Categories > Anime/Manga > Yu-Gi-Oh! > Anything's Possible
2: In which Plan B gets complicated
0 reviewsBakura and Ryou introduce Dr. Drakken to Shadow Magic, Drakken introduces Bakura to his sidekick/henchperson, Shego.
1Exciting
Title: Anything's Possible 2/8
Author: Tsutsuji
Summary: Bakura wants his own body and Yami won't cooperate, so Bakura and Ryou track down an evil genius who might be able to help: Dr. Drakken.
Crossover with Yugioh & Kim Possible
Warnings: Shounen-ai, Crossover, my poor attempts at humor
... indicates thought-speak between spirit and host (yami and hikari). ... indicates emphasis.
**
Anything's Possible part 2: In Which Plan B Gets Complicated
Bakura didn't like to admit that he couldn't have done any of this without Ryou's particular skills and resources. For one thing, Ryou spoke English almost as well as he spoke Japanese, having learned it while traveling with his parents as a child. (He also had a handy traveler's smattering of other European languages. As Bakura laughingly put it, he knew a dozen different ways to be painfully polite.)
Ryou also had one of those handy little pieces of plastic with an almost limitless value, and while Bakura could have thieved his way across the U.S, Ryou's father's good credit made it so much simpler. On the other hand, Ryou's tendency to be polite beyond even the traditional Japanese standard sometimes slowed things down a bit. This was especially notable in contrast to the manners of most of the Americans they met which shocked even Bakura.
"Have I just been inside your head for too long, or are these people all incredibly rude?" Bakura wondered after scaring off the third person who had ogled, groped, or insulted Ryou inside an hour. It had started as soon as they got off the plane in San Francisco and it hadn't stopped. "A little visit to the Shadow Realm might teach them to respect you, Yadonushi," he added, grinning.
No, Bakura, don't do that. They don't mean any harm, anyway.
"You are far too forgiving," Bakura said. "They certainly don't mean any good. Trust me, I know bad intentions when I see them."
Ryou was more concerned with how they were going to find the one person they were looking for in all the vast area of the United States. However, after landing in San Francisco and getting his bearings, Bakura seemed to know exactly where they were going. Unfortunately, since the one thing Ryou didn't have was a driver's license, they had to go there by bus.
The novelty of the endlessly flat landscape seen from a Greyhound bus window quickly wore off, and after a long day and a half of constant travel, Ryou grew tired of staring at the long straight road and the distant hills which never seemed to get any closer. He was jet-lagged and couldn't sleep, even though his internal clock told him it was the middle of the night back home. He returned to worrying about where they were going and what they were going to do when they got there.
How did you find out about this 'evil genius' we're going to see, anyway? Ryou asked his other self. He was staring out the darkening window. The Spirit managed to make his reflection appear in the glass, which made it look as if he was sitting on the lap of the elderly black woman in the seat next to Ryou.
I did a search on the Internet for evil geniuses, Bakura answered.
What? You're not serious!
Everyone in the world has a website but you, Ryou.
My god, you are serious.
Bakura chuckled. And you are so gullible. Of course it wasn't that simple. I did use the internet to gather information on anyone who knows robotics, genetics, chaos theory and dark magic, and who was unscrupulus enough to use them all together. This Dr. Drakken comes close enough. He's not up on dark magic, but we can work with him on that. And he does call himself an evil genius. I did not make that up.
How do we know he'll be willing to help us?
We don't. Self-proclaimed evil geniuses generally aren't the helpful type. We'll have to convince him. Bakura sounded like he relished the thought.
I should have known, Ryou thought miserably. This wasn't necessarily going to be any easier than getting Yami to help. In fact, convincing a self-proclaimed evil genius to do something he didn't want to do sounded a lot like, well, like trying to convince Bakura to do something he didn't want to do. Almost exactly, in fact.
To Ryou's surprise, it wasn't very difficult to find this Dr. Drakken. He was well known in the underground world of high tech criminals and evil genius types that lurked throughout middle America, and Bakura, with his old instincts as King of Thieves, had no trouble tapping into that network. In fact, a lot of people were glad of a chance to gripe about Drakke. He was having a bad year, thanks to an adept hero who had become his arch-enemy, and apparently he was broke. He'd stiffed a number of suppliers of expensive parts for high-tech doomsday devices and several landlords specializing in high-tech criminal lairs.
"Yeah, and when you find old blue-face, tell him I'm coming for that money he owes me, as soon as I get the IRS off my tail," was a common refrain.
I wonder why they keep calling him that? Ryou wondered.
I have no idea, Bakura said. He was more interested in the fact that Drakken seemed to have alienated all the hired help as well, leaving him without henchmen or guards.
"Isn't that convenient?" he said when he heard this.
After three days of constant travel, Ryou found himself paying off a taxi driver at the entrance to an industrial complex on the outskirts of a place called Middleton. It was a Sunday afternoon and the place looked deserted. Rows of nondescript one-story buildings and garage bays almost as big as airplaine hangers, interspersed with small power plants, stretched across acres of paved lots.
"This doesn't look like the lair of an evil genius," Ryou said doubtfully.
It's the unit on the far end, Bakura pointed out. The one with the small missile launching pad next to the side entrance, and all the satellite receiver equipment on the roof, and the high-voltage security fence, and the automated laser security system; see, you can just see the laser guns peeking out of the upper windows.
"Ah... it would be that one," Ryou said, gulping nervously.
I'll do this, Bakura said, and Ryou gladly let him take over.
---
Bakura avoided all the electronic security measures with disappointing ease. He was inside the complex within minutes, hardly working up an adrenaline rush from breaking in. He strolled along a twisting corrider seeking the heart of Drakken's operations.
Most of the small laboratory rooms he passed seemed currently unused, full of outdated equipment that was just gathering dust. He was on the verge of becoming discouraged and about to get angry when his sharp ears caught sounds of activity: tapping and tinkering sounds along with a nearly-constant muttering, punctuated by an occasional loud outburst as someone apparently hit a finger with a hammer or dropped a heavy tool on a foot.
He listened carefully as he got closer. There was only one voice. Drakken was indeed working alone, which didn't seem to stop him from ranting. Bakura smiled and crept on, thankful that Ryou's nicely broken-in sneakers didn't squeak on the highly polished floor.
He came upon a section of corridor with windows looking into larger laboratories, and soon found one of these that was being used as a workshop. He peered cautiously through the glass, only to find that there was no need to be so careful.
Inside the lab, the man he assumed was Drakken was completely engrossed in his work, building... something. Bakura couldn't guess what it might be, as it seemed to include parts from a helicopter cockpit melded to a Bowflex exercise machine and several kitchen appliances. After watching the genius at work for a few minutes, he sauntered into the room and walked right up behind Drakken, looking over his shoulder.
Dr. Drakken was a rather stocky man in a blue lab coat, his dark hair pulled back into a short ponytail. He grumbled something unintelligable as he tried to solder an eggbeater into a slot on the helicopter's control panel. His gloved fingers were clumsy, and the part didn't seem to want to fit.
Are you sure this is the right man? Ryou wondered, very doubtful.
Bakura didn't answer, but grinned at the man's back.
"The new doomsday device seems to be coming along nicely," he said loudly. Drakken jumped several inches and dropped the soldering iron onto his foot.
"Gah! What...?" he said, spinning around.
It's the right man, Bakura thought calmly. As you can see.
Oh, yes, I guess you're right. There can't be many evil geniuses with blue skin, Ryou agreed.
Drakken was busy sputtering at the interruption. "It's not a doomsday device, it's a robotic kitchen. There's no decent takeout anywhere around here. Who are you? What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy? And how did you get in here anyway?"
"To answer your questions in reverse order, I walked in, yes I can see you're terribly busy, and I want you to make me a new body. And I am called Bakura."
"You want ... what?" Drakken said flatly.
"A new body. I know that you have access to equipment that can manipulate DNA, and that you are adept at robotics, and that you have had some success with cloning. You are going to use those skills to make me a new body for my spirit to inhabit."
Drakken gave him a quick glance up and down. "Oh? And just why should I bother? Anyway, the body you've got seems alright to me.... although now that you mention it, it is a bit on the pretty side... still that 'metrosexual' look is popular with the girls these days, or so I've heard, can't see what they see in it myself...."
"SILENCE!" Bakura roared, making the evil genius jump again. He'd had it with people insulting Ryou's looks. If he didn't need Drakken, the idiot would be on his way to the Shadow Realm already.
"Fool, you will use the DNA from this body to make the new one. And you should bother because if you don't, I'll send your soul to the Shadow Realm, and I can guarantee you there's no decent takeout there, either," Bakura said, leering at Drakken. "In fact, in the Shadow Realm, you'll be the dinner for creatures more horrible than you can imagine."
Drakken cocked his head. "Are you threatening me?" he asked. He sounded as if he really wasn't sure.
For answer, Bakura took a step back from him and raised his hands, his fingers and thumbs making a circle in front of his chest. There was a glowing light between his hands, out of which the Millenium Ring appeared. Bakura watched with satisfaction as Drakken's eyes grew wide in surprise, but then the scientist scowled skeptically at the Ring.
"Eh... what does that do?" he asked.
"With the power of the Millenium Ring, I can do... this!" Bakura raised his hands, the Ring flashed brightly, and a beam of light shot out from it and slammed into Drakken. The power of the Ring lifted him two feet up in the air and pinned him against the control console.
Bakura took a menacing step towards him, delighting in the look of fear and confusion on Drakken's face. He let the light of the Ring's power dance around them, sharpening shadows. He knew exactly how demonic he appeared in this light. He laughed as Drakken's hand came up to cover his face in fear.
"Now, you will agree to help me, won't you?" Bakura said, his voice almost purring.
"Ah.. anything you say, Mr. Bakura, was it? Aha, there's not a lot I can do from up here, of course, you'll have to ... .put me down?"
"That's better," Bakura said. He let the Ring's power subside, grabbing Drakken by the front of his lab coat as he slid down off the console. Drakken cowered as Bakura pulled him close so they were face to face. "I knew you'd see reason."
As the flash of the Ring subsided to a green-tinged golden glow, Drakken peeked out from between his fingers. "What on earth are you?" he gasped. "How can anyone so pretty be so strong? Oh wait," he went on, his voice suddenly changing from a whine to a growl, "I know someone else who's pretty and strong, come to think of it."
Before Bakura could wonder what he meant, something grabbed his hair from behind, pulling his head back so heard he thought his neck would snap
"Get him, Shego!" Drakken roared.
Bakura shoved Drakken back hard against the console and spun around to face his new attacker, trying to twist out of the painful grip on his hair. He was startled to find that Shego was a woman -- a young, shapely woman in a form-fitting body suit of green and black, her dark eyes narrowed in her smiling face. Long black hair swirled around her face like a cloud of shadow magic. As striking as she looked, the most noticeable thing about her was the gloved hand that was raised to strike, which glowed with a strange green energy.
"Not sure why you want a new body, pretty boy, but the one you've got is going down," Shego announced.
He barely dodged her glowing fist by spinning around and throwing himself backward against her. She lost her grip on his hair and went down with a grunt, but he could feel her tensing to spring back up and throw him off even as he caught his own breath from the fall. He rolled aside and crouched, ready to tackle her, but she twisted on her back and aimed a kick at his head which he barely had time to avoid.
Scrambling to his feet, he looked around for something to use as a weapon against her, concerned to find that both her fists were glowing now. Whatever she was packing in her punch, he didn't want to experience its effects first hand. She sprang to her feet like an acrobat and faced him in a battle stance.
He recognized the look on her face. Clearly she enjoyed putting her talents to use in a good fight just as he did, and he guessed she enjoyed hurting her opponent as much as he enjoyed terrorizing his.
Be careful! Ryou thought in alarm. She looks dangerous!
Actually, she looks... interesting, Bakura thought. He knew the smile on his own face nearly mirrored hers.
Use your deck, Ryou urged.
"Yes," Bakura said aloud, "Perhaps it is time for a demonstration of my real power." He reached for the deck of Duel Monsters cards in his jeans back pocket.
"Look out, Shego," Drakken yelled.
"Oh no, I don't think so, my pretty," Shego said in a warning tone, but her grin widened.
Bakura pulled out a card at random. It didn't matter if it was the weakest monster in the deck, he was counting on the creature's appearance out of nowhere to distract her while he came up with a better strategy.
But she was even quicker than he'd realized, and a lot more limber. He had the card in his hand, ready to call forth the monster from the shadow dimension where it lurked, when her foot came up like lightning and connected with his wrist. There was a loud snap, and the card fluttered out of fingers suddenly gone numb.
"Oops, did we break something?" Shego said, springing back.
For the moment the pain was numbed by shock at what she'd done. He glared at her as she crouched, ready for any move he might make. Then she took a close look at what he had in his good hand, and laughed.
"Wait, you were coming at me with a deck of cards? What am I missing here?"
"Careful, Shego, he's tricky!" Drakken warned.
"What you are missing is this," Bakura hissed, flicking the top card off the deck at her.
She quirked an eyebrow, apparently curious to see what he had planned. Clearly she thought that whatever it was, it would be no match for her fighting skill. Bakura intended to enjoy proving her wrong. She ducked easily as the card whizzed by her head.
"Wow, that was impressive," she said sarcastically. She moved toward him, looking like a snake ready to strike.
"What the... ? Shego! Look out!"
Bakura was impressed at Shego's concentration; she almost succeeded in ignoring Drakken's panicked cries from behind her. But finally she glanced around, just in time to see a fat, angry-looking penguin swinging a sword at her head. [Penguin Soldier, Attack Points 750, Defense Points 500] Shego ducked and the sword missed by several inches. Her fighting instincts had not deserted her, but at least she looked suitably shocked.
"Okay, that was impressive," she admitted, dodging the blade once again. Bakura took advantage of the moment to glance at his deck, seeking something more suitable with which to immobilize her.
"Alright, ducky," she said angrily, jumping back a third time. She'd put herself between the Penguin Soldier and Drakken, and Bakura could see her calculating her next move. The penguin wasn't very strong and its reach was short. He needed to be ready in case she was actually able to defeat it. He tried to keep an eye on her while he searched for the card he wanted, but he was hampered by having one hand now useless.
She crouched again in a serious fighting stance, her fists glowing green and black. The penguin swung wildly at her knees. She dodged it easily this time and used her momentum to spin around and strike it with both fists. Bakura found the card he wanted, his nimble fingers ready to flick it out from the middle of the deck. He looked up to aim it at Shego just in time to see the Penguin Soldier hurtling head over tailfeathers at him.
He ducked, trying to protect his injured hand and his deck as well as his head, but it was no use. The penguin slammed into him and then exploded in a shower of sparks. The shock of its destruction knocked most of the cards out of Bakura's hand, as well as sending him a step backwards. He was glad he hadn't randomly pulled something defensively stronger, but then he hadn't expected to have it used against him.
"Heh," he heard Shego say. He looked up, snarling at her, ready to hit back with whatever he had left in his hand, all of his cards at once, even if that took all the Shadow Magic he could muster at one time. She'd moved in close while he was reeling and was now inches away, ready to strike..
"Uh-uh," she said. "No more card tricks today."
She brought her fists together and aimed them at his face,. He threw up his hand, shielding himself with the deck of cards. At the same time she brought her knee up to slam into his injured wrist.
Pain shot through Bakura's arm as the power in her hands hit his fistful of cards. Shadow magic met with the mysterious force in her hands. There was a sound like a crack of thunder.
Shego grunted as she was knocked backward, but she landed on her feet. Bakura felt himself lifted in the air and tossed backward. He landed hard on his back on the floor with the air knocked out of him. He felt nearly numb all over, except, of course, for his throbbing wrist.
He felt Ryou's presence hovering in his mind, alarmed and concerned.
You better take over, he thought vaguely, as the world faded to black.
---
"...out cold. No, wait, he's coming around."
Ryou fought his way to consciousness, knowing he wasn't going to like what he'd see when he got there. His body tingled strangely, and there was a fiery pain in his right wrist, and he couldn't move; it was difficult to breath.
As he opened his eyes he realized the reason for the last two sensations: Shego was sitting on his chest, pinning his arms to his sides against the floor. Standing over them, Drakken gingerly looked through Bakura's Duel Monsters cards.
"Ugly," he said, flipping past one to peer at the next. "Gross. Ooh, that one's interesting."
"Hey, pretty boy, welcome back."
Ryou blinked up at her. "Back? What? Where am I? What happened?"
"Sorry, my pretty, that's not going to work," Shego said, shaking her head. "I know you took a big hit but I'm not buying the amnesia routine."
"Oh dear," Ryou said fretfully. "He's done something terrible this time, hasn't he?"
"He who?" Drakken snapped, glaring down at him. "You did some pretty interesting, "terrible" things, for which I'd like an explanation. How do these work?" He brandished the cards.
"I'm sorry," Ryou said. "I don't know what happened. I don't know how he does it, I've never even seen it. I hope he didn't hurt anyone," he added earnestly.
"Liar," Drakken said. "You used this card --" he held up the Penguin Soldier card, which Ryou was distressed to see had gotten bent, " -- to create some sort of solid-holo-dimensional monster thingy, which made a very nifty explosion as well. I could use technology like that. So what is it, microchip, holograms, multi-level liquid state processors, what...?"
"Penguin Soldier?" Ryou mused, as if to himself. "Why did he pick such a weak card? Still, you're lucky, if it had been something stronger like..."
"Oh, stop with the 'he,' it was you," Drakken said, stomping impatiently. "Admit it and explain, or Shego will break a few more of your bones while we're waiting."
"Hold on a minute," Shego said. She was staring at Ryou intently.
"What? Why?"
"Something freaky about this, boss. Take a good look."
Drakken peered down at Ryou, who looked from one to the other of them in confusion.
"So?" Drakken snapped. "What am I looking for?"
"What was all that stuff you were saying when you came in here, about making a new body?" Shego asked Ryou.
Ryou blinked and stammered. "That.. wasn't me," he said finally. "That was my Other Self."
"Uh-huh, likely story," Drakken said. But Shego seemed interested.
"What happened to that fancy piece of jewelry you were wearing? Where'd it go? I know you had it on when I was trying to beat the crap out of you. Now it's gone."
"Oh yes, that," Drakken said with renewed interest. "I almost forgot, the thing that flashed in my face and knocked me over. I definitely want to know more about that!"
"That's the Millenium Ring. There's an evil spirit trapped inside of it," Ryou said. "I know you won't believe it, but it's true. Sometimes he takes over and then... I don't know what happens."
"Shego, you're not falling for this fairy story, are you?" Drakken said derisively, but at the same time he took a step backwards, away from Ryou. He looked nervous.
"I don't know, I've seen some weird stuff. And maybe you didn't get a good look at this kid when you were busy cowering from him, but I did, and he looked different. He was pretty before, but he's even prettier now. And he didn't have brown eyes."
"What's the pretty got to do with it?" Drakken muttered, sounding peeved.
She glared at Ryou. "So what, you've got an evil twin who takes over and makes you do bad things? Is that the story?"
"Well, I guess you could put it like that," Ryou agreed. "I don't seem to have any power over him at all. I think it's got something to do with ancient Egypt, where the card game of Duel Monsters originated 3000 years ago. Apparently there's some kind of link between the cards and the Ring, and this spirit who can control them."
"What are you saying, that he's a ghost? That this boy is possessed by some ancient Egyptian spirit? That's impossible. Isn't it?" Drakken sounded more like he thought it was possible and he didn't much like the idea.
"Yeah, and I was attacked by a penguin with a sword, which is also impossible on most days of the week."
"Well.... good point," Drakken conceded.
They thought about it, silently staring down at Ryou.
"I'm terribly sorry," he said meekly, "But do you think you could let me up? Or at least, if you would, take your knee off my right arm? My wrist is quite painful. It feels like it might be broken."
Shego stared at him a moment longer. Then she shifted her leg, letting his right arm free.
"Thank you... ahhh.." Ryou moved his arm slowly, wincing in pain.
"Yeah, you're right, it's probably broken," Shego said matter-of-factly. "Sorry about that." She didn't sound sorry.
"I'm sure it was necessary," Ryou said politely, gritting his teeth. Moving the wrist hadn't been such a good idea after all.
"Well?" Drakken said at last. "What should we do with him? Or them.. .whatever."
"I think we better lock him up for now, until we can figure out what's going on here. And keep those cards away from him. No more exploding penguins."
"Exploding penguins, what about exploding ... what is this?" He peered closely at a card. "The writing's in Japanese, but it looks like a giant bug. Yuck, that would be a mess if it exploded. Still, I want to know how these work!" He brandished the cards at Ryou. "Power like this I can use in my quest for world domination!" he cried.
"I was waiting for you to say that," Shego said cheerfully.
She got off Ryou and pulled him to his feet. He was still a little numb and felt unsteady. Shego, firm but not uneccessarily rough, led him across the room and through a door. There was a dusty office on the other side, with a bare metal desk, a broken swivel chair, and a beat up sofa covered in orange naugahyde.
"I'll get some bandages to wrap up your wrist," she said.
"Thank you," Ryou said gratefully, cradeling the injured arm.
"Hey, no problem. Besides it'll make the handcuffs stay on your skinny wrists better." She winked at him just before she closed the door. He heard it lock.
"If your freaky friend returns, tell him to knock on the door and let us know," Drakken called through the door. "I want to talk to him."
Ryou sat on the orange sofa, trying not to moan out loud at the pain in his arm which seemed to be getting worse by the moment.
Bakura appeared, standing beside him, translucent in the dimly lit room.
"Well," he said, gazing at the locked door with a satisfied smirk on his face. "Apart from the unexpected bodyguard and a broken wrist, that went very well. Don't you agree?"
He looked down at Ryou.
"Yes. Perfect," Ryou said, and passed out.
(continued in chapter three)
Author: Tsutsuji
Summary: Bakura wants his own body and Yami won't cooperate, so Bakura and Ryou track down an evil genius who might be able to help: Dr. Drakken.
Crossover with Yugioh & Kim Possible
Warnings: Shounen-ai, Crossover, my poor attempts at humor
... indicates thought-speak between spirit and host (yami and hikari). ... indicates emphasis.
**
Anything's Possible part 2: In Which Plan B Gets Complicated
Bakura didn't like to admit that he couldn't have done any of this without Ryou's particular skills and resources. For one thing, Ryou spoke English almost as well as he spoke Japanese, having learned it while traveling with his parents as a child. (He also had a handy traveler's smattering of other European languages. As Bakura laughingly put it, he knew a dozen different ways to be painfully polite.)
Ryou also had one of those handy little pieces of plastic with an almost limitless value, and while Bakura could have thieved his way across the U.S, Ryou's father's good credit made it so much simpler. On the other hand, Ryou's tendency to be polite beyond even the traditional Japanese standard sometimes slowed things down a bit. This was especially notable in contrast to the manners of most of the Americans they met which shocked even Bakura.
"Have I just been inside your head for too long, or are these people all incredibly rude?" Bakura wondered after scaring off the third person who had ogled, groped, or insulted Ryou inside an hour. It had started as soon as they got off the plane in San Francisco and it hadn't stopped. "A little visit to the Shadow Realm might teach them to respect you, Yadonushi," he added, grinning.
No, Bakura, don't do that. They don't mean any harm, anyway.
"You are far too forgiving," Bakura said. "They certainly don't mean any good. Trust me, I know bad intentions when I see them."
Ryou was more concerned with how they were going to find the one person they were looking for in all the vast area of the United States. However, after landing in San Francisco and getting his bearings, Bakura seemed to know exactly where they were going. Unfortunately, since the one thing Ryou didn't have was a driver's license, they had to go there by bus.
The novelty of the endlessly flat landscape seen from a Greyhound bus window quickly wore off, and after a long day and a half of constant travel, Ryou grew tired of staring at the long straight road and the distant hills which never seemed to get any closer. He was jet-lagged and couldn't sleep, even though his internal clock told him it was the middle of the night back home. He returned to worrying about where they were going and what they were going to do when they got there.
How did you find out about this 'evil genius' we're going to see, anyway? Ryou asked his other self. He was staring out the darkening window. The Spirit managed to make his reflection appear in the glass, which made it look as if he was sitting on the lap of the elderly black woman in the seat next to Ryou.
I did a search on the Internet for evil geniuses, Bakura answered.
What? You're not serious!
Everyone in the world has a website but you, Ryou.
My god, you are serious.
Bakura chuckled. And you are so gullible. Of course it wasn't that simple. I did use the internet to gather information on anyone who knows robotics, genetics, chaos theory and dark magic, and who was unscrupulus enough to use them all together. This Dr. Drakken comes close enough. He's not up on dark magic, but we can work with him on that. And he does call himself an evil genius. I did not make that up.
How do we know he'll be willing to help us?
We don't. Self-proclaimed evil geniuses generally aren't the helpful type. We'll have to convince him. Bakura sounded like he relished the thought.
I should have known, Ryou thought miserably. This wasn't necessarily going to be any easier than getting Yami to help. In fact, convincing a self-proclaimed evil genius to do something he didn't want to do sounded a lot like, well, like trying to convince Bakura to do something he didn't want to do. Almost exactly, in fact.
To Ryou's surprise, it wasn't very difficult to find this Dr. Drakken. He was well known in the underground world of high tech criminals and evil genius types that lurked throughout middle America, and Bakura, with his old instincts as King of Thieves, had no trouble tapping into that network. In fact, a lot of people were glad of a chance to gripe about Drakke. He was having a bad year, thanks to an adept hero who had become his arch-enemy, and apparently he was broke. He'd stiffed a number of suppliers of expensive parts for high-tech doomsday devices and several landlords specializing in high-tech criminal lairs.
"Yeah, and when you find old blue-face, tell him I'm coming for that money he owes me, as soon as I get the IRS off my tail," was a common refrain.
I wonder why they keep calling him that? Ryou wondered.
I have no idea, Bakura said. He was more interested in the fact that Drakken seemed to have alienated all the hired help as well, leaving him without henchmen or guards.
"Isn't that convenient?" he said when he heard this.
After three days of constant travel, Ryou found himself paying off a taxi driver at the entrance to an industrial complex on the outskirts of a place called Middleton. It was a Sunday afternoon and the place looked deserted. Rows of nondescript one-story buildings and garage bays almost as big as airplaine hangers, interspersed with small power plants, stretched across acres of paved lots.
"This doesn't look like the lair of an evil genius," Ryou said doubtfully.
It's the unit on the far end, Bakura pointed out. The one with the small missile launching pad next to the side entrance, and all the satellite receiver equipment on the roof, and the high-voltage security fence, and the automated laser security system; see, you can just see the laser guns peeking out of the upper windows.
"Ah... it would be that one," Ryou said, gulping nervously.
I'll do this, Bakura said, and Ryou gladly let him take over.
---
Bakura avoided all the electronic security measures with disappointing ease. He was inside the complex within minutes, hardly working up an adrenaline rush from breaking in. He strolled along a twisting corrider seeking the heart of Drakken's operations.
Most of the small laboratory rooms he passed seemed currently unused, full of outdated equipment that was just gathering dust. He was on the verge of becoming discouraged and about to get angry when his sharp ears caught sounds of activity: tapping and tinkering sounds along with a nearly-constant muttering, punctuated by an occasional loud outburst as someone apparently hit a finger with a hammer or dropped a heavy tool on a foot.
He listened carefully as he got closer. There was only one voice. Drakken was indeed working alone, which didn't seem to stop him from ranting. Bakura smiled and crept on, thankful that Ryou's nicely broken-in sneakers didn't squeak on the highly polished floor.
He came upon a section of corridor with windows looking into larger laboratories, and soon found one of these that was being used as a workshop. He peered cautiously through the glass, only to find that there was no need to be so careful.
Inside the lab, the man he assumed was Drakken was completely engrossed in his work, building... something. Bakura couldn't guess what it might be, as it seemed to include parts from a helicopter cockpit melded to a Bowflex exercise machine and several kitchen appliances. After watching the genius at work for a few minutes, he sauntered into the room and walked right up behind Drakken, looking over his shoulder.
Dr. Drakken was a rather stocky man in a blue lab coat, his dark hair pulled back into a short ponytail. He grumbled something unintelligable as he tried to solder an eggbeater into a slot on the helicopter's control panel. His gloved fingers were clumsy, and the part didn't seem to want to fit.
Are you sure this is the right man? Ryou wondered, very doubtful.
Bakura didn't answer, but grinned at the man's back.
"The new doomsday device seems to be coming along nicely," he said loudly. Drakken jumped several inches and dropped the soldering iron onto his foot.
"Gah! What...?" he said, spinning around.
It's the right man, Bakura thought calmly. As you can see.
Oh, yes, I guess you're right. There can't be many evil geniuses with blue skin, Ryou agreed.
Drakken was busy sputtering at the interruption. "It's not a doomsday device, it's a robotic kitchen. There's no decent takeout anywhere around here. Who are you? What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy? And how did you get in here anyway?"
"To answer your questions in reverse order, I walked in, yes I can see you're terribly busy, and I want you to make me a new body. And I am called Bakura."
"You want ... what?" Drakken said flatly.
"A new body. I know that you have access to equipment that can manipulate DNA, and that you are adept at robotics, and that you have had some success with cloning. You are going to use those skills to make me a new body for my spirit to inhabit."
Drakken gave him a quick glance up and down. "Oh? And just why should I bother? Anyway, the body you've got seems alright to me.... although now that you mention it, it is a bit on the pretty side... still that 'metrosexual' look is popular with the girls these days, or so I've heard, can't see what they see in it myself...."
"SILENCE!" Bakura roared, making the evil genius jump again. He'd had it with people insulting Ryou's looks. If he didn't need Drakken, the idiot would be on his way to the Shadow Realm already.
"Fool, you will use the DNA from this body to make the new one. And you should bother because if you don't, I'll send your soul to the Shadow Realm, and I can guarantee you there's no decent takeout there, either," Bakura said, leering at Drakken. "In fact, in the Shadow Realm, you'll be the dinner for creatures more horrible than you can imagine."
Drakken cocked his head. "Are you threatening me?" he asked. He sounded as if he really wasn't sure.
For answer, Bakura took a step back from him and raised his hands, his fingers and thumbs making a circle in front of his chest. There was a glowing light between his hands, out of which the Millenium Ring appeared. Bakura watched with satisfaction as Drakken's eyes grew wide in surprise, but then the scientist scowled skeptically at the Ring.
"Eh... what does that do?" he asked.
"With the power of the Millenium Ring, I can do... this!" Bakura raised his hands, the Ring flashed brightly, and a beam of light shot out from it and slammed into Drakken. The power of the Ring lifted him two feet up in the air and pinned him against the control console.
Bakura took a menacing step towards him, delighting in the look of fear and confusion on Drakken's face. He let the light of the Ring's power dance around them, sharpening shadows. He knew exactly how demonic he appeared in this light. He laughed as Drakken's hand came up to cover his face in fear.
"Now, you will agree to help me, won't you?" Bakura said, his voice almost purring.
"Ah.. anything you say, Mr. Bakura, was it? Aha, there's not a lot I can do from up here, of course, you'll have to ... .put me down?"
"That's better," Bakura said. He let the Ring's power subside, grabbing Drakken by the front of his lab coat as he slid down off the console. Drakken cowered as Bakura pulled him close so they were face to face. "I knew you'd see reason."
As the flash of the Ring subsided to a green-tinged golden glow, Drakken peeked out from between his fingers. "What on earth are you?" he gasped. "How can anyone so pretty be so strong? Oh wait," he went on, his voice suddenly changing from a whine to a growl, "I know someone else who's pretty and strong, come to think of it."
Before Bakura could wonder what he meant, something grabbed his hair from behind, pulling his head back so heard he thought his neck would snap
"Get him, Shego!" Drakken roared.
Bakura shoved Drakken back hard against the console and spun around to face his new attacker, trying to twist out of the painful grip on his hair. He was startled to find that Shego was a woman -- a young, shapely woman in a form-fitting body suit of green and black, her dark eyes narrowed in her smiling face. Long black hair swirled around her face like a cloud of shadow magic. As striking as she looked, the most noticeable thing about her was the gloved hand that was raised to strike, which glowed with a strange green energy.
"Not sure why you want a new body, pretty boy, but the one you've got is going down," Shego announced.
He barely dodged her glowing fist by spinning around and throwing himself backward against her. She lost her grip on his hair and went down with a grunt, but he could feel her tensing to spring back up and throw him off even as he caught his own breath from the fall. He rolled aside and crouched, ready to tackle her, but she twisted on her back and aimed a kick at his head which he barely had time to avoid.
Scrambling to his feet, he looked around for something to use as a weapon against her, concerned to find that both her fists were glowing now. Whatever she was packing in her punch, he didn't want to experience its effects first hand. She sprang to her feet like an acrobat and faced him in a battle stance.
He recognized the look on her face. Clearly she enjoyed putting her talents to use in a good fight just as he did, and he guessed she enjoyed hurting her opponent as much as he enjoyed terrorizing his.
Be careful! Ryou thought in alarm. She looks dangerous!
Actually, she looks... interesting, Bakura thought. He knew the smile on his own face nearly mirrored hers.
Use your deck, Ryou urged.
"Yes," Bakura said aloud, "Perhaps it is time for a demonstration of my real power." He reached for the deck of Duel Monsters cards in his jeans back pocket.
"Look out, Shego," Drakken yelled.
"Oh no, I don't think so, my pretty," Shego said in a warning tone, but her grin widened.
Bakura pulled out a card at random. It didn't matter if it was the weakest monster in the deck, he was counting on the creature's appearance out of nowhere to distract her while he came up with a better strategy.
But she was even quicker than he'd realized, and a lot more limber. He had the card in his hand, ready to call forth the monster from the shadow dimension where it lurked, when her foot came up like lightning and connected with his wrist. There was a loud snap, and the card fluttered out of fingers suddenly gone numb.
"Oops, did we break something?" Shego said, springing back.
For the moment the pain was numbed by shock at what she'd done. He glared at her as she crouched, ready for any move he might make. Then she took a close look at what he had in his good hand, and laughed.
"Wait, you were coming at me with a deck of cards? What am I missing here?"
"Careful, Shego, he's tricky!" Drakken warned.
"What you are missing is this," Bakura hissed, flicking the top card off the deck at her.
She quirked an eyebrow, apparently curious to see what he had planned. Clearly she thought that whatever it was, it would be no match for her fighting skill. Bakura intended to enjoy proving her wrong. She ducked easily as the card whizzed by her head.
"Wow, that was impressive," she said sarcastically. She moved toward him, looking like a snake ready to strike.
"What the... ? Shego! Look out!"
Bakura was impressed at Shego's concentration; she almost succeeded in ignoring Drakken's panicked cries from behind her. But finally she glanced around, just in time to see a fat, angry-looking penguin swinging a sword at her head. [Penguin Soldier, Attack Points 750, Defense Points 500] Shego ducked and the sword missed by several inches. Her fighting instincts had not deserted her, but at least she looked suitably shocked.
"Okay, that was impressive," she admitted, dodging the blade once again. Bakura took advantage of the moment to glance at his deck, seeking something more suitable with which to immobilize her.
"Alright, ducky," she said angrily, jumping back a third time. She'd put herself between the Penguin Soldier and Drakken, and Bakura could see her calculating her next move. The penguin wasn't very strong and its reach was short. He needed to be ready in case she was actually able to defeat it. He tried to keep an eye on her while he searched for the card he wanted, but he was hampered by having one hand now useless.
She crouched again in a serious fighting stance, her fists glowing green and black. The penguin swung wildly at her knees. She dodged it easily this time and used her momentum to spin around and strike it with both fists. Bakura found the card he wanted, his nimble fingers ready to flick it out from the middle of the deck. He looked up to aim it at Shego just in time to see the Penguin Soldier hurtling head over tailfeathers at him.
He ducked, trying to protect his injured hand and his deck as well as his head, but it was no use. The penguin slammed into him and then exploded in a shower of sparks. The shock of its destruction knocked most of the cards out of Bakura's hand, as well as sending him a step backwards. He was glad he hadn't randomly pulled something defensively stronger, but then he hadn't expected to have it used against him.
"Heh," he heard Shego say. He looked up, snarling at her, ready to hit back with whatever he had left in his hand, all of his cards at once, even if that took all the Shadow Magic he could muster at one time. She'd moved in close while he was reeling and was now inches away, ready to strike..
"Uh-uh," she said. "No more card tricks today."
She brought her fists together and aimed them at his face,. He threw up his hand, shielding himself with the deck of cards. At the same time she brought her knee up to slam into his injured wrist.
Pain shot through Bakura's arm as the power in her hands hit his fistful of cards. Shadow magic met with the mysterious force in her hands. There was a sound like a crack of thunder.
Shego grunted as she was knocked backward, but she landed on her feet. Bakura felt himself lifted in the air and tossed backward. He landed hard on his back on the floor with the air knocked out of him. He felt nearly numb all over, except, of course, for his throbbing wrist.
He felt Ryou's presence hovering in his mind, alarmed and concerned.
You better take over, he thought vaguely, as the world faded to black.
---
"...out cold. No, wait, he's coming around."
Ryou fought his way to consciousness, knowing he wasn't going to like what he'd see when he got there. His body tingled strangely, and there was a fiery pain in his right wrist, and he couldn't move; it was difficult to breath.
As he opened his eyes he realized the reason for the last two sensations: Shego was sitting on his chest, pinning his arms to his sides against the floor. Standing over them, Drakken gingerly looked through Bakura's Duel Monsters cards.
"Ugly," he said, flipping past one to peer at the next. "Gross. Ooh, that one's interesting."
"Hey, pretty boy, welcome back."
Ryou blinked up at her. "Back? What? Where am I? What happened?"
"Sorry, my pretty, that's not going to work," Shego said, shaking her head. "I know you took a big hit but I'm not buying the amnesia routine."
"Oh dear," Ryou said fretfully. "He's done something terrible this time, hasn't he?"
"He who?" Drakken snapped, glaring down at him. "You did some pretty interesting, "terrible" things, for which I'd like an explanation. How do these work?" He brandished the cards.
"I'm sorry," Ryou said. "I don't know what happened. I don't know how he does it, I've never even seen it. I hope he didn't hurt anyone," he added earnestly.
"Liar," Drakken said. "You used this card --" he held up the Penguin Soldier card, which Ryou was distressed to see had gotten bent, " -- to create some sort of solid-holo-dimensional monster thingy, which made a very nifty explosion as well. I could use technology like that. So what is it, microchip, holograms, multi-level liquid state processors, what...?"
"Penguin Soldier?" Ryou mused, as if to himself. "Why did he pick such a weak card? Still, you're lucky, if it had been something stronger like..."
"Oh, stop with the 'he,' it was you," Drakken said, stomping impatiently. "Admit it and explain, or Shego will break a few more of your bones while we're waiting."
"Hold on a minute," Shego said. She was staring at Ryou intently.
"What? Why?"
"Something freaky about this, boss. Take a good look."
Drakken peered down at Ryou, who looked from one to the other of them in confusion.
"So?" Drakken snapped. "What am I looking for?"
"What was all that stuff you were saying when you came in here, about making a new body?" Shego asked Ryou.
Ryou blinked and stammered. "That.. wasn't me," he said finally. "That was my Other Self."
"Uh-huh, likely story," Drakken said. But Shego seemed interested.
"What happened to that fancy piece of jewelry you were wearing? Where'd it go? I know you had it on when I was trying to beat the crap out of you. Now it's gone."
"Oh yes, that," Drakken said with renewed interest. "I almost forgot, the thing that flashed in my face and knocked me over. I definitely want to know more about that!"
"That's the Millenium Ring. There's an evil spirit trapped inside of it," Ryou said. "I know you won't believe it, but it's true. Sometimes he takes over and then... I don't know what happens."
"Shego, you're not falling for this fairy story, are you?" Drakken said derisively, but at the same time he took a step backwards, away from Ryou. He looked nervous.
"I don't know, I've seen some weird stuff. And maybe you didn't get a good look at this kid when you were busy cowering from him, but I did, and he looked different. He was pretty before, but he's even prettier now. And he didn't have brown eyes."
"What's the pretty got to do with it?" Drakken muttered, sounding peeved.
She glared at Ryou. "So what, you've got an evil twin who takes over and makes you do bad things? Is that the story?"
"Well, I guess you could put it like that," Ryou agreed. "I don't seem to have any power over him at all. I think it's got something to do with ancient Egypt, where the card game of Duel Monsters originated 3000 years ago. Apparently there's some kind of link between the cards and the Ring, and this spirit who can control them."
"What are you saying, that he's a ghost? That this boy is possessed by some ancient Egyptian spirit? That's impossible. Isn't it?" Drakken sounded more like he thought it was possible and he didn't much like the idea.
"Yeah, and I was attacked by a penguin with a sword, which is also impossible on most days of the week."
"Well.... good point," Drakken conceded.
They thought about it, silently staring down at Ryou.
"I'm terribly sorry," he said meekly, "But do you think you could let me up? Or at least, if you would, take your knee off my right arm? My wrist is quite painful. It feels like it might be broken."
Shego stared at him a moment longer. Then she shifted her leg, letting his right arm free.
"Thank you... ahhh.." Ryou moved his arm slowly, wincing in pain.
"Yeah, you're right, it's probably broken," Shego said matter-of-factly. "Sorry about that." She didn't sound sorry.
"I'm sure it was necessary," Ryou said politely, gritting his teeth. Moving the wrist hadn't been such a good idea after all.
"Well?" Drakken said at last. "What should we do with him? Or them.. .whatever."
"I think we better lock him up for now, until we can figure out what's going on here. And keep those cards away from him. No more exploding penguins."
"Exploding penguins, what about exploding ... what is this?" He peered closely at a card. "The writing's in Japanese, but it looks like a giant bug. Yuck, that would be a mess if it exploded. Still, I want to know how these work!" He brandished the cards at Ryou. "Power like this I can use in my quest for world domination!" he cried.
"I was waiting for you to say that," Shego said cheerfully.
She got off Ryou and pulled him to his feet. He was still a little numb and felt unsteady. Shego, firm but not uneccessarily rough, led him across the room and through a door. There was a dusty office on the other side, with a bare metal desk, a broken swivel chair, and a beat up sofa covered in orange naugahyde.
"I'll get some bandages to wrap up your wrist," she said.
"Thank you," Ryou said gratefully, cradeling the injured arm.
"Hey, no problem. Besides it'll make the handcuffs stay on your skinny wrists better." She winked at him just before she closed the door. He heard it lock.
"If your freaky friend returns, tell him to knock on the door and let us know," Drakken called through the door. "I want to talk to him."
Ryou sat on the orange sofa, trying not to moan out loud at the pain in his arm which seemed to be getting worse by the moment.
Bakura appeared, standing beside him, translucent in the dimly lit room.
"Well," he said, gazing at the locked door with a satisfied smirk on his face. "Apart from the unexpected bodyguard and a broken wrist, that went very well. Don't you agree?"
He looked down at Ryou.
"Yes. Perfect," Ryou said, and passed out.
(continued in chapter three)
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