I do not own the Disney characters named herein, and am only using them for a nonprofit tale meant to entertain only.
Kim Possible: Rogue
By LJ58
17
"It took you long enough," Fukushima spat as Ron launched a short knife that hit the nearby Hench's hand even as he was about to launch a second mini-missile at the house. Another blade flew to his left knee, and had him howling in pain as he dropped the rocket launcher, and clutched at his wounded joint as if fearful of touching the blade.
A second man with the ninja fumbled with the discarded launcher, dropping it as he looked up to see Ron coming right at him, and then dropped himself when Ron slammed into him, and drove a hard fist into the side of his skull. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
"It is time for you to yield to your master, pretender," the mystic ninja swore at him as Fukushima now faced Ron, completely ignoring his moaning lackey that that rolled on the ground near the unconscious man that Ron had incapacitated with a single punch.
"I once respected you," Ron said as he slowly walked around the man, eyeing the slender assassin in body armor adorned with his serpentine trademark. "Do you even know what you have done here? What you are helping to do?"
"Does it matter. Those vermin shall bow before me, too, after I have claimed my birthright."
"Your birthright," Ron echoed.
"You know nothing," Fukushima spat. "You never did."
"No? I know you are Yori's brother. I know you are Master Sensei's grandson. I know you shamed yourself, and dishonored your family by aligning yourself with Monkey Fist. Even then, you refused to seek repentance….."
"Repentance? For what? For daring to seize the power due me," the man spat, and slowly pulled a long, curved blade. "You never should have been allowed to enter Yamanouchi. You were never worthy of entering our gates," he spat, and swung the sword before him. "Never."
"You still chase false ambitions," Ron said, his eyes glittering blue.
"And you still cower behind Western fears, and false morality. Power is meant to be used," Fukushima spat. "The strong are ever destined to rule the weak."
"Toshimiru never believed that. He certainly never taught it."
"My grandfather did not teach all that was in the hidden scrolls," the man spat at Ron as he moved forward, slashing at Ron's middle. "I have read the old scrolls. The forbidden knowledge….." "As did Monkey Fist, and look what happened to him!"
"You betrayed him!"
"He betrayed himself, and gave himself to the dark path. Is that the path you choose," Ron demanded, and deftly evaded yet another slash.
"Defend yourself, pretender. Show me your power, and summon the Lotus Blade," the rogue ninja sneered as he jumped forward again, and aimed his next slash at Ron's side.
Ron somersaulted back, a palm flashing out even as he moved to easily deflect the steel in a move that surprised the man.
"You do have some skill," he scoffed, moving forward when Ron landed lightly on both feet, and stood facing him again. "But even you cannot fight without a weapon. Face me with the Lotus Blade, if you dare!" Ron stared hard at him, and slowly shook his head.
"It occurs to me that your ploy is obvious. You seek the Blade as if it were some magic tool to give you the power you cannot earn any other way. You are no wiser than Monkey Fist."
Fukushima swore bitterly, and tightened his grip on his sword.
"Produce the sword. I will not toy with you forever, gaijin dog," he swore.
Ron drew a deep breath, and simply stared.
"You are the only dog here, dishonored one. And I don't need the Lotus Blade for you."
Fukushima screamed in rage, and charged him with his long sword raised high.
Ron suddenly glowed with blue energies that radiated like an aura around him as his hands moved, catching the long steel easily in one hand, as his free hand slapped the weapon with a deceptively light blow that snapped the hardened steel like rotten wood.
Even as he moved, his foot simultaneously rose, and slammed into his opponent's chest, sending him flying back to smack into a tree only a few feet away hard enough to tear a cry of pain from the older ninja. Still, Fukushima landed on his feet, and his right hand slid down to pull out a long barreled pistol.
"I should have just done this my way from the start," he growled, and opened fire with the automatic pistol.
Ron somehow slapped every round from the air, never moving from his stance as his hands flashed faster than the eye could see. Even as Fukushima realized his clip was empty, he was staring incredulously as he realized he was only now seeing part of the potential the old man had once claimed that Stoppable manifested.
"Impossible," Fukushima hissed, dropping the useless weapon. "Even Monkey Fist could not…."
"Monkey Fist was the pretender," Ron told him, stepping forward now, his eyes cold, hard, and glittering with cerulean energies as his hands still glowed blue as he approached him. "You have shamed your family. Your master. Your school. Now, you would betray your own race. This ends….here," Ron said, and caught his left hand before it could dart for another weapon strapped to his body.
"This…..isn't over," Fukushima hissed, trying in vain to pull his hand free, and shocked to realize that Ron's hand wasn't moving. "It will never be over," he swore as he tried to pull free.
In vain.
It was as if his hand were caught in a vise.
Yet is was only Ron's hand.
He looked into Ron's eyes, and saw nothing. Absolutely nothing.
"Tell me where they hidden their new gate. Where are they going to open the new portal," Ron demanded. "Tell me, and I'll be merciful."
"Keep your mercy," Fukushima spat, and his right hand moved for his equipment belt.
Too late.
Ron's free hand slammed flat into his chest. The man coughed once, spitting blood as he staggered back after Ron let him go. Fukushima caught himself, one hand braced against the nearby tree he had just hit earlier, and stared at the Monkey-Master.
"You….."
"Last chance," Ron told him as the man coughed again, spitting up more blood as he stared at him in confusion.
"But you…..are….unwor….."
"No," Ron said as the man fell flat on his face, and didn't move again. "You were."
He drew a deep breath, then turned to the still conscious Hench who finally dared to pull that slender dagger from his knee, and was in the act of wrapping his bloody joint.
"I left you conscious for a reason," Ron turned to eye him coolly as he walked over to stand over him.
The Hench stared up at him with wide eyes.
"Where are they? Where did the reactor go? Tell me, or you're going to be screaming a lot," Ron promised him even as he heard someone run up behind him.
"Ron!"
He felt his heart leap for a moment when he heard that familiar voice, and almost smiled.
"Glad you're back, KP," he told her grimly, resisting the urge to shout his glee, and celebrate. "We're going to need you. Now, this man was just about to tell me where those freaks are holed up. Right?"
The man looked up at Ron, and swallowed hard.
"Do you think I was joking," Ron asked, and the man screamed as another dagger blossomed in the man's other knee.
"Ron!"
"Leave him, Kim. This guy is human, but he sold us out. All of us. He knew what he was doing, and he didn't care. Now, he's going to talk, or he's going to hurt. A lot. Your choice," Ron said as he reached for the knife in the man's knee, and simply left his hand on it.
"I'll talk," the man whined. "No more! I'll talk."
"Where," Ron demanded with a deep scowl.
"All I know is the reactor was delivered to Scotland. Some guy with a weird accent took it to wherever it was going. I don't know anything else, I swear."
"Where's their base? Where are they gathering," Ron demanded.
"I….. I think I heard Viper say they were….."
The man tensed. His eyes rounded in confusion for a moment, and he began to choke, a sudden, bloody foam bubbling up out of his mouth as he continued to cough, and choke, and stare up at Ron with a horrified expression.
"My….God," Kim gasped as the man fell over, obviously dead.
Ron just stared.
"That wasn't me. They must have some kind of failsafe implanted in their Henches. Clever," he said curtly, and eyed the unconscious Hench before reclaiming his daggers. "Maybe we can circumvent it in the others long enough to question them. Or at least learn enough to figure out where they've hidden their base of operations."
"Ron," Kim stared at him.
He lifted the unconscious man over one shoulder before he looked at her, and gave her a faint smile.
"KP, it's really good to see you back. But things are….different. I'm different. We have to play on another level here, or these things are going to win. Can you see that?"
Kim stared hard at him, then at the dead men around them.
"Ron, I just spent a lifetime in hell watching people tortured to death for sport," she told him somberly. "All while waiting for my turn to die. I think I can handle you playing hardball," she told him somberly. "Let's go."
"Good girl," he said, and turned, and carried the unconscious Hench toward the house.
Kim just shot him a cool glare.
"I left another Hench out cold just ahead," she told him. "There are three more back at the house with Yori and Shego."
"Hopefully, that's all of them. Yori reported the mini-sub she found was just big enough for around six."
"How long have you been….fighting these guys," Kim asked.
"Me? I just got back from Yamanouchi," he told her honestly. "And landed hip-deep in it. Shego, apparently, has been looking for you for years, and trying to put a monkey-wrench in whatever was going on. Ironically, her and Senior were the only ones that seemed to notice something was screwy."
"What about….? Did you run into my double?"
Ron stared at her.
"So far as I know, there's never been a duplicate of you. We've run into a lot of those imposters lately, but not one of you."
"But… I saw one of them turn into me. Right before I hit the shut-down sequence on the Matrix."
"Yeah, about that, we're going to need to know everything you know about these creatures. And what's going on," he said, pausing as they reached another Hench in black and silver that Kim just grabbed by his collar, and started dragging after her.
From the look of the bruise on his jaw, he was going to be out for a while yet.
"I see you quit holding back."
"Had to," she grumbled. "These guys take a lot of putting down. And I learned the hard way to hit them hard, and hit them first."
"And if that one is human?"
"Like you said, if they're on the wrong side, they deserve the pain. I wasn't stopping to ask questions when he was pointing a weapon at me."
"Smart. Right now, it is literally life and death for all of us. We have the Navy out there, our Navy, under orders to wipe us all out."
"Hopefully General Flagg, the real one, can put a stop to that."
"That's going to be difficult," he admitted. "I rather doubt they're going to listen to a look-alike dressed in rags with everything else going on."
"Well, I don't think he'll stay in rags now that we're back," Kim retorted. "Although, I think we'll all be needing clothes, too."
"More than that," Ron told her, glancing at her side that was still leaking blood. "You need medical attention."
"I'll manage. I've been hurt worse."
"And we need you in one piece if we're going to do this. We're just getting started, Kim. We have a lot to do yet, and we still have an invasion to thwart. If we're right, and your brothers think so, too, the Inversers are using a stolen cold-fusion reactor to power up a new portal that will let their entire planet cross over."
Kim looked ill now. Still, she asked, "Inversers?"
"It's what they're apparently calling themselves here."
"We were never formally introduced on the other side, but we still can't let that happen."
"Obviously. We need to get back, make plans, and hit them back before they can carry out their plans. We were about to prep for our next move when the boys obviously brought you back," he told her as they neared the house.
"You're still bleeding," Shego hissed, spotting the stain on her side, and knowing it was bigger. "Clinic. Now."
"I was just telling her the same thing. Good," he added in the same breath, eyeing the men bound near the two women. "You have all three alive. That gives us at least five chances."
"Chances," Yori asked.
"We just tried to question one of the others with Viper."
"Don't you mean….?"
"He was calling himself Viper now. He became an assassin for hire," Ron told Kim. "Anyway, the guy I tried to question….self-destructed before he could talk. We need to check these guys over, and see if we can undermine whatever killed the other one. Or try to pull enough out of them before they all croak to figure out where to go after we carry out our next phase."
"Next phase," Kim frowned.
"Drop him," Shego told her, putting a hand on Kim's shoulder. "Turn that suit off, and let's get you looked over. We don't need you dropping dead in front of us now that you're finally home, Princess," she told her, and even Ron could hear the concern in the green-skinned woman's tone as she assessed the redhead with knowing eyes.
"She's right," Ron told her. "We'll handle these guys. Go get yourself fixed up, KP."
"Fine," she said, nodding at Shego. "I could use a bath at that least, anyway, and something beside spider-meat to eat," she grimaced.
"Spider-meat," Yori grimaced.
"She hasn't seen them yet," Shego told Kim as she led her toward the house. "Now, turn that thing off."
"Not just yet. I'm all but naked under it just now," she reminded her.
"I know," Shego smiled at her teasingly.
Kim glared, then a faint smile broke through.
"You don't know how glad I am to be back," she told her.
"You don't know how glad I am you are back," Shego told her, an arm around her shoulders as she steered her inside, leaving Ron and Yori to tend the Henches.
"I have missed you," Kim murmured as they neared the door.
"Ditto," Shego smiled, and pulled her closer to kiss her again.
This time without interruption.
For all of nine seconds.
The sound of a loud voice clearing made them look up, and Kim blushed furiously as she saw both her parents standing in the doorway, looking pointedly at them.
"I'd say you need a shower, medical attention, and a long talk with your parents, young lady," James Possible declared sternly.
"Especially with your mother," Anne told her, eyeing her coolly before glancing at Shego. "Clinic. Now."
"I was just taking her there myself, Dr. Possible," Shego told her.
"Is the attack over?"
"So far," Shego told James. "I wouldn't let our guard down, though. Remember, we have half the freaking Navy out there surrounding us just now."
"That is rather hard to forget," James replied.
"How are the others? They made it through all right, didn't they?"
"The Seniors are seeing to them. They've been good hosts, so far," Anne told her, leading the way to the clinic where Nurse Greer was eyeing her.
"Is this my reluctant patient?"
"Oh, yes," Anne told her. "Shego, you don't mind if we speak alone, do you," she asked.
"Uh, sure. I mean, not at all," Shego said, giving Kim a smile as she finally released her. "I'll got get her some hot food while you….talk. And maybe see if Mrs. Senior has some clothes she can borrow."
"Mrs…..Senior?"
"Bonnie married Junior," Shego told her.
Kim just stared, unable to assimilate that one as her mother led her on to the clinic.
"Honey, why don't you wait outside," Anne suggested to James when they reached the door where Ellen waited with a bland expression.
"Really," was all Kim had time to remark before Anne ushered her into the clinic, and closed the door.
James eyed the closed panel, looked over at Shego, and declared, "I think I'll help you with that food," he declared.
Shego said nothing to that one as she shrugged, and led the way to the kitchen.
Things, she knew, were about to really get interesting.
So long as Kim was back, she didn't care. She couldn't help smiling as she noticed just how little Kim had really changed. Sure, she was dirty, battered, and half-starved, but she was still her Princess. That was all that mattered to her just then.
That, and getting her somewhere alone before the world went crazy again.
James Possible followed the green-skinned woman with the peculiar smile, and didn't even think of questioning her. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what was in her head just then.
To Be Continued…