Keep Your Friends Close by Cabel
Chapter 8
One of Slade's henchmen sat quietly atop a motorcycle in the shadows. He had been observing the quartet of teen heroes from a distance for most of the day. He received his next order as the four approached Robin's motorcycle. The henchmen revved up his motorcycle and speeded towards his target. His sensors could detect the distance closing as words flashed in his computerized mind:
Target acquired…
Target acquired…
Target acquired…
MALFUNCTION! MALFUNCTION! MALFUNCTION! MA….
"Well that killed the mood." Was all Ron could say. Just when the tour/double date looked like it was going to end perfectly, one of Slade's henchmen came out of nowhere on a motorcycle, only to get judo-tossed by Kim to the asphalt, sending his bike skidding across the street.
That was when four more motorcycles revved up and lined up down the block.
"Another ambush." Robin said.
"This is so getting old." Kim added.
The four cycles charged forward. Robin jumped onto his motorcycle and slammed his foot down on a pedal. The sidecar detached and speeded of backwards towards the oncoming cycles. While they did move to avoid it, one wasn't quite quick enough, resulting in a very nasty collision.
Using the few seconds they bought themselves, Starfire joined Robin on his motorcycle while Kim and Ron hopped on the bike from the first henchman and the two pairs speed off, with their enemies in pursuit.
"Wade. Wade!" Kim yelled into her kimunicator, but only got static in return. "I'm being jammed!" She yelled to Robin over the traffic noise.
"Same here! Looks like we're on our own!" Robin yelled back.
"So what's the plan, head back to the tower?" Ron asked.
"At this hour the streets will be full of people." Starfire answered.
Kim said, "We need to lead them somewhere away from people before they start sho…." A laser flew past Kim's head. "…Never mind."
Robin thought for a moment as he maneuvered around a Volkswagen. "There's an older district south of here. Everything's either condemned or in ruins."
"There's a catch to this I know it." Ron said.
"We'll have to take the freeway though."
"Called it." The cycles speed onward, Kim following Robin's lead. They dodged laser blasts from behind while maneuvering through Jump City traffic until they somehow managed to travel across several city blocks without any serious damage.
They saw the entrance ramp to the freeway up ahead and prepared to turn into it. Unfortunately the henchmen saw it too, and a well-aimed laser blast resulted in a three-car collision that blocked the ramp. Forced to come up with an alternative, Robin shot out his grappling cable around a lamp post for a very sharp left turn. Kim did the same with her own grappling hook. The three henchmen responded quickly, but the laws of physics were against them as two of them skidded halfway across the intersection before they turn, leaving behind the fourth that lost its balance and fell off. The third also had another problem as it hurried to get back on its motorcycle. The combined pulling of both Kim and Robin's grappling hooks, combined with centrifugal force and the weight of four teenagers and two motorcycles, had put a great deal of strain on the lamppost. The henchman was on its bike hardly a second before the heavy column came crashing down on top of it.
Meanwhile, Kim and Ron had some worries of their own. On the plus side, they had gained some distance between them and their pursuers. On the negative, Robin's lead had taken them down the wrong way of a one-way street.
"Doesn't this contradict the whole point of this chase?" Ron asked.
"The quickest way on to the freeway is up ahead." Robin responded. Ron and Kim looked forward and the end of the street was a chain-linked fence. In between the fence and the higher bridge of the freeway was a large dirt mound that was on reserve for a construction company.
"But there's no ramp!" Ron exclaimed.
"Don't worry Ron. I think I know what he's planning." Kim said before she stepped on the gas to keep up with Robin.
"I think I know too! That's why I'm worried!"
"Star! We need a clear path." Robin ordered. Starfire threw a starbolt and disintegrated the fence. The two cycles moved to avoid any oncoming cars before they went full throttle and with the assistance of the dirt mound, propelled themselves into the air, and onto the freeway, resulting in a few fender benders among the surprised motorists.
The two remaining henchmen followed them onto the freeway, and in a matter of minutes managed to catch up the teen heroes with lasers blazing. A few shots were dodged before one caught the back of Robin's motorcycle, threatening to send him and Starfire crashing through freeway traffic.
"Hold on." Starfire said. She grabbed hold of the motorcycle and took to the air.
"Exit 14!" Robin yelled to out Kim as they went higher. Kim nodded and sped on ahead with Ron. Meanwhile one of the henchmen sprouted a pair of wings and took off after Robin and Starfire.
"Which exit did we just pass?" Kim asked.
"Thirteen." Ron answered as another laser blast went by his head. "We really should be getting coverage for this sort of thing." He added as Kim turned into Exit 14.
With Robin and his cycle in hand, Starfire was now flying over rooftops with one of Slade's henchmen flying in pursuit. Even though holding the weight of Robin and his motorcycle wasn't difficult for Starfire, it was still awkward enough to make dodging the henchman's lasers more challenging.
"I cannot dodge him forever." Starfire said.
"Hang in there," Robin responded. "I just need a clean shot." He added as he readied his bird-a-rang, but as he moved to throw it, a well-aimed laser blast struck his hand.
"Robin!"
Seizing the moment, the henchman threw out his left arm and small dart fired and buried itself into Starfire's shoulder. Her body almost immediately went limp as she, the motorcycle, and Robin started to tumble towards the ground below. Robin reached to grab Starfire's hand, but his fingers only brushed hers as the henchman caught her in midair and started to fly away.
Acting on instinct, Robin fired his grappling cable and it wrapped itself around the henchman's ankle. He then pressed a button on his utility belt that sent an electric current into the memory cloth of his cape, causing it to stiffen into the shape of a hang glider.
'Robin wasn't kidding when he said this district was rundown,' Kim thought. The district was comparable to a war zone. Then Kim remembered that she was still in the middle of a high-speed chase with the motorcycle gaining on her.
ZAP!
Not to mention he was armed.
"This thing sucks gas like Rufus on Naco Night." Ron said. "We need to end this."
"Agreed." Kim responded. "Get ready to take the wheel."
"Say whaAAAAA!" was all that Ron managed to get out as Kim pulled back on the handlebars, making the motorcycle appear to speed backwards. They pulled back alongside the henchman's motorcycle. With almost unnatural agility, Kim jumped from one motorcycle to the other. She rammed the henchman's head into the dashboard and threw him off, and took control of the handlebars. Kim slowed herself to a stop and caught her breath.
"I think I'm getting too old for this Ron. Ron? Ron?"
Unfortunately, in Ron's struggle to gain control of his motorcycle caused him to go down a nearby underpass. By the time he gained nominal control of the bike he had no idea where he was. It only got worse when his front tire blew out, causing him to take a very rough fall onto the street. Aching, he got himself up on his knees.
"I should've never given up training wheels," He said, reflecting on his recent luck with vehicle. Another element of his luck surfaced when he felt the presence of someone behind him. Knowing where this was going, he only let out one word.
"crud." Then a blow to the head knocked him unconscious.
Robin found himself being towed like a kite on a string, and thus had to endure the oncoming drafts as he tried to pull himself closer to the henchmen and his tamaranean captive. He couldn't throw a bird-a-rang or he'd risk hurting Starfire, the best he could do at the moment was hold on as the henchman jerked in every direction in hope of losing its pursuer.
Suddenly the henchman changed direction and increased speed. Robin looked ahead and saw its new destination. An unfinished office building, the top floors were still under construction with only the steel framework in tact. Certainly not what one would want to fly through at high speeds.
"It's just like the circus, only about a hundred times faster." He said to himself. Knowing the wind resistance of his cape would slow down whatever limited maneuvering he had, Robin disengaged the memory cloth and prepared to….do something. Only that something never happened.
At the last moment the henchman changed direction from the would-be suicide run to flying over the structure. That's when a green energy blast shot up from within the building and burned through the cable, sending Robin falling as the henchman flew on, with Starfire still in his clutches.
"Ron? Wade? Titans? Anyone?"
The kimmunicator only returned static. "Dammit." Kim muttered. "Guys I have a situation. We got sepera-" A hand twisted her arm back and a kick to the stomach sent her falling back over her motorcycle, dropping the kimmunicator in the process. When she recollected her bearings she saw a foot slowly crush the fallen kimmunicator. She then looked up and saw herself face to face with Slade.
"My child, you have much dire things to worry about."
Robin was aching; twenty foot fall onto hardwood has that effect. Thankfully he was able to control his fall enough that he didn't go face first into a steel beam. He rolled himself onto his knees and punched the floor in frustration. The fall was only secondary; the real pain was that he lost Starfire. And judging by the approaching footsteps, his night was only just beginning.
"Didn't anyone tell you that flying was for the birds?" Shego asked before delivering a swift kick to his side. She then kneeled down in front of him, and in a mocking fashion made flapping motions with her hands.
"Come on little birdie. Spread you wings and soar." She then gave him an uppercut that knocked him to his feet stumbling. She then charged with a forward slash that Robin evaded, leaving claw marks in a steel post. After blocking a kick, Shego managed to pin Robin to a nearby wall with her forearm.
"You were a lot more focused last night." She said. "Are you upset that you lost your little pet from Tattoine?"
Robin charged forward and pinned Shego against the opposite wall. "Don't ever talk about her like that!"
"Yeah, like it's my fault you date outside your species." Shego replied as she pushed him back and they started circle each other.
"Just tell me where he's taking her; we don't have to do this."
"And if I don't?"
"I guess I'll have to make you."
Shego's hands flamed up. "You can try."
Another fine mess Kim has found herself in. She's in a strange town, separated from her friends and her boyfriend, her ribs bruised from constant ambushes, and now she was standing face to face with a man whose very presence made her feel uneasy. And to top it off, he kicks like a mule.
"Slade."
"Kim Possible. We meet at last." Slade greeted as they started to circle. "I trust you're feeling well."
"No thanks to you."
"I knew once I broke Shego out of prison, you wouldn't be far behind. So rather than wait, I thought I'd send you an invitation."
"I have a website." Kim replied. "You went through a lot of trouble to have Shego as your apprentice. Why? What makes her so special?"
"Because Ms. Possible, there are certain lessons to be learned, choices to be made, and consequences to be suffered."
"And just what is that supposed to mean?"
"Now Kim, if I just explained everything, you wouldn't learn anything."
"Yeah, I know all about your teaching methods." Kim said. "I won't let you hurt anyone else."
"Typical of Robin, always focused on the negative." Slade replied. "And I'm afraid you've already failed that promise. As we speak, Ron and Starfire are being taken into my custody."
Kim clenched her fist. "If you hurt them I swear I'll…"
"You'll what!" Slade threatened. "You think you know everything about me, I know all about you Ms. Possible. You are an unfortunate by-product of your generation. An arrogant, naïve child, blind to the truth in front of her."
Kim was caught off guard by that remark. Slade continued. "In spite of what cause I gave you, you still made the choice of coming here, and in doing so accepting the risks. Ironic, isn't it? For all you know Ron is dead and it would be your fault."
Kim charged with her fist reeled back….
TO BE CONTINUED….
A/N: Sorry for the delay. In the past few months I have endured moving, filmmaking, costume designing, and research papers. On top of that, the Kim/Slade dialogue must've went through 50 different revisions. Next time, Kim vs. Slade, Robin vs. Shego! Plus, what the hell are the others doing in the meantime? All this and then some in the next exciting chapter of:
Keep You Friends Close, coming soon!
Warning: One's definition of 'soon' may vary.