Ron Beyond

"This will be perfect, McGinnis!"

"Hey, Ter, Dana. What are you two up to?" Maxine Gibson poked her head around the racks at the vintage clothing store and smiled at her two best friends.

"Hey, Max." Terry McGinnis grinned back at her.

Dana Tan held out a long red wig. "Terry's mom has all of these old shows from when she was a kid, and Terry suggested that we dress up as a couple from one of them. We're looking for the right clothes."

"When I was a kid, my mom grumbled about the kid's shows that were on, but if I asked to watch something that was on when SHE was a kid, then she'd let me watch it every time. I used to play as characters from 40 year old shows – even did some of the voices."

"Here, McGinnis, these pants look perfect. Try them on and see if they fit." Dana tossed a pair of olive cargo pants to her boyfriend. "And try to slouch more – you stand up too straight."

"I don't know, Dana, they're kind of baggy. They don't stay up very well." Terry replied.

"You're the one who introduced me to the cartoon, McGinnis. Your pants are supposed to fall down, remember? Why do you think I like this idea so much?" Dana replied slyly.

"Aaaaanyways," drawled Max. "I have to find my own costume, so…"

"Hey, you could be one of the characters, too!" said Dana. "You've got the attitude and the repartee for it – we get you a green and black bodysuit, and…"

"Sorry, Dana, but black hair? I don't think it would suit me."

--imagine cool intermission/scene change here—

"I still can't believe we all signed up to escort twips around trick-or-treating for Halloween," groaned Max, in a punk witch costume.

"C'mon, Max, it's gives us an excuse to dress up and go around town again!" said Dana, now wearing a long-sleeved black crop top, black gloves, long red wig, and olive cargo pants with utility belt – and what looked like her hair dryer in one of the thigh pockets.

Max smirked at Terry over Dana's head. He was dressed much like Dana except with a blond wig and a regular long sleeved black shirt. "By the way, Max, we're officially referring to the kids as tweebs, not twips, tonight." Even his voice was different – reedy, high-pitched, and somewhat nerdy. He suddenly reverted to his regular voice to grumble as he adjusted the belt poking him in the back. "Man, these utility belts are a pain. How people fight crime in them…" He cut off as Max smirked at him again.

"So, McGinnis, aren't you supposed to have a rat or something-" Max stopped as she saw Dana's shudder and Terry's frown. "Oh, Dana, I'm sorry, girl. I didn't think."

"It's ok, Max – I just don't like to think about it. That guy was so creepy."

Suddenly, both the girls burst into giggles as Terry's baggy pants slipped off his slim hips, exposing the bright red hearts on his white boxer shorts. "Nice chicken legs, McGinnis," crowed Max. "Don't you get any sun?"

"I'm Irish, Max. We don't tan. It's a melanin thing."

Dana herded the kids across the street, and Max whispered to Terry, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Yeah. It still bothers her, so I try to cheer her up. Make a face, drop my pants – whatever it takes." Max gave his arm a squeeze as they walked behind the kids.

Suddenly, beeping interrupted the group. As everyone checked their phones, Terry pulled his out, glanced at Dana, and said, "Hey, Wayne, what's the sitch?"

Dana and Max howled with laughter as Wayne paused, not sure what to make of this. "I need you to run an errand in the jewelry district. I'm sending the car."

--imagine cool intermission/scene change here again—

"Nice work, kid." The Commissioner looked at Batman, then chuckled. "By the way, I talked to Bruce. Let me give you a tip I learned the hard way – the cartoon references go right past him."

"It just kind of slipped out, Commish. I wasn't really trying to irritate him."

"Sure, you weren't, McGinnis. If you were really trying to bait him, you'd come talk to me first. I've got lists from all the pros – me, Tim, Wally…"

"Really? Maybe we'll have to sit down sometime – upholding traditions and all that."

With a twinkle in her blue eyes, the former redhead said, "Any time, McGinnis. Call me, beep me…if you want to page me, it's OK."

Mouth agape, Terry McGinnis watched the police commissioner walk away. He then doubled over, laughing as hard as he could.

FINITO

Author's Note:

For the 3 people on a fan fiction site who didn't get the reference, Terry and Dana dressed up as Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable. Wil Friedle voiced both Terry McGinnis and Ron Stoppable, which I thought odd, as they're so different ("Speedster. It's called 'acting.' Say it with me." Shut up, alter ego.) Then the thought of "Wayne, what's the sitch?" (instead of Kim's usual "Wade") occurred to me, and I had to write a story just to be able to use one line. Sue me. If you want something more serious, read my non-fan fiction works under my real name, Bill. Bill Shakespeare.

As to Barbara Gordon's comment at the end, in "The New Batman-Superman Adventures" episode "Torch Song", she uses a line from "Pinky & The Brain" on Bruce that goes right over his head, so I thought she'd appreciate Terry doing the same thing. Besides, she was a basic average girl (at least compared to all the metahumans) who tried to save the world – she'd probably relate.

I suppose I could write a mirror where Kim and Ron dress up like Dana and Terry and Wade calls Kim "McKimmess," but see, that would just be geeky.