Chapter 7 – Bad Road


After Ron left, Yori went back inside Tower 1 to retrieve her belongings. Once she had them and left she found a secluded area. Here she decided to contact Sensei.

She sat and crossed her legs, closed her eyes and placed her palms together near her chest, fingers and thumbs side by side and pointing skyward. Breathing deep and rhythmically, inhaling through the nose and exhaling from her mouth, she concentrated.

The darkness behind her closed eyes soon formed an image, becoming the familiar interior of the Yamanouchi dojo. Save for the appearance of Sensei, the room was vacant. His eyelids were always so narrow one might not be sure they were open or closed, but she knew he could see her.

"There is something you wish to say, Yori?" He did not sound angry, only inquisitive.

She looked down at the floor. "I apologize, Sensei," she stated softly.

"There is no need to apologize for wanting to help a friend, Yori. Your departure is understandable."

"That is not what I mean, Sensei. I apologize for my failure. The enemy of Team Possible sent machines to fight Stoppable-san and I was unprepared."

Sensei remained passive and understanding. "Yori, the enemy of Team Possible only resorted to such measures out of desperation. Such men as he are even willing to risk ending the world just to win."

The ninja girl now looked up, giving the old sage her full attention.

"You are a good and brave warrior, Yori," he continued. "You wanted to help Stoppable-san, and you challenged the enemy in his place, even though you knew not what was waiting for him. And he was most glad to know you were unharmed. Please, do not chastise yourself any further and return to Yamanouchi."

She bowed, respectfully, feeling a little better. "Yes, Sensei." The vision of her master and the school faded.


Drakken was alone in a quiet room, pacing about. "Could he really do it?" Drakken asked himself once again since Ron Stoppable ended his transmission. At first he did not believe it, but after considering what the boy had recently accomplished... Suddenly taking over the world was not the priority, but rather how he would deal with the sidekick if he really did find the lair. Before leaving the watch center for the quiet room, Drakken ordered his henchmen on watch to be alert for any approaching aircraft that was non-military and non-commercial.

Every one of Drakken's spy-cams was destroyed; not one was left. Drakken realized only too late what a mistake that was, but who could have anticipated that Stoppable would suddenly develop supernatural powers and destroy them all? Now Drakken no longer had a way of visually monitoring him. Not only that, but the tracking chip had not moved from where Stoppable was last known to be by the towers in Kuala Lumpur, and that was a few hours ago. The boy could be anywhere now, even on his way. Drakken knew he could not deny that.

And his Bebes. They were supposed to be perfect. He had come a long way with their creation: from the days they were prototypes in college to their advanced design when Drakken used them to kidnap his old, so-called college "buddies," including whom he thought was James Possible, but turned out to be the sidekick in disguise. He had built another set of them, ones designed to move faster than a person could blink and impervious to hypersonic emissions, but they somehow vanished. He never knew what became of them until he heard something about assembly line robberies. Kim Possible stopped even them.

The most recent models had seemingly proved successful. They had captured the teen heroine. They should have also beaten Stoppable, but that buffoon turned into something Drakken never imagined - some kind of superhero. He was swift, he could fly, he had some inexplicable powers, and suddenly the strength to pulverize two of the Bebes with one strike each.

Drakken realized he would have to remain cautious, but just the same he hoped Stoppable would not find the lair.

Shego was elsewhere, training, along with numerous off-duty henchmen and synthrodrones. They were all going to need preparation in the chance Stoppable does find the lair. They rotated between hand-to-hand techniques and weapons of choice, as well as numbers ranging from one-on-one to teams to battle royals. To ensure their battle readiness, Shego did not go easy on the henchmen. While she remained superior to them in performance, several of them fought quite well.

Personally, Shego felt the need to work off some frustration - because Drakken just had to take this challenge as far as he did. If asked, she would not deny that she felt excitement at the thought of actually confronting Stoppable; a feeling unlike any she has had even when she would oppose Kim, for he has reached a whole different level than anyone she has ever fought with or against. But this new level also troubled her. She has never actually beaten Kim in a fight, and most of that can be credited to being aided by Stoppable. Had it not been for his customary clumsiness, no doubt a time would have been that she would finally beat Kim. And now that he has powers of his own, Shego actually felt uncertain that she could beat him. This thought, along with trying to convince herself that she can and must win, drove her to fighting with more vigor than the henchmen.

Their training session was disrupted at the sound of an alert followed by Drakken's command. "Red alert! All hands report to the watch center immediately! I say again, all hands report to the watch center immediately!"

Despite being winded and bruised, they all hurried to the watch center as they all heard Drakken shout, "Fire!"

The henchmen reported to their respective posts. Shego went to stand by Drakken, whose attention was fully on the monitors ahead.

"What's going on, Doc?"

"Stoppable is what's going on," he said bitterly from his seat. "Just a few kilometers off the coast, and dangerously within radar range, a blip just suddenly appeared on the monitors. It hasn't changed course, so there is no doubt it's him."

"So he does know where we are," Shego said, looking up from Drakken to the monitors. She saw the green inbound blip. There were also numerous outbound blips. "What are those?"

He smiled as he continued watching the radar screen. "I just ordered a missile launch. At this very moment two dozen rockets are headed right for him. There is no way Stoppable will avoid them all," he added confidently.

"Are you letting the rest of the world see this?" she asked looking back at him.

"Not a live picture. After we've shot him down I will show the world his demise."

"Sir, we have impact!" cried one henchman from his console. At this everyone looked up at the monitor.

"No, wait!" declared another. "We still have incoming!"

Eleven blips remained that were the missiles and continued out to sea. The reported impact could only mean that the lost missiles somehow hit each other. The single blip that could only be Ron's jet continued on its approach to Iceland.

Drakken huffed angrily and slammed a fist on the arm of his chair. To another henchman he cried. "Fire up the mega-weather generator! I want heavy fog and a typhoon hammering down on him!"

Computer commands were entered. Moments later the clear skies displayed on the monitors dissolved to grayness. Heavy winds picked up and rain poured. Images of land and sea on the monitors dissolved away in the fog. The radar screen was also affected. The blip that was the jet was being swallowed in a sea of bright green haze.

Before the blip was lost, Drakken ordered, "Get the bearings and the trajectory on the jet and fire another round of missiles!"

Several henchmen went to work to collect the needed data. After several seconds passed a command was typed in and a button pushed. "Missiles away!" someone cried. This time forty missiles were launched, heading straight towards the continuing inbound blip just as it finally blended in with the weather's interference.

They all counted on this working. With the fog there was no way Stoppable could see them, which means he cannot dodge them all. Plus the strength of the storm would bring his jet down. Drakken wanted to believe this, but he decided on one more tactic if some miracle brought Stoppable through this. He ordered for the sonic annihilator to be brought online.

There was no confirmation of a splash - that the jet was shot down - after several seconds passed. The storm and the fog had been contained to a perimeter that did not extend too far inland. And to everyone's dismay, from out of the fog and the storm flew that accursed jet and its passenger.

The very next word out of a very unhappy Drakken was, "Fire!" As the order was carried out he looked at the jet on the monitors and silently added, "Dodge this."

All watched as the jet was destroyed by sonic energy. Fiery remains of the aircraft plummeted to the ground. There was no indication that Stoppable had ejected. Drakken was satisfied with the certainty that his enemy was finally history. It was time that the world knew.

Global broadcasting was reestablished. "Kim Possible and people of the world. I, Doctor Drakken, have a very special announcement to make. Moments ago rising teen hero Ron Stoppable was shot down while passing over Iceland. Behold." Video footage showed the jet's exit from the fog and storm and its destruction. He wanted to imagine the looks of horror on everyone's faces and to enjoy seeing Kim's devastation, but he would not.

"Wait!" It was Shego. "Roll that back!"

"Shego, what are you doing?!" demanded Drakken.

She started to approach the monitor the feed was displayed on. "I thought I saw something, and I just want to be sure."

"I can assure you he did not eject."

"Don't be so sure of that, Doc." To one of the henchmen, she repeated. "Roll it back." It was done. Seconds before the jet exploded, she ordered, "Stop!"

From this still the jet was tilted a bit, its underside exposed. Certain of what she saw, Shego pointed it out. There was an opening beneath the cockpit. It was evident that Stoppable had definitely ejected before the jet left the fog.

Drakken was outraged, especially because his broadcast to the world had continued while this discovery was made. Certain now that the boy would find the lair - if he got this far, there was no doubt - he ordered the broadcast terminated and for all hands to prepare for Ron's arrival. Many were afraid of facing Ron because of his newfound powers. But they had been in Iceland for some time and knew this area, and Stoppable did not. Drakken reminded them of that. "If he doesn't see you coming, he won't be ready."

A number of henchmen were ordered to remain within and around the lair so as to monitor the security of the facility. The rest were dispatched to the surface to bar Stoppable's approach.


It had been a safe trip for Ron and Rufus up until the jet appeared on Drakken's radar. Some distance back Ron instructed his jet to go submarine mode - a modification made at his request by James Possible and the space center - so that approach on Iceland would go with as little incident as possible. During that time, Ron again rested, trained, and ate, finishing the rest of the Bueno Nacho.

When the pilot announced the jet's remaining distance from the Icelandic coast, Ron decided it was time to go airborne again, despite the pilot's advisory that if Ron's arrival is being monitored the jet would be picked up on radar. After having transformed back into a jet and resurfacing, his arrival turned quite exciting.

Not long after being in the air a disturbing feeling came over Ron, one that told him of imminent danger. Not even five seconds after this feeling hit him an alarm sounded. The pilot reported inbound missiles.

With Rufus scurrying behind him, Ron rushed to the cockpit crying, "Well then, dodge them!"

"I am sorry, Mr. Stoppable, but I am not programmed for evasive maneuvers." There was but a brief pause before the pilot added, "Ten seconds to impact."

Feeling his monkey powers taking over, Ron tried a new tactic. "Power down autopilot!"

Not waiting for a single indication that the pilot was now inactive, Ron quickly shoved the robot aside and grabbed the yoke. Relying on the intuition given to him by his powers, with only two seconds left before his jet was blown up he successfully maneuvered beneath the line of missiles. Some of them hit each other, but not the jet.

Ron felt relieved for only a moment, for his bad feeling did not leave him even though there was no visible danger as he proceeded towards land. It could only mean there was more danger on the way.

And so it was as an inexplicable fog developed, shrouding the land ahead and the ocean below. It was all around him. And then there was a change in weather as excessive winds and rain made difficult his piloting. Still his confidence did not waver as he continued flying. His powers triggered the right instincts that drove his steering and change in altitude and speed.

Then his feelings of danger increased, feelings that warned him that he must prepare to bail out from the jet. Ron took Rufus and hurried him into his pocket. A moment later the alarm sounded again. Even though he could not see anything out there, the alarm could only mean that more missiles were on their way. This was not yet the time to eject, but he felt that he would have to before the jet came out of the fog. And he knew when that time came he would be over land.

His monkey powers kicked in. Ron relied on them to help him maneuver safely through. Because there were many more than the last time, some of the missiles came close to impact, but he was still alive.

A little further and he was over land. Here only the fog remained, the force of the typhoon out at sea. The feeling of a new threat told him he must eject immediately. Ensuring he was fully strapped in, Ron pulled the switch and launched from the cockpit through the underside of the jet. As distance increased between him and the aircraft and he continued his descent he soon heard an explosion. The jet had been destroyed.

Safely on the ground, Ron disengaged himself from the ejection seat. He pulled out Rufus to ensure his little friend was unhurt. The mole rat signaled he felt just fine, except for the cold. Putting Rufus back inside his pocket to keep as warm as possible, Ron began walking, letting his monkey powers lead him through the fog and into visibility. Additionally by his powers he felt no present threat, so he relaxed a little and continued walking.

He had been walking for only a short time when his Kimmunicator sounded off. He stopped to answer. "Go Wade." It was the first time since Kuala Lumpur that he spoke with Wade.

"Glad to see it's true," Wade said after sighing in relief.

"What is?"

"Drakken recently played footage of your jet being shot down. We all thought you were still aboard, but leave it to Shego to spoil his enjoyment. She pointed out that the underside of your jet indicated you ejected, and his broadcast rolled on. So we all were able to hear that you supposedly bailed out. It seems Drakken used the Sonic Annihilator to shoot the jet down."

"And likely the Mega-weather Generator to bring in the fog and storm," Ron added. Wade concurred. "Hey Wade, can you tell me where about I am?"

Wade triangulated Ron's location by means of his Kimmunicator, and realized for the first time that Ron was in Iceland. "You're heading east towards the port town of Hafnarfjörður," he said, pronouncing Hafnarfjörður with difficulty. "Do you know where you're going? I can inform Global Justice."

"No, don't call GJ," Ron objected. "I'll finish this. And yes, I do know where I'm going. I won't say it, though, in case Drakken just happens to have some anonymous henchmen around who might be watching or listening."

After a while he reached the port town. Ron and Wade chatted for a spell during his walk, but nothing was spoken of about Ron's miraculously improving abilities. He would tell all after this was over. Before ending the communication Ron asked Wade to let his family know that he was alright. Wade assured him he would.

Ron continued walking, intending to just pass through Hafnarfjörður. Then a taxicab happened alongside of him. Rolling down his window, the driver called out to him. "Hey, aren't you Ron Stoppable of Team Possible?" he asked with an Icelandic accent.

Ron looked at him and stopped, as did the cab. "Yes, I am."

"I've been hearing of your adventures in finding Kim Possible. What brings you to Iceland?"

"The end of my mission. She's here, somewhere that way." Ron pointed east, beyond the town.

The driver looked out towards the direction Ron pointed. "I'd be happy to give you a ride," he then offered.

Ron shook his head. "I couldn't accept it," he said, politely. "Kim and I haven't done anything here to earn a favor, and I don't have any money for cab fare."

"Not to worry," the driver assured him. "You're part of Team Possible and looking for Kim Possible. No matter how far you're going, if it's a ride you need, you have one, on any one of us."

Ron considered the offer for a moment, knowing that if he had to walk to get to Kim, he would. Rufus peeked out from his pocket and gibbered that it was a good idea. Knowing that he would have a chance to get warm for a while Ron accepted the driver's ride.

The driver followed Ron's directions. Cab chatter included the driver talking a little about his life and a number of things he knew about Iceland. Ron talked some about himself and his missions with Kim. When asked by the driver about how his sudden new skills, Ron's answer came out a little amusing. "I guess you could say it just... suddenly hit me."

The cab was now on a paved road, well outside of Hafnarfjörður, driving through a snowy forest. It continued for some distance until a sensation came over Ron, who then told the driver to stop. Getting out he looked at one side of the forest where this sensation felt very strong. He knew it to be his bond with Kim. Ron told the driver that he would go on alone from here, and he thanked him for the ride. "And remember," Ron added. "Team Possible owes you or your town a favor, even if it's a cat stuck in a tree."

The driver thanked him and left. Ron turned back to the forest and started walking.

Ron avoided the ground as often as he could, suspecting that if any motion sensors that could trigger weapons were set up out here they would be monitoring the ground. If trees were close enough, he leapt from limb to limb.

Before long he came upon his first group of henchmen, armed with their usual stun batons. They charged him and were quickly disarmed, despite their earlier training. He did not have to use one mystical monkey technique. Even Rufus took on a few, scurrying all over several of them and forcing them to lose focus so that Ron could beat them. This continued for some time as did Ron's journey. He fought them in increasing numbers and varying skill levels as he drew closer to the lair. That more of them challenged him meant he was going in the right direction.

Soon he discovered a cave. Somewhere inside is Kim, he knew, so he headed towards it. Suddenly, from the entrance came scores of henchmen, surrounding Ron and barring his way into the cave.

He looked around at them all, but felt no apprehension. Ron knew he could be overwhelmed by them. If a few took him on at once, from another direction they could attack and bring him down. But there was one technique he had yet to try, and this seemed the ideal time to use it. After a wink at them and a quick smile, he spread his feet, stretched one arm out horizontally and curved the other, bending it at the elbow and above his head.

To the amazement of each and every henchman there, Ron vanished, having executed the "Be Quick, Be Silent" technique. Many of them rubbed their eyes trying to undo the illusion, but to no avail. He was still invisible.

"Since when can he do that?" some of them asked.

Now his battle was underway. Ron supposed that beating them all would just be wasting time, but he considered it better that he disable them now so they don't follow him once he went inside the cave.


He can fool the human eye, but he cannot fool technology. Video captured Ron striking his strange pose and all the henchmen suddenly looking all around as if he disappeared. Drakken watched Ron pick off a set of henchmen who apparently saw nothing coming at them and the rest suddenly stunned at the sight of their comrades' dropping.

"What is with you guys?!" Drakken angrily shouted at those onscreen, even though they were not equipped to hear him. "He's right there!"

With him, Shego watched as Ron brought down the few that remained outside the cave before entering it. Then they saw him come back out a couple of minutes later, take hold of one of the beaten, but conscious, henchmen to talk to him, and then proceed to stand the man up, bringing the man with him back inside the cave.

After a few angry huffs he turned to her. "Go. Take him down."

She suspected it would come to this. "Are you crazy?" she cried. "Have you not been paying attention to the things he's suddenly capable of?! I can't beat that!"

Drakken did not flinch at her distress. "Of course I've been paying attention! And you have powers, too!"

"Not like his!"

An idea came to him. "Shego, what are good guys best known for doing?" he calmly asked.

She looked at him for a moment, unsure why he would ask that. She gave an answer, anyway. "Winning."

Drakken smiled and shook his head. "No. They are known for keeping their promises. Make him promise not to use his powers and you'll have the advantage. You fight with Kim Possible all the time and she has no powers."

There was sense in Drakken's idea. After all, Stoppable's victories have all seemed to come at moments when never before seen skills were used. There could be no way he was better than her without them. "Fine."

He smiled again and gave a nod. "Very good." She turned and left.

Deciding that he wanted the world to see this he made a sidekick versus sidekick showdown announcement. When that was done he added to himself, "But just in case..." With him he took several other henchmen. But before he completely vacated the room, to those remaining in the watch center he added, "Should she fail, report it to me."


The tram was now stopped at the end of the tunnel and the henchman Ron took was still with him. Since Ron did not know how to operate the tram he needed someone who did.

Before going inside the lair, Ron pulled out his Kimmunicator. He decided to call Wade and tell him that it was okay to send Global Justice, believing he would have this mission completed before they arrived. Wade pinpointed Ron's location and said they were on the way.

Needing the henchman to open the door, Ron headed towards the lair, keeping his captive in front. He complimented on the lair's look, but the henchman said nothing in reply. Both of them heard a heavy click and a deep grinding sound up ahead. They looked and realized that the main door was opening. Once it was up high enough they could see one person standing in the entrance... Shego.

The henchman grinned and turned his head a little look at Ron from the corner of his eye. "Oh, you are in trouble now, Buddy." His smile vanished and he looked at Shego surprised when she told him to 'shut it.'

"It's gonna be you and me, Stoppable," she then said to Ron. "Let him go."

"Fine by me." To the henchman he said, "Get lost."

The henchman took off, passing Shego, intending to thank her. But she told him again to 'shut it' and to report to Drakken.

It was now just the two of them. Shego stepped outside, but remained close to the entrance. Ron approached her, but then stopped a few meters away when she held out a hand, palm outward. "Hold it right there a moment."

Ron complied with her 'order.' "What do you want?" he spat.

"Before we do this, I want your word that you'll fight without your powers." She received a contemptuous look from him, but ignored it. "Your girlfriend doesn't have powers and she's beaten me several times. Think you're good enough to fight me without yours?"

Ron thought for only a moment. "Alright," he then said. "I won't use them."

Satisfied that he agreed, Shego then approached him before taking her fighting stance. "You swear you won't use your powers?"

Taking his own fighting stance, he replied, "Good guys keep their word, Shego. I won't use them." He then told Rufus to keep back. The mole rat crawled from his pocket and stayed out of the way.

Before their fight even began, Drakken's cameras had for some time been hovering above, capturing Shego's demand and Ron's oath.

There was give and take as attacks were made, and Ron proved better than Shego expected he would. Still, he stayed true to his word and did not use his powers, only his martial arts form. Shego had even refrained from using her own powers at first. But as he had yet to fall in this skirmish she decided it was time to step up her abilities, and so she summoned her plasma energy.

It had proved to be a good strategy. Her energy was presently intense enough to serve only as a means to strike and knock him down, and that had worked a few times despite several others when he successfully avoided her attacks. She occasionally struck him whenever he fought at close range, and even when he stood at a distance by sending a flurry of energy attacks at him. But she was not invincible. Several times he struck her when he could get close enough. As it was, his latest kick to her upper chest was intense enough to knock her off her feet.

Ron remained where he was, waiting to see if she would get up. If she did not after several seconds lying there, he would attend to her and ensure she was okay.

As it was, she was worse off. This showed after she stood back up. Shego was furious, having that look on her that expressed, "How dare he strike a lady?" Raising up her arms and bringing her hands close together, Shego energized a new plasma ball. It grew large, quickly. No matter what he tried, there was no way this attack would miss. Stoppable had promised he would not use his powers to fight back, so she suspected he would try dodging this by leaping away or running. But she knew something no one did. She had control of her energy; she could steer it. So no matter what he tried, no matter how far he may get, Shego knew she could hit him.

It was ready and Shego let it fly. It flew fast. Ron was ready to leap out of its path, but Shego made sure it hit him. And it hit him good, bursting on impact and sending him flying a short distance before he dropped to the ground. Evil though she was, Shego had no intention of killing him. She only wanted to defeat him. Satisfied that she had, Shego decided to head back towards the lair, after which she would send some of the henchmen out to take Stoppable to a cell. On her return, she took note for the first time that the distance was further than she remembered, and realized they had managed to fight away from the lair.

Less than ten meters from the entrance, she was halted at the cry of, "Shego!" which actually startled her. She whipped around to find that Stoppable was on his feet again. He stood, feet firmly planted and fists balled at his sides. She noticed his expression, his "serious face," and yet he seemed to be keeping any anger in check. Not even this intimidated her, but to see him like that impressed her. He was ready for more.

Ron was actually ready to end this fight. It was time to stop piddling around and get Kim out of here. He took a step forward; another and another, closing the distance between him and Shego. She powered up another plasma bolt and fired it at him. He held out a hand, letting it burst at his palm. Shego fired more, some of which he blocked and others he merely swatted out of his way. When there were but a few steps between him and her, he quickened his pace and rushed at her. Simultaneously both of their hands reached out and gripped each other, putting themselves in a hand-lock position. Both pushed forward, neither gave way.

Behind her grimace Shego was puzzled. If there was one other thing she knew about her powers it was that, depending on the energy's intensity, it could be used, as it had before, to assail people. But at this point her energy was driven to a level that it could burn. Yet Stoppable showed no signs that he was in agony.

"Doesn't that burn?" she asked.

"I'm not feeling a thing right now, Shego," was all Ron said.

Shego could see that he seriously was feeling nothing. But she refused to give in and continued to resist him as he did her.

Ron did not want this to continue any longer. His initial thought to win was to summon some monkey power and end it, but he promised he would not. He suddenly became aware of his proximity to her. An idea came to him as he realized just how face-to-face they actually were. To do this, though, might make Kim angry if there was some chance she was watching him fight. He decided it had to be done.

"Win now, apologize later," he said to himself. So he let up some on his resistance, Shego was unprepared, and suddenly they were kissing.

Wide-eyed Shego, more shocked than anything else, quickly broke the kiss. But she had no chance to react further as Ron swatted her hands away and, grabbing an arm, flipped her over his shoulder which knocked her breath from her lungs.

Picking Shego up, Ron carried her to the tram and took her inside where he found some restraints and placed them on her. Before leaving her for the lair he said to her, "Take it easy, Shego." Then getting Rufus back, Ron proceeded inside the lair.

Alone now, but feeling a little better physically after her defeat, Shego thought about how she had lost. She lost to a kiss, and could not help but think of how embarrassing it was... and how nice, though brief, it actually felt. "Kimmie's quite a lucky girl," Shego admitted, smiling.


Her cell was open and she was surrounded by several armed henchmen. When they entered she fought them of the best she could, but they succeeded in restraining her.

Then in walked Drakken, with a familiar looking bottle in hand. "Miss Possible. Your hair looks like it could use a good washing."


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