Chapter 18: Dissemination
As always, thanks to all reviewers. The last chapter was updated with one correction and a rewrite of the 'pants' part for effect.
Now this story and the previous one are in another c2s community: Ace Ian Combat's Headquarters. Thanks to the Ace Ian Combat/ kpultimatefan for adding it!
And now we reach the beginning of the end. Dive will finally be revealed in this chapter! I've given enough hints, and I doubt you'll be surprised who it is. 18 is a magic number.
With Elurt, Kim and Ron on the final level of the building, they thought this would all be over.
Instead, Elurt was running as fast as he could to the other side with Kim and Ron in pursuit, both carrying heavy equipment; A Stinger Missile launcher and a backpack that consisted of virtually their whole arsenal. The old man was getting most of his energy back, starting to actually run faster than his pursuers. In-between them were several flashes of lightning and crashes of thunder, making it clear a storm was coming.
The final floor was strange in comparison to the others. There was absolutely nothing, just a plain marble floor and clear windows everywhere. There was nothing lighting the room other than the strange spotlights outside, probably police helicopters finding a way through security. This high, no one could hear sirens if they were there. The scenery didn't help Elurt in any way. Kim and Ron were like predators after him, able to see him in the dark.
He would have had a better chance of escaping if he didn't take his time grabbing the jacket of his tux and trying to put it on. Then again, if he were to escape to the roof with this storm, he would need it if he didn't want to catch a cold. But that didn't matter, either. Ron already delivered an injury that would probably take him to the hospital.
Elurt managed to make it to the stairway on the opposite end of the building, but he had no way of locking the door. It wasn't like he was concerned with that, anyway. He was desperate to get to the roof and make his escape with Dive. He knew he was used, and he would pretend to still have an alliance with the said person, then kill him when he least suspected it.
Finally, the roof.
There were a few lights on the stairway building that lit the area, a large satellite on one corner, probably the cause of the disruption in communications, and six energy tanks, positioned like the five dots on a dice. One for every corner, one being right next to the satellite, and two in the middle. Kim would expect probably one or two, but six? She couldn't help but feel that this was a trap, and not by Elurt, either.
The shaken man collapsed when he reached the opposite edge, whether it was from Ron's blow or disbelief. He expected Dive to be right here to save him, but he was nowhere to be seen. The only thing he could see in the skies were lightning and the moon hidden in the clouds.
"No… Dive… you…!"
He coughed and hacked shortly afterward, throwing up as well.
Kim calmly approached the enemy with Ron behind her, not appearing to be surprised but drenched in water.
"Well, I guess Ron was right, Elurt. You were used. I don't think your ride has any other use for you."
The old man just glared at Kim as he got onto his knees. "Actually, it's quite the contrary, Miss Possible… He's just on time…"
Kim and Ron froze in silence. Other than the sound of rain pouring, they heard a humming sound… rotors…
Suddenly, out from below, blinding spotlights from a helicopter lit the rooftop. When they died down, everyone could see that this thing was huge, probably about the size of the rooftop itself. It was painted in military camouflage, armed with twelve missiles, six for every wing, and its size could be blamed on the thick armor all around it.
Elurt was starting to make a strange noise, almost like a chuckle, and then rose into insane laughter.
He pointed at Kim. "You! …You really had me going there, Possible, but you… you have failed! Until we meet again…! The world will be mine!"
He continued to laugh more, easily losing himself in the process. But it died down when nothing happened. Kim and Ron were still just standing there, and he was surprised to see that the helicopter behind him was idle. No rope or ladder was released.
"Dive… What the in God's name are you doing up there? Are you just going to sit there?"
No response.
"Answer me!"
A small laugh from the loudspeaker could be heard, until it broke out into a loud malicious one, echoing the rooftop. What caught Kim's surprise was that this wasn't the mechanical filter from Dive she was expected, but a regular human voice, one with an eerie familiarity.
"That voice…" she thought out loud.
Elurt didn't like where this was going. "What the hell are you laughing at?"
Finally, Dive - or rather, the person behind the mask - talked.
"I'm sorry, but your regularly scheduled escape won't be seen tonight. In the meantime, we are proud to bring you death and catastrophic hell!"
Elurt and Ron then caught on.
"Wait… Who are you?" Elurt demanded.
"Oh, I'm quite the same person you expected, only that I'm not here to save you."
"What are you talking about?"
"You knew very well what my demands were, Elurt. Now that I have Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable right where I want them, I have no further use for you. You've served your purpose. You may die now."
Everyone took a step back when they noticed a missile moved on the helicopter. The sound of a missile lock beep could be heard on the loudspeaker as well, obviously taking place from the inside. Elurt was steaming, almost foaming at the mouth.
"You… you… traitor!"
The pilot just laughed. "Traitor? Foolish man… It was not I who was the traitor. Just call this… payback."
"Payback?"
"I would be more than delighted to refresh your memory, but I have other… more… important matters to attend to."
"Answer me!"
The pilot laughed even more as the vehicle moved away from the building, enough to disappear in the storm. When Elurt was about to open his mouth, assuming Dive made a cowardly escape, a small light could be seen briefly.
The sick feeling in Kim's stomach only got worse. "Ron… get down…"
The two were still near the stairway building, quickly ducking and covering for the inevitable. Just as Kim anticipated, the helicopter flew past them like a jet, the force of wind knocking Elurt off his feet.
"See you in hell, you old bastard!"
Again, before Elurt could yell at his ex-colleague, a high-pitched hissing noise could be heard from far away, and before long, it was clear that Dive launched a missile from where he was just at. It was aiming straight for him, and he froze in shock, almost yelping. His yelping turned into a high-pitched scream as the missile got closer.
Kim covered her eyes when the loud explosion went off, and the blinding light from it forced Ron to do the same. When everything cleared up, both ran to where Elurt was once standing, but finding nothing but a huge burnt spot.
Nothing was left of him, except for a small plastic device. The stealth camo. Kim picked it up and stared at the burnt marks at it.
"My God…" she quietly spoke with fear in her voice.
She even fell to her knees. Accidentally killing a bio-mech was one thing, but to witness someone being blown to hell from a missile was another. She would've thought that with all the action movies Ron took her to, that she would've been able to stare death straight in the eye.
Speaking of whom, he was right there next to her, but he had his sights elsewhere; up to the helicopter hovering above them.
"Kim... we have more important matters at hand…" he spoke with absolute seriousness. He wasn't going to be a buffoon here.
The person behind the controls of the flying machine just let out a weak chuckle as he pointed the nose of the copter toward the two.
"Pathetic human… More than qualified to be a threat… but turned out to be nothing more than just a pawn…"
Kim rose up and turned her head to the helicopter. She wasn't going to appear weak now.
"Dive… who are you? What are you really after?"
"Oh, come on, Kim. You've gotten this far and yet, you still haven't figured out anything!"
"Tell me! Who are you?"
"Who am I? Who am I? I'm YOU! I'm your opposite! The broken reflection! Your shadow! The Yin to your Yang!"
Apparently, these didn't spark any plugs for Kim. The word 'corn' came to mind.
"Think about it for a second… you may not recognize my appearance, but I am the only person on this planet with this voice!"
Kim couldn't see anything through the windows of the cockpit due to the rain. But he had given her a hint, his voice.
"Come on, Kim. You're getting close. You recognize it, no doubt about it."
Now that he didn't have a mask, she could confirm that it was a male voice, he sounded young, but deep… but it had power… as if demanding respect… but so much, so much hatred in it.
"Closer…"
The second it came to her, everything froze. She almost fainted from disbelief.
"There. You know who I am."
"No… it can't be…"
Ron was skeptical, knowing that Kim was starting to appear pale.
"Kim? Who is he?"
"Do you remember me now, Kimberly… Anne… Possible?"
Kim almost trembled at the lips, unable to answer.
"KP…?"
Dive lowered himself so that Kim and Ron could see him clearly. It appeared that he was still wearing a gas mask with his blonde mullet, but not for long. He quickly pulled off the mask, hiding his face as he also removed what appeared to be a wig. When he rose his head, everything was revealed.
Spiky jet-black hair, a scar over his left eye, a look in his eyes that thirsted for blood, and a smile that had a child's joy in it.
Both Kim and Ron instantly recognized him.
"VAL! HOW THE…"
Laughter from inside the helicopter interrupted the two as it flew from one side to the other.
"You couldn't forget me even if you tried, Team Possible!"
Ron froze. "What? How…"
"You have guessed correctly, my friends! Here's your reward!"
Another missile on the helicopter shifted.
"Have at you!"
Instead of backing away, Val fired the missile up close at full speed, giving the two no time to think. Kim dove to the side in reflex as the missile flew past Ron, right into the satellite in the far corner. The explosion, mixed with the energy tank next to it, was huge, knocking Ron right off his feet and shoving his face into the concrete.
"RON!"
Kim quickly went to his aid, but he was unconscious.
"Bah! In the face of danger and your mind still relies on another! Pity. I hoped that you would have evolved into the best that there is, Kimberly Anne!"
"Shut up!" she barked. "I don't know how you survived, Val, but now that I know that you're behind this…"
She took a firm grip on the Stinger Missile Launcher, and now that she grabbed a missile from the backpack Ron was wearing, she secured it inside. It was loaded.
"…all the hell I've gone through… all that you've put Ron through… everything that you've done… I'm going to kick your ass and send you back to hell!"
Right now, she didn't even bother with the interrogations. She didn't want to hear how or why everything had happened so far. Now that she knew Dive's true identity, she was going to make him pay. It wouldn't have been any different if Dive was actually any of her usual textbook villains.
If Ron were still conscious, not only would he keep Kim focused, but he probably would've asked the usual questions: The purpose, who, when, where and why.
Kim was too focused on getting revenge for all the hell he put her through. She could be calm in a situation, but when Ron's life had been at stake over and over and over again, it became unbearable. She couldn't think straight at all, and she was anything but calm. No more was the calm and cool Kim Possible that was well known and feared throughout the world. Something inside her snapped, filling her with utmost rage. Someone was going to pay, and the thought of possibly killing her opponent didn't even come to mind at all.
Valia had her number after all.
Lightning flashed as her nose and the nose of the helicopter faced each other.
It was time to finish this fight once and for all.
From the lock-on screen from inside the machine, it would be hard to see if it was rain or tears on Kim's face. The red in her eyes confirmed that it was the latter.
Val seemed fairly impressed. "Just as human as I'd expect you to be, my dear. But this is no time for your usual drama or smart talk. Are you going to mope and cry, or are you going to fight? Which would dear old Ron choose?"
"He'd want me to go on and take you down, and that's exactly what I'm going to do!"
"Kim Possible versus a modified Hind?"
The helicopter didn't even resemble a Hind. It was modified to have the appearance of a heavily armored tank, only that it functioned as a flying gunship.
"I can do anything…" she hissed as she mounted the missile launcher onto her shoulder.
"Including hesitate." Val retorted as he recognized the stinger. "Can you really shoot that thing?"
"Watch me!"
Just like that, she locked onto the Hind and fired. An explosion rocked its left side. But to Kim's surprise, it quickly went back to its idle stance, almost as if nothing happened.
"'Nice shot!' That's what I would've said if you actually did any considerate damage! My turn!"
Another missile cocked as Kim went to grab another Stinger from Ron.
"Try this on for size!"
He fired it straight at her, giving Kim no time to reload her weapon.
At least, that's what he thought.
If you turned things into slow motion, the missile flew straight at Kim's torso. But seconds before it made impact, Kim – with the launcher in one hand and a missile in another – actually managed to jump onto the missile and jump off of it, the velocity sending her high into the air, past ten feet approximately. In the peak of the jump, she placed the missile into the launcher and fired. Impossible? You don't know Kim Possible.
It made a direct hit with the nose of the helicopter. This blow sent the Hind back at an angle, and Val could be heard yelling from surprise. He had a bit of a hard time balancing the helicopter again.
He actually sounded happy. "Brilliant shot, Kim! That little acrobatic move there actually had me going there! Shame the missile still didn't do that much damage!"
Thankfully, Kim landed right on the stair building on her feet, then dove off towards Ron to grab a missile. She fired it again, striking the bottom of the plane.
"And neither did that one!" Val mocked as he regained control. "Tell you what… how about we get serious?"
This time, four panels opened on the wings of the helicopter, revealing turret guns. Kim quickly leapt away in case they fired, but not before grabbing another missile from Ron's backpack. There appeared to be at least ten left.
"Do you really think you can shoot me down with your limited arsenal?"
Kim just stared at him with hateful eyes, not responding.
Val just sighed to himself, not talking to the speakerphone. "Do unto others…" She couldn't hear him.
With that, he accelerated the helicopter forward while firing at his prey nonstop. She was quick to evade the bullets by diving past the energy tanks. Thankfully, Val didn't hit any of them, but if he did, they would have exploded.
"Thankfully for you, Kimberly Anne, I'm not the kind of person that uses the environment to capture his prey! But with that said, don't be too reckless! Realize that if the center tanks go off, the ones you're hiding behind, it'll set off the others, and it'll kill you and Ron! I don't think you want that on your conscience!"
As much as Kim hated to think it, he was absolutely right. But before she could think of going across to grab Ron and take him to safety, she was cut off by another trail of bullets piercing the concrete. The helicopter quickly flew past her.
"By the way, Kim, if you haven't realized it yet, you won't be able to move him with all of the weapons he's carrying. Unless, of course, you want to try to take the backpack off. I don't think you're that stupid, however. It'll slow you down. You'll be killed, and so will Ron! I know you, Kim. You're not going to risk his life even if it means taking me down!"
Again, he was right. It wouldn't take just a couple of seconds to take off Jen's backpack, and that would make her an easy target for Val. Even if she evaded at the last second, he'd shoot the energy tank near Ron, and that would trigger the others on the roof to go off.
So right now, she could only focus on taking the helicopter out. But she also didn't want to leave Ron behi-
Another spray of bullets coming.
She evaded again by diving out of the way, but the wind of the Hind sent her back as it flew over her. With the layout on the roof, she couldn't hide in one place for long. Unlike the fight with the Fafnir, at least she had a temporary hiding area, but she still had to think fast and constantly be on her feet.
First, take out the helicopter. That was priority number one. It wasn't Ron's safety this time. She realized Val had her right where he wanted her. He wanted to be priority number one, and if Kim tried to make anything else a priority, he would just finish her and Ron at once.
Kim hid behind the stairway building, opposite the side of the helicopter. If Val attacked from where he was at, the bullets had no chance of hitting her. She would have taken the opportunity to fire, but she didn't want to waste missiles. The helicopter's armor was extremely strong, at the cost of speed. She wasn't going to even attempt to shoot her hook at it. If she managed to connect and get on, there could be dire consequences. For one, obviously, the turret guns would have a clear shot at her face. Second, Val could back off far away from the building as Kim tried to climb on. He could then easily shoot the grappling wire, easily sending her to her death below. Third, she could manage to get on and he could shake her off. She wouldn't have anything to go on since the second highest building in Bay City was to the far east and at 75 stories. The mission suit wouldn't protect her against such a fall.
Suddenly, she started feeling a vibration in her pocket. Then it came to her – Val destroyed the satellite that was causing the jamming signal. Since he was still keeping Kim busy by circling the building, she could only grab another missile before running behind the stairway building for safety.
She decided to take this call.
"Wade, this is a really bad time t-"
"How long are you going to hide, Kim?"
It wasn't Wade on the Kimmunicator, nor Nev.
"Val? How did you-"
"What can I say? You're listed."
"Not funny."
"You're not going to get any help from your friends this time, Kim. Don't you think getting help on how to destroy this thing is a… how do you put it… 'a little cheatish'?"
Kim just growled.
Val coughed. "This is pointless. Maybe I should've just yelled at you from the loudspeaker. Despite that my throat hurts like hell."
"Hah. Serves you right, pretending to be someone you're not with that gas mask hiding your voice. Poseur."
"I suppose that's another of the many things we have in common, then."
Kim scoffed. "I have nothing in common with you, Valia!"
He answered calmly. "Quite the contrary, Kimberly. You'll find that we're actually very, very much alike. I don't expect for you to accept this so easily, though. You're the type of dame who needs to see it to believe it."
"Oh, shut up already."
"You know, a woman with intense rage – a pretty one at that – usually gets my adrenaline flowing. But wow, look at you."
"Too pretty a face for you?" she teased to the point where it wasn't her.
Val only laughed at this, enjoying Kim's hidden rage being exposed.
"My, I never expected you to be arrogant when it comes to looks, Kim! That is, if that was your way of delivering a taunt, but no. But then again, if it weren't, I wouldn't be surprised. You were a cheerleader, after all. Last time I saw you, you were indeed the best-looking opponent I've ever fought. Not the strongest, but the best-looking. But now, hell, you look terrible. I would've expected in the last few months that you would have looked more daring, but your red eyes really don't help."
Normally, Kim would've hung up by turning off the Kimmunicator, but the big button in the middle wasn't responding.
"Earth to Kim, I've hacked into your Kimmunicator. You won't be delivering or receiving any kind of outgoing communication, so don't bother. Don't try to pull off any tricks with it, either. None of the many features are working and therefore, it is useless."
Kim just snorted.
"And, FYI, you should be paying more attention to your real problem." Val finished as he pointed behind her.
Kim quickly turned around, letting out a startled scream. Apparently, the nose of the Hind was inches away from her nose. She backed away with a startled yell, tripping over one of the tiles on the ground and falling right on her back. Val just accelerated away and laughed.
"Pity I didn't have a camera!" he taunted over the Kimmunicator.
Kim shoved the device back into her pocket.
As he flew away, she was thinking perhaps the weak point was the back, the only area she hadn't struck. She quickly fired the stinger before Val turned the helicopter around, but she didn't let her guard down when the back wing abruptly went upward.
"Hah! Not bad! Unfortunately for you, not good enough!"
She quickly dove behind the stairway building as Val came charging back with an onslaught of bullets. She almost yelped when a one of them struck one of the supporting poles on one of the energy tanks. Thankfully, it wasn't the actual tank itself. The supporting poles that kept it up had no flammable chemicals.
"You'd better think fast, Kim. There's no telling when I'll accidentally hit one of those explosive tanks! I don't think you want your funeral to remind your family and friends of barbequed cheerleader!"
Damn it, again he was right.
Inside the helicopter, it was clear Valia was having a ball. Not that anyone would notice, but the cockpit had its share of loud music, popcorn, empty soda cans and a few bottles of whiskey. He was actually on a sugar high, drinking at least twelve cans of Pepsi One in five minutes.
Valia had actually received one trait of the usual textbook villain that Kim fought often: He was in love with his own voice. He grabbed the speakerphone and spoke into it.
"You know what, Kim? You're no teenage hero! You don't have what it takes!"
Catching up with her was more fun than he thought it would be. He tossed the speakerphone aside and continued to circle the building. He expected Kim to be a bit frightened when she found out he survived their previous fight, but he wasn't surprised that she exploded into a rage of fury.
Oh, if only Kim knew everything that was really going on, but that would come much, much later.
But for now, he would have some fun with her.
But there was something nostalgic about seeing her stare at him with total anger in her eyes. And it wasn't their prior fight. Heck, it wasn't even Kim. He just continued to stare at her as he thought loudly to himself, not with the aid of the loudspeaker.
"Come on, Kim… You've saved thousands of lives, thwarted hundreds of plots to take over the world, and even destroyed a bunch of the government's top secret weapons of war. I suppose luck is on your side, unless you really are lady luck. How the hell can't you know about military vehicles and how to destroy them? You wouldn't have stood a chance if I was piloting the Harpuia."
A thought came to mind that almost made him snicker.
"Maybe I should point out its location so she could fight me with it… that would prove to be rather interesting. But sadly, I can't have that… I've already broken most of the deal, and I'm still surprised I'm still alive…"
Again, Val stopped the plane, spun it so that he was perpendicular to the building, thrusted the control sticks forward and fired off at Kim again. He had no intention of hitting her, but as he predicted, she dove off to the side. He didn't even care that he had nine missiles left on the machine. He was well-aware that they were there, but he didn't want to put them to waste and throw them away so quickly.
"Some teen hero you turned out to be… I bet you Ferno would have figured out a way to destroy this thing by now. Stupid old man… I told you not to incapacitate any of them…"
Valia wasn't even concerned with Elurt or what happened to him. All he knew was that Kim was taking her time to think of a weak spot for the very thing he was piloting, Ron was knocked unconscious, Jen was still recovering, and Yori was out. Hopefully it would stay that way for some time.
Kim was becoming suspicious of this duel. One minute Val was taunting her, and the next he was oddly quiet. He was just flying the plane around in a circle, but he didn't charge with bullets as he usually did. She knew his mind was somewhere, but she wasn't going to stand still about it. She quickly grabbed a few missiles from Ron and hid them in the stairway for her to use, since none of the bullets made it inside. Perfect safe spot. If only the bag weren't so secure on him and so heavy, she'd move him there too.
She was still focused on shooting the plane down no matter what. She couldn't take anymore of Ron being in danger like this.
Kim was no expert on heavy weaponry, and the Stinger was no exception. If Jen were near, she would have told her that it was powerful, but not enough to shoot down a heavily armored vehicle so easily. The Hind was not a helicopter that was easy to maneuver, and some of the pilots who can should be feared, especially with its arsenal. It would usually take several missiles to take down something like an armored Hind, but Kim was starting to run dry of ammo.
If anything, she was extremely tempted to fire all of them like hell, but there was no visible damage on the plane. She was starting to think there was no point in using the Stinger because of this. Again, she was also losing confidence in herself, but she was surprised Val didn't attempt to finish her off. Why didn't he just fire at the energy tanks and demolish the rooftop? Oh, if only bad guys did things the easy way. No, Val was going to toy with her, and she knew it. If he was occupied with something else, it meant he was up to something.
Then she started to think… what was another way to shoot a plane down? She had seen people do it with shoulder-mounted missile launchers in the movies, among other weaker weapons, but the armor of this thing was just too powerful.
On the other hand, not being taunted helped her regain her cool, but even with a clearer mind, she couldn't crack a weakness.
She realized the next thing she was going to do was perhaps the dumbest thing she could think of, but she swallowed her pride and pulled out the Kimmunicator.
"Val, what gives?"
The boy on the screen chuckled. "Did you think it was going to be this easy?"
"Maybe. But c'mon. One minute you're enjoying your voice yelling at me, and then you're quiet and not paying attent-."
"Incoming."
Just as he said, he stormed toward Kim with a bevy of bullets. As she evaded, she noticed that his aim was much more precise. Maybe that wasn't a good idea after all.
"What were you asking? I had better things to pay attention to. Drinking to a good year while flying a Hind in this weather doesn't help you hear things."
"Never mind."
"Personally, Kim, I'm disappointed. How can you be a teenage hero and not know your vehicles?"
"Not my style, really."
"Pathetic. You can't even take the time to study military weapons! Oh, if only Ferno weren't rendered incapacitated, she might've been to some use. Otherwise, I'm hardly impressed."
Kim got an idea. "Hey, mind telling me how to take it down, if you're so… 'unimpressed'?"
"And you have an IQ of what now? 165? What do you take me for?"
"Shut up."
"Now, now, Kimberly. Play nice… or else."
The Hind was in front of her now, and he turned the helicopter so that it was facing Ron. Kim noticed the first things that shifted were the guns.
"Really, Kim. What's preventing me from killing Stoppable right here and now?" Val yelled from the loudspeaker on the plane.
Kim sighed. "What do you want, Val?"
Val laughed. "Let's make this brief and short, Kim. When your true past consists of nothing but fights, when you've seen as many battles as I have, sometimes you only feel alive when you're staring death in the face. Oh, but just going out to fight just anybody didn't do anything. I needed more… a worthy opponent. That's when I decided you may be of some use…"
"What are you talking about?"
"I needed to fight the only person who managed to defeat me in battle! I wanted nothing more than another duel with you, Kim. I have never had someone defeat me so easily in the past, and the fact that I was beaten by a cheerleader is baffling. I'm not surprised Stoppable played a role in it, but a cheerleader? Such a defeat is going to haunt me for life."
"A rematch?"
"Rematch? Maybe… maybe not. I don't know what it is about you, but when we last met, there was something about the thrill of battle… I hadn't experienced it in ages."
"You know, last time, I felt sorry for you. But now you've just lost it."
"As have you! But wait, you felt sorry for me? Oh, that's right, I remember. Sympathy is nice and ever so sweet, but such things can only be so temporary…"
"I mean, nanomachines? Bio-Mechs? Draining the blood out of sixteen men? Nuclear weapons? That can't be all."
"Oh, but maybe it was! Robbing a bank again would be too redundant. I wanted to catch your attention in least predictable way and provoke you to a fight."
Kim just continued to glare at the idle helicopter, listening to Val as he continued to shout through the loudspeaker.
"You know, Kim, I find it astonishing that you're considered a hero worldwide, and yet, your usual villains haven't been able to predict your every move. Oh sure, Drakken had you with the syntho-drone, but we already went over that."
"Spare me the lecture."
"You see, Kim, humans exist in several breeds. Everyone on this roof exists in a breed of superiority, but sadly, you're among those who I call… predictable. But I wasn't interested in mind control this time. Using that in an attempt to force you and Stoppable to fight to the death proved entertaining, but it was only good as a one-time show. No… this time I wanted to do something bigger. I wanted to see if you were the one they sent after me. But no, they sent twelve others. They were good, I admit, but none of them had the peculiar flare, energy, the vitality that you have. While I made quick work of them, it was anything but an exhilarating experience. But you came on your own 'free will', assisted by your… love, and a girl with fire in her blue eyes. They're very similar to yours… That's three people I know with your eyes. Before death's sweet embrace I needed to see you and fight you one more time. Only then can my soul find respite!"
"You make it sound like some kind of twisted obsession."
"I prefer the term 'infatuation'," he quickly came back with.
Kim blinked a few times, not that it was noticeable from the Val's POV because of all the rain.
"Surprised? You know you've had a few boys obsess over you… Oh, that's right. You didn't."
"They probably did, but definitely not in this way."
Well, this was new – having a bad guy obsess over you when he's trying to kill you at the same time. It could've been worse – If Kim were single and the bad guy turned out to be some hottie worth obsessing over. Not that Val wasn't that bad looking, if he took the time to get a haircut and shave a bit he could woo some girls of his own. But he didn't seem like the type, not with his current bitterness towards love and women.
"Oh, believe me, in the line of work you're in, it will happen more and more often. I can promise you that."
Kim didn't take these words seriously. "You honestly expect me to believe that? What do YOU know about hero work and saving the world?"
"A HELL of a lot more than you'll EVER know!" Val barked to his lungs extent.
Kim realized she probably hit a sore spot with that last remark, as Val quickly followed with and endless blaze of bullets. She once again hid behind the stairway building, and Val fired for at least a minute straight, somehow overheating the guns.
Suddenly, Kim heard a noise from the plane she wasn't familiar with, but when she turned to peek around the corner, her eyes almost lit up.
Because of the guns overheating, the armor opened up for venting purposes.
She hadn't fired the missile that was loaded into the launcher, and quickly took advantage of the situation.
"Oh, I beg to differ."
She immediately fired it and rushed to Ron as it flew in the air. A much more powerful explosion rocked the plane, and this was apparent by the sound of metal being destroyed. Also, the plane flew much further away than it did before. Damage was finally visible.
She finally found its weakness, and she took no time to hesitate to fire upon it again.
From the inside, Val tried to steer away, but held onto whatever he could as he braced himself for impact. As expected, the plane shook violently, causing a lot of the screens to flash wildly.
He laughed with full excitement, jumping and getting himself comfortable in his seat. Kim finally figured out the puzzle. Now it was time for some real action.
With a wide smile on his face, he grabbed the speakerphone.
"That's it, baby! It's on now!"
Kim's face dropped when she heard this. Did Val just call her 'baby'? Only one man on earth was qualified to call her that (who wasn't her father), and his name was Ron Stoppable.
"Oh, it is…" she snarled.
In the cockpit, there was a red button Val had his eye on for some time, but now that the armor was open, there was no further need for it. He quickly pulled open the plastic cover and slammed his fist on it.
Kim got an up-close and personal view of what he just did. Not only did all of the armor fall off, but several other guns were revealed. Unlike the ones that were overheated, these ones were able to track more than one target. Also, the copter now resembled a Hind more than an armored airborne tank.
She walked up to the edge and made eye contact with Val, staring at him for some time.
He sounded excited. "Brace yourself!"
This time, he quickly attacked with all the guns, forcing Kim to evade more quickly. Thankfully, the suit she was wearing was bulletproof, but that didn't prevent her from being sent back when one of the bullets hit her in the leg. It didn't penetrate the skin, although the blow would leave a bruise, and it was enough to send her skidding across the roof. Kim didn't allow this to stop her, as she fired a stinger as her body came to a stop.
Val was crazy, laughing on the speakers with the blow.
"Nice shot!"
Kim didn't care how crazy he was, only that this helicopter was going down.
Thankfully, she landed near Ron and grabbed another missile. It was strange – she thought she was starting to run low, but Ron appeared to have had the same number of missiles in Jen's backpack as he did when he was first knocked out. Strange. But nothing mattered now.
The only thing that did matter was Kim's determination to shoot the Hind down. This wasn't going to be like last time where Val escaped. She was going to shoot the plane down, jump onto it as it fell, grab Val, save herself with the grappling hook, and wait for the police to arrive. He wasn't going to get away this time. She was going to shoot him down and make sure justice is served.
And perhaps he was going to give her that chance. Just as Kim got back onto her feet, Val was well already on his way back, accompanied by a storm of bullets, ready to plow the road. He was coming too fast for Kim to react, and he passed her at full speed. The wind from the plane was enough to knock her down again, not to mention that the rooftop was starting to get slippery. Again, Kim refused to let the fall stop her, firing another missile at the plane.
Again, it was shaken violently. As she expected, he continued to laugh more through the loudspeaker.
"Come on, Kim! The rush is becoming too much! Unleash your full potential! Show no mercy! Show me that you're actually capable of saving this world!"
She didn't listen. She knew that if she did, his words would throw her off. He's done it before, and he'd do it again. The only thing that mattered was shooting him down, and she'd repeat the phrase in her head as long as she needed to. Again, another missile from the backpack, load it, fire it, and get ready for an onslaught of bullets.
After being struck again, Val flew in full force towards the building and firing the machine guns carelessly. This was starting to get Kim concerned as a bullet nearly hit Ron this time.
However, this very bullet – one of many - actually struck the energy tanks, but they didn't go off?
Val noticed the surprised look on Kim's face as he flew past her again.
"Kim, you fool! Has anyone told you how gullible you are?"
Kim only grinded her teeth further as the plane started to turn, circling the building at full speed.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, Kim, the contents of the tanks are indeed flammable, but they won't go off without a thick fire. You'd better be careful, though. There's no telling when the bullets will make a spark from the concrete! Worse, the chemicals will spread thanks to all the rain on the roof! When it comes to killing, I'm more of the 'die-quickly-and-painlessly' type. I'd hate to see you burn a slow and painful death, Kim!"
Again, Val's talking was met with a stinger missile. The outside of the plane was starting to smoke, and Val knew this by the screens inside the plane screaming at him.
He was no less calm than before.
"Feisty, aren't we? You know, Kim, a recent study shows that boys 16-30 have shown an increasing interest and attraction in femme fatales such as yourself! You honestly thought your tough-girl image was scaring off boys? How dense can you get?"
Again, Kim's response was in the form of a missile. It didn't stop Val once he regained control of the Hind.
"You know, I had my doubts about you and Stoppable, but dare I say it, I'm envious of him! Nothing better than a girlfriend who knows how to take names and kick ass! If it weren't for the sappy varsity-cheerleader-honor-roll-community-service bull, you might be the ideal woman! And guess what? You're legal now! You could've had anybody you wanted, but you were smart and went for someone you have known for ages over the top of the food chain in appearance, wealth and power. Good for you!"
This time, Kim decided to accompany her stinger friend. Another missile, another explosion, and she'd talk.
"You know what, Val? I don't care about any of that! I just want to live a normal life like anyone else. I am who I am and no one can stop me from being that! Not you! Not anyone!"
Another blow from a missile, and the plane was starting to show a loss of control. It wasn't going to shut Val up, though.
"Well said, Kimberly Anne! Nicely done. I would have written that down for future reference, but there's only one problem! You're not in control of your destiny! Just wait, soon everything will change, soon you will lose everything you cherish, and that's something not you or anyone else can change! They'll come and ruin your life as they did mine! Think what you will, I know you're naïve like that, but just you wait! You don't know the truth of the world, not with your blindness! Stoppable already knows this, as does Ferno and Yori. Do you know why? Because instead of wasting their time on useless extracurricular activities in high school, which make you no less of a tool than that of 'the real world', they took their time discovering what this world - people, humanity, social groups and cliques – were really all about."
"And what would that be?"
"No one is in control of their destiny, Kim. Not those you love, not those you hate, not those you never heard about, not me, and definitely not you. You may think otherwise, but you're only being controlled and manipulated by the lies. If you took more time to observe the people in the world than be concerned with your affection for Ron or your own perfectionism in everything you do, you would be able to easily see this. Not only is your belief system a result of proper manipulation, but what you perceive yourself to be, what you are and who you are deep inside! You're not the well-known and feared teenage heroine who saves the world. You don't have what it takes to be in the field at all. You are indeed powerful, I must say, but you lack so much to truly save the world from its inevitable future. We live in an unholy world of lies controlled by hypocrites, and you're just another puppet in their society."
Kim realized that Val did have at least one point. Ron was the one who tried to understand people while he was teased and thrown around in high school, since he didn't use all the time in the world to do homework or be concerned with the next cheerleading regionals. Until they were dating, she thought Ron did nothing at home but watch wrestling and play video games.
"If you think that you're in control of who you are and the choices you will make, why are you here, then? Is it the sake of duty? To do the right thing? Or is it for your own personal dark retribution? Hah, some hero you are… You're nothing more than a little girl armed with a weapon! You're not really the tough heroine you try so hard to portray yourself as… and I thought you got over your insecurities…"
What was he getting at with this?
"It's not your free will that allows you to fight crime, Kim. Perhaps you tell yourself it's the need to help people, but when it comes to world threats, you only do it because it's expected out of you! It's not the mentality of a hero. Also, real heroes fight people solely for the sake of doing the right thing. This entire exercise was done just to prove that, and I can see the results are in. Look at those vengeful and hateful eyes, Kim. I can see the bloodlust just by the vessels in your eyes. Even I know there's nothing right in murder, and you have every intent on sending me to hell. Heroes can never get personal with friends or villains. Do you know why? Because it interferes with their duty, they forget who they are and what they stand for. Oh, but I have seen so much of that in this entire operation… poor woman."
Kim didn't even acknowledge the points he made. "What's your point?"
"You're not cut out for this line of duty. Not only are you weak, prone of forgetting who you are and what you stand for, but you also fail to see the truth of everything. You live in some kind of little delusional world where you think you're in control of your destiny and that we live in some kind of 'free' world. The truth is, Kim, heroes are used. In this day and age, they are no longer seen as saviors, but they are just tools of all governments. You may think otherwise because you're more of a 'freelance' heroine, but the truth of the matter is, your name and information went into every single government computer the day you saved that CuddleBuddy collector. Now, you think you go out and save the world because it's by your choice, but the truth of the matter is, it's staged, and not by those you fight against. You're already being used and you honestly had no idea… poor fool."
Kim narrowed her eyes in confusion.
Val sighed. "Blind woman… If you still want to continue what you consider a normal life, pack up, leave, and go home. Oh, that's right… once you're in, you can never escape. Then again, you might not even last. Even if you somehow avoid this, perhaps you'll turn out like every other hero… eventually succumbing to the inevitable by becoming the very thing you've fought all your life against. Shego wasn't the only hero who went from good to bad. Just one of many… and you two had so much in common, no wonder you saw each others as rivals…"
Kim just shook her head. Surely this was just another way of him to throw her off.
"Oh, that's right…" he continued. "You don't trust people you consider enemies, do you? Not surprising… those who need advice refuse to seek it. Too true, and too bad, Kimberly Anne, I was hoping I was doing you a favor!"
Kim just sighed as she loaded another missile and aimed it at the cockpit.
"Val… Shut up."
She held the weapon single-handedly and fired it. Another hard blow, but not enough to take the plane down. Almost as if preparing something, Val lifted the plane high into the air.
Kim took the time to shove in another missile and load it. "Whether something else is at work, I'll find out. As for you, I think you have other things to worry about."
Val just laughed at the threat. "You'll eat those words, Kim. I'm sure of it. But you're not choosing a good time to be naïve and stubborn. Personally, I love that image, but it's clear to me how much you're faking it. It's not who you really are. Knowing that you're trying to be a regular girl in a regular world… That act only works on those who are free of insecurities! But for you, it's so visible it's embarrassing. I can see who you truly are even with that Stinger, Kim! You're no legendary professional; you're just a little girl with another toy! That tough face on you doesn't tell me anything other than that you're still insecure and still weak!"
Kim scoffed. "What, like yourself?"
Val scoffed as well, mimicking her. "At least I'm not hiding who I really am! And at least I'm not living some second life! Believe me; I know what I'm talking about! You're not the only teen hero around here, Kim!"
Kim had to hold back her laughter. Val, a teen hero? Yeah, right.
Val threw the speakerphone in the back, frustrated. Kim wouldn't hear him.
"Women… they sure love to listen to what you have to say…" he spoke sarcastically, "Well, I guess I'll have to set you up straight, too."
If there was one way to piss off Val, it was ignoring what he had to say. Regardless if you were a friend or enemy, he knew of events to come, and would often warn people of their future. This was one of the things he loved and hated in high school. Sometimes he would tell people, at least those who didn't hate him, about things they could do to get back on track on life.
One memory came to mind. One girl pestered him at lunch to read her future, and wouldn't leave him alone until he told her. After Val made her buy him a soda, he allowed for it. So Valia versus a girl who he didn't think he had a chance with, but he knew what she was made of. Using tarot cards to make it appear as if that was the method he used, he told her what to expect.
"On the end of your job interview, don't go out for a smoke. The guy's going to come out of the door and see you."
The girl just shrugged and thanked him. She pestered him at the same place and time a week later, thanking him for the help. She probably would've asked him to hang out, if not for the fact that she was dating the quarterback, and keeping herself low so that she wouldn't be seen with an outcast like Val. What she didn't tell him was that since she got the job, she quit smoking. Oh, but he knew, though.
That was a nice moment, happening much earlier than his encounter with a girl that would drive him insane, and because of the cleansing, he told himself she was the first.
But Kim Possible was too hard-headed to heed the advice from someone she considered a megalomaniacal freak. Well, add her to the list of many. Val didn't even give a damn that he was about to get shot down. He always welcomed death's sweet embrace, but it never happened.
He knew that he wasn't going to die, and neither was Kim. As much as he enjoyed it, though, fighting Kim was also like fighting a bad memory. Kim may have been one of a kind in terms of appearance – red hair, cute face, shining emerald green eyes, …excellent build, …cute butt, but Val knew of many girls that shared a similar physical trait of Kim's. For example, Jennifer Ferno has the same eyes as she does, if not for the slight hue difference. He kept trying to deny the last two, but trying to be a gentlemen wasn't easy since 'her'.
But the person that came to mind… he did not want to remember the name. Normally, the name would haunt him, but ever since his last battle with Kim, he couldn't remember it. He could see her face, but there wasn't a name to go with it. Right now he preferred it this way.
That's the exchange of memory – you could remember a lot, but you would forget a lot, too.
And the hell he had in high school? That was after what really happened. He wasn't being fully honest with Kim on living a second life.
At the thought of his real past, he came to a conclusion, one that made him chuckle.
Even if Kim could kill him, she wouldn't. Not at least until she knew every detail of what was going on. The Bio-Mechs, the nukes, his involvement with Fred Elurt, the Judgments, and all the hell Ron went through. More important, the real motive behind everything. But that wasn't a question he could answer, at least not in the way Kim would intend.
Besides, he was having fun. Riding on a smoking helicopter would be scary for some people, but it was like a roller coaster ride as a kid. Strange logic, but it got his blood going. The sugar high was long over, but that didn't ease anything. The Hind wouldn't last, but that was a part of all of this.
Being shot down was just another part of the plan.
Then the fun would really begin.
"Quiet again, Val?"
Val suddenly sounded relaxed. "Oh, you know, I'm just having a little… guy time. Just because I'm riding in a Hind that's smoking and ready to explode doesn't mean I can't chill and relax."
This didn't hinder Kim's impression of Val one bit. He was a lunatic. She told herself she could do the same thing, be calm in a fiery vehicle, but honestly she couldn't. She'd get off the darn thing the second she could. It wasn't because she was a coward, but cautious. That's what she told herself, anyway.
Kim was baffled. Again, how on earth can he be so relaxed when he's piloting a helicopter that's about ready to explode?
She became more baffled by the tune Valia was now whistling over the loudspeaker. Was that her theme he was whistling to?
Yes, Kim finally got herself a theme song after Ron constantly bothered her to get one. It was just a coincidence that one of the people she saved was a girl who was getting started in the music industry. As usual, she thanked Kim for saving her life, but was immediately interrupted by Ron to make a theme song for Kim. Kim protested, but the girl liked the idea. Later, Kim was sent a CD in the mail. When she listened to it, she was pretty embarrassed. One would usually think their name in a song would be cool, but Kim thought it was too much. Of course, Ron loved the idea, but was disappointed that he wasn't mentioned anywhere, since it was his idea to begin with. But Kim convinced him that Ron could do his own theme, and he immediately liked the idea.
But Ron being Ron, he was too lazy to develop his song and just used the Naked Mole Rap as his theme song.
Another thing that came to mind since Val wasn't being serious anymore; Ron should've woken up by now, shouldn't he?
Val was able to see this from the cockpit. "You would think he would've woken up by now, wouldn't you? But we've only been doing this for twenty minutes. People usually don't wake up from an explosion for over a week, months even. You're not going to mope about him now, are you, Kim?"
"Moments like these, you remind me of Bonnie."
"Ah yes, the only relative of mine who came to my funeral, surprisingly."
Kim scratched her head. "I still can't believe you're related."
Valia watched in amusement as Kim made a lot of bizarre faces, clearly trying to think of theories of how Bonnie Rockwaller and Valia Ryan weren't related. No wonder Bonnie messed with her so much, because she was fun to watch.
Sure, he could've just mentioned Cousin Larry, since the difference between them was no less bizarre than him and Bonnie. If Kim was baffled, she was cute and amusing to watch, even if she was armed with a Stinger. But if she was too hardcore in the drama department, the tears were a pain to watch.
To him, if he was still the jerk he was back when he met Kim the first time, he would've attacked her. But no, that wasn't his style, not for who he really was.
But Kim reached the conclusion shortly after. The difference between herself and Larry, Ron and Sean, Val and Bonnie, and Drakken and Motor Ed were all quite bizarre.
"Hmm. Cousin Larry and I are like, total opposites, and same with Ron and his cousin Sean, not much with Motor Ed and Drakken but no less freaky… I guess it makes sense for you and Bonnie to be no different as cousins."
"Big duh, Kim! Okay, now that you've figured it out, break time's over!"
Kim blinked. "Break time?"
"Well, since you're just going to stand there and not going to shoot me down, I decided to take a break! You'd be surprised how exhausting it is to control this thing."
Kim could easily tell he wasn't being serious and just toying with her more, but he was right, she didn't shoot him down.
She took the moment to reload the stinger, but when she pointed it up back to where the Hind was…
It was gone.
She turned her head in all directions, even somersaulted onto the stairway building, but he was nowhere in sight.
An eerie silence shrouded the area. The rain was starting to die down, and she couldn't hear any of the helicopter's rotors. Just the wind.
'Where'd he go…?' she thought to herself. This could have been an opportune moment to grab Ron and put him further out of harm's way, but just as the thought crossed Kim's mind, the Hind resurfaced from below and fired at her, almost catching her off guard.
"I seeeeee yooooou!" the pilot taunted while laughing.
Kim was growing weary of this fight, and the decided to risk the grappling hook. Just as the guns stopped firing, she pulled it out and fired it. The hook latched onto one of the wings, but not before the wire snapped from the guns.
"You didn't have a chance!" Val cried with disgust.
In the duration of the fight, Kim was growing suspicious of what was really going on. At first, when she and Ron found out that Val was well alive, a stroke of fear almost went through her spine, as she remembered him to be ruthless in combat, and with a helicopter, she was sure he would completely blow up the roof. Sure, she could've dove off, but there were still gun cameras around the building, and unless Val deactivated them - as she was certain he placed them there - she wouldn't make it out alive, even with the bullet-proof gear. It could have been the perfect trap, but Val was just toying with her the whole time. Everyone else wouldn't hesitate to make her go boom.
He was up to something… and killing her wasn't exactly it, not unless she played by his rules. Usually keeping Kim Possible alive was the worst thing most villains did. Unless Valia was an idiot - and Kim was well aware that he had a higher IQ and GPA (barely) than she did - he was anything but.
Something was different about him, but she couldn't place her finger on why. Maybe it was the fact that instead of speaking in a near monotone voice like before, he was shouting with extreme energy and loving every second of the adrenaline rush of the fight. There was so much power and hatred in it, but like before, he didn't sound as young as everyone else she knew, and he was no older than she was.
She was also pretty sure that Val wasn't a bio-mech, syntho-drone or a clone, and it was really him. She had her suspicions about whether he was really dead when Yori told her that it was Sensei that killed him. But Val probably couldn't have stood a chance against even him, could he? Well, even if he did, she was no longer surprised by anything. Everything she believed never existed was thrown right back at her endless times. The syntho-drone production hadn't ceased, she was involved in a mission that involved the abduction of nuclear weapons, there was a huge military weapon prepared for mass production and destruction, Ron was infested with a death weapon in his bloodstream, he should have died in the hangar, Nev's lab spoke for itself, and to top all of it off, Val was still alive and behind all of it. Elurt was just a tool.
All of this to engage in one last fight with her. Everything was just a distraction to get her pumped up for this.
Man, he really must have had a lot of time on his hands to pull this one off.
"You know, Kim, if you're not going to kill me, I may just as well kill you right here and now. Shame."
While every other bad guy usually loved to deliver the line, Val didn't sound excited one bit. This only allowed Kim to grow more suspicious. Something about this fight just didn't make much sense. Why was holding back? Did he actually want her to shoot him down? She wouldn't be surprised of that either, since he was suicidal in their previous encounter.
Then again, there are thoughts you really wish you never thought at all. Sometimes it's best to fight now and develop theories later.
She watched as Val somehow managed to tilt the plane downward so that the nose was parallel to the floor of the roof, and he begun his onslaught. The only hiding place now was inside the stairway building, but even that had its share of bullet-holes. He didn't even concern himself with what he was shooting anymore, not that she could hide behind the energy tanks, either. She didn't think it was possible to fly a helicopter when it's flying perpendicular to the ground, but again, her sense of reality deceived her.
Now she saw that he put her in a desperate situation. He was still moving around, and the only shelter was the roof of the stairs. This would easily trigger anything to go off.
There was no time left. She had to shoot the Hind down. But she didn't want to run into some bullets or be on a collision course with them, so she kept her eyes on Ron and watched the bullets fly. Miraculously, they weren't hitting him, but some were pretty close. Against her hopes, the bullets weren't going by a pattern, usually something baddies go by. There wasn't going to be an opening, and Val wasn't firing all the guns at once. He was being careful not to overheat them for some reason. She was still going to risk it, and even though her suit was bulletproof, there was no telling if they would strike her head and instantly finish her off. This wasn't a battle she wanted to die in.
Something caught Kim's eye, though. One of the bullets that hit the edge of the roof let out a spark, but luckily it didn't cause a fire. It could be the first of many if she didn't do anything about it.
She didn't care about herself anymore; she was going to risk it. Without any thought she dove out off the stairs as far as she could, allowing the empty bullet shells and water carry her across the roof. She made it all the way to Ron, and if not for her mission suit the water around her would have been red. She quickly grabbed a missile from the backpack and fired it at the plane, and went for the next missile immediately after.
Kim was hell-bent on shooting down the Hind, not even keeping count of how many missiles she used. She just grabbed one after another without even looking or thinking.
Well, the latter wasn't entirely true. She had no idea that Ron was carrying the exact same number of missiles from the very beginning. She could pull one out and there would still be ten in the backpack. It didn't make sense to her, but if it worked to her advantage, she didn't give a crap. Nothing was real anymore as it was.
Val was impressed. Kim managed to make it through and get the motivation again to fulfill her duty, and just as he predicted, she was getting a dark thrill out of it. She was completely losing herself as she fired missile after missile, making the Hind appear like a car driven by a five year old in a junkyard. Dented everywhere, smoking, broken glass, damaged weapons, but the missiles stayed intact.
Her eyes were full of rage the whole time. Even a sick smile managed to find a way to her face as she got her revenge.
Kim finally stopped when she realized something; if any of her missiles collided with those on the Hind, she'd blow up the plane, and the first place it would fall would be right on top of her.
Then it hit her; that was Val's plan all along.
But she was too late. The plane was high in the air, and Val was losing control. The helicopter was starting to spin faster than its blades, was tilting up and down faster than a roller coaster, and sparks burst out faster than puberty.
"Well, well well, Kimberly Anne!" Val cried. "It looks like you've finally figured out what I was really after! You went overboard with your adrenaline again, walking straight into a trap!"
The Hind rose itself high above the building, and it was ready for a final nosedive.
"Silly woman! You set yourself up!"
The plane started dropping at full speed, and Kim noticed that all of the missiles remaining on it cocked. She realized what was about to happen: Val was going to use the explosion of the plane, combined with the missiles and energy tanks to create a massive chain reaction, blowing them all straight to hell.
In fear and shock, she dropped the stinger and went straight for Ron. In desperation, she managed to knock off Jen's backpack, grabbed her BF, and went straight for the stairs. She couldn't take two steps before Val yelled at her one last time.
"FARE THEE WELL, KIMBERLY ANNE POSSIBLE! YOU WANTED A GRAND FINALE, AND YOU'VE GOT IT!"
Yori succumbed to her knees with the sight she just saw, followed immediately by commotion from the city below. Everyone looked on in fear as the roof of the Tower was completely obliterated. The explosion was huge, but to everyone's surprise, policemen, SWAT, ambulances and firefighters were not immediately on the scene. In fact, they were nowhere to be seen.
She couldn't even blink her eyes. Every nerve in her body went completely numb, especially those in her head. It didn't help that people in the city were already drawing their own conclusions.
"I hope someone wasn't up there. There's no way in hell they could survive that." A line said word-for-word by several people.
Sirens started to go off, but there were no vehicles to go with them. No helicopters, cars, trucks, anything.
It would take a few minutes for the cloud of fire to cease.
The storm started to get much worse, perhaps a bad omen.
But she knew it wasn't over.
It was just the beginning of the end.