I do not own any Disney Character named herein, and am only using them for a tale meant for entertainment purposes only.
Kim Possible: Hearts & Minds
By LJ58
7
"How did it go?"
"Well, we were lucky. I sparred with half the staff, and explored most of the school," Shego told Kim, holding out the syringe she held that had been sent from Wade. "Not one machine-head."
"Good. I didn't find any either, but I didn't spar with that many. No one wanted to fight me," Kim pouted.
"I cannot imagine why," Shego snorted, having seen Kim's precognition in action when she sparred with Yori, and anticipated every move the obviously skilled ninja girl made, and countered her with ease. Before knocking her flat four out of four.
"I did get Master-Sensei to let me inject everyone, though," Kim sighed. "Still, now that I know I'm up and running, no rust, no dust, I really wish Dr. Director would let me come back, and get to work. I am so ready to repay Dementor, it's not funny."
"From what your Tweebs are saying, this is bigger than Bucket-Head," Shego grumbled. "And he's incognito anyway since he vanished after Stoppable beat him down. Still, you should call her, and ask if we should hit Hench next."
"Jack?"
"Think about it, Kimmie. The guy supplies Henches and tech to half the world, and all the underground community. If anyone compromised him…..?"
"No one would even see them coming," Kim realized. "Right. I'll call Wade, and see if he can sway Dr. Director."
"Or, you could just tell her you're fine, and we're going," Shego suggested. "By the time she gets the message, what is she going to do? Cry foul, and spank you?"
Kim snorted.
"As if," she muttered. "Still, that is an idea….."
"I'd say you're as impatient as ever, but I think you're worse," Shego smirked.
"Hey!"
"Too bad, your brain thing can't see where we should go to find out who's behind this crap, so we can put them down all at once."
"I told you. It doesn't work that way. I have to….."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Personal danger. Immediate environment. I got that. I'm just saying….."
Kim smirked.
"Yeah, I wish I could, too. Still, I feel confident I'm more than ready now. So….. Let's go pack, and I'll call Wade. On the way to Henchco."
"Now you're using your head," Shego grinned.
"And, of course, it would be my honor to accompany you," Yori said, standing there when Kim slid the door to her room open.
"Oooo, eavesdropping at the door. How ninja of you," Shego drawled.
"Master-Sensei agrees. This is a threat which cannot be underestimated. For the sake of the world, Yamanouchi will join this fight. He is sending word to all of our operatives now."
"Good. I hope they're all right, out there."
Yori only smiled.
"You will find, Shego-San, we are not so easily taken by surprises. We must simply ensure no one else is. Shall we go," Yori asked.
"Let's," Kim said, and headed for the Roth now parked outside the walls.
Shego rolled her eyes, and tried not to run after Kim, who did run.
KP
"Dr. Director," Wade interrupted her 'interviews' where she and Will were carefully scanning, and injecting anyone clears as she moved from command staff, to research, to present operatives. Unfortunately, they had already found a full third of GJ field operatives already compromised. Most of whom had been in Europe of late.
Most of whom had been investigating Dementor.
Not a good trend.
"Wade, I trust you've made headway?"
"We've isolated, and are studying a cyber-brain now that Ron brought in. Don't ask," he grimaced. "But I thought you'd want to know. Kim suggests she check out Jack Hench, and determine if he's in, or out of this loop, considering the extent of his reach."
"Unfortunately, that's all too true. But I don't think she should….."
"Actually, she's already inbound," Wade said. "She seems to have recovered even better than we realized. Yori is with her, and assured me that Kim seems to be in better shape than her. Which means…."
"I know," Betty groaned, knowing those mystic ninja were genuinely peerless. "Alright, track her, and keep an eye on her," Dr. Director told him. "Knowing her, she's about to make a very large splash. You might want to inform Ronald…."
"I already sent him her way. Just in case."
"Smart."
"So, how many…..?"
"We need more cartridges. I'm moving to our area HQ next, but….a full third of our personel here are obviously already compromised."
"Warn your safe people to be ready for counterattacks. Once someone realizes we're on to them, I don't think it'll be long before they react," Wade pointed out.
Dr. Director looked over at one of the former Team Impossible that Will was injecting, and saw Dash's grim expression.
"We're getting ready to neutralize those compromised before we move anyway. As you say, watch your own backs out there. This is where we start getting serious."
Wade nodded, and the small Kimmunicator the woman wore in an innocuous watch went dark.
"Kimberly's in play. It's time we moved. First HQ, then all regional offices. Ready, gentlemen," she asked, Dash being the last man currently in the local HQ to be tested, and protected.
"Ready," he and Will both affirmed.
"All right. As planned, we seal the buildling, shut down all communications, and hopefully, we can keep this purge quiet until we can reach the next office. But we have to be ready for anything," she said, turning to her keyboard to order the alert/shutdown of Global Justice's main office. "Because we are about to start…..now," she said, and pushed the final key.
The sirens went off even as she rose from her chair, and lifted the small EM-gun the boys had built for them. The laser she would hold for backup.
"Let's go reclaim our HQ," she growled, and led the way down the hall, and into the primary command center.
KP
"Seriously? Still with the air vents," Shego complained as she crawled after Kim through the surprisingly spacious air vents that led down into the heart of Henchco's main office where Jack Hench was currently holding court that day.
Yori chortled softly as she crawled behind Shego, saying, "And yet, it is a safe, and easy means of infiltrating even this villainous lair."
"Exactly. It's so clichéd, that no one thinks of it, even though it is so obvious," Kim said.
"C'mon," Shego sputtered. "People know you always use air ducts."
"And yet they are always surprised," Kim declared. "Besides, since everyone still thinks I'm down for the count, they're going to be doubly surprised," she added.
Shego only groaned, but still followed her.
Kim's Kimmunicator had already shown at least half the heat signatures around them were using cyber-brains. Not a good indicator.
Still, until they confirmed whether Jack was infected, or actively, or indirectly cooperating, Kim wasn't going to ignore him. Either way, they had to find out, and stop him. Or whoever might be using him.
The stakes were too high.
"Okay, his office is… Here," Kim said as she turned, and stopped at a short branching off. She held up a finger, and moved toward the grating before them.
"…Absolutely not," a loud, male voice declared. "No. No! I don't care if it is a bargain, there is no way anyone can unload M1 rifles in this day, and age. Now, if you can get me the KR-57s," Jack Hench was saying as Kim lifted a small, black box, and scanned the office below her.
"He's not cybernetic," she whispered back to Shego. "So, now we just have to question him."
"I will guard the door," Yori said.
"I'll threatened his life, and future," Shego smiled maliciously.
"Hold on. Hold on," Kim rasped as she turned to eye the office. "Someone is knocking."
"Come," Jack bellowed as someone knocked.
"Mr. Hench," a lanky man in a Hench uniform walked in. "We just got the new shipment of circuit boards in. You want to inspect them…..?"
"Just make sure they're all viable, and fill Dementor's order before that little dwarf gets on my nerves again," Jack waved him off.
"Yes, sir. And I was supposed to ask if you wanted to sell that upgraded reverse-polarizer Dr. Karloff perfected."
"Who's asking?"
"Adrena-Lynn."
'Forget it," Jack scowled. "Her credit is worse than that has-been Camille's. Tell her it already sold."
"Right. I'll tell her."
"And don't forget to fill Dementor's order," he shouted as the man started to leave.
Kim reached for the grate even as Jack reached for his intercom again.
"Don't touch that dial," Kim smirked as she pushed through the grate, landed just beside the businessman, and pushed his hand down, not letting him lift the receiver.
"Can you get any cornier," Shego complained, landing on the other side of the stunned man.
"What," Kim sputtered. "I always wanted to say that."
Shego rolled her eyes.
"Kim Possible? And Shego? And…. Who are you," he demanded, glaring at Yori, dressed in all black, as she simply focused on the door that she went to guard.
"We need to talk," Kim turned on him as he leaned back in his leather chair.
"Weren't you dead?"
"I got better," Kim quipped. "First, you need to answer a few questions."
"Or?"
"Or I get to ask you a single question," Shego jerked her chair around so he faced her.
"Oh," he stalled.
"Yeah. Do you want to live past this interview?"
"You can't bluff….."
Kim jerked him back around, clamped a surprisingly strong hand around his neck, and squeezed.
"Today, we're not bluffing. This is serious," she growled, surprising Shego, who only gaped at her.
"Wha'….ou….'ant," Jack grit out as he fought for air.
"Do you know about the cyber-brains," Kim demanded, easing her grip, but not removing her hand.
"Cyber…..brains?"
"I'm guessing that's a no," Shego remarked.
"Someone is building cyber-brains? Why? Who? Why," Jack fumed, and Shego could guess what he was thinking.
"This isn't about profits, you miserly freak. Someone is out there replacing people's brains with cyber-machines. So far, Dementor seems the big figurehead, but we all know even he's not that bright. So if you don't know what's going on….."
"He's likely another dupe," Kim said, and pulled a small USB cord from the side of her Kimmunicator, and plugged it into Jack's computer.
"Hey, you can't…..!"
"Dupes are both silent, and disposable," Shego snapped, replacing Kim's hand on his throat with her own. "Which will you be," she demanded.
"By the way," Kim added, not even looking at him as she tapped a few keys on the side of her Kimmunicator, and Jack's computer suddenly started working. "Half your company is filled with people with cyber-brains. I'm guessing if you didn't know that, you really are a dupe, and likely to end up with your own shiny, new brain before the week is out."
Jack gaped.
"Or," she said, pulling out the cable after the Kimmunicator chirped, and turning back to Jack. "We can…..inoculate you, and help you help us start fighting whoever is behind this craziness."
"I'm guessing…..there's no profit to be had here," he grimaced.
"You tell me," Shego glared at him. "What profit will you have when everyone in the world is tap-dancing to some control freak's tune, and no one is left to think for themselves. The cyber-brain? It replaces yours. So, yeah, when they give you one, you die."
"I'm in," Jack gasped as Shego stepped back, and Kim eyed her Kimmunicator.
"Wade, do you have it?"
"Got it, Kim. I'll sift the data for clues, but I can tell you now, Dementor's latest shipment is definitely contains the same components we discovered in the cyber-brain we dissected."
"How about a signal? Were you able to find one?"
"We did. It's coming from the south. Very, very far south. It's in Antarctica," Wade replied.
"We're on it. Meanwhile, I'm vaccinating Jack. He's obviously been duped, but hopefully he will wise up now."
"Starting with stopping that next shipment to Dementor," Shego suggested.
"Consider it stopped," Jack said, and opened his desk drawer. "Personal defense," he said, and pulled out the high-powered taser.
"I suggest an EMP," Kim told him.
"In the heart of my empire," he gasped.
"Cyber…..brains," Shego stressed. "They feel no pain. You can't stop them like that."
"Damn," Jack swore.
"Consider them zombies," Kim told him. "And treat them accordingly."
"But…..how will I know," he started as Kim jumped on his desk, and jumped back up into the air vent.
"We figured it out," Shego told him, signaling Yori, who leapt up to the vent next with a grace that had Jack gaping. "I'm betting you can, too. Especially if you find your own Henches shooting at you."
Then she turned, and jumped into the vent, and was gone.
Jack stared at the taser he held, and then put it back into the drawer. He opened a bottom drawer, and pulled out a large, snub-nosed weapon that was not an ordinary revolver.
"Shoot me," he growled. "Ungrateful, soon-to-be ex-employees," he spat, and stalked out of his office after stabbing his intercom, and saying," "Donna, cancel all shipments to Dementor, or his agents. Yes, all of them! His check bounced," he declared, using a reason that would be understood.
KP
"They're already heading out," Ron was told as he flew toward Henchco with a very unlikely sidekick of his own.
"What did they find," Monique, wearing a GJ uniform, and sitting next to Ron in the cabin of the hired jet asked Wade as she leaned over to eye the small image on Ron's communicator.
"They don't think Jack was involved, and it doesn't look like it. Still, he was unknowingly involved in shipping a lot of the things Dementor was using to build those brains. Judging by the records Kim intercepted, he has likely built over a hundred-thousand of them already, and is obviously still building more."
"Which implies someone really does intend to replace everyone with brain-bots," Ron realized.
"Looks like it," Wade nodded.
"Okay, can Colonel Flagg get us to the transmission source?"
"Not in your current ride. But he can get you a rendezvous point where you can get a ride to meet up with Kim."
"Sounds good. I'll let you handle it," he told Wade.
"Keep your scanners on," Wade suggested. "The closer you get, the more cyber-brains you're likely to run into, and they might not like you getting too close."
"Goes without saying," Monique agreed. "But someone is due some serious payback, and we are going to help Kim dish this time," she told the young genius.
"Good luck," Wade told them.
"You, too. Better keep looking on a good backup plan, because if they do have that many brain-bots out there already, this may be bigger than even me, and KP can handle," Ron admitted grimly.
"We're working on something now," Wade told him. "Just be careful until we can help."
"Don't worry about us," Monique said before Ron could reply. "You just take care of our families."
"Consider it done," Wade nodded, and then the screen went blank.
"You could always go back?"
"To what," she asked. "Staring at walls while I wait to see if anyone I know is coming back without a mechanical-brain in their head," she asked with a shudder. "After what you said, and how close Kim was to….."
She shuddered again.
"As long as Wade, and the twin-terrors can keep moms safe, I'm more than ready to do something for a change. Besides, I'm a genuine, provisional GJ agent, too. And now I finally have the chance to prove you and Kim aren't the only wunderkind from Middleton," she grinned.
"But, you're not from Middleton. I mean….. You know….."
"Ron. Focus," Monique growled.
"Right. Right. I was just saying…."
"Okay, genius. I wasn't born in Middleton, but it is my home now. My friends, too."
"Oh, yeah. Right. Right. So, think you're ready?"
Monique stared hard at them, then murmured, "I'm going to find out."
Ron just nodded, and eyed the small box he held that currently had no little blinking dots on the screen.
Not yet.
To Be Continued…