Yono, My Yono
As Kim opened her eyes, her head swimming, the last thing she remembered was that Drakken's plan was working (huge surprise, not sarcasm). His Super-Hyper-Pollinator had destroyed the Lorwardian battle robots and had even managed to briefly ensnare their masters. Then they had broken free, Ron charged them, and Warhawk had smacked Ron so hard that he flew back into her, knocking her out.
The first thing that she saw when she came to almost had her convinced that she was still unconscious and dreaming: all six of them, the invaders included, were surrounded by some sort of red vortex, at the center of which was Ron, glowing blue and looking utterly calm as he floated twenty feet off the ground! Warmonga and her battlemate Looked utterly lost as to what to do as the wreckage of their attack force was lifted into the air by the vortex, a sentiment Kim could identify with. Was this god-like being really her Ron, that same bumbling, scaredy-cat sidekick she'd somehow come to fall in love with?
Within moments of her coming to, the vortex dies down, and the battle robots drop back down to the ground, forcing the Lorwardians to leap out of the way to avoid being crushed. Once the vortex was completely gone, Ron landed back on the ground in a monkey-style battle crouch, Warhawk and Warmonga landing on either side of him. As they leap in to attack, Ron catches both of them easily with one hand each as he utters a monkey-like screech, then he hurls them both towards their crashing spaceship. With a final cry of "Graphorg!", the invaders collide with their falling vessel, causing it to explode in mid-air.
The battle finally over, Ron floats gently to the ground in front of her, the blue aura fading with one last chorus of monkey cries. Still in shock over what she'd just witnessed, Kim looked up at Ron looking down at her, then extended her hand for him to help her up. As she watched, Ron's face twisted into a grimace, as if he was disgusted at her mere human weakness. Then, without so much as a second glance in her direction, Ron turned and walked away. Her heart shattering into a million pieces, Kim's pain grew worse as she saw Shego thread her arm through Ron's as she turned her head and waved, saying "Bye, Kimmie!"
Trying to gain her breath through the physical and emotional pain she was experiencing, Kim croaked, "Ron, wait!" Coughing, she tried again, her voice stronger and louder, "Please! Don't leave me!"
"Ron!" Kim yelled as she sat straight up in bed.
Looking around in the darkness, Kim saw other shapes in the beds around her, a couple of whom were close enough for Kim to see that they were girls that were close to her own age. Her mind still muddled with sleep and her heart still racing and aching with what she'd seen, she reached for her cellphone lying on the nightstand and punched the speed dial for Ron's phone. After only a couple of rings, the phone was picked up and Ron's sleepy voice asked, "Yes?"
"Ron?" Kim asked, her voice cracking with the turmoil she was still experiencing.
Kim wasn't sure whether it was simply the sound of her voice that did it, or if it was that he heard the pain that was underlining it, but he sounded much more alert as he asked in concern, "KP? What is it? What's wrong?"
Ron's question was like a cold bucket of water being dumped on her, finally waking her up enough to shake the last vestiges of her nightmare from her mind, and immediately she felt mortally embarrassed. I'm starting to act like Ron used to, now! Kim admonished herself. Aloud, she said, "It's nothing, Ron. Don't worry about it, just…"
"Hang on, Kim!" Ron interrupted, "I'll be right there!"
"No, wait!" Kim said quickly, but it was too late: Ron had already hung up the phone. Ending her current call, Kim opened up her phone's directory to try and reach him again, figuring that she had time since the place Ron was renting in Middleton was a good driving distance from her dorm here in Upperton. Just as she located the number and was about to hit SEND, Ron burst into the dorm room yelling, "I'm here, Kim! What's the sitch?"
Shushing him, Kim thought to herself, How did he get here so fast!? Did he fly… Then she groaned internally as she continued, Oh course he did! Give a guy Monkey-Style Kung Fu based superpowers, and suddenly he's using them for every single thing! Aloud, she said, "You didn't have to come clear down here, Ron. It's fine, really. You should go back home and get some sleep."
"Are you sure, Kim? You sounded like you were in a lot of pain!" Ron said concernedly, then he sat down on the bed beside her and placed his arm consolingly around her shoulders as he added, "You know you don't have to hide anything from me, I'm here for you."
"I'm okay, really," Kim assured him, "I just had a bad dream, then I panicked and called you before I finished waking…"
"Bad dream, huh?" Ron interrupted with a smile that was free of any teasing, "Why don't you just tell the ol' Ronster all about it? Wait….was I a synthodrone?"
Kim chuckled softly at the small reminder of the night terrors Ron suffered after the Lil' Diablo incident, which also happened the night they officially became a couple. I started this, Kim gently said to herself as she told him, "No, Ron, you weren't. It was about the night of Graduation. We had just defeated the Lorwardians plans for invasion. Well, that is to say, you Drakken and Shego did; I was next to worthless. And after you threw the Lorwardians into their spacecraft, you looked like you couldn't stand the sight of me. You just left me lying there and walked off with Shego like she was your new GF."
"It's okay, Kim!" Ron assured her, "It was only a nightmare. You can do just about anything, but becoming worthless is not one of them. And I would never….wait! Did you say I walked off with Shego!? Eww, now I'm going to have nightmares!"
Kim chuckled softly again, glad that Ron was keeping things light. Then she sobered up as she said, "Thanks for that, Ron. However, the fact remains that my only big heroic moment during that incident was when I stole Warhawk's glider. The rest of the time I was captured, locked up with Drakken and forced to watch as the Lorwardians invaded the Earth, then I spent the most of your fight heroically knocked out! If it weren't for you three, the Earth would have new masters today! And you've came a long way since pre-school; you're no longer that wimpy, scaredy-cat kid that I liked spending all my free time with! And while my feelings for you haven't changed because you have, the unfortunate fact is that I haven't changed as much as you have. I'm still just a glorified cheerleader, you're a genuine hero now. You don't need me to come save you anymore, and I guess I'm just afraid that one day you won't need or want me at all anymore."
"Oh, Kim, that'll never happen!" Ron assured her as he hugged her tightly, "My feelings for you haven't changed either. The only thing that's changed is that we're now both heroes, rather than that I'm just your sidekick. Besides, you saw and chose me back when I was just your wimpy, scaredy-cat sidekick. Even if you choose one day to retire from heroics, I would still want to be with you. I fell for you because of your heart, not because you can cartwheel through a deadly laser grid or foil evil plans to conquer the world. I would rather die than willingly leave you."
Returning his embrace, Kim said, "Thanks for telling me that, Ron!" Then she broke the embrace as she added, "But you really should go back home, and do so quietly before…"
Before Kim can finish her instruction, one of the lights in her dorm room turn on, illuminating the faces of several surprised young ladies.
Outside the dormitory, the peaceful quiet of the night is shattered by a chorus of female screams.
The following morning, things look rather grim for Go City's defenders known as Team Go. Each member of the group (Hego, Mego and the twins known together as Wego) is bound in one half of a pair of restraining devices that resemble Mobius Strips and appear unable to break free.
Standing before the captured heroes is The Mathter and his similarly dressed henchmen. On the verge of victory, Mather gloats, "You heroes fell right into my trap! Bound within my Mobius Bands, which analyzes and counters the abilities of whoever within them, you are unable to use your vaunted powers to escape! And once I've used my calculaser to rid myself of you, then Go City will be mine for the taking! Now, prepare to be subtracted!"
"You're holding a party for my brothers and didn't bother inviting me?" Shego's voice calls down from above and behind Mather and his goons, causing everyone to look up and see her and Drakken looking down from one of his saucer-like hover vehicles, "I think that I'm slightly insulted!"
"Wait, I think I know you. You're Shego, right? One of Drakken's minions? Did you say that these guys were your brothers? But I thought you were evil." Mathter inquired.
"Yeah, well, I didn't start that way," Shego explained, "I started out fighting crime, just like them. However, the more I fought the criminals with my brothers, the more I found myself liking their company more than my own bickering, egotistical family. Eventually my brothers got on my nerves for the last time, so I left. Did a few odd jobs before I found Dr. Drakken, and I've been working for him ever since."
"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you didn't want me to eliminate them," Mather said, somewhat confused.
"That's not it, exactly," Shego clarified, "I simply didn't want you to be the one to do it, and I especially didn't want it to happen without my being there to witness my brothers' falling from grace. You don't have to worry: I'll make sure that you get the credit for rendering Team Go helpless, and Go City will be all yours afterwards."
With a cruel sneer, Mather and his men stepped aside as he said, "Then by all means, they're all yours!"
With a sad look in his eyes, Hego says to his sister, "So, after all these years, this is how it ends, sis?"
"What can I say?" Shego says nonchalantly, forming a green fireball in her hand, "Out of all my brothers, you and Mego annoyed me the most, so it's only appropriate that you get to go first!"
As she starts to wind up for the pitch, Drakken restrains her and says, "Uh uh uh, Shego, might I remind you that, under your contract to me, that I get first choice on all hero eliminations?"
"Ugh, really?" Shego complained, "You're calling in the 'dibs clause' now?" At a glare from Drakken, Shego extinguished her fireball and sits down in a huff, complaining, "Fine, have it your way. At least I get front row seats to this."
As Mathter watches in eager anticipation, Drakken stands from his seat and aims his Super-Hyper-Pollinator at the ground in front of the heroes before firing. As soon as the green goop hits the ground, a wall of long-stemmed flowers shoots up and begins waving in an unnatural motion.
"Flowers?" Mathter said in disbelief, "How are flowers supposed to get rid of the city's greatest champions?"
"You really haven't kept up with current events while in the clink, have you Mathter?" asked Shego, "I wouldn't go underestimating these daisies! Show him, Dr. D!"
"I was just about to," Drakken replied, then he cleared his throat and pointed as he screamed, "Attack!"
By the time Mathter realized which direction Drakken was pointing, his goons were already bound tightly by the flowers. Only his falling over backwards in startlement had saved him from the same fate. As he scrambled backwards, Mathter managed to overcome his shock enough to aim his Calculaser at the pursuing plants and vaporize them, then did the same for the others that came after him. However, Drakken kept replenishing the supply of floral combatants with additional blasts from his Pollinator. Meanwhile, Team Go watched in shock as Shego leaped down from Drakken's hovercraft and slashed through Hego's side of the band, freeing him.
"How?" Hego asked Shego in disbelief.
"Mathter said it himself," Shego explained simply as she moved on to Mego's side, "These bonds only neutralize the powers of those trapped within them, so it figured that they wouldn't be able to do much about those on the outside."
As Hego catches on to what she's saying, he heads over to free the Wego twins while Shego cuts Mego free.
"But why?" one Wego twin asks, while the other one finishes, "Why help us?"
"Come on, you guys didn't really believe I wanted you guys eliminated, did you?" Shego admonished, "Even as irritating as I found Mego and Hego to be, even at my worst I didn't want them gone gone, and I really had no beef with you twins at all. Besides, Drakken insisted."
As he rubbed his arms where the bands had constricted around them, Mego asked, "But why did he?"
As Shego turned her gaze to watch the battle between Drakken and Mathter, she answered fondly, "He likes me," then, catching the amused looks of her brothers, Shego blushed furiously and quickly corrected, "…winning! I meant he likes winning! That's something we haven't had a lot of experience with as villains. The only time a plan of his actually worked was when he used it to save the world, rather than conquer it. Plus, I think that the whole applause and adulation we received as he got his medal really got to him. So he decided to keep running with the whole hero shtick for a while longer, and since I'm still under his employ that means I'll be tagging along."
While Team Go gives their sister knowing smiles, the battle between Mathter and Drakken winds down to its conclusion. Having eliminated all nearby plants, due to Drakken's Pollinator running out of juice, Mathter used his Calculaser to vaporize Drakken's hovercraft and causes him to fall. As Drakken's neck flower snapped out and wrapped around a street light like a grapple line, saving him from a painful fall, Mathter turns his Calculaser on Drakken to finish the job. Before he can fire, though, a green fireball blasts the weapon out of his hands. He whirls and sees himself surrounded by all of Team Go, including their estranged sister Shego.
"No no no!" complained Mathter, "Too many variables!" As the ornate decoration on his hat morphs into helicopter blades and control wands, Mathter calls out as he starts to fly off, "I'll make sure that you and your sidekick pay for today's treachery, Drakken! You haven't seen the last of….The Mathter!"
"It's 'partner', not 'sidekick'!" Shego yells as she throws a fireball at Mathter's helicopter hat, warping the blades to the point where he cannot remain airborne and crashes back to the ground again. As he scrambles backwards from Team Go closing in, his Calculaser nowhere in reach, Mather complains, "This doesn't make sense! That wasn't in my figures at all!"
Shego, having caught up to the retreating villain, picks him up by the collar and says, "You really need to recheck your math!" Then she punches him.
"Brackets!" Mathter curses, gripping the bars of the paddy wagon as it drives off. The television reporter steps into the frame, along with Hego, and says, "And so ends yet another plot devised by the villainous Mathter! However, I'm given to understand from your report that this scheme was not thwarted by you or any of your brothers on Team Go?"
"That's right, Vicky," confirms Hego, "Truth was that my brothers and I were in real trouble this time. If it wasn't for the timely intervention of our sister Shego and her….partner, Dr. Drakken, we would not be here right now!"
"So you're saying that your lives, and the entire city, was saved by a pair of villains?" Vicky asks incredulously.
"Former villains," Hego corrected, "I heard that they were instrumental in helping Team Possible stop the worldwide invasion this last summer, and that they even were given a medal by the UN to commemorate their valiant bravery."
"That's true, but our analysts believe that they only did so out of necessity, and are merely biding their time until their next big crime," Vicky countered.
"I appreciate your concern," Hego said gently, "but my brothers and I are not really interested in mere theories. Should some substantial evidence prove that our sister or her friend is reverting to their old villainous lifestyle, then we'll deal with it then. But for now, I believe that they've earned a second chance, and we're going to give it to them. They'll be staying with us at Go Tower for the time being, at least until they want a place of their own, and will be treated as valued members of the team. Thank you."
"And there you have it folks," Vicky said as Hego walked out of the frame, the broadcast being shown on the TV in the kitchen over at the Possible household, "despite their past criminal history, Shego and Drakken are being invited by Team Go to stay at Go Tower. Could we be seeing the rise of some new heroes, or could Team Go be making a terrible mistake. Apparently only time will tell. This is Victoria Dale, reporting for MDRA, back to you Frank."
Sitting at the kitchen table, James Possible sips his steaming cup of coffee as he smiles and says, "Well how about that? Looks like ol' Drew is finally making a name for himself, other than just being our Kimmie Cub's punching bag, that is."
Ann Possible smiles at her husband from where she's cooking breakfast, then Jim and Tim Possible lean their heads around the door to the kitchen and holler, "Mom! Kim's on the phone!"
Ann looks at her sons in confusion as she says, "But I didn't hear any…"
The rest of her sentence is cut off by the sound of the phone ringing, and the twins give each other smugly proud looks as Tim says, "Caller ID…"
"…2.0," Jim finishes the announcement, then they give each other high fives as they cry out, "Hoo-shaw!"
Ann gives her sons a reproachful glare just before they retreat to their room, then she answers the phone and says, "Hi, Kim."
Kim Possible, who is using her Bluetooth headset to talk while she gets ready, looks surprised as she says, "How'd you know it was me?"
Kim hears her mother sigh in exasperation as she says, "I have yet to manage breaking your brothers' habits of modifying the major appliances. So, you settling in okay?"
Kim rubs the back of her neck in embarrassment as she answers, "Umm….kind of."
"I know that tone," Kim hears her mom say in a concerned tone, "What's wrong?"
"I just go reproached by the Dean for Ron barging into the room I share here at the girl's dorm last night," Kim admits sheepishly.
"That doesn't exactly sound like Ron," Kim's mom responds in confusion, "Why on earth would he do something like that?"
"I had a bad nightmare last night about Ron leaving me after the invasion, and when I woke up I sorta called him before I could think better of it," Kim started rambling on, "Of course when he answered and I was more awake I tried to assure him I was okay, but he rushed over anyway, waking everyone there when he did, which got me chewed out by the Dean…"
"Whoa, honey. Slow down," Kim's mom told her, "Why would you think that Ron would leave you?"
"I don't, not really," Kim admitted, then her rambling begins to pick up speed as she continues, "It's just that we've always done everything together, with him being my sidekick when I started fighting crime and whatnot. I mean I've pulled him out of more fires than I can count, and while he's helped me a couple times as well those were mostly happy accidents. However, now that he's fully come into his monkey powers he won't need me to save him anymore. How long will it be before he doesn't need me for other things and he just sees me as a burden? What if he hooks up with some hottie from Global Justice? What if…?"
"Kimmie, calm down," her mom said soothingly over the phone, "Like you said, you and Ron have been through a lot together. He's even stuck by your side when you were dating other boys, so I don't think he'll leave you just because he's more capable now. He may have more brawn than before, but you still have the brains we've raised you with. The way we see it, you're simply a more perfect fit now."
"Thanks, Mom," Kim told her mom gratefully.
"That reminds me, Wade wanted you to call," Kim heard her mother add, "He had tried earlier, but the broadcast towers he uses were still messed up from the invasion, so the twins offered to modify their satellite to boost the signal. Knowing them, it should be ready by now, so I should drag them down to breakfast and remind them about the rules about modifying our appliances."
"Okay, mom, thanks," Kim told her, "Talk to you later."
As Kim hangs up the phone, she brings up her wrist Kimmunicator and activates it as she says, "What's the sitch…?"
As the picture on the miniature screen of Kim's Kimmunicator clears, she's surprised to see it's not Wade sitting in his usual spot but rather her best friend Monique, who's wearing a nice dress and apparently using the screen as a mirror to refresh her makeup. Confused by this, Kim stumbles as she says in shock, "…Monique?"
Monique is apparently just as surprised by Kim's call, as she slips with her lipstick and makes a line with it from her lips almost to her cheek. Fumbling nervously for a handkerchief, Monique embarrassedly greets her, saying, "Huh?" Oh, uh, hi Kim."
"Monique? What are you doing in Wade's room?" Kim asked her, still confused.
"Oh, he was about to take me out on a date," Monique rattled off quickly, still clearly embarrassed, "You were probably calling to talk to Wade, right? Here, let me get him for you." Monique then ran off as if wild dogs were chasing her, calling out from beyond the camera's view, "Wade, it's Kim for you!"
A couple of moments later, Wade enters the Kimmunicator's view wearing a tux, looking somewhat embarrassed himself as he says, "Oh, hi Kim. I wasn't expecting you to call this soon."
"Yeah, the tweebs work fast. So do you, apparently," Kim said in a sardonic tone, then she sighed and shook her head in exasperation as she continued, "Please tell me you haven't been using your Cupid Ray on her again."
"What? No! Of course not!" Wade answered in shock, "I destroyed that thing immediately after that incident. I even trashed the blueprints and deleted the specs."
"Then what's up with Monique?" Kim asked for clarification.
"Well, it seems that she had liked me too all along," Wade explained, "At first it was only the age difference that was keeping us apart, then she felt she needed to punish me for daring to use such a device on her in the first place. Of course I deserved that. Anyway, after graduation, she decided to let me off on parole."
"But weren't you dating someone named Olivia or something?" Kim asked him.
"Olivia!?" Wade squeaked in fright as he ducked under his desk, "Where!?" Kim stared in confusion for a couple of minutes before Wade got back in his seat and he answered her, "No. It turned out that Olivia was a super-genius herself, and the only reason I was going out with her in the first place was because she had been using her own Cupid Ray on me since we first met. Of course as soon as I could I'd hacked into her system and destroyed those specs while I sent Drakken's Lil Diablo robots on a search-and-destroy mission for the hard copies. No one should have that kind of power over anyone."
"I see," Kim responded, "That's not what you were calling about earlier, was it?"
"No," Wade told her, "Actually, it's about your battlesuit."
"You fixed it!?" Kim asked excitedly, recalling that she'd sent its tattered remains to Wade after she'd reclaimed it from the ruins of her family's former home.
"I'm afraid not," Wade told her remorsefully, "As I'd feared, it was shredded beyond repair when your home was destroyed during the invasion."
"But what about its self-repair function?" Kim asked him.
"That function only works when the suit's in active use," Wade countered, "Even if I could find a way to override it, if would be like trying to put together a fragmented bone without finding all of the pieces or knowing which piece goes where. You wouldn't want to try it, it'd really be bad."
Kim sighs in disappointment as she asks, "Any good news?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," Wade smiles in anticipation, "It turns out that most of the suit's circuitry and its CPU remained intact. I believe that with that, and the materials and original blueprints I have here, I could make you a new suit that looks and functions even better that the original did by this time next week."
"Spankin'!" Kim said happily, "Well, I've got to go get the books and supplies for my first classes. Have fun on your date…"
"Hold up a moment, Kim," Wade stopped her, "Looks like there's a hit on your site. It seems that there was a break-in at the Downtown Middleton Museum last night."
"Last night?" Kim asked in wide eyed confusion, not hearing anything about it on the news or in police reports.
"Yeah, they've been keeping tight lipped about what was stolen, if anything," Wade explained, understanding Kim's confusion without her having to say anything, "They'll only tell you and Ron in person, so I'll contact Ron and tell him to meet you there."
"Please and thank you," Kim told him as she turned off the Kimmunicator. Turning back towards her closet, Kim counted herself lucky that she was originally planning to hit the school store early to get what she needed. Now, as it stands, she had maybe jut enough time to check the scene at the museum and look into some leads, then turn around to get just what she needed for her first classes before they started. With that thought in mind, Kim quickly changed into her mission clothes before rushing out the door.
At the Downtown Middleton Museum, Kim is greeted just inside the entrance by one of the curators, who says, "Thanks for coming so quickly, Ms. Possible."
"No big," Kim tells him humbly.
"So, where is your partner?" the curator asks her, looking around in confusion.
As if on cue, Ron goes zooming past them both, flying and screaming as if he's being propelled by his blaster briefs (except he's surrounded by a blue aura and he still has on his pants), before he crashes into a display case further inside.
"There he is," Kim told the man, then she walked over to Ron and asked him, "Are you okay?"
Ron groaned and rubbed his head as he sat up, saying, "This whole flying thing is much harder than Sensei made it look."
"And exactly why were you flying?" Kim asked him as she helped him to his feet.
"I hadn't exactly been able to replace my scooter since it was wrecked during the invasion," Ron told her.
"Oh, you could've called," Kim responded, "I woulda swung by and picked you up."
"Well, Wade's call made it sound urgent," Ron reasoned, "Besides, I figured I needed the practice."
Kim looked over at the messed up display and had to stifle a laugh as she said, "Yeah, I guess you do at that."
She and Ron then turned back to the curator as Kim asked, "So what was the reason you contacted us, sir?"
"It's best if you see for yourself," the curator said as he led the way, "But, as I'd indicated on your site, one of our exhibits was broken into last night and completely trashed! It literally looks like a war zone in there! Many of the artifacts were destroyed, some of them smashed beyond recognition, so we're having a difficult time determining whether or not anything was actually stolen or not! It's a disaster!"
"You mean to say there was a struggle?" Kim asked for clarification, figuring that if there was an eye witness it would be easier to find and catch the perpetrator.
"So it would seem, but it wasn't any of our people," the curator responded, "By the time the first guards arrived on the scene, there wasn't anyone else here."
"What can you tell me about the exibit?" Kim asked the curator.
"The artifacts we were able to identify are from different tribes and civilizations, of varying obscurity, that inhabited the North-Eastern Hemisphere," The curator told them, "Our most recent and unique acquisition apparently came from a secret sect of Mandra Monk."
That name struck a cord with Kim as she recalled that Ron had trained with a secret sect of Mandra Monk during his cultural exchange classes. Looking at him, she saw that Ron had the same thought as they said to each other practically simultaneously, "Monkey Fist?"
"But isn't he still…?" Kim started to ask Ron, who finished for her, "…statuesque?"
Kim then looked on her Kimmunicator and saw Wade sitting at the table of what looked like a fancy restaurant as he said, "According to D. 's blog he is."
Ron looked incredulous as he said, "D. has a blog?"
Wade then touches something off screen, and the Kimmunicator's display changes to show the blog in question as he explains, "Yeah, and it seems largely dedicated to her Cuddle Buddy collection, including the petrified form of Monkey Fist."
Kim and Ron say in practically one voice, "Wrong-sick!"
"According to the information here," Wade tells them, "She's offering a substantial reward to whomever can wake her 'Prince Monty from his stony sleep'."
"Something tells me that he'd consider that quite the rude awakening," Ron said.
Kim nodded in agreement and said, "So we may be looking at someone who may be looking to cash in on that reward, but that doesn't get us any closer to finding out who." She then turned towards the curator and asked, "Is there anything else you can think of to tell us about what happened, anything that struck you as being odd, no matter how small."
"As a matter of fact, the vandals had left some strange debris there that was completely unrelated to any of the defiled artifacts," the curator told Kim.
"Sounds like a lead," Kim acknowledged, "Mind if we take a look around?"
The curator nodded eagerly as he said, "If it'll help catch these scoundrels, then be my guest."
When they got to the exhibit room, Kim could hardly believe what she was seeing. This was not simply a botched robbery. From the cracked and scorched walls and floor to the shattered and likely irreplaceable artifacts, it truly appeared to Kim that a battle had taken place here.
"Wow, dude wasn't exaggerating about the damage here," Ron commented as his mouth gaped open, "Who would do this?"
"Someone who doesn't want snoopers like us to find out what was taken?" Kim guessed as she bent over some of the ruined items, then she picked up a realistic stone flower and showed it to the curator and asked, "Did any of the artifacts have stone floral carvings?"
"Absolutely not!" the curator told her, "That's some of the strange debris I was telling you about."
"Hmm, curious," Kim said to herself as she scans it with the Kimmunicator while wondering who would leave stone flowers at a crime scene.
As Ron looks behind a set of Japanese samurai armor, he finds a small rose that's in full bloom. "Kim! I found a live one over here!" Ron announces loudly, then he reaches forward to grab it. Before he can manage it, however, the rose whips around in a circle, causing its thorns to scratch Ron's hand. "Ow! Bad plant! Bad plant!" Ron cries out before sucking on his cut fingers.
When Kim comes over to see what Ron's yelling about, she sees the flower shivering as if it's either cold or scared. Curious about this plant that seems to be moving on its own, she bends down and gestures beseechingly. "Aww, it's okay," Kim reassured it, curious to see if it was capable of understanding her, "No one here is going to hurt you."
The rose seems responsive to her words, bending forward and making a motion as if it was sniffing her hand. Then it uproots itself and moves in a serpentine fashion across the ground and up her arm, where it settles on Kim's shoulder and begins to nuzzle her neck. This causes Kim to start giggling as the petals tickle her.
"Hey!" Ron protests, "How come it did not scratch you?"
"I don't know," Kim reproached him, feeling somewhat irritated that Ron would have harmed such a sweet-yet-strange thing like this plant, "Maybe because I didn't act like I was going to rip it out of the ground?"
"How was I supposed to know that it was sentient?" Ron asked him.
Kim, still feeling irritated about Ron's carelessness, responded, " 'Sentient', that's a pretty big word for you."
Ron, not quite picking up on Kim's tone, waved dismissively as he said, "Oh, they use it frequently on 'Captain Constellation'."
The very mention of the name of that awful show brought back memories Kim had worked hard to forget. "Ugh!" Kim explained as she scowled at Ron, "Don't remind me!"
"Huh? Oh! You mean the thing were you had to watch three compressed seasons of it while you were trying to recover your lost memory?" Ron asked her innocently.
Kim scowled harder at her boyfriend's inability to take a hint, then she felt the rose rubbing her heck soothingly and she looked at it inquisitively again. Kim then took the base of one of the smashed vases, then she begins to gather soil from one of the displays as she asks Ron, "Still, it's rather odd. Do you think this is one of Drakken's flowers?"
"I don't know, KP. I've never seen one of them move unless Drakken ordered it to," Ron answered honestly.
Once the makeshift pot is filled with loosely packed dirt, the rose moves back down Kim's arm and re-plants itself, nuzzling Kim's hand in thanks. "Still, it's a place to start getting some answers," Kim states, scanning the rose with her Kimmunicator as she does so. "You got all that, Wade?"
"Yeah, I'll begin my analysis and let you know what I find out…" Wade tells them through the Kimmunicator before he's interrupted by Monique stage clearing her throat from beyond the camera's view, then he adds, "…just as soon as we're done here."
"Okay then," Kim acknowledged, "Have fun you two."
"Yeah, you two…too," Wade responds before the communication is cut off.
Kim then turn to Ron and says, "Let's go, Ron. Next stop: Go City."
As they enter Go Tower, the headquarters of Team Go, they are greeted by Hego, who shakes Kim's hand and says, "Ah, Ms. Possible. I understand that we have you to thank for saving the world during the recent alien invasion."
"Actually Drakken and Ron here had a much larger hand in that than I did," Kim replies modestly.
"Humble as always," Hego says in return, "Well we're all grateful anyways. What can Team Go do for you kids today?"
"We were actually hoping to talk to Drakken and Shego," Kim answers him, "We heard they're currently staying here."
"Shego's currently out getting reacquainted with her other brothers," Hego told her, "And I'm here helping Drakken familiarize himself with our garage. He believes he can upgrade our transports, and we've agreed to let him try so long as death rays are not part of the package."
As if on cue, Drakken walks in from the garage, smiling and talking conversationally as he says, "Did I hear somebody say my nam…" He then freezes in mid-step as he spots Kim and Ron, his jaw dropping in surprise. Then he scowls and says indignantly, "Kim Possible? What are you doing here!? Are you going to be bothering me for the rest of my life!?"
"We're just here following a lead," Kim told him, "We just wanted to ask some questions about the break-in of the Downtown Middleton Museum."
"Well I wasn't anywhere near Middleton last night, nor was I pulling any museum jobs. In case you haven't heard, Shego and I have gone legit now," Drakken told her, "What makes you think that I have any knowledge about what happened there anyway?"
"This," Kim says as she holds out the potted rose.
Drakken looks at the flower skeptically and says, "So the entire basis of your accusations is this one puny little flower?"
The rose, in hearing what Drakken said about it, turns towards him and razzes him with a petal-like tongue.
"We weren't exactly pointing fingers here….yet, but how many flowers do you see that are capable of independent movement?" Kim asked him.
"Hmm, indeed," Drakken says as he examines the flower with renewed interest, then he gestures and orders it, "Flower, go get me a drink of water!"
The rose pointedly turns its head away and crosses its upper leaves in a human-like show of non-compliance.
"There, you see?" Drakken says to Kim smugly, "It's obviously not one of mine. Besides, I have yet to figure out how to make anything besides Pansies and Marigolds. Otherwise I would have whipped up some Hydrangeas for Shego."
Ron then asks Drakken, "So, you two are still…"
"Ron, on topic," Kim admonishes him, then she focuses on Drakken as she asks him, "So, Drakken, do you have any idea who else might have access to this kind of technology?"
"No!" Drakken answered her as he crossed his arms indignantly, "Believe it or not, I invented the Super-Hyper-Pollinator all on my own! Absolutely no stolen technology whatsoever!"
"So it's either some copycat that was involved or some remarkable coincidence. Not much to go on, but anything's better than nothing. Thanks, Drakken," Kim tells him.
"Hmph, whatever," Drakken dismiss then in a tone of non-interest. As they turn to leave, however, Drakken calls out to them, trying and failing to conceal his eagerness as he says, "Wait! Do you think I could get a sample of that plant there? You know, to analyze?"
Kim deliberates for a moment, then she holds her hand out before the rose, which plucks one of its lower leaves and hands it to Kim. When Kim hands the leaf to Drakken, he bounces and giggles like a kid who was given a shiny new toy.
"You know, Drakken, why don't you contact my brothers, the tweebs, whenever they're not busy with school or something?" Kim suggested to him, "I'm sure that, once you put your heads together, they can help you to figure out how to expand your botanical repertoire. And if they have any questions about whether or not they can trust you, just tell them 'hicka picka boo'. That'll let them know I'm vouching for you."
Drakken looks at Kim in confusion as he says, "You know, this is rather odd, you being nice to me and all. When my brainwaves haven't been flipped and all, that is."
"No big! You've earned it," Kim tell him, "All I ask is that you continue to be worthy of it, that's all."
"Thanks," Drakken sniffs, then he straightens and smiles hugely as he adds, "Oh! And If you happen to find whomever's out there impersonating me, give them a couple of your side kicks for me, would you?"
"Sure, no problem," Kim agreed easily, "Take care now."
"Laters, Doctor D!" Ron tells him as he turns and follows Kim out the door.
As Kim and Ron fly off in the Sloth, Ron groans and complains, "Aww! All of our leads are dead ends!"
"Not necessarily," Kim countered, "We've learned that Drakken wasn't the one who broke into the museum, and once the analysis on the clues we've collected is complete they could yet very well lead us to the true culprit. Besides, I think that this was an easy and safe way to see if Drakken truly is trustworthy now."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked her, confused.
"You didn't think that I'd blindly trust Drakken with something that he could turn into a potentially dangerous weapon, did you?" Kim asked Ron as she looked at him with a smirk and a twinkle in her eye.
"You mean that back there was some sort of test?" Ron asked Kim in surprise.
Kim nodded as she gently stoked the bud of the rose and said, "If he simply keeps helping others, then we'll know he truly has turned over a new leaf, no pun intended. However, if we see any plant monsters suddenly rampaging around the city, well it's better to know sooner rather than later that he's the same ol' Drakken."
"That's pretty clever, KP," Ron complimented her, impressed, "But what if he does create a monster and it turns out to be too much for us?"
"Well I'm sure that Wade's analysis of the scan I'd sent him of the rose will tell us how to take Drakken's monster down when that time comes," Kim explained to him.
"Way to think ahead, Kim," Ron responded.
Kim nodded, then she dived the car down to hover low over the Smarty Mart parking lot. As Ron climbed out of the car, Kim told him, "Well I've got to hurry over to the university and get my things for today's classes."
"Aww! I wish I had a class to go to," Ron groaned, then he looked surprised at himself as he said, "I can't believe I just said that."
"Maybe you'll get in next semester," Kim assured him as she smiled sympathetically. Then she kissed him and said, "Have fun at work, Ron."
"You take care too, Kim," Ron returned, then Kim flew off while Ron walked into the store.
After he changed into his work clothes, Ron was humming to himself as he waited for his turn at the time clock, counting himself extremely lucky. After all, how many guys not only get to work in a job they genuinely liked, but also got to have the smartest, most beautiful girl as a steady girlfriend. Sure the job may not pay all that much (hence why he wasn't able to attend school with Kim, his grades in High School weren't good enough to attract scholarships, and he got into sports too late to attract sponsors), and the fact Mr. Barkin worked here meant that he still had to put up with his former coach despite graduating, but he liked this job all the same.
Therefore, the smile on his face was genuine as he swiped his badge on the time clock's reader. However, instead of the beep confirming he was clocked in, Ron heard the machine buzz instead. Looking at it in confusion, Ron tried swiping his badge again, and again the machine buzzed at him. On the LED display, Ron saw the message appear See Manager.
"What!?" Ron cried out in a panic. He'd only ever seen the machine do this a couple of times before for other employees, and each time the employee was seen later slumping out of the store without their Smarty Mart vests, never to be seen within again (except occasionally as mere customers). Therefore it was with great trepidation that Ron made his way to the Manager's office. Opening the door slightly, Ron poked his head around the corner and nervously called out, "Hello?"
The manager, sitting at his desk, gestured to the chair facing him and said, "Ronald, please, take a seat."
As Ron did as instructed, he anxiously pleaded, "If this is about the gorilla incident, I can explain…"
"There's no need," the manager assured him, "You were merely doing as you were told and that matter has already been closed."
"Oh," Ron said, still too nervous to be reassured as he asked, "Then what did you need to see me about?"
"As you may or may not be aware, our company is frequently trying to tailoring our policies and the image we project to the public to best cater to the needs of out customers and community," the manager explained to Ron, "Lately there has been a rising public awareness of the humane treatment of animals, and it has become a popular opinion that keeping animals in cages barely large enough to fit them isn't humane."
"Actually I have an idea about that," Ron suggested, "We could create habitats that simulate the natural environments…"
"Not a bad idea, though it may be a little costly," the Manager complimented him , "but we already have an order directly from Mr. Smarty himself. The sales of pets in store, save for fish, will cease immediately. We already have representatives from various zoos picking up the exotic pets either to add to their own collection or to prepare to release them into the wild. The other pets will be either sold directly to other pet stores or sent to humane animal shelters."
"Oookay…" Ron said in confusion, "…but what does that have to do with me?"
"As the number of live animals to be taken care of had been dramatically reduced, the staffing in that area has been reduced to the Department Managers and night stockers," the Manager told him, "In other words, your position no longer exists."
Ron felt his heart rate raise and his breath shorten as he asked, "You mean that you're firing me?"
The manager shook his head and said, "In situations like this, we normally relocate associates who are thus displaced into positions that they are equally qualified to perform. Unfortunately, there are no open positions in our store."
"So I am being let go!?" Ron squeaked, feeling himself go into a full-blown panic attack.
The manager sighed patiently as he asked, "May I finish?" These words act as a bucket of cold water dumped on him, and Ron closes his mouth and holds still as the Manager continues, "When there are no open positions in the current store, we take a look at nearby locations. As it turns out, the Manager of our store in Upperton has recently retired, and the Assistant Manager there was promoted to take his place. That leaves a void that we'd like you to fill."
Ron wanted to pinch himself to make sure that he wasn't dreaming, and he could barely contain his excitement as he asked, "You're saying you wish to promote me to….to ASSISTANT MANAGER!?" A thought that came to him just then brought him down as he asked, "Wait, don't you need, like, managerial experience for that?"
"It's true that we usually prefer an associate with experience," the manager confirmed, "but when there's none available we are willing to train one of our people before we hire from outside. Therefore, we're authorized to enroll you in the University of Upperton, where you would receive a $50,000 scholarship to enroll in Managerial classes, as well as any other courses of your choosing."
"But what about Mr. Barkin?" Ron offered. He knew he should probably keep his mouth shut and take this offer before the manager came to his senses, but Ron's conscience wouldn't let him do that to a guy like Barkin (no matter how hard he'd leaned on Ron at times).
"It's true that Barkin is more qualified, with his experience as a principal and a coach," the Manager acknowledged, "but his application indicated that travel wasn't an option for him. If it makes you feel better, Steve would be first in line should a managerial position become available at this location. Anyway, Mr. Smarty has spoken highly of you, and I wouldn't discount your own leadership skills. We're all aware of your role in the salvation of this planet during the recent invasion, particularly how you took charge of the mission to rescue your partner and Dr. Drakken from said invaders. Now if you don't want the position we'll understand and miss you, but this is a great opportunity that doesn't come along that often. So, what do you say?"
"What do I say? I'm in!" Ron said excitedly as he shook the Manager's hand vigorously, "When do I start?"
"Classes will start at the start of the week, once you've selected your other classes, and your on-the-job training will start in 6 weeks," The manager told him as he handed Ron an orange tie, "Welcome to the team, Mr. Stoppable."
"Thanks, sir! I promise I won't let you down!" Ron said as he shook the Manager's hand one more time, then he turned and left the personnel area. As he reentered the store proper, he'd passed by Mr. Barkin, who'd caught Ron by his shoulder and asked, "Slacking off once again, Stoppable?" Then Mr. Barkin's eyes widened slightly as he saw the tie in Ron's hand, asking in disbelief, "Is…is that a manager's tie in your hand?"
"Assistant Manager, actually," Ron clarified, "I'm going to begin my training to fill the post in the Upperton store, so I guess this is now goodbye. Thanks for everything, sir."
Mr. Barkin's jaw hung open briefly in disbelief, then he began stammering, "Y-y-you've been p-pr-promoted to A-Assis….but, but that's, THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Mr. Barkin then fell to his knees and began bawling openly. Ron immediately felt bad for him, but he figured that the Manager would be able to explain the situation to him far better than he himself could, so he simply smiled kindly as he patted Barkin's shoulder sympathetically, then he turned and left the store.
Just as he picked up his phone in order to text Kim the good news, Ron's Kimmunicator went off. Figuring he could simply tell Kim in person later, Ron raised the wrist it was on and activated it, saying, "What's the sitch, Wade?"
When the screen came on, Ron was surprised to see it wasn't Wade but rather Kim's twin younger brothers, who greeted him in one voice, "Hi Ron!"
Ron felt immediately annoyed, which made him sympathetic to Kim having to grow up with them, as he admonished them, "Tweebs! The Kimmunicator is for important calls only, not for whenever you two…"
"But this IS important!" Tim insisted.
"Can you meet us at our house?" Jim asked Ron
Important, yeah right! Ron thought to himself. Still, he felt that the fastest way to get them to stop misusing the Kimmunicator was to find out what they wanted, then afterward clarify with them what was really important. And so a couple hours (and many painful tree landings) later, Ron landed in front of the Possible home. Jim and Tim were waiting for him outside, so Ron wasted no time in asking them, "So….what's so important?"
Jim smiled at Ron as he answered, "We heard that you need a new vehicle."
Ron looked at them askance as he asked, "Where'd you hear that from?"
"Dad…" Jim answered, and Tim added, "…then Kim."
Ron waved dismissively as he told them, "Well I've got that sitch covered."
This statement seemed to amuse the twins, as they both laughed hard while Jim barely got out, "Yeah, we'd heard about that too."
Tim then whistled as he mimed with his hand the motion of a plane crashing into the ground, then they both laughed even harder as Ron said indignantly, "I just need practice, that's all!"
The twins wiped tears of mirth from their eyes as Jim said, "Well, in the meantime, you can avoid expending your energy during everyday travels…"
"…and minimize bodily harm to yourself…" Tim continued.
"…while you travel…" Jim added.
"…in style!" the twins finished together.
Tim then pushes a button on his remote, which causes the garage door to start opening. In spite of himself, Ron starts to get really excited about what the twins have concocted. "It's….IT'S…!" he says enthusiastically. Then, when he sees what's inside, Ron feels immediately let down as he says in disbelief, "…my old scooter?"
The twins scoff at his assumption, saying, "Not!"
"We merely used it as the model for the street mode," Tim explained
"We'd like to introduce you to…" Jim said as Tim pressed another button. Then, before Ron's eyes, the scooter morphs into an enclosed small 2 person aircraft that begins hovering inches over the ground as the twins say together, "….the Sloth A.L.S. CUB!"
Now THAT's more like it! Ron thought as he exclaimed, "Badical!"
"It can also convert into a high speed submersible and a motorbike capable of handling any terrain," Jim explained.
"In addition, it features MagnoTrack technology, which enables it to vertically scale buildings, and Nanotech armor, which renders it virtually indestructible, not to mention…" Tim added, then he pushed another button, and the bike vanishes from sight as Tim continues, "…it's virtually undetectable while cloaked."
"When did you guys manage to do this?" Ron asked them in awe, not thinking of anything else to say.
Tim shrugged as he said, "We needed something to do over the summer."
"Mom was watching the appliances like a hawk," Jim added.
"One more thing," Tim told Ron, "We've designed this so that it can dock with Kim's Sloth Coupe, enabling you to rendezvous with her in mid-transit."
"Combined with some of the best features of Kim's car, and a few other surprises as well…" Jim continued, and the twins together concluded, "…you've got one sweet ride!"
Ron was so dumbfounded that he couldn't think of anything to say, except, "You guys are absolute geniuses!"
The twins smile at Ron's praise, giving each other a brofist as they say, "Hoo-shaw!"
When Kim arrived at the home of the Stoppables, she raised her hand to knock on the door, but the door opened before she could, revealing Ron's parents standing just behind it.
"Thanks for coming so quickly, Kim," Mrs. Stoppable said to her gratefully, "I know you're starting school today, but with Ron at work we didn't know who else to call to handle this."
"It's no big," Kim told them, "I had a free period anyway." Of course Kim had been looking forward to having her lunch at the school's cafeteria, perhaps get to know some of the students there. But when she got the call from Ron's parents she couldn't simply ignore it: she would have come to help them even if she were in the middle of a test that would determine if she passes or failed out of her entire education. "So what's the sitch?" Kim asked them, "Alien robot attack? Mathter broken out of jail and seeking revenge?"
"No, worse!" Mr. Stoppable answered as he pointed into the house, "Terrible twos!"
Kim followed them inside, where she saw a scene that rivaled that of the trashed museum exhibit room she'd seen earlier. Much of the furniture in the living room was either damaged or outright destroyed. The only undamaged pieces in the room were the television on the wall, which only had a splat of baby food on it, and the curio cabinet, on top of which Hanna Stoppable was sitting and looking decidedly unhappy. Of course most people would not believe that a baby Hanna's age could not cause this much damage, but Kim was one of the few people who knew just how different Hanna was from other kids.
"Don't worry," Kim told Ron's parents, "I've got this." Kim then turned towards Hanna and put on her best calming face as she called out to Hanna, saying in a calming voice, "Hi, Hanna. It's me, Kimmie. Don't you wanna come down and play?"
"No!" Hanna yelled at her, her tiny little hands clenched into fists, "Brother! Want Brother!"
Kim began approaching the cabinet slowly and cautiously, saying soothingly to Hanna, "You know, Hanna, if you come down then maybe later we could go out for some ice crea…"
Kim is interrupted as Hanna begins throwing things down from the cabinet, with the ninja speed and accuracy only Hanna could possess, and Kim was hard pressed to catch them all and set them down safely. Only when Kim backed off again, her hands raised in a pacifying gesture, did Hanna stop throwing things as she yelled at Kim again, saying, "No ice cream! Want BROTHER!"
"Believe me, Hanna, I understand exactly how you feel," Kim sympathized, "There's nothing more that I'd like than to spend every moment with Ron. But, of course, that's simply not possible as he has a job that he has to go do. And I have my classes that I'm starting in another town, so it's not like we can get together every day at Bueno Nacho like we used to or anything. But we do get together every once in a while, just like I'm sure you see Ron whenever he comes to babysit."
Kim wasn't sure when she'd sat down in the armchair, from which one of the armrests was ripped clean off, but she didn't feel up to standing up again with the weight of the depression from the things she was relating to Hanna weighing on her, and now that she'd started Kim couldn't bring herself to stop.
"And then there's the fact that Ron has his own destiny, much like the destiny you yourself have, Hanna," Kim continued, "Now I'm sure that destiny will wind up taking him to places where we cannot follow, but is so much bigger that we are, so it wouldn't be right for us to stand in the way of his achieving it. But just because we don't see him as often as we'd like, that doesn't mean he cares about us any less."
By this point, Kim is on the verge of tears, but she didn't care now who saw. She was in fact so preoccupied by her thoughts that she didn't notice how Ron's parents were looking at her in concern. Nor did she notice that Hanna had climbed down from the cabinet, not until Hanna climbed into her lap, patting Kim's cheek and saying, "Sister."
That one gesture was enough to start the tears flowing, and Kim hugged little Hanna as she said, "Thanks, Hanna. I needed that."
Later that evening, Kim began to seriously question her schedule choices. She could have had her physics class take place in the middle of the day rather than the end. However, that would have left her only 30 minutes for lunch, which with the amount of time it takes to walk across campus would have reduced that amount of time to less than 20, and judging by the line she'd seen in the cafeteria for breakfast when she'd first arrived she'd judged that would leave her with zero time to eat. So she'd decided to take that class at the end instead and leave that period open.
Now she was seeing that may have been a big mistake, for somehow she'd ended up with the most boring, longest winded professor that ever tormented students in any classroom. This guy's monotone voice was even worse than that guy she'd seen doing eye drop commercials! She wasn't sure if he was the only one teaching this class throughout the day, but he would have been difficult enough to put up with at noon. Now, with the weight of the day weighing on everyone, this guy was a coma just begging to happen. She couldn't blame the few students who'd actually passed out already. Even with her rigid discipline, Kim could feel her own eyelids growing heavy. When she'd chosen to attend this university, rather than one of the more internationally located campuses, Kim had told herself that she was going to attend strictly for the curriculum and that she'd leave her cheerleading days behind her. Now it was looking like she'd need the physical activity simply to build up the energy needed to endure this snooze-fest.
Kim gave a start when her Kimmunicator went off, its ring tone echoing mortifyingly loud around the auditorium-style classroom. Kim could feel the glares of several nearby students as she cringed and went to answer it. Before she could however, she felt the stare of the professor as he called out in the same monotone voice, "Kimberly Ann Possible."
Tapping the hold button on her Kimmunicator, Kim straightened in her seat and said, "Uh, yes sir?"
"I understand that you one of my highest scoring SAT students," Professor Hebetude pointed out in his continuously dull voice, gesturing towards a sign behind him as he asked, "Would you be so kind as to tell me what this sign here says?"
Focusing her bleary eyes on the sign in question, Kim answered him, " Uh, 'No cell phones on inside of the classroom'?"
"Very good, Ms. Possible," Professor Hebetude said in what was clearly meant to be mock praise, "At least we can be sure to didn't arrive illiterate."
As several of the students chuckled at her, Kim tried to explain to her teacher, "But this isn't a phone, sir. It's actually a high tech communications device. You see, I'm occasionally called upon to save the world, foil museum robberies, that….kind of….thing…?"
Professor Hebetude cocked one eyebrow at her, perhaps in curiosity or inquisitiveness, but he didn't seem to be that impressed. Finally he closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he said in the same monotone, "Very well, Ms. Possible, you may take it in the hall. But if you feel the need to keep your 'communications device' with you, then I suggest that you keep it on 'silent' so as to not disturb those of us who are actually here to learn."
Figuring this was as close as she'd probably get to permission to go, Kim stuffed her things in her bag, saying, "Thank you sir." After muttering her apologies to a couple of students, Kim raced out of the classroom, getting some distance between her and the door before turning the Kimmunicator on and saying, "Wade! Sitch?"
"A break-in in progress at the Upperton Museum of Historical Artifacts," Wade told her.
"Ron?" Kim asked him, to which Wade answered, "Already on his way."
"Got it!" Kim acknowledged as she dashed off towards the parking lot, making a mental note to check at the first opportunity if her University has an opening for another cheerleader.
Upon her arrival, Kim skulked through the Museum's darkened halls, keeping her eyes and ears open for any signs of the intruders. When she heard a small, stifled sound around the corner of an intersection she froze for a moment. Then she rushed around the corner to confront them, pulling her punch short when she saw that it was Ron.
"Ron!?" Kim quietly admonished him in a relieved tone, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry," Ron whispered back at her, rubbing his nose and smiling sheepishly as he said, "Sneezed."
As they continued to search through the museum's corridors, Ron walked slightly ahead of her as Kim quietly asked him, "Had you found anything before I got here?"
"Not yet," Ron responded, "Perhaps whomever broke in here hasn't found what they were looking for just yet?"
"We can only hope," Kim told him, though the skeptic in her compelled her to add, "Personally, though, I smell an ambush."
As Ron steps into the next intersection, he is tackled by an unseen attacker, the momentum carrying them tumbling into the cross-hallway. Kim follows the sounds of conflict, during which Ron can be heard screaming, "Ow! Oowww! Stop, I need that! Oowww!"
When she caught up to them, Kim found Ron at the mercy of a girl in dark ninja garb. Apparently of Japanese decent, this dark haired femme fatale who had Ron subdued in an arm bar seemed even more beautiful than Yori from the Yamanouchi Kinja school. No sooner had Kim come up with a plan of attack to help Ron out the girl had then froze in her assault.
"Ron?" The girl asked in confusion, then her face lit up as she exclaimed, "Ron! It is you!" The ninja girl then deftly pulled Ron up from the ground as if it were nothing before embracing him tightly, her face a mask of pure joy. Kim, however, felt her heart shatter as her entire world imploded.
To be continued...