathe!" Tomas replied, "I don't know what to do!"
Tao, however, walked over to the main power cable. She cut it with a single swipe and grabbed both ends. She ripped them from the wall and grabbed the exposed wire.
"Tomas, you know what button to push to open the tank, right?" she asked. Tomas nodded. "Well, push it."
"We don't have any power." Tomas went over to the panel.
"We will." Tao gripped the wires tight, "I'm going to make power."
"Tao, no way!" Tomas protested, "You can't make that much electricity!"
"Thirteen years is enough time to make enough anything."
And with that, she let the electricity flow. Everything charged in the room. The lights came to life, and the panel lit up. Tomas mashed the open button. The hatch opened slowly and the women rushed to get out. Everything stopped for a moment. Tomas looked to Tao.
Blue electricity crackled around her, but she looked hurt. The moment Tomas moved forwards, she clenched her teeth and forced more energy through the wires. The hatch opened more and Kim, Shego, and Ion got out.
"Tao, come on!" Kim shouted at her friend, "We've got to go!"
"I can't!" Tao replied, "Go! Now! Everything's overloading!"
"Tao, no!" Tomas tried to run to her. The lights began to explode, and Ron tugged at everyone to run. Shego grabbed Tomas round the waist and ran. Tao vanished as they left the room.
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Tomas escaped from Shego's grasp only when she let him. He fell to his knees, struggling to get back to the building. The lights were all out. An explosion occurred, swallowing the building.
"TAO!"
Ion and Tomas screamed aloud. Tomas stood on in horror, and Ion simply collapsed, sobbing. Lobo came out of his hiding place and stood beside Ion, whining softly. He didn't see his girl.
Kim and Shego held each other tight. Ron sat down and cuddled Rufus. For a long few moments, there was silence. There was a loud crunch of snow. They all whipped around and saw something steaming in the snow.
Tomas walked towards it. It was a slightly burnt, not moving, and, to Tomas, not breathing Tao. Blood came from her mouth and nose, as it would a dead person.
"Oh, Tao." Tomas shut off all his senses except sight, touch, and hearing to Tao. He knelt down and lifted her limp body to him, hugging her gently. "I didn't want you to get hurt. I didn't want anyone to die."
"…well…that's a…good thing…"
Tomas looked at Tao. One eye was cracked open slightly, and she was alive.
"Tao? Tao!"
"…yeah…that hurt…"
Tomas kissed her gently.
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Shego's face was a bit flushed from the champagne. She danced around with Kim, dragging the younger girl around the room and laughing wildly. Jim and Tim blasted their noisemakers, and the adult Possibles laughed in glee with everyone else. Ron and Rufus were downing major snackage. Ion Psymon was conducting the wolf Lobo, her tuxedo cat Solomon, and her orange and white dog Ein in singing a rather harmonious version of the New Year's song that I don't know the name of.
Standing outside, Tao and Tomas watched the snowfall. A blast of sound came from the doorway, and then Shego and Kim stumbled out the door.
"She needs air." Kim giggled at her drunken girlfriend, "Really badly."
"Happy New Year!" Shego giggled madly, leaning on Kim. She kissed Kim hard before falling backwards into the snow, dragging Kim with her.
Tomas and Tao laughed for a moment, and then turned back to the snow. Their tails intertwined slightly, and they took each other's hands.
—end—