*A/N- this is the edit of the original chapter. My beta and I have gone over this, and I am now satisfied. Just some small changes here and there, with a flashback added in to start to bring the back story in of how the heck we got here. Hope you enjoy and please review. I don't bite. Often...
I do not own Kim Possible, Disney does.
Shades of Grey, Chapter 2: Beginnings
It turned out to be one of those unforgettable days that everyone would forever ask what were you doing when "it" happened.
Nearly all television channels preempted regular programming with continuous news repeating the same limited initial reports. This left nearly every man, woman, and child looking at the faces of many different anchormen and women including the newly added anchorman for GNN, Global News Network, who was obviously overwhelmed with stress and nervousness. His name was Sean Herring, a fairly attractive twenty six year old who had always dreamed of being in front of a news camera.
He had wanted something big to happen in order to further his career, but this was nothing like he could have ever imagined. Sean stared into the camera not believing the story he was about to give could even be true. The poor man even missed his first cue, causing quite a commotion in the studio, before he started with his important story.
"We interrupt your regular programming with important breaking news. A terrible event has taken place in the last two hours that every American needs to know about. The president has been assassinated by unidentified terrorists while visiting a rural town in Georgia."
Sean paused as it seemed as if he could feel the shock and disbelief that so many millions had to be facing right now. The very thought of this made him shift slightly in his seat and allowed a lone bead of sweat to inch its way down his clammy forehead. He quickly wiped it off before continuing with his story.
"As of right now most early reports are unconfirmed, but the president has been confirmed to be deceased. We do know that several Secret Service members and possibly even the president's personal driver have been killed also. Three other Secret Service agents are in the hospital but should make a full recovery. We will try to keep you updated while we are waiting for word from…," Sean stopped his last sentence as he intently listened to a voice echoing in his ear.
After listening for several moments, he sat back up straight before continuing, "It seems as if a press conference is taking place as we speak, so we will take you to that right now"
The image on the TV screen switched to a conference room full of reporters and an empty podium. Several seconds later the Secretary of Defense strode up to the podium and began talking.
"The President of the United States has been assassinated by an undetermined numbers of terrorists. Four terrorists that we have linked to a group originating from a Middle-Eastern nation took part in what appears to have been merely a distraction. All four terrorists were in fact killed, but two Secret Service agents died and three more were wounded in the process. President Nicolai escaped through the back of the office building that he was visiting with two Secret Service bodyguards. It is unclear as to what exactly took place behind the office but the end result is horrifying. Eight Secret Service agents, the president himself, and his personal driver were all murdered by what can only be assumed as a blade of some kind. No other bodies were found at the site of this massacre, or any traces of foreign blood or DNA. At this time it seems as though the main assassin or assassins are at large. I will now take a few questions in order to help inform the public."
The very moment he finished every reporter in the room raised their hand to be allowed to speak. The general pointed to a random journalist, which was immediately followed by her question.
"Is it confirmed which country or terrorist group was behind this assassination?"
"All agencies are currently attempting to identify the specific group or nation responsible for this, but at this time it is unknown." The general answered the journalist in his regular matter of fact voice that he always used with journalists; he did not like having to answer to them. He did, however, have a job to do so he pointed to the next journalist in order to continue the press conference.
"Do you have any information on the suspected assassin?"
"As of right now we do not know anything about the assassin or assassins." He quickly pointed to another journalist in order to make sure the previous one would not continue that specific line of questioning.
"If it is proven that it was a nation behind this, what actions will be taken against them?"
"I cannot give you much information about that but I can assure you military action is not off the table. We already have one super Aircraft carrier in the region with two more on the way, but that is far from a declaration of war."
"Is there any word from the Vice President?" asked the next lucky journalist.
"He is currently at an undisclosed location. Now I am afraid that will be all the questions for now. I can assure you though that more information will be released later."
With that he walked off the podium with his signature stride leaving millions of people staring blankly at their TV screens.
One of these people was Sean Herring who was currently being yelled at because he was about to be on air again within seconds. Sean quickly regained his composure just in time as he went live again. He spoke with a gentle voice that had a hint of the sadness and bewilderment that all other Americans now have in their hearts.
"We will continue to keep you updated as soon as more information is available. For now we will send you to Sarah who is near the scene of the assassination."
Sean turns toward another TV screen showing a female reporter before giving up the story to her. "So Sarah what can you tell us?"
KP
One of the hundreds of millions of people who were glued to the TV screen was a twenty four year old redhead who was shocked beyond description. The redhead looked younger than she actually was especially with her rather tight attire. She wore a tight outfit that was obviously made more for its mobility and flexibility than for looks.
The woman had medium length hair which complimented her shapely form, and the softness of her skin and personality perfectly. Athleticism and strength radiated from her as if she herself was an extremely deadly weapon; however, at the same time she gave off a comforting feeling that seemed to disarm those around her.
The stunned and eerie silence that penetrated the room her and a group of people occupied was interrupted only by the introduction of a new person. The man who entered the room was dressed in an official grey colored Global Justice uniform. He came up behind the redhead to whisper into her ear.
"Agent Possible, the Commander has requested your presence in the main briefing room in twenty minutes."
Kim acknowledged and quickly ran to the shower in order to get rid of the odor one always gets from a good workout at the gym. Once done, she changed into her GJ uniform before running to the briefing room.
When she arrived she noticed the large wooden table in the middle of the room that was currently unoccupied. She stood a few feet from the table in order to wait for them to arrive. Kim did not have to wait long.
Betty Director walked into the room with many other high ranking men and women. They all took a seat, except Betty, who motioned for Kim to take the only available seat left. After Kim sat down, her commander quickly began.
"The CIA has concluded that the terrorist group responsible for the assassination were funded and supported by Iran. It seems as if the United States will in fact retaliate against Iran militarily. So far they have received pledges of military support from NATO and other key allies. The US has also demanded the creation of a new and separate branch of GJ that is more of a military counter-terrorist organization or they would withdraw all funds. Since I have my hands tied I want Agent Will Du to lead the newly created GSF, Global Security Force. I also want Agent Anderson to lead all major ground operations performed by GSF. Agents Possible, Pierce, Smith, Herring, and Butler will initially lead battle groups consisting of at least twenty men each. The basic command structure has already been conceived and agents have been handpicked. We have already been given the primary assignment of finding the mysterious assassin that killed the president. Training will begin for the group leaders and their troops almost immediately after this briefing is over. Agent Du will be meeting with top leaders to make sure funding is secure and also lay out the plan to find the assassin. Any questions?"
Kim quickly spoke up in order to help clear the cloud of questions forming in her head. "So this new unit will take part in the offensive?
Betty, being her regular self, had no hint of any emotion whatsoever as she answered her agent's question. "That is correct Agent Possible."
"So we are to take men and women into front line battle? I don't think we are exactly prepared for that. We have usually been in small numbers for quick covert ops." Pierce stated.
"The agents you will receive are handpicked like I said, and they will have several weeks of hard training starting tomorrow to help transition the agents."
"What type of missions will we be undertaking?" asked Agent Smith.
"Your missions will be quick strikes for critical information or specific targets. You will be in and out, so do not worry about any prolonged fighting. That is enough questions for now, you all know your duties so I would prepare for them. Also all of you except Agent Du will need to head over to the new GSF armory tent to get your uniforms and weapons. Good luck." The commander turned and walked out swiftly leaving Kim to take in the vast amount of information she had received in just one day.
After a short jog to the armory tent and a quick change into her new GSF uniform she looked in a mirror to only be greeted by a very unfamiliar figure.
The entire uniform was a combination of a black ops black background with streaks of a dark navy blue throughout. The uniform was tighter fitting than most military issue allowing more mobility and made the uniform look and feel less bulky. Her chest was covered by Kevlar armor and ammunition holders, while her hands were covered by dark navy blue combat gloves. She wore black combat boots and had hard black patches of armor on her shoulders, knees, and sides. Kim's helmet was essentially a standard issue US Army but was of course the same color combination as the rest of her uniform.
Kim was equipped with two combat knives, two fragmentation grenades, and a Beretta M9A1 handgun. She was also carrying her primary weapon, a dark navy blue and black colored FN SCAR assault rifle.
As she finished looking at the image staring back at her from the mirror, all she could think was, am I ready?
KP
A very tall and well built man was walking through the dimly lit halls that he had become so very accustomed to. It was obvious from what he was wearing that he was a soldier, probably some type of Special Forces. The man stood well over six feet tall and looked like he could easily punch a door down instead of kicking it. His dark colored uniform allowed him to blend in with the darkness creeping around the hallway.
The soldier reached a large set of black double doors that was guarded by two men who looked much like him. Both guards were hidden among the shadows even as they opened the door for their fellow comrade.
As the soldier stepped into the slightly lighter room his uniform stood out from the light. He was covered in a somewhat tight fitting special ops uniform that seemed to allow a great amount of mobility and flexibility. Every part of his body seemed to be covered by a black under armor mesh that even covered his neck.
Over the mesh was a tough but flexible fabric that made up his pants and long sleeve shirt. These were colored all black with very dark green streaks here and there. His chest was covered by a very tough all black armor that was also partially on his back, shoulders, knees, thighs, and forearms. He wore tight black gloves and all black combat boots. His helmet seemed like the average US Army issued combat helmet, except it was a dark green and black with a visor coming down from the helmet. The visor dropped over the man's face all the way down to the bottom of his chin. The visor also extended around the man's head back to about his ears where the regular helmet continued around to the back of the head. It was a very dark black that reflected light, allowing his face and eyes to remain perfectly hidden.
The soldier was armed with a Five-seveN pistol holstered low on his right thigh for tactical draw, a P90 submachine gun slung to his left, and two machete-length blades sheathed in an X on his back.
The man crossed the fairly large room until reaching a set of dark green double doors with four guards at attention. Unchallenged, two reached over to open the portal for him. Once through, and doors closed, he strode several more paces into the dimly lit room before kneeling to the ground with bowed head.
Seconds later a dark but soft voice pierced through the shadows of the fairly large room. "You may rise. What is so important that would cause you to disturb my meditation?"
The soldier rose to his feet as he replied, "You said you had wished to be informed about any developments."
"Yes. I am aware of this, and I would still like to know your reason for interrupting me."
The voice of his commander had a strange effect that caused his hair to stand up from what he could only assume was fear. Slightly unnerved he replied, "The United States along with its allies should invade Iran within weeks. Also GJ has created a new counter terrorist division called GSF."
"I could care less about what those puny GJ bugs are doing," the eerie voice replied with sharp hatred and malevolence. "If the US is going to invade soon, we need to go there in order to secure the money transaction. Pick four of my troopers to accompany yourself and me to our Iranian compound."
"Yes, sir" replied the soldier in a gruff voice but he continued to stand there.
"Is there something else you would wish to share or have you suddenly found yourself to be paralyzed?"
The trooper replied with a hint of uneasiness. "An enemy scout was found near the compound minutes ago. He was easily dispatched, but I thought you would want to know." With his last words spoken he strode out of the room to complete his orders.
After the soldier left the faceless voice whispered a few words in a deep, malicious voice. "Well, well, well. It seems as if a certain someone doesn't like what I have been up to lately. But don't worry old friend we will meet again, but sadly for you it will be the last time."
KP
One word could be used to describe the training at which Kim had endured for the last several weeks, insane. She thought she was in excellent shape but just after the first day she wanted to pass out and not get back up again for days. Although it was a very rough training, she had become acquainted with her comrades. One in particular was an attractive male by the name of David Schmidt. He was rather tale, about six feet, and was built like a professional athlete. He also had dirty blonde hair that seemed to correspond to his Native American appearance.
They had grown to be good friends, which getting yelled at and shot at with blanks by instructors tends to do, over their training days. She never once thought of being attracted to him and neither did he. They had just grown to be friends at a time when both seemed to be lacking in that area.
At this particular moment they were crawling under barbed wire while live rounds were being shot over their heads in order to mimic real combat. David just looked over at Kim and said in his usual good spirited and deep voice, "Is it just me or are you getting that weird feeling that they might actually be trying to kill us?"
Kim looked over at him with a frustrated look as the bullets whizzed by her head, but it took everything she had to not laugh as she saw his charming but somewhat goofy smile. "Stay focused David! I don't want to lose my only friend around here while we are still in training!"
He expressed a clearly faked hurt look while replying, "Oh come on, you now I'm right! Heck just last week they made us swim for eight hours straight! I mean when are we going to swim? Last I heard Iran was nothing but one big desert."
Kim just kept crawling before she could lose her concentration. She always wanted to concentrate in battle, but her good natured friend was making it very hard.
Kim had found herself in a weird and confusing set of circumstances lately. The President of the United States had been assassinated by an unknown person, she was being thrust into a combat position, and she had to lead men to their possible deaths. The worry she carried that she would screw up and lead to her comrade's deaths had threatened to overwhelm her, if it were not for David. His sincere friendship was a refreshing change of pace from what she had received before leaving Middleton, but that was a long story that she would not allow herself to think of it.
However, she knew no matter what she would stay loyal to the GSF and her comrades who would soon be fighting beside her. She had already made peace with the fact she might die trying to save someone else. When Kim thought about it, it seemed like the lesser of two evils. Who would want to live for the rest of their lives knowing a comrade died when they themselves should have?
After Kim and the other troops had washed up from the day's intense training an announcement was made that the entire GSF force would meet in the briefing room in twenty minutes. Needless to say the entire camp was thrown into an uproar as soldiers ran this way and that in order to get there on time.
When Kim finally made it into the large briefing room she skimmed over the large body of soldiers that numbered over one hundred by now. After a few seconds she saw David signaling to her from a seat in about the middle of the auditorium like room. She smiled at him fondly and ran over to take a seat beside him. Just as she sat down Betty Director walked into the room with about ten other commanders. As she walked in every soldier in the room stood straight at attention until the Commander motioned for them to sit.
"The United States along with its NATO allies will invade the country of Iran within days. The Iranian Navy will be insignificant to the invasion forces, but the land campaign will be brutal. The US is going to use a swift action strike from three directions in order to catch the Iranians off guard. This will work in our advantage because we have located what we think is a safe house of the assassin that we are after. At this time I will hand this briefing over to the commander of GSF forces, Commander Du."
Will Du walks up to the podium and clears his throat before starting his speech in his normal monotone voice. "We have located where the money transaction will take place between Iran and the assassin. It is a compound guarded by Iranian Revolutionary Guard* troops and any bodyguards the assassin has with them. We will be coordinating our strike with a German elite counter-terrorism group. They will offer sniper cover as you land inside the compound. You will move to capture each building as they enter the compound to assist. The assassin would be brought in alive preferably. All of you will be transported to Iran by a transport plane then you will travel by Black Hawks that will be escorted by Apache attack helicopters. The plane is leaving in an hour so good luck and God's speed."
KP
Kim was having a hard time with her thoughts, but most were not of what was about to happen. Instead most of her thoughts centered around the crazy circumstances that led her here. Her unit was still on board the transport plane, but she just could not concentrate on the present. Her mind began to drift to the beginning of it all.
Flashback
"Shhhh! Ron the whole point of sneaking inside something is not getting caught," said a redheaded teen hero as she crawled through a ventilation system.
"Sorry KP," replied her boyfriend and long time partner, Ron Stoppable.
After the slight pause the duo continued on through the maze of twists and turns until Kim heard familiar voices. She slowly crept to the nearest vent and looked through it in order to assess the situation.
The slender teen looked down upon a large room that had a laboratory area on one side and giant monitors on the other. The entire room was made from concrete giving it the feeling of a bomb shelter rather than a typical living area. As Kim continued to scan the area, she noticed a familiar figure talking and waving his arms around like a madman.
"Shheeegggggoooooo, why aren't you listening to me?" asked a blue skinned scientist who was standing next to what could only be assumed to be some death ray thing.
"Do we always have to go through this same thing time and time again? I mean can't you do something different for a change. I swear you are the dumbest evil scientist I've ever met," came the reply from an area of the room that Kim could not see but she recognized the voice nevertheless.
"You don't have to be so hurtful Shego."
"Well if it makes you feel any better Dr. D, it is hard to hear you over the racket those maintenance men you hired are making. Why are they even here anyway?"
The scientist looked down out as his feet without saying anything. There was a period of awkward silence accompanied only by the sound of magazine pages being turned.
"You blew it up when I was out didn't you?"
"My calculations were off slightly which caused it to misfire, but such set backs will not happen in the future!" Dr. Drakken said with zeal as he was about to go off on another one of his rants before he was suddenly interrupted by a crashing sound followed by a ripping sound.
"Ahhh man! How does this still happen?" came Ron's voice as he was hanging upside down from the vent by his ripped pants.
"Well well well. You sure know how to make an entrance Pumpkin. To bad the buffoon always messes it up," taunted the sidekick who was still sitting and enjoying her magazine.
"It doesn't matter either way because I am just going to beat you again like I always do," she retorted.
The villainess put her magazine down and slowly stood up to face her nemesis. Kim could not help but look at the very well toned body that was so evident through the incredibly tight green and black jumpsuit Shego always wore.
"Well Princess, this might actually be interesting," Shego said as she lit up her hands and lunged for Kim. What followed was closer to a strictly choreographed dance rather than a deadly fight between two hated enemies. Each strike was countered only to be followed by another. As each second passed both combatants grew more and more determined. The punches, sweeps, and kicks became faster and faster until the two looked as though they were one flowing energy with the two extremes seeming to melt together into a perfect harmony of movement and motion. The outside world ceased to exist as the two forces continued their dance of souls across the concrete complex. It continued for what seemed like an eternity until the inevitable happened and someone connected.
Shego slammed into the concrete wall leaving a gaping hole as she slowly picked herself up.
"I must say you offer a good challenge but that's about it," she said as she started to circled Kim in wait of an opening.
Kim was about to retort until she noticed the workers cowering behind various objects. "Shego don't you think we should continue this somewhere else? Someone could get hurt."
"Isn't that the point Princess?" Shego asked with a predatory grin before lunging at her again.
Kim dodged and the fight continued with renewed vigor. Everything was going right until a brave worker decided to try and help her by attempting to come up behind Shego. Kim jumped towards Shego and did a back flip in order to connect with her face. Shego quickly ducked but the worker was right behind her. Kim's powerful kick connected with his chin knocking his head back hard. A loud *crack* echoed throughout the room. Everyone stood in utter shock as his body fell limply to the floor. A silence that could kill floated in the room as other workers slowly came out to look at their fallen friend.
Shego and Kim both stood frozen in time it seemed as they stared at the body of the innocent worker. After several minutes the shock passed slightly and Kim collapsed to her knees. She leaned over the lifeless body and began to mutter in between her cries.
"Get up please… I…I didn't mean for this to happen… get up… you have to be okay," she practically moaned as she laid on top of him, "I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to… you can't be de… no! No! You aren't dead! Get up! You have to get up!" Kim began to shake him as tears flooded over her eyes and down her face. The sight was enough to snap Shego back into reality causing her to lean down and place a soft hand on Kim's shoulder. She could not tell whether Kim even felt it or not but she stopped shaking him and instead laid on top of him as her cries grew louder. Shego leaned down to try and say something to Kim but she turned and grabbed onto Shego as she continued to cry her heart out. She initially stiffened up but several moments later she returned the embrace while whispering sweetly, "Shhhh Princess… it'll be okay."
The sound of police sirens eventually began to penetrate Kim's pitiful moans. Even as the SWAT teams stormed the room Shego continued to stay beside her and hold her.
End Flashback
Kim was pulled from her thoughts as Captain Anderson got up to speak to the unit.
"I realize that most of you here have never been in combat, or have even served on the front lines," the Captain said in a deep voice.
The Captain stopped for a moment and looked around before continuing, "I also realize that most of you have never killed a man before. Well I want to tell you that no one here wants to or will enjoy killing another human being, but you will be forced to make a decision today. You can protect those sitting beside you or let them die in vain. When we are in combat it is to the men and women sitting beside you that you must place your trust and your life to. If any of you will hesitate to kill an enemy that is about to kill a comrade, I will not hesitate to kill you myself."
Half of the unit suddenly looked up in shock at his last few words, Kim included. The Captain just continued, "Anyone who would let their comrade die like that doesn't deserve to live. I myself know how hard it is dealing with the fact that you killed someone, but I can assure you that it will be ten times worse if you let a fellow soldier die. I am proud to fight beside you strong and honorable men and women. I will not hesitate to jump in front of a bullet for any one of you, and I can expect no less from you. We will be going into battle and many of you will not go home alive, but I can tell you right here and now that we will fight like brothers and will live or die together! No one will be left on the battlefield! And no matter what we will all come home together as proud warriors!"
No one seemed to notice that the plane has landed and had almost come to a complete stop, except the Captain that is.
"Now let's go and kick some Iranian ass!" yelled the captain right as the ramp dropped, allowing all the soldiers to run out of the plane and into the awaiting helicopters.
Kim did not know about all the other troopers, but all doubts in her mind ceased to exist after the Captain's speech.
KP
"Sir, snipers have deployed around our perimeter and GSF troops are inbound as we speak!" shouted the soldier to his commander.
"They have come just as expected. Has the money been transferred?" asked the cloaked figure in what seemed like a soft, thoughtful voice.
"Yes sir, twenty million dollars were transferred moments ago."
"Well then we are no longer needed here," the cloaked figure stated before making to walk out of the room.
"But what about the GSF forces sir?"
The cloaked figure turned, emerald eyes piercing through the shadow of the hood. "They mean absolutely nothing to us; this is between them and the Iranians. Oh, but before we leave make sure you 'accidentally' leave behind those fake transaction papers."
"Yes, sir!" the soldier saluted before tossing a stack of papers on the table and then following his commander out of the complex.
KP
Kim found herself in the lead helicopter which also had the Captain in it also. The Captain turned to the troops in the helicopter and started to explain what was happening.
"Now listen up! Snipers will have the area under fire, keeping the enemy buttoned down long enough for us to land inside the complex. Apaches will provide additional support. I'll remind you our squad is designated 'Spearhead', so ignore any chatter in your ears which is not that or any of our specific call signs. Got that Ladies? Remember, this is for the President!"
Some of the troops made quick prayers, but Kim was too busy thinking of her family and old friends to concentrate enough to even think to pray.
Within moments they could see the compound just as their escort helicopters opened up on the complex with rockets and cannons. The compound was a small village of tan colored buildings surrounded by a tall concrete wall on all sides. The devastation caused by just the one strafing run was clearly visible, leaving Kim to wonder how anyone could even survive that.
It quickly became obvious that many had in fact survived as small arms fire immediately became directed at the transport helicopters. Kim's adrenaline was now spiked thanks to the constant sounds of bullets rippling off the helicopter's armor. The chopper began to shake as the sounds of rockets whizzing by the helicopter conquered all other noises, which now included Kim's own heavy and erratic breathing.
Suddenly the chopper lurched extremely violently up into the air from an apparent impact. Kim managed to look to the back of the chopper to see that the entire tail was gone.
The Captain screamed over the chaos inside the helicopter, "We've been hit! We are going in hard! HANG ON!
Kim held onto the helicopter for dear life up until that very last second when the ground rushed up to greet the helicopter that was falling like a giant rock. Kim prayed with everything she had right up until the sudden impact…
*Iranian Revolutionary Guard: elite paramilitary force in Iran that is basically an entire self sufficient army and navy.
Hope you enjoyed, coming up next: the battle and its aftermath.