Three figures floated down from the sky, held aloft by black dyed parachutes. Two of them landed silently, releasing the parachutes with practice ease. The third landed off balance, falling onto her rear as she tried franticly to disengage the chute.
“Here, Monique, let me help you with that.” said Ron, going over to help his girlfriend up off the ground.
“We must be quiet.” warned Yori. “There is no telling what Monkey Fist will do when he finds us.”
“Too late!” squeaked Rufus, from where he was perched on Ron’s shoulder. The mole rat pointed at the jungle foliage surrounding the group. A disheveled Monty Fisk could be seen, rushing through the brush… his arms outstretched, his eyes fixed on Ron’s face.
“Get ready!” snapped Ron, as Fisk rushed into the clearing. Ron braced himself, dropping into a practiced combat stance… mentally prepared for anything Monty might due. Yori moved into a similar pose, while Monique pulled her gun from her holster.
Monty ignored the two woman, wrapping his arms around Ron. “You’ve come to rescue me from this deserted, jungle paradise and take me to a lonely, dim cell! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
‘Ok…’ thought Ron. ‘Prepared for anything but that…’. Ron brought his forearms in between him and the long-limbed simian villain, then pushed out… breaking Monty’s grip on him. “What’s the deal, Monkey Fist?” Ron snarled. “Where’s the Lotus Blade?”
“They took it!” said Monty. “They took it, along with every drop of monkey magic that flowed in my veins! All to create their ‘Supremely Evil One’.”
“Who’s they?” said Ron. “And what’s this ‘Supremely Evil One’?”
“I’ll tell you… I’ll tell you everything.” promised Monty. “Just please…. When you’re done… get me OFF THIS ISLAND!”
Kim crouched, her eyes on her opponent. She had never watched more closely for another person’s moves; not even in her most intense fights with Shego. She needed to see every nuance, to be able to spot the slightest weakness or mistake her foe might make.
Sheki spun, her foot raising up in the air to smack firmly against one of the padded mitts Kim was wearing on her hands. Kim’s hand moved back, easily absorbing the force from the pre-scholar’s body. “Good, Sheki! Good!” said Kim encouragingly, from where she knelt on the floor. “Now, try the spin kick with your other foot… remember to bring your head into position fast, so you can keep watching your opponent.”
A few feet away, on the other side of the dojo, Kasy and Shego watched. Both were sitting in lotus position, Kasy watching Shego to make sure she was in the right position. “Why we learning to kick when we can pwasma punch?” lisped the young green - skinned redhead.
“Plasma punches pack a lot of energy, but not against someone shielded against plasma attacks.” explained Shego. “Also, what if your in a room with explosive gasses? Lighting up a punch might mean causing the whole room to explode.”
“Big boom!” said Kasy, then giggled at the image.
“Bad boom.” said Kim. “It’s always good to have different options.” Kim’s arm bent slightly, as Sheki drove her left foot as hard as she could against Kim’s right hand. “Good work, Sheki. Ok, Kasy, your turn.”
Kasy eagerly scrambled up as Sheki moved to sit with her mother.
Sheki looked up at Shego; the young girl, with her dark hair and matching skin tones, looked like a smaller copy of the once notorious thief. “What do you think Unka Ron is doin’?”
“Oh, I’m sure he and aunt Monique are getting ready to fight bad guys, in their own way.” said Shego.
Monique kept turning her head, looking at first her boyfriend and then at the man who had once been her boyfriend’s arch nemesis. As Monty poured out his story, of what the Evil Brotherhood had done to him and what D.N.Amy had told him of their plans.
With each word, each syllable, Ron’s face grew more serious and determined. Kneeling on the ground as he listened, he began to flex his hands, as if already preparing for the fight of his life. On Ron’s shoulder, Rufus tensed also, his diminutive mole-rat body coiling up as if in readiness for immediate mortal conflict.
“This is… the greatest evil I have ever head of.” said Yori, as Monty finished. “To take one man’s very genes, and another man’s knowledge…to steal that which makes a man a man, to create a being… how warped, how twisted that being must be.”
“And it’s wearing my face.” snarled Ron. “I cannot let this abomination pass.”
“Ron-san.” said Yori. “I will contact Global Justice, and Kim. Together, we will all defeat him and the Evil Brotherhood that created him.”
“No.” said Ron. “Don’t call Kim. Don’t call anyone else.” . His eyes narrowed. “This is my mission. My… ‘honor’.” Ron turned to stare at Yori. “Don’t call anyone.”
Dr. Drakken paced the narrow confines of his lab, his hands shaking with the after-effects of stress and caffeine… far too much stress and caffeine. The Supremely Evil One had been pushing him, taunting him for days now… always with that horrible, horrible mocking face. No more! Dr. Drakken could take no more of it!
‘Somebody has to do something about this‘, decided Dr. Drakken. ‘I’ll show that genetically created buffoon copy who he’s dealing with! That insignificant little pipsqueak will rue the day he crossed paths with Doctor Drakken!’
Dr. Drakken moved over to his private communication console, activating it. Yes! A man had to do what a man had to do; a man had to find and face his fears! Nothing Noir Goable could do could stop Dr. Drakken now… as long as Noir didn’t find out, that is.
The vid phone in Kim’s house rang as Kim was sitting her twin daughters at the table. Shego was in the kitchen, busy cooking; while Shego wasn’t the master chef Ron was, she was still a better cook then Kim.
“I’ll get it!” called Kim. “You two stay still, ok?”
“Ok, mom!” promised Kasy. Sheki was busy picking up a plastic spoon and form, examining them.
Kim activated the vid phone screen. “Hey, Wade. What’s up?” she asked, as the programmer’s face filled the screen.
“You’ll never guess who’s calling.” said Wade, then pushed a button on his keyboard. His picture winked out, replaced by that of…
“Dr. Drakken!” gasped Kim.
“Hello! Hello! Is this thing on?” demanded Dr. Drakken. “Ah, Kim Possible.”
“Drakken.” snarled Shego, coming in. A white apron covered her catsuit, and a pink oven mitt covered the hand she was using to hold a pan of scrambled eggs. Despite the homey accouterments, her face made it clear she was in no mood to be trifled with.
“Ah, and Shego. Good, you’re both there.” said Dr. Drakken. His eyes flickered back and forth in relief. “I seem to need a little, ah…. Help.”
“Why should we help you?” said Shego. “In case you’ve forgotten, I don’t work for you anymore.”
“Yeah, and I never worked for you!” said Kim. “Well, except for that one time, and that was when I was being mind-controlled…”
“Kim! Focus.” said Shego.
“And there was the time Dr. Drakken had swapped bodies, and…. Oh, right.” said Kim, snapping out of her remembrance. “Why should we help you?”
“Because of what Gemini and Senor Senior Sr. have created!” said Dr. Drakken. “Oh, and me too… but I didn’t know what they intended to create! I swear it! The horror! The horror!”
“Dr. D!” said Shego. “You’ve been hitting the caffeine pills again, haven’t you?”
“Of course not!“ snapped Dr. Drakken angrily. “It’s just the horror…. The horror!”
“Yeah, yeah, we got that part.” said Shego. “We want details now.”
It had been a long and painful tale for Dr. Drakken to relate. How the mighty had fallen; he, once (the employer of) the most feared person of Earth, to being the much abused servant of what was, at least partially, his creation.
“And that’s…” said Dr. Drakken. He paused, staring at the video screen. “SHEGO!”
Kim, startled, turned around. Her wife was sitting at the kitchen table, filing her nails. “Hmm?” said Shego. “Oh, sorry… is Dr. D finished?”
“He’s going to be.” said Kim, darkly.
On the vid link, Dr. Drakken gulped nervously.
Kim turned off the com-set, then began to pace. “Now that we know the location of their secret base, we have to plan the assault. Get equipment. Get the Kiminator prepped. And get the most important thing of all, the crucial element for success.”
“What’s that?” asked Shego.
“A babysitter. Monique and Ron are still on vacation, remember?”
“I’m going to need a vacation after this!” said Monique. “You two are crazy!”
“Come on, Monique… it’s the only way for the plane to get us off the island.” said Ron, releasing a large helium-filled weather balloon. A tough, lightweight rope ran from the balloon to a harness Ron was wearing… then to a similar harness on Monique… and finally to Yori.
“Once we have defeated the Supremely Evil One, we will send the authorities to arrest you.” said Yori, speaking to Monty Fisk. “You will spend the rest of your life in jail, for the crimes you have committed.”
“Just as long as it’s away from her.” said Monty, shivering.
“Ok, here comes the plane.” said Ron, seeing the Ninja School plane diving toward the balloon he had just released. “Get ready.”
A special attachment on the front of the plane connected with the rope dangling under the balloon, snatching it up. Ron, then Monique, then finally Yori were pulled off the ground by the airplane’s momentum, dangling under it.
Dr. Drakken turned from his communication terminal. “At last…. That copy of the buffoon will get what’s coming to him.”
“At last, doctor… you finally grew a spine.”
Dr. Drakken shrieked like a little girl, spinning to face the corner the voice had come from.
Noir Goable stepped from the shadows, a black cape swirling over his shoulders. Today, he was glad in a matte black body stocking, that had allowed him to hide in the darkness. Suffer, his pet saber-toothed mole-rat, poked his massively fanged head from under the edge of the cape, staring at Dr. Drakken.
“I’ve been waiting for days for you to finally get enough gumption to turn your coat, doctor.” said Noir. “Tormenting you, belittling you… All so you’d call up your former sidekick and former arch-enemy, and beg them to come rescue you. Why should I go to the trouble of hunting down Kim Possible and Shego, when I can have you bring them here?”
“I knew it!” lied Dr. Drakken. “I knew that was your plan! As soon as I figured it out, I invited them here!” Beads of sweat appeared on Dr. Drakken’s blue-faced countenance.
“Why are you afraid, doctor?” said Noir. He smiled. “It’s not like I’m going to kill you or anything. You were a father to me. I can not kill my own father.”
Dr. Drakken sighed in premature relief.
Noir turned his head to face Suffer. “Suffer?”
Noir’s body rocked back, slightly, as the genetically altered beast leapt from Noir’s shoulders. The razor sharp ivory dug into Dr. Drakken’s throat, as the creature sank small, powerful claws into Dr. Drakken’s coat and chest. Dr. Drakken only had time to release one gasp of surprise before, with a single twist of his head, Suffer ripped Dr. Drakken’s trachea out.
Noir looked down, coldly, as Dr. Drakken’s lifeless body hit the floor. “You gave me life, doctor. Now, I give you… death.” Noir turned, walking out of the lab. His cape flared back dramatically as Noir lifted one hand and snapped his fingers. “Come, Suffer.”
Suffer looked up from Dr. Drakken’s chest, spat out the bloody chunk of meat it had torn from Dr. Drakken’s throat, and obediently scampered after Noir.
(End notes)
Ok, the end scene was inspired by the scene in ‘Sneakers’ where the bad guy goes “I can not kill my friend.” turns to henchman “Kill my friend.”.
I plan to kill off at least two more characters before the end of the story, but don’t worry… their deaths won’t be as gruesome as Dr. Drakken’s. His was a special case… I needed to show how evil and dangerous Noir and Suffer are.
“I kill my own men. And lucky me… I get the girl.” - Dr. Casanova Frankentstein, Mystery Men.