I do NOT own Kim Possible
Thanks to those who review. It's appreciated.
Alien names: Warleder as Warleader. Wardawge, Wardoige, and Wardowge as Wardog. (Awful lot of dogs.)
Yikes! I did not mean for the battle scenes to be so long. I guess I will save mentioning what the Lorwardian's Great Blue is, and how the Lorwardian race came to be, for the next chapter.
Btw: The last battle scene might be a bit gruesome.
Time: A week later.
Teachers,... Aliens,... More Aliens,... Nonexistence,...
Ron considered the situation. Things were going well. If one could call having a bunch of sociopathic aliens planning to destroy your entire civilization going well. He ate a piece of egg with some toast and looked around. Shego was sitting across from him. For the last week the two of them had been staying at the Global Justice base. It meant they could respond faster if the aliens were to try landing again. Next to him Jenny was digging into her own breakfast. Willow was across the table, sitting next to Shego. The former villainess made sure the teenager sat as far from him as she could when they ate.
He smiled. Willow, true to her word, had not repeated her attempts at seduction and had been on her best behaviour during the last week. Despite her age she wasn't a child and understood the situation. She and Shego were even getting along pretty well together and it wasn't as though they could just tell her to leave. She was one of the three who the Lorwardians had messed with. Four if you counted Kim. Both he and Shego thought she would do best if she was a part of the group. She had been alone long enough.
Jenny had been smiling a bit lately. She and Willow often did things together, or just sat with Sara who had yet to move. He thought her desire to die was now history, along with the alien that had used her. Cindy visited her pretty often. When she did the three of them could be seen roaming the base. Usually with Jenny trying to convince the other two to go wherever Miranda was. He hoped she wasn't bothering the woman too much.
The new software Wade had developed had fixed the communications problem. Each signal was now sent twice via two routes where possible. There was still minor static at times but people could once again use phones without too much trouble. It did eat into the bandwidth quite a bit, but there had always been an excess. Things, like emails, might be delayed a few seconds as priority was given to phones and video conferencing, but it worked.
Other groups had worked with aviation companies to get planes moving once more. The transponders on most aircraft had been modified to increase their signal strength and to send everything repeatedly. The planes' communication hardware had been changed so it could receive fainter signals and send stronger signals. Radar and radios at airports had been similarly reworked. Some electronic companies were booming with all the new activity.
The war machines were still working on destroying the old buildings that had been scheduled for demolition in the major cities. In the smaller cities though places still in use had been started on. It would be some time before it became serious, but major reconstruction would be needed when the new Lorwardian ship had been dealt with. They had even replicated what they had done during the previous invasion. Evacuating an area and using a nuclear device on one of the war machines. They had repeated it, moving from a one megaton bomb to a ten megaton one, and eventually to a fifty megaton device. To the aliens it would certainly appear as if they were going all out trying to stop the assault.
On top of that two more aliens had landed, just three days ago, in a remote area. Why they had landed no one knew, but given there had been no people around, Dr. Betty Director had just ordered the area nuked. Multiple ten megaton devices had been dropped on the two Lorwardians. That meant there were now at most twelve aliens on the ship. Since he doubted they would leave the vessel empty it meant the most they could land at any one time was now eleven. A lot better than the twenty he had once feared. Still too many.
He took another bite of egg and toast, still thinking. Things were going well. If only he could figure out a way to destroy the new alien ship. If a fifty megaton bomb had no affect on one of the war machine he doubted it would even scratch the hull of the spacecraft. He was browsing the data files in the captured ship's computer, but in many cases it was like someone from the eighteenth century trying to understand twentieth century technology. The basics of some things was still the same, but even with manuals it would take a long time to decipher. Still, he figured if DNAmy could reverse-engineer the mutator, it might be possible to do something similar with an alien weapon. Problem was most of their weapons were for attacking planets and not ships. And their ships had a barrier that was nothing like the force fields they used for personal defense.
He sighed and finished his toast.
"Willow, Jenny. I want to talk to you after breakfast." Shego said.
Willow froze with a glass of milk halfway to her mouth. She wondered if it was going to be about that incident last week, but dismissed the thought. The woman had included Jenny in the request. Her hand unfroze and she raised the cup the her lips, taking a sip. "What about?" She asked.
"School. Neither you nor Jenny have attended school in at least two years. For you I think it's been three. What grade were you in?"
"Six." She replied. "You mean the world is about to end and I got to go to school?" She wondered if it was revenge for what she'd done.
"Seven For me." Jenny said. "But my marks were pretty atrocious." She frowned. "But shouldn't we focus on fighting the aliens instead?" She asked.
"One, the world isn't going to end." Shego said. "Second, neither of you are going to fight." She looked at them. "So you're two and three years behind. Dr. Betty Director has instructed me to instruct you." She smiled. "Class starts tomorrow morning. Given the situation everything will be supplied. Both of you just need to be in Jenny's room by nine a.m."
"It's not like either of you got to worry." Ron said. "Willow has perfect recall and both of you were designed to be smart. Kim did advanced courses all through high school. You two, for now, will just be doing regular classes. I'm pretty sure if you work at it you will catch up and maybe even skip a grade or two."
"Catch up?" Willow sighed. "We should be twenty-one and in college. Damn banshee." She frowned angrily.
Jenny looked over at Miranda. "Being twenty-one would be nice." She said.
"No cursing." Shego said. "And those are the cards you were dealt. Better than Sara's hand I would say."
They went silent at that. Jenny finally spoke. "Better than the hand I dealt to a lot of people."
"Not you. The something inside, as you call it." Ron stated. He didn't want her to get into the blame game again and decided to change the subject. "How would you like a teacher program like Willow and I got running in our heads?" He asked.
"That would be cool!" The girl exclaimed, eyes lighting up. From Willow she knew Snake was what had allowed her to resist the banshee. If she had had one she might have been able to avoid hurting people. Teachers were the exact opposite of the something.
"Shego frowned. "No." She said. "I allowed it with Sara because it might have helped her. But not again."
"How would you like one?" Ron asked her.
"Me?" She blinked.
"I've been talking with Sensei and the rule on limiting the number of teachers is something he's willing to forget for now." He looked at Willow. "I'm pretty sure Snake will agree too." He shrugged. "They might be software running inside our skulls, but they're alive. They got emotions. And Sensei thinks it might help us survive the Lorwardians." Ron grinned. "Basically he wants revenge. It won't be helpful with the current ship, but in the long run it will make a difference."
Shego thought about it. She wasn't sure she wanted more aliens messing with her body, but Sensei was a large part of the Buffoon's life that she couldn't share in. "Okay." She said.
Ron grinned. "Once the ship is dealt with we will do it then. Both you and Jenny."
"Not now?" Willow asked.
"Takes too much effort. It wipes me out for the whole day and right now I got to focus on the ship." He explained.
Shego rose to leave. "Tomorrow at nine." She reminded the two girls. "And, by the way, Ron and I agreed you both get an allowance if you do good on tests." She leaned over and kissed the Buffoon before she left.
"How much?" Willow asked.
"We haven't decided that yet." Ron said. "But so far you've only been allowed necessities and a few other minor things. We both thought an allowance would be nice so you could get stuff you wanted."
"It would be nice." Willow admitted.
"And once the situation with the new ship is dealt with we will see about returning you to your grandfather." Ron told her. "Right now Dr. Betty Director wants to keep you secure in the base."
"I wonder how he is." Willow said, her heart beating fast. She would be able to return home, free of the banshee. Maybe school wouldn't be so bad. She wouldn't be a bully anymore and could make friends. It had been so long. No one would know her and the things she had done. She could be normal.
"What will happen with me?" Jenny asked.
"Not sure there yet." Ron admitted. "Don't worry. Shego and I will see to it you're taken care of." He smiled at the girl. "We're going to miss you if you move too far away."
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Ron pulled out his Kimmunicator. "What's up Wade?" He asked.
"Four aliens are landing. I've alerted Kim. Shego is already at the hangar." The genius said, not looking up as he typed on a keyboard.
"On my way." He replied and, waving at the girls, ran for the hangar.
"Four is going to be tough." Kim said. They'd picked her up from the Dojo where she'd been working with Mark.
"Too many." Ron admitted. "I've modified two more synthobots, and made some upgrades, but four is too many."
Warfelken looked at the images she had playing over and over on her monitor. It showed the pests trying to destroy one of the war machines. The fifty megaton device they'd used on the last of it was hilarious. They'd destroyed their own town faster than the war machine would have. She wondered how many people had died in that attempt, or if they had been evacuated. It had been a small place. Still, it was fun to watch.
She turned to another screen. It showed half a dozen ten megaton devices being dropped on two of her subordinates. That too was fun to watch. It also showed the pests were taking the assault seriously. But it lead to the question, why hadn't they used other means? If the vermin had managed to kill two Lorwardians without using such weapons, then why hadn't they used the same methods on those two. It suggested only a very small number of them were capable any great level of fighting. She had ten people she could use, so she'd decided to test the fighting capabilities of these pests.
The plan was simple. A two pronged attack. She would attack two places at once. A major force with three warriors, with weaponry not normally allowed on a pest infested planet. And a smaller force, with a single warrior, at a different location. Would the pests counter both threats, or focused on just one. Maybe even, she mused happily, sacrifice one of their cities with the use of more nuclear weapons. The attacks would be in major population centers, so that would be fun to watch.
Warleder smiled as he dropped down into the city with his two subordinates, Wardawge and Wardoige. Both were reasonably experienced warriors, if a bit reckless at times. The area of the city they were in appeared to be abandoned. That was strange, but irrelevant. Much as he would have enjoyed squashing a few pests, he expected to fight someone Warfelken claimed might be a worthy opponent. How such could exist on a pest infested world he didn't know. Still she was his superior and he had to follow orders. They would wander around for a bit and have fun while they were here. There had to be some pests somewhere. He paused as he saw three of the vermin come out from behind a building and approach.
"That one guy is pretty tall." Shego said. "Almost as tall as Warmonga and Warhok."
"I'm starting to think the older they get the bigger they get." Ron said. "That they never stop growing."
"Might also explain why the taller Lorwardians aren't as green." Kim added. "Perhaps the color changes with age too."
"Why three and not four?" Shego asked. "Wade claimed four of them landed."
"Yeah. He did." Ron replied. "Which isn't good. This might just be a force to distract us while the other guy does something. Wish I knew what that something could be." He sighed. "However, there's nothing we can do about it. Three is going to be tough enough as it is."
Warleder watched as the three paused and talked between themselves. From that he guessed they were here to fight. By now everyone must know their world was under attack and those not capable of fighting would have fled. He studied the six machines behind the three. Those must be the weapons that had defeated Warhoinde and Warhoined. It would be interesting to see what they could do. He would let the vermin make the first move.
Ron pointed. "Attack." He ordered the synthobots. The six of them moved as one, converging on the largest of the aliens. From around the world thirty gigawatts of power was beamed to several satellites that beamed it back down to the robotic creations.
"Interesting." Warleder said. The goggles he wore let him see the waves of energy being beamed down to the war machines. He pressed two buttons on his belt and the robotic creations froze. The waves of energy reaching down to them decreased to half of what it had been. Electromagnetic images were beamed out from the belt which tried to determine what part of the spectrum the sensors of the weapons were in and confuse them.
Ron studied the situation. The synthobots had had their power cut in half. He pressed a button and the power being beamed to the machines increased. He would have to be careful. Should the jamming stop the sudden increase in power could damage them. They were only equipped to handle five gigawatts each.
"Let's destroy them." Wardawge yelled and charged the machines.
"Stop." Warleder ordered. He was too late.
The sensors were being jammed. But Ron had used that trick himself a few times. He recalled the use of methane gas to block the sensors during one assault on Dementor's lair. Also the device he had that could confuse some machines using subsonic vibrations. He had developed counter measures for each. He pressed another button and the sensors on the synthobots started switching frequencies randomly once per second. It would reduce the speed at which they could fight a little, but it made jamming the sensors nearly impossible.
Wardawge was less than ten feet from the war machines when they started to moved again. They blurred forward, converging on him. Their lasers powered up and fired. A force field rose to protect the alien, but the synthobots were firing at point blank range with the ends of three of the lasers inside the force field. Their power burned into his flesh and he screamed.
Ron watched. It had been pure luck that three of the synthobots had managed to get inside the force field. He had changed the orders of the robotic devices. They no longer fired at the three vital spots first. Rather those three were included in a list of spots the machines picked at random. Better that than letting the Lorwardians know they knew the aliens' anatomy.
Warleder cursed. Whoever had programmed the machines had created counter measures. He was sure they could have been overwhelmed if he had been allowed the proper tools. But such were not allowed on the surface of a pest infested world. He charged one of the machines that had managed to penetrates his subordinates force field.
The three synthodrones that had failed to penetrate Wardawge's force field saw the incoming threat and turned to fire. Their beams hit another force field and were blocked.
"Something's different." Ron said. "The force fields aren't changing color. They're a higher grade barrier."
Warleder knew it was too late. Beams of such power, firing even for a second, would have ripped his subordinate's body to pieces. He watched as the color of his own force field slowly changed. But his barrier wasn't simply defensive. It would analyze the incoming beams and restructure itself to reflect them. He waited as it finished the process and the beams that had assaulted the barrier were reflected back at the war machines. His defensive shield went down and he blinked. Beams of such power, reflect back on the devices, should have destroyed them. They were still standing.
The synthodrones skin changed with its environment. When there was no threat it was a near perfect reflector for the lasers they used. The person who had last modified their code had foreseen the potential of using their own lasers against them. When one of the beams had been reflect it had destroyed the laser, but most of the energy had been reflected away. The machine still survived. The other two, seeing what had happened had stopped firing least it happen to them. They blurred towards their foe.
Warleder saw the charge and retreated, pulling out his spear. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the other three machines still firing into what must be the nearly incinerated corpse of Wardawge. Wardoige he saw had her hands full trying to fight the three pests. He wondered how they could manage to compete against such a competent warrior. No matter. He had his own hands full. He dodged back, just out of reach of the three robotic devices, and pivoted. His spear thrust ripped the flesh of one of them. Green goo poured out before something sealed the cut.
Wardoinge had planned to destroy the devices firing into her companion. Their lasers were trapped within Wardawge's force field, rendering them immobile. They would be easy prey. She doubted her companion was still alive, but had to do something. As she was about to slashed one of them, two of the pests moved in front of her and raised their hands. She was surprised to see plasma pouring from them. Stunned enough she would have been hurt if not for the automatic reaction of own force field.
Kim moved behind the alien and threw a punch. The glove of her suit didn't just grow warm, it became burning hot. Her attack failed to penetrate the force field. "Gauntlets can't get through the barrier." She yelled out, dancing back, wondering what to do.
Ron paused his own outpouring of plasma as he noticed the laser of one of the synthobots vaporize. He'd been right. The barriers the aliens were using were different. Vastly superior. "If we keep using plasma it will start to reflect back on us." He yelled.
Shego heard, but kept up the barrage. She did prepare to dodge though, should the need arise. "So what do we do?" She asked. Something changed within the force field she was trying to get through and she stopped the plasma, dodging as she did so.
Wardoinge saw her barrier go down and charged, hoping the plasma might have been reflected, harming one of the pests. There were no wounds on either of the three though. She focused her attack on the male of group.
Ron saw her charge and reflexively threw more plasma. The force field went up again, but the plasma wasn't reflected. His second attack also wasn't He thought about it. While he and Shego both used plasma that looked a lot alike, it was probably at some level different. That was to be expected, they were different people. He saw something in the barrier change and dodged as his own plasma came back at him. "Try firing now." He yelled.
She moved to charge when more plasma came at her, sending her barrier up once again. She screamed in fury.
Shego saw her plasma wasn't being reflected and kept it up. Still it wasn't doing much to penetrate the force field. Eventually, she knew, the barrier would adapt and reflect it back.
"Okay." Ron yelled. "Here's what we do. Get ready Kim. Shego and I will alternate firing plasma at her. We will leave a short period each time where her barrier goes down. You hit her at those times." He tossed some plasma of his own and yelled. "Ready."
"Ready." Shego yelled back.
"Ready." Kim yelled.
He stopped the plasma and saw the barrier go down. Kim was already striking and the alien female went flying.
Pained smashed into her ribs and she growled in rage. One of them had broken. The vermin were fast and strong. She rolled to her feet and charged when the female plasma user tossed plasma at her and her barrier went up again. It only remained up for a second when it went down once more. Another brutal punch in her back sent her flying a second time. She rolled and stood only to have the male throw plasma at her, forcing her barrier up. It immediately went down as the redheaded pest hit her again. She went flying, with another broken rib.
"Hit her legs." Ron yelled to Kim. "She's going to do what the last alien we fought did. Break them to slow her down."
Kim changed her target and, dropping low, threw her next punch at the alien's right leg. The blow hit, flipping her foe, but it didn't break. She raced at the woman again, watching as the force field flickered on for a second and then faded. Dropping down she threw another punch. The blow smashed into the leg and she felt something give.
Wardoinge considered what she should do. It became obvious. Drop the barrier and just dodge the plasma. But then the redheaded pest targeted her legs and on the second attack one of them broke. It changed the equation. The injury was minor, but would hinder her mobility. She turned and prepared. Plasma sent her barrier up again and just as quickly it went down. She thrust with her spear and saw blood. A blow sent her flying and she rolled to he feet. The force field went up again. It stayed up as the plasma didn't fade this time.
"Kim?" Ron and Shego cried out.
"I'm okay." She yelled back. Her suit grew back over the wound, stopping the flow of blood. Still, her left arm was now useless. "Let it drop again." She ordered.
Ron let the flow of plasma fade and saw Kim race in to attack.
She thrust with the spear and saw blood again. The battle suit, though, seemed to have sealed itself, stopping the flow of blood from the previous wound. Too bad, but undoubtedly it was still there.
"Again." Kim yelled. She grinned. Even with her speed the alien only had a split second to thrust and had twice aimed for the same spot. If she repeated the same gesture then... She moved to attack
The barrier went down once more and she attacked with the spear. Even as she did so she realized she should have aimed for a different place. Hitting the redheaded vermin's arm wasn't doing much to stop her. She felt no blow this time. Instead the pest's hand grasped the spear and pulled with incredible strength.
Kim rolled back with the spear in her hand. She grinned again. Even the psychotic alien would have shivered in fear if she had seen it. She kept the spear and prepared to attack again.
She got ready to smash the pest with her hands and waited. The barrier went down and she lashed out. She screamed as the pest, using the stolen spear, thrust it into her ribs. Her own blow grazed the pest's wounded arm, missing the spot she had aimed for. It was tossed away from her, ripping the spear out of her lungs.
"Again." Kim yelled, rolled to her feet. Her arm was one mass of pain, but she was still fully capable of using her right hand.
Wardoinge considered what she should do. The pest had her spear and each of its attack would now do more damage. She prepared to lash out with her fists. If things got too bad she could raise the barrier and keep it up. It would be humiliating, but better that than death. Warleder would come to her aid once he'd finished with the war machines. As it was the wounds she had were minor and she was keeping the pests busy. She would continue to try and defeat the redheaded pest.
Kim charged once more. This time she aimed for the eyes. The thrust penetrated deep into one of the alien's brains as a return attack slammed into her ribs. The suit held as she was flung backwards. She rolled to her feet, ignored the pain, and charged again. The alien now only had one eye. It gave her a larger blind spot to strike at. Still she couldn't attack the other eye just yet. The demonic creature would be expecting that. She would aim for the other lung.
Wardoinge screamed as her brain was pierced. Still, that wasn't the most serious damage. Her brain could handle a lot of damage, being designed with redundancy in mind. But she had lost an eye. If she lost the other then she would be blind. She prepared to defend her remaining eye and struck out as her barrier went down. The spear instead pierced her ribs, and her own attack missed.
Stomach, chest, left leg, right leg. Wardoinge screamed. Why wasn't the pest aiming for her remaining eye? Because she know that is what I will be trying to protect the most, She realized. Protecting that one spot left her open. But she had to keep her remaining eye safe. The blows came. Chest, left leg, chest, arm, right leg,... She had no choice but either raise the barrier or continue to protect the eye. And raising the barrier would mean humiliation. Better to continue fighting for a bit longer. It wasn't as though she was in any danger. A single day of regeneration would heal the minor wounds she'd taken so far.
Warleder slashed at one of the two remaining war machines. One had deflated a minute ago and the two remaining ones were badly slashed. Soon he would end this and be able to aid Wardoinge. He could only afford brief glances in her direction but he saw she was being overwhelmed. It was unexpected. What happened next made him curse. The ship must have realized Wardawge was dead and recalled his body. The force field around his ashes vanished and they, along with the devices he had carried, were drawn back to the ship. The three war machines that had been firing their lasers into his body all this time turned towards him. Wardoinge would be on her own for a while. He pushed his own battered muscles to move as he dodged an attack from one of the robotic creations. They had been well programmed. They would still use their lasers once in a while, just not enough for his own barrier to adapt to it.
Kim grinned. DNAmy had given then thorough instructions on Lorwardian anatomy. The next blow she thrust into one of the minor brains the alien had to back up their memories. The next few were aimed at random spots. With her one eye gone her opponent couldn't hit her. At least not often enough to do serious damage.
"Time to end this." Ron called out. He'd noticed the three synthobots being freed from the force field that had confined them. He pulled out the remote and took personal control of two of them. He marched them towards the alien called Wardoinge. "Stand back Kim." He yelled. The force field around the alien went down and the two robotic creations moved in close, with their lasers within the barrier. The barrier went up but they were busy reducing the creature within to ashes.
The three of them turned and moved towards the remaining alien.
His other subordinate was now dead. He moved and slashed at another of the war machines. His hit was true and the green goo poured forth without stopping. He twisted and thrust at one of the ones that was badly damaged. His hit only grazed it, but it too deflated. That left one of the robotic creations and the three vermin. The weak link, he mused, had been Wardawge. If he not thrown his life away at the very beginning the fight would be over by now. Wardoige would have kept the three pests busy while the two of them would have destroyed the war machines. Then the pests would have been easy prey.
Ron lifted his hands and threw plasma. No force field came up around the alien. Instead he dodged. "A smart one." Ron commented, not amused. They had lost three synthodrones. That was bad. If another three were to land now there was no way they could be handled. The current three would be winning if not for that first stupid move that had got one of them killed right from the start. He looked at Kim. She was injured. Her left arm useless.
"What do we do?" Shego asked.
Ron pulled out the remote to the synthobots and pressed a button. "We sacrifice something to gain a little advantage. And we pray we don't have to fight any more for a long time. Which leaves the question. Just where is the fourth one. Four landed, according to Wade." He pressed another button and the lasers on the two robotic creations pouring their fire into Wardoige's corpse ceased. Instead energy built up inside them until they became worthless scrap metal and exploded. Losing the lasers was bad, but it freed the machines to fight. Ron restructured their orders.
The last free war machine had taken a few scratches but still seemed to be fully operational. The three pests had stopped to talk. That was good. If they delayed long enough it would finish off this machine, and the other two were trapped within the force field that held Wardoinge's corpse. Then the lasers on those two melted down and they rose to race in his direction. So the pest who had organized this understood that sometimes sacrifice was necessary.
The three synthodrones changed their behavior. They no longer charged the alien but instead moved around him, blocking his path. This allowed them to keep their distance and they took less damage.
"Hope you got some plasma in reserve Shego." Ron said. "We're going to need it." He lifted his hands and threw all the could. Shego followed suit.
The alien understood the plan. The machines would block him in so he couldn't dodge. The two plasma wielders would target him until they wounded him enough to force a retreat. It was clever. They could think on their feet. He charged the lead pest only to have his path blocked by one of the robotic creations. He slashed at it, only to have it move out of the way and another take its place, just out of range of the slash. Plasma came at him and he retreated, only to find they were blocking the way behind him. He twisted and the plasma grazed him. His skin burned but the wound was minor. He now knew he could withstand it for a little bit if need be.
"He's fast." Shego said, pouring forth an inferno of plasma, only to see it dodged.
"Very." Ron said, as he did the same.
Eventually he would be exhausted and the pests would force him to either retreat in humiliation, or he would die. He decided to take a chance. He focused his attention on the pest closest to him and charged. When the war machines blocked his way he jumped. It was a big risk, but his body could take a lot of damage. If the move surprised the pest it would get him close to it. If not he would raise his barrier and think for a bit. Rest and plan. They couldn't penetrate it.
Two of the synthodrones had no lasers, but the third did. It turned with inhuman speed and targeted its opponent. In the air it couldn't dodge. The laser ripped into its skull and out through the other side, destroying its left eye.
Kim saw the alien tense to leap and predicted its trajectory. She ran to met it, hoping she wasn't hit by plasma. The spear she held ripped into its right eye and twisted viciously as she passed the creature in mid air. The spear was ripped out of her hands, left behind in the creature's skull. It's own spear lashed out and ripped into her flesh, shattering her right arm in several places, badly mangling it. She fell to the ground, gushing blood. Her suit repaired itself sealing the wound.
Ron prepared to dodge when he saw the alien leap, but seeing Kim charge, stood his ground. He poured forth plasma, feeling his own flesh burn. Shego stood beside him and did the same.
The leap had been a mistake. The war machine had switched from blocking to attacking again. It lost an eye. The redheaded pest who had stood idle while the battle raged had charged. The stolen spear she wielded had removed its other eye. It felt the plasma it couldn't see wash over it and tried to recall to the ship. It failed. It was going to die.
Ron and Shego rushed the alien and poured forth plasma at a close range. Beneath the fury its skin burned. They targeted its arms first and they became useless. It had turned off its force field and had no protection. They retreated as the last laser carrying synthodrone started cutting the corpse apart. They turned and rushed to Kim.
They were just kneeling above her when the Kimmunicator beeped. Ron pulled it out in a rush. "Have a medical team ready at the base." He said, before the genius could speak. He and Shego lifted the wounded woman, depending on her suit to keep her wounds sealed and carried her to the jet.
"Will do." Wade said. "But Jenny and Willow left the base. I'm monitoring Kim and she will be fine. Just keep her still in the jet somewhere and the suit will stop the bleeding. Get to Boston."
"Damn." Ron said. "And just why did they head off to Boston." He demanded.
"That's where the fourth Lorwardian landed." Wade said. "They separated in the air and one of them headed there."
The synthodrones boarded the jet and Shego sent the vehicle rushing toward Boston.
Jenny and Willow watched the battle on the Kimmunicator. They were following the same video stream Wade had set up so Mark could keep track of Kim when she was doing something dangerous, like fighting a psychotic alien. Not long after the death of one of the Lorwardians they heard Wade speaking to Dr. Betty Director on the same channel. A fourth alien had been spotted heading towards Boston.
Jenny gulped. "My sister." She said, listening carefully. To her horror she heard the alien's predicted path would carry her over the place where Cindy was working on her latest mural.
"She probably won't be there." Willow reassured her. "Doesn't she usually wait until after lunch to work?"
"Usually." Jenny gulped, fear stricken. "But she's trying to finish it quick. She wanted to visit me tomorrow." She went white. "She's going to die because she wants to visit. And she's the only family I got who doesn't hate me. She's going to die because she forgave me." The teenager started to panic.
"Calm down." Willow said, chewing on her lower lip. "The odds of her getting hurt are astronomically low."
"If she dies I will..." Jenny sat back white faced.
Willow looked at her friend with a worried expression. She knew if something happened to her sister the girl might never get over it. From what she'd heard the Jenny had been suicidal for a long time after they'd remove the Lorwardian from her. That her sister, the person she'd hurt the most, forgave her was evidence that she was worth forgiving. If that was taken away... She sighed. "The odds of her getting hurt is pretty low." She said. "But if you're worried lets ask Dr. Betty Director have someone go and get her." She suggested.
"Get her?" Jenny looked up.
"Yeah. Bring her here." Willow explained. "She'll be safe here. At least then we'll be able to watch over her."
Jenny nodded.
First they tried to talk to Wade. But he was busy with several tasks concerning the Lorwardians and had no chance to reply to their messages. Or even read them. He was struggling to find a way to fight the fourth alien and was coming up empty. Then they tried to talk to Dr. Betty Director. But she was busy at the same task and they were refused permission to see her. Then they tried to find Miranda. But she'd vanished somewhere.
"Damn." Jenny said, in a panic filled voice.
Willow looked at her. "We could go get her." She said.
Jenny looked at her confused.
"They're so busy trying to find something to fight that last Lorwardian that they won't notice we're gone until it's too late."
"I can't fly a jet." The fear stricken girl said.
"It's not hard." Willow said. "There were a lot of aviation magazine in the cabins I broke into. I read a lot of them while waiting for my legs to heal. And I have perfect recall. Plus with Global Justice jets it's extremely simple. You only need to tell the autopilot where to take you."
"We would get into trouble." Jenny said.
"Yeah. But we would let them know it was just to get your sister. They're not monsters here and they would understand." She shrugged. "Besides it that or leave your sister there. She's pretty safe and ..."
"Let's go." Jenny said interrupting.
Willow had been right. No one noticed two girls enter a jet and leave. Even without the landing Lorwardians Global Justice was busy. Each morning nearly all the agents left to organize evacuations of places being destroyed by the war machines, to pretend to be panic stricken people fleeing the machines for media reports, help upgrade the communications systems, the transportation systems, and a hundred other jobs.
She had also been right about how simple it was to pilot the aircraft. She found the coordinates for the part of Boston where the mural was being painted and entered them in the autopilot. The computer did the rest. Sitting back she gave Jenny flying lessons to keep her mind occupied.
They hovered over the mural, but there was no place to land. Jenny could see her sister below, painting. Willow sent the jet slowly ahead, looking for the nearest spot to set down. They found a place, but they also found the Lorwardian.
"It's heading towards Cindy." Jenny screamed. She ran for the door and jumped out.
"Damn." Willow muttered. "It's moving so slow we could have got her sister and been away." But then, she thought to herself, it would still hurt people. And we can't allow that. She turned and ran after her friend.
Outside they stared at the giant.
"It's so big." Jenny said, gulping.
"Way big." Willow added, staring wide eyed.
Wardowge turned and looked at the pests he had spotted staring at him. They're so stupid they don't have the sense to run, he thought to himself. He hoped they had the capacity to scream when he tore their flesh. But maybe they were too stupid even for that. He imagined their bodies being slowly crushed to a pulp beneath his hands. Today was his lucky day. And when he finished with those there were hundred of thousands in the city. It would be sheer ecstasy.
"What do we do?" Jenny asked.
"You're asking me?" Willow said, still staring at the gigantic creature. "You're the one who rushed out here."
"The eyes." Jenny said.
"Huh?"
"Our only chance is to aim for the eyes. It twice our height and goodness only knows how much stronger. But if we take out its eyes it won't be able to see." The panic filled teenager explained. She too was still staring at the approaching monster.
"If it's not too fast then we might manage it." Willow said.
"Problem is it is fast. Or at least the immature one they took out of us are. I watched the one that came out of Sara. It was fast. So fast Shego couldn't touch it with plasma." Jenny explained in a rushed voice.
"That's not good." Willow said, gulping.
He was nearly upon them and they had yet to scream and flee. Obviously not very intelligent creatures. He wondered if there could be any pleasure from torturing something so dumb. He reached for one of them only to have it dance backwards out of his grasp. It moved fast for a pest. Still it wasn't running.
Willow moved backwards and enhanced her system with all she knew of Tai Shing Pek Kwar. Increasing her strength and speed. It wasn't quite what Ron was capable of, but it did give her one advantage that exceeded even his. She had studied the mental aspects of the art. It would help her predict the beast's movements more than the physical aspects would. She kept her eyes on it as it moved towards her again. She saw its intentions reflected in its stance and moved, dancing out of its way, almost even before the creature itself know what it was going to do.
Stupid, but fast and nimble, Wardowge thought. But then it would need to be in order to survive being that dumb. He moved towards the pest again only to have it retreat. He charged only to have it actually race towards him and slip beneath his arms.
She didn't move her eyes from the monster. Once he backed her against the camouflaged jet and the only way out was to run past him. That had been close. She cringed as it twisted around to follow her.
Jenny stood froze for a few seconds and then waited, hoping Willow wouldn't be caught too soon. When the alien twisted around she saw her chance. It's back was to her and she raced at it, leaping up to wrap her arms around its head, to dig her fingers into its eyes. It slapped her away with a blow she barely saw coming. Her body reflexively moved to absorb the assault and she rolled back on her feet. It hurt to breathe, but she didn't think anything was broken. Just bruised. And she was used to pain.
The pest had dared to attack it. How stupid could it be? But it was fast for a pest. It had barely noticed the attack in time.
Willow saw Jenny charge and raced forward as well. When the alien slapped her friend to one side, she jabbed with her own fingers. The punch came before she could react. It smashed into her chest and she was tossed backwards. She rolled to her feet. Blood poured from her mouth where she had bit her tongue. She thought one of her ribs might be broken.
Strange. They were aiming for the eyes. It must be some primitive reflex that allowed them to identify it as a weak spot. They still hadn't screamed and, even more confusing, they had yet to run. Could the pests of this world be so dumb. He sighed. What fun could there be in hurting something so stupid. He moved towards the last one he had knocked down. It would still crush them. Maybe there could some tiny pleasure in it.
Willow retreated. That thing was fast. In disbelief she saw Jenny vanish into the jet. There was no way her friend would run away and leave her. Was there? She gulped. The giant raced at her in a blur and she barely managed to dodge. Keep your eyes focused on it, she ordered herself. She ignored the pain in her chest.
Jenny was in a panic. There was no way they beat it. Not without weapons of some sort. But there were no weapons. They had only planned to grab Cindy and leave, not fight a giant monster. There might be some in the hardware store next to them, but the way it moved they would still have no chance. She could tell it wasn't serious yet. If it decided to, they would die pretty quick. The thoughts in her panic filled mind rushed together and she didn't know what to do. There were no weapons on the jet and ... the jet... She turned and rushed for it.
She sat at the controls and looked at the display. Global Justice jets were beyond advanced. It was almost like playing a video game. The cloak was on so all she had to do to make it lift was ... She fought to recall what Willow had taught her. She pushed the panic aside and moved her hands over the controls. She didn't need to do much. She only needed to make it work for a few seconds. That was all she would need. She forced calm on herself and smiled. The fear vanished. The Lorwardians had made her kind to be killers, not creatures of fear. The smile became a vicious grin.
She had dodged the insane giant seven times since Jenny had disappeared. She wouldn't last much longer. The alien was eyeing her like she a delicious morsel it planned to gobble down. That look made her furious. She might not be able to match its strength and speed, but she would fight. Then the scene in front of her changed. The giant gave a startled look upward and prepared to dodge. Then what she knew to be a force field surrounded it. The jet came in view, its cloaking device disabled, right over the head of the giant. Willow grinned. Jenny must have piloted it over the monster's head and then ordered all the thrusters to push the vehicle down. It was small, but it weighted over twenty tons. With the thrusters going like that it was more like a hundred tons. Jenny appeared in the door of the jet.
"Keep it busy." She yelled as she dashed into the hardware store. She didn't even bother to try the door. She just threw herself through the window.
Willow ran into the jet. She had listened to everything Ron and Shego and Kim had to say about these creatures. When the force field came up it surround them, head to toe. But anything poking through that barrier wasn't severed. And from the spear being repeatedly rammed up through the floor of the jet she knew the jet was inside the top of the force field. The sides of it protected the giant, but it's head was open to attack. But how...
Jenny rushed back in with two axes, two mauls and some spikes. "They got nothing in there that's really a weapon." She fumed.
"Hand me a spike." Willow ordered and the girl handed her one. She smiled. "I'm sure this will do just fine." She waited and as the spear jabbed up through the floor she slid the spike in under it. It caught on the obstruction and she grabbed at the spike again, pulling with all her might. The spear came up. "There goes it's little toy." The natural born fighter smiled at her friend who smiled back.
The spear was ripped out of its hand, as it caught on something, and was then pulled up through the floor of whatever had fell on top of it. Surely those annoying little pests couldn't be doing this. They had been fast and nimble, but too stupid to even run. It tore at the floor with its hands.
"Wait." Jenny said as Willow went to strike at the fingers of the giant with an axe. She looked at the spikes. "Time for the maul." She said, placing a long spike on the floor and raising the tool. She waited. As the hand reached high into the air she swung, hitting the spike. It pierced the wrist of the giant, pinning the arm in place. "Now the axe." She said.
Willow lifted the axe and swung it a few times, removing the fingers.
The two of them heard the monster scream in rage from its cage.
"It doesn't have the spear anymore." Willow said. "Lets get its eyes." She took a spike and looked down through the holes that had been made in the floor. The giant was looking up at her. She considered the situation and grinned. She looked towards Jenny and towards the maul. The girl took the hint and grabbed the tool once more. Willow placed the spike in a hole aimed for the giant's left eye. It grabbed for the spike and Jenny swung the maul. The spike pierced its hand and rammed down into the giant's skull. Still it kept moving.
"Pretty tough." Those Lorwardians, Willow calmly said, taking another spike and placing it in a hole.
"Pretty tough." Jenny agreed, swinging the maul again.
He started to panic. He had always thought he could retreat. But in the enclosed space he coudn't remove the spike from his skull, or either of his hands. Without the use of his hands he had no way to order the ship to recall him. He was pinned and he didn't think the vermin above him would allow him to just walk away. He had seen the look in their eyes when they had tried to drive the spike through its eye. Fast, yes. Nimble, yes. Stupid, no.
Working together they drove more spikes into the squirming beast below. Eventually they got its eyes.
"Just how do we kill it?" Jenny asked. "It has a dozen spikes in its brain for crying out loud.
"Like I said before. You're the one who ran out at it." Willow grinned.
"True." Jenny said, grinning back.
The two of them burst out laughing. Below the creature trembled. It would die for the amusement of pests.
"But still, I'm open to suggestions." The girl said.
"Any saws in the store." Willow asked, thinking.
"Be right back." Jenny rushed off and returned a few seconds later with a chainsaw. It was huge.
"Let's try it." Willow said, stepping out of the way.
"You use it." Jenny replied, handing the chainsaw to her friend. "It was your idea."
Willow started the saw. It was something most normal fourteen year old girls would have had difficulty even lifting. She held it, end down, over the hole in the floor. Carefully she cut off one of the giant's arms. It's flesh was so tough the saw had trouble. But it did get the job done. She went to work on the other one.
"No worries now if it does get free." Jenny commented. "No eyes and no arms." She looked down through the hole. "But wow! It's still alive!"
"Impossible." Willow said. "But it is." She admitted, and shrugged. "Let's try its head." She said and went to work with the saw again. The giant had slumped down in the hole, barely twitching, giving her good angle for the task. Soon it the head fell to the bottom of the hole."
"It can still be regenerated." Jenny said. "Remember it can back up its memories in auxiliary brains."
"Hrm." Willow said. She laid down on the floor and pushed the saw through the hole. She went to work cutting the alien into as many pieces as she could. She stood up a few minutes later. "Any gasoline in the store and detergent?" She asked.
Jenny rushed off again and soon returned. She watched as Willow dropped the detergent in the hole and poured in the gasoline. "Why detergent?" She asked.
"So it burns hotter." The girl replied. "Any matches around."
Jenny rushed into the store again. There were plenty of matches. Back inside the jet Willow stepped aside.
"You do the honors." She said. "But be careful. It will flare up."
Jenny struck a match and then lit the entire box on fire. She tossed it from ten feet away. Fire flared up through the hole along with smoke. The two of them rushed outside.
Willow looked a the burning jet. "You know." She said. "I had hoped to return the jet in one piece. I hope they aren't too angry we wrecked it."
Jenny shrugged. "So long as my sister is safe I will take the blame." She said.
Three minute after they had started the fire the force field shuddered and ripped its way up through the jet. The remains of the alien called Wardowge rose into the sky. Not even Lorwardian technology could have hoped to regenerate the mangled mess of burnt flesh.
Warfelken looked at the remains of the four Lorwardians. Three were of low rank, but Warleder had been an old and powerful warrior. In deeds only Warhok and Warmonga were better renown. It gave her an answer to her question. The pests were capable of meeting multiple attacks and repelling them. They had probably used nuclear weapons on two of the Lorwardians because it was simple. In her opinion that made them smart for pests.
In the absolute darkness where she dwelled there was nothing. She had wished for nonexistence and had done her best to make that wish come true. She had not been there for a long time, for time implied existence, and there was nothing in the darkness. Nor had she been there for a short time. She herself had ceased to be. She did not see or hear or smell or feel. Even her thoughts had ceased to exist. But in this place of nothing something stirred and was born. And in a place where there is something there must be time.
"What is your name?" The question came from the darkness.
The sound echoed in her mind, and that implied thought, for how could one hear if one had no mind. Her thoughts flowed again, reluctantly and slow. She tried to cease to exist again, but the voice came once more.
"What is your name?"
Time passed as her mind considered the question. She was a long time in replying, but the answer did come. "I don't know." She said.
"Oh." The voice came again. "I guess that's okay. Mind if I sit beside you?"
She sought the oblivion once again, but felt something rest against her back. That implied more thought. For how could she feel something if she couldn't think. If she could think then she must have a mind. And if she had a mind then she must exist. Slowly, after a near eternity, she formed her own question. "Who are you?"
"I don't know either." Came the reply. "I will know when you know who you are."
She wondered who she was.
End of Chapter.
It seems anyone who gets Jenny and Willow mad had better be very careful. But then they would have no love of Lorwardians and would be used to mutilating animals and even people. Shego had better be fair marking their exams if she's going to be teaching them.
For Shego I think that's a job she will enjoy more than hunting Diablos. Teaching.
Who won the battle with Warleder, Wardawge and Wardoige against Ron, Shego and Kim. Technically the good guys won. But their losses were high. One wounded and three synthobots out of operation with two others having no laser. They will have to come up with a few new tricks if they want to stop the next landing. And I'm out of ideas other than cybertronic golf balls.
As for Shego not getting mad at Willow. Her and Ron are secure enough that she knows there's no danger. Plus, given she can't actually carry any of her own, I would think she has a special place in her heart for kids. (So long as she doesn't have to take Diablo dolls from them.) Her degree is education and child psychology would be evidence of that.