Special thanks Shrike176, screaming phoenix, bigherb81, MrDrP, CajunBear73, Donteatacowman, Michael Howard, Ronheartbreaker, and Katsumara for their fantastic reviews!
And, as always, cautious heartfelt thanks to my vicious editor, flakeflippingsnowgypsy!
And thanks to everyone for reading!
I.
Ren didn't need to hear his little sister's prattle for long before he realized what her major complaint was.
"Fine," he snorted. "I'll lay off your friend." He shook his head, "I'll give the old hag one thing: you make friends far too easily."
Karin ignored this remark and unflinchingly stared up into his eyes. "You promise you'll leave Possible-san alone?" she asked.
"I only make promises that I intend on breaking later," he smiled. "I said I'd lay off of her. You're better off just letting it drop at that."
He watched Karin squirming uncomfortably in thought. She was probably trying to decide if he was lying to her. Well, he figured she deserved a little torture. She had ruined whatever chance he might have had with the green woman and then dragged him out behind the restaurant to lecture him like he was the child.
"Ren," she said finally, "if you're lying to me--"
"Look, it's done," he said impatiently. "To be honest, after talking to her I realized that she wasn't exactly to my taste."
"Or maybe you weren't to her taste," she said sharply.
Ren said nothing in reply. Instead, he let his glare bore into her until she flinched. He didn't have to wait long. "Before you go tattling on me, you should know that Anju's going to be here soon."
"Anju!" Karin cried. "Why? What did you--"
"I texted her to take care of Mayu, an acquaintance of mine who showed up unexpectedly. So if you try to get me in trouble for coming to Julian, she'll get in trouble, too."
Ren watched Karin struggle with the complications of this new development for a moment and then turned to go.
"Where are you going?"
"Obviously," he yelled over his shoulder, "I'm going some place where I can get something to eat!" He walked a few more steps and then paused. He turned around. "Karin," he beckoned her over. "I need to tell you something."
"What?" she asked suspiciously.
"I can't yell it across the parking lot," he explained. "Come here."
She didn't move.
"You little pest! Just come over here." He sighed. "It's important."
Karin warily walked over to her brother.
"What?"
"Come closer," he said bending down.
As she leaned in, he swiftly locked her head into the crook of his left arm and began to violently rake the knuckles of his right fist over the top of her skull. Over and over again.
"OW OW OW OW! STOP!" she screamed.
"LISTEN, YOU LITTLE BRAT," he yelled over her panicked squeals, "I'M EVERY WOMAN'S TASTE!" He shoved her away from him.
Karin held the sides of her throbbing head as she heard Ren's laughter bounce off the building, skip across the parking lot, and fade into the night.
"Stupid big brother," she sniffled, wiping her eyes with the heels of her hands.
II.
"He did what?"
Kim knew Ron would freak when she told him about Yono's threat.
Why not? It still upset her. Although she had managed to walk with steady steps to the drink bar to retrieve Yono's two additional bottles of sake and had even asked coolly with a note of defiance in her voice if he would need anything else, she couldn't deny that her heart had been racing until she had made it back to the kitchen. It was all she could do to keep from throwing her arms around Ron as soon as she saw him.
Ron tossed off his toque and came from behind the counter. "I'll be right back, Sakurai-san," he called to the other cook.
"What are you doing?" Kim asked.
"What do you think? I'm going to kick some monkey-butt!"
"No, Ron. I've got it under control," she said grabbing his arm.
"Kim, this isn't Drakken or Frugal Lucre we're talking about. This is Yono the Destroyer!"
"I know, Ron, but I can handle him," she said trying to calm him.
"Kim, this punk took out Sensei!"
"I know, Ron, but--"
"And he took out you," Ron said, staring at her with a pained look.
For the first time, she noticed that Ron was trembling.
She wrapped her arms about his shoulders to settle him. She shot an imploring look at Sakuri-san, but he was already backing out the side door, gesturing that he needed a break anyway.
"I know, I know, honey." she whispered in his ear once his shaking had dissipated. "But you have to trust me. Things are fine at the moment. The second things look like they're getting out of control, I'll tell you."
"There's just one problem with that plan," he sniffed.
"What?"
"Rocks can't talk."
She sighed then spoke slowly, "If you go out there now, it'll be a battle."
"And I'll win," he said pulling back from her. "There's no way I'm going to let him do that to you again. He's going down!"
"I know you can take him, Ron. But what happens to the rest of the customers?" she asked. "I know you wouldn't do anything, but he's not above taking some innocent people down with him."
"Most of those 'innocent people' are supervillains," he said hotly.
"Does that mean they deserve that?" she asked.
"No," he sighed, "they don't."
"All we can do is humor him until he leaves."
"Humor him?" Ron cried. "He's already working on his fourth bottle--he's getting tanked, KP! And I don't see him being a jolly drunk."
"I'll keep him happy," Kim said firmly. Seeing that her words hadn't appeased him, she added, "Please, at least until most of the other customers leave, okay?"
"And what if you can't?"
"The first sign--the first hint of trouble," she said as she quickly made adjustments to her wrist Kimmuncator, "and I'll beep you." She pressed the console's face. Immediately, Ron's device (affectionately called the Ron-com) started to vibrate in his left pocket. "Okay?"
He shrugged and then shook his head. "I don't like this, KP."
"I don't either, Ron."
He gestured for her to step back close to him. When she did, he embraced her tightly. Several moments later, she asked him to let her go. She hated to do it, but she was getting the impression that if she didn't, he might hold onto her forever.
III.
As Kim exited the kitchen with Shego's chocolate taiyaki and Drakken's "Doom by Chocolate" shake, she glanced at the waiting area. It was empty.
"No way," she breathed. Immediately, she noticed that it sounded a little quieter in the dining area, too.
Could the worst part of this night actually be over?
"Onee-san," spoke a very soft voice.
Kim turned her head in the direction of the voice and saw a young girl standing in the middle of the waiting room.
There was no way Kim could have missed noticing her a second earlier. The girl was very ... noticeable.
Yet she hadn't.
Her skin was extremely pale, almost ghostly, and her thick white hair went past her waist. These color-less features only heightened the effect of her large amber eyes. What's more, the black dress she was wearing was rather old-fashioned and ... well, lace-intensive. Although Kim felt bad about it, the first thing the young girl reminded her of was a porcelain doll that her Nana owned. She also remembered being somewhat afraid of that doll when she was a little girl.
Coincidentally, the girl herself was holding a doll. Kim couldn't imagine a toy that looked more incongruous with the girl's appearance and dress. With an orange face, a neon-striped shirt, and a turquoise mop for hair, it vaguely reminded her of a character from Sesame Street.
"I am looking for my older sister," the girl said. Although her tone was quiet and her lips had barely opened as she spoke, her voice was clear, distinct.
"Were you supposed to meet her for dinner?" Kim asked, approaching her. She found herself compelled to look at the strange doll the girl was holding.
What's that he's got in his left hand?
"What does your sister look like?" Kim asked, her eyes focusing upon the unsettling shape of the object in the doll's grip.
Wha?--that can't be what I think it is? A knife?
"HEY!" cried a shrill and ragged voice. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE STARING AT?"
Although she didn't scream, Kim did give a startled gasp as the doll sprang violently to life. Its large muppet-like mouth snapped at her hand, and his legs and arms churned in the air. And, yes, now that she had gotten a good look at it, she was sure the doll was holding a knife. A butcher knife.
Her initial startled reaction faded and was replaced with annoyance. Obviously, the young girl was controlling the doll/puppet, and for some reason thought it would be funny to scare her.
Small, bone-white fingers clamped down hard upon the doll's gaping mouth. "Boogie-kun," the young girl said with the same uninflected, quiet tone, "no talking in the restaurant. You know that."
Although Kim was still tweaked, she couldn't deny feeling something akin to admiration for girl's ventriloquist skills if nothing else. The doll definitely looked like it was struggling against her effort to "silence" him.
"I must apologize for my friend," the girl continued, "he is ill-behaved and unfriendly, even around people that he does not know."
"Uh ... yeah?" Kim really didn't know what to say. The situation was an eleven on the weirdness scale. Both the girl and her toy were starting to majorly freak her out.
"My older sister is not a customer," the girl continued, fixing her unblinking stare directly at Kim, "she works here."
"She does?"
"Never mind," the girl said as the kitchen door behind Kim burst open, "here she is. Sorry to trouble you."
"Anju!" Maaka-san cried as she ran up to the young girl and embraced her tightly.
Kim watched the pale child faintly return Maaka-san's hug, and took advantage of the moment to make a hasty exit. However, she didn't move fast enough to avoid hearing the beginning of their conversation.
"You know you shouldn't come to Julian, Anju." Maaka-san began.
"SHE WAS LOOKING FOR YOU, SCREW-UP!"
"Oh, SHUT UP, Boogie-kun, I wasn't talking to you!"
And I thought Jim and Tim were whacked when they started using tweeb-speak!
IV.
"Big Sister," Anju asked, "are you sure you are all right?"
"What? Of course," Karin forced a smile. "I can handle Ren." She paused, and then a little too happily said, "No big."
Her little sister stared hard at her for a moment. "Is anything else wrong?"
"Uh, no. What makes you think that?"
"Your face is flushed. Did something happen?"
"Well," Karin leaned in and whispered into Anju's ear.
Anju nodded, was silent for a moment, and then asked, "Do you think it'll happen again?"
"Huh?" Karin shook her head. "No … no … no." Then she asked with a note of nervousness, "Why? Do you think it will?"
"I don't know. I just worry about you."
"I'm okay."
"Was that Kim Possible-san?" Anju asked.
"Uh-huh," she nodded.
"She is nice."
"Yes," Karin smiled, "she is."
"Really upset, though," Anju said, staring toward the dining area. "It was wise of you to ask Big Brother to leave."
V.
When Kim reached table thirteen, something occurred to her. What was her sister's name? Anju? The name was very, very familiar. Almost as if she had heard it or read it quite recently.
"It's about time you got here!" Dr. Drakken yelled. He was brandishing a marichino cherry skewered onto the end of his bendy-straw.
"Yeah, Princess," Shego chimed in, "it shouldn't take that long to swap spit with Stoppable--even if you factor in the nausea after-effects."
That's it!
Kim angirly tossed their desserts on the table. Shego's fish-shaped cake split right down the middle so its chocolate filling started to run out onto the plate. Drakken's shake wobbled but did not fall; however, the whip cream topping was all over the front of his blue lab coat and his right sleeve.
"Hey!" Shego yelled.
"WHAT?" Kim spat, her face centimeters from her startled adversary's.
"Put it in neutral, Kim," Shego cautioned, regaining her composure.
"Possible!" Drakken said between hungry licks upon his cream-stained glove, "This is going to cost you--big time!"
"What?" she asked, shooting a menacing look at him. "I'm not getting a tip?"
"Well, not now!" He exclaimed. "Well, not a big tip anyway," he followed-up lamely.
"Whatever!" Kim rolled her eyes and then spun on her right heel to leave.
"You weren't really going to tip her, were you?" she overheard Shego mutter in disbelief.
Then Kim remembered that she still needed to see to that creep at table fourteen. She sighed, turned back around and braced herself for a battery of innuendo.
Instead, she discovered the creep was no longer sitting at table fourteen. Instead, the woman who had "confronted" him--and Kim--through the window was.
"Still deciding," the woman smiled. As Kim struggled to find her voice, the woman began to ramble in a pleasant voice, "Actually, I've passed by this restaurant at least a dozen times and never stopped. And then tonight I found myself walking by and was suddenly really, really hungry. And everything on the menu looks so good! But could I trouble you for a cup of coffee while I make up my mind?"
"S-sure," Kim nodded. She knew she'd regret it, but still she felt compelled to ask. "Umm ... I'm not sure how to put this but ...?"
"Yes?" the woman looked up.
"Is everything ... okay?" Kim asked.
"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" the woman asked.
"Oh, no reason."
"Actually, now that you mention it, I find it a bit stuffy in here. Don't you?"
"No, I don't, sorry." Kim replied.
"Well, I guess you wouldn't," the woman laughed good-naturedly, gesturing to Kim's rather skimpy uniform. "But I am burning up. I should probably take off this sweater."
"I'll be right back with your coffee," Kim said as she turned back up the aisle.
After she left, the woman pulled her beige sweater over her head and tossed it balled-up and inside-out beside her purse in the booth. She failed to notice the thin but vibrant crimson stain on its inner collar.
VI.
"It is being held within that primitive structure." she said gesturing with the tracking device.
"I need no device to tell me that," he replied with brutal satisfaction. "I can feel its pulsations in the air." He smiled deeply. "Come, it is calling us."
He paused and turned to face her. "And what of our target?"
"No movement of any significance," she replied. "Has remained in the same location since before darkness fell."
"How far away?"
"Less than two narndooks," she smiled looking up from the device.
"Excellent."
VII.
"Oh, Kimmie," DNAmy called in a sing-song voice, "Could I trouble you for a refill?"
Kim was returning from table fourteen with a half-full pot on her way back to the kitchen. Of all of Kim's foes, DNAmy was the most genuinely friendly and easy to get along with ... at least between missions. Besides, Kim reasoned, a little friendly banter might give her a chance to gain some insight on what had taken place at the convention.
"So," Kim asked as she poured, "anything interesting happen tonight? At the convention?"
You must be tired, Possible. That was so lame.
"Now that you mention it," DNAmy said, "yes! Usually, I don't really pay attention to all those gadgets, do-hickeys, and death rays. It all becomes one big blur."
"Oh."
"But this year, you'll never guess, they had a Cuddlebuddie representative there!"
"Really!" Kim said with a degree of enthusiasm she felt a little embarrassed for a second later.
"Yes!" DNAmy giggled as she dug through the large purse hanging from Monkey Fist's extended stone arm. "Feast your eyes on THIS!"
"Wow!" Kim cried as her eyes fell upon the object the woman had retrieved from her bag. "It's a ... it's a ... what is that, Amy?"
"It's a Spidark!" she smiled broadly.
"A Spi ... dark?"
"Uh-huh, a cross between a spider and a shark. They're introducing a line of Cuddlebuddies aimed specifically for the Villainous Community, and this is the first one! Isn't he just adorable?"
"Uh, yeah," Kim said hesitantly as she looked over the eight-finned plush monstrosity. "Cute as a button." Wishing to change the subject, she asked quickly, "Can I get you anything else?"
"No," the geneticist shook her head, "I believe we're fine. Montykins has more than enough tea."
Kim glanced at the end of the table where an untouched cup of tea sat within easy reach of the statue of Monkey Fist--as if statues could drink tea. Kim sighed. Although she certainly didn't miss Monkey Fist--aside from everything else, he had temporarily brought about the same statuary fate for her--she still didn't believe anyone deserved such an end.
The familiar snap of simian fingers shattered Kim's melancholic reverie.
"Excuse me," she said briefly to DNAmy as she hurried to table thirty-one.
"Another bottle," Yono said and then let loose with a belch that would have made Ron proud.
"Fine," Kim said firmly and turned to go.
As he watched Kim stalk away, the simian began to giggle in a strange kind of high-pitched snort. Wiping his eyes clear a moment later, he discovered a small human child standing at his table's edge, her eyes set rigidly upon his.
He looked the young mortal over. Her physical appearance and manner of dress were … unusual. Of course, this made her sudden manifestation at his elbow all the more unnerving. How could she have snuck up on him so easily?
Maybe I have had too much to drink.
The girl remained perfectly still and kept her gaze fixed, unblinking upon his person. Not too many seconds passed before this began to annoy the Destroyer immensely. He bared his teeth and growled at her.
She did not move. Did not blink. However, his gesture did get a reaction ... from the strange creature the child was holding.
"WATCH OUT, ANJU!" it screamed as its head swayed from side to side on top of its ridiculous body. "THAT'S ONE PISSED MONKEY!"
As he stared disdainfully at the small creature, Yono belched again.
"IN BOTH SENSES!"
"Hush, Boogie-kun," the girl spoke softly and evenly. The small creature immediately stopped moving.
Perhaps it was partly the fault of the four bottles of sake and his anticipation of a fifth, but Yono the Destroyer could not deny that he was feeling on edge. And the source of the sudden unpleasantness was this strange young human.
He turned his full attention to her large, amber-hued eyes. If the child foolishly wanted a staring contest, she'd get one. As in everything he did, Yono the Destroyer did not intend on playing this game fairly. Within seconds the "light show" had begun.
He watched as the swirling colors from his glowing eyes reflected off her placid features. More than once, he believed that he had successfully mesmerized her. Yet her stillness remained too composed, too purposeful, to be a trance state. As a last resort he bared his teeth and growled once more. She didn't bat an eyelash.
Finally, Yono gave a slight half-askance look at the two nearest empty bottles on the table and blinked.
When he looked back an instant later, he discovered, to his great consternation, that the girl was gone. He looked up and down the aisle. No sign. Almost as if she had never been.
When Kim returned to the table, the sound of his requested fifth bottle's heel against the table actually made him jump.
"No," he said tersely.
"I'm sorry?" she asked.
"No, no more." He shook his head. "Coffee."
"Okay, sure," she said with a palpable note of relief. "How do you--"
"Black," he snapped, "like your doom."
To be continued ...
