Author's Note: Continual thanks to all those who have offered in reviews. I do apologize for this delay in this latest chapter, but the combination of work and my desire to finish up my latest collaboration project with my buddy Zaratan has taken up a lot of my free time.
As always, write a review, get a response. And enjoy!
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The claxon of alarms filled the entire facility as solid thick doors shut all across each and every corridor. Trained agents followed pre-drilled procedures, moving to specific points throughout the base, their weapons armed and drawn.
"Lower levels sealed. Containment procedures have been initiated." The lieutenant informed.
"All agents; subdue and capture. I repeat, subdue and capture. Target is to be taken alive." Dr. Director informed over her headset.
"We've got him on the base scanners." A sergeant reported as a blip appeared on his screen. "He's moving out of the detention area… fast."
"Confirmed." The lieutenant reported as he brought up the visual feed. Sure enough, Zorpox could be seen hurrying down the halls. "He'll be dead ending in front of the blast doors in that section."
"Open blast door C-7." Dr. Director instructed.
"Ma'am?" The lieutenant asked.
"Once he's made is past, close the door behind him. We'll trap him between C-7 and C-6." Dr. Director explained.
"Yes ma'am." As instructed, the lieutenant entered the appropriate commands, permitting the door to open. Just as planned, Zorpox arrived a split second after it had opened, running right past it, before being blocked by the next blast door even as the first shut down behind him.
"We've got him."
"This is Dr. Director, target trapped in section C-6. Agents move in."
Even as the director issued the orders, she watched with collected interest as Zorpox moved towards the palm scanner controlling the blast door in front of him. With a fury, the villain proceeded to rip off the scanner panel itself, exposing the vulnerable mechanics beneath.
"Now what does he think he's doing?" Dr. Director posed rhetorically as she watched Zorpox reach inside for the circuitry, pulling some of it out and connecting it to the Kimmunicator.
"He could be trying to bypass the security protocols." The sergeant theorized.
"Heh. He'd have a better chance of opening the vault at Fort Knox with a stethoscope." Dr. Director stated confidently.
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"Hello!" Kim slammed her fist against the force field cell, defiant of its apparent invulnerability, even as the shimmering energy served to mock her again. "Someone let me out of here!"
A low groan was her only response. It took her a second to locate its source back to the groggy figure of Will Du as he slowly pulled himself up to his feet.
"Will!" Kim exclaimed. "Let me out of here."
Will seemed not to hear her at first as he fought to regain his bearings, summoning all his focus and concentration just to stand up.
"Will!" Kim shouted, hopeful that her voice might help bring him around.
The agent slowly seemed to look right up at her even as he stumbled slightly where he stood.
"Get me out of here." Kim emphasized by slamming her fist against the energy field holding her prisoner.
Will seemed to shake his head of the cobwebs even as he picked up a spare weapon, stumbling out of the detention area.
"WILL!" Kim shouted as she smashed her hands against the cell wall angrily again.
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On the screen, Zorpox seemed frustrated as he worked feverishly on the Kimmunicator, his efforts apparently without reward.
"Tried to tell him." Dr. Director grinned triumphantly.
"Agents moving into position." The lieutenant announced.
"Get ready to open the doors for them."
As Dr. Director spoke, she watched Zorpox discard the Kimmunicator, before taking what appeared to be wrist tasers. Frantically, he shoved them both inside the panel, even as he began fiddling with the wiring once again.
"Now what is he…"
Dr. Director never got the chance to finish her query as lights and screens throughout the control room went dead. Power cut across the entire base, leaving the entire facility standing in the dark.
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Kim didn't know what had happened. Yet when she found herself standing in the dark, the distinct glow of the force field now absent, she refused to challenge her apparent good luck.
Without a second's hesitation, she stepped out of the cell, and moved to manually open the detention cell door.
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"He just sent some huge power spike through our grid. System overloaded." The sergeant reported.
"Back ups?" Dr. Director inquired.
As if on demand, lights and monitors within the room and throughout the facility, flickering back to life.
"Coming on line now."
"Thank you sergeant." Dr. Director replied dryly. "Lieutenant, where's my target?"
The lieutenant brought back up the video feed with horrifying results.
"He's gone!"
"What?" Dr. Director stormed over to the lieutenant's side. "He was trapped between twin reinforced blast doors that could stop a stampede. Unless he's developed the ability to walk through walls, that's where he should still be."
"Ma'am, he's not there." The lieutenant insisted helplessly.
"Confirmed." The sergeant reported.
"Then find him!" Dr. Director re-engaged her headset. "All agents, target has disappeared. Return to previous checkpoints. I want check-ins every twenty seconds."
"I'm running a full scan of the facility." The sergeant announced.
"Gentlemen, you two have twenty five seconds to find our target, or else you're both out of a job." Dr. Director warned.
"I got him. He's in corridor E." The lieutenant pulled up the appropriate video feed.
"What?" Dr. Director moved closely to the monitor, even as he watched Zorpox dismantling yet another security scanner. "How the hell did he get two corridors over? We were only offline for a second."
"Looks like he's still trying to override the security protocols." The lieutenant noted, as Zorpox was indeed pulling out the Kimmunicator.
"Where is he? Specifically."
"Section E-4. We already have agents outside the blast doors leading in to that section." The sergeant reported.
"Are the blast doors still sealed?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Alright, no chances this time. Cut the lights in there, I don't want him to be able to see what he's doing. Tell our agents to go in with night vision goggles."
"Yes ma'am."
"Ma'am, I've got Kim Possible for you over the head set." The lieutenant reported.
"Ms. Possible." The director spoke to her headset. "Where are you?"
"I'm behind one of your blast doors and I don't have the proper palm scan." Kim's voice replied.
"I've got her." The sergeant declared as he looked at his monitor.
"We'll clear a path for you. We've got Zorpox trapped and we're moving in to subdue." Dr. Director relayed.
"Where's Will?" Kim asked through gritted teeth.
"Agent Du? Why do you ask?"
"He ran off and left me in your cell." She relayed.
"Ma'am, our agents in position." The sergeant reported.
"Alright, let them in." Dr. Director ordered. "Sergeant, find me Agent Du."
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Zorpox cursed at the impressiveness of Global Justice's systems. He was just about to try something when the lights around him went dark. Even the flood lights were turned off.
Zorpox didn't need a second to ponder what was going on when the loud grinding sound of the blast door opening next to him rang in his ears, proceeding what Zorpox guessed to be half a dozen set of foot steps surrounding him.
"Drop your equipment, and put your hands on your head." A voice instructed, though Zorpox couldn't make out which voice it was.
Snarling bitterly, Zorpox complied, dropping the Kimmunicator and taser to the ground, mentally noting to himself where they had been dropped in proximity to his feet, as he slowly brought his hands over his hair.
"Cuff him." An agent ordered.
Zorpox closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he felt a gloved hand seize his wrist.
Without wasting the effort of opening his eyes, Zorpox moved in a single swift motion, taking the agent by surprise, even as his comrades moved to fire. Every one of their shots was blocked by their fellow agent's torso as Zorpox used him as a shield, twisting him around in front of himself with one hand, even as Zorpox lifted off the agent's goggles, tracking up across his body until coming across the feel of them, all in the same instant.
Even as he did this, Zorpox reached out with his right foot, scooping up the discarded taser and kicking it up into the air. Abandoning his human shield, Zorpox grabbed the two different tasers and brought them together, creating a brief but bright spark of light that, when amplified by their night vision goggles, served to briefly blind the agents.
Zorpox opened his eyes as he slid on his own set of night vision goggles. His eyes adjusting to the images, Zorpox moved to attack the disorientated agents. The first one never even saw what hit him. Nor the second. The third regained his eye sight just in time to see a fist strike him squarely in the throat while a powerful kick disabled a fourth agent. Every one of Zorpox's attacks struck a nerve somewhere on the body, momentarily stunning his victims with an intense pain that Zorpox compounded upon by a second and third attack.
The entire fight was over before anyone listening in could have appreciated what had happened.
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"What's going on in there? Agents, report!" Dr. Director shouted into her headset. "Get the lights back on in there this instant. Do it now. Now!"
The sergeant hurriedly complied, the video monitor now displaying half a dozen agents lying on the floor in a circular array around a central point. Zorpox was nowhere to be found.
"What the hell happened? Where is he?" Dr. Director turned to the men under her command.
"Zorpox is moving down the corridor. Trapping him in section E-1, ma'am." As the lieutenant worked, the blast doors in the section resealed themselves.
"Alright, enough of this. Once he's sealed in, flood that section with gas." Dr. Director ordered.
"Yes ma'am."
"Ma'am…" The lieutenant indicated to his video monitor, where Zorpox was once again removing the panel off yet another palm scanner.
"Oh no." The Director groaned, as she watched Zorpox place the electric cables of the taser into the wiring, before reworking the interiors. Sure enough, Dr. Director had just enough time to see Zorpox cringe away from a massive electrical discharge from the panel in front of him even as the lights and monitors in her command room and throughout the facility went dead. "Not again."
"We're offline." The sergeant announced.
"Back-ups are useless." The lieutenant reported.
Dr. Director took a deep breath as she counted to herself. Right on cue, the lights and monitors of her control room flickered back to life yet again.
"Back up… back up generators." Dr. Director explained proudly. "Lieutenant, our target had better still be where we left him."
"Uhh…" the lieutenant began feverishly working at his station once again to retrieve the visual of the section. "Ma'am, we have a problem."
"Don't tell me." Dr. Director exclaimed with a sigh.
"He's gone again." The lieutenant replied uneasily as he indicated to the monitor displaying the feed of the appropriate section. Sure enough, Zorpox was no longer there.
"That's twice now he's disappeared in the middle of a power out. How the hell is he doing this? The blast doors remain shut in the case of a power cut, so how is he walking through walls every time we blink."
Dr. Director was unsatisfied with the awkward silence that followed her question.
"That was not rhetorical, people!"
"Wait, ma'am, what about the ventilation ducts?" The lieutenant asked.
"What about them?" Dr. Director replied.
"What if Zorpox slipped inside them during the power outs? If the laser grid were deactivated, he could easily cut across corridors once we weren't looking."
"Impossible." Dr. Director dismissed. "The grid in there has a redundant power system. If the power went out, the redundant system would kick in with only a split second's interruption. Even Zorpox can't move that fast."
"No ma'am, he's right. I'm picking up someone without an authorized GJ badge moving through the ventilation ducts." The sergeant reported.
"That's impossible. Why hasn't the security net gone off?" Dr. Director demanded.
"I… I don't know." The sergeant admitted helplessly.
"Well activate it! Flood the system!"
"It's too late." He reported back anxiously. "He just ducked out."
"Where?"
The sergeant let out a pitiful gulp. "The armory."
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Zorpox let out a pleased low laugh as he dropped down inside the Global Justice armory, even as he smiled at the Kimmunicator in his hand.
"Global Justice really needs to recheck their security. It's good, but I'm better. Booyahahahaha!" Zorpox exclaimed proudly, even as he ran over to one of several hover cars parked amidst the vast array of ordinance and weaponry not found anywhere else on the planet.
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"Ma'am, there's enough hardware in there to conquer several small countries." The lieutenant reminded responsibly even as the video monitor displayed anxious GJ agents huddling in front of the entrance.
"And all our men are carrying stun weapons." Dr. Director finished the report aloud. "Where's Kim Possible?"
"Your sergeant filled me in." Kim's voice crackled over the headset. "I'm on my way."
"All agents, hold your position. Wait for Ms. Possible to arrive before taking any further a…" Dr. Director was never able to finish issuing her order as the doors of the armory exploded open, admitting escape to a flying hover car as it flew past the dazed agents and down the corridor.
"Ma'am, target in a commandeered hover car moving down corridor G." An agent at the scene reported even as the remaining agents scurried down the hall in pursuit.
"Confirm target is aboard hover car." Dr. Director turned to the sergeant.
"Confirmed ma'am. Bio scans show him in the pilot seat." The sergeant responded immediately.
"Where's he heading?"
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Zorpox smiled to himself proudly even as he stood in the pilot seat of his newest hover car. The bio readings that he had rigged his decoy to transmit would likely only confuse his pursuers for another minute or two, but that would be enough time to get his task completed. Satisfied that this second hover car was adequate for his needs, Zorpox moved over to a large device that he had quickly identified as yet another in a long list of death rays that Global Justice had confiscated.
Zorpox was staring at the label on the side just as a shot zoomed past his face, just barely missing him.
"Get away from there." Will Du ordered as he maintained his steady aim at Zorpox.
"So, Will." Zorpox turned to the agent. "Ready to grow that pair we were talking about?"
"Dr. Director, this is Agent Du. I have Zorpox." Will spoke into his headset without reply. "Dr. Director, please respond. This is Agent Du."
Zorpox merely laughed as he held up the Kimmunicator in triumphant display. "Reception really is terrible down here."
Will gripped his weapon all the more tightly as he approached the blue skinned villain. "Come quietly, and I promise you won't be harmed."
"Not happening." Zorpox replied instantly.
"This doesn't have to happen."
"Not seeing any other options. Not for you anyway."
"I may never be forgiven for letting you into this world, but I swear I'll rot before I let you out of this facility." Will declared with iron resolve.
"Now you're getting it." Zorpox glared.
For a second, the two stared each other down, and then the second passed.
Will fired, but his shot was actually blocked by the Kimmunicator as Zorpox brought it directly between himself and the dart.
Will tried to fire again but Zorpox leapt out at the agent, tackling him to the ground. The two rolled and wrestled, even as Du brought the butt of his weapon directly up into Zorpox's jaw.
"That was uncalled for." Zorpox spat as his fist slammed down into Will's face. The agent struggled for leverage even as the villain brought his elbow crashing down into Du's jaw.
With all his strength, Will Du heaved, lifting Zorpox up and off himself. The two quickly leapt to their feet and turned to face one another. Will praised his training as he adopted a standard defensive posture, testing Zorpox with a few light jabs. Zorpox casually deflected these attacks before grabbing the last, focusing his strength and force as he twisted Will arm downward and outward at an unnatural angle very suddenly, prompting a large cracking sound from Will's shoulder as well as a cry from the agent.
"Oh, bet that hurt." Zorpox offered unsympathetically, even as he compounded on Du's vulnerability with a strong kick directly to the senior agent's stomach. "That probably didn't tickle either, did it. Booyahahahahaha!"
Du bit past the pain as he came up with an uppercut directly into Zorpox's jaw, silencing his mad laugh and knocking him back. Du pressed his momentum with a knee straight into Zorpox's gut, but the villain caught the extending limb before twisting it, causing another loud cracking sound, and causing Du to bend over, falling to the ground in agony.
"Hmm, bad luck Du. Guess you won't be competing in the GJ annual soccer match at the company picnic, will you?" Zorpox cackled, even as he picked up his discarded Kimmunicator.
Will's dart had hit the center of the tiny screen, but that didn't concern Zorpox. He didn't even need the Kimmunicator anymore. Just the power source.
Removing the small object, Zorpox rushed over to the large energy cannon he had noticed earlier. He knew he would only get one shot at this, but with a little luck, one was all he would need. Hurriedly substituting the power cell, Zorpox then activated the controls, adjusting the setting for a maximum powered shot. He doubted the Kimmunicator's cell would be able to provide that much power, but it would use as much as it could get before discharging.
Zorpox set the controls, aiming for the ceiling of the room as he rushed back, fingers in his ears, as he let fire.
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The entire control room shook with surprising force. Every one froze in their place as dust loosened itself from hidden corners of the room, sprinkling down over those present as Dr. Director gave voice to the question on everyone's mind.
"What was that?"
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Zorpox revealed in the sweet sight of sunlight pouring in through the new hole in the ceiling as he leapt into the hover car in front of him. That was more of a punch than he had expected, blasting clean through the top soil and straight up to freedom.
"Ron!"
Zorpox turned to see Kim Possible rush into the room, staring helplessly at him.
"Sorry KP, Ron's not here right now." Zorpox shouted as he flew off through the giant hole before him, out into the waking world.
