Release Notes:
Lies, lies, lies. Nothing but lies I give you. There will be ONE MORE chapter after this one, and I mean it this time. Once I start writing, I just can't frigging stop.
I just had too much fun writing this one, and a lot more happened then I originally intended, which is fine by me. I'd hate to rush through this part, since a lot of inter-connected character development is happening. It'll all come to head in the finale, rest assured. Hopefully it will all fit together satisfactory (at least to me).
Enjoy this part. The action starts and doesn't really stop till the end. OR DOES IT? Read and find out!
You know, in case you give two craps. I know I don't.
The Author.
-
Part 6: Synthetic Sitches
The command line blinked steadily, waiting. It was neither impatient nor insistent. It was simply there, as it always had been, trapped in a dark rectangle. Time meant nothing to the flashing cursor. Milliseconds or millennium, it made no difference to the program. But to Wade Load, milliseconds made all the difference in the world.
He watched the blinking pixel, focused like a spear fisher. His fingers were poised over one of several ergonomic keyboards laid out before him. They held firm, controlled by a mind as sharp as razor. A mind that was developed beyond the mere handful of years that showed on his young freckled face. The mind of a genius.
The cursor kept blinking.
Patience was something Wade had acquired very early in life. Where as most children ran from task to task with an attention deficit, Wade had learned quickly that computers required infinite patience. They could only ever do what they were told to do. Other people became frustrated and angry at computers, blaming them when things failed or didn't work like they were intended to. But Wade understood that it was not the computer's fault. It was the person for not having the patience. The patience that one would give to a toddler. And computers were not half a smart as a toddler.
The cursor kept blinking.
There were a myriad of potential distractions around the young man. He was surrounded by a sprawling collection of high-tech equipment and flickering computer monitors. Normally he would multitask a dozen different machines, jumping between applications much like a computer himself. But at this moment, he needed to be focused. He would have a window of mere seconds to act when the algorithm took the bait, manually tracking it by coding on the fly. He couldn't trust the task to a pre-authored program, as the A.I. had proven too clever. There were too many variables to account for. He had to do it himself.
There was no telling exactly when the hit would come. His mirror sites had all been attacked within ten minutes of posting. He was confident this latest one would be no exception. He needed to be ready.
Then he heard a familiar chime.
Wade clicked his tongue in annoyance and, without looking, reached over to tap a single key command on another keyboard. He kept his eyes locked on the blinking cursor even as he spoke aloud.
"Yo, Kim. What's up?"
"Wade, we're in a major sitch here. We need a solution." Came the quick reply over his computer speakers.
"Wha'do you got?" His eyes didn't flicker from the cursor.
"It's the Synthos, something's gone major with them. I don't know what." Her normally confident voice carried a hint of concern.
Wade had a torn moment. He had been hunting the online algorithm for hours now, working up to this one moment of attack. If he missed his window, he would have to start over. It could happen any second now. The hunt had started as just another info-grab for the young man, trying to gather intel to help Team Impossible pin down the motivations of the enigmatic thief Chris Cutter and the Worldwide Evil Empire that was apparently keeping them hidden. But as the game of cat and mouse progressed, it had grown into a personal challenge for the child genius between himself and the hidden cyber ghost that was working on behalf of the Empire. He was caught between the battle of wits and the needs of his friends and teammates.
The moment lasted less then a second.
"I'm on it." The young man quickly swiveled his chair to face the screen devoted to monitoring the mobile Kimunicator and it's multitude of sensors. Looking back at him through an open window was the frowning face of a young redhead. "I'll need a close scan of one of the Synthodrones to work from."
"Gotcha." The young woman nodded. "Give me a second." The screen when blank as she went to work.
Wade took the moment to look back to the dark monitor. Several lines of numbers, symbols and command text now sat glowing within the black void. Once again, the blinking cursor sat unmoving, having long since finished printing the data.
Wade sighed audibly. He had missed his window. But the young man shook away the momentary disappointment and turned back to the task at hand. His friends needed him.
-
In the sky above the massive warehouse that was the Bolt Bin, the world's largest nut and bolt specialty store, a dark plume rose from twin holes that had been blasted through the roof. Explosions had been heard rocking the store since late morning and local authorities had been notified by witnesses. A fire truck was on its way to battle the unknown blaze.
Inside the building, however, there was no raging fire to battle. The smoke rose from a darkened crater in the center of the giant store, where something had exploded not long ago. Though the powerful force had reduced much of the stockpile to smoldering ruin, there was not enough wood or paper in the area to cause much of an inferno beyond the smokescreen. Much of the metal, on the other hand, had been melted and twisted into slag.
Despite this great hole, most of the towering shelves still stood creating a veritable maze of interconnecting corridors and aisles along which metal fasteners of all shapes and sizes could be found. And somewhere inside this modern-day labyrinth, trouble continued to brew. While there was no fire to battle, there were other things just as dangerous.
Kim Possible, teen superhero and freelance secret agent, lowered her wrist, and the purple Kimmunicator that was strapped to it, as the dark face of Wade Load disappeared from its tiny screen. She took a cautious step backwards. On all sides, hulking humanoid creatures closed upon her and the three others who were also trapped. Her shoulder brushed against her boyfriend and partner, Ron Stoppable, and for the first time since this morning, she didn't feel giddy at the physical contact.
"I'm going to kill that idiot when I get back to the lair." Came the angry snarl from the black and green-clad woman behind her, also retreating from the surrounding synthetic soldiers. "Upgrading the Synthos without even letting me know. How am I supposed to do my job if he doesn't tell me everything?"
"Why do I get the feeling you wouldn't listen even if he did?" Mumbled the creeping Chris Cutter, staying low on all fours as he too backed into the encircled group.
"Shut up, you dweeb." Shego snapped back at the silver-eyed man.
"How about both of you shut up?" Ron uncharacteristically barked and the bickering thieves. "Give Kim a chance to explain her plan." He looked at her. "You, uh… do have a plan, right?"
"Umm…" Came the hesitant reply. Kim's mind was racing. She did have a plan. In fact, she had several. But the most likely one to succeed was the one she least wanted to use.
"Right…" Shego snorted. "No offence, pumpkin, but I got my own way out of this. Later." And with that, the woman's gloved hands burst into glowing green energy that she hurled forth like twin balls of fire. Two of the nine mutated Synthodrones were hit with the onslaught, knocking them backwards through the destroyed shelves. As if that was their cue, the rest of the robots lurched forward.
Ron squeaked and went down under the grasping hulks. Kim went up, leaping right over the nearest drone and kicking off its bulging shoulders. The brute didn't even flinch. Ron scrambled between the robot's legs, the less-than-intelligent constructs bumping into each other as they reached for the fleeing boy.
As Kim dropped, she saw that Shego was blasting more of the drones with her green plasma. Having been on the receiving end of that power she did not envy the mindless things one bit. She immediately noticed that Cutter was gone from the crouched position he had been in. A quick glance upward revealed him to be balanced on top of one of the tall shelves. How the heck had he gotten up there so quickly? Not that it mattered, for a Syntho was gripping onto the metal structure and shaking it powerfully. The black haired man seemed to be concentrating fully on not falling off.
Kim immediately stopped paying them heed. She had her own issues to deal with. Namely, get a good scan of this new super-syntho of Drakken's for Wade to analyze. They had been a handful before, but now they seemed much more dangerous. Bigger, stronger, impervious to the usual puncture and bleed method of defeating them and apparently completely psychotic.
She was about to raise the wristband Kimmunicator to attempt a scan when the Syntho spun around with unexpected speed and brought its large fist down on her. Kim was much faster of course and easily dodged the powerful strike, which smashed right into the concrete floor with an explosion of dust and debris. Stronger. Much stronger. Plan A, B and C were immediately discarded.
A series of acrobatic maneuvers put some quick distance between herself and the robot. She landed gracefully in a crouch facing the offending construct. To her left she saw Ron writhing among the three chaotic drones who were trying to grab him. He was safe for a few moments, but she would need to rescue him soon enough.
Wrenching its fist out of the ground, the Syntho in front of her came forward. Kim reflexively reached for her missing utility belt. Unfortunately, she did not have her usual assortment of gear, since they had raced straight to the Bolt Bin from the picnic in the park. She mentally smacked herself for being so hot-headed. Normally, she wasn't so easily set off.
The drone swiped at her, a blow that would probably break bones. But Kim Possible ducked and weaved in almost ballet-like moves. She could not afford to let these things hit her and she knew that any blows she landed would be a waste of time. She needed to find a weakness, and only Wade could do that with a scan of the Syntho to work from.
Kim rolled sideways under another powerful jab and set upon Plan D.
-
Chris Cutter was not a happy camper.
His powerful fingers gripped so hard onto the shaking shelf that they actually twisted the metal in his grip, but even then his purchase threatened to break. The hulking brute that was violently tearing at the framework below him didn't let up for a moment. And a moment was all that Cutter would have needed.
A list of expletives streamed from his mouth, even as his jaw snapped with the movement. What the hell had he gotten himself into? Goddamned rampaging robots, teen superheroes, giant green fireballs. This was all insane. What the heck was he thinking?
He looked down at the source of all his misery. Clad in her figure-hugging green and black jumpsuit, she wielded fistfuls of roaring green death like some sort of demon. Her long dark hair billowed in the aftermath of her plasmic discharge and her black lips were caught somewhere between a grimace and a grin.
His gaze traveled down to the floor below her, where she had dropped a small lump of smooth metal. Completely useless to anyone as anything other then a paperweight, yet she had brought it with her. Just as he had the night before.
A particularly brutal lurch in the shelf snapped him back to reality and Cutter swore loudly as he rode the tipping unit all the way down to the floor.
-
Ron scrambled like he never scrambled before.
It felt like he was trapped in a forest of limbs, grabbing at him from all directions. He squirmed and twisted to keep out of each iron grip that threatened him. If one managed to grab him, then they all would, and he knew they would pull him apart like sisters fighting over a Barbie doll.
Ron saw the glimpse of an opening and he took it. He wormed through appendages as he would through the Middleton Primary jungle gym. Not that Ron would ever admit that he still visited the old playground of his youth… when no one was around. Out of the maze he popped and scurried around a corner. He cautiously peered back out at the three drones he had just escaped. The single-minded robots continued to grapple and reach in a huddle, looking for all the world like some sort of game of mutated Twister. They hadn't noticed his escape quite yet.
Ron turned and searched out Kim with concern, but immediately relaxed when he saw her dealing with one of the drones. He had complete faith in the young woman. Kim could do anything.
A groan of metal overlapping an angry shout made Ron's head spin to look the other direction.
"Shhhiiiiiiiiiiii….." Came the howl of Cutter as the massive shelving unit came crashing down towards where Ron hid.
"Ahhh!" The blonde teen screeched as he watched his doom drop on him. He didn't have enough time to react.
Which was why he was surprised to find himself crouched in a combat position three feet from where he had been sitting as the dust settled. He quickly palmed himself, checking to see if he was missing anything.
"Oh man," he groaned in relief. "Thank you Monkey Power!"
His ease was quickly erased as the debris shifted. Ron struck another kung fu pose, although he feared the Mystical Monkey Power had left him again as quickly as it came. The ruined shelf and boxes of bolts lifted slightly and the grumbling form of Chris Cutter came pushing out, several tears in his grey shirt and small red cuts on his face.
"You!" Ron's eyes narrowed in remembered anger at the sight of the thief.
Cutter paused in the act of brushing himself off and regarded the blonde teenager uncertainly. He turned and looked behind him and then looked back to Ron. He pointed to himself in confusion.
"Me?"
"You're not going anywhere thief!" Ron held his fists at the ready and spread his stance wide. "Prepare to be Monkey Fu'd!"
Cutter continued to stare at him. "Are you serious?"
"Hai Yeeah!" Ron leapt at the silver-eyed man, whose eyes widened in surprise. Ron's foot snapped out to connect with his chest but the man flipped himself backwards with shocking speed and landed on four cocked limbs. Ron knew that the only way he could follow any of it was the fact that he still had access to a tiny bit of Tai Shing Pek Kwar.
"Is everyone here frigging nuts?" Cutter snarled, baring his teeth like an animal. Ron noticed that he stayed low on all fours with inhuman ease. For a moment, he looked almost… feral. Then, as if shaking it off, the man shuddered and brought himself up into a more human crouch. The movement looked strained. "Listen, Ron buddy. Now is not a good time to mess around. I really should just go."
"No!" Ron was surprised by how upset he was. "You're a thief and a liar!" His eyes narrowed dangerously. "And I am taking you down." With that, he swung at the crouching man.
Cutter caught the fist in his hand.
"Look, dude." He groaned at Ron. "I don't know what your problem is, but you do not want to fight with me. Ok? So just relax and let me pass."
Ron pulled at his arm angrily. Cutter's grip was rock hard and unflinching. The man was strong. Way stronger then him. But something in the back of Ron's head told him exactly what he needed to do.
His free hand shot out and grabbed onto Cutter's arm who jerked in surprise. Pivoting on his feet, Ron twisted his body weight around and pulled the dark man off balance. Then, keeping the momentum fluid, he heaved and actually threw the larger man over his shoulder. Cutter fell with a satisfying grunt and Ron maintained an attack position.
"You're my problem, Chris… if that is your real name. Or is it Smith? I do get so confused when people lie to my face. Oh… and when they throw my girlfriend at me!"
Cutter stayed laying on his back, staring up into the ceiling. His jaw was jut forward in anger and he tapped his fingers on the ground irritably. Ron noticed he was taking slow, deep breaths through his nose.
"Look… Ron. I'm sorry I lied to you yesterday and… threw Possible at you. It wasn't personal, man. It was just… business, I guess. Whatever." He rolled himself over and slowly rose to his feet, his silver eyes flashing. "But just trust me when I tell you that picking a fight with me right now is not in your best interest." Ron noticed that all the cuts on his face had healed. Now that he thought of it… what had happened to wound on his hand where Kim grappled him yesterday? Both hands looked fine.
"Business?" Ron spat as he remembered why Kim had hooked him with the grapple in the first place. "You call pretending to be a friend business? I treated you like a bro and you made me look like an idiot!"
Cutter stared at him in silence. His grim visage seemed to soften.
"Ron, I didn't mean it like that. I… I just… I don't really know how to…" He trailed off as something caught his attention behind the blonde teen. He stared right past Ron's shoulder.
"What?" Ron prodded him in annoyance. "You don't know how to do what?"
"Rampaging robot behind you." Cutter said simply. "Duck, dude."
-
Yet another huge Syntho went spiraling through the air in the wake of a green explosion.
Shego was getting the distinct sense of déjà vu. She was sure she had blasted that particular drone with the deep gouges in its chest a couple times already. And every time, it got a little bit closer to grabbing her.
Another drone came at her from a different angle and was likewise blown away. And another. And another. Shego sent volley after volley of plasma in every direction. They just kept coming. Silently, powerfully, and unrelenting.
She snarled viciously as she ducked a heavy swipe. Pivoting expertly, she delivered an explosive fist (literally… as it exploded upon impact) into the gut of the attacking robot. The gel-filled construct bounced off the edge of a towering shelf as it soared through the air. It tumbled to the ground in a massive heap of twisted and bulging limbs. As she watched in frustration, it simply untangled itself and pulled back onto its feet, seemingly unharmed.
"Goddamn it!" Shego cursed. This wasn't working. These new mutated Synthos absorbed all impacts like their regular liquid-filled versions, but they didn't leak and deflate if their exoskin was punctured. She couldn't keep blasting them forever. Eventually she would just burn out. Already she had expended a large amount of energy this morning, and it was only being compounded by the heavy use of her power over the last couple days, no thanks to that bastard Cutter. She was slowly starting to feel the strain, like an overextended rubber band that threatened to snap.
As much as it annoyed her, she needed to conserve her glo. As the wave of flexible robots came returning to her, she switched to hand to hand. They still glowed with destructive power and augmented her already deadly skill as a martial artist, though they didn't quite roar with the same plasmic fury as when she emit the force as a ranged attack.
"Come on, crapsacks!" Shego actually smiled in anticipation. "I havn't got all day!" Truth be told, she preferred the feel of beating down an opponent, up close and personal.
-
Kim spared a glance over to see that Ron was fine after the shelf fell over before ducking behind another of the modular walls. There had been a moment of indescribable panic when she heard his shout cut off by the crash, and the relief at seeing him standing clear of it had been almost enough to loose her balance. But Kim had to be strong, she had to be solid. There was no room for mistakes in this business.
The cheerleader leaped gracefully onto the modular shelf, flipped backwards onto the opposing face and rebounded up to grab onto the top ledge. Without a moments hesitation, she pulled herself up and over the edge to stand on top of the tall divider.
She could see across the whole massive warehouse from up there, but she focused immediately on the scene below her. The first thing she noticed was that Shego was combating four of the mutated Synthodrones on her own, her glowing fists sending them spinning with each explosive impact. Even so, Kim could see that she was hard pressed to hold her ground against the untiring machines.
Another four of the drones were starting to close on Ron and Cutter, who appeared to be arguing back and forth between themselves. She still knew practically nothing about this strange new character, but she trusted Ron to be able to handle himself for at least the time being.
That only left the one lone drone, which was following her path of retreat around the shelf and into the next corridor. She watched it carefully from above, noting how it moved and how it searched for her. The brute shambled along, staring straight ahead. It didn't even bother to look up. As she suspected, the mutated drone wasn't half as clever as Drakken's normal un-mutated Synthos (if one could call them clever). Unlike the more coordinated and calculating movements of the regular Synthodrones, these hulking ones simply attacked like mindless zombies. Kim hypothesized that Drakken had lost control of them, which is why they attacked everyone including Shego, but she needed Wade to verify it with a scan.
Her utility belt was back at her house, along with the vast majority of her usual gadgets. But Kim did have one tool handy. Quite possibly the most important next to the Kimmunicator itself. The first gadget Wade ever gave her.
Her hairdryer.
Well, it once was a hair dryer, anyway. The gun-shaped device that Kim pulled from her side holster hardly resembled the styling implement it was once based off of. Several different switches and knobs decorated its red surface as well as a set of handgun sights. A seemingly never-ending evolution of upgrades had transformed the cosmetic instrument into a sleek piece of high technology. One she relied on more then most of the many useful gadgets Wade readily supplied her with, which is why she always kept a spare in her car.
A deft snap of the wrist slid open an aperture on the underside of the dryer's handle from which the teen pulled a length of high-tension cable. She hooked the easy-clip end to the ledge of the shelf and took aim across the gulf to the opposing modular wall. Quickly adjusting the gadget's firing strength with her thumb, she then squeezed the trigger.
With a familiar pop, an adjustable all-purpose grapple shot from the barrel across the gap to hook itself onto the other shelving unit.
Directly below her, the shambling Synthodrone stopped.
Another flick of her thumb set the retraction speed to full. Another pull of the trigger set the internal high-powered winch mechanism, engineered by Wade to be able to lift half a metric tonne, whirring powerfully. She let go of the dryer as it pulled itself from her hands and the length of cable across the gap snapped into high tension.
The Synthodrone shifted its mass to gaze upwards with its glowing white orbs.
Kim braced herself as the opposite modular wall, the smaller of the two shelving units, was slowly pulled off its balance. Down it went crashing into the corridor, a few thousand pounds of nuts and bolts tipping it onto the unmoving Drone. Kim watched as its blank face disappeared from view.
Unfortunately, the unyielding cable that connected the two shelves pulled the cheerleader's own perch down as well. Kim yelped as her shelf jerked violently and started its decent. Snapping into action, she sprinted down the length of modular wall even as it tipped over. At the last possible moment, she leapt forward onto the next, unattached section. Behind her, both heavy units smashed into the floor with a resonating boom.
Kim looked back on the destruction she had caused and sighed. Her plan had worked a little too well. The drone was squashed and buried under all that rubble. She wasn't going to get a Kimmunicator scan out of that. And she didn't have a second spare hairdryer to tip over any more shelves.
"Great…" she grumbled. Looking back at the struggle below her, she caught a glimpse of flashing green. Shego fought on and she couldn't even see where the two boys had gotten to. Plan D was a bust, but she had one other idea left.
The one she really didn't want to use.
-
A thousand miles away, on a remote Caribbean island, inside a dark castle carved out of a rocky peak, gloved fingers tapped impatiently on a table.
Dr Drakken, evil genius and certified megalomaniac, sat on a stool at his workbench in the cavernous control room, leaning his blue cheek into his fist while his other hand drummed against the metal surface. He glanced at his wrist, realizing too-late that he didn't wear a watch.
"Auuggh." He moaned melodramatically and rubbed his face. "What is taking her? I need that adjustment bolt!" Drakken stood up and began to pace. He had been waiting on the last two pieces for his Reverse Engineering Ray. Shego was supposed to be getting the bolt. He had sent a small army to back her up, plus he had activated the experimental berserker upgrade on his Synthodrones to further distract Kim Possible. His green-suited sidekick should have had no problem escaping with the item, particularly with the new Super-Synthos at her command. But, as usual, she was taking her sweet time.
Attempts to check in with the robots themselves through his supercomputer uplink were also fruitless. Apparently the drones had been severed from the link. Drakken worried that maybe all the Synthodrones had burned through their powercells faster then he originally calculated. The berserker command reduced the lifecycle of the robots substantially, but he had expected them to last more then ten freakin' minutes. The idea that they might be rampaging independently of the computer's control never even entered the mad scientists head.
Instead, Drakken turned his mind to stew over the other missing part: the Quantum Matrix amplifier. He had bought it fair and square (typically unheard of for the frugal villain) from an online auction. Attempts to contact the seller to arrange a prompt delivery were also going unanswered. He had sent out several emails detailing his secret location as well as demanding immediate transport. Drakken swore, if he didn't get his Amplifier by the end of the day, he was going to give this "scissorkid33" such a crappy feedback rating.
The man's black ponytail whipped around as he stormed back over to the massive supercomputer. The drones weren't connected, the online seller wasn't answering, and Shego wasn't back yet. He had nothing to do but wait.
"I hate waiting." The scarred man growled as he set to work preparing for the eventual party-crashing Kim Possible, as he had always known she would come running the moment she caught wind of his latest world-domination scheme. It was simply a matter of time. And while his Reverse Engineering Ray was not quite ready for it's trial run on the meddling redhead, that did not mean he couldn't roll out the red carpet for her.
"Ah, yes, Kim Possible." Drakken grinned devilishly. "Try and stop me this time… I dare you." And with a series of hesitant keystrokes a start-up command was sent out from the computer through the castle's hardwired network.
Deeper in the bowls of the fortress, an automated assembly line roared to life.
-
"Damn it! Move!" Cutter snarled as he drug the stumbling Ron Stoppable along. The towering corridors passed around them as they fled into the maze.
"Let go of me you jerk hole!" The blonde teen tugged at the iron grip on his black mission shirt. The silver-eyed thief pulled them along with such speed that Ron could hardly keep pace. He longed to punch the deceptive man in the face, but looking behind him he held his fist at bay. Four massive drones stomped steadily after them.
"Faster you jerk hole!"
Cutter glanced at him in annoyance, but quickly caught sight of the closing pursuit. "Hold on!" He grabbed onto Ron's wrist roughly and veered towards the shelves.
"Ow!" The teen yelped. "What are you…"
Ron's voice cut off in a cry as he was lifted into the air. Without loosing any speed, Cutter scaled straight up the shelves with his three free limbs, dragging with him a bouncing Ron Stoppable. With a powerful heave, he leaped onto the ledge and pulled the hollering young man up with him.
Ron hardly had a moment to process what had just happened when Cutter's shining eyes locked onto his. "Run!" He snarled through his bared teeth, four of which were sharp and fang-like. With that, the dark-haired man spun and sprinted down the length of shelf. Ron stared after him dumbfounded until he managed to look down.
Just in time to see four sets of massive arms grab for the modular wall.
"Whaaa!" The blonde teen stumbled down the narrow walkway after Cutter just as the whole thing began to tip over.
-
Shego kicked off one grasping hulk to back flip up into the air. As she became inverted over the second drone that had been coming up behind her, she brought two glowing fists smashing down on its head. The impact sent the Syntho collapsing to the floor, its gel-filled skull deformed viciously. Even as she landed lithely from the maneuver, she saw the downed drone stir while the other continued its advance.
"Aarrgh!" She growled. "This is retarded!"
The other two Synthos came in from the sides, effectively blocking her immediate escape. And Shego was starting to think that escape was her only option, if only the damned robots stopped attacking her for a second.
"You know…" came a familiar voice from above. Shego looked up just in time to see Kim Possible drop onto the shoulders of one drone, covering its tiny white orbs with her hands. She locked gazes with Shego as the Syntho started waving its arms around stupidly. "Calling someone 'retarded' is not politically correct."
Shego reflexively spun around and dove under the powerful swipe of the approaching drone on the other side of her. Rolling sideways, she came up and swung her interwoven fists into the back of the drone. She used enough explosive power to send the robot flying across. Kim immediately leapt up and over the soaring drone as it barrelled into the one she had just been straddling. Both Synthos continued on their merry way, smashing through a couple smaller displays even as Kim dropped onto the floor in front of Shego.
"Oh, well…" Shego sneered. "Look at Princess Politically Correct here." She took a moment to drive a superhuman elbow into the gut of the next Syntho and follow through with an explosive uppercut that sent it sailing. She turned back to Kim. "Why don't you run off to cheerleading practice, Kimmie, and mind your own business."
"Look…" Kim stared at the green woman. Not far from her the deformed-headed drone crawled upright. With hardly a glance, the cheerleader sent a handful of razor-pointed hairclips from her side pocket at the two glowing orbs mounted within the warped skull, effectively blinding it. The drone immediately stopped what it was doing and clumsily grabbed at its mutated face, doing more damage then good. The teen frowned at Shego. "We need to work together if we are going to take these goons down."
"Speak for yourself." Shego snorted. "I'm holding my own."
"But for how long?" The younger woman implored. "I don't see any of these guys staying down."
Shego scowled in response.
"I don't like it anymore then you do, but it's the only option left." She gave the green thief a withering look that she quickly tried to cover with one of sincerity. But Shego saw it. She saw what the young woman really thought about working together.
And Shego, for all her scornful remarks and sarcastic looks, she felt more then a little hurt by that.
"Don't do me any favors." She mumbled at the younger woman, who rolled her eyes in response.
"Come on, Shego."
"Fine, princess." Shego relented, even as the three drones she had sent flying came shambling back. Both women turned outward and assumed similar fighting stances. "What exactly do you have in mind?" Even as she spoke the words, she heard the distinctive crash of falling shelves off to her left.
"First we find Ron." Kim responded.
Shego rolled her eyes. "Of course. And while we're at it, that Cutter idiot, too."
Kim gave her a befuddled look.
"Hey, I help you… you help me."
"Fine." Kim sighed. "Let's go." And together, as if they had been working in sync for years, they sprinted forward. The two moved so quickly, and in such a synchronized fashion that the Synthodrone they swept through stood dumbfounded as it was flattened.
-
The rhythmic thumping of heavy footfalls receded behind Ron as he leaned hard against the rack of Nut-Lock cans. He stayed there, holding his breath as the drones continued their pursuit, oblivious to his hiding place. A relieved sigh escaped his lips, even as the dark form next to him elbowed him sharply.
"Hush up." Cutter hissed. "You'll give us away."
"Quite elbowing me." Ron hissed right back. "And hush up yourself."
"I wouldn't have to if you didn't pant like a freakin' dog." The thief curled his lip, revealing a hint of fang.
"Look who's talking." Ron spat.
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?"
"What exactly are you, anyway? Some sort of mutant? Or just a guy with a really bad orthodontist?"
Cutter's head jerked back in indignation. "What?" He opened his mouth slightly and ran his tounge over his pointed canines. "Aw, crap." He muttered.
"You'd better get those capped before you put an eye out."
"Shut up!" Cutter growled. "You don't know anything about me!"
"That wouldn't be because you lied to me, would it?"
"Oh for…" The man rubbed his face in agitation. "Would you stop it with that crap already?"
"Yeah." Ron narrowed his eyes. "Enough messing around." He spun around and grabbed the man by his grey t-shirt. "Hand over the bolt!"
Cutter stared at him incredulously. "What?"
"Hand over the silver bolt! The one you were stealing from Shego!"
"Stealing from… oh my lord." Cutter threw his hands in the air. "I wasn't stealing anything from…"
Ron gave him a shake. "Give it!"
Cutter's silver eyes flashed dangerously. "If you wreck this shirt…"
"I'm warning you…" Ron threatened.
"No." The thief cut him off. "I'm warning you." And then his hands were on Ron's wrists, pulling them off with terrible strength. Ron immediately tried to think of what to do, what amazing Tai Shing Pek Kwar move to counteract the hold and reverse the situation, but the answers were not there. And with a sickening realization he knew that his mystical monkey powers had left him once again.
"You can't beat me, Ron." Cutter slowly rose to his feet; the younger man had no choice but to follow him. "No one can." Their eyes were locked and Ron felt his mouth go dry at the deadly look in the thief's sharp face. But then Cutter blinked and gave a start. He looked at his hands, as if suddenly noticing them for the first time. The deadly pressure on Ron's wrists released.
Cutter's look to Ron was plaintive. "And if you keep trying, you will only die."
Ron didn't know how to respond. He was caught somewhere between anger, confusion and an indescribable fear in his gut that he had rarely experienced before. For some reason, he wanted to run. Run away from this man. But he had no idea why.
"What are you?" He asked again.
Cutter was silent. Once again, he ran his tongue over his teeth, testing his fangs. He snorted in amusement. "I wish I knew."
And then the Synthos came.
-
Around the corner Kim swung, her green and black companion immediately behind. And not far behind her, stormed three drones. The forth had practically dug its own eyes out, trying to get at the barbs she had thrown there. As far as she knew, it was still stumbling around where they had left it.
That left seven drones to contend with. She ran the numbers through her head, even as she cleared a display case and immediately bounced off another. Anything to distract her from the conflict of emotions working with Shego brought upon her.
It wasn't the first time they had been forced to combine forces. It wasn't even too long ago they had been best friends. She had spent almost every waking minute with the woman, shopping, gossiping and just hanging out. It had shocked her how well she and her arch nemesis had got along. They were as close as sisters.
No. Kim reminded herself. That wasn't Shego. Not the real Shego. No more then Ron had been himself when he had been zapped by the Additudinator. Yes, it had been that nefarious device that Jack Hench had built. The one that turned good people bad and bad people good. It was a lie. Her friendship with Shego had been a lie.
"Left or right, Kimmie?" The green skinned woman called out.
But Kim was already dodging to her right, following the obvious trail of destruction. She just hoped that Ron was ok.
"Tee up!" Shego called out. Kim instinctively reached out to grab onto the shelf that still stood next to her, full to capacity with an assortment of bolts and fasteners. Hauling herself quickly up, she reached out and jerked the safety pin that held the shelves from above. At the same time, Shego dashed along the bottom and tore away at the bracing at the bottom. Both women leapt free as the Synthos barrelled around the corner and the heavy contents of the racks simply fell on them.
It would not stop them, but it slowed them down substantially. The two girls had the executed the routine as if it had been a well choreographed dance. But in truth, they had just come up with it on the fly. Throughout their professional relationship, both women had battled each other so much and so often that they almost read each other like twins.
Kim saw Shego glance back at the chaos. She flashed Kim a wicked smile and continued running. She was enjoying this! And the younger woman had to fight herself to keep from returning the grin. She hated to admit it… but she was having fun too.
Around one more corner the unlikely duo came to an unexpected stop.
The four missing Synthos and the two missing guys were there, caught in the middle of a small square. Cutter was obscured, but was immediately forgotten. She could see Ron being lifted into the air by one of the drones.
"Ron!" She screamed. And without realizing it, she had crossed the distance in three dramatic leaps, flying at the struggling young man. She barrelled into Ron, knocking him out of the robot's grasp and throwing him to the floor.
Together they landed in the midst of the rampaging drones. Kim had hardly a moment to see that Ron was ok before the brutes fell upon them.
"Kim!" Ron gasped. "Get out of here!"
"No! Not without you!" She struggled against their powerful arms. She didn't have a plan anymore. The sight of Ron in danger had sent her rushing in without forethought. Something she never did. But she would do it again for Ron. She cried out as she was lifted away from him.
"Kim!" Ron practically shrieked.
Higher she was lifted and then pulled by two sets of hands. She felt her body stretch under the strain and gasped in pain. Colors crept at the edge of her vision and she understood that she would be torn apart very soon.
Then, a drone went flying.
Kim spun her head to see what had happened, trying to find some kind of opening. It became hard to focus her eyes.
Then another drone went flying.
A familiar green glow flashed across her vision and she saw Shego leaping into the fray. Behind her, something made the drone shudder. Her face swivelled the other direction, and she saw a muscled arm, veins popping, pulling at the Syntho's grip. Cutter's silver eyes were narrow slits and his lips were curled back into a vicious snarl that almost made her shudder.
"Hold on, Kim!" She heard Ron shout. Then a set of human arms wrapped around her waist and tried to pull her away from the drone. She heard the tell-tale pop as Shego dispatched yet another Syntho.
She felt the drone's grip loosen. A deep reverberation escaped Cutter's throat and the mutated synthetic arms drew back further.
Then a bright green filled her vision as Shego's glowing fist roared overhead, smashing into the drone's chest. The impact knocked the robot back and Kim popped out of its grip and into the tugging embrace of Ron Stoppable.
"Oh, God. Kim." Ron buried his face in her red hair. "Don't you ever do that again."
She felt her strength start to return to her arms and managed to raise them to return the embrace. "It's ok, Ron. I'm ok… you're ok. We're ok."
Ron pulled back to arms length and bored into her eyes with his own watery brown ones. "What were you thinking?"
Kim smiled at him. "About you."
Ron stood dumbfounded. Then he laughed and kissed her.
-
Shego watched the couple with mixed feelings.
Part of her simply couldn't comprehend the two of them together. The capable and skilled Kim Possible and the bumbling Ron Stoppable. In all honesty, she never imagined any man being good enough for her long-time adversary. Much like herself in many ways.
But then, she could see how they felt about each other and how the dufus practically worshipped her. It made her glad that someone appreciated how special she was which was probably more then most guys would offer her. Maybe he did deserve her for that.
Then, Shego got annoyed with herself for thinking such soft, touchy-feely crap.
Turning back to the matter at hand, she faced the Synthodrone she had just knocked into a wall. As she had expected, the thing started to stir, but not entirely of its own volition.
Into the air the squirming robot was slowly raised as Cutter pushed his way out from between it and the wall where he had been sandwiched. With an audible heave, he tossed the larger drone sideways and stumbled forward with an unpleasant look on his face.
"That hurt?" Shego smiled obnoxiously at the brunette man.
"You knew I was holding onto that." He growled.
"Really?" She feigned shock. "You poor thing."
"Guys!" The commanding voice of Kim Possible cut through the air. "We need to regroup!"
Sure enough, the Synthos were starting to surround them yet again, this time joined by the three who had been following Kim and Shego. The green woman immediately backtracked towards the center of the square.
"What?" Cutter called after Shego. "You suddenly working for her now?"
"No one asked you, moron." She called back as she met up with the two teens. Back to back, facing the surrounding threat, she was only half surprised to see the man shrug and bound over to join them.
"Ok, we need to work together if we want to get out of here in once piece." Kim surveyed the area. "Are you all with me?"
"Always." Ron responded sincerely.
"Ugh." Shego groaned. "Gag me."
"Yes, someone please gag her." Cutter mumbled.
"You want to eat some greens?" Shego snapped back and raised a glowing fist.
"Make sure you hit him in the teeth so he doesn't look so freaky." Ron snorted.
"You know what, Ron?" Cutter started to turn around.
"Enough!" Kim silenced them all with a piercing shout. "This is so not the time! We can't do this if you keep fighting!" Shego shifted uncomfortably and bit back her retort. "Now… are you all with me?"
"Yeah." Ron said.
"Sure." Cutter mumbled.
Shego smirked sarcastically. "You're the boss, pumpkin."
"Thank you, Shego." Kim said quietly. The green woman turned around and met the younger woman's gaze. She knew that it was for more then just falling in line, but for saving her life.
"Don't mention it."
Kim actually smiled a little at that. And for some reason Shego didn't feel like rolling her eyes.
"Ok," the redhead turned back to the slowly closing drones, some of which dragged themselves along with twisted limbs. "We need to figure out a way to take these guys down for good."
"Why doesn't sweetpea here just blow them away?" Cutter piped up as he prowled along the ground.
"I already tried that, jackass." She retorted. "Doesn't work."
"Oh, whatever." Cutter snorted. "I've seen you destroy half a building."
"I can't just do stuff like that whenever I feel like it." She snapped back. "It expends too much energy and strains my system. I've already used too much of my power over the last couple days, thanks to you."
"Ok, ok…" Kim interjected. "So we can't vaporize them, we can't bleed them out, and we don't have anything big and sharp to cut them apart. We need another alternative. We need Wade."
"Who?" Cutter cocked his head.
"If we can get a hold of one of them long enough for me to scan it with my Kimmunicator, Wade can find a weakness."
"How we gonna get a hold of one without the others beating us to a pulp in the process?" Ron groaned.
"I can grab one." Cutter growled. The animal sound gave Shego a shiver. "I'm sure I can hold one long enough for your whatchimacallit."
"And I can hold back the hordes while you do it." Shego added in, not about to be outdone by the annoying man.
"By yourself?" Ron sounded unconvinced. Around them the seven drones closed in.
Shego smiled viciously and raised her glowing hands.
"Piece of cake."
-
Wade Load waited impatiently. In truth he was still doing a dozen things at once, including continuing the hunt for the algorithm, but he kept looking back at the Kimmunicator uplink, waiting for the scan. He could see from the vitals and sat-link that everyone was still in once piece and mobile, but he couldn't tell what exactly was going on until Kim updated him. The periphery sensors on the Kimmunicator informed him of a little, though. Enough to tell him that Kim was surrounded by drones and three other people. One was Ron, one was Shego and the other had to be Cutter.
One of the things Wade was doing to occupy himself was monitor the incidental scans of the odd thief, who even then seemed to be crawling around on all fours like a beast. Besides that obvious oddity, a few other things struck the child-genius as strange. Things like unusual body temperature and measurable shifts in weight distribution not to mention the sudden bursts of inhuman speed and strength he seemed to be displaying. At first, Wade was content to blame the abnormalities on the electromagnetic interference that close proximity to Shego and her plasmic powers always caused. Plus, the periphery sensors were nowhere near as accurate as the full-on deep-scanning that the Kimmunicator was capable of.
Nevertheless, something seemed off about Cutter, and Wade prided himself on collecting as much information as possible to help his team mates. If he couldn't crack the WEE algorithm to gather background intel on Chris Cutter right away… then maybe he could take a more direct approach.
Wade began programming another deep-scan protocol, even as he waited for the first one to go through, preparing for the next narrow window of opportunity.
-
All Ron Stoppable could do was duck.
Over his blonde head sailed yet another Synthodrone, courtesy of the violent Shego. Almost single-handedly, she was holding back most of the drones. Ron saw another burst of green light and heard her laugh out loud.
But what surprised Ron the most was the actions of Chris Cutter. Not only had the thief come to Kim's aid during the fight, but he seemed to hold his own against the unstoppable mutant-Synthos. Another vicious growl came from the silver-eyed man and he barrelled into another hulking robot, actually knocking it backwards off its feet before bouncing and leaping onto another. Ron swore he was getting more and more feral by the minute.
And of course, Kim kept busy. She danced among the drones lithely, easily dodging their powerful attacks and leading them to collide and combat with each other as much as with her. Always watching, always planning. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to execute the plan.
All Ron could do was duck.
It ate away at his inside that he had nothing to offer the group. He couldn't even help save Kim from the drone. Shego and even the ass Cutter had saved her. All he could do was watch and wonder why he couldn't find his monkey powers. Here one minute, and gone the next, even when he needed them most. And Ron understood that it was his fault in the first place. His inability to pull his own weight that got Kim in trouble to begin with. She had risked it all to save him.
Ron sighed sadly, and tried to keep out of the way.
-
Even as Kim landed in a roll, the two Synthos behind her tripped over each other's feet. She quickly surveyed the area.
"We need to get to the wall!" She shouted out. "Put our backs to it!"
"Hold you're horses!" Shego raised her glowing hands into the air, which flared up brightly. "Fire in the hole!" Down they came, and a volley of explosive plasma shot forth.
Kim ducked next to Ron and the wake of the detonation rolled over them. She glanced up and saw that a smoking gap had been cleared between the surrounding drones.
"Ok, move!" Kim shouted. She and Ron leaped up and sprinted through the gap. Turning to make sure the other two were following them, she stopped short. Shego was stumbling forward, her hand on her head.
"Shego!" Kim called out, even as two massive drones closed on her.
-
Her head spun in circles and she fought to clear it enough to run.
Too much, too much power. She felt the strain inside of her quiver. She was so terribly close to snapping that tight reign. And once it was gone, she feared she would simply burn herself to ash.
She stumbled on. She had to get clear.
She intuitively sensed the two drones thanks to years of combat training. But she had no defence. She didn't dare use her power until her head cleared, and even then her balance was shot. Despite the hopelessness, she swung at them. Shego never gave in. Not ever. She snarled viciously.
Confusion set in when the sound she heard was more animal then human.
A blur of black and grey smashed into the first drone, riding it to the ground. Without a moment's hesitation, the snarling creature bounded up and at the second drone. A muscled arm met a synthetic one, and there was the briefest moment of frozen movement as the two powerful arms held each other solid. Shego saw Cutter's face, twisted into something terrifying. His lips were curled back to show inch-long fangs and his silver eyes shined with something monstrous.
Muscles bulged and veins popped. The synthetic arm was snapped backwards into a sickening angle. The drone, feeling no pain, swung at the man with his free arm. Cutter caught it and pulled brutally, swinging the entire drone off its feet. Across the room it sailed.
Then those sliver points focused on her.
Shego almost fell over, trying to prepare herself for a fight. She had seen that look before; feral and predatory. She had fought him before to this point, where he seemed to change into something else. Something that she wasn't sure wouldn't simply eat her.
Cutter shot towards her faster then anything. Even had she been at full capacity she wouldn't have been able to react quickly enough. She tried anyway.
But he didn't snap her neck, or tear out her heart. He grabbed her and ran. In two bounding leaps, he had cleared the gap to the wall.
Shego instinctively drove her elbow into his temple, even as she realized that he wasn't trying to kill her. She was rewarded with a reverberating growl that came from deep inside his chest and she felt all the way to her toes. He lowered her to the ground and gave her an unpleasant look.
"Stop hitting me, sweetpea."
"You're not an animal?" Shego asked, head still swimming. Even as the question escaped her lips, it hardly made any sense to her.
But Cutter looked at her, as if he understood what she meant. "You're lucky." Was all he said. Then he was gone.
Shego blinked. And then two teenage faces filled her vision.
"You ok?" Kim sounded more then a little concerned. Ron, on the other hand, simply looked sceptical.
"Yeah." She lied a little. "Just give me a minute, and I'll be back to kicking ass."
"Good." The cheerleader's face hardened. "Cause I hate to admit it, but we need you right now."
-
Chris Cutter grabbed onto the drone's head and twisted it into a full 180. It stumbled off in the wrong direction as he flipped backwards to scurry along the floor to the next one. It tried to stomp at him but he snaked around and smashed it in the knee joint. Even as it tipped over, he stood and heaved the entire robot forward into the path of another.
He was skating a razor's edge, he knew. The desire to simply tear out the throats of the synthetic soldiers with his teeth ebbed at the back of his head. Even now, running upright on two limbs felt almost unnatural and he found himself loping along on four without thinking. He growled and knew it wasn't a human sound.
Into the air he leapt, right over the approach of the next Syntho to reach out and grab onto his back. He flexed special muscles and retractable claws burst from his fingertips intending to find purchase on the robot's skin. Normally, they were tiny things, useful only for climbing, but this time inch-long talons issued forth to leave a snaking trail down the thing's back. Cutter grabbed on with his other hand and pulled mightily. The whole drone was lifted backwards and over his head.
Cutter grew even more concerned as he looked at his clawed hands. Normally, he was already too far gone when this happened. For whatever reason, he was just managing to retain his faculties. A range of sounds and smells assaulted him, beyond the capacity of anyone human to navigate. But one stood out.
Spicy. Like hot cinnamon. He had been drowning in it as he carried her to the wall, her flowing black hair wafting next to his cheek, and now it lingered around him. Half memory, half reality.
He focused on that scent. Revelled in it. And through it, he tied himself to the world. He would not get lost. Not while he had a trail to follow back.
Crouched low to the ground, Cutter held his slashing hands to either side and faced the oncoming horde. He smiled toothily, white fangs displayed prominently. Had the robots been anything but mindless, they would have hesitated at that grin.
-
While Cutter held back the horde Kim's strategic mind raced. They were backed into the wall, which afforded them a narrower defensive line. The trade-off being, of course, that they had nowhere to retreat. She watched Cutter warily as he tossed the super-drones aside. It wasn't exactly subtle, the change that was overtaking the dark-haired thief. What the change meant, she couldn't be sure. Nevertheless, she needed Shego back on the defensive so he could grapple a drone. She turned to the sitting woman.
"You back up?"
Shego took a steadying breath and shook the cobwebs from her head. The gaze that she gave Kim was as defiant as ever. "Just get that bouncing idiot out of my way."
Kim couldn't stop herself from smiling. Shego was, quite possibly, the strongest woman she had ever met.
"Alright." She turned and yelled at the fighting Cutter. "Heads up!" She spun around to Ron, who stood beside her unobtrusively. With a flick of the wrist, she handed the Kimmunicator to him. "Ron, I need you to do the scan."
"What?" His eyebrows rose.
"I need to distract the drones with Shego, she can't do it alone."
"Speak for yourself." The green woman groaned as she stood up, but made no other arguments against the idea.
"But Kim…" Ron sputtered. "I don't know if I should…"
"I need you, Ron." She cut him off. Their shared look saying more then words could. "I know you can do this."
Ron's posture stiffened and his jaw firmed. He took the device. "You can count on me, Kim."
She smiled. "I know I can." She turned back to Shego. "Let's do it."
"Finally." Shego snorted, and she leapt forward.
-
Even as her hands burst into glowing green flames, she braced herself for the wave of nausea. It hit her, as she knew it would, but not as powerfully as she had feared. Being careful not to push it too hard, she kept the blaze around her fists to a minimum. Just enough to cause some damage. She smiled without mirth. She couldn't help but cause damage, even weakened as she was.
Together with Kim she charged into the fray. The cheerleader went right. She went left.
The first drone she came upon was a particularly ugly-looking thing. One leg was twisted at a bizarre angle, giving it a lurching gait. Chris-crossing its chest and head was a myriad of slashes and cuts, exposing the semi-solid gel that popped out as if the robot had burst at the seams. It reached at her clumsily and she almost casually backhanded it with an explosive palm.
Past that, she found Cutter. He was latched onto a synthetic arm, tearing deep gashes with is hands. It was then that she realized he had claws. The drone connected with the dark-haired man across the face, and sent him sprawling to the floor.
With an angry shout, she leapt forward and sent a glowing fist into the robot's own blank face, practically flipping the thing end over end. She dropped down to check on Cutter.
His head whipped around and snarled at her, spittle flying from between his fangs. She jerked backwards reflexively, ready to defend. But the snarl ended as quickly as it started as he seemed to suddenly recognize her.
"Sweetpea?" He tested the air, as if smelling something familiar. Then he smiled crookedly. "Done napping?"
"Shut up." She didn't sound half as angry as she meant to. "Get your ass over to the sidekick with one of these things. Me an' Kimmie are gonna cover you."
He surprised her by looking concerned. "You ok to do this?"
"Just get over there you idiot." She snapped. "Before I punch out your pointy teeth."
The dork actually smiled at her, but drew his lips together into a toothless grin at the mention of his fangs. He locked gazes with her for the barest moment. Shego didn't punch him, like she had intended to. She wasn't exactly sure why.
Then he was gone. A flash of silver across her vision where his eyes had once been. She didn't have time to look and see where he went, because two more drones fell upon her. Her power flashed as she connected left and right. She was a living weapon, forged by the cosmos themselves. Not even at her weakest did Shego relent.
-
Ron stood and watched as Cutter loped along the edge of the skirmish. He looked like a lion picking through a herd. He flowed through the movements as if he was the one filled with gel and not the robots. Most of the Synthos didn't even notice him, so focused on the combined distractions of Kim and Shego. The brunette man slinked along close to the ground like a prowling beast.
And then he grabbed one.
The movement was so quick and violent that Ron actually jerked. In an instant Cutter had clutched the unsuspecting drone by the neck and thrown it to the ground. Without a second's pause, he was on the Syntho. His fist went down once, twice into the robot's face. A massive arm reached up to grab at the straddling man, but Cutter intercepted it and snapped it into a 45 degree angle. Ron winced. If the Synthodrone had any bones to break, he would almost have felt sorry for it.
Unfortunatly the drone's second arm swung out to bat the smaller man away. Cutter was propelled sideways onto the ground by the powerful impact. Even wounded, the mutant Synthos had incredible strength.
But even as Cutter few from the drone, he spun and landed like a cat, skidding backwards on four limbs. He hardly slid three feet before he launched himself back at his adversary. The impact sent them tumbling together in a rolling mess, Cutter snarling loudly and he tore at the drone.
Ron ran forward, trying to close the gap between them. He held the Kimmunicator in front of him, primed for a scan. As he neared the grappling pair, he held back, waiting for the right moment.
They twisted and rolled. Cutter moving his whole body around the larger drone as if scaling a giant. The drone shuddered and thrashed, trying to dislodge the unrelenting man. Quicker then it seemed, he had made his way on top of the robot and held fast.
"Ron! Where are you?" The dark man bellowed. "This is as good as it's going to get!"
"I'm here!" Ron shouted. He keyed up the Kimmunicator, and the familiar face of Wade Load suddenly appeared on its small screen. "Wade! Cutter's got a Syntho pinned! I'm about to scan it!"
"Chris Cutter's there?" Wade asked quickly.
"Uhh…" Ron hesitated. "Yeah?"
"Good." Wade typed at his keyboard. "Go ahead, I'm ready."
Ron snapped into action. He cleared the eight-foot gap between himself and the grapple and raised the device in front of him. Automatically, no doubt the work of Wade himself, a green beam of light shot from the edge of the small gadget. Slowly, it traced over the drone, once and twice.
"Is it done?" Cutter grunted, his head turned to face the wrong direction.
"Uh… not yet." Ron narrowed his eyes in confusion. The green light continued moving. It rose up and started tracing Cutter.
"This isn't as easy as I make it look." Cutter growled. The drone lurched underneath him.
Once and twice the green beam ran over the dark-haired thief. Then it disappeared. Ron looked questioningly at Wade's freckled face.
"All done." The child genius winked at Ron. "I'll get the results back to you in a minute max."
"Ok, uh… thanks, Wade." Ron smirked at the younger man, suspecting that he was up to something. "Sooner then later, please." The screen winked out and Ron looked back at the struggling pair. "It's done. You can, um, get off it now."
"Cool." Cutter said through his teeth. "I just want to try something while I'm here." And Ron jerked back reflexively as the man snapped his muscled arms up and around the Synthodrone's head. With a horrible twist, he snarled and tore the drone's head off.
Ron stood, his mouth agape as the robot continued to thrash and swing, seemingly oblivious to the weight that had been lifted from its shoulders. Severed wires and chunks of semi-solid gel flopped around in the jagged hole.
"Well…" Cutter bounced the severed head between his hands. "Now we know that doesn't kill them."
-
Elsewhere in the store, an insistent beeping awoke a man in a red jumpsuit. He stirred from the floor where he had been lying and groaned as he sat himself up, rubbing his masked head.
"Aw… man." He moaned. "Did anyone get the license plate on that redhead?"
The beeping came from his utility pocket from which he produced a small plastic box. The chiming device had a little red light that blinked at him.
He looked around him, seeing the rest of his elite henchmen crew lying in various states of consciousness. They were all beeping. This wasn't the first time they had been soundly beaten by the teenaged superhero, but it was never a satisfying thought to wake up to.
Then a high-pitched keen flittered across his perception that stirred unpleasant memories. He glanced out the gaping hole in the wall from where the sirens were coming.
His boot kicked out and connected with the closest comrade, lying on his stomach.
"Hey! Bill! Wake up! The cops are coming!"
Bill groaned loudly and rolled over to look at his assailant.
"Just five more minutes, mom."
"Get up!" The henchman scrambled to his feet, waving the blinking and beeping box. "We got the signal! We gotta get moving!"
And so they set to work, shaking and kicking everyone up, organizing a strategic retreat.
-
"Ron's waving us over!" Kim called to Shego. She swung around and between the drone's legs, kicking them out as she went. The drone lost its balance and fell backwards. She dodged a swipe from another and threw an elbow into its face, causing it to step back.
"And what exactly are we going to do once we get there, Kimmie?" Came the mocking reply. Flashes of green preceded the typical Syntho soaring overhead, of which Kim had to quickly duck to avoid getting clipped. Luckily it ran into the staggering drone she had just elbowed instead. She was noticing that Shego's explosive impacts were not sending the drones flying as far as they had been. She herself was starting to feel fatigued as well. They needed to end this. All it would take was one lucky hit and a drone could cripple them.
"We have to trust that Wade's found a weakness!" She cart wheeled between two more Synthos to come face-to-face with the green woman. The moment she saw her face she winced involuntarily. Shego looked drawn tight as a bowstring, he cheeks seemed hollow and her eyes bagged. "Come on. We need to regroup."
The older woman's emerald eyes denied her obvious exhaustion and she laughed defiantly. "All right, princess. If you need a break, just say so."
Kim smiled at the woman's evident guile. Together they leapt and dodged their way past the three drones between them and the boys, Shego not even bothering to use her power anymore. Cutter met them halfway and kicked the final robot in the ass, sending it bowling into the others behind it. All three of them fell back to Ron, who stood with the Kimmunicator still in hand.
"About time you got back here." He said with good humour.
"What? Did Wade find a weakness?" Kim quickly interrogated her partner. "Did he call us back yet? Is there some sort of techno-thing he can do?"
"Chill, Kim." Ron padded the air in front of him. "Wade's finished deciphering the scan."
"And what did he say?" She started getting annoyed. She glanced back at the regrouping drones.
"Well…" Ron began casually. "From what I can figure from all his techno-babble, Drakken put a special nano additive into the synthogel itself that mutated these bad boys into the dudes you see before you."
"That's great." Shego piped up angrily, hunched over from fatigue. "Now how do we friggin' kill 'em?"
"I'm getting to that." Ron responded indignantly. "Wade says the only way to really stop them is to cut them into pieces. That or destroy their armoured power source, which is somewhere in the chest."
"Wonderful." Kim groaned. The drones drew closer. "And here I left my samurai sword at the cleaners."
"You use a sword?" Cutter gave her a gullible look.
"So basically we have nothing on hand to take them out." Shego dropped to one knee. She really looked tired. Kim had never seen her look as defeated as she did at that moment.
"Basically, yes." Ron shrugged, unconcerned. The drones came even closer.
"Then why are you so damned calm?" Shego hissed at him. Even Kim, whose mind was racing through possibilities at that moment, had to admit that he was uncharacteristically composed. She gave him a suspecting look.
"Ah, my dear Shego." Ron smiled and spoke with comically proper english. "You see, in addition to super strength, unstoppable resilience and a mindless desire to kill, there is one other side effect to the mutation." Ron lifted his hand to casually look at the Kimmunicator even as the nearest drone closed within a few steps. The other three took a reflexive step back. "They use a lot more juice then the regular ol' Synthos. And according to Wade's calculations, they should run out of power right… about…"
The drone suddenly froze.
Ron gave a chesire grin. "Now."
One by one, the drones suddenly stopped moving. Some slowed to a crawl before they eventually haulted, others simply froze in mid step. Kim, along with the others, stared at the scene in mute shock.
Ron turned around to regard them, the frozen drone mere inches from grabbing Ron's head. "I believe this calls for a Booyah! A, Booy-aaah!" Ron's cheer ended in a cry as Kim pulled him free from the solid Synthodone as it toppled over where he had just been standing.
All the drones fell over then. And as they hit the ground, they cracked and broke apart, the synthogel that filled them having turned fully solid. As the last one fell, the store grew silent.
"Well…" Cutter scratched his head. "That was anticlimactic."
"Fine by me." Kim wrapped her arms around Ron who met her embrace. "So not the drama."
"Yeah." Shego sighed, still collapsed in exhaustion. But then a devilish smile spread across her face. "Time for a cliffhanger."
Faster then Kim could have anticipated from a fatigued woman, her leg swept out and took Cutter to the floor with a surprised yelp. One hand shot out to grip his neck.
"Don't move or I blow your head clean off." She snarled at the supine man.
"Shego!" Kim cried out, pulling away from Ron. The woman had been faking how fatigued she really was!
Her free hand padded through Cutter's pockets, searching for something. "Damnit, where is it?" She hissed.
"Looking for this?" Cutter held out his hand. There, pincered between to fingers, was a shiny silver bolt.
"Give me that!" Shego snapped, and reached for the object, just out of reach.
"No, Chris!" Kim implored. "Don't give it to her. Give it to me. We'll make sure Drakken doesn't get it."
"Yeah," Ron piped up. "Who knows what evil stuff he'll, um, bolt together with that!"
Cutter's silver eyes glanced at Kim, then to Ron where they lingered. Kim couldn't be sure what the two boys exchanged in that look. Then Cutter's gaze shifted to Shego. He stared at her, and she stared right back, nothing but pure defiance in her emerald eyes.
"If you want it, sweetpea," he said softly, "then it's yours." His hand drifted towards her. "I never came here for it in the first place."
Shego's face shifted into confusion. "Then… why did you…" She glanced up at the two teens, as if suddenly remembering where she was. Her face hardened instantly. "Then… give it to me you loser!" She snatched at the bolt.
"No, Shego!" Kim poised herself for another fight. "Don't do this now!"
"Sorry, pumpkin." The green woman backed away. "I still have a job to do. Business, you know."
"I don't want to fight you, Shego." Kim pleaded. "I know you're near exhaustion. You can't get away. Please… just give it to me."
"Aw, Kimmie." Shego smiled warmly. "You know how this works. We're on two different sides of the same coin. Besides…" She produced a small plastic box, seemingly from thin air. On it, a small red light blinked slowly.
High above them, the ceiling exploded.
Kim grabbed Ron and threw him to the ground as debris showered down over them. The dust quickly settled and Kim lifted her head. Rising into the air, Shego rode an extended rope ladder. She could see the manned hovercraft that had been parked on the roof, reeling her in.
Shego smiled and waved. "… I always have an escape plan!" Through the hole she disappeared, into the sky.
Kim stood up and watched, a resigned look on her face. Ron stumble up next to her.
"Well. I gotta admit, she pulled that off like clockwork." He brushed the dust from his hair.
"Yeah." Kim sighed. "She's the best there is."
"Second best." Ron put a hand on her shoulder. "I happen to know someone even better."
She managed to smile at him. Right now she wasn't feeling like the best. Then she frowned again and looked around.
"And Cutter's gone too." She tsked.
"Really?" Ron spun around. "Aw, man! I really wanted to nail that guy!"
"Don't worry." A determined expression sat on her face. "I have a feeling you'll get another chance before this is over." She raised her Kimmunicator and called up Wade. The young genius popped up instantly.
"Whats up?" Came the reply.
"Wade, we're gonna need a ride to the Caribbean, as soon as possible." Kim detailed, even as she began to hear the police and fire crews filtering into the building, barking orders and assessing damages.
Wade smiled. "Paying Drakken a visit?"
"I've had enough of this dancing around." Her eyes narrowed. "It's time we take this right to the source."
"Aw, yeah!" Ron punched his fist into the air. "Time for some major butt-whup in D-Town!"
"And this time," Kim promised, "we're going prepared."
-
The Bolt Bin was swarming with police and rescue personnel. No one was sure whether the massive amount of property damage was the result of a gas leak, a robbery or a terrorist attack. In essence, they were trying to cover all the bases until the nature of the emergency was successfully identified.
Through the maze of corridors and tipped shelves men and women scurried. Some with hoses, some with firearms, some with first aid kits and some with notepads and pencils. Everything was being meticulously recorded, for police records and insurance adjustments as well as future criminal court cases, if it ever got that far.
In one such corridor, a huge mess was found. Most of the shelving units had been knocked right over and large holes had been torn straight through the ones that were still standing. A large array of burn makes were documented around the area, most of it seemed to emanate from one specific location. The very location from which Shego had stood when she first faced off against the Synthodrones.
Unknown to the men and women who shifted through the mess, one small piece of the puzzle was missing. But even if they had found it, it would have only arisen more questions. Luckily for them, it had already been picked up by a certain someone on his way out of the building.
And as Chris Cutter sat himself on his black motorcycle, his hastily retrieved helmet fitted on his dark head, his bare feet fitting into the foot pedals uncomfortably, he regarded that small piece that he held in his hand, rolling its smooth surface between his fingers. Feeling the coolness of the metal. Watching the way the sunlight glinted off its shiny surface. Thinking about why he even bothered to pick it up again.
And Chris Cutter sighed inside his helmet and shook his head for what seemed like the hundredth time. He pocketed the metal lump and started his bike, knowing without a doubt where his next destination would be.
"I must be completely insane." He grumbled, and then peeled out of the alleyway.
-
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Time for the Finale ladies and gents! It's gonna be nuts! I'll leave it for you to decide whether it's nuts in a good or bad way. I'm hoping good. But I'll settle for totally sweet. Don't forget to R & R if you want more… or… less. I dunno.