A/N This is the first chapter that takes place in the present. Read and review of course.
Anthony shivered, it wasn't that he was cold, he just felt sick. A breeze came in carrying the rank smell of the alley he was lying in. He knocked over a trash can and its contents spilled onto the ground. A newspaper caught his eye and he grabbed it, checking the date. The portal had worked, he was in the past.
He threw up.
"I'm sorry that this is how it's turned out. But you have to stop this from happening by any means necessary."
Her words still rang through his mind, the words Dr. Director had told him before she pushed him in the time portal. He remembered the feeling of every cell in his body being stretched, pulled apart and then being put back together again. It had happened in the blink of an eye, instant time travel. Next thing he knew he was drowsily waking up in this dank alley.
"Any means necessary."
He still didn't understand. He may never understand. There were just so many questions, and right now, he knew only a few things.
He was in the past, he was confused, he was hurt…
He pulled out the small compass like object that Dr. Director had given him. The screen blinked once, twice, then it shut off. He didn't know where the rest of his team was or if they had already arrived in the present. He was alone.
Anthony slowly pulled himself up. He was still somewhat in a fog. He threw up again, and wiped the filth away from his mouth with his sleeve.
She was dead, his mother gone, dead, killed by his own father.
He swiftly stumbled out of the alley, his eyes on the sidewalk.
"Stop this from happening."
"Any means necessary."
He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't care. He just had to keep moving, the night air was bracing.
"Any means necessary."
He didn't notice the lumbering buses that passed by or the cabs going in and out of their garages. The few people out on the street passed him by like a blur. He failed to notice and appreciate the lack of tension in the air, or the lack of armed agents patrolling the streets. All of them signs of a peaceful era.
My mother is dead.
A police car, siren wailing, rushed by him, a limousine blaring loud party music parked across the street. He heard nothing but his feet pounding on the pavement. The sky was dark, but the sun was almost up.
"Stop this from happening."
Anthony kept moving, the more he moved the worse he felt. Finally, he dropped to the ground, and he cried. He allowed himself to cry for a few minutes, then got back to his feet.
Anthony finally looked at his surroundings. He was in front of what looked like a restaurant. He stepped back and took a good look at it. It was familiar, very familiar. He'd seen it somewhere before in pictures. It was on the tip of his tongue.
"Ron, you know Bueno Nacho doesn't open until six A.M."
Anthony turned quickly towards the voice.
"Whoa…" Ned said, "you're not Ron. But man, you sure look at him."
Anthony blinked at Ned twice.
"Wow, its unreal. Are you related to him by chance?"
"Any means necessary."
Anthony licked his lips. "Yes, actually I am, and I'm new to Middleton. I've lost his address, does he live close by?"
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WEE European Headquarters:
Two henchmen in red and white armor entered the colossal lair and approached their leader Gemini. Gemini sat comfortably in the middle of the room stroking his chihuahua, Pepe, behind his ear. They stopped directly before him and saluted.
"Do you have any new reports from our Global Justice spy?"
"Actually sir," said the henchman on the left, "our spy has been retired by Global Justice."
"What?"
"Yes sir, for a spy he was quite old…"
"That's the genius of it! No one suspects an old man is a spy! Are you telling me that he agreed to this retirement, he doesn't really work for them!"
"Sir, our spy was old, and he also had severe arthritis."
"Arthritis? Please," the henchman on the right sneered, "he should have worked through it, right sir?"
Pepe flashed his teeth at the henchman, then he started to yap furiously at him. Gemini continued to stroke him gently and whispered into Pepe's ears until he calmed down.
Gemini looked at the henchman. "Pepe's mother died of arthritis."
The henchman stepped backwards nervously. "I…uh…I meant another kind of arthritis."
"Agent OmegaDelta please step five inches to the left."
"Sir?"
"To the left."
"Uh…Sir may I compliment you on how fragrant your breath is this morning?"
"To the left!"
"OK." OmegaDelta gulped and moved towards his destination.
"Agent OmegaDelta," he moved his finger just inches from a button on the control panel next to him, "you're fired!" He pushed the button gleefully, a large hole appearing underneath OmegaDelta and he fell screaming into the darkness.
Gemini laughed evilly with his Chihuahua. "Did you hear that Pepe? I said you're fired, just like in that show." Pepe cheerfully yapped along with him.
"Agent BetaGamma, remind me to find out what's on the other side of that hole."
"Certainly." BetaGamma cleared his throat. "Um… sir… I've been going over The WEE's financial…"
"And?" Gemini yawned.
"And we're pretty much flat broke."
There room fell into complete silence. Gemini stared at the Agent as if he didn't understand.
"I don't appreciate practical jokes Agent Be…"
"This is no joke sir. We don't have enough money to last another year."
"That is impossible! We're a criminal organization bent on world domination. We've got hidden bases all over the world. We've got our own black market, we've got corrupt politicians all over the world on the payroll, we've got our own satellite that picks up HBO for free. How can we be out of money?"
"Well due to Global Justice and Kim Poss…"
Pepe yapped furiously, as Gemini covered his ears. "Agent BetaGamma watch your tongue! It's ok my little snookums, go to your happy place."
"Due to certain factors," BetaGamma began again, "we haven't had a successful operation in four years, and we've gone way over the budget on the latest project."
"Get to the point, Agent!"
"The point is, if this last operation fails, The WEE is out of business."
Gemini sank back in his seat as Pepe whimpered on his lap. "I can't believe it, WEE might be finished." He groaned. "What am I going to do? I can't move back in with mom and dad." He clenched his fist. "Yes, you'd love that wouldn't you Betty."
"Sir," said a voice from the intercom on the control panel.
"What is it Dorothy?"
"You've got some visitors sir."
"Visitors? This is a hidden base!"
"They say that they're here for a business deal."
"A what?" Gemini placed his face next to control panel. "Dorothy, I need some alone time right now. So please inform the visitors that I'm in a very important meeting and then have them killed."
"That won't be necessary," replied someone from inside their lair.
Gemini yelped in surprise when he noticed the group of five green robed men in the room.
"What the heck? Who are you?"
One of the men stepped forward. "We're representatives from The Brotherhood of the Snake."
"The Brotherhood of the Snake? Impossible, they're just a fairytale."
"Actually, we're very real, we're just not as active as we used to be. A fact we're hoping will change very soon, with your help of course."
"What do you want from me?"
"We're business men and in the business world there is something called a buyout. We want to merge with The WEE. We want your scientists, your technology, your intelligence, your mercenaries, everything."
Gemini laughed. "You want me to agree to a buyout? How absurd."
The representative shrugged. "It has come to our knowledge that WEE is having financial problems."
"How did that already come to your attention, it just came to my attention a few minutes ago."
"If you agree to the buyout, WEE would become more powerful than ever."
Gemini jumped to his feet "We don't need you, in fact we have an operation going on as we speak, don't we Agent BetaGamma."
"Operation Prometheus is under way sir."
Gemini stood tall with Pepe in his right hand, posing dramatically. "You see, operation Prometheus will deliver us to the Promised Land."
"Sir.'
"Yes Dorothy?"
"We've just received a message from Doctor Ingram of Operation Prometheus. He says that there's a problem."
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An uncharted island off the coast of Peru:
The sounds of drums and rhythmic chanting filled the air, disturbing the usually quiet jungle atmosphere. The olive skinned natives danced with a furor around their priestess. She chanted loudly over the drums, grabbing her sacred staff off the ground and shaking it at the prisoners.
Ron and Will Du hung by their hands from a pole that was over a large pit of water. They swung in mid air, side by side, over the pit. "Remind me why I'm here again?" Ron asked.
Will frowned. "You came to save me from the natives while Kim went to steal back the Thyrinium crystal from Dr. Ingram."
"Right" Ron struggled with the rope around his hands. "Well, this part of the plan really took a wrong turn somewhere."
"I told you not to touch that amulet, it's sacred to them!"
"Don't you know when you order somebody not to do something that's just like telling them to do it?"
Will sighed. "If my hands weren't tied up right now, I'd probably hurt you."
"Ron." Rufus squealed. He had also been captured and placed inside a tiny wooden cage.
"Don't worry buddy, we'll be fine." Ron turned to Will. "Well, now's the time"
"What?"
"You're one of those type A people like Kim, always striving for perfection. What's the game plan?"
"They took away all of my gear and I haven't been fed in three days. My body is weak and I can barely think straight."
"So what does that mean?"
"That means unless Kim arrives in the next five minutes we're, pardon my French, screwed."
"Hmmm," Ron reflected on the situation, "you really dropped the ball on this one Will."
The natives stopped dancing, as they now took turns bowing to the priestess. She began to chant wildly in her ancient Incan tongue.
"What's she saying?"
"My ancient Incan is kind of rusty but the gist is that they're ready to sacrifice the virgins to the gods by feeding them to the ceremonial crocodile."
"Virgin!" Ron exclaimed. "She can tell that?"
The priestess continued to chant wildly, the other natives lowering them towards the water.
"I mean, yeah, I know we've been dating for like three years but you know we're just not ready for such a leap."
"I find it rather disturbing, that you believe explaining to me why you're still a virgin is more important than the situation at hand!"
The natives cut the rope and they were dropped into waist deep water. They both quickly surfaced and stood up in the water.
"I mean it's not a race," Ron continued.
"Be quiet!"
"It's not like I haven't thought about it, who doesn't? God knows how much I've thou…"
"Quiet! There's something in the water."
They saw it. On the other side of the pit was a huge crocodile, ranging from twelve to fifteen feet.
Ron gulped. "Oh crap."
"Oh yeah, now you get it."
They stared at the reptile and it stared back at them. It appeared to be one of those lazy looking crocs you see in the zoos. It acted like it didn't have a care in the world. Suddenly with out warning it sank beneath the waves.
"Oh crap!"
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"What is the problem, Dr. Ingram?" Gemini asked from the tablet PC in the Doctor's hand.
Dr. Ingram ducked as a henchman flew past his head. "We've got a problem sir, and that problem's name is…" he pointed at the cause of the ensuing chaos, "Kim Possible!"
Kim flipped a henchman over her shoulders onto the floor. "Yes, I know my own name. Thank you"
"That was for Gemini!" Ingram screamed.
Kim smiled, "Gemini, long time, no see." Then she backed kicked another guard.
"Ingram, you fool, run!" Gemini ordered. "Secure the crystal!"
Ingram broke away and Kim soon followed.
In the next room Ingram darted across a narrow bridge that was suspended over a river of molten lava. At the end of the bridge there was a massive metal door with a large glass window on its left side.
The second he crossed the bridge into the next room, the metal door slammed shut behind him. Another group of henchman joined him around a computer screen, as they watched Kim enter the room.
"Well Ms. Possible, let's see how you like this." He pushed a button on the computer.
Halfway across, Kim found that the bridge was beginning to collapse.
She reacted quickly, bolting across the bridge as the floor continued to drop from under her feet. Her heart began to pump as hard as her legs as she ran towards the metal door. She was seconds away from it when the floor completely disappeared and her feet found nothing but air.
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Ron could hear his heart pounding in his head and he swore he could hear Will's heart too. Seconds ago, the croc had slipped beneath the waves, and there was nothing but silence. The surface of the water was completely still, no sign of the massive beast. Time stood completely still.
"Wher…"
To Ron's left it exploded out of the water, like a missile welcoming him with an open jaw. Wide eyed with fear, Ron quickly dodged, the croc shooting past him. He dove into the water, kicked off against the wall, and pushed himself forward as the croc made another lighting quick swipe at him.
Ron swam a foot before rising out of the water, turning to see the croc rushing towards Will Du.
"Will, look out!"
Will prepared himself to dodge the beast, but it disappeared under the waves again. Ron began to swim rapidly towards him.
Will looked around the water fearfully, when something hit him hard in the shins. The blow knocked him down into the water, and he quickly attempted to swim away. He could feel the crocodile's leathery skin next to his as it snapped at his arm. He yanked it away but the croc got a piece of his body armor between its teeth. It began to shake wildly. It pulled on Will's armor and dragged him under, just as Ron dove onto its back.
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There was small ledge under the metal door. Kim shot out her arm and caught on to the tip of the ledge. She hung there one handed over a river of lava.
Gemini once again laughed evilly from the tablet computer. "How's it hanging, Ms. Possible?" The room of henchman and Ingram laughed out loud.
Kim reached into her cargo pants and pulled out her grappling gun.
"Ha, that'll never work! All of WEE's secret basses are built with mandatory bullet proof glass on all floors," Gemini laughed.
In dramatic fashion, Kim pushed off the wall, raised the gun, aimed, and fired. Ingram shrieked in horror as the grappling hook broke through the window and attached itself into a nearby wall.
"I though that was bullet proof glass!" Gemini screamed.
"It is… that was a grapple."
I don't even have time to argue that logic, just run you fool!"
Kim crashed through the remaining pieces of the window and entered the room, taking the henchman by surprise.
She jumped kicked one of them in the face. Spun and sent a roundhouse kick to the face of another. She did a handstand and used her hands to twirl along the ground, giving anyone in the vicinity a close up of her outstretched legs.
She stopped, rolled forward, and stood up on her own two feet. "I hate to brag but these moves helped the Middleton High cheerleaders win the regionals."
"Run you fool, secure the crystal."
Dr. Ingram hesitated and then he fled out of the room.
Kim sighed. "That's right, head straight for the crystal that I've been looking for. How can you run a base with the latest in evil technology and be so stupid?"
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"Will!"
Ron latched onto the crocodile's back as it went under. He opened his eyes and saw that Will's armor was trapped in the beast's mouth.
It was then that it started its death roll. They were trapped in a centrifuge of darkness. It was like being in a turbo charged tumble dryer.
It's trying to drown us.
Ron's head touched the floor of the pit and his head broke the surface. Suddenly it stopped, Ron gasped for air. Just as the croc began its second roll.
I've got to help Will!
Although slightly disorientated, Ron stretched forward as he felt around for the croc's eyes.
No one's dying here today!
Ron felt a surge of energy. He could sense where its eyes and nose was. He began to beat on the top of its head. They continued to tumble along with its rapid spinning, but Ron could feel it weakening by the second.
Let him go you slimy reject from the Triassic era!
He felt the croc slowly open its jaws, giving Will the opportunity to pull away. Ron stayed on the croc and continued to pound away at it.
He was starting to lose his breath. He was feeling dizzy, his vision beginning to blur. But he had to keep fighting. If he let up, it would be all over. Suddenly the great reptile stopped. Confused, Ron let go and slowly drifted away.
He surfaced to the sounds of loud applause.
Someone grabbed him from behind. "Are you ok?"
Ron turned to Agent Du. "What happened?"
Will wiped the mud from his face. "I think you knocked it out."
Ron looked down at the crocodile, as it laid motionless on the surface of the water. "I did what?"
A loud chant came from the priestess and all of the natives bowed at the edge of the pit. Ron turned to Will who just shrugged. He than turned back to the bowing natives. He took a deep breath and smiled. "I don't know about you, but a guy can get used to that."
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In a laboratory somewhere on the island, Dr. Ingram frantically ran back and forth from three different computer terminals as the alarm system blared loudly throughout the base.
"Ingram, give me a status report!" Gemini cried.
Ingram placed a disk into one of the computer terminals "I'm downloading all the data we've collected on the crystals right now"
"What about the girl, Ingram? Where is she?"
Dr. Ingram turned on his walkie-talkie. "To all available soldiers, where is the location of the intruder?"
First Voice: We've got her pinned in the west wing. She ducked into a nearby room. It's just a matter of time before we're upon her. Over!
Second Voice: The West Wing? Isn't that where the armory is? Over.
First Voice: …oh no… over.
Explosion
Third voice: Oh man she's in the puma… holy… look out… no, not that… over.
Explosion
Second Voice: Well, I quit! I don't get paid enough for this crap… over.
First Voice: Dr. Ingram, if you're listening, she's headed for the laboratory… I don't know how long we can hold her… oh no… so much destruction………………….over.
Ingram punched in the necessary codes to open the large vault in the lab. He ran into the vault and grabbed the glimmering crystal that sat on top of a large pedestal. The laboratory was rocked by a large explosion the second he stepped out of the vault.
Kim drove an armored vehicle that was mix between a humvee and a dune buggy into the room. She screeched to a stop directly in front of Dr. Ingram. "Four-wheel drive, independent suspension on all wheels, four-wheel steering, radar and anti aircraft weaponry… this is really nice. It's a little too big though, I guess somebody was overcompensating for something."
"No! It takes days to learn how to drive that properly, it's impossible."
"Obviously you haven't checked my name." She clicked a button on the dashboard, and a small robotic arm darted out of the headlights of the vehicle and snatched the crystal from Ingram's hands. The arm retreated back into the headlight, and seconds later, the crystal was deposited in the glove compartment.
Kim smiled. "Now that's convenient!"
"You think you've won," Ingram cried, "well you'll never get out of here alive!"
"Ingram you fool, not that!"
Ingram typed a few things into a computer terminal. A loud robotic voice replaced the blaring alarms.
Attention to all personnel the self destruction sequence has been activated. Please make your way to nearest DNA encrypted escape pods. To all intruders… well, you're screwed.
As Kim listened to the announcement, Ingram slipped away. Kim quickly reached for her Kimmunicator "Wade…"
"They've activated the self destruct sequence, right?"
"Bingo! This place is going up in flames. How's Ron?"
"Oh, he's fine, and so is Agent Du."
"Perfect, tell him to head for the rendezvous point."
"Can do. Alright, I've mapped out the fastest path out of the base so you don't go up in smoke."
"Thanks Wade I appreciate that." She placed the Kimmunicator back in her pockets, before putting the puma in reverse.
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Everyone turned when they heard the huge explosion. The priestess said a few words to Will Du. "Ron some of their villagers were captured and turned into slaves by WEE. I'm going to help them free their friends and family, you can go catch up with Kim."
"Are you sure you don't need my help?"
"I'm good, but Kim might need your help." Will, looked around sheepishly. "You know, this is kind of hard for me to say, but you were more then impressive back there."
"What? You mean the whole alligator…"
"Crocodile."
"The whole crocodile thing, that was no big."
"No, really, you saved my life back there. I owe you one."
"I'm sure you would have done the same for me."
"Well, I'd probably have to weigh the pros and cons first."
Ron laughed. "Ouch, that was harsh Will."
Two natives appeared behind Will. "Ron, from what these men tell me, they've managed to steal a Waverider from the WEE base, although they have no idea how to use it. They'd be honored to take a warrior, such as yourself, to it.
"Warrior!" squealed Rufus, who was now on Ron's shoulder.
"Yes, that does have a nice ring to it." Ron said proudly. "By the way, what's a Waverider?"
"Think of it as a high powered jet ski."
"Ooooh…" Rufus cooed.
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The Puma tore through the dense jungle forest, Kim skillfully maneuvering between the thick trees.
"Wade, where is Ron now?"
"He seems to be traveling down the river."
"So, where's the river?"
"Just keep traveling south."
Suddenly a jeep containing four mercenaries appeared from the darkness of the jungle. It roared out of the tress to left, and slammed into her. The impact almost knocked her out of her seat but she kept up the speed.
"Turnabout is fair play!" Kim smashed the Puma into the jeep. It was no match for the Puma, and the jeep skidded out of control and ran right into a tree.
"It was nice meeting you," she called out to the wreckage.
Kim looked around, and she could now see the river clearly from the drivers side window.
Ron should be around here.
As she drove, a screen came up in the middle of the steering wheel
"What in the world?"
Thank you for using The Puma, a by-product of WEE industries. This vehicle has been ordered to self-destruct. To continue driving, please insert your registration key in the next twenty seconds.
She grabbed her Kimmunicator. "Wade," she pointed it at the steering wheel, "do something about this."
"I'll try a remote hack."
She listened to him type furiously on his keyboard, before she heard a sound she really didn't want to hear. "Whoops."
"Whoops? What does that mean?"
"Well my shift key got stuck and…"
Key registration incorrect. The Puma will now self-destruct. Have a nice day!
"No way!" Kim slammed on the brakes, but she was no longer in control of the Puma. "This is bad!"
Five seconds until detonation.
She quickly scrambled to the roof of the moving vehicle.
One second until detonation.
She leaped towards the river, just as the Puma exploded into a cloud of sharp metals and glass.
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Kim surfaced, and the first thing she noticed were the odd looking logs floating towards her.
Those are not logs, they have eyes!
She suddenly found herself surrounded by a group of crocodiles, and they were closing the gap between them and her. She stared at the nearest croc intensely before it submerged under the waves.
She started to swim forward. There might not be a way out of this one.
Abruptly she was snatched out of the water. She felt a strong hand holding on to her own as the wind and water pounded her face.
"You're hanging with a tough crowd there, KP." Ron screamed over the roaring wind. "Trust me, those guys are miles of bad road."
He pulled her to the seat behind him. "You're timing couldn't have been more perfect."
Ron smiled a broad beaming smile. "I do what I can." Slowly, the smile faded slightly. "You know KP, normally I wouldn't mind having your wet body rubbing against mine, but there is something hard jabbing me in the back."
"That's probably the crystal," she chuckled. "At least now you know what I go through."
"I already told you Kim, every time that happens it's because we're usually on something that is vibrating."
"OK, what about the time we were in that freefall?"
He paused. "That was the wind resistance."
The water around them suddenly exploded under rapid laser fire. Ron zipped across the rivers surface as dozens of laser blasts rained down around them.
"There, look…"
Ron turned and stared at what Kim was pointing at. The laser blasts were coming from a single gun turret that was slowly skimming the surface. Ron put the Waverider into full throttle, trying desperately to keep control as it bounced wildly against the waves.
"What is that?"
The turret began to rise up out of the water, revealing that it was part of something massive. At first, it appeared to be submarine, but as it continued to rise out of the water, it now resembled a warship. Dr. Ingram stood at the bow of the ship laughing menacingly. "Get the vacuum ready."
The front of the ship suddenly began to change shape, morphing itself until it resembled a jet engine. With a large roar, the propellers in the "vacuum" came to life, creating a mini cyclone as tons of water got sucked into the ship as it rapidly surged forward.
"That would cool if it…"
"It wasn't trying to kill us, right? Ron, haven't you noticed that everything you think is cool is usually trying to kill us?"
"Kim, look up."
A global Justice helicopter appeared from above, swooping towards them as low as it possibly could, while it avoided blasts from the laser turret.
"Can your grappling gun reach the wheels?"
"Sure it can, if you can keep this thing steady."
"Call me steady Eddy!"
"Well Eddy, before I do that, I want to give WEE a goodbye present." She removed a small circular object from her pockets. "I picked this up at their armory."
She set the mine for two minutes then attached it to side of the Waverider.
"Alright Ron put her in reverse."
"What?"
"Trust me."
Ron put the Waverider in reverse and it sped towards the "vacuum".
"Hang on to me Ron." He turned and grabbed onto her as she fired the grappling gun at the GJ helicopter, the hook attached itself to one of its wheels with a satisfying click. They were pulled from the Waverider seconds before it disappeared into the vortex of the ship.
They weren't out of danger as they hung in midair, the ship's laser turret aimed itself at them.
"Kim, that looks dangerous."
"Wait for it…"
An explosion set the ship to a grinding halt, flames erupting from the vacuum. The ship tiled when another explosion struck the starboard side. Dr. Ingram panicked on the bow. "What's going on? I had them in my sights."
Team Possible looked back at the river below them as dozens of explosions continued to rock the ship. Finally, it began to sink slowly into the river.
"And so ends another typical day of freak fighting."
"Just another day in the life of Team Possible." Ron smiled at her. "Kim, did I mention how much I like the feeling of your wet body rubbing against mine?"
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"I'm sorry sir, but Dr. Ingram was forced to abandon ship. Operation Prometheus is a failure."
Pepe once again whimpered on Gemini's lap. "Thank you for the update, Dorothy. It's over… it's all over."
"The WEE's reign of terror does not have to end here. Please, defer to the Brotherhood."
"I'd rather eat a bullet," Gemini scowled.
The representative of The Brotherhood removed a checkbook from his robe. He scribbled a few things on the first check and handed it to Gemini.
"No amount of money will…" he glanced at the check "….wow!"
"Dorothy, please fetch our guest some tea." He signaled for the representatives to come closer. "Come everybody, have a seat, we have business to discuss."
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That night:
"Alright mom, I'll be back in a few minutes."
Months ago, Ron would never have given jogging a single thought, but lately he'd been filled with a usual abundance of energy.
He ran past Kim's house and down the street. Having all this energy with nothing to do was driving him nuts, so he'd decided to take up jogging. Anyway he'd spent enough beautiful summer nights in front of the T.V.
As he rounded the corner of the local super market his thoughts returned to what happened at the pit with the crocodile. He had felt something new there, it was a real sense of empowerment.
He felt a drop of rain on his head.
Man I should have checked the weather before coming out
Suddenly, someone grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a dark alley.
"Wh…"
A fist struck him hard in the face. The blow seemed to focus him, and he stared at his assailant who wore a dark ski mask over his face.
"Who are you?"
The man remained silent as Ron swung at him. The mugger grabbed him by the wrist, twisted it and pushed him against the wall, then he landed a sharp elbow to Ron's chest.
The rain began to pour
Ron winced with pain because of his wrist. He opened his eyes just as a fist came rushing at him. He dodged the fist and it hit the wall behind him creating a small crater in the brick wall.
Whoa… that one was lethal!
"Let's talk about this…"
The mugger caught Ron with a bone crushing right, the blow temporarily dazing him, and Ron staggered backwards. The mugger attacked again, looking to land a killing blow.
Ron instinctively avoided the attack and tripped the mugger with his feet. The mugger fell to the ground but then quickly staggered back to a standing position. He was clearly frustrated now.
He charged at Ron again, Ron parried every attack easily now. He ducked under an uppercut and hit the mugger squarely in the chest. The mugger stepped backwards stunned.
"You're shocked, right?" Ron said smugly. "Yeah, well so am I. I knew I was good but wow!"
It was bluff, Ron could barely stand now. Although he was shocked at how efficient he had been.
They both stood squaring off in the rain.
The mugger's chest began to heave up and down as if he was having a panic attack. His legs suddenly began to shake.
Is he scared?
The mugger turned and ran. He ran into the street directly into traffic, cars honked their horn as he stood in the middle of the road, blinded by the headlights of an oncoming eighteen wheeler. The mugger braced for the impact.
Ron lunged at him, tackling him football style he lifted him off his feet sending them both crashing to the curb.
The large truck lumbered past them not even bothering to stop.
"Whoa, that was close," Ron sighed as he got up to his feet. "Are you ok?" He extended his hand.
The mugger stared up him for a few seconds as the rain poured down his face. Ron felt uncomfortable, like the stranger was studying his face. The mugger clasped his hand and let Ron haul him up.
Before he could say another word the mugger embraced him and began to sob gently against his shoulder. The uncomfortable moment Ron had before had increased tenfold. He looked around to see if anyone was gawking at them.
The mugger continued to cry on his shoulder like a small child, when Ron suddenly had the urge to embrace him back.
"Don't worry about it everything's going to be fine."
The mugger backed off.
"I don't blame you. That was a real awkweird moment for me too."
The mugger made a motion like he wanted to say something but he ran off again. Ron chased him down the block where he finally lost him.
He stood there in the rain scanning the area. He wiped the blood from his lips. "That had to be the weirdest thing to ever happen."
He fought the urge to keep looking and started the jog back home.
Well someone's got some emotional problems to work through. The next chapter will be up pretty soon; stay tuned if you dare.