Lights slowly came on throughout the warehouse, dimly illuminating the surroundings that were to be their battlefield. Kim could tell that the masked man had obviously taken some care with this operation. The robbery, the chase, all of it had just been an elaborate trap… all for her. Kim was used to having bad people try to get to her, but not when they were someone she hadn't met before. A sixth sense within her told her that this masked man was more than just some pathetic fan like Arch Villain, yet he had exclusively set his sights on her as his target, and that gave Kim a sick sensation in her stomach.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Slade." The figure responded as he began moving purposefully towards Kim. "However, you will call me 'Master.'"
"As if." Kim tried to respond casually, struggling to suppress the growing fear within her. There was something different about this 'Slade.' Something crueler, colder, than any villain she had ever met before.
"Actually young lady, that wasn't a request."
Slade's right arm shot out like bullet, connecting squarely with Kim's jaw, sending her stumbling back. He quickly followed up with a foot swipe but Kim recovered in time to leap over the attack, and over her opponent, landing behind him on the catwalk.
Kim moved on to the offensive, leaping forward, hoping to land a dropkick with her right leg. But Slade saw the attack coming, and ducked it. As Kim came down, landing on her feet, she brought herself upright only in time to be on the receiving end of a roundhouse kick that knocked her back, forcing her to struggle for footing by grabbing one of the catwalk's guard rails.
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Ron searched downtown frantically for any signs of Kim and her mysterious thief. Yet the skyline was empty. Even the streets themselves were practically devoid of people, save for a few struggling to get home.
He had stopped to ask if any of them had seen his girlfriend jumping through the air after some thug with a fancy hi-tech military toy, but every one of them had given him weird looks before hurrying themselves in another direction.
This was going nowhere. He could spend all night searching Middleton and never come up with anything. His heart began to speed up, sweat pouring from every pore in his body. He had to find her. He just had too.
However, the night was once more prepared to smile down on Ron Stoppable, and give him its blessing yet again. As Ron continued to ride down the streets, his eyes came across a most unusual sight.
An old warehouse stood just a few yards down the street, otherwise un-remarkable amidst its other abandoned brethren, save for one important distinction. Fresh, new steel doors and shields had been placed over all windows and entrances into the building.
If there was ever a sign of something out of place, that was it. It was also Ron's only lead.
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Slade reeled back from the kick, quickly composing himself in time to dodge one of Kim's punches, and another, and another. The last blow, Slade caught with his right hand, which he then snapped forward. The sound of bone cracking within Kim's hand echoed throughout the empty structure, yet Kim struggled to throw it off.
Slade kicked outward again without hesitation, yet Kim was able to back flip out of its way, and out of Slade's range. She was desperate to try and buy herself some breathing space, but Slade seemed in no mood to accommodate.
Kim leapt onto the catwalk's railing, balancing herself perfectly, perched in anticipation. Slade tried to bring his fist down right on top of her, but Kim leapt into the air again, dodging the monstrous fist which came crashing down, bending and distorting the metal railing with frightening ease and power.
Slade looked up to find Kim again, only to see her foot come crashing down into his face. The blow knocked Slade back and gave Kim an opening as she landed a roundhouse kick to Slade's gut.
Kim tried to follow through with another kick, but Slade had already recovered, and grabbed Kim's foot rather simply with his hand. Slade threw the foot up into the air with all his force, but Kim's experienced body knew how to react, moving in flow with the momentum which she turned into a back flip carrying her at least fifteen feet into the air before almost landing a few feet back, which was exactly what Slade had wanted.
Kim's feet were an inch from the ground before Slade ran forward, knocking her hard out of the air and back to the ground with a painful thud. Kim couldn't tell if she had broken anything in the fall, and she knew she wouldn't have time to find out. She was fighting mostly on instinct here, her body relying on physical memory rather then her own judgment. She wasn't used to fighting in this poor light, it could be difficult at times to keep track of Slade's movements. Not that it wasn't hard enough to begin with. He was an incredible fighter, easily the best she had ever come across. This realization filled her with a fear that she struggled to keep down.
In a fight like this, fear would be the first thing to kill you.
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Ron slammed uselessly on the metal doors. Inside, he could clearly hear the sounds of fighting (he recognized the sounds all too well in fact) and something that had sounded like a scream from Kim. Yet for all his determination to get inside, the doors would not budge in response.
Still, Ron would not be denied. Calming his mind for a moment, he wiped away all fear and uncertainty. Kim was counting on him. He would never let her down.
Ron took in his situation. Those doors were solid and thick. It would take a bulldozer to get through them, at least. And he was exactly one bulldozer short. In fact, since they hadn't geared for any missions for tonight, the only thing that Ron had with him was his mopped… with the Tweeb's rockets still attached to them.
Ron's mind began to race.
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Kim ducked out of the way of another punch, then backed from another, then taking another step back, leapt in perfect form off the walkway and to the ground below. She needed more room to maneuver, and the catwalk was forcing her to fight Slade head on, a situation which seemed painfully to his advantage.
Kim barely had time to blink before Slade landed effortlessly a few feet away from her. She needed to buy time. Needed to gather herself. He was clearly an opponent who knew her, perhaps all too well. Yet she knew nothing about him.
"What do you want?" Kim demanded fiercely, still biting back the fear threatening to reveal itself in her voice.
"Isn't it obvious, Kim?" Slade's voice continued to echo throughout the entire warehouse. "I want you. And what I want, I take."
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Ron took a few deep breathes as he readied his moped, its engine humming lightly. Ron looked down at Rufus, who was all set.
This was not going to be pretty. Ron had not really used the rockets that the Possible family had welded to his bike since the night of the Diablo incident. Kim's father had assured Ron that the J-25 rocket fuel in the rockets would last Ron long enough for him to enter standard orbit and then make a controlled re-entry and landing in Cape Canaveral. At least, that's what the fuel had been designed for. Ron had never really found this fact very comforting, and so had resisted the urge to use them at all costs.
But something else that Ron had remembered from his physics class was entering his mind too. As long as an object was propelled by enough force, it could theoretically penetrate anything. Ron had actually found this bit of fact to be quite interesting. The idea of blasting a penny through twenty feet of concrete had especially appealed to him as an interesting science project. Now however, he had something else in mind.
He couldn't be sure how thick those doors were, but he guessed they were at least a half a foot of solid steel. Ron had no idea how much force would be needed to take his bike through those warehouse doors. But the walls of the warehouse might not be so reinforced. They would just be regular plaster, wood, and probably some aluminum siding.
"Hang on Kim" Ron whispered, "I'm coming."
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The two fighters had both taken at least half a dozen solid shots. Slade, for all appearances, seemed completely unfazed. Kim was showing it. It had been a long day to begin with, and she had relaxed herself for a quiet evening with Ron, not for a fight for her life with someone like Slade. He never let up, never once dropping his guard. He was cold, methodical, and patient. He could wear her down, and then strike only at the perfect moment.
Even as he began his slow march towards, Kim winced at the thought of what was to come.
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Ron braced himself at the thought of what was about to come.
"Ok Rufus. Hit it!"
The naked mole rat obeyed, kicking the rockets attached to the moped and causing them to roar to life. Rufus leapt off the bike and to the ground as scorching flames from the rocket threatened to roast the little guy right then and there.
Rufus made it to the concrete unharmed, and then looked up in time to see the relatively tiny rockets produce a tail twice their size as they roared off, carrying a screaming Ron and his small bike with them.
Ron fought down the urge to cover his eyes and leap for his life. Something much more important than himself was on the line here. He steadied his course and then… impact.
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Kim nearly blinked at Slade's approach. She was prepared for the worst, but not the sight of an all too familiar moped, carrying an even more familiar screaming blonde haired man, crashing through the side of the warehouse. Ron was just able to leap off the rocket bike and roll to the floor of the warehouse even as the bike cruised forward like a missile towards Slade.
A look of surprise was visible even through Slade's mask as he was hit head on with the bike, and went crashing into a pile of boxes at the far end of the warehouse.
One of the boxes was sent flying through the air, finally landing a few feet away from Kim, spilling its contents onto the floor. Nothing more than nuts and bolts and a few other minor shop accessories.
Kim looked back to see Slade lurching to his feet, obviously in pain. The bike hadn't had enough opportunity to build up speed, and though it had managed to crash the wall, the impact had slowed it down considerably. Still, that had been enough to slow down Slade, for the moment. But he obviously wasn't done, and what he would do to Ron… Kim had to act.
Kim thought for a moment about the largely, still undisturbed pile of boxes near Slade. Most likely filled with more nuts and bolts, all rusted, useless, worthless, dead weight. It was this last quality that Kim was interested in most. Sprinting forward, Kim leapt into the air, dive kicking the tower of boxes in the right spot, causing them to slowly tip over in just the direction Kim wanted. Slade looked up in obvious surprise once again as the shadow of the boxes fell over him, finally to come crashing down with a loud thud, burying Slade beneath them.
Kim still remained tensed for a full minute longer, waiting, searching for some sign of movement or stirring, and yet finding only silence and stillness. Finally convinced that Slade was down, Kim allowed her body to relax, and in that moment, the pain of her numerous bruises and injuries came pouring through her as if someone had opened a dam. She let out a small cry as she fell to her knees, trying desperately to hold herself up.
"Kim!"
Ron picked himself up and ran over to her side, offering his aide in helping her to her feet.
"Kim, Kim! Are you ok? Quick, what color is my hair? How many fingers am I holding up? How many hairs does Rufus have? Kim!" Ron asked questions at three a second, and Kim didn't have time to answer them all.
"Ron, I'm ok, I'm ok. Really." Kim answered half heartedly, still looking away, bent over in pain. "I'm…" Kim finally raised her face to see the concern in Ron's eyes. For a minute, she allowed herself to bask in them, before finally convincing herself of the truth. "I'm ok." She answered, this time with a warm smile across her face. Reaching out, she gave Ron a large hug, and allowed herself to be embraced in his arms in response. "I'm ok, really."