Trio
Chapter 11
Trust?
At the bottom of the elevator shaft awaited the ruins of the crashed elevator cab, a barely functioning light still flickered on the ceiling. At the top of the ruined car Ash's head poked through the access hatch in the ceiling for a brief moment and then popped back out. A few moments later his head showed up again but this time Ash took a moment to study his surroundings.
When the elevator car crashed it had blown open the elevator doors to the level and Ash studied what he could see of the floor outside the doors before committing to dropping to the floor.
As soon as his feet touched the floor a snarling female Deadite dove in through the ruined elevator doors and basically began to beat the living daylights out of him.
The female Deadite who was wearing the dirty remains of a lab coat that had a nametag on it that proclaimed her name used to be Carol. She probably once used to be attractive but being possessed by a Deadite spirit tended to make anyone ugly. Ash thought to himself as he prepared to defend himself.
The Deadite Carol rushed towards him but stopped suddenly and raising her left hand she started moving the fingers as if trying to gain a baby's attention.
Ash naturally enough looked at that hand wondering what she was pulling, and promptly got punched in the face with the Deadite's right fist.
Ash shook his head from the force of the blow and focusing he noticed the Deadite now had her right hand up waving it.
So he looked at that hand and promptly got hit by her left fist.
"Damn! I can't believe I keep falling for that." Ash muttered as he shook his head.
"Don't you dare hurt my agents." Dr. Director's voice called out from the ceiling where she was watching.
"Oh come on Betty! I'm getting my ass handed to me here. Tell them to stop hurting me!"
The Deadite Carol raised both hands but Ash wasn't going to fall for it this time so he watched both hands closely.
Deadite Carol then promptly kicked out with her right foot nailing him in the balls and sending him to his knees in pain holding his injured parts with both hands.
The Deadite creature then grabbed a hold of Ash's hair with her left hand and winding back her right fist prepared to punch the man in the face while he was temporarily in no condition to defend himself.
Dr. Director landed on her feet next to Ash as lightly as a cat and jabbing with one finger she hit the Deadite in several places on her shoulder and neck. The Deadite instantly dropped like a chopped down tree.
"Spankin." Kim's voice called from the ceiling. "You know the Mik Koh Nee Monk pressure points?"
Dr. Director nodded her head. "Of course, I studied with the monks for several years before I joined Global Justice."
Kim Possible dropped from the elevator ceiling and making her way to the ruined doors she peered out.
A few moments later Ron dropped down with Shego/Deadite. He glanced over to where Ash was still trying to rise to his feet while clutching his aching privates.
"What did I miss?" He asked as Shego/Deadite laughed at Ash.
"No big. Ash ran into Carol who has been turned into one of those Deadite creatures like Shego had. I lent a hand and helped him deal with her." Dr. Director said reaching up and brushing her hair back.
Kim looked over from the elevator entrance. "Don't let her fool you Ron. Ash was getting his ass kicked and Dr. Director had to drop down here and take care of the creature." Kim was still more than a little annoyed with Ash's attempt to kill Shego.
"I could have handled it." Ash said, his voice several octaves higher than normal as he finally managed to stand up right. As he neared Ron, who had his back turned to him watching Kim, Shego kicked out with her foot and caught Ash in the crotch yet again.
Ash dropped like a sack of potatoes once again.
"Oh that is it! You are so going down bitch." He snarled as he got to his feet. Only to meet Ron's glowing blue eyes.
"I told you, you are not going to harm Shego." The young teen snarled.
"She kicked me!" Ash said defensively.
"You know these things are dangerous. Stay out of her reach." Ron replied and turned to walk away.
Shego/Deadite took the opportunity to blow a raspberry at Ash and start laughing again.
Reaching Kim's side, Ron looked at her questioningly and Kim shook her head signaling that there was no sign of any other creatures outside the elevator doors.
Together the group began to slowly make their way onto the Containment and Research floor. To Ash's surprise, Shego/Deadite grew quiet as if she was being helpful and not trying to draw attention to the group.
The C & R level was one vast warehouse like room. Uniform plain round columns ran from ceiling to floor but instead of featureless concrete columns these has clear centers. Floating in the centers were various objects.
Kim recognized some of the items as things she had seen on various missions such as Dr. Dementor's adhesive grenade that she once had the misfortune of experiencing with Bonnie.
Kim suppressed a shudder of revulsion when she spotted a severed BeBe robot head floating in another column.
As the group made its way past the columns, a sinister looking machete slowly floated in yet another column.
Soon they were out of the 'forest' of columns and found themselves in a fairly empty area that had booths along the walls. Sitting in front of some of the booths were obvious weapons of varying styles and functions.
Kim recognized some of the more basic ones as laser pistols like those that Dr. Drakken armed his synthodrones with.
As a single file the group hugged the wall near the booths trying to avoid detection. Kim found herself leading the group even though she had no idea where she was going. She suddenly pulled to a stop when a very familiar sight met her eyes.
A large laser cannon mounted on a mobile platform. It wasn't the laser that caught Kim's attention as she had seen several more just like it. It was what the laser had been modified with that caused a sudden chill to hit her. Near the barrel end of the laser was a very familiar small canister.
The Pan-dimensional Vortex Inducer.
Ron bumped into Kim from her sudden stop and when Kim looked back at him he mouthed silently the word, 'what?' Kim only gestured at the modified laser.
Ron his eyes nearly blazing in anger turned to look at the person following right behind him. Dr. Director.
"You told me and Kim that thing would be locked away! Global Justice was doing experiments with it, weren't they?" He hissed at her.
Dr. Director met his eyes with her single eye for a brief moment before she looked away.
"Ron you are so naive when it comes to certain things. Of course we are doing tests on it. If nothing else how can we defend against weapons like that if we don't understand how they work?"
Ron continued to glare at the director of Global Justice. "I maybe naïve but I'm not stupid. That thing is beyond dangerous. What if while testing it you happen to open a portal to the Cenobite world again or something worse?"
"The Research team assures me the odds of that are billions to one against. Without something to lock in a dimensional 'address' the laser will open only random dimensions. This in most cases will be empty dimensions that contain nothing." Dr. Director explained. She met Ron's eyes again expecting the teen to drop it but to her surprise she saw even more anger.
"That is why your agent Carol didn't stop Will Du when he came down here to read the Necronomicon isn't it? She was expecting sooner or later for someone to try to read and study the book." Ron said.
"No. Will had no right or clearance to try and read the book. I assure you he took it upon himself. I would never authorize the attempt to read the book at this stage."
"Notice she didn't say never read the book but just not at this stage." Ash's voice called out softly from behind her. "Trust me kid, when it comes to government agencies they will always lie to you."
Dr. Director turned to stare coldly at Ash. "I do not lie. Yes, at some point in the future I would have given the okay to study the book for just the reasons I explained a moment ago to Ron. We have to understand a threat before we can devise strategies on how to defeat them."
While Ash and Dr. Director were quietly arguing, Ron slipped next to Kim and whispered something to her.
Kim shook her head at first but Ron just looked at her as if to say, 'you got a better idea?'
Kim reluctantly shook her head and then giving him a kiss she stepped into the shadows of the test firing booth and faded from view.
"Come on we have to reach Will Du and the book and destroy the source of evil if we want to try and get Shego back." Ron said to Dr. Director and Ash.
"And my agents as well." Dr. Director reminded Ron once more.
As Ron lead them away neither Dr. Director nor Ash realized that Kim was no longer in the lead and it was now Ron leading them.
Finally the test firing range was left behind and they came across a virtual sea of desks. Reports and assessments on the equipment being tested were filled out at these desks and then promptly filed away for later review.
The desks were now empty but off in the distance Ron, Ash and Dr. Director could see now transformed Deadite creatures standing staring at a raised platform where Will Du stood. Several feet away from him an ugly book laid propped up on a podium.
The face on the book was as hideous as always but the eyes of the book were at least closed.
Ron and his group silently made their way through the desks.
"There is that damned book now." Ash muttered softly to himself as they neared where the group of Deadites was standing around as if waiting for something to happen.
Suddenly the eyes on the book opened revealing the swirling milky depths. The mouth of the book opened and a hiss was heard.
As one the group of Deadite turned to face the group.
Dr. Director shot Ash an annoyed glance.
Before she could say anything however a second figure took its place next to Will on the raised platform.
Even though the black spider webbing across their faces distorted their appearances, Dr. Director could easily make out the round fat form of Oracle.
"What did I tell you Du my boy?" The man said in a voice much too deep and coarse for his own said. "Human nature, I knew they would be coming down here to try and destroy you rather than being sensible and running for it."
"Always the amateurs." Deadite Will Du agreed. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed someone was missing. "Where is Kim Possible?" He demanded.
Instead of answering him Ron asked his own question. "Why would I want to destroy Will Du?"
"I rule here!" Deadite Du said opening his hands wide. "Not that pathetic excuse for a director, Betty."
Dr. Director narrowed her eyes at him. "That is Dr. Director to you. Only my friends may call me Betty and you are most certainly not one of them."
"You had high praise for me before you started trying to bring in these amateurs." Du snarled back. "And now you are here to try and destroy me?"
"Ahem!" Ron said loudly. "Once again, why would I want to destroy Will? I'm here to put an end to the source of evil. You are just a pitiful puppet of that evil."
Ash feeling a rumbling in the floor glanced back the way they came and watched as a laser on a mobile platform with tank trends came up fast smashing its way through the desks blocking it. The laser swung around until it was pointing at the raised platform Will Du and Oracle were standing on. They could see a determined Kim Possible at the controls.
Instead of being fearful Will Du opened his arms wide as if welcoming the danger of the laser. "You will find that I'm not so easy to destroy! I have power beyond your comprehension amateur."
Kim loudly growled. "I really hate when you call me that. I would love nothing more than to blast you to bits for taking Shego away from us and what you have done but as Ron said you are just a fool being used!" Kim worked the controls of the laser and it swiveled around to point at another target. The Necronomicon. Kim adjusted the controls till the tip of the laser pointed a few feet above the book.
"I know you can understand me Necro… Whatever they call you." Ron stated. "So listen up. I want you to pull out all the evil you have put into Shego and the other agents or Kim is going to fire the laser. You'll notice the Pan-dimensional Vortex Inducer is mounted on the laser and I think you know what it does. It'll open a portal to another dimension. I'm told that in most likelihood it'll be an empty dimension but no one can say for sure. And that is the whole point isn't it?"
The glassy milky eyes of the Necronomicon stared at Ron and the fanged filled mouth hissed at him.
"Uh huh book! Think about it. One press of a button is all is needed and you may get dumped away where you can do no one harm ever again. I believe that with you gone the people possessed by the evil will be cured but I'm not sure either so that is why I propose an agreement with you."
The book stopped hissing and it appeared to be listening to Ron.
Before Ron could continue, Will Du started speaking.
"You think about it Ron. Why are you protecting people like Dr. Director? She has lied to you. She told you she was going to lock away all the things you recovered from Drakken's lair to prevent them from being used. You can see for yourself she plans on testing and experimenting on them. Why do you continue to play the buffoon to Kim's mock heroism all for a world that doesn't remember your name or care if you live? Join us. We will even let you keep Shego and Kim if that is what you want. You can have power beyond your imagination and the bodies of your friends to do whatever you want to."
Ron's face hardened. "I don't want power. I don't need the world to remember my name or proclaim it with honors nor fame and I don't want the bodies of my friends. I want their love." Ron dismissed Will Du from that point on and turned to directly address the book.
"What I'm proposing book is that you pull the evil out of everyone and I won't send you to another dimension. Sure they'll lock you away but as Will Du has said, sooner or later they will take you out to experiment once again and you'll have another chance to try and destroy the world then. What is time to you anyway? You are a book. Now or a hundred years later, do you really care?"
Kim's finger hovered over the button that would fire the laser opening a portal to who knows where.
The Necronomicon's mouth opened wide and kept opening till it was almost half the books surface. The Deadite creatures standing between Ron and it suddenly shuddered and thick black shadows flew out of their bodies and were swallowed into the open mouth.
On Ron's back he could feel Shego shuddering and kicking and out of the corner of his eye he watched a thick shadow detach and fly the distance to the book and was swallowed. Black shadows came out of the ceiling and flew into the book's open mouth.
A shadow came out of Oracle and the fat man dropped like a puppet whose strings had just been cut.
Will Du threw himself in front of the book.
"No master, please don't take away my power. I can kill this worm for you!" Du turned to face Ron and pulled a knife from a pocket. He took several steps towards Ron but suddenly a shadow pulled out of his back and flew into the book's mouth. He tumbled to the ground nearly at Ron's feet and passed out.
The mouth of the book slowly closed.
"Shego? Are you with me?" Ron asked over his shoulder to the tied woman.
"Um, Ron? Why am I tied to your back? If you are attempting to be kinky it would be a lot more fun if I was tied facing you, you know." Shego's normal voice said.
Ron with a smile on his face reached down to untie the shredded hose he had tied Shego to himself with when a bright flash of light caught his attention.
The laser beam shot across the room and hit the wall behind the book and a swirling portal appeared.
"Ron gave his word he wouldn't send you to another dimension but I never said anything about not doing it." Kim's defiant voice called out. "I'm not leaving you in this dimension to someday come back and harm Ron or Shego ever again!"
The book was pulled towards the portal but hovered right at the edge of it. The eyes glaring in pure hate at Kim. The mouth opened and dark tentacles of shadows lashed out of the mouth and shot across the space till it reached Ron and wrapped around his legs pulling him off balance to crash into the floor. The tendrils then attempted to pull Ron in to the vortex with the book. If it was going, it wasn't going without a victim to torture.
Kim's eyes widened in horror as Ron slowly started being pulled towards the book but then he stopped. Kim could see underneath Ron's back a green glow and realized that Shego still tied to Ron was using her hands as much as she could to stop her and Ron's progress towards the vortex. Ron's legs pulled up from the floor until he was practically hovering and Kim could hear him moan in pain from the strain. The only thing stopping his plummet into the vortex was Shego straining to keep her hands embedded in the floor.
More black tentacles shot towards Ash and Dr. Director. Ash reacting quickly grabbed Dr. Director around her waist and threw himself backwards to avoid them. Dr. Director turned as she fell and landed on Ash face to face. The tendril flailed harmlessly through the space they had moments ago occupied.
Ash stared into the eye of Dr. Director. "So, how ever will we top our next date after this?" He asked her as he kept his fully flesh arm wrapped tightly around her waist.
To Dr. Director's chagrin, she started to blush.
A black tentacle shot towards Kim sitting at the controls of the laser. Duck and dodging from side to side Kim managed to avoid the thick tendril as it battered at the laser trying to get to her. To Kim's horror one of the attempts smashed into the side of the laser and dislodged the Pan-dimensional Vortex Inducer. The shiny metal canister was snatched up mindlessly by the tentacle and carried back to the book, which swallowed it down it's mouth.
The laser no longer having the PDVI let out a whine and started to auto shut down.
The Book ceased all attempts to grab Dr. Director, Ash and Kim and turned all of its tendrils on Ron trying desperately to pull him and Shego into the vortex with it as the portal became unstable and started to close.
Finally Ron using the last of his strength managed to kick the last of the tendrils off of his legs and the tentacles retreated back into the book as the portal closed sealing the book away, Kim hoped forever.
Kim leaping from the now ruined laser ran over and quickly untied Shego and Ron. Gently pulling Ron off of Shego she then turned Shego over to check on her. Almost afraid she was going to see black spider webbing across her face.
But it was a normal, well normal for Shego anyway, face that stared back at her.
"Hey Princess." Shego said weakly. "What did I miss while I was out?"
Kim threw her arms around the prone woman and sobbing held her tight. Finally she looked over and saw that Ron was still lying flat on his back staring up at the ceiling.
"Ron? Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. Instantly Shego was up and looking over Ron as well.
"I'm just so tired Kim. I feel like I'm starving and my body feels so weak I can hardly move." Ron replied.
Dr. Director and Ash walked over to look down on him. "I'm not surprised." Dr. Director stated. "That Mystical Monkey Power has to come from somewhere and you have been using it almost constantly since this madness started. You are just completely out of reserves Ronald. Your body needs food and lots of rest."
The other victims of the Necronomicon started to stir. One by one they came to and began walking over to Dr. Director. None of them had any idea what had happened but just had brief memories of shadows rushing into them.
A very subdued Will Du finally walked over. "I'm sorry about what happened…"
Dr. Director cut him off. "I'm very disappointed in you at the moment Agent Du. Your wounded pride nearly ended up costing this organization and perhaps the very world everything. I expect you to turn in a complete report not only on what you did but also why. I am ordering you in for a full psychological examination and depending on the results you may or may not be allowed to continue with Global Justice."
Will Du nodded his head and started to walk off. He shot one last hateful glance at Shego and Kim but Shego merely blew him a kiss and then turned her back towards him.
Shego and Kim together managed to raise Ron from the floor and supported him between the two of them.
"We're taking Ron to Bueno Nacho for some food and then home for some rest Dr. Director." Kim informed her.
"Hope he has a tab at Bueno Nacho." Shego muttered. "Cause I've got no money with me and I don't think Kimmy has either."
Dr. Director reached into the pouch on her belt and pulled a single gold card from it. "This is a Global Justice charge card. It is limitless." She looked at it for a moment and then flipped it to Shego. "Use it as you see fit and I can get it back tomorrow after you all have had some food and rest."
Shego holding an unlimited credit card smiled.
"Use it with reason please." Dr. Director stated. She then turned to address the now awake agents. "All right people I want a status report on the condition of Global Justice and I wanted it twenty minutes ago!"
The agents scrambled.
"Bit harsh aren't you Betty?" Ash asked. "Your people have been through a trying ordeal and things are safe now. Why push them? Why not let them rest a bit? What more could possibly happen now?"
Red lights started flashing and a female Global Justice agent ran up to Dr. Director. "We have reports from a surface entry point on the outskirts of Middletown that there is an intruder."
An exhausted Ron hanging between Shego and Kim managed to raise his head to look at Ash. "Dude even I know you never ask what more could happen!"
As a group they made their way to a still standing computer desk and watched as the agent that had made the report to Dr. Director typed at the console. Soon a security image showed on the screen.
A tall person wearing dirty coveralls was striding towards two agents. The coverall wearing person had a hockey mask over its face. The agents pulled their guns and after ordering the individual to stop and it not obeying them, they opened fire into the person attacking them but it didn't even slow the figure down. The hockey masked individual reached the two agents and reaching out with glove covered hands it grasped the agents by their heads.
Suddenly the two agent's heads exploded from the pressure the individual wielded single handedly.
Kim who had seen a lot of violence over the years stopping freaks bent on taking over the world still hadn't seen such graphic violence and gasped. Shego being a violent criminal but still one who prided herself on never killing anyone paled as well.
"That is just wrong and sick." Ron stated.
The hockey masked individual stared up to where the camera was mounted and the group could see into the eye holes of the hockey mask but all they could see was a darkness that hid the eyes of the attacker.
The individual suddenly hurled single handedly one of the agent's dead bodies he was clutching and the camera stopped broadcasting.
"What the hell was that?" Ash asked in the stunned silence of the group.
"Jason Voorhees." Dr. Director whispered.