Falling and Rising
"Kim." Ron said, as the saucer cut through the air, "Are you OK?" Kim shook her head. As they'd left Middleton, and approached the Global Justice HQ, the itching, the feeling had been getting worse… stronger. Kim buffered it—she knew, from her experience with the drugs, how to tell impulses rising in her own mind and those imposed from without, but it was getting harder.
"I'm…" She paused, "handling it…for now." She shook her head, "But we'd better finish this off fast."
If we can. Both teens thought.
Middleton Space Center
One advantage of highly secured base using multiple layers of robotic security, Jonathon Possible thought, was that robots were not affected by the lunacy. Those of the staff who had freaked out had been quite efficiently tranqued and deposited in the base infirmary.
It didn't however, help with the fact that the remaining personnel had to do the work of an entire team.
"Are you certain that THIS WILL WORK!"
Of course, maybe the fact that the 'team' started out nuts, will also help. He sighed.
"Yes, Dr. Dementor—once we uplink to the main satellite network, we can upload baby into it…and the AI will be able to use the computing power of the space center." Dementor looked dubious, but Drew wasn't.
"That techno nerd has foiled me enough times." He muttered, "It's only fair that he help us now."
Outside the room, Barkin tried to focus on the truth—they were the only thing that could save the world, ignoring the certainty that they were all plotting against him, against the United States. He knew that was false—an effect of the madness.
At least, for now he knew it. Barkin looked down at the security panel, uplinked to both local and orbital sensors and knew another fact. The situation in the city had completely broken down and those who were…. Well maybe not sane, but functional had retreated and barricaded themselves indoors, ceding the streets to the mobs. The mobs that had split off in two directions, burning and looting their way to the hospital….and the space center.
At the hospital, the defenders stood, without guns. One too many freakouts, and the fact that few or none of the rioters now used anything more complex then a club…or their teeth, had convinced the few remaining police that now weapons were too dangerous—too likely to be turned against them. This fight would be hand to hand. It would also be a lost fight, they saw, as they mob turned the corner, and with a growl more animal than human charged—no thoughts of looting or rape or even murder with a gun in their minds now, only the desire to meet and crush and rip and tear with teeth, and clawed hands.
Inside, Dr. Possible sutured another groaning patient up—this one barely conscious through the liberal application of liquor from a strip mall down the road—what little anesthetic they had left was reserved for far more critical cases.
"Will you shut up!" She snarled, He just kept groaning, didn't he understand how desperate things were, as the power from the generator flickered, the sounds of explosions, the static from the TV station, where the last channel had just gone off the air. Finally, she'd had it.
"I'll shut you up." She gritted, "If this isn't good enough for you…" And she lay a scalpel against his carotid artery…left side, wouldn't take long at all, and he'd completely bleed out and he'd shut up! Then she could get started on the other patients, shutting them up. She was increasing the pressure when some ragged voice in her head started screaming at her.
"Oh…Oh God…" She said in sick horror. She wouldn't last out the day. Should she slit her own throat, rather than wait to become one of those mindlessly raging wrecks? Everything was ending…there would be only fire and darkness…why try to live when the cost would be seeing everything that made life worth living die in front of her?
No. She didn't know that. And in any case, her life was not hers to take. If she died, so be it…but how could she kill herself, knowing that her child…her husband were still trying to defeat this, kill herself and become part o the thing they fought.
No. . Kim's mother bit her lip and set her love for her family against the paranoia…and against the insane hate, old oaths, oaths that predated even her children.
"I swear by Apollo the Physician and Asclepius and Hygeia…" She started the oath, as she kept moving among the injured. There were other oath's moving in that room too, she saw, as Rabbi Katz and the hospital Chaplain gave last rights to the dying. They hadn't fallen. Neither would she—not until all turned to night.
At the entrance to the Global Justice HQ, Ron and Kim paused.
"Wade…anything?" Kim asked.
"No…all the sensors are off line, and all the comlinks are off." Wade said, "Both personal and mounted." Ron looked at the ruin of the SEAL team which had evidently been trying to enter the base when they'd killed each other. He could feel it here, a relentless pressure that was battering at him, even through the defense the sword provided. It must be far worse for anyone else.
"OK, Wade…" Kim said and put her hand to her head and sagged.
"Kim?"
"I'm…ok." She said. "I have to be…you need someone to watch your back." Ron nodded. He gripped the Lotus Blade, and with one savage move, carved a hole through a four foot thick security hatch. Inside, the lights were on…but nobody was apparent.
The two stepped into the corridor.
"Think this is going to be easy?" Ron said, as with a sound of whirring servo's, dozens of security bots charged them.
"Offhand?" Kim responded, leaping up and cutting in her jets.
"No."
"We've got a problem…" Zita said, looking out the window. The cops were fighting for all they were worth—and some of them were even fighting the bad guys, not each other, but the mob was spilling out around the cars, and into the parking lot, and their expressions made it very plain that they weren't there for a hangnail.
Some of them were even charging across the grass and there wasn't- Zita blinked as a bolt of green energy drove them back, smashing them into the wrecked cars. Shego was in the front, barely able to stand, leaning against a wall… her fire flickering and uncertain…but still enough to drive her attackers back.
But not as far as they'd started—like a rising tide, every rush got just a little closer, and they weren't backing off. Zita saw Yori and Hirotaka leap into the fray… and the mob exploded away from them in all directions but there was only so much that even they could do, as the attackers just kept coming.
"Get in the game, Zita." Zita turned and saw Bonnie, Monique and the Tweebs.
"What do we do?" She asked, then blinked, "Where's Brick."
"He left." Bonnie said.
"That-cow-" Bonnie cut her off.
"He left, to go see if he could make it to his parents house—remember, his mom, the one in the walker?" Zita blinked and remembered, and reddened.
"Yeah." She said, looking out at the plumes of smoke. Brick would have to go through the middle of town to make it to his house. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, be obedient." Bonnie said, "I have an idea that the martial arts geniuses never thought of, and I need your help."
"You, need my help?"
"Only to do the heavy lifting—the genius of the plan is all mine." Bonnie said airily thru clenched teeth
"Oh boy…" Zita said.
Shego had run out of cursewords to describe her stupidity. Yori and Hirotaka were running out of steam—no matter how many times you hit the crazed people, they refused to stay down.
"Be a hero, Shego…." She mimicked her brother, Hego's voice. According to protocol she knew that they were safely escorting Air Force One right now, out of danger and away from mobs of crazy people. She was here, on the ground, and about to be stomped into snail paste…if she lived that long. Shego had boasted about her comet spawned powers, but they could be over extended…exhausted.
And right now the comet was the only thing keeping her alive. She could feel the grating of broken bones, the pulse of blood, and it was the energy of the comet that kept her body together. If she over exerted…. End game.
"Yeah, Hego," she growled, firing a bolt that now was so weak it barely staggered the target, "Love the Alamo, collect all the movies…so why the hell aren't you here to do the last stand thing?"
And the bitch of it was, Shego thought, that the one person she really, really wanted to kill wasn't here. Monkey Fist. Unfortunately, Kimmie and Ron would have to handle him—she'd just be excess baggage…
Which didn't make her any happier. By rights she should be in a car now, heading for some place safe—like Death Valley.
"Damn you Kim Possible." She snarled. "Not only can't I ever beat you, but the first time I do a good deed, it turns into helping save the world…for FREE!" She finished in an aggrieved voice.
Inside GJ headquarters, the battle was not going well, Kim sourly reflected. Most of the GJ humans were dead—messily so, but someone had managed to bring the internal systems on line and none of her codes were being accepted—which meant that everything from the laser cannon to the cleaning robots were trying to kill them. She was doing her best, Escrima sticks charged up to full, and the suit working at 100- when Kim hit things, they didn't move after that.
Ron was a nightmare, though. Using the Lotus blade, anything that got close to him just seemed to fall apart. Even so, it was taking time. Time they didn't have. Kim could feel the direction now—all you had to do was go down the corridor to the control center, and you could feel it pouring out—waves of hatred, emotion, paranoia.
"We're not going to make it." Kim said.
"Yes we are." Ron answered, pausing briefly. "We just have to-" A blur, a literal blur, hit him from the side, slamming him into the wall. Bouncing off it, Ron and Kim paused to see what it was…
Frothing, drooling, Dr. Director looked out at them from a night black eye.
"Ahe….he….." She said, and leaped at Ron. Ron moved to intercept her…
When Kim struck her from the side.
"Ron, we don't have time for this!" Kim said, as the crazed woman bounced off the wall, landing on her feet, an idiotic, feral grin on her face.
"Kim-"
"I can handle her—you go and handle what's in there." Ron looked at his partner…lover, standing between him and Dr. Director. Kim was right—he knew he could not kill her and doing it any other way would just take too long.
Or rather he could. The blade wanted to kill. Feeding off of the power in the complex, it wanted to kill without end or pause—and to do so would doom Ron quite effectively.
And you want to be away from me incase you can't handle it any more Kim. He realized. Fighting with Dr. Director, Kim would be away from Ron during the final fight—just in case her strength gave out. Ron nodded, and then turned and headed down the corridor.
Kim waited for Dr. Director to charge her.
"Look… I know you're upset." She started, when with a wordless howl, Dr. Director attacked.
Well, worth a try. Kim thought…while there was still time to do so.
Middleton Space Center
"You know." Drakken said as he finished the last connection, "Usually subordinating the world's computer network is something bad guys do."
"Oh, Come on Drew…remember the time we downloaded the school administration files?" Dr. Possible said, strained face belaying his voice.
"Yes. We melted down the main computer and spent the summer having to fix it." Drakken said.
"M… well, maybe this will go better."
"Oh yes." Drakken mumbled, "Taking over the world's defense networks with an untested AI is just so safe…"
"Is baby ready, Wade?" Dr. Possible said. The computer genius looked over at his monitors, very seriously. Kyoko was on a split screen looking scared.
"As ready as we'll ever be…" Wade answered.
"Poor Baby… such a terrible time to be taking her first steps." Kyoko said.
"Baby has no feet." Wade reminded her.
"Baka! It is a figure of speech."
"OK…doc… here we go."
Normally, even with computer codes, the U.S., to say nothing of foreign defense computers, would be immune to hijacking. Firewalls, TEMPEST shielded systems, multiply redundant safeguards—all were designed to make such a thing impossible. But many systems were functioning without human oversight—and the computers at the SpaceCenter were cutting edge—and in some cases beyond.
Baby lashed out, and in with her first cry, NORAD, fell to her, followed by the Pentagon…then other military computers, civilian computers, even many home pc's still linked up to the remnants of the internet. Bouncing across long range land lines, Baby grew out of the U.S. Ten seconds later, nearly 40 percent of the linked computers were part of Baby…and a minute later, 99 of linked computers were now part of Baby as she grew—her "body" and mind all at once. In space, orbital anti-missile systems obediently surrendered to her, while ground and sea based systems did likewise.
In less than two minutes, the pre-adolescent geniuses, Dr. Possible and a pair of mad scientists handed the lions share of the worlds defense capability to the first true AI, running on electrons and force fields and quite untroubled by the madness that emanated from the GJ headquarters.
But even Baby could not control everything.
Epilogue:
Jericho flight 1.
Rosen kept the fighter down to the deck. The chaos at the airbase had nearly prevented his launch, to say nothing of any escort—and who could trust an escort? Traitors…traitors and spies the lot of them. Even his back seater, who had tried to stop the pilot from launching with babbled nonsense about some madness infecting the base. Jacob had been his friend, but that hadn't stopped him from doing his duty and pulling his auto, shooting the fellow officer even as he'd tried to pull Rosen from the cockpit. Enough techs had stayed loyal to load his ordnance. No missiles or ammunition—there hadn't been enough time…but the two weapons that counted.
Two 400 kiloton nuclear warheads, jacketed with Strontium 90 to enhance fallout and long term radiation. He and the few other planes of Jericho flight that had managed to take to the air would do their duty, in spite of the traitors.
His duty would insure that those who had destroyed his country paid the price. Checking his in flight map, he nodded. 30 minutes to the center of Cairo.
To be continued.