Ultimately, you decide to refrain from hunting down any vampires this week. You're in a better position than you were, but you need equipment. Thankfully, the information you and Bonnie got together is enough for Brick to get exactly what you'll need.
That being so, you decide to spend the week finishing off your preparation. Brick knows what the group needs now, so he'll go finish that. Tara did a great job getting information last week, so you ask her to keep at it and get some more information from human sources. Finally, there's Bonnie.
It's pretty clear that when she wants to she can be pretty capable, like last year when she managed to snake the Cheer Captaincy from Kim for a couple weeks. That was, until all the work that that required was too much for her and she quit in a huff. You could see her talent in the information she'd gotten from Mister B. Unfortunately, you could also see that she's still got big problems with you. If she's coming along on this mess, then you're going to need to work on that.
Accordingly, and against what you think might be your better judgement, you assign her to help you map out the Tricity area. If there's anything that today's Paintball matches taught you, it's that you need to know your ground. You'll also be able to kill two birds with one stone, and maybe work out some of your differences with Bon-Bon.
About the only one who looks happy at that choice is Mister B. Everyone else? Well, at least Brick's nonchalant about it. Tara's got a look on her face that looks like it might grow into something like Kim's Puppy Dog pout if you're not careful, and Bonnie herself is frowning up a storm. Before anyone else can react though Mister B starts yelling.
"Alright, people, you've got your assignments. I'm sure none of you want to spend any more of your weekend in School than you have to. Everybody OUT!"
Brick doesn't need to be twice, and given you think he was everyone else's ride Bonnie and Tara chase after him, though not without giving you some odd looks on the way out. As you make your way towards the door though, Barkin speaks up again.
"Not you, Stoppable. I've got something for you."
He hands you another information packet like the ones that Bonnie had prepared for today.
"This is a preliminary after action report on today's teamwork exercise. I want you to read it, learn it, and do better before next week."
Great, more homework. As if you didn't have enough on your plate! Still, you guess he's just trying to help, so you take the papers with nothing more than a nod.
"Alright Stoppable, Clear out."
You walk towards the door, already bemoaning the ridiculous amount of homework you've got. Internally of course, since you don't want to piss Mister B off. Rufus isn't fooled though and he runs up your side to perch on your shoulder and pat your head consolingly while chittering comfortingly at you.
As you head out the door Mister B sighs, "Stoppable, if you have any questions about that, you're welcome to call me during the week. You kids didn't do too badly today, and I want to encourage this whole responsibility thing you've started on."
That's ... huh. You don't think you've had a teacher say something that approving since Pre-k. Usually, they're all "Live up to your potential Mister Stoppable," or "Stop Slacking Mister Possible," or even "Be more like Miss Possible Mister Stoppable, she's a straight A student!" As though you didn't know Kim was awesome. This is the first time that you've actually had a teacher, y'know, encourage you. You're not sure how you feel about that, but you guess it's kinda nice.
You nod to Mister B and head out, with a bit more of a spring in your step and a bit less doom and gloom cluttering your thoughts.
XxX
The week itself for you was filled with mapmaking and canvassing of the Middleton area. You had an excuse to do so, actually.
"Okay, I think I've got it this time! Ron, does the green or the yellow jacket go better with this top?" Next to you, Kim was busy trying to match up clothing as you tried your best not to look at the price tags and assorted Banana patches of this abomination of a clothing store. As you looked over the outfit, your best friend tossed the clothes aside for another group of fabrics she deemed as "totally hot right now".
You'd complain about even being here, not to mention the stupid prices especially since you knew smarty mart had the exact same clothes for a fraction of the cost. It was crazy that she didn't realize this, even going so far as to calling you delusional for denying the importance of a single tag! God, that was one of the few things you'd just admit was a fundamental truth. When it came to clothes shopping, you were right and Kim was wrong.
...Not that you'd ever let her hear that while you were around. You'd never hear the end of it, well not after at least an hour of torture on how club Banana products were obviously superior make and quality in comparison to the 'trash' at Smarty Mart. You were sorry Rufus was there the one time it happened, given that he was so mad he quietly chewed off the Banana tags on her jeans in retaliation. Of course, you scolded him publicly for that bout of nastiness before secretly giving him a double order of Nacos that night.
He earned it.
However, this bit of suffering did serve a purpose. Well, two purposes. You knew you'd been kind of distant to Kim ever since the whole 'Vampire Hunter' thing started and that she knew you'd been getting distant. So you asked her if she wanted to hang out pretty much all week after school. It was Late October after all, and you wanted to check out people putting up Halloween decorations soon. It was coming around next week, and checking out the area would be a good way to help get a feel for what major places were in Middleton. Today, a Monday, you were in Middleton Mall. You'd planned to take a walk around once you'd gotten past the little bit of window shopping KP always dragged you through. Once that was over, you spent the rest of the day together, looking through the major attractions and sights of Downtown Middleton before finally retiring for the day. With that over, you opened the cheaply colored map of the tricity area you bought and started drawing lines throughout the the roads and markings of the place, updating it with the knowledge you now possessed.
Tuesday was more of the same, though this time you questioned your life choices as you walked up the slopes of mount Middleton. In the distance Kim was soldiering on without a break in her step, passing by cute little paper ghosts and bats that were really well-made if you said so yourself. No matter how necessary this was, you couldn't help but feel like everything else was pressing down on you the more you walked upward. By the time you got to the peak, where one of the rangers had set up a small table with water and punch on the table for the few brave souls who managed to be crazy enough to go up there. Kim was busy chatting with the guy, who seemed kind of lonely right now since you were pretty sure you were the first two to actually make the climb. While she talked, you sat down at the peak, and tried working out how the borders would look in your mind with a cup of punch in your hand and Rufus wheezing beside you even though you knew he was in your pocket the whole time. Minutes later, you found Kim sitting by your side.
"Hey Ron, ready to make the descent?" You were pretty sure the groan was enough of a response as you stood up and tried your best not t-
Yeah, why did you think you wouldn't look down?! It was going to be a long day…
Wednesday was when you went to the frou-frou areas of Middleton, looking out at the posh and wealthy people's decorations before going to one of the area's more well-known haunted houses- The Lair of the Monkey King. Kim was surprised you even suggested going to a haunted house in the area, much less this one, however you had things to do there and needed an excuse. No matter how much the thought of running away at the very thought. She could tell you were freaked. No, you were pretty sure everyone in the area could tell you were freaked if the ceaseless shaking was any indication. In response, she grabbed your hand as you walked forward to reassure you before the two of you walked into the first room of the house.
-five horror filled minutes later-
Let it be said that you would never, EVER do that again. Of course, leaving in the second room screaming wasn't the best showing anyone had ever thought you could give, but it was better than you expected. Your pants were dry and you fled at the sight of a surprise howling monkey like any sane man would. Sure, it was a cheap plastic cutout but it looked real enough and you weren't taking any chances. Stupid things would probably lull you into a false sense of security before BOOM, Monkey Fist attack! The only positive was that you had the info you needed, and would hopefully never do this again.
Thursday was the most relaxed of them all, probably because Kim knew you weren't exactly up for much after the horror show that had been Wednesday. There wasn't much done beyond checking out the Possible house, having brain loaf for dinner with them and going with everyone to see the best setups and comment on them all. It was nice, and Mr. Dr. P even invited you to go with the family to the little Halloween party the Space Center puts on which meant you'd be able to get somewhere you'd planned on begging Kim to let you visit without any problems. ALl in all, it was a pretty good day after the events before. You continued updating the map in your room, getting very close to a complete picture of how Middleton looked. After texting Bonnie that you wanted to meet up on Saturday to compare notes, you went to sleep happy that your progress was almost complete.
Friday was… nice. You got to see Ms Dr P in her Frankenstein suit, Mr Dr P with his Mad scientist impression and Kim was without battle armor this time around, so that was already a plus. Neither of you dressed up, she was too busy with schoolwork to care, and you didn't really feel anything yet. You knew that Kim wasn't on board with pair costumes since what happened last year so those were out, and you didn't want to do something predictably silly like going as a taco or a hotdog.
Maybe a ninja this time? Shaking your head, you went back to looking out of the building's ceiling and trying to get an idea of the area. Kim left, Wade said something about the heist that he wanted to talk to her about before getting cut off by his mother who was screaming something about indecency and disappointment. Kim left to go check if the little dude was okay. It was a bummer-once you'd finished getting an idea of the place you'd thought you'd be able to go have fun at the party afterward. You knew that the rest of the Possible clan would be disappointed, but beyond Kim there really wasn't much else to do here and you had work to get done.
Saturday was different, though. You refrained from meeting up with Kim again, and instead found yourself going to the Middleton Beach to map out the final part of your area. That Bonnie was there would make very little of a difference in the end. Heck, maybe you'd get more done if she wouldn't distract you! Taking the opportunity to dress warmly, you proceeded to the destination.
Only to be shocked at the bikini clad form of Bonnie sitting on a tanning bed, sunglasses and all. Really, did she want to catch a cold or something?! It was 50 degrees out for crying out loud! Ignoring her… less than smart fashion decision you approached the place she was sitting. As you sat down next to her, she looked at you briefly before turning her gaze back to the tanning mirrors she had been using. You waited for her to greet you, but after a few minutes of nothing you decided to initiate.
"Hey Bon-bon." WIth a snap the tanning mirrors closed and she heaved an annoyed sigh pointed in your general direction.
"Hello, Loser." Okay, you thought that the two of you had gotten past that! You were working together and she was your ally, however odd that sounded for the girl who was basically the Supervillain Queen of the Middleton High. With a disdainful look, she focused her attention on you as she stood up. You almost swore you heard her snort at your classic combo of jersey and pants! Of course, you were willing to give her the benefit of the do-
"So it seems someone's been sacrificing fashion for speed these days." Oh, wow. You were not going to let that one slide.
"Yeah, what do I know? If you turn enough heads then someone'll probably call an ambulance when you get hypothermia, right?" Seriously, if fashion meant losing your toes you much prefered being laughed at by everyone else.
"Whatever, loser. Lets just get through here and get this done." And with that, she started walking around the area, a notepad coming from the small strip of fabric you assumed had to be a purse that cost more than you spent in a year. She flipped through the pages, surprisingly filled with notes and diagrams before getting to a blank one and beginning to write. Similarly, you started to take note of the surrounding area and creating a mental image of the place in your mind to be used for later, a space reserved for vampire hunting, supervillains and challenging video game levels. It took minutes of focused silence and walking for the two of you to get everything you needed in the area. You made sure to figure out the general borders of this place for when you marked it on the map.
By the time it finished, you were following her lead, she went to what a car you swore was worth more than your parents' house and motioned for you to get in. Awkwardly, you sat in passenger's seat, doing your best not to damage or even make it look like you'd been in here at all.
"God, don't be so stiff, Loser. My dad has, like, ten of these." With a sigh, you tried to relax back into the seat, but really this whole situation was crazy. You were driving in a sports car with Bonnie, who was clad in nothing but a bikini. It was insane, this just seemed too surre-
"For someone who's all about owning who they are you're sure taking the crazy guy thing by the balls aren't you?" Okay, you didn't think you were doing too bad around her but sure you'd stop whatever it was you were doing. There was a derisive chuckle from her before she turned her attention back to the road. Middleton faded in the distance as she drove on and the skyline of Upperton approached. As you got closer, Bonnie shifted her car to an exit that you were pretty sure lead to the National Park nearby. A few minutes later and the vehicle was in parked and the two of you walked through the trails decorated with leaves of red and yellow. It was pleasant, though the two of you spent most of the time in silence. You'd started mapping the place in your mind, trying to fit it in on your giant map of the Tricity area. After an hour of walking, you'd gone back to the car and gotten ready to leave.
As Bonnie pulled out, you finally pulled up the courage to talk to the Queen Bee of Middleton.
"You know, you're kind of alright Bonnie." Your compliment was rewarded with an amused snort as you cruised down the highway toward Middleton again.
"And you're not pond scum, loser. You had enough common sense to talk to Tara before going to me. Good call, bread mold." Well, it was a start.
"Sooo, truce?" You held out your hand to seal the deal. Bonnie just rolled her eyes at you.
"If that's what you want to call it. Now how do we get to your house so I can drop you off?" She still didn't want to shake your hand, though, and you were getting really kind of tired of it staying in that one position. Really, she was someti-
Oh, right. Moving car. Retracting your arm, you sheepishly gave her the directions to your humble abode. After ten minutes more of driving, you got out of the car and waved at her as she left to the gawking crowd. Some were taking pictures, probably because you didn't see cars like that every day. Heck, you probably would too. With a pep in your step, you opened to door and finished off the rest of the day by updating your map and finally going to sleep happy.
You buried the hatchet with you worst enemy, and that was good enough for now.
xXx
Finally, Sunday rolled around again. It was weird. You were almost starting to look forward to these meetings. You weren't really sure why, maybe because people actually listened to you at them? Kim was your best friend, but she wasn't exactly Miss Listener. Seriously, how she failed to understand the glory of the Naco after all the times you've explained it to her is beyond you!
Anyway, when you hit the school parking lot this time it was deserted except for Mister B's old junker of a car. Guess the whole applying yourself was making it easier to get up in the mornings. Truly, that vampire will be shaking in his boots at your ability to be up and functional before noon on a Sunday.
You made your way to Homeroom and found Mister B sitting there waiting, going through some notes.
"Stoppable," he said as you walked in, "What were your thoughts on those AAR analyses I sent you?"
Oof, the homework on top of the homework. Going over that stuff had not been fun. Rufus had had to help you with some of the more complicated stuff, but you'd made it through. "Mister B," you grinned, "I have read all of your stuff and I think you'll be surprised by how we do this week!"
"Hmph," Mister B grunted, "We'll see Stoppable. While we wait for the rest of your team to show up, why don't you give me a run down of what you've found."
You've got no problem with that. After this past week you feel like you know the Tricity area like the back of your hand, and you say so. You talk about high crime areas, danger zones, cop patrol routes, and everything else you were able to find. You even looked into the areas where the Ambulance companies work out of, so you'd know the ETAs for EMTs in a crisis.
Mister B actually looks a bit surprised at your thoroughness. "I'm impressed Stoppable, that's good work." he says with a smirk on his face, "Keep this up and you'll be ready before you know it."
That... that was an unvarnished compliment. A teacher had said... something completely positive about you and your work. The shock of it stuns you for a bit, and by the time you're paying attention again, Tara's waving her hand in front of your face and calling your name.
"Ron," she says worriedly, "Ron, are you okay?" It looks like while you were in lalaland the rest of the Hunting Club had shown up.
"Yeah, sure," you reply, "I'm fine Tara, just... had a bit of a weird moment," She doesn't look too convinced at that, and Bonnie's got that condescending smirk on her face again. At least Brick takes what you said at face value, though Mister B looks like he's hiding a small grin himself.
"Alright, People," he says from the front of the room, "Who's first?"
Brick stands up immediately before anyone else can, "Yo," he says, "I am DONE!" He reaches under his desk and brings out a HUGE bag that clanks when he drops it. "I've got stakes, I've got incendiaries, I've got anything and everything we need to take the fight to a bloodsucker! We are good to go!" He grins. Looks like having an actual list of things instead of vague unclear directions makes Brick productive.
Mister B walks over to the bag and looks through it for a moment. "Very Nice Mister Flagg," he says, "You've got everything I could expect a High School student to pick up for this. More actually!" He reaches into the bag and pulls out... Is that a gun?! "Where'd you get the Flare Gun?"
"I raided some camping supplies. We haven't gone camping in a couple years, but I test fired it yesterday and it's good to go. My dad taught me how to use it back when he bought it, but I think that was the first time it came out of the box since."
"Very nice," Mister B says. He turns a gimlet eye to the rest of you, "Who's next?"
You're about to stand up when Tara raises her hand, "Ooh!" she cries, "Me! Me next!"
She bounces to the front of the room and smiles at you all. "It took me a lot of work, and I had to cover a lot of ground, but I think I know where it is. It took talking with this one really groddy old guy who would not stop talking, but between his testimony and the police reports I got last week, I think I know where the Vampire is hiding out!"
You stare for half a second. That, that was way more than you were expecting. Tara came through! "Way to go Tara!" you yell at the top of your lungs.
Tara goes bright red at that. Huh, guess you embarassed her, she must not like the attention. You'll have to be more careful about that in the future!
"Well said Stoppable, well said," Mister B cuts in, "You want to go next?"
"Ah yes s-sir," You stammer as you make your way to the front of the room. You pass Tara on her way to her seat and give her a grin and a thumbs up. She goes nuclear again, and man you are not good at this whole discretion thing! Gonna have to work on that.
You give the whole group a rundown of what you put together. Bonnie nods along here and there, and puts in her two cents. You'd done a lot of legwork, but she had a bit of a different focus than you. You'd been concerned about stuff like EMS and danger areas, but she'd looked into things like traffic patterns and where people actually went regularly.
With her input, you manage to paint a picture of the Tricity area that is about as complete as you can make it. Mister B takes it all in impassively, but Tara's grinning at you, guess she's impressed by your mad cartography skills! Though, she does shoot an odd look at Bonnie now and again for some reason. Brick just nods along with what you're saying, unsurprised.
After you're finished, Mister B takes the stage again. "Alright People," man he likes saying that, "Before we get to planning for next week, it's time for a rematch!" His face contorts in the most evil grin you've ever seen, "Let's see what you've learned."
xXx
It turns out, more than Mister B expected! You actually manage to be cohesive this time. Nobody runs off on their own (Bonnie), focuses on any one team member more than the rest (Tara), or ignores orders (Brick). You even manage to take a few hits for the team, and make sure everyone stays in until the end!
After you've gone a few rounds Mister B even looks satisfied even if you were the only one to tag him, and even then only the once. "Hmph," he snorts, "Guess you actually paid attention to your homework Stoppable."
"Yessir Mister B, I am Mister Homework!" Oh god what has gone wrong with your life that that's true. You wince for a moment at the loss of your innocence. You're actually... gasp/shudder/cringe ...responsible.
You all adjourn back to the classroom, a bit more colorful than you left it, but a lot happier overall. Everybody's feeling the improvement from last week. The reduction in screaming invective made for a nice change.
Before Mister B can ask you though, you actually take the initiative for the first time.
What's your Plan, Naco Boy?
Major Category - Team Actions
[X] Marching Orders. If you're hunting supernatural creatures, you're going to need to plan ahead. Once you've found it what are you going to do? You've got a rough idea of everybody's strengths and weaknesses now, so work out some plans. They may not last long after contact with the enemy, but the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle, right?
Major Category - Assignments (assign Bonnie, Tara, Brick, and Ron)
Missions
[X] The First Hunt; There's a vampire running around, and it's still out there hurting people. You think you know where it lives, and what it can do. You and your team can stop this thing before it hurts anyone else. Who knows? Hunting on Halloween may even help!
-EVERYONE
Major Category - Freetime
[X] We're still getting Extra Credit for this, Right? It looks like you're the founding president of the Club Mister B has set up. So far he hasn't said anything about it, but what does that entail? Does it come with any responsibilities or perks? And does Mister B have any advice for how you can do better at this whole... hunter thing?
