Rising fires

Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war!

William Shakespeare, "Hamlet"

25,000 feet, on the way to Middleton

The pilot of the F-14 was cursing in a monotonous stream, as Barkin looked out the backseater cockpit position. The plane had been part of a three aircraft formation—but they'd been bounced by a group of National Guard F-15's twenty minutes ago, and the two escorts had vanished into a swirling dogfight, the F-15's screaming about invaders and traitors.

"Sir…. Airport is closed, and the tower…" The pilot growled. "The tower just warned off any alien invaders. Like us."

"Land on the interstate." Barkin said.

"But the cars!"

"Land between them."

"Sir?"

"Shouldn't be harder than landing this crate on a carrier, now should it?"

"No sir." The pilot said. Barkin ignored his anatomically impossible suggestion that came after that.

Lunch. The sun was high in the sky, but the light that hit the ground was blood red and wavering, as more and more fires joined up, engulfing entire blocks. The fire fighters had long since given up fighting the fires, and were now simply trying to keep them from spreading—and in many cases that meant simply dynamiting then bulldozing the intervening buildings.

Ron had never been so hungry, or exhausted. It wasn't simply the effort…but theitching was now a miasma that clogged his perception, fought his movements. The city was full of insanity, a swirling chaos of crazed people burning, fighting, raping. Ron dodged a Molotov cocktail, spun out with a foot to kick another attacker unconscious. Behind him, a cop, one eye swaddled in a bloodstained bandage, knelt down and zip-taped the man's hands behind him.

Fortunately, not everyone had lost it. There were flying wedges of cops, firefighters and civilians moving around the city, driving the crazed mobs before them, and keeping certain sections at least…partially safe. Many of the good guys were battered and bruised, so tired that they were moving like zombies but they were moving—and unlike the crazed ones, they fought as groups.

None of which was going to solve the core of the problem. Ron could feel it, feel it clawing at everyone. If this kept up….

There were limits to what humanity could stand. Even the bravest cop, the most loving mother would Fall.

"Ron!" He heard Kim's shout and jerked back just as a spray of buckshot from a fifty year old investment banker nearly took his head off. Kim dropped down on the jets of her suit and fired a spray of sticky glue, immobilizing the man.

"Focus, Ron…" She said, her bantering tone contrasting to her strained face.

"Yeah, KP." Ron said. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm cool." Kim said, then looked at him. "Actually, I'm about to go hysterical. How about you?"

"Same here. Any news from Wade and Kyoko?" Kim tilted her head and engaged her com systems.

"Wade? Tell us some good news."

"There isn't any." Wade's voice, equally freaked, came to her. She couldn't risk calling up the holographic imager so it was voice only. Kim dodged another flung brick and touched down in the middle of a small mob that seemed occupied with demolishing a truck, rendering them unconscious in a blur of escrima sticks and feet. Then she had to defend the newly unconscious rioters from their former companions. One managed to grab her by the ankle and actually pulled the leg to him and bit it. Kim kicked him off, his teeth making no impression of the formfitting armor.

"At least twenty missile and strategic bomber units in the U.S. aren't responding to any communications." The tech genius said, "And things are just as bad everywhere else."

"Wade…can you lock those missiles down?" Kim asked. There was a pause in her ear, then,

"Maybe."

"Do it, shut down as many as you can."

"I'll try, Kim, but it won't help. They'll—"

"Don't give me that!" Kim said, angrily, using her anger. "You're the technowhiz who makes super suits and creates AI with your girlfriend."

"She's not-" Kim overrode him. "So you, Kyoko and all of your friends, get together, and keep people from doing something stupid!" She said, "We'll handle the ground, but we can't do anything about ICBM's!"

"OK, Kim… I'll try it."

"Fine, and I'll-"

"KIM!"

BLAM! A force kicked Kim right between the shoulder blades, and she spun out of control, slamming into a car, shaking her head woozily. A crazed looking man (which wasn't uncommon right now), holding a smoking .50 caliber rifle one handed (which he shouldn't have been able to do), and with a cross drawn in blood across his bare chest, took aim on her, giggling.

Kim started to roll to the side, bringing the escrima sticks up, inertial fields on max, but she wasn't going to make it and she really hoped that the suit was up to handling another point blank shot-

Then, with a subdued sound, sprays of red exploded from his arm, and the rifle went flying. He turned, shrieking in rage, and Steve Barking brutally smashed him across the face with the grip of his .45 automatic, knocking him out.

"POSSIBLE! STOPPABLE! Stop wasting time and come with me." Ron and Kim quickly joined up with Barkin.

"Mr. Barkin…" Ron said, "How did-"

"A very unpleasant airplane flight." Barkin replied shortly. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to help,." Kim replied with a 'well duh' expression.

"Don't waste your time." Barkin said. "This isn't the cause, it's a symptom."

"I dropped off someone at the hospital for Dr. Ms. Possible to look at."

"You did? Good."

"Isn't the government doing the same thing?" Kim asked. Barkin shook his head.

"Right now, I wouldn't trust anything we get—the vice president and the defense secretary tried to order a first strike on England."

"But they're our friends!" Ron said, blinking.

"Right…and of course that was proof they're really plotting against us." Barkin replied. The two teens looked at him in disbelief. He frowned at them.

"Haven't you figured it out? This isn't something that's stuck in Middleton—everyone is being affected—and it doesn't seem to matter if you're a little old lady…or a bomber wing commander." He continued, "If we-" Kim looked across the street.

"Hold please." She said and jetted off, Ron right behind her. Barkin shook his head in frustration, and charged after them.

A group of people, blood stained and loping with the easy grace of predators, had picked a new target. Two paramedics were on the ground, kneeling over an unconscious woman, blood pouring from a stomach wound. One turned, looking at the charging mob and then ignored it, turning back to his partner, as they tried to staunch the flow.

Kim and Ron hit the group like a thunderbolt…but they seemed stronger. Blows that should have knocked them out didn't work, and Kim started to fear that she would have to permanently injure them. It didn't' come to that…with Ron's aid. The two paramedics finished stabilizing the woman, putting her in the back of the pickup truck that had replaced their burned EMT vehicle.

"Now can we go?" Barkin asked. "You can stay here playing hero until the world burns, or we can try and solve the problem…"

"Where?" Ron asked.

"First, back to the hospital." Barkin said, grabbing a well dressed man who was busily talking to the star Sirius on his celphone and tossing him out of his car.

"Mr. Barkin…"

"In." He said to Ron and Kim. The two teens followed him into the car, which sped off into the chaos.

Back at the hospital, the place looked like a warzone. Half the cars in the parking lot were on fire—the victims of a small group that had managed to sneak in with Molotov cocktails and grenades, before being driven off by the cops—not without cost, as the now completely overwhelmed emergency room attested.

When Barkin, Kim and Ron made it back, it was without the car—left down on the road to become part of a new barricade. Ron looked back at the street, the cops, now with some paying more attention to their "allies" then the road, and back to Kim and Barkin's strained faces.

Inside, Ron saw Ms. Possible, standing, face nearly blank, occasionally flinching at unseen threats. Monique was carrying a bunch of bandages down, and she ran up to the three.

"They're letting her take a five minute break." She said, in a low whisper…but nobody can sleep, so…" She paused, "Hi Mr. Barkin." Then, in an incongruous comment, "When are you getting back to the school? The people replacing you suck."

"Be respectful to your teachers." Barkin said, absently. "Stoppable… is she the one?"

"Yeah… Kim?" Ron asked. Kim nodded, and walked up to her mom.

"Mom?" Her mother blinked, "Mom-ACK!" Kim leaped back as her mother, eyes suddenly wild, made a clumsy slash with the scalpel she'd been hiding in her pocket. Then, her eyes cleared and she looked at Kim, Ron and Mr. Barkin.

"Oh God…baby, I'm—" She took a shuddering breath. "You startled me."

"Dr. Possible." Barkin said, "What did you find out about the individual Stoppable brought?"

"Oh…yes…him." She said eyes flicking all over the room, like a hunted animal. Then, by main effort of will, Kim's mother brought her attention back to the matter at hand.

"He is suffering from massive neural trauma—source unknown." She said, "the effects are what you saw—hysterical strength, power…madness…getting worse." She sagged, "Left long enough, and I would expect a complete—and permanent reversion to madness."

"Well…"

"There's something else." Dr. Possible said. "The effect is affecting everyone—those who are not openly affected are more resistant, but not completely resistant….children and teens seem to be the least affected…but even they are not immune."

"And?"

"And sooner or later, there won't be a sane human being left." She said. Barkin looked at her. Then, quietly.

"Have you any estimate of how much time we have?"

"No…if I…I…I…" She seemed to zone out for a moment.

"Mom…" Kim said, holding her hand comfortingly.

"I'm sorry Kimmie…" her mother said, "But… I examined myself and if this stays the same, I'll be like the man Ron brought in… in a few hours. Maybe a day. No longer." Kim's eyes widened as she thought about her mom, one of those frothing maniacs burning the town down. Barkin sighed.

"We may not have that long." Wade's voice came into Kim's ears, and she quickly activated the speakers so everyone could hear wade, his disembodied head floating above the holo projector on her wrist.

"What do you mean, son?" Wade looked strained.

"The Russian's just launched an airstrike on NATO bases in Germany."

"Nuclear?"

"No…but…" Barkin nodded.

"And I also got something off the Israeli defense net."

"What?"

"Just three words."

"And?" Wade shrugged.

"The Temple Burns." Barkin abruptly went pale.

"What?" Ron asked.

"That's the code word for their last ditch retaliatory strike—an all out nuclear assault on the nations surrounding them." Barkin paused, then nodded to himself.

"Wade, are you and your…friends, willing to help us commit treason?"

"What?"

"I'm going to give you the command codes for the United States MILNET systems. I want you to lock it down. According to Dr. Possible, you're least likely to be affected…for now."

"But what about the other nations?" Wade asked.

"I can't help you with them, Wade." Barkin said. "I don't have their codes. But I can stop our military from using their weapons…hopefully." Wade blinked, and then suddenly became animated.

"But we can!" He paused, "Hang on!" moments later Kyoko's head appeared next to his in her own holoprojection.

"Wade-san!" Kyoko said, "Mother and Father have decided to stay home…all the roads are jammed."

"With all the megatonnage targeted on Japan, it wouldn't help anyway." Barkin murmured.

"What?"

"Ah- nothing… I said the roads probably aren't safe." He paused, "Anyway, what is your bright idea?"

"Baby!" Wade said.

"Baby?" Barkin asked. Kim smiled.

"It's their virtual AI baby." Kim supplied.

"Baby is an AI—and if it can get enough programming power there isn't a code on the planet it can't break!" Wade said, and then turned glum. "But we don't have enough power…and breaking in to any secured computer would take too long."

"Yes you do!" Kim said. "Dad's here and he has the codes for the space center's computers!" Wade blinked.

"How did I forget that?"

"I don't know, but I'm not going to let you forget." Ron said, looking far less haggard. "We'll escort your Dad to the space center!"

"No you won't. There are already some people at the space center, and Dr. Possible and Drakken will go there with me."

"Drakken?" Kim said.

"Why not?"

"I didn't think you could pull him away from Shego." Kim answered.

"I can be very persuasive." Barkin answered, "But all this would do, best case is keep us from blowing ourselves up—everyone on earth will still be a loony…which is where my information comes in." He pulled out a USB flash card, and after discovering that Kim's suit had an access port, plugged it in.

"Wow…" Wade paused, "You want me to display this?"

"Please and Thank you." Kim said. The first image was of the United States.

"This is a time lapse display of unexplained madness over the last six days." Barkin said. The display began flickering with red lights…until the last seconds when it seemed to turn red at once. "That was as of six hours ago when most communication lines broke down… It moved so fast that we didn't see any pattern…except for one." He pointed to a single area, close to Middleton.

"Global Justices new HQ. We lost contact with them…and the speed with which things fell apart there indicate that whatever is happening now, happened there…far faster and with no warning."

"You think that's where we have to go?" Kim asked.

"Yes—because before everything fell apart, we sent a SEAL team in to have a look."

"What happened?" Ron said, fearing he wouldn't like the answer.

"They killed each other." Barkin replied. "Butchered each other just outside the main entrance, and then the last survivor killed himself. " He paused, "I think the same thing would happen to any adult…and most teens. Except for you two." He looked at them. "You are probably the only people on the planet who won't freak out…and who know enough to help."

"What if you're wrong?" Kim asked.

"Then we all die…probably in the next few days." Barkin said. Kim and Ron looked at each other.

"How will we get there?"

"You can take my saucer." A voice said. They looked over and Drakken was standing by the door…more incredibly, so was Shego. At a list, face so bruised and battered it was hard to recognize her, hair shaved and bandages over every square inch of her body…but Shego.

"Tol you…" She slurred out, "Comet comes in handy for a lot…more'n drinking'n not getting drunk…"

"Shego will stay here and guard the hospital." Drakken said. Shego turned to him.

"Cn..come with you."

"And I can tie you to a chair if you don't promise to stay here Shego." Drakken said. "Be happy I didn't just tie you down upstairs." Shego glared at him… which was ruined by the fact that she had to sit down in a chair by the wall.

"Shego…could you stay here and protect mom?" Kim asked. Shego, unable to talk, nodded.

"How long do we have?" Kim asked Barkin.

"If Israel is launching that strike, call it two hours for their planes to launch and get to their targets—no more…and a lot less if anyone else starts launching. The Israeli's don't have any ICBM's…but anyone who does can hit their targets in a half hour." Barkin paused. "The Indian nuke was over a military target—but these are strategic nukes, not tactical ones. They'll be over civilian targets, and even if we stop the madness…well nobody's going to overlook a dead city."

"Then we'd better go." Kim said. Ron nodded. Drakken flipped the keys to Ron, who caught them one handed.

The two headed for the door. Kim caught a glance of her mom, suturing up a police officer like a zombie. The wounded stretched out of the room and into the corridors…

"Possible! Stoppable!"

"Yes Mr. Barkin?"

"Be careful…and if we don't meet again…it's been an honor to teach—and work—with you."

To be continued.