Throw-down
Disclaimer – I don't own Kim Possible.
A/N – Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. Note that ~O~O~O~ indicates major shift in time and place, while ~o~o~ indicates small shifts in time or place.
This story is an AU and diverges from canon early in the fourth season before Mad Dogs and Aliens or Big Brother, so there are no Lowardians in this universe and no Hana.
Special thanks to my beta reader Halo17442.
Chapter – 1 – Throw-down
Kim and Shego had spent three days observing the Global Justice base that held the training facility for their Secret Protocols for Intelligence, Espionage and Sabotage program. Kim had been stifling giggles as she told Shego the program's name. Shego had simply rolled her eyes and muttered 'Betty and her silly games'.
The base was located halfway up a mountain side in the wilds of Thailand, overlooking an isolated valley that served as a training ground and first line of defense for the installation. A natural shelf had been expanded to hold the main buildings while several natural caves and crevices had been used to hold various outbuildings. The entire thing had been constructed with a false exterior designed to look like an ancient temple complex.
Getting close to the base had been a challenge in itself. The jungle in the valley provided cover for approaching the base but was a maze of narrow tracks and trails, most known only to the locals. The locals, who were employed by Global Justice as guides and trainers in survival and tracking, could not be counted on to not betray an intruder even if well paid. In addition, the entire was valley was used as a training area and therefore was likely have to several teams moving through the jungle on training exercises for any would be invader to avoid.
It had taken Kim and Shego four days of careful movement to cross the valley and make their way to a small outcropping of rock that overlooked the Global Justice base. They had ignored the ruins of a monastery that had a better view of the base as an obvious trap. The outcropping they were using was exposed and offered little shelter from the elements but did provide enough cover to allow them to remain unobserved.
Once they were settled in, they had started around the clock surveillance on the base, noting the guards patrol patterns and the other routines of the bases inhabitants. They noted the size and composition of every training party that entered and left the base. They took note of every interior movement of people, in particular those into and out of the barracks and mess hall.
Once the information had been collected, Kim and Shego started analyzing the data looking for weaknesses in the bases defenses or routines that could be exploited. When they finished, two things were evident; one, the bases defenses had no obvious weakness and two, a force of at least ten men was secreted in the base somewhere. The first conclusion was not regarded as a problem by either Kim or Shego, who had both penetrated facilities as secure without problem. It was the second conclusion that had them concerned.
A hidden force within the base suggested a trap or increased security due to their expected attack at least. They were fairly certain they had not been detected in their approach to the base so they assumed the force had been sent their as a precaution against a possible attack by them. They had held a whispered argument about whether or not they were becoming too predictable or if Betty was simply protecting all of her high value targets. In the end, they decided it didn't matter to their mission which one of them was right.
Their next argument was over when and how to enter the base. Shego favored a daytime approach using the service tunnels to enter from one of the out buildings, while Kim favored a nighttime approach using the fake ruins as cover. Each argued that the others approach was too obvious and therefore they would find traps and detectors protecting the approach. They both realized the other was right and that they would need to find a less obvious way into the base.
They spent the night in continued observation and planning, looking for a way into the base that was unlikely to be well guarded. Shego asked if there might be some sort of secret entrance hidden on the fake ruins around the base. She pointed that the base would probably have one or more secret ways in and out and the ruins were the most likely place to put it. All of the natural features of the landscape close to the base were already incorporated in the base or too exposed to serve as the location of a hidden entrance. That left the ruins as the only logical choice.
The problem then was to find the entrance, without having to search the entire ruins in person, which would be both time consuming and likely to get them detected. For the next several hours they swept the ruins with a variety of sensors, looking for any anomaly that would indicate the presence of something out of the ordinary. It was only when night fell that they found what they were looking for, a trace of warm air rising from a jumble of fallen masonry. The trace grew fainter over the next half hour before vanishing.
Now that they knew the location of the hidden entrance they considered what defenses might be present. They ruled out motion detectors, pressure sensors and thermal sensors due to the presence of local wildlife that would have tripped the sensors if they were present. The entrance was probably alarmed in some way and the passage behind the entrance would undoubtedly have a variety of sensors. The exact types and locations of sensors could only be determined by examining the actual location in person.
Next, they had to consider when would be the best time to approach the entrance and what route to take. Since there weren't any sensor to worry about, that left visual detection as the prime worry, which dictated a night approach. Given the position of the guards and other base inhabitants, an approach from above the base was deemed the best route to take.
In order to maximize the amount of time they would have to infiltrate the base they decided to wait until the next night to make their move. Until then, they continued their surveillance and prepared the equipment they would need. Once everything was ready, all they had to do was wait.
~o~o~
Ken Du arrived at the temporary command center set up for him and his brother as they waited for Kim Possible and Shego to attack the base. As usual he found his brother, Will, sitting ramrod straight in his chair, filling out paper work. He nodded a greeting as he made his way to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. Taking a sip, he made his way to the desk and looked over the day's status report. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he turned to his brother as he was finishing the day's reports.
"All right, little brother, I relieve you."
Will nodded at him as he stood and stretched. "Good. I will be glad when this assignment is over. Just sitting around waiting for Possible and Shego to attack is getting boring. I am starting to think they have picked another target to hit."
Ken nodded his agreement. "I know what you mean. I would have thought they would have moved by now. I hope the delay isn't some kind of psychological ploy to knock us off our game."
Will placed his completed paper work in a folder and went to a file cabinet, placing the folder in it. "Good night. I hope you catch something. Remember to call me if you do."
Ken gave his brother a crooked smile. "Will do." He smirked at his brother as he walked out of the office, shaking his head.
Ken made certain everything in the command center was working correctly before he left to check on the shift of his team that had just come on duty. Once he was certain they were alert and on the job, he returned to the command center and sat behind the desk. He called an assistant to refill the coffee pot and prepared to spend a long twelve hours watching for an attack he was beginning to believe would never come.
It was almost ten-thirty when he noticed one of the sensors in the tunnel leading to the hidden entrance was showing a voltage fluctuation. It was not enough to trigger an alarm but it did indicate the sensor was operating outside of its normal parameter. Normally, it would be ignored but his brother Will had pointed out that Possible and Shego were not likely to trip any alarms but their tampering with the security systems would cause fluctuation in the sensors readings that they could detect.
He hit the alarm button to summon his brother and the rest of their team as he activated the extra sensors they had installed when they arrived at the base. One of the low-light camera's they had installed in a vent overlooking the tunnel from the secret entrance show two figures moving slowly down tunnel. He gave a slightly feral grin at the thought of a rematch with the two criminals.
Barely a minute after his brother had activated the alarm Will entered the command center at a run. He immediately checked the sensor and security monitors and gave a self-satisfied grin when he saw the two women making their way into the base. He shared a smirk with his brother as they moved to take their place with the team as they deployed to protect the data center.
~o~o~
Kim followed Shego down the corridor located behind the hidden door they had found in the fake ruins outside the base. Shego had disarmed the alarm on the door as Kim picked the lock. They had carefully scanned the corridor they found for sensors and alarm before proceeding. Their progress had been slow, deliberate, with numerous checks for alarms, and careful circumvention of those detected.
Having reached the interior of the base they were able to move about more freely. The still took precautions to avoid detection as they made their way towards the data center that held the records they had come looking for. They stopped to check for alarms or sensors when they were close to the data center, expecting there would be heightened security. Not finding any indication of enhanced security, they proceeded cautiously, suspecting a trap.
As they rounded the corner of the corridor to the data center they stopped in their tracks, their way blocked by a group of six men in dark navy blue Global Justice uniforms and body armor led by Will Du. A quick look behind them showed that another six agents in armor, led by Ken Du, had entered the corridor behind them. They stood back to back as they dropped into their fighting stances, waiting for the men to attack.
"Well, Kimmie, looks like the DuDu brothers are back for another butt kicking." Both Will and Ken scowled at Shego's taunt, while their teams struggled to hide their smiles.
Will took a step forward and addressed the women. "We are under orders to prevent you from accessing the records of this base. If you proceed with your attempt to access the records, we will be forced to stop you."
Shego smirked at him and rolled her eyes. "What's the matter, Willie boy, Betty won't let you start anymore fights?"
Will kept his face impassive. "Dr. Director is not interested in capturing you; she is only interested in protecting Global Justice. She has directed us to protect this base and its records. She has also instructed me to tell you she would like to talk to the two of you."
Kim and Shego snorted at Will. "Sure. We'll just go with you to some secret GJ prison so we can have a talk with Betty. You and she must think we are dumb as posts if you think we will trust Global Justice again. Tell Betty we won't stop until Global Justice lies in ruins and the world knows of her crimes." Kim's eyes burned with hatred as she answered Will. "Now get out of our way or get ready to lose, again."
Will shook his head slightly as he motioned for the men near him as well as the men with his brother to surround the two women. Kim and Shego watched as the twelve men formed a ring about them, with Will and Ken take command positions outside the ring. The two groups regarded each other for several minutes, each waiting for the other to move first, and neither side willing to be the one that started hostilities.
"Screw this." With a snarl, Shego broke the standoff by dashing towards the nearest agent as plasma wreathed her hands. She threw a series of punches at the two closest agents, who blocked or dodged her attacks while they attempted to flank her. Growling in frustration, she dropped into a crouch and knocked the agents off their feet with a sweep of her leg. A plasma wreathed fist connected with the head of the first agent, knocking him out, while the second was rendered unconscious by a knee to the jaw as Shego left her crouch. Watching the nearby agents shift to deal with her new position and the loss of their colleagues, Shego called over her shoulder. "Look out pumpkin, these guys appear to have been training."
A soon as she felt Shego move, Kim had moved to attack the agent nearest her with a flying kick. She saw him move to catch her foot with both hands and use her normal tactic of using her foes for a push off against her by holding her foot and trapping her. The agent seemed surprised when he caught her foot and she made no attempt to use him as a springboard. Instead, she collapsed her leg, allowing her leap to keep her moving towards the agent as her other leg, which had been folded beneath her, lashed out under the hands holding her foot to catch the agent in the chest, sending him flying back. Using the agent's chest as a springboard, she dove back the way she came, landing on her hands and turning the dive into a roll. She came out of the roll in front of an agent who fell into a heap on the ground as Kim's knee connected with his groin as her fist connected with his head. "I know sweetie. They even seemed to have learned from our last fight."
Will Du watched the opening moves of the fight with a critical eye, his men were doing better against the women but couldn't seem to adapt when their attack pattern shifted. "Move and strike, move and strike. Don't let them pin you down." Ken Du nodded to himself at his brother's advice as he shifted to add his personal support to the fight if needed.
Shego was trading blows with three agents, punches and kick, knees and elbows flying in a complex dance with the four dancers weaving and dodging around and between the attacks. Feinting a rush at one of the agents Shego did a back handspring and drove both feet into the chest of one of the agents circling the fight looking for and opening. The agent was driven into the wall of the corridor and slumped to the ground with a groan as Shego landed on her feet and attacked the agent next to him. Not having expected the attack the agent was off balance and struggled to avoid her attacks until a low kick to the back of his knee sent him sprawling to the ground where a low axe kick caught him in the back of the head.
Kim did a short hop to the right around the body of the agent she had just dropped and launched a flurry of short sharp jabs against the nearest agent. He responded with his own flurry of blocks and parries before suddenly launching a series of low kicks at her legs. Kim used her shins and feet to block the first several blows, then launched a crescent kick at the agents head that caught him by surprise. He fell back in a desperate attempt to avoid the blow but, having concentrated on her feet, was instead caught by several punches to the torso and arms. Smiling to himself as the armor absorbed the force of the blows he moved to attack, when he discovered that his right arm had been paralyzed by a nerve strike. His chagrin was short lived as Kim grabbed his head and pushed it down to meet a hard driven knee that rendered him unconscious.
Will moved to help the agents surrounding Kim, as a knot of fear started to form in his stomach. The fight had lasted less than a minute and already almost half of his men had been taken out. He could only hope that Ken and his addition to the fight could turn the tide. Ken caught Will's eye and gave a series of brief hand signals to coordinate their actions. Will nodded his understanding and gave low voiced directions to the agents he was joining. "Keep moving and don't give her a chance to attack a different group. Vary your attacks in type and level. We cannot lose."
Shego hopped over the fallen agent and launched a series of plasma charged punches against the agent in front of her. He parried her attack with the armored forearms of his armor while using a series of low kicks to force her to keep her distance. Shego threw a roundhouse at the agent's head and, when he blocked the blow, used her momentum to spin to his left and launch a side kick at the agent who had been moving in to help. The kick caught him in the hip, knocking him off balance as Shego followed up with an elbow to the head that knocked him to the floor unconscious.
Kim immediately started to trade kicks and punches with the two agents who moved to engage her. She tried several unexpected attacks against them but was frustrated when they dodged or blocked each in turn. "I must say, Will, your Henches are getting better. They are almost a challenge." As she saw the subtle reaction of the agents to being called Henches, she threw a punch at one of them and, when he moved to block, turned the blow into a grab of his wrist. Once she had him firmly in her grasp she started to torque her body around as her other arm grabbed the trapped arm just below the elbow. With a grunt, she threw the agent she had grabbed into the other agent she had been fighting. As they fell to the floor in a heap, she knocked both of them unconscious with swift knees to the head.
Will gave a series of hand signals to Ken and the survivors of their team, calling them to regroup in front of the entrance to the data center. The agents quickly took up positions flanking the Du brothers and prepared to face the two women. Ken had an angry look on his face as he shouted at them. "You may be doing good so far but now we are going to fight our way not yours. There is no way you will be able to defeat us this time." The touch of his brother's hand on his forearm calmed him down and he stepped back into his place in the defensive formation.
Shego glanced at Kim out of the corner of her eye as the girl moved into position next to her as they faced the Global Justice agents. "What do you think, Princess? Do you think these guys will give us challenge or will they be pushovers like most Henches?"
Before Kim could reply, Will answered in a steely voice. "They are not Henches; they are highly trained agents of Global Justice. They should be treated with the respect they deserve."
Kim gave the agents a smirk as she spoke to Shego. "They are definitely going down quickly, just like Henches always do."
Kim and Shego exchanged a brief look and leapt to the attack. Instead of going for the agents first, as they had last time, they targeted the Du brothers directly with their attacks. The women's flurry of punches and kick was matched by a comparable flurry from the Du brothers with each side parrying and dodging the others attacks.
"It won't be so easy this time, Miss Possible. Will and I have been practicing our team work and are a match for you and Shego now." Ken taunted the women as he and his brother worked like a well-oiled machine to fight the women to a standstill. "Besides, in concentrating on us you have given our agents a chance to surround you. Surrender now and make it easy on yourself."
Kim and Shego spared a quick glance to see that Ken was right; the agents had encircled them and were merely waiting for an opening before attacking. After a swift glance at Kim, Shego rapidly turned and grabbed one of the agents behind her, her left hand taking his wrist with her right hand grabbing him near the shoulder. With a grunt of effort, she used her comet-spawned strength to hurl the agent directly at the Du brothers, who each dove to the side to avoid the human missile.
Utilizing the distraction of Shego's attack, Kim charged one of the agents and feinted a kick at his midsection. As he shifted to block her attack, Kim's foot shifted from targeting his midsection to impacting his thigh as Kim moved forward. Kim used the agent's thigh to boost herself into the air, her other foot landing on his shoulder to impetus to her leap. The agent had no chance to react before Kim's knee smashed into his jaw, knocking him out. Kim's leap carried her behind the agents that had been surrounding them. Spinning to face the three remaining agents, she grabbed one in a judo strangle as she sent a viscous kick to back of another agents head. Her kick to the back of his head sent the agent in question sprawling to the ground unconscious as the agent she had in the strangle hold struggled to escape. Kim shifted around to put the agent between herself and the remaining agents as she waited for the agent in the hold to pass out.
Seeing that Kim had things well in hand, Shego threw a pair of plasma balls towards the Du brothers to keep them occupied as she moved to engage the two remaining agents. The agents shifted to flank her, hoping to divide her attention between them and thus, create an opening they could exploit. Shego smirked at the agents and launched a series of plasma-enhanced punches at them, which they easily dodge as they settled into their flanking positions. As the agents started to counterattack, Shego dropped into a crouch as she tried to sweep one of the agent's legs. He dropped back to avoid her attack, as she stopped her attack short and sprang from her crouch at the other agent, who was caught by surprise as he moved in to attack. He avoided her first plasma enhanced punch with a desperate dodge but was caught in the chin by the second.
The last agent had retreated to stand by the Du brothers in front of the doors to the data center. Kim joined her after dropping the now unconscious agent she had place in a strangle hold to the floor. The two women cracked their knuckles and gave the three Global Justice agents a pair of evil smirks. "Well, cupcake, do you think they will be smart enough to give up now or will they insist on having us hurt them first?"
Kim gave an evil chuckle "I hope not. I was looking forward to beating up the Du's again."
~o~o~
Eight agents worked furiously in the data center, downloading the bases accumulated records onto a series of portable encrypted hard drives. As they finished copying each of the drives, it was wiped clean of all classified information and placed in a special case. The case was placed in an automated system designed to destroy the drive using intense heat in order to prevent any type of forensic data recovery. The agents worked as fast as possible, knowing that intruders believed to be Kim Possible and Shego had been sighted and were probably on their way to the data center right know.
Global Justice had hoped to avoid having to use their emergency data security measures, since it would take a week or two to recreate and verify the base's databases. The plan had been to move the data to a secure off-site location and connect the base to it using a dedicated physical link that could be severed if the base was compromised. The off-site location had been found and the computer equipment installed, the only thing that needed to be done was to install the physical link and then transfer the data from the base to the new site. Unfortunately, the link was not scheduled to be finished for two more days, so the emergency data protection plan had been implemented.
Periodically, the agents would check the progress of the fight in the hallway on the security monitors in the data center in order to avoid being caught unawares should the women win the fight. Placing the last of the base's drives in the automated system, the team moved to secure the portable drives in a large metal case that would be used for transport. Seeing that the Du brothers and one agent were the only ones left of the initial teams sent to deal with Kim and Shego, the agents moved the case containing the hard drives to the rear of the room and arranged themselves around the entrance to the data center.
Once the agents were in place, the head agent deactivated the security and opened the door to the data center. The sole remaining agent, followed closely by the Du brothers, fell back into the room and took up positions near the rest of the agents. The eleven agents aimed their stop watches at the door to the center, waiting for the women to enter.
"I suggest you give up your attempt to access this bases data. The system has been wiped and there is no way you will be able to enter this room without be stopped in the doorway." Will's demands were met by silence from the corridor as the agents held their collective breaths, waiting to see if the women would leave or attack.
The security monitors showed the women briefly conferring and then heading down the corridor away from the data center. The agents held position for several minutes, expecting the women to either return when their vigilance had dropped or for reports of them from somewhere else in the base to come in. When neither of these happened, Ken motioned for one of the agents to accompany him as he approached the room's entrance. Once they flanked the door, Ken gave a signal and dove through the doorway to crouch in the corridor looking for some sign of the women. The agent had followed as soon as he cleared the doorway and taken up a similar position facing in the opposite direction.
"There is no sign of them here. It looks like they have left." Ken called softly to his brother. Will motioned for half the agents in the room to finish securing the portable hard drives in their transport case, while the rest remained on guard. Once they signaled that the drives were secure, Will ordered the agents on guard in the room to join his brother in the hallway as he helped the other agents with moving the case.
As soon the agents joined him in the corridor, Ken moved to check on the fallen agents scattered in heaps. Finding they were still unconscious and not having time to revive them he checked the agents' position to make certain the entire corridor was covered. He saw his brother had the case ready to go near the door and used his QUIET comm to alert their transport's pilot to be ready for immediate travel and to maintain all security measures.
Once he received confirmation from the pilot, he motioned for the agents to bring the case into the hallway. As two agents wheeled the case out, the rest of the agents took up positions surrounding it, keeping watch in all directions. The Du brothers took up flanking position near the front of the case as they motioned for the group to start moving towards the hangar area. Keeping a watch in all directions for the women, the group slowly made their way to their destination, more concerned with security than speed.
~o~o~
Kim and Shego were invisible in the darkness of the rafters as they watched the group of agents surrounding the case enter the hangar and start to make their slow cautious way towards the waiting Hover Jet. As they approached, the cargo ramp at the back of the jet lowered and two agents took up guard positions near the end of the ramp. The two agents in the jets cockpit finished the pre-flight check and prepared for an immediate departure once the cargo was loaded.
As the agents shifted position to allow the case to be pushed up the ramp, Kim and Shego jumped into action. Using ropes, they rapidly descended towards the agents and the Hover Jet, Shego scattering the agents with a barrage of plasma balls. As soon as they hit the floor of the hangar, Kim flipped over several agents and landed on the case while Shego immediately attacked the nearest agents.
Ken rushed at Shego, shouting orders at the agents to surround her and coordinate their attacks, as Will moved to help the agents near the case deal with Kim. The agents rapidly overcame their shock at the sudden appearance of the two women and moved to deal with them as they had been trained. One group surrounded the case Kim was perched on while the rest formed a circle around Shego and the agents she was fighting.
Shego was exchanging blows with two agents as Ken and four other agents started to circle them. As soon as they were in position, Shego dropped into a crouch and started to try to sweep the legs of both of the agents. As the agents fell back to avoid the sweep and those behind moved in to attack, Shego planted her hands on the ground and twisted her body around to send kicks at the agents approaching from behind. One managed to dodge enough of the blow that his armor took the brunt of the impact, but the second was caught square in the face and fell back with several bones in his face broken.
Kim was using her height advantage on top of the case to keep the surrounding agents at bay with a series of kicks and acrobatic attacks. As Will arranged the agents for an attack, Kim gave up her advantage by grabbing the handle of the cart the case was on and flipping over the handle to launch axe kicks at two of the agents. The agents attempted to block her attacks but the force of her flip added to the force of her kicks was more than they could handle. As the agents collapsed to the floor, Kim took up her stance and made a 'bring it' motion with her hand.
As Shego dropped back into her crouch, the two agents she had originally been attacking moved up behind her to exploit her shift of targets. Unfortunately for them, Shego was aware of their approach and responded by launching a plasma wreathed punch over each shoulder at the agents. The rest of the agents cringed as her hands connected with the agents' groins, sending them to the ground writhing in pain. As she leapt to her feet, Ken and Will signaled the remaining agents to regroup at the base of the Hover Jet's ramp.
As the agents formed up around the Du brothers, Shego moved to stand at Kim's side as she confronted them. The two sides regarded each other for several moments before Ken Du broke the silence.
"You won't get the data you came for. The only copies are on these hard drives and they are encrypted. The case they are in is equipped with a 1.2 Tesla magnetic wipe device. If the correct security code is not entered on the first try the wipe device activates, destroying all of the data on the disk."
Kim smirked at the GJ agents. "What's the matter Kenny, afraid you will lose the fight, like you always do?"
Will answered for his brother. "We are not here to fight you but to protect the data on these drives. If we can protect it without fighting you we will, but if we have to fight you, we will do that too."
Shego glanced at Kim for a moment before speaking. "Looks like we can't get the data we came for, princess. Should we stay and beat up the DuDu boys or just call it a day."
Kim thought for a moment. "Let's call it a day, I got us a spa appointment for later and this way we will have time for breakfast first."
Shego grinned at her. "Sounds like a plan. Let's get moving."
The agents looked at their commanders questioningly as the two women simply turned and walked off. Will shook his head. "No point in following them. They are just trying to get us to leave the drives unprotected. Finish loading the Hover Jet, we need to get underway immediately."
As the agents rolled the case onto the jet and secured it in place, Ken conferred with Will. "I will stay here and collect the rest of the team. Be careful, little brother, I expect those two didn't just leave without a reason."
Will nodded. "Catch up as soon as you can, I fear you are right and we will be meeting those two sooner than we want." Ken gave him a wry grin before turning and walking off to check on the injured members of team.
~o~o~
Once they left the hanger Kim and Shego broke into a run as they made their way back the bases data center. Shego started to place small tracking devices on each of the fallen agents as Kim opened the back of one of the main computer cabinets and installed a small box in it. Kim was finishing the job of connecting the device to the computer system when Shego walked over to stand behind her, having finished placing trackers on the fallen agents.
"You about finished pumpkin, one of the Du brothers should be here soon to collect his leftovers. We don't want to get caught. It would spoil our plan if they found us here."
Kim finished with the device and started to replace the cover. "Don't worry, sweetie, even if they find the trackers on the agents, we still have the ones I planted on the case and the transport. We will get another chance to get what we came for."
Standing up, she dusted her hands off, and then started for the door. "Let's get moving, we have places to go and global agencies to topple." Shego gave a shake of her head as she followed her out of the data center.