Chapter 8 Let The Bodies Hit The Floor
Song by Drowning Pool
Ron slowly returned to the world with his head feeling like it was going to, hopefully, fall off. Soon. Maybe it wouldn't hurt so much. For the second time that day he became aware of emerald eyes framed by a fiery halo. 'She is beautiful, give her that. But she looks a little green around the gills, wonder why.'
Groaning a bit, he blinked as in room started to come back into focus. "Uuuuggggghhhh! Did anyone get the license of the truck?"
"Ron, are you OK?"
Ron just cocked an eyebrow at her and said, "I'm lying on the floor after being knocked unconscious, so that would be a, NO. But I'll be OK." Ron tenderly grasped his jaw and slowly worked it around, groaning in the process, the right side of his face already starting to show a large bruise. Looking up at the raccooned Sousuke, he offered "Dude, you got a hell of a right, I'll give you that. How's the nose?"
It looked like it was broken and Sousuke spoke with a very nasal tone, "I will survive, Stoppable-san. The bleeding stopped quickly and I was able to reset the break."
Ron's jaw dropped open causing a blinding rush that had him in tears. Once the pain diminished, he thought, 'He reset his own nose?!?! MAN that had to hurt!!!' It was then he figured out what had Kim looking like she was ready to hurl. Ron had been on the football field more then enough to know about broken noses. He'd even helped the trainers hold someone down while they set them. And Kim seemed to have a problem with blood anyway. Just look at how she handled being around her mom's job.
Turning his astonished gaze from the Soldier to Kim he asked, "You OK? Ya look like ya might need a bucket."
"I'm just really wishing I hadn't eaten that second Chimmirito earlier." Kim hadn't really believed Kaname when she told her about Sousuke pulling shrapnel from his own stomach, but she did now. She had no idea what was going to happen when he had asked his girl friend for a mirror. When Kaname pulled one from the box, Kim had wondered what else is in there. Sousuke merely looked into the mirror, trying to see which way his nose had shifted. Then she nearly fainted when Sousuke interlaced his fingers and with little more then a grunt shoved his broken nose back into place. Then he used the mirror to check for straightness. The grinding, breaking pine branch sound was one she would never forget. When Sousuke was satisfied with his handiwork, he picked up the cold pack, reapplied it to the bridge of his nose, laid back and let Kaname finish her ministrations.
Looking back at Sousuke, something Ron had heard his Uncle Roger say seemed appropriate. "You reset your own nose? Man, I gotta tell ya, your harder then woodpecker lips."
It took Kaname a second to get the gist and Kim looked at Ron with a 'Say What?' expression. Sousuke just looked confused. "But Stoppable-san, creatures of the Class Aves don't have lips, they have beaks."
Kaname was the first to start sniggering followed by Ron's chuckling and Kim's giggling. In a moment the girls were laughing and Ron was laugh/groaning because of the hit he had taken.
It was in the midst of the laughing when the familiar Beep beep da beep of the Kimmunicator sounded. Activating the wrist mounted device, Kim saw Wades' image and before she could say anything the young genius broke in, "Kim, I need to talk to Ron quick."
"What's the sitch, Wade?"
"Please put Ron on, it's important."
Hearing his name, Ron looked over Kim's shoulder, "What's up, Wade?"
"Ron, your still at that guy, Sagaras' place, right?"
"Yea, what's going on?"
Wade started furiously hammering his keyboard, "I have transport enroute you now." Wade looked at Ron, noticing the mission clothes. "Your suited up, good. Get ready for a mission."
Kim was confused. Ron on a mission? Without her? "Wade?"
"I had a hit from the Seniors. They are threatening to shut of the water supply to Luxembourg unless Ron shows up at their place. And before you say anything, he said if you showed up, it would be a lot worse."
"What? Why Ron?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen any activity from the Seniors since before the invasion. This came out of nowhere. No sudden increase in spending, no major construction on the island, no new buildings, no broadcast announcements. Nothing. I don't know, Kim. All I know is there was a hit on the site saying that unless Ron shows up there in less than," Wade glanced off screen for a second, "five hours, fifty-five minutes, then he would kill the water supply to Luxembourg. And if you came with him, then it would be a lot more then just the one country. I. Don't. Know. Ron, transport will be there in ten, get ready."
"You got it Wade, all I have to do is grab my pack."
A very nasal accented voice startled Team Possible. "I shall accompany you, Stoppable-san." Sousuke had started to rearm himself as he was speaking.
Kim turned on Sousuke, "If anybody goes, it's me."
"The terrorist's instructions state that your appearance would aggravate the situation. But they mentioned no one else. Stoppable-san is injured and not at full capacity. Backup is essential. Therefore I should be the one to go."
Wade added his two cents. "He's right." Wade looked at Kim hard. "God knows he's qualified."
Ron took charge, looked at Kim and said, "I don't like it, but we don't have time to argue. He goes."
"Ron?"
"Look, I don't think Senior is serious. Who knows, maybe he just wants to talk or a fight. But he hasn't done anything yet, so let's do what we can to prevent it. You wait here." he started heading to the locker room where he had left his pack. He looked over his shoulder and added, "Besides, if you're here, he can't capture both of us. That means if something happens, you'll know about it and can back us up if we need it." Then he hollered in Kims direction, "Appreciate the early warning, Wade. I don't even have time to get some snackage. This tanks." With that, he ducked into the locker room.
Kim's emotions were jumping between anger, pride, hope and fear. The anger was ill-defined aimed at Ron, Wade, Sousuke for standing up to her, but most of it was aimed at Senior for excluding her. She was proud of how Ron was stepping up to deal with the sitch. The hope that maybe, just maybe, they could work things out. And she was afraid for him going on a mission without her. No, not afraid, she was terrified.
Sousuke finished rearming himself and was quietly talking to Kaname. He said, "I should hurry, transport will be here soon."
Kaname had never liked it when he went away like this, but it was a part of who he was. "You be careful, Sousuke. I'll have dinner waiting, OK. I'll make those plain rolls you like so much." Being careful of his broken nose, she kissed him and then buried her head in his shoulder.
He laid his cheek against her head wishing he could smell her. Her hair, the fragrance of her perfume, Kaname. Releasing a breath, he let her go and headed for the door following Ron. As he passed Kim, looking at the door Ron went through, he heard her say in a low cracking voice, "If he gets hurt, you will pay, for the rest of your short, miserable life." She glared at Sousuke with tears starting in her eyes and green fire met cold steel gray. "Do you understand me, Sergeant!"
"Completely Possible-san." Outside they could hear the whine of the turbo-fans from the hover-jet. "You have my word. I'll bring him home." Sousuke grabbed his weapons duffel and left the Dojo.
Kim heard Kaname say, "Sousuke always keeps his word. He'll bring Ron back safe and sound." then her voice cracked a bit. "Or die trying."
**********
They hadn't been in the air an hour when Ron spoke up. He actually liked Triple S. He was a gentleman, of the old definition. He treated everyone, even his enemies with at least a modicum of respect. He really didn't see the need for Sousuke to be there but he couldn't argue with the reasons both Sousuke and Wade had laid out. There was something he had to bring up though.
"Look man, I know these people, OK. So, uh, what say you don't shoot them." Ron could tell through the neutral expression that the Soldier wore that Sousuke was pissed.
Sousuke just gave the blond a bland look, but his eyes were glittering with a strange intensity. "Define shoot. Do you mean with lethal ordinance, or in general. Kaname is making plain rolls tonight, they are a favorite of mine. We haven't even been able to unpack yet. And now we have to go deal with a terrorist. This is a problem."
"You could've stayed."
"No Stoppable-san, I couldn't. You are injured. This is a fact. You are not at 100%. This is also a fact. And Toshimaru-sama would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you. So I will accompany you while you deal with the terrorist."
"Look, I think he just wants to talk"
"Talk? Stoppable-san, this man has threatened terroristic activities."
Ron nodded, "Yea, but he only threatened Luxembourg"
Sousuke was astounded, "Only Luxembourg, isn't that enough?
"If he was serious, it would have been Europe, I really think he just wants to talk." Ron paused for a second. "You gotta understand, man. I feel kind of responsible for this guy. A few years back, me and Kim heard about this rich dude and his wasteful lifestyle. Leaving all the lights on his island on 24/7. The water flowing into the lagoon nonstop. Things like that."
"Naturally, Kim, with her eco-friendly mindset, wanted to set the man straight. So here comes Team Possible, starring Kim Possible, the girl who can do anything, and her trusty sidekick, Ron Stoppable, the man with the unstoppable mouth."
"Mind you, what nobody bothered to find out, was where this man got his electricity and water supply. Seems many years ago, when this man was setting up his island abode, he wanted it to be as self sufficient as possible. So he had a geo-thermal station installed and a whole bunch of cisterns built around the island to catch rain water. He even sold power to shore facilities at a cut rate, as long as it went to people in need. And the water flowing from the fountains into the lagoon was overflow from the cisterns. He had electricity to burn and more water then he could ever use.
"So here we come. Kim aggravates the man with her talk of timer switches, high efficiency light bulbs and low flow faucets. He wasn't even a villain then, just a bored old man, with more money then God. And me?" Sigh "I open my big mouth and start talking about 'Spinning Tops Of Doom' and self activating lasers and piranha filled moats. And I turned a bored old man into one of our top five bad guys."
"Now, I use it as a personal 'Ron Stoppable' example of when to shut the fuck up."
Sousuke was taken aback by the expletive as he pondered what Ron had said and asked, "So we won't have to battle our way in?"
Holding up a finger, Ron answered, "Oh, I didn't say that. We'll have to fight. It's part of the 'Big Book of Villainy'." He air quoted.
"Something else you have to understand about Triple S." Seeing Sousuke's slightly puzzled look, he added while ticking off the S's on his hand "Senor Senior Senior, Triple S, anyway, he's honorable." Ron's brow furrowed while he tried to find a way to explain it to the Soldier. "I guess you could say he treats people with respect, even his enemies."
"He's 'chivalrous'?" Sousuke ventured, trying to understand.
Ron snapped his fingers, exclaiming, "YEA, that's it. Chivalrous. He might try to run you through, but he'll do to your face. The whole raise the visor before the charge thing."
"I see. How sure are you about his motives?"
"Pretty sure. Seriously, if he really meant it, he would have threatened all of Europe and maybe the world. He only took up villainy as a hobby."
"A hobby? When Kaname told me to find a better hobby, I started to learn to play the guitar. I certainly wouldn't have become an international terrorist."
"Terrorist is a little harsh, don't you think?"
"No Stoppable-san, I don't. When someone threatens violence in an attempt to force political or social change, it is the textbook definition of a terrorist. It is best when someone wishes to change their situation through peaceful means. However, when they decide to use violence, physical, physiological, economic, it doesn't matter, then they are taking away other peoples freedoms. Gandhi showed the world how you could create sociopolitical change without violence. Violence begets violence. Violent actions dictate a certain response." Sousuke's cold gray eyes bored into Ron's brown ones. "And for the last several years, I have been a part of that response."
He glanced at his watch and said, "We have approximately four and a half more hours flight time before we reach the LZ. We should rest. It is just after 16:00 hours and I have been awake since before 21:00 last night." Putting words into action, Sousuke leaned his head back, placed another cold pack on the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Leaving Ron to think about the things his new partner had said.
Could it be true? Were the villains he and Kim had faced actually terrorists? He had never thought about it like that. One sentence pounded through Ron's head. 'When someone threatens violence in an attempt to force political or social change, it is the textbook definition of a terrorist.'
Hadn't Drakken, Dementor, Monkey Fist, The Seniors and all the rest threatened the world if they didn't get what they wanted? The answer was yes, but did that make them terrorists? Terrorists blew up cars, flew planes into buildings and set off road side bombs or walked into a shop wearing a Semtex vest.
Ron knew he wouldn't get much sleep, he had a lot of thinking to do.
**********
Kaname watched as Sousuke walked out the door of the Dojo. She was already planning the coming meal. She knew she would have to make something that would keep for a while since she didn't know when he would be home. A stew or heavy soup for the main dish would work. And Sousuke's favorite rolls, with just a hint of butter.
Looking at Kim she said, "I could use a hand unpacking the kitchen stuff. Can you help?"
"Kitchen, uh, that might be a bad idea. Me and cooking mix about like fire and gas. Come to think about it. Fire and gas might actually be safer."
"OK, no cooking for you then. But I still need to unpack. Keep me company? We can talk about our guys."
Sigh "I don't have a 'guy' right now."
Kaname just looked at her like she had grown a second head.
"Come on, lets head upstairs."
When they reached the apartment, Kaname started sorting the boxes by area. Bathroom, bedrooms, living room, and to Kim's discomfort, the kitchen. Once she had the boxes sorted, she opened the ones for the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher with the things she would need first. Kim started moving the rest of the boxes into the appropriate areas.
Kaname asked Kim to show her where the grocery store was and they left in the car. Eleanor was still a bit put out by Kim and her comment earlier, but Kaname told the A.I. to drop it, saying she had made the same mistake before. They spent some time browsing through the area, Kim pointing out things the other girl might need to know. Which salons to avoid, where to find great deals on slacks and shoes, which stores had the best selections on accessories.
After they returned from the grocery with the trunk and backseat loaded with little plastic bags, Kim helped to move them into the kitchen while Kaname started loading the cabinets and the fridge. When Kaname offered the shorter girl a drink, seeing Sousuke's coffee maker, Kim requested and got coffee, black, no sugar.
Kaname took Kim's warning about her kitchen dyslexia to heart and had Kim sit at the table while she started cleaning, cutting and chopping ingredients. They chatted about many things, but Kim really wanted to know something. "How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"You had that Taser aimed at me before they finished fighting. How did you know what I was going to do?"
Kaname just gave an understanding smile. "It wasn't hard to figure out. It was the same thing I would have done if someone tried to beat up Sousuke."
"You knew he would win, how?"
"You said it yourself. Sousuke's a lot more ruthless then either of you. You saw it. Who was more willing to take a hit? Who tried to avoid it?"
"I saw the video from when you ran into Will Du. You were going to shoot him, weren't you?"
"Maybe. I know I thought about it."
"Why? It wasn't that bad, was it?"
Kaname paused for a second, "When you've been kidnapped, more then once, shot at, more then once, and had people trying to experiment on you, you get more then a little nervous when the ground disappears on you."
"I guess."
But to really answer your first question, it's easy to see how much you care for him, and how much he cares about you. And when he's threatened, your first instinct is to try and protect him. I think that's half the problem between you two. Ronald-san has asked himself 'How far?', you haven't."
"What do you mean?"
"Would you kill for him?"
"What?!"
"You have a choice, a decision to make. And I would suggest you think about your choice, before the circumstances force your decision."
Kim was more frightened by this young woman, calmly chopping vegetables for tonight's repast, then Shego had ever scared her. "What are you talking about?"
Kaname paused in her knife work and just looked at her for a moment. Looking back down she continued. "A little over five months ago something happened to me and Sousuke. For the first time someone had taken him instead of coming after me. They were Yakuza. And they were after payback. Sousuke fouled them up the year before when they kidnapped me and a friend of mine. They wanted to use her to force her father into giving them concessions and I was caught in the crossfire. Sousuke armed and led the rescue team."
"The Group was decimated. Something like 50% of them were sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation, possible concussions, tear gas exposure, whole bunch of other injuries and about 85% of their men wound up in jail. It took a while, but the gangsters figured out who did it, and why."
"They caught Sousuke coming from school. I had gone home to make dinner and get ready for our 'date'. He was taking me to the track, teaching me to drive. Anyway, to make a long story short, I rescued him for a change. Me and Eleanor, with Al's help, found where they were holding him, assaulted the place and got him out."
"That's…… not the point here though. The point is, that before I left the safe house, I had to realize something and make a decision. I had to realize what Sousuke would do for me. And the decision was 'How far?' "
Kaname looked up from her vegetables and bored her deep brown eyes into the green ones of the other girl. Kim could swear she saw smoke or a haze rising there. "What Sousuke would do for me? The answer is anything. He would die for me, he would live for me, and he would kill for me. And how far? How far was I willing to go to protect the ones I love? How could I possibly do any less?"
"It hadn't really sunk in though. I knew it in my head, but not my gut. Near the end of the operation, I had gotten in, laid down smoke and CS gas for some concealment and stun grenades for the shock effect, got Sousuke loose, and we were getting into Eleanor to escape." Kaname paused and looked down at her hands as her eyes became haunted and filled with unshed tears while her bottom lip trembled. "I looked up and through the smoke I saw a figure. He had a gun and it was pointed at Sousuke. I didn't even think, I raised the shot gun I was carrying and pulled the trigger. He flew back into the smoke and disappeared. It was the first time I had ever fired a lethal weapon in anger."
Kaname looked up as the tears started to flow. "And the fact that the shotgun was loaded with low velocity CS rounds and didn't even really hurt the man that bad, didn't matter. What mattered was I shot someone. I froze. Sousuke got me into the car and got us out of there."
Kaname wiped savagely at her eyes like the tears offended her "Later he was able to help me through it. Put it in the right perspective. He showed me that what I did was not wrong. All they had to do was leave things alone. They came after him, tied him to a chair and beat the crap out him. And nobody does that to my man."
Kaname had put the knife down earlier and now she got nose to nose with the shorter girl, and growled "I was right then, Sousuke was right before, and Ron was right on your graduation day. Sometimes killing the enemy is the only way."
"And the decision you have to make, is 'How far?' How far are you willing to go to protect the ones you love? And I would suggest you think about it, soon. Long and hard. Before your having to make the choice in a crisis."
**********
Forty-five minutes out from the LZ, Sousuke woke up to see Ron already up with his back to him, getting his gear ready. He had strapped on a grappler and had pulled a tanto from the pack. Sousuke watched in amazement as Ron held the blade parallel to the deck and concentrated on the blade. It shifted into a Bo staff, then a wakizashi, a naginata, a full length katana finally settling in the form of nunchaku which he stuffed into a sheath obviously hanging on the back of his equipment belt for the purpose.
"Stoppable-san?"
Sousuke evidently startled Ron, because he spun while opening the distance by jumping backwards. Somehow the Katana had reappeared in his hands which he was holding with the hilt near his right waist, the blade rising straight up. Seeing only the Soldier that came with him, he blew out a hard breath and said, "Don't do that. You scared the wits outta me."
Sousuke knew it was either Ron had always startled easily or it was another symptom of his ongoing PTSD. He didn't know which and he wanted to avoid any further complications, so he would wait until he could covertly question the people who knew Ron best.
"I apologize, I did not mean to." Looking at the Katana Ron still held, he said, "That, however, is a very handy weapon. I've never seen one that could shift forms like that. Where did you acquire it?"
"Seeing as you know Master Sensei so well, I guess there's no harm in you knowing. It's the Lotus Blade. I was chosen to be it's Master."
"Master? Please explain."
He scratched his head as he groped for the words. "It's… alive. Not like you or me, but it's alive. It really doesn't have a will of it's own, but it does have a purpose. And it won't be used against that purpose. It wants to fight for right. Sensei told me a lot about it's past." He looked at the Blade, staring into the forged steel just above the hilt. "And it's bloody one. But the Blade always chooses it's Master and tries to make a bond with them. It chooses people who have, as Sensei says, a sense of Justice. Who fight for those who can't fight for themselves."
"May I see it?"
"Sure, but what ever you do, Do Not Touch It. It might hurt you."
Ron held the Blade with his right hand under the hilt and his left supporting the blade. The lights from the cabin glittered and flashed from the polished steel and the simple wire bound hilt showed no adornment. It looked like an exceptionally well made single edge Katana from before the Edo period of Japan. It was a beautiful and deadly example of the sword smiths art.
"Sugoi." (Amazing) Sousuke murmured in Japanese. "This is a beautiful blade Stoppable-san. Thank you for the chance to see it."
Ron shifted the Katana back to into nunchaku and put them back into the pouch.
Sousuke looked at his watch and said, "We have approximately thirty minutes before we reach the LZ." He kneeled beside his weapons bag and pulled out some MRE's. "Are you hungry?"
"DUDE, you got food in there. Man, don't you know, I'm always hungry."
Sousuke passed Ron one of the MRE's and they sat back down and had at. Ron opened his package and found to his delight, "Franks and beans, Coolio. This is great." there was a bit of disappointment though. "Aw man, peanut butter, I was hoping for some Jalapeño cheese."
Sousuke shuddered and passed the cheese and flat bread from his meal. "Thanks man, here, have this." Ron handed Sousuke the peanut butter and crackers. "You gonna eat that brownie?"
Sousuke glared at the blond so hard Ron drew back. "I'll take that as a 'yes'. Never mind." They dug into the meals and Sousuke passed Ron a canteen and canteen cup from the bag. "Man you really do come prepared don't ya?"
"I try, Stoppable-san." Sousuke was thinking about the coming mission. "Stoppable-san, this person we are going to face. He is one of your foes. Therefore you should lead. Agreed?"
Ron was a little wide eyed. No one, absolutely no one had ever suggested that he be the leader. When he had gone on missions with Kim, it was natural for her to have the job. And the missions he had been alone on there was no one else. Even the football team took orders from the quarter-back. Not Ron Stoppable, the holder of several state rushing records. And here was this Veteran saying he was the leader.
"Uh, sure. I have the lead." Ron wasn't sure if Sousuke was serious of not, but he would give him a shot. Ron opened his pack and handed Sousuke a grappler, saying "You'll be needing one of these. Be careful though, they have a tendency of ripping pants." 'Especially mine' he muttered.
**********
They entered the central foyer through a window set high on the wall to one side of the main door after using the grapplers to reach the decorative landing. Ron looked around the room with the practiced eyes of someone who had been there more then once. And Sousuke scanned the room section by section, foot by foot, checking every panel, seam and join, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Ron could see where Senior had made additions to the room's equipment. Glancing to his right, he asked, "Did you really mean it when you said I was in charge?"
"Yes, Stoppable-san, I might have more combat experience, but you are far more familiar with both our opponent and the situation." Sousuke's stock just went up as far as Ron was concerned.
"OK, wait here, once I clear a space, you move down to the floor, over by those statues and keep an eye out. Stay out of the way unless I go down."
"Understood, Stoppable-san."
"Hey, gimme a couple of those flash/bangs and some smoke. Those could be handy."
Sousuke just peeled off the whole belt containing the stun and smoke grenades and passed it over to the blond. Ron fastened the belt and pulled the out nunchaku Lotus Blade. Closing his eyes, he opened himself partly to the Power. Sousuke swore he could hear monkeys. A whole troop of chimps starting to hoot and holler. Ron opened his eyes as they hazed blue and he shifted the Blade through several forms until he got a Bo. Shucking his grappler, he aimed at the chandelier and let fly. Snapping the return, he was pulled almost horizontally.
As he flew through the air Ron released his hold on the Mystical Monkey Power and let it flow. Ron was in no danger of hurting anyone here, except for maybe himself. Senior didn't use goons or Henchmen©, he relied on his equipment, technology and his own skills. And since Senior wasn't in the room, Ron knew he would only have to face mindless machines and inanimate objects.
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the.... FLOOOOORRR!!!
Three-quarters of the way to the chandelier, Ron let go of the grappler and arced into the middle of the room. He landed, rolled once to scrub the momentum and came to one knee with the Blade in hand. Looking around he saw the rich wood panels in the wall sliding aside to release the first wave of Tops and others in the upper walls flicking to reveal the lasers. The muzzles were glowing as they charged in preparation to fire. He screamed. Not in fear or terror, but like an enraged chimpanzee, eyes glowing a feral blue.
Sousuke was treated to a performance that reminded him of his actions in Hong Kong last year against the maniac Gates and his crew of Venoms. Partly aerial, partly ground based, it was a lethal ballet that roamed over the entire room and up the walls. Sousuke knew there was no way he could have matched it without either the Arbalest or a lot of explosives.
Beaten why for (why for) can't take much more
Here we go, here we go, here we go now
One - Nothing wrong with me
Two - Nothing wrong with me
Three - Nothing wrong with me
Four - Nothing wrong with me
One - Something's got to give
Two - Something's got to give
Three - Something's got to give
Now!!!(you can't hurt me!)
Ron whirled the Bo shaped Blade in one hand, the other extended to maintain a center of gravity and moved. He advanced on the first of the Tops and ducked under the blades slapping the base point hard with the Lotus Blade causing it to wobble a bit and go off course. It slid to the side and into the path of two more Tops forcing the automatons to adjust course around the misguided one. That gave Ron a whole quarter he didn't have to watch for a moment and second to concentrate on the rest of the room.
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the
Floor!!!
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the
Floor!!!!
Now!!!
He headed to the section he had told Sousuke to go to and proceeded to smash the Tops there. Lasers tried to get a bead on him, but he was moving to fast. Their prediction software couldn't quite keep up and Ron was able to stay just ahead of them. Ron followed a straight line for a few seconds letting one of the Tops follow him towards the statues he pointed out to Sousuke. He planted the Blade at the baseboard of the wall and pole vaulted up just before the Top caught up to him. He rebounded off the wall and over the Top as it hit the wall and statues and exploded.
Push me again
This is the end
Here we go, here we go, here we go now
One - Nothing wrong with me
Two - Nothing wrong with me
Three - Nothing wrong with me
Four - Nothing wrong with me
One - Something's got to give
Two - Something's got to give
Three - Something's got to give
Now!!!(you can't hurt me!)(you can't hurt me!)
Ron landed and screamed up to the Soldier. "GO." Sousuke used the Grappler Ron had given him to rappel to the 'safe zone'. Ron shifted the Blade into a Katana and ducked under another Top pushing his Blade up into the spinning ones of the Top, shearing them off and causing the Top to tumble and flip out of control. It impacted with another Top destroying both of them. He darted to the side drawing the rest of the Tops in pursuit. As he went he shucked one of the flash/bangs and pulled the pin.
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the
Floor!!!
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Skin against skin blood and bone
You're all by yourself but you're not alone
You wanted in an' now you're here
Driven by hate consumed by fear
Then he did something very, VERY dangerous. He let it cook off. He released the spoon, but held onto the grenade for a few seconds. Just before in went off he tossed it into the path of the onrushing Tops. The sound had no effect, but the flash blinded their visual sensors long enough for Ron to pull and set off a smoke grenade. Ron kept moving as he cooked off the rest of the smokes and tossed them into the air. Two of them landed in the chandelier filling the upper part of the room with enough smoke to attenuate the lasers to the point they were ineffective.
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the FLOOOOOOORRRRRRRRR!!!
Once the smoke was dense enough, he took off running towards the wall avoiding the remaining Tops and ran up the wall enough to vault off of the decorative molding near the top and slice off the barrel of the first laser. After his strike he pushed off the wall to somersault into the center of the room and moved to the other side to repeat the performance. Along the way he ducked under another Top, slicing the off the base. The Top gyrated completely out of control and smashed into a line of the second wave of Tops bouncing several into each other and the walls. So far he was six for six lasers with two lasers remaining and only had three Tops left.
One - Nothing wrong with me
Two - Nothing wrong with me
Three - Nothing wrong with me
Four - Nothing wrong with
One - Something's got to give
Two - Something's got to give
Three - Something's got to give
Now!!!
He charged a pair of the remaining Tops, leaping on top of one and running like a logger on a log in the river. When the second came close enough he jumped from one to the other and let them smash into each other. Bouncing up to the mounding just before impact, he hacked at the laser mounted there. Using the momentum from his fall he tumbled across the floor and went up the wall towards the last laser. After killing the last laser and vaulting into the center of the room, he waited. Watching as the last of the Spinning Tops of Doom came in on a kamikaze course.
Bouncing the blade of the katana shaped Lotus Blade off the floor, it shifted into a naginata. He twirled it in a parody of the Tops, spinning like a dervish and advanced against the mindless machine, screaming bloody murder. He didn't even sound human. More like a furious Silverback. Sousuke was starting to get worried. If Stoppable lost it, there wouldn't be much he could do to prevent him from becoming a berserker.
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the
Floor!!!
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
The last Top just disintegrated, flying apart like it had been tossed into a blender. Ron whirled, looking for more enemies, growling. Sousuke, very carefully, left the shelter of the statues. Keeping his hands to his sides, palms out, he talked calmly and quietly to the nearly berserk young warrior. "It's finished, Stoppable-san. You are victorious. You've won. Please calm yourself."
Ron was panting from the exertions, gritting his teeth, nostrils flaring, his eyes nearly an incandescent blue/white. Slowly, the blaze faded, dropping to a cool azure as Ron got control of himself. Standing up from his combat stance, he looked down at the Blade, shifted it back into nunchaku and slipped it back into the pouch.
They heard a clapping from overhead. There standing on the landing leading to the second floor was the impeccably dressed Senor Senior Senior. "Bravo, Mr. Stoppable, Bravo. An excellent performance." The elderly multi-billionaire narrowed his eyes when he saw Sousuke. "However I feel I might be forced to enact the consequences I mentioned when I requested your presence through young Master Load. The request was for you to come alone."
Sousuke spoke up saying, "No sir, your message merely mentioned additional consequences if Possible-san accompanied Stoppable-san. There was no mention of anyone else."
Senior raised his finger and opened his mouth in preparation to say something when a look of consternation crossed his aristocratic features. "You are of course correct, young man. Forgive me. The error is mine. I merely assumed that Ms. Possible would be the only one to accompany Mr. Stoppable." Looking at the blond he said, "Mr. Stoppable, would you be so kind as to introduce us."
"Sure thing. Senior, this is Sousuke Sagara. A new GJ agent. Sagara, Senor Senior Senior. One of the richest men in the world."
"Sagara, where have I heard that name before?" Senior asked himself. "No matter, it will come to me. It's a pleasure to meet you young man. However I find myself curious. Why didn't you assist Mr. Stoppable in his endeavor to penetrate my defenses?"
"Because Stoppable-san asked me to remain in reserve unless he needed assistance, Sir. He didn't."
Senior was wearing a huge smile. "No he didn't, did he? As I said before, an excellent performance, Mr. Stoppable. You showed skill, courage and ingenuity."
"Uh, thanks, Senior. But why the threat about Kim coming along."
Several reasons, young man. First, I heard about what happened on your Graduation Day, and your actions then. I wanted to test you, personally. I wanted to make sure that you're recovering from what happened that day. You have been an honorable foe, and it would be a shame if you never battled again. Secondly, I wanted to avoid what happened to Dementor and his… thugs. Since her injury is what precipitated your chastisement of them, I felt it would be safer for all if her presence was excluded." The multi-billionaire suddenly became grim. "And third, I have come into possession of information that concerns you, personally. I wished to speak to you about it without interference."
Ron just looked at Sousuke and said, "Told ya." Seeing the questioning look Senior had he added. "Just a conversation we had on the way over. I wanted to make sure he didn't shoot you."
"I say, that's a little extreme, don't you think."
"He said something else, and I've had a few hours to think about it. And from his point of view, he's right."
"And what was that, Mr. Stoppable?"
"He called you a terrorist."
Senior exploded "HOW DARE YOU. I AM MANY THINGS, A VILLAIN OF THE HIGHEST CALIBER. BUT I AM NOT A TERRORIST."
"Sagara, define terrorist."
Sousuke looked at the enraged billionaire and said, "Anyone who uses violence or the threat of violence, physical, physiological, economic or emotional to force a sociopolitical change or concessions from either the government or society, is a terrorist."
Senior's enraged face suddenly went back to its normal olive hue and then turned a pasty gray.
"You see, Senior, he doesn't know ya like me and Kim. We know you're just bored and wanted a new hobby. But he doesn't know any better. Anyway, we can talk about that later. What I wanna know now, is why'd you call me."
Shaking his head to clear it from the confusion placed there by the young Japanese man standing below him, "As I mentioned before, I have come into possession of information that concerns you and your family." He paused, there was no urbane or courteous way to put it. "It seems that someone has taken offense at your actions and wish to attempt reprisals. From what I can gather, they do not appear to be targeting you directly." Senior dropped his bomb. "Instead, they're going after your family."