Shego dropped through the murky water, pausing her descent when a bright orange light streamed down from above. Explosion. Shock wave coming. The green woman twisted, seeking Kim and her mother. Spotting the two Possible women only a few feet away, she reached out, offering her hands.
Kim immediately understood Shego's intent. She linked arms with her mother, then lunged for the green woman's hand, grasping it just before the buffeting force of the shock wave struck them.
Shego bore the brunt of the blast, her body providing some small shelter to the other two women. It felt like being swatted with a giant hand, a sudden, full-body pressure that sent the world gray-black for a few moments. Then something squeezed her fingers and the green woman shook her head, trying to clear the wooziness. She focused on Kim, who had floated close to her, red hair drifting halo-like in the water as the younger woman checked if she was OK.
Shego squeezed Kim's hand in return, then released the other woman's palm to flash a 'thumbs up' to both Possibles. Glancing around, she caught sight of a dim glow beneath them. Shego pointed it out, getting nods of acknowledgement from both her companions. She held up a hand before they could move, however, and gestured back and forth between Kim and herself, before pointing down sharply. Then she pointed at Anne, showed her palm, then gestured down, a little less vigorously. Wait, then follow. Get it?
The older Possible nodded her understanding. Kim and Shego led the way down, each woman swimming with strong, even strokes, until Kim suddenly pulled up. Shego halted her own descent as the redhead pointed to their left. The green woman followed the gesture. There: two sleek, dark shapes cutting through the water toward them. Sharks. Of course. Despite the fact that the gesture would go totally unseen, Shego rolled her eyes.
Kim gestured at the sharks again, then held up two fingers. Then she gestured back and forth between the green woman and herself, and held up two fingers again. Finally, she pointed at herself again, then at the shark on the right. Two of them, two of us. That one's yours. Got it, Kimmie. Shego nodded her understanding, and the two women darted down toward the approaching predators, Kim angling right while Shego angled left. Immediately, the two sharks also separated, each tracking directly toward one of the women.
Kim had been slightly closer to the creatures to begin with, and Shego's path was at something of an angle to the sharks' approach, so it was the redhead who drew close to the marine predators first. As she did so, the young woman suddenly somersaulted in the water and began to swim away from the shark. Shego paused her own swimming, one eye still on the shark approaching her, while the other tracked the redhead. What's Kimmie doing? The green woman couldn't believe her partner – sidekick! – had lost her nerve ... but what other reason could there be for her sudden change of direction?
Clenching a fist, Shego tried to measure the distance between them. She could generate plasma underwater, she knew that ... but it was hard work, and she'd never tried to throw it ... would it work? With a sinking feeling, she realized it wouldn't matter: the shark was coming up on Kim too fast.
The predator suddenly gave a snap of its tail, lunging forward through the water, ragged-toothed jaws agape ... and Kim rolled out of the way, legs and body brushing along the gray, bullet-like body of the shark. The redhead thrust out a hand, grabbed the shark's pelvic fin, and then swung up onto its back.
Shego shook her head. Crazy little ... nearly gave me a heart attack. A fast approaching shape reminded the green woman of her own danger, and she twisted in the water, throwing up a flash of plasma. The shark, startled by the sudden light and disturbance in the water, veered away. As it did so, Shego caught a reflective glint of metal from just in front of the dorsal fin.
Control box. So that was why Kimmie had so suddenly changed direction. She'd got close enough to see the glint of steel. I'm still gonna kick her ass for that little stunt.
Shego's shark was turning around, slicing through the water again, heading straight for the green woman. Shego drifted, seemingly inert, waiting as those immense jaws rushed ever closer … then she channeled as much plasma as she could, flash-boiling the water around her hands. Hoping the sudden storm of steam and water had obscured the sight of both the shark and whoever was controlling it, Shego kicked hard with her feet, trying to get above the beast.
It was just enough. The shark's jaws crashed home around the tip of one of Shego's fins, tearing the plastic swimming aid from the green woman's foot as it sped past her once more. But this time Shego was waiting. A second blast of plasma leapt across the few feet of water, slamming into the silver box on the creature's back. The shark lurched, its body convulsing, then suddenly righted itself and surged away through the water.
A flicker of movement sent Shego spinning, hands raised defensively, but it was just Kim. The redhead raised her hand, showing the control box from the other shark, then dropped the metal object into the murky waters.
Shego frowned, floating for a moment, then pointed at Kim, crooked one hand into an OK sign, then shrugged a question. The redhead promptly flashed a pair of thumbs up. Shego's scowl deepened as she tried to think of a way to mime 'You are in so much trouble'.
When inspiration failed to come, the green woman glanced up, searching for the shape of Kim's mother above them. There she was, hanging back as instructed, and ... gesturing. Pointing.
Shego turned in the water, eyes trying to pierce the murkiness. What was the tournament throwing at them now?
Something moved. Something large. Much larger than the sharks. It rose slowly out of the depths, its body long and tapered. Then it seemed to split open, long tendrils waving out through the water before it. Shego sighed. Of course. Giant squid.
These guys have really taken their tips out of the Drakken play-book. Shego thought as she used a brief plume of plasma to drive away one of the squid's many-suckered tentacles. What's next, a crocodile that's swallowed a clock?
The green woman had lost sight of Kim as the squid's thrashing tentacles stirred up the murky water still further, but she didn't really have time to worry about the redhead right now: those self-same tentacles kept grabbing for her, and she didn't care to find out what would happen if they succeeded.
Another blast of plasma fended off the same tentacle as it swooped in once more, but it was only blind instinct that make Shego kick upward immediately afterward. A second tentacle, reaching in from behind and below, narrowly missed her.
This isn't good. I don't want to hurt this thing, but I can't find the control box. It was time for a change of tactics. The pale woman twisted, throwing out a couple of low-powered bursts just to confuse whoever was controlling the beast, then spun upside down and kicked as hard as she could, plunging deep below the squid. It continued to grasp blindly where she had just been, and she nodded with satisfaction. Whoever was controlling it must have been temporarily dazzled by the blasts.
There was no box on the underside of the creature, so Shego kicked upwards, finally catching sight of Kim as she did so. The redhead was darting back and forth at the very limits of the squid's reach, kicking backwards as fast as she could to avoid its grip. Then suddenly things went wrong: a tentacle caught on the younger woman's air hose, ripping it out of her mouth. Kim thrashed, caught by surprise at the sudden loss of air, and immediately another tentacle reached out for her. Heart in her mouth, Shego kicked down, knowing that this time she really would be too late: and then something red flashed in Kim's hand, and the flipper-like end of the tentacle recoiled as the younger woman jammed her air mask back in her mouth.
Laser frickin' lipstick. The green woman marveled as she kicked down again, apparently unnoticed by either the squid or its controller. Still no sign of the control box ... there! A glint of steel. Right below its mouth. Figures.
The green woman tucked herself up and then lunged downwards, kicking smoothly with both legs together. The squid loomed larger and larger in front of her ... and then she was skimming past it, the huge, beak-like mouth mere inches from her face ... and with a flash of green plasma she destroyed the control box.
A second plasma flash persuaded the creature that these two morsels were more trouble than they were worth, and it jetted away and out of sight.
The three women swam down to the exterior of the underwater base. It was a dome-like structure, raised off the sea-bed on six pylon-like legs. Lights were spaced around its circumference, illuminating the waters around the metal structure. They also illuminated two air-locks: one large enough for mini-subs, the other clearly designed for human divers. Kim pointed at that, but both Anne and Shego shook their heads and pointed to the larger doors.
As they swam to this entry, however, Shego wondered how they were going to get inside. There was no convenient outer panel to work with, and she couldn't simply blast her way in: not without potentially flooding the whole base, anyway.
The green woman needn't have worried. Anne Possible might not have expected the events of this night, but she'd come equipped for them. Digging into the bag at her side, she pulled forth a block-like metal object and slapped it onto the wall beside the air-lock. Four red lights immediately illuminated on the block. Within seconds, the first of the four turned green. Within a minute, all four had changed color and the air lock's outer door slid wide, allowing the women inside. The outer door then closed, and the inner door began to crank open.
Shego waved Anne back, and she and Kim floated ready. Sure enough, as soon as there was a foot-wide gap, a pair of spears flashed into the airlock, ricocheting harmlessly off the walls as their momentum was quickly expended. The green woman shook her head, grinning. Some of the guys out there were nervous. And so they should be. She still hadn't got to punch anyone, yet.
As soon as the door opened another foot, Shego tossed through a couple of low-powered plasma bursts, then swam through under the cover of the dazzling blasts, Kim right on her heels. The 'fight' that followed barely deserved the name. Four guys with spear-guns wasn't even a challenge. The green woman and the redhead dispatched them in less than a minute.
"Wow. We work well together!" Kim exclaimed as she and Shego pulled themselves out of the water. The mini-sub bay was a large oval room, half-filled with water. The two mini-subs were tied off next to a floating gantry, which led to a doorway, and – presumably – the rest of the base. "The way you took out that squid's control box while I distracted it –"
"Kimmie, if you ever pull something like that again, I will personally kick your ass from here back to Middleton."
The redhead blinked.
"What?"
Seeing Anne pull herself out of the water, Shego forced herself to be calm.
"Look, Kimmie ..." The green woman explained in a low voice. "I know you're used to just doing your thing when you go on missions. And I know it was tough to communicate out there. But with some of the stuff you pulled with the shark and the squid, I –" Shego suddenly realized what she was about to say and hurriedly changed the direction of her sentence. "- can't imagine how scared your mom must have been to see it."
Kim gave the green woman a slightly perplexed look, but then nodded and shot a concerned glance at her mother. Anne was shrugging out of her air tanks and seemed not to have overheard the conversation.
"Sorry." The young redhead kept her own voice as low as Shego's. "I just want to get to dad as soon as we can."
"It's okay." Shego sighed as she remembered ten year old conversations where she'd been the one in Kim's position. I can't believe I'm starting to sound like Hego. "I know you're worried about your dad. Just ... try not to do something crazy. Your folks would never forgive me if I let you get hurt."
"Aw, and for a second there I though you were going to say that you were worried about me." Kim offered a strange semi-smile, half teasing, half hopeful. Shego forced out a snort.
"Of course not. I hate you, remember?"
"Oh, that's right." Kim's half-smile remained. "I hate you too. Might poison your coffee when I bring it too you later."
"Okay. Just don't use anything that'll spoil the flavor. The new blend Triple S got in is pretty good."
"We're ready to go." Anne Possible interrupted. She had a small device in her hand, the screen of which glowed brightly. "The override pack I used outside has given me control of all the base security systems. I've downloaded full base schematics, including your father's location. We can go straight to him."
"I'll get him." Kim took the proffered device. "Mom, you get one of the mini-subs ready to go. We shouldn't leave them unguarded in case someone sneaks in and takes them."
"What am I supposed to do?" Shego complained.
"One of us has to stay here, in case more goons show up. Since my dad's more likely to trust me than you, I'm going to go get him. While I'm gone, I need you to look after my mom."
"I won't take my eyes off her." The green woman promised as she gave Mrs Possible's slender, wetsuit-clad form a salacious look. Kim merely rolled her eyes at the comment.
"Make sure you don't. I just want to rescue dad, go home, and crawl back into bed." The redhead flushed as Shego offered her a smug look and a sharply raised eyebrow. "Saving my father first. Innuendo later."
To Kim's surprise, the pale woman let her smirk slip back into a neutral expression and gave a nod of acknowledgement.
"Give 'em hell, Kimmie. Just remember –" she shot a meaningful glance at Anne Possible as the older redhead clambered into one of the mini-subs. "- no unnecessary risks."
"Don't worry, Shego. I'll come back to you safe and sound." The redhead smirked and ducked out of the room before the sputtering Shego could respond.
"All I'm sayin' is that we didn't sign up for this." The gruff voice was muffled by the door, but the words were easy enough to understand. Kim crouched, ear pressed to the slightly chilled metal. The sensor said her father was in the next room, but he wasn't alone.
"Gordon's right." Another voice, this one braying and strident, with an accent that was pure West Country. "Tha mission was t'take on tha Science Rogues. No-one said nout 'bout Kim Possible and tha' thar green bird."
"Yeah." The first voice continued its complaints. "And now the security systems are down and –"
Kim shook her head and glanced down at the sensor, tuning out the conversation within as she thumbed through menus to get a different schematic of the complex. There. A ventilation shaft. Why don't they ever make those things smaller?
The redhead trotted a short distance down the corridor, still reading the schematic. Whoever had designed the base had at least thought to include security systems in the ventilation shafts, but her mother's device – Though from what she said before, it was probably something Dad built. - had disabled them all.
Thrusting the sensor inside the front of her wetsuit, Kim pulled out her laser lipstick. With a skill born from long experience, the redhead deftly cut through the first of the screws holding in the ventilation grille. The second, but the laser faded out as she turned to the third. Must have used more power fighting the squid than I thought. Still, two screws would be enough. Kim hooked her fingers in behind the ventilation grille, planted one foot against the wall, and pulled hard.
With a squeal of metal, the grille pulled halfway off the wall. Kim took a breath and yanked again, then bit off a curse as her hand slipped on the slick metal, sliding right across the razor-sharp tip of one of the severed screws.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid." The redhead muttered to herself. The screw had sliced open her palm. Not a deep cut, but painful enough to be distracting. "Always take the screws out first. You know that, Kim." Maybe Shego was right when she said I needed to be more careful.
Kim cleaned the wound as best she could, then wrapped it carefully. After removing the severed screws from the grille, she pulled the grille itself away from the wall and slid into the shaft, wriggling her way through it until she was perched behind a second grille, overlooking the room where her father was held. She could just see him on the far side of the room, handcuffed to a chair and gagged, but seeming not to have been badly hurt. There were also three maroon-clad minions in the room. The ones she'd mentally named 'Gruff' and 'Westy' were still complaining about the unfairness of their situation. Westy had gone so far as to dig out the Official Rulebook of the International Sidekicks and Minions Union.
Twisting herself around, Kim placed her feet against the back of the grille, braced her back against the shaft, and kicked. The grille tore free with an almost gunshot-like sound, the thin metal plate clattering on the floor mere moments before Kim herself landed. She rolled smoothly, gathering her legs underneath her and launching a spinning snap kick that sent the first of the goons flying.
The remaining two henchmen glanced nervously at each other. The burlier of the two opened his mouth, perhaps to bark an order. Kim didn't give him the chance, snapping his head back with a palm strike to the jaw, then launching herself into a back-flip that brought her heels crashing down in the third man's chest.
"Dad, are you okay?" The redhead immediately ungagged her father's mouth, then searched for the keys to his cuffs, finding them on the silent member of the goonish trio.
"I'm fine, Kimmie-cub." He nodded absently, his mind obviously not on his own safety. "Is your mother here? Is she okay?"
"Mom's getting a mini-sub ready." Kim assured her father as she released him from the chair. "She's fine. Shego's looking after her."
"Shego?" James Possible looked surprised. "She came with you?"
Kim nodded.
"She woke up when mom came to get me, and she volunteered to come along. She's been a big help, actually. She's complained about it the whole time, of course, but her bark is worse than her bite."
"You know how I feel about circus folk, young lady."
"Dad –" Kim started, then saw the goofy smile pulling at the corner of her father's mouth, and gave him a mini-pout. "You're teasing."
"Your old dad isn't quite as oblivious as he likes to pretend." James Possible admitted. "But for now, let's get my things – they're over in that cupboard there – and get back to your mother and Shego."
Senor Senior Senior was waiting for them as they docked their crowded mini-sub back at the island pier. He shook his head sadly over the battered name board that was all that survived of Senior III .
"Ah, welcome back to all the Possible family and to Ms Shego." He inclined his head gracefully. "I am pleased to see you all safe and well. Alas, the same cannot be said for my yacht."
"Oh, was that boat yours?" Kim's tone was just a little too innocent. Shego gave her a sharp look, which the redhead deliberately ignored.
"Indeed yes. But no matter, I shall simply have to purchase another." Senior idly passed the name board back to one of the competition staff. "As to the matter of the Science Rogue's tournament performance ... while I am very happy you are all safe and well, it is against competition rules to call upon other contestants for assistance in your task. Therefore, the Science Rogues must be disqualified –"
"What?" Kim exploded. "My father's life was at stake!"
Senior nodded.
"Regrettably so. But that does not affect the rules of the tournament. Sarah Bellum and Rocket Man are awarded zero points."
Kim looked ready to argue, but Anne Possible laid a hand on her daughter's arm.
"It's alright, Kimmie-cub." She glanced at Senior. "Could we have a little privacy?"
"Of course. My deepest apologies for the intrusion, and for your unfortunate disqualification."
"I'm sure you're all torn up." Kim snapped. Shego frowned thoughtfully at the comment. Senor Senior Senior did not answer. Instead he simply inclined his head and withdrew. The younger redhead turned to her parents. "It's not fair! They should never have taken dad to start with!"
"Honestly, honey. The competition itself really doesn't matter to us. We weren't here to win it." Mrs Possible soothed, stroking her daughter's hair. Kim blinked.
"It doesn't? You weren't? Why did you come?" She paused, a stricken expression suddenly crossing her face. "Please tell me you're not planning to restart your careers. Fighting you would be so the drama."
Her father looked stern.
"Young lady, if you tried to arrest us I'd have to send you to your room."
"We just ..." Mrs Possible considered her words carefully. "We were just trying to recapture past glories, honey. Rekindle our youth."
"Oh." Kim clearly didn't really understand the answer. Shego, hiding a grin at the young redhead's lingering naivety, cleared her throat.
"It's been a long night, Pumpkin, and I believe that earlier someone mentioned crawling back into bed." The green woman's grin broadened as the younger woman flushed at the double entendre. "Besides, we really ought to get you back to our room and take a look at your hand. Don't want it get infected."
The redhead guiltily hid her injured hand behind her back. She cast a half-pout at her parents, hoping for support, but they were wrapped in each other's arms, James Possible nuzzling his wife's neck. Kim gave a squeak at the sight, then sighed.
"Yes, Shego."
Author's Notes: It's a good news / bad news kind of deal. The bad news is that I have other commitments I need to keep up with, so updates of this story will now happen roughly every 2 weeks, instead of every week.
The good news, as some of you might already have guessed from the recent addition of "BSP01" to the name of this fic, is that I have plans for a sequel to this tale. I'm not going to discuss any details right now, but "the BSPniverse" could well have a few more stories to emerge.