K1m Poss1ble::Butt3rfly's W1ng$
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan work. Kim Possible and all associated characters are the property of Walt Disney and Buena Vista Television.
Chapter 5: Connection
Trapdoor and Tint walked around the corner of the R&R pod in the Global Justice headquarters. Trapdoor was a short, pale man only about an inch or two above Tint's height, his face was patchy and unshaven and he wore a black beanie and sunglasses along with his standard Global Justice attire, "Maybe she just wants to be left alone, Tint?"
Tint rolled her eyes, "Oh yea, Gopher Boy. That's a brilliant idea. Leave 'er be with the keys to the liquor cabinet and hope fer the best."
Trapdoor twiddled his fingers in a rapid motion, "Do we even know if she can get intoxicated? Perhaps her cybertronic implants filter out the alcohol allowing her to imbibe the foul tasting liquor for the abhorrent flavor alone. Similar feats have been tested and supposedly are reaching release candidate status for the PATCH."
Suddenly a bottle flew out of a door ahead of them and shattered against the opposite wall, "GET THE HELL OUT FOUR EYESH! I WANNA BE ALONE!"
Tint put her hands on her hips and grinned at Trapdoor, "Well, there ya have it. Our girl is pickled." Trapdoor frowned and motioned for Tint to go ahead.
Inside the lounge, Three Eyes was dodging projectiles flung by the cybertronically enhanced young woman, "You know I can't leave you alone, Kim. That's just asking for GJ security to come down here and you know none of us want that."
Another bottle flew across the room at fastball speeds right towards Three Eyes' crotch. He quickly grabbed a tray from a nearby table and blocked the bottle as it shattered against the plastic with a spectacular crash and a splash of the remaining liquid scattering across the surface. Three Eyes gave a sigh of relief, "That would have been-" but he never got the chance to finish his sentence as a secondary bottle whacked him square in the forehead and knocked him on his rear.
Trapdoor's voice came from behind Three Eyes, "Impressive. Even when inebriated, tactical thinking is still prioritizing new strategies and attack patterns. I can see why the Director boosted her straight to us out of boot. Only Agent Du was capable of-" A bottle shattered next to the door frame where Trapdoor stood, "Did I say something incorrect?"
The only response the three elite agents were able to make out from behind the bar was some slurred mention of 'Agent Doo Doo.'
"HA! We need to get her drunk more often!" Tint said with a resounding laugh, "A grown ass woman calling someone doo doo. That's way more entertaining than callin' 'im a tight arse like everyone else 'round here."
Three Eyes pulled himself to his feet, a large welt on his forehead where the bottle had made impact, "Not the time, Tint. We gotta calm her down and get her someplace safe before security shows up and makes all our lives hell. Trap, you think you can get over to her?"
Trapdoor stepped a bit further into the room and removed his glasses. His eyes scanned every wall, nook and cranny in the area. In his mind, he began to create tables of percentages to what standardized layouts the wiring and ductwork behind the stone would use. An overhead vent, three rows of fluorescent lighting, water pipes below going to a sink - then his eyes locked on a small duct on the right wall, "I will need a suitable distraction. It seems mentioning the former commander will elicit an extreme enough response to provide a window."
Tint and Three Eyes exchanged a quick glance and simultaneously gave an audible gulp. Trapdoor pulled his toolkit out from the elaborate belt he wore and began to fiddle with one of the floor panels behind an upturned table. He brought out a small pen like tool and clicked the small button on its side to produce a laser edged scalpel like tool that he started cutting open the panel with.
Three Eyes leaned over slightly and whispered, "Is this a good idea? You know how she doesn't like it when he bring up Will. This might makes things wo-"
"NO THREE EYES. I DON'T AGREE THAT THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN IF WILL WAS STILL HERE." Tint's voice blasted through the room. Three Eyes glanced over at Tint with his one good - and now wide - eye to find her grinning like a Cheshire Cat, "Better start dancin', Two Eyes."
A rain of implements at blinding speeds descended on the two Global Justice agents - glasses, bottles, bowls, silverware, chairs - just about anything that you could reasonably expect to find around a place. Tint cackled in glee as she hopped around, flipping up and through the air to nimbly dodge the projectiles. She would kick off of walls and tables as the objects whirled past her and into the walls. Three Eyes took a different approach. He grabbed a stool and broke two of the legs off of it. Wielding the legs like a pair of clubs, he swung, blocked and shattered objects coming his way. When he could manage, he would attempt to loop the stool leg into some hole or opening on an object to catch it and let it slide harmlessly to the floor.
The bout went on for solid minutes with Tint and Three Eyes trying desperately to keep up the act in the onslaught of objects being thrown and the sounds of angry sobbing coming from the other side of the bar. When the first choked cry came out, Three Eyes almost dropped his makeshift clubs to go and try to comfort the distressed red head. But a quick volley of shot glasses flying across the room like a squadron of fighter jets quickly put him back on task.
Finally, Trapdoor was able to work his way around the wiring and ducts to pop out of the floor from a panel adjacent to Kim. He peeked out to see the young woman with tears pouring down her face, snot bubbling from her nose, her cheeks and eyes were red and puffy. Trapdoor went back to his tool-belt and fiddled with it until he found a small device and slid it out of the hole with a whisper of, "My apologies, Agent Phoenix," before he slid back down. The device beeped a soft tune and then a flash of electromagnetic pulses erupted from the small box, rendering the cybertronic half of Kim's body completely useless.
As soon as the pulse dissipated, Trapdoor was back out of the hole again with a small medical kit that he opened and procured a breathing mask and a small bottle of oxygen and he began to place it on Kim's face. The shock of losing all of her cybertronic systems, not even able to switch to standby mode, was sure to take a toll on Kim's breathing and other bodily functions, Trapdoor tried to ensure her comfort as best as possible and then started to try to manually force a restart on her locked up body.
In the time it took Kim to regain her bodily autonomy, Trapdoor, Three Eyes and Tint had moved her to a comfy sofa in a lounge down the hall. The team tried to justify their actions to the understandably upset Kim, "And I did not say anything about Agent Du. That was Tint. Trying to distract you so we could get you to calm down. Do you understand?"
"It's still a low blow," Kim uttered. Her head was leaning on some pillows and an ice pack across her forehead, "Especially after Betty's bitching about losing Will because of me too."
Tint frowned, "Oooooooh, is that what all this is about? The Director was givin' ya more shit about Du-or-Die." Kim nodded while squeezing the ice pack slightly to allow the cold liquid to drip on her skin.
"I do not understand." Trapdoor uttered. The smaller man had occupied himself with bundling all his tools and supplies back into their respective pockets along his outfit and bag.
"Betty blames Kim fer Will leavin'," Tint stated.
"I AM the reason that Will left," Kim responded.
Trapdoor shook his head, "An inaccurate assessment. Agent Du held your skill in the upmost regard."
Three Eye scratched his head, "I'm with my companion on this one. I don't see how you could be held responsible for Will's actions."
Kim sighed, "It started when Betty wanted me to shadow Will. I was outside her office, but even I could hear the yelling about it. Will was furious that I was there. I'd never even seen him show an ounce of emotion before that point. He was always so collected. But there he was, screaming at the top of his lungs in anger - at his commanding officer no less."
LOCATION: Global Justice Headquarters, Doctor Director's Office.
TIME: March 22nd, 2009. 1000 Hours. ~ 6 Months Ago.
"A TECH? Have you lost your mind, Director?" Will Du screamed. The sound piercing the thick doors of Doctor Betty Director. Kim sat meekly on the waiting bench outside and shook slightly at the noise. She allowed her curiosity to take hold and activated some of the enhanced listening software built in to her cranial implants.
"Kim Possible came at your own highest recommendation, Will." Doctor Director stated, "Initial assessments show that she is equally capable if not more so than before her injury."
"That is NOT the point. The point is that you are allowing a 'teched up freak' into Global Justice. Worse yet, you want ME to supervise her training? What am I supposed to think about that other than disgust and offense?!" The anger in Will's voice grew.
"Regardless of your personal squabbles with the decision, Agent Du, this is an order." The Director's voice seem to become more cold as Will's anger escalated.
"Well if my own personal beliefs are going to be so rudely thrown back in my face after everything I've done for this organization, perhaps it's time I STOPPED taking orders!"
The doors to the office flung open and cracked in the walls with a thunderous sound. Agent Will Du, red in the face and teeth grinding, stormed out and shot a dirty glare at Kim Possible before walking back down into the main base.
LOCATION: Global Justice Headquaters.
DATE: Present Time.
"That evening word spread across the training barracks that Will had just vanished. Not even the security teams could tell where he had gone off to." Kim explained as tears filled her eyes.
Trapdoor nodded with his eyes closed as he recollected the events, "First time in Global Justice history an agent was able to successfully go AWOL."
Kim gave a sniffle and nodded, "And all because he didn't want to work with a teched up freak like me."
The three other members of Special Task Force 10 exchanged glances before Three Eyes spoke up, "That's not true, little one. Will left because of his own baggage."
"Teched. Up. Freak." Kim announced, her voice became colder and colder with each word, "That's what he called me. I heard him."
"I know. I heard you quote him. Just like I heard him quote the same exact words from the Director." Three Eyes muttered sympathetically. Kim rose slightly to look at Three Eyes directly, "Will wasn't calling you a Teched Up Freak. Not directly. He was throwing the Director's words back in the her face."
Three Eyes' face grew dark as he clenched his large fists, "What I am about to say does not leave this room. It was entrusted to me in secret, and it stands to cause quite a stir among all of GJ if it should be found out."
Tint, Trapdoor and Kim all nodded slowly, their eyes wide. Kim had slid up on to her arms and was now propped up and leaning on the sofa's arm.
Three Eyes gave a loud sigh, "Back before Kim joined Global Justice, back when HenchCo announced the PATCH as a solution to the Moscow Incident, Will and I were stationed in what was about to be declared the European No Man's Land in a defensive outfit. Will outperformed any expectation in that hell hole of a war zone. Even pulled a Tech off of me before it finished eating my face once. Only lost an eye. But it wasn't just his normal excellence pushing him through this. Will was studying the techs, both before and after the PATCH. Their ins and outs, structural integrity, mechanical workings - everything. Not just for how to beat them. He admired them. Beyond their feral or criminal minds, he saw them as the perfection of physical prowess. So when we were ultimately recalled back when the No Man's Land was declared and formed, Will submitted a proposal to the Director to volunteer as a human test subject for a Global Justice implementation of the PATCH."
"Oh." The word left Kim's mouth like a sigh as the pieces fell into place in her head. She continued to listen as she let her eyes begin searching the databases she was connected to in her HUD.
"The Director told Will in a private meeting that she would not authorize the proposal, she would NEVER authorize something like that and that she - and Will quoted this to me directly - would never allow some teched up freak into an organization like Global Justice."
Tint scratched her head, "But the Director is the one who personally invited Kim."
Trapdoor shrugged, "Perhaps she reconsidered her position in the meantime. After all, the Moscow Incident, the formation of the ENML and the PATCH were all recent developments that drastically changed and reshaped the way Global Justice had to respond to incidents."
Three Eyes nodded, "And I told Will just the same. Let things simmer a bit before raising a ruckus. But the Director stood firm. Then when Kim showed up, that seemed to be the last straw for Will Du. He told the Director off and then vanished."
"And then Kosch first appeared one month later."
Three Eye, Trapdoor and Tint all slowly turned their heads back up to Kim who had moved into a sitting position on the couch. Her eyes flickering with information that she could only see.
"Agent Phoenix, You can't possibly be insinuating that-" Trapdoor was immediately cut off.
"The timelines match. A full conversion with the PATCH would take a few weeks. Then Kosch's first targets? All Global Justice agents. So the motive would match as well. Not to mention a pre-existing knowledge of our database and indexing techniques would go a long way in not being able to identify him." Kim started mumbling off other notes herself as her squad mates looked back and forth.
"Ya think Kosch the Killer is Will Du?" Tint said flabbergasted.
Kim stopped and looked at her team, "Yes. Don't you?"
Trapdoor shook his head violently, "Absolutely not. Agent Du was a prime example of law enforcement personnel. The examples you have stated do fit, but the margin for error is so large that to state that only Will Du could be Kosch the Kill would require an unjustifiable ignorance of other possibilities."
Three Eyes saw Kim starting to frown, "Aw, don't worry Little One. It was an… interesting idea. But I agree with Trapdoor. Will just wasn't that kind of guy."
Kim's frown solidified into a stone like face that didn't change expression for the rest of the day. That night, long after Kim's chat with her squad-mates and the effects of the heavy alcohol abuse parsed its way through her system, she found herself in the research library of the Global Justice headquarters. There she sat in front of a computer monitor for hours on end in the dark room.
The screen flashed with bright letters "KOSCH THE KILLER - NEW MENACE IN THE WAR FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE?" A message sent out after the first appearance of Kosch to all GJ agents. There wasn't much to it that Kim didn't already know, but there was a mention that several interrogated W.E.E. agents divulged that they had no knowledge of who or what Kosch was. Kim jotted down a note on a nearby piece of paper - 'No WEEnie Connection at first. Recent development?'
The pieces of paper also held an array of other notes, including comparisons of heights between theorized heights of Kosch and documented heights of Will Du, as well as dates of documented Kosch attacks and possible correlations.
"There's got to be some kind of smoking gun here," Kim muttered to herself. She flipped to a piece of grainy recorded footage from a security camera of a figure speculated to be Kosch attacking an agent. Kim watched it intently. This wasn't the brutal leaping slashing that she had witnessed in her quick escape but a full on hand-to-hand brawl. Kosch's moves were calculated, and powerful, and… way too similar to the agents to be a coincidence. Kim's stoic frown broke for the first time since talking to Three Eyes.
Global Justice had a unique form of martial training that was used exclusively by them. Not tied to any one form of martial art or school of combat, but rather a mixture of several techniques that were almost proprietary to the organization. Kim remembered how after the Lorwardian Invasion at graduation, that Global Justice asked Ron again to 'shower them with some Ron-shine' as he put it and let them study some of his moves. He had joked that it just solidified in his mind that he would never make it in Global Justice but they did pay him for his time. They went on a nice date after that at a posh Italian place in Upperton. Then they went back to his place and…
Kim's nostalgia was cut short as she saw what appeared to be a small blue man sitting on the table looking down at her notes. She gave a quick sniff and wiped the tears from her eye before she tried to swat at the strange figure but her hand simply passed through.
"Please don't. I may not have a physical form, but I do find that quite rude."
The voice seemed to surround Kim, as if it were coming from inside her head. It was a calm voice, definitively male, and certainly seemed to fit for the small blue humanoid in front of her, "What are you?"
The figure turned around, revealing its luminescent white eyes. Kim studied the figure for a moment. While it was humanoid, it was not clothed nor was it nude. It just seemed to be a humanoid shape, like a silhouette or a shadow. The figured stepped off the table and floated up to be in the center of Kim's vision.
"I am an artificial intelligence. You may call me DataByte."
Kim's eyes were wide and her neck craned back as if her head were fleeing backward at the presence of the small blue man, "W-what?"
Next Chapter: Secrets
A/N: As assurance to those wondering, no I have not abandoned the story. However, writing is something I only really do in my spare time and when I feel like. I have a full-time job and whatnot, so I'm hardly in the position to post as much as I would have liked to when I was say, back in college. Still, the story marches on. In bits and pieces and as the muse strikes me. I thank you all for your patience and your wonderful reviews.