I don't own these characters; Disney does.
3: Show Your True Colors
"I think we should've nicknamed her Monkey instead of Mermaid," Betty remarked with an amused smile, eye on the rigging and the topsails.
Kim, now physically healthy, flew through the topsails, making sure everything was secure and the sails had the amount of slack that the helmsman requested. The way she moved was as if she was part bird, part cat, and part monkey. The confidence and assurance that she would never fall was written all through her motions. The whistling wind did not even faze her. It impressed most of her fellow pirates enough for them to treat her like a real part of the crew and not just some "mermaid" they fished out of a watery grave.
"Ah, calling her Monkey would have belied her intelligence," Vivian scolded the captain, going so far as to shake a finger at the brunette woman. An onyx eye rolled because of her actions.
"And calling her a mermaid belies all of our sanity, so what's your point?" Betty countered, folding her arms across her chest.
Vivian sighed and shook her head, declining to argue for the first time in a long time. The blonde walked off, leaving the poop deck and the captain. Betty did not appear fazed by the sudden departure, but her eyes never left Vivian, especially when Kim came to the blonde woman's side. The captain's face twitched just a little when the two started giggling. She could not hear what they discussed. She tried to strain her ears to hear, but between the waves, the crew, gull cries, and other noise, she definitely could not hear anything in their conversation.
"Kim, if I didn't know better I would think you were a traveling performer or something," Vivian commented, merriment dancing in her eyes.
Kim shook her head. "Nothing like that. I've just always been active and that's part of it."
"I can understand that being part of swinging from the sails, but I can't understand how it fits into you doing it without a care in the world. It's not like you've been swinging from sails your whole life," Vivian pointed out. Honestly, she could only wonder what type of life Kim had before the ship for her to be comfortable with such behavior and also quite good at such a job. But, one thing about life at sea, stories were not asked about, but freely given when the person was ready.
"Sails, no, but trees, fences, walls, just about any place high that you can imagine," Kim answered.
Vivian nodded. "I knew you were an interesting person, but it seems the more I speak with you, the more puzzling you become. I would question you until my throat is sore, but I doubt it'd do me any good. I truly do not care what made you the way you are, but I do like you the way that you are. I think this life will suit you because of that."
Kim shrugged. "Whether it suits me or not isn't an issue. I'm here, so I might as well give it my all." At least until we reach solid ground.
"Just remember, this life is much more than swinging from sails, listening to Will bark out orders, and staring into the ocean," Vivian warned Kim with a raised finger.
"I'm not as naïve as you would take me, Vivian Porter," Kim boasted with a confident smirk.
The older woman was not surprised by this cockiness as Kim had been displaying it, even though it was a little subtler before, since being picked up a few days ago. She noted it seemed to be a part of Kim, not exactly arrogance, but a confidence that was embedded in her and shone in every move that she made. It would serve her well in this life.
"No, I don't suppose you are," Vivian answered, glancing up at the captain. A small smile worked its way onto her face when she saw Betty was watching her with a deep intensity. "I should leave you to your work, Kim. I actually have my own to do." She continued to smile.
"Oh, right, you're the navigator," Kim recalled. "I would have thought you charted the course already for this boat."
"It's a ship, Kim. If you're going to be a pirate, you have to first respect the vessel. This course has been plotted, but I try to stay several steps ahead of our Captain. It keeps her on her cute little toes," Vivian remarked, giggling a bit.
Kim regarded the woman with a glance, but nothing more. Having only been on the ship for a few days, she already noticed the captain and navigator had an odd relationship. She was not quite sure what to make of it.
The two shared the captain's quarters, but Kim figured that could be because they were the only two women on the ship. Vivian was the only person onboard who dared make fun of Betty. She was also the only person who touched the captain. The other sailors did not seem afraid of Betty, just to have a healthy respect for her and they maintained a little distance because of that respect. Vivian did not seem to be on the same page as the others in regards to the captain. Kim wondered if it was because Vivian was the only woman on the ship, but she doubted that was it. She just was not sure what was "it."
Their conversation was cut short as Will called for Kim, pointing out other rigging she needed to check. Vivian shook her head, noticing Will never had a shortage of things he wanted the redhead to do. For a moment, she considered he was trying to catch Kim up, to show she was not as perfect as she seemed, but Vivian dismissed that thought. Will was more the type to just have a long list of chores to make sure a new crew member always had something to do rather than for him to run someone around due to jealousy. Vivian returned to the captain's side since her distraction was gone.
"You seem mighty attached to the mermaid," Betty commented in a neutral tone.
Blue eyes sparkled with delight and mischief as they looked the captain up and down, admiring the fit of her clothing. "Jealous?" She smirked to make things worse.
Betty snorted. "What could that little girl do for you that I can't?" She looked Vivian up and down in return.
Vivian's smirk grew. "Have you seen how flexible she is? I don't think you want me to answer that," she replied in a singsong tone.
The frown that cut across Betty's face was genuine, but Vivian only smiled more. The blonde wrapped her arms around the captain's slim waist. One hand worked its way into Betty's jerkin and played with the ruffles on Betty's shirt.
"You are jealous," Vivian realized with a tiny gasp, a little shocked. "Don't worry, my dear. No one could replace you. Besides, the question should be, what do you think a nimble young creature like that would want with an old woman like me?"
"A woman like you? Everything!" Betty declared, trying to save face and gain favor through compliments. Besides, Vivian was everything.
Vivian smiled. "That's sweet of you to say, but I know the truth. The mermaid isn't interested in me, Betty, and I'm not interested in her. I just want her to feel comfortable on our ship. She's the only woman here, aside from us… even though, I'm not sure if I should count you amongst the fairer sex anymore." The smile transformed into a teasing smirk.
"You know that I'm all woman, Vivi. Now, how are we doing?" Betty inquired, turning the conversation to work to avoid any taunting from the navigator.
"We're doing fine. There's no reason why we shouldn't see a prize (1) today or tomorrow," Vivian answered.
"And land?"
"Two days. Civilization at last. Unfortunately, it's going to be the colonies."
"The southern colonies?" Betty guessed, curling her lip up.
Vivian nodded. "There are worst places to be, I suppose."
"It depends on which island we reach. With luck, it'll be Middleton. At least it's comfortable and most people mind their business. Being in the Empire is just a pain most of the time. Either way, we're low on supplies and we need to get these bilge rats off this ship soon or they'll go mad," Betty pointed out.
"Yet another reason I've been staying close to the mermaid. I know you trust your crew and all, Betty, but it's been a while since they've been on land," Vivian commented.
"If they were wise, they'd bring their own bit of land along like I did," Betty remarked, chuckling a little. Her hand fell to Vivian's hip and her fingers played with the ends of Vivian's dress.
Vivian lightly struck the captain on the arm. "I'm just a bit of land to you, am I? I'll remember that tonight."
Betty tried not to appear affected by that, but she knew she would pay for it later. Nothing she could say would change that, so she turned her attention to her ship and crew. A feral grin crept onto her face as a speck in the distance caught her eye.
"Thar she blows," Betty muttered to herself and then she turned her attention to her helmsman. "Take us to port. Our bounty awaits."
As the ship shifted to its left, Will started barking more orders, keeping Kim flying through the sails. Betty cut in on the shouting and the crew scurried about the ship to prepare for their work. Kim watched, still little amazed that these salty sea dogs would obey any commands the captain doled out. She did not think the last set of sailors she had been in company with would have bothered to glance at this captain, unless it was to leer at her. This captain certainly had a better handle on her crew than the last captain Kim had the displeasure of meeting.
Shaking those thoughts away to avoid more painful memories, the petite redhead turned her attention back to her work. While checking her ropes, she watched as the Captain called for someone to raise the flag. Kim expected to see a Jolly Roger flying, but a flag from her home country came up. It barely took a second for it to dawn on her that it was a ploy. She could see a ship moving along in the distance and she knew they were headed for it. Flying the flag of a friendly nation instead of throwing up a Jolly Roger meant they would be able to get close to the ship. (2)
"That makes more sense than the stories my brothers like to read about," Kim muttered into the breeze. In those stories, pirates always had their fearsome Jolly Rogers flying and would still manage to get up on ships in order to bombard them with cannon fire, board the ships, and have their way with everything within their grasp.
"Hey, Mermaid!" Betty hollered up to the younger woman.
Kim turned, knowing she was stuck with the unfortunate moniker for the moment. Considering some of the other nicknames she heard, she thought she might actually be among the lucky. The captain motioned for Kim to come to her. The redhead leaped off the rigging and made her way to the one-eyed brunette. Betty pulled Kim off to the side, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the crew was working and not eavesdropping.
"Vivi tells me you're not much of a sailor," Betty said.
"No, ma'am. My first time on a boat was the one I jumped off of before you picked me up," Kim answered honestly.
"Well, Vivi also tells me you're a smart girl and you already know what kinda vessel the Global Justice is," Betty continued.
Kim nodded. It was hard to miss, even if they had not told her when she first woke up. "You're a pirate ship."
Betty smiled a bit. "You remembered, Mermaid. Good. Now, that vessel there in the distance that we're coming up on, I'm guessing you know what we're going to do when we catch it."
"I doubt you're sitting down for a friendly chat and a cup of tea," Kim pointed out.
The captain laughed. "That we aren't, girl. That's our prize out there. Now, Vivi said this probably wouldn't be necessary, but I'm gonna go through it anyway, just in case. You wouldn't think about warning that ship about what's coming her way, would you?" As the question was posed, Betty's hand went just inside her jerkin to a pistol at her side.
Olive eyes glanced down at the gun. "I wouldn't think of it," she answered honestly. Right now, she preferred being on Betty's ship. While the sailors leered at her every now and then, they did not make any moves toward her. Some even ran if Vivian was around. So, for the moment, she knew she was safer here than on another boat.
Betty's stance relaxed and her hand went to Kim's shoulder, like they were old friends. "Good answer. Next thing, when we board 'er, the boys prefer it when everyone's involved. All for one sort of thing."
Kim reeled back a little as a disgusted curl settled on her upper lip. "You want me to help you loot that boat?"
"Not boat, Mermaid. Ship. Ain't we learned you anything on here?" Betty countered with a laugh, clapping the redhead on the back a little.
Kim gave her a slightly apologetic look as well as laughing just a little herself because of the way Betty posed the question. While they had not conversed much since Kim arrived, she knew Betty was an educated woman, having heard about the woman. After a couple of seconds, the captain's expression went back to serious.
"So, the question is, are you going to do it willingly or will I have to force you?" Betty demanded.
Kim's brow wrinkled a bit, wondering what that meant. Oh, she had a good idea, but for some reason, she did not think her idea matched with the type of woman that Betty was according to Vivian. Speaking with Vivian, Kim learned the captain had a deep sense of righteousness and justice, much deeper than her father and brother were rumored to have. Kim could not figure out how such a person could be the captain of a pirate ship, though.
"Why do you do this?" Kim inquired, squinting as her eyes searched the captain's face for an answer.
Betty waved the question off. "My business is my own, Mermaid, just as yours is your own, which is another lesson for you to learn. Now, I asked you a simple question. Will you do this willingly or will I have to force you?"
The competitor in Kim itched to jump out and challenge the older woman, to show Betty there was no "forcing" Kim Possible to do anything. But, her wiser side quickly stilled her instincts. Fighting the captain on her ship would not get her anywhere, except another dunk in the ocean and while she enjoyed the sight of the teal waters, she had no desire to swim in them again.
"What would I have to do?" Kim asked in a caution tone, not committing herself yet.
"Simple. You don't die and you take whatever you can carry back onto the Global Justice. Think you can manage that?" Betty inquired. She figured putting it that way would not offend Kim's sensibilities. She suspected Kim was a very proper young woman when it came to manners, even if her behavior was far from proper.
Kim nodded. "Sounds simple enough." She was all too aware it could easily become something very complicated, though.
"Good, then take this." Betty reached into her belt and took out her pistol. She gave it to Kim and in that moment she made things complicated.
Kim held up her hands, not even wanting to touch the weapon. "Uh… no, thanks. I don't do guns." She pushed the gun back onto the captain.
Betty arched an eyebrow. "You don't do guns? Then what do you do?" she asked, not bothering to hold back a scoff.
Kim shook her head. "I'm fine without anything."
Betty snorted. "You're fine without anything? Even when the bullets and the cutlasses start flying? Try again because I'm not letting you go without something in your belt," she stated soundly, clearly used to being in charge.
For a moment, Kim was silent. Betty reminded her of a lot of other women she knew, women who she was told were odd because they had such strong personalities. She came from a long line of women like that and knew she and Betty could end up locked on this issue forever. That did not sound too appealing right now.
"I can handle a sword," Kim answered. She felt like she had control over a sword much more than a gun.
"Can you now?" Betty sounded so skeptical that it got a frown out of "the mermaid."
Kim growled. "I'm one of the best fencers in the Empire," she declared with a serious pride in her voice.
Betty rolled her eye and shrugged. "All right, but a fight is not a fencing match and a cutlass isn't a rapier. Remember that. But, you'll get your sword. Make sure you use it."
Kim nodded, feeling that was not a threat, but a warning. Maybe it was bred out of concern, but she could not be sure of that. She did not see why Betty would be concerned over her, unless it was because Vivian had befriended her. She did not give it much thought and did not have the time to anyway because they rapidly approached the other ship.
After being provided a cutlass, Kim was ordered on deck with the other men. The sailors openly took bets on how long "the mermaid" would last in battle. Snickers followed most bets. Kim scoffed it off and did not think anything of it until Vivian threw her hat in the pile.
"I'll bet my take along with the captain's!" Vivian announced. The captain gave her a sidelong glance, but nothing more than that.
"On what?" a crewman demanded with a laugh.
"Her survival, of course," Vivian replied as if she was boasting.
Mutters rose from the crowd. It seemed no one was interested in deal, which Kim thought was quite weird. Before Vivian said anything, the whole crew seemed so sure she would die before the fighting even started. But, now, they hesitated and she wondered if it was because the pot was too large or if they thought there was something to Vivian's wager. Did they respect Vivian enough to consider her words and take her thoughts into consideration?
"Better make a decision quickly, boyos. We're almost on the prize," Betty informed them.
The captain speaking seemed to make the men ponder even harder. They had to have noticed Betty did not try to stop Vivian from gambling away her money. In the end, only a few took the bet and they seemed quite nervous about making it. Kim decided she would ask Vivian about it later.
"You didn't just lose me my cut, did you, darlin'?" Betty inquired with a teasing drawl. Vivian stood next to her, putting a belt with five pistols across her chest.
"Watch her work first and don't make fun of my 'darling,' my dear," Vivian replied, taunting smirk on her face. She bumped her hip against the brunette.
"Just watch yourself, Vivian. You know no prize is worth more than you to me," Betty said, leaning down and placing a gentle kiss to the blonde's cheek.
"I know, my love. You be careful, too," Vivian countered.
Kim was not too far from the pair and noticed the exchange, but could not hear what the two said to each other. She thought it was odd, but everything about the two women was strange to her. Taking a deep breath, she put them out of her head and tried to prepare mentally for what she was about to do. For a moment, she considered just warning the other ship, but she had already given her word not to. Besides, she did not think it would do her any good. After all, she could end up on a ship like the first one that she had been on. The one where she…
"No, don't even start to think about that right now," Kim commanded herself in a low voice. She knew it would not do her any good to get herself in an emotion state right now. She needed to be on guard and keep her wits about her.
"Gunners at the ready!" Betty called, twisting a battle-axe in her hand. She felt like wielding an axe instead of her cutlass, which rested at her side. Changing up weapons added to her mystic. Sailors told all sorts of tales about her and had nightmares of all kinds.
Crewmen positioned themselves at their cannons as their ship cruised closer to their unsuspecting prize. No one moved, waiting for the captain's signal. Betty eyed their prize, smirking to herself as if she was just told a hilarious joke. Vivian seemed to be privy to it also as a smile lit up her face.
"Show our colors(3) and fire the guns!" Betty commanded as soon as they were in range to take down the brig close to them.
Kim did not even flinch as the cannons blared, launching projectiles at the unsuspecting brig. Smoke filled the sky as she heard the screech of a wench working a rope. Glancing up, she saw the ship's true flag being hoisted up. The flag was a deep crimson sporting a one-eyed grinning skull, showing off long canine teeth, and surrounded by small, black hearts.
Olive eyes turned from the Jolly Roger to the other ship. She could see the crew of that vessel scrambling and screaming. The cannons sounded again and she could swear she heard the balls going through the hull of the brig, even though they were too far away for that. More cannon fired and she watched as two cannon balls connected together by a thick chain ripped through the masts of the ship, raining splinters onto the deck. Frozen awe stuck in Kim's eyes. She had never seen such quick and careful carnage to one area as precision cannon fire disabled the brig.
"Prepare to board!" Betty hollered.
The stalled ship returned fire, cannon balls and bullets ripping through the air. The crew of the Global Justice was not deterred and did as the captain ordered. Kim watched as the sailors grabbed ropes from the rigging and swung over to the other ship. A hand on her shoulder snapped Kim out of her daze. She turned to see concerned blue eyes gazing at her.
"Can you do this, Kim?" Vivian asked.
"Do I really have a choice? Wouldn't the crew want my hide if I just sat here and wouldn't you lose your bet?" Kim countered.
"Money isn't everything and the crew isn't as bad as they seem. This is our life, though, Kim. It might not be for you."
"There is nothing else for me. Besides, I have a debt to repay. Your ship is the one that saved my life," Kim reminded the blonde.
Vivian only smiled, all too aware she could not stop the redhead if she tried. Kim reminded her too much of her beloved for her to believe she could keep the young woman from any action. Now, she just had to wait and see if Kim was as much like Betty as she thought the redhead was.
Kim took a deep breath and moved to join the crew. A rope tight in her grip, she pushed off the railing without looking back at the Global Justice. Vivian snickered a little and shook her head. She would stay on board, just case someone from the prize tried to board the Global Justice, which rarely happened during these battles. Blue eyes tracked the redhead when she landed on the prize, though, drifting occasionally to check on the captain.
Kim leaped into the fray of chaos and smoke without any fear, but did not move until someone attacked her. Fast legs dispatched the unfortunate sailor and Kim waited for the next person to step up. The reason she did not act first was because she was not too familiar with the whole Global Justice crew and did not want to end up destroying one of them. But, soon, she was drawn into the whole brawl and just fighting her way through to stay alive.
Kim had never been involved in something like this before. Yes, she had fought in large scuffles, not many, but some. But, her current battle was beyond that. The air was choked with salt and gunpowder. Screams rivaled the sound of gunfire. A pistol went off just by her ear and she could hardly react in time to avoid being shot. After that, she made sure to clear any and all gun around her area.
Betty checked on Kim whenever she could, fighting to see through the gun smoke, but mostly focused on splitting open her opponents with her axe. The bedlam of the fight did not bother her and she was quite used to the thick air. She moved like a shark, taking down anyone who dared venture too close. Making her way closer to the captain of the brig, she reached for her pistol. Pulling back the hammer, she smirked as she pressed the barrel against the back of his head.
"Long time no see, Berman," Betty commented, speaking over the din of the battle.
The other captain spun around, his three-cornered hat flying off as it knocked against her pistol barrel. Her gun moved to the middle of his forehead, pressing some of his short red hair against his skin. A cruel smirk tugged at her lips as sweat ran down his cheek.
"Betty," the captain gasped, eyes wide.
"You act so surprised, Berman. You should know by now that I'm Betty Blackheart," the one-eyed woman said.
"Your father didn't want to believe the rumors were true."
"My father?" Betty scoffed. "I don't have a father anymore. I'm going to let you keep your life just so you can tell that bald bastard it is me taking his ships since he doesn't want to believe it. I just want my share. The share my brother didn't even deserve but got just because he was born with that dangly bit between his legs."
True to her word, Betty let Captain Berman live. His ship was stripped of anything valuable, including clothing from the crew and pieces of wood that Betty would use to repair her own ship from the gun fire it took. Just as quickly as it appeared, the Global Justice was out of sight for the other brig. Betty chuckled to herself as she took in the pile of booty they acquired and then her eye went over to the little redhead who was still with them.
"Vivi, do you have to be right all the time?" Betty asked, trying to sound annoyed, but she could not pull it off right then.
Vivian threw her arms around her beloved, embracing her around the waist. "It is a very bad habit of mine, but it was a bad habit that made us a lot of money this time," she remarked.
Betty could only laugh aloud. She guessed having the "mermaid" around would not be too troublesome. In fact, Kim seemed quite interesting. She would have to investigate why a capable woman like Kim was floating in the middle of the ocean and then why a proper young lady like Kim fought like a vengeful demon. Either way, Kim was a grand addition to the crew.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Kim makes an awful discovery that forces her to stay a pirate.
1: A "prize" is any ship that pirates captured, whether they kept the ship or just the items on board.
2: Pirates would run the flags of friendly countries when they came across ships that they were going to take. It allowed them to get close enough to attack.
3: "Show the colors" is basically pirate talk that means to hoist the ship's true flag, their Jolly Roger.