Author's Note: Sorry to keep you all waiting, but I'm back with another chapter of this story in the Defenders series.
Now, I hope you all don't mind, but I've actually taken a unique liberty with this fanfic inspired by a PM I had with a fellow fanfic user, Nicochan11. I hope the changes you find here are okay.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
Jen took a deep breath finding herself face to face with a door in her school that read "DEBATE CLUB".
"This is it." she whispered to herself.
Jen knocked on the door and waited for a second. The door opened, and she was greeted with smiles from Nikki and Pug.
"Jen! You're here!" Pug said excitedly.
"Thank you for applying!" Nikki said in the same tone.
"Thanks for having me, guys." Jen said walking into the Debate Club room with them. "So how does this 'debate team' thing work?" Pug and Nikki dropped their smiles and looked at each other nervously, which Jen noticed. "What?"
"Uh… Right." Nikki said uneasy. "So… Jen… You're not actually… in the club yet. You first have to talk to our team captain, Mallory Book."
"Oh, how bad can that be?" Jen asked.
"You'd be surprised." Pug answered. "Mallory can be… difficult to please."
"When we told her we invited you to be part of our team, she gave a glare that would petrify Medusa."
"Why?" Jen asked.
"That's a good question you should probably discuss with her." Nikki said. "She's sitting over there, so… good luck."
Jen looked ahead and saw a teen girl with short, red hair fixing her eyes at the papers in her desk. She then took a breath and approached Mallory sitting across her desk.
"Um, hi." Jen said getting Mallory's attention. "You must be Mallory. I'm Jen." She didn't get a reaction at all. "As in Jennifer Walters?" Still no reaction. "The She-Hulk."
"I'm not blind. I know who you are." Mallory said. "You're the muscle girl who thinks she can make a good argument."
"I can." Jen said. "Back at the ski trip, I managed to talk a deal out of Mr. Barkin."
"It's not that impressive." Mallory said. "Besides, weren't you on GWA last week?"
"Well, yeah, but I was protecting people from a jackal monster." Jen said. "Wait a minute. What's the point in a question like that?"
"The point is, I take my debate team seriously, and I don't think you're right for it." Mallory said. "When people think of the She-Hulk, what's the first thing they imagine? Is it that she has a good brain? Or that she makes a good argument? Or she's gonna make a good lawyer? No. They just think 'Wow. She's got great muscles. She's the ideal girl for anyone'."
"That's a little personal." Jen said.
"That doesn't make it untrue." Mallory said. "Tell me, were you even considering joining the debate team on your own, or did it not cross your mind until Nikki and Pug offered it to you?"
Jen was speechless. She didn't want to answer that question.
"That's what I thought." Mallory said. "It's brain versus brawn for you, Walters, and brawn's not going to cut it here. If you want in, I suggest you get rid of the jade amazon look."
"But I can't. I don't know how to get rid of the gamma radiation." Jen said.
"Mmm. I see." Mallory said. "I'll tell you what. I'll give you another chance at a second interview tomorrow. That should give you some time for one of two things. Number one: you could figure out how to lose your athletic appearance. Or number two: you can convince me that you can be an ideal member even as the She-Hulk. Do any of that, and I'll give you a chance."
"Yeah. Of course, I can." Jen said. "Just… exactly what do you think qualifies as an ideal member?"
"Someone who can keep their cool in an argument, someone who puts logic ahead of entertaining themselves, and someone who doesn't lose focus." Mallory said. "See you tomorrow, Ms. Walters."
Jen sank her head and sat up from the chair. She then walked to the door where Nikki and Pug were waiting with nervous smiles.
"Well, that worked out better than I thought it would." Nikki said.
"Don't worry, Jen. We have every faith in you." Pug assured.
"Thanks, 'cause I don't." Jen said walking out of the debate club room. Once the door closed behind her, she sighed. "Well, that could've gone better. 'Keep your cool, stay logical, don't lose focus'. How am I supposed to prove I've got any of that?"
"JEN!"
Jen was instantly aware when she heard Ron's voice call out to her. He and Kim ran across the hallway and stopped when they were in front of her.
"What's going on?" Jen asked.
"Someone's asking for help on the site." Kim said.
"Who?"
"You won't believe it." Ron said. He held up the Kimmunicator allowing Jen to see a man on the screen. She gasped when she recognized the man who was highly recognizable.
"Dr. Drakken?"
"Uh, actually, ma'am," Drakken said with a completely different, Western voice, "I'm Private Cleotus Dobbs, United States armed forces."
"It's Drakken's evil twin!" Ron said.
"Ron, Drakken's already evil." Kim said.
"Okay, I'm confused."
"I can explain." Dobbs said. "This Drakken fella, he used some kind of big ol' machine to switch my brain with his. It wasn't natural."
"Drakken's in your body?" Jen asked. "Why?"
"Heck if I know, ma'am." Dobbs said. "We didn't exactly have much of a conversation when they took me away. Look, I gotta go. The scary girls are a-coming." With that, the call ended transitioning to Wade.
"So now Drakken can swap brains." Kim said. "Wade?"
"Working on it." Wade said typing on the keyboard. "Well, I can't regain contact with Private Dobbs. Frequency's jammed."
"Background check?" Kim asked.
"Everything is classified. The only thing I could dig up was this picture."
Wade showed a picture of a very skinny man with a long head and a pair of circular glasses.
"I don't get it." Ron said.
"Yeah, why would Drakken want to be in that body?" Kim asked.
"Well, he did say he was in the armed forces." Jen said. "Maybe he's got access to something that Drakken wants."
"Like what?" Ron asked.
"We'll have to ask him once we rescue him." Kim said.
While waiting for Wade's notifications, the trio met up at the cafeteria with their usual lunch. Once she sat though, Jen let out a soft sigh which the other two noticed.
"What's up, Jen?" Ron asked.
"Oh. Is it to do with the debate club?" Kim asked. "Don't tell me you didn't make the cut."
"Might as well." Jen said. "The captain of the team, Mallory Book, is a real dragon lady. She thinks I don't belong on the team because I'm 'too much of a brute'.
"Mallory Book." Kim said. "I've heard of her. She helped her team win every regional debate they've been a part of. She's a tough one to argue against."
"Well, unless I can convince her that I do belong there, my only chance to be on that team is if I lose my gamma look." Jen said.
"Why don't you just not be on the team?" Ron said. "I mean, why work for all that? I'm sure any of the sport teams will let you in no problem."
"That's not the point, Ron." Jen said. "I just… Look, I probably can enter any sport I want and have it easy, but… I don't know. This feels different. Like… Like I want to join this team more than any other."
"I don't know what to say, Jen." Kim said. "Wish there was something I could do to help."
At that moment, the Kimmunicator beeped and Kim answered.
"What's the sitch, Wade?"
"I finally traced the call from the guy in Drakken's body, but it's weird."
"Weirder than a guy in Drakken's body?" Kim asked.
"Good point. Anyway, it looks like the call came from the middle of the Grand Canyon."
"That's weird all right," Jen said, "But if there's a hostage there, then we're going to Arizona."
"Thanks for the lift, Baxter." Kim said while she, Ron, She-Hulk, and their guide rode down the canyon trail on the backs of donkeys.
"My pleasure, little lady." Baxter replied petting his donkey. "Least I could do to pay you back for helping Buttercup in her time of need."
"That emergency delivery of her foal…" Kim said.
"In the dark…" Ron said.
"In the rain…" Baxter said.
"In a landslide…" She-Hulk said.
"Was no big." Jim finished.
That was when Ron's donkey stopped walking. He tried to kick it into moving, but it howled while wildly throwing Ron off of his back.
"How about we trade?" Baxter asked. "Buttercup here's a sweetheart."
"Oh, well, I mean, if you insist." Ron said trading donkeys with Baxter. But as soon as Ron got on Buttercup's back, the donkey immediately threw Ron off of her back.
"Why is it that the only animal who can be friendly with Ron is a naked mole rat he bought at the Smarty-Mart?" Jen asked.
Baxter led the team to the middle of the Grand Canyon. The Kimmunicator pointed them to a small, rustic shack that looked like it could fall apart at any minute.
"That's Drakken's lair?" Ron asked.
"If it is, Drakken better have good house insurance." Jen said.
The inside of the shack was no better. It was a barren room with only broken wood, a rusty furnace, an anvil at the center, and a couple of cabinets along the walls.
Ron looked around when he felt something crawling in his pants. "Rufus, quit crawling up my leg."
As soon as Rufus revealed himself in Ron's shirt pocket, he realized there was something else in his pants and he jumped around in a panic. He jumped onto one of the furnace pipes and managed to get what it was out of his pants sleeve. It was a scorpion.
Just then, the pipe that Ron was latching onto gave way and revealed itself to be a lever. Once it was pulled, an elevator popped out in the middle of the room.
"Mr. Dumb Luck." Kim said smiling at Ron.
"Not dumb luck, Kim. Dumb skills." Ron corrected.
"Sheesh. Get a room, you two." Jen thought in her head as she got in the elevator with Kim and Ron.
The three of them waited as the elevator descended deeper and deeper below ground level. Once it stopped, they exited finding themselves in an environment much more suited for a villain's lair. There were tall pillars filled with green chemicals, all connected to a machine on the other side of the room. The machine had two helmets dangling from it. Past the machine, there were several crates packed on top of each other.
"Have we been in this lair before?" Ron asked.
"They all start to look alike after a while." Kim said.
Jen fixed her eyes at the machine the chemical tubes were connected to. "That must be the machine Drakken used to switch his brain with the army guy's."
The three of them continued their infiltration unaware that they were already spotted. They made their way to the crate area and looked around until they heard a muffled voice.
"Help! Help!"
Kim raised her Kimmunicator and held it over the crates. She looked around until she found a thermal image of a man trapped in one of the crates. She opened it up and pulled out the man inside. It looked like Dr. Drakken, but they knew it was the man they came to save.
"It's you!" Dobbs said happily before his smile quickly faded. "Look out!"
Everyone turned around and spotted Shego standing over them on top of a pile of crates. She was with two of Drakken's goons.
"Rescue's over, Kimmy." Shego taunted.
"Shego." Kim said. "You found us."
"You're with a tall, green girl. Not exactly the stuff of stealth." Shego said.
"Yeah, I've been getting a lot of complains about that lately." She-Hulk said. "But if you're here, then that means that Titania is…" She quickly turned to her left just as Titania rushed over to her. She stopped her by punching her in her stomach.
"GAH!" Titania grunted loudly. "How did you…"
"You pulled the same trick last time, remember?" She-Hulk asked before throwing another punch to Titania's face. The muscle-bound villainess was sent flying across the lab.
"Ron, get Private Dodds out of here!" Kim shouted when she started throwing punches and kicks with Shego.
"Way ahead of you, KP." Ron said grabbing Dodds and carrying him away. He stopped when he came across a bunch of henchmen.
Kim and Shego's fight eventually lead to Kim swinging on her grappling hook cable with her nemesis on top of her. Shego soon cut the cable with her glowing hands causing both her and Kim to fall to the floor. Kim dropped right underneath the brain-switching machine where one of the helmets fell on top of her head.
Meanwhile, She-Hulk and Titania threw their fists at one another. She-Hulk was starting to gain the lead when Titania caught her arm and delivered a strong punch of her own. She-Hulk was then sent flying to the brain-switch machine right next to Kim, and just like her, a helmet fell on top of her.
Ron tried to fight against the goons, but one of them swung his staff at him and knocked him over. Rufus fell out of his pocket and landed on top of the brain-switch machine's control panel. He landed right on a red button which activated it by accident.
Energy coursed through the machine and right onto the girls. Ron gasped and ran over to them.
"KP! Jen!" he called out. "You're about to switch brains! Don't worry! I'll… Hey, wait a minute."
Much to Ron's surprise, the girls' changes weren't psychological; they were physical. Right before his eyes, Jen's body began to glow green and her body began to shrink. Her muscles started to disappear and her skin was getting paler. Meanwhile, Kim was growing taller with a more toned body. Her clothes began to have little rips as she grew. Thankfully, they stopped before they can be fully gone.
"What the heck?" Ron asked. He headed over to Jen and tapped her lightly on the cheek. "Uh, Kim? You in there? KP?"
The girl groaned and opened her eyes to see Ron. "Ron? Why are you calling me Kim? I'm Jen."
"So… it didn't switch your bodies?" Ron asked. "At least, not in the way we thought?"
"What are you talking about?" Jen asked before taking a good look at her hands. She gasped and saw that all her green skin and her muscles were gone. "What in the world?!"
"Oh, come on!" Kim shouted as she realized the changes to her body too. "This is wrong on a million levels!"
"I thought this thing switched brains!" Jen cried out. "What did it do to us?"
"What are you asking me for?" Ron asked.
Dodds managed to escape his captors and regrouped with the heroes. "Y'all think we ought to get it in gear?"
"But we have to change back." Kim said.
"No time!" Ron said pointing to the goons that were running toward them.
The four of them turned around and ran to the direction of the elevator while avoiding blasts from their staves. During the chase, Kim kept losing her balance causing her giant body to tilt around and breaking the chemical cannisters she passed.
"Whoa! Oops! That one's my fault!" Kim shouted as she caused new containers to break.
"What's wrong, Kim?" Jen asked.
"I think I need to get used to this new balance!"
"Too bad you won't get the chance to." Titania blocked their way with a bunch of other goons beside her.
"Out of the way, Titania!" Jen shouted as she threw a punch right at her arch rival's stomach. But as soon as it made contact, Jen gritted her teeth and pulled her fist away and shook it. "OW! OW! OW! That stung SO much worse than it looked! Ow!"
Both Shego and Titania exchanged a look and laughed together.
"Look at that!" Titania laughed. "The weakling and the klutz!"
"Yeah. And the dork and the rat come as a package deal!" Shego cackled as well.
"You forgot about two others." Kim said. She then held up both her fists before punching Titania and Shego at the same time. The two of them knocked into the goons allowing the heroes to head to the elevator to escape.
After getting up, Titania and Shego looked up at the elevator watching their enemies leave with Dobbs.
"Well, that's just great." Shego said. "Drakken's so not going to be happy we lost his body and we have to move lairs."
"Maybe, but look at the bright side." Titania said before flashing a wicked grin. "Shulkie's lost all her strength."
It became an awkward dinner in the Possible household. The last thing Kim's family were expecting were Kim being a hulk, Jen as a normal girl, and a man in Drakken's body sharing a meal with them.
"This sure is mighty fine chow, ma'am." Dobbs said after clearing his plate of mashed potatoes.
After another moment of silence, Dr. James Possible finally spoke up. "I'm sorry. I just can't eat sitting across the table from Kimmy's arch nemesis."
"Dad, I told you," Kim said, "It's not really Dr. Drakken. Just his body."
"I hear you honey," Ann Possible said, "But as a board-certified neurosurgeon, I've got to say, it's just not possible to swap brains."
"Let's see for sure, shall we?" Jen asked. "Private Dobbs, that big machine, was it or was it not how Drakken switched your brains."
"It was." Dobbs nodded.
Jim thought for a moment before turning to his twin brother. "I wanna switch brains with you."
"Who would know the difference?" Tim responded.
"That's the idea."
"Cool."
"So what happened to you?" Ron asked Jen and Kim. "I mean, you two didn't swap brains. It just made Jen normal and KP into a Hulk."
"We'll find out soon." Kim said.
"One more question." Ron said. "How come Jen's clothes shrank too, but Kim's didn't?"
"My mission suit didn't shrink, Ron." Jen said. "In case you forgot, Wade designed it to adjust to any size I'm in, whether I'm Hulk-sized or not."
Suddenly, the Kimmunicator beeped. Kim pulled it out, but it broke apart in her grip.
"Oops."
After that, Jen's cell phone rang. She picked it up and answered.
"Hello? …Wade!" She pressed the speaker option on her phone and held it up for everyone. "What have you got, Wade?"
"There's been a security breach at Private Dobbs' post." Wade said. "Something's been stolen. Something big. Something top secret."
Dobbs suddenly gasped. "Jumpin' catfish! The Neutronalizer!" That earned looks from everyone at the table. "Y'all weren't supposed to hear that."
"Uh, this isn't one of those 'I'd-tell-you-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you' deals, is it?" Jim asked.
Dodds had an awkward silence. "Well… Uh… Y'all been real nice. Just forget I ever said Neutron… Ooh. There I go again."
"If it's supposed to be top secret, how did Drakken find out about it?" Jen asked. "And how did he know you had access to it?"
"Hey, I'm just as confused as you are." Dodds shrugged.
"What about us, Wade?" Kim asked. "That machine that Drakken used on Dodds, it did something different to Jen and me. How is that possible?"
"Well, I can't know for certain since I don't know how the brain switch machine works," Wade said, "But it looks like it had a different effect on you."
"Why was it different?" Kim asked.
"This is only an educated guess, but I think it has to do with Jen's gamma radiation." Wade said. "From what you told me, Drakken's machine uses a form of energy to psychically swap two minds. But the energy might have had an altered affect once it crossed Jen's gamma-radiated physiology. Instead of swapping your minds, it swapped your radiations."
"So now, I'm back to regular Jen Walters while Kim's the new She-Hulk?" Jen asked.
"This can't do." Kim said. "Wade, if we got back to Drakken's lair, can we use the machine to swap our bodies back?"
"In theory," Wade said, "But there's more bad news: my scan shows that Drakken's lair has been abandoned. Everything's gone, including the machine."
"So we're stuck like this?" Kim asked pushing herself up from her chair. At that moment though, she pushed on the table and broke a hole in it. "Dang it! Why does this keep happening?"
"Guess you're not used to your new strength." Jen said. "You need to be extra careful so you don't tear your own house down."
"I'll kick the scanners into overdrive." Wade said.
"In the meantime, Private Dobbs can stay here for safekeeping." Kim said.
"What are you and Jen going to do?" Wade asked.
"Until you find Drakken and his machine, we'll just have to deal."
Jen sighed. "Well, this is bound to be a problem. I'm just as weak as I used to be."
"It's not picnic for me either." Kim said. "I've got regionals tomorrow, and it's going to be hard to control my own strength if I'm constantly using my gymnastics."
"Look at the bright side." Ron said. "Kim, you're super strong now. And Jen, you can finally be a part of the debate club."
Jen's eyes widened at that. "Hmm. I completely forgot about that. I guess it could be worth a try."
"Great. You're joining your dream club while I'm going to try not to rip the school apart." Kim said. "Speaking of, I'm going to need some new clothes, ones that aren't so easy to rip."
Drakken had his men carry all of his equipment into a warehouse. He directed them while he was in Private Dodds' body.
"Careful around the Neutronalizer." he barked as the moving men carried the large machine into the warehouse. "You have no idea what I had to go through to get that." He sighed. "Thanks to Kim Possible and her team, I had to move my lair… again."
"There's nothing wrong with this time share." Shego said mockingly.
"Yo, chief," one of the moving men said carrying a large crate with his partner, "Where do you want this one labeled 'Brain Switch Machine'?"
"Oh, uh, put it in the den." Drakken said. "Carefully."
"I can't believe they broke into the lair." Volcana said to her partner. "If I wasn't assigned to retrieve Drakken after he stole his gun, I would've helped you smoke them."
"Don't worry about it, Mary." Titania said. "This actually turned out better than I thought."
"You mean the whole 'She-Hulk and Kimmy had a different type of body swap'?" Shego asked.
"Bingo." Titania replied eagerly hand over fist. "The next time I see Walters, I'm squishing her like the ant she is now."
"Wait." Drakken said turning to the moving men. "I didn't notice my body come in. Scarred face. Wild-eyed glare?"
"Didn't see it, sport." the moving man said. "All I know, the truck's empty."
After seeing the empty truck, Drakken turned angrily toward his henchgirls. "Shego! Titania!"
Volcana chuckled nervously. "Didn't hear a 'Volcana'. See ya." She turned and walked away from the conversation.
Shego tried to smile innocently, but she knew she couldn't hide the truth from her boss. "She took it, okay?!"
Drakken marched toward Shego and Titania to confront them. "You let Kim Possible, the She-Hulk, and their rat-loving sidekick destroy my lair AND TAKE MY BODY?!"
"You know," Shego said trying to cover Drakken's anger with a flirt, "This body is kind of cute when you're angry."
"I… want… my… body." Drakken emphasized not losing his focus.
"Don't worry, doc. I'll go get it for you." Titania said.
"How are you going to do that?" Drakken asked. "You don't know where it's hidden."
"True, but I know someone who would know." Titania said with a sadistic smile. "If I play this right, I can get your body back and get my revenge on the weak She-Hulk at the same time."
"Where's Kim?" Tara asked as she and the other cheerleaders changed in the locker room.
"Yeah. It's not like her to be late." Jessica said. "Especially during regionals."
"You don't think she's caught up in one of her missions, do you?" Marcella asked.
"It just goes to show, you can't count on Possible when it counts." Bonnie said rolling her eyes.
Suddenly, the knob to their door broke off leaving a hole in it. The girls all turned in alarm when the door opened and Kim walked in. She was wearing what looked like her old clothes, but they were bigger and didn't rip. Still, she looked nervous when she held up the broken doorknob.
"Sorry. My bad." Kim apologized.
"Kim?" Bonnie asked sharing the same surprised reaction as the other cheerleaders looking up and down at their captain's new form. "What happened?"
"A bit of a bad situation." Kim answered. "I'm still trying to get used to this new strength until we can find a solution."
"And how long will that be?" Liz asked.
"Hard to say."
"This 'new strength' isn't going to affect our play in the regionals, is it?" Crystal asked.
"I hope not." Kim said nervously.
"It's not the strength we should worry about." Bonnie said. "You're a tall, green freak! We'll be laughed out of the show!"
Kim glared at her cheerleading rival. "I'm a Hulk now, Bonnie. The last thing you want to do is anger me."
Jen looked up and down at her normal body again while standing in front of the debate club room. She wore a small set of normal clothes, a white shirt with a blue jacket and pants. Seeing her body hadn't changed yet, she took a breath and opened the door. Nikki opened the door looking clueless at who she was seeing.
"Uh, hi." Nikki said confused. "Can I help you?"
"Nikki, it's me. It's Jen."
"Jen…" Nikki said before gasping. "Holy smokes! Jen?"
"What about Jen?" Pug asked before opening the door beside her. He took a look at Jen dropping his jaw. "What happened to you?"
"It's a long story." Jen said. "Look. I'm just here to get Mallory's second opinion."
"So… you dropped your 'Hulk-ness' just to join us?" Pug asked.
"Well, to be honest, it wasn't on purpose," Jen said, "But I figured I'd make the most of it."
Nikki and Pug exchanged confused looks before opening the door completely. They allowed Jen to walk in and approach Mallory's desk. The team captain was just as baffled at Jen's new look as her teammates.
"Walters?" Mallory asked. "Care to explain?"
"I would, but I don't think we have the time." Jen said. "But you did say you'd give me a chance if I came to you as a normal girl, right? So, how does this work? Do I have to sign anything or…"
Mallory stared at Jen before removing her glasses and rubbing her closed eyes. "Ah. I see. You're one of those after all."
"'One of those'?" Jen asked. "I'm afraid I don't understand."
"Sorry, Walters, but I'm afraid you've just wasted your time and mine." Mallory said sternly. "I won't be allowing you into the debate team."
Jen stared at Mallory in disbelief. "What? Hold on! That's not fair! You said if I came here without being She-Hulk, you'd give me a chance!"
"Yes, and the fact that you chose it means that you don't have what it takes." Mallory said.
"What are you talking about?" Jen asked raising her voice. "It's not like I got rid of my super strength on purpose!"
"No, but you're still taking advantage of this opportunity." Mallory said. "You just thought that if you came here like I told you to, then I'd automatically let you join us."
"Isn't that what you told me I had to do?" Jen asked.
Mallory sighed. "You just don't get it. I'm sorry, Walters, but if you're not willing to prove yourself, then I'm just going to have to…"
BOOM!
Everyone was caught by surprise when the wall behind Mallory burst into dust scattering everywhere. They all fell to the ground taking cover from the rubble that flew across the room. When they looked up, they gasped when Titania came marching in with an eager smile.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the She-Hulk without the 'Hulk'." she laughed.
"Who's that?" Nikki asked.
"She doesn't like me." Jen answered. "LET'S RUN!"
Jen, Nikki, Pug, and Mallory raced back up their feet and out the door. Titania cackled seeing them flee.
"This is going to be fun."
Titania burst her way into the hallway and ran after Jen and the debate team. They ran as fast as they could, but she was faster. She managed to run past and stop in front of them. They stopped at once.
Nikki looked around and saw an open door to an empty classroom. She saw the erasers on the chalkboard and got an idea. While everyone else was distracted, she snuck away into the classroom.
"Time for some payback!" Titania said as she grabbed Jen by her shirt. She then pushed her to the lockers leaving a dent on them.
"Come on, Titania." Jen groaned. "Do you really want to say that you only beat me because I lost all my powers?"
"I'm good with that." Titania replied with a shrug. "You see, fair play is for dweebs who don't mind losing, and losing just ain't my style." She raised her head ready to throw it at Jen's head. "Once I'm done with you, I'll find your teammates and make them tell me where to find Drakken's body. But pleasure before business."
"HEY, PURPLE PANTS!" Titania's beatdown was interrupted by Nikki's shout, who held two erasers in her hands. "Jen, catch!"
Nikki threw the erasers to Jen, who managed to catch them in her hands. She then clapped them both in front of Titania's face creating an explosion of chalk dust that made her cough and release her helpless enemy.
"Quick thinking, Nikki!" Mallory shouted. "Now, let's get out of here!"
"Come with me!" Jen shouted running down the hall. "I may know only one person who can beat her now!"
"Hello and welcome to this year's Regional Cheer Finals!"
The gym bleachers were filled with guests and spectators while the floor was occupied with cheerleaders from other schools. Middleton had a hard time getting their team into gear with Kim still hiding behind the bleachers. Ron stood with her and held up the Kimmunicator for her.
"Wade, anything?" Kim asked desperately.
"Sorry, Kim." Wade replied. "Nothing on Drakken since you called one minute ago."
Bonnie groaned having revealed to be hearing all that. "Looks like we'll be the laughing stock of the regionals."
"I'm sure something will turn up." Ron assured.
"Before we have to do our routine?" Bonnie scoffed. "I don't think so."
"Hold on! I just picked something up!" Wade exclaimed. "I don't believe it! Titania's been spotted!"
"Titania?" Kim asked. "Where?"
All of a sudden, the gym doors opened when Jen, Mallory, Nikki, and Pug ran in screaming their lungs out. The doors opened again, more aggressively, when Titania burst in with fumes coming out of her nostrils.
"Never mind." Kim said before Ron hung up.
Everyone in the gym panicked and ran to the nearest exit, including all the cheerleaders. All that were left were Kim, Ron, Jen, Titania, and the debate team.
"Kim, you've got to help us!" Jen shouted as she ran to her.
"Me?" Kim asked.
"Yes! I can't fight her, and you're the only one strong enough who can!"
Kim looked over at Titania who cracked her knuckles in Jen's direction. She then took a breath and stepped past them.
"All right. I'll give it a shot."
Kim gave a power pose before running toward Titania. She then leaped up into the air and returned down with a kick ready. However, Titania saw it coming and sidestepped out of the way. Not only did Kim miss, but her body sank halfway into the ground.
Kim started to struggle, but it was too late. Titania grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her out of the ground like a vegetable. She then lifted her over her head and spun her around before throwing her to the bleachers, which broke apart into pieces after impact. Dust flew everywhere.
Once Kim stood back up with a groan, she turned to Titania and threw a punch at her. It connected, but the villainess returned with a punch of her own. This one sent Kim off of her feet and to the far end of the gym.
"As fun as it was to beat a She-Hulk-wannabe, I'm afraid I'm already bored of you." Titania said. She looked at the dust cloud and saw a female figure hidden in it. "My real prize is right HERE!"
Titania grabbed the girl by her arm and pulled her toward her. She smiled when she thought it was Jen, but it dropped when she saw that it wasn't. Instead, she grabbed Mallory Book.
"What the… You're not Walters!"
"No! I'm Mallory Book!" Mallory exclaimed upset. "Now, let me go or else…"
"Or else what?" Titania asked threateningly.
Mallory chuckled nervously. "Good question."
Titania growled and looked around, but there was no sign of anyone else. "I know you're here, Walters! And you know what? I'm through with this stupid game of cat-and-mouse!" She then pulled Mallory closer to her. "If you want to see this girl again, come to the Timeshare Complex! Suite 7B! And be sure to bring Drakken's body. And to sweeten the deal, that's also where you'll find the brain-swapping machine."
With that, Titania jumped out of the gym and smashed through the roof taking Mallory with her. Everyone finally came out of hiding staring at the hole left by the villainess.
"Sorry, Jen." Kim said rubbing her head. "Guess I can't fight as well as you."
"Well, look on the bright side." Ron said nervously. "It looks like they'll have to postpone the show now."
"What about Mallory?" Pug asked. "What's going to happen to her?"
"Nothing if we have anything to say about it." Jen said. "We're going to save her?"
"How?" Ron asked. "You don't have your strength and KP can't use her moves with that body."
"We'll figure something out." Kim said. "Call Private Dobbs. Tell him we know where Drakken is."
Under the dead of night, Kim, Ron, Jen, and Dobbs (still in Drakken's body) made it to the storage complex and found the suite that Titania described: 7B. Instead of going through the front, they decided to go around the back.
"Hey, Jen, can I talk to you?" Kim asked.
"Sure. What's up?"
"It's just, we're going to have to fight Drakken's forces again, and neither of us can hold our own against Titania alone."
"Well, yes, I can't beat her as I am now," Jen said, "But you still can."
"Didn't you see me? I couldn't last one minute against her, even with your powers." Kim said. "How do you do it?"
"Your problem is, you've been trying to fight like yourself." Jen said. "You've got gamma powers. You're a Hulk. You should be taking advantage of that. Here's a hint: if you see an attack coming, focus on maintaining your center and stay on your feet. Otherwise, you'll be knocked through another wall."
"I see." Kim said considering Jen's words.
The four of them made it to the back of the complex where they found a door. Jen grabbed ahold of the knob ready to turn it.
"Oh, yeah. Like he's just going to leave the back door open." Ron said sarcastically.
Jen proceeded to turn the knob and successfully opened the door leaving Ron feeling embarrassed. They then headed on inside and peeked their heads from behind a stack of crates. Looking out, they saw Drakken (in Dobbs' body) along with Titania, Shego, and Volcana. They stood underneath a humongous laser pointed at the glass dome above. Past the laser, the brain switch machine was set up. They also saw Mallory Book, who was tied up on a support beam.
"Let me see if I understood you right." Drakken said annoyed with Titania. "Not only did you fail to retrieve my body and brought in some kid who I don't even know, but you also told our sworn enemies where to find us?!"
"Hey, it's a surefire way to get your body here." Titania said. "Plus, you should have seen Possible and Walters. I can take them both on by myself. I'll be ready to crush them when they arrive."
"Hold up there, muscles." Shego said. "You can have She-Hulk, but I got first dibs when Kimmy arrives. Got it?"
"Wait, does that leave me with the boy with the mole rat?" Volcana asked. "Not really my ideal opponent."
Drakken groaned. "It's bad enough that the world leaders aren't taking my ultimatum seriously. Give the world a deadline, and what do you get? Nothing. Nada. Zip."
"Gee, you think it had something to do with the puppet?" Shego asked smugly.
"Puppet?" Titania asked.
"It's a funny story." Volcana chuckled. "I'll tell you later."
Drakken exclaimed loudly before calming down. "It looks like I'll have to carry out my threat." He turned to a life-sized map of the Earth. "They say Paris is lovely this time of year. Well, not anymore. Enter coordinates for Neutronalization!"
"Neutronalization?" Mallory asked with a chuckle. "Please. That's not even a word."
"Is so!" Drakken shouted.
"Is not!"
"Is!"
"Isn't!"
"Is!"
"Isn't!"
"Is!"
"Is!"
"Isn't!
"Is!"
"Isn't!"
"Well, at least you finally admit it." Mallory said smugly.
Drakken thought for a moment before realizing he was tricked. "Hey!"
"Are you sure you're a genius?" Mallory asked. "I mean, you call yourself Dr. Drakken, but what are you a doctor of anyway?"
Drakken exclaimed angrily. "Will someone shut this girl up?!"
"We've got to move fast." Kim said. "Ron and I will draw Drakken, Shego, Titania, and Volcana away, Dobbs will disarm the Neutronalizer, and Jen goes over to save Mallory. Once all that's done, we regroup at the brain switch machine and give the gamma radiation back to Jen."
"Save the girl who denied my debate club application for no good reason?" Jen asked with a sigh. "Fine, but only because it's the right thing, which stings."
"How come you turn into a green giant, and I'm still the distraction?" Ron complained.
"Uh, Ms. Possible, I don't know the first thing about disarming a Neutronalizer." Dobbs said. "I just guarded it."
"Okay. New plan." Kim said.
At that moment, they noticed a fireball quickly flying to their direction. The heroes managed to dodge it and found themselves surrounded by Drakken and his forces.
"No new plans!" Drakken yelled. "Finish them!"
Drakken's goons started firing from their staffs, but the heroes scattered. Private Dobbs was instantly captured while the others engaged in their own battles.
Kim faced her own fair share of goons that blasted her. Some of their shots hit her, but she took Jen's advice and centered herself to prevent from losing her balance. Sure, they still stung, but she managed to keep the opportunity to fight back. It wasn't long though before she had her eventual fight with Shego. The black-and-green villainess engaged Kim with her glowing hands and swiped at her bare skin. Thankfully, they were too tough to get pierced, and Kim returned with a backhand sending Shego flying backwards.
Ron, meanwhile, was on the run from Volcana, who was throwing balls of fire at him. Ron ducked away from them and kept on running. Rufus climbed up to him and chittered to him.
"Me? Against her?" Ron asked. "You kidding me? I need a water tower to beat her!"
Inevitably, Jen was face to face with Titania. The villainess looked down at the heroine eager to finish her fight.
"Time to settle this!" Titania said. She raised her fists in the air and swung them both down. Thankfully, Jen dodged and jumped between Titania's legs running right past her.
After being captured, Private Dobbs was brought to Drakken.
"I… want… my… body." Drakken growled.
"Well, you all can have it." Dobbs said. "It's ugly. And it itches something fierce."
Jen made it to Mallory and started working on untying her ropes.
"You've come to save me?" Mallory asked.
"Don't get such a big head about it." Jen said bitterly as she undid the last knot. "There. You're free. Now, let's… WHOA!"
Jen was yanked from behind by Titania, who grabbed her by her collar. She held her up and readied her fist.
"Thought you could get away from me, huh?" Titania asked. "Any last words?"
Jen looked around with nervous sweat until something caught her eye. She then smiled at Titania giving her answer.
"Yes. The three qualities of being part of the debate club are, someone who can keep their cool in an argument, someone who puts logic ahead of entertaining themselves, and someone who doesn't lose focus."
Titania looked very confused. "That is so stupid! What does that have to do with anything?!"
"Nothing," Jen said, "But it sure bought Mallory enough time."
"Enough time to… AAH!"
Titania was surprised when she was caught by a forklift that ran right at her. The sudden hit caused Titania to release Jen, who fell right to where Mallory was.
"How'd you do that?" Jen asked watching the forklift crash Jen to the stack of crates.
"My uncle worked with moving vehicles, and he gave me a few tips." Mallory said.
"Cool. Now, you better get out of here." Jen said. "Kim and I still need to get to the brain switch machine and give me back my powers."
"No argument here."
The goons dragged Dobbs across the warehouse. Once they reached the machine, they hooked Drakken and Dobbs to its helmets. One of them then went to the control panel and activated the machine. After a surge of electricity, Drakken opened his own eyes and relished being back in his own body while Dobbs was relieved to be back in his own.
"Oh, there's no body like my body." Drakken said.
"Oh, yes, sir. It's good to be home." Dobbs agreed before the goons grabbed him and dragged him away.
After returning back to his own body, Drakken looked out at the chaos going on in his lair. He looked around seeing Titania chasing the little Jen and Shego fighting against the Hulked-out Kim. He then fixed his eyes on Volcana, who had Ron cornered with her hands burning.
"Volcana, initiate Neutronalizer firing sequence!" Drakken yelled.
"But what about Kim Possible's boyfriend?" Volcana asked.
"Not her boyfriend!" Ron corrected.
"Leave him alone! He's no threat to us!" Drakken shouted.
Volcana sighed. "You're lucky, kid."
She then ran from Ron and headed to the Neutronalizer control panel. She pressed a button to turn on the weapon, which began to light up. Meanwhile, everyone stopped fighting to watch the Neutronalizer warm itself up. It was about to fire, when suddenly…
BOOM!
A fuse box blew up, the Neutronalizer shut down, and the entire lair fell to darkness.
"What?" Drakken asked. "What happened?"
"Your brain thing blew out the power!" Shego yelled. "Smooth move."
"Cheap rental lair." Drakken groaned. "They know that I have excessive power demands!"
"Well, if nothing else," Titania said turning back to Jen, "I'll at least have the satisfaction of squashing this pipsqueak."
Just then, Titania felt a finger tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Kim right behind her followed by a green fist striking her hard. Titania fell to the ground semi-conscious.
"Ron, Jen, to the machine!" Kim cried out.
"But there's no power!" Jen shouted.
"Let's see if Wade has any thoughts." Ron said pulling out the Kimmunicator. "Wade, we need to power up the machine and put Kim and Jen back to normal!"
"Try the lithium core I designed for the Kimmunicator." Wade suggested. "It packs a punch."
"There's no way that little thing has enough power." Ron said.
"It's our only hope." Kim said.
"We won't let you!" Drakken shouted turning to his forces. "Don't just stand there! Stop them!"
"I'll need some cover!" Ron shouted heading to the machine's control panel.
"Not a problem!" Kim shouted punching out any of the nameless goons that went after her.
One of the henchmen she defeated dropped his energy staff, which Jen grabbed and fired at the remaining goons. Their victory was short-lived, however, when they came face to face with Shego, Titania, and Volcana.
"Any bright ideas?" Kim asked.
Jen looked and saw that Ron was finished plugging the Kimmunicator into the control panel. She smiled and looked over at Titania and presented herself to her.
"Come on, Skeeter! You want me? I'm right here!"
"Finally!" Titania shouted. She rushed to Jen and swung her fist. However, Kim jumped in the way and was knocked back by the punch.
Jen was pushed back also by Kim's gamma body, but it was part of her plan, as Titania's punch placed them right underneath the machine.
"RON, NOW!" Jen yelled.
Quick as a flash, Ron pulled the lever activating the machine. Both Kim and Jen felt a strong surge of electricity coursing through their bodies.
"NO!" Titania cried out. She leaped herself forward desperate to pound her arch-rival into the dust.
However, it was too late. She realized this once Jen grabbed her wrist with her green, growing hand. She gasped seeing Jen become taller, greener, and more muscular, back to how she was before. Kim, on the other hand, shrank back down to her normal size and changed back to her normal, pale color.
"It worked!" Kim cheered. "I'm me again!"
"So am I!" She-Hulk said before looking over at Titania. "But do I have the same strength? Only one way to find out!"
She-Hulk launched one hard hook at Titania sending her across the warehouse. Shego and Volcana were caught by their partner, and all three of them fell at the door of the warehouse.
"BLAST YOU, KIM POSSIBLE AND SHE-HULK!" Drakken yelled running out the warehouse. He made sure Shego, Titania, and Volcana ran with him. Titania gave a murderous glare at her archenemy before running out.
"AND RON STOPPABLE!" Ron cried out. "I swear, he really needs to learn who I am by now."
"Well, the villains are running with their tails between their legs, we got our bodies back, and the day is saved." She-Hulk said rubbing dust from her hands.
"Now, all that's left is to return the Neutronalizer and head on home." Kim said. She turned to see Private Dobbs heading toward them. "Mind taking this back to your base?"
"Absolutely, ma'am." Private Dobbs replied. "Just… promise me, you won't tell my commanding officer I mentioned the Neutronalizer."
"Our lips are sealed." Kim promised.
Jen returned to the debate club room and saw that it looked good as new. She arrived just in time to see Pug and Nikki set up the last desk while Mallory sat at her own.
"Nice work, guys." Jen said looking around. "It's like Titania was never here at all."
"Right?" Pug asked. "We work fast."
"And great work getting your body back." Nikki said. "Gotta say, either way, you look fine."
"Thanks." Jen said.
"Walters, what are you doing back here?" Mallory asked.
Jen took a breath and stepped forward. "I'm here to give it another try to join the debate team."
Mallory gave a serious look. "I hope you don't think I owe you any favors just because you saved me from that blue weirdo. That would be grounds for a mistrial."
"It's not that." Jen said. "I've been thinking a lot about everything you put me through. The ultimatums. The judging. And you know what? I don't care."
That statement got Mallory's fullest attention. She leaned over her desk to listen more. Pug and Nikki watched with intrigue.
"Yes, I've got all these powers, and it'd be easy for me to join another club. But the thing is, I don't want to do it the easy way. Sure, I could tackle an entire football team by myself or slam dunk a basketball and shatter the headboard, but after being away from my powers for too long, I realize that I don't need them to be special. Sure, it's a perk, especially when dealing with supervillains, but ultimately, doing things as Jen Walters is more rewarding, more satisfying. So if I want to make a success out of myself, I might as well start with a team that doesn't need my strength, only my opinion. So you can say no as many times as you want, but I'll still be here, and I'm not giving up."
For a second, Mallory still kept her stone face. Then, finally, she gave a small smile. "Congratulations, Walters. That's just what I like to hear."
"Really?" Jen asked surprised by that reaction. "So… I've got the part."
"Of course." Mallory said. "I never really cared whether or not you had superpowers. I just said that as a test to see how you would approach it. Sure, the last thing I expected was for you to lose your powers, but when you decided to just have that, that told me you decided to take the easy way, which I didn't like. You see, being a good debater means you have to approach an argument at every angle, not just one. You didn't have that when you came in yesterday, but you do now."
"So… it was all a test?" Jen asked with a chuckle. "I'm on the team?"
"Indeed." Mallory said. "Our first meeting is after school. Don't expect me to be all friendly though. I run a tight team here."
"Thank you." Jen said with a smile on her face. She turned to Pug and Nikki, who gave super-excited expressions and big thumbs up. She then proceeded to leave the classroom while Mallory gave one last smile at Jen's direction.
When Jen left the room, she was met up with Kim and Ron. They had been waiting for her since she went in and waited to see how it went. The look on Jen's face gave them the same smile that she wore.
"You made it?" Kim asked.
"I made it." Jen answered.
"Booyah! Jen Walters, She-Hulk, and part of the debate team!" Ron cheered. "High five!"
"Wait!" Kim shouted, but it was too late.
Ron jumped into the air and slapped his hand onto Jen's, but when Jen's hand hit his, he was knocked backwards and onto the floor. "Ow!"
"Oops." Jen chuckled nervously. "Sorry, Ron. Guess I'm still getting used to my powers coming back." She and Kim shared a laugh at that.