Strapped to a cold metal table; your restraints not allowing you to move in any way and not being able to see what was going on around you. That was nerve racking beyond belief. Hearing the voices of the people around you, but you can't see their faces. You know who they are; you've heard the voices before. You know what they are capable of doing, but you still don't know what they're planning. That has to put the pure freezing core of fear into you. You can hear every other word as you try to push the fear away from your senses. You hear words like experiment, test, and shot. Just those words alone are enough to make the fear come back and pound into your ears.
That's when you feel the jab, the sharp point of a needle being forcefully pushed into your neck. You can felt the cold spike go through the layers f skin and muscle. It almost feels like the man on the other end of it is purposely going slow and enjoying your pain and torment. You grit your teeth and try not yelp or scream as the aching sting seems to last for almost an eternity. When it stops, you want to feel relief. You want to know the sweet feeling of relief because the needle finally stopped. But it doesn't bring on the relief you want. Instead, it just adds to the growing fear that's already taken root in your brain.
You know that they're injecting something into your body, and you don't know what it is. For all you know, it could be a toxic sludge that eats you away from the inside out. There's another rush of pain as they remove the needle, and that's when you feel the drug take effect. Everything cramps all at once, making you feel like your limbs are being turned one-hundred and eighty degrees as your heart feels like it's getting ready to explode. You feel pain on so many levels all at once that you don't know whether or not to scream or cry. You don't even know if you could do either to save your own life at that moment.
But now, you can feel the effects starting to slip away. Everything is going back to normal, the drug is wearing off. But you are so tired, you can barley keep yourself breathing. But you're alive, and that's good. You can figure out the effects later, but you're alive. You beat them at their own game, they loose. Wait, something wasn't right. The machine in front of you wasn't there before. That wasn't there. They're cheating at their own game! Why was it glowing green like that? What was it doing? What were they going to do with it? As you see blinding green light, all you can do is let out a horrible scream as you feel the energy from almost burn away everything that's exposed.
Ron bolted upright as he screamed, and then fell out of the cot as a result f his action. When he sat back up, the lights were on as he saw Kim rush to his side.
"Ron, are you okay?" she asked him.
"Y-yeah. It was just a nightmare." Ron said as he glanced at her.
Kim let out a small sigh of relief as he saw the glowing green in his eyes fade back into their familiar chocolate brown. One month here and there had already had been way too many close calls. This was getting nerve racking.
"What was the nightmare about?" she asked him.
"It was weird. I was back at Dementor's lair when he – you know." Ron told her.
Kim knew right off the bat what he meant. He had been having that nightmare off and on since he first became what was now being called the Hulk. Thank you so very much Shego. Kim made a mental note to knock out one of her teeth the next time she saw her.
"So you want to go get something to drink or anything?" she asked him.
"Water does sound nice right about now." Ron said.
Kim helped her best friend to his feet as she opened her locker and took out her SHIELD I.D. card. Ever since they had "moved" into SHIELD HQ, Kim had been sleeping in a pair of black slacks and a white tank top in case something happened and her attention was needed. So far, it was mainly stay out of their way and stick to Ron like glue. She missed going out on missions and was starting to go crazy from cabin fever, but she just wanted to make sure Ron would be okay. She shivered as she remembered all the thoughts that went through her head when SHIELD had picked up her and an unconscious Ron. She didn't want to even imagine a world without her BFBF.
Even though they had both been staying at SHIELD for a month, they still didn't know all the ways around the elaborate labyrinth of corridors. Sometimes they would find themselves close to the hangar, sometimes the main control room. With Ron guiding the way, he was almost certain that they were en rout to the galley. After traveling down a few more corridors, Ron finally came to a door he was sure he had seen before. Kim used her I.D. to open, and both were rewarded with the sounds of a conversation. Both heroes cautiously walked down the corridor, and found something astounding.
They were in a room large enough to be a small theatre. Where they were was an entry in the middle of a large and wide set of stadium style seats that were in front of a large screen. In front of the seats was a large metallic table that had a symbol etched into it. Three large holographic images were being projected from the table as Fury and Wade stood in front of them. The scene looked like something the two heroes had seen in Superman: The Movie.
The large screen had two split images being displayed on it. One was inside a space shuttle orbiting Earth at that very moment, while the other screen showed imaged from a camera mounted on the outside hull of the shuttle. They could see on the exterior camera that the shuttle was docked with a large satellite that two astronauts in space suits were in the process of powering up. Soon, the satellite was glowing with life as the two astronauts were giving a thumbs up.
"Are you sure this will work, General Fury?" one of the floating heads asked him.
"Positive. No matter where on Earth they try to hide, the technology in this satellite will find them." Fury said as he kept his attention glue to the two images while Wade looked like he was beaming with pride.
"The satellite is fully operational, General. Hold on, we've already detected a signature. Its currently flying over the African dessert and – and has changed course." Wade said as he began to look pale.
"They know they can't hide anymore." Fury said.
"No, General. THEY'RE GOING AFTER THE SATELITE!" Wade shouted to him.
"CAPTAIN, BRING THOSE ASTRONAUTS IN NOW! I'M ORDERING AN IMMEDIATE EVAC!" Fury shouted into the microphone that was in his ear.
That's when Ron and Kim saw something strange on the exterior camera. They didn't know what it was, but something large began to ram the satellite, and shoved it on top of the space shuttle. They could see both feeds jolt as the satellite hit. Pieces were flying off of the satellite as the two astronauts were screaming for help, still attached by their cables. Whatever was pushing both the satellite and the shuttle looked like it had the skin of a whale and was emanating a faint bluish-green glow. That's when a glow began to surround both images, causing some of the debris to burn away.
"Mayday! Mayday! We are in an uncontrolled decent! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!" the astronaut pilot shouted.
"Oh my God." Kim gasped as she saw the two floating astronauts become incinerated in the heat of re-entry.
"WE'RE BURNING UP! WE'RE BURNING UP! MOMA! MO-" The shuttle pilot screamed until both images were cut off.
"Mr. Load?" Fury asked the small computer genius.
Wade kept typing at his computer, trying to find something about what had just happened. That's when Wade closed his eyes and bowed his head. The young man just slowly shook his head without looking up.
"Both have burned up in re-entry, General. No survivors." Wade said.
Fury looked down as he tightly balled his fist. The loss of any personnel always hit Fury hard. At times like this, when there was nothing he could have done to help, made him angry beyond belief.
"How soon can you launch another satellite, General?" one of the heads asked.
"I beg your pardon?" Fury asked, glaring at them over his shoulder.
"How soon until another one can be launched?" the head asked again.
"If you hadn't noticed, I just lost some of my men out there." Fury said as he turned to face all three holographic heads.
"General, we need those satellites ASAP." The head in the middle told them.
"Until we can make sure this won't happen again, we will be begging for a repeat of this. I'm not launching another damn thing into space until I can guarantee the safety of my men." Fury said in almost a growl.
"Then we have no choice, General. Jump start the program at once." The head on the left said.
"You've got to be joking." Fury said.
"No we aren't, General. If you can't launch the satellite, then this is our last line of defense." The head on the right said.
"But the people you've recommended are nothing but a bunch of show boating fame seekers! Civilians! I need people who are serious about this!" Fury said.
"Then find them. You already have Kim Possible and Shego there, recruit them." The head in the middle said.
"I can't. Shego is a loose cannon, and I have Possible on another assignment. We're close with Project Rebirth. I just need a little more time." Fury argued.
"General, we don't have time for arguments. We need to be ready in case the worst happens. As of this moment, you are here by ordered to jump start project Avenger immediately. Or do we need to find another commander for SHIELD?" the head in the middle asked.
"I'll begin immediately." Fury growled, his scar looking like he had seen the bad side of an explosion instead of a fire fight.
"Good." The head in the middle said before all three holograms deactivated.
"Load, you better bring something warm. We move out tonight." Fury said to the young man.
"But I haven't finished programming the computers on the sub yet." Wade said.
"Then you better have it ready by 1900 hours. No buts about it." Fury said as he left through an exit near the left side of the screen.
"Let's get out of here before he finds us." Kim said to her boyfriend.
"I'm with you on that." Ron said as he followed his BFGF out of the War Room.
"I can't believe we just saw that. What was that thing, anyway?" Ron asked.
"I don't know Ron. If I didn't know any better, I could have sworn that ship looked alien." Kim said.
"You know, I bet there's more going on here than Fury's letting on. If I had the chance, I'd"
Ron didn't get to finish as he and Kim collided with someone in the hallway, sending all three to the ground.
"I'm sorry!" Ron said, trying to gather all the paperwork the person had dropped.
"No, it's my fault. I should have looked where I was going." The person said as they adjusted their glasses and took notice of who was helping. "Aren't you that Stoppable kid?"
"Y-yeah." Ron said, thinking the person he was helping would go tell Fury about him being up and about when he wasn't supposed to.
"I apologize, but he couldn't sleep and I thought some water might help." Kim said, trying her best t explain why they were there.
"You two can relax, I'm not going to report you to old Iron Pants. Technically, I'm not supposed to be up and about either. The name's Betty Ross, or Dr. Ross." The young woman said as she stood and offered her hand for a hand shake.
"Kim Possible" Kim answered and shook the Dr.'s hand.
"And I'm Ron, but you already knew that already." Ron said, feeling a little sheepish.
"You've been here for that long?" Kim asked as she sipped the hot chocolate Dr. Ross had made for all of them, after she showed them hot to get to the galley.
"Yup. All of that time, Bruce and I have been trying to figure out Fury's precious Super Soldier in a bottle. The only thing we've managed to create is the chamber itself. Bruce was close with the actual formula, but it's obvious he wasn't close enough." Betty said as she glanced at Ron.
"Right, with the changing and everything." Ron said, feeling embarrassed along with feeling a little ashamed at the same time.
"Ron, none of this was your fault. You didn't ask for that to happen, did you?" Dr. Ross asked him.
"No." Ron said.
"So there. I have been studying you as a side project. I'm pretty sure that a sedative I've modified will keep you from changing. Of course, that's if you take them whenever you feel like you're going to loose your temper again." Dr. Ross told him.
"So if Ron gets upset, he has to take a shot?" Kim asked her.
"I'm afraid so. Each dosage should last about ten hours, so it might not be such a problem." Dr. Ross said.
"I don't know. I have a problem with needles, even before Dementor stuck me." Ron said.
"He's right about that. When he went to get a flu shot, he passed out as soon as he saw the syringe. And they didn't even pull the cap off of the needle yet." Kim told her.
"Well, I don't know any other options, Ron. Until we can find a way to cure you of your situation, that shot is probably the only option you have." Dr. Ross told him as she finished off her hot coco.
"And I might need one if you don't tell me why you three are in here, and not in your designated areas!" the all too familiar voice of General Fury said as he entered the galley, and didn't look too pleased.
"I apologize sir. Ron had a nightmare, and I thought a drink might help him relax." Kim said, getting ready t take full blame.
"Then what's Dr. Ross doing here when she should be working?" Fury asked her.
"Ever hear of a coffee break?" she asked him.
"Not on my time, doctor. I need you to suit up and be ready to move in half an hour." Fury told her.
"For what?" she asked.
"A team being led by myself is fixing to move out. I need you to help Mr. Load on our expedition." Fury told him.
"General, don't you think that,"
"NOW, Dr. Ross." Fury said.
"The rest are in my lab." Dr. Ross said as she handed the sedative to Kim and left the galley.
"As for you two, I suggest you go back to bed." Fury said and left.
"Man, what bug crawled up his butt?" Ron asked.
"Who knows, Ron." Kim said as they got up and left.
Switzerland; 2 days later.
"How is the subject?" he asked as he slid his black helmet over his head.
"It looks like everything checks out so far, boss." The goon said, trying to remember what all the chained doctors had told him.
"Very good. And the added surprise we have planned?" he asked as he slid his metal gauntlets onto his forearms.
"That's been good to go for a while now." The goon answered.
"Good. Let's place our package somevhere obvious. Somevhere vhere he vill be reunited vith his friend." The small man said.
"Where's that, boss?" the goon asked.
"Drop off in the middle of Target Zone – let's see – Target Zone B." the man said after he thought about it.
"Are you sure about this?" the goon asked.
"Oh yes. Vhat perfect vay to ruin Miss Possible than to expose her sidekick to vhat he has now become? Target Zone B. I shall decide when ve activate the surprise." The man said.
"Yes, boss." The goon said and left as the man smiled behind his black helmet/mask.
SHIELD, 5 days later.
"How long has it been?" Ron asked Kim as they stood in their room, looking out at the vast open sky.
"It's almost been a week. I sure hope Wade and Dr. Ross find whatever Fury needs." Kim said to him.
"You and me both, KP. Did you find out anything on what took down that space shuttle?" Ron asked his girlfriend.
"No. Everyone here is more tight lipped about it than Larry and one of his Ultimate Robot Fighting championships." Kim said to him.
"No offence, but it is kind of your fault he doesn't say anything about that anymore." Ron said.
"We were trying to find a thief at the time." Kim said.
"I know, but the geek world is deep and mysterious." Ron said to her. "So how has it been, working for Captain Talbot?" Ron asked her.
"If you even mention that man's name again, I'll have you sucking your thumb like Drakken." Kim growled, causing Ron to slowly back off. "I'm sorry, Ron. That man is just so –infuriating. How he became Fury's second is just so,"
"Mind boggling?" Ron asked her.
"In a sense. I swear, the man doesn't know his ass from his elbow." Kim said.
"Hey, at least you don't have to worry about turning into some ugly green troll every time you get ticked." Ron told her, gazing his feet down at his shoes.
"Let's take a walk, okay?" Kim asked her friend as she noticed the sad look that was crossing his face.
"Sure thing." Ron said as the exited their quarters.
"How's the sedative? Is it doing anything?" Kim asked him.
"It keeps me calm, but I feel so sluggish most of the time. I tried to make a pizza in the galley the other day, and I missed the dough. I always catch it when I spin it!" Ron said as they walked.
"I'm sorry, Ron. If I hadn't been in such a hurry to go after Dementor,"
"Kim, its okay. You know, everything's not okay, but its okay as in you didn't do anything. I think I'm going to shut up now." Ron said.
"At least the sedative hasn't impaired other parts of your brain." Kim said as she held Ron's hand in hers, causing him to smile.
That's when they could hear a loud humming over them and felt part of the giant base begin to shudder as the humming grew louder. The base slightly jolted before the humming finally died down and stopped.
"It sounds like another air ship just docked." Kim said.
"Of all the places in this thing, they had to put us practically below the runway." Ron grumbled.
"It isn't that bad." Kim told him.
"Agent Possible and Stoppable, please report to the Medical Bay at once!" a voice over the intercom announced.
"Is anything wrong?" Kim asked loudly.
One of our teams just docked, and they brought something that you two need to see. I believe it falls in both of your ranges of expertise." The voice replied. Kim and Ron looked at each other briefly before they bolted for the nearest way to the lower corridors.
Ron and Kim were slightly nervous as they entered the large and sterile environment, not knowing what to expect. Every so often, they would pass agents wearing either lab coats or what looked like advanced haz-mat suits, and that didn't aid in calming their nerves. Why did they need both of them down here? As soon as Ron walked to the large observation window, he could see why. Kim could see his breathing increase as his eyes grew wide.
"Ron?" Kim asked, and quickly stepped aside when Ron bolted past her and went to the entrance to the quarantine zone.
The door wouldn't open no matter how much Ron pulled at it. He looked in again, cupping his hands around his eyes so he could see more easily into the quarantine zone. Ron started to knock onto the door, trying to get someone's attention that was inside. Kim glanced through the viewing window, but no one was giving Ron the time of day. All she could see were a bunch of them were gathered around one of the medical tables and were taking notes.
"Come on. OPEN UP! WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE OPEN THIS PLEASE?" Ron shouted to anyone.
"Ron, calm down." Kim said as she unclipped her ID card and slid it through the car reader on the side of the door.
A loud hiss was heard as the door open and Ron dashed into the quarantine area. Kim walked in to see Ron push past the gathered agents and huddle next to the table. Kim walked quickly and excused herself as she maneuvered through the other agents. When she saw what was n the bed, she couldn't help but smile.
"Rufus!" Kim said as she saw Ron pet the hairless rodent's head.
"Hey, little buddy. Where've you been?" Ron asked him.
That's when Kim noticed something. Rufus was very lethargic, and it seemed like he was having trouble trying to stay awake. It looked like Rufus was sick since every time she saw the little animal, he was more active than a pre-school student on a massive rush of caffeine and sugar. Something was definitely wrong with Rufus.
"Where did you find him?" Kim asked one of the agents.
"One of undercover agents found him in New York City. He had been left in a dumpster from the looks of it." A taller agent replied.
"Is he here because of what was in the dumpster?" Kim asked.
"No. We brought him here because of this." The agent said and handed Kim a note that had been tied to one of Rufus' legs.
"Has our gift been moved anyvhere?" the man asked as he sat in the middle of his own control room, the lights lowered to make it almost completely dark and only lit by the lights of screen and controls.
"Readings show that the subject is now almost a thousand feet in the air." One tech said.
"Excellent. Gentlemen, begin operation Rabid." The small man chuckled.
As Kim finished reading the note, she could have sworn she felt her pulse freeze and almost grind to a complete halt. She still couldn't believe what she had just read. She looked at her best friend, and his beloved pet. Her mind just couldn't register the information that now sat in it as she dropped the note. One of the agents picked it up from the floor and carefully read it.
"Dear Miss Possible,
I am sad to hear of your friend's condition. I feel guilty in feeling that I somehow had a small hand in it. As a token of apology, I have decided to return your sidekick's pet to him, with a few bonuses of my own. I always believed the old saying that some pets resemble their owners. Enjoy forced retirement Miss Possible. I hope you weren't fond of the buffoon or the Rodent.
Your friend,
Dementor."
"RON, GET AWAY FROM RUFUS NOW!" Kim screamed as she tried to run toward him. At that moment, it seemed like everything around her had seemed to slow to a crawl, even as she tried to scream her warning to her best friend.
"Surprise, Miss Possible." The man said as he pressed his thumb against a control panel in his chair. It instantly sent a signal from the transmitters in his lairs, swiftly across the oceans and into the skies above as it searched for its target.
Ron barley acknowledged Kim's warning when he felt part of Rufus' body tense up in his hands. When Ron looked at Rufus, he saw the little animal start to scream bloody murder as he tried his best to try and grab something at the back of his neck that wasn't there. Rufus was screaming more and more like he was in serious intense pain and Ron didn't know what to do. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head when saw the veins in Rufus body starting to turn a sickening dark green, and could have sworn that part of his body had started to grow. That's when he felt a hand yank him backwards from Rufus and almost threw him against the wall. Ron stood and tried to get back to Rufus, but found that his girlfriend was keeping him from his friend.
"Kim, let go! Something's wrong with Rufus!" Ron said.
"That's the point! Ron, Dementor did something to him!" Kim shouted at him.
"Do what?" Ron asked.
"Ron, Dementor did something to Rufus! I don't know what it is but, - Ron?" Kim asked as she saw Ron wasn't looking at her, but past her as his eyes grew wider than saucers.
When the low, almost lion like, growl came directly behind her, Kim gulped a lump of air down her throat. Slowly, Kim turned around to see what had made that sound, and had to keep herself from screaming as she saw what was behind her. Rufus wasn't on the med bed anymore, and didn't exactly look like himself anymore. The small rodent that could once fit in the palm of your hand had now grown to the size of a black bear. His beedy black eyes were now a deep, dark green. His skin had a green tint to it as well, but it looked like that shade belonged on a corpse more than it did on an animal. His muscles were ore defined than they ever had been, and every breath sounded more like a growl than anything else.
"R-Rufus?" Kim asked it.
The only response she received was a massive roar that belonged to a large dinosaur in Jurassic Park, and not to a naked mole rat.
"Come on Rufus, it me. Remember, the Ron-man? I buy you Nachos and Nacos all the time, little buddy." Ron said to the giant creature.
Rufus seemed to calm down as he heard Ron's words. His muscles were relaxing as his breathing began to slow. Maybe Rufus was still somewhere in there. Ron let his goofy grin form on his face as he tried to reach out and pet Rufus, but that's when Rufus grabbed its neck and started to scream bloody murder again. Rufus glared at the blonde boy in front of him and charged him, causing both to break through the thick quarantine wall and his tail hitting Kim; throwing her across the room.
Ron was dazed from the attack. What made Rufus do that? Ron looked up to see the mole rat stagger to its feet, shaking off debris and let out a furious growl. Ron raised himself to support his weight on his elbows, but that was as far as he got before Rufus' tail swished through the air and batted against Ron hard. Ron went sailing down the hall, bouncing along the floor like a ball before he finally skidded to a stop. Ron was wheezing fast and hard as he felt intense pain flood through his entire body. It was hard for him to breathe as he started to shutter from the pain. He was doing his best not to cry as he rolled himself over onto his back. He tried to sit up and looked back down the hall, and gulped at what he saw coming his way. Normally, Ron did his best not to use foul language since e didn't see much use for it. But now seemed a good time to use it.
"Oh, shi,"
Rufus barreled into him head on, sweeping him up in his arms as it ran on its hind legs. He slammed Ron against the wall hard as Rufus kept his arms wrapped tightly around him and began to squeeze. Ron was grimacing and yelling as he felt the pressure and pain build and build.
"RUFUS, STOP! LET HIM GO!" Kim shouted as she limped into the hallway.
"Rufus, let go! You're hurting me!" Ron said as he began to pant from the increasing pain, but Rufus just growled and roared in frustration and his own pain. "Rufus, I said – let – GO!" Ron said as he opened his eyes, and they were glowing a bright green.
"Can you tell me why you brought a rodent aboard SHIELD?" Captain Talbot asked as he read the mission report from the docked air ship.
"It turns out it was Mr. Stoppable's, sir. Fury told us to keep an eye out for it." The agent said.
"Well, General Fury isn't here at the moment, is he? I was the one that was left in command in his absence, and what I say goes. I want that rodent out of here before the day is out." Talbot said.
"What about Mr. Stoppable, sir? He is the rodent's guardian." The agent said.
"I don't care if he's the queen of Spain. That kid isn't even an agent. All that kid is, is just some freak that's apart of Fury's pet project. Get the rat off of here, or I will personally take a pistol and blow its brains out." Talbot said.
"Off the record sir, what harm can a small rodent do to SHIELD anyway?" the agent asked.
That's when the large, mutated body of Rufus came through the wall, followed by the large, eight foot tall of Ron's Hulk form falling on top of the large mole rat. Both soldiers leapt to the other side of the room as the large hulk stood to its feet and glared at its pet. He grabbed the rodent by its tail and hoisted it in the air, exposing its backside.
"BAD RUFUS!" Ron/Hulk shouted and slapped the enlarged backside hard, echoing like a gun shot across what was left of the small office.
The Rat squeaked in pain, and then let out another threatening growl. With the speed of an alligator making a death strike for its prey, Rufus had hoisted its upper half at Ron, and sank its large jaws into the thick green hide of his forearm! Ron let out a shout of pain, and slapped the rodent hard across the face that was followed by a swift and harder punch. With a yelp of pain, Rufus let go of the arm just as Ron grabbed its tail with his other hand and threw Rufus threw the other wall. With a yell of anger, it followed by crashing through what was left of the wall Ron had sent Rufus through.
As son as Ron left, Talbot grabbed what was left of the internal comm. system and activated it.
"SET SHIELD TO DEFCON TWO! I NEED SHIELD'S ALTITUDE TO BE LOWERED IMMEDIATELY!" Talbot screamed.
"Lowered? Sir, we're not be allowed to be seen!" the agent shouted.
"If I don't get those two out of here, there isn't going to be a SHIELD left! LOWER SHIELD NOW! CUT OFF ALL ACESS FROM THOSE TWO FREAKS! TRY AND MANUVER THEM INTO ONE OF THE HANGERS! LETHAL RESPONSE IS APPROVED!" Talbot screamed into the comm. system.
Kim was half running, half hobbling, as she tried to find Ron and Rufus. Internal alarms were going off all over the place as she tried to search. She had heard Talbot's announcement, and knew she had to get to Ron and calm him down before some of these people got trigger happy. But where could they be? Never had she hated the saying "Trying to find a needle in a hay stack" more than she did at that very moment. As she walked a few more yards, she saw a couple of armed SHIELD agents run down one of the hallways in front of her.
"Follow the leader." Kim said as she followed the agents.
It didn't matter how well the floating fortress had been constructed. Ron and Rufus tore through the steel lined rooms at top speed and through the floors like every piece of the mighty base were made out of cardboard. As the two friends continued to mindlessly battle each other, the brawl between Ron and Rufus had them land in the middle of one of the bathrooms; causing agents in different states of dress to run away screaming as they two behemoths tumbled and rolled onto the cold tiled floor. Ron stood to his feet just in time to see the mole rat jump and flip in front of him, kicking him in the chest with its hind legs and swatting him across his face with its tale, knocking him into a stall and collapsing the entire row. Rufus leapt at Ron again, only for Ron to turn and bash a toilet against the mole rat's head and send him crashing to the floor and cracking it. Ron then stood up and grabbed the mole rat by the scruff of hi neck and his tale. With a loud shout, he used the mole rat as a battering ram and crashed through the bathroom wall and several others until they finally stumbled through thick steel walls like they were made of tissue paper.
The sudden drop caught both of them by surprise, especially the sudden twenty foot drop onto the steel lined floor. Rufus was on its feet and started growling as it saw Ron stand up. Ron noticed and ran full speed at his old friend. Ron landed a backhanded fist across the mole rats jaw, sending him skipping across the floor. Ron was about to slam both fists into the mole rats body as it lay there, until it heard several clicking noises all around him. Ron turned and saw several agents with automatic weapons aimed dead at him. Ron glanced down and saw several dots were decorating the bare green skin of his chest.
Ron popped his knuckles into place as he balled his fists. He knew that these men were looking for trouble, and as mad as Ron was right now; he was more than willing to give them as much trouble as they wanted.
"Prepare to open fire if he moves!" Talbot shouted.
Ron was tensing his muscles as he prepared himself for the fight. He let a growl escape his throat to let them know they were going to be in all kinds of hurt by the time he was done with them.
"Ready! Aim!" Talbot shouted.
"STOP!" a very feminine shouted.
Ron looked up and saw Kim push her way through the row of agent s and ran straight to him with tears running down her face.
"Ron, don't so this. Please, Ron." Kim said to him, and saw the look of confusion of Ron's face. "Ron, no more. You stopped Rufus, now please just calm down." Kim said as she took a few gasps from crying.
"KP?" Ron asked her.
"Ron, you're hurting me. Don't do this." Kim said to him, and wrapped both her hands around one of his larger ones.
"KP." Ron said as he used one of his fingers to wipe away her tears.
"Stand down, sir?" the agent asked, following Talbot since Ron had crashed through the office.
"Not on your life. If you have to, shoot through the girl." Talbot said.
"WHAT?" The agent shouted, causing several other to look at Talbot like he had lost his mind.
"You heard me, soldier! I'm not having that damn thing on my base; no matter what shape it's in! If you have to, shoot through the bitch to take him down!" Talbot said.
"With all do respect, sir, this isn't your command. This is General Fury's command. And you have no right to give that kind of order. Team, stand down!" the soldier ordered.
"What are the hell do you think you're doing?" Talbot demanded as he saw all the SHIELD agents lower their weapon and activate their safeties.
"Doing what's right, sir. You're out of line." The agent said.
"Agent Gabriel, I'll have your commission for this. This is treason!" Talbot shouted.
"With all do respect; you can just sit on it and rotate, Talbot." Gabriel said.
As everyone was distracted, they didn't notice that Rufus was beginning to get a second breath. The changed mole rat let out a low growl of frustration as he saw his target. Without giving any warning or any clue to its victim, Rufus leapt up and latched onto Ron's back and began to repeatedly sink its large teeth into the hardened flesh of Ron's back. Ron let out several loud shouts of pain as the teeth sank into him. Ron jumped backwards, slamming into one of the fighters that sat in the hanger, trying to get his attacker off of him. When Rufus sank its teeth deeper, Ron smashed himself backwards even harder, causing the machine to almost completely bend in half. Gabriel looked at the temporary commander and saw him take aim with his rifle, trying to get a bead on Ron. Gabriel had to think fast if he wanted to save the kids life, and he could only think of one thing. And right now, he hoped to God that SHIELD had lowered enough feet for them to survive.
Gabriel elbowed Talbot in the face, turned off the safety of his weapon, and shot out a power box near the hanger doors. After the box shorted out, the hanger doors open, causing a slight decompression. Kim and the others were far enough away for it not to affect them, but Ron and Rufus' brawl had moved them close enough to the doors that they were almost instantly sucked out and into the endless skies around the base.
"RON, NO!" Kim screamed as she saw him fall from the hanger.
The tavern was filed with the smell of smoke from various cigars and cigarettes, along with the smell of stale booze and vomit. To the man who walked in there, it was perfect for the mood he was in. He removed the cigar he kept in his pocket, and lit it as he sat the bar let the smoke exhale from his lungs as he let the scented smoke waif around his face. The various smells that haunted this bar were enough to block out the smells of everyone and everything else in the bar.
"Long time, no see. What'll you have this time?" the bartender asked the man who he knew from so many times before.
"Give me some of the cheapest crap you've got that can be called a beer." The man said as he scratched part of the hair that grew on the side of his face. The way he had let the hair grow put what used to be called mutton chops to shame. Only two days worth of stubble decorated the exposed areas around his mouth and chin as he scratched there as well.
"That bad a day, huh?" the bartender asked as he grabbed a clean glass and filled it with beer from the built in tap.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." The man said as he took the glass and gulped down half of its contents.
He set the glass down and let the its contents work his magic on his body, starting to feel part of him relaxing. His mind kept reflecting back to unanswered questions he had been asking for years, and to events he had no clue how he had gotten involved in. As he exhaled a deep breath, he glanced down at his hands. In between each of his knuckles was a barley visible scar. He knew too well hw he got them, and was dreading the new set that would replace them.
As he started to drink down the last of his beverage, what almost sounded like an explosion echoed outside and caused dust and rubble to blow into the bar and the ground to quake. The other people in the bar were talking and shouting as the dust settled. The bar quickly cleared of all its customers except for the man as he finished his beer and put the cigar back in his mouth.
"It never ends." The man grumbled as he left a couple of dollars under his glass and stood up to leave while dusting some of the debris off of his brown leather jacket.
As he stepped outside, he saw dozens of people were running and screaming in terror, away from the block the bar was sitting. This caused the man to raise one eyebrow in curiosity. One thing about living in New York, things didn't stay too boring for long. Some of the people were shouting and pointing at the sky as they ran. Out of curiosity, he glanced upward and noticed that something large was above them. He covered his eyes with his hand, and squinted to try and make it out. As soon as he recognized it, he tilted his head in confusion.
"It ain't like Old Iron Pants to do something that stupid." The man said to himself.
As he started to turn, he stopped as he saw a large crater in the concrete. Something large and heavy had fallen fast and hard to make a crater that big, but the man was looking at what was inside the crater. The man took out his lit cigar and began to crush it in his hand as he realized what made the explosion and what was left of it.
"My bike." The man growled as he began to feel his blood boil. Something had destroyed the one thing he took care of and prized, his motorcycle.
As he took a few steps closer, his nose caught a certain smell. A scent. No, there were two scents, and they didn't smell right. There was something else that had been added to them, something that almost made the hairs in his nostrils curl. Whatever it was, they were responsible for flattening his motorcycle flatter than one of half-pints pancakes. He followed the scent further up the street, walking through destruction that reminded him of a war zone during the battle for Red Square in World War II.
As he followed the massive path of destruction, he could hear sounds like grunts and growls. He stepped into what was left of an antique store, and saw what was making the sounds. One thing looked like some kind of giant rat with skin that made it look like it was practically at death's door. The other thing was some kind of large man. Whatever he was, he was one tall S.O.B. and broad. He looked to be about eight and a half feet tall. Saying his muscles were huge would have been an understatement. He didn't know why, but both of these things were going at each other tooth and nail. That wasn't going to stop him though. There was no way he was going to let them get away with what they did to his motorcycle.
"HEY! NUMB NUTS!" he shouted, causing both fighters to stop and look at the new intruder. "You sons of bitches TRASHED MY BIKE!" the man shouted as three razor sharp metal claws extended from between his knuckles on each of his hands and causing the large green man to raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"It's Adamantium tasting time, boy." The man growled before he launched himself at the large man, claws first.