Chapter 7: Cybernetics Akimbo
Friday night and Saturday went too fast for both Kim and Ron. Kim and the rest of the cheer squad won the Tri-City Regional Competition on Friday, without Ron being there, which gave Bonnie the ammunition needed to needle Kim. At the team get together on Saturday night, the cheer squad went over what was done right and what needed improving. True to form, Bonnie unleashed her salvo against Kim the second that she had an opening on the topic.
"See Kim, that loser was not needed at all. I'm glad that I proved Ron doesn't need to be on the team." Bonnie said snobbishly, rubbing the fact into Kim's face
Kim gritted her teeth. "Shut up, Bonnie. Yes we won without Ron's help, but he is a part of this team. Why do you have so much animosity toward Ron? What has he done to you?"
"You really want to know? Fine, I'll tell you. First, he is a social outcast, but he still gets airtime with you on your missions; then he somehow knows kung fu and he's a teacher for after school; finally…"
Bonnie quieted down, almost as if the righteous indignation of the situation had left her of its own accord, "He's the only guy that has never paid attention to me."
Kim arched her eyebrow in skepticism, silently asking for her to go explain herself.
"For the three years in High School and all the times I bagged on him, he never once had the irrational wanting that most of the guys in school have for me." Bonnie sighed.
Kim knew that Bonnie liked to be the center of attention and to have boys clamoring after her, but this was not the Bonnie that Kim know and loathed. The rest of the girls leaned in; paying attention to the conversation that was going on between the co captains.
"Ron, having the money and getting the new hairstyle, I went for that image that he portrayed, and of course I dropped him the instant he lost those qualities."
"Of course," Kim retorted sardonically. "So why the putdowns? Surely you knew that it wasn't getting the right reaction in him.
"I know that!" Bonnie snapped. "But after he lost the things that attracted me to him, he didn't want me. Even though I was hanging off him and he loved it, he never pursued me after that. Can you answer that for me, at least?" Bonnie's visage was one of impatience and of confusion, if it was possible to combine the two.
"I haven't the slightest idea where to begin. After the summer break, Ron's a changed person. Fundamentally he is the same, it's just that his perceptions have changed, and for the better if any of the reactions were true when you all saw him walk into the gym on Thursday." Kim smugly reminded the team, to which she got blushes in return.
Across the city, meditating in his room, Ron was trying to come to grips with the actions of the past week. Delving into himself and quieting his senses to the world around him, Ron tapped into the mystical monkey power to converse with his sensei that was half a world away. His self-image was glowing with a serene blue glow, the only source of light in the "void" as Ron came to call it. Rufus was standing guard, by watching TV and munching on a particular good piece of New York sharp cheddar cheese.
"Sensei?" Ron asked into the void, hearing only an echo in response. Sighing in exasperation, Ron waited until another glow started to coalesce next to him.
"Stoppable-san. I heard your call and want to congratulate you on having a stable astral connection now. I still remember…" Sensei started with a tone of humor until Ron interrupted him.
"Meaning no disrespect, Sensei, but I have a problem that hopefully you can help me with."
Smiling at the unexpected interruption Sensei nodded. "By all means, ask away stoppable-san"
"As you may know, I sparred with Kim to get a gauge of my abilities so far. I was keeping up with her and slowly starting to get the upper hand when she did something that still confuses me…"
"Which was what, young master?" Sensei inquired.
I really wish he wouldn't call me that… Ron groused. "Well, Kim kissed me."
Sensei stoically stared at Ron for about a minute, and then started to chuckle. This then turned into a guffaw. "Is that all Stoppable-san?" Sensei asked, getting a hold of his bearing.
Ron looked down, somewhat embarrassed at his confusion.
"Ron when you left the school you had gone as far as I could teach you. Your final test, catching the correct arrow whilst in the middle of combat, was the final indicator that you were in harmony with the celestial power. Then your spirit guided your actions, not your mind, nor your body. Do you remember what happened next?"
Ron blushed. "You ripped the dragon patch off my chest and I fell to the floor wanting to do anything to get back into your good graces."
"Which still gives me a laugh to this day," Sensei mused, "But what did I tell you?"
Ron searched his memories as he scrunched up his face, "That I had touched the final level, I knew without knowing."
"That is right. But you forgot what else I told you. To get into the final level you must embrace life."
"But I am still confused on how I get there…" Ron murmured.
"Good! Confusion is a part of life, so is vengeance, fear, and love. All facets of life must be embraced. Then, and only then, will you break through to the final level."
"Thank you Sensei. I am sorry to take up your valuable time." Ron bowed his head to his master.
"Not a problem at all, Stoppable-san. Feel free to talk at anytime." Sensei said, as his astral form faded.
Ron woke from his trance, got up and stretched. Looking out the window, Ron saw the last red and gold rays of sunset go over the mountains, painting the clouds with an ever increasing purple and blue, that gave away to the dark night. Walking over to his closet Ron pulled out a hidden panel from the wall and started to cloth himself with the uniform that was given to him from his graduation. Rufus was mimicking his master, getting into the same mindset and garb as his friend.
Kim was busy getting her mission gear together and mentally preparing herself for the faux "break in" to the Cyberwell laboratory. Seeing that she still had a couple of minutes before Ron showed up, Kim looked at herself in the mirror. Appreciating the fact that cheerleading and kung fu had given her an athlete's body, she mentally frowned at the lack of "assets" on the top half of her body. Not that she was vain or anything, but she cursed her genetics for 'lack of a rack'. Turning around and surveying her room, Kim grabbed the rest of her gear and turned off the light, when she noticed that her window was open. Walking over to the window and shutting it, Kim turned around and saw two chocolate brown eyes crinkled up like a smile with freckles under them, clad in a black ninja suit. Kim reacted like she always does when uninvited guests come into her room. Shooting her elbow out to catch her attacker in the sternum, she was stopped by his hand and was spun around, her other hand held to her chest.
"Kim! It's me, Ron!"
With that exclamation, she stopped her heel from connecting solidly with a very sensitive part of his body, waiting for the man holding her to explain himself. Slowly letting go, Kim spun around and pushed him away, getting into a fighting stance.
Putting his hands up, Ron took off the balaclava that was holding in his hair and covering his face. On seeing this, Kim slowly went from combat stance to bewilderment. Here was her friend/interest (though she wouldn't let him know just yet…) that was dressed head to toe in ninja gear. Trailing down from his head, Ron was wearing a black T-shirt that was being covered up with a tactical vest brimming with pockets. His pants were likewise black with a crimson red stripe going down each of the pant legs. Holding it up was a riggers belt, and his shoes were the black split-toed ninja soles. All in all, an impressive visage of stealth.
"Ron, what are you doing with all that gear on?"Kim asked, questioning where in the world he got the tactical vest, pants, and shoes.
"Just things I picked up in Japan, they sell a lot of this stuff for cosplay purposes, kinda like dressing up as their favorite characters. I just added some stuff to it." Ron shrugged as he turned around, showing off the suit. "You like?"
Kim actually did like the change but the way he went about it still irked her. "Okay Fearless Ferret, what else did you bring with you?" Kim queried, knowing full well that Ron would play this to the hilt.
Ron started rifling through the various pockets and started taking out the various accoutrements that he had brought with him.
"Well, I brought some thermal smoke grenades, a collapsible grappling hook with rope, some kunai and shuriken, some knockout gas grenades, two gas masks, and a passkey generator that I had Wade whip up for me."
Seeing the small arsenal that her friend brought, Kim's eyes widened a little.
"Don't you think that it is a bit of overkill for those things?"
Ron shook his head, "Well, we are testing how the security is at Cyberwell, might as well take out all the stops."
Surprisingly agreeing with Ron's assessment, Kim picked up the rest of her mission gear and called Wade on the communicator. "Wade you up?" she asked. Wade's image appeared on the Kimmunicator
"Yeah Kim, I'm online and ready to give you an overview of the security." The screen faded to a satellite overview of the complex, that was replaced with a three-dimensional wire frame model. Red circles showed up on various points of the layout. "Here are the mesh pads that are set to go off after 5 pounds or more are put on them."
Ron spoke up, "Wade, are there any trees or anything that we can use to crawl over the landscaping?" Typing was heard in the background.
"Yes, here in the northwest corner of the complex. I estimate 50-60 meters from the tree branch to the roof of the complex."
"How about from the roof to the ground?" Ron asked again.
More typing. "About 10 meters, why?"
"I was thinking about a two pronged approach. Kim and Rufus go in through the HVAC ducts, while I pick the lock and make sure that the security guards are out of the way with the knockout gas."
Kim piped in, "How can you be so sure that there will be guards on site?"
"If you knew that people of Wade's genius were out there and could help anybody break in, would you trust an automated system to detect a break in?" Ron responded.
"No I guess not." Kim acquiesced, surprised by Ron's logic. "So while Ron is busy jimmying the back door to get the guards, what do I need to do Wade?"
"Glad you asked," Wade said, "I need you and Rufus to get through the ducting, avoiding the cameras and laser trip wires. I'm thinking that because of your previous experience going through ducts, these might be wired for motion or pressure, especially in the high security area." Wade explained this as his wire model followed a predetermined path from the air duct through a maze of tunnels and ending in the high security lab with the prototypes.
"Anything else we need to be worried about?" Kim asked knowing that this mission was going to be harder than she thought.
"Yeah," Wade said, "I've been checking deliveries to and from the site and it looks like the guards are outfitted with capture foam and stun batons."
Stun batons? "What are those?" Ron asked, worried about the answer.
"They are batons that carry an electric charge to incapacitate any intruders."
"Right. Avoid the batons. What else?" Ron asked.
"After getting through the security measures, the files that are integral to program the cybernetics are in the mainframe. Put the Kimmunicator on a terminal port and I will download the file to prove that we got to the mainframe. The actual prototypes are behind 4 inches of ballistic glass and need a passkey to get though, but if you have the lipstick laser, just cut through the glass and just leave the prototype there. That should be enough data for Dr. Renton and her security staff to use for updating their security measures."
Nodding to each other, Kim and Ron (with Rufus safely in Ron's thigh pocket) both got the rest of their gear together and made their way out the door and onto Ron's scooter.
A half hour later, and by getting a taxi (of all things…) Team Possible made it to the outskirts of a low key facility, a wire fence stretching along the perimeter of the complex, and a couple of light posts illuminating the guardhouse, parking lot, and front of the complex. The pools of light creating islands in the inky darkness of night. Getting to the position on the tree indicated by Wade, Kim fired her grapple gun, barely getting the grapple to the roof. After a few test tugs to see if the hook was secure, Kim tied the other end of the rope to the trunk of the tree. Giving thumbs up to Ron, Kim waited to see how far her partner could get before attempting to breach the compound.
Seeing Kim's signal, Ron opened up his thigh pocket and took Rufus out.
"Okay buddy, I need you to trip as many alarms as possible. Can you do that?
"Hem Yea!" Rufus squeaked while giving Ron the thumbs up. Jumping from Ron's hand, Rufus hit the ground and went underneath the fence gap. Scurrying and zigzagging looking for the pressure sensors, Rufus hit proverbial pay dirt when he happened upon a pressure mat about 10 yards from the fence, opening his mouth, Rufus chomped down on the mat, breaking the contact cord. Ron watched as about 5 seconds later, two guards came out of the guardhouse running and talking animatedly on the radio in one of their hands. Flashlights coming on, the security guards scanned the site where the alarm went off on their boards. Upon seeing Rufus by shining their flashlights on him, Rufus scampered away into the darkness, his job done. Returning to Kim's side, the pair sat and watched what was going to happen next. Kim was keeping a lookout for Ron but couldn't see him. She keyed her Kimmunicator.
"Wade, are you watching over us with a satellite?" she asked.
"Yes, do you need something?" Wade responded.
"Can you see if you can locate Ron? I can't see him from where I am"
"The best I got is grainy infrared, it'll locate him, but the image won't have any definition." Wade replied.
"Put it on." Kim ordered.
Wade's image was replaced with on infrared overlay of the compound. Seeing the two guards on the screen, Kim scanned the screen, looking for any sign of Ron. The two guards got back to the guard shack when she saw both of them drop to the ground. Grabbing her binoculars, she focused on the point where the two guards fell. Kim was going back and forth from the Kimmunicator screen and the binoculars for a couple of times, until she saw an outline dart from the darkness and onto the grounds. The outline made it to the wall of the building without setting off the alarms. Kim wondered if that was Ron, when all of a sudden, a series of flashes from a penlight signaled to Kim that Ron was in position. Mystified at how he got to that point without being seen on infrared or by regular light, Kim mentally shrugged and started climbing on the rope, while Rufus scampered unencumbered across, scouting if there were any unwelcome surprises for his friend's mate. (Even if both of them haven't said anything yet. He was getting particularly sick of the pheromones they spewed out when together.)
Hanging upside down, Kim saw Ron picking the lock and getting into the complex. She finally got to the other side of the rope and got onto the roof. With Rufus giving her the thumbs up signaling that she was good to go, Kim went to the A/C vent and opened the cover. Scampering into her satchel, Rufus waited to be needed again, enjoying a nap. Climbing down into the ducting, Kim keyed the Kimmunicator again.
"I'm in Wade." She said, getting situated to the small space.
"Good. I'm also in their low and mid level security mainframes. I've got control of the cameras, but I can't turn them off without setting off a silent alarm. I can still cycle them through, giving him some cover, but he'll still have to be careful…"
"I'm sure he will, just give me the best path to go."
In the security station near the front of the complex, the guards were a bit perplexed on the flickering that was occurring on the screens. On one of the screens there was what looked like a ninja running down the hallway. The next screen showed nothing. Shrugging and chalking it up to the late nights they worked, the two guards went back to solving the problem of the flickering screens. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door to the guard shack. Wondering who it could it be, One of the guards opened the door to stick his head out, and was promptly and expertly punched in the jaw, forcing his body to fall back and the intruder to enter the room. Reacting to the violent action, the other guard hit the silent alarm. Seeing this, the assailant palmed a throwing star and tossed it at the button, with the guard's hand still on it. Letting loose a scream and a whimper, the guard saw the figure move away.
Hearing a scream down the hall, Ron stopped sneaking around the cameras and ran to the source. As he walked into the security office, Ron was taken aback at what he saw. Seeing the blood pool around one of the guards and another guard knocked out, he got into action. Ron tore off a sleeve of his uniform and used it as a pressure bandage to staunch the bleeding. Before applying it though, Ron looked at the shuriken that was impaled through the hand and into the circuit board.
"Another one? Why are you here?" The guard asked.
Ron looked at him wide eyed. Another ninja here? He looked at the shuriken again and could see kanji written on the matte black metal. Ron realized that this "break in" was now a real mission. Seeing in how much pain the guard was in, Ron hit a couple of pressure points to dull the significant amount of pain that was coming from the injury. The somewhat conscious guard was getting on the phone to call the ambulance. As he was dialing, he turned to Ron who was heading out the door.
"Thanks for helping, but look out for your counterpart. His eyes had the crazy look about them."
Ron nodded in acknowledgement, then ran out the door, fear slowly gripping his mind.
It's not Monkeyfist. He doesn't use shuriken, unless he's finally 'lowered' himself. But the Yamanuchi only disarm, not injure unless fighting comes to that. But the only person that had…
…I got to get to the lab before Kim does! Ron sprinted to the high security lab. Seeing the security system that was emplaced, shredded, like claws were used to gouge them. Fearing the worst, Ron was hoping that he wasn't to late.
A/N: sorry for the strangely long update. The unit's hours are such that weekends are now breaks. Joy. I thank you all for the reviews so far, and I'm hoping to get back in the saddle after being on ship on and off for a few months. If you thought camp showers were small spaced, you never had to deal with marines fresh out of the field and about 250 guys per shower to get done and changed in 3 hours. Yeesh what a day that was…