Author's Note: Thanks to the reviewers who have giving me a lot of encouragement and a lot good ideas.
This chapter was getting out of hand, so the backstory of James and Ann have been placed separately in their own story, "Making KP", Ann is still waiting on the DNA test results, Drakken and Shego are enjoying the beach house (and each other)
I hope it is obvious that this is fan fiction using characters from Kim Possible. They are not mine, I am just taking them out for a spin to places the real authors would never be so cruel or tasteless to take them.
After Dinner
Nova's body dissolved into a rainbow of softly glowing sparkles and a white wolf appeared where the sparkles coalesced.
Evin smacked his forehead with his hand. "Of course a wolf, having no hands, can't help with the cleanup!"
Nova's mouth opened and her tongue lolled out in a wolfish laugh.
There actually wasn't all that much to clean up. The trash was quickly bagged and Evin headed off to take the bag to the special trash receptacles at the campground office, the ones designed not to attract bears and raccoons.
Nova curled up in a tight circle of fur by the fire. Rufus, totally ignoring the fact that a real wolf would have considered him a tasty treat, snuggled down in her fur and pulled her tail over him like a blanket. Nova looked at her tasty treat/sleeping companion then put her head down and closed her eyes.
Waiting for Evin to return, Nana asked Yori, "Dear, would you like to sleep inside? This behemoth can sleep four easily and five in a pinch"
"No thank you, Nana. I want to sleep under the stars tonight. I rarely get a chance with all my duties. The stars are the same here as in Japan. Looking at them will help prevent me from missing my home so much. Besides, Evin and I will keep watch. I think it is unlikely at this time, but perhaps others have been given the task of killing Ron and Rufus"
Nana narrowed her eyes. "Were you given the task of killing them?"
"Yes, Nana. The council thought that a senior ninja and a pair of úlfheðnar would be sufficient. Is that a problem?"
"No dear. By the way, do you think that your team is sufficient for the task?"
"Sufficient to kill Ron and Rufus, yes. As I am known to them the attack would be a total surprise and have an excellent chance of success. However, I do not expect that any of us would survive Kim's retribution. That would make it an imperfect assassination. Sensei is afraid that there would be several other people besides us that would not survive Kim's wrath once she unraveled the plot."
"Even though I am old, do not discount my capability for retribution, young ninja."
"I shall not, Lord Nana." Yori bowed very respectfully.
Kim and Ron came out of the RV. Ron announced, "Leftovers are all put away. There wasn't room for the leftover beer, but the growlers are vacuum insulated bottles and should still be cold tomorrow."
Blade Training
Nana looked thoughtfully at Ron. "I know it is getting late, but I want you two to go down to the river for a bit. I want you to show Kim more of what you know about the Lotus Blade.
Kim looked down. "You mean before he leaves," she said softly.
"Ronald, are you going somewhere soon?"
"Nana, I was thinking of going for a long ride on my new bike. You know, to get my thoughts in order."
"Dear, I think that idea might have some merit. But first, I want you to come with Kimberly and me to her Uncle Slim's ranch. I'm sure Kimberly's mom and dad and others would like to see you. Slim will have travel supplies suitable for such a journey if you decide to take it. I figure that Nova and Evin will occupy us for another day here, maybe two and a additional day to get to Slim's. Are you willing to wait two or three more days before deciding to go on your ride?"
"Yes Nana"
"Good, now you two run off and no funny business. These woods have eyes. Yori, if you or Evin need anything, come up to the behemoth. I will be up for a while. I have some paperwork to do."
"Yes Ma'am"
Ron and Kim walked down to the path by the river. Walking side by side, Kim bumped Ron with her hip and held out her hand just a bit. Ron reached out and took her hand. Hand in hand, they walked down to the sandy area by the bend in the river where Nana had Ron call the sword earlier. Ron plopped down with his back to a tree, spread his legs and patted the sandy ground in front of him. Kim sat down and leaned back against his chest with Ron's arms automatically wrapping around her. 'This is what I have been needing more of,' she thought, 'Being held by Ron.'
"Call the blade, please KP. I'd do it, but my arms are full."
Kim raised her hand and at first, nothing happened. 'Come to me, I need you,' she thought. A faint whooshing was followed by the slight sting of the hilt slapping into her hand. She held the sword up in front of her.
"This is amazing, it really comes when you call." she murmured.
"Well, yes, but for some of us, it just flies past."
"I'm sorry, Ron."
"Nonsense KP. The Lotus blade is just like me; we will always come when you call." Ron held her tighter and nuzzled her the top of her head. "Always KP. Love me or not, stay with me or not, I will always come when you call."
"Ron, why do you love me?" Kim lowered the sword until the tip rested on the sand in front of her.
"Nope, not going there, that's one of those 'Does this dress make me look fat' questions."
"Ron! I'm serious!"
"So am I. Honestly KP, I don't have the words or poetry or song to truly express how much I or why I love you. You will just have to trust me on that."
"I don't deserve you, Ron."
"Ever since the fight with the Lowardians, I've prayed to God that He spares me from getting all I truly deserve."
Kim thought for a minute. "Pray for me too, please."
Ron bent his head down and kissed the top of her head.
"We came down here for me to show you what I know about the Lotus Blade. You know the blade comes when you call it. Next, the blade will take whatever shape you want. Or maybe whatever shape it feels like; the blade is obstreperous when I hold it. So, hold the blade up."
Kim raised the blade up until it was vertical.
"Now think of a shape you want."
"Like what?"
"Bo staff", Ron called out.
Kim imagined holding a Bo staff. There was a jerk in her hand and she was holding a metal staff that looked to be as long as she was tall.
"Pancake turner!"
Another jerk and she was holding a metal pancake turner.
"Pandaroo!"
Kim now held a small metal figure of her Pandaroo.
"That's amazing!" exclaimed Kim.
"That's the Lotus Blade. I'm not sure how complicated an object it can turn into. I couldn't turn it into a game controller, but a hand cranked egg beater worked just fine."
"You really tried to turn an ancient mystical weapon into a game controller?"
"Yeah, well, Sensei didn't seem to find that amusing either. But if it would have worked, I am sure I could beat Felix next time even with him using a flamethrower against the zombies."
"What else can it do?"
"KP, it's a mystical weapon that will come when you call it and turn into pretty much any martial arts weapon or simple machine that you can visualize. I called it to me all the way from Japan and it caught up to me on the Lowardian space ship. I mean what more do you want? Change colors to coordinate with your outfits?"
Kim concentrated and the Pandaroo disappeared and in its place was a pink compact with a Pandaroo graphic on the top. Kim squinted at it and then she was holding a black compact with a gold lotus flower on the top. Kim opened the compact and while the inside had a mirror, Ron was relieved to see that there was no makeup applicator or makeup inside it. Mystical Monkey Makeup would have been too much.
"Ha!" Kim grinned. "You can make it turn different colors."
"You can make it turn colors you mean."
"I'll bet you can too, did you ever try?"
"Well, no, after the game controller failure, I stuck with plain objects.
Mystical Spit
Kim turned around to face him, slipping the Lotus Compact into a pocket and putting her hands on his shoulders to face him. "It doesn't seem fair somehow for me to take it from you."
"Can't take what was never mine KP. Like I said, I can call it, but when you call it, it comes to your hand. When I tried to change it, it usually took several times to get what I wanted. I guess sometimes when you show up in a white dress, then you are really the one who is supposed to get married."
Kim looked puzzled and then guessed that Yori had tried to use ninja gardening tips or some other kind of aphorism with Ron, "Yori?"
"Yori. Although the mental picture of Monkey Fist in a white dress was sick and wrong."
"Oh, I don't know, a little makeup, shave his legs…"
Ron silenced the offensive image coming from Kim by lifting her up, pushing up her tee shirt with his nose and blowing a raspberry on her stomach.
Kim squealed with laughter and when Ron put her back down she gave Ron a playful kiss and smile then settled into his arms for a long kiss.
'Boo-yah!' was the only coherent word that Ron's brain could generate for long minutes. Presently Kim stood up and held out her hands to help Ron up.
"Come on Ron, I'm getting cold. So who do I have to sleep with to get charged with Mystical Monkey Power?" Kim teased.
"Not sure how it works, but I am willing to give it a Pixie Scout try." Ron let Kim pull him to his feet. He always thought Kim was beautiful, but tonight, smiling in the moonlight she seemed more beautiful than ever. "Somehow it seems like I need to actively do something. Seems a little silly to be slopping MMP all over people just because they are near me. If Rufus wasn't sleeping with a wolf, we could ask him."
"Rufus? Why would Rufus know?"
"Sensei once told me that Rufus was sort of a reverse druid-shaman. That he was mostly a spirit animal that drew on the power of his physical self when needed. So many mystical things that people have to work hard to learn come easily to him."
"A spirit animal that eats burritos from the inside out? I don't know about that. Well, let's go claim the bed, maybe all it takes is a little mystical spit swapping." Kim's eyes teased Ron.
"You mean we should test for 'sexually transmitted mystical power'?"
Kim laughed, 'Not unless we can transmit that power from the bottom of our own individual black holes, buster."
Han Fei was at the bottom of the class in Kung Fu at the monastery. But nobody was better at stealth. He watched the two start back to their camp after the Chosen One had practiced with the Lotus Blade. At least he assumed that she was the Chosen One. He saw no evidence of Mystical Monkey Power, but only one with the MMP was supposed to be able to handle the Lotus Blade. This would require further observation. He remained motionless and hidden. His patience was shortly rewarded by the buzzing of a little drone following the two teens at a distance. He would wait another 30 minutes to make sure and then slip back to report to his team.
On the way back, Kim asked. "You said that Montgomery Fiske wanted to keep the MMP away from the people who controlled the Chosen One. Does that mean that someone is controlling us? Or will try to control us in the future?"
"I don't think so. Remember that Monty didn't know you were the Chosen One. Otherwise, he would have tried to kill us in our sleep when we were helping to recover that idol. I figure he expected the Chosen One to be someone who had a secret organization behind them that trained them from birth, an organization that the Chosen One would owe loyalty to. I am guessing that he was expecting a ninja from Yamanouchi or a Shaolin Monk, someone like that."
"I guess you are right, I didn't have that kind of training, Mom and Nana started my martial arts training when I was little and from there I studied at a local dojo. You've at least studied a couple of weeks at a real ninja school."
"Of course I am right, can you imagine Nana and Mrs Dr P running some secret organization out to control the world? And I think that it takes a more than a week or so for me to be trained in the ways of anything."
Kim walked the rest of the way to the RV in silent thought. Some recent memory was trying to surface in her brain and it just wouldn't come up high enough for her to grasp it. Something that she heard around the campfire. Something she should have paid attention to instead of focusing on her anger at secrets. Or maybe it was the beer. 'Well, it will come to me later' she thought.
Evin was placing a bit more wood in the fire pit when they got back to the RV. Nova's wolf form was curled up close to the fire and wrapped around a sleeping Rufus. Yori was sitting in a Lotus position illuminated only by the firelight and appeared to be meditating. After exchanging quiet good nights with Evin, they climbed into the RV. Nana was sitting in the little booth working on some ledgers and reports.
"How did it go?" Nana looked up at the pair. She had just turned off the 40-inch screen showing the feed from the little drone that had followed them down to their practice spot by the river. It warmed her grandmother's soul to see the two walking hand in hand and sharing mostly innocent physical intimacy. She made a mental note to quietly inquire through Ann what the Blue Heart Society thought of Ron as a genetic match for Kim's children.
"Ron showed me how to change the form of the Lotus Blade." Kim laid the 'Lotus Compact' on the table for Nana to look at. Kim was startled when Nana reached over and tried to pick it up and failed to even move it a little.
"It appears that I don't have what it takes to wield your mystical monkey makeup." Nana snorted in amusement. "I have some more work to do here, why don't you two sleep on the big bed tonight. Shut the door so the light in here won't bother your sleep. But I will open it without warning when I go to bed, so take that into consideration."
Pillow talk
"OK, Nana, we'll be good. 'Night" Kim grabbed Ron's hand and dragged him into the little bedroom. The bedroom was small, but roomier than the cargo holds of some of their rides and they were soon changed into sleepwear. As it was a reasonably warm night, they both put on tee shirts, Ron wore gym shorts while Kim borrowed Ron's Fearless Ferret print boxers.
Snuggled under a light blanket, they started in the spooning position with Ron on the outside and Kim in his arms.
"Ron?"
"Yes KP?"
"I don't think that I'm the Chosen One. Maybe I am just the Lotus Blade's buddy or something?"
"But you definitely were MMP powered in the fight with the Lowardians and you still had some when you walked in on the bank robbery."
"OK, what if maybe I don't want to be the Chosen One? Maybe I am just like one of those ninjas that could use the jade statues to get a temporary Mystical Monkey Power boost when they needed it?"
"I'd boost you anytime, baby", Ron did his best attempt at a sexy growl.
"Ron," Kim rolled over, pushed Ron onto his back and leaned on him, looking down into his eyes. "I don't want it. Ever. It makes me want to do bad things."
Ron, looking up into Kim's eyes and feeling her body leaning on his chest, struggled to focus on what Kim was really trying to tell him. Somehow he didn't think the "bad things" she was talking about were the same "bad things" he was thinking of doing with her right now.
"Bad things?" Ron squeaked.
"Like killing people. Like thinking of bad guys as nothing more than pond scum needing to be cleaned up and discarded."
"KP, Nova says she can teach us to be the master of the MMP, not its puppet. And besides, if you can only get charged when you want to, just don't charge up."
"I guess you are right." Thinking that maybe this was the wrong time to be thinking too much, she lowered her head and gently kissed her BF. Running her fingers through his hair, she kissed him harder. Ron kissed back with one hand on the small of her back pulling her close and the other hand seeking one of hers and then interlacing their fingers.
Just when Kim started running kisses down his neck and Ron's brain was about to melt and run out his ears, Kim's errant memory surfaced. She pulled back to Ron's dismay, "I remember now! Yori told Nana that Yamanouchi wanted an alliance with Nana and something about fealty. Nana must be the head of some secret organization! I mean why else would Yori ask if Yamanouchi could ally with Nana? That must be the organization that Montgomery Fiske thought was controlling me!"
Ron had reached up was placed tiny kisses up Kim's neck to her jaw. "Want to go ask her? She's still up…" Ron brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Mmm. Maybe in the morning."
Learning the Rage
Kim woke to the feeling of Ron's hand on her hip. The hand traveled down and across her abdomen, perilously close to violating the "no touching south of the equator" rule. Heading north, the hand rubbed her stomach, continued on to slide under her tee shirt and up to cup her breast.
"Ron, if you are awake, I may have to beat you."
"Still sleeping KP, not responsible for my subconscious body movements made while dreaming of the most badical woman in the world…"
Kim smiled and playfully wiggled her butt against him.
"Oh Shego…"
Nana was drinking coffee with Yori, who still wasn't sure what Americans saw in the strong bitter brew. (Nana learned to make and drink coffee in the Navy.) A blond streak blew out of the bedroom and out the door. A fiery, red-haired comet shot after him yelling "Ronald, you are a dead man!"
Yori looked at the open door. "It appears that Kim and Ron are getting over their hurt feelings about keeping secrets from each other."
"It appears that they have at least remembered that they have been playmates for most of their lives." Nana pushed cream and sugar to Yori. "Some people like cream and sugar in their coffee. Mostly Air Force pukes if memory serves me correctly. Now what members of the Yamanouchi controlling counsel can we keep under the new alliance? My people certainly don't want to be in charge of ordering pencils and toilet paper…"
Outside, Evin was breakfasting on leftover pulled pork, rolls, and pale ale. Nova and Rufus were awakened by the two laughing teens racing past towards the river. Nova had slept the night curled up by the fire pit. Rufus had slept blissfully in that circle of fur. The wolf got up and stretched dumping Rufus unceremoniously on the ground. She trotted over to her neatly folded stack of clothes. Dissolving into a cloud of muted rainbow sparkles, she reformed into human shape. Rufus, smelling the coffee, took off to the RV to get some.
"Nova" Evin sat a plate of food and a glass of beer on a little table for her. "I have never seen you stay in wolf form for that long. Was that a side effect of the Mystical Monkey Power? Will you be able to help Ron and the others?"
"The mystical power from Rufus is very strong. Otherwise, I would have changed back in the middle of the night. I think I can help them control their power." Nova finished buttoning up her blouse and put on her vest. "I can feel it quiescent like living water flowing under ice waiting for some strong emotion or danger to break the ice and let it escape and rampage across the land. It is a different power than the Rage, and stronger in many aspects, but it seems more manageable." She sat down in a sand chair by the table and took a sip of the beer. "We need to caution them all to keep Rufus' ability to charge people with the MMP a secret. He could be as sought after as the Jade statues were. I am tempted to take him back to Yamanouchi for protection."
"Only tempted?"
"First we have to free Yamanouchi from its present masters. Then there is something about Rufus, he might not really be a mole rat. Have you noticed his front teeth? They are fixed incisors, a real mole rat's front teeth are peg-like and can move. He has an intelligence and a spirit that is too big to fit in such a small body. Such a spirit will not tolerate being separated from the ones he loves and his intelligence will make it hard to keep him where he does not want to be."
"Are you thinking he is experiment 607?"[1]
"No, the rumors of experiment 607 are based on a fake report designed to restrict importation of hamsters from communist countries back in the 1960's"
"Hamsters?"
"There was allegedly a plan by the Soviet Union to introduce influenza using hamsters as carriers. I think it was 1962. The Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow started a rumor in the ranks of the American Cat Fanciers that hamsters were expected to be more popular than cats. So the ACF petitioned Congress to pass a ban on the importation of Soviet hamsters from Siberia."
"Where does experiment 607 come in?" Evin asked.
"Many members of Congress considered the ACF to be a bunch of crazy old cat ladies. To strengthen their case, the Office of Naval Intelligence gave Secret briefings to Congress which claimed that experiment 607 was created to be the perfect infiltration and sabotage agent and that it would be imported into the U.S. disguised as hamsters."
"Why would they do that?"
"Evin, I have no idea. But I will mention without further comment that one of the senior commanders of ONI at that time was one "Amanda 'Nana' Possible".
"So what is Rufus then?" Evin was getting seriously confused.
"Could just be a mole rat. Maybe the video of mole rats I saw was a different species. We should keep an eye on him while we can."
Kim and Ron walked back holding hands from the river. Ron was soaked but Kim was totally dry.
"Good morning," called Nova, "Go get some breakfast and get ready for the day."
"Dibs on the shower!" Kim jogged to the RV.
"Ronald, a moment please," Nova called him back as a bright-eyed, freshly caffeinated Rufus ran over to join them. Seeing that Ron had no pockets, he jumped up, climbed up Ron's tee shirt and sat on his shoulder. "We didn't detect any mystic power in Kimberley this morning, were you not able to charge her last night?"
Ron's mind wandered back to the heavy makeout session of the previous night. "Maybe not mystically…"
Nova held up her hand to interrupt him, "Spare me the details of youthful ardor please". Looking at Rufus she asked, "Rufus, what does Ronald need to do to charge Kimberly with mystical power?"
Rufus chattered into Ron's ear while Ron listened intently. Ron listened and occasionally nodded.
"OK Rufus, got it," Ron said when Rufus had stopped chattering.
"Well?" Erin asked.
"Rufus says that you sort of have to focus on the power and then split a part of your focus to transfer mystic power quickly over a hundred heartbeats, say 15 to 20 seconds. Or you can just keep mostly focused on just the power and charge anyone nearby in a few hours. He says to get the splitting your focus technique to work requires you to know the other person well."
Kim bounced out of the RV and over to them. "The water storage tank is too low for showers." She was munching on a cold catfish plank and handed a second along with a cheese stick to Ron. "Evin, Nana requests that you go with her and Yori to refill the water tanks and dump the waste tanks, please and thank you."
"Excellent" Nova looked pleased, "While they are gone, we can start on working on controlling the MMP. Fewer innocent bystanders to get hurt."
"But I'm not dressed!"
"Kimberly, this is an encounter with an ancient mystical energy, not a job interview, Besides, the little ferret faces on your shorts look cute. But I need to change."
Nova walked over to her bike leaving a trail of discarded clothing as she went. Pulling a simple thin cotton bathrobe covered with a design of little cartoon wolves out of a storage container, she shook it out and slipped it on as she walked back. Evin followed her trail, picking up her clothes and folding them neatly.
"Why does Evin take care of your clothes?" Kim wondered aloud.
"Part of the menial labor required from apprentices. Or mothers of hero daughters perhaps?" Nova cocked an eyebrow at Kim who had the decency to blush.
"Uh, Sifu Nova?"
"Yes Ronald-chan?" Nova smirked at the unnecessary formality.
"Do we have to change into our spirit animal?"
Nova got more serious. "First Ronald, most úlfheðnar and Berserkers can not change into their spirit animals. Of those that can, most úlfheðnar change into wolves and most Berserkers change into bears. But my mentor changed into an owl even though his spirit animal was a wolf. So, no Ronald you will probably not be able to change into a monkey even if you wanted to and if you are someday able to change into an animal, it may not be a monkey."
Evin placed the stack of Nova's neatly folded clothes on a sand chair and placed a large first aid kit beside it.
"First aid?" squeaked Rufus.
"Just in case my wolf needs to come out and help one of you calm down. Just a precaution. Really." Nova replied to Rufus. "It won't be needed. Trust me."
The behemoth started its engine as Evin climbed aboard. Nana waved from the passenger seat as a gleeful Yori pulled onto the road with only a small spray of gravel.
"Ron, if you could be so kind as to charge Kimberly with some mystical energy, we will start" Nova said.
"What? Here? In public?" Kim was aghast. "That's OK, I've decided that I don't want any."
"Kimberly, that is your decision. But you may find yourself in possession of the power unexpectedly, as you were against the Lowardians and you need to at least learn to not let it affect your emotions and thoughts."
Kim thought for a full minute, then replied in a small voice, "OK, that sounds reasonable. How does this work?"
Rufus chattered in Ron's ear.
"Rufus says he will guide me" Ron said in a reassuring voice.
Ron stepped behind Kim and put his arms around her in a warm hug as Rufus chattered guidance. Ron's hands started to move then stopped. "Rufus! If I do that she will kick both our butts."
Rufus stopped laughing and chattered a final instruction as Kim started to growl. Kim's annoyance at her boys screwing around vanished as a wave of warmth radiated from where Ron was touching her to the rest of her body. After a short time, the feeling vanished and she felt slightly energized but nothing too out of the ordinary.
Rufus hopped onto Kim's shoulder. "Sorry. But funny," he squeaked.
Take the Pebble From My Hand
"OK, if we are done with messing around," Nova was wearing her college lecturer persona. "Everybody take a seat, sit on the grass or a sand chair, it doesn't matter so long as you are comfortable."
Nova sat cross-legged on the ground. In front of her sat Ron, to her left was Kim, to her right Rufus. She ran them through a guided meditation exercise. She started with basic body awareness, one body part at a time. Once they seemed to be in the correct frame of mind, she shifted to visualization and had them all imagining being in their happy place. For Kim, that was a meadow in the mountains near her uncle Slim's ranch, for Ron and Rufus it was their favorite outdoor table at Bueno Nacho.
"The sun is still warm, the breeze is still soft and cool. You see the MMP slowly appear as a blue fog that rises up from the ground. It surrounds your legs, coming up to your knees. The fog is tingly, it waits for you to command it."
"It's starting to crawl up on me." Kim sounded a little panicked.
"Kimberly, breathe in and out. The MMP is like a little kitten climbing up your jeans wanting attention. Reach down and pull it gently off of you, give it a little pet and a little hug and put it back down on the ground."
Kim was starting to visibly sweat.
"Kimberly, do you need Ron to hold your hand?"
"No! I can do this by myself!"
"Kimberly, this is not a test. You are allowed help if you need it."
"I'm OK! It's under control! I got it!"
Nova looked carefully at Kim as she grew calmer and more relaxed. Then Kim actually smiled a little smile as if she actually was imagining the MMP as a little fuzzy kitten. Checking Ron and Rufus, Ron looked calm and relaxed, Rufus, well Rufus looked like a mole rat.
"OK, here is your first exercise. All of you reach out and call the blue to you. Call it as a friend who you cherish, a friend who will help you, help keep you safe, help keep you strong. It will obey your wishes, follow your desires."
Nova checked her students again. She could see a soft blue glow around them and most importantly, she could not hear screaming angry monkeys. She felt like cheering, like scooping them all up in a hug and dancing in celebration.
"Kimberly, we will begin with you. I want you to open your eyes, stand up and hold your arms out. Feel the power surrounding you."
Kim opened her eyes and stood up lightly as if her feet barely touched the ground. Holding her arms out she wiggled her fingers as ribbons of power streamed through them.
Suddenly Kim's eyes flashed bright blue, "There are people in the trees watching us. At least six. Some with long guns."
Nova jumped to her feet thinking to herself, "Gods, not now!". Throwing off her robe she called out, "Protect Ron and Rufus, don't kill them all!" A shower of sparkles later a snarling wolf stood between Rufus and the trees. Kim held out her hand and a glowing white falchion appeared.
In the tree line, Han Fei spoke quickly into a cell phone. "Kim Possible is definitely the Chosen One and possesses the MMP. We have witnessed it." The reply was short, "Kill the pretenders so it stays that way."
Han Fei signaled to the gunmen. Rifle shots rang out and Shaolin monks moved in front of the gunmen to cover them.
"Shield!" thought Kim as she threw the sword in front of Ron. Bullets rang off a mirrored spinning disk protecting him. Back in the tree line, two riflemen fell back dead as reflected bullets pierced their scopes and struck each in an eye. Seeing their companions fall, the monks charged, two to distract Kim and the other four to kill Ron. Rufus had taken advantage of the confusion to leap on Nova's neck. Rufus and Nova blew through the attacking monks racing to the trees to find the last sniper that they knew was still in the trees. Nova was trying desperately to stay in control. The Rage was upon her in addition to the Mystical Monkey Power. She desperately fought the urge to smash down all the trees and taste the sweet blood of the remaining sniper by tearing out his throat with her fangs. A shot rang out and she braced for the impact that never came. In her mind, she heard a squeaky laugh as Rufus changed his shield into a lance. Seeing movement high in a tree as the sniper changed his rifle for a handgun, she leaped up to the tree, expecting to hit the tree hard enough to dislodge the man. Hearing monkeys, not screaming in anger, but chattering with a terrible glee, she felt many small hands lifting her higher so she landed on the man. Rufus' lance pierced the man's shoulder preventing him from shooting at them. Instinctively, Nova's fangs sank into the man's throat and she tore it out, spraying her and Rufus with hot blood. Taking cover behind a tree, Han Fei watched in horror as a pink demon riding a wolf made an impossible jump high into the tree next to him followed by a shower of blood and gore from high in the tree. Frozen with fear, he saw the wolf drop lightly to the ground and advance on him. His last thought was that he didn't know what was more terrifying, the snarling wolf or the screaming demon riding it.
Kim faced off against her two attackers. Their style was reminiscent of Nana's Striking Dragon Fist but they weren't nearly as good as Nana. She found her normal Kung Fu styles enhanced with an additional more random, more acrobatic style. The contest was over quickly. Leaving two monks laying unconscious on the ground, she looked over to see how Ron was doing. Three monks were on the ground and Ron was bleeding from several cuts and advancing on the remaining attacker who was trying to disengage and flee. An attacker that turned to run from a collapsing Ron who didn't seem to be able to breathe. An attacker who was raising his sword in triumph because he knew, he knew he had won. An attacker who fell pierced through the heart by a lance from a bloody mole rat wolf rider.
Kim ran towards Ron only to be bowled over by a charging wolf. Kim picked herself up as the angry voices of screaming monkeys began to ring in her ears.
"Don't touch him! Their blades were covered in nerve agents!" screamed Nova back in human form, fighting to hold onto what sanity she was able to claw back to her. Her wolf desperately wanted to tear and rend until nothing was left of their enemies but bloody gibs. The danger to Kimberly was something that fangs and claws were useless against and that was the only thing holding sanity to her.
"I have to do something! He can't breathe!"
"Kimberly, he may have poison on his clothes and skin, you can't touch him!"
Kim screamed wordlessly and Nova was thrown back in a wave of blue. Kim raised both hands in the air and long, glowing metallic gauntlets appeared on her hands and a matching mask appeared over her face. Racing over to Ron, she held her twitching BF down by the shoulders and put her face over his. A flexible tube extended from her mask and gently reached into his mouth and down his throat. Using the mask and tube, she puffed air into his lungs.
Nova ran over to the first aid kit and pulled out an auto-injector. Running back, she pressed it into Ron's thigh and pulled the trigger. Running to the fire pit, she brought back trash bags and spread them over Ron's body to help protect Kim against accidental contamination. Looking up at a concerned Rufus, she told him "Rufus! Hold him here! Do not let him go!"
The little mole rat glowed a brilliant blue and a tentacle of blue light stretched out to caress Ron. Nova checked the timer on the auto-injector and once again pressed it against Ron's thigh and pulled the trigger. Nova put a hand on Kim's shoulder, "Give me a turn and breathe for yourself. Otherwise you will pass out." Kim pulled her head away from the mask and Nova pressed her face against it, blowing air into Ron's lungs.
Kim felt herself split in two. One part of her knelt by Ron, still pressing down on his shoulders. Shoulder that had stopped twitching which she hoped was a good sign. A second part of her stood in her happy place, the meadow. At her feet was a blue glowing kitten, young enough that its fur was spiky. There was no cute here. The kitten had blazing blue eyes and its mouth was open in a savage snarl.
"Please save my host," it said without words. "I was lonely for so long and then these two came and accepted me. With these two I have shared happiness, love, humor and even frivolity that I have been without for ages. Ages where my sole purpose was to power grim warriors to do violence." Kim felt more than heard a pitiful mew. "Can you save him?"
Kim picked up the kitten and hugged it to her face. "I will try my hardest"
She found herself fixed on blue kitten eyes. "And if you can't will you let me power you to wreak a terrible vengeance on those responsible for his death?"
Kim kissed the kitten on the head and put it down on the ground. "Ron will NOT die, he will NOT leave us. But if he does, I swear that together we will wreak such a terrible vengeance that villains will whisper about it with fear in their hearts for a thousand years."
Kim felt herself snap back together. 'That was an 11 on the weirdness scale.' she thought as she took back over from Nova. She blew a breath into the tube and thought she felt Ron starting to fight it. 'Come on Ron, come back to me. You said you would come if I called, I am calling,' she thought fighting back tears.
The Butcher's Bill
Nana looked out over the disaster area with a cold fury. Some of that fury was self directed and she would have to apologize to the others and answer to the others on her council for her carelessness. The attackers slipped through her surveillance drones. She had been warned by Yori that there someone was issuing kill orders against Ron and Rufus yet she split her party leaving only half to deal with the assassins. 'You'd think this was an episode of Scooby Doo and I was playing Fred' she snorted in disgust.
A small NBC response team from the local national guard bagged items and sprayed decontamination chemicals on the grass where the battle had been fought. The coroner's office had carried off the bodies of the snipers and the swordsmen who had attacked Ron. The police report would say that two Chinese gangs had fought here and unfortunately there were no survivors to question. Some of the bodies were going to be hard to identify because they had been mauled, probably by wild dogs. It was only by coincidence that the NBC response team was running an exercise and stumbled across the bodies.
Ron was expected to recover completely, thanks to the quick action by Kimberly and Nova. Kimberly kept him breathing while Nova administered the antidote on the proper schedule and amounts. Rufus, bless his loving mole rat heart, had done something to help Ron fight for his life. Nana wasn't sure exactly what, but the tiny dear was exhausted and sleeping deeply on a pillow in the RV. When Nana had first arrived on the scene Rufus was standing fiercely beside his friend with a glowing blue streamer connecting them.
Ron right now was being lovingly tended to by Kim. The NBC team had scrubbed him down with a ruthless efficiency that left his skin raw in spots. Kim had him lying naked on a table in the warm afternoon sun, washing the harsh detergents off his skin and applying ointments to soothe the raw spots. Nana thought that Ron would appreciate Kim's ministrations more if he wasn't too dizzy to even sit up and nauseous to boot.
Nana walked over to the two monks kneeling on the ground guarded by a scowling Yori, steel war fans at the ready. Rage oozed off the young ninja, part of that rage was because she wasn't here when her friends needed her. Nana spoke to them in Mandarin Chinese to make sure she was understood.
"Tell your masters that they should arrange for their own funerals. They have tried to kill my children and I will never forgive that. Go and if this girl sees you again, she will end your miserable existence and that of your family line."
She nodded at Yori who let them get up and flee. Nana strode back to the RV. She had orders to send out.
Footnotes
[1] "Lilo & Stitch: The Series" Season 2, Episode 22; "Rufus: Experiment #607"
