BEEP BEEP BE BEEP!
“What’s the sitch, Wade?” The girl had red hair and green eyes. That was always the first thing people noticed about her.
“We’ve got another one,” the short, pudgy African American boy on the other end of the communication informed her in a serious voice.
“Have you called Ron?” She stood up, exiting the classroom even though there were still 30 minutes left. Surprisingly, the large man in a brown sport coat did not even attempt to stop her. They had an unspoken understanding about these sorts of missions. He simply nodded and allowed her to leave. She thanked him silently with her eyes.
“What exactly happened?” the girl demanded.
“You’re not gonna like it, Kim,” Wade replied. “It’s Drakken and Shego this time.”
“Damn.” Not many things could make Kim Possible curse like that. In fact, you wouldn’t meet a girl with a cleaner mouth. But this was serious.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Kim?” Wade asked out of formality, even though he already knew the answer. “We have other guys who can do it.”
“I owe Shego a lot, Wade. She saved my life twice. I’m going to find out who did this to her. It’s my duty as a hero. Besides, you wouldn’t have called me if you thought someone else could do it.”
Wade sighed. “That’s what I thought you’d say. I’m bringing your car around front now. Ron should be meeting up with you in a couple minutes.”
Kim decided to wait until Ron showed up before leaving. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long. “Hey, KP!”
The redhead smiled. Ron was her best friend of fourteen years, turned boyfriend just last year. Their one-year anniversary was approaching. Too bad they had had such a long string of missions lately. Normally she wouldn’t have minded, but these weren’t her average missions.
“Who is it this time?” Ron panted as he climbed into the passenger seat.
Rufus, his pet naked mole rat, popped out of Ron’s pocket. “Yeah, who?”
Kim looked somber. “Drakken and Shego.”
Ron nodded silently with the same expression. “There’s one thing I still can’t figure out,” he spoke once they were out on the road. “Why would serial killers target villains?”
“Maybe they’re vigilantes,” Kim offered. “Maybe they think they’re doing the world a favor.”
“Yeah, but villains should be in jail, not dead. That’s always been what you’ve said.”
“Not everybody listens to me,” Kim pointed out as she changed lanes. They were approaching the lair where the incident had apparently happened. Drakken and Shego’s latest lair wasn’t that far from the school, thankfully. “Vigilantes are often just as bad as the people they kill. Which is why we’re going to find whoever it was and bring them to justice.”
“I doubt it,” Ron mumbled, too low for Kim to hear him.
“We’re here,” Kim announced. “Let’s go see what we can gather. Dr. Director!”
The head of Global Justice, a short-haired brunette with an eye patch covering her left eye, turned at the sound of her name. Seeing Kim and Ron, she waved them over.
“What have you got?” Kim inquired.
Dr. Director leaned her hands on the table that had been set up just outside the lair that held all the details of the investigation. Typing a few commands into her laptop, she brought up a slide show. “Here’s what we know so far: At around two o’clock AM Central Standard Time, the security of Dr. Drakken’s lair was breached. As you can see, the impacts were the same as we found at the other sites.”
“Fist indents,” Kim guessed without even looking at the pictures.
The one-eyed woman nodded. “Somebody apparently punched through the door. How, we’re not sure, since those fists appear to be of normal human size.”
“Maybe they were super strong?” Ron suggested. After all, his mystical monkey power gave him super strength when he needed it. Unfortunately, it came and went.
“That’s our theory,” Betty replied. “Drakken apparently activated a laser trap, but it was unsuccessful. We followed the footprints in the lair, since Drakken decided to go with a dirt floor this time, and we saw signs of a struggle near an escape capsule. We’re guessing it was Shego. Here’s where things get interesting, though.” She pointed to the screen. “If you’ll notice, this trail of footprints leading up to the escape transport are Drakken’s shoe size, and he appeared to stop right here.” She pointed to a spot on the screen. “Then things get weird.” The camera zoomed in closer, and Kim and Ron’s eyes widened as they realized what had happened.
“It’s like he suddenly grew three shoe sizes,” Kim spoke up first. Ron simply closed his eyes and cursed. Kim didn’t notice.
“That’s exactly what happened,” Dr. Director replied. “And that’s not all. We finally managed to locate Drakken’s body out by a destroyed phone booth on the far side of the building, shot dead. We didn’t find Shego’s body.” If Kim had been looking, she would have noticed that Ron perked up at that news.
“Do you mind letting us have a look around?” Kim requested, even though she planned to anyway.
Betty nodded. “Just take these.” She handed them two passes. “This is still a federal crime scene. Drakken and Shego were a threat to several world governments. If you find anything, tell me right away.” She tossed them two headsets.
“You can count on us, Dr. Director,” Ron assured her. Rufus popped out of the blonde’s pocket and gave a thumb’s up, offering even more reassurance.
“Let’s get going, Ron,” Kim said, going into mission mode. She and Ron walked into the lair.
Dr. Director watched as the two teen heroes disappeared into the darkness. When they were out of visual range she turned around and was confronted with three men in what appeared to be finely tailored suits wearing dark sunglasses and earpieces. “Can I help you gentlemen?”
The one in the center, apparently the leader of the group, handed her a picture. “Have you seen these two?” He asked in perfect monotone. Dr. Director stared at the photo for a couple of seconds. It was of Kim and Ron.
“May I inquire as to who is asking?” the one-eyed woman asked diplomatically.
The response was blunt. “If you need to ask, you don’t have the clearance.”
Dr. Director nodded in understanding. This was a federal crime scene, after all. “They’re in there,” she said, pointing to the lair.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Director,” the middleman replied, demoting her for the sake of proving his superiority. Betty was unfazed. She was used to those kinds of men. Still, what did they want with Kim and Ron? She knew better than to call out after them. But why were they pulling out their….
“Oh, hell!” she cursed as she put her finger to her ear. “Kim, Ron, get the hell out of there now!” She looked down to grab her sidearm, only to be met with trouble as the holster refused to open. After several seconds of fiddling, she finally decided, “Fuck it!” and ran towards the entrance. But there was someone blocking her path.
“If you had simply cooperated, you would have been allowed to live, Ms. Director,” the agent said tonelessly, the cold steel of his .50 caliber pistol pressed against the one-eyed woman’s forehead. “But now you know too much.” He pulled the trigger without even changing his expression. Betty’s now headless body fell to the ground with a “thud.”
“Get the anomalies,” he ordered the two other agents as all the troops around him suddenly sprang into action at the death of their leader. “I'll eliminate any witnesses.”
Kim and Ron heard the shot and were instantly on the floor. “What the hell?!” Kim screamed.
“Damn it!” Ron shouted, obviously pretty upset to be using such language.
“What was that?” Kim demanded.
“Consider it a warning shot,” came a monotone voice from the door.
“But you won’t have to heed the warning for very long,” said a second, equally dispassionate voice.
Kim and Ron looked up and took in the sight of two men in box suits with dark sunglasses and earpieces. In their hands, they held .50 caliber pistols, which they held leveled at the two teens.
“So this is the legendary Team Possible,” one of the men said tonelessly. “Interesting.”
Ron stood up, seemingly unafraid of the guns. “Get out of here, KP,” he ordered.
“Ron, what—”
“Go. I'll handle them.” As if to punctuate his statement, a bright blue glow surrounded Ron’s hand for a brief second. When it faded, there was a sword in its place.
“Anomaly has activated abilities,” one of the Agents said automatically. “Initiate protocol.” They raised their pistols. Ron merely smirked. Kim closed her eyes, not able to bear the sight of her boyfriend being shot. Normally she was the bravest person in the world. But when Ron was in danger by something even she couldn’t stop…. She didn’t want to think about it. Then Ron did something amazing.
A loud bang resonated off of the walls of the empty lair as the Agents fired their weapons. Kim opened her eyes just in time to see Ron move faster than she had ever seen him before, mystical monkey power or not. Two distinct showers of sparks erupted from the air as Ron deflected the bullets with the Lotus Blade. Kim stared slack-jawed, unable to move.
Not wasting any time, Ron moved with superhuman speed yet again, lunging forward with the Lotus Blade and cutting the pistols in half. He made a horizontal swipe at his two adversaries, who each performed a near impossible move by bending over backwards. Ron followed up with a vertical strike to the agent on his right, who twirled out of the way of the sword and swung at Ron’s back. Ron raised the sword backwards over his head, embedding it in the man’s forearm. Kim noticed that the agent did not cry out in pain.
Using the stuck agent as leverage, Ron raised his feet into the air and delivered a solid kick to the other agent, then back-flipped over the man behind him. He shifted into a fighting stance, holding the sword with one hand by his ear. Holding his other hand in front of him, he urged them to “Bring it on.”
The agents complied, rushing the ninja with a speed that Kim herself would have trouble matching. She stood frozen, amazed with Ron’s sudden drastic improvement in fighting ability, with the feeling that she was way out of her league. She decided to let Ron hold them off while she went and got help. While it was not her usual role, she seriously doubted that she could keep up with those men that Ron was going toe-to-toe with so effortlessly. She stole a glance back and saw that her boyfriend was more than holding his own, actually beating the two agents back. ‘Way to go, Ron,’ she thought.
She turned back around just in time to see a third agent. Not having any time to change course, she ran into him headlong. It felt like hitting a brick wall. Dazed, she held her head as she tried to get up off the floor. He pointed his pistol at her.
“You have become a threat to the security of the Matrix,” the man said in an unfeeling voice. “You and your friend must die.” He pulled the trigger.
Kim rolled out of the way just in time, the bullet kicking up dirt beside her. She attempted to sweep the agent’s legs, but it was like trying to kick a tree trunk. The man drew back his uninjured leg and kicked her across the floor.
Clutching her stomach, the redhead tried to get up. She coughed up blood as she staggered to her feet. The agent ran over to her with superhuman speed, but she was ready for him this time. Jumping in the air, she kicked the pistol out of his hand and planted her other foot on his face, using him to kick off and land ten feet away.
The agent pulled off his now damaged sunglasses. “You’re going to pay for that, Miss Possible.”
“Criminal always returns to the scene of the crime, huh?” she asked, deducing that these guys had been the ones who killed Drakken and Shego. For the first time in her life, Kim felt afraid. She’d seen what these guys could do.
“Their deaths were not a crime,” the man said tonelessly. “It was a public service. Those two were more trouble than they were worth. As are you.”
“I don’t go down without a fight,” Kim warned him, shifting into position. “I'll die before I give you what you want.”
“But that’s where you’re mistaken, Miss Possible,” the agent replied, now with just a hint of malice. “Your death is what I want.”
Kim gulped and steeled herself. This was going to be one hell of a fight.
The agent came at her like a freight train, running straight and hard. Kim smirked and simply jumped out of the way, expecting him to miss. However, she underestimated his maneuverability, and was therefore taken off guard when he jumped right in front of her projected landing spot. Kim gasped before putting her legs out in front of her, hoping to cause some damage. Her plan was thwarted, however, then the man grabbed her foot with both hands and hammer-threw her across the room. She slammed hard into the opposite wall.
“KP!” Ron had seen the throw. Growling, he increased his already frenetic pace, while the agents kept up without breaking a sweat. “Upgrades,” he muttered. “Why’d it have to be upgrades?” He was slowly beating them back, but he was growing tired just the same. He couldn’t hold out forever. ‘I sure hope they’re right about Kim,’ he thought to himself as he dodged another punch.
Picking up his pistol, off the ground, the agent strode slowly over to where Kim lay on the floor, badly hurt. He pointed it at her. “Such attitude. Maybe you are The One after all. Too bad you’ll never find out.” He pulled the hammer back. Kim put her arms over her face and waited for the inevitable. Then the impossible happened.
Time froze.
Looking up, Kim saw something very different from the sight before she closed her eyes. Everything seemed to be moving, made of thousands of tiny green symbols. She heard the gun fire, and saw a rapid runoff of code emerge from the barrel. But the bullet seemed to be traveling towards her at a snail’s pace. “No,” she said, stretching her hand out in front of her.
The bullet stopped.
Time sped back up again, but everyone was still frozen. Kim lay there half sitting, supporting herself on one arm, the other outstretched. She had stopped a bullet in midair.
As usual, Ron broke the silence. “Booyah!” he shouted excitedly. The agents he had been dueling turned away and walked over to Kim. Ron just smirked. They would get what was coming to them alright. All he had to do now was sit back and watch.
“She is The One,” an agent said.
“This is bad.”
“Kill her.”
They all rushed towards her with insane speed, but Kim fended them off with a single leg. Pushing off her left arm, she stood up and blocked their strikes with ease. Her face was passionless, as though she was being controlled by someone or something else. There was something different about the agents too, Ron noticed. They actually seemed a little afraid.
‘They’d better be. Looks like Morpheus was right,’ Ron thought confidently as he leaned back and enjoyed the show.
To Kim, everything was green and moving. It was all a bit disorientating, and she did not feel in control of her body. She was running on pure instinct, with no rational input. She was aware of what was happening, but she still wondered what the hell was going on.
For the agents, it spelled trouble. Their mission had been to destroy The One before she realized who she was. They had failed.
“Retreat,” one of them suggested.
“Affirmative,” said another. They disengaged and started to run.
“Not so fast,” Kim sneered as she jumped in front of them. “I’m not done with you yet.” Now the emotionless look on her face had been replaced with one of malice; an expression of dark hunger. She looked positively evil.
“Anomaly appears to have traces of a sister program,” one of the agents opined.
“This is not good.”
“For you,” Kim said devilishly before thrusting her hand into the first agent’s chest and literally ripping his heart out. He disappeared in a flash of green, and in his place was a dead GJ agent. The redhead grabbed the other two by the throat, crushing their larynxes like twigs. As the virtual demons left their victims, she dropped them to the floor.
Kim herself was then on the floor, dropping to her knees and gripping her head. Apparently whatever presence had possessed her was now leaving. Ron rushed over and put his arms around her. “KP, are you alright?”
The redhead shivered. Looking at Ron, thankfully in full color again, she formed one question: “What the hell just happened?”
Before you ask, yes, I stole the half-Neo/half-Smith idea fromClassic Cowboy’s Matrix crossover. The resolution will be completely different, however. I can’t reveal too many details at this point, but rest assured that I’ve got it pretty much planned out. Hope you don’t mind, CC. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon. Until then, enjoy my other stories.
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