Chapter 21: Bereavement
"Come on already!"
Despite the storm, the previous fight, and the fires of the Hind illuminating the floor, it had come down to a final duel between Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, and Valia Ryan once again. At first, Kim was struck in shock to find out her former enemy was alive and quite well, but the shock didn't last for long. She had grown suspicious of his death when Yori mentioned that Sensei had something to do with ending his life, and the one who should've been a zombie explained everything, just like any other villain would. He didn't exactly share the entire truth with the two, but that would come later, if later came.
"Too easy!"
This battle was little more than a political one now. Valia explained not only that he was actually a former agent for the government, but that he had also been in the hero business as well. He also had a partner, killed in action, and it turned out both were sworn to take down their superiors. If anything, they – The Bosses - were the true villains of our time. These were people in the middle of the political grapevine, desiring more and more power for their greedy ends. And the power would be used to create a new world order, ironically one with the ideology of no order. According to Val, these two people were in control of everything that happened in the world, no matter what anybody believed. People's beliefs, religion, views and actions were all staged like a puppet show. Not even the Presidents of any country, those considered the most powerful of their nations, had anything on them. They controlled everything by hand strings with enough power to be almost invincible, but desired more.
"Too weak!"
So Val wanted to destroy them, but not before having Kim, Ron, Jen and Yori take out a thousand bio-mechs, a top-secret project involving walking death tanks and having to hunt down nuclear weapons. The last one had them getting shot down, injured, having to live on rations and having to endure the cold. Then Ron found out the hard way that they weren't real nuclear warheads, almost at the cost of his life, twice over. First, the explosion of the dummy crushed him between a steel door and an iron wall, and a program inside billions of nanomachines made its way into his body, set to kill him within a matter of hours. He made it out just in time.
"You're useless!"
Yori had left the team out of her own emotional weaknesses, and Jen was temporarily incapacitated. Fred Elurt was done for, destroyed by a missile from an armored Hind F, piloted by the puppet master in all of this, Val.
"Come on!"
Kim and Ron had a hard time accepting the fact that someone like him was behind all of this, due to the fact that the last time they fought. Back then, Val was just a teenager with martial arts skills, heartbroken and so full of rage that he wanted to destroy just about everyone responsible for it. He was also obsessed and became arrogant of his abilities, wishing to fight, if not destroy, the new relationship between the two lead members of Team Possible. He proved to be a more difficult fight than first anticipated, but like his opponents, he too had his weaknesses. Three months later, suddenly he's a broken hero who wants to put a stop to political corruption, influenced and provoked by an old partner in battle. But at the same time, he was very much the same. He was ambitious… obsessed with the thought of fighting Kim and Ron in combat again. Not only has he limited them to fight in a pure hand-to-hand duel to the death, but also with a time limit.
"I can read every one of your moves!"
An hour didn't sound too bad, but Kim remembered in the past when she was fighting him in a warehouse, it took her well over an hour to fight him. Not only was she in her battle suit, but she wound up losing the fight. Then again, Val was also in a battle suit, aided by two extra mechanical arms and a metal hand where his left hand should have been. Their last duel took much less time, and Val had taken on the form of a mechanical spider for most of the fight.
"You already tried that!"
Due to Val's speech on his own past and what real heroes were, Kim lost part of her anger toward him. It helped much that Ron was awake and conscious.
"Worthless!"
It helped her mood, but it didn't help anything on the actual fight.
"Too predictable!"
It had been three minutes, but the two could tell that Val had become much more powerful than ever. It wasn't only due to the fact that he was an expert at defensive combat, avoiding his opponents' moves and immediately striking in an open area as he did before. Back then, he probably mixed his defense with three or four other styles, but personalized to the point where it became his own. But this time, every move he delivered was from a different style. He would mix the brute force of Pancratium and Hakkyoku-ken, the speed of Ensei-ken, endless variations of Jujitsu, and he was even copying Kim and Ron's own styles and using their own moves against them! While he was no practitioner on monkey kung fu, he was familiar enough with the Ninjitsu influences, and Tourou-ken (Mantis), the style Kim went with when she took on a serious opponent, was one of the first styles he learned. There were many others he also used, but didn't give Kim or Ron the chance to even recognize it.
"What's wrong with you?"
Even though his styles had increased, he still fought defensively, but countered with a brutal offensive, often delivering blows that would instantly knock the wind out of them, and using his other limbs as hands to toss the two around the area, whether it be his legs or arms. His speed was also unbelievable. When Kim or Ron had to see the other taken down, they couldn't see what Val was doing at all. He was like a ghost, or something you see in the movies. But the two had been trying to use different styles to confuse him, but he countered every move effectively. At times he would appear graceful, others he would move swiftly, and sometimes he would be extremely slow to deliver a powerful move.
"Hah! The Monkey, mostly an air-based style! Effective, but its weakness lies in its own style! You can't attack an opponent who has also gone into mid-air!"
Three minutes turned to ten.
"What's wrong, Kim?"
Ten went to fifteen.
"You're running out of time!"
They couldn't touch him. Every punch, kick, throw and combination move was evaded and countered. No matter where it went, no matter what followed, Val was able to easily move aside, keeping a straight lifeless face with a small curve on the lips as he threw his opponents all over the place. Ron could throw a punch, Val would grab it and use Ron's own momentum against him to hurl him far away, only to find Kim flying at him with an airborne kick, which he would duck low and perform a front somersault, slamming his boot into Kim's neck and sending her crashing against the floor. Most of the time Val would handle one at a time, but there were many times where both attacked at once, but in different areas in an attempt to perplex their opponent. Not even that worked. There was a moment where Kim went for a low sweep while Ron went in for a mid-level kick. This way, if Val went in low to block Kim's attack, Ron would have a clear shot at his neck. He did go in low, but shoved his boots in Kim's face before her leg made contact with Ron, using one hand to balance himself, and used his available hand to grab Ron's leg and tossed him into her.
There were also many moments where he'd strike both at the same time, one being where both Kim and Ron tried to kick him from opposite ends. If he could throw off Ron's kick in the abdomen, he would be struck by Kim's leg in the back. Instead, he hurled his body upside down and flew upward, performing a spinning kick with both legs open, striking Kim and Ron in the same place at the same time.
Most of the fight turned out to be like this, but Val didn't expect for all three of them to be working at high caliber. Even Kim and Ron were able to see his faulty moments, usually when he landed back on his feet, but he was too quick to evade before Kim or Ron could move a muscle to attack. It was clear that they were all shaken by the explosion earlier.
None of this is to say that Val was the only one with improvements. He could see that both of his adversaries had improved drastically since their last conflict. As time passed, he found himself having to block their moves with his limbs when he wasn't able to immediately counter, as it appeared they were somehow studying his moves. He also noticed that Kim learned a few combination moves in the process, using one style for a punch, another for the next, another for the third, and then utilizing a special kick for the end.
Eventually, he wasn't able to simply move aside as he was known for doing before. It was arguable whether or not he was growing weaker, or if his opponents were growing more powerful. Regardless, the duelists would not go easy on each other. Val wanted a final battle before initiating his final operation, Ron was fighting for the sake of duty, but Kim…
She quickly went from cool to just as angry as she did during the Hind battle. She didn't exactly buy every single word that Val said about his past, but she wasn't sure why. Kim wasn't the kind to get heavily political; as a matter of fact she usually avoided it. The reason being is that the final battle with Shego, by nearly killing her, it caught the attention of a lot of politicians who were weary of her line of work. They would have preferred that those in the field shouldn't be so young, and they were quick to conclude that she was still a teenager, and probably doing her work only for the thrill, and not because she really cared for the people. Everyone she saved knew otherwise, but their attempts to defend the cheerleader hero failed. As footage later revealed a sinister smile on Kim's face in the said incident, everyone was quick to judge that Kim was far too dangerous and uncontrollable. Often, this would interfere in both her normal life and missions, due to reporters wanting answers. Thankfully, the Holo-Kim came in extreme handy for that situation, when the real Kim had her dates and private and fluff moments with Ron…
Or at least what she thought was private and fluff moments with him… That was one thing to boil her blood.
Another reason she avoided such things was because she wasn't the type of person to intrude on other's beliefs, whether it be religion, politics, or other things. Often, before and after the Prom, she would have tried to tell Ron not to cheat or be lazy, but she never forced anything out of him. There were some times where Ron's parents would invite her over for dinner when they got together, but there were times where one of his parents were slightly bothered by Kim being a gentile. It didn't bother Ron at all, really. The two weren't really the kinds to bring up religion or politics, not because they wanted to avoid it, but because they both didn't want to impose their thoughts on the other. Not that much different than when they were only considered "Best Friends Forever". She would only hear about it, but she didn't want to force her beliefs on others. She wasn't really the type, and neither was Ron. To them, other things were more important, like each other.
Both were still fighting as hard as they could, but to no avail. There was no need to ask for another opinion that Val was the mastermind. If he was smart enough to dupe her repeatedly on this journey, it wasn't surprising that he had known every one of their styles to the core, especially Ron.
But it was the smile on Val's face that was driving her to the wall. It was the exact same smile that he had fought both with in their last duel, but it was a mixed expression. The smile not only showed how much fun Val was having, but it was also taunting to the core, and he only smiled when he was able to deliver a hit or a reversal move. The only time he didn't smile was when he was evading or appeared disappointed.
While he was moving too fast for Kim to see his face, she did notice one huge difference – his eyes. In their last encounter, Val's eye color was an insipid brown. It didn't appear to have much life in them at all. Many people Kim met on her missions always complimented her on her eyes, due to their energetic color, showing passion. Sometimes monks would tell her that you can see through a person's eyes and straight into her soul, and that was one of the things she looked for when searching for a BF. She never really looked at Ron's until Prom night, but before then, she wasn't sure if the logic was true. In their encounter with Val, it was clear that his eyes were lifeless and passionless, almost telling the same about his soul, so she thought until he revealed what he believed in and went through in high school.
This time, however, his eyes glowed in a sapphire color, as opposed to brown. They seemed to have much more life in them, but at the same time, they were almost scary in the way they glowed. Now that she got a closer view of the scar over his eye, it did look rather old, like it had been there for a few years. She got the impression last time that Val was just a depressed sociopath teen and did acts of self-inflicted pain onto himself.
She didn't know how to explain her thoughts during the fight. At first, she thought she knew a bit of who Val was, but now she felt like she was engaging an unknown enemy. That's not to say completely unknown, as he still did show bitterness towards mention of high school and Michelle. One thing did bother her, though. If Val went from being a hero to a villain, as well as Shego, would she or Ron be next?
Perhaps wasn't the time to think about it as she delivered a punch. Val quickly caught onto it and used her own momentum to flip her onto her back, but not before he attacked with a combo, suspending her body in mid-air with a juggle. It ended when Ron came to intervene with an attempt to clothesline Val from behind, but he saw it coming from a mile away. He quickly somersaulted high onto the ceiling and came crashing down like a meteor onto Ron.
Kim couldn't help but keep her mind busy during the duel. As much as she didn't want to even think about it, Val did have a lot of points she did want to deny. The one that he emphasized on was that Kim wasn't fighting for the sake of duty, but for her own personal vengeance against him due to everything that's been going on. Saving the world was her ultimate priority, even having to cancel out dates with Ron because of it. But she would always make it up to him.
Kim did learn one thing from the last duel with Val. Not only was she able to fight better due to… something she could never figure out, and she was sure it wasn't Ron. It was almost like she underwent some kind of hidden training… Anyway, not only was she able to fight better, but she was able to cope with the fact that on missions, Ron would be hurt. When they were in "Best Friends Forever" mode, they would only freak out if one took serious injury or was knocked unconscious. But when they took it to the next level, things took a heavy change due to their new feelings for each other, and that's when Val entered their lives. Later on, when the Ice Shadows introduced themselves, Kim was able to deal with it better. However, much to her embarrassment, she was usually be the one knocked out, either with a trap on the door, or a tranquilizer dart. Even though Ron told her otherwise, the dart always hit her butt and knocked her out instantly. This of course usually led to Ron and Rufus having to deal with the wannabes on their own. Needless to say, Kim grew a much stronger appreciation for Ron's help, except when he poked fun at her afterwards, which usually resulted in him getting trapped in a locker until Kim forced him to apologize and take back what he said. Sometimes it was in good fun, but sometimes Kim did feel hurt by it. But she would make up for her blunders with a devastating comeback to the last of the Shadows, usually showing no mercy and even breaking the tradition of letting your enemy speak before the fight. Ron wouldn't bring it up to Kim's attention because he feared her, but there were moments where she acted like a different person and scared her enemies away, and it was even scaring him and Rufus.
That was one of many things Ron learned from the moodulator incident: Kim's anger is something to be feared. He didn't get to see most of it on this trip, nor in their previous duel with Val. But it wasn't something he wanted a reminder of.
After recovering from a blow, Ron was able to get a clear few of the fight as Val went on to challenge Kim. Speaking of rage, he could clearly see that Kim was not only performing worse than his sparring matches with her. From Ron's view, it appeared as if Kim was fighting purely out of rage, and it wasn't the first time. He knew that Kim was often infuriated in battle by several of Shego's snide remarks, but an enemy who kept a calm face and a sinister smile the entire time appeared to be more taunting than Kim's old rival.
He was rushing back to where the fight was to engage Val in combat once more, but he couldn't help but feel something was wrong about his girlfriend. Had she been so affected on this mission that she wanted to go all out? Ron kept telling himself that he understood everything Kim was going through, but he was constantly proven wrong. He loved Kim and he knew she loved him, but he had no idea that she was fighting entirely for him. She's dedicated, alright.
But he agreed with Val on the same point Kim acknowledged: She was losing herself. It was definitely not the same Kim Possible that he knew before saving Nakasumi. He should've known that something erupted in her when she let out an angry smile after nearly destroying Shego, but he was too thrilled that Drakken found out his name. And of course, there was the obvious thing…
Ron had to admit, even mentally, that no matter what he and KP thought about, often they would remind themselves of Prom. The one night that changed everything.
And three months later, they were fighting the same person who made his appearance right after the said event. While he felt like he was fighting a much different person, he did have a screwy feeling about Val all this time. He kept trying to tell himself that the news was true and Val had died, but in the back of his mind, he knew he made it out. Why, he didn't know, probably a hunch.
No, that wasn't true at all.
Ron remembered well that immediately after they got home from Prom, he started to suffer from serious nightmares involving his new relationship with Kim. They all had the same message involved; it's going to tank. However, right after Val had made his appearance, they went away, only to come back after he came back from training at Yamanuchi. He could've sworn Val haunted him like a ghost for the next month, but afterward, they died down quickly.
He was convinced that he was indeed dead.
Ironically, after a fight meant to prove to Kim and Ron that nothing was forever, the relationship had grown much stronger once he was considered done for. Both Kim and Ron were well aware of the weaknesses he pointed out, and they chose to work on them during missions. They had grown more affectionate due to the kidnapping.
Unfortunately, with Val's supposed death, a lot of answers were thought to be lost. Kim and Ron never knew what his real motives were with them, why he saved them, exactly how the Crimson Shenitz jewel worked, and more. Wade couldn't find out any information regarding the said jewel, and Nev had gone into hiding for some reason. And even now, after everything Val had said, there were still more answers to be desired.
The fight had already reached a half hour, and everyone was starting to grow weaker. Fortunately, this gave K and R a temporary opening for their enemy, as Val was no exception. Ron went in first to attack with a flying kick that would send him flying past Val, and he would immediately kick before his opponent could turn around. However, just before Ron landed, Val performed his own backflip and landed behind Ron instead, doing the same move, only to find Kim ready to deliver another combo. She had grown predictable, usually ending it with a high spinning kick. Three punches and he would put his head low to evade the incoming kick… at least what he thought was an incoming kick. Out of nowhere, Kim cancelled it halfway through and came back with a fierce uppercut, and even though Val moved his head aside to avoid it, Kim struck him hard in the chin, knocking him into the air. He was easy to catch himself on his feet as he skidded on the floor.
He cracked his neck with a bitter smile on his face, almost appearing unharmed.
"Not bad. There's one problem, however. To initiate a real uppercut with that style, you need a big fist."
Kim gazed at her hand, realizing it wasn't as big as she originally thought. Of course, this is why she went for throws and kicks instead.
Val took the time to align his head back in place, before abruptly being clothes-lined by Ron from behind and above. His face quickly met the soaked marble floor, and Ron wasn't letting him up, using all of his weight to bury Val's skull into the marble further.
"How do you like that? Compliments of Pain King!"
Even in a fight like this, Ron found a way to enjoy the moment. It didn't last long, as he found a foot on his abdomen and was pushed off. Val spun on his head and used the momentum to put himself back on his feet, shaking the water from his hair.
"Impressive, attacking from the dark. Too bad the score is far from even. Come on, this is no fun…"
But the fight continued with Val as head of the game. Kim tried to resort to throw moves from behind and allow for Ron to attack from the front, but Val was able to escape at the last minute. Ron was no more successful when he tried the same thing and switched position with Kim. When they resorted back to offensive maneuvers, Kim and Ron were caught inadvertently attacking each other, due to Val moving out of the way at the last millisecond. No matter how hard they tried, Val didn't slow down. No matter what techniques they used, he knew of their openings and weaknesses, always doing everything a millisecond before contact.
But Kim and Ron came to realize something, something they should have realized easily from the blows they received from Val. Many of them were weak, and it was due to his speed. To the best of their knowledge, speed and power are two separate things in combat. If your moves were swift, they would often be weak. If your moves are slow, it's due to power being used. But this would depend on the style. If they had been facing a fighter who used the fastest moves that did insane damage with every strike, they would be in serious trouble. Val was not such the opponent.
Such information wouldn't quite give them the physical advantage, but if gave them an idea as to why he wasn't using slow and powerful moves as often. Val wanted an everlasting duel. If he used only brute force, he could end the fight quickly, but he found no fun in a fight that lasted only a few seconds. He wanted to fight to his heart's content, and he didn't want the adrenaline to be put to waste. He would fight the two for hours if he could, and at this rate, Team Possible may inadvertently grant him that wish.
This was why they were losing the battle. Kim and Ron were much more focused on brute force, but their moves were in slow speed, while Val was using his swiftness to evade and counter. With the openings available, he was able to execute his own slow and powerful moves.
A change of strategy was in place.
So instead of trying to perform moves that would instantly do vigorous damage, they needed to copy Val's style. Again, they went to strike him in unison, but he pulled off a surprise move from long ago. He simply moved aside, grabbed the back of their heads, and slammed them into each other. Like before, it almost rendered them unconscious.
"I stand corrected." Val spoke with disappointed amusement. "You have a few skills up your sleeves, no doubt about it, but you're going about this all wrong. No matter how many styles you have knowledge in, you both need to learn how to utilize each and every one of them to their full potential. I'm familiar with every move you're throwing at me. Speed determines the winner in kung fu, but this is no ordinary fight."
Kim coughed as she tried to get on her knees. "Why are you telling us this?"
Val shrugged his shoulders in a relaxed manner. "I like to spread the word. You have other things to be concerned about, no?"
The auburn-haired girl tried to get up, but almost fell flat on her face, feeling the pain.
She was quite far from unconscious, but instead of finishing the fight, Val took the moment to stretch. This allowed Kim to get an up-close-and-personal view of his new mechanical arm, remembering his old metal hand. The hand was a bit bigger than the other one, and human asymmetry didn't have much to do with it. However, the new arm was perfectly scaled to his right human arm. What surprised her was that he was very well built, but probably 175 at the most. He wasn't a huge monster like Elurt was, and skinny in contrast. She also noticed that the metal wasn't as thick as she thought. She took a blow from the left metallic fist, but it felt no stronger than bone. If she had known any better, it weighed no more or less than his other arm. Unlike his metal hand in the past, he didn't cover up the internal machinery with a cover. This arm had actually resembled a skeletal arm, but had wires running through the shiny dark blue metal.
She managed to get on her feet the same time Ron did, although he looked a bit more shaken.
"Kim…" he whispered, "He's too strong. We've gotta think of something."
Kim had a disappointed look on her face. "Ron, don't give up. He had his weaknesses last time, and he has them now."
"Kim, we already tried to do what he last time with the ambush, but he's too fast."
"Ron, don't give up on me! If we can't stop him now, who knows what he'll unleash on this world?"
Ron sighed. "You're right. I dunno how, but we've got to stop him."
"Ron, I've got an idea."
Val watched as Kim decided to whisper some information directly into Ron's ear. He couldn't hear what they were saying with the storm and all, but he grew curious as to what his opponents had planned for him. The information he did gather, though, was where Kim and Ron moved their eyes to: The ceiling and the Hind. Clearly, one was going to attack high, and one was going to use the remains of the helicopter.
He smiled in amusement, and Kim and Ron made their move.
To Val's surprise, not only did Ron run straight for the wall, but he also ran up on it all the way to what was left of the ceiling, which was at least a good 30 feet high, like all of the floors on the building. Ron somehow thrusted himself off the ceiling and was flying at full speed towards Val. Not only that, but while Ron was getting into position, Kim ran up to the demolished Hind and grabbed onto one of the propeller blades, using her momentum to spin around the entire vehicle. She was also building up speed somehow, starting to spin faster and faster until she was nearly rendered invisible. When she let go, she also launched herself straight for him.
Val just stood calmly, impressed at his opponent's creativity as they flew towards him. This was all too easy.
Just before Kim and Ron were inches away from him, he took a long step back, sending the two on an unavoidable collision course. It wasn't long before they bounced off each other like rubber balls. Even Val himself flinched. Once he opened his eyes, he saw the two lying on the floor with their lips touching the concrete.
"You know, in movies, when people have bullets, missiles, or giant boulders charging straight at them, they never think as to simply move aside."
Neither Kim nor Ron responded. Val waited for a few seconds, but neither of them moved.
They knocked each other out.
Val groaned. "How disappointing. I can't believe I never anticipated this as a possibility."
At the same time he couldn't hold his laughter, looking high onto the sky and staring at the moon while bursting out into hysterical laughter.
There was no way he could ever take Kim Possible or Ron Stoppable seriously now.
When he lowered his face to look at them again, he was sent backward, making impact with the glass window and cracking it. When his vision became clear, he saw Kim and Ron standing up side to side with their fists extended.
He fell for a game of possum. Clever.
"Hah! I can't say that I expected that one! Brilliant!" he laughed.
Ron chuckled. "That's definitely worthy of a Booyah!"
Val adjusted his jaw as he got up. "Indeed, but I'm far from finished."
"More surprises, KP?"
"I'll think of some more," she answered.
Val shook his head. "Don't think you're the only ones full of them. I have one special one planned out for you two, but that'll come later."
Kim accepted the challenge. "Just try to surprise me."
Val clenched his teeth as he smiled. "Be careful what you wish for…"
Somewhere else in a dark room, a weakened silhouette enters some kind of dark hangar. There's no way to see in the pitch-black area, but several metal footsteps are heard… ascending.
More noise is heard as something opens, revealing some kind of control interface.
MILITARY POWER ASSAULT WALKING VEHICLE: HARPUIA ACTIVATED
"You'll pay for this, you son of a bitch…"
The fight on the final floor of the Tower continued on. Valia was treated to a much more entertaining show from Team Possible. While he was able to easily read their moves due to his knowledge of the styles, both came back with surprising techniques from time to time, often ending up with him on the floor. He was also impressed that the two had so much energy in them. Kim could be thrown against the Hind and be ready to go in an instant, almost unharmed. The same went for Ron, whose expertise was starting to show, easily proving to Val that he was the better fighter and not the fiery-haired cheerleader. It couldn't be determined, however, whether or not it was due to his Monkey Kung Fu coming back.
It got to the point where Val didn't care about defense. He found it to be much more of a thrill to be hit and thrown all over the place as opposed to simply moving aside and seeing your opponents being made fools of. He didn't care about his reasoning for anything that went on in the last couple of weeks. He was going to enjoy this moment as if it were his last. This wasn't to say he let down his guard or lowered his defenses. He simply went to an offensive style, and as before, his offense was no less deadly than his defense. Kim and Ron would be forced to block multiple attacks at once, and by this we mean at the exact same time, as Val was taking on both at once with punches and kicks. Either he would attack Ron on his left and Kim on his right, or use his fists against one and his feet against the other. He hardly gave them any breathing room to do anything but defend themselves. The intensity on their faces refused to dimmer, and that was exactly what kept Val's adrenaline running. His opponents were the only two people on the planet that could give him this kind of rush.
At least, that's what one would quickly assume.
What Kim and Ron would probably never realize is that Val chose them not only because of their abilities, but for who they were. He found a particular liking to each of them. He was interested in their lives, their hobbies, their thoughts and beliefs, almost seeing them as friends. He had a hidden admiration for both, but he had a distorted view on meeting those you admire. Usually when people meet celebrities, they want to spend a day with them, but for Val, a sparring match would do well. But in this case, a decisive battle was a dream come true. He loved to see teenagers not limit themselves to society, seeing that the two are already years ahead of their time.
It would not be something he would tell the two up front, if at all. At first he thought they only got together just for the sake of dating, but upon seeing their progress throughout the mission, he grew to envy them.
If he could only tell the two the real truth of what was going on, but that would destroy everything.
However, as the fight continued on, something else was starting to bother him. Kim. It wasn't the fact that she resembled an old crush or anything of the sort.
Ron was fighting on his limited potential. He was doing extremely well for not having the powers of the Mystical Monkey helping him, and Val could easily see why. Compared to Kim, Ron was calm and relaxed on a sunny day driving a Ferrari. This was why he was doing so well, because his mind wasn't at a dangerous extreme like Kim. While she had calmed down from earlier, especially from the kiss earlier, Kim was still fighting mostly out of anger. She couldn't bring herself to fight Valia to save the world, but to make him suffer for putting Ron through all the hell of this operation. It didn't help that Valia didn't show any kind of regrets.
And he didn't. If there was another thing he liked about these two, it was how they evolved as people. In the time the two had gotten together, many of their own weaknesses had diminished severely, and many of their strengths have grown. There was one weakness that didn't diminish, however – their hidden anger. While Ron wasn't the type of person to stay angry, Kim was, and it showed. Very strange.
Valia didn't expect for Kim to walk into this fight as a happy cheerful girl, but he didn't expect for her to lose touch in who she was or what she stood for. It appeared that his research about the moodulator was indeed correct. It didn't amplify existing feelings – it revealed them. Coincidentally, they were feelings that Kim refused to show. But now, she was acting no different than when she was wearing the device. She had cried several times already, mostly for Ron's sake. Even before the operation, before the couple's first fight with Elurt, she had been very fluffy and bubbly with Ron around, often freaking him out with her advances even with the fact that they were dating. She had also shown a lot of confusion. When it came to things Kim knew, she could figure out anything in a snap, but when it came to things she had no idea existed, which was just about everything this mission had to offer, she was clueless.
And the obvious: Anger. This also proved something true to Val – bottle your real anger for so long, and it's bound to get the best out of you. Even he knew that you had to sometimes let everything out, and Kim clearly refused to, fearing it would make her appear weak. No wonder she must have freaked out when the night of the said incident was all over.
Poor girl, having no idea everything that's been going on in her life since her mission was well documented. Another thing Val didn't tell them was that he didn't document every single thing all by himself. He had a little… 'help' by Team Impossible, and by 'help', we mean 'hacking into their computers and stealing their information'. However, Team Impossible - now a league within Global Justice for over four months – disabled their security systems for their computers as they were no longer a solo team. Only within a few more days would they delete all of the information on their hard drives, or transfer it to the GJ database, but not before anything relevant to the keywords "Kim" and "Possible" were hacked into and copied without a trace. By this, Val avoided being spiked.
The fight raged on. After several strikes, blows, counters and throws were being performed by everyone, Valia was starting to grow more irritated by Kim's fighting. He had a much more difficult time handling Ron at some times, but Kim was clearly a pushover. Even if Valia was acting like a lunatic, he was able to maintain his composure. No one can think clearly when their minds are infested with total and complete anger. Even if Kim wasn't as bent on taking him out, it was still apparent it was there, and she wasn't fighting at her full potential at all. She threw many moves without thinking, making them easily predictable in the eyes of her adversary.
And in all reality, Valia wasn't interested in fighting Ron at all. He already had an excellent mix of serenity and martial arts skills, but he didn't have the quick brain that Kim did, who he was more interested in. To him, she had so many more flaws than her BF, most which became apparent in the dating. It wasn't just her feelings for Ron, but she still hadn't diminished all of her insecurities. In Val's logic, the more you try to hide things, the more apparent they become. Ron didn't have much to hide at all. While he had his fears about the relationship very early on, around the time they met him, things changed. It was Ron who became more confident in the relationship, but Kim was the one who went the other way around. At first, she felt like she was doing the right thing when they got together, but now she was constantly worried. It wasn't because she feared about breaking up with him, but if anything happened, he would be the one to dump her. And like the moodulator incident, he would if it were for the better.
That was another thing that bothered Val. He knew of this even though Kim never told Ron about this hidden fear.
But that was just one of many. While the world had grown to know that Kim Possible was the superior team member, Val knew that when it came to their inner spirits, Ron was better than Kim in so many ways. He would easily accept the bizarre reality of everything, and even if Kim were injured, he would still fight. He might not have been the most logical thinker, but it made him human. He was afraid of just about anything, but that wouldn't stop him from rushing into every one of those dangers.
No, Ron was already well-suited for this career. The only problem with the fight was that Val too knew of Ninjitsu, not giving Ron a break there.
But he had a specific fascination with Kim. Whether or not it was because of who she was or what she was, she needed to learn something by the end of this. He couldn't explain why he felt the need to do this. Sharing wisdom? Spreading the truth? Hard to tell.
But the only way for her to realize these things was to talk to her alone. That meant one thing: Get rid of Ron. He could fight without her, but she couldn't fight without him. He told himself this even though she was able to shoot down the Hind that he was piloting earlier. No, Ron would go into battle immediately, knowing full well that Kim would be fine. Kim on the other hand would sulk and brood, fearing that Ron may never come out of this alive, even though she tried to reassure him several times that she knew of his strengths. If anything, she was lying to herself.
That was the problem with the fight. Ron didn't think at all when performing his moves, giving Val a harder time to predict what was coming his way. On the other hand, Kim spent too much time thinking without a clear mind, performing much worse than he hoped. He started to question how was it that Kim beat Shego so many times, but he realized that Shego was also full of rage just by the sight of Kim. While Monkey Fist was a better practitioner than Shego, his arrogance always resulted in his defeat. He always overestimated his own abilities, yet underestimated everyone who stood in his way.
Kim also had the same flaw at times, but knew when to take some enemies seriously. This would often be too late, though. He clearly remembered their first encounter with the bank heist, where Kim didn't expect to fight a practitioner in martial arts, falling faster than gravity should allow. It was after that that she knew she was facing a fierce opponent.
Time was starting to grow short. He didn't want for it to come down to it, but one member of Team Possible had to be taken out permanently. If Kim was going to see the error of her ways, see the truth, and fight with her full potential, Ron had to be taken out of the picture.
The hidden surprise.
"We've already hit 45 minutes, you two, and I've still got enough left in me to do this over and over again. Maybe I should deliver a time extension… or not."
Kim was growing exhausted again, but Ron was ready to go in full force.
Ron chuckled at the threat. "Dude, you won't kill us. What fun will that be in the end?"
Valia didn't immediately answer. Maybe Stoppable was that good after all. Instead, he yawned.
"Never be so certain of your opponents…" he humbly replied.
With this, Ron let out a huge battle cry as he leapt toward the wall and right into Val with his elbow extended. Val knew what was to come, due to being hit by this move already. Ron would appear to go in for an elbow charge, but at the last minute change it into a swift kick. And that's exactly what Ron did. There was an opening in his abdomen from this, and Val quickly took advantage of it, leaping into the air as he thrusted his knee into Ron's abs, then performing a backflip kick, grabbing Ron's neck by the foot and hurled him backward.
The blow immediately knocked him unconscious, and he was sent crashing out the window and off the building.
Kim gasped in horror was she witnessed it. "RON!"
She quickly got up and ran past Val to the edge. She quickly went for her grappling gun, but…
"No equipment, Kim!"
She forgot that she had nothing on her. There was no time to think. She would always latch onto something with her grappling hook and go flying in after him, but this wasn't an available option. She was clearly in a bind.
This only meant one thing: The last resort. Even if she had to die, she was going to die doing what she did best: Saving others, or at least try.
Val watched as Kim took a step forward on thin air and quickly fell.
However, Kim noticed that she wasn't falling, and that something was keeping her up. Before she could come up with an answer, Valia had already thrown her back into the room by her shoulders, slamming her into the Hind. The blow should have knocked Kim out, and if Val had used further force, he would have easily dislocated both of her shoulders.
He roared at Kim with absolute disgust in his voice. "Don't you have other things to be concerned about? So that's it? Ron dies and you give up on the rest of the world?"
Kim was constantly trying to squeeze free but she was pinned hard. Val's grip would definitely leave a bruise behind, and her body was only leaving a heavier dent in the Hind by the second.
"Actually, I DO!" she yelled, delivering a hard head-butt into Val and breaking free.
But when she returned to the edge of the roof, she couldn't see Ron anymore. He had disappeared into the darkness.
"Ron…?"
It was useless. Even if Kim dove after him, she would never reach him.
"Ron…"
It was over.
It actually happened.
She failed.
Team Possible was reduced by one.
"RRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNN!"
Instantly, Kim underwent a change in appearance. Her face quickly went pale, the saturation in her green eyes almost died completely, as did part of her hair. Everything in her mind instantly went to hell, unable to grasp what just happened. If Ron didn't have any equipment on him either, and was knocked out, there was no way he could save himself even if he regained consciousness on the fall.
"I failed…"
A huge part of her died. Every ounce of Kim's self-esteem instantly went down the tubes, among other things. She could save the world and so many people, but not her life partner, the one she loved. Never did a mission failure result in someone dying, at least up until now. At this point, she had already collapsed on her back, almost in a fetal position as she burst into tears. She was quick to soak the floor faster than the rain, forgetting everything else. Nothing else existed anymore.
"Ron… I'm sorry… Forgive me…"
"He can't forgive anyone anymore… not in the state he's in…"
Almost instantly, Val found himself being held in the air by the collar, with hell fire in Kim's eyes.
"SHUT UP!" she screamed.
He didn't seem intimidated. "So that's it? One member is off the team, and Kim Possible succumbs to nothing but a memory?"
While Kim tried to keep him up by the throat, her arms were trembling too much to keep him suspended in the air. She collapsed onto her knees as she let go of him, and he was quick to land on his feet. If he thought he had seen Kim cry before, he hadn't seen anything up until now.
"You see? If you weren't able to save the person you love, what makes you think you're more than qualified to save anybody else?" he taunted with heavy hatred and anger in his voice.
Even if he wasn't smiling or speaking in a humble tone, his presence alone was more than enough to provoke Kim to an extreme. Without thought, she leapt at him in an attempt to strike, but when she landed, she found herself tasting wet marble on the opposite side of her enemy.
"Don't you understand, Kim? This is the grim reality of hero work! People die!"
Kim refused to get up.
Val's tone suddenly changed. "So this wasn't the life you wanted after all…"
These words finally forced her to get up, now with a bitter hatred in her face that not even Val was familiar with.
"What are you talking about? I've never wanted anything like this!" she yelled.
Val pitifully shook his head. "You're a terrible liar, Kim. I've seen the family pictures, I've read your online diary, I've read the interviews and everything. You didn't enjoy being a regular high school family girl, growing tired of being treated like a child by your parents and so many others. I know full well that one of your hidden desires of going steady with Ron was that they would realize their little girl was growing up. But no, your grandmother treats you like a little girl, your parents still want you to sing along in road trips, and while Ron does, you have no intention to. And I do recall the tree house conversation."
"What? I never talked about that to anyone! You weren't even around then!"
"That's what you thought, but it turns out syntho-ex was standing in front of the tree house the same time you entered. He wasn't just standing there; he was recording information to be sent to Drakken. He would have been wise to delete the information before his capture, but he really did think he was going to win. Needless to say, he didn't hide it very well."
"Get to the point already!"
"'We're not kids anymore, Ron. Time to Grow Up'. Sound familiar? Well, this is the sad reality of it, Kim. If you want to get away from the usual textbook villains and move onto the real deal, you'd better be ready for it. And clearly, you're not. Everything you perceive to be reality is nothing more than an illusion. The real world is a dark and brutal place, and what you've gone through is nothing. In comparison to everything I've seen, this last exercise is just as difficult as turning on the TV. This is what happens when you grow up, Kim. You see reality for what it is, and it's much more petrifying than fiction itself. Unfortunately, it always comes at a brutal cost. People lose their innocence, your friends betray you, you're forced to end your friendship or alliance with them, people change, some move far away, and some die."
Kim continued to sulk. "So you had to kill Ron to prove some kind of point? You're insane!"
He didn't answer. If he didn't have regret or any kind of emotion for what he just did, he couldn't have been human at all.
Her rage and sorrow had her looking for something to quickly finish this fight. She realized she wasn't too far away from her equipment, and despite the earlier warning, the first thing she went for was a Desert Eagle pistol, the only weapon given to her that wasn't taken apart piece by piece. Val took the role of an observer as he witnessed Kim slowly crawl to reach the gun. After the grabbed it, she slowly got up and groggily walked toward him.
Before long, she was digging the barrel as far into his head as hard as she could.
"If Ron dies… he won't go alone…" she sobbed.
Val let out an exasperated sigh. "You can't really shoot that thing, Kim. A gun's not your weapon. Look at you; you're not the type of girl that kills. It's not like you to do anything more to your villains than to merely put a stop to their plans. Well, I suppose Shego would disagree…"
He took a moment to gaze into Kim's insipid green eyes.
"Maybe I was wrong about you. Sure, the phrase 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' does have strong meaning, but it certainly does not apply in a hand-to-hand fight. Your rage definitely doesn't help you fight any better. All it does is scramble your mind."
Kim dug the barrel further into his skin, clearly showing anger towards his lectures. Val focused his eyes on the gun on his head.
"So this is what it finally comes down to. You're going to become the very thing you swore to fight against… You've changed."
Tears kept flowing out of her eyes as her arm violently trembled.
"You killed Ron and you're trying to give me advice?"
"Why not?" he calmly asked. "Someone has to know the truth, Kimberly, but only a small number would truly understand it. I thought that with your mix of skill, beauty and brains, you would heed the warnings delivered to you, and make the right choices from then on. It's what your life mostly consisted of, but for the last eighteen years, you've lived in a fairy tale. Save the world, do homework, finish chores; a little girl scout. Now you think you can just dance with your BF and no one would interfere. I'm not the only one who's going to use your love for him against you. And this is nothing."
"I've had a few of those Ice Shadow wannabes of yours try the same thing!" she cried.
The gun went left and right as Val shook his head again. "I had nothing to do with those puppets, remember? They were manipulated by The Bosses."
Kim was almost starting to fume at the mouth. "And The Bosses! How do I know you're just making that stuff up? I don't even know WHAT to believe what's coming out of your mouth!"
His eyes narrowed from boredom. "I suppose that's a trait someone gets when they're forced to mix what people believe to be truth and lie for a few years in the government. Not even you can distinguish the differences between such things. This is what has become of our generation… People don't listen to truth or do the right thing. They develop their own definitions of both, and they are always flawed in so many ways. There's a reason most people don't respect younger heroes like us, Kim…"
Kim pushed the gun harder as 'hero' hissed out of his mouth, but Val knew no fear.
"… Do you know why? It's because as teenagers we believe we know so much about the world, but the reality of it is that we know nothing at all. Sometimes when we find the truth, the real truth, we all try to escape it at some point. There's nothing but more pain and suffering down the line, Kim. Bloodshed, torture, betrayal …death, an endless life of battle. One that no one who walks down the path can ever escape. Not me, and not you, no matter how many times you tell yourself that you can just settle down with a family and end your career. Unless you go into exile and start a family on a forbidden island, you'll be hunted down by those who require your services, and soon, every villain you can imagine."
"But Ron's dead! What's the point of it anymore! I can't even save the world without him…" she brooded.
"Fear is the mind killer," he hummed. "Just as I said before…"
He didn't appear to be disconcerted with a gun at his head the whole time. From here, he took something from his pant pocket.
A small box with round edges.
"He already made the preparations to buy this for that special moment. I took it from him before you both recovered from the Hind battle."
Was that? No, it couldn't be.
An engagement ring?
Kim's eyes widened.
"GIVE IT!"
But Val wouldn't let her touch it, slapping her hand aside as he put the box back into his pocket. She didn't even take the gun from his head.
"I can't allow you to see this. Why ruin the surprise? I will tell you, however, that it matches your eyes quite nicely."
"That's not yours!"
"I prefer to hold it for the time being. You never know…"
Why was he talking like this? Kim saw what happened, and only dug the gun further. At this point, Val's back was slanted at a 45 degree angle.
He kept his focus on Kim's trembling hands. "If you're going to shoot me, then shoot me!"
But she wouldn't. He took the moment to take two long steps backward, now with a nice ring-shaped embedding on his forehead. He opened his arms up in a welcome gesture.
"I'll give you a free shot. I've already been shot in the head and the heart before, Kim, so don't take your time. After all, the clock is still ticking. You don't have too much time left."
There was still a smile on his face, but it wasn't one meant to taunt his rival.
Kim trembled more and more, to the point where the gun wasn't aimed anywhere near her opponent. She kept telling herself her trigger finger was getting twitchy.
Out of nowhere, she collapsed on her knees.
She couldn't do it.
"I'm no killer…"
Out of frustration, she threw the gun as hard as she could against the floor, but let out a yelp with the sound it made. It wasn't the sound of a gun hitting the floor.
It was the sound of a gunshot.
When the gun came to rest, it was pointing at her enemy and there was smoke coming out of the barrel.
But Val didn't appear to be harmed in any way, noticing the bullet didn't penetrate the metal on his left arm.
He didn't appear surprised in any way. "Hmm… Too bad, Kim. I don't have any nerves there. Right now there's no possible way to program fake nerves to send pain signals to your brain in biomechanical limbs."
It didn't appear as if Kim was paying attention. But she knew one thing, the gun was loaded. She was willing to try again.
Val just watched silently as Kim leaned toward the gun, grabbed it, and pointed it at him again.
This time, it was aimed below the belt.
"Well, that's quite low, isn't it Kim?"
"I want this to end NOW! When this is all over, I don't want to see you ever again…" she weakly hissed.
Val scoffed. "Fair enough. But there's still one problem…"
"Don't tell me that area is also…"
Kim focused her attention onto the biomechanical arm.
"No, I wouldn't be alive if that were the case. Allow me to demonstrate."
Before Kim could interpret the words, Val grabbed the gun from her hands, aimed it straight at her head, and pulled the trigger. Kim could only close her eyes and yelp when she heard the noise.
…
…
…
Gunshots don't sound like clicks. She slowly opened her eyes, finding Val in the exact same position as before. He started laughing as he threw the gun straight at her head, knocking her back a few steps.
"You can't hurt someone with an empty clip, Kimbo! I gave you a gun, but I only loaded it with one bullet. There goes your chance after all."
How embarrassing.
But to the surprise of both Kim and Val, another gunshot was heard, and it didn't come from the Desert Eagle. Before Kim could focus her eyes to where the sound came from, Val had already pulled out a sword and sliced the oncoming projectile perfectly in half. Sure enough, it was a bullet.
When the two of them focused on whoever fired the shot, their eyes led them to where the stairs were. Someone armed with an assault rifle was standing there. Blonde.
"Jen!"
The girl slowly advanced forward, clearly astonished by the scenery. "Holy hell. Demolished Hind, plenty of flames, half of the ceiling and walls destroyed, wow. Remind me not to be late for the party again."
Kim dove out of the way as Val became the only thing visible in the scope of Jen's rifle.
"So it was you, Valryan…"
"Valryan?" Kim asked.
"Dive Valve was one of many codenames, I said." Val answered. "So we have the luscious 'Gold Viper' back on the team. I suppose that makes up for the loss…"
Kim didn't even need to ask this one. No surprise Jen also used a codename to hide herself. What's up with people and codenames these days?
"Loss?" Jen asked. "What are you…"
She paused when she noticed Ron wasn't anywhere in sight, but was quickly able to see some blood on the cracks of the broken windows. The deranged look on the red-head's pale face could only mean…
"You didn't…"
Val didn't answer, but Jen already figured out the answer. Ron had indeed fallen.
"You bastard…!"
Even though Jen was quickly advancing on to get a much better shot at him, Val didn't appear afraid, getting a firm grip on the handle of his blade.
"You can't harm me with such weapons," he taunted.
Jen didn't buy the threat at all. "So you want me to finish him off, Kim, or would you rather have the honor?"
"She can't fire a gun and kill anyone, Jen." Val intervened. "She's far too green, more than her eyes."
Jen groaned. "I was afraid of that. Oh well. I guess you need some killing, too."
Before Kim could tell her to stop, Jen quickly opened fire and unleashed a storm of bullets onto her foe. It wasn't long before her face also went pale. Val was not only moving the sword in an inhuman fashion, to the point where the sword was almost rendered invisible in its speed, but he was deflecting every single bullet that Jen was firing at him. The rifle quickly went dry, and Val didn't have a scratch on him.
"The hell?"
Val laughed a small tune. "Sorry for cheating with my biomechanical arm, but I don't prefer to be taken down with such… petty weapons."
Well, at least one thing made sense. Val deflected the bullets with his mechanical hand. It probably would have had an extremely painful and irreversible effect on his muscles had he used the other one.
He didn't allow his guard to drop as Jen went for another weapon. "You're going to try again? Didn't you learn anything the first time?"
"I am a slow learner," she replied as she loaded the weapon.
But before Jen could pull the trigger, the barrel was already sliced in half. Not only that, but every weapon she had on her suffered the same fate, even her explosives and melee weapons. She was quickly and completely disarmed.
Jen was amused. "So the word about you is true. You really are that fast."
Val laughed as he decided to show off how capable he was with a sword. "Guilty as charged."
He wasn't interested in fighting the gunslinger at all, so he stood calmly and swung the sword around as Jen went to help Kim up.
"Kim? You okay?"
"Ron… I couldn't save him…" she sulked.
Jen tried as hard as she could to hide her own grief, but grabbed Kim by the shoulders. "So what now? You've made it this far, and you're going to give up?"
Kim sniffed. "The real nukes are set to go off in a few minutes… What's the point? He's gone. The guy who's been there for me for all but four years of my life is gone forever."
"Kim…"
Jen sighed. Kim had broken down to the point where she couldn't go on and fight anymore. She didn't even have it in her to fight the one responsible, not with the skills he had.
"I don't know how to stop him. I've tried everything, and all the weapons and gadgets have been taken apart. I've got nothing…"
While Jen could see the pain in Kim's heart, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
It was actually Prom night all over again, only this time Kim wasn't tied up to a giant cactus.
"Kim, are you really going to just let him win? Ron always went on when you were taken out in a fight, and you were bent on getting your fingers dirty with Val. What would Ron want? You're only going to blame yourself if more people die! It's not worth it!"
Kim just slammed the back of her head against the Hind, putting quite a dent in it. Jen quickly gave Val an evil glare just to make sure he was right where she left him, and put her attention back to Kim. But the redhead wouldn't answer. Because of this, Jen decided to get up and talk to the puppet master herself. She wasn't armed, but she wasn't afraid of those she heard of. Reputations only meant so much these days.
"So why, Val? What was the point of killing Ron? So you could see Kim like this? You're just some damn sadist."
Val disagreed, crossing his arms as he started to walk to her side. The two were circling each other shortly after.
"Removing Ron from the picture was never the real objective, despite all that has happened to him. It was simply done to prove a point. Kimberly here is not fighting me to save the world, for the sake of duty, or to protect anyone but our beloved Ron. It's true, that this whole operation was schemed and orchestrated to tug at her heartstrings, a weakness most are able to hide, but not her. From our first battle, I knew full well that Ron Stoppable was her primary weakness, especially since they had just gotten together. Several things change in a relationship. While results may vary, the two became much more serious in their viewpoints of each other, and to see each other get hurt was taken to new levels. Kim would freak out if Ron were hurt, while he already did so earlier."
Jen agreed to an extent, but didn't feel any less anger toward her foe. "It's true that relationships often get teen heroes and agents killed, especially when both are in combat together. So what else?"
"Reading all of the newspaper articles, online documents, from the internet to government computers, I wanted to see if she really was worthy of being dubbed a true hero, and not just some high school girl who saves people."
"But isn't that it? Doesn't saving people make you a hero?"
"Don't be a fool!" he objected as he threw his arms into the air. "Actions alone do not determine a hero. It's the inner spirit that does. Real heroes are able to confront their worst fears, physically or mentally, and for the sake of doing the right thing. They don't think about their own desires and ambitions, but to do what is best for everybody on this planet."
"And you're saying Kim's not that?"
"This entire operation has proven me just that. Yes, she saves the world, but not worthy of the title 'Hero' or 'Heroine', if I must be politically correct… She didn't come all the way up here to fulfill her duty and save the world, but she came up here for her own vengeance. She wanted to destroy whoever put her dear Ronnie through so much hell. I never intended for him to die. While the explosion at the hangar was completely out of my hands, it appeared his mystical monkey power saved him. The nanomachines were merely a test as well. But instead of leaving Ron behind and continue to save the world, all she did was cry and mope."
"A test, huh? I'm guessing that still has something to do with erasing emotions from a fighter in an attempt to make them stronger?"
"So you've heard of 'her' work, have you?"
Jen smiled. "That, and I know it failed you before when you tried it to make Kim and Ron fight against each other. It didn't take Kim that long to catch onto it again on the ride back here to the states, unless that was your intention."
"It actually was."
Jen's eyes widened. "Are you serious? Why?"
Val yawned and scratched his neck. "Throughout her career, she, Ron and all of their villains have used repeated methods against each other. Yet, they're always surprised. Wanted to see if she evolved any since the last time we met."
"And the virus?"
"Just a time attack. Actually, there was no threat behind it. If you know your codes, you can easily trick hackers."
"So it wasn't some assassination weapon?"
"No, just a program that said it was. Yes, you can program apoptosis in nanomachines, but you need actual biological cells to be released to infect the heart."
Well, that was unexpected. If only Nev and Wade were here to hear this one.
"Okay, so you repeatedly used her weakness over and over again. Let me guess, some research about a scorned woman being the ultimate weapon?"
"When several scientists believe so, you wonder. That also included Kim's arch foe, Lipsky, and Shego got a good taste of it. Unfortunately, I forgot; just like high school, popularity and things in high numbers are really not worth pursuing. When programmed to listen to your commands, it's one thing, but to have someone scorned and still have free will, it's another. I forgot the popularity means nothing more than a lot of idiots agreeing on the same thing, the one thing without exceptions."
"So you did everything just to provoke Kim to a final fight using Ron?"
"She has to get that anger out of her somehow. Really, Kim, was the relationship that bad if you had to channel so much anger out earlier?"
Both Val and Jen turned toward the pale redhead.
"No… high school," she weakly replied.
Val exhaled. "I commend you for placing proper credit where it's due, unlike every other peon on this planet. Not even high school was much of a happy place for even you. So much stress in between homework, cheerleading, swim team - which was only one year - community service and saving the world. Didn't you learn anything from the Moodulator incident? Bottling up such emotions is dangerous to your health, you know."
Kim's face was still full of dry tears. "You're not saying the moodulator caused those 'bottled' feelings to just burst out of nowhere for that reason alone… I talked to Dr. Bortel about it. That was hardly the reason."
"That's not what I'm getting at. I could care less why you bottle everything in. Whether it's the tough girl attitude to intimidate your foes, or because you feel that's really you, you're still human. I know you. It's not that you're incapable of showing sadness, fear, anger, hatred and more – the feelings of the device - you just refuse to show it because you're still afraid of how everyone perceives you. Friends, family, fans, and enemies. Even though you thought you found real happiness with Stoppable… old habits die hard."
Kim sighed. Was it this obvious?
Jen was curious with Val's knowledge. "How do you know all this?"
"Other then spying on her, high school's taught me how people tick. They're not that different from celebrities and those who run our country."
"What? The president?"
"Hah! Of course not… 'Them', the ones I'm going to fight against…."
"Them? You mean… The Bosses?" Jen's eyes widened in realization. "Valryan versus The Bosses? Wow…"
Kim didn't even bother to think that Jen might have known more about everything, although the blonde didn't really see Val as the mastermind or his involvement with The Bosses for that matter.
Val chose to walk backwards as he continued to circle around Jen. "It's either I destroy them and anyone who gets in my way, rather than have them rule the world with the chaos that's spreading from their influence."
Contrary to what he had said, The Forefathers did indeed have ties to The Bosses. Their influence was actually growing throughout the city.
"Politicians and humanity…" Jen thought out loud. "But why get Kim involved? To have some fun with her?"
"Saying no wouldn't entirely be true, but I wanted to see what her ambitions for this operation really were. For others, or for herself? What about the relationship itself? Did she really care for Ron because she cares for his life, or is it because he fills that secret void of emotional loneliness for her? Who benefits more? Is it really equal, or is that a smoke screen?"
"I've seen enough to know that it's not that, Val. If you asked her a long time ago, maybe it would be something to fill the void, but now, she really does love him. I don't think she can live with… out… him…"
Then it hit her.
"Exactly the point. Right here is a perfect example. Ron's been removed from the picture, but instead of trying to continue the fight and move on, Kim stays here and instantly loses the will to fight, if not live. Love can be a beautiful thing, but it can be just as tragic. Stoppable said it himself: 'One falls, and everyone else must die'. So that's your weakness, Kim: Heartbreak. Get duped by syntho-ex, lose the will to fight. Lose your boyfriend in battle, the same thing…"
"You make it sound like you're not even a factor in this, Val!" Jen cried. "You're the one trying to blow up the world with some nukes, not to mention you 'removed' him as you so put it!"
"Perhaps so, Ferno. Perhaps so," he humbly responded. "I'm only giving Kimberly the chance to choose between two things in her life. It was not something any of her other villains gave her the chance to fight against. Oh, they wanted to, but Kim either figured out the plan long before, or were just incapable of doing so. Ron versus the people, love versus death. It's sad to see the world famous hero succumb to nothing but tears, anger, hatred and sadness. But that will happen if you do whatever you can to stomach those feelings forever, whether it be real life or on duty. Even some of her high school insecurities clung onto her during graduation. Affection… They don't tell you in the papers that such things can destroy you from the inside out. It's the spirit that makes someone a hero, Ferno. And heroes don't get personal with their colleagues or villains. This isn't the Kim Possible I fought in the past. No. She's changed drastically. Other than her weaknesses, she has already tried to do things that she never would have done in her high school days. Oh, she thought she could kill me, bent on shooting me down in the Hind and even digging the barrel of a gun into my forehead. I can only imagine what Ron would think if he were watching."
Jen hadn't seen the whole thing, but she could see that the blood vessels in Kim's eyes weren't the usual light red color. Her eyes weren't only of sadness, but a bitter hatred. Perhaps Val was telling the truth. Unfortunately, she didn't have much to defend Kim. Jen knew well of colleagues being killed in action, she knew the consequences of falling in love in a war zone, and she knew she couldn't lose her cool no matter the situation. But Kim had known a separate life for all her years, never seeing any of her friends or colleagues die at all. It would explain the rumors of a short depression she suffered shortly after Valia's supposed funeral. She even managed to hide that from Ron.
Jen could only feel sorry for her. Compared to everything, Kim was an innocent. She wanted to grow up and accept the more challenging issues, but losing Ron was never a possibility that ever came to mind. Jen grew up finding information on anything that was new, from entertainment to top secret weapons. She knew it all, and while she easily forgot half of it, she didn't forget the importance of everything she found. Life wasn't pretty, and when you find the truth, you usually regret ever searching for it. You're better off telling people that you had spent your life seeking out the truth, only to find out such a thing doesn't exist. Spread the word.
But Jen knew full well who Valve Dive was. She had heard things about Valve Dive and Sapphire Cypher. But the story was quite the same. After Enya's death, Val did want to give up and leave everything behind, trying to erase his memory to become a teenager. However, he grew to hate the world more because of his fellow peers, always looking for the next best challenge. Later down the road, long after he graduated from Upperton High School, his next interest would come to him as two teen heroes, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable. He went so far to play them like puppets that it cost him his left hand. Eventually he was defeated and got a huge portion of his memory back, and once he realized his original enemies had grown to an indomitable power, he chose to continue the fight.
But Jen didn't know this was the same Dive, since many people acquired codenames with that word in it. Kim and Ron didn't know that half of the Ice Shadows were indeed those with the 'Dive' rank. If Valia had revealed himself to be Valve Dive, it would have been too obvious.
Jen's thoughts were interrupted as she felt a hand on her shoulder, one with painted fingernails.
"Kim?"
She sniffed. "You're both right… this isn't what Ron would've wanted. But honestly… I don't know what he would've wanted. Would he have wanted to move on in life? Would he have wanted me to find love? Fight alone? Quit and live for myself?"
It was clear her mind was still far from stable.
Val sighed. "It appears you still have more to discover about each other. At least he didn't already pop the question."
"Pop the question?" Jen asked with curved eyes. "You're kidding."
Val took the round box out of his pocket again. "I only took a small peek myself, but I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for dear Kimberly here."
"So why keep it?"
"It would be a shame to put such a thing to waste, and to hold it for the time being. With his fall, Ron would have only lost it."
Kim was about to get into another fighting stance as he put it away, but Jen stopped her as she intentionally blocked her path with her arm.
"Jen? What are you doing?"
"Don't you see, Kim? This is exactly the point he's making. The way you're feeling right now, you don't stand a chance against him. You can't fight purely out of anger or sorrow and expect to win in a hand-to-hand duel. You can hardly think straight, and you'll only lose the fight. I might not be the smartest girl out there, but even I know this."
Val seemed impressed. "Well put, blondie."
"I do what I can," she coldly remarked.
"So you're not up to the challenge of taking me on?"
Jen got into a stance. "Well, I usually don't fight people in hand-to-hand combat unless absolutely necessary, since most people fight me with weapons. I suppose it's better than doing nothing."
"Well, show me what you've got…"
Kim didn't even bother watching the fight, staring at the window with a hole shaped like a human body.
Ron…
He really was gone…