Unstoppable
A Kim Possible Fanfic by
Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)
Chapter 2: The Intruder
Kim Possible wasn't afraid as she stared into the sneering face of Dr. Drakken. Okay, so he had her and Ron manacled to a wall. Okay, so Shego had actually thought to search Kim's pockets and removed any gadgets that would have proved helpful. Okay, so even Rufus had been fitted for a set of tiny manacles. Okay, so Kim currently had no idea how she was going to get them out of this mess. She still wasn't worried, not officially. She'd been in tighter spots than this before, and had still gotten home in time for dinner. She felt sure that something would come to her.
Only she wished it would stop taking its sweet time, whatever it was.
"Well, well, Kim Possible!" Drakken chuckled, unable to resist gloating. "We've done this dance for so long, I must admit I'm amazed that you still managed to miss a step or two!"
"I learned from watching you," Kim replied sweetly.
He scowled at her. "Mock me all you want, my fearless foe." He actually paused to allow Ron and Rufus to repeatedly chant "Mock!" as loudly and frequently as they could in the space of a few seconds. "But this time, there will be no daring escape at the last minute, no happily accidental miracle moves by the buffoon, and no sneaky little pink weasel... weaseling you out of this!"
Kim glanced at Ron, waiting for him to jump in and correct Drakken. But Ron just shrugged as best he could, and Kim realized he was right. If Drakken still hadn't remembered what Rufus was, he was never going to. There really was no point. Even Rufus just shook his head, more bored with Drakken's ranting than annoyed by the oversight.
Drakken babbled on for a few minutes, but Kim wasn't really listening. Wade had already briefed her on exactly how Drakken's latest doomsday device worked, and how to shut it down. All she really needed was to get free somehow, and everything else would fall into place.
Things only started to go wrong when she spotted movement from one of the lair's air vents. Kim's first thought was Rufus, but of course he was still on the other side of Ron, stuck to the wall just as they were. Then the vent cover popped off, landing loudly on the floor, and Kim's thoughts slowed to a crawl as Hana Stoppable's head emerged, followed by the rest of her. Any thoughts of Hana having accidentally followed them vanished once Kim spotted the child-sized black turtleneck and cargo pants that Hana was wearing. She couldn't imagine that Hana's own family had gotten Kim's original mission gear for her, either. Far too likely that it would have given the girl's extremely adventurous spirit ideas of world-saving far too soon. So Kim figured she either needed to have a long talk with Wade or her brothers, once the current situation was resolved.
It was no real surprise that Shego had spotted Hana even before Kim did. No doubt both her time as a heroine and a thief had taught her the importance of exploiting all of a building's access points. That, and Rufus had used the same trick against Drakken a few times. Oddly enough, Shego did not immediately react. It seemed she was curious as to what Hana would do, and Kim had to admit that she was wondering herself.
Drakken, fittingly enough, was the last to notice Hana's presence. Kim felt sure the only reason he realized at all was the way Ron's face suddenly went ashen. Normally, she might have expected at least a slightly better poker face from Ron, but this was his little sister, after all. Though, it was not the first time she'd faced a potentially deadly encounter head-on, Kim had to admit. Not that it made her feel any better about Hana being there.
"Trying to incorporate babysitting into missions, Princess?" Shego asked, shooting Kim a grin. "Can't say it looks like a good call, but you get points for guts, as always."
Drakken scowled. "What is this, a daycare center? Shego, toss her in a closet or something!"
"Han, run!" Ron shouted, his voice thick with panic.
Kim didn't need to see the way Hana looked at him to know that had never been an option. She knew, with sudden clarity, that Hana had come to save them, and she wasn't about to leave without them, no matter how dangerous it was. She was just shy of ten years old, but already she was well on her way to becoming a strongly opinionated young woman. Hana didn't see things the way other kids did. Kim wasn't sure if it was the ninja in Hana's blood, or the vague but undeniable mystical power that sometimes flashed within her eyes, but Hana Stoppable wasn't the sort of kid that could be reasoned with. And it wasn't that she was spoiled, or merely bull-headed, so much as it was that sometimes she just knew things that she couldn't or wouldn't explain, and there was no point in trying to convince her of anything else in those times.
"Don't worry, Ronnie," Hana said calmly, giving Ron a faint smile. "I came to save you guys."
At that, Shego actually snorted and laughed. "You're the sidekick's sidekick? Well, isn't that just precious? I guess it trumps team mascot, though," she added, giving Rufus a significant look as she approached Hana. "But, seriously, kid. If you want to see your next birthday, get lost."
Hana blinked and turned to stare at Shego. "You're the lady with the green fire. I always thought that was neat. But I never understood why the blue guy doesn't work for you."
"For one thing, then I'd be the one financing this take over the world stuff," Shego replied at once. "And don't try to change the subject, munchkin. I told you to get lost."
Hana looked Shego up and down, and then said, without a trace of humor, "I don't want to have to hurt you. That's Kim's job because you're her nemesis."
Shego grinned. "Hurt me, kid. I'm begging you."
"Well, just remember you said that." Hana peered closely at Shego for a long moment, then reached out and gently poked the woman's left knee with a finger. "Okay, I'm done now. Don't try to use your fire for a while." With that, Hana walked past Shego without even a glance.
"Hey! Hold on, kid!" Shego snapped, spinning around reaching out for her.
"You shouldn't try to touch me, either," Hana added absently, but then Shego's hand closed around the back of Hana's collar.
The world seemed to stop for an endless moment, and then Shego screamed in outrage and agony as the plasma that she had controlled with ease for so long erupted from virtually every cell of her body, tainted a bloody red. Her scream cut off abruptly, then she hit the floor face-first and did not move.
"I warned her," Hana noted as she continued to move forward, headed straight for Drakken.
Drakken gaped at the sight of Shego out cold, then snarled as he pulled what looked like a very nasty ray gun from his pocket. "Not another step, you little-"
Hana seemed to pause in mid-step, and suddenly she vanished, only to re-appear behind Drakken. With alarming ease, she swept his legs out from under him, sending the ray gun tumbling away. Before Drakken knew what was happening, Hana's small hands had seized his. "Our hands are a gift," she told him firmly, "and you're so smart. But you only use your hands to scare and hurt people. If you can't appreciate your gift, someone should take it away from you."
Then the air was filled with screams again as nine year-old Hana Stoppable proceeded to crush every bone in both of Drakken's hands. Mercifully, once that was done, she quickly struck him on the back of the neck, causing him to black out immediately.
Hana stood over him for several seconds, staring at what she'd done. Then she slowly turned away. "I'll have you guys out in a minute."
Kim could find no words as Hana approached them. While she could only guess at what Hana had done to Shego, she also felt sure that Hana could not defeat Shego in a straight-up fight. So maybe that had actually been necessary. But Drakken... that had just been excessive force, especially since Hana could move the way she just had.
Hana stopped just in front of them, staring at the restraints. "I haven't learned to break steel yet," she said. As if she knew it was within the scope of her abilities, but not yet firmly within her grasp. The thought made Kim feel slightly sick.
"Lipstick," Kim finally murmured, nodding toward a table where Shego had dumped all of her gadgets. "It's a laser."
"Oh." Hana didn't move. "Has Rufus ever used it before?"
"Yes, but-"
Hana had already moved to Rufus and placed her hand flat on his pink body. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then Hana pulled her hand back, and Rufus's body... melted and stretched, like taffy, easily slipping out of the restraints and into Hana's palm. In an instant, he was back to his normal self, but it was clear from his stunned expression that he had no idea what had just happened. Noticing the shocked stares she was getting, Hana shrugged. "It's a mystic monkey thing," she offered simply. "He's fine, really." Hana brought Rufus to her face and dropped a kiss on his head. "Rufus, go get the lipstick for me? Thanks."
The familiar affectionate gesture seemed to wake Rufus up. He gave her a tiny salute, and once Hana lowered him to the floor, he hopped out of her hand and scampered off.
"Han," Ron said softly. "Earlier... with Shego. What did you do?"
Hana frowned thoughtfully, and Kim realized with a start that Hana was not debating whether to tell him, but how much to tell him. "It's hard to explain it simply," Hana said at last. "I guess... I placed some of my power into Shego's body, and told it to react to two conditions: Shego's fire, and coming in contact with me. Maybe you couldn't tell, but she actually met both conditions. I don't know if she was actually going to try and burn me, but I'm not sorry."
"Oh." Ron looked at Kim, clearly hoping she would be the one to ask about Drakken. And normally, Kim would have. But at the moment, she was staring at Hana, and remembering.
She remembered the first time that Hana had been able to say her name, and how proud they both had been. She remembered carefully cutting Hana's first Bueno Naco burrito into tiny, easily chewable pieces. She remembered Hana dressing as a naked mole-rat on Halloween... for five years in a row. She even remembered Hana's first trip to the Space Center, where they had learned that even in zero gravity, Hana had a certain gift for accurately aiming projectile vomit. Mostly, Kim remembered that Hana was a little girl that she loved dearly, even if that person barely seemed present at all now. In the end, Kim only shook her head and cleared her throat. "We'll talk about this later," was all she felt safe saying.
Hana nodded in a resigned sort of way as Rufus returned with the lipstick. Instead of taking the lipstick herself, as Kim had expected her to, Hana picked up Rufus and placed him on Ron's shirt. Rufus crawled his way up to Ron's shoulder, the lipstick resting comfortably in his mouth, and carefully began to aim the laser. Hana wandered over to Kim, studying the manacles carefully before placing one foot against the wall and simply walking straight up it with no visible effort. She positioned herself next to Kim's head and carefully ran her hand over the restraints holding Kim's arms in place.
"Thought you couldn't break steel yet?" Kim asked conversationally.
"I can't. Might as well try to learn while I have the chance," Hana reasoned. "And before you ask, I don't really like to put my trust in gadgets." She leaned closer, lowering her voice as she placed her lips next to Kim's ear. "It's okay, Kim. I know you don't approve of what I did."
Kim hesitated before answering. "And that doesn't bother you."
"It would have earlier," Hana admitted. "But today I realized something important. Even if you don't approve of everything that I do, you wouldn't let it stop you from loving me."
"You sound so sure of that."
"I am sure," Hana replied easily. "Because I don't agree with everything you do, and I still love you."
Kim blinked slowly. "Thanks, I think. But now I'm curious about what it is that you don't agree with."
"Well, you could have broken Dr. Drakken's hands a long time ago. Then I wouldn't have had to."
"That's one of several things we'll talk about at home," Kim promised firmly.
"Okay." Hana grunted softly, and suddenly the manacles around Kim's arms fell to the floor in pieces, along with a good portion of the wall.
"One of lots of things we'll talk about at home," Kim amended at once.
The ride home had been terribly awkward. Wade had secured them a few seats with an armored car driver that Kim had once protected during a bank heist.
Ron had been torn. He loved Hana, anyone could see that. But she had just been so un-Hana-like that he hadn't been sure how to talk to her or even touch her. Worse, Hana had still been in mission mode, so being around her had just been just plain odd in general. But she had sat close to Kim, allowed Kim to put an arm around her, and held onto Rufus the entire time, so that had been better than nothing.
They moment they set foot in the Stoppable house, Hana went straight to her room, with Ron following at a distance. Kim called home to let her parents know she was okay, and added as casually as she could that she would be sleeping over in Hana's room. Somehow, she felt annoyed when they didn't even question the idea of her sleeping under the same roof as her boyfriend. But then, his parents and little sister would be under the roof as well, and it was just next door. Her parents could just walk over if they were that suspicious. And her father probably would, anyway, just in case.
On her way to Hana's room, Kim rehearsed what she would say several times. None if it seemed good enough, and if Kim didn't believe what she was saying, then Hana wouldn't, either. Kim simply wanted Hana to understand that what she'd done to Drakken was wrong. If for no other reason than the somewhat disturbed looks a few of the arresting officers had shot Kim's way, once they got a good look at Drakken's hands. Kim had taken it all in stride, but she knew Hana had noticed it, too. Of the three of them, Kim was the only one they'd ever believe capable of such a thing. It was both a compliment and a slap in the face, but there was nothing for it.
Hana's door was shut, and as Kim reached it, she ran into a problem: she didn't know if she needed to knock. It had never been an issue before. Usually when she came to the house, Hana was dragging her into the room by the hand, or throwing the door wide open in greeting before Kim could lift a hand to knock. But that had been sweet little Hana, who picked a random day each week to sneak next door in the middle of the night and climb into bed with a random Possible. That Hana's door had always been open to Kim. That Hana, however, was not the one that had come to save them today. The Hana in Drakken's lair had been a total stranger to Kim, someone she and Ron didn't recognize as being the sweetest, littlest Stoppable. And Kim wasn't sure how the stranger would feel about uninvited intruders.
Seconds later, it became a non-issue when the door opened and Ron emerged. He caught sight of Kim and smiled genuinely for the first time in hours. "She's asking for you."
"Did she say anything about what happened?" Kim asked.
Ron shook his head. "She didn't want to talk about it. Neither did I, honestly, and I didn't want to force the issue. Not when it took her this long to start talking to me again. I'm hoping she'll come to me on her own."
"That would be nice," Kim agreed. What she didn't say was that she thought they were fresh out of nice at that point.
"Well, good luck." Ron gave her a hug and a quick kiss, both of which Kim returned as much as she was able. She didn't want Ron questioning whether two of the girls in his life still loved him. One was bad enough.
After Ron was gone, Kim took a deep breath and walked into Hana's room. She saw at once that her task would be easier: the stranger that had taken out Shego and ruined Drakken's hands was gone. Now there was only little Hana, curled up on her bed with the blanket concealing all but her eyes.
"Kim?" the bundle asked softly.
"Yes, Hana?"
"Are you mad at me?"
Kim considered that for a few seconds. "No," she answered truthfully. "But I am very concerned, and we do need to talk. Could you come out of there, please? For me?"
Only Hana's head emerged. "You promise you're not mad?"
"I promise, sweetie. Please come out." Kim sat down on the other end of the bed and waited.
After a few seconds, Hana slowly emerged from the blanket. "You don't look mad," she admitted.
"Because I'm not. But you really worried me today. Do you know why I was so worried?"
"Because I went on the mission without telling you, and if I'd gotten hurt you couldn't have protected me."
Kim blinked, not having expected it to be that easy. "Yes, actually. That's the first part of it, anyway. So let's focus on that. Why did you go on the mission? Haven't I asked you not to do that? What was so different about this time?"
Hana abruptly burst into tears. "You won't believe me!" she wailed. "You'll think I'm lying, but I'm really not!"
Kim instantly moved to comfort the girl, but was shocked when Hana drew back, something she'd never done. "Hana, what are you saying? You may have saved my life today. Why would you think I wouldn't believe you? You don't even have that much faith in me anymore?"
"It's not you," Hana whimpered. "It's me. It's always been me. You won't believe because you're you. You do all those amazing things, and you don't have to cheat. But I... I can't help what I am, Kim. But today, what I am saved you, so... so I'm glad I am what I am, but... sometimes I wish I wasn't."
Kim slowly took a deep breath and released it. "Hana, I'm going to tell you something I've never told anyone, not even Ron. Sometimes I love you so much that it hurts. I would die to protect you. I would kill anyone who hurt you. So when you sit here and tell me that you can't trust me, or that you don't believe I'll trust you, you have no idea how much that hurts me. Whatever it is you think I won't accept, I will, because I accept you."
"My power talks to me," Hana said in a rush.
"What does it say?" Kim asked after a short pause.
"What I can and can't do with it. That's how I knew I could save you. It told me I could."
"I see." Kim was starting to understand why Hana hadn't wanted to tell Ron, but she really felt this was more his territory. "Did it also tell you how to handle Shego?"
Hana nodded.
"And Drakken?" The nod that Kim was hoping for didn't come. After several seconds, she realized she wasn't going to get it. "Hana? Why did you do that to him?"
"Because you should have!" Hana cried. "All he does is think up bigger and better ways to hurt people! You should have stopped him first!"
"So your power didn't tell you to do that? It was all you?"
"Yes," Hana murmured, scowling at her. "I didn't like it, but it needed to be done."
Kim could tell it wasn't an issue they were going to solve overnight. No matter what Hana said, Kim had a feeling that Hana's power had shaped her opinions more than she knew. Certainly she and Ron had never taught Hana to think this way. Nobody around her would have. But someone had prepared her to go on that mission, and her clothing was proof enough of that.
"Where did you get the mission gear?" Kim asked. "I know for a fact that you can't get this stuff from Club Banana or Smarty Mart anymore."
Hana suddenly grinned in a way that was so much like her that Kim almost forgot the less than desireable events of the day. "Magic," Hana said simply, and then she reached up to tug at her collar to demonstrate. Instantly, as if she had pulled down an invisible zipper, Hana's clothing simply fell away, dissolving into a crimson mist, and revealing that she had been wearing a blue shirt and an old pair of jeans the whole time. "There's always a thin lair of magic around my body, and I can alter it. I can simulate any clothes that I want, and I can't even tell that I'm wearing anything underneath."
"That's... convenient," Kim was forced to admit. "Can I ask why you chose the old mission gear, though?"
"I like it. It was good enough for you, and it's still good enough for Ron. Plus I just thought of a neat way to decorate it." The air around Hana's body became hazy, and suddenly she was back in mission gear, with one major change on the chest: the image of a black, simian silhouette, in a combat pose within a yellow circle. The symbol of Mystical Monkey Power. Kim hadn't seen it since the first time she'd crossed paths with the villain known as Monkey Fist, but she recognized that Hana was openly acknowledging her connection to the power, and clearly knew a thing or two about how to use it. But considering that she'd been introduced to the symbol in a temple built by practitioners of Monkey Kung Fu, Kim began to wonder if Hana knew more than just magic. Before she could open her mouth to ask the question, Hana provided the answer, apparently having seen or sensed the direction of Kim's thoughts.
"Yes, I know where the symbol comes from, and yes, I do think I should be wearing it. Besides, the only people I expect to see it are bad guys I'm going to use it on, anyway."
"I didn't know you were learning Monkey Kung Fu," Kim noted. "Does Ron know about this? Did he teach you?"
"No and kinda," Hana replied. "I watch him. You, too. I pick up things. The rest, I just sort of... remember. Or my power does. So yes, I know Monkey Kung Fu. Not as well as I would if anyone had actually trained me, but I can use it."
"So you can fight. How well?" Kim asked.
Hana frowned and gave Kim a long, considering look that she recognized at once: Hana was viewing her as a potential opponent. It was a very disturbing feeling. After several moments, Hana nodded and said, without a trace of exaggeration, "I could take you, if you were surprised and drugged. I could take Ron if he were just surprised. Assuming that you guys knew it was me and couldn't bring yourselves to hurt me, anyway. Which doesn't really count."
Kim wanted to believe that Hana was just being overconfident, as some nine year olds were. But considering what she'd seen that day, Kim was no longer so sure of anything where Hana was concerned.
"I'm still me, Kim," Hana said softly. "I'm just more prepared than you knew. It doesn't mean that I don't still need you and my brother. It just means I'm ready for you to teach me."
"I don't remember agreeing to that," Kim replied with a frown.
"You didn't, but you will. I know you, Kim. And you know the best way to keep me safe is to teach me everything you know. Because if you don't, it'll mean that I'm out there only partially trained. I know you'd never risk that. Besides, I would think my saving you proves I'm ready to learn."
"Maybe all it did was strengthen my desire to keep you innocent a little longer. You're still a little girl, Hana. I know you don't like hearing that, but that doesn't make it any less true."
Hana smiled. "But I do love being a girl, Kim! And you know what I love most about it? Every girl wants to be Kim Possible, but I'm the only one that gets to have you for a big sister. Are you really so against the idea of me wanting to be smart and strong like you?"
Kim shook her head. "Flattery won't work on me, Hana. Not when I know you want something I've already said no to."
Hana crawled across the bed and laid her head in Kim's lap. "I'll still be me, I promise. I'll always be your little Hana. Nothing could change that. But I don't want to be ready just for my sake. I want to be able to really help you, if you ever need me to."
"I'll train you on one condition," Kim replied, gently running a hand through Hana's short, dark hair. "And don't answer now, because I want you to give this a lot of thought. I want you to tell me, in your own words, why I view what you did to Drakken as wrong, and why I don't do that, even though I could. If you can give me a good answer, I'll train you."
Hana pouted up at her. "What's the point? It won't change how I feel."
"The point is that even if you don't agree with my way, I still want you to fully understand it. If you care about me as much as you claim, that shouldn't be a problem for you. More importantly, I think you need to be reminded that my works, and has worked for as long as I've been doing this. If it didn't, there wouldn't be any point to you learning from me."
"In other words, you want me to say that you're the boss of me," Hana guessed.
"I won't ever need you to say it," Kim assured her. "I just need you to think it."
Hana nodded slowly. "I can do that."
"Will you, though?" Kim asked at once.
"Yes. Because we're sisters. Even if you don't have a ring yet."
"That's entirely your brother's fault, I'll have you know."
"I'll talk to him," Hana promised as she sat up. "But, um, could you do me a favor and sleep in here tonight?"
Kim smiled and reached over to rub Hana's head. "You know I don't mind sleeping with you, sweetie."
Hana blinked slowly. "Oh. Um, I really appreciate that, but I actually meant could you sleep in here alone? I think I should sleep with Ronnie tonight. I didn't exactly apologize to him yet, and that would help things along. It's good to validate his overprotective instincts every so often with a little cuddling."
Kim did her best to hide her disappointment, but suspected that Hana noticed, anyway. "Oh. Sure, I can do that. And you definitely should apologize to him. Why did I get mine first, though?"
"You know, you're not a very good boss of me if you have to ask a question like that," Hana pointed out with a smirk. "Why don't you sleep on it and get back to me later?"
"Brat," Kim murmured fondly, making a half-hearted swat at her that Hana easily dodged. "Thanks for saving us, by the way. I mean it."
"Well, what else was I going to do?" Hana moved closer and hugged Kim tightly. "I'll always be your Hana if you'll always be my Kim."
Kim smiled and slipped an arm around Hana. "I changed your diapers, kid. You might as well have 'Possible Property' stamped on your butt. And I'm not saying for sure that you don't."
Hana giggled, then pressed her face deeper into Kim's side. "I love you, Kim," she murmured.
"As nice as that is to hear, I really wish you'd say it when you weren't in trouble."
"You don't need reminding when you're not mad," Hana pointed out as she let go and hopped off of the bed. "I'll give Ronnie an extra kiss for you."
"Uh, Hana," Kim called as the girl reached the door. "Maybe you should hold off on telling him about the mystical monkey magic thing. At least until morning, anyway. Trust me, he'll sleep better. So lose the monkey shirt for now."
"Oh, right. I forgot." Hana started to fiddle with her collar, then noticed Kim watching her. "I guess you want me to change into my pajamas the boring way," she sighed.
Kim smiled. "Please and thank you."
End of Chapter 2.
Next Chapter: The Weapon
Global Justice finally makes Team Possible a serious offer, only it doesn't include Hana. But everyone will soon learn that all their fears concerning Hana are entirely baseless, because she is capable of far more than they ever thought possible.