The Trinity Sitch – Book 1: They Say Everyone Has a Twin
Chapter 4
Gossamer and Widget were not young cats. It didn't matter that Widget, the short-hair calico, looked like a big plump kitten. It also didn't matter that she acted like one as well. Long life in a feline was known happen occasionally but for those who knew the Argus' cats, theirs was nothing short of extraordinary. That was just one of the perks of spending most of the last thirty-seven years with the couple.
Gossamer, a full-blooded Himalayan, was no longer a young cat anyway when she came to live with them. Dona had, for a short time, lived with an older officer and his wife while her then-young husband had been off fighting in the war. Somehow the beautiful, fluffy creature attached herself to the raven-haired girl. They never knew if it was because Dona was pregnant at the time or there was another reason the normally stand-off-ish feline was so taken with her but it was so unlike the elder cat Dona was given custody of her when she finally got a decent apartment of her own in Miami.
Widget, on the other hand, was bought as a tiny kitten at a pet store for Dona's and Jimmy's oldest daughter when she turned three. That was the official story. In reality, the small, plump cat attached herself permanently to Jimmy, much to the consternation of their little strawberry blonde girl. Of course, the toddler did everything she could to claim her pet, often carrying the fortunately docile creature around by her front legs. Still, every night she would curl up, not with the little girl, but on Jimmy's chest. At least when he could be home and wasn't off "doing his bit for king and country."
At first, the Argus family assumed that improved health care and feeding technology were to be credited with the unnatural health of the two cats. By the time it was estimated Gossamer was nearly thirty years old they started wondering if it was something else. It was finally pointed out by Murky that Jimmy and Dona were never sick, so maybe whatever kept them healthy also extended to the family pets. They never had any real proof of that by they had come to believe that with their hearts. Gossamer was quite literally in her fifties, an age no cat had ever naturally achieved.
None of the burly henchmen Drakken and Shego had summoned noticed two pairs of feline eyes watching them with obvious intelligence as they connected lift cables to the little red starship. If they had they would have seen the two look at each other and nod to each other knowingly, as if they possessed intelligence beyond the common cat.
Shego looked around their lair with obvious disdain. In the few months since they had abandoned it in favor of the Bueno Nacho headquarters it looked like a tornado had hit it. Of course, part of that was the official scouring it had been given by the authorities once they had been arrested but for the most part the disarray was the result of the hasty departure. Still, it was the only lair they had with a hanger big enough for the spaceship. She wondered a moment what may have become of the green and black fighter jet she had flown on her Tokyo mission last spring, but it was likely in the hands of Global Justice or some other authority.
Drakken was nowhere to be seen, probably off still grumbling about his bandaged feet. Whatever the little ship was made of, it was strong enough to resist her most powerful blasts. Drakken, instead of moving someplace safe, had stood exactly where he had before when she first tried blasting the lock off. The second ricochet had blasted his boots to shreds, burning his feet in the process.
The last cable was disconnected from the ship and Shego hit the controls, lowering the platform to the hanger floor. Ugh! Who painted this thing? She thought to herself. Drakken says this thing is loaded with hyper-advanced weaponry but why on Earth would anyone paint a military craft blood red? She half expected to see a Maltese cross painted on the side like it was some freaky "Red Baron" from outer space. It didn't occur to her that she was dressed in a bright green and black jumpsuit colored in patterns that were, at the same time, pleasing to the eye but hard to follow – granted, if the ship was painted green she might have liked it better!
At that moment Drakken hobbled up, his left foot swathed in bandages. He had obviously used up a whole roll wrapping the foot clumsily. Dr D may call himself a "Doctor" but it certainly had nothing to do with the practice of medicine. Actually, she mused, it was very likely he wasn't a doctor of anything at all. This, however, was not the time or place to remind her employer of his (many) short-comings.
Shego climbed up onto the wing of the ship, running her hands over the muzzle of the port side Ion Lockin Cannon. "Are you sure this thing is a weapon and not some seriously tacky fog lamps?" Her hand came to rest on the dull yellow lens set a foot back from the wave-guides.
"Trust me, Shego. I know a death-ray when I see it. This thing is literally covered with weaponry. Small lasers under the forward cockpit, missile launchers front and back under the wings. There is some kind of projectile weapon in the wing tip pods. But those, oh, those things look magnificent, and they're part of the engines! Think of the power it takes for a space-ship to even lift off, then think of that power channeled into a weapon!" He was wringing his tiny hands with glee, the pain in his foot momentarily forgotten.
"You've got to get into it first, Drakken. Whatever the armor is made of, I can't crack it, and if I can't crack it, you don't have anything left here that can. What are you gonna do, build another evil death ray so you can get to the bigger, better death ray?"
"No, Shego! Look at the lock carefully. There is no place for a key, just that translucent white plate. It's a biometric scanner, probably a palm-print reader."
"What good does that do us? That just means it'll be that much harder to get apart to bypass, if we can get it apart from the outside at all. If we keep blasting away at this thing we might damage the very stuff we're trying to get."
"Now, Shego, you're not usually this dense. What did we do differently this time?" He cocked a thick, black eyebrow at her.
"We dropped in, knocked out those two guys, bundled them up and grabbed their ship…waitaminute, we usually just grab the stuff and go. We outsource the goodies, not the people."
"Yes, quite right my dear little sidekick." He noted her low growl for using the "S" word. "If we can't open it ourselves, we'll get them to open it for us!"
Shego blinked twice. This was the second time Drakken had made plans that actually seemed smart. In a blinding flash she grabbed the front of his lab coat and slammed him against the wall.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Dr. D?" she snarled.
"What's the matter, Shego. Am I not a big enough genius to learn from my past mistakes, to learn to pay attention to details. The devil is in the details, my dear. Now be a good girl, put me down and go get me the 'key' to my new death ray guns!" he laughed his best evil cackle as a wry smile played across her lips.
Oh, this could be fun! Plus I can find out why the pretty one called me Donna!
Gary sat up in the cell, rubbing his temples. He took stock of his surroundings before standing up. The cell was obviously made of metal, with a Plexiglas wall instead of bars. He smiled as he leapt at the barrier, activating his power just enough to add "Silver Knight" strength to his well toned arm. He struck it full force, his knuckles contacting it with a mighty swing of his arm…
…and bounced off!
He stood there aghast, more from the lack of results than for the pain in his hand, which was considerable. Frowning, he fully activated his power.
Nothing happened.
Normally there would have been a bright glow much like an eagle spreading its wings, or at least that's what he thought happened. That's what it looked like when Richard had turned into the 'knight.' Over the last eight years Gary had fully transformed only a handful of times, instead relying on the power to provide him with weapons beyond the paired swords he normally wore.
He looked at his hand and concentrated. No mercury-like metal flowed up his hand, nothing!
This didn't bode well. So far as he knew there was no technological means to block his power. That left one thing in his mind – something else was blocking it.
In frustration he shook out his hand. His normal human strength was considerable as he often relied upon it rather than his powers. He had hit what, to a normal man, even one as fit as he, was a solid, unyielding barrier at full force. He could already see the bruises forming in his knuckles and it was very likely he had some broken bones in his hand. Oh, really smart, a swordsman bashing his sword hand.
Eight years. It's been eight years since I got real arms and legs back, he thought, and in all that time I still haven't adjusted totally. The bionics he used to have were crafted by the known masters of that technology, the Torellians. They used their cybernetic technology to build their own Super-Warriors. His old arms and legs had been very powerful and armored to boot. They were so powerful that he had a reinforcement implanted along his spine to keep them from breaking his back.
When Jimmy had blasted him through a wall during their final showdown with Malendragma he had in turn started to heal his body of any small hurts done in the battle (Jimmy was shamming turning into their all-time nemesis – the Podondrin) but he was too well connected to the source of his power, ending up restoring Gary totally. It was a shock to see his bionics, and even the spinal implant sitting there in a heap of rubble!
Much as Gary loved being whole again, he quickly learned how much he had come to rely on the enhanced limbs. It had become a crutch to him. That was the main reason he did not like relying on the power he had gotten from his brother. He wanted to be the perfect warrior, but not with help, he wanted it to come from within!
"You looked pretty stupid doing that, Blondie."
Gary just stood, there, his mouth agape. He couldn't believe his eyes.
There was Dona, standing right outside the cell, her legs apart and her hands on her hips, a stance he never really expected the woman to have.
But, what was wrong with her? What had happened to her skin? And to her eyes? Was there something about this alternate world that they hadn't detected?
"What's going on Dona?"
"Okay, let's just hold it right there blondie! Why do you keep calling me that name?"
"Listen, I don't know what's happened to you, but that's your name!"
"No, it's not, pretty boy. My name is Shego! With that she ignited her plasma and fired a blast at the control of the cell. The curved barrier slid silently up into the ceiling.
Gary sprung.
Being a natural fighter, he knew much of the capabilities of his friends. One thing Dona never had been was a warrior. She had served in the Starforce for over a decade, but that was in the capacity of a JAG lawyer, finally retiring a colonel. She had only the most basic of combat training given to all members of military, and that had not been backed up by any extra training in the many years since she resigned. What little she did know she picked up from Jimmy, who was a quite dangerous hand-to-hand fighter in his own right.
Shego's first thought was that he moved like a cat. She wasn't completely prepared for the attack but her own reflexes took over, twisting away from the attempted grapple. She also knew in an instant that his attack had been to restrain her, not to injure her.
Mindful of seeing the man make a sword appear in thin air earlier she brought her hands together and fired a burst directly into his midsection. It was a blast of pure concussive force, so he was not burned like Drakken had been earlier. He slammed into the back of the cell, cracking the back of his skull on the metal wall before slumping down, out cold.
Oh, great, Drakken's gonna love this. The other one hasn't woken up yet and I go and knock blondie back out. Lovely!
Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney. All Intergalax Characters © Nelson Binch
A/N Revised 2-24-06