I do not own the Disney characters named herein, and am only using them for a nonprofit tale meant to entertain only.
Kim Possible: The Stoppable Factor
By LJ58
3
"Ron," Wade all but shouted as Rufus held up his communicator-cell he now carried merely for convenience. He had pretty much ignored, and been ignored by the Team Possible remnants of late, but he didn't mind.
He had been busy with Bonnie, their birthing classes, and school in general. In a bit of irony, his grades actually came up as he now realized he had a genuine goal before him, and a reason to pursue it. Bonnie had moments when she seemed ready to run screaming from all the pressure, but by the time their peers learned that the new gossip was true, that Bonnie was really his wife, a lot of the pressure actually ebbed as most people actually started treating her more nicely.
It was about that time her pregnancy became more blatantly obvious, too, and with Kim missing more and more classes, and Bonnie soon to be sidelined, Tara now had the de facto position of squad leader for the cheerleaders.
A position she had never wanted, and kept trying to pass on.
"Not a good time," Ron told Wade, who had been fast become a stranger of late since Ron left Team Possible.
He gave Bonnie a smile as the slow song ended, and he led her toward their table as everyone at the dance gave them plenty of room. And incredulous looks.
"Ron, it's Kim! Drakken caught her, and it looks like he's about to launch a wave of killer robots across the globe! She needs you!"
Bonnie stared at the small digital screen, and asked, "Killer robots?"
"You've seen the Lil' Diablos," he asked, knowing Ron was still a diehard fan of Bueno Nacho.
"Unfortunately. Those kiddy toys are ruining my franchise," he huffed.
"Ron, they're cybertronic robots built from Dr. Possible's stolen tech," he told Ron, reminding him of a sitch he had ducked earlier that month when Kim had gone after her father after Drakken had kidnapped him for some bizarre reason.
It was about the same time that a new kid came to school, all but wowed Kim, and gave Ron hope that the admittedly smooth kid might actually ease some of her growing broodiness.
"Where are they," Ron finally asked when he looked up to see Bonnie give him a tight nod.
"Tonight was yours," he murmured, looking across the table at her. "Darn it, I wanted everything perfect for you," he sighed, and she gave him a warm smile.
"It's been perfect, Ron. The corsage, the limo, the dance. It's all been wonderful. Now, go slay your dragon, and get your butt back in time for the final dance."
He smiled, then glanced back down at his communicator.
"Where are they," he asked.
"You know the place. Bueno Nacho HQ," Wade told him somberly. "Turns out, Drakken bought out the entire company. It's how he spread his robot toys throughout the world."
"Man, you should have seen that one coming, Wade," he groaned. "Okay, I'm on my way."
"Do you need a ride?"
Bonnie tossed him her car keys, her car still in the lot since they planned to take it home after the prom, and had left it there earlier in anticipation for their ride to their new, real home. In Upperton. After tonight, they would be living there. Even if they had decided to commute to finish their senior year at Middleton with their friends.
"I have a ride," he told him. "Just give me thirty minutes, and I'm there."
"Hurry, Ron. I think Kim's in real trouble this time."
"One more time, buddy," Ron asked Rufus who looked up at him.
"Yep," the little mole rat grinned, and jumped into his hand.
"Ron. Be careful," Bonnie called after him.
"Always," he flashed a smile over his shoulder as he headed for the door.
KP
Kim woke in bondage, and stared down from her makeshift bonds that attached her to some kind of parade float to see her backpack, and the portable EMP round in pistol form laying nearby on the floor.
She frowned, and looked around, seeing only an empty storage room.
Tied up, and left with…..leftovers?
She considered her last glimpse of Eric, right before the bastard had double-crossed her.
She should have seen it coming.
Josh. Brick. Ron. Now, Eric.
Her dating skills absolutely sucked.
She couldn't keep a boy, or a friend, or any combination thereof.
And in the middle, pulling her strings like a puppet master, Drakken.
She felt her pride, and her fury swelling.
Then looked down, and smirked.
Tied up with rope?
Left in her battle-suit?
They had really screwed up this time.
Struggling not in vain, but to fuel the kinetic energy that powered the muscle-enhancing feature of the modified battle-suit, Kim felt her strength growing with every move, and then with a literal growl of indignation, she burst the ropes like they were rotted twine to drop down with an easy grace to land beside her discarded gear.
"Kidnap my father," she hissed, walking over to scoop up her EMP pistol. "Steal his invention. Play me with a…a synthodrone," she snarled in genuine fury. "Someone….is going down," she swore, and all but tore open the door that was locked from the outside.
The first two Henches that spotted her stalking down the hall took one look at the redhead's face, and ran.
In the opposite direction.
KP
Ron risked four tickets, and a life-ending accident to get to the Bueno Nacho headquarters in time to help Kim.
He had really let the ball drop this time.
Ordinarily, he would have been at Kim's side from the start. He would likely have seen Drakken's whacked-out plan coming a mile off. That was his gift. His one real skill at times. His off-the-cuff view of things often gave him a unique perspective on villainous plans, and helped thwart them.
When he had been able to get Kim to listen to him.
He had really slipped up this time.
Running for the front door, he saw two unconscious Henches in the lobby, and noted the shattered window to one side of the heavy doors that were still locked.
Kim was definitely taking a far more direct approach lately.
He wasn't sure if that was good, or not.
Even as he started to go inside, he heard a massive explosion over his head, and looked out a nearby window to see a tower crumbling.
Running for the stairs, he prayed he was in time. That Kim wasn't in trouble.
KP
"…pure genius," Dr. Drakken crowed. "I told you I had a plan, Shego," he beamed at her as she lounged near a console that was apparently controlling all their global communications. "Distract the cheerleader with the perfect boyfriend, set up the stage in our favor, and nothing could stop us. Nothing," he laughed manically.
"Just call me nothing," a voice growled, and Drakken turned in time to see the boot that slammed into his chest, and sent him flying toward a wall, but not before he bounced off a computer console, and seriously bruised a hip.
"Shego," he howled, trying to rise from the floor where he landed, and finding his hip less than cooperative just then.
"Well, well. Touched a nerve, did we," Shego mocked.
Kim glowered, but her true ire was focused on Eric, who smirked mockingly her way.
"He's right," Kim said, glaring at her. "Boys? Dating? Oh, it's hard. It's distracting. But I think I've learned my lessons. From now on, I'm sticking to what I do best," she said with a cold smirk, and surprised her by somersaulting over her head, and landing in front of Eric.
"I think you owe me a dance," she said, and drove a bladed hand right into his chest, and then jerked it back with a spray of goo as she held up his micro-computer core that made him what he was. She dropped it on the floor, and crushed it under her heel even as she spat, "Can't have you doing any more distracting," as she turned back to Shego.
"What's wrong, Kimmie? Can't handle the heart-to-heart stuff," Shego sneered as she lifted her glowing hands in readiness for her next attack.
"Handle this," Shego was told, and barely ducked the spin-kick that almost took off her head.
"She suckered me," Shego hissed, ducking, and blocking, but only to spin around herself, and finding the redhead already racing for the nearby stairs that led up to the roof.
"Stop her," Drakken seethed, on his feet by then. "If she uses that gun on the tower, we'll lose our command signal, and our superiority!"
"Doy, then why didn't you create a backup transmitter?"
"And risk another Bebe incident," he complained.
"Nag, nag, nag," Shego swore, and raced up the steps just in time to see Kim firing the EMP at the top of the tower.
She froze, watching the transmitter link explode in a shower of sparks, even as a residual spark had the top half of the tower self-destructing, and starting to shudder with an ominous crack as it not so much fell, but slid down the side of its own support base.
Shego just stared, staring at the top of the antenna swaying portentously as it began the slide down even as Kim tossed the spent electronic pistol aside, and eyed her.
"Your turn, Shego," Kim said with such a cold glower that Shego was momentarily taking aback.
"Now, Kim, you know I wasn't part of this one. I was…..just along for the ride. Like you," Shego said with a careless shrug.
"Along….for the ride? You call this….a ride," Kim seethed, her features twisted with fury, and looking more angry that Shego had ever seen her.
"Shego, stop her! We can still reboot the signal with my satellite phone," Drakken shouted, having run up onto the roof with a heavy, metal case he was about to open.
"I don't think so, Blue-boy," Kim swore, and did a reverse tumble to end up next to him.
Snatching the heavy case from him, ignoring his howl of protest, she slung it with all her amped-up strength right into the base of the tower, that now genuinely exploded with a roar of thunder as now miniature Diablos rained down around them with the storm yet to fade.
Drakken saw his plans dying in the flash of lightning that backlit the crumbling tower, and tried to run.
"Where do you think you're going," Kim demanded, and launched him into the air, and over the edge of the building with a vicious kick.
"Shegoooooooooo," the madman howled as Shego gaped as her employer sailed over the edge, and into the side of the nearby tower that now completely snapped, and came literally crashing down on top of the would-be conqueror's head.
Shego just stared, still too stunned to even make a move as Kim turned back to her.
Shego looked back even as the sound of Kim's knuckles cracking drew her gaze, and she a look in those eyes that did not bode well for anyone in her path just then.
"Uh, I give up," Shego said, impulsively throwing up her hands.
"I don't think so. You don't get off that easy. Not this time," Kim growled, and took a single step toward her, hands bunched into hard fists.
"Kim," Ron's panting voice shouted as he bulled past a final Hench he let fall from his own hand, and came up the stairs to the room, staring at them. "Are you all right."
Kim stared at him, then back at Shego, who wisely did not make a single move.
"A bit late," Kim growled at him. "The job's done," she spat, and stalked past Shego, and toward the door.
"Kim?"
Kim paused, staring hard at him, then shook her head.
"Since you're here, you can clean up. I'm going home," she told him, and disappeared down the steps.
"Thought you quit, Stoppable," Shego said as she slowly dropped her hands, trying not show just how relieved she was just then.
She knew how to read people. She knew when certain lines were about to be crossed. She knew, absolutely knew, Kim had been about two seconds from literally killing her. Sure, she might be tough, and be very hard to take down. But she knew that without turning lethal herself, Kim might just kill her. That was a line Shego had ironically never crossed herself, and one she hoped never to cross.
"I did. But we heard Kim was in trouble," he said, pulling out his communicator to call Wade.
"She is, Monkey-boy. I think she just killed Drakken," she said, glancing toward the roof, and still not able to bring herself to look over the side.
"Killed…..Drakken," Ron echoed, staring at her as Wade was ignored even as the screen lit up.
Shego only nodded.
KP
Kim sat in her room, fuming at the unfairness.
Grounded.
Not just for the weekend, either.
Permanently grounded from all missions.
Global Justice insisted.
So did her parents.
Even her mother, usually more than supportive, looked at her with new eyes after the news of Drew Lipski's death reached them.
"He deserved it," was her only defense.
While more than a few people around the world agreed, she was still grounded.
Teen heroes that killed their foes were apparently out of fashion. And out of favor.
It didn't help that Wade belatedly detected a flaw in his battle-suit's design. It amped more than her kinetic energy when she was active. It had also overloaded her emotional state to the point that it literally sent her into a killing rage. Her already raw emotions did not help, and she had acted without hesitation when she finally faced down the madman who had been driving her crazy for a very long time. His ploy with Eric, and directly attacking her family had not helped. Drakken had simply pushed one button too many, and that on top of endangering the entire world.
All the same, she was still left grounded.
So she sat in her room, heedless of her parents' fears. Of Ron's attempt at belated sympathy. She had calmed down since that night, and had reviewed the entire case herself.
Just to be fair.
In the end, she still felt that she had done what she had to do. Drakken would have tried to reboot the robots. He would have never stopped trying to destroy her, or the world, and what she did was a necessary service. One she now realized had to be performed.
Too many of her own rogues only played at reforming long enough to get out of jail, and then starting all over again. If they were held at all. Even the Seniors, dabblers in crime at best, never truly reformed. They just bought their way out of trouble. If anyone could hold them. Or would hold them. She had found certain countries had so much invested with Senior Multinational, Inc, that they would not even arrest him.
Just one more madman left to run rampant.
Destroying lives, and property, on a whim.
Kim fumed over the unfairness.
Because, now that she considered it, her own rogues were just the tip of the iceberg. Just the frosting on a bittersweet pastry. Felons, rogues, and true villains always got out, or got away, and caused more and more harm. More and more deaths.
Sure, she stopped the robots this time.
She stopped Drakken.
She still couldn't forget the devastation he caused. Or the sight of that little girl on the news crying because her suddenly lethal toy had killed her parents.
And that was just one among millions.
When, she wondered, did heroes start making a real difference?
She was about to be a senior. About to be seventeen. And what had she accomplished? What had she really accomplished?
She knew the answer even as she continued to stare out her window into the darkness of the night.
"Nothing," she murmured. "Not one…..damn…..thing."
It was a disturbing thought.
KP
"She really killed that blue freak this time," Bonnie gasped as Ron made them breakfast before school.
Sure, they had to get up earlier than usual for the commute since they chose to remain at Middleton High, but neither of them minded. They were just very glad that their house was not one of the many in the area crushed by those rampaging robots just two days ago.
"Well, indirectly, but, yeah. I have to say she did do it. She apparently kicked him right into the exploding tower, which pretty much crushed him to….. Well, goo. So, yeah, I'd have to say, she did kill him."
Bonnie considered that.
"I didn't realize she had it in her."
"Well, from what I heard from Monique, she was pretty tweaked over Eric turning out to be a synthodrone."
"A….what," Bonnie frowned, never having realized just what Ron had faced out there.
"Think of it as a robotic clone," he told her after a moment. "Dr. Drakken made it just to distract Kim. She didn't take it very well when she found out a Drakken robot was playing with her heart."
"Ewww. I wouldn't either," Bonnie shuddered, then smiled when he sat the plate of caramel waffles in front of her.
"Eat up. We have to be on the road in ten minutes to make it before the first bell."
"Study for your test?"
"I'm pretty sure I'm ready. Just one more week, and we have the whole summer to ourselves," he grinned.
"I'm looking forward to it. I thought I'd scout UBI, too, and go ahead and see what I need to get into the classes I'll be needing."
"Good idea. I should, too. I'm hoping to find a café, or something that will let me work part-time this summer, too. Give me some more solid experience in the food industry before I graduate, and start my own career," he grinned.
"Ron," Bonnie asked a few bites later. "Do you think…..? Do you think things would have gone better if you…..stayed with her?"
"Don't go there, Bon-Bon," Ron told her quietly as he finished off his coffee, and put the cup in the dishwasher. "Trust me, nothing good comes of second-guessing things. Kim's always had….issues. We both know that. Drakken just pushed the wrong buttons this time. I hate to admit it, but it might even have been….inevitable."
"What will she do now?"
Ron smirked.
"You're kidding, right? Do you know anything, or anyone that can keep that girl down? Give her time to get her head back in the game, and she'll be back to doing what she does best in no time. I have no doubt."
"Yeah. She is pretty…..tough," Bonnie agreed.
"I didn't miss it, Bonnie. Racing after her that night, thinking of what I might find, or not. It made me kind of glad I was out. So, no, I don't miss it, and I'm not going back," he told her knowingly as she finished her own breakfast.
"Funny. When I first realized I was pregnant," Bonnie told him as she climbed to her feet, conscious of the growing swell of her abdomen, "I thought my life was over. Instead, I'm realizing it is just beginning."
"And the best is yet to come," Ron promised her, leaning over to kiss her cheek.
"You're all right, Mr. Stoppable," she beamed.
"So are you, Mrs. Stoppable," he chortled, then swatted her bottom. "Now, move it, or we'll both be in Barkin's detention."
"Me? Never," she swore with a laugh.
To Be Continued….