Okay, we all know the drill. I don't own the characters, except for Trin, Shin, and Tatsu. I think I made up some guy name Prime too. But, everybody else is on Disney.
This goes out to those first three reviewers of the last chapter Otritzi, Rina Cat, and Chris.
12: Crossing the river Styx
Trin and Shego sneaked into the den of one of the world's most dangerous men. They knew about him without gathering intelligence, but Shin collected intimate details for them on the man. They silently admitted that they would be lucky to make it out of the lunatic's den alive or at least in one piece. They were quite happy that they had left Kim handcuffed to the closet in Trin's room. In fact, they wished that they had tied her up too just to be on the safe side.
Shin gave the ladies the list of Prime's "accomplishments" while they had been on their way to his private island. The first thing given up was the body count. The man known as Prime had hundreds of deaths to account for, not even his organization, just him alone.
Prime did what he did simply for the bottom line, money at the end of the day. He contacted companies and governments and threatened them with promises of terror attacks unless he got a certain amount of gold or bonds or some of material good from them. Business must have been good because he continued operating in such a manner.
While no one ever admitted to paying him, Prime did have a lovely castle in Europe, a castle flown to the island that they were on now, and he continued on with the wholesale slaughtering of people around the world in horrible away. The best part of it all was that no one really knew what Prime looked like. Shin could only find people likely to be Prime in blurry videos and a few sketches of people that might be Prime. Shin found some of the money and some of the governments that had paid him off. He held onto that, just in case they ever needed it.
"You know we're going to die, right?" Shego commented as she and Trin made their way through a tunnel in the ancient castle. Prime had the whole castle reconstructed to be just the way it was back in England. It did not occur to him, they guessed, that someone might actually use the tunnels to get into his stronghold. Of course, the person that did use the tunnels would have to be crazy, which Shego was sure they were.
Shego was dressed in her usual outfit while Trin was dressed in black cargo pants and a pink tank top. They had on small headsets to communicate with Shin and each other if they got separated. Shin was pretty much their eyes and ears thanks to his hacking skills. They hoped none of them were discovered or they were sure at least two of them would be dead before the end of the night.
"Well, at least I won't have to pay off my credit cards," Trin replied to Shego's remark on them dying on the mission.
"I had a lot of money I was looking to spend," the green-skinned woman remarked. "And I didn't bother to leave it to anybody."
"I told you to write a will on the way," the blond joked dryly.
Shego laughed a bit. She already noticed that she got along with Trin best when they were in a deadly situation. She was aware it was because Trin was not normal. Shego hated to think about how the blond reminded her of herself a bit. It was the bad attitude. She bet that Trin had the skill to back it up, and the interest in backing it up if necessary. She guessed that if Trin kept acting the way that she did, then she might have to at least tolerate the blond.
"Trin, we have a problem," Shin reported.
"Already? We just got here," Trin pointed out while looking around the dark corridor. Tropical blue eyes did not see anything that might be trouble, but she put her hand at her back just in case; she was carrying a short sword on her back for emergencies. She knew it would not stop a bullet, but if she were looking to not get shot, she would have stayed home, she silently commented to herself.
"I know," he replied.
"Could you tell me what I'm looking for?" she inquired. It did not help matters that she wore glasses and was looking around in the dark with a dull light.
"It's about 5'1.""
"Named Kim?" Trin asked with a sigh as she caught sight of her little sister trotting silently up to them.
"You see her?" he inquired.
"She got here damn near as fast as we did," Shego commented, folding her arms across her chest and frowning.
"She's got many more favors than I do," Trin explained. Next time, she knew to just get the military to give her a ride to wherever she needed to go. She would like to see Kim catch up to her if she were in a fighter jet.
"Hey, Trin," Kim quietly greeted her sister. She had the nerve to smile at them.
"Mini-me, did it ever occur to you that there was a reason I rendered you unconscious and cuffed you to a closet?" Trin asked.
"Well, yeah."
"And yet you followed me anyway?"
"Yeah," the cheerleader answered in a "duh" type of voice.
"I'd say damn you, but that would be jinxing the mission. Kim, just stay close to me," Trin ordered and they pressed on.
Shin fed them data on how to get around through the castle as they made their way through to stoned maze. He had hacked into every camera in the place and told them the best route to take in avoiding people. He set things up so that when they got to some place where they were going by a camera, he hacked it and changed the picture.
As they got deeper into the castle, the more difficult it was for Shin to locate places for them to avoid people. He soon just had to tell them the way to go where there were less people for them to stumble upon. Their first encounter would be against eleven armed guards. Trin could not believe that was the fastest route with also the least amount of people. Trin turned her attention to Shego and Kim as they got to the hall with guards and they really needed to go through it.
"Quick and efficient. They can't get a chance to even scream," Trin commanded in a whisper.
Shego smirked. "Count on it. But, after this trip, we've got to work on your damn social skills," she commented because she was sick of being bossed around by the blond, even though that was the first order the college student dished out on the trip.
"I don't have social skills. Kim." Trin turned her attention to her little sister because now they were about to get into something that she thought the girl might not be able to go through with.
"Yes?" Kim asked.
"Just stay out of the way."
"I can hit just as hard as you two," the redhead objected.
"That you can, but what is the likelihood of you doing that?" the blond pointed out. She knew that Kim would think about how she might possibly permanently injure someone, or even worse how she might kill someone, and so she would hold back. She would rather not have her little sister in a position where she could possibly kill someone anyway.
"I can," the teen hero stated strongly.
"Fine. On three, Shego, you go for the right, I go left, and Kim goes right up the middle," Trin said.
"I like that," the super-powered woman commented with a smirk. The right side had the most people on it.
The trio fearlessly bolted into the hall and went to their designated areas. Shego took out the five men to the right easily and soundlessly. They did not even get a chance to gasp. Trin did the same with the three men to the left. Kim went to the middle and took on three goons. She turned to brag to her big sister when the goons dropped, but noticed that Trin was coming at her. The blond dived on her little sister, knocking her to the floor, while Shego knocked out a man that was set to shoot Kim.
"Mini-me, you have to hit harder," Trin commented as if it was nothing.
"And watch your back," Shego added.
"This guy isn't your average goon with your average toy army," the blond informed her sister as they stood up.
"Not with these guns," Shego remarked while holding up an automatic rifle. She bet that if Drakken had armed his men with serious weapons, then they would not have had to deal with Kim after about the second or third time. She was extremely glad that Drakken was not that smart.
"Shin, how many guns do we have to look forward to?" Trin inquired while looking around the hall. Everyone that they took down had rifles in their grip. She had dealt with guns before, so she was not too worried, but she knew that Kim was not used to dealing with men that were straightforward with their villainy. She was aware that her little sister was not accustomed to handling men with big guns.
"An estimated two hundred. We're going to have to pull this out of our collective asses now that I look at it. Are you properly prepared for this?" he replied, making sure to sound like he was taunting her.
"Shin, bite your tongue. We here are all perfect and so are always prepared. So, where to now?"
Shin continued to dish out orders, but they soon came to a point where he informed them that the only way they were going to make it through if bullets bounced off of their chests. Trin glanced at Shego, who shook her head to assure the blond that while she was high powered, bullets hurt her pretty much the same as they hurt others, especially when in high quantity.
"All right, second plan," Trin said while going into her pocket. She pulled out what appeared to be a grenade.
Shego arched an eyebrow. "Are you seriously about to do what I think you're about to do?"
"Depends on what you think I'm about to do," the younger woman replied.
"Going a bit far, aren't you, Possible?" the green-skinned woman asked the college student.
"When you hear Kim screaming for me to stop, that's usually the first sign that I've gone too far," Trin replied.
"With Trin, things aren't always what they look like," Kim tried to assure Shego.
Trin pulled the pin from the grenade and rolled it silently into the next hall that they had to enter. There was no explosion. Instead, there was a very low hissing sound and then what sounded like bodies dropping. Thirty seconds later, Shin told them that they could proceed. They marched into the room and saw that everyone inside, and there were plenty of people, were all knocked out.
"Gas grenade?' Shego guessed.
"A special brew," Trin replied while looking around the large hall. "You know, castles were magnificent things, but they would be so much better if they were not used as fortifications for psychopaths."
"Didn't expect you to start going on about castles and beauty. You okay there, blondie?" Shego teased.
"No, just making an observation while waiting for my so-called eye-in-the-sky to find us something interesting," Trin said.
"Trin, I think we've been found out," Shin reported.
"And that is not what I was waiting for. What do we have you for? Weren't you supposed to be keeping things quiet?" she inquired with a hiss as a frown marred her pale face.
"Look, I can hack the cameras without a problem to make you all invisible, I can intercept communications to make sure if you are seen, I can let you know who and where, but I can't stop someone from wandering into a hallway full of guys that are knocked out. So, don't get on my case," he huffed.
"I'm going to live through this just to kick your ass. Now, where are we going?"
"Keep straight. The main computer is going to be in a grand living room."
"Dammit," Shego sighed.
"I was going to say that," Trin commented.
"You've got to be fast around here," the raven-haired woman replied.
"Seriously," Kim confirmed.
The ladies dashed off straight ahead like Shin told them to, encountering more men with guns as they made their way to where they needed to be. Trin, thankfully, did not have to use many grenades because she did not have many to spare. After all, a person could only carry so many things and remain light on her feet.
Kim thought that her sister tried to sell her short by not inviting her on the mission. She was doing just as well as Shego and Trin. She would admit that she was not doing it as easily as they were. She thought more about her moves when she had to knock someone out. She loathed thinking that out of all of them, Trin was doing the job with the greatest of ease.
Trin went at people with no problem and her two partners could hear her breaking bones with some of her hits. Shego did not know a Possible was capable of such things that Trin did without even blinking. The blond made sure that when she put a person down, the person stayed down without stopping the person's pulse.
They came to the living room that Shin was talking about it. It was a nice room that was probably once the grand hall of the whole place. Shego would have liked to just boost everything in the room, including the rug that they were standing on. She tried to cease thinking about how much money that she could get for everything in the room. She had to get out of that life and out of that way of thinking because she had something better now.
"Shin, we're in the room and at the computer. Do you know the location of the nuke is?" Trin asked as she moved over to the computer. She pulled out her Partner and attached it to the computer.
"How many things do you think I can do at once?" Shin countered.
"I was hoping more than one. You seem to be able to pick your nose and scratch your ass at the same time," the blond retorted.
"Why don't you just call in a favor from Hades, Satan?"
"Don't you think you can have your lovers' quarrel when we're out of here?" Shego demanded with an impatient growl.
"We're not lovers!" the "evil twins" barked at the same time. It seemed like they were offended to be called such.
"Touchy," the green-skinned female muttered with a snort.
"Come on, Shin, do a fucking job and find out what we need to know," Trin demanded.
Shin was about to get huffy and she knew it, but could not bring herself to care. She always got on his nerves when she was in the field and he was not there. He wished that he could just strangle her through the headset, which she was very aware of.
"Oh …" Shin said.
"What happened? Where's the damn nuke?" Trin inquired.
"It's right behind you," he answered. He supposed that it was his fault the thing was just behind her, but he would not say that. She would blame him anyway.
Trin and Shego turned around at an amazing speed to see an average looking young man holding a thick silver suitcase. He appeared to be around their age. He was dressed in black, baggy leather pants with a matching jacket. His shirt was crimson and he had on boots that were black and red to match his outfit. He had a charming smile; well, it would have been charming if they were not so very certain that it translated into "I'm merciless going to kill you all."
"I don't recall inviting you three in," he commented with a strange accent. It seemed like a European accent, but they could not place which country. He sounded so smooth.
"Party crashers," Shego remarked with a smirk.
"So, what do you three want after breaking into my home, injuring my men, and apparently stealing from my computer?" he asked while casting a glance at the aforementioned appliance. He was acting as if everything that happened was no big deal, playing it all like he could care less about what was going on.
"We just want everything. Hand over the suitcase," Trin replied in a similar tone to the young man's voice.
"I don't think so. I'd much rather kill you all," he stated.
"That'll be hard to do with that heavy suitcase," Shego informed him with a haughty smirk.
"Oh, I doubt that," he commented.
"Just to be certain of one thing, you are called Prime?" Trin inquired.
"I am. Why?"
"I just needed to be sure. I'm going to relieve you of that suitcase now, all right?" she asked as if she needed his permission to attack him. She charged over to the leather-clad chap.
"Your sister's suicidal?" Shego asked Kim.
"Mostly just crazy," the redhead answered.
Trin thought that she would be able to take Prime, even though he had already surprised her by being so young. He certainly must have had strange career goals when he was younger or a strange upbringing. He did look like many of the photos that she had seen, but not one stood out particularly as him in her mind. She was glad that he confirmed his identify and she could only hope that he was so arrogant that he was not lying.
She went at the young man and learned something extremely important to the rest of the day: he was faster than she was. She tried once more to hit him, but he kicked her soundly across the room before she even had the chance to touch him. The blow did not stop her and, as soon as her one of her feet touched down, she went right back at him as if the hit did not hurt in the slightest. Shego and Kim decided that they had better get into the act if Trin was downed so easily.
Prime did not panic when the other two women stepped in, even though it was now three against one. He cleared them all away before they even had a chance to hit him. The ladies could not believe that they were all just beaten by a man that could only use one hand, not that he was making any use of his hands. His fighting style seemed to be mostly legwork, and he was definitely working them over.
"Shit, he's kicking our asses," Shego groaned as she fell back against the wall thanks to another powerful kick from Prime. She spit blood from her mouth as he left her alone. He then turned his attention to the blond and hit her firmly in the ribs with his foot.
"Shin, how's the transfer going?" Trin asked as she hit the floor again. She was bruised all about her face.
"It's nearly complete. He's got a lot of nasty things on this computer. I'm shocked he hasn't blown the world up yet," Shin replied.
"You're watching this fight?" she inquired.
"Should I be?"
"Apparently not. I'll think of someway to get this guy on my own. There's three of us, after all, and just one of him."
"You do know he's your man, right?"
"I guessed as much."
Trin ran at Prime with Shego behind her. She made it appear that she would come at him with a kick, but she sidestepped him at the last moment and he got a surprise. Shego nailed the young man with a powerful, plasma-charged punch as he tried to hit the blond. The green-skinned woman went through his clothing and into his flesh, making him scream. Kim then went at him as he tumbled back from Shego's assault. Trin then joined in and kicked Prime in the arm with all of her might, which caused him to cry out in agony while dropping the case. The horrid crunch of broken bones was barely covered by his pained hollering.
"Grab the case, grab the case, grab the case," Trin ordered, pointing to the object.
"I got it. You need to calm the fuck down," Shego replied as she bent down to retrieve the case. The Possible sisters held off Prime, who was trying to get the case back.
"Shin, do we have everything that we need?" Trin inquired while trying to break through Prime's defense to make an attempt on breaking his leg. He was too strong with his lower limbs, though.
"Definitely," Shin assured her.
"Then let's just get the hell out of here," the blond commented.
The college student turned her attention completely to Prime and waited for the moment when he was pulling his leg back from trying to hit Kim. Trin then kicked him across the face with everything that she could muster without trying to break his neck. His head snapped to the side and fell to the floor in a heap. The sisters turned to Shego.
"Can we get out of here now?" the super-powered female asked with a sigh.
"Sounds like a good plan. Just check and make sure that's what we want. We don't want someone to actually send us back here," Trin replied while going to the computer to retrieve her Partner. She would not put it passed Global Justice to make her and Shego come back if necessary or even try to get them to do another mission altogether, claiming that they had not done all that was asked of them.
Shego nodded. She put the case down and clipped it open carefully with her powers. She whispered when she saw it. "That's a big bomb," she remarked.
"If we can get it out of here, we won't have to worry about it," the blond pointed out. She hoped that the casing around the bomb was still in order because if she came out of the assignment with radiation poisoning, she was going do have her revenge on GJ.
"Then let's just get the hell out of here," Shego stated while closing the case. She did not have anything to worry about radiation-wise, but she did not like the idea of exposing Kim to such a thing. She would like to think that everything was all right with GJ sending Trin after the bomb and they did have their own people carrying it when it was stolen.
The sisters were in total agreement with Shego and they just wanted to get out of the place. Shego and Kim started for the door with Trin behind both of them since she had been on the other end of the room. They stepped over Prime's unconscious form.
"Shit, he's up!" Shin reported, causing Shego and Trin to turn around since he was yelling in their ears.
Kim was slower to react since she did not have a headset to know what Shin was going on about. She turned when she noticed Trin and Shego going through the motion. Trin and Shego saw that Prime was sitting up. He was bleeding from his mouth thanks to the burn wound that Shego had given him on his chest, which was also bleeding. There was a burning hatred in his hard onyx eyes as he glared at the group with a gun in his hand. The pistol was directed at Kim. He fired before they could even inhale.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Did Kim just get shot?