Kim Potential…
Summary: A desperate Dr. Drakken has sensibly reviewed his Files of Past Plots to find the most effective weapon yet used on KP and improve it with unexpected results. Ron and company find they have a new partner.
Disclaimer: No infringement intended.
Part XXXV…
"There…" Drakken pointed to the hulking, chained figure in prison cell on the viewscreen… "Ladies and gentlemen, meet…The Throwback…"
"Hmmn…" Barclay eyed the figure… "Kinda hulkish, but…" he whispered to Walter.
"Extremely hulkish…And that's not the half of it…" Walter hissed back.
"Once an American hero, first man to fly solo around the world…Marlon Lindendon." View of handsome, lithe figure, shyly beaming on screen, standing next to antique aircraft, 20s era photographers snapping pictures. "Adventurer, engineer, pioneering aviator, scientist, world hero…"
"…Nazi…" Drakken noted…To screen view of same figure accepting award from Adolf Hitler to acclaim from siegheiling crowd, most in Nazi uniforms.
"…The hero had come to believe the wild praises of admirers and accept the notions of those who clustered about him that he was of a superior genetic breed…One of the supermen destined to rule the world."
Hmmn…Barclay and various scattered henchthugs considering.
On the other hand, the Boss has always been an equal opportunity employer…
"…Convinced by fascist friends and colleagues that the Nazis and such were the coming thing…Raised by his rather reactionary father to despise among other groups, women…Minority groups…The disabled…And in the end, the average citizen."
Shot of Lindendon marching in KKK rally…
Hmmn…Well…
The Boss has never said he'd abolish democracy outright…And he's always been an approachable sort of guy…
"…Founder of a peace movement front created and funded by profascist groups to prevent US entry into World War II and ensure a Nazi victory...Few of his followers realizing his true nature or his long-term plans for enslave or exterminating most of them. "
Shot of Lindendon at rally… Signs waving "Keep US out of War!"
"President Roosevelt defeated his movement and eventually unmasked him as a traitor…But, it was feared his Nazi sympathies would be too dangerous if publicly exposed so he was allowed to dissolve his group quietly and do service in the military, fighting in the Pacific. But he was even more determined by that humiliation to help his pseudo-scientific fascist co-believers breed a super race and lead his fellow supermen to victory. After the war he continued to finance ex-Nazis and old colleagues in gruesome and dangerous experiments..."
Shot of Lindenden receiving injections in laboratory…Gradually changing in appearance with each new view…
"…To his credit, I suppose, many on himself. Not so much to his credit, many on hapless victims…"
Lindendon, now a hulking, seven foot, red-faced maniac, tossing colleagues and sparring partners about a ring…
"Finally, not through any inheritable genetic manipulation but through chemicals, electromagnetic stimulation, and radiation exposure, he achieved a degree of the power he believed would make him master of the world…Enhanced intellect, vastly superior strength, and above all an ability to alter his molecular structure from near liquid to the hardest carbonite…"
Shot of Lindendon ramming himself through steel, then concrete walls…
Whoa…All the X-people in one, sorta…Walter noted…
"Fortunately, the government had not forgotten about him. Before he could produce his army in any numbers, he was exposed and had to try his takeover prematurely…"
View of Drakken?...In non-blue form and wearing 40s-style clothing…
"Even my grandfather refused to join him…To give you a clue just how hideous his plans were…" Drakken noted.
View of Lindendon bellowing in fury to small band of hulking supermen in early dawn…The US Capitol building in the distance…
View of Lindendon battling with horde of US soldiers…Smashing back a tank…Fighting it out with a Captain America-like figure in tights as his fellow supermen fled…Standing over body of Captain America-like figure, fighting with Iron Man-like figure as soldiers hurl gas bombs…
"After a desperate, secret battle with the US Army, backed by several superheroes, he was forced to flee the country and continue his schemes as a power behind several evil thrones in South America and Asia…Determined to one day have vengeance…"
(Right, Shego thought, listening…That Throwback…)
Views of the Throwback with various dictators and evil leaders…Stalin, Mao, Pinochet, Nixon, Pol Pot, Bin Laden… "With love to Ronny and Nance from ARENA and the Throw…" picture postcard shot…
"…And impose his vicious and life-crushing rule over all of inferior humankind…Until he gained access to nuclear and biological weaponry and plotted to launch a massacre…"
View of Lindendon with Kim Jong-il figure…
"…Naturally from North Korea…But fortunately, even that country's maniac dictator thought Lindendon was crazy…And was a bit offended by his views of Asian peoples…And turned him into the UN."
(Heh-hmm…Shego cleared throat, expectantly…
And with the help of…?)
"Our own Shego, still at the time, with Team Go, played a role in that capture, along with several superheroes…And even some supervillains who felt the Throwback's plans were beyond the pale…"
(Thank you, sweetie…Even if all my brothers let me do was fire random bursts at the bad guy…I never even saw him or heard who it was we were fighting…"Classified" Hego kept saying…
Right, classified…For girls…)
"Even all their efforts barely overcame him and he was taken to a secure, secret UN Fortress…To be held and observed using the most advanced, secret technology…" Drakken concluded.
Shot of The Throwback fuming at guards in ultra-secure cell…
"…For life…Any questions?" scan of room…
"He got life?" Barclay asked.
"Too many dictators and evil connections who'd turned on him still at the UN then…They voted for life, mainly to prevent him spilling the beans about his connections with them."
"And Bortel…Professor Dementor?...Wants to free him? To fight our version of Kimberly?" Sally rose, anxious.
"Dementor knows he can never defeat Kimberly in open battle without vastly superior firepower…And with me now to provide her with my scientific backup and our wonderful Drakken team support…" kindly beam…Acknowledged, with gratitude… "…his only hope is to either capture her, and find a way to bend her to his will, as he believes we have…Or destroy her…And The Throwback is his best shot at either…"
"But this guy?...A Nazi?..." Walter shook head.
I mean, sure…We're all supervillains or evil sidekicks and dedicated to world conquest and all that, but…There are some things not to be considered…
Particularly by a boss named Lipinsky…Even if he does use another name at work…
Drakken, sighing… "It's my fault, folks…I upset the balance of power between us too much…He clearly felt compelled to move to the next level. The old nuclear chicken game…"
"Well…Isn't the guy likely to be pretty old now?" one henchwoman noted.
"His treatments, despite the blind alleys of Nazi pseudo-science, have resulted in him being nearly immortal by all measures…So long as he continues to receive them…And the UN approved that for scientific study purposes as well as to dodge legal questions on cruel and unnatural punishment. He's actually quite an ally for Bortel, if he could ever be trusted. Unfortunately, I think Bortel's panic over my success in taking Kim Possible into my fold, so to speak, has made him desperate enough to put aside his better judgment and try such a deal."
"Boss…?" Sally, carefully… "How could Bortel get to this guy? Let alone release him?"
"Dementor, in his alter ego, designed the forcefield that keeps the Throwback confined. Nothing else can hold him in the long run. And as Bortel, has the clearance to visit the facility where Lindendon is being held." Drakken shrugged. "I'm afraid he has the opportunity and the means…And the sheer panic… To do it…"
(And the million, billion dollar question? Shego thought, listening…)
"Can he really beat Kim Possible?" Barclay asked, nervously…
Drakken nervously rubbing hands…Shrug…
(Drew? Answer the man…?)
"I don't know…But he has beaten many a superhero in single combat…And given his desire to subordinate women, he doubtless will view defeating her as a prime goal."
Ok…Ok…Potential lay on her…Original's…Please, would I be caught dead in a bed like this, of my own choosin'…?
I can deal…Ron loves me…I love him…Dad made it work, so can I…Evil sure, but the love can be there too…
I just have to make Evil appealin'…And put my guy on the family team…
…And as even Yoda admits…The Dark Side is more…Seductive…
I just have to be completely believable in my slide evilwise…And why not?...Shego did…What's so holy about Kim Possible that she couldn't…Slip…?
Superheroes are always one step away from becoming supervillains, right?
"Here to check things, doc?..." the security monitor eyed Bortel's id.
"Ja, my biannual check, you have my secretary's appointment?…How's the field been working?"
"Not a prob…Yep, all shipshape, fellas. Let me summon in the security team to escort you."
"How's he been? No trouble?"
"Eh…Rantin' as always…You know they say he's not aging much but I say, the guy's gone senile…He goes on like a demented nut on You Tube."
"Ach, sad…He vas once such a hero…" shake of head.
"So…Everything set between you and the Kimster?..." Wade on Ron's communicator screen eyed Ron's image on his own…
"Yeah…" nod… "I guess I worry too much…" sigh… "She just has been acting kinda odd…"
"They say girls do that…" Wade, solemnly…
"And you know this how?..."
"I'm the tech expert…It's my job to do the research…"
"Right, sorry…But 'research' is no substitute for the real thing, you know…"
"And you know that how?..." Wade, sly smile…
"Wade…"
"What?...I'm actually kinda interested…" wider smile…
"Now, come on…" frown…
"Fine…So what's she think Dementor was up to…?"
"Trying to get a line on whatever Drakken is up to…They're very competitive."
"Hmmn…Always seemed more like Drakken was the competitive one…Dementor his smugly confident antagonist…" Wade noted… "But did she learn anything else…?"
"Nope…She was kinda busy, fighting him and his guys."
"Yeah…Too bad Dementor made off with the Moldavian Crown Jewels. Though it's unusual for him to go after art treasures…More Senor Senior's style, really. But what about this thing about Drakken's people coming in…?"
"We think it was to duke it out with Dementor…" uncertain…
"But they didn't fight with, uh…" pause… "You or Kim?...That is unusual…"
"They were busy…And they did restrain me before they left…"
"Yeah…I got the video of you hanging from that chandelier all over You Tube…Sorry, couldn't resist it." grin…Followed by frown… "It must be something big for both of them to ignore Kim…But what could the prize be?"
"Gotta be whatever Drakken's cooking in his lab."
"I guess…" Wade nodded. "But at least we know Kim's not been affected by anything." regarding Ron's worried look… "Ron?...I did do every test I could think of…She's clean…Fully human as you or me, no measurable metabolic or genetic changes, and no trace of attitudinator or other such mental influence, detected. Was she mad at you?"
"Kim? No, just a little nervous…She's bothered by the way she was acting. In fact she wasn't sure if she might be an android or synthodroid...Or just a little hormonal."
"Well, she must be feeling better now I've ruled the first two out, right?"
"I guess…"
"You gotta remember, Ron…She's a girl. They're always hard to figure, though I can recommend some books. And the superheroine stuff can be pressure on top of that. But you two, you're good, right?"
"Yeah…" sudden narrow look… "You aren't spying on us all the time, are you?"
"Ummn…No…Of course not…"
Not all the time…I haven't the resources…
"Well, I guess we are…Good…Pretty darn good, in fact, judgin' from today…"
"Oh?" nonchalant look…
"Yeah…Say, what does 'not all the time' mean, exactly?…I mean in terms of when you don't…"
"Ron, it is my job to watch out for threats to Kim…But I use discretion…She threatens to hit me if I don't…And she always knows when I'm crossin' the line, somehow. She says it's the expression on my face…"
Ron scanning screen…Uh, huh…
Narrow look…
"Ok, you were worried so I did watch you guys today…It wasn't anything too…You know…"
"Ok…But back off when we're trying to be alone…And you know I can tell when you're crossin' it, too…"
"But you don't hit so hard…" grin… "Just kiddin', Ron…Well…I'll keep monitoring of course…And you can send me anything you learn about Drakken or Dementor…I gotta go, Mom wants me to come to supper."
"Yeah…I'd best be getting home as well. I gotta feed Rufus. Talk to you later, Wado."
Books, eh? Eye roll...
Still, it might not hurt to do a little research…And there is a good source of data on the subject. He pulled cell.
"Yo, Monique? Ron the Stoppable here…Yeah, we got tied up and couldn't make it back to school but no problemos. Well, I was wondering if we could meet tonight to talk? No, minus the Kimster…Though it's kinda about KP…"
"So…Mr. L…" Bortel, friendly tone as he looked over the field control panel, Avair standing by with tool kit… "Been well?"
"My existence continues as always, Doctor…" the hulking, chained Lindendon in deep voice…With somewhat strange tone, as if his mouth were stuffed with cotton. "And how goes the world of ordinary men, run by inferior and destructive races and foolish women and the men lacking any character?"
"No contemporary information, doc…" one officer of the guard in attendance spoke up.
"Ja, of course…Obviously, der world continues, Mr. L…And very nice weather this afternoon…"
Sneering smile… "You see how I am protected from the world's folly, Doctor. Yet I know each day the world of men sinks deeper into the morass, despite the minor technical advances. No change in Man, only decline can follow."
"Well, one can hope for better things, sir. I think all ist in order, Captain." Bortel addressed the officer in charge. "The field remains at maximum strength, no evidence of fluctuation."
"You're a superior man, in some ways, Dr. Bortel." Lindendon smiled grimly. "I trust one day a world will exist where such as you are properly respected."
"Good men like the doc are always respected, traitor." The captain said, coldly. "Shall we go, doc?"
"My fight for a better world and Humanity is not over…And one day, I will be recognized as the hero I am!" Lindendon getting worked up. "And inferior scum like you will be swept aside for a new breed of Man!" he rose, shaking chains.
"Right." The captain shook his head. "My fault for stirring him up…Lets away, fellas."
Avair discretely showing four fingers on his left hand as they left…
God, I hope we know what we're doing here…