The sun began to rise on the Planet Express Building.
Inside the building, in the Lounge Room, everyone was sprawled everywhere. Kim & Shego took up the whole couch, covered in a blanket. Kif and Amy were cuddled together in one corner. Beast Boy and Raven were both sleeping on the floor – on completely opposite corners of the room. Robin and Starfire were close by one another - and everyone else was just randomly somewhere in the room.
It was this scene that Cyborg stood in the middle of - plugged into the charging machine, which was at 99.95. As the sun climbs into the sky, the charger machine finished up:
99.96… 99.97… 99.98… 99.99… 100.
The machine flashed “RECHARGE COMPLETE - REBOOTING.”
Cyborg's black circuits returned to their normal blue colour. He woke up, his eyes slowly opening. “Mmmph…augh…Wade, what hap – Huh?” he said as he realised where he was.
Out of his view, Starfire stirred. Her eyes opened a tiny bit.
“CYBORG!”
“Gahh! Starfire?” Cyborg asked as Starfire, completely overjoyed, embraced him a massive hug.
Her yell was so loud; however, it startled everybody else awake.
“What?” said Shego.
“ABANDON SHIP! Huh?” cried Bender.
“What the hell?” Kim asked
“NOT THE - huh?” said Fry.
“MORE SPRINKLES, MR. KRISPY!” Ron exclaimed.
“What the god?” asked Hermes.
“Huh?” questioned Raven.
“Wha?” asked Leela.
“What?” Robin asked.
“Howah?” mumbled Professor Farnsworth.
“Guh?” asked Amy.
“I'LL PROTECT YOU, AMY! What?” Kif looked around.
Beast Boy saw what the fuss was about first. “Hey-ey! Cyborg!”
“Oh, Cyborg's up…” Kim’s tone was surprisingly indifferent.
Shego grinned slyly at her. “Do I detect morning grumpiness?”
“I like my sleep, thank you very much!” Kim shot back.
“Starfire, could ya’ loosen up that grip you have on my neck, just a teensy bit?” asked Cyborg.
Starfire, not knowing she was accidentally choking Cyborg, realised and ended her hug. “Oh, sorry - but still, it is most joyous to see you fully functional again!”
“Good to have you back, Cyborg.” Robin smiled as he hugged his friend.
Cyborg smiled. “Thanks.”
“I WAS WOKEN UP FOR NO GOOD REASON!” cried Farnsworth – then falling right back to sleep.
Kim’s communicator beeped. She answered. “Hey, Wade - Cyborg's up, thanks to you.”
“That's great,” said Wade, “- but I'm currently tracking someone heading for you guys!”
Instantly, the Titans, Ron, Kim, and Shego were on their feet. “EVERYBODY ELSE GET OUT OF HERE!” Cyborg yelled.
Shego readied her green energy. “Looks like there's times morning grumpiness can come in handy, eh?” Kim just grumbled at her and took a defensive stance.
“Hide in the ship, you guys!” Leela told her co-workers. Everyone but her, Bender, and Fry rushed towards the ship.
“All three of you, too!” cried Robin. “Get out of here!”
“No!” Leela shouted. “If this is who killed Nibbler, I'm staying & fighting alongside you guys!”
“Yeah,” said Bender. “And Fry and I wanna watch the fight!”
“Don't worry, Leela knows Karate!” Fry assured. “Plus, all three of us once fought in a war against a bunch of bouncing balls!”
Cyborg ignored Fry’s comment. “Well, I guess it's good to have another person who's on our side.”
“I'm okay with Leela's presence.” Raven looked at Bender & Fry. “It's the other two I'm worried about.”
Kim shrugged. “Enh, they can't be much worse than Ron.”
“Yep!” said Ron. “I'm one-of-a-kind - hey!” Rufus giggled at his reaction.
“There's no time to argue!” Shego butted in. “They wanna kill themselves, let them do it!”
Kim gave a sly grin to Shego. “Was that morning grumpiness I detected in your voice just now?”
“Nah. It was more morning annoyance.”
“Oh, please. There's a difference?”
“It's very slight, dammit! Are we gonna flirt here or fight here, Kimmie?” Shego snapped.
“I got whoever this is on my sensors now!” said Cyborg. “They're closin’ in - real fast!”
Kim re-planted her feet, and put her fists up at the ready. “For the moment? Fight here.”
Ron ran up to Fry and Bender. “Guys, you might wanna hide now!”
Fry took out a beer and swigged. “Pftt! And miss everything? Yeah, sure.”
“I can take the pain if I get hit!” Bender gloated – just as the wall behind them exploded, a huge chunk falling on top of him while Ron grabbed Fry & leapt out of the way. “Oh god, the pain is excruciating!”
The dust cloud lingered. Nothing happened. Leela coughed. “Do they always wait this long to-”
BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM! Raven barely put up a dark energy shield around everyone in time as the room was PELTED with laser fire. “Attack?” asked Warp as he entered. “Yes.” He shut off his shoulder-mounted weapons. “That dark energy shield's a neat trick.” The he WALKED RIGHT THROUGH RAVEN'S SHIELD. “Too bad my trick is from the future.”
“Oh no!” Leela wailed. “He upgraded his suit with one of those anti-dark energy shielding kits!”
“Wait!” said Fry. “I thought that Nibbler was the only one who could make dark energy!”
“Dark matter, idiot!” Leela snapped as Raven dropped the shield, seeing as it was useless now.
Warp's lasers became an array of canon-sized lasers - all charged, pointing in every direction. “It appears my time is victorious. I can destroy this room with one blast using this wonderful weapons upgrade.”
Ron and Rufus looked at each other and gulped.
Kim reached for Shego's hand. “Here we go, Sheegee.”
Shego grabbed Kim's hand tightly. “Right behind ya, Princess.”
Warp grinned. “Say “Time's out…”
Kim and Shego cringed – but just as Warp fired, Bender stood up - throwing the slab of wall Warp was standing on backwards - causing him to fall on his back, and all of his new lasers to blast the ceiling. Bender clapped the dust off his hands. “I'd rather say, ‘Last-minute Blern.’”
“BENDER!” cried Fry.
“Told you I could take a hit.”
Warp was knocked out. And the building was collapsing.
“Guys!” said Wade through the communicator. “I studied when Warp first came to Middleton - I think I know a way to get us all back! But the only way I can do it is if you guys come to where I am!”
“But we're nowhere near you!” cried Cyborg, looking at his arm scanner.
Leela kicked some falling rubble away from her. “I can give you a lift in the ship!”
“That works!” cried Beast Boy.
“Follow me!” Leela cried. They all bolted for the ship as rubble fell around them.
“AND ONLY IF YOU LURE WARP HERE, TOO!” cried Wade.
“Crap…” Kim turned and ran back towards Warp.
Shego froze as Kim ran back past her. “KIMMIE! What are you” - but Kim ignored her & kept running. She fired her blow-dryer grappling hook at some standing steel foundation, swung - doing some midair hopscotch off falling rubble pieces - across, dropped down - and scooped up the unconscious Warp before a rubble slab dropped down on them. She did some more midair hopscotch off falling rubble pieces as she swung back to Shego. Neither said anything; instead, they both resumed racing to the ship – but Shego gave Kim brief quizzical looks every now and then as they ran on. They both leapt over the stairs to the loading bay and landed at the bottom - on two feet - ahead of everyone they were behind.
Amy hurried everyone as they entered the ship. “C'mon! C'mon!” Cyborg and Robin climbed aboard the ship last. Leela ran in. The ship took off - as the Planet Express Building collapsed completely.
Inside the ship, Kim dumped Warp off her back & looked up - right into Shego's face. “What?” she asked as Shego looked at her weird. “You heard Wade - we need to drag Warp with us for this to work!” Shego suddenly accosted her by the shoulders, violently slamming Kim's back up against the wall. Everybody gasped. “Shego! What are you-” Kim started-
“DAMMIT, KIMMIE!” Shego interrupted her angrily. She glared, looking like she was going to rip Kim's throat out - then, to even Kim's surprise, she embraced and kissed Kim. Kim, taken aback at first, quickly succumbed to Shego's lips and went with the kiss. “Don't you scare me like that, Kimberly Ann Possible!” said Shego after the kiss ended. “Nobody else heard Wade!”
“Oh, Shegee… I didn't know…” Kim reached up to Shego’s face, brushing away a tear that was forming. Shego buried her head in Kim's shoulder as Kim calmed her.
“Okay, we're here!” said Leela.
“Already?” asked Ron.
“Starships can fly quite fast, recall,” Starfire piped in.
“Ron, you should’ve known that,” Kim chortled.
“Oh right – cuz your Dad works at the Space Center…” Ron slapped his forehead.
Wade ran out of the house as the ship landed and the Titans, Ron, Kim, and Shego ran out - Cyborg carrying Warp with him. “Oh my god, it's Wade - in person!” Ron cried.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Ron - c'mon, all of you get inside the house already!” Wade commanded.
Kim turned around and waved at the ship. “Thank you! We won't forget you guys!”
“WE WILL!” Bender shouted as the ship lifted off. “GOOD RIDDANCE, YOU LOSERS! Daheheheheheheheh!” he laughed to himself.
“Hurry! End of the hall on your left!” Wade pointed as Kim and Shego ran in. Cyborg entered last. “Leave Warp here!” Wade cried. “End of the hall, on the left! Everything's set up in there!”
Cyborg put Warp down, ran into the room, and slammed the door shut. Wade leaned down and put smelling salts to Warp's nose - waking the villain up. Warp opened his mouth to speak-
“Shh.” Wade put his finger to his lips to silence him. “They fell for it. I send them back, you send my whole house back, and what you desire waits for you - in your time.”
In the room, Beast Boy collapsed on his back, relieved. “Augh - we're going home! Thank god!”
The speaker system erupted with Wade’s voice. “Okay, guys - here it goes!”
A circular device popped out of the ceiling and a time portal appeared in it. The device expanded to fit around everybody. Then it fell over them with flash of blinding white light.
Everybody appeared in another flash of blinding white light - in some place that was completely pitch dark. Ron blinked and squinted deply. “Did he want us to be blind?”
“To the darkness? Yes.” Everyone spun around – but they couldn’t pinpoint the voice.
Suddenly, three huge monitors around them turned on. Each monitor showed a city – and all three of the cities they showed had towers of flames rising from some area of them.
“Waitaminute!” Cyborg exclaimed, looking at the first monitor. “That's our city!”
“And that's Middleton!” Ron screamed as he recognized the city in the second monitor.
“Then the third monitor is – no…” Shego gasped. But she knew it was. “Go City…”
Then the lights came on - barely, but it was enough to reveal, to their horrified eyes, that the lot of them were trapped in a massively huge cage - and that outside of the gargantuan structure stood the four people none of them wanted to see working together: Slade, Dr. Drakken, Brother Blood – and Aviarius. “Welcome - to The Cage that Wade built!” Drakken laughed at them maniacally.
Ordinarily, Kim would’ve ignored him – except for that second to last word in what he’d said. “What?”
“Wade?” asked Ron.
As if on cue, Wade entered – and went straight over to Slade. “Warp has been dealt with - Master.”
His words ripped through the air, flew into their ears, and raced down their bodies, separating into dozens of razor-edged knives before stabbing into their hearts. Everyone in The Cage gasped.
“No - no! That's not true! NO!” Kim refused to believe what she had just heard. It wasn’t true. It wasn’t-
Slade looked at new disciple. “Good – Apprentice. Let us depart.”
“NO! WADE!” Kim screamed as Wade followed the villains. She slammed her hands against The Cage's bars in protest - and the most excruciating pain she’d ever felt in her life ripped down throughout her entire body as a massive blast of electricity instantly propelled her backwards through the air.
“KIMMIE!” Shego screamed and rushed over as Kim slammed onto the ground, grimacing in pain, clutching her now badly burned hands. Shego reached into Kim’s pockets and took out her first aid kid so she could wrap the burns up.
Wade stopped. He looked back at The Cage. Kim’s heart raced with hope-
Brother Blood looked back, seeming to remember something. “As you can see by these monitors,” he told them, “Your world has changed much since you left. Welcome - to the world of tomorrow.”
“Come, Apprentice,” said Slade. “Your destiny awaits.”
Wade’s voice was as cold as Arctic ice:
“Have a nice future.”
He left.
Instantly, the pain from the electrical blast was not the most excruciating Kim had ever felt in her entire life. Wade had turned. He was working with Slade. Already, he had helped engineer an extraordinarily complicated plan that Slade could have never pulled off alone – or even with the help of Drakken, Brother Blood, and Aviarius. Wade had always been there for Kim in a tough spot. She’d only met him briefly in person, but still – they had been friends. And despite Kim getting the headlines, Wade was the true core of Team Possible. Without Wade helping them out, Team Possible was - almost – nothing…
Kim could take it no more. She buried her head in Shego's chest, crying her eyes out. Shego attempted to soothe and calm Kim down - but she knew it was a hopeless attempt, for she found that she was crying herself.
THE END (OR IS IT?)