I couldn't find the word for 'thanks' in my Lorwardian/English dictionary this week, but nevertheless wanted to acknowledge all the great reviews from Sentinel103, AlphaSeymour, CajunBear73, Krystalslazz, Bookworm Gal, Oreochema, Jimmy1201, Eddy13, AnimationNut, Tito-Mosquito, readerjunkie, Reader101w, Katsumara and whitem, as well as all of you out there reading. And leave a review, I promise a reply. Now, let's see how things are going back on Terra Firma...
Middleton, one week earlier...
The former Middleton High cheerleaders and its newest member were hard at work practicing their new routine in the school gym, while Ron glowed blue with mystical energy as he wildly somersaulted around them. Rufus also joyfully danced about while Kim looked on with approval.
The crack cheer squad yelled out in perfect unison, "P–L–A! N–E–T! E–A–R–T–H! Goooooo Terrans!"
But as she dismounted from the top of the pyramid, Bonnie nearly slipped in a puddle of banana-flavored mouth foam that Ron had inadvertently spewed across the floor of the gym. Fortunately, Rufus was right there to lap up the delicious mess before anyone could accidentally skid on it.
The prickly cheerleader instantly fumed, "Stoppable! Do you mind keeping your gooey mess to yourself? Someone could get hurt, and it better not be me!"
Ron merely smiled and gave her an apologetic shrug, while Rufus giggled mischievously. "Sorry, Bonnie. But it's real hard to suppress my essential Ronness, especially when my Mystical Monkey Power kicks in."
"Freaky baboon power is more like it," Bonnie growled with a scornful roll of her eyes.
Ron shot back, "Hey, that's buffoon, and don't you forget it!"
Bonnie turned to Kim with a huff and snidely asked, "Well, what do you think of the routine, K? Is it up to your usual im-possibly high standards?"
Kim wisely refused to rise to Bonnie's verbal challenge, effortlessly redirecting Bonnie's snarky comment. "Yeah, looking real good, team! You'll make Earth proud, and the Lorwardians will definitely have to work overtime to match your spankin' polish and skill."
She turned and began walking away, with a still miffed Bonnie following close behind.
"But what about my leadership, Kim? They couldn't have done it without me."
Just as she rounded the corner, Kim turned toward her former adversary. "That's right Bonnie, they couldn't have. But they also couldn't have pulled together as well and so quickly unless they'd been led that way in years past."
She thumbed her hand to her chest to underscore the point. "And that was thanks to me, by the way."
Bonnie simply glared back at Kim, anger seething from behind her haughty eyes.
But Kim's visage softened a bit as she continued, "But I don't know of anyone who could lead them better than you at this particular moment, Bonnie. Without a doubt, I know that you'll do Earth proud."
The unexpected compliment brought the testy cheerleader up short.
Kim continued with a cheeky smile, "And don't forget that when Connie and Lonnie find out, they'll both be ferociously jealous of you for as long as they live, Bonnie. I know they were both Middleton cheerleaders before we attended there, but you get to lead our squad on a distant planet. Let's see them match that."
The positive comparison between Bonnie and her eternally condescending sisters broke something deep inside the cheerleader, and she reacted in an unusual way. As her eyes began to tear up, she suddenly gave Kim a big hug.
"Thanks, Kim. That's the nicest thing you could have possibly said."
Surprised by her abrupt turnaround, Kim carefully responded, "Uh, you're welcome, Bonnie. And I really do mean it. It's not just anybody I'd ask to lead the cheer squad at a time like this."
As Bonnie wiped away a tear from her well-tanned cheek, she pleaded, "Just don't let anyone know that I started to, uh, cry about this, okay? It would totally ruin my hard-earned reputation as a..."
"Snarky bitch?"
Ron had just silently appeared from behind her, while Kim looked on with shock at her husband's brutally honest comment.
"Ron!"
But he quickly explained his apparent insult. "Hey, I have my essential Ronness, and Bonnie has her essential snarkiness. And in some kinda mystical yin and yang kinda way, these two great cosmic powers have to be kept in balance, right Bonnie?"
The teal-eyed cheerleader quickly agreed. "Exactly, Stoppable! It's about time someone finally figured that out."
A relieved Kim replied, "So, uh, no problem with Ron's little comment then?"
"Not at all, K," replied the smug coed. "Besides, I'm proud of the truth."
Kim continued with a giggle, "Good. And don't worry, the secret softer side of Bonnie Rockwaller is safe with us."
As Bonnie turned to rejoin her squad, Kim whispered, "So, how's 'Leona' doing, Ron? She keeping a low profile in the meantime?"
Ron nodded. "Yup, KP. No problems worth mentioning."
She replied with a frown, "That's not exactly reassuring, Ron. Try me."
"Well, what do you expect when you put together a haughty heiress with Queen Bon-Bon? Still, her attitude's not much different than a few of the other ladies on the squad, so she's actually fitting in pretty well."
"Well, that's good to hear at least. So she knows what she needs to do once you all get to Lorwardia?"
"Totally. No worries, KP."
At that moment the gym door opened. Steve Barkin strode in, accompanied by Dr. James Possible.
"All right, people, listen up!"
Everyone immediately looked apprehensively at the fearsome substitute teacher and vice-principal, even though they had all graduated the year before and no longer had anything to fear. But that was all about to change.
James began, "I have some great news for you all concerning the Kepler IV rocket, and I wanted to be the first to share it with you girls."
Kim remembered that her father had mentioned just the night before that the ship was nearly complete. "Dad, how soon did you say it'll be ready for launch?"
"Ten days at the most, Kimmie-cub."
Bonnie snorted reflexively at the pet name Kim just couldn't seem to outgrow (or live down), but said nothing as James continued.
"And after it passes its certification, it should be completely ready for its shakedown cruise." With a happy flourish of his arms he announced, "And its maiden voyage will be to take all of you... on your trip to Lorwardia!"
The entire cheer squad squealed with glee, as James waved for quiet.
"And the ship is just large enough to carry all of you young ladies, plus your luggage needs."
Mr. Barkin added with a growl, "Which, if past bus trips to cheerleading competitions are any indication, will be outrageously huge." He gave James a sidelong sneer. "I just hope your cargo bay's big enough."
James gave an unconcerned wave of his hand. "Oh, my cargo bay will be large enough, nooooo problem."
But worldly wise to the habits of teenage cheerleaders, Barkin muttered back under his breath, "Don't be too sure, Possible."
Ron asked, "Well, that's great Mr. Dr. P, but who's gonna fly it? Kim will already be on Lorwardia, and Shego's there too. Maybe Frederick the Chimpanzee?"
The squad all laughed as James began to blush slightly. "No, this time its going to be me. It's about time I had a little fun, what with you, Kim and sometimes even Jim and Tim cruising around the galaxy as if it were a Captain Constellation episode."
Ron perked up as a thought crossed his mind. "Ooh! But you're going to need a co-pilot too, aren't you? You'll need potty breaks now and then as well as for snackage, plus some sleep too, am I right?" He continued with flourish of his arm and a deep, ingratiating bow. "So the Ronman graciously volunteers for the job."
Barkin just gave him smug look, knowing that Ron's offer would be effectively crushed in the next few moments.
James looked a little uncomfortable as he replied, "Well, thank you, Ronald, but I think we've got that covered. Besides my need for a co-pilot, we certainly can't have a cheer squad of college coeds flying off to a distant planet with inadequate adult supervision, even if they aren't my own. And I have just the person to fit both roles."
The entire cheer squad gasped as they suddenly realized exactly who that would be.
"That's right people. Lt. Barkin, at your service." He fixed Ron with a grim stare. "And I'm especially keeping my eye on you, Stoppable, even if you and Possible are hitched now. There'll be no hanky-panky on this space cruise as long as I have anything to say about it."
Even after the incredible transformations he'd gone through in the past year, Ron found that he could still be intimidated by his former teacher and Smarty Mart co-worker. But he quickly tried to make light of it.
"No problemo, Mr. B. In fact, I'll look forward to your help in keeping all these lovely ladies in line."
As the cheer squad all tittered in response to Ron's cheeky remark, the long-suffering Mr. Barkin slowly shook his head back and forth. "Stoppable, exactly what color is the sky in your world?"
Kim in the meantime had shot Ron a warning look regarding his comment, but he had a smooth answer for both of them.
"Blue, just like yours, Mr. B. Besides, I only share my Ronshine with one other very special lady now. And she's standing right over there."
This brought a relieved look from both Kim and her father, and a general sigh from all the girls present. Save Bonnie of course, who merely rolled her eyes.
A trace of a smile tugged at Kim's lips as she shot Ron a quick thought. "Nice save, Ron. Just don't push it."
Blushing a bit, Ron smiled back weakly at his wife. "Roger that, KP. Just having a little fun with Barkin, that's all."
Kim decided that a change of subject was long overdue. "Gee, Mr. Barkin, I didn't know you had any space flight experience. Especially with an interstellar ship like the Kepler IV."
"Well, I had actually trained as a back-up pilot on some of the first space shuttle missions, until I washed out for a thoroughly ridiculous reason."
"Oh? And what was that?"
Barkin grit his teeth before answering, "Excessive beard growth. I need to shave three times a day, and NASA felt that the power consumption of my heavy duty electric razor would be... excessive. And if I didn't shave, that might interfere with my duties on board, especially on extended missions."
Rufus giggled as he sent Ron a humorous thought. "Gee, I wish I had that problem..."
James gave Mr. Barkin a friendly pat on the back. "Well, that won't be any problem while you're on board the Kepler IV. We've come a long way since then, and we have power to spare!"
Barkin gave him a long-suffering look. "Don't be too sure about that. I've known these kids all the way through high school, and their hair dryers, curling irons and makeup mirrors can suck up an inconceivable amount of energy. I can't begin to tell you how many heavy duty car batteries have been bled dry by their insatiable electrical appetites."
"Well, we'll just take that as it comes, I suppose." James turned to address his daughter. "But shouldn't you be on your way to the spaceport, Kimmie? The next shuttle to Lorwardia leaves only a few hours from now, and that Lorwardian cheer squad's going to need all the help you can give them in order to keep up with your old squad."
"On my way, Dad. Care to give me a lift to the spaceport, Ron?"
Her husband smiled back, "Your wish is my command, KP."
An hour later, Kim and Ron were preparing to say their goodbyes at the Middleton Interstellar Spaceport.
"Funny how passenger screening's so much easier on these interplanetary flights than it is on our intercontinental flights to London."
Kim stifled a laugh. "Yeah, that's because the last time a TSA agent asked a Lorwardian to remove his shoes while trying to pass a wand over him, he ended up in the hospital for a couple of months."
Ron grinned, "Yeah, those Lorwardians don't like having their personal space invaded, literally or figuratively."
But his grin soon faded as the first boarding call was made.
"Man, this really tanks, Kim. This is the first time we're gonna be apart for more than a few days since we've been married. I'm really gonna miss you."
Kim looked at her husband, who had the look of a wounded puppy on his face. She was sure she didn't look much better herself.
Kim lied, "It's no big, Ron. It's only, what? Three weeks at the most?"
She smiled as she gently touched her husband's face. "Remember when you went back to Yamanouchi for your final training last year? You were gone for two months, and we managed to survive okay then, right?"
Ron looked deep into Kim's eyes and corrected her. "Two months, four days, eleven hours and forty-two minutes." He heaved a small sigh. "But I don't remember exactly how many seconds."
But a trace of smile appeared as he continued, "Uh, not counting that time me and Rufus visited you in spirit, of course."
Kim brightened up, "Yeah, you really had me going there for a minute, pretending that you were Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Rufus popped out of Ron's pocket and giggled, "Uh-huh! Dagobah!"
This lightened the mood as they all began to laugh, but a random thought brought a look of concern to Kim's face. "Now, I can trust you to be alone with eight other beautiful college cheerleaders for three weeks, can't I?"
Ron had already picked up on her stray thought, and smiled back warmly as he symbolically crossed his heart. "No problemo, KP. Mystical Monkey Master's honor. And you can check my memories once we see each other again just to make sure. You know I can't hide anything from you, not that I would ever want to."
He offered her a sly look as he continued in a husky voice, "Besides, once you've been with the best, anyone else would just pale in comparison."
Kim immediately felt a tingle of excitement at his comment, but still persisted. "But what if, say, Bonnie wanted a little taste of your Ronshine like she did when you and she were homecoming king and queen?"
Ron confidently replied, "Well, for starters, that would be her funeral. But let me put it in another way, Kim. When you've had your taste buds tickled by a big slice of Seven Layers of Heaven cake, that kinda deadens the desire for any cheap, second-rate substitute. With heavy emphasis on cheap in Bon-Bon's case."
Kim couldn't help but giggle at Ron's assessment of the prickly cheerleader.
"And anyway, eagle-eye Barkin will be riding shotgun, so even if any of the ladies should be tempted to uh, break the line of scrimmage shall we say, Rufus has standing orders to keep me on the straight and narrow and act as, well, my Left Tackle. Right, little buddy?"
The naked mole rat happily nodded back with complete assurance, popping a tiny football helmet he just happened to have handy onto his head. "Right! Uh-huh!"
A gentle wave of relief then enveloped Kim as Ron softly brushed her mind. "And remember, I'll always be just a bon-diggety thought away."
Out loud he announced, "So have a great trip, Kim. And good luck training those Lorwardians."
He shivered unconsciously. "And incidentally, I'm glad that it's you and not me on this particular mission. I think that facing them in combat would be easier than training 'em, if you catch my drift."
Kim winced. "Yeah, I think you may be right about that, Ron."
"But if any of those alien amazons get out of hand, I'm sure you'll just use your super-duper uberstrength to keep then in line. You're the legendary Great Red now, ah-booyah. And my wife."
Ron drew Kim into a gentle embrace, giving her a warm hug and an even warmer kiss. Enhanced with just a touch of Mystical Monkey Power, Kim basked in his languorous touch and sighed contentedly, not wanting to let him go quite yet.
"Just a moment longer, for luck?"
Ron nodded, "For luck. And uh, for other reasons, too."
All too soon, the final boarding call was made, and Kim reluctantly released him. As the hatch on the huge Lorwardian space cruiser finally swung closed, she gave Ron a longing glance, sending him a fleeting thought.
"See you soon..."
"Not soon enough, my angel..."
A week later, the first trial run of the Kepler IV had gone off without a hitch. James Possible was overjoyed, and even Steve Barkin was cautiously optimistic.
"Well, it looks like this bucket will actually get us all to Lorwardia in one piece. Good job, Possible."
"Thanks, Steve. We've triple-checked all systems, and everything looks A-OK. Rockets are go!"
Mr. Barkin winced at the Captain Constellation tagline, but tried to ignore it as he continued, "And a good thing too. The girls are excited, but some of them are a little worried about taking a week-long spaceflight to distant planet in a brand-new spacecraft, even if it is your design. Rockwaller has even nicknamed your little rocket the Kimtanic."
He added with a tiny sneer, "Not an auspicious sobriquet, wouldn't you agree?"
James laughed as he replied, "Well, I doubt we'll be encountering any icebergs on our way to Lorwardia, and every asteroid larger than a golf ball has already been mapped and programmed into our navicomputer. I promise we'll be fine, on my honor as the world's leading rocket scientist."
Barkin nodded, hoping that his trust in Dr. Possible's amazing creation would be ultimately justified. "Just one question, though. What is thing powered by, anyway? I thought that faster-than-light travel wasn't possible."
James proudly looked back at him and declared, "It's powered by a hyperlight engine I created based on the Lorwardian design. And I've nicknamed it the Kimpossibility drive in honor of my precious Kimmie-cub."
He paused for effect. "Because... nothing's impossible for a Possible!"
As James chuckled at his clever quip, Steve Barkin gave him yet another long-suffering look at the mention of his former student.
James continued with a slightly condescending air. "By the way, the engine's core is technically called a singularity. That would be a Black Hole to you, in layman's terms, of course."
Barkin grinned back, "Really? According to the Penrose–Hawking singularity theorem, then. So, is it a space-like or time-like singularity?"
Barkin's astute question caught James off guard. "Uh, time-like, in point of fact."
Barkin smugly continued, "I assume then that it's a charged, rotating mass, per the Kerr-Newman metric? And that its rotational speed somehow controls our hyperlight velocity through the space-time continuum?"
James just stared back slack-jawed at Mr. Barkin, who now looked immensely pleased with himself. "I'm quite impressed, Steve. I had no idea you were so familiar with advanced astrophysics."
The eternal substitute teacher offered a small shrug as he explained, "Well, I have to admit the learning curve was pretty steep after Ms. Hawking was involved in that linear accelerator accident last year, and I had to take over the Middleton High physics department. But that's the story of my life, I suppose..."
A few days later, Dr. Director called Ron into her office at Global Justice for his final briefing.
"Well, Ron. Just a few more days and you'll all be off to Lorwardia. Now that Kim is on her way to train their cheerleaders, you are now the official liaison between Camille Leon and Global Justice. By the way, how is she fitting in on the team?"
"Just great, Dr. Director. I was afraid her snobbishness might pose a problem, but since most everyone else on the team acts the same way, there's actually been no problemo."
"Excellent. And you two are clear on your mission?"
"Yup. She poses as Grallx in very public places on Lorwardia, and I mentally eavesdrop on anyone's thoughts in the vicinity who are wondering what he, or she, or it..."
Ron's voice tapered off as he scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, do we even know the gender of this Parfan dude? Or maybe it's a dudette?"
Dr. Director smiled back, now used to the occasional derailment of Ron's train of thought, and quickly used one of Kim's frequent catch phrases.
"Focus, Ron."
"Oops, heh-heh. Sorry. Anyway, I'll be able to detect anyone who acts surprised if they see Grallx, and then get a lock on their bon-diggety brainwaves. That'll reveal to me who the perps are on our Who's Who list of bad guys."
"Very good. And once you're on Lorwardia, please provide me with daily reports on your progress, and contact us immediately once the full conspiracy is uncovered."
Ron smirked, "That's a big 10-4. We're ready to get medieval on some alien butt."
Rufus quickly chimed in, "Yeah! Alien butt!"
Ron's stomach began to growl. "And once we've succeeded, we'll celebrate with Kim and Camille as we experience the delicious nutricity of a meal at Bueno Nacho #1000 for our reward."
A silly grin broke out on Ron's face as he thought of Kim. "I have no idea of the quality of their cheese on Lorwardia, but I'm sure that the totally badical company will more than make up for it."
Suddenly, the Romunicator on his wrist began urgently beeping. He rarely used it except to keep in touch with Kim, and thought for a moment that it might be her. But a grim-faced Wade appeared on the tiny screen instead.
"Hey, Wade. What's the sitch?"
"Ron, Hirotaka just contacted me. Yori has been in a coma for several weeks. He's... he's afraid she's not going to make it.
He blanched at the grim news, unsteadily falling into a chair.
"But what happened? Why is she in a coma?"
"Hirotaka said she had been on an extended voyage on the astral plane. She... she never made it back."
Rufus gave out a little whimper of dismay as Wade continued.
"I'm sorry I had to be the one to break this to you, Ron. I know you and she were real close."
Ron's thoughts immediately went back to his final training with Yori the year before, and to her brave rescue of him along with Kim's help when he himself was stranded on the astral plane. And to the first time they had joined minds, unavoidably revealing her deepest unspoken secret: that she still loved him.
A spark of hope immediately flared within Ron's mind. "Well, she's not dead yet. And she's not dying if I have anything to say about it. If her body is still alive, then her spirit must still be out there, somewhere... Stand by, Wade."
Without another word, Ron began to concentrate deeply, emptying his mind of every inward thought and outward distraction as he focused on one thing and one thing only.
"Yori..."
Rufus likewise began to concentrate, and soon both were softly glowing blue as they floated effortlessly above the floor of Dr. Director's office. As they did so, their spirits appeared together on the astral plane.
"Getting anything, Rufus?"
"Not yet, but... there! Did you feel that?"
A wave of relief washed over Ron's spirit. "Yes, I sense her presence too."
"But this is a nearly infinite amount of space we'll need to search. If we could locate her spiritual cord, we could trace it back to wherever her spirit is and retrieve her. But time is short."
"Yeah, little buddy. And there's only one way we can do that..."
As they both re-entered their physical bodies, Ron clicked his Romunicator back on as he grimly commanded, "Wade, we're gonna need a ride."
Dr. Director was in total awe of what she had just witnessed, but still had the presence of mind to offer her help. "Ron, please rest assured that the total resources of Global Justice are at your command. I can have a hoverjet prepped within ten minutes. But will you have enough time for a round trip to Japan? It's only a few days before the Kepler IV is scheduled to leave on its trip to Lorwardia."
Ron looked stonily at Dr. Director. "I owe my life to Yori, just like I do to Kim. And as important as this mission is, I'd never forgive myself if Yori gave up the ghost as a result, especially if there's any chance at all that I can rescue her."
The GJ chief was impressed by Ron's deep devotion to his friend. "Very well, Ron. I'm sure that I can get Dr. Possible to delay the launch as long as necessary. I'll take care of apprising him of the situation immediately."
"Thanks, Dr. Director. So, what's the top speed of a hoverjet?"
"About 720 miles per hour, just below Mach 1."
Ron quickly asked, "Wade, how far is it to Yamanouchi?"
Wade just as quickly had the answer. "Exactly 5400 miles."
"So that would take us, uh..."
Beads of sweat broke out on Ron's forehead. "Wade, a little help here? Still not very good at doing math in my head."
"No problem, Ron. Seven and a half hours, nonstop. That beats a commercial flight by four hours, not including check-in and TSA screening."
Ron looked down at Rufus, who gave a sad shake of his tiny head.
Ron's frown deepened. "We're gonna need something faster."
Wade carefully thought for a moment, then gave him a sly look. "Give me five minutes, Ron. I may have just the thing..."
Forty-five minutes later, Ron stepped out of the GJ hoverjet and onto the tarmac of Nellis Air Force base at Groom Lake, Nevada, otherwise known as Area 51.
"Wow, Rufus. After all the times we've been here, this place seems like our home away from home."
He immediately greeted his old friend, General Sims. "Gee, General, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."
"Think nothing of it, Ronald. I've lost track of how many times you, Kim and Yori have saved the entire planet. It's the least we can do. Besides, Dr. Director said this was a M3-Yankee-slash-SR71-type scenario: Mystical Monkey Master needing immediate supersonic transport to Yamanouchi."
Ron was amazed. "Wow, you have a code for that?"
The general chuckled, "That's an affirmative, Ron. There are few things we don't have a code for these days."
Before them stood a SR-71B Blackbird twin-seat reconnaissance jet, fueled and ready for take-off.
Ron queried, "But I thought these planes had been taken out of service ten years ago?"
"They had. But we activated a back-up plan to reinstate them to operational status due to the Lorwardian threat last year, including this two-seater version. The Air Force just, heh-heh, conveniently forgot to put them back into mothballs. And they still hold the world airspeed record for the fastest jet aircraft. Your pilot is already on board, and we'll have you at your destination in exactly three hours."
With a smart salute, he handed Ron his helmet, along with a smaller one for Rufus.
"Good luck, gentlemen."
Ron activated his Romunicator and dialed in a rarely used number. A haggard-looking Hirotaka appeared on the tiny screen.
"Stoppable-sama! You received my message?"
"Yes, Hirotaka. Wade's given me the gorchy news. How is she?"
He choked out, "Yori's body is still alive, but she's on complete life-support. I... I do not know how much longer she can last, Stoppable-sama. Please hurry."
Ron tried to put on a brave face. "I'm leaving right now along with Rufus, so hold on. We'll be there in three hours."
He broke the connection as they quickly boarded the craft. A minute later, the sleek black jet roared down the runway on its errand of mercy, destination Yamanouchi.
"I just hope we're not too late, Rufus."
The naked mole rat only offered a tiny whimper in response.
TBC...
