Kim Possible and all related characters and indicia are owned by the Disney Corporation. Supergirl and all related characters and indicia are owned by DC Comics/Warner Bros. This work of fan fiction is written for pleasure, not profit.
Metropolis
Kara floated a thousand feet above Goose Island. The night was clear, with a bright crescent moon providing decent illumination. Her altitude gave her a good prospect of the entire area and, she hoped, would prevent her from being spotted. Kara's eyes ranged from one end of the island to the other, searching for any sign of illegal activity. So far there wasn't any. At least, there wasn't anything obvious. Scattered among the abandoned slipways, dry docks, warehouses and machine shops, were a handful of still functioning legitimate businesses. One yard in particular was a beehive of activity, as bright lights drove back the dark and revealed men and women working on a number of small ships that were either moored alongside the yard's docks or that had been hauled ashore by one of the massive mobile cranes that towered over the place.
Kara spotted Lois Lane strolling along the waterfront, a young man in tow. Somewhat to Kara's surprise, said young man wasn't Jimmy Olsen. This one was blond, and a bit older than Jimmy. Kara didn't recognize him. She then turned her gaze out to sea. Despite the late hour, there were a number of boats and ships plying the waters just off-shore. A couple of big, ocean going freighters were coming in, but they were angling south toward the Port of Metropolis and it's deeply dredged harbor. An even larger, high riding (and so, obviously empty) supertanker was standing out to sea. Sailboats and yachts of various sizes mingled with fishing boats and small coastal cargo ships. Kara's eyes narrowed suddenly. One of those cargo ships was heading for Goose Island. Was this it? There were a number of men on deck, busily preparing the ship for docking while a man Kara assumed was an officer looked on. The crew were a motley bunch, dressed in worn and dirty work clothes. The ship was rusty and battered looking, but that in itself was proof of nothing. Certainly there were no indications that this was anything other than a perfectly innocent freighter going about honest business. But Kara had a feeling. After a quick debate with her conscience Kara used her x-ray vision to look below decks, especially at the holds. Sure enough she saw men dressed in the yellow and green uniforms of the crime cartel called Skull. Crates in the holds bulged with weapons.
"Looks like that tip was right," she murmured, continuing her examination. One odd thing was that, in addition to soldiers and officers, a number of Skull scientists were aboard as well, if the insignia on their uniforms was any indication. The other thing that got Kara's attention was that one of the crates was completely opaque to her x-ray vision. Even a lead lining would have to be a couple of inches thick to manage that. Given the crate's dimensions just the lead alone would weigh more than eight tons. The ease with which the Skull personnel were moving it suggested it weighed far less than that.
"Probably a force field of some sort," Kara reasoned. She shrugged to herself. "Oh well, I'll find out what's in it soon enough, I'm sure." She had already decided to wait until the cargo was put ashore to intervene.
Lois watched intently as the ship approached the docks. It was a couple of hundred feet long. White letters on the bow spelled out the name Marlene.
"Hopefully we'll get a look at her stern, find out where her home port is," Lois whispered to her companion. His name was Eddie Jackson, a good kid and a decent shutterbug, too.
"You want me to try and get a look, Ms. Lane?" he asked, jerking his chin toward a nearby pier.
"No," she answered, shaking her head. "Time enough for that later. Get a couple of shots of the ship coming in, though." It wasn't really necessary to say so, Lois noted with approval. Before she had even finished speaking Eddie had his camera up and had snapped a couple of pictures. With the lens still pointing at the ship Eddie turned slightly and said, "Tugboat coming in." Sure enough, a second, smaller boat was emerging from the darkness. With the tug's help the freighter was soon made fast against the dock. Lois eyed the cargo crane that loomed above the ship. Apparently Skull weren't going to use it, for whatever reason. Instead, gangways were run out, and a score of men emerged from a nearby warehouse. Some of the men went aboard the ship and startled passing crates and boxes up out of the holds, while others brought trucks up and began loading the cargo onto them. That was when Supergirl decided to make her entrance. As Lois watched, Kara swooped down into the middle of the operation.
"Party's over, gentlemen," Kara proclaimed smugly. A few Skull soldiers brought weapons up to cover her, but a gesture from a man wearing a Commandant's insignia (which, Kara realized, made him a member of the highest rank of Skull that normally led field operations) stopped them.
"Supergirl, we've been expecting you," he said with a coldly pleasant smile.
Kara blinked. "You've been expecting me?" she repeated, somewhat incredulously. "Not Superman?" The commandant shook his head in confirmation.
"That's right, my dear. Our employer was quite sure you would be the one showing up today."
Kara's surprise must have shown on her face, for the commandant went on, "Normally, of course, Skull doesn't stoop to the role of errand boy, but the reward we were offered for this job led our council to make an exception in this case." Glancing back over his shoulder the commandant spoke to the eight men who had been carrying the opaque crate. They were large fellows, Kara noted, which suggested the four by four by eight foot crate was fairly heavy, even if it wasn't lined with lead. The men lowered the crate to the ground. From the far end of it Kara noticed a rising column of warm air, and heard the faint hum of a power cell. One of the men touched a switch on the side of the crate. Even as the crate began to open up, it became all but transparent to Kara's x-ray vision. Within it she could see the figure of a man in some kind of armor, lying on a metal framework, surrounded by gadgets whose functions weren't immediately obvious. The framework began to tilt up and forward, raising the man inside to a standing position. He was clad neck to toe in a metallic suit of green and yellow. Only his head was bare, and it... It was a bare skull, wreathed in blue flame. Clamps that had held the man to the frame opened with loud clacks, and he took a step towards Kara.
"Supergirl," the commandant said, "Allow me to present our latest creation...the Atomic Skull!"
The armor the freak facing her was wearing must have been a containment suit. Apparently, whoever the poor bastard was, the skull was really his own. Kara couldn't see a single hint of flesh around the bone, save for two rings floating in the eye sockets, his irises perhaps, glowing with a baleful red light.
"Skull," the commandant suggested, "Say something charming to the lady."
The Atomic Skull placed his armored fingertips to his temples and cocked his head at Kara. His lower jaw moved. How he managed to speak without lips or tongue Kara couldn't guess, but the dry croak that emerged through those ivory teeth certainly sounded like the voice of a dead thing. "Time to die."
There was a blue flash.
Four miles and seven seconds later Kara slammed into the one hundred and sixteenth floor of the Lexcorp Tower. She punched halfway through the building, stopping only when she hit the reinforced concrete wall surrounding the tower's central elevator shaft. She lay there, stunned, as pulverized cement dust swirled around her.
"S-Supergirl?" An anxious looking man with a black beard was bending over her. "Are you all right?" he asked. His voice was strangely muffled. Kara groaned and struggled to rise. A half-dozen hands were suddenly there, helping her to her feet.
"I'm fine, thanks," she assured the gathering crowd of gawkers, "Just had my bell rung a little." She peered toward Goose Island. The Atomic Skull was clutching at his head with both hands. Whatever he had done to her seemed to have affected him as well. Kara's weight shifted slightly, as she prepared to fly off. One of the onlookers interrupted.
"Supergirl, your nose!" Kara drew the back of her hand across her upper lip. It came away streaked with blood. "Damn," she swore softly. "I'm fine," she repeated forcefully. She dove forward and was gone.
Lois wished the ringing in her head would stop. The blast the Atomic Skull had unleashed had not only sent Supergirl flying, it had shattered windows for hundreds of yards in every direction. Skull soldiers that had been too close to the discharge lay writhing on the ground, or worse yet, totally still, the awkward positions of their limbs suggesting that they would never get up again.
"Where's Supergirl?" Lois demanded of Eddie, having to shout to hear her own voice. Eddie looked toward the downtown. After a few moments he cried out, "There she is!"
Lois followed Eddie's finger. Kara was coming in fast, pushing Mach, her right hand balled into a fist and pulled back to launch a vicious haymaker. From the scowl on Kara's face Lois guessed she wasn't planning on pulling her punch.
"Get down, Eddie!" Lois commanded as she dropped behind the meager shelter of a concrete barrier. At least this time she would have her mouth open when the concussion hit.
The Atomic Skull realized Kara was coming in just too late to do anything about it. The slender blonde's fist slammed into his chest plate and sent him flying, even as the impact generated a pressure wave that finished off the few window's in the area that had survived the Skull's blast. The Skull hit the Marlene amidships, passing completely through the hull to bounce across the water like a skipping stone, before sinking out of sight in a bed of reeds.
Kara heard the sound of rushing water. A glance showed that the Marlene's back had been broken. She was settling quickly. Fortunately the water was shallow. Still, Kara was thinking about going aboard to rescue the crew when the water beyond the ship erupted in a column of mud and steam. Hot salt water rained down as an enraged bellow echoed across the waves. Within the pillar of steam Kara could see the Atomic Skull gather his legs beneath him and leap towards the docks, straight at her. The battle began in earnest.
Lois and Eddie ran for their lives, along with every other sane person in the area. Behind them, Supergirl and the Atomic Skull were destroying Goose Island in their respective efforts to defeat each other. The battle had already lasted fifteen minutes, which was astonishing given Kara's power level. What that said about the Atomic Skull was terrifying. He didn't seem to be as physically strong as Kara, but he was tough. So far he'd shaken off everything she'd thrown at him, from fists to the jaw to being hit with one of the huge, heavy cranes that dotted the area. The blue fire that surrounded the Skull's body blazed brighter and brighter with every blast he unleashed, and each succeeding blast was more powerful than the one before. Buildings for blocks in all directions were down, pulverized.
Kara staggered as a fresh blast hit her. Just what the blast was, she didn't know. Given the way the Skull touched his head every time he unleashed one, it was probably psychic or something like that, but that was the least of Kara's worries. She was battered and bruised, her nose still bleeding and one of her eyes starting to swell shut. She was also getting tired, something that hadn't happened since she'd fought Darkseid. The Atomic Skull, on the other hand, only seemed to get stronger. In desperation Kara unleashed a kick that snapped the Skulls head back, following that with the most powerful punch she could dredge up. It actually seemed to stun him, and as he stood there dazed, Kara hammered his shoulders so hard that she drove him chest deep into the ground.
It didn't stop him. Blue flame exploded into a blazing pillar as the Skull propelled himself up with one of his blasts. As he hurtled through the air the Skull dropped his gloves, like a hockey player getting ready for a fight. Bony fingers sheathed in blue flame reached out for her. Kara was so shocked she didn't move in time. The Skull hit her, tumbling both end over end, as his fingers closed around her throat. They came to a stop with her on her back, the Skull lying atop her.
"That hurt, you worthless little bitch!" the Skull shrieked at her, squeezing her windpipe.
"So, you can feel pain," Kara snarled back, bringing a knee up between the Skull's legs. His mouth opened in a soundless scream, and his grip loosened. Kara followed the knee with a full power blast of heat vision to his face, which loosened his grip still further. A pair of fists to the chest finished the job and sent the Skull spinning away, to slam into the concrete of the dock with a thunderous crash. Kara dragged herself to her feet as the Skull did the same. She had just started toward him again when he pulsed with blue light. A wave of incredible heat hit Kara, but it wasn't aimed specifically at her. Small pieces of flammable trash lying about burst into flame. The clothing of the Skull personnel still on the ground smoldered, and the paint on the Marlene's hull began to smoke. The Atomic Skull spasmed like he was in agony.
"Supergirl." It was a barely audible whisper, but Kara followed it to the Skull commandant, who lay against one of the heavy steel wheels of the cargo crane. His clothes and flesh were scorched, and x-ray vision showed massive internal injuries.
"I'll get you to a hospital," Kara said automatically. The commandant shook his head.
"Too late for that. His powers, Supergirl. They're running wild. If he melts down he'll destroy the city. You have to stop him."
"Wish you'd thought of that before you turned him loose," Kara snapped sarcastically. Relenting she asked, "How can I stop him?"
The commandant laughed weakly. "Faust said you wouldn't last this long," he coughed. "You have to c-cool him, l-lower his...his temperature. T-that'll st-stop...stop...it..." The man's head sagged. He was gone.
"Cool him off," Kara mused, rising to her feet. An idea popped into her head. The Skull was turning to and fro, searching for her. Kara spied a propane cylinder on the deck of the Marlene. Heat vision lanced it. The blast drew the Skull's attention, turning him away from her. "Buckle up, Bonehead, you're going for a ride."
Kara snagged the Skull in a hammerlock and headed out to sea. As she gained altitude she accelerated. Mach six. Mach eight. Mach ten. At two miles a second Kara streaked east, counting the seconds and hoping she had enough time. The Skull's temperature was rising steadily, though fortunately he was too distracted to resist her. Finally it reached a point where Kara didn't dare wait any longer. Taking a deep breath, she dove.
Five minutes later Kara and her erstwhile foe were twelve thousand feet down, floating just above the mucky floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Kara was moving slowly, dragging the Skull through the frigid water, letting it draw away his excess heat. Hopefully this would do the job. If not, she had spotted some rocky outcrops that would make excellent burial sites.
That turned out to be unnecessary. After a half hour or so the Skull had cooled to the point where waxy flesh had appeared on his bones. In fact, he had cooled to the point where he was stiff and unmoving. Maybe he was dead. Maybe not. Kara didn't really care: she was getting cold, too, and the pressure down here was incredible.
'Well,' she directed a thought at her inert enemy. 'I guess I should take you to the Watchtower now. We'll at least be able to hold onto you there, and maybe figure out what makes you tick.' And, she added silently, maybe someone up their can tell me who 'Faust' is, and why he didn't think I'd last very long against this guy.