Kim, deciding that Shego was probably less fragile than Dr. Director right now, shifted her left hand to open the front door. She didn't need to, as Josh opened it before she had actually let go of the green girl's shoulder. Kim blinked at him – she'd forgotten he was back here during the battle.
"Uh, thanks, Josh," she said.
"Hey, no problem," the boy replied as Kim carried Shego through the door, Ron following with Dr. Director close after. Closing the door behind them, Josh asked the obvious question. "What happened to your hand?"
"I'm not quite sure," replied the redhead, "we'll have to ask Shego about that. She seemed to have a fair idea what was happening – it has to do with her glow power."
"She did that?"
Kim looked at him with closed eyes. "If you mean 'did she save me from burning myself alive', or 'did she heal where Ron had to cut my hand off', then yes. Other than that, I think I did it to myself." Kim sighed and looked at the woman as she laid her down on a chair. "When she was holding me, it was like she was scared for my life – as though losing me would be some kind of great loss for her. I swear she knew exactly what was going to happen if nothing was done about it fast."
"Didn't she try to kill us earlier?" asked the boy, confused.
"I think something's changed since then," Kim said in a quiet and reflective voice. She then took on a more commanding tone. "Help Ron with Dr. Director."
Josh looked over to where Ron was trying to lay the director of GJ down on a couch. "What happened to her?" he asked, starting to walk over.
"Da Hand. I think he was watching us, and she caught him by surprise," the teen heroine replied. 'And now we know what she wasn't telling us about her partnership with him in GJ,' a voice in her head continued. She wasn't sure if it was her own.
As Ron started to give Josh instructions as to what he needed him to do to let the woman down without injuring her further, Kim wandered outside to get the staffs that had been left in the road. Apart from the fact that she didn't want to lose them already, they were a danger to any vehicles, including the ambulance when it got there. She was actually surprised to see them there, still lying on the road. Managing to pick them up with her left hand – formerly she'd been right handed, but that was obviously going to have to change – the redhead wondered how long the ambulance would be as she walked back to the house. Making it to the front door, she turned as she heard a car roll up onto the curb.
'Great, police. Just what I need. But, what was I expecting?' At one and the same, she was hoping and fearing it would be Hobble. On the one hand, she might be able to talk her way out of being taken back to the station, but on the other, he'd be expecting an explanation of what was going on. The teen didn't have that explanation – she didn't know herself yet. She sighed and waved whoever had come over with her crippled arm.
First the driver opened his door and stepped out. Then, he aimed a rifle at Kim's head, resting the butt of the gun on the roof of the squad car, as his partner, sidearm drawn, exited the vehicle and walked towards her. The redhead dropped the staffs and held her arms up. Neither policeman even let their weapon down. They'd seen someone they thought was the girl in front of them break the necks of four people they'd worked with every day for several years. The fact they'd seen two of her didn't register.
"I, uh, presume you've come to see what's with the call for the ambulance?" Kim asked nervously.
"What are you going to do with the ambulance?"
"Well, the idea was to save Dr. Director's life…."
"Who?" The constable, like most people, hadn't heard of Global Justice.
"This person," replied Kim angrily, "who just so happens to be bleeding from a knife wound in her neck, and needs to get to a hospital fast."
The policeman, now standing not far from her, cocked his weapon. "Yeah, right." He then grabbed Kim, and held his pistol to the soft spot under her jaw. "You're going to die for what you did, bitch," he spat.
Kim relaxed her arms, and wiped the spittle from her face. She looked up at the copper, and narrowed her eyes. "If I were you, I wouldn't have done that," she said. "I don't think you have much time left to regret it."
The girl winced and looked away as the rifle round sailed right through her assailant's head, spattering the side of her face with blood, and lodged itself in the door frame behind her. She looked back at his body after he slumped to the ground. The man could be instantly recognised by his face – he didn't have one any more. Kim looked up to the squad car. The other policeman had fallen away from the vehicle, and she could see his body through the space under it. There was no doubt in her mind that he'd had either a throwing knife or a crossbow bolt inserted somewhere it mattered.
"Call it intuition," she sighed. Shouting now, she addressed the unseen Da Hand. "Look, I don't know what your game is, but you're a fucking bastard, y'hear? They're going to think I did that!" She picked up the staffs, and turned to go back into the house. Ron was standing in the doorway.
One look at his best friend's face told him the whole story. "Oh my god," said the boy, embracing Kim.
"Need someone to clean this up?" The voice behind the redhead startled both her and Ron, who had closed his eyes while they hugged, and therefore didn't see even the GJ hoverjet landing on the front lawn.
"Yeah, that'd be great," he replied to the agent before Kim could open her mouth, and then saw the stretcher bearers running towards them. "Dr. D is inside," he said, pulling his best friend into the house. The GJ agent followed them.
Kim dumped the staffs in the corner of the room and watched as Dr. Director was carefully shifted from the now stained couch onto the stretcher, and run back out to the aircraft. "What about Shego?" she asked.
The GJ agent looked over to the unconscious woman. "Well, she doesn't look obviously hurt," he replied, "and we don't have any extra room on the craft. You'll have to look after her until we can get back. I trust you can handle it?"
"Yeah, I think we can." Kim didn't know whether the agent hadn't noticed her missing hand, or he didn't know who Shego was, or if perhaps he had better knowledge of recent events than Wade would have been able to give. She didn't care particularly either. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up. Again." The redhead turned away from the scene and climbed the stairs.
"Hey, at least you didn't ruin another outfit," the face in the mirror told her as she filled the vanity sink. She cut the tap, and dipped a flannel in the water. 'First time I've had to use a face cloth in ages,' she thought. 'I so don't want to have to get used to this.' She wiped her face with the soapy water, and squeezed the flannel. The water in the basin turned pink. She frowned at her reflection in it, watching it ripple. "This wouldn't be happening if you'd just refused to leave the cell." She wiped her face again, and this time looked at herself in the mirror. 'What would those psycho clones have done by now if you'd done that?' the voice in her head asked. She sighed. 'If only I hadn't ditched cheerleading all those years ago to go and rescue some guy with his Cuddle-Buddie collection. The Flamingoat isn't worth this.' She blinked at her reflection. Taking a deep breath, the teenager plunged her face into the basin, and screamed into the water.
"KP?" Ron stared at the redhead hanging breathlessly in the water. He stepped just inside the doorway, and leaned against the door. "KP, they cleared up the cops' bodies. The guy we were talking to is taking them for a 'drive.'"
Kim raised her head from the vanity unit, and looked Ron in the eye, twitching slightly. "Whatever," she said dismissively. She took on a whimpery tone as she asked, "Why does this have to be happening?"
"You're asking the wrong guy there, KP," the blond-haired boy replied, grinning. "Ron Stoppable knows no reason!" His grin faded when he saw no change in Kim's pained expression.
"Why didn't you ask if she was okay first?" Josh asked quietly from the hall. Ron didn't say anything, but shook his head.
Kim drained the sink and towelled her face off. Tucking the wet locks of her hair behind her ears, she leaned against the door frame, and looked into the boy's blue eyes. "We know each other better than that, Josh, we've been friends as far back as either of us can remember. If I'm okay, he knows it. If I'm not okay, he knows better than to ask."
"Well, here's a bon-diggety idea," chirped Ron, and his expression fading to one more serious continued, "let's get you two some sleep. I'll keep watch first."
"Wha'?" Josh asked, confused.
Kim sighed. "We need to sleep at some point. Ron's probably the least tired of any of us, because he's used to being out late on missions but hasn't been doing the school's security service's job for the last week. There's a – a psychopath out there who may or may not be dangerous, and I'm not sure I want to risk you being used or maybe killed by him." The redhead turned to Ron. "You want to call for delivered Bueno Nacho first?"
A certain naked mole appeared, running fast, up the corridor, and scurried up Ron's leg. "Uh-huh, uh-huh, Naco!" Rufus exclaimed, and started nodding ferociously.
"Would I ever turn that down?" the blonde boy replied. He then turned and looked at Josh, as if to say he'd better agree.
"Coolios," the blue-eyed boy said, shrugging.
I hadn't intended to write this chapter quite, I was supposed to tailing off the day at the top and adding a separator, but the cops turned up and it ran away on me. I promise the next chapter will do as this one was supposed to.
Of course ponderance is a word!
The next chapter will have what this one was supposed to. ;)
…I have to wonder, just how many people actually think they do know where this is headed?
