"Kim you ate all his Naco."
"Ha, sorry about that."
"Hey no big, we're all buds."
~~Section V~~
As It all Falls Down
Area: Pride's residence
Date: July 18, 2006
Time: 7:00 p.m.
"Agent Will Du?"
' Nope, still can't believe I said that with a straight face...'
After their run in with mystery man. Tara and Bonnie rushed to her house so fast, they had to flirt their way out of at least three speeding tickets. Tara had been in such a panic to get home, that it seemed she had actually forgotten about being mad at Bonnie in the first place. Not that the brunette was complaining. When they arrived at her house, they rushed upstairs to find a large box neatly closed and wrapped up sitting on her bed. Neither Tara nor Bonnie made a move when they laid their eyes on it, they both merely stood frozen in place gazing at it as if expecting it to move or open itself.
' Oh man this is beyond creepy! Maybe we shouldn't do this, maybe we could just ignore it. Throw it away, yeah I mean just because you get a box doesn't mean you should always open it, look what happened to Pandora!
Tara's frantic talking still buzzed in her ear. But the Brunette could not blame the girl. This was nothing short of odd. And despite everything going on, Bonnie just couldn't help but think. That it was another day in Middleton, Colorado.
This city came with its ups and downs.
The ups ?
While her dad wasn't winning any father of the year awards. He was still rich. Which meant Bonnie was still rich by association. That was always a nice perk. Bonnie never thought being rich automatically made her a better person. More so it gave her the opportunity to be. Granted she did not always take advantage of the opportunity as much as she could. But still she had the opportunity. and at the end of the day, that's what money was. That's what it represented, opportunity.
So yeah, money ? Definitely an up!
But of course with the ups came the downs.
The downs ?
"I can't believe this. Who was that guy ?"
Everyday weirdness.
"Um, excuse me? Bonnie you there?"
"Yeah I'm here," Bonnie replayed. "Relax Tara, you're letting this get to you more then you should."
But to be honest, sometimes the weirdness had its perks. Watching Tara freak out for example.
"Oh really," She said. "I'm surprised you're so calm. This is Middleton. This place isn't just a lure for weirdness Bonnie it's a magnet. A freaking magnet! That on the inside is actually made of other magnets! And chainsaws ! "
Wat...
These past few days had not gone at all the way Bonnie had expected. Originally all she wanted to do was cheer up Tara. But in the course span of just a few hours that all went south. Before she knew it, she was speaking with some weirdo in the middle of the street. Now Tara was so freaked out she didn't want to be left alone. She would never say it, but Tara's indirect implications weren't exactly subtle. Before she knew it, she was driving her back to her house and calling her mom to let her know that she'd be missing for a few days. Bonnie didn't mind though. It was always nice to get away from her sisters, and Tara's parents were pretty cool.
"I think we should call the police or something." Tara said. "Who knows what could be in there. could be a bomb for all we know. Or an air born toxin that could kill us. Or rot our skin from the inside out. Or turn us into zombies. Man eating zombies that are like fifteen feet tall, and have no skin. And emit steam from their skin."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. She enjoyed watching Tara's overactive imagination get the better of her. But sometimes the stuff she said was simply too ridiculous. Honestly, skinless man eating giants.
"Nice imagination you got there." Bonnie placed her palms together and separated them for dramatic affect.
"Why was he smiling?" Tara suddenly asked.
"What?"
When he was speaking to us. He was insulting us and speaking indirectly. But it looked like he was smiling a little bit.
Bonnie shrugged. "I don't know," She said. "Maybe he was just a dip."
"Tara slightly chucked. "Maybe," She said. "He was kind of rude wasn't he."
Whatever was going on, one thing was for certain this was related to Possible. She wasn't sure how, but she just knew it. Weird stuff, always happened to them before. And every time it did Little Miss Perfect was never too far away.
The guy called himself Agent Will Du, saying that was defiantly going to take some getting used to. The name alone was almost too ridiculous to even be real. He could have just as easily have been a stalker. Or some kind of creep. Seriously the only reason the two girls ignored opening the box was because they were afraid of some guy busting through Tara's window wielding a meat cleaver sporting a hockey mask.
That was the sad thing about living in Middleton. At some point weirdness was going to find you. One way or another. With that in mind, Bonnie took a deep breathe as she prepared herself for what was about to come next. "Tara," She said. Catching the Blonde's attention for her daydreaming.
"Lets open the box." The look on the blondes face was almost too fumy. It was times like this Bonnie remember that she knew the color and detail of Tara's eyes simply through moments like these.
'"Um...Tara?" If there was a contest for reacting facial expressions, this girl would be a close runner up.
"I know this is a little new for us, " At the start of her own sentence, Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Oh what am I even saying. No it isn't, None of this is new for us. This is so basic, I might as well call it Tuesday."
"No way," Tara said. " I don't like this Bonnie. This guy is bad news."
"Maybe," the brunette pondered. "He's a guy. Guys are usually bad news...or Stoppable. But aren't you just a little bit curious?"
"No," Tara quickly replied. "I mean, I've had enough experience with Kim's missions to know that this freak fighting saving the world stuff just is not for me."
"Says the girl who wants to date Middleton's biggest loser."
"That's totally different...hey! Stop that!"
Bonnie eyes widened. "Stop what?" She asked innocently.
"You know what," Tara's blue eyes narrowed at her. "We are not going to do this again."
The brunette gave a heavy sigh. "Fine," She said. "We won't do this, at least not now. It's pretty clear that there's no way I'm talking you out of this. So..."
Tara raised her eyebrows. "Sooo," She said cautiously. " So what?"
Bonnie rubbed her nose. "I guess," She said."I guess we'll just have to make the best of this. There's some kind of leverage here. I just have to figure out what it is. Then there should be no problem."
Tara frowned. "Leverage," She said. "Don't tell me you're still thinking about Kim?"
"Obviously." Bonnie replied. "Right now she's the only problem."
"Bonnie she's always the problem. She's the problem with just about everything with you."
"And who's fault is that?" She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not the one that makes her wake up in the morning and decide to ruin things."
"Ruin things," Tara asked. "What things ?"
"Everything," Bonnie seethed. "She ruins everything. I mean look at what's going on Tara. The media is going crazy right now, some weirdo's talking to us in the street, who knows way more about us then he should. And Let's not forget about what happened to Ron."
Tara stared at her in silence. Her face seemed somewhat lost in thought.
"He's in the hospital," Tara said. "He's hurt because...
"Because of Kim," Bonnie said. "He's in the hospital because of her. You know as well as I do that he would have never even been in that situation if Kim hadn't convinced him to do it. Convinced him to be her precious little shield."
"It's not like that Bonnie."
"Oh yeah? Where is she? He's been in the hospital for three days. Three days Tara! And just where is Little Miss Perfect?"
Tara couldn't meet her eyes. Even she had trouble arguing with her on that point. "That doesn't mean she doesn't care though." She said weakly. "She just—
"Cares about herself more," Bonnie interjected. "She cares about everyone in her life. But she cares about herself just a little bit more. And why shouldn't she? She's only spent just about her entire life, being told by the entire world how perfect and special she is. And you know what, for once I think I might actually find myself sympathizing with Stoppable."
Tara's eyes shot wide open.
"How?" She asked.
"Stoppable," She said. "He, and I can't believe I'm actually saying this, is kind of getting the short end here." The brunette began walking towards her friend.
"I know we haven't talked about this before, but what's happened today isn't the end. You know it isn't. Whatever it is that's going on with Kim and Stoppable, this isn't the end of it. It's going to happen again. Like it always does."
"A magnet for weird," Tara finally said. "Like it's always been."
"No," Bonnie said. "It hasn't always been like this. It's been like this ever since she decided being a cheerleader and being the president of just about every school club wasn't good enough for her. This is because of her, and now look at us. Now we're paying for it. And it's not the first time either, remember that freaky fish thing that wanted to mutate us ? Remember when she was stuck to my hip for like an entire day? Remember that freaky fish thing that came back a second time?! "
"The freaky robots," Tara said. "There's always robots. Or henchmen, why is that. Is there someone who's running a business on this stuff ?"
"I wouldn't be surprised." Bonnie said. "Who wouldn't try to make money with people like her running around.
Tara looked away and chewed her lip. "Yeah but that doesn't necessarily mean—
"Yes it does Tara," Bonnie interjected. "Everything weird that's happened is tied back to her somehow, even now. "
"You don't know that."
"Yes I do, and you know it to. You're just too nice to admit it. And because you don't want to get on her bad side."
She griped Tara's shoulder at tight as she could looking deep into her eyes.
"It's her Tara, she's the problem. It's always been her, and it's always going to be her. Unless we do something about it."
Unknown to the girl's attention, a small crack had formed in the center of Bonnie's drawer mirror.
And it grew larger with each word she said.
Until it stretched from one corner to the next.
"I know this is a lot to put on you. You didn't ask for this. All you want is to date someone who you think is going to like you just for you. There's nothing wrong with that. But sweetie there's something you just have to learn."
"And what's that?" The blonde whispered.
"Sometimes life isn't fair."
Connie and Lonnie
"Sometimes you're going to be given things you just don't want."
"Mom and dad."
"And sometimes no matter what you want..."
Her...
She took another deep breathe trying to calm herself.
"Sometimes it just doesn't matter what you want. Not as long as there's someone else who wants the exact same thing you do."
Sometimes there's just not enough to go around
"You want Ron all for yourself Tara. But that's never going to happen. Not as long as she's still there."
The silence was nerve wrecking. But Bonnie needed to know what her answer would be.
She seemed conflicted. It was clear that Tara wasn't expecting their conversation to take such a sudden turn. In just a few minutes they had jumped from one topic to another entirely. After a solid minute of staring at the ground, Tara finally seemed to muster up the courage to meet her friends face.
"Even if I did agree with you and I'm not saying that I am. But lets just say, I might actually agree with you a little bit. What does any of that have to do with this? How does making Kim our enemy, my enemy, help get us out of this weird situation? How does it make our lives any less abnormal? And how does it get me any closer to Ron?"
Got her...
A crooked smile crept on Bonnie's face.
"Kim is the problem," Bonnie said. "For years now, she's been the one thing in m...in the way."
"And now she's in your way to. "
She tightened her grip on Tara's shoulders.
"It's not complicated Tara," She said. "We just have to get rid of her."
Area: Possible Residence
Date: June 19, 2006
Time: 5:30 a.m.
Cold, that's the only feeling Kim could use to describe it.
Or more so, it was the most in control description she could come up with. Words like 'suffocating' made it seem a little too...real.
And right now, she didn't want that. She didn't want real. Real was too much, real was unwanted. Real, made her vulnerable and put her at risk. And right now, that was the last thing she wanted. Not that she knew what she wanted in the first place. The past few days have been nothing short of a blur for her.
Very long and painful blur. But a blur none the less.
Kim didn't want to look at the clock, she didn't need to. If how she was feeling was any indication, it was probably really early in the day. For the past few days she practically slept the days away. She wished she could keep doing it but unfortunately being on a bed for that long is not good for your back. She tried to ignore the pains as long as she could. But this time it was undeniable. She was barely even sleeping anymore at this point, and while she was awake just lying in bed starting at nothing made time move even slower then it already was.
'Ron…'
That's one thing she didn't want to think about. Not to say he was a thing. He wasn't, she just...
'Might as well get up…'
Sleep wasn't on Kim's side since Ron's accident. She was having a hard time being so isolated. She knew she shouldn't stay in her room for so long. But she was having the hardest time even contemplating going outside. She didn't want to see her parent, she didn't want to see Ron's parents, she didn't even want to see Rufus. She didn't want to see anybody. Or maybe she simply couldn't.
She dragged herself from the covers of her bed. This was going to be another suckish day. That much was definite. She made a small note to open her window more often. The room was starting to smell.
Truth be told she was a little surprised how easy it was for her to sleep. She had expected a horde of reporters showing up at her door by now. So far, there wasn't that much. A few phone calls, a few people ringing her door bell. But the amount of people there, was surprisingly low. She had expected a lot more all things considered.
And suddenly she heard a beeping noise, motioning in an upbeat rhythm. The sound was coming from her drawer.
The Kimmunicator
Kim hopped across her bed with as much control as possible. Fast movement after lying down was rarely a good idea. She stumbled a bit and bumped up against her wall. She temporary lost balance, and almost fell to the ground. But she didn't stop her motion, she simply continued to search for the device. Soon enough her hands grab held of the familiar object and she pulled it from a pile of worn cloths.
Her hand hesitated for a brief moment. She hadn't realized it at the time, but she didn't even hesitate to find the kimmunicator. She had just spent the past few days locked up in her room, trying to avoid any form of interaction. But the sound of this device was enough for her to jump back into old habits. Like nothing had changed.
But things had changed.
She gave a weary sigh. She didn't have to do it. There was no one forcing her to answer this thing. And it's not like Wade wouldn't understand if she didn't want to talk. No matter the mission, everyone needed a little time off. Who wouldn't need time off after what she went through. She could just put it back down, and pretend like she never heard anything. She could just crawl back into bed, and ignore the rest of the world, for just a little while longer. Her mom was bringing her food so she never had to leave her own room. And her family was staying away from her for a while, so it's not like she couldn't do it. Yeah, all she had to do was put it, pretend it never happened, go back to bed and...
Push the button
" Kim! Oh man, It's so good to see you...whoa. You just get out of bed or something ? "
"Hold on Wade," Kim said, running her fingers through her hair. "Room's a bit of a mess, and right now I'm pretty sure it looks a lot better then I feel."
"Why," Wade asked. "Your rooms always been clean before."
"Yeah well a lot of things aren't how they are suppose to be right now. Welcome to bizzaro land." She turned to direction to Wade with pleading eyes. "Please tell me you have good news. Have you heard anything about—"
" Sorry Kim," Wade spoke apologetically. "I don't have any news about the hospital."
"Why? Wade, you're the best hacker I know. You're a genius. Why can't you get anything from this place."
"Truth be told, I don't know," The tech genius said. "There's some tight security in the hospital. I tried getting through it, but it's updates every other hour. And it's locked up in layers. So once I finish getting through five different walls, the minute I get to the next one it updates and sets me right back to square one."
"I never thought I'd actually see the day that you wouldn't be able to hack something."
The tech genius gave a low chuckle at the oddness of the situation.
"That makes two of us," He said. "I'll keep trying, but they way they set this thing up is pretty nice. It's simple but effective, even the fastest locksmiths have trouble getting through the locks if they keep changing. It's almost like it was designed to be a labyrinth. Almost like they—
Like they expected someone to try and do this...
"So if you aren't her to tell me about..." The red head gave another weary sigh. Defeat did not become her and right now she was just racking them up. "Why did you call?" She said impatiently.
Wade's expressions grew tense; he stared at her without speaking a word. He didn't have to, Kim knew that expression all too well.
"Wade," She whispered. "You don't seriously think I'm going to agree to this do you. There's no way I'm going on a mission right now."
"Kim this is serious, your site got a hit on the site from an old friend in Europe"
"Wade," She said sternly. " No, tell them I'm sorry. But the answer is no."
"Kim—"
"I not going to Europe Wade. I'm not going anywhere. Not with everything that's going on. My parents would kill me."
If the media doesn't beat them to it, or worse Ron's mother...
The tech genius fell silent. As far as Kim was concerned that was him conceding. And just as she was about to deactivate the device, something caught her attention. An image that Wade had uploaded. He didn't say anything or even warn about about the image he was about to upload. He just did it almost as though he knew what she was going to say.
Wade was rarely this persistent, so Kim figured she might as well see what was so important. The image itself was blurry. There wasn't any fine detail about it. But there was something that caught her eye. It seemed like there was a woman in the center of it. But that wasn't all there was. Her body, it seemed familiar. There was something about her, and the more she looked at her the more certain she grew. But what confirmed it was her hands.
They were green.
Almost as though they were on fire, or emitting some type of green glow.
And then Wade spoke. "I got a feed from one of my sources," He spoke tensely. "Apparently a mercenary was hired. Wanted in over eleven states, an insane criminal record. With a unique power to emit an intensive heat from her body. As well as draw a unique green glowing flame around her hands. "
No way...
"Wade," She spoke, her voice beginning to break. "Are you trying to tell me that—"
"That's right," Wade replied, his face serious on the matter at hand. "We know exactly where Shego is…"
Area: Craig Hospital, Englewood
Date: June 19, 2006
Time: 6:00 a.m.
Another ever so lovely day in the exciting life of doctor. Who didn't like getting up so early in the morning, they barely had any time to eat a proper breakfast? No one ? Yeah, that's what Nathan thought as well. Morning shifts were a killer, no pun intended. It often felt like he spent the better part of two hours just waiting for the sun to come up. And since he lived in Colorado, sometimes he wouldn't even get that much.
"Good morning doctor." A nurse of mid height and short black hair approached him.
"Good morning Carrie," Nathan gave a loud sigh as he began to stretch. "Ready for another thrilling day of morning shifts."
"You shouldn't complain so much," The nurse said. "There's a lot of people who would kill to have your job."
"Yeah well there's a lot of people who would also kill for a million dollars, that doesn't stop rich kids from finding new ways to make their own lives miserable."
Carrie laughed at his remark. "Do you always have to have a response to everything?"
"Only when I'm in a naturally charming attitude." He moved closer towards the nurse. "And speaking of naturally charming."
Carrie gave him a playful grin. "It's a little early to be doing this don't you think?"
"Not really," Nathan responded. He slowly crept closer towards her. "I don't really mind."
"Oh really, because just a few seconds ago, you were singing a very different tune."
Nathan scoffed. "Seconds, minutes, hours, years," Nathan began to move his hand around Carrie's shoulder. Once in a firm position he began to pull her body closer to his. "My dear sweet Carrie, don't you realize that time is an illusion. One that pails in comparison to far more important matters."
"Is that right," Her voice dropped to barely an audible whisper. She moved her arms up Nathans shoulders slowly wrapping them around the back of his neck. "And just what are these important matters doctor."
A smirk made it's way to Nathans face.
"Human instinct of course."
Carrie laughed. "That is quite possibly the worst innuendo I've ever heard."
Nathan lowered his head to hers. Their lips just mere centimeters from each other.
"If it looks stupid and it works, then it isn't stupid."
" Doctor Richard, calling Doctor Richard you are needed in room 221 B, immediately. "
Oh you gotta be kidding me...
Before he had a chance to respond Carrie had already began unwrapping herself from him. He made no effort to hide his disappointment. Which only prompted another laugh from Carrie.
"Go on good doctor," She said playfully. "I'll be here when you get back. And the sooner you get done, the sooner we can pick up where we left off."
That was all he needed to hear.
He was just a few floors from where he needed to be. He was in no mood for the elevator so he simply ran up the stairway instead. By the time he arrived, he was greeted to more of an audience then he was expecting. Everyone seemed to be scrambling about, as though ten people had just flat lined simultaneously.
Nathan grabbed the arm of the nearest person he could. "What's going on?"
"The patient," A nurse said. "Mr Stoppable."
"Yes ?"
"He's waking up!"
Nathans eyes shot wide open. "What," He said. "Are you sure?!"
"Yes sir, he's finally waking up!"
Being a doctor was often a very difficult job. At time's doctor Richard would see things he really didn't want to. Patients who were marathon runners fall succumb to sickness. Others who had the physical fitness of senior citizens while they were still in their twenties. And that wasn't even the worst of it.
However, at the end of the day, one thing always bothered Nathan. The pain of having to see someone with a promising future, check into this damn hospital only to never check out again.
If faith was on his side, then he just might not have to see that. Not today at least.
Nathan wasted no time, he raced to the patients room. This was something he needed to seem for himself. He had to know that the boy was really going to be okay.
When he got there, he noticed how still he was. He stood in the threshold of the door. Watching his every move. There was nothing at first. But soon enough, there it was. It was slight, a mere twitch of the fingers, and a slight wiggle of his toes. A variation in his breathing patterns, and then finally the twitching of his eyelids.
Nathan, drew closer to the patient with each movement. His eyes dead locked on the young boy.
Soon a pair of dark brown eyes became apparent underneath a mop of blonde hair. They seemed dazed, unfocused, hollow for some reason. But soon enough, they began to adapt to the light of the room. taking in the features and details of everything around them. And then, when they were finally done, they locked right in on Doctor Nathan.
The patient stared at Nathan for a solid minute. His eyes slowly starting to blink over and over again. Which Nathan couldn't help but find a little humorous, for very wrong reasons. He started to shift slightly, making himself more comfortable. And than that's when he started to push himself off of the bed. Trying to position his weight in an upright position.
He really looks out of it. Okay take it nice and slow. Just make sure he's still able to talk.
His first attempt was messy. He almost slid too much to the side, and fell off the bed. Being in bed for over forty hours would do that to just about anyone. He needed to get his balance back under control. Every time his body began to tilt, he would have to use his arm to stabilize his position. This continued for a solid three minutes before it seemed that he had finally gotten the hang of it.
It took a toll on him though, Nathan could hear him begin to breathe heavily once he was finally in a comfortable spot.
Now's probably the best time
"Um excuse me, Mr. Stoppable ? " The patient made no reaction. His head hung down and his hair fell forward. Shrouding a majority of his face. Strange, Nathan had just seen the patient a few days ago. But his hair...if he didn't know any better he could have sworn that it had grown. It wasn't just that, the patient looked different.
His body, it looks...bigger for some reason.
"Mr. Stoppable," The doctor tried again. "How are you feeling ?" Again the patient made no reaction. His movements had halted, as he continued to breathe heavily. He seemed more drained then Nathan expected him to be. He had been resting since his check in at the hospital. So Nathan wasn't sure why he seemed to be so tired. What on Earth could he have been doing while sleeping that could tire him out so much.
And the more he looked that patient, the more certain he grew. His hair length had definitely increased. And his body had also grown. But how, he hadn't been able to eat anything directly. Nutrients delivered to the body through a tube certainly did not have this kind of side effect. It wasn't significant, Nathan definitely would not have noticed it unless he had done a physical on the patient during his initial check in. But his body seemed as though it had grown in muscle size. The more he stared at him, the more apparent the size difference over the past few days became.
A mystery for another day, for now he still needed to make sure the patient was fully alright. He took another step towards the patient, hoping being closer to him will make communication easier. And when he took his first step, the patients head immediately shot up towards the doctor. His eyes barely visible in between the messy mop of blonde hair. But then Nathan saw something else he also thought was strange. He could have sworn he saw a slight color reflection in the patient's eyes.
"Hello Mr. Stoppable," Hopefully third time really was the charm. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Doctor Richards. You don't know this, but I was given the task of watching over you. I am happy to see that you are well. " He didn't get paid enough for this job.
The blonde said nothing, he simply stared at the doctor with an empty gaze.
"Do you know where you are," Nathan asked. " Your in a hospital Mr. Stoppable. A very fine hospital I might add. You were injured, and you were out for a while. In fact you were starting to scare some of us but your getting better now."
Again, the blond said nothing.
"Do you know how you got here, or what you were doing before you came here?"
The blonde only continued to stare at the doctor. He seemed to be lost in thought on something. Even though his eyes were locked on Nathans figure, it almost seemed like he was staring right through him. His mouth began to move though, as he muttered something too silent for Nathan to make out.
Sunny ? Is that what he said ? Why would he be thinking about the weather at a time like this ?
Doctor Richards was beginning to grow even more worried then ever about his patient. "Is something wrong Mr. Stoppable? I want to help you, but I need you to talk to me."
The patient looked up at the doctor, his face riddled with confusion. After several seconds of absolute silence he finally spoke.
"That name... "
The doctor went silent, studying his patient for several minutes.
"Stoppable...Is that my name? Are you talking to me ?"
Oh no...no no no
The patient looked away from the doctor and stared blankly into his lap.
"I don't remember," He said vaguely, his figure sinking back into his bed. "I don't remember anything..."
"You're late."
"For what?"
"You're reunion of course. Everyone's waiting for you."
"Reunion? Will I have to meet people ? "
"Yes."
"Are they friendly ?"
"More or less..."
"What...what if I don't want to? "
"That's a shame.
"Why?"
Because what you want is irrelevant...