Bonnie stepped daintily alongside the creek, leading Kim and Ron back to the crumbling freeway overpass where Ron's scooter wa
Bonnie stepped daintily alongside the creek, leading Kim and Ron back to the crumbling freeway overpass where Ron's scooter waited. Ron and Kim, hand in hand, followed more sedately, their newly-awakened eyes seeing the world in a far different perspective. They spoke little, preferring to exchange short bursts of feeling and thought through their joined hands and wetware. Both ancient teens found it surprisingly easy to remember how to use their long dormant enhancements. Everything was the same, but different, seen through the patina of age.
The pair looked above at the many moons of a now-blazing Jupiter, and marvelled at what their race had achieved, what they themselves had helped accomplish. Moving planets!
Looking back every few dozen steps, Bonnie snickered at the little smiles and coy looks the other two exchanged.
At the foot of the overpass, Bonnie twirled and imperiously put her hands on her hips. "There is NO WAY I'm getting on that scooter, and even less chance I'd ever put my arms around Stoppable. So you two lovebirds go on ahead. I'll meet you at the park. We still have a lot of stuff to do before we leave, and time is short."
Lowering her head, she added, "And I suggest you don't tell anybody what you've remembered, at least not yet. Unless you want a short trip to a place with long, wraparound sleeves." With that, Bonnie flounced into the deep shadows underneath the overpass. Kim and Ron watched for several seconds, but Bonnie never came out the other side.
"Now that's just creepy."
Kim smiled. "Bonnie showing up, or Bonnie disappearing?"
Ron climbed over the rail to the cracked asphalt. "Yes."
The redhead nodded and followed. Soon the pair were back on Ron's scooter, hurtling toward civilization at a breakneck 25 mph. The town was alive and vibrant, nice spring weather drawing even the most agoraphobic outdoors. Ron couldn't help but think of how he and Kim would tell everyone they'd been sleepwalking for centuries, millenia. A public announcement? Nah, too much airborne rotten fruit. Talking to the Middleton Post?
They'd be laughed out of the newspaper office. One on one? Take too long. Not that they had anywhere they needed to be, Ron mused.
During the short ride, Ron noticed little signs of how Middleton was changed from its earlier incarnation, signs that he (and everyone else) ignored during their willing self-delusion. If the population of Middleton didn't find a multitude of crescent moons and two suns strange, they certainly wouldn't notice the odd bioengineered foodplant here or there, Ron figured. Nor would they notice anachronistic touches like holographic computer displays, gas-free cars, or electricity that seemingly came from nowhere. Ron now knew these were all technological leftovers from before the last humans on earth turned their back on a long and lonely past. Even as Ron motored by, he saw an older gentleman absentmindedly sweep a handful of berries off a foodplant and toss them in his mouth as he ambled down the sidewalk.
There were no children.
They stopped off at Ron's empty house first so he could get a quick shower. His parents were out on errands. A night in the woods and scary room filled with futuristic antiques produced a certain funkiness that he wanted to scrape off. Kim followed, not minding Ron's funk. In fact, she had an idea...
By the time the two showed up at the park, freshly scrubbed, it was less than an hour since they'd left Bonnie. But the brunette girl was impatiently tapping a foot, acting as though they'd stood her up. Arms tightly crossed, Bonnie waited under a large oak. Her sharp almond eyes flicked first at Ron's clean mission clothes, then Kim's freshly-washed hair. She snorted. "Lovebirds." Pushing away from the bark, Bonnie stomped over to the two as they slowly approached. "Let's go."
Kim held up a gloved hand. "Just a second." Her green eyes blazed with an energy she'd nearly forgotten she had. "Enough mystical mumbo-jumbo. If you want us to help, we're willing, but you need to lay it out for us."
Ron nodded, arms crossed. "Start with the basics: who, what, where, when, why."
"Like we have TIME for this!" Bonnie whined. "Fine, you get the short version, but then I expect you to get it in gear.
"Who: Your descendants - well, mine, actually - require the help of three people. Three of you immortal people, to be specific. And since beggars can't be choosers, I've got you two. We'll need to find somebody else to round out the group before we go, that's our next stop.
"What: You'll get more details once we get where we're going, but let's just say it won't strain you. All you have to do is listen to a few people talk, and then tell everybody what you think. Even Stoppable should be able to listen for an hour.
"Where: That's... complicated. Alice in Wonderland had the right idea, though.
"When: As soon as you two can get get your butts in gear and your hands off each other. And we find a third.
"Why: There are two answers to that one, a long one and a longer one. So we'll stick with, 'Because Bonnie said.' Since we've already covered the stupid questions, it's time to get a move on." Clearly impatient, Bonnie started walking down the sidewalk.
Kim and Ron exchanged amused glances and started following. "So, who's our lucky third?" Ron asked.
Five paces ahead, Bonnie stopped suddenly, and turned slowly. "I don't know," she admitted. "Somebody able-bodied, able to withstand surprises, and who isn't too firmly attached to reality. And preferably without family ties." Eyes widening, Bonnie snapped her mouth shut and did a quick about-face.
The smiles disappeared from Kim and Ron. "Just how dangerous is this?" Ron asked. "Not that I'm chicken or anything, but a guy's got a right to know."
It was Kim's turn to become impatient. "Bonnie."
"Look, I don't know, OK? They didn't tell me everything, all right? I'm just the messenger girl!"
"So you don't know everything," Ron chided gently. He well remembered Bonnie's impetuous nature and famous temper, but he couldn't help needling her just a bit.
Bonnie looked at the pair from under heavy eyelids. "No. Happy now?" She shrugged and with an obvious effort straightened up and looked at Kim and Ron. "You two are so bright, you tell me. Who else fits the bill? Two won't do, it's gotta be three. Clock's ticking."
Ron eyed Kim sideways, saw her looking back with the same half-smile. "Sleeping Beauty?"
Kim nodded. "Sleeping Beauty."
The building was dilapidated, unusual in the normally well-kempt town. Kim grabbed a rotting door handle and gently pulled it open, while Ron flicked a flashlight beam into the gloom inside. "I hope she didn't pay the maid in advance," Ron joked, covering his nervousness. Dark, rotting houses were not his favorite places, and his nostrils were still filled with dust from the chamber where he'd spent the night.
Gingerly, the three tiptoed into the one-story building. Dust lay thick on the molded carpet, and broken furniture littered the small room. Ron recalled it used to be a grocery store or something, but its location on the outskirts of town doomed it to disuse and eventual abandonment. It was the perfect place to stash something, which Ron and Kim had done long before. Bonnie, betraying impatience but not unease, snapped, "What are we doing here? I thought the need for speed was clear. What are you going to find here, a mannequin or..." her voice trailed off. "Oh. Sneaky." A grudging note of respect crept into her voice. She seemed to know what to expect.
Slowly, they approached a long, low box that had been hastily shoved into a corner. A canvas covering, rotting at the edges and covered with centuries of dust, was draped over the the box's sloped top. Kim carefully pulled the fragile covering aside. Beneath lay a cryochamber, standard use millenia ago in the starships that carried immortal explorers between stars. A small green light indicated the chamber was still working.
And still occupied.
Kim reached down, finger hovering over the "Revive" button. She looked at Ron. "Dare we?"
Ron nodded once. "We dare. She's the right choice."
Taking a deep breath of musty air, Kim mashed the button and stepped back. Even though he knew better, Ron expected to hear the clunk of machinery, or puffs of gas, or something. But there was no indication, aside from a pair of faded green lights appearing on the top of the chamber. In less than a minute, the top of the chamber melted (or evaporated), revealing a blinking female figure struggling to sit up.
"That was dirty pool, even for you, Possible!" Her voice was husky, but Shego still exuded menace, fresh out of a sleep thousands of years long.
Kim reached out to help Shego out, but the villainess' claws lit up with green fire, and Kim abruptly pulled her arm back. The weak flame flickered out after only a moment, however, and Shego sagged. "OK, fine." She reached a wobbly hand and both Ron and Kim helped her sit, then stand. The villainess looked around at the decay and gloom, took in Bonnie, and then fixed her steely gaze back on Kim. "At least you didn't have Prince Stoppable wake me up with a kiss," she muttered. Then more firmly, "I'm surprised you woke me up. By the look of things, it's been a while."
"I told you we'd revive you," Kim replied. "I just never promised when." She gave the other woman a wicked grin.
Shego looked at Bonnie. "Aren't you dead?" she asked bluntly.
"Charming," Bonnie said. "OK, my patience is now officially fried. We're doing this thing, here, now." Striding to the relatively clear center of the dusty room, Bonnie touched her forefingers far above her head, then drew them apart in a quick drop of her arms. Her forefingers drew lines of liquid fire in the air, leaving a barely audible sizzle behind. Bending down, she continued drawing fire and drew the vertical circle to a close near her feet. A six foot tall hoop of shifting, shimmering white fire hung in the air. Bonnie drew back slightly, stuck a finger in her mouth, and then placed the moist fingertip directly in the center of the hoop.
Two-dimensional onyx night flowed from her fingertip, filling the hoop with an ebony shimmer. She removed her finger and stepped back.
"All aboard! Next stop, Wonderland!" Bonnie motioned for the others to precede her into the portal.
Shego blinked once. "You're kidding me."
Kim took one unresisting arm, and Ron gently grabbed the other. Although she could easily have shrugged at least Ron off, Shego allowed herself to be led to the mysterious, inky door. Ron took a deep breath, hefted his mission pack, and strode through first. Kim gently pushed Shego through, glanced at Bonnie, and jumped through.
Bonnie swaggered to the circle and stepped into it.
The dust wasn't even disturbed as white fire spat and fizzled into nothingness.