Jen Credible: Until The End
Wind struck hard on their faces as they fell from a really, really high altitude. It was needed since the place they planned to land was of elevated altitude itself. And as the duo fell towards their destination, Jen was reviewing what she knew about this one place: Yamanouchi.
A secret ninja school hidden in the high mountains of Japan. Its purpose was not only to preserve traditions of Japan, but also to pass down the so-called mystical martial arts to the future generations. Young, chosen children were raised in this school to become the Guardians of Japan, and to be there when the world would really need them. Probably only the Gods they believed in could know what kind of calamity they were expecting, however, all that they were doing was to carry on with their purpose, just like Jen did with her life.
Ron Stoppable trained here for a short time, but he had told her that he doubted he had ever learned more in such a short time (except for the occasion in which he became temporally a genius, but that's couldn't really count as "learning"). Through this school, Ron had learned more about the mystical form of Martial Art he had been gifted with: Tai Sheng Pek Kwar. Also, while this story wasn't so clear for her, it seemed that this was the place from where Ron's adopted baby sister, Hana, had come from. Hana herself was a mystery, or at least her origins, but Ron had assured her that his sister had turned out to be a Super Ninja Baby. Jen didn't want to find out anymore about that.
Considering all that, Jen thought that there might probably be a lot more to learn from this school than what she already knew. She just hoped not to learn that they were of the hostile kind when it came to receiving unexpected visitors, especially not the hard way.
'Well… here goes nothing.'
Dave opened his parachute first and Jen followed soon after. It didn't take long to find the school, as it was the only construct in the mountainous area. They controlled the fall's direction to land there, and weren't surprised to see a crowd of people gather in anticipation of their arrival. Jen noticed they were all wearing white uniforms similar to dogis and karategis, but didn't seem to be taking any hostile position yet, not even when they finally landed.
They murmuring around them was to be expected, and so was to be unable to understand a word of it since it was all in foreign language. That was just until a tall handsome man moved out from the crowd and approached them. Jen just smiled and, in her best attempt to be friendly, greeted him:
"Gokigen'yō!"
The man, whose remarkable trait was his punkish-spiked hairstyle, didn't laugh one bit, but did smile.
"Welcome to the Yamanouchi" He said, placing his hands together in front of him and bowing a bit. Well, finally someone realized they weren't from around here. "My name is Hirokata. May I know your reasons for coming to this place uninvited?"
"It's a bit of a long story, but I assure you we have our reasons"
"Long story short, we're here to help" Dave explained.
"Help with what? The school is at ease right now"
"Yeah, I know" Jen continued "But believe me, we have reasons to believe someone might attempt to infiltrate this place sooner or later"
Hirokata didn't seem to take her seriously, but he remained polite. "Miss, I appreciate your concern, but I assure you the Yamanouchi, while having it's outside to the public, is nowadays, like you Americans would call it, a high-security fortress. Nobody could infiltrate without us knowing"
He certainly sounded convinced saying that, but when an explosion occurred at his back, coming right from the school's main building, the expression on his face certainly changed.
"Let me guess" Jen said sarcastically "That must be part of the school's training program, right?"
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Walking indefinitely could be a pain sometimes, not to mention extremely boring. In hopes to entertain himself a bit, Jack was checking the pages of the Occultism Magazine they found at the tomb. This was practically the only proof they got that they had found it, though he didn't really have many hopes that people would believe them considering how little related the evidence seemed to be. Although the last event made him believe they actually were associated, one way or the other.
He couldn't really understand a word of the pages since it was all in Japanese. He would have to ask Kei to translate this for him later, after they got some rest, of course.
The magazine wasn't proving to be of much interest, however.
He looked up ahead of him, at the two ladies they had met back at the tomb. As soon as the green-skinned woman got better, they both made it clear that they should go to the closest town, city or any kind of civilization around. So… they started walking back to the last town the masculine trio had been. Yet, so far, the girls didn't seem to be willing to answer any of their questions, or at least not with a proper response. They didn't even say their names yet. Yet however, they didn't seem to have any problem pressing their guide.
"How long 'til we get there? I'm drying!" The green girl complained.
"Still far away" Sheek replied, sweating a bit but probably not because of the heat.
"Isn't there a way to make this faster?" The Asian girl questioned.
"…I'm just a mouse"
Tired of walking, both ladies stopped for a moment and sighed, being this the sixth time they heard that from the little green mouse. Jack and Kei shared a laugh because of that, which didn't escape the girl's ears.
"Aren't you two sweating a lot too?" The tomboyish girl asked, looking half perplexed, half frustrated. She probably wondered how they could laugh about their dismay instead of sharing it.
"We've been under this sun for days, lady" Kei replied.
"Darn it…" The other girl cursed, "I told you to get that thing repaired before!"
"I know!" Her partner countered "I'll do it as soon as we get somewhere."
"What are you talking about?" Jack asked. Couldn't help it, he was too curious, maybe too much for his own good.
The Asian girl half-raised her left arm, but stopped midway. "Nothing"
However, Jack had already noticed what she was about to mean "The device on your wrist?" He asked. The four-seconds-lasting lack of reply, including the avoidance of eye contact, confirmed it. "What's wrong with it?"
"I wish I knew" She replied while checking said device, which looked like a… communicator? "It just stopped working a few days ago"
"Are you sure that the battery didn't just run out?" Jack asked.
The girl rolled her eyes "The battery is nuclear! This thing would take months to run out!"
"Or an exposition to highly electromagnetic fields" Kei commented out of the blue. Both girls stared at him in disbelief. "What? It is true."
And then they slapped their own faces. "Damn!"
Jack contained a laugh "So I guess it is the battery"
The tomboyish girl just nodded. "But we can recharge it, as soon as I got somewhere with electricity"
"There's a wind generator at town" Sheek said.
"That should do" The pale girl said.
"Yeah, we got to get there for that" Kei reminded them.
The green girl looked at the Japanese man almost as if she was about to kill him… but apparently decided against it and started walking again. The rest followed.
"So, uh… can we know your names?" Jack asked.
"We don't have names" The pale woman replied aggressively.
Well… that didn't make things any easier. Jack cleared his voice and insisted. "So… any alias for which we could call you?"
"Pick whatever you want" The same girl replied.
"Mmm… can I call you Shego?"
At that, the green lady stopped dead in her track and quickly turned to face the archeologist. None of the men had seen such a perplexed expression on the woman's face before.
"What did you just say!?" She demanded to know.
"Eh… Shego"
"WHY?" She questioned before he could even try to explain.
And yeah, she was scaring him. "Well… because of this green-skinned woman known as Shego I happened to hear about. Just… I thought it would fit you, so…"
"You wouldn't BE Shego, would you?" Kei inquired.
"That's impossible" Jack replied "Shego died, about two months ago"
"…right" The pale woman said, looking at the sandy floor. Her partner put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Did you know her?" Kei asked, sounding concerned.
"Never met her" She replied, matter-of-fact tone… and then she stayed quite for some time, but finally looked up and replied "But… you may call me Shego"
Jack looked at Kei, who simply shrugged, and then back at the ladies "Okay"
"Now back to walking!" The Asian girl commanded.
And so they did.
"And how should we call you?" Kei asked to the still nameless woman.
"Like I know" She said, barely audible for anyone else.
"Pick up something" Her partner advised her "We may need some way to call each other"
Considering her pal's words, the tomboyish girl stopped for a moment to think about that. "Well… since you're Shego, I guess I'll be-"
"DON'T you dare!" The other girl jokingly threatened.
She gave her an awkward look. "…I was going to say Yori"
Yeah, quite awkward, "…yeah, I guess that suits you"
It wasn't enough to laugh, but it was for smiling. Then they went on walking, the men just followed.
"So… Shego and Yori, right?" Jack asked.
"Yeah" 'Shego' replied.
"Enough for you already?" 'Yori' questioned.
"What are YOUR names, anyway?" Shego asked crankily.
"I'm Jack, my friend here is Kei. And you can call your guide Sheek"
"I'm just a mouse," He reminded them.
"So, ladies…" Kei followed "Would you be so kinds to let me interview you for the magazine I work for?"
"Look" Yori pointed out "You're a half-question away from me giving you an 'if-I-tell-you-I'll-have-to-kill-you' kind of answer!"
"I'll shut up," Kei said, curiously cheerful.
"Can we at least know how you girls got here? I mean, you obviously didn't come walking since you're not used to this heat"
The tomboyish girl looked at her pale partner for a moment. Shego simply shrugged and Yori decided to reply. "In a helicopter"
"What happened to it?" Kei asked, had someone gave them a ride here? Or maybe…
"It got blown up," Shego said. Kei had guessed.
"I… think I'll leave it at that" Jack said, considering it his wisest decision.
Frustrated and feeling the sweat drop through her forehead, Shego sighed "Just HOW much more 'til we get there!?"
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Damn these ninjas! Damn this school! Just what the fuck had happened with the "Let's stay traditional" concept?! Seriously: Security cameras? Alarm laser!? Thermal sensors!? Just what kind of "traditional" school was the Yamanouchi supposed to be!?
She almost regretted not having listened to the only 'Ninja' she could more-or-less trust. She had barely made it through the whole security system and reached the room where the item she was seeking was located, but again she underestimated the safety measures of this place, and as soon as she removed it from its place, a weight sensor set up the alarm (they even had the red light glowing in the rooms and the digital voice screaming "Warning" all around!) and everything her mission had about stealth went straight to the trash bucket.
Of course, this might have made her task a whole deal harder, but then again, it also made it a lot more exciting. So bring the fun, bitches!
Ninjas weren't a type of adversaries she was used to, but she sure was open to different types of challenges, and this one seemed promising. Good thing she brought her "Lyon" (A customized H&K VP70 with triple shot function) with her, as she already knew she would need it, not just for shooting, as she had to do many times to repel those freaky flying starts, but also for using it to block her enemies' swords and scythes and then put them to sleep with a good punch or two.
Of course, it didn't take much time until she realized these small rooms and corridors just wouldn't do. She needed to air out, for goodness' sake! That's it: Screw them and throw the grenade.
Now THAT was quite a show, the floor and the roof started to fall apart as soon as the impact faded, leaving only deafening vibration in everyone's ears. She made her way out through the hole in the roof, reaching out for the tiled housetop. Of course, that didn't stop a handful of persistent warriors from keeping up with her, and one of them even managed to trap her arm in a chain. Nevertheless, she stood strong and not only didn't allow him to pull her off her ground, but did said thing to him, kicking his breath out of him with a good placed thrust on his stomach, a female ninja came right after him, only to get her face slapped with the Lyon's butt, her arm held tightly and her body climbed by the quick thief, who in less than a second was standing on one leg over her shoulder and before she could do anything, the blue-dressed woman used her free leg to kick her and slam her against the tiles. A third ninja was already quite close to them, but a fast shot on his shoulder made the distance between them a lot larger.
From her high position, she could contemplate the large field where these guys used to train, and she was already seeing the immense amount of angry ninjas that were following her like cats after a mouse. Truth to be told… she liked playing the mouse.
She looked around, searching for the right way to run away, but it turned out that there was one last warrior standing on her way.
"On my honor, I will defeat you!" The girl with black hair at shoulder length said, holding two battle fans in her hands as she stood in one leg, the other one raised defensively in front of her. She looked mature (and attractive), but she probably wasn't even twenty.
"Stay out my way, kid" She warned, "You'll live longer"
"It'll be my honor to die if that prevents the Lotus Blade from falling into your hands"
Lotus Blade? Oh, right! That's how the katana she was supposed to steal was called, the very same one that now hung from her back.
"If that's what you wish…" and then she pulled Lyon's trigger, firing three consequent bullets toward the girl.
But much to the thief's surprise, the bullets where deflected by the girl's fans, who then charged forward and attacked the older woman, who barely avoided the sharp end of the fan that managed to cut some of her white-blue hairs. So, the kid had some skill, uh?
"Congratulations!" She said, grabbing the ninja's wrist and leaving her defenseless long enough to place the Lyon's canon against her forehead "You've won a one-way ticket straight to heaven!"
But before she could pull the trigger, someone else grabbed her wrist and moved the gun right on time so that the fired bullets would hit nothing but air. The thief looked up, furiously anxious to see who had managed to get so close to her without her noticing, but her expression quickly changed when she realized who it was: Her favourite cat when playing mouse.
"Jenny…" She said with a mix of calmness and contained annoyance.
"Miss me, Cobalt?"
"Never so much"
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The group in the dessert was going on and on and the girls were tired of sand, sand and sand and more sand! And tired was saying just the least!
"The town should be visible already" Kei told them "That's it, if we weren't in the dessert. The heat just reduces everyone's range of vision"
But upon hearing that, the pale woman raised her right hand and went for her eye-patch, pressing something on the side of it.
The guys had already noticed that the eye-patch wasn't a typical one, but when they saw a red light shining in the corner of it, making them notice the diminutive light bulb placed on it. The girl had also closed her left eye for some reason, but when they stood in front of her, she reopened it and looked at them.
"Do you mind?" She asked threateningly.
Kei and Jack moved aside as Shego closed her visible eye and, apparently, looked with the eye-patch's… camera?
"Is that a biotechnological eye or what?" Kei asked Yori almost in a whisper.
"It's just an accessory" The tomboyish girl deadpanned "She does have her eye beneath it. That thing works as binoculars, night and thermal vision, and analysis of the field"
"Found it" Shego said, pointing with her free hand toward one point in particular "The town is over there, around six kilometers from here"
"Well, that's what I call informative!" Jack expressed. Sheek looked a bit down because of the comment.
The pale woman pressed something on the side of the eye-patch again, apparently shutting it down. "Now let's-" She paused. She had even took a step forward but didn't move the other foot, stopping dead in her track.
"What's wrong?" Kei asked, but the pale woman silenced him.
Yori seemed to notice it too… and looked behind at the path they came from.
"Is that…?" Jack asked. They were starting to notice it too.
"…a sound" Kei finished.
It sounded like a… a roar, a roar coming from the distance, far away…
"I feel it"
They all nearly jumped when they "heard" it, that voice in their head that, while not being the same one, it sounded in the same way.
The noise was becoming louder.
"I can feel it!"
Now the roar was clear enough to know from where it came from: The path they had walked through all day. They all stared behind, to the source of the… mechanical roar they could all feel, through the air and through the shaking sand. Shego activated her eye-patch again… searching for their enemy through the foggy heat and the sandscape.
"I feel the power… a candelabrum is nearby!"
It didn't take her long to find it… coming at them at full speed on top of an old Harley-like motorbike with its wheels covered in hellish flames. Its rider, who was dressed in what she could call a nearly perfect "gay biker" style, except because it actually wore a shirt and a helmet, reminded her of the fiend the cheerleader had faced, Daisoujou, because of one important trait it common: Beneath its clothes, the biker was nothing but a skeleton, even thought the only visible part of said trait was it's face… which she could see clearly…
"It's you, isn't it!?"
…staring back at her, even through the ten kilometers distance.
"…shit!"
"It found us, didn't it?" Jack just had to ask.
"RUN!"
Nobody put doubt on the pale girl's words. They all turned around and began to run as fast as their legs would let them, heading toward the town. They didn't think they would be safe there, but they did feel that their life depended on it.
Shego and Yori just couldn't believe it. They knew that he was after the candelabras like the one the cheerleader had and that priest had dropped, but they didn't expect that getting a hold on one would drive others creatures to go after them besides the one they were after. Now they had this fiend, this Hell's Angel, after them and they just didn't feel like they could handle it. They had seen how powerful Daisoujou was, and while they didn't consider such creatures invincible, they knew better than to try their luck. They also knew they hadn't actually defeated the immeasurably powerful cheerleader. They just were smart enough to make her fall into their trap and leave her to rot under the ruins and the sand. But now they had this creature chasing them… what where they supposed to do?
"Hand over the candelabrum!"
They weren't going to make it. They had already discovered just how fast they could be, something you discover only when you're running for your life, but they knew that even though they had cleared half of the distance in record time, the Hell's Angel was going to reach them before they could make it. That could just prove its speed, a speed they definitely would not be able to match. Just how could they defeat him anyway?
They would have to take their chances.
"Yori!" Shego called. The Asian girl instantly responded to the name by looking at her partner. "Recharge the battery and ask for help!"
"Help!?" Yori questioned, "You can't mean…" Yes, she did and they both knew it "Are you crazy!?"
"It's the only way!" The pale girl replied and they knew she was right.
The tomboyish woman pressed her teeth hard just because of what the idea involved: It would mean to leave Shego behind to fight the biker, to leave her alone with a foe that was beyond their capability. Even if it was only for distraction… it was just too dangerous!
"You better survive this! I don't want to lose you too!"
"You won't" She said… and then she jumped, turning back and beginning to slow down once her feet touched the ground again, eventually stopping her while the rest of the group went on and ahead to the town.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
It was coming for her and she would face it. At that speed, and as long as it had its bike, it would be impossible to fight him directly. She would have to use her power.
"C'MON! Be a good girl… and I'll take you to a world without limits!!"
"…Bring it!"
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As if being back indoors just wasn't frustrating enough….
"Look, I know you're angry because you're cornered and all-" Jen started.
"And that's 'cause we know you hate feeling trapped" Dave added.
"Right, right" Jen followed "But don't you think you're taking this too far!? I mean, taking hostages is just not you!"
"Have you looked behind you!?" Cobalt retorted.
Jen did… and only then she noticed the huge horde of weapon-holding ninjas that stood in position right behind her, ready to cut the blue thief into hundreds of tiny pieces at their fist chance, which, of course, wouldn't be possible unless they managed to free the school's leader, Master Sensei, from Cobalt, who had her gun right behind the old teacher's head.
"C'mon, baby! Let gramps go!" Dave pleaded, not too pitiful but not too convincing either.
"Okay, look" Jen began, knowing that the discussion wasn't going anywhere like this, so… "Let's make a deal"
"I'm listening" Cobalt said.
"We'll solve this between you and me" She offered "Ninjas and Senseis… we leave them aside, okay?"
"And why should I trust such a deal?" The thief questioned.
"When have I lied to you!? You know you can trust me!"
"Yeah, I trust you, but I don't trust those BEHIND you!"
Jen looked back once more, admitting to herself that the older woman had a point. But how could she convince the Ninjas to stand back and let her handle the situation?
"It will be our honor to agree with you, Miss," Sensei spoke with a calm voice, nearly freaking out the thief who had subconsciously reasoned that the old geezer was either mute or way too shocked to speak.
"What was that?"
"For no battle should demand unfair methods, and for your honor's radiance, we shall leave the outcome of this confrontation and the fate of the Lotus Blade in the hands of you and your rival, Cobalt-san"
"Watch your mouth, gramps!" The blue woman retorted, looking straight at what little was visible of Sensei's eyes "I don't know where you got the idea, but Honor simply ain't existing in my dictionary"
"But it is does exist… in your relationship with Miss Credible-san"
Silent filled the room for an awkward moment, and before they had noticed, all the ninjas had lowered their weapons, putting them on sheath or respective places, and they all proceeded to stand formally by the sides of the big room.
"Mh! As lame as they come."
And with that said, Cobalt let Sensei go with a kick on the butt. Dave ran quickly towards the old man to help him stand up and then headed with him close to Hirokata and Yori, the ninja who had managed to delay Cobalt long enough for Jen to reach at her.
"Now it's just you and me, Cobalt" Jen proclaimed, adopting her fighting stance.
"And you're all mine, Jenny"
Not wasting another second, Jen ran towards her one personal rival, who awaited her in anything but a combat position, obviously in mockery. Yet, that didn't stop Cobalt from grabbing Jen's punch right on time, make her lose her balance and, as if that wasn't enough, have her hanging from her arm, while holding both of her wrists against the young hero's back, and planting a strong, deep and immeasurably passionate kiss right-on-her-LIPS!!
"MH!!"
All the eyes around the room went wide open, except for those of the shy girl who covered her face from such a sight. Some of the men, on the other hand, were bleeding, but not because of any injure. Dave himself could barely believe his own eyes as he contemplated the hottest moment in all of his life as a hero's sidekick.
"I… I can see her tongue" Hirokata muttered…
"Yeah…" Dave said "Now THAT's what I call honor!!"
Jen was struggling and kicking around trying to break free of the older woman's… "Attack", but either she wasn't concentrating well enough (not like she could), or Cobalt had been training a lot since the last time they met. One way or the other, the thief didn't stop tasting the brunette's mouth until she really needed to breath, and that's when Jen ran away as fast as possible from the villain who had gained a new sort of reputation in her mind, all while splitting around every last drop of saliva from her mouth, her hands assisting the process as if she were trying to remove some dirt from her tongue.
"The bathroom is that way!" Yori told her, pointing at a corridor on the right. Jen just headed toward said direction while muttering "Arigato" between splits.
"Cobalt: One, Jen: Zero!!" The blue thief exclaimed cheerfully. Dave just stared at her in disbelief, which Cobalt did notice. "Yeah: All the way down her throat!"
"I so wish I had a camera right now…" The young sidekick said to himself.
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"I need electricity!!" Yori screamed, right after opening the town's windmill's gate and in an attempt to catch her breath.
Unfortunately the only reply she got was some babbling-like talking from a man who simply didn't know her language. Not so unfortunately, Sheek caught up with her shortly after that to talk to the Egyptian man in tongue he could make sense of. She was eventually taken into a room where she could connect the device on her wrist into some machinery. Said item instantly came to life, meaning that, indeed, the guys had been right.
'This is crazy' She told herself as she operated her communicator 'To contact him… is simply crazy!'
She was surprised when he appeared in the device's screen, but… it was him.
"What the-?" The Afro-American boy asked.
"Wade! I need your help!"
"Who are you!?" The obese boy asked her. "How did you contact me!?"
"There's no time for explaining, Wade! I need you to help me, quickly! A whole town is in danger here!!"
Yori saw him typing at almost inhuman speed for a moment, and then his eyes went wide open. "At... Egypt!?"
He had tracked her down already!? Damn, he was young but he was damn good! "YES! At hot-as-hell Egypt!"
"What do you need my help for?" He questioned while he went on typing. It was almost scary to see him doing that with such masterfulness.
Better make the long story short: "There's a demon following us and it will kill the whole town if we don't stop it, but I doubt we'll be able to!"
She wasn't sure if he heard her since he just kept typing as fast as that biker's motorcycle, but when his eye opened wide, she knew she wasn't going to like what was following:
"Watch out!! It's coming to get you!"
Worse than what she expected "What!?"
She barely had time to draw the sword from her back to strike against the burning wheels of the Hell's Angel vehicle; right after it threw down the windmill's east wall. It felt akin to clashing a chainsaw against another chainsaw. Yori's arm's muscles could easily be seen at the peak of their limit through her tight suit, but after just a couple of seconds she fell to the floor landing on her back, though having managed to avoid the Majin's attack, who just kept racing in the same direction, though now in the town.
"Hey, are you okay!?" She heard Wade asking.
"Yeah… I'm fine" She said, raising the communicator again to make visual contact with the genius kid.
"What was that?!" He asked as he saw her beginning to stand up with a little green mouse helping her as it much could.
"Look, I'm really not sure of that, and the last thing I got is time to explain it" She told him, exiting the windmill to see where the Hell's Angel had gone. Apparently, he had already crossed town and was… making a long turn to get back. "Wade, can you contact Global Justice? We're going need some heavy artillery."
"On it! Just give me a minute!"
That sounded like it was going to be the longest minute of her life.
"HEY!"
Hearing that, Yori turned around to see Shego catching up with her.
"Wade listened to me" She told her as soon as they were close enough to talk. "I requested GJ's help"
"That… may be good" The pale woman replied, trying to retrieve her breath.
"Or not" The Asian girl reassessed "But until they arrive…"
"I'll take care of it" Shego said, starting to run again toward the racing skeleton.
"Oh, no! I'm not letting you do this alone!!"
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Two mouthwashes and three teeth brushing later, a still blushing and angry Jen returned to the dojo-like gym where everyone, including Cobalt, stood just as they were when she left them, and she was more than eager to retake the fight.
"Now you're gonna see you… you-!" She suddenly started running, delivering a kick as she finished her sentence. "YOU DYKE!!"
But it wasn't like anyone expected that the thief wouldn't block the kick. "You kiss your mommy with that mouth?"
"My mother died long ago!" Jen retorted. Still with her right leg blocked by Cobalt's arm, but then jumping and giving another kick with her free leg, breaking the encounter with that.
"Yeah" The cerulean-haired woman agreed as she blocked Jen's punch "But you kiss me with that mouth!?"
"I didn't kiss YOU!" She exclaimed, blocking with her free arm the strike that Cobalt tried to give her, identical to her own. "You kissed ME!!"
Her word's power could only be compared to the headbutt she gave the older woman, who in return kicked the teen away from her. Jen rolled on the ground but quickly stoop up again.
"Yeah, about that…" Cobalt started, touching her lips softly "Was that strawberry sundae I tasted?"
"So I like to have ice-cream for breakfast and that was the only meal I had today. Got a problem with that?"
"So you have your own weird quirks too."
Just where was her mind wandering right now? Whatever… "Bite me!"
"Don't tempt me."
One more second of uncomfortable silence… and Jen charged forward once again, giving first a low roundhouse kick which Cobalt avoided making a quick jump but left her open for the following straight kick on her stomach, which sent her to crash against the wall.
"Why didn't you escape, anyway?" Jen asked, curious about why she hadn't escaped while she was in the bathroom "It wasn't because of the ninjas, was it?"
Regaining her composure, Cobalt smiled at Jen. "What if I tell you I want another kiss?"
Jen knew she was only avoiding the question, but with that, she had told her that she wasn't planning on giving anything out. "Really? Well, you can kiss my ass!"
"That's something I'd rather kick"
"And I'd like to see you try"
An agreement, communicated through their eyes, was enough to lead both of them against each other again, clashing their right fists, which didn't stop either one's pace, just gave them one another's position. They both looked back at each other, smiling confidently.
"Seems like we're gonna have some fun, uh, Jenny?"
"We sure are…"
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The Hell's Angel passed at full speed, raising the sand and leaving a trail of flames behind itself. Shego stepped sideways to avoid him and raised her arm, throwing her power at her enemy. Regrettably, it didn't reach. That damn motorbike was just too damn fast.
She had to cover Yori for now, while the girl kept the conversation with Wade and Global Justice.
"Can you describe the enemy you're fighting?" Dr. Director, head of the worldwide organization of law and order and who appeared through half of communicator's screen, asked the tomboyish fighter.
"Fast!" Yori exclaimed exasperatedly. The damn one-eyed woman was just taking it too calmly considering their current situation "Powerful and fast!!"
She looked up at her partner for a moment. Apparently, she was managing to keep the biker at a proper distance for enough time shooting her power around.
"And what do you propose?" The woman asked. Wade, who was also in this conversation, remained silent for the moment, except for the constant sound of his typing.
"Simply something that can be as fast and powerful as him. How about missiles?" She proposed. "Your air force has jets packed with laser guidance missiles, right?"
Dr. Director raised her good eye's eyebrow. This woman was more and more suspicious by each second. "Yes, we have. But you'd need a laser to paint the target"
"She got it" Wade suddenly stated. "That device she is using to communicate with us has that function"
Yori bit her lower lip and shook her head just so that the young nerd could see it, not to neglect it. It was just a reaction caused by how amazed she was of his skills.
"I got to admit, that device is amazing!" The computer expert exclaimed "Far better than the Kimmunicator I've built. Who made that thing?" He asked enthusiastically.
"You can talk about that later" Dr. Director commanded, focusing then in Yori "Miss, we'll be sending our fastest jet aircraft toward Egypt following Mr. Load's coordinates. Think you'll be able to handle a little less than thirty minutes?"
"Like I have a choice!"
"YORI!!"
The Asian girl barely managed to look up in time to see the Hell's Angel heading toward her at full speed until something bumped her to the ground. Thankfully, it wasn't the fiend, but an actual living person.
"Kei!"
The Japanese man stood up, catching sight of the biker and then taking the AK-47 Kalashnikov hanging from his back. He shot at the Majin, but alas, wasn't able to land a single shoot because of the distance and the biker's speed. He and the girls remained still for a moment, and eventually the Hell's Angel was heading toward them again, as they expected. What they didn't expect was for it to swing against the sand, raising not only a big cloud of sand but also powering up the flames of the wheels, practically creating a giant wave of fire. The three combatants threw themselves backwards and to the sand to avoid the attack, and Kei lost his weapon in the process. But when he tried to go for it, he saw it moving on its own, out of his reach and toward the green girl's hand.
"We appreciate your help" Yori told him "But please, leave this to us"
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"Just how long have they been fighting!?" Yori asked, amazed by the hero's and villain's stamina. There hadn't been any place where they hadn't fought already, and now it was in the middle of the training field.
"Over thirty minutes" Dave told her. "And the sun is setting" He added, looking at the golden half of the sky.
"Seems like things are getting spicier" Hirokata commented, "They've already drawn their weapons"
Running like a professional athlete in a short race, Jen approached Cobalt at full speed before she could even raise her gun again and almost managed to leave a permanent scar in the older woman's face. Angry at that, Cobalt gave Jen her best kick right on the teen's chin, pointing her gun at her and shooting three bullets as soon as she could. Yet, her soonest wasn't good enough, as it gave her opponent enough time to swing her axe to deflect the bullets. Yeah, the goody Jenny had already learned to deal with this if she had enough distance between them, and it seemed like "enough" was less and less after each battle. But daring as she was, she wanted to see her dealing with minimal range.
No longer had Jen put her feet on the ground, she already had Cobalt in front of her, gun already raised. Her axe barely managed to get between her and the bullet since it was already close, but unable to do it properly. The shoot sent the weapon flying out of her hand and almost made her lose her balance, if she wasn't because she used that impulse to raise a kick and flip backward, her feet managing to leave Cobalt disarmed too, or so she thought.
More annoyed than before, Cobalt went for the Lotus Blade's grip and tried a horizontal cut on the youngster, only to get the sword trapped between the darn good hero's skilful hands, and as if that wasn't enough, Jen pulled the weapon toward her, making Cobalt lose her equilibrium as the teen laid down on her back, her feet intercepting her enemy's stomach just to immediately kick her off and sent her flying around the school's train field and toward a tree, which Cobalt wasn't really willing to crash into, so she made sure to put some use to that sword and cut the damn tree down.
"They cut down the kigo tree!!" Hirokata exclaimed, taking his hands to his hair.
"…"Kigo"? " Dave couldn't help to ask, just like he couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
"And we were just finishing the repairs of everything after the attack of Monkey Fist and The Yono…" Yori lamented.
Jen walked without haste toward the fallen tree, finding Cobalt just sitting calmly over it. The sword was back on its scabbard, and the woman stood as though nothing had happened.
"My, you sure are quite energetic today, Jen" Cobalt said. Her using her rival's name like that expressed some respect "I got to admit: I haven't had this much fun in a very long time"
Jen sighed… and went to pick up her axe "So I'm not the only one who got stronger, RIGHT!?"
Cobalt jumped just right on time to avoid the flying axe that came with the exclamation… and flew forward to encounter Jen in a clash of kicks that didn't manage to injure either of them. She landed easily and calmly on the ground, and turned around to see Jen standing on what reminded still standing of the tree's log, axe back in hand.
"Seems like it'll be ME who'll have to kiss YOU this time!!"
"Goodbye kiss?" Cobalt mocked, kicking her gun from the ground to raise it up to her hand.
"Goodnight kiss!"
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Faster, FASTER, FASTER!!
"Alright, let's go!"
Faster they ran, on wheels or feet, faster they approached, one to another. But she knew: Speed wouldn't decide this battle's outcome. Timing would!
"Think you can stop me?"
Just when the Majin tried to raise its vehicle to welcome its opponent with the flaming wheels, the bullets that couldn't do much to his being managed to break his move and leave him open to meet the pale woman's feet kicking right on his chest and separating him from his loyal transport. No sooner it tried to get up, the girl stepped on its shoulder, pointing the firearm at its skull.
Inside of her mind, he could only hear its laugh.
"...You're the very first one to keep up with me."
"No kidding" She replied.
Yet, he only laughed more, even moving its jawbone to mimic the 'sound'. Shego raised her feet for a moment only to step back strongly to shut it up. She had questions…
"Why do you want the candelabrum?" She asked. By knowing the reason this creature wanted such an item, she might finally find out what he was after. "What do you really want!?"
"The same as you!"
The replied managed to scare her a bit. She was about to ask for clarifications, but it seemed like the Majin read her mind.
"If you posses a candelabrum then, like me, you've got to be after supreme power!"
"Supreme… power!?"
"Alas… I shall never allow it!"
"SHEGO!!"
The green lady looked aside to see Yori calling out for her… and the demon's motorbike heading toward her by itself! Such unpredictable attack was more than what she could have expected… but fortunately, so was Kei playing the rescuer's role once again, knocking himself and Shego on the ground to avoid being ran over.
"Thank you" She said as she stood up, and he noticed her blushing.
"Good thing I didn't leave, uh?"
Yori ran past them, her sword in hand, in an attempt to prevent the rider to get on the motorbike, yet… it managed to avoid her raising slash and get away, and then Kei saw something beyond his imagination: The katana… growing ten times its size in less than a second and being wielded as a whip instead of a sword. The blade even bent during the next move that almost managed to strike the Hell's Angel, but raised nothing but sand. The weapon returned to its original shape shortly after that…
…and shortly before they all could hear another roaring sound, this one coming from the sky and announcing the arrival of a new ally.
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At Yamanouchi, the battle kept going through pain and sweat, yet, surprisingly, with almost no spilled blood. The fighting bodies felt a lot tenser, the muscles aching at every made effort, their breaths escaping their mouths and their eyes struggling to keep focused. But as tired as they were, drops falling from their arms and forehead, they both knew this was when they truly felt alive.
But as night fell and the sky became dark, like daylight, their fight came to an end.
It wasn't intense, but a notorious vibration could be felt coming from beneath the whole field. Almost like an earthquake…
"Darn it!" Cobalt cursed, clearly annoyed "Just when things were starting to be fun…"
Without wasting time, the blue thief drew the Lotus Blade, staring carefully at the floor.
"What are you doing?" Jen immediately asked.
"Just following instructions" The older woman replied "Sorry, Jenny. But I'm afraid our fight has come to an end…"
"What?!"
Cobalt's only answer was to stab the sword within the ground with all of her might… causing the trembling to become an uncontainable earthquake, cracks appearing across the earth, almost as if the whole mountain was about to collapse. Jen managed to make out a weird picture: Cobalt elevating with a stone emerging beneath her feet and taking her higher and higher, while said stone became wider and, apparently, more than just a stone.
Snapping out of her impression, the heroic teen jumped backwards, following through with a series of flips in order to get away from whatever was emerging from below the school's ground. Not just a stone, she quickly learned, but a construction that stood far taller than what she expected, eventually stopping when fully revealed under the night's darkness as a temple with the shape of a simian's face with a sort-of crown that was larger than the face. Last time she checked, Cobalt was standing on top of the construction, but now she was nowhere to be found.
"It can't be!" Yori exclaimed, making Jen notice her, along with Dave and Hirokata, standing behind her.
"What? What can't be?" Dave inquired.
"The… the Dark Temple of The Yono!"
Jen just blinked at Hirokata's terrified statement, turning back to face said temple again. "Now, just what do we have here?"
Without hesitating, the brunette ran forward to the temple entrance, quickly followed by Dave who just had a very bad feeling like to let her go all by herself. Upon entering through the big mouth-like arcade, they found themselves in a chamber with no person on it, but one particular… thing.
"What's a statue doing in a place like this?" Dave wondered out loud, approaching toward said structure "Man, it sure looks ugly"
"Wait a minute!" Jen exclaimed as soon as she got a better look at the statue, which seemed to be of a man with some monkey-like features. But she was sure she had seen this face before, and it didn't take her much to remember where: A list of villain. She even managed to remember his name: "Monty Fiske!?"
"What!?" Dave suddenly exclaimed, "You mean… this is the guy Ron faced some weeks ago? The same Monkey Fist?!"
Both of them still recalled the case. When, a couple of weeks ago, Jen asked Ron to replace Dave since her sidekick had been hospitalized because of having had his left arm injured during the previous mission. Ron did a fairly good job assisting Jen against their new challenges, a duo known as Team Probable. And when the issue was done and the case closed, they invited Ron for a groupie dinner at Jen's office, where they shared some tales. That was when Ron told them about he and his baby sister having faced their greatest challenge against Monkey Fist and some even darker monkey. Ron hadn't given much detail, especially not regarding his archrival's ultimate fate. Now she could see why…
But that wasn't their business…
"Cobalt!" Jen called, forgetting the petrified villain and looking around "Show yourself!"
"Already missing me, Jenny?"
Much to the duo's frustration, it merely required them to turn back to see Cobalt resting against the entrance.
"What's this all about!?" Jen demanded to know.
"Beats me" Cobalt replied while shrugging and holding both hands at her sides and shoulder's height, but then pointing to somewhere behind Jen "You should ask him"
Turning around once more, Jen came to know a new member of this act, that is, as much as she could see of him considering the guy was dressed as a ninja, including the mask that wouldn't show anything but a pair of dark brown eyes. Curiously, the guy held a book in his arm.
"And you are…?" Jen asked, facing the newcomer,
"He doesn't have a name, as far as I'm aware" Cobalt replied for him "He just goes by the Tarot Cards"
"The Tarot Cards?" Dave repeated.
"That is correct" The supposedly nameless man answered, walking a couple of step toward the sandy-blond sidekick "The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed... and only through the cards can the final truth be obtained. Including for you, Magician."
Confused, Dave looked to both sides, just to make sure of what he feared. Pointing at himself, he looked back at the nameless man "Magician? You're talking to-? WHOA!!"
But the sudden appearance of a card in front of him interrupted his question. The card, which was only showing its backside to the teenager, floated in front of him for a moment until it suddenly turned around, revealing itself as the card of The Magician. Carefully, Dave raised his hand and grabbed the card that just then stopped defying gravity.
"What does this mean?"
"He just goes around calling people by what's supposedly is 'their' cards" Cobalt explained. She hadn't moved so far. "As far as he's aware, I'm The Devil," She added, showing a card similar to Dave's, though with the Arcana she mentioned.
"Okay, this is just way too creepy" Jen retorted, facing the 'tarot gambler' once again. "So… what is your Arcana?"
Even through his mask, she managed to notice him smirking before facing her and replying. "I'm the one that demands Order from Chaos itself," He proclaimed, showing his card "The Emperor"
"So much for an introduction…" A new voice said.
"Who's there!?" Jen asked as she and Dave started looking around. Weren't they just two?! And why did that voice sounded… familiar?
"I got to admit… you were the last person I expected to encounter, Jennifer"
Following the source of that voice, the young hero managed to notice someone standing at the chamber's only internal doorway. The sight of that feminine figure covered by the shadows made her feel a nostalgic (annoyingly nostalgic) at the sound of the newcomer's voice. And what was with that cheerleading unif-… ?!
'No… it can't be!'
"As stubborn as always, aren't you?" The blonde cheerleader said, stepping out of the doorway and showing herself to her old classmate.
"Stacy!?" Jen exclaimed in disbelief "Stacy Burke!?"
"You know her?" Both Dave and Cobalt asked at the same time, causing them to stare at each other for a moment.
"Know her!?" Jen repeated, "We were classmate, for talking out loud!"
A sad laugh escaped Stacy's lips "Good old times"
"Why didn't you tell me you knew such a sexy girl?" The sidekick cheerfully asked while checking out the cheerleader from toe to head.
"And as poorly accompanied as always, it seems" The blonde added.
"Hey! I resent that!"
"What are you doing here, anyway!?" Jen questioned "What are you doing with… with these villains?!"
"Can't you guess?" Stacy asked "I'm their leader, Jen"
"You what!?" The hero reported, as Cobalt passed right beside her "Stop joking around!"
"This is no joke, Jenny" Cobalt said, standing right beside the cheerleader "I must admit I had no idea you and Stacy were acquainted already, but I also got to tell you that I doubt you could say you really know her now"
"What… what do you mean?"
"How about if I show you?" Stacy asked, raising her hand toward Cobalt, who took the Lotus Blade off of her back and gave it to Stacy.
"Stacy, stop this!"
Showing no sign of having listened, the cheerleader just adopted a samurai-like position, holding the scabbard on her left hand with her right hand close to the sword's grip, ready to draw the blade in an attack, and for the second time in one day, Jen barely managed to raise her axe in defense to block her opponent's attack, but differing from the last one, which just took her weapon out of her hand, this one sent her flying out of the temple! Her flight didn't stop until she crashed into one of Yamanouchi's walls, leaving her mark dented upon it, and fell like a corpse on the floor, still trying to grasp what just had happened.
'Stacy?'
She looked back at the so called Temple of the Yono, finding her old classmate standing at the top of the stairs: In her hand, the Lotus Blade, which she remembered as a crystal katana, had taken the shape of a blood-red double-edge long sword, the sheath thrown aside. She looked…
'So… powerful…'
Back at the temple, Dave wanted to run and assist Jen however he could, but having that incredible cheerleader in the way was… well, getting in his way. It didn't help much when he felt Cobalt's hand on his shoulder and her gun against his cheek.
"Going somewhere?"
He tried to think of a sarcastic retort… but right now, he simply couldn't.
"She is not even worthy as my opponent" Stacy stated, thought mostly to himself. Dave barely managed to hear her before noticing the so-called Emperor walking toward her.
"Now… for our deal" He said to her
She looked at him through the corner of her blue eyes with coldness that gave Dave a chill down his spine. Slowly she raised the now corrupted Lotus Blade, giving it to Emperor. In his hand, the sword took once again the shape of a katana, but one darker than night itself. Then he started walking… back into the chamber.
"What are you planning to do?!" The sidekick asked, still held captive by Cobalt.
Emperor's path stopped just in front of statue of the petrified Monkey Fist, looking then at they young boy's eyes. Brown against… familiar brown? Just where had he seen those eyes before?
"Only courage in the face of doubt can lead one to the answer, Magician," He said raising the tainted sword. "Watch… and learn"
And then he did the last thing Dave could have expected: He pierced Monkey Fist's chest with the sword… creating cracks all over his body. Dave could only watch in terror as he saw the fractures expanding, not just around the villain's petrified body, but also following on the ground, then on the walls… and before he knew it, the entire construction was simply falling down!
"Dave!!" He heard Jen screaming.
The millennia old temple of the Yono… finally exploded into thousand of pieces, covering the grounds of the Yamanouchi School in its entirety.
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"This is Agent Will Du" The man wearing a blue uniform and helmet presenting himself in Yori's communicator stated "I'm ready to attack as soon as you assign the target"
The screen then switched to Wade "I'll coordinate your device's signal with the airship's!"
"Please and thank you" Yori replied, causing Wade to twitch for a moment.
She then focused back on Shego, who was firing bullets carelessly in an improvised strategy to keep the Hell's Angel away. She then saw Kei running at Shego to give her another clip for the AK, which she quickly switched as she sidestepped forward, but just when she was about to fire, she ceased her rush…
"What are you doing?" Kei asked her "Thought of something?"
"Yeah…" She replied as the rider was coming right at them again "Move!"
Opting to listen to her, Kei took some distance from her while Shego did something completely unthinkable: She turned around, back to the rider, and started shooting at… nothing but air? Just what the hell was she thinking!?
The Hell's Angel was just about to run over her, but she gave a surprisingly quick jump to avoid it, letting it go forward to meet what could have never been expected. Could it have shown some emotions, it would have expressed shock at the sight of the bullets turning their way back right at it! Quickly, it turned its devilish motorbike, slowing down against the sand as it raised the flames of the wheels to deflect the bullets, but at the same time, becoming what the girls wanted: An easy target.
"Wade!" Yori called "Now!"
"Done!" The genius kid replied, his face suddenly becoming darker "Lock… and let it rain!"
Quickly the girl raised her arm forward, pointing a laser light that came out of the device on her wrist. It took just three seconds of landing it on the fiend for the device to announce what she wanted to hear: "Target identified"
"Beginning launch!" She heard Agent Du saying… before said missiles passed right above her and heading for their objective.
The Hell's Angel was already on the dash again, running away from those missiles like a mouse from a cat. It didn't take much to notice they were tracking it down, so just running wouldn't help. No worries. It had just what it needed…
The fighters cursed out loud as they saw the missiles exploding, not for having hit their target, but for having been covered in a cloud of sand and fire coming from the biker's motorcycle. The bastard…
"It didn't work" Kei said, as Yori and Shego stood beside him.
"Any ideas?" The Asian girl asked.
"This is Agent Du!" They heard from Yori's device "Preparing second launch"
"Tell him to wait!" Shego commanded, and Yori did as told…
All three present on the ground jumped to their sides to avoid their enemy once more, and once done, the girls approached each other.
"I can make those missiles reach him" The green woman said "But I need your help…"
"You don't mean…?" Her partner half-questioned, but saw her answer through the tall woman's eyes "It's too dangerous!"
"Trust me" Shego said smiling and placing her hand in her partner's shoulder "Like I trust you"
Scared and confused, all Yori could do was to put her hand on top of her friend's. "…Shego"
"It's coming back!" Kei warned them.
Yori's hand moved to Shego's shoulder, her expression suddenly becoming determined "Promise me you'll be careful!"
"Of course I will!" The taller woman replied confidently.
With that said, Yori raised her other arm, facing her communicator "Will Du! Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear" He replied.
"And careful now: Listen, you got to fire the missiles as soon as you can locate yourself so that the demon is between you and us. Got it?"
"What are you planning?"
"There's no time to explain, but basically, we can make those missiles reach it"
"Understood. I'll persecute it," He said before cutting out the communication.
And right then, the group on the ground had to elude the Majin one more time. The jet soon located itself behind it and made its best attempt to follow its track.
"Kei, you better stay away now" Shego warned him.
The young man gave her one last clip for the assault rifle and then nodded, beginning to run away from the scene. Now alone, both ladies stared at where the Hell's Angel and the aircraft were coming from. They both put their hands back on each other shoulders, looking directly at each other's eyes. Words were not needed. They simple nodded and, after giving a quick look, Yori grabbed her device once again.
"Du! NOW!!"
They didn't receive any reply except for the missiles ejecting from the jet. At the sight of that, Shego quickly jumped and landed standing nowhere else but Yori's raised arm, which not only held her firmly, but also threw her high, HIGH into the air! Above both the plane and the missiles!
For the second time (and last for today, she vowed), Yori drew her crystalline katana in the last moment to defend herself against the fierce Majin. But while she managed to avoid serious injures, the demon still managed to throw her rolling on the sand right before making its run from the missiles that were persecuting it once again.
From the jet's perspective, Will Du was now contemplating what probably was the craziest maneuver he would ever see in his entire life. That longhaired woman whose face he could not see… not only had somehow reached an unbelievable altitude, but… she landed on one of the missiles he shot! And now she was RIDING it as if it were a flying skateboard!! Just who in the world was that woman!?
Unable to reunite his parted lips, he did all he could do, which was to follow his own missiles as possible as that was. That astonishing lady was escaping him anyway, but just what was she planning? If that biker demon raised its wave of fire once more, then she would… oh, no! It was doing it again!!
For a moment, when he saw her bending to her right, Will thought she was going to jump out of there, which would be the wisest option in his opinion. But he was wrong. Not only she didn't jump, but the missiles didn't explode either because she, somehow, he had no idea how, but it had to be her who somehow managed to turn all the missiles aside, making them elude the gigantic wave of fire and then keep heading toward the Hell's Angel.
"Wanna heat up, uh!?"
He could have jumped out of his seat if the security belts didn't hold him. Just what in the world was that "voice"!? And where had it come from? Was… was that the demon!?
"All right! Then let's dance in hell, baby!!"
And as he saw what came next, he knew that voice in his head had to be from that insane monster, who was now starting to run in circles on the sand, making said circles smaller as much as he could while the fire from its wheels grew bigger and bigger 'til they became a tornado of sand and fire.
Against such a thing, all he could do was turn the aircraft and start to fly around and at a prudent distance of such phenomena. But now he wondered where the lady with the missiles had gone. He had lost track, but he didn't hear the missiles exploding, so they had to be somewhere…
Like on top of them?
"What the hell is she planning!?" He asked out loud as he looked up at the missiles that were apparently following their rider's will.
And if he thought she was crazy before, then this went beyond the limits: That woman took the missiles and high as she could and then she entered, heading straight down, through the tornado's eye!! Was she a kamikaze woman or what!?
To see the explosion at the bottom of the tornado wasn't really that surprising at this point. To see that woman surviving that, though, was beyond anything Will had ever been trained for. He didn't know whether she had jumped at the right moment or what, but the explosion never really caught her. Instead, it sent her flying upward as she flipped over herself as if she were the coin of fate, until the impulse left her as high as she would reach, and then she stared down, drawing the AK from her back and shooting up to the last bullet, which was soon followed by the now empty weapon.
And as she fell, straight down and fearless, like the comet that long ago designed her fate, she extended both hands, summoning her powers to apply the final blow against that hateful and idiotic rider.
The explosion's smoke spread out reaching even where Yori was standing.
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She did not know when she fell unconscious or when she had awakened. But as soon as she remembered, she stood up immediately, moving away the rocks above her.
Looking around, Jen knew it couldn't have passed too much time. There were ninjas standing around the field, some helping others. Yet, there was no sigh of those involved with her… yet.
It didn't take much until she noticed Dave under the rocks, and screaming his name, she quickly ran to help him, moving the rocks that covered most of his body and removing him from there. The young sidekick was barely aware of what was going on, she noticed as she tried to wake him up. But the raising of another person from beneath the rocks interrupted her actions…
'Stacy…'
There she stood, back to her, yet imposing as if the fall of the temple on top of her had simply not happen. Jen could barely recognize this girl as the same cheerleader she knew back in high school… but she knew she had to put an end to this now.
Even if it meant to use dirty ways… Stacy was too powerful like to miss this opportunity…
Leaving her partner behind… the teen hero prepared herself to attack her enemy from behind. The axe was in her hand. The path was clear. Stacy was unarmed and still unaware of her presence…
She tried her best not to think about what she was about to do -kill an ex-classmate- and ran… as fast, silent and determined as she could, managing to sneak right behind her… but not to execute her, as her arm was stopped as her wrists was caught by Stacy's hand. Jen watched in horror as the blue eyes of the cheerleader stared at her, cold and merciless. Turning around quickly, the blonde girl grabbed the brunette by the shirt and lifted her as is she weighed nothing!
Only two words escaped her lips…
"Sorry, Jennifer…"
…Before Stacy's fist gave her the uppercut of her life, sending Jen high into the air. Still screaming the young hero managed to open one eye… just to see her enemy having caught up with her… to grab her once more and smash her body hard into the ground, breaking the stones beneath her.
And that was just the beginning of the most terrible physical torment Jen ever suffered. It didn't last half a minute, but Stacy made it feel far longer as she made her dance under her will, hurting practically every part of her body with just her bare fists and legs, finishing it with a kick that sent the girl spinning around 'til she fell inert on the ground.
"JEN!!"
Almost in despair, Dave ran to his friend and raised her up in his arms, relieved to see she was still alive, terrified because of her state. Clothes damaged, bruises all over, blood dripping from not significant, but clearly painful wounds. In all of her life, Jen had never been defeated like this. What in the world was that cheerleader!?
"Sta… Stacy!" Jen called for, coughing blood and forcing her eyes open.
Looking up (raising her head never felt so heavy), once again she saw Stacy's powerful image, standing victorious in front of her. Her partners, Cobalt and Emperor, stood at both sides of her, and the Lotus Blade was back in her hand, its now crimson blade over her shoulder, and the moon now glowing behind them.
Jen knew now… she had neither faced enemies so powerful… nor people such as them.
"W-why!?" She dared to ask as her partner held her in his arms.
"This world is coming to an end!" Stacy stated as matter of fact.
"What!?" Dave exclaimed suddenly. Jen's eyes were as open as his.
Jen simply didn't know what to think, not even able to understand what her old acquaintance was implying. Hell, with the way she was feeling, she was barely able to think! She could feel… no, worse: She couldn't even feel most of her limbs! Never in her entire life had she been beaten so badly, let alone feel like this… with her consciousness dissipating, eyes closing against her will, and her pride as wounded as her body. And as she fell in her own abyss, Stacy's words were all that was left for her mind to perceive.
"And I will be its judge…"
And then… it was all black.
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It was hard to even see where she was standing because of the immense cloud of smoke she had submerged herself in. She still let her guard down. Obviously she didn't believe anything could survive that. But considering what she's been living through lately, she had learnt the hard way to never take things for granted.
As the smoke dissipated, Shego started to distinguish some things, mainly parts of a wiped out dirt bike, and some bones around. When she finally found the Majin's skull, she let out a relieved sight, but…
"Hahahahahahaha!!"
She jumped backwards, instantly raising both arms in defense. She couldn't believe this, but she could still hear the Hell's Angel's laughing! Heck, its skull even seemed to be mimicking the act, even though it never moved when she heard that voice in her mind. For talking out loud, she had torn apart every last part of his body (accessories included) and it was still alive!?
"That was some race, girl!!"
Shego twitched. That last message felt… congratulatory?
"I haven't had so much fun in centuries!"
A bit less worried, but still alert, she walked toward the Majin's skull, stopping right in front of it and looking down at it.
"Wasn't that FUN!?"
Shego smiled… and agreed. "Yeah, it was fun" She let it know. "Now how about you go back to hell?"
"Who are you to send me there?"
She blinked "What?"
"Who are you to judge me?"
She… couldn't think of anything to say.
"You?"
She… she what?
"You who have crossed forbidden doors to reach this torn apart realm?"
Her eyes opened wide. Did this creature… know about her!?
"You who dared to come where you just don't belong?"
That did it! It was getting on her nerves way too much already!
'It's not like it was me who opened that door, anyway…'
"I have a job to do here" She told it, stepping hard on its annoying skull and almost burying it on the ground. "That's enough reason for me to belong where I choose to!"
"Sure. Whatever lets you die in peace!"
Shego clicked her tongue. She felt like she was losing this argument and she didn't like it in the least "Can't you even DIE right!?"
"We never really die"
That statement scared her a bit, but the only reaction she showed was to frown.
"Someday… somewhere…"
Was it vowing revenge or what? She wondered.
"We'll race again!"
…
"Right, baby?"
The only replied it got was its skull being reduced to dust.
Only after that she noticed something beneath the sand: Another candelabrum, just like the one the cheerleader had and the one that belonged to the previous Majin, which they had stolen. Even after this, she still had no idea for what they were for, but apparently, carrying them would lead other Majins approaching them. Still, if these things were what he was after, then better to take it than leave it available for him.
Her attention was then caught by something else. Turning around, Shego noticed that there was almost neither smoke nor raised sand around anymore, and because of that, she could see once again the town they had reached on the distance, and more importantly, how that Global Justice's agent was horizontally landing his aircraft near said town. Quickly, she began running toward there.
Yori waited patiently 'til the jet landed and its cockpit opened. An apparently oriental, maybe tanned man removed his helmet and came out of there without rush or delay. He looked at his side, noticing a crowd of people from that Egyptian town staring at them, and then he walked toward the Asian girl who waited for him with her arms crossed in front of her chest. He recognized her as the lady who had contacted them through the young Wade Load.
"I have some questions for you" He told her, but not in an aggressive tone of voice "Would you answer them?"
"First… I'd like to say I'm sorry," She told him.
He shook his head "Miss, you don't have to. After witnessing that creature with my own eyes, I can assure you calling Global Justice was the right thing to do"
"That's… not what I meant" She replied.
Will Du was about to ask her what she meant by that when he suddenly heard his aircraft's engine being turned back to life. Alarmed, he turned around and barely managed to see someone standing in the cockpit before he felt the Asian girl's hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry for this" She whispered to his ear, before kicking the inner side of his knee, breaking his balance, and then pulling his body backward just to smash it against the ground so hard that almost knocked him out.
By the time he managed to stand up, the jet was already rising, and the best he could do then was to get away from its turbines in order to remain safe. Both women were already in the cockpit, the Asian one obviously in the back/companion seat. But what really caught his attention was the pilot, the one he identified as the woman who had skateboarded the missiles and ultimately destroyed the demon, but at the same time… the woman whom was someone he knew.
Too late, anyway. The jet quickly set off, leaving him behind.
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Twelve hours later…
Being the head of an organization such a Global Justice was a stressful job, to say the least, and a responsibility beyond what any human being should be allowed to bear on their shoulders. Elizabeth Direction knew that from the day she first sat in the leader's seat, the same one she was sitting now as she stared at the computer screen in front of her… to find a half-amusing scene. The computer had been connected to the one of Wade Load's during the entirety of the past night, and in the computer now she could see that the young genius had fallen asleep on top of his keyboard.
"Wade, can you hear me?" She spoke through the microphone.
At that, the young boy slowly opened his eye and sat up, half of his face with marked by the keyboard. Dr. Director gave him time to yawn and stretch himself, and only then he noticed her through his computer screen.
"Dr. Director? Oh, sorry you had to see me like that, it's just that…"
"It's okay, Mr. Load" She told him. After all, if someone like him had fallen asleep there, it meant he had to have been working until he just couldn't go on anymore. Or at least so she thought.
"Did you manage to track those two?" She asked him.
"No, not at all" He said, clearly sad about it "I tried to hack into that girl's device again, but she activated a security firewall that even I couldn't penetrate, and later, all of their signal went missing"
"What direction were they heading last time you checked?"
"West, apparently to North America"
Dr. Director made a mental note to start tracking down any flights registered above USA through radar. That woman they talked to, and whoever was her partner, had stolen a GJ Jet, one equipped with latest, still-secret-to-the-world technology. And after that, they also lost contact with the agent Will Du. She didn't even want to think about what they could have done to him. Also, there was another big issue about that Asian looking girl. Mr. Load's hacking abilities were beyond comprehension. He could even penetrate into Global Justice's net before they could do anything to prevent it. But he couldn't hack into that girl's firewall? Who could even encode a security system that even Wade couldn't break in? There was something seriously unnerving about this.
"Dr. Director" Another voice said, and when the one-eyed woman looked up at the computer screen again, she noticed the screen having been divided in two, Mr. Load on the left, and her secretary, Justine Flanner, a blonde nerdy-looking girl (though she'd never refer to her like that) and one of the few people with direct access at her. "We got news!" The young girl told her superior.
"Good news, I hope"
"Will Du has contacted us. He's waiting to speak with you"
She almost smiled. "Put him through"
"In a moment" Justine replied before disappearing from her superior's screen.
"Should I leave?" Wade asked her.
"No" Dr. Director replied, and that one word was all she said.
They both waited for just a few seconds until both of their screen got to see the image of Agent Du… in really unexpected attire.
"Agent Will Du?" The commander asked almost in disbelief.
"Reporting, sir" The unmistakable voice of the young agent replied.
Wade snorted. "What's up with the turban?"
"Camouflage" Will replied, sounding a bit annoyed and not happy to be wearing what practically made him look like a stereotypical terrorist. Turban, scarf around the face and cheap poncho included. "The last ten hours haven't been easy. But I've managed thanks to the help of an American archeologist, a Japanese writer and a rodent guide"
"A rodent guide?" Both persons with whom he was speaking through the computer he managed to access in an actual Egyptian city, asked surprised.
"…Please forget I said that"
"All right, we're glad to know you're okay, Agent" The one-eyed commander told him "We feared the worst"
"So would I have been if I knew whom I was going to meet" He replied. Dr. Director raised her good eye's eyebrow. Will Du rarely used sarcasm.
"Is there anything you have to report, Agent Du?"
"Plenty, actually, but one thing in particular" He replied, looking directly at her. Even through cameras and monitors, the seriousness in his eyes was clear "I have identified one of the women I meet back then. The Asian Girl's partner"
"Identified?" Wade asked out loud.
"Indeed, and Dr. Director… I know this might sound ridiculous, but I swear I know what I've seen and I know who that person was."
Elizabeth Director felt almost afraid to ask: "Who?"
"That woman was no other than Shego"
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Author's Notes: Second chapter done and the story progress smoothly, at least so I think. I hope my readers are enjoying it too. Please tell me if you have.
This time I got to thanks my pal Zearth for acting as Beta Reader for this chapter, and to everyone who reviewed so far. Also, as some might have noticed, the mention of "Team Probable" in this chapter was a reference to Slyrr and his fics (Thanks for the review, buddy, hope you didn't mind), just clarifying. Now, what will follow? You'll see eventually while I try to settle whether to keep Sheek around the story or not.
Next chapter: Ron joins the brawl, and the parties finally meet. Has the dead really risen?