The Hacker vs The Shapeshifter
"What happened to you?" Bertrand cried more than a little shocked as Spectra wobbled her way through a wall and into the room. She looked like she'd gone a round with a tornado. Her clothes were dishevelled and had tears all through them, not mention several green stains. Her hair was a wreck and almost every speck of skin was marred with cuts and bruises. But even then, that was only noticeable because he could actually see her. "And where's blue twit?"
"I got forced out of him!" Spectra gasped, clenching her teeth into a gruesome snarl as she fell to the ground. "Kim Possible's sidekick's a genuine mystic and knows how to use it. Would have been nice to know that coming into this. Damn Plasmius and his lousy information!" She spat.
"He's in the building?" Bertrand asked, thrown for another loop as she nodded. "But that means Kim's here already too! And if that's the case, why wasn't the call put in?" Kim was, after all, the whole point of most of this group coming here, Spectra and Bertrand included. If she was in the building, then they have been all been made aware the moment she made the final approach to get into position. By now, they should be finishing her murder and grabbing the footage for the world to see before blowing this place sky high with everyone in it, probably with the other villains included. With Capsule Corp's level of security turned against them, it should have been impossible to sneak in, around and fight Spectra all unnoticed. Even if they could bypass the cameras and blast doors, then Spectra would just… "Why didn't you call the moment you saw him?"
"Because the goodie-toe-shoes have pulled our own stunt back on us!" Spectra snapped, piercing him with a livid glare. "Communication's down and the happy little duo got some help. Some weird, duck boy with super speed's gone around knocking out and hiding our rent-a-thugs while someone else was directing him to the mystic brat when I caught him. Which means that he's in the security room, cutting our communication while orchestrating who knows how many brats through the building."
Well, that wouldn't do. That was where they planned to get their footage from. Letting the world know that their young, star hero had been murdered was one thing, but making people see it would have a far stronger and longer lasting impact on the world. Nothing created fear, grief and anxiety like watching one of the world's greatest rising stars and saviours visibly slaughtered by the truly wicked. Besides, either way, it had to be clear that she died by intended murder, otherwise it wouldn't be worth it at this point. Her death would simply be one of thousands worldwide in today's incident. It had to be scarring, it had to be bloody, it had to be seen. That was the only way to make it stand out. To truly capitalise on the explosions, the heroes responding or fighting those responsible had to be seen being taken down.
Tech's defeat and disappearance increased the fear and misery of Japan nicely, and he was just a no-name hero. Kim's death could give them that increase on a global scale if it was seen and that was all that would make this worth it.
So, there was only one response to this, now wasn't there? "Well, I'll just snap this little team's backbone, shall I?" This would be fun. Having no care for Capsule Corp's products and intending to blow it all up anyway, Bertrand had simply opted to stay out of sight for this part of the mission and honestly, he'd gotten a little bored. Messing with a counterattack should cure that.
"Get the word out while you're there." Spectra ordered as he sunk through the floor. "I want a good show of Kim, Jazz, the mystic and anyone else she's brought with her going down desperately before being strung up and gutted."
"Of, course. Would you really expect any less of me?" Bertrand smirked right before slipping away. He doubted this would take long. As much as this seemed to have messed with the plan, it should be easy to correct. After all, aside from Ron, no one in Team Possible had any kind of power, they were just normal humans, and those they could call in in time to help had all been dealt with. Even a fast footed duck wasn't going to change anything against a ghost, so whoever was operating the monitors would be of no issue for him. They'd just be a toy for Bertrand to play with however he saw fit.
The thought just made his smirk grow as he pressed on. 'Spectra just might get what she wants faster than she thinks.'
….
"Any sign of this…psycho secretary, Henry?"
"No, sorry. I have no idea where it is." Henry sighed, barely noticing Kim's scowl as his eyes zipped from one screen to the next. The monitors were changing feeds almost as fast as his eyes were moving, but there was still no sign of anything abnormal. Wherever this ghost was, it was either invisible or in a room without working cameras. The low number of those did limit search options if the latter was the case, but they were far too well spread to have someone check them. Especially when there were so many other things that needed to be done.
"Guys, Huey does look really bad and Drakken's out. I need guidance here!"
"Head down the corridor behind you and turn right." Henry responded absently, his hands dancing over the keyboard even as he continued scanning the feeds. "I'll open a window. I already informed the outside to have a field medic meet you there."
"Got it, on my way."
"Jake, curve left. Then take the third left again and through the fifth door. We've got a few big ones." He called as a flicker in the corner of his eye had him snapping to monitor to the lower left. "Bulma and Dr Briefs are there with Duff Killigan and…a business school graduate named Hank?" Really? That's all Kim's VG archive had on him? Well anyway, that didn't matter, everyone else in that room were the priorities. "It looks like they're trying to make the Briefs open a vault."
"I got this!"
"Monique, don't bother with the vents right now. You're clear now until you reach the final opening."
"Sweet!"
"Guys, I've got military arguing with me and trying to get in!"
"This is a high-level crisis situation! We cannot simply leave-"
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Well, that was it! Breaking away from his routine, Henry turned all his attention to Ron's hallway, made sure he had successfully handed the injured over to the very unsure looking paramedic and took great pleasure slamming the window's blast panel right down in front of the lieutenant's face.
"I forgot how satisfying that could be." Henry sighed, allowing himself just a moment to feel pleased with himself. The truth of the matter was that he was sick of that man. Naturally, alerting law enforcement and emergency services of the situation and asking for outside support was one of the first things he'd done when he'd taken control of the building's operations again. Normally, that wouldn't have gotten much of a response with the catastrophe in the middle of the city taking priority, despite the support Capsule Corp have been giving the recovery efforts, but the moment they heard the perpetrators of the two events were one and the same, they had a small squad rustled up in no time. Which was great. With them outside, even if one of the villains managed to get outside, they'd be quickly apprehended and once the civilians made it out, they'd be safe and cared for. Under those conditions, no living criminal would dare set off their bomb, so if they could catch the ghosts, they'd almost be home free.
The problem was that Lieutenant Oikawa was hellbent on taking over the operation and moving in on the building, brute force style. With a high-powered bomb surrounded by hostages and possibly multiple ghosts running around happy to set it off or simply lay waste to every defenceless man they came across, a response like that was far too likely to end badly, especially if some of the villains acted out of panic. Their smaller group, half of them empowered, experienced with their enemies or better equipped to fight the normally untouchable ghosts were the far better choice. It was easier for them to sneak around, to catch their opponents off-guard and keep the rest of them unsuspecting. But just try convincing Oikawa of that! How did Kim manage to do it over and over again?
'I'm sure I'll hear about that later.' He mused as Oikawa yelled and banged on the window. Seriously, how was that helpful in a delicate situation like this? But he'd worry about that later. Ron was heading back to Kim and Jake was getting close to his target, which meant that the most important phase of this plan was about to begin. Therefore, all loose ends needed to be dealt with.
Fortunately, though they'd lost Huey, most of their joint objective had been accomplished. The duck had been just about everywhere, which was very noticeable from Henry's point of view. Plenty of feeds from small rooms depicted unconscious men, monkeys and piles of goop all around the giant building, all of them easy defeats for the duck boy. And while he'd been running rampart throughout the building, Henry had been targeting the edges. A number of thugs and monkey ninjas were still active, but they'd been snared into Henry's traps, lured to rooms the other villains wouldn't notice with blast doors and sealed within. Between the two of them and Jake's targets, almost all of the wandering villains were neutralised. There were just a few stragglers that needed to be taken care of.
Jake was taking Duff and the suit. Ron had just stumbled onto and took out one of the few henchmen and his synthodrone escort on his way, so that only really left…
"Ok, Ron and I both ready. How close are Monique and Jazz?" Kim butted in, breaking his attention as she and Ron huddled just out of sight of the synthodrones guarding the main door.
"I'd give them four minutes." Henry answered, right as Jazz opened the last vent they intended to use.
"Fine, now tell me who's on guard duty? If we can't find the ghosts, then we need this to go fast."
"Monkey Fist, four of his monkeys, a number of guys in blue that your archive says have a history with the Seniors, a number of synthodrones and…Frugal Lucre?"
"Seriously?" Monique cried, albeit softly, as she crawled to a junction. "The others I get, but why is 'villainy on a budget' here? This is way too high-class for him. He should at least be out on the shopping spree."
"At this point, it doesn't matter. Let's just focus on our plan." Kim responded immediately as a deep frown crossed her face. "I wasn't expecting so many watching over the hostages. That could be a serious problem."
"The more eyes there are in a room, the more likely someone will spot something we don't want them to." Henry agreed, mulling it over as he went back to monitor sweeping.
"It might be better to up the distraction. How long should it take Jake to finish up and get here?"
"I'd give that twenty minutes? Depending on how well Duff responds to the situation?" Henry answered, getting a displeased groan from the celebrity hero in return. "The Briefs are being manhandled deep in the building. Crossing that kind of distance on foot will take him some time."
"I'll make it, girl." Jake called with a confident smirk into his Vcom as he ran. "I'll just be a little late. But hey, starting the party without me still may not be a bad thing. Especially if you can extend the venue."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked, looking as thoroughly confused as he sounded.
"That's not a bad idea." Kim however, apparently understood immediately. "We'll still need you though, so move fast, dragon boy. Ron and I will set up and start the moment Monique and Jazz are in position. Henry, find me that ghost. We cannot have it interfering with the plan."
"Set up? KP, what are we doing? KP!"
"I'm giving it my all." Henry nodded before tuning out the chatter. The others should be fine without his input for a while, so he simply left them to do their thing while he did his. Tracking this ghost was the top priority.
'However…' He mused, his eye shifting back to the lone man from before. 'I should probably tie off that loose end while I'm at it.' After all, the one they let go could very easily be the one that does something brilliant or destructively stupid.
Better to take care of the old man now.
….
"Come on, Lass, I ain't got all day!" Duff grunted, his foul breath almost leaving Bulma choking as he pressed in on her. "Kim Possible's already in town, we'll have to move into position at any moment, so I need you to stop ya dawdlin!"
"Then maybe you should give me a little more elbow room!" Bulma snapped right back, sending the startled golfer stumbling back a step as she whipped up a glare at him. "This panel is extremely delicate and complex, in case your small brain hasn't figured that out yet! It's designed specifically to keep everyone out! So if you expect me to get it unlocked anytime soon, then I suggest you give me room to move and knock off the pestering crap!"
"Ay now, you little-"
"Now, now, Mr Killigan, there's no need for dramatic threats and arguments. Those will only slow us down. Besides, either way, we're getting a wondering bonus." Hank, the evil business consultant, as he had introduced himself, butted in with a placating smile, bringing the red-faced golfer to a complete stop as he waved his hand to Bulma's dad. "After all, with all these account details and passwords, we'll be rolling in wealth in no time, now won't we, Dr Briefs?" He added wrapping an arm around the man as he sighed in defeat.
"Yes, all of our bank details are here. Just let my family and employees go." Dr Briefs nodded, putting down his pen and turning to the two of them imploringly. "There is far more money in our accounts than in that vault. You'll all already be set for life."
"Only if we can get it all out before da banks freezes yee accounts." Duff countered, waving one of his golf sticks threateningly as he turned back to Bulma. "This is more guaranteed. So you got your space, now hurry it up, wench!"
"Yeah, yeah, don't lose your kilt!" Bulma snarled as she turned back to the lock, trying her damnedest to keep her worry from shining through her rage. The truth was she could have had this thing opened ages ago. Be they electronic or manual, she'd designed every part of this lock herself. She could have had it done in minutes.
However, once she did, both she and her parents would be useless to them and would most likely be taken out before they could exploit any of the fail-safes they had hidden around the company. Staying alive meant remaining useful until they could find some way around this disaster. So dragging her heels was the only way to go.
That said, she couldn't stall much longer. She was almost done. If the situation was contained to this room, then she could use that to her advantage, but with so many other criminals and so many hostages they were happy to blow up…no, it was far too big of a risk.
That was, until a flicker of red in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Growling under her breath, she almost turned to tell the Scotsman off again, only to stop herself as she realised the source was well behind him. A red tail whipped through the air for just a second before disappearing, only to do it again a moment later. Following its direction, Bulma barely contained a large smile as her eye caught a pair of black ones surrounded by large, red ears. Careful not to draw attention, she could only look at him for a split second, but that and a simple nod was all Bulma needed before she dove right in to finishing her job. If the American Dragon was in the building and no one was aware of it, then that was more than enough to change the game.
"Ok, almost done." Bulma stated, ensuring the criminal duo's attention was all on her and the door as she finished the last code and prompted a retinal scanner to open, to which she immediately put her eye to. "After this scan, the door will open."
"Finally!" Duff cheered, a huge, smug smile splitting across his face as a confirmation light turned green and the clang of turning gears echoed through the room. It grew into an excited laugh as the door actually started moving out, and elicited gasps from both men as it revealed just how extravagant its contents truly were. "For the love of me kilt, tha's a lot of gold!"
"We're going to need some help hauling all this out!" Hank exclaimed, stary eyed and practically drooling at the sight before him. They were right, of course. The vault was comparable in size to the average bank's and was filled mostly with gold bars. They were much harder to carry out in a hurry than cash. Even if intruders managed to get into the vault, the unprepared would be hard-pressed to bankrupt them. Also, it made a much more awe-inspiring sight.
Which, combined with the fact that the noisy, opening door moved to a full one-eighty degrees and blocked the room's entrance from sight, left the crooks blind and deaf to Jake's swift approach.
"Well, might as well get started." Hank stated, pulling out a phone and adjusting his earpiece as Duff moved eagerly forward, snagging a disgruntled Bulma's arm along the way. "I'll call the guys in security and have them-ARGH!"
Before Hank could even press the call button, a red and blue blur came out of nowhere with a wave of heat washing over everyone, planting a fist into his gut and sending him crashing into and breaking the desk Dr Briefs barely scrambled away from in time. By the time anyone's eyes registered what had happened, Hank was on the ground, his short, sharp gasps the only sign that he was even conscious in the splintered wood and Jake was turning to face the others with a smirk on his face and kicking off his smoking, partially melting shoes.
"Dang, I overdid it. Guess I haven't mastered heat and proportion control yet." He mused, letting one eye glance back over his should and check on the men behind him before piercing challenging eyes on the stunned man before him. "Normally, I'd ask you to be my practice dummy, but I'm in a hurry, so how about you make it easy for yourself and smack your own head with a club?"
….
Despite the dire situation and high stakes, Henry couldn't quite stop himself from chuckling at the sight before him. Senor Senior Senior had found his merry way to a mechanical bay filled with bikes at varying levels of completion and seemed rather fascinated with them, giving Henry plenty of time to see how he could go about capturing him. Sealing off the room wasn't going to work, for safety reasons, this door had a manual override on the inside. However, a little prodding had given him the entertaining discovery that several construction machines could be connected to the main system. Another security precaution, in case any unexpected events made it too dangerous to move or restrain the problem onsite. It was just the robotic arms used to hold or transport heavy components across the construction line, but it was more than enough for Henry to work with.
'This might actually be a little fun.' He mused, already activating the links. By the time Senior had made it to completed products, Henry already had everything he needed online and ready.
The mechanical arms were large and very reinforced, capable of moving entire bikes and more all around the area, so he had no problem at all using one to latch onto the very bike Senior had sat upon and lifting it right into the air before sending another arm right for Senior himself, while simultaneously commanding the emergency door to close. Normally, with such and old opponent, that would have been the end of it right there, but Senior was quick to react and leapt right off the vehicle before it even finished rising, easily avoiding the second claw. Wonders didn't cease there either, for when he reached the floor, he hit it with a roll and sprang right back to his feet before launching himself at the other bikes. Henry tried to grab him with all the free arms that could reach, but the man leapt under, over and around each and every one with a surprising amount of ease. Henry was pretty confident with a returning arm's second attempt, but the man weaved around and snagged it as it came by before flipping and propelling off of it like a gymnast, right onto another motorbike standing a little ahead of the others. One that apparently had a key in its ignition, for before Henry could send another round of mechanical limbs at him, Senior had the thing revving to life and taking off with a screech towards the closing door. The metal was only seconds from hitting the floor, and the robotic arms all around the room were coming to life in attempts to grab the bike, and yet none of it stopped Senior. He easily weaved cleanly through every arm once again before slamming the bike onto its side and sliding it right under the door just a second before it hit the ground, its small bang being completely drowned out by the high-speed metal sliding across concrete, only for him to kick the bike back upright the moment he passed safely through and take off down the hall.
Only to have to turn around half a minute later as the corridor was sealed.
Sadly for Senior, with most of the criminals throughout the building neutralised or aware of their presence, the need for caution was gone from most areas. The group holding the hostages were too isolated from the few people still standing to notice any more than communications going down, which they had yet to do. So, Henry was now free to use all the emergency doors and shut entire areas off without any fear for their plan, making it easy to corral Senior to the nearest capture site.
Or it would have been if he wasn't outdoing every biker Henry had ever seen. Sealing corridors off behind and around him, most before he could even see them, Henry had guided and been confident he'd caught the old man right on the outskirts of the building, a perfect place to leave him, only for him to pick up speed and swing around the next corner before the final door could make it to the floor and practically throw the bike on its side and slide it across the room. Right under the door, blocking its path.
"That could have gone better." Henry could only scowl as he watched Senior roll through the gap, pushing a button on the bike a second later and eliciting the Capsule Corp's puff of smoke vanishing act, a capsule rolling into the man's hand as the door finally hit the ground a second later. Not wasting any time, Senior quickly clicked the button again and tossed it, jumping back onto the reappearing bike and taking off once more. Ok, so this guy deserved way more credit than Henry had given him before and was now heading inward on a very telling path. But that was fine, he'd just have adjust his strategy a little bit.
"There's still plenty of blast doors to work with and he still hasn't gotten anywhere we can't avoid." He mused, bringing up all the possible doors and pathways Senior could take and determining the best ones to start with. "I just need to start with- BwARGH!"
Unfortunately, he never got the chance, for before he was even aware of it, he was flung up in the air from behind and kicked in the chest with force of a battering ram, sending him soaring right across the room and slamming his back into the far wall before smacking the ground.
"How the hell are you here? I know I left no safe way out." Still reeling, Henry merely grunted in response, his rattled brain taking a moment to recognise the voice as he slowly forced his eyes open just in time to see a very angry gorilla melt and shift into a much more familiar green blob. "Do you have any idea how Spectra is going to react to you reappearing? I'll be lucky I'm already dead! How are you not already crushed or suffocated?"
"Just lucky, I guess." Henry grunted slowly, struggling to get back up on all fours, only to smack into the ground with a whine again as a fist struck his head. "So Spectra's your egomaniac, Bertrand?"
"Don't you dare speak ill of Spectra!" Bertrand yelled, sending him spinning and screaming across the floor with a whip of his arm as it shifted into a particularly strong tentacle. Following after him, he swung it again a few more time, filling the room with screams as it struck down like a whip on Henry's back and across his thighs. It wasn't until the boy had curled up into a ball and shook from pain and whimpers that he finally relented. "Augh, I'll deal with you in a moment. If I don't fix this mess, I'm the one who's going to get it."
Confident that the gasping boy wasn't about to get up, Bertrand turned his attention to his real target. "Well, I might as well start with the obvious. Who'd you bring with you?" He mused, looking over the monitors. "Let's see. Kim Possible's heading for the hostages and the blond sidekick's scrambled back to her. So, you found Jazz Fenton, I guess I'll have to thank you for doing the job for us." He added with a smirk. "Spectra will love that. I might be out off the hook yet. And a fire boy, I see." He mused, taking a moment to watch as Jake propelled himself over and away from one of Duff's golf balls.
"You lot are spread pretty thin…but look at the mess you've made." He went on, his smug tone, growing much more irritated as pressed on through the screens. After all, who would be pleased to find the majority of their army so easily sprawled across the ground or locked away? He'd known they'd been busy, but they'd seriously taken down this many of their forces? Besides the ghosts themselves, almost all of the remaining conscious and free pawns consisted of the men guarding the hostages and with so many brats already circling them, what remained of the rest were so scattered that they'd never manage to provide any sufficient backup in time. The plan could definitely still work, enough major players and components were still active, but if Bertrand wanted any chance of it not flying out the window, he had to fix this right now!
"Just how long have they been here?" He muttered to himself as he turned to the company's speaker system, his body shifting into that of Dr Drakken as he turned it on throughout the building. "Attention everyone! Kim Possible has enter-BARGH!" However, before he could even finish his message, the whole console visibly surged with electricity before flames burst to life all over it.
"You know, you really should finish what you start." Henry stated slowly, a defiant glare spreading across his face as the fire sprinklers came to life and Bertrand whipped around to him, his scowl only growing even more furious as he got back on his feet. "Didn't learn anything from our last encounter, did you? I won't let it be easy."
"You're right! I should have killed you back then!" Bertrand screamed, shifting into the form of a bear as he surged at him, his claws poised to cleave right through him. However, Henry was already bolting himself, the door bursting open and out of his way, leaving him clear to swing around the frame and down the hallway, a roaring Bertrand flying after him at top speed.
….
"Attention everyone! Kim Possible ha…"
"Well, that's not part of the plan!" Ron cried, his face clenched in pain and holding his ears as a deafening ring interrupted the message.
"No kidding!" Kim shouted back, forcing herself to struggle through it and turning her attention back to their targets. Sadly, the two synthodrones felt no pain and as such, had simply become a lot more active at the drop of her name.
"And was that's Drakken's voice? I know I got him out." Ron went on, oblivious as his voice travelled right through the corridor. "So how is he-"
"Ron, you're too…move!" Kim exclaimed, her scolding tone quickly turning panicked as she leaped at her boyfriend, tackling him to the ground a split second before a thunderous boom broke a chunk of the wall they'd hidden behind right out of it. Flinching as it crashed into the floor with a bang, the pair quickly rolled away and sprang back to their feet just in time to see the two piles of animated goop swing around the corner.
"Um, were they always this strong?" Ron shouted, gaping at the damage before him.
"No." Kim replied, readying her stance and smacking Ron into doing the same. The hostage guards had upgrades. That was just their luck. What's more, the interrupted warning and the already loud confrontation had no doubt made it very clear to everyone just what was going on.
Things just got a lot harder and a lot more deadly for everyone in this building.
….
Jake's fight could have been going better. It was fine before, the Briefs had taken refuge on the other side of the safe door, leaving Jake completely free to do his thing as Duff attacked, easily jumping, sliding and lunging his way around every golf ball. He'd almost made it right through the explosions for another easy knockout punch, but right before he could land it, the speakers just had to start that damn message. Or more accurately it just had to produce that damn screech when it was cut off. His hearing always a bit better than a human's, it had been near unbearable to the dragon boy and had given Killigan all the time he'd needed to capitalise on his distraction with a swing of his golf club right at his face.
"AUGH!" Hitting the ground, Jake didn't even have time to register his blurred vision before a big, green and purple blob was dumping and rolling multiple white blobs his way. He was just lucky he wasn't too stunned to remember who he was fighting, for it was that recollection alone that had him scrambling into a roll away just as the first ball exploded, the others quickly following after him with a string of ear-piercing booms.
"Uuugghhh!" Groaning, not that he could hear it, as he hit the desk debris Jake spared just a second to catch his breath and be grateful that the golf balls ran out before pulling himself back to his feet, only to groan again as the cackling golfer set up his next round. "Just how many attempts at your own death do you have in that bag?"
"Enough to ensure the lot of yours! FOUR!" Was the muffled reply, right before taking another set of swings at, literally, four balls. Tensing as his vision finally restored itself only to realise both he and the downed business nemesis were in the line of fire, he dived for the man and tossed him safely aside, only to have no time to escape himself. "HAHA!"
"JAKE!" Bulma's scream echoed through the room, despite the resounding booms, as the boy was consumed in explosive flames.
"That oughta do it, won't ya say, laddie?" Duff laughed, leaning on his club and simply admiring his work as smoke filled the area. "Now lass, I believe you were about to…" He started, turning his sneer toward Bulma, only to freeze as more and more red appeared from within the smoke. Turning back to where the boy once stood, Duff could only stare, his jaw hitting the floor and his eyes wide in shock and fear as a powerful flap of wings blew away the last of the gas to reveal a big, angry and very deadly looking dragon snarling down at him. "Wha…wha…?"
"Ya-huh! That's right, it's a dragon you're facin." Jake growled, smoke of his own spouting out of his nostrils as he stomped his way toward the rogue golfer. "Wanna try that again? I dare ya."
"You…wha…Four!" Stumbling back as fast as he could, Killigan grabbed his bag and practically ripped it apart as forced out every ball he could before swinging at them with reckless abandon, only to scream as Jake countered almost every one of them with spits of flames of his own, blowing all of them up harmlessly halfway between them. Those he missed flew too far away to be of any risk, so Jake ignored them completely as he pressed on, not stopping until Duff had backed into the wall and cowered up at the dragon looming over him.
"Is that all ya got? I've gotta admit, I'm disappointed." Jake growled, grabbing the golfer and pulling him off the ground by the shirt, carelessly snagging then snapping the golf club swinging at his head in response. "If I'm forced to risk it and dragon up, I expect a challenge. This is just embarrassing."
"Well then, how do ya feel about a backspin?" Duff asked, his fear quickly being replaced with a sneer as he stared at the ground. Confused, Jake tilted his head just in time to see one of the balls he'd missed rolling back right by his foot, but was unable to do anything more before it exploded, the loud bang and Duff's victorious laughter ringing in his ears as he was thrown off balance.
"Haha! Weren't expectin that, were ya, yee scaled abomination?" Duff jeered, snagging another two clubs from his bag as his feet returned to the ground and swinging them high. "Not all that bright, are ya? But I figure you'd still make a fine…trophy?" He smirked, slamming both clubs down at where he assumed Jake's neck would be, only to gulp with fully restored fear as both were caught and shattered in one clawed hand just seconds before his tail wrapped tightly around his neck.
"I am so sick of everyone trying to mount me on their wall!" Jake snapped, eliciting another struggled gasp from Duff as his tailed tightened for a good three seconds, a clear warning, and his claws snagged and effortlessly ripped his bag in half. Taking a deep breath as he scanned everything it carried as it fell to the ground, Jake quickly deemed it all not worth his time before turning his glare back at the Scotsman, whisps of flames flaring threatening from his jaw. "I have a few questions for you. I suggest you give me honest answers."
"Uuuuhhh…yes?" Duff whimpered, his eyes darting between Jake's and the claws suddenly pressing into the wall just inches from his head.
"Who's the real head of this little band wagon of yours?"
"Drakken!" Duff answered immediately. "This was all his idea! He gathered us, he made the plan, he changed and added to it on a whim! It's all him!"
"It was really Drakken? Not that ghost?"
"What ghost?" Duff cried, blatant confusion mixing with the fear on his face. "Are ya Duffed, reptile? There is no ghost."
"So you didn't even know. That makes things harder." Jake muttered, disappointed, but not at all surprised. It would have made the whole situation a lot easier if they knew exactly who they were up against, but that was the expected answer. After all, why tell these idiots anything if your plan is to hide within them? If they don't know that you're in their ranks, they can't mess it up for you.
But still, that was a problem for later. Time for the real answers he wanted. "So, you're explosives expert of the group, right? Are you the one who made the bomb threatening the hostages?"
"No, they were made by Drakken." Killagan answered. "It's the same type we used ta blow up Global Justice! If we'd used one of mine for that, it'd have blown up the moment we tried ta teleport it! Drakken made em outta somethin special."
'Ectoplasm.' Jake didn't have any doubts about that. The substance of the ghostly realm was the only one he knew of that could be so volatile and yet so smoothly transition through the forms of matter and energy. Add the fact that Drakken was possessed by a ghost and it's a guarantee.
Still though, that unnerved Jake way too much to take any time to praise himself for the discovery. That was simply another sign that the real guy in charge was dangerously smart. Which, with the ghost back in the wind, meant that if they couldn't get handle on this soon… "Ok, next question. Who has the detonator? I suggest you be honest." He demanded, scraping his claws threateningly toward Duff's ear.
It got the point across just fine. "There isn't one!" Duff responded immediately, clenching his eyes tightly shut and tilting his head as far away from the scraping as the tail allowed. "The bomb works on a timer system. It was the only way to safely activate them simultaneously."
"Has it been activated yet?"
"No! We had no idea how long we'd be here. It's not to be activated until Kim Possible is defeated and we're clearing out!"
"Good to know." Jake replied with a grin, stunning duff once again as all signs of anger or aggression were replaced with a very smug and satisfied look as he shifted back to human form, bar the tail that was still wrapped, albeit much more loosely, around the golfer's neck. "That should help a lot. Thanks, homie. Now enjoy your nap."
"Na-oof!" Before he could get a single word out, Jake had already landed a solid punch to his solar plexusand a chop to his neck. Duff didn't even hit the concrete before his world went black.
"Damn, you are one convincing, little bastard. Even I thought you were going to roast the maniac." Bulma exclaimed, shifting back into the room and immediately ripping apart all the paperwork her father had written before staring disdainfully down at the still immobile Hank. "I kinda wish you left them for me, though. I was looking forward to kicking them in with the maxed-out gravity machine. I almost feel cheated."
"Maybe next time." Jake simply shrugged in response, dropping to his knees over the downed villain and set to work frisking him. He was pretty confident that Duff had been telling the truth before, but that didn't mean that he shouldn't check for a detonator anyway. Or any more explosives.
"Young man, how much do you know of the situation?" Mr Briefs asked, trudging over a moment later as Jake finished his search and started gathering all the remaining golf balls. "My wife and employees, are they ok?"
"Physically, they're fine. Henry's monitoring them. The real Henry, the one that came back before was the fake that started all this." Jake replied as reassuringly as he could, grinning as the old man did manage to relax, if only a little. "Kim's going after them with Ron, Monique and Jazz and I'm heading that way next. Armed reinforcements are positioned outside and ready to move in once the hostage threat is neutralised and we've taken out most of the thugs. The biggest problems at the moment are a ghost or two running around and…the bomb the hostages are surrounding."
"There really is a bomb?" Both Briefs paled considerably as that piece of information finally registered. "The bomb you were asking about? The same type that made massive craters where giant spy branches used to be?" Bulma went on, struggling, but not quite managing, to keep her voice down.
"Yeah. And it's unlikely that the ghosts involved will care if the criminal crew is still inside if they choose to set it off. Here, put these away." Jake sighed, dumping the balls in Dr Briefs' hands before turning back to the down criminals before them with an uncertain frown. "We should probably deal with them properly too. If they manage to get back up, they could be an unnecessary problem."
"Then we'll just lock them in the safe for now." Bulma suggested quickly, already motioning for her dad to help her gently lift Hank the moment he'd locked the bomb balls in a draw. "They'll be fine in there and the sooner we move on to the next problem, the better!"
"Sounds good to me." Jake nodded, heading for the door and pushing it closed the moment the Briefs had exited the safe. Leaving the actual locking to Bulma, Jake took a moment to let his body relax against the metal for a moment and took out his Vcom. After all, the info he just got gave them more options to work with and the others would love the advantage. "Hey everyone! I got something-"
"Is it life or death or can it wait a few minutes?" Henry interrupted, followed by a loud crash and a flailing camera image. One that looked nothing like the security room he was supposed to be monitoring from, but did show the image of a green, flying bear shifting into a ninja and flinging shuriken, sending ice through Jake's veins. "Our ghost found me!"
….
"That doesn't look like Satan's secretary."
"That's Bertrand!" Jazz cried.
"Yeah, I got that before. Now how about some more useful information?" Henry grunted frustratedly as he ducked, narrowly dodging the spinning ninja stars.
"He works for Spectra, a ghost that feeds off of misery and anxiety. She must be the secretary ghost!" Jazz exclaimed, her eyes wide as she connected dots. "Now it makes sense! Spectra's responsible for all of this! A world full of fear and misery would be paradise for her!"
"I have notes we can cross later, but for now, I meant useful like where I can find an ecto weapon or a magic man!" Henry snapped, kicking off a wall over a katana slash and around a corner, dropping down the middle of a stairwell for two floors before swinging into another hallway. "I'm defenceless and running from a shapeshifter that flies through walls! I need help!"
"Right. Sorry." Jazz muttered sheepishly, biting her lower lip.
"Who's closest? Jazz and I just made it into position." Monique asked.
"I'm still deep in the heart of this place." Jake said as Bulma popped up next to him.
"And Ron and I are busy right outside the- Ron, LOOK OUT!"
"BU-ARGH! Uuurrgghh!" Ron groaned as almost everyone in the call flinched at the sight of being punched headfirst into a wall. "I…I…"
"Am probably concussed and definitely not getting up for a few minutes, at best." Monique finished for him with worried frown before turning back the other boy in distress. "So where are you?"
"Lost track and running out of hallway!" Henry answered, his breath hitching and stumbling as an arrow sideswiped his arm just above his elbow, the cut immediately releasing blood. Still, it was just a shallow wound. He'd be fine. For a few more seconds anyway.
Gritting his teeth as he turned a corner only to find a dead end, Henry immediately leaped straight up to the ceiling just as ninja Bertrand swooped right where he'd been only seconds before and kicked off as hard as he could. Though it was only enough to avoid the whip sent after him because he had his metal bracelets pull him at twice the speed to the next crossroad before taking a left. He was truly lucky that he still had those, for they were the biggest reason he'd survived this long. Even without taking shortcuts through solid objects, Bertrand was way faster than Henry could run. Propelling himself magnetically was the only way he could keep any distance between them. Which would be fine, except the excessive use of that power was taking its usual toll. A stinging headache was quickly forming and was getting a lot harder to ignore with every use of polarity he made. He wouldn't be able to do it much longer.
Bertrand, on the other hand, had no such limitations to his powers and was pressing hard even in the best of circumstances. If something didn't change immediately, Henry was going to get skewered.
"I got a lock on the Vcom." Felix offered, bringing a gasp of elation from Henry as a genuine option appeared in his head. "Sorry, but don't get too excited. You've ended up pretty far from everyone."
"Yeah, but you can make up the distance, right?" He actually managed a small, albeit pained, grin as he slid under an actual energy blast this time before changing course for the nearest outer walkway. "Head to the West side of the building and be ready. I'm coming in hot."
"What are…" Not bothering to listen anymore, Henry simply put the communicator away for now and focused on his objective. Confident Felix would figure it out just fine on his own in a minute, Henry focused all the power he could toward his bracelets, dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding a grab for his throat, and flung himself through the air as fast as he could, right at a window.
A loud, pained grunt left his mouth as he reached out for its controls and ordered the sealing panel up, but he didn't have time to worry about the glass, so he simply crossed his arms and smashed right through it and into the open air before falling toward the ground as the pain jolting his brain broke all of his concentration.
Fortunately, his faith in Felix was well deserved, as it only took a few seconds of freefalling before a metal claw clamped around his waist. "Man, you weren't kidding! Any hotter and you'd actually be smoking." The boy in question exclaimed as he switched to a sharp incline back around the building, yanking the technopath with him as the ghost burst after him.
"Don't give Bertrand any ideas." Henry replied, a relieved smile crossing his face in spite of the sharp random jerks on his body, both from the arm retracting and Felix's evasive actions as a screaming Bertrand fired more ecto blasts their way.
"Please, we've clearly already crossed that bridge." Felix replied, barrel rolling from a shot at one of his engines, dodging another shot with a loop that Henry used to swing himself onto the back of the chair. "So, what's the plan now?"
"Use your speed and fighter pilot worthy skills to avoid him until we can find….actual help." Henry answered, groaning as a certain idiot's screams unleashed a wave of bullets through the air. "Has he really not realised those flying bullets are a danger to us, not the ghost?"
"Clearly not, so let's get some real distance while we determine our options." Felix declared, easily dodging and weaving through every attack and the ghost's lunges, all while finding time to flicker an eye back at the Kimmunicator latched to the side of his armrest. "So guys, who pulling the short straw?"
….
Kim had never been more thankful for her ability to multitask than she was right now. With everything starting to overlap all at once, it was the only thing keeping her alive.
The synthodrones weren't only stronger than the average, but they also seemed smarter and quicker to react. They even seemed to know to keep Ron off-balance. From the moment the fight started, both had quickly alternated their attacks between the two heroes, but while they favoured attempting to overpower Kim with singular, fierce strikes and kicks, they were mostly using hit and run slams with Ron, breaking his focus as he was shoved, preferably to the other drone. No concentration or sheer rage meant that he couldn't tap into his monkey power, leaving him constantly helplessly in need of saving. It was mildly nostalgic, but the timing was really bad.
Especially now, when you could practically see the naked mole rats running around his head, right when Ron was needed most.
"It's not going to be Ron." Kim stated, springing off the shoulder of one drone attempting a left hook and into a back flip before diving into a slide between the legs of the other as it tried for a stranglehold. "And we can't delay Jake. With Ron's condition pending, he's the only heavy hitter left to ensure the hostages' safety. Or could potentially do something with that damn bomb if it goes off." She added, grunting as she dodged a drone's a brutal kick, latched onto the leg and used its own momentum to throw it to the ground before the other one, only to groan as it aerial rolled over it and forced her to drop and commando roll to avoid a kick of its own. "Honestly, if there's a second ghost, we can't really spare anyone who's left in here!"
"Yeah, well we can't exactly let this ghoul run rampart either!" Felix retorted, notably more panicked than usual as the wildly changing world around him was constantly filled ecto blasts, flying weapons, stretching limbs and the occasion red eyed face of a nightmare. "And he is really hard to shake! AH CRAP!" He cried, pulling a hard dive as a claw almost ripped a paling Henry's back open.
"I'll go!" Jazz volunteered as Kim ducked under another punch and retaliated with a brutal uppercut. "I'm only an extra playing piece to your plan and ghosts are my specialty."
"Yeah, but how would you and the boys track each other down?" Kim asked, leaping into a kick and sending her target crashing to the ground while springing off of it and bowling the legs out from the other before it could strike Ron and rolling between the two as it fell. "You'd have to take the Kimmunicator, which would leave Monique unable to communicate with the rest of us. Ron, seriously, get your head back on straight!" She added as both synthodrones sprung up and surged at them. Grabbing the disorientated boy by the arm, she barely managed to throw both of them down into a roll before the two slammed into the wall behind them.
"I…I'm trying, KP!" Ron moaned, pulling himself off his girl just in time to trip the incoming drones. Honestly, she'd hoped for more, but Kim was more than happy to take the few extra seconds that gave them to catch their breaths as they backed away. Which was apparently enough for Ron, for just as she turned to check on him, his whole face had lit up. "Hey KP, what about the microchips?"
"What about them?" Kim asked, more than a little confused as she tensed for the next round, the drones already back on their feet.
"The Kimmunicators can track them, right? So, Jazz can take Monique's and free her up. Felix can track her chip on his com and we're all good!"
"Wait, since when am I chipped?" Monique cried, visibly vexed as Jazz shushed her. "What makes-"
"Yell at whoever later!" Felix shouted, openly terrified as a flash of green broke a handle from his chair off with a screeching crunch, almost taking Henry's hand and Felix's ear with it. "I'll settle for a stick if we can bop Casper with it, but we do need something NOW!"
"Fine! I'm heading for the nearest window now!" Monique snapped, disappearing from her shaky screen. "But this conversation is not over."
"You might have just got Wade sentenced to death." Kim mused, sparing Ron a quick glance as she shut off the communicator.
"He will be dearly missed." Ron just shrugged in response, taking a deep, slow breath as he eyed their charging opponents, both of them preparing heavy punches as they ran. However, when they threw them, both were simultaneously stopped by the palms of Ron's hands. "You two on the other hand, not so much."
At that, Kim just stepped back and smirked. Now that he was focused, it only took Ron a second crush both fists, use them to swing up and kick right through each of their heads. After that, it only took seconds for them deteriorate on the ground. "Now you're just showing off."
"Eh, you softened them up for me." Ron shrugged, giving her a big grin in return. However, all their smiles and light-heartedness quickly disappeared a moment later as they turned their attention back to the door. Just beyond it was an entire squad of enemies, a major bomb and far too many civilians. And thanks to their last fight, everyone was probably well aware that they were here.
The easy part was well and truly over. From this point on, every misstep meant somebody was likely to die.
"So, should we knock?" Ron asked, rolling his shoulders with a nervous bite of his lip. "Or just spring in? Option two would draw a lot of attention."
"Yeah, but that could do more harm than good at this point." Kim frowned, far too unsure herself for her liking. They never really planned for this many people guarding the hostages and getting in without the guards expecting them was the whole point of their plan. Prior knowledge of their arrival just made everything far more dangerous for everyone, especially without Jake or Huey there to add extra, beneficial chaos and separate friends from foes. To make things worse, without Henry monitoring the situation, they could be blindsided at any time, to say nothing of how they were supposed to get the hostages out of the building.
They needed a new plan. It didn't need to be a big deviation, just something that could give them back a chance at subtlety. Something like…
"Camille." Kim grinned as her wandering eye found the piles of goop.
"No, we're clear of her. Monique and Jazz…Kim, EEWWW!" Ron cried, gaping as he turned to find Kim's hands sinking into the goop. "What are you doing? That's so sick and wrong."
"Yeah, it is." Kim agreed, scrunching her face up as she dug around in it until her fingers ran across fabric. "And for you, it's going to be a lot worse." She added with an uncomfortable smile as she latched on and pulled the suit up. "We'll have to cover the whole in the mouth you made."
"WHAT? EEWWWW!"
….
Henry was honestly thrilled when they muted the coms. Ignoring how frustratingly long it was to get help on one of their most critical opponents, the multitasking was making it far too easy for Bertrand to get in close. Between the ghost and the idiot ordering attacks from below, there was far too much to focus on already.
"What does General Dumbbell even think bullets will do? There's nothing vital on the ball of slime to hit!" Felix screamed, wide eyed and deathly pale as multiple bullets shot through the air a mere five inches from his foot as he swerved away from another slash of a sword. "ARE YOU GUYS TRYING TO HELP OR KILL US DOWN THERE?"
"I question any military that puts an idiot like that in charge of a rescue squad." Henry exclaimed with a flick of his hand, ripping as many guns away from their startled wielders as he could before bringing up two to block Bertrand's next swing. He kept them around for a few more strikes as Felix managed to put a bit of distance between them, but it only took a moment for the ghost to grab and vaporize them. Still, they did their job and with both problems slowed down, he was free to turn some attention to the communicator lodged into the side of Felix' armrest. The screen immediately flickered through search programs, passing through Ron and Felix, before loading Monique's location. Within half a minute, a grid map had already appeared and calibrated itself to match their proximities, complete with a moving red light showing them exactly where Monique was. Not stopping there, Henry had it fused the grid with a 3D floorplan of Capsule Corp, all the better for determining an ETA.
Flickering an eye toward it, Felix immediately pulled them into a loop, narrowly avoiding tentacles from the shifting Bertrand as he passed them with a spin, and dived toward the ground, hugging the wall at the first opportunity. Soldiers screamed and scattered all around them as they got low, bringing all of those still stubbornly trying to shoot scrambling to the ground with roars of rage as they surged by, only to scramble away again as the giant squid Bertrand followed suit, the spectre not bothering to waste even a second on them as he lunged his growing tentacles after the boys. Fortunately for them, down at this level, Henry had no issue starting up every vehicle and driving them into or right in front of each lashing.
"Ok, so we have a location and Monique should beat us to it easily." Felix mused, jerking them to the right with a hiss as another tentacle came out of nowhere and slammed into the wall beside them. "But considering how far around we have to go, reaching her before we meet our maker seems…"
"Then let's cut the time. Hard left!" Henry replied, immediately opening a large window as Felix followed his order. Grunting as the chair clipped the frame, the pair shot through the large room and out a door Henry opened ahead of them. Leaving the directions up to Felix from there, Henry turned his attention back just as Bertrand appeared in the room and launched every metal chair it held at him with a swing of his hand as they disappeared from sight. He had no delusions that it stopped the ghost in any way, but if it could leave Bertrand wondering where they went for just a few seconds, then it was worth the strain.
Fortunately for them, it seemed to work. Though they could still hear him close behind and gaining on them, there was a notable lack of ninja stars and elongated limbs that did wonders for their travels and their bodies, both boys managing to settle their heartrates a little as Henry wordlessly guided them via opening doorways. It was only when they reached their exit point that the ectoplasm started getting a little too close once more.
"Monique, I really hoped you're ready." Felix muttered, flicking his comm back on as they shot out of the still opening window, not even noticing the glass scratching his skin as he made a sharp turn and shot right up the wall. "We're coming in hot."
Monique was quick to respond, but Henry never heard it, for it was at that moment that a green, barbed rope flew up out of nowhere, heading right for Felix' neck. It was only a snap of Henry's wrist that saved his life, leaving him gasping and the native boy screaming as it pierced his flesh.
Clenching his teeth, Henry forced himself to ignore the intensifying pain, latched onto it with his other hand and tried to fling its bearer up into the sky, only to cry out again as he was instead ripped from the wheelchair and fell back toward the sneering ghost.
"I'm coming!" Within a second, Felix was already spinning his chair into loop and diving after him, his robotic arm charging ahead of him, but Bertrand was hardly slacking. There was no way he'd reach him before the sharp, mantis arm Bertrand was shifting his free arm into would behead him.
"ARGH!" Thankfully, Monique didn't need as much response time, for right as Bertrand was about to swing, for the once the green energy blast flying through the sky struck hard on him. Henry couldn't stop the loud gasp of relief as he watched the screaming shifter plummeting toward the ground as Felix's metal arm latched onto his waist once more and jerked him back up.
"You gotta love laser lipsticks!" Monique smirked, firing again and again, forcing Bertrand back into a series of bobs and weaves as the boys recovered. It clearly wasn't going to work for long, but that was fine, for Monique was already set for the next step. "All yours!" Only waiting until she managed to strike Bertrand in the arm, she took the chance to remove a belt from her waist and threw it straight to the boys, following it immediately with a what looked like a silver circlet, before going right back to rapid fire.
"Yeah, perfect!" A bright grin spreading across his face as he snagged the gifts, Henry snapped the belt on and sighed in relief as it activated, sending green sparks surging through the barbed rope still around his arm and vaporized it. A Spectre Deflector, now that was a lifesaver. He'd have to thank both Monique and Jazz for that one later.
"Huh, well isn't that a handy little accessory." Felix mused, staring in wonder as the ectoplasm dispersed before his eyes. "The Fentons really should mass produce those things."
"Bulma's already working up a business proposal and the budget." Henry replied, offering him the bracelet. "Now, if you'd be so kind to take this and give me more cover fire, I think we can wrap this up."
"Cover fire? With a brace…" Felix frowned confusedly, but putting it on anyway, only to cheer as a small laser barrel extended from the top. "Weaponised bling! That concept is so cool, but I'm also kinda concerned."
"Hey, for today it's fine, so long as it works. Now, if you'd be so kind as to get me in close?"
"Sir, yes sir!" With that, they were off again, this time charging straight at their aggressor, Felix's laser fire quickly joining Monique's.
"Final-Oh, damn it all!" To say that Bertrand was well and truly vexed at this point was an understatement. Monique's shots weren't all that dangerous to him, but they were painful. What's more, she was proving to be strategic with them, taking care to angle the laser fire both between him and the building and arcing below him, cutting off the easiest ways to phase himself to safety. They were also coming in too fast to shapeshift, so he couldn't retaliate with anything of his own. Then, just as he was getting used to her patterns and was about to break through, he had fling himself away at the last second or be consumed to by the now crossing streams!
Sparing a second to glare at the wheelchair was more honestly more time than he could afford to waste and he almost paid the price for it. With the shortening of their distance, Felix's accuracy was drastically improving. At this point, it was taking every body distorting trick Bertrand knew just to keep the hits down to a frequent grazing. Which meant he wasn't even close to prepared as Henry dived for him.
Not thinking anything of it at first, he barely paid the boy any attention at all. After all, he had threats that could actually hurt him to worry about right now, who cared what the stupid, unarmed, essentially powerless human did? However, that opinion quickly changed as the screaming boy slammed a foot right into his head.
"ARGH!" His whole body went rigid as what felt like a thousand volts surged from that foot and right through his head. A state that only got worse, for a second later, Henry leapt off him, sending another course of agonising sparks through his form, and out of the way right before both beams he'd been dodging before struck home just below his face.
Crashing down with an echoing bang, Bertrand barely registered that he was on top of a military truck. A number of soldiers were scrambling beneath him, the rattling and clicking of firearms ringing through the air as that one man barked orders, but Bertrand didn't spare them a second thought beyond thanking the fools. They weren't worth his time, but the teens cared about them. As long as they were nearby, there'd be no laser fire, which meant there was plenty of time to- "ARGH! You little BASRTARD!"
Henry however, wasn't nearly so restricted and was far from naïve. Already moving in, he wasted no time plunging his hand into the closest part of Bertrand's body as the ghost's translucent form started sinking through the truck, eliciting another bout of concentration breaking sparks through his form, and dragged him right back into the air. It was only the sheer instinct to escape that allowed him to shift into a wolfman form and lash out with a kick, forcing Henry to let go and backstep as sharp claws came dangerously close to his temple.
Desperate to take advantage of the opening, Bertrand turned invisible tried to get some distance between them, only to scream again a heavy chop struck him right above the tail. Struggling not to break his focus, Bertrand let the force of the blow drop him toward the ground and shifted into the form of a gopher, once again confident of his escape, only for Henry to drop to the ground and send him into the air with a brutal sweep kick before he could even try to phase underground.
'That's not possi-' The thought couldn't even be completed before Henry's hands had wrapped tightly around his little body once more, eliciting another scream of pain as sparks surged right through him. He was lucky that the pain triggered an uncontrolled shift back to his normal form, the sudden expansion blowing the bane of his existence back onto his ass, though it only gave him precious seconds to back up, heaving as he shot the rising boy a venomous glare. "How are you possibly able to find me?"
"Electromagnetic field radiation." Henry replied, his irises flash as he glared right back. "Turns out ectoplasm does have an interesting reaction to it. I noticed it a lot while we were playing cat and mouse. And now I know what to look for, you'll never be able to hide from me."
"I will if I cut out your eyes!" Bertrand screamed, shifting to his ninja form as he shot forward, a pair of knives already in his grip and ready to strike. It didn't matter how much this would hurt him, he had to do it. Even if he escaped, with that discovered ability, Henry would not only find him, but also Spectra wherever they went. If they were going to come out of this, then this brat had to die.
That could have been it right there. His actions were too fast and unexpected, the brat was thrown off. The military had chosen that moment to butt in, getting in Henry's way and physically throwing him off balance as they once again foolishly tried to shoot Bertrand themselves. It was the perfect scenario.
However, he had completely forgotten just how many people he was fighting, a mistake he paid for dearly as a lasso of ectoplasm coated fishing line ensnared and tightened around him, halting his charge at the same time a robotic arm dropped from the sky and pulled Henry to safety. Right before Felix struck hard with a close-ranged shot from his bracelet, blasting the stunned ghost back into the wall as he flew back to the safety of the air.
"Thanks for the save." Henry muttered, never taking his eyes off the ghost as the boys looped back around.
"All good, I'll add it to your tab." Felix grinned, already lining both their trajectory and his ecto bracelet. "Now, I think we better finish this quick, before that grows any bigger. He's real keen to kill you now. Maybe don't tell the ghost about your super vision next time?"
"I did that to keep him visible." Henry grunted as Felix fired, only to miss the squirming blob. "I only have a very general idea of where he is. My successful catches were mostly a mix of prediction and luck."
"Well, the plan worked." Felix nodded, right before hitching his breath and jerking them away as the tentacles made their return. If it wasn't for the sudden jerk in direction, they'd be completely consumed in them. "Good thing too, because that line is not doing its job. What's it going to take to put this guy down?"
"I might have an answer." Henry muttered hesitantly, biting his lip. This would be risky. If the timing was wrong, he'd be screwed.
"Guys, I really could use some help here!" Monique yelled, screaming as Bertrand's thrashing almost pulled her right out of the window. There was no way she could hold him for much longer. The line was only still working at all because Bertrand wasn't thinking straight. Even with it tightening around him, he easily could have shapeshifted out of it by now. He also could just fly up and take her with him, he's way stronger than Monique. The moment his panic dies down, she'd lose him. Which meant that no matter how he felt about it, he had to act now.
"Felix, pin him down. I don't care if you hit him, just don't let him run." Barely waiting for a nod in response, Henry leaped and into the air, floating himself near Monique before the first could even be fired. "Monique, when I drop, loosen the line. Or don't tighten it again when he shifts. Just make sure there's a little room, just for a few seconds."
"But if I do that-"
"Just trust me! You'll know when to tighten it again." It took a few seconds of hard staring, but Monique did concede with a sigh before turning back to the green fireworks display below.
"Then it's on my mark. You better know what you're doing." She muttered, narrowing her eyes on Bertrand's every move, not letting the slightest twitch escape her. Holding back a scream as her arm was once more nearly ripped from its socket, she forced it to adjust the angle and waited just until he was right under her once again, before making the matching twists to his to loosen her hold. "NOW!"
Henry Immediately dropped, shooting down like a rocket. Narrowing his eyes on the line, he watched for just the moment that a gap between it and Bertrand's altering body appeared, this time rapidly turning serpentine as the look on his face once again became more calculated, and slipped himself right into it, wrapping all four limbs tightly around him and locking them in place.
"AARRRGGGHHHHH!" The Spectre Deflector did its job immediately. The transformation was brought to a complete halt as ectoplasmic sparks poured through the mutated mess that was Bertrand's writhing body. There was no conscious thought in his movements at all, his body constantly wildly jerking in all directions as it tried to avoid the agony surging through it, not that Henry was going to let there be any chance of success. Catching on fast, Monique had already tightened the line back up around them and all of henry's focus was put to holding his bracelets and anklets exactly where they were. With his arms having already been sucked into his body when he tried to transform and the pain coursing through him too much to focus through, there was little even violent spasms could do to hurt Henry, much less dislodge him. There was no way to escape and even if he did, Felix was right there, ready to rain laser at point blank range before he could ever hope to recover and respond until Henry could grab back on. This was over, all he had to do was ride this out.
…Though that would be a lot easier if Bertrand would stop headbutting his skull! If he kept that up, he just might luck out.
That potential problem was quickly resolved, however, for just the fishing line laxed a little, both the boy and the ghost were bathed in a blue column of light from above. Henry was left to simply marvel at the sight while the screaming ghost's body seemed to turn into liquid and was sucked up to the source.
"You know," Henry mused, offering up a tired grin as he dropped to the ground. "you could have told us you had that."
"Didn't want Bertrand to know." Monique called down with a shrug, grinning right back as she snapped the lid back on the Fenton Thermos. "Jazz always has one of these in her handbag. Good thing Camille never thought to check her stuff. The one in the lab was gone, so it was a safe bet that the ghosts thought they were free of it. It'd be a bummer if we gave that little secret away too soon, don't you think?"
"Fair point." Well, there was no arguing with that.
"If that's the case, then there's no rest for the weary." Felix exclaimed, bringing his chair in for a landing. "There's still a Spectra in there somewhere that needs to be shoved into that thing too, which means we need to find the others before she does."
"Very true." Henry couldn't quite stop the sigh that escaped his lips as he agreed though. Honestly, he was wrecked. Even without the smacks to the head and previous injuries, using his magnetism so much over such a short timeframe had left him drained and aching. Laying on the grass sounded pretty wonderful right now.
But there really was too much to do. The others would need the thermos, there was a bomb to defuse and he needed to get back to the monitoring room and see if he left enough of it still intact to track down any missed marks and guide the soon to be freed hosta-
"Henry, we need an exit point now!"
"You! BOY! I've had all I can stand! You will give us access to the building NOW and pray I don't incarcerate you with the terrorists!" Oh, great! Apparently, everythingjust came to a head and Lieutenant Oikawa just won't quit. In fact, he looked ready to murder the boys.
"Settle down, Lieutenant." Henry groaned, pulling himself to his feet. Sparing just long enough to take a few breaths and push back his headache, he turned back toward the building and reached out once more. "The hostages have been freed. The doors are opening now."