Kim Possible: The Darkness Without
Redux
Pt 3
By Eoraptor
Boring but important legal stuff: Kim Possible and all related characters are property of the Walt Disney Company ©2002-2007. Full disclaimers at the top of Chapter 1.
Now, on with the Story...
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"Booh Yah! Chalk another one up for the good guys!" this time it was Kim spouting off Ron's favorite exclamation and grinning. She looked up at Drakken and Shego, who both looked worse for the wear as their hover-car retreated towards the stratosphere, and waited for the typical retort as she moved towards Drakken's machine. She grinned as she caught sight of Rufus grabbing a souvenir and then darting back into Ron's cargo pocket.
Ron, for his part, took one more look at the vortex, where the taller figure appeared to have been joined by others in facing the shorter figure with the two-tone arms. There seemed to be more definition now too, the shorter figure had on what looked like body armor. There was a lot of green for some reason. Ron grumbled, though, as Rufus returned and flipped another switch, and the vortex contracted, finally vanishing.
"Hey I was watching that!" he almost whined.
"hu-uh hu-uh bad news…" the mole-rat shook his head fervently.
"Oh… all right. KP, you coming?" Ron was headed for the elevator since there wasn't much more they could do here.
Sure enough, Kim turned and looked up, and just like clockwork came the usual parting words, "You think you're all that Kim Possible but you're-"
Three humans and one mole rat were transfixed by the blossom of orange and white that expanded from Drakken's machine in that split second. It seemed to move in slow motion, a living thing expanding in time lapse, reaching out with glowing tendrils and snatching everything in reach before flinging bits of flaming debris back out ahead of it.
One of the "everythings" in its path was a startled Kimberly Anne Possible.
Ron didn't see the most horrifying part of this beast's brief two second lifespan, and for that he would both thank and curse the fates. His consciousness winked out even as he turned to see Kim silhouetted by the orange monster and the blast blew him into the already opening elevator door. Rufus, still nestled in his pocket, suffered the same consequence.
Drakken, piloting the hover car and spouting off his retort to the sky more than the people perched atop the building, also failed to take in a large part of what happened in the following moment, though the blast definitely helped to focus his attentions.
Shego, having just hauled herself dizzily up over the front bar of the hover-car, was witness to every gruesome detail. She couldn't say if it was through some cursed gift of her super-powers, or just the normal time dilatation of crisis that burned the images so clearly into her mind, but she too cursed them with her every breath.
Kim Possible, with her long red hair, her vibrant purple tunic, her black jeans, and even that ubiquitous blow-dryer grapple gun, was caught from the left by the beast as it emerged from the machine. She'd just managed to turn her head to see what the sudden blossom of light was, and her arm was coming up instinctively to deflect what could not hope to be deflected.
In a gruesome moment that seemed a lifetime, Shego watched the fire latch on to her arm and, at the same moment, smash her entire body in the opposite direction. Her transfixed eyes watched as the woman who had been fighting her with such precision just a moment before was slammed like a marionette with its strings cut in the blast wave of the explosion. Shego couldn't flinch in the fraction of a second that she was forced, by fate or biblically poor timing, to see Kim's head snapped to one side with hideous force, a blank look of surprise on her face even then.
The fireball fully engulfed her suspended body over the next eternity, which encompassed perhaps a third of a second. And then she was gone.
Shego's eyes, heedless of her minds frantic screams to look away, followed the blossoming monstrosity as it filled and then exceeded the limits of the observation deck. The flame-beast, reaching the limits of its lifespan, began to grow dark and angry at its outer edges, withering and dying away like a neglected garden.
"Kim!" the half-choked scream erupted from her throat finally. Time started moving once again as if on cue. Immediately following the orange fire monster, a crackling blue monster of flame expanded out from the center of the maelstrom. This one moved with the speed explosions were generally supposed to, and obliterated its orange predecessor's remnants. The green-clad mercenary could only watch as the giant TV antennas atop the tower were bent hideously aside but remained fixed to the top of the tower. Smaller shards of shrapnel sprung up, but were seemingly consumed by the blue wave before it too dissipated, leaving a hissing, warped warzone in its wake.
Shego didn't notice the hover-car lurching upwards violently, or Drakken's attempts to right it. She didn't notice the stench of burned glass and metal on the air. She also completely failed to notice the black helicopter they only narrowly missed as it too was buffeted.
In fact, it was a good ten minutes before the dazed Shego noticed anything at all. By that time, the hover-car had covered several dozen miles and Drakken was verbally berating it and its lineage if only it would go a little faster. She slowly turned her head, black hair frazzled from the fight and now the flight, and began to make out the blue shape responsible for the maelstrom they were fleeing. Finally, all she saw was red.
"YOU!!"
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-Five Hours after the death of Kim Possible-
A black suburban pulled up into the driveway of the still awakening Possible household in the suburb that was Middleton, California. After a few minutes lights came on in the house one at a time, to greet the predawn guests. Coffee was offered, but refused.
Twenty minutes later the SUV left, and the household wished it had never awoken, or that it had yet to awaken and this was all a horribly unfair dream. Screams and sobs echoed through the cul-de-sac all of that day and into the next as a call descended around the neighborhood.
The usual explosions which would have accompanied the upcoming preparations of the Possible household's entries for the Homecoming were noticeably absent that morning. This alone would have been enough to tell the neighborhood that something was dreadfully wrong at the Possible's rebuilt home, even without the dreadful news ticking in on the morning news shows.
-Seven Hours after the death of Kim Possible-
Brick Flagg, along with the rest of the world, watched what seemed to be another 9-11 unfold on the news cycles. He'd been to the Arena early that morning to do warm-ups, and had yet to hear anything other than the CD's in his car before now. The overnight security guard had pointed him in the direction of the smoking tower a few miles to the east of the arena when he asked why the streets were so quiet, and then let him inside the building. No one should be alone on days like this.
"Early reports are very sketchy at this point." The current commentator went on from somewhere in the downtown metro.
"One survivor was pulled from the area below the Observation Deck in the early morning hours. Unconfirmed reports are that the survivor is Ron Stoppable, running back for the Rush, and partner to Kim Possible. The Department of Homeland Security, in a news conference earlier this morning, confirmed that Miss Possible herself had been investigating the tower during the evening hours. DHS is thankful that the timing of the attack, near midnight Central Standard Time, had the tower nearly empty; and the limited number of people on the streets below prevented horrific casualties like those of the WTC attacks several years ago.
"Debris fell from the top of the Sears tower to street level, limiting rail and street travel through the area, and civillains are advised to not travel to the downtown district. Reports of at least two aircraft over the tower at the time of the blast have yet to be confirmed…"
The news repeated like that for several hours, but most had tuned it out after the first or second cycle. Brick sighed heavily, and tried to think of what he and the team could do to help out Crazy Legs and his family. Maybe some kind of plaque, or a statue… Yeah a statue would be nice.
-Three Days after the death of Kim Possible-
"Ronald, we all understand that you're still very tired. But you have to tell us what happened to set off the explosion."
Ron didn't know who was speaking exactly. The bandages over most of his face prevented him from seeing anything more than gray-green blurs that talked too loudly. The morphine drip made them even blurrier and sound all that much louder.
After a few moments, he pointed to the picture of Drakken which he was shown, and shook his head. He did the same to the picture of Shego, his hands bandaged into unidentifiable white packages as he gestured. He was shown a few other pictures, still tiredly shaking his head at each as he pointed. When he was shown the last picture, however, he had to be sedated; and the General and his staff were asked to leave. They took all the pictures with them, including the crumpled tear stained picture of a girl with red hair.
-Four Days after the death of Kim Possible-
One shadow in the corner of Ron's room that had gone unnoticed by all present during the last few hours coalesced into a solid form, "Worry not Stoppable-san. We shall watch over you as long as is required. You need not recover from this alone, unless that is what you wish."
A soft hand touched his, which were freshly dressed after yet another skin graft. The shadowy figure carefully laid a single lotus, a rare variety with brilliant blue veining, on the stand next to the boy's bed. "Sensei has declared that all of our resources will be placed at your disposal should you desire to use them, Tai Sheng Pek Kwar Master."
Other shapes appeared in similar shadows, and further interviews with the patient were discouraged by nurses and doctors that no one recognized, specialists called in to consult on his case apparently. Who knew there were so many Asian doctors in Chicago?
-Seven Days after the death of Kim Possible-
"Well, whoever had him beat the hell out of him… and then they did it again with a lead pipe… and then again with something I don't even want to think about. It looks as though the skin was burned off of his back before all of that however, in eight vertical strips; maybe a soldering iron did it… Simply hideous."
"Thank you Doctor… Please, let us know if he can be woken up any time soon."
"Oh, I doubt that… he'll be on morphine for the rest of his life if he ever does wake up… Frankly, I hope to god he doesn't."
The lights were shut off, and the doctor, the General, and the Global Justice agent left the room. Machines quietly beeped and twittered away in the now darkened room, cradling the badly lacerated and burned patient. Next to the door was a sign that had read John Doe; but now that had been scratched out, and below that was a new label that read Drew Lipsky.
-Eleven Days after the death of Kim Possible-
"The Presidential Medal of Freedom was today awarded to Kim Possible, posthumously. This is added to the French Legion, the Star of Indus, and numerous other awards given already, or planned for the fallen hero. Additional ceremonies are planned leading up to the state funeral, and there will be a private ceremony held Saturday following the…" The channel was changed by a shaking hand.
"…and no body was recovered from the damaged tower. Although traces of DNA indicate strongly that the mysterious explosion and its radiation killed Miss Possible, and it would have proven fatal to anyone immediately near it…"
Click.
"…large amounts of blood from an unknown victim are rumored to have been found in wreckage from the Sears tower, a source wishing to remain anonymous reports…"
The flat screen exploded in a blast of green and black plasma. It was followed rapidly by the remote, the stereo, the couch, and eventually two walls. When the fire department arrived on scene minutes later, they were perplexed to find any cause of the spontaneous combustion of the high-rise apartment despite multiple points of ignition.
-Two Weeks after the death of Kim Possible-
"I can't believe that she's dead! God, so freaking irritating, gets me introduced to a guy who dumps me in Europe with no way home, and then she has the nerve to just die before I can let her know what a bitch che was?!" Despite the harsh words, a tissue dabbed beneath a pair of sunglasses, wiping moisture away from tan cheek bones.
"You can't believe it? She was supposed to help me try out the new chair next weekend. Part of me still think she's going to show up to, I guess." The young man sighed and stared at the monument in the distance as people milled about after the internment, "She tried to tell me Zita was going to leave when the video games got old, ya know? How she could know something like that but never score a date, I'll never know."
"What do you expect, Renton?! Little Miss Perfect always had to run everyone else's life first. Even that loser boyfriend of- Ya know what? Screw this! I got a flight to catch… I did my bit by showing up, like I could even freaking afford this trip."
"Yeah, nice seeing you too Bonnie…" the boy waved weakly, still wincing at the harshness in the golden girl's words.
-Six Months after the death of Kim Possible-
Dateline: Washington DC
The Department of Homeland Security today, in conjunction with a previously little-known independent group, Global Justice, released its preliminary findings on The Sears Tower Detonation. The blast that claimed the life of freelance hero Kim Possible has been ruled officially to be the work of rogue criminal elements of a thus far unknown origin. No particular group or individual has taken credit for the blast, which was initially reported to be linked to scieno-terrorist activities. Drew Lipsky, AKA Dr. Drakken, had been suspected, but was later found badly beaten in an unrelated incident and has since been cleared of involvment. The whereabouts of his long-time accomplice Kelly Sheba Gomez, AKA Shego, are still unknown.
Accounts of two aircraft circling the tower at the time of the late-night blast have never been confirmed, and radar and air traffic control reports show no unusual traffic patterns over Chicago surrounding the time of the blast. The DHS report declares these unsubstantiated reports to be…
The newspaper was crumpled in a tan leathery hand and hurled into the fireplace. The voice of an older man speaking with a rich southern Spanish accent, and choked with tears oddly enough, cursed anyone so dishonorable as to use a bomb to kill their foe. For once, the higher-pitched voice that followed his agreed completely.
-Eight Months after the death of Kim Possible-
"I don't care if you don't have any leads, I want Shego! She's taken out three of our best people in as many weeks. We're not going to get enforcement approval from DHS if we can't even catch one woman who used to be a member of Team Go, and a Nobel Laureate," there was a pause as she listed irritably to the phone.
"…"
"Fine, bring them in then."
"…"
"I don't care, just lodge it under the SSCA, we'll handle the paperwork later, per regulations of course."
After a few moments more for the caller to cool off, the receiver was picked up again and another number was dialed. "Yeah, this is Justice… Get me Director Du."
-Eight Months and two days after the death of Kim Possible-
Dateline: Go City
Team GO, the heroes of Go City, today turned themselves in to Global Justice on a warrant pertaining to the Super Science Control Act. SSCA, passed in the weeks following the Sears Tower Detonation, is intended to control the access of any civilian group or individual to "Technological, medical, or material means of causing mass destruction."
While the exact nature of the sealed warrant is still unclear, it is widely believed that it is related to Shego, the former female member of Team Go who turned to crime and had long been an antagonist of Kim Possible. The group had had their powers bestowed upon them by a meteor storm some twenty years ago, and have long been heroes in residence of Go City and the surrounding area, even following the defection of their sister.
Though unspecified, the sealed SSCA warrant empowered Global Justice to immediately extradite Team Go from Go City Jail. With laws similar to SSCA passed in many nations around the globe, the stock of Global Justice has been rising since the revelation of its existence six months ago. The independent body is specifically sited in many of these…
"That's going to piss her off… She may not like her family, but she still loves them." There was a series of horrendous coughs, and the newspaper was temporarily discarded in a paroxysm of pain.
"Easy Miss Smith… your lungs sustained a lot of scarring during your…" the nurse tried to fish for any term to use, since no one on the ward had been told how the young woman had been so critically injured… The fact that she was up and around only a week after coming out of her coma was a marvel in itself.
One green eye glared at the nurse, daring her to say 'accident' as Sarah Smith gritted her teeth and allowed herself to be helped from the chair. After a moment, the nurse gave up searching for a descriptor and tended to the thickly bandaged stump that had once been Sara's left arm. Miss Smith growled and gripped the arm of the chair in pain as the bloody dressings were removed, and new ones were applied. Keeping the battered woman in her room had proved virtually impossible, so the Hospital staff tended to follow her around with a cart to tend to her medical needs.
After a few moments fussing over Miss Smith and checking her various vital readings, the Nurse departed the rec room. She came upon a group of orderlies and nurses just down the hall, and so began the day's usual scuttlebutt.
"Well, I heard they found her in a van, and she'd been gang-raped and set on fire…" one particularly catty CNA began. She was quickly shushed by the others, who knew that anyone who had a grip as strong as that woman's was after eight months in a coma was not likely to be gang-anything unless it was gang leader.
"I guess they found her without the arm, it's a miracle she didn't bleed out." One of the slightly more politic nurses continued. "…why the stitches haven't healed after eight months is beyond me though."
"You know… I don't understand how she stands the pain; she won't let them get any where near her with the zexapril. If she'd only take a shot a few times a day, maybe she wouldn't be grinding her teeth or have that ulcer she's been working on."
"That ulcer is from all the coffee. Now as to the stitches, I guess one of the Doctors actually caught her digging at the stump." A younger nurse shuddered as she recited the latest. "…not just picking at it; actually… well… Is it self-mutilation, or some kind of nervous habit? Anyways, they restrained her. Somehow, with only one arm, which was bound along with both ankles, she got completely free and wandered down for more coffee and a newspaper."
The duty nurse nodded. This last gossip item, at least, was true so far as she knew from the patient's chart.
"…and what about the way she is with the news? I swear I took copies of the times, London AND New York, the Post, the Gazette, Go City Journal, and Jefferson County Examiner out of her room the last two days; and when it's not those, it's the damned news channel on the satellite. I guess if I'd been asleep for eight months, I'd be a little concerned with current events too, but she's just spooky."
"That's nothing; you know she speaks at least French and Latin? Fluently. She was watching a news break on Univision without ever blinking too." A few of the staff nodded. They'd seen such linguistic feats as well.
"Well, however the hell she got to JCCH, she'll have to be discharged soon. Family or no, she can't convalesce here forever. The state will put her in a long term care facility until they find some relatives I guess…" There was some sadness here as none of the nurses, even the catty one, wanted anyone stuck in a state home.
"You know, it's a shame about her hair… I'll bet it was just beautiful before… before whatever… it's such a vibrant red. You'd think someone would notice that our Jane Doe has about the rarest hair color around. Can't be that many missing people with hair like hers?" This was the second nurse again, the discussion having made its round in the small group. "Why, I'd say it's even brighter than those shots of Kim Possible in Time last month."
There was a horrendous crash from the vicinity of Miss Smith's area, loud enough to be heard all the way down the halls of Jefferson County Community Hospital. When the duty nurse entered, she found the remains of an Illinois tourism cup and its formerly hot coffee spattered across the wall. The wall in question though, was a good forty feet away, across the hall, and into the sitting room of the small hospital. She eyed Miss Smith, as she preferred to be called over Jane Doe…
Miss Smith's one piercing green eye challenged her keeper in return. And nothing was said… that was, until the train rattled by the small station just outside, and the sobbing started again as it did every time that train went by.
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AN: So here's where things really start turning dark in the story. From here on, it's no holds barred on language, violence, etc… Also, this is the first chapter to have any really plot-affecting changes made to it. I added in a few more parties reacting to the death of Kim to cure some later plot holes, and fleshed out a few spots that were pretty sparse before. I cleaned it up a bit from a style standpoint as well. In the original version I'd tried to be a bit too poetic with the explosion and it came off hokey.