Shego walked into the Kimminator’s hanger, her right arm still bound up in the sling. A group of people were busy working on the nose cone of the Kimminator, checking a set of small lenses. The tops of the Kimminator’s delta wings had been removed, and various tubes and metal rods were being installed.
“Hey, you!”.
Shego turned, to see a fussy looking man holding a clipboard. “Who are you?” he demanded. “Are you authorized to be here?”
“Shego Possible.” Shego said, resisting the urge to toast the man’s clipboard. “And who authorized YOU to be here?”
“Oh, sorry.” the man said. “Peter Fields… Head of the refabrication project, which basically means I stay out of the way until there’s an argument.”
Shego nodded. “I came down to see what they were doing to my plane. What’s with the nose?”
“Oh, that’s Mouse’s system.” said Mr. Fields. “Mouse!”
One of the men working on the nose cone. “Yeah?”
Mr. Fields gestured, pointing his thumb at Shego. “Lady here wants to know about the spike.”
The man grinned and said something to the group, which rapidly dispersed. The man, apparently named Mouse, came over. “Hi there… How can I help you?”
“Shego Possible.” said Shego. “I’ll be flying this thing, want to know what you’ve done to my ride.”
“Well, we’ve just finished installing the thermal spike system.” said Mouse. His eyes seemed to change color, turning light brown, as he spoke. “It uses a short range, high energy laser to create a cone of thermal energy in front of the plane… It’s sort of like a super cavitation torpedo, creating a ‘bubble’ of low pressure air that the plane will fly in.”
gee, and I thought only Drakken could be that technically complex thought Shego. “And the reason for this bubble?”
“Oh!” said Mouse. “The main advantage is a lot less turbulence, so that the Kimminator now can survive speeds achieved by maximum engine output… as long as you don’t deviate too much from your course.”
“Any side effects I should know about?” asked Shego.
“Oh, yes.”. Mouse ran over to a cart which had a bag of jumbo sized marshmallows and what appeared to have started life as a wire coat-hanger but was now stretched out to form a single metal stick. He carefully stuck the marshmallow on the end of the wire and then led Shego to a spot in front of the Kimminator. A piece of yellow tape had been placed on the floor.
“Ok, just stand behind the tape and stick the marshmallow out.” Mouse said. “Make sure your hand does NOT go beyond the line.”
“What, this thermal spike can cook a marshmallow?” Shego asked.
Rather than answer, Mouse took a remote control off the cart. He checked to make sure he was out of the way, and then pressed a button on the remote.
Shego, no stranger to high energy plasma effects, felt a wave of heat seem to smash into her. The sensation lasted only for an instant. The marshmallow, on the end of the stick, was now gone… in it’s place, a tiny, carbonized lump.
“Overcook, actually.” said Mouse, skipping up.
“That’s one hell of a weapon system.” commented Shego.
“Oh, no.” said Mouse. “It’s for flight enhancement only. The range is extremely limited… about the only way you could use it in air combat as if you were able to get the target plane to fly exactly in line with your plane.”
“Ok, so, what do we have in the way of noise makers?” said Shego.
Mouse led her over to where a metal tube extended from the underside of the Kimminator. “This is the rail gun. Uses electromagnetic energy to fire projectiles toward the enemy. In the wings we’re installed enhanced plasma projection systems. If you haven’t dealt with plasma projections, they…”
Shego extended her left hand, causing it to begin to glow. “I’ve dealt with them.”
“Um, right.” said Mouse. “We considered adding some more missile capability, but the ASS Fighter is actually faster then any of our missiles are programmed to deal with. We are heavily upgrading the ECM/ECCM systems.”
“Sounds good.” said Shego. “The harder we are to hit, the more likelier we are to win.”
“Are you sure you’ll be fully flight worthy when the time comes?” Mouse asked, gesturing to the cast on Shego’s arm. “I’m sure Dr. Director can find another pilot…”
“I heal fast.” said Shego, interrupting him. “And I want another shot at Motor Ed’s ASS”.
“Now that,” said Motor Ed, “is a thing of beauty. Totally.”
The ASS Fighter had been heavily modified. Neon light glowed along the undercarriage, while garish red and yellow ‘flames’ were painted along the leading edges. The rear fins of the plane had been replaced with a spoiler, like you’d see on a race car.
“Boss, you sure about all dis?” said Motor Ed’s assistant, nervous. “Some of dis stuff, it belongs on cars.”
“Dude, you NEVER question another guy’s ride.” said Motor Ed. “It’s like, so disrespectful. Totally.”
“Boss, all these parts… I gotta say, t’ink dey been stallin’ you.” the henchman said, nervously.
Motor Ed grinned. “You don’t think the main man knew that?”
“Huh?” said the henchman, confused.
“These parts are seriously sweet” said Motor Ed. “But the rad, bad Ed-ster wouldn’t have stopped just for those. I’ve been waiting for THIS.”.
Motor Ed pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his jacket and dropped it on the table.
“A reactive energy shield transmitter?” the henchman said, after unfolding and looking at the piece of paper…
“Some teen named Justine Flanner just finished the prototype.” said Motor Ed. “Not even Global Justice knows about it. This’ll make my ASS totally spanking!”
Justine Flanner held what appeared to be a small shoe box in her hands. “I want to thank you again, Dr. Possible, for agreeing to let me test the REST here.”
“Always glad to help a fellow genius.” said Dr. Possible. “If it works, your REST could mean great things for rocket research… no worries about damage from asteroids and meteors.”
Justine nodded. “Agreed. Any form of matter… even, say, excited rocket exaust… will trigger the REST’s energy shield and prevent it from hitting whatever object the REST is protecting.”.
Justine carried the shoebox sized object and placed it on a large ‘X’ painted on a concrete launch pad. She backed away, and put the goggles on that Dr. Possible handed her.
“All right.” Dr. Possible said, into a microphone. “Fire!”.
A large electromagnetic catapult took aim at Justine’s shoebox. Between a set of super-conductive rails, a powerful surge of magnetic energy was forming. Within seconds, an aluminum projectile smaller than a fist was accelerated to a pace that made a speeding bullet look positively lethargic. The aluminum projectile hurled through the air, glowing bright red as it flew, aimed straight at the shoe box.
Just before it hit, a blue sphere of glowing energy appeared arround the box. The projectile smashed into the shield, producing a burst of photons, and then the energy shield collapsed, leaving the box completely unharmed.
“Amazing, Ms. Flanner…” said Dr. Possible. “You’ve done it again.”
“Thank you, Dr. Possible.” said Justine. “I just want to say…”
“Say boo-hoo, girlie!” shouted a voice. Justine and Dr. Possible turned to see a large, blonde haired man at the test sight. “Cause I’m taking this!”.
Motor Ed grabbed the device and began running.
“Security!” yelled Dr. Possible, into the microphone.
Before guards could converge, however, Motor Ed pulled out a remote and pointed it an apparently empty spot. The ASS Fighter’s visual cloaking system deactivated, revealing the heavily modified purloined vehicle. Motor Ed climbed into the cockpit, sliding the REST into a prepared slot inside. “Later, losers!” he shouted, activating the ASS Fighter’s VTOL capabilities.
Mrs. Dr. Possible used a laser scalpel to carefully cut off Shego’s cast. “All right… you don’t need the cast any more, but be careful.” she told her daughter in law. “Meteor enhanced healing or not, that bone is still very fragile.”
“Thanks, doc.” said Shego, flexing her hand. “I’ll be sure to tell Kim to be gentle.”
Mrs. Dr. Possible rolled her eyes. “That’s probably more than I want to know about Kimmy and your love life, you know.”
“Don’t want to hear why I call her bubble butt?” said Shego, smirking.
Mrs. Dr. Possible cleared her throat noisily and put the scalpel away. “Now then, I want you to keep taking those calcium supplements and…”
A beeping noise, coming from Shego’s Kimmunicator, interrupted Mrs. Dr. Possible.
“Shego here.” Shego said, into the Kimmunicator’s microphone.
“This is Dr. Director.” came the voice over the Kimmunicator’s speaker. “Motor Ed just launched the ASS Fighter… from the Middleton Space Port.”
Mrs. Dr. Possible’s eyes went wide. “James!” she said, knowing that her husband was working there today.
“Good timing.” said Shego. “The cast is off and Motor Ed is going down.”
Shego ran as fast as she could to her car and drove to the Kimminator’s hanger. Much to her surprise, she saw that it was already powering up… someone must be in the cockpit, getting the powerful plane ready.
Shego climbed up the steps and looked into the cockpit, to discover her wife in the co-pilot seat.
“Kim, what are you doing?” Shego demanded, even as she started to buckle up.
“We fight as a family.” said Kim, reaching up and flipping a set of toggles. “And don’t argue, or I’ll break your OTHER arm.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” said Shego, glancing at the status monitors. “Preflight check looks good… open up the hanger doors, KIGO.”
“Opening the pod bay doors.” reported Kigo, as the hanger doors swung open.
“Ok, who let you watch 2001?” demanded Shego, even as she placed her hand on the controls and fed power to the Kimminator’s engines. The customized plane began to roll forward.
“It was part of a cultural download from John ‘Mouse’ Smith.” reported Kigo. “For a fleshy, he’s not so bad.”
“Fleshy?” demanded Shego, pulling up on the yoke. Hover-pods engaged, providing additional lift to bring the Kimminator off the ground. “Remind me to tell Mouse that, if he wants to keep working on you, he needs to cut back on your sci-fi intake.”
“I see Motor Ed’s plane on radar.” said Kim, her eyes focussed on a sensor screen. “It looks like he’s not even bothering with stealth this time.”
“I do love an overconfident enemy.” said Shego. “Ok. Unlock weapon systems, authorization Shego - Alpha One One.”
“Voice print confirmed. Biometric signature confirmed.” said Kigo, formally. “Weapon systems unlocked. Charging EMP cannon. Charging enhanced plasma launchers. Opening missile storage units. Charging rail gun.”
“All counter measure systems online.” reported Kim, from her side of the cockpit. “Authorizing computer-iniated release.”
“Close up the missile bays, Kigo…” said Shego. “There’s no point when they don’t have the speed to keep up with Motor Ed.”
“Missile bays closed.” announced Kigo.
Unlike the first fight, Motor Ed seemed to not be aware of the Kimminator’s presence. He made no move to evade, even as Shego targeted him. Shego squeezed the trigger on the yoke.
Green plasma bolts flew from the Kimminator’s wing tips and a streak of silver light could be seen running from the Kimminator’s rail gun to the Aero-Space Strike Fighter. Blue light flickered over the ASS Fighter.
Shego gasped as the ASS Fighter flew on, unaffected by the massive firepower that had just hit it.
“Loser!” came Motor Ed’s voice, over the radio. “I’m SHIELDED, baby… Not even plasma bolts can touch me now!”
Motor Ed’s plane fired a hyper-velocity rocket at the Kimminator. Shego yanked hard on the yoke, pulling the Kimminator out of it’s flight path. As the rocket sensed the Kimminator going out of range, the rocket exploded.
Kim gasped as the Kimminator shook around her. Suddenly, she heard Shego swearing.
“Shego! Language!” said Kim, reflexively. She turned and realized why Shego was cursing… her right arm appeared skewed.
“Hit the arm on the rest…” muttered Shego. “Can’t believe I broke it again…”
Shego kept her left hand on the yoke, ignoring the pain from her right.
“Ma’am, “ said KIGO. “You are injured. Programming recomends we flee.”
“Kigo, what is Motor Ed’s current destination?” asked Shego, ignoring the sweat beading on her forehead is she fought against the pain.
“Current projections indicate…” said Kigo, nervously. “…that Motor Ed’s destination is the center of Middleton. I am also picking up signs that he has a fuel-air bomb ready to drop.”
“Right.” said Shego. “Ok… activate the missiles. This time, fire everything we’ve got… maybe something we have can punch through.”
Kim bit her lip, unsure what she could do to help. Her hours in the simulator had convinced Kim that, even left handed, Shego was by far the better pilot. She took out her kimmunicator and activated it. “Wade, Motor Ed is here… his plane has some sort of shield.” she said.
“He stole a reactive energy shield transmitter.” said Wade. “Very cutting edge technology, just invented by Justine Fletcher, not even Global Justice has anything like it. Any type of matter weapon can be deflected by it.”
“If it was just invented, how did Motor Ed find out about it?” asked Kim.
“Um…” said Wade. “Probably the same way I did… reading Justine’s blog.”
“We need to get though the shield, not just read about it. Would plasma bursts work?” demanded Shego, even as she fired off another set of plasma fire-balls from the Kimminator’s wing-cannons.
“Plasma IS matter…” said Wade. “Highly charged matter, but the REST can block it. About the only weapon that can work is a laser… the REST shield doesn’t block radiant energy.”
“Last time I checked, this thing didn’t HAVE a combat laser.” said Shego. “Kigo, any chance…”
“I’m afraid not.” reported KIGO. “All my weapon systems are matter based…”
“We can’t just let Motor Ed firebomb the city…” said Shego. “Our kids are down there! What are we supposed to do, ram his plane?”.
Shego blinked. “Wait a minute… that might work!”
“What might work?” demanded Kim.
“Strap in and don’t argue.” said Shego. “And put your hands on the throttle… I’m going to need my hand for the yoke.”
Kim checked to make sure her harness was secure, then placed her hands on the controls for the Kiminator’s engines.
“Kigo.” said Shego. “Activate the radio, I want to talk to Motor Ed.”
“Hey, Ed… you listening?” said Shego. She glanced at a new switch on the Kimminator’s dashboard.
“That you, green babe?” came Motor Ed. “Cause you are seriously going down.”
“You think you’re the hottest driver around?” said Shego, working to inject as much scorn as she could into her voice. “Let’s play a REAL driver’s game.”
“Whatya got in mind, babe?” said Motor Ed, intrigued.
“Chicken. Nose to nose. First pilot to flinch loses.” said Shego.
Kim, in the cockpit, gasped. She remembered Shego’s words earlier about ramming Motor Ed’s plane.
“Or, are you too scared?” said Shego.
“The main man fears nothing!” said Motor Ed. He decided he had nothing to lose. Even if the two planes collided, the REST would make sure his plane got out without a scratch.
The two planes swung around, facing each other. Shego gritted her teeth, grimly. “Kigo. Maximum power to all flight augmentation system. And I mean maximum… redline the components if you have to.”
“Shego… what are you…” started Kim, nervously.
“Trust me.” said Shego. Her eyes focused on Motor Ed’s plane.
The two planes, propelled by five of the mightiest engines on the planet (Three on Motor Ed’s, two on the Kimminator) raced toward a collision. A few seconds before collision, Shego reached out with her right hand and, gritting her teeth against the pain, flipped a switch.
“Motor Ed doesn’t flinch!” yelled Motor Ed, as the Kimminator grew in the forward window. “Motor Ed doesn’t… huh?”
Hundreds of red warning/indicator lights were suddenly lighting up. But he’d been watching… nothing visible had fired from the Kimminator, and the REST had never even activated. Motor Ed pulled his plane up into a climb, to buy time to try to think.
Shego grinned, pulling the Kimminator into a tight climb right behind the ASS Fighter… still close enough that the ASS Fighter was within the intense thermal spike being produced by the Kimminator.
“This blows, totally!” yelled Motor Ed as more warning lights lit on. Systems were overheating, interfering with his control. He activated one of the systems he had recently upgraded the ASS Fighter with… a nitro-afterburner rig.
Afterburners work by dumping extra fuel into exhaust, producing significantly increased thrust at the cost of rapidly using up fuel supplies. The extra fuel, combined with the extra heat coming from the Kimminator’s thermal spike, proved too much for the ASS’s engines.
The back half of the ASS fighter suddenly exploded.
Motor Ed had barely time to hit the ejection control before the cockpit of the ASS fighter began it’s meteoric, parabolic descent toward the ground. As he floated down on a bright yellow and black parachute, he could see the burning wreckage of the stolen plane scattered over an empty field.
Shego sighed in relief. “Kigo… activate auto-pilot. Land us.”
“Shego! You were amazing!” cried Kim. She took off her seatbelt and eagerly hugged Shego.
“Kim! The arm! The arm!” yelped Shego.
“Oh, sorry…” said Kim. “Ok, this time we make sure it heals up RIGHT.”
“Yeah? And what happens if Global Justice needs help?” said Shego.
“Hey… we’re a team.” said Kim. Her face split into a grin. “You watch the kids, I’LL go out and save the world.”
Shego groaned. “Why do I get the dangerous job?”