Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing! Nothing you hear! And just so you know Kim Possible is not a trained seal bent on delivering cookies to orphaned midgets. That's my buddy Ricky's job. The random comic book characters that appear in this chapter do not belong to me. Hah! take that originality.
A/N: I'm sorry thatI must do these cause I myself hate them. But I feel the need to apologize for the length of time between updates. I now possess a newfound respect for those that write long chapters and still manage to update. It took me days toget this ready and I've cut this chapter short. I hope to have the next installment soon. In case anyone actually reads this. Also the random number is a foot note it corresponds to the one right here.
1(See Marvel vs. D.C. and the short-lived algam comics line for the full story- Abe the honest believer.)
And Now on with the story.
Chapter 2: In the beginning with you.
High above the small blue green planet, high above the black void littered with specks of light and the alien fleet resting inside it, were four, for the lack of a better word, men. They stood upon nothing, taking a silent stock of the events upon the green-blue planet below. Eyes, both eternal and mortal ones, had observed the battle far below them with a clarity of vision that should have required a much closer vantage point. They stood in silence.
The shortest of the four, a creature whose head barely reached the chests of the others, leaned forward. Piercing eyes set into a skull the color of a light blue pastel crayon stared with a renewed focus upon the earth. It would not be wrong to compare him to an entologist observing a colony of ants that had suddenly developed a working nuclear bomb. Both fascination and a touch of fear were apparent on his face.
His voice filtered throughout the airless space.
"Interesting. In all my time I have never witnessed such an event."
His voice was filled with awe and wonder. The dulcet tone that conveyed those sensations called to mind images of cosmos forming over centuries. Listening to him one could easily believe that he had seen centuries pass, planets form from out of the swirling nexus of creation laying far below his feet. A fact that was easy to forget when looking at him. His red robe billowed despite the fact that there was no breeze.
He seemed content to let the statement stand, obviously not feeling the need to expand upon the two statements he'd uttered. Many might think he was trying to force those around him to ask to what he referred. The truth was he'd forgotten about them entirely, so engrossed was he in the spectacle before him.
The youngest member of the quartet was bursting with a curiosity born of pure anxiety. Nervous energy ate at him. The desire to flee and panic had filled him ever since he'd appeared to Impulse.
Access, once the man named Axel Foley, tried taking a deep breath, tried waiting patiently and failed miserably. He had to know what the little blue man had been speaking of. This whole mess was technically his fault. Not like he'd had a choice, but then again wasn't there always a choice and why the hell did he have to deal with this? Wasn't it enough that he frequently bounced between the different universes? Now he had to deal with fallout from saving all of existence. Yeah that was fair.
Those who had never met the boy who had become Access would have be shocked to learn that those thoughts flittered through his skull. Those who had known the young manner prior to his transformation would had not have been shocked.
Physically the boy had not changed much, a blessing in his case. Even after his meeting with the hobo in the alley, where he'd first learned of his proper place in the universe, he'd retained his stunning good looks. He still had the same lean form, complete with short cropped brown hair. His suit was still the same garish mix of red and blue leather-like material. He wasn't particularly found of it, but it seemed to come with the job. And what a job it was.
Technically he was some sort of cosmic hall monitor. Unknown to many people there existed more than one, for lack of a better word, realm. He knew realm was the wrong word, because different realm didn't really speak of the vast differences between each one. The things he policed were more like separate creations. Each had its own Brother, an insanely powerful being, reportedly believed to be the source of all life in its particular realm. Even Access had no clue who, or what, had created them.
During his tenure he'd discovered that more than two Brothers existed. There were the dual Brothers whose realms he'd once saved, by solving the conflict between the two. All of the Brothers apparently lived in ignorance of each other. When these two had discovered the other's existence they'd begun a war, pitting heroes and villains alive from their respective realms against each other, in a battle to determine which universe would survive.
The end result had been a tie, one that caused the two realms to merge, creating a new one, complete with its own defenders and villains. Somehow, though still ignorant as to the extent of his abilities, Axel managed to hide shards of the original realities inside two of the era's greatest warriors: Batman and Captain America. Access had managed to restore things to the way they'd used to be, despite the attempts of Doctor Strangefate to stop him. He'd brought the both Batman and Captain America before the twin brothers, who were once again battling.
Upon Seeing the results of the other's handiwork the twin brothers had agreed that the other had done a fine job.1 The end result had saved both realms, and had left Axel, a drifter by his very nature with an awesome amount of responsibility.
It was up to him to protect all of creation, every single realm, universe, or mini-creation from the dangers the two he'd visited had faced, though at the time he was only aware of those two separate realms.
He later learned, during later adventures, that he had the ability to not only algamate, combine two people into a product containing the properties of both the original individuals as well as a detailed history and personality, individuals but, he could also travel through time as well as between the realms. He'd also learned that, much to his dismay if he remained in any one realm for an extended period of time he'd cause that and another realm to amalgamate.
Since then he'd discovered countless other realms, each containing miraculous wonders and frightening dangers. He was coming more and more to grips with his powers, but the full extent of them was beginning to terrify him, no scratch that. It was terrifying him.
He'd managed to completely interweave two realms, that of the at times gritty and bleak realm that housed the Batman and the bright and shiny realm of Middleton, home of Kim Possible. It wasn't really a matter of whether he'd abused the apparent power he'd discovered, he knew he hadn't.
He'd been racking his brain for some way to stop Him, not G-d as the capital H would lead some to assume, but instead a being more powerful than any human had a right to be. This beast, for even Access was unaware of the man's true identity, roamed the realms in the far future, destroying them as he pleased, which, unfortunately, was quite often.
During a trip to the future Access had witnessed the destruction of a reality, the one that held the closest thing he had to a home. Thankfully the event wouldn't occur for at least a few decades, giving Access what he thought would be enough time to stop the madman responsible.
He'd failed. Somehow the beast had gained the power to realm walk, as well as travel through the decades. He wasn't sure how the villain was capable of such a thing, but Access quickly found himself on the ropes, for the villain was more than a match for him. So he'd fled, seeking out the time when things had gone wrong. He'd found it easily, the point in history had stood out like a giant zit on the night of a teenager's prom.
He couldn't help but notice it. He'd traveled to the point, Apocalypse around the time of Earth's first real war with Aliens. The realm, Batman's, was rather occupied so he couldn't really get any help. Not that anyone remembered him, an unfortunate side effect of his ability. Few individuals remembered him for any length of time. But that hadn't been important. He'd journeyed to Darkseid's home, doing his best to be careful and stay hidden. He'd seen Young Justice imprisoned and tortured, but he hadn't let that delay him.
He'd wanted to help, but first he had to prevent the end of all creation. He'd managed to find both Darkseid and the beast. He'd seen the two shake hands, grim bearers of destruction. He'd been too late, but then something had struck him.
He could see the weave of the realms, the progression at which they would travel. There wasn't enough detail for him to make out anything concrete. He was only sure of one thing. Along the path of total annihilation there was a grave marker. It had read: Kimberly Anne Possible, June 30, 2005. Her legacy shall live on in the hearts of those who have been touched by her deeds.
Somehow she was the key. Her death had to have been what the two where gambling on. So he'd done what needed to be done, what his new sight had told him was the only way.
The power had screamed through him, ripping at every corner of his being. His hands had grown white hot as he'd pulled at the two realms, fusing them together with a power and deftness he hadn't known he possessed. The effort had left him drained, with only enough energy for a cryptic message to the one individual with both the speed and impulsive nature required to react in the time the new realm had left. The boy named Impulse had come through.
And now Access stood beyond space itself, though still contained in this new realm he'd forged, with three of the most cosmically aware beings in all the realms and the best he got was an "interesting" he was feeling multiple exclamation marks coming on, which as everyone knows are the truest signs of insanity.
Access glanced once more at the blue midget who had once, along with the others of his kind, ensured order was kept throughout the cosmos. He wasn't going to wait any longer for an answer to his unspoken question. The only thing left to do was just say it. So he did.
"What?"
The blue man never looked away from the world below.
"This reality appears to be attempting to repair itself."
A cold blast of dread ripped through Access.
"No that can't be. I made sure they were fused."
He wasn't really addressing the others, but the blue man replied regardless.
"I meant that this new realm is attempting to solve all the small inconsistencies that would otherwise crop up. Small bits of history that having now been rewritten completely changes the lives of some individuals. The battle we just witnessed is a prime example. The only reason Impulse managed to make it in time was because his friend Robin remembered where Middletown only just now exists. It seems as though the Brothers you mentioned are accepting this change, trying to make it work. It's quite interesting. Fascinating really."
"More puzzling are the actions of the one named Shego. Her power and violence are far greater than those of what you had shown us as a reference point," the cold emotionless voice of the Specter interjected. "This bears watching, though we may take no action." The last part of his statement was directed towards the youngest and formally most mortal of the group.
"What?" Access wasn't exactly sure what he was being told.
"You are like us now. Bound by rules that other beings do not need to follow. In fact your rules are the harshest. Because you have created this new reality your powers are too great for it to support. You would be as unto a giant. Your every action could create catastrophic consequences. You will have to leave this man you seek to the heroes of this plane. You have at least given them a fighting chance. For now I take my leave of you. I have much to accomplish."
As the gray form of the specter vanished the blue man turned around, facing Access at last.
"I too must go, but I look forward to revisiting this perch in the next few days. This looks to provide and understanding of the cosmos we had never thought possible."
And he too left, leaving only Access and the fourth member of the group, a man encased in a deep blue cloak with a similar hat adorning his head. The combination of the items made him look like a mysterious hero from an early nineties film involving the mob and a supernatural do-gooder.
The fourth member had yet to speak and it was his opinion Access craved most.
"You shouldn't worry. Things shall work out. The individuals you chose are heroes. You may have perhaps changed everything," the stranger said.
The ghostly smile appearing on the man's face did nothing to ease Access's nerves.
"Do you think it's enough?"
"Who knows? But at least this way the world stands a fighting chance."
"You don't think its over." it wasn't a question. Access wasn't dumb enough to assume he'd solved everything, but he had hoped.
"That all depends on the next move Darkseid makes, now doesn't it? Events could still come to pass."
Access knew this was true. He could feel it all inside his bones, like a teacher knowing his student is not fully prepared for the challenges ahead. And all he could do was sit back and watch. The mysterious man spoke again, ignoring Access's silence.
"In time we three shall all be affected by the change. Each of us is tethered to this realm. You alone are not. The knowledge you possess may provide a small light of hope."
And with that final annoyingly cryptic statement the man disappeared, leaving Axel wondering exactly what it was that he made him desire the man's input in the first place. He sighed and vanished, fearful of staying in the realm for any longer. Last thing this world needed was Venom popping up again.
-
A golden tunnel of light flashed into existance. The loud boom that emanated from the tunnel cascaded against the stone walls of the chamber in which it appeared. The beaten form of Shego tumbled from the tunnel only to land unceremoniously on the granite floor.
A green hand connected to a gaudily colored costumed body gripped her long flowing air. It tugged her upright, forcing her tired lids open as it did so. There was no obsidian. In fact there was no color at all.
Her blank orbs stared straight ahead. At first she could see nothing, then bits of vision began to return to her. Mere heartbeats passed before both her sight and her irises were restored. In front of her loomed a towering brute. His skin was a dark gray. Its texture was rough and craggy, bringing to mind the face of a cliff. All in all he didn't look happy. He was in the middle of a rant.
His dark voice echoed off the surrounding walls, making him almost like the deity he claimed to be. He was addressing a man in a blue cloak with a brimmed hat covering his face. It was the same man Access had spoken to only minutes before.
"It is not over yet! I will not tolerate failure. Make no mistake Kim Possible will die." Shego's tired ears could make out the sound of heavy footfalls drawing closer. Large, cold, hard fingers surrounded her face, yanking it forward even more. The sensation was not pleasant. His cold face turned to her, no longer speaking to the mysterious stranger in blue. "And you will be the instrument by which she falls."
Ron Stoppable drifted back into the world of conscious thought. His torso and face ached something fierce. The first sight his tired eyes found was his best friend.
"K.P.?" His voice was barely a rasp, but it still sent the redhead scurrying to his bedside.
"Where am I?" he continued.
"Hospital. Shego knocked you up pretty bad, I was afraid you weren't going to make it."
He didn't need to ask what she was talking about. He remembered it all. He had the feeling he'd never forget. He pushed the thoughts out of his head, forcing himself to think of something else.
"When can I go home?"
She didn't meet his eyes.
"KP?"
"Ron, your parents are... Ron I'm so sorry." She embraced him as shock overtook him. The numbness spread through his body, preventing him from even feeling the pain of her touch on his abused body. "My parents said you can stay with us. If you want they'd even like to adopt you." From the look in her eyes she didn't expect her words to make it better at all, but nonetheless she wanted him to respond. Anger, denial, anything but the startling silence that had crept over him.
A nurse walked into the room.
"Ms. Possible. The other boy has woken up. Umm the special one."
Ron snapped out of his trance suddenly, looking questioningly at Kim. She blushed under his intense gaze. She could read it like a book. It was his 'why wasn't I told' one. It wasn't like that, not at all. So what if the brunette hero was kinda cute and he had saved her... and she had to focus now, because as adorable as Ron looked like that she probably should respond.
"It's not like that Ron. She's referring to Impulse."
If it was possible Ron's eyes widened even more. The look hadn't gone away.
"Nice catch K.P." A low whistle spilled from his lips.
Her eyes narrowed. Here she was worrying about him and he was being his normal self. That was a sure-fire sign he was okay. Anyone else may have bought it. She wasn't that dumb. Still, it wouldn't help to force the issue.
"Impulse saved your life, well both of our lives. But he got hurt pretty badly. I wanted to know when he woke up, to thank him for saving us, but it can wait."
The blonde was still smiling the same dopey grin that had plastered itself on his faceas he responded.
"Nah, K.P. Go on, he's probably confused as what he's doing here. Give him my thanks. Don't look at me like that, I'll be fine here till you get back."
With that his best friend embraced him once more and walked out of the room and followed the nurse down the hallways.
Ron's grin faded as the two left.
Ron sat alone in the hospital room. The dark glow began to surround him again, and then disappeared as he began to sob. All of the horrors of the day were expressed as he sobbed, shaking uncontrollably, after a few minutes his body stopped shaking. A man detached himself from inside the shadows of Ron's room.
"I know that feeling."
Ron looked up startled. Before him was a man clad in a spandex body suit. Unlike most that Ron had seen, and he'd seen a few, this one obviously came equipped with body armor. The man's face was hidden with a mask with only one eye slit. He could have sworn he'd seen the man somewhere before.
"The anger, the helplessness. The knowledge that you want her to pay but can't do anything about it. Yeah I knew all that a long time ago."
"Who are you?"
"My name's Deathstroke the terminator. But that's not important. I'm here to offer you the chance at a successful revenge, if that's what you want. You have potential, that much I'm certain of. But potential won't shield you or those you care about from menaces like the bitch you just faced. Before you ask, I only heard about it. I wasn't there till the very end. I'm the one that got all of you to this hospital. If you're interested tomorrow morning a man will come by here. He'll only have one eye and silver hair. Accept his offer to be your guardian. One warning if you do so you'll have to leave everything behind. At least for a while. When you're done training you can come back whenever you please. I'll decide when you're done training. Once you begin there's no turning back."
With that he turned to leave.
"Why?"
"I've been a lot of things Stoppable, bout time I was teacher again."
-
With that he left Ron alone.
"Don't worry they left the mask on."
Impulse turned to look at the girl standing at the entrance of his room. He thought he recognized her. Then it hit him. She was Kim Possible, a hero like him. Then a fuzzier memory, one that seemed almost as if it was from a dream came to the front. It claimed she wasn't supposed to be real and that he was supposed to be in the clutches of Darkseid. But that wasn't possible. He hadn't left earth since the whole incident on Dobby's planet a few weeks before. They'd gotten back, and he'd had adventures sure. Like losing Carol forever because of something she might do in a future that was no longer going to happen thanks to his speed clones saving Max Mercury's life. He also remembered one of the clones dying. And he remembered losing that power, though the dream memories claimed that never happened. And he was faster than the dream memories claimed he once was. Maybe it was a trade-off.
All these thoughts ran through the boy's head in split seconds. After that his mind was free to stare at the red-head before him.
"Thanks," she said. "You really saved us back there."
A crimson red seeped into his skin.
"Itwasnothingreally.Allinaday'swork."
The teenaged heroine blinked before producing the only response she had to the sudden barge of words. "Huh?"
"He said it wasn't a big deal," a young girl's voice informed her. It came from the slightly ajar window. Before Kim's eyes a girl formed seemingly from nothing. Kim stared hard, but the smokey apparition in front of her eyes didn't fade. "Hi, I'm Secret. Are you a friend of B-" she stopped as she saw Impulse's head suddenly begin to shake very fast. Her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?" Her voice had lost the cheery, childlike quality that it had possessed a second ago.
"Secretchill,it'sKimPossible.She'sagoodguy."
There was no pause to sort out the speedster's words, which amazed Kim. The mist girl seemed capable of understanding Impulse, which, as Kim was learning, was a rather impressive feat. The girl of mist seemed to deflate before Kim's eyes, returning once more to the childlike state in which she entered the room.
"Sorry, kinda overreacted. The name's Secret. I work with Impulse."
"It's nice to meet you. Oh, I'm sorry," Kim said as her hand passed right the mist girl's. Secret's smile dimmed a little, but remained planted firmly on her face.
"Don't worry about that, it happens." Her smoky appendage hadn't moved from her side where Kim had tried to snag it.
Bart didn't let the tense moment last too long, not that he'd even noticed it.
"Whereiseveryoneelse?"
"Oh, well I don't know where Robin is," her cheery continence seemed to fade a bit as she spoke the words. She quickly recovered though, leading Bart to think nothing was wrong, Kim noticed it though, despite how the entire situation was making her brain hurt. She wasn't much for hero worship and only kept a close tab on other super-types in case the knowledge was ever necessary for one of her missions, there were exceptions of course. Secret was not one of them.
Kim's confusion stemmed from the knowledge that the mist girl was currently supposed to be dead. She wasn't sure why exactly, Wade hadn't specified claiming that the DEO report was vauge at best. The only definitive thing her young friend had to say was that the DEO claimed it had been forced to neutralize a dangerous subject made entirely of mist. In fact, according to the report, only the intervention of Robin, Impulse, and Superboy did the agents make it out of the mess themselves. Which prompted the very important question of why Impulse seemed so chumy with the girl. She made a note to ask later. It was possible she'd just jumped to a wrong conclusion. The mysterious girl in front of her may be someone entirely different.
Secret continued talking, quite unaware of Kim's train of thought.
"He said it was important though. Superboy has his appointment today, you know the one with the president? Wonder Girl went along with him. Moral support. I came to check on you. Lobo gave me a lift."
The name sent another shiver of curiosity through Kim. Lobo? They hung out with Lobo? She knew of him, Wade had been very clear about how she should handle him should the need arise. Step out of the way and try and call Superman.
Secretly she agreed. Lobo was a ticking time bomb at best. The alien was close to unstoppable and did pretty much what he wanted. Thankfully she'd never run across him. She withdrew from her thoughts to find the two heroes in the middle of an animated conversation. With a small smile upon her lips she left quietly to check on Ron. Neither hero noticed.
-
Kon-el, the hero known the world over as Superboy, stood by the double doors leading to the nation's most important man. Beside him was Cassie Sandsmark, the heroine known as Wonder Girl. He was doing his best not to tremble, not that he was scared of course. He was Superboy, why should he be scared. Except that this was probably when Luthor told him he was to be executed and Project Cadmus disbanded.
With a final second of hesitation he pushed the doors open, ready to face off against the bald bastard. Cassie moved forward, with every attention of following until Luthor's cold voice cut through the air.
"Please remain outside Wonder Girl. What I have to discuss with the Superboy is for his ears alone."
And the door shut behind the suddenly startled Superboy, leaving her once again out in the cold.
-
The door to Ron Stoppable's hospital room pushed open slowly. It creaked as the tired, old wood was forced to move inward. For some reason the hospital had never replaced the old doors, just slapped on a new coat of paint and left them as they were, even though everything else in the building was replaced and upgraded regularly.
Kim Possible wasn't thinking about any of this as she entered the room. Her only thoughts were of the boy laying on the hospital cot. He was splayed out on his back, his head lolled off to one side. Small noises crept from his barely parted lips. They almost sounded like whimpers. The noises pulled her closer.
She couldn't resist walking forward, despite the danger of awakening him, an action most would consider an example of natural curiosity overriding one's better judgement. Most people would be wrong. She could feel no nagging sensation that she shouldn't move forward, the action seemed almost natural. Once she moved close enough to actually understand the mumbled words moving forward became a necessity. In order to do so she moved to his bedside. Her pretty green eyes looked down upon his resting form as she perched herself upon the solid hospital mattress. All the while the soft pleading continued to spill from his throat.
She had to stop the endless succession of begging and pleading. It tore at her heart to know he was suffering because of her. The thought wasn't a new one for her. It had plagued her for most of her life, in one form or another. She'd even talked to the guidance consular once, though not even Ron knew. The old lady had been far from helpful. And now, as Kim's eyes danced across the pained expression on her best friend's sleeping face, the doubts and fears returned anew. Her fingers soon joined her eyes in tracing his face, and the whimpers grew even softer.
Despite the fact that, the sun's illuminating rays spilled through the high window into the room, she soon found herself joining him in sleep. The soft yawn that piled her lips apart was the final warning she received. Her eyelids grew heavy and her body no longer seemed capable of fighting against gravity. Within a span of seconds that seemed so much longer her body curled down, forward and sideways all at once. She could barely maneuver herself enough to ensure she ended up snuggled against his side and not on the floor.
Her mother found her there much later. No orderly had dared disturb the duo. With a small smile Mrs. Possible looked over at the softly beeping monitor connected to Ron, and upon seeing the waving line rhythmically pulsate turned and left the two friends to their slumber.