A/N: Hey! I keep my promises! This definitely wouldn't have come out this month if not for the lovely words of PD_Nhite on Reddit, who posted about how much he loved Heart of a Hero and asked about other works like it in the Phandom. I promised him I'd get a chapter out this month, and I managed by the skin of my teeth! This is the first (and probably one of VERY few) chapters that's going to be based primarily on a Totally Spies episode, so the style is going to feel a LITTLE weird. I won't make any promises when the next chapter will come out. The burnout is mostly gone, but I'm still having some difficulties in getting the rust off, as well as just focusing on the writing. Ideally, you see Episode 20 in December, but I won't guarantee it happens. For Sphinx Club readers, that will probably start regular updates in December, since those chapters are much easier to write. Hope you all enjoy! Leave your reviews to share your good vibes and make sure I get the motivation to write!
Vlad thrust his hands forward, the pink ectoplasmic energy launching itself into the gargantuan creature. The four-armed red behemoth of a creature roared in agony, before reaching forward to grasp at Plasmius. Noticing the opportunity, Skulker fired his missiles into the distracted creature's back, forcing it to wheel around to face him. This placed his back to Vlad though, who capitalized on the situation, firing multiple more beams of energy into the back of the creature. It roared out blindly, overwhelmed by the pain and punishment the two ghosts were dealing to it. It swiped, catching one of Skulker's jetpack wings and sending him flying uncontrollably through the air. It roared in triumph at its successful attack, but Vlad put a quick stop to that, as three clones emerged and began firing beams one by one at the creature. The original Vlad made his way to Skulker, righting the suit while the duplicates kept the beast distracted.
"When you asked me to help you hunt one of the deadliest creatures in the Ghost Zone, the Behemoth guarding the Skeleton Key was not what I imagined you had in mind." Skulker grunted, retracting his jetpack into his ecto-skeleton. "I won't be flying anymore. You have any bright ideas for taking this thing down?"
"Patience, Skulker. This is one of the greater creatures in the Zone after all… it wouldn't do for it to be easy prey, would it?" Vlad said, his tone smarmy and superior. He scanned the situation, watching as his duplicates continues to pepper the creature with energy. "Take one of your energy blades and aim for its chest. I'll make sure it doesn't grab you." With that, Vlad shot forward as his duplicates got into position, working as a hivemind. They summoned ectoplasmic rope constructs, wrapping them around the wrist of the behemoth, before flying off in separate directions, the immense strength and durability of the creature the only thing preventing the great beast from being quartered.
"Mounting this beast will be quite the pleasure." Skulker grinned rushing forward and kicking off as energy blades burst forth from his gauntlets. He stabbed into the creature's chest, the weight of his ectoskeleton pulling the blades through the monster, tearing muscles and tendons as ectoplasm oozed from the wounds. The Plasmius duplicates fired ectoplasmic beams at the creature once more, as Skulker fired one final missile, which connected dead center with the now gaping wound in the behemoth's chest, ending its afterlife.
Vlad reformed into one being, flying to stand beside Skulker. "Your missile performed admirably. Remarkable the improvements you've made." Vlad said, as he surveyed the downed ghost.
"I'm not Technus, but I can design a weapon." Skulker said, an obvious amount of competition in his voice.
"Yes, yes. It is unfortunate Nicolai has defected, but it is of little consequence. There is little our minds together will be unable to accomplish." Vlad said, as he and Skulker turned to walk into the spectral mausoleum the behemoth had been guarding.
"What do you want the Skeleton Key for anyway?" Skulker asked, as they walked up to the ornate pedestal where a glowing green key with a skull for a grip sat. "There's no lock in the human world that should be beyond your abilities to bypass, and there's little in the Ghost Zone that is worth unlocking."
"Correct on both accounts." Vlad said, as he grabbed the key, transforming back into his human form to place it in his breast pocket, before returning to his ghost form. "It is still an artifact of great power and significance, and a piece on this chessboard I want on my side and no one else's." Vlad finished, before glancing at Skulker. "I suppose you need me to carry you back to your workshop, since your jetpack is damaged… I suppose this endeavor would have been more difficult without your assistance." Vlad grabbed onto Skulker's shoulder, and the pair flew off.
"Tonight on F.I.G.H.T! Olympic Decathlete Reggie Willis is going to take on the Gladiators to see if he has what it takes to take home the grand prize: The F.I.G.H.T. Belt and one million dollars in cold, hard, cash." The booming voice of announcer Vince King said over the TV, which filled the living room at Fentonworks. Danny, Star, Kim, Sammy, Alex, Clover, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie are all propped around on random couches, munching away on popcorn as they watch the new episode.
"Man, this show is awesome. Where'd you find this thing, Danny?" Valerie asked, as they watched Reggie working his way through the various obstacles and enemies that filled the diverse biomes of F.I.G.H.T. Island.
"Star found it actually. She was real excited about tonight's episode." Danny said, turning to look to his blonde girlfriend, who was happily rocking back and forth in her seat, watching the Olympian perform athletic feats that were impressive even to the superheroes in the room.
"Of course I'm excited! That's Reggie Willis! He's like, king of kings in Olympic Athletes! The decathlon is like, the hardest olympic event already, but he's like, world's better than the competition! His score was like, 2000 points higher than second place this year! The record ever scored at the Olympics was 9126, if Reggie performs in Paris like he did at the trials, he'll break that record by like, five hundred points! That's HUGE!" Star said, practically shaking with excitement. "He's like, a total inspiration! It's people like him that make me really want to be an Olympian!"
Alex chuckled a bit at her excitement. "I get it, he's really impressive. Almost makes me wish I didn't have to give up soccer to work for WOOHP. Saving the world takes priority though. I'll take taking down a supervillain to a gold medal any day. Besides, I get to do all the cool stuff Olympians do anyway."
"Who cares about his Olympic performance? He's SOOOO hunky!" Clover said, those around her could almost see the heart eyes she made at the TV as Reggie flexed following a takedown of one of the 'Gladiators' on the show.
"Down girl. Besides, his athletic performance is something to be proud of. A guy like him would probably get recruited by Global Justice or something if he wasn't already a well known figure." Kim said, leaning back into Danny's shoulder as she snuggled into him some more.
"You all really do know how to make a girl feel inadequate." Valerie said, rolling her eyes. "Four superheroines and a soon to be Olympic Level figure skater. Meanwhile I'm sitting here huffing and puffing after running a mile in gym class."
"Please, if you really wanted you could manage marksman competitions." Tucker, said waving off his girlfriend. "You're outscoring everyone on the target game in the basement, and considering you're up against Maddie Fenton? That's a BIG achievement."
"Ugh… you couples and your lovey-dovey nonsense." Sam griped, rolling her eyes as she turned her attention back to the show. Reggie was being chased by the gladiators before reaching a cliff that sat beside a large waterfall. The gladiators, massive behemoths of men in elaborate themed costumes, began to corner him. With a grunt, Reggie jumped from the cliff, diving into the waters below.
"That's all we have time for folks! Looks like Reggie here didn't have what it took to beat my gladiators. We'll see you all next time on FIGHT!" Vince King said, signing off the program.
"Ah, I really thought he was going to do it!" Star said, groaning as the credits on the show rolled.
"Looks like there's never been a winner." Tucker said, scrolling through some information on his phone. "Word online says Reggie got the closest anyone ever has."
"That's a bit weird. No winners ever? How long has the show been going?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Looks like… about a year. One episode a month, this was episode 11." Tucker said, before correcting himself. "12 technically, there was a pilot that was released, but not listed as a numbered episode."
"I guess it's not THAT weird then… but it seems odd." Danny said, shrugging.
"Oh well. Maybe someone will manage it next time. We going to turn this into a monthly thing?" Valerie asked.
"If you all are up for it. We'll see if Ron will make it next time so it'll be all of us." Kim said, standing up and moving to start cleaning up their snack bowls.
"Where's he at anyway?" Sam asked, as she too helped clean up.
"Bahia Bay in California. He's visiting his cousin Lori I think." Kim said, turning to look at Sam. "You two have been getting a bit chummy recently."
"Ha ha. We just don't like third wheeling, so we've been using each other as other hang out friends when you guys are out doing your couple stuff." Sam said, rolling her eyes. Kim let that drop, smirking a bit to herself as everyone began clearing up. The dishwasher was loaded, and everyone said their goodbyes, with Alex and Clover agreeing to meet Danny, Kim, and Sammy at the mall the following day, since Danny needed help picking out some new summer clothes.
At the mall, the group walked in front of a boutique sunglasses hut, when the floor opened beneath them, sending them careening down a slide, and onto a large circular cushion in the middle of the WOOHP office. Jerry stood there in front of his desk, hands in his pockets with an amused smile on his face. "Thank you for dropping in girls, Ms. Possible, Mr. Fenton."
"That joke doesn't get any funnier Jerry!" Clover groaned, sitting up on the cushion. "Grabbing us is pretty normal, but what's with Kim and Danny being here?"
"I've received permission from Global Justice to request these two to join you on this assignment. We suspect that this will require a bit more combat than we expect from your normal missions, so bringing in some heavier hitting support is worthwhile." Jerry said, before turning to Kim and Danny. "You two are, of course, not required to accept this mission, while the girls are obligated as WOOHP agents to perform their tasks to the best of their abilities, as you are not directly under my jurisdiction, I cannot force you to do anything."
"Well, as long as we're saving the world, I don't see the issue." Danny said, shrugging, with Kim nodding in agreement.
"Perhaps not a world saving mission, but one of some importance. I'll elaborate and allow you to decide. Take a look at this individual." Jerry said, pulling up the image of a large athletic african-american man.
"Oh, I recognize that hunk! That's Reggie Willis!" Clover said, bringing her hands together and pressing them against her cheek while tilting her head.
"Quite. Reginald Willis, Olympic Decathlete. How do you know him, if I may ask?" Jerry asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"We watched his run on F.I.G.H.T last night." Alex said, as she glanced at the screen. "What's going on?"
"That episode of F.I.G.H.T, which stands for Fear Intimidation Gladiator Habitat Television, was recorded nearly three weeks ago, and Mr. Willis has not been seen by anyone since. Following his disappearance, it was also discovered that other contestants had not been seen since their episodes were recorded. We have reason to believe that something suspicious is going on with F.I.G.H.T, and are requesting you five go on island and investigate." Jerry said, looking to them.
"Danny and I aren't exactly great at Espionage, barring Danny's ability to go invisible, what makes you think we'll be able to help specifically?" Kim asked, raising her eyebrow at him.
"Ms. Possible, your records show that you regularly engage in hand to hand combat with enhanced individuals, and fight several highly trained henchmen on many of your endeavors as a heroine. Your combat experience frankly blows my spies out of the water. Mr. Fentons supernatural abilities also make him a force to be reckoned with, I highly doubt there is any human on the planet who can handle him in a physical altercation without enhancements." Jerry said, looking to them. "It is my intention for you to join Samantha, Alex, and Clover as contestants on the show, where you will investigate these disappearances further."
"Not that we don't appreciate the support, Jerry, but what about this job makes you think we need the heavier hitters?" Sammy asked. "It's not like our normal missions don't end up with us punching some bad guys."
"This is true, but in terms of combat prowess, you three do fall behind Ms. Possible and Mr. Fenton. This blame lies on me, as I have not provided you with enough high level combat training, but your skills lie in espionage more than combat. While I have no doubts that you could take down largely any single opponent, your abilities to handle multiple strong opponents leave me somewhat concerned. I believe Ms. Possible and Mr. Fenton would be the difference makers in this regard, as their combat capabilities speak for themselves." Jerry said, leaning back on his desk.
"Yeah… we do get overwhelmed by bad guys a lot. It's a good thing we're great at escaping capture!" Alex said, chuckling a bit at her own misfortune.
"Can't help but notice that you said Kim would be going with them as a contestant, but you left me out of it. I doubt they'll let Phantom participate with his super powers and all, and Danny Fenton isn't exactly 'F.I.G.H.T material'." Danny said, looking to Jerry. "What am I expected to do?"
"I'd like you to invisibly tag along, tailing the weakest fighter to make sure she's not overwhelmed, and acting as an emergency trump card as necessary." Jerry said, nodding at Danny.
"Well, who would that be then?" Danny asked, looking over to the spies.
"Me." Clover said, dropping her head.
"Clover is a more than adequate combatant, but does rank lower in her combat scores than both Alex and Samantha." Jerry pointed out.
"Alex is the most athletic of the three of us, so she's got more muscle and body control. Sammy's a quicker thinker and best at disabling opponents with precision strikes." Clover said, groaning. "Ugh… knew I should have signed up for those Krav Maga classes, but the guy teaching the aerobics class was just WAY cuter."
"Quite. I have your gadgets for this mission. Ms. Possible, you'll receive these as well, the girls will give you instructions on how they work on the journey over. Mr. Fenton, we do not believe you will find them necessary." Jerry said, as a selection of gadgets rose from beneath the desk to be viewed. "This time you will have the Buzzsaw wristwatch, mini-ski aerobic sneaker, zipline bracelet, Turbo blast hairdryer this one being the laser variant, and the lip balm smoke bomb."
"You guys definitely get the more interesting toys." Kim said as she picked up her gadgets. "I've got a laser lipstick and a grapple gun, that's pretty much it."
"We're happy to discuss with Mr. Load about improvements to your arsenal Ms. Possible, although I'm certain that you rarely find yourself wanting." Jerry said, chuckling.
"Super powered boyfriend with supergenius engineer parents helps." Kim said, smirking. "I'm sure Wade would love to talk to your R department though."
"Quite, farewell ladies, and Mr. Fenton." Jerry said, nodding as the cushion beneath them opened up, sending them down another slide.
Arriving on the island by boat was pretty easy, and Danny made himself invisible from roughly a mile out, staying in his seat next to Clover. "I'm going to hope that we won't be spending too long on the island, I haven't really… trained on keeping myself invisible for long periods of time. I've never had to." Danny said, a few worry lines invisible on his face.
"Do you think you can hold it?" Kim asked, concerned as she reached out to where she knew he was. Despite being invisible, Danny was currently still tangible. She could feel him.
"It doesn't feel like it takes anything for me to do so, it's kind of just like turning it on or off, so probably? I won't make any guarantees. Intangibility takes doing, I have to think about being intangible and can get worn out if I hold that too long, but I can FEEL that taking effort, this doesn't do that. Not that I can tell at least." Danny said, briefly interlacing his fingers with Kim's. "I'll be sure to let you guys know if I think I'm losing it though. I'm sure I'll realize if I'm getting tired of it. Going silent, I'll be right next to Clover though, and I'll go intangible when needed."
With that, the girls got off the boat, standing awkwardly on the shore. "Did Jerry give you guys any instructions here that I didn't get? Kim asked, looking around as their boat abandoned them.
"No, but that's par for the course. Expect it to work out in like… three seconds." Alex said, as suddenly they all heard a vehicle's engine rev.
In only a few moments, a Jeep pulled up alongside the girls, with a large man with what can best be described as a mullet and horseshoe mustache pulled up beside them. "Well, I reckon you ladies must be our new contestants. Hop on in and I'll give you the tour before we get started." The man said, his vaguely australian accent shining through. The girls and Danny recognized him right off. "I'm Vince King, host of F.I.G.H.T and CEO of F.I.G.H.T. Enterprises."
Getting into the Jeep, various biomes passed by as the Jeep lapped the island. "As you can see, F.I.G.H.T island is host to each and every biome imaginable, from jungle to desert to tundra we've got it all. This island is the most amazing sporting arena ever conceived." Vince said, bragging as he drove on.
"We actually caught the episode with Reggie Willis just last night." Alex said, starting a conversation. "It was really impressive, what happened to Reggie after filming?"
"Not sure, he must be too scared to show himself after losing to my merciless Gladiators. They're the most effective combat athletes on the planet." Vince said, his bravado shining through.
"Merciless? That's an odd way to phrase it. That's actual combat we see on screen?" Sammy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Marketing, when you're a presenter you've got to learn how to sell the power." Vince said, taking a brief moment before continuing. "This is show business, while the Gladiators are doing there best to subdue the contestants, safety is a top priority. We do our best to make sure that there are no injuries beyond what are standard for a sporting event. We've had a broken bone or two, and plenty of bumps and bruises, but the same could be said for professional wrestling. That's where I got my start after all."
They pulled into a garage that seemed to be connected to some kind of studio. Vince got out of the Jeep and pointed off in a direction. "Head on through there and they'll get you your athletic kit for the show. I've got some last minute preparations to make. See you in an hour."
The girls followed the directions making their way to the listed dressing rooms. Sure enough, athletic suits in their sizes were present, but no support personnel were. "Getting a negative on surveillance in here. We're good to change. Danny, you can take a break if you need." Sammy said, as she grabbed aa green athletic suit from the rack.
Danny regained visibility, taking a seat on a nearby chair. "Uh… feels weird holding invisibility that long." He said, shaking his head and arms as though trying to work out some muscle.
"You think the time is going to be an issue? Kim asked, as she grabbed a black version of the outfit from the racks.
"No, it feels weird but I'm not drained or anything. Maybe I'm just psyching myself out by worrying about it." Danny said. "What's your guys' read on Vince?"
"Suspicious without a doubt." Clover said, as she slid into the red athletic suit in one of the stalls. "He can claim his gladiators are trained athletes with safety in mind all he wants, but you guys saw the show last night, and you saw the same island I did. There's stuff here that's WAY too dangerous for a show to just let it happen. Like Reggie's fall into the water yesterday, that's not something that you can get away with, surely."
"Yeah… something is definitely up. We'll have to figure out what exactly that is though." Sammy said, stepping out of the stall wearing the athletic gear, her hair tied up in a single braid.
"Then let's get to work." Danny said, as the other girls stepped out, ready to rumble.
"Ladies and gentlemen! We have some new contestants who think that they have what it takes to take on F.I.G.H.T. Island and take home not only the coveted FIGHT Belt, but also the one million dollar cash prize!" Vince said, his voice booming through the arena as a crowd of fans cheered. A platform beneath the stage rose, bringing Kim, Sammy, Alex, and Clover to the stage. "These four girls think they have the grit, the drive, the determination to take on my international gladiators to take the prizes for themselves! Let's see if they have what it takes! Release the wolves!"
From off the side of the stage two cages containing wolves were opened, causing the canines to chase after the girls. "Safety really not feeling like a top priority here!" Alex said as they ran, leaving the stage and immediately being funneled into a rocky mesa area, where they were at the bottom of a box canyon
"Especially since those aren't dogs! Those are actual wolves!" Kim called out as she glanced over her shoulder at the pack hunters. "There's no way he has the right permits for that!"
"Permits shmermits! I'm more worried about how we're going to get away from them!" Clover called out as she looked around. The canyon walls were rough and rocky, the sandstone a deep red. They were quickly coming up on the end of this little trench they were in. "Up and out, it's the only way!"
"Let's hope these walls are sturdy then!" Sammy called out as she started scaling the wall, Alex, Clover, and Kim hot on her heels. They made it about half-way up the 30 ft rock face when the wolves reached the bottom, jumping and trying to nip at the girls' heels, but being unable to.
"I'd have caught you if they weren't, don't worry." Danny's voice called out to them.
"Man, I can't get used to you being here invisible. I keep forgetting you're here." Alex called out as she pulled herself over the top, having made better time than the others.
"It is weird." Clover said, pulling herself over the edge and lying down, catching her breath.
"Uh… guys? Looks like we've got company!" Kim said, as the FIGHT Gladiators began their approach. Five of them were immediately visible, each in their eclectic costumes. One appeared to be wearing the skull of a triceratops, another was dressed as a samurai, and the others followed similar themes.
"Ugh! I swear, these guys looks like they got their fashion tips from the Village People's Fight Club!" Clover said, as the Triceratops headed one charged, wielding a massive morningstar and trying to slam it into her head. Clover dodged expertly, delivering a punishing elbow to his spine. The samurai charged Sammy, who dropped low into a sweep kick knocking him off his feet. A woman dressed similarly to a viking grabbed Alex in a full nelson, but Kim landed a jump kick on her face, forcing the woman to release her.
"Split up! Sammy, you're with me, Clover, you go with Alex!" Kim said, the others nodding as they paired off to make distance from the gladiators.
Danny, Alex, and Clover were trudging through the desert section of FIGHT island, the air hot and heavy on their bodies. "God, I'd toss my entire shoe collection for some relief from this heat… how is it so hot here specifically? The mesa was like… warm but not HOT, how is he changing the climate so much here?"
"Is it hot? I… I can't tell." Danny said, a look of concern on his face… well probably. He was invisible, even he couldn't tell.
"What, does the ghost boy not get hot?" Alex asked, trying to keep her spirits up as they kept moving.
"Now that you mention it… as a ghost, no. I've gotten COLD before, but like… that was with a ghost who could instant freeze you. Must be something ghosts don't deal with really." Danny said. "Still get hot and cold normally as a human, barring the fact that I'm a 'shorts when it's snowing' guy."
"Ugh, meanwhile I'm still not adjusted to Amity Park's weather." Clover rolled her eyes. "Give me California's endless sunshine over a cold front from Lake Eerie anyday."
"Says the woman complaining about the heat." Alex points out.
"Too hot to be snarky right now." Clover responded, as the trio crested a sand dune. Opposite them was what could best be described as a mountainous winter wonderland.
"How did we go from Arizona to the Himalayas in what is at most 100 feet?" Danny asked, completely dumbfounded.
"I don't know, but I'm terrified to find out." Alex said.
The roar of engines caught their attention as three gladiators appeared from a small path around one of the mountains, riding on what could best be described as hot-rod snowmobiles.
"Great! More running!" Clover said, as she and Alex started dashing off trying to get away from the snowmobiles.
"Use the ski shoes! They'll be better!" Alex called out clicking her heels together and having ski runners appear from the soles of her feet. Small rockets on her heels propelled her, seemingly letting her make some distance from the snowmobiles. Clover clicked her heels together as well and started rocketing after her.
They shot through the snowy hills that surrounded the mountains, using their superior maneuverability to outperform the bulky snowmobiles while on the winding paths in the hills, but once they hit an open frozen lake, their advantages suddenly disappeared. One of the snowmobiles caught up to Clover, it's rider wearing some kind of alien based suit leaned over and tried to spear her, but Clover dodged back, grabbing the spear and tossing him off the snowmobile, before hopping on. "Nice ride! Mine now!" She called out, pushing the engine to it's limit as she approached Alex, Danny providing an extra boost to keep them ahead of the Gladiators.
"I'll slow them down!" Alex called out, before pulling out her laser hairdryer and pointing it towards the ice, melting it and sending the gladiators into the icy waters. Drifting to a stop, the trio saw that the gladiators were flailing around in the ice, unable to get purchase to get out of the frigid waters.
"Guess we have to do the right thing." Clover said, rolling her eyes as she hopped out of the snowmobile. She, Alex, and Danny each grabbed one of the gladiators, pulling them up onto the ice and out of the water.
"Ugh… these guys are HEAVY." Alex complained as she pulled out a Gladiator in what looked like Hun armor. As she pulled him out though, the collar on his neck came off, and Alex looked questioningly at it. "Wonder what this is?"
Clover walked over and took a look at it. "Well, one thing's for sure, it's definitely got something to do with what's going on here. That's one high-tech piece of jewelry."
Sammy and Kim meanwhile, escaped to what seemed to be some kind of ancient ruins on the island. "Ugh… this reminds me WAY too much of looking for those relics for Monkey Fist." Kim said as they climbed the stairs. The facade of these ruins being ancient fell away pretty quickly on close inspection. The corners were still broadly new and pristine, a far cry from the weathered edges you would find in actual ancient ruins.
"Tell me about it. Last time we were in ruins like this, some weird guy was trying to use 'ancient mayan technology' to carve his name on the moon." Sammy said, chuckling as she rolled her eyes.
"It's still pretty odd to me how… eclectic your villains are. I've got a relatively short list of villains, and while they have their own gimmicks, they usually want what I would consider 'normal villain things' like money or world domination." Kim said, as they walked along the edge of the faux-ancient ziggurat.
"Yeah… ours are a bit more prosaic, but they don't usually come back. They'll do one scheme and then they're done. Although there are some I'd definitely expect would start trouble again if they could." Sammy said, as she kept her eyes peeled for threats. "There's one I'd definitely personally feel the most obligated to take down if they started again."
"Oh? Do tell. First I'm hearing about one of you having an arch-enemy." Kim said, chuckling. "I've got Drakken and Shego, Danny's got Skulker and Vlad, who does our dear Sammy have?"
"His name is Tim Scam… before my time he was a WOOHP agent, brilliant guy working in the tech department. One of our… earlier escapades was when he pretended that Jerry retired and took over as our 'handler'. I… I was so enamored by him. He was handsome, intelligent, part of the life. I was almost head over heels for the guy, nevermind the fact that he's probably like, 10 years older than me. I just… was so blinded by him I didn't even notice that Jerry was acting weird when we'd try to call him, didn't notice all the other suspicious things, and it nearly ended the world! I just… I feel personally responsible for that, and now that I'm with Danny… I'm mad that I let myself be blinded by my attraction for him in the first place." Sammy said, gritting her teeth in anger in certain places.
"Touch a nerve? Yeah, I can see why that'd be upsetting. Can't say I've ever felt attracted to my villains before. There's one who is kind of like my age, and he's like… attractive I guess in the musclebound idiot kind of way. Definitely not my type though." Kim said, rolling her eyes. "Senor Senior Junior is his name, should be on the registries if you want to look for him later."
"Probably for the best I don't. That's exactly Clover's type, and I do NOT need her to start going gaga for a supervillain." Sammy said, rolling her eyes. "I happen to like my guys heroic and goofy. I'm sure you can relate."
"Oh yeah." Kim said, and the pair shared a brief high-five. Their camaraderie was cut short though, as the tell-tale sounds of heavy footsteps let them know that more of the Gladiators were approaching. "Great." Kim whispered, "What now?"
Sammy glanced around, before grabbing Kim's shoulder and turning her to look at something. On the ground was a manhole cover disguised to look like part of the ziggurat. "Don't know why there's seemingly modern sewers in an ancient ruin, but not looking a gift horse in the mouth."
Stealthily the pair entered the sewer, ever thankful that it seemed to be rainwater drainage and not bodily waste. "Wonder where these tunnels go?' Kim idly said, as they walked down winding corridors. The sounds of grunts and physical exertion caught their attention, and they moved closer, finding them coming from a barred window. Through the window, they could see a number of athletes performing various exercises, primarily cardio and weight training, using high end equipment.
"That seems fishy… these Gladiators obviously work out… but shouldn't they all be 'working' right now trying to find us? We've seen… what 15 or so unique gladiators so far? Between the episode we watched and those who have chased us? Then there's like 20 more people in there? He's growing a small army." Sammy said, her face scrunching a bit as she thought.
"Yeah… this is like, super villain henchmen levels of training. I'm not convinced Drakken keeps this many guys on staff unless it's a massive scheme." Kim said, as she held up the Kimmunicator to the window. "Wade, relay this video footage to WOOHP for me, would you? See if they can maybe get an ID on some of these guys."
"On it Kim." Wade said over the speaker.
"Please and thank you." Kim said, holding the device steady as Wade grabbed the footage. Splashes could be heard though, and around the corner, gladiators appeared.
"That'll have to be enough, let's go!" Sammy called out, as the pair of red-headed super heroines dashed through the sewers, chased by the eclectically dressed warriors. The pair made it to the end of the tunnel, which let out to a large waterfall that cascaded down into a river.
"Great, we end up jumping the same place Reggie did." Kim said, rolling her eyes. "And here I am without my grapple gun."
"You've got a grapple bracelet though!" Sammy said, pointing and aiming the bracelet to attach to an adjacent cliff face.
"Well now I feel dumb!" Kim said, following her lead as the pair swung off to evade their pursuers.
Everyone managed to meet up in the jungle, climbing up one of the large trees to survey the surrounding area. "You three manage to see anything worthwhile?" Sammy asked, glancing towards her teammates and her invisible boyfriend. She assumed he was in that direction anyway.
"Yeah, we pulled one of these off of one of the gladiators." Clover said, revealing the collar she pulled off. "You're the normal tech wiz, but Danny filled in. Looks like some kind of receiver, but who knows what it is. You two find anything?"
"In the ruins there were these guys in some kind of… prison gym. Bars on the windows, and they didn't look particularly happy to be there. Kim sent video to Wade." Sammy said, before turning to look at her fellow red-head. "He find anything?"
"I sure did." Wade said over the Kimmunicator as Kim turned the screen to face everyone. "Three of the faces in there were missing contestants, and a few of the others are known athletes. Two United Football League players who went missing immediately following the season, three heavyweight MMA fighters from a few circuits, a boxer from a professional league in Germany, and two pro weightlifters. I couldn't ID everyone, but what I did paints a pretty clear picture."
"King's grabbing combat athletes, or at least guys who would be good picks. Must be the draft for the Gladiators." Alex said, wide-eyed. "These guys all went missing though?"
"He's kidnapping them. Something tells me the Gladiators here aren't doing it of their own free will." Kim reasoned.
"Then that collar… it's a kind of receiver for instructions?" Danny idly said, causing the girls to jump. "Sorry." Danny apologised.
"The sooner this mission is over, the better. I swear if you use those ghost powers to peak on me in the shower I'll…" Clover said, letting the threat loom in the air.
"One, I wouldn't do that, you're my friend, and that's wrong. Two, if I WAS going to do something like that, I've got two girlfriends who are MORE than willing to oblige that particular request." Danny said, invisibly rolling his eyes.
"Focus up guys." Kim said, her face a little flushed. "We need to talk to those prisoners, they probably know more. Danny, you could phase us through the walls, right?"
"Yeah, short of them being ectoplasm infused, but nothing else here has been. King probably doesn't even know about ghosts." Danny said, nodding, but no one could see that.
"Actually… it might be better to get captured." Clover pointed out, gears turning in her head.
"Why would that be better?" Kim asked.
"You know how much villains love to monologue, we get captured he'll probably tell us his plans. Old dudes like him LOVE mansplaining." Clover said. "They're obviously taking people alive, and we've been kicking the gladiators butts. If this is how he's force recruiting them, he'll probably try to do the same to us. The difference is, even if he does put a collar on us, we've got Danny boy here to pull them off."
"Yeah, then we could get a confession straight from him. He'll tell us all about his evil plan, try to turn us into a set of Female Furies, and we'll stop him. Easy peasy." Kim said, causing the other girls to look at her with raised eyebrows.
"Female Furies?" Clover asked.
"Danny got me into comics. That's what Darkseid, the big bad of DC, calls his all-girl murder squadron." Kim said, flushed a bit at being called out.
"God, if I wasn't already in love with you I would be now." Danny said, placing a kiss on Kim's lips. The others got to see what a kiss looked like when one person was invisible, it was very strange.
"Furies aside, we just need to get captured… how do we do that?" Alex asked.
"Should be as simple as finding a big enough group of gladiators. Fight as hard as we can so they don't get suspicious and let them take us. Danny will follow and make sure that if stuff starts going awry that we're not tossed in a lava pit or something." Sammy said, as the girls all nodded.
"Right, let's do this then." Clover said as the four girls and Danny put their hands together and lifted it in a cheer.
Finding a sufficient group of Gladiators to get captured by wasn't very hard at all, and following a fight, the four girls were now held captive in front of Vince King in an office inside the ruins, surrounded by six gladiators. The girls recognized the gladiators that were in the room. The Atilla the Hun one Alex pulled from the ice, the Triceratops headed one, Valkyrie, and Samurai that had attacked them on top of the cliff, then two that they had only seen on the TV the night before, which were dressed like a medieval knight and a roman gladiator respectively. Behind the desk Vince King was sat at was a massive computer with displays that showed data on various points on the island.
"You girls put on quite the show. I've never seen anyone dismantle my gladiators quite like you all have." Vince said, a smarmy grin on his face. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I may not know who you three are, but it's not hard to recognize Kim Possible, a genuine superheroine."
"You'll forgive me if I'm not impressed." Kim said, rolling her eyes at the man.
"I will, because beyond your performance, you've also given me something better than you could possibly imagine." Vince said, stepping forward and standing to tower over Kim. "My collars are an exceptional design, they can control the mind of anyone who wears them, letting me give them commands that they'll follow to the best of their ability. I have someone very interested in my collars and my training program, but to get the best deal for it, I needed some… X factor, something that showed that my collars would allow this person to field an army capable of standing up to the superheroes of this world… and now I have it. Once Kim Possible is under my thumb… there's not a person in this world who can stop me."
"Like I'll ever let you collar me." Kim spat, glaring at the man.
"Your consent isn't a factor. Collar all four of them, I've got a meeting with Jack Hench… he'll be quite pleased that I'll be able to offer him Kim Possible as a part of my Gladiator army." Vince said, as he sat back down in his chair, which lowered through the floor.
The Triceratops Gladiator grabbed a collar from the desk, moving towards Kim, and Danny sprang into action, tackling him and knocking the collar to the ground. Simultaneously the Hun gladiator lept into action, tackling the gladiator that was holding onto Alex. The girls wrestled free of the grips of the gladiators, fighting with them as they knocked them out. As Kim was delivering the knockout blow to the Samurai though, the knight grabbed the collar from the ground and clamped it around her neck. Sammy quickly did a jump kick that knocked out the Samurai, but it was too late.
"Grr… you'll never defeat the Gladiators!" Kim called out, under the control of the collar as she stormed out the door.
"Kim no!" Danny yelled, about to rush the door.
"Phantom! Wait!" Sammy screamed, urging caution. "We need a second to regroup and plan, if you run in and get caught it's game over. King doesn't know you're here, but the second he does, you're going to be priority one. Kim's a better fighter than us, but we can probably hold our own well enough to get the collar off of her. If you get collared? Clover, Alex and I don't stand a chance."
"Fine." Danny said, relenting.
"Now, what's going on with you, Mr. Gladiator?" Clover asked, as the Hun took off the mask he was wearing, revealing himself to be Reggie Willis.
"When you took that collar off of me when pulling me from the ice, I suddenly wasn't brainwashed by Vince anymore. I played along trying to find a chance to pull the collars off of everyone else. Speaking of…" Reggie said, as he kneeled down pulling the collars off of the other unconscious gladiators in the room. "Sorry I couldn't stop them from getting your friend."
"We'll manage, we just need a plan to somehow stop these collars." Sammy said, as she tried examining one of them closer. "We know they're receivers, but where is the signal coming from?"
"I still have memories from my time under the collar's control, and I know that this is a secondary access terminal for the collars. It's probably got information we could use. Vince wasn't exactly hiding what he was doing from us, but wasn't just telling us everything about how they worked." Reggie said, as he hopped over the desk and accessed the computer. "Yeah… that makes sense." Reggie said, as he pulled up the map of the island, where seven points were lit up. "These points here are the various control relays, the collars have a somewhat finite range it looks like, so you need a control station relatively close by to feed the collars commands. The entire island is covered by these 7, but the outside ones are effectively just repeaters for the central big signal from the tower on the center of the island."
"Woah, that's impressive! How'd you figure all of that out?" Alex asked, wide-eyed at how quickly he managed to pull that together.
"Olympic training didn't always pay the bills, so I got my doctorate in telecommunications. These signal relays aren't TOO different from cellphone towers. Unfortunately, that means that if Vince can improve his designs…" Reggie started.
"Then he could expand these to cover any place in the world with cell service." Danny finished.
"Yeah… weird ghost voice. Care to explain that one to me?" Reggie said, looking to the three girls in the room.
"Oh, right." Danny said, becoming visible. "Phantom, superhero with ghost powers. We were sent to investigate your disappearance."
"I'd say that's the weirdest thing I've ever heard, but I was just mind controlled by the former World Heavyweight Champion, so my tolerance for insanity has gone up." Reggie said.
"Welcome to our world. Regardless, if the center tower there is the origin of the signals, and the towers just relay it… shouldn't that mean if we take it down, all the collars will stop working?" Sammy asked, trying to piece together a plan.
"Probably, at the very least it'd make a big area where there wasn't commands, which should make the collars effectively worthless. Problem is that that area is now totally swarming with Gladiators, since that's where Vince is demonstrating them to Jack Hench." Reggie said.
"Do you girls know who that is?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Jerry might." Clover said, pulling out her commpowder. "Hey Jerry, do you know anything about a Jack Hench?"
"Certainly. Jack Hench is the owner of HenchCo. The primary supplier of equipment and manpower for supervillains across the world." Jerry said. "I take it he's somehow involved here?"
"Vince is meeting with him to talk about his Gladiators and these mind control collars he's using." Clover said, holding up one of the collars to show Jerry.
"This isn't good. If HenchCo could have access to mind control technology, that would mean that any villain in the world could start forcing their enemies to work for them. I understand Ms. Possible has had multiple run-ins with Mr. Hench… why didn't she speak up about him?" Jerry asked, an eyebrow raised.
"One of the gladiators got a collar on her. She's mind controlled." Clover said sadly.
"That's very concerning. You'll need to put a stop to King's plans as soon as possible. I'll ready the extraction and containment teams. We'll wait for your signal. Take him out girls… and Phantom." Jerry said, before ending the transmission.
At the center of the island, atop a giant fist shaped mountain, and beneath a large relay tower sat Vince King and Jack Hench, looking at a computer console. "As you can see, Mr. Hench, my collars are highly effective at controlling these athletes, and my training camps are second to none. Each one of these Gladiators are each capable of taking on five regular men with incredible ease, and are skilled in many different forms of combat. Combining my training regimens with your manpower, and Hench Co Henchmen will be unstoppable." Vince said, as a camera panned over the various Gladiators, who were standing at attention.
"Hmm… these are rather impressive, and I see immense potential in your collars, but the figure you've requested is much higher than I'm willing to pay for just this though. You mentioned some… X-Factor, what would that be?" Jack Hench said, running his fingers through his slicked-back hair.
"Yes, you see, to show the effectiveness of my collars, I reveal to you the newest recruit… Kim Possible." Vince said, an evil gleam in his eyes. Kim acrobatically appeared atop the mountain, and Jack Hench's eyes widened.
"You actually managed to control THE Kim Possible… very impressive indeed." Jack said, as he examined Kim, stepping around her. "This is the real deal… I've met her a few times as you know. Did you manage to grab the sidekick as well?"
"The blonde boy was not seen on the island, but there were three other girls with her. I don't know who they were, but they were of comparable combat ability to Possible here. They'll make excellent additions." Vince said, smiling, pressing a button on the console.
"Looking for us?" Sammy asked, as she, Clover, Alex, and Reggie appeared over the edge of the cliff, crossing her arms.
"You're supposed to be collared! How did you escape?" Vince asked, glaring at the girls and the decathlete.
"We're just full of surprises. Give it up Vince, you're done for." Clover said, glaring at him.
"Why would I do that? Gladiators! Get them!" Vince called out, commanding his army to attack them.
Reggie charges at one of the other Gladiators, locking hands with him as the pair try to outmuscle each other, the Gladiator is certainly formidable, but falls to Reggie's superior strength, as Reggie pushes him to the ground and pulls the collar off. Reggie looks down at him, before speaking, "Try and take down some of the other Gladiators, get the collars off!" The gladiator nods as Reggie stands up, and the pair begin working their way through the other gladiators.
Alex and Clover perform much the same, using their superior maneuverability to send the gladiators crashing into each other, then pulling the collars off of them while they are dazed.
Sammy however, found herself facing a much more difficult opponent, as Kim squared off with her, the two red-heads locked in hand-to-hand combat. "Come on Kim! You're really going to let Vince control you like this? You're Kim Possible! A Superhero! One of my best friends!"
"I was that! Now I am a Gladiator! I will fight! I will win!" Kim said, using her superior fighting skills and pushing Sammy to the edge.
"Kim! What would Danny think if he saw you like this? If he saw you being mind controlled again?" Sammy asked, looking at her as she tried to figure out her options.
Kim paused for a second, wincing as her mind fought against the controls. "Mind controlled again? I.. I… I must fight!" Kim said, holding her head in her hands.
Danny snuck up to the tower, sighing as he looked at it. He was the only one who could do this… he had to do this, but looking at the massive pillar of metal in front of them, he couldn't help but doubt himself. Danny had picked up and thrown a bus before, and it certainly hadn't been the peak of his strength, but… he wasn't sure if he had it in him to lift this tower. His eyes scanned the field, hopeful that they were managing to free the gladiators without his help, and seeing Kim standing over Sammy, fighting with all she could against her mind control… Danny knew what he had to do. He wouldn't let them down. Danny became visible again, grabbing onto the massive steel base of the tower and digging his fingers in, the metal screeching as it buckled under his strength. A green glow surrounded his hands as he pushed his strength to it's limits, lifting the steel structure out of the ground. His vision blurred, his ghostly muscles ached in a way they never had before, but Danny did not falter. Danny lifted, the massive metal tower bending and contorting as its center of mass was moved, experiencing stress at points it was not designed to handle, as sections began to buckle and break. With a final massive grunt, Danny pushed the entire tower over, letting it crash into the ground with a massive thud, as all eyes turned to the glowing green ghost boy.
"Vince King… it's over. Surrender now." Danny said, his eyes full of venom. He glanced over to Kim, who was coming to her senses now that no signals were being transmitted to her collar.
With his Gladiators now all bearing down on him, Vince had little option but to surrender, while Jack Hench smugly sat back in his chair.
WOOHP arrived to take Vince away although negotiations with Jack Hench were not going as well. Danny was certain that if Jerry had any hair left, he would have pulled it out in frustration trying to arrest Jack Hench. Reggie came up to Danny and the girls.
"I really can't thank you all enough for saving us." He said, smiling at them with gratitude.
"It's part of the job." Danny said, waving it off. Clover looked on with hearts in her eyes at the handsome man, but Sammy's words in her ears that Reggie was twice her age seemed to settle her down a bit.
"Still, if there's anything I can do, you name it." Reggie said, and Danny thought for a moment.
"Actually…." Danny said, an idea forming in his head.
Star squealed as Danny handed her the signed photo of Reggie Willis with his Olympic Gold medal, complete with personalized message, and the personal phone numbers of a few top figure skaters.
"You're the best boyfriend ever!" Star said, still shaking with excitement as she peppered Danny with kiss after kiss.
Danny may not have won the million dollar prize on fight, but he certainly felt like a million bucks.