Disclaimer: This story is set in a universe of my own; however, Kim Possible, Shego and related characters are copyright Disney, Inc. In other words, not mine.
O()0o-o0()O
Chapter 2: Guard Duty
Kim was in a dark green hallway. At the far end was a black door, seeming to push light away from it. Kim walked towards the door, curious, but the door never came any closer. She started to run towards it, and found that her feet wouldn't move. Kim tried to pull her feet up, just to keep moving, but she couldn't do anything. The door came closer, and opened next to her.
A voice came from behind the door. "It's your fault, Princess."
O()0o-o0()O
Kim woke up sweating on her mattress in her concrete and steel home. It was well lit, in a sense. The steel was far from stainless, and was rusting slightly. The Concrete that made up the walls was brought in as uneven slabs, and cut roughly to size so they fit. The house had what it needed, but calling it spartan was an understatement. It had three rooms, separated by slabs which left three feet of a 'hallway'.
There was a bedroom/bathroom, which was really just a bed with a bathtub near it. At least it had a working shower though. There was a mirror on the wall, but the lack of furniture made it hard to use. The next room towards the front was the kitchen, containing a scrapped together oven, sink, and hot plate. There was a stainless steel counter though, it appeared the material was used where it was important only. The last room was an entertainment room of sorts. It had a concrete slab in the middle, and two old couches set up in the corner. The door was covered with a curtain from the inside, to allow privacy for those who lived inside. All of the rooms seemed to be empty, and could use some filling.
Kim got dressed, and made coffee using one of the instant packets left on a corner of the counter. The coffee was enough to wake her up. As she went to the door, she noticed a note had been left on her table.
The note seemed to have been printed off of an old 90's printer, but the message was clear. "Kim Possible, being a new survivor, and a recent addition to sanctuary, is to report for guard duty at gate five this night at 6pm. Further details can be reached from neighbors." The message was loud and clear, but she didn't know where gate five was. Looking at the clock, Kim decided to eat some breakfast before meeting her neighbors, and finding out where gate five was. It was seven am, so she had plenty of time.
O()0o-o0()O
Kim walked to the next house on. Her neighbors, it appeared, weren't willing to talk to anyone they didn't know. She knocked her hand on the frame of the door. No one answered the door. Kim was getting frustrated by this point. "Isn't anyone willing to help a new neighbor out!" she thought.
Someone came to the frame of the door she had knocked on. Kim looked at her, a little surprised. There was a 17 year old girl leaning against the frame. She had a dark green jacket on, over a simple white t-shirt. Her hair was the same color as the light blue jeans she was wearing. The girl smiled. "Now I see why you woke me up. I still don't get why they give those notices to newcomers like that – no offense intended, of course."
Kim followed her in. The girl's home seemed like a palace in comparison to hers. The walls had been carefully leveled, and painted a dark red in the living area. Her concrete table was covered with wood paneling, making it look like it was designed as wood furniture in the first place. Wooden bookshelves filled with old paperbacks of varying condition lined one of the walls.
The girl noticed Kim looking at the books. "So you like my collection? I find one once in a while at the bazaar." The girl paused. "I just realized we haven't been introduced. My name's Jayden. What's yours?"
"Kim Possible." Kim replied. "Are you always this talkative?"
"No." Jayden answered. "Usually I talk more than this. I'm just tired. Coffee?"
"Sure. I can take coffee." Kim looked at Jayden's couch. "Mind if I sit?" she said, motioning to the couch.
"Feel free." Jayden answered. "Coffee's good. It wakes you up real fast, you know?"
"Yeah." Kim spread the note she had received on the table. "So what exactly is guard duty?"
"Guard duty is essentially the rent for a place to sleep. Do you understand what I mean?" Jayden looked at Kim's confused face as she sat down and sighed. "I guess not. I'll put it this way. Though zombies don't like light, a town like Safe Haven contains enough prey to make it worth it to them. So, members of Sanctuary get posted to guard the ways in from zombies. It's a way of fulfilling the second rule." Jayden leaned back on the couch. "Now do you understand?"
Kim nodded. "I think so."
Jayden sat forward again, and turned the notice so it faced her. "Hey, Kim! You're guarding the same gate as me! You know what, I'll just pick you up when I head there. Have your weapon ready by five-thirty, alright?"
Kim smiled. "Alright. I should probably leave now." Kim got up and went to the door.
"Wait a sec, Kim. I want to tell you something." Jayden stood up, and leaned in towards Kim's ear. "next time, wait till around eleven before trying to wake people up, alright?"
Kim blushed.
O()0o-o0()O
Jayden came to Kim's house at five-thirty. She knocked on the side of the door frame.
"Coming." Kim said as she got off the couch. She opened the curtain. "Do you want to come in?"
Jayden shook her head. "Not at the moment, there isn't really time for that at the moment. We've gotta get going, move."
Kim picked up her beretta from the table, and dropped the ammo into her pants' side pockets. Jayden nodded in approval. "Let's get going then."
Kim shut the curtain behind her.
O()0o-o0()O
Kim and Jayden came to gate five only a minute before six. Jayden opened the heavy metal door separating the locked gate from sanctuary, and motioned Kim through. Jayden followed Kim in, closing the door behind her, and locking it.
"Welcome to gate five, Kim." Jayden said. There were people all over the room, checking weapons, setting up ammo boxes, and keeping an eye on the time. Jayden brought Kim to a sixty-five-year old with mostly grey hair wearing a beret. "Kim, meet Bill. Bill, meet Kim Possible." Jayden said.
"Pleased to meet you." Kim said.
Bill looked up and smirked. He turned to Jayden. "These new survivors just keep getting younger, huh?"
"Hey!" Kim said. "I'm not that young!"
Bill just kept smirking. "Kid, you're at least forty-five years younger than me. You're young."
"Anyway," Jayden interrupted, "You'll want to meet the rest of us before we start having to fight." She practically pushed Kim up to a bald twenty-year old. "This is Dan Maku, Kim. Dan, meet Kim Possible."
Dan looked over at Kim, and shrugged. "Meh. She doesn't have a machine gun." He set up a chair behind the machine gun. "I'm going to get more than EVERYONE ELSE! Heheheheheeheh..." Jayden just left him to his chuckling on the seat.
"What's the sitch with Dan over there? Is he crazy or something?" Kim asked.
The person Kim hadn't met yet, a teenager about Kim's age with short blond hair, answered. "He's crazy, I think. He really likes that gun of his way too much. My name's Moira, you're Kim Possible, right? I overheard Jayden introducing you."
Kim smiled. "Nice to meet you, Moira." She pulled out her pistol, and checked the clip was loaded, and the safety was off. She was as ready as she could be at the moment.
O()0o-o0()O
The zombies began to drop through the opening at around six-forty-five. Dan almost immediately unleashed a torrent of hot lead directly at the incoming zombies, killing them before they reached the ground. Suddenly, Kim feared for her life, although the zombies weren't much of a threat. She aimed the pistol at one of the few zombies which made it through Dan's barrage, and took off its head.
Seeing this, Dan turned around in his chair and shouted, "Hey, I wanted to kill that one!"
Kim shrugged. "Sorry. Didn't know."
"Now you do." With that elegant parting remark, Dan turned back to see a zombie fall in half right in front of his gun.
"Don't complain about that one, Dan. That was all me." Moira said as she blew the smoke from the end of her laser rifle.
"Nah, that's my job. I do it pro bono, you know? Free of charge!" Jayden took out a cluster with her SMG.
Bill snorted. "Yeah, I just wish you could be paid to shut up once in a while."
"Hey! I just don't want to seem mopey or anything like that!" Jayden cried.
"Um..." Kim said, "Shouldn't we be focusing on finishing them off?" She gestured towards the zombies.
"Maybe. It's a possibility" Jayden said.
Bill was elated. "Finally! Someone on this god forsaken planet who speaks sense!" He capped another zombie as it dropped into the sewer.
Things continued like that until the sun rose.
O()0o-o0()O
Every one was resting at the walls, save for Dan, who was still next to his turret, grasping the handles. If one were to look carefully, they would notice his head was lolled back, and he was drooling. Kim sat down on the edge of the walkway. She looked at Moira. "Hey, Moira?"
"Yeah?" Moira responded.
"Could I have a paper bag or something, please?" Kim requested.
Jayden gave a confused face, and interrupted Moira as she was about to respond. "Why would you want something like that?"
Bill's eyes widened for second in realization. "You were a pacifist before, weren't you, Kim? Killing's against your nature."
Kim nodded, feeling too sick to speak.
Bill gave a weak smile. "Just let puke into the water, it's still sewage, and either way, we're past the intake section. Go ahead."
Kim leaned to the side and vomited into the water below. She returned his weak smile. "Thanks."
Bill chuckled. "No problem."
Jayden looked at Moira. They both shrugged simultaneously. "I don't know what she's talking about either."
Bill looked at Kim. "I was a soldier, once. I know the feeling. It goes away after a very long while. I still feel sick to my stomach after each kill."
There was an awkward pause. Suddenly, Jayden slammed her fist into her palm. "Let's celebrate the arrival of a new gatekeeper! To the traditional bar! Woo!" She ran off.
Kim looked at Moira. "Traditional bar?"
Moira shrugged. "She comes up with an excuse to go to the bar every night. It's just her way of doing things."
Kim looked at Dan, who was still drooling at his seat. "Does he need help or something?"
Bill glanced at Dan, and looked back. "The current theory is that he gets high off the fumes from the bullets, and is currently stoned out of his socks. The previous theory was that he got off on firing the turret."
Kim glanced at Dan again, and got up. "What was the problem with that theory?"
Moira chuckled. "He likes it better than that. C'mon, let's go."
O()0o-o0()O
Xavier was resting behind the bar itself, reading a book, when Jayden rushed in. He looked up, and chuckled under his breath. "I'll make your usual. What's your excuse this time?"
Jayden pouted. "I don't like you calling my reasons excuses, they are perfectly valid."
Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't change the fact."
Jayden visibly deflated. "Yeah. My reason this week is that we have a new member who has joined our ranks!"
Xavier began mixing Jayden's drink, a combination of concentrated caffeine and ice cold beer. "Really? Who?"
Jayden was practically bouncing in her seat. "She'sthisredheadedgirlwhowasaformerheroandisareallygoodshotwithapistolbutobviouslydoesn'tlikekilling'causeshehadtopukeaftereverything."
Xavier raised an eyebrow, and put Jayden's drink on the counter. "Auf Englisch, bitte."
Jayden took a gulp of her drink, and tried to say her sentence a bit slower. "She's this red headed girl who was a former hero, and is a really good shot with a pistol, but obviously doesn't like killing because she had to puke after everything was finished."
Xavier smiled. "Is she coming here?"
Jayden took a sip from her glass. "She better, otherwise I don't have a reason to be here."
Just then, Bill, Moira, and Kim walked into the bar.
Xavier paused as he watched the trio walk in, shrugged, and then said to Kim, "I guess we did meet again. Hello Kim."
Kim looked shocked at this turn of events, but sat down anyway. "You work here, Xavier?"
Xavier smirked. "It's my bar. Like it?" Kim was left with her mouth hanging open, her retort having died on her lips. He turned to the others. "You all want your usuals too, I take it?"
Bill nodded. "Yes sir."
Xavier nodded, and began mixing their respective drinks. He turned to Kim as he served them. "So Kim, since this is your first time here, what'll you have?"
Kim looked at him. "Do you have a diet Coke?"
Xavier pulled out a bottle and gave it to her with ice.
They sat drinking their respective drinks in silence.
Eventually Jayden noticed Kim looked a little depressed. "Why the long face, Kim?"
Kim looked at her glass. "It's a long story."
Moira leaned forward a bit to look Kim in the face. "You can tell us, Kim, we're you're friends, at least, we're supposed to be."
Kim sighed, and slumped on the counter. "It's personal."
Bill glanced at her. "I should point out that any issues from your home universe don't matter. You can trust us with this, you know."
"Alright." Kim said, "Since I can't convince you not to bother me about this, I'll tell you."
O()0o-o0()O
"Back in my home universe, I was a well known and respected hero. Villains of all sorts bent on conquering the world came to hate me, as I consistently stopped them. Most of these villains I could take care of no trouble. But..." She leaned back on her stool, sweeping her bangs back to their usual position. "There was one villain who consistently gave me a challenge. She was technically a sidekick to villain, but considering how good his plans were, I probably didn't need to stop him most of the time. Either way, She was my arch-nemesis. We were rivals, to a great extent. I don't think I would have stayed in the heroing business if it weren't for her. She kept me on my toes, and to a great degree, reminded me of myself. We were so similar I got to thinking we could have been friends. I was going to ask her if we could be friends outside of our respective jobs, but..."
"Let me guess." Xavier said. "The day you were going to ask was the day you ended up here. Right or Wrong?"
"One hundred percent correct." Kim slumped to the counter again.
"Could you describe her for me?" Xavier asked.
Kim nodded. "Easily. She was about as tall as me. Her skin was a beautiful pastel green, a result of the accident that gave her her powers. She always stood tall, strong... she reminded me in some ways of a tree. She was able to adapt to her surroundings, but no matter what happened, she always stood strong, even when she lost, she maintained the sense of dignity about her. She always wore a green and black cat suit, which showed off her amazing body. Her muscles were incredibly strong, and you could see them clearly, though she never seemed to overdo the look. She wasn't a body builder, she was just plain hot. I was jealous of her, to be honest. I miss having her around as a rival so much." She started softly sobbing into her sleeve.
Xavier gave a weak smile. "I know the feeling." He paused. "Say, why don't you show up with Jayden or someone tomorrow? You obviously need some kind of therapy."
Kim thought on it for a moment. "Sure. I'll come tomorrow."
Xavier smiled. "I'll wait for you to show up."
Just as this touching moment occurred, the door was slammed in. Standing in the door was one Daniel Maku. "ESPRESSO!" He roared.
Xavier glared at him. "No. I've seen what you are like on caffeine. I do not need you destroying my bar again. Either leave, or accept decaf."
Dan glared back. "Neither."
The other patrons, including Kim, ran out of the bar. Kim knew when there was going to be a fight.
A few seconds passed. The bar door was thrown open. Dan hit the back door of the building in front of the bar hard. Xavier stepped outside. "Don't pull that shit, Danmaku! It's not worth it."
O()0o-o0()O
Hope you like this one.
Xavier is amusing to write with, though I had troubled writing his relationship with Jayden.
Before you ask, yes, Bill's character is a nod to Left 4 Dead.
XK