Smackdowns and Breakdowns
Phasing up through the floor, Vlad couldn't stop the relieved sigh from leaving his lips. No one had messed around with Bulma's lab yet. A remarkable bit of good luck since Wade had been taken from this very room.
"A stroke of luck I shouldn't have to count on." He muttered under his breath, thoroughly frustrated with himself. He'd been far too keen to get to Bulma's secret bunker when he should have come here the moment Bertrand made him aware of the little snag with Henry's gadget. This was the only place left that he might find the information he needs without seriously endangering both himself and the success rate of his next plan. If he wanted to win, then he couldn't afford acts of carelessness like that again.
"At least other people's haste is still working in my favor." He mused as he reached Henry's computer. The boy left in such a hurry that he left it on and unprotected. That should make his job easier. Pushing the chair aside, he grabbed the mouse and go to work, looking through all of the boy's open files. Most of it was expected, schematics and notes of Kim's new battle suit and the components being added to it. Interesting, but all useless at the moment. The more personal files weren't all that helpful either. Or rather, they would have been if he'd seen them yesterday. They mostly consisted of ways to upgrade his own gear, taking both the technology the others possessed and his own abilities into account. Including his magnetic talent. If he'd seen this before, his stooges would have been far more prepared. It was a very frustrating thought, but again, not one that was worth paying any mind right now. Right now, he needed a location and, if he was lucky, more information on the origins of Henry's power.
Unfortunately, he wasn't having much luck on either end. The scowl on his face rapidly grew deeper as he looked through file after file to no avail. Searching the boy's history wasn't helping either. Despite only using the computer for maybe half a day, the history browser was extensive and none of it suggested anything associated with tracking or geography. He'd have to check every file and program one by one if he wanted his answer. A task that would take far too long. At best, he had minutes before someone came through that open door.
He discovered only moments later just how right he was as a flash of eerie, green light consumed his vision and blew him cleanly off his feet.
"AARRRGHHH!" The blast left him crashing into the ground, but it didn't stop there. He could barely see anything but green light as it ripped at his body, the agonizing sensation his skin peeling away screaming from every inch.
"So, which creep are you?" A voice called over his screams, striking a very familiar chord even as he put all of his focus on keeping himself invisible and, even more importantly, together. "Technus? Skulker? A villain of Kim's that kicked the bucket?"
'Jasmine.' Of course, it just had to be her. Forcing an eye open, he had just enough time to see her in her armor and a specter deflector over it before he was forced to shut it again. This was very bad. She'd recognize him instantly if he so much as whispers one more word and with her gear, not only could he not touch her, let alone save her from the explosion, but a fight between them would draw too much attention. Even his pawns could not be allowed to know just who was pulling the strings here. The slightest bit of exposure was still far too much of a risk. Not to mention, this was one of Jack's much more dangerous inventions. It was only his human flesh that was stopping Vlad from being completely ripped apart. Even as it was, he wasn't sure he could still fight. He had no choice, he had to flee.
'Butter biscuits!' His face clenching at the ridiculous levels of concentration he had to reach, he tried to turn intangible, only to completely fail and immediately resort to more volatile action. It took far longer than he liked or needed, but it was with a loud groan of both pain and relief that he managed to blast the ground beneath him, thankful that the resulting boom managed to drown out his voice. Fall through the new hole, Vlad let gravity do its thing just long enough for Jazz to curse before taking control and flying right though the wall and right out of the building. Barely paying any attention to where he was going, he flew right into another, seemingly empty, building and blew out the security camera before crashing straight onto the ground once more with a weak groan, black rings forming at his waste before moving across his body and reverting him to human form.
Ragged breaths leaving his lips, Vlad tried to pull himself back up, but his shaking limbs quickly gave out once more, dropping his into the carpet. They couldn't support him. His powers had failed him. He'd been caught in that ecto-molecular weapon for far too long. It was incredibly frustrating and embarrassing, but that one shot had almost taken him out. And it was all his fault. He let himself get carried away. He let his curiosity get the better of him. He got hasty and arrogant. And, most of all, he let himself get blindsided by the one person who held and knew how to operate anti-ghost tech.
Now Ryo's location was lost to him. Capsule Corp would be reduced to rubble long before he'd get back on his feet again. He'd have to find another way to track him. But that was hardly the most important thing on Vlad's mind right now.
No, while his failures and the incompetence of his puppets was there, mostly he was concerned with just how long he could stay here without getting caught. There was no way he was getting up again anytime soon.
He may have just ruined his attempts to remain undetected all on his own.
….
Well, Jazz wasn't sure whether to take that as a loss or a victory. On the bright side, that should have ended the threat of the ghost. Which was a huge boon. However, the resulting boom that came with its escape could have easily drawn the attention of half of the invaders. That wasn't in her plan.
Not that she had much of one to begin with. She was lucky that she'd woken up before a guy in a bodysuit came into Henry's room. Her body still hurt all over, but the guy was all muscle and no brains. Playing dead made it easy to uppercut him. Hitting his head on the way down, Jazz had been more concerned that she'd killed him than at the chances of him getting back up and only stuck around long enough to make sure he was still breathing before sneaking out as far and fast as she could.
Quickly realizing just how bad this was, she'd given up on the idea of getting any help and headed for the lab and her stash of Fenton Tech as fast as she safely could. Reaching her destination, extremely relieved both at having gotten there unseen and finding her gear still in place, she almost strode right in before the clicking and tapping of an active computer met her ears. It wasn't exactly rocket science to figure out what was going on when she saw Henry's computer in motion with no one before it.
Taking it down should have been quick and easy. She'd caught it completely oblivious to the world around it and the Fenton Peeler usually left any ghost struck with it weak and defenseless. She even had it in a prolonged stream and yet it got away like that? It had to be one powerful ghost to pull that off, a disconcerting revelation all on its own.
"But, hopefully, not the main issue right now." She muttered to herself, shutting down the Peeler. Voices and pounding feet were already echoing through the area, she had to get out of there fast. Grabbing her purse from her desk, she ran to a table full of gear that was being considered for Kim's suit and grabbed as much of it as she could, along with the incomplete prototype and took off as fast as she could. When the thugs appeared a moment later, she'd already completely disappeared.
….
"What do you mean, you can't find her?" This was absolutely ridiculous! Not only had a wounded Jazz overpowered the thug sent to grab her, she'd managed to get all the way to the one place with ghost hunter equipment, which hadn't been ransacked yet, and no one noticed a thing until she blasted a ghost! And now she'd completely disappeared! What was the point of having people on the security cameras if they couldn't keep track of one single person? As usual with this mob, Spectra was far from happy. "How are you all so incompetent?"
"Debris from the blast knocked the camera." A thug replied with a shrug. "What can you do?"
"Stop her from getting here in the first place, that's what!" Spectra screeched, viciously ripping out the newly sprung flower petals. "She is the best fighter these goodie goodies have and you not only let her get away, but let her arm herself! Does that sound like a good thing to you?"
"Drakken, do settle down. She's just one girl." Dementor drawled, fingering a piece of Fenton Tech. "She may have experience fighting, but she is no Kim Possible or Danny Phantom and she's all alone. I doubt that we will have much trouble dealing with her."
"I don't care how little you think of her! I want her-"
"Sir?" A henchman broke in, completely unphased by Spectra's furious glare as he lowered a phone. She needed a far more intimidating host. "We've had a sighting of Kim Possible reported in by a…BeeBee? She's in the city."
"Well, at least someone's doing their job right." Spectra snapped, completely ignoring the fact that she had no idea who BeeBee was. "Make sure she keeps a constant eye on her and tell everyone to get everything ready. Kim Possible's televised death is finally at hand." That did still manage to bring a laugh from her. Particularly because when they were done, she could simply blow up Capsule Corp and be done with this whole thing. Preferably with these fools all still inside.
The pleasure of that thought left her so distracted that she didn't even notice the fish monster slipping away. "Sweet! Look out, squeeb, here I come!"
….
"Don't you think you should slow down a bit? Or better yet, just wait for Felix?"
"We don't have time to wait, Ron! Wade and our friends are in serious trouble."
"Yeah, but what good is reaching them if we wear ourselves out first?" Kim just grunted in response and pressed on, sliding over another car and pressing on. Ron could only give a loud, defeated sigh before following after her.
The two of them had gotten a ride back into the city quickly enough after Bulma's emergency call. Seeing as they'd popped up in the home of her family friends, the middle aged man was more than willing to give them a ride and doubled the speed limit in the process. The problem was once they entered the city, it was impossible to keep driving. With all the people scurrying around, they didn't even make it to the closed off roads before they brought to a complete halt. Of course, Kim had immediately called Felix and Monique for a lift, but Monique had separated from the hover cars and Felix was across town, so it was going to take him a while to reach them. Needless to say, Kim wasn't interested in waiting around and had been vaulting over and around every obstacle in her path ever since.
She didn't care how much it took. Every step she took closed the gap between her and Felix that much faster and it was time they needed to save. Every second that passed could be one too late to save her friends. She refused to lose anyone else! She'd dive right in and fight the entire army if she had to. Who cared if she was exhausted when she got there? She'd just have to walk it off. She had Ron by her side, it would be fine. Even if she stumbled, he was a powerhouse. Not that she would, she could do anything. They could do this.
"Have you even got a plan? Because you sure haven't shared it." Ron called, his voice a little further off and airier than before. "Charging in from…halfway across town…that's not exactly a…well, it's asking for trouble." He finished with a huff.
"Get there. Scope out an entrance point. Sneak in. Ruin the bad guys' plan. It's pretty standard for us." Kim answered curtly, swinging around a light post and into the next street, a little relief loosening the tightness in her chest as the giant, round, yellow building finally came into view, if only by a little. It was only a few blocks away, still standing and completely intact. Those were good signs. She still had time.
"Yeah, but this is just about every villain we've ever faced all in one place and they've seriously stepped up their game. Plus the crazy security of Capsule Corp is being turned against us. I don't think our standard deal's gonna cut it!" Ron called after her as he climbed onto the top of the street light, taking a breather as he looked over the area.
Kim didn't bother responding, she just pressed on, forcing her body to pick up the pace. She knew Ron would follow her, regardless of his doubts and they were so close now! Who cared if he was right? The building was right there. They could come up with an actual plan after they'd saved Wade and had his help, maybe Bulma too. They knew the place and what was going on, they could tell her the best way to go about this. They could give her what she needs, just like Wade always-
"KIM!" Before Kim could even realize what was happening, Ron was already crashing into her back and knocking her flat against the ground a mere half a second of sizzling heat passed over their heads. The boom of it hitting a wall behind them didn't even start before Ron was flinging them into a roll, his scream drowning out the clang of the two ninja stars hitting the ground right in front of her wide eyes. Or more accurately, where her head had been only seconds before.
"I told you that ray gun was too flashy for assassination."
"Your throwing stars didn't do any better!"
"That's because your laser gave us away!" A Japanese boy in a black Gi snapped, his irritated eyes shifting from the duo for just a second to glare at his partner. The dark skinned man in black and yellow was much more familiar to Kim.
"Senor Junior. Got a new friend?" Kim smirked, trying to hide just how rattled she was as she and Ron got back to their feet.
"No. I'm just stuck with him." Junior pouted, the mere thought seemingly causing him physical pain as he sank into himself before aiming his laser again.
"KP, that's Fukushima. He's a traitor from the ninja school that almost got Yuri killed." Ron cried, dropping into his own standard stance as the boy in question pulled a sword off of his back.
"Another ninja? Well, that's actually a relief." Kim smirked brazenly, shifting her weight and readying to move. "We've handled them so many times, countering their style is second nature. I'll give this fight ten seconds."
"Your arrogance is insulting, wench." Fukushima sneered before ignoring her glare as he turned a snarl to Ron. "You're fortunate that I feel nothing for you. I only want the outsider who ruined my life."
He was off before the others could even blink, his sword lancing for Ron's throat. Letting instinct take over, Ron immediately leaned back onto his hands and twisted his leg into a kick at the hilt, his other foot planting into Fukushima's chest the moment the blade was safely pointed to the sky.
Both heroes leaped and flipped away a second later as Junior started firing again, easily avoiding every shot as the weaved and rolled their way toward him. "Ha HA!" Jumping high, Ron aimed a clawed hand right for Junior's face, forcing him to duck as flew overhead, just a second before Kim shot in and swung her arm right into the side of the laser, breaking the barrel off and forcing the rest of it from Junior's hands.
"You broke my favourite ray gun!"
"Aww, send me the…bill?" Kim retorted with a right hook, only to stare, stunned as Junior caught it. Before she could even register what happened, his other arm had already grabbed her wrist and flung her over his shoulder, sending her smacking and rolling across the ground with a scream.
"You forgot Shego trained me, didn't you?" Junior called, a smug smirk crossing his face as he stared down at her.
"Yeah, I did." Kim admitted as she pulled herself back to her feet, taking a little comfort as she felt Ron's hand check over her arm and shoulder, before dropping into an offensive stance with a smirk of her own. "But Shego's way better than you."
Fukushima chose that moment to throw knives their way, forcing the heroes apart again before leaping between them with back fists aimed for both opponents. Both Kim and Ron managed to block and deflect them, but were quickly forced further apart by a string of fast jabs, chops and kicks aimed for their necks and vital organs. Junior dived right back in at that, slamming a hard open palm into Kim's shoulder while she was distracted and sending her stumbling further away. Though it only took her a second to adjust and had more than enough time to block the next with her forearm before retaliating with one of her own. The two fell into a flurry of punches, kicks and blocks, though it was clear to everyone, including the now nervous looking Junior, that Kim was quickly taking control. Any doubt was immediately destroyed as a kick to his chest was used to fling her into a back flip and a serious jab to his gut, sending his flailing form crashing onto his back.
Meanwhile, Ron was struggling a bit more. Fukushima was coming in with a constantly fast pace, his weapons flashing from every direction. The sword was gone, Ron had had no trouble catching and tossing that away early on, but there were plenty of knives hidden in his clothes. There was no time to think or focus, only instinctual reactions were saving him from a stabbed gut or slashed arteries.
"Did spend your life savings on these or something?" Ron cried, slapping another knife across the street only to drop and roll as it to was immediately replaced. "How can you move without cutting yourself to shreds?"
"Just shut up and die already!" Fukushima snapped with a growl, shooting a kick for the jugular and only getting angrier as it missed. "I lost everything because of you. My place at the school! My honor! My chance to rule under Monkey Fist!" Every claim was punctuated with another attempted death shot, only for him to grow more and more frustrated as each and every one to be avoided. "Even my family disinherited me. Turned their backs on me with disgrace. I was left with nothing more than the clothes on my back and it. Was all. Your. FAULT!"
Sadly for him, his temper provided all the breathing room Ron needed. The angrier he got, the more forceful, but less refined and precise his attacks became. A smack at a stab, a twist of the arm at the next, a weave around a kick and a twist of his leg around Fukushima's, he sent the ninja sprawling face first into the ground.
"Why do I always get blamed for everyone else's lousy life choices?" Ron growled, planting a knee into his back and snagging his arms. "You committed evil and ruined yourself. All I did was stop you."
"Another thing to blame you for." Another, much more guttural voice sneered, making Ron tense in recognition before a green, slimy arm slammed into his chest and flung him away. "The utter embarrassment of losing to a squeeb like you."
"Ah great! Gill's here too." Ron grunted, his breath hitching as he pulled himself back to his feet.
"Like I'm giving anyone else the chance to do you in before me, Squeeb." Gill sneered, his body fading from sight as Fukushima leaped back up and at him again. Though this time, Ron was well prepared. By the time the ninja reached him, Ron was already weaving, bypassing every strike before snagging an arm and flinging Fukushima over his shoulder, following it with a kick right to the gut while he was still airborne. Fukushima could only choke as the wind was knocked right out of him before crashing into a wall and crumbling to the ground.
Ron didn't stop there however. The moment his foot touched the ground again, he sprang off of it, narrowly avoiding Gill's next swing. Flashing blue on the way down, he landed a good ten feet down the street with a stomp, sending a small fissure surging back the way he came and left the unseen fish monster sputtering as he stumbled away.
"I see you got a few new tricks, Ronny. Not bad. But-"
"You're still better, I'm a buffoon, blah, blah, blah!" Ron interrupted, his eyes moving wildly over the area. "Normally I'm all for the cheesy villain banter, but we're in rush. So what do you say we skip to the part where we put you back in a fish bowel and I can moving on to saving my new friends from your new friends?"
"Like you'll get the chance!" Gill growled, his camouflage flickering as he charged in. Grinning at the sight, Ron opted to do the same, jumping right over Gill before they could collide and slamming a palm into his back.
"Yeah, I think it'll be easy enough." Ron grinned down at him, dropping into his default, open palmed stance as a furious, stumbling Gill forced himself to a stop. "Fish boys got nothing on da monkey master!"
"Oh yeah?" Gill growled, puffing himself up before smirking towards Kim and Junior. "And how do they go defending damsels from blonde robots?"
"Blonde robots, wha..." Ron started, looking back over his shoulder, only to pale as a very familiar form appeared at the far end of the street. "Oh no."
Honestly, Kim was feeling pretty good about this. Even after she noticed Gill off to the side, her confidence hadn't declined. Ron was all over the fish freak and the ninja was still struggling not to puke on himself, so all Kim had to worry about was Junior, whose fighting style was becoming easier and easier to deal with each and every second.
Senor Junior's style simply was a basic version of Shego's and Kim knew hers by heart at this point. The biggest differences seemed to come solely due to Junior's bulkier body, which honestly only did Kim a favor. It made the style slower and sloppier, easy to block or avoid. It gave her plenty of time to multitask.
"So why are you out here, Junior?" Kim asked, almost casually redirecting a slash and swinging into a backfist. "Not enough hair products in the building?"
"Oh, you noticed too." Junior muttered, a deep, displeased frown crossing his brow as he stepped back and kicked. "That place is a nightmare for my hair and skin. But honestly, I'm just being dragged along. As usual." He sighed dramatically.
"Oh, poor little mass murderer." Kim cooed sarcastically, dropping down and sweeping Junior's other foot out from under him, sending him crashing on his butt with a scream.
"Ow, ow! I haven't murdered anyone." Junior cried, scrambling away as Kim launched another vicious kick. "All I've done is stand in a room and get yelled at for being stupid. Oh, and tried to fry you after Fukushima and Gill broke away from the plan so they could get at your boyfriend and dragged me along so I couldn't tell anyone about the desertion. Or the command given to the BeeBee, whatever that is."
"The what?" Kim cried, freezing in place as pure terror flooded her veins.
"The Bebe." Junior said again, pulling himself to his feet. "It reported you were nearby and asked for order confirmation. So Fukushima told it to assist him in defeating Ron Stoppa-argh!"
"Kim, we gotta run. Or hide or something, I don't know!" Ron cried, appearing out of nowhere as his heel slammed into where Junior's shoulder and neck met, ploughing him into the ground as his panicked eye bored right into Kim's.
"I know, A Bebe's near-"
"It's right over-ARGH!" Ron interrupted, only for both of them to scream in pain as what felt like a trucked crashed them, ripping both of them into the air before crashing and rolling on the ground. Loud, pained groans filling the air, the two of them barely even began forcing themselves up before they were struck again, screaming as they bounced and rolled down the road.
"Aww man. That…that r-really hurts." Ron grunted, gritting his teeth as he forced himself into a sitting position, leaning heavily against a car. His entire body was wracked with pain, especially his chest and left hip, the points of the last two impacts. It was a miracle and a half that he didn't have any broken bones. He was confident a few might be cracked though.
"Ron…you, you've got to stop her." Kim moaned, drawing Ron's attention, only for him to freeze, wide eyed at the sight before him.
Kim looked like an absolute mess. She was battered and bruised, lying with her back jammed against the gutter, but what really stood out most was the fear, the desperation and, most of all, the tears in her eyes. Her lungs were quickly demanding more and more air, quickly passing into hyperventilation as her panic consumed her. She had no chance against a Bebe. She didn't have the speedster shoes that allowed her to meet their speeds. After what happened last time, the technology was deemed far too dangerous to use at that level. After all, she got stuck at hyper speed, coming out of it could have easily killed her. They were never going to make them again and without them, she was about as affective against the robot women as a rag doll. Ron was their only hope. "Ron…quickly! You-you have to…"
"I'm…" Ron started, floating as his monkey aura took form, only for another unseen blow to send him flying over the car with a scream. He managed to catch himself on his hand and spring away, trying again, but he didn't even make it back to the ground before another invisible blow sent him sailing again.
"RON!"
"I…I'm ok, KP." Ron gasped, struggling to breathe as he slowly forced himself back up on shaky feet. Giving it one final shot, he closed his eyes and let his power surge out, ripping everything off the ground, eliciting startled cries from all three villains and held it all in place, a loud sigh of relief passing his lips as the next blow finally failed to land. However, when he opened his eyes, a deep frown crossed his face as he looked over the area. No matter where he looked, he still couldn't find the Bebe.
"Aww man! How…how is she still going?" Ron groaned, his voice hitching as his fear resurfaced. Even if he couldn't see it, he should have caught the robot. It should be floating around helplessly with the rest of the mechanical constructs. He was focusing on holding everything right where it was, its speed couldn't have let it break out, right? Did he underestimate just how strong it was? Or-
"Ron, look out!" Kim yelled, her panic drawing his attention just in time to see a load of sludge surge his way. His panicked tripled at that, but there was nothing he could do. It took all of his focus not to snap into his instinctive reaction to repel it or fling everything in the way, for fear of hitting Kim or one of their opponents and most likely kill them. He just managed to force his hold to let go before he was struck.
"AAHHH! EWW! I did not miss this." Ron shouted, the sludge consuming him from the neck down and smacking him into a wall. He was fortunate that the gunk had encircled his body and cushioned the impact, preventing any further damage, but that was where his luck ended as he struggled against it. "It's so gross and squishy and…crap, I still can't break free! What the heck is this stuff made of?"
"No idea. Never mattered." Gill smirked, strutting straight up into Ron's face with Fukushima picking up one of his knives right behind him. "And trust me, it's the least worries. In a moment, it won't matter at all."
"No!" At that, Kim was charging right in before she even realized that she'd stood up, her fear dulling every ache as she moved. She had to save him, she couldn't let this happen, she needed to- "ACK!"
She never even got close. Before she could even blink, cold metal clenched tight around her neck and ripped her off of her feet.
"Target: Kim Possible. Threat level: Minimal." That only made Kim's dread and panic grow as she struggled against the metal hand, kicking wildly and flailing in the air, desperately trying to break free to no avail. No matter what she did, those fingers wouldn't budge. She couldn't get free, couldn't breathe, her heart was slamming like thunder in her chest and her vision was darkening. She was stuck, she needed help, Ron had too…no he couldn't help her. He was trapped too. He was about to die too. She didn't get to him in time. She couldn't save him and he sure couldn't save her. She couldn't do anything but watch as Gill and Fukushima moved in for the kill and suffocate.
She should have listened to him. Ron warned her that running in without a plan was suicide, but she didn't listen and now they were both going to die. It was all her fault. She was caught. She was being choked and forced to watch…no, this couldn't happen! It couldn't, it couldn't, it COULDN'T!
"Impossible!" The Bebe exclaimed as Kim suddenly found herself falling. She had no idea how, but she'd broken free. How was a mystery to her, one second she was putting all she had left into panicked writhing and the next, a flash of purple had her slipping right through the blue hands.
Hitting the ground with a thump and another flash of light, Kim could do little more than sit there as she took in loud gasps of air, but the commotion was enough to draw all of the boys' attention, if only for a moment.
Fortunately for them, that moment was all that was needed. For just as the boys were turning back to Ron and the Beebee processed the situation and reached for her again, a red blur came out of nowhere and crashed right into the robot and took off with it, bringing a thunderous boom to everyone's ears half a second later it smacked the robot into a car.
"Sorry, robo diva, the babe's off limits." Everyone could only stare as the blur came to a stop to reveal a humanoid duck in red tights and a mask directing a smug smirk at his target before turning it slowly around the entire group. "No beauty will ever be harmed when The Really Incredibly Fast Guy arrives!"
"The Really Incredibly Fast Guy? That name is just ridiculous." Junior muttered, shaking his head.
"And a talking duck isn't?" Fukushima retorted as he flung his arm back. "Let's just end the freak."
"Now that's just rude." The duck boy glared, easily sidestepping the blade thrown his way. "I'm not a freak, I'm a pest. Just watch."
"New target acquired." The Bebe called, bringing him to a halt as she appeared before him. "Subject: Unknown poultry. Threat level: minimal."
"Excuse you, robo lady, no one looks down on Huey Duck!" Huey snapped, his smirk quickly shifting to an irritated frown at the robot's smug voice. "When I'm done, all that will be left of you will be parts for my next sweet ride."
"Bring it on, poultry. Bebe is perfect." The two disappeared before the robot had even finished talking, a red blur streaking around the area taking their place as shrill squeaks, bangs and shrieks pierced everyone else's ears. They could only stare in amazement as the blur randomly zipped around, stopping, weaving and sometimes completely disappearing from sight. The frequently shattering windows, jerking cars and Huey's occasional cries and broken, snarky comments were the only clues as to what was happening.
"Weird. But not my problem." Gill shrugged, shaking his head a few moments later before turning back to Ron. "Now where were we, Squeeb?"
"The part where you get your get butt kicked by a short guy with fire coming from his feet?" Ron asked, offering the fish boy a big, cheesy smile.
"How pathetic do you think I-ARGH!" Gill growled, only to scream as a fist slammed into his back, sending him crashing into Ron's cocoon, narrowly missing the blonde's head as he smacked his own into the wall.
"Tried to warn you." Ron stated cheerfully as the stunned mutant groaned, before turning his attention to his savior.
"I can't believe I came to help you and the first thing you do is make fun of my height!" Jake glared, already twisting his body into a roundhouse kick for Fukushima, a strike that was just narrowly avoided only for a burst of fire to leave his heel and blow the wide eyed ninja right off of his feet. "I mean, that's just rude, dawg!"
"It was an observation, not an insult. But if you beat Gill to with two L's, I'll make it up to you with a Naco later."
"With a wha?" Jake asked, only to forget it a second later as Gill whipped back around with a roar and leapt at him. Jumping back to avoid him, Jake had to stumble for a second as the red blur shot by behind him, but easily ducked and slid away from the next two lunges and fists that followed.
Only growing angrier, Gill clasped his hands and swung them down the moment he was towering down on the new contestant and smirked as he finally manage to land a hit, only to hiss and rip his arms away as his target not only refused to move, but managed to send a searing heat through his hands. "ARGH! What kind of freak are you?"
"Dude, have looked in a mirror? I wouldn't throw that word around so casually if I were you." Jake retorted with a smirk, raising the arm that blocked the blow and pulling back his sleeve to reveal his red, scaled skin and claws. "But to answer your question, I'm dragonic." With that, he gave Gill a closer look with a punch to the face.
"A dragon's gotten involved?" Fukushima hissed, shakily pulling himself up on three limbs while his other arm moved protectively over the burn. "Why? This…this risks ex-exposure. Why would he…get involved in human affairs?"
"Aww, you can't find that easy answer?" Another voice called, this one female and practically dripping with sass. Whipping his head to the left, he couldn't stop a curse from falling from his lips. How had this girl managed to get so close to him unnoticed? Not only that, but she was right out in the open and had her wrist launchers aimed right at him for an easy shot. That was an inexcusable mistake.
Forcing himself up, he scrambled back, trying to put some distance between the two of them. This was Monique, she wasn't a great fighter, if he could just get the time to regather himself then he could take her no problem. Sadly for him, his step back almost had him falling again. He'd taken too many hits in the last twenty four hours and the latest one screamed with every shift of his torso. He couldn't so much as stabilize himself before Monique fired and twisted her ropes and he was fresh out of blades. Before he even realized what had happened, he was securely tied up and flung forward right into Monique's kick by the retracting rope. "BURGH!"
"Sweet dreams." Monique just grinned down at him as he fell, groaning until his eyes closed and his body went limp. He was out cold. But just to be safe, Monique took another small rope and tied up his legs. He was a ninja, it was better safe than sorry.
Besides, it wasn't like the others were going to bother her at all. They already had their hands full.
Putting in serious effort not to scream, a visibly shaking Senior Junior was almost tiptoeing away from the fight, heading back toward the alley they'd come from. The moment he reached it, all subtlety was tossed aside as he bolted with a scream. He had to get away, back to his father. It was the only way to be safe and he had to warn the others about the new additions, otherwise he could be… "AAHHH!"
"Caught and sent back to jail?" Felix finished, a cocky grin firmly in place as he swooped down and snared him by the pants with his chair's claw. "Do you say everything out loud?"
"Let me go! I am an innocent bystander being dragged along for the ride!" Junior cried, struggling against the claw only to scream and grab firmly onto its arm for dear life. "And this thing is giving me a killer wedgie!"
"Oh, don't worry, that won't be an issue much longer." Felix chuckled as he turned them around and finally released his captive just off the ground. Hitting it with a yelp, the unprepared villain stumbled like a drunk for a few seconds before screaming again as Monique appeared before him and casually tripped him.
"AH! My perfect nose!" Junior screeched as pained exploded through his face, only to scream again when he failed to reach for it. "Hey what…"
"Thanks Junior. I've been meaning to practice my hogtying." Monique smirked, high fiving Felix as he set his chair back on the ground.
"NOOOO!" Junior cried, tears pouring down his face as he struggled wildly against his bindings and only succeeding in tightening the knots. That was one villain that wasn't going anywhere. "I cannot wear those ugly, jumpsuits again! Bonnie will think I'm hideous."
"Jeez, I don't know whether to throw him in jail, or just make him wear orange in public forever. With the way he's carrying on, it might actually be deemed a fate worse than death." Monique muttered, rolling her eyes.
"He's actually concerned about Bonnie's opinion. It would not surprise me." Felix shook his head in amusement, rolling himself forward as he pulled a lip balm container out of his pocket. "But we'll leave that to the courts. For now, let's just let him take a nap." He finished before taking a deep breath and opening the lip balm right in Junior's face.
"No, no, I don't want…good God, that…stinks." Junior's struggling was over the moment the smell met his nose, his head flopping against the ground.
"Gotta love Wade's knockout gas."
"Clearly, you've never had to smell it, Felix."
"Make way!" Jake called before the wheelchair bound boy could respond, diving right between them and leaving them scrambling away with startled cries as a surge of swamp goop followed him. Springing to his feet, Jake leaped straight up with a burst of fire, easily flipping over the next shot as a rampaging Gill followed after him.
"Good luck dodging now, loser!" Gill snarled, spitting up another shot right for his airborne opponent, only to growl again as Jake put his hands together and propelled himself over it with another small combustion, landing clean and comfortably on his feet.
"Now, now, fire and flight's kinda my thing, muck chump." Smirking as Gill only grew more frustrated, Jake surged in, his arms shifting back to their scaled form. Gargling a growl, Gill charged right at him, leaping into a kick that Jake easily skidded around before slamming a fist right into his side.
"GAAHHH!" Gill could only scream as he thumped, bounced and rolled across the ground. Gritting his teeth as he came to a stop, Gill struggled his way up onto his hands and knees only to almost fall right back down as his side screamed and pulsed with pain. 'How does that runty, little dweeb have so much strength? I…I got to make sure he can't touch me again.' He refused to admit it out loud, but there was no way he could take another one of those shots, so, before he even managed to pull himself to his feet, he let himself drop into a roll toward a few cars and fade from sight.
"Huh. Cute trick." Jake commented, blinking as he lost track of the fish boy. Not that it worried him in the slightest. He'd just have to- "Whoa!"
Avoid a streak apparently, for at that moment, a flash of red, a gust of wind and a panicked scream flew by within an inch of him before smacking the ground, becoming much more audible and less blurred as he rolled down the street.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,whoa, wh-OW!" Huey cried, finally coming to a stop, face down on the concrete. "That's a lot of stars." He muttered, forcing his head up off his beak with a low, long groan. Well, he was still there, but very disorientated and the robot was still nowhere to be seen. That was a serious problem.
"Are you ok…Huey?" Monique asked, a little unsure as she kneeled beside him, Felix moving protectively in front of them as she rested the duck's head on her legs.
"Uuhhh…nothing a kiss won't fix, babe." Huey muttered with a dazed, but still flirty smile as the multiple visions of Monique slowly solidified into one. Monique just gave him an amused huff in response before dropping his head.
"He'll live."
"But will we?" Felix asked, biting his lip as nervous eyes scanned the area as Jake joined them, guarding their rear. "I still can't see the robot."
"I knocked her the other way, but she'll be back in a sec." Huey grunted as he stood back up. "She's way faster than me, not to mention crazy strong and hard to hurt with that metal body. I don't stand a chan-WHOA!" Before he could even finish his sentence, he was right back at it, taking off in a flash and snagging Kim from where she still sat, gasping far too heavily, before dropping her in Felix's lap and taking off again. Felix barely even registered what had happened and that Kim was still struggling to breathe before whirlwinds and clangs were rattling all around him, eliciting startled shouting from everyone and forcing him to tighten his grip on the redhead.
"Guys, look out!" Ron yelled, his voice barely heard over all the racket. However, it was too little, too late, for they barely managed to look up before shot after shot of sludge slammed into them. Between their speed and the winds slowing the heroes' movements, none of them managed to avoid being struck. Even Huey found himself smacked down and stuck on Felix' feet.
"That ought to deal with you losers." Gill cackled, his voice floating over their gasps and shouting as the teens struggled against the goop. "Now nothing's going to stop me from wasting you, Ronny."
"Aww man! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING FAST! BEFORE I'M DEAD AND YOU ALL GROW HORNS OR FEATHERS!" Ron screamed, struggling wildly at his own cocoon with renewed vigor.
"Hey, what's wrong with feathers?" Huey snapped, pointing him with an offended glare, only to gulp in fear a second later as the Bebe appeared before them. "Uuhhh, hi toots?"
"The poultry is neutralized. Returning to original target; Kim Possible." The Bebe stated, already reaching out for the hyperventilating redhead.
Fortunately for them, the Bebe forewent the crazy speed, for it gave Jake all the time he needed to intervene. Before a single finger other than Felix's tightening ones could touch Kim, Jake sucked in the biggest breath he could and transformed his head before spewing the biggest flamethrower he could right at the robot and blow it away, right back to a car and eliciting an explosion. Pushing on as the others gasped, Jake shifted back to normal and unleashed fire from his entire body as forcefully as he could, immediately drying out and shattering the sludge around him before exploding forward a moment later. Reaching the Bebe right as it pulled its burnt body back up, he slipped into his dragon form for just a second, grabbed it by the leg and threw it as hard as he could across the street.
"ARGH!" The robot seemly smacking into air had Gill's scream piercing the air as he reappeared, the two of them crashing into a tangle of limbs about ten feet away from a stunned, but very relieved Ron. Confident that Gill's curses and writhing left them with a good few moments, Jake made a beeline back to the group and blew a small flame over the sludge before hacking at it with his shifting claws as fast as he could.
"Ok, here's the plan. While the rest of us go after Gill and finish him off as quickly as possible, Huey, you work to slow that robot. Get it slow and enough for me to hit again and I'll trash it."
"You couldn't just do that when you grabbed it?" Huey grunted moodily, his hands a blur over his head as he forced sludge from his feathers.
"Her body's too tough. We would have lost Ron if I took that kind of time." Jake replied quickly and dismissively, pulling a disgusted Monique to her feet and forcing as much gunk as he could from Felix's chair before pulling Kim to her feet." Let's do this. You ready to kick some ass, Kim? Kim? Are you ok?"
The whole group just stared, if only for a second, very concerned as Kim just looked back at him, her eyes wide with unrestrained terror and grief and hyperventilating so bad that it almost knocked her right off her shaking legs. She didn't respond at all, not to Jake's words and waving hands or Monique's arms wrapping around her shoulders. She just stood there and stared at her boyfriend and the recovering villains, her breathing only growing harsher and more ragged as they separated and rose back to their feet.
"Oh great, she's lost it."
"Change of plan. Felix, get her up high and out of the way." Jake ordered, ignoring Huey as he gently pushed Kim back into the boy's lap. Kim was Bebe's target, if she was currently catatonic, then they needed her to be unreachable. "Huey, make sure that terminator's bridezilla stays away long enough for takeoff. Monique, let's go hook a fish!"
The group didn't waste a single second before scattering. Huey was right on Bebe and successfully planting both feet into its chest before it could take off and sending it sprawling again before both of the disappeared in clashing burs once more.
Snarling as he saw them coming, Gill faded from sight once again, but this time he was quick to find it less than sufficient. With Huey successfully, visibly pushing Bebe back and Felix already rocketing Kim a good fifty feet up from the ground, there was nothing to distract Jake from pouncing.
With a single burst of fire from under his feet, Jake cleared the distance between them in an instant and landed a solid palm thrust into his shoulder.
"ARGH! What?" Gill screamed as he stumbled, his form flickering just long enough for Jake to see the stunned and furious look on his face.
"Camouflage only works so well. Especially when you're fighting a guy with a reptilian sense of smell and vision made for finding miniscule details." Jake smirked, pointing to his now red eyes before launching a kick. Jumping as high as he could into the air, Gill hastily spat another sludge shot only for Jake to coat himself in flames and surge right through it. Gasping hard as his panic took over, Gill twisted his body and tried to aim both feet for his quickly approaching enemy, only for a pair of ropes to wrap around his ankles and yank him down. He could do nothing but watch and scream as the boy turned in to a beast and slammed him straight to the ground. Fortunately for him, Jake did catch him with his tail before he could crash, but he was already unconscious before it even touched him.
Shifting back the moment he set them down, Jake scanned over the area, sighing in relief while Monique set to work tying up their latest downed enemy. He'd gotten a little carried away and shifted without intending to. He had to get a better grip on that. He was lucky this time, it didn't seem like anyone had seen him. But Jake probably won't be so lucky next time. Especially in such an open area.
"Eww, this guys wreaks!" Monique exclaimed, her face scrunched in disgust and fighting the urge to puke as finished her knots, practically running from Gill the moment she was done. "It's like an entire fish market was left out in the sun."
"How do you think I feel?" Jake said, making his way over and digging his claws into Ron's sludge.
"Worry about that later." Ron cried, almost falling flat on his face as his legs readjusted to his weight and using it to push the others down right as the blur that was Huey blew over their heads and bounced off the wall, winding whipping at all three of them in the process. "We gotta stop that Bebe before it thinks to run up a building or something!"
"You got any clue how to do that?" Monique snapped, starting to rise, only to be knocked right back down as the Huey shot by again, another gale blowing in his wake. "I can't even see the robot!"
"Yeah, Huey's not doing as well as I hoped." Jake agreed grimly, shifting his eyes and ears and only biting his lip as a result. "This tin can's moving so fast that I can't even pin her movements. The pings of sound I'm getting are coming from everywhere at once. If she doesn't slow down, then there's nothing we can do."
"Where's Videl and the boys when you need them?" Monique groaned, not even bothering to get up. "At least they could keep it in place long enough for someone else to break it, even if it did take all three of them to do it."
"Then let's try giving him a hand with that." Ron stated, snagging a rope from Monique's waist and throwing it in Huey's general direction with a flash of blue. "Think fast, ducky!"
'If he calls me that again, I'm slapping him.' Huey thought, throwing a stink eye Ron's way as he propelled himself off of the side of a van, snagging the rope in the process. Though he was thankful for the idea. He really did need help.
Putting things simply, he wasn't quite sure how he was still alive, only that the robot taking the time to track Kim and enough luck to make up for two miracles played into it. This fembot was strong enough to rip metal apart and way faster than he was, to say nothing of the difference in their durability. It had taken everything Huey had, every trick, every twist, slide and curve his body could pull and every cheap shot he could think of just to stop her from catching and snapping his neck like a toothpick.
Honestly, he didn't think a rope was going to make any difference, but he'd take any idea at this point. So, sliding under another jab with a scream as it skimmed over the top of his head and ripped out a few feathers, he tied each end into a loop and flung one right as the Bebe passed him, a feat only possible as it turned its attention back to Felix and Kim moving further away.
"WHOA!" And one that almost proved fatal as the Bebe took off after the teen heroine again, ripping Huey right off his feet at speeds even his body was struggling to handle. Forget the robot's strength, the g-forces alone could kill him. If he didn't stop this quick, it would. But that being said… "This is going to hurt." He deadpanned as best he could before steeling himself and, right as the Bebe started running up the side of a building, he yanked himself up the rope and jammed his feet into the back of its knees as hard as he could.
BAMM!
"AAAARRRRGH!" Huey's entire body was wracked with pain and shaking as the Bebe's blocked joints had it smack itself into the wall, making a deep dent, the speed of the collision and its sudden stop throwing him right into its body. The sudden stop was having an even worse effect. If his body wasn't build for high speeds, it would have killed him instantly. Even as it was, suddenly stopping at Bebe's speed felt like every part of his body was thrusting in the wrong direction. His head was pounding, he felt like he was going to puke and his heart and lungs in particular were screaming at the stress. It took every ounce of will he had not to pass out.
'They better appreciate this.' He thought, narrowing his eyes and forcing his arms to move as he fell. At this speed he'd never survive impact, so his only hope was wind assistance. Waiting just long enough to throw the other side of his lasso over a street light pole, he forced his arms to spin in circles beneath him as fast as he could, whipping up an air funnel. To say he panicked over his likelihood of success was one hell of an understatement, but he did still manage a sigh of relief as the wind grew strong enough to lift him back up a little before gently dropping him. Right before the Bebe dropped right next to him with another boom and a lot of deeply cracked cement. Shifting his eyes to the mess, Huey wasn't sure if he was more relieved that the plan worked or that he hadn't landed a foot to the right as he shakily raised a finger to the others. "Y-y-you're wel-come!"
Charging in the moment the robot hit the ground, Jake and Ron immediately closed the gap between them, both of their auras flaring brightly as leaped the rest of the way, their powers channeling through their legs giving them shooting both of them in at impressive speeds. Unfortunately, it still appeared to be too slow, for by the time they reached it, the Bebe was already on its feet. One arm, easily deflected the faster Jake's clawed punch at her head and responded with a kick that could have crushed bone before sidestepping the aerial flipping Ron's kick, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and flinging him toward the ground. It was only his shirt ripping off early on in the toss sending him flying sooner and higher that saved him from instant death. Even as it was, his was life was spared mostly spared by grabbing onto a street post and swinging around it a few times, losing momentum before hitting the ground.
"Your attempts are totally pathetic." The Bebe taunted, shifting her head back and forth between the two slowly rising boys. "Your skills are as lousy as your wardrobes. You can't possible beat the Bebes. Bebes are perfect."
"Who taught this robot to be sassy? And my threads are stylin!" Jake glared, wincing as he steadied himself. "Your programmer has no taste."
"Is Bonnie's opinion of your fashion choices really matter right now?" Monique snapped, trying to hide the tremble in her voice with exasperation. "Take it up with the cow queen later and trash the robot now!"
"Why bother trying?" The Bebe broke in, shifting into a running stance. "You are far too slow to be a…" All three still standing teens flinched as she started taking off again, but found themselves just as stunned as the robot seemed as the rope resisted, eliciting a creak the light pole, but still managing to hold the Bebe in place.
"My ropes are pretty well reinforced." Monique grinned proudly, though clearly just as surprised as Jake that it worked. They assumed the Bebe was unimpressed however, as it ripped the rope to shreds a second later, sending ice through everyone's veins as they ran toward it. They were all still too far away, they'd never land a hit before she was too fast to see again. However, right as she moved her first leg, her whole body started vibrating, sparks quickly following from every joint.
"Im-im-impossi-impossibi…Bebe is…is…per…" The jerking only grew more intense for a few more seconds before entire limbs were falling off and small explosion burst from the eye sockets before one final boom from within the chest had it collapsing face first into the ground, leaving everyone just staring in shock at the smoking form.
"Um…what just happened?" Ron asked, slowly approaching and prodding the Bebe with his foot, sighing in relief when she didn't snap an arm out. "She's out! Did she blow a fuse or something?"
"Maybe previous damage caught up to it?" Huey offered with a moan, carefully pulling himself into a sitting position before scooting further away from the deadly contraption. Even if it didn't come back online, that finale could easily lead to an explosion.
"No, I think he did it." Felix called, drawing everyone's attention as he and Kim came back down before following his pointing finger to the other end of the street. "And speaking of fashion choices…" He added with a grin, trying to lighten the mood before calling out to their savior. "Hey Henry. Thanks for the save. We owe you one. Can we pay you back with pants?"
"Don't even joke." Henry replied, his whole face red as he walked toward the group, his hands falling in front of him in a vain attempt to cover up. "Is everyone alright?"
"Yeah, mostly just scrapes and bruises." Jake nodded, looking around the group for any objections, only getting a dark look from Huey as the others nodded.
"Are you sure you're good, spikes?" Monique asked, pointing a concerned frown his way. "You took a pretty heavy kick."
"Yeah, but I had dragon skin under my shirt." Jake replied, lifting the fabric to reveal his yellow scales before shifting it back to human, albeit heavily bruised, flesh. "That one hurt a lot, but I'll live. What about you, Huey?"
"High speed body equals high healing speed." Huey muttered with a tired sigh, leaning back against a window. "Give me ten minutes, preferably with a snack and a kiss, and I'll be good enough to go."
"You're going without the kiss, but you are in luck for food." Monique smirked as Felix tossed him a few chocolate bars he'd snagged for the trapped and hungry before turning back to their half naked friend with a raised eyebrow. "Not that I'm ungrateful for the save or anything, but what are you doing showing off your boxer briefs out here, Henry? Last I checked, you were at Capsule Corp before this whole thing went down, so why aren't you over there fighting the horde?"
"Yeah. With your power and entire divisions full of things with grappling claws, cranes and engines, it would have been easy for you to cause a riot, wouldn't it?" Ron nodded with a thoroughly confused frown.
"Yeah, except I never went back." Henry sighed, closing his eyes and dropping his head as they stared him down. "After I got caught, I woke up like this underground with no exit and a ghost named Bertrand. I only got out by shifting a frankly ridiculous amount of metal and earth along with it before dozing in the sewers for…I don't know how long, time's been beyond my grasp since the fight. Bertrand did say something about my clothes being needed for something though."
"What purpose could a few pieces of clothing possibly have?" Ron asked, right before realization dawned on him so dramatically that you could almost see the lightbulb above his head. "Of course, Camille Leon!"
"Who?" Huey asked.
"She's a disinherited heiress turned criminal with the ability to shapeshift into other people. Dementor or whoever must have called her in too. She could easily walk in with Henry's face." Ron explained with a snap of his fingers.
"And Henry's damaged clothes would provide a needed authenticity after a publically viewed brawl with an army." Monique groaned, facepalming as she connected the dots. "Bulma and the others fell for the ruse and she opened the front door for a swarm of megalomaniacs."
"Ok, so now we use the technopath they let escape to do the same." Ron declared, waving his arms dramatically by Henry.
"Only this time there's hostages involved." The boy in question shook his head. "We don't know how many criminals there are, the number of hostages and where and what they're doing with them. If we don't play this carefully, a lot people could die really fast."
"Not to mention the fact that Wade's amongst them." Monique added worriedly, biting her lip. "These things are usually a lot easier when he's monitoring the situation and providing schematics for us to use."
"It's also a lot easier when Kim's contributing." Felix butted in, the fair bit of worry and panic lacing his voice snapping everyone's attention to the redhead in question only for more than one of them to gasp at the sight before them.
Kim had removed herself from Felix's lap, but that was as far as she'd gotten. Her breathing was still hitched, her eyes were glassy and she was visibly shaking. She didn't seem to be paying attention to any of them or even aware that they were around, she just sat on her legs, her arms wrapped around herself as she stared unseeingly toward the captured villains as silent tears poured down her cheeks.
"KIM!"
"Yo girl, what's wrong? Are you ok?"
"KP?" Monique, Jake and Ron were all around her in an instant, wiping tears away and running hands over her arms, shoulders and back as they tried to get her attention, the others watching on with wide, concerned eyes a couple of feet away, trying not to overwhelm her. "Kim? KP? Come on, you're scaring me. What's the matter? Did you get hurt? Please tell us what's wrong, we just wanna help."
"Help." Even at their close range, Ron and the others barely heard her, but it still filled everyone with pure dread. Kim's voice was so weak, so distraught and defeated, so…broken. It had all three of them choking on their own breath and their chests aching, especially Ron. Even he'd only ever seen her anywhere near this broken once before, in Hego's hospital room, and even that had nothing on this. If his terrified heart beat any harder it was going to burst.
Slowly, Kim's eyes regained some focus to them, glancing vaguely over everyone before landing on Ron's big, sad and pleading ones. It took a few seconds but recognition finally seemed to be surfacing in her green pools a split second before she lurched for her boyfriend, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders and much more vocally into his chest.
"Y-you're ok. Y-you're safe. They s-s-saved you. Thank God they-they saved you." Her voice quickly grew louder, but whatever relief that might have brought the others was quickly squashed as she wailed, her grip only tightening on the blonde as she pressed her increasingly shaking form into his.
"Hey, I'm fine. Everyone here's ok. We're all ok." Ron muttered soothingly, rubbing circles into her back. "Just breathe Kim. Everything will be fine. Look, we even have Henry, your dragon friend and the speedy ducky now. Everything will be fine. Just relax."
"We got you, Kim." Monique joined in, resting her head against Kim's. "Don't worry, we've always got your back. Just like you always have ours."
"But I didn't." Kim cried, her body only shaking even harder as she completely broke down. "I couldn't do anything! I froze against the Sumo Ninja, I couldn't stop Aviarius, I couldn't get Hego's powers back, I couldn't save Ron! I couldn't do any of it on my own, I couldn't do anything. I'm useless, completely useless! I always need Ron or Jake or Raimundo. Even Wego does it better than me. I could…I could barely even face Henry for answers. I can't even stop my own villain lineup on my own. I'm just…just a powerless, useless idiot hiding behind titans."
"KP, that's not true at all." Ron exclaimed, pulling away just enough to meet her eyes with his own imploring ones. "You are amazing. The girl who can do anything. The girl who earned that title."
"I..I can't-"
"Yes you can." Jake declared, his voice soft, but firm as he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Kim, I've never once thought of you as useless or any less amazing then any of our old friends."
"Yeah, Kim. You've gone head to head with Shego and won countless times. Outsmarted and outplayed Drakken and Dementor, no matter what crazy, overpowered invention they've come up with. You saved the world a dozen times back when I was no more than the distraction. Global Justice comes to you for advice and assistance! You're so good at what you do, that you have the respect of the greatest spy organization in the world!" Ron stated, counting each victory on his fingers.
"Not to mention all the people you saved from natural disasters, the detective work you put in to busting Camille's shtick, taking down a guy with the strength of Anubis and putting an end to Drakken's almost successful Diablo robot army." Monique added.
"Let's not forget what you've done with the Guardians." Jake went on before Kim could rebuke anything. "You've taken down countless Nobody minions and Heartless, fought and lived to tell the tale with a mentally compromised Z Fighter, helped beat the Matrix Tamers, survived a trip to the past and taken on plenty of highly trained Huntsclan assassins and assisted in taking down Kevin Levin in his monster days. You were just as crucial as me in the fight with Demyx when we fought the Organization, you stood your ground against Xemnas and Larxene. You have saved our lives plenty of times.
"Kim, none of us ever thought you didn't deserve to stand beside us." Jake went on, his proud smile leaving no room for questioning. "You are the most skilled martial artist amongst us. You are quick on your feet and just as quick thinking. We had guys with access to the power of intangibility and invisibility and you were still the stealthiest of us. Gohan, me, we all felt more comfortable when you were with us. We all had complete faith in you to watch our backs, relied on you protecting us as much as we protected you. Plenty of us would be dead without you. We always needed you, Kim. You proved you were just as worthy of your place on the team as anyone else and you did it without any powers. You are that amazing."
"No, I…I couldn't even save Ron. And before, I just froze and…and…"
"We all have limits to what we can do." Felix interrupted gently, moving himself close behind her. "And we all get unnerved sometimes. That doesn't mean you're useless. It just means you're human. You can get passed it."
"How do you get passed dying?" Kim cried, resting her head against Ron's shoulder as the group tensed. "I remember burning alive! I remember being overwhelmed so many times by so many monsters. I've seen my friends in so much pain, so close to death, from situations that I couldn't do a thing about. I keep seeing Roxas die! How do I get passed all of that?"
Sadly, the others didn't have an answer to that. She didn't need to raise her head, she knew exactly how they were looking at her. Monique biting her lip, trying to hold back sobs as tears poured down her face. Felix staring at his feet, ashen faced and with a haunted look in his eyes. Henry was still staring right at her, but that guilt and self loathing that she'd seen when they talked about their shared past was well in place. Ron was an open book, his arms were tightening around her as he moaned like a sad, little puppy, so devastated for her, but completely clueless on what to do and desperately eyeing the others. Huey, well she had no idea about him, he was a duck and they'd never met before. As for Jake…
Well, she didn't need to speculate, for a couple of moments later, he took her by the chin and gently raised her head to see the most somber, pained, vulnerable look Jake had ever given anyone. He understood exactly what she was feeling, he was letting her see that. He was feeling most of it himself, along with his own issues. For just a moment there was so much raw pain in his eyes. There was so much grief, far too much for someone so young to handle. And yet, here he was, pressing on, trying to help, putting himself out there, both physically and emotionally, when all he so clearly wanted to do was curl up with someone and cry.
"How do you do it?" Kim found herself asking softly, afraid he might actually run away.
"By refusing to let it own me." Jake answered, his own voice wavering before he taking a deep breath and steeling his face into a more determined look. "The truth is a lot of what still drives me is probably a bit selfish. I see the life that I want and the people I want in it and I go for it, telling anyone who tries to get in my way to fuck off. I want my life back. I want to be able to go home, to be smothered by my family and friends. I want to make Dark Dragon pay for what he's done. But most of all, I don't want to lose anyone else I care about and I don't want anyone else to feel how I do. If that means I have to take on a God, then so be it. Don't focus on what you've lost or suffered through. Focus on what's still here and refuse to let it go."
"Wade still needs you." Monique stated, leaning comfortingly into Kim's side. "He's still here for us to save and while he's surrounded by dangerous people, you have beaten all of them and far worse people plenty of times before. You got this. And we've got you."
"You know, on the off chance you actually need our help." Ron added lightly, offering Kim an encouraging grin as she finally pulled back a bit. "I mean, this wouldn't be the first time you took on the entire gallery at once all on your own and lived to tell the tale. You've done it a few times while saving my tail. So come on. Dry your eyes, take a deep breath and tell me, what's the plan, KP?"
Kim could only stare, thoroughly astounded as those words left his lips. He still believed in her so absolutely, even after her recklessness almost got him killed. Monique and Felix were still proudly putting their faith in her, despite how they now knew and how badly she froze on them before. Henry and Jake were just standing there, waiting patiently for her response, offering nothing but looks of encouragement. Either one of them could take charge. Henry was brilliant, knew who they were fighting and probably knew the field of battle better than any of them, while Jake was used to putting random ragtag teams together. Dragons were looked to for guidance and protection by most magical creatures, so Jake was well trained for this exact sort of situation. Yet they were looking to her. For all their talents and all of her mistakes, everyone here was really putting that much faith in her? "Guys, I…I don't know…"
"Unknown villains aside, you know these guys better than any of us." Henry pointed out. "And you know most of us better than any of us. So how do you want to handle this?"
"What would you do when you're not wigging out?" Huey asked, getting a jab from Jake in response. He glared at the boy in response, but quickly turned his attention back to Kim. "He's been going on and on about how amazing you are ever since you called him. If dragon boy is that much of a fan boy, then you must be something special and I wanna see it."
"Hey!" Jake cried, a scandalized look plastered on his face as he whipped around, bringing a few small laughs from the others.
Even Kim let out a small chuckle before wiping the tears from her eyes. Her friends were right. These were mostly her villains, she knew how they thought and how they fight. She'd beaten them time and again. She'd done so much more than just deal with these clowns. She was not going to let them win now. Not after what they'd done and not while Wade and their new friends were in their line of fire. She had plenty of people to help her with what she couldn't do, but…she could do a lot, right? She'd done a lot. Ron was right, for a long time, he was a distraction and little else. Plenty of times, he hindered the plans, but Kim still managed to pull through. She'd done her part and more. She may not have defeated the invasion that interrupted her graduation herself, but she still put up one hell of a fight against forces far superior to her and that was without the reassurance of a powerhouse being nearby. She had no idea just how powerful Ron was at the time or that he'd figure out how to use that strength, but she'd dived in wholeheartedly anyway. She could put a hole in any plan if she tried and even if she couldn't finish the job, she made damn sure it was an easy job for her allies. She…she could do anything! And that included tearing every rouge she'd ever dealt with a new one for mass murder and threatening her loved ones. She could and would figure out how to deal with monsters later, but right now, her friends were in trouble and she was going to do everything she could to make sure they were ok, even if…no, scratch that. It wasn't going to kill her. She was going to walk away with a win.
"First, Henry and Ron are going to borrow some clothes from that corner shop." Kim stated, nodding her head toward it as she slowly rose to her feet. "Then…we sneak our way in and take them down one by one."
The others just nodded, all of them either displaying looks of pride or relief as she rose to her feet. Turning back to the building as the half naked duo took her first suggestion, Kim took a deep, long breath and slowly released it, along with every shred of fear and doubt she could. Jake was right. She wouldn't let her fear stop her from helping people, especially her loved ones. And all her friends were right before. She'd had so many impossible accomplishments under her belt that it was impossible to keep track of them. This situation…she's totally got this. This is no big at all.
"Let's go mission mode."
AN: Pretty sure this is the biggest chapter I've ever written. To anyone still paying attention, I hope you enjoyed it.