Chapter 4
Two days later
"This is crazy, Jonas," came a gruff voice. To put emphasis on his statement, the man slammed the newspaper down on his desk; in big bold letters, the frontpage story was Angels in Our Midst? Jonas quietly took in the criticism while he calmly scanned the room. It was a quietly furbished office with a small tree in the corner. Everything was immaculate thanks to the custodial staff who made sure to clean it thoroughly everyday. With such a taste for perfection, it came as no surprise that the man he was talking to established one of the most credible and outstanding newspapers in the country.
"Crazy sells, sir." The man across from Jonas frowned.
"You know as well as I do that I didn't establish this company for pure monetary reasons. We have an obligation to the country to bring them the truth and this…this could ruin our credibility."
"Mr. Jameson, with all due respect, we have a group of witnesses that all saw it happen." The man known as Mr. Jameson sighed. He wanted to believe the stories as much as the next person.
"These are dark times. There's an aura of hopelessness in the air, and people are just trying to find miracles where there are none."
"But their stories coincide perfectly—and unless they collaborated beforehand, they aren't lying."
"I'm not saying that they're lying. I'm just saying that they claim to have seen a blue blur and felt a gust of wind. That's it!"
"The fact stands that a three-year old girl tumbled out of a forty-two story building and was found safely on the ground."
"Maybe these people are just looking too hard to find a miracle. Maybe she never fell; I don't know!" Now it was Jonas' turn to sigh. He felt defeated by his boss's obstinacy.
"Yes, sir." Jameson's features softened as he saw his employee cast his eyes downward.
"The world's been through tough times before, Jonas. We'll make it through this one."
"Yes, sir." For the first time in his life, Jonas wasn't sure they would.
---Four days after Steppenwolf's ultimatum--Ron stepped out of his car and headed towards his girlfriend's house. Her driveway was completely covered with snow, and each step made a crunching sound. As he arrived at her doorstep, he picked up the newspaper and, like the past three days, shook his head. Bonnie opened the door before he even had to ring her doorbell. He silently followed her to the dining room, his eyes never leaving the paper.
"What is it?" she finally asked, taking a seat to eat her cereal.
"This is getting out of hand, Bon. First they said there were angels among us; then, they said a red blur or flash or whatever tied up the criminals in a hostage situation. Now they expect us to believe a green bubble held up a collapsing bridge?"
"Ron, is it really so hard to believe?"
"Are you serious? You think this is actually possible?"
"Aren't you the one that says that anything's possible?"
"Bonnie, this is just crazy." The two had been arguing over the same thing at breakfast everyday since Steppenwolf attacked.
"But why? We saw a man survive a direct attack from an artillery shell on live TV!"
"That's different!"
"Why?"
"He's a villain!"
"So?"
"These…things would be heroes if they existed!"
"So?"
"Heroes exist to give us hope. If they were truly heroes, why haven't they shown themselves to us? Why has there been no evidence besides a few witnesses? For all we know these…angel sightings are as real as UFO's or blinking lights in the sky. We have plenty of witnesses for those things, but no one believes or trusts them!"
"Is it so bad to just have faith?"
"It's a blind faith, Bonnie. We're all scared and looking for something to cling to. If these people really existed, where have they been all these years? Why has it always been Kim and I saving the world?"
"I…don't know," she admitted resignedly. Ron walked across the table and put a comforting arm around her.
"It's okay. We'll find a way to make it through this." Suddenly, she wasn't so sure.
--Global Justice HQ—
Kim looked around and saw the various agents around her. She had been asked to attend a private and completely top-secret meeting in the wake of Tuesday's tragedy. She was surrounded by men in their late 20's, peak build, and women of the same stature. To her surprise, she bumped straight into Burn, member of Team Impossible.
"Hey, watch it—oh, Kim Possible! I didn't think I'd see you again…after I filed your dad's taxes that is."
"Oh, yea, thanks for that." There was a brief silence before the other members of Team Impossible arrived.
"Can you believe the news these days? Apparently, some guy in blue spandex carried an airplane to safety. Talk about extreme."
"If by extreme you mean extremely fictional," Crash replied nonchalantly.
"What are you talking about, Crash? We've—"
"He's telling you to grow up," interrupted Dash. "Speaking of," he said, turning to Kim Possible. "What do you make of this news?"
"I, uh, I'm not sure."
"See, she agrees with me!"
"She said she wasn't sure you idiot."
"Everyone, quiet down!" Dr. Director had arrived on the scene. Everyone looked up to the podium, attentive to what she had to say.
"As you all know, we were viciously attacked a few days ago. Not as a country but as a planet…our globe of unity if you will. Thus, I have called together all members and honorary members of Global Justice to tell you that sometime, probably in the near future, you will be called upon to put your lives on the line once again. Currently, our top researchers are attempting to find any evidence of what happened in New York, but until then, stay vigilant. Now, what I'm about to reveal to you is completely confidential." Kim silently took a seat, and everyone else in the room followed suit. It was going to be a long speech.
Her mind wandered back to Team Impossible's argument. On one hand, she wanted to believe the stories, to embrace them; on other hand, her practical side told her all of it was impossible. Impossible, as in not even possible for a Possible. People couldn't fly or shoot green bubbles out of rings. She attributed it to the false hope that people were looking for and deep down, she wanted to just completely accept it; after all, she wasn't sure if everything was going to be okay this time.
X.X--Drakken's Lair—
Unlike his usual décor, Drakken's lair was now filled with people besides hie henchmen. Personally, he had been surprised that they had all arrived on such short notice.
"Laddie, what is going on here?"
"Oh, stop your rambling. He's obviously going to tell us in a few minutes."
"He better! My little poochie is getting bored!" squeaked DNAmy, petting her ferocious, mutated dog. A small circle cleared out around her as the other villains slowly backed away.
After what seemed like an eternity, everyone quieted down as Dr. Drakken spoke from the top of his lair.
"Fellow villains, I'm glad you could come!" Just about everyone rolled their eyes. "As you all know by now, we have a new enemy on our hands. No, not Kim Possible, but that guy we saw on TV, uh, what's his name…did he ever tell us?" Drakken's naturally confused state caused the other villains to become restless.
"Just tell us why we're here!" Junior pouted.
"I'm extending an invitation to all of you to form a league…the greatest league that has ever existed! The League of…Extraordinary Villains!" Shego couldn't take it anymore.
"LEAGUE OF VILLAINS. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A HUNDRED TIMES. IT'S THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS!"
"Yes, yes, Shego," Drakken said. "The League of Villains." However, the message had gotten across either way.
"Why didn't we
ever think of this before? Every villain just teaming up to destroy
Kim Possible?"
"What's the fun in that?" asked Senor
Senior. "A villain always fights alone…except in this case."
"What's different now?"
"If we don't make it through this, we're all going to die," Fruger Luger said matter-of-factly. "And I'll miss next year's "your trash is my treasure" sale!" Everyone groaned; it was going to be a grudging alliance.
X.X--Team GO HQ—
"So what's our plan?"
"We wait."
"For what?"
"Your heroes to show up." Mego hated to be mocked, especially by his brothers.
"Look, all I said was that the stories might be true!" All of his brothers cracked up laughing, giving him a taste of what it might have felt like to be like Shego.
"Ha—right, a hot babe dragged a train to safety with a rope!" Hego's comment provoked more laughter. Barely able to speak through their laughter, the twins spoke up.
"Or the guy that moved so fast that he created a tornado."
"Wait, don't forget about the guy dressed up like a bat and goes around prowling the night for prostitutes!"
Mego sighed; he had to admit it was outlandish, but what hope did they have against this new threat? Not even any member of Team GO would have been able to survive what happened to…Steppenwolf, and there were no other superheroes on earth. What hope did they have? He finally chuckled, embracing the laughter while he still could. He knew dark days were coming.
Meanwhile…"Steppenwolf, Kalibak, how are our forces looking?"
"We're ready to launch our first wave, Master."
"Good. We don't have much to spare after our war with New Genesis. Stain their planet crimson with blood. I will personally crush their remaining rebellions."
X.XKim plopped down and turned on the TV after a long day. To her surprise, there was news besides the recent tragedy.
"…and in business, billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne has established his empire in Middleton…"