Ch.101
Kim could say she had never been afraid of Ron and that statement would have held true. That is until she saw him pilot the subsonic jet at record breaking speed towards the atmosphere for a 'shortcut' as Bebe called it. Bebe had suggested they near exit the atmosphere and renter to use gravity as a means to increase their speed but warned that in all likelihood the jet would explode somewhere by the halfway point.
Ron saw the simulation with Kim by his side as he finished overriding the safety protocols.
"This course of action, if successful, would save nearly twenty minutes of travel." Bebe concluded.
"Alright, I'll risk it." Ron declared.
"You'll what!" Kim yelled. "Ron the simulation shows the jet exploding near the halfway point. It won't make it. Let's just exert the engines like planned and trust they'll hold out those twenty minutes."
"I have a bad feeling, KP." Ron said and Kim was floored remembering the last mission they had together and she ignored Ron's input, he nearly died.
Sighing, Kim spoke. "Okay, but how are you going to hold the plane together?"
"Just like you said, I'll 'hold' it together, KP." Ron replied.
"How..." Kim asked again not understanding until Ron eyes glowed blue. "Will you be able to hold out?"
"I have to." Ron said then added. "Just in case something does go wrong, you're staying behind."
"Like hell I am." Kim said. "And before you waste time arguing remember time is precious."
"Kim you need to understand that disabling the safety protocols also turns off the auto pilot and unlike the rocket you landed in the past, Shego's jet can only be piloted by people she inputed into its systems or it'll cease functioning." Ron explained. "That means I'm piloting and holding it together at the same time when a single degree of error could mean we go up in smoke."
"I'm going." Kim repeated and strapped herself in.
Thus, Kim was in a jet as they left the atmosphere, the temperature kept dropping and everything shook like it was falling apart.
"Angle for reentry." Bebe announced.
Ron turned out to be a great pilot even as the jet groaned in protest, though his eyes had been glowing blue twenty minutes into the flight, just when the shaking had been at it's strongest.
Yeah, Kim was afraid of the lenghts Ron was taking but she was also glad Ron would go to such lengths for those he cared for.
~~~~~
Akito looked over at Sae who had a wound across her arm where Senior's blade cut her. She had her eyes closed for a moment and then opened them and nodded.
"Not poisoned." Sae's voice rang in both Akito's and Makoto's mind.
"Good, continue reducing their numbers." Akito ordered and moved to kill another wounded mercenary.
Their assault did not begin with Duff Killigan as Senor Senior Senior and his colleagues might believe but with Falsetto Jones. The cat burglar distanced himself from his team and Akito, Sae and Makoto cut him to pieces at the door to the house. Akito had to admit the man was an expert at infiltration. Had they not followed him he would have made his way into the house within moments.
After Jones was out of the picture, Akito was eyeing the rest of the enemy forces when Sae telepathically spoke. "The golfer and the elder are further away, we should target them next."
"I agree." Makoto added as he observed the situation.
"Let's start with the golfer, I have an idea what we can do with his golf balls." Akito agreed. With Akito's lead they closed in on Killigan. "I'll secure the golf balls, Makoto and Sae put a quick end to the golfer."
"Hai!" Sae/Makoto answered.
Akito saw Killigan switch golf clubs and step away from his equipment to do a practice swing and ran in, Sae and Makoto close on his heels. In a moment he reached the bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder, it took a moment for Akito's stealth to include the bag. Turning to assess the situation he saw Sae driving her Sai into Killigan's throat, no doubt through the arteries.
Stepping away from the body, the three regrouped a short distance away. Akito kneeled to check how many golf balls they had available to them and confirmed there were enough. What Akito's team failed to notice was that Monkey Fist went into stealth at Killigan's death.
"Makoto, Sae take some golf balls and be ready to spread them on my signal." Akito ordered removing his mask to use it to carry a handful of golf balls.
Then the trio surrounded the mercenaries and Senor Senior Senior before tossing out the golf balls and retreating. As the explosions rocked their foes, the ninja don their mask once more and get ready to strike.
The moment three seconds passed without explosions, Akito gave the signal. "Attack!"
Like phantoms they struck and in moments reaped six lives. As they were taking the next three, Sae was attacked by Senor Senior Senior so the three pulled back so she could assess the wound. Once Sae confirmed it wasn't poisoned, Akito took a moment to think about the next stage of their attack. Looking around he finally noticed that Monkey Fist and some of the monkey ninja were missing.
On alert, Akito pulled up his Neuro Linker display and messaged Wade to let him know. Then he spoke to his team. "We need to finish this quick and track down Monkey Fist."
"Remember Master Sensei's lessons, we must not recklessly rush ahead in pursuit of our goals and forgo what is in front of us." Sae advised.
"You're right, Sae." Akito admitted. "Let us hope Wade-San can delay Monkey Fist enough for us to finish his companions."
With those words spoken, Akito, Makoto and Sae finished their plans a moment later. They stroke at the mercenaries who went from fifty strong to twenty-four with various wounds and crowding around a similarly wounded Senor Senior Senior. Their efforts though bearing fruits are not all smooth. The three of them have obtained wounds of varying degrees and their Ki reserves are neigh depleted after forty minutes of continuous use from stealth, air steps and Ki coated weapons.
Seeing their assault going into a stalemate Akito spoke. "I'll draw their attention while you terminate Senior. That might be the push needed for these mercenaries to retreat."
"You'll have to go out of stealth and into their line of fire." Makoto reminded, worried that the team leader might be over his head on this one.
"Are you sure?" Sae asked.
"Yes! I'm going to their left side, you act according to the situation." With those words, Akito separated from the team.
~~~~~
Senor Senior Senior finally started to regret coming on this mission. Yes, Ron's technology is worth trillions. Yes, it can be used for world conquest, but! The code of villainy he followed had long since become obsolete. The good guys were taking lethal measures for crying aloud. And Drakken had killed millions on his take over attempt three years ago.
So yes, Senior was reaching the limit of his tolerance. With this line of thought, Senior decided it was time for a tactical retreat. "Gentlemen let us..."
Just as he was speaking, a man garbed in black appeared toward their left and threw a set of shuriken. Senior watched a mercenary get struck in the neck while another shouldered the one heading his way. Then like a line of dominoes falling, things went into place.
The sound of gunfire drowned Senior's words. There was a flash of light. The defensive formation moved slightly to keep the man, a ninja, in their sights. Senior sighed, stepping backwards and felt a sting in his neck, followed by sharp pain. Soon after everything was distant as he fell to the ground only to notice fall in a different direction.