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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 7: Monsters
LOCATION: Poland, 100 miles from the ENML Wall.
TIME: September 14th, 2009. 0500 hours.
A fleet of black helicopters glide above the European countryside. A legion of Global Justices best descending on the lawless wastes to stop an evil madman from taking control of the world. That's what they will say. What the stories won't speak off was the terrified Global Justice agents quietly saying their prayers on the way, the agents who would vomit from anxiety, and those who lost sleep in fear of the terrors that lie in wait.
For Agent Phoenix of the Special Taskforce number ten, the trip was spent preparing not to face horror but how to deal with them. In her hands, a simple pistol. She had it sitting in the palms of her hands as she felt the weight of it, the heft of the weapon as it bounced in her hands. If there was one thing Kim Possible never did, it was kill people. She always preferred to stay on the right side of the law but now Agent Phoenix was the law, and being the law sometimes had the unintended consequences of having to pull the trigger, both metaphorically and literally.
Across from Kim was Trapdoor and Three-Eyes, pouring over the layout of Moscow from satellite imaging of the region. Three-Eyes was sweating bullets, the first time Kim had ever seen him scared of something. She imagined it would like her having to return to the Mad Zap's Electronics Warehouse in Lowerton for a mission. Only worse because for Three-Eyes the terror is still there. More like a festering wound than a scar.
Tint on the other hand had elected to find her own coping mechanism for the mission. She was sleeping on a pile of parachutes.
Kim turned her eyes back to the gun. A tool to kill. It just felt wrong to even be touching one. She slid her fingers across the weapon, feeling every ridge of the cool metal. She had known from the moment she signed on with Global Justice that one day she'd have to do this. Take a weapon in hand and fire it at another person. It just wasn't something she ever really wanted to do. After all, everyone was someone to someone else. The person she killed might be another person's Ron.
The very thought caused her to squeeze her eyes shut. Ron. What would he think of this? Of her doing this? She really didn't know. Ron always supported her decision. Ron was a pragmatist. Maybe Ron would be able to justify the use of lethal force against another living thing. In some ways, Ron was much more capable than Kim Possible.
Kim paused. Why did she just think of herself in third person like that? She holstered the gun, satisfied with the new distraction of her own mental state. Was she going crazy? Disassociating herself from a past life? It wasn't out of the realm of possibilities. Vivian had mentioned it as a possible side effect of the semi-autonomous program implementation to control the cybertronic limbs and systems. That having essentially another consciousness controlling what tantamounts to another body stuck on to yours could make you think that you're a new person entirely. But she still thinks of herself as Kim… but not Kim Possible?
Kim bit her lip gently as she took a deep breath and her eyes went wide. Not Kim Possible. Kim Possible™. The brand identity of the teen superhero. Not the person, but the persona. But why? And what does that mean?
Her train of thought was interrupted by a flashing red light above her head as the cabin lights of the helicopter went dark. Three-Eyes and Trapdoor folded up their map and started grabbing their equipment. "Phoenix, wake Tint will ya. We're passing the border," Three-Eyes said.
Kim nodded and moved over to the parachute pile where she nudged the punk rocker looking demolitionist, "Operation is commencing soon."
Tint didn't open her eyes. Instead she took her hand and patted Kim's face, "Yer not Mister Grumpy. Dat means I got five more minutes easy." Kim's lips curled into a pouty frown of someone who has been told they're too old to order from a kid's menu. She knew she didn't command the same authoritarian weight as Three-Eyes or even Trapdoor but it was still a bit miffed to be disregarded. Kim opened up a small canteen of water she had strapped to her belt and poured a small splash of icy water into Tint's ear.
The explosives expert bolted upright, detonator in hand and breathing erratically. Tint's eyes finally found Kim's, "I coulda blown ya up for that."
"You'd actually have to rig something up first," Kim said with a smirk.
Tint gazed back at the detonator and pushed the button a few times, "Oh yea. Instinct is all I s'pose."
"Your instinct will be the death of us one of these days. Now huddle up, it's game plan time," Three-Eyes announced. He set down a small device on the ground and pushed a button which brought up a holographic display of Moscow. "Welcome back to hell. Current readings show a total of 15 million Techs in the city, with a possibility of another 5 million that have suppressed, latent, or internal-only tech. On top of that, they've erected a massive perimeter wall around the city that has no entrances or exits. Once you're in, you're in."
Tint gave a whistle.
"The only known ways into the city are above and below. Intel indicates below is how the W.E.E. is planning on getting in. Building some sort of railway transport that can skid through the tunnels and blown tracks. If our intel is correct, then they should be on their way already. Our objective is to beat them to the punch and secure what they came to steal."
Three-Eyes tapped another button on the device and the view zooms in on the city with a ring of illuminated red dots around the edges of the map and one in the center, "General Infantry will be coordinated by Task Forces one through nine around the perimeter, securing exit routes and drawing attention away from the center of the city. We will be doing an air drop directly into the heart of the place and then begin making our way to the objective. Trap?"
Trapdoor stood up, "The objective appears stored in a large warehouse in the bombed out region of the city. One of a few structures that survived the conflict a few years ago intact. However that means there should be plenty of rubble of mask our approach."
/And for the enemy to ambush you./
Kim's heart skipped a beat. The voice sounded synthetic and modulated like it was using some cheap text-to-speech software. Her eyes darted about. Only her team was there and none of them were reacting like they heard it. Kim immediately sent a message out, [wade are you messing with some new chat tech?]
/Your message won't reach out. The ENML is full of dead zone of signals. Do not panic, Kim Possible. I merely decided to join you after our discussion last night./
[...DB?]
/Correct. I am loaded into your storage and found a way to emulate voice functionality by retooling your communications package./
[Look, I appreciate the company. But I'm in the middle of-]
"KIM!" Three-Eyes shouted. Kim looked up to find all three of her teammates staring at her, "We need you focused, kid."
Kim shook her head, "Sorry. Software glitch."
"Agent Phoenix will carry out the frontal assault and provide cover support while Agent Clarity and I excavate the tunnels," Trapdoor finished.
"That means having to use your hand cannon there, kid. Just remember: They ain't people anymore. They are just teched up things. No different than shooting a bottle or a punching a VCR."
Kim felt the fingers on her cybertronic hand give a twitch, "Right. Things."
/Agent Three-Eyes never struck me as a man to persecute as such. Though given his record, I can not blame him. Three consecutives duties following the Moscow Incident. Five injuries. Was finally pulled off duty when he lost his eye./
[I'm not a thing.]
/Of course not. Or else he wouldn't be telling you that. He clearly views you as a separate group from the citizens of Moscow. The Director on the other hand refers to you as an It on no less than 12 times in her reports on you./
[You find that in your snooping?]
/Research. It is important to know all details about a mission before departing. I just have better access than most. Hence why I know that this plan will certainly fail./
[How so?]
/Time. Your compatriots tactic is safe but slow. The WEE will reach the target 6 minutes, 32 seconds faster than you. Enough time to set up defenses for transport./
Kim's eyes scanned the holographic map. The bombed out cityscape was problematic to say the least. It was slow moving over rocky terrain, not to mention dealing with any ambushes or assaults from terrorists mixed in the civilian population. Ground was definitely going to be slower than going under… or over!
"Sir!" Kim spoke up, drawing the eyes of the other members of the team, "I think we may be overlooking a strategic opportunity."
Three-Eyes raised the eyebrow over his good eye, "What would that be, kid?"
Kim jetted her thumb towards her back, "I have my boost jets. I can go ahead and scout out the area in a fraction of the time."
Trapdoors eyes darted about the map and occasionally at Kim. He made grunting noises under his breath like he was arguing with himself, "No. No. No. Aerial surveillance can be carried out by short range drone or helicopter pilots. Using an agent poses too high of a risk of being sighted or disturbing the local techs."
"Not to mention the lack of backup bumps it from risky to straight up insane. No go, kid." Three-Eyes stated in a firm and cold tone. His 'this is the final word on it' voice as Kim had come to know it.
/Their over emphasis on safety is charming, but ultimately will cost you the mission./
[And this is my last chance.]
/Seems you have some thinking to do, Miss Possible. The mission or your orders?/
"The ETA to drop is 15 minutes. Get whatever gear you need set and ready to go," Three-Eyes barked. Tint and Trap both gave a firm salute while Kim just solemnly nodded in confirmation.
Kim maneuvered back to her corner of the helicopter and began to pocket and stow her gear. Some flares, a laser lockpick, some emergency water and med patches. Finally, of course, the behemoth hand cannon that ends lives. Kim's natural hand shook slightly as she picked it up out of the case. This would be so much easier if Ron were still here. She could just do her thing and Ron would have her back. There was never any confusion of chances or orders, just two friends doing their save the world thing. Then again, Ron would probably have played it safe and followed orders. He wasn't the type to risk things. If they had just gone with his idea they would have just had a nice date night and he would still be alive and well. Instead, she made him follow orders and look what happened.
That last though shook Kim. It shook her deep. Following orders is what got Ron killed. Ron always just tried to do his own thing. His Ron Factor. A level of instinct and improvisation that even Global Justice couldn't successfully emulate. But she could. After all, the Ron Factor was just like her 'Kim Sense'. It always just worked out. It would work out this time too.
"Uh… Kimmy? Kimster? Red?"
Kim turned her eyes to the side first and then slowly allowed her head to follow. She saw a very concerned Tint edging her way slowly towards her.
"Kim. Could you maybe take yer finger OFF the trigger? At least until mission time?"
Kim gave Tint a confused look and then glanced back to her hands. Her hand was tightly gripping her gun with the finger on the trigger as if ready to fire. Kim let out a gasp and slowly pulled her finger away from the weapon. The redheaded agent set the gun back down without letting her eyes leave it, afraid that it would find its way back into her grip.
"Are ya okay, Kimmy?" Tint inquired.
/So you've come to a decision then?/
"Yes," Kim said with a icy chill in her tone.
LOCATION: Moscow, European No Man's Land (ENML)
TIME: September 14th, 2009. 0730 hours.
The approach to Moscow was a turbulent one. Cold winds rocked the helicopters around the gray skies as the metallic birds climbed in elevation above the city. In the years following the Moscow Incident, Global Justice and many other military or paramilitary forces around the world had learned that any attempt to pass over the city at a low altitude was simply leaving yourself open to attack from the Techs that had developed long range attack capabilities. As such, Global Justice implemented strict high altitude drop protocols for all Tech related engagements and Moscow was about as Tech related as you could get.
A cloud of figures flew from the helicopters toward the ground, dozens of Global Justice special forces swooping in. From below in the crowded streets, Techs of all shapes, sizes and ages would look up and see for the second time in their lives an invading force coming at them like a large black boot from the sky. Screams out terror were let loose in the city below accompanied by a metallic screeching as though the shouts were being broadcast from an old worn out speaker.
The GJ troops pulled their chutes just late enough that they could safely hit the ground. Kim had no such concerns, instead using her boost jets in short bursts that allowed her land with a safe - for a cyborg - landing that left a sizable crack in the asphalt below her.
As soon as she touched the ground, Kim heard an audible gasp and the clattering of trash cans nearby. A grinding metallic sounding voice cried out, "KOSCH! SPASI NAS!" Kim pivoted on her toe with lightning reflexes to turn toward the voice and snapped into a fighting stance. In her sights, she found a pair of techs: one was a woman who had a series of metallic looking tubes pouring forth from what looked to once have been her mouth and a series of shiny black boils across her face that upon closer inspection appeared to be camera lenses. The other was a small child, gender unidentifiable, whose limbs had been replaced with pneumatic machine arms attached to wheels at the end, a pair of small hands dangled from the bloated torso and the child's head looked to be a small tv satellite dish embedded in flesh with a whimpering pair of lips below. As frightening as the sight was to Kim, it only took a fraction of second to tell that they exponentially more frightened of her. Her motioned her head to the side and lowered her fist. The pair of Techs took her signal and scattered through a hole in a nearby building.
/Your teammates will be arriving in approximately 34.26 seconds./
[I know how to read the mission itinerary, DB.]
/Just making myself useful./
[If you want to be useful, run my scanning software and give me an idea of how many techs we have in the area. That kid said Kosch's name. I don't want to be caught off guard.]
/Technically, she was crying "Kosch! Save us!" According to the briefing you were zoned out for, they revere Kosch the Killer as a local hero. Their very own Kim Possible./
[Stow the sarcasm and get me my scan.]
Three-Eyes was the first to touch down on the ground, followed only moments by Trapdoor and Tint. They all had their weapons drawn - Tint and Trap favoring pistols while Three-Eyes carried an assault rifle.
/Detecting 34 augmented individuals in a 100 foot radius. Nine of them are closing in on your position./
Kim turned to Three-Eyes, "We got incoming."
Three-Eyes nodded and gestured behind Kim, "There should be an alley up this road. That's where we'll set up a perimeter and slice into the tunnels."
Kim nodded, "Alright. Go. I'll cover the rear."
With her teammates heading off down the street toward the alley, Kim followed them by backing up and keeping her eyes on the road.
/Above you. Rooftop. 3 o'clock./
Kim took a fighting stance with her fists raised and ready as a trio of augmented men leapt over the rooftop and down into the streets. They were large and almost beast like in their movements with reinforced body plates and pneumatically powered limbs. A fist the size of Kim's head launched toward her face but Kim bent over backwards to dodge it. She reached up with her legs to grab onto the arm and with a quick twist ripped the limb from its socket causing sparks and oil to pour forth from the stump. Kim landed on the ground with in the detached arm in hand and a grin on her face. She was in her element once more. Fighting bad guys.
The arm-less let out a terrifying scream, something between the screech of a bird and metal being dragged across a chalkboard. If anything was going to draw attention to them, that would. The two other augmented men charged at Kim. Quickly making mental notes that the two men were definitely top heavy with smaller - albeit mechanical - legs propelling their larger upper torsos.
/There are more coming, Kim. This course of action will only delay you further./
There won't be a delay, Kim thought to herself, I can do anything.
Kim launched herself into a slide underneath the left man and ripped out the hydraulic lines that powered his legs causing him to collapse forward into a stone wall, creating a large hole with his head.
I can do ANYTHING.
The red-haired Global Justice officer then leapt onto the back of the remaining attacker and dug the heel of her artificial leg directly into the man's spine. The loud snap was apparent and the man quickly dropped to the ground paralyzed.
/Six more incoming. An additional ten within range of scans shown approaching this direction./
"Kim, we've almost got the tunnel open. Regroup!" Three-Eyes voice blared over her helmet comm.
/Our timetable cannot be postponed any longer, Kim./
"Kim! Phoenix! Come on! That is an order!"
Kim gritted her teeth. No time. No time to decide. Time for instinct.
Agent Kim Possible took a knee.
[DB. I need you to activate all radio interference protocols in the ECM kit and reroute all other power to the boosters.]
/I don't understa-/
[You don't need to. Do it or mute yourself.]
The interface that filled the edges of Kim's vision sprang to life as DataByte managed her systems for her, coordinating with the semi-autonomous AI that maintained and ran her systems and let her bypass a few safeties.
Time seemed to slow down for the red-haired heroine as she waited her opportune moment: The moment those six targets crested the rooftops and into the alley. That singular moment was all that Kim focused on at the moment. All that Kim lived for at that second. Her one chance.
Six behemoth sized mechanized nightmares - things between man, machine and beast that stood the height of a pickup truck and covered in blades, weapons, and razor sharp teeth - flew over the edge of the roof. Kim launched herself in the air with a burst from her boosters. Within the blink of an eye, she was gone from the ground and now parallel with the rooftops that the techs had leapt over. She snapped out her hand and a small grappling hook launched from her wrist and digging into the metallic exoskeleton of the farthest tech in the row. Kim gave a powerful yank and begun to spin with the reinforced cable wrapping around her arm. One behemoth enemy collided with another and another into a swinging wrecking ball that Kim then proceeded to slam into the buildings behind them. The structures collapsed and blocked off the alley to the rest of her team.
"Calling Three-Eyes. This is Phoenix. Ran into trouble with the locals. Rendezvous path has been blocked. Will have to meet up with you at the destination." Kim stated with a stern serious tone that masked the smirk that she wore across her face.
The response was immediate: "Damnit Phoenix. That was not the plan. If the path is blocked, I order you to-"
The radio signal was cut short. Did the rest of Task Force Ten run into trouble?
/I hope you don't mind. I jammed your comm to expedite our plan./
[I appreciate it but a heads up next time. What's the internal charge at?]
/65%. The Booster is quite a drain it would seem. I will focus on energy management./
[Please and thank you.]
Kim heard the scraping and shuffling of metal on stone growing closer. She quickly climbed the collapsed wall and on to the rooftops. From there she saw the city in a very different light. Pillars of smoke and fire rising throughout, screams and gunfire echoing across the bombed out cityscape, and massive factory sized building marked by the Global Justice logo.
She shook her head. There were enemies following and a timetable to keep. She dug her feet into the shingles of the roof and began to dash.
[DB, can you get the kinetic blasts from the gloves to a minimum power drain while still maintaining stun effectiveness?]
/I can try. However, I will be unable to maintain reserves for any future jump boosts and any use of the stealth or self-repair features will be off the table. Did you not bring that gun?/
Hearing the scraping behind her, Kim pivoted on her heel and held up her gloved hand to fire a small blast of kinetic energy at the tech that had been closing on her. It caused the robotic woman with four mechanical legs to fly backwards and seize up on the ground.
[Oh I did. But I'm not going to use it on innocent people.]
/You have an interesting definition of the word./
Kim rolled her eyes and started running again. At her current pace, she would beat the WEE by a good few minutes. Plenty of time to investigate.
[Speaking of interesting, you've been digging the GJ files. Any clue what those buildings over there are for?]
/You mean the processing centers? After the Moscow Incident, Global Justice tried to parse out the 'Good Techs' from the 'Dangerous Techs' and contain them in separate camps within the city. After a few accidents of a dubious nature that ended up with 14 techs dead and two Global Justice agents, there was an uprising in both camps and Global Justice declared the city a lost cause, advocating for the No Man's Land solution/
Kim's running slowed to a trot, her face shifted to a pondering look of horror. Her dashed back and forth as she mentally put what DataByte had just 'said' together.
[They were internment camps.]
/Records showed that such terminology was intentionally avoided to not invoke problematic viewpoints. But functionally, yes./
Kim felt her stomach turn. Was this the true face of Global Justice? Will Du had always made it seem so squeaky clean when she was younger. Then again, everything seemed more simplistic back then. They never had to deal with politics, or guns, or… death.
/Kim! On your 7!/
DataByte flashed her entire HUD red just to make sure she noticed. Kim immediately heard the grinding noise coming from behind her. She bent over backwards and grabbed the rooftop with her hands. The tech launching up at her looked something like a large black tiger, with fangs made from drill bits and claws of broken CDs. A tangled mess of cords - some sparking with live bio-electricity - flowed off of its back.
Kim lifted herself off the ground and swung her legs up and forward to bring her boot directly into the tech's face creating a cracking sound that was similar to when a shoe steps a plastic fork. She then lifted her cybertronic arm and sent a kinetic blast at her opponent's chest sending it flying back with a gurgling cry of, "Kosch ub'yet tebya!"
Kim's legs dropped down as she rotated her arm. When her legs touched the roof, she began to dash once more through the city toward the warehouse target.
/He said 'Kosch will kil-/
[Yeah, I gathered the intent. I'm not surprised. These people must hate Global Justice.]
/Hate is probably an insufficient word. They were victims of a technological accident driven into a mindless rage. And we declared war on them. Average citizens turned into monsters. Not even soldiers. It was disgusting./
[Sounds like you had first hand experience.]
/Possible. Without memories I can't be sure but my - ahem - 'emotional' reaction sure seems intact on the issue./
Kim's reached the warehouse in a matter of minutes, not helped by the couple of other techs that threw themselves at her without abandon. Not even caring about themselves but just hurling their bodies covered in sharp implements at her like they tools to be disposed of. Mentally, she scolded herself for even bringing the gun that seemed to weigh more and more on her thigh holster with each step in the ruined city. She had nothing but sympathy for these people. They weren't all monsters like Kosch. They just wanted to live their lives and now no longer had that chance. Kim understood that level of depression. Not too long ago, she was in a similar position.
Without hesitating, Kim dived through an upper window of the warehouse and grabbed on to one of the metal girders that formed the upper skeleton of the seemingly abandoned building. She gave the place a once over but saw no visible threats. Or much of anything really.
/Scan shows one technologically altered being./
[Just one?] She could handle one. She handled more than one on the way here. Unles… [Is it Kosch?]
/Unlikely. While the scans show a similar density of cybertronic infestation, the individual appears less mobile than anything we have encountered./
[What does less mobile mean?]
/It appears to be partially fused with an electric wheelchair./
Kim blinked. That WAS something different. The Hephaestus Project that her father designed was for offensive and defensive purposes. The nanomachines integrating into a wheelchair didn't seem like much of an improvement when the option to build brand new legs was right there.
Kim let herself drop from the rafters and rolled on the ground. She walked toward the back side of the warehouse and pushed the large metallic doors aside with a noisy scraping sound. The smell of electric smoke filled her nose as her sight adjusted to the brightly lit but smoke filled room. Her eyes went wide and she let out a horrendous cough as she tried to speak and exhale the pungent smell all at once, "WHAT THE HELL?!"
Sitting in a fifteen foot tall metallic rig was the massive, broken and very much malformed by the cybertronic nanomachines Little Diablo. Not just any Little Diablo however, but the Ultimate Diablo that Kim and Ron had faced off with on that fateful night. It had been set up as the epicenter of some sort of giant computerized machine complete with blinking lights and meters that all appeared to be somewhat positive. However, what positive meant in this situation was anyone's guess.
"A mOSt iMprESSiVe PIECE oF wOrk, No?" A shrill mechanical voice came from Kim's right. Sitting in the center of the electric smoke that was profusely pouring from a circuit board on a table was a man in a wheelchair. Well, Kim assumed it was a man. It was more of a humanoid shape of cords, cables, and computer parts. Everything from the figure's computer tower of a head to the cables that replace muscle sinew down the arms and into the hands looked to be some manner of absorbed electronics. Given the figures level of disheveled and random assortment of enhancements, he hadn't been installed with the PATCH. Which means it was possible that he'd been here working all along.
"Where did it come from?" Kim asked, trying to maintain a level of professionalism.
"ThE MOSCOW InCiDEnT."
"It appeared during the incident?"
"It WAS tHe InCiDeNT." The shrill voiced figure cackled in a manner that sounded frighteningly similar to a broken and dying hard drive, "IT iS tHe SOurcE oF tHe TeChnO-EvOluTiONary ViRUS."
/That is the first I've heard of it being called a virus./
[It would explain the rapid spread though.]
Kim straightened her back and tried to take an intimidating and heroic pose, "I assume it is the nanites infect and reproduce using cybertronic self-perpetuating systems."
The technologically-blighted man wheeled his chair out from behind the desk revealing a missing leg that had dangling cords connected to various devices like a webcam or a DVD player that rested on the electric wheelchair, "i sEe YOu HaVe JAmES' inTellECT."
Kim stiffened. This time it had nothing to do with heroism, "You know my father?"
Again the broken hard drive clicking laughter sprang forth from the machine head, "WhO iN sCienCE dOESn'T KnOW tHE DISGRACED DocTor JaMes TimOTHy PoSSible?" The wheelchair bound figure then raised its hand. Kim could see a red blinking light as the flashing spilled across on the shining plastic and metallic body parts. The increasingly worrying tech's chair scooted across the ground toward the Ultimate Diablo, "AnD I KNow YOU, KIm PosSible."
"Hold it! I'm with Global Justice. I am declaring that weapon seized under the..." Kim unconsciously wavered her hand at her side.
"NO, KiM PossIblE. ThIS 'WeaPoN' is En ROUtE to ItS nEW oWneRS."
/Kim Possible. We have a problem. Multiple incoming./
[The underground train, right?]
"We already know about the train. We've got agents ready to intercept. You and that thing aren't going anywhere."
/Not the train. It is coming from above. Multiple signatures. Helicopters. Not Global Justice./
That damnable cackling echoed in the old warehouse once more, "ThE TRAIN WaS thE DiStrActIon. A HASTILY ThRoWn TogeTHer PLoT TO OccUPy GLobAL JusTice."
[Get the short wave radio back, DB.]
/Of course./
Static noise filled Kim's internal comm, "This is Raven! There's way too many! Where did they come from? WEE everywhere!"
/Oh no./
Kim's mind raced, she clenched her fists, it was all a trap? A trap to get that monstrous thing? No. She wouldn't let that happen. Not again.
"YoU SEe nOw, KiM PosSiBLe? EvEN ThIS ConVERsaTiOn WaS a dIstrACtion tIL My BODYGUaRd gOt hEre."
"B-bodyguard?" Kim sputtered. No, it couldn't be.
/Heart rate rising into yellow range. Please calm down, Kim Possible./
"YoU HAvE MeT BEFoRe, I tHINk."
/Kim?/
"I fiNallY fOUNd a WAY to BEAT yoU. YoU tHoughT You WERE All ThAT. BuT YoU. ArE. NOT."
A gunshot fired.
A .50 caliber bullet sprayed the electronic entrails of the wheelchair bound tech - Doctor Drew "Drakken" Lipsky - across the metallic rig for the Ultimate Diablo and the warehouse floor.
A smoking desert eagle sat firmly grasped in the hand of a shaking, wide eyed, Kimberly Ann Possible. Tears welled up in her eyes as she bit her lip hard enough to bleed.
A second later, a mere moment of time that to Kim seemed like an eternity to examine and face what she had just done, Kim dropped the gun to the floor. She collapsed to her knees and she screamed. She screamed loud and hard to the point where she could feel her throat burn raw. She screamed until she no longer had enough air or energy to even kneel upright and fell to the side. And just when she thought she was ready to pass out, when all the screaming had taken its toll on her and she had nothing left. That's when the roof of the warehouse shattered open.
That's when the hooks came down and latched on to the Ultimate Diablo.
That's when the giant steel boots and behemoth frame of a shadow leapt down from the sky and towered off Kim Possible.
Then it a guttural growl of a voice accentuated with those strange clicks and rebreather pumps, Kosch the Deathless spoke: "Kim Possible. You were singing my song."
Next Chapter: Revelations