Chapter 14 – Strangers Like Me

"Ha-cha-cha, it's good see you Mickey!"

"Hello Mortimer."

He looked a lot like Mickey, Kim thought: a pink face, framed by black fur, surmounted by perfectly round ears, although his were much smaller. The differences were subtle: Mortimer was a little taller and thinner. His nose was longer. His smile was wide, like Mickey's, but there was no innocence in it; only cynicism and conceit. His eyes glittered with a similar energy but it came from a different place; some dark and selfish pit of the soul.

"You knew it was me?" Mortimer asked Mickey. They were standing apart, facing each other, Mickey's keyblade still levelled at Sora.

"No, I guessed. After Traverse Town," Mickey replied, "You knew exactly where I would go."

"Naturally," said Mortimer, leering.

"Your Majesty, who…?"

Kim began to speak but stopped as Kairi's keyblade twitched at her throat.

"Kim," said Mickey, not taking his eyes off Mortimer, "This is Mortimer Mouse. We grew up together. We were…"

"Enemies," growled Mortimer. His gauntlets squeaked slightly as he clenched his fists.

"…rivals," Mickey continued, ignoring him, "We were apprentices to Master Yen Sid. We competed with each other at everything, always tryin' to outdo each other. I didn't worry about it, at first. There was no… no meanness in it, not then. Until Minnie got involved…"

"You mean when you stole her from me!" snapped Mortimer, pointing an accusing finger at Mickey,

"She chose me Mortimer," said Mickey. He did not raise his voice but there was conviction behind it, and with that conviction came strength.

"Now why would she do that?" sneered Mortimer, "You tricked her, that's all there was to it. Heck, she was never the brightest bulb in the box; she must have been easy to dupe. That's the only reason any woman would ever pick someone like you over me."

"She chose me Mortimer!" said Mickey, real anger entering his voice, "You wouldn't accept it then, just like you won't accept it now!"

"Wh- what did he do?" Kim asked.

Mickey's voice dropped until it was barely above a whisper.

"He tried to kidnap her. He had this big plan… but it went wrong; badly wrong. Minnie nearly died. So did I, tryin' to save her. Master Yen Sid was furious. He banished Mortimer to another dimension. I thought…"

"You thought you'd got rid of me, like you got rid of that chump Pete," said Mortimer. A truly unpleasant smile had stretched itself across his face.

"But I got back," he continued, "Oh, it took the longest time. Years and years, but I did it: I busted out of that two-bit dimension and with no help from anyone else. And now I want what's mine."

"You can't have her Mortimer," said Mickey, "You got that? Never."

"You think this is just about the girl?!" Mortimer said with a laugh, "You think I put all this together just to get Minnie back? Ha! And I thought you were smart...."

"Then what do you want?" Mickey asked.

"Everything. I want everythin' you've got. The castle, the kingdom and the queen: all of it. It should have been mine anyway. I'm just gettin' what I'm owed."

"No," said Mickey, "You can't. Minnie will never do it. She'll never let you into the castle, not even if you kill me. An' you can't get in any other way: the Cornerstone of Light won't let you."

Mortimer did not reply immediately. He stood, smiling at Mickey with an attitude of unlimited smugness, letting the moment draw out.

"Have you ever wondered," he said slowly, "what would happen if you turned a keyblade on the Cornerstone?"

Mickey froze, eyes wide; he had not expected that.

"You wouldn't…" he said, horrified.

"I don't know myself but I'm willing to bet it'd make one heck of a mess," said Mortimer, grinning, "And I just happen to have three!"

"What have you done to them, Mortimer?" Mickey demanded, glancing at the keybearers.

"Ah well, once I got back I did a bit of snooping. Started hearing all kinds of things about what you and your new whizz-kid friends had been up. Well, I couldn't have them runnin' around being all heroic, could I? At first I thought I'd just poison them or something but then I found this geek called Syndrome. He had a lot of really fun gadgets. He built those helmets for me."

He gestured to the smooth, white helmets that Sora, Riku and Kairi were wearing.

"Ain't it marvellous what they can do with technology these days?" Mortimer said, grinning, "Very, very clever idea. You see, in the jungle there's a kind of python that hypnotises its prey before swallowing it. Syndrome worked out to how to copy it. He used diamonds in the helmet's visor. Of course, only the biggest and best diamonds would work so, naturally, I had to get me a diamond mine.

"That was the hard part. Once we had some workin' helmets, it was easy as anything. A couple o' poisoned apples knocked the kids right out. That's the oldest trick in the book. I stuck the helmets on 'em and wham-bam I've got me a couple of nifty toys that'll do whatever I tell 'em.

"For example, if I was to say: 'Kill the prisoners.'"

Instantly, Riku and Kairi raised their keyblades. Kim flinched, her eyes screwed up tight, waiting for the blow.

"Mortimer, wait!" Mickey cried, "Don't! I'll give it you!"

"Wait!" shouted Mortimer. Riku and Kairi froze.

"What do you mean?" Mortimer asked Mickey, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"My keyblade," said Mickey, "I will give you my keyblade if you spare their lives."

Mortimer continued to stare warily at Mickey, weighing up the proposal.

"Your Majesty, don't do it!" shouted Kim, careless of the keyblade held over her.

"Oh but he has to!" cried Mortimer, "It's the only card he's got left. He knows he can't fight his way out, not againstthree keybearers. And there's nothin' he's got that I can't take, except that. He's its chosen wielder and there's only two ways to get a keyblade: either it chooses to leave its wielder or the wielder chooses to give it to you."

"Do you promise to spare their lives?" Mickey asked.

"I promise," said Mortimer, smiling like a shark. Kim felt sick. She did not believe for a moment that Mortimer would keep his promise.

Mickey flipped his keyblade over so that he was holding it by the blade, with the handle pointed towards Mortimer. The keyblade vanished in a flash of light. A moment later it reappeared in Mortimer's hand. He tested its weight, giving it an experimental swing.

"Oh yes," he said, "Yes… this feels good!"

"Your promise?" said Mickey, fists bunched at his side. He seemed ready to launch himself at Mortimer, with or without his keyblade.

"Don Karnage!" Mortimer snapped, resting the keyblade on his shoulder.

Karnage approached, rubbing the lump that was already forming on his head where he had struck the floor during the fight. His crew of pirates had gathered against the hanger wall to nurse their bruises and watch the events unfolding in front of the Sea Duck.

"Yes, my lord?" Karnage said.

"Take these prisoners to the brig," Mortimer ordered, "Keep them under guard. I'll deal with them later."

"Yes, my lord," said Karnage, brightening up at the prospect of bullying somebody.

The pirates, once they were confident that the League really had surrendered, eagerly joined their captain in bullying and manhandling them towards the brig. One could manage the unconscious Darkwing but it took two apiece to bear Tarzan and Hercules away. Kim was jostled along, a cutlass point resting on the small of her back. A gang of pirates boarded the Sea Duck and emerged escorting Baloo, with Basil riding on his shoulder. The three keyblade wielders stood apart staring blankly into space, apparently unaware what was happening around them.

Mickey was not taken with the other prisoners. He remained standing beside Mortimer, his head bowed, ears drooping: a dejected little figure. Mortimer was still crowing over him as the rest of the League was forced out of the hanger and deeper into the Iron Vulture:

"Oh boy, this is going to be great! We're going to have a coronation and a wedding and then the fun's really going to begin…"

Then the door was slammed shut behind them and Kim heard no more.

Kim did her best to memorise their route as the pirate hustled the remaining members of the League through the warren of identical, gun metal grey corridors. She was almost certain that they were heading aft and to starboard. They certainly descended four decks.

The brig of the Iron Vulture was very small, barely three metres across, but with a very high ceiling. The League were searched, disarmed and then shackled to the wall by their wrists. The pirates, all too aware of Hercules's strength, wrapped him tight in two chains of heavy iron links. Unable to find shackles small enough to fit Basil, one of the pirates produced a bird cage which was suspended from the ceiling by a chain. As the door closed Kim heard the crackle of an energy shield being activated. Even if they did slip their chains they would not have been able to so much as touch the door.

Kim sat slumped against the wall. It was dark in the brig: the only light came from a narrow slit high in the door. Water had leaked in from somewhere, so she was forced to sit in a puddle, water slowly soaking through her boots and pants. No one spoke. There was no reason to speak. They all knew what the others were thinking: they were beaten. This was the end of the journey; the end of their adventures.

The silence was eventually broken as Hercules, Tarzan and finally Darkwing came round and the others had to explain what had happened to them. At first Darkwing spat and swore vengeance but after struggling futilely against his chains for a few minutes he sat back, staring sadly into space. Tarzan accepted the news without any visible reaction. Afterwards he sat, brooding silently with furrowed brow. Hercules just sighed and shook his head:

"So that's it, huh?"

"Sure looks that way," said Baloo. He was the angriest of them all. Kim could not blame him. He was not really a member of the League. He had just become caught up in their problems. Now he had lost his beloved ship and, for all he knew, his home and his friends too.

"There must be something we can do," said Kim plaintively, "Come on Hercules: I bet those chains wouldn't hold you for a second if you tried to get free."

"Sure but what's the point?" sighed Hercules, "You said the door's shielded. I can't punch through an energy shield."

"We'll think of something," said Kim but Hercules was not really listening:

"And if we did get out of the brig, what would be point? What can we do against this Mortimer guy? We can't beat him, not while he's controlling Sora."

"But if…" Kim began but Basil interrupted her:

"My dear girl, I'm afraid you will just have to accept it," he called down from his cage, "The scoundrel is in an unassailable position. He is holding his Majesty prisoner. There is nothing we can do."

"Rule 8: Know when to give up," said Hercules.

"Look," said Kim, her voice rising, "I may not know any 'rules' and I may not be all that smart but I know who I am: I'm Kim Possible. I can do anything. That's what I've always said and I'm not going to let that creep Mortimer prove me wrong!"

"But without the King…" began Hercules.

"Okay, so the King's not with us right now," said Kim, "but we're a League,right? Think about all the times we helped the King. He was there for us when we needed him. Now it's our turn."

"Okay, maybe this thing is too big for me," said Kim. She could feel herself blushing at the admission: she hated having to admit weakness.

"I can't do this on my own. None of us can. But we're not on our own, don't you see? The King put this League together because he knew he couldn't do everything by himself. If he were here now he'd say the same thing: if we work together we really can do anything."

Kim waited anxiously as the rest of the League considered her words. She could feel the tension in the group; everything seemed to hinge on what was said in the next few seconds.

"I say," said Basil quietly, "there's a window up here."

"A what?" said Kim.

"A porthole to be precise," said Basil, louder now, "It's very dirty. I doubt it has ever been cleaned."

"Can you see what's on the other side?" asked Hercules.

"No, I'm afraid… Hold on at tic," said Basil.

There was silence for a few moments, and then Kim heard the faint scrape of chain links rubbing together high above her. Looking up she could see Basil's cage rocking backwards and forwards, gently at first, then further and further. Eventually it was swinging so far that it almost brushed up against the side walls.

"I can see it!" Basil called down excitedly, "I can see… boxes; crates and the like. I think it's a storeroom. It doesn't appear to be occupied."

"But how do we reach it?" asked Hercules.

"The walls are too smooth to climb," observed Darkwing.

"We won't need to," said Kim, "Listen…"

The plan was remarkably simple once they were free of the shackles. Hercules had only to flex his arms and the chains holding him shattered like ice. After that it was the work of moments for him to prise open the shackles holding the others. Once she had massaged the feeling back into her hands and feet, Kim moved to stand in the very centre of the room. Hercules moved beside her, placed his hands under Kim's shoulders and with a single heave threw her straight up into the air. The throw was perfectly timed. Kim grabbed onto Basil's cage and hung, swinging gently from the chain until she was satisfied that it could take her weight. Then, like Basil, she began to swing back and forth, gathering momentum until at last she stuck out her boot and kicked straight through the porthole. Everyone in the brig froze, waiting to see if the sound would attract a guard.

After a few breathless minutes Kim was satisfied that no one had heard the glass shattering and began the work of kicking away the jagged shards that remained. Now able to climb through safely, Kim swung easily from the cage to the porthole and slid through to the storeroom. A few moments search confirmed Basil's observation: it was a store room for the odds and ends that were needed to keep a gummi-ship the size of the Iron Vulture in the sky. One of the things that it did not contain, however, was rope.

Kim was stumped for a moment, unable to think of a way to get the others out through the port hole, until Darkwing suggested an alternative. Standing at the bottom of the brig Hercules balanced Tarzan on his shoulders, who in turn supported Darkwing, with Kim at the very top, holding onto the rim of the porthole. Baloo then climbed up, using his friend's shoulders as a ladder, and through the porthole. Kim was worried for a moment that the bear's backside would not fit through but, after some gentle and not so gentle pushing, he squeezed through. Hercules followed, with Kim, Darkwing and Tarzan now dangling from the porthole like a giant daisy chain. Darkwing and Tarzan followed in turn. Kim was the last through, prising open the flimsy bars of Basil's cage and allowing him to hop out onto her shoulder.

Kim dropped softly down into the storeroom just as Darkwing was returning from examining the door.

"It's not even locked," he said, grinning.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Hercules, "Fight our way back to the ship?"

"Too risky," said Kim, shaking her head, "They might call Mortimer for help and then we'd end up right back where we started. I say we sneak back to our ship."

"That could be somewhat difficult" Basil observed.

"They won't be looking for us, which is a big plus," said Kim.

"If I know anything about pirates, they'll be celebrating a catch like this by gettin' drunk as a pilot on payday," said Baloo, "So I don't think they'll be keepin' too close a lookout."

"Can we use the Sea Duck?" Kim asked Baloo. He shook his head.

"Nah, I think she got too beat up comin' in. But there's bound to be some other ships lying about in the hanger: Karnage's got a whole squadron of 'em."

"Can you fly one?" asked Basil.

"Buddy, if it's got wings and an engine, I can fly it," said Baloo proudly.

"And… then?" asked Hercules, as if he was almost afraid to ask the question.

"And then… we go rescue the King," said Kim heavily. Their exultation at having escaped the brig was fading fast in the face of the task ahead of them.

"I think we're going to need some help," said Hercules, frowning.

"Yes. Dangerous," said Tarzan, nodding solemnly.

"Well then," said Darkwing, drawing himself up, "Let's get dangerous!"

Mortimer Mouse first appeared in the 1936 short 'Mickey's Rival'. Their feud continues today in the TV shows Mickey MouseWorks and House of Mouse.