Well, now this has become my most popular story so far. That's so cool! Once again, a HUGE Thank-you to all who are reading this! Let me thank those who left a review for my last chapter: CajunBear73, CharmedMilliE, AtomicFire, John Chubb, RealityBreakGirl, Aero Tendo, trecebo, DuffKilliganFan, kim's 1 fan, Alphamech, and Zaratan…
Here's that pesky Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, so don't sue! Please?
Chapter 20
Ron Stoppable stood staring at his girlfriend. This was a girl that he loved more than anything in the world, and she was asking him to do something that he would never even dream of doing.
"I… I… can't… I… couldn't…" Was all he could mutter under his breath.
"Ron… Honey…" Honey. She had never called him that before, and it could only mean one thing. Kim was stressed out to the max, and she was… scared. The emotion in her voice snapped Ron out of his funk and back to the reality of the situation.
By now Ron was standing directly in front of Kim, looking her right in the eyes. He saw that stubborn determination that she always had and the love she held for him. But behind all that, he could tell there was something else. It was something he wasn't used to seeing there… it was fear.
Finally Ron understood what she wanted him to do, and the reasons for doing it. He also realized that she trusted him… implicitly.
As Ron stepped back a few feet, he gave Kim a nod. He closed his eyes and held his hands at his sides and slightly away from his body, his fingers slightly curled and stiff.
The energy slowly began to build at the center of his chest, right at his Chi center. Blue tendrils of power, laced with arcing electricity stretched out and wrapped around his body. It moved in and around his legs, arms, and torso, and finally coalesced in his right hand. With a sudden blinding flash of white light, the Lotus Blade appeared in the grasp of his hand.
"Show off." Kim dead panned.
"I just LOVE doing that!" Ron said with a big grin on his face.
By now Kim could barely move at all. Since the ESD goop was only in her arms and legs, they were the only parts of her that were almost completely stiff. Her bionic eye wasn't effected, as ESD countermeasures were built into its systems. It would just shut down as soon as an ESD pulse was detected, thus it didn't need the goop.
"What should I do Kim?" Ron asked as he stepped closer holding the Lotus Blade.
"You can change it into different weapons, right?"
"Yeah…" Ron said, not quite getting what she was hinting at.
"Change it into a small knife, as that would be enough for what I need." Immediately Ron concentrated for a couple seconds and with a (pop) the blade changed to a knife with about a 5-inch blade. The color of the steel and handle were identical to the full size blade, making it look like a miniature version of the big sword.
Kim continued to speak. "My Dad had to use a small unit to inhibit the healing factor of my syntho-skin so he could work on the inside. You're probably going to have to make a small cut and then twist the knife to hold the skin open. The goop should then just flow out.
"Where do you want me to… uh…?" Ron said looking at her nervously.
"I suppose right at the wrist, just above the heel of my hand. Go ahead and do my left one first.
Ron placed the tip of the blade on her wrist and looked Kim right in the eyes again, almost questioning whether she was sure this is what she wanted. It seemed so weird to be cutting her wrist right where someone would to commit suicide.
"It won't hurt me Ron… Please…"
Closing his eyes, Ron pushed the tip of the blade into her skin, and he heard her gasp. His eyes snapped open and looked at her with concern.
"It's OK, I'm fine. The sensors must be working a little slow. It doesn't hurt anymore. Push it in a little further, and then twist a bit.
Ron did as he was told, and suddenly a white gooey substance began to ooze out and onto the ground. "Ewww… Kim, that's gross."
She moved her fingers slightly, making the substance flow a little faster.
"I'm going to bend my elbow now." She said, so that her movement wouldn't surprise Ron. He held the knife in place as she began to move her arm around, and essentially worked the rest of the ESD goop out of the limb.
"OK, that's good Ron." He removed the blade, and immediately the gash closed up, resealing the skin. Kim then moved her arm a bit more, making sure everything was working the way it was supposed to.
"So much better. Now hand me the knife and I'll take care of my other limbs." Just as Kim set the tip of the knife on her wrist, a voice called out.
"Kimmie-Cub! What in the world are you doing?"
"Daddy!" James moved towards his daughter and didn't see Kim quickly hand the knife back to Ron, who made it disappear.
James walked up to his daughter and spoke to her as he got closer. "What are you doing?"
"I… had to get that goop out of my limbs Daddy. I… locked up." She looked at her Dad with a face that almost melted his heart. He could never stay mad at her for very long.
"I knew this was going to happen." He said. "It probably happened from you using them so much, and you seized up like a hydraulic system would from the pressure. This should work better to relieve that pressure."
Fishing around in his pants pocket, James pulled out the small unit that he used to inhibit the syntho-skin's healing properties. He placed it over the area on her left arm where the quick connect was located when the goop was injected, and entered the code. Opening a flap of skin, he then reached in and gave a twist to the connection, and the goop flowed freely out of her arm. He then did the same to her legs, only just above the ankles.
"Eww… you're right, Ron. That IS gross." Kim gingerly stepped out of the puddle of goo, shaking it off of her shoes.
Looking around, Ron asked a question of James. "Mr. Dr. P.? Where did you come from?"
"That door there." He said pointing. "We heard your fight from inside, and I waited until it got quiet before coming out."
"We've got some good news Daddy. Well, sort of."
"What's that?" James said, as he began to walk back into the building, Kim and Ron following.
"By accident we discovered what will dissolve those Eric Drones. My anti-rejection meds. It stepped on a bunch of them that were dumped out, and it melted like a stick of butter in a microwave."
"That IS good news Kimmie. I take it there's a down side to this also?"
"Well… there's a limited supply, and I kind of need them to keep my body from rejecting the bionics."
All three had been walking down a flight of stairs, and then James opened a door and entered. There were a couple tables covered with all different kinds of electrical equipment, and a third one with chairs around it. This was where everyone else was sitting, waiting for Mr. Dr. P. to return.
"Look who I found!" He said as everyone immediately stood and came over to the two teens and hugged/patted backs/shook their hands.
"We were so worried about you two." Kim's mom said as she squeezed their faces with each hand. "Now did I hear you out in the hall talking about your meds?"
Kim and Ron then proceeded to tell everyone what had happened in the alley. When they finished, everyone was silent. Kim's mom spoke first.
"Well, at least I was able to pocket all of your medication before we had to rush out of the GJ lab. Now we just need to figure out a way to deliver these into a drone. Did you happen to notice how many of the capsules actually broke when it stepped on them?"
"Uhh… no." Was Kim's reply.
"I'll go check real quick and see." Ron said as he left the room and headed outside.
…x x x x…
"OK…" Ron said as he walked around the area where the previous fight had taken place. "There's the car, and there's the trail of dissolved drone."
He followed the trail, and came to the area where the car had been flipped over on it's top. Carefully he looked at the ground, and began to see small capsules that were still intact.
"Rufus… I need some help buddy." The Mole Rat poked his head out of the pocket, gave a yawn, and looked at his human. "Help me find all un-broken capsules. I have a feeling they want to try and figure out just how many of these things it took to dissolve... it." "
Rufus dove back into the pocket, and came out wearing what looked like a small bio-suit. "Now where did you get… Wade." Ron smiled and watched as Rufus trudged through the goop, and began to pick up all of the intact pills.
There were quite a few, probably about ¾ of the bottle. Ron picked up Rufus after the last one was found, placed him back in his pocket, and he went to head back inside.
He was about half way between the door and the overturned car when Ron heard a small thump. Looking around he then heard a very familiar beeping sound, and then he saw it! A golf ball… and it was beeping! The ball had rolled next to the car, which was now leaking a bit of gas from the tank.
Just as Ron started to head towards the door, the ball exploded next to the car, which in turn also exploded into a huge ball of fire!
…x x x x…
The drones landed on the ground holding onto Shego, who then looked no worse for wear. She was expecting to get splattered all over the floor, but the Eric Drones held tight, not letting that happen.
"Shego." A voice said, and then Big Daddy walked around from behind a nearby truck. "I had a feeling you would show up."
"Brotherson… what are you up to?" Shego growled as she struggled a bit against the drones, but they continued to hold tight.
Big Daddy walked up to her, holding something in his hands, and then glopped a bunch of goo onto her hands, which stuck fast. Immediately she tried to flame her hands, but found out that she couldn't.
"That's an oxygen inhibitor, Shego. There's no way you can ignite your plasma flame without oxygen." She struggled a bit against the drones, but found that she couldn't do anything with her arms. She then lashed out with a kick, trying to do damage to the rotund man, but he just stepped back out of her reach.
He quietly laughed. "I knew you were a feisty one." He paused.
"Now, since you're the smartest of the group, I need your help with something. I also have a proposition for you. Bring her, and follow me."
The Drones held Shego fast and followed Brotherson into a small nearby office. When they entered, a man she had never seen before looked up just as they entered. He seemed to be working on a book filled with figures. It looked like an accounting ledger.
Brotherson then pressed an intercom button and spoke. "Will one of the Drones please bring in Chester Yapsby."
They only had to wait about 30 seconds and one of the Eric Drones entered, dragging Yapsby by an arm. Phillipe looked up at a monitor that was currently displaying the main floor of the building. He seemed to be… counting.
"OK, Shego…" Brotherson said as he sat down in a large leather chair, making the springs squeak from his weight. "Here's my plan…"
"Something isn't right here." Phillipe said.
"What do you mean?" Brotherson said as he leaned his mass backwards, tipping the chair at a precarious angle.
"I only count nine drones. I thought we had ten."
"What?" Big Daddy jumped out of the chair, making it slam into the wall behind him. "Wait… I sent one after those other two that fought them at that one GJ base. I don't suppose…"
He narrowed his eyes, and stepped up to Shego. "Do you know anything about this?" She just looked at him with a smug look on her face.
"Let's see…" Brotherson continued to speak. "How can we make Shego talk? I have a feeling that threatening her personally won't do any good… How about…?"
He pressed the intercom button again. "Drones! Separate the blue skinned man from the rest… and kill him!"
Shego's eyes went wide, and she muttered under her breath, "No…"
To be continued…
Huh… guess that's a double cliffy… I'm starting to think I should make my chapters longer! Oh well… Have a good week... : )