Chapter Nine: Interrogation
With the news hounds on her, Kim knew it would be only a matter of time before Go City Police asked for her involvement in the death of Hego. After all, with the redhead at the center of the strongman's obsession, the police needed her understanding of the situation to get a clearer picture of motive. Without, motive, the police would be missing a vital part of the case. Kim sighed when she realized this. Veronica, we need to go to the police to distance ourselves from the case as early and as fast as possible.
Really, Princess? Shego asked with a scoff as they walked out of the range. Do you always have to be such a Pollyanna?
Kim shook her head with a frown and a cringe. I'm pragmatic, Veronica, not naïve, Kim said with a slight smile. If we play ball, we can move past this all the quicker.
I hate to burst your bubble, but cops aren't interested in Justice, Kimmie.
Kim raised a brow. Do you know how many dirty cops and politicians to which I've applied hot lead to the forehead? Kim countered. I'll play my part with GCPD, but I think you should focus on the twins right now. Kim put a hand on the woman's cheek and kissed it, the holographic field around the dragon tingling Kim's lips with mild electric discharge as she meet Veronica's cheek. I'll be fine.
You'd better, the dragon said with a light glare in her eyes. I don't want to have to bail your ass out, Xena.
Kim smiled and unconsciously slapped Veronica's backside playfully. "Go," Kim smiled as she began walking to the precinct. "I shall be fine, my Karadim."
The confident air Shego usually held returned to the woman before the dragon in disguise saddled back onher Ninja 400, put on her helmet, and rode off back towards Go Tower. You better be glad I trust you, Princess.
With a deep breath, Kim walked towards the precinct with a calm expression. The warrior walked in, looked around, and verified her exits. Then, Kim walked up to the front desk. "Hello, sir," she frowned. "Who do I talk to about the Viktor Go homicide case?"
The man, a clean-cut officer, seemed to recognize Kim. "Miss Possible," the officer searched through some papers for a moment. "Detective Santiago heads that case."
Kim nodded and scanned the hall until she spotted a small office with a smoked glass window and a brass placard below the window which bore the name. If the shadows dancing animatedly behind the glass where an indication, the detective seemed to be far from calm.
A small part of Kim grinned with the knowledge. Then, she marched to the office with purpose and iron will in every step. (So the warrior faces a ravening beast of a man,) the young Mandalorian thought. (Careful of the teeth, Kim.) With that final thought, Kim took a deep breath and knocked.
The door opened gently, but tension in the man's arm told Kim he wasn't in the greatest mood as he opened the door in spite of the thin smile he presented. "Miss Possible, what can I do for you?"
Kim hid her discomfort deep and set her face as hard as Beskar. Then, Kim folded her arms and looked at the man a moment before he stopped and sat down. "What if I told you Hego was a pedophile, and I killed him in self-defense when he began to get too aggressive in his pursuits of me?"
The man's eyes widened in disbelief for a moment. Then, he shook his head, "What proof do you have of this accusation?"
Kim looked down and put her Kimmunicator on the desk. "Wade, you there?"
The boy popped up on the screen with scarcely a moment between question and response. "I'm here, Kim." The boy frowned at the detective. "Detective, I rerecord everything while Kim is in her 'mission mode' for instances like this." The young boy nodded to the detective and smiled, "Kim says I'm overcautious." He began to type away. "The way I see it, the recordings are better to have and not need just in case one of the villains gets it in his or her head to sue Kim."
Emile Santiago nodded. He could see the wisdom in such a practice in law enforcement. That's the exact reason why most officers wore body cams with boots on the ground in the streets. "Wise choice, young man."
Wade flashed with embarrassment before the boy brought himself back under control and cued up the audio of Kim and Hego a few minutes before they both fell from the tower. Wade shook his head with a sigh of disappointment as he listened to the recording. Hego, Wade thought with a deep breath before he heard Luis and Clark, and finally Veronica. Then, Wade felt himself tense in new fear as the wall broke open. Then, a WOOSH! rushed past the microphone as Veronica's airfoil body glided under and caught Kim.
"You see, sir?" Kim asked when the recording concluded. "I only defended myself." Kim nodded to the device on the desk away from the Kimmunicator. "I'm fairly certain your crime scene investigators will find a…" Kim shivered, "…a shrine dedicated to me in the bastard's room in Go Tower."
The detective raised an eyebrow at Kim, "You seem all too eager to give information, Miss Possible." Santiago slammed his hands on the desk and stood, but Kim didn't so much as flinch. "You know what I think?" The man only paused long enough to walk around and get in Kim's face. "I think you and Shego worked together to get revenge on Hego for after he kicked her off of Team Go."
Kim rolled her eyes and got up. "This interview is over," She nodded calmly to the detective. "You know how to find me if you have more questions."
Kim shook her head in irritation as she walked out of the precinct. (Why isit so hard for some to actually investigate instead of assuming?) Kim shook her head and yawned. "It's been a ferociously long day." Kim muttered under her breath before she tried to stifle a second yawn. The young mercenary sighed and looked around the city as she walked and tried to distract herself. Without her armor, Kim felt a more intense exposure, akin to naked but also different. Another part of Kim tried to soothe this discomfort with the fact the police likely considered her armored alter ego a completely different person. (If all the police have is the information from the news report and Wade's audio recording, I should be safe for now if I don't use my armor again until I get back to Middleton.)
Shego blinked as she watched over the Wego Twins. Kim, keep the armor off. At Kim's unease felt over the Bond, Veronica added, Hang in there, Xena. You can do this
Unknown to anyone, Drakken sat at his deep space interceptor control module in the liar and sighed. The idea came to the blue man in a dream of all things. An army from the stars under his will to conquer the Earth in his name. It sounded phenomenal on paper with the Drake Equation as a guide. However, practical application proved to be an entirely contrary matter. Seventy-seven percent complete after two years, I still have nothing! With a groan of frustration, the mad scientist slammed his fist into the console unconsciously. The machine seemed to glitch for a moment. Then, an alien script began to scrawl itself across a portion of the monitor permanently slaved to an 8-bit word processor program on a 128-bit system Drakken retooled to act as translator for any intelligible radio signals.
Suddenly, the translator spun to life with such effort, Drakken felt a stab of worry for the homemade system. After a moment, the system seemed to find its rhythm. A few moments more, and the word processor began to generate text.
We search the stars for one called The GreatBlue. Heshall herald a great age of conquest for our people!
Drakken stared at the alien script for a moment. Then, he looked at the translated text and shivered with delight. I…I can't believe it! The man thought in unbridled happiness. After that failure to try and harness Shego's power for an army of clones, I get an alien army!
Before Drakken could respond, an image began to be pulled down from the sizable data stream on one monitor with a message in the same writing as before. The image above the message stunned Drakken as it materialized line by line similar to the loading method of a dial-up modem. Bit by painfully slow bit, the photo coalesced into the form of The Golden Disc, specifically the one attached to Voyager-1. It still shown pristine in the image, but the craft that bore the disc did not appear in the background of the photo. Instead, the artifact looked to be mounted on an odd purple wall.
As per custom, we devoured the pitiful craftto which it was affixed. It rests in a place of honor aboard our ship and lights our path towards your conquest as was foretold thousands of your Earth years ago.
Drakken gulped and limbered up his fingers before he began to type a response. How many warriors do you bring with you? Drakken paused for a moment and closed his eyes. Then, the man went back and added an introduction of sorts to the top of the message. My name is Doctor Drakken, and I seek to rule. I was betrayed by one I thought of as family when she joined herself to my enemy. With a smile, Drakken sent the message.
I bring only myself and my battle-mate, Warmonga. Once we signal of The Great Blue's arrival, more shall come. After a pause of a few minutes, which Drakken estimated to put his alien allies approximately in the orbit of Jupiter. Your battle-mate shall fall for breaking her oath of loyalty.
Drakken stiffened unconsciously. They seriously can't think… the blue man let the thought hang. He knew enough of his former employee's preference to know himself to be nowhere near her type. Hastily, the man wrote a rebuttal. She is more likely to take an interest in you, mighty Wormanga, than me. Drakken pondered the nature of his relationship with Shego for a moment or two before he continued. As we worked together, I grew to view her in a familial capacity, NOT romantic!
Your relation chose to turn her back on you for her battle-mate. She shall die for her crimes against The Great Blue!
Drakken stopped and stared at the green letters of text from the translator. Something told him the hand of a woman wrote that response. ThisWarmonga has teeth, or is it a female thing, regardless of species. Drakken shrugged before a maniacal laugh errupted from his mouth. There's no way Shego or Kim Possible will survive such might!
Back with Kim, she couldn't get away from a pinprick of paranoia in the back of her mind. Shego, Kim called over their Karadim. Can you bring my armor?
I thought we agreed that would be a bad idea, Princess.
Kim shivered, Can you come get me at least? The tone carried over held a bit of fear Kim worked to bury. I just have a seriously wrong/sick feeling that someone is watching me, and I would feel better with my armor.
Kim, Veronica responded. You still have your M1911s? Veronica felt Kim nod before she continued. Focus on the feeling of the steel in the holsters until the crawling sensation shrinks away. Veronica touched her Mark and felt Kim's stress melt away almost instantly at the touch and felt a backfeed strong enough to make the green woman bit back a moan. The dragon felt her cheeks turn to fire even as she checked her surroundings for Luis and Clark. With the room clear, Veronica sent a gentle smile to Kim. If you need to, keep your hands on the grips as you walk until I get there. I'm about to leave.
Kim nodded, her instincts on high alert. Training from her Mom drilled Kim's mind on how to differentiate her mental loads into nonessential and essential sensory inputs. With the load effectively halved, Kim put her focus on her immediate surroundings. When Kim reached for her guns, she could almost sense the eyes watching her retreat into the darkness.
In a moment of faith, Kim nodded to the alley and reluctantly let go of her pistols. The faint scent of processed cheese greeted Kim's nose. "Show yourself!"
Ron and a Japanese girl walked out of the shadows. "Woah…KP, I've never seen you so jumpy," he tried a weak laugh. "That's usually my department."
Kim blinked and visibly relaxed before she shook her head and sighed. "Sorry, Ron, I just got torched by a detective who thinks Hego is untouchable, and I'm just a brainless idiot."
Ron winced. "Yeah," the boy scratched the back of his head. "That man always made me nervous, and it wasn't just the 'No Naco' Policy." Ron looked around the street as people milled about around them. "Where's Miss Death Hands?"
Yori elbowed Ron with a light glare. "Ron-kun…"
"Old habits die heard, Yor," Ron defended. "A few weeks ago, Kim and Shego were dueling. Now, they're dating. It's a bit too fast for me." Ron looked pointedly at Kim. "I want to know what happened since the accident."
Kim shook her head, groaned, and stumbled with a hand above her Mark as a hot needle of pain ran through Kim's mind, "Please not now, Ron…"
"KP!"
Kim nodded slowly after a moment and steadied herself with a low mutter, "…out of sync…"
With a shaky gate, the young fighter walked over to a park not far from the city. Darkness enveloped the grassy area with the exception of lamps dotting a walking path that snaked through the park in a circuit. Yori and Ron shared a worried look and followed well behind the redhead. The pair of ninja watched in confusion as Kim found a knoll near the center of the park and took a meditative position.
The ninja watched as stress and worry fled from the redhead. Yori nodded in understanding. Meditation always did have the effect of easing the mind in her experience. (Where did you learn, Possible-san?)
Ron continued to watch as an aura the color of congealed blood flickered into existence before it became constant. "Yori, do you see this?"
The kunoichi looked at her boyfriend in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Ron nodded unconsciously. So, this is another side to MMP. Ron watched Kim for a moment more. Two names crossed the girl's lips in a language he didn't know: Amber and Nichole and something about "bog slop", whatever that was. Not a moment after Kim whispered the names, her aura began to change. First, it shed the darker tones of red to bright pink. Then, the aura shifted up in the spectrum to a deep blue. Ron almost laughed, Of course, her aura would match her armor.
When Yori turned and grabbed Ron's arm to lead him away from his friend to leave her with peace, Ron turned back. He could feel the mystical energy inside him crawling and giving him goose bumps in preparation for battle. Ron held up a hand and turned his eyes to the sky. With his enhanced senses, the blonde could hear leathery wing beats in the night. Then, it happened. A cloaked figure landed and looked around the park with a small smile.
Kim smiled at Veronica and let the last vestiges of fear and unease pass from her mind when she hugged the other woman. Sin her lover's arms, Kim felt herself go nearly limp and calmed considerably. Previous worries like the debacle with the police and Ron's actions, faded into distance as warmth overtook the Mandolorian. In that peace, Kim let go of her anger and let it pass over the Karadim into a space beyond. In this moment, anger would solve no problems. In fact, it would likely create more. The green eyes which now stared back at Kim told her as much.
Kim suddenly giggled, Should we let Ron and Yori continue, or break the news to them?
"Stoppable, you do know it's impolite to spy on friends."
Ron and Yori both tensed before Yori put a hand on the young man's shoulder and nodded, "It would be our honor to hear her out."
"You don't know her like I do, Yori!"
Yori raised a brow. "You trust Possible-san," she pointed out. "I doubt your life will be at risk."
Ron looked between Yori and a beaming Kim and gulped, Here we go…
When the two pairs met, Yori bowed. Ron could only stare in disbelief. Shego returned the bow with a smirk aimed at Ron. Unless he missed something, Kim suddenly slapped Shego in the back of the head and flashed a quick glare at the woman without provocation. It took Ron a moment to realize Kim's glare held a hint of jealousy. "I guess more happened in the accident than just some weird hickeys." Ron took a step back when Shego's eyes flashed with a moment's rage only to cool as quickly as it came. "What did I say?"
Kim looked at her best friend with a long-suffering expression. "It's been a long day for all of us," Kim said gently. "Let's go to bed, and I can hopefully explain more of what happened when the PDVI malfunctioned in the morning."
Without thought, Kim climbed on Veronica's back. For a moment, Ron's brain stalled. Then, he moved to join Kim on Shego's back. The moment he reached up to get a handhold to pull himself onto the dragon, Shego growled dangerously.
"(Don't you DARE, Stoppable!)"
Yori ran up with shuriken drawn and ready to throw. Kim shook her head and pulled the right M1911 from her holster, "Try it, Yori," Kim challenged. "I do not want to shoot, but I will if I must!" Kim nodded toward the bladed star. "Put it away on three. One…"
"(…two…)"
"…three." Kim breathed a sigh of relief when Yori did as she was told. "Now, Shego and I are Sola Min Karadim. That means only I can ride on her back."
Ron glared at Kim in disbelief, "I've been your best friend since Pre-K!"
Kim nodded, "Have I let you handle my armor, Ron?"
Ron blushed, "The one time I asked about your mom's armor, Mrs. Dr. P looked ready to flay me alive!" The young man shivered. "I'm not stupid enough to try that again with yours."
Kim nodded, "It's a similar concept, Ron." Kim then cocked her head to the spall motorbike behind the pair before she took her Kimmunicator out and printed up an address. Then, the redhead handed the slip to Ron. "Meet us here."
Before Ron could ask for more, the dragon and Mandalorian pair lifted into the air. Ron shook his head and gave a hoarse laugh. "Are you ready for this?" Ron asked as he took a deep breath and pulled himself on the bike before he thumbed the ignition.
Yori smiled as she lifted a leg over the saddle and mounted the bike with a nod. Then, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the young man from behind. With a firm grip, her on him and he on the handlebars, the ninja rode toward the address given. With Yori behind him and Kim and Shego ahead, Ron felt an odd sense of foreboding come over him.
Something huge is coming, Ron thought. I hope the four of us will be ready.
Please Read and Review.