CHAPTER 25 – Prom Night Part 2
Middleton school corridor a few minutes earlier
Eric half-walked half-dragged the semi-comatose Ron along the school corridor in the direction of the washrooms. They turned a bend. Eric looked both ways. There was no one in sight. Everyone had either gone home or was in the gym. The corridor was completely silent.
"I have Stoppable," he reported to Shego over their subvocal link. "The drug worked. The others are oblivious: they fell for the whisky flask. What do you want me to do now?"
The response came back almost immediately.
"Kill him. Kill Ron Stoppable. Now."
Eric put his hands around Ron's neck. A superhumanly-tight grip and the deed would be done in seconds.
He hesitated. His grip tightened then loosened. Then tightened and loosened again.
Eric was currently under the control of two programs. Kill Ron had been superimposed over Love Kim. And they were causing conflict.
I must kill Ron Stoppable because Shego told me to.
But if I do, Kim will be devastated by the death of her best friend.
I can't hurt Kim, I love her.
So I can't kill Ron Stoppable because it would devastate the one I love.
But I must kill Ron Stoppable because Shego told me to.
But if I do, Kim will be devastated …
Eric stood in a fugue state for almost a minute, unable to move.
He noticed that he was standing outside the door to a janitor's cupboard.
I can get rid of Stoppable without hurting Kim.
He opened the door to the cupboard and flung Ron inside. The boy fell to the floor, breathing gently.
Eric shut the door. No-one would know that there was anyone in the cupboard. By the time he was found it would no longer matter.
Kill Ron ended and Eric no longer remembered what had just happened.
He left the school and returned to the limo that had been waiting outside the school gates.
"Take me to this address," he ordered the driver, showing him a piece of paper.
"Your date dump you?" the chauffeur asked him sympathetically.
"No, just something I have to do," Eric responded. "How long will it take to get there?"
"We should be there in less than half an hour."
As the car drew up at the front entrance to Bueno Nacho's worldwide headquarters, the driver looked back at his passenger. He did not notice that the synthodrone's face had hardened into a cruel sneer as Shego sent a silent signal to the boy. Hate Kim.
"Sure this is where you wanted? Seems an odd place to spend your Prom night."
Eric smirked. "In an hour this place is going to party like it's the end of the world!"
Possible household
Anne was upstairs having a shower when she heard the doorbell ring for the third time that evening.
James was sitting in the living room watching a documentary The Making of Captain Constellation with Rufus beside him. He had been gratified to discover that he and the naked mole-rat shared similar TV tastes, evidenced by the creature's intent look at the screen. Rufus and James had filled up with cheese sauce over dinner and the pair was relaxed, even a bit sleepy, as they watched the program.
Suppressing a grunt of annoyance, James paused the television and went to answer the door.
Standing outside was a courier. "Delivery for Doctor James Possible," he sang out.
"I'm James Possible," he responded. "But don't you guys normally deliver earlier?"
"Special delivery." The courier handed over a rectangular box and pulled out a pad. "Please sign here."
James signed then looked at the originator's name. His face went blank.
"Got to go," he shouted up to his wife as he picked up the box and walked past the surprised courier towards his car.
Anne appeared at the top of the stairs in her dressing gown. "James?" she called. The courier pointed behind him. She ran to the front door just in time to see her husband pulling away from the curb.
"What happened?" she demanded of the young man in the doorway.
The courier shrugged. "I gave him a parcel, he signed for it, then he left. Look, here's the delivery note."
Anne tore the note from his hands and read it. Her hands shook as she saw the name of the originator.
Brain-Tap Industries.
Memories flooded back of the night her husband lost his memory through overwork. Kim had sworn that her father had referred to a brain-tap machine even though it meant nothing to him. And here were those words again. Had he been hypnotized and this was some sort of post-hypnotic suggestion? That would cast three weeks ago in an entirely different light.
Trying to calm herself, she asked "Who asked you to deliver this?"
The courier looked at the delivery note. "Someone called Hank dropped it off at our depot this morning with instructions to deliver it at 7.30 tonight."
Who was Hank? What was this delivery? And why did James leave without explanation? Surely the latter had to have something to do with this brain-tap message?
But that meant that whatever had happened had been in the planning for at least the last three weeks.
Anne felt a frisson of fear at the implications. What had happened to James?
"Look I have to go to my next drop-off," the courier said apologetically. She waved him away distractedly.
Whatever had happened could not be good. She had to find James and figure out what was going on. But she needed help. Kim and Ron were at the Prom. She was on her own now.
Not entirely. Rufus had scampered up to the front door and was pulling at her dressing-gown hem. She picked him up. "Rufus," she spoke to him. "I could do with some help."
"Wade," the little creature chittered.
"You're right, Rufus – clever little mole-rat" she smiled tightly as she picked up the phone and dialed her daughter's techie.
Junior Prom
Kim was not happy. More than twenty minutes ago her date had gone off with her drunken best friend since when nothing had been seen of either. Josh was on stage performing with his band, and Tara had left the table to go and listen to Josh. Which left her feeling like a wallflower at an empty table.
Where had they gone? She had asked Brick if he would check the men's washrooms but he had reported that neither Eric nor Ron were there.
The distinctive tones of her Kimmunicator rang out from her handbag. Not now Wade, she thought crossly as she fished out the device. To her surprise she saw Eric's name as caller.
"Where are you," she breathed in relief.
"Sorry Kim. I couldn't sober Ron up so I took him home in the limo. Then we got a puncture but some nice man called Professor Menter – is that your name? – kindly offered to take me back to the school in his car. But we seem to be going a long way around. Hey is that Bueno Nacho?"
There was a sound of a scuffle, then hissing followed by coughing. Then silence.
Kim stared at the phone in horror. Professor Dementor had kidnapped her boyfriend on Prom night.
Could this evening get any worse? The universe seemed to be conspiring to rob her of her dream date.
She disconnected the call and rang Wade.
Middleton Space Centre
James showed his pass to the security guard who waved him through the gate. James thought he knew all of the guards at MSC but this one seemed new – probably a new Department of Defense security panic that meant unscheduled staff replacements. Mind you, this one did look a bit unusual – extremely thick-set and barely human-looking – but he put that down to the floodlighting that was half-blinding him as he drove towards the imposing building where he worked.
He would look into this another time. Right now his absolute priority was to get the new satellite onto the shortly-to-be-launched Kepler rocket. He couldn't understand how his colleagues had managed to get so close to launch without the essential payload he was carrying. He would have to have words with the scheduling team at next week's planning meeting.
James parked in his usual spot and entered the near-deserted building. He looked at the launch schedule pinned to the main noticeboard. There was no launch scheduled that evening. Another mistake by his colleagues. Words would definitely need to be said next week.
James was a driven man. He knew that the satellite had to be launched tonight and nothing was going to stop him.
As he walked across the dimly-lit main concourse towards launch control he nodded to the few fellow workers who were present at that time. MSC never actually closed, as there were always people running late-night experiments or monitoring the status of the following day's launches.
One co-worker called across to him "Hey Doctor Possible, we weren't expecting you in tonight."
James waved him away. "Just something I overlooked that needs sorting this evening," he explained.
"Shall I tell Bob Chen you're here?" the scientist asked.
"There's no need. I shall be in and out within half an hour."
"Okay. Give my regards to Anne and the kids," said the other man, returning to his work. James nodded as he walked on.
James did not encounter any other challenges as he used his swipe card to enter the restricted zone where experiments were prepared for installing onto the launch vehicle that would take them into orbit. To his annoyance he saw that the rocket that was being prepped for launch had another payload already installed.
They've fitted the wrong one, he thought in annoyance. That's for tomorrow's launch not tonight's!
Grumbling to himself, he put down the box containing the satellite and proceeded to extract the other payload from the launcher, after which he replaced it with the correct satellite. That proved to be a quick job – thank goodness for standard fittings – and he was able to wrap up his work and start the countdown.
The rocket would launch at 9.30pm precisely. The blast doors to the launch pad were now locked down. Nothing short of a missile could prevent the rocket taking off.
James was walking towards the exit when Doctor Vivian Porter emerged from a side office.
"James?" she said in puzzlement. "What are you doing here?"
"I, er … ". He stopped, confused. Why am I here? I should be at home with Annie!
"Are you feeling alright, James," Vivian asked in concern.
"I … don't know, Vivian. I have no idea why I'm here," he said haltingly.
The scientist with supermodel looks recalled a conversation with Anne Possible a few weeks earlier. Anne had been concerned that James was overworking and had had some sort of temporary breakdown involving memory loss.
"Sit down, James,"" she said in a voice that brooked no argument. "I'm calling Anne."
Wade's house
Wade had just put the phone down to a frantic Anne Possible. She had told him a very bizarre story about James' behavior and a possible hypnotic trance, but she was unconcerned right now with the explanation: she simply wanted to find her husband before something happened to him.
Wade had promised to do everything he could to find James, and was starting with trying to track his mobile phone. He had found out that James had been in a car for about ten minutes but then his GPS tracker had been blocked. This could only mean a high-security establishment and the obvious choice was Middleton Space Centre, where James worked.
He was about to call Anne back to tell her that her husband had probably got so involved in a work project that he'd forgotten to contact her again when his terminal alerted him to the fact that the younger Possible female was trying to reach him on her Kimmunicator.
Wade was surprised: Kim had made a point of not wanting to be contacted this evening.
"Hey Kim," he responded, surprised to see the anxiety on her face. "What's happened?"
"Dementor's what's happened," she snarled. "I think he's kidnapped Eric."
Wade was stunned. None of Kim's enemies had ever stooped to kidnapping boyfriends before. And to do it on Kim's special night suggested an element of sheer vindictiveness.
"Wade, I'm going after him. Eric said something about Bueno Nacho." She remembered that Ron had tried to warn her about something odd at Bueno Nacho.
I should have listened to him, she thought.
"Hold it there, Kim," exclaimed Wade as another call came into his terminal. "It's a text message coming from Bueno Nacho. Not the local restaurant but the world headquarters. I'll patch it through to you."
Kim and Wade read the message with growing alarm.
Fraulein Possible, I have your boyfriend. Unless you come alone to my new lair at Bueno Nacho HQ you will never see him again. Be here no later than 8.15pm. Professor Dementor.
The message was followed by the arrival of a photograph. Kim looked in horror at the sight of her boyfriend stripped to the waist, bound with chains and with a cattle prod held threateningly to his face. He was looking pleadingly at the camera, begging the villain to stop the torture. Or begging her to come quickly. Likely both.
"I need to leave, Wade," she announced. "Right now."
"What about Ron?" her techie asked. "Isn't he with you?"
"I wish," the girl responded wearily. "But he got drunk and Eric took him home. He's in no fit state to come with me. I can do this on my own. Just keep monitoring me."
"Will do, Kim. I'm going to start hacking into the BN cameras. By the time you get there you should be able to gain access unobserved."
"You rock, Wade. Over and out."
Kim disconnected the call. A voice called to her.
"Possible, it looks like you need a lift."
"Mr. Barkin?" she said in astonishment.
"Nobody kidnaps my students and gets away with it."
ooOooOoo
Shego pulled off the headphones she was wearing. "Kimmie is on the move. She fell for the Dementor message and is being driven by her school teacher. She should be here in around 45 minutes."
"Let's prepare a welcome party for her then," Drakken responded. He turned to a hench. "Make sure that one of the ventilation shafts is clear of lasers. We don't want her getting hurt on her way in do we?"
"Yes sir," the hench responded.
"And it's time to block her help." He depressed a button on the terminal in front of him which transmitted a signal to the cybertronic bracelet wrapped around Kim's wrist.
Telling it to detect and block all inputs and outputs from the Kimmunicator but continue to transmit location and sound to the situation room.
"Now Shego, time to secure the hostages. Take the hovercar: it'll get you to the school in ten minutes. Hank will meet you there with the synthodrones." His sidekick left the situation room, leaving Drakken the sole occupant.
His eyes gleamed. Time to continue his Diary of the Imperial Triumph, written contemporaneously with the actions it described. It would one day be seen by scholars as the definitive war chronicle, surpassing the Gallic Wars of Julius Caesar and Winston Churchill's The Second World War. History, as they say, is written by the victors and Emperor Drakken would make sure that Possible's name would be forever associated with failure.
But first he had a task to do.
He picked up the microphone and called Manfred. "Initiate Phase 2", he ordered. The illuminated board reflected the status change. And from Middleton Bueno Nacho, hundreds of synthodrones climbed out of their pods and made their way towards their preassigned targets.
Wade's house
Wade sat staring at the text message on his screen for several seconds after Kim had broken the connection. This was so out of character for Dementor. He was so going to regret it when a thoroughly-pissed Kim Possible burst into his lair. Ruining her special night, threatening her boyfriend. He smiled at the thought of the mayhem Kim would likely create.
Though doing it without Ron? How wise was that?
Another call, this time from Anne Possible explaining with relief that Vivian Porter had found her husband but, like last time, he had no recollection of what had happened. She had him resting but she was deeply concerned about what was going on. She reminded him of James's fugue state three weeks earlier. It did not occur to her to mention the parcel that James had taken with him.
Wade felt a growing sense of unease. While there was no obvious connection between Dementor's threat and what was happening to James Possible, the fact that both had occurred on the same night, a night when Kim and Ron would be otherwise occupied, seemed more than coincidence.
A ping indicated that a program he had started running an hour ago had finished deep-searching for information about a temporary teacher.
On the screen were the words Chances of Sheila Goh being Shego: 95%.
Once is happenstance; twice is coincidence; three times is enemy action.
Dementor. James Possible. Shego.
He needed to contact Global Justice. He hesitated before deciding to use his emergency code, though he would have been at a loss to explain exactly why.
"What is it, Wade?" Elizabeth Director demanded. "I have a lot on my plate at the moment."
"Sorry to bother you, Ma'am, but some very odd things have been happening this evening." He rapidly explained the apparently unconnected events, ending with the news that Kim had had to go to rescue her boyfriend from Professor Dementor.
Doctor Director sat upright. "Did you say Dementor?" she queried.
"Yes. He just texted a threat to kill Eric if Kim didn't get to Bueno Nacho HQ by 8.15." He glanced at the wall clock. She would be well on her way by now.
"It wasn't Dementor," came the response. "The professor is dead. His body was found last night in Tibet."
Wade absorbed the stunning news. "Then who …?" he asked.
Elizabeth looked at his image on the screen. "Dementor was killed by Shego."
Wade was stunned. "Shego killed someone? I thought she was non-lethal!"
"So did we, Wade," Elizabeth said somberly.
"So if Dementor is dead, then it means …"
"… that Drakken and Shego are the real villains here," finished the GJ chief.
My goodness, Wade thought. Then Drakken must be Andrew Drake, the new CEO. But why?
"I need to warn Kim about Drakken and Shego. Especially that Shego has gone nuclear," Wade said in concern.
"Does she have Stoppable with her?" Elizabeth asked. She had a lot of faith in those two together, and they had beaten Drakken and Shego on numerous occasions.
"No, he got drunk and was taken home …" Wade's voice trailed off as a new thought occurred to him. "Unless he wasn't drunk but drugged. But who would have done that? Kim didn't mention any suspicious character at the Prom." He was sending an emergency signal to the Kimmunicator as he spoke.
"And why go to all this trouble?" Elizabeth wondered. "There's got to be a bigger plot here somewhere for them to have put so much effort into concealing their presence. It doesn't make sense if all this is just to draw Kim to their lair."
Her question was about to be answered.
"I'm not getting a response from Kim," Wade told Elizabeth in alarm. "I'm just getting snow. But it was working fine five minutes ago."
Like the Middleton Days evening when the moodulator was interfering with the Kimmunicator!
He switched to GPS. "I've lost her tracking signal too."
Could someone be blocking Kim? Perhaps even listening into her communications? The implications of that were frightening. She must have something on her person without her knowledge.
Is Kim walking into a trap? Without any backup?
He heard shouting on the other end of the line. Elizabeth disappeared from view for a moment, then returned with a somber look on her face.
"I'm going to have to go, Wade. It seems we're under attack. You might want to check your own security. Something very big is about to go down." She broke the call.
ooOooOoo
Wade stared at the blank screen. He was at a loss as to what to do next. His skills were in dealing with tech problems and sorting out one issue at a time. But with the range of situations now developing with such pace: he felt helpless.
I need Ron, he realized. He's the only one who can help.
Five minutes later he set down the microphone in frustration. He had rung Ron's home number several times but without luck. He had even transmitted a high-frequency ultrasonic pulse that would have woken Ron up even had he been drugged let alone drunk.
Eric said he took Ron home. But the evidence was clear that Ron wasn't there.
Was Eric lying? If so, why? And did that have anything to do with Wade's inability to communicate with Kim?
And if Eric was lying, then Kim may be in even greater danger than he feared.
Or was he just piling speculation upon speculation?
Wade wished that Kim had agreed to give Ron a Kimmunicator. That would at least have told him where Ron was.
He smacked his face in mortification as it suddenly dawned on him that he'd completely forgotten that Ron had a tracker chip inserted in his body. How did I forget that! I'm really off my game tonight.
It was the work of a moment to establish that Ron was still at the school. And that he had a mobile phone with him.
I need to speak to him, he thought, typing Ron's number into his terminal and praying that he would pick up.
Junior Prom
Tara and Josh had returned to their table following Josh's stage set to find it deserted. Tara looked around in bewilderment. Where was Kim? And surely Eric should have been back with Ron by now?
Brick caught their attention from the adjacent table. "Possible has gone freak-hunting with Mr. Barkin," he explained. "Her boyfriend never reappeared but he called to say that he'd dropped Ron off at his home. Then he got hijacked … I mean kidnapped."
"Tonight?" Tara exclaimed to her boyfriend. "First Ron gets drunk, then Eric vanishes. And Kim was so looking forward to a normal night with Eric. Now it's ruined."
Josh looked sympathetic. It reminded him of his own brief dating days with Kim. She was hardly there in spirit even when they were together: and on one particularly weird occasion, hardly there in body either.
"Here, let me get you a soda," her boyfriend offered. She flashed him a pallid smile then sat down to await his return.
Brrrrrrrring!
She looked up at the sound of a phone buzzing. It appeared to be very close to her, though there was no-one else at the table.
Brrrrrrrring!
The noise seemed to be coming from below the table. She bent down to look.
There was an old-fashioned cellphone, perhaps five years old, lying on the floor. It seemed as though someone had dropped it. Ron! Only he would have such an uncool cellphone. He must have let it fall when he passed out earlier.
She picked up the phone, which had stopped ringing. The display showed Missed call – Wade.
Who's Wade? She thought. Oh, that's right; he's that tech guy that Kim uses on her missions.
She held the phone out in front of her hesitantly. I wonder why he's calling Ron? Maybe it's important? She bit her lip in indecision.
I should call Wade to let him know I've got Ron's phone.
Making the decision, Tara scrolled through the directory until she came to Wade's name. She pressed the dial button on the cellphone and put it to her ear. Seconds went by while the connection was made. Then a voice which sounded like that of a young boy.
"Ron? Thank goodness." Wade's voice was unsettled.
"Er no, it's actually Tara King: I'm a friend of Ron's. He dropped his phone at the Prom and I heard it ring."
"Tara, is Ron there? It's very important that I speak to him right now." The normally laid-back young man sounded agitated.
"No, he left about half an hour ago."
"No he didn't. He's somewhere on the school premises."
"But Eric said he took Ron home," she responded in confusion.
"Tara." Wade took a deep breath to calm himself. "It's vital that I speak to Ron. He's not at home. I've lost contact with Kim and I really need his help. Can you help me find him?"
Tara stared into the handset. "Tara?" came a voice from the speaker.
"Um, yes" she responded hesitantly. "Sorry, I'm a bit … why would Eric lie about Ron?" Tara felt like she had been plucked out of her normal life and dropped into a spy movie.
"Tara, listen to me. Please focus. Do you know where Ron might be on the school site?"
"Eric took Ron to the washrooms to sober him up. Wade, I can take a look around there. It won't take long 'cos most of the school is locked up tonight. I'll call you back when I find something."
"Thanks Tara, you don't know how important this might be." The line went dead.
Tara put the phone into her handbag and ran toward the door of the gym.
Josh left the bar and was walking back to his table when he saw his girlfriend rushing out of the room. He put down the two sodas he was carrying and headed after her.
ooOooOoo
Wade heard his mother's cry of alarm, followed by what sounded like a tank battering away at their front door. He glanced at the CCTV feed. Some massive artificial-looking men were thumping on the steel-reinforced door, which had already sustained dents. "Wade Load, surrender yourself to us," they were shouting. Although the exterior of the house was armored, it would not hold indefinitely under an attack like this.
He ran out of the room and grabbed his mother. "Come with me, Mum," he urged as he dragged her into his inner sanctum and depressed the last-resort button. There was the sound of an elevator as the entire room sank down into the earth and a ceramic plate slid over the shaft. Nothing much short of a tactical nuclear weapon would penetrate the room now.
I've got to warn the Possibles.
His mother watched him in bewilderment as he made yet another call that evening.
Possible household
James Possible had just arrived home in the company of Vivian Porter. She and Anne had established that he had had another fugue state. But this time, Anne was convinced that the problem wasn't medical. The brain-tap connection made that clear. After hearing Vivian's story, she was sure that James had been targeted by someone with malicious intent. And that gave her cause for grave concern for the other Possible out that night.
While Vivian was sharing a cup of coffee with James, Anne rang Wade, only to get an engaged tone. Pursing her lips she disconnected with a view to trying again. But the phone rang before she could act. A feeling of relief passed through her as she saw the caller identity.
"Wade," she said breathlessly. "We've got a problem." She started to explain what had happened with James that evening but the young man interrupted her.
"Sorry Anne but there's something more important. Has anyone tried to gain access to the house this evening?"
Anne was surprised. "No, not that I'm aware of," she responded.
"'Cos both GJ and I have been attacked tonight. And I think they will be headed your way soon."
Before Anne could respond there was a banging on the front door and cries of "Come quietly and you won't be harmed."
"They're here now," she cried into the phone.
"Okay, put me on to the tweebs. You have only seconds to act."
Numbly, Anne passed the phone to the nearest tweeb who had heard the crashing on the front door and had rushed into the living room to investigate, followed closely by his brother. "It's Wade," she said tonelessly. The boy pressed the speaker button and Wade's voice rang out.
"Jim. Tim. Initiate ghost protocol. Now!"
Tim, for it was him, called to his brother. "Ghost protocol," he repeated.
"Cool!" responded Jim as he used his thumb-print to open a panel on the wall next to the front door. The panel swung open, revealing a red button and a series of switches. He depressed the button.
Instantly, shutters dropped over all the windows and external doors. The TV flickered and revealed the scene outside the house. There appeared to be an army of man-monsters trying to batter their way through the front door.
"Phase 2," sang Tim as he pressed the TV remote control buttons in a careful sequence. "Force field activated."
The banging stopped as the attempted intruders found their path blocked by an invisible wall.
"Phase 3, lasers armed and operational," called Jim as he flipped a switch in the wall panel.
Tim used the direction keys on the TV controller to aim the lasers. He fired and had the satisfaction of seeing several thin red beams pierce the skin of the leading intruder. He grimaced as the creature appeared to ignore what should have been a lethal strike and carried on batting uselessly at the force field.
"They are immune to lasers. What now, Wade?" Anne asked hurriedly.
"That force field won't hold indefinitely. The power drain is too high for the battery backup. You've got maybe a couple of hours. I'm trying to get help."
"Where's Kim," her mother asked fearfully. "And what are these things?
"She's on her way to what she thinks is a rescue of Eric from Dementor, but it feels like a trap as Dementor is dead and I can't contact her – her signals are being blocked. I'm almost certain that Eric has been lying to her and us and this whole thing has something to do with Drakken."
Anne turned to James and Vivian who had rushed into the living room with the tweebs.
"Kim's out there. And Wade thinks that Eric has tricked her." Her face betrayed her worry for her precious daughter.
"So Eric's just another hormonal boy after all?" James just knew that boy was going to be trouble.
Anne looked scathingly at her husband. "Not that!" she shouted. "Eric may be working for Drakken!"
Her husband looked chastened. "What about Ron?" James demanded of Wade.
"Tara is looking for him. It looks as though he was drugged to get him out of the way at the start of this. Someone planned to isolate Kim." He didn't share his deep concern that Ron may have met with an accident. Or that Kim would be unaware of Shego's new-found lethality.
"Well, get him here if you find him. We have a few toys he'll need if he's going to rescue Kim," her father exclaimed, giving his wife an apologetic look. Anne took his hand and squeezed hard.
Wade noted that James was in no doubt that Ron would go after Kim and rescue her.
I hope his faith in Ron is justified, he thought. Betty Director is right. This is something bigger than Drakken has ever pulled before.
But what's his end-game?
"Got to go," he announced as his terminal flashed. "Tara's calling back. If she's found Ron I'll send him around the back. His DNA will allow him through the force field. Good luck, guys."
Junior Prom
"Whoooah!"
Ron woke up to near-darkness. He found himself lying on the floor. His head throbbed something rotten. He sat up unsteadily, his head spinning. What had happened?
Taking a deep breath he waited as his head cleared slightly. The last thing he remembered was being at the Prom. He was sitting with Kim, Eric, Tara and Josh. Kim's boyfriend was passing around drinks in his unfailingly friendly fashion. He was drinking a cordial.
Did somebody spike my drink?
He could see nothing except a thin rectangular line of light a few feet ahead of from him.
Where am I?
As his eyes adjusted to the dark he could make out a mop and broom against the wall to the side of what he now recognized as a door.
Aw man, not again!
Ron was sitting in the janitor's cupboard. Repressed memories of the Spirit Dance came flooding back. He was trapped in this cupboard for the second time in a year and memories of the first occasion were making him queasy. He had forgotten just how small the room was: last time the claustrophobia had given him nightmares for a week, a fact he had never revealed to Kim for fear of making her feel guiltier than she was already.
In a panic, Ron got up – ouch! –and grabbed hold of the door knob. He pushed against the door. To his disappointment but with no real surprise he found it unmoving. Can't believe they still haven't put a handle on the inside!
He was sure it wasn't Kim's fault this time. But someone had locked him in. Why?
Ron felt beside the door frame for a light switch. With some relief he was bathed in a dim light from a single bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Hey, I can just ring someone this time to get me out! The blond teen reached into his jacket pocket for his cellphone but his hand came out empty. He checked all his other pockets to no avail. Cursing under his breath he looked about him, trying to see something that would help him to escape. An empty steel bucket gave him an idea. Picking up the bucket in one hand and the broom handle in the other, he started hammering at the bucket with the handle. The piercing clangs that resulted may be making his headache worse but surely someone's attention would be drawn outside?
He paused after a minute or two and put his ear to the door to listen for any response, but all he could hear was the distant boom of music from the gym. No-one's going to hear me with all that going on! He slumped to his knees, his eyes downcast.
I'm going to miss another dance. My personal make-over project has crashed and burned already.
The sound of a knock caused Ron to turn his head sharply.
"Ron? Are you in there?"
ooOooOoo
Tara had looked outside the gym but there was no sign of Ron. Wade's message had spooked her and she was increasingly concerned as to his whereabouts and his state of health.
Better try the school.
As she entered the main school building, she thought she heard a crashing sound from around the corner. Hurriedly she ran along the corridor towards where she had heard the sound and stopped as she saw that the corridor was empty.
She was standing opposite a door: it looked like a janitor's cupboard.
Hey, isn't that where Ron got himself locked in last year? She had never heard the full story, but she did recall that Ron and Kim were not on speaking terms for several days after that. Something to do with Josh Mankey. Had Ron been jealous of Josh?
The cheerleader knocked tentatively at the door and paused.
"Ron? Are you in there?"
"Who's there?" she heard. "I can't get out. Can you open the door?"
In a voice that was unmistakably Ron Stoppable's.
Tara hurriedly turned the lock and swung the door open. The inmate staggered out and sat down on the floor, back against the wall, eyes closed, taking deep breaths.
"Are you alright, Ron?" she asked nervously.
He opened his eyes and nodded. "Just a bit claustrophobic. Somebody locked me in the cupboard."
The sound of running footsteps could be heard as Josh appeared around the corner.
"Ron?" he gaped. "What's going on? Where's Eric?"
The blond shook his head. "I wish I knew." He looked around. "Where's Kim?"
"I'd better let Wade explain," Tara answered as she dialed his number. "He's desperate to speak to you."
ooOooOoo
Felix looked up as Tara, Ron and Josh rushed back into the gym which was full of gyrating youngsters.
"Hey, Ronman. Where you been?" he asked as Monique turned to face him, eyes enquiring. He looked over at the deserted table. "And where are Kim and Eric?" Oh, stupid question, he grinned in realization as he watched another couple, hands held, slip out of the gym for some privacy.
Ron looked grim. "It's not what you think. Kim has been led into a trap. Eric's working for Drakken. And there are some man-monsters attacking Wade and the Possibles. I've got to get to them. The tweebs can help."
Felix looked stunned. "Is this for real?" he returned, looking at Josh. He had not been aware of Ron's passing out earlier, and this story sounded so paranoid he could scarcely believe it.
Josh nodded. "We need wheels to get Ron to the Possibles and you're the only one of us with a vehicle here." Everyone else on their tables had come in limos. Except Ron, who had his scooter. But after hearing Wade's tale of the monster attacks, Tara and Josh had insisted that they accompany him.
Monique took charge. "Of course they can have your car, Felix," she exclaimed. "You can drive them there."
Felix protested that he couldn't leave his girlfriend if there was a risk of monsters but she waved away his objections.
"Okay," Ron decided. "Monique, call Wade if anything unusual happens while we're away." He scribbled down Wade's number and handed it to the girl. Felix started the controls on his wheel-chair and hovered alongside the others as they followed Ron out of the gym.
"Good luck guys," Monique whispered as they left the room. "Come back safely."
Steve and Jessica were staring at her as she quickly filled them in on what was happening. Bonnie overheard their conversation.
"It's always about Possible," she sneered. "And this nonsense about man-monsters. Who are they kidding?"
But Monique wasn't listening as all eyes turned to the door as ten synthodrones entered the building, cattle-prods aloft and flanking a green-skinned woman. Shego smiled at the shocked expressions.
"Hello kids," she announced. "You've all been chosen to be hostages for your families' good behavior tonight. You will stay here and behave and make no attempt to escape. My synthodrones here have been instructed to hurt you if you do anything they don't like."
"Wh …who are you?" Bonnie finally found her voice. "And why are you doing this?"
Shego smiled as she saw Bonnie. "Ms. Rockwaller. How nice to see you again. The Colorado Delinquents Authority thanks you for your invaluable help in capturing Kim Possible. You won't be bothered by her ever again."
She paused. "Soon, no one will be bothered by her ever again."
"Miss Goh?" whispered Bonnie in shock. Monique looked at her sharply.
Why is Bonnie so upset? And what's this about delinquents?
Brick spoke for everyone when he turned to the traumatized girl and demanded "Bonnie, what have you done?!"
Shego laughed. "Ms. Rockwaller here gave us the vital information we needed to create Eric. And trap Kimmie." Bonnie stared at her, horrified at her words.
"Your hatred of Possible made it soooo easy to manipulate you," Shego laughed as she started back towards the door.
A sinking feeling filled Bonnie's stomach as she began to realize the enormity of her mistake.
"And now I must go and welcome your teen hero to her doom. Enjoy the rest of your evening." Shego waved farewell to the silent Prom guests as the synthodrones took their positions around the room, cattle-prods facing the crowd of students.
The silence that followed was only punctuated by sobs.
Steve Foley and Brick Flagg looked at each other. Steve nodded as he got up. "Someone's got to do something," he told Jessica, grabbing hold of a microphone stand.
"No, Steve, do what they say," Jessica cried in anguish as her boyfriend approached the nearest synthodrone.
The baseball captain swung the microphone stand at the motionless man-monster, the base threatening to crush its skull. There was a gasp as the stand bent in half, the base bouncing harmlessly off the thick skin. Steve barely had time to register what had happened before the synthodrone thrust forward like lightning with its cattle-prod.
There was a crackle, followed by a groan as the boy doubled up and fell to the floor thrashing side to side. Jessica screamed his name as she ran over to him, unmindful of her own safety. She cradled his head in her arms while the others looked on in fear.
The dismayed students heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Steve's eyes open. Jessica helped him to his feet and led him back to his seat. Her eyes were full of tears as he sat down, holding his head.
"We can't get out," Brick called in frustration. "We can't help Possible."
"I know a way."
The others turned to Bonnie in surprise. Their faces were filled with disgust. She shrank from their eyes but repeated "I know a way."
"I don't know what you did to help that green woman but I don't want to hear another word from you tonight," Brick hissed at his date. Jessica nodded, her eyes not leaving her stricken boyfriend.
Bonnie turned to Monique. Her eyes were pleading. Swallowing her own distaste, she responded "Let her speak." Bonnie flashed her a grateful glance. The Queen Bee turned to address Jessica.
"Remember the move that won us the Regionals?" she asked.
Global Justice HQ
Elizabeth took cover behind a bullet-proof screen as her personal bodyguard fired fruitlessly at the dozens of creatures who had appeared without warning in the main concourse of the headquarters. Witnesses had reported seeing them literally walk through the wall, guns blazing and marching towards the inner sanctum of the base where Elizabeth had her office. Several agents had already lost their lives in the overwhelming surprise attack, and precious moments were wasted before someone was able to sound the general alarm, sealing off the lower levels.
Will was organizing the defense but nothing seemed to be stopping the berserk creatures, who looked like subhumans with a thick red skin that apparently absorbed bullets. A brave agent had attacked one of the creatures with a knife, only to find the skin impervious. He had paid for his courage with his life as the creature wrestled the knife from his grasp and thrust it into his torso.
Elizabeth backed into her office and sealed the door. She had no idea how long this would hold off the assailants, especially if they had a means of walking through walls. That had to be Drakken's doing, she thought. She picked up her communicator and called Will.
Her second –in-command answered. "A bit busy right now, ma'am," he responded as he threw a grenade at the wall of creatures in front of him. It detonated, blowing bits of "flesh" into the air. Two creatures staggered and fell, but even as he looked, they seemed to be regenerating.
"Will, they must be wearing some sort of force field generator to be able to walk through walls. You need to disable them else we have nowhere to hide."
Will risked a look from his cover. They seemed to have belts that were not part of their carapace.
"Think I see it ma'am. But these things are impossible to kill. They seem to have the power of regeneration!"
They're made of synthoplasm, she realized. Drakken has all of Dementor's weapons as well as his own inventions!
"We need Candace's mood canceller," she stated. "Try targeting their heads. If the nanites have any vulnerabilities it will be where the moodulators are attached."
"Understood, ma'am," Will responded. There was a brief silence while he passed on the instructions to the band of defenders. Elizabeth heard a cheer as two grenades detonated simultaneously, blowing the head off one of the creatures, while the other suffered the loss of their belt.
The defenders watched uneasily as the stricken synthodrone slowly grew a new head. As it stood up, it looked around, as if it didn't know why it was there.
Will came back on the line. "Attacking their head works, it seems to disorientate them. But there are so many of them." Indeed, even as they watched, more creatures were emerging in the concourse.
"We're getting overwhelmed," he said. "I don't think we can defend this level much longer. And ammo is running short up here."
"Pull back," Elizabeth instructed. "We can't afford more casualties. Try and destroy as many of the force field generators as you can before heading down. I'll head for the escape hatch. We have more grenades down below."
ooOooOoo
Can Du had been woken from a nap by the rumble of explosions. Rushing to her feet she had left the lab and headed for the elevator only to find that the shutters were down and she and her team were effectively cut off.
"Base compromised. Base compromised," screamed the tannoy as the General Alert sounded. "Evacuate Level One. Repeat, evacuate Level One. All personnel on Level One to emergency egress hatch."
"Will!" she thought in fear. "He's up there. What's happening?"
A warning sounded as an access hatch next to the elevator opened and Dr. Director emerged, face smudged with dirt and with a grim expression. Several battle-hardened operatives followed her out in silence. But there was no sign of Will Du.
"Can, what's the status on the canceller?" the GJ Head asked.
The younger woman took a deep breath to calm herself. She had so many questions but right now her training was all that mattered.
"We have a prototype but it hasn't been tested. We were planning a full test run tomorrow."
"We're going to be testing it right now," her boss responded. "And let's hope that it works."
Her boss grabbed a communicator. "Bronstein, call the Department of Defense. Tell them we're under attack from an army of nanite-controlled creatures with force field phasing devices. Unknown assailant but suspected Drew Lipsky. We need reinforcements urgently."
Elizabeth looked more closely at her subordinate's worried face. "Don't worry, I saw Will. He's organizing the evacuation up here. He'll be down himself shortly. We'll all be safe down here."
Unless these creatures phase into our escape hatch. Then we're sitting ducks.
Can smiled tightly. She knew her brother. He would not leave his post until everyone else had been evacuated. Please be okay, she prayed.
"Now return to your lab and ensure that your team are all securely inside, then return here with the canceller." Dr. Director dismissed her and turned to face the escape hatch as the alarm sounded, indicating more evacuees. Or assailants. The defending force lined up across the corridor, automatic weapons held ready for use.
Bueno Nacho HQ
Diary of the Imperial Triumph – An eye-witness account by Emperor Drakken, ruler of Planet Earth (formerly Dr. Andrew Theodore Lipsky)
"There were three key mistakes that the former teen hero Kim Possible made that led to her capture and execution on Empire Night. The first was allowing herself to be taken in by an artificial human. Had she been on her normal game she might have spotted the signs that "Eric" was too good to be true. The Emperor had designed Eric to be everything the cheerleader would have wanted in a boy. However, given the speed with which Eric had had to be created and programmed, it was inevitable that there would be some flaws, some elements that would not withstand closer inspection. However, the former hero was so taken in by the glamour of a hottie boyfriend that validated her high place in the high school food chain that she simply failed to spot any of these.
The second mistake that Kim Possible made that night was over-confidence. She chose to take the battle to the foe with no knowledge of what lay in store for her, and without back-up. At the time she left the Prom, she believed that she was dealing only with Professor Dementor and his henchmen. She would have been confident of success against such a second-rate opponent. She thought that she was doing little more than settle some past scores. Had she understood that she was dealing with the Emperor, Kim Possible might at least have waited for support from Global Justice. But she sealed her fate by entering the lion's den thinking it to be a mere cattery.
But her most significant mistake was placing the new boy and the approval of her vapid high school peers ahead of any sense of loyalty to her oldest friend. By doing so, she single-handedly destroyed her most powerful weapon, the bond of trust and mutual security provided by Ren Stompable. The sidekick was of course no threat to the Emperor's plans himself, so could be disregarded until he was eliminated, but his absence weakened Kim Possible to the point where her over-confidence and blindness to the hottie went unchallenged. Future historians will note the irony that the absence of the buffoon was the key element that reduced Possible's operational capability to the point where she stood no chance against the forces arrayed against her.
The Emperor's success in splitting up Team Possible that night was his single greatest triumph and which guaranteed his victory.
Kim Possible thought she was all that. But on Empire Night she met her match."
Drakken laid his pen to rest with a satisfied look on his face. He reviewed his words. Possible was on her way with no idea of what was in store for her. She had not notified Global Justice of her mission, believing it to be unnecessary. The buffoon was dead and no one else would be able to communicate with Possible. She was entirely isolated.
His insights were sound, the research that had led to the tactics deployed that day were exhaustive. Yes, his words accurately described the situation. He simply could not fail.
Within the hour, he, Doctor Drakken would be master of the planet.
Author's Note: The phrase Once is happenstance; Twice is coincidence; Three times is enemy action comes from Goldfinger by Ian Fleming, spoken by Goldfinger himself after he encounters James Bond for the third time.