"Ron!" his redheaded friend yelled from across the terminal. She almost didn't believe the image, that was in front of her that of a young man whose blond hair hung over his eyes, carrying with him a small bag. He looked around the terminal with a confused look on his face, at first not noticing his friend that was standing at the service door. But when he saw the red blur that was headed his way, he broke out into a genuine smile.

Dropping his carry on, he held out his arms to accept Kim into an embrace that nearly knocked him down. He still wasn't sure about the decision that he had made, and was sure that it had been a very close vote in his mind, but feeling his friend in his arms and knowing that she was going to be there for him, now and in the future, began to convince him that he had made the right one.

After a moment, he began to feel uncomfortable holding the embrace for as long as he had and, just like the night before, tried to break it, but it seemed that Kim wanted no part of it. Even when he took his hands off of her back, she refused to let go and what had started out as a simple hug started to become something more. Ron wasn't entirely sure what was going on; perhaps she was just happy that her friend was coming with her, or perhaps the emotions of the moment had gotten caught up with her, or perhaps she simply didn't want to let go of him for fear that if she did he would simply disappear. Or perhaps....

He pushed that though from his mind. As little as twelve hours ago, she had had a relationship, one that Ron was sure would have developed into something quite deep if it weren't for the curveball that life had thrown them. The blond chalked up the experience to an emotional overload and, once the boundaries between the two of them had been reestablished (at least in his mind), he was able to relax, placing his arms once again around the small of her back and stroking her soft hair.

Eventually, the redhead was forced to pull back from her friend, but she still had her arms around him. Ron looked at her and saw that her emerald eyes were glistening with unshed tears, but the smile that she was giving him told him that they were tears of joy. Their eyes met, and the both gave off a few grateful laughs to pass the awkward moment.

"I can't believe you're here. I mean, when midnight came and went and you were nowhere in sight, I was sure that you had told Dr. Director no."

Ron gave her another smile as he cocked his head to one side. "Come on, KP, do you really think that I'd pass up the opportunity to be a real live bon-diggity spy? Besides, without you there to help bail me out of pre-calc, I wasn't going to make it out of Middleton High anyway," he chuckled.

She had to laugh at that. If nothing else in her life was going to remain constant, at least she would always be able to count on a good dose of 'Ron-shine' everyday, courtesy of the blond in front of her. But, as she was enjoying the moment, his face lost its humor and turned serious, which caused her to be taken aback. Kim simply wasn't used to seeing Ron serious about anything, and she began to feel tad anxious.

The blond then moved his hands from Kim's back and placed them on her shoulders, pushing her back slightly so that she was now at arms length. Looking her square in the eyes, he told her in a voice that was almost foreign to her because of the no nonsense tone that it held, "Look, Kim, at some point we're going to have to talk. Now that I'm 'fully on board', as you put it, there are quite a few things that I would like answered about the job offer that I took somewhat on blind faith. I know that now is not the time, but sometime in the near future, we have to sit down and have a conversation."

This put a slight damper on Kim's mood. She was about to say something to him when he let his hands slide down her arms until he was gripping her upper arms. He gave her a soft, reassuring squeeze before he almost whispered to her, "But now is not the time. I think that the next few days are going to be exciting enough. Besides, it looks like our ride is here," he added, gesturing to someone behind Kim.

The redhead turned to see that her contact, noticing that Kim wasn't following along behind her, had come back up into the terminal to see what was going on. When the other woman saw that the other member of Team Possible had arrived, she quickly got down to the business at hand, although her eyes were telling Ron that she was not pleased that he was late. But, he was here now and there was no sense in creating an even bigger delay by criticizing him over his tardiness. "Excuse me, sir, but I was wondering if you had the time?"

Ron gave the contact an excited smile as he replied, "Why, it's six in the morning in London."

The contact nodded and then held out her hand. The blond blinked, momentarily unsure what she was doing, before he realized that she was waiting for him to give her his letter. Reaching down into one of the pockets of his brown cargos, he pulled out the slightly wrinkled piece of paper and handed it over. The woman examined it for a moment before she was satisfied that it was genuine and then quickly pocketed it. "Very good, Mr. Stoppable. If the two of you would please follow me," their contact stated as she once again headed for the service door.

Kim and Ron both looked at each other, grabbed their respective bags, and, taking a deep breath, headed in the same direction as their contact. This time, however, Kim didn't look back as they headed down the hallway and into their new lives. After a few twists and turns, the woman eventually led them into what Kim assumed was a custom's interrogation room. It was small, beige, without any windows and had a table in the middle with three chairs. As their contact began to sit down, she motioned for them to take a seat across from her, which they did.

The woman then reached down and grabbed a manila envelope that had been resting on the floor beside her. Placing it in front of her, she opened it and slid its contents on the table. After collecting what had slid out and placing it neatly before her, she turned her attention to the two teens that were sitting across from her.

"Good evening. As you are now aware, I am your first contact with MI-5. My job here is simple. I'm to ensure that neither of you have anything on you that can be identified with your former selves and to get you to your next location. We are running a little behind schedule right now, so I suggest we begin. Please empty the contents of your pockets onto the table, and then open your carry on bags for inspection."

Both members of Team Possible did as they were told. Most of it was standard fare, loose change and such, but both teens had to turn over the entire contents of their wallets which were then placed the manila envelope. When their contact was satisfied that they were clean, she turned her attention to their luggage. She spent a few minutes going over what Kim had brought, which consisted almost entirely of pictures. Their contact then opened up Ron's bag, and was surprised by what she found inside. She had been doing this job for nearly seven years and had never come across anything quite like what the blond was trying to bring with him.

"Umm, Mr. Stoppable, what is that?" she asked pointing into the bag at something that Kim couldn't see. Just as Ron was leaning over to peer into his bag at what his contact was pointing at, the redhead noticed something small and pink pop up from the inside, stretching as if he had just been woken up.

"Rufus!" Kim cried out as she scooped up the naked mole rat and brought him to her face. The little guy was very confused as to what was going on, but he was happy to see his second favorite person in the world and readily hugged her back. The teen heroine then placed him back on the table and turned to Ron. "Why didn't you tell me that you were going to bring him along?" she asked her partner with a smile.

The blond was about to say something in response when their contact interrupted him. "Mr. Stoppable, why did you feel it necessary to bring that with you? We really don't allow pets past the screening process because you simply aren't going to have anytime to take care of your pet rat."

That last little bit was said with quite a bit of disdain for the third field member of Team Possible, which he took great offense to. Nothing got Rufus' fur up (that is, if he had any fur) faster than being called a rat. He turned to the rude woman, placed his hands on his hips, and began chattering angrily at her in a language that only Ron, and sometimes Kim, could understand. His blond owner, sensing that this was not the best time for Rufus to have his nose bent out of shape, quickly grabbed his little friend and placed him in his home away from home, one of the pockets in Ron's cargos.

The naked mole rat was not happy at being brushed off like that, and he let everyone know by crossing his arms and giving off a tiny 'humph'. Ron ignored him, however, and focused his attention on his contact with a cross between an apologetic and a pleading look.

"Sorry about that, its just that he hates it when people call him a rat," Ron offered. The other woman did not look amused, however, and simply raised an eyebrow in response to Ron explanation. Undaunted, he pressed forward. "Look, I know that it's a little unorthodox to take a naked mole rat with me, but Rufus is just as much a part of Team Possible as I am. He's been on almost every mission, and has made significant contributions to the team. We simply would not be as effective without him."

Kim had to stifle an amused laugh. She was certain that she needed Ron with her on the missions, but the idea that Team Possible was not as good without Rufus? It struck her as implausible that the little guy made that great an impact on their success, and under any other circumstances she would have gently questioned her friend's ascertains as to Rufus' skill, but it was apparent that Ron was trying to justify why the MI-5 agent should allow his pet to come with him. So, she decided to keep quiet for the moment, and if necessary, attest to the fact that the naked mole rat played a vital role on the team. Even if it was only for her friend.

Thankfully, it wasn't necessary. Since they were all ready running late and the agent couldn't think of any way that his pet could be tied back to the Ron Stoppable identity, she acquiesced and told Ron that he could bring Rufus along with him. This earned her a very grateful 'boo-yah' as Rufus, who realized that he was out of hot water, climbed up onto the teen's shoulder so that he could find out what was going on. And now that the matter was settled, their contact continued with their instructions.

"You can take your bags back now," the MI-5 agent told them as she sat back down. Both teens grabbed their luggage, placed it underneath the table, and once again took their seats. "Now that we're sure both of you are clean, I must stress once again that you are no longer Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable. Back in the terminal, you were still using you old names. That needs to stop immediately and you need to start getting in the habit of not using them anymore."

Both teens nodded their understanding, but the reality of the situation sit hadn't hit home for either one of them yet. They were simply too anxious and too curious as to what awaited them in the next few days to have stopped and thought about the other side of the coin. But, through the haze of excitement, a thought did occur to Kim.

"If I'm no longer Kim Possible, then just who am I? And what about Ron?"

The agent then picked up two of the things that she had originally taken out of the manila envelope and held them up so that both Kim and Ron could see what it was that she was holding. It was two clear plastic packages that held two sets of British passports with matching international driver's licenses and credit cards. She then tossed each respective set to each new MI-5 agent, who then readily opened the packet to take a look at the passports. Or, more specifically, the names on the passports.

Kim quickly flipped open hers and scanned the page that contained her picture and biographical information. Then her eyes came to rest on the one piece on information that she was looking for and she gave off a quick laugh. The redhead then turned and looked at Ron who held an equally bemused look. They both looked at each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to go first, before Ron finally broke the stalemate.

"Well?"

"Karen Thompson. You?"

"Henry Wallace. It's very nice to meet you, Karen," Ron joked, while extending his hand in a mock introduction.

Kim laughed and then shook his hand while joining in on the joke, "Why, thank you, and it's very nice to meet you too Henry."

Their contact, having been through quite a number of these, was not used to doing it with a pair of teens and was thus not amused by their giddy antics. Clearing her throat to regain control of the meeting, she waited until she once again had Kim and Ron's undivided attention before continuing. "The credit cards that you now have in your possession come with a £25,000.00 limit, but don't go crazy. I know that this is your first introduction to credit, so remember that you will have to justify every purchase that you make on them until you are paying the bills yourself."

Ron just let his jaw go slightly slack at the thought that he now owned a credit card, and especially one with such a high limit. Before tonight, he had thought that $250.00 was a large sum of money but now... Plus, he suddenly realized that the credit was in pounds and not dollars, which made it even larger sum. He blinked once, coming back from his momentary daze, and looked back at the little piece of plastic like it had suddenly turned into gold.

Kim, however, had a different take on her new found financial freedom. "Umm, excuse me, but don't you need to be at least eighteen to own a credit card?"

The agent smiled, gratified that at least one of them was able to catch it before she had to point it out to them. "Karen, why don't you take a look at your passport again. More specifically, your birth date."

The redhead glanced back down at the document in front of her and scanned for her birthday. At first, she wasn't sure what her contact was talking about as it was the same date that she had had in her previous life. Then she noticed that the year had been changed from 1988 to 1987. She gently nudged Ron, who looked over at her, then looked down at her passport when she pointed to it. At first, he wasn't sure what she was getting at, but after a moment, he realized that he had just aged an entire year in the span of an hour. "I don't understand, why age us a year?"

"Because it is much more expedient than leaving you two as minors. Fewer questions are asked of an eighteen year old than of a minor, and right now we don't want to attract any attention to the two of you." She waited a moment to see if they had any further questions before continuing. "There is one last thing that we need to discuss before you go on to your next location. Your code names."

Now this was the part that Ron was really looking forward to. Kim might have been more interested in their new everyday names, but Ron, who had seen just about every spy movie ever made, imagined all sorts of cool code names. Perhaps it would be along the lines of James Bond, with his trademark 007. Or maybe he would end up being Mountaineer like Sidney Bristow in Alias. There were literally millions of different possibilities to choose from and the fact that it was real, not just some fantasy, made him all the more excited.

The agent opened a folder that had been the only other contents of the manila envelope that had contained their new documentation and looked over its contents quickly. "We've done extensive research on your background, and in consultation with Sir Basil, we have chosen code names that we believe you will be able to easily remember. Ms. Thompson, your code name is Blue Fox."

Upon hearing her code name, Kim broke out into a big smile and looked over at Ron, who wore a matching one. "Sweet, what a spanking code name, KP. The Blue Fox." Then his expression went from excitement to one of contemplation, as if some important piece of information was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't get it out. "Blue fox, blue fox... Where have I heard that before? Hmmm.... Wait, I remember, it's from Animalogy. But if you're the blue fox, then that makes me...Oh, no," Ron almost wailed as his dreams of a super-cool code name vanished with the realization of what his was going to be.

Their contact seemed unfazed, however, at Ron's sudden change of feelings towards the subject. "Mr. Wallace, your code name will be Pink Sloth. These code names will not be used unless it is for official business of MI-5, and only then on missions. There can be no link between your civilian identities and your code names."

Kim nodded her understanding, but Ron had missed the last few seconds of conversation, having placed his face in his hands, wallowing in the prospect that a silly teen fad would be following him around for the rest of his life. Finally, he came back out of his moment of self-pity with a resigned sigh. "Well, maybe I can go by some variation of Pink Sloth. How's Mr. S strike you?" he asked Kim.

His friend responded with a Cheshire cat grin and a shake of her head. "Nope, sorry, but protocol is protocol. It's Pink Sloth for you from now on," she said with a slight giggle.

Their contact was now thoroughly exhausted from dealing with the two teen heroes. From everything that she had heard, they really were the best, but on a personal level, they were still just garden variety seventeen-year-olds, which made her job all the more exasperating. But, now that they were nearing the end of her stage of the transition, all she wanted to do was to pass them off to the next agent.

"Good. Now that that's all settled, its time to get moving again. Your transportation is waiting for you."

"What exactly is the next leg of the journey?" Kim asked.

"From here, you will go down to the tarmac where a Gulfstream IV is waiting to take you to Vancouver. We want to route you through another country before your final destination. Once in Vancouver, head to the VIP counter of British Airways. You will find tickets for you under the names of Karen Thompson and Henry Wallace. If anyone asks, you were on vacation in British Columbia and are returning home. Give out as little information as possible, and do nothing to attract attention to yourselves. Once at your final destination, your names will be called over the PA system to report to a designated spot. Once there, someone will ask you for the time again, and you will respond by saying that it is two in the afternoon in the states. He will then ask if that is New York or Los Angles time and you will respond that it is Chicago time. This is your identification procedure with your next contact, and he will answer any questions from there."

Once the agent was done speaking, she stood up from the table. Taking the hint, both Ron and Kim grabbed their carry-on and stood up as well. The agent then walked over to the door and headed back out into the hallway, with Kim and Ron following right behind. Soon, she had led them to an emergency door that, once it was opened, revealed the tarmac of Middleton Airport with a private jet parked as close to the door as it could get.

Kim and Ron started to head for the door when the agent placed a hand on Kim's shoulder, shouting to her one last piece of advice. "Good luck, you two. Just follow procedure and everything will be alright." She smiled at them and then stepped aside so that they could continue on.

But just as Kim was about to walk out the door, a question came to her. Turning back, she was forced to yell it over the noise of the exterior of the international airport so that the agent was able to hear her. "By the way, what is our final destination?"

The agent looked at her for a second, and then leaned in so that she could say it softly so that no one would hear but Kim and Ron.

"London."

Author's Notes: Thanks to all who reviewed. Unknown6, please do not stop until "The Heretic" is done. I need to know if Ron saves Kim and if they get together. And, yes, part of the idea for this story was inspired by it. In almost every story I've read, the US government is either not in the picture or supportive of Team Possible, but in yours they're not. It was a piece of the puzzle that is this story. And, I really appreciate the offer, which I will most definitely take you up on. That'll probably not happen for a few chapters, though. In the mean time, thanks for the review.

Stardog, I debated for a long time whether to keep Rufus or not, and I came to no conclusion so he's coming along for now. Whether or not he survives is another matter, however…

Jezrianna, I wasn't aware of the difference, I always thought that either spelling was correct and I just preferred 'blonde'. I will go back and change that. Also, on you suggestion, I'm going to rework the scene in Chapter 1 to reflect something more realistic. Thanks.

Imajicka1, I am really glad you felt the emotional states of characters were real. I'm always worried that my incarnations of Kim and Ron will end up like cartoon characters and not real people like I want them to be. Thanks.

Yamal, Mr. Elliot, Ace, Geog-sama thanks for the words of encouragement.

Karen Thompson and Henry Wallace, huh? Well, the next stop for Kim and Ron is London where they're going to meet up with Covington and another emotional event is going to happen for them, something they thought they were ready for but seeing it live on TV shows that they were not.

Until next time, enjoy Chapter 4.