Round and Round We Go
Disclaimer – I don't own Kim Possible.
A/N – Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. Sorry this update took so long. I had a computer crash that kept me off the internet for months. The crash also destroyed all of the files and notes I had on this story. It took a while to get back in the habit of writing and while recreating the outline I found a major plot hole that took a while to fix due to a bout of writer's block. I should be updating regularly from now on.
Sorry this chapter took a little longer than planned to post, it got away from me and went almost 4,000 words longer than planned. This is my longest chapter yet.
**The Fannie Awards are accepting nominations. I honored that I have been nominated for Best Action/Adventure Story this story and best new author. Please nominate your favorite authors and stories; feedback like this is what drives most of us to write. Information on categories and how to make nominations can be found here – topic/329/131053374/1/2014-Kim-Possible-Fannies-Nominating-Period-is-Open-3-29-2015-to-4-30-2015. **
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.
Chapter – 13 – Round and Round We Go
Mask sat in the outer office of his Master, waiting for his meeting. The office, like most of his Master's house, was decorated in a traditional English style from the Victorian era. Dark wood wainscoting and solid cherry bookcases surrounded the waiting area, with its straight-backed chairs upholstered in green leather. The Master's assistant sat behind a carved mahogany desk controlling access to the inner office.
The assistant, a handsome young man with dark hair and an engaging smile, was viewed by many as the gatekeeper to his Master and a major power in his organization. Mask smiled inwardly at the thought of his Master's assistant being anything more than a highly efficient, semi-intelligent personal organizer. His Master used the assistant as a way to keep an eye on his underlings, having him report all efforts to influence and subvert him. It was an elegant solution to the problem of checking on his employee's loyalty, as all of his Master's solutions were.
Mask thought of his Master's various plans over the years, how they all were based on using people and their various ambitions for his own ends. Since he had been recalled to his Master's presence, he had gone over the record of his original plan, trying to determine why Brainchild was such a threat to his Master and his plan. The original plan had been to place people under his Master's control in critical positions and when they were all in place, to take control. The plan had been brilliant but had no way of dealing with setbacks, so when Brainchild had turned on his Master and worked to remove many of the people she had put into power, the plan had collapsed.
His Master had the wisdom to realize that his plan had failed and to simple abandon it rather than engage in futile efforts to save it. He had spent several years reviewing his past actions and mistakes before creating a new plan. The new plan, the one Mask had spent the past decade putting in place, had involved putting people under his Master's control in places of power and influence on both sides of every political question. After over a decade of painstaking work, his Master had people in place in almost every political, economic and military group of any importance in the world. Everything had been in place for his Master to start the final phase of his plan, a slow, carefully orchestrated series of crises and disasters over the next five or six years, that would have placed his chosen people in control of the world.
Then Brainchild had reappeared and his Master had radically altered his plan. Now instead of the slow and careful assumption of power, his Master planned a blitz of problems that would seem to overwhelm the world until his agents stepped in and saved the day. It carried less risk of being undone by Brainchild and her allies, but a much greater risk that the chaos they caused would get out of his Master's control. His Master seem confident he could control events no matter what happened but Mask worried that once things were set in motion, events would rapidly spin out of control and doom them all.
The assistant's lifted hand let him know that his Master was ready for him. Mask stood and strode confidently to the door to the inner office. With a self-assured air, he pulled the door open and walked through with a confident stride. As soon as he was out of the assistant's sight, his manner changed, his stride becoming hesitant and soft, his bearing slightly slumped over and his gaze fixed firmly on the floor. He made his way to the single chair in front of his Master's desk and took a seat.
After a minutes silence, his Master spoke. "The time has come to start putting my plan into action. I want you to visit these agents of mine and convey the instructions given." He pushed several sealed folders across his desk towards Mask.
Mask reached forward and picked up the folders. Glancing at the names on the folders, he nodded to his Master and rose to leave. "Shall I return here or will you have other work for me?"
His Master's reply was short. "Contact me when you are finished and I will give you further instructions."
Mask nodded and left the office to start his assignment. Part of him wondered if his Master's instructions about awaiting further orders were a sign that he no longer trusted him or a simple precaution against the unexpected. As he made his way to his room to pack, the thought flashed through his mind that only months ago he would not have questioned his Master's orders.
~O~O~O~
Will and Ken Du stood in Dr. Director's office, waiting for her to finish a call before delivering their report on their encounter at the covert training center. The brothers exchanged a quick glance when they noticed the tired look on Dr. Director's face as well as the handful of empty coffee cups and scattered papers littering the normally pristine desktop. Once the call was finished, Dr. Director motioned for the Du brothers to sit down in the chairs in front of her desk.
"Gentlemen, we have a lot to cover so let's get started. How did your mission go?" Dr. Director asked.
Ken cleared his throat. "As expected, Possible and Shego infiltrated the base in an attempt to access the covert operations database. We prevented them from getting copies of any of the data in the system. When they realized they couldn't obtain the data they had come for, they broke off engagement and left the base."
Dr. Director glared at him for a moment before he continued. "Before they left they had planted tracking devices on the case holding the data, the transport used to remove it from the base and half of the agents on our team. We detected the devices before we reached our destination and diverted to a secondary location. We gathered all of the devices together and then sent them to several location scattered around the globe."
Dr. Director sighed. "Was the covert operations database or its associated systems compromised in any way?"
The brothers shared a look before Will answered. "We didn't see any sign of the system being compromised."
Sighing again, Dr. Director glared at them brothers before speaking. "I don't suppose you thought to have the system checked out by the technicians on site or your own tech team did you." The brothers shared a guilty look as Dr. Director shook her head. "Forget about it. It doesn't matter if they have access to the system or not, we have bigger problems to deal with."
Will looked startled at Dr. Director's news. "But ma'am, if Possible has access to the system, she would be able to compromise all of our operations. How can you let –."
"That will be enough Agent Du, I have made my decision. With everything else that is happening right now we no longer have the luxury of chasing after Kim Possible. Plus, I hope that access to our system will give her the data needed to convince her to stop her vendetta against us, at least momentarily."
Will looked ready to argue but sank into a sullen silence after his brother placed a hand on his forearm. Dr. Director made a face a she sipped some of the cold coffee from her cup and continued. "The first item is a strange visit I had, a visit from Ron Stoppable. When you left my office after the last briefing, Stoppable and another ninja stepped from the shadows in my office to confront me about what happened with Kim."
The Du brothers sat in silence for a moment before they spoke.
"Stoppable, in your office?" Ken exclaimed.
"Stoppable, a ninja?" Will asked incredulously.
"Yes, Stoppable and yes, he is a ninja. It turns out he went to Yaminouchi after he left Middleton." Dr. Director replied with a twisted grin on her face. "I didn't get any details but his companion was quite vehement about Stoppable being the heir to the leadership of Yaminouchi."
Ken, a thoughtful look on his face, asked. "How did Stoppable get involved with Yaminouchi? What did he want?"
Dr. Director gave a slight shake of her head. "I have no idea how Stoppable got involved with them. He wanted to know if I had any idea of how to contact Kim. When I told him I had no idea he left but before he did he told me that Yaminouchi had received a prophecy and he was tasked with dealing with it."
Will asked nervously, "What was the prophecy?"
"Storm clouds gather in the twilight.
Darkness soon will engulf the world
Only the impossible and the unstoppable
Can find the daughter of mind and the son of machine
And lead them to the world salvation"
~O~O~O~
Memory was fleeting, a swift mirage that showed only in peripheral vision and vanished when looked at directly. Consciousness hovered just out of reach, a specter that haunted his awareness before slipping into the dark. Images ran through his awareness in a kaleidoscope of color and light. Sounds filled his ears in a meaningless cacophony. A few images and sounds remained burned into his mind, random and meaningless.
– A video of three WEE agents, Gamma, Iota and Epsilon by the symbols on their chest, breaking into a warehouse.
– A spreadsheet of all of the purchases for the last three months of a chemical company in Karachi
– Archival news footage of Kim Possible from her high school years.
– An audio recording of a high level conference between the heads of a Russian Bratva and a Singapore Triad concerning division of the drug trade in India.
The images stopped and darkness and silence engulfed him in their cool soft embrace. Thought stilled and grew quiet before slowly stirring into motion again. His mind groped for identity and history, a sense of who he was and how he got where he was. A meaningless whirl of sight, sound and emotion filled him, threatening his battered, feeble sense of self before one thought, one idea was caught and held dear.
Cogito, ergo sum.
Like a lifeline to a drowning man, the idea helped to hold his head above water and give him a chance to catch his bearings. All around him appeared a meadow filled with waist-high grass and flowers, the edge of a forest visible several hundred yards in the distance. The scent of the flowers filled his nose as he took a deep breath of the spring air. Catching a glimpse of movement on the forest edge, he hefted his axe and lightly ran after the creature he had seen.
~O~O~O~
Sitting on his throne like chair high above the nerve center of the Worldwide Evil Empire, Gemini brooded in the shadows, occasionally stroking Pepe, while ignoring the occasional nervous glance from his senior agents as they went about their duties. For the last several months the agents' bafflement had grown as their archenemy, Global Justice, had come under increasing assault and WEE had done nothing. Early on, several of Gemini's senior agents had approached him about why they were not moving against Global Justice when they were at their most vulnerable. The agents had all disappeared with only Gemini's anger to mark their passing.
Several of the agents looked wonderingly at the agent who entered the command center and moved directly to the stairs leading to Gemini. They shook their heads in wonder as the agent climbed the stairs without hesitation. The agents made certain to focus on their assigned duties, ignoring what they all knew was coming, for fear of attracting Gemini's attention and ire.
Gemini looked up in irritation as the approaching agent pulled him from his brooding. For the last several months, his younger sister and her organization had been on the ropes, losing support from both the public and the UN, and he had been ordered to remain on the sidelines. When he should have been doing everything in his power to bring his sister down and prove once and for all that he, her older brother, was the better man.
Gemini raised his hand and pointed a finger missile at the agent who now stood in front of him as he and Pepe growled at him. "I gave orders not be disturbed. You are about to – ." He stopped as the agent used his hands to signal his identity.
"What do you want?" Gemini snarled, his hand and it missiles still pointed at the agent.
The agent gave Gemini a smug little smile, which only served to irritate him, before replying. "You have been given leave to move against your sister. Now that her power is at low ebb, you will be able to eliminate her at your leisure."
Gemini huffed at the man's smug tone and manner. "YOUR master," he put special emphasis on the word your, "deigns to give me leave to pursue my own goals as though I was his slave. Why now and what further … instructions does YOUR master have?"
The agent gave him another wry smile. "My master has no further instructions for you. You have fulfilled your half of our bargain just as he has his. He had you wait until now to move since he knew if you moved earlier you would only give cause for your sister's remaining allies to increase their support. Now that she has been shorn of allies, that is no longer a concern. I doubt we will meet again."
Without waiting for a reply, the agent turned and headed down the stairs. After a moment, Gemini stood from his chair an evil smile on his face and shouted to his agents. "Finally the time has come for us to move against my sister and her agency. We have patiently waited until they are at their weakest and now we will strike. Soon my sister will know that I am the superior twin when Global Justice lies in ruins."
The agents gave a ragged cheer as Pepe barked loudly at the mention of the hated word. Gemini comforted Pepe as his agents worked to set his master plan in motion. No one noticed the agent as he descended the stairs from Gemini's throne and left the control center.
~O~O~O~
Will and Ken sat mulling over what they had learned about Ron Stoppable's visit to Dr. Director. After several moments, Dr. Director cleared her throat and called their attention back to the matter at hand. "Interesting as Stoppable's visit and warning are we have other things to deal with."
The Du brothers straightened up and focused their attention on Dr. Director as she continued. "Over the last few months, as our influence has been curtailed due to Possible's actions, several groups have used the opportunity to increase their activities. This, in and of itself, is not a major concern but several other disturbing trends have been noticed. Groups that would normally have nothing to do with each other are cooperating while other groups are acting in uncharacteristic ways."
"What groups are cooperating?" Will inquired.
Opening a folder, Dr. Director replied. "The Greek and Turkish governments are negotiating a formal alliance. Several Bratva's have ceased feuding, divided their spheres of influence and started to move against their former allies, and a number of terrorist groups of all different ideologies have banded together to work against the UN and other international organizations."
Both of the Du brothers nodded thoughtfully before Ken inquired. "What kind of uncharacteristic actions?"
Pulling open another folder, Dr. Director responded. "Several small terrorist groups have raided Hench Co. warehouses and made off with large amounts of advanced technology. A number of supervillians have started to work with organized crime groups while others have joined a variety of rebel groups."
The Du brothers shook their heads in dismay, the sight of their heads moving in unison amusing Dr. Director. Shaking her head to stave of exhaustion, she continued. "I had Global Justice's analysis group go over the data and all they could determine was that an unknown number of groups where working for unknown purposes. I also had Dr. Martin Aster, at THINK, look at the data."
"THINK?" Ken interjected.
"Trusted Heuristics for Improving Network Knowledge, a private think tank that specializes in find patterns is seemingly meaningless data. He analyzed the data and found that two or possibly three groups are responsible for what is happening. He couldn't identify their specific goals but gave conquest of at least part of the world as a strong probability."
With a weary sigh she continued. "I am also concerned that several groups, including WEE have not been publicly active in the last several months. My brother in particular should have been acting against Global Justice from the start of Possible's campaign yet he has done nothing. Does he have some subtle plan we have not detected, is he merely waiting for when we are weakest or is all of this part of some larger plan of his?"
The brother's exchanged a worried glance as she fell silent, lost in thought.
~O~O~O~
Alford moved silently through the forest, his axe at the ready, as he tracked the dark elf to his lair. For the last hour, he used all of his skill in following the villain back to his lair. Soon he would take his head and the local villages and towns would be safe again. Once he saw the tracks leading into a concealed cave, he slowly, carefully approached the opening.
Pushing some of the foliage aside, he saw the dark elf squatting in front of a fire as he pulled bloody body parts from a leather sack. With a piercing war cry, Alford lept into the cave, his axe held high as he blocked the fiends escape. "Now, miscreant, you shall pay for your crimes and never again will this fair land be darkened by your presence."
Rolling out of the way of Alford swing, the dark elf gave him a bloody smile. "I merely collect what is due me. It is not my fault if people make bad bargains." He thrust forward with his leaf shaped short sword. Alford danced to the side of the attack as he swung his axe low, near the ground, in an attempt cripple the nimble dark elf's movements. The elf easily lept over the attack and lunged forward again.
Alford grinned at the dark elf as he threw himself to the side, his axe suddenly arcing back to catch the dark elf in the side. The dark elf coughed up blood, then, with a shudder, he fell back to the ground dead. Alford stood over the body, breathing hard for a moment, before moving to cut off the dark elf's head as proof of his deed.
Suddenly he felt light-headed and swayed on his feet for a second before falling over. He fell through a dark tunnel until he landed in a dark, silent place. He lay in that void for an unknown time, straining all his senses to discover who he was and where he was. After a moment, voices could be heard in his head.
"Sir, we are still having problems with subject 1428. He is resisting the entry to the downtime program for longer than normal, and he leaves the downtime program much faster than normal. We are afraid it will affect his work or compromise the security of the program." A first voice complained petulantly.
A second voice gave a dry chuckle. "Of course he is not acting as a normal subject would. He has the finest mind of anyone in the program. He probably recognizes the downtime program as an artificial reality and only accepts it when we overwhelm his will."
"How should we proceed, sir?" The first voice asked subserviently.
"Increase the neural sensitivity by 25%, the cholinergic response by 10% and dampen the frontal lobe ethical centers by 50%. That should solve the –."
The voices disappeared as he once more fell into the kaleidoscope world of sound and color.
~O~O~O~
The twins were working over night at the Space Center to prep a satellite for launch, which left Ann and James Possible home alone for the first time in almost a week. An uneasy undercurrent had been passing between them, leaving a tense and unsettled atmosphere in the house that even the boys, normally oblivious to anything not related to rockets and explosions, had picked up on it. Ann was both nervous and glad that a chance had finally come to talk to James about what was happening.
After dinner, they had retreated to the den where James read the Journal of Propulsion and Ann pretended to read one of her medical journal. After several fruitless minutes of pretending to read, Ann set her journal down and cleared her throat to draw James attention. As he set the magazine down, she rose from her seat and nervously started to pace the room.
After a moment, she cleared her throat and started. "I have something to tell you, something I have wanted to tell you for a while but I didn't know how. Your mother and I have been . . . working on something recently and I think you deserve know what we are doing and why."
James quietly interrupted. "I know you and Mother have some secret between you. I have known for years. I didn't know the details and I still don't."
Ann stared at him in shock. "You knew? For years, you knew."
James nodded, a small smile playing across his lips. "It was obvious to me when you and Mother first met that you already knew each other. It was also obvious that neither of you wanted to acknowledge it. I have always assumed that it had something to do with Mother's work."
Ann gave her husband a hard look that softened as she realized he only wanted to make her happy. "I should have guessed you would know. I think it is time you knew the whole truth."
"No." James again interrupted quietly. "I don't want to know the details; they would only make things complicated. I take it from the news stories about trouble at the CIA that you and Mother have been looking into what happened with Kim?"
Ann took a deep breath, afraid of what her husband had guessed or deduced. "Yes. After the incident at the Space Center, your Mother and I started to check on just what had happened in Plantain. We started with her contacts in the Agency but were stonewalled at every turn."
James interrupted. "The deaths and memory losses?"
Ann nodded, relieved that a little white lie could deflect suspicion from her actions. "That's right, everyone we talked to developed memory loss and, therefore, would be worthless as a source if we tried to prove what we learned. Every time we got a lead they would turn up dead."
Ann had turned from her husband as she spoke, an action he misinterpreted as shame for her failure. He swiftly rose from his seat and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "It's OK, honey. I know you and Mom did the best job you can."
Ann snuggled back into the comfort of her husband's arms for a moment. "It wasn't a complete failure. We found out that the story we were told about what happened with Kim and Shego was a lie. It turns out Kim was telling the truth."
James squeezed her tight. "Did you find out who was responsible?"
Ann shook her head slightly. "No, but we do have a lead. We were planning on checking on it in a few days."
James kissed her gently on the neck. "I am glad you and Mom are taking care of this." He kissed her neck again. Ann shivered and pressed herself back against him and squeezed his hands.
"The twins won't be home until dawn, so we have the house to ourselves." She turned in his arms and stared into her husband's eyes. He smiled back at her, and then swept her off her feet. She laughed as he carried her towards the bedroom.
~O~O~O~
Ron stared out the window of the cab he and Yori occupied, not seeing the passing city, as his thoughts were turned inward. He had been looking for some clue to the problem set him by Sensei's prophecy for weeks now and was no closer than when he started. He only hoped that talking to Felix and Monique would give him some clue as to Kim whereabouts and plans. Yori's hand on his shoulder pulled him from his reverie when they reached their destination.
He thanked the driver in Japanese and watched as he drove off. Even now, he still marveled at the reach of Yaminouchi's alumni. He took Yori's hand in his as they made their way into the modern apartment building in one of Milan's trendiest districts. They climbed the stairs to Felix and Monique's new apartment and knocked on the door. After a moment, the door was answered and they were staring into the Monique's shocked face.
"Ron!? What are you doing here? It is so good to see you." She grabbed Ron into a hug as she called over her shoulder. "Felix, you won't believe who is here."
Ron and Yori stood nervously in the doorway as Monique turned to usher them in. They had barely taken a tentative step into the apartment when Felix rolled his wheelchair from the back room.
"Ron! It's great to see you. It has been too long man, way too long." He rolled up next to Ron and gave him a quick hug. Ron quickly returned the hug and then escorted Yori into the apartment while Monique shut the door.
"And who is this? A new girlfriend." Monique teased with a smile on her face.
Ron returned her grin with a mischievous one of his own. "This is Yori, my fiance."
Monique had a surprised look on her face, which turned to annoyance when Felix laughed at her reaction. "Laugh now buster, YWGYSE."
Felix smiled up at her as he took her hand. "Now, sweetness, I only laughed because Ron turned you attempt to embarrass him back at you."
Monique returned his smile and turned to look at Ron and Yori, who had moved to sit on the couch. "SWITS, Ron. You vanished just after graduation, no one has seen you since then and now you show up out of the blue."
Seeing the confused look on Yori's face, Ron explained. "So what is the sitch? You'll get used to how Monique talks soon enough." He turned to face Monique, who was sitting in a chair across the table from them, and Felix, who had rolled his chair next to hers. "I wanted to catch up with old friends. I had no idea where either of you were until Mr. Dr. P mentioned seeing you on TV after helping Kim, Shego and GJ take out a supervillian. Once I knew where you were, I decided to come visit."
"So what have you been doing for the last couple of years?" Monique returned to her original question.
Both Monique and Felix noticed the slight questioning look Ron gave Yori and her barely perceptible nod in answer. Ron steeled himself before answering. "After we graduated. I was in a bad place. I couldn't be with my best friend and girlfriend, I didn't know what was going on and I was being constantly harassed by GJ and the government. That was when Yori got in contact with me."
Monique and Felix looked at him questioningly as he paused for a moment before continuing. "Do you remember, in high school, when I went to Japan as part of a student exchange?"
Felix nodded and Monique exclaimed. "Sure, that was when that hottie, Hirotaka, came to Middleton for two weeks."
Monique looked at them questioningly as Yori rolled her eyes. Ron squeezed her hand as he replied. "Hirotaka is her brother and she gets annoyed at how every girl who meets him seems to fall for him."
Monique nodded and was about to speak when Ron continued. "When Hirotaka came to Middleton I went to his school, Yaminouchi, in Japan." Ron paused awkwardly for a moment. "Yaminouchi is not a regular school. It is a ninja academy and the exchange program was a ruse to get me sent there."
Felix broke in. "Ninja academy? And they wanted you?"
Monique swatted him on the arm. "Don't be mean."
Ron gave them a wry smile. "That was my reaction, too. It turns out they were founded by a master of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar, monkey style kung fu, which is why they wanted me."
Felix smiled and snapped his fingers. "Monkey style kung fu, that is the stuff you got exposed to with Monty Fist, right."
"Close. Monty Fiske was an English noble who became obsessed with everything related to monkey style kung fu. He had his hand and feet replaced with monkey hands and feet and called himself Monkey Fist. Me and Kim ran into him while he was looking for the source of mystic monkey power. I got exposed to the power in the fight, which is why Yaminouchi was interested in me."
Monique and Felix nodded at his explanation. "So you have been training at a secret ninja academy. That is so cool!" Felix broke out in a huge grin.
Ron answered with a matching grin. "Yep, it is. Plus, I met the greatest girl in the world." Yori blushed slightly at the compliment. "The training at Yaminouchi helped me deal with what had been going on in my life. Mastering the mystical monkey power has helped me to mature."
Felix and Monique looked a little doubtful at Ron's pronouncement.
"Plus it has really improved my skill at Zombie Mayhem X-I-V." Yori, Monique and Felix stifled their giggles as Ron pronounced each of the letters in the Roman numeral separately. Ron continued on, unaware of their amusement. "Turns out the MMP can be used for a lot of things not just fighting."
Felix regarded Ron, a serious look coming over his face. "So why did you come to visit us?"
Ron looked at Felix with as puzzled look on his face. "What do you mean? I just wanted to see you guys."
Monique gave a slight shake of her head. "You show up out of the blue, give a detailed explanation of what you have been doing for the past couple of years and revealed a major secret about yourself. You even go out of your way to act goofy, just like in high school. But it all feels like an act, like you are playing a role to get something from us."
Ron started to protest but was cut off by Felix. "Ron, we are your friend and always will be. It is great to see but if you need something from us you only have to ask."
Ron looked down at his feet in shame for a moment as Yori answered. "You are right, we should have been honest with you. It's just that everyone we have dealt with in the last couple of weeks has lied and deceived us. We just naturally adopted a policy of using lies and trickery to achieve our ends. You have our most humble apology." Yori gave a slight bow in their direction.
Felix looked at Monique for a moment before letting her answer. "It is OK, we understand. Just what is so important that you felt you had to try to deceive us?"
Yori looked at Ron for a moment before replying. "While we were at Yaminouchi, Sensei received a prophecy of coming trouble.
Storm clouds gather in the twilight.
Darkness soon will engulf the world
Only the impossible and the unstoppable
Can find the daughter of mind and the son of machine
And lead them to the world salvation
As Sensei's chosen heir to the leadership of Yaminouchi, Ron was tasked with finding the meaning of the prophecy and stopping the coming evil."
Ron looked up at them, a determined look on his face. "I think the unstoppable refers to me and the impossible refers to Kim. I was hoping to get a lead on Kim's whereabouts from you. Once I contacted her, I hoped we could figure out who the daughter of mind and the son of machine were and then find them so we could stop the coming evil."
Monique returned Ron's gaze. "Of course we will help. That is what friends are for."
Felix nodded. "She is right. Besides, it will give you and Kim a chance to deal with the problems between you."
Ron gave a slightly startled look as Monique laughed. "Face it monkey boy, we know you and Kim better than anyone. It is obvious that both of you have unfinished business that you need to deal with if either of you are to move on with your life."
Ron smiled slightly as Yori patted her hand. "Thanks, that means a lot. You saw Kim and Shego recently, did they give any hint of where their base was?"
Monique and Felix sat in thought for a moment before Monique spoke. "Not that I can remember. At first, they said they were simply roving around, seeing the world. Eventually, they admitted that Kim broke Shego out of prison and since then they have been going around the world striking against GJ. I don't remember any mention of a base. Perhaps they don't have a fixed base but are constantly on the move in order to avoid GJ."
Felix gave a small shake of his head. "I know they didn't mention a base but from the way they talked I am certain they have one." He paused in thought for a moment. "When they were talking about making their plans, Shego said something about having a bird's eye view of the situation. Kim swatted her on the arm, as though the statement had special meaning."
Felix stopped talking as he and Monique stared at Ron. At the mention of the bird's eye view Ron had gone rigid and his face had screwed up in thought. After a minute or so his eyes had started to glow with a soft blue light while his finger twitched as thought sorting some small objects. They looked at Yori curiously but kept quiet at the shushing motion she made.
After a minute of tense silence as they all watched Ron, his eyes stopped glowing and he grinned at them. "I think I know where Kim and Shego's base is. Thank you, your help was invulnerable."
"Invaluable." Monique snapped while Yori and Felix grinned at Ron's mistake.
"Whatever." Ron replied dismissively as he rose to leave.
Felix interrupted before could take a step or pull Yori to her feet. "Oh no you don't. You do not pull some glowing eyed mystical stunt, suddenly announce you have the answer and then leave. You owe us some kind of answer before you leave."
Ron gave an exaggerated sigh as Yori pulled back down into his seat. "I suppose you are right." Ron grinned at them. "When you saw my eyes glowing, I was using an aspect of the mystic monkey power called Monkey Sorting Nuts. It lets me review objects or memories quickly in my mind to find what I need."
Monique waited a moment for him to continue before demanding. "And what did you find? IMWTK."
Ron hesitated briefly. "You are right, you deserve to know the truth. The phrase Shego used sounded familiar, so I used the MMP to look through my memory to find out why. About a year before what happened in Plantain, me and Kim helped fight a forest fire when we ran into a retired hero named Condor. He was so impressed with me and Kim he arrange to give us one of his old bases. He called it the Aerie and Wade used to joke about it giving us a bird's eye view on crime. I was only there once; we really never used it since it wasn't close to Middleton. I think that is where Kim and Shego are."
Yori broke the awkward silence that descended after Ron's explanation. "If I may ask, how long have you two been engaged?"
~o~o~
Yori and Ron sat side by side on the couch, while Monique was curled up in Felix's lap. The four had spent the afternoon catching each other up on what they had been doing for the last few years. Felix had talked about his studies and research, Monique had regaled them with tales of her time in high fashion and Ron had tried to impress them with stories of his training. Ron's effort fell flat since Yori felt compelled to reveal every embarrassing detail that he omitted. They had taken a break for dinner and were no simply talking aimlessly.
After several minutes of comfortable silence, Ron had timidly inquired. "What about Kim? How is she? Are she and . . . Shego still together?"
"No, they are not together."
"Yep, they are still an item."
Ron stared in confusion at Felix and Monique, puzzled at how they could immediately give such opposite answers. "OK, that's weird. Which one of you is right?"
"We both are." They replied in unison.
"Jinx, you owe me a soda." Felix grinned at Monique who replied by sticking out her tongue at him.
"OK, even I know you can't both be right, so which is it? Are they still together or not?"
After sharing a brief glance with Felix, Monique replied. "They both say that they are not a couple and a lot of time they act like it. But whenever one of them gets too . . . emotionally disturbed, the other is immediately there to comfort them. From what we saw, they both are very fragile emotionally right now. I think that if they didn't have each other, they would both have gone off the deep end."
Ron looked puzzled. "Emotionally fragile? Kim was the strongest person I've ever known, I find it hard to believe she could be that weak. And Shego would never be that weak, she was all attitude and snark."
Felix caught his eye before replying. "You have to understand, Kim lost everything, her family, her friends and all of her previous life. All she had left was her dream of revenge against GJ. Without Shego to help keep her grounded, I think she would have simply destroyed GJ directly without thought of the cost or consequences."
Monique picked up the explanation. "From what she said, Shego turned herself in to Global Justice in order to save Kim from a life of crime. She feels she betrayed her and she feels that her actions were worthless, since Kim was punished anyway. If Kim wasn't there, I think Shego would have gone after Dr. Director and the people in Plantain who were responsible for what happened. You know what her powers are like, imagine her using them full force without concern for causalities or even fatalities."
Felix cut back in. "I think they both are using the other to try and maintain something of a normal, well normal for them, life. They both are more concerned for the other than themselves. After being alone for so long, they each, finally, have someone else to care about. Hopefully, that will be all they need to heal."
Ron slowly nodded, a sad and worried look on his face.
~O~O~O~
Dementor sat in the command chair of his Heidelberg lair, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. His elite Henchmen, Jack's best, efficiently handled what little work there was. For the last several months, he had only performed contract development work, avoiding all independent action. At first, the focus on research had been exhilarating but now the lack of action was boring him to tears, but he dare not take any action without permission.
A Henchman turned from his station and approached the command chair.
"What is this?" Dementor demanded in an annoyed tone.
The man made a cryptic gesture to Dementor, hiding his action from the others in the room. Dementor scowled at him before motioning for him to speak.
"My Master sends his greetings and wishes to inform you that our contract has been fulfilled. Your payment has been deposited in the designated account and you are free to do as you wish."
Dementor grinned in delight as the man turned to leave. "Achtung, men, we have a mission to complete. Everyone to your stations. Schnell, schnell."
The formerly placid command center became a blizzard of activity as the man disappeared in the crowd of Henchmen before vanishing from the base without a trace.
~O~O~O~
Dr. Director shook herself from her reverie and looked up at the Du brothers. She took a moment to compose herself before restarting the conversation.
"There is one more thing for us to worry about. While I was looking over the reports of strange activities, I noticed something curious about the events at the CIA."
Ken quirked an eyebrow. "Curious how?"
Dr. Director used a remote to activate the viewscreen in her office and called up a schematic representation of the events concerning the CIA. "Notice that the first event concerned George Ormsted, Nancy Possible's old handler. He was the first to suffer from memory loss. Every other person who suffered from memory loss can be connected to Ormsted. All of those who died were the logical next steps if someone started an investigation into what happened to Possible and Shego in Plantain by questioning Ormsted."
The brothers shared a knowing glance as Dr. Director proceeded. "This indicates two groups working against each other. One associated with Nancy Possible that is investigating the events in Plantain and is responsible for the memory loss. The other group is working to prevent the first from finding any information and is responsible for the deaths."
Will cleared his throat. "Ma'am, if Nancy Possible is involved in those events, how are she and her associates causing the memory loss? Nothing in her past indicates any aptitude for the kind of science this would require."
Dr. Director swiveled her chair to face them. "It was before either of your times, but have either of you heard of Brainchild?"
Ken shook her head as Will spoke. "She was a minor social activist supervillain from about twenty years ago wasn't she? If I remember correctly, she would manipulate prominent industrialists and politicians in order to publicly embarrass them."
Dr. Director nodded. "That was the public story. The real truth is that she was a master manipulator and mind controller who came dangerously close to starting a worldwide conflict that easily could have led to war. She was the most wanted person in the world but none of the various agencies and groups that went after her even got close."
She took a sip of her cold bitter coffee. "In the end the Agency had to bring their most talented agent, Nancy Possible, back into active field work before she was stopped. It took her almost a year to stop her but in the end Brainchild was stopped."
Ken leaned forward. "That is interesting, but what does it have to do with the recent events at the Agency?"
"Brainchild had number of chemical and electronic means of manipulating people. One of the most infamous she called Lethe, a chemical that wiped short-term memories. If Nancy Possible discover the formula, it could explain many things."
"If it only wiped short term memories, how could it be related to the recent events? People had years of memories wiped." Will protested.
Dr. Director shook her head slightly in disappointment. "You are forgetting who her daughter-in-law is. Ann Possible is one of the finest brain surgeons in the world. With her help I believe Nancy could have modified the Lethe formula to affect long term memories as well."
Will nodded. "That makes sense. How much of danger do you think she and her associates represent?"
Dr. Director frowned. "That's the problem, I don't know. It could be just Nancy and a few old comrades. It could also be that Nancy has hooked up with a large group with more resources. The real problem right now is that we don't know how much of a danger they represent."
Ken nodded his face grim. "That seems to be a chronic problem lately. We spend too much time reacting and not enough acting."
Dr. Director returned his nod with a small grim, grin. "That is what you and your brother are going to be working on. I want you to find out what WEE has planned and then stop it. Unless we start removing threats early, we will be overwhelmed by them."
The Du brothers returned he slightly feral grin and pulled their chair up to her desk. Dr. Director called the commissary to order fresh coffee and sandwiches as she and the Du's started to plan their next operation.
~O~O~O~
Darkness, cold and soft, enveloped him. A deafening silence filled his ears. A warm, numb ignorance filled his whirling mind, forcing down the thoughts. Soon flashes of light and noise filled his awareness for brief, eternal moments. His mind struggled to connect and make sense of them but they slipped away before any coherent pattern emerged.
– Video footage of the Dangerous Overlords Of Mayhem breaking into the Chilean warehouse of Hench Co. They fanned out to loot the place as heavily armored Henches ambushed them.
– A collection of television news footage concerning the latest attack by the Dominion Implementing Material Wealth In Tanzania, a formerly minor terrorist group now receiving supervillian assistance.
– A six-month log of In-Terror-net chats between Senor Senior Senior and Dementor concerning advanced guidance systems for Spinning Tops of Doom(TM).
– Decrypted copies of intercepted e-mails between the Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure and Mossad concerning a plan to supply Hamas groups with defective munitions.
The intermittent, everlasting flashes faded and the dark, silence once more enveloped him in its stifling embrace. His consciousness sank towards a fitful slumber when he was swept away in a glaring kaleidoscope of color.
~O~O~O~
Shego climbed down the stairs to the computer room of the Aerie, where Kim was checking the status of the bugs they had placed in Global Justice's base for the Secret Protocols for Intelligence, Espionage and Sabotage program. The two days they had spent at an exclusive Parisian spa had been truly wonderful and relaxing but it was time to return to their mission of destroying Global Justice. Reaching the computer room, she saw Kim hunched over the computer monitor, engrossed in what she saw.
Shego's heart skipped a beat as she remembered how things had once been between them and how she wished they would be again. She mentally chided herself for hopeless dreaming. She and Kim where only friends and that was all they could be. She would just have to keep her love for the redhead buried in her heart. She cleared her throat.
"How is it going, Princess?"
Kim turned and gave her a broad grin. "Better than expected. They detected the tracking devices, as expected but missed both of the taps we placed on the database system."
Shego returned her grin and dropped into the chair next to her. "So what are they up to now? Are the Du-Du brother's still chasing us?"
Kim gave her head a slight shake. "Nope, from what I can tell GJ is so overwhelmed by villains, they can no longer afford the time or agents to hunt for us."
Shego peered at the monitor, reviewing the memo ordering the Du brothers to abandon the chase for her and Kim and instead to focus on finding out WEE's plans do to limited manpower. She thought on the situation for a moment then turned to look at Kim.
"This means we know where they will be and what their mission is. We can follow them and wait for the best time to strike."
Kim pursed her lips in thought for a moment before replying. "That sounds like a good place to start. We can shadow them and get more Intel on GJ, then strike when it will do the most damage."
Shego nodded her agreement and stood. "Now that that is settled, what do you want for lunch, pumpkin?"
Kim stood to join her, her face scrunched in thought. "Hmm, that's a good question. I'll have to think on it."
Shego rolled her eyes and she followed Kim to the kitchen.
~O~O~O~
The United Nations Committee for Oversight of Law Activities sat in impatient silence in their normal meeting room, waiting for the non-essential personnel to leave and the secretary to place the room into secure mode. Once the room was secured, they started to discuss their real, hidden agenda. As they were reviewing the effects of Mask's turning them lose, a voice from the far corner of the room interrupted.
"I hate to break up the division of your kickback and corruption profits but I need to get some answers from you." Nancy Possible stood in a doorway in the corner of the room, a doorway that shouldn't exist.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" The chairman demanded before turning to the committee's secretary. "Alert security we have an intruder."
"You know it will take at least three minutes to leave secure mode before you can contact security." Nancy replied in an annoyed tone as she walkover and stood in front of the committee. "You all know who I am and I think how I got in the room is obvious."
The committee shifted nervously in their seats, well aware that she was right and they would have to wait three minutes before they contacted security. Most of them knew her from firsthand experience; those that didn't, knew her by reputation and all of them were well aware of her recent activities against the Agency.
"It may take us awhile to alert security but that still doesn't give you enough time to do anything." The chairman bluffed in a rough voice.
"Hogwash. You know damn well I could kill you all and escape before anyone knew it." Nancy gave a sweet and terrifying grin. "Lucky for you I have questions that need to be answered. I want to know everything about what happened to my granddaughter and Shego in Plantain."
The committee shifted nervously as they looked at each other for a solution to their present quandary. After several moments, Nancy gave a disappointed sigh and turned towards the opening in the corner.
"My dear, it looks like you will be needed again."
The committee stared in amazement as Brainchild sauntered through the door and over to where Nancy stood, their eyes following every one of her hypnotic movements. She let them stare at the subtly shifting patterns on her costume for a minute before she spoke.
"Make certain we stay in secure mode." She addressed the secretary, who immediately complied, before she turned to confront the committee. "Well?"
Broken from their reverie by her words the committee fell to babbling. "How is this possible? You are dead." "You can't be her, she's dead." "Possible, you said she was dead."
"Silence." Nancy's voice cut off all further complaints. "I never said she was dead, I said she was taken care of and she was. The only reason she came out of retirement is to help me. Now you will answer our questions."
"That won't work, we haven't eaten or drunk anything that could –."
"Be quiet." His words were cut off by Brainchild low spoken command. "Do you think I haven't improved my formulas in last twenty years? My current ACCORD formula can also be administered as an aerosol that simply needs to be breathed in to work. As soon as Nancy opened the secret door into this room, you were all exposed to it."
The committee sat bound by her words until one of the members, a chubby balding man in his fifties, spoke. "It can't be you; you haven't changed a bit in twenty years."
Brainchild smiled evilly at him. "I can't say the same for you." She purred as she trailed a hand over his thinning hair and down his expanded waistline. "When we first met you were quite the ladies man. Now you see to be a doughnut and double cheeseburger man."
Turning her attention back to the committee as a whole. "The repartee is nice but we need to get back to business. You will answer my questions and Nancy's questions honestly and completely. Why did you order Dr. Director and Global to stop investigating what happened to Kim Possible and Shego in Plantain?"
The committee exchanged glances before the chairman answered. "We were ordered to make certain Dr. Director did not pursue any inquires concerning Plantain or the CIA's activities there."
Nancy shared a curious glance with Ann before she continued. "Who gave you the order? The only group that can give you orders is the UN General Assembly."
"We have been working for a man who promised us more influence and power if we followed his orders. He has given us a much increased reach for our activities and seldom calls on us to do things for him."
"Who is this man?"
The chairman looked embarrassed. "We don't know. The man we thought we made the deal with turned out to be but one of the man's identities."
"What did the man look like?" Nancy asked testily.
"We don't know. The man we have contact with can change his shape at will. We assume he is male since he has always taken male form. He can change his height, his weight, his skin color, everything."
"Does the man you have dealt with have a boss?"
"He has never mentioned one but we suspect he does from some of the comments he has made."
Ann took over the questioning. "Did he say why he wanted the orders given to Dr. Director?"
"He didn't want her to investigate what the CIA was doing in Plantain."
"Did he have any specific interest in Kim Possible or Shego?"
"Not that we were ever told. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Ann gave Nancy a dark look that she returned with equal vehemence. Ann turned to address the committee, a stern tone in her voice. "I want you to listen to me carefully. Each of you will write a detailed account of all of your illegal action for the past five years. Once you are done you will seal it in an envelope and give it to the secretary." She turned to the secretary. "Once you have all of the envelopes, you will deliver them to the editor of the New York times. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Replied a chorus of voices.
"Then get started." Ann commanded as she joined Nancy in taking a seat.
~o~o~
Nancy watched as Ann administered a dose of Lethe to the last of the committee members. The secretary had already left with the letters when Ann had started to administer the Lethe. They had been given a dose sufficient to remove the last several hours of memories. By the time the committee members figured out that they had lost several hours of memory, their confessions would be in the hands of the press and their careers would be over. Once Ann was finished, she followed Nancy through the secret door, which they sealed behind them.
They silently made their way to the hidden command center; built into the UN headquarters in case of a need to infiltrate the organization should it prove a danger to the US. Nancy was one of the few people still alive, who not only knew of the existence of the secret passage and room but how to access them as well. Once they had taken their seats, Ann pulled off her mask and put her feet up on the desk.
"Well, that was a dead end. The only lead we have is some sort of shape shifter, who may be male or maybe not. He may have a superior or maybe not. In summary we have even less of a lead than before."
Nancy frowned. "That is true but we do have a slim lead. There can't be that many shape shifters in the world. We should be able to find some sort of lead from that."
Ann shook her head in amazement. "You never give up, do you? I suppose I can post something on the forum at Hench Co. and the In-Terror-net. Hopefully, we will get a reply."
Nancy laughed. "Of course I never give up; it is how I caught you after all."
Ann joined her in laughter for a moment before pulling out her E-phone and started to compose a message for the Hench Co. forums. With luck, they would get some kind of lead on the shape shifter or their search for his identity would provoke some response from him.
~O~O~O~
Finally, a new chapter. Lots of little bits, showing what everyone is up to. Next chapter coming soon, with Kim and Shego in action and more on Ann and Nancy.