Chapter Five: Catch 22-Part One
Betty Director could only fall into her office chair in shock when Kim cut the line. "This cannot get worse," the Criminology PhD looked at her computer desktop and sighed before odd reports started flying into her inbox. "What?" The good doctor muttered as she looked at the emails. All of them were flagged with copies sent to every member of the UN Security Council. "Shit!" Betty turned pale before she looked at the first email.
This must be a trick! Betty thought as she read the most important email first. Kimberly wouldn't know the first thing about how to handle firearms, Betty thought. The entire family is too well-connected to need guns.
A small part of Betty's mind laughed at the suggestion, Remember the mysteries around Ann Possible, Betty. The woman felt a chill roll down her spine as the thought continued. You and GJ know next to nothing about the surgeon.
Before Betty could initiate a search program for any and all data on Ann Possible, a hidden communicator chirped and demanded her immediate attention. Black and custom-fit to cradle comfortably in the woman's left ear, Betty still regarded the device with the same caution one might give a spitting cobra. Finally, after a count of three, Betty put the device in her ear. "Yes, sir?"
"Some frankly disturbing information has come to light, Miss Director."
Betty involuntarily shivered. Tone and address made Betty think of her mother, God rest her. The woman could give razor blades cues on how to be sharp and cutting when she wanted. *"What's that, sir?"
"Come to Conference Room 6."
Abruptly, the connection cut, and Betty felt more chills roll through her. Then, Betty put on her best mask for meeting subordinates on the way to the room. Everything will be fine!
From inside the room, six silhouetted figures surrounded the leader of Global Justice. A deep set part of Betty Director wanted to scream and curl into a ball when the council appeared around her. However, the woman held her face stern and waited to be addressed before she spoke.
"Do you know why you have been called before this council?" A male voice intoned from within the group of faceless shadows around her.
"Kim Possible," Betty growled. "I have watched her closely since she began three years ago, and I fear she may soon become a danger to the world once she terminates all known supervillains and madmen who seek world domination."
A woman on the council spoke next. She seemed to have an African accent. Of what dialect, Betty couldn't be sure. "Are you certain this involves Kim and is not a simple attempt to drag global resources further into an overblown case of sibling rivalry betwixt you and your brother, Miss Director?"
Before Betty could counter, another man, this one marked by concise and abrupt speech, cut into the discussion. "I have always questioned the validity and ethics of your arrangement with us, Miss Director, in regard to your links as a clear conflict of interest."
Betty almost fell down from the force of the man's words. "Sir?"
"Pay Kim Possible your brother's bounty," a harsh voice of a man who sounded like a soldier answered gruffly. "Otherwise, we shall tie your hands further and allow Kimberly to kill Gemini on live broadcast around the world." Betty couldn't be sure, but she thought she heard a note of pride in the man's voice as he spoke of Kimberly. "Surely, such a display would shake villains around the world with much greater reach than your misguided vehicle for squabbles with Gemini."
Betty fought to control herself when she walked out of the room a minute later. Those morons are letting a nuke drop on a mosquito, Betty thought, oddly relieved to know her brother would not die today. When it blows up in their faces, I'll be the scapegoat! Betty growled, I am sure of it!
Kim smiled as she went back to her feet and turned her back to the man confidently. Kim raised an eyebrow when she noted the inert robotic hand dragged the man's right arm down slightly. (Without his goons or freaky finger fetish missiles, Gemini was just a whiny, attention-seeking child in a man's body.) Kim thought as she began to pace to pass the time, consciously ignoring Gemini now. (His sister isn't much better; she just hides the childish tendencies more skillfully without him to antagonize and bring them to the surface.)
Gemini glared at her back and tried to order his hand to reboot and come back online, but it remained heedless of the man's mental commands. "How is it you do not fear me?" The captive finally asked when he could not stand the irritation from Kim any longer.
Kim sighed, "I learned all I needed to know when you captured Ron," Kim said with an indifferent shrug. "You want to know the pathetic part of all this?" Kim asked as she gestured around them at the grandiose lair and the dead henchmen. "Every time I face a new villain, another piece of the general psychopathy behind every villain's action fails into place." Kim stated. "However, with you and Betty, there's no grand vengeance vendetta or desire to truly conquer and protect." Kim sighed in irritation. "Instead, you both seek validation from your mother," Kim's eyes seemed to glow ever so slightly as she continued. "You seek to impress her by subduing the world under your boot while your sister seeks to impress her by purging the world of crime."
Gemini stared at her. "How dare you?!"
Kim frowned, "Does little Shelby want to cry?" Kim asked with a shake of her head. "It's almost pathetic enough to be a bad joke."
Kim sighed and moved to change back into her armor. With that complete, the warrior checked the time. "Twenty minutes to respond…" Kim said in a voice that could chill the sun.
Gemini felt a twinge of fear when Kim appeared again in her full armor, the same armor she used to breeze through GJ security for Shego. Shego… The name rolled into the madman's mind with the promise of an idea. "WWEE isn't limited to this single facility, Kim Possible," the man smirked at her. "A contingent of my agents is in Middleton currently." The man laughed. "How much is Shego worth to you?"
The Void trembled and heaved. Kim struggled to maintain it. "I don't need to wait for Betty to pay me." Kim stated, "You already came dangerously close to pissing me off once today," Kim walked over and checked the time. "Touch Shego, and I won't wait for the deadline!" Kim then shrugged off her anger with practiced ease. "That's who you're dealing with now."
Veronica suddenly felt like destroying something, anything while she sat at the Possible House. A small part of the woman's mind questioned this strange flood of rage. Veronica stood and walked outside to run through some katas to help focus her mind. When the thief looked down and saw her catsuit, she growled irritably. Instant recognition and I get hauled off to jail. With a groan of disgust, the green woman walked over to Kim's room and looked around.
"Not completely what I expected…"
Pink walls and comforter almost made the woman's eyes bleed, but where she expected to find boyband posters and perhaps a frilly diary under everything in the top drawer of Kim's nightstand, Veronica looked around to see posters of warriors: Leonidas, a squad of marines on Iwo Jima, a grizzled man in the jungle with an M-16 held to his chest, and a strange orange-faced girl with white markings. Instead of hair, the girl had alien fleshy blue and white tubes that came down from two horns on either side of the crown of her head. In the girl's hands, two blades: one green and the shorter of the two a yellow-green glowed brightly while the girl held an expression of grim determination. Below the drawing in the rightcorner, Kim signed her work. Strange writing from two different alphabets Shego couldn't translate named the character. Oddly, there was no transliteration of the name below the two alphabets into Latin script. Something else stuck out to the woman. Below the drawing in the opposite corner of Kim's signature, Veronica almost laughed when she saw it. There, scrawled in someone else's hand, read: "used with permission".
Not bad, Kimmie, Veronica complemented before she turned her attention to Kim's closet and braced for the headache that most likely would come while trying to find something to wear. With a shake of her head, Veronica began rifling through Kim's hanging clothes. "No…no…no…definitely not…" Shego stopped when she saw a familiar catsuit tucked away in the far left of the closet. Veronica smiled, "She kept it," the woman mused quietly to herself. "I wonder…" Before Shego could chase the thought further, she saw a medium-sized box peeking out of the bottom of the closet and carefully pulled the lid away. Who knew you had a little bit of style in ya after all, Pumpkin? The older woman thought with a grin before she pulled out a set of clothes from the box and quickly changed.
When the green woman moved to open the back door to begin exercising in the yard, a high pitched squeal slammed into her eardrums and sent the woman sprawling to the ground in intense pain. Enhanced hearing really sucks sometimes! Veronica managed even as men grabbed her and tossed her in the back of a van like she was nothing. The screeching never stopped, but Shego heard someone talking, muffled though it was as her brain tried to separate the high frequency from the lower of natural speech.
"We have her," Veronica thought she heard one goon say. "Now, the boss will pay us."
Shego grit her teeth and ignited her hands.I am no one's caged beast! Veronica roared. Then, the woman turned her attention to exploitable weaknesses in the van's design. With a rough idea of axle placement from the weight distribution in the van, Veronica grinned menacingly as she isolated the rear axle. Then, the comet-powered woman closed her eyes and sent a plasma-covered fist through the link between the driveshaft and axle, specifically the joint where the two meet.
Shego smiled as the van bucked and finally buckled before half the rear axle with the left wheel assembly shot out from under the van due to the strain as the other half shot forwards and caused the van to buck wildly again before the back end threw up showers of sparks against the pavement. With a sigh of irritation, Veronica carved her way into the cabin and tore the men from their seat before she jumped clear with a man under each arm.
When the gas tank ignited, Veronica saw the chain reaction coming and quickly hefted the men behind a tree. With her adrenaline spent, Veronica dropped her would-be captors and slumped against a tree herself. Wh-What do they want with me? The woman thought drowsily before she passed out.
With Kim and Gemini, Kim frowned when the Kimmunicator sounded off. The redhead felt disappointment roll through her as she put the device to her face. (At least, I can respect her loyalty to family, even if it is some twisted, barely recognizable form.) Kim decided to break the silence when Betty didn't speak first. "What's your choice?"
Betty kept her face neutral, but embers of rage glowed behind thee woman's eyes as Kim studied her. "Your friend, Mr. Load, has given us your account information; and you should note the increase in a few seconds."
Kim nodded, "Betty, if you want to truly make your mother proud, rules and protocols must be bent."
Betty raised an eyebrow before her visible eye narrowed. The woman knew enough of politics to know the general preamble to an offer with strings attached. "What do you want?"
Kim smiled, "I want to head a task force specifically to cull supervillains," Kim stated. "I want to be off the radar because you know I don't play by GJ's rules." Kim waited to let Betty process.
"You want a black ops team with GJ backing, to handle supervillains?" Betty hissed. "What is GJ to do then?!"
Kim sighed, "Listen and listen well, you aruetii snake in guardian's clothing!" Kim growled. "Your 'Global Justice'needs to turn its energies to more localized crises. Stop floods, feed hungry, keep watch for refugees, and care for foundlings." Kim shook her head. "You let me and my team worry about the maniacs. Besides, you are too close to the supervillain world to be completely trusted to control it. If I know it, I am doubly certain your superiors do as well!"
Betty shivered under the force of command in Kim's voice. Does she know about my meeting in room six? "Who would you suggest for such a team, Miss Possible?"
Kim opened her mouth to respond only to sway and hold her head, "Ugh…"
In spite of her anger, Betty calmed her voice and found her concern overcoming her anger. "Kimberly, are you alright?"
Kim nodded as her balance returned, "My ears hurt; it's nothing."
Betty nodded skeptically and motioned for the teen to continue, "As you were saying…"
"I would like to have myself, Veronica 'Shego' Goshen, Ron Stoppable, and Yamato-san Yori."
Betty did a double take at the first name mentioned. "You know her first name?!"
Kim rolled her eyes. "I've known for a while," Kim said as if she was discussing the weather and quickly becoming bored with the topic. "At any rate, the thief persona of Shego has never killed or critically injured anyone." Kim said calmly. "I will discuss terms with her, but I feel appropriate reparations can be made from her current illicit funds." Kim suggested, "After sufficient reparations are made, Shego becomes full-time on my team with equal benefits as the other three members." Kim waited. "Is this amicable for you, Madam Director?"
The woman stared at Kim, "No jail time?!"
Gemini scoffed and reminded the pair of his presence, "You honestly think any prison can hold Shego, Betty?" Gemini asked in a rare show of honesty and sincerity. "I have seen recordings of their duels."
Kim shot the man a deadly look. "What in Chaos did you say, Gemini?"
With her reaction, one might think I caught them in bed rather than observed their duels. Gemini grinned, "Seems I touched a nerve," the man laughed in spite of the tension of his current situation. "Anyway, Miss Possible is the only one I've seen who can keep Shego in check."
"Gag him, Kimberly," Betty said calmly with her lone eye focused on her brother. "I have an arresting squad en route to your position, Miss Possible. Director, out."
Kim wanted to smile, but a sudden flood of worry filled her. With a bit of haste, Kim watched as the GJ agents rode away. Then, in worry, Kim attached her mother's sen'tra to her back as The Void enveloped Kim and sharpened her focus to an unimaginable intensity. The sen'tra fought Kim a little in the beginning of her flight to Shego, but the machine quickly learned to heed Kim's mind when it gave a command.
Kim landed with knees bent and looked around the yard for Veronica. With high-contrast and the infrared residue filters in her HUB, Kim ran along the path laid out in front of her. Kim reached out with her mind and tried to run along the frail mental bridge between their minds. Veronica, can you hear me?!
No response came to Kim's mental plea. The girl began to feel her heart pound against her chest as the woman ran still faster. The Void cracked and spiderwebbed under the strain of trying to control her emotions while Kim ran, but she held the focus together even under the strain. (I must find Veronica!) The demand beat against The Void, but after a few more moments, Kim zeroed in on a van's wreckage. (She's here,) Kim thought. (I don't know how I know, but she's here!) The temporary jubilee in Kim's mind wavered and her heart sank slightly at the twisted and burning metal.
The same unknowable sensation guided Kim's eyes to a thin patch of trees about fifteen meters away from the explosion even as it seemed to draw the strength from her body. With a yell that seemed to come from someone else, The Void shattered. Kim fell to her knees in exhaustion and crawled to the green woman. Centimeter by centimeter, Kim refused to yield to her body's want for rest. (NOT YET!)
With a growl, Kim covered the last of the distance between herself and Veronica and fell with her head on the woman's chest. When Shego grunted at the extra weight, Kim feebly pulled her helmet off with her unsteady, drained grip. Then, the redhead laid her head on Veronica's chest as the rhythmic beat of the green woman's heart lulled Kim into unconsciousness.
Wade's eyes went wide. The Kimmunicator's vital sign suite wired into the armor showed Kim suffered from a dangerous amount of fatigue. Quickly, Wade patched in a 911 operator and fed him the necessary information. "Hurry!"
"Help will be there as fast as we can, sir," the man said calmly. "Stay on the line until we get there."
"Yes, sir."
At Middleton General, Ann shivered when EMTs blew past her. The patient made Ann stop and run after the slew of medical staff. "Don't take her armor off!"
Certain of the staff looked at Ann as if the surgeon had lost her mind.
"I said, 'Step back!' Now, please listen to me." Ann said before the neurosurgeon began to gently remove the armor, careful to avoid fail-safe traps in and around the plates of Beskar as she did. "What happened?"
"The four of them looked to be blown from the van when it's gas tank ruptured," a male EMT responded. "One seems to be healing rapidly, but the other three are healing at a normal rate."
"What I wouldn't give for some Bacta right now," Ann muttered under her breath before the woman moved away and let the doctors and nurses work on her daughter, Shego, and two other men she didn't recognize. However, an unexpected detail concerning Veronica's right hand in the form of a small diamond of what looked like green, glossy glass drew the elder redhead's attention, A reptilian scale?
Shego looked around and sighed. This place again?
Yggdrasil offers infinite space to train and hone new skills, Hatchling, In contrast to the gold and white dragon from the first time, this one, while female like the former, sported scales black as nightand eyes red as coals in the bottom of a lit fire pit. I'm here to help you prepare for when you wake.
Where's Kimmie?! Shego shocked herself when green fire leaped from her mouth at the demand.
The black dragon laughed, Good, she praised. Use your anger, but beware lest it consume you.
I said, "WHERE'S MY KIMMIE?!" This time, Veronica leapt into the air and landed with a loud crash as Yggdrasil vibrated under the force of Veronica's impact. Then, the woman growled and swept at the black-scaled bitch with a clawed forepaw. Wait! Forepaw… Veronica stared at her right hand in shock. Then, The woman-turned-dragon smiled and slammed her new tail into the other dragon.
With a smile, the woman returned to her feet. I am called Amber. The dragon grinned and bowed as if the two woman shook hands. Your Karadim safely trains with Nichole, my…Bonded; she whom you both met when you first came to Yggdrasil.
Veronica looked at the dragon. How do I get back to her?
Defeat me.
Veronica smiled and charged. Then, Amber took to the air. Veronica felt a moment of irritation before it turned to deviousness with a smile to match. Then, Veronica launched a stream of green fire breath at the flyer. With a snort of irritation as she watched Amber easily dodge the jet of flame, Veronica carefully unfurled her wings and gave chase with a roar of defiance.
After what seemed to be hours of fighting, Shego finally stood over Amber with her jaws spread wide in preparation for the killing bite. The dragon, firmly pinned with a forepaw on her chest, began laughing.
I yield, her eyes glittered with mischief in spite of her defeated state. This makes me curious though.
Shego turned her head slightly in confusion as she removed her paw and let Amber return to her feet, Why?
You duel "your Kimmie" often, yes?
About twice a month, but neither of us wins, Shego said calmly before she returned to her Human form. Why?
Interesting… Amber whispered with a sneaky grin before she waved her hand. Fare well, young one.
Shego started awake with a gasp. The woman instantly recognized a hospital room. After the explosion and the adrenaline rush to rescue the idiots who tried to kidnap her, Veronica expected to find herself in agony, but she felt completely whole, better than that even. Veronica then set about freeing herself from the tubes and wires around her. I have to find Kim!
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