Chapter 9: One Jump Ahead
"Can't you stopped fidgeting? You're attracting attention!" Basil hissed.
"I'm sorry, okay, but this is really uncomfortable," Kim replied, her voice muffled by the mask.
Kim doubted that she was attracting attention anyway. In any other town the green, rubber costume she had purchased from Scrooge McDuck would have stood out in an instant. Not in Monstropolis. It was a charming, spacious city, populated entirely by monsters. Under her lizard-like mask, Kim blended easily into the crowd of bug eyed, sharp toothed commuters making their way to work. She did have to be careful not to walk into things though; the eye-slit in the mask was very small.
Kim felt stifled inside the heavy rubber suit but it was a necessary disguise. Before departing, King Mickey had warned her that monsters were terrified of humans; they believed that they were somehow toxic. Her walking openly down the street would have started a riot.
Kim's mood had not been improved when it had been decided that Darkwing would not need a costume. He walked alongside her in relative comfort, with Basil riding in his breast pocket.
Cid had dropped them off in a quiet corner of the suburbs, before quickly returning to interspace. The plan was to rendezvous back at the same location in twelve hours but, should the worst happen, Kim would be able to reach Cid using her communicator.
The Monsters Inc. energy plant was a huge complex of low lying buildings and refineries, grouped like foothills around a mountainous central hall. It was half a mile high and three times as long. The company logo, a blue 'M' with an eye set in the middle, dominated its southern face.
"Okay, let's get things straight," said Kim softly as they crossed the car park, "We get in; we have a look around; we get the scoop on this Waternoose; we get out and head for the rendezvous point. And we do it all without being seen. Got it?"
"I'm afraid I missed the part where the King put you in charge," said Basil.
"Listen you little squirt, I'm Kim Possible. I do this stuff for a living, and I don't need…"
"F.O.W.L!" gasped Darkwing. He seized Kim by the shoulder and dragged her behind the nearest car.
"What are you talking about?" Kim demanded, shaking herself free, "I don't smell anything…"
"No! F.O.W.L! The Fiendish Organisation for World Larceny!" Darkwing hissed.
"Look!" he said. Through the glass doors, Kim could see the round entrance lobby to Monsters Inc. Groups of monsters were passing through, heading down one of several corridors that branched off from the rear of the lobby. One corridor had been roped off. It was being guarded by a group of ducks in yellow jumpsuits and white, egg-shaped helmets. Standing over them, watching the passing monsters suspiciously, was a rooster wearing a white tuxedo.
"Hey," said Kim, "that's the guy who tried to jump me in Middleton!"
"Steelbeak," growled Darkwing, "Chief agent of F.O.W.L."
"But who are they?" asked Basil.
"Who are they?" spluttered Darkwing, "Why, they're only the most dangerous crime syndicate in St. Canard! They have only one purpose: world domination."
"I'm starting to see a pattern emerging," said Kim wryly.
"Waternoose is clearly up to his neck in villainy," said Darkwing, "We should report this to the King at once."
"Hang about," said Basil, "We don't know that! How do we know that Waternoose is in cahoots with this F.O.W.L. group? He could be their prisoner. And suppose he is in league with them; shouldn't we try to find out what it is they're up to?"
"I suppose," said Darkwing warily, glancing again at the ducks in the entrance lobby.
"We'll just have to be extra careful," said Kim, conscious that passersby were staring at them, crouched as they were behind a parked car.
Keeping Darkwing on her right, so as to hide him from Steelbeak and his henchmen, Kim strolled confidently through the front doors. She had no idea where she was going but she did not pause. Even a moment's hesitation might have given her away. She selected a corridor at random and joined the steady stream of monsters heading down it.
As soon as they were satisfied that they were not being followed, Kim and Darkwing turned sharply down a side corridor. Here they halted and tried to get their bearings. There were no maps on the walls but there were signs pointing to different departments. They decided to follow these, hoping to find one that would direct them to Waternoose's office.
They were soon hopelessly lost. Most of the signs seemed to point to very mundane departments, of the kind you would find in any normal office building, although occasionally they did come across something unusual: 'Advanced Terrifying' or 'Scream Co-ordination'. They saw no sign of Waternoose or F.O.W.L.
At length they passed an employee bathroom and Kim decided to take advantage of the facilities. While she disappeared into a cubicle, Darkwing stood outside as a lookout. Kim had just emerged from the cubicle, her mask hanging down her back like a hood, when the bathroom door burst open.
"We can't just go marching onto the Scare Floor: it's been sealed off!"
"And I'm telling you we can't keep that thing with us any – Gah!"
The two monsters froze, staring at Kim. One was very big and covered in blue fur. The other was short and green, round as a ball, with a single, giant eye in the middle of its face.
"What're you doing in here?!" Kim and the eyeball demanded together.
"What we doing here?" said the eyeball, "What are you doing here? You're human!"
"And what are you doing… sneaking around in a bathroom?" Kim replied. It had sounded much more impressive in her head.
A little pink bundle in the blue monster's arms uncurled itself. A pair of big, round eyes opened, coming to rest on Darkwing.
"Ducky!" the little girl squeaked delightedly, pointing at him.
"Ah-ha! What about her, huh? Isn't she human?" said Kim triumphantly, pointing at the girl in the monster's arms.
The eyeball scowled.
"I think it might be best if we all forgot this ever happened," he said hurriedly, backing towards the door.
"Come on, Sully," he muttered, taking the blue monster by the arm, "We're in enough trouble as it is. Waternoose would killus if he found out that we let a teenager in too…"
"Wait!" said Kim, "You know Mister Waternoose?"
"Course. He's our boss," said the eyeball dismissively.
"Why?" said Sully, ignoring his companion's promptings to leave.
"We're looking for him," said Kim.
"We think he might be a vill – Ow!" said Darkwing, as Basil pinched his ear.
"Do you know where we can find him?" Kim asked quickly to try and cover Darkwing's blunder.
"He's probably in the Hall of Doors," said Sully thoughtfully, "He ordered the whole place shut down yesterday. No one's been allowed in or out, except those guys in the yellow jumpsuits."
"Sully, would you get a grip?" the eyeball hissed, "Do you realise what you're doing? You are talking to a human. I'm surprised we haven't dropped dead already! Come on, let's go before we catch something."
"But Mike, I don't think they're all that dangerous," said Sully, "Think about it. Boo was in your apartment all night and we're both fine."
"You mean apart from my oncoming heart attack? Do you know how much trouble we'll be in if we're caught talking to one of them?!"
"Gentlemen, please," said Basil smoothly, hopping onto Kim's shoulder to address the monsters, "We are in haste. If you could provide us with directions to your employer we will be more than happy to let you go on your way."
"Oh no," said Mike, "We're not letting a human into the Hall of Doors."
"Ah, what harm can it do?" said Sully, "She's wearing a costume. No one would know what she is."
"No, no, no!" said Mike, stamping his foot, "All I want to do is to find that door, put Boo back through it and pretend this whole thing never happened, okay?"
"Who's Boo?" said Kim.
"Boo!" shouted the little girl in Sully's arms.
"And what's she doing with you?" asked Darkwing suspiciously.
"It's like this," said Sully, "We're Scarers. We go into kid's bedrooms at night, through their closet door, and scare them."
"You do what?" said Kim. It was a horrible idea but she was almost as scared as she was angry. She remembered being terrified of the monster in her closet when she was little. Her parents had convinced her that it had just been a nightmare. The idea that her childhood terror might be real sent cold flushes running all the way down her back.
"We need their screams," said Sully, almost apologetically, "That's what Monsters Inc. does; we turn children's screams into energy, to power the city."
"But you let one of the children through?" said Basil.
"Yeah and if anyone finds out, we could lose our jobs, or worse," said Sully.
"Which is why we've got to put that thing back where it came from right now," said Mike crossly.
"We'll help you," said Kim quickly, "Get us into this Hall of Doors and we'll help you find the one that'll take Boo back to her world."
"I don't know…" said Mike.
"Come on, Mikey," said Sully plaintively, "What harm can it do?"
He grinned, displaying two formidable sets of fangs.
"Oh… alright then," said Mike, throwing up his hands, "But I know I'm gonna regret this."
With Kim once again hidden beneath her mask, she and Darkwing followed Mike and Sully out of the bathroom. Despite Sully's confidence that Kim would not attract attention Mike took no chances, making long diversions to avoid the busiest corridors.
They came to a plain door that led into a network of dank service corridors, lined with dripping pipes. They climbed many narrow staircases, until Mike brought them to a halt at a tiny doorway, almost too small for Sully to pass through. Mike opened the door a crack and peered in.
"All clear," he whispered.
Kim and Darkwing gasped as they stepped through. They were standing on a narrow walkway, about halfway up the inside of the vast hall they had seen on their approach to Monsters Inc. Doors, hanging on racks like suits of clothing, stretched from floor to ceiling on either side. There were doors painted in every colour and pattern. The walls looked like two giant kaleidoscopes. Between them, the hall was crisscrossed with electronic tramways, carrying doors to and from the racks, and then disappearing through tunnels in the wall below them.
"How many are there?" said Kim, her voice hushed in awe.
"Doors? Beats me," said Mike, "Millions, I guess. They saw there are doors to every world here."
"What's that?" said Darkwing, looking over the edge of the walkway. Kim followed his gaze. Some distance below she could see another, wider walkway, running at right angles to theirs, down the middle of the hall. A group of figures were walking slowly along it. Four of them looked human, while one was clearly a crab-like monster.
"Mister Waternoose!" Sully gasped. In a second, he had dragged Kim and Darkwing back from the edge.
"We've gotta get out of here," Mike whimpered, one foot already through the door.
"Wait," said Kim, "Basil, can you get down there and find out what going on?"
"If I must," said Basil grumpily.
Using the rope from his grappling hook, Darkwing slowly lowered Basil onto the walkway below. Taking cover behind the stacks of doors lying scattered along its length, he scurried along until he was within earshot of the other group.
Waternoose was a portly creature wearing a dark jacket and waistcoat. He walked on four thick crab-like legs. He was talking to a short, slender figure in a suit of armour. The armoured figure's face was entirely concealed behind the visor of his beaked helmet.
Behind them walked three others. Basil instantly recognised Ratigan's man-like transport, hidden beneath an opera suit and top hat. He was carrying a sack over one shoulder. On Ratigan's left was a silver-haired young man who matched the description Tarzan had given of the swordsman who had attacked Jack Sparrow in Tortuga. On Ratigan's right was a red haired girl whom Basil did not recognise. She wore a short pink dress and a white helmet, the visor set with two great diamonds, identical to the one worn by her silver haired companion.
"How long before my plant can resume operation?" Waternoose asked the armoured figure.
"When I have what I want," he replied, his voice distorted slightly by the visor.
"I shudder to think how much Munny I'm losing…" Waternoose muttered.
"Don't get your tailcoat in a twist. Think of the bigger picture," the armoured figure said, "When my plan's complete, I'll be able to send you all the kids you want. You can revolutionise the scaring industry; pull the scream straight out of the child's mouth. Short term loss for long term gain, huh?"
Waternoose did not reply but his expression was sour.
"Here will do," he said. The group halted, with Ratigan and the two helmeted youngsters standing at a respectful distance.
"A door to every world, right?" said the armoured figure, gazing at the racks on either wall.
"That's what I said, isn't it?" said Waternoose testily.
"Bear in mind, if this doesn't work, I will kill you," said the armoured figure.
Ratigan stepped forward. Still carrying the sack, he reached into his jacket and produced the voodoo compass he had stolen from Jack Sparrow. He held it out towards the armoured figure.
In a rare moment of impulsive action, Basil broke cover and rushed towards Ratigan. He instantly realised how foolish this was but it was too late to turn back. The sight of the compass, and the desire to thwart Ratigan one more time, had been too strong to resist. In three bounds he had leapt onto Ratigan's shoulder, onto his outstretched arm and down to the floor again, the compass tucked securely under his arm.
He sprinted along the walkway, ignoring the cries of alarm behind him. He skipped nimbly over the piles of doors, coattails flapping behind him like a flag. Only then did he realise that Ratigan and his cohorts were between him and the rope that led back to his friends. He had no time to formulate a plan. He kept running, not even daring to glance behind.
On the higher walkway, Kim had noted the sudden confusion in Waternoose's group.
"What does he think he's doing?" she growled as she spotted Basil, a tiny dot racing along the walkway.
"We've gotta get out of here!" Mike whimpered, attempting to drag Sully back into the service corridor.
"We can't just leave him," said Kim, wrestling her way out of her costume.
"Of course not!" said Darkwing, reloading the grappling hook into his gas gun.
"You guys stay here," Kim ordered Mike and Sully, "Keep the door open for us, okay?"
Sully nodded.
Kim placed one foot on the railing in front of her. Freed at last from her costume, she was dressed in a closefitting black sweater and cargo pants. In her hand she held a length of fine rope with a grappling hook at one end. She cast it out, skilfully hooking it onto one of the narrow tramways ahead of her. She took a deep breath and swung herself out across the hall.
On the lower walkways, shadows were beginning to spread and bubble around the armoured figure's feet. Round, yellow eyes rose up out of the darkness, dragging slender, black bodies behind them.
"Get the compass," the armoured figure said, gesturing towards Basil. The Heartless leapt forward.
"Basil!" Kim shouted as she passed the walkway. Basil glanced to his right, spotted her and hopped onto the handrail. As the arc of Kim's swing carried her past, he leapt across the void to meet her. Kim felt the tiny pinpricks of his clawed fingers as he clutched at her shoulder. Letting go of the rope, Kim flipped forward to grab the tramway ahead of her.
"What do you think you're doing?" she snarled at Basil as she climbed up onto the tramway.
"I've got the compass!" he announced triumphantly, holding the little black box above his head.
"Wha – No time!" said Kim as she spotted the approaching Heartless. Keeping her balance with little difficulty, she ran along the top of the tramway, hoping to retrieve her grappling hook.
"Faster!" Basil cried from her shoulder. Kim glanced back. The gap between the lower walkway and the tramway was proving no obstacle to the Heartless; they were leaping across with ease. They were closing fast behind her, unfazed by the narrowness of the tramway or the drop below.
The tramway above Kim and to her left caught her attention. It was carrying doors towards the tunnels at the end of the hall, much faster than she could run. Kim sprang across. Her hand caught a door handle. It swung open. Kim was nearly thrown off but her grip held. A purple blur ahead attracted her attention. Darkwing swung down, catching hold of the door in front of her. Holding on with one hand, he aimed his gas gun at the Heartless on the lower tramway. A round bomb flew from the muzzle, its spluttering fuse spinning end over end like a Catherine Wheel. It blew the tramway in two with a crash, and much smoke and fire. Dozens of Heartless were pitched into the gloom below.
"Nice shot," said Kim, grinning.
"Look out!" shouted Basil, pointing ahead.
The young man in the white helmet was standing on the tramway ahead of them. He was carrying a keyblade in his right hand. It was shaped like a bat's wing, with a feathered white wing at the tip. With a single swing he severed the tramway ahead of him, as smoothly as a scythe chopping wheat.
The tramway dropped so rapidly that it was all Kim could do to keep hold of her door. Now she was falling face first. Immense space opened up below her, so deep that she could not see the bottom. Then she felt Darkwing's arm around her waist. There was a 'pop' as the gas gun fired. With another lurch, they were swinging up and forwards on Darkwing's rope, towards the rack of doors on the side wall.
"Climb!" shouted Kim, hauling herself along the rows of doors, her swinging legs giving her extra momentum. Darkwing followed close beside her, with Basil hopping easily from doorframe to doorframe.
The sound of movement drew Kim's gaze up. The red haired girl, wearing a white helmet identical to the young man's, was descending on them, swinging nimbly between the doors. Darkwing raised his gas gun and fired another bomb at her. The girl leapt aside. The bomb blew a hole in the racks, showering the hall with fragments of smouldering wood.
Now the girl was almost beside them. Kim hauled herself up, balancing on the narrow bar that jutted out above the foremost door. The redhead dropped onto a bar a short way across. There was a flash of light as a keyblade, decorated with flowers, appeared in her hand.
Kim grabbed the door above her head and swung herself forward, her foot aimed at the girl's chest. The girl sprang to meet her in an intricate somersault. They crossed in midair. The girl's arm lashed out. The guard of her keyblade hit Kim's forehead with a crack. Stunned, Kim's hands fell from the doorframe. Then she was falling, hands scrabbling vainly for a purchase on the doors as they rushed past.
Author's note: F.O.W.L. and Steelbeak are characters from 'Darkwing Duck'. The person in the suit of armour is a Disney character but he's in disguise, for now...