New Year's Revolution
72 Hours
Ron Stoppable woke up with a start and turned off his alarm. Yawning, Ron got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Ever since he started attending Middleton Community College after graduating from high school, he had been living in his own apartment. He was grateful that he was accepted at a college in his home town, meaning he could visit his family anytime he chose. What's more, his girlfriend Kim Possible, who was courted by the some of the finest schools around the globe, she chose to attend the same college as her boyfriend. Furthermore, Kim managed to get her own apartment, and the two life-long friends were next-door neighbors.
After getting out of the shower, Ron walked back to his room to get dressed. After putting on his shirt, Ron sat at his desk and looked at his calendar. There were exactly three days left in the year. Ron smiled to himself. He intended to end the year right and show Kim just how special she was to him. New Year's Eve would be the most romantic night of their lives. Ron had it all worked out. First they would have a fantastic dinner at the finest restaurant in town which he got reservations to (without the aid of Wade), followed by two hours of dancing, afterwards they would go to the party being held at Middleton Towers, which Kim and Ron were surprised there was. Then came the grand finale at the stroke of midnight when the new year began.
Ron dug into his desk drawer and fished out a small velvet box with a smile. The contents of the box were the most essential part of his plan. It was very hard to locate and very costly, but it was worth it, she was worth it.
Ron felt something crawling up his leg. Looking down, Ron saw his favorite mole rat hop onto the desk.
"Rufus" the blonde man said "New Year's Eve is going to rock!"
"Uh-Huh" Rufus said in agreement.
Just then, Ron heard a knock at his door. After quickly stuffing the velvet box back into the drawer, Ron went to answer it. On the other side was a face that he never got tired of seeing. A pretty face with long, auburn hair, emerald-green eyes and a wonderful smile.
"Hey, Lover Boy" Kim said heavenly as she draped her arms around his shoulders.
"Hey, KP" Ron said in a just as affectionate tone as he pulled his girlfriend in to give her a deep kiss.
After the young couple broke apart, Ron said "Boy, this has been a crazy year."
"I'll say" Kim responded "You getting a baby sister, me getting a new mission outfit, Monkey Fist getting turned to stone. Drakken turning into a marigold hybrid, the Earth being attacked by aliens, and you getting full control of your monkey powers."
"Don't forget us graduating high school and attending the same college" Ron added with a smirk.
"How could I forget?" Kim said as she place her head to her boyfriend's chest "Like you said, this has been quite a year."
"And it's going to end for us in style, KP" Ron said as he loving stroked his girlfriend's hair.
Kim looked at her boyfriend and smirked "Sounds like you've got big plans. What's your secret?"
Ron shook his head "Sorry, KP, but you're not finding out till New Year's.'
Just as Kim was about to pucker her lips and widen her eyes, Ron said "Please don't use the Puppy Dog Pout to get it out of me. I want you to be surprised."
Deciding to respect her bf's wishes, Kim refrained from using her greatest weapon.
Suddenly, the two college students heard a familiar tone
Beep-Beep-Be-Beep
Kim switched on her watch and the image of a familiar 11-year old genius appeared.
"What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim asked.
"There's been a break-in at a top secret lab" the tech guru responded.
"Isn't there always?" Kim sighed "Ron and I are on it."
68 Hours
Why can't the other bad guys take the holidays off like Drakken?" Ron asked.
"Tell me about it" Kim said.
Ever since that weird Christmas they shared with their enemies, Drakken promised he would not do anything evil during the month of December. Kim was skeptical at first, but Ron made the blue man take a Snowman Hank vow, which he happily agreed to.
"Well, whatever it is, is shouldn't take too long" Kim said as she and her boyfriend got out of their car at their destination.
"I hope so" said Ron "I wouldn't want anything to interfere with our New Year's celebration."
Kim looked towards her bf "What are you planning?" she asked.
All Ron did was pretend to zip his lip.
Still curious as to what her boyfriend had in store for their year end date, Kim walked into the lab, Ron followed.
Inside the lab, the first thing they observed was that a large vault had been broken open.
One of the scientists walked up to Kim and Ron.
"I'm glad you could get here so quickly, Ms. Possible" he said.
"No big" Kim replied before pointing to the vault "So, can you tell us what was in there?"
"That vault contained the designs for the U.R.C" the scientist explained.
"Uh, the IRK?" Ron asked.
"The Ultimate Remote Control" the scientist said.
"Why does that sound so familiar?" Ron asked. Then it came back to him. Drakken and Frugal Lucre had try to use that device to seize control of the Smarty-Mart stockbots. After recalling the events in his head, Ron said "Oh, that's right."
The scientist spoke "After the incident at Smarty-Mart, we realized the U.R.C was too dangerous to distribute, so it was discontinued."
"And yet" Kim said "You kept the designs?"
The scientist grinned sheepishly "We like to archive all our inventions, no matter how dangerous. We had intended for the U.R.C plans to remain in the vault with the other designs for dangerous devices."
"Looks like the thief had other plans" Kim said as she switched on her kimmunicator. "Anything, Wade?"
"Not much, Kim" the genius said "I can't find so much as a fingerprint."
"Anything on surveillance?" Kim asked.
"Uh, I don't think so" Ron said as he pointed to five feet away. On the ground was the melted remains of the surveillance camera.
"Looks like someone is packing a pretty powerful laser" Kim said as looked over the remains of the destroyed piece of spytech.
"Yeah, and whoever stole those designs must be really strong. That vault door was three tons of reinforced titanium, but it was ripped right out of it's hinges!"
"Maybe someone got a hold of one of Jack Hench's muscle ring?" Ron suggested, remembering his experience with the same technology.
"Well, Wade?" Kim asked.
"Sounds plausible" the eleven-year-old replied "I'll do some digging and let you know what I find."
"Please and Thank You" Kim said before shutting off her device and turning to Ron "Looks like we're got quite a mission."
Ron sighed and jokingly said "Well, hopefully we can wrap it up before next year."
67 Hours 24 Seconds
Kim and Ron were driving back to Middleton, still talking about the theft.
"Who ever has those designs must have big plans for the new year" Kim said.
They're not the only ones Ron thought to himself as he began to imagine the romantic evening he would have with Kim in lest than 70 hours.
Just then, Wade beeped in.
"Any news, Wade?" Kim asked.
"Whoever the thief is, they're not using Hencho technology" Wade explained "There haven't been any thefts at the company for months".
"Keep searching" Kim said to her tech friend "Let us know if you find anything."
Just then, Wade's alarm went off.
"Uh-oh" Wade said checking his monitor.
"What?" Kim and Ron asked in stereo.
"Looks like there's been a wave of thefts" Wade replied "Could be a connection."
"Hmm, looks like someone's doing some after-Christmas shopping" Kim said "Where to first?"
"I'm send the coordinates now" Wade said.
65 Hours 30 Seconds
Kim and Ron walked into the lab. Everywhere they looked, they saw radios, televisions. walkie-talkies, record players, cd players. mp3's, hearing aids, even baby monitors.
"Welcome, Ms. Possible" the head scientist said "We've been expecting you. I am Professor Son ic, head of this facility"
"Please to meat you" Kim said as she shook the scientist's hand before asking"What exactly was stolen from this laboratory?".
"And who would rob a lab like this anyway?" Ron said "I mean what could a thief get from her..." he stopped when a wide-plasma screen t.v. had caught his attention "Cool."
Professor Son ic spoke up "Our research is revolutionary. We're working on a way to greatly improve the signals and frequencies in transmitters and receivers."
"Sounds useful" Kim said.
Professor Son ic nodded "The possibilities would be endless! People with ear trouble will be able to hear anything within 1,000 mile radius, t.v's that use antennas will have the same variety of channels as satellites, radios will be able to pick up stations from different countries, and staticy programs can become clear as crystal" she said proudly before going on "After four years, we finally developed a prototype, but then..." she started to say dejectedly.
"Let me guess" Kim said "It was stolen?"
The scientist nodded glumly before saying "We never resolved the glitch. The farther it's range, the more energy it needed."
"You got that, Wade?" Kim asked into her kimmunicator.
"Prototype signal magnifier with a need for massive amounts of energy" Wade said "I'm on it."
"Good" Kim said before turning to Prof Son "We'll keep our eyes peeled for it, but right now, we've got a few more crimes to investigate. Come on, Ron!"
Ron was still staring at the large television in front of him.
"In a minute" he said "Scamper and Mr. Bitey's New Year's Eve
Special is coming on."
Kim sighed and dragged her boyfriend away from the plasma screen before asking "Where next, Wade?"
64 Hours 17 Minutes
It had taken Kim over ten minutes to convince Ron that he could watch the Scamper and Bitey special on his ronnunicator (Kim gave him her old kimmunicator for Christmas), and now they were heading towards the next crime scene. While Ron was watching
Mr. Bitey unwrap a present from Scamper and wind up with a pie in the face, Kim was talking with Wade.
"So, do you think it's our same thief?" Kim asked.
"I don't know, Kim" Wade confessed "The style of the break-in is different than the last. While the last one just barged through and knocked out the security, this time, the thief evaded and dodged the security without tripping the alarm."
"So, either the thief is changing his style to confuse us" Kim said.
"Or we're dealing with two completely different thieves" Wade added.
"Or we've got two thieves working together" Ron finished turning away from his ronnunicator "It's on a commercial" he explained.
"He does bring up a good point, Kim" Wade said.
"So if we are dealing with a group of thieves" Kim said "What are they up to?"
"I haven't figured that out yet" Wade said "But I'll keep digging"
"Please and Thank you" Kim said.
"Alright!" Ron shouted as he looked at his ronnunicator "It's back! No, Scamper! Don't fall for that gift, it's the oldest trick in the book!"
Kim sighed to herself You are so lucky I love you so much, Ron Stoppable
62 Hours
Kim and Ron walked onto the facility. They were instantly greeted by a military man.
"Good day, Ms. Possible" the sergeant said "Allow me to explain the situation. Sometime last night, one of our dishes was stolen."
"Someone jacked your good china?" Ron asked. Kim sighed.
"One of our satellite dishes, boy" the sergeant said "Our facility uses the best receiver/transmitter dishes to locate signs of life off this planet."
"Uh-huh, that's nice" Ron said "Yet you didn't get any sign of the alien freaks who came around seven months ago, nearly conquered
the planet and almost turned my girlfriend into a hunting trophy?!"
"Okay, Ron, calm down" Kim said before turning to her kimmunicator "What do you think, Wade?"
"From the looks of the scene, it's a combination of the two styles from the other two thefts" Wade explained "Apparently, it must've taken a team effort to steal that dish."
Kim noticed that Ron was looking smug after hearing Wade.
"Okay, so Ron was right and we are dealing with a team of thieves" Kim said "But the real questions are who are they and what is their plan?"
"Still haven't figured that part out yet, Kim" Wade said "In the meantime, you've got one more theft to investigate."
"Right" Kim said before speaking to the military man "Thanks for calling us about this Sarge."
"Good day, Ms. Possible" the sergeant said to Kim then looked towards Ron "Sir".
"Yeah, and next time our planet is visited by a hostile race" Ron said as he and Kim headed for the Sloth "Feel free to tell the rest of us!"
59 Hours
"The designs for the U.R.C, a signal magnifier, and a transmitter dish" Kim read through the list of stolen goods as they drove to their final crime scene "What is the connection?"
"I honestly don't know, Kim" Wade said "I just don't see any logical links between those items."
"Maybe the thieves just stole those items as a cover" Ron suggested.
"Ron" Kim sighed "Who'd work hard to steal those kind of things if they didn't need them?"
"Hey, I was just suggesting" Ron said "But you have a valid point, KP."
"Well, hopefully this last one will help things become clearer" Wade said.
57 Hours 54 Minutes
Kim and Ron entered the lab and were greeted by a group of scientists.
"Ah, Team Possible" the first scientist said "We wondered when you'd arrive.
"Sorry it took so long" Kim explained "But we had other thefts to investigate."
"So, to the point" Ron spoke up "What was stolen from you guys?"
The second scientist spoke up "A compute disk."
"That's it?" Ron asked befuddled.
"This disk contained our top priority class-12 project" the scientist added.
"Which is what?" Kim asked.
"If you must know, it's a cyber anomaly of highly destructive capability" the first scientist said.
"What?" Ron asked puzzled.
"A computer virus" Kim said.
"Not just a computer virus" the third scientist said "A super computer virus."
"Indeed" said the second scientist "This virus was capable of stealing mass amounts of data and files, breaking through the toughest firewalls, infecting and disabling systems worldwide, and glitching up even the most advanced technology."
"Sounds pretty dangerous" Kim said.
"It certainly is" the head scientist explained "We discovered the virus in our systems a few years ago. Using a special program, we were able to contain the bug."
"We then began to run countless experiments on it in an attempt to control it" the third scientist said.
"One question" Ron spoke up "Why?"
The scientists began to mumble before the head scientist said "That is classified government information."
"Riiight" Kim said "So, did you manage to tame the bug?"
"We were finally starting to make some headway a few days ago" the second scientist said "That was before it was stolen."
"So somewhere in the world, there's a guy with a computer program that can give him access to any system?" Ron asked "That definitely doesn't sound good."
"No kidding" Kim said as she switched on her watch "Any clues, Wade?"
"This theft does have the same style as the one used in the amplifier theft" Wade said "And whoever this perp is, they're pretty fast and agile cause they were able to avoid the security cameras and laser grids around the lab."
"So we're not dealing with ordinary thieves" Kim said "Can you run a search for those with the skills necessary for these thefts?"
"In my sleep" Wade responded "I'll have the results in a few hours."
"You rock, Wade" Kim said as she shut off the kimmunicator and turned to the scientists "Anything else we should know about this virus?"
"Well" the head scientist said "When linked to a mainframe, the virus has a limited range. The farther the system its hacking, the slower the processing speed."
"Well, thanks for calling this to our attention, gentlemen" Kim said "We'll be on the lookout for your bug, but for now, Ron and I have to return home. Come on, Ron."
"Coming" Ron followed his gf out the door. Turning around, he shouted to the scientists, "And don't think we're not going to investigate what the man is planning!"
51 Hours 12 Minutes
Kim and Ron settled themselves on Kim's couch, exhausted from their investigations. Just then, the kimmunicator beeped and Kim answered it.
"What'cha got, Wade?" Kim asked.
"Sorry, guys" Wade said glumly "But I couldn't find any leads on the perps."
"Is there anything you did learn?" Kim asked the eleven-year-old genius.
"Yeah" Wade responded "Do you guys remember your incident with Dementor's bonding agent?"
"Don't remind us" Kim groaned "Thanks to that stuff, Ron and I had Bonnie and Barkin for warts for a few days."
"I kinda wish that we got stuck to each other" Ron said as put an arm on Kim's shoulder "I'd rather have you for an appendage than Barkin."
"Well" Kim said sweetly "If we're lucky, we might have another encounter with Dementor's bondo-ball."
Wade cleared his throat to get attention from the young couple "Anyway, do you guys remember that research facility Dementor broke into during that event?"
"Of course" Kim said "Why?" She suddenly gasped "Don't tell us..."
Wade nodded "The facility called. The kinetic modulator has been stolen...again!"
"So we've got one more stolen item" Kim said "Any ideas on what our mystery perps want with it?"
"Instead of getting clearer, it gets more confusing" Wade responded "I've never seen anything so random."
"Well, if you recall" Kim said "Drakken initiated a plan that seemed random but it turned out to be one of his best schemes."
Kim gagged at compliment she had just give Drakken, then groaned as memories of those events came back to her: the diablos, Drakken controlling Bueno Nacho, the attack during the night of the prom, and -shudders- Erik the synthodrone. As far Kim was sure, the only good thing that came out of that incident was sitting on the couch next to her. The thoughts of what transpired between her and Ron after foiling Drakken brought a light smile to her face.
"But it can't be Drakken" Ron said, bringing Kim back to the present "There's no way he'd break a Snowman Hank vow".
"It couldn't be Drakken anyway" Wade said "There's no way Shego could've pulled off those heists. And if this plot is as complex as we think, it's definitely not Drakken's work."
Kim thought for a minute before saying "If these guys have the kinetic modulator, they'll probably be using it to plug into the central power grid."
"You want to keep track for any global power surge?" Wade asked.
"Please and Thank You" Kim responded.
"You got it" Wade said "If I detect any high levels of energy usage, I'll inform you". And with that, Wade signed off.
Sighing, Kim laid back on her sofa.
"Man, am I tired" she said.
Just then, she felt two strong hands on her shoulders begin to rub them. The tension in Kim began to flow away as Ron continued to massage his gf.
"Thanks, Ron" Kim said after he was finished "I needed that."
"Think nothing of it, KP" Ron said "Wouldn't want you too stressed out for our big date this N.Y.E."
"Ron" Kim said as she turned to him "I hope you're not going overboard with this date you've got planned."
"And what if I am?" Ron asked pretending to pout "You are so worth it."
Her bf's words touched Kim and she gazed into his eyes, Ron doing the same. The pair leaned in and were about to kiss when suddenly, Ron's ronnunicator started to beep. Ron pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the time on the screen.
"Oh, I got to get to work!" he shouted as he stood up.
"Today?" Kim asked puzzled.
"It's a year-end sale" Ron explained as went to his closet to put on his vest "Smarty-Mart always holds one before closing for New Year's Eve. The sale starts in less than three hours, so I have to get down there early. Want to come along?"
Kim considered the offer before asking "So the store's not open yet?"
"Not for another three hours" Ron confirmed.
Finally, Kim said "Why not? I've got some free time."
50 Hours 49 Minutes
Kim and Ron walked through the sliding glass doors of the store. Inside, there were about a dozen Smarty-Mart employees. To Kim's surprise, when they saw Ron, the employees all went into a salute.
"Okay, guys" Ron said with a smile "That'll do. Now, come on, chop, chop. We've only got a few hours to get ready for the sale."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Stoppable" the employees said before getting to their jobs.
Kim was utterly baffled by what she just saw. Ron noticed this and walked over to her smiling.
"Oh, did I forget to tell to you, KP?" he asked excitedly "I've been promoted to assistant manager!"
"Indeed he has" the store manager said as approached the two teens "He is youngest assistant manager in Smarty-Mart history! I see a grand future for this young man."
You have no idea Ron thought to himself as he looked towards his ecstatic girlfriend.
"Ron, that's great" Kim said happily. She knew how he felt. When her friend Monique was promoted to manager of Club Banana, her first act was to promote Kim to assistant manager. Kim really enjoyed the perks of her new promotion, one of them was being able to see Coco Banana's new designs.
Just then, the two teens heard groaning. Looking to the side, they saw their old vice-principal Steve Barkin, hauling a large box of crispy-crunches pans.
"So, Steve" Ron said smugly as he walked up to his former teacher "How's it feel now that I'm the boss of you?"
Mr. Barkin sneered at the young man "Don't let this new power go to your cheese-filled head, Stoppable."
"Ahem" Ron said.
Barkin sighed and muttered "Mr. Stoppable."
"Hey, look at it this way, Steve" Ron smirked "Now you no longer have me as competition for Employee Of The Month."
"Well, that's true" Barkin said as he took his pans to the housewares department.
Ron giggled "Oh, isn't this great, KP?"
"Ron" Kim said worriedly "You're not going to use this new position to get some payback with Mr. Barkin, are you?"
"What?" Ron asked offended "No! I wouldn't do a thing like that." He paused "Although..."
"Mr. Stoppable!" Barkin yelled from twelve feet away.
"Yes, Steve?" Ron asked nonchalant as he and Kim turned in Barkin's direction to see him wrestling with two stockbots over his crate.
"Was it really necessary for you to assign these things to work with me?" the Nam patriot asked as he yanked the box out of the mechanical arms of the robots.
Ron shrugged "You kept complaining about wanting partners."
"This is not what I had in mind!" Barkin snapped back.
"You've still got stockbot issues, Mr. B?" Kim asked.
"That's right, Possible" Barkin growled "I don't care if what these guys did was the cause of a super remote, I still think they're nothing but trouble."
Kim and Ron turned to see half a dozen more stockbots coming towards them. The two teens moved aside as this six joined the two Barkin was fighting with. The eight stockbots then sped away down the aisle.
"Yeah, that's right, robos" Barkin yelled at the departing bunch of bots "I'm onto you, you brain-eating automatons!"
At that moment, the stockbots spun around to face Kim, Ron and Barkin, their electronic eyes glowing a familiar shade of dark red.
TBC...