Thanks to Molloy, CajunBear73, Comet Moon, sharper1988, JCS1966, whitem, Shockwave88, Love Robin, EdStargazer, Fighting Chicken, Mr. Wizard, Shrike176, Katsumara, campy, Eddy13, screaming phoenix, Sentinel103, Quathis, Jillie Rose, and Nikoagonistes for reviewing and to everyone for reading.
Special thanks to campy for proofreading this chapter.
As always, leave a review and I'll send a reply.
KP © Disney
"This doesn't look good," the Girl in Blue said.
"No, it doesn't," agreed Mr. Peavey.
The former classmate of Kim and Ron and the balloonist who once sought Kim's assistance dealing with tough-to-remove oil stains watched from the wings as the chaos unfolded on-stage. Already, a chapter had been posted without an award. Who knew what would happen next?
"Howdy, y'all," said Joss Possible as she moseyed up to the duo.
"Hi, Joss," Mr. Peavey said.
"Any word on my big cuz?" the young woman asked.
"No, sorry," the Girl in Blue answered.
"This makes me madder'n a monster truck without a derby," Joss growled. "I feel like I'm a gonna explode, I'm so mad. Why, I—"
The young woman stopped raging when she looked down to see three baby otters milling about her feet. Her face lit up with pleasure.
"Hi, guys," she cooed. "Is Arty here?"
"Right here and still stickin' it to The Man," he said with pride as he joined his three furry friends.
"Well, you jes' stick one on my cheek," Joss said.
Arty grinned, complied, and then wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Uh, aren't you supposed to be dating Wade?" the Girl in Blue asked.
"Wade? You mean Wade, Kim's computer guy?" Joss asked.
The Girl in Blue and Mr. Peavey nodded.
"Me an' Arty are tighter than a … well, I don' know what, but we're tight," Joss said. "Why would anyone think I'd a be datin' Wade?"
Mr. Peavey looked at Joss sympathetically. "Actually, Jade's pretty popular."
"Jade?" Arty asked. "Isn't she some original character in Slyrr's 'All Things Probable' series?"
"She is," the Girl in Blue said. "She's also a clone of Shego in one of Blackbird's stories. But it's also the name of a pretty popular 'ship: Wade-Joss."
Joss looked surprised. "Huh. Well, I'll be hog-tied. Me and Wade. So does that mean me and Cousin Kim go on double dates and thangs?"
"Apparently so," Doctor Freeman said.
"Who are you?" Arty asked the white-coated man who had just joined them.
"Doctor Freeman, noted inventor, friend of talking toasters, brazen blenders, and SADI, the world's sassiest SUV!"
"Do you work for The Man?" Arty asked accusingly.
"The Man?" Freeman replied, confused. "No, I work for myself."
"Then you're okay," Arty said as he gave the mystified mechanical genius a knuckle-bump.
"Thanks," Freeman said, still not sure what was happening. "Um, would somebody mind telling me what's going on?"
Mr. Peavey and the Girl in Blue quickly updated Doctor Freeman on developments.
"This still all sounds like some plot by The Man to keep us down," Arty declared.
"I have to disagree," observed a distinguished Asian-American woman. "This seems to be an instance of competing, contradictory narratives."
"You mean like when there are two stories goin' on and the characters are doin' somethin' contradictory?" Joss asked.
"Exactly," Wanda said.
"So am I datin' Arty or Wade?" Joss demanded.
"You could be dating both."
Joss shook her head in disbelief. "How in tarnation can I be datin' both Wade and Arty? That's jus' not possible."
"How is it that you and your father speak like cowboys while your uncle and your grandmother don't?" Wanda retorted.
"She's got a point," Mr. Peavey said.
"I know!" Joss exclaimed. "I'm a Possible. And anythin's possible for a Possible!"
"Actually," Wanda explained, "It's possible for you to date both Arty and Wade because you only appeared in one episode and nothing was said about your love life. Therefore, writers are at liberty to explore multiple romantic partners for you."
"Hey, what would happen if Joss and me were dating in the show but some writer paired her up with Wade?" Arty asked.
"Then we'd have a story that contradicted canon."
"And?"
"There would most likely be arguments about the nature of canon and its relevance. Then, in all probability, a flame war would erupt," Wanda said. "It's not pretty, trust me."
"Huh," Joss said.
"Alternatively, an author could argue that you broke up after the series ended, but not all readers would accept that explanation. Once again, we might have a blow up. You wouldn't imagine the fall out resulting from arguments about whether Kim and Ron stay together after the series ended. They were especially heated after So The Drama."
The Girl in Blue rubbed her head. "Ugh. I hate cartoon temporal mechanics," she muttered.
"The feeling is mutual," Will Du announced as he approached the group.
"And who are you?" Wanda asked.
"Global Justice's Number One agent," he said.
"Are you here to help find Kim?" Mr. Peavey asked.
"Find Kim?" he replied. "What do you mean?"
Joss rolled her eyes. "Cousin Kim's disappeared."
"It figures," Will sneered. "I always knew she was an amateur."
"If she's such an amateur, how come she an' Ron saved the world with Drakken an' Shego and not you?"
"She was, er, lucky and I, was, er, at a Sensitivity Training Seminar in Kalamazoo."
"Officer Hobble didn't go to get you, did he, son?" Doctor Freeman observed.
"No," Du said sourly.
"Then why are you here?" Mr. Peavey asked. "In fact, why are any of us here?"
"I don't know," Du admitted.
Wanda sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's obvious, really. We're all minor characters. With the exception of the Girl in Blue, we each appeared in only one episode. And she, while making numerous appearances, never received a name."
"We're only minor characters because The Man is keeping us down!" Arty said as he gathered up the baby otters. "Come on, Little Dudes, let's fight the power!"
Joss watched as the heir to the Smarty Mart fortune wandered off to man the proverbial barricades. "Ya know," she said, "Wade may be kinda chubby, but he's beginnin' to look mighty fine."
"You mean that?"
Joss turned to see none other than a hopeful Wade Load.
"Depends," she said as she placed her hands on her hips and shot him an inquisitive look. "You got that dang bun warmer with you?"
"No, no! I learned my lesson!"
"Then maybe I kin give you a chance," she said as she slipped her arm around Wade's shoulder.
"G-great," he sputtered as he tugged at his collar – after all, he'd never been this close to an actual girl without a love ray being present. "Uh, you know, as long as we're all here, maybe we should give out an award?"
"An excellent idea," Wanda said. "Mr. Peavey, would you like to do the honors?"
"My pleasure!" he responded. "The award for Most Likely to Create A Novel-Length Back Story For A Character With a Very Minor Role in the Series goes to cpneb."
"Congratulations, cpneb," Wanda said. "And, when you write your next story, feel free to pair me up with Bob Chen."
Curious minor characters looked at the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Space Center.
She grinned. "He's actually kind of cute when he realizes he's looking at an alien space ship through the lens of his telescope."
To Be Continued …
