Warning! The end of this chapter was very hard for me to write, so it will probably be very hard to read.
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor did I create any of the characters in this story.
The Day it Happened
At Drakken's Lair (12:01 am):
"I thought you said that both of those boxes had the same concentration of the agent." Shego said, as she started to realize what they may have done to Kim Possible's Dad.
"That's what you get for walking around with those damned headphones in your ears. Bad hearing!" Drakken said with a bite in his voice.
"My hearing is just fine Doc. Don't push it…" She flared a finger to put emphasis on her words. After extinguishing her finger, Shego asked, "Tell me again how this was all supposed to work? It seemed a little complicated. Again."
Drakken puffed out a breath of air, as he was getting a little miffed at his cohort. "Ok, Shego. Listen this time." He quickly glanced at her ears to make sure she didn't have any earphones stuck to her.
"The chemical agent removes all inhibitors in the brain. Basically it shuts down your ability to stop yourself from acting on impulse. Say you felt like killing someone for cutting you off on the freeway." Shego listened patiently.
"You don't do it. Why? Because it's just an impulse. A knee-jerk reaction. Well, after exposure to my chemical agent, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself."
"And this is why…?" Shego implored. Now she was wishing she had paid more attention to what Drakken was doing. This sounded pretty serious, messing with someone's mind.
"The impulse factor needs to be removed so that I can place a suggestion into that person's mind, and have them do whatever I want, no questions asked. That's what the mechanical bug was for, so I could communicate." Drakken was sounding pretty pleased with himself for coming up with such a plan.
"I made one batch with a weak formula, so that it would be temporary. I didn't want to ruin Dr. Possible's life completely. I also made a highly concentrated version to see if I could control something such as an animal, or maybe use it on someone I really, really detest."
"And what will this highly concentrated version do to someone?" Shego implored.
"Quite simply, it breaks all barriers down in the brain, and reverts the person to an almost primal-like state. It also let's the subconscious intrude into the conscious. The person would go completely mad!"
"See, now why would you invent something like that?" Shego asked her Boss.
"Because I can." Drakken said matter of factly.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Possible residence, Midnight (12:02 am):
"Where is James?" Anne Possible wondered aloud to no one in particular. "He said he would be late, but I didn't think it would be this late." She was really beginning to worry, as she had called a few times, and no one had answered. She even tried his mobile phone and pager, nothing.
I really don't want to wake Kim up and worry her. Maybe if I can get her Kimmunicator, I can call Wade and see if he can look in on James. Anne was starting to formulate a plan in her head. She quietly went up the steps to her daughter's bedroom, and saw the Kimmunicator sitting on the small table by her bed.
After quietly tip-toeing across the room, Kim's mom had just lay her hand on the Kimmunicator, when it beeped! Beep beep be deep…
Immediately Kim's eyes snapped open, and she reached over for the device, and her hand landed on her mom's hand. The contact startled them both.
"Mom…! What's up?" Kim said, looking at her mother with sleep heavy eyelids.
"Nothing dear, nothing." The device beeped again. "You better answer that."
"Kim picked up the Kimmunicator, and keyed the answer button. "What's the sitch Wade?"
"Kim, you're not going to believe this, but there's some sort of disturbance at your Dad's office building." Immediately Anne's hand shot to her mouth, and muttered a single word. "James…"
Wade continued. "I was just now able to get into the security cameras. You want to see what's going on?"
"Please and thank-you." Kim said as she sat up in bed. She was wide-awake now.
The image on the Kimmunicator fuzzed a little bit, and then an image of an office appeared. "That's Dad's office." Kim said. She recognized it immediately.
The desk chair was overturned, and there were papers strewn all over the place. It looked as if all contents that were on top of the desk had been swept off, as they were all piled up on the floor to one side. Suddenly from somewhere off camera, a book came flying across the room.
"Wade, can you pan the camera over, and get me some sound?"
"Yes, and yes." Wades voice could be heard over the device's speaker, but the image of the office stayed on the screen. The image shifted, and then the sounds of breaking glass and falling objects could be heard. There was also the unmistakable sound of grunting. Suddenly an image of a person could be seen, as it lifted a fairly large model of a rocket, and smashed it on the floor. The image got bigger, as Wade zoomed in on the person. The person's back was to the camera.
Anne was also watching the images over her daughter's shoulder, and she immediately recognized who it was. She could pick her husband out of a dense crowd people if she wanted to.
Finally the person turned around towards the camera. It was James! Kim's Dad, Anne's husband. His shirt was torn, no, actually shredded, but it still hung on his shoulders. His shoes and socks were gone, and his hair was sticking out in all directions. There wasn't much for detail, as the image was black and white, but it was unmistakably him!
Kim gasped in shock, as did her Mom. Then without warning, the image disappeared, and Wade's face appeared. "What do we do Kim?" He asked.
"I'll go get Ron, and we'll get over there right away! Wade, start working on any reasons why this might have happen to my Dad. Oh, and get us a ride please!"
"Take the van Kim." Her Mom said. "That way you won't have to wait."
As the teen hero quickly dressed, she called Ron. As soon as he heard what was happening, Ron said he would be ready as soon as she got to his house.
Kim was driving at break-neck speed after picking up Ron. She wanted to get there as quickly as possible and find out what was going on with her Dad.
"Kim? Can you slow down, just a little bit? We can't help him if we don't arrive alive." Ron's fingers were clutching the dash, his knuckles white.
Without even slowing down, Kim crashed the van through the wooden arm that was down at the guard station. No one was there, as all guards were inside, trying to break into Dr. Possibles office.
Screeching to a halt in front of the building, the two teens immediately jumped out of the van and burst through two of the glass doors. One guard was waiting for them, as Wade had called ahead. "This way!" He said, and all three took off running to the elevators.
It was an eight-story building, but they were only going to the fourth level, so it was a short, but tense, elevator ride. As soon as the doors opened, Kim was the first one out. She ran down the hall, and immediately to her father's office.
Two more guards were in the reception area, each with guns drawn. They were taking no chances with the person inside the office, even if it WAS Dr. Possible.
"He hasn't tried to get out, Miss Possible."
"Oh, and if he does, you're going to shoot him!" Kim wasn't holding any punches. She hated men like this. The 'shoot first and ask questions later' type.
Kim walked up to the door, and she could hear more glass breaking, and muffled grunts. Just as she was about to knock on the door, something slammed into it on the other side, making her flinch. The guards readied themselves as they crouched, and held their guns at the ready.
Kim knocked. Silence ensued from the other side. She knocked again. While everyone was silent waiting for something to happen, a knock sounded from the door, but this time it wasn't Kim.
"Dad…? D… Daddy?" Kim said just loud enough to barely be heard. She heard a grunt from the other side of the door, and what sounded like a body falling. Kim jiggled the door handle. Then it moved and jiggled on it's own.
Is he trying to work the doorknob? Kim thought. Suddenly the latch clicked, and the door opened a crack. "Daddy…?" Kim said again, as she slowly pushed it open.
Before Kim could react, a body suddenly rushed passed her, knocking her to the floor! Just outside the office, she heard gun shots ring out! They were shooting at her father!
"No! Stop! Don't kill him!" The tears in Kim's eyes began to flow as she untangled herself from a mass of cables that she had landed in, and then rushed back out into the reception area. She was expecting to see her father laying on the floor shot, but what she saw was much more confusing.
All three guards were lying on the floor, unconscious, and Ron was standing there, holding all of their guns! "They tried to shot him, Kim! But I stopped them!"
He dropped the guns to the floor, and spoke again. "Now let's go get your Dad!"
The two young heroes ran into the hallway, and could immediately see which way James had went, as there were marks on the wall, and paintings were ripped down off of their mountings. The trail led to the emergency stairway at the end of the hall.
The two burst through the door, and stopped. "Which way Kim?" There was no way to tell which way he had gone, and since he didn't have any shoes on, they couldn't hear him either.
"You head to the roof Ron, I'll go down!"
The two split up. Ron reached the top, and found the roof entrance. The door had been forced open. In fact, it looked like it had been ripped open! Hanging loosely on one hinge, as soon as Ron approached it, it fell, the sound echoing down the stairwell.
Ron stepped through the opening out into the cold night air. It was about 1 o'clock in the morning, and it was dark out. A layer of clouds had moved in, blocking out the moon and stars, and the roof was shrouded in darkness. Lightning could be seen off in the distance, followed by the distant rumble of thunder. There was one lone light in the center of the roof, and a large radio tower was sticking straight up. On it's top was a blinking red light to warn any low-flying aircraft of the obstacle.
Ron scanned the roof, looking for anything. "Mr. Dr. P.!" Ron yelled. "Are you up here? Where are you?"
Without warning, Ron was tackled from the side! His training taught him to roll and push, which is what he did, launching his attacker about 10 feet away. He stood up in a ready stance, and turned towards the form that was slowly standing up.
"Dr. P.? Is that y… you?" Ron stammered. What happened to him?
The figure slowly walked towards Ron, but it didn't look like he was going to attack. Ron was ready for anything, but not what he suddenly saw.
James Timothy Possible looked like an animal! His eyes were wide, and bloodshot, his mouth curled up in a snarl! His breathing was ragged, and labored. "Ron…"
He spoke! "Dr. P.?" Ron said, dropping his defenses.
"R… Ronald… H… help me! Th… the things in m… my h… head… I… I… can't! Aaauuuuggghhhh!" He threw his head back, screaming into the air. Ron immediately went to his side to try to help him, but he was pushed away!
"N… no… Ron… I… c… can't c… control m… my th… thoughts! M… my… urges!" He grunted loudly, sending spit through the air. "I… (huunnngh) can't g… go on… like th… this! I… I w… want to… d… die!"
"No… We can help you Dr. P. … James…" Ron said, tears running down his cheeks from his fear and sudden sadness. He wanted to help so badly, but he didn't know what to do!
Breathing heavily, James suddenly turned and ran towards the edge of the roof! "No!" Ron cried as he ran after him.
Dr. James Timothy Possible knew that somehow he could not live this way. The urges that he was feeling could not be cured. He had to end his life so as not to subject anyone else to what he was going through. He was beyond help, and he knew it. Even in his state of mind, he knew what had to be done.
James stepped up on the small curb that ran around the edge of the roof, turned, and looked back at Ron who had stopped just a few feet from him.
"Mr. Possible! James! D… don't do it!" Ron was pleading with Kim's Dad to not take his own life. "Think of your family! Think of… your wife and kids!"
"I… I am… R… Ronald… Good-bye, S… Son!"
Ron's eyes grew as big as saucers when he heard Dr. Possible call him Son. There was a deeper meaning in that one word, it was as if he was accepted. It was as if Dr. Possible had given Ron his blessing to be with his daughter. To marry her.
"Noooo!" Ron leapt forward to grab his shirt, but his fingers just grazed the man's chest as he fell away from him, and off the roof of an eight-story building!
Ron dropped to his knees just in time before he too went over the edge. His stomach landed on the small curb, knocking the wind out of him. He lay there, trying to catch his breath, but he couldn't take his eyes away from what he was seeing on the ground below.
Kim had seen her father fall, and then saw Ron appear immediately where her father had been on the roof. His hand was still outstretched, as if he had pushed him. Kim ran to her fathers side, and gently lay his head on her lap as a loud crack of thunder sounded, and rain fell from the sky, as tears began to run from her green eyes.
She cradled his head in her arms, and rocked back and forth, crying. Suddenly she could feel Ron's presence behind her. How he got down the stairs so fast, she didn't know. She didn't care. She felt movement in her lap!
"Oh Daddy…Please, please don't leave me… please…"
His lips moved as if he was trying to speak, and Kim lowered her head to place her ear by his mouth. James Timothy Possible whispered his last words to his daughter, and then died in her arms.
Overcome with grief, Kim continued to hold his head as she rocked back and forth on her knees, crying.
In an attempt to show comfort to his grieving girlfriend, Ron stepped up behind her, and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. To his surprise, she shied away from his touch.
"Please, Ron… leave us… leave me… alone."
"I… I'm sorry, Kim," Was all he could say. What else could he say? There was no way he could comfort such grief.
"Sorry? Sorry!" Kim sounded like she was getting angry. In fact, she was almost hysterical. "That's all you can say Ronald? Sorry?"
The anger inside her burst out like a dam releasing floodwaters. The torrent that ensued crashed into Ron and threw him back on his heels. "You… You… k… killed my… F… Father!"
Kim knew what she saw. She saw her father fall off a roof, and then Ron appeared at the edge, with his hand outstretched.
How could he do it? She thought. Could Ron have pushed Daddy from the roof? It's the only explanation! My Dad would never jump on his own accord! Ronald killed my father!
Thunder and lightning filled the night sky and rain fell, mixing with tears of anger, sorrow, and pain.
To be continued…
I heartily recommend you read something light-hearted at this time.