The Trinity Sitch - Book 4: Heart of the Fury
Chapter 3: Married Hair
Three men wearing jet packs executed their landing in perfect unison, touching down just outside the wall of a secret government lab hidden in the Rocky Mountains. Their leader, a man literally half the size of the other two, pulled an electronic device from his dark red jacket and placed it against the wall. Backing up, he turned his helmet covered head and shielded his eyes. There was a bright flash of yellow light and a subtle 'foomp' sound as the matter disintegrator grenade created an opening large enough to admit the three men abreast.
From the inside they could see the security beams forming a lattice overhead. They knew about them beforehand, forcing them to land outside the wall and make a more forceful entry that way. The security at the lab was getting better, but that still would not stop the genius of Professor Dementor!
He had come prepared. It was nothing to him to pay for all the best, the best henchmen, the best assault equipment but especially the best intelligence. He knew about the self-activating lasers and he came prepared to deal with them. Strapped to each of their left arms was a brightly polished shield. As the lasers started firing, they held up the protective gear, using it to harmlessly reflect the beams. With a bit of trial and error, they were able to direct the beams right back into their projectors.
That done, they made their move into the main building. Another MDG made short work of a side door. Now it was time to be alert for the automated security drones! Just as his mole had told him, they attacked in pairs, each group keying on one of them. All three reached into their equipment and produced a small metal ball, rolling it at the advancing drones. They hit their mark, bursting into a cloud of yellow gas. Instantly the drones were stuck together, incapacitated.
They never learn! Dementor thought with a wicked smile as they penetrated the main lab complex.
"Be careful, my henchmen THIS IS WHEN WE SHOULD EXPECT TEAM POSSIBLE!" he finished in a near scream.
He waited. No one came. No twin boys with their fantastic weapons assailed him. No brown haired cowgirl swooped from above. Kim Possible herself and her new husband he did not expect, as the whole villain community was aware they had passed the torch to their younger team members so they could enjoy their new wedded bliss!
Dementor was almost disappointed when he signaled his men forward.
His target was a large vault on the far side of the main lab. It had been stolen so many times in the past it now remained locked up, not even being removed for study. The vault itself was made of a special laminated compound that would not be damaged by his disintegrator grenades, so a more subtle approach was deemed necessary.
He simply keyed a stolen code into the lock.
The Professor's eyes glittered as the door swung open. Then they snapped open in shock as they came to rest on the cradle in the center of the small room inside.
"Where is it? WHERE IS THE PAN DIMENSIONAL VORTEX INDUCER!" he bellowed. He turned back toward his men, watching them shrug.
He was just in time to see the two figures in black entering a ventilation shaft, high up on the wall.
"GET THEM!" he pointed desperately.
One of the henchmen had the presence of mind to use his jetpack, reaching the shaft just as the second intruder reached the opening. He grabbed at the figure, but she was too quick for him, diving into the opening. There was barely enough room to fit inside, which meant there was no way in the world the henchman was going to be able to go after them. He stopped and looked in his hand. He had come close to capturing the rival thief, in his large paw was a hooded mask.
Professor Dementor stood on the floor in shock. He had seen the mask come off. What shocked him the most was the flash of auburn red hair he had seen as the thief made her escape…
…with his Pan Dimensional Vortex Inducer!
There is something fundamentally wrong with this sitch!
Kim was waiting on her stoop for a friend to drop by so they could go shopping at Middleton Mall. Now, if that friend happened to be Monique or even Tara, well, that wouldn't have been so ferociously weird. Considering the identity of this 'friend', well one might understand how she thought the universe was slightly (no, make that majorly) out of kilter.
She checked her watch again. It was still ten minutes before she was expecting the slightly older woman but she was already a bundle of nerves. Honoring a truce called for by her then quasi-boyfriend Kim could handle. The two of them coming to a sort of understanding when they agreed to work together to rescue him, well, that was easy enough to understand. The two of them leaning on each other for a bit when he died, well, it was in her nature to be sympathetic.
Sherry Lipsky, formerly known as the master villainess Shego, actually trying to act like a normal housewife, mother and friend, well, that was, as one of Kim's other enemies was fond of saying, freaky!
There was still a sort of glitch about the whole idea of literally hanging out with her. She was, after all, still wanted in at least twelve countries. Just knowing where she currently lived technically made Kim an accessory. It was a testament to the level of trust the head of Global Justice had in her that they were willing to look the other way, at least as long as Sherry stayed Sherry.
It was tantamount to a sort of house arrest. A few years back, right before Amethyst was born, she learned how to change the way she looked, as least slightly. Using her glow powers would bathe her whole body in mutagenic radiation. While it wasn't harmful to her, being permanently coded into he DNA, it did cause a few obvious problems. Chief among them was the fact it turned her green. At lot of folks who had seen Shego during her villain years simply thought she was very pale. Coupled with her usual habit of wearing black (well, it was actually extremely dark green) lipstick most just assumed she was some sort of Goth chick. In fact her skin was a very light shade of green, not white. Even her raven black hair took on a greenish cast, especially where it reflected light. She used to think it was irreversible, until, after leaving Doctor Drakken she looked up a man who had literally been her high school boyfriend. It turned out, after all the years of his joking he was the only one around Team Go without any powers that he actually did have some. Using his nascent healing powers, he reversed the effects of the Go Team Glow radiation, completely erasing any trace of green on her body, even turning her eyes back to brown, as they had been up to the time the rainbow comet changed her and her brother's lives.
There was another interesting side effect. Global Justice and Wade Load developed systems that could track her power signature almost anywhere in the world. Since the power itself was technically always on, she could light up their sensors like a homing beacon. When she was normal, she had to will the power itself off. That rendered her invisible to the scans. Even when she learned how to change back and forth (turning herself normal takes a great deal of concentration!) she would still show up if she 'powered up.'
Doctor Director made it quite clear to Sherry. She was willing to look the other way just as long as she didn't 'go green.' The last time she had done so was back before she got married. At the time she was having a joke at Kim's expense and she wanted the younger woman to think she was back to her old ways. The joke itself almost backfired when a squad of GJ agents showed up at her chalet, Betty Director herself in the lead.
Kim heard Sherry's ride even before it turned the corner onto her street. She rolled her eyes as the lithe woman pulled up on a green and black Ducati. For somebody trying to leave an old lifestyle behind the bike literally screamed Shego!
"Hey, Princess! Ready to break a few hearts?" she yelled cheerfully after pushing the faceplate of her helmet up.
"Yeah. So tell me, exactly how are we supposed to go shopping on a bike like that?" Kim said, eying the bike. "What are we supposed to do, buy one item each at Alexandria's Confession and keep it in our cargo pockets?" For emphasis she patted the side pocket of her old denim capris, complete with wear lines where her old handheld Kimmunicator once sat.
"Oh snap!" Sherry cursed. "Now why didn't I think of that!"
Kim shook her head. "Okay, wait a sec, I'll get my keys."
"Are you still driving that goofy cruiser thing?"
"It's not the same one, but yeah, I still drive them."
Sherry shook her head, then pulled off her helmet. "Why don't we borrow Stoppable's ride?" She had seen him tooling around town in the classic Pontiac.
Kim gaped at her. She was still waiting for a cascade of shiny black hair to fall from the headgear, like a glistening ebony waterfall pouring down her back. Former enemy or not, Kim knew that Sherry was extremely proud of her hair.
It now ended some three inches above her collar! It was, perhaps, the first time she had ever seen the woman's ears without her hair being pushed back. After knowing her for over seven years it was just…odd.
"Sherry, your hair?" she said, open mouthed.
"Oh, that. Yeah, got tired to taking care of it. Drew calls it 'Married hair.'"
Kim just stood there staring at her wide eyed. 'Married hair' was an old joke, there were even pictures of her mother with long hair before she married her father. It made her think of her own ponytail hanging well past her rump. Could she ever get it chopped off like that?
"You wouldn't believe how light it makes my head feel. I haven't had this much cut of since I was twelve!"
"But what about your 'Essential Shego-ness?'"
"Well, that's kind of the point, Kimmie. People don't tend to pick up on me in person, but I noticed something when I was at a store the other day. They had me on a surveillance video and the monitor was black and white. Who do you think I look like with no color?"
"Oh." Kim said, realizing that other law enforcement groups wouldn't be so kind as to look the other way. It wouldn't do for some overzealous security guard to 'arrest' the infamous villain.
"So, are you gonna make with the ugly little car or are we just going to jaw out here in front of Chez Snoozeville all day?" She asked, a little of her old snarkiness creeping into her voice. Kim went back inside and got her car keys of the hall desk.
"I'm disappointed you didn't' bring Amethyst with you today. You know I can't resist buying her something purple."
"Oy, with the purple stuff. At least that's better than you getting her started on one of those belly shirts of yours."
"Hey, I like a crop top."
"Not on a three and a half year old toddler." Sherry countered. "Anyway, Drew's got her today and he's taking her to see Grandma."
"Grandma? He's taking her to see Neil's mother?"
"Ach, Princess…Mama Lipsky, Drew's mother?"
"Ohhhhh, right. So she really does think Drakken is her father?"
"I'll tell her about her real father some day. Maybe when she's old enough to understand that. Right now I think it's best she thinks of Drew as Daddy, plus I think it's good for Dr D too."
"So, how's it being married to him?" Kim gave her a sly look as they got into the PT Cruiser.
"Well, the first couple weeks after we got married, it was like he turned into a teenager. Then I think he found my stash of romance novels, 'cause he started trying stuff."
"Oh?"
"Not like that, Punkin. I mean, things like soft music, rose petals, all that garbage the writers of those books seem to think women go for."
"And you don't?"
"Let's just say I preferred him in 'randy teenager' mode." A wicked smile sprang to life on her face. Kim just grimaced, thinking of Doctor Drakken trying to be romantic. And that's worse than thinking of him as a horny teen how?
Sensing she was on the verge of hitting pay dirt, Sherry pressed on. "So, how about you and Stoppable? I didn't see him."
"Oh, he's still in bed. We slept in this morning instead of going to church."
"Church? I thought he was Jewish."
"He is. One week we go to Temple, the next we go to church. This was church week, but we were up a bit late last night."
Sherry noted the blush on her cheeks. There was a time when she thought it so odd that somebody so high on the so-called "Food Chain" like Kim would have been interested, let alone head over heals in love with a guy like Ron, but the more she saw the two of them together, the more she knew why. She once had just a taste of that kind of love and part of her was extremely jealous of the younger woman for it.
Ron opened his eyes slowly, his body and mind not quite ready to relinquish the bed. The digital clock on the television across from him told the story, however. It was past eleven and it that was far too late to be in bed, no matter how comfortable it was. Then again, the fact he was alone in the bed was another reason to get up. If Kim had still been there with him he would likely have stayed all day long.
It had been known to happen!
Four hours in the car, eight hours in a meeting, then coming home to other strenuous activities (he wouldn't trade it for the world!) had caught up to him. He didn't even wake up when Kim left, probably about an hour earlier. He rolled out of bed and started searching for his boxers.
Despite the fact they lived there alone, Kim made it clear quite quickly that they would not behave like cavemen in their own house. It was fine to parade around the bedroom in their all-together, but in the rest of their home they would be dressed.
Well, boxers was dressed enough for him, at least for the moment. Kim wouldn't be home for hours yet, so what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her (or him!)
He wandered downstairs and headed for the kitchen. He was still afraid of what he might find there. Kim wouldn't let him in, despite the fact all she had served was of the pre-prepared frozen variety. He needn't have been so alarmed, as it turned out, she had done a fairly good job of cleaning up any mess she might have made.
Sleeping soundly in a now-empty foil baking pan was Rufus. Apparently he could trust Kim well enough with lasagna. His little bulging belly told the tale of why there would be no leftovers today, even though it was supposed to be 'Family Sized!'
Convinced he was alone in his home, Ron did what any red-blooded male would do; he belched and scratched himself. It was at that moment a figure dressed totally in black appeared in front of him.
Not knowing whether it was from extreme embarrassment or fear, he did what he always did in that kind of situation. He screamed.
Alarmed, Rufus sprang up from the lasagna pan, red sauce smeared all over his lips.
The ninja reached up and pulled off her hood, revealing short black hair and the golden complexion of a beautiful Japanese woman about the same age as Ron.
"Stoppable-san, I see you are still practicing your 'screams of courage.'" She said with a smile as she bowed.
"Y…Yori? What are you doing here?"
"Can old friends not pay a visit? I would have thought you would be glad to see me."
Ron was confused. The last time he had seen the young woman she had seemed almost on the verge of tears, presumably over his impending marriage to Kim, to the point she even refused to come to the wedding. Now she was here, in his home, looking at him like…
…like a hungry animal!
"Um, Yori, uh, I think I'd better get dressed, ya know, maybe get cleaned up a bit." He squeaked, realizing he was wearing only day-old boxers. He backed up a few paces, not taking his eyes off of her.
She advanced on him a couple steps, her dark eyes never leaving his. "Stoppable-san." She whispered breathlessly, reaching for him. He tried backing up further but the kitchen table blocked his retreat. She reached him and pressed her body up against his, her lips brushing against his ear.
"Yori! What the…stop!"
"Shhhhh." She whispered in his ear, her hands reaching for places only Kim had been.
"Whoa!" he screamed, twisting out of his grasp, his anger starting to rise. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but the Yori I knew had nothing but respect for me! Just what the hell is going on?"
"Ron-san, Sensei has finally come to a conclusion about the questions you came to him with last year. It is clear to him now that your destiny lies not with Kim Possible but with me at your side to guide you as you wield the Lotus Blade."
"Earth to Yori!" Ron said, desperately pushing a chair between them. "In case you didn't notice, I married Kim. There's a whole world of difference between that and some notion I'm destined to be with you!" He happened to glance at the counter behind her. Rufus was there, desperately waving to him. They locked eyes for just a moment and he gestured with his tiny claws, first at his nose, then at Yori, shaking his head emphatically.
That told Ron everything he had to know. Whoever this was, it wasn't the woman he knew at Yamanuchi. At the moment he didn't know whether she was a synthodrone or what, but he had to get away, to get to some kind of weapon. If she was a drone he had to deal with her quickly, but in the moment she had been up against him, he somehow got the notion she was flesh and blood.
She might not have been Yori, but she was just as fast. Before he could react she was on top of him once more, only this time not aiming to seduce him. In one fluid motion she was behind him, her arms around his neck. It might not have been a true ninja-move, but it was just as effective.
In moments, Ron blacked out, the sleeper hold having its intended effect.
The False-Yori slipped her hood back on. Speaking in a language that was not Japanese or English, she summoned two more ebon clad figures from their respective hiding places.
"Take him to our transport. Use a stun staff if you have to, but do not let him wake up. I will be with you shortly."
The two figures, one male, one female, their faces unseen behind their masks, nodded in response and bore the unconscious Ron from his kitchen.
The woman who wore Yori's face pulled a swatch of material from the folds of her gi, letting it fall to the floor. Smiling under her mask, she followed her two companions out the back door.
Drew stood in the door of the main parlor, watching Amethyst playing a game with the ship's avatar. She looked so much like her mother it wasn't funny. He had to remind himself that what he was doing was necessary, though it pained him terribly thinking he was using the child, even if it was just to gain access to the ship without anyone else knowing about it, especially his new wife. He knew he had to do what he came to do and do it quickly. The longer he staid here the more likely Ammie was to make some kind of off-hand comment that would make her mother suspicious.
He didn't want to fall in love with Shego, at least not the way he did. Over the years he knew he had come to care deeply for her. It wasn't until she found out about her life before they had even met that he cared even more than that. Drew found himself becoming jealous of a man he had only briefly met.
Then there was this notion the man who broke him out of prison put in his head that he was somehow supposed to be her protector and that he would have to become something called an "Arcus" to do so. He only wished he knew more about what would be entailed than what the man who identified himself only as 'Gryphion' had told him.
All he had to go on was an ancient text that wasn't even written in a language written on Earth. After over four years of trying he had only scratched the surface, but that was enough.
The power in that book was beyond anything he had ever previously imagined!
Somewhere along the way, however, he started to see Shego differently. Maybe it was the fact she was getting a little older, the difference in their age becoming less and less of an issue. Maybe it was the fact he started seeing her as a woman and a mother. It struck him as odd that had never occurred to him until that regrettable time Cyrus Bortel's mood controller had gotten onto her. Even then he was more freaked out than titillated but in the aftermath (as he healed!) he had time to think about it. When she had finally worked up the nerve to see him and apologize, all he could think about was how beautiful she actually was. Then, slowly but surely they slipped back into their old ways.
Then came the incident with the Valkyrie, almost costing him everything.
Amazing how priorities could shift. Even the scant knowledge he had gleaned from this 'Lesser Copy of the Book of Arkon' as enough to point him in a new direction. Part of him was glad he had not been given the book, or even the translation earlier in his life. The knowledge was too dangerous. In the wrong hands it could wreak untold havoc on the world.
He still lay awake at night thinking what if?
That was before he became aware of the forces gathering against his world.
He had been right about one thing, though. The powerful computer on the Trinity did have a working knowledge of ancient Arkonian. Where it had come by it, he had no clue. That was a mystery to be plumbed once the world was safe again. For now, it was just a matter of figuring out exactly what the grimoire actually had to say.
The file was almost complete. Once done he would instruct the computer to forget he had been there. She (he was thinking of the computer as a female since she used a woman's face as her avatar) would balk, but all it would take was a single command from Amethyst and she would obey. Strange they would name a child who had not even been born at the time as the rightful owner of the craft!
Just a few more minutes and he would go back to Shego, after a quick trip to his mother's to see the child so his cover story would hold. His poor mother didn't have a clue that the child wasn't actually his. She had been working under a delusion that his assistant was much more than that, long before he had any real feelings on the matter. As far as she was concerned, she was the doting grandmother of the precious child. It didn't hurt to let her think so as long as he could.
Even after the last few years, when Shego had shared her real name with him for the first time, he still thought of her by the one name he had always known her by. In fact, he was the only person in her life she would allow to call her that. It had become a sort of nickname, just as she called Kim Pos…Stoppable (yes, he had to correct himself almost every time he thought of her) Kimmie or Princess or, less often, Punkin, or that his old nemesis' husband called her KP.
Just the same as the fact she still called him Dr. D.
The computer console he was using chimed. The translation was complete. He took his storage device from the receptacle and turned to watch his 'daughter.' He almost spoke, but decided to instead let her finish this round of her game. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her and she seemed to be having an extremely good time playing with the avatar.
It was the child that had finally brought them together. Something inside him changed when he held her and never more so than the day she spoke her first words. Of course, they had come out something like 'da-ah' but there was no doubt in his mind she meant 'Daddy.' He actually started crying when he heard that, then he caught the look on Shego's face as she watched the two of them.
Later that week, she kissed him, for all intents and purposes, for the first time simply because she wanted to. It wasn't anything more than a kiss, but it was the first indication she might be feeling some of what he felt for her.
It took two years for him to work up the nerve to propose to her.
He closed his eyes for a moment, shuddering at the thought what he was doing might be seen as a betrayal of that love.
Betrayal it may be, but it was for her own good. It was for everyone's own good.